Heart of the Hunter by Madeline Baker

heart.”
    “Kiss me,” she begged, and threading her fingers through his
long black hair, she drew his head down toward hers, losing herself in his
touch, in his nearness.
    She felt the instant response of his manhood as their lips
met and she pressed herself against him, tears coursing down her cheeks because
she’d fallen in love with the one man she couldn’t have, a man who wasn’t a man
at all, but a ghost.
    “Kelly! Kelly, are you out there?” Lee’s voice ripped
through the darkness. “Kelly?”
    “Answer him,” Blue Crow whispered.
    “I’m over here.” She clung to Blue Crow’s hand when he
started to pull away. “Don’t go,” she said, but he was already gone.
    A moment later she saw Lee striding toward her.
    “What the hell are you doing out here alone in the middle of
the night?” he demanded, his voice laced with anger.
    “I felt like taking a walk.”
    “You little idiot. Didn’t I warn you it was dangerous to go
prowling around alone out here?”
    “It’s no concern of yours what I do!” Kelly retorted.
    Lee frowned at her. “Have you been crying?”
    “No.” She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. “Of course
not.”
    “Have it your way. Come on, I’ll walk you back to the
house.”
    “I don’t need a chaperon.”
    “Fine,” he muttered crossly, “You can walk me back
to the house. Does that soothe your feminine vanity?”
    “I don’t know what you mean!”
    “You’re probably one of those feminists, right?” He muttered
an oath. “All that women’s lib crap, it makes me sick.”
    “That’s because you’re not a woman.”
    “Damn right.”
    “Why are you so angry?”
    “Why are you so stubborn?”
    “I’m not.”
    “The devil you’re not.”
    Kelly came to an abrupt halt, her hands fisted on her hips
as she glared at him. “I hate you.”
    “Good. I hate you, too,” he growled, and then, because he
could no more resist the lure of her pouting pink lips than he could refuse to
take his next breath, he yanked her into his arms and kissed her. Hard.
    Kelly struggled against him, her fists pounding impotently
on his back and shoulders.
    “Quit that, you little hellcat!”
    “Let me go!”
    Ignoring her futile protests, Lee backed her against a tree,
his hips grinding against hers, letting her feel the strength of his need. His
lips slid to her neck, her ear.
    “Skuya,” he murmured, his tongue delving into her
ear.
    “Don’t call me that!” Kelly exclaimed.
    “What?” He drew back a little.
    “Skuya. Don’t call me that.”
    “Why not?” he asked, and then frowned. “You know what it
means?”
    “Yes…no…just don’t call me that.”
    Lee studied her face closely. In the moonlight, her skin was
like porcelain touched with star dust. Her tear-dampened eyes were luminous,
her hair fell loose around her shoulders, a perfect frame for her beauty. A
single tear hovered on the tip of her lashes.
    His anger evaporated like smoke. “What is it, Kelly?” he
asked quietly. “What were you doing out here alone? Why were you crying?”
    She shook her head, refusing to meet his eyes.
    With a muffled curse, he drew her into his arms and held her
close.
    “It’s all right, Kelly,” he murmured. “You don’t have to
tell me.” He rocked her gently, his hands making lazy circles on her back.
“It’s all right, sweetheart, everything’s gonna be all right.”
    And swinging her into his arms, he carried her home and
tucked her into bed as if she were no more than a child.
    “Lee? I…would you mind staying with me awhile?”
    “No, I don’t mind.” And sitting on the bed beside her, he
held her hand until she fell asleep.
    The hand holding hers was strong yet gentle, telling her
she was safe, telling her she was loved. She glanced up at the man walking
beside her, the warmth of his smile washing over her like sunshine, heating her
flesh with only a look, sending shivers of sensation running through her.
    When they reached the river, he