Yellowstone Heart Song (Yellowstone Romance Series Book 1) (19 page)

****

Daniel returned with a blanket a short while later. Aimee sat in the water at the edge of the pool. Her eyes were closed. He came up behind her, and gently put a hand on top of her head. She whirled around, and Daniel regretted his move. He hadn’t meant to startle her.

“How do you do that?” she asked, expelling a breath of relief.

“What?”

“Not make a sound when you walk.”

He simply smiled at her, and held out his hand. “Come, I have some food for you. You must be hungry.”

She sighed, then stood and reached for his hand, and he pulled her from the water. He immediately wrapped the blanket around her.  There was a definite chill in the air, and he didn’t want to stare at her nakedness.

“Feeling better?” he asked. He bent to pick up her clothes, and tossed them over his shoulder. With one arm behind her knees, and the other around her waist, he scooped her up in his arms.

“Much better.” Aimee wriggled her arms loose from the blanket and wrapped them around his neck. Daniel clenched his jaw and ignored the rising heat in his body.

He carried her the short distance back to camp, and set her down close to the fire, making sure the blanket stayed wrapped around her. He pulled the skewer of meat off the fire and tore off a piece for her. When she didn’t reach for it, he nudged her arm gently. A slow smile formed on his face. After today, he couldn’t blame her for her exhaustion, but she needed to eat.

She sighed and reached for the skewer he offered, mumbling a quiet “thanks.” He eased himself to the ground next to her, and they ate in silence. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her.

“I feel so safe with you, Daniel,” Aimee said softly.

He looked down at the top of her head, and smiled. What a fool he had been. How could he have ever thought to take her to St. Louis? The thought of her surviving in these mountains nagged at him. Was he being selfish to want her with him and not return her to the city? Of course he was. He wanted exactly what his father had warned him about his entire life. But he couldn’t help it. It took almost losing her to make him realize how important she had become to him.  His arm tightened around her shoulder. She was almost asleep again. Daniel nudged her one more time.

“You need to put your clothes on,” he said softly in her ear. He banked the fire while she dressed, then sat behind her on the blanket, and pulled her up against him. He wrapped the other blanket around them. Aimee sighed and leaned back into his chest. His arms tightened around her middle, and he rested his chin on top of her head. They sat like this for a moment, until he gently eased her to lie down, and wrapped his body around hers to keep her warm. She didn’t make a sound, her breaths steady and even. Daniel smiled to himself as he held this precious woman in his arms. A sense of peace and contentment that he hadn’t felt before washed over him. It was as if he finally found something he’d been missing all his life.

****

Aimee awoke the next morning to the sounds of loud bird chirping. Her mind cleared gradually, waking from one of the best nights’ sleep she remembered in a while. She was warm and secure. She rested against a solid form, her head cradled by a strong arm. She slowly opened her eyes as memories of the previous day came flooding back. Daniel was lying on his side next to her, and looked down at her intently.  Aimee smiled leisurely and stretched. Her stiff muscles ached dully through the stretch.

“Did I sleep too long?” she asked groggily.

“You could lie here all day and I wouldn’t mind,” Daniel whispered. “Those two grizzlies over there, though,” he gestured with his head in the direction of the woods, “aren’t too happy with our presence here.”

 Startled by his words, she bolted to a sitting position, and her eyes darted around nervously. Daniel’s arm pulled her back down.

“Daniel,” she protested. Why was he so relaxed with two bears so close?

“Shhhh.” He grinned broadly. “They’re young. Their mother probably cast them out just recently. They won’t bother us.”

“Okay.” She hesitated, then relaxed again. She wriggled to turn and face him, and entwined her arms around his neck. Daniel bent over her, closer to her face.

“Good morning.” He smiled, and kissed her on the forehead.

“You’re going to have to do better than that,” Aimee scoffed with faked indignation. She pulled his face to her and kissed him soundly on the lips, enjoying the rough feel of his day-old growth of stubble against her skin. He apparently needed no further encouragement. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply, one hand on her hip, pulling her closer to him.  Her body responded instantly. Delicious chills spread through her, and she clung to him with wild abandon, pressing her body to his wherever she could. God, how was it that he sent her mind and body spinning out of control like that?  She had been kissed plenty of times, but this was a totally new experience. His hand at her waist stroked and kneaded, pulling her against his growing arousal, which sent new waves of desire through her.

Daniel pulled away abruptly. “It’s a long way back to the cabin,” he said in a sultry tone. He pushed himself up off the ground. Leaning over her, he kissed her once more, then whispered, “Not here,” with a hint of regret in his voice.

“Are you still planning to take me to St. Louis?”

Daniel stared hard into her eyes. “For selfish reasons, I think I may not be able to.”  He stood and ran a hand through his hair, then turned and headed for the horses grazing a short distance away.

Aimee sat up, admiring his backside as he walked off. Why was he holding back? It was obvious that he wanted her, so why did he pull away? Daniel wasn’t taking her to St. Louis. That was one problem solved. Her other problem seemed to be much worse, though. He had said for selfish reasons he wouldn’t take her away from here. Her heart sped up at the implication of those words.. She had to stop thinking about what would happen at the end of her three months when Zach returned, and just enjoy the time she had left with Daniel.

With a long sigh, she left her warm spot, and walked on stiff legs to the creek to splash water on her face. The hot water the night before had definitely helped soothe the tightness in her muscles. She could walk the last of the stiffness out of her legs on the way back to the cabin.

****

Daniel found the horses grazing a short distance away from camp. He threw a saddle over the back of the first horse, and reached under the animal’s belly for the cinch. He replayed the events of the last few days in his mind. He had been ready to take Aimee back to the city for her own sake, and now, in the course of one day, that had all changed. A month ago, it would have been easy to simply take her to his bed. It was different now. He finally admitted that he wanted her for his wife, not merely as a woman to share his blanket. He would protect her and keep her safe. She was much stronger than his mother had been. She could survive here. She didn’t want to go back to the city. He wouldn’t even consider the man she was supposed to marry. He had not come for her.

How might he claim her as his wife properly? She had no family he could go to. In the Shoshoni tradition, he would offer furs and meat to prove his ability as a provider to her kin. In the white man’s world, he knew it was customary to ask the woman’s father for her hand in marriage.

He finished saddling the horses. There was only one way. He had to abandon all tradition and simply take her as his wife, as Elk Runner had suggested all along.

“Are we ready to go?” Aimee’s question pulled Daniel out of his thoughts. He turned and smiled warmly.

****

Daniel chose a different, more direct route back to the Madison Valley. He stopped often to let Aimee off her horse and walk so her muscles wouldn’t tighten up again. By late afternoon, the cabin came into view.

“Now that’s a sight for sore eyes.” She smiled at him.

As the horses splashed through the Gibbon River, she glanced longingly at the inlet of the Firehole. A bath would be great. She was covered in grime and trail dust. Turning her head, a wicked grin spread across Daniel’s face. He guided his horse along the banks of the Madison until he reached the spot where he had tossed her in the river so many weeks ago.

“Why are we stopping here?” She raised her eyebrows, and Daniel dismounted his horse. He walked around to her side and wordlessly pulled her out of the saddle.

“Daniel, what . . .?” She couldn’t finish her sentence. He strode a few feet into the river, and tossed her out into deeper water.

When her head emerged again, she shouted “Do you take some perverse pleasure in throwing me into this river?”

Daniel had already unbuckled the belt at his waist and was pulling his shirt off over his head. He quickly removed his moccasins and leggings, and dove in after her. When his head popped up in front of her, he snaked his arms around her waist.

“I have some unfinished business here.” His voice had gone husky.

“Oh?” her heart began beating faster. She shivered in anticipation.

“Unfortunately, you’re about to make a dishonest man out of me.”

“What do you mean?” she frowned. Her hands slid up his chest and around his neck.

“The last time we were in this river together, I told you afterwards that I would not repeat my actions. Do you remember?”

“Yes.” Aimee smiled. The day he nearly kissed her in the river. It seemed so long ago now. Where would this relationship be now if she hadn’t told him to stop that day?

“Well, here we are again, and I wish to finish what I started then.”

Daniel lowered his face to hers, and this time she didn’t stiffen up, or tell him to stop. She buried her fingers in his hair, and met his hungry kiss with a moan.

The current carried them lazily while they were wrapped in each other’s arms. When Daniel pulled back, she panted breathlessly. “How come you get to undress first, but I’m in my clothes?” she managed to whisper.

“Because I like the way your wet clothes cling to your body when you get out of the water.” He flashed her a purely mischievous grin.

“Daniel, you are a . . .”

“Pig, I know,” he finished her sentence for her. He kissed her again before maneuvering them to shore.

She climbed out of the water, and wrapped her arms around her waist. Her body shivered uncontrollably in the late afternoon breeze. The smoldering look in Daniel’s eyes as he hoisted himself onto the riverbank was worth the cold.

“You better get to the cabin and warm up,” he whispered, and wrapped his arms around her.  

“What about you?” she asked between chattering teeth.

“I need to tend to the horses. I’ll be along shortly.” His hand cradled her cheek, and he kissed her gently one more time.

Aimee turned and ran for the cabin. She quickly stripped out of her wet clothes and wrapped herself in a blanket. She piled kindling in the hearth and set fire to it with her flint. After adding wood, a warm flame grew quickly, and she sat for a moment to absorb the fire’s warmth. She rummaged through her pack for her last pair of clean underwear and bra. A set of her clothes was lying around outside somewhere. Hopefully they were still there from where she had dropped them two days ago when she ran from those trappers. She would have to look for them in the morning. The sun had already gone down.

With no clean shirt available, she slipped on one of Daniel’s homespun cotton shirts that hung on a peg on the wall. She rolled up the sleeves several times to free her hands. The shirt fell almost to her knees. Her eyes darted around the dark room, and lingered on her bed. With trembling hands, she lit the lantern on the table. She sliced some bread and meat, and set these on a plate.  The cabin door creaked, and she spun around.

Chapter 17

Aimee stood by the table. Daniel quietly opened the door and walked in. He hadn’t dressed, and wore only his breechcloth. Her fingers dug into the wood. He hadn’t yet looked her way. Silently, he tossed his shirt and leggings on his bunk, propped his bow and arrows by the door, and hung his pouches on the wall.  Her heart stopped when he slowly turned. His heated gaze scanned her from top to bottom. Their eyes finally met. The dancing flames in the hearth reflected in Daniel’s eyes, and the cabin grew much too warm all of a sudden. His silence, and his penetrating stare made her mouth go dry. She slowly walked toward him on rubbery legs.
I feel like a nervous bride on my wedding night.

“Are you hungry?” she asked tentatively, and pointed at the food she had set out.

Daniel’s hands framed her face, and he drew her to him. He claimed her mouth with possessive urgency. The intensity of his kiss stunned her. When he broke away seconds later, they both gasped for breath.

“Yes.” Daniel’s eyes locked onto hers, and he pulled her into his arms.

Yes, what?

She couldn’t remember what she’d asked him. Did she even ask something? She placed her palms on his chest, feeling the strong beating of his heart, the warmth of his skin, and inhaled his masculine woodsy scent. She slid her hands up and around his neck, and Daniel’s mouth found hers again. While the kiss a moment ago had been full of hunger, he now kissed her with agonizing slowness and deliberation, coaxing her lips apart as their tongues met. Her head spun dizzily as shockwaves of desire reached each and every one of her nerve endings. She would have collapsed from pure pleasure if Daniel hadn’t wrapped his arm around her waist. No one had ever made her feel this way before, nor had she ever been kissed like this. Her body had certainly never reacted this heatedly to anyone’s kisses.

After several tantalizing minutes of exploring her mouth, Daniel trailed his lips all over her face and down her neck. His hands slowly moved up and down her back, caressing her tenderly, almost reverently. She shuddered under his touch. Goose bumps erupted all over her skin.

His exploring hands slid under the shirt, and she lifted her arms to help him slip the garment over her head. He let it fall to the ground. Her hands traced the contours of his chest, exploring his firm skin over taut, solid muscle. She inched her arms around his waist, her fingers exploring their way along his chiseled back, arms, and shoulders with feather light touches. He shuddered. How could a man this big and strong, who was able to kill another man at a moment’s notice, be so tender at the same time?

“My body burns for you,” Daniel said huskily against her lips. “I have dreamed of this moment since I first laid eyes on you.” His kisses down her neck and his hands on her bare skin sent renewed ripples of desire through her.

“You have?”

His hand moved across her flat stomach and up her ribcage, and finally covered one of her breasts, his fingers stroking gently.

“How does this come off?” he whispered, and slipped his thumb under the shoulder strap on her bra. Aimee smiled seductively, and reached her hands behind her back to undo the hooks. Unashamed she slid the bra off her shoulders.

Daniel devoured her with his eyes, and groaned. “You’re so beautiful.” His voice was raspy.

“Daniel . . .” she whispered slowly.

“Hmm?” he asked absently, and stroked his thumbs across the top of her breasts. She found it harder and harder to breathe while his thumbs teased her nipples into hardened peaks, but she needed to say something.

“Daniel, I . . . I just want you to know that I’m not . . . oh God.” She squeezed her eyes shut at the sensations he awakened in her body. What she wanted to say became more difficult as his hands and mouth made every nerve ending on her skin come alive.

“Daniel, you’re not the first man I’ve been with,” she finally blurted out. “I just thought you should know.”

He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to her bed, where he lay her down gently and covered her with his own body, bracing his weight with his elbows on either side of her. He kissed her again, long and gently, while slowly getting to know her body with his hands. His thumbs brushed across her nipples repeatedly, and Aimee moaned. She arched her back to his touch. His tender caresses left scorch marks on her skin. Nothing and no one had ever made her feel this good. With Brad, it had always been hurried. Daniel was in no rush as he slowly explored every inch of her with his large and capable hands.

“I will make you forget any other man you’ve been with,” Daniel growled softly in her ear.

“You already have,” she barely managed to respond. Daniel continued to kiss her neck and moved lower, kissing her shoulders, then the top of her breast.

She almost protested when his weight slid off her body, until she realized he was removing his breechcloth. He drew her into his arms an instant later and kissed her so deeply and with such hunger, it took her breath away, and sent her mind spinning into a dizzying vortex. She wound her arms tightly around his neck, and one leg around his lower back wanting to hold him to her forever.

He hesitated when he made contact with her bikini briefs. She slid her fingers down the elastic band and pushed them down. Daniel’s hand was on hers as he followed her motion, helping her remove the offending underwear. His hand abandoned hers to slide slowly and torturously up her inner thigh. He drew her right nipple in his mouth and made gently circling motions with his tongue, while at the same time his fingers found her most intimate place. Aimee thought she was going to burst. She opened her legs to him, and met him with her hips.

“Daniel,” she panted as his relentless, torturous exploration continued. “Please . . .”

Daniel moved on top of her again, and entered her slowly. Aimee couldn’t take the slow sweet torture any longer. She was standing on the edge of something she couldn’t define, and she wanted to let herself fall.

She wrapped her legs around his waist to draw him fully inside her. She gasped at the sensation of him filling her.  Her body began to convulse almost instantly, and she fell over the edge as her senses exploded in a million brilliant stars.

Daniel moved slowly and rhythmically within her, his momentum building until he plunged deeply inside her. She arched her hips to meet each one of his thrusts. His mouth crushed down on hers when she felt his body shudder and he spent himself inside her.

“I have never known a woman like you.” Daniel lay on top of her, breathing hard, and nuzzled her neck. Her hands moved lazily up and down his sweat-dampened back, her eyes glazed over in wonder at what had just happened.

“I’ve never . . . you’re amazing,” she whispered in awe.

Daniel was still inside her, and Aimee kept her legs wrapped tightly around his middle, loving the feel of him there. When she moved her hip slightly, Daniel growled and in one quick movement rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him.

She let out a playful cry, then sat up and straddled him, and moved seductively on top of him. To her surprised delight, he grew hard again inside her. He reached up and cupped both her breasts and squeezed and kneaded gently, as his hips began to thrust upward. She arched her back, leaning into his hands as she rode him thrust for thrust. Soon, she could feel the waves of another orgasm overtake her as Daniel took her over the edge once more.

Aimee collapsed on top of him.

“You are the most incredible man.” She rolled off and snuggled herself against him, her head resting on his chest. As impossible as it seemed, she shuddered with renewed desire when she inhaled deeply of his woodsy scent that mingled with the musky odor of their lovemaking. Daniel glanced down at her, a thoroughly satisfied grin on his face.

“I am not good with words, but you make my heart sing, Aimee.” He kissed her forehead, and caressed her face.  “I swore I would never have feelings like this for a white woman, but I was lost to you the moment I first saw you.”

“Did you feel this way about . . . her?” she asked. This was probably not a good time to bring up the woman who hurt him, but the words were out before she could hold them back.

His body tensed.

“I thought I was in love with her,” he finally said after a prolonged silence. “I was young and foolish. I had never been further east than St. Louis when my father took me to Philadelphia to meet his sister. It was a world I didn’t even know existed. I was there for almost a year when I first met Emma.” He smiled warmly at her and kissed her forehead repeatedly.

“Emma,” she repeated the name.

“She was the daughter of one of the wealthier merchants in the city. I had never seen a more beautiful woman, but then my contact with white women was very limited.” Daniel gave a short laugh. His eyes roamed over her face, and his hand moved to gently caress her shoulder and arm. “And now I found you. Emma hasn’t entered my thoughts in weeks. My mind is consumed only by you. I don’t even have words to describe what I feel for you.” She raised her eyes to gaze into his. The warm glow she saw told her everything she needed to know, even without the words.

“I wish to tell you about her.” Daniel held her gaze.

She shook her head slowly. “You don’t have to do that.” Her hand came up to touch his face. He covered it with his own.

“Yes, I do. I want you to know. I have never spoken to anyone about it. My father and Elk Runner know I thought myself in love and nothing came of it. They don’t know the reason.”

Aimee waited patiently while Daniel seemed to gather his thoughts.

“We met through a mutual acquaintance at a social gathering. She seemed as smitten with me as I was with her, and I called on her a few times. As I said, I had no experience in the ways of eastern ladies, and I chose to turn a blind eye to her delicate and frail ways. Growing up, my father has often told me of the gentle nature of a white woman raised in the city, and warned me not to fall in love with one unless I planned to abandon my life in the mountains. He blames himself for my mother’s death because he brought her here, but that’s another story altogether.” He took a deep breath.

I already know that story.

Aimee ran her hand down his jaw and along his neck, curling some strands of his hair around her fingers.

He continued. “I didn’t listen to his advice. I was so taken with Emma, I became blind to everything else. I had visions of bringing her here, about how she would fall in love with the mountains.” He scoffed. “I never saw that she couldn’t stand to even get her shoes dusty. One day, I went to her home unannounced. A servant told me that she had gone to the stables. When I sought her out, she was there . . .” Daniel’s voice hardened. His muscles tightened.

Aimee caressed his shoulder and kissed his chest. His fingers entwined in her hair as he held her tightly to him. “I called her name when I didn’t see her at first. At the far end of the barn, in one of the empty horse stalls I saw her, clutching her dress to her body. She was obviously quite surprised to see me.” Daniel let out another short disgusted laugh. “She asked me what I was doing here. That’s when I saw him. William . . . something, I don’t even recall his last name. By the looks of him he had just gotten dressed himself. I was overcome with rage, and ready to lunge at him, when she yelled at me to stop.

“I asked her how she could do such a thing, that I thought she loved me. She just laughed at me. She told me she could never love a heathen, that I was nothing but a filthy savage. She mocked me by saying she was merely using me to get the attention of William, and even thanked me that her plan had obviously worked. She started to scream. She called for help, yelling to anyone who would hear that I had attacked her. That I had . . . attacked her and intended to rape her, and William came to her rescue.”

“Daniel,” Aimee gasped. The savage look on his face reminded her of that first day, when he had looked at her with such hatred. Anger welled up inside her, at the thought of it. She wanted to give that little twit a piece of her mind.

“Wasn’t it obvious what really happened?” she asked. It was a simple matter to resolve, she reasoned.
Yes, but not in this time
. There was no such thing as DNA testing and forensic evidence.