Tender savage (21 page)

Snuggled in his arms, surrounded by the lulling warmth of his love, Erica had no wish to argue that point and drifted off to sleep, but when he left her side to add wood to the fire she awakened, her hunger for him unquenched. "You are right," she murmured as he returned to the quilt. "I do want more. I will never have enough of you."

With a sly grin. Viper pulled her into his arms, then slowly, tenderly, and with a remarkably sensuous grace, he made love to her a^ain. "You are my wife. Erica. For all time you will be mine," he vowed as his lips brushed her ear. He buried his face in her golden-blond curls and wondered how he had found the strength to exist before he had met her. She filled his life with meaning the way the sun filled the day with light, and he knew he would never stop loving her.

When Erica awoke, she did not at first recall why they had slept upon the smooth plank floor when the small house had a perfectly good feather bed. She stretched languidly ana then decided it mattered not at all where she and Viper slept as long as they were together. As she wrapped the quilt around them she finally took the time to notice the beauty of the pattern. Called Ocean Waves, triangular pieces of contrasting dark and light shades of blue and gold cloth had been pieced together to create the lively rhythm of the sea. It called to mind the lovely quilt her aunt had been making, and grabbing the intricately stitched fabric blanket to cover her breasts she sat up and shook Viper's shoulder roughly. "Wake upl" she cried in so anxious a tone he was instantly awake and alert, expecting to find himself facing some terrible danger.

"What is wrong?" he asked with a menacing scowl when he saw nothing amiss. He was understandably displeased at having his dreams interrupted so rudely.

Erica did not botJier to apologize before she explained her reason for waking him. "Yesterday you refusea to take me to where the captives from New Ulm have been taken. But you simply must. How can I be content with you when I don't know if my relatives are alive or dead?"

At that question, Viper's dark expression lightened to a teasing grin. "You are content with me, do not lie. If these relatives were truly precious to you, you would have

remembered them before now."

Embairrassed that she could not argue with that logic, Erica grew contrite. "Yes, I know. It was very selfish of me to think only of us when they may be suffering terribly. Won't you please take me to them so I can see for myself they are alive and assure them that I am also?"

Viper lay back and propped his head upon his hands. He considered her request a long moment, then decided she deserved to hear the truth. "The braves we met yesterday said there were no captives taken at New Ulm. The people were allowed to leave."

"What do you mean, 'allowed to leave? Where did they go?"

"Down river toward Mankato," Viper replied calmly. "I cannot take you there, and you know why. If your relatives are alive, they are alive. If they are dead, they will stay dead. It is not worth risking my life to satisfy your curiosity."

Erica chewed her lower lip with nervous nibbles, knowing he was right. At the same time, she was also certain she had to let her aunt and uncle know she was alive. "They must be beside themselves with worry. Viper. There's my father, too. He must have heard of the uprising and be terrified that something might happen to me."

"Mark will not worry?" Viper taunted sarcastically.

"Oh, he will worry even more than the others, because he knows how little I wanted to come here." Remembering their repeated arguments. Erica pushed her curls away frm her face with a saucy flip of her head. "He will never for^ve himself for this," she predicted softly. "Never."

Viper's scowl returned as he sat up to face his troubled bride. "Never forgive himself for what? That you have taken up with an Indian?"

Exasperated that he had misunderstood her. Erica leaned forward to give Viper a reassuring kiss. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you, but that wasn't what I meant at all. I wanted to marry Mark and stay in Wilmington. He wanted to postpone the wedding until after the war. That's what will upset him. That we did not marry when I wanted to, and now he has lost me."

Viper's keen gaze searched Erica's expression for some sign of regret, but he found none. "You are not sorry to be my wife instead of his?"

Erica shcxjk her head as she began to smile. She wrapjDed her arms around his neck and gave him an enthusiastic hug. "I will never be sorry I fell in love with you."

Before Viper could respond, the tomcat bounded across their legs. Hoping for breakfast, the rascal began to meow loudly and dance in circles to get their attention.

"Do you suppose he's hungry?" Erica reached out to pat the cat, and he rubbed his head against her hand, beggmg to have his ears scratched.

"Yes, he is hungry, and so am I. It's early. The fish should be easy to catdi."

Erica watched with an admiring glance as Viper stood up and pulled on his buckskins. He then donned his moccasins, retied the cougar claw necklace around his neck, and seemed satisfied he was dressed for the day. "Do you think I should come with you?"

Vip>er leaned down to tousle her curls. "No, I will not be long."

The cat followed the brave out the door, but Erica remained seated on the floor. Viper hadn't built up the fire, so she'd do it to heat some water to bathe. Despite the fact that it would be wonderful to have soap and hot water for a bath for a change, that was not a sufficiently inspiring thought to encourage her to get up and begin the day. Instead, she sat tracing the triangular patterns of the quilt with her fingertips as she wondered who had made it. Surely she must have met the woman at the store, but she had no idea which family had lived in the house she and Viper were now occupying. There was a trundle bed that pulled out from under the large bed, so there must have been a diild or two, but no toys had been left behind when the family had fled, and she hoped the people had gotten away without mishap.

Thoughts of the uprising made her shiver with dread. Quite unknowingly, she had entered an entirely different world when she'd come to Minnesota, a world poised on the brink of disaster. That Viper had appeared out of that tumult to become the central force of her life still amazed her, yet she felt so comfortable with him she knew she would never feel any need to explain toothers why she had wed an Indian brave. She knew it would shock her family and friends, but since it did not shock her, she saw no

reason to dwell on the matter. For the time being, Viper and she would have to live each.day as it came and pray tomorrow would take care of itself.

Reluctantly, Erica put aside the pleasant thoughts of her husband and rose to her feet. She stretched her arms above her head, and feeling slightly stiff, vowed to make it a f)oint to sleep in the bed that night. It took her a long while to get the fire started from the dying coals that remained from the night's blaze. Then she realized she would have to fetch water to bathe. It seemed silly to get dressed to bring water, then undress to bathe, so she merely wrapped herself in the quilt, picked up the wooden bucket sitting on the ledge by the fireplace, and went outside to find the well. When it was not in view, she hiked up the end of her makeshift garment and started around toward the back of the house. The bushes and shrubs had been cut back to allow for a path, but she circled the structure without finding the well. Since she knew there had to be a source from which to draw water somewhere, she decided to try the far side of the bam.

The morning air was chilly, and she hugged the quilt more tightly to her throat as she approached the barn. The path was a well-worn hollow, and she was certain if she just followed it she would soon find the well, but as she turned the corner of the barn she came to an abrupt halt, for not ten feet away sat what she was certain was a cougar. The big cat was eyeing the stallion through a crack in the barn wall. His tail was swishing back and forth with a menacing beat as his tongue swept over his whiskers in a hungry slurp that carried clear to Erica's ears. She began to back up slowly, hoping to escape the predator's notice, but the animal saw her out of the corner of his eye and turned his full attention toward her.

Armed only with a bucket. Erica hurled it as she shouted a threatening curse, but rather than frightening off the cougar, she succeeded only in angering it. He was a handsome beast, his fur a dark yellow on his back and sides, his muzzle and belly white. He snarled at her, then, with a wobbling gait, started for her at a run, swiftly gathering the speed necessary to lunge for her throat.

Not about to provide the cougar with a tasty breakfast. Erica threw off the quilt, and while the beast was

momentarily blinded in its thick folds, she turned toward the house. Crossing the yard in a furious sprint, her blond hair flying, she was an amazing sight. Viper had just entered the yard with three large trout, and seeing his lovely bride dash nude into the house, he did not stop to ask what had frightened her so. He tossed the fish on the porch and drew his knife. By the time the cougar shook off the quilt and rounded the comer of the bam, Viper was ready for him. With a scream more terrifying than any banshee's, he challenged the beast to a fight to the death.

Sighting the Indian, the cunning cat slid to a halt, then spun on its hind legs and loped off into the underbrush, but not before Viper had seen the wound in his left hind leg. Thinking that the injury must have accounted for the animal's daring in venturing out in broad daylight, the brave returned his knife to its sheath and picked up the fish on his way into the house. Erica had pulled on her dress, but her pretty blue eyes were still filled with fright as she greeted him.

"Did you see the cougar?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yes, I saw him, and I saw you, too," he added with a devilish chuckle. "It is no wonder the cat was chasing you if you were parading about without your clothes."

Erica blusned deeply at that remark, but she was still too frightened to be offended by his teasing. "I was looking for the well. I was dressed too, in the quilt."

Viper pulled her into his arms and pressed her face close to his chest as he listened to her tearfully relate the rest of her tale. "You are safe, and that is all that matters," he assured her. "Cougars hunt at night. That one was wounded or he would not have been out now, nor would he have come so close to the house. I will have to go after him before he comes back. Wounded animals are dangerous, and I cannot let him roam free when next time you might not be able to outrun him."

Erica was still shaking. "I've never had to lug water from a well. Not once in my whole life. Where is the damn well, anyway?"

Viper released her and looked around for the bucket. "I'll go and get the water. Did you leave the bucket outside?"

The distraught blonde wiped her eyes on the back of her

hand as she tried to recall what had happened to it. "It must be by the barn. I'll come with you."

"Are you sure you want to?" When she nodded Viper took her hand. They recovered the bucket and quilt, then located the well hidden behind a shady elm tree across from the house. "I will chop the wood and bring the water. Erica. I do not want you to have to work harder as my wife than you did as your father's daughter. I want you to be happy with me."

"I am happy," Erica insisted proudly. "It is only that I know very little about being a farmer's wife."

"I am no farmer," Viper replied curtly, insulted that she might consider him one. "I like to hunt and fish for my food, not wait for it to grow out of the ^ound."

"Will we be able to eat the cougar?" Enca wondered out loud, the prospect most unappetizing.

"No, we will keep his pelt, but not eat his flesh." Viper picked up the bucket in his left hand and again took her hand in his right. "Now let's have breakfast and worry about trapping the cougar later."

With Viper's instructions Erica managed to fry the trout in the cast iron skillet the owners of the house had left behind. He then showed her how to peel the tender white meat away from the bones and carried their two plates to the table. While he thought the meal delicious, he could tell by her preoccupied stare that Erica thought otherwise. "You do not like fish?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, I do, and this is very good," Erica insisted as she toyed with the remains of her trout. "I was just trying to think of some clever way to convince you to take me hunting with you. I don't want to sit here all day with nothing to do. The fact is, I'm afraid to stay here by myself. So, won't you please take me along with you?"

Viper frowned slightly as he considered her request. "You will only be in my way."

"No, I wouldn't," Erica argued. "I promise to stay behind you and be very quiet. You could even let me carry your bow and arrows if you like, or the rifle, whichever you won't need."

"I planned to take both," Viper confided. "The cougar is hated by farmers because he will get into a herd of sheep or goats and kill more animals than he can eat. Unlike

other animals, he has a need to kill, rather than only a need to satisfy his hunger. In that way, he is like man." He looked up then, and found the innocence of Erica's deep blue gaze unsettling. "I do not wish to give him a second chance to kill you."

"Well, neither do I," Erica agreed. "But I won't be safe here alone if someone comes. There may be more braves out looking for horses," she reminded him, although she still didn't think the man he had fought had wanted their stallion.

Viper nodded thoughtfully, afraid what she said might well be true. "All right. Finish your breakfast and I will take you with me. We must track that cat before his trail grows cold."

Erica leaped to her feet. "I'm ready. Let's go now." She sat down on the ledge of the fireplace to pull on her stockings and shoes, then looked up with a triumphant smile.

"How am I to hunt when you are so pretty?" Viper inquired, his question far more serious than he knew she would believe.

"Maybe you can find other game, too," the excited blonde suggested, taking his question for a compliment that required no reply. "We really should have more in the way of food."