lady."
Occupied
... with a lady! The words echoed in her mind. Then the realization struck her.
They thought that...
"No!"
Skylar gasped, inhaling raggedly. He was
still on top of her. He leaned down upon her. Close. His breath all but fanning
her cheeks.
She couldn't
get enough air to explain. She was mortified; she was more than half naked;
his flesh was solidly pressed against hers; it did look like ...
She
stared with horror into those strange green eyes that now carried a wicked
glint of pure amusement. Eyes so close to hers ...
"Hush,
hush!" he assured her, his voice mockingly tender. "My dear, the
soldiers are gallant men, they'll say nothing."
"The
soldiers will say nothing!" she exclaimed. "Dear
God,
they will certainly—" she began furiously, but a shift in his weight cut
her off as what air she had managed to inhale was exhaled beneath his weight.
"Darling, please. You mustn't be so upset. It's really
going to be all right. Shh..." came his whisper, his lips atop hers.
Then upon them. Forming perfectly over hers. His tongue
demanding entry. She found her mouth parted with a startling force, the
mercurial, hot thrust of his tongue. The taste of coffee and whiskey. She tried
to twist away, but his fingers were threaded through hers and brought close to
her skull, holding her so taut she couldn't begin to resist. She couldn't
breathe; the room was spinning . .. black stars burst before her ...
"It's all right, my dear. Truly. You needn't be embarrassed."
He wasn't kissing her anymore. He was staring down at her,
still looking amused while she desperately dragged in breath.
"Dammit!" she cried out.
"Sweet Jesu, I am sorry!" the older man protested.
"Oh, ma'am, so sorry. Hawk, we'd no idea you had the company of a woman
friend—"
The Indian interrupted, eloquent to a truly staggering degree.
"Captain, all apologies accepted. I should truly be embarrassed
that I did not hear your arrival."
"Damn you all, wait!" Skylar lashed out again
furiously.
"My dear! My dear! Don't you think these poor men are
suffering enough as it is? I should have heard them—"
"That's what worried us," the older man said.
"Why, Hawk, you can usually hear a pony snort a mile away."
"Ah, but then, I have been quite occupied, I
admit," Hawk said.
The captain laughed. "The Sioux men may be darned right
in their attitudes toward women, Hawk. Those boys know that being too close to
a lady can cloud the mind and steal the senses!"
"Indeed, I'm
humiliated."
"Hell, it proves you're human."
"Human!" Skylar managed to get in.
"Why
thank you, Captain," the Indian stated, another shift of his weight making
her gasp for breath again. "Perhaps I do have a respectable excuse. This
is Lady Douglas, Captain."
All the
while that he spoke, he stared down at her, still seeming to laugh down at her.
"Lady
Douglas!" the captain said, gaping suddenly. "I didn't know
that—"
"Yes!"
Skylar managed to assert. They weren't going to get the better of her this
time; she was going to make them understand. A feeling of triumph rising within
her, she stared at the Indian with victorious eyes as she cried out, "Yes!
Yes, damn you all, I am Lady Douglas." It was about time! She was going to
make these men realize that she was desperate to be rescued, make them realize
the situation. "Yes, my name is Skylar Douglas. Please, I—"
"Oh,
ma'am, we just didn't know, hadn't heard.. . Please, please forgive us! Hawk,
it's a matter of some importance, but I can find you within the next few days.
I am sorry. We're leaving."
"Quite
all right, my friend. Apology accepted. Of course, we would like to be alone
again...."
The
older cavalry officer pulled the younger man out, slamming the door hard.
"No!"
Skylar shrieked. "No! We wouldn't like
to be alone! No! Wait!" She slammed her fists against the Indian and tried
to kick, jab.
Bite.
She got
her teeth into his shoulder. He didn't blink an eye, but again, his fingers
came threading into her hair.
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley