Both Shalee and Bright Arrow glowed with love and respect for this powerful man. The war was over; the perilous echoes had ceased. Gray Eagle said, “Come, wife. We will speak of happy things. Our son can guard his woman.”
Shalee fondly embraced her firstborn son, then took the hand of her husband to stroll in the cool forest.
In serene silence, they walked until they came to a private place. He halted and gazed all around him. “For a time, peace will rule our lands and hearts once more. I have much to live for, my lovely Grass Eyes. Perhaps it is time I learn to speak words of truce with the white man. They are many; more will come. They cannot be halted forever. There must be truce between us. Many have died and more will die unless the hatred is prevented with peace. I pray the Great Spirit will guide me on this new and dangerous path.”
Boundless love consumed Shalee. “You are wise, my husband. If there is to be peace and survival, someone must take the first step in friendship. My heart sings at your wisdom and generosity. I do not wish to see my husband or my sons killed by the white man. We must strive for peace, if they will permit it. My heart is heavy with the fear they will not. Greedy men do not peacefully share what they can wholly take by force. I will pray for this peace we need.”
He held her tightly against his towering body. “The echoes have quieted to a soft and mellow song. Its deadly chant no longer calls out warnings to me. From that first moment Rebecca came to us, you were right. She belongs in our tepee and with our son. There is no hatred or bitterness within me now. Powchutu no longer haunts me. I feel as though a heavy rock has been lifted from my body. Only joy flows within me, joy and love for you and our son.”
She had made the correct decision in remaining silent about Powchutu’s identity. She would never know why Running Wolf had denied his other son, but it was too late for either of them. She smiled. “I love you. Each day that love grows stronger and richer. We will never speak of the past again. Alisha Williams can rest peacefully in another time and place. At last, I am only Shalee, wife of Gray Eagle and mother of Bright Arrow. I am Oglala in spirit and heart.”
He laughed devilishly and teased, completely relaxed for the first time in weeks, “Have you forgotten the child which grows within you? There is another to love and protect now.”
She laughed merrily and hugged him again. “How could I forget a child of such great love who makes his presence known each day? We have waited and prayed so long for another child. I hope it is a boy to follow his father and his older brother. Everyone is safe and happy again. We are very lucky, my valiant husband.” She placed her hand over the bronze one which was caressing her stomach.
She giggled like a young girl and mischievously ventured, “I think perhaps Bright Arrow and Rebecca should plan a tepee of their own. I find my need for you grows greater every day, as does my body with our child. I wish you all to myself before this new son demands our time and energy.”
He chuckled. His grin tugged at her racing heart. “Before too many moons pass, I will speak to him about this selfish demand of yours. He must learn that white women are shy upon the mats before others. He will soon see this and wish his own tepee.”
“You!” she playfully squealed at him, then laughed. She seductively taunted, “What would the indomitable Gray Eagle, the legendary warrior of the Plains, know of white women and their secret passions? He is joined to Shalee, a very jealous and possessive Si-ha Sapa princess.”
Their eyes met, forest green with midnight black, and fused with smoldering passion. He tightened his embrace around her. His sensual lips came down upon hers in a blaze of ageless love and renewed commitment. As they sank to the lush grass to fuse their bodies as their hearts, the only echoes of yesterday which rang out were the melodious words: a child, a child, another child…
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When Melanie’s husband fell ill she had no one to turn to but the arrogant Captain Randolph. Mesmerized by her provocative curves and exotic eyes, the bold virile man promised to help—but only if Melanie would pay his price!
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The lovely slavegirl Celiese, secretly sent in her mistress’s place to wed the much-feared Mylan, found not the cruel savage she expected but a magnificently handsome warrior. With the fire of his touch and his slow, wanton kisses he would take her to ecstasy’s searing heights—and would forever possess her CAPTIVE HEART.
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Meeting the woman he was to escort to her future husband, sea captain Phillip Bradford was astounded. The Swedish beauty was the woman of his dreams, his fantasy come true. But how could he deliver her to another man’s bed when he wanted her to warm his own?
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Innocent, blonde Elizabeth, knowing it was wrong to meet the powerful Seneca warrior Rising Eagle, went to him anyway when the sky darkened. When he drew her into his arms and held her delicate mouth captive beneath his own, she knew they’d never separate—even though their two worlds would try to tear them apart!
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Enraptured by his ardent kisses and tantalizing caresses, golden-haired Flame had found the man of her dreams in the handsome rogue Joaquin. But if he wanted her completely she would have to be his only woman—and he had always taken women whenever he wanted, and not one had ever refused him or pretended to try!
Available wherever paperbacks are sold, or order direct from the Publisher. Send cover price plus 50¢ per copy for mailing and handling to Zebra Books, Dept. 1212, 475 Park Avenue South, New York, N. Y. 10016. DO NOT SEND CASH.
eISBN 978-1-4201-2765-2
ZEBRA BOOKS
are published by
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
475 Park Avenue South
New York, N.Y. 10016
Copyright © 1983 by Janelle Taylor
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Fourth printing: July 1985
Printed in the United States of America
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Tender Ecstasy Page 31