"I am aware of her good qualities, and I will give her all that she deserves," Kane told him.
Mangas took Maleaha's hand, and then he reached for Kane's hand as well. "As chief of the Jojoba tribe, I give to you, Kane, the Princess Maleaha as your wife. You are bound by your honor to keep her from all harm, and to love her above all else." Mangas said the words in English, and then repeated them in the language of the Jojoba, for the sake of Maleaha's aunt. "I say this because I am the chief, that from this night on, Maleaha is your wife."
Maleaha tried to stop the tears from falling down her face. It was with this ceremony that her own father and mother had been joined in marriage. Her heart swelled with love for the man who was now her husband.
Mangas released Kane and Maleaha's hands, and turned to the others who had witnessed the marriage. "Let us leave them alone," he told the others, and Maleaha watched as her aunt and uncle filed out. Mangas turned to her at the entranceway, and spoke to her in the language of the Jojobas, then he ducked out the flap opening. Last of all Lamas left, giving Kane a look that plainly told him he was displeased.
Kane turned to Maleaha as he thought what a strange night this had turned out to be. He still could not believe half of what had occurred.
"What did Mangas say to you just before he left?"
Maleaha buried her face in her hands and was crying softly. "He . . .he said that he was in such pain," she sobbed. "I wish I had not hurt him so badly."
"He left you little choice," Kane said, pulling her into his arms.
Maleaha looked up into the face of her husband as she dried her tears on the back of her hand. ' 'I want to apologize to you about tonight. I feel terrible." More than anything she wanted to be his wife, but not this way, never this way.
"Why should you feel badly? In the space of one night I have gained myself a beautiful wife and made one very powerful enemy…"
"Kane, do not jest. I am serious."
"So am 1.1 may come to enjoy having you for a wife,'' he told her half joking, half serious. "Kiss me, Mrs. Benedict."
Maleaha met his lips halfway, as she felt his arms tighten about her. She put all the love she felt for Kane into her kiss, and when he raised his head his silver eyes were glazed with passion.
"How will I ever forget that I held you naked in my arms?" he whispered.
"Why would you want to forget?" Maleaha asked him as she pulled his head down to her and kissed his lips softly. She felt no shame as she had before, because he was now her husband. Perhaps he did not want her for his wife, and most probably he did not, but in her heart she was his, and always would be. Tomorrow did not matter, tonight was all that counted, she told herself.
Kane's arms tightened around her as he crushed her to him. "Are you aware of what you are doing?" he murmured against her lips.
"Yes," she answered as she began unbuttoning the brass buttons on his uniform.
' 'Maleaha, I am warning you, I may not be able to stop as I did before."
She slid her arms around his neck and laid her cheek against his. Kane pushed her away and stepped back. "Have you lost your senses? There is no longer any reason to pretend. You are safe from Mangas now."
Maleaha turned her back to him, feeling miserable. Kane was angry with her. She remembered that day by the river, when he had told her he would never marry her. Did he think she had tricked him into marriage? She wanted him to make love to her, and he must think her brazen and forward. It was just that she loved him and wanted to bind him to her. Perhaps if she allowed him to make love to her, he would want to keep her. With that thought in mind, she turned back to face him.
"I know there is no longer any reason to pretend, Kane. I was not pretending."
A smile played on his lips, and his brilliant eyes glinted like liquid silver. ' 'I don't think you have the slightest notion that you are playing with fire, Maleaha." His voice sounded amused.
"I'm not playing, Kane," she whispered, moving closer to him. The amusement on his face changed, and he lazily lowered his eyelashes. Reaching out his hand, he started to touch her cheek, then thought better of it.
Maleaha reached for his hand and laid it against her face. "I am not pretending, Kane," she said once more.
Kane watched spellbound as Maleaha bent over and removed her moccasins. She did not know what was causing her to act so boldly. Perhaps deep inside she knew this was the only night she and Kane would ever have together. Perhaps she was grateful to him for saving her from Mangas, or maybe it was because she wanted him to make love to her.
Her eyes locked with Kane's just before she lifted her gown over her head. He closed his eyes as she stood naked in front of him. When he opened his eyes, they roamed over her silky body, and against his will he stepped closer to her.
"What are you trying to do to me?" he said in a strangled voice.
She took the one step that brought them together. "I want you to make love to me, Kane,'' she whispered, surprised at her own daring.
She was trembling as he began to remove his clothing, all the while watching her. This time she did not turn her head away, but watched him boldly, thinking how magnificent his body looked. He was beautiful, she thought.
Kane must have read her thoughts, because he picked her up in his arms and laid her down on the buffalo robe and lay down beside her, then pulled her into his arms.
"You shouldn't look at a man like that, Maleaha," he murmured against her cheek.
"Why?"
He shook with mirthful laughter. Raising his head, he saw the gleam in her green eyes and caught his breath. "Because, you beautiful, desirable little savage, you have tempted me beyond endurance. This time, Maleaha, there will be more than touching and a few kisses."
"I know," she told him innocently.
"Damn you, Maleaha, how many victims do you want tonight? Was it not enough for you that you ripped Man-gas's heart to shreds?"
"What do you mean?" She whispered, not really caring, because his hands were moving over her, molding her to his hard body.
Maleaha felt his hands glide over her breasts, and she began to tremble violently. Her lips sought his, and he did not turn away, but took command of her lips and kissed her deeply.
Maleaha had never felt such deep feelings, such love, and she wondered if Kane felt the same as she did. He rolled her over on her back and stared down at her. Then his lips crushed hers in a soul-shattering kiss. She laced her fingers through his ebony-colored hair. Kane groaned and looked at her through veiled lashes.
"It's not too late to back out, Maleaha, but I warn you, in a matter of seconds I will be unable to stop myself."
Maleaha tried to speak but seemed unable to make a sound. She reached up and pulled his dark head down and parted her lips in silent invitation.
"Maleaha," he cried as he gave her the kiss she had silently begged for. Kane was mindless. Her silky skin was driving him to the edge of madness. He raised his head, breaking off the kiss.
"Darling, I will try to make it as painless as possible," he said in a voice that shook with emotion.
Kane parted her legs, and at that moment Maleaha tried to pull away from him.
"No, darling, don't pull away from me now."
His lips found hers and she moaned beneath the smooth manipulation of his hands. Kane shifted his weight, and Maleaha opened her eyes in shocked surprise as pain ripped through her body when he entered the most intimate core of her womanhood. The pain disappeared almost before it started as his body took command of hers, and Maleaha felt herself being transported to another world, a world where there was only touching, feeling, and loving, a world she had not known existed until now.
To Maleaha it seemed that her body no longer belonged to her, that it had become a possession of Kane's, to do with as he wished. She felt his lips on her breast and she groaned as still stronger, deeper feelings lifted her upward.
Kane closed his eyes, thinking that his possession of Maleaha was the single most beautiful thing
that had ever happened in his whole life. He had been with too many women to even count, but they were nothing compared to Maleaha. This was love in its purest form, and his body told him he had found the other half of himself, the perfect woman for him. Never had he been lifted so high. Never had he felt such perfect fulfillment until now. Maleaha had touched his heart and changed him. His body seemed to be reborn. It was as if God had created him for this very moment. He had possessed many women, but none of them had ever possessed him, as Maleaha now did. His lips moved down her throat to find the sweetness of her breasts.
Maleaha gasped in pleasure. She was surprised and delighted that her body was giving Kane pleasure. After all, her body belonged to him as surely as her heart did. Mountains of feelings washed over her body as she groaned and turned her head from side to side. So this was what it felt like to be a woman, Kane's woman. The two of them scaled heights, locked in a fiery embrace. Kane knew just how to get her to respond to him. With a softly spoken command, or the touch of his hand, he instructed Maleaha in the art of lovemaking.
Their bodies had become wet from perspiration, and Maleaha laced her fingers through Kane's wet hair.
"Maleaha, Maleaha," he murmured over and over in her ear.
Words of love tumbled on Maleaha's tongue, but she dared not voice them. "Oh, Kane, I never knew that life could be so beautiful," she whispered.
"Yes, beautiful, beautiful, Maleaha," he murmured, half out of his mind with desire and love.
Suddenly Maleaha experienced a new feeling. It was pain and it was delight. Her hands tightened in Kane's hair, and her body shuddered, answered by Kane's body. He rolled over to relieve Maleaha of his heavy weight.
Kissing her deeply, he pulled her into his arms. "Darling, you are so perfect," he said against her ear.
Maleaha wanted to tell Kane so many things, but she suddenly felt shy, and buried her face against his shoulder.
"Well, little Indian, you taught me a few things tonight." She could feel the smile on his face as he laid his cheek next to hers. "It was good between us, Maleaha."
His lips covered hers in a kiss that seemed to burn her mouth with the heat that radiated from his. Maleaha gasped as he pulled her fully against him, and their bodies seemed to fuse together, one body, one soul, one heartbeat.
"I can never get enough of you," he said gruffly.
Once more Kane took her on the wings of love to a world high above the earth as he made love to her for the second time. But unlike the first time, Maleaha knew what to expect, and her body readily obeyed the silent commands Kane issued her. There was such beauty and love that she felt tears running down her cheeks. He had not once said that he loved her, but for the moment it did not matter, she had enough love for both of them. This was her husband, and she readily gave him all he asked of her.
Afterwards, Maleaha lay exhausted in Kane's arms, loving the way his hands moved caressingly over her body.
Kane felt he had indeed stamped his claim of ownership on Maleaha, and even though she had not said that she loved him, he knew he had held her as no man ever had before, and he was determined that after they returned to Santa Fe he would ask her to marry him in a proper ceremony. He smiled to himself. Maleaha had accomplished what many other women had failed to do. In a short time she had wound him around her little finger and made him think about such things as settling down, building a home, and starting a family.
Suddenly he needed to hear her say that she felt as he did. Kane knew he would never want to seek pleasure from another woman. He had found perfection and total satisfaction, and he would never again settle for anything less. How strange that he, a man who had known many women, would fall under the spell of a girl hardly out of the schoolroom, he thought.
His hand settled on her smooth, flat stomach. "Did I hurt you, Maleaha?"
She looked into his eyes, unable to speak, and shook her head.
"Did you feel as I did, Maleaha?"
Maleaha closed her eyes as a tear escaped and ran down her cheek. How could she tell him that she felt she belonged to him, and after tonight she would always be his. But he must not know that. He must not know that she loved him.
' 'I feel very different inside. I am no longer a girl, but a woman now.'' It was not what she wanted to say, but she saw danger in revealing her innermost feelings to him.
Kane frowned. She had not told him what he wanted to hear. Did she feel none of the love that he felt for her? Had she merely used him to stop Mangas from taking her as his wife? The tender feelings he had for her were pushed aside by his anger. Good Lord, he thought, he had been on the verge of telling her that he was in love with her. His voice was harsh when he spoke to her. "How easy it is to arouse your body now that you have been awakened by a man's caresses, Maleaha," and to prove his words, his hand slid up her long silky leg to rest on her stomach, and Maleaha gasped.
Maleaha felt herself being crushed in his arms.
"God help me. If I die tomorrow, I have finally felt alive." He held her so tightly that she marveled in his strength. Time passed and he did no more than hold her in his arms, and soon they both fell asleep.
The next morning when Maleaha awoke, Kane was not beside her. Looking around the teepee, she saw he was sitting on the edge of the buffalo robe, fully dressed. His silver eyes moved over her beautiful body, and she felt no shame that he seemed to find her beautiful. After all, he was her husband. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she loved him, when his eyes turned to silver ice.
"I suggest you get dressed, Miss Deveraux. The way people come and go around here you might find yourself in a most embarrassing situation," he said coldly.
Maleaha stiffened at his cold words. He had called her Miss Deveraux! Last night he had called her Mrs. Benedict. What had occurred to make him change his mind? She remembered the tender moments they had shared last night, and she searched his face to see if he remembered also, but his eyes were cold as he stared back at her. Oh no, she thought, as realization dawned on her. He did not feel married to her, and why should he? Last night he had been forced by Mangas to go through with the marriage, and it had been she who had sought him out. She had given herself to him without hesitation, and she felt real shame as she realized how it must have appeared to him.
Kane stood up and peered down at her as she pulled the buffalo robe over her nakedness. ' 'I want to tell you now, that I do not feel bound by the marriage performed by Mangas last night," he told her.
Maleaha wrapped the robe around her and stood up. "There is no reason that you should, major." She hoped her voice sounded calm, though she was anything but calm on the inside; she was feeling heartbreak and shame.
"I would like to thank you for helping me last night, and I think you will understand, after what happened between us last night, that I hope our paths will not cross in the future," she said, letting him go, freeing him of any obligation he might feel toward her, and praying he would not know about her golden lie.
Kane had been watching her sleep while he rehearsed how he would ask her to marry him. He had planned their future down to the smallest details. As soon as the Arapaho could be dealt with, and he had returned to Santa Fe, they would have a proper wedding.
He would look into purchasing the land Jonas had told him about, then he would have a house built on it. Maleaha would have to move to the fort with him for a while. There were quarters to accommodate the officers and their wives, and while they were not exactly what she was accustomed to, they would not be too bad. The main thing was that they would be together.
Kane watched her walk across the room to where her clothes were. Had he heard her correctly? Had she said that she did not want to see him again? Was she out of her mind? Did she not know that what they had shared last night came to few people in a lifetime? Anger and frustration carried him across the space that divided them, and he grabbed her by the arm and turned her to face him.
"What do you mean you hope our paths never cross again?"
Maleaha raised her head and give him a look of indifference that she was far from feeling.
"I do not wish to repeat what happened last night," she told him, knowing she was being very dishonest, something she had very rarely been in her whole life.
His fingers tightened on her shoulder, and he forced her to look at him. "Why do I get the feeling that you used me last night?"
She raised her head and gave him her coldest stare. It was better that he should think her promiscuous than find out that she loved him. "I admit I used you last night, but you cannot say that you did not use me as well."
"Damn you," he said, shoving her away from him. His silver eyes narrowed to tiny slits and he clenched his fists, wanting to hit out at something or someone.
"It was my pleasure, Miss Deveraux. The next time you are in need of a toss on the robe, I hope you will consider me."
Maleaha raised her hand, and before he could react, she struck him hard across the face.
Kane grabbed her hand, and, pinning her arms behind her, pulled her tightly against his body. ' 'I would not ever try that again," he said through clenched teeth.
"Release me. I hate you!"
' 'You did not hate me last night. You were not very experienced, and usually my taste runs more to the older, more experienced female. Perhaps when you are more experienced . . ." his voice trailed off.
Maleaha struggled with all her might, wishing she could strike him again for his insulting words. She wondered how she could ever have thought she loved him. Her newfound love died a speedy death. Why was it with Kanen Benedict she could swing from love to hate so quickly?
Lamas chose that moment to enter the teepee, and in two strides he was across the space that divided them. "Does he hurt you?" he asked Maleaha in the language of the Jojobas.
"No, I am all right."
Lamas watched Kane carefully as he spoke to Maleaha. "Mangas wants to see you and the white man at once." His dark eyes were threatening as he looked at Kane.
"Tell Mangas we will be there as soon as I dress."
Lamas nodded and walked toward the opening, giving Kane one last warning glance as he disappeared.
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