Glancing around the woods as he moved silently through them Cam briefly debated what to do about their meal. He could catch a rabbit, or hunt down that pheasant who had scared her out of the tree, or even catch fish . . . or he could head to the small village he knew was nearby and fetch them back a meal from the tavern there. While the tavern was small and didn't offer lodging, it did serve some of the finest food he'd found on his travels. In fact, just the thought of his last meal there made his mouth begin to water . . . and that made his decision. The village tavern it was, he decided, and turned his feet in that direction.
It wouldn't take long to walk there and back. It would have been faster on his horse, of course, but he hadn't thought of it while he was in the clearing. Shrugging, he picked up his pace, and distracted himself with wondering what the tavern owner's wife had cooked up that day.
Chapter 4
JO SOAKED THE LINEN IN THE WATER AGAIN and raised it to press against her cheek until the cloth grew warm from her skin. She then glanced fretfully around as she dipped the cloth in the river water again.
Cam seemed to be taking a long time. The sun was almost completely below the horizon, leaving the sky afire with an orange glow that darkened to deep purple around the edges. Night would soon descend and he wasn't yet back.
Perhaps he was having trouble finding game, she told herself, withdrawing the cloth from the water and pressing it to her cheek again. She didn't have anything better to do while she waited.
Cam's mount shifted where he stood and she glanced toward him, stilling when she noted that the beast's ears were pricked. The animal had heard something, she realized, and began to scan the woods around the clearing, her ears straining to catch any telltale sound that someone approached. Still, she was caught by surprise when Cam suddenly stepped out of the trees and crossed the clearing toward her.
"I was beginning to worry," she admitted.
"No need. It just took me longer than I expected," Cam said easily, dropping the bag she hadn't noticed he carried beside her and then kneeling to quickly wash his hands in the water.
"What's this?" she asked curiously, eyeing the bag with interest as some rather heavenly smells wafted from it.
"Open it and see," he suggested, shifting to sit in front of her so that they faced each other, legs crossed.
Jo didn't even hesitate. The smells coming from the bag were amazing.
"That's what took me so long," Cam announced as she peered at the food inside. "The tavern owner's wife was still cooking the chicken when I got there, but promised it would only be a trice before it was done. Her idea of a trice is apparently a lot longer than mine," he added dryly.
"Chicken," Jo almost moaned the word, but then glanced to him with surprise. "The tavern owner's wife?"
"Aye. I have stopped here many times and there is a village a short walk away with a tavern that always has delicious food. Rather than hunt up our meal, and clean and cook it, I thought I'd simply buy it from the tavern keeper's wife and fetch it back. Fortunately, while she was offering stew to the customers, she had a roast chicken for herself and her husband that I was able to convince her to sell me. A lucky thing since I had no idea how I would have fetched stew back here. It would have soaked through the trenchers before I could make it back."
"Aye," Jo murmured, her face practically buried in the bag as she examined the contents; roast chicken, dark bread, cheese and two ripe apples. It all looked and smelled divine.
"Well, what are ye waiting fer?" Cam asked suddenly. "I've been smelling that all the way back from the inn. Get the food out. Ye must be hungry. I ken I'm starved. We've no' eaten since last night."
Jo hesitated, and then set down the bag of food to reach for her medicinal bag. Aware that Cam was watching her with bewilderment, she quickly pulled out some clean dry linen and set it on the ground. Only then did she start to unpack the food from the inn. The strips of linen might not usually be used this way, but she hadn't wanted to set the food on the ground and be spitting out dirt all night. Besides, the linen could be washed afterward.
"How's yer head?" Cam asked, breaking off a drumstick from the chicken and passing it to her.
"A little sore but fine," she answered. She then took the offered meat and murmured, "Thank you."
She waited until Cam had broken off a leg for himself as well and was raising it to his mouth before taking her own first bite of the meat. The moment she did though, her eyes closed on a little moan of pleasure. She'd thought the rabbit was good, but this was positively heaven. Jo swallowed with a sigh and opened her eyes, the drumstick already rising to her mouth again. She wanted to go slow and savor, but didn't think she could. This was possibly the best thing she'd ever tasted in her life. The truth was, while her mother had been a fine healer, she hadn't been much of a cook, and Jo had learned everything she knew from her mother. Even had they been able to afford a whole chicken to roast, which they wouldn't have, she never could have produced a bird as moist and well seasoned as this. And the bread and cheese were just as good, she found as she sampled those. It must be a popular inn indeed if it served such fine food, she decided.
Hungry as they were, and good as the food was, it didn't take them long to clear away the chicken. Joan was done first and settled back to watch Cam finish off the rest of the bird. There was no sense saving any, it would only go bad. That wasn't true of the cheese and bread though, so after a bite or two each, they'd decided to concentrate on the chicken alone and take the cheese, bread and apples with them to eat on the horse at nooning the next day.
"Well," Cam said, swallowing the last bite of chicken. "That was well worth the walk and wait."
"Aye," Jo agreed with a small smile. "Thank you."
"Me pleasure," Cam said and then raised an eyebrow when she got to her feet. "Where are ye off to?"
"To wash chicken grease off me hands and . . . er . . . tend to other matters," she muttered, aware that a boy would have said they were draining the snake or some other such thing.
"How's yer head. Will ye be all right on yer own?" Cam asked with concern.
"I'm fine," she assured him. "My head barely aches anymore."
"Hmm," Cam muttered, and then shrugged and said, "Shout if ye need help."
Jo merely grunted and headed off into the woods around the clearing. She hardly needed help relieving herself. Her head wound really wasn't that bad. The bump was a good size, but not alarmingly large, and the ache really was easing. She suspected she'd been knocked out as much from having the wind knocked out of her when she hit the ground as from the blow to the head. In fact, she hadn't lost consciousness until landing in the dirt with such a jolt.
A rustling in the bushes to her left made Jo slow and glance that way, but it was so dark away from the fire that she couldn't see a bloody thing. It had been lighter last night. There was no moon tonight, she noted glancing up. No stars either and she wondered if the night sky wasn't full of clouds blocking them. Whatever the case, it made her eager to return to camp and their fire, so Jo was quick about her business.
Cam already had his plaid wrapped around him like a blanket when she returned.
He lay down as soon as she stepped into the light cast by the fire and offered her a "Good sleep."
"Good sleep," Jo murmured in return and stretched out on the opposite side of the fire. She was just closing her eyes when she realized she'd forgotten to take a look at his stitches on his return. Sighing, she quickly got back to her feet and moved around to his side of the fire. The moment she blocked the flames and cast shadows on him, Cam opened his eyes. He raised his eyebrows when she stopped before him.
"I need to check your stitches," she said firmly, afraid he would again claim he was fine and try to refuse her.
Cam considered her briefly, then shrugged and rolled onto his stomach.
Jo hesitated, but then knelt beside him and gently pulled the plaid down in the back. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw that his shirt was gone. A glance a
round showed it draped over a stick stuck in the dirt by the fire to dry. It was soaking wet. He'd either washed it, or--
"I waded into the water to wash me hands, slipped and got dunked," Cam said with amusement at his own mishap. "Fortunately, a similar thing happened the last time I stopped here, so this time I took off me plaid ere stepping in else I'd be laying here naked."
The words put an immediate image in her mind of his naked body stretched out before her like a feast. An image that quickly vanished when he glanced over his shoulder at her and added, "Take heed, the river's bottom is flat stone fer a ways after the waterfall, and 'tis covered with moss and slippery. Use caution if ye go in else ye'll end up on yer rump."
Jo nodded quickly, letting her breath out with relief when he turned away again. Giving her head a shake, she turned her attention to his back again. She'd tugged the cloth down just far enough to reveal his shoulders before stopping to look around for his shirt. The skin revealed gleamed golden in the firelight. She tugged the plaid further down, baring his back and noted how the flames cast dancing shadows on it, emphasizing the rippling muscle as he folded his arms under his head and relaxed.
Cam was a beautiful man, she admitted to herself with a little sigh as her gaze ate up all that she'd revealed. She'd seen it before of course, but had been more concerned then with saving his life than the fine figure he cut. Now though, she couldn't seem to stop staring at all that naked flesh.
" 'Tis fine, is it no'?" Cam said suddenly. "I told ye it was."
Jo gave a start at the words, her glance automatically dropping to the wound on his lower back. She immediately frowned. "Your wrapping is gone."
"They got wet too," Cam said, shrugging his shoulders and making the muscles in his back move in an almost mesmerizing way. "They're under my shirt by the fire."
Jo forced her gaze away to glance toward the shirt. She couldn't see the bandages under the large shirt, but had no doubt they were there. Still she continued to look for a count of ten, just to allow herself to regain her composure. She had no idea why the sight of his bare back was affecting her this way. It was beautiful and she had the mad urge to run her hands over all that golden skin. Instead, she clasped her hands together, bit down hard on her lower lip and then turned back, determinedly focusing on his wound.
As he'd said, it was fine. Truly. The man must have a healthy constitution, for it was healing quickly, and she could see no sign of tearing from his carrying her. Still, she leaned to the side to grab her bag and opened it to retrieve her salve. 'Twas better to be safe than sorry, she told herself as she began to smear it gently on the wound. This had nothing to do with her desire to touch him, and everything to do with his healing. Really.
Rolling her eyes at herself, Jo finished with the task, quickly tugged the plaid back up over his shoulders and stood.
"Good?" Cam asked, rolling onto his side.
"Aye. 'Tis healing well," she mumbled, turning away to move back around the fire to where she'd first lain down. "Good sleep."
"Good sleep," Cam responded, curling up in his plaid once more.
Sighing, Jo stretched out on her side and closed her eyes, but her mind was filled with moments from that day. Riding with her arms around Cam's waist, her chest pressed to his back. His carrying her back to camp, his arms and chest surrounding her with heat and making her feel small and safe. His grin of anticipation when he'd watched her open the sack he'd brought back with him from the tavern. Cam lying half naked before her as she rubbed salve on his back . . .
Jo drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.
Muttering a curse under his breath, Cam shifted restlessly and peered at the woman on the other side of the dying fire. She was sleeping like the dead. He, however, was wide awake. Again. He'd had the devil of a time getting to sleep the night before and should be exhausted now . . . and he was, but that didn't make a difference. He still couldn't sleep. It was Jo's fault. So far today she'd plastered her little body to his back like a leech on his horse, her hands just inches above the part of his body that had woken when he'd accidentally seen her undressing and learned he was a she. Then she'd gone and knocked herself out, scaring him silly and forcing him to carry her in his arms, her warm little body cradled against his. And then she'd moaned and sighed her way through their entire meal like a woman responding to a lover's attentions. She had definitely forgotten she was supposed to be a boy there. No lad would react that way to a bit of chicken.
The piece de resistance, though, was her rubbing salve on his back. It was not the first time she'd done it, and she hadn't done it with any sort of sexual intent, but that hadn't made any difference. His body had reacted as if it were foreplay and now he was wide awake and aching and she, bloody minded woman that she was, was completely unaffected.
A cold drop of liquid hit his nose and Cam blinked and brushed it off with one finger, his gaze moving automatically skyward just as another drop hit his forehead. Great! Now it was going to rain. He should have known. Clouds had been gathering in the sky as he'd made his way to and from the village, and darkness when it had come had arrived fast and hard as it was wont to do when clouds aided in its arrival.
Two more drops hit his face and Cam's gaze slid to Jo. While his plaid was oiled on the outside and water would just run off it so that all he had to do was pull it over his head to remain dry, his traveling companion did not have such protection. She would be soaked in minutes once the clouds opened up. Another drop, on his eyelid this time, started him moving and Cam got quickly to his feet and rearranged his plaid as he moved around the fire to Jo's side. He didn't shake her awake or say her name, Cam just settled on the ground on his side behind her, and threw his plaid over to cover them both, then let his hand rest on her hip.
It took him about a heartbeat to realize that this might have been the biggest mistake he'd ever made in his life. Jo did not wake up, shrieking with dismay at his move. She didn't wake up at all as far as he could tell, but she did murmur sleepily and press back closer against him. He had no doubt she was unconsciously seeking his body heat, but she was also wiggling her bottom into his groin in a most distracting manner.
Cam set his teeth and tried to ignore it, but the fact that they were cocooned in the plaid, leaving him surrounded by her scent, didn't help any. Much to his relief, Jo suddenly murmured sleepily and rolled away from him and onto her stomach. At least he was relieved until he realized that his hand was now resting on her bottom rather than her hip. Cam closed his eyes and counted to ten as he fought the urge to squeeze the rounded cheek under his fingers, then carefully raised his hand. As he set it on his own hip, he acknowledged that it was going to be a very long night.
JO SHIFTED SLEEPILY AND SMILED AT HOW WARM and comfortable she was. The patch of ground she'd chosen was a little lumpy, but softer than she recalled it being last night when she'd lain down. And for a change instead of waking up cold and a little stiff from sleeping on the cold, damp ground, she was warm and . . . moving slowly up and down, she realized, her eyes popping abruptly open.
Darkness surrounded her, confusing her briefly, and Jo lifted her head, feeling something pressing against her head and shoulders as she did. It was like some kind of material was over her, she thought with confusion and was completely befuddled by that. She was also starting to panic a little when the cloth that she'd felt was suddenly pulled off her head and she found herself staring down at . . . Someone's chest? A chest that was moving up and down with every breath. She recognized that chest too, Jo thought and lifted her head to find herself staring into Cam's open eyes.
Jo opened her mouth, intending to ask how the devil she'd got on his chest. And how they'd got on the same side of the fire, but as she noted the grimace of pain on his face, what came out was a concerned, "Your back," as she realized he was lying on it.
Cam reacted immediately, splaying one hand on her back, catching her head in his other and abruptly rolling so that she was lying flat on the ground, and he was o
n top of her. He quickly shifted his hands then to allow his elbows to take his weight, and she expected, to get up off of her, but instead his head came down and his mouth covered hers.
Jo was so stunned at the action that she simply remained still for a moment. This was not the first time she'd been kissed. A village boy or two had tried while she was growing up, but she'd never been much moved by the activity. Perhaps that had been due to the kisser, she thought now, because the kisses she'd received in the past had seemed sloppy and uninteresting and had always left her wanting to wipe her hand across her mouth. This kiss was nothing like that. Cam's mouth was firm as it brushed across hers, and then he nipped at her lower lip, a quick, tantalizing tug that had her mouth opening with surprise. The moment she did that, his tongue slid into her mouth like an invading army, causing chaos and starting up fires at various points throughout her body.
Jo had never experienced anything like this, and was so overwhelmed that it took a moment for her to realize that Cam was kissing her. Her . . . Jo . . . who he thought was a boy. Her eyes immediately popped open and she began to press against his chest, trying to lift her mouth from his. When escaping his kisses upward didn't work, she finally turned her head determinedly to the side. That worked. At least it broke the kiss. However, bereft of her mouth, Cam began to trail kisses across her cheek toward her ear.
"Cam, this is--" This was what? She wondered, trying to recall what she'd been about to say before he'd begun to explore her ear, nibbling and kissing it in a way that had the most unexpected effect. Damn, she couldn't recall, but what he was doing was rather amazing. It was sending shivers of excitement up and down her body in waves of pleasure like she'd never experienced.
If the church knew about this they would no doubt be up in arms, she thought. Nothing that felt this good could be condoned by the church. They tended to disapprove of anything pleasurable and-- That thought reminded her of what she'd wanted to say earlier, this kind of thing was definitely not condoned by the church, not just because they weren't married, but because she was a boy. At least, he thought she was a boy. She wasn't of course, but to his mind he was kissing a boy, which was a bit distressing since she was enjoying it, but knew he was a man. She'd seen him naked after all. How disappointed would he be when he discovered she wasn't a boy as he thought?