by Rita Hestand
The water rushing over rocks made a sound all its own. The sound was so lovely, Katherine forgot about Hawks and everyone else, save her and Chase being together. They stopped and got off the horse. He pulled her against the willow tree and kissed her. The kiss was gentle, but also hungry and full of fire. It wasn't a brutal kiss, or a tender kiss, it was the kind that marks a woman for a man. This kiss was even better than before, and his intentions were the same, only this time, she couldn't wait to help him.
He led her beside the cool stream laying a blanket for them. Their mating was like some strange and wondrous miracle. Here, in the middle of nowhere, they made love, with no thought of the bad things going on around them. It was as though what they did, they did to keep each other alive. As though their love fed them.
He started to undress her, but she needed no help, she slowly removed her clothes and stood in front of him, proudly. She looked down at herself and realized, she was part Indian. But this realization didn't bother her anymore, not here, not now.
Chase smiled as he watched her. He removed his clothes too. For long moments they simply stared at each other, wanting to touch, but not yet daring. Finally, he took her hands and led her down to the blanket. He kissed her lips until they were swollen. Leaving her breathless and panting, his hands slid over her ever so slowly. His palm found the tip of her breast, his fingers squeezing her nipple gently until they puckered. Unable to stand it any longer, his head moved to the flower of her breast, and suckled her. She gasped at the sensations rippling through her and moved her body in a rocking motion against his.
He rose up over her and smiled. "I will wash you my sweet," he said, and went to the stream. Coming back quickly he lightly shook water over her. Her skin puckered and tingled from the cold. "Now, I will wash you…" his voice was but a whisper.
Katherine didn't know what to expect but when his tongue caressed her body, she felt the fire building inside of her. His lips surrounded the burgeoning nipples one at a time, being sure to lavish each equally. Each droplet of water he carefully licked with hot thrusts of his tongue. His tongue felt like silk draped over her nipples. She squirmed for him. He smiled. "Not yet, my sweet…but soon," He promised.
He dripped the water over each breast and then washed her over and over with his tongue until she was on fire for his possession. She needed him so. She moaned aloud.
Then he sprinkled lower and his head followed the water. His hands massaged her puckering nipples, while his lips danced gingerly lower and lower. The heady scent of her seemed to drive him further. Urging him onward with his quest. Again his tongue darted out, gently surrounding her. She moaned and squirmed and reached for him. Her legs parted freely as his nose nudged her gently into complete submission. His head dipped into the warm welcoming moistness of her, and his tongue continued to caress her most intimate places.
"Please…" she murmured.
"I pleasure you my sweet, I am with you." Chase smiled as he raised up to see her desire ridden face.
She pulled him up to her waiting lips and kissed him hotly. Tasting herself on him made her even warmer. "What if someone comes?" she murmured, trying to take her mind from his pleasuring, but sighing heavily when his tongue went deeper into her welcoming folds.
"Nothing will harm you here, my love, for this land is blessed by Wos-so mon-nit-to, your God." His lips teased her as his breath feathered her body, sending wave after wonderful wave of awareness through her. She felt herself grow warmer, desire streaked through her like a spear aiming for her.
"Please take me…," she cried. "I want to be one with you again…"
"Now?"
"Y-yes…"
He looked into her eyes and saw the sparkle of life there then took her lips against his own. Her hands dug into his backside. His tongue darted out several times, capturing hers and twisting it into a coil. Then his lips traveled slowly around her ear, where he slowly laved inside and around her lobes. When his hot breath blew against her there, she shivered with delight. She seemed to rise up against him in her young eagerness. Her breast needled him, he needed no further invitation to kiss and suckle against her dark rose-colored peaks. Each time he kissed, they hardened a little more.
She moaned her pleasure, her own hands exploring without shyness now. When her fingers splayed against his backside, pushing him toward her, he groaned and gently raised up enough to slowly plunge himself over and over into her wet and warm body. She touched him now freely, for he had said it was safe. Her hands found his nipples hard and puckered to her touch, her lips danced over him. He groaned aloud, from her pleasuring. Her hands dipped and pulled and tugged and bit into him with her own heated excitement. She was on fire for him. Never had such a thing happened to her. She was beyond thoughts now.
Without a care, Katherine reached down at his manhood, caressing first with her fingers, she moved it towards her. As she took him to the heights of lovemaking, he sighed heavily and rolled over. But her exploration wasn't over. When her hand went to the center of his manhood, she was pleased that he continued his gentle thrusting. She moved her fingers over it as he would pull out for a second, enjoy her touch and move with her again.
"Does God himself understand how I feel at this moment?" she cried aloud.
He looked into her love drugged eyes and smiled. "Yes my sweet, he has sanctioned it."
Katherine couldn't stop the moan of pure pleasure. She couldn't stop her reactions and didn't want to, feeling the most pleasure she had ever experienced. For some reason, it did not feel wrong to be with him. It felt completely right. Over and over he took her to the dizzy heights, almost to the peak, but letting that fade as he rebuilt her excitement until she was in a frenzy. His gentle teasing sent her toward the top. She clawed at him as he continued building their moment. She wanted to scream when he finally plunged, deep and so hard, she screamed with complete delight.
For long dizzying seconds she couldn't see, only the stars and the velvet sky he created. The world faded away, and she was sure she'd gone to heaven. For several seconds he intentionally prolonged the splendor then she fell back, and he collapsed on top of her. Wrapped so securely in his arms, she rested. His hot gentle breath against her ear continued to send little quakes along her arms and legs. The moments had been so earth shattering, she kissed him long and hard again.
Then suddenly something woke her…
Hawks stirred not far from her side. "What…what's goin' on?"
Katherine's eyes opened and reality hit her as she plunged into the pits of hell once more.
It seemed so real. She felt it to the core of her being. How could this happen? She didn't understand how a ghost could make love with her. But he did. Chase had just been with her, she knew it. And yet, it was just a dream. A wishful thought. A private thought. Was he alive? Was it the Great Spirit telling her he lived?
Seeing Hawks staring at her had her coming out of the trance she'd been in and back to reality.
"Sorry, I guess I was dreaming." She picked up the shovel.
The dream embarrassed her, for never had she been so bold in her life. And she couldn't imagine something that wonderful ever happening to her. Chase had mentioned a love he had, and he'd never learn to love her that way. No man would. It was a dream, she silently scolded herself. Her mother never told her of such boldness. Never spoke of such heaven in a man's arms. How could she know it would be that way? How could she imagine it being so wonderful, an experience she had never experienced? It made no sense. Perhaps the sun had touched her head. That's what it was.
She'd had too much sun.
Katherine admonished herself, it was only a dream. Chase was more than likely dead. So the dream was merely wishful thinking. It made her sad to have found something so wonderful in someone and lost it before she really had it. Could one love the dead so thoroughly?
Sighing heavily she bit into the dirt with the shovel. Over and over, she found new places to dig. Her head pounded from the heat. Her body ached, he
r heart felt broken for the loss of her one true love. Long hours later, she rested once more. "I don't think we're going to find it," she said with a groan.
"We've got to. I've come this far, this long, I can't go on. I must find it. You must find it," Hawks said.
"Maybe it's somewhere else?"
Hawks stared at her for a long moment. "Where?"
"Could it have been in there?" She pointed to the house that was no longer there.
"You want to look?" He asked almost as though he couldn't believe she'd thought of it.
"I will…"
He nodded.
For hours they prowled about the house. Katherine found many memories of her parents and of the twins, but there was no money. The grease can above the stove was still full of bacon drippings. Old recipes that hadn't completely burned lay scattered about the kitchen as she had read them all after her mother died.
A tear slipped down her cheek. Her mother, her poor mother. Could Hawks have lied about her mother? Had she suspected her father of anything? Had she known about the Indian girl and her father? Katherine hoped not.
All the questions pouring from her mind and only one kept bothering her. Was she white or was she a half breed too? Who would know?
Chapter Seventeen
Chase killed a couple of rabbits and headed back to the shack. He tried not to think about the dream he shared with Katherine. He needed to stay alert, but it had shocked him, weakened him even. He knew Burning Tree joined them somehow, but he never expected anything like that. Not that he hadn't enjoyed it. He had, thoroughly, but to think Katherine would have him, a breed, with her thinking she was white. It went beyond belief. White women didn't mate with breeds?
She belonged to him now, and he knew it. There was no turning back, even if he had wanted to, which he didn't. No woman knew him so well, loved him so thoroughly, but that was in the dream world. What would the real world be like? Still, the dream had taken over and he could do nothing but endure the pleasure of it.
When he stayed still so long, the Comanche believed him dead. The Comanche seemed satisfied they killed everyone, since there was no return fire. They hadn't swarmed the shack. They left the area and Chase approached the shack with caution. It was too quiet. Something was wrong. He could almost smell it in the air.
He silently opened the door. He figured to hear voices, to see movement, but there was nothing. Something wasn't right and Chase knew to be cautious.
"Katherine," he called. There was no answer. This disturbed him, because as concerned as she was of his leaving, he knew she would be at the back door, waiting and watching. But she was not there.
He held his gun ready as he moved into the kitchen. He spotted the Captain on the floor first, motionless. His eyes scanned the room through the darkness. He bent to examine him. There was a goose egg size bruise and a slight cut but he'd be okay. Chase took his bandana out and wrapped it around the wound. He offered him water from the canteen he'd found on the counter. There was still no noise and an eerie feeling assailed him.
Chase moved quietly on into the room and found Lee, a gunshot wound oozing blood from his side. He bent to help him. Someone had spit tobacco on the floor and Chase rushed to gather it to stop the bleeding. He glanced around for something to plug the hole in Lee's side. There was nothing but dirty old rags on the floor. He couldn't use those because they would infect the wound. He ripped one of Lee's sleeves open and tore the material, Lee stirred but wasn't quite awake yet.
"Lee, can you hear me?" there was no answer, but as he tried to plug the hole, Lee stirred.
Chase bandaged them as best he could. He wasn't concerned about the Captain, but Lee and Josh were hurt badly. He had to know for sure what happened. Lee's wound was more serious. He'd lost a lot of blood, for it still dripped onto the floor. There was more blood, but it splattered the wall. Chase couldn't be sure if it was from Lee's wound or not.
Lee was the first to come to. "What's happened here?" Chase asked as Lee drifted in and out of consciousness.
"Don't know…all I remember is Hawks hitting the Captain."
"Hawks…" Chase muttered the name like an evil presence.
He knew instinctively Katherine was alive, for he had the dream. Burning Tree sent it and he knew. It shocked him how in his dream he had taken Katherine, so innocent, and she was so willing. But Burning Tree had broken a Shawnee law to do it. Marriage was sacred to the Shawnee. A woman taken before marriage was disgraced. Still it brought them together, whether for marriage or only to help the people, he did not know. He knew her.
He would know if anything happened to her, he would feel it.
Perhaps the dream was the only way Burning Tree could tell Chase she was still alive and well. That made sense. These were desperate times and a magic long forgotten kept them tied to one another.
Knowing Katherine was alive was enough, he would take care of the others.
But putting away the dream was near impossible. At first he was shocked at how real it all was. It saved him, for had he not been knocked down by the intensity of the dream, he could never remain that still. Because he knew he had touched her in that dream, he had made her his. And in such a short time too. He remembered how embarrassed she was when she woke in his arms. He saw her burning cheeks. She had the dream then. But he had not known it then. How strange this power Burning Tree used.
It came to him after he left her. It was so unexpected, and yet, he saw the need of it. Through those dreams he could keep in touch with her, make sure she was all right. He needed to concentrate on how to help the wounded here and get them to safety, not the whimsical dreams he and Katherine shared.
Josh moaned aloud and Chase went to his side, "Josh, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, I hear you." Josh tried to open his eyes. His glanced around the room though, as though he didn't know where he was or what had happened. His voice was weak now. He'd had nothing to eat, little to drink, and his wound was open now. Chase saw it and grimaced. Josh was in bad shape. "Where's…"
"Hawks has her." Chase tried to keep him from talking, from straining.
Josh's eyes widened with fear. "What…what for…"
"I will take care of Katherine, never fear. But you, can you stand, are you better?"
Josh shook his head, "No…I think I'm done in…"
"Josh, hang on, please, for your sister's sake, hang on," Chase pleaded. "I don't think she could stand to lose you."
"I can't. I want to, I don't want to die, but…" Josh whispered as tears fell down his cheek unchecked, now pulling on Chase's arm he bent to hear.
"Oh, God…Chase…you…gotta tell her…"
"Tell her what?" Chase asked holding Josh closer to hear his words.
Josh's eyes glazed over several times but he looked desperate to tell Chase something.
"She ain't …she ain't…white…" Josh cried, tears rolling down his cheek once more. "Least not all white…."
"What are you saying, Josh?" Chase's face screwed up into a frown. How could Josh know this?
"Ma…told me…"
Chase nodded, and held Josh to him. "I know Josh…I know."
"But…she ain't got anybody…" Josh cried. "She's alone…and she's my sister no matter what. She's my sister… Tell her I loved her…Chase…please tell her. Tell her no matter what…I loved her. She is my sister…"
"You can tell her…" Chase declared in a strangled voice, realizing the boy was really dying and wishing he could prevent it. The boy had barely lived. He'd have given his own life to let this young man live. But it was not to be.
"Take…care of her…for me…" Josh cried out one last time and when he tried to raise up, he keeled over quickly, his eyes glazed.
"Josh…I promise…." Chase said and realized Josh had breathed his last. He was gone. Chase laid him down and closed his eyelids. His heart constricted for this young man who loved his sister despite the facts he had known. A knot grew in Chase's throat and he felt a tear threaten to fall. He h
adn't cried since he was just a little fellow and his pet deer died. He pushed away the memory, he had to. There was no time for this, despite the fact he had come to love this young man as his brother, there was no time to feel. He must act.
He had failed Josh, but he wouldn't and couldn't fail Katherine. Too much depended on her survival. More than ever, he realized Katherine did hold a magic power, and she knew nothing of it. He deliberately pushed the knot in his throat down, and swallowed hard.
"He dead?" The Captain demanded to know, as he stumbled into the room. He didn't seem that surprised to see Chase. But there was a more eager look about him now, as though he were thinking of his duty.
Chase was sure this man would die with his duty. He silently wondered why some lived and some died.
"Yeah…" Chase sighed, his anger and frustration needing some release. For a split second he wished it had been the Captain dying instead of this kid who never had a chance to live out his life. Emotion clouded his thinking for a moment. Indians didn't cry, but at a time like this, his white side warred with the Indian. Then he straightened himself and stood up to look about.
"What happened in here?" Chase rasped, not wanting to show his weakness in front of the Captain. Replacing his sorrow with anger.
The Captain leaned against the wall, looking about to see who was there. As though he couldn't answer that question. "I don't know, exactly. We were watching you then something hit my head. Where are the others?"
"Yeah, that's a good question. The Indians are gone. When there was no more firing, they took off, figuring everyone for dead. They will bury their dead now. But they could be back. We must leave soon. But I don't know where those boys are or Hawks, or…"
"The woman."
"Is the Corporal going to make it?" The Captain asked after a few minutes of gazing about the room for clues as to what might have gone on here.
