Shadow Walker (25 page)

Shadow Walker didn’t know how much longer he could hold on. His body was drawn as taut as a bowstring. He was so close to the edge, a tiny nudge would send him hurtling into oblivion. “Come to me, love. Come …”

Dawn needed no prodding. Her body was his to do with as he pleased. She felt the vibrations begin from somewhere deep inside her, radiating to every part of her body. She matched him thrust for thrust, throwing her head back and crying out her pleasure. She exploded violently, overcome by raw sensations so intense they defied definition. Shadow Walker continued thrusting until the last tremor left her body, then he gave a hoarse shout and lifted her off him, spewing his seed onto the ground.

“That was … incredible,” he gasped as he struggled for breath. Of course, it would have
been even more incredible had he spent himself inside her. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, you didn’t hurt me.” She nestled against him, already half asleep.

Dawn awakened a short time later to a clamoring inside her body. Her skin burned and her nerve endings tingled with awareness. Soft lips covered hers in a gentle kiss.

Shadow Walker.

She smiled and kissed him back, bringing her arms around his neck.

“I want you again,” he whispered against her lips. “I can’t seem to get enough of you.”

“Didn’t Laughing Brook satisfy you?”

“I haven’t had another woman since meeting you. Lord knows I tried to make myself desire Laughing Brook, but my body refused to obey. A blue-eyed waif with magnificent breasts kept interfering.”

“I don’t believe you,” Dawn scoffed. “You’re too hot-blooded to reject Laughing Brook’s offering.”

“I speak the truth,” he said solemnly. “Forget Laughing Brook. Will you let me love you again?”

“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”

He gave her a cocky grin. “I don’t ever want to disappoint you.”

“You never do.”

He kissed her endlessly, bringing her body to aching arousal with his hands and mouth.

“Lie on your side facing me and bring your leg over my hips,” he instructed in a voice that exuded sensuality. “That’s right.” He touched her between the legs. “Ah, you’re wet already.” They were fused from breast to groin as he eased inside her. For a
time their coupling was slow and easy. Then his blood ran too hot to control and he began sliding in and out in hard, swift stokes. And suddenly he was there.

“It’s too soon!” he cried, fearing he’d leave Dawn behind. He brought his hand between them and found the tiny bud of her desire. With the pad of his thumb he rotated it gently, slowly bringing her to the same peak of excitement he had already attained. “Now!” he hissed as he felt her rushing toward climax.

Dawn reacted powerfully to his words, trembling with the force of her explosion. A few seconds later Shadow Walker cried out hoarsely and withdrew, spilling his seed on the ground.

“You’re mine,” Shadow Walker growled as he hugged her possessively. “You’ll join with me when we reach the Little Big Horn.”

Dawn did not hear him. She had already fallen asleep.

The mountains and valleys were ablaze with color. Wildflowers carpeted the fertile ground, and the verdant mountains were lush with new foliage. The loss of her child still plagued Dawn. She kept wondering what her child would have looked like had he lived. The child would have been a son, of course, with Shadow Walker’s burnished hair and strong body.

They reached the Sioux village on the banks of the Little Big Horn River the first week in June. Dawn had never seen so many Indians gathered in one place.

“There must be thousands gathered here,” she
said to Spring Rain as they paused at the top of a hill to look down upon the village.

“Running Elk said at least three thousand Sioux and northern Cheyenne warriors are gathered here. We are among the last to arrive.”

Soon they reached the place on the riverbank that Running Elk had chosen for their campsite. During the next hours, activity was at a fever pitch as the women raised their lodges and settled in. Soon campfires dotted the area, and the aroma of food wafted through the air.

Shadow Walker appeared at Dawn’s elbow. He had come to ask if she needed help erecting her lodge. “There is a council meeting tonight,” he said as he began unloading the travois. “Chiefs Crazy Horse, Gall and Low Dog will be there, and I’m going to try to talk them out of this folly.”

“Do you think it will do any good?” Dawn asked as she watched him set the lodgepoles in place.

“It can’t hurt. The army is bound to learn about the huge force preparing for battle and will try to trap the largest group of hostile Indians ever to gather in one place. I may be very late tonight—don’t wait up for me.”

“I don’t think it is wise for you to continue to share my lodge. You’ll be leaving soon, and the People will consider me a loose woman for living with you.”

“I don’t care what the People think. You won’t be here to worry about it. You’re leaving with me.”

“Damn you! You have no right to tell me what to do.”

“You think not?” He smiled at her and stepped back to admire his work. “There, it’s finished. All
you need do is arrange our sleeping mat.”

Dawn hated his overbearing arrogance. She was preparing to give him the sharp edge of her tongue when he walked away. “Impossible man,” she complained to his departing back.

A short time later, Sun In The Face brought Dawn a pure white tunic richly embroidered with beads and feathers. It was so lovely Dawn felt unworthy to touch it.

“What is this for?”

“For your joining with Shadow Walker,” the Indian woman said shyly. “Laughing Brook is very angry.”

“I never said I’d join with Shadow Walker,” Dawn countered. Did she have no say in her own future?

“Shadow Walker told Running Elk to prepare a feast. It is to take place tomorrow night. Here,” she said, placing the tunic over Dawn’s arm. “It is yours. Be happy. Shadow Walker deserves happiness. He has grieved for Morning Mist longer than is healthy. It is time he found someone to love.”

Dawn stared at the butter-soft doeskin, marveling over the incredible craftsmanship of the embroidery. She rubbed it against her cheek, painfully aware that her marriage to Shadow Walker would not be legal in the White world. She wasn’t stupid. Once they returned to civilization, Shadow Walker would dump her with his sister and forget about her.

Shadow Walker wanted no legal or emotional attachments. He was taking precautions to prevent her from conceiving his child, she thought
with resentment. If he intended to make their marriage legal, he wouldn’t be so determined to waste his seed on the ground.

“Shadow Walker doesn’t love me,” Dawn insisted. “He loves a memory. I can’t compete with a dead woman.”

Sun In The Face laughed softly. “Where did you get that idea? One day you will learn the truth.”

Shadow Walker stood in the middle of the large circle, addressing the great Sioux and Cheyenne chiefs. His voice was low yet forceful, his expression grim as he tried to convince them to disband and go back to their reservations.

“I speak out of love for the People,” he said earnestly. “My wife, Morning Mist, was Sioux. She was killed in a raid, and I still grieve for her, so you know I do not speak with a forked tongue. I genuinely care about what happens to the People even though I must return to my own kind soon.

“Go back to your homes. Even if you are victorious, the retaliation will be swift and violent. Many lives will be lost and much blood shed. You will be driven to barren lands and forced to eke out a meager existence for your families.”

Chief Crazy Horse spoke for his colleagues. “It is too late to retreat. This will be the greatest battle of all time. Never have so many warriors gathered in one place. The army can come but they will suffer humiliating defeat. We must do this to save our sacred hills. Too many treaties have been broken. Solemn vows given in trust have been disregarded.

“I know you, Shadow Walker. You are a brave
warrior and good friend to the Sioux. But this is not your fight. Take your woman and go back to your own kind. It is not right for you to fight against your people.”

Defeat sat heavily upon Shadow Walker’s shoulders. Crazy Horse spoke for all the chiefs; the agreement was unanimous. A battle was inevitable. Soon he must remove Dawn from danger. He would let her rest a few days while he made arrangements to leave.

After the council adjourned, Shadow Walker approached Running Elk. “Can I not convince you to leave while there is still time? Has nothing I’ve said moved you?”

Running Elk clasped Shadow Walker’s shoulder. “I believe that everything you say will come to pass but I cannot walk away from this battle. These are my people. I will not be called coward.”

“No one in his right mind would ever call you coward. I will stay and fight with you.”

Running Elk gave him a sad smile. “No, you must heed Crazy Horse. Take your woman and go. Dawn does not belong here and neither do you. This is not your fight.”

Shadow Walker felt a grinding pain in the pit of his stomach. He knew that Running Elk spoke the truth, but it was difficult to watch an old and respected friend rush headlong to certain death. For even if death did not come with this battle, it would still come.

“I will do as you say,” he said. “We will leave after the joining ceremony.”

“The women are preparing a great feast. All the chiefs and their people have been invited. They
will bring food and participate in the ceremony. Do not disappoint me, Shadow Walker.”

“You wish me to join with Dawn and I will not disappoint you. I wish it also.”

Dawn was still awake when Shadow Walker returned to their lodge. Assuming that she was asleep, he quietly shed his breechclout and crawled between the blankets. He drew her against him, taking care not to awaken her. Holding Dawn all night seemed natural now. He wondered how he had survived all those cold, lonely nights without her. His lust for her was enormous, and he intended to satisfy his craving as often as possible until the time came for them to part.

“What did the council decide?” Dawn asked.

“I thought you were sleeping.”

“I couldn’t sleep until I learned what happened.”

Shadow Walker sighed heavily. “Nothing happened. My words had little effect upon men who have been pushed too far to retreat. But I had to try.”

“I suppose you’ll be leaving soon.”

“We’ll
be leaving,” he corrected, “but not right away. You need to rest before attempting another long journey. You’re still weak.”

“Sun In The Face gave me a tunic today. It’s so beautiful, I could never wear it.”

“But you must. It’s for our joining tomorrow.”

“Why are you doing this? A marriage between us is a farce. It will not be legal in the White world.”

“Humor me. I’m still Shadow Walker. In Shadow Walker’s world it is not only right, but
legal. I took you, got you with child, and must obey tribal customs. Running Elk expects us to join, and I will do what I must to keep his regard. In the eyes of the Sioux and Wakantanka, we will be husband and wife.”

“What if I decide to remain with the People?”

“It matters not what you want. Both Crazy Horse and Running Elk advised me to take you away from here. They realize their days are numbered. You have no choice. We will leave together in one week. Now go to sleep. All this talking makes me weary.”

Shadow Walker was far from weary. He wanted Dawn. He always wanted her. But she was still recovering from her miscarriage, and tonight she needed rest more than she needed him rutting between her legs like an animal who couldn’t control himself. She wasn’t as strong as he would like, and it worried him. Was she still grieving over the loss of their child? he wondered. She exhibited all the signs, and he was an expert when it came to recognizing grief.

It was time. Shadow Walker would come for her and she’d become his wife in the presence of hundreds of Indians, and it would mean absolutely nothing. It hurt to think that Shadow Walker was going through with this merely to appease Running Elk.

Dawn ran her hands over the soft doeskin of her tunic. It was the loveliest garment she’d ever owned. Fringed and embroidered, it hugged the slim proportions of her figure to perfection. Complementing the tunic were pure white moccasins and leggings, which Spring Rain had presented to her this morning after they returned from the bathing place. Dawn was still admiring the lovely workmanship of her outfit when the tent flap flew open and a woman burst in without asking permission.

“Laughing Brook, what are you doing here?”

“You will never join with Shadow Walker! You have no right to take what is mine.” Her face was contorted with hatred as she stalked Dawn, brandishing a knife in her right hand. Dawn recoiled in alarm.

“What are you going to do?”

“What I should have done when you first arrived. I’ve wanted Shadow Walker since the day Morning Mist died.”

Stall for time, Dawn told herself as she tried to remain calm. “You know Shadow Walker will not remain with the People. If you joined with him, you would not have him long before he returned to his own kind.”

Laughing Brook gave Dawn a sly grin. “Do you think I’m not capable of persuading Shadow Walker to remain with me? He left once and returned. If he joined with me, I would convince him to remain forever. He enjoys my body more than he enjoys yours.”

“You’re a fool. Running Elk told Shadow Walker to leave, and he will do as Running Elk wishes.”

Brandishing the knife, Laughing Brook lunged at Dawn. Dawn lurched sideways, avoiding the vicious slash of Laughing Brook’s knife. How long could she dodge the enraged woman? Dawn wondered as Laughing Brook whirled for another attack. Bracing herself against the lodgepole, Dawn visually measured the distance to the entrance, wondering if she could move fast enough to avoid being slashed to shreds.

“I know all about the babe you lost,” Laughing
Brook taunted as she moved in for the kill. “I don’t believe the babe was Shadow Walker’s. Whores seldom know which man placed his seed inside them.”