Sioux Slave (4 page)

Soldiers often used Indian girls for their pleasure, she thought, it was only just that he be used as her docile stud, to give her pleasure; to put seed in her womb.

Of course. Why not? He was helpless and staked out. Hinzi was no danger to her. She could do anything she wanted with him and no one in the camp would object. It was her right as the dead warrior's widow.

The thought both shamed and excited her. Stirring restlessly, she knew she should be mourning for her dead warrior. Yet in her dream she couldn't control this urge to reach out and run her hand across the soldier's naked, hairy chest, down to his navel. His white skin was warm to the touch. She felt his pulse beating strongly in his hard belly.

Or was that her own pulse pounding in her ears? Had she no shame? What was it that drew her to have erotic thoughts about this
wasicu?

She imagined taking out her small knife, cutting away his pants so he lay naked. She imagined that she put her hand on his manhood as it hardened and throbbed. He groaned aloud, writhing beneath her fingers. He was built big, Kimi thought, big as a buffalo bull or a mustang stallion. Surely a male like this one was virile enough to end all those troubled dreams she had had these past months.

In her mind, she took off her doeskin shift with tantalizing slowness, knowing he watched her undress. She stood looking down at him, as naked in the spring moonlight as he was And he was helpless, staked out for her use and pleasure.

You are my slave, my captive,
she whispered to him as she arched her back so that her breasts jutted out with ripe promise. Ever so slowly, she ran her fingers up and down her own naked thighs, up to stroke her nipples. His gaze followed her hands as if he wished those hands on her flesh were his. His manhood seemed to throb as she went down on her knees beside him.

In her troubled dream, she saw him studying her breasts and he ran his tongue over his lower lip. Kimi took a deep breath, threw back her shoulders so that her full breasts stood out.
Do you like them? No man's hands have ever cupped them, caressed them. Would you like to put your mouth on them?

Please
... He struggled against his bonds but he was tied securely, as a stallion might be cross-tied to permit his safe use by a mare. Kimi ran her thumbs around the circle of her nipples with deliberate motions and his blue eyes seemed to follow every move.

Kimi bent over him, reached out and ran her thumb across his nipples and he arched his back and moaned aloud.
Please ... oh, please . . .

She clasped his iron rod of maleness in her hand and wondered if her small body could sheath that hard sword.

Then, leaning forward, she put one hand on each side of his blond head. That made her breasts hang just above his reaching, eager mouth.

Kimi smiled at his efforts to reach her breasts.
I'm going to use you now, slave. You look like prime breeding stock. This is my first time to couple with a man. I order you to make this pleasurable for me. If you do, perhaps I'll give you a trinket or an extra coin. If not, I may geld you or take a quirt to you.

See that you do, yellow-haired stud.
Feeling almost heady with her power over this big male animal, Kimi straddled him and leaned over so his mouth could reach her breasts. She almost cried out in her pleasure at the sensation of his hot, wet mouth sucking her nipples.
Yes. Yes. Oh, Yes!

And now to make use of the soldier's big sword. For only a moment, Kimi hesitated, looking down at the size of it. He was built to give a woman pleasure. Her body felt wet and eager to be bred. With delectable slowness, so as to make it last, she slid down on him, sheathing his big sword in her velvet place. She felt it hit against the silk of her virginity. She would have to take him deep in her depths.

Only for a moment, she hesitated. Then she gritted her teeth and came down on him hard, taking him all the way up under her ribs as she straddled him. Kimi felt her maidenhood tear away, felt the sudden flash of pain and the warmth of her own blood running down his rod. He felt so good throbbing deep within her body as she began to ride him, her breasts brushing tantalizingly against his lips.

But now he was arrogant again, laughing at her desperate need.
No, bitch, you pleasure me, beg me for it; beg me; say please ... please . . . .

 

 

Kimi came awake with a sudden start, sat up, breathing hard, felt the perspiration on her face. She looked around in the darkness and heard her mother snoring. It had only been a dream, but so real. It almost seemed she could hear him begging for her favors.

What had awakened her? Kimi strained to hear. Old Wagnuka snored loudly from her side of the tipi. No, that hadn't been it. The camp lay very still in the middle of the night. The remembrance of everything that had happened yesterday rushed back to her. Instead of losing her virginity to her husband, she dreamed of mating with his enemy. What kind of shameless woman was she? One who had a great capacity for passion, she thought, and now she might never experience that mystery.

A sound: a very soft moaning. “Please . . . please . . .”

Yes, that had been what awakened her from her troubled dreams. The soldier. No doubt he was in pain from his wound and being tied spread-eagled for hours. For a moment, she almost weakened at the thought of his suffering. No, she would ignore him. He deserved no better. He moaned again. Kimi frowned and sighed. If he didn't stop, he would wake her mother or maybe some of the others. She lay back down and tried to sleep. Hinzi moaned again, a little louder this time.

How could she sleep if the captive kept that up? She would go out there and stuff a rag between his lips to mute him. Yes, that was a good reason to go outside and check on him. Of course she didn't care if he were in pain; she wouldn't let herself even think about that. It was only important that she make him be quiet so he wouldn't wake the camp. She crept quietly from the lodge. It was still dark outside but the air had turned cooler. She looked down at the captive.

“Be silent!” she snapped in a mixture of Lakota and a few English words. “You will awake everyone and so be killed sooner.”

“Water,” he whispered, and cursed softly in that soft drawl, “Some water . . .”

“Be still, I said.”

Hinzi looked unaccustomed to begging for anything. She wondered suddenly if he had been a high officer or a wealthy man, used to ordering people about, expecting others to obey his every command? She had a feeling women begged for his caresses as he had begged her in her troubled dreams. She leaned over him, as she reached for the water skin. “Beg me for it and perhaps I will give you a little water.”

“Go to hell!” He glared up at her. “If I were free,” he snapped, “you would be the one begging.”

“Ha!” She threw her head back disdainfully and laid the water skin to one side. “Big talk for one tied up like a bull waiting to be slaughtered!”

Before she realized what was happening, his right hand shot out and grabbed her by the throat. He had worked that one hand loose from its bounds, she thought in that split second as she struggled with him. If she could only scream and bring people running to her aid.

The same thought must have flashed through his mind, for he dragged her down to him by sheer brute strength, blocking her cry with his lips.

In fear and fury, Kimi tried to break his grip, pull away from his mouth so she could scream, but in their struggle, his mouth was on hers, his teeth cutting her lip. No longer was she worried about screaming; now she only wanted enough air to breathe as his iron hand tightened on her throat.

“Please ...” she managed to gasp against his mouth, choking slowly.

“Beg,” he demanded against her mouth. “Untie me!”

He was as proud as she was, Kimi realized as she struggled. She tasted blood from her cut lip even as he forced his tongue deep into her mouth, muffling her cry.

In silence, they struggled. As hurt as he was and with only one hand free, he was still a powerful, virile stallion of a man. She had underestimated his strength and desperation, thinking him too wounded, too bound to be dangerous.

Mouth to mouth, they struggled. Kimi gasped for air as she fought, beating him about the face with her small fists. His hands were big and powerful enough to break her neck, she realized that. To save her life, she would have to submit, or his powerful hand would choke her breath off. If she untied him, he would be a danger to the whole camp. She would let him kill her before she endangered her people. If she only had a weapon–a skinning knife, anything. Her blows about his head and brawny chest seemed useless. His only chance was to ignore the blows of her fists and force her to free him, and he seemed to realize that as much as she did.

“Untie me and you'll live!” His breath was hot against her mouth as she fought to get away from his strong hand.

She couldn't even get enough air to refuse. All she could do was fight and shake her head. He was going to kill her, Kimi thought. He had nothing to lose in this desperate gamble. Yet to save her own life, she couldn't endanger the sleeping camp.

Kimi did the only thing she could think to do. She brought her fist down with all her small strength, striking the wound in his thigh.

He gasped in agony and passed out.

With a sigh of relief, Kimi pulled free of the unconscious man and rubbed her bruised throat. That had been a dangerous trap, caused by her own soft heart. Her mother was right; the wasicu were not to be trusted. They were as cunning and full of tricks as a badger. No wonder Wagnuka had made her stay out of sight every time a trader or trapper had come to their camp. She said they hungered for pretty Sioux girls.

But what of her own hungers? Without thinking, she ran her fingertips across her lips, remembering the hot, sweet taste of the soldier's mouth, the warmth of his hand, the feel of his naked, hairy chest against her when he held her close.

She must stop thinking of that, Kimi admonished herself sternly. Perhaps the sooner this bluecoat was dead, the better.

She studied him. Could she blame him for doing whatever it took to try to save his life, knowing what lay ahead of him at dawn?

It would soon be light and the warriors would be coming for the captive. Kimi took his big hand in hers, more than a little aware of the power of that hand as she tied his wrist down to the stake again. He must have unbelievable strength, to have been able to break that thong. Maybe it had been strength born of desperation. She was fortunate he hadn't snapped her neck.

Absently Kimi brushed her left hand across his lips, wondering if he had put his mouth on many girls' mouths. No man had ever kissed her before. Immediately, she felt angry and guilty because of the emotion that raced through her at the memory. What kind of woman was she anyway, that the taste of a man's mouth could excite her and set her blood pounding like a mare in heat, while her own husband lay newly dead? Her face burned as she remembered her torrid, troubled fantasy. Had she no shame? This might be Mato's killer staked out here.

Dawn came slowly from the east, with all the pale, soft colors of prairie flowers. Around her the camp began to stir, dogs barked, babies cried. Women called to each other as they stoked up their camp fires and began to prepare food.

The soldier stirred slightly and moaned. Kimi wished the warriors would come for him and get this over with. Yet she dreaded the ordeal. Since he had first looked into her eyes and tried to talk to her, since his lips had brushed hers, he was no longer just a hated enemy; now he was a living, breathing human being.

Kimi stood up even as she heard the warriors approaching, led by One Eye. The battle-hardened warrior smiled without mirth. “So, Kimi, are you so eager for your revenge that you are out here waiting for us?”

What should she say? What
could
she say? “Of course. He—he deserves to die.”

With mixed feelings, she watched the braves cut the soldier's bonds and dragged him to his feet. The Yellow Hair was conscious now and only moaned once when they hauled him upright. He could not stand alone and would have fallen, had not Kimi rushed forward, let him lean on her. He stared down into her eyes and she felt so guilty that she looked away and did not meet his gaze.

A frown crossed One Eye's handsome face. “You should have let him fall and be dragged like a dog through the camp for all to sneer at.” He gestured to two of the biggest braves to shoulder the weight of the tall soldier. Hinzi tried to fight them, but in his weakened condition he was no match for the warriors. They half dragged, half carried him to the big camp circle. Kimi followed along behind, unsure what she was supposed to do, although she had already decided she didn't want to take part in his execution.

Most people had eaten, and they gathered curiously in the circle to watch what would be done with the captive. His thigh was bleeding again, Kimi winced as she noticed. What difference did that make to the brawny, half-naked man? In a few more minutes, he would have many other agonies to worry about. Even injured, he was still strong enough to strike several blows, scattering his enemies. Though he struggled, the braves raised his arms above his head and lashed them to a framework. He wore only the ragged blue pants, and someone had taken his boots. His feet barely touched the earth, and now they tied his ankles to two stakes driven wide apart in the ground.

Kimi hesitated. Should she leave so she wouldn't have to watch? What would everyone say if she left? They expected her to relish this vengeance because of her husband's death, and didn't this enemy of her people deserve this pain and humiliation? Wi the sun rose above the horizon. Light gleamed on hair as golden as the sun itself. Hinzi. Yellow Hair. Tonight that fine scalp would hang on a lodge pole for a victory celebration and dancing.

The soldier tried to stand, but his injured leg wouldn't support him. He hung helpless and suspended from his wrists. With his ankles tied to stakes, he couldn't move anyway. Kimi stared at the rippling muscles of his broad back and wide shoulders. Her own skin where it was protected from the constant sun was much paler than the other Sioux, she realized that, but the yellow-haired soldier had the fairest skin she had ever seen. It was tanned only where it had been exposed to the sun.

Gopher stepped forward with a knife. “The
wasicu
wears clothes like a man, but a soldier is no better than an animal–a dog, a horse. He should not be allowed the dignity of covering himself.”

With a quick motion, the stout brave cut the blue trousers from the soldier, threw them away, leaving him naked while the women laughed behind their hands. “Look at the Hinzi. He's big as a stallion. Kimi, it is only right that you make the knife stroke.”

They expected her to geld him. Often when a warrior killed an enemy, he cut off his man parts. Sometimes as an insult, they left them stuffed in the dead enemy's mouth. It added insult to injury because any man valued his manhood more than he did his life. Gelding was what was done to horses, even among the whites to keep inferior stock from reproducing or make them tractable, docile work animals. Did whites geld men? Maybe some of their black slaves she'd heard the warriors talk about.

Were the Indians any less civilized than the
wasicu
then? Life was hard and merciless for the Indians: kill or be killed, even when they wanted to live in peace.

From where she now stood, Kimi could only stare in fascinated horror at the evidence of Hinzi's maleness.

One Eye put a sharp knife into her numb hand, pushed Kimi forward into the circle formed by the curious onlookers. Someone had started a fire nearby. Kimi's mouth felt so dry, she couldn't swallow. She looked from the blade in her hand to the naked, helpless soldier. The muscles rippled in his lithe body as he seemed to see the knife in her hand and pulled at his wrists, struggling to break free. Perspiration stood out on his handsome face in great beads.

For the first time, she saw fear in his pale blue eyes, not fear of death or pain, but fear for the loss of his maleness. Such a waste, Kimi thought, to geld a fine specimen of a man like this one. He wasn't going to beg for mercy, no matter what she did to him, that much was clear.

He began to swear and fight the thongs that tied him. “No! Damn you! No!” He pulled at his bonds again. Kimi took a deep breath of the smoke from the camp fire and watched him struggling to break free. The hard muscles of his belly rippled as he twisted against the thongs, and she saw the lean power of his hips. This one could drive hard and deep into a woman, make her know he was there, have her arching herself up, clawing those lean hips and the corded muscles of that strong back, begging him to plunge deeper still.

“Kimi, get on with it!” One Eye snapped.

She started, terrified that he might have read her thoughts. Had she no shame? She looked from him to the waiting crowd, at the soldier fighting his bonds. She stared at the camp fire, looked at the naked soldier and knew that next they would see how well he withstood fire without screaming in pain.

She couldn't do this. She
must
do this. Kimi forced herself to approach Yellow Hair, knelt on one knee before him as he fought to break free, shouting and cursing, but not begging for mercy.

The people yelled encouragement; “Finish it, so we may begin the torture! Who will be first to put a burning stick on that white skin?”

The crowd roared approval at the remark, looking forward to the entertainment to come.

Kimi paused uncertainly. Suddenly she wanted to throw down the knife and run away. Very slowly she looked up into the soldier's stoic, angry face. His expression was pale but grimly determined as he set his mouth in a hard line. His eyes widened as he looked at her. What was it that surprised him so? That a woman could take part in such a thing? Lakota women were as brave and savage as their men. To survive against the tribe's many enemies, they had to be.

Yet she had a sudden feeling that she could cut him slowly to small pieces with her knife, even cut off his manhood and throw it in his face, and he would not whimper or beg for mercy.

There was sudden confusion on the far side of the camp and Kimi looked around, relieved for any diversion that would postpone the inevitable.

Somewhere an elderly woman shouted, “Tatanka Iyotake of the Hunkpapas and some of his warriors have come to council with our chiefs.”

The crowd turned, abruptly more interested that Sitting Bull was in camp. Kimi breathed a sigh of relief.

One Eye frowned. “We will see what these leaders think we should do.”

Some of the Hunkpapas dismounted and came forward.

The short, stocky Sitting Bull, wearing the scarlet sash of his Strong Heart society, paused to look. “What is happening here, my friend?”

One Eye spoke with respect. “As you see, Tatanka Iyotake, we make ready to geld and kill a bluecoat soldier. You have arrived just in time.”

“One Long Knife is of little concern,” the leader shrugged, “I come to discuss future plans.”

Even though, as a woman, she really wasn't supposed to speak, Kimi saw her chance because she knew now she couldn't bring herself to torture the Hinzi. Perhaps her status as wife of a respected warrior who had been killed in battle would cause the braves to overlook her impudence.

“It seems to me we are in too big a hurry to kill the captive,” Kimi blurted to the important leader. “Yellow Hair would do better as a hostage to insure the soldiers won't attack this camp. Later we might even trade him to them. They won't give us cartridges and tobacco for a dead man.”

The Strong Heart nodded. “For a woman, you think and speak well.”

“No!” Some of the men of yesterday's war party protested and pushed forward. “No, we brought back this captive; we demand the right to test his courage by fire and blade!”

Kimi whirled on them. “You would question the wisdom of Strong Heart warriors? Perhaps he is right. Alive the soldier might be used as a hostage to protect our camp or trade to the soldiers. Dead, he is worthless to our people.”

A murmur of agreement ran through the crowd at Kimi's words, though many were grumbling at the talk of losing the morning's entertainment. She saw the hesitation on One Eye's face and knew that even he saw her wisdom. “What should we do with him in the meantime?”

Kimi shrugged carelessly as if it mattered little to her, although suddenly it mattered a great deal. “Hinzi might be useful as a slave. With my husband dead, I have need of a beast of burden to carry wood and water.”

One Eye frowned. “The whites geld their beasts of burden to make them docile and tractable. Even if we don't kill him, that's what you should do with this soldier. Let him live so he might be of use as trade goods or as a hostage, but take his manhood.”

“He is already weak from loss of blood,” Kimi argued coolly, “he may not survive the knife.”

Judging from the murmur of the crowd, the people seemed to agree with the warrior that the virile white male should be gelded.

The important warriors who had just arrived seemed to have more important things on their minds. “We are here to council and smoke. Anyway the woman is right; he might not survive the loss of blood. It is fitting that he be given to Mato's widow as a slave until he is ransomed ... or a meeting of the Wicasas, the Shirt Wearers, decide to kill him.”

An even greater murmur of agreement ran through the crowd. Sitting Bull, Red Cloud and Crazy Horse of the Oglalas, were gaining the peoples' respect. “Yes, give the soldier to Kimi to be used as a slave! The
wasicu
will not attack our camp if they fear to kill one of their own. As a hostage, he will insure the safety of the people.”

Kimi stood there holding the knife, staring up at the big, naked soldier tied hand and foot before her while the warriors discussed it. What would she do if they changed their minds? She could not go against her people, yet the unspoken plea in his blue eyes touched her woman's heart. Finally it was decided that the question as to what to do with Hinzi should be postponed. Until a final decision was made, the soldier should be given to Kimi to be used as a slave.

One Eye argued, “It is not seemly that a man occupy the tipi of two women.” However, even as he said it, he cut the ropes and the soldier collapsed in a heap.

“Hinzi is not a man, only a slave,” Kimi sneered. She walked over, nudged him with her moccasin contemptuously. “He is no danger to anyone right now. He can't escape, he can't even stand alone.”

It was true, and everyone seemed to recognize that fact. Two warriors lifted him up out of the dirt and half dragged, half carried him back to Kimi's marriage tipi with the curious trailing along to watch.

Kimi stopped and put her hands on her hips as she considered. “He might not survive another night outside in the cool air. Bind him again and tie him to a stake inside the lodge.”

She stuck the knife in her clothing and followed the warriors as they dragged the soldier into the tipi she would have shared with Mato. She went inside and stood watching as they tied his hands together, drove a stake in the ground above his head, and tied his wrists to it.