Silken Savage (16 page)

Tanya answered the only way she could. “Panther is not an animal like Ugly Otter. I do not know his plans, but if he beds you, it will not be with violence and pain.”

Now it was Melissa’s turn to be astounded. “Doesn’t it bother you, Tanya? What has happened to you?”

“I am Cheyenne. Whether it bothers me or not is not the issue. Panther is my husband. I bow to his wishes and look to his comforts.” Then she smiled. “I really think you are worried about something that may not come to pass. Let’s concentrate on making you well and comfortable. Your help will be welcome to me, especially as I become more ungainly. We can make life easier for each other.”

A timid smile trembled over Melissa’s lips, the first smile Tanya had seen from her since that fateful day they were captured. “I haven’t thanked you, Tanya. No matter what comes, nothing can be as bad as belonging to Ugly Otter and his wife!”

Melissa became a part of their lives. Her bruises began to heal, her skin and hair were clean and more healthy, and the swelling in her face was disappearing. True to her word, Tanya had made sure she had nourishing food, clean and mended clothes, and shelter. On Melissa’s part, she worked endlessly to relieve Tanya of her work load, but she was ever-cautious around Panther; always wary.

“It distresses me to see her cringe each time I enter my own lodge,” Panther complained. “She is a bundle of nerves.”

“These things take time,” Tanya counseled. “Once she sees you are not going to ravish her or beat her senseless, she will calm down.”

“You may assure her I will not drag her off to my bed,” Panther said with a grin at Tanya. “She is much too skinny, and I am much too busy trying to keep my new bride satisfied.”

“Melissa was once very pretty. With proper food and care, she will be again. Perhaps you may yet find her appealing,” Tanya hinted.

“Perhaps,” he mused without enthusiasm, “but you forget I saw her that first day. For many minutes we gazed upon all of you bathing in the river, and of all, I chose you for my own. If I had wanted Melissa, I would have chosen her then.”

“I’m sorry to be so silly,” Tanya explained. “I just don’t like the thought of you bedding anyone else.”

“As long as you give me no reason to, you have nothing to worry over.”

“What about when I am heavy and awkward with your child? Will I not look ugly and misshapen to you?”

“My poor Little Wildcat, when you are heavy with my child, you will still be beautiful, and very special to me because you nurture our child inside you. Do you think me so weak that I cannot control the urges of my own body for a few weeks?”

“Forgive me, Panther. I do not mean to discredit you. I am being a foolish female.”

“Your worries are natural and normal to your state, I suppose.” He moved to draw her closer to him. “Just remember this. You are the woman of my heart, the light of my life.”

Matters came to a head a few days later. Panther was preparing for a hunt, and asked Melissa to fetch his quiver from inside the tipi. In her hurry from the lodge, Melissa tripped. The quiver fell to the ground, scattering arrows in every direction. Expecting a violent reaction, Melissa immediately began to quake. She threw herself on the ground at Panther's feet, clutching her arms over her head in a protective gesture and began to wail.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it! It won’t happen again! Please don’t beat me! Please don’t beat me! Please! Please don’t!”

Tanya and Panther exchanged dismayed looks over her pathetic figure. As gently as he would a child, Panther drew her to her feet. Her eyes were wild with fear.

“Melissa! Melissa!” It took him several seconds to gain her attention. “It was an accident. No one blames you. No one is going to beat you.”

Melissa’s eyes flew from Panther’s face to Tanya’s for confirmation of his words.

“If it were deliberate, or done in spite, I would, indeed, beat you. Have no doubt of it. But as long as you try to please me; as long as you are respectful and obey my commands and those of your mistress quickly and willingly, you will not be ill-treated. You will not be punished for something you could not prevent.”

Though still wary, Melissa calmed visibly.

Panther’s voice was quiet and gentle. “Go now and collect my arrows, and try not to damage any of the feathers.”

Melissa gathered all her courage to speak to him. “Are you really not angry?”

Panther smiled ruefully. “I am not overly pleased that my arrows took a beating, but I am not angry, Melissa.” At her wondering look, he added, “With both you and Wildcat becoming clumsier by the day, I can see my patience will be tried to the limit in the coming months. Putting up with one pregnant female is trying enough, but two?”

His smile widened as he included both women in his teasing gaze. “War and raids will seem like child’s play in comparison.”

Melissa’s smile lit up her face, rewarding Tanya and Panther for their tolerance. “Your husband is a just man,” she told Tanya as she retrieved the scattered arrows. “You are a lucky woman.”

“So I am,” Tanya readily agreed.

Another adjustment to be made by the women was the idea of having a listening audience while Tanya and Panther made love. Tanya realized this was not unusual in tipis throughout the camp, and once she finally accepted it and overcame her embarrassment, she was able to relax and forget Melissa’s presence.

“It’s all in how you are raised and what you get used to, I guess,” she thought.

Melissa, too, was embarrassed at first. Her natural instinct, after her brutal experiences with Ugly Otter, was to cringe in sympathy for her friend, until she at last realized that the moans and sighs reaching her ears were those of passion, not pain. She struggled to understand how anyone could find pleasure in the act. She, herself, would have been happy if no man ever touched her again, but if Tanya enjoyed it that was her business and Panther’s.

The cougar cubs added another element of excite-

ment to their lives. Never still a minute, the gamboling kittens were constantly into mischief. They playfully attacked anything that moved, especially bare feet, and adored anything with feathers or fringe. Tanya and Melissa were very careful to keep all clothing hung out of their reach, but not before the young cats had already demolished a fringed skirt of Tanya’s and ‘killed’ one of Panther’s feathered headbands.

Their favorite treat was honey, and this pouch had to be carefully guarded from the little darlings, who had a definite sweet tooth. They also showed a preference for Panther’s tobacco and developed a taste for coffee. More than once Tanya had reached for her cup to find one of them had emptied it ahead of her. The women had to be very careful not to leave the stewpot unattended or an animal half-skinned.

After the second night in a row of being awakened by Tanya’s hysterical gi
gg
ling as one or the other of the cubs licked her ticklish bare feet, Panther decided they must be properly trained. Thereafter, Tanya and Panther would go out together, each with a cub on a leash, and Panther taught Tanya how to gently but firmly make them obey. In due time, once they had learned how to conduct themselves properly around the camp, they would be free to roam at will. They were smart little devils, and Panther ventured a guess that before too long they would learn what was acceptable and what was not.

Tanya, on a whimsical note, decided to name them Kit and Kat, explaining to Panther the English meaning of ‘kitty cat.’ The male, Kat, took an unmistakable shine to Panther, while Kit, the smaller she-kitten, obviously preferred Tanya. Both cubs learned to obey either their master or mistress, but both had a decided preference for one.

Tanya loved them, and though Panther would not come out and admit it, so did he. Melissa liked them, laughing over their antics, but she wasn’t honestly crazy over them. Undoubtedly, they were adorable, soft and cuddly, with brown splotches in their tawny fur and black-ringed tails. Panther had said they would lose the spots and rings at about six months, but Tanya thought they were cute as they were. Cute or not, they were a trial at times, and Tanya began to doubt they would ever outgrow the kitten stage.

All in all, Tanya’s life had changed drastically, and she was more contented than she’d ever dreamed she could be. Life with Panther was a constant joy, and she was forever learning from him. Here in the mountains, far from home and friends, she had found a new life. She had a new mother and father, the respect of the tribe, good friends, Melissa to help her, a baby on the way, and Panther — above all, Panther.

WINTER CAME with a vengeance that year, but not before the Cheyenne warriors had launched several successful raids against the Utes, and a couple against white settlements. Tanya, in the company of the other wives, anxiously awaited her husband’s safe return from each of these ventures. As October passed into November, and then December, her anxieties grew in direct proportion to her added girth.

Each time Panther set out, Tanya, like a dutiful wife, brought him his horse. She packed food and blankets, and stood by as he mounted his stallion. Then she quietly handed him his weapons and watched stoically as he rode from sight.

Before each parting, in the privacy of their tipi, Panther bid her farewell, kissed her and held her close to his heart. In public, they parted proudly and serenely, and after each departure Tanya would seclude herself in their lodge and weep sad tears and pray for his safety.

When the braves returned, there was always great rejoicing, and throughout the raids only one warrior was killed and four others slightly wounded. It was a season of triumph and honor for the Cheyenne.

Returning from one of their raids in December, Panther inadvertently sparked Tanya’s temper. They had been gone a week longer than expected, and Tanya’s nerves were frayed from the wait and the worry. As soon as the scouts had announced spotting the returning war party, Tanya rushed out to gather with the others to greet them.

Panther, on his great black stallion, and Winter Bear, were in the lead. In her joy at seeing her husband returning unharmed, Tanya did not at once notice anything different, but as he drew closer, the welcoming smile froze on her face. Her golden eyes flamed as she saw two pale, slender arms encircling Panther’s waist.

When they reached the outskirts of the village, Panther shoved his captive from his horse and led her at the end of a thong to the center of the encampment, as did the others who had brought captives. All along their path, Cheyenne had gathered to taunt the captives, in the same manner as they had when Tanya had first arrived.

Tanya stood rooted in her place just outside Black Kettle’s lodge. Her mind refused to believe what she was seeing, and her heart thudded heavily in her chest. As they neared, her eyes were drawn to the white girl Panther was leading. Even as tired and dirty as she was, her long brown hair in tangles about her shoulders, Tanya recognized her beauty. The girl raised her head and Tanya beheld the doleful hazel eyes and the clear ivory skin. She was of average height, but with a slim, well-rounded figure that immediately made Tanya feel fat and ungainly.

Only pride kept Tanya from fleeing as Panther rode directly to her and tossed the end of the leash into her hands. Tanya’s nostrils flared in anger, and she knew she dared not look at Panther just yet, though she was sure her emotions did not register on her face. Without a word, she led the girl to where the women were herding the other captives, Ute and white alike. Then she busied herself caring for Panther’s horse, and while he and the others reported to Black Kettle, she set about preparing his meal.

By this time a bleak numbness had settled like a huge rock in her chest. Unshed tears burned behind her eyes as she dressed in a soft doeskin skirt and top, adding her necklaces and armbands in preparation for the celebration to come. Her fingers fumbled endlessly as she rebraided her tawny hair, and her hands shook as she held them across her expanding stomach, trying to stop the trembling within.

It was the closest Tanya ever came to resenting her unborn child. Even as she sought to soothe the babe, she wondered if her burgeoning figure was becoming distasteful to Panther. Was this why he had come back with another woman?

Melissa gazed at Tanya with large, questioning eyes, wanting to comfort her friend. Tanya caught Melissa’s sad look, and cringed at the sympathy she saw there. It was this that saved her from self-pity and held her pride intact. Resolutely, Tanya squared her shoulders, schooled her features into placid lines, and prepared Panther’s paints and clothing.

Tanya’s back was turned, but she felt his presence as soon as he entered the tipi. She felt his eyes upon her as she ladled his dinner into his bowl and placed it near the fire. Gritting her teeth, she sat back and stared into the flames, refusing to look at him.

For long minutes Panther stood there. Finally he spoke, softly, but with a ring of underlying steel to his voice. “You have not greeted me, Wildcat.”

With effort, she answered cooly, “Welcome, husband. Your meal is ready if you wish to eat.” Still she did not face him. Instead, she picked up a blanket she was sewing for the baby and started to work on it.

Panther sat and took up his bowl. “Have you tended to Shadow?”

“Your horse has been cared for, Panther. Your clothing and paints are laid out for you.” Tanya stared blindly at the material in her hands. As the silence lengthened, she asked, “Is there something else you wish me to do for you?”

“Yes,” came the immediate, terse reply. “I wish you to look at me when I speak to you.”

It was an order, one which she knew she must obey, but she could not mask the anger and hurt as her eyes met his.

Panther held her gaze with his own, his eyes cold and forbidding. “Why do your eyes shoot flaming arrows at me, Wildcat? Your manner is cold, but your eyes are hot with anger. Explain yourself to me.”

Her chin went up in defiance. “First tell me this, Panther. Do my enlarging breasts and stomach repel you? Am I so ugly and fat that you no longer feel desire for me? Is this why you come dragging another woman home?” Her voice dripped venom.