When they stopped around noon Mara took little Andrew from Palomas and walked away from the group so she could have privacy while she fed him. He was wrapped in a warm cocoon of fur, with only his little face visible. Touching his soft cheek, she smiled lovingly down at him while she unfastened her gown to nurse him. He was such a good baby, and once his hunger had been satisfied and she changed him, he fell asleep once more.
Standing up with the intention of returning to the others, she felt her eyes drawn to a hillside a short distance across the valley. She saw a rider and immediately identified him as Tajarez. He and the black horse he rode seemed as one. The horse's hooves kicked up the snow and sent it swirling into the air.
The man's dark ebony shoulder-length hair was tousled by the wind. From the speed he was traveling, she knew he would soon reach the point where she was standing, though she doubted he had seen her. He was so magnificent, like some young god out of an ancient Greek tale.
She felt a tightening in her throat, wishing she could continue watching the beautiful Indian. What kind of man was he? Surely like no other she had ever known.
Gathering Andrew tightly against her, Mara made her way back to camp, hoping the Indian Tajarez would not discover she had been watching him.
Jeffery offered her a piece of dried meat, but she refused, not feeling hungry. Moments later Tajarez entered the camp and halted his horse beside Mara. The animal tried to rear up on its hind legs, but the pure strength of the man prevented it.
"How is the child, Mara?" When he spoke her name it was almost like a caress.
Before she could reply, Tajarez's face darkened in anger, and Mara followed his eyes to the object of his fury. She gasped when she saw he was staring at her mount with the side-saddle, and felt a prickle of fear run down her spine when he turned his dark eyes on her.
"Did your brother not tell you that I ordered your side-saddle removed?" he said in an angry voice.
Mara tried twice to speak before she finally succeeded. "Yes, but I cannot ride without it."
He dismounted and walked over to her horse, many dark eyes watching him as he took his knife and cut the strap that secured the saddle to the horse.
He then lifted the offensive object and threw it to the ground. Then he turned back to Mara. "Now you will have to ride bareback, will you not?"
Hot anger shot through Mara's veins like wildfire. How dare he try to assert his authority over her! He shamed her in front of the others. She would not stand idly by and take such treatment!
"You have destroyed my saddle and you had no right," Mara said angrily, in English.
The other Indians seemed to fade into the distance, out of earshot, as Tajarez gave her a smile with no humor in it.
"You always did lapse into English when you became angry, Mara. Perhaps it is just as well. I would not like my warriors to know how you speak to their king."
"What right do you have dictating to me how I should ride? I am a lady, and I will not ride like some man, or like an Indian!"
"It seems you have no choice. Your saddle cannot be repaired. Had you obeyed my order in the first place, you would not know my anger."
Her hands went to her hips, and she stamped her foot.
"You have no right to speak to me in this manner. I do not care what an illustrious person you are, you have no say in what I do." She turned to Jeffery. "Are you going to allow him to treat me in this fashion?"
Jeffery merely shrugged his shoulders. "He is my king; I am bound by his orders."
Tajarez raised his eyebrow. "You, like your sister, obey me when it is what you want to do."
"I will never submit to your orders. You have destroyed a saddle that must have cost my brother a great deal of money."
"It was not your brother's gold that bought the saddle, but mine. Now, I do not intend to stand here conversing with a woman who acts like a child."
He took Andrew from her and handed him to Jeffery, picked her up, and, before she could protest, plopped her onto the horse. "I will carry the baby," he said as he took the baby from Jeffery. "And Mara, you might try to pull your gown down. I do not like for my warriors to see your legs." With that he nudged his horse in the flanks and rode away, leaving her to stew in her own anger.
When she looked at Jeffery for some sympathy, she found him smiling, his eyes glued to Tajarez's back. Mara yanked at the skirt of her gown to cover her legs and kicked her horse in the flanks harder than was necessary. As the animal started off in a lope, she discovered that she could indeed ride very well astride, and remembered that she had done so when she first met Jake and Zeke, but the knowledge did not serve to cool her heated temper.
Tajarez's temper, however, cooled almost immediately as he remembered Mara's flashing green eyes and the creamy white leg he had glimpsed when he put her on the horse. He looked down at the baby and saw that he was awake. His heart swelled with love and pride in his tiny son. He looked to his right and saw Matio riding beside him. "Have you seen my son, Matio?" he said meaningfully.
"Only from a distance, until Jeffery showed him to me this morning," Matio said, shamefaced.
"Take two men and scout ahead, Matio. I am not ready to forgive what you charged against your queen," Tajarez said in a deadly calm voice.
For the first time in his life, Matio wished he could cry. He had done the queen a great injustice, and he doubted that the king would ever forgive him. In fact, he waited to hear at any time that he was no longer a member of the royal guard. He made no reply as he dropped back to select two men to accompany him.
It was early March. Weeks passed, with the same pattern repeated each day. The cold weather continued and the snow fell intermittently, piling up in a thick, heavy blanket, making forward progress difficult; but still they pushed on, ever westward. Mara was beginning to think the mysterious Seven Cities were a myth and they would never reach them.
One morning they awoke to see that there had been a fierce blizzard with strong winds that had whipped the down-falling snow into a world of whiteness, making it impossible for them to travel. Everyone remained in their tents, and the wind howled and pushed against the shelters. Inside the tent Mara occupied it was warm and cozy, with all the white robes she needed to cover herself with. Jeffery had told Mara the tent had been treated with some kind of oil that repelled cold and moisture. She hummed softly as she nursed Andrew. He was a greedy eater, as his chubby little body attested.
A sudden gust of wind engulfed Mara as the tent flap was pushed aside, and she looked up to see Tajarez enter. The fur wrap he wore was covered with snow, and he removed it and dropped it to the fur rug. He stood silently watching her, his dark eyes resting on the gentle swell of her creamy white breast.
Mara would have covered herself against his intense stare, but her heart was pounding against her ribs, and she seemed unable to move even when he dropped down beside her and touched the dark hair of her son.
He spoke no words as he looked into her eyes, and she could not speak for the way her throat had suddenly closed off, making it hard for her to breathe.
She watched as he lowered his head and kissed Andrew on his chubby little cheek, and then she gasped as she felt his warm breath against her sensitive breast. She closed her eyes as she felt his mouth move from her son's cheek to lightly touch her exposed skin.
When he raised his head, his hand slid around the back of her neck, and she could see the passion reflected in his dark, haunting eyes.
It struck a chord in her heart. Raising her head with gentle pressure, his lips descended slowly. Mara waited in torment for the touch of his mouth on hers, and when his lips did touch hers, a small groan escaped her, only to be smothered by his kiss.
Her body and her mind worked against each other. Her mind cried out that it was wrong, but her body denied that.
His lips were at first soft and searching, but they soon became hungry and devouring. When he raised his head, her eyes were full of wonder at the beautiful thing that had just
happened between them. She did not protest when he took the child from her and laid him on the fur rug. Nor did she object when he pulled her into his arms and drew her body down beside him. Drawing the fur rug over them both he sought and found her lips. This time as he kissed her, he skillfully undressed her.
Mara saw it all in a haze of raging passion. She did not know how it had been accomplished, but soon neither of them had anything on, and instead of feeling shame and embarrassment as she knew she should, her body sought to touch his. Tentatively at first, her hand slid to his broad chest, feeling the mighty strength beneath her fingertips.
She raised her face to him and parted her lips.
"Mara, beloved," he whispered, glorying in the feel of her soft, silky body pressed against his hard, muscled one. He lowered his head for a taste of her soft honeyed lips while his hands roamed seductively over her body. He had the advantage. He knew all her likes, and what points to touch her on to make her almost mindless. He kissed her closed eyelids, the lobes of her delicate ears, her throat, murmuring her name over and over.
Mara's hand slid up his back to entwine in his ebony hair. Ebony hair mingled with golden hair, as the hard, bronzed body covered the soft white one. The weight of his body caused her momentary fear, but not fear of him, never of him.
"Someone may come in," she whispered.
"No one will enter, Mara, trust me," he said in a deep, husky voice, knowing she was at the point of
surrender. His hand gently spread her legs apart as he sought and found the entrance to her body. He saw her eyes widen and flame into green fire.
"I have needed this for so long, Mara. Feel how my body trembles with wanting you."
How could she feel his body tremble, she wondered, when her own body would not stop shaking.
"This is wrong," she said, in a puny effort to justify allowing him to take her body.
"No, not wrong, Mara. I have tried to stay away from you, but I cannot. Touch me, beloved; let me have what belongs to me."
Words were not necessary as she arched her hips in invitation. With a strangled groan he thrust forward, and soon they were locked in furious lovemaking. So long had they been apart that Tajarez, who was usually gentle with her, was almost at the point of being brutal. He was aware of what he was doing, and the fact that he might be hurting her, but his body and not his mind had the upper hand.
Mara felt as if her body was not hers, but an instrument that belonged to Tajarez to do with as he wished. When she was sure she could not stand the beauty and the pain of it for a moment longer, her body seemed to explode, and she was making little whimpering sounds. But that was not to be the end, for many times Tajarez took her to the point of total exhaustion, only to find her strength renewed. It could have been minutes, and it could have been hours, as he mastered her body. At last he saw her strength was all but spent. His desire, which he had been trying to hold in check so he could satisfy her, erupted simultaneously with hers, and they lay in each other's arms, his mouth covering hers in a long, drugging kiss.
As Mara's desire began to wane, her body felt totally relaxed. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Tajarez raised his head and stared down at his sleeping wife. He had aroused her passion, but she had not remembered that he was her husband, he thought sadly. He kissed her eyelids, which were framed by long, silky lashes. "Where do we go from here, beloved?" he asked softly, but Mara did not hear, nor did he expect her to.
He got up and dressed, his eyes never leaving her silky body. He picked up his sleeping son, placed him beside Mara, pulled the robe over them both, and left quietly.
He had all but forgotten his purpose in coming to Mara's tent, which had been to make peace with her. She had not forgiven him for the incident involving her saddle and had hardly spoken to him in many days. Her anger toward him had been like a pain in his heart, and he had thought to appease her, but when he had seen her nursing his son, all thoughts had left his mind, and he had been driven by his unbridled passion. Their lovemaking had been as beautiful as it always was, but something was missing; she had not said she loved him; she had not known that he loved her.
19
Give me your hand: take what I offer you, says he.
I asked, what do you want of me.
He answered, immortality.
Mara awoke during the night and reached out her hand, hoping to find Tajarez lying beside her, but she was alone with little Andrew. When she became fully awake, she was appalled by her wanton behavior.
Dear Lord, she thought frantically, what sort of woman was she that she would let a man take her the way she had allowed Tajarez to? There was a name for women such as herself. He was a married man and had two children. A terrifying thought came to her. Had she allowed him to make love to her in the past?
She sat up quickly. Was Andrew his son? She remembered him kissing Andrew last night. Oh, no, please not that. How would she ever face him again?
Did Jeffery know about her and Tajarez? Did the others?
The wind pushed against the tent, and she felt its icy cold touch her naked body. Fumbling around in the darkness she found her nightgown and slipped it over her head. Then she snuggled down in the warm fur rug. She tried to push all thoughts of Tajarez's lovemaking and her response to him out of her mind. One thing was certain—tomorrow she would demand to know if Andrew was his son.
She vowed she would never allow him to make love to her again. She lay awake, tortured by her troubled thoughts, and when the sun made its appearance, she was awake to greet it.
Much to her relief, Tajarez was not among the warriors who surrounded her, nor was her brother, and she was grateful for the absence of both, for she was afraid her brother would read the guilt in her face, and Tajarez, of course, already knew of it.
When they stopped at noon for her to feed Andrew, Tajarez and Jeffery had not yet appeared, and when they set up camp for the night there was still no sign of either of them.
"I do not see why you are so concerned. After all, Mara is your wife. You were married to her in two different ceremonies. I know of no one who is more married than you and my sister," Jeffery said as he and Tajarez rode into the darkened camp.
Tajarez dismounted, and one of his warriors rushed forward to take his mount. He waited for Jeffery to dismount before he spoke again. He lowered his voice so only Jeffery could hear him speak.
"You do not seem to understand. This could get out of hand. I almost told Mara last night that I was her husband, and I am not sure it would have been a bad thing, either. Knowing Mara as I do, I am sure she has started having recriminations for what happened between us last night. Would it not be better for her to know she is my wife, than to think that I took her out of lust and not love?"
"I do not know. All I know is what the doctor said. We are no more than a week from home. Could you not wait until you talk to the medicine man? A week is not so long to wait."
Tajarez's eyes sought Mara's tent. "I do not think I can wait that long to hold her again. When I am near her all my good intentions go for naught."
Jeffery had long ago become accustomed to the easy manner in which the Lagonda viewed the act of love. Not that they talked about the intimate details of what took place between a husband and wife, but they had a healthy attitude toward sex, and never talked of it in hushed tones as if it were something to be ashamed of. Their attitude made it seem beautiful, the ultimate experience between two people who loved each other. When Jeffery had courted Sasha she had been shy and untouched, but on the night of their wedding she had come into his arms without hesitation, and she had given herself as trustingly and as openly as if she were not the inexperienced virgin that he had found her to be.
"You could always ride on ahead and greet her when she entered the Cities. By that time you could have spoken to the medicine man, and he might advise you to tell her that you are her husband."
"No! I will not leave her until she is safely inside the hidden valley. Too many t
hings have happened to her in the past. I will stay with her. I will go and speak to her now, and perhaps try to justify what happened between us last night."
Andrew was sleeping peacefully and Mara was dressed in her long white gown and was braiding her hair into a long golden rope when the tent flap was pulled aside and Tajarez entered. Even though her back was to him she knew it was Tajarez. When he was near her there seemed to be a charge of electricity in the air. Turning slowly to face him, she raised her head proudly.
"I am glad you have come," she said, giving the illusion of feeling much more calm than she actually did. At the sight of his handsome face, her insides seemed to turn to mush.
As he had done the night before, he removed the outer wrap that he wore for warmth and let it fall to the robe that covered the ground. The evening before he had worn a fringed shirt with long sleeves, but tonight he wore no more than a beaded vest, and around his upper arm he wore an armband of the purest gold.
"You want to speak to me about last night?" he asked as he sat down at a safe distance from her and motioned for her to do the same.
She reached for a robe and pulled it in front of her modestly. Tajarez smiled inwardly at her gesture, thinking he knew her body better than she did.
"Yes, I have some questions I would like for you to answer for me. This is very hard for me, so I will try to be brief."
He nodded, but said nothing.
"First of all, I would like to ask if you and I have ever before been together as we were last night?"
Tajarez was silent for a moment, trying to decide how to answer her. Then he said, "I have been with no woman but my queen in over two years, by the way you measure time."
"I see. That answers my second question, then. Andrew could not be your son."
Tajarez wanted to shout at her and tell her that Andrew was not only his son, but that he had fathered two other children by her. But he did not.
Savage Splendor (Savage Lagonda 2) Page 22