Page 25 of The Last Warrior

“I will not.”

“I must have your word on this.”

“I promise.”

She inhaled deeply. “I suppose this is all very well, then. And so I will tell you. It is quite simple: I do not want a man in my life. A white man might desire more from me than I am willing to give. Also, he could possibly come to think he had a husband’s rights with me. Or worse, he might envision my child is his own and wish to keep it.”

She watched as Black Lion waited for her to continue. When she did not, he said, “And you do not fear this fate from me?”

“No, I do not.”

He chuckled slightly. “I do not know if I should be flattered or insulted.”

“Perhaps you should feel both. The truth is I want only the fact I am married legally, so my child is not born out of wedlock. But beyond this, I want nothing. I will require not a thing from you, not even your presence in my life, for once the child is born, I fully intend to return to England.”

“Without your husband.” It was no question.

“Yes,” she affirmed. “Definitely without my husband.”

“It is a good plan. For you. But what if I want more from my wife?”

“You could still be free to marry another, could you not?” She frowned. “Within your society, it is permitted to have more than one wife, is it not?”

“In the past this was true. But we are now a part of the white man’s world, and I believe the missionaries on my reservation would disapprove.”

“Oh. I did not realize. And this is your objection?”

“No, I have no objections, except that it has never been part of my plan to marry…anyone. Yet, I agreed to help you, and I will, but I would ask for one gift from you. It is important to me.”

“Yes?”

“I would like to kiss you from time to time while you are here. And⁠—”

“What kind of kissing?”

“A simple kiss, and perhaps all the acts which go with it.”

“Acts?”

“When we kiss, I would like to touch you like this.” He held up a hand to run his fingers down her cheek.

In response, and quite against her will, she felt herself go limp.

“Or perhaps like this.” He brought his hand down to massage a sensitive place on her neck.

She gulped, and with eyes closed, shivered. “And this is all you would expect?”

“If you will it.”

Her eyes flew open. “Will it? What do you mean?”

“Simply this: if the time were to come when you are ever willing and wanting more than a kiss, I, too, might be agreeable. But if such a time never comes, then I will have to be satisfied with a mere kiss.”

What an understatement he was speaking. There was nothing mere about this man’s kisses.

She said, “This sounds like a gift I might be willing to give you...perhaps.”

But he wasn’t finished. “There is one more matter I must speak to you about.”