Wild Embrace

by Cassie Edwards

  Four Winds’s eyes focused accusingly on Elizabeth, then turned back to Strong Heart. “This woman’s presence with Strong Heart can also prove dangerous,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “Her being with you could be proof enough of your guilt, not only for having aided an accused criminal in an escape from prison, but also for abducting a white woman. Once the sheriff regains consciousness, he will remember, and recognize her if his posse finds you.”

  Strong Heart rose to his feet. He placed a hand at Four Winds’s elbow and led him toward the grazing horses. “Ah-hah, yes, it is best that you leave,” he murmured. “As for the woman, she stays.”

  “But do you not see the danger in that?” Four Winds persisted, untying his horse’s reins from a tree stump. “She can be the cause of you being taken to the hanging platform.” He placed his free hand on Strong Heart’s shoulder. “Consider carefully your decision about this woman. Is she worth the risk? Is she?”

  “I have learned many ways of being elusive,” Strong Heart said, setting his jaw. “No posse or sheriff will find me.”

  He glanced over his shoulder at Elizabeth. Her beautiful eyes unnerved him. There was no denying the true reason why he would not set her free now that he had her to himself. It was for his own selfish needs that he held her in bondage. She was the embodiment of all temptation. And he never would allow her to leave.

  Never.

  Not even his father could shame him into releasing her. She had stolen his heart, a heart which until now beat for no woman.

  Only her, only Elizabeth, who was now his la-daila.

  Strong Heart turned his attention back to Four Winds. He squared his shoulders proudly. “You say that it is dangerous for the woman to be with me,” he said, stubbornly. “The chances are worse for me if I set her free. She knows too much. And I cannot kill her to silence her. Do you not recognize me still as a man of honor?”

  Four Winds could remember very well his childhood with Strong Heart, and could see that he had not changed. Strong Heart was still a bullheaded, stubborn man. Four Winds knew not to argue with Strong Heart when he had his heart set on something.

  Four Winds looked over at the woman, seeing her loveliness, and was convinced now that his friend’s heart was set on the white woman. Four Wind had seen how Strong Heart had looked at her, and had seen the gentleness with which he had treated her.

  Four Winds knew that Strong Heart saw her as special, perhaps special enough to take as his la-daila, and there was no arguing with that, once any man chose the woman of his heart.

  “Ah-hah, yes, Four Winds knows that Strong Heart is a man of honor, and Four Winds will say no more about your decision concerning the woman,” Four Winds said, dropping his horse’s reins as he stepped close to Strong Heart. He embraced Strong Heart. “Kla-how-ya, good-bye, my friend. Again, mah-sie, thank you.”

  Strong Heart embraced his friend, then stepped back and watched Four Winds mount his horse. They exchanged looks filled with deep emotion. Then Four Winds swung his horse around and rode away in a brisk gallop.

  Strong Heart watched Four Winds until he was lost to the night, then turned slowly around to Elizabeth. She had drawn a blanket around her shoulders, and was staring into the dancing flames of the fire. Strong Heart’s breath caught in his throat as once again he looked on her loveliness. His loins ached for that which he would deny himself until she invited him into her blankets.

  Chapter 9

  Give all to love,

  Obey thy heart....

  —EMERSON

  Now that they were alone, Strong Heart did not know what to expect from Elizabeth. Would she demand to be set free? He moved cautiously to the blanket and sat down beside her. When he looked at her, she did not follow his lead and raise her gaze to meet his. Instead, she stared into the flames of the fire, her jaw set, her eyes filled with a defiant anger.

  Even when Strong Heart began talking to her, she did not budge, nor did she show any sign of even hearing him. When he called her by the Suquamish term for ‘my woman,’ he thought he noticed a flicker of reaction, but just as quickly it was gone.

  “La-daila, there is much to be said between us,” Strong Heart began, his voice soft, yet measured. “Please listen while I tell you the truth about everything. Then if you condemn me, so be it.”

  A dull knot ached within Elizabeth’s chest, she so wanted to be able to turn to him and tell him that she would willingly talk with him, that being with him was thrilling her through and through. But for too many reasons she did not feel free to speak her mind. Just the thought of Strong Heart being no better than the man he had set free from prison made her heart silently cry out to him in pain. For she had discovered this side of him just when she had begun to believe that she was falling in love with him!

  Before the encounter at the prison, before she realized what he was capable of, she had loved the way his mere presence caused her heart to beat so erratically. Even now, while he was so close, she could not deny the wondrous, strange sweetness that seemed to be pressing in on her heart. And the more he spoke the more sense he made, giving her cause to hope that perhaps all of these wrongs could be made right between them!

  But how could he? she despaired to herself. He could never deny having helped an outlaw escape from Copper Hill Prison. She could never forgive him for forcing her to participate, then abducting her, an innocent bystander.

  “La-daila, for so many years Four Winds and I were the best of friends who knew all the secrets of the silent forest; who, together, heard when the bluebird sang his wildest, clearest notes; knew where the scarlet wing hung his nest in the river rushes; and knew why the yellow beak sang his most beautiful song in the springtime.”

  He paused to place another log on the fire.

  Although Elizabeth did not reveal to Strong Heart that she was listening, she was, intently, never offering him a nod or a glance. Her pulse raced and she was feeling more hopeful by the minute that he was that man of compassion she had first thought him to be. And perhaps she could forgive him, but only if he would escort her safely back home, she thought bitterly to herself, knowing how unlikely that was.

  Strong Heart resumed his place beside her and she listened even more raptly, desperately wanting to believe him.

  “As youths, Four Winds and I shared everything,” he said softly. “We shared the hunt, bringing home to our clans our prizes of the day, boasting of each other’s catch to our chieftain fathers. We are of two separate clans of Suquamish, and as we grew older and had to become more diligent in learning the ways of our fathers, we had to give up our childish friendship for the more serious side of life.”

  Again he paused, his eyes melancholy as he looked into the flames of the fire.

  Elizabeth was touched by the sincerity of his words, and the emotion in his voice, yet she still did not reach out to him with words, or a gesture of sympathy.

  When he began talking again, and gave her a slow glance, she jerked her eyes around, not wanting him to know that she had been studying him and imagining her flesh being warmed by his touch.

  She swallowed hard and concentrated on his words.

  “Four Winds and I meet from time to time, sharing talk and dreams of our futures,” Strong Heart said, again turning his eyes away from Elizabeth, not sure if he was reaching her with his explanation. She was stubbornly hiding her feelings, whether they were in his favor or against him.

  “But after Four Winds’s clan of Suquamish moved far to the north toward Canada, we broke all our ties,” Strong Heart continued. “Then I received word that Four Winds had been arrested for riding with criminals—something I could not, would not allow myself to believe. I decided to set my old friend free from the prison, having hoped—no, having known, without a doubt—that Four Winds had been accused unjustly, for I know the honor by which Four Winds guides his life.”

  Strong Heart’s brow furrowed into a deep frown. His eyes narrowed as he spoke in almost a snarl. “Your people would imprison
mine, keeping them from the forests and rivers that our ancestors roamed. They take from us our weapons, our means of feeding and clothing our families. The white man cannot recognize innocence when he sees it, because he himself is guilty of so many crimes against nature and his fellow man. Yet he calls my people savage, just because our customs are different from his, our ways and beliefs foreign to him. Yet we have walked this land before your people ever set eyes on it.”

  Elizabeth was stunned by the strength in his words, and his intense feelings against the white race, yet it did not show in how he treated her. He had risked his life more than once to save her. How could he have, when he obviously hated the white people so much?

  And, oh, what he had said was so true! She had always been aware of the injustices against the plains Indians. She had never thought to consider that it was the same for those who lived elsewhere, such as here in the Pacific Northwest. Now, she realized that her father’s hopes of winning the Suquamish over to his side must surely have been dashed when he met with them about his proposals.

  Strong Heart moved to his knees before Elizabeth, blocking her view of the fire. He placed a finger under her chin and elevated her eyes to meet his. “Have you listened to what I have said?” he asked, his voice filled with kindness; filled with gentleness. “The white people are wrong about the Suquamish. Among my people there are many men of vision. There is great honesty and loyalty, noble sacrifice, unselfishness, and devotion to peace. Tell me that you hear me and understand, that you believe.”

  Elizabeth felt deeply touched by his words, and overwhelmed with relief that she had not been wrong about him. He was a man of compassion, of deep understanding, a man of clear vision and intelligence.

  And she could not control the beating of her heart when she gazed into his steel-gray eyes, his lips so close—his voice so suddenly soft and sweet.

  “I have heard you,” she murmured. “And . . . and . . . I believe you. Truly, I do.”

  “Do you understand now why I set my friend free?” he asked, leaning closer to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, drawing her nearer to him. “While caged, Four Winds was the me-gee-see, the eagle, his wings no longer able to spread and fly. He had to be set free, for to cage an innocent man is a crime against all humanity!”

  “I’m trying to understand everything,” Elizabeth murmured, blinking her eyes nervously. “And I think I do. But please, Strong Heart, set me free. While you hold me captive, I too am like the eagle. You must allow me to return home, where I belong.”

  “You belong with me, not in the white man’s world,” Strong Heart said, drawing her even closer to him, their lips only a breath away. “Do you not see that? Do you not feel it? Your heart no longer beats only for yourself. It also beats for me, the man you are meant to be with.”

  A great heat rose to Elizabeth’s cheeks; she was speechless over what he had just said. She knew she should be frightened of his declaration, yet how could she be, when she had such strong feelings for him?

  She wanted to make her own choice, not be forced to be with a man—no matter how wonderful he made her feel.

  “I cannot allow you to go free, and not only because I have never felt this way about any other woman,” Strong Heart said. “I am to be chief of my people one day. I cannot allow you to jeopardize this that I have prepared for all my life. If you were to point an accusing finger at me and have me caged by the white man, I would not be the only one to suffer. Many Suquamish people would be punished.”

  His fingers dug more tightly into her arms. “No, to he said determinedly. “I cannot let you go.”

  When he saw a defiant anger enter her eyes, he grabbed her wrists and lowered her to the ground before she had the chance to rise and run away from him.

  “Everything that I have told you is true,” he said, leaning in close to her. He feathered soft kisses along the lovely contours of her face. “Trust me. I mean you no harm. Remember that I gave you the chance to flee at the prison, before you stripped away my mask and discovered my identity. If I had meant you harm, I would have never given you the chance to leave. I would have taken you then as my prisoner, without any questions asked, or apologies for having abducted you.”

  Elizabeth could scarcely listen to his words as her senses were swept away by his lips and the press of his body against hers. She lay on her back on the dew-dampened grass, drinking him in, and her anger slowly waned. “Are you apologizing for having abducted me?” she asked, their eyes locking.

  “If that is what you want, ah-hah, yes, I apologize,” he said thickly.

  “If you apologize so easily, why don’t you let me go?” she asked, her pulse racing as his lips came close to hers again. “I promise never to say a word. Truly . . . I do.”

  “I’m sorry, la-daila, but your promises alone are not enough protection against being hunted down and arrested, he said, again brushing a kiss across her beckoning lips. “Did not the sheriff see you just prior to my arrival at the prison, and only moments before I knocked him unconscious?”

  “Yes,” she said, her voice weakening, the building passion making her feel crazed and confused.

  “If you were to return to Seattle, the sheriff would ask you many questions,” he said, urging her to appreciate the danger. “Under pressure, you might break down and tell everything.”

  He paused, every fiber of his being tense and poised for her response.

  “Are you never going to allow me to return home?” she asked, her voice breaking.

  “It’s not possible,” he said too matter-of-factly, bringing Elizabeth abruptly back to her senses. She began shoving at him, trying to push him away from her.

  But the more she shoved, the more tightly he held her.

  “You are more beautiful than all the skies,” Strong Heart whispered passionately against her cheek, and when his lips came to hers, she forgot everything but how her body thrilled to his kiss.

  Her breath quickened and she tilted her face back, letting herself feel the strange sinking downward, the wondrous swirling sensation deep within her. When his hands sought her breasts and kneaded them through the fabric of her dress, she felt aflame with desire for him. Blind to every risk, she melted against him and twined her arms around his neck, returning his kiss with complete abandon.

  A great clap of thunder drew them apart. Elizabeth winced when a bolt of lightning split the sky above them, followed by another boom of thunder. When a few desultory raindrops began to fall, Strong Heart rose quickly to his feet and went to his belongings and began setting up a tent.

  When the tent was erected and Strong Heart returned to Elizabeth, offering her his hand, she accepted it. He led her to the tent, her knees weak and her heart pounding, not knowing what would happen next, and afraid of how she might respond.

  She was baffled when he left her at the flap of the tent and returned to his bedroll beside the fire. A part of her wished that he would stay with her; another part of her was glad that he hadn’t.

  Struggling with her feelings, she entered the tent and stretched out between the blankets, wondering about this man she could not help but love with all of her heart.

  “Heart,” she whispered to herself. “Strong Heart. What a lovely name.”

  She moved to her knees and crawled to the tent opening. “I adore your name,” she said, glad to have something to say to break the silence between them.

  Strong Heart rolled over to his side and smiled at her. “Mah-sie, thank you,” he murmured, blinking raindrops from his lashes as the storm began to thicken the air. “The name means courage.”

  “My name also has a special meaning,” Elizabeth said, glancing up at the sheets of gray falling from the sky. “My mother told me many years ago that my name means consecrated by oath to God.”

  They exchanged warm smiles and she returned to her blankets.

  Strong Heart wondered about her name, and her god. He had always felt that God was where one finds him. And her god had most surely throw
n away the mold when he had made her.

  Elizabeth listened to the rain hitting the tent with such great force, she thought it might collapse on top of her.

  But it was not herself she was concerned about. It was Strong Heart, still lying in the open, surely becoming drenched to the bone!

  Determinedly, Elizabeth went to the tent opening again. “Please come in out of the rain,” she said, wiping sprays of water from her face as she held the flap aside. “Strong Heart, there is room in here for both of us. Come on. There is no need for you to stay outside. You will catch a chill at the least.”

  Dripping and cold, Strong Heart went to the tent. Once inside, Elizabeth wrapped a dry blanket around his shoulders. “You must get out of those wet clothes,” she said, blushing at the thought of him undressing in her presence. “I . . . I . . . shall turn my head. Please do it quickly, Strong Heart. You don’t want to become ill.”

  Amused, Strong Heart watched her turn her head from him, then dropped the blankets away. Swiftly, he yanked the clinging white man’s clothes off and tossed them from the tent. They were of no further use to him. He would dress in buckskin tomorrow for his journey through the forest toward his home. He was glad to be returning to his people and his familiar ways.

  He drew on the blanket, wrapping it snugly around his body. “You no longer have to keep your eyes from me,” he said lightly.

  Smiling abashedly, Elizabeth turned her face back to him. She blushed again when she saw him dressed in only the blanket. “Are you warmer now?” she asked softly, sitting down on another blanket, wrapping it around her shoulders.

  “Ah-hah.” Strong Heart said, settling down beside her.

  “Well, I . . . I guess we’d best get some sleep,” Elizabeth said, her eyes wide, wondering if he could hear the thunderous beating of her heart. She could feel it in her ears, pounding like a thousand drums.

  “Ah-hah,” Strong Heart said, easing down onto his side, so that she would have plenty of room to lie down.