“I don’t think I mind your torment, Clear Skies,” she murmured. He nipped a tight peak. “Ouch.”
“I haven’t begun, my Indian princess.” He pushed her shift down and sifted through her soft curls while he drew on her breast. His hand stroked her damp arousal and she squirmed, lightly thrusting with impatience.
“I think you should torment me later, Clear Skies. I need you inside me right now,” she moaned.
She felt the silent quiver of his amusement as he kissed his way down her trembling stomach. Releasing his hair, her fists gripped into the furs. She had touched herself when she watched her parents’ passion. Never did she dream it would feel like this.
When his tongue stroked across her sensitive clit, she inhaled harshly and tried to squeeze her thighs together. His fingers separated her folds and added a million sparks of desire to her aroused nerves. He looked up from his feast and smiled. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her lips quivered.
His tongue licked slowly through her juices and a finger breached her tightly clenching channel. Her moans and gasps heightened his passionate desire and he slid up her body.
She tasted herself on his lips as he kissed her while he slipped into her tight warmth. Feeling her freeze from the brief sharp pain, he stilled his movement, letting her adjust. Her hips pushed into him and he resumed a comfortable rhythm, forcing himself to move slowly. “You still torture me, princess.”
“I will come up with new ways every day, warrior.” She squeezed his cock in her warm liquid glove and they erupted in a wave of ecstasy.
When the shudders subsided, Gentle Wave curled into his side with her head on his muscled chest and her leg thrown across his. She smiled with contentment as she felt his lips brush across her hair just before she fell asleep.
Gentle Wave talked to him while they walked to her parent’s teepee for breakfast. “My father is a proud man. He’s going to want to show you off and let people know you’re his son.” Gentle Wave looked at her father. He was embracing her mother, with his big head lying on her shoulder. “Let’s give him the day to do that. He’s waited a long time to have a son.”
“I love you, my Indian princess. I can see the love you have for that grumpy father of yours. I can also see you’re right. He’s waited a long time for this day.” Clear Skies put his arm around Gentle Wave’s shoulders and said, “Fierce Bear, will you introduce me to the tribe as a man?”
Fierce Bear stood straight. “No, Clear Skies, I will introduce you as my son, the warrior.”
After they ate, Clear Skies walked by Fierce Bear’s side to be introduced to his tribe. He stifled his laughter as the scowling man’s eyes challenged anyone to dispute his claim.
He could see the anger in Night Wind and Little Moon’s eyes at being out maneuvered by Fierce Bear. Little Moon was a very pretty girl, but she wasn’t Gentle Wave. Now, she had to make amends to Fleet Cougar.
When they approached Yellow Hawk’s teepee, Clear Skies said, “I’m going to stay here for a little while. I’d like to talk to Yellow Hawk.”
“Welcome to the tribe, Clear Skies. I never doubted you would be a man,” Yellow Hawk smiled.
“Thank you for helping me with my journey, Yellow Hawk.” Clear Skies sat by the fire pit. He saw Whispering Wheat’s eyes travel to the white feather secured to his side with the dyed leather strip and she smiled. After Fierce Bear bellowed his introduction of his son, he left.
“I think you’ve furthered another man’s journey,” Yellow Hawk noted as Fierce Bear strode proudly back to his teepee.
“He scared the hell out of me when I first saw him. I realize, now, he’s just insecure. To be the largest warrior in the tribe and not to have a son must have been frustrating. I’ll work hard at what he teaches me and I think we’ll see the end of his scowling nature.
“When you first trained me as a dog, you told me you never regretted your life with the tribe.” Clear Skies stirred the ashes with a stick. “I thought you were crazy,” he grinned. “Now, I understand. It’s life in the flatlands that’s the real insanity. I had been trying my whole life to win the respect of my father, knowing it would always be out of reach. The tribe respects me as a man. Fierce Bear is proud of me in a way my father never would be. I guess I’m telling you, my life is here just as yours is. I couldn’t imagine going back or trying to live without Gentle Wave.
“And Lucien, how do you feel about him?”
Clear Skies thought for a minute. “I don’t like him, but I think it’s an irrational memory that will pass. I think he was meant to be a part of my journey, the beginning of my journey.”
“You feel much the way I did. Yes, it passes. When you think of what you would have missed if he hadn’t brought you here, it passes. You will have to face him as a man to release the ghost.
“When they brought you here,” he continued, “I knew almost immediately, that one day you and I would be friends. Black Horse and Raining Thunder feel this, too.”
Clear Skies squinted at something in the street. Yellow Hawk followed his gaze. “Come with me. I’m going to introduce you to Lonnie. Lonnie came with Patrick’s Clan ten years ago. I think Patrick was really going to gift us Robby.”
“Patrick’s Clan is different than Lucien’s. Only he and Constance are Protectors. Elders go down with Patrick for the harvests. They are given a choice of the women, just as Lucien’s Clansmen are. Constance and Patrick run interference and influence the new settlers. Still, the companions have to be separated or they’ll conspire to run.”
“Lonnie’s woman was paired with Patrick’s Slave-master. Lonnie broke down. When he saw them together at the settlement, and that she was happy, he killed her. Patrick had to send him to us. He was sure his Slave-master would have found a way to get him.”
“By the time they arrived here, we all knew Lonnie’s mind was gone. He could never take our journey. His journey is the ghosts in his head. We had to keep him chained or leashed all the time. That’s not our way. We tried letting him free, but he’d run into the grasses. The last time, he’d managed to hide for almost two days. By the time Wind Seeker found him, he was so dehydrated we thought he’d die.
“The entire tribe discussed what to do. We couldn’t see him caged again, so we made the decision to cut the tendons behind his knees. He gets around well and isn’t in pain, but he can’t run so far that he can hurt himself.”
Clear Skies watched the bent figure. The stooped man’s eyes wandered restlessly as he circled Rising Sun’s fire pit. Grazing Fawn held some meat out for him. “Here you go Lonnie. Come sit by me so I can brush your hair.”
The man sat down and happily ate his meal while she worked at the knots. Yellow Hawk said, “The whole tribe takes care of him, but he’s favored Grazing Fawn since she was a child. I think she reminds him of his woman.”
Lonnie continued to eat, occasionally glancing at Grazing Fawn and smiling. His head slowly swiveled toward Clear Skies and for a brief moment, the lunacy cleared. “You have to save them out there, you know.” He was staring at Clear Skies and pointing into the grasslands. The cloud of confusion covered his face and he went back to eating.
Yellow Hawk and Clear Skies stood in the street, stunned. “We need to see Wind Seeker. Now.” Yellow Hawk took Clear Skies’ arm and hurried towards the cabin.
“Wind Seeker, Lonnie had another vision,” Yellow Hawk said as he bounded up onto the porch.
Wind Seeker handed his son back to Shining Star. Clear Skies thought she’d paled. Wind Seeker’s face tightened. “What did he say?”
“He said, Clear Skies had to save them.”
“Save who?”
“He didn’t say. His exact words were, ‘You have to save them out there, you know.’ He was staring at Clear Skies and pointing into the grasses.”
Wind Seeker rose. “Where is he?”
“We left him with Grazing Fawn.”
When Wind Seeker approached them, Lonnie’s blank gaze was on the grasses. Grazing Fawn
was still stroking his hair. “I’ve tried to get him to tell me more, Wind Seeker. He just stares out on the prairie. He hasn’t said anything else.”
“Lonnie, you saw a warrior with blue eyes and said he had to save someone. Who does he have to save? Lonnie?”
“See, he’s gone away again.” Grazing Fawn said. “Just like last time.”
“Let me know if he says anything else.”
“I will. I’ll try to keep him here, if I can.”
“Thank you, Grazing Fawn.”
Lonnie’s mind never cleared again. The cryptic message remained an ominous cloud never far from Wind Seeker’s mind. On the few occasions Lonnie spoke, he’d always predicted correctly. The Indians learned to take his visions seriously.
Gentle Wave and Clear Skies woke to find the ground blanketed in snow. Her father had been teaching him how to track and hunt. He was getting pretty good at riding and occasionally hit the target with his arrows. Raining Thunder and Straight Arrow worked with him daily.
By the end of December, his hair had grown in and Gentle Wave trimmed it to even it off. Black Horse was right. Washing by the stream was not pleasant in the winter. Eventually, he began melting snow over the fire in the teepee like Gentle Wave did. He didn’t care about the snickers of the other warriors that he bathed like a woman. He said it wasn’t part of his journey to freeze his balls off.
CHAPTER 7
TURNING LEAVES
Even as she watched her possessions loaded into the wagon, Turning Leaves couldn’t believe she was actually leaving the village. Robby had been grinning since he’d brought her over to join the Clan.
She’d effectively managed to elude his advances so far. The more she studied him, the more she decided he wasn’t the handsome man she imagined. He was average height with a slender, gangly body of sharp angles. Even his strong arms looked more like tendons surrounded by loose flesh. He had none of the strong, straight stance of the warriors with their tight bodies. When he walked, he stomped with none of the stealth and pride of the Indians. She also sensed something hidden behind his laughing gaze that made her uncomfortable.
She decided when her parents came to say goodbye, she’d make a huge scene and tell them they were right. She’d apologize to Robby and the Protectors and say she was just too young to make a move like this right now and suggest they wait until the Spring Celebration. Turning Leaves was sure her father would insist she be returned home rather than see her unhappy.
Constance had been watching the girl. She could feel her despair as she realized the finality of the path she had manipulated. She watched Turning Leaves’ eyes blame Robby. Constance knew she’d been denying him use of her body, but decided to let the man try to win her over. Constance would step in before he got too discouraged.
Her parents made their way to the campsite to say goodbye. Constance could sense their sadness with the decision to send their daughter away. The Vampire sent a wave of desire at Turning Leaves. Yellow Hawk and Whispering Wheat felt much better seeing how their daughter fawned over the flatlander. They left the village assured they’d made the right choice.
Constance pulled back her influence and Turning Leaves brushed Robby’s arm off her shoulder in annoyance. Her parents had already left the clearing and she hadn’t said a word to let them know how unhappy she was. She felt no control over the compulsion to hold close to Robby while they said goodbye, and realized her parents thought she was content with her decision.
The cowboy shook his head laughing softly at the girl’s frustrated confusion. He looked over to Constance and smiled. “I’ll let you know when I give up.”
“You do that Robby. She’s a stubborn one.” Constance contemplated a few games she would play with her new toy.
Walking along the edge of the tree line to her new home, Turning Leaves looked back at the village. She’d never traveled far enough not to see the smoke from the fires. She had no idea how far away the settlement was and frustrated, pained tears began to flow.
“You’ll like the settlement, Turning Leaves. We have our own cabin beside the stables and we have all our meals together in the big hall. Everybody talks and laughs. You won’t be lonely and Spring Celebration will be here before you know it,” Robby assured her.
Turning Leaves silently trudged on. When they stopped for lunch, Constance caught her standing alone in the grasses, gazing in the direction of the Indian village. “That little push I gave you this morning was nothing more than a tap.”
Turning Leaves’ confusion at her statement began to sink in. She made me act that way? The young girl stared silently at the woman.
“I expect to see the smiling face of a very satisfied man at breakfast tomorrow.”
Turning Leaves tensed. “I don’t even know how to satisfy a man.”
Constance put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up so she stared into her face. “Oh, I think you do, little girl ... and if I don’t see the pleased face of your companion tomorrow, I will put suggestions in your head for things you will do to him that will make you most uncomfortable.”
Turning Leaves trembled as she watched a red haze glow around the woman’s blue irises. The Indian thought about the uncontrollable desire to hang all over Robby when her parents came to see her off. She knew what she was doing and still couldn’t help herself.
“Have I made myself clear, Turning Leaves? I will not see Robby hurt by you. You can have a good life with him, or not, but I will make sure he has a good life with you.” Constance smiled and walked back to Patrick.
Turning Leaves had never been so scared as she stared at her retreating back. If Constance really could control her, she’d never get back to the tribe.
They reached the settlement just before dark. Women hustled to the hall to cook a simple dinner for the weary travelers. Three days of celebration was exhausting. Turning Leaves sat next to Robby and Linda. Linda kept talking about a bunch of stupid plants Ariel and Hannah had given her. “Maybe you’d like to work in the gardens with me?” she offered.
“No, I don’t know anything about plants and I know I wouldn’t like digging in the dirt with worms and all,” Turning Leaves wrinkled her nose.
“Well, I’m sure they’ll find something for you. I think Jackie needs help with the laundry, too,” Linda suggested.
“I’m not working in some stupid laundry. I’m Robby’s companion. He takes care of me. I’m not working,” she declared.
“Turning Leaves, everybody has a job in the settlement. We share the work and the provisions,” he explained.
“I’m the daughter of an Indian Warrior,” she hissed. “I could have my pick of any of the men in our tribe.”
“Yes, and you chose me,” Robby smiled.
Her eyes narrowed. “Not to come here and be a slave.”
“Nor will you be. You will, however, do your share of the work. If you can’t find one of the women to work with, you can stay with me.” Turning Leaves seemed somewhat placated by his words until he added, “I can always use help washing the horses and cleaning the stables. You are young and strong.”
She slammed her fists on the table as she angrily stood. “You tricked me. You tricked me into coming here.”
A few settlers looked up from their meal. No one was surprised by the petulant girl’s outburst. A few had even placed bets on when it would happen. “He’s going to have his hands full with that little witch,” Harrison chuckled.
“I don’t know.” Ryan pointed to the front table with his fork. “Look at Constance. I heard Patrick gave her the girl to help get settled in.”
The Vampire in question was looking at the Indian, a red haze beginning to shine in her eyes. “Turning Leaves, sit down.” The girl glared at her. “Now,” she ordered.
Turning Leaves felt a hundred pound unseen weight push down on her shoulders as her knees slowly buckled and she found herself once again sitting. She wanted to scream, but no sound would come out. “The village has had a good time, with good st
ories to share and memories to relive. You are not going to disrupt our first evening home,” Constance replied evenly. “Finish your meal.”
Turning Leaves’ hand picked up her fork and she finished her meal in an angry, controlled silence. “I think we better have her come visit us after she’s had a few days to settle in with Robby,” Constance suggested to Patrick.
The Vampire’s blue eyes studied the pretty young girl. His enhanced vision narrowed in on the panicked, fluttering vein in her neck and a slight ring of desire began to flicker. “If she’s going to balk at working with the settlers, let’s see how she likes working for us,” he agreed. He felt his cock stir as he thought about the sweet young blood he hadn’t expected to taste for another ten years on the next harvest.
Constance sensed his arousal and it triggered hers. They finished the meal sending each other mental pictures of her toy spread naked between them. By the time they’d finished eating, they hurriedly said good night to their people and made their way to their house at the end of the street, already stripping off their clothes.
When the Vampires left the hall, Turning Leaves felt Constance’s push drift away from her. “Is that what it’s going to be like? If I don’t like something, she’s going to force me to do it anyway?”
Linda shrugged, “I suppose so. That’s the way it was for us when we came here. It’s much easier to get along. Once you do, you’ll find you like it here.” She looked beside the girl to Robby. “I think they’re going to call for her. Did you see Patrick’s eyes?”
“Yes, I expected that, though. No way were they going to pass up a fresher source,” he confirmed.
The settlers were used to providing for the Vampires and it didn’t seem awkward. The rewards were worth it. Turning Leaves missed the strange conversation as she began to think about Constance’s threat about Robby. She was trying to think of a way to convince him to act pleased in the morning without compromising herself. An irrational thought of somehow making it back to the tribe was forming. It wouldn’t work if her path was already joined with the flatlander.
Dark Journey [Ariel's Desire 2] Page 14
