by Connie Mason
“Yes, Little Firebird,” Blade rasped raggedly, no longer able to contain his rampaging desire. He couldn’t remember when a woman had affected him as profoundly as Shannon. What made this feisty Southern belle different from any of the other women he’d bedded? Blade wondered. “Open your legs, Shannon.”
Shannon froze as his huge hot shaft probed between her legs. How could she go through with this? she asked herself in a brief moment of sanity. She couldn’t. “No!” she cried, shaking her head from side to side. She jerked backwards, trying to escape his relentless prodding, but it was too late …too late …
“Yes,” Blade answered, having come too far to turn back now.
He moved gently, slowly, deeply into her. She felt herself fill and stretch with the hugeness of him. A sharp pain between her legs brought Shannon surging against him in an effort to dislodge him. Nobody warned her it would hurt so much! A gasp of agony left her mouth.
“Blade, I can’t bear it!”
He covered her mouth with a searing kiss, waiting for the pain to ebb to a slow burning. He hated hurting her, but it couldn’t be helped. No amount of gentleness could erase the pain a girl felt when she was led into womanhood.
A low, rough moan burst from Blade’s throat as her hot, moist flesh closed tightly around him. He entered fully now, one quick thrust that made her his, sliding slowly in and out, deeply, sweetly, using all his strength to delay his own release until Shannon found hers.
“You’re mine, mine, mine,” he whispered savagely.
Once the pain subsided, Shannon experienced a pleasure so intense that she had to bite her lips to hold back a scream. She never counted on anything like this, never realized such feelings existed or were even possible. Then her wits scattered as Blade suckled and licked her nipples, every stroke of his tongue sending fire running wildly along her nerves to that place where he rocked within her. The feeling Blade was creating drove her inexorably toward something … something….
“Blade, what’s happening to me?” With desperate yearning she clutched at the firm bronze flesh of his shoulders.
“I feel it, too, Little Firebird,” Blade groaned. Incredible awe tinged his words. “Concentrate. Think of nothing but what I am doing to you, of how I feel pushing inside you. God, you’re magnificent! So tight and hot and—and—sweet. Sing for me, Little Firebird, croon your song of love.”
His words, so erotic, so arousing, propelled Shannon deeper into ecstasy, her soft moans swallowed by Blade’s mouth. “Hurry,” he whispered urgently against her lips. “Oh, Shannon, I don’t know if I can wait.”
Lost in the maze of her fragmented thoughts, Shannon heard Blade’s words but didn’t know what they meant. Yet her body strained toward a goal, a place where she had never been before. Then, amazingly, just when she despaired of ever finding it, she was there. Her body shook with the effort, her limbs trembled and she arched against him, driving Blade over the edge. He shouted in exultant ecstasy as he plunged deeper inside her and gave up his seed.
“Mine, Little Firebird, mine,” Blade repeated as he collapsed against her in perfect contentment.
Chapter Seven
Blade fell asleep instantly, but Shannon had too much to think about to allow sleep to claim her. She had just experienced something so incredibly profound she was confused and excited at the same time. How could a half-breed savage bring her such extraordinary pleasure? she wondered. Was it possible with any other man? Somehow she doubted it. At first the sinfulness of the act had overwhelmed her. Was claiming her virginity really necessary to save her from Mad Wolf and captivity, or had Blade seduced her with his erotic words and blazing passion in order to satisfy his lust? Well, thanks to Blade she was no longer a virgin, but now she was free to leave Yellow Dog’s village and get on with her life. She could forget about Blade and what he did to her. She need explain her loss to no one but her husband, once she found one.
Utterly exhausted, Shannon closed her eyes, tauntingly aware of Blade’s naked warmth pressed intimately against her own nude body. She tried to hate him, needed desperately to salve her enormous guilt over her wanton behavior. But somehow she couldn’t hate a man who might possibly have saved her from a fate worse than death. Then Blade stirred and reached for her again.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” he asked. His lazily, knowing smile infuriated Shannon. “You should be tired.”
Shannon flushed, his words reminding her of the wild abandon she found in his arms. “I—I’ll be able to sleep once you leave,” she replied, stumbling over the words.
“I want to love you again.”
Shannon’s blue eyes grew wide with alarm. “It’s not necessary. You’ve accomplished what you set out to do. Thanks to you I won’t be required to lie to Yellow Dog and the council. Please leave.”
“What I did was for your sake, though I admit I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed anything more. You’ve put a spell on me, Little Firebird, with your siren’s song and sweet surrender.”
“I did no such thing!” Shannon hissed, his words provoking her to anger. She had no intention of repeating her grievous sin. “Why do you call me Little Firebird?”
“Don’t you like the name?”
Shannon looked confused. “I—I don’t know.”
“It fits, you know. I’ve thought of you as Little Firebird for a long time. There is a fire in you that beckons to me; I can’t resist the flame that burns within you. Now that I have been scorched by it, I can’t seem to put out the blaze.”
Abruptly Blade rolled over and kissed her, his mouth stifling her angry tirade. When she was sufficiently quiet his lips strayed from her in ragged passion to fall against the arch of her throat and downward, his mouth now encircling her breast, his tongue sweeping against it, bringing a startled, anguished cry from her lips. He did not demand a response, but instead drew it forth so expertly that Shannon found it impossible to cling to her resolve to deny him the surrender he craved.
She felt his masterful nudge between her long legs as he rolled atop her, and the deep sliding push of full possession. Then Shannon was lost to the magic he wove around her senses.
Afterwards she lay still, a flood of hot tears slipping from between her closed eyes. The first time Blade made love to her had been for necessity’s sake, but this—there was no excuse for this except pure lust. If she didn’t hate Blade before, she certainly had reason to now. She felt used and degraded. She was angry, damn angry. She opened her eyes and glared at him, fire glittering in their stormy depths.
“Get out of here! Haven’t you done enough to humiliate me? You’re loathsome—an animal, a—a—savage!”
Blade’s eyes blazed like shards of black glass, sharp and piercing. “You enjoyed that as much as I did. Don’t expect me to apologize for something that gave us both pleasure.”
“I forgave you for the first time, Blade, but when you did it again you passed the bounds of decency. Granted you may have saved me from Mad Wolf, but I could only give my virginity once.”
“It is much too late for recriminations,” Blade said tightly.
Realizing that there was no placating Shannon in her present mood, Blade uncoiled his lean length and rolled to his feet. Granted, he shouldn’t have made love to Shannon a second time, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d do it again if he didn’t get out of here fast.
The sight of Blade clothed in glorious nudity nearly took Shannon’s breath away. She tried, but couldn’t take her eyes from his thickly muscled torso and taut buttocks as he pulled his buckskin trousers up his long sinewy legs. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them he was standing beside her. His skin was like oiled bronze, mellowed by the soft glow of firelight; the heavy muscles in his arms, shoulders and thighs rippled with repressed power.
“What are you waiting for?” Shannon hissed. She desperately needed to banish Blade from her sight in order to erase him from her mind. “Go!”
“Shannon, I—” His hand reached out, then dropped helplessly
to his side. “Try to understand. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
It was amazing how her legs shook and yet were able to hold her up, Shannon reflected. At first light, Singing Rain had appeared to tell her she had been requested to appear before the council at high noon. It was a request she didn’t dare disobey. When the time came, Singing Rain accompanied her, bolstering her courage when she needed it most. Blade’s solid presence beside her helped, but not enough to stop her from trembling.
Dressed in ceremonial robes, six elderly men, including Yellow Dog, sat in a circle smoking and talking. Silence fell when Shannon stepped forward. As if on cue, Mad Wolf took his place on one side of her while Blade stood on the other. She felt her knees buckle. Sensing her terror, Blade reached out to steady her.
“There is nothing to fear,” Blade encouraged, squeezing her arm.
His words lent Shannon courage, but more than that it made her realize she was acting like a coward. Stiffening her spine, she held her head high, commanding herself not to flinch as the Indians stared at her in silent contemplation. After what seemed like hours, Yellow Dog began speaking in halting English so that Shannon would clearly understand his words.
“The council of elders has considered both Mad Wolf and Swift Blade’s petitions. They are still uncertain in their minds which man has the right to claim you, Little Firebird. Only you can tell us the truth. They wish to know if Swift Blade has taken you to his mat as he claims. You must answer honestly. The council will base their decision on your reply. But keep in mind,” he warned ominously, “that lies will only hurt you.”
Bright red crept up Shannon’s neck clear to her hairline. To confess to something so sinful, so immoral, was devastating to her. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.
“Speak freely and truthfully,” Blade urged in a low voice.
“Heed my grandson, Little Firebird,” Yellow Dog advised.
“I—yes, it is true,” Shannon admitted shamefully. “Blade and I have—he has—we’ve been …” The words were dragged from her.
Yellow Dog translated. A hush fell over the council and those who had come to watch.
“No! She lies!” Mad Wolf cried, unwilling to admit defeat.
Yellow Dog’s eyes raked Mad Wolf contemptuously before turning aside to confer with the council. Six pairs of penetrating black eyes lifted to regard Shannon in silent contemplation. She was ready to scream with frustration when Yellow Dog grunted and rose to his feet. He walked over to Blade, placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “The council has reached a decision. Little Firebird belongs to Swift Blade to do with as he pleases.”
Shannon stiffened. She wanted to cry out that no man owned her, that she belonged to herself, but she was astute enough to hold her tongue. Once they were away from this horrid place she’d give Blade the tongue-lashing he so richly deserved.
Standing tall and proud beside Shannon, Blade felt a great weight lift from his shoulders. He might have earned her hate, but he felt no guilt over what he did since it ultimately gained her freedom. With a pang of regret he realized that a girl with Shannon’s high standards could never forgive him for making love to her. Then he had compounded his sin by making love to her a second time when once would have been enough. She might have forgiven that first time, since it was to save her from Mad Wolf, but he went beyond the bounds of decency when he deliberately seduced her a second time. Truth to tell, he had wanted Shannon too fiercely to stop and consider the consequences. He had no recourse now but to accept them along with Shannon’s contempt. He knew that making love with a half-breed and enjoying it must offend and sicken her.
His face a mask of cold fury, Mad Wolf did not accept the council’s decision with good grace. His eyes blazed with hatred, for he had never liked Swift Blade, not even when they were children. Blade had always been faster, more clever and stronger. Praise and glory were heaped upon Blade, while Mad Wolf’s feats of strength and bravery went largely unheralded and unappreciated.
“You may have won this time, Swift Blade, but my day will come. You have shown yourself more white than Indian, and I shall destroy you along with the other White Eyes.”
Whirling on his heel, he leaped onto his pony, whipping him into a gallop with a blood-chilling whoop. One day soon, the people would come to appreciate him for his cunning and bravery and look to him for leadership. Yellow Dog was old, Mad Wolf consoled himself, and he was the logical choice to replace the aging chief. The people would realize this when he made a triumphant return to the village with guns and ammunition. Then all the praise and glory would be his. The people would realize he was the only man brave enough to defy the Great Father in Washington and free their land.
“What’s happening?” Shannon asked. With trepidation she watched Mad Wolf and his renegades ride off.
“Mad Wolf is angered by the council’s decision,” Blade explained. “Ignore him. He can’t hurt you as long as you are with me.”
“Where did he go?”
Blade had a damn good idea where Mad Wolf and his hotheads were going. It concerned the hidden stash of weapons in Clive Bailey’s wagon, but he couldn’t divulge that information to Shannon.
“He probably has a camp somewhere in the hills, away from the village and the council’s jurisdiction.”
“Are you saying the majority of your people don’t adhere to Mad Wolf’s warlike ideals? That your people are peaceful?”
“Some are,” Blade said slowly, “while others think Mad Wolf is right to raid and kill. It is the same with the whites. There are bad ones as well as good.”
“What is your belief?” Shannon asked, startling him.
Blade chose his words carefully. “I love and respect my mother’s people. I will never forget that I am half Sioux nor lose pride in my Indian heritage. But I’ve lived too long among the whites to doubt their ultimate victory over the Indians. The day when the Indians roamed freely over the plains is swiftly coming to the end. I fought in the war between the states because I believed in man’s freedom, and I will do all in my power to prevent further bloodshed.”
Shannon blanched, her eyes wide with shock. “I should have known! Not only are you a savage, but a damn Yankee! I thought you had stolen that blue coat you’re so fond of wearing.”
“I served in the Union Army, proudly. But I should have never told you. I must insist you tell no one what I have just divulged. Lives depend on your silence. If you are wise, you will forget what you have goaded me into admitting.”
“You expect me to forget that you fought with an army that killed my brother and caused my father to take his own life? Never!”
Blade cursed his stupidity for telling Shannon things she had no business knowing. But she confused him so that at times he didn’t even know his own name. “I’m sorry about your family, Little Firebird. But you owe me your silence. I could have let Mad Wolf have you instead of coming after you. I could have continued on with the wagon train and forgotten you even existed.”
Shannon couldn’t argue with his reasoning. She owed Blade a large debt. She had no intention of thanking him for taking her innocence, but she could keep his secret—though why it should matter remained a mystery.
“Does keeping your secret have anything to do with your searching those wagons?” Shannon asked suddenly.
“Dammit, Shannon, you’re too inquisitive for your own good. We can’t talk here.” Grasping her arm he dragged her toward his mother’s tipi, pushing her rudely inside. He stood facing her, glaring, hands on hips, his face implacable.
“You don’t have to be so rough,” Shannon said reproachfully. She rubbed the place where his fingers left marks on her soft flesh.
“I’ve warned you before to forget that you saw me inside those wagons. It doesn’t concern you. No one was hurt by my snooping and it may save lives. Furthermore, once you head north into Idaho with the wagon train, it will make little difference whether I fought for the North or South.”
“But …”
; “You want to leave here, don’t you?” Blade asked with quiet menace. “I can still give you to Mad Wolf if it pleases me. You are mine to do with as I please.”
“Nobody owns me!” Shannon charged hotly. Unfortunately her words bounced off him like pebbles.
“I’ll have your promise, Shannon. And in return you have my word that what I did will bring no harm to you or your friends.”
“Never did trust the word of a Yankee,” Shannon muttered crossly.
“Shannon—” It sounded as if her name was forced through gritted teeth and Shannon knew when to relent.
“Oh, very well, I promise. But if I learn you’re involved in dirty dealings, I’ll report you to the army.”
“Fair enough.” Though Blade was somewhat reluctant to trust her, he had no alternative.
“Can we leave now?”
“I planned to stay a day or two and visit with Singing Rain and Yellow Dog. I’ve had little opportunity to talk with them.”
“Please, Blade, I don’t feel comfortable here. What if Mad Wolf returns? Or the council changes their minds?”
“You’re safe now, Little Firebird. No one will harm you.”
“Don’t call me that!” It reminded Shannon too much of last night when Blade murmured the name repeatedly as he made love to her.
Shannon wanted to forget that embarrassing episode forever. She needed no reminders of the shameful ways Blade made her body respond to his touch. Amazingly, it hadn’t seemed all that shameful at the time Blade was working his magic on her, or bringing her body to exquisite pleasure. It was degrading, thrilling, humiliating. Wonderful.
Blade sighed. He was in no mood for arguments. In his mind it was settled. He saw no harm in remaining a day or two longer in the village. “Singing Rain will see to your needs while you’re here.”
Somewhat mollified, Shannon gave grudging consent. She liked Blade’s gentle mother and no longer feared Yellow Dog, but being in an Indian village made her nervous. She had heard too many tales of atrocities to simply ignore them. But an even greater threat to her peace of mind was Blade. He had but to touch her and she knew the promise of both heaven and hell.