by kps
Jenny was content at last. Everything would be all right now that Dev held her again. The future seemed infinitely brighter than it had minutes ago. She nestled closer, running her hand lightly over Dev's chest and tracing the pale scars that were a legacy of his participation in the Sun Dance. As though they had burned her fingertips, Jenny pulled her hand abruptly away and then circled his neck with it. The scars were a remembrance of things past; she would not look back when there was so much love in the future.
Dev smiled, rubbing his chin against the soft silk of Jenny's hair. With his every breath, the sweet, familiar scent of Jenny's perfume touched his senses. Gardeniathe essence of that pale, creamy flower was Jenny, it suited her so perfectly. He could feel his desire rising to match its earlier level. Just holding her near was enough to start his senses pounding. Did she feel the same?
Jenny was feeling the same, though she wasn't quite sure how to tell him. Devhad told her to be more forward in stating her desires. Now was as good a time to start as ever, but how should she broach the subect? Various phrases floated through her mind, but all sounded ridiculous to her. Hungry? No, Dev would think she wanted a late snack. Hot? No, that sounded as though she wanted the window opened! Finally she grew frustrated with searching for the perfect phrase. Rising up, she leaned on her elbow and stared down at Dev. He raised one golden brow in-a questioning manner, and Jenny plunged ahead before she lost her nerve. "I want you to make love to me; mad, passionate love, the kind that makes me shiver and moan and beg for more. Please?"
"Any man who could refuse a request like that has got to be crazy, and darlin', I never felt more sane in all my life!"
In a matter of seconds Dev had pulled the ribboned tie that secured Jenny's negligee and tugged the satin material down until it lay in a soft shimmering pool about her narrow waist.
With the first blush of pregnancy, her. breasts were full and tender; she had never looked more desirable. Her gaze was loving, tenderness underscored by passion, as she watched him reach out to brush his fingertips across the soft points of her nipples.
She couldn't suppress a shiver that tingled along her spine in a race with her heartbeat.
Though the hour was late, it was clear that Dev meant to take his time. Briefly, it occurred to her that she might be the one to give in to impatience.
Now she stopped thinking, giving herself up completely to the gentle, skilled siege of Dev's lips and hands. Closing her eyes, she heard the first, faint strains of a love song echo in her mind, a slow, measured prelude that would build in tempo with her passion. Time seemed to spin out by degrees, and all of their actions were drawn out to match its slow passage.
Power and beauty met in equal grace as Dev directed their lovemaking with the skill of a master choreographer. On the wide, soft bed that was their stage, the two danced to the age-old rhythms of a lover's ballet. Jenny felt her limbs grow light and fluid with purpose as she luxuriated in the golden aura of sensuality that emanated from their naked glory.
The music kept pace with Jenny's rising desires, and she began to move in restless anticipation. Dev was in command of her soul, as well as her body; he, alone, held the key that could open the floodgates and loose the tides of passion they contained. She could not help the eager answer of her flesh as his mouth captured an aching, swollen nipple and drew it between his teeth, nibbling at the blossoming point while his hard, pulsating member moved against her thigh with a life of its own. His fingers grazed her skin like tongues of fire, seeking out the dark, secret recesses as well as the rounded curves of her body.
Jenny's breath came in short, hungering gasps, and her tongue flicked out to ease the dryness of her lips. Then Dev's mouth covered hers, seeking the honeyed sweetness that lay within. Even as she stirred beneath the driving assault of his tongue, Dev was seeking other ways to delight her. His hand slid over the gentle curve of her belly to caress the rose-velvet mound of flesh that sheltered the hidden valley of her fertility. Jenny moaned against his lips, awash with a warm melting sensation as his fingers entered her, then withdrew to stroke the tiny, perfect bud of womanhood that nestled beneath a cover of soft, ebony curls.
As a dew-touched rose responds to the sun's caress, so the center of Jenny's passion blossomed with sweet-musk perfume of desire.
Intent upon the throbbing sensations that radiated from the midst of her trembling thighs, Jenny was unaware that Dev had even moved. Suddenly the warmth of his mouth replaced the light pressure of his fingers. She started with surprise, then relaxed and surrendered as his tongue teased and encircled the vulnerable spot, drawing the wild, tumultuous feeings to a climax that left her shaken with its power. Cymbals clashed and a drumbeat pounded to a crescendo within her. With the waves of heat that rippled across her bare flesh, Jenny knew the blessed relief of unleashed passion.
Lost in the dreamy contentment of release, Jenny curled against Dev, clinging to him with her eyes tightly closed while she savored every moment of receding pleasure. Her desires were not as sharp now, but as Dev held her close and pressed tiny, nibbling kisses against her throat, she began to emerge from the languor that had seized her limbs.
Seizing the initiative, Jenny placed her hand on Dev's chest and urged him to lie back.
Anticipation sharpened his features as he smiled and shut his eyes, allowing her to minister to his needs. At the first touch of Jenny's fingers, he moaned, a low and guttural sound that betrayed his carefully checked passions. Like the shaft of a tempered sword, his fully erect penis was a formidable weapon, but its aggressive use would only bring about le petit mort, the "little death" of passion that the French had so aptly named.
A tiny drop of translucent fluid hung pendant at the head of the rigid member. Jenny's fingers ensheathed its length. Slowly, using the motion Dev had taught her, she stroked downward and then up again, increasing the pace as the pulsing shaft grew slippery with the lubricating secretions that trickled forth.
When he could no longer stand the delay.Dev's hand shot out to seize her wrist. "Enough . . .
that's enough, Jen!" he groaned, taking a deep breath to master his own reaction.
Almost reluctantly, Jenny let go of him and started to lie back. Still hungering for the feel of it pulsing with life and the power to satisfy, she watched with fascination as the tumescent length of muscle jutted upward of its own accord.
For a few seconds Dev held her close, then whispered a suggestion in her ear. The idea that he would lie supine while she settled astride him was shocking, but its novelty so intrigued her that she was willing to try it, modesty be damned!
With Dev's strong hands grippping her wrists, Jenny was able to settle into the unfamiliar position with her knees on either side of his lean, narrow hips. From the first moment the steely shaft probed the petaled orifice between her thighs, Jenny was lost. Still clutching Dev's hands, she slowly slipped downward until he was buried deep within her. Dev moved his hips, watching her face as he pressed even further into the pulsing warmth of her body.
Her fingers clutched at him with that first thrust, her nails driving hard against his skin. Now that he was again in firm command of his reactions, Dev was determined that Jenny would receive the utmost pleasure from her willingness to experiment. He ground his hips upward a second time, and a bewitching look of wonder flitted across her face; it was the expression of an innocent suddenly transported to an enchanted land.
Jenny wriggled her hips, oblivious to the boldness of the action. All of her being, every thought and impulse was focused on an elusive reward that floated just beyond reach. For the first time in her life, she felt totally selfish, totally mindful of her physical pleasures. Dev was driving her mad with need! Didn't he know? Didn't he care that she was suffering?
Dev knew perfectly well how Jenny was striving toward fulfillment; it had taken all of his will power to resist the urging of his own body. Pride had kept passion at bay, though passion was mocking the effort as the notion of a vain and foolish man. Lord
, but she was a sight!
With her gypsy mane of curls tumbling about her shoulders and her full, high breasts asway, she could have stirred the most jaded rake in London or the most devout ascetic to desire her. She was Cantrell's woman in all her naked glory; what ecstasy to possess such a woman and, in turn, be possessed by her.
Each driving assault on her tenderness swept Jenny further toward her goal. Her hips met each thrust until finally, she began to rock back and forth and the tiny band of muscles that grasped the buried shaft contracted so forcefully that she drew Dev over the edge of longing. He could no longer resist the lure of her siren's call !
An explosion of feeling took Jenny to the gates of paradise, and the roaring in her ears was the rush of exaltation as the last barrier to ecstasy fell away. She caught her bottom lip sharply between her teeth but was oblivious to any sensation of pain; she threw back her head, baring perfect, opaline teeth, and screamed Dev's name.
His own orgasm caught Dev by surprise; he had felt god-like in his powers to move Jenny toward her climax, omnipotent in his restraint of his own ecstasy. Still, when it came, the thunder of a thousand summer storms rumbled deep within him. The splendor was brief, but had it lasted longer, it could not have been more intense or satisfying than those fleeting moments of rapture.
Drowsy with a sweet exhaustion, Jenny snuggled against Dev's chest and listened as the pounding of his heartbeat quieted to a steady, rhythmic pulse of life. A bittersweet sense of loss assailed her as she considered the receding impressions of the splendor she had shared with Dev.
The intense pleasure of those moments was gone-lost, like the enchanting, medieval world of Beann Gowd'en. Suddenly, in one of those clear, lucid flashes of truth that came of reflection, Jenny realized the error in her perspective. The tiny, mountaintop community was not truly lost; it existed as a haven for those who lived within its boundaries.
The passion and the power that had been hers tonight were gone only briefly ..-, the splendor that had seemed lost still existed; there were, merely spaces between the times splendor had been theirs ... and would be again. Jenny raised her head to study Dev's familiar, beloved features and smiled into the deep, golden eyes that reflected the image of her love.
Author's Note
In a forested, mountainous region south of Vene-zuela's Orinoco River lies the area known as the Guayana. Though it possesses a wealth of minerals valuable to mankind, few have penetrated the veil of mystery that has always shrouded its interior.
Immense, sheer-clifled mountains known as tepuis dominate the rugged terrain and stand as great, forbidding sentinels to warn those still foolhardy enough to attempt the dark, dense rain forests in search of the legendary lost city of El Dorado.
From the dawn of time, this nearly inaccessible land has sheltered its secrets. Mountain lions, jaguars, and poisonous snakes abound in its Gran Sabana (Great Plain). Dark-watered rivers shelter the dreaded caribe, the voracious, freshwater fish whose razor-sharp teeth can devour a man in seconds. Sharing the waters are rays with painful, poisonous stings and eels whose electric charges can easily fell an animal as large as a bull in a moment's time.
Only a short span of winter months is comparatively dry. From April to October the rains fall, deluging the area and turning its many rivers into swollen-bellied serpents that writhe forth to flood the valley floor.
The Conquistadores were the fust to fall under the spell of gold lust. They came to conquer and subjugate, righteous in the wrath of their God. The Guayana extracted her tribute in Spanish blood, claiming the bones of the men who had come to rape her regions, providing in return only an enchanting taste of what she hid. Unchanged by the European conquerors, the land retains its vast and impenetrable mystery.
The world's highest waterfall is here,its waters cascading an incredible thirty-two hundred feet down the side of a majestic, granite mountain. The plateau atop the sheer-sided tepui is almost constantly veiled by. mist. In 1935, an American aviator, Jimmy Angel, flew his plane past these falls, the first man to view its immense size from the air. The area is named Angel Falls in his honor.
Numerous other teptds exist in this area, though none are as high as Angel Falls. Could the remnants of Rodrigo's colony of medieval Europeans still exist? Is there still a land beyond the mountains where knights joust for the honor of their ladies, where elaborate feasts are served on platters of pure gold, where chivalry never dies?
A warning to my readers-
Should the idea of seeking out the lost splendor of the Guayana appeal to you, please ...
heed this advice. Go forth with the academic curiosity of the archaeologist, search for the past with no thought of personal gain or greed. The Guayana guards her secrets well. Those who would profit from her hidden bounty never … return.
Table of Contents
PART ONE
PART TWO
Epilogue
