Bittersweet Ecstasy (43 page)

Tashina and Soul-of-Thunder were joined before the midday meal so, they claimed, they could leave promptly and take advantage of the daylight, which would allow them to reach the Cheyenne camp by the time the moon was overhead. Tashina was ecstatic and she wished Sun Cloud were there to share this hardwon moment with her, but he had ridden to the fort to carry out a special mission and might not return until dawn. She could not wait for him, for Silver Hawk would arrive soon, and she wanted to be far away when that occurred.

Little Feet and Tashina hugged and kissed, wishing they were not being separated so soon after Little Feet’s return home. Both were married now, to the men they loved; and both looked forward to happy lives with their mates and children. Thunder Spirit and Soul-ofThunder promised the sisters they would arrange visits
between them later.

Tashina embraced White Arrow, Pretty Woman, Flaming Star, Morning Light, and other close friends. Many gave them gifts and wished them joy and safety. Tashina approached her weary father last. She gazed into his eyes, then hugged him tightly. “I love you, Father, and I will miss you. Little Feet will see to your needs until your mate joins you. Be happy, Father, and always remember me.”

Bright Arrow embraced Tashina affectionately. He could see how happy she was, and knew this union was for the best. “You be happy, my little one. I will come to visit soon. Go with the Great Spirit and let Him guide you and protect you. I love you, my precious little one.”

Windrider and Bright Arrow clasped forearms and exchanged smiles. “It is good and wise, my friend and brother,” the Cheyenne remarked.

Bright Arrow glanced at the blissful couple and nodded. As he watched them ride away, he was aware of how his life had changed in the last year. Loneliness attacked him fiercely, and he prayed that Singing Wind would arrive with Silver Hawk. If she did, he would convince her to join him this day and ease his sufferings this night.

Silver Hawk reached the Oglala camp during the evening meal, after everyone had rested and eaten. He presented his many gifts to Dull Knife, making quite an impression with his generosity which was supposed to indicate his feelings about his impending mate and union. He watched Little Flower’s eyes sparkle with pleasure and conceit, and it made him eager to tame her wild spirit and to destroy her arrogance.

The joining ceremony was a little longer than most, for he was a chief. Afterward, fruit wine and fruitspeckled pones were served by the families of Bright Arrow, Dull Knife, and several others. There was
singing, dancing, and other forms of merrymaking. There was much to celebrate this day, and all delighted in the happy occasion. Yet, Bright Arrow worried over Singing Wind’s absence.

The moon was climbing above the treetops and glowing brightly when Silver Hawk said it was time to leave. Bright Arrow tried to encourage him to spend the night in his tepee, but Silver Hawk smiled and declined, for himself. He encouraged his warriors to remain to indulge themselves during this special feast, and they eagerly agreed. After gathering his things and his new wife, Silver Hawk bid everyone farewell and departed. They rode for two hours in silence, until they reached a spot which he had chosen earlier for his wicked intention.

Little Flower did not suspect a thing as he helped her to dismount. He placed a sleeping mat on the ground between several trees and then told the girl to remove her garments and to lie upon it. Recalling yesterday in Bright Arrow’s tepee, Little Flower quickly and joyfully obeyed.

But Silver Hawk did not join her as she expected and desired. He smiled as he bound her wrists, then secured the rope to the tree beyond her head, pulling the rope just tight enough to stretch her arms above her and to prevent their interference later. When she questioned his actions, he smiled again and told her it was a special part of the ritual for a first union. He teased her about protecting himself while driving her wild with so much pleasure that this was to make certain she did not claw him to pieces during her excitement and mindless state.

Little Flower’s desire and anticipation increased as she waited tensely for him to begin. He took a strip of rawhide and gagged her, telling her it was to prevent her from crying aloud with delight and perhaps causing someone to think there was danger and interrupt them.
She watched Silver Hawk as he stood and stripped off his garments, exposing a manhood which evinced his hunger. She saw him position himself between her legs and let his eyes rove over her body.

By now, the reality of her misjudgment of Silver Hawk and her impending peril consumed Little Flower; she realized he was not going to stimulate her, or slake her desires, or be gentle with her. His eyes were like black ice and his hands were rough. She had watched his protective covering slip away before her wide eyes…

Singing Wind drew her knife to defend herself against the intruder who had unlaced her tepee flap and was sneaking inside. When the moonlight washed over him, she sighed happily and rushed forward…

After the flap was secured for total privacy, they embraced and kissed with deep emotion, for this was not a time for words. They held each other tightly, almost desperately, as they savored this blissful and stolen contact. His lips pressed kisses on each feature of her face as her hands stroked his coppery flesh with admiration and delight. Greedily their mouths fused once more and they clung to each other.

When they had taken enough lover’s sustenance to survive apart for a short time, he questioned hoarsely, “Why are you here alone?”

Singing Wind explained her trying dilemma, and he embraced her gratefully. “I am glad you did not go to our camp,” he murmured into her ear, then told her of his mission today as the “ghost” of Gray Eagle, and of his overwhelming need to see her and hold her, and of his hope he would find her here.

“When Medicine Bear’s tepee was gone, I feared you were sleeping with Shining Feather, but I could see only one body there. I prayed you had not gone to my camp when my brother’s mind is on joinings. You must stand firm against them, my love, until this bitter problem is solved. I was sneaking back into the forest
when I saw Medicine Bear’s tepee and came to check out my suspicion. Silver Hawk will pay for this black deed. He knows the outer tepees are the first ones to suffer attack from foes and he knows tepee placement indicates rank and honor. It is wicked of him to put the daughter of a chief and future mate of a chief in the last circle. He grows too bold.”

She caressed his cheek and coaxed, “Do not worry, my love; it is a trick to frighten me into joining Bright Arrow quickly.”

He took a lock of her silky ebony hair and rubbed it between his fingers as he stated, “But it is dangerous, my love. We have challenged the whites by attacking and defeating them. The others will be on the warpath soon. You must find someone to stay with until it is safe.”

She smiled mischievously and retorted, “Then, you could not sneak into my tepee to… visit me, and the vote to make you chief is far away. I cannot wait so long to have you again; I crave you more and more with each breath I take. This is meant to be.” She pulled his mouth to hers and fused them, ravenously feasting on his.

Sun Cloud became breathless and weak, and his body shuddered with rising need. It seemed he could not be near her like this without craving her wildly and completely. As if mesmerized, he watched her back away gracefully to halt in the large shaft of moonlight which came from the ventilation flap at the pinnacle of the tepee, which was spread to its fullest opening to encourage fresh air and soft light to enter. He was enthralled as she enticingly removed her garments and dropped them to the dirt floor. The silvery glow from overhead bathed her in an enchanting mixture of pale light and dim shadows. She remained there a time, allowing him to visually admire her captivating beauty
and shape; then she stepped forward and boldly removed his garments. She grasped his hand, led him to her sleeping mat, and lay down, drawing him along with her. “We waste precious moments with talk which changes nothing. Make love to me,” she urged huskily.

His mouth closed over hers in a tantalizing and yearning kiss. He relished the thrill of her utter abandonment, her sweetness, her eagerness. He caused each inch of her face to tingle from his ardent kisses. He began a new trek toward mutual bliss when his mouth roamed down her throat to capture a passion-firm breast and to drive its peak to tautness with his stimulating action. His moist tongue delightfully circled and teased each brown point until she was writhing upon the fuzzy mat. He sucked upon each in turn as if drawing life-giving liquid from them, without which he would die quickly and painfully.

Singing Wind could not imagine how long he feasted upon her breasts before his lips sought hers once more. His kisses were urgent and intense, but he did not fuse their bodies too rapidly. Her fingers played wildly in his hair, for he always wore it loose. There was a heady scent about him which teased at her smelling sense and filled her head with sensually masculine images. Her stomach tensed, then relaxed, as his hand wandered very slowly over it and into her private domain. She shifted her thighs to make room for his loving labor, which he deftly performed with a pervasive effect. As if a highly trained warrior tracking his clever prey in a private forest with slow deliberation and enjoyment, he explored each area—lush mounds, a tiny peak, silky valleys, hidden crevices, and a dark and damp cave. She was nearly mindless with hunger, but still he whet her appetite.

Sun Cloud savored the way she was responding to his skills and rapturous torments. Their bodies and
wills were pliant, and he artfully molded them to grant them the most pleasure. He inhaled sharply when her hand closed around his throbbing manhood and began to fondle it, creating exquisite sensations over his body, sensations perilous to his control over it. He was enslaved by her tantalizing caresses and her obvious delight with her ability to arouse him to a greater desire for her. After a short time, he gently and defensively pushed her hand aside to enter her, pausing to master his urge to take her swiftly. She sorely tested his restraint again as she arched to meet him and wrapped her legs around his and matched his rhythm perfectly.

The heights of their desires and her provocative enticements urged him to slake passion’s demands fiercely. His slow and gentle strokes became stronger and swifter as their hungers mounted with each one given and returned. They rode urgently toward the land of rapture until there was no holding back or stopping their brazen ecstasies from spilling forth and mingling rapturously. Still they labored lovingly and savagely as if there were no beginning or ending to their potent releases. When every spasm had ceased, they were drained and breathless, but still they clung to each other, kissing tenderly and sharing endearments.

They remained locked together, absorbing the emotions and touches which were vital to such a union. Their hearts surged with love and contentment as their sated passions responded to their closeness and this peaceful aftermath. They treasured what they had shared, and knew they would share forever. Their caresses and kisses were light as their bodies cooled and relaxed.

“I wish I did not have to take everything from my brother,” he murmured sadly into her ear. “Soon, he will lose you and the chief’s bonnet. He has been unhappy and incomplete for too long.”

“It is not our doing, my love,” she told him tenderly. “He blindly seeks what it not meant to be his. Grandfather is generous and kind; He will find other things to fill Bright Arrow’s life and heart.”

“I pray it is soon, my love, for it is hard to see him so empty and miserable. If I could give you to him to soften his heart and to help him, I would step aside, but I love you and need you too much.”

“In time, your sacrifices would not matter, for it is his true love that he longs for,” she whispered to comfort Sun Cloud.

“If only Wahea was alive and I could find her for him…”

At Fort Manuel the next morning, Rebecca Kenny packed her belongings to continue her exciting and intimidating trek home. They had traveled swiftly, for Manuel Lisa was not feeling well and was anxious to reach St. Louis; none realized how serious his illness was, nor that he would be dead soon after reaching his destination. As best she could judge, they were one hundred and fifty miles from her love’s territory, but the trip by boat on the Missouri River should pass rapidly. Her only problem was locating Gray Eagle’s summer camp, for it often changed locations as the buffalo did, and she could not risk asking suspicious questions about the Sioux. But she would worry about that predicament when she reached Fort Dakota, the nearest place to her love’s domain, a point from which she could solve this mystery and begin her final leg homeward.

She brushed her long auburn hair and let it fall loosely down her back. Her whiskey-colored eyes were bright and her cheeks were flushed with anticipation. Each mile covered caused her heart to race more
forcefully and swiftly with mounting excitement and suspense. She hated to reveal her eagerness, which was nearly impossible, for she realized how difficult this momentous journey was for Jeremy Comstock, for he knew that her success meant his defeat where she was concerned.
Defeat,
her mind echoed painfully. What if the defeat was hers? What would she do if Bright Arrow had a new life, and a new love?

If only their separation had not been so long. If only he knew she was still alive and on her way back to him. What if he did not understand about Jeremy Comstock, for he hated and battled whites? Yes, she had been forced to live with Jeremy for over a year, but she had never slept with him, no matter what others believed or what Jeremy had wanted. She frowned as she wondered if Bright Arrow had been as faithful to her during her lengthy absence. She would admit, at times, it had been hard to refuse the attentions of this gentle and ruggedly handsome male who loved her and desired her, and made those facts known as often as possible. And yes, at times, her denied and susceptible body had burned from unrequited passions and physical need. She had been tempted on a few occasions to yield to him, but she had not. Still, she knew it was different for men; men could enjoy and accept sex without love. She feared that in his loneliness and despair he had turned to another woman. Could she accept that situation? Sex, yes, she decided wisely, but not love. If he was married again, could she disrupt his new life? Perhaps it would be wiser to seek the truth and vital information from his best friend Windrider…