Warrior's Embrace (27 page)

His foot loosened a stone and sent it
tumbling into the blackness. Black Hawk went very still. He didn’t
want even the tiniest sound to betray his presence at the
tunnel.

He entered the tunnel and hurried toward
Elizabeth’s house.

She was in her bedroom, brushing her
hair.

He watched her for a while in secret. She was
proud and strong, a woman of courage and spirit and fire. She was a
woman a man would never tire of, a woman who would always delight
and surprise a man.

He stole quickly into her room and reached
for her, clamping a hand over her mouth and hauling her against his
body. At first she was stiff and ready to fight, then, when she
realized who it was, she melted against him, leaning her head back
against his chest. He tightened his hold. He needed her, needed her
passion, her wildness, her heady magic. He wanted to disappear in
her and never have to come back to face the realities of a harsh
and thoughtless world.

He turned her in his arms and tipped her face
up with one hand.

“I can never touch you without wanting
you.”

She smiled. “I’m not refusing.”

He searched her eyes, her face.

“Elizabeth, why did you come to the tribal
lands today?”

“How did you know?”

“Susan Mincohouma told me.”

“Why?” Her temper flared. “Does she report
all the doings of the women to you... or does she report
specifically on me?”

“There are no secrets in this battle,
Elizabeth. All my people report to me. I know everything that
happens on Chickasaw lands.”

“This has nothing to do with you, Hawk.” Her
voice softened, and she reached up to caress his face. “This was
not a ploy to see you or to get close to you.” She smiled once
more. “If I want to get close to you, I have better ways of doing
it.”

She inched closer, her body suggesting
another way. Hawk wrestled with temptation.

“Elizabeth.” His fingers bit into her
shoulders. “You have to stay away. I don’t want you involved.”

“Why? You’re involved.”

“Things have been happening this week, bad
things.”

“What?”

“Two of my brothers have found butchered
cattle on their ranches. There would have been some on mine except
for the guard I keep posted. And my sister was run off the road in
her car yesterday.”

“I’m not scared.”

“I know you have courage, Elizabeth. But I’m
a target. This violence is not random. It’s directed at my family,
the people close to me. I won’t have you become a target because of
me.”

“It’s not your choice. I believe in
preservation of history and conservation of natural resources as
much as you do. And I’ve decided to start doing something about
it.” She tilted her chin at a stubborn angle and glared at him.

Hawk knew Elizabeth wouldn’t stop simply
because he asked her to. She was that stubborn—and that brave.
There was only one way to drive her off.

“It won’t work, Elizabeth.” He released her
and stepped back, his voice hard and cold.

“What won’t work?”

“This latest ploy of yours.” She sucked in an
angry breath and flags of color stained her cheeks. “It’s over,
Elizabeth. What we had is over and done with.”

“This is not about sex, Hawk. It’s about
pride and commitment and courage.”

He resisted the urge to touch her. He
couldn’t waver now. Her life depended on it.

“It’s about sex, Elizabeth, raw sex. You
sought me out once at the rally. Remember?”

She clenched her hands into fists and stared
at him.

“We’re alike, Elizabeth. I know you as well
as I know myself. We’re two people ruled by our passions.”

“Speak for yourself, Hawk. I’m in
control.”

“Are you?” He dragged her into his arms and
slammed his mouth down on hers. She sagged against him. Then, as
his tongue plundered her mouth, she heated up.

He kept on kissing her, edging her closer and
closer to the breaking point. Soon there would be no turning back,
for him as well as for Elizabeth. Hawk pushed almost to the point
of no return, then he let her go and stepped back.

“Are you, Elizabeth?” he asked, deliberately
making his voice mocking.

“I ought to slap you.”

It was what he wanted—her anger. He had done
what he’d come to do. But he didn’t feel noble and triumphant; he
felt like a snake crawling on its belly.

“Stay away, Elizabeth. Stay out of my life
and out of my bed.” He had one foot already through the bedroom
door when she called his name.

“Hawk!”

He turned, and there she stood, stripped of
everything except a creamy white bustier, garter belt, stockings,
and high-heel shoes. She moved slowly toward him, illuminated only
by the glow of the bedside lamp and the soft gleam of white silk.
In a languorous movement, she lifted her hair off her head and let
it filter slowly through her fingers until it was settled around
her shoulders.

He closed the space between them in two
strides and pulled her into his arms.

Together they unleashed a storm of passion.
There was anger and frustration and pain and deep, deep longing in
their lovemaking. And there was something else, something so strong
and so beautiful, it could never be destroyed: There was love.

Elizabeth felt it well up inside her as she
and Hawk said good-bye. Tears wet her cheeks and ran down the side
of her throat, but she didn’t make a sound. She concentrated all
her powers on saying good-bye to the man she loved. Her way. This
time Elizabeth McCade was the one saying good-bye, and she would be
the one to walk away.

When their passion was spent, Hawk held her
tightly in his arms without speaking. There was nothing more to be
said. Finally he released her and walked away, back through the
secret passageway that had brought him to Elizabeth. And now it was
taking him away.

Elizabeth sagged against the door, resting
her forehead on the jamb. Tears rained silently down her cheeks.
She made no attempt to brush them away.

In the tunnel, Hawk stood with his head
bowed. Saying good-bye to Elizabeth was one of the hardest things
he had ever done. For the first time in his life he questioned his
priorities. He was a warrior, and he would continue to fight all
the battles that needed to be fought. But the victories would be
hollow. Without Elizabeth, everything in his life would be
hollow.

At last he made his way home. The victory was
not yet his. There was work to do.

o0o

Elizabeth fought hard against depression
after Hawk left. Her disastrous affair with Mark had changed her
life. But her affair with Hawk had not been disastrous; it had been
wonderful. And now it was over. She was determined that
this
time
she would not run away and hide.
This time
she
would get on with her life. And she would get on with her new
causes. There was no way she would let Hawk or any other man tell
her what to do. From now on, she made her own choices, and if those
choices set her on a dangerous path, that was her problem. Not
Hawk’s.

On Monday at work she invited Gladys to
lunch. They went to a small sandwich shop near the bank.

“Thank you for coming, Gladys.”

“Why wouldn’t I, I’d like to know?”

Elizabeth smiled. “You can’t say I’ve been
the friendliest person in the world.”

“No. I can’t say that, but you are one of the
most interesting. You’re a woman of mystery.” Gladys leaned
forward, propping her elbows on the table. “Do you have any idea
how many rumors there are about you floating around the bank... and
how many of the girls on the first floor would give their eyeteeth
to know what we’re talking about today.”

“When we get back, Gladys, you can confirm
the most exotic of the rumors, whatever they are.”

“They say you led a secret life in
Connecticut and that you lead a secret life here in Tombigbee
Bluff.”

“Yes. I turn into a witch on alternate
Tuesdays and a vampire on weekends. “ Elizabeth said with a deadpan
expression.

“You’re a card, Elizabeth.” Gladys laughed
until she wiped tears from her eyes.

“Actually, I’m getting involved in the
Chickasaw resistance.”

“Good Lord. Isn’t that dangerous?”

“I don’t think so. Anyhow, some things are
important enough to take a risk over, and I believe this is one of
them.”

“That leader... Big Hawk...”

“Black Hawk.”

“Lordy, he’s some kind of man. I wouldn’t
mind getting involved in the resistance myself, if I thought he’d
look at me twice.”

Elizabeth squeezed her hands together under
the table. Black Hawk was out of her life. She had to remember
that.

“If you’re serious about helping, I’ll take
you with me tonight. I’m going back to the schoolhouse on the
tribal lands to work. They need all the help they can get. But I
have to warn you, it could be dangerous.”

“Don’t you think I know that? It’s all over
the news.”

“Then you’ll go?”

“Shoot. I can’t tonight. I’ve got a hot date.
But how about the next time? I really would like to help. I’m not
the fluff-head I sometimes pretend to be.”

“Done.” Elizabeth picked up the tab for both
lunches, then turned back to Gladys. “I notice you knitting
sometimes in the lounge. I wonder if you’d teach me.”

“It’s no big deal. I’d be glad to. But why in
the world would you want to learn how to knit?”

“You mean, how will I ever have time,
considering the exciting secret life I lead?” Elizabeth
laughed.

“Something like that.”

“I just feel the need for... a hobby.
Something new in my life.”
Anything,
she thought. Anything
to fill the horrible, lonely hours now that Hawk was gone.

o0o

That night Elizabeth was bent over the
antiquated copying machine at the schoolhouse when she heard hoof
beats. She felt as if an electrical current had passed through her
body.
Black Hawk.
She pressed one hand over her pounding
heart and tried to get herself back under control. Just because
somebody was approaching on a horse didn’t mean it was Black Hawk.
There were bound to be many men who rode horses.

The door burst open, and Elizabeth spun
around. There was Black Hawk, framed in the doorway, looking as
dark and forbidding as a thundercloud. Without a word he strode
directly toward Elizabeth.

“Hello.” She smiled. “Isn’t it a little late
to come calling on a horse?”

“I told you not to come here.”

“As you can see, I don’t take orders.”

His gaze swept the room. “Where are the other
women?”

“They’ve already gone home. It’s late.”

“You stayed here alone?” His voice was like a
clap of thunder.

“Obviously.”

He grabbed her shoulders and hauled her up
against him. A muscle worked in his tight jaw.

“Elizabeth... what am I going to do with
you?”

She tipped her head back and challenged him
with her dark eyes. “I think we’ve already done just about
everything, don’t you?”

He held on to her a moment longer, then let
go. He was still unsmiling, but a spark of humor lit his black
eyes.

“I liked you better when you stayed shut up
in your house with the blinds drawn. At least you were safe.” He
stalked to the other side of the machine, scowling at everything in
sight.

“That’s because you like to be in control,
Hawk. You like to be in charge.” She stalked after him. When she
was even with him, she lifted her chin and put her hands on her
hips. “I won’t be taken charge of. Hawk. You’ve declared a war that
you can’t possibly win.”

“I have not declared war on you,
Elizabeth.”

“Yes, you have. When you came to my basement
issuing ultimatums, you declared war.”

They glared at each other, and the air became
thick with tension. Color rose in Elizabeth’s cheeks, and Hawk’s
breathing became harsh. Suddenly he hauled her to him.

“I wish all my enemies were as sexy as you,
Elizabeth... and as easily vanquished.”

His eyes were blacker than doom as he bent
down and captured her mouth. It was a relentless kiss, a kiss that
allowed no mercy. She fought hard against the feelings that
threatened to swamp her;—passion and need and a love so great she
wondered why it wasn’t written in blazing letters in the dark night
sky. And finally, she could resist no more than she could deny her
own name. With a soft sigh she surrendered.

Hawk’s kiss became tender and so persuasive
that both of them almost buckled to the floor. He slid his hands up
her legs until he reached the top of her stockings. His fingers
burned into her warm flesh.

“Hawk... no.” Elizabeth pushed against him
with all her strength.

Hawk stepped back, tension etched in his face
and every line of his body.

“I’m sorry, Elizabeth. That was
manipulative.”

He hooked a straight-back chair with his foot
and straddled it. “You aren’t going to quit, are you?”

“No.” She went back to the balky machine and
started feeding papers in. “What’s going to happen, Hawk?”

“Ultimately, we will win.”

Elizabeth smiled. “Besides that.”

“The mayor and his board are using the press
to drum up support for the mall. Any time new jobs and additional
tax dollars are mentioned, the public listens. Right now, that
issue is obscuring the real one: The city doesn’t own the land in
question. The Chickasaws do.”

“And the city still won’t sit down with you
and talk.”

“No. They hope time will swing so much
support their way that we’ll give up and walk away.”

There was no sound for a while except the
whirring of the machine as Elizabeth printed copies of her
pamphlet. Suddenly she switched off the machine and whirled to face
Hawk.

“I know a way to
make
them talk to
you,” she said.