He said nothing; neither did she. She thought she’d feel nervous or frightened or embarrassed. She felt none of those things, or if she did, the longing she felt for the man in front of her totally overshadowed those feelings.
Rose kicked off her heels and began to unbutton her blouse. She removed it and unzipped her skirt, stepping out of it, revealing her sheer panties. She unhitched her bra and pulled it way, exposing her breasts. Men loved her breasts, she knew, and Red was no different. She’d seen him stealing glances at them the day before. She stood there for a moment, allowing him to take a good long look. She smiled when she saw his manhood begin to stiffen.
She pulled down her panties and walked to the shower door. Red Feather opened the door and she stepped inside the stall. He moved to the side, allowing her to get under the running water. She closed her eyes and allowed the water to stream over her head. She cupped some of it and brought it to her face.
She saw Red Feather retrieve the soap and begin to rub it on his hands, forming a large lathery foam. She breathed in the delightful scent of the soap—lavender. She looked into his eyes. Neither of them smiled. Neither of them said a word.
Red Feather leaned in and began to kiss her lips, softly at first, then more passionately. Rose opened her mouth and his tongue gently slipped into it. She reacted with her own tongue and together they formed a rhythm that she only dreamed of before.
After a moment she turned around, allowing the water to run down her front. Red Feather placed the soap back onto the tray. She felt his hands on her for the first time, soaping her back and shoulders. She let out a breath and a nearly inaudible sigh as he rubbed the soft lather on her shoulders. She could feel the strength in his hands, though he was rubbing her shoulders gently. She closed her eyes and tilted her head as he continued to massage her shoulders, slowly making his way down her back.
She picked up the soap herself and began to lather her own hands as Red Feather continued his soapy massage up and down, from her shoulders to the small of her back. As she rubbed the soap on her hands to form a lather, Red Feather slipped his hands under her arms. She moaned out loud for the first time as he cupped her breasts, kneading them gently, rolling his fingers and thumbs across her erect nipples.
And then she felt it for the first time. Red Feather’s erect manhood was now brushing across her bottom, between her cheeks. She heard him moan for the first time, and as he did so, moved his lips to her neck.
Red Feather’s soapy hands caressing her breasts and his erection against her bottom was triggering her own reaction below the waist. It was a yearning like she had never felt, one that she believed would make her explode if it was not satisfied. She wanted to be taken. She wanted to be taken now. She dropped the bar of soap and reached behind her, wrapping her fingers around the base of his staff. He moaned again, this time louder, continuing to kiss her neck. He continued to massage her left breast with his left hand, but moved his right hand down, first to her belly, then below.
Rose gasped when Red Feather touched the swelling folds of her labia. Her hand began to squeeze his manhood harder and she used the leverage to guide the rock-hard member down the crease of her behind, up and down, as his fingers explored the soft flesh of her vagina. Once he found her clitoris she actually cried out with pleasure, loudly, something she had never done before.
“Take me, Red!” she urged.
He took her ear lobe into his mouth for a moment and then whispered, “I wasn’t expecting this. I have no condom.”
“I’m on birth control,” she replied. “It’s ok. Just do it. Do it now.”
She guided Red Feather into her. She felt his full-length ease into her deeply. She nearly exploded into orgasm on the spot.
“I’ve wanted you from the first moment I saw you, Rose,” he admitted in a low raspy voice. “You’re so beautiful. You’re the most stunning woman I’ve ever met.”
His words made her heart melt, “I wanted you too, Red. I wanted you so bad. You feel so good inside me.”
Red moved himself in and out of her, one hand still on her left breast, the other continuing to massage her clitoris. His motion was gentle, steady, passionate.
“Faster now, Red,” she pleaded. He moved both hands to her hips and gripped them.
He quickened the pace. Rose and Red Feather both began to moan loudly.
“That’s it, right there,” she said. “Don’t stop.”
“You feel so incredible,” he managed to say.
“Oh . . . my . . . god,” she cried out. “I’m almost there. Harder, harder.”
Red Feather and Rose came together.
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
______________________
Rose glanced up and down Red Feather’s naked body lying on the bed. He was fast asleep. They had moved from the shower to her bed over two hours earlier. She had told him about her day, leaving no detail out.
They made love a second time, this time with even greater passion, allowing the pleasure to extend much longer.
He explored her body with his hands and his mouth, taking her to new heights of pleasure. She also explored his body, slowly and gently, finally taking him into her mouth, making him rock hard. Then they made love, him on top of her first, then her on top of him. She orgasmed twice, he once.
They fell asleep in each other’s arms. Rose woke first. She looked at the clock. It was past nine o’clock now, and she was starving. She sat up, slipped on a robe, walked into the kitchen and began to make dinner. Red Feather woke to the delightful smell of cooking Sea Bass wafting throughout the house.
He approached her from behind as she stood by the stove. He placed his hands on her hips, “That was incredible. You are incredible.”
He kissed her cheek from behind. She smiled and looked back at him, “You’re not too bad, yourself,” she said, playfully.
“No really,” he interjected. “You are the most amazing woman I have ever met. I’ve never felt like that with anyone else before.”
Rose turned to face him and put her arms around him, giving him a warm kiss, “Me either,” she said. “That was the most incredible sex I’ve ever had.”
Red Feather smiled, “Me too.”
She slapped him playfully on the ass, “Now set the table. Dinner is almost ready.”
Rose and Red Feather ate dinner. For the first time since she had met him, Rose let go of the pain she’d felt by her grandfather’s death. She forgot the debts he had left. She forgot Lenkov and McCoy and the problems they were causing. She forgot the burning barn and the threats that had been made toward her. For these few hours at least, she focused on a wonderful dinner and a nice conversation with the most incredible man she had ever met, all while basking in an after-sex glow.
“You know,” she said, nibbling a cherry tomato, “I haven’t heard you talk about family. Do you have relatives on the res?”
Red Feather’s smile faded and a pensive look formed on his face, “Both my parents have passed on. I have no siblings. I do have an uncle.”
“An uncle? Does he live on the res?”
He shook his head, “No, I haven’t seen him since I was around twelve years old, but I remember him well. As a child, he was so intimidating. He was a big, powerful man. His presence scared the shit out of men and made the women weak in the knees. He wasn’t mean, but he was serious and when he looked at you, it was as if he was reading your mind, and you best not be lying to him.”
“Wow, he sounds incredible,” Rose said. “Why haven’t you seen him? Where is he now?”
Red Feather shrugged, “I have no idea where he is. He went into the military when I was in the sixth grade. He was the inspiration for me to join the service. My dad heard from him a time or two but he was in special ops. He performed clandestine missions. After a while he quit calling and writing. I never knew what became of him.”
“That’s so sad,” Rose said. “Did you ever try looking for him?”
; “Once,” he said. “When my dad died. My mother had already passed on and when dad died, my uncle was the only family remaining besides myself. I found out he had left the military, but that’s it. I tried looking, but it just seemed like he fell off the face of the earth.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Red.” She put her arm on his shoulder. He touched her hand.
“Is that your cell phone ringing?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, standing up, looking at the clock. “It’s almost midnight. Who’d be calling me at this hour.”
Rose walked into the living room, grabbed her purse and pulled her cell from it. The display read Rosebud Volunteer Fire Services. She answered, “Hello.”
“Hello, is this Ms. Summer?” a deep familiar voice asked.
“Yes, it is.”
“I’m very sorry to be calling so late,” the man continued. “This is Fire Chief William Four Bears. We met last night.”
“I remember,” she replied. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m looking for Red Feather. He’s not answering his home phone and he doesn’t have a cell. I thought maybe you . . .”
“He’s right here,” she interrupted. “I’ll get him for you.”
She turned toward the Cheyenne, “It’s Four Bears. It’s for you.”
Red Feather’s confused look told her the call was a complete surprise. He stood and took the phone from Rose.
“Will? It’s Red. What’s up?”
Rose watched Red’s eyes widen after a moment of listening, “Oh shit!” he exclaimed. “Will, hold on. I’m going to put you on the cell’s speakerphone. This affects Rose. I want her to hear it.”
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CHAPTER SIXTEEN
______________________
Red Feather looked at Rose and motioned her over as he pressed the speakerphone button, “Will. You’re on speaker. Can you hear me?”
“Yeah, I can hear you fine,” he said.
“Start at the beginning, Will,” Red Feather said.
“There’s a lot of very bad shit going on tonight,” Four Bears started.
“Tell us,” Rose replied.
“Hi Rose. I was just telling Red that we got an emergency call about two hours ago,” he said. “There was a single car incident tonight on Pryor Creek Road about an hour outside of Billings. It appears the car went off the road, ran into a ravine and caught fire.”
“That’s horrible,” Rose said.
“It’s even worse when you know who the driver was,” Four Bears said. “It was Sheriff Ford. He died on site.”
Rose felt blood rushing from her face, “Oh, Jesus, no,” she exclaimed.
“The sheriff’s deputies have been out here for an hour, now,” Four Bears continued. “They’re calling it an accident.”
“This was not an accident,” Red Feather exclaimed. “Ford knows the roads out here better than anyone. He’s not just going to randomly slide off the road.”
“Well, I’m here at the site now,” he said. “I’m no investigator but I’ve been responding to car accident emergencies for twenty-four years. This sure doesn’t look like an accident to me . . . unless of course, he fell asleep, or had been drinking. Neither one of those scenarios sound like Sheriff Ford to me.”
Rose began to gasp and hyperventilate.
“Thanks for giving me the heads up, Will,” Red Feather said.
“There’s more,” he interjected.
“Tell me.”
“My truck was first on the scene,” he said. “We doused the flames right away. Sheriff Ford . . . he was still alive when we arrived . . . barely. He had horrible burns everywhere, so we knew he wasn’t long for the world, but he told me to tell his wife that he loved her, and . . .”
“And what?” Red Feather asked.
“He told me to tell Ms. Summer, ‘it was Tilden,’” Four Bears finished.
“Deputy Tilden?” Red Feather repeated. “That’s it? That’s all he said.”
“That was it. He died right after.”
“Was he saying Tilden ran him off the road?”
“I don’t think so,” Four Bears said. “Tilden got the call the same time I did. He called me from a pool hall to find out my ETA from the scene. The timetable doesn’t fit.”
“Mickey’s Pool Hall, in Harden?”
“That’s the only pool hall in these parts I know of. It’s an hour away. Why the hell would he want me to tell Ms. Summer that it was Tilden?”
“Because earlier today the Sheriff was telling me that he had a mole in his department who was passing on information about me to Mission Mining.” Rose blurted. “I think he wanted me to know it was Tilden.”
“That’s gotta be it,” Red Feather admitted. “You think one of Lenkov’s flunkies ran the sheriff off the road?”
“Probably McCoy,” Rose said.
Red Feather nodded, “Will, have you told Tilden or anyone else what Sheriff Ford said?”
“Nope.”
“Good, let’s keep it that way.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Four Bears said. “I’ve always thought Tilden was a rattlesnake. I don’t trust the man as far as I can throw him. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit the man was on the take. But Red, I have one more bit of news—it’s bad.”
“Let’s hear it,” he said.
“I was talking to Tilden on the scene when he got a call from dispatch,” Four Bears said. “He took the call right in front of me. Dispatch told Tilden that the warrant for your arrest was signed by the judge and that he could pick you up.”
“My arrest?” Red Feather repeated, incredulously. “For what?”
“Assault and battery,” Four Bears said. “Some guy named McCoy.”
“Are you sure?” Red Feather asked.
“I’m sure. I heard Tilden tell the dispatcher that he was busy with Sheriff Ford’s death but he was going to make the arrest tomorrow. You didn’t hear this from me, brother, but I wanted to give you the heads up.”
“Thanks, Will, I owe you.”
“Take care of yourself.”
Red Feather ended the call, “Oh my god, they killed him to stop the investigation,” Rose said. “Now they’re coming to take you away. This is all my fault.”
“Don’t say that. It’s not your fault,” Red Feather insisted. “This is Lenkov’s doing. We can’t let him get away with it.”
“How did Tilden get a warrant for your arrest so fast?” Rose asked.
“My first guess is that when you blew off Lenkov’s offer, it set off a whole series of events into play. Tilden tells Lenkov about the autopsy and probably about the likelihood of Monkshood poisoning being discovered as the cause of Old Eli’s death. That’s when they planned to take out Ford to bury the evidence, figuring it would only be a matter of time before the sheriff linked Eli’s death to Lenkov and MMC. So Lenkov pressures Tilden to take out an arrest warrant to get me out of the way. The last thing they will need to do is deal with you.”
“Oh god, me?”
“Yes, you,” he repeated. “If you weren’t in the picture, and I weren’t in the picture, there’d be no one left to pursue this. Tilden would find some way to bury the autopsy report, and Lenkov and the MMC would get off scot-free. Not to mention, if you were to somehow disappear, Mission Mining could buy Eli’s property at auction. We need to get you out of here until we can get this thing figured out.”
“Bullshit! I’m not going anywhere,” Rose shot back.
“I appreciate that you want to stand your ground, but Lenkov has already shown that he is very willing to go to the most extreme measures to protect himself. You think he won’t have you killed, too? Our best shot is to hide out and make a plan.”
“You’re right,” she said.
“Pack a bag. We’ll take off tonight. The good news is, Four Bears said that he overheard Tilden say they wouldn’t come after me until tomorrow. We have a head start, and I know just where to go.”
“Where?” she
asked.
“I am Cheyenne,” he said. “I know how to hide from white folks. Now move. Get your things. Before you leave, give me your cell. I need to make a call.”
“Who are you calling?”
“With Ford gone and the new sheriff in the MMC’s back pocket, we are going to need help. Trust me. Just go get ready.”
She handed Red Feather the phone and fell into his arms, kissing him, “I don’t know what I would have done without you. Please don’t leave me.”
He smiled and kissed her back, “I’m not going anywhere.”
Rose headed to the bedroom. Red Feather dialed the phone from memory. It was answered on the first ring.
“Hello?” came the greeting.
“Wolf?” he replied. “It’s Red.”
“Red Feather, you young bastard,” came the reply. “It’s great to hear your voice.”
“I need to call in a favor,” the Cheyenne said. “I need your help. It’s gonna be a big ask, I won’t lie.”
“Whatever it is, consider it done,” replied Matthew ‘Wolf’ Steel.
Wolf had been a mentor to Red Feather from the very beginning of his military career as a Navy SEAL. There was no one he respected more and no one he trusted more. Red Feather knew that Wolf would do whatever it took to help a fellow brother from the SEAL family.
“What do you need me to do?” Wolf asked.
“I remember when I saw you last,” Red Feather began. “We were in Seattle for the christening of Trevor Saunders’ new baby boy.”
“I remember,” Wolf recollected.
“You were telling me about a Seattle Detective named Julie Love, who helped you out,” Red Feather said.
“Julie Love, ah yes, she’s a real pistol that one,” Wolf responded. “She’s like a machine gun firing in all directions at once, but she knows how to get the job done. But she’s not a Seattle Detective any longer. She was recruited into the FBI. She’s been at the Bureau for over a year now.”
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