Cara found it difficult to sleep. The bed was too large, or too soft, or too hard. The cotton sheets were a reminder of his caress along her skin. When she closed her eyes she felt him beside her. While trapped together she'd awakened in his arms. Mistake or not she wanted things between them to continue.

Tonight, as the strange storm raged, he held her hand. She couldn't but wonder if it meant something. She groaned and crawled out of bed. Even if it did, they couldn't continue sleeping together. Additional storms meant a possibility to get him home. She needed to end things between them before it went any farther. Better now than later. She would just check to see if his light was on.

She slipped her feet into a pair of sandals and grabbed her raincoat. She moved down the hall to the kitchen door. She gasped when she opened it.

Fenris stood there; hand raised to knock.

"God, you scared me?"

"May I come in?"

"I couldn't sleep. I thought some air would help." her cheeks bloomed with the lie.

"Liar"

"Why are you here?"

Fenris stepped inside and pushed the door closed behind him. He looked her over and smiled at her bare legs. The coat barely covered her rear.

"I couldn't sleep either." He reached for her and untied the sash around her waist.

Cara trembled as his hands slipped under her coat and caressed her side. The thin lace nightgown did little to cover her. She'd worn it on impulse. Grace insisted she update her wardrobe and pointed out underclothes could be worn for herself and not just to please a man. Most of the lacy things added to her delicate drawer she purchased at Grace's insistence.

Fenris hummed his approval as he slid the coat off her shoulders.

"So beautiful, " he murmured, his lips were already teasing along her throat.

She lost all train of thought as his hand found the lower edge of material and caressed up her thigh.

"Tell me this is a mistake."

"This is a mistake," she whispered.

"Tell me to go."

She bit her lip and shook her head.

"Tell me you don't want me."

Cara gasped as he teased along her inner thigh.

"We shouldn't."

"That isn't a no."

"This is so unfair." The way he teased her, made her confess she wanted him was unfair. Though she loved that about him as well. He'd given her multiple chances to stop him, and he never continued without her agreement. That he would leave and she would miss him was unfair.

"Mmmm. What is it about you? I feel like I have been searching for you my whole life."

Cara chuckled. "You get that from one of Varric's books?"

"Maybe. Or maybe I feel like everything is as it should be when I'm with you." He continued to tease her, kissing her neck, jaw & ear.

"You'll leave one day."

"You cannot be certain the storms will continue." He nibbled her ear lobe.

"I know."

"I don't want to hurt you again."

"I know."

Cara grew bolder. To hell with everything. She knew he couldn't stay but she would enjoy it for as long as he was here. She fisted her hands in his hair and kissed him. "I want you for as long as you're here."

She tugged at his shirt and he pulled it over his head. He groaned against her throat.

She nipped the tip of his ear, her hands caressed down his chest to tease his waist. Her hips pressed against his.

Without a growl, he lifted her and carried her to her room.

Cara woke half under Fenris. His leg curled around hers and his body pressed against her back. She never thought of him as the cuddling type. But then, she didn't expect gentle from him either.

She didn't have a place he left untouched or kissed. She felt her cheeks warm recalling when he kissed her inner thigh. Dan never - no, he wouldn't ruin this too.

Fenris' arms tightened around her and he placed a kiss on the back of her neck.

"Mmmm. Did you sleep well?" he murmured.

Cara purred. " I did."

"No dreams?" he asked.

"If I did, I don't remember them." For the first time in her life she knew how the term 'thoroughly fucked', felt. Fenris was not a selfish lover. She didn't have the strength to move even if she wanted to.

"I should go before the others wake."

Cara hadn't felt ashamed until then. He reminded her this was just sex. It didn't mean anything and as soon as he could he would return to Thedas.

He kissed her neck again and she moaned. How could she still need him so much after last night? Would she ever be satisfied? She was, extremely satisfied, but she wanted him again.

Fenris pulled on her shoulder and pressed her back against the bed. Cara's stomach flipped as the length of him pressed against her thigh.

"I don't care if they know."

"You work with them. I work for you. They shouldn't know."

"Because it's just sex, right? Can't have them know your screwing the boss. They might think it gets you special treatment."

"They are family to you and leaving before they wake saves you having to explain this."

"Can't have them thinking I'm a cheap whore, because any self-respecting woman would expect a promise." She pushed him away and scrambled out of bed.

"That is not what I think." His brow furrowed and he pressed his lips together.

"Just go. I need to shower before I start breakfast."

She shut and locked the bathroom door,leaned against it a moment, fighting the tears. Last night was a mistake. She couldn't do just sex, and knowing he would leave already made her chest ache. How would she feel in a few weeks or even a few months down the road?

She meant to end things last night. No matter how much she craved his touch. This needed to end before she fell in love.

Cara sat on the front step drinking her coffee. The three hands would arrive soon for breakfast and she needed to get her thoughts under control. She could play the part when she put her mind to it.

The phone rang jolting her from her thoughts. She jumped up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Are you crazy? Taking a green hand for a cattle drive ahead of a snowstorm?" Sean's voice snapped at her through the phone.

"The storm was unexpected. I did check the weather before I left. And he's not as green as you think." Cara bit her lip. Sean was younger, but he took on the role of protective big brother when he grew taller than her at fifteen.

"You haven't been to town for six weeks. If you have, you didn't stop by the clinic."

"Early spring meant lots to do on the ranch. I needed to stay busy."

"I worry about you. The ranch is less a home than an escape."

"I'm not hiding, and even so, it's no big deal. I get up every morning and take care of myself and the animals." She knew why he worried. After Dan, left she dealt with anxiety attacks and depression. She nearly fell into depression after Grace's accident. If not for Dragon Age she might have. Instead she channeled her pain into the game, the world, and the lore.

"I sleep at least six hours every night. I'm okay, no panic attacks or suicidal thoughts. Come to dinner tonight if it makes you feel better."

"I will. Leslie has youth group tonight, but I'll be there at seven."

"Great, wish Leslie was coming, but I'll be glad to see you. I miss you little brother."

"I haven't been your little brother since I was fifteen." His voice was laced with humor.

"I'm three years older, you'll always be my little brother."

Sean chuckled. "I'll see you at seven."

Cara hung up the phone with a sigh. She expected him to decline her offer of dinner tonight without Leslie. Had it really been six weeks since she had been to town? Time stood still since Grace died, but the last six weeks flew by.

He made her feel alive again. Would her feelings for him fade or grow stronger? She feared they would only grow. Loosing Fenris would break her heart in the end.

Cara said little during breakfast. Jess and Harris filled the silence with stories of her childhood and adventures of their rodeo days. They explained what a rodeo was. Fenris found it hard to believe some of the events the men participated in.

Harris showed him a few of his battle scars. He pointed out a scar along his rib cage given to him by an angry bronc. Cara explained a bronc, or bronco, refused to be ridden. A rider needed to stay on for eight seconds while the animal twisted, and reared, trying to throw anyone foolish enough to sit on its back.

Fenris said he accomplished this during the weeks they trained the three-year old's. The first time he saw Cara thrown he insisted he ride the more stubborn three-year old's. Seeing her flying through the air, and nearly trampled, twisted his stomach in knots. The less danger he saw her in the better for his nerves.

Jess ribbed him for his inexperience. Directing a saddled horse was much easier.

Fenris stood facing the corral. Somehow, he accepted the challenge from the Jess. He needed to stay on Warrior for eight seconds. When Fenris saw the strap, and heard it explained to him, he realized he foolishly allowed Jess to bait him. Cara tried to stop them.

She stood inside the kitchen door. Fenris was an idiot. He fell for their ribbing and took the challenge as personal. Jess wasn't helping by refusing to let him back out gracefully. Fenris didn't know enough about riding to do something like this. Five weeks of riding experience did not a cowboy make. She refused to watch him break his fool neck. She turned back to the dishes in the sink and scrubbed furiously at the plate in her hand. No, he was on his own.

She nearly dropped a mug on the floor. She had to watch. If she didn't and something happened, she would never forgive herself. Maybe her being there would keep him safe.

Jess coaxed Warrior into the cattle shoot meant for loading cows and horses into trailers. Sean rigged it long ago, for practice during his rodeo days.

She waited until Fenris climbed the fence before she raced to the corral. The fool planned to ride Warrior with nothing to control him.

"Make sure it's tight. You don't want it jerked from your grasp but it needs to release when you let go or you'll get hung up," she said.

"Now, Miss Cara, we've already told him. No one here wants him to get hurt," Jess said.

Something in his expression said otherwise. Jess must suspect something. He planned to show Fenris he didn't belong here, or maybe show her.

"If you grab with the other hand before eight seconds, it's over. Harris has the air horn. He'll blow it at eight seconds. When he does, you push off and jump away. Warrior should calm down as soon as you're off. But just in case he doesn't, get out of there fast."

Fenris suppressed a smirk. She sounded confident he would stay on the full time.

"I'll be along the fence to get Warrior's attention. He'll be just fine," Jess said. "The kid fought a dragon. He can handle a temperamental three-year-old for eight tiny seconds."

Cara gave Jess a withered look. Fenris knew Jess tested him. The older man ribbed him for being a greenhorn and a city boy. Cara warned him about some good-natured teasing, but there was something more to the man's comments. Fenris knew a true challenge when he heard one.

Warrior was tense. His eyes, angled back and up to see him, showed more white than brown. Along its rib cage muscles rippled and he pawed at the ground as Harris slipped the strap under him and through to Jess on the other side. Sweat broke out under his flanks.

"If Warrior gets hurt, Jess, you've bought yourself a horse."

The two stared each other down a moment before Jess nodded.

Fenris lowered himself onto Warrior. The two of them knew each other well. He spent more than three weeks trying to get the horse to accept a rider. To say he opposed being ridden was an understatement. Cara said horses were like people; each with a unique personality and the trainer needed to find out how to train them properly. Teaching Warrior proved challenging. He was calm and even affectionate until an ass touched his back. Warrior squirmed under him, testing his weight.

"He's figuring out how best to throw you," Jess said.

Fenris tightened the strap. Warrior shifted under him. Fenris took a deep breath. He let out half then gave a nod to Jess.

Warrior started deceptively easy. The fourth step Warrior got his head low and kicked up his hind end. Fenris leaned back. Warrior came down hard. The impact sent a shock up his spine. Fenris nearly bit his tongue.

Warrior twisted his back end to the right and then quickly left. When Fenris stayed on, he came down flat and sent another pounding to Fenris' tailbone.

Fenris held on with one hand and his knees. He feared one or the other would give out soon. How many seconds passed? He no longer knew what direction the horse faced. The corral spun away before he could focus on any object or person. His left hand felt numb from his grip on the rope, but if he let go, he failed. He wouldn't quit before Harris sounded the horn. Hair covered his eyes. He lost his hat, and the tie holding his hair back.

Cara held her hand over her mouth. Warrior spun and kicked, doing his best to throw Fenris. Dust kicked up around them as the stallion dug his feet into the soft dirt to get traction for another push. She glanced at the timer in Harris' hand. Three more seconds. Part of her wanted Fenris to let go early, but she also wanted him to stay the full ride. She knew he could. That he lasted this long was something to be proud of.

Cara held her breath. A few seconds without air was nothing compared to the ride he was on. Those three seconds stretched out like an eternity. Sean rode in high school, why did it frighten her to see Fenris do the same?

She jumped when Harris blew the air horn. Her heart slammed into her throat as he pushed off Warrior. Fenris tucked his feet under him and rolled away. Jess ran forward waving his arms getting the stallion's attention. Warrior kicked a few more times but moved to the other end of the corral away from the men.

Fenris stood and brushed the dust from his jeans. Jess slapped him on the back and hooted his approval. Harris grinned from the edge of the corral, but Cara wasn't next to him. Fenris looked around for her and found her heading into the barn. Jess handed him his hat and spoke, but Fenris didn't hear him. His heart pounding in his ears drowned out all sound.

He knew she was angry with them, but wondered if she stayed to see the whole thing?

"Not such a greenhorn any longer," Harris said.

Cara came out leading Scout. "Alright the fun is over, now back to work. I expect Warrior wiped down, brushed, and given an extra measure of oats." She stepped into the stirrup and gracefully slid into the saddle.

"Where are you going?" Jess asked.

"Some place without idiots." She pulled Scout around then whistled for Remus before they broke into a run.

Harris scratched his chin while Jess pushed his hat back and smoothed his thinning hair down before setting it on his head once more.

"Should one of us go after her?" Fenris asked.

"Not unless you want to mess with a badger. She's rarely this mad." Jess shook his head. "Sorry, friend. She tried to warn us and I didn't listen."

"Is she angry over the horse or something else?"

"That's the million-dollar question," Jess said. "Could be both or neither. I gave up trying to figure her out and just give her space."