“No! I’ll not bathe in that, that watering hole.” The water was surrounded by sparse grass and one lonely, pathetic looking tree. “You may be used to bathing in the middle of nowhere, but not me.”
“The cool water will soothe blisters, heal them fast. You bath or I strip you naked.”
Blue Thunder did not miss the anger that skated through her doe eyes. She was something, that white woman. He feared she could definitely give him grief with that flapping tongue. But it was a sweet tongue, nevertheless, and he’d train her in time. She stood firm, her arms folded under her breasts. Wheat colored threadlike locks fell over her stubborn face, but Blue Thunder thought her beautiful, blisters and all. He loved the little brown specks across the bridge of her thin nose. Her pink mouth, although cracked and slightly swollen, was appealing; like a desert berry clinging to a bush.
His loins tightened, remembering her silky hair against his chest when she had leaned against him. He had spent days trying to control his lust, wondering how much more he could take before losing it. Right now, he was losing his temper. He knew he could toss her in clothes and all but he’d reason with her first.
Her eyes grew as big as an owl by his threat to strip her and he knew he was in for it again but surprised when her rebuttal never came. Instead she shook her head adamantly, and inhaled deeply causing her chest to raise and fall dramatically which didn’t go unnoticed. But he was tired of her stubbornness and before she knew it, his arms sprang out, tearing her dress
completely down the middle. He saw terror in her eyes as she shrieked, trying to hold it together.
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Her outraged cry didn’t faze him and he spun the incensed captive around, pulling the rest of her dress off her back.
“Now, if you not want to have undergarments ripped too, leaving you naked to travel rest of the way, you will obey! You are not stupid!” It wasn’t a question.
“Stupid? Stupid? I’ll show you who’s stupid, you …you overgrown ape!”
She was stubborn as flies on a carcass and as proud as a tall mountain peeking through
clouds. He had to admit he liked that. This headstrong female stirred his blood with her challenging disposition; life with her would be anything but boring. Nevertheless, as a son of a leader, he had to wed an Indian maiden befitting his rank. His father had pressured him to marry so many times fearing he would die before seeing his grandchildren. Although, his father was right, there was no hurry. He would be happy to have this honey-eyed slave.
Blue Thunder removed his clothes and joined his captive. His breath became ragged when he touched her beautiful body. Her waist was so small he could span it with his two hands. Her cute, rounded backside had made his manhood swell to a painful size and he wondered if he could scrub the rest of her without erupting like an inexperienced youth. But she needed to be cleaned and he and his people pride themselves on cleanliness.
She was blushing, her eyes remained closed to him and she kept her arms crossed over her breasts. He wondered why she hid her sweet peaks yet not her womanhood. He experienced such tantalizing agony when he scrubbed her legs and stomach wanting to kiss where his hands had been. Without any resistance, he unfolded her arms to wash her small but firm breasts. Color deepened and crept down her pretty neck, once again her blush didn’t go unnoticed to his scrutinizing eyes. He sensed her embarrassment, but soon she’d lose all modesty before him. He would show her bodies were beautiful and without shame.
Blue Thunder knew he’d make love to her and just what he would do. The first time would be special for his prize. His hands trembled as he thought about placing feather kisses on her fluttering eyelids. His wet lips would slide across her spotted nose, tender pink lips, and defiant chin. His eager mouth would travel like a snail to her white breasts and he would take
each nipple between his teeth, circling them with his hot tongue until they grew hard with desire. Then he would slowly explore her flat belly and pale soft, golden mound that would hold so
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much pleasure for them. His kisses wouldn’t stop there; he’d brand her creamy inner thighs and she’d experience a pleasure she had never experienced before. They would soar together on a path known only to lovers.
Melissa had been beyond enraged; she was murderous from his terrible treatment before. He could be so kind and caring one minute, and then change like a chameleon the next. Seeing the fire in his dark eyes, she did not fight him. One thing in her favor, dusk was settling and the bright sun began slipping behind the mountain. Stripping quickly, Melissa had run into the water and sat with her back to him. The water made her shiver, making her teeth rattle but it wasn’t the temperature but her ire. Her backside bruised when she sat on some pointed rocks but she’d sit there forever before admitting to her pain, not to mention her embarrassment.
Then to her horror, she saw the red man shed his buckskin and moccasins. Her body shivered, but not from the cold but fear. She turned away, feeling her face heat knowing he was joining her naked as a jay bird. He touched her shoulder and asked, “What is ape?”
“Y-you,” she seethed through clenched teeth and wondered how she managed to sound coherent through her tight jaw.
He had yanked her up, grabbed some sand from the bottom and started to scrub her back, buttocks and legs where her skin wasn’t red. She made a loud gasp from her tight throat when his hands touched places no man ever touched before. She tried swatting at him but he grabbed her
wrists in his one hand and held her still. Her breathing strained as she continued to struggle. This only made his arms rub against her breasts, causing a tingling sensation between her legs. Hearing him chuckle, she knew he was enjoying her predicament. She stiffened. Would he scrub her front? She believed he would and squeezed her eyes tight, feeling humiliation mixed with anticipation.
He released her wrists and turned her around. Her nipples shriveled up from the cool breeze or, Oh, God help her if it was from his touch? He bent and kissed them. Melissa felt the blush creep down to her toes and she made a quick intake of breath but didn’t resist as she stood with her arms stiff by her side. How much sweet torture could she take? Did she just think, sweet? Definitely her brained had been fried.
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Melissa’s icy body began to feel as it was on fire. She wondered how she could feel chills from the falling temperature and hot flashes at the same time. His hand lingered too long on her chest but she didn’t open her eyes to argue the point. She couldn’t win and after a while she didn’t think she wanted to. Without warning, she was swept up into his strong arms and carried to the small path of grass. He placed her on her feet and held her shaking body that had long ago lost the fight.
“I will warm you.”
And he did. Melissa found being wrapped securely in his warmth was exciting but nerve wracking. His male organ pressed into her tenderly and she didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t believe how warm his body was; the cool water and breeze hadn’t affected him at all. He doesn't
sweat and he doesn’t get chills; this is not a man but a god. Her reasoning at that point made her
believe this was why he had such a strange effect on her.
She sighed. What could she do but be brave?
He moved from her and her warm skin was shocked again by the chill of the cool breeze. But what thunderstruck her more was watching him bend over to pick up her torn dress. Melissa wasn’t looking at his face now and Blue Thunder was the first man she had ever seen naked and she stood transfixed. As quickly as he bent to pick up her discarded dress, he turned caching her with her mouth agape. His manhood was still swollen from desire and her eyes widened at the sight of him.
“Don’t be frightened, little one, I will not hurt you.”
Melissa misunderstood him, thinking he meant he would not beat her for not obeying his orders to bathe. He turned her around and began drying her long tresses with her dress, making her frown; once again he put on his chameleon disguise. She wondered what
she would wear. Even though the days were hot, she didn’t want to roam the countryside in her unmentionables. But what she wanted lately didn’t seem to matter.
“Now hair only damp. Come, take water and pat on face. I break blisters to release poison. More salve make face look better tomorrow.”
“May I put on some clothes first?” she simply stated, trying to hold onto a smidgen of dignity.
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“I like Honey Eyes just this,” but nodded. “You cover yourself but not with filthy clothes. We wash in stream, they will dry by morning. I get horse blanket.”
Horse blanket?
She clenched her fists by her side. “You don’t want me to wear soiled undergarments but you will wrap me in a horse blanket.” And then it hit her. Horse blanket? Puzzled, she shook her damp head. “Where did you get the blanket? Never mind!” she snapped, waving her hands over her head. “I’d rather not know,” she griped.
“I would rather smell horse’s scent than dirty clothes,” he rebuked and turned away. She was so frustrated, she swore under her breath.
After catching a rabbit, Blue Thunder built a fire and asked her to clean it. “Cleaning animal’s woman’s work,” he informed, his jaw set with determination. “Man hunt, woman clean.”
He stood over her, his hands on hip. Melissa looked at him as if he had two heads. Arrogant ape! She bit her tongue knowing she’d be wasting her breath. Her insults bounced off his broad shoulders easily, anyway. Then she recalled the feeling of those strong shoulders and arms around her. Damn him! She had to stop having unladylike thoughts. She swallowed and tried to make her voice sound as unnerved as her insides were.
“That may be where you come from but all the animals I’ve cooked were cleaned before I put them in the pot. Clean your own rabbit. I’m not your Indian squaw!”
“No, you are slave… so clean!” he ordered.
He pointed a demanding finger at her, holding the bloodied animal in front of her face, causing her to wince. She turned. “Take it away or I’ll be sick.”
That maddening red man grunted, “White woman too soft. I teach, you learn.”
She shook her head negatively at him.
“No clean, no eat,” he warned. “All Indians do their share; we have no lazy people in my village. When you live with Apaches, you get strong hands, not weak ones.”
Melissa faced him, forgetting the queasiness from the smell of blood. “I don’t want to live with your people.... or you.” When his words sank in, her jaw slacked. Slave? Did he say slave? Putting her hands on her hips, she stood, stretching her five-foot-three-inch frame as tall as she
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could. “I won’t be your slave! You are without a doubt the most intolerable male I have ever met! Who do you think you are taking me from my family? What rights have you to--?”
“Do my ears hear correctly?” He threw the bloody thing at her feet. “No more foolish words. Hold tongue, obey orders… woman!”
“What!?” Now he had gone too far. She took a deep breath to control her irregular heart beat, never so mad in her life. “How dare you?” Her whole body shook with anger. “Why don’t you just beat me?” She dared him by pointing her quivering, upturned chin at him. “Get it over with. You know you can. I’m no match for such a big, strong man.”
She didn’t miss the flicker of annoyance in his eyes as he descended on her. His chest heaved and the tiny blue vein in his neck pulsated with frustration. She lost her bravado and began to move back. She had pushed him too far, but so what? Should she thank him for stealing her away? Her stomach knotted not liking the smoldering look in his eyes; they were searing through to her very soul. His face held no emotion as the muscles in his jaw grew taut. She let out a loud shriek and turned to run but her feet came off the ground and she was running in the air.
Melissa kicked and struggled, losing the blanket. He had one arm around her waist and the other around her chest. Her body went rigid with fear and pleasure; she was no match for his strength. With lightning speed, he carried her over to a large rock and sat down, flipping her over his knees before she realized what had happened. His hand came down hard on her bare bottom with a force that caused such pain it took her breath away; again and again until her derriere stung, an she wouldn’t be surprised if her bottom was as red as her sunburned face. He gave her five good whacks and she believed she wouldn’t be able to sit for a week. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pounded her fists into his hard thigh. Then quickly, he stopped and turned her over and held her.
Indeed, Blue Thunder wanted to strangle her pretty white neck. No one had ever talked to him this way before or insulted him like this handful of a woman. If he took that delicate neck in his hands, he would surely snap it in two. Beat her into submission? No, he wanted to kiss her more. If she talked like this in his village, in front of his people, he’d lose face. Maybe he’d have to beat her. He was glad she didn’t insist on where he had gotten the blanket. How could he
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explain to her that when he went to search for food, he found a dead prospector and a lame horse? The only thing of value was the blanket, so he killed the injured animal and took the woven saddle blanket.
“Sorry, little one. It will be easier if you do not fight me on everything. Know you will never be returned to your people.” He kissed her wet cheeks. “You do not know what you do to me. My blood run hot for you, yet you shame me with an evil tongue. You will be number one
slave in my dwelling. It is an honor any Indian woman would love to have. In my village, I lose face if you dishonor my words; then you must be disciplined. Not like this, but whipped in front of my people. I not want this; I am no woman beater. But I am also under tribal law.” He did not tell her that young wives and maidens did only light work, the heavy tasks being performed by the older women.
He held the trembling girl in his arms, feeling his beating heart had just been torn from his chest by buzzards. He prayed she would do as asked, knowing he could never whip her. The pain he inflicted tonight cut him too deeply. With his thumb, Blue Thunder wiped the wetness from her cheeks and kissed her freckled nose, her swollen eyes, and her quaking lips. He tasted her salty tears, and longed to sample more of her. Picking her up, he placed her gingerly on the fallen blanket, lying her on her stomach, then proceeded to kiss her pink bottom. She moaned. Turning her over, he removed his buckskin and held her once more.
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SIXTEEN
Melissa’s backside no longer stung with pain but instead a new sensation, a sweet agony that sent waves of pleasure between her legs. Each kiss on her bottom sent a tremor from inside her womanhood up the wall of her breasts. When Blue Thunder turned her over, his hot skin scorched her and his desire pressed against her stomach. She was amazed a man could have such power over her emotions, feeling sheer bliss when he put his hands over her body. Melissa wanted him as much as she knew he wanted her.
As Blue Thunder explored her inexperienced body, she did some exploring of her own. She moved her hands across his hard chest, rubbing his male nipple the way he did hers. He drew in a deep breath and gently opened her legs to feel her hidden velvet folds. Although, she was ready for him when he placed himself over her, she knew he saw panic in her eyes. She stiffened for a moment, so he kissed her deeply until she relaxed once more.
“Do not fear, my beautiful captive, the pain will be brief, I promise. Pleasure will consume your heart and soul forever.”
His thrust was quick and she cried out digging her heels into the dirt and her fingernails into his back. He paused to let her get used to him being inside but she cried out, “Don’t leave me, Blue Thunder!”
Slowly, he worked his magic, giving her the pleasure he had promised. Her screams of passion traveled through the night air, causing sleeping birds to take off in flight, carrying cries of ecstasy on their wings. When he thought she was asleep, e untangled her arms and legs from him and placed the blanket over her.
When Melissa awoke, it
was dark. There was no mistaking the enticing aroma of a roasting rabbit. She beamed with pride. She’d won round one.
Or had she?
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All day they traveled through a narrow, rugged mountain pass. She heard an eagle screech overhead and periodically a mountain lion roared in the distance. Round two was lost when Blue Thunder threw her dress in the fire before she had a chance to object. She fumed for a long time, detesting the idea that she only had her camisole and pantaloons to wear. And the fact that each bounce of the horse brought renewed discomfort to her derriere. Closing her eyes to keep from tearing only produced visions of their love making. What they shared filled her mind with desire for the handsome brave who now held the fate of her future. As she studied her companion, she found her thoughts were becoming more confused and conflicted.
“My village lies on the other side of this mountain,” he said as they rested by a small creek that flowed down the mountain. The handsome Indian sat and watched her remove her boots and waded in the water admiring her. What was he thinking? He looked serious. There were many questions on the tip of her tongue, but now was not the time.
Pre-dusk and the other side of the mountain greeted Melissa. A small clearing unfolded before them but in the distance huge trees blocked out the remaining sun. They reached the edge
of the forest’s bosom, where a tiny village stood proudly against the graying skies. She was in awe of the many tepees circled warmly in the protection of the woods. At a closer look, she realized that the dwellings were not made of canvas like the ones she had seen in picture books, but they looked like inverted bird’s nests and were composed of similar material.
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