White Owl (13 page)

“Wild Rose.” His voice sounded impatient. “Wild Rose,” he repeated. “Are you coming in?”

Rose nodded. She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she had not even heard him return. As he held the flap of the tepee open for her to enter, she ducked down and stepped inside. It was completely dark, and she could not make out any of her surroundings. She stood rooted to the spot, waiting and shivering, for him to tell her what to do.

When his hand grabbed hers in the darkness, she was so startled that she cried out in terror.

“What is wrong?” he asked as he pulled her close.

“I could ask you the same.” Her voice was trembling and she had no doubt that he could feel how hard her entire body was shaky just by holding her hand.

“Why are you afraid?” His voice was softer now.

She took a deep, quivering breath. “Because it’s obvious you don’t really want me here.”

He sighed loudly. But when Rose tried to draw her hand away, he pulled her up against him so suddenly that she gasped and dropped her satchel on the ground at her feet. She didn’t have time to
react as his strong arms encircled her upper body, pinning her own arms to her sides. A moment ago he couldn’t even find words to say to her, and now, he was holding her so tightly that it felt like her ribs were being crushed.

“You don’t know what I want,” he whispered.

Rose could feel the heat of his breath against her hair. The trembling that had been in her whole body a moment ago now settled in her knees and she wasn’t sure they could support her weight. “Tell me, then,” she demanded.

“You. It’s been you since that first day.” He released his enslaving hold on her and leaned back slightly. “But I don’t think you realize what you will be giving up to be with me.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Rose answered. Her heart was thudding frantically in her breast again. All that mattered was that he still wanted her.

He shook his head hard enough that Rose was aware of it even in the darkness of the tepee. “Tomorrow it might matter. When the sun has risen and you have had time to think about your family, your life, all that you will be leaving behind if you should decide to stay with—”

“I know what I want, White Owl,” she interrupted as she pulled away from him. “And if you want me, too, then nothing else matters.”

His response was to pull her in his arms again. “We need to rest now,” he said. “Tomorrow we will have many decisions to make.”

“My decision is made,” she retorted. She could feel his long hair brushing against the sides of
her face as he leaned closer. She raked her hands through the raven strands. Almost immediately, he picked her up into his arms, carried her through the darkness and gently lay her down on a bed of furs. The soft bed smelled like him and filled her spinning senses with wanton needs that only this man could fulfill.

Tonight he made love to her only once, unlike the previous nights when they had been together in the loft at her parents’ home. Those nights had been filled with a frantic passion that was fueled by the fear that they might never see each other again. Long before daylight broke, he would be gone and she would be back in her bedroom alone . . . waiting for the next night when, hopefully, he would return. But now, surrounded by his arms, in his world, she knew that when the sun rose over the mountain peaks they would be still be together.

More contented than she had ever felt in her entire life, Rose was held gently in his powerful embrace as she lay her head on her man’s muscled chest and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Still tired from the lack of sleep for the past week, she could barely open her eyes when she felt White Owl’s fingertips tenderly smoothing her hair back from her forehead. For a few moments she was too groggy to remember where she was, but she knew immediately whom she was with. As her heavy eyelids struggled to open, she thought momentarily that they were still in the loft and had accidentally fallen asleep. The thought that her
father or one of her brothers might discover them caused her to wake fully with a start.

An early morning haze filtering through the smoke hole at the top of the tepee lit the interior with a mellow glow. She blinked and focused on White Owl’s handsome face; his piercing dark gaze locked on hers. Her breath caught in her throat.

“Sorry. I did not mean to startle you,” he said.

Rose ran her tongue along her lips and attempted to smile. The only thing that startled her was the way this man affected every one of her senses. Since she was still enveloped in his arms, it was obvious that neither of them had moved one inch from the other all night long. She was on her side, her naked body fully pressed against him and using his shoulder for a pillow. She marveled at his bronzed beauty in the soft rays of the morning light. His thick waist-length hair was spread out around him on the brown fur, framing his dark face and shoulders.

“You take my breath away,” she finally gasped.

White Owl looked confused for a moment. “Am I that frightening in the morning?”

She giggled. “Not in a bad way.” There was no way she could put into words how she was feeling at this moment. If waking up next to him every day like this was in her future, then she would never regret her decision to come here no matter what the consequences.

Even at this early hour, the heat was uncomfortable, and the interior of the animal-hide dwelling
was growing hotter by the minute. But it wasn’t only the temperature that was sweltering.

White Owl pushed the last of the stray hairs away from Rose’s face and then lifted her chin up until she was in reach of his anxious lips. His good-morning kiss engulfed her mouth and every one of her senses. His lips were gentle at first, just barely touching hers. It was the only invitation Rose needed. She reached around his head and pulled herself on top of him and returned his teasing kiss with her own demanding one.

She felt his hands on her buttocks as he positioned her. Her hips moved on their own accord as he entered her. They fit together with perfection and began to move in a rhythm that was slow and sensuous at first, but began to build to a more intense summit as Rose sat up and let his swollen manhood fill her with sweet ecstasy. His hands held her by her hips as they moved with more urgency together, and just as Rose was feeling as if she was going to explode . . .

“White Owl, are you there?”

Rose’s eyes flew open. She clapped her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out at the unexpected and shocking intrusion. Her gaze met with White Owl’s, but he seemed more angry than surprised.

“What do you want?” he growled. He had not released his tight hold on Rose’s hips.

“I heard noises, I—”

“Go away!” White Owl yelled. The fury in his voice was evident.

The building passion Rose had felt just seconds ago was now replaced with embarrassment.

White Owl’s face was a mask of contempt as he glared toward the doorway of the tepee. Rose fully expected to drop dead of humiliation if that flap opened up and revealed their compromising position to the outside world.

“Sorry, my brother,” the voice on the other side replied. A chortle followed and then silence . . . well, the voice was silenced anyway.

Now Rose became aware of all the sounds coming from outside this tiny haven that had sheltered her and White Owl. She could hear many different voices far and near. Obviously, the entire village was awake and—oh Lord! Had they been able to hear them? She had been so engrossed in passion just moments ago that she didn’t even know if she had been crying out loud in sheer ecstasy. The thought made a very weak cry escape from her now.

White Owl’s scowl began to fade, replaced by a crooked grin. Rose pushed against his chest as she rolled off his body. She heard him chuckle. Her mouth clamped shut. She was sure the entire village had already heard enough from her this morning. He chuckled again, and her ire increased.

Through clenched teeth, she whispered. “Be quiet before you have everyone in the village coming to see what is going on in here.”

He rose up on one elbow and looked down at her. His hair fell over his muscled shoulders, and his raven gaze was sparkling like black diamonds. Rose was powerless to prevent the ache that erupted in
her loins again. She clenched her legs together tightly and reached out to find something to cover herself with.

He laughed loudly now.

“You are insufferable!” she whispered in the most forceful voice she could manage. She sat up and presented her back to him, but before she could move away, his arms enslaved her waist, and he easily pulled her back to him. He kissed the back of her bare shoulder. Her insides turned to liquid fire. He pushed the long bulk of her hair over the other shoulder. His hot mouth continued to tantalize along the top of her shoulder, moving seductively to the back of her neck with tender kisses and teasing nips.

She moaned and rolled her head to the side so he could continue his delicious ministrations. One of his hands reached around and began to tease and fondle her breast. Sensations of unbridled desire rippled through her. Until this moment she had thought only the actual act of lovemaking could make her experience such glorious heights of satisfaction. Her body arched back against him, and she was flooded with desire. In spite of her vow to keep quiet, Rose could not contain a cry of delight.

White Owl’s laughter disrupted the magical moment and brought her back to reality. Thankfully, he let her scoot away from him this time. She grabbed her nearest article of clothing—her white cotton pantaloons—and clutched them against her breast as she looked for the remainder of her
clothes, which seemed to be scattered over the entire floor of the tepee.

“Are you ready to meet my family now?” White Owl asked innocently. He was grinning when she glanced back over her shoulder to cast him the most debasing look she could muster.

“You did that on purpose,” she accused. “How can I show my face outside of this place after you made me practically scream out what we were doing?”

“I was only kissing your neck, Wild Rose.”

“Only kissing and, and . . .” She started to rise to her feet to reclaim her clothes, but turned back around instead. “Close your eyes,” she demanded.

He tossed back his head and gave a barrel laugh that caused Rose to twirl around and throw her hand over his mouth.

“Quiet!” she demanded through clenched teeth. She could still feel his entire body shaking with laughter. Finally, he choked back his mirth and pulled her hand away from his mouth.

“You are shy now, after all that we have done together?” He clamped his own hand over his mouth to cover his next chortle.

“That was different! Your entire family was not right outside the door.” She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips as she tried to convey just how serious she was.

His laughter slowly faded, but the smirk did not leave his mouth. He shook his head and glanced up at the ceiling. His arms were crossed over his broad chest as if he was forcing himself to hold still.

Rose glared at him for a moment longer to make sure he wasn’t peeking. Then she rushed to gather her clothes and get dressed. She watched him the entire time. He had not moved, but the look of mirth on his face never faded, either.

“You can look now,” she announced as she tried to untangle the knots in her hair with the hair-brush she had in her satchel. She stopped the useless task when she realized that he was staring at her. “What is it?” she asked, nervous.

He shook his head and smiled. “I’ve never seen you in the morning light before. You’re even more beautiful, if that is possible.”

His softly spoken words were like the sweetest music to Rose’s ears. If she had ever doubted for one second whether she should have gone with him, that tiniest of doubt was now gone completely.

Rose was shaking so violently, she didn’t think she would be able to speak. The thought of meeting White Owl’s family and the other villagers had her terrified. She took White Owl’s extended hand as he opened the flap and led her outside.

The village looked so different in the light of day. Now there were Indians everywhere. The air was heavy with smoke from the fires that cooked the morning meal, and there was activity wherever she looked: small children chased each other, dogs roamed around the fire pits looking for scraps of food to eat, and Rose found it impossible to believe that it was the same quiet dark village that she had entered the previous night.

Around the campfire nearest to White Owl’s tepee, the conversation abruptly stopped. All eyes were focused on the couple who had just exited the tepee.

White Owl cleared his throat and pulled Rose up beside him. “This is Wild Rose,” he said in a tone that sounded more like a command than an introduction. He wrapped his arm protectively around her waist and kept her pressed against his side.

Rose leaned as close to him as possible. She nodded her head numbly and glanced around, but all the faces blurred before her eyes. “H-hello,” she finally managed to say.

The older man rose to his feet and approached her without hesitation. Rose knew immediately that he had to be White Owl’s father. Although he had several long streaks of gray in his dark hair, he had the same regal, handsome features as White Owl. He smiled broadly and held out his hand to greet her.