"No telling," he said. "The rain probably slowed 'em down some.”
“Then we still have some time? Alone?"
A slow, self-satisfied smile stretched across his features and Nora's heart thundered wildly.
"I believe we just might have," he answered.
"Then what are we waiting for?” She reached up to pull his head down to hers and when his lips closed over her mouth, Nora gave him everything she had to give.
She felt him shudder against her and knew that whatever it was between them affected him as completely as it did her. Releasing her grip on the blanket, she lifted both arms to encircle his neck. The brush of his skin on hers stoked the fires within until the flames threatened to consume her.
"You in there, boss?" a voice called from outside.
Nora broke the kiss with a gasp.
Seth stiffened as if shot, then whirled around to face the edge of the overhang. Nora tried to catch her balance and ended up hanging onto Seth's waistband, her fingers curled tightly into the denim fabric.
"Say, boss!" the voice yelled again and she recognized the intruder as Red. "Hold your fire," he called. “I'm comin' in."
Coming in?
"Oh Lord," she muttered and let go of Seth to cover her breasts with one arm and something else with the other.
"Goddammit," Seth whispered, and grabbed her arm before dragging her away from the edge back to their makeshift bed.
A scrabble of boots on rocks sounded overly loud.
No time, Nora thought frantically as she bent to snatch up her jeans.
"Tell him to wait,” she said quietly.
Seth made a grab for her shirt and tossed it at her. "If I tell him not to come in, he's gonna wonder why."
"Better for him to wonder than to find out why," she snapped and stuck one foot into a pants leg. The cold, wet denim clutched at her skin, refusing to be pulled on. She hopped awkwardly on one foot and yanked at the material.
“This is like a bad movie,” she muttered, then winced as her bare foot came down on a particularly sharp pebble. "Ow!"
"Hurry up," Seth urged her and looked around the enclosure, trying to find his discarded shirt.
"I am hurrying," she told him, then cursed the denim that still refused to cooperate. Swinging her hair back out of her eyes, she glared at him. "Can't you do something?"
Seth glared right back. "Like what?” he demanded. "Shoot him?"
"It's a thought." At last, she got the jeans pulled up high enough to try to shove her other leg in as well. Hopping backward, she braced her bare bun against the stone wall and shoved her right foot into the clammy pants. "Perfect," she said, more to herself than to him. “I'll never get these on in time and even if I do, there's still my boobs, swinging wild and free.”
Muttering viciously, Seth gave up on finding his shirt and stalked to her side. Taking a stand in front of her, he held her blouse in one tightly fisted hand and faced the entrance to the overhang. "Just do what you can as fast as you can."
"Oooh," she managed as she struggled with her jeans. "What a keen idea."
"Shit." Red complained from outside, "these rocks're so slippery a man could get killed."
"Would you?" she muttered. "Please?"
Seth tossed a look behind him. Her jeans were only halfway up her legs. That ring of hers bounced off her chest and her breasts swayed with her movements. She was right. They would never be in time. Red's last comment had come from what had to be just inches from the overhang. Any second, the kid would come strolling inside and get an eyeful of Nora.
And it wasn't just her. Seth glanced down at his own bare chest and feet and at the half-done row of buttons on his fly. Red wouldn't have to be the smartest man in Montana to know just what had been going on in here.
The way he saw it, Seth had two choices. He could let Red get a good look at Nora. Or, he could grab onto her and hide her nudity with his own. Either way, they were good and compromised.
The scrape of a boot on rock made his decision for him.
Tossing her shirt down, Seth spun around, grabbed hold of Nora, and held her pressed closely to him, deliberately keeping his back turned toward the entrance.
"What are we going to do?" she asked, her breath a warm puff of air on his chest.
"Don't have any choice now," he answered softly, just as he heard Red step into the shelter.
“What do you mean?” she asked. "What are you talking about?”
"Boss?" Red asked haltingly. "Everything all right in here?"
Seth bit back a curse that wouldn't have done any good anyway. He knew exactly what the red-headed cowboy was seeing: Seth's naked back and Nora's bare arms wrapped around his waist.
And wouldn't you know it would be the most gossipy man in the territory to find them? Once they got back to the ranch, this story would be all over Montana in a matter of days. Red was a good kid, but a bigger mouth had never been born. He had always loved to be the center of attention and telling this little tale would surely guarantee him that.
So, as he had told Nora, there was no choice left to make. "Everything's fine," Seth told the kid tightly, keeping a stranglehold on Nora. "Congratulate us, Red. We're getting married."
“What?” Nora said, outraged.
"Shee-it, boss!" Red crowed in delight. "Wait'll everybody hears about this!"
Nora lifted her right foot slightly, then slammed her bare heel down onto Seth's naked toes. He winced at the pain, but accepted it stoically as only the beginning of the penance he was expecting.
"Turn your back, Red." Nora's voice whipped into the momentary silence.
"Yes, ma'am."
As he moved, Nora pushed herself free of Seth's grip. Glaring at him the whole while, she jumped up and down, tugging at her jeans with vicious yanks until the pants were up and in place. She made short work of the copper buttons, then bent to snatch up her cold, wet shirt and drag it on.
Still holding Seth's gaze with hers, she asked, "Where are the others?"
Red glanced cautiously over one shoulder at her, then seeing she was decent again, turned around to face her. "They're 'bout two miles out. Hannah sent me on ahead to find a dry place for camp.” Two strawberry brows lifted as a small grin turned his lips. "But I reckon you two done took care of that for me.”
“You could say that,” Nora told him. “And now that you've found us, why don't you ride on back and join the others? We'll wait here."
"But, ma'am," he complained, "it's rainin' out there."
"Git," Seth muttered darkly.
"Yessir, boss," the kid said and started out the way he'd come in.
Nora sharpened her gaze on Seth, waiting for him to say something to the young cowboy. But he simply stood there, arms folded across his chest, feet planted wide apart, his expression curiously blank. Obviously, he wasn't going to open his mouth, so Nora did. "And, Red.” The kid stopped and looked at her. "Don't feel you have to tell anybody about this.”
The boy's gaze flicked from her to Seth and back again. He ducked his head in acknowledgement, then stepped out into the rain.
"What was that all about?" she demanded, whirling around to face the man who was suddenly so damned quiet.
"You telling that kid to be quiet isn't going to make it happen," he said. "Red likes nothin' better than a good story, and this time, he's got himself a beaut'."
Great. Just what she needed. To become the starring character in an 1875 soap opera. "It doesn't matter what he says. All we have to do is deny it."
He snorted a laugh, stepped to one side, and reached down for his saddlebags. Lifting the flap, he dug inside, pulled out two fresh shirts, and tossed one to her. "Put that on," he said shortly. "I'll hang that wet one up to dry."
"I have my own clothes, thanks," she snapped and hurled his shirt right back at him.
He snatched it out of the air and stalked across the few feet of space separating them. “My shirts are heavier. Warmer. You' II wear it and keep quiet."
She looked up into his furious blue eyes and held her ground. "Just hold on a minute here, mister. You can't tell me what to do. I thought we had already settled that little point."
"Oh, for God's sake, Nora," he snapped, reaching for the wet shirt she clung to so stubbornly. "You're freezing. Just wear the damned shirt."
A shiver rippled through her as if to emphasize his point.
Reluctantly, she allowed him to tug the wet shirt down her arms and then she hurriedly slipped into the warm, heavy cotton garment he gave her. She watched him as he walked to the far side of the fire and stretched her wet shirt across the rocks near the flames.
His bare back gleamed in the firelight. She saw the play of muscles beneath his deeply tanned flesh and tried not to remember how that skin had felt beneath her hands. Desire still hummed inside her, but she fought to ignore it. Damn it, she wouldn't be pushed into marriage. She wouldn't be blackmailed into a wedding with threats to her reputation.
"There's not going to be any wedding," she said, waiting for a firestorm of anger to come spitting back at her.
She didn't get it.
Instead, he simply glanced at her over his shoulder. His gaze pinned her. "Yeah, there is."
"Seth," she said, trying to keep her voice even and her anger in check, "I don't want a husband. You know that."
"It doesn't matter what you and I want. This just is."
"Bullshit."
He sighed heavily and pushed himself to his feet. Jaw tight, he stared at her for a long minute before saying, "The minute Red joins the others, he's going to tell them everything.”
"So?" All right, so it would be embarrassing. She could live with that. "They won't say anything."
"Red will." Seth walked to her side, his gaze never leaving hers.
Nora felt the power of that even blue stare and struggled to gird herself against it. But she had been falling under the spell of those eyes for centuries. Could she really expect to have much resistance to them now?
He stopped just inches from her. Her fingers itched to reach out and stroke the sculpted planes of his chest, but she didn't. Instead, her hands curled into fists at her sides.
"The minute he gets a chance, Red will be off for town. He doesn't mean any harm, but he couldn't keep a secret if you were holding a gun to his head." Sighing in resignation, Seth went on, “He'll tell a couple of folks, who will tell others, who will tell still more people. In no time at all, the whole territory will be talkin' about Nora Wilding rolling around naked in a cave with her foreman.”
"He didn't see us naked," she corrected, knowing that it didn't make a difference.
"By the time this story's blown around the countryside, he'll have seen us bare assed, swinging from tree limbs."
She frowned, but fought him anyway. "So what? Okay, so it'll get a little embarrassing for awhile. Big deal. I don't have a father who's going to come after you with a shotgun."
His features tightened at the mention of the late Jake Wilding. Lord, she had a headache that would take two bottles of aspirin just to dent.
"Don't you see, Seth, people will talk even if we get married. So why bother?”
He grabbed her upper arms and held her tight. Despite the situation, jagged spears of sensation rocketed through her. She felt the heat of them tear through her soul, warming her limbs and settling in a spot that seemed to be destined for frustration.
"Because," he said, splintering her thoughts, "once we're married, the why of it won't matter so much. Folks'll lose interest. Otherwise, your name is gonna be blacker than mud in springtime."
Nora yanked free of his grip. Anger welled up within her again and she was grateful for it. Seth's temper was palpable. It sizzled in the air around her and she knew she would need her own anger to withstand his.
She took a step backward, but he followed, closing the gap. Every step she took, he moved too, never allowing her to retreat from him.
"There is no choice here, Nora," he said through gritted teeth. “You don't marry me, you're ruined. For good.”
Damn it, she didn't want to believe him. But how could she help it? She knew these times. Her memory of other lifetimes was good enough that she realized once rumors about her "immoral" behavior spread, she was as good as out of business. No reputable dealer would be buying cattle from a known slut.
She winced inwardly at the thought, but accepted it as a truth she couldn't ignore.
Her business ruined, she would then have another seventy years to live in poverty and seclusion since no “good" woman would likely have anything to do with her.
And she wouldn't be getting any more sex out of Seth, that was for damn sure. So she'd be living the life of a slut with none of the action.
There was something else to consider, though. Nora glanced at Seth as she took another step backward. His features tight, anger simmering in his eyes, she realized that his reputation would be finished as well. No other rancher would hire a foreman known to have slept with his boss. There wasn't a cattleman in the country who would trust this man around his wife.
So, it wasn't only her life she had to think about here, it was Seth's as well. They would both be ruined if they didn't marry. But what about her life? What if by marrying Seth, she gave up her claim to those seventy years she'd been promised?
Her chest tight, she struggled to draw breath. It felt as though the stone walls were closing in on her. Entombing her. There was no escape. Even as she fell back, she knew. To live in this time, she had to play by the rules. She had wanted to live a twentieth-century lifestyle even though she was stuck in 1875. But she couldn't do it. Not if she wanted to have a rich, full life.
And she did, blast it. This time, she wanted it all. Sure, she hadn't wanted love. She glanced at Seth and felt an inward tug at her heart, despite her resistance. She wouldn't love him. She could care for him, that should be safe enough. And she could go to bed with him. She could enjoy him. Maybe have a few kids.
But the only way this too-honorable cowboy would sleep with her was if she was his wife.
Again, that sensation of claustrophobia wracked her and she took another long step.
"Dammit, Nora," he shouted, "stop backing up! I know you're not afraid of me, so stand still and let's get this settled.”
No, she wasn't afraid of him. But if she had any sense, she would be. Remember, she told herself. Remember all of those times when his temper caused your death.
"There's another thing for you to remember here, you know.”
"Jesus," she muttered. "There's more?"
"You could be pregnant."
That idea slammed into her ribcage and stole the last of her breath. She hadn't considered the possibility. But Tracy Hill's birth control pills wouldn't be working in Nora Wilding's body. Oh, man….
"Dammit, Nora." he shouted, "stop walking and talk to me!"
"Don't you holler at me. cowboy." she yelled right back. “I'll talk when I'm good and ready and not before," she added as she retreated yet another step.
"Nora!" he called, louder than before. "Stop!"
That damn temper of his, she thought. Always bossy. Always shouting. Well, he could learn here and now that she wasn't one to be pushed around.
Not this time.
She stepped backward again and brought her right foot down on… nothing. Eyes wide, she felt her balance dissolve. She'd backed right up to the edge of the enclosure without even noticing her danger.
Arms swinging in wide, uneven circles, she searched for something stable. Something to grab and hold onto. Something to save her before she died… again.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Seth leaped toward her. She saw him and instinctively reached out to him just as his strong, powerful fingers closed around her wrist. He gave one tremendous yank and brought her back from what would have been her second fall of the day.
"Damn it," he shouted, giving her a shake, then pulling her close to his chest for a spine-cracking hug. "You could have broken your neck!"
With the solid stone comfortably beneath her feet again, Nora shoved back and away from him. "Me?” she countered. "It was you forcing me backward."
"That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard," he said.
"Oh, yeah?" Great comeback, Nora. She pushed her hair out of her eyes so that she could glare at him unencumbered. "Well, listen up, cowboy. This isn't the first time you got me killed."
"What?" He jerked his head back and stared at her like her hair was on fire. "You're not dead."
"Sure, this time I got lucky."
"Nora, what in the hell are you talking about now?"
“I'm talking about that temper of yours. You always let your temper get out of control," she accused, then slapped her chest with the palm of one hand. "And I'm the one who's paid the price. Every damn time.”
He shook his head, confusion clearly overwhelming his anger. Well, he might be confused now, but she would take care of that.
She started pacing a wide, careful circle around him, cautiously keeping an eye on just where the edge of the enclosure was. "You want to marry me. Brother, I've heard that from you before."
He turned from one side to the other, trying to keep an eye on her. "This is crazy. You're not making sense, woman.”
"I'm making plenty of sense." Shaking her index finger at him, she snapped, "You've been killing me for centuries!"
He lifted one hand toward her as if he wanted to check her for a fever. She slapped it away and practically snarled at him.
"Every time," she said, pacing again, more quickly this time, her bare feet smacking out a rhythm against the stone. Holding up her right hand, she ticked off her lifetimes one by one. "First there was that huge horse of yours in 1320." She stopped dead and scowled at him. "You ran right over me like I was invisible."
He paled. All traces of color washed out of his skin and he stared at her like a man seeing a ghost. Something flickered in his eyes. Recognition? Was it possible he remembered, too?
"You were wearing white," he whispered. "In the dark. The middle of the road." Lifting one shaking hand, he wiped it across his face, as if to reassure himself that he was awake and not caught up in some weird nightmare. Then his voice came again. Haunted. Tortured. "I tried to stop. Couldn't." He looked at her strangely. "Why were you there? I told you to stay at the forest's edge."
This Time for Keeps Page 23
