Lorelei

by Melody Calder

  “You’ve already won,” I replied, as I reached around and palmed her breasts and kissed the base of her neck. She leaned back into me, moaning, as I worked my way up to her ear. “You have my love for eternity,” I whispered in her ear.

  Lorelei pressed her round ass into my bulge, as she breathed out, “I love you more than words can say, Klaus.” Pulling her arm free of the dress, she tried to take the other one off, but the ribbons prevented her from doing so.

  She looked down at our bound hands resting on her belly and then back up at me. “I didn’t want to undo these, but I think we are going to have to. I’d make love to you any way you want, but tonight I want every part of our skin to touch.”

  “I agree. This,” I tugged at her dress, “is lovely but it has to go.”

  We unwound the ribbons and I carefully placed them on the nightstand. She reached up to take her crown of flowers from her hair, but I stopped her, “Please, I want you like this, the same as you looked when you became my wife.” She nodded and left it, stepping towards me and helping me take my own clothes off.

  We stood together naked, the only contact between us was the skin of our chests touching each other. I breathed in her scent, one that was so familiar, but the undertones changed. It wasn’t unpleasant, far from it, in fact, it was just different, and I knew that whatever spell Maddalina performed worked.

  As if reading my mind, Lorelei reached up and ran her fingers through my new gray streak of hair. It was another sign that my cursed immortal youth had been undone. “My husband,” she said in awe, a phrase she called me throughout the festivities and still held the same wonder as before.

  I leaned down and took her mouth in mine, nipping at her bottom lip as I pulled away. I wanted to explore every part of her body and I kissed down her neck and to her breasts. My eyes met the spot above her heart, the one that held the scar where her father hit her so many centuries ago. “Lorelei, your scar is gone!” I shouted in glee, startling her.

  “What?” She looked down and astonishment filled her features as she rubbed the spot where the white mark used to be. “How is that possible?”

  I didn’t answer, instead I tugged her to me as we fell back onto the bed. I kissed her with the passion of a man possessed, sliding my tongue across hers as I swallowed her moans. I slid my hands over every part of her soft skin I could reach, and she gripped my hair as if she never wanted to let go.

  My cock hardened as her wet folds rubbed against it. There was no need to speak as she wiggled her hips into place and slid down on my length. I groaned against her lips as she wrapped around me and slid up and down, her wetness coating my shaft. She moved slowly and I relished every sensation as she slid my cock inside of her inch by agonizing inch.

  I fought the carnal desire to pound into her, instead needing to feel this slow agonizing indulgence to the fullest. Her hard nipples scraped against my chest adding to the pleasure. I pushed my hips up so that her clit would hit against my pelvis.

  Lorelei sat up and I stared at her, unable to take my eyes off her beauty. She looked like a queen sitting upon her throne and I was lucky enough to be that throne. Her head fell back as I palmed her breast with one hand and rolled her nipple between my fingers, as I knew she loved.

  My cock ached with the need to spill my seed, to mark my soulmate with my essence, and the desire to see her round with my child. I grunted as I held back, her pleasure the most important thing to me. Rubbing her clit, I gave attention to her other breast, so round and firm like her entire body. It was mine, she was mine, and I would never let her go again.

  I almost lost control as she sped up, rocking her hips against my hand and pushing my cock deeper inside of her pussy. I groaned loudly as my sac hardened and this spurred her on, her own noises of pleasure joining mine. I couldn’t hold back much longer, and I gripped her ass to try to slow her down. Without a care she ignored my grip, one that strained against the pounding of a woman overtaken by need.

  I felt her body tremble and it threw me over the edge, my hips bucking as I yelled out my release, shooting my seed into her. She fell over the edge as my body spasmed and I felt her milking me of every last drop as she cried out, body shaking, as she gave me all of her. Her chest heaved as she sat on top of me, my cock still buried inside of her, and looked down on me with more love than I could have ever imagined receiving. It was as if our love for each other had increased in time, all the pain of our past brought us together in a way we may have never done before. I knew in that moment that every bit of suffering I endured was worth this.

  .

  It was midmorning by the time we woke up, if I were judging from the bright sunlight streaming in through the high window. My body ached from the all-night lovemaking session, but it was a good ache, one that I want every single day for the rest of our lives. Klaus still slept soundly next to me and I took in his features that have changed. The smile lines and crinkles in the corners of his eyes that appeared after the curse was broken made him even more handsome than before. I wanted to kiss them and thank whoever was responsible for giving him the gift of mortality again.

  I knew we should get up and eat something, since my stomach grumbled, and talk about heading back to civilization. As much as I would love to live in the woods with him, we couldn’t disappear from our lives. I couldn’t do that to my parents or even to Herr Wilhelm out of respect for him. I still loved my job and couldn’t see myself happy without my work.

  My gut clenched as reality hit and I realized that we took things so fast we never had that conversation. The one of important decisions about working and children, the practical things. I was so caught up in my love for Klaus that I never thought to ask him if he expected me to become a housewife. The feeling of dread hit me, and I sat up quickly, waking Klaus in the process.

  “Good morning, love,” he said sleepily, with that devilish grin on his face. It made me want to forget all my concerns and climb on top of him, but I knew my worries were more important.

  “We didn’t talk about our expectations of each other,” I stated bluntly, mentally kicking myself for being so rude.

  He rubbed his eyes and stretched, giving me a peek of those abs that I loved to stroke. “Okay? I suppose we didn’t do that. What is it that has you so worried, Lorelei?”

  The way my name rolled off his tongue made me lose my train of thought for a moment. When I managed to pull my eyes off his abs and up to his concerned expression, I realized he was nervously waiting for my answer. “We just didn’t talk about if you expect me to leave my job or when we plan on having kids, or any of those important life decisions that could make or break a marriage,” my words tumbled out, and I knew I sounded as unsure of myself as I felt.

  Klaus chuckled, “I love that you think of the important details that matter. I know how much you love your work and I would never expect you to stop. I want you to do whatever makes you happy. I’d even move to wherever you wanted if a dream position opened up in another country. As far as children, I’d love to have as many as you want. It will be your body going through the changes and pain of birth. I’m ready when you are, and I don’t expect you to stop working when we do decide it’s the right time.”

  I gaped at him. Never in my life had I met a man that was so completely supportive. “I didn’t think it would be that easy,” I said honestly.

  “Lorelei, I’ve had so many years without you in my life that I know what is and isn’t important. As long as I’m with you, I’ll be happy. I was even thinking of painting again and trying to make it a career this time around,” the last part coming out sheepishly.

  “Of course! Just as you would support my career decisions, I would support yours. I never liked the old gender roles and I wouldn’t mind supporting us until you made a name for yourself.” I was excited at the prospect of being able to watch him paint again like the memories of the past reminded me I did once long ago.

  He pushed a stray hair out of my face, “As much as I appreciate
the sentiment and have no problems with you being the breadwinner, I’ve amassed a bit of a fortune over the years. I can use a part of that to start my own gallery and still have enough for us, and our future children, to live comfortably. We can do this as a team.”

  I teased him, “So, you’re telling me I just married myself a sugar daddy?”

  “I’ll give you sugar,” he laughed, as he started tickling me relentlessly. I squirmed and laughed trying to get out of his reach, but he held me fast hitting those spots that made me buck and squeal until I couldn’t breathe. We collapsed on the bed with smiles on our faces until his stomach made a loud noise. “I suppose we should go get food and think about going back home,” he said with a sigh.

  It was lunchtime by the time we got dressed and made it out to the communal eating area. Maddalina greeted us warmly, “It’s good to see the happy couple out and about. I was about to bring some sustenance for you two since I’m sure you need it after last night.”

  Her knowing look made me blush and Klaus puffed out his chest, “Yes, we certainly need to replenish my wife’s energy.” He took a plate and piled it high with meats, vegetables, and berries. He knew all of my favorites and made sure to pick only those before carrying it to an open spot next to Maddalina.

  She turned to me and said, “Thank you. You’ve made an old woman happy and I can pass onto the next life knowing that I completed my job here on earth.” It was the most serious I’d heard her speak since we met, and it was as if she were holding in her emotions.

  “I should be thanking you. You’ve made our lives complete. I wish we could stay here longer, but I’d hate to have my parents worry if my boss calls them to see why we aren’t back yet. It’s such a long hike back to civilization,” I sighed.

  “Child, you were not made to live out here. You need the city and your work to be happy,” she surprised me with how she knew so much about me. “As far as the trip back, I have a shortcut for you. There’s a village only a few kilometers from here, and they have a car service that can drive you to the village where you began your journey.”

  My jaw dropped, “But it wasn’t on the maps. I saw them myself.”

  She threw her head back and laughed, “Sometimes the gods and goddesses are tricksters. I bet if you both look at the map again, you’ll see the roads and villages that are close to here. How do you think we got your wedding attire so quickly?” I looked at her dumbfounded and she added, “You both needed the journey you took to connect. There wouldn’t have been a wedding if you had still been mad at him.”

  Klaus sat down beside me and shook his head, obviously hearing the end of it, “It was worth it and I’d be happy to hike back to the village, but I’m definitely picking the easy route to get back. We still don’t know if Lorelei’s transformation worked and I’d rather not take any chances crossing that river again.”

  “You’ll see in time that it worked. The oracle has confirmed it. Lorelei, you should still stay away from the Rhine, for your father will recognize you, but the blood that alerts him to your presence is gone. Your blood is now fully of the earth. If you don’t believe me, you will certainly have the chance to test it out on the way to the village by seeing if you feel drawn to the water that is on the way.” I felt it in my bones that she was right, and nodded.

  After we ate, a few of the witches led us to the village. Klaus insisted on pulling the cart that held the herbs and vegetables that they would sell to the market. When we arrived at the home of the man that provided his car services, he pulled out a map at Klaus’ request. Even though I expected it, I was still shocked that many villages and roads dotted the map, ones that were never there when we planned our trip or when I read it in the car on the way to the inn we stayed at. Klaus shook his head and laughed, “I bet you aren’t so stuck on logical explanations now, are you?”

  “No, reason flew out the window as soon as I met you,” I giggled. “Now we just need to figure out what we are going to report back to Herr Wilhelm. I don’t think he will be open to our real story at all.”

  He kissed the top of my head and draped his arm over my shoulder, “Don’t worry, love. I’ve had many years to figure that out. I’d like to honor my aunt who made this all possible in the first place. Without her quick thinking, I would have lost you that day.”

  “I think that’s a beautiful end to our journey. Are you going to tell me, or are there dire consequences if you reveal it to me?”

  “No more secrets between us,” he assured. “You will have to have some patience and wait until we get back to the inn and I’ve had my way with you.”

  “I’m not sure I can make it that long. Maybe we can find a moss-covered spot in the woods. I’m sure the driver can wait another thirty minutes for us,” I offered seriously, my need for him never satisfied. We had many centuries to make up for.

  “Lorelei,” his voice dropped to that low and sexy tone that made the heat pool in my center, “I will most definitely need hours with you, not minutes.”

  .

  “Grandma, that woman looks like you from the pictures when you weren’t so wrinkly and old. The ones when you married Grandpa,” seven-year-old Heidi said loudly, her voice ringing out through the museum.

  I chuckled to myself, little Heidi so outspoken, like her mother at that age. “She does,” I told her. “But I think your grandma is more beautiful now than she was on our wedding day.” I squeezed Lorelei’s hand and kissed her cheek causing Heidi and our twelve other grandchildren to make faces and gagging noises.

  “You were always a smooth talker, Klaus,” Lorelei responded, but she couldn’t hide how much she loved my compliments.

  Maddalina, our oldest daughter, wrangled the children, some of which were hers and some belonged to our other three children. “How about if you all sit and listen to your grandpa tell us about the painter?”

  “Yes!” they all shouted in unison, as Maddalina tried to shush them. I was so proud of how wonderful she turned out. I was proud of all four of our children, but she was the one that was so like the woman she was named after, who had sadly passed away shortly after our departure. Lorelei became pregnant with her almost immediately after, and sometimes I wondered if she really was the High Priestess reincarnated.

  “I love grandpa’s stories,” Adalia said so quietly, that I almost missed it. She was the oldest at fifteen, and looked so much like her grandmother that the fear of her going to the Rhine never left me. They knew nothing of our past, though I did tell them the story of the nixie and the farm boy. Only Lorelei and I knew that it was the truth.

  “Okay, settle down kids and listen closely. This is the mystery your grandmother and I solved together,” I started, as they all settled, and thirteen pairs of eyes looked at me expectantly. “In the late sixteen hundreds, a woman named Kathe Heiden wasn’t one to live by society’s rules. She refused to marry, despite her father’s protests. Back then, women couldn’t own their own land. She worked as a healer and lived with her brother, his wife, and their only son.”

  “Girls can do anything boys can do!” Heidi exclaimed, as she stood and put her hands on her hips.

  I chuckled lightly, “Yes they can Heidi. And Kathe believed that with her whole heart. Now back to the story. Kathe’s brother and his wife passed away in a tragic accident when their son was little. She took over their farm and raised that little boy as well as his mother would have. When he got big and as strong as an ox, he took over running the farm. She was always a busy woman and it was hard for her to not have as much to do. One day, the boy went to the village to sell their goods. He watched as a man put beautiful colors on canvas and made a picture from them. Curious, he asked the man about it and found out the man was painting.”

  “He thought to himself how talented his aunt was at sewing and how much she might enjoy a new hobby. The painter sold him some brushes and gave him a special new color because the man was so impressed with the boy’s enthusiasm. The boy gifted it to his aunt, and she started paint
ing. She had natural talent and made the most beautiful paintings in the land. Most of the people in the village thought she was a witch because they hadn’t seen a painting before. That’s why her last name became Heiden. German tradition was to have a last name that reflected what the person did for a job, like our name Hoffman means farmer man.”

  “Did you find her other paintings?” Adalia asked with excitement. She definitely inherited Lorelei’s love of art and history.

  Lorelei took over the story, “Your grandfather and I traveled to the middle of the Black Forest to find out who the painter was and what happened to the rest of her art. After hiking for three days, we found a small village that knew the family and passed down the stories of Kathe. Sadly, most of them were destroyed in a fire. This is the only remaining painting of hers.”

  “Weren’t you scared of the spirits in the Black Forest?” our shy little grandson, Falk, asked.

  Lorelei’s laughter was still as melodic as it was when we met so many centuries ago, “I was more scared of being alone with your grandfather than any spirits. He can be a bear when he doesn’t get his schnitzel.”

  I joined my family in laughing, everyone knowing that was the first thing I asked for when I came to Germany and met Lorelei in this life. They just didn’t know that we had other lives together. Lorelei looked at me with that twinkle in her eyes and I loved her more today than I did yesterday. Every night I brushed her gray hair and kissed her wrinkles as a show of my appreciation that we were finally able to grow old together and have a family.

  Maddalina greeted her younger brother, Nicklaus, “It’s about time you got back here. I was about to send out the search party thinking that you either drowned in the toilet or decided to leave me alone with all these rugrats.”

  Our quiet son was a spitting image of me, and I laughed as he rolled his eyes at his sister and grumbled, “It wasn’t my idea to drag them all here on a day trip.”