Brazen Ecstasy

by Janelle Taylor

  “They would only be surprised if you had refused to dance with me or selected another to dance with,” he nonchalantly murmured.

  “What if you had selected another partner?” she continued their jest.

  “With both Chief Running Wolf and Chief Black Cloud watching me?” he exclaimed in feigned terror.

  She placed her hand over her mouth to suppress her giggles. “That would have been difficult to explain. I would have urged my father to whisk me away from a man who cared so little for his daughter.”

  “He knows the Eagle’s eyes light only upon the Bird of his Heart.”

  “That’s lovely. The Bird of the Eagle’s Heart, very nice.”

  “Do you wish to leave my nest and return to your father’s?”

  She hesitated but a flash before saying, “No.”

  His smoldering gaze engulfed her. She promptly added, “Unless the sharp talons of the Eagle harm his little bird.”

  His hand touched her face and stroked it tenderly. “Do my claws injure you, Little Bird of my Heart?”

  “No, they do not,” she answered honestly, unable to pull her gaze from his.

  “Do not look at me this way, Grass Eyes, or I will forget other eyes are upon us. I will taste your lips, then hear the laughter of my warriors at such weakness.”

  “Perhaps they would not laugh if I did the tasting,” she boldly hinted.

  “If you bravely claimed my lips, they would laugh even more. For I would pick you up and race to our tepee before your lips left mine.”

  “Perhaps I’ll test your weakness for me one day soon….”

  “When you do, you will become my wife again,” he vowed confidently.

  “I am already your wife,” she parried, wondering why she was continuing this heady conversation in public.

  “In name only, Grass Eyes. Not so, if you tempt me beyond my power of control. I warn you now, so it will be.”

  She laughed and remarked, “I stand warned, my husband.”

  Later, he walked her to their tepee. “The warriors meet to talk in the ceremonial lodge. Sleep, for I will return near the time for Wi to show his face,” he stated reluctantly.

  Somehow, relief didn’t flood her as she imagined it would. When he behaved as he had today, he was most appealing and compelling company. She smiled, allowing him to kiss her goodnight. As she entered their tepee, she chuckled to herself, feeling like a common girl being courted by a prince.

  Chief Black Cloud left early the next day, permitting only enough time to visit for a brief period. Gray Eagle left shortly afterwards to hunt. She tried to summon the courage to stroll around the encampment, but thought it best to wait for his return. When Leah called out to enter, Shalee remained silent and still until she was forced to leave. For some inexplicable reason, she didn’t wish to see or to talk with Leah, not after the way she had watched Gray Eagle yesterday!

  Shalee was furtively peeking through a slender parting in the flap of their tepee to lessen her boredom when the towering, well-developed physique of Gray Eagle arrested her line of vision and captured her attention. His keen mind dealing with other pressing matters of their imminent departure, he was unaware of her eyes following his every move. There was such a vivid aura of energy and agility about him, of brute strength and self-assurance, of animal magnetism, of sensual prowess and subtle mystique. She warmed.

  His masterful air and commanding stance compelled respect and obedience, as did his stirring voice. Here was a vital man who reeked of power and passion, of tenderness and ruthless potency. In countless ways he was like a king: He spoke and men obeyed; he went and others followed; he acted and others trembled. Her body tingled and her pulse raced. This awesome, magnificent creature was her husband. She was consumed with wonder at his choice of her as wife, for it was abundantly clear he could have any female he so desired.

  Her mind alert and enthusiastic, she was gradually learning his language. Soon, they would be able to communicate with ease. Then, she could be taught his ways and her chores. Their son could return to his rightful home. Eventually, life would be as it had been before her attack.

  Shalee’s eyes sparked to life as she watched Leah brazenly approach him. Too far away to hear the words between them, Shalee intensely observed their movements and expressions. At first, Gray Eagle’s indicated annoyance and leashed fury. Whatever Leah was saying to him, he began to stare at her and to relax! His mood altered drastically and he suddenly laughed at one of the white girl’s statements. Leah smiled and nodded several times. Gray Eagle turned and walked to his father’s tepee. Leah’s gaze devouring his retreating frame, she followed him inside! Shalee had not seen the older man return. She angrily wondered why her husband lingered in the tepee alone with a girl he claimed to despise! There had been no mistaking the invitation in Leah’s eyes. Shalee fumed at the images that stormed her mind. She stomped her foot in rising irritation as time passed snailishly and he remained with Leah. What business with a white slave could possibly take this long?

  The chief and his illustrious son sat together discussing the plans for their imminent migration to the Plains near Fort Pierre. They decided on the groupings and alignment of their tribe as they made their trek across the vast stretch of land between their summer and winter camps. The date of their impending departure was settled. Bands of warriors were selected to protect the column along its journey. It was concluded that Leah must help Shalee with the dismantling of their tepee and the packing of their possessions. Until she regained her strength and knowledge, others must assist her. With everyone so busy at this critical time, Leah was the best and perhaps the only choice for this task.

  Her back to them, they missed the pleased smirk upon her face at the several mentions of her name. Besides, she could make out many of their words after the length of time in their camp. After all, you couldn’t give a slave orders if you didn’t teach her your tongue! So, she was to help Princess Shalee… how very generous and thoughtful of them to present her with countless opportunities to undermine her budding relationship with the impressive and irresistible Gray Eagle! But she had already offered her help to the stalwart warrior when she told him his father wanted to speak with him. She had even guilefully promised to remain mute so as not to offend the injured princess, the very remark that had drawn a mocking chuckle from him. She had vowed respect and friendship toward his wife, inspiring several taunting remarks from him. The seeking couple would pay dearly as she devastated their path back to each other!

  When each matter was settled, Gray Eagle left the tepee. His mood was cheerful and his spirit elated at their decisions and plans. He was smiling and sighing in contentment as he entered his tepee. Her chilling glare lifted his brow quizzically. He came over and sat down beside her, preparing to relate those plans.

  She stiffened and turned her back to him. “Shalee? What troubles you this sun? Where did the smile and joy of my little bird fly to?” he jested.

  “Did you want to talk to me about something?” she frostily asked, her eyes and tone withering.

  Perplexed, he nodded. “We will leave here in seven moons. Leah will help you….”

  She icily cut him off, a rudeness which stunned him. “Leah! I thought you didn’t like her! Until now, you’ve insisted she keep her distance from me.”

  “The others are busy with their own families and possessions. Leah is the only one who can help you with ours,” he explained moodily.

  She was an Indian princess, an injured one, and no one could spare any time or effort to assist her! Leah was responsible for Running Wolf’s chores and possessions; yet, she would be forced to work twice as hard and long to help them! Slave was an accurate term to describe her! As she listened to the tasks involved in dismantling and moving the camp, resentment and vexation chewed at her.

  “How can Leah take care of your father’s chores and then help me with ours?”

  “Leah is strong. She does as she is told.”

  “But that’s twice
the time and work. That isn’t fair, Gray Eagle. Just because she’s a white captive, you don’t have to work her into exhaustion!”

  “Is there some reason you do not wish her help or to have her at your side?” he questioned.

  “Her company and assistance aren’t the issues. Demanding so much from her because she is a vulnerable slave is!” she angrily blurted out.

  “Issues means problems?” he queried the unfamiliar English word.

  “No: the point!” she snapped irritably. “Why can’t some of the others lend me a hand until I learn what’s to be done and how to do it? Surely Princess Shalee deserves help and kindness from her own people!” she scoffed bitterly.

  “Are you ill this sun, Shalee?” he asked in concern.

  “No, why?” she panted.

  “You speak and act strangely. Leah has no family or husband. Her work is light and swift. The others must tend children while making ready to leave. Running Wolf is but one man; the others have many in their families to care for. Leah can help you. Why allow others to do so? But many have offered. I saw no need for their help.”

  The news that they had offered to help her softened her anger. Still, it hadn’t required over an hour for him and Leah to decide she was to become Shalee’s helper!

  Gray Eagle captured her face and kissed her soundly. He teased, “Allow Shalee to send Alisha away. You speak and think as white, my love, but you are now Indian. What new fear eats at your mind and steals your joy from last moon? I have been patient as you asked; I have not forced you to become my wife. I wait for the time when love burns within you as it does within me.”

  That was the crux of her torment! Was he burning inside, or was he secretly cooling his passion and gaining this unselfish patience with the eager Leah? “The light in your eyes is unknown to me, Shalee. What brings it to life?” His words rifled through her warring thoughts.

  “Perhaps I’m just bored and restless,” she deceitfully excused her actions. “All this pressure and uncertainty is nerve-racking. I’m kept in here like some prisoner. I can’t talk to anyone! I have nothing to do because I don’t know how to do anything here! It’s either avoid my son or torment him! How can I adjust or learn anything when you won’t let me? You’re so afraid I’ll offend your people with my white tongue you keep me here alone for hours on end like some prisoner. I’ll go crazy if I don’t get out of this confining tepee and find something to occupy my time and energy!”

  “You are only restless?” he asked, suspecting there was more to her mood.

  “I don’t know,” she astutely answered. “I feel like this tepee is pressing down upon me, as if there isn’t enough air in here to breathe. My mind searches for any topic to distract it. My hands quiver with the need to be busy. How long must I sit here trying to force myself to remember things I can’t?”

  “You were weak and afraid. You needed time to learn things slowly. Are you ready to face new challenges?”

  “Yes! Anything to prevent this silence and solitude,” she rashly panted.

  “Anything?” he cleverly caught her slip. “You wish to become wife and mother again?”

  Frustration seared into his mind as she stiffened and paled. “No, Shalee, not anything. As with me, your tongue is faster than your wits.”

  “Let me become a mother and an Indian first and learn all the things I have forgotten. In time, surely the love and being your wife will return.”

  “Time,” he sneered disdainfully. “How much time do you need to love me again? How many moons will you resist me? How long do you punish me for your injury? How long must I pay for not protecting you? How can you know what we shared if you refuse to see and feel it? It is not your way to be cold and selfish. You do not desire me, so you refuse me your touch. What of my love and needs, Shalee? Desire not shared brings pains to my body. Does my suffering mean nothing to you?”

  “You expect me to sleep with you to ease your physical needs? What is sex without love?” she debated in apprehension.

  “I love you and desire you. Mating is the sharing of love.”

  “What about me and my feelings?”

  “You have no love or desire for me?” he demanded a little too harshly, fearing her answer.

  “I am trying to…”

  He severed her sentence, “Trying! Love is not a chore to be done, Shalee. Love comes to a heart and body, or it does not,” he stated in a tone she found distressing. “Do you feel such things for me?” he demanded.

  Trapped, she murmured, “I don’t know.”

  “Then we shall find the answer,” he threatened huskily, pulling her into his arms, putting his lips over hers.

  Fires leaped dangerously within her. Her small world reeled precariously. How could he desire her if he had just mated, as he called it, with Leah? Was he determined to end this physical standoff? Was he resolved to show his rank as husband? She trembled in need and dread.

  His deft hands began to unlace her dress. “I will show you what it is to share love and desire,” he coaxed in a strained voice. His hand moved to her breast and cupped it. He pressed her to the mat and glued his mouth to hers, sensuously stealing her breath. His hand slipped up her thigh, stroking the fiery flesh as he sought her most private domain. The masterful movements of his fingers made her weak with desire. For a time, she allowed her emotions to run wild and free. He made a terrible mistake when he took her hand and placed it to his enlarged manhood, vowing, “See how it craves a union with you. It is starving to be fed with the sweetness of your body. Let him go home and pleasure us.”

  Unable to recall such feelings or the intimate contact that he urged upon her innocent mind, she jerked her hand away from the alarming member, which he seemed determined to plunge into her innocent body. As if some skittish virgin about to be brutally ravished, she was petrified by his fierce passion and the immense size of the manhood. “No,” she cried out in alarm. If it happened between them, it should not be like this! As she frantically mistook his intentions, he was not tenderly seducing her, he was demanding his rights as a husband. “Please don’t, Wanmdi Hota. I can’t,” she whispered in terror.

  He leaned back and stared down at his wife, reading the horror in her eyes and witnessing the tremors of her body. “Why do you fear me and our love so deeply, Shalee? We have made love countless times.”

  “As far as I remember, I’ve never made love to any man.”

  “Let your mind see this as our joining day. Let me teach you of love.”

  “On our joining day, we had known each other for a long time; today, you are a stranger to me. I cannot give myself to a stranger.”

  His frustration was replaced by vivid annoyance. “If you were not going to love me, why did you stir my body to such fires? That is cruel.”

  “I didn’t mean to excite you! I thought I might— could… I can’t.”

  It was either retreat or force the issue. He recognized the danger of his second alternative. He jumped up, dressed hastily, and left without another word or glance. Shalee had no choice but to view herself as partly to blame for this chilling misunderstanding. She cried for a long time.

  Endeavoring to lessen the strain between them, she gathered firewood and fetched water later that day. When he returned from the forest, she would cook his supper and seek a genial evening. Somehow, she had to make him comprehend her worries and fears.

  But her good intentions were harassed by Leah when they met at the stream. The baneful girl sneered, “I see you’re falling prey to his charms and cunning mind after all. Since he despises whites so much, I wonder why he married a half-white girl. I bet he wouldn’t look at you twice if you weren’t a chief’s bastard daughter. Why do you refuse my friendship and help, Shalee?” she absurdly asked, her expression mocking and her voice insulting.

  “My life doesn’t concern you, Leah Winston. Besides, what better man to fall prey to than your own husband?” Shalee snapped, then left hastily, her agitated emotions in no condition to banter with that ve
nomous girl. In her tepee, she scolded herself for allowing Leah to vex her so easily. That white witch was like quicksilver!

  That night, Gray Eagle slyly called upon another method to relieve the tensions and reservations in his wife; he calmly shared two cups of buffalo berry wine with the unsuspecting Shalee. The strong wine, combined with her warring emotions, appeared to have the desired effect upon her. He grinned to himself, eagerly anticipating a successful seduction.

  “Come, Shalee. It is time to sleep,” he suggested innocently.

  Once stretched out upon the mats, he pretended to kiss her goodnight. But the heady kiss lingered and warmed her, as the potent wine did. His kisses and caresses had the needed effect until she suddenly realized he was probing her womanhood with some hard object. She tensed and pushed against his chest, crying out, “No! You tricked me! You got me drunk so you could have your way with me,” she angrily accused.

  “I only wished to relax you to explore your feelings and needs!” he said, subtly admitting she was correct in her wild assumptions.

  “It is you who desires to explore, explore my body! You are crafty and deceitful! You know I am not ready to become your wife yet. Please don’t trick me like some dim-witted fool. When the time is right, we will love,” she promised, needing to soften the blow of her new rejection.

  “Right time,” he sneered, fighting to master his thwarted passions. “I doubt it ever will come, Shalee. Go to sleep,” he commanded, seeking another mat to sleep on, one placed two feet from hers.

  Was she relieved or disappointed? She honestly didn’t know. All she experienced was unbidden fear of the unknown, the awesome move of yielding her all to this mercurial creature who pressured her, taunted her. She wanted to apologize, but she knew her words counted little at present. It was a lengthy time before either found fitful slumber.

  Gray Eagle was away most of the following day. When Shalee joined the other women to gather wood and pick berries, she discovered herself in Leah’s company much too frequently. As usual, the white captive continually sent stinging barbs and rash innuendos her way. But a new and disquieting fact came to light during the day, Leah was doing her best to delude her son with conniving overtures and extremely genial conduct. What alarmed Shalee the most were the snide remarks about his altered mother who seemed content to be separated from him, tactless statements veiled by laughter and feigned innocence. She became greatly concerned when she sensed her son was responding to Leah’s love and attentions and was watching her oddly, as if actually doubting her identity and love! It was abundantly clear they had grown too close during her absence. To his childish mind and heart, Leah was behaving more like his adoring mother than she was! To avoid a nasty scene that might unwisely entice Bright Arrow to side with Leah, Shalee kept this staggering theory to herself. She would deal with Leah later!