by Carol Finch
The man's husky voice jolted Hawk from his musings. Turning his attention to the present, he began to barter for top price. "I would think nine dollars a pound would be a fair exchange for these plush furs."
"Nine dollars!" the agent hooted. "Dammit, man, these are beaver pelts, not gold! You ought to know the demand for fur isn't what it used to be. Silk hats are the latest fashion, not fur caps."
Hawk's gaze shifted to Aubrey DuBois who had propped himself in a corner to-listen to his agents barter for furs. Their eyes locked for a moment, and after a stilted silence, Aubrey nodded in reluctant compliance.
"Pay him top price," Aubrey grumbled to the agent.
Hawk grasped Two-Dogs's arm, drawing him toward the bargaining table. "My friends also have prime pelts." His intense stare probed into the agent who was set to refuse. "You heard the furrier. The going rate at rendezvous is nine dollars a pound."
The agent compressed his lips and frowned at Hawk's arrogance. He was not accustomed to allowing the trappers to make demands. Heaving an agitated sigh, he looked at Aubrey.
"Prime pelts will receive top price," Aubrey muttered begrudgingly and then wheeled away, but not without flinging Hawk a parting glower.
When Hawk had completed the business transaction, his elated friends led him away, hailing him as a conquering warrior. A mug of rye whiskey was thrust into his hand, and several toasts were made to his success. Never had the trappers received such exorbitant prices for their pelts.
By nightfall the boisterous voices of celebrating trappers echoed through the foothills. One swore he'd discovered valleys crawling with beaver, rivers so thick with the creatures that they couldn't be stirred with a stick. Another said he had been attacked by an entire sloth of grizzlies and had single-handedly battled his way to safety. One drunken trapper and then another tried to top each other.
Aubrey watched the wild goings-on with frustrated anger. He knew he would be forced to endure several days of these raucous festivities before he could retrieve Rozalyn. He wondered if Hawk's rendition of the incident that had occurred many years ago had turned Rozalyn against him. That thought had Aubrey growling like a wounded panther. His confrontation with Hawk had brought back bitter memories, memories he had never been able to bury. Heaving an exasperated sigh, he stalked back to his tent, wishing this were the last day of rendezvous instead of the first.
Rozalyn's longing gaze spanned the distance between the Crow camp and the torch lights of the encampment on the far side of the river. For five endless days the bartering and trading had continued, so had the loud celebrations that echoed far into the nights. She wished she could enjoy the festivities, but she didn't feel like celebrating for this was the beginning of the end. It was all over but the crying. Soon the trappers would scatter and Hawk would deliver her to her father.
A choked sob constricted her throat. With each passing moment she died a little more. Rozalyn had thought she could survive on her sweet memories, but letting go was almost more than she could bear.
"You do love him with all your heart, don't you, Mitskapa?" Arakashe questioned softly. "I can see the mist of longing in your eyes."
Not daring to trust her voice, Rozalyn nodded mutely.
Her teary gaze was still fixed on the golden lights across the peaceful river that separated her from Hawk. It might as well be an ocean, Rozalyn thought miserably.
"I have warned you that all stories cannot have happy endings," Arakashe reminded her. "You and Manake have known from the beginning that it would come to this, but nothing can sever the bond of your hearts." A rueful smile grazed the chiefs lips. "I have seen many snows and I have seen too much unhappiness. If I could spare you and my grandson this agony, I would. But the way is difficult and the path has become entangled."
Rozalyn's trembling hand folded over Arakashe's. "I know it is futile to want what I can't have, but that doesn't ease the hurting," she said brokenly. "I would sacrifice my past and all the luxuries I had in civilization to remain in these mountains with Hawk."
"Your father will never permit it." Arakashe's dark eyes followed Rozalyn's gaze to the far bank of Green River. "These mountains hold bitter memories of Apitsa. He was once a friend of the Crow, but no more. He can barely tolerate himself, and, because of that, he has become vengeful toward his brothers."
Rozalyn was aware that he spoke the truth, and grappling with that depressing thought, she turned back to her wigwam. But when she closed her eyes, Hawk's handsome face materialized before her. Would she see his dashing features in her mind's eye for the rest of her days? Rozalyn had never done anything halfway. She had loved Hawk with every fiber of her being, and her unquenchable thirst for adventure had led her to live in ways others of her background only dreamed about. But now, when the sunshine was to be taken from her days, Rozalyn wondered if she would become half a woman, leading an empty existence. Maybe it would have been easier if she had never loved Hawk at all.
Coward, she said to herself. During the months she had spent with Hawk, she had promised herself their winter love would be enough, that she could survive on her sweet memories, but when the moment of reckoning was upon her, she could not help but wonder whether she should have fiercely fought falling in love with Hawk. Now her knot of longing would never ease, not as long as she lived and breathed, not as long as she could look back and remember. . . .
Tears came, a flood of them, and pain channeled through every part of her being. Her body shuddered with tormented sobs. This time she couldn't fight the obstacle that lay between her and the man she loved, Rozalyn reminded herself drearily. Defying her father would only make life impossible. Perhaps Aubrey was at fault, but he was still her father. If she had professed to love any other man, Aubrey would have consented to a match, but he would never allow Rozalyn to live with the son of his mortal enemy, the son of the man who had married the light and love of Aubrey's life. What was unattainable for her father would be inaccessible to his daughter. God, Rozalyn couldn't even allow Aubrey to know how she ached inside. If Aubrey learned of her intimacy with Hawk, he would be enraged. Rozalyn could never divulge the truth to anyone; she must live a lie. Another tear slid down her flushed cheek as a thought struck her. What if ... No, Rozalyn didn't want to consider the possibility that she was carrying Hawk's child. As much as she would adore a baby with Hawk's captivating green eyes, Rozalyn couldn't bear a child without infuriating Aubrey. There would be nothing but anguish in her future, Rozalyn realized. She could not have Hawk and she could not have his child. If she carried his seed within her she would be forced to flee. But where could she run? She wouldn't go into the mountains alone when she was with child. Lord, where on earth could she find sanctuary?
Rozalyn's thoughts swirled together, creating tormented dreams. Fitfully, she tossed and turned, wondering what was to become of her.
Chapter 29
Rousing from another haunted dream, Rozalyn opened heavily lidded eyes to note the silhouette of a man at the entrance to the tepee. Her soul swelled with pleasure when he stepped forward, allowing the scant moonlight to spray across his chiseled features. Like a gigantic mountain lion crouching in his den, Hawk stretched out beside Rozalyn, offering warmth where there had been chilled loneliness.
"Even whiskey couldn't drown my memories," Hawk rasped, his arms instinctively circling Rozalyn's trim waist. "Set my maddening thoughts to flight, sweet nymph. They are tearing me apart."
His lips swooped down on hers with breathless urgency, and Rozalyn welcomed his whiskey-laced kisses, responding to him as she always had. His hands were upon her, gliding over her like ocean waves. Their magical touch erased her troubled musings, and left her swimming in a sea of ecstasy.
Her fingertips scaled the taut muscles of his back to trace the corded tendons of his neck, trailing her worshipping caresses over the rugged terrain of his body, learning this sleek, panther-like man by touch. In the months to come Rozalyn knew she had but to close her eyes to call upon this memory. Even when
Hawk was a thousand miles away she would be able to feel his hair-roughened body beneath her hands, taste his potent kisses, and inhale his masculine scent that now filled her senses.
A tormented groan gushed from Hawk's lips as they flowed over her skin, cherishing the velvety softness of her. Her enticing fragrance enfolded itself around his senses, leaving him aching to become a part of this rare beauty who was as hauntingly lovely as a rose.
Their bodies came into familiar contact, brushing lightly against each other like shadows swaying on the wall, and Hawk found himself burning alive. He wanted this exquisite seraph as his own, craved her more than he had wanted anything else in his life. She was the vital essence that gave him purpose, his reason for being. Over and over again he whispered of his love, his mindless need to lose himself in the rapturous circle of her arms. His hands and lips touched every inch of her satiny flesh, giving and sharing pleasure. He knew that soon these delirious sensations would be beyond his grasp, that he would be floundering in a sea of agony. And knowing that, Hawk was obsessed with making this, their last night together, an interlude of incomparable ecstasy.
Rozalyn died a thousand times over as his skillful caresses swept across her trembling flesh like a gentle whisper of wind, enticing, arousing, satisfying. She was on fire and Hawk was the flame, igniting her passion until she could only respond with wild abandon.
Breathlessly, she drew him to her, whispering of her need to be possessed, to feel his body forging intimately-into hers. When Hawk lifted himself above her, he gazed down into her shadowed face. The darkness disguised the passion in her eyes, but Hawk was aware of the expression in them. He had seen it so often in the past few months that he could feel its fire as she arched toward him.
Hawk's raven head moved toward hers, ravishing her with a kiss that carried enough heat to set the night aflame. His hips guided her thighs apart, and he came to her, offering his body and soul.
Rozalyn was assaulted by one wild sensation after another. Her love for Hawk spilled through her, sensitizing her, engulfing her every emotion until her breath caught in her throat. As Hawk's powerful body moved against hers, appeasing the maddening ache that had claimed her, Rozalyn hugged him to her, arching to meet his driving thrusts.
For those blazing moments nothing else mattered except the overwhelming sensations that sent them skyrocketing toward the distant stars. The world stopped spinning as they soared on their intimate journey through time and space, their souls were arching across the black velvet sky like wild, free birds, spiraling higher and higher still. The wind beneath their wings was love and it sustained these graceful monarchs of the sky until they joined as one.
Hawk's tense body shuddered against her and a groan of sheer pleasure vibrated across her shoulder when he buried his head against her. His mind was numb, and his heart pounded in such frantic rhythm that he feared it would beat him to death. For a long, breathless moment he merely held Rozalyn's body to his, loving the feel of her. He could not let her go for this would be the last time he found exquisite peace in a universe far from reality. That shattering thought trickled through his paralyzed mind, and it was nearly his undoing. Sweet mercy, he'd known the end would be painful, but he had anticipated nothing like this! An aching had already begun to swirl in the pit of his belly, and as he drifted back to his senses, the gnawing became intolerable.
"Do you know how very much I love you? Can you, too, feel the loss, even before it begins?" Hawk choked out.
If only our love for each other could perform miracles, Roz thought dismally. Forcing the semblance of a smile, though her heart was bleeding in her chest, she nodded. "You love me as deeply as I love you, and the pain is indeed intolerable," she whispered back to him, combing her fingers through the crisp, wavy hair that capped his handsome face. "The months we shared were the most precious of my life. I will never forget. . . ." Rozalyn bit her bottom lip, trying to keep her composure.
"I'll come back to St. Louis," Hawk promised.
In five years? It might as well be five hundred, Roz thought disheartenedly. Aubrey would never allow her to see Hawk. They would be forced to sneak away together for a few stolen moments, and then the hurting would begin again. What kind of future would that be? her tortured mind screamed. And yet, the possibility that she might see him again was her only hope.
Hawk propped himself up on his elbows and cupped Rozalyn's face in his hands. "I want you to remember that I love you, that I will go on loving you, Roz. The miles that separate us cannot break this bond. My father has assured me of that. He is living proof that the ties between a man and his woman can never be broken when they have taken such deep root." His lips feathered across hers and then he kissed away the tears that rolled down her cheeks. "There is something you must do for me, Roz. You must never let Aubrey know there was anything between us. When I deliver you to him tomorrow, don't look back, don't let him see what is between us. It will only make your relationship with him more difficult."
Rozalyn was fully aware of the possible repercussions. She knew what she had to do. Raising quivering lips, she looped her arms around his neck, drawing him back to her before he could steal away into the night to return to his own tent on the opposite bank of the river.
"One last kiss," she murmured brokenly. "One that will keep me warm and content until we chance to meet again." If we meet again, she thought.
The sensuous curve of his mouth melted against hers, his questing tongue probing into its sweet recesses to share a ragged breath. They exchanged soft declarations of love and made promises Rozalyn wondered if either of them could keep when their loneliness became unbearable.
When Hawk found the will to drag his lips from hers, Roz swore her heart had shattered into a thousand pieces. She could feel the emptiness closing in on her and she knew the fierce, gnawing sensations of loss would never go away. When she was forced to depart from these majestic mountains, she would leave her soul behind. It would linger on the precipices like a wayward spirit roaming the towering summits in search of peace.
As Hawk silently slipped outside, Rozalyn muffled her choked sobs. When the dawn came to claim the mountains, she knew she would be forever in the shadows of these peaks. Hawk would take the sunshine with him when he returned to the wilderness, and she would trudge back to a civilization that held no allure.
Pained eyes, dulled with heavy regret, peered at her wigwam. Then, Hawk slammed his fist into the palm of his left hand. God, saying goodbye to Roz hurt so he wanted to scream out his frustration.
He had always been in control of his life, but now he had lost that control. For a time he had shared his days with the woman he loved, but, come sunrise, she would vanish . . . and he would never be the same again. Memories would seep from every crack and crevice of the mountain range that had become their secluded paradise, and he would go mad when he remembered how it had been between him and Roz.
If it were not for Aubrey and his stubborn . . . Suddenly, a fragment of the conversation he'd had with Aubrey during the first day of rendezvous flashed through his mind, a careless remark Hawk had overlooked in his frustration. Frowning pensively, he stared across the river and then decided to seek out the sleeping chief. Several questions were looming in his mind and he could not rest until they had been answered.
As if she were riding in a funeral procession, Rozalyn followed several paces behind Hawk as they crossed the river on their mounts. Her expressionless eyes were focused on the man who waited for her on the far bank, and it was with grim determination that she managed a welcoming smile for Aubrey's wrinkled features were stamped with irritation and resentment. Strange, Roz mused. This was only the second time she remembered seeing her father display more than bland indifference to a situation. How could she pretend to be anxious to be reunited with him when he was glaring at Hawk as if he would slit his throat? But, keeping her promise to Hawk, Rozalyn attempted to appear relieved when her father's stony gaze swung to her.
"Well, I'll be dam
ned!" Two-Dogs grunted in disbelief and then strode away from Aubrey's side. "Bear-Claw ain't come down from the mountains in years."
Rozalyn's gaze shifted to the movement on the ridge overlooking Green River, and her breath lodged in her throat. Suddenly panic gripped her. Her wild eyes darted back to Aubrey to view his reaction. What was Bear-Claw doing here? Surely he knew the type of reception he could expect from her father!
Aubrey's narrowed eyes fastened on the crusty mountain man, but it took him a moment to recognize the hermit. When he did, the color drained from his cheeks. "Baudelair . . ." The name burst from his lips in a muffled curse. Aubrey wheeled back around to glare mutinously at Hawk. "Why the hell did you send for him? I never wanted to see him again. Damn you. You know how I detest your father."
"I didn't send for him," Hawk snapped back, apprehensive because of Bear-Claw's appearance. If his father did not guard his tongue he could ignite trouble. Thus far, Aubrey had complied with the terms of the bargain without making an attempt at revenge, but Hawk knew it would take only one small spark to set Aubrey off. The man was having difficulty maintaining his composure as it was!
As the lone rider steadily approached, his expression somber, the trappers surrounding Aubrey fell away, expecting the feud between DuBois and Baudelair to erupt again.
Cautiously, Rozalyn slid to the ground to take her place beside her father. She would have preferred to stand by Hawk, but that would have made Aubrey suspicious, and it was the last thing he needed when he faced Bear-Claw for the first time in thirty years. She watched Aubrey go rigid when Bear-Claw swung from his saddle and marched toward him.
"What do you want here?" Aubrey spat out.
"To make peace," Bear-Claw said calmly. Then he glanced over to intercept the warning glint in Hawk's eyes. Carefully, he gave Rozalyn a discreet look before again peering at his son. At last he focused his attention on Aubrey. "It has been a long time, Aubrey. Long enough, don't you agree?"