Eye of the Storm by Renee Simons Page A

"You heard about the ruckus earlier, did you?"
    "I was there. Why were those men chasing you?"
    "We're not sure, but even if we knew, I wouldn't tell you. Your ignorance is your security."
    His grandmother pulled back and looked at the clock over the mantel. "It's nearly two a.m . . . . you should not be out after what just happened, Granddaughter. Please stay the night."
    "I'd appreciate it, if you have room for me."
    "We have plenty of room." The woman turned to Stormwalker. "Please show your friend to your aunt's room."
    Upstairs, Stormwalker opened a door and turned on a small lamp.
    "Your aunt's room?" she asked with concern. "I don't want to put anyone out."
    He smiled. "This was my Aunt Martha's when she was a kid, but she hasn't lived here since before I was born."
    "That's okay, then." She returned the smile. "Oh, by the way, the next time you're tempted to call me Red, don't. Call me Zan."
    He leaned against the door frame. "Does that make me family? I hope." His smile took years off a face that showed the strain of recent events as well as his bruises.
    "Don't push it, Major."
    "Wouldn't even think of it. I'm just counting my blessings, is all. "

     

 

     
    Chapter 7

     

     
    The next morning, Stormwalker brought a cup of steaming coffee to the room where Zan slept. When his knock went unanswered, he opened the door and stepped inside, filling his eyes with her image as she lay uncovered in a graceful sprawl across the bed. During the night, she'd removed the plaid shirt and jeans and slept in a tank top and bikini bottom.
    Her beauty hit him like a body blow. His gaze traveled the length of her, from long, shapely legs to the enticement of firm breasts thrust against the fabric of her shirt.
    He leaned against the door and remembered the holy man, Old Elk, who had couched his teachings in the tribe's oral history.
    "Remember," the old man had warned the boys after telling them a gruesome tale, "lust carries with it the seeds of destruction. A true man treats all women with respect."
    He walked over and gently drew up the covers Zan had thrown off in her sleep. Then he sat down on the edge of the bed and held the cup so the aroma would lure her awake.
    His tactics worked. She smiled with her eyes closed. He wasn't sure she was fully awake when she murmured drowsily, " Mmm , lovely, but where's my good morning kiss?"
    "I'd be happy to oblige you, Red, but open your eyes first and see where you are."
    She complied, only partly at first, as if reluctant to surrender to reality. When she saw him sitting beside her, her eyes grew wide with recognition.
    "Awake now, are you?" he asked.
    She sat up and reached for the cup, sipping the hot liquid as she gazed at him.
      "Years ago," he said, "I read that one measure of a woman's beauty is the way she looks when she first awakens in the morning. On a scale of one to ten, I'd say you rate a twelve."
    Her eyes smiled at him over the rim of the cup, quickening his pulse. "Thank you for a very pretty compliment," she whispered in a husky voice, "and for being a gentleman."
    "Being a gentleman had nothing to do with it. When I kiss you again I want you awake and aware that it's me and not some guy in a dream."
    He touched her cheek, then rose and walked to the door. He paused with his hand on the glass knob, then turned to look at her clear eyes, her warm yet tentative smile and the russet hair that fell in tousled waves about her face. "Come to think of it," he said in a voice heavy with wanting, "you're awake enough." He sat down again on the edge of the bed and took the cup, setting it on the nightstand.
    His fingers trailed up her arms, caressing her shoulders and traveling up her neck to cup her face. He kissed her with strength and heat and a tender passion that urged her response. She parted her lips. He tasted her breath, dusky with sleep and a hint of the rich dark coffee she'd sampled only moments before. His tongue slipped inside her mouth, found hers and