The Prospect: The Malloy Family, Book 10 (18 page)

“Wh-what?”

“I ain’t never seen one and I sure as hell never read about them. I told you I can’t read. While we wait for the damn bear to give up and move on, I thought you could tell me what you know.” He moved one shoulder in what she assumed was a shrug. “You might know something to help us get away.”

Declan, a self-proclaimed bad man, saved her once again. His request for information took hold of her panic by the tail and yanked it to a stop. He was everything she could ever want in a mate. Knowledge was power.

She snuggled into the crook of his shoulder and closed her eyes, letting her mind focus. “The first thing to remember is most bears are not carnivores.”

Declan listened to her speak, marveling that her tiny head held so much information. She was amazing. She talked, her soft voice teaching him all she knew about bears, which was a hell of a lot more than he expected.

When she stopped to take a drink, he realized the bear had gone silent. The only sounds were the night creatures singing, clicking and scampering in the trees around them. The scent of pine surrounded them, no longer polluted by the foul stench of the bear. It worried him because he didn’t know where the bear was. It could have settled down ten feet away to wait. In the inky blackness around them, the damn thing could be on the next branch and he wouldn’t know it.

Their flight from the fort had turned into a nightmare. Potentially chased by Drummond, definitely chased by wolves and a bear, it seemed Declan and Jo were not meant to escape unscathed. As if to prove his point, rain began to fall again. It wasn’t the painful hail they’d lived through before, but it rained steadily.

He wasn’t about to tempt fate by complaining about it. They might be struck by lightning and fall out of the damn tree.

“It appears to be raining again.” Jo sounded tired.

“Aye. Are you cold?” He liked having her tucked up against him. Made him feel as if he was doing something right by keeping her warm.

“No. Sitting within your arms is similar to being surrounded by a stove. You are not only handsome but a human blanket.”

He started, surprised by the compliment. “You think I’m handsome?”

She was quiet for a few beats and he wondered if he should have kept his big mouth shut. Declan knew he was dog-ugly, with a crooked nose and too many scars to be considered good-looking.

“You are by far the most handsome and largest man I have seen in my life. Particularly since you scraped the fur from your cheeks and chin.” Her voice wavered ever so slightly. His face heated at her words and damned if he didn’t think he was blushing. Blushing! Ridiculous. Unbelievable. True.

“I want to kiss you,” he blurted out. His finesse at wooing the woman he shouldn’t have was reaching legendary proportions.

“I would very much enjoy that.” She turned her face up toward his, her warm breath grazing his chin.

He couldn’t resist, not even if he tried. Declan cupped her cheek, the skin soft and cool. He started by kissing one eyebrow, then the other, making his way down her cheek to her jaw. The sweet spot beneath her jaw, making her quiver.

With a swipe of his tongue, he tasted her skin, sweet and fresh. He nibbled his way to her lips and she sighed against him. With a smile, he captured her mouth and thoroughly kissed her. He tickled the seam of her lips with his tongue until she opened her mouth, then he swept in.

She made a strangled sound and her actions told him she hadn’t much experience in kissing men this way. He wanted to beat his chest and howl. She had learned so much since he’d first kissed her. He was teaching her—the walking library of facts and information knew nothing about kissing.

She soon had the gist of what to do and her tentative movements emboldened her. He pushed his straining cock against her soft belly and took that little bit of vicarious pleasure. What he wanted to do was tear off her clothes and bury himself in her core. What he did do was break the kiss and come up for air while he still could.

She pushed up her spectacles on her nose. “That was, er, quite lovely.” Her voice shook and her lips were berry red, swollen and moist.

Declan called on every ounce of self-control not to plunder that sweet mouth again. It would be difficult to travel with her and not repeat that kiss or push it even farther.

Damned if he did and double damned if he didn’t.

Dappled sunlight shone through the thick branches, teasing Jo’s eyes open. She could hardly believe she had fallen asleep in a tree, even for a few hours. Declan made a lovely bed, but no doubt he wasn’t as comfortable as she had been. She didn’t want to move, surrounded by his warmth and his scent.

He pressed his mouth to her ear. “Quiet. Don’t move.”

The sounds of forest gave way to the murmur of voices. Men’s voices. She tensed, her heart tripping into a fast-paced thump. She and Declan were hidden in the tree and it was unlikely whoever was down there could see them. If they made noise, however, someone could hear them. Jo breathed out slowly, not daring to move even an inch.

The very real dangers in their journey seemed to never end. One right after the other, over and over. She never knew what was going to be around the next corner or down at the bottom of the tree. It was nerve-racking and, at the same time, life altering. Jo hadn’t experienced even one hundredth of the adventure she had found on the trip to Oregon, and even more so since they’d left the fort.

A horse whinnied, followed by another. The murmurs grew louder and she closed her eyes, straining to hear what they said. She and Declan’s lives were at risk every moment they spent out in the wilderness. The sooner they found shelter with her sister Frankie and her husband John, the better.

Although she couldn’t see them, the sounds of the horses drew closer. She clenched Declan’s hand hard enough to make her fingers hurt. He didn’t appear to mind, allowing her to almost wrench his phalanges right from his body.

The men came close to their tree, but not right below it. Each second that passed was excruciating, as though a giant clock ticked in her ear.
Tick tock
.
Tick tock
. She breathed in and out, her pulse thundering through her ears. Although it was a cool morning, sweat pooled everywhere a lady should not perspire.

After what seemed like an eternity, the men rode away. Slowly enough to be mistaken for turtles. Particularly lethargic turtles.

Another ten minutes passed before she dared to move. Declan loosened his grip and she sucked in a deep breath, then another. She shook from the stress of hiding, running, fighting for their lives against four-legged and two-legged creatures. Jo was nearly past the point of endurance.

Then Declan spoke. “You did well, little one.”

“I thought perhaps I might explode.” She was surprised how shaky her voice was. “Do you know who it was?”

His jaw tightened. “Aye. It was Drummond and Parker. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it doesn’t matter. They were headed toward Malloy and your sister.”

The idea of being in danger had become a familiar feeling for Jo. However, to think her sister and new husband were in trouble because of her made an unfamiliar sensation rocket through her body.

Anger.

“We cannot let them be hurt.”

He raised both brows. “I don’t want them hurt either.”

“Then we must stop those men before they get there.” A protective fury filled her words. “We did not ask to be victims of their avarice, but we escaped. I will not allow Frankie and John to suffer for our actions. Those men need to be brought to justice.”

“We don’t have a horse. How are we going to stop them? Or even catch them?” Declan wasn’t mean—he was practical.

“I have no idea.” Jo needed to call on the knowledge she’d been accumulating all her life. This time she had to find a way to protect her family from the danger she’d unleashed.

“First thing we need to do is get out of this tree and eat. They’re not moving very fast, probably searching for us, so that gives us some time. They also don’t know we’re now behind them, so that gives us an advantage.” Declan lowered Jo to the branch below, and she somehow managed not to fall off.

“All true, but it does not help us devise a way to beat them to my sister’s dwelling.” She watched as he deftly climbed down two branches then reached up for her. For a big man, he was incredibly nimble.

They made their way down the tree one branch at a time. She breathed a sigh of relief when her feet touched the ground. Declan jumped the last ten feet, the pine needles making his footsteps silent. He smiled at her, and a zing of awareness marched through her body. She savored the memory of kissing him in the darkness, the heat of his mouth, his tongue, his lips.

Jo wanted to do it again. Right now.

“We need to get moving. We might run into someone we can buy a horse from.” Declan shifted his pack on his back and turned away from her.

Insulted by his rejection, she stared after him. In all fairness, he had no idea he rejected her. For heaven’s sakes, she hadn’t even said anything about kissing, nor did he. Yet he should have read her gaze or her stance. Something. But he hadn’t.

Jo stood there long enough he turned around to scowl at her. “Get your feet moving, lass. We can’t stand here all day.”

Jo huffed out a breath of impatience but knew he was right, regardless of her wants. Kissing Declan shouldn’t be foremost on her mind. Getting to her sister, being safe, that should be her goal.

Yet she couldn’t shake the notion it would have been nice to kiss him before they began the day’s journey. Very nice.

“The river!” Jo’s shout startled him.

He kept walking to cover up the jolt. A tiny woman with spectacles and a large vocabulary shouldn’t be able to scare him. Yet she had. Damned if he wasn’t on edge around her still. More so since they had consummated their fake marriage. What he wouldn’t give to turn back time and erase that experience.

Almost as much as he would give to repeat it.

“I recall Mr. Malloy mentioning a river ran through his property. If we find the river, we can follow it. Possibly swim to move more quickly than walking.” She sounded as though she was having trouble breathing and walking.

Declan stopped. He’d picked up speed, his long legs eating up the ground and leaving her behind. She had run to keep up with him.

“Sorry, Jo. I, uh, didn’t mean to walk so fast.”

She held up her hand and leaned forward, puffing like a steam engine. Guilt knifed through him. What an inconsiderate jackass he was. After a minute, she sucked in a large breath and blew it out.

“One would think I had not walked for hundreds of miles across the West.” She wiped her brow with her sleeve. “The society ladies would have a fit of the vapors to see how much I have perspired in the last two days.”

“Ladies don’t sweat?” He held out a canteen to her.

“Not any who would admit it.” She smiled, lighting up her entire face. The earth shifted under his feet once again. Josephine was beautiful, a rose beneath a façade that no one saw behind except him. Even sweaty, with her hair in a dark halo and pine needles stuck in it, she was perfect.

Water dribbled down her chin after she took a large swig. She swiped at it with her sleeve again.

“I believe I am breaking every rule in the book for proper young ladies.” She shook her head. “I cannot say I regret the changes, though.” Her brown eyes flashed, and heat flooded his body. The spark between them was constantly there, burning like a flame without end.

“Rules are meant to be broken or there wouldn’t be any.” He grinned at her and her cheeks pinked. “I’m sorry I was walking so fast. I want to be as far away from here as we can.” He paused, considering his words. “The river is a good idea. I do remember Malloy talking about it, how their livestock would be fat and healthy on the clean water and thick grass.”

She slid her spectacles up her nose and nodded. “That would be the result of adequate sustenance for the cattle and horses.”

He shook his head. “One day you’ll have to teach me what all those fancy words mean. For now, let’s find the river and figure out what to do once we get there.”

She handed the canteen back to him. “Thank you. I was parched.” Her lips were wet from the water and Declan could not resist a taste.

He kissed her quick and hard, surprise sweeping across her face. He licked his lips and she started. She tasted of sunshine, outdoors and something indefinable. Something entirely Jo.

“I’ll walk behind you from now on so I don’t leave you in my dust.” He gestured with his arm. “We need to go south which, judging by the sun, is that way.”

“I believe you are correct. It’s actually southeast, but it would appear that is the correct direction.” To his surprise, she dropped a curtsey. “Let us away, good sir.”

“I ain’t good and I ain’t a sir, but I am ready to go.” He never knew what to expect.

Jo threw back her shoulders and walked forward, arms swinging and a spring in her step. Declan followed, keeping his eyes moving, scanning everywhere for anything and everything. They’d had too many surprises, and it spoke to his failing as a man and a pitiful fake husband. Her life had been in danger too many times to count. Hell, he still had the blood under his fingernails from the damn wolf.