by Rita Karnopp
Summer laughed. “Really? And would that involve scrubbing our clothes first and tossing them on shore so we can truly scrub our bodies?”
He lifted her into his arms and stepped into the cold, rushing river. Having reached the inlet where the water dropped to about five feet deep, he dropped her.
She surfaced within seconds, spitting and gasping. “You royal pain in the—”
He dunked her again, pulling her up by the waist and into his chest. He didn’t give her a chance to complain or chastise. He lowered his head and claimed her lips, hard and demanding. Raising his mouth from hers, he gazed into her eyes. He’d dreamed of holding like this in the moonlight. Her eager response shocked him, yet he loved her not holding back.
Again he hungrily covered her mouth with his. Her lips were more persuasive than he cared to admit. He released them and kissed the pulsing hollow at the base of her throat, then moved back up her neck. He nibbled her earlobe, then kissed across her cheek and recaptured her lips.
“You have no idea how I’ve dreamed of doing this very thing. Your kiss from all those years ago has haunted me. I wasn’t lying when I said I’ve compared every woman’s kiss to yours. None compared. It’s hard for me to believe I’m holding you in my arms.” He kept them below the surface, allowing the flow of the water to rinse the smoke from their clothing.
“I had no idea. Promise me we’ll move slow. I’m…vulnerable right now and the last thing I need is—”
He kissed her hard and demanding. “No demands and no promises? I can do that, Niipo Timber Wolf. Just don’t break my heart when you’re done with me.”
“Could you be any more dramatic?”
Running Crane laughed. “Take me, use me, but be kind when you sent me packing…alone down the broken heart trail.”
“Much better.” She laughed and leaned her head back.
He took full advantage of viewing soft, yet firm, breasts pressed against the v-dip of her dress. He trailed kisses…lower and lower. He unzipped the back of her dress and she allowed him to pull it over her head. Keeping her shoulders at water’s edge, he eased them near a tree branch and hung her dress over the sturdy branch. Releasing her he pulled his shirt over his head and added it to the branch, along with his jeans and underwear. “Don’t think this means I expect to…wait a minute. You were naked under that dress? My…my Nah’ah doesn’t mess around, does she?”
Summer laughed. “She’s never believed in holding back. She often said she knew she wanted grandfather at a very early age. But so did many other girls in her village. She first made him wild for want of her, then she gave him a taste. He looked at no other maidens from that time on. She said they were made for each other. They made no secret they had the kind of love only Napi created. She wanted that kind of love for me.”
“Are you telling me to taste you, Niipo?” His heart pounded as he reached for her and pulled her close. She curled into the curve of his body. He slid his palm down her back, skimmed her shapely buttocks, then guided her legs around him. Her increased breathing matched his.
“Is this what Nah’ah would want…or are we confusing need—”
He smothered her lips and drank in the sweetness of her kiss. “We’d better stop here before we go too far.”
“We haven’t gone far enough yet, Running Crane. Please make love to me. Make me feel wanted. Make me part of something special. Erase the hurt of the past…and make me feel the center of your world. If not forever…just for this moment.”
He pressed his palms on both sides of her cheeks and lowered his mouth down to capture her lips. He brushed her lips with his, then kissed her slow and thoughtful, with tenderness and feeling. He increased the pressure, more demanding with each kiss. He lifted her and licked the bud, then covered her breast with his mouth. The action caused him to shudder. No woman excited him like Niipo.
She writhed against him, pressing her breast into his mouth, giving what she had to offer. The feeling was much more than sexual desire…he had wanted this moment since the first time he kissed her.
His hardness brushed against her cool skin. “We should wait—”
“For what, Running Crane. We both want this and you know it. Taste me…take me…make me feel your love.”
Her whispering tantalized him. Her pleading and offer only excited him more. He could fight it no longer. Capturing her lips, he slid his palms on both sides of her waist, lowing them slowly until he cupped her firm bottom. He raised her gently above him. “You sure?”
“I’m sure,” she gasped.
He slowly lowered her, entering her moist gift. She ignited the lover he always wanted to be. Together they found the tempo that bound their bodies together. Each thrust made them gasp and cry out in harmony. Wave after wave rippled deep inside him, releasing in a pure and explosive shiver…climaxing beyond anything he’d ever experienced.
They clung to each other in the cold, rippling water. Words weren’t needed. They had found that passion so sung about, written about, even whispered about. They found each other…in the midst of fear and need.
“Forgive me if I say…that was amazing, hot, and emotional. You’ve taken me to a place no other woman has. Thank you for the gift.”
“That, my hot lover was just a taste.”
Running Crane laughed out loud. “Let’s duck under water and make sure our hair is smoke free. We need to get back to that fire before we catch our death of cold.” He rubbed her arms as she shivered against him. “Here I thought I had excited you so much you were quivering. Now I realize you were just shivering from the cold.”
“Oh, but I was quivering…and so were you.” She clung to him while he snatched their clothes from the tree branch. He grabbed his bow and backpack before hurrying across the small hill. Summer grabbed the towel she’d earlier left on the grass and wrapped it around herself. They ran back to the roaring campfire, both of them shivering.
“Stand behind that brush and get that dress on. If we’re being watched, we’ve given him quite the show.”
She stood by the firelight, dropped the towel and lifted her arms above her head. “Pull that wet dress over my head, would you?”
Running Crane laughed. “You surprise me at every turn, Niipo.” He struggled with the wet material, brushing her nipples with his palms as often as he could. Her laughter at his boldness excited him all over again. Finally he stood in front on her, claimed her lips while pulling the zipper up behind her.
“Very nice job, Running Crane. You do realize all the while you dragged that out, our watcher got a very good view of every inch of you…as did I.”
“Maybe that was my intent.” He lifted her, encouraging her legs to wrap around his waist. He took several steps, drawing her behind a tree, then quickly lowered her onto this throbbing member. She gasped, taking him full. He raised and lowered her…taking all she had to give…giving her all he had to share. The clung to each other, quivering in complete release.
“I can’t seem to get enough of you. I’m sorry if I…took that one for granted. But…I can’t help myself. I no sooner finish and I’m ready to bury myself in you again. What have you done to me?”
She still clung to him, her dress draping them in privacy. Leaning down she nibbled his earlobe, then whispered, “I’ve never acted like this before, just so you know. I fear you’ll think little of me after this…but I had to have you, Running Crane. I’m drawn to you like the hummingbird is to nectar.”
“You’ve got me all wrong, Niipo. I think more highly of you than any woman I’ve ever known. You’ve shared with me…your most intimate self. If you think I’ll take that lightly, you’re mistaken. I thank you for your gift. It was meant to be.”
She shivered against him. “I wanted you…I want you again. Why? I’ve never been so moved, so excited, so fulfilled. I thank you for making me feel loved. I know it’s not really love right now…but I needed you. I needed to be close and…not to feel alone. Thank you for being there for me.”
&n
bsp; “We were there for each other. Let’s get back to that fire before we have to make love all night just to keep warm.” He laughed and carried her back to the warmth of the fire. He quickly pulled on his wet clothes.
“Hey, is this your roll of clothes?” He kicked the rolled-up jean bundle toward her.
“Oh, I completely forgot about them. I dropped them there when I came back from…my dip. You have no idea how relieved I am to have these.” She quickly slid up the panties, then jeans. She pulled the wet dress over her head and dropped it to the ground and quickly slipped into the bra and tank-top. Let’s dry my dress and keep it, you never know when it’ll come in handy.”
They sat in silence, both lost in their own private thoughts. He pulled her hand between both of his and held it there. “You…must know something. It might get me fired, but I truly believe you have to know the truth. If something happens to me, you have to know what’s going on here.”
“What are you talking about? You don’t think this is happening because of me? Is someone after you?”
She tensed and she pulled to free her hand from his. He held it firm, keeping her close. “They might not be after either of us.”
“Nah’ah? No! What could she possibly be involved in that would threaten her life. She’s an eighty year old woman of the people. Does it have to do with…napi’kwan government? She’s been trying to get the United States to look at the unlawful papers from the Lame Bull Treaty of 1855 for years. Lately she’s been petitioning the Canadian Government in similar ways. She’s claiming their Treaty 7 from 1877 is unlawful. The Hudson’s Bay Company sold our land to the Dominion of Canada. No one told our people who were living there this was happening. Nah’ah told me the treaty says our people did cede, release, surrender, yield, rights, title, privileges whatsoever to the lands…and I’m not sure what else. She’s making a point that our people couldn’t comprehend such words and, therefore, they were lied to and their land was swindled from them.”
“I know about the petitions Nah’ah’s been stirring up. Our ancestors have said for years our leaders didn’t sign any land transfer agreements with the Canadian government. Our people only agreed to live peacefully with the new napi’kwans coming to our land.”
“Did she stir up enough trouble that they want her dead? I can’t believe—”
“No, that’s not what this is about. Yes, she’s a formidable woman and is recognized by both the US and Canadian governments. It’s her wide recognition and respectability that’s put her in this position. But it’s worse than land treaties.”
“What could possibly be worse than land treaties? What aren’t you telling me, Running Crane?”
He gripped her fingers between his. The classified information he planned on sharing was in direct violation of his orders. “Two weeks ago Nah’ah called and asked me to come over to her house. She needed to talk to me. She asked that I come late at night and to park in the grove down from her house. That I should sneak to the backside patio and enter the house unseen. She warned me she’s being watched.”
“Who was watching Nah’ah? Did she know?”
“I went to see her, as she asked. You have to know, Summer, what I’m telling you could get me fired. There are only a few people aware of what’s going on. It…could put you in a compromising position. You still want to know?” In so many ways he hoped she choose not to know. He knew better. Summer Timber Wolf wasn’t a woman to be kept in the dark.
“You really have to ask? Tell me what the hell is going on, Running Crane.”
“Nah’ah had gone to a powwow planning meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn in Missoula. Your father took her and two members of the Tribal Council. She said she was in the ladies room when she heard the door open. Someone whispered to check under the stalls to see if anyone was there. She said she was sitting so she quickly picked her feet up and rested them against the stall door. Her purse was hanging on the door hook.”
“Did she know who came in?”
“She said she heard the door lock and waited. A woman said her father was confident the land contracts were in order. The parcel of land on the northeast corner of the Blackfeet Reservation was theirs in just a matter of time. A man said he was doing whatever he could to convince the Indians this parcel of land was useless. She wanted him to down-play their interest so they didn’t bring attention to the land. They didn’t want anyone noticing their oil digging equipment. He should keep working the school angle or there was going to be trouble.”
“Oil digging? Are you aware of any company having permission to dig oil on our land?” Summer leaned closer to the warm flames.
“That’s just it. Nah’ah is very involved with the Tribe and all their contracts, deals, or proposals involving land and businesses. She might be eighty, but she’s a formidable force when it comes to protecting the people.”
“So, did they say anything else? Does she know who those two people were?”
“The man called the woman Domonique. Said she was nuts to have a relationship with Bradley Wild Horse when his father, John, had been taking kickbacks for over a year. Another man, Terry Running Crane, has been hauling logs for them, and inside many of the hollowed-out logs were their core samples.”
“Does Terry know what he’s hauling, or are they just using him?” Summer asked.
“That’s where I come in. It’s a conflict of interest, but they don’t have anyone else close enough to infiltrate the operation. I haven’t been able to figure out if Terry’s involved, or just oblivious to what’s going on. I do wonder why Terry hasn’t seen the oil digging equipment. I don’t think he’d do anything that would hurt our people…but money—”
“No, he wouldn’t do this even for money, Running Crane. I don’t believe it for a moment.”
“His oldest son needs a heart operation. They’re going through with it and…I’m not sure how he’s paying for it. I asked him and he said he has a benefactor. When I pressed him, he told me to mind my own business. He’s right, Summer, I don’t have a right to ask such a question. I’d do just about anything to save my child.”
“Terry could be innocent. The company would be very careful who they’d let know what they’re up to. I’d guess they’re paying Terry for hauling logs coming off that area of the reservation. Wasn’t there a contract that allowed some company out of Oregon to log in that area? All proceeds were going into the Browning expansion project.”
“You’re right, but I thought that deal went south.” Running Crane added a few more sticks to the fire. “You think this could be the same company and instead of logging, they’ve been planning on digging for oil from the very beginning?” Running Crane stared into the fire and wondered why he hadn’t thought of that.
“Could you turn your own brother in if he’s involved? Would anyone fault him for trying to save his son’s life?”
Running Crane glanced over at Summer. “The law is the law, Summer. The land belongs to the people. No one has the right to sell it without the consent of the whole tribe. I can’t figure out how they plan to complete the deal without anyone finding out. You’ve got to realize that logging rights are completely different than mining rights.”
“Would Chief Lone Wolf be willing to sell of that corner of land if he believed it to be worthless and beneficial to the people? Didn’t I hear talk about new schools being built with funds from an anonymous source? That might be how they’ve presented the deal. We sell the land for the value of the trees and you get in return new schools for your children. What’s so hard to decide?” Summer squeezed Running Crane’s hand.
“I don’t think he’d do such a thing without the approval of the Tribal Council.”
“If he believes the land is worthless, then this is a good deal for the people. We’ve been in need of new schools for so many years. To have both grade school and high school funds suddenly available for building…well…it’s too much of a coincidence.”
“Nah’ah would have been privy to all that info
rmation. Maybe she put it together and realized the people were once again being swindled. She wouldn’t keep that quiet.” Running Crane stood and paced back and forth.
“How did they find out about Nah’ah?” Summer asked.
“You know your grandmother. She dung into the one thing she found out in that bathroom, the name Domonique. She told me the woman’s father is Germaine Worthington, owner of the Landscape Mining Company. They’re worth billions and are from Texas.”
“Okay, so how did they find out about her?” Summer asked again.
“This is where your grandmother made her mistake. She called up Mr. Worthington and told him he either drop his attempts to purchase Blackfeet land or she’d go to the press and expose their scheme. They needed to back-off immediately.”
“Really? What did he say?”
Running Crane sat back down on the stump next to Summer. “He said they’d already paid for the land and it was a signed and sealed deal. There’s nothing she or the Tribe could do now to change it. The land was his.”
“Let me guess,” Summer said, “Nah’ah told him what bridge to jump off. She threatened to expose his underhanded deal to the US government and Worthington knew she wasn’t bluffing.”
“Yep. So she called me and asked what I could do about it. I went to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and they’ve been looking into it. That brings us to this little trip. I’m here to protect her…and after talking with Detective Buggeta, I’m also protecting you. It seems I’m not doing a good job of either.”
“If those two guys who left in that truck took Nah’ah…then who burned down our tipis?”
“I’ve been wondering the same thing. Let’s consider for a moment that the two are connected.”
“How can that be, Running Crane? That would mean Jordan became my boyfriend just to keep Nah’ah in her place. That makes no sense. She wouldn’t—”
“She’d keep quiet, even back off, if your life was in danger. She’d want to get you away from danger by bringing you out here. But someone found out. How? Who?”
“I thought Nah’ah would have told everyone she was taking a trip to the old country with me, but now I don’t think she told a soul. Inn wouldn’t have said anything. Who are we forgetting?”
