Down by the River Ch. 02

"You better come up with a good explanation as to why I am here if she ever comes in," he said before kissing my mouth fervently.

"I'll just tell her you are helping me keep my sanity," I told him between kisses.

I released his member from his pants. Sure enough, it was raging hard. Lucas pulled the hem of my dress up to my waist and began caressing my thighs while our mouths were locked together, our tongues teasing and twisting around each other. He pulled my underwear down; I kicked it off. I raised my right leg up, and Lucas, realizing what I wanted, hooked it around his waist, putting his arm under it so that it would not fall. I guided his shaft to my entrance, closing my eyes when I felt him pushing slowly in. With a groan, I let my head fall back, resting on the closed door. My hand, which was running through his head earlier, pulled his face close so that he could kiss my neck – and he did, even as he thrust his manhood inside me. I bit my lower lip to prevent myself from crying out in pleasure when he started pumping in and out of me.

"My god, Lucas," I gasped when I felt his mouth closing over my breast through my dress.

He groaned, thrusting faster, driving my pleasure higher. We were not even making love anymore – we were just both acting on the primitive sexual urge to provide and receive pleasure. My left leg felt so weak that I needed him to hold me up or my leg would collapse beneath me.

"Lucas, hold me up," I said, biting back a groan.

Unbelievably, he understood. He raised my other leg up and hooked it around his waist, so that both of my legs were wrapped around him. He stepped forward so that my back was against the door, so that I could wrap my arms around him and still feel comfortable. In that position, I could meet his every thrust, thus rubbing our upper bodies together. I buried my face on the crook of his neck, licking up and down the side as he pumped in and out of me. The sensations our movements were causing were just too much that I could not keep myself from groaning loudly.

"Selene," he moaned. "Sweetheart, kiss me."

I would not understand how he could think straight while banging away like that, but I was sane enough to follow his order. I found his mouth and gave him a deep kiss, tongue lashing out to seek his. That kiss was probably only so that the sounds we were making could be muffled, but even then, we were both loud – not loud enough for Grandmother to hear from where she was sitting outside, but so loud that, had she walked nearer the hut, there would be no denying what Lucas and I were doing inside my room. And don't mention the sound made by flesh slamming on flesh as he drove himself deep into me, and neither of us would be able to make excuses to Grandmother anymore.

With one final thrust, we reached the peak together. Kissing my hair, he lifted me up so that I could unwrap my legs around him and then stand on my feet when he put me down again. The movement caused his member to slip out of me, and I felt our juices flowing down my legs. Lucas held me close even when my feet were already on the floor, perhaps knowing that I would not be able to stand straight for a while, since my knees were still shaking.

"You're amazing," I whispered into his ears before planting a soft kiss on his jaw. "You've done this before, haven't you?"

"While standing up?" he asked, grinning. "No, never."

I smiled at him. "Liar."

"I'm not lying," he said, kissing my forehead. "I have never met a woman as demanding as you before."

We shared a moment of laughter as he put his 'friend' back inside his pants. He also straightened my dress before grabbing a towel.

"I have every right to sweat this much, but you don't," he said, winking at me as he lovingly wiped the sweat off my forehead, then down my neck.

"I was cleaning the hut," I told him.

"Unfortunately, it is not enough of a reason for you to sweat this much," he chuckled. "Turn around."

I just followed his orders. As soon as he had wiped the sweat from my back, he knelt on the floor and wiped my thighs. When I looked at him with wide eyes, he chuckled and winked, explaining that he knew that our juices would be flowing down since the two of us were both standing.

"What are you going to do with my hair?" I asked him, teasing, for I knew that Grandmother only had to look at my hair – at least, near the roots -- to know that I had been perspiring a lot.

"That's easy," he said, reaching for the ribbon on the nearby table.

Using his fingers, he combed my hair and tied it with the ribbon. I smiled at the recollection of the many times that he had tied my hair thus. Before I played with him and his brothers, before we swam on the river, before I begin cooking complicated meals... He had always treated me kindly, had always taken care of me as though I were a baby.

Yes, I should have realized sooner that he was in love with me. But, somehow, through thinking that he was acting that way because he loved me as a sister, I had always been able to reconcile the manly, protective Lucas with the caring, nanny-like one.

"Where are you?" he asked, pinching my chin gently and shaking my head.

"Just wondering why I never realized sooner that you've never loved me as a sister," I answered truthfully as I gave him a hug.

"Would you rather I love you as one?"

The tone of his voice alerted me of his sudden emotional withdrawal. When I looked up at him, I saw pain and confusion on his face, and suddenly remembered that I had not told him about Jim's cruel prank. Groaning, I touched his face and gave his mouth a brief kiss.

"There's nothing going on between James and me," I told him. "I was surprised by his sudden intimacy at first, and if only I was not so distracted by your antagonistic attitude towards me, I would have given him a beating. He told me before we left that he just wanted to see how far he could push you."

"That bastard," he said, moving away with a grimace on his face. "I could have killed him out of jealous rage if he as much as tried to approach me."

I smiled as I bent down to pick up my underwear. "So, that's why you agreed to spend the night here in the first place? You did not want to kill your brother once you're home."

"Exactly," he answered, laughing now.

Dropping my little piece of clothing into the laundry basket nearby, I opened the door. "Out, Lucas. Your clothes are inside Grandmother's room, not mine. It's inside the drawer you'd find to your right as soon as you enter the room."

"Yes, madam," he said, winking as he passed by me.

"I'm coming with you to the river," I said, knowing that that was his destination. "I'll bring some foods for lunch."

"Do you think your grandmother will allow you to come with me when she knows I'll be swimming there?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I grinned. "Do you think she can stop me?"

*****

The two of us bathed in the river together, scrubbing each other's body and fooling around most of the times. The result was that we could only pronounce ourselves clean after more than two hours of trying to wash ourselves. By the time we finished, the two of us were already starving, and we managed to eat everything that I packed, even though I thought that it would be more than we could eat.

"I am so glad that I get to spend time with you again," I told Lucas, stretching my legs as I sat on the grass. "And by this river, too. When we were young, we always got in trouble with Grandmother because we wanted to swim here."

He was silent for a while, and when he finally spoke, I felt instead of heard what he was trying to say. "This river has always been ours."

'Until Marcus came.' I could almost hear the part that he left out. Feeling guilty all of a sudden, I reached for his hand and squeezed it.

"Is there no chance of you ever forgetting?" I asked him quietly.

Sitting beside me, Lucas pulled me close so that I rested my head on his shoulder. "In time, I will perhaps forget, but, right now, forgive me if I cannot." He paused and gently massaged my hand. "Do you never think of him when you are here?"

I would not even lie: of course, I remembered Marcus. I knew precisely where he emerged from the water that afternoon we first met each other. When I looked at the huge rock where he waited for me the very next day, I could only remember him. The small space where we squeezed ourselves in after we made love under the rain, the shed he built to shelter me on rainy months... Of course, those reminded me of Marcus. I would not even deny it. I admitted all of these to Lucas.

"But it does not mean that this river only reminds me of him," I told him. "I will never forget that this is where you taught me how to swim. This is also the place where the two of us first got our lengthy sermon from your mother regarding why children should follow orders from adults." I pointed to a place on the other bank. "There is where we would always hide whenever we did not want to be found."

He chuckled. "Yes, I remember. But, Selene, do you remember the promise I made to you here?"

Indeed, I did not. I looked at him, frowning, as he smiled.

"I thought you wouldn't," he said, sighing. "I made that promise more than fifteen years ago, when you were just turning five." He pointed to a small rock where – I remembered – I always sat when I was younger. "We were there. I promised you that I will always protect you, that I will always take care of you, and that, when the time comes" – he looked at me sideways – "I will marry you."

I bit my lips, not knowing whether I was allowed to smile or not. Of course, I should have said I was sorry for not remembering, but I found it somewhat funny that he should promise me marriage when he was only about six years old. To my surprise, Lucas burst out laughing, and his laughter was so infectious I could not help but laugh, too.

"Are you still going to marry me, though?" I asked.

"It depends," he answered, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the river. "We'll see."

"Yes, we'll see," I agreed. He wrapped his arms around me, though. "Frankly, Lucas, I don't even care whether you marry me or not. I just want to be with you. That's all."

"People are going to judge you if you don't marry me and they find out about our relationship."

I smiled with a bit of bitterness. "I don't care about what other people think about me. They will talk whether they know about our relationship or not, anyway, what with me being my mother's daughter."

"Selene..."

"Come on, Lucas," I chuckled, if bitterly. "You know I'm right. Even if I die here in the middle of the forest, they are still going to talk about me with my mother in mind."

He just held me for a moment, before asking, "Will you consider leaving the forest, Selene? Or would you rather stay here all your life?"

A year ago, before I realized how much I loved Lucas, I would have made the decision of staying here until I die. I decided just to do that when Marcus asked me to leave, did I not? But now, I would rather be away from this forest if it meant being with the man I love. I did not care if this was where I belonged; I did not care if leaving away from it would break me.

"I worry about you and your grandmother," he continued when I did not answer. "I have always had, but Mary said that we were not in the place to suggest anything to you, because sooner or later, your grandmother will think along the same lines we think, and then perhaps she will convince you. But now..." He sighed. "Maybe I should just keep my opinions to myself, but, I need you to know that I don't like the thought of two women living alone inside the forest, especially when one of them is as old as your grandmother."

He moved so that he could look at me, before continuing. "Selene, if I ask my father and brothers to help me build a house for you and your grandmother near our house, would you even consider moving? We have no neighbours, and our house is near the forest, anyway, although not near the heart of the forest where you currently live now."

I smiled at him. "I'll talk to Grandmother about it."

He looked relieved, at least. "Do you promise?"

I nodded, kneeling down on the grass so that I could kiss his forehead. "Anything to put your mind at ease."

His hands went to my hips as he pulled me down so that I sat on his lap. "Your daily tryst with Marcus down by this river really had me troubled about you."

"What? Why?" I asked, frowning.

"I constantly wonder what would happen if a man happens to come across the two of you," he answered, wincing. "It's one thing to see a young lady alone by the river, another to see her involved in a sexual act. One may or may not lead to sexual thoughts, but the other undoubtedly does."

That did not even cross my mind back then. "I'm sorry."

He groaned, lying down on the grass and pulling me with him so that I was spread on top of him. I started planting tiny kisses on his face while I let my hand roam all over his body. Both acts resulted in his immediate arousal.

"Naughty girl," he hissed, rolling so that he could get out from beneath me. "It is hard to resist you – "

"So just don't resist," I cut him off.

Lucas glared at me as he sat up. "Were you listening to me?"

I smiled. "About how you worry that someone might see? I was listening. But, I promised to talk to grandmother about leaving the forest, didn't I? If I tell her that I want to move near your house, she will immediately give her consent. I know that she only stays here because she knows that this is where I want to be." I reached for his hand and brought it to my lips. "I'll go wherever you tell me to go."

One of his eyebrows arched. "Are you just telling me these so that I won't worry today and make love to you here?"

"Partially, yes," I admitted, chuckling when he glowered at me. "But, I'm serious, Lucas. I will do whatever you want me to do."

He bent down so that he could look into my eyes. I did not look away, knowing that he would find nothing but truth in what I said. Finally, he smiled and kissed my mouth.

"Tell me, Selene," he murmured against my lips as he moved on top of me. "Do you love me?"

I smiled and wrapped my arms around him. "No, I don't."

Lucas grinned and kissed the tip of my nose. "Uh-huh. I thought so."

He moved his head away for a few seconds to look at me again. The two of us started laughing. This man knew me – he knew me more than any other person on earth did. As soon as I bared my heart and soul to him, he did not need words to know anything about what I felt. He knew that I was his: completely, irrevocably.

"That's too bad, because I love you," he said as he started pulling the hem of my dress upwards. "If I please you enough, madam, are you at least going to reconsider your feelings?"

"Maybe," I said, running my hands beneath his shirt so that I could feel his skin.

He groaned and started kissing and licking at my neck, stroking my exposed thighs. When he spoke again, his eyes were already dark with passion, his voice already raspy with desire.

"If I bring you to the very peak of pleasure, madam, will you finally reveal the truth?" he asked softly.

"Definitely," I answered in a whisper.

He grinned. "Then, prepare yourself, sweetheart. This is going to be one wild ride."

We were both laughing as we started teasing each other with our hands and lips, promises of a sweet union spoken through every touch, every kiss. And he was not even kidding when he said that it was going to be a 'wild ride.' He was alternately gentle and rough, giving and taking, as we satisfied ourselves on the grass down by the river even until after sunset.

It was already dark when we both finally declared ourselves worn-out. The wind was already cold upon our sweaty skin, yet the way he held me warmed me inside and out. A crescent moon was already visible in the sky, surrounded by millions and millions of stars. As he stared up at them, I crawled on top of him and kissed his mouth passionately.

"Lucas," I whispered in the dark, stroking his face lovingly. "I lo – "

He cut me off with a kiss before saying, "I know."

I smiled and rolled off him to lie by his side. "I always will."

We both lay side by side for a while, watching the stars while we waited for our breathing to calm down. When we were both breathing regularly again, we silently dressed, kissing each other from time to time. I was already exhausted, and it would still take twenty minutes of walking before we reached the hut, so Lucas volunteered to carry me – on piggyback. We left everything we brought inside the shed, beside the blanket that I would never again use.

As Lucas walked through the woods, carrying me on his back, I remembered the night I walked through this same path wondering where the magic of a night in the forest has gone to. That night, I thought I would never find it again.

But I did: I found it again and it was even more magical than it had ever been before. I found it again while I was with the man who first introduced me to that magic when he carried me home through these woods in the middle of the night so many years ago.

I did not know what Grandmother's reaction was when we arrived home. By that time, I was already asleep. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I was already inside my room, lying beside Lucas. I knew that he would not be there when I woke up in the morning, so I gave him a gentle kiss before snuggling closer.

As I closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep, I once again thought: Yes, for this man, I will leave and forget everything.