Savage Conquest (48 page)

Her grandfather suspected her reason for inquiring. His heart soared with happiness at the thought
of his father's bloodline joining and strengthening
in Blazing Star and Miranda. But he could not
interfere. It must be the will of the Great Spirit. It
warmed his aging heart to recall how both looked at each other and how each asked about the other, as it
had been with his beloved Singing Wind before the
white dogs attacked their village and wantonly
slaughtered her and many others. He had lived with
sadness, bitterness, and hatred for many winters, but
this fresh and gentle creature enlivened him once
more. She was the essence of life and joy.

He smiled and stated innocently, "He visits the
camp of our brothers, the Cheyenne. He brings a
surprise to my teepee," he added mischievously,
thinking of the horse which was to be a gift for her
from her grandfather, a swift and agile pinto.

Miranda misconstrued his words and excitement,
assuming he did not know of her love for Blazing
Star. When her smile faded, her eyes teared, and she
trembled, he asked if she were ill or distressed. She
forced a -smile and told him she was simply fatigued.

Sun Cloud was still alert enough to notice the
sarcastic and mocking sneer which flickered over
Bloody Arrow's face when Miranda glanced at him.
The old man did not realize he had aided Bloody
Arrow's spite, but he sensed a chilling aura which he
did not like. As Miranda was encased in pensive
silence, Sun Cloud furtively observed the way Bloody
Arrow watched her.

Sun Cloud knew his days were short. He wondered
if his granddaughter might choose to remain with
his people. She knew a great deal about them, but
there was more to learn. Did he have the days to teach
her? Would she be accepted? Would she be safe and happy here? If only the bluecoats would leave them
in peace.

The unexpected appearance of the beautiful
descendent of Gray Eagle and Sun Cloud had
sparked great interest and mixed feelings amongst
his people, a blend of rejection and acceptance,
affection and dislike. The rumors of jealousy in the
wife of Crazy Horse had not avoided his keen ears.
How sad for such lies to be born, to be allowed to
grow. What would happen to his granddaughter
of ter his death, if anything happened to Blazing Star?
She would be alone, and jealousy and envy were
powerful destroyers.

She was such an uncommon creature, half woman
and half vixen. She was as eager for adventure as any
brave. She possessed such energy, such daring, such
courage. Here, she could be as free and wild as the
winds. If only they were not warring winds.

As all three came to attention at the sound of
drumming, the call went forth, "Ominiciye kte lo,"
summoning the leaders to council. Sun Cloud and
Bloody Arrow reached for their prayer pipes to leave.

Miranda tensed but did not ask questions. But her
heart lurched and beat wildly as Bloody Arrow
returned briefly to say, "Pray to your Great Spirit,
Tamaha, if they vote to slay the white dog and hold
you captive for your offense. If you have helped our
enemy, no man can save you, even Sun Cloud. I will
vote for your punishment."

Tremors raced over her body, as her malevolent cousin laughed satanically. She mastered her rampant emotions and stated clearly and evenly, "I will
pray, Bloody Arrow, but for you. I will ask the Great
Spirit to burn the hatred and evil from your body. I
will pray He sears away your hatred for me, for there
is no reason for it. I will pray for Him to open your
eyes to the truth, to honor."

Miranda paced the confines of the teepee until she
thought she would scream from anxiety. To pass the
time, she removed her soiled riding clothes and
donned her Indian dress. The meeting went on for
hours while each man had his say in a matter which
was unknown to her. Never had she prayed so
intensely or swiftly in her life. No matter how
Blazing Star felt about her, she wished he were here.
He was so intelligent, so influential. His'words and
power might be needed.

When she felt as if she could not breathe from the
tension which was attacking her chest, she left the
teepee to stroll along the stream bank. She walked
back and forth until she made a path upon the lush
grass. She halted and leaned against a towering tree,
the evening breeze playing softly through its leaves
and small branches. She inhaled deeply, then sighed.
She closed her eyes and murmured, "Please let
everything be all right."

"What could be wrong, Tamaha?" a stirring voice
questioned.

Her eyes flew open and she stared into the arresting
face of Blazing Star. A smile captured her features and brightened them. Joyful tears of relief threatened
to spill forth. She was about to fling herself into his
arms when she recalled Bloody Arrow's words. She
clasped her raised hands and lowered them, the
beaming smile vanishing before his baffled eyes. She
moistened her suddenly dry lips and pulled her
tormented gaze from his, trying vainly to mask her
warring emotions. "I didn't know you were home,"
she murmured, turning slightly to lean against the
tree as if needing its support while avoiding his
piercing gaze. "I was waiting for Reis to finish his
meeting so we could leave," she informed him to
explain her unwanted. presence.

"The meeting is over. He waits for you in Sun
Cloud's teepee," he responded, unintentionally
giving her the impression he was telling her it was
time to go. He witnessed a shadow of anguish and
turmoil which dulled her somber eyes. When her
chin and lower lip quivered, she caught it between
her teeth. He wondered at her strange behavior.

Without looking at him again, she straightened
and tried to move past him toward camp. To think of
him with another woman seared her heart. She was
afraid she would burst into racking sobs at any
moment. When he imprisoned her left arm and
refused to allow her to leave, she shuddered at the
contact. "Please let me go, Blazing Star," she
beseeched him in a choked voice, shivering as if cold.

He studied her lowered head and behavior. "Do
you hate me so that you cannot face me? You can share no words with me?" he asked worriedly,
dreading the reason for her strange conduct.

Stunned by his words, she looked up into his
solemn expression. "I don't hate you; I could never
hate you," she vowed sadly. "I didn't want you to
think I had broken my promise to you by returning
here."

Still he did not relax or free her. "I have been in
council; I know why you are here. But why do you
wish to run from me? Why are your eyes so full of
pain? I do not understand, Tamaha. Did the moon
which passed between us change your feelings for
me?"

She stared at him in disbelief. Was he being cruel
without meaning to be? Did he not understand how
the news of his marriage would affect her? Did he not
know how much she loved and wanted him? Did he
not realize she could not accept the Indian custom of.
having more than one woman or wife? Did he not
realize she could never share him with anyone! "I
have not changed, Blazing Star; you have," she
responded mysteriously. "If my feelings have
changed, they have grown stronger, just as you
warned me. Please don't torment me."

His bewilderment increased. "Why does it torment
you to be with me? Why do you draw away in such
coldness?" he probed tensely.

Tears wet her lashes, then slipped down her
cheeks. "Because you belong to another. Because you
think I am unworthy of your love and teepee. Because I can never forget you or what we shared. I must go,"
she stated frantically, yanking on her arm.

His grip tightened, then he encircled her body with
his powerful embrace. She struggled wildly for
freedom from this agonizing embrace, He would not
let her go. When she accepted her helpless and
vulnerable position, she rested her forehead upon his
chest and cried. He found this action stunning. "I
belong to no other woman, Tamaha. What woman is
more precious than you? If it could be, I would take
you to my heart and mat this very moon. You fill my
thoughts each sun and my dreams each moon. Why
do you speak this way?"

Miranda lifted her head and stared at him. "I know
the white customs differ from yours, Blazing Star, but
you can't have me and her, too. How can you take a
wife, then speak such words to me? It's wrong for us
to be together now that you're married. I can't. And I
hate myself for wanting you so much."

Blazing Star shook his head, trying to clear his
steadily rising confusion. "I have taken no wife,
Tamaha. Explain your words."

Shocked and baffled herself, she asked warily,
"You didn't marry Black Buffalo Woman in the
Cheyenne camp?"

Blazing Star threw back his head and laughed in
amusement. When she punched him in the stomach
and demanded he stop his laughter, he did. Grinning
broadly, he grasped her chin and kissed her nose. "I
have taken no wife, Tamaha, nor any woman to my mat since knowing you. Black Buffalo Woman has
enough winters to be my grandmother. I can think of
no woman when my people are at war, when my life
is in danger each sun and moon. Your jealousy
pleases me, but your head mixed another's words,"
he jested playfully.

Miranda realized what Bloody Arrow had done.
Her eyes narrowed and frosted; she grit her teeth as
she planned her revenge.

Observing her anger, he demanded sternly, "Explain the fires of revenge which flame within your
eyes, Tamaha."

"I didn't understand about you and her. I was told
clearly that you married her," she -stated, then
revealed the source.

"Bloody Arrow wishes to hurt us, Tamaha. I will
watch him closely. Has he been cruel to you another
time" he probed oddly.

Miranda related their capture this afternoon and
all other events involving her and her cousin. "Do
not turn your back to him," he warned after she
finished. "I will settle this matter later. Reveal no
sadness or anger when we return to the teepee. Let
him believe his words never harmed you or played in
your mind. You must trust me, Tamaha. Do not
believe such lies. I could take no woman while you
fill my senses. When the moon of peace comes, then
we will talk of our love and desires." He wisely did
not add, if I still live.

She hugged him and spread kisses over his chest.

"Then I shall pray with all my might for the moon of
peace to come quickly, my love," she whispered
against his thudding heart. "Can I stay and visit?"

"No, Tamaha, it is too dangerous," he blatantly
refused.

"But I've missed you so much," she protested
urgently, snuggling provocatively against his hard
and taut frame.

His voice was strained as he confessed, "As I miss
you. We must remain apart until a final truce," he
asserted unflinchingly, stubbornly, protectively.
"Do not beg, for my mind is as stone."

They were standing so close that she noticed his
hunger for her. She smiled enticingly and murmured, "But your body is not."

He glanced at her and shook his head roguishly.
"Your tongue speaks too quickly and freely, Tamaha," he jested seductively. "I can control all, except
my desire for you. Return to the teepee while I cool
this fire you have started." He knew he should send
her away immediately. He knew he should not touch
or kiss her. He knew he should not be saying such
encouraging words to her. But her nearness dazed his
senses and inflamed his body.

Her senses were also spinning wildly at his
nearness. Their foreheads were touching; his breath
warmed her flushed face as he spoke. Their gazes
were locked and their needs exposed. He shuddered
with loosely leashed control; she trembled with
unbridled passion. "You must go, Tamaha; they wait for you." He tried one last time to deny what
they both wanted and needed.

"I can't," she murmured simply, those words
saying much. "I feel no shame or modesty with you,
Blazing Star. Our time is too short and precious for
such feelings. Is there no place we can ... be alone?"
she asked boldly, revealingly.

"Do you know what you say, Tamaha?" he asked
huskily, his manhood throbbing with painful craving.

She needed to prove to him how much he loved and
desired her. She needed to show him they belonged
together. She needed to break, down all barriers
between them, all forces against them. He was on the
verge of giving in to his emotions, and she needed to
assist that blissful defeat. Once he accepted his love
and need for her, then he would keep her with him.

There was so much love and desire emblazoned in
her eyes when she smiled and murmured, "Yes, I
want you. I love you."

Those words rang warnings in his mind, warnings
he refused to hear or follow. "What if they come
looking for us?" he argued weakly.

She grinned. "I know you can go and come in
secret. If you wish to hide us, you will find a way,"
she replied trustingly.

He debated once more, "There is little time before
they seek us. Passion should not run as swiftly as the
river after a rain. Such moments should not be
rushed."

"Are you saying a treat eaten quickly is not as
filling or enjoyable as one eaten slowly?" she teased
brazenly, sensuously.

For an answer, he scooped her up in his sturdy
arms and headed into the forest. She suppressed her
giggles by sealing her lips to his shoulder. When he
felt he had put a sufficient distance between them and
the camp, he lowered her feet to the grassy earth. The
only sounds present were from the birds, a gentle
wind, and their erratic breathing. "You are sure?" he
asked one final time.

She nodded as she smiled happily. His fingers
shook as they unlaced the ties at her throat and
removed her dress. His smoldering gaze slipped from
her passion-glazed eyes down her throat to heat her
breasts with its flames. His hands upon her shoulders
eased down her arms with snaillike leisure, halting at
her wrists and capturing them gently as he leaned
forward to tantalize those firm points with his
tongue. She moaned and swayed at the intensity of
that pleasure.