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957 Posts |
 Posted - July 20 2007 : 02:03:18 AM
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XmaKlee told the others that when the Zanga had heard Veronica's drum, they did not know the number of the Xingu or how they came, perhaps from more than one direction.
Jacoba had called a meeting of the war council in his main village, and it was decided to send scouts to seek out the Xingu and determine their strength.
Sa'eera and Assai had called on their husband and father to send aid to the white women, but he had demurred, until he knew more about the extent of the peril. Finally, he had allowed his chief shaman to lead a relief expedition to the rescue of the Treehouse dwellers. Sa'eeera had reminded him that Challenger was the source of the blonde hair dye that made her tresses so pleasing to him, and that the great white shaman had also cured some of them from grave illnesses. It was the white sorceress, Marguerite, who had taught his women to dance so pleasingly for him. Surely, he should help these people!
Grudgingly, he had conceded that the whites were their friends and needed help. So Xma'Klee had led 200 warriors here, many armed wth the Mauser rifles that made them so formidable against other tribes.
The headhunters had now broken and were in full retreat. The Zanga were arriving in greater strength, now that they knew that this was the only Xingu war party nearby. Tomorrow, all the Xingu would be dead or have fled.
"We have captured a few," he added.
"What will happen to them?, " asked Marguerite, dreading the answer.
Xma'Klee shrugged. "The usual. Some will be buried alive. Others will be tied on the river bank for caiman and crocodiles to consume them as they live, while we watch from a distance. You need not be concerned that they will trouble you again."
Challenger made a face at this news, and Xma'Klee rounded on him. "George Challenger, you are a wise man. But your race is weak about dealing with such a foe. If these live, they cannot be freed. Next year, they would return with their fellows, to rape, pillage and plunder. They came to take our heads, and to steal our women. There can be no mercy for them. They do not really expect any more. That is not their way, and it is not the Zanga way."
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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957 Posts |
Posted - July 20 2007 : 02:42:11 AM
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"George didn't say anything!," protested Finn, defending her man. But she agreed that the Zanga way was barbarous.
Xma'Klee looked at her soberly. "Woman- Who- Kills, you of all persons should know that Challenger's face spoke his feelings. You read his signals so well, knowing his heart as no others have or can. Your union is blessed by the spirits. Soon, I think you shall bear his child. I sense this. In your love for him and for these other friends, recall that the Xingu do not share your people's ideals. They take what they can, and kill and burn the rest. We deal with them accordingly."
"Now, Finn, " he continued. "I saw in the medicine hut things which happened today. I saw you slay one Xingu man with that knife on your belt, the one that Lord Roxton made for you. This has troubled you, more than those whose lives you have taken with bullets. More, I think, than the life that you took in Xochilenque with your hands alone. Do not grieve, for had you not killed that man, you would have been in great danger. I saw another who tried to bind Ma'Greet. You saved her. These things I saw in the spirit hut, in my trance. Are they not so?"
Finn and Marguerite admitted, shocked, that these things were true. They always marvelled at how this witch doctor knew what he did. In Burton's headquarters, he had seen them chained in their slave cell and appeared in a vision to Marguerite, telling her to warn Finn that rescue was near at hand. (See, "Spirit Jaguar" at: www.americanbty12.proboards62.com , in Fiction.)
"Great Shaman, I am shamed at my weakness, but I am a mere woman, and I shrink from what you will do to our foe. But in my head, I know that it is as you have said. I am just sad that it cannot be otherwise." Finn was aghast at what the Zanga would do to their captives, but she knew the validity of what Xma'Klee said. Yet, it bothered her. She was from a savage world, herself, but she wasn't insensitive to such things, and she had become more so since becoming part of this "family", with their traditional Anglo-American values.
"What is this about Finn becoming pregnant?," demanded Challenger. He wanted to change the subject.
Xma'Klee understood. He looked at Finn and the scientist and told them that soon, she would be "barren" no more, and would be with child within a few months. "I was troubled at how your women have not conceived, " he narrated. "So, I went into the spirit hut and smoked the smoke and cast the bones, and I saw that this will come to pass. You will have a son by the end of this year. Rejoice, for he will become a great warrior and statesman among your kind."
"Well, that is wonderful, " said Challenger, trying to humor this savage witch doctor. He thought that he and Finn might conceive, but to be told this by a man who had dreamed it after taking hallucinogens and throwing around some animal bones in a smoky room was incredible! Could he have foreseen something that would actually happen?!
Veronica cleared her throat. "Great Shaman, we offer you refreshment. Will you take limeade or coffee with us?"
Xma'Klee smiled at her. He had always liked this blonde white girl, who had grown up largely in his village. He thought that her man, this Ned Malone, was a bit weak, but he had grown stronger in the last year, and was now perhaps worthy of having this golden jungle girl for his mate. He said that he would indeed like some of the fruit juice.
He remained to talk more with the Treehouse crew, and to tell Veronica and Roxton how pleased he was that they had been able to save the other two women. Then, he took his leave, for he had much to do before he led his warriors back to their village.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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957 Posts |
Posted - July 20 2007 : 03:03:29 AM
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When the Zanga had left, the electricity was switched back on to charge the fence below the Treehouse.
The little "family" cooked and ate dinner, talking of the events of the day, and teasing the Challengers about their impending birth.
"Oh, rubbish!", snorted George Challenger. "How that witch doctor can imagine that we will have a child because he dreamed it in a drug-induced trance is beyond civilized belief. I will believe that I am a father when I see more substantial proof of it."
"Well, I did go off of the Pill," pointed out Finn. "Want to see if we can help Xma'Klee's vision along, Genius?" She grinned at his embarrassment.
"I suppose that we are safe from childbirth, Veronica," teased Marguerite. "Xma'Klee didn't say anything about either of us getting in a 'family way'." She laughed, as sure as was Challenger that this was nonsense. Yet, she sensed things herself. She didn't dismiss what the shaman said, having seen his powerful magic.
"Let me get you upstairs and in our bed, and we will see what chance you have of bearing babies," teased Roxton.
A blushing Marguerite let him lead her from the table and upstairs. She had showered earlier, as had he, and they were soon ready to retire for the night.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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957 Posts |
Posted - July 21 2007 : 12:24:26 AM
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When the Roxtons had left, Veronica looked at the others and said, "Well, I guess we know what THEY will be doing in a few minutes!" She blushed crimson.
"How do you know that we won't be doing the same thing, except that if Challenger's little pills work, we won't get pregnant?" her man asked.
"Ned!" she exclaimed, and slapped him in playful admonishment. "We are not alone!"
Finn snickered. "Don't worry, V. If George or I made a big deal out of stuff like that, it would be a case of the pot calling the kettle black! All of us here fool around, and we all know about it. I just hope that I'm not too exhausted to respond if George wants his wicked way with me tonight. I am, like, totally bushed." She looked sober now. "But I am also pretty stressed out about what happened today, especially about me having to use a knife on that creep. I know intellectually that I had to do it, and that it was moral, and probably legal. But it creeps me out personally to have to kill people, especially that way. I'm tough, and I've been through a lot, but I am a woman and I just get all messed up when I have to do that. If it's with a gun, especially a rifle at longer range, that's more detached, and I can handle it. I can even handle it about sticking my .38 under that one guy's chin and pulling the trigger and seeing a piece of his skull spin off. Genius, you may have to help me through that. But I can deal with it. The knife was worse. But I'm glad that I managed to do it."
"I'd bet that Marguerite is, too, " reflected Challenger. "If you two had not had each other, I fear that we would be short one of our family tonight. This was a frightening event. Darling, you were very gallant in what you did. I am very proud of you. I know that both John and Marguerite are, also."
"That's for sure," Veronica emphasized. "I would hate to think of how I would deal with having lost either you or Marguerite, especially now that she has become so much nicer than she used to be."
"No fooling?", asked Finn. "Guys, this helps me a lot. I know how you feel, but your expressing it helps me to get through this. Later, I am probably going to hold onto George and cry my lungs out. I was scared spitless for most of the time that those guys were after us." She shuddered, and Challenger reached over and pulled her to him and hugged her. He kissed her and wiped away a tear.
The Malones looked at one another. Ned said that he needed more coffee and asked Challenger if he did. Then, he went to the kitchen and Veronica came over and comforted Finn. She took Finn's hand and kissed her cheek and caressed her back, soothing the crying heroine.
Finn sobbed and sat on Challenger's lap and held onto him, holding Veronica's hand, too. "Oh, God, I swear that I wasn't going to do this until George and I got upstairs, and I was going to keep it between us. I am so damned embarrassed. Veronica, please forgive me."
"Finn, don't be ridiculous. I am your virtual sister. There's no reason not to share this with me; George's isn't the only friendly shoulder that you can cry on when you need to. None of us here is made of stone, and you and Marguerite went through Hell over the past two days. The Xingu had coming to them anything that you did to them, believe me. I know their reputation, and you did what they deserved!"
"Thanks, V." Finn managed. "Genius, lets' finish dinner and get upstairs. I am so tired! Look, do you want more spinach or meat? I'm about to stand up, anyway."
Challenger beamed with pride in her, but was humbled by her concern for him even as she suffered from stress and exhaustion. He asked for more of both, and offered to get them while she sat.
"I'm not so messed up that I can't take care of my man." She smiled and ruffled his hair. "You're my hero, George, and you deserve a girl who'll take proper care of you. I'm going to keep right on doing that, and no other chick is ever going to beat me out by making you think that she even might look after you better."
"Finn, good heavens, I have never even entertained the idea of leaving you for another woman!"
"Yeah, and if I take good enough care of you, you never will!", she quipped. But she was smiling as she went with his plate to the kitchen.
Challenger thought about what she had said, and it struck him that she had called him her hero, even after he had been unable to go to her when most needed. His taut features relaxed and he smiled, something that he had thought that he might find difficult for awhile. My word, I do love that girl so very much, he thought, and he smiled even more. I am going to spend tomorrow with her, and to the devil with my plans for what I was going to do in the lab. Finn is more important. Science is vital to me, but there are times when her needs are more vital yet! So, this is what it means to be in love! It is actually a splendid feeling!
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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957 Posts |
Posted - July 21 2007 : 2:24:31 PM
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Ned and Veronica discussed the Challengers, and decided that Finn would be okay in time. But Veronica said that she wanted to go to her the next day, and get her to talk more about what bothered her.
"If she gets it out of her system, she'll handle the trauma better," she said. "You see how much more relaxed she is now than when you first met her, over a year ago. She still has some nightmares about New Amazonia and what happened to her there. But George and I have let her talk it out, and it has definitely helped. She's less uptight and angry, and she smiles more. George and she were made for one another, and I'm SO glad that they got together here. Hey: we have to clean up the kitchen. I hated to ask George and Finn to help. They need each other alone right now."
"I know," agreed Ned. "But let me make you a great offer. If you'll go upstairs and primp and do your hair and put on those gold loop earrings like Finn's and that loincloth that you had to wear in Xochilenque, and dance for me, I'll clean the kitchen all by myself. Deal?"
Veronica blushed. "Oh, Ned! That little loincloth makes me feel more naked than if I was really nude! It's nothing but a belt and a long strip of ocelet fur that goes under me and hangs down in front and back for barely six inches (15cm.) below uh, you know where! I feel so EXPOSED in it!"
Ned leered at her. "I know, Baby! Why do you think you look so hot in it? Cuauhtemoc XIV knew how you and Marguerite would feel in those loincloths. Why do you think he made you wear them in that stadium where he displayed you before John fought Xu'ac?" (See, "The Crystal Skull" at: www.americanbty12.proboards62.com in Fiction there.)
"Oh, I think that Marguerite adapted to that better than I did. She has a proud streak about her body, like Finn does. They're both sort of into having men stare at them! And she was so afraid for John that she was only half thinking about how she looked on display. I was so embarrassed! And I can't dance for you in our room, anyway. The gramophone is down here. I wouldn't have any music."
Ned kissed her, running his hand over her body, nuzzling her neck, which he knew aroused her. He stroked her hair and said, "Baby, I'll bring up that gramophone tonight, and the music that I want to see you move to. You can think of wearing that loincloth with just sandals and earrings as pregnancy practice. You do want to have a baby later this year or early next, right?" He knew this, for they had discussed it many times.
She looked askance at him, but she was amused, too. "Ned, just how is wearing that stuff going to be 'pregnancy practice'?"
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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957 Posts |
Posted - July 21 2007 : 3:10:51 PM
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Malone laughed. "Honey, if you wear that and let me take off the loincloth midway through your dance, I will be so hot for you that if you go off those pills there's no way that you WON'T get pregnant!
Lets' do that several more times when you're ready for a baby, and see how it works. I bet that you have your last period within two months after you stop taking the Pill! But I want to wait until early next year to try for parenthood. I want us to have more fun first, just as a couple. We're still getting to know each other."
"Do I really have to dance for you, Mr. Malone? Doing that while wearing that stuff makes me feel so slutty!" But she blushed, actually rather excited that she could make him long so much to see her that way. In truth, although Veronica was more inhibited than the other Treehouse women about deliberately presenting herself in an erotic context, she was very pleased to know that it meant so much to Ned to see her that way.
"You don't look slutty," he promised her. "You just look so damned sexy that you smolder! I think that Finn and Marguerite are a little jealous of you." This was only a guess, for all of the women looked a little critically and appraisingly at one another when they danced in their brief Zanga attire. And they all looked to be sure that the men were fully appreciating them. Veronica was just less bold about showing her vanity. This was odd, for she normally wore the least of any of the three. And she had been raised on the Plateau, where sexuality was more accepted as normal than in the inhibited centers of Europe and America. But she seemed to see this everyday attire as not being deliberately arousing. The little ocelot loincloth made her feel so exposed and desirable that she both feared and loved it.
"Okay, Ned, I'll do this for you. But don't tell Marguerite or John. And you have to really get those dishes clean. Don't rush through that just to get upstairs and see me act like a slut! I want a little time to touch up my hair, anyway. And I want to get that thing on just right, so that it hangs down as much as it will." She kissed him and caressed him intimately. "That's just to get you all hot and bothered, Neddy. If I have to strip to that outfit and dance for you, I want you to suffer a little for it!" She laughed at his expression and fondled him more. "Have fun washing dishes, Ned!" And with that, she ran upstairs, squealing in laughter, leaving a frustrated and aroused Ned Malone in the kitchen.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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957 Posts |
Posted - July 22 2007 : 8:12:55 PM
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Marguerite and John Roxton lay in bed, caressing one another, talking about the events of the past two days. They were nude, the sheet off of them, as they ran their hands over one another.
"That feels marvelous, Lord Roxton. Please don't stop."
"How can I stop fondling you, Marguerite? You are so desirable that my hands simply can't control themselves when you're near. They have an insatiable urge to feel themselves roving over your delectable body. It's a male thing, as Finn would say."
Marguerite chuckled. "You had better have a long talk with your roving hands, John. I shouldn't think that would go over well when we are shopping in Harrod's some day, or in church. Are you going to make me attend church, Darling?" She leaned over and nibbled his ear.
"Probably, sometimes. It's expected of the Earl of Avebury. I have to set an example for my people. Servants, sharecroppers, small land holders, that sort of thing. The whole area looks to the Earl to represent them in Parliament and to set an example. But when we are alone, I intend setting a thoroughly bad example, from a puritannical standpoint. I am a lusty man, my love, and you are the vessel into which I intend to slake my wanton desires, or whatever that sultan chap who once owned you had you say." (See, " A Prisoner of the Sultan, or, How Marguerite Learned to Dance", in Fiction on this board.)
"'I beg to please you, Master. Let me be the vessel into which you pour the seed of your pleasure. Punish me if I fail to fully and delightfully satisfy you.' I remember such phrases all too well, John. Finn isn't the only one here with some evil memories. Do I manage to fully and delightfully satisfy you, Lord Roxton? I shouldn't like to be whipped. I've found that that gets old in a great hurry. I desire fervently that the whipping that I got from Avery Burton will be my last in this lifetime. (See, "Spirit Jaguar" at: www.americanbty12.proboards62.com , in Fiction there.) If they do it right, and that sultan's men and Burton knew how to, it doesn't leave marks on a girl for more a few hours, but the sting of the lash lingers, mentally. I can almost feel the whip on me now, just thinking about it. I hope that you will be a merciful master. In return, I will strive to please you beyond what any man has known from any woman. " She laughed. "And that includes George and Finn, although I know better than to argue the point with her."
"Well, if you are a good slave, Miss Krux, I promise not to whip you often. I must say, you have improved greatly since the days when I actually did think of how much fun it would be to punish you that way. Did you suspect what was in my mind?"
"John, I knew that you were sometimes very angry with me, and sometimes, you were right to be. I 'had a mouth on me', I admit. I came from a hard background, and I had some serious emotional issues. I still do, but I am handling them far better, now that I have you to help. I still need to find my birth certificate. I want to know who I am. Besides being the future Lady Roxton! But if you want to know a secret, although I enjoyed toying with you, after I had gotten to know you better, I sometimes hoped that you would spank me and set me in my place. I was angry when you first did that, finally, after I had really been asking for it with my actions for a week. But I also felt fulfilled that you had taken me in hand and set me straight. I wanted a man who would do that to me, and make me glad that he had. You told me that I would be spanked or that you would leave me, and the terror of your leaving frightened me more than anything that I can recall. Almost. Those Xingu and a T-rex also frighten me, but not the same way. And when you took me over your knee, it was as if you were telling me and everyone else that I was yours and that you were establishing that. You meant to keep me! I almost fainted from relief and joy when I realized that." (See, Challenger's Birthday" at: www.margueritekrux2.proboards61.com in "fiction.)
"I do mean to keep you, Marguerite. When you submitted to that, it struck me that we were definitely man and woman, and that you cared that much for me, and that we would wed. And we will. That reminds me... As much fun as it is is to talk about spanking you, Madam, we did encounter another issue at dinner. The baby thing. I bragged that I would show you in no uncertain terms how they are conceived. You had better hope that George's little pills work, Darling, for we are about to test their reliability tonight, if you have the energy, after what you have been through. But what if you do conceive? Do you really want to bear a child in this awful place? Shall we wait until we are married in Avebury to try for a child? Do we really want that responsibility? I do, but I will go with your wishes. You, after all, have to bear the baby. What is your will in this? We would have nannies, of course, but I want to be more of a father than most English noblemen tend to be. And I think that our child will need a mother's love and attention, not just a loving nanny."
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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957 Posts |
Posted - July 24 2007 : 10:25:50 AM
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"Oh, John, dearest John...I do so wish to bear your children. But I want to wait to have them until we have wed. For far too much of my life, I have been a 'fallen woman', not quite respected in better circles. It has undoubtedly colored even my self impression, and accounted for much of my sarcasm and even self loathing. To a degree, of course." She looked at him with wry humor. "I also have a considerable amount of pride in how I have managed to persevere until now. I have achieved much, given my start in life. I have overcome a good deal of adversity. I am somewhat proud of myself, I daresay."
"That suits," reflected Roxton. "I am rather proud of you, too. I can tell you truly, Marguerite, there is no woman on this Earth whom I had rather have on my arm when I arrive home, to show you off to admiring crowds." He smiled, but she knew that he meant evey word, and her heart grew full and warm, and she held him and began to cry softly.
"Oh, John, I can barely believe my good fortune! I don't really understand why you have chosen me over other women, even some whom we have met on this very Plateau. I half thought for months that you would pursue Veronica, especially inasmuch as Ned was so unsure of his own feelings for her, and she for him. And the Queen of the Amazons...But she preferred George Challenger, to my surprise, as did Lady Yorkton. I think that George actually thought of a serious liason with that Amazon and might have courted her, had it not been for their general ways. I see how that might be daunting, for a man." The tinkle of her laughter amused Roxton and he laughed back.
"Well, I had a great deal rather that he take Finn into his bed than Lady Yorkton, as lovely as she was...on the outside. But I never sought any other woman more than you, Marguerite. I'd never have gone to that Voodoo witch even in charity, to help her, had you not pushed me away so often."
"What's done is done, John. Let us not speak of voodoo queens or even of a young girl who was descended from apes rather more recently than the rest of us. I wonder how Renata has fared? We are together at last, and it has made me happier than I ever dreamed that I could be."
"But I should like to wait until I am a respectable married woman to have your children, that we both think better of me. I need that, and your reputation will already suffer quite enough when it becomes known that you have taken me to wife. We should avoid any further scandal, if only for the sake of our children."
The Earl nodded, and kissed her cheek softly. "So be it, Marguerite. Oh, how I love to say your name! I am also much relieved that we won't have to rely on native midwives if you give birth. Let us hope that Challenger's little pills continue to work, for I do want to give them a serious trial. I cannot go without you in my arms. I want to have you fully, daily. Well, most days. There will be times when I want to go fishing with George, when even a woman as desirable as you will not distract me." He chuckled.
"Men!", she snorted. "Oh, very well, John. At least, it is fishing or shooting that attracts you when you want time to yourself, not the Follies Bergere, or worse! But you may play hell getting George away fom Finn long enough for much time to yourselves. She will probably come along and serve a picnic lunch or something, to be sure that he is properly waited upon. The good news is, that she is quite as happy to cast a line or to shoot a rifle as you yourself are. George is a fortunate man in his choice of a mate. Maybe some times, I can come and keep Finn company in camp as you and the illustrious professor fish? I don't want to be a fishing or hunting widow too often..."
"Perhaps. You can take lessons from Finn in how to wait on a man properly. That will give you something to do in camp, and I will reap the benefit of it!" He laughed, and she loved the sound of it, as she loved smelling of him, loved running her fingers through his wavy sable hair, loved the skilled touch of his fingers on her nipples, with which he now played, looking at her breasts as if they were rare jewels on display to be admired, even adored.
"Don't stop doing that with your fingers, and feel free to use your lips there, too. I must say, you are every bit as talented as Finn in that." And, amid interjections of laughter, she told him of the dozing Finn's wandering hands.
Roxton threw back his head and laughed outright. "Poor Finn! She must have been mortified when she realized what she was doing! Does George know? I shall have to razz him about this."
"Don't you dare, John Roxton! He won't know unless Nicole tells him, and she may. She saw the humor in it. She smiles much more now, and she always did have a sense of humor, if a bit odd, considering how she was raised, if 'raised' is the word for it. But now that you know what she got up to, let us see if you can better her efforts. After you ravish me, I must sleep. I am exhausted. If you were a mere mortal man, I doubt that I should find the energy to enjoy your talented ministrations. But, seeing as you are the god that you are, I suppose that I will have to force myself to stay awake for one round of your lovemaking. But lets' get to it, before I fall asleep, even though I am with the famous Lord Roxton, ladies' man par excellence!"
"Your wish is my command, Lady Roxton! Roll over. I'll rub your back first. That should put you in the mood for more!"
But even as he massaged her back and limbs, and ran his loving hands over her hair, Roxton heard her begin to snore and turned her so that she could sleep better, snuggled against him.
Poor woman, he thought, with deep concern and sympathy. How tired she must be! It was almost a miracle that she and Finn had evaded the pursuing, angry, lust-driven headhunters. He drew her to him and kissed her lips and found the sheet and pulled it over them. I will wait until morning to have her, he thought. She will enjoy my efforts more when she is rested, anyway.
Roxton blew out the bedside candle and fanned his pillow to disperse the smoke from the extinguished taper. He saw that Marguerite had the sheet in place, kissed her forehead, and held her as he also drifted off to the Land of Nod.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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957 Posts |
Posted - July 26 2007 : 11:22:22 AM
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Changa lurked in the shadowed forest beneath the Treehouse. He had remained when his warriors had retreated, their formation torn asunder by volleys of Mauser fire and arrows from the Zanga ranks, the Xingu now hunted ruthlessly through the jungle. Few would make it home alive. The Zanga hated them, and would be thorough in their pursuit.
Changa knew that other Zanga were on guard near this Treehouse, this strange sculpture in the sky that defied his concept of architectural reason. How it came to be there, he could only speculate. Perhaps it was true, what some of his men had said: that the Brazilian girls were witches?
He did not know that only the blonde Finn was Brazilian. The dark woman was from a land of which he had never heard. But what matter? He hated both with an equal passion. And he knew that there were other "Brazilians" there, another blonde woman with a bow and arrows and a black-haired man with a firestick. They had come to help the two women whom his men had first sought to seize. All would die if he had his way. Certainly, he would slay the Brasileira who had shouted the rank insult at him, for this was not allowed of men, let alone of a mere woman! Changa seethed at the memory of her standing atop those rocks, shouting back at him, "!Filho da puta!" He would show her what it meant to be a whore! He would have her before she died, hopefully along with her friends...
He knew that others dwelt there, too, two men who had shot a rattlebox firestick and killed many of his fellows. But the whites now presumably all slept. It was past midnight, and the four whom he had pursued would all be exhausted. He was tired himself, but vengeance would provide him with reason and strength enough to continue until he had slain these devils!
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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957 Posts |
Posted - July 26 2007 : 12:50:33 PM
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Finn did not know what woke her, but she had slept just enough to be restless. She tossed and turned, careful not to wake Challenger, who was also very tired. She realized with a flash of sympathy how much he must have worried while he had had to wait for Roxton and Veronica to bring her home. She knew George well now,and sensed the depth of his emotions, although he often tried to seem unflustered, lest he lose his upper class British composure. But she knew that he loved her more deeply than he had ever expected to care for another human being, and her heart swelled with joy at the thought.
She rolled over to the right and smoothed his hair, pulling the sheet over him as she realized that the night had turned cool.
Finn decided that what she needed was a slice of bread and a glass of limeade. There was a pitcher of the latter in the refrigerator that her man had so cleverly devised, and Finn decided to pour a glassful.
She swung her long, shapely legs over the side of the bed. She was nude, for she had anticipated having sex with Challenger. But she had been so weary that they had postponed it, as had the Roxtons. This had disappointed her, for she was delirious with delight over having survived. She had wanted to buck in ecstasy beneath her man, exultant in her living and having returned to safety. But her drained body would not sustain her spirit, and she had slept. Challenger had been wonderful about it, telling her to rest, and that tomorrow, they could do all that she wished to experience in bed, other than sleep. Tonight, sleep was triumphant.
Finn thought briefly on who might be up. She knew that V. was entertaining Ned Malone, and that the Roxtons were either asleep or so busy with one another that no one would venture to the kitchen on the floor beneath. She stumbled half asleep to the dresser and fumbled in her lingerie drawer for something that would please Challenger when he saw her in it the next dawn. She settled on a pair of bikini panties in a dark, almost indigo, blue. They were favorites, sewn for her by Marguerite just a month before, and she knew that she looked really good in them. She shivered with the antcipation of George seeing her in them as she "innocently" wandered around the room, while his eyes followed. She licked her lips as she fancied him removing them, leaving her body open for his full access. He never failed to praise her beauty, and she never failed to thrill to him doing so. In truth, Finn was a little vain, but she also craved male adoration because she was a bit insecure. A childhood like hers had been did that to someone, far too often.
She slipped on the panties, and slid her feet into sandals, and crept to the door. Sticking her head out, she heard nothing from John and Marguerite's room, and the Victrola was still playing Arabic music down the hall in V. and Ned's room.
Finn smiled as she imagined how happy Ned must be watching Veronica dance. She must be in terrific shape to have the energy for it, for she, too, had been pursued by the Xingu, if not for nearly as far as she and Marguerite had been.
Shaking her head in surprised admiration for the Malones, Finn started downstairs, already almost tasting the sweetened limeade. She went quietly, lest she wake Challenger, who needed his rest.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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Posted - July 26 2007 : 9:30:58 PM
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Changa had managed at great risk to part the electric fence that he had seen fry several of his men, and slipped through. He had evaded the Zanga camped nearby, for they thought that all of the Xingu were long gone.
He looked at the shaft of his spear, surprised to see that the wood had not been burned by the devil fence. But he knew that he could not carry the spear up the tree.
He hid it under some brush and began his ascent of the tree, his long toes helping him as he crept up, having thrown a rope over the lowest branch. From there, he went a precarious path to the Treehouse. Unable to get directly into it, for there was not enough branch beneath the house to get a good hold, he threw the rope higher. He went up the tree until he was above the Treehouse.
Looking down, he eased himself onto the veranda of the floor that held the kitchen and the big living room. Pushing aside the bamboo curtain, he crept into the room beyond.
He was walking around in the dark, trying to see by the light of the full moon what was there. Then, he saw the candle!
Finn had lit a candle to see her way down the stairs and to see in the kitchen, for she didn't want to turn on the lights and disturb anyone.
Changa started and hid behind a large couch. He saw the blonde woman and knew that this was she who had troubled him so much. He hated her, yet desired her so much that he was astounded by the power of his lust, as tired as he was. She was beautiful in the brief panties in that lovely color, a darker blue than even the hyacinth macaw sported.
He watched Finn stumble into the kitchen. Then, she doused the candle and switched on the electric light. The one in the kitchen wouldn't disturb anyone, and she wanted more light than the candle would give. She poured the drink and got a slice of bread and took it out to the dining table. Sitting in the chair usually occupied by her friend Veronica, she had ample light.
Changa waited until she went into the kitchen, then went quickly across the floor and prepared to seize her. He was armed only with his knife, for he had had to have his hands free as he climbed.
Finn went to the refrigerator for some ice cubes, and was on her way back to the table when she saw Changa in the shadows. She threw the ice cubes at Changa and tried to run to the kitchen for a knife.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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Posted - July 26 2007 : 9:51:15 PM
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Challenger reached for Finn and gradually registered that she was no longer in bed. He sat up, looked around, and decided to find her. If she had gone to the bathroom, she would be back by the time that he had donned his robe and looked for her in the hall.
He saw the kitchen light come on, and realized where she must be. He decided to go to her, glad to see the light. At least, she was not sitting down there crying in the dark.
He was halfway down the stairs when Changa grabbed Finn. She tried to scream, but he had covered her mouth with his hand, and was twisting one arm behind her.
Finn snapped her head back, ramming it into Changa's face. He yelped and eased his grip for a fraction of a moment, and she twisted free.
"Xingu!", she screamed. "Get a gun! George! Johnny!"
Challenger had just reached the bottom of the stairs when he heard her yell and in a few steps, he saw what was happening.
Seething with rage, Challenger crossed the remaining distance in a few strides of his long legs.
Finn saw him coming and redoubled her efforts. Changa tried to hold her, and she swerved and slammed an elbow into his stomach. Then, she was out of the way, and Challenger was reaching for Changa. Finn screamed again for Roxton to bring a gun.
Changa saw the big, ginger-bearded man and knew in his gut that this was the man of the blonde woman, or her father. His rage was too personal for anything else. He brandished the knife and shouted a war cry, then slashed at Challenger.
Challenger flinched and the stroke partially missed, but he got a nasty slice on his arm. He howled in rage and pain and grabbed the Indian's knife arm and spun him around and smashed his head into the wall.
He struck Changa with the full force of his powerful right arm, the fist smashing bone as it impacted his foe's jaw.
Changa slumped and Challenger lifted him bodily and forcefully threw him out the window.
There was a sickening crunch as Changa bounced off a branch, then his mournful wail followed his body all the way to the ground, where there was a thud that left little doubt that he was finished troubling the Treehouse dwellers.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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Posted - July 26 2007 : 10:34:58 PM
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Roxton heard the noise, and rolled out of bed, He grabbed the Colt .45 automatic from the nightstand, and shook Marguerite awake.
"Get your revolver and hide behind the bed. Finn is shouting that there are Xingu below!"
He ran out of his room naked, embarrassed, but afraid that if he stopped to dress, someone might be killed.
In the living room, Challenger switched on the lights and strode to the rifle rack. Picking up Finn's Winchester, he tossed it to her and took down his .275 Rigby.
Looking up at Roxton, the scientist motioned him to come down, and the three searched the Treehouse. Marguerite interrupted the Malones at a tender moment, and they hastily threw on some clothes and joined the search.
Finally satisfied that all was well, Challenger latched the curtain more securely and swore that he would devise a swinging gate with wooden bars that could be closed across the window at night.
"We should have done that long ago," he declared. "It is a wonder that a jaguar or some other dangerous intruder has not visited us already."
Veronica called out to the Zanga on the ground, and they also searched the area.
Finally, satisfied that Changa was dead and that no more of his kind were near, the Treehouse crew went back to bed after a brief conference. Finn made a point of getting her drink and bread before the conference ended. Challenger smiled at her composure after her ordeal. She could be singleminded if she wanted something, and she wanted that glass of limeade!
Roxton and Marguerite boiled water and dressed Challenger's wound, using some of his antibiotic salve on it before bandaging it. The slice was deep, but the bleeding had helped to wash out infection from the blade.
Upstairs, Finn brushed her teeth again and came back to bed, the other couples also going to their respective rooms.
Finn cuddled next to Challenger and hugged him. "My hero!" she teased, playing with his hair. "George, you were just in time. That guy would have had me soon. He was fast and incredibly strong and I was pretty well trapped in that corner. I thought that I had had it! Thank goodness you heard me, but how did you get there so fast? I had barely yelled when you were there!"
He explained that he was on the way down to be sure that she was well, and that her scream had reached him as he was mostly down the stairs.
"So, you were already looking for me, Genius? You worried that I might be upset or something?"
"Certainly. My dear, when I sense that you are sad, I am sad, and I will help all that I can. Are you well now, apart from exhaustion?"
"Yes, as well as I'll be for awhile. I'll heal, with your help and Marguerite's and V.'s. George, are YOU okay? You were fretting about not having come to my aid earlier. Now, you did save me from one of those creeps. Is your fragile male ego restored by that? I want you to know that, to me, you were never at fault. Manning that machine gun then was a real help in keeping them off of us until we were safe."
"By Jove, I suppose that I do feel better inside. Darling, let us sleep. Tomorrow, we will get all of this into perspective, and restore our lives to normal." He kissed her and she snuggled in front of him, pressed along the length of his body, reaching back to caress his leg. He held her, and they slept.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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957 Posts |
Posted - July 28 2007 : 02:05:33 AM
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Dawn came, with orange and yellow hues giving way to a cloudless blue sky as the sun rose to full tropical majesty.
In the Treehouse, no one stirred until eight o'clock, which was a bit late for the Malones. They were usually the first couple up, making breakfast for the others.
Today, Ned looked at his watch and went back to sleep. It was seven then, and he wasn't about to stir until he had to. The previous night had been stressful for all of them.
Eventually, his woman reached for his wrist, lifted it, and noted the time. "Ned," she urged, nudging him with an elbow. "Hey, Studly, we need to rise and shine."
"I can't shine," he mumbled back. "My batteries are burned out. I need time to recharge."
Veronica was feeling much better than she had the previous evening, and she was joyous that she had survived the episode with the headhunters. Feeling mischievous, she decided to have a little fun with her mate.
"I bet that I can wake you, Neddy," she dared. She nibbled at his ear, and he stirred, but barely.
Veronica loved a challenge. She flipped off the sheet, rolled Ned onto his back, and knelt between his legs, lowering her head to address herself to his arousal. Ned had once called this "lip service", and his crude joke had stayed with her. She knew that he, like most men, craved this oral action, and she had giggled with Finn, who had coached her in the techniques most likely to drive a man wild during this procedure. The girls had practiced on bananas, Finn showing her pal V. what she had learned along this line. She had encouraged the more shy Veronica to try on Ned what she had learned, and he had been delighted with her talent.
Now, she provided him with her most imaginative efforts and subtle skills, and Ned was unable to hold out for long. He moaned in pleasure, let her continue for another moment, then took her hair and pulled her up to his lips. They kissed, slowly, then with growing passion. His hands roamed her body, and Veronica sighed in ecstasy, now as aroused as he was.
She eased her hips forward, rose and settled herself onto his rigid manhood. She rode him while maintaining a liplock on him, swiveling her loins slightly to maximize the effect on both of them. He held her bottom, caressing it, then hugging her to him, playing then with her hair and neck.
Veronica moaned with wanton lust, now entrapped by her own game. She was as excited or more so than Ned, and the joke was no longer on him. He sensed this and laughed, a triumphant sound, and one that amused both. He whispered in her ear and she eased off of him and knelt before him, head low, her flanks exposed for his arousal. He entered her from behind, driving into her with both force and finesse. Just as she thrilled at the power of his drive, he varied his pattern and switched to long, slow, thrusts with more refinement. Veronica shuddered in response, helpess to control herself. She gasped, every fiber in her body on edge, her heart pounding with the rush of adrenaline. She pressed her right cheek into the mattress and moaned, a sound that excited Ned more than fireworks and a parade on the Fourth of July. She grabbed handfuls of the sheet, kneading it in her grasp as she writhed in heat.
Ned Malone was not John Roxton, but he was rapidly learning his way around a woman. He was helped by Veronica's suggestions as to what appealed to her and by some sly counsel from his friend Roxton, who knew how to manipulate women as skillfully as an ace pilot manuevers his aircraft in high tech aerobatics. Veronica was learning what it meant to be a maid in the hands of a man who knows what he is doing, and who makes her glad of it. She felt both empowered and totally helpless. And she loved it!
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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957 Posts |
Posted - July 28 2007 : 02:55:53 AM
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Veronica's thoughts flashed back to the only other man whom she had known this fully, a crazed pianist named DuCart. At the time, she had been infatuated with him and with the idea of falling in love. He had made her heart race and she had lost reason. She had been thrilled then. Now, she knew that he had paid her relatively little attention, seeking mainly his own gratification. Fortunately, she had recovered from this experience with little damage.
Compared to Ned, DuCart was lethargic and mechanical. And much less attuned to setting her on fire, making her scream with pleasure, begging with her body for more. As her experience and her love for Ned grew, she had found new heights of delight in bed, and this morning was one of the best episodes that the young couple had known.
She knew that she was approaching climax and was about to ask Ned to finish her on her back when he leaned over her and asked whether she would like that. "Oh,yes, Ned, but hurry. I am on fire! What you do to me!"
He chuckled and withdrew to allow her to roll over and receive him atop her. They ground into one another, and she brought up her legs and wrapped them around his waist.
"I've got you now, Mr. Malone, and I may never let go if you can keep this up!"
"Well, I warned you what would happen if you wore that litle loincloth and danced for me," he gasped. "You doing that is like flipping the switch to the electricity. It turns me on, real fast. Anytime you want attention, you know now how to get it. Want to finish? For this time? I can offer more in a few minutes, especially if you let me play a record while you move to that music again!"
"Maybe later," she offered. "Like in about ten minutes. If I can get my breath back enough to dance then. You can lie there and watch while I have to wiggle for you."
"Baby, it takes serious energy to stare at you as hard as I do when you do that. I'm not just lying here like a log. And now, Mrs. Malone, lets' see if you like this!"
He moved with precision and rhythm, holding her hands down beside her head, leaning over to tease her lips with fluttering tongue and nipping lips. She groaned and moved beneath him in animal abandon, speechless now as he showed her what she had hoped that he might manage.
"Oh, NEEDDD!", she managed and bucked in orgasm. It was intensified by his having called her, "Mrs. Malone". It excited her all the more that he thought of them as married in all but ceremony, and she felt so totally his that it erased the insecurity that she had known since her father's death and her mother's disappearance. She belonged to someone else again, and before too long, she would begin a family with him. She closed her eyes and gave herself up to the spasms that he had caused to explode in her, riding him as she wondered whether she would pass out from joy and intense physical arousal.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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957 Posts |
Posted - July 28 2007 : 04:26:06 AM
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Next door, Marguerite Krux stirred and kissed Lord John Roxton. She cuddled closer and nibbled at his ear and neck. But they only hugged and talked and ran their hands over one another in morning greeting.
"Mind if I take the morning off from sex for the moment?", she asked. "I want us to go on a picnic and bring a blanket and you can ravish me after you devour lunch. I need to walk around here and work out some kinks before we do anything heavy duty. I still ache from running for my life for two days."
Roxton smiled. "I've never noticed that walking around worked out any kinks for you. You've always been as kinky in bed as I'd ever want. At least as much..."
"Very funny, Lord Roxton. Anyway, just feel me up enough to make me know how appreciated I am and I will promise you wild revels later. If you are lucky, I will then rise and make your breakfast. If you are even luckier, Veronica is already in the kitchen, and SHE will make your breakfast. And mine. It'll taste better. But surely you will acknowledge me as having managed to achieve Journeyman rating as kitchen slave?"
Roxton laughed. "You haven't poisoned me. Yet. And, yes, you have managed to rise above the raw Apprentice level. I've kept down whatever you have put in front of me, so far. Sometimes, I think that there is real hope for you. I may be able to dismiss the cook on our return to Avebury. Or, let her work part-time hours."
"John! Don't you dare fire the cook! I'll labor in that kitchen in this tropical hellhole, but I expect to be treated like a lady when we reach England!"
He held a breast in his hand and manipulated the nipple while nuzzling the side of her neck. "Is that what you want to be treated like, Marguerite? Wouldn't you rather be treated like this?" He chuckled as she growled in pleasure.
"Well, maybe a fallen lady," she conceded. "And, on that note, John, I have so totally fallen for you that I will sometimes give the help the afternoon off and cook for you. Personally. I have never made that offer to another man."
"And I suppose that many a man has sighed in relief that you haven't," he countered, and laughed as she struck him with a pillow, both howling in laughter.
"I think that I had better run down the hall for a moment," she noted.
Rising, she pulled on a short dressing gown and let herself out the door. She ran quickly to the ladies' room without particularly registering any noises. But as she sauntered back to her room, she passed the door of the Malones' room and heard noises from within that made it abundantly clear that Ned and Veronica had yet to reach the kitchen.
Marguerite listened briefly, and she grinned wickedly. I can think of ways to tease Veronica until she blushes scarlet over this, she thought. That doesn't work with Finn, who just grins and looks triumphant and satisfied and asks if I need any advice. As if that snippet of a girl could teach ME anything. But her pal V. is much easier to embarrass...
She walked back to the bed and tossed Roxton his clothes. "Up with you, John," she demanded. "Judging from the moans and groans and feminine sighs that I just heard coming from Veronica's and Ned's room, I think that we must make our own morning repast."
He sat up, and she looked with pleasure at his exposed body. She had twitted him for his midnight run in the altogether as Finn had screamed for help, and had taken him his trousers before he had helped to search the Treehouse for intruders. Now, she smiled with pleasure as she beheld his prowess, his arousal half evident, even though he wasn't anticipating any action until later in the day.
"What about George and Finn?", he wanted to know. "Aren't they in the kitchen yet?"
"No, it's quiet down there. No lights, and their door is still shut."
Roxton dressed, a concerned look now on his face. "I'm worried about that knife slash that George got," he admitted. "It looked pretty ugly. I'm glad that you sewed it up so well, but infection is always a danger in this climate."
"Well, if they don't show by the time that I have eggs and ham cooked, you can rouse them and be sure that he's okay, as Ned says. How the Americans managed to get 'all right' from that term boggles the mind."
"It has to do with some Presidential candidate there coming from some place called Old Kinderhook. He abbreviated that as 'O.K.', and said that O.K. was all right, and it sort of got corrupted to mean that okay was all right. I asked Ned. He said that few know that any longer. It was back in the 1880's, I think. "
"Well, aren't you the wizard today?," she razzed. "Come on, finish dressing and escort me to my fate as kitchen slattern. I'll do my best not to poison you, if you'll praise my coffee."
"Very well: you can be kitchen slattern, and Finn can be the serving wench when she gets down there. I will happily sit at the head of the table and the pair of you can wait on me. Being a lord has its compensations."
"Oh, funny man! Anyway, Finn is already serving wench to her own lord. George is such a lucky fellow, and he genuinely tries to be worthy of her adoration. It really hurt him that he couldn't go to her rescue. As awful as that event was last night, I am glad for his sake that he got to redeem himself in her eyes and his own, by killing that impudent savage who made his way into our humble abode. He needed that, and she did, too, on a lesser level. She liked being saved by him, and he loved saving her."
"What am I then, chopped meat? Did I not save you, Madam? I did that rather well, I thought."
She smiled. "You did at that, John, and later today, when we are alone, I will show you just how I treat my hero. You will enjoy the experience, I fancy."
He tucked in the shirt that she handed him and pulled her to him. They kissed and held hands as they made their way down to the kitchen, going quietly so as to not disturb the Challengers. As they went down the hall, Roxton's eyebrows arched as Veronica giggled, then squealed. He heard the skirl of Arabic music from the Malones' room and looked inquiringly at his woman.
She shrugged. "You men tend to like those dances, Ned being one of the most enthusiastic. Apparently, Veronica is entertaining him so that he will entertain her as well as he was a little while ago. I promise you, she was enjoying that! I doubt that they will be down for breakfast anytime soon."
He leaned over and kissed her neck. "I daresay that they are having rather a lot of fun. Just think of the strain it would be on Ned's heart if she could dance half as well as you do."
"Why, thank you John. That was very sweet of you. But your heart seems able to stand the strain of watching me. You even seem to enjoy it, a good deal, I might add." She flushed a little, remembering how he had looked at her the last time that she had moved for his eyes on the dance floor. It had made her feel intensely female, and very desired.
"Yes," he admitted. "But then, I have a great heart that will withstand much excitement. Right now, I am excited about breakfast, and that you are making it for me. Want help? If you don't let it get around that I helped, lest it ruin my masculine reputation, I will assist you in getting things ready before I disturb George and Finn."
Marguerite hugged him and they went hand-in-hand downstairs, to where the kitchen and their uncooked breakfasts awaited.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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957 Posts |
Posted - July 28 2007 : 3:31:22 PM
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In the Challengers' room, the couple woke to a mixed reaction. Finn nudged George, who sat up abruptly, wincing as he put some of his weight on the injured arm.
Finn noticed, and held a hand to his brow, checking his temperature. "How do you feel, Genius?"
"I'm all right, Darling. A bit parched. I think I will go down to breakfast soon. Are you especially desirous of being ravished first?" He smiled at her, trailing a hand down her bare back.
She slid into his arms, and they kissed.
"I'm not all that horny, if that's what you mean," she commented frankly. There were almost no secrets between these two, the sole exceptions being confidences that Finn had promised Marguerite to keep between the two women.
"Then, let us just cuddle and kiss for a few moments, then go down to breakfast. I marvel that Veronica has not had Ned pound on our door by now." He consulted his pocket watch, kept by the Colt .45 revolver on his nightstand by their bed.
"What time is it, Genius?""
"A bit past eight. We have been left alone for longer than usual."
"V. was pretty exhausted by all of that running and fighting yesterday," Finn noted. "I'm still half bushed, myself. I'll feel better after I eat and move around some. And I think Ned had her up late after you killed that Indian bastard. He wanted her to dance for him, and that tends to lead to other things when they're alone." She snickered. "I bet they're still asleep."
Challenger chuckled. "I daresay that you may be right, Darling. Well, let us rise and dress and see what fare awaits us in the kitchen. If Marguerite is there, will you cook my own breakfast? It will taste better than if she does, but try to be diplomatic with her. Her kitchen confidence is still a trifle shaky, and I wouldn't want to discourage her."
She took his hand and leaned in and kissed his lips. "Sure, Genius. She won't think anything of it,if I insist on taking care of you. She's used to it, and only teases me about being your personal slave just a few times a week now. I think she's jealous that two people can care as much about one another as we do. I try not to say much about us having the Love of the Ages anymore. She thinks it's a reflection on her and Johnny if I say that I love you more than she does him."
"You may not love me more; you just love me as much as a mortal woman can love her man. And you express that love more actively than she does, although I'm certain that she cares very much for John, also." He played with her hair, looking into her blue eyes, seeing the depth of eternal love there, and transmitting the same with his own eyes.
"Yeah, but Johnny is just the ultimate man. You're a god, George. So, I get to worship you more than she does him!" She flashed her urchin grin, and the warmth of her gaze touched Challenger from his heart to his toes.
How fortunate I am to have acquired this girl and what she means to me, he reflected. I must be the luckiest man alive, certainly in this century.
"Don't blaspheme, Finn. I can claim no imortality, although our love may well be immortal. Perhaps we shall resume it in Heaven after we each pass on to our Lord's house there." He smiled and caressed her shoulder to take any sting from his words. But George Challenger knew that there was a greater god than Science, and he was shocked that she would compare him to the Deity. He knew that she meant more of a god in the ancient Greek context, but was still uncomfortable with the comparison. He was already uneasy about how their adultery was seen in Heaven, for he did not yet know that hs wife in Britain had already died of influenza, in the winter of 1921. He dreaded the confrontation that must occur when he returned to England and announced that he wanted a divorce, to enable him to marry Finn.
"Okay, Big Guy. I'll get dressed, Stay there, while I show you some things that I'm thinking of wearing today. I don't want to just wear my usual black outfit. And I want to stay around here, too. I'm too tired to get out much. That chase left me and Marguerite both pretty washed out. I still can't believe that it ended just yesterday, and that we're both still alive. Marguerite was more scared than if she'd thought that we might run out of coffee!" She laughed at this thought, and he joined her, marveling at her recovery. From hunted woman and grim killer of the day before, she was now his loving charmer, and making jokes about her terrifying experience. Besides, that did sound like a prime dread on Marguerite's part...
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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957 Posts |
Posted - July 28 2007 : 4:40:34 PM
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Finn walked over to a pitcher on a table near the window and brought Challenger a glass of water. She did this partly because he had said that he was thirsty, and partly to let him see her saunter as she went to and from the pitcher. She put a subtle little swing and sway into her gait, knowing how good she looked in those dark blue panties, pretending that she didn't notice the way that his admiring eyes followed her.
Actually, Finn needed to give very little concious thought to her pace, for she was naturally one of those women whose walk made men stare and sigh with pleasure. She had used this to her and Marguerite's benefit when Avery Burton had held them in his slave quarters, and it had let her bargain for better treatment for them. Burton had hated Marguerite in particular. She was the sole rival to have beaten him in the past, and only Finn's distracting his lusts had prevented him taking out his anger on the other woman more than he had. (See, "Spirit Jaguar" at:
www.americanbty12.proboards62.com , in Fiction.)
She went now to the closet, looking for dresses that would let her wear the dark panties without them showing through. She found a white sun dress that she knew that she looked so good in that she half considered changing panties, just to wear it for him.
In the end, she held up several dark dresses and they selected a short navy blue slip dress that was rather sexy for day wear, but which he said that he wanted to have her in that day.
"I can't wear a bra with this," she warned. "Did you want me in one? I could always take the bra off for you later, the way that you like to see me do it. Where I reach back with both hands, and sort of bend one leg? And V. and Marguerite may make smart alec jabs if they see me in this when we aren't having a party, at night. Sure that this is it?"
"Yes, Darling. I agree with what you have said, but only we here in the Treehouse will see you, and I think that you are so lovely in it that it is our choice, if you are to wear those new knickers. And I want to see you in them later, after we find some time to ourselves up here later today. You have no idea of how delectable you look in them, and just sandals. Most women would kill to achieve that look. And you are my woman. I am greatly blessed in having you for my mate."
She grinned. "I like that 'mate' stuff, George. Makes me feel like you're Tarzan, talking about Jane as your 'mate' in those books that V.'s parents and Ned brought."
She walked over and let him see her close up as she moved in a seductive little dance before donning the dress. She knew how to achieve a subtle wiggle that ignited a man's lust as surely as if she had touched a match to spilled gasoline.
"Don't dance like that if you want me able to go down to breakfast without pulling you into this bed first," he warned. " Do that again later, and I guarantee that you will find yourself ravished, for I cannot control my desire if you do this when we have more time."
She laughed softly, and ran a hand over his hair. "Okay, George. I'll take a rain check on being ravished. It'll give me something to look forward to this afternoon. I'm sure not working in the garden today. After what I've been through, I think V. will let me off the hook about that." She pulled on the dress, feeling good about the way that he noticed every detail of the procedure. She made sure to squirm a little and adjust the dress once it was on, and this also didn't escape his admiration of her.
She even moved her shoulders back, knowing that her nipples would show a little through the tight fabric. Ohmigosh, V. and Marguerite are so going to razz me for wearing this, she thought, and decided to let Challenger reply to them. It would please her to hear him defend her, and they would understand if they knew that the dress was his choice. Later, she would take the other women aside and apologize for being so daring in her choice of costume that early, and on a day when no party was planned. They knew how much she strived to please her man, whom she saw as an icon, not just her fiance. They would make a few barbed remarks, but would understand. Anyway, by this afternoon, she hoped to spend a few hours up here again, the dress off. She could wear her black shorts outfit after, when they went back downstairs. In the meantime, if seeing her in this dress was what her man wanted, it was what he would get.
Finn brought over his clothes and watched as he dressed, the couple talking about things they needed to accomplish in the lab and elsewhere. He told her that he wanted his eggs scrambled that morning, and she nodded.
At last, they went downstairs. They heard the Roxtons in the kitchen, that couple having arrived there just a few minutes prior. Finn noticed that George was favoring his wounded arm, and determined to make him remove the dressing so that she and Roxton could check the injury after they had eaten. Infection was always a grave risk in this part of the world, and she wanted to be sure that he was healing.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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Explorer
957 Posts |
Posted - July 29 2007 : 12:57:46 AM
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"Morning, George, " said Roxton, making coffee. "I hope that you and your lady will trust Marguerite and me to make breakfast? The Malones seem to be late risers today." He looked at Finn in some surprise, but did no more than raise an appreciative eyebrow when Challenger's attention was on the stove. Finn grinned at him, blushing.
Marguerite was more direct. "Are all of your usual black outfits dirty, Nicole? That's quite a fashion statement for this early in the day. Are we celebrating something?" Her eyebrows were arched too, but not altogether in amusement, let alone admiration.
"Leave the girl alone, Marguerite," Challenger commanded. "Finn went through her dresses looking for something other than the usual, to help her feel better after what she and you have been through. In fact, is it my fault that she wore this. My arm hurts like the devil, and she may take my mind off of it. Have you murdered the eggs yet? I should like three, scrambled. Actually, if you have cooked enough for you and John, Finn will prepare mine while one of us makes toast. It looks as if John has about got the coffee issue in hand." He smiled wanly, and Marguerite realized that he was in some pain, probably more than he was acknowlodging.
"Sit down at the table, Genius," said Finn. "We'll get everything out to you. Johnny, why don't you join him? Marguerite and I can do everything in here by ourselves, and you men saved our necks yesterday. The least that we can do is to make your breakfasts."
"Sounds like a splendid offer, Finn. George, pour a cup and lets' go sit. How is that arm faring?" He looked at Challenger with some concern, having seen the wound as it was cleaned and stitched the night before.
The men adjourned to the table and Marguerite addressed Finn. "Sweetie, you want to be careful about offering our services to the men. They'll come to depend on that. It's the way of their kind. Not that I don't feel increasingly fulfilled by waiting on that man Roxton. He sort of brings that out in a girl. Now, give, Nicole: why the sexy dress at this hour? What am I missing?"
"It's mostly your fault, Marguerite." Finn was determined to play this game if the other woman was.
"How exectly is it my fault that you have shown up for breakfast in a dress more suited for a cocktail party? One that makes it obvious that you haven't got a bra on and that your frontal equipment twitches nicely when you walk? When I have I ever come down to the table at this hour, dressed like that?"
So, Finn explained about the need for a dark color because she was so fond of the indigo panties that Marguerite had made for her and didn't want them to show through a more discreet dress. "In the end, George picked this one, and I agreed to wear it to humor him. His arm hurts more than he lets on, Marguerite. After we eat, you need to help me get that bandage off and we'll see what the cut looks like." Finn was clearly worried, and Marguerite saw that she should shut up about the dress.
"Of course, Darling. I'll use my ever tactful and charming social skills to get him to agree. Does he have fever?"
"Some. Not bad yet, but enough to tell. And he's crankier than usual. He's been polite, but I can see his expressions. I think he hurts." She looked anxious, and Marguerite was sorry that she had been catty.
"Well, let's get him fed, then we'll see what needs doing. You'd better cook, unless you're afraid of getting grease spattered on that dress. I didn't sew it to have you cook in it. Look: why don't I cook while you stand back just enough to be out of range of any spattering, and you can coach me. I don't want to dry out the eggs like I did last time."
Finn thanked her and agreed to coach."First, turn down the heat. Let eggs cook slower. They're better and not as dry and tough. And take them up a little sooner, as long as they're cooked through. Marguerite, I am sorry about the dress. But you should have seen his face when I held it up. I didn't want to say no to him."
Marguerite squeezed her shoulder. "Love does that to us, Finn. Makes fools of us as we strive to cater to those whose approval we want. I know how you feel about George. I should have guessed. Only a man would think of wearing an outfit like this under these conditions. At least, he has moved beyond the day when he chided you for wearing dresses that he thought were undergarments." She muffled a laugh. "I quite like them, myself. But we all know that I'm a fallen woman, so my opinion didn't carry too much weight with him. I suppose that time has mellowed him, and his love for you. Plus, most men cannot resist seeing a woman in such things when they can. You do look quite pretty, Darling. How much butter should I use?"
And so it went, and breakfast was soon served. Marguerite had even cooked the eggs right, and glowed when told so by everyone else. She outright blushed when Roxton hugged her and congratulated her. Finn heard no more about her dress.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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Explorer
957 Posts |
Posted - July 29 2007 : 5:47:18 PM
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Tapir ham and bacon were served with the eggs, and whole wheat toast was there, made from wheat in a nearby field, planted long ago by the Layton expedition. Challenger's electric toaster was praised, and the injured scientist smiled at the accolades from his friends.
Marmalade or jam was made form local fruits, for Veronica had perfected a procedure for this from her mother's cookbooks. In all, breakfast was one of the better meals of the day, where the surrogate family gathered and shared their thoughts and plans. It was a bonding experience that they loved.
In time, the Malones came downstairs, dressed as usual. They were holding hands, and when they saw everyone else looking at them, they blushed, for they were certain that all had guessed the reason for their tardy appearance.
"Hi, V., Ned," said Finn, trying to keep a straight face. She failed, and laughed. "Everything 'satsfactory' with you guys?"
"Just let it be," snapped Ned. "We are not usually the last ones here. We were just really tired from all that happened yesterday."
Roxton just managed to avoid laughing. He looked down at his food, hoping that Ned hadn't seen him almost share in Finn's laugh.
Marguerite slapped him on the hand, trying to suppress a smile of her own. They looked at one another and grinned.
Challenger smiled, and suggested that they get a cup of coffee and make a new pot. "There are ample eggs and meat and fruit left, and we are happy to see you. Please ignore the smiles of my adolescent companions." But he, too, was smiling. Then, he struck his arm lightly on Finn's chair as he reached over to put an arm on her shoulder, and Veronica noticed him wince.
She was at once concerned. "George, how is that arm? Does it hurt?"
"I'll live," replied the genius scientist. "For a time I may wish that I hadn't, if this doesn't get better. I shall have to have a dose of my analgesic medicine this morning, I daresay. But eat, and let us all catch up on our plans. And I hope that you and Ned slept well...eventually?" He was now unable to avoid a grin of his own.
Finn nudged his ribs with her elbow, but she was still smiling, too.
Veronica blushed scarlet, and took Ned's arm and led him into the kitchen, where she had him make more coffee as she began to prepare their breakfasts.
"Hyprocrites, all of them," grumbled Ned. "We have done nothing that they don't. Why are they laughing at us?"
"We're not laughing," said Finn, walking into the kitchen. She kissed Ned's cheek, then hugged Veronica. "We were a little worried about you two. We're just teasing, because you two are usually the most responsible couple here, and we know about Ned's wanting to see you dance, V. We're guessing that that got your night off to a romantic start?"
"You could say that," the blonde beauty answered. "Neddy does like to see me in that silly loincloth. By the way, Finnykins, I recall making one of those for you. Have you worn it for George yet?" She raised her eyebrows as if to ask, why are you grinning at me if you do the same thing?
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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"Xingu!"
