by Sharon Ihle
He shrugged. "I didn't think she'd be so jealous of you or your hair."
Behind him the women began to grumble, old She Bear the bitch in particular. Daniel glanced at them, said something in rapid-fire Cheyenne, and then turned back to Josie.
"You'd better wipe that scowl off your face," he warned. "My Cheyenne family and friends will forgive you for the mistakes you've made here today, but I don't think they're that all-fired fond of you just yet."
Josie didn't have to be told twice. She immediately lowered her head and assumed a more humble demeanor. She even managed to stay that way for the rest of the afternoon and all through supper, a surprisingly tasty, if meager meal that included a portion of fish, a small chunk of beef, a turnip, and some unleavened bread made of cornmeal that was smeared with a paste of wild berries. When the wedding feast was over, she and Daniel were escorted to a tipi on the fringes of camp, and then left to themselves.
After they'd ducked inside the dwelling, Josie immediately noticed that someone had been there before them to build and light a fire in a ring at the center of the room. Instead of the dirt floor she expected, the ground was covered with a raised mat carpeted with buffalo hide. A pair of grass-covered sod benches sat to each side of the entrance, accommodations for visitors, she assumed. A single bed made of buffalo fur and blankets occupied the back wall of the tipi. All in all, the dwelling was, like the other tipis, surprisingly civilized.
"What do you think?" asked Daniel, guessing the direction of her thoughts.
"It's... nice. Very nice."
"It belongs to Long Belly, who usually lives here when he's not out chasing buffalo or taking care of me." He began to undress as he spoke, removing his jacket and shirt, then folding them carefully and setting them on one of the sod benches, "One day he'll share this home with a wife, I suppose, if he ever makes up his mind to marry."
He tugged off his boats, dropped them near the door flap, and crossed over to where Josie stood. Firelight flickered over his naked chest, defining the hard ridges of muscle beneath the otherwise smooth, slick skin of his hard belly and shoulders. He was magnificent and, it suddenly occurred to Josie, he was also hers to do with as she pleased—and if she didn't know another thing, she had learned much about pleasing this man. She swallowed hard and began to fiddle with her brass rings.
Daniel took her hands into his. "Let me help you with those."
Then, every touch a tender caress, he slowly slipped the bracelets from her wrists, never taking his eyes from hers, and brought her hands to his lips when he finished. Instead of simply removing her rings, Daniel took each of her fingers into his mouth and worked the brass baubles loose with his tongue as he sucked them off, one at a time. Before he was half finished, Josie's knees had turned to jelly and an earthquake had begun somewhere deep inside her belly.
"Daniel," she said, breathless with need. "Let's go to bed."
"Soon." Smiling crookedly, he pulled the thongs from her braids, then unplaited and smoothed her hair with his fingers. "I hated having to cut your hair today, but I see that it's still as beautiful as ever. So are you."
Josie raised her chin, looked him in the eye, and slowly ran her tongue over her upper lip. "Now?"
Daniel leaned into her, enveloping her with his heat and his scent, robbing her of the ability to think. Lowering his head, he nuzzled the side of her neck and drew in great breathfuls of her skin, as if he couldn't get enough of her scent. When he brought his lips back to her mouth, kissing her with a passion that rocked her soul, Josie felt as if every bone in her body had melted away.
All through their previous experiments in pleasure, she'd never let Daniel see her naked body. The thought alone made her feel too vulnerable and submissive, as if stripping herself were tantamount to handing him the reins of her life. Still, as Daniel pulled away from her, then began to lift her dress over her head, Josie forced herself to allow him this much, and didn't even object when he opened her chemise, exposing her breasts to his gaze and his hands.
"You really are a beauty, Josie," he said, admiration shining in his eyes. "Absolutely splendid."
She fell into his arms, rubbing her naked breasts against his smooth, warm chest, and Daniel responded by slipping one of his hands between their bodies.
His palm cupping her breast, thumb circling and teasing the nipple, he whispered, "You feel good, so soft, so..."
He finished the sentence with his head buried between her breasts, but Josie couldn't make out the words. By then Daniel's mouth had gone to the hard little nub his fingers had made of her nipple, and his tongue began to circle it in place of his thumb. A bolt of sheer, unbridled desire shot through her, arching Josie's spine and sending spasms of pure pleasure throughout her lower belly. Caught up in the sensations, alternately wishing that Daniel would end this torment and hoping that he never would, it occurred to her that he might not have been kidding about his end of the bargain. Was it possible that he really did expect more than the usual from her this night?
Daniel wanted her as much as ever, that much was certain. And it wasn't just the heat of his rigid sex pushed against her belly that told her he was highly aroused, more so than he'd ever been before. She felt it in his voice, in the electricity of the air around him, and in the hot puffs of his breath against her skin. Surely he hadn't deluded himself into believing that she planned to submit completely to his desires.
Pushing away from him with the last of her strength, Josie drew her arms to her breasts and said, "Just what do you expect from me tonight?"
Reeling from the want of her, at first Daniel didn't understand what she was trying to say. Desire for this woman, hotter than anything he'd ever known, had him fully in its grip. He felt drugged, hot blood pooling heavily in his groin. The tantalizing glimpses she'd allowed of her breasts did nothing to cool his ardor,
"I want to see all of you naked," he murmured, reaching for the scrap of cotton. "And then I want to make love to you."
Josie backed even further away. "No, Daniel. I won't get undressed in front of you and I can't allow you to do—you know, the hurdy-gurdy."
He hadn't thought it possible, but she finally said something that cooled him down a little. "The hurdy-gurdy? What the hell is that?"
"You know." She made an obscene gesture with her fingers. "Mating. That wasn't part of our bargain."
Daniel nodded sagely. "Then I'd be happy to meet you halfway and amend our bargain a little. You can keep your clothes on until we're in bed—then I intend to hurdy-gurdy with you until dawn."
Josie shook her head. "Oh, no, you won't."
"Sweetheart, be reasonable." Daniel went to her and took her face between his hands. "What are you so worried about? I'm going to make love to you, not force you into anything or hurt you. I know how much pleasure you've gotten out of our few nights together, and believe me, that's just the beginning. Trust me on this, will you? Just trust me."
She still had that look in her dark eyes, defiance mingled with a certain fear, a terror that went somewhere he couldn't follow. Then she cleared the road for him.
"It's not that I don't trust you or that I'm not mighty curious about how the hurdy-gurdy works and all, but I can't take the chance that you might put a baby in me." Panic had replaced the lust he'd seen glowing in her eyes. "I swear I'll kill myself before I let that happen."
Daniel hadn't planned on becoming a father again after Tangle Hair died, and children hadn't exactly been on his mind here tonight—not that he hadn't thought to bring a little preventative along to make sure a baby wouldn't come of their first night together. Josie's vow did give him pause, though, and made him think of the children the two of them might have created together—tough, clever, stubborn little shits who wouldn't exactly be prime candidates for President of the United States, but the kind who would most definitely survive.
It was with an odd sense of loss that he said, "If getting pregnant is all that's worrying you, I can ease your mind some. There are a couple of
ways we can—er, do the hurdy-gurdy without risking a baby."
The fear in Josie's eyes ebbed. In fact they fairly gleamed as she asked, "Guaranteed positive, no babies?"
Daniel shrugged, choosing his words carefully. "I'm afraid that abstinence is the only guaranteed positive way I know of to make sure you stay barren, but we can get close."
Although wary yet, her eyes lit up. "How close?"
Daniel grinned as he reached into his pocket, withdrew the condom he'd waved under her nose two nights before, and held it up. "These things aren't just .good for the prevention of disease. If I use this, I think we're about ninety-eight, maybe ninety-nine percent sure that you won't catch."
Josie's gaze went immediately to his trousers and the powerful erection Daniel was beginning to think he'd never lose. She-licked her lips, took a deep breath, and asked, "It goes... there?"
Daniel nodded, feeling that part of his body turn to stone.
"I don't see how it will ever fit." She blushed and averted her gaze as something else occurred to her. "Course, I don't see how you and I will ever fit together either."
"Come to bed," Daniel murmured, taking her by the hand. "I'll be glad to show you on both counts. In fact, I'll even let you help."
Chapter 17
"Josie—ouch! Let me do that before you snatch me bald."
Lying beside him on the bed, she looked up from her task. "I wasn't aware that I'd touched your head."
"You didn't, but it feels like you're pulling out every hair in my body from that one spot. Besides," he said, grabbing her wrists before she could do any more damage, "if you keep hurting me with that thing, there won't be any point in wearing it. Now come here."
Although she was still slightly concerned about the one or two percent gamble she'd be taking, Josie crawled into Daniel's arms and allowed him to make the final adjustments to the rubber sheath. After that, all she could think about was her new husband and the way he made her feel.
In a way he'd done many times before, Daniel lavished Josie with kisses from her forehead to her belly while his hands and fingers worked the delicious tortures she'd come to crave. Unlike before, he left her burning for fulfillment just before she reached that highest crest.
"Daniel," she complained in a breathless whisper. "Don't stop now. Please don't stop."
"Hang on, sweetheart," he murmured, positioning himself between her parted legs. "This is where things start to get a little different."
He took his time, although she sensed it wasn't easy for him, and slowly pushed his way inside her. Josie felt a slight resistance at first, a moment's pain, and then suddenly he'd filled her, fully and completely.
"How are you doing, sweetheart?" Daniel asked, his breathing labored. "Am I hurting you?"
Josie adjusted her hips, making herself more comfortable. "No. Just go on. Show me what's next."
With the exception of a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, Daniel didn't move a muscle. "You're sure this isn't a bit more than you bargained for?"
"I'm going to be a bit more than you bargained for if you don't get busy, and soon."
To illustrate her threat, Josie clenched her feminine muscles around the part Daniel had buried inside her, then ground her hips, writhing shamelessly beneath him. She heard his tortured gasp, and then suddenly the grin was gone. He began to pump against her, slowly at first, and then increased his strokes until he was setting off lightning strikes each time their hips rubbed together. Josie began to tremble and shiver, her legs twitching from the vibrations that were erupting in her belly, and just when she thought she might collapse from the tremendous pressure building inside her, she suddenly tumbled over the edge, dissolving in a liquid fire that was unlike anything he'd unleashed in her before.
Josie had barely recovered from the powerful force of her climax before Daniel convulsed against her, crying out her name, and then collapsed on the blanket beside her. As he lay there panting and murmuring mindless words against the damp skin of her shoulder, Josie lost herself in the luxurious lap of her own lingering pleasure, savoring each delicious spark as the tremors slowly burned themselves out.
"I feel like a thief," Daniel whispered when his breathing finally slowed. "I don't care how good a cook and housekeeper you are, I know I got the best end of this bargain."
Josie chuckled from deep in her throat. "You cheated me pretty good, all right."
"How good?" he asked, brushing the hair from her brow. "I was afraid the first time wouldn't be much fun for you."
"Oh, Daniel, quite the opposite." To think she'd once vowed never to let a man gain entrance to her body. She laughed as she said, "You were wonderful."
"So were you." Daniel kissed her swollen mouth. "Stay right where you are. I've, ah—got to take care of something."
Turning away from her, he removed the condom and pulled back the covers in order to place it somewhere out of sight. Through the dim flicker of firelight, he noticed that the rubber sheath had cracked open.
"Damn," he muttered under his breath, unable to understand how it could have disintegrated so rapidly. The instructions said to wash the condom after intercourse and to reuse it until it cracked or tore. They said nothing about the thing cracking and tearing before it had ever been used. He hoped for Josie's sake that the old wives tale claiming that a woman couldn't become pregnant from her first encounter was true.
She tapped his shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Daniel lied, sparing her the worry. "I just pulled out a few more hairs getting this damned thing off is all." He tossed-the useless rubber into a darkened corner, then rolled over and took her back into his arms.
"Where were we?" he asked. "I know—you were telling me what a wonderful Indian agent I must be since I'm so good at bargaining."
Josie ran her hand across his stomach, stirring the butterflies, and then slid it lower. "Mmmm, yes, you were quite good. So good, in fact, I think I ought to cheat you a little myself. How would you like that?"
Daniel laughed, wondering if he'd have the stamina to, match his suddenly arduous bride. "Maybe later, sweetheart, but right now I'm kind of tired."
"Really?" She then proceeded to run the tip of her finger up and down and all around the surprising erection she'd managed to extort from him. Daniel sucked in a breath. "Take it easy on me, would you?"
"You don't like this?" she asked.
"Well, yes," he said with difficulty. "But we can't use the rubber again."
"That's all right. I have other ways of cheating you out of what's yours. I promise you won't have to do a thing except hold up your end of the bargain."
* * *
The next morning just before dawn, Josie was still immersed in the pleasures of the night, still dreaming of Daniel's touch and all the wonders of their intimate joining, when he shook her out of that sleepy bliss with a firm hand to the shoulder.
"Josie," he said, waking her completely. "Morning, sweetheart. Getup and quickly slip into your dress. There's something I want you to see outside."
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she did as he asked without question, and in minutes joined him a few feet from the tipi.
"Look up in the sky," he said as she came up beside him. "See that star, how it lights the morning sky and shines more brightly than the other stars?"
She looked up and immediately saw what he was talking about. The sky was the shade of a ripe blueberry, and a quarter moon still hung above the horizon. The star Daniel pointed out glowed as if kissed by the sun and seemed in command of both heaven and earth.
"Oh, my Lord," she whispered. "It's beautiful. I've never a star like that before."
"The Cheyenne call it wohehiv, and often pray when it appears in the sky." He slipped an arm across her shoulders and squeezed. "When I saw it this morning, I figured there was a chance it came out just for us and our marriage. I didn't think you'd want to miss out on it."
Daniel kept his gaze on the sky, leaving Josie to wonder how she ought to take h
is comments. He surely couldn't be hinting that he thought their marriage would last beyond the spring, the date they had both agreed to go their separate ways—or could he? Last night had been wonderful, but it was only a small part of their bargain—in fact, the only part on which they seemed in total agreement.
Concerned that Daniel might be making more of their union that he should have, Josie slipped out from beneath his embrace. "Thanks for waking me. It's been lovely, but I suppose I ought to go get packed up for the journey home."
He turned to her with a smile. "Home, Josie?"
The word home meant nothing to her anymore. She no longer had a home. "I meant to say the cabin."
"You can call it home, if you like," He took her shoulders between his hands and kissed her forehead. "It's going to be exactly that for at least the next few months."
Increasingly uncomfortable with the conversation, with Daniel's hands on her, and with just about everything she could think of, Josie said, ``I'd better get myself cleaned up now. How soon before you'll be ready to go?"
He studied her a moment, wondering what in hell he'd said or done to make her turn so cold so quickly. When he'd awakened and glimpsed Josie lying beside him this morning, Daniel's heart had actually skipped a beat. Her freckled checks were rosy, her swollen lips even rosier, and a little, smile played at the comers of her mouth. She'd never looked more beautiful, or seemed more real. And she was his. It was then it struck him that he really did want this marriage to work. In fact, he was beginning to hope that it would last forever...
Maybe Josie had sensed that, and for some reason it scared her. Maybe he was expecting too much from her too soon. Tired and a little too worn down to puzzle out anything remotely difficult, much less something as complicated as a woman, Daniel decided to give her a chance to wake up before he caught her with his next surprise.
"Go ahead and get ready to go," he said. "I ought to be back with the horses in about an hour."
