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Heat suddenly exploded within her, and her legs refused to support her weight. Instead of pushing against Alex, her body instinctively leaned into him, and her arms reached up to grip his shoulders. His mouth slid slowly against hers, coaxing her to respond. Evelyn moaned softly, and her lips parted slightly. Hadn’t she dreamed about this years ago? The world evaporated around her while Alex held her in his embrace. There was nothing threatening about him. This was Alex as she had envisioned him a thousand times over; Alex returning the love she had felt for him all these years.
Slowly, much too soon, Alex loosened his arm around her waist. His calloused hand slid from behind her neck, his fingers lingering against her cheek. His lips broke contact with hers, and Evelyn stared wide-eyed up at his face. Bewilderment was written in his blue eyes, along with something she hadn’t seen before, nor could she put a name to it. He held her gaze, his eyes scanning the contours of her face. Evelyn slid her hands from his shoulders, and took a shaky step backward. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears, and her lips tingled in the aftermath of his kiss.
“Why?” she squeaked. Speaking seemed impossible. She wished she could hold on to this moment forever. A nagging voice somewhere in the recesses of her mind warned her to remain cautious, while her heart told her this was where she belonged.
Alex cleared his throat. He finally broke eye contact, his gaze seeking something behind her again.
“I had to silence you somehow,” he said, his voice raspy. His cheek muscles clenched. “Oliver Sabin has taken quite an interest in this camp. I couldn’t allow him to hear that you were about to break your ties to me.”
Evelyn’s jaw dropped. Her world had ended and begun in that kiss, but to him it had been nothing more than a means to silence her? Heat crept up her neck, and her cheeks burned. She took a shaky step backward. Alex reached for her arm, preventing her from turning.
“You can hate me for bartering for you, Evelyn,” he said, his voice tense. “You can hate me for refusing to take you back to St. Louis. According to the ways of the people who inhabit these mountains, you and I are wed just as if we had stood before a preacher in church back in St. Charles.” He paused, his gaze never wavering from hers. “But you also have the right to break the tie,” he continued slowly, his eyes staring deeply into hers as if trying to read her mind. “I can’t stop you from leaving, Evie. If you want to take your chances with men like Sabin, go ahead and cast me aside. But if you want to live, you’ll accept my terms.”
With those final words, he released her arm and stepped around her, leaving her standing by the cold ashes of Aimee’s abandoned campfire, more confused than before.
Chapter 8
The majestic snow-covered peaks of the mountain range that Evelyn had seen when Laurent and the other trappers brought her to the rendezvous loomed in the distance. Like sentinels standing watch over the vast valley stretching before them, they rose high into the sky. Aspen trees and conifers were the only obstructions to the magnificent view.
Alex reined in his horse in front of her, and the animal’s neck dropped immediately to drink from the narrow creek that gurgled and meandered snake-like through the tall grass. The two packhorses Alex led followed suit, and Evelyn’s mount moved eagerly up alongside the others without any encouragement from her. Alex swung his right leg up and over his horse’s neck, and disappeared momentarily from view. He moved around behind the animals, his rifle cradled in the crook of his arm. His head turned slightly from side to side, and his eyes seemed to be in constant motion as he scanned the tree line behind them.
Evelyn forced her gaze away from him. He hadn’t spoken a word to her since leaving the large encampment of trappers and Indians behind at the site of the rendezvous early in the day. Her stomach grumbled loudly, and she rubbed at her sore back. She’d become accustomed to riding horseback over the long weeks of traveling with Laurent and the other river pirates, but the endless hours in the saddle still didn’t agree with her backside. She leaned forward, and inched her left leg backward, intent on pulling it over the horse’s back to dismount. Luckily, she still wore Henry’s britches. A skirt would be much too cumbersome.
Her boot heel caught in the blanket tied to the back of the saddle, and Evelyn ground her teeth, determined to get off the horse’s back. Her leg muscles tightened, refusing to cooperate while she tried to free her foot from the blanket. Suddenly, strong hands clamped around her waist and hauled her from the saddle. Her backside collided against Alex’s solid thighs just before he set her feet on the ground. Evelyn whirled around on her heels, grabbing hold of his arms for support while she fought to regain her balance.
