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They had nothing to do all day but keep their small fire burning beneath the spitted fowl.

And make love.

Brady let her take the lead as he had the night before. When she straddled his hips and took him into her body, he couldn’t find the patience of the previous night. She welcomed his thrusts with her strong, slim body, and her eagerness sent him quickly over the edge. Later they cuddled side by side and discovered a new way to please each other with a slow gentle joining.

Her small breasts rubbed delightfully on his bare chest while he held her leg over his hip. Her orgasm took them both by surprise and then pulled him into mindlessness with her.

He held her until she drifted into a light doze. Easing his arm from around her, he drew a blanket over her nudity before it tempted him into waking her. He dressed slowly and speculated on the past few hours. He thought he understood what he did wrong the first time they’d tried to make love. Her nightmares would not allow a man to climb on top of her. It made her too vulnerable. He would gladly give up the top position for the rest of his life to be with her. Hell and damnation! He loved the difficult woman.

Loved her for all her emotional scars, for the stubborn courage and pride that kept her going and even for the prickly temper that had kept him at arm’s length until now. The accident ONE GOOD WOMAN SUSAN KELLEY 60

at the bridge had been a blessing. Cara might never have come to trust him or let him close if they hadn’t been stranded here alone.

Alone except for the Savages. Though it was only late spring, they had to start thinking about surviving the winter here. They might not be able to get out. Ever. But he wouldn’t accept that until he had another look at the river. The spring floods might be over and the summer would get even drier. Perhaps they could swim it now, but Cara admitted to being unskilled in the water. A raft then. Even two or three large logs fixed together might do it.

They could make a paddle, find some vines to tie the trees together and put in near the falls.

They would have nearly half a mile to work diagonally before floating into the chaos where the river met the sea. If they were still unable to find a way up the mountain after they crossed, at least they would be further south where the winter should be milder.

He turned the bird and added another small piece of wood to the fire. The flames danced and ducked away from the brisk breeze blowing off the sea. Though the sun shone brightly, there was a bite in the air.

He turned the fowl and mused further on their trip south. They would have to avoid the Savage female hiding in the cave. It would not do to have her know they were about. She probably fled from the abusive males in her village, but she might return. He didn’t want her taking a tale of strangers back to the aggressive males. How did the female expect to survive the winter? It was no worry of theirs, but the baby looked newborn. Still, Savages were adept at surviving in the wild so the mother probably knew what she was about.

A swift cloud scuttled across the sun and chased shadows across their roost. He looked up and saw a numerous patches of ugly, gray clouds speckling the blue. He stood and looked out to sea. Again he wondered if there were more whitecaps bursting into fountains of spray in the blue waters.

“Smells good.” Cara sat up and covered herself with the blanket. “I might be able to eat the whole thing by myself.”

As he could eat her up. Would she let him? He had yet to give her intimate attention with his mouth and tongue. His damned tireless cock lifted to applaud the thought. “Let’s eat then. I’m pretty sure it’s done.”

They talked of simple things while they plucked the bird of all its parts. They joked about their favorite foods, the value of various weapons and the quality of the Realm horses versus Solonian horses. She chastised him for his lousy aim in taking the bird down.

Carefully selecting his words so it wouldn’t sound as if he were making plans without consulting her, he explained why he thought they should retrace their steps to the falls. “If it looks like we can’t cross the river, we can sneak around the Savages and explore further north while the summer lasts.”

“Maybe we should stay here for the winter if we can’t cross. We already know where the local Savage population is.”

He shook his head. “The only shelter we saw was that cave where the female Savage was. We’ll freeze in the open this winter, and we don’t have the tools to knock down trees and build one.”

“We could put her out,” Cara said. She stared toward the sea with a faraway look in her eyes.

“You don’t mean that,” he said quietly. “She has a little one, an innocent.”

She swung her gaze back to him, her dark eyes going hard. “The females are nearly as cruel and harsh as the males. I received many beatings from them.”

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He made no more argument. If it came to it, he didn’t believe she would purposely bring death to a baby even if it was a Savage. He could not have fallen in love with a woman who would be so unfeeling.

“Let’s rest here one more night and then be away.” He pulled the bones apart and put them in the cooking shell. After covering them with water, he set the shell close to the fire. It would make a tasty broth by morning and give them more needed nutrition.

Cara straightened the blankets, fixing them to be shared and not separate beds. The sun still sparkled on the sea, but here against the cliff shadows already covered the entire shelf. They would have to take more care and stand watch when they camped in the woodland below so he intended to make the most of this night here in safety.

He sat on the ground to pull his boots off when an odd sound drifted up from below. He gestured to Cara, and she froze beside the blankets. Neither of them moved, he didn’t even breathe, then the sound came again. It wasn’t the wind.

He pulled his gun and crouched down. Cara joined him in gliding toward the edge of their camp. They both dropped to their bellies and crawled the last short distance.

The shadows were even darker below them. Again the noise. It sounded like a sob.

Soon they heard shuffling and more whimpering as if a wounded animal struggled toward them from the north. It was dark enough that they couldn’t see her until she was almost beneath them. It was the pregnant Savage they’d seen in the village.

Her face looked swollen and bruised though the light made it difficult to be sure. She walked with jerky steps as if one of her legs pained her. Every other step was punctuated with a sob. She paused right beneath them and dropped the large sack she carried over her shoulder. A grunt of another kind of pain burst from her lips. She bent over and vomited on the ground.

After she stopped heaving, she rubbed at her back and panted in short, shallow gulps.

The Savage wiped at her eyes and looked back over her shoulder. After staring for a long moment, she retrieved her pack and started walking again. A few steps later she cried out again and doubled over.

Was she in labor? And right beneath their hiding place? The Savage whimpered and then returned to her shuffling steps and disappeared among the trees.

“She’s expecting someone to be following her,” Cara whispered.

“Yeah, and we’re going to end up caught in between them.” Brady crawled back from the edge and stood up. “Let’s go. We’ll try to get around her and out of their way.”

Cara rolled the blankets while he dumped the simmering broth. He hated to waste it but they couldn’t get trapped up here. The Savages could easily clamor up to their hiding place.

They were on their way in moments. Their tidy little plans were all askew now and their night of romance was ended before it started. They glided quietly behind the Savage. She traveled quickly despite her discomfort and frequent stops when pain overtook her. Her village wouldn’t have any trouble following her. And them, but there was nothing for it.

Cara looked tense and alert when he caught glimpses of her expression in scattered patches of moonlight. Her sword was loose in her hand. He could only hope that if they had to fight the Savages, the battle would not bring back all her nightmares. The hell if he would let her ghosts get in the way of his love life. They couldn’t go back now and he didn’t want her remembering why she hadn’t trusted him before. Damned Savages.

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Despite the cool, stiff breeze blowing in off the sea, sweat beaded on Cara’s upper lip and trickled down between her shoulder blades. Seeing the face of the badly beaten female had raised unwanted memories.

No matter how she wished it away, she couldn’t forget how it felt to have her eyes swollen closed, her lip split and her jaw so sore she couldn’t open her mouth far enough to drink.

The female Savage dragged one leg and whimpered with each step. Each pathetic cry reminded Cara of the kicks and punches she’d thought had broken bones but only left her horribly bruised. The pregnant Savage looked terrified and broken. Broken in spirit and robbed of all hope that her misery would ever end.

Cara didn’t want to feel sympathy for the Savage. The female was one of them, one of that race of monsters.

Brady paused every fifty steps or so and let the female move ahead while they lingered behind and listened for anything tracking them. That, not the female in front of them, was the source of Cara’s distress. The males would come after this one.

She knew the Savages were not prolific in their reproduction. Young ones were usually treated better than their mothers by the males. The female youngsters were especially important to a tribe. During her captivity, she’d seen large, full-grown males mating with young females barely entered into puberty. Once old enough to carry a child, the females became nearly slaves and any kind treatment ended for them. She’d seen pregnant Savages who looked only half-grown. And now the foul beasts that would do such a thing would be on their trail.

Cara knew she was a good fighter, and Brady was one of the best she’d ever seen.

Despite his usually cheerful outlook, he was merciless and lethal in battle. But there were still only the two of them. They had no clear idea of how many Savages lived in that village but there could be dozens of them. This narrow band of trees between the beach and the cliff allowed little room to hide. They could only go forward and had not yet found a good spot to pass the female without her spotting them. Any attempt when the band of trees was so narrow might lead them out into the sands where their passing would be easily noticed. Even here they might be leaving tracks or scent for the beasts to follow.

Both moons hid behind the clouds high in the night sky when the female stopped to rest.

She curled into the side of a tree, panting and moaning in turn. Was her discomfort from the beatings or was it the child coming?

Cara and Brady searched along the cliff until they found a trio of small pines fighting for light and life between their towering parents. He leaned close to her and spoke with a voice as quiet as the wind sighing through the evergreen boughs.

“Let’s take turns getting some sleep.”

“You first.” Her fears would never let her sleep.

Brady set the bag of bullets and the pack with the food between them. She handed him the rolled blankets and watched him settle on the bed of pine needles with the roll as a pillow.

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She took up a post a short distance from him but still in the black shadows of the trees. If the Savages caught up to them this night, they would likely go straight to the female who continued to make a lot of noise. Though now snores mixed in with the Savage’s moans.

Cara fingered her sword hilt as she stood watch. She knew she hadn’t the courage to survive captivity again. It would destroy her. This time, she would fight until they killed her.

She looked toward Brady’s resting spot. Her man, even if only for one day. The Savages would not touch him. Their foulness must never darken his bright spirit. Somehow she would protect him.

* * * *

The Savage increased her pace with the morning light. Her limp seemed much improved after her brief rest of only four hours. She still paused and panted at regular intervals giving more reason to believe she was in labor.

At each pause in her hurried trek, Brady used the time to watch Cara. He was worried about her. Her face was pale, her body tense and that haunted, wild look was back in her eyes.

Damn inconvenient timing by this Savage. This incident could only set back their relationship as it stirred up her nightmares.

The poor female Savage looked like someone had stomped on her face though the big males had probably done it with their thick fists. They stayed back when she took off again. It seemed obvious she was going to join the other female in its cave not far from the falls. They could easily take up her trail again.

They lingered for half of an hour, listening and watching the back trail. Nothing yet though the wind whipped up so many old leaves and needles they could hear little else. They traveled another mile or so before the wind distracted Brady. It now moved through the trees with a steady but gentle growl. What the hell? He gestured for Cara to follow him.

They approached the beach warily, trying to avoid soft drifts of sand that would mark their passage. Bits of sand stung their faces before they even cleared the trees. They paused where a break in the tree line gave them an unobstructed view of the sea.

The wind batted at them with unfettered force. The sun shone on the beach, but far out over the sea, a thick, dark band of clouds stretched as far as they could see. Gray, black and violet puffs of storm towered over the water and swirled in angry agitation. Bolts of lightning danced among the layers of clouds.