Cora's Pride (Wilderness Brides Book 1) by Peggy L Henderson Page A

ducked out from under the wagon. It was time to put a stop to this conversation.
    She stood on unsteady legs for a moment as stars danced before her eyes. She blinked several times to stave off the dizziness and shivered again at the brisk air that touched her bare skin. She glanced down and her mouth gaped open. Where were her clothes? There she stood, in only her chemise and bloomers, right in front of Nathaniel. Her gaze shot to the man sitting by the fire.
    Nathaniel looked straight at her. She swallowed. His eyes roamed over her, appraising her slowly from top to bottom before resting on her face. Her skin tingled in response as if he’d reached out and touched her. Cora’s heart pounded against her ribs.
    Regaining her senses, she lunged for her blanket under the wagon and held it up to her chin. When she looked up, Nathaniel still stared at her, a wide grin on his face. Anna rushed up to her.
    “You’re awake,” her friend greeted with a slight stammer. Her face was scarlet. No doubt Cora’s cheeks matched the color of her friend’s, if the heat rising up her neck was any indication. Anna stepped in front of her in an obvious effort to block Nathaniel’s view of her.
    “Where are my clothes?” Cora hissed, her eyes darting to the man staring at her by the fire. He seemed completely oblivious that it was highly inappropriate to be looking at her. Cora scoffed silently. He knew perfectly well that he shouldn’t be staring. He was doing it on purpose.
    “Your clothes were soaking wet yesterday, Cora.” Anna’s smile was apologetic. “I had to remove the rest of your dress. I’m afraid it couldn’t be salvaged.”
    “What do you mean, the rest of my dress?” She only owned three decent dresses that weren’t threadbare from use on this journey.
    Anna shot a hasty glance over her shoulder toward the fire. Nathaniel stood and walked toward them.
    “I tore part of it off you,” he said before Anna could answer.
    Cora glared at him and clutched the blanket tighter to her body.
    “The dress and your underthings were dragging you under water. We both might have drowned if I hadn’t removed them. Given the choice, I discarded your skirts rather than you.”
    Cora’s eyes narrowed while her heart hammered in her chest at his almost sensual words. She pressed her lips together when renewed heat rushed to her face. He watched her, a challenging look in his eyes, as if he was waiting for her to argue with what he’d said. His lips twitched in amusement.
    “Why don’t you come to the wagon, Cora, and get dressed proper. I didn’t want to disturb you unduly yesterday. You needed rest.” Anna reached for her arm.
    Cora raised her chin. She didn’t take her eyes off Nathaniel. The rush of heat to her face engulfed her entire body in response to his stare. His eyes traveled leisurely over her face, as if taking in everything about her, even her thoughts. His perusal stopped at her neck, where she still clutched the blanket to her.
    She swallowed. If he meant to intimidate her, he could think again. Before contemplating her actions, Cora took a step toward him and held out her hand, while clutching the blanket in the other.
    “Thank you for saving Patrick’s life, Mr. Wilder. I appreciate what you’ve done for us.”
    His eyebrows rose in surprise and disbelief. Cora forced her expression to remain steady. A suspicious glare quickly followed and he cocked his head to the side, but his lips formed into a wide grin that sent another flutter through her. His warm hand engulfed hers in a strong, yet tender grip, making her head spin with renewed dizziness that had nothing to do with the injury to her head.
    “Glad I was close enough to help,” he said. The tone of his voice dropped considerably. He continued to stare at her, his eyes traveling lower along her shoulder and arm that were now exposed to his view. He made no effort to release her hand.
    Anna cleared her throat. “I think you’d best get dressed,