Hunting the Huntress (4 page)

Through the darkness she ran. Looking down, she saw her body was a translucent wraith of smoke. She ran not on the earth but across the moonlit sky.

Beside her came the thud, thud, thud of a steady-beating heart. It echoed loudly in the dark and drowned out any sounds of the world below them. Turning her head, she found she ran alongside the specter of the Great Spirit, he who watched over the earth and her people. Awestruck, she stopped to face the spirit form of the totem.

Greetings, Great Father.
She bowed her head in respectful welcome. Her lips of mist did not move, yet the words hung in the air between them.

Greetings, my huntress
. His head nodded briefly in return. He studied her for a long moment.
Run with me.
While the night wind swirled across the skies, she found herself again stretching her legs with the mighty spirit.

For long moments, they raced through the night. As their shadows rushed across the ground far below, she saw the Great Plains fall away behind them and the northern hills begin to form ahead. Soon they were crossing them, and ahead stretched the vast length of the Rock Yellow River.

Along its banks, she could see a large camp settled on the edge of the river. It was near winter this far north, and she knew the people here had begun the trip to their winter lands.

The Great Spirit stopped above the sleeping tribe. His voice carried both compassion and hope when he spoke again.
Look closely at my people, Huntress. Tell me what you
see.

She studied the lodges carefully. They seemed well-formed, and well-cared for.

Several fires smoldered in the dark, the flames keeping pots simmering throughout the cold night. She could see guards on the outskirts, keeping watch over the families that slept in their care.

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The whimper of a baby came from one, quickly soothed by a loving whisper.

Outside the door of that lodge sat a small, wooden frame, designed to carry an infant during the long walk. Her back itched, imagining what it would feel like to carry the precious burden.

I see your people, Great Father. Sleeping secure in the night under your watchful
eye.

He sighed gently.
Look closer, my daughter. Look with the eye of a huntress, the
instincts of a warrior.

She studied it again, this time looking as a huntress. And then she saw it. The great lodge of the chief, their leader, was dark. Its skins were pulled back to show the emptiness inside. And beside it, the lodge of the shaman was also dark and still. Together they formed a deep shadow instead of being the center of the vibrant life of the tribe.

The other sleeping lodges were set closely a slight distance away, as if gathering strength by their nearness. It was a strength that should have come from the presence of the tribe’s leaders.

This is the tribe of Tate and Cheveyo?
She knew the answer even as she asked.

Come. Our time is near an end
. He spun on shadowy paws without answering and began the return run, forcing her to follow.

Why have they left the tribe leaderless on the winter journey?

They have not abandoned their people, Nilana. They travel to strengthen them. To
find a mate who will share their hearth. One who will complete them. Who will bring new
life and new possibilities to their tribe.

A shiver of denial shuddered across her fur.
Why have you shown me this?

Look inside, Nilana. Your spirit knows the answer to your question
. He stopped running again to stare into her eyes, his gaze full of love and expectations.

She looked away, unable to hide her fear.
I cannot give them what they seek, Great
Spirit.

Are you truly sure?
His wise voice, full of compassion, soothed her heart.

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I know nothing of being a mate, of tending and caring for a family. I am a huntress.

It is where my future lies.
Tears filled her eyes as she whispered the words.

Why are you so quick to deny the possibility?

I do not ask for this!
Why was this being thrust on her? But now that the possibilities had been shown to her, it was harder than it should have been to banish the images from her mind. The small pack, leaning outside the lodge. The sounds of passion in the night.

The feel of her body, caressed and pleasured by two men who had followed her where none before had dared or desired.

The crack that had opened in her soul when she joined with Tate spread wider, and for the first time she questioned her chosen path. Was a life as a huntress all she wanted?

Would it be enough to fill the long days and longer nights ahead?

You have run for many days as Nilana the solitary huntress. For six years, no man
has claimed you in the hunt. Word of the huntress has spread far among the Chimaga,
little one.
His rich voice rolled over her, deep with loving approval.

Nilana felt the rush of pride sweep through her. It was a good thing, to have pleased the Great Spirit.
Your approval warms me, my Father.

But you have allowed your gifts to cage your life, when they were only ever intended
to enhance it.
He began running again as he spoke, and she was forced to follow. Ahead she saw the dark shadow of the dry canyon, and she knew their spirit run was coming to an end.

Now you have a choice to make my daughter. Look in your heart. Let your strengths
guide you, not cage you in a life you were not meant to live.

They slowed to a stop, and she felt the gentle caress of his spirit as it stroked her own.
Choose wisely, brave huntress
. And then he was gone into the night, leaving her to think of the future that she’d always thought awaited and a future that she’d not dared to consider.

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Nilana rolled sleepily to her side, burrowing into the hardness behind her. It felt amazingly warm, almost alive, much better than the furs that filled her sleeping lodge.

Sudden alertness rushed through her, and her eyes snapped open. She definitely was not in her lodge. The words of the Great Spirit slid away, leaving a reassuring knowledge in her heart where there had been nothing but doubts and fears.

Tate’s ebony gaze stared back at her from inches away. His large body covered the hard ground beside her. One strong hand lay under his head, the other rested firmly on her hip. Smiling with satisfaction, he said, “Welcome back.” His slid his hand up to cup her breast, rubbing the nipple lightly between his fingers.

She sucked in a startled breath. It felt more than good, his fingers on her skin. It felt right. Arousal flooded through her veins.

As awareness returned to her, she recognized the heat against her back as Cheveyo.

Nilana looked over her shoulder, finding the deep green eyes of the shaman only inches away. Steady and measuring they watched her for a reaction. Shadowed with restrained passion, they burned into her. He still smelled of hunger and need.

Lying between the two men, cradled in their heat, she searched inside for the panic she’d felt earlier. It was gone. Serenity dawned in its place and she turned back to face the warrior.

“You did not force the spirit mating.” Her voice sounded husky from the desire that was again winding its way through her body. She took a deep breath and pushed the heat aside, determined to focus on the answer.

“We would not force on you what you did not welcome fully.” Tate’s gaze flickered from hers to meet Cheveyo’s. “No matter how strong our desire.” His hand continued its caress. Her stomach clenched as her need swelled anew.

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They had not forced her. Her totem roared inside her, proud and unbeaten. And hungry.

Their bodies had joined, but their totems had not mated. The cougar spirit paced inside her, wanting more than it had been given. The beast yearned for the completion of joining with its mates. Nilana knew the primitive urge would grow until the moon had crossed the sky and passed beyond the horizon. She felt a touch of awe knowing they had held off what must have been an overwhelming urge to complete the joining under the pull of the harvest moon. She was yet a
Chimaga
huntress, free to run alone. No decisions had been pushed on her this night.

But they had awoken a part of her she did not know lived before she had run with them under the moon. Wants she had never thought to fulfill had been brought to life.

She had reveled in their hunt. For every spurt of fear coursing to life, there had been an answering excitement. This night she found not one, but two men who had made her feel alive in a way she never thought to find. The flames they brought to life burned brightly under their attention. And without that attention, the fire would settle down to mere embers, burning in the ash.

“I am a huntress,” she whispered. “The Great Spirit’s gifts are not to be taken away by whim. I will let no man take that from me with a mating.”

Cheveyo spooned tighter against her from behind. His hard cock pressed tight between them. The impulse rose inside her to wiggle against him, freeing him to slide between her legs from behind. She fought the urge.

“We will not take what is not offered. No matter how sweet the prize.” The shaman whispered the words over her shoulder, soothing her with his voice. “We would never demand from you more than you give to us willingly. But tonight, if you choose it, we will be your eager partners, sharing in the light of the moon.”

Nilana froze in confusion. Cheveyo’s words were a balm to the rawness that had sprung to life inside her. She fought once more the warring impulses of her spirit as a voice inside urged her to flee, while another pleaded with her to stay. If she said no to
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what they asked, they would release her. Or she could remain, join with them both, and know a passion like she’d never experienced before.

It was the urge to stay that had her nipples drawing to tight beads beneath Tate’s knowing fingers. It was the urge to flee that held her still in their grasp.

“Will you be with us tonight, huntress Nilana?” The shaman’s words were a mere whisper in the shadows of the night, but they arrowed their way into her core. Why was she was fighting this? Fear or no, she had never felt this need to stay with another before.

They had proved their honor. They would not bind their totems without her agreement.

There was nothing to hold her back from one night of pleasure. It could be a chance to create memories that would feed this new flame of life, long after they had gone.

She met Tate’s gaze again, saw his eyebrow raised in question. He had been waiting, watching. Now he spoke softly. “We ran the harvest hunt as
Chimaga
, and the pleasure was sweet. We joined with you under the light of the full moon, offering ourselves to the Great Spirit as tradition demands. Now we ask you for this one night. Will you stay with us?”

Shaken by her desire to stay, she lowered her gaze. If she stayed, would she be able to walk away? Would they be able to let her?

With a deep breath she took the leap of a lifetime. Nilana pushed the words of the Great Spirit aside and gave into her desires.

Raising a hand, she brushed her fingers across Tate’s lips. He sucked tenderly at the sensitive pads, encouraging her to slip one into the dampness of his mouth. His teeth and tongue awoke every sensitive nerve from tip to base when she did. She remembered that same mouth as it had ravished her, and felt her body melt at the thought.

“I offer only tonight.” Nilana forced the words from her lips, lips that were burning for their kisses. Fear still coiled in her stomach at the thought of losing her freedom forever. “But if one night is all we can have, let us make the most of it.” She turned her head to find Cheveyo’s lips waiting a breath away. She swallowed and nodded, allowing herself a small smile of anticipation. “Yes.”

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He nipped her lower lip, licked at its upper twin. Nibbled his way along them, soothing the stinging flesh with his tongue. Then he took possession of her mouth with thorough control that had her gasping his name.

She pressed back into him and settled her body along his until she felt his heat all along her backside, enjoying his sounds of arousal as his cock pressed between her buttocks. His rigidly hard flesh all but burned against her skin.

“Nilana.” He groaned, the sound of feral hunger.

“Oh, yes.” She lifted one leg, leaving him no doubt what she was offering. She wanted him inside her, needed to feel his hard length pushing into her.

“You’re even more beautiful here in my arms than you were in my vision.”

“Vision?” She managed to squeeze the word out past the rumble of pleasure building in her chest.

“I had the most incredible spirit walk last moon.” His hand was hot on her stomach, rubbing in exquisitely delicate circles across her skin. “Of a powerful huntress, running with us under the harvest fullness.” She felt the pattern he was weaving on her flesh as if it were being drawn with live fire.

She wiggled against him, not wanting him to stop either his words or his hands. “A huntress?” She forced the words through a throat tight with need.

“A great huntress, full of passion and strength. She led us on the hunt of a lifetime.

The entire tribe celebrated great success with her in our circle. With her by our side, my vision showed we will have many seasons of fruitful hunts.” Cheveyo’s hand slid between her thighs. His fingers found her already drenched in anticipation. “Our children will grow strong and be many with such a mate.”

“Children.” The image of a tiny child in her arms, his eyes as brilliant green as the shaman who spoke to her, filled her mind.

“Many children.” His head bowed over her shoulder as he slid two fingers into her wetness. “Your body is wet for us.”

Tate’s voice picked up when Cheveyo’s trailed off.

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“The spirit told us we would find our huntress at the harvest hunt. And so we came.

And found the most exquisite of all
Chimaga
did indeed run with the hunters of her tribe.

We had hoped our vision would come to be true.”

Tate took her mouth, claiming her lips as his. Her belly tightened in fierce hunger, echoed by the moisture gathering between her thighs.

His lips curled up into a smile as he pulled away. Then his hands were on her shoulders, firmly urging her to roll in the slight space between them. When she came still again, she had reversed direction, and she was staring at the broad, scarred chest of the shaman. Cheveyo’s gaze captured her as he continued his seduction with words.

“In my dreams, she danced the maiden dance, her body bringing us such pleasure as she moved to the drums. And her spirit followed us through our dreams.”

Cheveyo cupped her head, bringing her mouth back to his. His tongue swirled around hers, slow, sensuous and tasting of the night. His erection pumped against her thighs and belly, reminding her he had only watched while she and Tate had joined earlier. He had enjoyed no satisfaction, other than what he gained by watching. Nilana leaned into his kiss. She was ready for him.

Behind her, Tate had cuddled close as he spoke. She was vaguely aware when one hand slipped around her waist to hold her tight. She gasped in surprise when his free hand raised her knee, then slipped behind her to caress the line from ass to clit. He was holding back now, watching as his friend brought his body to hers. But she sensed he was not going to be the passive onlooker the shaman had been. Tate’s words flowed over her like the warm, summer wind, seducing her spirit as surely as the shaman’s hands were seducing her body.

“She was a woman like no other, generous in body and spirit. She faced our foes without fear, and brought joy to our lodge. And the mating of warrior, shaman and huntress was blessed by the spirits as a time of bounty.”

She moaned as Cheveyo’s exploring fingers traced her clit. Stroking, rubbing, he took her quickly to the edge of climax. She arched into his hand demandingly, her eyes drifting shut as she fought towards release. Her body wanted him inside her. She burned 36

to feel him stretching her, filling her. With Tate’s words still echoing in her ears, she longed to feel the power of joining their bodies, if not their spirits.

Cheveyo’s voice rumbled softly. “Open your eyes. I want to see you when we come together.”

Great Spirit, yes.
She looked up to see him watching her with hunger curling his lips.

Their gazes locked, and he whispered her name. “Nilana.” He entered her, the first few thick inches caressing the walls of her passage. He paused when she moaned, concern reflecting in his gaze. “Are you—”

“More. Don’t stop.” She whimpered softly. “I’m burning inside for you to fill me.

Please, Cheveyo?” Her hips undulated against him, trying to gain more of those long, hard inches for her hungry body as she sensed him holding back.

He groaned against her. “You are ready for all of me?” He drew back, thrust forward, and gained another inch for his efforts.

“Yes!” Her body was moving hungrily against his now.

He lifted her in one smooth movement and rolled until she was atop him. Pushing her thighs wide, he held her upright and groaned as her weight pushed her further down his shaft. “Then take me, Huntress. Take me in your heat.” His hips shifted beneath her, and he began a slow, rocking motion that thrust him into her core with each powerful push.

Nilana arched her back. Her body opened above him, eager dew sliding from her nether lips and trailing down her thighs with each rise and fall. She let the weight of her body pull her down over him, inch by thick inch. The control was in her hands, and she abandoned herself to the sweet agony of her need. Up and down she rose and fell, relishing the feeling of fullness as he was sheathed within her.

It felt good. It felt perfectly right. Her body began to dance atop his, following a sensual rhythm as free as the night around them. Her head thrown back, she felt the rise of the climax as it swelled inside her. Straddling his hips, she rose with the surging peak and rode it to ecstasy as release rushed through her in a long, hot wave. She collapsed above him as the climax hit her, shattering her with its force.

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As she trembled against him, he rolled, holding her tight around him. And then, kneeling between her legs, he called her name. With his gaze locked to hers, he began to thrust, harder and faster.

From beside her, Tate’s warm hands covered her breasts, pinching and rolling her nipples into sharp buds of delighted sensation. His shaft jutted from his thighs, the broad head inches from her lips. She turned her head until her breath washed across him, and a drop of clear fluid appeared at the tip. Wanting to taste him, needing to bring him into their pleasure, she raised her head and stroked the swollen flesh with her tongue.

“Ahhh, Wildcat.” Tate pulsed beneath her tongue. “Lick me. Taste me as I tasted you.”

Opening her mouth, she gave him an invitation he could not refuse. In an instant he knelt over her, placing his cock within reach. His shaft filled her mouth. She sucked him deeper as he groaned and pressed into her throat.

Sucking firmly, she closed her lips around him. His hands cupped her head and urged her to take him deeper, an invitation she couldn’t refuse. Greedily she pulled him into her mouth, sucking his hardness until she felt her throat close around him. Matching Cheveyo’s thrusts, she began milking the warrior with her tongue, urging him to find release. When the shaman’s thumb arrowed in to press against her clit, she closed her eyes and sucked harder.