Tender savage

by Conn, Phoebe

  Since Viper agreed with that view, he did not attempt to argue but tried instead to win her sympathy. "In exchange for lands which will not support us, we were promised food and money. It was a bad bargain for us, but since the government has not kept their side, why should we keep ours? Did they think we would starve to death without complaint?"

  "Wanton murder can scarcely be called a complaint, ViptT." Erica glanced over at her clothes, wondering how she would be able to get dressed without him watching her. The prospect of debating the causes of the uprising in her lingerie struck her as a most indecent one. Like everything else she had done since she had met him, she scolded herself silently.

  "I fought at the agency, and Fort Ridgely, but I came to

  New Ulm only to find you. The settlers have already been frightened so badly they are leaving their farms. We don't need to kill them to take our lands back. I have not slain any women and babies; I refuse to do that."

  Erica frowned slightly, surprised that Viper had such a highly developed sense of honor when clearly many of his kind did not. "While I am fateful for that, I wish that you had not killed any men, either," she admitted frankly.

  "What of your lover? If he is in the army he must have killed Southern soldiers. Does that make him a murderer?"

  They were treading upon treacherous ^ound, and again Erica chose ho" words with care, ignoring his reference to Mark as her lover. "No, Viper. During a war a soldier is expected to fight, to do all that he can to see that his side wins. For a soldier to kill an enemy in battle is not considered murder."

  Viper nodded, glad that she at least saw some things as he did. "This is a war, Erica. I am a Sioux warrior, but my enemy is the army, not everyone who is white."

  From the looks of him and the confidence of his manner. Erica couldn't help but wonder how much influence he had. "Are you a chief?" she asked apprehensively, wondering if he actually had the power to decide just who his enemy was.

  "No," Viper responded with a good-natured chuckle. "But I do not have to blindly follow Little Crow the way army troops must follow their officers. It is my choice when and where I fight."

  "What?" asked Erica, gready intrigued. "You mean you can just come and go as you please? Fight in this 'war,' as you call it, one day, and not the next?" She wondered if the army knew that, for surely it would prove valuable for them to know, that the number of Sioux warriors varied from day to day.

  Viper looked down at her, his smile taunting. "Yes, and since I am a very good shot it would be to your people's advantage to keep me here. Do you think you can do it?"

  Badly embarrassed by that challenge. Erica's cheeks began to burn with the heat of a bright blush. Did he honestly expect her to throw herself at him in an attempt to distract him from returning to the uprising? That struck her as both a ridiculous and pointless sacrifice,

  since she was certain Viper would do exactly as he pleased no matter how she tried to influence him. Lifting her chin proudly, she countered with the demand she had made several times before, "All I ask is that you return me to New Ulm, and I'll see you are given any reward you choose."

  Again Viper laughed at her offer. "You are all the reward I want, Erica, and I already have you."

  Erica swallowed nervously, but she returned his level stare without flinching. You will never have me! she screamed in her mind, but she knew better than to voice that challenge out loud. "I want to get dressed," she blurted out instead, but as she tried to scramble past him he grabbed her arms and held her fast, pressing the soft fullness of her breasts against the hard planes of his broad chest.

  "I mean what I say. Erica. I will not harm you, but there are others who would use you badly and leave you for dead I have already risked my life to save yours. What will you give me in return?"

  The terror that question caused filled the fragile blonde's throat and made any response impossible. She could do no more than stare up at the handsome brave with the same wide-eyed fright with which a cornered bird regards a snake. She was astonished then, when rather than throwing her to ground and dropping upon her, he enfolded her in a warm embrace. He inclined his head and kissed her, not hungrily, but as tenderly and sweetly as he had in the past. He surprised her anew with the depth of his emotion, and as before, she could not withhold the loving resix>nse he craved, nor did she even wish to deny him diat viaoiy.

  Viper felt Erica's fright turn gradually to surrender as she relax^ in his arms, and he eased his hold upon her. She was clad in sheer silk garments that provided no barrier to his touch, and he moved his hands slowly down her back, then over her hips, to press her lithe body closer still. He considered her ^r beauty as delicate as a wildflower's and did not want to crush it with clumsy enthusiasm. He wanted instead to cherish the vibrant young woman in his arms, to find the answers in her heart to all the questions that filled his own. He had no idea how

  long he had held her in his arms before her breathing became as erratic as his own, but when he drew back to look down at her, longing to see her smile, fear again filled her expression so swiftly that he knew he dared not seek more than fevered kisses from her that afternoon. With a sigh of regret he took her hand and led her over to her clothes.

  "Get dressed," he ordered bluntly, instantly shattering the last moment of the blissful interlude they had just enjoyed.

  When he made no move to leave. Erica §;rabbed up her slips with trembling fingers and stepped into them. She didn't understand how Vip)er managed to work the magic he did upon her senses. All he need do is kiss me, she thought as she fastened the ties at her waist. The instant his lips touched hers she was drawn into an enchanted world where nothing existed but him. It was a wildly pleasurable sensation, but also a very dangerous one. She looked for ho" corset, then remembered she had discarded it at the hotel, and reached for her dress instead. It was at least clean, if no less wrinkled.

  As Viper bent down to hand her her slippers, he saw the little wooden cougar and the claw he had given her. Scooping them up into his hand, he broke into a wide grin. "I wondered if you had kept this. You see, it did bring you good luck."

  The man's remarks were continually unsettling, but that he regarded her recent run of luck as good simply appalled Erica. She was grateful her blue gown buttoned up the bodice rather than down the back so she didn't need his help to dress. She didn't want to provide him with any excuse to touch her when the consequences were so very predictable. "On the contrary," she argued, "my luck has been nothing but bad since the day we met. Take the claw back, I don't want it anymore,"

  Had she struck him. Erica could not have angered Viper more. He stepped forward and dropped the red ribbon over her head so the claw he had given her lay comfortably nestled between her breasts. "You are alive and well, which is more than I can promise for the others from New Ulm." He slid his right arm around her waist then, and drew her close for a kiss of such savage intensity that when

  he released her she stumbled and would have fallen had he not caught her. "You are a bright girl. Now can you tell the difference between good luck and bad?"

  Not wanting any further demonstration on the subject of luck, Erica nodded. She raised her hand to her lips, knowing he had deliberately bruised her mouth and hoping he had also hurt himself just as badly. "My cousin made the little cougar for me. Please give it back."

  Viper turned the carving over and examined it thoroughly before handing it to her. "It looks more like a house cat than a cougar."

  Erica shoved the little animal into her pocket quickly. "It looks like a cougar to me," she stated proudly.

  Viper shook his head as he laughed. "How many cougars have you seen?"

  Erica licked her bruised lips before replying. "I have never seen a live one, but I have seen drawings of them, so I know how they are supposed to look."

  "From drawings?" Viper asked skeptically. "A drawing is no more a cougar than that piece of wood is. We will need more wood for tonight's fire. If you can't find enough, we might have to burn
your little pet."

  With that offhand threat he turned away and started for the clearing, leaving Erica staring at his back and seething with anger over the way he had treated her. It was obvious he wanted her to cater to his every whim, but she wasn't about to bargain for her life with her body. He had sounded very convincing when he had sworn his only enemy was the army. But what proof did she have that he would not soon tire of her, no matter how agreeable she attempted to be? She took hold of the claw suspended from the ribbon necklace and was sorely tempted to rip it off and toss it into the stream. Wouldn't that show Viper how little she thought of his concept of luck? Her grasp tightened upon the claw, then relaxed when she realized what his response could very well be if she defied him so boldly as that.

  The shadows were lengthening, and she was supposed to be gathering wood, not standing around idly while she thought of ways to avoid angering Viper. She might have survived the daylight hours with him, but she had nothing but dread for what the night might bring.

  S^ugl^oAl, ^86^

  When she returned to the clearing with a heap of wood, Viper showed Erica where the blackberry vines grew and told her to pick some for their supper. She made no effort to converse while they ate the fruit she had gathered, and neither did he. He sat staring into the fire, occasionally tossing a berry into his mouth, his expression impassive, if not hostile, but she sensed the seriousness of his mood and worried even more about what might become of her.

  While Erica sat contemplating the uncertainty of her fate. Viper was wondering what the chiefs' next move would be. Reinforcements would soon arrive to aid the army troops they had not been able to rout from Fort Ridgely. Then he would again be willing to fight. Until that time, he would not join the others in raids upon towns, nor would he roam about the countryside killing settlers. There was no honor in shooting helpless farmers and murdering their families that he could see, absolutely none. He wanted the white man gone from their lands as greatly as any of the others did, but he would be satisfied to let them live as long as they had the sense to go away and did not come back. Erica had scoffed at his insistence that each Sioux warrior could fight the war on his own terms, but he intended to do just that.

  When he glanced over at his enchanting captive, he saw she was watching the flames with an expression of such hopeless despair that he could not bear to see it continue.

  Song of the Wren would have made a far more agreeable companion, he was certain; it was unfortunate she was not the woman he had chosen for his wife. Since Erica was, he wanted her to be happy. "Stand up," he ordered as he rose to his feet. When she hesiuted a moment before rising, he did not scold her for being slow, but merely went to fetch the blanket from their bed on the opposite side of the fire. When he returned with it he flashed his most charming grin.

  "When a brave decides to court a girl, he goes to her tepee at dusk. If she likes him, she will come outside. He will wrap his blanket around her so they can be alone to talk. Like this." He draped the red and black blanket around her shoulders and pulled her close so they were wrapped snugly inside its folds.

  When he had taken the first step toward her. Erica had raised her hands hoping to force him to keep his distance. He had ignored that gesture, however, and now her hands lay lighdy upon his bare chest. She felt the beat of his heart, steady and slow, while the rhythm of hers was a wild, pounding frenzy. Hoping to distract him with thoughts of other women, she asked the first question that came to her mind. "There must be many pretty Indian girls. How many have you spoken with like this?"

  Viper shook his head as his smile became the taunting grin she had so recently learned to despise. "None, Erica. You are the first."

  Erica found it difficult to imagine standing on her front porch wrapped in a blanket with Mark. As usual, with the handsome Indian so dose, she found it impossible to recall the details of Mark's face with any clarity. Vif>er*s well-chiseled features filled not only her field of vision, but overwhelmed the memory of her first love with shocking ease, and she felt all the more ashamed. How could she ]x»ssibly go back to Mark now? she fretted silently. Going back to him suddenly seemed as impossible as remaining with Viper, and the streak of defiance the Indian would never tame flared again. "You want Minnesota to belong only to the Sioux, but if all the white people are forced to leave, how can you keep me here? That doesn't make any sense at all. Why woula you even want me here if you hate white people so?"

  "I do not hate all your people," Viper responded softly. "I hate only those who laugh at our chiefs, break the treaties, and refuse to treat us as men."

  Erica glanced away for an instant, certain she could think far more clearly if he were not standing so near. It was getting very warm inside the blanket, and she wished he would describe some other, less intimate, custom if he were in the mood to talk. "I must admit I have not followed the dealings between the Sioux and the government as I should have, but still I am certain killing civilians can't p>ossibly improve the way you have been treated."

  Viper raised a brow and regarded her with a quizzical glance. "Is this what you do with your lover? Do you talk about the war between the North and the South rather than of love?"

  Erica did shove him this time. She pushed against him with all her strength, then realized that with me blanket encircling their shoulders he could not step back without pulling her with him. "Damn youl" she shouted angrily. "Let me go!"

  Vip>er waited a moment and then let the blanket fall to the ground. "Indian girls have far better manners than you. They know how to say goodnight politely."

  "How would you know?" Erica screamed right back at him.

  Viper winked at her, for some {perverse reason enjoying her lit of temper. "I know," he assured her. Before she could reply with another insult he replaced the blanket on the bed he had made and then returned for her. Taking her hand, he pulled her around the fire behind him. "It is time for bed. I will let you sleep on the side near the fire so that you will not grow cold."

  Erica hung back, not wanting to lie down beside him, but he swung her around and nearly flung her down upon the softly cushioned blanket before she could break free of his hold. He then dropped down beside her and draped his arm over her stomach so she could not spring to her feet. "Go to sleep," he ordered firmly. "I am tired of fighting with you."

  The startled blonde held her breath, again fearing a trick of some kind, but Viper lay still, his breathing even,

  as though he had already fallen asleep. Erica stared up at the stars, her whole body rigid with the tension the Indian created within her so often. With his lean body pressed close to hers, she could now recall something of the previous night and knew she had spent it in his arms. His Behavior puzzled her thoroughly. Did he really plan to court her as though she were an Indian maiden? Was he tiying to win her consent for a marriage she would not even consider? That thought touched her so deeply she bit down on her lip to keep from bursting into tears, but her mouth was so badly bruised she cried out in pain.

  "What is wrong?" Viper opened one eye to ask.

  "Everything!" Erica replied. Trying to put more distance between them, she turned on her side to place her back toward him. When he moved over, too, she realized the folly of her action, for lying on their sides their bodies fit together as perfectly as spoons in a drawer.

  Viper again slid his arm around Erica's waist. His thumb caressed the swell of her breast, and when she pushed his hand away he laughed. "It is too late to be so modest. Erica. The last time I touched you there you purred like a kitten. You will again."

  "Never 1" Erica vowed through clenched teeth, but she could remember that afternoon by the river as clearly as he did, and her breath caught in her throat, preventing her from saying more. Even now she could recall each and every exquisite moment of that brief encounter.

  She had swiftly discovered there was far more to Viper than the handsome appearance that had first fascinated her. He was obviously as committed to defending his beliefs as Mark was to f
ighting for his. Unlike Mark, however, he had not told her love would have to wait for the war to end. In fact, if she were to believe his words, he had turned his back on the uprising to be with her. She had not thought of his actions in those terms before, and now that she had, she was even more confused.

  "Viper," she called out suddenly.

  The Indian was enjoying her closeness far too much to complain that she was too talkative. "I am right beside you, you need only whisper and I will hear you."

  Erica knew she had spoken much too loudly and apologized quickly. "I'm sorry, but Viper, did you mean

  what you said? Did you really go to New Ulm only to find me?"

  Sensing his answer was important to her, Viper rose up on his right elbow so he could look down at her. He had wanted to go after her the first time the Sioux had attacked her town, but he did not wish to reveal what a dilemma she had posed for him then. "From nearly the first hour we met, I have wanted you for my wife. I saw no way to make that happen until the uprising began. I thought if your choice were death or me, you would choose me."

  Erica turned to look up at him, more frightened than ever by his words. "Is that truly the choice? Ifl do not take you for my husband, you will kill me?"

  She had whispered this time, but her breathless voice carried the depth of her fears to his ears. He raised his left hand to caress her fair curls. "No, I will never harm you, but in a war many innocent people die, and I did not want you to be one of them."

  Erica had the eerie feeling a mystical force had been put into motion at the moment she and Viper had met, or perhaps long before, to insure that their fateful meeting took place. The attraction between them had always been strong, far too intense to deny, but she feared if she were to give in to it again, it would become an obsession that could destroy them both. "Oh Viper, I am so frightened. I am frightened for us both."