Only 04 - Only Love

longer than Shannon’s hand.
    The bullwhip cracked and the grizzly straightened. It spun away from the dog and raged deep in its chest, jaws working as though crunching through bone. Blood glistened redly above the grizzly’s right eye, proof that the bullwhip had reached flesh despite the protective fur.
    But rather than driving the bear away, the slashing bullwhip seemed only to enrage the grizzly further.
    It was obvious that sooner or later one of the bear’s massive paws would tangle with the long whip, ending its usefulness. Or the grizzly could simply charge the man like an enraged bull. Then the uneven fight would end very quickly.
    Shannon ran harder, knowing she had to get in close enough to be certain of killing the bear. Silent John had warned her that a wounded grizzly was the most dangerous animal on earth.
    As Whip’s arm moved, launching the lash like a bullet right at one of the bear’s eyes, he caught sight of Shannon running at the grizzly from the side.
    “Get back!” he yelled.
    If Shannon heard, she ignored him.
    Whip worked the lash with startling speed, creating a high, ripping crackle that held the bear’s attention while Prettyface snapped at its heels.
    Shannon kept running until the shotgun was almost touching the grizzly’s side. She triggered both barrels at a spot just under the bear’s left arm.
    There was no time for Shannon to brace herself before she fired. The shotgun’s fierce recoil knocked her flat in an instant. The grizzly gave an outraged roar and swung a massive paw at the place where Shannon’s head had been only an instant before.
    Deadly leather coils whistled and snapped tightly around the bear’s neck. Whip set his feet and jerked hard, making muscles stand rigidly all the way down his back. Grimly he dragged thechoking, mortally wounded grizzly off balance, forcing it to fall away from Shannon’s motionless body. The bear hit the earth, bucked and roared savagely, and slashed out with claws at an enemy it could no longer see.
    Abruptly the grizzly jerked and went still.
    The grove became silent but for the ragged sawing of Whip’s breath and Prettyface’s snarls as he stalked stiff-legged toward the unmoving grizzly.
    “Get back!” Whip ordered.
    Prettyface froze.
    A deceptively lazy movement of Whip’s wrist sent the tip of the lash flicking over the bear’s open eyes.
    The grizzly neither flinched nor blinked. It was truly dead.
    Whip ran to Shannon’s side and knelt in a rush. He let out a rough sound of relief when he saw that her eyes were open and she was breathing.
    “Where do you hurt?” he demanded.
    Numbly she shook her head.
    “The hell you don’t hurt,” Whip muttered. “I saw that grizzly hit you.”
    Whip’s hands hadn’t shook during the fight, but they were shaking now as he gently touched the back of Shannon’s head, searching for the wound he was sure she must have.
    “I’m—all right,” Shannon said jerkily, trying to catch her breath and speak at the same time.
    “Easy, honey girl. Just lie still until I see how bad you’re hurt.”
    “Just—breath. Shotgun—knocked me—”
    Whip’s hands hesitated. He looked down into the beautiful sapphire depths of Shannon’s eyes.
    “Recoil?” he asked.
    She nodded and concentrated on breathing.
    Saying nothing, Whip probed Shannon’s hair with long, surprisingly gentle fingers. When he found only the warmth of her scalp, he moved on down her body. His hands ran over every bit of her and found nothing but heat and a silky female softness that made him feel like he was caressing fire.
    Abruptly Whip came to his feet. He looked down at the breathless but otherwise uninjured Shannon for a long, tense moment.
    Then he held out his hand to her.
    “Can you stand?” Whip asked quietly.
    Too quietly.
    Warily Shannon looked at Whip’s eyes. Where there had been tender concern a moment before, now there was only wintry gray. His eyes were almost opaque.
    She had seen Whip look like that only once before, when the Culpeppers were baiting her. Whip had been furious then.
    He was furious now.
    Shannon scrambled to her feet without touching his outstretched hand.
    “I’m fine,” she said. “See?”
    “I see that you’re a fool, Shannon Conner Smith.”
    She winced. “Why are you yell—”
    “You could have been killed!”
    “But you were—”
    “I told you to get back,” Whip continued, talking over Shannon harshly. “Did you listen? Hell no! You came running up