A Mail-Order Dawn Page 5

  He jerked around, his expression priceless. Giggles erupted from her, and there was no hope of containing them.

  “Did you just...throw a snowball at me?”

  “Yes!” she gasped. “You should see your face.” She laughed again, wrapping her arms around her stomach. Her amusement dimmed when he leaned over and gathered snow with an unmistakable gleam in his eye.

  “No!” She laughed and took off toward the cabin as fast as she could through the thick mounds. “You wouldn’t! I’m wearing the blanket!” But she knew that wouldn’t stop him. She’d started the war, and he had no choice but to retaliate.

  She glanced behind her, then instantly ducked, just missing his snowball. “You missed!” she crowed, unable to stop herself.

  He gathered more snow, bigger this time, and she decided she wouldn’t make it back to the cabin before his attack. Changing tactics, she crouched and gathered her own ammunition. “You do not want to challenge me. I have five older brothers.”

  “And I had a lot of enemies as a kid.”

  She threw a ball at him but fell short, so she immediately launched the next and pelted his shoulder. Snow ricocheted into his hair and onto his cheek, and she tried to make another ball before he finished, but failed.

  He ran toward her and she squeaked, running as fast as she could toward the cabin. His gigantic snowball slammed against her, and she squealed as frozen slush slid down her neck into the back of her dress.

  There wasn’t any time to make more snowballs, so she bent over and shoveled waves of snow at him as he charged her. He hooted in amusement as he got closer, running through the snow storm she was creating.

  Before she could blink, his arms wrapped around her waist and he tackled her, turning them so he landed on the bottom just before they met the snow-covered ground.

  “That wasn’t fair,” she said between gasps of laughter.

  His arms tightened around her and a satisfied smile turned his lips. “All is fair in war, darlin’.” His eyes twinkled with humor.

  “Is that so?” This wasn’t her first wrestling match. She moved quickly, pinning him to the ground, then leaned up triumphantly. “It appears you’re stuck.”

  “Impressive.” He lightly moved his arms as she leaned on him. “Who taught you that?”

  “My brother Stephen.”

  “What else did he teach you?”

  She arched a brow. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  He laughed then. “I was only curious if he taught you this—”

  Before she could shift her weight, he’d displaced her and flipped their positions. More snow found its way through the back of her dress, and she shrieked at the cold. Although, with his warmth on top of her, she could bear it.

  “So?” He lightly pinned her. “Did he teach you that?”

  Rosalie grumbled for show, but inwardly, her heartbeat surged. “He might have,” she said, although right now, she couldn’t think about anything her brother had taught her. All she could do was feel. Tom’s weight on her was heavy, but pleasant, and she longed to wrap her arms around him and pull him closer.

  But before she could act, he rolled off her, landing beside her on his back.

  “You’re going to get all wet,” she warned.

  He tilted his head toward her. “Thanks to your attack, I’m already wet.”

  She leaned up on one elbow to look down at him. “I want to point out that you are the one who provoked me. So technically, you started this battle. I just escalated it.”

  He mimicked her position so they were both at eye level. “I’ll have to remember that you give as good as you get.”

  Her stomach did that funny turn again. His words made it seem as though they would spend time together after this fiasco was over, and she hoped they did. She had never had this easy of a relationship with a man outside of her family. Although, how she felt about Tom was far different than how she felt about her brothers.

  Tom lit a yearning within her she’d never experienced. Her eyes flickered to his lips, and Tom’s smile slowly fell away.

  Trying to ease the tension between them, she joked, “Looks like we’re going to have to take our clothes off after all.”

  He groaned softly and closed his eyes.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Fine,” he said, but his eyes were still closed.

  Suddenly, she understood and blushed to the roots of her hair. Ninny! She had gotten too comfortable around him. If she ever told another man they needed to take their clothes off, it would mean something else entirely. And even though they both knew what she’d meant, the idea of what else happened when clothes were off lingered. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

  “You didn’t.” He finally gave her a small smile. “It’s difficult enough being around you every moment, and that’s without taking our clothes off.”

  Her breathing turned heavy, but she couldn’t look away from the warmth and appreciation in his eyes. It was just her and Tom. He had saved her, taken care of her, made her feel safe in a terrifying situation, and had made everything all right. He had treated her with kindness and respect, never once taking advantage of her, and he’d made her laugh. Thinking of everything he had done, of who he was, she couldn’t stop herself from leaning forward and brushing her lips against his.

  His body coiled tight, and she could feel the indecision just a sliver of a second before his hand cupped the back of her head and he returned her kiss.

  Shock roiled through her as he layered long, warm kisses across her lips. He pulled back slowly, and all she could think about was how she wanted more. Who knew kisses felt like lightning? She was scorched and blinded, and she wanted more.

  Before she could stop herself, she kissed him again, and his hand opened and closed on the back of her neck, as if he were warring with himself and trying to stay in control. When she tentatively licked his lips, needing a stronger taste of him, he finally snapped.

  He took over completely and leaned forward, pushing her flat onto the wet ground. She gasped, but it wasn’t from the cold this time. His upper body pressed into hers, and he took advantage of her gasp, sweeping his tongue in for a taste.

  She moaned from the sensation. She hadn’t realized tongues were involved in kissing. Growing up on a farm, she knew the details of procreation, but she hadn’t witnessed many kisses. And certainly none like this.

  Delicious heat spread through her. She met him kiss for kiss, touch for touch, pulling him in tighter, wanting more of the sensations flooding through her. She ran her hands up and down his back, relishing the feel of him, all bunched muscles and power. Their kiss turned slow and deep, and Rosalie shook, feeling as if this moment had changed her life—

  With a curse, Tom tore his lips from hers and rolled onto his back. Cold air rushed in to fill the space where he’d been just seconds ago and stole the breath from her lungs. Small, puffy flakes kissed her cheeks and stuck to her lashes, and she shook them off, hoping the movement would also clear her head.

  What just happened?

  She leaned up and looked at Tom, where he remained on his back, with the heels of his hands pressed hard into his eyes. His lungs laboriously pulling in air. “Are you all right?”

  He released a harsh gust of air, before finally removing his hands. Then he sat up and tried to smile, but it faltered.

  Rosalie swallowed hard. She didn’t know what to say or what to do. She’d never been in this situation before. Had she done something wrong or displeased him?

  “I’m all right,” he said. “That just… That probably shouldn’t have happened.”

  “Oh.” She sat up straighter as humiliation burned through her. She never imagined a man would reject her after kissing her.

  “Hey, wait.” His hand shot out and held her still so she couldn’t move farther away. “I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just that, right now, while we’re stuck in the cabin, it might not be the best idea to get any closer to each
other.”

  “Why?”

  “Because...” He rubbed the back of his neck, and she realized he was uncomfortable. “Being alone together in that small cabin is hard enough. Kissing you makes it a million times worse.”

  Because kissing led to other things, things that led to hasty weddings, and he didn’t want any part in that, she realized.

  Disappointment flooded her. She couldn’t blame him for that. She didn’t. She had humiliated herself by kissing him, by letting her guard down and enjoying the moment.

  When had she become so naive? Heavens, she’d made a mess of this.

  She swallowed a salty gulp and nodded, instead of making eye contact. She then stood and began dusting snow off her skirts. “I understand completely and it won’t happen again.”

  She tried to sound easygoing, like it hadn’t been her first kiss and wasn’t so important to her, like it hadn’t changed how she felt about the whole world. That was something he obviously couldn’t deal with. He could handle danger and scared women, but apparently not emotionally attached ones. “We better head inside and warm up.”

  Without their clothes, again, because she’d decided to start a stupid snowball fight.

  He agreed with a quiet murmur, but she didn’t look at him. Instead, she turned toward the house and trudged through the mounds of snow in awkward silence.

  How had things gone from laughter to discomfort so quickly? Why had she provoked him into playing with her, into kissing her?

  She notched her chin up as she stepped onto the rickety porch, willing her emotions to stay in check. The last thing she wanted to do was breakdown, when there was nowhere to hide.

  Chapter 6

  Rosalie and Tom tip-toed around each other all day, saying as little as possible. It was better that way, he tried to convince himself, even though he didn’t quite believe it. How could he, when Rosalie—a woman so vibrant and beautiful, who seemed to fill up the cabin with energy and light just from being there—had dimmed?

  She’d avoided eye contact with him all day, and he felt like a brute. He hadn’t been able to think during their kiss. From the moment her lips touched his, all he could do was feel.

  He stared at the piece of wood he’d whittled into nothing, forcing his emotions to steady. Deep breaths. He’d never been so out of control with a woman before. When he’d pinned Rosalie down and kissed her, it was like being kicked in the head by a horse.

  Gah! He was a barbarian. He’d acted every inch the uncivilized man from out west people told stories about—possessive, takes what he wants, rough around the edges. He’d been all that this afternoon. When Rosalie had kissed him—sweet heavens!—he’d lost it. Rosalie was now doing her best to stay away from him and not make eye contact, but he knew she was having a hard time not thinking about it as well. Oh, she acted like she was okay, but the stiffness in her shoulders, the way she startled and looked away when he glanced at her, it all told him he’d screwed up. But worse, he’d hurt her.

  And that was the worst of it. He could apologize, but he wasn’t convinced it would make it any better. In fact, it might even make it worse.

  Besides the brief run-ins he’d previously had with women, he’d never once had a lasting relationship with one. His mother had died young, and he had no sisters he could talk to. He just didn’t know how to make this better.

  As the hours ticked by and the sunlight started to fade, he reached for the rifle. “We should probably check the traps. I can manage on my own if you’d like to stay inside.”

  She shook her head and brushed her hands over her skirt, which he knew was just another tactic not look at him.

  “I’m ready to go. We agreed not to go out alone.”

  They had, but it really wasn’t necessary for him, mostly for her. Besides, she seemed so uncomfortable, he wanted to leave just to give her a little time to relax. He didn’t say that though. Instead, he nodded. If she wanted to come along, he wouldn’t stop her. She was a strong woman with a sharp mind, and she was more than capable of making her own decisions. He would never take that from her. “All right. Let’s go then.”

  For extra protection, she wrapped the same blanket she had worn earlier around her shoulders, now that it had dried. Just seeing it reminded him of their kiss, the intense heat and pleasure, and how much he wanted to do it again.

  Stop!

  He didn’t know how much longer they would be trapped here, and thinking about it was going to make him crazy. “Stay behind me,” he said, as he gripped the leather strap. At her nod, he opened the door.

  The wind had died down some and wasn’t pushing the door, which was a good sign.

  He stepped onto the deck, his rifle raised and ready if anything decided to attack. He took the stairs slowly, barely paying attention to his path and staying riveted on the surroundings. He paused once on the ground, the snow swallowing a good portion of his legs, but kept his weapon ready.

  Tuning out Rosalie’s footsteps behind him, he willed all his attention to his ears—listening, waiting. Was the wolf out here?

  After another minute, the barrel of his rifle lowered a few inches as the weapon relaxed in his grip. “I think we’re alone.”

  Rosalie let out a lungful of air. He wondered if she’d held her breath to allow him to focus on other sounds, or if she’d truly been worried. He guessed it was probably a little of both.

  “You must have killed it,” she said, “even if there wasn’t much blood. He would have been back by now if he was still alive, wouldn’t he?”

  He slung the gun’s leather strap over his shoulder. “I’m not sure. It’s possible he was more grievously injured than I first thought. Or he’s alive, but we gave him a scare, and he won’t bother us again. Or…”

  “Or?”

  He didn’t like the final possibility, but he wouldn’t keep it from her. He turned to her then and watched as she took a final step off the porch into the snowdrift. “Wolves are smart creatures. They’re driven by instinct, yes, but they can think too. They know when to attack, when to retreat, and when to wait.”

  “Why wait?”

  “For when we’re less vigilant.”

  He regretted putting the worry in her eyes as she gazed at the trees as if they’d suddenly grown even more dangerous over the last minute.

  “But you don’t need to worry about that, because we won’t let down our guard. Every time we come out, we’ll be looking for him, watching for his return. It doesn’t matter if he died or not, we’ll always act as if he didn’t, especially since there could always be another.”

  She nodded, but he couldn’t tell if his words calmed her. He wished he could pull her into his arms and hold her and tell her it was all going to be all right, but he’d ruined that opportunity already. She clearly didn’t want him to touch her, if the distance she kept between them was anything to judge by. “Let’s check the traps and get back inside.” The sun was starting to go down, and with it, the temperature. He didn’t want to be out here any longer than necessary.

  She murmured her agreement, and they set off toward the traps. He wished he could have set them closer to the cabin for convenience, but he knew their noise and constant scent might scare the animals away. So instead, they would have to work harder for their meat.

  “With any luck, we’ll feast tonight.” His mouth almost watered at the thought.

  They had split his saddle food for their noonday meal, but it had left much to be desired. However, food was food, and he shouldn’t complain. It was very possible, likely even, that the few pieces of jerky they’d saved would be their meal tonight.

  His stomach grumbled.

  Rosalie walked behind him in silence. Was she worried about predators still, or did she not want to talk to him because of the kiss? He had to try to fix this.

  “Rosalie,” he glanced behind him to make sure she could hear him, “I feel like we should talk about this morning. About the kiss.”

  “I’m not sure what we need to dis
cuss. I think you made yourself perfectly clear.”

  He winced at her glacial tone, which seemed colder than the wind blowing off the mountain. “No, I don’t think I did. I never meant to hurt you.”

  “You didn’t.”

  He could still hear the hurt in her voice, showing her words were a lie. “I think I did. I think I didn’t express myself well.”

  “There’s no need to get into it again,” she said quickly.

  Was she trying to make this harder? Maybe he should just drop it and leave it as it was. But then he thought over the day and how miserable he had been, and how she’d looked equally affected. They’d had such an easy companionship before, one he craved to have back. Ignoring the discomfort, he said, “I only said it shouldn’t have happened, because I was worried about being in the cabin with you. Alone.”

  “You said that already.”

  He ignored the annoyance in her voice too, since it was still tinged with hurt. “Look, I really am sorry. I don’t want to be at odds with you. I don’t know how long we’ll be here together, and I would like us to be friends.”

  “Friends...?” she repeated, drawing the word out slowly, as if processing it.

  “Yes. I enjoy being with you. I know it might be odd, a man and a woman being friends, but I’d like to try.” He’d really like a lot more than that, but it wasn’t possible now, and this was something they could have, something they could share.

  “So you enjoy my company?” She sounded a little unsure of what to make of that.

  “Of course I do. I thought that was obvious.”

  “It wasn’t this morning. I mean, I thought we were getting along well, but it all ended abruptly.”

  He shook his head softly. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel any less than you are. It was foolish on my part, and I hope you’ll forgive me.”

  “There’s nothing to forgive.”

  After a few moments of silence, he asked, “What do you think? Can we try for friendship?” He yearned for her agreement.

  After what seemed an eternity to him, she finally said, “Yes, we can be friends.”