Silken Savage by Catherine Hart Page B

tension in their lodge that evening was so thick you could slice it with a knife. Walks-Like-A-Duck had escaped even before the food had finished cooking. This time she had not taken with her Tanya’s dress, and for that at least Tanya was grateful. Tanya sat stiffly across the fire from Panther as he ate his fill, but could not manage a bite of her own portion. While Tanya straightened up after the meal, Panther reworked the form of a new bow he was making. A heavy silence hung like a pall in the air.
    Finally Panther lay the bow aside. “Bank the fire, Little Wildcat, and go to the mat.” His face gave nothing away, and Tanya could not read his mood. Outwardly passive, she dutifully saw to the fire, her heart thundering in her ears all the while. Panther was still sitting between her and the only avenue of escape, and she knew any attempt would be futile.
    Slowly she walked to the mat and sat upon it, her head down to hide the tears from his avid gaze. His approach was silent, as always, but now he stood before her.
    “Remove my moccasins from my feet,” he commanded her.
    Tanya’s head snapped up as if on a puppeteer’s string, her mouth open in amazement. He had never asked this of her before. As he balanced first on one foot and then the other, she complied without comment.
    “Now remove my breechcloth,” he ordered tersely.
    Tanya’s face flamed and her hands shook as she reached out for the ties of his garment. Then her hands fell limply to her lap, and her lips and voice quivered as she whispered, “I cannot. Please do not make me do this.”
    “You will obey me. Do it,” he answered relentlessly, his tone of voice indicating his impatience.
    Once more her icy fingers reached out, and this time she completed her task, though she refused to look at him. The breechcloth fell to the floor between them. Silently he leaned down and removed her dress, then sat facing her on the mat, his onyx eyes pinning her in place.
    “Unbind my braids, woman,” he directed, his voice now as soft as velvet. She did as he bid her, gently untwining the raven strands and combing them with her fingers. Tanya could feel his eyes upon her face, but would not meet his look. Instead, she concentrated on her task, but even that had its perils. His hair sliding between her fingers felt like thick, smooth satin, awakening every nerve in her fingers, sliding sensuously across her palms.
    Her fingers were still entwined in his hair as he pressed her gently down upon the mat. She looked up into his dark eyes, now so filled with naked desire that she shivered in response. His mouth descended to cover her quivering lips, warming them with his own. His firm white teeth tugged gently at her lower lip until she parted them to his questing tongue. Warm, calloused hands cupped her breasts tenderly, as if they were priceless treasures, feeling them swell to his touch, his long fingers searching out the sensitive tips and teasing them to life.
    Tanya felt her fear and anger ebbing away, being replaced by a growing desire she could not control, and found she had no wish to. Her body arched into his with a will of its own, pleading without words for his touch.
    His mouth left hers, finding its way across her face to her ear, her throat, and along her shoulder, searching out each sensitive spot along the way to her breasts. As his questing lips captured her nipple, a sigh quivered from her throat. Her hands slipped from his hair to clutch at his shoulders, her lips finding the sensitive cord along his neck, her teeth teasing at it.
    Panther’s hands traveled the curves of her body; down across the flat of her stomach, the bend of her hip, his fingers trailing up the inside of her thighs until they met their goal. There they lingered to tease and tantalize until Tanya was mindlessly arching to meet his touch, shamelessly calling out his name against his shoulder, raking his back with her nails.
    He brought his mouth back to hers as he settled his