As he moved her toward agonizing ecstasy, her arms reached for the steadiness of the metal headboard and she let him bring on those incredible sensations that wracked and ravaged, then soothed her body. She moaned pitifully, helplessly, and then let her hands slip slowly away from the cold metal.
Knowing not where the strength came from, she gently rolled him over, onto his back and she eased herself atop him like a leaf fluttering down from a tall tree. She lowered herself easily, gently, slowly – ever so slowly, down onto him. And now it was he who grasped onto the metal above him and he let her rock him back and forth, back and forth, slowly, smoothly, evenly. He closed his eyes and laid his head back in that mane of silky, raven hair and let her do with him what she pleased. She kissed his chest. She took each aureole between her lips and moved her tongue ever so slightly over the rounded surfaces, never ceasing her movements. And when his chest started to rise higher, she raised up her torso, reached down and grasped his hips with her strong hands, and she began to apply more pressure to her rolling motions. She rose and fell with a smooth, steady cadence. She tightened the muscles everywhere below her waist, and she rose and fell. With one mighty heave he thrust himself up – with one mighty motion, he rolled himself back onto her, his eyes now wide open, sweat running down his throat. He slid one arm under her neck and with the other arm he groped for and found the cold metal headboard above them. And he drove himself, deep within her, pulling her, raising her up toward the head of the bed, pressing her until a gurgle rose up out of his throat. His head arched backward, his spinal muscles contracted and he shook and jerked as though being hit by a bolt of lightening. He let out a cry of ecstasy as his muscles held him involuntarily immobile. And then frozen in place, he tried to recapture his breath. She reached up and touched his lips. Then put her arms around him and began to stroke his back – gently, ever so gently. He lay down on her, careful not to smother her, and she stroked his back until all tension was released.
They crawled beneath the soft sheet and the warm covers. He spooned himself behind her and wrapped his arm over her. She was loved, she was safe, she was happy. He was hers. She belonged to him. She held her legs tightly together. They could have waited, should have waited, but they had been flesh to flesh and she had the sacred gift from him within her.
CHAPTER 10
¤
Tuesday Morning
Lynette laid next to Blaze watching him sleep. She was smiling for no one to see. It was a smile of incredulity, of contentment.
Four days ago she was driving on Highway 25 extolling the virtues of singledom. The independent woman, free to soar. The manless world with no complications. Yep, that’s what she was saying then. Now look at me, she said to herself. Had the instantaneous attraction and outlandishly satisfying sex stripped her of mind and reason? She didn’t have any good answers to the questions she asked herself. All she knew was that this man was awesome – good, decent, kind, gentle, smart, caring, strong, independent, wise, grounded, intuitive, worldly, and he had opened up his world to her. He’d brought her into a world filled with unselfish love, deep passionate, awe inspiring bliss. She was so happy with what she was feeling, yet a bit apprehensive because she had never known this kind of elation, nor this kind of abandon. Her life had been cautious, predictable, sane. Now she was married in a realm that most people knew nothing about; in a spiritual bond with an almost stranger. Yet, he wasn’t a stranger. He had been a stranger four days ago. Now he was her lover, her partner, her husband.
He stirred and noted the sunlight dancing its way through the distorted windows panes. He rolled over, and pulled her in to him, draping one big, beautiful leg over hers.
“It’s gonna be a blessed day,” he said, taking that kind of deep breath that epitomizes contentment. “And you are my blessing,” he said to her, rubbing her shoulders.
“A blessed day. Isn’t that what Baptists say?” she asked jokingly.
“Baptist, Methodists, Catholics, it doesn’t matter. If you are blessed by the hand of the Creator, it will be a blessed day,” he said, smiling at her.
Lynette believed in blessings, the way Christians do. However, she believed in a Universe that incorporated more than what the “typical” Christian held as limitations. A dear friend’s husband had described her beliefs as akin to Buddhist theology – and that was all right with her. She believed in an after life; she also believed in multiple lives. That the soul lives many lives in its quest to return to whence it came, to God. She believed in Karma, in the Universe’s way of creating balance. She believed in good and evil, but she no longer attributed people’s bad or cruel behavior to the devil. The devil is the evil that people do. She believed in energy and that if you send out negative energy, it will come back to you. And conversely, sending out positive energy will surely bring that good energy back to you. Is this what had happened? Is this why Blaze had come so abruptly into her life? Was this her good energy finally coming back to her ten-fold?
She nuzzled him as he struggled to wake fully.
“You remind me of a dog I used to have,” he said sleepily.
“Was he a good dog?” she asked, taking no insult from the analogy.
“Yes,” he answered.
“Was he a faithful and loving dog?” she asked again.
“Yes, he was,” he said, pulling her in even closer to him.
“Did he make you happy?” she continued.
“Terrifically,” he responded.
“Did you lo…,” and she caught herself before she said the word.
He opened his eyes wide, and looked at her with the most angelic smile,
“Yes, I…,” and she put her hand over his mouth
In all that had transpired between them, particularly last night, the word “love” had not been said. Did she think the word? Yes. Had she said it; had he said it? No. They were too busy experiencing it. They almost didn’t have to say it.
“Are you afraid of that word?” he asked her, pondering the expression on her face.
He pulled himself up into a sitting position and braced his back against the cold metal head board. He pulled her up near him and draped a mound of the quilt around her to keep her warm on this chilly morning.
“Yes, in a way,” she answered honestly.
“Do you believe in previous lives?” he asked with a real seriousness in his tone.
“Yes, I do,” she replied.
“So do I,” he said, “and I believe that we get the opportunity in present or future lives to be with some of those we’ve met before.”
Completing this concept of his and her belief system, she added, “that we get to work out some elements of those lives that were left unfinished, or learn the lessons we didn’t fully learn before.” He pushed her slightly away and looked down into her face.
“My God woman, you have my heart, and now you know my thoughts. What did I ever do to deserve you?” he lamented, and he hugged her tightly up against him.
“ Lynn. I have the right to feel it. I have the right to say it. I love you. I love you,” he said with heartfelt passion. “It’s not the sex. It’s you. It’s all of you and I can love you before I know everything there is to know about you,” he said laying his face against her soft, tossled hair.
“The question is, can you love me, flaws and all? …and I’m willing to wait for that answer until you’re ready to give it, trust me,” he finished.
There was a long silence. An uneasy silence. She sat upright next to him, pulling the comforter securely around her shoulders. Then she spoke.
“If the improbable joy I feel in my heart, if the overwhelming passion I feel for you, if the fact that you occupy my every waking thought, if the way I just want to be with you and no one else, if the fact that I have thrown all caution to the wind and abandoned sanity and propriety, if the fact that my world sings at just the touch of you, if I want to cry at the sight of your naked body, if I am willing to give you everything I have and everything I am, if marryi
ng you last night means I’m in love with you, then yes, Blaze Snow Comes Down, I do love you. I truly love you. And I want to love you like this for the rest of my life,” she answered, throwing her arms around his neck.
She slipped down his body so she could lay her head on his chest and listen to the beat of his heart. She started to cry, but it was a cry of joy. There she had said it. She had admitted that she loved him. She sat straight up again, to wipe the tears from her face and as she did she looked up at him, and saw the tears rolling down his cheeks. Straddling his legs, she pulled her naked self up onto her knees, now oblivious to the cold. She looked at that face and kissed one streak of tears, then the other. She kissed his eyelids, his nose and ended with his firm, beautiful lips. It was a tender and loving kiss. He stretched his arms out wide and enfolded her into them, holding her adoringly against his body.
“I will love you like this until the last,” he whispered in her ear. They stayed there like that for a long time. There was nothing more to say.
After loading up what remained of their possessions, and making sure no trash was left anywhere, they climbed back into the big silver truck. Blaze stuck the key into the ignition then turned to Lynette and asked, “Now do we get officially married in a civil ceremony, or do we just date?” he laughed. Lynette wasn’t sure how to answer. She hesitated and said, “I’m yours now; you’re mine. We continue to learn more about each other and we build a strong foundation for this life we’ve chosen together. We’ve breezed past the dating phase, we’re now into together.” It was a sensible answer. Ordinarily, she was a sensible, pragmatic woman. She hesitated again.
“I’ve given you my pledge of love and commitment. I love you Blaze. I don’t need a piece of paper to validate that. Let’s just take things as they come,” she said, patting his strong hand.
“I married you last night, for the most honest of reasons, Dear One, in a way that others will not understand,” he said. “You willingly came to me as my bride, I’m sure, knowing full well what you were doing. You married me in the home of my mother, on the land of my ancestors. You spoke the words of my people. Where those words came from I don’t know. But, you know what we did last night. I committed myself to you then, and I commit my life to you from now until the final sleep of this life,” he vowed.
She looked past him to the little cabin and said “Thank you mother.”
Blaze drove off. He didn’t speak; he couldn’t speak until well after they reached the main highway again. He was so full – so full of love for this wonderful woman, who, for all intents and purposes he had taken as his wife, before God and his ancestors, in the flickering light of the wood burning stove.
CLARE AND AARON CALLED from Las Cruces and gave an estimated time when they expected to be back in Crystal Bend on Tuesday evening. Aaron was a bit upset because Clare was scheduled to leave on Wednesday afternoon.
“Did you know that the ladies were going back to Austin tomorrow?” he asked Blaze over the phone. Blaze frowned and his head turned abruptly to Lynette.
“Are you leaving tomorrow?” he asked, fear and confusion dominating his question.
“Oh, shit,” Lynette said. “No, no, I’m going to delay my departure. Clare has to get back to work. I don’t have my next seminar until Monday. Geez, I need to call Southwest Airlines,” she said nervously. Blaze looked relieved.
“Lynette isn’t going back tomorrow,” he said, matter-of-factly.
“Let me talk to Clare,” Lynette asked as she took the phone from Blaze.
“Hey girl. Listen, things have been moving pretty fast here, and I’m not going back tomorrow with you. I’m gonna stay till the weekend. I’m at the City/County complex on Monday from 8:30 to 4:30, so as long as I can get back on Saturday or Sunday, I can get my training materials and equipment together. Clare, we’ve gotta’ talk,” she said and handed the phone back to Blaze.
Once he finished his conversation with Aaron, he turned to Lynette.
“Well, we dodged a bullet there, didn’t we,” Blaze said, relief showing in his voice.
“Honey, I’m so sorry. I’ve been so caught up in us…you’ve got to admit this has been a whirlwind few days. A lot has happened since Saturday. It’s been like a fairy tale for me. I haven’t given a thought to the real world. If you’ve noticed I haven’t checked my schedule, emails or even listened to my cell phone in days. Let me tell you what’s in store for me in the next several days,” she started to explain.
“If I can get back on Saturday, I can make necessary copies of my training materials at Kinkos or Office Depot. I don’t have a secretary or anyone yet. I fly solo since I’m retired. That gives me Sunday to get things together, wash clothes. You know, all those mundane things that a working person has to do...”
“When are you going to be back?” he asked calmly.
“Let’s take this step by step,” she replied.
“I don’t know if Aaron will take Clare to the airport, or if I’ll have to. We have to wait until they get back here,” she reckoned. “Whichever way it goes, I’ll be here tomorrow, Thursday and Friday, but I think it best if I fly back on that 3:50 flight on Saturday. Will this work for you?” she asked, looking at the rather troubled expression on Blaze’s face.
“It’ll have to won’t it?” he said ruefully.
He got up and walked over to Lynette and put his arms around her shoulders.
“The real world starts to intrude, huh?” he asked, but it was a rhetorical question.
“Fraid so,” she replied. “A girl’s gotta make a living. The good thing about it is that I don’t have another class scheduled for two weeks?” she add. “But I’ll come back soon after the class is over.
He stepped back a step or so, holding her by the shoulders, and looked down into her face.
“Will you come right back?” he asked seriously.
Lynette did not hesitate.
“Yes, I’ll be on that 11:20 flight on Tuesday morning,” she assured him.
“Can’t you come back on Monday night?” he asked, not wanting to be separated from her a moment longer than he had to. “I can pick you up at the airport.”
She hesitated a moment to think.
“I…I can,” she studdered.
“There’s a 5:50 non-stop back to Albuquerque and a 6:30, but the 6:30 has a layover in Dallas, and weather makes Dallas iffy. The answer is, barring any unforeseen difficulties, I’ll come back Monday night.”
Blaze squeezed her tightly. “
What do we need to do?” he asked.
“Well first of all, I need to rearrange my return flight from tomorrow to Saturday. Then I hope I can get a seat on the 5:50 flight Monday. Sit here with me while I call,” she said sweetly, and she began punching keys on her cell phone.
Blaze was pleased at her effort to do what she had to do and get back to him as quickly as possible. He felt even more certain about her now. He had gambled that she could feel toward him, what he was feeling toward her. Four nights ago, he and Aaron had considered trying to find themselves someone just for the night. Throwing all that out of his mind after he met Lynette, he was now, for all intents and purposes, a married man – a happily married man. He had taken this woman into his world – into his culture - into his soul. She was a part of him. He’d left himself in her, something he hadn’t done with another woman, out of an abundance of caution, for several years. Every hour away from her was a waste of precious time. She was a gift he’d been given, surely by the Creator, and he was beholden to that Entity That Measures All Things.
Aaron and Clare struggled up the condo steps.
“Hey,” Clare said. “Whew, that was a long trip, but we had a ball,” she chirped.
“Only one?” bad Lynette, snickered.
“You are so wicked,” Clare countered, laughing at her off-color remark.
Clare pointed to Blaze and said, “I warned you. Didn’t I warn you about her?”
Lynette hugged Clare and then Aaron.
“Glad you made it back safely,” she said. “Anybody need anything to drink, to wash the dust out of your mouths?” Lynette asked jovially.
“Well boy, you look like you got a canary feather sticking out the side of your mouth,” Aaron teased Blaze, as he flopped down on the couch beside him.
“You could say that,” Blaze answered with a sly, contented smile on his face.
“Woman, what have you done to this man?” he asked, now teasing Lynette.
“Not a thing, just fell in love with your brother, that’s all,” she said pleasantly.
Aaron turned to Blaze, and Clare wheeled around to look at Lynette, shock covering her face.
“Woah,” Clare said, looking intently at her friend. She knew something special had happened in her absence, because that was not a word she thought she’d ever hear come out of Lynette’s mouth again. Not after all the heartbreak she’d suffered.
There was a pregnant silence in the room. No one knew what to say, and neither Blaze nor Lynette was willing to divulge the special thing that had taken place at the old cabin.
After a really long and uncomfortable silence, Clare spoke.
“Well, I’m sure I’ll hear all about it in the morning, but I’ve got to get myself packed. Oh, who’s going to take me to the airport?” she asked as an after-thought.
“Well, do you have to ask,” Aaron said. “I’m gonna take you since Lynette isn’t going back yet. That gives me a few more hours with you, pretty lady” he admitted cheerfully.
Thunder In Her Body Page 12
