Lilly had gone into the bathroom, when he remembered his weapons were laid out on the counter. “Crap. Lilly, wait.” He pushed open the bathroom door to see her staring at the knives. Thank god his gun was tucked away.
“These are all yours.”
“Yes.” He reached around the bathroom door and snatched up his bag to put his knives away.
“I didn’t feel one of those on you.” She almost appeared confused.
He smiled. “That is good. Most of them stay hidden, well, except this one.” He picked up his special blade’. “This one you can’t hide. I bought this the same place I found your box, our box. It has a special job to do, when I find him.” Dark Horse growled and placed the knife in his bag. He lifted his, gaze meeting Lilly’s.
“Don’t ask. I promise I will always protect you and keep you from as much as I can, but I do have a dark side. I’m not an angel. You are my light through all of this. Only for you.”
Lilly held up her hand. “Don’t. We need to slow down.” She started the shower.
“I thought you’d take a hot bath.”
“No, not tonight.” Keeping her back to him, she stripped out of her shirt. What he saw…
“Stop,” he growled and stepped forward tracing the knife marks on her lower back.
“His mark. He did that the first time he raped me. Told me that any man who touched me would know I was his, even if he was dead,” she whispered. “Do you think something like a tattoo would cover it?”
Dark Horse took two deep breaths. “Let me think of something.” He ran his fingers over the initials in her skin, which was still a little pink. “I know it’s too soon, but could you maybe think about wearing my mark here?” He held his breath, almost afraid the question would be too much.
His Lilly stripped the rest of the way and stepped into the shower. “We’ll see, but I’d want to see what it is before it goes on my body and it’s my body still.” She shut the shower door.
He grinned. “We’ll see, little flower. We’ll see,” Dark Horse mumbled then gathered the rest of his weapons, cleaning up the mess he had left in the bathroom and laying out clean towels.
Dark Horse tucked his knife under his pillow then put away the other knives before returning to finish his meal, thinking of a tattoo that would stand out on her back. He needed to talk with Night Wing, who could design anything. He’d already done the artwork on his horse and his chest piece.
A few minutes later, he rolled the food table outside in the hall, then locked up the room and turned to see Lilly standing there in the little T-shirt Kizzy had given her.
She looked like a flower with her pink toes, nipples hard, and her skin rosy from the hot water. Lilly smiled. “I hate to ask, but do you think you could help me with my hair. It’s in knots and with no hair conditioner in there, well, it’s a mess.” She held up a brush and pointed to her long blonde hair.
He took her hand and pulled her to the bed. Sitting down on the bed, Dark Horse lifted Lilly and placed her between his legs, earning a squeak out of her.
“You could have hurt yourself. Don’t do that.” She glanced over her shoulder at him, giving him the brush.
“Please. You are too skinny as it is. Now, turn around and let’s get these knots out. You need to sleep.” For the next few minutes, Dark Horse worked on Lilly’s hair, careful of the stiches he encountered, and realized he loved to brush her hair.
“Your hair is so beautiful. I’ll make sure to have conditioner brought up, too, but I’d like to do this every night. Would you allow me to help you?” He flinched, worried he’d sounded dorky.
Lilly glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “I’d love it. Having you brush my hair feels great. My mom used to do it before she died and then dad took over. With hair so fine, it’s a chore to keep up, but I love it.”
She took the brush out of his hand, placed a kiss on his cheek, and got off the bed. “Thank you.” She placed the brush on the table and stared at the bed then at him.
He smiled and stood, turning the covers down. “Hop in, but be careful of my pillow,” he warned her as he stripped out of his pants, waiting for her to settle down.
Her eyes grew large. “What are you doing?”
“I’m getting ready to sleep. Now, move it.” He patted her butt.
“But you’re naked,” she squeaked.
***
Lilly didn’t mind him being naked. It was the size of his cock that had her sputtering like a damn innocent, and she was from that. Not only was he thick, but he also had what was called a Prince Albert. Damn, she was in so much trouble.
Her gaze jumped to his smile. “What?” she squeaked.
Dark Horse leaned down until his nose bumped hers. “I love you staring at my body, but now is not a good time to test me little flower when we both know you are not ready yet.” He nipped her nose. “Now, get under the covers.”
She scooted over, covering herself and burying her face in the other pillow, embarrassed by her own reaction.
But Dark Horse wasn’t about to let her hide. Lying next to her, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling he back against him.
“Sleep, little flower, and know I’m here. You are safe,” he told her, placing a kiss on the side of her neck.
He was big, and his body wrapped tightly around hers. Lilly had to admit she loved the cocoon feeling he was giving her, spooning her. He slid his hand up her stomach, resting it beneath her breast, his thumb stroking it. She took a deep, calming breath, He smelled of the soap she had used.
“Thank you, Dark Horse, for coming to help me.”
“Hush, there is no need to thank me. Sleep, little one. We have a lot to do tomorrow.”
Even with his thick hard cock against her ass, Lilly couldn’t keep her eyes open. It was like her body knew she was safe for the first time in a while and was slowly shutting down. The last thing she heard was Dark Horse whispering to her that she was safe in his arms.
“Anyone who touches you will see my mark, property of the Irons,” Fuzz said, as he used the flaming hot knife to cut into her skin. Her naked body was held by Fat Bob and two other men. Her screams woke her up. Sweat covered her face, and tears rolled down her cheeks, as Dark Horse came running into the room with two other men.
“Easy there, little flower.” Dark Horse lifted her. “It was a nightmare nothing more.” He held her tight, nodding to the two men who exited, giving her the time to get herself together.
Wiping away the tears and taking a deep breath, she peeked up at him. “What time is it?” Her voice cracked.
“It’s still early, eleven. I had to talk with one of my men, but I did it out in the hall when I heard your scream. I have to say never since my mother’s death have I been more scared.”
“Sorry. I’m okay now.” She scooted off his lap.
“Want to tell me about it?”
“Just reliving his markings. Guess I’ll have dreams like that for a while.” She noticed a pile of clothes on the dresser.
“Well, I’ll just have to make sure I’m there to help you face those dreams,” Dark Horse rose, pulling her into his arms. “The clothes are from Kizzy. She thinks they should fit. Don’t ask me how she does it, but I’d wear the jeans since we’ll be traveling back to your town to see what needs to be done.”
“I did have a car. Do you think we could try and find it?” She went through the shirts, picking a nice large black cotton T-shirt.
“What kind of car? I can get word out to our men and have them keep an eye out for it.”
She lifted the clothes up to her nose and smiled. “A Mustang, red.” Lilly smiled up at him. “It’s my first car. I made sure it was always cleaned and maintained.”
“Mustang, nice. I’ll make sure we find it and even if it’s damaged, I can fix it. I’ve restored a number of old cars.” He placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Go get dressed, little flower, it’s time to get moving. I’ll pack up the roo
m. My men have found a place for us to stay at for the next year. We’ll check it out this afternoon before your father gets out of hospital. I want to make sure we have everything he’ll need.”
Lilly glanced over her shoulder as she headed for the bathroom. “Thank you. You don’t know how much that means to me, knowing you are including my father.”
“There is no need to thank me. What is important to you is important to me. I will always try and make sure you are happy, Lilly. There might be times we butt heads, but I will always listen. Your health and well-being are top priorities for me.” He grabbed what appeared to be a new suitcase.
“Um, I hate to break it to you, but that isn’t going to fit on your bike.” She laughed.
He turned his dark eyes on her, smiling. “I know that, smarty pants. That’s why we have a van and truck that carries our personal things and such.”
Lilly nodded, remembering seeing them at her former house.. As soon as she peeked in the bathroom mirror, Lilly squeaked. “God I look like crap,” she mumbled, putting her clothes on the counter and taking a washcloth to clean her face and wipe all sleep out of her eyes, hoping the cold water would ease some of the tenderness around her black eye and swollen cheek.
“You’ll heal soon enough. If it was worse, I would have called Red Hawk, but I didn’t want to drain him when he was helping heal some of your townspeople that were in serious condition.”
“Is this Red Hawk a doctor?” She washed her face.
“No, it’s more of a gift, but he knows all about herbs, and such. He was also a medic when his unit was shipped out. So, he has experience. Plus, Soaring Eagle is training him to take his place as the next medicine man.”
Turning her head, Lilly cussed, getting soap in her eye. “Damn.” She rinsed her face. “Go pack. You are distracting me,” she grumbled then grabbed a towel to dry her face.
“It was your own fault, not paying attention to what you were doing. Pay attention.” He leaned over and smacked her butt. “Get moving.”
Lilly sighed. The man had an ass on him, that was for sure and he didn’t wear baggy pants, thank god. She shook her head and turned to see him smiling at her.
“Not to worry, I love staring at your body, too.”
“Smart ass.” She shut the door on him, earning a laugh.
Lilly smiled, for the first time feeling a little ease in her chest, but there was still a threat out there until those four assholes were caught. Shaking her head, Lilly brushed her teeth and got dressed before searching for the brush to do her hair.
“I have the brush out here when you are ready,” Dark Horse yelled.
She picked up her stuff and emerged into the room. “How did you know I was trying to find it?” She lifted her nightshirt.
He pointed to the open suitcase. “I just know. Now come and sit here. I told you I wanted to brush your hair, please.” Dark Horse pulled the chair out from the table, waiting.
“You really like brushing my hair?” She sat at the table.
“Yes. As I told you, I used to do it for my mom. In the morning, and we’d talk about our day to come. She’d drink her coffee and ask me what happened the day before and what I intended to do to better myself that day.” He took her hair into his hand and started to brush it.
“And what are we planning for today?” She noticed a mug of coffee sitting on the table. “For me?”
He nodded. “There is cream and sugar there, too. I didn’t know how you like it.” He stopped brushing her hair. “You do like it, right?”
“Try and take my coffee, you’ll lose an arm,” she grumbled and poured the cream into her coffee, taking a deep breath. “Love my coffee. I could drink this stuff all day. Hell, I could live in a coffee shop! Make note, my Dark Warrior, this flower will need coffee wherever we are,” she mumbled before taking her first sip.
“Done. If there is a way I’ll make sure you have your coffee. Maybe we should add that to the plants we will be growing. I’ll have to ask around about that.” Dark Horse nodded. “No sugar, just cream?”
She nodded. “I always wanted a greenhouse. where ever we are going to have this safe place, we should set that up right away. Also, you might want to talk with Cid. He lived outside of town so hopefully he wasn’t affected by those assholes. But he loves animals. His chickens are the best, and so are his cows. He even bought a few buffalo. You might be able to come up with a way of saving his animals so we have them for the future.”
“I’ll do that, and I would like you to talk with Black Bull’s wife. From what I understand, she’s the canning queen. We’ll need food supplies, and canning would be a help.” Dark Horse laughed. “You need to speak with Kizzy. She’ll have a notebook for you with all sorts of ideas. I believe when she shopped as we were coming here, she bought us things to use, too.” He nodded to his cell phone. “She has all our numbers going to an answering machine. Her uncles have also picked up old-fashioned CB’ radios and things we’ll be setting up to keep in contact with the other safe places.”
A small knock on their door had her turning her head to see Kizzy peeking inside. “Good, you’re awake.” Kizzy glanced behind her. “I told you she would be up,” Kizzy mumbled, right before she jumped.
“Damn it, Running Wolf, stop it. Dark Horse is like a brother to you. Why shouldn’t I consider him family?”
“You will always be my sister. Come on in. There is coffee over there on the dresser. I had a feeling you two would be here.” Dark Horse took Lilly’s coffee from her hands and stole a sip. Then he winked at her. “Thank you.”
“You’re lucky you are on my good side,” she grumbled and took her coffee back, earning a snort from Running Wolf as he came in carrying their little girl.
“How did you sleep?” He sat down as Kizzy poured coffee.
“She had a nightmare this morning, but other than that she slept like a log. You should hear her little snores.” Dark Horse grinned from ear to ear.
“What? I don’t snore.” She glared up at him.
“Yes, you do, but not to worry. They were cute little things, not like Red Hawk.”
Running Horse laughed.
Chapter Seven
The Earth laughs in flowers.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Lilly inched closer to Dark Horse as they stepped into the conference room where over three hundred men were eating and waiting for them to come down.
Soaring Eagle, Black Bull, Raining Song, and Seeking Elk sat at a head table with what appeared to be their wives.
Yes, this massive group was impressive and could be scary to a small-town woman like his Lilly. Dark Horse tightened his hold as Running Wolf and Kizzy approached.
“Damn, impressive,” Kizzy whispered.
“Nice turnout. Almost as big as one of our family reunions,” Stephan replied from behind them.
Kizzy peeked over her shoulder. “What are you talking about? We never had a family reunion this big.”
“Oh, sweet Kizzy, you’ve only been to the smaller ones. There is one in Europe that is massive. The last time I went to it was the year before your father died. There had to be close to six hundred of us.”
Kizzy screeched and ran to one of her family members, hugging her, then the three children with her. Behind them was Santana. “I don’t understand, I thought all the children were going to Canada.”
“Santana is staying here with Dark Horse.” Stephan glanced at his brother. “It seems someone here has interested our Santana, enough to bring his children.”
“Who?” Kizzy asked.
“That is for me to know, so stay out of it, Kizzy. Plus, there are a few members of our distant family around this area. I’ll be meeting with them and bringing them here when the time is right. Plus, I do believe Dark Horse may need a steadier head around to help him.”
Stephan laughed. “Right. You have a temper twice that of mine. I warn you both.” Stephan glared at Santana then at him. “If
anything happens to you two, I’ll personally come back down here and kick some serious butt. Understand me?” he growled, earning some giggles from the little girls and a laugh from the little boy.
Santana shook his head. “Welcome to the family, Dark Horse, and get used to Stephan butting into your business.”
“I hate to break this up, but we need to go in. They’re waiting for us,” Running Wolf told them, turning to Dark Horse. “You ready to take the lead?”
“As ready as anyone is.” He glanced down at Lilly rubbing her arm. “We’ll do this together,” he told her and she nodded.
“I’m not ready to speak with all these people, Dark Horse,” she whispered.
“Not to worry. You just eat and write down questions that pop up in your head as we talk.” Dark Horse smiled. “You have the notebook and pen Kizzy gave you.”
Kizzy smacked his arm. “Hey, you want us to keep organized. This is way too important not to be.”
Lilly laughed. “I have to agree with Kizzy. Organization, and plans are important if we are going to set this up. I’ll take notes and show Dad. He’ll have some great points to make, too, since he knows how to build those underground things.”
“You know I’ll listen to him. After all, he kept you alive till I could get to you.” He kissed the top of her head.
“Yeah, alive,” she mumbled. All eyes turned to them as they made their way to the front table. He knew his Lilly was thinking about the beatings and things when she shivered next to him.
He leaned down as he pulled out her chair, whispering into her ear. “He didn’t touch your soul little flower, that is all mine. But soon enough I will erase all of those nightmares, I promise.” He kissed her cheek as she sat down.
She reached up and patted his arm. “You already eased some of the tensions. Thank you.” She took out her notebook and pen, as Kizzy did the same next to her.
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