Love Lasts Forever (18 page)

Patience,
he reminded himself, sweat beading on his brow.

His hands moved from her thighs and slid over her flat abdomen then rested on her full breasts. His thumbs and fingers rolled over her nipples, making her sigh and moan in barely contained passion. Delirious sensations swept through him, making him feel as if he was sent back in time for the purpose of bringing life to her passions and reawakening his own.

All the while, his ardent kisses possessed her. Thor took her little bud between his lips and tongue. He sucked gently at first. “Oh,” she moaned, as his tongue’s strokes became more insistent. She released a loud shriek as his mouth sucked harder.

Her legs trembled against him. Her hips jerked in time to his ministrations. Suddenly, she tensed and closed her legs around his head. Her first taste of passion captured her completely. Pleasure rippled through Thor. He was the first man to take her there.

As the waves of desire engulfed her, he continued to love her with his mouth. He craved the taste of her, instantly addicted to her wild response. She moved wildly beneath him, screaming his name, and digging her fingers into his flesh. Just when her movements stilled and she seemed breathless and spent, he entered her.

The barrier of innocence reminded him to control his instincts to bury himself within her. Her body tensed with his first thrust.

Patience.

Thor withdrew and eased inside her again. Slowly, he moved, allowing her to become accustomed to his penetrating arousal. Veins corded in his neck as he focused all of his attention on loving her with gentleness. His efforts paid off when she begged, “Please, Thor.”

He buried himself deep within her, filling her with his hardness. Her legs wrapped around his hips, and her pelvis bumped hard against his. His mouth closed over hers. Her tongue pushed inside his mouth and quickly found his. Thor drew it deep into his mouth, tasting her there just as thoroughly as he had tasted her before.

His previous sexual encounters had never been as exquisite as this. Their bodies melded together. He felt at one with Willow. An invisible cord stretched around them, making this more than a quest for physical release. His soul connected with hers. She was better than his boyhood and college fantasies. Willow Elkridge was all he ever wanted and more. Inside her arms, he discovered joy that he never knew existed.

His body became hot and slick with perspiration. She slid her hands slid down his back and grasped his backside. He pushed hard against her. Their hips moved closer, enabling him to sink deeper inside her.

She cried out in ecstasy. “Blessed be! I love you, Thor.”

Her declaration mingled with the loud roar of blood filling his ears. Rocking against her, his release came hard. His voice was raw and hoarse. “Oh, Willow..”

Rolling off her, Thor closed his eyes and wrapped his arms tightly around her. In the otherwise quiet shack, their breaths came in ragged spurts until their heart rates returned to normal, and they slowly came back to earth.

Willow’s slender frame curved against him in a perfect fit. Her thigh rested trustingly on top of his, and she sighed deeply. As he enjoyed the warmth of her body, her words came back to him. His eyes flew open.

She loves me.

A few simple words rocked his world and rendered him speechless. What should he say? He cared deeply for her. More than he ever cared for any woman but was it love?

Oh, God, we didn’t even use protection. What if?
It was too soon to consider that possibility after the joy of being with her. The need for words nagged him. He owed her that much.

He brushed damp tendrils from her face. “Willow?”

She mumbled an unintelligible response. Through parted lips, her breath tickled his chest in slow, deep caresses. She was asleep.

He shifted beside her and watched her. He was bone-tired and should do the same, but his eyelids refused to close. Even in slumber, her beauty captivated him.

Willow Elkridge was so much more than a pretty face. She embodied everything that he previously ignored in his determination to achieve his Super Bowl dreams. Selfless and loving, she willingly risked her life for someone else. Through her, he was learning what his family had been trying to tell him for almost a year. There was more to life than football.

“Oh, Willow,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her dewy, soft temple, “thank you for saving my life.”

Chapter Nine

Sunlight streamed through the slats of the shack and beamed across Thor’s face. He blinked awake with a yawn. Willow’s sleeping form still curved against him. Careful not to disturb her, he reached inside the saddlebag and removed the timepiece from the leather confines.

Mid-morning was giving way to early afternoon. They had a few more hours of rest before their nightly journey began. He closed his eyes and drifted to the edge of slumber. A low noise rumbled in the distance. Thor sat up. Alarm shot through him. When she awakened and stared at him in surprise, he knew he hadn’t been mistaken.

Dogs.

Muttering an oath, he rose from the blanket to investigate. His view from the window left him with nothing but a sour taste in his mouth. Barking thundered just south of them, but he couldn’t judge the distance. Just that animals were coming fast. He quickly pulled on Anders’s suit and grabbed his great-great-grandfather’s pistol.

“What the hell is that?” He paused before going outside. “Are those dogs or the wolves you were talking about?”

She moved with urgency. Her fingers flew over buttons, righting her clothing and tying her bootstraps. While braiding her hair, she joined him at the door. “I can’t be sure. Those wolves were wild. We’d better see to the horses.”

“You stay here. There’s only one pistol, and I have it. I’ll check the horses.”

Her hands briefly clutched his. “Please, be careful.”

Shouts and louder barking greeted him as he headed toward the frightened horses. He checked the pistol and satisfied that it was ready. He spoke gently to the horses. Seconds later, a pack of hunting dogs raced past him and circled an oak, yapping wildly. A group of men on horseback followed. The leader raised his rifle and shot at the sky. The man yelled, “Come on out of there! You know I won’t shoot. You’re no good dead!”

“What’s going on?” Thor asked. “What’s in that tree?”

“A runaway.” The leader fired another shot at the sky. “We can do this all day, but the longer you’re in that tree, the worse it’s gonna be! Get your ass down from there!”

The scene unfolded right in front of Thor’s eyes. It was like being in the middle of the mini-series
Roots
, but this was different. This wasn’t a television program that could disappear with the ease of changing the channel. This was real life, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to make a difference or stop it.

A black man jumped from the oak’s branches. He was shorter than Thor. What he lacked in height he made up with in muscle. His arms and shoulders looked rock solid and strong. The clothes he wore were little more than rags, yet he stood proud and tall. He didn’t say a word to his captors and simply held out his wrists for the ropes that would bind him.

The man’s face was immobile, and as Thor neared him, Thor noted only sheer force of will kept the man from acting on his rage. Their eyes met for a second. Raw hatred burned in the captive’s eyes as their gazes locked. The intensity of the runaway’s glare shocked him.

Thor averted his eyes to look at the leader. “What will happen to him now?”

“Oh, Big Nat will be shown a thing or two about what happens to runaways. Mr. Warren Eugene Davis don’t coddle his property. This one will learn that fairly soon.”

Big Nat?

Thor took a closer look at the captured man. He was older, darker and larger, but he bore a striking resemblance to the three children Thor led to Brown’s refuge. There was no doubt about it. He had to be the children’s father.
Talk about luck.
Now all Thor had to do was free Big Nat from the goons who had him.

A posse of armed men and snarling dogs surrounded them. Some things were easier said than done. He’d have to use a little creativity. “Mr. Davis, you say?” he asked the leader.

The man reared his head back and laughed. “I’m not Davis. I’m just the overseer’s son. Grady Falls at your service.”

“Oh.” Thor made his voice sound disappointed. “I’ve been looking for the Davis plantation and have gotten badly lost. I hoped to make the man a business proposition. Do you think you and your men could show me the way?”

“Sure.” Grady shrugged. “Those your horses back there? We don’t have any extras to spare unless you’re willing to double up.”

Thor offered him a polite smile and shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. Just let me get my things.”

* * *

Willow handed Thor his saddle, blanket and canteen as soon he entered the shack. “Did you hear?” he asked.

“We found him,” she said, her expression solemn, “and not a moment too soon. They’re taking him back to be punished. Probably whipped or beaten.”

Tears glistened in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Thor went to her, brushing the wetness from her face. “I won’t let that happen.”

She nodded and sniffled. “We’d better get out there.”

“Willow, wait.” He stopped her from walking out the door. “Maybe you should go back to the Browns. Let me take it from here.”

“I’ve come this far. I can’t turn back now. I’ll be okay, and don’t worry, I won’t say a word.” She pushed a few stray tendrils inside the lopsided hat she wore and gave him her spectacles. “How do I look? If I keep my head down and stay quiet, think I’ll still pass as a boy?”

His smile faltered. “Only to someone who doesn’t know you.”

Despite the curious stares of Grady and his assortment of armed white men, Thor insisted that Willow ride on horseback. She wanted to protest, but her role as a mute prevented her from voicing her opinion. Dark clouds looming in Thor’s eyes worried her. Losing his temper could jeopardize their rescue mission, so she obeyed him and climbed onto the saddle.

“I didn’t get your name,” Grady called out.

“Folks call me Thor.”

The men shook hands. “Pleased to meet you, Thor. Do you mind if Big Nat rides along with your boy? Usually, we make ’em walk. Davis wants us back before nightfall. We’ll get back faster if he was riding.”

There was a slight pause before Thor answered. “He can ride.”

Without her spectacles, she could not read his face clearly, but the deep rumble of his response made up for what her eyes couldn’t tell her. The idea of Big Nat riding with her displeased him.

Grady instructed one of his men to untie Big Nat’s hands just long enough for the runaway to pull himself onto the saddle behind Willow. Once settled, they bound his wrists again and the party began their journey.

Willow had no knowledge of a lover’s temperament, but she guessed Thor was jealous of Big Nat’s proximity to her. His reaction flattered her, but it left her a little bewildered, too. Her feelings for Thor were strong. Big Nat was a stranger and could not compare to her time traveling companion. It seemed to her Thor should know that.

“He don’t like me riding with you,” Big Nat said in a low voice against her ear.

She stiffened and remained quiet.

“I saw you with him in that shack. I know you can talk, and I know you ain’t no boy.”

Her heart lurched. She stirred uneasily on the saddle.

“Don’t worry,” he quickly replied. “I won’t say nothing to them about you, but you’d best be careful with that young Massa. Just ’cause they bed you don’t mean they care about you. They don’t care about nothing but what’s between their legs. You just be careful with him.”

She glanced around. The other men were busy talking to each other or listening to Thor and Grady. None of them was interested in her and Big Nat. “I know him well enough,” she whispered, barely moving her lips. “He’s not like the rest of them.”

“He’s just like ’em.” Big Nat grunted. “Ain’t no difference to none of ’em. When he tires of you, he’ll go on to the nex’ one. That’s how they do it.”

Willow’s heart constricted at his prediction. She didn’t want to believe Thor would cast her aside so easily. Especially after she surrendered herself to the delirious warmth of his touch. However, his departure was inevitable.

He came from a different world. A whole century separated them, and just because he was with her now, didn’t mean he always would be. Whatever brought him to 1860 could just as easily reclaim him and send him back to nineteen hundred and eighty-five. Her love wouldn’t hold him to her. Losing her parents at such a young age taught her that her love wasn’t a restrictive bond. Just as easily as she lost her Mama and Papa, she could lose Thor. She needed to remember that and never forget.

“Why you dressed like a boy anyway?”

His question made her think of the children hiding out at the Browns. A faint smile crossed her lips as she pictured their young faces and their happy reunion with their father. Her smile widened as she spoke. “To look for you.”