Shadow Walker (22 page)

Shadow Walker stepped boldly into view. “How did you know it was I?”

“I just knew.” Her gaze traveled the length of his
powerful form. He was bronzed all over from the sun and his hair shone. His breechclout did little to conceal the bold thrust of his manhood or the taut mounds of his buttocks.

Shadow Walker stepped closer. “I saw you talking to Yapping Wolf earlier. Have you decided to join with him?”

“I’m still considering it.”

“He’s not the man for you.”

“Would you prefer I choose Stands Alone?”

Shadow Walker realized he could see no man but himself making love to Dawn. “I don’t think he’d make you happy.”

“I’m leaning toward Yapping Wolf,” Dawn said to test his reaction.

His reaction was immediate and violent. He pulled her into his arms and brought his mouth down on hers. His kiss was hungry, almost punishing, sending the pit of her stomach into a wild swirl. When his tongue demanded entrance, she opened to him. Her resistance seemed to ebb as his tongue ravished and probed, tasted and dueled. Her body felt heavy, hot, driven mad by this green-eyed savage who had taught her body to need his. When he finally released her mouth, Dawn staggered backward, stunned by the brilliance of his passion.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked shakily. “Wasn’t Laughing Brook enough for you?”

Shadow Walker groaned in dismay, aware that she had seen him entering Laughing Brook’s tipi.

“Nothing happened between Laughing Brook and me.”

She gave an unladylike snort. “I don’t believe
you. Laughing Brook is quite shameless in her pursuit of you. And you seemed willing enough to join her in her lodge.”

He gave her a slow smile. “Are you jealous?”

Dawn flushed and looked away. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how much seeing him with the provocative widow had hurt her. Shadow Walker had given her no hope of becoming more to him than an intimate friend, so why should she feel jealousy?

“Dawn, look at me.” He grasped her chin and raised her face to his. “I didn’t make love to Laughing Brook because I kept wishing it was you in my arms. I want you, Dawn. God help me, for I cannot help myself.”

“No, don’t!” she cried, shoving his hands away. If he touched her she’d shatter. But it was already too late. His hands slid down her body, cupping her bottom and bringing her against the hard thrust of his erection, and she was lost.

Shadow Walker lowered Dawn to a bed of soft moss without breaking contact with her mouth. The hungry urgency of his kisses sent spirals of fire through her. They were both panting as he kissed the pulsing hollow at the base of her throat, nibbled on a pink earlobe, and pressed his lips to the tops of her breasts visible above the vee of her blouse.

“God, you’re sweet,” he breathed against her lips. “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed this.”

Dawn’s first thought was to deny him. But that thought quickly died, lost in the heat of Shadow Walker’s kisses. His taste was so familiar. It was like an addiction. The more he kissed her, the more kisses she wanted. Within seconds she was responding to the compelling demand of his
mouth, clinging with desperation, hungrily yielding to the magic of his touch.

He began undressing her, removing her clothing piece by piece. Dawn was too caught up in her own passion to utter a word of protest. Then she was naked and he was kissing her again, one hand kneading her breast, the other cupping her mound, delving a finger through soft down into the velvety cleft already moist for him. The heel of his hand rubbed teasingly against her tiny sensitive nub of passion as Dawn arched up against him.

“You want me as badly as I want you,” Shadow Walker whispered against her lips.

Dawn opened her mouth to deny his words, but nothing came out save for a low, anguished moan.

He carefully inserted another finger inside her. His own body tightened painfully in response to the heat building inside her. When her body arched violently against his probing fingers, he wanted to thrust inside her, but he forced himself to be patient.

“You’re so beautiful. All smooth and soft and hot,” he murmured against her lips. “Your breasts are magnificent.” His free hand cradled a breast, grazing his thumb lightly over her raised nipple.

Dawn shivered with delight and moaned as a jolt of pure longing shot through her. Though Shadow Walker wore little to remove, his breechclout became a barrier between them. She pulled at the offending garment, telling him what she wanted without words. He rose slightly and slipped it off. His manhood sprang free, rising high against the taut ridges of his belly. Dawn
swallowed convulsively as she reached out to touch him.

Shadow Walker went rigid, grasping her hand and moving it up and down in a motion he found pleasing. Then his mouth sought the pert peak of one breast. His tongue flicked at it with sensual strokes, then he sucked deeply. Dawn felt the pull in that secret place between her legs. She felt hot and damp, pulsing with desperate need.

His hands were never still. He stroked her hips and thighs, her breasts and between her legs. A tortured groan escaped her lips.

“Soon, love, soon,” Shadow Walker gasped as jagged spears of desire pierced him.

“Now,” Dawn pleaded. She could not bear another moment of this exquisite torture.

He merely grinned as he removed her hands from his member, slid down her body and nudged her legs apart. She felt his warm breath whisper over her intimate flesh and went rigid with wanting. His tongue flicked over the swollen petals of her sex as he lifted her hips to his mouth. He tasted and licked, delved and explored with wild abandon. The sweet torment went on and on—until with a hoarse cry she shattered. Before the last spasm left her body, he rose to his knees and thrust into her, triggering a second climax nearly as violent as the first.

Shadow Walker went still, staring down at her in wonder. Her second climax surprised him. “I love watching your face when you climax,” he said in a voice made raw with passion. The pressure of her tremors against his sex was driving him mad.

His muscles were taut, his expression stark as
he flexed his hips and drove into her, again and again, his loins pumping vigorously. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he held her suspended in the flames of her climax. He rode her hard and deep, one pounding thrust after another. With a hoarse shout, he spilled his seed inside her, and still he continued. Finally his thrusting motion stopped and he rolled off her onto his back.

Dazed, Dawn stared up at the sky. She felt as if she had been catapulted above those lofty clouds to touch the sun. Her body still burned from the searing heat. She turned her head toward Shadow Walker and found him looking at her. She flushed and tried to cover herself with her discarded clothing.

“Don’t,” he said, staying her hand. “Let me look at you a while longer.”

“What if someone comes along?”

“They won’t. We’re well off the beaten path. You’re very beautiful. You remind me of …” His words trailed off.

“… Morning Mist,” Dawn whispered, beginning to hate the woman Shadow Walker still loved. “She’s dead.”

Shadow Walker’s lips thinned. Being reminded of his loss hurt.

Dawn sat up and began dressing. “This shouldn’t have happened. I’m going to be another man’s wife soon. It would be better for both of us if you left before spring. You’re too much of a temptation. You brought me here to find a new life for myself; why can’t you leave me alone?”

Why, indeed? Shadow Walker pondered. Since he didn’t want Dawn for himself, he should leave
her to someone else and find temporary pleasure with Laughing Brook. Unfortunately, he didn’t want Laughing Brook. And the thought of Dawn with Yapping Wolf or any other man did not sit well with him. In fact, there was no way he would let Dawn waste herself on Yapping Wolf. Even if he had to … Sweet Lord, what was he thinking? There was only one way to prevent such a thing from happening, but was he ready to commit to another permanent relationship? Shadow Walker pondered long and hard on the situation at hand.

Dawn was dressed and ready to return to camp when he reached a decision. He leaped to his feet and grasped her arm, preventing her from leaving.

“I can’t allow you to join with Yapping Wolf.”

“Perhaps I’ve decided to join with Stands Alone.”

“You can’t marry him, either.”

Dawn bristled indignantly. “Whom do you suggest I marry?”

“Me.”

Dawn went still. “What did you say?”

“I know I said I’d never marry again, but you’re my responsibility. The only way I can protect you is to marry you myself.”

Dawn continued to stare at him. He stood proudly naked and unashamed of his nudity. She thought he was the most magnificent man she’d ever seen. Marrying him would be the culmination of all her dreams. But she, better than anyone, knew that dreams seldom came true.

“I realize now that leaving you with Running Elk would be a mistake,” he explained. “I had no idea things would turn out this way. I’d be leaving
you in a dangerous environment and it wouldn’t be right. We’ll be married as soon as we return to civilization. I’ll take you to my sister. She’ll look after you when I leave.”

“When you leave?” Dawn repeated dully. “And of course you
will
leave.”

“I’ll give you my name, Dawn, but don’t expect me to hang around and act like a doting husband. What we have right now is all we’ll ever share. We enjoy each other’s bodies and like one another. We’re lucky to have that much in common.”

“Lucky, indeed,” Dawn said in a voice taut with anger. “What will I do after you dump me with your sister?”

Shadow Walker shrugged. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Why must you do anything?”

“No, thank you, but I decline. I’d rather take my chances with Yapping Wolf. At least he wouldn’t be an absentee husband.”

“You’re refusing me?” Shadow Walker was astounded. “Laughing Brook would jump at the chance to join with me.”

“Then marry Laughing Brook,” Dawn shot back. “I don’t want you, Shadow Walker. I want all or nothing from the man I marry. A close second behind a dead wife isn’t enough for me. I prefer to marry someone who will give me his whole heart.” She turned away.

“I told you before my heart is not free to …”

Dawn walked away without looking back. Her own heart was breaking, but she’d never let Shadow Walker see how much his words had hurt her. She had been married once to a man who didn’t love her and she refused to make the same
mistake twice. Perhaps she’d choose Stands Alone for a husband. He mooned over her like a lovesick puppy. At least he wouldn’t dump her with relatives and disappear to pursue a life separate from hers.

Exasperated, Shadow Walker watched Dawn stalk away. What did she want from him? He’d give her everything she desired except his heart. They were good together in bed. He had just made love to her, and already his body wanted her again. He picked up his breechclout, tied it on and started back to camp. He had no idea what he would do next. He couldn’t protect Dawn if she didn’t want to be protected.

The weather turned cold. Shadow Walker was forced to don his deerskin shirt and leggings for warmth. It would snow soon. Running Elk had given him a buffalo robe to wear as a wrap when the weather turned bitter. Dawn had finished her tunic and wore it now. Shadow Walker thought she looked fetching in Indian garb. But then, she looked fetching in anything she wore—or didn’t wear.

Shadow Walker was currying his horse one morning when Running Elk approached to speak with him. “Dawn has agreed to join with Stands Alone,” Running Elk said. “She’s requested that I ask Dream Spinner to name a propitious date for their joining.”

“Damn her!” Shadow Walker spat from between clenched teeth.

“Why does that make you angry? I thought it was what you wanted.”

Shadow Walker gave him a sheepish look. “Of course it’s what I wanted. Dawn has made her choice, I’ll abide by it.” He turned abruptly and walked away before Running Elk saw how deeply he was affected by Dawn’s decision.

Running Elk smiled knowingly as he watched Shadow Walker stalk away.

Winter blew in with a vengeance. Most days Dawn huddled in her lodge to escape the bitter cold. She saw little of Shadow Walker these days. Whenever she did see him he was with Laughing Brook. It appeared as if he was courting the widow, and Dawn tried not to care.

Dawn waited for Dream Spinner to name a date for her joining with Stands Alone. After reading the bones he tossed upon the ground, Dream Spinner named a day that coincided with the full moon, only two weeks away. Running Elk was told, and a feast was planned to celebrate the joining. According to Dawn’s calculations, it would be February 20.

Despite Shadow Walker’s words about accepting Dawn’s decision, he nevertheless was livid when he heard the news and expressed his anger to Running Elk. “Damn her! She cannot join with Stands Alone! He will not make her happy.”

“Perhaps I should have advised her to accept Yapping Wolf’s suit,” Running Elk said with restrained levity.

“You know how I feel about that match.”

“Did you not bring Dawn here to find a mate from among my people?”

Shadow Walker gave him a mutinous look. “I’ve
changed my mind. There is a dangerous situation brewing on the plains. I prefer to settle Dawn where she will be safe.”

“You must speak to Dawn. I had no say in her decision.”

Shadow Walker thought it over and decided to follow Running Elk’s advice. It was time to confront Dawn and talk some sense into her. Living conditions here were more abysmal than he had imagined. Food was scarce, and the cows promised by the government failed to arrive. Shadow Walker went hunting every day with the men but more times than not came back empty-handed. There weren’t enough blankets to go around, and the situation would only grow worse as winter progressed. Even more disheartening was the knowledge that Running Elk planned to join the warring Sioux at the Little Big Horn.

Huddled in a blanket, Dawn sat in her lodge trying to keep warm. She felt alone and unwanted. In a few days she would be Stands Alone’s wife, and despite his obvious infatuation, she didn’t love him and never would. Damn Shadow Walker! Didn’t he know how much she was hurting? She clutched her stomach, fighting the terrible nausea that had plagued her the past few days. Sometimes it was so bad she went running from the lodge to spew out her guts.