Savage Summer

by Constance O'Banyon

  Sky Dancer raised her head and brushed the tears away. “I will come back often to visit, Father. I will always remember where I came from.”

  He studied her face carefully. “Always remember who you are. Never lower your eyes, but hold your head up and say to yourself that you are part of two proud races. Teach your children to look into a man’s heart, to find his worth.”

  She pressed her cheek against his. “I will teach my children what you and Mother have taught me. I will always keep you both in my heart.”

  “Go now, my daughter. Morgan awaits you down by the river.”

  Joanna was standing in the shadow of her lodge, watching when Sky Dancer kissed her father’s cheek, then ran away to find the man she loved. Joanna turned away quickly not wanting Windhawk to find her crying. She knew how hard it had been for him to let Sky Dancer go. He had always been such a strong man—but he never ceased to amaze her with his love and understanding. She knew how anguished he must be at the moment—indeed, she herself felt heartbreak at the thought of her daughter’s leaving.

  Morgan propped his booted foot on a log, watching several healthy brown-skinned children swimming in the river. He couldn’t help but think how it must have been for the Indian before the white man landed on their shores. They had neither worried about famine nor the white man’s diseases then.

  Looking across the river, he allowed his eyes to wander to the great wilderness beyond. One day this would all be under the white man’s domination. Already Washington had claimed this as their territory. What would happen to the Blackfoot when the white world came crashing in on them?

  The sound of the children’s laughter filled his ears, and he remembered the time he had foolishly stated that the only good Indian was a dead Indian. He hadn’t realized that day that he had condemned Sky Dancer, and her people, to obscurity in his mind. He couldn’t help thinking how sanctimonious men were in their ignorance.

  Hearing soft moccasined footsteps, Morgan glanced up to observe his love’s laughing blue eyes, sparkling at him. Sky Dancer was standing on an incline just above him, and he drew in his breath at her loveliness. The summer breeze was blowing her long ebony hair, and his heart swelled with the warm feeling that she would soon belong to him.

  Holding out his arms, she laughingly jumped into them. “So it would seem your father is willing to rid himself of your tiresome person,” he said in a teasing light. “Had I known he was so anxious to give you over to me, I might have asked a high price to accomodate him.”

  Sky Dancer wrapped her arms about his neck feeling as if her heart would burst with joy. “I give my heart and hand to you willingly, Morgan Prescott. I believe I shall make an admirable doctor’s wife.”

  His expression became serious as he studied her beautiful face. “I shall love and cherish the gift of your love, for the rest of our lives. God only knows, it was hard enough to make you love me.”

  Touching his face softly she shook her head. “Not so, Morgan. You had my heart almost from the beginning when you mistook me for my cousin.”

  “Is there some kind of ceremony that we need go through before I can take you home with me? I find I am very impatient to have you to myself.”

  “I would very much like it if you would go through the Blackfoot marriage ceremony,” she admitted.

  “Consider it done. When we get to Philadelphia you will stay with your Uncle Tag until such time as I can arrange a marriage for us.”

  Disappointment showed in Sky Dancer’s eyes. “Can we not be man and wife after the Blackfoot marriage?”

  “No, my dearest love. I want to tie you to me, all legal and proper. I want no slur cast on your name. After all, you are a princess from a very old and proud people.”

  He placed her on her feet. “Go along now. I need to be alone. When he turned away, she could hardly catch the words Morgan muttered under his breath. “Lord only knows, it will be difficult enough to keep my hands off you, after today.”

  Sky Dancer smiled to herself and moved back toward her village. She wanted to find her mother so they could spend some time together. There would be so little time before she and Morgan would be leaving. Her heart was so filled with joy, she wished Danielle could also find happiness.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  The night was warm, and a full moon lit the sky, making it appear almost as if it were daylight. The drums were beating out a haunting tempo, and people were chanting the age-old song of the marriage ceremony.

  Sky Dancer, dressed in her white doeskin gown, stood beside her father and mother feeling as if her heart would burst with happiness. Her eyes were on Morgan who walked slowly toward them. When he drew near, he reached out and clasped Windhawk’s hand.

  “I bring unworthy gifts to show my respect for your house, and my love for your daughter,” Morgan stated solemnly.

  Windhawk nodded, and Morgan continued.

  “I give to you one hundred horses for the bride price. Is this acceptable to you?”

  A gasp rose from the crowd, for it was a high price the white doctor paid for the princess, Sky Dancer. Morgan and Farley had spent three days buying horses from the Piegan Blackfoot, because Morgan knew it was important to Windhawk that his daughter not be shamed. Seeing the pride in the chief’s eyes, he knew he had done the right thing.

  Danielle watched her cousin take the hand of the man she loved and felt her heart break. She was happy that Sky Dancer was marrying Morgan because he would take her to Philadelphia, and they would be able to see each other often. But she was sad that she would never have Wolfrunner, the man she loved.

  Unable to watch any longer, Danielle silently slipped into her uncle’s lodge, where she lost herself in tears of misery and heartbreak.

  Sky Dancer felt Morgan’s hand close about hers. There were tears of happiness in her eyes as she looked first at her mother, and then to her father. Willing her emotions under control, she allowed Morgan to lead her to the tipi which had been prepared for them.

  Once inside, Morgan pulled her into his arms. For a moment neither of them moved—they just held each other, feeling overwhelming joy.

  “You are almost mine, Sky Dancer. One more ceremony and you will fully belong to me.”

  She raised her face and rested it against his. “I belong to you now, Morgan. I believe I have belonged to you from the very first.”

  He smiled down at her. “Oh, yes. You caught me in your tender web the first time I met you. I was confused by my feelings for you. You looked like Danielle, and yet I had never had any desire for her. I wondered what it was about you that kept you continuously on my mind. Now, I realize it was love, pure and simple.” He laughed, and his eyes twinkled. “Or…perhaps it was love, not so pure and not so simple. I wanted to possess your body as much as I wanted your love.”

  “You have already had both,” she whispered, pulling his head down so she could reach his lips.

  Morgan’s arms tightened about her as he deepened the kiss. Both of them were aware that they belonged together, as the wind belongs to the everlasting sea and this land belonged to the Blackfoot people.

  Lifting her into his arms, he carried her to the buffalo robe, and they both sank down into its softness. “I hadn’t intended this to happen until we were married in Philadelphia,” he whispered as his hands slowly slipped her gown over her head. “I am not very strong when it comes to denying myself your body, Sky Dancer.”

  Holding her arms up to him she seemed to beckon him to the softness of her body. With a groan, Morgan gathered her tightly to him as a tremor of desire shook his tall frame.

  They had all night to love and explore each other’s bodies. Morgan had many things to teach her, and he would take his time tonight.

  When he pulled her beneath him, her silken legs opened to the pressure of his knees. Caught up with a burning fire of urgency, his mouth moved to her breasts, taunting and teasing the rosebud tips.

  Sky Dancer’s hands moved to Morgan’s hips, and she urgently guid
ed him down to her. With the wild tempo of the drums still echoing through the night air, he thrust forward, penetrating her softness. They seemed to fit together perfectly.

  “I will give all to you with a happy heart, my husband,” she whispered in a voice that seemed to rip through his senses.

  This was love, he thought. This was why he had been unable to get Sky Dancer out of his mind. She was a part of him, the other half that would make him a whole.

  With the tempo of the drums, he set his rhythm. As the drum beat built up, so did his rhythmic motions. There was a wildness about their lovemaking—it was primitive and sensuous. Sky Dancer was caught up in the beauty of Morgan’s lovemaking. Their hot skin became moist from perspiration, almost like an inferno.

  Resting his face against her soft breasts, Morgan penetrated deeper into her moist body. Their desire for each other rose higher and higher. The drums beat faster and faster. Sky Dancer could feel the ache building up inside her as his manhood stroked her inside.

  In a moment of beauty, their bodies reached the ultimate joy of surrender. The drums had slowed, and the last haunting beat faded into the night air. Morgan felt his body relax, satisfied as it had never been before.

  Raising his head, Morgan’s mouth found Sky Dancer’s. His kiss was soft and sweet, and her lips trembled from the deep love she had for this man who was her husband.

  As Sky Dancer held Morgan to her breast, she thought the world had never known a man such as he. He with the sparkling silver eyes. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and he was so loving. She knew her days would be filled with happiness and her nights with wild passion.

  His finger trailed down her breasts, pausing to circle each satiny peak, then to continue down to her stomach, causing her to shiver with delight. “You are all I shall ever want,” he whispered hotly in her ear.

  Once more her legs opened to him and he took what she so freely gave.

  When they lay exhausted in each other’s arms, Morgan looked deeply into her eyes. “We leave in two days. I think I had better find a parson in the first town we come to.”

  “If that is what you wish, but nothing could tie me more tightly to you than the ceremony we had tonight. I am your wife in every way that counts.”

  “Will you never regret marrying me, Sky Dancer?” he asked in a burst of uncertainty.

  “No, my husband. I shall miss many things—there will be times when I will ache for the ones I love, but I shall be with you, my husband. I know when I go from here, I must leave Sky Dancer behind forever. I must again become Skyler Dancing.”

  He smiled as he traced a pattern across her face. “Correction, you will be Skyler Prescott,” he said with amusement dancing in his silver eyes. However, I believe I shall miss the lovely Indian maiden who gave herself to me tonight.”

  “I am both Skyler and Sky Dancer, Morgan. I was brought up by my mother, who instilled the white man’s ways and customs in me. I was born into the Indian world and the two parts of me walk side by side in harmony. I am proud of both my bloodlines.”

  Morgan chuckled and drew her tighter into his arms. “And so you should be, for they make you into the person I fell in love with. When we have children, you will one day tell them how their father once followed you to the ends of the earth to make you his bride.”

  “Oh, Morgan, how I will love giving you a child. I would love to have a little boy with silver eyes.”

  He buried his face in her sweet-smelling hair. “I would like a daughter, with violet-blue eyes.”

  They lapsed into silence as each felt a completeness. After a moment, Sky Dancer spoke. “Morgan, will we live with your mother and sister?” she asked.

  “My mother is going to love you, but no. I have a house that was left to me by my grandmother. It is at this very moment being prepared for you and me. I’m afraid it’s very large, so we will have to have many children to fill up so much space.”

  She smiled up into his face. “Like Mr. and Mrs. Pin-winkle?”

  His laughter warmed Sky Dancer’s heart. “Indeed, like Mr. and Mrs. Pinwinkle.

  Sky Dancer snuggled tightly against Morgan’s hard body. “You said that the house was being prepared for you and me—were you so positive that I would return to Philadelphia with you?”

  “No. I was only sure that if you didn’t, I would drag you away with me,” he said, laughing deeply.

  Sky Dancer’s heart softened in the warm glow of Morgan’s love. She liked the idea of having Morgan’s children. She wanted a little boy with the laughing silver eyes.

  As they made love once more, they were both drawn into the wonder of their feelings for each other. There would be times in the future when their love would be tested, but they would always walk hand in hand. What they had was precious, and it would last a lifetime.

  As her whole being was caught up in a swirling storm of passion, she couldn’t help but feel pity for Danielle. She wished with all her heart that her cousin would find everlasting love as she had.

  The village was quiet, with the exception of an occasional barking dog. Wolfrunner stood in the shadows, watching the chief’s lodge with dark haunting eyes. Would Danielle be sleeping, or would she be remembering the times she had lain in his arms and had given herself to him? He was tortured by this love that he felt for her. He had been told by his mother that Danielle would be leaving in two days. The thought of never seeing her again ripped at his heart.

  Wolfrunner wished they had never found their way back to the village. Danielle had belonged to him when she had to depend on him for her survival.

  He tried to tell himself that she was selfish and shallow, but deep down he knew that wasn’t true. She was generous and loving—he envied the white man who would one day make her his wife. Wild jealousy built up inside him at the thought of another man touching the woman he loved.

  Wolfrunner reminded himself that Danielle had never said she loved him. There had been the time she had begged him to keep her with him, but that was only because she was dependent on him for her survival. He knew how she loathed and despised the Indian. Had she not told him that he was a savage?

  He hadn’t seen her since they had been brought back to the village, with the exception of one brief glance tonight, when Sky Dancer had married the white doctor.

  His heart burned with anguish, and his dark eyes closed for the briefest moment. He wished he could tear this love from his heart and cast it to the wind.

  Hearing soft footsteps he turned to see Joanna just behind him. “I thought all were asleep in the chief’s lodge tonight,” he said to her.

  “No, not I. Red Woman just delivered a son, and I was with her.”

  “It grows late, and you should be asleep, Joanna.”

  “You should be also, Wolfrunner. What are you doing out here all alone?”

  “Just thinking.”

  Joanna followed his eyes to her lodge, and she caught the anguish in his gaze. She knew he had been thinking of Danielle. She knew that Danielle and Wolfrunner were trying to hide their love from each other, and from everyone else. Since Joanna had such a great love, she wanted to see everyone as happy as she was.

  “Why do you not tell Danielle that you love her, Wolfrunner? It could be that you will find she returns your feelings.”

  His eyes sought her hopefully. “Did Danielle say this to you?”

  “No, but unless one asks, one will not find the answers.”

  He looked away from her, and fixed his eyes on the nearby Milk River. “One does not need to ask when one already know the answers, Joanna. Danielle is not for me.”

  “Do you say this only because she is a Blackfoot princess?”

  Again he met her eyes. “I do not have a hundred horses to give her father as the white doctor did.”

  Joanna placed her hand on his arm. “Some things go beyond price, Wolfrunner. I am surprised you have not found this out for yourself.”

  Without another word, Joanna stepped around him, and walked toward her lod
ge. She did not see the misery in Wolfrunner’s dark eyes, but she felt his pain in the very depths of her own heart. Wolfrunner had always been special to Joanna, as were all the children of this village.

  Wolfrunner mounted his horse and rode away from the village. He would not see Danielle before she left, but he would give her a gift that would clearly tell her how he felt. If she scoffed at his meager gift, he would never know it.

  Danielle felt the heat of the night. She was dreaming that soft dark eyes were looking at her lovingly. In her dream, Wolfrunner’s hands ran over her body, pulling her against him. Her heart soared on silver wings as he whispered words of love in her ear. She happily took his hand, and raised it to her lips.

  Suddenly she came fully awake. Sitting up, she realized she had only been dreaming. Pressing the palms of her hands against her eyes, she lay back down. Wolfrunner had never said that he loved her—nor would he ever.

  Turning to her side, she closed her eyes. Dreams were so fleeting, and they always ended when one awoke to reality.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Tearful good-byes were said in the privacy of the chief’s lodge. Sky Dancer hugged her father tightly, knowing she wouldn’t see him again for a long time. Windhawk’s eyes were shining as he handed Sky Dancer over to her mother.

  Joanna pushed a tumbled ebony tress from her daughter’s face. “Be happy, my dearest one. I will not worry about you because I know Morgan will take care of you.”

  Morgan gripped Windhawk’s hand in friendship. “I will bring Sky Dancer back for a visit in the spring.”

  Windhawk nodded. “It is good. She will need to see her people now and then.”

  Joanna linked her arm through Morgan’s and kissed his cheek. “I believe my daughter will be happy with you, Morgan. I see in you a good man.”

  He smiled into laughing violet-colored eyes. He could feel himself being drawn into the family’s deep love for one another. “I will try to live up to your faith in me,” he said with sincerity.