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“I have heard you,” she murmured. “And . . . and . . . I believe you. Truly, I do.”
“Do you understand now why I set my friend free?” he asked, leaning closer to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, drawing her nearer to him. “While caged, Four Winds was the me-gee-see, the eagle, his wings no longer able to spread and fly. He had to be set free, for to cage an innocent man is a crime against all humanity!”
“I’m trying to understand everything,” Elizabeth murmured, blinking her eyes nervously. “And I think I do. But please, Strong Heart, set me free. While you hold me captive, I too am like the eagle. You must allow me to return home, where I belong.”
“You belong with me, not in the white man’s world,” Strong Heart said, drawing her even closer to him, their lips only a breath away. “Do you not see that? Do you not feel it? Your heart no longer beats only for yourself. It also beats for me, the man you are meant to be with.”
A great heat rose to Elizabeth’s cheeks; she was speechless over what he had just said. She knew she should be frightened of his declaration, yet how could she be, when she had such strong feelings for him?
She wanted to make her own choice, not be forced to be with a man—no matter how wonderful he made her feel.
“I cannot allow you to go free, and not only because I have never felt this way about any other woman,” Strong Heart said. “I am to be chief of my people one day. I cannot allow you to jeopardize this that I have prepared for all my life. If you were to point an accusing finger at me and have me caged by the white man, I would not be the only one to suffer. Many Suquamish people would be punished.”
His fingers dug more tightly into her arms. “No, to he said determinedly. “I cannot let you go.”
When he saw a defiant anger enter her eyes, he grabbed her wrists and lowered her to the ground before she had the chance to rise and run away from him.
“Everything that I have told you is true,” he said, leaning in close to her. He feathered soft kisses along the lovely contours of her face. “Trust me. I mean you no harm. Remember that I gave you the chance to flee at the prison, before you stripped away my mask and discovered my identity. If I had meant you harm, I would have never given you the chance to leave. I would have taken you then as my prisoner, without any questions asked, or apologies for having abducted you.”
Elizabeth could scarcely listen to his words as her senses were swept away by his lips and the press of his body against hers. She lay on her back on the dew-dampened grass, drinking him in, and her anger slowly waned. “Are you apologizing for having abducted me?” she asked, their eyes locking.
“If that is what you want, ah-hah, yes, I apologize,” he said thickly.
“If you apologize so easily, why don’t you let me go?” she asked, her pulse racing as his lips came close to hers again. “I promise never to say a word. Truly . . . I do.”
“I’m sorry, la-daila, but your promises alone are not enough protection against being hunted down and arrested, he said, again brushing a kiss across her beckoning lips. “Did not the sheriff see you just prior to my arrival at the prison, and only moments before I knocked him unconscious?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice weakening, the building passion making her feel crazed and confused.
“If you were to return to Seattle, the sheriff would ask you many questions,” he said, urging her to appreciate the danger. “Under pressure, you might break down and tell everything.”
He paused, every fiber of his being tense and poised for her response.
“Are you never going to allow me to return home?” she asked, her voice breaking.
“It’s not possible,” he said too matter-of-factly, bringing Elizabeth abruptly back to her senses. She began shoving at him, trying to push him away from her.
But the more she shoved, the more tightly he held her.
“You are more beautiful than all the skies,” Strong Heart whispered passionately against her cheek, and when his lips came to hers, she forgot everything but how her body thrilled to his kiss.
Her breath quickened and she tilted her face back, letting herself feel the strange sinking downward, the wondrous swirling sensation deep within her. When his hands sought her breasts and kneaded them through the fabric of her dress, she felt aflame with desire for him. Blind to every risk, she melted against him and twined her arms around his neck, returning his kiss with complete abandon.
A great clap of thunder drew them apart. Elizabeth winced when a bolt of lightning split the sky above them, followed by another boom of thunder. When a few desultory raindrops began to fall, Strong Heart rose quickly to his feet and went to his belongings and began setting up a tent.
When the tent was erected and Strong Heart returned to Elizabeth, offering her his hand, she accepted it. He led her to the tent, her knees weak and her heart pounding, not knowing what would happen next, and afraid of how she might respond.
She was baffled when he left her at the flap of the tent and returned to his bedroll beside the fire. A part of her wished that he would stay with her; another part of her was glad that he hadn’t.
Struggling with her feelings, she entered the tent and stretched out between the blankets, wondering about this man she could not help but love with all of her heart.
“Heart,” she whispered to herself. “Strong Heart. What a lovely name.”
She moved to her knees and crawled to the tent opening. “I adore your name,” she said, glad to have something to say to break the silence between them.
Strong Heart rolled over to his side and smiled at her. “Mah-sie, thank you,” he murmured, blinking raindrops from his lashes as the storm began to thicken the air. “The name means courage.”
“My name also has a special meaning,” Elizabeth said, glancing up at the sheets of gray falling from the sky. “My mother told me many years ago that my name means consecrated by oath to God.”
