Only 06 - Winter Fire

silver.”
    She told herself that the odd little lurch her heart gave had to do with looking for treasure, not with the veiled hunger in his eyes.
    â€œAll right, I’ll set out the beans,” she agreed.
    â€œWill three packhorses be enough?”
    â€œFor all the silver?”
    He made a disgusted sound.
    â€œFor all the firewood,” he said. “It burns a damned sight better than foolish dreams of silver.”

20
    T alons of icy wind raked over the canyon country.
    Low, pewter-colored clouds boiled overhead. Where the clouds had stacked up against peaks or plateaus, gray became a blue-black mass concealing the land.
    â€œSmells like snow,” Sarah said.
    â€œIf it is, we’ll be hunting deer instead of silver tomorrow.”
    Case turned up his collar against the wind.
    She started to argue but thought better of it. There were extra people to feed. Animal tracks would show clearly against new snow. It was an opportunity they couldn’t pass up.
    â€œNo argument?” he prodded.
    â€œI like to eat as well as the next person.”
    â€œWouldn’t have guessed it lately. I’ve had to shove every bite down your throat.”
    She ignored him.
    He was tempted to bait her. He could handle her anger better than he could the way she avoided looking him in the eye.
    Or the way she stepped aside to prevent even the possibility of brushing against him in the small cabin.
    What am I so touchy about? he asked himself grimly. I told her not to tempt me. She’s doing everything she can to avoid it .
    And me .
    Yet, short of vanishing, she couldn’t help tempting him unmercifully.
    Every moment he was awake, something reminded him of the incandescent sensuality he had discovered beneath her fear. The shine of lamplight on her hair, the scent of roses on her skin, the whispering of the spindle as she made yarn, the curve of her chin as she watched a hawk flying free across the sky…everything about her called to him.
    And the natural sway of her body as she rode ahead of him aroused him to the point of pain.
    â€œCome on, you stubborn beasts,” he muttered, pulling on the lead rope.
    Very reluctantly the first mustang speeded up. The three packhorses were tied together, and all were of the same mind. They wanted their rumps instead of their heads pointed into the winter wind.
    Case looked around the rapidly narrowing canyon. From what he had seen of similar canyons so far, he guessed that the head of this one would be a wall only hawks could get over.
    It wasn’t a comforting thought. This was the same canyon where the raiders had shot holes in Sarah’s jacket.
    Another blind canyon , he thought. Hope the damned raiders have given up on ambushes .
    Sooner or later, even dumb, bone-lazy outlaws figure out that ambushing me just isn’t smart .
    The back of his neck was prickling. He had a clear feeling that someone was watching them. Carefully he examined every high point for the flash of metal or glass that would give away the presence of raiders. He also watched the horses for any sign that they scented more than rock and piñon ahead.
    Wonder what Sarah saw while she was dragging firewood out of here , he thought. Nothing looks promising to me .
    Just one of hundreds of similar canyons. She would have a better chance looking for a horseshoe nail in a haystack the size of Texas .
    Not that the silver mattered to Case. There was plenty of wood to be gathered, and that was all he cared about.
    Sarah finally reined in when they were well past the place where they had been ambushed. A barrier of dead trees, boulders, and rubble lay across the canyon like jackstraws.
    â€œI’ll just be a minute,” she said, dismounting.
    He kicked free of the stirrups, landed running, and caught her arm before she had taken two steps away from her horse.
    â€œWhere do you think you’re going?” he asked.
    His voice was rough with the hunger riding him. The sound of it sent a small shiver through her.
    How can I not tempt him when his need is working on my nerves like a file? she asked.
    And so is mine .
    Lord, I never expected to want a man inside my body, and now I can’t think about anything except holding Case just as close and hard and deep as I can .
    Nothing ever felt like that. I didn’t even know anything could .
    A thrill of heat shot through her that made her breath catch. She wondered if she would ever again know that astonishing,