Breaking the Rules (1st in Breaking Series)

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Brody awoke slowly as the birds began singing their songs with the sunrise. He snuggled closer to the soft body in his arms and pressed his lips to her hair. His heart was lost to this woman. Whether he had wanted to ever fall in love or not, he was in deep. She had awakened something in him that had been dead a long time.... His heart. He loved making her smile, making her laugh, making her temper flare.

"Mmmm..." she moaned in her sleep and he felt himself grow hard as she threw her leg over his and he wondered what her dreams were of.

"I'm in trouble," he whispered. He had no doubt that she desired him. The signs were plain to see. The way her eyes would darken, her pupils would dilate and the passionate flush that covered her face and neck. But did she love him?

Love? Why had the word love entered his mind? Did he love her? Of course he did. But loving and caring for people led to heartache. Hadn't losing his family taught him that? Of course to feel her tender body pressed against his made every fear of being hurt seem worth it.

"Grant..." she whispered and she became restless next to him. It was as if cold water had just been poured over his head and he quickly moved away from her and walked over to the stream.

Grant? Grant was the man she was dreaming about? Brody had been a fool to even think about falling in love with that woman. She was engaged after all. He crouched down and splashed water over his face and then began to stomp out what was left of the fire.

"Good morning," Elizabeth's voice came from behind him.

He could hear her standing up and stretching and he grunted in reply, "Get a drink and put some of that leftover meat in your pockets. We gotta try to find a homestead or something today so we can figure out where we are."

Elizabeth shivered at the coldness in his voice. Was this the same man that had held her so tenderly all night? "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Just fine." He took a drink of water, stuffed some snake in his pockets, grabbed the gun and then began walking giving Elizabeth no choice but to rush and grab some food before chasing after him.

***

The sun was high in the bright blue expanse of sky above them and Elizabeth cursed its heat as it beat down on her. She could feel the sweat, plastering her shirt to her body and running between her breasts. Her hair was soaked with it and she kept wiping the burning droplets from her eyes. She had tried several times over the last few hours to make conversation with Brody but he didn't seem interested and she wondered at the change in him. He wasn't acting like himself. Even his posture and steps had changed. Gone was the confident stride with his shoulders and head held high. He was now walking like a man who had lost something important or suffered some huge defeat. His shoulders were slumped and his boots dragged the ground with every step. She wondered if it had something to do with the nightmare he'd had last night.

Elizabeth was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize he'd stopped until she ran into his broad back. She stumbled backward and would have fallen if he hadn't grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Thank you," she gasped.

He just shrugged and let go of her, "We'll rest under those trees for a while. It's green over there and I'm guessing there's water of some kind." Elizabeth nodded and followed him to the grouping of green trees and bright grass. Sure enough there was a small pond, not the ideal water for drinking but it was better than dying of thirst.

"Why are you acting different today?" Elizabeth asked as they munched on the leftover snake and leaned against the trees they were sitting under.