Texas Bride

Her goggle-eyed gaze leaped from the cat to him, but she didn’t move, just sat there gasping for breath. Jonah approached her, then reached down to grab the mountain lion by the scruff of the neck and dragged it off Maddie’s legs. She was in his arms, tucking her head against his shoulder, before he could react. The pistol she had clutched in her hand swerved toward his ear, and Jonah pushed it away before the damn thing could go off accidentally and take his head with it.

“Oh, God!” Maddie wheezed, her body shuddering against his. “I thought I was a goner. All I could think about was that if I got eaten alive my sister wouldn’t stand a chance of survival unless I left everything up to you. But then I remembered that you don’t like me and you might not—”

“Shh-shh, calm down,” Jonah interrupted. “You’re okay and everything is going to be fine.” He nuzzled his cheek against her forehead and felt her shivering against him with the aftereffects of fear. “It’s over, princess. Just take a deep breath and try to relax.”

She clung to him, meshing her lush body against his overly sensitive male contours, and Jonah steeled himself against the sensations that rippled through him. Well hell, he thought. He’d vowed not to get this close to Maddie again and here he was, cuddling her protectively against him. Events beyond his control kept sabotaging his attempt to keep a physical and emotional distance. He should have set her away from him and told her to toughen up because danger was an everyday occurrence in the wilds. Instead he held her close while her seesawing breath fanned his neck and she struggled to regain her composure.

“I didn’t realize the cat was above me until it was too late,” she jabbered nervously. “The poor thing might have been trying to protect a den of young cubs, and I unintentionally intruded on its territory.”

“The poor thing?” Jonah repeated incredulously. “The poor thing nearly had you for dinner.” He glanced down to note that Maddie had shot the great cat in the neck. It was probably all that had saved her from mauling and death.

“Carlos taught me to aim for the neck,” she mumbled, following his gaze. “He said that would bring an animal down immediately. Anything less wouldn’t ensure that the beast couldn’t keep coming at you.”

“Carlos is right. It’s the only way to stop an animal in its tracks.” Jonah eased Maddie away and turned her back in the direction she’d come. “Dinner should be ready.”

“I’m not hungry,” she mumbled as she made the descent on wobbly legs.

Jonah reached out to lend support before she stumbled downhill. “You’re eating, regardless.”

Bracing shaking hands against the boulders, Maddie made her way back to camp. Even after inhaling several cathartic breaths she was still rattled by the incident.

“That was a careless mistake,” she grumbled to herself.

“You got that right. Next time pay attention to your surroundings.”

“Right. Eagle-eyed Danhill would never have made that error. But then, you probably have eyes in the back of your head.”

“I’ve seen too many men die with surprised looks on their faces, Garret. If you wanna stay alive you take nothing for granted and you keep your eyes and ears peeled.”

Thunder exploded above them, as if to punctuate his comments. Maddie instinctively shrank back and lost her footing. Her arms flailed wildly before Jonah jerked her upright and tightened his grasp on her.

“Take a couple of deep breaths and get yourself together,” he demanded.

“Tried that. Didn’t help. I noticed that bottle of whiskey in your saddlebags. Mind if I have a drink of it? I’ll replace your supply when we reach the Flat.”

“Help yourself.”

Maddie rounded the bend of the trail and made a beeline for the saddlebag. She fished out the bottle and took a swig. Fire burned her throat and left her choking for breath. Jonah whacked her between the shoulder blades, then snatched the bottle from her trembling hand.

“Take it easy with that stuff. Sip it. Don’t gulp it.”

Nodding mutely, Maddie pried the bottle from his fingertips, took a sip and then said, “How do you do it?”

His dark brows bunched over his thick-lashed eyes. “How do I do what?”

“Face outlaws and wild beasts daily without letting it get to you?” She wheezed, then helped herself to another sip.

“Practice,” he replied, then jerked the bottle from her hand once more. “You’ve had more than enough. The way you’re going at it you’ll be stumbling drunk and pitch yourself off the edge of the cliff.”

“I’m sure you’d prefer that,” she mumbled as she wilted bonelessly to the ground. “Then you’d be rid of me for good.”

It was more than obvious that Maddie wasn’t a connoisseur of liquor. The stuff went straight to her head in nothing flat. “Better eat something,” he advised as he strode over to lift the burned quail from the fire.

Reluctantly she accepted the food he extended to her.

“Hell’s going to break loose soon,” he predicted as he glanced at the threatening sky. “We’ll call it a night and get an early start in the morning. We should reach Fort Griffin by noon.”

“And then you will be rid of me,” she said between bites.

Yes, he would. In less than a day he could put Maddie Garret out of his mind and enjoy his vacation.

Jonah hurriedly finished his meal, then doused the fire. The wind was swirling around the bluff with increasing speed and a shaft of rain hung over the valley. He estimated that they were going to be drenched in less than five minutes. He strode off to tuck his gear in a dry place before the storm unleashed its fury.

Jonah scowled when he exited the cave and saw Maddie tipping the whiskey bottle again. In four long strides he was at her side, snatching the bottle away. “Damn it, gimme that.”

“You’re no fun a-tall.”

“I’m alive and kicking. That’s fun enough,” he muttered, noting her goofy smile.

“Wha’d it take fo’ you to like me better? You might fin’ this har’ to believe, but some men act’lly do like me.”

“Do tell. Garret, you’re wasted,” Jonah stated. Then he frowned disapprovingly. “Rule number two, if you can’t handle liquor, don’t drink.”

She looked at him, eyelids drooping noticeably. “What’s rule number one? I forget.”

“Pay attention to your surroundings,” he prompted as he reached down to hoist her to her feet. “If you weren’t soused you’d recall that we’re about to get wet.” He directed her attention to the sheet of rain that was sweeping over the valley, heading directly toward them.

He curled his arm around her waist and shepherded her toward the cave as raindrops splattered the sandstone ledge beneath his feet. Maddie didn’t object, thank goodness, just allowed him to guide her into the cavern to wait out the storm. Sighing heavily, she sprawled on the pallet while he tucked away the whiskey—what was left of it.

Jonah stood there watching her stretch like a cat before she pulled the quilt over her. Damn, she looked so incredibly tempting lying there with that droopy smile on her dewy lips. The curtain of rain that tumbled past the mouth of the cave gave the impression that he and Maddie were all alone in the world. There was nothing he wanted more than to stretch out beside her and create a storm of passion that rivaled the one that Earth Mother had unleashed outside.

But that erotic fantasy was not going to collide with reality, Jonah promised himself resolutely.

“Come to bed, Jonah,” Maddie murmured as she drew back the quilt and patted the empty place beside her. “I promise not to throw myself at you.”

Jonah looked around, trying to figure out where he was going to sleep. It couldn’t be with her. He trusted himself less tonight than he had last night.

“Please,” she whispered.

The self-discipline and restraint he’d spent three decades cultivating failed him completely. He was moving toward the inviting pallet and the alluring woman upon it before he realized it. The moment he eased down beside her Maddie snuggled up against his hip and rested her head on his shoulder. Forbidden sensations hammered at him as the scent and feel of her bombarded his senses. Jonah held himself perfectly still, afraid to move, for fear he’d moved toward her. Because if he did he was pretty sure his willpower would abandon him in one second flat.

“You’re a nice man, Jonah Danhill,” she murmured against his chest.

A nice man wouldn’t be thinking the kind of impure thoughts that were chasing around in his head at the moment. The feel of her full breasts pressed against his rib cage was arousing him to the extreme. The feel of her arm draped over his chest reminded him of being wrapped in a cocoon of living flesh. He wanted her in the worst way, wanted to be inside her, sharing the same flesh, the same breath.

The erotic thought played havoc with his self-restraint, especially when her enticing feminine scent kept wrapping itself around his senses and practically drowned him. Gritting his teeth against the onslaught of tormenting temptation, Jonah shifted sideways and turned his back on her. Which was just as bad, because Maddie cuddled spoon-fashion against his back and looped her arm around his waist.

Her breath stirred against his neck, causing goose-flesh to pebble his skin. Desire clenched inside him and one arousing fantasy after another flooded his mind and left him hard and aching. Damn it, even if he’d been made of stone he couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t crack under the intense pressure of wanting her like hell blazing.