The Heart of a Warrior

The Heart of a Warrior

By

Daniel Running Water

Chapter Thirteen

I apologize for the long wait in posting this chapter. My editor has been incapacitated and so I was not able to get it back from him. Now it's ready so here you are. Thank you for you patience, Daniel.

Chapter Thirteen

"And just how was it that the sheriff and Mr. Daniels came to be shot and killed?" deputy sheriff Andrew Wilson asked.

"I have already told you, they abducted me last night while I was walking," Abe said, again. "My good friend, Swift Sparrow, found the trail and tracked us to the cabin that I was being held in. Daniels shot the sheriff in cold blood and during the ensuing battle between Swift Sparrow and Daniels, Daniels was killed."

"And its your claim that the sheriff and Mr. Daniels were in cahoots with each other to swindle this here deed from you," he skeptically asked, raising a brow as he looked over his desk at Abe.

"It's not a claim, it's a fact. Daniels used the sheriff to lure me into a dark alley so that he could abduct me. Now I have done my civic duty and reported the facts to you as well as brought their bodies back for burial... sheriff," Abe said determinedly, his eyes meeting those of Andrew's.

"Of course you know that there will have to be an inquiry into this," he smugly said. "I am going to have to hold you here until the inquiry is finished. Whenever we have an Indian killing a white man... well it doesn't look good for the injun. Now where did you say that this...this Swift Sparrow is at the moment?"

"I didn't say because I know just what `white justice' is like. Once Judge Williams arrives, I will tell him the facts and I will produce Swift Sparrow," Abe pointedly stated and got up to leave, along with Andrew.

"Like I said, I am going to have to hold you, now if you would be as kind as to place your gun on my desk," Andrew warned again, holding his own gun now pointed directly at Abe. "Judge Williams should be arriving any day now, so I am quite sure that you won't be inconvenience for long."

"I'm staying at the hotel here and you can send word once he does arrive." Abe argued, but the acting sheriff would not yield.

Pushing the gun against Abe's chest, Andrew looked adamantly into his eyes, conveying what he wanted of Abe. Abe slowly, gently, pulled his gun from its holster and laid it on the desk. Turning towards where Andrew motioned, he led Abe to a cell in the backroom.

Abe paced the small confines of his cell, wishing now that he had just left the two bodies back at where they had met their demise.

"Pssst," Abe heard and turned quickly to barred window.

"Swift Sparrow, what are you doing here," Abe asked, concerned greatly for his husband's safety.

"I am going to break you out of here," he told Abe but Abe shook his head.

He did not want to endanger Swift Sparrow because he knew that if they were caught, Andrew would not hesitate to shoot first and then ask questions.

"No my husband, go back to our room and once Judge Williams arrives, all justice will be met and met swiftly."

"I cannot bear to see you locked up like some animal," Swift Sparrow said, reaching through the bars and caressing Abe's cheek.

"I will be safe here and I don't want you to be harmed," Abe told him.

Suddenly, Swift Sparrow's eyes widen and Abe knew that he'd been caught.

"I had a feeling that you'd be around to try and break your friend from jail," Andrew said, pressing his gun against Swift Sparrow's back. "Now why don't you just drop that gun to the ground and you can join your lover inside," Andrew demanded and Swift Sparrow obliged.

Andrew led Swift Sparrow into the jail but locked him in a cell beside Abe, not trusting them together.

"At least let us be together until the judge arrives," Abe begged, but Andrew merely smiled and locked Swift Sparrow into the separate cell.

"And do what, let you both hold each other and find comfort in each other's arms, I don't think so. Yeah I know what you two are to each other," he smugly said standing back and watching the torment that Abe and Swift Sparrow were feeling.

Andrew left them alone and walked away, knowing that being so close and yet unable to cling to one another would be heart wrenching for them. He sat at his desk and then reached down to a lower desk drawer and pulled a bottle of whisky out. He pulled the cork from the bottle with his teeth and took a long draw of the amber liquid before placing the bottle on the desk.

Andrew's hand roamed slowly across his crotch and he gently caressed his cock through his jeans. From where he sat, he could see Abe and noticed how the man watched him. Andrew stood up, lowered his jeans and once his cock was exposed, he began to slowly stroke it, keeping his eyes locked with those of Abe.

"Yeah Abraham, I know that you remember me, but I was never good enough for you, was I," he whispered to himself, keeping his eyes locked with those of Abe. "I know you want this," he said aloud, wagging his cock toward Abe as he stroked it.

He reached for the bottle with his free hand, took another long draw and after he placed it back on the desk, he stepped from his jeans. Abe knew what was on Andrew's mind, and he remembered back to when he and Andrew were teens. Andrew had caught Abe and the sheriff fucking and although he didn't give away his presence, he continued to watch the two lovers.

"I never wanted you when we were young and I surely don't want you know," Abe said as Andrew walked toward his cell half naked.

"Well as I see Abraham, you've not much choice, now do you?"

"If you touch my husband, I will surely find a way to kill you," Swift Sparrow cursed.

"Yeah from where I stand injun, there is not much that you can do about it, now is there?" Andrew laughed a sadistic laugh and ignored the threats.

Holding his gun forward, Andrew motioned to Abe's clothes and told him to remove them, but Abe stood there, unwilling to yield to his demands.

"Defiant eh, well let's see how defiant you are when I fill that injun lover of yours with lead," Andrew said coldly and turned his gun toward Swift Sparrow.

"No... I'll do as you wish," an angered Abe said and quickly began to undress, Andrew's eyes feasting on Abe's body as he revealed it to him.

"I thought that you would see things my way, Abraham," Andrew said and stood watching Abe as he lowered his jeans to the floor and stepped from them.

"Do not touch him for I swear that I will kill you," Swift Sparrow shouted, but Andrew paid him no mind as he unlocked Abe's cell door.

"Get over there on the cot... on your stomach," Andrew ordered and reluctantly, Abe moved, lowering his body, stomach down unto the bed and cringed when he felt the cold steel of Andrew's revolver as it slid down his back and coming to rest between the cheeks of his ass. "You always did have a sweet looking ass," Andrew said and using his revolver, urged Abe's legs apart.

The cot groaned from his weight as Andrew climbed between Abe's legs and without warning, he thrust his hardened cock deep into Abe's ass.

"Aaaagggghhhh stop... oh God please stop," Abe cried out as the pain of the impalement coursed through his body.

"I bet your injun lover never pleasured you like I am going to pleasure you," Andrew whispered against Abe's ear, reveling over the sweet sensations he was feeling with Abe's ass wrapped around his cock.

Abe didn't reply, but buried his face into the pillow and waited for Andrew to continue his rape. Continue he did, starting out slowly and within minutes, Andrew was pounding his throbbing cock deep into Abe, needing release from the pressure that was building in his balls.

All the while Abe laid there in pain and humiliation, he felt the coldness of Andrew's gun as it pressed against his lower ear, and Swift Sparrow's eyes burning a hole into him and knowing that neither of them had any choice but endure Andrew's rape.

"God how I have wanted to fuck you ever since we were kids," Andrew shouted, slamming his cock hard, fast and deep into Abe's tortured ass.

Swift Sparrow stood there and silently his tears flowed as he endured in heart wrenching pain, his husband's rape. He knew that if he was ever to be free of this cell that he would slowly strangle Andrew until dead. He didn't care if he was to hang for the crime, but he would kill Andrew.

Abe turned his head and his eyes locked with those of Swift Sparrow and he could see the pain that Swift Sparrow felt. Abe mouthed that he loved him and that he was sorry, but he never took his eyes from Swift Sparrow's.

"See injun, see how a real man fucks and pleasures a man like Abraham," Andrew teased, thrusting urgently now as he moved ever closer to his climax and what he desired most, paradise in Abe. "Can you feel it handsome, can you feel my cock aching to release its seed into you?" he moaned as his thrusts became frantic and Abe did feel Andrew's cock swelling.

Abe knew that soon Andrew would release his seed and his rape would be over. But that didn't release Abe from the shame and guilt that he felt. He knew that if they ever got free, Swift Sparrow would surely kill Andrew, and right this moment, all that he wanted was for this rape to end and be able to talk to Swift Sparrow.

"Aaaagggghhhhhh fuck my cock Abraham," Andrew groaned out, thrusting harder, deeper and faster into Abe.

Andrew's head was tossed back and his mind swam in the ecstasy that he was feeling as his engorged cock spewed his seed deep into Abe. When his cock was spent, Andrew pulled it from Abe, slapping his ass hard before leaving the cell.

"Thanks for the fuck, handsome," Andrew said and then closed the door to the cell room.

"Walking Tall, talk to me, are you alright?" Swift Sparrow asked, once they were alone in the room.

"Please don't look at me Swift Sparrow, haven't I been humiliated enough?"

"It is not your shame but his," Swift Sparrow said with a heavy heart. "I will kill that evil man if ever we are free."

"How can I ever look you in the eyes again, Swift Sparrow, especially after... after having known that you watched me as Andrew raped me.

"As I said, the shame is not on you, my husband, but on that man that raped you."

Abraham buried his face into the pillow and cried.

Strong Bear was sitting on his porch talking with his grandson, Jason, when they saw Lone Eagle and Silver Cloud entering the village.

"Something must have happened for Lone Eagle to be coming back so soon,' a worried Jason stated as he stood and hurried over to meet the boys.

"Father, I have had my vision," a proud Lone Eagle stated, smiling broadly as he hugged his father hello.

"Already, it took me two tries and even then I did not receive my vision until the last day," a surprised Jason said as they walked back toward Strong Bear.

"Is everything alright?" Strong Bear asked, looking at the two boys with concern in his eyes.

"Ay-uh, great grandfather, I have received my vision from our Great Spirit," he said again, just as proud as before.

"Come and tell me of your vision," Strong Bear said but stood there, gazing at Silver Cloud. "This is a private time for Lone Eagle and his great grandfather," Strong Bear sternly said, gazing at Silver Cloud as if to send him away.

"No, for he is an important part of my vision," Lone Eagle said in defense of Silver Cloud's presence, standing firmly beside Silver Cloud and holding his hand.

"Then come with us also and share all with us," he invited and led the way to his cabin where they all quickly took a seat beside the fire.

Lone Eagle stood before the three and after clearing his throat, taking a deep breath, he began telling of his vision, describing it word for word. When he had finally finished the description of his dream, he stood waiting and gazing at those that sat before him.

"You are way too young son to know if you are in love with anyone, much less another brave," Jason said, not liking the idea of his son being in love with Silver Cloud.

"I am old enough to know what my heart wants, father."

"And I say you are still a child and that you only think you know, but as you grow older, your desires will change."

Strong Bear sat there and listen, keeping his thoughts to himself as Jason and Lone Eagle argued each other's point. After bantering back and forth with Jason, Lone Eagle turned to Silver Cloud.

"And now that you have heard of my vision, what do you think?" he asked, holding his eyes with Silver Cloud's and hoping against hope that Silver Cloud loved him.

Silver Cloud stood and pulled the young brave into his arms and kissed him. The kiss was not a kiss of friends, but of lovers.

"I know that we shall one day be together as husbands, for I too have had the same dream when I went on my vision," Silver Cloud shared and then kissed Lone Eagle again.

"Get away from my son," Jason demanded and shoved Silver Cloud away, causing him to fall to the floor. "He is still a child and you...you are too old for him," he added and then turned, grabbed Lone Eagle by the hand and headed for the door.

"Stop my grandson," Strong Bear insisted as he got up from the floor. "I have sat and listened to my great grandson and what he says is going to be true, because of a dream that I have had recently," Strong Bear said, causing Jason to stop.

"Please don't tell me, you had a dream about Lone Eagle and Silver Cloud marrying," Jason asked sarcastically.

"Gah-ween, it was about two tribes that were once one, reuniting," Strong Bear said, and then explained his dream to them.

"I still say this is not going to happen, vision or not" Jason adamantly said, his arms crossed against his chest. "He is only eight years old and that is too young for such a relationship. I am taking him home and getting him an education. Say your goodbyes to your great-grandfather and to... well just say them and come back to our cabin," Jason instructed of Lone Eagle who was now on the verge of tears.

"Listen to me, Lone Eagle, listen to what I say, for it is wisdom of the ages that I say this," Strong Bear said as he stood before his great-grandson. "What you have seen in your vision shall come to pass as surely as what the Great Spirit has shown me. No one can prevent what our Great Spirit has shown us and will be," he added assuredly, hugging the young boy to him.

"Ay-uh, great-grandfather," Lone Eagle said, but in his heart he doubted it.

"Go now, both you and Silver Cloud say your farewells," he urged and watched as the boys walked away and into the thickness of the forest.

"My heart is going to miss you, Lone Eagle," Silver Cloud said as he encircled his arms about the boy.

"No more than my heart will you," Lone Eagle replied with tears welling in his eyes.

They stood embracing and gazing into each other's eyes for what seemed an eternity. Finally Silver Cloud lowered his mouth to Lone Eagle's and they kissed passionately long. When a twig snapped, they stepped quickly apart and saw Jason standing there.

"It's time to go son," he said with his voice stern and adamant, waiting for Lone Eagle to join him.

"Don't forget me, Silver Cloud," a tearing Lone Eagle asked and moved quickly to join his father.

"Wait!" Silver Cloud called out and ran to Lone Eagle.

He pulled a silver trinket from around his neck and placed over Lone Eagle's head.

"This is to remember me by," Silver Cloud said proudly.

"But I don't have anything to give you in return," Lone Eagle sadly said.

"I do not need anything to remember you by, for you shall forever live in here," he said as he placed his hand over his heart, his own eyes now clouding up. "I love you... my husband to be," he added and stood painfully watching as Lone Eagle and his father walked away. "Ah-ya, forever in my heart," he whispered softly.

Three days later, Judge Williams arrived and each night before his arrival, Andrew raped Abe. Now he and Swift Sparrow were being led into the courtroom at gun point and cuffed and shackled together.

Judge Williams looked on in shock when he saw how his long time friend, Abe was being treated, humiliated.

"What is the meaning of this, they are not dogs to be treated as such," he shouted at Andrew.

"They killed Mr. Daniels and the sheriff, and this here injun threatened to kill me," Andrew said in defense of their treatment.

"Tell the judge why, Swift Sparrow threatened to kill you, tell how you raped me repeatedly over that last three nights," Abe said angrily, meeting Andrew's eyes with his own.

Abe didn't care anymore who knew about his kind of love or if anyone learned how their sheriff was just the same.

"If you don't release them this very minute, I will kill you myself," the judge demanded.

Andrew swallowed the lump in his throat and when his eyes met those of Swift Sparrow, for in them Andrew saw that contempt and anger that the man felt toward him.

"Rape... are you serious, Abraham?" the judge asked, shocked by what he heard.

"Yes, your honor, the man raped me repeatedly over the last three nights. He even bragged to Swift Sparrow that this was how a real man..." he faltered, not wanting to further add to his shame.

"Charlie, arrest this man and cuff and shackle him with the same shackles that he used on them," he demanded and Charlie hurried over to Andrew and shackled him in the chains.

"You have no right to do this to me, judge," Andrew shouted defiantly, looking into the man's eyes.

"I have every right to not only do this, but to see that you are hanged for such a hideous crime," the judge said, giving a wink at Abe. "Now I want to know just what happened here during my absence," he judge demanded.

"Your honor," Abe began and continued to tell him about his abduction, the ensuing gun battle and finally ending with the rapes.

"And you found it necessary to be judge and jury, finding these men guilty without the benefit of a trial?" he asked of Andrew, who merely lowered his head in shame. "Abraham, I knew your father and I have known you all of your life, and I believe what you have told me and therefore find you innocent of all charges."

"Thank you your honor, but I would also like you to settle also the ownership of the land that I gave to the Choctaw people before I left Mississippi," Abe asked, offering the deed to the judge.

"I heard how Mark Daniels railroaded the Choctaw off the land by producing a false document of deed, but without you here to disprove the deed with yours, I had no choice but to uphold it as legal documentation as to ownership. Now having seen the true document, I hereby deed the land to the Choctaw nation," he said and slammed his gavel down, making it so.

"Thank you, your honor," Abe said, shaking hands with the man.

"Please accept the courts apology for what you and Swift Sparrow had to endure at the hands of the acting sheriff," he asked, still shaking Abe's hand and Abe nodded, as did Swift Sparrow. "Now as for you," he looked directly at Andrew, "I find you guilty of not only miscarriage of justice, but of rape and I sentence you to hang by the neck until dead," he adamantly said, slamming again his gavel on the desk.

"No... you can't do this... damn it Abraham, do something...please," Andrew begged, but Abe and Swift Sparrow simply turned away and walked from the courtroom, leaving a screaming Andrew behind.

"Come my heart, let us go and share the good news with our people," Swift Sparrow said as they stepped out into the bright morning sunshine... free.

The years passed and soon it was ten years later. After Abe and Swift Sparrow brought the joyous news to the Choctaw, the Choctaw decided that they no longer wished to stay in Mississippi. They had voted as a people and decided to rejoin those that left many winters ago and make their nation whole.

Lone Eagle had grown into quite a man and was now graduated from high school. He had never forgotten his vision, or the man that had promised to wait for him.

"I'm leaving tomorrow to return to my people and to the man that I love," Lone Eagle said that evening at dinner, which Jason and Eric held in celebration of his having graduated.

"What... and just when did you decide this," Jason gasped, nearly dropping his glass of champagne. "You've got four years of college ahead of you," he demanded, not said.

"I do not wish to go to college, father, I wish to go and live with our people," Lone Eagle said just as adamantly.

"I refuse to let you go son, and you will stay here and go to college," Jason shouted back, looking to Eric for help.

"Jason please, he's a grown man now and quite capable of deciding for himself, his future," Eric softly said, infuriating Jason more.

"Father I love you and I am grateful for the love and support that you have given me over the years, but this is something that I truly wish to do. I never wanted to go to college, I just wanted to live out my life with my people," he added, no longer speaking in an angered or threatening tone, but gently.

"I forbid it, I forbid you to just toss away your future by living on some damn reservation like a caged animal," he shouted standing up and glowering down at his son.

Lone Eagle stood up so fast that his chair toppled over and he held his gaze with Jason.

"I'm eighteen and a man now father," he said heatedly at Jason and took a deep breath before he continued. "And I am going whether or not you approve it," he said but a breath from Jason's face.

He stood up straight and turned, leaving the room without bothering a goodbye to either of his dads. When he got to his room, he threw what he hadn't yet packed into an open suitcase; he closed it and hurried across the room to leave. Just as he opened the door, Eric was standing there with tears running down his face.

"Can I talk with you before you leave, son," Eric asked, his voice cracking from the emotion that he was feeling.

"I won't be persuaded to stay father, if that is what you're going to do," Eric shook his head and stepped into the room, closing the door softly behind him.

"I know that you want to be reunited with Silver Cloud, but see this through your father's eyes," he began, his hands resting on Lone Eagles' shoulders as he looked into his son's eyes. "He never had an education and it's always been his hope that if he ever had children that they would get the best that his money could by," he continued, hoping that his son would, could see it as Jason did.

"But..." Eric stopped his son's words by placing his finger to the young man's lips.

"Take the summer and get to know each other again, my son, and if you still feel the same at the end of summer about staying there, well then I shall try to make your father see how you feel."

"All right father, I will do as you ask, but I am not going to make any promises. Not to you or to dad," he added and left.

"Oh please guide him in his endeavors," Eric silently prayed.

The trip was long and also exciting; as he watched the miles pass on the train. He knew in his heart that what he was doing was right, because he was in love with Silver Cloud, even though they had not seen each other during the past ten years. He still, when he closed his eyes, felt their first kiss. His heart ached to hold Silver Cloud, and it ached to make love with him.

Lone Eagle had kept his body true to Silver Cloud, having never allowed his need for release to seek out another man or woman, but chose to use his hand whenever he needed to.

"Will you still remember me, still want me," he whispered, closing his eyes and vaguely remembering the skinny young warrior as he stood before him.

The train finally came to a stop and he looked out the window at the surrounding town. It had grown into quite a town since he had last been there, but he still knew it. He stepped eagerly from the train, suitcases in hand and looked around him. His face lit up when he saw a familiar face, it was Swift Sparrow and he was loading supplies into a wagon.

"Still my people live as they did many decades ago," he whispered, noticing the various automobiles that came and went about the town and then seeing the horse and wagon. "My God, you would think that with all the money that he and Walking Tall had, that they would own a truck now," he further thought and hurried over to Swift Sparrow.

"Gah-ween... can it be so," Swift Sparrow asked, shocked to see Lone Eagle.

"Hello Swift Sparrow, it's nice to see you too," he replied and lunged into the warrior's arms.

They hugged warmly and when they finally separated, Lone Eagle gave a long hard look at the man. His face showed signs of aging, but he was still ruggedly handsome.

"Is Walking Tall still in the store," he asked and suddenly Swift Sparrow's face of happiness turned to sadness as he shook his head.

"Gah-ween, for he's been with our Great Spirit now for three winters," Swift Sparrow said, his eyes tearing up even now as he remembered his late husband.

"I'm so sorry Swift Sparrow, how did it happen," Lone Eagle asked quietly, stepping forward and holding Swift Sparrow gently in his arms.

"His heart gave out while we were cutting wood for the long winter months and he died in my arms," he said and his voice was but a whispered as he recalled that fateful day. "His last words to me were... that he would be waiting for me and that together we would walk the hereafter. Then he kissed me and said that he loved me, before releasing his spirit."

Lone Eagle's eyes were also clouding up with tears, but Swift Sparrow hugged him tightly and then released him.

"Come, I shall enjoy your company while we ride back to the village," he said and then took the suitcases from Lone Eagle and placed them in the wagon.

"I would have thought that by now, you would have gotten a truck, Swift Sparrow," Lone Eagle said, hoping to soften the tension of the moment.

"Why, for my horse and wagon serve me well. I give Black Thunder hay and he shows me his appreciation by serving me well," he answered back and snapped the reins causing Black Thunder to move off at a gentle pace.

They rode along in silence for quite awhile and when Lone Eagle could not take it any longer he turned to Swift Sparrow.

"Is..."

"Yes and he's well," Swift Sparrow said, interrupting him, knowing to whom he was going to refer.

"Did he..." again he was interrupted.

"No and he's not known another since you left," he said smiling at Lone Eagle.

"I could have been referring to my great-grandfather," Lone Eagle said determined to finish a sentence.

"This is true, but you were not referring to Strong Bear, now were you," he asked, Lone Eagle slowly shook his head and blushed. "Silver Cloud is well and he's not taken another, but can the same be said of you?"

"Swift Sparrow! I am still in love with him and no, I have never been with a man, not Silver Cloud or any other for that matter," again he blushed at the nature of their discussion.

"Ay-uh, it is good that you kept your body for your future husband, for today many of our young do not. They give into the lust of the moment and cry out after from the consequences of their lust. Did you send word that you were coming back to your people?" he asked as he snapped the reins again, causing the horse to move faster.

"Gah-ween, I wanted to surprise him as well as my great-grandfather," he said. "Is my great-grandfather still well, for I have not heard from him for many moons now."

"Ay-uh, he's still the virile man that he's always been and we..." but he preferred to keep it private what he and Strong Bear now shared together.

"I'm happy Swift Sparrow for the both of you," Lone Eagle said and he leaned closer to the man as they rode along, enjoying the sun as it washed him in its heat. "I forgot how hot it gets here," he said, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt.

"I shall give you the dress of our people and in it, you shall be comfortable," he said and it was then that Lone Eagle noticed how the man was dressed, still wearing a loincloth only as their people have done for generations in the summer and he blushed at how revealing the simple garment was.

"What... is my pride showing again," Swift Sparrow asked, seeing how the lad blushed when he looked down at his crotch.

"Gah-ween, but the cloth barely covers your..." again his blush deepened as he turned his eyes away, feeling his own cock thickening his breeches.

Swift Sparrow laughed softly to himself, happy to be with the lad again. Finally the village came into view, and even with the new homes that have sprung up, giving the village a look of a real town, Lone Eagle recognized the place.

Instead of a central fire pit, there was a large, grassy town common with many houses of logs and clapboards around it. Also there were barns instead of corrals and also streets that seem to drift away from the common green.

"Great-grandfather," he whispered when his eyes found Strong Bear rocking on the front porch of his cabin, which sat center and foremost in the village.

He didn't bother to wait for the wagon to come to a stop, but leapt from the seat and ran as fast as his feet would carry him, calling out to Strong Bear as he approached the aging man.

"Lone Eagle," Strong Bear called back and quickly stood when Lone Eagle hurried up the front steps and into his outstretched arms. "It is good to have you back in my arms," he softly said, stepping back after he hugged the lad and took a good look at him.

"I've missed you so, great-grandfather... oh how I have missed you," he replied and let his eyes roam around the village, hoping to see his love.

"He away from the village hunting and will be back before sundown," Strong Bear said, knowing just who he was looking for.

"Was I that obvious," Lone Eagle asked, reddening as his eyes met those of Strong Bear.

"Ay-uh... so come and let us get out of this heat," Strong Bear gave a quick smile to Swift Sparrow who was carrying the suitcases that Lone Eagle had left in his wagon. "Come my friend, come and join us for conversation," Strong Bear bid him and held out his hand to Swift Sparrow.

He took Strong Bear's hand after Lone Eagle relieved him of the luggage, walking hand in hand into the cabin, followed by a smiling Lone Eagle.

The sun was quickly approaching the horizon and still, Lone Eagle hadn't seen Silver Cloud and he was growing apprehensive.

"Are you sure that he's returning, great-grandfather," he asked looking out a window.

"Ay-uh, soon you shall see him riding into our village. His lodge is that large one just two down from Swift Sparrow's," he instructed, pointing through the open window toward the house.

"Do you think he'd mind if I surprised him by waiting for him there?" he asked, looking over at Strong Bear.

"Go and make ready your husband's return," Strong Bear encouraged and the lad hurried from the room.

Silver Cloud rode into the village center and stopped his horse when he noticed a light burning in the window of his house. He knew that no one would dare enter his house without his permission, so he was angered that someone had taken it upon themselves to do so. He kicked his horse's haunches, urging the animal into a gallop and pulled up the reins abruptly.

Stealthily, he moved toward an open window and gazed inside, seeing no one but the scent of something cooking quickly assaulted his nose.

"If Evening Star is in there trying to impress me with her cooking I shall..." then he went quiet when he saw a man dressed in but a loincloth step into his view.

He knew this man, or did he, for something was familiar about him, but his broad shouldered back was to him and he only caught a brief glimpse of his face's side.

"Damn, this man is tall and nicely formed," he whispered as his eyes took in the hard roundness of Lone Eagle's ass.

Lone Eagle set the table for two and stepped back into the kitchen and out of Silver Cloud's sight. Silver Cloud wished to know just who this man was and why he felt justified being in his house. He moved silently to an open kitchen window, but again, the man's back was to him.

It did not matter who this man was, because there was something arresting about him, he was very tall, much taller than himself and nicely tanned. His hair was a bluish-black, rich and thick, hanging midway down his muscled back, giving Silver Cloud the knowledge that this man was Indian like himself. But damn it all to hell he thought, his back was still to him.

He was dressed in the way of his people, a simple doeskin loincloth and it barely covered his ass, leading Silver Cloud's eyes down the muscled length of his legs.

He suddenly turned, their eyes locked together and Silver Cloud gasped, his heart seemed to shudder, stopping for the briefest of moments before regaining its rhythm again. His eyes drew downward, across pecks that stood hard and proud and then down to abs that were well defined with ridges dividing his muscles. His torso was bare of all hair and his loincloth did nothing to hide what it desperately tried to cover... his manhood.

"Lone Eagle," he gasped when he saw the silver cloud necklace that he had given Lone Eagle when he was but a boy of ten and himself sixteen winters of age.

He hurried into the cabin and stood for what seemed an eternity, each man taking in the other. He too was dressed in but a loincloth, his body dark and muscled.

"Silver Cloud... my husband," Lone Eagle whispered, fighting back his tears of joy as he drank in his sudden appearance.

"Lone Eagle," he whispered back and the two, lunged into each other's arms, their mouths meeting in a blissful kiss as their hands moved over each other's body.

There was nothing to fear from him, Lone Eagle thought as their kiss deepened. And still, he felt a strange warmth seeping through him and it intensified as their kiss did also, until a raging fire burned inside him. He broke their kiss and stepped back, but remained in Silver Cloud's embrace.

His eyes were penetrating, as if able to see clear to his soul. His jaw was square, and lips, ah yes his lips, for they were generously full, sensual and he needed to taste them again. He moved back tightly against Silver Cloud and pulled his mouth to his, parting his lips with his tongue and letting it dance in Silver Cloud's mouth.

Silver Cloud's knees seem to want to buckle beneath him as their kiss lengthened. Lone Eagle swept him up into his arms and carried him to the bedroom, forgetting all about the dinner that he had made. He lowered Silver Cloud to the softness of the bed, still clinging to one another as he lay down beside him.

Silver Cloud had always imagined this day, but he felt that it would have been him to be in control of the encounter but here he was being controlled. Fighting back tears of bliss, shivering and wrapped so soundly in Lone Eagle's arms, Silver Cloud surrendered to his lover's domination and snuggled closer into his embrace.

"I've longed throughout the years for this very moment, thinking that it might never happen when you were taken from me that day," Silver Cloud whispered, his lips but a breath away for those of Lone Eagle.

"I never gave up hope that this day would happen, it kept me going when life seemed to encroach itself about me, and it was then that your handsome face came like a beacon in the dark to guide me home to you."

A deeper sense of love stole into Lone Eagle's heart as he saw the rhythm of Silver Cloud's heartbeat thundering within the pulse at his throat. His mouth went dry as he sat up, removed both their loincloths and beheld the sheer handsomeness of the man before him.

"I love you and I have saved myself for you alone," Lone Eagle whispered, looking down into the midnight black eyes of the man that was to be his husband.

Silver Cloud felt a sudden shiver run down his spine as he realized the extent of what was about to happen... they were on the threshold of making love.

"I fell in love with you the moment that I first laid eyes on you," he whispered back, again he surrendered in his heart now to this handsome man who was looking down at him with much love in his eyes... and that love was for him.

Silver Cloud reached up, placed his hands on Lone Eagle's shoulders and pulled him atop him, their mouths meeting in a kiss as their swollen cocks lay beside each other. He framed Lone Eagle's face with his hands, allowing his lips no quarter as he pulled their mouths together closer, meeting in love's pure kiss.

Lone Eagle parted Silver Cloud's mouth, tasting deep the honey of it and his tongue seductive as he dominated his. He tasted deeper, it was the sweetest of honey and the wildest of heat as they moved into a realm meant for just the two of them. He didn't know how long he tasted the sweetness of Silver Cloud's mouth, how long he sampled the heady innocence and beauty he discovered in his lips. He only knew that he was meant to be here with this man and this man to be with him as if promised to each other from the beginning of time.

A sudden knock, a frantic knock on the cabin door brought the two lovers back to reality. Frustrated and angry for the interruption, Silver Cloud drew on his loincloth and hurried from the room. When he angrily opened his front door, he was shocked by who he saw standing there...

To be continued...

Sorry to leave you hanging like that, but if I were to continue on, this chapter would be way to long. Please be kind when leaving your comments about this chapter at danielrunningwater@yahoo.com Thank you. Daniel