by Gina Manis
“There is a dance coming up on the next full moon. Will we see you there?” He asks as he reaches out and rubs the back of his finger down my arm. I flinch and pull away. “I would like to get to know you better.”
“So would I,” Johnny says, touching my other arm, and I slap it away.
“Please, let me pass,” I beg of them as I am finding it harder to breathe.
“Promise us a dance each, and we will,” Sam tells me.
“I’m not going,” I tell him, hoping he will back off.
“Sam, Jonny, I think ya’ll are scaring her,” One of the boys behind me says as he backs up a step and I move in his direction to give me more space. I don’t remember his name, but I hope the others will listen to him.
“Are you scared of us, Jenna?” Jonny asks me but doesn’t back up.
“You're crowding me,” I tell him, not wanting to admit to my fear. In the past, I have found some men like to push me further when they know I am afraid.
He steps back and pushes Sam back, also giving me more space. “My apologies then. I just wanted to get to know you.”
I try and walk around him again, but he still blocks me, “Will you come to the dance? I would like to see you again.”
“I said no,” I almost shout, needing to get away from them.
“Why are you so unfriendly? Are all people from the Star Kingdom like this?”
Instead of answering him, I ask, “Do you often block women when they are walking down the street?”
“It is not often one catches my attention like you do.” He steps closer to me but doesn’t touch me again. “Or maybe I should say that nice ass of yours in those tight pants.”
“Jonny, back off, man.” The boy again says. I don’t dare look at him as I can’t take my eyes from Jonny. He is the most forceful and the one who will not let me be on my way. I find him to be the biggest threat in their little group.
“Back off, boys, before I tan all your hides,” I hear Arrow speak now and let out a sigh of relief. I have never been so grateful to hear his voice as I am now.
All of them move away from me and turn to Arrow. “We were just introducing ourselves to the fair lady.”
“Go home to your mommas and ask her the proper way to do so, or else, I will show you my fist,” Arrow says, coming up beside me.
The boys turn to leave, but Jonny says before he follows them, “I will be looking forward to seeing you again, Jenna.”
He leaves us then, and I turn to Arrow, “Thank you.”
“Did they touch you?”
“A little, but I am okay,” I tell him. “Please, let’s just get to the hotel.”
He takes my arm, but I pull away from him and back up. “Don’t.”
I have allowed him to touch me more recently, and it isn’t surprising that he does so now, but I can’t stand the idea, not after the boys.
“I’m sorry,” he says, looking down.
“It is not you,” I tell him. “Just don’t touch me right now.”
He steps away from me, giving plenty of room, and I walk on to the hotel with him a distance away from me.
When we enter the hotel, I ask him if he could order me a bath. He goes to do so, and I head up to our room. I close the door and lean against it for a moment.
I place the basket on the table by the door and see my hands shaking. It isn’t anything new when something like this happens to me. Men and boys have done this before, but it always makes me a wreck later.
Maybe a bath will help soothe me some. I am tired but hesitant to go to sleep now. I am scared the dreams will come. I think of Bran and hope he is there instead.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jenna
I blow out the candles and walk around the screen, seeing Arrow resting on the bed. I didn’t think to ask him before if we had shared it last night, but I am assuming now that we did.
I am calmer after my bath, walking to the other side of the bed and climb in without a word. Arrow says nothing as he blows out the lamp beside him, and we are left in darkness.
We lay there in silence for some time before Arrow asks me, “What do you feel with Bran? Why did you allow him to touch and kiss you?”
The question comes as a surprise, but the way he asks doesn’t sound demeaning to my dreams or Bran. Instead, he seems genuinely curious for the first time.
“I knew I was safe with him,” I tell him honestly. “That I was in control.”
“How did he do that?”
“I don’t know,” I tell him truthfully. “His whisper was caring, and he knew what happened to me. I could feel his sorrow, but it wasn’t pity, it was understanding. He said he could help me, and I knew he could.”
“Has it helped you?” he asks me, and I can see him a little now as my eyes have adjusted to the darkness.
I reach across the bed to him, and he does the same, taking my hand. “He did help me. I haven’t had the nightmare since I was with him. I sleep better at night now, knowing they will not be a part of my dreams.”
“I’m sorry I was angry at you for going with him,” he tells me. “I like that you are allowing me to hold your hand.”
“I like it too,” I say, smiling even though I know he couldn’t see it. “I still feel this overwhelming fear when I am around men. Even a good one, like you.”
“Were you ever this way with Thomas?”
“No. Thomas has always been there. I see him as my brother. In some ways, like a father. He has kept others from me knowing my fears, and so I never develop fear with him.”
He doesn’t ask me anything else as we lay there. Instead, he says, “We should sleep now. I want us up early before dawn to be on our way.”
“Goodnight, Arrow.”
“Goodnight, Jenna.”
I close my eyes, still wondering why he asked me about Bran and Thomas tonight. Before I fall asleep, I feel him rub my hand between his fingers. I go to sleep, thinking of how nice it feels.
“Run with me, Jenna,” Bran whispers as his fingers slide from mine. I reach for him and retake his hand as we start to run. I like this time with him, the feel of the wind in my hair. I am happy once more and laugh as we run over the beach and splash through the water.
He pulls me down into the sand tonight and I go into his arms willingly, lifting my face to his for his kiss.
“No waterfall tonight?” I ask him as his lips trail down to my neck.
“I am with you tonight,” he whispers in my ear, and I shiver. “I have wanted to see you again. I can’t get you out of my mind.”
“Um, I think of you too,” I say as my hands travel over his chest.
“You were frightened tonight,” he says as he looks at me. “Let me take it away.”
“Please do,” I say, needing him so much right now.
“Hold on to me,” he says, taking my lips once more, and I melt into them as I wrap my arms around him. I love his kisses and being this close to him. He doesn’t make me feel trapped but free. Free to feel things I can’t in real life.
His hands run over my backside, pulling me closer, and I wiggle into him more. I let my hand slide into his dark hair and pull his lips more firmly against mine. Our tongues dance together in a rhythm that follows the waves, and the breeze around us touches our skin.
“I want to touch you,” he asks as his hands come between us, and he cups my breast. I feel the heat of it through my clothing and moan as he rubs his fingers over my nipple. “I like that sound. Will you purr for me some more?”
“Yes,” I gasp as his head lowers, and he kisses it over my shirt. “Oh, Bran. You feel so good.”
“You taste so divine.” His hands wrap into my hair, and he kisses me again. I want to get closer and slide over his body to straddle his hips, rising up. He lets out a sharp hiss as he positions me on him.
His kisses move to my neck, and I wonder if it would feel the same if Arrow was kissing me there. What would hi
s light beard brushing against my skin feel like?
“What are you doing?” he asks as I rub my body against his. I moan as I feel something press into me right between my legs. It makes me want to move against it, and I do. His hand grasps my hips, “Jenna, don’t do that, love.”
“I want to,” I tell him as I let my body move against him. His hands begin to help me, and I slide mine up his stomach and over his chest. “You feel so good to me, Bran.”
Suddenly he pulls me off him and stands up.
“What is it?” I ask him, looking up at him. Didn’t he want this?
“Wake up, Jenna.”
“No, I don’t want to,” I look up and see he is distressed. “I want to stay here with you.”
“Wake up!” His voice changes from a whisper to sound, and it startles me.
I open my eyes, and I see Arrow standing by the bed in the early morning light.
◊ ◊ ◊
Arrow
I remove Jenna from me and jump out of bed, not able to take her slender form pressing into me like that. No telling how far I would have let it go if she hadn’t said his name.
She is dreaming of him, but she has somehow ended up in my arms.
What is it! There are a hundred things wrong with that, not to include the massive hard-on I have. I can’t seem to answer her, and when I look at her, she is lying in bed, her tongue darting across her lips begging me to come back to her.
“Wake up, Jenna,” I tell her, sliding on my pants and groaning as I try to put myself in them.
“I don’t want to,” she says in a voice way too seductive coming from her. “I want to stay here with you.”
“Dammit,” I say, running my hands in my hair. I shout louder than I mean to again, “Wake up!”
She does this time, opening her eyes and looking at me. I can’t stand that heated gaze and move away from the bed, grabbing my shirt at the bottom of it. “It is morning. We need to go.”
I sit down in one of the oversized chairs and put on my boots. I can’t help but look at her, wondering if she knows it was me. She stretches as she rubs the sleep from her eyes, and I shudder, seeing her erect nipples through her shirt.
She looks around and sees that she is on my side of the bed. I’m up and heading to the door, not daring to look at her. “I’m going downstairs for some coffee. Get dressed. I will be back in a few.”
I slam the door on my way out and lean against the wall. What the hell am I doing?
I was fine when she scooted across the bed and came into my arms. I was surprised but found it nice to hold her. I knew I should have moved away, but when her hands came up and touched my chest, I couldn’t move even if I wanted to.
Her head rubbed against my neck, and I was lost when I felt her lips on my skin. I didn’t dare move, thinking I would wake her, and she would be scared. I laid there and just enjoyed it.
When she moved and came over me, pressing her little body into mine, I gripped her hips to keep her still and asked her what she was doing. She didn’t answer me at first, but when she pressed into me, I pleaded with her to stop while I still could.
When she told me she wanted to and raked her fingers across my stomach and chest, I couldn’t take it anymore and pressed myself against her. I thought she was awake by that time, and I couldn’t believe what she was doing. It was only when she said Brans name, I realized she was dreaming of him.
It was bad enough to watch her last night as she bathed again for me, but I had been prepared for that. I had also been angry at what those boys did and intended to find out who they were before too long. I knew they had upset her, but when I touched her, the way she pulled away made me think we were going in the wrong direction. It is why I asked her about Bran and Thomas last night. I wanted to know why they are different for her. To see if there was a way I could find my way through to her as they did.
I move down the hall and towards the lobby for some coffee. Hopefully, by the time I make it back upstairs, she will be dressed and ready to go. We didn’t need to dawdle today. I drink my coffee downstairs and try to calm the last of my nerves. I take her a cup back up and knock at the door.
“Come in.” I do, and she is at least packing the few items from last night in her bag.
I set the coffee on the table by the door and reach for the other bags. “Here is some coffee. I am going down to settle the bill. You finish and meet me downstairs. We will pick up the sleds and head out.”
“Okay,” she says, not turning to me. I don’t wait for her and leave quickly.
I settle the bill, and she comes down. We don’t talk as we go to the way station and pick up our sleds and head out of the village. I stop us at the farmer's house and pick up the chicken and milk cow, and we are off then up into the mountains.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jenna
This dang sled is heavy pulling up this mountain. I am sure Arrow gave me the lighter one, but it feels like it is filled with rocks. Several times, Arrow has to stop and wait for me, but he never complains. He doesn’t say anything.
When I woke up this morning, he stormed out of the room so fast I barely had my eyes open. It was only after he was gone that I realized I was on the wrong side of the bed. How I have no idea, but I am sure that something happened between us.
He isn’t talking, though, and I am not sure if I need to know. I had been dreaming of Bran, and things had gotten heated between us. Somehow, I think Arrow might have gotten involved.
Did I touch him? Did we kiss? What did it feel like? My mind races with questions, but I don’t dare ask. Not knowing for sure is the only thing that is keeping me sane right now. If we had touched and done more, it is only because I thought he was Bran. I don’t think he would like to know that.
The things that Darla said about him being addicted to sex comes to mind. If that was true, he wouldn’t have pulled away from me, would he? I am lost as to what to think, and things seem to be becoming more confusing with Arrow and me.
Now I am going up in the mountains with him, and we will be alone. Alone for the rest of summer and this coming winter. The idea that something could happen between us is starting to seem more real. It still doesn’t feel right when he touches me, though. I keep letting him, fighting the feelings that arise as I know that my memories are not Arrow’s way.
“We should stop and have something to eat,” Arrow says and startles me out of my thoughts. I look up and see that it is midday already. Arrow walks over to me, and I can’t take my eyes from him. He reaches into one of the bags on my sled and pulls out some bread. He breaks it in half and holds out half of it to me. “Eat up. We still have a long way to go.”
He turns and walks back to his sled and sits down beside it. Something for sure had to happen. He never ignores me like this. I sit down also and eat my bread. I look out over the mountain, seeing for the first time how high we are. I can see a good piece down into the valley below.
Everything is green with splashes of color here and there with flowers and plants. Trees are spacious and tall in the rolling fields and the sky looks so blue next to all the green.
“It’s beautiful.”
“It is,” Arrow says. “I forgot just how much so.”
We enjoy the view until we finish our food and drink, and without much of a word, he gets up and tells me to come on.
I struggle still with my sled. My shoulders and hands are raw from the rope that is around them both. As night starts to come on us, we have to be close, but that hope is dashed when Arrow calls for us to stop for the night and make camp.
“But I thought you said it was only a day’s travel?”
“It is, but you have a load, and need to rest.”
“I can do it,” I tell him, not wanting to stop.
“We are stopping,” He reproaches. “We still have too far to travel into the night. You're tired, I’m hungry, and there is no reason to push yourself so hard. We will be there to
morrow, and that is soon enough.”
I sigh, but I find firewood and build a fire while Arrow goes hunting. I hurry to put on some beans so they will be done before he gets back, and we cook whatever he kills. It is night by the time I am done, and I walk away from the fire a way to look up at the stars. They seem so bright here, and I see one shoot across the sky.
Never at the Star Kingdom could you ever really see the stars. Not like this. On the trail here, they were pretty amazing at night but not like now. Here they seem bigger, grander.
“Jenna,” Arrow calls out at the camp, and I see him looking around for me.
“I am here,” I say as I walk back and see him relax. “What did you catch?”
“A possum,” He says, laying the meat on a rock as he starts to cut it up to put over the fire. “Their meat is tough, but they cook well in a stew. Tonight, we will just have to bear it.”
And that is about the last thing he says to me for the night. I lie down, thinking about yesterday down by the river with Arrow how we had talked and shared. Even last night before we went to sleep.
Today he has been so different from me, speaking only when necessary. I feel like I have lost something with him today. We have been building something that is now gone in a flash that I don’t even remember.
I fall asleep sometime because the next thing I know, Arrow is waking me again for us to move on. I am stiff as I move and dread pulling the sled again. Still, I wrap it around my shoulder where the padding is on the ropes for and grip it in my hands as I pull hard.
I watch the sun come up over the mountains as we walk. The day promises to be hot, and it pushes me harder to make ground before it gets bad. Still, it is mid-day before we finally arrive.
I look at the little house and see that it does need lots of work. The door and the windows are boarded up. There are a few bad places on the roof, and the porch is dirty. There is another small building a ways from the house with double doors. One of them is hanging off. Some animal pens are on each side of it.