launched until dawn, so we must rely on ourselves until then.

Lay down your weapons, Silver. I promise I’m no threat to you

and I’ll protect you from danger.“ His ebony eyes twinkled in

the firelight. „Including river monsters.“

How foolish she was being, clinging to him as if he were a

life preserver thrown to save her from the river. She released

him and edged backward. „I feel very stupid. I’ll try not to be

– “

He placed two fingers on her lips, silencing her. „Not

stupid,“ he said softly. „Now, lie back down and rest while I

see if I can find us something to eat. If you recall, we didn’t

have dinner.“

„I can help,“ she said eagerly. „Apache girl children are

taught exactly the same skills as boys until they reach the time

for the rites of womanhood. I can travel forty miles a day

through rough country. I can trap and hunt and fish and I was

the best tracker in the village.“ She frowned. „Though some of

the warriors wouldn’t admit it. I told them – “

„I’m sure you did,“ Nicholas interrupted, his eyes dancing.

„And I’m certain you’re as competent as you claim, but let me

be the provider this time. I may not have your qualifications,

but I have a certain amount of experience in foraging.“

„But you’re – “ She stopped.

He lifted a brow. „Yes?“

„You’re a prince.“ She scowled. „And I think I’m hungry.“

He burst out laughing as he rose to his feet. „I assure you,

my entire existence hasn’t been spent in marble palaces being

pampered by armies of servants. I’ll find you something to eat,

Silver.“ He glanced down at his bare feet. „Though I have no

intention of hunting or trapping tonight. I know what stones

and brush can do to unprotected feet.“

„But I still think – “

„No.“ He turned away.

She gasped, her gaze fastened in shock on the long line of

his back. White scars crisscrossed his flesh from his shoulders

to the base of his spine, scars that could only have been

inflicted by the lash of a whip.

He turned to look over his shoulder. „What’s the matter?“

Then, as he saw her face, a crooked smile lit up his face. „As I

said, palaces are not the full extent of my experience.“ Then he

faded into the dense forest shrubbery with a silent grace that

surprised her.

She sat frozen, staring after him in the darkness. She felt…

strange. What kind of a man was Nicholas Savron? She

couldn’t really know, since their every encounter had been

colored by anger, conflict, and lust. She had seen glimpses of

the character of the man in his relationship with Mikhail and

Valentin, but had been too wary to believe what she had seen.

Now her defenses were down and she was forced to accept

another Nicholas. A Nicholas who had held her and comforted

her with a tenderness she had never known, who had laughed

and teased her, who had made her aware he possessed a past

that could hold the same pain and humiliation she had known.

A Nicholas who had saved her life at the risk of his own.

He had saved her life! The realization came with the

shocking force of a blow. „No!“ She didn’t wish to owe

Nicholas Savron anything. He was the enemy.

But he had not been an enemy when he had held her in his

arms and told her it was all right to be afraid. He had permitted

her to lean on his strength and had taken nothing from her in

return. How would it feel to be able to lean on someone else as

Elspeth leaned on Dominic? Not that she needed support, she

assured herself quickly. But it would be pleasant to know there

was a hand to hold your own on a rough path. So pleasant…

Pleasant. It was not a word to describe Nicholas Savron. He

dazzled and wooed, he struck with the glittering sharpness of a

renaissance dagger and then danced, away to watch with an

entrancing smile as his opponent crumpled. Yet she had felt

something else in him tonight, a strongly anchored rock to

cling to in the darkness.

Oh, she just didn’t know. She was confused and weakened,

as much from that moment of tenderness from Nicholas as she

was from the blow on the head. She would think about it when

she was fully herself again. Tonight he had offered a truce that

she would gladly accept.

The warm night breeze gently touched her cheeks and

playfully tugged at her hair, bringing with it the pungent scent

of moss, river, and burning wood. She had been imprisoned in

cities too long. She glanced around her, curiously content with

both this place and this moment. Two huge weeping willow

trees showered veils of lacy fronds over the mossy bank, and

the moonlight on the Mississippi was breath-takingly lovely.

She could see the pale gleam of the riverboat hovering in the

distance, but both the Rose and her captivity seemed far away.

She drew closer to the fire, her gaze on the brightly

glowing flames. The night was warm and the fire was not

really a necessity but it would serve to finish drying her

clothes. She threaded her fingers through her hair, holding the

long straight strands out to let the heat flow through them. Her

hair was nearly dry. She must have been unconscious longer

than she had believed, yet the blow had been really nothing. It

was very puzzling.

Dear heaven, surely she hadn’t swooned? Indignation

surged through her at the thought. She couldn’t have been such

a ninny. She had been frightened but she did not swoon. It was

ridiculous and she – She suddenly began to chuckle. Perhaps

she had swooned. What difference did it make? She didn’t

have to be strong all the time. As Nicholas had said, no one

was strong every moment of every day….

„You have juice on the corner of your mouth.“ Nicholas

leaned forward to wipe away the • errant drops with his index

finger. „And you have raspberry lips.“

„So do you,“ Silver said placidly, glancing at his well-

shaped lips dyed red-purple by the same juice that stained her

own. „And you have some on your chin too. You look as if

you’re wearing war paint.“

Nicholas wiped the offending smudge away. „I’m surprised

you’re not complaining that I managed to grab a few handfuls

of your berries to stave off starvation. Do you always eat so

heartily?“

She nodded. „I like to eat. There are so many wonderful

tastes.“ She sighed blissfully. „Do you know that some flowers

have a lovely taste? When I was a little girl, there was a

honeysuckle bush beside the front door of the homestead at

Killara. I used to pull the blossoms and suck the sweetness. I

love to taste delicious things and breathe the scents of the earth

and the flowers.“ She inhaled deeply. „And woodsmoke. Is

there anything more wonderful than the smell of woodsmoke?

Tangy and rich.“

Nicholas gazed at her thoughtfully. Sitting there across the

fire, she was a wild, lovely pagan, completely at home in her

surroundings. She radiated a natural sensuality that formed an

aura of heat that reached out and touched like the warmth of

the fire itself. If she was so responsive to taste and scent, how

much more responsive would she be to touch?

But he didn’t want to think about Silver’s responses

tonight. He promised her a truce that was already proving a

difficult vow to keep. He asked abruptly, „Do you want any

more berries? There are plenty of bushes in that patch

downriver. I would have brought more if I’d had a bucket. All

I had was my handkerchief in which to carry them.“