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“Yes?”
“Why are the Black Hills so important to your people? To you?”
“Why do you ask this?”
“Well, I know little of how our government works, but I do know that the Black Hills were given to your tribes, weren’t they?”
“No one can give us any of this land, tehila. It is not ours to take, nor yours to give. But yes, you are correct. Your government decided to let us keep the hills. Until your army decided there was gold here.”
“Yes, yes, I know all about that, and I’m sorry. The prospectors are a greedy bunch, Raven. I didn’t want to come here, but my father felt it necessary. If he only knew…” Ella trembled, remembering the vile men who had offered her money.
“If he only knew what, Ella?”
“Never mind.”
“What is it?” He tightened against her. “We have no secrets now, wife.”
Ella’s lips curved upward at the word “wife.” She didn’t want to tell him about the men in town. It made her feel…dirty. But he was right. They had no secrets now. “Several men in town, prospectors, have offered me gold.”
“For what?”
“For…”
Raven’s arms tensed around her. “You are to stay away from that town. Venture nowhere from now on without me at your side. You are mine to protect now, Ella,” h
e rasped in her ear. “No other man shall touch you.”
Ella gasped. “I don’t want any other man.”
His arms loosened. “Forgive me. I did not mean to hold you so tightly. But the thought of one of those… Putting his hands on you…”
Ella turned in his arms. His handsome face was twisted in anguish.
“Nothing happened, Raven. You were the first.”
“I know, tehila.” He kissed her neck. “I know.” He lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “You asked why the Black Hills are so important to us. I will tell you. They are a reminder of the power of the Great Spirit and the insignificance of everything else. The hills are a symbol of the beauty and strength of the Great Spirit.” He lowered his mouth to hers. “But they pale in comparison to you.”
The kiss was not gentle. He claimed her, dared any other man to touch her. She became his with that one kiss, almost more so than when he’d made love to her. She reveled in his passion, his possessiveness. She melted into his mouth, into his body, into his soul, and gave all of herself to him, knowing, without a doubt, that he was her destiny.
And then, from somewhere outside the shield of love that housed her and Raven, a shotgun barrel clicked.
Chapter Seven
“Get your filthy red hands off my daughter!”
Ella stiffened. Her father. She tore her lips from Raven’s and turned in his arms. A veil of moonlight illuminated the creases of her father’s handsome face. Her heart quickened. “P-Papa?”
“Move away from him, Ella.”
“Papa, please.”
“Move away from him, so I can send him to his maker.”
Raven’s arms tightened around her body. “Papa, you’re not a killer. And there’s no reason—”
“Ella, I’m not playing around here. Has he hurt you?”
“Of course not. Papa, he—”
