The congenial look on Fights Bear’s face faded. “You consider the white laws stronger than the laws of the People? Perhaps you have turned traitor!”
“No,” Lance replied grimly. “I still honor the laws of the People. But Tahma is not one of us, and I have given a vow to protect her. She would not wish to share your bed.”
“Since when are the wishes of a mere woman more valid than those of a war chief!”
“They are not, of course, but my wishes are the same as hers. I do not wish to give you use of her.”
“You are selfish, Sharp Lance!”
“Perhaps so. It gives me pain to refuse you, Fights Bear, but I regret I cannot share her with you.”
His expression thunderous, Fights Bear rose abruptly to his feet. “You came to me, asking for my aid, to ransom the sister of your wife, and I agreed. But I will give you help no longer,” he declared, his tone infuriated. “You choose to follow white laws over those of the People. You are not Comanche! You are welcome here no longer!”
With that, Fights Bear turned on his heel and stormed out, leaving Lance to grit his teeth in fury.
He wasn’t aware that Summer had entered the tepee until he heard her ask softly, “What’s wrong?”
Lance looked up sharply, and she caught a glimmer of something protective and fiercely intimate in his eyes, before his usual mask shuttered it. “Nothing that concerns you.”
“Are you certain? You were arguing with your brother about something just now, I could hear you.”
Without rising, Lance snatched up the nearest blanket and began fashioning it into a bedroll.
“Lance? What is it? What are you doing?”
“Packing,” he ground out. “Fights Bear wants us to leave the camp.”
“What?” Summer drew a sharp breath. “Why?”
“It isn’t important.”
“Not important? But—” She broke off in confusion. It was crucial they remain at the camp until Amelia was rescued—but before she could protest, Lance’s growling voice interrupted her chaotic thoughts.
“Don’t
worry. Fights Bear can deny us the use of his lodging, but he can’t force us from the village. He doesn’t have the authority. Not even the peace chief does. We’ll find some other place to stay.”
Summer shook her head. She didn’t want a lesson in Comanche protocol. She wanted to know what had put the seething expression on her husband’s face. “But…what about Amelia? How will we find her without your brother’s help?”
“You let me worry about that.”
“I…Lance, I don’t understand…Why was Fights Bear so angry? What did he say to you?”
“He said,” Lance replied through clenched teeth, “that I was no longer Comanche. That I wasn’t welcome here any longer.”
“In heaven’s name, why?”
“Because I wouldn’t share you with him, dammit, that’s why!”
Uncomprehending, she stared at him. “What do you mean, share me?”
“He covets you, princess. He wants to sleep with you.”
“What?” Her voice was a reedy whisper.
Lance threw her a hostile glance. “Do I have to explain it in graphic detail? Comanche custom allows a man to sleep with his brother’s wife. Sleep as in ‘fuck,’ not ‘slumber.’ Fights Bear thinks it’s his right to have you in his bed.”
Feeling incredibly slow, Summer raised a hand to her forehead. “But…he already has several wives. Why should he want me?”