This caused Sky Dancer to giggle and relax once again against him. “In the whole world?” she teased, her eyes dancing into his as he looked down at her. “Something has blinded you, my husband.”
“Have you ever truly looked long enough to see your true beauty?” Thunder Hawk said thickly. “It reaches beyond the heavens. This Navaho is blessed to have claimed you as his, before anyone else had decided to.”
“You were not the first to bring horses to my father,” Sky Dancer said, reaching a soft, tiny hand to his cheek when she saw an instant anger light his eyes. “But I turned them away. Not my father. When I saw you entering my village with your horses, I could hardly believe my eyes. I had prayed often to the Great Unseen Power that you would come for me.”
“While you were praying, not only did the Great Unseen Power hear, but also Thunder Hawk,” he said, smiling down at her. “You beckoned. I came. Now we are linked together, as though one. No one can take that from us.”
Sky Dancer turned her eyes slowly around, flinching when she saw Sage as he waited for their arrival. She had been around Sage many times when her chieftain father had combined forces with Chief Sage.
Until now, she had seen Sage as a man of many smiles and courtesies. Today she was seeing a different man. She almost feared him, except that she knew that he was a most gentle, kind man at heart and would do nothing to hurt her.
As for Thunder Hawk, she was not certain about his relationship with his father. There was much she did not know about him, perhaps too much. At this moment she was wondering if she should have found out more about the man behind the handsome face and gentle smile before she had shared vows with him.
Thunder Hawk wheeled his horse to a stop a few feet from his mother and father. He paused before dismounting. Sweat beaded his brow as out of the corners of his eyes he saw the people coming from their hogans, staring. Some were coming close on both sides of him, gazing up at Sky Dancer with wonder. He knew that everyone knew her. He knew that everyone adored her.
Taking a deep breath, then slowly exhaling it, Thunder Hawk finally slipped out of his saddle. Ignoring everyone but his wife, he placed his hands at Sky Dancer’s tiny waist.
“Husband, I am so nervous,” Sky Dancer whispered as Thunder Hawk helped her to the ground.
“You need not be,” he whispered back.
He took her hand, and together they turned and faced his parents, then walked toward them.
When they reached Sage and Leonida, Thunder Hawk smiled awkwardly from one to the other.
“Sky Dancer?” Leonida said as she stared at the young woman. Then she turned questioning eyes to Thunder Hawk. “Thunder Hawk, why is Sky Dancer with you?” she murmured.
Sage took a step toward them. He clasped a hand on Thunder Hawk’s shoulder. “You have much to explain,” he said. “You continue to miss school. You have been gone two days.” His eyes slid over to Sky Dancer. “And now you are here with Chief Red Moon’s daughter.”
He looked past them, his jaw tightening when he saw the bundles on Thunder Hawk’s horse, knowing whose they had to be. They were travel bags of women, not men. They had to be Sky Dancer’s. That could mean only one thing: this son, who was scarcely old enough to make his own decisions, had taken a wife.
He leveled a steady stare at Thunder Hawk again. “You paid a bride price for this young woman?” he said, his voice drawn.
Leonida paled. “Bride . . . price?” she gasped, yet saw that it must be so. She knew Chief Red Moon’s reputation for watching his daughter like a hawk, not allowing any men close to her. He never would have allowed his daughter to leave the village unless he had agreed to it.
Thunder Hawk placed a possessive arm around Sky Dancer’s waist. “Many horses were left at Chief Red Moon’s village,” he said, lifting his chin proudly. “Fifteen in number. The bride price was enough. Sky Dancer is now my wife.”
“I see that she is,” Sage said, shifting a quick smile down at Sky Dancer, then frowning over at his son again. “This is something you do after much thought? Or was it done hastily? My son, must I remind you that you are still of school age. How do you plan to behave as a husband in all ways to your wife? Where will you lodge her? What will you feed her?”
“A certain number of sheep are mine,” Thunder Hawk said, relieved that in the wonder of him having taken a wife his father had momentarily forgotten to insist on knowing how he had acquired the horses for the bride price. His thoughts were only on the importance of schooling, not horse stealing.
“Father, only one moon ago you gave me several sheep that I could call my own,” Thunder Hawk continued. “I will see that these multiply into many. This will be my way of supporting a wife. As for lodging? Sky Dancer and I will, together, build a hogan for ourselves. Until we get this done, we will live in a tent on the edge of the village. Does this meet with your approval, Father?”
He shifted his gaze to his mother. “Do you find fault with any of this, Mother?” he said, his voice filled with caring.
Leonida sniffled as tears sprang into the corners of her eyes. And it was not from being sad over what her son had chosen to do. It was the fact that she was now a mother-in-law, and to the most precious young woman that one could ever choose to meet.
She was touched deeply inside her heart that Sky Dancer saw the side of Thunder Hawk that Leonida knew so well, which fathers never saw. The gentle, caring, loving that a man could reveal, but not in front of a father who might think it a show of weakness.
“I welcome Sky Dancer into our family,” Leonida said, flicking tears from her eyes as she went to Sky Dancer. She gave Sky Dancer a sincere, warm hug, and kissed her softly on the cheek. Then she went and stood beside Sage again.
“I love your son,” Sky Dancer quickly blurted. “My heart has been his for many moons. Since we were children and brought together when our families met on special occasions have I known that I wanted your son for my very own. As we grew older and our gazes grew bolder, I knew that, in time, he would be my husband.” She locked an arm through his. “And he is my husband. We spoke words between us already that make us man and wife.”
Leonida looked at Thunder Hawk wistfully. “I would have enjoyed preparing for a wedding celebration,” she said, her voice breaking.
“Sky Dancer preferred something more simple,” Thunder Hawk said, exchanging smiles with his wife.
“We will discuss schooling tomorrow,” Sage said, frowning from Thunder Hawk to Sky Dancer.
Sage saw Sky Dancer’s smile fade when he looked at her, and realized that he had not yet welcomed her, so he stepped forward and took her into his embrace.
“I welcome you to my family,” he said, still disbelieving that Thunder Hawk could do anything as foolish as taking a bride while he was so young. But it was done.
There had to be some changes made to make room in their lives for Sky Dancer. But the one thing that Sage would not allow to change was his determination for Thunder Hawk to have a complete, proper schooling. If his son thought otherwise, he had a surprise coming on the morrow. Tomorrow he would be in the classroom again, wife or no wife.
But Sage would not break that news to his son until later on tonight. For now, his son’s responsibilities to his wife were beginning. His first duty was to take her to his bed. He owed her a lifetime of loving.
He stepped away from Sky Dancer and faced Thunder Hawk. “My son, your mother and I will go and stay with Pure Blossom the rest of the day and tonight,” he said. “Your mother and I will give you the privacy of our hogan this one night. But after tonight, you will have to see to your own lodging.”
Thunder Hawk gasped. “You would do this for us?” he said, having never thought that his father would be this understanding, this generous. Perhaps having a wife would give him the excuse he needed not to have to go to school ever again.
“I do not approve of you taking a wife while you are so young,” Sage said, stepping back to slip an arm around Leonida’s waist. He smiled do
wn at Sky Dancer. “But I very much commend your choice of wives.”
“Thank you, Father,” Thunder Hawk said, beaming. Everything, absolutely everything was working out for him. He could not ask for any more than this.
“I have a pot of mutton stew cooking over the fire,” Leonida said, snuggling close to Sage. “There is fresh bread warming on the stove. Please feel free to eat your fill. We shall eat our meals with Pure Blossom today.”
“How can I thank you both?” Sky Dancer said, hugging Leonida and Sage again as Thunder Hawk went to his horse and removed Sky Dancer’s satchels. He handed the reins of his horse to one of the small braves, to take and tend to it in the corral. Then he took Sky Dancer’s hand and they hurried inside the hogan.
Once inside, when they finally had total privacy, Thunder Hawk set Sky Dancer’s belongings aside, then drew her into his embrace. He smoothed his hands over her cheeks, then through her long, waist-length black hair.
“Do you know how long I have wanted to be with you like this?” he said huskily. “My wife, I so hunger for you.”
She moved into his arms. When their lips met, it was awkward between them at first, and then their kisses became frenzied, as did their hands as they disrobed one another.
After Sky Dancer was totally nude, Thunder Hawk stepped away from her and for the first time, ever, saw a woman fully unclothed. Because of his feelings for Sky Dancer, he had not taken another woman into his blankets with him.
And now he had her all to himself, and no midnight dreams could have been this exciting and beautiful. Her body was tiny, yet her breasts were large and firm.
His pulse racing, he reached his hands to her breasts. As he cupped them, a sensual thrill raced up and down his spine, and a fire never known to him before lit in his loins. He could feel his manhood filling with heat. It was throbbing.
Drawing her into his embrace, he lowered her onto a soft pallet of sheepskins beside the fireplace. His hands moved over her, searching and caressing her body. When he kissed her, she moaned against his lips and urged him over her.
Instinctively, she spread her legs and sucked in a wild breath when she felt the strength and the fullness of his manhood as he began probing where she throbbed at the center of her desire.
Thunder Hawk continued kissing her as he made the one last thrust that broke that wall of defense that all women had until taken that first time by a man. He kissed her pain away, his hands on her breasts, softly kneading. He moved himself endlessly deeper within her, then began his rhythmic strokes.
As she clung to him and moved her hips with his, Thunder Hawk was amazed at the skills she had at not only receiving him as a lover but also in giving herself back to him.
He was fast discovering that he had made an even wiser choice than he had ever imagined when he had decided to marry this beautiful, amorous young lady. She was taking Thunder Hawk to heights of passion that he never knew were possible.
He lowered his mouth to one of her breasts and took his first taste of her sweetness. She twined her fingers through his hair and moaned.
“Thunder Hawk, I never knew paradise until now,” she whispered.
He lifted his gaze and met hers. “I will be good to you,” he said thickly.
The remembrance of the dreaded schoolroom came to his mind’s eye in a flash. He brushed it aside just as quickly. That schoolroom was now a thing of the past.
“My wife,” he whispered against her parted lips, “I owe you more than you will ever know.”
He thrust into her one last, lingering time, then kissed her as together they found ultimate pleasure in one another’s arms.
Pure Blossom was stretched out on her bed, pale and gaunt. She clutched at her stomach, and then her throat. She could not count the endless trips that she had made outside to retch at the back of her hogan. She had heard it called “morning sickness.”
She had just started experiencing this today. She had even been too ill to go outside and greet her brother and the woman he had taken as his bride.
Although shocked that Thunder Hawk had taken a bride without sharing his decision with his family beforehand, Pure Blossom could not feel slighted because of it. She was as guilty as Thunder Hawk when it came to behaving on one’s own. She would not be pregnant now if she had shared everything with her parents and brothers.
“Oh, how I hate Adam,” Pure Blossom said, pummeling her fists against the blankets cushioning her bed. “How could he be so cruel? So cold-hearted? I will show him. This child that comes from my imperfect body will be perfect in every way. I shall flaunt the child before him one day. It will give me such pleasure to laugh in his face and deny him even the first touch of his child.”
She turned with a start when Leonida and Sage came into her hogan. She tried to get up, so that they would not realize that she was so ill, but it was too late. They had already seen her.
She did not even bother getting up. She did not dare to, anyhow. Every time she had tried to move to her feet and walk around today, she had retched. The quieter she lay, the less excited or upset she got, the less she would be ill.
Leonida went quickly to Pure Blossom’s bedside. Sage stopped long enough to roll more logs onto the fire in the fireplace, then came and stood beside Leonida as they both stared down at their daughter, concern in their eyes.
“Darling, what’s the matter?” Leonida said, sitting down on the bed beside Pure Blossom. “You are so pale. You’re ill. Tell me where you hurt, darling. I’ll try and make it better.”
Pure Blossom looked guardedly at her mother, then her father. Not wanting them to know the full truth, she cowered away from them and turned her eyes toward the wall.
But there was nothing she could do to stop the bitterness that was rising into her throat once again. And this time it came too quickly for her to flee outside. She leaned over the side of the bed opposite the side where her parents were standing and retched all over her neatly swept dirt floor.
Leonida paled and grabbed for Pure Blossom’s shoulders, holding her until Pure Blossom was through. “Sage, get a basin of water and a cloth,” she said over her shoulder.
Sage hurriedly did as she asked, then stood over them as Leonida bathed Pure Blossom’s face with the damp, cool cloth. “As pale as you are, I would suspect that you have thrown up quite often this morning,” she said, her voice drawn. “Was it something you ate, darling?” She cast a glance over at the stove. “I’ll see to it that all of the food you have recently cooked is thrown out.”
Pure Blossom knew that it would be as simple as that to let her parents think that her illness had been brought on by food. But she did not like the idea of putting off the inevitable. As tiny as she was, she would soon be showing her pregnancy. Then no excuses on this earth could hide the truth.
“Mother, Father?” Pure Blossom said, easing the cloth away from her face. She scooted up into a sitting position. She combed her fingers through her long, loose hair. “It is not fair to you to keep the truth from you any longer.”
She could hear the intake of their breaths and could see the weariness in their eyes, yet she knew that nothing they were thinking could be anything close to the truth, especially since it included Adam.
“No blood that comes with the moon visited me this time. I carry a child in my belly,” she blurted out, wincing when she saw a horrified look creep into both of her parents’ eyes.
“You . . . are . . . pregnant?” Leonida said, her heart feeling as though it had plummeted to her feet.
Sage was so stunned, he could not find any words to express his disbelief.
“Yes, I am with child,” Pure Blossom said, suddenly wailing as she flung herself into her mother’s arms. “And the seed was not put into my womb by a man who loved me. At the time, I thought he did. But now I know that he was only using me. I am ashamed. So ashamed.”
“This man,” Sage said, his hands tightening into fists at his sides. “What is his name? Is it the one I fear?”
&nb
sp; Pure Blossom became silent. She looked sheepishly up at her father. “You will not hate me if I tell you the truth?” she said, her voice breaking.
“I could never hate you,” Sage said, sitting down beside Leonida. He took Pure Blossom into his comforting arms. “This man used you. You are innocent. You perhaps loved too easily because it was the first time for you. His name, daughter. Give me his name.”
“Adam,” Pure Blossom said in a weak whisper, yet loud enough for both her parents to hear.
Leonida turned pale and gasped.
Sage’s heart felt as though it had just been cut out.
He rose quickly to his feet and left the hogan. He ignored Leonida when she ran after him, asking him to stop. She knew him well enough to realize where he was headed. He was hell-bent on finding Adam, to beat him to a pulp. He was repulsed by the very thought of his daughter having slept with that man, much less that she now carried his child inside her body. Adam had taken advantage of his daughter’s innocence.
He mounted his horse and rode away. He pushed his horse into a hard gallop all the way to the train. When he finally arrived there, he dismounted and stormed up the steps to the private cars. Not sure which one was Adam’s, he opened one door and stepped inside.
“Where are you?” he shouted as he entered. When he realized that no one was there, he left that car and went into the other one.
Disgruntled to find that car also empty, he was tempted to tear up everything there and burn all of the belongings, but held his temper at bay and left. He felt it was best to deal with this later. His anger had become uncontrolled. He wanted to save it, until later, when he had Adam’s throat trapped between his fingers.
Needing to find some peace within his heart over the pain that his daughter was suffering, he decided it was best to go and find a high place so that he could pray for guidance.
He had to wonder where he had gone wrong as a father, or what he could do to turn the tide back in his favor.
He had never felt as helpless as he did now.
His one blessing, as she had always been, was his wife, Leonida. She had always been there for him. She always would be. She was his past, present, and future. In her he would find the solace that he needed. He would return to her, instead of going to pray alone in the mountains.
Wild Desire Page 24
