Sam's Creed

She braced her hands on the pommel of the saddle and pushed up. The brief relief to her rear was welcome. Ahead of her, Sam rode easily, sitting in the saddle as if he was an extension of the horse. None of the weariness dragging at her showed in his posture. The setting sun behind them reflected off the silver conchos rimming his black hat. She glanced over her shoulder. The sunset was gorgeous. Even more gorgeous was the silhouette of another town backlit by the pink-and-orange glow. She bet there was a hotel in that town, and a soft mattress. She scanned the rickety outline of the buildings. Well, maybe not soft, but less hard than the saddle.

“No sense hankering about what’s not going to be,” Sam called back.

How had he known what she was thinking? She lowered her rear gingerly to the saddle. “I was just admiring the sunset.”

“I thought you were pining on the luxuries of town.”

It annoyed her that he did not even bother to look at her as he talked, just presumed to know what she was thinking. Even if he was right. “I do not see what would have pained to stop for one night. You defeated Tejala’s men.”

“Hurt for one night.”

“¿Qué?”

“The phrase is ‘What would it hurt.’”

“Hurt, pain.” She dismissed his correction with a wave of her hand as she gently urged Sweet Pea to catch up. She might have succeeded, except the packhorse they’d taken after the battle yesterday put up a protest. Sweet Pea jerked back. A nip from Kell’s teeth soon changed the packhorse’s mind. Sweet Pea picked up his pace until his nose drew even with Breeze’s flank. “None of it is good.”

“You’ve got a point.”

“So why could we not stay in town?”

“I’m a cautious man.”

“Not that I have heard.”

He shifted in the saddle, enough so she got a glimpse of his profile. It was as uncompromisingly handsome as the rest of his face, and just as compelling. Especially with the hint of a grin denting the corner of his mouth.

“And you believe everything you’ve heard?”

After watching him defeat the bandits of the last town and boldly step in front of a barrage of bullets to save her life? “Yes.”

The dent grew into a crease. He slowed his horse until she pulled alongside, and turned to face her. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

She pushed the hat brim off her face. He had a gorgeous smile—even white teeth and finely shaped lips. There probably was not a woman he had ever asked to his bed who had turned him down. She wondered if they had noticed how rarely his smile reached his eyes. “Where exactly do we go?”

He ran those eyes over her in a slow perusal, making her vividly aware of the fact that she was still braced on the pommel and also of her promise not to slow him down. “Getting a bit saddle sore?”

“Not at all.”

It was probably the biggest lie of her life. She would have much to confess to her priest when she returned home.

Sam tipped his hat back the smallest bit. The sun reflected off his face, turning the deeper flecks in his eyes to shards of blue fire. For all that he sat relaxed in the saddle, he radiated an energy that crackled. Or maybe it was just her awareness of him that gave the impression of sizzle. She’d never met a man who made her so conscious of the weight of her breasts, the softness between her thighs, the very unique differences of male and female.

“Good to know. I was hoping to get another three hours in.”

Three hours? Her thighs would be raw meat by then.

“It’ll be dark in the next half hour.”

He pointed to the left. “The moon ought to give us enough light to travel by.”

She hadn’t noticed the half-moon rising. She tried again. “What about dinner?”

He reached behind him, flipped open the saddlebag and pulled out a cloth-wrapped parcel. “Here.”

She had to let go of the pommel to take it. Try as she might to hide it, she knew he saw her wince as her thighs took her weight. “Gracias.”

She unwrapped the cloth. Inside were two biscuits and four strips of jerky. Not a whole lot of food. Her stomach growled. She had not eaten since this morning, and not that much then. Fish was not her favorite. Sam reached over and took Sweet Pea’s reins. With a flick of his wrist he tossed them over the horse’s head.

“I’ll lead Sweet Pea here while you eat.”

Sweet Pea jerked away from the flip of the reins. The food tottered in her hand. Dinner almost fell in the dirt. “Be careful!”

“I’m always careful.”

She took a piece of jerky before wrapping up the rest of the food. “This I do not believe.”

“Why not?”

She cocked her head to the side. How much to tell? “I think you do not care much if you live or die, so you do crazy things.”

He blinked and his smile slipped. “That’s what you think?”

“Sí.”

“You think too much.”

It was either think too much or moan over the condition of her thighs. “For this you should be grateful.”

“What makes you say that?”

“If I did not think, I would have nothing to take my mind off the town we are passing. Thinking of the town would make me think of hotels and soft mattresses. Thinking of the mattress left behind would make me realize how unhappy I am. Being unhappy makes me sad. Being sad…”

He held up his hand. “Go ahead. Think.”

“Thank you.” She smiled and took a bite of the jerky. There was kindness in him.

He waited for her to start chewing before he asked, “Are you settled? Can we head on now?”

Good manners dictated she not talk until she was finished eating. If she followed good manners, they would still be standing here tomorrow night. The jerky was very tough. The only option was a nod.

“Let’s move, then.”

She couldn’t stop her groan as the horse took the first step. Sam glanced over his shoulder. “When you were evading the Tejala gang the last six months, you didn’t spend a lot of time on horseback, did you?”

“No.” She took another bite of the jerky. It was salty, and flavored with a spice she didn’t recognize, but to an empty stomach it was very good.

“Where did you hide?”