Gypsy in Black: The Romance of Gypsy Travelers by Sarah Price

his head, he smashed it against the stallion's back.  “ Oh! ” Sahara cried out, her stomach suddenly churni ng.  As the man raised the stick over his head again, Sahara turned quickly to Nicolae .  “ You must stop him!  He'll kill the poor beast before anything else! ”
    Nicolae took a deep breath, re luctant to interfere.  “ Sahara, however the men choose to tame their horse s is not my concern.  Nor should it be yours. ”
    Hurting for the poor beaten horse, Sahara could only watch as the one gypsy man continued to thrash the beautiful stallion.  She winced when blood ran down the horse's flank.  Turning her head away, she whispered,  “ Please, Nicolae , I cannot stand to watch! ”
    With a nod of his head, Nicolae le d Sahara away from the area.  He took her back to the tent she had awoken in the previous morning.  He pulled the canvas back, waiting for Sahara to duck under his arm before he followed her i nside.  The flaps closed behind him with a soft swoosh .  Alone inside the tent, Nicolae watched Sahara as she stood with h er back to him.  The scene with the horse had visibly frightened her.  Nicolae made a mental note to tell the men not to tame the horses near camp for a while.  “ I am sorry, ” he began, “ that you saw that, S'hara. ”  
    Slowly, she turned around.  H er face was blank as she stared at him. “ I am sorry that it happened, ” she responded.  “ How can I belong to such a people , Nicolae? I don’t understand anything and, that which I do understand, I don’t care for at all. ”
    Nicolae stared back, curious about her words b ut he did not ask.  There was a pain in her expression, a sorrow that tugged at his heart.  He wasn’t certain how to respond.  He had never questioned the gypsy way.  He knew nothing else.  Yet, when he saw her face, her eyes so teary, he knew that she was seeing the life from a new perspective, one that he had not consid ered before her arrival.  B eing the future Rom Baro left him with little choices.  He knew that years of history would not be changed in one day or even one year.  He found himself drawn to her and, without thinking, he pull ed her i nto his arms. 
    For several long minutes, Sahara let him hold her, finding comfort in his arm s that had frightened her just a short while before.  Her body tucked neatly against his and she felt his heart pounding against her chest.  She hated herself for feeling a rush of emotion in the arms of this man.  She felt protected and safe.  But, she also felt dangerously close to something else, something that she could not describe.  It was a surreal feeling and, for a split second , Sahara tried to push him away.  Nicolae ignored her struggle and lo wered his mouth onto hers.  His kiss took her by surprise and, for the briefest of moments, Sahara refused to yield.  But as his ar m crushed her even tighter, the burning sensation in her stomach spread until she shut her eyes and let the handsome gypsy force her mouth open.  The t ension left her as she leaned against him, the fight gone in final acceptance of the passion she had tried so hard to deny.
    “ No! ”   Nicolae suddenly freed he r and stepped away.  He hurried to the large flap.  He stood with his back to her, his shoulder heaving as he tried to catch his breath.  Sahara watched him, breathlessly.  What had she done now?  Did he think her too brazen?  Perhaps he mistook her for one of those kinds of girls, the kinds that frequented the saloon in order to seek the company of men.  The realization overcame her and she leaned backwards, reaching out for the back of the chair to steady herself.
    Nicolae spoke softly, his back still to her.  “ You will st ay here until I return tonigh t, S'hara .  I command you to not leave this tent. ”   Then he was gone.
    She had to gather her thought s before he came back for her.  Certainly Nicolae believed she w as going to sleep with him that night.  He was