pressed closer to him. Her husky laughter made him smile. Naked thighs tangled with his; an arching of her hips elicited an unrestrained groan. It started in his belly and rumbled in his chest.
Erin smiled at him, welcoming, passionate, loving.
She leaned over and kissed him, her lips doing things to his mouth that he’d never experienced.
“I’m oh so lucky,” she said. “I came to celebrate being buried in a lab for the past six years, and I found you.” She cuddled into him and nearly purred.
Hunter’s body leaped at her touch, even as his heart twisted in regret.
Maybe, just maybe, he could keep the world away from them for a while longer. He rolled her to her back and settled between her thighs, his body pressing against hers.
“I’m the lucky one,” he said as he buried himself into her.
She closed her eyes and let out a groan of passion. She hid nothing from him. He reveled in her honesty.
“I never thought anyone like you would love me,” he whispered, the truth in those words wrenched from his soul.
He moved against her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and together they escaped the world in each other’s arms. He lost himself, captured by her heart and her love. He wanted her. Always. Forever.
The vibrating phone in his pants filtered across the room.
No. It couldn’t be happening. Not now.
But he knew.
His dream was over.
Reality had come calling.
And he would have to say goodbye.
* * *
MORNING LIGHT STREAMED THROUGH the shutters. Erin stretched, her body sore in unexpected and wonderful places.
Then she remembered.
The past, the present, the unknown future.
She crossed her arms over her bare breasts and searched the edge of the bed for her nightshirt. She slipped into it and peeked out the bedroom door.
Hunter sat in a rocking chair, Brandon in his arms, staring out the front window. A cup of coffee rested on the table at Hunter’s side. He didn’t look happy or satisfied.
She cleared her throat. He turned to her, his gaze warming, but cautious at the same time. Something had happened. “What’s wrong?”
“Logan called. We’re set to meet with the woman who will provide you and Brandon with your new identification papers.”
So it was over already. Erin closed her eyes, the feeling of loss indescribable. When he’d left before, she’d been in shock. This time she’d known it was coming, but it didn’t hurt any less. “When?”
“This afternoon.”
He looked outside. “Do you ride?”
“Not for a long time. Why?”
“Do you want to? Logan has a couple of horses he keeps on hand in a barn not too far from here.”
“It’s safe?” she asked.
“Safer than sitting in one place any longer,” Hunter said.
His words sent a chill through her. She rubbed her hands over her arms, trying to ease the foreboding. It did no good. “Then let’s go. I’m getting claustrophobic anyway.”
It would do them both good to get away from these four cloying walls.
Half an hour later, Hunter drove the SUV over a series of dirt roads to a newly constructed barn.
Erin exited the vehicle and looked at the utter destruction of the surrounding area. The earth had been scorched. Half a dozen buildings had burned to the ground. There was nothing left. “What happened here? It looks like a war zone.”
“This was the Triple C Ranch. Logan’s ancestral home. It used to be a fortress, until he crossed some demented, determined people who liked guerrilla tactics and to play with explosives. This is the result.”
“And we’re safe here?”
“We’re never safe, Erin, but no one lives here. Construction crews are just starting to rebuild the ranch and the main house, and the ranch hands still take care of the horses. Logan is now Prince Consort of Bellevaux, and he and his wife and kids live there.”
Erin’s eyes widened. “Logan’s wife is that queen in Europe they just discovered?”
“The same.”
Hunter entered the barn and saddled a gentle-looking mare. Erin looked down and strapped Brandon more closely in his baby harness. His weight was reassuring on her chest.
“You sure you don’t want me to take him?” Hunter asked. “He’s kind of heavy.”
Erin shook her head. “I need to hold him right now. I’m feeling a little shaky.”
Hunter’s face clouded, but he nodded and saddled a large black stallion. “Let’s head out.”
The mare walked slowly, but it still took a few minutes for Erin to get comfortable. Finally, she relaxed into the horse’s rhythm.
“You’ve got a good seat,” Hunter said.
She glanced at him. “I learned when I was a kid. I