Sweet Savage Heart

Travis grasped the hands that were caressing his cheeks and pressed them to his lips. As his gaze remained fused to hers and he absorbed her presence, his lips and tongue played sensuously in her palms. When Rana moved closer to him, his arms slipped around her body and his lips seared her right ear. As they drifted down her throat, she trembled and swayed against him, enslaving his senses. His mouth brushed over her bare shoulder and traveled back to the hollow of her neck. When Rana’s arms encircled his waist and she arched her body against his, Travis’s hands slipped into her cascading tresses; he cupped her head and lifted her lips to his. Their shared kiss ignited smoldering passions that roared into a blaze of urgency and formed an all-consuming force too powerful to contain…

A BEGUILING INTRIGUE (4441, $3.99)

by Olivia Sumner

Pretty as a picture Justine Riggs cared nothing for propriety. She dressed as a boy, sat on her horse like a jockey, and pondered the stars like a scientist. But when she tried to best the handsome Quenton Fletcher, Marquess of Devon, by proving that she was the better equestrian, he would try to prove Justine’s antics were pure folly. The game he had in mind was seduction—never imagining that he might lose his heart in the process!

AN INCONVENIENT ENGAGEMENT (4442, $3.99)

by Joy Reed

Rebecca Wentworth was furious when she saw her betrothed waltzing with another. So she decides to make him jealous by flirting with the handsomest man at the ball, John Collinwood, Earl of Stanford. The “wicked” nobleman knew exactly what the enticing miss was up to— and he was only too happy to play along. But as Rebecca gazed into his magnificent eyes, her errant fiancé was soon utterly forgotten!

SCANDAL’S LADY (4472, $3.99)

by Mary Kingsley

Cassandra was shocked to learn that the new Earl of Lynton was her childhood friend, Nicholas St. John. After years at sea and mixed feelings Nicholas had come home to take the family title. And although Cassandra knew her place as a governess, she could not help the thrill that went through her each time he was near. Nicholas was pleased to find that his old friend Cassandra was his new next door neighbor, but after being near her, he wondered if mere friendship would be enough…

HIS LORDSHIP’S REWARD (4473, $3.99)

by Carola Dunn

As the daughter of a seasoned soldier, Fanny Ingram was accustomed to the vagaries of military life and cared not a whit about matters of rank and social standing. So she certainly never foresaw her
tendre
for handsome Viscount Roworth of Kent with whom she was forced to share lodgings, while he carried out his clandestine activities on behalf of the British Army. And though good sense told Roworth to keep his distance, he couldn’t stop from taking Fanny in his arms for a kiss that made all hearts equal!

Available wherever paperbacks are sold, or order direct from the Publisher. Send cover price plus 50¢ per copy for mailing and handling to Penguin USA, P.O. Box 999, c/o Dept. 17109, Bergenfield, NJ 07621. Residents of New York and Tennessee must include sales tax. DO NOT SEND CASH.

Raised on the Plains with a spirit just as wild,

Lives an Indian princess half woman, half child.

On her wits and courage she was taught to depend,

Now, to the whiteman’s way, she is forced to bend.

Will it be justice or only a selfish game?

Who will step forth her wild heart to tame?

Indian is her heart, but white is her skin;

Is there a way for her two facets to blend?

Once free as the air, is this deed right or wrong?

Blithe child of nature, now where does she belong?

When fate opens a new path, where will it end?

For who has the power to tame a wild wind?

Dakota Territory

May 3, 1867

It was a busy time of year with the spring buffalo hunt and the constant flood of whites onto the ancestral lands of the Sioux. It was a time of great peril and many changes—for the Oglala tribes in the Lakota branch of the Dakota Nation and for a white girl who had lived for ten years as the daughter of Chief Soaring Hawk of the Red Arrow Band. Sadly, tragically, Soaring Hawk had been slain; the band was now ruled by his son, Lone Wolf. Indeed, times were rapidly and painfully altering for the flaming-haired, blue-eyed girl who was trapped between two warring cultures and who seemingly belonged to neither world. But she desperately wanted to find inner peace and the answers to the mysteries and influences that controlled her life and continuously plagued her mind and daily existence during these troubled times. The North/South war had ended and the whites had turned eyes of conquest toward the west; now an ominous conflict was brewing in these lands and another one was brewing within the heart and life of
Wild Wind.

The warrior Buffalo Slayer urged his horse toward the mottled stallion that carried their new chief, Lone Wolf. The younger brave informed the stalwart warrior of the inquisitive “wild wind” who was rapidly blowing down their backs. The seasoned warrior glanced over his bare shoulder, frowned in vexation, and told his braves to continue toward their meeting point with other Oglala and Hunkpapa hunting parties while he halted to order his adopted sister back to camp. The warriors and braves were amused by the willful but beautiful Indian princess who would have gladly performed the Sun Dance to become a warrior. Many in this group had been rejected by her, but in such a way as to inspire more hunger rather than resentment or discouragement.

Lone Wolf dismounted and tied his reins to a bush. He fretted over
Watogla Tate’s
ceaseless streak of defiance, her impulsive ways, her annoying independence, her refusal to obey his commands. She wanted to race the wind on her white stallion, which only she could mount and master. She wanted to perform the duties and practices of warriors—to hunt, track, raid with his band, and sit in the ceremonial lodge and be a part of the talks and votes. She still wanted to shadow him as she had since becoming his sister ten winters ago. It was time she realized they were no longer children, he mused in annoyance. It was too late to change past years, when he and his recently deceased father, Soaring Hawk, had allowed her to do as she pleased and had actually enjoyed and boasted of her immense skills. How foolish that had been.

He asked himself if it mattered that she could ride and fight better than many braves. Did it matter that her lance or arrow never missed its mark? Did it matter that she could swim as skillfully as the otter? Did it matter that she could track a disguised or aged trail? She was a
female! He had been chief one full moon. His band and others were observing his leadership and prowess. If he could not properly control his own tepee, they would look upon him unfavorably.

He knew he must convince her that a woman cannot change her sex, or her role in life; such things are controlled and decided by the Great Spirit.

Lone Wolf reluctantly admitted that he and his father had been too lenient with
Watogla Tate.
During the past year, his father had been too weak from a soldier’s bullet—it was this viciously consuming wound that had finally claimed Soaring Hawk’s life—to battle this headstrong creature who had been thrust into their lives long ago and had been accepted by them at the direct command of the Great Spirit,
Wakantanka;
and he, Lone Wolf, had been too ensnared by his responsibilities, his love for her, and his many adventures to realize what was happening to his cherished white sister. But now, with Soaring Hawk gone, it was up to him to discipline and train her.

Yet the constant verbal fights they waged were wearing thin on the warrior, for he had more vital matters to consider and handle. Feeding and protecting his people and guarding his sacred lands against white conquest weighed heavily in his mind and heart. These days she provoked his anger faster and caused it to run deeper. Others were teasing both him and her. During these perilous times, he needed the full respect and support of his band and their Lakota brothers. He could allow no mark of weakness or ridicule to stain his face or threaten his leadership and the Lakotas’ survival. His sister had left him no choice; she would have to be forced to obey his orders!

Lone Wolf wondered how he could reach her, how he could stop these foolish dreams of hers. He hated to force her into a marriage to settle their war of words and wills,
but he must, or all that he knew and was could be in peril. The hostilities with the white man were increasing; he needed the total confidence and loyalty of his people. Her misbehavior was casting bad shadows over both of them. She was closing off all paths to escape, except one. Countless braves and warriors from their tribe and other tribes desired her. She had spurned each one. Soon she would have to marry and begin her own family. Perhaps a mate and children would tame her wild spirit.

Lone Wolf stood tall and alert as he awaited his audacious sister. She had become aware that her presence had been discovered and she had ceased her stealthy approach. He was glad he had told Buffalo Slayer to guard their backs, for now he could force her home before their Lakota brothers discovered her embarrassing defiance.

Her hair was unbraided, and the wavy mane swirled and tangled in the breeze she created with her fast pace. As the locks whipped wildly in the wind, they seized the sun’s rays and reflected its fiery glow. If she had not been his sister, he might have been stimulated by the shapely legs, revealed by her raised skirt, as they deftly gripped the horse’s sleek body. His sister was slender, but firm and nimble. She could move as rapidly and agilely as a bee but appear as lovely and delicate as the flower upon which it landed. Although her flesh was nearly as tanned as most Indians, it was a different shade, a color that favored newborn colts in early spring. He envisioned her compelling winter-sky eyes, no doubt filled with determination and eagerness. Truly she was a beautiful and body-stirring creature, though one who had refused to use such magic to lure a mate.

The girl’s shapely body grew larger against the horizon as she closed the remaining distance between them. Lone Wolf worried over her conduct and his necessary response to it. He wondered if it was her white blood that
was causing the unrest and rebellion within her. After all,
Watogla Tate
was his adopted sister; she was all white. She had once been a captive of the fierce Kiowas, until his brave father had attacked their camp after they had encroached on Oglala lands. He had won many
coups
by stealing weapons and horses and by taking many captives. This white girl had been nearly eight winters old then, and a sacred vision had commanded Soaring Hawk to adopt her.