Nevertheless, I think he will do. And who knew, perhaps his seed would catch.
She tilted her head back, panting in the wet heat. Every muscle in her body had turned limp, relaxed from the copulation, and further loosened by the steam that boiled off the hot rocks.
“So, he will try to discover who killed the girl,” Copper Thunder mused. She could feel him shift as he rubbed a hand over his tattooed face.
“My mother has agreed to let him try.” She paused thoughtfully. “I wonder who he will name as the killer?”
She could sense Copper Thunder’s smile in the darkness. “Oh, I have no doubts. It will be me. This is a perfect opportunity for him. A settling of old debts.”
“And if he accuses you?”
“Let him. He can’t touch me. Besides, what reason could I have for killing Red Knot? I wanted this alliance.”
“You shall still have it.” Shell Comb paused. “Provided I satisfied you. Or, was I all dried up?”
He chuckled. “Tell me, where did you learn those things? I never knew a woman could make a man feel that way.”
“That was just the beginning.” She smiled grimly, delighted with the moans she’d coaxed from his tight throat. How typically male he was; but he’d been willing to learn. How many men over the years had cared less about her art, preferring to rush to their climax and be finished? “If I had any doubts, you have disposed of them this morning.” He wiped sweat frofh his skin and rose to his feet. Hunched inside the low dome, he stepped to the doorway and pushed the flap aside. Sunlight reflected on the blue water of the inlet. His skin steamed as the cool air blew across it.
With a warrior’s grace he ducked outside. She followed him, shading her eyes against the brightness, and admired his muscular body as he waded into the cold water and dove in. He struck out, swimming vigorously.
She fought the urge to follow him. Best take no chances with his seed so recently planted within her. Instead she waded out to knee depth and splashed the cold water over herself. When her skin began to prickle, she headed for the fire. She had shaken her wet hair out when a cold Copper Thunder emerged from the water and trotted up the beach. Shivering and goose-bumped, he used his bear hide to dry and crouched naked over the fire beside her.
“Be careful,” she teased. “You wouldn’t want to set fire to anything.”
“It’s had fire enough for one day,” he admitted. Then he shivered, his muscles rippling under pebbled skin.
“Feeling alive?” she asked.
“Indeed. Such things are good for the heart.”
“They can also be dangerous. We have jellyfish in these waters. Sea nettles in summer, winter jellyfish now.” “Are you always so careful?”
“No.” She smiled wryly. “I thought seriously about following you.”
“Jellyfish, hmm?” He stared out at the water. “If Raven becomes too much of a problem …”
“You were saying?”
“Oh, nothing.” He glanced up at her, dark eyes flashing. “My belly tells me it’s time to eat… that is, if all of your questions have been answered.”
“I think so.” She watched him turn and look back at the water again. “We will need a couple of days to work out the details, allow people to get used to the idea, and then we can return to your village.”
“Yes,” he mused. “There are a great many things to be done.”
Panther and Nine Killer walked side by side across the plaza with its great fire pit and trampled dance ground. The Guardian posts stood equidistant from each other and the fire. Each was capped by a carving in the form of a person, or animal, the wood supposedly inhabited by a spirit Power that kept watch over the people and ceremonies. Sun Conch followed a step behind, one hand, as usual, atop the war club on her belt. Thus far the morning sun had made a poor job of vanquishing the chill from the air.
“I want to see the body,” Panther repeated. The pained look in Nine Killer’s eyes amused him. Did the War Chief think that The Panther, of all people, was unaware of the things that took place within a House of the Dead?
“Elder, it’s a matter of… of…”
“The sensitivities of the family? Bat dung! Those were smashed flat by the blow that knocked the life out of her head. You said that Green Serpent is going to prepare her today. I will help.”
Nine Killer shot him a worried look. “Help? How? I mean, what do you know about—”
“Ah, yes, what does a man who is feared to be a witch know about the dead?” Panther chuckled and shot a measuring glance at the suddenly pale Sun Conch. “Evidently, not what you think. I’m not going to trap her soul, or steal parts of her body for secret rituals. Your Green Serpent and his priests will be there, doing the work. I suppose that you could come along if you’d like. See how it’s fione. Quite fascinating, actually.”