“I don’t fear you,” she told him, looking boldly into his eyes, and he stepped closer.
“Then allow me to bathe with you,” he requested.
Callie hesitated, but she saw that he was already removing his clothes, and starting to step down into the water next to her.
“I will not harm you,” he promised.
He took the cloth from Callie’s hand and began smoothing it over her skin. The feel of his strong hands gave Callie a sense of contentment, that she had never felt when Chet touched her. She involuntarily let out a soft murmur, and then she could feel Chayton’s lips kissing the back of her neck, as his arms reached around her to bathe her skin.
Callie found herself leaning back against Chayton’s strong chest, trying to gain strength from him, wondering if she was allowing him too much intimacy, by letting him bathe her, the way he was. Yet delivering her child seemed more intimate than this appeared to be, she justified.
“Will you bathe me?” Chayton asked, handing her the cloth again.
He turned her to face him, and she reached her hands up, to soak the cloth across his scarred chest, and then work it over his smooth muscles, which rippled down his stomach.
Her hands stilled, as they lowered farther down his body. After a moment, she boldly continued. Chet had made her do worse than this, and she wanted to feel him beneath her fingers, she suddenly realized.
As her hands caressed him, he pressed his lips against her forehead.
“Your kindness is rewarding,” he murmured in her hair. “The boldness of your touch pleases me.”
“Is this permissible among your people?” she asked, starting to move her hand away.
He retrieved her hand in his, bringing it to his lips and kissing her fingers.
“You have beautiful hands,” he said quietly, replacing them against him once again. “My people often bathe together,” he informed her, only he didn’t mention it was merely men and women who were married, which bathed each other in this manner.
Nonetheless, this was a white woman, he reminded himself. White women were free for the taking if they became a captive, he justified. However, it seemed more like the white woman was starting to capture his heart, rather than him taking her, he had to admit.
Callie recalled how she hated touching Chet. In fact, there wasn’t anything about Chet that she actually liked. He had forced her to touch him in such a manner, and she had always cringed, at the thought of it. So she couldn’t understand why now, she found a certain intrigue in what she was doing.
Chayton allowed her to choose how she wished to touch him, and her exploring fingers, caused him to catch his breath, as she timidly moved them over his skin. He dared not make any advances towards her, though, considering she had just given birth, and he didn’t want to frighten her in any way.
Callie was losing her shyness, as she felt Chayton’s arms pulling her closer, while she delicately proceeded to satisfy her own curiosity. The very texture of him amazed her, as her seeking fingers tingled at the feel of him. Now, she took her time to discover little things she had never wished to discover about Chet, as her small hand moved more confidently.
Chayton closed his eyes, as he found his own hands caressing Callie’s soft bottom, consumed by the feel of her under his longing fingers. She murmured at his caresses, which urged him to continue embracing her in such a manner.
Callie found herself, wanting to please Chayton, in the same way, Chet had demanded she please him in moments like this. She didn’t know what was coming over her, except for the need to return his caresses, for reasons, she couldn’t even fathom.
As she proceeded, Chayton clutched her to him, feeling her full breasts press against his strong chest, causing her warm milk to leak against him.
Without thinking, he lowered his mouth, and let the sweet milk drip onto his tongue, feeling surprised at the sweetness of its taste, as he softly smoothed his tongue over her, to catch yet another drop, then moving to the other side, to do the same.
“You need to be feeding our children,” he murmured, not realizing he called them ‘ours’.
“They have already had their fill before I came to bathe,” she told him.
“You must have more milk than they need,” he said in awe.
“I am always leaking against my dress,” she confessed. “It is sometimes annoying.”
Chayton could not help himself, as he covered one breast with his mouth, feeling the warm milk seep over his tongue. He caught his breath, at the same moment, when Callie created a deeper pleasure to stir within him, at her touch.
Soon he was drowning in the feel of her hand on him, and the taste of breast milk in the recesses of his mouth, as a groan escaped his lips. His mouth moved from her breast and found her lips instead, consuming her mouth, as his spirit rose to the surface, beneath her caress, into the splendor of reality, that this woman was touching something deeper within him than he had expected.
“I…I shouldn’t be doing this,” Callie apologized, starting to feel shy.
He must be thinking she was an embolden woman who didn’t respect modesty, she feared.
“Hush,” he murmured against her lips. “I treasure your touch. It makes me believe you have some deeper feelings towards me, and you wouldn’t mind remaining with me in my village.”
Callie pulled away.
“No! It didn’t mean that! I can’t stay at your village. It’s just that…I…I wanted to…to please you. You have been kind to me and my sister’s children. I will do anything if you will promise to release me, once we reach your village.”
Chayton’s face stiffened.
“Is this what you thought I expected from you?” he almost bellowed. “You know little of me!” he growled, as he pushed her farther from him. “I shall not request we bathe together again!”
He was striding up out of the water, not even bothering to replace his clothes, as he grabbed them up and disappeared into the darkness.
Chayton was almost shaking with disappointment, as he began angrily pulling on his clothes. He thought she had started to enjoy his company and his touch. Discovering she merely wanted him to release her so badly, she was willing to try and bargain with him, by offering him her touch, troubled him. He didn’t want her thinking that he was the kind of person who would demand such a thing, of her.
It angered him so much, that he was almost determined never to allow her to leave, or let her touch him again, to prove to her he was a man of honor. Only if he didn’t allow her to leave, he would lose some of his honor, and she would end up hating him, he had to admit.
Callie was already lying beneath the blankets when Chayton finally came and sank down on the other side of her and the babies. She was overly aware that he was there. He seemed preoccupied, though, and she was almost afraid to say anything. Finally, she cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry if I did anything wrong,” she murmured. “I don’t know anything about Indian customs. My husband used to force me to touch him in such a manner. I thought it was something men expected, considering the way you had been touching me,” she tried to explain.
“He forced you?” Chayton asked, leaning up on one elbow.
“I was told it was a wife’s duty to service her husband in any manner he requested,” she told him. “I certainly didn’t love him. I told you, I had been forced to marry him in the first place.”
“But I am not your husband, so why would you believe that it was your duty to…”
“I didn’t think it was my duty,” she interrupted. “It was something I chose to do. I wanted to please you. I thought if I could please you…you would look kindly upon my request.”
“To release you, you mean,” he muttered.
“I was hoping you would. I don’t want to live in an Indian village,” she said honestly.
“I don’t know if I can release you,” he responded.
“Why ever not?” she gasped.
“Because I need you as much as my son ne
eds you. There is something about you that wrestles with my heart. When you were touching me, I thought that maybe you felt it too.”
Callie caught her breath. Was there something drawing them together, beyond their control, she wondered? She remembered how she had seen his face before she ever came to Texas.
“I only know I want to be among my own people,” she said simply, trying to ignore anything beyond the moment.
“We will have to wait and see what happens,” he said stubbornly, hoping by the time they reached his village, he could persuade her otherwise. “I am not angry at you,” he whispered, as he reached over and cupped her cheek in his hand. “I just did not want you to think I would ever demand you to touch me in any way you did not wish to touch me.”
“Only I wished it,” she whispered back.
Chayton, pulled her face to him, as he leaned forward, and placed his lips on hers.
“I wished it too,” he mumbled against her lips, and then he was kissing her again.
Callie was abruptly awoken by Chayton shaking her.
“The braves and I have to leave!” he exclaimed. “One of our scouts has discovered a large group of cattlemen and cowboys riding in this direction. It will not be safe to bring you, or the children with us. I believe they have come to find you and the cattle. They have long guns, so we have no way to defend ourselves. I am sure no harm will come to you or the children. You must promise to care for my son until I can come to collect him. If I bring him with us, he will surely die. Promise to watch over him for me!”
Callie sprung to a sitting position, trying to sort out what Chayton was telling her.
“It must be the drovers who were supposed to show up for the cattle drive,” she reasoned. “When they found Chet dead, they must have rounded up a posse to search for me and the cattle.”
“It wouldn’t be hard to follow the tracks the herd made,” Chayton mumbled. “Promise to watch over my son!”
His voice sounded anxious.
“Of Course, I will watch over your son,” Callie promised.
“Good,” Chayton stated, and then in the next moment, he had pulled Callie to him, giving her a passionate kiss. “I will be back for him, as soon as I can manage it.”
With that, he sprinted to his horse and was leaping upon its back. The other braves were already on their horses, and the group rode off in a stampede, whooping at the cattle to frighten them into a frenzy of mad dashing hooves, in order to use them as a distraction, when the men finally caught up with them.
Callie touched her fingers to her lips, where Chayton’s kiss still seemed to linger. It had totally surprised her, that suddenly her feelings were mixed. Now she wouldn’t have to go with him to his village, and yet, the thought of never seeing him again seemed painful.
She had savored the kisses, he had given her the night before, and her thoughts lingered on the bath they had shared. Now he had departed so abruptly, it frightened her. She glanced down at Tsahle-ee Jogul, snuggled next to P’ee-shan, both sleeping soundly. Once again, she had another responsibility, which meant she could not leave the ranch, whether she wanted to or not until Chayton came to collect his child. She realized she looked forward to the next time she would be able to see him.
Her thoughts were disturbed, by the sound of approaching horses. The children had already woken up when the Indians stampeded off with the cattle, and they were now surrounding Callie, and clinging to her in fright.
“It’s all right,” she assured them. “It is Cooper and the drovers, come to rescue us from the Indians.
“I liked the Indians,” Ina protested. “They had better not hurt our Indians.”
“I am sure they have gotten safely away,” Callie tried to calm her, but she wasn’t sure herself, if the men would persist in chasing the band down, in order to retrieve the cattle, and punish them for killing Chet.
As she said the words, a horse and rider came to a skidding stop in front of them.
“Callie!” Cooper’s voice hollered, as he jumped down from his horse. “Are you all right? They didn’t hurt you, did they? They didn’t try to use you in diabolic lust, I hope.”
“I am safe, and so are the children. The only reason they took me was, so I could feed one of the Brave’s new-born son. I had given birth to my baby, and the mother of the child had been killed. No harm came to us. Only he left his infant for me to care for since you were on their trail, and he couldn’t very well take the infant with him.”
“They will pay for what they did to Chet,” Cooper growled.
Cooper signaled for his men to continue in pursuit of the Indians, and he knelt down beside Callie and awkwardly put his arm over her shoulder.
“It is all over now, Callie. You will be safe with me. As soon as the boys return, with the cattle, we will take the herd to Kansas to sell, and in the meantime, the ranchers, and cowboys, who volunteered to come with us, will escort you back to your ranch.
“I was pretty certain we would be able to find the herd. We could tell by the tracks, it wasn’t a very large band that took you, so we gathered enough men to overtake them. The chuck wagon is following our tracks and will join us, as soon as they catch up.
“When I return, we will have a discussion about what you intend to do, now that Chet is dead.”
“I have already been thinking about that,” Callie admitted. “I think I will remain at the ranch, and if you are willing, I would like you to come on full-time to help out.”
Cooper’s dark eyes looked deeply into Callie’s. He was part Mexican, and Callie hadn’t realized how much he resembled the Indians, until now, because she had never seen an Indian until Chayton burst through her bedroom door. She wondered how much Indian blood he had in his veins.
“You don’t have a bunkhouse for me to sleep in,” he pointed out.
“Perhaps you can use a tent until we can build one,” Callie suggested. “When you sell the cattle use some of the money to get enough wood and whatever else we may need to construct a bunk house.”
“You sure, that is what you wish to do?” he questioned.
“Connor will inherit the ranch, eventually. I have no other place to go, and since your drovers are rounding up my cattle, I haven’t lost any money. I suppose I will have to take over, where Chet left off.”
“Chet often talked about you, when we were on the cattle drives,” Cooper offered. “He always said he couldn’t’ wait to get back so you could be in his arms again. You must have loved each other very much.”
Callie merely nodded. She knew why Chet was anxious to return home. He had demonstrated it very clearly, she thought. Perhaps there was some sort of love involved on his part, but it certainly did not exist from her side of the union, she thought.
“Did you bury him?” she asked quietly, changing the subject.
Cooper nodded.
“Out beyond the house, next to where your sister is buried. We put a cross on the grave. Those heathens didn’t care that they left him lying dead like that. He had probably been there for a while before we showed up. Sam, Ted, Buster, and Randy, came with me to help with the cattle. We had to go collect some other cowboys and ranch owners to join us, so we could track you down. If I know them, they won’t return until they have killed every last one of those savages!”
“They did not harm me,” Callie stated. “They wouldn’t have killed Chet if he hadn’t started shooting at them first. All they wanted was a cow to milk so they could save the infant. When they discovered I had given birth, they took me instead. They even brought the children, so no harm would befall them either.”
“They would have made you and the children their slaves, once they got you to their village. I have been around the Indians enough to know what they do with white people they capture. They adopt the children and turn them into heathens, the same as themselves. The women they either take as wives, regardless of how many they already have, or use them as their personal servants. It would not have been a happy life, Callie, if they
had managed to take you and the children with them.”
Callie thought about how Chayton had said he couldn’t release her and wondered if Cooper was right? Only the way he had kissed her, told her something different. She watched as Cooper patted the children on their heads.
“I can see you are not the worse for wear,” he smiled. “Where’s your little sister?” he asked, looking around for Rolletta.
“She got sick and died, shortly after we were captured. I am not sure what caused her to die, though,” Callie informed him.
“Well, the rest of you look healthy enough,” Cooper smiled.
In the distance, Callie could hear gunfire. The cowboys must have caught up with the band, she realized, hoping that the braves were smart enough to escape from getting killed.
Eventually, there were no more volleys of shots heard. Now Callie worried that Chayton may have been killed, and she would end up becoming the mother to his child forever.
CHAPTER NINE
Chayton sat looking down at Callie’s sleeping face. His mind wandered back to her gentle touch, during their bath, letting his memory move on to the sweet taste of milk, which she produced for his son and her daughter, and then to her soft, pliable lips. Every memory was indelibly fixed in his head because he feared he may never see her again.
Chogan had informed him that ranchers and cowboys were headed their way, and his band needed to escape before the cowboys reached the river. He couldn’t take Callie with him, nor could he take his son. He didn’t know when he would ever be able to return to collect his son, if at all.
At least, he knew that Callie had some sort of feelings for him, by the way she had returned his kisses the night before, and her admittance to him that she had wished to touch him the way she had. Now that would all have to be put behind him, the same as his wife’s death, because if he and his band did not make it back to Indian territory before the posse on their trail caught up with them, they would be doomed.
He woke Callie and informed her of the danger. One last kiss and then he was leaping onto his horse’s back and tearing off with the rest of the band, putting the cattle into a stampede, hoping it would not only cover their tracks, but the cattlemen would follow the herd instead of them.
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