He looked into her eyes. “The snake was not poisonous, and though it frightened you, you also frightened it. Did you see how it hid its head? It was afraid.”
“I don’t care ifitwas afraid. It startled me.Iwas afraid.”
“Yes. I know.” He did what he’d been wanting to do since he’d spotted her in the water. He took her in his arms.
It was a sweet torture. Skin to skin, breast to breast, the feel of her ripe body next to his was almost more than he could bear. Her scent, mixed with river water, seemed a gift from the gods, and whether he wished it or not, his body stood ready.
He should stop this. He knew he should. He should let her go.
And yet to release her was unthinkable. Bending toward her ear, he kissed it, then said, “Come, we must leave here. The day is awakening. Your people and mine will soon be attentive. Even now, as we stand here, we could be seen. And if we are seen… Besides, where there is one snake, there may be many.”
She shuddered.
“Tell me, where are your clothes? I will take you there.”
She pointed, but she made no move to leave his arms. She sniffled instead, saying, “There, around the bend—it’s a quiet spot, by an old cottonwood tree.”
“Saaaa, I know the place. Come.”
“No, don’t leave me.”
“I am not.”
“No, you don’t understand. I am naked. I should not be seen like this. Not by you, not by anybody.”
He stiffened. “Better it is that Iseeyou like this than tofeelyour body next to mine. When we hold each other like this, I think of things I shouldn’t.”
“Things?”
He groaned. “Things like this.” He leaned down to place his lips against hers. It was sweet torture, that kiss. He wanted more, so much more, but now was not the right time or the right place.
“Come.” Bending, he picked her up into his arms, holding her naked body against his chest. Without further argument, he moved as gently yet as swiftly as he could—through the water, onward toward Angelia’s own private nook.
Angelia could feelthe heat of Swift Hawk’s body. Moreover, she required no imagination to remember the impression of his hips against hers. It was the first time she had ever borne witness to the arousal of a man.
It wasn’t true that she was too innocent to know the facts of life. Certainly she was more than aware of male anatomy. But she had never experienced it like this. And despite herself, she found it…pleasant.
At the very least, it took her attention off the snake, momentarily.
What would she have done if Swift Hawk hadn’t been close at hand? She had been afraid to scream, had been more fearful of the discovery and censure from her peers than she had been of saving her own life.
Swift Hawk said that the snake wasn’t poisonous, yet Angelia couldn’t help feeling that she had experienced a near brush with death, and the aftershock was affecting her body strangely. She felt cold, so very cold, and she couldn’t stop shaking.
It seemed as if the only warmth in her world at this moment was Swift Hawk, and she wound her arms around his neck, vowing she would never let go. At last, however, shebecame aware that he was wading to shore. Nervously, she glanced over her shoulder to see where they were, breathing a sigh of relief as she recognized the old cottonwood.
She spoke to the tree. “I had an accident.”
Wind whooshed through the tree’s leaves, making it appear as if it answered. The tree gestured toward a grassy, cushioned spot near its trunk. And Swift Hawk, who was probably aware of the language of the woods, sat down there, Angelia’s arms still wound tightly around his neck, her body resting in his lap.
Gracefully, the branches of the old tree settled over the pair of them, its leaves hanging downward around them, creating a curtain of sorts. It all but hid them.
Swift Hawk straightened, reaching a hand up, attempting to take one of her arms from around his neck. Angelia wouldn’t let it happen. Holding on tightly, she said, “Do not leave me. I am so cold.”
“I will not leave, but come, let me warm you. If you let go, I will rub your arms and legs for warmth, and then I will find your clothes and will help you dress.”
He again tried to pry her arms from around him.
“No,” she protested, “don’t do that. I am afraid you will leave.”
