Heading out west to Nebraska becomes a nightmare when Aiden Conner's fiance deserts her. Having a knife held to her throat by a blond-haired Cheyenne warrior only adds to her terror. All she wants is to return home to her family in St. Louis, but a blizzard traps her and her wounded captor in a cabin in the wilderness.
After the betrayal of his mother's people, Stone Heart has sworn to never again speak the language of his white father. He vows to see that the surviving Northern Cheyenne, the Beautiful People, are allowed to return to their home. But the red-haired Irish woman will surely die if he abandons her.
As they weather the storm and fight together to survive, they find that, despite their different worlds, their hearts are one and the same. When Stone Heart leaves her to free his people imprisoned at Ft. Robinson, Aiden determines to help him in any way she can. Only then can she truly be Stone Heart's Woman.
Rating: Spicy
Page Count: 322
Word Count: 95014
Digital ISBN 978-1-61217-257-6
Print ISBN 1-60154-997-0
Excerpt:
A shuffling of feet, movement of some kind, startled him fully awake. He had no idea how long he had slept, but someone was coming. He tilted his head and listened. Not an animal, nor a big man. Someone small, weary. Even with his wounds, he would have no trouble overpowering this one and slitting its throat. The musket lay in the dark corner, for he had not yet loaded it. He hoped this was a white man approaching, for he desperately desired to count coup, repay the slaughter of the day before. Ignoring the lancing of pain, he crept toward the door, waited out of sight until his prey entered. The only light filtered into the gloom through that opening, and he could be upon the enemy without ever being seen.
The fur-shrouded figure that stepped into sight radiated fire about its head, rays of sun brilliant in long strands of tangled red hair. Already in motion, his arm clamped about its throat, cut off a high scream.
A woman. A white woman.
The robe slipped from her shoulders when she clawed the air and kicked furiously with both feet, her full weight swinging on his forearm. One pointed boot toe struck his shin, another cracked his knee painfully. Gritting his teeth against passing out, he leaned against the wall and hung on, pressed the blade of his knife hard against her midsection.
Hissed in her ear, “Stop fighting or I’ll gut you.”
