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Evie rested her head in the crook of his arm and sighed. His heart nearly burst with love for her; with the knowledge that she felt safe with him. Alex ran his fingers through her damp hair, the tension that he’d lived with for so many years slowly melting away in the arms of the woman who had become his entire world. The thought of ever losing her was unthinkable. They lay together in silence, and watched the sun rise over the tallest of the Teton peaks. A golden glow spread along the mountains to match the glow in his heart.
Chapter 17
Evelyn stirred awake, and her eyelids fluttered open. A soft smile spread across her lips and she arched her back in a languid stretch, moaning softly. Warm and relaxed, her bare leg draped over Alex’s hard thigh.
“Mornin’,” he murmured, and leaned over her. His calloused hand ran along her neck and behind her head, just before his mouth covered hers. Her body ignited instantly as ripples of desire spread through her. She wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck and welcomed him to her.
For the last week, this was how her days started and ended, and she had never been happier. Alex doted on her almost to the point that she had to tell him to find something else to do besides hover over her. It didn’t matter if Laurent, Yancey, or a small gathering of Indians stood nearby. At every opportunity throughout the day, he’d find a reason to be near her and touch her. He’d often pull her into his arms and kiss her to the point that she wished for night to come quickly.
Work had begun on their cabin. Alex cleared an area a short distance from the lake where they had first consummated their marriage, and used the lodgepoles he felled to build the framework of their home. He constantly asked for her opinion and input on matters such as where the door should go, or the window, the hearth, and the bedroom. Rather than a simple one-room trapper cabin, he planned to build a two-room home for her, even after she insisted she didn’t need such an elaborate dwelling. He’d used her protests as an excuse to pull her into the bushes, and by the time they re-emerged, she was willing to tell him anything he wanted to hear.
Lying in his arms now, Evelyn listened to the sound of the slight breeze that flapped against the deerskin covering of the tent Alex had erected at the edge of the Indian camp. Until their cabin was finished, this would be their home. Outside, horses whinnied and people’s voices drifted in. A thin ribbon of bright light streamed down through the small opening at the top of the conical structure, a sure indication that a new day was well underway.
Evelyn had little trouble blocking out the noise. Her entire focus centered on the man in her arms, making love to her with such tender devotion that it took her breath away. She trailed kisses along his shoulder and chest, her fingers tracing the outline of the fresh scar from the bullet he received at the hand of Charlie Richardson.
“He could have killed you,” Evelyn whispered against his neck. Alex rolled to the side and wrapped his arms around her.
“Who?” His forehead wrinkled. He caressed her shoulder, his hand traveling slowly along the contours of her body and over the curve of her hips with practiced familiarity.
“Charlie,” Evelyn clarified, and kissed the scar.
Alex scoffed. “I’ll deal with him next spring when we return to St. Charles.”
Evelyn’s head shot up to look up at him. “What are you planning to do?”
A wide grin formed on Alex’s face. “I’m going to marry you in a church, for starters.”
Evelyn’s pulse quickened. Startled, she shook her head. “I don’t need a church wedding to feel married to you, Alex. I don’t want you getting in trouble with the law. Everyone in St. Charles thinks you killed my parents. If you’re recognized, they’ll hang you. They won’t ask questions.”
“Your folks were always good to me, Evie. Your ma bandaged me up every time I stopped by with some new injury, and remember how they let me stay for days at a time when I didn’t want to go home?” Alex’s face sobered, and his jaw clenched. “I won’t stand by and allow their murder to go unpunished.” His body tensed, and he drew her more firmly to him.
Evelyn clasped his face between her hands. She studied the pained expression in his eyes. “I never realized how hard it was for you, growing up. I know that he . . . hit you and your mother, and everyone always turned a blind eye.”
Alex’s gaze roamed her face. His blue eyes, which had smoldered with passion a moment ago, were now iced over in anger. “I wish the old bastard were still alive, so I could kill him myself for what he did to my mother,” he said, his voice taking on a menacing tone.
