Cheyenne Caress

by Georgina Gentry

  She looked up at him, laughing drunkenly. “I have to go back. Let’s stop this nonsense and I’ll tell you what I want you to do.”

  He both hated and wanted her. It was bitter in his heart that she cared nothing for him. If he had not agreed to do her bidding, she would have offered herself to some other warrior. The others would have been afraid of Asataka, but Charish was a brave man . . . and he wanted Deer, had always wanted her.

  If he raped her, who would she dare complain to? She’d have to explain what she was doing meeting him in the middle of the night. No, she wouldn’t tell.

  He grabbed her roughly, clapped his hand over her mouth, and dragged her over to the shadow of the trees, where he had spread a buffalo robe in anticipation. “This time, my love, you have outfoxed yourself!”

  She struggled and tried to bite his hand, but he was past caring about anything but possessing her ripe body. Charish pulled away his loincloth and fell on her, his mouth savage on her breasts. She whimpered in pain.

  “This is the way it is done for pay, the soldiers tell me,” he said grimly, reaching to touch between her thighs. She was dry and unready. He would hurt her, but he was so angry, he didn’t care anymore. He wanted only to mate her, to unload this ache between his loins, to know that he had been the one to take her virginity, no matter whose wife she became.

  He pressed his maleness against the opening of her body. She recoiled, trembling, protesting against his hand but the sound was muted. No one would hear her. “If you’re going to act the whore, expect to be treated like one-no tenderness, nothing but animals coupling in the moonlight.”

  He wanted to hurt her for her cold, conniving plotting. He was built big and she was a virgin and unready. Even as he made ready to enter her, he kept his hand over her mouth as she fought him. Her breasts beneath his hands were full and large. Later he would suck them into raw peaks, but now, he could not wait a second longer to relieve this ache in his groin.

  He came up on his knees, forced her thighs wider apart, and rammed into her hard. She screamed against his hand and arched up, struggling to get away from the dagger that impaled her. Charish felt his throbbing maleness break through her virgin sheath as he pinned her against the ground with his manhood. He drew back, saw the smear of blood on his flesh, and that drove him to a frenzy.

  He rammed hard into her again while she writhed under him and struggled to escape. He rode her now, savagely, roughly, and she whimpered against his hand. Once he would have cared, but no more. She had teased and played him for a fool once too often. Possessing her was all that mattered.

  Deer felt her lower body burn like fire. She struggled to get out from under him, clawed at his face, tried to tell him to stop. But he was strong and his hand never left her mouth. In all her plotting, she had never expected this.

  His fingers squeezed her breasts hard and he drove into her like a molten lance. In spite of herself, the tears came. But he did not stop moving up and down on her, grunting deep in his throat. His mouth sucked her nipples into raw, red peaks while his free hand pawed at her. Her lower body felt as if it were on fire as he throbbed deep within her. Then he shuddered, drove deep one more time, and collapsed on her as though dead.

  She was afraid to move, and could not anyway because of his weight on her. The whole thing would be hard to explain if people came running. And when he realized what he had done, he might kill her to keep her quiet.

  Finally he rose up on his elbows, and looked down at her. “I’ve thought of nothing but this moment for years. Now don’t scream and I’ll take my hand away! I know you won’t; you wouldn’t want to explain what you were doing meeting me in the dark.” Very slowly, he moved back.

  She swore and struck out at him. “You coyote! You hurt me!”

  “Have another drink.” He forced the neck of the bottle between her lips and she swallowed to keep from choking. “I’ve got plenty more where this came from and you can have all you want. We’ve got a long night ahead of us!”

  She was furious, but she liked the way the white man’s drink made her feel. She reached for the bottle. It tasted like liquid fire in her throat and belly, but it spread a warm dizziness through her that she liked. No wonder braves craved the white man’s drink. She took a gulp and felt it spread though her body.

  This time, when Charish forced her onto her back and took her again, she was past caring.

  Charish took her a half-dozen times before he was sated and pulled her to her feet, smiling with satisfaction. Her blood smeared them both. She looked down at it and cursed him, swayed a little on her feet. “It’s cost me enough, you’d better keep your end of the bargain.”

  “You were good, Deer. White men would pay good money, give you all the whiskey you wanted as the price of lying between your thighs. Tell me again what you expect.” He paused on the edged of the river.

  “You take the girl out as if you were setting her free. The people won’t like it, but they listen to my father.” She looked toward the water, more than a little drunk. Her body reeked of the big Pawnee’s seed. She’d have to wash off before she went back to her lodge.

  “And then I take her instead to the Skidi village?”

  Deer nodded. It was worth it to be rid of the girl, no matter what it cost. And she liked the taste of whiskey. “Tell them you bring them a gift, a captive to insure their planting and harvest of corn.”

  “Aren’t you afraid Asataka will hear of it from someone?”

  “It might be years before he does, and who’s to say we didn’t set her free and the Skidi captured her on her way back to the fort? How can he blame us . . . unless you tell.”

  “It would be worth my life to tell. I’ll keep silent . . . as long as you keep meeting me in the moonlight.”

  Once this deed was done, what she’d really like to do was figure out a way to silence Charish forever. She’d have to give some thought to how to do that. “I agreed to meet you just this one time, Charish.”

  He pulled her against him, kissing her roughly. “We’re two of a kind, Deer. Neither of us will tell what we know. You may marry him, but I intend to have you now and then.”

  She pulled away from him, wiped his kiss from her mouth with the back of her hand, and reached for the bottle. She hadn’t realized she would like whiskey so much. Maybe Charish was right–maybe she would like being a white man’s whore. It was easier than curing hides and drying meat. Some of the men who hung around the fort made their women whore to buy the men whiskey. But, of course, the scout would never stand for that.

  “You play a dangerous game, Charish. Asataka would kill us both if he caught us.”

  He smiled slowly and began to dress. “I want you enough to take the chance. What really should worry you is what the big scout will do if he ever finds out who plotted to send the girl to the Skidi village-if he finds out you sent the girl to be used in a Morning Star sacrifice!”

  Chapter Eight

  It was dawn. Luci could tell from the dim light outside the earthen lodge that filtered in where she still stood tied to the posts on each side.

  What was going to happen to her? No doubt the Pawnee intended to kill her although Johnny had sworn she would be safe. Johnny Ace. She thought of him with conflicting emotions.

  There was a noise outside and Luci jerked up, half hoping to see the big Pawnee stoop and come through the door. Instead, that pretty girl, Deer, and her father came in to confront her.

  The girl sneered. “I hope you had a nice night.”

  Luci raised her head proudly. “Could one sleep in a stinking Pawnee village? The Cheyenne move theirs often so as to always have clean surroundings.”

  Bright spots of anger mottled the other girl’s cheeks. “What do you know of real Cheyenne? You’re just a fort whore, that’s all.”

  “Don’t call me your own name!” Luci snapped, spitting at her.

  For a moment, she thought the girl would attack her with both fists but the man caught his daughter’s arm. �
�There is no need for this,” he said in halting English. “We come to set you free.”

  Luci raised her eyebrows in surprise. “This I did not expect.”

  Deer wiped the spittle from her face. “It is a marriage gift.” I do not want blood shed just before my wedding. It might be a bad omen.”

  “So I owe Johnny Ace my life?” She didn’t like feeling obligated to him. She owed him so much already.

  “No, you owe me,” the Pawnee girl said. “Asataka said to do anything I wanted with you, he didn’t care. So I choose not to kill you.”

  Was she telling the truth? What difference did it make?

  “Where is Johnny?”

  “Gone with a hunting party to bring back meat for the feasting. The chief’s nephew, Charish, has offered to escort you partway back to the fort and safety.” The girl pulled out a small knife and cut Luci’s bonds.

  Luci suppressed a groan as she rubbed her raw wrists. She was too proud to have these enemies see how much pain she had borne. “I don’t need an escort. If you’ll give me a horse, I can get back to the fort by myself.”

  But the father shook his head. “No. Deer insists on an escort to ensure your safety. She doesn’t want blood spilled right before her wedding.” He turned to his daughter. “Perhaps I should send more warriors with her, my dear, just in case–”

  “No,” Deer interrupted. “Charish will manage fine. He’ll just take her a few miles out, head her toward the fort, and good riddance!”

  Luci flexed her aching shoulders as Deer cut the last of the bounds on her ankles. “I’ll be happy to have seen the last of any Pawnee and especially that wolf for the bluecoats!”

  The three of them went outside. The daylight was almost blinding after the dim interior of the lodge. She was half-naked and dirty, and her muscles ached from being tied in one position all night. In front of the lodge, three horses waited, and mounted on the pinto was that tall Pawnee with the traditional roached hair and the sour expression.

  He glared down at her. “So this is the whelp I’m to take to safety. Better we should turn her over to our warriors to enjoy as a spoil of war.”

  The old man shook his head, looking from the mounted Pawnee to Luci. “You owe your life to my kind-hearted daughter,” he said in halting English. “Don’t ever come near our village again or, next time, Deer might not be so generous.”

  She wasn’t going to argue. If they were turning her loose, she wanted to get out of here before they changed their minds. Luci swung up on the dun horse they offered.

  Deer said, “The village isn’t too happy about setting an enemy free.”

  A small, hostile group had gathered to watch them ride out. Luci knew by the angry expressions that some of the Pawnee were disappointed. Evidently, they had been looking forward to the pleasure of killing her and were only forgoing it because Crow Feather was popular.

  When they rode out, Luci was almost afraid to look back, but no one tried to stop her from leaving. Charish rode next to her. She wondered with nervousness how far he intended to escort her?

  They rode out of sight of the camp.

  Luci said, “This is far enough. I think I could find my way back to the fort now. Let me ride on alone.”

  “No, I have my orders.” Luci felt sudden uneasiness at his tone. They kept riding.

  They covered several more miles before the sour man reined in. “Here is where we turn off to the left.”

  “Are you sure? I would have sworn the fort lay straight ahead.” Before she could move, he reached out and grabbed her reins.

  Terrified, Luci tried to kick the horse into a gallop and break away, but now he was off his horse, pulling her down to tie her wrists behind her and put a gag in her mouth.

  “You Cheyenne bitch!” he snarled as he threw her across her saddle. “I’d rape you if you didn’t need to be a virgin for the ceremony!”

  Ceremony. What ceremony? Luci hadn’t volunteered to take part in any ceremony. Johnny Ace would kill you for this! she wanted to scream. She saw his dark, brooding face in her mind, the way his eyes had caressed her. Beloved enemy. Johnny, where are you? I need you. I need you so.

  It seemed like forever that she and Charish rode because Luci was so miserable trussed up with a rag stuffed in her mouth, but it was only dusk when they rode into another Pawnee village and she was pulled from her horse.

  Immediately, a crowd of Pawnee gathered around to stare at her. Some of the tribal elders came out and conversed with Charish. The crowd grew more excited as they talked. Then they dragged Luci into an earthen lodge. She was tied helplessly between two poles again, and this time, Charish stripped her completely naked so that the chiefs could inspect her. She closed her eyes so she could not see the hungry look on some of the faces. Luci flushed with shame.

  She didn’t have to speak Pawnee to realize from their expressions that they were pleased about something and happy to have Charish in their village.

  An old woman came forward, ran her fingers up into Luci’s velvet place, and nodded approvingly while Luci’s face burned with humiliation. The wrinkled crone turned to the men, jabbering something.

  Charish laughed. “So you are a virgin! I thought you had been warming Asataka’s blankets at the fort.”

  “I share no Pawnee’s bed,” Luci snapped back, but Johnny’s image came to her mind and she wanted more than anything to see his tall frame stoop and come through the lodge door. He would stop all these indignities, cover her nakedness with one of his shirts, and take her away from here.

  The elders talked for a few minutes among themselves. Then they went out, leaving only Charish and the old woman.

  Luci took a deep breath of relief and struggled to pull free of her bounds. “What do they intend to do with me?”

  Charish smiled as if he knew a good joke. “They needed a virgin for a ritual to ensure a good crop.”

  “Why me?”

  “It has to be someone outside the tribe. All they are going to do is feed you well, dress you up, make you take part in the ceremony, and then they’ll turn you loose.”

  Luci hardly dared to hope. “And is that all?”

  “Didn’t Deer promise to set you free? Otherwise, she said Asataka wouldn’t have agreed to marry–”

  He stopped suddenly as if he had said something he hadn’t intended to say. “Anyway, if you’ll go through the ceremony, I can promise on my honor that tomorrow you won’t have any worries.”

  So Johnny had agreed to marry Deer to save Luci’s life. She wanted so badly to believe that. And Deer and Charish had both given their word, which was sacred to an Indian. “All right, I’ll go through this ceremony, to humor them.”

  “Good. The old crone will bathe and paint you with ceremonial paint and feed you well. There will be singing and dancing all night, but your part isn’t ’til morning.”

  He turned and went out. Luci was still scared and suspicious, but there was nothing she could do about all this anyway, tied up as she was. She saw Johnny’s dark face in her mind and wished he were here to ensure her safety. She realized suddenly that she had come very much to depend on the enemy scout. Enemy. Beloved enemy. She might as well admit it.

  What was that remark that Charish had let slip? Had Johnny Ace agreed to marry Deer to ensure Luci’s safety? Did he really care so much? Of course that was all wrong. He was marrying Deer because she had a ripe body and would give him Pawnee sons. Luci thought of the two sharing marriage blankets and it made a knot in her chest that hurt.

  Outside, the beat of drums began along with the chanting and singing of dancers. The old crone came back with water and soft rags to wash Luci’s body, then she brought a heaped platter of roast deer and the best of food. Since the whites supplied much of the Pawnees’ provisions, there was even coffee with plenty of sugar in it, an unexpected luxury.

  The old woman helped her wash her naked body, and gave her a clean blanket. “You sleep now,” she said in broken English. “I come for you just before da
wn.”

  Luci wanted to ask more, but the old woman indicated she spoke little English, shook her head, and left.

  Maybe it would be all right after all. Luci sighed with relief as she ate the heaped-up plate of food and wrapped herself in her blanket. At least they hadn’t tied her up tonight. Not that she would have much chance of escaping anyhow. And she was weary to the bone. The drums beat a steady rhythm. What should she do now? What could she do? Luci lay down beside the small fire lulled by the steady beat of the drums. But the last thought in her mind as she dropped off to sleep was the image of Johnny Ace’s face.

  Johnny sat in his blankets and stared up at the night sky. It had been a good afternoon’s hunt and the men were tired. All around him, they lay wrapped in their blankets near the campfire. Only he was still awake.

  Luci. He couldn’t get her off his mind. He wondered if she was thinking of him at this moment, too. With a sigh, he took out his makin’s and began to roll a cigarette. In love with one girl and planning to marry another. Love. He had finally admitted what he had tried to deny, even to himself.

  What a helluva note. It could never work out, not with an enemy girl. He’d be better off married to one of his own. Tomorrow the hunting party would ride back. There’d be dancing and celebrating, then the wedding ceremony. Luci would be sent on her way to the fort.

  Luci. She seemed to be calling him. Was she in some kind of trouble? He considered a long moment, shook his head. No, Deer had given her word and such a vow was sacred among the Indians. He took a deep puff and looked up at the sky. Lucero. Morning Star. At dawn, the sacred Morning Star would hang over the eastern horizon. His feeling of uneasiness grew.

  Johnny threw the smoke in the fire and shook one of the other warriors awake. “Something’s come up. My medicine tells me to return to the village. You return in the-morning with the meat.”