“Why?” She ran her hands up under his shirt aixf onto the corded muscles of his chest.
“I didn’t know how much I loved you until then. I was afraid that Trout—”
“Green Spider was right to have stopped you. I needed that time with Trout.”
Her pulse had begun to race, and she worked him out of his shirt. She undid the knot in his belt and pulled back the flap of his breechcloth. “For the longest time, Otter, I wondered if you cared about me.”
“Now you know.”
She pulled off her shirt and skirt and laid them out behind her, aware of his musky scent as he bent down to take her breast in his mouth.
When he moved up, she held him for a moment, her hands on either side of his head. “I love you, Otter.”
“Pearl, I love you with all of my soul. I want you with me forever.” <
She reached down to guide him to her, and gasped as he slid into her warmth. Then she locked herself around him. “One storm after another, Otter. Remember that I warned you.”
Pale Snake pulled at his ear and shook his head in disgust. In the two days since leaving the Wind clan grounds, he’d done everything he could to scourge, beat, and batter Star Shell from his thoughts.
Now, as they paddled down the winding course of Spirit Frog River, he made himself look at the banks, identify the trees, count the number of woodpecker’s raps—anything but look forward to where she sat in perfect oblivion.
Giving her that dress had been the worst mistake of his life— well, second worst, after marrying his wife. He should have left Star Shell safely encased in her filthy rags. The soft leather of this new dress had melted onto every curve of her body. As she paddled, that slim waist moved sinuously over those rounded hips and the fullness of her muscular bottom. The bodice had conformed to her full, rounded breasts, which had begun to haunt his imagination. In the sunlight, her hair gleamed bluish, catching each golden ray and intensifying his desire to reach out and run his fingers through that thick wealth.
Instead, he bit his lip and paddled furiously, driving them on down the river.
Silver Water perched on the pack in front of him, not quite big enough to block his view of her mother—the infuriating object of desires he’d thought long dead.
Bad as it was, life in a canoe with Star Shell was a great deal easier than life in camp with Star Shell. There, he not only had to watch her walk around in that most unsubtle dress, but he had to look into her eyes. They enchanted him … large, black, and liquid enough to make his heart swim. He could imagine those rich red lips pressed against his. Her facial features were delicate and perfect. That soft skin—radiant with health and energy–begged to be caressed. On those rare instances when she smiled, his soul ached.
You did this to me, Father! That’s why you sent her. You knew—you wretched little demon—that I’d find her irresistible.
And even if she did show an interest—which she never would— he couldn’t allow himself to touch her for fear that she’d been one of his father’s things.
Just then that sensual and melodic voice of hers broke the silence. “You’ve been quiet, Pale Snake. It’s not like you.”
“I’ve been thinking.”
“No wonder you’ve been silent. Thinking must be so novel that you’ve been awed by the entire process. Tell me, are you considering making it a habit?”
Pale Snake bit his lip harder. Yes, that’s it. Try to hate her.
Maybe your testicles will unwind a little.
At his silence, she turned around, contrition in those luminous eyes. “I’m sorry. That was unkind of me. Please forgive me.”
All of his hard work crumbled to dust. He was back to the insufferable misery of desire.
Well, perhaps talking about another man would help. “Tell me about your husband, Star Shell. What was he like before the Mask got to him?”
He could see the tension in her shoulders. “I guess … well, I really don’t know. I remember him as a serious boy when he first came to Starsky City. My father introduced us, and he spent most of the day just staring at me. At the time, I thought it was idiotic worship in his eyes. Maybe it was then. Later, I learned it was obsession.”
Don’t I know! “Didn’t you like him?”
“Not that first time. The night before he left, he talked me into going out for a walk with him. When we were far enough away, he tried to make me couple with him. I said no, and he pouted. That was when he promised he’d marry me.”
“So you did?”
“The next time I saw him, it was several months after his grandfather had died. He was different, self-confident, a young leader. Father was impressed, and I guess I was, too. It looked like the perfect alliance for my lineage and clan, a marriage to my advantage.”