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Yet she was not sure of Strong Wolf’s intentions toward her. Although he had denied it, what if he did only want to use her in order to have a closer alliance with her brother? Their lands connected. Could Strong Wolf want more than just the land that he had been given by treaty?
And she had to be careful of this wild freedom she had found in the Kansas Territory. She shouldn’t allow herself to go too far with her feelings toward a man she scarcely knew; with a man she perhaps couldn’t even trust!
Her heart fluttering the closer she walked into the thick, misty smoke, she became alert to every sound, of the warm summer morning. The air was of a crisp freshness and a sweet breeze swept down over the pine-covered hills.
She came through a thick clump of young trees and thought she heard a noise. She held her breath to listen, her right hand resting on a long knife sheathed in her belt.
She listened to the call of birds in the distance and the hum of bees, but heard nothing more, only those sounds made by Mother Nature.
Hannah’s footsteps faltered again when she heard a noise that sounded like padded footsteps. She sucked in a wild breath of fear when a twig snapped behind her.
She turned with a start and gasped in surprise when she found Strong Wolf there, gazing intensely at her through the smoky haze.
Hannah returned his gaze openly, fearlessly, lovingly, her heart melting into his as he moved toward her.
She quickly noticed that today he wore his usual beaded moccasins, but instead of a breechclout, his attire was brown deerskin leggings with long, soft fringes on either side, and a deerskin shirt with bright-colored beads sewn tightly on it. His hair was long and loose, held in place by a red bandanna tied about his brow.
“You have come to see the smoking of unknown fires, or was your purpose to come here today, to see if I would answer the silent beckoning of your heart and come here also?” Strong Wolf suddenly said.
He reached a hand out and brushed some tendrils of Hannah’s hair back from her face.
“I’m not certain why I am here,” she murmured, an unleashed passion for him consuming her through and through.
“It was the same restlessness, the same pull, that has drawn us both here, to unlock the secrets of our hearts,” Strong Wolf said. His fingers gently slid down the contours of her face, stopping to cup her chin within the palm of his hand.
Slowly he urged her lips toward his. “In my restless dreams I saw us here, together,” he said huskily. “Was it a dream that also beckoned you?”
“No, I didn’t even sleep well enough last night to dream,” she said in a whisper. Her heart beat so hard from his lips being so close, she felt light-headed.
“And what did you think about when you were awake?” he said, his lips brushing against hers as he whispered. “Did you think about Strong Wolf? Did you think about this?”
He swept his arms around her and crushed his lips to hers, his hard, strong arms pressing her against him so that their bodies strained together hungrily. The heat of his passion was pulsing and pressed tightly inside his breeches, paining and dizzying him.
Afraid of the passion that was so overwhelming her, afraid to move this quickly into something that she might regret later, Hannah shoved against Strong Wolf’s chest until she managed to get free.
Her chest heaving, she turned her back to him. “We mustn’t,” she murmured. She placed her trembling hands to her cheeks and felt their heat against her palms.
Understanding a woman who might be reckless in some ways, more careful in others, Strong Wolf did not press the issue. He sucked in a breath and waited for his heartbeat to slow down, then reached a gentle hand to Hannah’s wrist and turned her to face him.
“I feel much for you,” he said thickly. His gaze took in her flawless features, the soft glimmer of her hair. The whites of her eyes were almost luminously clear. “You feel much for me. And one day soon we will go farther than kissing. But not today. I see that you are not ready.”
Hannah’s eyes blinked nervously as she gazed up at him. She was stunned by this man’s understanding; of his patience.
She felt guilty now for having suspected him of wanting her for more than the sake of wanting. He had sincere feelings for her that matched those she felt for him.
“Thank you,” she murmured, shyly lowering her eyes. “Any other man would . . .”
“I am not just any other man,” Strong Wolf said thickly.
“Yes, I know,” Hannah said, lifting her eyes to his.
She trembled inwardly when she saw how his eyes were glazed and drugged with desire. She was keenly aware of the slope of his hard jaw and his finely chisleled face; that his lips still were only a feather’s touch from hers.
Suddenly she flung herself into his arms. “Hold me,” she murmured. “Just please hold me. I love how it feels to be held by you.”
“Tell me how it feels,” Strong Wolf said, burying his nose in the depths of her fragranced hair.
“I . . . feel . . . needed,” Hannah said, closing her eyes to the ecstasy as his lips brushed against her ear, his breath hot against it.
