Wick quickly reached for the rope he always carried on his saddle. He was after all a cattle rancher when not seeking to avenge his brother’s death. This had been the first time he had been down the mountain for several years, not since he’d gone with Camron to the desert spaceship that brought some of their people to Oltarin. Cam was only twenty that year, and though it was his duty, their parents hadn’t wanted him to go alone, so Wick went with him.
The space shuttle was one of several ships that brought their ancestors from the stars. It was all they had left of the technology that brought them here from Earth over two hundred years before. It was an awesome craft with computers and a working communications unit supported by solar batteries. It was the only one of the vessels that still had working technology. Once a year the second born son of the mountain clan’s chieftain came down from the mountains to send out a signal to the Tyrell Corporation that financed their colony.
Camron was the second born, and last summer had been his fourth time making the journey alone. On his way back Vargan Rode and some of his men ambushed him between Macon River and Sapphire Lake. They captured him, and Vargan ran him through with a sword from what Wick had learned. Wick had found him on the trail, his body tied to his horse.
Though four years older, Wick and his brother were close and his grief at losing him was profound. He wanted someone to pay, and he’d almost made the mistake of making it Lora.
But now he realized he had started to care for her. He was not going to let her die.
He took the rope and made a big loop in the end and tossed it down the bank to Lora. “Put the loop around you, and I’ll pull you up, sweetheart.”
Lora hooked one arm around the tree and put the loop over her head and free arm. She then hooked that arm around the tree and put her other arm through the loop and tightened it under her arms.
“Hang on, baby. I’m going to move up the trail a little farther where the ground is firmer,” Wick called to her and moved about ten feet further up the trail. He hooked the end of the rope to the saddle and proceeded to pull Lora up the bank hand over hand.
With the loose shale sliding under her the whole way, Lora was unable to help him pull her up. All she could do was hold on. Had she not caught the sapling on the way she would have fallen to her death in the ravine. The minutes seemed endless as she was lifted up the bank a few feet at a time.
She was covered with powdery dirt by the time Wick had pulled her back up the path. That didn’t stop him from picking her up off the ground and hugging her tightly before he even took the rope off her. She put her arms around him and hugged him back.
“By gods, Lora, you scared me to death,” he murmured against her hair. Then he kissed her mouth fervently with just a dip of his tongue into hers. Then he drew back and looked down at her for a moment, his eyes glittered warmly with tenderness. “Are you all right, baby?”
She nodded. “Yes, thanks. I was really scared, too.”
Wick rested his forehead against hers and cradled her face in his hands caressing her cheeks with his thumbs. “We’re past the worst of it Arracon can take us the rest of the way. And you’re in luck. There’s a little waterfall at our next camp spot so we can get cleaned up.”
“But my clothes are laden with dirt. I really need to wash them, but I have nothing else to put on,” she said.
“Yes, I know, I didn’t give you a chance to go home and pack before I kidnapped you.”
“So, now you admit it,” she teased him.
“And I’m not sorry,” he added. “I’m only sorry I frightened you, not sorry I took you from Vargan Rode. I wasn’t ever going to hurt you. I didn’t know it until I tried and realize the only thing I wanted was to fuck you. And I want to fuck you again and again.”
“Well, I’m not opposed to that, but you do know that’s how babies are made, don’t you?” she said and pressed a light kiss to his lips. “What if you make me pregnant?”
“Then, I guess we will have a baby,” he replied, unconcerned. “Don’t worry, I will take care of you both if that happens.” He held her for a few moments longer then said, “Come on, let's mount up and get moving so we can get to the next camp before dark. I have an extra shirt you can wear while your clothes are drying.”
He took the rope off her and secured it on the saddle hook then boosted Lora up onto Arracon’s back and leaped up to catch the stirrup with his left foot and mounted behind her. With a slight pressure of his legs, Wick set the horse in motion.
They reached the next campsite about two hours later. Compared to some of the other places they’d camped, this one was almost luxurious with a three-sided shelter with a floor all build from native wood that hardened to a stone like material that made buildings that lasted for many years.
The waterfall was visible from the shelter, and Wick told Lora to go ahead to get cleaned up. He would unsaddle the horse join her to bathe under the waterfall. While she was waiting for Wick to join her, she stripped off her clothing and rinsed it out in the stream then wrung them out by hand and laid them on the bank with her moccasins.
By then, Wick had tethered the horse to graze and was walking across the small meadow to join her. He was carrying the shirt he had promised for her to wear. Laying in on the grass, he started stripping off his leathers, knife sheaths, and soft leather boots. When he was naked, he joined Lora, and they walked under the waterfall together. Despite the warm weather, the water sprinkling down on top of them was cold, but refreshing after the hot, dusty trail.
Laughing and teasing together, they rubbed the dirt off each other under the water. Lora couldn’t help noticing Wick’s obvious erection the whole time they were bathing, and the cold water did little to quell it. It didn’t surprise her when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply once they were on the grassy bank. That was all it took for her to melt into him, and her body to become hyperaware of his warm skin against hers.
Wick drew her down on the grass with him and took complete liberties with her body, fucking her long and slow then hard and fast until they had both been thoroughly and blissfully satisfied. As he lay over her looking down into her eyes afterward, he considered that she was like an addictive drug that he could never get enough of.