‘They are slowing,’ Carlotta gasped.
‘They are reloading again. We must keep going,’ Phillip told her. He made a mental promise to himself that the thugs would end up behind bars. Phillip then turned his horse and raced after the rest of the herd. For mile upon mile the horses ran together. Some began to tire and show a little more interest in the greenery, but they didn’t linger for long when they realised the herd was leaving them behind. Eventually, they all reached a small clearing where Phillip slowly guided them to a stop.
‘Do you know where we are?’ Carlotta asked when she gathered the strength to lift her head and take a good look around what appeared to be a small meadow.
It was nondescript; nothing more than a small clearing in the middle of a dense copse. There wasn’t much within it except lush grass, but it was sheltered and there was no sign of the thugs yet.
‘Get down,’ Phillip hissed. He half pushed and half dragged her off the horse, grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the treeline. With the horses protecting them from the thugs when they entered the clearing, Phillip guided her into the darkest of shadows in search of a place to hide. ‘Stand still.’
Despite knowing that the thugs were a good five minutes away and hadn’t been able to see them, Phillip had the distinct feeling that they were not alone. He had no idea where the danger came from because the woods were still and quiet. Birds sang merrily high in the treetops. A squirrel scurried up and down the tree beside them without stopping to scent the air for danger. Nothing was outwardly amiss, but his gut instinct was warning him that something was wrong.
‘We are being watched, and it isn’t the thugs,’ he murmured.
He closed his eyes and willed himself to focus on what he could hear, smell, and feel. He listened to the leaves rustling overhead and tried hard to hear through it. Nothing. ‘Damn it.’
Carlotta shivered when his warm breath slithered down her neck. She clutched his shirt and looked him in the eye. In that moment, the woods around them receded. He was so close that she could feel the faint wisp of his breath dancing across her cheeks whenever he exhaled. Carlotta tried to make herself back away, but the approaching thugs forced her to remain where she was. She remained perfectly still as she watched Phillip’s head lower toward hers. His handsome features blurred until she felt the first feather light brush of his lips. Hers instinctively parted on a gasp. Phillip took advantage of her momentary hesitation to press home his advantage. He settled his lips upon hers more forcefully. All the while he was waiting for her to object, tell him to stop or for her to push him away. When she didn’t, he made no attempt to fight his own need of her and surrendered to the need that he suspected flowed through them both. The tension that flourished wasn’t nerves or worry brought about by the thugs. It was the tension of two people who were warily tasting, sampling, try
ing to deny the growing attraction between them that neither of them was familiar with.
Together they tasted and explored, challenged and surrendered, savoured and questioned and eventually mated. Hands scoured flesh. Hearts pounded. Phillip was lost in the moment; her complete surrender was his goal. He had already given her everything he was able to give her right now, but it wasn’t enough. Anything else would bring about his ruin, he knew it, but he couldn’t step away. Not just his ruin; hers too. He couldn’t ruin either of them, despite the pressing need that was compelling him to lower her to the ground and truly explore the delicious curves that were pressing into him. He groaned when she slid her hands up the broad width of his chest. He tried to capture them and drag them back down again only to find himself holding her shoulders instead. Sweeping his hands gently down the long length of her arms, all Phillip could do was slide his palms down the gentle sweep of her back.
It was the soft snuffle of a horse that snapped them out of their heady desire. Phillip lifted his head when he heard the heavy crunch of boots on twigs. The thugs were almost upon them. The birds warned him that they were no longer alone. They had stopped singing and had disappeared. The squirrel had returned home to hide in the thick denseness of the woodland bark. Everything had fallen silent.
Phillip held Carlotta tightly against him. Thankfully, the thick oak tree they were standing against protected them from being able to see the meadow, and as such protected anybody in the meadow from being able to see them.
‘Where do you think they went?’ Phillip heard one of the thugs ask.
‘They are around here somewhere. Get searching,’ his friend grunted.
Phillip threw Carlotta an apologetic look before he lifted his boot and quietly removed his knife. Flicking it open with a quiet click, he eased to one side and peered around the tree. That faint movement was all it took for the tree beside them to come alive as it was hit with a bullet. Despite its girth, the huge oak tree shuddered when another bullet hit it.
‘Come on,’ Phillip growled. Grabbing Carlotta’s hand, he tugged her away from the gunman, and deeper into the woods.
‘Where are we going? We need the horses,’ Carlotta gasped.
‘We have got to get to the safe house.’
Carlotta lifted her skirts but stumbled and staggered through the undergrowth because of how fast Phillip’s much longer legs were eating the distance. ‘Stop. Stop,’ she pleaded. ‘I can’t carry on.’
‘You have to keep moving, Carlotta.’ Phillip cursed when the tree beside them shuddered. They both watched fine splinters fly into the air.
Phillip opened his mouth to speak only to be interrupted by another loud blast of gunfire. This time though, it was different. It wasn’t just the occasional random shot the thugs took.
‘Someone is firing at them,’ Phillip whispered. When he turned around, the thug behind them had vanished. Phillip watched the undergrowth carefully.
‘Come on,’ Carlotta urged, tugging at his hand.
Phillip held his hand up to tell her to stand still. He tipped his head and listened carefully to the gunshots. ‘There are several men here.’
‘Who?’ Carlotta threw a frantic glance around the woods. She was so scared she struggled to speak. ‘Do you think they are the gunmen from last night?’
Phillip immediately backed her toward a tree and positioned himself in front of her so that if anybody shot at them the bullet would hit him and not her. Carlotta put her hands on his waist and stood on tiptoe to look over his shoulder.
‘Stay down,’ he hissed. When he looked over his shoulder their gazes met. Phillip was struck by just how instinctive it was to turn around and face her again. The urge to kiss her was strong, but the sudden cracking of the undergrowth nearby made him turn to face forward instead.
Carlotta looked up at the high canopy of leaves overhead. ‘What’s up there?’
‘Stay quiet,’ he whispered.