Page 61 of His Perfect Bride
But Pastor Abe hadn’t been put off by the beast Jackson had unleashed for the day. The young pastor who ran an orphanage in Yale had joined the group, apparently on a mission to rescue an orphan in one of the mining camps. Tall with fair hair and blue eyes, the reverend had spoken fondly of his wife Zoe, who had been on the bride ship theRobert Lowewith Willow.
Sage had enjoyed hearing Pastor Abe’s tale of how he and Zoe had formed a marriage of convenience to provide a home to an orphan baby. While the marriage had started as an arrangement to benefit them both, it was obvious from the love shining from Pastor Abe’s eyes that he adored his wife.
Now, as Pastor Abe nudged his horse toward the trail that led down to the river, Jackson only frowned at the man’s broad back, but he didn’t protest, likely realizing the need to wait until morning to search more for Augusta.
Sage had appreciated Pastor Abe’s kindness throughout the day. If only her guilt hadn’t continued to surface every time she referred to Jackson as her husband. She and Jackson had kept up the pretense in both Hope and Yale, but at least their hotel rooms in both towns had been large enough that Jackson had made his bed on the floor each night, insisting she take the bed.
She wasn’t sure how she would have handled another night together in the same bed as him. One night had been brazen enough, and she still dreamt about having his arms around her. She still dreamt about his kisses too. But they hadn’t kissed again. She’d been determined not to let it happen, and he’d seemed that way too.
Even with a strange, sizzling tension between them, she’d loved spending every minute of every day with him. The time getting to know him better had made her appreciate even more his brilliant mind, his deep thoughts, and his passion for things he cared about.
“Ready?” She reached across the distance between their horses and grazed Jackson’s arm. She wasn’t sure when she’d grown so familiar with him, but at some point over the past few days, she’d started touching him without really thinking about it.
He never seemed to mind the physical contact. There had even been a few times when he’d initiated brushing against her—at least, she’d assumed the touches hadn’t been accidental.
Except for the muscles flexing in his jaw, he stared at the bridge, unmoving. After so many days of no shaving, he was reverting back to the rugged man she’d first met. He wasn’t as unkempt and did take time to do some grooming, but having a clean-shaven face was obviously low on the priority list for most men out in the mountains.
If it was possible, that dark layer of stubble had only made him more handsome. Even now as he straddled his horse and peered into the distance, the sight of him made her stomach flutter, especially with the brim of his hat pulled low and lending him an even darker appeal.
It wasn’t fair that he just kept getting more attractive the longer she knew him—both his outward and inward qualities. Perhaps the more she understood the complex but compassionate man he was inside, the more she was drawn to him.
He slid a sideways glance at her and arched one of his dark brows almost as if he’d heard all of her thoughts and knew the power he had over her.
She tore her attention from him and fixed it on Pastor Abe as he began to descend the switchbacks. Had the intuitive reverend sensed the marriage charade? While he hadn’t questioned their claim to be married, he had watched them curiously a time or two, as if he didn’t quite believe them.
Jackson didn’t say anything, but he nudged his horse forward and waited politely until she trotted ahead of him before he took a protective position behind her. As she descended the steep mountainside, she wanted to ask Jackson more about the bridge—why he’d picked this particular spot for it, where they’d gotten supplies for building it, how he’d managed living in the wilderness.
Even though she sensed it would be healthy for him to discuss more of what had happened that fateful day, she also didn’t want to push him to share if he wasn’t ready.
She was learning for herself that healing took time and couldn’t be rushed. She’d had to put months and an ocean between her and her hurts with David before they’d started to go away. Maybe meeting Jackson had helped to make her forget about David too.
Regardless, she couldn’t expect Jackson to so easily put his past to rest and move on into a new future. Yes, he had mentioned that they should have gotten married before leaving Victoria. She suspected that he’d only been referencing an in-name-only marriage for the sake of the journey. But a tiny part of her wished he’d meant more by it.
As they reached the bottom of the switchbacks and arrived at a grassy area along the river, there were more groups camping than she’d realized. Some were still setting up tents. Others were cooking over campfires. A few were fishing along the river. At her arrival, their gazes locked in on her.
She didn’t like drawing so much notice, but she was growing accustomed to it and learning to ignore the staring.
If only Jackson would ignore it too. But as he reached the level area where Pastor Abe and the businessmen had dismounted, his scowl was firmly in place and directed at the other campers.
He hopped down and was at the side of her horse before she could swing her leg over. He reached up and settled both hands on her waist. His eyes were dark and as fiercely intense as always, and his forehead was creased and his jaw taut.
“What’s wrong?” she asked as he lifted her down.
An angry growl rumbled in his chest. “I don’t like the way those men are staring at you.”
“I don’t mind?—”
“I mind.” Instead of setting her on her feet, he brought her flush against him.
Her body made firm contact with his, sending a cascade of sparks shooting along every nerve and skittering over her skin.
He angled his head, his gaze dropping to her lips. The desire there was stark and raw and unfiltered. He wanted to kiss her.
The soft fluttering in her stomach turned into a hard flapping. If he wanted to steal one from her in front of their onlookers, she would be helpless to stop him.
She lifted her face, offering her lips, offering herself. She could feel the hard thudding of his heart and knew that whatever this was happening between them was real and wasn’t just a show for the men.
His focus was directly upon her mouth. But just as his lips brushed her cheek, he shifted and buried his face against her ear.
