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He’d not been with but a few women. There weren’t many to pick from in Willow Creek unless you were willing to pay for her time and the thoughts of bedding a woman half the town had already been with didn’t appeal to him much. Even though he’d spent more than he’d like to admit for companionship, none of those interactions had been anything like this.
Morning Dove’s kisses were soft and sweet and the scent of her skin left him dazed. Her breathy sighs and feather light touches branded him to the point he knew he’d never look at another woman the way he did her. She was everything he wanted. Everything he needed in his life.
They undressed each other, taking their time to explore the skin they exposed. Ben laid her back on the bedroll and kissed every inch of her body, lingering over her breasts when her soft moans filled his head. By the time her legs opened to invite him in, he knew he’d do anything to keep her.
Her arms wrapped around him when he settled between her thighs. The small sounds he pulled from her were like music and as he stroked slow and deep, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her as she lay there staring up at him.
He’d teased her about falling in love with him, but as he stared down at her, he knew he was the one falling. Probably already had, seeing he’d ridden halfway across the territory to get her back.
When she gasped his name long minutes later, her silken heat clenching around him, his body tensed, his muscles straining as a dizzying bliss clouded his mind.
They were both winded when he settled beside her, pulling her into the crook of his arm in front of their dying fire. The golden light played over her skin, painting her in shades of gold and bronze, and he brushed her hair back as she fitted her head into the space between his shoulder and chin.
He watched the moon trace across the sky. Sleep eluded him, his mind trying to wrap around the idea of keeping her. The only thing he had to do was get rid of Walter because as much as he wanted to deny it, Morning Dove was right. Walter would more than likely come for her and even though he said he’d protect her, he hated to admit he might not be able to, and that gutted him like nothing else ever had.
Morning Dove jolted awake, a scream trapped in her throat as a hand clamped down over her mouth. Ben’s face came into view a moment later.
“Don’t make a sound.” He took his hand away. “I see a fire burning down the river. I don’t know who it is, and I don’t want to wait to find out. Dress quickly. I’ll get the horses saddled.”
She climbed to her feet and grabbed her dress, slipping it on while searching for the fire Ben had seen. She saw it a few moments later. It was blazing in the darkness, and her heart started pounding as she watched the flames flickering in the dark.
Wind Chaser shook her head when she approached her. She must sense their urgency to get moving, as she looked ready to run.
Ben kicked dirt over the smoldering remains of their campfire. The embers were barely glowing, so whoever was downstream should not have seen their fire. She hoped.
They both mounted and led the horses in a slow walk so as to not alert those down river that they were there. When the campfire was a tiny speck on the horizon, Ben set a faster pace.
Her heart was in her throat as they raced away in the darkness, fear burning like acid. Ben rode beside her, Wind Chaser keeping pace with Cash, and as much as she wanted to ask him how long the others had been there, and how he had seen them, she kept the questions to herself.
They rode until the sun came up, fatigue causing her to slump in the saddle. She did not know how long they had ridden, but it had to have been hours.
Her stomach growled, her bottom sore from sitting for so long, and Ben did not look as if he was going to stop anytime soon.
The area they were in was filled with small inclines and hills, the mountain she could see ahead of them tall. She was not sure if they would have to cross it or not, but if so, maybe they could lose Walter in the trees.
She knew that was who Ben saw. As much as he told her not to worry about Walter coming after her, she knew he would. Walter was mean and hateful and did not like being told what to do or having things taken from him and her running the first time was insulting enough. Her running away twice would have him furious.
The sun was high in the sky when her surroundings started to look familiar. They had left the banks of the river earlier, but the creek they followed now was wide, the rocks making up the side of the mountain stretching into the sky.
Darkened trees from an old forest fire looked to run for miles, and her heart raced when she saw them. “Ben, I think I know where we are.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded. “When Aaron and I left Silver Falls and got stuck in that snow storm, we found an abandoned hunting cabin. It was close to a large patch of burnt trees. We spent most of the winter trapped there.”
“Think you can find it?”
“Yes.”
He looked toward the sky. It was still many hours until dark, but they had ridden half the night and all morning long. She was tired and hungry and when he nodded his head and said, “Lead the way,” she wanted to cry in relief.
She clicked her tongue and nudged Wind Chaser to run faster, then led them deeper into the trees. The burnt remains of the forest no longer smelled of smoke as it had when she and Aaron were there. Nothing stirred here, the plants that would normally cover the ground all dead and withered, crunching under the horse’s hooves.
They rode for nearly a mile before the blackened trees turned green again, the spindly limbs giving way to lush greenery and the scent of moss filled the air. The tiny cabin came into view not long after.
She smiled while looking at it. It still stood, the door shut tight as they had left it. “It is not much, but the roof is sound.”
Her bones creaked when she climbed down from Wind Chaser’s saddle. Ben headed for the small cabin, his hand on the revolver strapped to his hip.
