A/N: One paragraph in here is the result of a challenge somebody gave me some time ago. I hope that she thinks the result is solid enough.

It had been almost two weeks since Rhett fooled the people of Orange with his fake army injury. Gradually the thick pine forests and rugged hills had made way for wide open prairies. They were dry prairies because the Western part of this large state received much less rainfall than the rest of Texas. Rhett knew they were coming close to the end of their journey. A good thing it was too. Scarlett had been quiet lately and she looked worn out. Her lovely face no longer radiated health; the natural blush had disappeared from her cheeks and she looked abnormally pale. Sometimes he wondered if she was feeling ill but, since she never complained, he always dismissed that thought.

After the long weeks of travelling he looked forward to spending a longer period in one single spot. Since Scarlett was not used to being on the road, he guessed that she was just fed up with the whole thing. Rhett promised himself he would not waste time making Scarlett his wife. In the last few weeks it happened often that he caught her looking at him with something that resembled longing. At first he told himself she must be dreaming about that wooden headed Wilkes again, but he noticed that she did not look into the distance. She clearly looked at him. Even when he walked across a room he could feel her eyes burning in his back. Something had changed between them. He could not pinpoint when or how, but things had shifted.

Shifted in his favour.

These days he showered her with words of endearment. Rhett did not use 'my pet' that often anymore. For a long time it had been his way of showing his appreciation while keeping his distance at the same time. Letting her believe that he was merely amused by her, as he would be amused by a gambolling kitten. But he felt on much safer ground now. He laughed freely when she said something amusing, he let feelings of tenderness slip out from under his mask and over the last fortnight they had shared many sweet kisses. Rhett always made sure the kisses were short-lived. Scarlett still seemed to be unaware of the fact that she affected him tremendously. The passion in her was raw: Something he believed she could not yet control. So he exercised self-control for the both of them. But soon he would not have to restrain himself any longer.

Because of that, Rhett felt a joy that he had not felt since he was a young boy. It made him feel giddy; it made him feel like acting a bit foolish. When he started recognizing the surrounding and knew that the horses only had a few more miles to go, he told Scarlett he would race her to the next tree. Without waiting for her, he put his spurs into Zephyr and the horse immediately accelerated. Rhett bent his body low so that the back draft would not be a disadvantage. He felt the wind gush by him and a familiar rush came over him. In a way this adventure with Scarlett reminded him of his blockading days. Standing in complete darkness on a boat, knowing that the enemy was right in front of you, always made his blood run faster. It always made him feel even more alive then usual. Travelling with this wonderful girl by his side, with the Yankees figuratively trailing behind them, had been equally exciting. And this time he would get that prize that he wanted to win while he was blockading.

This time Scarlett O'Hara would belong to him and nobody else.

Rhett glanced behind him. He saw that Scarlett was doing her best to push her own horse to the extreme. A very competitive girl she was, something he loved about her. She came close enough for him to see her face. He was certain that she was not aware of the excited look that lay on her features. She was just like him: They were so right for each other. No other woman would understand him the way she could.

Scarlett saw Rhett looking and inwardly called him a fool. Did he not know that he was slowing his horse down by repeatedly looking behind him? She knew Socks could never outdo Zephyr. The mare was too tame for that, but Scarlett did not give up on the challenge Rhett put in front of her. She never gave up on any challenge, no matter how the odds were: Something unexpected could happen and Scarlett might still be the winner. However, she immediately pulled the reins when she saw Zephyr getting into one of his fits. He stood on two legs and Scarlett could see that Rhett tried everything he could to stay on the horse but it was in vain. Scarlett's own horse was not fully standing still yet, when she jumped off it to run over to where Rhett was lying. His big body looked immobile. His eyes were closed.

'Rhett, Rhett! Rhett, answer me'. She said while she shook him. His head rolled back and forth but he did not respond.

'Rhett, wake up! Rhett you cannot leave me here. Not here in the middle of nowhere, a thousand miles away from Tara. Come on, Rhett, you promised to take care of me!' In her frenzy she started pounding his chest. She was close to tears when she suddenly felt two strong hands grab her wrists.

'Ouch, Scarlett! What way is that to treat a wounded man? I have no idea why Mrs Wilkes wanted your help in the hospital during the war', he chuckled. Scarlett could see that there was nothing the matter with him.

'Oh Rhett!' Scarlett cried from sheer relief. After a few seconds the happiness was replaced by angriness.

'Oh, Rhett Butler, how could you give me such a fright! It is very mean of you to fake unconsciousness', she pouted.

'I was not faking. I think I had a black-out there for a short while, Scarlett. Right before I heard you scream my name in agony'.

'I just wanted to see where you would take all this. I thought I might be lucky enough and that you would try to kiss me out of my slumber as if I was the prince in your fairytale'.

'Oh, Rhett, you are a cad for misleading a lady like that', Scarlett cried. She scrambled onto her knees to get up but Rhett was faster and he pulled her down on top of him.

Her small body laid spread across his large one. It felt oddly intimate and Scarlett blinked a few times to hide her confusion. Her hair had fallen in front of her face and Rhett gently brushed it aside. A strange look came into his eyes and he grabbed her face in between his large hands and brought her mouth towards him. Then he kissed her.

The moment their lips met, Scarlett was lost. Vaguely she remembered that they were lying by the side of a road. A road on which other people might be travelling. But the wide open spaces around them disappeared. She could no longer feel the sweltering sunshine. The world only consisted of Rhett's warm mouth on her own, of his hard body under hers. After a few moments she could feel that he wanted to pull away, just like he had done so many times over the past few weeks. But Scarlett was not ready to let him go yet and since she was on top this time, she used that advantage to press her lips back on his.

'Scarlett', he mumbled against her mouth, but she boldly pried his mouth open with her little tongue.

That gesture seemed to drive him insane. Careful not to hurt her, he gently turned her over until her long hair laid spread out on the yellow sand under her. She had red blushes on her cheeks now and her green eyes were glittering. Rhett was not sure if it was the sun's reflection or something else that made them sparkle. His lips quickly covered her mouth, while one of his hands caressed the many curves on her body. He could feel his own excitement rising. In a last attempt he pulled away from her. He did not have the strength to get up immediately so he lingered above her while resting his weight on his elbows. To his horror she lifted her head and started nibbling his throat. Her small teeth bit him and then she sucked on his skin. He did not know how much more of this he could take. When he felt her hair brush his chest, he decided that enough was enough.

If he took her now, it would be something both of them might come to regret later. For various reasons. Scarlett might believe that he saw her as nothing more than a common whore, but in fact Rhett had too much respect for her to make their first time a quick tumble on some dusty road.

Denying all the signals that his own body was sending to his brain, he briskly got up and pulled her along with him. His own arousal was very obvious and to his dismay Scarlett's eyes were drawn to the large bulge in his pants. When she kept her eyes fixated on the area of his manhood it only made him grow harder. He felt helpless and far from being in control. After what seemed like forever she turned her eyes upwards and looked him in the eye. She looked slightly shocked but at the same time something in her eyes defied him. They told him that he should not think that he had won this round. He had to smile at her boldness and she smiled too, before she finally cast her eyes down and looked appropriately embarrassed, as a lady should under the circumstances.

They walked a while in silence before they spotted the horses along the road. Socks greeted them with enthusiasm and Zephyr reluctantly followed her example.

After they mounted the horses, Rhett surprised Scarlett by informing her that this evening they would be sleeping in the village that they would call home as from now. Scarlett did not miss the implication, but she felt overjoyed. She never knew she could need a man so much. Need a man, as much as she needed Rhett. They weren't in love with each other, but there was something between them that she could not put into words. However, it was powerful.

It was an urge within her that she could not deny any longer. And when she looked into Rhett's eyes she could see that he felt exactly the same way.