Candace McCarthy (10 page)

Fireheart approached him with a curious expression. “Why do you leave your bed so late, Rising Bird?”

Rising Bird gestured toward the trail. “Autumn Wind has decided to take a walk. Although I don’t want her to know it, I would not want her to leave unguarded.”

“I will guard Autumn Wind,” Fireheart said, unable to believe that the woman would be foolish enough to leave the safety of the village. “I was on my way to the lake when I saw Rain Cloud.” Rain Cloud was the guard.

“You?” Rising Bird asked, his gaze narrowing.

Fireheart nodded. “I will protect her from the enemy with my life.”

Something in the younger man’s tone gave Rising Bird food for thought. “You will not let her know that my wife and I are concerned for her.”

“She will not hear it from me.” Fireheart held up his bow and arrow. “I have a weapon to protect her.” He eyed his friend with amusement. “What would you have used to defend against the enemy?” he asked.

Rising Bird realized with a sheepish grin that he had forgotten to bring a weapon. He’d been so concerned with leaving to follow her quickly. “My hands and feet are weapons.”

Fireheart chuckled softly. “My arrow will fell a Cayuga more quickly.”

The older man conceded the younger man’s point. “Go then, Fireheart, and know this man is grateful for your protection of the one he considers daughter.”

“I will guard her with my life,” Fireheart repeated, meaning it.

Because he trusted that Fireheart could protect Joanna, Rising Bird thanked the brave and headed back to the wigwam and his waiting wife.

 

 

After ensuring that the area was safe, Fireheart paused in the forest and hid behind a stand of trees. He saw her immediately. Joanna was seated on a rock with her legs dangling in the water.

He crept closer for a better look. His breath slammed in his throat as he studied her. She was beautiful. Her blonde hair flowed, unbound, about her shoulders and back. She turned and there was enough light to see her features. Lovely. Tempting him . . . luring him nearer.

Fascinated, drawn, Fireheart slipped from one tree to another without making a sound. He was surprised to see her in Lenape clothing. She had been in the village for over a month and had never discarded her English gown. In the doeskin tunic, she seemed more like the young girl who had lived among his people.

Unable to help himself, he left the cover for the open and moved toward the lake. He wanted to touch her, kiss her.

He halted, unsure of his welcome.

 

 

The water felt good against Joanna’s skin. She stood and waded out into the lake, raising the hem of her tunic as she moved into deeper water. A light breeze began to stir in the air, caressing her face and lifting the loose tendrils of her hair. She had not gone very far when she heard a noise behind her.

With the hair rising up the back of her neck, Joanna spun to see who was there. Visions of Iroquois Indians on the warpath invaded her mind, chilling her to the bone.

At first, she could see nothing. Then a shadow moved, and her heart began to pound as she focused her gaze near the edge of the woods where she thought she saw movement.

Joanna waited for what seemed like forever before she began to relax, certain that she had imagined things. She had started to turn when out of the corner of her eye she saw a figure step from the forest.

She gasped. Her body taut with fear, she carefully searched with her eyes for something to use as a weapon. The only thing she could see to defend herself with was a rock, but she would need to pick it up with two hands.

How would she do so without drawing the man’s attention?

She moved casually back to her seat and found a smaller stone, one that would be less effective in the fight to defend, but less easily detected by the enemy.

Without turning to look again, she could tell he was a warrior. Iroquois?

Her chest tightening with terror, Joanna moved slowly to face him.

The thunder of her heart nearly drowned out the sound of her breathing. The man was indeed a warrior. He held a weapon of some sort in his right hand. She peered into the darkness and was able to see that he had a bow and arrow.

Fear kept her frozen as the figure approached. The moon slipped behind a cloud as the warrior came closer. She was so frightened that she didn’t recognize the man before her.

“Autumn Wind.”

The sound of his voice released something inside her, and she began to tremble as relief set in. She blinked. “Fireheart?” she called weakly.

“Kihiila.
You are out here all alone. Are you not worried about our enemy?” He set his weapon on the shore, then covered the distance between them, wading through water until he reached her side.

Her body began to tremble violently. “You frightened me!”

He frowned. “You did not look frightened.” She turned to face him fully, allowing him to see the rock.

Fireheart looked startled. “You would fight with that small stone as weapon?” He grabbed it from her hands and tossed it into the lake. “Did you think you could kill with it?”

“Why are you here?” Joanna cried, embarrassed.

“You should not be here!”

“It is good that I am,” he said. “If I had been a Cayuga warrior, you would have been killed or kidnapped.”

Furious with him, she backed away. “I don’t need you to tell me what could have happened to me.” She stopped to glare at him. “I am well aware that I could have been harmed!”

Fireheart saw then that Joanna was shaking. Contrite, he moved closer. “Are you all right?” he asked softly. “I did not mean to frighten you.”

“You did frighten me,” she mumbled reproachfully.

When he was within a few feet of her, he reached out and pulled her into his arms. “You should have told me you wanted to swim.” He kissed her forehead. He felt the warmth through his being when she trembled at his kiss.

He held her with her head tucked under his chin and his arms wrapped tightly about her. They stood in the lake, heedless of the water lapping against their bare legs, wetting the hem of Joanna’s Lenape dress.

“Fireheart?” Her soft voice was muffled against his chest.

He loosened his hold on her and lifted her head so he could see her face. “What is it,
Kitehi
?”

Joanna felt an infusion of warmth at the use of his endearment. He had called her “my heart.” “Is it really unsafe for me to be here?”

He nodded, releasing her chin. “Until we are sure that our enemy will not come.”

“But won’t they return to Bear Paw’s village?”

“We do not know for certain,” he said. “We must be ready for them.”

She moved her foot, watching the ripples her leg made in the water. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“This man could not rest either,” he admitted.

She glanced up at him. “Must we go back?”

Her tone suggested that she was reluctant to return.

Fireheart made a thorough study of their surroundings. He could sense no danger, saw no sign of the enemy nor of dangerous wildlife in the night.

“We can stay for a while,” he said, facing her with a smile. “Would you like to swim?”

Joanna gazed at his wonderful handsome face, and told him with a nod that she would like to swim. The thought occurred to her that she would have to undress. She knew she should be appalled at the idea, but he had seen her before, hadn’t he? And he hadn’t made her feel ashamed of her body. In fact, he had made her feel beautiful, special. She wanted to swim naked again with Fireheart. She shouldn’t, but she wanted to....

Without glancing his way, she waded back to shore, wondering if he would follow, glad when she heard the swish of water behind her that told her he had. After moving toward her rock, she caught the bottom edge of her tunic and tugged off the garment. She had her back toward Fireheart, and couldn’t judge his reaction, or see what he was doing behind her.

She was naked beneath the doeskin, and she was immediately conscious of the summer breeze brushing against her bare skin. Joanna lifted the hair from the back of her neck, and allowed it to fall back against her nape. Turning, she encountered Fireheart’s warm gaze studying her with a flame in his eyes that stole her breath.

Just as she had undressed, Fireheart had done so, too, having removed his loincloth. Joanna swallowed against a dry throat. He was magnificent, a prime example of a well-honed man—broad-shouldered, lean-hipped, muscular, and strong. Fireheart closed the gap between them. The glow in his dark eyes as he neared made her tingle and flush with heat.

She spun awkwardly and entered the water. She thought she heard his low chuckle as she splashed out into deeper water.

“Be careful that you don’t drown,
Kitehi,”
he said with soft laughter.

“I know how to swim!” she called back. She dipped below the cool surface to help banish the hot flush she felt rise in her cheeks.

As she swam beneath the water, she had a mental picture of Fireheart with Moon Dove. The heat within her suddenly chilled.

What was she doing swimming with a man who was promised to another?

She still wasn’t sure whether or not their marriage had been formally arranged. She understood that these matters were often decided by the village matrons: mothers of the intended couple, aunts, grandmothers, and other wise women of the tribe.

She had come out here to forget her past and she had succeeded. But it was the present and the future that bothered her now . . . and her relationship with Fireheart....

He promised to return to me,
she thought with a measure of comfort.
Not Moon Dove. But me.

She rose above the water, slicking back her wet hair with her hands. Joanna turned to look for Fireheart, and saw him a short distance away, floating with his head just above the water, studying her.

“The water is nice,” she said.

He didn’t reply; he just watched her. Her body tingling all over, she lay back and closed her eyes, pretending that his presence with her in the lake didn’t disturb her.

Then she became aware of the way her nipples pebbled into hard little nubs, of the sensual feel of the water trickling into and caressing all her most secret intimate places. Gasping at the sensations, she spun on her stomach and sunk down.

She allowed her body to float freely, tried to get her mind to float freely as well, but her thoughts were anything but easy and free.

Fireheart had invaded her thoughts and her heart. She didn’t know how to free herself from him.

She didn’t know if she wanted to.

Fireheart watched her for a time, and his pulse quickened as she lay back in the lake, exposing her breasts. It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen a woman’s breasts before, but there was something about Joanna’s ... everything about Joanna stirred his blood, invited him to touch and taste her . . . and crave for more.

He felt a soft groan well up in his throat, fought hard to suppress it, then found himself rising to his feet before swimming in her direction.

“Autumn Wind,” he called out to her hoarsely. “Joanna! Wait until I come to you.”

He slipped under the water, moving through the lake like an eel. Catching her by the arm, he pulled her toward him, rising up out of the lake to kiss her soundly.

She whimpered and clung, kissing him back with passion. He moaned, deepened the kiss, and felt his desire pulsate to new heights.

“Autumn Wind,” he murmured.

She looked at him with water droplets sparkling on her eyelashes. Her eyes were bright, sad almost.

“What is it?” he asked.

She shook her head, as if unable to answer.

“Joanna,” he said more sternly.

“We shouldn’t,” she whispered. “Moon Dove—”

He frowned. “What about Moon Dove?”

“This isn’t right. You are going to marry her.”

“She is not my wife,” he said, annoyed by the suggestion. It hadn’t been decided yet.

She appeared stung by his words. “And neither am I.”

“Did you not tell Little Blossom that you must return to England?”

“Yes,” she admitted.
He has spoken with Little Blossom.

“And how is this different? You would kiss and make love and then leave me?”

“I don’t know.”

“You would stay?” His heart hammered with hope.

“I can’t.”

“Then why do you worry about Moon Dove when you have no wish to stay here in the Lenape village?”

At first, silence was her answer. “I’m sorry,” she said. She broke from his hold and began to wade toward the shore.

He quickly followed her. “Wait.”

She paused, but didn’t turn around. “Please,” she gasped. “Let me go.”

He had caught her by the shoulder, his fingers caressing the damp curve. “I don’t want to release you.”

He felt her shiver. “I have to go!” she cried.

He stopped her flight. “Autumn Wind, stay.”

She shook her head, but didn’t leave. He stroked down her arm, caught her wrist, and raised her hand to kiss it.

As Joanna faced him, he could see her tears. Something knotted within him at this sign of her unhappiness. “I will not hurt you,” he promised.

“You already have.”

His stomach muscles tightened. “How?”

“You shouldn’t touch me, kiss me,” she said breathlessly.

“How can I not when it is all I want to do?”

Her gaze flew to meet his with wonder. “When you left earlier with Moon Dove, I thought—”

“Her mother asked to see me. Moon Dove said it was to talk about her brother White Cat.”

“And was it?”

He shook his head. “It was to talk about Moon Dove.”

“About your marriage?”

He inclined his head.