They left town the next morning shortly after dawn. Ethan knew the ladies wanted to stay put a while longer but he needed to get them out of Texas and they still had a good week or more of riding left. He figured he'd take them northeast to Missouri. He knew his father wouldn't chase them that far. Mitchell Thompson was one of the most wanted men in the country and he wouldn't dare go anywhere where the land was settled and the law men kept order.

Ethan pushed them hard for the nearly another week until one morning they came to where the river led them to a large clear pool of water set down in between two rocky ridges. Ethan stopped to let the horses drink and eat some of the greener grasses that were growing here and he smiled when he saw Caroline and Jasmine splashing each other playfully at the edge of the pool.

"I'm gonna walk up the ridge and see what I can see." he said and then walked quickly up the rocky sides of the ridge. It took him a few minutes to get to the top and he was happy when he realized he could see for several miles in each direction. He scanned the horizons and could see no sign of anyone else on the dusty planes.

He knew Caroline and Jasmine needed a break and he felt safe enough to stay here for the night. As long as they didn't light any fires he wasn't too worried anybody would find them.

He walked back down and found Caroline and Jasmine already standing beside their mare as if waiting for him to tell them it was time to go.

"You two in a hurry or something?" he asked. "I figured we'd stay here till morning."

"But it's just past noon. Don't you want to cover more miles before dark?" Caroline asked. He shook his head.

"This seems like as good a place as any to rest a while. We'll head out in the morning. There's just one rule and that is no fires. A fire out here would send up a smoke signal that people would see for miles." Caroline and Jasmine both nodded and laughed happily.

They spent the day relaxing, laughing and talking by that quiet pool of water. Ethan made several trips up to the ridge but each time he couldn't see any signs of anyone. He was sitting down on the hard ground in the dark that night leaning against the wall of the ridge when Caroline walked over and sat next to him.

"Where's Jasmine?" he asked.

"Asleep." she replied and he could hear nervousness in her voice. He thought maybe she was afraid they were going to be found and he wrapped his arm around her comfortingly.

"I checked just before dark, darlin' and I didn't see anybody. We're safe here for now, I promise." Caroline nodded.

"I know that." she said. "I trust you." That wasn't what had her nervous. What had her nervous was the fact that she wanted him the way every grown woman wanted the man she loves. She wanted him to hold her and she wanted him to make love to her. She just didn't know how to tell him.

Ethan kissed her hair and felt the fire in his blood that he'd been feeling for as long as he could remember every time he allowed himself to touch her. He could never remember wanting a woman as badly as he wanted Caroline. He supposed that was because he'd never been in love with a woman the way he was Caroline. But he knew she was innocent and so had tried hard to hide his bodies reaction to her touch from her in an effort to keep from scaring her away.

"You want to go for a swim?" Caroline asked quietly. Ethan was surprised by the question but nodded. He stood and grabbed her hand, helping to her feet. They kept their fingers twined together as they walked to the pool of water. The stars and moon were casting barely any light.. Just enough that they could see each other when they stood close.

Caroline kicked off her boots and began to undo the buttons of her dress and Ethan cleared his throat and pulled his hat off so he could scratch his head through his thick dark hair.

"Uh, darlin'.. What are you doing?" he asked. Caroline looked up at him and nearly laughed when she realized he was nervous. What would he have to be nervous about? She knew darn well that a man who had lived like he had the last ten years was not innocent when it came to women. She was the one who should be nervous but surprisingly now that she was here by the water with him she no longer felt anything but passion and his nervousness only helped her confidence to rise.

"Don't you think we're a bit overdressed for a swim?" she teased. He put his hat back on and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. She knew for sure now he was nervous. He always rubbed the back of his neck when something made him uncomfortable.

"What about Jasmine?" he asked. Caroline continued to undo the buttons on her dress as she smiled up at him.

"She is sleeping and you know as well as I do that that girl could sleep through the apocalypse. I hardly think that us taking a swim is going to wake her. And even if it does there's no way she'd seen anything in this dark." Ethan looked down at her and even in the darkness she could see the flash of intensity in his dark eyes.

"I can promise you now, darlin', that if you take all your clothes off and get in that water we're gonna be doing a bit more than just taking a swim." he said feeling his nerves being quickly replaced by his desire for this beautiful woman in front of him.

"Good, because I can promise you, outlaw, that if you take all your clothes off and get in that water I'm gonna wanna do more than just take a swim." Caroline finished undoing the buttons and her dress slid to the ground leaving her standing there in only her thin white underclothes.

"Darlin', you are beautiful." he said as a warm breeze blew her dark hair around her shoulders. Caroline felt the blush color her cheeks. Ethan pulled his hat off and tossed it to the ground and grabbed Caroline gently by her bare arms and pulled her to him. He slid a gentle knuckle along her collarbone and smiled when he felt her tremble beneath his touch. He buried his hands in all of her dark hair like he'd been dying to do for weeks and lowered his mouth to hers.

The quick secret kiss they had shared nearly a month ago in his tent had not prepared either of them for the fire and passion that this kiss stirred within them. Ethan gently nudged her lips apart and explored her sweet mouth with his tongue.

Everything around them disappeared. All of their worries vanished. There was no crazy man chasing after them. There was only the two of them and the soft breeze and the stars.

Caroline pulled away and moved her fingers to the buttons of his vest. He took a step away from her and quickly removed his vest, shirt, gun belt and boots. Caroline reached out with shaking hands and ran her fingertips across the hard muscles of his chest and stomach.

It was her turn to smile when she felt him tremble and he moaned and closed his eyes. Ethan had never been touched like this before. All he'd had before Caroline were whores and they didn't touch a man with tenderness and love the way Caroline was touching him now. Caroline's fingers traced lower down his abdomen and she gasped when she could feel his obvious arousal through the thick fabric of his black trousers. He raised his brow and smiled at her surprised and innocent reaction.

"What did you think was gonna happen when you started running them hands all over me?" he teased though his voice was deep and rough with passion.

"I just didn't realize it would be so big." she said without thinking and then she blushed red and bit her lip afraid that he would laugh at her for saying something so silly.

But Ethan's eyes were full of love as he looked back down at her. He couldn't believe that this was happening. He didn't know what he had done to deserve to be in this moment with this amazing woman but he sent a million silent thank-yous up to God for letting it happen.

"I love you, Caroline." he said as he laid his hands on her cheeks and tilted her head up to look at him. Caroline felt tears fill her eyes.

"I thought tough outlaws didn't say things like 'I love you'" she said. Ethan cocked his head to the side.

"Who told you something like that?" he asked.

"My big brother did once before he died. He said that tough outlaws and cowboys don't say things like that."

"Well that might be true but right now I ain't a tough outlaw or a cowboy. Right now I am just a man standing in the moonlight with the woman he loves and dying to make love to her." Caroline just stared up at him for several long moments and he wondered what she was thinking behind those deep green eyes.

"I love you too, Ethan Thompson, and there is nothing I want more right now than for your to make love to me." Ethan pressed his lips to hers and pulled her up against him as tightly as he could. He lowered his fingers to the hem of her thin undershirt and their lips broke contact just long enough for him to pull it over her head before they went back to tasting each others kisses.

He pulled away from her again and slid her thin cotton undergarments down her long silky legs. When he stood straight again Caroline reached out and undid the button on his trousers and slid them down his long powerful legs.

She nearly cried out from surprise when he put one arm behind her knees and the other around her shoulders and lifted her up into his arms. She wrapped her arms tight around his neck and laid gentle kisses along his throat and collarbone.

He carried her into the warm pool of water and walked out until the water came to his chest.

"Make love to me, Ethan." she moaned as he lowered his mouth to her breasts and began licking and teasing.

"Don't' worry, darlin'. We'll get there I promise." he said with a grin. Caroline closed her eyes and let him take her on the journey.

888

Hours later they were lying dressed and curled up together on Ethan's bedroll. Caroline had her back pressed into Ethan's chest and he was running his hand up and down her smooth arm and laying gentle kisses to her hair.

"Where are we going?" Caroline asked quietly. At first she wondered if he had heard her but then she heard him sigh.

"I was hoping to not think about any of that tonight." he said as he wrapped his arm tight around her and pulled her closer against him. "I was enjoying the peace."

"I'm sorry, Ethan. I really am. It's just that we've been riding for two weeks and I haven't questioned you because I trust you but I would really like to know what our future holds" she said.

"I was thinking of taking you guys up to Missouri. Mitchell is too wanted and has too big a price on his head to head that far northeast. Just another day or two of riding and we'll be out of Texas and once we make it outta Texas there's a good chance he won't follow us much farther."

"Do you think he's really following us?" Caroline asked even though she already knew the answer. She had seen herself the kind of insane possessiveness that Mitchell had toward her.

"Yes." Ethan answered simply.

"You said you want to get me and Jasmine to Missouri. What about you? Are you….." Caroline's voice trailed off as she bit her lip and wondered how she should ask him what his plans were. She didn't know if he wanted to settle down with her or if he was just going to make sure they were safe and then be on his way.

"Caroline, I uh…" She felt him take his arm away from her and she heard the familiar sound of him rubbing the back of his neck. "Darlin', I was actually thinking that maybe you might uh… You might decide that you wanted to uh.. To marry me." he finished.

Caroline was sure that her heart stopped beating for several seconds. She couldn't see his face but she could just imagine the look of love in his eyes. She could hear the love in his voice. She had never imagined she would find a man who felt this way about her. It didn't matter to her how they had met. It didn't matter to her the kind of man he had been before. She knew that he was her man now and she could depend on him. She could count on him. He would never let her down.

"Of course I'll marry you, Ethan." she said happily as she felt tears of joy slip from her eyes. "That is if you decide that you want to marry me." she added teasingly. Ethan smiled. This woman was amazing. She was strong but gentle. She was soft but tough. She was sweet and meaner than a rattlesnake all at the same time. She could make him laugh and she had filled him with more love than he had thought himself capable of feeling.

"Darlin', I would find a way to rope that moon up there and bring it down to you if you asked me to. There ain't nothing I wouldn't do to make you happy." Caroline snuggled deeper into his strong arms and the warmth and comfort they provided.

"So tell me what we're gonna do when we get to Missouri." Caroline said.

"That just depends on what you want, darlin'. We can get a place in the city or if you like the country more I'll buy us some land and build us a house. We can have a new life. Me, you and Jasmine." he said. Caroline smiled. She loved how he had always been sure to care for Jasmine.

"Country." she replied. "I want a place in the country."

"Good." Ethan said. "I just don't think I'd fit in with them city folk." He heard her smile and then he heard her yawn. "Get ya some rest Caroline. We'll have a few more weeks of hard riding before we reach Missouri."

"I love you, Ethan." she said as she closed her eyes.

"I love you too, Darlin'. More than you'll ever know. You saved me you know. When I saw your beautiful face looking at me from that cabin window all those weeks ago you were like an angel and suddenly I wanted to be a different man."

"You are a good man, Ethan." Caroline assured him. He kissed her hair.

"I don't know about that. All I know is I am your man and I am alive to make you happy and keep you safe. That is what I was born for." Caroline turned her head and he pressed a gentle kiss to her soft lips.

"Now get some sleep." he urged. Caroline was exhausted and her body was still tingling and relaxed from his lovemaking and it didn't take her long to fall fast asleep in his arms.