Riley inched forward and craned her neck. She had to do something to help him. A sharp whistling sound close to her ear startled her, and she shrank back. Her head whipped around, only to come face to face with a cat-sized, furry creature that sat on the rocky outcropping. Her mouth opened in a scream, but she caught herself just in time and sucked in a quick breath instead.
“How many times have I told you not to scream?”
Cameron’s words rang in her ears. The creature disappeared, but two others darted along the rocks, making the same whistling sounds. She shot a hasty look down the mountain. The men were no longer visible. Where was Cameron?
Riley took a shaky step back when another one of the furry animals appeared. While Cameron was fending off warriors, giant rodents surrounded her.
Don’t scream. Don’t scream.
Riley scrambled backward, her foot sliding in the loose gravel. Her arm darted out to catch her balance, but the sheepskin on her back seemed to pull at her. She lost her foothold completely, stumbling over rocks until she fell and began rolling down the mountain.
Loose gravel followed her, and her momentum only increased as she groped for some kind of hold to slow her fall. Her arms and legs scraped and bounced off of sharp stones and vegetation as she continued to tumble down the steep hill. Pain shot through her hands, and all she could do was grope at anything in her path in the hopes of halting her fall.
Adrenaline flooded her limbs, and a hard jab to the ribs pushed all air from her lungs. When it seemed as if she couldn’t possibly gain any more momentum, the earth dropped out from under her, and she fell freely.
Riley screamed, just as her body collided with something that wasn’t exactly soft, but not as hard as rock, either, like she would have expected. She coughed and opened her eyes, only to stare down into the surprised face of a man with black and red paint on his forehead and cheeks. She let out another startled yell. She’d collided with a Blackfoot warrior, and judging by his shocked expression, he hadn’t expected a woman to fall out of the sky. Sprawled on top of him, Riley gulped in several frantic breaths of air and pushed against his bare chest.
He seemed to recover quickly and bared his teeth. Before she had time to react, the warrior tossed her off of him and staggered to his feet. The air left Riley's lungs when her shoulder connected with hard ground, and she cried out in pain. Rocks and debris fell all around her, and she rolled to the side, covering her head with her arms. If the Indian didn't kill her, a falling boulder would surely finish her off.
The sound of tumbling stones and gravel eased, replaced by the wind whistling over the tundra. She coughed but didn't dare raise her head. Any second now, the Indian would kill her. Her heart leaped to her throat when steely fingers clamped around her arms, and lifted her up off the ground.
“No,” she screeched. “Let go of me.” Riley kicked and thrashed, and blinked to open her eyes. Dirt in the air made it difficult to see.
“Riley.”
Riley instantly stopped her struggles at the familiar voice.
“Cameron?” she breathed.
Her eyes opened fully. Cameron held her up against him, his arms wrapped tightly around her back and middle. Her own arms flew around his neck. He set her on her feet but didn't let go. Riley gulped in some air infused with dust, and coughed. She swayed on her feet, still dizzy from the tumble down the mountain, and blinked several times to get the grit out of her eyes.
Cameron stood right in front of her, his face etched with concern.
“Tell me where you’re hurt,” he growled, his voice laced with urgency. He held her away from him, his eyes frantically roaming over every inch of her. Her head pounded, and a dull ache spread through her right shoulder. The cuts and scrapes on her arms and legs stung, and pulling in a full breath of air proved to be painful, but not unbearable.
“I think I’m okay,” she croaked. “I can move my legs and arms, so nothing’s broken.”
She darted a look past him over his shoulder. Where were the Blackfoot that had attacked him? Her heart jolted in her chest. A man’s body lay a few feet away, his head crushed by a large boulder. Cameron released her arms, his hands clasping the side of her face instead, bringing her head up to look at him rather than the gruesome sight. His thumbs swiped at the tears that rolled down her cheeks as she stared up at him.
“The other warriors?” she rasped
“You don’t have to worry about them. I told you I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you.” Cameron’s voice had never sounded so distraught.
His eyes roamed her face. He took a step closer. Riley’s pulse pounded at her temples from the intensity of the concern in his gaze. The pain in her legs and arms vanished, and she fought for a breath of air.
"I . . . I lost my footing," she stuttered. No coherent thought came to mind. "Some furry animal startled me, and I lost my balance," she rasped. Her clumsiness had nearly killed her this time. "I did what you told me, though. I didn't scream." She sucked in a quick breath and swallowed. "Only when I . . . fell on that man."
Cameron’s hands clasped her cheeks. “You saved my life, Riley.” His sensual tone sent shivers down her spine. His fingers smoothed her hair to the back of her head in languid, sensual strokes.
Riley's eyes widened, and her forehead wrinkled. "I did what? I was clumsy, and . . . and I fell down the mountain." She sniffed and blinked back a fresh wave of tears. "You had to look out for me again when you were in the middle of fighting with those warriors."
Cameron released her face and stepped back. He looked to where the dead man lay. "If you hadn't fallen, I'd be dead right now." His eyes met hers again. There wasn't a hint in his voice or on his face that he was joking. "I was fighting off three warriors, and didn't see this man coming up behind me." He smiled. "You surprised him, Riley, and diverted his attention away from me. He was killed by a boulder that came loose during your fall."
His arms snaked around her and drew her into an embrace. “I owe you my life.” His chest rumbled with his words.
She shook her head against the buckskin of his shirt and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to understand. A man was dead because of her, but if it hadn't happened, Cameron might have died? His arms tightened around her, and he held her close. Riley trembled against him, soaking in the comfort of his embrace.
“I saw you, and the others,” she stuttered. “I was afraid you were going to get hurt, or worse,” she whispered. “When I saw that you were fighting with those men, I wanted to help somehow, but I was so far away. I didn’t know what to do. Then these big rodent-looking things started whistling and coming toward me...”
Cameron chuckled. "Marmots. They're harmless and quite tasty."
Riley stared up into his smiling face. How could he be so calm and composed right now? The smile slowly vanished from his face the longer their eyes connected.
“I’m glad you didn’t scream this time,” he said in a low tone. “But I never want you to risk your life because of me.”
Cameron leaned in closer. His hands brushed the loose hair on her face over her head, then clasped her cheeks between his palms and leaned forward. Riley forgot to breathe, looking up into his eyes. His gaze revealed what she’d seen at the Tukudeka village, and earlier when he’d sent her up the mountain alone, but it had intensified exponentially. Butterflies fluttered in her belly. There was admiration, longing, and desire, all mixed with relief and something she dared not name.
“You’re like a fire burning inside me, Riley,” he murmured. “I’ve tried, dammit, but you’re a fire I can’t put out.”
She had no time to react to his words. Cameron's lips were on hers in the next instant with the force of a lightning bolt that seared through her, pulling all the air from her lungs. One arm snaked around her waist and drew her up against his hard body.
Riley gripped his shoulders, and Cameron pulled her more firmly against him. She swayed on her feet, her knees buckling beneath her. Fear gripped her at the intensity of emotions that
swept through her, and at the urgent way in which he claimed her mouth.
This was unlike any first kiss she’d ever received. There was nothing slow and languid, unsure or hesitant, in the way Cameron kissed her. It was as wild and untamed as he was, full of passion that had finally found release. And she kissed him back with equal abandon.
His arm around her tightened while his other hand still cradled her head, his fingers fisting in her hair. Sensations of drowning engulfed her and her head spun dizzily.
Cameron’s lips continued to move across hers in a primal dance, easing up for a fraction of a second as he drew in a deep breath. She wrapped her arms around his neck and melted into him, every inch of her pressed up against his solid strength. Quickly, he renewed the intensity of the kiss while his fingers raked through her hair, holding her to him.
If this was a dream, she didn’t want to wake up. Right here, amidst the wind sweeping across the tundra, the pain subsided in her limbs from her fall down the jagged hillside, just as the terror of certain death left her. Powerful ripples of desire mixed with tender and warm emotions that wrapped around her heart as strong as Cameron’s arm wrapped around her waist, and she fell faster than her tumble down the mountain.
Cameron’s claim on her lips eased, and he drew back slightly, his chest heaving as quickly as her own, and they both panted to fill their lungs with air. Lifting his hold around her waist, he cradled her face between his hands. Riley gaped into the depths of his dark eyes when he drew his head back slightly. The raw emotions displayed there were real, a mixture of tenderness and fierce protectiveness, desire and something so deep, it took her breath away all over again.
His thumbs caressed the contours of her cheeks while he continued to hold her mesmerized with his stare. Silent tears flowed freely down her face. His thumbs swiped them away, and Riley closed her eyes to savor the tender touch of his rough fingers. Concern and longing etched his face when she opened them again, along with a sad smile.
Words failed her. There was so much to say, but she couldn't bring her mouth to speak. An eagle's screech echoed through the sky as if it was telling them their moment together was over. Her arms clasped tightly around his middle, refusing to let him go.
“Why is this happening?” she whispered, asking a question that had no rational answer.
He shook his head slightly, never wavering from her gaze. "I don't know. All I know is that I've found my purpose. I knew it the moment I saw your footprints in the dirt and realized you were not from this time," he murmured against her lips. He drew in a long breath and raised his head slightly. "But I also know that I have to let you go."
He took her mouth again in a tender kiss that melted her from the inside out. Riley parted her lips in response, and leaned into him, giving back with all her heart. With each sweet moment that he held and kissed her, reality came crashing down on her.
Tears filled her eyes and squeezed through her closed lids. Cameron was quietly telling her that their time together had come to an end in the tender way his lips moved against hers. This was not a kiss that promised a future with the most incredible guy she'd ever met. This was a goodbye kiss. No matter how much she wanted it to be so much more, it couldn't be anything else.
He eased away from her first. Riley leaned into him, her arms still wrapped around him. Her lips pulsed in tune to the erratic beating of her heart. His body tensed. He straightened, and all tenderness left his eyes when he looked at something behind her. Riley’s heart jumped in her chest, and she spun around in his embrace. An old Indian stood a short distance away. Riley stared at him, wide-eyed.
“Cameron,” she whispered. “Is that Naatoyita?”
Chapter Seventeen
Cam stepped away from Riley, his eyes on the old man standing a dozen or so paces away from them. The muscles along his spine tensed. His heart still thumped wildly in his chest, and every part of him hummed with pleasant sensations in the aftermath of holding Riley in his arms and kissing her. He cursed under his breath.
He'd seen Riley tumble down the hill, but the three Blackfoot warriors he'd been battling had stood in his way from coming to her aid. Unequaled fear had gripped him. By the time he'd fought his way past the three men, she'd already fallen on top of the warrior he hadn't seen. Rage had engulfed him when the Bakianee tossed Riley onto the ground. He'd been ready to leap at the man when a falling rock had done what he'd intended to do to the warrior.
“Cameron,” Riley whispered.
She gripped his arm, and Cam's focus returned to the elder. Cam wrapped his fingers around her hand and offered her a quiet smile. Their eyes connected for a second, her wide orbs filled with a mixture of apprehension and remnants of the passion that had ignited between them.
His heart answered the look in her eyes, beating wildly against his ribs. He’d fought the urge to kiss her for days. Hell. Since he’d first seen her. His restraint had finally faltered. He’d told himself countless times to stay a safe distance from Riley, but it was no use. The fire that had raged inside him since the moment he’d laid eyes on her wouldn’t die. He couldn’t stay away from her, any more than he could stop breathing.
How could he possibly ask Naatoyita to send her home now, after that kiss? Everything about it had felt so right, and she’d responded with equal passion.
He'd finally found a direction, a reason for finding joy in his existence again. Was he prepared to lose Riley forever? He couldn't possibly ask her to stay with him if it was within Naatoyita's power to send her back to her time. His grip on her hand tightened, but he didn’t have time to voice the thoughts in his head.
“Cameahwait, it is good to finally see you again,” the old man croaked, a smile spreading across his wrinkled face. He looked toward Riley, studying her through soulful eyes that seemed to hold the wisdom of countless years.
Cam forced his legs to move, and he walked forward. He held out his hand while his heart pounded in his chest as if he was about to face a dangerous adversary. He nodded slowly, then looked the old man in the eyes.
“I’ve come to seek your council, Grandfather.”
Naatoyita clasped Cam’s wrist, the strength in the old man’s fingers belying his frail physical stature. The wrinkles on his face stretched and contorted as his smile widened.
"I see that you are ready," the old man said with a satisfied nod. His eyes appeared to look directly into Cam's soul. "I have been expecting you." He stepped to the side and pointed up the mountain. "We will talk at my camp while Naatosi will tend to this woman's injuries."
Cam’s eyes shot to Riley. Injuries? He scanned her from top to bottom. Blood trickled down her left arm, and he gritted his teeth, holding back several curse words at his own stupidity. Why hadn’t he seen it before? She’d told him she wasn’t injured, and he’d simply accepted her answer rather than check for himself.
"Why didn't you tell me that you're hurt?" He lifted Riley's arm to take a closer look at her injury. She stiffened and hissed with pain.
“I didn’t think it was bad, but it looks like I might have a cut somewhere.”
Blood soaked through a tear in the deerskin. Riley pushed the sleeve up her arm to expose a deep gash.
Cam stepped closer, and pulled his knife from his belt, intent on cutting the material away to gain better access to the wound. A bony hand on his shoulder stopped him.
“Naatosi will look after her,” the elder croaked. He looked up at the sky. “She will be fine until we get to our camp, but we must go now before the weather changes.”
Riley’s eyes widened when they connected with those of the elder. She couldn’t have understood him, for he spoke in the language of the Tukudeka.
Cam glared at the old man before his gaze softened, and he nodded. There wasn’t much he could do for Riley at the moment. Unlike him, Naatosi would have the proper herbs and remedies to tend to her injury. He swiped his fingers across her cheek, and an overwhelming feeling of protectiveness coursed through him when she looked at hi
m with trusting eyes and a soft smile.
“I must look pretty bad right about now.” She swiped her own hand over the top of her head to smooth down her hair.
Cam shook his head. “You look perfect.” Even covered in dirt and dust, and her hair a mess, she was beautiful. She lowered her gaze at his words.
He cut a strip of hide from the bottom of his shirt and wrapped it around Riley's wound to at least stop the bleeding until they reached the Sky People's camp. She flinched but didn't make a sound.
Cam sheathed his knife. Riley was hurt because of him, and if he wanted to keep her safe from the dangers here, she had to go back to her time, as impossible as it would be for him to let her go. His own wants and desires were secondary, however, to her well-being.
Cam looked toward Naatoyita, who stood patiently, his eyes locked on Riley. The old man’s expression was unreadable.
“Take us to your camp. She needs care.”
Naatoyita smiled again and headed up the mountain. Cam grabbed for Riley's belongings on the ground and slung them over his shoulder along with his own things. He took her hand in his.
“Naatoyita said that once we reach his camp, your injury will be cared for properly.”
Riley held tight to his hand and nodded. Her eyes followed the old man as he led the way to the Sky People's camp. "I can't tell whether he was the old man I saw the day I touched the vessel." She spoke softly as if she was thinking out loud rather than talking to him.
Cam stopped in mid-stride and turned to her. He frowned. "You saw an elder before you time traveled?"
Riley nodded and laughed softly. "I thought it was just my imagination running away with me, but I saw him twice. He never said anything. My memory is a bit fuzzy, and he was far enough away that I wouldn't be able to identify him, but he was old, with gray hair, and dressed in simple buckskin clothes."
Yellowstone Origins: Yellowstone Romance Series, Book 6 Page 17
