Authors: Fran Lee
SkinwalkersWoman (12 page)
They angled southward, and the red spires and arches
below were breathtaking. They flew lower to the earth, skimming the tops of
scrub junipers and gnarled pinion pines until the cabin came into sight. The
SUV sat in the grass as it had for the past few days. Then she realized that they
were going to land, and she panicked. He spread his wings outward to brake
before touching down gracefully, while she lost control of her wings and
tumbled head-over-tailfeathers into a rather painful three-point landing. Ouch!
“Shit! That was wild!” she gasped as she sat up, picking
grass and sticks from her hair. He was standing over her, naked as the day he
was born, a concerned look on his face as he reached down to help her up. It
was then that she realized she was just as naked…and she blinked up into his
face as a brand-new reality struck her
. It hadn’t been a dream.
“OMG! I just…flew…with you! But how…?”
His kiss stopped her shocked babbling and he swung her from
her feet into his embrace. “Hush,
bił' nashneehí.
Come and let me make
love to you like a man loves his woman. I never want you to doubt that you are
the one who holds my heart.”
She stared up at his wicked smile, feeling totally
disoriented. In the back of her mind, she heard an angry cry, sensed the
impotent rage of a shadow creature that could no longer harm her. She closed
her eyes and whispered to her inner voice,
Go and tell that bastard that he
can’t hurt my man ever again…because I’m here to protect him.
Zeke carried her to the bed and lowered her as she dragged
him down with her.“Tell me I’m not dreaming all this…please…”
“You are not dreaming, Little Dove. I should ask you to tell
me that
I
’
m
not dreaming, because I fear that when I make love to
you, you’ll vanish from my arms. You can’t even begin to imagine how long I’ve
waited for you. My life has been as long and as dry as the desert. Please
forgive me for wanting to be inside you every minute of every day—I’ll try to
control myself for your sake.” She smiled when he avoided using the F-word for
what he wanted to do to her.
He’s so damn cute.
Her fingertips stopped his apology. “Shut up and make love
to me.”
He centered his cock over the wet heat he craved and began a
slow, almost fearful slide into her body. “I can’t wait to be inside you. I’ll
do it slower next time…”
She shoved him over onto his back and finished his careful
entry by slamming down over his shaft with a moan of pleasure, dragging her
nails over his tight nipples as he threw his head back and shouted with joy. He
focused his gaze on her breasts as she moved on his hips like a wild woman,
taking him deep and thrilling to his enjoyment of her.
“Fuck me, Zeke. Fuck me deep and long and hard—we can make
love all night, but right now, I want you too bad. Oh God, you feel so good
inside me…”
He rolled up from the sleeping bag and wrapped her thighs
around his hips, backing her against the rough log wall as he frenziedly
slammed deep into her over and over. A fine sheen of sweat covered their bodies
as he obeyed his woman’s demands. He could keep this up all night if she asked
it of him, and he rasped in her ear, “You are my woman…you are my heart…my
spirit…my desire. Whatever you ask, I will give you…and I will enjoy every
fucking minute of it.”
The old man smiled at the young woman who had come to him
just three months ago, seeking to rent a secluded cabin. This was not the same
confused, diffident creature who had given him a hundred dollars cash to rent a
hideaway to escape life. No. This young one was strong. Self-confident.
Spiritually powerful.
“You found what you were looking for.”
Her dark eyes widened as she sank into the patched vinyl
booth across from him. “I need your help again.”
“You have no need of my help, Little Dove. You know what to
do. You must choose the way for yourself.”
Chellie laughed softly. “I’m not here asking for help for
myself. I need someone I can trust implicitly to oversee the trust that I have
set up to benefit the children and elders on the San Carlos Apache Reservation.
You see, I have all this money lying around and I thought maybe I could find a
use for some of it. The lawyers and the trustees are in place, but I need
someone who knows the heart and soul of the people. Someone who will tell the
suits how to properly use the money to best meet the people’s needs. I asked
Zeke, but he was adamant that he was not the one for the job.”
Joe gazed at her with twinkling eyes. “Did you ask Michelle
Abernathy? I understand that she has a sharp management sense and is quickly
learning the needs of the people.”
Chellie heaved a frustrated sigh. “I can’t do it alone. And
it would take up too much of my time.”
Joe’s grin broke as he laughed wickedly. “You have nothing
but time, Little Dove. Put your life to good use. I see a new school where
children learn about the myths and legends of their people without learning to
be superstitious or frightened. I see them raptly listening to their teachers,
learning how to live off the land as well as how to navigate in the world of
the white man. Of course, I will happily assist with the curriculum, but the
decisions will be yours and his…”
Zeke chuckled as he strode down the sidewalk toward the
little café where his woman was trying to palm off the job of taking
responsibility for her brainchild on his old mentor. She wasn’t making much headway.
But he had known that his decision to accept the city girl at face value was
going to be fraught with many bumps in the road ahead, just as she had known
that accepting him for what he was would make for an interesting ride. He
tipped his wide black hat to a mother and child who paused to stare after him,
and grinned at the little boy with a wink.
The child waved and the mother nodded in passing. There was
no fear. It was a novel and somewhat scary feeling, this quiet acceptance. His
woman was something of a miracle worker, and he was helpless to tell her no
when she insisted that he walk proud, his head in the air, and let his people
see that he was no monster, but a man…
Who could just turn into something else once in a while.
He nodded at the waitress as he stepped inside the café and
sank into the cracked vinyl of the booth beside the only creature on Earth that
could put the fear of God in him.
A hand inserted itself between his thighs and sent his mind
reeling into a headlong race toward a lust-filled night under the stars.
Say goodbye to the old man, Little Dove. In about five
minutes, you’re all mine.
Promises, promises…
The old man chuckled as the waitress brought two cups of
coffee and stared in confusion at the empty seat of the booth where a
ten-dollar tip sat waiting.
Fran Lee began writing romance novels at the age of 14. Life
intruded on a budding writing career—namely, paying the bills, raising a family
and the usual run-of-the-mill things that leave a writer no time to pursue a
career as frivolous as authoring romance books. Or so everyone told her. But
she never gave up on her childhood dreams of writing.
Other things caught her fancy over the years—horses, eBay,
martial arts, not necessarily in that order. Over the years, her childish
dreams were set on the back burner over and over again. But the things that
caught her fancy blossomed into self-confidence—she achieved her black belt in
her chosen martial art, spent a fortune on eBay and had the great pleasure of
owning a number of wonderful equine friends.
Now she concentrates on her various fancies by collecting
horse statues and figurines, teaching karate to kids, and spending time
dragging out those old romance novels and bringing them up to snuff for the 21st
century. The dream has come true—and it was well worth the wait.
Fran welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email addresses on her
author
bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.
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Fran
Lee
Broken
Rules
anthology
Cougar
Challenge: Needing a Cougar
anthology
Hard
Work, Hot Boss
anthology
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Skinwalker’s Woman
ISBN 9781419949265
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Skinwalker’s Woman Copyright © 2013 Fran Lee
Edited by Rebecca Hill
Cover design and photography by Syneca
Additional cover photography by Krivosheev Vitaly, Knumina
Studios/shutterstock.com
Model: David
Electronic book publication October 2013
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