Wild Lilly (18 page)

“Excuse me?” Lilly gaped at him, her heart beating fast.

“Do you think I’m blind, Lilly? Do you think I didn’t see you throw yourself at Sleeping Bear?” Paul jammed his hands into his pockets. “To think I trusted you, but you never cared about me. All you wanted was to use me as part of your little adventure out west. I should have known you were no different than those bitches back east.”

Lilly stumbled from the anger in his words. “How dare you call me that?” She took a step toward him, her hands curled into fists and shaking with the effort of not hitting him. “I didn’t throw myself at anyone! What is wrong with you, Paul?” She tried to grab his arm, but he shook her off and stepped back.

“Don’t touch me. I saw him kissing your neck before you entered the teepee and then you threw yourself at him.”

“I did no such thing! You were the one with the woman snuggling on your lap, but you accuse me of letting a stranger take liberties. This is rich, coming from the man whose mistress threatened my life. Or is this really about something else?” Lilly regretted the words before she even finished saying them, but she wanted Paul to hurt as much as he was hurting her. “Is the real reason you’re mad because I gave the land to someone else? That you didn’t get it?”

Paul’s face rocked back as if she’d slapped him. “How dare you?”

“No, how dare you! Don’t you ever speak to me again, Paul McGregor. I see how subject and fleeting your ideas of love and faith are. I will never trust you again.” His face grew tight and pale with each word and she hoped he was hurting as much as she was. “You’re a cold-hearted bastard. I hope you live a long life and regret this day every second of it.”

Lilly ran to the fire, where Corina wrapped her in a hug and led her back to the teepee.

“I don’t know what happened, but a heart as kind and generous as yours deserves better. The nerve of that man, flaunting Summer Storm in front of you like that.” Corina ran a soothing hand down her back. “For what it’s worth, what you just did in there was one of the most honorable things I’ve ever seen. Don’t let him take that away from you.”

Lilly continued to sob as her heart broke, unable to think past the pain. She fell asleep wrapped in a soft buffalo skin blanket, while Corina sang Irish lullabies and stroked her head.

***

Paul’s head jerked at the sound of footsteps, hoping it was Lilly. Instead, he saw Sleeping Bear coming at him with a thunderous expression on his face. Good. That was just the person Paul wanted to pound into the dirt.

The brave started to open his mouth, and Paul swung at him. To his great surprise, Sleeping Bear caught his punch and twisted his arm behind his back. He grunted in pain.

“Why did you make her cry?”

“I saw you kissing her before you came into the tent,” he growled in a low and furious voice as he struggled against the bigger man.

“You saw nothing.” Sleeping Bear emphasized his words by jerking his arm into an even more uncomfortable angle. “You are a worthless man who does not deserve the love of such a woman. It’s pathetic how little trust you have in her.” Sleeping Bear shoved him away. “I was going to respect your claim on her heart, but if you have this little respect for her, you deserve to lose her.”

Paul rubbed his sore shoulder. “Lies! How is kissing her behind my back respecting my claim? You seduced that land out of her.”

Sleeping Bear considered him, crossing his muscled arms over his chest. “I did not kiss her. I gave her words of encouragement before she did a selfless act to help my people. Funny how the land is more important to you than the woman.”

Lunging at Sleeping Bear again, Paul found himself in the dirt glaring up at the big Comanche. If he weren’t so furious, he’d have been impressed at the man’s fighting skills.

He slumped as a new ache was added to his bruised heart. He was so sure of what he’d seen. How could he have been wrong? Summer Storm said that Lilly and Sleeping Bear went off by themselves today for a long time. What else could they have been doing?

Sleeping Bear continued, “I will kiss Lilly. And when I do, I want you to know it’s because of your own actions.”

Paul lurched to his feet to go after Sleeping Bear again, but the elders began to come out of the council teepee. Many sets of dark eyes sized him up.

Hands jammed into his pockets, he stomped back to his teepee. Lying back on his buffalo skin, he stared at the smoke hole and replayed the confusion and hurt on Lilly’s face, torturing himself with her final words of dismissal.

All of his plans and hard work were gone because of his stupid temper. Somehow, he needed to make it right.

Chapter Twelve

Negotiations

Lilly stood before the tribal council, with Corina on one side of her and Morning Hawk and Sleeping Bear on the other. She was glad she couldn’t look in a mirror this morning. Her eyes felt swollen and dry, and her heart filled her chest with a cold ache. Her mind kept skipping back to Paul’s words, each one a slice to her soul. She was so stupid. Why did she continue to trust people blindly? She wasn’t going to make that mistake again, and she was never going to give Paul McGregor the chance to hurt her any more.

Smart Coyote spoke to her, the deep lines in his face highlighted by the morning sun coming through the smoke hole. “Lilly, here are our terms. We will accept your offer on two conditions.”

She nodded, focusing her mind on the present. This was more important than her bruised heart.

“You will be responsible for the trade post, but we want one of the People to be there on behalf of the tribe. He will have access to all of the records, and will have a say in how the business is run. We will allow a school to be built, but there will be two teachers. One will be a teacher of your choice, and the other will be a teacher of our choice. They will both be equal, and must work together for the good of the children. If either teacher cannot work with the other, a replacement will be found. We will winter in the area of the school, but in summer, we must follow the buffalo.”

She thought this over carefully. The land she would provide them was far from town and contained their ancestral burial grounds. The trade post would be accessible to wagon, but not close enough to cause the ire of the people of Caldwell. She wondered who she could get as a teacher, whom she could find that would honor Comanche ways and treat them in a fair manner. A next-to- impossible task, but surely God would provide if this was indeed his will.

“I agree with your terms. Who will be coming with me to Caldwell to sign the lease on the land?”

“Sleeping Bear has volunteered. He has experience with the white man’s cities.” Smart Coyote nodded to Sleeping Bear, who bowed his head in response.

She glanced at him with tired eyes. He turned his head slightly and winked.

“I will need some samples of your craftsmanship to take back East with me. Not too much, enough to fit on a travois.”

Corina cleared her throat. “May I take Lilly for some breakfast while you decide what should be sent with her? She needs to get home before her people worry about her and send out a search party.”

Smart Coyote held her gaze and even as distracted as she was, she shivered at the power there. This was a commanding man who demanded respect. “Be ready to leave after your meal. You carry the honor of the Comanche with you. Remember that.”

She smiled softly at the Peace Chief. “I will always protect your honor as if it were my own.”

Smart Coyote held her gaze, then turned back to the grey-haired man at his side, speaking swiftly.

Corina threw an arm around her shoulders as they left the tent, with Morning Hawk and Sleeping Bear following close behind. “You are amazing. I am so proud of you. The good that you are doing for my people...if this works, you will save many lives. Even if you never sell a single dress, the return of our burial grounds means more to us than you will ever know.”

She squeezed Corina’s hand. “Thank you, but save the praise for when I get this up and running. I still need to go back East and convince my family to sell your merchandise in their stores.”

A sharp pain shot through her body and settled into a sick ache in her stomach. Paul stood at the entrance to Corina’s teepee, waiting for her. He looked like hell, and she was glad.

“Lilly, I need to talk to you. Please?” he asked in a quiet voice.

Corina gave her a searching look, then went into the teepee, followed by Morning Hawk. Sleeping Bear stayed beside her, a big, comforting presence.

“I have nothing to say to you, Mr. McGregor. And I will thank you not to use my name in such a familiar fashion. To you, I am Miss Brooks.” Her heart ached with every word. Even now, she flinched at the pain that deepened on his face.

“Lilly, please—”

He tried to place a hand on her arm. She jerked away and stood on the other side of Sleeping Bear. “Don’t touch me. I’ve had enough of your vile accusations. A true gentleman would never accuse me of the foul things that you did. If I never hear your voice again, I will die a happy woman.”

Paul dropped his eyes to the ground. His fists opened and closed at his side.

Sleeping Bear rumbled, “We need to have our first meal and I need to speak with Sun Eagle so we can get you home before dark.”

“Home. Yes, I want to go home.” She went into Corina’s tent with Sleeping Bear following a step behind her.

Storm whickered happily as he nuzzled her cheek. The vast sky turned purple and pink as the sun set. It was time to make camp before it got too dark. They had a much later start than she’d anticipated. The women of the tribe argued about whose goods got to go with Lilly, and wanted to tell her about the techniques that went into each piece.

Paul didn’t speak to her unless necessary, and even though she had been the one to demand their silence, it still hurt. Sleeping Bear talked to her for most of the trip. He told amusing stories of growing up with his tribe, and tales of his deeds as a warrior. He made it easier to ignore Paul, but Paul was always there, riding just behind the horse pulling the travois instead of next to her. She could feel his eyes on her back, and her shoulders were stiff from flinching under his imagined gaze.

The sun was on the edge of setting over the prairie. It painted the sky in bold strokes of gold now in addition to the pink and purple. The men gathered tinder for a fire while she brought some provisions out of the packs. Her dark-brown dress was in her saddlebag, along with her gun and compass. It seemed like years ago that she had left Caldwell, not days. She was a different person now, changed by the suffering of the Comanche people and by the pain in her own heart.

After a meal of buffalo jerky and dried fruit, Sleeping Bear rolled out his fur near hers. Paul placed his on her other side, but further away. The two men were separated by the large fire, and the horses were tied to a small stand of trees. Paul watched her constantly, his eyes following her every move. It made her uncomfortable, and she found herself turning to Sleeping Bear for distraction.

As she settled down into the warm fur, her eyes wandered over to Sleeping Bear and she yelped. He was naked, turned away from her as he stretched, a magnificent example of the male physique. The image of his hard, muscled body with its taut, bronze skin burned into her memory. Her eyes were still pressed shut when she heard the low rumble of Sleeping Bear’s laughter. “My apologies, Lilly. I forgot you are not used to the ways of warrior men.”

“You could have warned me!”

“What fun would that be?”

She grumbled, and thought she heard a growl from Paul. Opening her eyes a slit, she saw him stand and begin to take off his hat and reach for the buckle of his belt. He watched her as he did this, but she was sure he couldn’t see that her eyes were open the littlest bit. At least that’s what she was going to believe.

Paul began to unbutton his shirt, revealing the hard planes of his stomach, and the jutting bone of the top of his hips. He pulled his boots and socks off next, the firelight dancing over the bunching muscles of his back.

From her other side, Sleeping Bear gave a soft groan as he settled into his furs. One hand reached out to tickle her foot, and she kicked it away. Paul glanced over when she moved, and held her gaze. She forgot to pretend to be asleep. He unbuttoned the top of his jeans, and slowly undid the buttons of his fly. God, he was magnificent, every muscle defined by hard work and endurance, his skin bronzed by the sun.

Why did she have to fall in love with such an arrogant bastard?

Sleeping Bear reached out again, slowly tracing the line of her foot with his finger. She didn’t dare move, afraid if she did, it would break the spell that Paul was weaving with his body. As Paul started to lower his jeans, Sleeping Bear stroked the arch of her foot, around her ankle, and over her calf. She bit her tongue to keep from sighing. Her sight was totally focused on Paul, but the sensation of Sleeping Bear stroking her skin added another dimension to the forbidden pleasure of Paul’s body.

Paul turned his back as he lowered first his pants, then his drawers, depriving her of the sight of his shaft. Without looking back at her, he lay on his bed, covering himself partially with a buffalo skin. At her feet, a warm mouth replaced the hand, licking along the top of her foot, to her ankle. She squeaked in shock as her pussy clenched with need. She kicked Sleeping Bear’s warm hand away. He laughed and rolled onto his side, saying something in Comanche in a low voice.