Cameron grabbed for the warrior’s arm when Cunning Fox raised his ax, intent to bring it down on Cameron’s head. Both men bared their teeth, the muscles in their faces and necks taut and straining. Cameron braced his body, bent forward, and in one swift motion, hurled the Indian over his shoulder.
Cunning Fox landed with a thud on his back and appeared momentarily dazed, giving Cameron time to kick the weapon from his opponent's hand. Cunning Fox grabbed Cameron's leg, pulling him to the ground.
Riley gasped. Seeing what was going on became impossible, as both men rolled on the ground in a tangle of legs and arms. An eternity seemed to have gone by when one man suddenly stopped moving. Riley’s breath caught in her throat.
Cameron stumbled to his feet, his chest heaving. Overwhelming relief such as she’d never felt rushed through her. Riley forced her legs to move, and she ran at him, calling his name. Cameron looked up just as she collided with him, throwing her arms around her neck. Trembling arms wrapped her in a tight embrace, and she cried against his chest.
“He could have killed you,” she sobbed.
Cameron stroked her back, holding her head to his chest. “Cunning Fox won’t bother you again,” he whispered. Abruptly, he held her away from him, his eyes roaming over her with the same concern he’d shown when she fell down the mountain.
“Did he hurt you?”
Riley shook her head. Her scalp was sore from where the Blackfoot had roughly yanked on her hair, but relief that Cameron was all right overshadowed any pain. Cameron swiped a hand across her cheek, pushing her hair out of her face. Relief shone in his eyes. She laughed softly.
“Other than being wet and dirty, this was nothing compared to my fall down the mountain.”
Her attempt at lightening the mood failed miserably. In truth, she’d stared death in the face again, and her body shook at the thought. Cameron stared at her. He abruptly moved away, gathered his horn bow and their belongings, kicked dirt onto her campfire, then strode back to her. Wordlessly, he scooped her up in his arms.
“What are you doing?” Riley’s forehead scrunched. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Taking you somewhere else, away from here.” He glanced at Cunning Fox’s body a few feet away.
Riley averted her eyes. She nodded, and another shudder passed through her. “I didn’t even notice him come into camp,” she whispered, and buried her head against his neck. Right here, in his arms, everything was right, and she was safe.
Cameron didn't reply but carried her away from camp. Riley closed her eyes, pushing aside the fear that had raced through her a few moments ago. Her body trembled, and her limbs had gone completely weak in the aftermath of the ordeal she'd just lived through and witnessed. Cameron's battle with Cunning Fox, and the lifeless bodies on the ground, haunted her.
A shiver passed through her. This was life here in this primitive world. She’d survived everything that had been tossed at her so far. Granted, Cameron had come to her rescue each time, but she hadn’t fallen apart, and this time, she’d even found the courage to fight back. Naatosi had told her nothing would harm her as long as she was with Cameron.
Her arms around his neck tightened, and she settled against him. This time, she wasn’t going to protest that he carried her.
Cameron splashed through the creek and followed it along the opposite bank. By the time it widened into a small lake, steaming along its edges, the tension from her frightening ordeal with Cunning Fox had eased. Her pulse quickened for an entirely different reason. She glanced around the forest, then met Cameron's gaze when he stopped.
Riley swallowed past the dryness in her throat. She stared up at him. Her past flashed before her, as her future stared her in the face, and everything became crystal clear.
“Cameron, I want you to kiss me again,” she whispered.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cam’s chest heaved. He set Riley on her feet for fear of dropping her in response to what she’d just said. Soft, brown eyes stared up at him, imploring him with her request. He studied those eyes that had turned his world upside down, or rather, had made his world right again. He’d told her the truth earlier – if he kissed her again, he wouldn’t be able to let her go.
He’d lain awake next to her, holding her all night, telling himself over and over again that it would be just this once. His kiss earlier hadn’t been planned, but her question whether he regretted his actions from several days before had caught him off guard. He’d wanted her to know how he felt about her, and that he would never do what someone else had done to her. If he let things get out of control, he’d be no better than the man who had used and left her.
Cam’s heart twisted painfully. Naatoyita had known exactly what he was doing when he’d arranged for Riley to come in contact with the vessel and sent her here. Letting her go would tear him apart. He’d been firm in his conviction that, once he tracked down Mukua and the other vessel, it would be her choice, and hers alone, whether to stay in this time or return home.
Staring into her soft eyes, his resolve crumbled with her simple request.
How could she ask him to kiss her again, after what he’d said to her? Once he crossed the line, he couldn’t let her go. His self-control had been tested to the limit already. He couldn’t do it again without truly claiming her as his. According to the traditions of the Tukudeka, she was his wife. Would she accept him, choose him, in favor of returning to the future?
His hands eased their grip on her arms, and he stroked his fingers along her cheek. He’d almost lost her today. While tracking the deer, he’d come across the prints of four men, and he’d instantly abandoned his hunt. An icy fear had gripped him, and he’d never run faster in his life. Dread at what he would find when he reached his camp, and anger with himself that he hadn’t been protecting the woman he loved, had spurred him forward, but he hadn’t been fast enough. The Blackfoot had reached his camp first.
Blind rage had consumed him when he’d seen Cunning Fox backhand Riley, and he’d thrown all caution to the wind. Rushing into camp, he’d killed the first two warriors who’d stood in his way before they’d even noticed him, then the third without hesitation. His aim had never been more accurate, but he hadn’t shot Cunning Fox with an arrow for fear of hitting the woman of his heart.
When Cunning Fox grabbed her, and when she’d fought back with her knife, a wave of pride for her bravery coursed through him. His jaw clenched. Had he been a moment too late, the Blackfoot would have killed her.
Pain ripped through his chest at the thought. He couldn’t lose Riley. He couldn’t give her up to the future. His gaze locked on her expectant eyes.
“Riley,” he murmured. “Do you know what you’re asking?”
She offered a soft smile, and nodded. “I know exactly what I’m asking,” she whispered.
She hadn’t released her arms around his neck, and her grip tightened, tugging his head downward. Cam’s heart crashed against the walls of his chest.
“I don’t think you understand what you’re doing to me,” he rasped, resisting the pull of her hands. “You can’t ask me to kiss you again, and expect me to not want more.”
“You’re not the only one who wants more, Cameron. I’ve found where I belong.” Her smile widened, as did her eyes, which were filled with hope, and . . .
Cam’s muscles tensed, even as his heart skipped in exhilaration at her words. Did he dare believe she was choosing him?
She unclasped her hold from the back of his neck, her soft hands coming around to touch his face. Her warm stare continued to draw him closer, and his tension eased. She pulled in a deep breath, and locked her gaze with his, her warm eyes drawing him in.
“I never thought I would be noticed by someone like you, and I know that you’ve been slowing down for me since day one and saving me at every turn, but it's made me realize how much I love it here, and that you’re so different from anyone I’ve ever met, and since I’ve been here, I’ve grown closer to you than I ev
er thought I would, and if it weren't for you, I might not have ever found a guy I’d want to spend my life with, and I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I’ve decided that I don’t want to go back to 2011.” Each word she spoke came out faster than the other, and she finally stopped for a quick breath. “I love you, Cameron. I want to stay with –”
Cam tugged her toward him, his lips on hers to silence her confession. One arm wrapped around her waist, crushing her up against him, while his other hand reached behind her head, his fingers burrowing through her hair, holding her to him. Every part of him came alive when she moaned, and melted into him. Her hands found their way around to his back, her fingers digging into his shoulders.
A hot surge of awareness rushed through him. She’d said the words he’d wanted to say to her, but hadn’t been able to, for fear of her reaction. The frustration that had grown steadily worse since his meeting with Naatoyita dissolved away in her arms, with that kiss.
He didn’t hold back. His kiss ignited a fierce hunger in him for the woman who was so willing in his arms. His woman. Riley belonged with him. She always had.
His embrace lifted her off her feet, the feel of her body molded to his stoking the fire inside him that he'd only let smolder until now. Her words and her response to him ignited an inferno.
Cam’s mouth explored her lips, her cheeks, along her jaw, and down her neck. Like a raging forest fire fueled by strong winds, love for Riley raced through him, and her response left him breathless.
“You are my purpose, Riley, and I’ll protect, and love you, always,” he murmured against her ear. “I’ll never give you reason to regret your choice.”
He cradled her head between his palms, gazing into the love-filled eyes staring back at him. An incredulous look passed over her face. She smiled.
“I know where I belong,” she whispered. “Meeting you was meant to be. Mukua isn’t responsible for me being here, is he?”
Cam stared at her. How did she know the truth?
He slowly shook his head. “No.”
Riley’s smile widened. “I truly do belong with you, don’t I?”
He leaned down and kissed her again. His hand stroked her face while his arm wrapped more firmly around her.
“How do you know you belong with me?” he mumbled against her lips, then drew back to watch her response.
"Because this feels right." She leaned up and kissed him fully. She smiled. "And the way Naatosi was feeling me out. The questions he asked, and the fact that he and Naatoyita weren't more upset that I was here. I would have expected them to be more helpful in trying to send me home, but they seemed rather pleased with me being here. It was their plan all along, wasn't it?"
Cam gazed at her, and the smile vanished from his face. “Riley, the Sky People have controlled my life since my birth. I wasn’t going to let them control yours, and not give you a choice about returning home to everything you’ve known.” His hand stroked along the small of her back, burning the feel of her in his arms into his mind.
“If you stay here, it will be forever. It’s not something you can do for a while, and then decide you want to go back when you grow tired of the harsh winters, or days when food is scarce, or when you might have to kill someone in order to save yourself.”
Cam’s stare grew more intense with his words. He couldn’t lie to her about the kind of life she’d be facing.
Riley's grip around him tightened. "But I'll be with you," she whispered. "And that's more than I have in the future." She laughed softly. "Why do you think I chose to study anthropology? I've always been fascinated with how people lived in the past. Granted, I've lived a very modern life, but I have to say, I don't miss it, at least not much of it. And the things I do miss, I'll get over them because there are far better things here. If you're giving me a choice, I choose you."
Cam stared at her, then he smiled. "Cunning Fox told me you were weak, and I believed it myself, at first." He gazed at her and leaned in for another kiss.
“You still think that about me?” She tilted her head.
“How could I? You’ve survived everything that’s happened to you, and you’re more resilient for it each time. You’ve turned out to be quite a bargain.” Cam grinned.
Riley’s eyes narrowed. “A bargain? You’d better be careful what you say about your wife, Cameahwait, or I might have to toss your belongings out of our tipi . . . once we have one.” The corners of her lips rose in a smile.
Cam snorted. “Did you read that in one of your books?”
He laughed when she nodded. He reached for her waist and pulled her up against him. "I've heard that's what the Bakianee or Absaroka women do to divorce their husbands, but it doesn't work that way with the Sheepeaters," he murmured. He lowered his head to brush his lips against her neck, eliciting a shudder from her.
“Then how does a Tukudeka woman divorce from her man?” she challenged, leaning into him.
The feel of her soft body molded to his, teasing him, sent a wave of desire through him to rival the strongest forces of nature.
“She doesn’t,” he growled, and sought her mouth again.
Riley melted against him, her arms reaching around his neck, drawing him closer. Cam’s hands slid down her back, following the indentation of her spine to the curve of her backside. He lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, sending a new surge of desire through him.
The back of her dress was still damp from falling into the creek. Cam curbed the rising anger at the reason she’d fallen, relieved that she was unharmed, and concentrated instead on the woman in his arms. His woman.
She clung to him, her dress bunching up around her thighs. He didn’t break his kiss as he carried her to the edge of the creek that had formed a deep pool in this area as it curved around a bend. He’d come here often over the years, taking advantage of the warm water that was the result of some thermal vents near the banks.
The faint odor of sulfur lingered in the air, mixed with the sweet smell of damp grasses and pine from the forest. Nothing compared to the scent of Riley’s skin, and he inhaled deeply before letting her go.
Reluctantly, Cam set her on her feet, even as his heart beat wildly in his chest, and the rest of him had other ideas. Riley’s passion-filled eyes connected with his, and he fought to keep from pulling her back into his arms.
“I meant to bring you here today, so you could clean up before you meet Mat and Pikowan.”
“Do I smell and look that bad?” she teased.
“Your scent was the first thing I noticed about you.”
Riley's eyes remained on him while her hands reached up to untie the stings that held her dress together at the shoulders. Cam's mouth went dry while her slow and deliberate movements pulled the ties apart. His jaw muscles tightened and unclenched repeatedly.
“What do I smell like?” she whispered.
“Honey,” he answered without thinking. “You will always smell like honey to me.”
Riley’s fingers came to a halt. She raised her brows. “Honey? How do you know what honey smells like? Unless you liked it when you were a boy. There were no honeybees in this part of the country until well into the 1800’s. In fact, they were only introduced on the continent when the first white settlers arrived in the New World in 1622. The Native Americans called them White Man’s flies, because –”
Cam pulled her back into his arms and stopped her rambling with his mouth on hers. A history lesson about bees was the last thing on his mind at the moment. His fingers worked the ties to her dress loose, until the doeskin dropped from her shoulders, and bunched around her waist before falling past her hips and to the ground.
He cracked a smile at the unexpected sight before him. Riley still wore her undergarments from the future.
“These aren’t the clothes of a proper Tukudeka woman,” he smirked, his eyes on the satiny, brightly colored material covering her breasts.
Riley smiled up at him, unabashed. “I was expecting to go back to
the future when I started wearing this dress,” she defended. “I burned my other clothes back at the village, but I wasn’t going to burn my bra and panties.” She leaned toward him, whispering in his ear. “Why don’t you show me what’s beneath a proper Tukudeka hunter’s buckskins?”
Cam’s brows rose, and his heart fluttered in his chest. A wide grin spread across his face. Riley’s playful side was most unexpected. Without further prodding, he loosened the ties of his shirt at the neck, and pulled it over his head. Riley’s appreciative stare met his when he dropped the clothes to the ground. His leggings followed, until he stood before her in only his breechcloth.
“Now we’re evenly matched.” He winked, his eyes taking in the rosy color of her cheeks.
“You’re a beautiful man,” she whispered. She placed her hand over his pounding heart, her eyes dark with desire. “You’re my beautiful man.”
Cam swept her up in his arms with one swift motion, and carried her into the water. Her teasing was going to drive him mad. Riley screeched when he submersed them both up to their necks. The water was warmer than most lakes due to the thermal activity, but it was probably still colder than what she was used to. He held her to him while treading water.
“I didn’t ask if you could swim.” He grinned. “Can you?”
“Yes, I can swim, but warn me first next time.” She splashed water at him, and pushed away from him, heading back to shore.
Cam followed her with his eyes, his mind still working out the unexpected turn of events this day had taken, and the lightness that had come to his heart. Riley scrambled up the embankment, water dripping off her curves. She shivered, and wrapped her arms around her middle as she made her way to the pile of sheep hides he’d dropped to the ground.
Two swift strokes with his arms brought Cam to the edge of the pool, and he was behind her in the next instant, pulling her back into his arms. She squealed in surprise, but wrapped her arms around him, and he eased her to the ground onto one of the hides. Her chest heaved against his, and the bright smile on her face took away any chill that lingered in the air. Water dripped from his hair onto the swell of her breasts, then rolled down to disappear beneath the fabric of her bra.
Yellowstone Origins: Yellowstone Romance Series, Book 6 Page 22
