Microsoft Word - OneGoodWoman

by test

  His hips stopped their movement, and his hands held her tight against him. He groaned as if in deep pain, his head thrown back and his eyes clenched closed. Another small cascade of pleasure arrowed through her, more gentle than the first but just as lovely.

  He went limp beneath her except for his hands. He took her by her shoulders and pulled her down across his chest. His lips met hers in a kiss different than any they’d shared before.

  There was no teasing of tongues, only warm lips communicating a soft emotion of completion.

  Her throat went tight. She laid her head on his shoulder, and his arms went around her.

  It seemed a time for words, but she didn’t know what they were. His fingers traced small circles on her back beneath her shirt and relaxed her even more. Their bodies were no longer physically joined, but he had now had some part of her unclaimed before by a man. And she had some part of him that was more than his seed deep inside her. And the exchange of pieces of themselves had occurred without fear.

  “I didn’t know it could be done that way,” she said against his warm skin.

  His chest shook with quiet laughter. “After that, I’m not sure it should be done any other way.”

  She smiled back though he couldn’t see it. He reached out with one hand and flipped her blanket over them. He eased her to his side but kept her in his arms. She wanted to think about it, the pleasure and the physical means through which she’d found it. She wanted to ask him if it was always so between men and women. No wonder Juston and Katerina were so happy together. But the warmth of his body and the limpness of her satiated body would not be denied.

  She dreamed of him.

  ONE GOOD WOMAN SUSAN KELLEY 58

  Chapter Ten

  Brady took the water bag to the creek to fill it before Cara woke. The sun already threw a blinding glare across the restless sea. He stared at the frothing whitecaps. Was this a particularly rough stretch of beach or were the waves more murderous than usual?

  The tree line grew within a few hundred steps of the sea here. They could use another sea shell to cook in as their first one was becoming thin and brittle with repeated heating.

  He turned from watching the sea and headed back toward camp. They should make the decision together. It was a risk to make tracks in the sand only a long day’s distance from the Savages’ home. She would be happy he’d waited to speak with her and making her happy was paramount in his thoughts.

  Smiling to himself, he soundlessly whistled a tune. His quiet stealthy movement through the trees paid off. A large game bird, a strange unknown species, pecked at the leaf litter only twenty steps away. He didn’t know what is was called, but its breast was full for so early in the spring. It would make a feast.

  He slipped the leather thong from the trigger of his gun, and with even more care, slid the gun free. The small weapon was quite accurate at short distances, but it took a skilled shot to hit it where the best meat wouldn’t be ruined. The fowl looked like it had layers of fat they could use to flavor and fry some of the grain. His mouth watered at the thought.

  Some wild instinct warned the bird as he leveled the gun. It unfurled its wings and took flight. His shot took it at the base of its neck. It dropped awkwardly into a small stand of green bushes. He crawled through the wiry growth and pulled it out. It twitched still, a few nerves that didn’t yet know it was dead.

  He cleaned it while standing in the middle of the bush. Cara was going to be thrilled.

  The bushes tugged at his clothing as he fought his way out to the open area under the bigger trees. He used his knife to cut a sturdy limb to use for hanging the bird over the fire. It would take most of the day to cook it, but what a meal it would be.

  He reloaded his gun from the spares he carried in a small sack on his gun belt and started back to camp again. The last day may have been the best of his entire life and now here he was bringing a meal home for his woman. Only the day before he’d been walking this same path and wondering how he could repair his fragile relationship with Cara. But nature had taken over and brought them together when they were both too wary to try.

  Even in his euphoric mood, he heard the quiet snap of a twig in front of him. He ducked behind a tree and set down the game bird. Another footfall, closer this time. He drew his knife.

  His small gun was unlikely to stop a fully, grown, Savage male with one shot, and engaging one with a knife was not something he wanted to do.

  Whatever approached was careful. It came slowly nearer, the only noise a slight scuffling of its feet. Soon it would see him despite the size of the tree he hid behind. He drew his sword and sprang into the open.

  Cara’s sword pointed the width of a hand from the center of his chest. The blade stayed steady and lethal. He lifted his stare from it to hers, and found her glare sharper than her weapon.

  ONE GOOD WOMAN SUSAN KELLEY 59

  “Cara.” Maybe she hadn’t thought last night so wonderful after all. Perhaps the light of day had given her a different perspective.

  “Did you fire your gun?”

  “Yes, I …. ”

  “Were you under attack and about to be killed?”

  “No, I …. ”

  “Was it your intention to call an attack of Savages down upon us?”

  “There’s no sign they come this far from their village and I’m sure we’re far enough away that they wouldn’t have heard it, but I …. ”

  “Then was your intention to scare me halfway to death? Was your intention to make me worry? Send me running to your rescue?”

  “Were you worried about me?”

  “Hell, yes. How can I climb back up to camp by myself? Who’s going to catch those creepy sea bugs? I’d starve before I’d chase down the little bastards.”

  He tried a charming smile, but her expression didn’t ease. Backing up two steps, he reached behind the tree and retrieved dinner.

  Her hard gaze flicked to the bird. “You risked our lives to shoot a chicken?”

  “A chicken? Look at it. We’re going to eat like we’re in town tonight.”

  “Is your stomach all you think about? You go in that killer sea to hunt crabs, you sneak into a Savage village to steal nuts, and now this.”

  He moved forward cautiously and pushed her blade aside. She resisted only for a moment. He moved close enough to lean down and kiss her, slow and deep. She lifted her free hand to touch his cheek.

  He lifted his head and tried the charming smile again. “My stomach isn’t all I think about. I’m not thinking about it at all right now.”

  A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I noticed you didn’t drop that chicken though.”

  He laughed and turned her back toward the camp. She sheathed her sword and found his hand with hers. And that was better than roast chicken.

  * * * *

  They had nothing to do all day but keep their small fire burning beneath the spitted fowl.

  And make love.

  Brady let her take the lead as he had the night before. When she straddled his hips and took him into her body, he couldn’t find the patience of the previous night. She welcomed his thrusts with her strong, slim body, and her eagerness sent him quickly over the edge. Later they cuddled side by side and discovered a new way to please each other with a slow gentle joining.

  Her small breasts rubbed delightfully on his bare chest while he held her leg over his hip. Her orgasm took them both by surprise and then pulled him into mindlessness with her.

  He held her until she drifted into a light doze. Easing his arm from around her, he drew a blanket over her nudity before it tempted him into waking her. He dressed slowly and speculated on the past few hours. He thought he understood what he did wrong the first time they’d tried to make love. Her nightmares would not allow a man to climb on top of her. It made her too vulnerable. He would gladly give up the top position for the rest of his life to be with her. Hell and damnation! He loved the difficult woman.

  Loved her for a
ll her emotional scars, for the stubborn courage and pride that kept her going and even for the prickly temper that had kept him at arm’s length until now. The accident ONE GOOD WOMAN SUSAN KELLEY 60

  at the bridge had been a blessing. Cara might never have come to trust him or let him close if they hadn’t been stranded here alone.

  Alone except for the Savages. Though it was only late spring, they had to start thinking about surviving the winter here. They might not be able to get out. Ever. But he wouldn’t accept that until he had another look at the river. The spring floods might be over and the summer would get even drier. Perhaps they could swim it now, but Cara admitted to being unskilled in the water. A raft then. Even two or three large logs fixed together might do it.

  They could make a paddle, find some vines to tie the trees together and put in near the falls.

  They would have nearly half a mile to work diagonally before floating into the chaos where the river met the sea. If they were still unable to find a way up the mountain after they crossed, at least they would be further south where the winter should be milder.

  He turned the bird and added another small piece of wood to the fire. The flames danced and ducked away from the brisk breeze blowing off the sea. Though the sun shone brightly, there was a bite in the air.

  He turned the fowl and mused further on their trip south. They would have to avoid the Savage female hiding in the cave. It would not do to have her know they were about. She probably fled from the abusive males in her village, but she might return. He didn’t want her taking a tale of strangers back to the aggressive males. How did the female expect to survive the winter? It was no worry of theirs, but the baby looked newborn. Still, Savages were adept at surviving in the wild so the mother probably knew what she was about.

  A swift cloud scuttled across the sun and chased shadows across their roost. He looked up and saw a numerous patches of ugly, gray clouds speckling the blue. He stood and looked out to sea. Again he wondered if there were more whitecaps bursting into fountains of spray in the blue waters.

  “Smells good.” Cara sat up and covered herself with the blanket. “I might be able to eat the whole thing by myself.”

  As he could eat her up. Would she let him? He had yet to give her intimate attention with his mouth and tongue. His damned tireless cock lifted to applaud the thought. “Let’s eat then. I’m pretty sure it’s done.”

  They talked of simple things while they plucked the bird of all its parts. They joked about their favorite foods, the value of various weapons and the quality of the Realm horses versus Solonian horses. She chastised him for his lousy aim in taking the bird down.

  Carefully selecting his words so it wouldn’t sound as if he were making plans without consulting her, he explained why he thought they should retrace their steps to the falls. “If it looks like we can’t cross the river, we can sneak around the Savages and explore further north while the summer lasts.”

  “Maybe we should stay here for the winter if we can’t cross. We already know where the local Savage population is.”

  He shook his head. “The only shelter we saw was that cave where the female Savage was. We’ll freeze in the open this winter, and we don’t have the tools to knock down trees and build one.”

  “We could put her out,” Cara said. She stared toward the sea with a faraway look in her eyes.

  “You don’t mean that,” he said quietly. “She has a little one, an innocent.”

  She swung her gaze back to him, her dark eyes going hard. “The females are nearly as cruel and harsh as the males. I received many beatings from them.”

  ONE GOOD WOMAN SUSAN KELLEY 61

  He made no more argument. If it came to it, he didn’t believe she would purposely bring death to a baby even if it was a Savage. He could not have fallen in love with a woman who would be so unfeeling.

  “Let’s rest here one more night and then be away.” He pulled the bones apart and put them in the cooking shell. After covering them with water, he set the shell close to the fire. It would make a tasty broth by morning and give them more needed nutrition.

  Cara straightened the blankets, fixing them to be shared and not separate beds. The sun still sparkled on the sea, but here against the cliff shadows already covered the entire shelf. They would have to take more care and stand watch when they camped in the woodland below so he intended to make the most of this night here in safety.

  He sat on the ground to pull his boots off when an odd sound drifted up from below. He gestured to Cara, and she froze beside the blankets. Neither of them moved, he didn’t even breathe, then the sound came again. It wasn’t the wind.

  He pulled his gun and crouched down. Cara joined him in gliding toward the edge of their camp. They both dropped to their bellies and crawled the last short distance.

  The shadows were even darker below them. Again the noise. It sounded like a sob.

  Soon they heard shuffling and more whimpering as if a wounded animal struggled toward them from the north. It was dark enough that they couldn’t see her until she was almost beneath them. It was the pregnant Savage they’d seen in the village.

  Her face looked swollen and bruised though the light made it difficult to be sure. She walked with jerky steps as if one of her legs pained her. Every other step was punctuated with a sob. She paused right beneath them and dropped the large sack she carried over her shoulder. A grunt of another kind of pain burst from her lips. She bent over and vomited on the ground.

  After she stopped heaving, she rubbed at her back and panted in short, shallow gulps.

  The Savage wiped at her eyes and looked back over her shoulder. After staring for a long moment, she retrieved her pack and started walking again. A few steps later she cried out again and doubled over.

  Was she in labor? And right beneath their hiding place? The Savage whimpered and then returned to her shuffling steps and disappeared among the trees.

  “She’s expecting someone to be following her,” Cara whispered.

  “Yeah, and we’re going to end up caught in between them.” Brady crawled back from the edge and stood up. “Let’s go. We’ll try to get around her and out of their way.”

  Cara rolled the blankets while he dumped the simmering broth. He hated to waste it but they couldn’t get trapped up here. The Savages could easily clamor up to their hiding place.

  They were on their way in moments. Their tidy little plans were all askew now and their night of romance was ended before it started. They glided quietly behind the Savage. She traveled quickly despite her discomfort and frequent stops when pain overtook her. Her village wouldn’t have any trouble following her. And them, but there was nothing for it.

  Cara looked tense and alert when he caught glimpses of her expression in scattered patches of moonlight. Her sword was loose in her hand. He could only hope that if they had to fight the Savages, the battle would not bring back all her nightmares. The hell if he would let her ghosts get in the way of his love life. They couldn’t go back now and he didn’t want her remembering why she hadn’t trusted him before. Damned Savages.

  ONE GOOD WOMAN SUSAN KELLEY 62

  Chapter Eleven

  Despite the cool, stiff breeze blowing in off the sea, sweat beaded on Cara’s upper lip and trickled down between her shoulder blades. Seeing the face of the badly beaten female had raised unwanted memories.

  No matter how she wished it away, she couldn’t forget how it felt to have her eyes swollen closed, her lip split and her jaw so sore she couldn’t open her mouth far enough to drink.

  The female Savage dragged one leg and whimpered with each step. Each pathetic cry reminded Cara of the kicks and punches she’d thought had broken bones but only left her horribly bruised. The pregnant Savage looked terrified and broken. Broken in spirit and robbed of all hope that her misery would ever end.

  Cara didn’t want to feel sympathy for the Savage. The female was one of them, one of that race of monsters.

  Brady paused every
fifty steps or so and let the female move ahead while they lingered behind and listened for anything tracking them. That, not the female in front of them, was the source of Cara’s distress. The males would come after this one.

  She knew the Savages were not prolific in their reproduction. Young ones were usually treated better than their mothers by the males. The female youngsters were especially important to a tribe. During her captivity, she’d seen large, full-grown males mating with young females barely entered into puberty. Once old enough to carry a child, the females became nearly slaves and any kind treatment ended for them. She’d seen pregnant Savages who looked only half-grown. And now the foul beasts that would do such a thing would be on their trail.

  Cara knew she was a good fighter, and Brady was one of the best she’d ever seen.

  Despite his usually cheerful outlook, he was merciless and lethal in battle. But there were still only the two of them. They had no clear idea of how many Savages lived in that village but there could be dozens of them. This narrow band of trees between the beach and the cliff allowed little room to hide. They could only go forward and had not yet found a good spot to pass the female without her spotting them. Any attempt when the band of trees was so narrow might lead them out into the sands where their passing would be easily noticed. Even here they might be leaving tracks or scent for the beasts to follow.