“I am not familiar with tornadoes,” Eagle Wolf said, releasing her as she nudged herself away from him.
“It is a horrific sort of wind,” Nicole murmured, visibly trembling at the remembrance. “It just seems to fall down from the darkened sky, swirling and swirling, taking everything in its path. I grew to dread them so much. I hope I never see any again.”
“We have no such winds on our mountain, yet we do have winds that sometimes bend the corn in half so that the tassels touch the ground,” Eagle Wolf said somberly. “I will protect you from those winds and anything else that threatens you. Know this, Nicole. You are safe with me.”
He took her hands in his. “Our shaman has been known to speak and stop the winds,” he said softly. “Our shaman understands power and how to control it, even the power of lightning. You see, objects struck by lightning hold within them the power of holy beings. A shaman can use this kind of power to heal, or to bring sickness to an enemy.”
“Are you saying that lightning-struck objects can be used for both good and bad?” Nicole asked.
“Ho,” Eagle Wolf said, nodding. “Lightning is used both for protection and healing, as well as to cause death and destruction.”
“I have always been afraid of lightning and now I will be even more afraid of it,” Nicole said, again shuddering.
“I did not tell you these things to frighten you, but to teach you things my people know,” Eagle Wolf said, thickly. “Sometimes learning can be fearful, but only if those who are taught these things allow it to be. You are with me. You have no need to fear any of these things.”
“You are right,” Nicole said, smiling at him. “If I ever doubt that again, I will remind myself what you have said to me, more than once. I truly feel safe, Eagle Wolf, now that I am with you.”
Eagle Wolf placed his hands on her cheeks and drew her close to him, until their lips were barely an inch apart. And then he swept his fingers behind her, twining them through her hair, which he had not yet braided.
He brought her lips to his and gave her a kiss that was so hot she felt as though she might melt through the bulrush mats beneath her.
She had never known what true desire was until she had met Eagle Wolf. Now she knew how it felt to want someone so badly she ached from it. She felt a hunger she had never experienced before. Her body, heart, and soul were crying out to make love with this wonderful man.
But she could not be brazen enough to initiate such a thing. She did not want to remember their first lovemaking in such a way.
Yet she did ache for him, oh, so badly.
Eagle Wolf’s body ached more than he had ever felt before. His need for Nicole at this moment was almost unbearable.
He kissed her with a passion that had only now been unleashed within him. These feelings were far more intense than he had ever felt for the woman he had made his wife.
This woman in his arms was meant to be there. They had been destined to meet.
And they were destined to marry and have children.
But he did not want to rush her into lovemaking. He did not want her to think that was the only reason he’d rescued her.
He knew how she had felt about the Mormon and his impure intentions. Eagle Wolf desired her, too, but he wanted her for herself. And he wanted her forever.
Perhaps tomorrow they could make love. But not today, nor to night.
“I will love you always,” he whispered against her hot lips.
“I love you, too,” Nicole whispered back to
him. “I have never felt like this. I…I…feel as though I am flying above myself. Everything in me feels light and wonderful.”
“We are flying together,” Eagle Wolf replied. He held her away from him so that they could look into each other’s eyes. “I want you, Nicole. All of you. But I don’t think it is right yet to blend our hearts and souls in the way my body is aching to do. I want you to have more time to think and be sure. So much has happened in your life. I want you to know your heart and mind completely, to be sure you wish to accept what I am offering you. I want you to marry me. Will you be my wife?”
Nicole was thrilled that this man truly loved her enough to marry her.
Promises of protection were one thing. But a promise of marriage was the ultimate commitment.
“Yes, oh, yes,” she murmured. She flung herself into his arms.
He wanted to postpone what their bodies ached for, and she knew that was right, so she just hugged him and his words to her heart.
This moment would always be precious to her, for it was the moment they gave their hearts to each other.