"Are there really berries around here?" she asked, eyeing him skeptically.
Nate shrugged, saying, "Somewhere probably."
"People are going to talk, you know, if they find out we're here together."
"No, they won't, because you're in Kalamazoo attending a lecture and I'm in Battle Creek seeing my lawyer, or that's what Abigail will tell anyone who asks."
“Nate, what if someone needs me?''
"If it's serious enough, Abigail knows to send Adam. Until then the only person needing your care right this minute is me..."
Vivid smiled shyly. He had taken care of everything, it seemed, even bringing along changes of clothing. For the first time in weeks she could look forward to a few days of rest and peace. Vivid came over to where he sat on the other side of the small table and eased onto his lap. "I'm all yours..." she whispered softly, kissing his lips, "all yours."
She placed her head on his strong chest, closed her eyes, and promptly fell asleep.
As she'd done on the previous morning, Vivid slept into the afternoon. Nate knew she needed the rest, so he let her sleep.
When Vivid awakened, she sat up groggily and peered at her surroundings. The unfamiliarity of the room vanished as she saw Nate standing over the table seasoning a mess of fish. "You're just in time for lunch, madam."
"I fell asleep on you again, didn't I?"
"That's okay, princess. You're here to rest, remember. Besides, that just means I can keep you up till sunrise."
Vivid felt the heat burn her face and smiled.
Nate cooked the fish in a pan over a fire outside. As Vivid ate her lunch of fish and potatoes, she marveled at the beauty around them. They were on the bank of a small, clear-running river. Stately pines grew thickly around the little clearing. The blue sky overhead only added to nature's canvas. "This is a beautiful place," Vivid remarked.
"Yes, it is. It originally belonged to a Napowesipe friend of my grandfather's. When the government forced them off the land, he sold it to my grandfather rather than let the government take it. My grandfather pledged that if any of his friend's family should ever return, the land will revert to them."
"Your grandfather must have been an honorable man."
“My grandfather was taken from the mother continent as a young man. He knew what it meant to have one's life stolen."
After the meal they went berry hunting.
"You actually brought buckets?" Vivid questioned laughingly as he handed her one.
"Yes, I did."
"Well lead the way."
They had a perfect day. Nate pointed out areas that held memories, like the deserted sawmill downstream where he, Eli, and Maddie played when they were young. He also showed her the remnants of a large fire ring once used by the People before their forced removal. "My grandfather would bring Eli and me here at night sometimes. We were very young. He'd build a fire in the ring, then sit us down beside it. He'd remove his clothes and dance the dances he'd done before captivity. For hours he would dance under the moon, singing in a tongue we didn't know. 'Dancing for the ancestors' he called it. He told us that as long as we remembered, and our children remembered, the spirits of all who'd come before would remain alive."
They continued their walk along the riverbank, holding hands and enjoying the solitude and sunshine. When Nate challenged her to a race, Vivid cheated and ran off early. He caught up to her in just a few strides, swooped her up into his arms, and ran with her screaming and laughing the rest of the way. "You little cheat," he said, grinning, as they reached the tree designated as the goal. He playfully swung her around until she howled for mercy.
Winded and laughing, Nate slid down the base of the tree until he hit the ground with her on his lap. "Such a cheat..."
Their smiling eyes held and the passion they'd both been suppressing for weeks bloomed to life. He leaned over and kissed her gently at first, as if he wanted to reacquaint himself with the softness and shape of her lips. Sweet short kisses made her hungry for a longer, fuller taste of him. Brief whispering kisses set her desire flowing and sent her hands up the strength of his back. In the end he pulled her closer and gave her the long full kiss she desired.
"We're supposed to be looking for berries," she told him in a voice made soft by emotion.
"In a moment," he replied, savoring the honey of her mouth. He brought his hand up to caress her spine and waist, reveling in the feel of her slim form pressed against him so languidly. He cupped her breast and rubbed his thumb over her nipple until it berried up sweet and ripe. "Now, let's go," he whispered against her lips.
Vivid let him take her hand and pull her to her feet. She pulsed with the haze of desire as he led her deeper into the forest.
They never did find any berries, but Vivid found herself braced against a tree with her shirt open to her waist while Nate lustily picked the variety of berry he enjoyed best. She had her head thrown back as he loved her within the shelter of the pine forest. She could only moan as he slid her skirt to her waist and slowly dragged her drawers down and off. He then knelt to boldly sample a smaller berry he found just as sweet.
The walk back to the cabin took some time because they kept stopping to exchange lingering kisses and caresses. Vivid's body was kiss-swollen everywhere, and Nate was so hard his manhood screamed for release.
Once in the cabin, he laid her on the bed and quickly undressed as she did the same. He set his spectacles on the table and joined her. Neither wanted any more preliminaries, so Nate filled her slowly and completely. The panorama of pleasure that played across her face as she welcomed him sent his passion higher. He began to coax her with the rhythm of love, watching her arch, listening to her soft intakes of breath. He slid his hands over her hips, then gripped them so she could better receive his stroking, and she took all he had to offer.
Neither of them could take the intensity for long. Nate stiffened first, and was followed into the arms of release by a twisting, breathless Vivid.
As Nate had promised, they made love until dawn.
Rain kept them indoors for the second day, but Nate found a novel way to pass the time. After a late morning meal of coffee, fried ham, and potatoes, he picked up a canvas bag that lay in the corner with the other supplies and placed it atop the table. As he rummaged inside, he told her casually, "I need you to get undressed."
Vivid smiled suggestively.
"Not for that, greedy girl. I want to sketch you."
She gave him a surprised smile. She remembered Abigail mentioning Nate's artistic endeavors, but nude? "You want me nude?"
"Completely." He placed a sketchbook and pencils and charcoal on the table, then looked over at her. "If it embarrasses you, I won't insist."
"Will anyone see it besides you or me?"
"No."
Vivid began to undress.
"Here, look at these." He handed her another sketchbook.
Vivid took the pad from his hand and sat down. On the pages were sketches of a reclining nude woman. Vivid was so taken by his outstanding talent, she'd looked at four or five of the sketches before she realized she was the subject.
"Nate, these are outstanding, but I never posed for..." she said with soft wonder as she continued to look through the drawings. He'd drawn every line, muscle, and sinew to perfection.
“Thank you. I hesitated showing them to you because I didn't want you to be offended."
"Well, some of these are very..." Vivid searched for a word that would describe the sensual nature of his sketches.
"Vivid?" he supplied.
A few were very vivid indeed. One in particular had her seated with her back to the artist as she looked over her shoulder at him. The heat rendered in her gaze was all too familiar. The line of her back and the curves of her shoulder and hips were drawn lushly. Another sketch had her lying wantonly nude on the porch swing, her head thrown back in rapture.
Vivid set the pad aside and looked into his eyes. She was speechless.
He broke the
silence. "Well, will you pose for me?"
Vivid smiled and finished undressing.
While the rain poured down outside, Nate sketched Vivid as she lay atop the cot.
"When did you first start sketching?" Vivid asked.
"I must've been around ten or eleven. I started because I was jealous of Paul Crowley."
"Really? Why?"
"Because he could draw deer and I couldn't. You probably saw some of his pictures on the walls when you went to treat Jewel."
She did remember seeing them. The walls had held many framed paintings of animals.
"Well, I wanted to draw deer like Paul. Big, lifelike stags with large racks and powerful legs. I told myself if he could do it, so could I. I found I did have a talent for drawing, but only people. I couldn't sketch a buck to save my life." Then he instructed her, "Tilt your head back just a bit."
He posed her in various positions as the morning progressed. At one point he came over to where she lay and very boldly kissed first her mouth, and then the points of her breasts. He stirred her passion until her lips parted and her eyes closed. “Perfect," he whispered, then returned to his sketching. “I want your eyes to be just that way.''
Vivid held the pose, still pulsing from his prompting.
By late afternoon, the rain ceased, leaving in its wake a breezy, gray-sky day. Nate put away his sketching materials while Vivid stretched to rid her body of the kinks caused by posing. As she slipped into her clothing, Nate wondered how he'd ever repay her for all she'd done. Because of her he was sketching again, feeling again, loving again. Her smile had coaxed him to bask in its warmth, and after ten long, lonely years, he no longer dwelled below ground. The only way he knew to repay her was to love her with every fiber of his being for the rest of their lives.
"What's the matter?" she asked, seeing him observing her with such seriousness as she recoiled her hair into a knot.
"Just musing on how blessed I am to have you."
Vivid looked into the eyes of the only man she'd ever loved and replied, "I'm blessed to have you, too, Nate Grayson."
They passed the remnant of the day in idyllic companionship. They took a long walk through the damp countryside and watched hawks soaring against the gray sky. Then they got an up-close view of a big white-tailed doe and her two fawns passing by a few yards away. Over a rise they found a valley blanketed in wildflowers that stretched for as far as they could see. Nate offered to pick as many flowers as she wanted, but she declined. "No, I have plenty back at the cabin. These are too beautiful to die in a vase."
And they were, but Nate thought her more beautiful than a continent of wildflowers.
After they returned to the cabin, they shared a late dinner of the hares caught in the traps Nate had left in the trees, then played a spirited game of checkers. There'd been no sun all day so there was no sunset to cap the evening. It didn't much matter because in every other way their day had been perfect.
In bed that night Vivid asked for a story.
"A bedtime story?" Nate questioned, holding her in the circle of his arms.
"Sure, why not?" Vivid replied, turning to view his face in the shadows cast by the lantern on the table. “Or do you think I'm being silly and young?"
"No, I don't."
“I think I want to hear more adventures of the princess and the Thunder God."
The further adventures of the princess and her Thunder God turned out to be a very erotic, decidedly wanton tale, hardly suitable for children. The brave, dark-skinned princess returned to the god's underground dwelling just as she'd promised, and Vivid's own desire began to unfurl as Nate described the princess's willing seduction. With kisses and soft touches the god coaxed her into his bed. Nate paused a moment to show Vivid just how softly and sweetly the coaxing had been done, then returned to the narration.
As the night lengthened, Nate spun his tale while his hands and lips spun her senses, until a breathless Vivid, like the princess in the story, was begging for release.
"But the Thunder God said, ‘Not yet,’ " Nate whispered from above her, feeling his manhood throbbing within the tight, warm shelter of her core as his hands gripping her hips fit her movements to his beguiling rhythm. "The god didn't think the princess was ready..."
The god gave the princess a few more sultry strokes and watched her face tighten with sensation, then, gifting her with a kiss, slowly withdrew from her treasured warmth.
Both the princess and Vivid groaned with the loss as Nate said, "The god wanted the princess to be heated, and open, and ready to experience le petit morte, but he didn't think she was ready. What do you think?"
Vivid thought the princess was very ready. He eased his hand to her center to boldly judge for himself, and her body trembled in response.
"Are you ready, princess?"
His fingers questioned her core with such blazing magnificence, her hips rose from the bed as she answered, "Yes..."
So the Thunder God slowly filled his princess with the smoldering iron of his desire. His hands tutored her hips, her straining nipples, the fever-wracked bud at the base of her thighs. The Thunder God loved the princess as he'd never loved anyone else before, and the aching release that followed, filled the cabin with mingled cries of joy.
However, the cries that awakened Vivid later that night had no root in pleasure. Nate was in the throes of a nightmare. Terror-filled moans escaped him as his head moved back and forth upon the pillow. She tried to wake him, but was unable to. She shook his strong shoulder, calling, "Nate!"
But he didn't or couldn't hear her. He was screaming, '"Run, Pa! Run!" He was flailing around on the bed, throwing his arms about so violently, only grace from above kept Vivid from being inadvertently hit in the face by his powerful fists. "Nate!" she screamed again. "Nate!"
The dream held on, tossing him like flotsam on a violent sea, even as Vivid's pleas filled the night. She had never been so frightened in all her life. She didn't realize she was crying until she tasted the salty wetness on her lips. She flung herself atop him and, holding him as tight as she could, whispered passionately, “Nate, come back to me, please, Nate, I love you, please come back."
Her tears flowed silently against his shoulder, then she stilled as she felt his arm circle her bare back. He pulled her close, then held her tight. She cried quietly but openly in response, basking in his embrace as if it were the breath of life itself.
"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" he asked softly, kissing her brow.
She sniffled, then said, "A bit, yes, but it isn't your fault."
"It was my dream again."
"I know. Abigail told me about it—the last time it happened."
“You heard me that night?''
"Yes."
"And you never mentioned it? Why not?"
"I knew we'd talk about it when the time came."
He looked down at her in the darkness and whispered, “What price will I have to pay for having you in my life?''
Vivid raised herself up and kissed him. "No price. My love for you is always free..."
Chapter 18
The last hot days of July slid into the first hot days of August. And Vivid finally received a letter from her parents informing her of their arrival around the end of September. They sent congratulations and love to both their daughter and the prospective groom.
Meanwhile, the Battle of Abigail continued. Down at Miss Edna's store, bets were being placed on how long Abigail would hold out. Mr. Crowley, ever confident, never wavered in his vow to make her his wife and boasted of a wedding soon to come. Abigail, on the other hand, kept to her housework and her books. She continued to deny any plans for a wedding other than the one for Vivid and Nate.
The situation came to a head about mid-month. Mad-die had come over to return a few books she'd borrowed from Abigail's library and stayed to visit. Maddie, Abigail, and Vivid were discussing some of the plans for Vivid's wedding when Adam Crowley's loud voice echoed from out in front of the house. "Abigail Gr
ayson, get yourself out here!"
Abigail stiffened as the booming summons took the three women totally by surprise. Vivid and Maddie shared a knowing grin, then went out to the front room and pulled back the curtain to reveal Adam sitting atop his stallion. He looked like a man on a mission.
Abigail had come out of the kitchen behind them and peered around Maddie and Vivid to the man pledged to be her husband, then moved back.
Vivid turned to her and said, "Abigail, it looks as if you have a caller."
Abigail snorted.
Then Maddie looked back over her shoulder and offered her opinion. “You really should go on out. We all know how mule headed he can be. He'll be there shouting till nightfall if he takes a mind to it."
Abigail sighed, resigned. With the aid of the beautiful carved cane Adam had given her, she strode regally to the oval mirror hanging above the fireplace and took a moment to check her appearance. She then turned back and said, "How do I look?"
Vivid and Maddie both laughed. Maddie added, "For someone not wanting courting, you're awfully concerned, Miss Gail."
"Watch and learn, young women. Watch and learn."
As she strode away with the air of an African queen, Vivid glanced into Maddie's surprised eyes and both young women howled with laughter.
Maddie slid to the door and Vivid eased back the curtains. Neither was able to resist eavesdropping.
“Adam Crowley, get off my property unless you want buckshot in your backside," Abigail said from the porch.
Inside the house, Vivid shook her head in amusement. A familiar footfall behind her told her it was Nate. He came up and kissed her softly on the neck in greeting. "What's going on out there?"
Maddie answered in a loud whisper, "It's Adam Crowley and Miss Gail."
"What are they arguing over now?" he questioned, bending over Vivid to peek through the curtains.
"We're not really sure," Vivid replied. "Mr. Crowley rode up a moment ago and yelled for Abigail to get herself out there."