"You don't understand." Uncertainty filled Little Raccoon's expressive face.
Darien dampened his desire. Putting some space between them but keeping her within the circle of his arms, he said, "Tell me."
"I am cold and unwilling. I… I know it must be true."
"Who told you this?"
"My husband. He told me that I would never learn how to please a man if I did not allow him to show me. I hated it. Maybe he was right." Though she stifled a sob, her head stayed high and her gaze never wavered.
"Your husband was a fool. An idiot who did not appreciate your beauty, grace or intelligence," Darien stated. He left no room for reservations in his voice.
"Did he ever make you feel like this?" He moved his mouth to cover one nipple. It hardened through her clothing.
"Never." Little Raccoon sighed.
"And this, when he kissed you, did you ever want more?"
It was a long moment before he let her answer. When she moved her lips from his, she shook her head.
"There is nothing cold about you, Little Raccoon. See how a simple kiss arouses my manhood." He was fully erect.
She took him into her hand. "I may need more convincing."
Darien detected a hint of entreaty behind the teasing words.
"How shall I convince you? Perhaps like this."
In one smooth movement he swept her shift over her head. Naked in the dim light, her skin glowed. Raven black hair glinted with blue and silver highlights. He saw no tremor or hesitation when she held out her arms to him. His loincloth fell to the ground as he pressed her bare flesh to his.
The dance began.
Worshipping her with hands, lips, and eyes, Walks With The Wind wiped clean all memories of abuse. All Little Raccoon felt was honored.
Each kiss brought a heightened awareness of her own body that she never knew existed. He skimmed the underside of her breasts with tongue and teeth. She quivered.
Her navel became a localized pit of melting fire when he licked it. As Walks With The Wind worked his way from her ears to the soft bush that protected her womanhood each caress caused a brighter flame to burn.
His hand brushed the softness of her inner thigh; her knees gave way. He lowered her to the fragrant grass and lay beside her. As he stroked the nub of her pleasure, she moaned.
He suckled her heavy nipples as his fingers explored the soft moistness of the inner cavern.
The explosion came when he moved his mouth to where his hands had been. His urging lips and tongue on her nether lips sent white-hot shafts of pure pleasure shooting through her. Her body writhed and bucked in the intensity of the first orgasm. Before the last wave dissipated, Walks With The Wind entered her.
His organ pulsated, hot with need. He plunged into her then stayed unmoving for such a long time that Little Raccoon feared that it was not as enjoyable for him as for her.
Fear fled at his words, his voice tight with control. "Did that feel like the response of a cold woman?"
Her heart nearly burst with the joy of someone caring about how she enjoyed the act.
"Is this how a cold-hearted woman moves?" She teased him back.
The intensity of his response urged her on. Liquid fire flowed through her again. She felt a swirling deep inside, like her soul was entwined with another. Wave after wave followed the rhythmic release. They reached a pinnacle of delight together and happily dived off in each other's arms.
When she opened her eyes, Little Raccoon was surprised to see that the stars had not yet left the dark velvet of night. Surely morning had come after the hours passed here in this enchanted place.
Walks With The Wind lay across her. His breath came easier though she felt him hard inside her.
She'd no idea that her body could respond like that. It had been more than a physical joining. At the end she'd felt the merging of souls. Had he felt the same?
The answer burned in his eyes when he turned them to her. His words confirmed it.
"You are my destiny, Little Raccoon. Wherever you go, what ever happens, never forget that we are meant to be together."
Happiness overwhelmed her until she had to express it. She took his head between her hands and kissed his eyes, each cheek, then full and long on the lips. "My heart now walks with yours, Walks With The Wind. Wherever yours leads, mine will follow."
Following his actions of before, she worshipped him. Such freedom with a male body was new; she hesitated at first then gained confidence.
His breathing quickened again. A gasp of pleasure escaped his lips when her teeth grazed against his surprisingly sensitive nipples or found the backs of his knees.
His rock-hard abdomen contracted when she whisked her hand over it and lingered above the wiry hair. His manhood stood tall. Little Raccoon hesitated only a moment before taking it into her mouth. Walks With The Wind's murmured moans turned to groans of pleasure. Her tongue and lips slipped coyly then deliberately over the velvet head and down the warm shaft. The tip pushed against her lips and she opened to admit it. At first she feared that her teeth might cause pain, but the sounds Walks With The Wind made had nothing to do with pain.
As he writhed beneath her, Little Raccoon relished a unique sense of the power that she held over this big man.
Walks With The Wind touched her face.
"Have I done something wrong?" she asked.
Unable to speak, he shook his head. Instead, he reached for her hips, lifted her and pulled her down onto his shaft until she was impaled to the hilt.
This position brought new sensations. Little Raccoon reveled in each one as she rotated, ground down, and slid up and down Walks With The Wind's hot cock. The pressure built again. This time she stopped before it grew too great.
Again and again she drove them each to a higher plateau until Walks With The Wind sat, then knelt while inside Little Raccoon. He fixed his mouth on one nipple and proceeded to rhythmically pump in and out until they fell off the final height.
Chapter Fourteen
A light breeze ruffled Little Raccoon's hair where it spread across Darien's chest. Her head rested upon his shoulder. Nothing but the starlight covered them.
This woman completed him. Only one small, nagging problem remained.
"Little Raccoon?"
"Hmm?"
Her look held such contentment that he had to swallow the lump of happiness lodged in his throat before he could continue.
"The tune I played for you, have you heard it before?"
"The first one or the second?" she asked with a small laugh. "If Tall Cedar tutored you he failed miserably with the first squeaky sounds. But the second melody, that one spoke to my heart. It was uniquely yours."
He kissed her saying, "It is ours now." She snuggled against his side once more.
Why hadn't the tune returned them to their rightful time? Something Grandfather Larkfeather had said came back to him. The lake, that was it, Lake Sebasticook and the surrounding shores held a magic of some significance. It was there that they both first heard the music and had been transported by it. When Melodi had played it for Joe at the University, it had held no power over them.
"How long will we stay at the seashore?" He ran his hand along the curves of her back. His manhood quivered.
"One or two moons, it depends on how much talking the different group elders do. And upon how much fish and shellfish we want to dry for the winter."
Her hands began roaming across his chest and belly. A lovely distraction. The sky began to lighten in the east; they should return to the camp.
"How soon before I can wed you?"
Her reaction astounded him.
"I cannot marry you, Walks With The Wind." Her face showed great sadness as she sat up. "It may be that I am still married."
"No one would hold you to that marriage," Darien exclaimed. "Everyone believes he is dead."
She shook her head as she reached for her shift. "My father knows whose footprints we have seen. He spoke to me tonight after yo
u left. He believes Young Buck has returned."
"If he has, why hasn't he shown himself, and reclaimed you?" Darien snorted as he wrapped his loincloth into place. "Do you want to remain married to him?"
"No." Her quiet answer shouted in his heart. "But what am I to do?"
"Marry me, Little Raccoon. Maybe if Young Buck sees that he has lost you he will go away."
Little Raccoon's laugh was bitter. "You do not know the man. Either by trickery, or thievery, or just plain luck he always got what he wanted. I learned soon after our marriage that he considered me just another possession to be used as he desired."
Darien clenched his fists. He wouldn't allow her to give herself to that man again, he couldn't. "I will speak with Fleet of Foot at sunrise. He would not make you stay with that dung heap of a man."
"It's true that he would not force me to marry or stay married. But he has always said that we must consider the tribe before our individual desires. If Young Buck has returned with an evil purpose, I owe it to the tribe to discover what it is. As his wife I could do that. Young Buck is, or at least was, born to our village. You are merely a visitor from the east. Talks Much is his uncle and does not trust you."
"Do you really care what the shaman thinks? I need your trust, not his."
Little Raccoon went to him and placed her hand on his stiff arm. At its calming touch a small measure of his confusion drained away.
"I have given you my heart this night," she said. "You have shared with me a joy I though never existed for me, as well as a deeper understanding of my own abilities to love. Yes, I will say it; I love you Walks With The Wind. Help me find a way to help my people and keep your faith."
He took her into his arms. He couldn't stay angry. Not now when her lifelong loyalty to her village warred with the newfound power of love. He admired her loyalty. He had to find a way to work with it.
It changed nothing. The mission remained, to bring Melodi back to their own century. His success was contingent on making something right here, at this time. A wrong had occurred because of his action, or inaction, in this life. This was his chance to do it right. In so doing, he would fulfill his quest and restore the balance of time. Only then would he and Melodi be returned.
A nagging doubt remained. This primitive world offered so much. He enjoyed the simple life, couldn't he and Melodi remain here? He was loath to leave it, but their place was in the later century. Their time here was just a ripple in the fabric of history in order to correct an injustice.
Soon the sun would light the sky. "Come, Little Raccoon, we will speak to your father together."
"Wait, something else lies between us." She hesitated. "The words you spoke to the eagle and the word you spoke to me, it was as if part of me found them… familiar. Yet my memory can find no meaning for them. Are they words from a spirit world you know of?"
So, a remnant of Melodi remained. Darien considered this revelation with caution. He glimpsed that she was troubled and yearned to tell her the truth. Perhaps if he couched it in a story.
"I walk in vivid dreams on occasion. As do you?" She nodded and sat on a nearby boulder to listen. "Then you know how real they seem and the powerful messages they sometimes bring. In this particular dream, an old man spoke to me. He said to seek for my heart's mate. When I found her, I must help her right some great wrong that was done to her and her people. Only after that was done could I have her for all time and return to my home."
Little Raccoon's eyes grew wide as she took in the import of his words. "Am I --? Have you found she whom you seek?"
He knelt at her feet and took her hand in his as he spoke. "You and I have been brought together by the gods, Little Raccoon. My heart knew you for its own the first time I saw you. Yes, I have fulfilled part of my quest, that of finding you. I do not know how to fulfill the second part. What great wrong has been done and how will I know when I discover it?"
"Did not the grandfather in your dream give you more guidance?"
"Dreams can be as vague as they are powerful. The eagle will help guide me, but the rest is up to me."
"How could I have this recognition of your dream language?"
"I do not know, except that our souls must have met before. Do you think that is possible?"
"I am simply a woman of my people. This talk of dreams and spirits is shaman talk and wizard words. There is nothing here for my mind to grasp. What I do know is that my heart called out to yours before I felt it beating next to mine. I have been waiting for you. You have come. Let us resolve, no matter the course of events, that we will not be apart again."
Her sincerity touched Darien more deeply than her words. Whatever the future might bring they must stay together, for more reasons than she realized. She loved him, but what to do about Young Buck?
"We must take counsel with your father. I fear that time is racing us towards a cliff and we will be swept apart and over the precipice before we know what to do. If Young Buck is lurking and waiting, we must have a plan. I will not surrender you to him, for your people's good or not. We must find another way."
"You're right, I could not go back to Young Buck now. Not after what we have shared. We'll need the cooperation of Talks Much and my father to convince the other elders that Young Buck could not be up to any good if he has not revealed himself to us. That means they must trust you as I do. You must become one of us."
"Which brings me back to my original question. Marry me. Let our joining strengthen your people."
Such love and desire filled his eyes; Little Raccoon couldn't deny him. He held her heart in his. She made up her mind and took a leap of faith.
"Yes, Walks With The Wind. Let us go talk to my father. Whether it is Young Buck who spies or some other danger, I will decide my fate. I am a grown woman. I am allowed to choose my mate. I choose you."
As she bent her head down to kiss him, the first rays of the sunrise splashed over them. The light shone blood red. It reflected in Walks With The Wind's eyes, appearing to be the true blood of her new husband. In the twin blue pools she saw a tomahawk raised and lowered, splashing them with red.
The vision vanished when she blinked, leaving unresolved fear at the decision they'd just made. She prayed that she hadn't placed him in danger.
Far above them, its wings gilded with garish light, the eagle cried out.
The eagle screamed a second time, in warning or encouragement, Little Raccoon didn't know. This time Walks With The Wind spoke to it. The words had a cadence and inflections that sounded as if she should understand. Unbidden, Walks With The Wind's voice entered her thoughts. She knew what he said to his spirit guide.
"I have found her, Grandfather. Lead us down the road to you."
His words in her mind worried her. Would she have to leave her family and go to the spirit world in order to be with Walks With The Wind?
He grinned as if he knew what she thought. "Our feet will walk the same earth wherever we go, Little Raccoon."
He pulled her into his arms. His kiss banished all fears to the realms of darkness where they belonged. She was gasping and laughing at the same time when she finally pulled away. Her heart was as light as a butterfly in spring. Together they could do anything.
"Let's return. We have much to speak to Father about." Neither of the lovers saw the bushes part, nor saw the hate-lust reflected in the eyes of the one who watched.
Chapter Fifteen
Fleet of Foot stood at the entrance to their shelter as Little Raccoon and Walks With The Wind returned to camp. Bustling people scurried about in what had turned into a gray dawn. Mothers fed children while trying to re-pack. Dogs scampered about and tripped up unwary feet. Everyone kept glancing over their shoulders at the ashen sky filled with dark, heavy clouds.
Something in Walks With The Wind's stance must have tipped-off Fleet of Foot. He invited the younger man to the seat of honor next to the fire and addressed him as "Son." Little Raccoon's heart swelled, her father accepted Walks With The Wind. Soon t
he entire population would know.
"You will be a worthy husband for my daughter, Walks With The Wind. The shaman will not like it." Fleet of Foot laughed dryly as the man in question strode up. "Young Buck was his nephew," he had time to whisper before the agitated visitor spoke.
"I forbid it. You may not take Little Raccoon to wife." The old man's voice, raspy with age, held the strength of authority.
Even though it was Fleet of Foot's residence, temporary as it was, Little Raccoon was the first to confront the shaman.
"Join us for a meal?" she asked.
Talks Much stood bemused at this slender woman whose stance resembled that of a puma ready to protect her cubs. He remembered his mission. "I shall join you, but your good manners will not put me off, child. This union will not take place."
"You are too late; it already has." Little Raccoon went to stand beside Walks With The Wind. She rested a hand on his shoulder.
"You would allow this impudent child to defy me, Fleet of Foot?" the shaman demanded.
"She is within her rights to choose her own mate. Little Raccoon was a faithful and dutiful wife while Young Buck lived. She has mourned for the full turning of the seasons. It is time for her to mate again. She and Walks With The Wind have my blessing."
Fleet of Foot stood and raised his voice so the whole village could hear, even those by the river's edge packing the canoes. "I call upon you, Glooskap our Maker, to bless this union and bring me many grandchildren."
Talks Much turned angry eyes on Fleet of Foot. "Fool. This wizard will spirit away your beloved daughter and bring the giants and demons among us all."
"Old friend, you overreact. I know that Young Buck was your favorite nephew; you ever mourn his loss. But, Little Raccoon is young and healthy. It is the wish of Glooskap and the other gods that we should bear children."
The shaman stood unmoving at Fleet of Foot's words. Little Raccoon noticed how his hands trembled.
"I had a vision." The shaman sank to the floor, his old eyes clouded. "It came to me the day you hit your head and forgot who you were." He directed his words at Little Raccoon. She moved closer to him. "I saw this blue-eyed one. He ran with a war club raised. A host of our enemy followed him. The blood of our people ran like a swift flowing stream. I cannot dismiss such a dream. To do so would be foolhardy and dangerous."
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