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“I love you Evelyn. God help me, but I love you.” Slowly, he brought his mouth down on hers. Evie sighed when his lips made contact with hers, and she wrapped her arms around his middle and pressed up against him. Her mouth parted slightly in response to his kiss, and he slanted his lips across hers, a sudden fire igniting deep within him. Her eager response sent his mind spinning out of control. His arms trembled, and he curbed the urge to pull her closer. Instead, he eased his head back, and inhaled several deep breaths.
“I waited six years to hear you say those words to me, Alex.” Evelyn’s arms tightened around his back, and her hands reached up to grip his shoulders from behind.
“Well, Jasper, I believe we are not needed here.” Laurent’s loud voice boomed from behind him.
“Reckon not, ya crazy voyageur. Better git back’n see if that no-good greenhorn needs ya ta wipe his nose.”
Evie smiled, her eyes never wavering from Alex’s gaze. He paid no attention to his comrades’ laughter. Nothing mattered at that moment but the woman before him. An indescribable feeling of peace and calm enveloped him, and he gently coiled his arms around her waist, drawing her close. Fear of possibly losing her suddenly overshadowed everything else.
“Thank you for saving my life again,” Evie whispered, and the warmth of complete trust in her eyes as she stared wide-eyed up at him reached deep into his heart. He couldn’t recall ever having such an absolute feeling of contentment as what washed over him at this very moment. Jasper’s words from earlier in the day echoed in his mind. There ain’t nothin’ more powerful’n a woman lovin’ ya, and it’s a lucky man who can lay claim to such a woman.
Evie drew in a deep relaxed sigh, and her heart beat softly against his chest.
Alex cleared his throat and pressed his lips to her forehead. Crickets chirped and his horse snorted a short distance away, the soothing sounds adding to his feeling of peace.
“I don’t know how I ever thought I could let you go,” he whispered, his gaze locked on hers. He brought his hand up to her face, and his rough fingers caressed her soft skin. The sudden wetness on Evie’s cheek sent a jolt of dread through his heart.
“Are you hurt? Did I hurt you?” He immediately released her and took a step back, and a sinking feeling jolted his gut.
Evie reached out and grabbed hold of his arms. She laughed softly. “Alex Walker, you are an impossible man. You understand bears and beavers, but you have a lot to learn about me.” She stepped up to him, and stood on her toes. “I’m happy because I love you. Because you told me you love me.” She pressed her lips to his, and wound her arms around his neck.
Alex pulled her close again and accepted her invitation. His hands slid up and down her back, loving the feel of her soft feminine body pressed up against him. It still seemed unreal that she cared for him, loved him. He kissed her long and slow, his lips trailing along her jaw and down her neck. Her soft moans would surely drive him mad. She’d told him adamantly that she would not share his bed after he informed her that she was his wife, and her fearful reaction to him when he came to her blankets the previous night begged for caution. With great difficulty, Alex eased his head back. Her reaction communicated the opposite of what she’d said.
Evie was right, though. He did know how to read the signs of the animals and the Injuns better than he understood her. He needed to tread lightly and learn her language. Daniel Osborne had told him once that in order to survive in the wilderness a man had to understand her first. The same had to be true with a woman. He suddenly wished he had his mentor nearby to ask for advice. A fierce desire to learn all he could about the woman in his arms took hold in him.
He inhaled a deep breath, hoping his racing heart would slow. He couldn’t get enough of simply holding her close to him. How could a man hurt something as precious as what he held in his arms? He shook off the vision of his father’s face. Laurent had been right all along. He was not like his father. He would be different. He had to believe that. An intense love for the woman in his embrace began to slowly burn away the fears and doubts that had haunted him all his life.
“Alex?” Evelyn’s softly spoken question pulled him from his thoughts. He smiled, not sure how much she could see in the darkness that had finally swallowed them up.
“Time to head back to camp, or Laurent might believe the Blackfeet came back.” Reluctantly, he unwrapped his arms from around her.
“That was either the bravest or the most foolish thing I’ve ever seen, even coming from you,” Evie said lightly. Alex noted the laughter in her voice.
