Wind Rider by Connie Mason Read Free Book Online Page A

tone brooked no argument. Ris ing slowly, Hannah walked to the blanket and stretched out.
    “What are you going to do?”
    Using the rope that had been rolled up in the blanket, Wind Rider bound both of Hannah’s wrists and attached the end of the rope to his waist, leaving a two-foot slack to allow her freedom to turn in her sleep. The short tether would bring their bodies too closely together for his peace of mind, but there was no help for it. The buckskin shirt barely reached her knees, and the knowledge that she wore noth ing underneath it was distracting. The sight of her slim but shapely legs made him forget that he had once thought her scrawny and plain.
    Hannah hated being confined at Wind Rider’s side, so close she could feel the heat of him against her own cool flesh. The only conces sion he had made to his state of nudity was donning the leggings provided by one of his Sioux friends. Since she wore his only shirt nothing else was available to him. But he seemed unaware of the chill in the air as he lay down, forcing Hannah to conform to the curve of his body. Scooting as far from him as the rope allowed, Hannah’s tense body refused to relax until she heard the even cadence of Wind Rider’s breath and knew he was sleeping.
    Wind Rider awoke in the dead of night, astounded to find Hannah snuggled against him. During the night she had sought his warmth, and his arms had welcomed her with out conscious thought. A firm little breast filled his hand; his fingers rested on an elongated nipple. Two slim legs lay intimately entwined with his strong ones, and the sweet mounds of her buttocks pressed snugly against his loins.
    Her silky hair tickled his nose and he brushed it away, amazed at the softness and texture. A few days ago it had been so filthy he wouldn’t have dared touch it for fear of encountering vermin.
    Of its own volition his hand left her breast and slid down the curve of her hip. When he met bare flesh he inserted his hand beneath the fringed hem and inched the shirt upward, seeking the warmth of her inner thighs. The smoothness and heat of her flesh startled him, and he groaned as if in physical pain. If anyone had told him a month ago that he’d desire a white woman with such intense longing, he would have laughed. It had never occurred to him that he’d find Hannah desirable.
    His hand slid higher, gravitating toward a beckoning heat, recalling how astounded he’d been when he’d first seen the glorious, fiery crown of her woman’s mound. Exhausted, Hannah groaned but did not awaken when Wind Rider slid a finger into the tender cleft between her legs. Moistness flowed from her honeyed depths and Wind Rider won dered how many men had feasted upon her tainted flesh. But tainted or not, the compel ling need to join the ranks of those nameless men who had lain with her existed deep inside him.
    Feeling vaguely uncomfortable, Hannah groaned and jerked awake, startled to find Wind Rider bending over her, his hands doing   indecent   things   to   her.   Things   that made her tingle and burn between her legs. “What are you doing? Don’t touch me!” A forbidden heat welled up from her loins.
    Wind Rider’s generous mouth stretched into a mirthless grin. “You are wet and hot for a man.”
    ”I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    He slipped a finger inside her and her body lurched upward. “Please! Don’t do that.”
    “What would you prefer I do? Do white men arouse their women differently? Or do you wish me to pay in white man’s coin to lie with you?”
    Hannah shoved at his chest, trying to push him away. It was too dark to see his expres sion, but the warmth of his silver eyes and the heat of his body scorched her flesh. “I’m not what you think. I’ve never lain with a man.”
    Wind Rider laughed harshly. “Perhaps you’ve never lain with an Indian, but I know you’ve lain with white men. Do not lie, Hannah McLin, for I know what it means when a woman is