Reservoir of Power Ch. 02

"I'm sorry, Lochlainn. That sounds awfully lonely."

"No, don't be. It wasn't so bad; I've always been a loner, and the five years that I spent in University were good ones. I really enjoyed getting to be on a team for once. I'd changed schools so many times that I'd never really gotten a chance to play on one team for an entire season before. I'd always thought I was good enough to play college ball, but I ended up having to walk-on at Missoula; no one offered me a scholarship."

"Ylva told me that she heard that you were pretty good. Why didn't you go pro?"

"Well...I liked football okay, but there was no way that I was going to choose to live in a big city in order to continue doing it. Heck, Missoula was almost too much for me. I like the outdoors; I need to see the stars. All of the N.F.L. cities were just too big for me!"

"So you left all of the money behind?"

Lochlainn smiled and gestured to the horizon where the sun was setting over the mountains, "and lose all of this?"

"Yeah, that makes sense. I've finally started looking for my own bliss."

"It wasn't ice hockey then?"

Lena waved her arm expressively and said, "No, not compared to this."

Lochlainn thought about that for a moment and then said, "What about Ylva; what is she looking for?"

"She says that she has no idea, but she says that she will know him when she finds him."

"Him?"

"Yeah," Lena laughed, "Ylva is a slut; I think she's looking for a man to challenge her. Hell, she won't ever need to work; her parents left her a ton of money, but she gets bored easily. She'll never be able to just sit around; that's why we joined the roller derby. Oh, and that reminds me, maybe you can help me with something."

"Name it."

"I need a skate name. Every skater has to come up with a unique skate name, and register it with the Association when we register. Ylva is going to call herself Ilsa, the she-wolf. All of the skate names are silly or violent, or both; and I'm drawing a blank. I've been trying to come up with something with bear in it, or maybe a wolf... and I need it by tomorrow."

"You are not giving me much time to work my magic," Lochlainn said, already deeply in thought.

"I hadn't met you yet, and besides, you look like you might know some bear names."

Lochlainn grinned as he rolled up his sleeve. He pointed to the large tattoo on his bicep and said, "This is Monte, he is the Montana mascot. Our team was called the Grizzlies. You have come to the right place!"

"What cha got?"

"Garfield's teddy bear was called 'Pookie'; how about that?"

"Not!"

"How about Teddy Bare, you know... spelled b-a-r-e?"

"Ha, ha," she said dryly. "Next?"

"Grizzly Mama?"

"Boring."

"Grizz Zelda?"

"Hmm... maybe, keep going."

"Honey's Pick-i-nick Basket?"

"C'mon, be serious!" Lena laughed.

Lochlainn thought for a moment, and then he said, "I liked the 'honey' angle, but yeah, the Yogi-bear joke was pretty weak. Maybe 'honey' something else?"

"Yeah maybe, we hadn't really thought of that."

"Honey Potts? Grizzly Honey? Honey Kodiak? Amazon Honey? Hey, I know you pooh-poohed my b-a-r-e- idea earlier, but what about Honey B.a.r.e.?"

"Well... most of the girls skate in fishnet stockings or some kind of lingerie; so that might work."

Lochlainn stopped talking, a stunned look upon his face.

"What?" Lena asked nervously.

"Lingerie?"

Lena laughed, "Yeah, but everything is covered. Plus we wear pads and helmets, so it isn't really overtly sexual. It's more of a lark."

"Damn!" the big man said, exhaling slowly, trying to keep his eyes above Lena's neck. "I had this momentary vision of you in an emerald green teddy and roller skates!"

"You wish!" laughed Lena.

"As a matter of fact...umm...yes!" Lochlainn admitted.

Lena waggled a finger at him and said, "Dinner wasn'tthatgood, but maybe I'd go for it if you came up with a good enough name."

"Can I get that in writing," he said with a grin.

"Ha! It wouldn't be legally enforceable."

"Yeah, but you are honorable enough to pay off...right?"

Lena blushed again as she said, "maybe'.

"Okay then, I will work on it all day tomorrow. What time is your practice?"

"Six to nine I think."

"Here's the deal... If you accept the name that I will text to you tomorrow, then you'll agree to wear a green teddy for your grizzly admirer. Do we have a deal?"

Lena answered his question before she thought about it; on some level, she was already looking forward to being seduced by this Viking suitor. "Yes," came out of her mouth before she could change her mind, and she thrust her hand out to shake on the deal. Lochlainn had other ideas however; he leaned forward and kissed her knuckles instead.

"There," he said as he stepped back, "sealed with a kiss."

Lena shuddered and wondered why that brief kiss had felt so good. He'd just briefly brushed her skin with his lips. Oh Lord she was going to be in trouble if she had to pay off this bet, and not just because she'd have to find a way to purchase lingerie in her size. Maybe Ylva would know of a good website.

These were the thoughts that went through her head, but what she actually said out loud was, "Okay, I will admit it. That dinner was worth a kiss. Do you want it now, or do you want to wait to receive it when I leave?"

Lochlainn looked into her eyes and replied, "I'll take it now; we'll negotiate for a second kiss later."

Smiling, Lena said, "Good answer," and stepped into his embrace.

Neither of these lonely people had ever had much luck with the opposite sex; indeed, both of them had spent years walling themselves from the rest of the human race. Yet, neither of them felt any fear of the other. For once in their lives, they were not paralyzed by indecision; a warm kiss seemed like the right answer.

Their lips met gently and they relaxed into one another's embrace. Lena found that his beard did tickle, but it tickled in a way that enflamed her body and made it roar with a thundering need for him.

Lochlainn's eyes shot back open upon contact with her lips as he instantly realized that he'd just found what he'd been looking for. Her eyes were still closed however and he knew that if her body felt what he was feeling, then her brain did not yet recognize what he body was telling her. She did not understand that she was meant to be his.

Her essence had crept into his consciousness just as her taste had exploded upon his lips; he knew that they had been searching for one another. He grasped her tighter, trying to pull her into himself. She melted into him like warm butter; a brief moan escaped her lips as he paused to nip at her bottom lip. He didn't stop to enjoy the sounds she was making though, the opportunity of her open mouth had allowed him to take control of her tongue with his own, and this just caused her to melt further into him. Her legs surely would not have supported if he hadn't been holding her upright. He was so incredibly powerful; she'd never met a man so strong, and yet, so tender.

They kissed for some time, but eventually, and reluctantly he returned the control of her body. He slowly relaxed his embrace to allow her to stand on her own once again. Then he returned control of her tongue to her, but he released it slowly and cautiously so as not to leave her hanging. He wasn't going to leave her as bereft of him, as he already felt of her. As the fog in her mind cleared, he caressed her lips with his own as he slowly stepped away from her. It was the hardest thing that he'd ever done. He looked into her closed eyes searchingly as he waited for them to open.

As Lena slowly returned to earth, she saw that Lochlainn was there waiting for her. He smiled gently and whispered, "I'm going to have to thank my father for teaching me how to cook. That was the very best reward that I've ever collected." Her brief impulse to flee was instantly conquered by his words and the look in his eyes.

She could see that he'd taken their agreed upon price for her dinner, and yet, he'd not pressed for more than she was prepared to give, though it was quite clear that he wanted her. If Lena was honest with herself, she knew that she wouldn't have been able to refuse him either; he could have done anything to her at that moment, and yet, he'd shown complete restraint. He'd shown her that he could be trusted, but could she?

How had Ylva known? Oh Gods, what will I do if this dream of a man was the one to tag me with the perfect stage name. Ylva had better come up with something damned good, or then again, maybe not. Maybe this bet would be worth losing. Oh God, he was still looking at her!

As if he'd read her every thought, he said, "I am going to find the perfect name for you, my dear Lena; because green is my favourite color." And when she blushed, he said, "and I like a good rosy blush too!"

She began stammering, "I, I should probably be going; you have to go to work tomorrow."

"No," he said smiling gently, "Mike gave me the day off tomorrow; and besides, we haven't even gotten to watch the stars come out yet. Look, it is almost dark enough now and I've picked the perfect place for us to watch them."

Coaxing her, he held out his hand, "Come with me; you've never seen anything like this!"

Her mind was screaming 'flee', but her body was traitorous. She reached out and let him take her hand and lead her into the darker night.