You make a God promise? You will lie with me in my buffalo…

““You make a God promise? You will lie with me in my buffalo robes?” Loretta closed her eyes. The words stuck in her throat. She was sacrificing her self-respect. Her own people would forever scorn her if they knew. But what choice did she have? “Yes, I’ll lie with you.” “You will see into me when you speak.” She lifted her lashes. His eyes burned with an intensity she’d never seen before. “I’ll lie with you, I swear to God.” “You will not fight the big fight when I put my hands upon you?” “No.” “And you will eat? You will stay beside me? Forever into the horizon?” “Yes.” He brushed his thumb across her mouth, remembering how sweet her lips had tasted. A slow smile creased his dark face. “You will say it before your God.” Loretta blinked and met his gaze. “I swear it before God--I’ll eat and I’ll stay beside you, forever into the horizon.” “You will not fight the great fight?” “No, I won’t fight.” He slipped an arm around her waist and drew her against him. “Ah, Blue Eyes, it is a good bargain this Comanche has made.” “You’ll go find her?” “I will find her, and I will bring her to you, eh?” Loretta hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath. She exhaled in a rush, so relieved that she felt weak. Hunter bent his head and pressed his face against her hair. The next instant she felt his lips on her neck. She also felt his hand on her posterior. Frustrated by her high neckline and her full skirts, he made a fist in the calico. “So much wannup. Where are you, Blue Eyes?””

— Catherine Anderson