He stared at the temptress before him who was offering herself to him. She would take whatever he gave her. She would heal the itch that consumed him. She moaned as he grabbed her, pulling her to his hardness.
“Yes!” she cried as he pushed her against a tree, lifting her dress up. She turned her face to him, and then he pulled away. For all he could see was Hannah’s face as she rode on the rainbows.
“Goodnight,” Bear Claw said, as he walked away, leaving the axe and pieces of wood behind. He had almost fallen, but he had regained control just in time. Laying with Anika would have been a mistake he would regret. One that would cause him shame, and make him look away from Hannah. Even now, he felt shame for thinking of being with another woman. This was unusual, especially for a chief like him. Men could have as many women as they wanted. As a chief he could have more than one wife. He could have a harem of women ready to satisfy his need. The women would throw themselves at him to ease his pleasure. Yet, there was one woman he greatly desired. He had seen her ride to the heavens, and he yearned for her only even more.
She was sleeping when he returned. Curled to a corner, away from where he would sleep. He settled on the empty spot, his eyes staring into the dark. He kept on replaying what had happened. How sweet she had tasted. How hungry she had been. And those cries of pleasure. He placed a hand over his rod. He’d had to take care of himself several times since she had arrived. She had given herself to him, and he would have been satisfied, but he would have regretted taking her. For she had been angry and full of spite. When he took her, she would be willing and conscious to satisfy his needs and be pleasured to a place no one had ever taken her.
Soon, he said to himself as he stretched to her. The cracks were breaking. She was warming up to him. Soon, she would be his, and there would be no turning back. The thought of it made a grin from on his face. His eyes closed, and he was pulled into a dream that featured him and Hannah in sensual positions he had thought of from the moment he set his eyes on her.
Chapter 10
Strangers. They acted like perfect strangers. Hannah barely talked to Bear Claw. And he did the same. For a day now, they avoided each other. At least Hannah did most of it. She was just too embarrassed about what had happened to look him in the face. She did not know how long this would last, since they slept under the same roof, but she needed her space. All day, she could not stop thinking about what had happened. She berated herself constantly for almost giving herself to him. She had not been drunk. She had offered herself to him with her senses intact. And the truth was glaring. She desired him. As much as she wanted the idea to repulse her, it did not. He was a man in full sense. She had felt his hardness, something she had never seen but read about in books. And it had only made her want him even more.
It terrified her of what could have happened if he had taken her. At least he had been wise enough not to take her in that state. But at the same time it excited her. Now, she could not help but imagine what could have happened between them. Her body was still pent up. Her desire had not quenched.
Her head lifted from the mortar and pestle she wielded to the laughter of Anika. Today, it seemed the woman was out to taunt her. She had received several glances from her and her friends. They talked and laughed at her openly. But who was she to stand against them? She was not one of them, and they would turn against her without a thought.
“Ignore her,” Deer Fawn said.
“What does she say?” Hannah asked. She was even more interested when Deer Fawn looked away with worry. “What does she say?” Hannah repeated.
“That he came to her. He laid with her,” Deer Fawn said.
She did not have to mention who the person was for her to understand. The scoundrel! After having his tongue in her mouth, he had laid with Anika? How dare he! It seemed like a bucket of cold water was thrown over her, suddenly quenching her desire. She felt dirty that she had even for a second wanted him. She had been a fool. Just like those women who had lined the streets at night for the pleasure of men according to Samuel.
She got up, hurrying away as Anika’s laughter seemed to grow louder. She broke into a run, towards the trees. Thankfully, there was no one there to witness her heartbreak. She sat on a stump, taking deep breaths. She hated how to upset she felt. Bear Claw was nothing to her. He could be with any woman he wanted. All the women in the camp if he desired. Angrily, she kicked a stone which bounced off.
“Anger.”
She turned around and faced Bear Claw’s sister, the one who had returned. Couldn’t the family leave her?
The woman smiled. “You not happy to see me,” she said in broken English. “My brother upset you.”
Hannah shrugged. She didn’t feel like talking about the scoundrel of a brother who had always had ill intentions towards her.
“What he do?” White Dove asked, approaching her.
“Nothing,” she stared towards the line of trees.
“Hmm…” the woman grimaced as she sat on a stump.
“Are you okay?” Hannah asked.
“Baby, stubborn.”
Hannah nodded. Prior to her mother being pregnant, she had known nothing about babies, but then her mother had gotten pregnant, and Hannah had learned all she could about babies. She had been by her mother’s side, not as if she had anywhere to be, all through the pregnancy. The baby had arrived early, the midwife had been out of town, and it had been Hannah who had delivered her younger brother into the world. The experience had created a new dream in her, to be a midwife, but Samuel had laughed at the idea, and called it nonsense. She had not forgotten the dream, hoping that one day it would be true. But with her imprisoned, how would that work? It was just another reminder of her situation.
“He. Bear Claw. He act tough. But he soft. He need care,” White Dove said.
Hannah scoffed. The man was more than capable of taking care of himself. Like last night when he had left and had gone straight into the arms of another woman, while she rolled about in regrets. He could get all the care he needed from that woman.
“He like you. You like him too.”
Hannah didn’t reply. Yes, she liked him. She wished she didn’t, but she did, but that didn’t meant she would act the fool and fawn over him. He had all the women here to do that for him. She wished Anika best of luck with dealing with the grumpy man. She would need all of it.
“You is lucky. Me, my mate bad to me.” As the woman spoke, there was sadness in her eyes, and Hannah ached to comfort her, but she did not want to be too forward. She knew a lot about being hurt. Growing up, the next-door neighbor had hurt his wife. The woman had an explanation for every bruise, and at a point, people stopped asking. The man never let her go out unattended, and he found a reason to drag her home. Once, he had pulled her home from the fair, because a man stopped to ask for directions. When they had left she had seen the woman watching from the window. She had waved to her, but the blinds had fallen, yet she saw the shadow of the woman watching.
Her mother’s marriage to Samuel involved no physical abuse, but words were his tool of manipulation, and just at times, Hannah could not help but wonder if this wasn’t more efficient. He acted like her mother was a child, and needed to be taken care of all around. He had made herinto a shadow of herself, pulling her further into a shell. It was the birth of her brother that had brought back the spark in her eyes, a spark which had began to fade since they started on this journey. She should have insisted more, stood her ground that they did not go on the journey. But she suspected that Samuel would have been more than glad to have left her behind, holding his newborn child as a tool of negotiation with her mother. She knew her mother; she had a sense of duty and would go anywhere her husband and child went.
