Black Raven's Pride

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One

Nick Black Raven held on tightly to the reins of his mount as lightning flashed across the night sky and thunder shook the earth. Restless, the black stallion stomped at the ground, eager to get going.

“You’re getting soft, Bravo. Since when do you care about storms?”

Bravo pinned back his ears and tossed his head as if annoyed by Nick’s comment. Then, suddenly, he focused on something ahead he alone could sense, and dipped his head hard twice, hoping to loosen Nick’s hold on the reins.

“Stop that. The last time I gave you your head, it took me twenty minutes to bring you to a halt, and I had to run you into a circle to do that. This time we’re going to play by my rules.”

As soon as he’d spoken, the harsh gusts of the leading edge of the storm struck, bringing with them a torrent of swirling dust and grit. Cold rain was likely to follow.

“Okay, maybe you’re right. Let’s head back. It’s really a miserable evening.” Nick lifted the bandanna he wore around his neck and covered his mouth and nose, hoping to avoid another lungful of dirt. “Let’s race the storm back to the ranch before we get drenched.”

Nick loosened his hold on the reins and touched the animal’s flanks with the heels of his boots. In an instant, Bravo leaped forward, galloping across the desert canyon at a speed worthy of the lightning flashing overhead.

The cool September wind and the rumbling chaos of the brewing storm incited both horse and rider. Here, just a few miles outside the pueblo, the only rules that mattered were nature’s own.

Dark laughter escaped his lips as he raced like the wind just ahead of the stormy maelstrom.

EDEN MAES opted for a shortcut back to her house at the pueblo in hopes of beating the rain. She’d been visiting a friend of the family but had soon lost track of time. Now, the massive cumulonimbus clouds overhead obliterated all traces of the moon, and thunder raged from the steady barrage of lightning.

Moving carefully, Eden climbed over the stepladder stile in the cattle fence and headed out cross-country, avoiding the pueblo’s main road, and hoping to cut at least fifteen minutes off her walk.

The wind howled, lifting clouds of sand and sending waves of it against her until her skin stung from the onslaught. As lightning illuminated the landscape like a Fourth of July fireworks display, Eden checked her watch and quickened her pace. Mrs. Chino, the baby-sitter, had told her that she’d have to leave at seven to attend a meeting of her religious society, and it was nearly that time now.

This was turning out to be a lousy shortcut after all. Earlier in the monsoon season, heavy afternoon storms had cut new arroyos into the sparsely covered ground, and now she was spending too much of her time finding alternate routes across the dry channels between her and the pueblo.

She made progress slowly. Then, two or three miles from her home, through the howls of the wind and the angry storm, she saw the headlights of an approaching vehicle. She turned around, hoping it would be someone who could give her a ride back. Surely no one but a local pueblo resident was likely to be driving around out here in this weather.

Unfortunately, not all the people at the pueblo were her friends. Her parents had been labeled as thieves and although neither was still living, that dishonor and stigma now followed her. It was one more factor that worked against her, adding to the determination of those opposed to having a half blood like her claim a place on pueblo land.

Suddenly, the truck driver turned off his headlights, though she could hear him still accelerating toward her.

Instinct and logic warned her that the driver wasn’t behaving like a friend or neighbor. As the vehicle bore down on her, Eden took off running. She chose her path carefully, going uphill across a rocky slope. The boulder-laden terrain would slow the vehicle down.

Yet the truck continued to move relentlessly forward. Instead of accelerating to full speed and catching up quickly, however, the driver was toying with her, closing the gap and forcing her to sprint, then slowing down again, but remaining close.

Climbing farther up the slope was her only chance, but her lungs felt as if they were about to burst, and her legs were giving out. Ahead, she could see the lights of several buildings near the pueblo. If she could only make it a little farther, she’d be within shouting distance of Black Raven Ranch. Although she’d sworn a long time ago never to ask any Black Raven for help no matter what happened, she had no choice now.

Fear prodded her forward. As she glanced back, she realized that the hill was flattening out now, and the vehicle could outmaneuver her easily when they reached level ground. With no other choice, she kept running, though she knew it was a race she couldn’t win. The outcome would be entirely in the hands of the driver pursuing her. She thought of her son, still just an infant. He’d never even seen his father, nor did his father know about him. She wouldn’t leave him alone. Somehow, she’d make it through this, no matter what lay in store for her.

BRAVO PRANCED excitedly as Nick held the stallion in check for a moment, trying to determine the best path downhill. He had to get off the high ground. Lightning made the mesa he was on now one of the most dangerous places around, especially for a rider. The large black horse tossed his head impatiently.

“The rain’s dealt us a bad hand, Bravo,” Nick said. “We can’t go down the usual way. With all those new arroyos, you’ll break a leg for sure. Let’s try circling around to the north,” he said, turning Bravo’s head.

It was then he saw movement below. He squinted, trying to see through the haze of dust and sand raised by the angry wind. A long-haired woman was being chased by someone in a tan or yellow pickup. In another minute the truck would overtake her, and the woman would pay dearly if the driver meant to do more than intimidate her.

“I thought it was cowboys who were supposed to ride to the rescue, not Indians,” he muttered. “Let’s go, Bravo,” he said, applying pressure to the stallion’s flanks with his legs.

The horse, obeying the cue, bolted forward, hurtling across the slope, heading down at an angle to intercept her. As they drew closer, Nick tried to get a good look at the driver inside the truck. He appeared to be alone, but the dark hampered efforts to make out a face.

Nick focused on the woman. She was his priority now. Asking his horse for even greater speed, he leaned back, trying to make it easier on Bravo by keeping his weight centered. They’d get to her first, he knew that, and although Bravo wouldn’t be able to outrun a pickup, he could go places that the truck would never be able to handle.

Hearing hoofbeats behind her, the woman turned her head, glancing back. He couldn’t see her face clearly through the gathering shadows of night, but he could sense her fear. He slowed Bravo to match her stride, then reached down. “Let me help you.”

He grasped her by the waist and pulled her up before him onto the saddle. Smart enough to realize cooperation was her only hope, she shifted quickly, straddling the horse. Only then did she turn to look back at him. At that moment, he remembered the bandanna that still covered his face.

“It’s okay. Stay still,” he said, trying to keep his voice sure and steady. “Bravo’s not used to taking double, but he’ll adjust fast.”

The storm and the danger from their pursuers were nothing in comparison to the savage emotions that suddenly ripped through him as she eased against him, settling against his parted thighs. Familiar memories flooded his brain. He’d held this woman before—intimately. Although he hadn’t seen her face clearly, in his heart, the feeling was nothing less than utter conviction.

“Get me away from that pickup, please,” she managed, breathlessly.

Her gentle voice, so filled with fear, touched him deeply. The need to protect her pounded through him with every beat of his heart.

Glancing back and seeing the pickup now gaining ground, he forced himself to concentrate. “We’re going to have to jump that arroyo ahead. It’s our only chance. The landing will be rough, but don’t worry. Just hang on and let the horse do all the work. I won’t let you fall.”

“I’ll be okay,” she said, tightening her legs around the horse.

Together they galloped as one, the thump of pounding hooves and heartbeats and the creak of leather competing with the howl of the wind.

She did know how to ride. Nick was certain of that now. She moved with Bravo instead of against him and was shifting to a jumping position now, leaning slightly forward as she held on to his mane.

As her long, chestnut brown hair caressed his arms, dark whispers echoed in his mind. In a heartbeat, they were flying through the air and, in those precious moments, fantasy and reality merged. Their bodies, weightless, flowed into each other’s. As a union of purpose held them, a longing for something elusive and unnameable wrapped itself around his soul.

Tightening his grip around her waist, he pulled her back toward him just as Bravo landed on the other side of the wide chasm. They continued on for another fifty feet before Nick could safely rein in his mount.

As he spun Bravo around and faced the pickup, his breathing was as ragged as that of the animal’s. The challenge of danger, and the fire this woman had created in him, made him feel powerfully male and alive. Memories of another time and the only woman he’d ever loved whispered warnings from the edges of his mind.

The pickup slid to a stop just before reaching the rain-carved ditch, engine running, but unable to cross. Quickly, the truck was thrown into reverse, and the vehicle spun around, roaring away in a cloud of dust.

Nick smiled with satisfaction. They’d won the battle. Unwilling to linger out in the open, so far away from cover, Nick made a clicking sound and Bravo began a slow lope toward the gates of Black Raven Ranch.

Once they reached the main entrance, Nick stopped the tired animal. “Good job, Bravo.”

“I’ll get off here,” the woman said, then surprised him by swinging her leg over Bravo’s neck and dismounting with ease.