Free Seneca Surrender by Gen Bailey

of Wild Mint, she who had hold of my heart from the first moment I ever beheld her.”
    Sarah was silent. At length, however, she proffered, “Again, I am sorry for your loss.”
    “Nyah-weh.” He, too, sat in silence. “Of course, now I wish I had listened more intently to my grandmother. But this I know: The broth I brew should contain foodstuffs found only in the bones of animals. Perhaps I am not boiling the bones long enough to ensure the marrow’s healing ingredients are in the broth.”
    “It could be,” suggested Sarah. “At home, we often boil the broth for one or more days. It takes that long for the nourishment to leak out of the bones and into the liquid.”
    He nodded. “ Nyoh , I will try that, and we shall see if the cramps in your legs become less. But for now, if you would seek your bed and lie down, I will rub your legs—”
    “Oh, no,” Sarah interrupted, and she noted that he seemed almost as relieved at her refusal as she was to give it.
    But he said, “Do not fear me. I will take no advantage of you. I wish only to help take away the pain.”
    “I thank you and I understand that well,” she replied, “but I grasp, too, your hesitation. After all, we are alone, and …”
    “You are safe with me.”
    She brought up her gaze to stare at him. “Truly? ”
    “Truly. Do not think, however, that because I have given you my word I do not find you desirable.”
    If possible, Sarah’s eyes widened further as she regarded him. Was it true?
    He continued, “But as you know I am committed to she who can no longer be with me in the flesh. Besides, you have my word that nothing shall pass between us that you do not wish to experience, and a Seneca Indian’s word of honor, once pledged, is sacred.”
    Sarah could barely credit what she did next; perhaps his words triggered a challenge. Whatever the cause—and unable to look him directly in the eye as she said it—she whispered, “But, Mr. Thunder, what would you do if I were willing to … to …”
    She thought she heard him groan, and she raised up her glance quickly to see if he were in pain. “Sir?”
    He seemed to be all right, at least physically so, but she watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. Was he reacting to what she said?
    At last he appeared to come to grips with the constriction in his throat, and he said, “And are you considering testing the pleasures that can be found between a man and a woman? Is that where your thoughts are tending? ”
    “I—I … no, I think not.”
    Though Sarah’s gaze could still not quite meet his, she watched him beneath her lashes, and when he appeared to settle down, she said, “It is only that you are … male … and I am … female … and if you touch me … there might be a complication.”
    “Only if you desire it,” he said, his voice low as he repeated, “Do you? ”
    “I … no …”
    “Then there is no danger.” His manner and his voice appeared to be normal again, and he continued, saying, “Come, lie down. I will rub your legs so that the pain goes away. And as I do so, I will tell you a story to take our attention away from the pleasures that men and women can experience with one another. Would you like that? ”
    “I …” She still couldn’t quite look him in the eye, but at last, gazing up at him quickly, she said, “Yes, please. I believe that I would enjoy your touch upon me very much.”
    His response was a stunned silence, then an involuntary growl followed; it was low, soft and utterly masculine. Unwittingly, something very feminine in her responded to him, but she was quick to say, “My legs, I should have said. Please excuse me. I meant that I would enjoy your massage, since, when my leg muscles spasm, they hurt to the point of crippling me.”
    “I understood your intent,” he said, and they stared at one another for so many moments, Sarah was left almost breathless.
    What was happening to her?
    Sarah wasn’t certain, but whatever it was, it