Read Online Heart of the Hunter by Madeline Baker - Free Book Online

fought bravely, but Wakan Tanka was on our side that
day. It was a great victory for my people. I would have liked to share it with
you.”
    Kelly took a step backward, suddenly aware that she was
standing outside, clad in a nightgown and robe, alone with a ghost. A very
sensual ghost.
    A small smile flickered over Blue Crow’s face. “You feel it,
too.”
    “Feel what?”
    “The magic between us.”
    “No,” Kelly said, shaking her head for emphasis. “I don’t
feel anything.”
    “Do not lie to me, tekihila.”
    “What did you call me?”
    Blue Crow made a vague gesture of dismissal. “It is not
important.” My love , he thought to himself. How easily he had come to
think of her as his. Day and night, he watched her, pleased because she had a
good heart, a good soul.
    “I’d better go inside,” Kelly said. She wrapped her arms around
her middle as a cool breeze stirred the air.
    Blue Crow took a step forward. Before Kelly could object, he
enfolded her in his arms and drew her close, his embrace gentle, nurturing.
    “You shouldn’t… I shouldn’t…” All thought of protest fled
her mind as his warmth infused her. She stared into his eyes, eyes as soft and
dark as black velvet, as deep as a midnight sea. Eyes that glowed with a fierce
desire, a barely suppressed hunger that created a wild fluttering in Kelly’s
stomach and made her heart beat faster.
    “Tekihila.”
    The sound of his voice enveloped her like a silken web.
Mesmerized by his nearness, by the strength of his arms, she could only stand
there, her gaze trapped in his, waiting, hoping that he would lower his head
and kiss her.
    As if he’d read her mind, he did just that.
    And there was magic between them, she thought, dazed. His
lips were warm and firm, yielding and demanding. Desire seared through her,
brighter than the tail of a comet, hotter than a thousand suns.
    “Tekihila,” he murmured. “Skuya, skuya.”
    “Skuya?”
    “Sweet,” he said. “So sweet.”
    “Tekihila?” It took an effort to form words when he
was standing so close to her, the heat of his deep black eyes glowing like twin
coals, warming her in places that had long been cold.
    “My own love.”
    His love. It never occurred to her to argue. Standing on
tiptoe, she touched her lips to his. This couldn’t be happening, she mused. He
wasn’t real. Maybe he was only a figment of her imagination. But there was
nothing imaginary about his mouth on hers, or the way her blood hummed in her
veins. There was nothing imaginary about the rapid beat of her pulse, or the
hard male thighs pressed against hers.
    She was breathless, mindless when he took his mouth from
hers.
    Effortlessly he swung her into his arms and carried her into
the house, moving confidently through the dark hall until he came to her
bedroom. Removing her robe, he put her to bed, drew the covers up to her chin.
    She stared up at him, wanting him as she’d never wanted
anything in her life, but instead of crawling into bed beside her, he kissed
her lightly on the forehead.
    “Rest well, tekihila,” he murmured, and then he was
gone, leaving her alone, and lonely, in the dark.

Chapter Ten
     
    She was still slightly dazed in the morning. Standing at the
stove, she touched her lips again and again, remembering the touch and the
taste of his mouth on hers, the sound of his voice calling her tekihila. My
own love.
    She might have stood there daydreaming until the bacon
caught fire if Lee hadn’t entered the kitchen, letting the door slam shut
behind him.
    “What the devil!” he exclaimed. “You trying to burn the
house down!”
    “What? Oh!”
    Startled out of her reverie, Kelly jerked the frying pan off
the fire and turned off the gas.
    “From the smoke filling the room, I’d say breakfast is
ready,” Lee drawled. Pulling out a chair, he sat down, his brow furrowed in
thought.
    Kelly didn’t bother to answer. Instead, she spooned some
bacon and eggs on a plate and plopped it down in front of