Free Bella's Vineyard by Sally Quilford Page A

for a little while.
    Using the wall
to guide her, she sat down on the ground, her legs suddenly very weak. She did
not know if that was from the fear or Vance’s nearness – she could feel him
very close to her, joining her on the ground, leaning against the opposite
wall  – but either way, her legs would no longer hold her weight.
    “Are you all
right, Bella?”
    “Yes. No. I’ve
never been shot at before, nor had a man rub dirt all over my best dress.”
    “I’m glad to
hear it.”
    “How long do you
think we’ll have to stay here, Vance?”
    “I don’t know.
Maybe when my horse gets back to town, they’ll realise something is wrong and
come looking for us.”
    “But they won’t
know where to look.”
    “They’ll find
us. Don’t worry.”
    She felt him
move in the darkness, then his shoulder nudged against hers. “Sorry,” he said,
“I’m a little cold. I thought we could share some body heat.”
    “Have your shirt
back.”
    “No, you wear
it. It looks better on you.”
    “You can’t even
see me.”
    “In my
imagination it looks better on you.” Outside it sounded as if some small stones
fell from the ledge. “Shh.” She heard him cock his gun, and waited, hardly
daring to breathe to see if anyone came to the entrance of the cave.
    A voice called
out in the night. “Are you sure this was the way they came?”
    “That’s Bill,”
whispered Bella.
    “Shh…”
    “Yes.” The
second voice came from further away. “I’m sure of it.”
    More stones
fell, and Bill swore out loud. “The boss didn’t say nothing about climbing the
canyon,” he said. Half of his back came into view in the mouth of the cave, but
it did not seem as if he noticed the cliff face had ended. “I hate heights.
Where are you? Are you coming up?”
    When Bill
lurched forward, nearly falling to his death, Bella gasped, which was followed
by Vance clamping his hand over her mouth. It was lucky for Bella that Bill’s
own cry in the night covered her own. Bill scrambled for purchase on the ledge.
    “Hell, I’m
coming down,” he said, moving back the way he came and out of sight. “Before I
kill myself. I didn’t sign up for this.”
    After a few
minutes of waiting and watching, Vance got up and moved towards the entrance, keeping
his gun aloft. He looked out to either side, before coming back to sit next to
Bella.
    “They’ve gone.
Now we just have to hang out here until we’re sure they’re not waiting at the
bottom of the canyon.” So they waited…
     
    It was morning
when Bella opened her eyes. The sunrise shone into the cave, lighting up their
hiding place, and bringing much needed heat. She moved her head to find that
she was using Vance’s bare chest as a pillow, with her hand resting on his flat
belly. His skin felt smooth against her cheek and fingertips. She traced the
line of his torso with her fingertips, from his naval up to his chest, feeling
her excitement rising. She stroked his nipple with the tip of her finger,
fighting the urge to follow it with a kiss.
    His hand clamped
over hers. In less than a second he flipped over, and pinned her to the floor
of the cave, with the weight of his body holding her down. He shifted slightly
and her eyes widened as she became very aware of the effect her touch had on
him. 
    “Vance … ” Before
she could say another word he kissed her, pulling her body roughly up to him
with one hand on her back, whilst the fingers of his other hand searched for
the bottom of her dress, and began to slide up past her stockings to the silky
skin of her thigh, sending darts of pleasure shooting through her. She raked
her fingers along his bare back and answered his kiss with one full of longing.
    “Marshal!
Marshal! Are you up there?”
    Vance pulled
away, and dropped Bella like a stone. “They’ve found us,” he said. “You go
first.”
    “Why?” Bella’s
breath came quickly. She straightened her clothing, beginning to feel the
weight of her shameless