“What are you doing? You scared me to death. Let go of me!” She squirmed in his arms, trying to loosen his hold.
He stared, utterly bewildered. Why was she fighting him? He pulled her more firmly against his body to control her thrashing. Her stomach was pressed firmly against his side, their legs entwining under the water in an attempt by both of them to stay afloat. His loins tightened.
“I heard you scream. I thought you were drowning.” He shouted over the roar of the water. Aimee continued to struggle. “Dammit, woman! Stop fighting me!”
“I didn’t scream, and I’m definitely not drowning. But you’re gonna be the death of me if you keep sneaking up and giving me a heart attack! I was taking a bath,” she yelled back. “Let go of me. I can swim.”
Dammit! She was going to drown both of them if she kept up with her wild struggles. He had no choice but to release her. She immediately swam upriver. He shook his head and followed. Relief washed over him that she was alive. The vision of her lifeless body floating in the current had sent an icy chill down his spine. Her wild struggles had replaced his fear with anger. Recalling the feel of her unclothed body against his just moments ago sent renewed waves of desire through him. It took all of his restraint not to grab her again and pull her close to him once more.
What the hell was this woman doing to him? When he wasn’t near her, all he did was think about her. The way she provoked him drove him nearly mad.
*****
Aimee reached the riverbank and scrambled up the embankment. Her clothes and blanket were as she left them. She could feel Daniel’s eyes staring into her backside. She hastily wrapped the blanket around herself and turned to face him. The murderous look in his eyes gave new meaning to the saying “if looks could kill.” His dark angry scowl was more un-nerving than any ER doctor she had ever encountered. She took a few steps back as Daniel hoisted himself up the riverbank, and mentally prepared for the confrontation she knew was coming.
“What the hell were you doing in that river?” Daniel’s voiced boomed. “That current is treacherous in some areas, and you can get towed under before you know what’s happening.”
She held her ground. He stood mere feet from her, dripping wet and looking like an angry Greek god, towering over her. She swallowed hard at her awareness of his nude upper body. Her gaze roamed over the broad, well-muscled expanse of his shoulders and chorded arms, his lean torso, and his rock solid, well defined abs. Does he go out in the woods and bench press 300 pound logs every day?
“Answer me,” he roared, taking hold of her arms in a strong grip, giving her a shake when she didn’t respond. She stood stiffly, unable to move. This wasn’t happening again, was it? The memory of Brad grabbing her in much the same way seeped into her mind. But instead of his fingers biting cruelly into her skin, Daniel’s grip, while firm, seemed almost gentle. In place of causing pain, the sensation of his warm hands sent surges of electricity coursing through her.
Her head cleared, and she matched his angry stare. Apparently, men were just as overbearing and controlling in this time as they were in hers.
“Take your hands off me, you…..you big clod! I already told you, I was taking a bath.” She glared up at him, meeting his intense look with one of her own. “Now you listen here.” She raised a finger at him, even as he gripped her arms. “I don’t need any more arrogant men barking orders at me. I get enough of that back home. You can say what you need to say in a nicer manner.”
Daniel seemed to compose himself for a moment. But then, with pure contempt in his voice, said, “it’s no wonder your man abandoned you. Could he not teach you proper respect?”
“My man,” she ground out between clenched teeth, “did not abandon me. And as for respect, you men would do well to show some of that yourselves. Urgh! I can’t believe it’s the same everywhere!” She squirmed to free herself from his grip.
“If he didn’t abandon you, why has he not come looking for you?” Daniel demanded. He finally released his hold on her arms.
“I told you, he doesn’t know where I am,” Aimee said smugly as she stood rubbing her arms, her skin tingling from his touch. “Besides, he would never consider coming into the wilderness.”
“But you would?”
“Obviously,” she scoffed. “That’s why I’m here.”
“Then you have a lot to learn. This is not the city, gediki. Help is not around every tree to rush to the aid of a weak and foolish woman who gets herself in trouble.”
She glared at him. “I am not weak, nor foolish. I’ve done just fine in the wilderness, thank you very much. And,….and if you think you know everything, then why don’t you teach me.”
Daniel stared at her in stunned silence. Aimee’s heart did a little flip flop. Even angry, he was the most devastatingly handsome man she had ever seen.
“You want me to teach you to survive here, . . . in these mountains?” Daniel repeated incredulously. “Impossible.” He shook his head. “You’re going back to wherever the hell it is you came from as soon as my father returns. You belong in the city. This is no place for a white woman.”
Well, I finally know where I stand. Zach had said something similar to her at one point. She shifted uncomfortably and adjusted the blanket around her shoulder. Despite having it wrapped around herself, the cool breeze left goose bumps on her exposed skin, and she shivered involuntarily. Or was that due to Daniel’s closeness?
“You’ve never mentioned your father,” she said quietly, wanting to change the subject.
“He’s in St Louis, bartering our cache of pelts from this past winter.” Daniel’s voice had gone normal again.
‘When will he be back?” Aimee asked, already knowing the answer.
“Before autumn.”
“So I can stay here until then, is that it? How can you stand having me around for that long since I’m so completely incompetent?” Her voice took on a shrill tone as she tried to control her feelings of rejection.
What the heck is coming over me? Good lord, I’m in the middle of the wilderness, turning into a sobbing female in front of the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met! I’m proving him right about the weakness of white women, and if I lose it now, I might as well jump back in that river and drown myself.
She swallowed hard and tried to control her cracking voice, trying to make herself sound
angry. Anger would keep him from seeing the hurt she felt.
“I might as well just leave now and try my luck on my own. I was doing pretty well, actually until I accidentally ran into that bear. That’s not going to happen again.”
She bent to pick up her clothes, intent on heading back to the cabin. Daniel’s hand reached out and took hold of her arm again, more gently this time. She glared at him, then at the contact his hand made with her arm. “I told you to let go of me,” she said in a tone she hoped sounded threatening.
Right now she just wanted to get back to the cabin and away from him. He was wreaking havoc on her nerves standing so close, and she hated feeling so uncomfortable and weak around a man. It was like being with Brad all over again. At times she almost thought Daniel might be attracted to her when he stared at her so intently, but those were fleeting moments, and she remembered the hate filled looks from a few days ago. She kicked herself mentally for fantasizing like a love struck teenager. In less than three months she would be back in her own world, and Daniel would no longer exist.
*****
Daniel held to her arm, and he studied her. Aimee’s hair hung in wet strands down the side of her face and back. He watched as water droplets dripped onto her exposed shoulders, running down her smooth skin, some disappearing under the blanket between the valley of her breasts. He fought the urge to run his hands down her cheek and brush the moisture off her face. He stood close enough to inhale the flowery scent of her soap. For as long as he lived, he was sure he would never forget that scent, and it would always remind him of her.
“For your own protection, I could force you
to stay,” he said quietly. She opened her mouth in an expected protest, and he added quickly, “but I won’t. If you want to die, that is your choice.”
He paused briefly, waiting for a sharp retort. When none came, he couldn’t help but taunt her some more. “According to the custom of some tribes, you belong to me.”
“What are you talking about?” Aimee asked, the irritation back in her voice.
“Elk Runner gave you to me,” he continued casually. He was sure this would anger her again, but for some reason he enjoyed playing this game of taunting her. She was amazing when angry. Would she be as bold and responsive in his arms if he took her to his blankets?
“Elk Runner?” Aimee questioned. “Your Indian friend? I don’t remember belonging to him, either,” she added hotly.
“He found you,” Daniel said, and shrugged. “Before he came to tell me of a crazy white woman in the woods, he followed you for a day.” Her eyes widened, and her lips parted slightly. What was she afraid of that Elk Runner might have seen?
“So he decided to give me to you?” Aimee questioned. “Isn’t that just like a typical man,” she spat. “Always thinking they can just own and control everything and everyone.”
“If some Blackfoot warrior had discovered you first, you’d be dead which, for you, would be the preferable choice than coming upon another trapper.” Daniel let his unspoken meaning sink in.
“I don’t belong to you or anyone else, Daniel.” She inhaled deeply. Obviously she was trying hard to stay composed.
“That is the way here in the mountains, just as it is in the cities in the east. You belong to your husband.” He tried to get another reaction out of her. He was prepared, even hoped, that she would call him a filthy heathen, just as Emma had done. Perhaps then he could get this annoying attraction for her out of his system.
She pressed her eyes shut, and inhaled another deep breath. Her mouth was set in a firm and stubborn line, and he waited for the angry words he was sure she couldn’t wait to unleash on him.
“Well, I can see you’re not an Indian, and you’re definitely not my husband,” she stated hotly. “I understand that a woman has no rights here according to a man’s way of thinking, and I’m just someone’s property. It’s just my dumb luck that I came all this way only to be stuck with another control freak of a man. Let me tell you something right now.” Her blue eyes shot icy daggers at him. “I’m not going to be owned or have my life managed by anyone.” He had unknowingly touched on a sore spot, and Aimee continued her rant, her voice getting louder and faster with each word.
“I’m sick and tired of being told what I should and shouldn’t do, like I’m a little kid and have no mind of my own. ‘I don’t want you to go on that backpacking trip, Aimee.’ ‘Why are you wasting your time taking these stupid wilderness first aid or backcountry cooking courses, Aimee?’ ‘You can’t go out for pizza after work with friends because I’m taking you to the movies, Aimee.’ Or this one; ‘Aimee, why are you wearing these baggy rags to bed when you should be wearing a silk teddy.’ Oh, and here’s my favorite, ‘I prefer you to wear that black cocktail dress with high heels tonight and put your hair up in a French twist.’ ”
She glared at him and continued, “Obviously, some things have always been, and always will be, the same!”
She forcefully pulled her arm free of his grip, and limped off as fast as her injured foot allowed. When she reached the cabin, she slammed the door shut with such force, it bounced open again.
Daniel stared after her, dumbstruck. The way she’d changed the tone of her voice, and her animated arm movements reminded him of a theater performance he’d once seen in Philadelphia. And what the hell was she talking about? He wasn’t even sure most of her words were spoken in English.
“Damn all men for being so overbearing,” she yelled. His lips curved in a smile. She was right about the one thing he had understood from her tirade. No man would – or should - ever own her. She was strong willed, full of spirit, and irresistibly beautiful. Could he let her go back to a man who no doubt would try and break that spirit?
She’s not yours to keep, damn it! Daniel ran a frustrated hand through his still damp hair. He desperately searched his mind for similarities between her and Emma, the woman he had professed his love to, and who had taken advantage of that fact and used him for her own means. To a young man of eighteen trying to learn about his heritage as a white man in Philadelphia after spending all his life in the wilderness, Emma had been the prettiest thing he’d ever laid eyes on. She had been a delicate flower, raised in a wealthy home, lacking no comforts.
He couldn’t recall ever seeing her with her hair uncovered, or her hands bare without gloves. Servants were at her beck and call. He now saw her from a man’s eye, not the youth he had been seven years ago. She had been a spoiled young woman who would go to any lengths for her own gain, no matter who got hurt in the process.
Aimee, on the other hand, was not just a pretty face. She was radiant and breathtaking, spirited and exciting. She wasn’t above working as she had shown when she took it upon herself to fix meals every day, clean the cabin, and insist on carrying the heavy water bucket to the river and back. Her delicate hands and satiny smooth skin spoke of wealth and privilege, not a life of labor. He was sure of it. How did a woman of obvious high social standing end up here, alone in the wilderness, a thousand miles from even the remotest white civilization? It only added to the mystery. She intrigued him as no one ever had, yet she was also secretive and full of lies. He would not fall for a woman’s pretty face and deceptive ways again, he told himself. Then why couldn’t he seem to stop this insane attraction he felt for her?
With an annoyed shake of his head, he collected his discarded shirt and pulled it on over his head, then found the rest of his articles. He might as well go back and see if the deer he had killed was still where he dropped it, or if some predator had already scavenged it.
Chapter 7
Aimee sprinkled flour on the table, dusted her hands in it as well, and pulled the lump of dough out of the bowl. She threw it onto her work surface, sending a cloud of white dust into the air. Her clean t-shirt now sported white powder down the front. She pounded at the mass with her fists, grinding her teeth. She couldn’t believe that she was stuck in the past with another overbearing, know-it-all-better man. The intense feelings Daniel evoked didn’t help her foul mood. She’d known he was a strong man, but held against his hard body, and seeing him without his shirt today sent her simmering hormones into overdrive. No, Aimee. Knock it off. A good-looking man comes with a high testosterone level, which is synonymous with control freak, and you definitely don’t need any more of that.
The cabin door creaked open slowly, and she tensed, then pounded the dough more forcefully than before. She glanced up briefly. Daniel appeared in the doorway. Her focus returned to her work.
“I’m making bread,” she announced tersely. He hadn’t moved further into the cabin, prompting her to look up again. His lips curved in a wide grin, and his eyes roamed over her. She shot him a questioning look, her eyebrows raised.
“I will teach you,” he said quietly.
“Teach me what?” Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“You asked me to teach you to survive in the mountains. I will teach you.”
She stared up him, wide-eyed. The anger melted out of her, and a smile formed on her lips.
“Really?” she asked excitedly.
“Your first lesson will be how to skin and dress a deer. Come outside.” He turned abruptly and walked out the door.
Aimee gaped at the closed door. She was genuinely surprised. He would teach her survival skills? She had thrown those words at him earlier for lack of something better to say. She never expected him to follow through. Her heart beat faster at the prospect of learning primitive survival techniques from this man. Hastily, she formed her dough into a ball and dropped it back into the bowl. She’d have to punch it down again later. Then she changed out of
her clean clothes back into her soiled ones.
Dressing a deer. She could only imagine what all that would entail. She’d done plenty of dissections in nursing school, but an entire deer? She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and raised her chin. She was not about to back away from his challenge. And she knew full well he was testing her. With a determined look on her face, she left the cabin.
*****
Daniel waited outside, a deer carcass on the ground next to him.
“Poor deer,” Aimee mumbled.
Daniel glanced at her with a puzzled look on his face. “Do you wish to eat?”
“What do I have to do?”
He handed her his hunting knife, and proceeded to instruct where to make the cuts to remove the hide in its entirety. He explained how to eviscerate the deer, and told her how important it was not to leave any entrails lying about, as it would attract predators.
Daniel felt reasonably sure that Aimee had never had to dress fresh kill before. As he watched her make the cuts, he noticed her peculiar fine precision as she sliced through muscle and tendons, and that she didn’t shrink away from the blood and gore. He meant to test her to see if she would back down from this unpleasant job, but the expert way she handled herself surprised him. Watching her wrestle with the carcass to strip the hide off the meat, he restrained himself from coming to her aid. He knew she wouldn’t ask for help, even as she struggled with the deer that probably weighed more than she did.
“You know,” Aimee said teasingly, after succeeding in peeling the skin off the carcass, “I’m going to have to take another swim in the river after this.”
He scowled. The image of her nude, wearing only those pieces of fabric at her breasts and waist, was almost unbearable. “If you chose to swim in the river again, I might let the current sweep you away.”
“Is that a promise?” she taunted.
He remained silent. The things she said made no sense to him. Why would someone make light of possibly drowning?
Yellowstone Heart Song Page 7
