Bound by Honor Bound by Love (19 page)

He arrived at the lodge and noticed
that two older men were standing at the entrance. Surprised, he
asked, “Ever since Citlali left, the chief has taken up
bodyguards?”

One of them chuckled. “Well, Citlali
is an effective bodyguard.”

“
It takes two of us to do
the same job he does,” the other joked.

Chogan laughed, feeling some of the
tension leave his body. “The chief needs people to guard his lodge
now?”

“
It’s not quite the way it
looks. He’s taken ill and we need to be nearby in case the medicine
man needs to be notified.”

“
Is it serious?” Chogan
asked.

“
He’s old. He can’t live
forever.”

Chogan glanced from one to the other.
“How much longer do you think he has?”

One of them shrugged. “The medicine
man has been saying the prayers and doing everything he can to ease
his pain. He thinks the chief has no longer than a
week.”

“
We need Citlali,” the
other said. “Where is he and when is he coming back?”

“
He’s at the spot he always
goes to when he seeks a vision,” Chogan replied. “I don’t know when
he plans to come back.”

“
I hope it’s soon. We need
someone to direct us after the chief dies. No one knows what to
do.”

“
How could people not know
what to do?” Chogan asked with a light chuckle. “We won’t listen to
the chief, and we’ll do what’s best for our families.”

“
And what is best for our
families? You’re almost finished with the cabin you’re taking Julia
and your children to. You won’t stay here. Your wife’s aunt and
Woape’s father will marry and join you. So no matter what happens
to this tribe, you won’t be a part of it. For the rest of us, we
have to figure out if we should have anything to do with the white
men, and if so, how much? Do we still trade with them? Do we stay
here or move our tribe further away from them?”

The other man nodded. “We just don’t
understand what we’re supposed to do after the white people leave
the tribe.”

“
And what if the chief dies
and the white people stay?” Chogan asked.

“
Again, how much
interaction should we have with the white man?”

“
Just continue as you do
now,” Chogan said.

“
But we didn’t interact
with them the way Citlali does. Citlali organized all the trades
and knew the white men we could trust. Sure, we have Gary, but Gary
can’t do the job a chief can. Can’t you tell Citlali to come
back?”

The other man nodded. “You know where
he is, and you don’t mind telling him what you think.”

Chogan sighed. “How can he intimidate
you?”

“
Are you kidding?” one
asked. “With the way he looks at you as if he can tell what you’re
thinking…? Not all of us like the thrill of confronting something
dangerous.”

Chogan chuckled. “Citlali’s not
dangerous.”

“
It took him one strike to
knock you unconscious, and you say he’s not dangerous?” the other
asked with an incredulous laugh as he nudged his friend in the
side.

His friend nodded. “He might not be a
hunter, but he has no problems taking down his
opponent.”

“
And he knows how to work
with the white men,” the other agreed, lowering his voice. “He has
built trust with them and has gotten us better deals in our trades
than the chief ever did.”

“
Fine,” Chogan relented.
“I’ll get Citlali and drag him back here, even if he’s kicking and
screaming.”

The man laughed. “Citlali doesn’t kick
and scream. He’s always calm.”

“
You haven’t seen him when
his defenses are down. Fortunately, he doesn’t scare me like you
two timid children,” Chogan teased. “Let me see the chief, and then
I’ll make arrangements to go to Citlali.”

Looking relieved by the prospect of
getting Citlali back, they moved aside and let him into the lodge.
Chogan didn’t bother announcing himself as he walked over to the
chief who was lying on a blanket near the fire pit. Chogan nodded
to the chief’s grown granddaughters who tended to the food. They
returned the nod.

“
Leave us,” the chief told
the women.

After they set aside the food they’d
been cutting, Chogan sat beside the chief, facing him. The chief
was old, but it didn’t occur to Chogan just how old he was until
then. It was a wonder the chief managed to walk through the lodge
the day before.

“
Now that we’re alone, you
can say it,” the chief said.

Despite the difficulty he seemed to
have breathing, Chogan was surprised the man managed to speak as
loudly as he did. “And how do you know what I’m going to say?”
Chogan asked.

“
Because you’ve grown soft
to the white man’s ways. I’m no fool. I knew as soon as you heard
that the white man who tried to steal Etu and Yepa from us is to be
put to death, you’d come running in here to protest. I can’t help
it if you spout your poison to me, but I won’t have you doing it in
front of my family.”

“
How can you be so
heartless?”

“
The white man would kill
one of us if we killed one of their own. This isn’t about being
heartless. It’s about doing the same thing they would do to
us.”

Chogan shook his head. “Cole wasn’t
trying to kill anyone. It was an accident.”

“
But the result is the
same. Quanah is dead. He was strong and in good health. He would’ve
had good children.”

“
There’s more to life than
having Mandan babies.”

“
Just because you failed to
provide us with healthy children when you were with your first
wife, I’m not surprised you’d be bitter when other men can help
replenish the tribe.”

Chogan bolted to his feet and glowered
at him. “Cole won’t die. I’ll do whatever I have to to make sure of
it.”

“
Spout off all you want,
but you don’t have the power of a chief. Your protests will be of
no effect.”

Resisting the urge to wipe the smug
grin off the chief’s face, Chogan stormed out of the lodge, his
hands clenched into fists at his sides. As much as he hated to
admit it, the chief was right. The majority of the tribe still
listened to the chief, and right now only Citlali had the authority
to override the chief’s decision.

He debated finding Citlali that night
and dragging him back to the tribe, but he knew Onawa went out to
talk to him. And he knew the influence a wife had over her husband.
If he let Onawa spend tonight with Citlali, he might have an easier
time in convincing Citlali to return and intervene in this
situation. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he’d bring Citlali back to the tribe.
And Citlali better be ready to do the right thing. With a
frustrated sigh, he returned to his lodge to tell Julia what
happened.

Chapter Fifteen

“
It’s true,” Citlali
insisted after they ate their meal. “Once Chogan sets his mind to
something, the only way to stop him is to sedate him. He’s more
powerful than a mother buffalo protecting its young.”

She laughed and tossed a stick into
the fire in front of them. “But Chogan doesn’t have smoke coming
out of his ears when he’s upset. You’re exaggerating.”

“
You don’t pay attention to
him,” he replied with a grin, resisting the urge to laugh with
her.

She snuggled up to him and kissed his
cheek, an action which secretly pleased him. “I know Julia, and
never once did she mention his eyes glowing red and fire spewing
out of his mouth when he’s angry.”

“
You can’t believe what
Julia says. She’s blinded by love. She thinks he’s like an adorable
puppy.”

She giggled and nudged him in the
side. “He is an adorable puppy. You haven’t seen the way he plays
with his sons.”

With a huff, he rolled his eyes. “We
are not talking about the same Chogan.”

Reaching up, she cupped the side of
his face in her hand and turned his face so he was looking at her.
“Why do you let Chogan bother you?”

“
I don’t let him bother
me.”

“
Yes, you do. You of all
people have no need to be intimidated by him. Not after the way you
hit him one time and he fell unconscious at your feet.” She tickled
him in the side until he gave into the urge to laugh. “You need to
laugh more, Citlali. You’re much too serious all the time. It’s
alright to enjoy life.”

He wrapped his arms around her and
rolled her onto her back so that she was comfortable on the blanket
they’d been sitting on. Chuckling, he lowered his head and kissed
her neck, finding the ticklish spot below her ear. She squirmed
under him and giggled.

“
See? I’m enjoying it now.”
He brought his mouth to hers and gave her a lingering kiss. “I
especially enjoy being with you.”

Before she could reply, he kissed her
again. She let out a contented sigh and returned his kiss, her
spark of passion fueling his own desire. He traced her bottom lip
with his tongue and waited for her lips to part, a silent
invitation for him to brush his tongue with hers. He wanted to
enjoy her—all of her—without holding anything back. He didn’t want
any more walls between them. The walls had been his doing. He
realized that now, and it was time he did away with
them.

He deepened the kiss and ran his hand
up her leg and under her dress. His fingers traced the curve of her
behind before he brought them to the patch of curls between her
legs. She moaned and parted her legs for him, giving him access to
the silky folds of her flesh. His erection hardened in anticipation
of being inside her. But he wanted her to receive her pleasure
first, so with skilled fingers he teased her lips, running his
fingers along them as he found her sensitive nub with his
thumb.

In response, she brought her hands up
to his neck and wove her fingers in his hair, an action he wouldn’t
ordinarily consider erotic but given the way she pulled him closer
to her, it was one of the most wonderful things she could have done
to express her desire for him. Encouraged, he dipped a finger into
her and felt the wet heat deep inside her. He slipped another
finger into her and stroked her.

She shifted under him, pulling him in
deeper, her leg settling nicely against his erection which throbbed
in pleasure at the contact. She pressed her leg more firmly against
him, and he ended the kiss so he could see if she was teasing him
on purpose. When she grinned at him, he chuckled.

“
Do you like that?” she
whispered and moved her leg deliciously against him.

He moaned and searched for the soft
cushiony patch that she seemed to enjoy whenever he stroked it.
When he found it, he was rewarded with a gasp. “You like that?” he
murmured before kissing her cheek.

Her hands traveled down his shoulders
and to his arms where she squeezed them to indicate that she did,
indeed, like it. Pleased, he continued stroking the spot. He’d only
found it once before, but he hadn’t lingered on it because it
seemed far too intimate to be exploring her so intensely. Now,
however, he pushed through the hesitation and paid attention to the
way she rocked her hips and whispered his name.

“
Onawa, I love you,” he
whispered in return and brushed the lower part of her ear with his
tongue.

She tightened her hold on his arms and
murmured that she also loved him. He brought his mouth to hers and
then to her neck and focused on the way her body responded to him.
She hadn’t responded to him with such intensity for a long time,
and he realized it’d been him forcing a distance between them
during this act that also caused her to pull back as well. Now she
was freely moaning her pleasure as her hips rocked faster. He
rubbed her nub with more pressure, mindful to increase the pressure
within her, too. Her body grew tense. Knowing she was near her
peak, he increased his speed until she cried out as her flesh
clenched around his fingers. She stilled, but he continued to
stroke her, less insistent than before but aware that it prolonged
her state of bliss. He loved this, loved knowing she could freely
respond to him, knowing she did this with him out of love instead
of obligation.

He looked at her face and smiled.
“You’re beautiful,” he told her, his voice tender despite his
heightened state of arousal. There was nothing more erotic than
knowing she received pleasure from him.

When she opened her eyes and returned
his smile, he got up on his knees and helped her to her knees. He
removed her deerskin dress, careful not to rush through the process
in case he ruined the intricate pattern of beads she’d sewn into
it. He always thought her dresses were attractive because of the
colors and patterns she’d chosen to decorate them with, but even
more so was the way her figure filled the dress. And as the dress
slipped off of her, he couldn’t deny the thrill that shot through
him as he got a good view of her naked body in the firelight. This
was much better than being limited in the small room of the lodge.
Out here in the open, there was no one else around, giving him
greater freedom to fully adore her. He quickly removed his
breechcloth, glad to be freed from the confines of his
clothing.