Bound by Honor Bound by Love (3 page)

His gaze went to Onawa who had a smile
on her face as she talked with her aunts. Thankfully, he knew she
liked him enough to marry him, and truth be told, he found her more
pleasant than he’d ever found Woape. It might not be a love match
between him and Onawa, but he already knew this marriage would be
better than anything he could have had with Woape.

Onawa glanced in his direction, and he
knew she was ready to go with him. Joining her in telling her
family thank you for the congratulatory wishes, he led the way out
of the lodge. The cold air was a relief after being surrounded by a
large group of people. He glanced at her and tried to gauge her
feelings about tonight. Was she ready for it?

“
It was a nice ceremony,”
he said, unsure of what else to say.

“
Yes, it was.”

He took a deep breath and tried to
determine how much he should tell her. He figured since she married
him, it was alright to open himself to her. Clearing his throat, he
said, “It is good. You and me.” His confession came out stilted,
not at all as smooth as he preferred.

But she didn’t seem to notice his
awkwardness for her face lit up and her smile grew wider. “I think
so, too.”

He smiled in return, still not feeling
as natural as he’d like to be. He was most comfortable with the
chief, discussing what to do for the tribe. Talking to Onawa was
still awkward. He hoped that, in due time, the sensation would pass
and he’d develop a relationship as easy as the one he shared with
the chief.

Once they reached his lodge, his
mother, sister, younger brother, and three aunts came over to
welcome her to the lodge. He hid his irritation. He should’ve
expected them to welcome her. Not only did they like her, but she
was doing them a favor by moving into their lodge.

His family surrounded her to talk
about the beautiful ceremony, so he slipped away from the group. He
pulled back the buffalo hide, entered their bedroom, and placed the
basket beside the bed. She would know where to put her clothes and
other items, so he’d let her do that. But first, they would
consummate their marriage.

He pulled back the blanket. There. Now
that the bed was ready, he could get his bride. His family had
fussed over her long enough, and they could do so again later. He
emerged from his room and headed over to Onawa who was thanking his
sister for the beads she gave her to make the wedding dress. For a
moment, he studied her dress. Undoubtedly, she spent a lot of time
on it. He’d have to be careful when he took it off. He wouldn’t let
his impatience to see her naked jeopardize the integrity of the
outfit.

When he reached Onawa’s side, his hand
went to the small of her back. She looked over at him, and he
turned his attention to those surrounding them. “Onawa has to put
her things away.”

His mother nodded, and the group
dispersed. Glad to finally be alone with his wife, he led her to
their room. He pushed aside the animal hide that served as the door
so she could enter first. After he followed her in, he secured the
hide so they had their privacy. The space was darker than he
preferred, and he considered lighting a candle and placing it on
her basket but decided it wasn’t worth going back out to his family
and risk further delay.

Taking a deep breath to restrain his
excitement so he wouldn’t seem too eager, he asked, “Would you like
help out of your dress?”

With a shy smile, she said, “All I
need to do is pull it over my head.”

He nodded. She was probably better off
undressing herself, but as her husband, it was his duty to remove
the beads from her hair. To his surprise, his hands trembled
through the whole process, and for the life of him, he couldn’t
stop it. He’d been anxious for this moment, and now that it was
here, he felt as if he was going to mess it up. Finally, he managed
to get all of the beads out of her hair and put them on the small
table near the bed.

While she took off her dress, he
removed his clothing. He tried not to stare, but he was far too
excited to find out what she looked like naked. He couldn’t divert
his attention from her if his life depended on it. In his
eagerness, he tripped on his deerskin leggings.

As he fell on the bed, she tossed her
dress aside and went over to him. “Are you alright?”

He became aware of her hands, one on
his shoulder and the other on his chest. A spark shot straight
through him at her touch, and part of it stemmed from the fact that
it’d been a long time since anyone touched him, at least in a
manner which conveyed concern or caring for him.

“
I’m fine,” he assured her,
glad the dim room hid the fact that his response to her was so
quick, he didn’t have time to suppress it.

He knew the way his face softened
revealed how much she meant to him. He’d trained himself to hide
his emotions since it wasn’t good for a chief to let his feelings
dictate his decisions. If someone knew they could sway his opinion,
he’d be vulnerable, and if there was something he didn’t want to
be, it was vulnerable.

Clearing his throat to steady his
voice, he said, “I tripped. It was nothing.”

With a soft giggle, she let go of him
but remained close to him on the bed so that he was acutely aware
of her. “At least you tripped where no one can see. I once tripped
in front of my age-grade society and pulled down a sacred robe so
that it fell into the fire. I’d never been so embarrassed, and I
spent the next two months working to replace the robe.”

“
Why didn’t I hear of
this?” he asked, surprised that she could have a sense of humor
about something that would have horrified him if he’d been the one
who tripped.

“
The girls promised to keep
it a secret.”

“
That was nice of
them.”

“
Yes, it was. I was very
lucky they were understanding. Your sister was one of them, and
after that, we became good friends.”

He nodded. He didn’t know how they
became friends, and it never occurred to him to ask. Now he wished
he had and thought to ask more about her friendship with his
sister. But in the next moment, she shifted and her thigh brushed
his, and he decided it was time to learn about her in a more
physical sense. There was plenty of time to learn more about the
other things later.

He removed the rest of his clothes and
turned his attention back to her. She was still sitting next to
him, her body barely touching his, but even so, his pulse raced in
anticipation. Knowing it was up to him to make the first move, he
took a deep breath before he leaned forward to kiss her.
Considering he hadn’t kissed anyone before tonight, he wasn’t sure
if he was doing a good job or not. But he became acutely aware of
the way his body was reacting to her, and the need to continue what
he started prompted him to kiss her again.

She didn’t seem to mind his kisses
since she responded to him. And that was good. He wanted her to
respond to him because it meant she wanted to be with him,
something he’d never dare tell her but something he needed to know.
Pulling her closer to him with one hand, he cupped the side of her
face with his other hand and deepened the kiss. His lips parted and
he ran his tongue along her lower lip. She opened her mouth to him,
and he tentatively brushed her tongue with his. He’d heard of these
types of intimate kisses when he overheard some of the other men
talking and decided it was just as good as they said. And if this
type of activity with a woman was this wonderful, he could only
imagine how much better being inside her would be.

He pulled her into his arms and took
note of how nice her breasts felt pressed against his chest. Nice?
It was more than nice. He loved it. Unable to resist feeling them,
he brought his hand to one of them and cupped it in his hand. She
let out a soft sigh that he almost missed, but it let him know she
enjoyed it—and that made it easier for him to continue.

His lips left hers and traveled from
her mouth to her cheek and then to her neck. She didn’t seem to
mind this either. In fact, she pressed her hands on his back and
pulled him closer to her. That was good, too. He wasn’t imagining
she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

Encouraged, he further explored the
breast in his hand. She was soft and full, and when his thumb
brushed her nipple, he noticed the way it hardened for him. This
only served to arouse him even more. Quickly overcoming his
inhibitions, he gently urged her to lie back on the bed and settled
next to her. She was absolutely wonderful. Her taste, her smell,
her skin, and especially the way she responded to him all beckoned
for him to stop worrying about how she might perceive him and just
to be who he was. And right now, he was probably the most excited
man on the Earth.

Groaning, he ended the kiss and
brought his mouth to her nipple, eager to explore this part of her
with his tongue. She shifted next to him and arched her back so
that he could better explore her. He kissed the hardened nipple and
brushed it with his tongue while he continued to caress the rest of
her breast. She massaged his biceps, a silent message to keep
going. So he went to her other breast and did the same thing to
it.

Everything about her was so completely
wonderful. Of all the people in the tribe, she was one of the very
few who seemed to genuinely like him. With her, he sensed no
pretense—nothing to indicate that she was being nice to him because
of his position in the tribe. No, with her, it was real. And now
she was letting him be with her in a way that no one else had. The
honor wasn’t lost to him.

He lifted his head from her breast and
left a row of kisses up her chest, up her neck and finally back to
her lips. The urgency in his kiss surprised him, but he wasn’t able
to stop the passion swirling around him anymore than he could stop
the stars from shining at night. The desire to be with her was
overpowering, something he never experienced but desperately
wanted.

His breathing raspy, he whispered,
“Onawa, I need you. You complete me.”

Then, wanting to learn more of her
body, he lowered his head back down to her breasts. She moaned
beneath him and squeezed his shoulders. With one hand, he traced
the curve of her hip and then further down to the patch of curls
between her legs. His body ached with need as he brought his
fingers to her entrance, his touch barely a whisper against her
skin. She gasped and shifted her hips so that two of his fingers
dipped into the moist folds of her flesh. Intrigued by her warmth,
he inserted them fully into her and was rewarded with a soft cry of
pleasure that escaped her lips.

“
You like this?” he
whispered, needing to hear her say it, to make sure he understood
her right.

“
Yes,” she murmured and
shifted her hips again, this time pulling away from his fingers
before she took them back fully into her.

This had to be, without a doubt, the
most exciting thing that’d ever happened to him. Pulse racing, he
stroked her core, memorizing how she felt as she clenched around
him in an effort to bring him deeper into her. As she continued
moving her hips in a manner that not only indicated her mounting
pleasure but proved to further arouse him, she arched her back.
Lowering his head back to her breast, he took her nipple in his
mouth and gently sucked on it, aware that her body was moving
faster than moments before.

Intrigued, he continued his
ministrations, wondering if it’d lead to something he’d heard
discussed when others didn’t realize he was nearby. Not that
eavesdropping had been something he intended, but the subject
matter piqued his interest so he lingered around. Testing one of
the things he’d heard, he brought his thumb to her triangle of
curls and sought the sensitive nub that was supposed to bring a
woman to the peak of pleasure if rubbed long enough. He fumbled
around for a bit, surprised it was so hard to find, but when Owana
gave a gasp of pleasure, he knew he’d found it. As he continued to
rub her, he took note of her moans and the way she rocked her hips
in impatience as she strived for her climax. And suddenly, she
stilled and gave a muffled cry of pleasure as her flesh squeezed
his fingers. Lifting his head from her breast, he tried to see her
more clearly in the dim light, to see what she looked like when she
was at the peak of pleasure, but he could only see her silhouette.
Perhaps next time he might be with her this way when there was
ample light so he could fully enjoy the way she looked.

When her body relaxed, he shifted so
that he was above her. His heart raced with excitement as he
entered her. Her flesh welcomed him with slight resistance. He
waited for a moment. “Onawa?” he whispered, his body straining with
the need to move inside her.

“
Yes,” she murmured and
brought her legs around his waist. She shifted until he was deeper
inside her. “Citlali,” she added, her voice like a caress, assuring
him that she was fine.

He kissed her as she stroked his back.
When his lips left hers, he proceeded to make love to her. Never
before had he experienced something so wonderful. Her flesh clasped
him and pulled him further into her. He let out a soft moan, trying
to move slowly so he could savor the moment.

She moved with him, her hips working
in unison with his as her flesh continued to squeeze him. His body
wasn’t as patient as he’d prefer, and soon he was thrusting faster.
Then his body grew tense and he knew the end was near. Murmuring
her name, he found his release and stilled above her. Waves of
pleasure crashed over him and he moaned. After the peak subsided,
he collapsed on top of her, fully satisfied and feeling closer to
her than he’d ever felt to anyone in his entire life.