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You are the wife I want. One wife, for always." "Didn't you hear what I said? I can't a wife to you. I'm--" A shudder shook her, and she hugged her waist. "I'm a coward, Hunter. As if you haven't figured that out by now! And it's not going to get better. I thought it might, but it's only gotten worse! If only I were more like Amy. After all she's been through, she's--" "You are not Aye-mee," he inserted gently. "She is a child, with my st..
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Catherine Anderson |
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I come for the woman," the Comanche repeated, never taking his gaze from her. "And I bring my finest horses to console her father for his loss. Fifty, all trained to ride." His black sidestepped and whinnied. The Indian swayed easily with his mount. "Send me the woman, and have no fear. She will come to no harm walking in my footsteps, for I am strong and swift. She will never feel hunger, for I am a fine hunter. My lodge will shelter her f..
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Catherine Anderson |
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7fda2bc
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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 ..
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Catherine Anderson |
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0d4f8bd
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Leaning her head back, she began her nightly ritual, wringing the rag to trickle the scented water along her throat and over her breasts. In summer, the customary week between tub baths seemed like an eternity. Running the cloth slowly over her body, she closed her eyes. Lands, it was so hot. A female could cook in this country, wearing al those clothes. She had finished bathing and was rinsing her drawers in the leftover water when a coyot..
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Catherine Anderson |
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The child bounded onto the bed, landing on all fours, her round face wreathed in a smile. " " "What is your name?" Hunter translated, tousling the imp's hair as he hunkered beside the bed. "Loh-rhett-ah, eh? , Blue Eyes." To Loretta, he said, "Warrior's daughter, , Blackbird." Blackbird giggled and glanced at her grandmother, who stood watching from across the room. "Loh-rhett-ah!" Loretta scooted toward the head of the bed to press her b..
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Catherine Anderson |
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Woman with Many Robes crossed the packed grass-and-dirt floor and leaned forward to peer at Loretta. After babbling shrilly for several seconds, all the while waving her spoon, she crooned, " ," and placed a gentle hand on Loretta's hair. "My mother says the poor little one must have no fear." Woman with Many Robes cast her son a suspicious glance. When it became apparent that he planned to say no more, she brandished her spoon at him. Wit..
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Catherine Anderson |
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a83c535
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Hunter drew her back against his chest and bent his head to press his face to her hair. "Blue Eyes..." He trailed his lips down one of her braids until he found the sweet curve of her neck. "Make a picture for me, yes? So I can see what you fear." "What good will that do?" "Fear is a strong enemy. I would stand beside you." She sighed. "Hunter, are what I fear." Releasing her shoulders, he slipped his arms around her, placing his palms be..
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Catherine Anderson |
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Hunter, are what I fear." Releasing her shoulders, he slipped his arms around her, placing his palms beneath her breasts. He smiled at the way she gripped his wrists to make sure his hands didn't wander. "I strike fear into you because I am a man?" "It isn't funny." "I do not laugh. It is a sad thing, yes, that your husband is a man. A very terrible thing." She rewarded him with a tremulous laugh, looking at him over her shoulder. "It t..
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Catherine Anderson |
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Willow leaves swayed before Hunter's eyes, but his gaze held fast, riveted on the slender girl as she tried to break his lance. With each swing of her arms, he clenched his teeth, growing angrier. Then the absurdity of it hit him, and a reluctant smile tugged at his lips. She knew he was out here. Grown men quivered in fear at the sound of his name, but a frail girl dared to defy him? He recalled how she had looked when she walked out to fa..
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Catherine Anderson |
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I'll do anything, Hunter. I'll serve you on my knees. I'll be your loyal slave forever. I'll kiss the ground you walk on, anything." He disengaged his hand from hers and grasped her shoulders, hauling her to her feet. "I want you in my buffalo robes, not making kisses in the dirt."
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Catherine Anderson |
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When everyone had been dispatched, he turned to Loretta, one dark eyebrow cocked, his indigo eyes twinkling with laughter. "One wife and only one wife, forever with no horizon?" Loretta's gaze chased off, and her cheeks went scarlet. Clasping her hands behind her, she rocked back on her heels, then forward onto her toes, pursing her lips. "I told you, Hunter, I refuse to play second fiddle."
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Catherine Anderson |
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Blue Eyes..." He trailed his lips down one of her braids until he found the sweet curve of her neck. "Make a picture for me, yes? So I can see what you fear." "What good will that do?" "Fear is a strong enemy. I would stand beside you." She sighed. "Hunter, are what I fear." Releasing her shoulders, he slipped his arms around her, placing his palms beneath her breasts. He smiled at the way she gripped his wrists to make sure his hands did..
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Catherine Anderson |
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I strike fear into you because I am a man?" "It isn't funny." "I do not laugh. It is a sad thing, yes, that your husband is a man. A very terrible thing." She rewarded him with a tremulous laugh, looking at him over her shoulder. "It that you're a man, exactly. It's what will happen between us you're a man." "Many good things." He felt her tense. "Little one, you will trust, eh? I make no lies. What is between us will be very good."
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Catherine Anderson |
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ddfda98
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I want to go home very badly." Loretta fixed her gaze on her captor's medallion. All around her, the smell of his world permeated her senses, leather, dust, smoke, and unidentifiable foods. She was probably out of her mind to trust him. But, oh, how she wanted to. To Aunt Rachel and Amy. It was a fact that he hadn't lied to her--except for the time he had promised to cut out her tongue and hadn't. She couldn't very well hold that against ..
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Catherine Anderson |
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It is good?" "Mm," she said, taking another bite and brushing her palm clean on her bloomers. "Delicious." "Dee-lish-us?" For the space of a heartbeat she forgot to be afraid of him, and a smile spread across her lips before she realized it was coming. When he smiled back at her, the strangest feeling swept over her, an inexplicable warmth. He had smiled at her before, of course, but never like this. "Delicious," she repeated. "That means ..
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Catherine Anderson |
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You are dee-lish-us. Like sunshine, eh?" Unnerved by the gleam that had stolen into his eyes, Loretta caught hold of his hand to disentangle it from her hair. Just because there were no scalps in his lodge didn't mean he was above taking one if the mood struck. "Only things you can are delicious." The moment the words passed her lips, she recalled how he had nibbled at her neck. Heat crept up her nape. As if he guessed her thoughts, his g..
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Catherine Anderson |
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You will drink more?" "No, thank you." She felt suddenly tired and wished he would leave so she could sleep. Instead he stoppered the canteen and sat back down on the bed. She drew up her knees and stared at him. He stared back. The silence grew heavy, and so did her eyelids. "You grow weary," he said softly, bending forward to drop the canteen and cup onto the dirt floor. "You will lie on your back, eh?" The thought struck her that he migh..
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Catherine Anderson |
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Would you let go? It's indecent, you touching me like this." "In-dee-sent?" "Indecent. Shameful. Would you let go? It is my foot, you know." "And you are my woman."
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Catherine Anderson |
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You will lie on your back? No harm, eh? I will watch." "Must you?" " " Loretta had no inkling what that meant. "Must you watch? It makes me nervous. I can't run away." "Nuhr-vus?" "Nervous." She shrugged one shoulder and then tried to pry his leathery fingers from around her ankle. "Nervous...uneasy." She gave her leg a shake. His hand moved with her foot, his grip unbreakable. "Would you let go? It's indecent, you touching me like this." ..
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Catherine Anderson |
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At the edge of the village, Loretta saw a group of men milling, their horses ground-tied and outfitted for travel. "Are those men going with you to find Amy?" "Yes. I must hurry." Hunter's pace slowed as they approached Warrior's lodge. Outside the doorway he drew to a complete stop and grasped Loretta's shoulders, forcing her to meet his gaze. "You will walk in Warrior's footsteps like a woman behind her husband? Until I am beside you agai..
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Catherine Anderson |
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I come for the woman," the Comanche repeated, never taking his gaze from her. "And I bring my finest horses to console her father for his loss. Fifty, all trained to ride." His black sidestepped and whinnied. The Indian swayed easily with his mount. "Send me the woman, and have no fear. She will come to no harm walking in my footsteps, for I am strong and swift. She will never feel hunger, for I am a fine hunter. My lodge will shelter her f..
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Catherine Anderson |
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I am young. I will give her many fine sons. She will not wail over my death for many winters.
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Catherine Anderson |
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He pulled on her leg and slid her toward him until she lay on her back. Then he released her ankle to loom over her, planting a hand on each side of her. Loretta stared up at his dark face, her heart pounding, her mouth dry. After struggling with him so many times, she knew how easily he could pin her beneath his weight, how quickly he could capture her hands and render her helpless. The gleam of lust in his eyes terrified her. What was to ..
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Catherine Anderson |
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Would you let go? It is my foot, you know." "And you are my woman." She threw her head back and sighed. He had a grip like an iron vise and outweighed her by a good ninety pounds, every ounce muscle. For a moment she had lost sight of that and let him lull her into a false sense of security. He pulled on her leg and slid her toward him until she lay on her back. Then he released her ankle to loom over her, planting a hand on each side o..
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Catherine Anderson |
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An hour later he lay awake beside Loretta, staring at the firelight that played upon the walls of his lodge. Red Buffalo's words haunted him. If Loretta had to choose, would she forsake him for her people? He knew she was awake by the sound of her breathing, but her voice still startled him when she spoke. "Hunter, what's wrong? Surely you're not still stewing over the scalp. It upset me, but I'm over it now." He turned to regard her. There..
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Catherine Anderson |
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Perhaps we have acted wrongly, sending you to fetch her. Perhaps it was meant for her to come of her own free will." Hunter swallowed back an argument. Though he didn't believe his little blue-eyes would ever return to Comancheria freely, his parents had agreed that he should take her home, and that was enough. "What will lead her back to me, ?" Woman with Many Robes smiled. "Fate, Hunter. It guides our footsteps. It will guide hers."
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Catherine Anderson |
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What will lead her back to me, ?" Woman with Many Robes smiled. "Fate, Hunter. It guides our footsteps. It will guide hers."
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Catherine Anderson |
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Oh, Hunter, if I rode into this village with the and killed your people, how would you feel?" His face tightened. "You would kill my mother? Warrior and Maiden? The little ones?" "No. And you wouldn't Aunt Rachel or Amy or Uncle Henry. That isn't the question, is it?" "This Comanche cannot change his face." "And I can't change mine." He traced the hollow of her cheek, his mouth tipping into a sad smile. "I like your face, Blue Eyes. It is..
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Catherine Anderson |
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This Comanche cannot change his face." "And I can't change mine."
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Catherine Anderson |
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I like your face, Blue Eyes. It is carved upon my heart.
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Catherine Anderson |
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This Comanche cannot change his face." "And I can't change mine." He traced the hollow of her cheek, his mouth tipping into a sad smile. "I like your face, Blue Eyes. It is carved upon my heart."
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Catherine Anderson |
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The little boy touched his dust-streaked hand to Loretta's hair and made a breathless "ooh" sound. He smelled like any little boy who had been hard at play, a bit sweaty yet somehow sweet, with the definite odor of dog and horse clinging to him. Blackbird concentrated on Loretta's blue eyes, staring into them with unflinching intensity. The younger girl ran reverent fingertips over the flounces on Loretta's bloomers, saying, " ," over and o..
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Catherine Anderson |
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It was easier said than done. For a moment Loretta struggled, unable to make up her mind. Her child had the right to know his or her father. And the chance would be lost unless she found some courage. Did she want to spend her life peering into her looking glass, as Aunt Rachel had, searching for herself, berating herself? Loretta pulled her arm from Hunter's grasp. If she was going, she had to hurry before Hunter gave up and left. She sh..
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Catherine Anderson |
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As she left the wagons far behind, she felt more alone than she ever had in her life. Moonlight bathed the flats. Loretta turned in a slow circle but saw no one. If Hunter was out here, why didn't he show himself? The call of the coyote trailed skyward again. Loretta whirled toward the sound and ran toward the rise. As she crested the slope, Hunter loomed up out of the shadows, tall and dark, his hair drifting in the wind. His upper chest a..
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Catherine Anderson |
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You will sleep." The low timbre of his voice vibrated through her. "I will watch."
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Catherine Anderson |
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Your father tells me you will take the woman back. Cousin, this is Kill her. If you cannot spill her blood, I can." Loretta knotted her hand into a fist and pressed it against her waist. Hunter glanced toward her, then stood. "You will make no talk of killing, Red Buffalo." Red Buffalo snorted with disgust. "I will make more than talk. I demand you bring her to the central fire." Central fire? Loretta's breath stopped midway from her thro..
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Catherine Anderson |
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She is my woman. She stays in my lodge.
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Catherine Anderson |
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go. Until your loyalty to me is greater than your hatred." "I have stepped between you and enemy rifles!" "And now you make war on my woman. Do not test me again, cousin." The muscles across Red Buffalo's back knotted and twitched. He stood there a moment, quivering with rage, then spun and spat in Loretta's direction, his black eyes livid with hatred. "Your woman," he sneered. "She sickens my gut. You forget your wife who died for a yellow..
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Catherine Anderson |
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She stared at Hunter; he stared at the doorway. When at last he looked at her, his eyes churned darkly with emotion. He returned to his pallet and sat down, legs crossed at the ankles in front of him. With a sigh, he reclaimed his flint and bone punch, bending over the flat rock he used as a base for his work. "You will sleep. I will watch." The stony mask of anger that hooded his face did a poor job of concealing his pain. He loved his cou..
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Catherine Anderson |
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Loretta swallowed. "Hunter?" His indigo gaze met hers. "Thank you. For--defending me." Almost imperfectibly, he inclined his head. "Sleep, Blue Eyes. It is well."
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Catherine Anderson |
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Something deep within Loretta knotted, twisted. She hugged her middle and tried desperately not to think, to deny the reality she could not accept, that Hunter, the legendary killer, was a man who thought, and felt, and loved--just like any other. He even mourned a dead wife. He was also a man true to his word. He had promised to defend her, and he had.
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Catherine Anderson |
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The next three days passed in a blur. Most of the time Loretta slept, while Hunter watched over her. When she awoke he was always nearby, either inside the lodge or within sight beyond the doorway. Instead of feeling nervous, she drew comfort from his presence. When she thirsted he brought her water. When she hungered he provided her food. When the night grew chill it was his buffalo robes she huddled under. On those occasions when she need..
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Catherine Anderson |
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So we go to fight, do we?" "I go." "Then we go with you." Hog fastened his gaze on the huddled shape under the mesquite bush for a moment. "You'd do the same." Hunter mounted up. "You're certain you want to go? I'll understand if you stay." "I am with you. Do you plan to leave any of them alive?" "This Comanche will show them the same mercy they showed her." Hunter's lips thinned. "None at all." Amy was still sleeping when Hunter returned t..
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Catherine Anderson |
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Throwing a frightened glance at the wagons, she threw herself across his body. "Don't shoot!" Her scream pierced the air. "Don't shoot, damn you! Don't shoot!" A hush fell over the flats. The whites had already ceased firing, afraid of killing one of their own. The Comanches, even those who had never seen Hunter's golden-haired wife, had been told about her and lowered their rifles. Swift Antelope leaped off his horse and ran out. Warrior, ..
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Catherine Anderson |