“He only spoke the truth as he wished it to be. Not as it is. Now, no more questions.”
Her other shoe on, Wolf pulled her to her feet and led her to the door. They stepped out into the pearly grey of dawn. Few Cherokee were up and about, and those that were, paid little heed to Wolf and Caroline as they made their way out of the village.
Caroline had only seen the Indian town when she was brought here. And then she’d been too numb with fright and fatigue for her mind to register more than a blur of small cabins. In the pewter wash of dawn she noticed the neat, sturdy cabins, covered with bark like Wolf’s. There were gardens and large loom-like structures that held animal hides. She wanted to ask Wolf about everything she saw, but he was leading the way and his pace was fast. It was all Caroline could do to keep up. It seemed almost as if they were stealing away.
They left the clearing and entered the path leading through the forest. His hand, firmly gripping hers became a lifeline. The trees didn’t seem so dark, the call of wild animals so ominous when she concentrated on the warmth of his fingers.
How long or far they traveled, Caroline couldn’t say, but gradually the angle of the sun penetrated the thick canopy of pine and oak shading the trail. And Caroline knew she needed to rest. Wolf must have sensed it too for he sank down against a tree pulling her after him.
Though he seemed barely winded, it took Caroline a moment to catch her breath once she sat in a bed of pine needles facing him.
“I don’t understand.” Even though they were alone, Caroline found herself whispering. “What happened?”
Wolf shrugged. He didn’t like taking her as he had, as if he were running away, but he’d agreed with Astugataga it was for the best. Especially after hearing of Tal-tsuska’s visit to Caroline. Both of them had been told to stay away from the white captive. And though he feared Caroline would worry, Wolf complied. Apparently Tal-tsuska had not.
“The Headman summoned me early this morning,” Wolf finally began. “I am not sure he felt my claim to you was the strongest, but he said I was to take you.”
Caroline closed her eyes and sighed deeply. “Bu why did we leave as we did? If the Headman gave his permission...”
“He also had not yet told Tal-tsuska of his decision. And he thought we should be gone when he did.”
“He shall be very angry.”
Wolf couldn’t tell if her words were a statement or question, but he nodded. “Yes, very angry.”
Caroline swallowed. “What do you think he will do?”
“It is my hope, nothing.”
For several minutes, they sat in silence. Though Caroline noticed Wolf’s one hand curve about the stock of his rifle, he seemed relaxed as he rested. She took the opportunity to study him.
He wore a gathered hunting shirt over doeskin leggings. The tattoos that graced so many Cherokee warriors were only visible now around his strong wrists. His chin was darkened by a day’s growth of whiskers, and his dark hair was tied back in a queue. He was a paradox, a strange mixture of the Cherokee she just left and the English to which she returned. If the two cultures were difficult for her to accept, what must they be for him?
“Why did they let me go?”
He glanced around, and his gaze locked with hers. “I have told you.”
“No,” Caroline shook her head and curls spilled forward across her breast. “You only said they made the decision to let you have me. But you also said your claim was not the strongest. Tal-tsuska must have felt the same when he came to me yesterday.”
“He was not to do that. Neither of us were.” His dark brows lowered. “You were not hurt, were you?”
“No. Only frightened.”
“I am sorry for that”
“But then you warned me, didn’t you?” Caroline buried her face in her hands for a moment, then looked back at him. He dropped the hand he reached toward her. “Please, tell me why I was released.”
“Astugataga fears the English,” Wolf said simply.
“And Tal-tsuska doesn’t?”
“Not as much as he hates them.”
“And Robert,” Caroline said softly. “He hated Robert.” She could close her eyes and see the fiendish delight Tal-tsuska took in watching the torture.
“Yes, he hated him.”
“’Twas more than because Robert cheated the Cherokee, wasn’t it?” Sadayi and Walini disliked Robert because of that, but she couldn’t see them taking pleasure in his screams
“My mother was Tal-tsuska’s aunt. As a male of her family, he feels the need to avenge her treatment at Robert’s hands.”
“Have you ever felt that need?”
The air surrounding them seemed to grow deathly still as Caroline waited for his answer. His eyes never left hers as he spoke. “Yes,” he said simply.
He was still a moment longer, giving her the opportunity to ask the next logical question. But Caroline couldn’t make herself ask it. And she wasn’t sure why.
At any rate, the opportunity passed, for he pushed to his feet and leaned over to help her up. “We should go.”
“Back. to Seven Pines?” Caroline shook out her skirts. “’Tis that where we are going?”
“We will stop at Seven Pines to pick up Mary,” he explained. “Then I will take you both to Fort Prince George. You should be safe there for the time being.”
“But what about you?” Caroline trudged after him. They seemed to be following no path that she could discern. “Will you stay at the fort with us?”
Wolf paused long enough to glance back at her. Caroline’s pale hair curled wildly about her shoulders. There were brambles and scatters of pine needles caught in the tangles. He resisted the urge to comb them out with his fingers. Turning back he stepped over a log and heard her follow. “No,” he said, but he couldn’t erase the expression in her mauve crescented eyes as he made his way through the forest.
By the time they reached the curve of the river, Caroline was exhausted. She rued her inability to sleep while she had the chance. Doggedly she kept moving, trying her best to ignore the pain of her unhealed cuts and bruises. But she couldn’t help noticing that her companion seemed even more alert than usual.
He halted their tiny procession with a lift of his hand before they stepped from the shelter of the forest to the open shore of the waterway.
“What is it?” Caroline whispered, because his manner seemed to dictate such precautions. “Do you hear something?” Now Caroline turned her head carefully, searching through the bramble of holly and vines. But with the exception of a white-tailed deer nosing its way as carefully as they through the brush, she could see nothing.
“I suppose not,” Wolf said, but he felt a strange prickle at the back of his neck that wouldn’t go away. He took Caroline’s hand and pulled her toward the water. “We can cross here.”
There were flat rocks, oval in shape and smoothed by the splash of uncountable water droplets sliding over them. From one to the other there was space filled with swirling eddies, but these gaps were easily crossed. At least for Wolf they were. Caroline needed assistance to leap the gaps. The distance from the last one to the steep shoreline was particularly long.
The bloodcurdling scream sounded across the valley just as Wolf bent forward, grasping her hand to pull Caroline toward the shore. Both their heads whipped about in time to see Tal-tsuska hurl himself at them.
Wolf only had time to deflect the blow with his forearm as he shoved Caroline out of harm’s way. She slipped, then fell backward, fighting to keep her footing as water swirled about her thighs.
To her right the river boiled as the two men fell as one into the rushing current.
Caroline opened her mouth to scream, but some new instinct kept her quiet. Instead she struggled with her sodden skirts, trying to reach Wolf. Amid the thrashing of arms and legs and white foam, it was impossible to tell who was winning the conflict. They tumbled about, their bodies soaked and sleek, each striving to outmaneuver the other.
Swipi
ng wet hair from her face, Caroline frantically searched for something she could use to tip the battle Wolf’s way. That’s when she saw Wolf’s rifle on the shore. He must have dropped it when he pushed her. Her heart pounding, she lunged toward the weapon. But she lost her balance, and fell into the rush of water. Pain shot up from her knee as it cracked against a sharp rock, but she did her best to ignore it as she pushed to her feet.
White water foamed about her as she threw herself again toward the shore. The gun’s barrel gleamed in the slanting rays of afternoon sun... beckoning. She was almost to it, fighting the slippery bottom and swirling flow with every step, when she glanced behind her again.
Water stung her eyes, and she quickly scrubbed her hand across the clumping hair, her breath catching when she made out Tal-tsuska standing, ready to leap upon Wolf. She did scream then, a strangled, “No!”
Tal-tsuska’s head jerked up, and his eyes met hers before Caroline whirled away. Frantic to keep her composure, feeling its fragile hold slipping away, Caroline splashed toward the side.
The bank was steep, the soil washed away by the lively current, and Caroline scrambled to get a toehold. She grabbed for a sapling and pulled, trying not to think about what she would do when she reached the weapon.
All she knew was that she must save Wolf. She could not allow him to die because of her.
Caroline lurched forward, falling almost on top of the rifle. She’d never fired one before, but had watched Wolf once when they were coming from Charles Town. It was heavier than she thought, and she nearly staggered under the weight of her sodden clothing and the gun.
But she managed to bring the carved stock to her shoulder just as something rushed past her. She turned, in time to see Tal-tsuska running along the shore. Without thinking she aimed the gun at his fleeing back, and would have pulled the trigger if not for the hand that closed over hers.
Her breath catching, she looked up, into Wolf’s dark eyes.
“Let him go, Caroline,” Wolf said as he gently pried the weapon from her locked fingers.
“But he...” Caroline couldn’t finish. When she’d realized it was her captor running past her, she assumed he’d killed Wolf. And her mind and body had exploded with the need for revenge. That gone, she could barely stand.
“Tal-tsuska only wished to let me know of his displeasure.”
“Displeasure!” Caroline nearly screamed the word. “He tried to kill you.”
“No, Caroline.” Wolf touched her shoulder and she collapsed against him, throwing her arms about his neck. Wolf held her as tightly as he could. “If killing me was his desire, he could have done it from the shore. With one shot.” What he said was true, but Wolf doubted when they met again, his cousin would be so generous.
“Come,” he finally said. “We must find a place to camp.”
“I can keep going.” Caroline pulled away enough to look up at him. She wanted to return to Seven Pines and Mary as quickly as possible.
“Well, I cannot.” Wolf gave her a fleeting grin and brushed wet hair from her face. Then with his arm around her shoulder, he began walking along a path that followed the river downstream.
They stopped on high ground above falls that thundered down to a gorge below. They were both soaked, and Raff emptied his wet pack, hanging a blanket from the low branches of an elm. Then he gathered twigs and started a fire.
Caroline moved close to it, gratefully reaching toward the flames. Since the episode by the river she hadn’t stopped shivering, and the setting sun made her even colder. Still, she shook her head when Raff suggested she remove her wet clothing. He had already shrugged out of his shirt and leggings leaving his strong body covered only by his breechcloth.
“Here.” He squatted beside her and held out a clean shirt. “It is a bit damp around the edges, but the blanket kept it from getting a soaking.” When Caroline still hesitated, he cocked a dark brow. “It is not as if I haven’t seen you before.”
Which wasn’t the problem at all, Caroline admitted to herself as she took the shirt and stood. She didn’t trust herself. No matter all that had transpired since they last made love, she wanted him. Every time she looked at him, Caroline feared he could see the longing in her eyes.
Which was all the more reason she should go off into the woods to change, or at least step behind the blanket. But she did neither. Instead Caroline turned her back on him.
She’d already removed her shoes and stockings, and now stood barefooted on the carpet of pine needles. Her fingers wouldn’t stop shaking as she unlaced her corset. Then came her petticoats. Her shift was last, drifting down around her body on a whisper of air.
Caroline stood perfectly still. The night air tingled her skin, teased her nipples. She wanted to turn to him, to offer herself, but at the last moment her courage deserted her. Taking a deep breath, Caroline reached for the shirt she’d hung from a nearby branch.
His hand stopped her. She hadn’t heard him move, but knew from experience how silent his steps could be. Caroline’s eyes shut as he slid his rough-tipped fingers up her arm. His touch brought heat to her flesh. Her blood pounded through her veins, and thrummed in her ears, louder even than the waterfall’s roar.
When he skimmed around to her breastbone, her head fell back against his chest, and she began to tremble. His lips touched her exposed neck, the rounded curve of her shoulder, and Caroline moaned.
It was she who brought his hand down to cover her breast, he that rubbed his thumb across the distended tip. His lips were hungry now as they feasted on the underside of her jaw. Caroline could feel the hard throbbing length of him against her back and her legs spread.
His left hand pushed lower, past the slight swell of her stomach. His fingers tangled with the tight curls guarding her womanhood, and Caroline squirmed against him.
But before she could turn to face him, his teeth nipped at her earlobe. His tongue was hot as it followed the curve, his voice husky as he whispered, “You realize, of course, that you shall regret this by the light of a new day.”
Eleven
Regrets. Caroline closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on what he said. But it was the feel of his tongue, the vibrations of his words through her head that held her attention. She turned in his arms, the sensual slide of her skin over his heightening her desire to a fever pitch.
He held her loosely, and Caroline leaned back against the hands clasped at the small of her back. Her breasts filled, missing the contact of his body. Slowly she lifted her arms till her palms flattened against his chest.
She heard his quick intake of breath; but, other than that, he didn’t move. In the firelight his face seemed cast of bronze, the flesh pulled taut, the handsome bones standing out in bold relief.
Caroline could see in his stark expression the price he paid for holding himself still. Especially when she began a careful exploration of his muscled chest. Her fingers spread, following the hard ridges, trailing the line of tattoos.
When her nail skimmed over the hard nub of his male nipple, she felt him tremble. “Caroline.” Her name was filled with raw emotion.
Her hands stilled and her eyes lifted till they met his. The burning passion she saw in the dark depths made her bolder still. “I don’t want to think about tomorrow,” she murmured, her voice breathless. “I don’t want to think about anything but the way you make me feel.”
Her lashes lowered. “The way I feel when I look at you.” Silently her gaze caressed his body, the wide breadth of shoulders, the strong rack of his ribs. “Touch you.” Her fingertip traced a crescent-shaped scar that only seemed to make his body more perfect. Then followed the elongated V of a tattoo down his muscled stomach.
“Please,” she whispered, her eyes locking again with his. “Let me forget everything but you... at least for this night.”
She didn’t wait for his answer, but pressed her lips to the hot skin of his chest. The pounding of his heart thundering in her ear, the salty taste of his skin urged her on. His hands
flexed spasmodically, but he allowed her the freedom to explore.
She wet a trail of discovery down his flat stomach with her tongue, while her fingers tested the lattice of bone and sinew across his back. He still wore a leather breechcloth though it did little to hide the size and power of his manhood.
Her hands moved lower, as did her open mouth. “Let me...” she felt his stomach muscles quiver against her lips. Anticipation coursed through her making the simple job of untying a knot seem endless. But again he allowed her the time she needed. Then he stood before her, tall and straight, legs apart, and gloriously naked. And now Caroline was the one quivering.
She couldn’t stop shaking as she let her hands follow the natural curves of his body. Lightly, lovingly, she touched him, and he seemed to thrust forward, filling her hand with his hard, hard length. Satin over steel, she longed to know more.
At the first touch of her mouth to him, he yelled a shattered word. It was Cherokee, and Caroline couldn’t understand what he roared to the heavens. But she was beyond caring. His hands which had dropped to his side as she moved lower now dug into her hair. With each fresh foray of her tongue, his fingers tightened around her skull.
Caroline’s own fingers clasped the tight curve of his buttocks as she clung to him, savoring his feel... his taste. Savoring, too, the spring of desire that wound tighter and tighter within her own body.
“Stop!” Wolf realized the force with which he shoved her away and dropped to his knees in front of her. His hands still tangled in her curls as he tilted her face up to his. The kiss he gave her was openmouthed and carnal. When he tore his lips away, it was to scrape his teeth along the tense cord of her neck. He bit her earlobe. “Any more of your sweet torture,” he breathed, “and I would have spilled my seed. Besides,” he moved to the underside of her chin. “Now it is my turn.”
He stood, and pulled Caroline gently to her feet. Unable to resist Wolf touched the tip of her breast and watched it tighten. She was so responsive, so giving, and he wanted to give to her in return. Trying to rein in his passions he led her to where he’d hung up the blanket. It was still damp, but he yanked it off the branch and spread it on the ground. Then he lifted Caroline, and lowered her onto the woolen surface.
My Savage Heart (The MacQuaid Brothers) Page 16
