The Plains of Passage (Earth's Children 4)

She sat down next to him. He pushed her back kissing her, then, with no other preliminary, he moved to cover her, and down, pushed her legs apart, and ran his warm tongue up her cool wet folds. Her eyes opened wide for an instant as she shivered at the sudden throbbing rush that pulsed through her, feeling it deep inside. Then she felt a sweet pulling, as he suckled at her place of Pleasures.

He wanted to taste her, to drink her, and he knew she was ready. His own excitement grew as he felt her respond, and his loins ached with need as his large, slightly curving manhood swelled to its fullest. He nuzzled, nibbled, suckled, manipulating her with his tongue, then reached to taste her inside, and savored it. For all his need, he wished he could go on forever. He loved to Pleasure her.

She felt the excited frenzy growing inside her, and she moaned, then cried out as she felt the peak rising, almost reaching its crest.

If he allowed it, he could have let himself release without even entering her, but he loved that feeling of her when he was inside, too. He wished there was some way he could do it all at once.

She reached for him and lifted up to meet him as the clamorous storm within her rose, and then almost without warning, suddenly erupted. He felt her wetness and warmth, then raised himself and moving up, found her welcome entrance and, with a strong surging push, filled it completely. His eager manhood was so ready, he wasn't sure how much longer he could wait.

She called out his name, reaching for him, wanting him, arching to his push. He plunged in again and felt her full embrace. Then, shuddering and groaning, he backed out, feeling the exquisite pull in his loins as his sensitive organ incited sensations deep within him. Then suddenly he was there, he could wait no more and as he pushed in again, felt the burst of Pleasures overtake him. She cried out with him, as her fierce delight overflowed.

He made a few last strokes; then he collapsed on top of her, both of them resting from the exhilarating arousal and tempestuous release. After a while, he lifted his head and she reached up to kiss him, conscious of the smell and taste of herself, which always reminded her of the incredible feelings he could evoke in her.

"I thought I wanted to make this last, take a long time, but I was so ready for you."

"That doesn't mean it can't last, you know," he said, and watched a slow smile grow.

Jondalar rolled off to his side, then sat up. "This rocky beach is not very comfortable," he said. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't notice, but now that you me

ntion it, there is a stone jabbing my hip, and another under my shoulder. I think we should find a softer place ... for you to lie on," she said with a sly grin and a glint in her eye. "But first, I'd like to go for a real swim. Maybe there's a deeper channel nearby."

They waded back into the river, swam the short distance of the pool, then continued upstream, breaking through the shallow, muddy reed bed. On the other side the water was suddenly cooler, then the ground under their feet dropped off and they found themselves in an open channel that wound through the reeds.

Ayla reached out and pulled ahead of Jondalar, but he exerted himself and caught up. They were both strong swimmers, and were soon having a friendly competition, racing along the open channel as it twisted and turned through the tall reeds. They were so evenly matched, that the smallest advantage could put one or the other into the lead. Ayla happened to be ahead when they reached a split with both new channels curving so sharply that, when Jondalar looked up, Ayla was out of sight.

"Ayla! Ayla! Where are you?" he called. There was no answer. He called out again, starting up one of the channels. It twisted around on itself, and all he could see were reeds; every place he turned, just walls of tall reeds. In a sudden panic, he called out again, "Ayla! Where in the Mother's cold underworld are you?"

Suddenly he heard a whistle, the one Ayla used to call Wolf. A wave of relief washed over him, but it sounded much farther away than he thought it should have. He whistled back and heard her reply, then started swimming back along the channel. He reached the place where the channel split, then turned up the other fork.

It also turned back on itself and into another channel. He felt a strong current take him, and suddenly he was heading downstream. But ahead he saw Ayla swimming hard against the pull of the stream, and he swam to meet her. She kept going when he came abreast, afraid the current would take her back down the wrong channel again if she stopped. He turned around and swam upstream beside her. When they reached the fork, they stopped to rest, treading water.

"Ayla! What were you thinking of? Why didn't you make sure I knew which way you were going?" Jondalar scolded in a loud voice.

She smiled at him, knowing now that his anger was a release of tension caused by his fear and worry. "I was just trying to keep ahead of you. I didn't know that channel would turn back on itself so quickly, or that the current would be so strong. I was carried downstream before I realized it. Why is it so strong?"

His tension vented, and relieved that she was safe, Jondalar's anger quickly dissipated. "I'm not sure," he said. "It is strange. Maybe we're close to the main channel, or the land under the water is dropping off here."

"Well, let's go back. This water is cold, and I'm ready for that sunny beach," Ayla said.

Letting the current help them, their swim back was more leisurely. Though it was not as strong as the pull of the other channel, it moved them along. Ayla turned to float on her back, and she watched the green reeds slipping by and the clear blue vault above. The sun was still in the eastern sky, but high.

"Do you recall where we came into this channel, Ayla?" Jondalar asked. "It all looks so much the same."

"There were three tall pines in a row on the riverbank, the middle one bigger. They were behind some hanging willows," she said, then turned over to swim again.

"There are a lot of pines along the water here. Maybe we should head for the shore. We might have gone past them," he said.

"I don't think so. The pine on the downstream side of the big one had a funny bent shape. I haven't seen it yet. Wait ... up ahead ... there it is, see it?" she said, moving toward the reed bed.

"You're right," Jondalar said. "Here's where we came through. The reeds are bent."

They clambered back across the reeds to the small pool, which now felt warm. They walked out onto the little spit of stony ground with a feeling of coming home.

"I think I'll start a fire and make some tea," Ayla said, running her hands down her arms to push the water off. She gathered up her hair and squeezed the water out, then headed for their pack baskets, gathering a few sticks of wood along the way.

"Do you want your clothes?" Jondalar asked, dropping more wood.