Silken Savage Read Online Free PDF

her captor. As her ears received the sounds of Nancy’s agony, her eyes saw his narrow in warning, and his hand tightened on her jaw as he shook his head. He pushed her ahead of him, forcing her to watch as Melissa was held for branding. The petite blonde fainted in mid-scream. Tanya felt his fingers pressing into her upper arms, forcing her shoulders back, straightening her stance. As Suellen was led forward, bucking and kicking, he again forced her to face him and shook his head.
    Tanya stared up into his ebony eyes, realizing this bronze savage was telling her to bear this bravely; proudly. Strangely, his gaze lent her strength, as if his own strength were flowing into her.
    Mutely she reached up and removed his hands from her arms. He released her without comment, his gaze locked with hers. Tanya’s chin came up proudly, and she squared her shoulders and walked calmly ahead of him to the fire’s edge. Outwardly she was regal; inside she was quivering and afraid. With shaky fingers she reached down and tore away the lower length of her pantalets, not wanting the material seared into her wound.
    The Indians watched her in surprised approval. If there was one thing they respected, it was bravery. Tanya saw her captor gesture to one particular stick in the flames. When it was removed from the fire, she understood why. It was fashioned in the same design as the one he bore on his chest; that of a snarling panther. She was to be branded as his, with his distinctive mark.
    Swallowing convulsively, she turned to face him, presenting her thigh to the woman holding the glowing brand. His hands came up to grasp her wrists, and hers automatically closed about his, seeking something to hold on to. Gritting her teeth and holding her breath, Tanya braced herself, staring up into his jet black eyes.
    The pain was worse than anything she could recall. The stench of her own burnt flesh made her stomach lurch. If not for the support of his hands holding her up, her knees would have buckled beneath her. Her hands clenched spasmodically, digging her fingernails into the flesh of his wrists. Tanya’s eyes closed as if to shut out the pain, and her head fell back, but the only sound to escape between her tightly clamped teeth was a long, loud hiss.
    When it was done, he gave her a moment to recover herself, then led her away, into a nearby tipi. After seating her on a mat, he took down a bag from a pole and a bowl from near the fire. Gently he washed her wound with water and applied a salve from the pouch.
    As he worked over her leg, an older woman entered the tipi. She stood silently watching, and when he had finished, he said something to her in that gruff language Tanya was becoming used to. With gestures he told Tanya to sleep. Then he turned and left the lodge.
    The woman repeated his gesture for Tanya to sleep and settled herself by the fire. For a while Tanya lay staring up at the top of the tipi, mentally blocking out the searing pain in her thigh. As the pain lessened, she began to take note of her surroundings. The inside of the tipi was larger than she’d expected, easily twenty feet across. Long poles formed the supporting skeletal structure. Crossing near the top and tied together, they formed a cone, large at the base, smaller toward the top, leaving a hole at the top for the smoke to rise through. Animal skins were sewn together and laid across the pole supports, creating the walls. Now Tanya recalled that many of the lodges had brightly painted designs on the outsides. Tanya wondered whose tipi this was. Was it her captor’s or the old woman’s?
    She was lying on some kind of woven mat, like the onethe woman was seated on. Nearby was a pile of furs. From the lodge poles various leather bags and pouches hung, also what appeared to be articles of clothing. On the floor near the fire was a stack of bowls and pots, and a tripod that may have been used for cooking over the fire. Near the entrance hung a collection of braided