Wildfire Love by Rue Allyn

Author:Rue Allyn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, historical
Publisher: F+W Media
Published: 2013-03-17T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

In the pre-dawn light, Ev watched Kiera sleep. She was unlike any woman he’d ever met — practical, forthright and unashamed of her actions both private and public. They’d made love repeatedly over the past two days. Each time he swore to himself would be the last time, and each time he was unable to resist the lure that was Kiera. Today their intimacy would have to end. Justice required that he bring Kiera to Laramie for trial, and Boyd’s life depended on their return. Even though the deadline was two weeks or more away, Ev knew they should leave for Lake Yellow Stone today.

“You’re frowning. I can’t have that.” Laughter sparkling in her eyes, Kiera rose above him and leaned down to kiss him.

His response was instantaneous — inhaling, absorbing her essence as if he’d never get enough. He shifted her onto her back. Where has all my resolve gone?

With that thought, he tore himself from Kiera’s arms and the bed, reaching for his clothing before her protest could hit his ears.

She lifted up on her side, her head supported by one hand. “Is something wrong?”

He shook his head, looking at her lovely face. “We need to get back to Lake Yellow Stone.”

“Why?”

Ev thrust a hand through his hair. “Because this … ” he gestured toward the bed. “Nice as making love with you is, this isn’t right. We’ve both got responsibilities, and we can’t ignore them for very much longer.”

She shuttered her eyes and lay back down. “You’re right.”

Her tone was flat. Her whole body spoke of resignation and regret. He hated that he’d caused the change, extinguished the spark of easy delight in her eyes. What choice did he have? With all his heart, he might want to believe her innocent of all accused crimes, but his belief wasn’t enough. She had to stand trial and be declared innocent in a court of law before he could allow himself to imagine any kind of future for them.

Why that mattered he wasn’t sure. What kind of life could there be for a woman with a man who wouldn’t put down roots? The kind of life his mother had? He’d never allow that. He’d live his life alone to prevent it. But Kiera … Even after the trial, he couldn’t see them together. They were both too independent — too restless and stubborn — to be able to build an enduring relationship.

He finished dressing. “I’ll tend to the horses.”

She shifted, swinging her feet over the edge of the bed and reached for her buckskins. “I’ll get breakfast started. We can make plans for returning to the Shoshone village while we eat.”

After breakfast, he left closing the cabin door harder than he’d intended.

• • •

Kiera started at the loud bang of the door closing. She’d wanted to object, to argue, when Ev made his pronouncement about returning to Lake Yellow Stone. She hadn’t. She knew their time together was limited. Ev’s declaration that they needed to return indicated more than awareness of the days left before Boyd’s time ran out.

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