Free Savage Spirit by Cassie Edwards

until she totally trusted him. She did not want to be put off guard by any more of his kisses.

    To try and forget his presence, Alicia dove into the food and began eating with her fingers. There were all sorts of vegetables and meats, and the fruit of the yucca. As she ate, she could still feel his eyes on her, even when she realized that he had gone to sit on the other side of the fire from her.

    Cloud Eagle could not help but stare at Alicia. He had seen how beautiful she was in the painting. Today, she was just as breathtaking. Her long hair fell beautifully over her shoulders, its brilliant red color more pronounced against the white doeskin dress. She was alluring, slender, and dainty. The clean fragrance of her skin wafted across the fire. He inhaled and closed   his eyes, wanting her so badly at this moment that it hurt.

    He knew that her want was just as fierce. He had felt it in the way she responded to his kisses. He had seen it in her eyes.

    Even when she had been defiant and spiteful to him, he had seen that she could not hide her feelings beneath such a false exterior.

    Comfortably full, Alicia pushed the half-emptied platter aside. She drew a blanket around her shoulders as Cloud Eagle rose from the floor and approached her. When he got too close, she inched her way back on the pallet of furs.

    "Stay away from me," she warned. "You are a thief. You are an abductor. Once I am well enough, I will escape from your clutches. Just you wait and see. I know the art of moving through the dark without being detected as well as any Apache."

    Tired of the accusations and her false front of pretending to hate him, Cloud Eagle stopped and glared down at her, then left the tepee without a word.

    When he returned with Red Crow at his side, Alicia grew quiet and tense. She looked guardedly from one to the other, waiting to see what Cloud Eagle's next tactic might be.

    What truly concerned her was that she now had two Apaches facing her with disgruntled looks on their faces.

    And she had no idea what sort of man Red Crow was, or what his status in life might bewhether or not he already had a wife, or many. If Cloud Eagle was tired of bantering with her, he might just have decided to give her to another Apache warrior for his pleasure.   "Red Crow, I have brought you here to stand in front of the white woman so that she can hear me give you the command to take your choice of warriors to Sandy Whiskers' outpost," Cloud Eagle said, his eyes never leaving Alicia. "I am almost certain that the sandy-haired, bearded Englishman is responsible for this woman's ambush. Go to him. Demand the return of this woman's mail sack. Then bring it to me to prove the innocence of our band of Apache. It is the only way this woman will know that none of our Apache took part in the ambush."

    Red Crow stared angrily down at Alicia. He saw her as an interference in the lives of the Apache. But he had received the direct order from his chief. He nodded and left.

    Alicia was silent for a moment. She and Cloud Eagle exchanged unwavering gazes, then she laughed sarcastically. "Sandy Whiskers is a peaceful man," she said, giving Cloud Eagle her most defiant look. "All he is guilty of is trading furs. The United States Army ignores Sandy Whiskers' activities. They see his presence in the area as unimportant. He has built a wall around his outpost only because he does not feel safe from renegade Indians like you."

    Cloud Eagle returned the sarcasm. "The stocky Englishman has the white-eyed pony soldiers at Fort Thomas fooled. But not Cloud Eagle," he said, his eyes narrowing. "This Apache knows that the Englishman trapper has outlaws and Indian renegades under his command who occasionally raid stagecoaches and attack white settlers. I have not pointed these indiscretions out to the United States Government because I use the Englishman for my own purposes. For my   silence, the Englishman pays the Apache quite wellwith farming implements,