My Captor, My Love Read online

  Honon put me back on the horse and got on in front of me; luckily I didn't hurt as much. We were traveling father away from Mammoth, away from Tamara, away from my life. When we went through a crevice in a mountain, we were suddenly on a ledge high above a meadow. I didn't have long to enjoy the spectacular view below, the way the sun lit it completely up, because we started down a long, windy, rocky, narrow ledge.

  Oh no, this is gonna hurt when we fall. I cringed and kept a tight hold of Honon while he pushed back into me so that we were leaning toward the back end of the horse. My body slid tighter against his. After the first time his horse skidded on some rocks, I just closed my eyes and put my forehead to his back. I couldn't squeeze the horse any tighter with my legs or Honon's waist with my arms. My heart was beating in my stomach by the time we reached the bottom and leveled out. I'd been panting, not taking a full breath the entire way down.

  "Thank you, Lord. Thank you, thank you, thank you." I couldn't believe we'd reached the bottom without a scratch. As Honon's arms moved from around my back, I realized he'd been holding me securely the entire time.

  We followed along the base of the mountain, not going out into the meadow, and I soon heard rushing water. It took us another fifteen minutes before we reached a beautiful little waterfall with its stream winding all the way through the meadow. They stopped the horses and he lifted me off; once again I fell to the ground, but I quickly found myself in his arms again and he carried me to the water's edge.

  While they watered the horses and filled our water containers, I took off my bandana to get it wet so I could wash off some of the dirt I was caked with. Taking of my hiking boots to let the cool water soothe my feet was exquisite, even though the rest of me was sweaty and felt disgusting.

  Cutie Pie, Hidden, and Meanie all dove into the water that sparkled and looked so refreshing. We were in a peaceful place. I could hear birds calling to each other, the rumble of the waterfall, the stream rushing over rocks, and squirrel's claws on the trees. Lying back on the grass, I looked at the sky that was a beautiful blue, pure, no pollution or haze; I could only see a few puffy clouds.

  A shadow passed over my face. Honon was behind me.

  Chapter 4

  I quickly sat up and he held his hand out to me. "Hmmm, okay," I said as I took his hand and he helped me up. He looked at me and motioned toward the others. I saw they'd thrown their breech cloths on the shore.

  "You want me to go in there? I don't think so." I shook my head. Honon nodded and led me down the stream to an area dense with trees. He stopped and turned me toward him. Setting the blanket he carried on a rock, he put his hands on my hips; and before I could think, he pulled my tank top off me.

  I squealed and started to turn away but he grabbed a hold of me tightly and murmured in my ear, saying my name a couple of times. I stilled in his arms but I kept my arms crossed over my bra. He fingered the strap and turned me around to look at the back.

  "Oh, no, you're not taking this off." I tried to pull away from him, but he quickly unsnapped and unzipped my jeans and pulled then down to my knees along with my underwear. I went back and forth between trying to cover my chest and the rest of me, and trying to pull away from him. I started growling, 'No, stop…stop it…" When I bent over to get my jeans, he quickly grabbed the bottom of my bra and ripped it over my head. I squealed and covered my chest as he bent over at the waist and lifted me over his shoulder. I was yelling, hitting his back, and kicking hard but he was still able to peel my jeans off.

  He held me securely and started walking toward the water while I struggled. Bending over, he gently set me into the middle of the stream and I had to lift my chin to keep it out of the freezing water. I let out a startled scream and tried to get out but he shoved my head under water. I came up sputtering and started to scream again. He dunked me again. I came up again, only sputtering and growling.

  "Hek'a," he said, grabbing sand from the bottom and scrubbing it on my arm.

  I turned my back to him and tried to keep myself covered while wiping hair out of my face at the same time. "Leave me alone…go!" I pointed at the shore. "Honon, go."

  "Ken," he said in a stubborn manner.

  "Ken." I figured that must mean, "No." I was tempted to slice my hand in the water and splash him. The water started to feel better, probably because I was frozen solid. I had goose bumps on top of goose bumps.

  Hearing a sound behind me, I turned. He was removing his breech cloth and I swallowed hard with my suddenly dry throat. He looked over his shoulder at me, once again catching me watching him. That time I saw his smirk, just one side of his lip lifting up a tiny bit. Damn. I turned back around as fast as I could. Water splashed as he washed himself and I started scrubbing faster so I could get back to shore.

  I pulled the rubber band out of my hair, but I couldn't figure out how to wash it. By bending over forward I couldn't get the back of my scalp wet, and to lie back in the water would've completely exposed me.

  I gasped as Honon grabbed my hair and pulled me backwards, down into the water. I covered myself the best I could and began to sink but he held onto my head and started scrubbing my scalp, washing my hair; and whatever he was using smelled good. I just closed my eyes and let him finish while I shivered. He soon stopped washing, but still held my head.

  "Da'ni," I heard him say softly.

  I slowly opened and raised my eyes until I could see him behind me. He no longer had a stone face. His eyes stared back at me with dilated pupils--his obvious desire made a rush of heat suffuse me. He started to pull me up closer to him.

  "Oh no, I can't do this," I whispered. "You kidnapped me, I won't do this," I said louder while I twisted out of his arms, raced out of the water, and wrapped the blanket around me. I could hear him slowly coming toward me, but I wouldn't look at him. He put his breech cloth back on, put his arm against my back, and led me to sit on a boulder in the sun. I heard him make a strange whistle and his horse soon stood before hm.

  "Wow, great trick. I don't suppose you have any hair conditioner in your pack, I'm never going to get these tangles out," I said in a snarky voice. Honon stopped by my clothes to pick them up, went to the horse and grabbed my shirt and jacket, then carried everything down to the water.

  "Wait, what are you doing, what am I going to wear?" I yelled.

  He washed everything, wrung out the water, and began to tie everything to hang from his pack. After lifting my bra and staring at it like he was trying to figure it out, he tied it up too. Then he held up my thong. He stared at it before we wadded it in his fist and slowly looked at me, scanning his eyes over my body.

  I began to shake at his lust; I couldn't help but lower my eyes to look down his body--his hard, muscled, wet body. I swallowed hard again and looked back at his face, only to see his small grin. Uh oh. I quickly shook my head. No way, buddy. He nodded once before placing my thong next to my bra, and I twisted my head around so he couldn't see my blush.

  Honon dug in his pack and handed me something that looked like beef jerky, along with one of my water bottles. He reached in his pack again and squeezed some kind of goo into his palm. While he walked over to me, he rubbed his hands together before working the goo into my hair. It smelled like him, like his hair.

  "Hmm, I guess you do have conditioner."

  He turned me around so that my back was facing him, and then he started combing my hair with something that looked like it was made from wood and bone strapped together. It actually felt wonderful, I was relaxed and my hair wasn't tangled.

  It was crazy; we were sitting there like some lovers on a picnic. But I just couldn't shake the feeling that I didn't have anything to fear from him. I kept sneaking peeks at him. He's gorgeous. He's being nice. What does he want?

  After he finished with my hair, he went to work on his own while I finished eating. He parted his hair down the center and made two braids, one on each side, hanging down his chest. I watched while he quickly ate and put everything away, and then he li
fted me up onto the horse.

  "Wait, I can't ride like this. I need my clothes," I said in a panic. The blanket wrapped around me wasn't enough. There was no way I could hold on to the blanket and him. I turned and started to reach for my top, but he moved my hand away, quickly jumped on in front of me, and started the horse to trot. I squealed and grabbed the sides of his waist. He took hold of both my hands and jerked me against him, holding my arms tightly against his stomach.

  "Ahhh…no!" We were completely touching from my chin to my toes. The only part of our skin not touching was because of his breech cloth.

  The horse moved faster, into a slow gallop. The movement of the horse and having our skin rubbing against each other was driving me crazy. I was breathing hard and afraid he could hear me, so I tried to hold my breath but it would rush out of me with one new sensation or another. My nipples were hard as rocks and I knew he could feel them. I kept trying to pull away but he held my hands securely.

  "Damn it!" I tried to bite his back but his skin was so tight across his muscles that I couldn't clamp on to anything, so I moved my mouth over to the side of his back, better to take a chunk out there. Once again I couldn't find skin loose enough to bite. I just kept bounding and rubbing against him; the friction and tension were like nothing I'd ever felt. Ha, and I didn't think I had anything to fear--except my reaction to him.

  Honon put his hand on my knee and I gasped and tried to shake him off but he wouldn't let go. "Lemme go, stop touching me!" He slowly, very slowly, started to reach his hand back, further up my leg. Oh god. I whimpered as the heat from his touch traveled right up my thigh. I couldn't let him do that to me, I couldn't let him win.

  "Honon, stop it…right now!" My body was responding to his caressing like it had a mind of its own. His hand reached higher and he stayed there touching my inner thigh for a while, his fingers rubbing my skin with every bounce of the horse.

  "No!" I kicked my legs wildly as I felt lightning bolts shoot up to my belly. The horse still kept galloping and I was bouncing slightly up and down with my breasts rubbing against his back, my nipples raking against him, and his fingers caressing me--close to where I needed them, but not quite there. His touch was exquisite torture.

  "Please…Honon, stop it," I said with a sob. He patted my leg before lifting his hand off. Just then I realized why he'd changed his hair style; he didn't want his hair in the way, on his back. And he probably didn't want to give me something to pull.

  I didn't know what to do. I couldn't keep it up, I had to get away. When we stop, is he gonna finish? No. I want him. Can he tell? I can't let him. Then what, give me to the next guy? Need a plan. I was pretty sure I could find my way back, but I wouldn't make it back empty handed. I needed a blanket, a knife, and some food. I turned around to see if any of the others were around; I couldn't see them so I tugged hard on my arms until Honon finally let go. Reaching back to feel my clothing, I found my bra still wet; my tank top was almost dry, so I put that on. I scooted my bottom back so I was no longer mashed up against him.

  Honon had one knife strapped to his calf, I couldn't get that. He had another knife in his roll, the one he'd tried to give Meanie, but I couldn't get it right then. I decided to start acting more resigned by helping them unpack and cook, maybe learn the names of the others. Then come morning, when I helped them pack up, I'd steal a knife and biscuits. I felt better knowing I had a plan.

  We caught up with the others. They already had the camp set up with food cooking. Well, so much for helping out. Honon lifted me off the horse and I was careful to keep the blanket wrapped around me. I grabbed the rest of my clothing hanging off the horse and patted my backpack, waiting with my hand out until he untied it and gave it to me. I couldn't look him in the eye.

  I walked a few yards away to get dressed and I could hear Meanie yelling. I kept peeking over my shoulder and I could see Honon was busy unpacking his roll. He didn't seem to be too concerned with Meanie. It would've been a good time to sneak away, except it was still too light and I needed a knife at least. When I walked back, I made sure to set my backpack down where Honon kept his other knife. I sat there watching everything.

  The other two stood like sentries between Meanie and Honon. Meanie kept yelling and gesturing, but Honon only spoke calmly back to him. Suddenly, Meanie reached for his knife and threw it so it landed between Honon's feet. The other two looked at the knife and looked at Honon before going back to their sentry positions. I didn't know what would happen, but I wanted to be prepared. I had Honon's pack behind me and I reached around my back to search it.

  Meanie stood still watching Honon. When Honon spoke calmly a little bit more, I thought I heard my name a couple of times. Then they all turned to look at me.

  "What?" Do they know? Did they see me? I kept my hands behind me and scratched my back in exaggerated movements, hoping they'd think that was all I'd been doing.

  Meanie called out to me, "Da'ni." He gestured for me to come to him. What? I shook my head, wondering what was going on. I looked at Honon, who didn't do anything but stand there with his stone face. Meanie called me again, louder, 'Da'ni."

  I kept shaking my head while I began to slowly back away. He started talking to me in a softer voice and walking toward me with his hand out. Is he gonna grab me? I looked at the others. Why aren't they stopping him? I looked back at Honon. "Stop him…why don't you stop him?"

  Meanie took another step closer to me and I stood up. He stopped and motioned for me to come to him. "No!" I ran to Honon. He put his arm around me and pushed me to stand behind him. I held onto his arm and peeked around to see Meanie.

  He stood with his arms down and his fists clenched, glaring at me. The others came to him, each putting a hand on a shoulder. They spoke quietly and slowly pushed him back while he just kept staring at Honon and me. Meanie finally jerked away from the others and stalked out of the camp.

  I stood behind Honon, shaking. He turned to me and put his arms around me. Holding me and rubbing my back, he whispered in my ear until my shaking eased. He led me back to the blanket to it down, then walked to the fire to grab food and brought some back to me. But I just sat there, not able to eat while I kept looking all around me to make sure Meanie wasn't near. Every once in awhile Honon nudged me and pointed to my food, so I'd take a bite; but my head whipped around every time I heard something. The men just sat talking. I was almost finished eating when I heard a twig snap somewhere behind me and I just about jumped in Honon's lap. He put his arm around me and rubbed my arm, giving comfort.

  I never saw Meanie return. Honon turned to lie down and brought me down with him, holding me close to him. I finally felt safe.

  I felt a tug; Honon was pulling his arm that I had both of my arms wrapped around. I let go and sat up quickly looking for Meanie, but he still wasn't there and his horse was gone. I was too embarrassed to look at Honon. I was holding him. We all sat to eat breakfast--the nut and berry biscuit.

  "Oh, I would kill for coffee," I groaned. Honon looked at me, and I just kind of smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

  I had to go to the bathroom, but I was afraid to be by myself with Meanie on the loose. I took my wipes from my pack and took a couple of steps away from Honon only to stop, turn, and look at him. He was watching me. I hated to do it, but I jerked my head, indicating I wanted him to come with me. Survival was stronger than embarrassment.

  We'd been riding for a couple of hours when Meanie showed back up again. He had three dead squirrels hanging from the back of his horse. Ugh. When we stopped a short time later, Hidden got a fire going while Meanie skinned and readied the squirrels to cook. The guys started setting up the camp and I wondered why they were doing it so early. While Meanie was cooking the squirrel, I thought if someone offered it to me I had better eat it. I didn't want to create a reason for him to be even madder at me.

  I could hear a running spring close by. The sun was high, but it was cool because we were shaded by surrounding pine trees. Honon handed me som
e of the meat and I slowly brought it to my mouth, the smell was different. I looked up at Meanie; he was staring hard at me, so I smiled and put some of the meat in my mouth. The taste wasn't horrible, but squirrel wasn't something I'd ask for again.

  While we were eating I said, 'Honon," I pointed to myself and said, "Dani," then I pointed to him and said, "Honon." He slightly raised a perfect eyebrow. I pointed to Cutie Pie with a questioning look on my face.

  Cutie Pie looked at me in surprise. He pointed to himself and said, "Kosumi."

  I repeated his name, looking up to see him nod once. I pointed to myself again, "Dani." I then pointed to Hidden. He slowly said, "Muata."

  I again repeated his name and looked at him to see if I got it right. He nodded his head. Okay…I slowly looked over at Meanie. I didn't really want to ask him, but I thought I might make him madder if I didn't. Plus, I didn't want him to think I was afraid of him…right. I pointed at Meanie, who glared at me and didn't say a thing. I looked at Honon expectantly.

  He quietly said, "Liwanu," and barely shook his head. Maybe I should forget about Meanie. Nope…focus. Okay. He leers at me and he wants me…leer--want--you…Leewanu. And Kosumi sounds like, "Go sue me," I can see other guys being jealous of him, but what's he gonna do? So he says, "Go sue me."

  I'd forgotten Hidden's name. Mu…Mu… I must have been talking out loud because Honon quietly said, "Muata." I nodded at him and smiled. Muata…he looks like he doesn't care…no worries…hakuna matata…matata…Muata. I shrugged my shoulders. Best I can do.

  While I practiced their names, the men talked. Every once in awhile Honon would rub my arm, rest his hand on my knee, or run a finger down my cheek--causing goose bumps to pop up. I felt as if he were checking to see if I was okay and offering comfort. Liwanu hadn’t tried to go after me again and I was grateful for that. I wondered what power Honon had over the others. I wondered if Liwanu would try to take me again. Even though I felt safer with Honon, than Liwanu, I was still going to run. I couldn't just stay with them. I had a life with friends who would be very worried about me.