The Innocent And The Outlaw

Nodding in agreement, Cas said, “Go to the cavern. We’ll find her farm, get the word out that we have her and meet you there.”

Cas took one more look into the darkened clearing around the shack and then made for his horse. Hunter holstered his gun, intending to collect the saddlebags.

There was another shot, this time much further away in the direction Zane had ridden chasing O’Brien. He looked up to make sure there were no riders coming toward them and saw that her face was pale. “You okay?”

She nodded, a jerking motion that she tried to disguise by turning her face to the fire, making him think she wasn’t.

Pausing in the act of repacking, he gripped his hands into fists to keep from reaching out to her. “Do you know him?”

“O’Brien? No, I mean, the name is familiar.”

At that, he rose to his feet and walked the few steps to stand beside her. Before he could stop himself, he was touching her shoulder. “This isn’t me interrogating you. I just want to make sure you’re okay.” To his surprise, she didn’t flinch away from him and her eyes were wide with fear when she looked up at him, making his gut tighten with something he couldn’t risk identifying.

“Ship only just met him a few months ago. I don’t really know him.”

“I don’t like that you had to be pulled into this.” He wanted to tell her that he wouldn’t allow Cas to hurt her, that everything would be fine, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t say a damn thing to reassure her until she told them everything she knew. Yet, even knowing that, he couldn’t stop himself. Before he quite realized what he meant to do, he was lifting her chin up just a fraction higher so that she looked him in the eyes again. “Campbell took someone very important to us.” The flair of surprise in her eyes confirmed what he had already suspected—that she knew nothing about what her stepfather had done. “I believe that you had nothing to do with it, but you will be with us until we can get him back.”

Her heavy eyelids sank closed as she realized exactly what he was saying. In the flickering light of the fire, he could faintly see the blue veins beneath the pale and delicate skin, only emphasized by the fan of her incredibly long lashes. Dark smudges of color marred the skin beneath her eyes, fatigue making her appear only that much more delicate, but strong at the same time, he conceded when she opened her eyes again to stare up into his. The spark, the fight, was there just as strongly as it had been before. He wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to fight him. There were so many other more enjoyable ways they could spend their time.

Hell, all he really wanted to do at that moment was kiss her. He wanted to pierce the heat of her mouth with his tongue and taste her. He wanted to pull her tiny body against his and feel her melt into him as her resistance faded and hunger took over. Only the realization that he was on the brink of closing the short distance between them and taking her mouth made him rein in his thoughts, but he still couldn’t stop touching her. His thumb traced along the line where her alabaster skin met her red bottom lip, smudging the rouge a bit, touching her without crossing that ever-changing line in his head. He imagined the blunt tip slipping into the wet heat of her mouth to press against the rough silk of her tongue.

“And what if something bad happens...what if you don’t get that person back?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“Do you think that will happen? Would Campbell risk you like that?” She flinched, jerking her chin from his grasp and making him feel like an ass for asking the question. She was worth so much more than Campbell’s petty vengeance. Hardy had been a consummate drunk and an incompetent bank robber who had almost been strung up twice before. He’d wanted to make a name for himself by taking out one of them and Cas had responded in the only way he could. By drawing faster. It wasn’t fair that she would pay for that.

“Let’s get out of here while we can. Put your boots on.” He grabbed the bedroll and saddlebags and went out to tie them to his horse. Once they were secure, he went back inside and used his boot to scatter the small fire until it went out and then turned down the lantern. She had put on her boots and looked ready to bolt, so he took her arm and led her to the horse. Grabbing her waist, he lifted her up and then mounted behind her before taking one last look around. There were no signs of any other men, but he wouldn’t rest easy until they were miles away.

He took a moment to put on his gloves before pulling her into the cradle of his thighs and picking up the reins. “Tell me your name.” He didn’t think he imagined the slight jump she gave at his question, but when she answered her voice was as firm as before.

“Tell me your name,” she challenged, turning her head just a bit to catch a glimpse of him.

This was the girl he liked. He liked her bristly and challenging so that he could break down her defenses as he had earlier. He liked how she had become almost supple in his hands. He liked teasing her.

Dammit, he liked her.

Fighting a smile, he inclined his head in graceful defeat. “All right... Emmy...we can do it your way.” He pressed his knees to the black, nudging the horse forward to take a path along the creek. It’d be the best way to hide their tracks.

“No, tell me your name. What am I to call you? It seems like we’ll be spending a lot of time together.”

“Will we? Is that because you just gave us the wrong directions to your farm?”

But she was quick and didn’t rise to that particular challenge. “It’s because Ship isn’t at my farm. I told you I don’t know where he is and until you believe me—which I don’t see happening—we’ll be spending a lot of time together.”

A vivid image of all the many ways he wanted to spend time with her came to mind, but he pushed it aside and cleared his throat. “My brothers will be back tomorrow and we’ll see. If you’ve been truthful then you have nothing to worry about.”

But she wasn’t being truthful and he could sense the guilt on her as she quickly turned her head away. She was a terrible liar. He didn’t know if he should be pleased or worried for her. It seemed to him that anyone associated with Campbell and his men would need to be proficient at lying if nothing else. Their survival would depend on it. It occurred to him then to wonder what her life with her stepfather was like. Was he cruel to her? Did his men treat her harshly?

His gaze wandered down her pretty profile, the light from the half-moon making her skin alabaster, before moving further down and noting the softness of her breasts, the trim line of her waist and the flare of her hips pressed against his thighs. She was pretty in a silent way that drew him in the more he noticed her. Had she had that same effect on one of those men? Did she belong to one of them? The thought was distasteful, but he had to acknowledge that it was probably true. One of them would have laid claim to her. And, damn his baser impulses, the fact that she had known a man’s touch made her seem a little less out of reach, a little bit less of an innocent whom he’d be debauching.

Needing a distraction, he reached behind him to dig out some of the dried beef in his saddlebags. “Here.” She eyed him warily and he couldn’t stop the slight upturn of his mouth. “Take it.” Shoving it into her hand, he grabbed another piece for himself. “Eat it, sweetheart. We won’t get more than a couple hours’ sleep if we’re lucky and you’ll need your strength for tomorrow.”

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