Shadow of My Heart (Shadow-Walker Tribe Series) (15 page)

“No, I never thought to ask,” Raven said. “Quiet Thunder would know. He does all the training. Maybe I should ask him.”

“Leave it alone for now. You have a wedding to get to. General Holland wants to thank you for uncovering Kellen. Don’t be surprised if he asks to meet with you in private.”

“Can you keep him away? I don’t want to deal with that today. Today is about Cara.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Joe said. “David and his wife are coming with him. Didn’t you room with him in college?”

“Just one year. But that’s how I met the general. Thanks for letting me use your apartment to dress. Cara and the girls have taken over mine. They should be there by the time we get back.”

“Well, let’s go then. Red Hawk, come on. We’re heading back,” Joe yelled, waving at Derek.

“On my way, Running Bear.”

Raven, Joe, and Derek Shadow-walked into Joe’s apartment. Derek grabbed a towel and headed for the door.

“Derek, you’re dripping all over the floor,” Joe complained.

“Sorry, I forgot my towel. I’ll see you guys later.”

“Don’t forget to get the horse ready and escort Cara downstairs,” Raven said, as Derek reached for the doorknob.

“I’m on it, Bro. No worries,” Derek said, winking as he shut the door behind him.

Joe glanced at Raven and laughed. “Stop gritting your teeth. Derek won’t let you down.”

“I know he won’t,” Raven said. “I wish he would take things seriously.”

“He does. He just doesn’t show it like you do. You need to stop considering him your little brother and see him for the man he has become.”

“You are a good friend to both of us, Joe. Thank you,” Raven said, walking over to the window and looking down at the catering trucks lined up below.

“Hey, let’s get ready for your wedding.”

“Joe, come here,” Raven said, when he caught sight of a platinum-blond-haired women sticking a baseball cap on and then tucking her hair in. “Does she look familiar to you? It kind of looks like that woman from accounting, Amanda Patterson.”

Joe walked over and looked down, but the woman had gone back behind one of the trucks and was no longer visible. “It couldn’t possibly be Amanda. Her court date is any day now. She wasn’t released on bail.”

“I could have sworn that was her.”

“You’re four stories up, my friend. Come on, you can have the shower first,” Joe said, turning away.

Chapter Fourteen

Cara and Katherine Shadow-walked into Raven’s apartment followed closely by Gwen and Lindy.

“See, you’re getting the hang of it,” Cara said. She’d just given Katherine her first lesson in Shadow-walking.

By the time Derek and Katherine get together, Cara thought, Katherine would be well versed in the Shadow Dimension. The women didn’t need to wait to learn from the men. Quiet Thunder had assured Cara that before the tribe got so small, women taught each other a lot of things. Cara hoped to continue that tradition.

If Raven had taught her Shadow-walking before the attack, she would have escaped her captors. Of course, at the time if Raven had started talking about different dimensions, she might have thought he was crazy. Katherine had known for years about the men in the office who appeared and disappeared. So she was taking the new experience in stride.

“Katherine, just don’t try it without a spotter for a while,” Cara said. “Raven says you can get lost in Shadow and even die.”

“I’ll be careful. Thanks for the lesson.”

“You’re a member of the tribe now. We need to stick together,” Cara said.

There was a knock at the door, and Lindy ran to answer it. When she opened the door wide, Cara couldn’t believe there were so many people lined up in the hall. She was amazed to see the apartment start to fill with people. She was introduced to the hairdresser, the assistant hairdresser, the shampoo specialist, the facial artist, the make-up artist, two manicurists and a nail polish artist. There was even someone to give the young women a massage. Everyone seemed to be talking at once, but the hairdresser was in charge.

“When Raven does something, he does it big,” Gwen said, smiling.

“I’ll go get your dress from your office,” Lindy said, slipping out the door.

“Go ahead, Cara. Start with the massage, and the rest of us will be right behind you,” Gwen said, motioning Cara forward.

Cara hesitated a moment. She’d never visited a spa. This must be what it was like. Leave it to Raven to provide the experience. Smiling, she decided to enjoy the moment. You got married only once.

Several hours later, a knock at the door prompted Cara to glance at her watch. The wedding was only twenty minutes away. She was running behind schedule. Sighing, she leaned down to tie the laces on her moccasin boots, before standing and picking up the eagle feather Derek had lent her.

“Here, let me,” Derek’s voice said from behind her. He tied the feather to some of the fringe on the headband. “You look beautiful, little sister,” he said, kissing her cheek. “You all look beautiful,” he said, looking at his foster sisters and Katherine as she came out of the bedroom in her dress.

“We’re running a little behind schedule,” Cara confessed.

“Not to worry. I know Raven isn’t going anywhere,” Derek said. “He has his hands full with the guests. But we do need to get a move on. I think the photographer wanted to take a couple of shots before the start of the ceremony.”

“Is everyone ready,” Gwen asked. “Did you remember the garter?”

“Yes, I have it,” Cara said, patting her thigh.

“Well, let’s go then, ladies. We still have to pick up the horse,” Derek said.

Cara had forgotten that part of the ceremony. She hurried over to the flower arrangements on the table and picked up the bouquet of flowers she was supposed to carry. Derek took her arm while the others picked up their bouquets.

“Breathe, Cara. Everything is under control,” Derek said, leading her down to the elevators. Cara tried to calm her breathing, but she was so excited and nervous. She had been fussed over all morning. All she wanted to do was escape somewhere with Raven so they could be alone.

As if reading her mind, Derek patted her arm. Maybe he
was
reading her mind, if he could get through the chaos. They came out of the elevator on the ground floor, but instead of heading toward the main entrance, Derek turned toward the back of the building.

They exited through a small door near the back corner. Standing tied to a tree was a beautiful white horse with flowers and ribbons fastened in her mane and tail.

“This is Moonbeam. Raven bought her for you. Here, let me help you mount. You’ll need to sit sideways on her back. Hold onto the pommel. We don’t want you sliding off.”

“That would be graceful . . . ,” Cara mumbled as the photographer ran up and started taking pictures.

Derek handed her flowers up to her, then took the reins to lead her around the building to where the audience waited to see the ceremony. Raven was standing under a canvas awning with Quiet Thunder, Joe, and Dr. Rick.

Lindy started down the aisle as the music began, and the audience stood and turned. Then, Gwen and Katherine started down the aisle. Derek continued to pat Cara’s knee as he held the horse steady.

“All right, here we go,” he said, beginning to lead the horse forward.

§

Seeing Cara wearing his mother’s wedding dress took Raven’s breath away. She was gorgeous, and he had missed having her in his arms. He stood in his father’s buckskins and leather shirt, watching as Derek slowly led her forward.

Out of the corner of his eye Raven saw one of the caterers hurrying forward. It was a woman wearing a baseball cap. He turned, knowing something was wrong. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a gun, pointing at Cara.

Raven did some quick calculations in his head and knew he wouldn’t get to Cara in time.

Stepping forward, he yelled, “Amanda, don’t.”

She turned, a sneer of hatred on her face. “You ruined everything,” she yelled at him, now pointing the gun at him. People in the crowd screamed and dove for cover. Derek got Cara off the horse, and then Raven couldn’t see her. Derek had her safely hidden.

Raven glanced around, trying to find a way out. There were no shadows where he was standing in the full sun. He should have stayed under the awning.

“Amanda, you don’t want to do this. Put the gun down,” Raven said, hoping Joe was getting someone from security.

“Oh yes, I do. Derek loved me. But you wouldn’t let him marry me. He told me how you would take his inheritance if he married someone you didn’t approve of. How dare you play God like that? Who do you think you are?”

A shot rang out, and Amanda looked down at her bleeding chest and then at the man who had shot her. She crumpled to the ground. Derek stood to the side, a gun still in his hand. Joe and several security people ran up and surrounded Amanda, taking the gun from her.

Raven walked up to Derek, who still stood frozen, a look of shock on his face. He took the gun from Derek’s hand, before pulling his brother into his arms.

“I couldn’t let her shoot you, Raven. I just couldn’t,” Derek said.

“I know little brother. Thank you, thank you for saving my life.”

 Cara looked up at the general, and then they both watched as Raven hugged Derek. The general had handed Derek the gun, and then kept Cara shielded behind the horse. She slipped from the general’s hold and ran over to Raven, putting her arms around both brothers. They stood like that, the three of them, holding onto life, holding onto each other.

Quiet Thunder walked up to them as Amanda was being carried away. “Come, let us continue with the ceremony. Red Hawk take your place as the best man.”

The three of them pulled apart, all of their eyes a bit teary. Katherine walked up to Cara and handed her the flowers she had dropped on the ground when getting down from the horse.

“I’d like to stand in as matron-of-honor as planned,” she said, her eyes pleading with Derek to look at her, but he kept his head down. Cara reached out and put her arm through Katherine’s.

“Thank you,” Cara said. “I’d like that.”

“Good, come over to the shadows under the awning,” Quiet Thunder directed. “Where else would a Nuni Nagi make his wedding pledge?”

So while Joe and the other security officers tried to calm the crowd, the five of them stood under the awning. Cara and Raven gave their pledges to each other, as Katherine, Derek and Quiet Thunder looked on. When Quiet Thunder said, “You may kiss the bride,” Cara was glad it was finally over. Raven took her into his arms and kissed her tenderly. Life wasn’t always safe. But she was going to hold onto Raven and his family with both hands.

It surprised both of them when the crowd started cheering behind them. All the guests had made their way back to their chairs. Raven and Cara turned to the crowd, holding hands and smiling.

§

Later that evening Raven carried Cara over the threshold of the guest cottage on Isanti, Inc., property. He had been unable to let her out of his sight all evening. Almost losing her that afternoon had rattled him. In contrast, Cara seemed happy and serene. She took everything in stride, smiling and visiting with their guests until they could finally get away. Raven had been tempted several times to just pick her up and Shadow-walk out of there.

Now they were finally alone, and he didn’t know what to say to her. Should he apologize? Beg her forgiveness? One more time he hadn’t kept her safe. Running his fingers through his hair, he realized she had gone into the bathroom, leaving a trail of clothes for him to follow. On the chair next to the bedroom door lay her boots. On the table under the bedroom window lay the headband, and on the bench at the foot of the bed lay his mother’s dress.

He could hear water going into the whirlpool bathtub. Glancing around the room, he noticed the candles on the shelf, the fruit basket on the table, and the negligee lying on the bed. He would bet Gwen and Lindy had something to do with this. There was also a vase of red roses on the nightstand. He should have thought of this, he chided himself.

Moving over to the table, he noticed a stereo and turned on the music, before dimming the lights. Then, he began to undress, laying his clothes next to Cara’s. The ceremonial outfits would have to go back into climate-control storage after cleaning.

He pulled down the covers on the bed and then sprinkled rose petals on the sheets, before walking around the room and lighting the candles. He heard Cara turn off the water and knew that in a few moments she would come into the bedroom.

She opened the door and turned off the light in the bathroom, leaving the bedroom in the soft glow of candlelight. Raven stood at the foot of the bed, waiting for her. As he gazed at her body through the lace of her robe, he could feel his body hardening. She always did that to him, made him want her.

She stood a moment watching him, watching his body want her, before she slipped the robe off her shoulders and let it slide to the floor. Then, they were reaching for each other. Who knew who moved first, only that neither of them could keep apart any longer.

Raven pulled her close, taking her mouth, while her hands wandered over his chest. Every touch he gave was answered by a touch from her until they were both mad with wanting each other. Unable to wait a moment longer, Raven lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed to lie on the rose-petal-covered sheet.

She sighed before reaching for him again. But he wanted to slow down; they were moving too fast. He wanted to savor her, give her so much pleasure she would burn for him.

He took the hands reaching for him and lifted them up to the wrought-iron headboard. He wrapped her hands around one of the rods.

“Hold on for me.”

Cara’s eyes widened, but she nodded her head yes. He lowered himself next to her, knowing she could feel the state of his arousal against her thigh. He kissed her eyelids and nose before kissing her lips, light butterfly kisses that made her lift her head for more. He pulled back, licking her ear and then biting gently.

“Slow down,
tehila.
Let me love you,” he said.

Cara moaned, but she stopped trying to force his hand. He went back to kissing her mouth, licking at her lip before sucking it into his mouth. She was wearing cherry-flavored lip gloss.

He tasted each part of her lips, before dipping his tongue inside her mouth. He teased her tongue by stroking and then pulling back. When her body trembled, he raised his hand to her breast, tweaking one nipple and then the other, while still plundering the depths of her mouth.

Cara thought she was going to die from the pleasure of Raven’s mouth and hands. He played her body like a beautiful concerto. Her breasts ached with need as he teased her. She held onto the headboard for dear life.

Raven took his time savoring her reactions. Her nipples became hard little pebbles under his hands, and he found he needed to taste them. He kissed his way down her neck and chest until he could take a nipple into his mouth. He licked and teased her, before sucking strongly.

Cara arched up off the bed, crying out. Fire raced through her breast and down to her core. She panted, trying to control the waves of pleasure that washed over her. She wanted to grab his head and hold him to her, forcing him to suck harder and deeper. Not being able to touch him only sent her arousal higher.

Raven continued to suck and tease, before biting down gently on her nipple. Cara’s shortened breaths echoed in his ears as he moved to the other side. He wanted to give both peaks equal time.