An Ounce of Prevention

He pulled her close and leaned his head down, softly kissing her lips. For a long exciting moment his lips lingered on hers. Finally he lifted his head and released her.

"I think the horse has rested long enough. We'd better get moving."

He mounted first and helped her up. She put her arms around his waist, hugging him. He patted her arm as he urged the horse into motion.

"The look on his face when you jerked your blouse open." He chuckled. "I thought his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets."

That wasn't the part that left an impression in her mind. "He looked at me as though I had betrayed him. I felt ashamed."

He twisted and looked over his shoulder at her. "You had no reason to feel ashamed. It was he who betrayed you - telling you he was going to sell you…." Alex shook his head as he turned back and sat up straight. His warm fingers caressed her arms around his waist. "I had to get you away from him."

It could have been so much worse, and they weren't out of trouble yet. She sighed. "I don't know what I would do without you - especially now."

She laid her head against his back and closed her eyes. It was quiet except for the sound of each hoof sinking into the floor of the sandy arroyo, and the occasional clink of metal on the harness. The smell of leather and dust lingered with the special smell of Alex. It wasn't sweat, but a pleasant smell that she thought of as being masculine. Her heart beat faster…or was it his heart?

Alex suddenly stiffened and swore. "That's why they aren't following us!"

He helped her to the ground and dismounted, looking around. "Over there," he said, pointing to a washed out area in the dirt wall ahead of them. It created an overhang over the arroyo. When they reached the spot, he quickly jerked the saddle and blanket off the horse. He tossed the saddle deep in the shadows and lunged in after her as the helicopter approached.

Carmen cringed against him as the horse ran away. There must be more than one helicopter. The earth was rumbling with the beat of the rotors. As the rumbling grew, she realized what she was hearing was the sound of hooves along with the beating of the helicopter rotors.