Free Untamed by Sharon Ihle Page B

once had she done anything for the woman in return.
    Hoping to make up for the unintended slights, Josie turned to her and asked, "Are you warmed up yet?"
    She shivered a little. "Almost."
    "Would you like me to heat some water to warm your hands and feet?''
    "Huh?" Sissy looked up at Josie, the whites of her eyes exposed. "Well, sure. That'd be real nice."
    "I'll get right to it."
    As she searched through the rubble of dirty dishes on the counter by the stove, Josie realized that something fundamental had changed in Sissy, a subtle yet obvious difference. The woman had always been distant, very much within herself, almost to the point of being secretive. Now she seemed more aloof than cold, as if her stoical nature was by design rather than by rote. Gone was the slight droop of her chin, the subservient manner. She even displayed a touch of ego, as if her new role as Long Belly's great buffalo goddess had gone to her head.
    Of course, part of that ridiculously imperious manner surely stemmed from the way the damned savage had worshiped her since their return. The way he'd fussed over Sissy, insisting that she couldn't be distracted from the buffalo spirit long enough to help do anything would be enough to turn any woman's head. Even Josie's. Why couldn't she have been the one to have found a damned buffalo wallow?
    Aware that jealousy was creeping into her heart again, Josie shook off those covetous thoughts and filled a fairly clean kettle with water. Not long after Sissy cleaned her face and hands, and soaked her frozen feel in the warns water, Long Belly returned from the barn. Dusted again with the snow that was still falling, he shook himself like the dog that he was, turning the dirt near the threshold into a puddle of mud. Then he stripped off his coat and boots and plodded barefoot over to Daniel's bed, where he still sat working the piece of deerskin.
    "So, my friend," Long Belly said. "Before I punish your foolish woman, I must ask—how well does this perfect gift warm your bed these cold nights?"
    Daniel glanced at Josie, who was holding her breath, then hesitated just long enough to rob himself of an answer.
    "It is as I thought," surmised Long Belly. "She is no good for pleasure either. For this, I am sorry, brother. Perhaps you will accept my gift of Buffalo Hair in your bed tonight."
    "Ah, thanks... but no thanks."
    "But you must," Long Belly insisted. "My woman knows much about the pleasure of men. I will take this worthless female to my own bed and show her what it means to please a man."
    Josie gasped, terrified to think that Daniel might encourage such an arrangement. And why wouldn't he? Sissy was a much better bargain in a man's bed than Josie was or could ever be.
    "I should have beaten this worthless female before I left on my journey," Long Belly continued, his features set like stone. "I will beat her now and send her to my loft."
    "You do," she said, not crouching, but backing up, "and I'll kill you. I swear I will."
    "Hold it right there." Daniel came to her rescue again, as before, on the late side. "Don't I have anything to say about who sleeps in my bed?"
    The savage turned away from Josie. "Of course, but I know you will prefer my woman to yours. She will make you very happy. I owe you this and more."
    "Dammit, Long Belly, you owe me nothing, you bear? Nothing." Daniel glanced at Josie, making tip his mind about something, then turned back to the Cheyenne. "As to your offer of Buffalo Hair, I really can't accept. If there's one thing my perfect little gift knows how to do, it's take the chill out of a man's blanket. Besides that, she cooks up a mean batch of flapjacks. Leave her with me."
    Before then, Josie had felt a distinct separation from the other three, a sense of isolation that she hadn't even felt when her stepfather dumped her at the pleasure palace. Until that moment of awareness, she hadn't realized how truly alone she was in the world. Now she figured that Daniel must care a little