No Other Man by Shannon Drake

Author:Shannon Drake
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Erotica, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9780380771714
Publisher: Avon
Published: 1995-10-31T22:00:00+00:00

* * *

It was early when he awakened her, ridiculously early.

She'd fallen into a deep, restful sleep, so she was especially irritated when the

covers were wrenched from her and she heard, "Up, Lady Douglas. Thirty minutes,

and we're on our way."

She grabbed the covers, dragging them back over her head.

Once again, they were wrenched away. She still didn't bother to open her eyes. "I

can't!" she murmured. "You'll have to go without me."

Then she felt a stinging swat on her backside. Indignantly she leaped up to a

sitting position, staring at her tormentor.

Hawk was dressed in dark buff buckskin, his jacket and boots fringed. His head

was bare, his black hair falling loosely to his shoulders.

"Lady Douglas," he told her, his impatience held in check with mock gallantry,

"your mule awaits."

' 'Mule?'' she gasped.

' 'Thirty minutes. I left you a mug of coffee by the water ewer. Get going."

"If you're serious about a mule, it had best keep waiting!" she warned.

"Thirty minutes. The mule may be patient; I am not."

She rose and washed quickly, then dressed in what she hoped would be an

appropriate outfit for a ride into wild country—cotton shift, petticoat, and calico

dress—and good riding boots. The sun could be very bright by day, but the nights

could be cold, so she brought her hooded wool cloak. She created a blanket roll with a

second dress and underclothing and then hurried down the stairs with a few minutes to

spare.

Meggie was at the front door, shaking her head. "Riding off at the crack of the

dawn, and not a decent breakfast into a one of you!" she said unhappily.

Hawk walked in from the porch, an empty mug in his hands. Meggie glanced his

way, shaking her head. "Ye've mil even fed the lass, Lord Douglas!"

He arched a brow, looking from Meggie to Skylar. "I'm not setting out to starve

my wife, Meggie; we've just got a busy morning ahead of us. We're already leaving

hours later than I had intended. Besides, we've had your fine coffee, Meg, and I

packed your biscuits in our bags." He handed her his empty mug and touched her

cheek affectionately. ' 'I do trust you, of course, to hold down the fort in my absence.

We'll be gone one to two weeks, I believe." He winked, looking at Skylar once again.

"Skylar is sending for her sister today, Meggie. I can't imagine that a lone woman

might come all this way west before we return, but then she is Skylar's sister, so I

assume anything is possible, don't you think, my love?" he queried Skylar.

She ignored him. "My sister's name is Sabrina Connor," she told Meggie. "And I imagine that she can make it out here in a week, assuming she can manage connecting

train schedules and a decent stagecoach ride north from the railhead."

"It took you two weeks," Hawk commented quietly, for her hearing alone.

"I had a few things to attend to along the way."

"Really? What things?"

"Personal affairs," she told him.

"Umm," he murmured, his dissatisfaction with her reply obvious. "Eventually,

Skylar, you will answer my questions."

"Eventually, I may."

"At the moment," he said irritably, "it seems like it's taking me two weeks to leave my own damned house.

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