moving above her, pressing, feeling, reacting to her slightest actions.
For a moment, she thought wildly of fighting. But the warm paradise he offered was too great to resist. As she relaxed beneath him, his hold lessened, but not his touch. His fingers seemed starved for the feel of her as he tugged against her clothing.
The kiss continued. She moved with pleasure and felt his body react to each of her shifts. At first, she thought he was controlling her, holding her, but when she pressed against him, she knew the control was hers, not his.
Her arms slid around his neck as her longing to be close met his. She held on tightly as his fingers slowly moved along her back and over her hips. He was erasing all the loneliness she’d silently borne with the years of no one holding her. He was soothing the little girl in her who wanted to be held and drawing out the woman with the warming passion of each stroke.
He broke the kiss and rolled onto his back, pulling her with him. He took deep breaths, holding her to him tightly as though she might evaporate like an image in a cloud. Then, he cupped her face and kissed her so tenderly a tear formed in her eye.
“Do you have any idea what we are doing?” he asked in a voice so low she barely heard him.
“No,” she answered honestly. She’d listened to a few of the rough stories the men had bragged about when they’d told of mounting women. None were anything like this. They’d laughed of riding women until they made them scream and of taking all they wanted. They’d never talked of kissing, or holding, or of feeling a heart beat against their own. Whatever they’d done couldn’t be the same as this.
“What am I doing?” she whispered as her hand moved beneath his shirt to touch flesh.
His sharp intake of breath told her of his reaction. He kissed her as his hands grew bolder along her body. The material couldn’t bar the warmth of his touch.
Finally, he rolled her gently to her side but didn’t move away. She could see his outline in the darkness. She could feel the warmth of him only an inch away, hear the long intakes of his breath, taste the remains of his kiss on her lips.
“Dear God, Nick, you’re making it difficult.” He combed her hair away from her face with his fingers. “You can’t imagine how deeply I want you.”
Nichole was growing confused. She wasn’t sure how to answer the question. If she said yes did it mean she understood what he was talking about? If she said no, would he think her a fool? She knew of fighting, and riding, and of weapons. She knew nothing of this, except that he felt good by her side and his hands made her feel alive all over.
“I know I want you to kiss me again,” she whispered. “I’m not a child, Adam.”
He kissed her cheek, then seemed unable to resist moving lower to her throat. His words fanned her skin. “You’re not a woman. You’ve never had a chance to be. It would be unfair of me to-”
She rolled toward him, moving against his side, letting him know she was all female.
Adam took the advance fully, without retreat. She felt his body jerk slightly as her body met his. Without a word, she raised her mouth and silenced any protest. For a second, he hesitated, then accepted her gift.
She wanted him to understand just how fully a woman she was and he’d taken the lesson without complaint.
Dawn crept across the room from the open window as Nichole felt Adam touching her as no one had ever dared. His fingers moved over her clothes as though no material separated them. She was a part of him and he needed to explore. He wanted to know every inch of her.
When she broke the kiss and leaned back her head to breathe, he tasted her neck while his hands cupped her breasts. The fabric did little to mask his bold touch or the heat he stirred with his gentle grip. He closed his fingers around the fullness of her breasts and lowered his mouth to hers. When her lips parted in the sudden wave of pleasure and surprise overwhelming her, his kiss deepened and his grip tightened slightly sending pure delight through her.
Several thuds registered before Nichole’s trained senses realized someone was coming up the stairs. The heavy footfalls could belong to only one man.
“Wolf!” she whispered as she shoved away from Adam.
Adam raised his head to listen, then reacted as if she’d yelled fire at the top of her voice. He rolled from the bed and began buttoning his shirt.
“What is it?” she asked as he dressed. “What do we do?”
“Wolf’s going to kill me!” he answered. “And I don’t blame him.”
“Nonsense.” Nichole almost laughed. “Why would he kill you?” Adam wasn’t making sense. Wolf wouldn’t kill him for kissing her. She’d done that before.
“For what I was thinking of doing.” Adam moved to the window. “For what I was about to do,” he whispered as she followed him. “For what I was doing.” He straddled the sill. “All seem just cause for murder.”
“Nick!” Wolf called from the landing. “Which room you in?”
Adam leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Trust me. If he catches me in here, I’m a dead man.”
Without another word, Adam slipped out the window. A shingle clattered to the porch below as he moved away.
“Nick!” Wolf bellowed as he opened the door.
She took a step and lifted her gun belt from the post. “I’m almost ready,” she mumbled, hoping she sounded sleepy.
“We’re burning daylight.” He glanced around the little room. “Don’t get lazy just because you got to sleep in a bed last night.”
“I’m ready.” Nichole left the room ahead of him praying her face would have time to cool before he got a good look at her.
Adam followed the shingle to the porch, dropping within inches of where Wes sat rolling a cigarette.
Wes jerked, spilling the tobacco across his legs and dumped the pack of papers in the mud. “Damn!” he swore.
Adam straightened and tried to act calm. “Sorry. I didn’t know you were there.”
Wes dusted the tobacco from his pants. “I didn’t realize I was standing in a damned crossroads.” He met his brother’s stare.
Adam was too old to explain anything. “You’re up early,” he said, trying to sound casual and knowing he was making no sense.
“You’re dropping down a little early yourself, Doc.”
“Nichole’s leaving.” Adam tucked his shirt in. “I wanted to say good-bye.” He thought about how he’d been saying hello only a minute ago.
“I know. I helped Wolf saddle their horses.” Wes shoved the bag of tobacco back in his shirt pocket. “Been thinking of giving up smoking anyway.”
As he spoke, Wolf and Nichole tiptoed out of the house.
“Babes are sleeping!” Wolf yelled in what he thought was a whisper. “Daniel’s passed out on his bed.” He glanced at Wes. “You’ll say good-bye to them for us?”
Wes nodded.
Wolf turned to Adam. “And thanks, Doc, for saving my Nick’s life. I was sorry I couldn’t find you to kill you that day, but now I’m glad I didn’t. Like Nick said, you’re a fine man even if you did somehow end up on the wrong side.”
Adam didn’t know what to say. He felt sure Wolf would never utter such a thing if he knew that only a few heartbeats ago Adam had been holding Nichole’s breast in his hand.
They moved toward the horses. Wes talked with Wolf, giving him a few directions that would make the way back faster.
Adam had a moment alone with Nichole. He moved behind her and placed his hands around her waist to help her up.
“I don’t need any help.” She laughed.
“I know,” he whispered without removing his hands. “Do you have to go so soon?” His pride wouldn’t allow him to say more.
“We’ve got trouble back home, and I need to stand with Wolf and the others.” She had her duty and they both
