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| Link | Quote | Stars | Tags | Author |
| b6f951c | In a voice that rasped with frustration as well as tender amusement, Hunter said, "You have such a great want for me that we must hurry, yes?" Her spine snapped taut, and she leaned her head back to look at him. He met her gaze with a lazy smile, trying not to think about how her nipples grazed his skin, how torturous it was to feel her hips pressing forward against him. Working one hand loose, he carefully brushed the tears from her cheeks.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| b578b45 | Blue Eyes, we have many nights to lie with one another. Forever, yes? Until we die and rot." "Until death do we part," she amended." | Catherine Anderson | ||
| f6a236e | Giving a low chuckle, which he punctuated with a defeated sigh, he said, "Blue Eyes, we have many nights to lie with one another. Forever, yes? Until we die and rot." "Until death do we part," she amended. "Ah, yes, until death do we part." He shrugged one shoulder. "A very long time, yes? If I strike such fear into your heart that we must be quick, it is wisdom to wait. It is enough that you will lie beside me. That I can put my hand upon .. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 64a85fc | It is enough that you will lie beside me. That I can put my hand upon you." Her expression went from wary distrust to incredulity. "And do nothing?" Hunter shared her sentiments. It was the most idea he had ever come up with." | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 688ff9f | Make me a story." "Hunter, I don't have a stitch of clothes on," she squeaked. One of his dark eyebrows flicked upward. "You must have clothes to make stories?" "No. I guess I...well, it might help me think." He sighed and rolled onto his back, carrying her along with him in the curve of his arm. Pressing her head onto his shoulder, he made a valiant attempt to ignore the feeling of her silken flesh against his and said, "This Comanche wear.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| a8ba766 | There they came, forty Comanches, all whooping and hollering, lances raised, a frightening spectacle indeed. Forgetting for the moment that she must guard what she said, she cried, "They attacking. He promised." "Then what the hell they doin'? Get outa my way!" Henry shoved her aside and resighted his rifle. "He promised? She's touched, Rachel! They messed her up in the head, keepin' her all this time." Loretta ran for the door. "He isn.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 00581f0 | Good-bye, my friend," she whispered. As if he had heard her, Hunter reappeared alone on the rise. Bringing his stallion to a halt, he straightened and lifted his head, forming a dark silhouette, his quiver and arrows jutting up above his shoulder, his shield braced on his thigh, his long hair drifting in the wind. Forgetting all about her family watching her, Loretta stumbled down the steps and out into the yard to be sure Hunter could see .. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 92cab2b | Blue Eyes, you will see into me, eh?" Because he was still holding the two pieces of meat, he didn't have a free hand and nudged her shoulder with his forearm. " , look." For the first time, she detected a note of entreaty in his voice, scarcely recognizable under his martial arrogance, but there. When she looked up, his eyes caught and held hers. After a long moment he said, "You are , the enemy. That is so, eh? , a white woman? And I am.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 2ef00cf | I stayed hidden, Hunter. She screamed and screamed and screamed for help! And I did nothing. Nothing!" Tears burned in Hunter's eyes. He hunched his shoulders around her. "You were a child." "A coward, I was a coward!" A horrible, tearing sob erupted from her. She slid her arms around his neck and buried her face against the side of his throat. "That's what I can't forget! Hiding down there, hearing her scream. Oh, why didn't I do something.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 260b2a8 | You make a smile inside me, that is why I want you. The way a man wants his wife. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| acd21ef | You make a smile inside me, that is why I want you. The way a man wants his wife." He ran a hand up her back, kneading her tense muscles. "You will trust this Comanche? As you did when you rode in a great circle back to me? This one last time, you will trust? No hurting" | Catherine Anderson | ||
| b7f82f0 | Blue Eyes, you will say yes to me?" "Tonight? Now?" "Yes, tonight. Before this time between us passes." | Catherine Anderson | ||
| d29a408 | You are well?" Hunter asked in English. "I'm better." She threw a worried glance at the doorway. "Is that awful boy still out there?" He had expected questions about Loretta. "Swift Antelope?" "Is that his name? I don't like him." "Ah, I see." Hunter pursed his lips. "You have reason?" "I just don't like him." She gave a delicate shudder and wrinkled her nose. "He stares at me funny." Hunter guessed that Swift Antelope had been mooning, not.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| a15fd9d | My chief wife will be a woman of my own blood." He felt her stiffen and, seeking to mollify her, added, "You can be second wife, eh? Or third?" To his surprise she bolted upright, shaking again, this time in anger. With an indignant lift of her small chin, she flung herself away from him. "You are angry?" Her reply was frigid silence. "Blue Eyes, what wrong words have I said?" "What have you said?" Hunter frowned. "It would not please you t.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| bd33528 | He found Loretta awake when he entered his lodge. She was sitting up in bed, raking her fingers through her tangled hair. When she saw him, she averted her face, still angry, if the glint in her eyes was any indication. At first Hunter tried ignoring Loretta's glares. After feeding her a breakfast of dried fruit and some of his mother's flat white bread, he took her to visit Amy. After that he retrieved her satchel from Maiden's lodge and e.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 56f3979 | Why would you bother lying?" Her eyes darkened. "What would you gain?" "Your ruffles?" He watched her face and knew the moment when she realized he was teasing her. "You said I could steal them, yes?" "As I recall, we decided you should take them when I wasn't them." He ran a knuckle along the shadowy contour of her jaw. She tipped her head to press her cheek into his palm, tears spilling in sparkling splendor from her eyes. "Oh, Hunter, .. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 45a1580 | He ran his palm up the curve of her back and then removed his arm from around her, amused at how swiftly she rolled off him, fussing with her many skirts to be sure her ruffled breeches weren't exposed. Her shyness baffled him. He could remember how her body looked in firelight, her skin as pale as moonbeams, the tips of her breasts the delicate pink of cacti blossoms. How could such loveliness bring shame? | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 7e04305 | Sensing reprieve, grasping for it with eager disbelief, she lifted her lashes in confusion to see the same emotion reflected in his cobalt eyes. He began to tremble, as if the lance weighed a thousand pounds. And suddenly she knew that as much as he longed to murder her, a part of him couldn't, wouldn't throw the lance. It made no sense. She could see nothing but hatred written on his chiseled face. He had surely killed hundreds of times an.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 9a7bec4 | If I could be the one to go, I would. She's daughter." "And she's my little sister. Maybe not by blood, but in all the ways that count. Hunter--he may be too late to spare her completely. But he can reach her before they take her across the border." Loretta's stomach quivered with fear, fear she refused to analyze. "He's only three days ahead of me. The village won't have moved this quickly. I can find them. And that's exactly what I'm go.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| c756c20 | She knew no horse of Tom's could catch him. Like his sire, he ran like the wind. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 108bd58 | Frightened and horribly frustrated, Loretta sank onto a rock and hugged her knees. Amy's life depended on it. And so did hers. The word dripped into her mind, as cold as melt-off ice. Hunter had made it look easy, but he was a Comanche. She was a stupid How could she hope to track Comanches out here when some of the finest scouts in the country had failed? Loretta sighed and stood up. She couldn't turn back. The Comancheros had Amy. T.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| dc85d1e | You are angry?" Her reply was frigid silence. "Blue Eyes, what wrong words have I said?" "What have you said?" Hunter frowned. "It would not please you to marry with me? Better a wife than a slave, yes?" "I will play second fiddle, !" Hunter studied her, trying to figure out why she had switched the topic of conversation from marriage to making music. "How you!" she cried. "Of all the-- You arrogant, simple-- Oh, never mind! Just you u.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 194d511 | One unto the other, with no horizon, that is what she wants! Imagine her setting up a lodge, tanning hides, sewing, cooking, gathering wood, all by herself. And what if she became ill while I was away? Who would tend her? Who would keep her company? The way she believes, if I was gone for a long while, she couldn't even go to Warrior to seek solace." "Would you wish for her to?" Hunter gave the ashes a vicious poke, sending up a cloud of gr.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 0f62e60 | It is good I came, my father. You have the gift. Already my heart is lighter." Many Horses ran his tongue over his own jagged teeth, nodding thoughtfully. "I am proud of all my children," he said huskily. "Of you, most of all. It is a strange thing, my son, but when a man takes a babe into his arms and claims him as son, it becomes a truth within his heart. The blood in his veins is as nothing. The color of his eyes is as nothing. When you .. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| e1d20c6 | You came here angry because your yellow-hair is angry, yes? If you love her, it will be the same when she is sad, when she is happy. Have you ever stood where a stream spills into a river? The two become one. They laugh over the stones together, twist through the sharp canyons together, plunge down the waterfalls together. It is the same when a man and woman love one another. It is not always a pleasant thing, but when it happens, a man has.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| d8b54e5 | Swift Antelope, I don't think she even likes you." "Your yellow-hair doesn't like you too well, either." He had a point." | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 0de4ee6 | You sure are a purty thing," he murmured, his voice husky. "I bet that buck of yours'll be hot on our trail to git you back. That is if he ain't dead." The stench of the man's body filmed the lining of Loretta's nostrils. She hated the contemplative look on his face. If she admitted she was married to a Comanche, he would consider her fair game and use her himself. His men would follow suit with Amy. The thought made Loretta's stomach roll... | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 9e5a533 | Peace filled Hunter. With so many Great Ones, both his and hers, surely they would be blessed. Relaxing his body, he surrendered himself to fate. The Great Ones would guide them. Loretta's God would lead his footsteps in the hunt when his own gods failed him. Together he and Loretta would find a new place where the Comanche and could live as one, where Hunter could sing the songs of the People and keep their ways alive. Rising, Hunter tur.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| b377ce3 | I would ask one thing of you, Ride beside me one last time into battle. It will be our final memory of each other, yes?" Once again Hunter remembered looking into that white man's blue eyes. When would it ever end? But his brother had made this request of him. "I will ride with you," Hunter whispered. "One last time." | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 5f5b0ed | What'sa matter? You afraid I'll get too friendly if I find out you've been pleasurin' Comanches?" Struggling to stay calm, she said, "You're a smart man. I heard you and your men talking. You were hired to captives, not abuse them. Touch one of us, and it'll be the mistake of your life. We haven't been pleasuring anyone. And if we end up pleasuring you, I guarantee you'll hang for it." He didn't bluff easily. Running his fingers under the.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| f321e2c | I cannot fight an enemy whose face is hidden. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| cfbb3a0 | Hunter crouched beside the fire, a cup of coffee cradled in his palms, his gaze fixed on the shifting flames. He could see his yellow-hair from the corner of his eye and knew every time she moved, every time she looked at him. Somehow she had managed to stay covered with the fur while she pulled on his shirt and her ruffled breeches. His brother, Warrior, squatted next to him and began tossing chips of bark onto the coals, watching them ign.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| e671520 | You must teach her, eh? If you go down in battle and I have to take her into my lodge circle, I want to know her children are yours." "She will learn. I will teach her honor if I kill her doing it." Warrior plucked a blade of grass and began to nibble on it, his expression distant. Hunter recognized the signs. His brother's thoughts were flitting to yet another place. After a moment Warrior spat and said, "Old Man tells me that you may have.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 969b262 | When they reached the river, he turned left. " , Blue Water River. You call it the Brazos, eh?" He pointed ahead of them. " , upstream." Jabbing a thumb over his shoulder, he said, " , downstream. You will listen good, Blue Eyes, and learn. talk is dirt in my mouth." His tone set Loretta off balance. Dirt in his mouth? If he hated the whites so much, why on earth had he taken her? Upstream, downstream, she couldn't remember the words. She.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 0b9b3b4 | The girl is half my size. I think I can handle her without calling council." "You disappoint me, Hunter. Where is the patience you show with the wild horses you train? Has it gone the way of the wind?" "A horse is worth the trouble. A yellow-hair is not." | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 144de64 | Another rock jabbed her insole, and she winced, missing a step. He released her elbow and swept her off her feet into his arms. He took her so much by surprise that if she could have screamed, she would have. Their eyes locked, his mocking, hers wide. Though he now bore Loretta's weight, her position was such that her back was in danger of breaking if she didn't loop an arm around his neck. He stood there, looking down at her and waiting. H.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| cf38742 | When she lowered her hands, her reflection shimmered up at her, pale and golden in contrast with the bronzed, dark-haired man next to her. Seeing herself beside him made the nightmarish situation she was in seem all the more real. She turned to look at him, and at the same instant he looked at her. For several heartbeats they simply studied one another. "Even the water sings our song." He sighed and rose to his knees, glancing back down at.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| c49d255 | The joy of Loretta's homecoming was overshadowed by Henry's rage. Friends with a murderin' savage, was she? A Comanche slut, that's what, kissin' on him in broad daylight, comin' home to shame them all with her Injun horse and heathen necklace. His land looked like a bloomin' pincushion with all them heathen lances pokin' up. He was gonna get shut of 'em, just like he had those horses. Half of 'em stole from white folks! Some trade that was.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| b32eeb2 | yet the greening grasses and overarching elms and oaks, just beginning to come into leaf, gave the scene a picturesque air, like a fairy-tale dwelling; | Joyce Carol Oates | ||
| ca80adb | The girl is half my size. I think I can handle her without calling council." "You disappoint me, Hunter. Where is the patience you show with the wild horses you train? Has it gone the way of the wind?" "A horse is worth the trouble. A yellow-hair is not." "I know men who greatly treasure golden women. Perhaps she will grow on you." "I prefer a horse. A one." "Women, horses, there is little difference, eh? Well trained, they both give men .. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 678beca | She clutched her skirt. "What does that mean?" "I love you." | Catherine Anderson | ||
| db06e1b | A loud clunk resounded behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see her husband. Instead she looked straight into Red Buffalo's black eyes. For an instant her heart stopped beating. She stared at him. He stared back. His arms were laden with firewood. One piece lay at his feet. Very slowly he hunkered down and began unloading the rest. At last Loretta found her voice. "Get out of here!" "I bring you wood," he replied softly i.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 8e7cd8d | He had once told Loretta that he would be as nothing without his people, and that was true. He would be giving up all that he was to be with her. Yet how could he live without her? The prophecy had come to pass. Without her, he had no tomorrows. How could a man live without them? | Catherine Anderson | ||
| c45e3de | From the moment she had stepped out from her wooden walls, the path ahead of him had been clearly marked, but he had been too blind to see it. A woman and a Comanche, their pasts stained with tears and bloodshed, had little hope of coexisting happily with either race. To be as one, they had to walk alone, away from both their people. | Catherine Anderson |