Tykota's Woman (Historical Romance) (23 page)

She parted her lips and moved closer to him.
"Then desire me, Tykota."

His lips were on hers, probing, covering,
devouring. It was as if a floodgate had opened,
and every emotion he had held back came
spilling out. Makinna was ripe and ready for a
man, and he wanted to be that man.

Makinna was quaking as he opened her gown
and buried his mouth against her breast.

She found herself lying on the soft grass with
Tykota beside her. Her tongue darted out to wet
her lips.

He groaned her name and pulled her to him.
At this moment, he would die for just one more
taste of those lips.

The last flicker of sunlight gave way to darkness
as Tykota unhooked Makinna's gown and
pushed it down over her shoulders, giving him
full access to both her breasts. While his mouth
settled on the one his fingers caressed the other.

Makinna writhed as burning desire
overwhelmed her. She bit her lip to keep from
crying out from the sheer ecstasy of it.

There was no moon and the only light came
from the twinkling stars that sparkled in the
heavens and reflected in the river.

Tykota moved back to her lips and kissed her
with all the passion that had been locked in him
for so long. She grasped his head, holding him
tighter against her, feeling she would die if he
did not take all of her.

"Beloved," he murmured in her ear, kissing her
earlobe while he unhooked her undergarment with
trembling hands. He dare not deflower her, dare not
know the depths of her delicate beauty, but just
once, before he sent her away, he had to look upon
her, touch her, caress her, as if she were truly his
woman, for all time. The sacrifice he had to make
was great. At least this much he could grant himself,
the memory of her naked in his arms.

He cupped her breasts, covered them with
kisses. "I have ached to touch you in this way."

Makinna sighed as he removed the last of her
clothing. Soon she lay naked beside him, and she
felt no shame when he looked at her with
admiration. When she felt one of his hands leave
her breasts and spread across her stomach, she
thought she would die from the unknown
fluttering within her heart.

"Makinna," he said, his hand sliding lower,
"you were created for a man to love and
cherish."

Unable to speak for the tightening in her
throat, Makinna reached out to him and placed
her hand against his muscled chest, then slid it
down to his taut stomach.

At her intimate touch he clasped her tightly
against him, pressing her naked body against the
throbbing erection beneath his breechcloth,
trembling and gritting his teeth to hold himself in
check. He knew he should not have gone this far,
but he couldn't seem to stop himself.

Makinna moaned and threw her head back,
biting her lip to keep from crying out as a
powerful tingling started in her toes and worked
its way up to the very core of her womanhood.

To gain control of his own desires, Tykota
took her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing her
fingers one by one, and then the palm of her
hand.

Makinna shut her eyes, her entire body
coming alive. Surely this could not be wrong
when it felt so right. She was born to be loved by
Tykota. Surely he must feel it, too.

Tykota raised his dark gaze and looked into
her eyes, and the softness she saw there brought
tears in her eyes.

"You know this is wrong," he whispered. "We
are from different worlds. No one will accept
that I love you."

Her fingers slid through his, and she arched
toward him. "I don't care what the world thinks.
I love you."

He inhaled a deep breath, despising himself
for what he was doing. "We cannot be together,
Makinna. I cannot do this to you and then send
you away. What do I do about us?"

She placed a hand on his bronzed cheek,
knowing that if he didn't love her, nothing in the
world would matter. "Just love me, Tykota."

He closed his eyes, savoring her soft touch
against his cheek. She would never know the depth of his love for her. She could never belong
to him. His voice came out in a harsh whisper.
"Love you? I can't take a breath without
thinking of you. Nothing has any meaning if I
am not with you."

Her heart was beating so fast, she could hardly
breathe. "Oh, Tykota, Tykota," she said, tears
now spilling down her cheeks. "I would have
wanted to die if you did not love me."

He scooped her into his arms. "I cannot love
you as you wish. But I will give you a gift to
take away with you. It will show you the depth
of my feelings for you, and it will leave me
something to remember on those nights when I
ache for you."

He waded into the river, kissing and caressing
her. "We will swim with the stars tonight."

The river was dark and reflected millions of
stars. And when he lowered her into the water, it
did seem that she was surrounded by stars. They
were above her, below her, all around her. It was
magical.

But she forgot about the stars when Tykota
pulled her against him, his hardness pressing
against her and making her cling to him with
weakness.

Slowly his hand went between her legs, and he
caressed her there, creating a desire so strong
that she collapsed against him.

"I will show you the depth of my feelings for you, Makinna. I will worship your body. But
when you leave me, you will be a maiden still,
for I will not take my pleasure with you."

She did not understand. She only knew that he
was carrying her to a higher plane of passion. He
dropped his dark head to kiss and suckle her
breast, while his wonderful hands worked magic
on her trembling body.

Tykota knew it would take all his willpower to
satisfy Makinna while leaving his own body
unsatisfied. She could not imagine the restraint
he was exercising over his own desires. But he
was about to show her what the beauty of love
could be like.

There, submerged in a river of stars, Tykota
caressed, kissed, and gently stroked Makinna
into submission. She gave little sobs as he
touched her so intimately, her body quaked, and
she fought to get closer still to Tykota,
instinctively sensing there was even greater
pleasure to be had if their bodies could be joined.
But Tykota held her away from him.

Makinna stared into his passionate eyes.
"Please," she whimpered. "I want-I want you
to

"Shh," he said, bending his head to her lips.
"Let yourself feel, Makinna. Let me make your
body sing." He was fighting his own battle to
keep his fierce arousal from taking over his
thinking. Tonight was for her; he would deny himself in order to pleasure her. His lips moved
over her face, tasting the saltiness of her tears.

She threw back her head as he slid a finger
into her hot, moist core, and he watched her
eyes widen with wonder, her breathing come
out in small gasps. When he touched her
maidenhead, he pulled back. That he would
leave undisturbed, even though she should be
his, and he should have the right to break
through that barrier. Instead, he smothered her
mouth with his.

He had not expected her to reach down, her
hand to close around his thick erection. He
gasped, closed his eyes, and slammed her body
against his. "No, Makinna. You must not."

"Why?"

He let out a gasp when her hand softly stroked
him, and he wanted to plunge into her and claim
all she offered. He took a deep breath and tried
to save them both. Said words he knew would
wound her deeply and break his own heart. "Is
this the way you will act with other men,
Makinna? Will you offer yourself to any man
who comes along with a bulge in his trousers?"

She froze. "I... what?"

He pulled away from her. "You heard me."

She was quiet for several moments, and when
she spoke, her voice was trembling with
bewilderment and anger. "Do you think because
it was easy for you to undress me that I would let another man do the same? No,
Tykota, I will not offer every man what you do
not want. I thought you knew me better than
that."

"You were too easy, Makinna. I could have
had all of you tonight if I had wanted too. You
were more than willing."

Disillusionment, anger, and sadness fused
together in her mind and wound their way
through her heart. "Is this the gift you wanted to
give me, Tykota?" she challenged, deep hurt in
her tone. "If this is the best you can offer, then I
reject you and your gift."

He wanted to speak, wanted to tell her what
was in his heart, and that by hurting her, he
had wounded himself. But he knew this was
the only means he had to send her away. He
must not give her any hope that they could
ultimately be together. He had to kill his soul
to let her go.

He said nothing.

Makinna quickly waded out of the river,
scrambled up the hill, and retrieved her
clothing. She heard Tykota beside her, but she
refused to look in his direction. She managed
to fasten all hooks and closures although her
hands were trembling. She wanted to cry, but
she would not.

"You do not need to come with me," she said,
walking to her horse. "I can find my way back
alone." In one smooth motion, she mounted the pinto. "Good night, Tykota. I hope you can
make arrangements to get me away from here as
soon as possible."

He was beside her, grasping her reins.
"Makinna, wait. There is something I want to
say to you."

"You have said quite enough," she said,
backing away from him. "I will never forgive
you for tonight."

Her cutting words wounded, but he forced
himself to explain. "I can love no one, Makinna,
as much as I must love the Perdenelas. Can you
understand that?"

"I don't have to understand, Tykota. You can
find another woman to torture."

"It was not meant to be torture, Makinna."

She jerked the reins from his hand. "But
torture, it was!" She kicked her horse in the
flanks and rode away at a gallop.

Tykota stared after her. He had never cried
that he could remember. But he could feel tears
in his eyes now. He had come to the realization
that love was the most powerful emotion of them
all, and he was desperately in love.

It was dark inside Huara's lodge, but Makinna
managed to make her way across the room
without bumping into anything. She removed her
clothing and lay down on the soft mat. The tears
she had kept in check now flowed freely. Oh,
how cruel Tykota had been. At first he had been loving and kind. What had happened to
make him lash out at her with words chosen to
wound? And wound they had, deeper than he
would ever know.

That she had also degraded herself by showing
Tykota how much she wanted him to love her
magnified her misery.

That would never happen again.

A coldness closed over her heart, and she
turned her face to the wall, smothering a sob.
She never wanted to see him again as long as she
lived. She could not leave this valley soon
enough to suit her.

Makinna looked at Inea with compassion.

"Santo is becoming more and more
aggressive. He cornered me near his lodge and
put his hands all over me. When I protested, he
said he had that right. He is going to my brother
today to ask that I become his woman. He says
he will no longer tolerate my coldness to him."

Makinna buried her own misery and took
Inea's hand, wanting to help the gentle maiden
she had come to care about. "If, as you say,
Tykota is taking me away tomorrow, we must do
something today."

"But what?"

Makinna frowned. "Tell me, what would
happen if Santo saw you with Kachee in a pose
that would make him look like a fool?"

"I do not know what you mean."

"Suppose you and Kachee were seen by many
onlookers, including your brother, in a loving
situation? What would happen?"

Inea's eyes widened with horror. "Santo
would kill Kachee!"