"Wake up, darlin'. They'll be coming in here soon." Caroline heard Ethan's deep soothing voice whisper in her ear. She snuggled deeper into the warmth and hardness of his chest. He groaned and used every ounce of self control he had to push her away.

"Come on, darlin… We gotta make it look like you were working on my fever all night." he said. Fact of the matter was he hadn't had a fever when she'd come into his tent the night before but his body was hotter than hell itself this morning from holding the woman in his arms all night.

Caroline seemed to come too when he spoke this time and she jumped away from him.

"How did I end up in your arms to begin with?" she demanded as she shook Jasmine awake and they moved aside so Ethan could lie down on the bedroll.

"Well, darlin, you were having a bad dream and…." The sound of approaching footsteps silenced him and he did his best to look ill.

"I see you're alive son." Mitchell said as he threw aside the tent flap and poked his head inside. Ethan nodded.

"So it would appear." he replied dryly.

"Good. It's time to saddle up and be moving on." Mitchell motioned for Jasmine and Caroline to follow him and he left the tent. Jasmine walked out first and Caroline was about to follow when Ethan grabbed her hand and stopped her.

She looked back at him and was surprised by the amount of concern in his eyes.

"Take care of yourself, Caroline." he said gently. Caroline nodded.

"You take care of yourself, Ethan." she replied. Ethan knew it was risky but he couldn't keep himself from doing what he did next. He pulled her to him and laid a gentle kiss to her soft lips. He heard her sharp intake of breath but then she relaxed against him and brought her hand up to his cheek.

Caroline had never before kissed a man and she was pleasantly surprised by the way his lips felt against hers. His stubble covered chin was scratchy against the softness of her own but even that only added to the sensations running through her. She felt a heat low in her body and her heart seemed to be swelling in her chest.

Again Ethan groaned and pulled her away from him. He knew he shouldn't have kissed her but she was like a drug to him. He could not resist her.

"You better get going, darlin'." he said matter-of-factly. He could see how dark her green eyes had become and her cheeks were flushed with passion. She nodded and quickly left the tent leaving Ethan alone to wonder just what in the hell he was going to do.

888

They rode hard everyday for nearly two weeks. Caroline was never again able to speak privately with Ethan because anytime that Mitchell saw any of the men trying to speak with Caroline he became jealous and violent. Caroline was beginning to wonder if the man was insane. He had made no more moves to touch her and though Caroline did not know why that was she did not question it either.

She and Jasmine were allowed to sleep in their own tent every night though there was always a guard posted outside to ensure they did not try to escape. Caroline knew that everyday they were going deeper into Texas. She wondered what would happen to her and her sister once they finally reached the hideout.

She was surprised and confused when after nearly two weeks of seeing nothing but dusty hills and cactuses she spotted a small town in the distance.

"Where are we?" she asked Mitchell who was riding beside her. He grinned that cold grin that always sent shivers down Caroline's spine.

"Devils Fork, my dear. One of my favorite stomping grounds. Not a law man to be found if that is what you were hoping. I plan on letting the men burn off some steam in the saloon. Have some fun with the whores and do a little drinking before we go on home." Caroline nodded. Her mind was working hard. Maybe she'd be able to get Jasmine out of here while the men were distracted.

Her eyes scanned the dirty dusty men on horseback around her and landed quickly on Ethan's tall back where he was riding several feet ahead of her. She felt that familiar tingle on her lips as she remembered what his had felt like pressed against them.

Over the last two weeks he had always made sure that she and Jasmine had plenty to drink throughout the day and she often caught his eyes, full of concern, watching her even though he had to be careful not to let Mitchell catch him giving Caroline extra attention.

Caroline felt anger well inside of her when she thought about the many blows Mitchell had laid across Ethan's back with his whip when he had felt as if Ethan was paying too much attention to her. Ethan always just shrugged them off and kept coming back for more but Caroline wished he would stay away from her for his own good….

She wasn't sure what to make of her feelings for the tall, dark, strong, kind son of the monster who had killed her family. She had never met anyone quite like him before. She wanted to help him escape his father and rescue him from the constant hell and pain that the man put him through but first she had to think of a way to rescue herself and her sister.

Mitchell noticed the way that her eyes had once again fallen on his son and he felt jealousy and anger arise within him. This bitch was ungrateful is what she was. He had shown her and her little retard sister more patience and kindness than he ever showed to anyone. So he got mad now and then and yelled at them. He slapped them from time to time and deprived them of food and water when they back talked, or in the retards case gave him a dirty look. Those things were small compared to the treatment all the women and girls had gotten before them. Hell he hadn't even raped either one of them yet and he had kept his men from putting their hands on them as well… The bitch should be grateful! Several men were dying to get their hands on Jasmine but for Caroline's sake Mitchell had told them no.

She would learn to appreciate all the things he did for her or else he would stop doing them. She would learn quick just how easy she had had it the last few weeks.

"Take your eyes off of him, Caroline, or I will shoot him right here and now." Mitchell said laying his hand on the revolver on his side. Caroline snapped out of the daze that her thoughts of Ethan had her in and looked over at Mitchell.

"Take my eyes off of who? I was looking at that cactus." she replied in the same cold, callous, emotion free voice she used whenever she was talking to Mitchell.

"You might as well forget about any fantasies you are entertaining about my son. You belong to me. Only me. I will have you, Caroline. We will be in this town several days and before we leave I will have you in my bed." Caroline felt bile rise up in her throat but she kept her face blank as she swallowed it back down.

"All you'll have in your bed, Mitchell Thompson, is my cold dead body because that is the only way you'll get me there." she replied. He could see the spark enter her green eyes and he laughed harshly.

"You think you are a tough one don't you?" Mitchell asked her. Caroline didn't reply as she kept her eyes locked on the buildings in the distance that were getting bigger and closer with ever step her mare took. Mitchell growled angrily and reached out and pulled Ethan's hat off her head.

She tried to snatch it back but he threw it in the air and before Caroline had time to even realize what he was planning, he pulled his gun and fired several shots into the hat while it flew through the air. Several of the men ducked and pulled their own revolvers as they looked around to see where the shots had come from. They laughed and re holstered their guns when they saw their boss glaring at Caroline.

"You are not as tough as you think you are, little Caroline. Whether you come to my bed willingly or I have to take you by force does not matter. You will be in my bed before we leave this town. I am not a patient man by nature and I have waited entirely too long as it is. I think you have forgotten just how vulnerable you and your little retard are out here. You have no one who is going to save you. You have no one who is going to protect you. If you think my son will then you are fooling yourself. He has no backbone. He is a spineless, brainless coward and even if he weren't, what good is one unarmed man against sixteen men with guns?"

"You must like hearing your own voice, Mitchell, because surely by now you know I really don't care what you have to say." she replied coldly. She knew she should just keep her mouth shut. How many times over the past two weeks had Ethan warned her to just keep her head down and stay out of trouble? Countless times was the answer to that question but she just couldn't help herself. She never had known how to keep her mouth shut and it had been one of the things about her that had both entertained and annoyed her family to no end.

She barely managed to keep from screaming out in pain when Mitchell grabbed her by the hair and yanked her toward him. She nearly fell off her mare and tried to blink away her tears of pain as she glared at him.

"Watch your mouth, you ungrateful little bitch. You have no idea the kind of pain I can cause you." he growled out in his gravely voice. Caroline drew up every bit of nerve and courage she had and spit in his face. Mitchell shoved her away from him quickly and then raised his hand to slap her but at that moment Ethan appeared between them on his big brown stallion.

He glared at his father with a clear warning in his dark eyes. Mitchell's blue eyes locked with his sons and he saw it then… The look in his eyes that told him that Ethan loved Caroline and would kill him if he harmed her.

"Get the hell out of the way, son. The woman needs to be taught a lesson." Mitchell said calmly. Ethan shook his head. Most of the men had already ridden ahead into Devil's Fork but Doomer, Franks and Bullocks were still riding with them. Jasmine was on Doomer's mare with him.

"You aren't going to be teaching Caroline anything." Ethan replied his voice that was always so gentle when speaking to Caroline was suddenly full of ice and fire all at the same time. Caroline wanted to scream at him to get the hell away. He was going to get himself killed just to save her from a slap on the face that she probably deserved for opening her mouth in the first place.

"Are you threatening me?" Mitchell demanded and Ethan saw all three of the men around them lay their hands on their guns. Ethan knew there was a good chance they'd kill him if he didn't back down. He was not afraid of dying anymore. Even hell itself would probably be a damn nice break from living under his father's thumb but if he died he wouldn't be able to get Caroline and Jasmine away from here and that was a risk he couldn't take.

"Of course not." Ethan replied to his father. "What kind of fool do you think I am?" With that he turned his horse back around and started away from them toward Devil's Fork. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the men relax and remove their hands from their revolvers. Mitchell just chuckled and seemed to have forgotten about teaching Caroline that lesson.