Late that night, Lilian lay awake. She stared at the ceiling that glowed from the dying embers of her cooking fire. But she didn't see the ceiling. All that danced up there was rippling skin over a taut chest, glinting in the sun.

She groaned and threw an arm over her face, annoyed with herself.

Something niggled in the back of her brain, and she pulled her arm from her eyes.

Scrrrrr...

No, that wasn't in the back of her brain. Someone was outside. Her knee-jerk reaction was that it could be Davien, but he had been nothing but gentlemanly since he'd been there, sleeping in her barn. She had to admit to herself that she could trust him not to try to skulk into her window overnight. At this point, there was no doubt in her mind that if he were ready to make a move, he wouldn't be secretive about it.

Scrrrr...

She reached under the bed and pulled out her long-barreled shotgun, creeping silently to the window, feet flat as she stepped to avoid any creaks or groans. She peered out into the night, moonlight illuminating the yard in an ethereal glow. There was a flash of silver behind one of the fence posts, and she pursed her lips at the crouched figure there.

Fuck. She needed to get to the barn. Out of all of the things on this land, her horses were what she loved the most, and she wasn't about to let somebody steal or hurt them. She waited for the figure to dart along the fence away from her, and then hopped out of the window into the grass. She tore across the lawn towards the barn. Gunfire erupted behind her.

The right side of her head burned, the whzzzzttt of a bullet grazing her temple. She kept running, full tilt, even as more guns cracked in the night. She had to fortify the barn.

Just before she reached the sliding door, it opened, and she nearly skidded to a stop until she realized it was Davien, waving for her to hurry. She slid in as the horses threw up a fuss, jumping and chuffing and whimpering with all of the out-of-the-ordinary action.

"What the hell is happening?" Davien slammed the door, jumping back as a wooden panel blew right off of it.

Lilian reached up atop a beam in the center of the stalls, and pulled down a second shotgun, tossing it to him. "I hope you know how to use one of these." She grabbed down a carton of shells and slid it across the floor, falling into a crouch.

"What do they want?" He flicked open the chamber to check it as if it were second nature to him.

She peered through bullet hole in the door. "Shut up and help me deal with them." She studied the paddock. "Two behind the fence to the left, one in the paddock, and at least one fucker shot at me from behind the house. I wanna concentrate 'em on this side, keep 'em away from the horses."

Davien nodded and wrapped his fingers around the door, counting down quietly from three. When he reached one, he threw open the door and Lilian blasted the creeping man in the paddock directly in the chest. He flew backwards, and bullets peppered the barn from the other shooters.

The defending duo whirled around, crouching and pressing their backs against either side of the doorframe. As soon as there was a break in gunfire, Davien leaned out into the dirt on his side, aiming high and blowing out a fencepost. He fired the second slug into the figure that ducked from the blast, a guttural scream cutting through the air from the impact. The other one behind the fence lunged for his fallen comrade, and Lilian took the opportunity to shoot, catching him in the throat.

Shouts echoed from behind the house as they hastily reloaded. Davien surveyed the scene out the door as Lilian scurried to the wall facing the house, looking between two warped slats of wood to try to find the source of the yelling.

Two men tore off into the bushes, and another stood next to the house. "Fuckin' yella' bellied fucks!" he screamed at his fleeing comrades, and then turned around to fire at the barn.

Davien jumped out of the door and aimed, the two men shooting each other at the same time. Davien lunged to the side, clutching his arm, and Lilian fired from right behind him, catching the enemy in the stomach. He fell back onto his ass, grunting and spewing blood all over himself.

She ran up to him, kicking his gun away with her bare foot. She cocked her head, and flipped her shotgun around, slamming the butt of it down into his jaw, shattering it.

"Think you fuckers can take my farm?!" she snarled, and brought the gun down again on the sputtering man's face. She screamed and smashed him again and again, until a hand wrapped around her bicep.

Lilian whipped around and shoved back with her palm, immediately raising her gun. Her brow furrowed as the barrel poked Davien in the chest, and he raised his hands with a wince.

"Sorry, ma'am," he said.

She lowered the gun and pursed her lips, eyes lingering on his bloody arm. "You're hit."

"Just a graze," he assured her, and slowly lowered his hands. He motioned to the busted man on the ground. "Is he dead?"

She glared down at the substantial belly wound of the now-unconscious enemy at her feet. "If he's alive, he ain't for long." She strode back towards the paddock to make sure that the other three they'd shot were dead, and then headed for the barn to check on the horses. They were spooked, naturally, but seemed a lot calmer after Lilian gave them each pats and cooed words of comfort.

She headed out to the chicken coop, and shushed them gently as she headed inside. She scooped up Firecracker who was shivering in the corner, and checked each of the larger hens to make sure nobody had been hit.

Davien met her at the threshold as she exited, blood smeared across his naked torso, swiping his hands together. "I piled them all behind the first treeline."

She turned to him, crossing her arms, studying him in the moonlight. "You'd better come on inside, then, and get cleaned up." She sighed as if it were the biggest burden in the world, and rested her shotgun on her shoulder as she passed him.

Lilian set the gun on the kitchen table, bending over to toss a few logs on the fire. She blew gently on the coals, allowing the wood to flicker to life beneath the kettle on the stove. She turned, raising an eyebrow at Davien, who stood in the doorway.

"Get inside, and close the door behind you," she snapped, and motioned to an empty stool at the table.

He followed her directions, parking himself on the stool, the low light from the fire dancing over his handsome features. She tried to ignore that as she brought over her washbasin and a cloth, and pulled another stool directly in front of him. As she settled in, one of her knees on either side of his, leaning in to inspect his wound, she was suddenly very aware of their states of undress.

Her nipples hardened beneath her tunic, the fabric brushing against the sensitive nubs making her want to clench her thighs together. She tried to keep her breathing steady and focus on her task, but it wasn't easy. She leaned in and brought the cloth up to his arm, slowly washing away the blood to reveal the wound.

It was a clean one, just a tear across his bicep. Lilian couldn't help but be impressed that Davien had nary a hiss of discomfort as she washed him.

"Won't need stitches," she murmured, innately cursing the breathiness of her traitorous voice. She brought the cloth back and forth from the bowl, reddening the water as she cleaned him of the blood, his and those of her enemies.

He stayed still, obedient under her care. "Who were those men?"

"How should I know?" she snapped, jutting out her chin and avoiding his gaze. She took a clean swatch of cloth and began tearing it into strips to make into a bandage.

"You didn't seem surprised they were here." He cocked his head, and she could feel his eyes boring into her even as she avoided his gaze. "Not to mention prepared."

She sighed, stifling a growl as she began tying the strips together into a long ribbon, one by one. "Stupid rumours started when my Pa built on this land," she said gruffly. "For some reason everyone thought he had gold under the house. No matter how many times I tell people it ain't true, bandits keep comin' for it." She tucked the end of the clean fabric over the wound, and slowly began winding it snugly around his thick bicep.

"Have you checked under there?" He raised an eyebrow, amusement glinting in his steel eyes.

She deadpanned. "There ain't no gold under my house." She tied the ends of the bandage into a tight and neat little knot.

He chuckled, and shook his head. "Well. Thank you ma'am, for cleaning me up." His voice was low.

"You keep callin' me ma'am." She didn't know why she said it, but it definitely didn't have to do with the fact that she could feel his body heat radiating off of him, that she couldn't quite make her legs move from either side of his, or didn't want to get up and move away from him just yet.

His tongue darted out, wetting his satin lips. "You still haven't told me your name." The firelight danced in his molten eyes, mesmerizing.

"Lilian," she breathed.

The distance closed between them, hands grasping, fingers threading, arms curling, their legs tangling as their mouths came together in a flurry of desire, sucking lungfuls from one another in their need, passing life between them and sending electric shocks from the top of Lilian's head to the tips of her toes.

She hooked a leg around his waist, drawing her fingernails up his back, and swallowed Davien's throaty groan as she massaged his tongue—

Lil, RUN!

She froze suddenly, as if she'd been doused in cold water. He stiffened, pulling back, brow knotting with confusion.

Pa! Come on, Pa!

Davien opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, she pushed against his chest, using the momentum to propel herself to her feet. She reached for the kettle, and then snatched up a cloth, wrapping it around the handle before pulling the steaming hot metal from the stove.

She cleared her throat, keeping her back turned to him. "I have to clean up."

There was a shuffle as he presumably stood up, and moved away from the table. "I apologize for being too forward."

She poured the hot water into a fresh bowl and tossed the blood-covered cloths in there to soak. His naked back retreated to the door out of the corner of her eye.

"There's a spare bed," she blurted, and her teeth clicked as her jaw snapped shut.

Davien stopped, and then turned, staring at her over his shoulder.

"In the loft." Lilian pointed to the ladder behind him.

He smiled softly, and reached up to scratch the back of his head. "Thank you."

She bit down on her tongue to keep from babbling. Just for tonight, she wanted to bark. So you're safer than in the barn. She took a deep breath as he climbed the ladder, watching the muscles twist and ripple in his shoulders as he made his way up to the loft.

"Davien," she said hoarsely as he reached the top.

He paused, turning to look down at her, hope dancing in his eyes.

She chewed the inside of her cheek and then pointed above his head. "There's a gun under the windowsill up there."

To her surprise, he smiled, and shook his head. "Good night, Lilian."

She put a hand to her chest, as if to tell her heart that it surely did not skip a beat at the sound of her name coming from his gorgeous mouth.

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