The Savage

Twenty Four

Frank returned the stolen horses. I watched him ride out behind the bunch as they started eagerly for home, but I couldn't help feeling a twinge of melancholy. Wind Runner had worked very hard to impress me with his gift, and despite my shock, he had. Knowing Mamma would be home soon with Rose I left the house, heading out into the open land beyond the yard. I really did not want to face her right now. Meeting Wind Runner out here was a possibility but I recalled Frank's words...I could not avoid him forever.

He found me in the high grass looking over the yard, his appearance like that of a stealthy wolf. The look in his eyes was guarded, but gentle as he approached me, the golden grass silent against his tanned buckskin leggings. The fringed shirt he wore was decorated with paint, feathers, and pieces of bone. It reminded me of a war shirt, one that normally would have been decorated with scalps but the fierce fighting of the past was long over. He noticed my lingering gaze.

"Does it displease you?"

"No," shyly I met his obsidian eyes. "We parted in anger,"

"We did." He moved closer, still uncertain of me. "For that I am sorry."

"Only that?"

"I do not like being angry with you, and I do not like your anger at me."

"I am sorry also, I can no longer remember why I was so upset. I have been miserable since we argued." Taking a step closer I gauged his mood, then he smiled triggering a similar response on my lips.

"I accept you, Butterfly...just as you are, with the blood of your mother, and your people. Without either you would not be the one I love."

"So you love me still?" I hated to ask him that, but I was so new to all of this that my inexperience demanded satisfaction and reassurance. Wind Runner smiled at me with his eyes, those deep black pools smoldering with powerful inner fire.

"I will never stop. You are here, now." His fingertip tapped his heart. "There is nowhere I can go that you do not accompany me."

"Wind Runner, I- I don't know what to say." My body was weightless as my heart soared.

"Your father accepted my gift?" He nodded toward the corrals, so empty looking without the stolen herd. My hair rustled over my dress as I shook my head.

"You stole those ponies from a white man that is our neighbor. Frank takes them back. He says if I am to marry you, that is my choice."

"Is it?" Long steps put him at my side, his masculine appeal sending my delicate senses reeling as I automatically leaned into his arms as they slid around me. It was like coming home. I wanted to say yes, but something held my acceptance at bay.

"I have thought much of your proposal, I just cannot answer you. I need more time."

"What do you wait for, Butterfly? What sign do you need before you accept me?"

"Perhaps one that means this is the right path for me."

"Do you love me?" His eyes were incredibly close now, twin pits that were so dark and deep I felt myself falling in.

"I have always loved you," the whisper was pulled from me against my will. "Since I was a child with only the memories of my father to hold onto."

"Return with me," his urging was spoken against my lips, the heat of his mouth sparking tendrils of flame in my blood.

I tried to turn away, shy, but he caught my chin tenderly holding my face in place. Tantalizing, teasing, he slowly used his teeth on my lower lip, making the muscles in my lower back clench tightly as I gasped. I was losing myself to this passionate brave who was so willing to give me a place to belong, an identity to hold onto. His inviting kisses grew longer, yet still alluring and enticingly promising. My lashes fluttered closed then opened again, trying to keep my reasoning intact as my hands slid up his chest.