|
5fcf642
|
You will learn not to fight me, Yellow Hair. It is a promise I make for you.
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
ba1f465
|
The outcome of their battle was a foregone conclusion, and Loretta knew it. His friends encouraged him, whooping with ribald laughter each time her ruffles flashed. She snatched the dirty peace flag from the wooden shaft and threw it to the earth, grinding it beneath the heel of her shoe. After fending off several more passes, exhaustion claimed its victory, and Loretta realized the folly in fighting. She stood motionless, breasts heaving, ..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
d06d942
|
With a start, she noticed the warrior had stretched out a hand to her. A wide leather band encircled his wrist to protect him from his bowstring. Staring at his dark palm and strong fingers, she shook her head in denial. " ," he said in a low voice. Guiding his stallion closer, he bent to touch her chin. Her eyelid quivered when he brushed at a tear on her cheek. " ," he whispered. The words made no sense. Puzzled, she met his gaze. " " Rai..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
5f94927
|
Blue Eyes, you will drink?" Loretta waved him away. A long silence settled over them. Then Hunter grasped her chin and forced her to look at him. " , seeking death, it is not wisdom." He wedged the canteen between his knees and caught her hand, placing it on his muscular upper arm. " , it is yours. No harm will come to you walking in my footsteps. You will trust this Comanche, eh? It is a promise I make for you." Loretta stared into his ind..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
ccf98d9
|
Blue Eyes, you will drink?" Loretta waved him away. A long silence settled over them. Then Hunter grasped her chin and forced her to look at him. " , seeking death, it is not wisdom." He wedged the canteen between his knees and caught her hand, placing it on his muscular upper arm. " , it is yours. No harm will come to you walking in my footsteps. You will trust this Comanche, eh? It is a promise I make for you."
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
fbfeef1
|
We will meet again. I will come to you like the wind, from nowhere. Remember the face of this Comanche. I am your destiny.
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
7ce5a7b
|
Grasping her chin, Hunter dug his fingertips and thumb into her cheeks. When at last her jaws parted, he held the canteen over her yawning mouth and began trickling water down her. To his surprise, she went perfectly still. By breathing carefully through her nose, she was able to let him fill her mouth without swallowing. The excess water sluiced out onto her cheeks and ran into her hair. Hunter couldn't plug the canteen and lay it down, no..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
436b965
|
Come, let's get in the house. You never know with those savages. They're just as likely to double back to catch us unaware." The door to the cabin stood open, and Loretta followed the others inside. Turning, she faced the men, her eyes full of questions. Henry leaned his rifle against the all. "Ain't no rhyme nor reason to what them critters do sometimes. I don't reckon they'll be back." Tom, still standing by the window, frowned and shook ..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
981af3b
|
My gawd, Henry!" Tom cried. "You ain't seriously sayin' you'd keep her here?" A flush crept up Henry's neck. "Of course not." Rachel glanced uneasily at her husband, then back at Tom. "How long would it take for you to round up men and get back?" "I figger a day, ridin' hard and barrin' trouble. It'd give us a fightin' chance, Henry." Tom shrugged. "She wouldn't have to stay there for an unbearable long time. Hunter is bound to start ruttin..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
dc5ccab
|
What did the Great Ones expect of him? Would the girl die if he pressed onward? And if he took her home to her people, what then? What of the prophecy? What of his people? As if he heard Hunter's thoughts, Warrior moved his pony closer and said, "You must trust the Great Ones, If you are certain she is the woman of the prophecy, then all will be well. The song cannot come to pass if she dies." Hunter tucked in his chin to study the girl's..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
0e25972
|
Hunter tucked in his chin to study the girl's mud-streaked face and found himself wondering how he ever could have thought her ugly. Could a shaft of sunlight be ugly? A sparkle of moonlight upon water?
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
4dc7efa
|
She is the woman. Already, part of the prophecy has come to pass, eh? Her voice has been returned to her." "And she has stolen your Comanche heart, has she not?" "She has great courage for one so small, but my heart is my own. As it will always be."
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
be0fac3
|
You must trust the Great Ones, If you are certain she is the woman of the prophecy, then all will be well. The song cannot come to pass if she dies." Hunter tucked in his chin to study the girl's mud-streaked face and found himself wondering how he ever could have thought her ugly. Could a shaft of sunlight be ugly? A sparkle of moonlight upon water? "I'm certain, Warrior. She is the woman. Already, part of the prophecy has come to pass, ..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
39578ed
|
You will drink?" "No," she whispered. Hunter uncapped the gourd and pressed it upon her. "You must drink, Blue Eyes." "No." Hunter retied the canteen strap to his surcingle, swallowing down a surge of anger. "You will not die. This Comanche has spoken it. It will be for nothing, this suffering." She leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. Hunter tightened his hand on the reins, frustration and fear building within him. Las..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
cee7ca5
|
Somewhat revived by the water she had been forced to consume, Loretta sat astride the mare, suffering the confines of Hunter's arm around her waist and the familiarity of his hand on her midriff. His broad chest served as a prop for her back; soon she leaned against him, letting her body undulate with his in rhythm with the horse's gait. After about forty minutes of silence, he bent his head close to hers. " My arm is strong, no?" He hugge..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
fba86cd
|
Why are we camped so far from the others?" she asked, striving to keep her voice calm. A fire had leapt to life some distance away, and she could hear the faint sound of the others talking. "Your Aye-mee must not see," he replied in a clipped monotone. "See what?" she asked shakily. "The games we will play," he said softly."
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
b8f4609
|
Afterward Hunter drew her gently into his arms and reminded her of the promises he had made her, that she would never experience brutality or shame in his arms, only love. "How can you not hear the song my heart sings, Blue Eyes?" Loretta knew he was referring to far more than his lovemaking." --
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
8b9dc95
|
The Comanche rode in a wide circle around the frightened, riderless horses and tossed Amy into the arms of a fellow Indian who waited in the ranks. The little girl's indignant screeching filled the air. Loretta lifted the Spencer carbine to her shoulder, leveling the sights on the Comanche as he circled back to her. The bells on his moccasins tinkled merrily with each movement of his horse. "Let me go!" Amy screamed. "You stinkin' savage." ..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
4443a6f
|
The Comanche rode in a wide circle around the frightened, riderless horses and tossed Amy into the arms of a fellow Indian who waited in the ranks. The little girl's indignant screeching filled the air. Loretta lifted the Spencer carbine to her shoulder, leveling the sights on the Comanche as he circled back to her. The bells on his moccasins tinkled merrily with each movement of his horse. "Let me go!" Amy screamed. "You stinkin' savage." ..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
03bff25
|
She blinked and forced herself to focus on him. Laughter twinkled in his eyes. She realized that since he had decided not to kill her, he was, for some reason she couldn't imagine, playing a hideous game, terrifying her to test her mettle. She caught hold of his lance and shoved it aside, lifting her head in defiance. Chuckling low in his chest, he leaned over his thigh, making a fist in her hair. His grip brought tears to her eyes. As he t..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
5da290a
|
Releasing her, he struck her lightly on the arm. Wheeling his horse, he glanced toward the windows of the house and thumped his chest with a broad fist. "I claim her!"
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
3ec7e9d
|
As he turned her face to study her, he said, "You have more courage than you have strength, Yellow Hair. It is not wise to fight when you cannot win." Looking up at his carved features and the arrogant set of his mouth, she longed for the strength to jerk him off his horse. He wasn't just taunting her, he was challenging her, mocking her. "You will yield. Look at me and know the face of your master. Remember it well." Riding high on humilia..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
7b61313
|
Releasing her, he struck her lightly on the arm. Wheeling his horse, he glanced toward the windows of the house and thumped his chest with a broad fist. "I claim her!" Loretta staggered, watching in numb disbelief as Hunter pranced his stallion in a circle around her. Warily she turned, keeping him in sight, unsure of what he might do. He rode erect, his eyes touching on her dress, her face, her hair, as if everything about her were a cur..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
430e62f
|
Hunter spread the pallet and motioned for her to lie next to him. Keeping her back to him, she stretched out on the fur, putting as much distance between them as the pallet allowed. She felt him wrapping a length of her hair around his wrist and intertwining it in his fingers. She prayed he wouldn't touch her--not in front of Tom. There was no God in heaven. A heartbeat later, Hunter's steely arm encircled her waist, and his large hand spla..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
65ae92e
|
a small girl cried, dancing around the mare's legs, her button eyes gleaming, her plump brown bottom jiggling so hard that she was about to lose her breechcloth. " " Hunter pried Loretta's frantic fingers from his arm and slid off the horse. Smiling at the child, he leaned over and retied her breechcloth thong. " , yes." Glancing up at Loretta, he said, "She is a yellow-hair, and she is mine."
|
|
|
catherine anderson |
|
7a48693
|
Glancing up at Loretta, he said, "She is a yellow-hair, and she is mine."
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
6c28137
|
You are Comanche now, yes?" he said hopefully. "One with us." Indefinable emotions played across her face. "I'm married to a Comanche. I love him. But I'll never a Comanche." Hunter studied her features, once so repulsive to him, now so cherished. He ran a finger up the fragile bridge of her nose, then traced the line of her brow, acutely conscious of the small bones that shaped her face. Protectiveness welled within him. "You are one wit..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
3fb50e3
|
You will drink?" Her eyes glittered up at him, so filled with hatred that a chill ran up his spine. Hunter grasped her chin again. "Her nose, Warrior. And this time, turn loose when she starts to swallow or we drown her." " will drown her. I'm just helping." By the time the tenth swallow had been accomplished, Hunter dripped sweat, Warrior looked sick, and the girl was limp with exhaustion. Yet still she fought. Hunter's admiration for h..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
aa78cf7
|
Loretta snuggled deeply into silken furs, trying to escape the persistent hand that shook her shoulder and the voice that called to her. Not her name, anyway. What kind of name was that? "Blue Eyes, you will be awake now. Home...you wish for home?" Amy and Aunt Rachel. The gray down quilt. Pork slab and eggs for breakfast. Coffee on the porch when the sun peeked over the horizon and streaked the sky with crimson. To laughter and love a..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
2d9594e
|
I thank you for that, Loretta. It was mighty fine, and even if you don't never marry me, I'll have it to remember." He gave her a little push toward the door. "You git on back in the house now." As revolting as she had found the kiss, Loretta hesitated. At times, her silence rose around her like a wall. "I'll be careful, and there's no need for thanks." He flashed a grin. "Don't stand there lookin' silly. You only think you can't talk, girl..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
ec7462a
|
And I have blown like the wind, yes? Angry because you sleep away from me?" "No. But I know you have every right." "So you wait for my anger, and it does not come." He turned her in his arms and raised her chin so he could look into her eyes. "And the fear grows, until it is big like a buffalo?" "Yes," she admitted in a quavery little voice. Hunter sighed and pressed his cheek against the top of her head. "Ah, little one, I am sure enough a..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
79be040
|
It was my wish to make your fear small, not big. To become your good friend, not your enemy." "Oh, Hunter, I wish we be friends again. Remember our journey to my wooden walls? Sometimes--I think about those times, and--" She broke off and gave an exasperated groan. "I felt so close to you then, and I was so sad to say good-bye." "And now your heart does not sing friendship for me?" "You're my " "I wish to be your friend." He leaned back ..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
cdd564e
|
You will be my friend again?" he asked huskily. "We will make laughter together, yes? And you will lie beside me when we sleep, with no fear, because my hand upon you is the hand of your good friend." "I'd like to be friends again--truly I would." "Then it will be so."
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
42e012b
|
It was my wish to make your fear small, not big. To become your good friend, not your enemy." "Oh, Hunter, I wish we be friends again. Remember our journey to my wooden walls? Sometimes--I think about those times, and--" She broke off and gave an exasperated groan. "I felt so close to you then, and I was so sad to say good-bye." "And now your heart does not sing friendship for me?" "You're my " "I wish to be your friend." He leaned back ..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
5d2076b
|
I'd like to be friends again--truly I would." "Then it will be so." He nuzzled her ear. "But Hunter, don't you see? We're " "Ah, yes, married." Hunter's mind circled the word, trying to imagine what images it conjured for her. "And good friends, yes? Trust. This last time. My hand upon you has brought pain?" "No," she whispered hoarsely. "I have beaten you?" "No." She pressed closer to him and encircled his neck with her arms. "Oh, Hunter,..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
2f46335
|
Hunter slipped from the bed and grabbed his breeches to pull them on. Bathed in moonlight, the planes of his body were gilded with silver, its contours cast into delineative shadow. Clutching a fur to her chest, Loretta sat up, pretending not to notice. She did, though, and what she saw set her pulse to skittering. Perhaps beautiful wasn't an appropriate adjective for a man, but it was the only word that came to her. Watching him, she was, ..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
8362cf8
|
Ah, yes, this is the way of it, eh? A heathen and his woman?" His face twisted in a sneer as he rolled her sensitive flesh between his finger and thumb, sending shocks of sensation shooting into her belly. "Hunter, the one who rapes and tortures? That is me." Abandoning her breast, he rocked back on his heels and jerked up her skirt. "This is very good, Blue Eyes. The animal in me likes having you tied." With that, he stretched out beside h..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
e4df6ab
|
Hunter slipped from the bed and grabbed his breeches to pull them on. Bathed in moonlight, the planes of his body were gilded with silver, its contours cast into delineative shadow. Clutching a fur to her chest, Loretta sat up, pretending not to notice. She did, though, and what she saw set her pulse to skittering. Perhaps beautiful wasn't an appropriate adjective for a man, but it was the only word that came to her.
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
1608f93
|
Watching him, she was, for the first time in her life, appreciative of the male form, the smooth play of muscle in motion, the subtle grace in strength. Lean tendons roped his buttocks and thighs. When he turned slightly she glimpsed his manhood, jutting forth, hard and proud from a mahogany nest of short curly hair. Her throat tightened, and deep within her there welled feelings she could scarcely credit, longing, tenderness, delicious exc..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
36eca91
|
Cinching the drawstring of his pants, he tied a quick bowknot and extended a hand to her. For an instant Loretta was swept back in time to that first afternoon, when he had commanded she place her palm across his. She had been so terrified then, but no longer. His arm was her shield, just as he had promised.
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
c87f757
|
His arm was her shield, just as he had promised.
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
0b2ce98
|
You rip my heart out and it should not hurt?" His teeth closed on her earlobe, nipping lightly, sending shivers over her skin. "You spit upon all that I am, and it should not hurt? You abandon me, you dishonor me, and it should not hurt?"
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
8124799
|
Jumpin' Jehoshaphat, there's Injuns in the yard!" Loretta catapulted upward and landed on all fours in the middle of the bed. Peeking out over the windowsill, she looked at the yard and saw--just that: the yard. Not an Indian in sight. Amy reared back, her eyes the size of cow pies. Loretta skewered her with a murderous glare. "Well, it might've worked." Relief made Loretta giddy. She flopped down on the mattress and hugged her pillow. Her ..
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |
|
bd91a9c
|
Studying her small face, Hunter realized two things: he didn't want her to be like anyone else, and, right or wrong, he had to bring this torturous waiting to an end, for both their sakes.
|
|
|
Catherine Anderson |