She moved her hands over his shoulders, loving the feel of him above her, loving the way he made her feel all warm and protected and afire.
The pleasure she brought him was doubled when he felt her passion explode. She held tightly to him and whispered his name as he brought her back down to earth.
Then, without a word, they cuddled in each other’s arms and fell asleep.
• • •
Kora awoke to the night sky. Something Jamie said had haunted her dreams. Jamie had made the point that Winter never went back on his word. He’d never said he loved her. He’d never told her to stay forever. But he had told her he wouldn’t try and stop her if she wanted to leave. He had said he wanted her gone when the six months was up. He had told her over and over that he’d never love any woman. But he called her his wife. He’d given her a ring.
She dressed and tiptoed down to Jamie’s room. ‘‘ Jamie?’’ she whispered as she opened the door. ‘‘Are you asleep?’’
Jamie stretched and sat up in bed. ‘‘Why would I be doing a fool thing like that?’’
‘‘I have to talk to you.’’
Jamie moved over. ‘‘All right. I’ve been waiting all my life for you to come to me for advice. I’m a sage, you know.’’
Kora smiled. ‘‘All right, tell me what to do.’’
Jamie rubbed her eyes. ‘‘Shoot.’’
‘‘I love Win, but I’m not even sure if he’d follow me if I left here.’’
Jamie didn’t waste any time thinking. ‘‘Then let’s leave and see.’’
‘‘What!’’
‘‘Trust me, Sis.’’ Jamie jumped out of bed with a loud thud. ‘‘Go up and get your coat and I’ll get the wagon. We’ll take Dan for a ride.’’
Kora thought this was probably the dumbest idea she’d ever heard, but maybe Jamie was right for once. At best, Win might miss her. At worst no one would notice them gone and they would have had a little drive in the middle of the night.
Jamie stomped into her shoes and opened her door. ‘‘Go on and pack,’’ she said too loudly. ‘‘It’s time we were moving on.’’
Kora went upstairs for her coat, wondering why Jamie was acting as if they were leaving for good. As she walked down the darkened stairway, she wondered why she was even bothering to listen to Jamie.
A chair from the study blocked her path at the opening of the foyer. Kora circled it and found Win, wearing only his jeans, sitting in the wing back chair with his feet stretched out on one of the stair’s steps.
‘‘I said I wouldn’t say a word if you decided to leave.’’
His words were cold as they drifted across the darkness to her. ‘‘But I lied.’’
‘‘If I just rode off one night,’’ Kora tested him, ‘‘you could have the house.’’
‘‘I don’t want the house. I want you to stand by our bargain.’’ He wasn’t saying the words that would make her stay, and they both knew it. ‘‘I was working in the study and couldn’t help but hear Jamie shouting you were leaving.’’
‘‘But I’m bad luck. Look at all that has happened since I’ve been here.’’
Win was silent for so long she wasn’t sure he’d say anything.
Just as she turned, he whispered, ‘‘You’re the only luck I’ve ever had.’’
‘‘Then tell me why you want me to stay, Win,’’ Kora whispered.
‘‘We had an agreement. The six months is not up yet. I need a wife.’’
Kora fought back the tears. She’d been wrong-she did need to hear words of love, but he wasn’t saying them. How could he have made love to her so completely and not voice the words?
‘‘Why else?’’ She had to give him another chance.
‘‘I’ve never felt the way I feel when I’m with you. I’ve a hunger for you that may never be filled from a lifetime of sleeping with you.’’ He was trying, but she was asking him to speak a language he’d never had the time to learn.
Kora held her breath, waiting for the words. Three words that even this strong, powerful man should be able to say. In the final hour the decision wasn’t hers, but his. She suddenly realized that if he couldn’t say he loved her, she couldn’t stay.
The door swung open and Jamie stepped through with a lantern swinging at her side. ‘‘Kora,’’ she whispered, without seeing Win sitting in the chair. ‘‘I’ve put Dan’s chair in the wagon twice, and Dan keeps taking it out.’’
‘‘Maybe he doesn’t want to go,’’ Cheyenne said, making everyone jump. He rounded the doorway with his arms folded as though he’d been on the porch for a while.
‘‘No one asked you.’’ Jamie set the lantern down on the stairs. ‘‘I’ll put the chair in again. And don’t you dare call the alarm or try to stop us.’’
‘‘If you’re leaving, I’ll be glad to help load the wagon,’’ Cheyenne offered.
Before Kora could join them, Win’s voice stopped her. ‘‘I want it back,’’ he whispered.
‘‘What?’’ she asked, saddened that he hadn’t attempted to stop her. When Jamie had suggested the wild plan, she’d never thought that she might really be leaving. She never should have tried to force Win’s hand. He wasn’t the kind of man to be pushed into saying something just because she thought she needed to hear the words.
‘‘The ring!’’ he demanded.
Kora sat on the step with the lantern and pulled the band from her finger. She placed it in her palm and held it up to him. In the end all he was worried about was the ring, not her. What difference did it make if she left now or a few months from now? She was only a temporary wife anyway.
The light reflected off the gold, sparkling the metal into a ring of tiny shooting stars. Kora stared at it, marveling at how beautiful it looked.
Something caught her eye and she turned the ring to the light. Letters were carved deep into the gold on the inside. She turned it, slowly reading the words aloud. ‘‘For Kora, my love, my life, Win.’’
Tears bubbled onto her cheeks. ‘‘Am I?’’ she whispered. ‘‘Am I your love?’’
Win stood then and knelt on the stairs beside her. ‘‘No,’’ he whispered, forcing each word out. ‘‘You’re more, much more. You’re all the beauty I’ve ever known. You’re my heart, my soul. You’re worth more than all I own or will ever have. If you leave, you’ll take the only key that can keep my heart beating.’’
Tears streamed down Kora’s face as she lifted her arms, and he pulled her against him.
‘‘Well, I’ll be!’’ Jamie squealed from the foyer. ‘‘Damned if you didn’t finally say the right thing, cowboy. I was about to think I’d have to hog-tie you and beat it into you.’’
Win held Kora tightly as he faced Jamie. ‘‘You pushed me as far as you could, didn’t you? When I heard you upstairs, I guessed why you were talking so loud. But when Kora came down those stairs, I couldn’t think of anything but that she might leave me. You planned it that way.’’
‘‘Right again, cowboy. I didn’t want my sister marrying because of some bargain. I wanted her to be loved and appreciated like she ought to be… like a smart man would appreciate me.’’
Cheyenne stood behind Jamie. ‘‘Dan’s out of the wagon again,’’ he complained. ‘‘Moved his chair back to the porch.’’
Jamie winked at Win and turned to the Indian. ‘‘Stop trying to slow me down, Cheyenne. I’m leaving.’’
‘‘Slow you down! I’m doing all I can to help you along.’’
‘‘Sure you are.’’ She followed him onto the porch, patting his bottom as they moved. ‘‘I know how you really feel about me.’’
Cheyenne took long strides away. ‘‘I can’t wait until you’re out of my life!’’
Jamie was right behind him, yelling what a liar he was and that maybe she’d decided she’d stay around a while just to prove it.
Win and Kora laughed as they heard Jamie and Cheyenne arguing all the way to the barn. Then Win turned Kora in his arms and kissed her soundly.
‘‘We’d better go back to bed, darlin’,’’ Win whispered.
Kora smiled up at him. ‘‘How far were you willing to go to make me stay?’’
‘‘As far as it takes,’’ he said as he lifted her in his arms. ‘‘Even if it means having to say I love you every day and night of my life.’’
