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Cara fell in beside him and proudly handed him the shell.

“We’ll need this,” he said. “I guess we have to think about feeding four.”

“Six,” she corrected him.

“Hell.” He’d not been overly worried about the two of them. He still believed they could find their way home and manage not to starve. But now they were somehow responsible for Rena, Bab and the two babies. “We have to talk about this, Cara.”

The smile slipped from her face. He couldn’t imagine the conflict this caused for her.

“The only thing I can think of is to take them with us.”

“It might be tricky getting us across the river. How are we going to take the two of them and the babies across? And what will their lives be like if we make it back home?”

Cara stared out to sea, her face grim. The steady breeze off the waters lifted a few strands of her hair and played it across her face. “They’ll be shunned by many but not all and they won’t be abused anymore. Angel can live and grow up to be a true Solonian.”

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“Will anyone every trust them completely? Even Angel will always carry suspicion.

You and I aren’t going to turn our backs on either of them.”

Cara looked back at him with fierce desperation in her eyes. “We can’t leave Angel here.”

“I don’t know what we can do.” Any thought of making it through the winter was out of the question now. They could never store enough food to see them all through.

They continued slowly down the shoreline. He looked back at the tracks they’d made in the sand, but it made little difference now. If the Savages hunted for their females this far south they would find sign or smell the smoke.

“I guess tomorrow we should travel to the river and see if we have a chance. It’s less than a half a day away.”

“You go. I’ll stay here with them.”

“You will not.” He took Cara’s arm and spun her to face him. “You’re not staying here alone. Their males could come looking for them.”

“And I’ll need to be here to protect them.”

“The hell you will. You’re not standing between them and their mates.”

She knocked his hand away. “You don’t tell me what to do, Brady Gellot.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to do.” He took a deep calming breath. “I’m not leaving you here alone with them. If you don’t go with me, I’m not going.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you trying to get me alone, Captain Gellot?”

He relaxed. “The thought crossed my mind. Listen, Cara, they’ll be all right for a few days. If the males were following Rena, they would have had to retreat to their village during the storm. Even starting out today, it will take them at least two days to get this far. And they’ll have to search for her along the way to make sure she didn’t hole up somewhere. If we’re lucky, they might even think she drowned and turn back.”

She moved closer to him. “You can do better than that in convincing me I should go with you.”

He pulled her against him and lowered his head to meet her eager kiss. Her hands moved into his hair and her hips pressed against him. He wanted her right now, here on the open sands and under the sun. Damn. He pulled back. “Let’s get our blankets and head south right now.”

She smiled and bumped against his erection. “Now you’ve convinced me.”

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Bab watched Cara and Brady walk away. They said they were going exploring, but she feared they were leaving for good.

Brady laughed at something Cara said, and then he leaned toward the skinny woman and did that thing with his lips. She’d spied on them on the beach earlier and had thought they were preparing to mate. But they hadn’t. They wore so much of their strange, thin clothing, mating would be difficult. And Brady didn’t force Cara to lie down and take his thing inside her.

Brady seemed very … considerate of his mate. And he treated Bab and Rena so kindly.

He didn’t look at them with nasty things in his eyes. Never did his gaze settle on her breasts.

The men in her village always ogled the women’s breasts, often holding a woman still to lick or pinch her nipples.

What would it feel like to have Brady lick her nipples? Her palms itched with the need to touch his dark, fluffy hair. Everything about him was so clean, and he smelled so nice. After being mounted by Jak and nearly every other male in her village, she never thought she’d want that again. She had Angel and there was no need to ever have a male again. But she wanted to see Brady’s lean body up close. She wanted him to touch her with the same gentleness he used on his mate. Cara walked with a pride and confidence that was unlike any female Bab knew.

She wanted that for Angel.

Angel gurgled and waved her arms around. The child was content now that Bab was getting enough to eat.

The two pretty strangers walked toward the loud waters. It was a frightful place. Even the sound of the water made her dizzy, and she’d never been really close to it.

Rena slept beside her little boy, Storm, in a warm patch of sand in front of the cave. The sun found its way through holes in the ragged and torn canopy. There were plenty of downed branches to be used when the cold season arrived.

Bab turned back to watch Brady and his mate. She knew she was the most desirable female in her tribe and surely Brady felt the same lusts of any other male. They could have a beautiful child together, maybe a male, to be a match for Angel. They could parent an entire new tribe if Brady bred on all three of them. Even Rena might have little angels if Brady mated with her.

Brady walked with a smooth stride that reminded her of the dangerous cats they sometimes saw roaming the tops of the stone cliffs. There was something predatory about him even though he was so lean compared to the men of her tribe. His hairless, smooth face had skin like a boy, but it was shaped in the strength of a man. But it was his eyes that tightened her nipples and raised wet heat between her legs. None of her dreams prepared her for the sight of such true-colored eyes. At first she hadn’t been able to meet his cool, clear stare. But she’d figured out he wasn’t really a spirit, but a hot-blooded man sent here to help her start a new life.

Now she sought to draw his stare at every chance.

It would be easy to follow Brady and Cara while keeping out of sight. She was going to make sure they didn’t leave before she had a chance to win him. In a little while she would wake Rena and tell her where she was going. Her friend needed to rest after her terrible last two days.

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She worked on fixing one of the hides into a sling to carry Angel and then packed some of the nuts and dried fruit Rena had brought with her. She might be gone days. She shook out her skirt and brushed some loose dirt and leaves from it. With a frown, she noticed dirt crusted around her nails and engrained in her knuckles.

She set Angel near Rena and went to the cold, little stream that drizzled off the cliff.

Shucking her skirt, she gathered handfuls of water and scrubbed herself with ruthless determination. Her skin shrank from the chill, but it was a small price to pay for Brady. Her breasts were large and full with milk, her thighs strong, and her hips wide to carry his child. He would find her irresistible.

* * * *

Cara walked beside Brady, neither one of them worrying about noise or stealth. The Savages were well behind them except for Bab and Rena.

She didn’t know how to feel about the female Savages and their infants. She’d thought herself capable of killing any Savage, any age, at any time without mercy or remorse. Yet, how could anyone with the smallest hint of human compassion think of harming the little ones. And Angel didn’t resemble her parents in any way. If someone saw her in Cara’s arms, they would assume the baby was hers, her and Brady’s.

Her stomach clenched at the thought. If they ever did return to their homes, she couldn’t expect Brady to stay with her. She wouldn’t allow it if he wanted to do so. Men wanted families, children to carry on their legacy. And she could never give him that. The last few days had convinced her she could give him love in the way a wife should to her man, but she could never be a complete woman. Even a simple-minded Savage like Bab could produce a lovely child. Rena’s child was obviously the offspring of Savages and would never be mistaken for anything else.

“I’m thinking we should stop and rest a little.’ Brady took her hand and lifted it to his lips.

She didn’t blame him for the cautious look in his eyes. How was he supposed to guess at her mood when she couldn’t figure it out herself?

“We were interrupted by Rena and then the damned storm,” Brady said, walking slowly and leading her toward the tree line.

His deep voice melted the stressful indecision from her nerves. They didn’t have to make any firm decisions this moment. Brady’s way of taking things one step at a time was making more sense to her all the time. They would enjoy this time without their odd companions staring at them in awe and fear.

The sun was past midday so the shadows of the trees stretched like fingers pointed toward the sea. Brady stopped halfway to the water in an area where there was little storm debris. Here and there were ugly brown clumps of drying seaweed.

He kicked the clumps aside and cleared an area big enough to spread their blankets. He placed their two packs on the edges to hold the blankets flat against the breeze. They’d divided the bullets between the two bags in case they should lose one so they wouldn’t be without ammunition for the gun. He carefully set his belt with the pistol on the edge of the blanket and out of the sand. He cleaned the weapon every day with the special equipment in his pack.

Cara sat on the edge of the blanket and pulled off her boots. He joined her, kicking off his worn footgear next to hers. They both pulled their knees up, wrapped their arms around them and gazed out to sea. The water shimmered silver and blue while white birds dove and danced in the endless blue sky. Only hours before the scene had been quite different and deadly. At the ONE GOOD WOMAN SUSAN KELLEY 75

moment it looked like paradise. Brady took her hand but otherwise seemed content to do nothing but contemplate the eternal sea. Now it was truly paradise.

“Cara, I don’t know what we’re going to do next.” Brady turned slightly to face her. His blue eyes were dark and the same infinite blue as the cloudless sky. “But for right now, right this moment, I’m as happy and content as I’ve ever been in my life.”

She squeezed his hand. Her throat was tight and funny as if she might cry. Except she never cried. Not any more. She touched his cheek and then his wild, silky hair. His children would have the same type of hair, wild as the spirit of the Realm. No wonder Bab at first thought him a deity of sorts. His lips touched hers with a warmth that raised something sensual and deep in her belly. Nerves tingled in her legs with the mere thought of his touch.

They undressed each other slowly, the sun hot enough to offset the sea breeze feathering across their bare skin. He pulled her down on top of him, and she felt a momentary twinge of guilt that she could not let him be on top of her. But then his hands were touching her everywhere and need overwhelmed her guilt.

* * * *

Bab put Angel to her breast so the infant wouldn’t cry out. Not that the mating couple on the beach would have heard her over the crash of the waves and their own preoccupation.

Their antics fascinated her. Brady’s body was so smooth and hairless compared to the men of her tribe. Dark hairs grew around his man rod, but his chest and back were as bare as a child’s. His muscles moved beneath his skin like thick ropes rather than the massive bulk of the men she’d known all her life.

Cara ran her fingers through Brady’s hair while they did that thing with their mouths.

Did they exchange breaths? It seemed to give them great pleasure. She couldn’t wait to try it.

Jak had bit her a few times when he mounted her, but what they did seemed to be only with their lips and tongues, no teeth used at all.

The woman’s body was as thin as Bab expected it to be. Her breasts were like those of a young girl not yet ready to breed. What was wrong with her? Perhaps she’d been starved for a while and was still recovering. Both their bodies were clean. Washing had been a good idea.

Brady would like that.

The couple touched each other with gentle, petting motions. Very strange but Bab expected Brady’s hands on her would feel nice.

Brady laid back and Cara followed him down. Why did they take so long before mating?

Cara squirmed and wiggled on top of him, played with his face and pressed her mouth to his.

Did she try to drink her mate’s soul?

Bab shifted so she could see better. Men always took women, quick and hard, but something different was happening here.

Cara straddled Brady and took his man rod into her woman’s opening. He reached up and touched one of her tiny breasts. His other hand explored the patch of hair between her legs.

Bab squeezed her own legs tight together. Brady knew about that miracle place on a woman’s body? He understood that touching it could send a woman’s soul soaring into the sky and steal all her senses?

Heat welled inside of Bab. She’d experienced the rush of pleasure that could come when she touched herself there. She loved that rush of pleasure that left her heart racing and her muscles weak, but how much better might it be with a man’s rod inside her and his strong fingers on that hard little piece of her being instead of her own? She suspected a woman’s spirit was centered in that spot.