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Luther ran out onto the boulders and grasped the half-dead tree clinging to the edge of the cliff. He forced himself to look, afraid to see Michelle’s broken body lying on the rocks below.
Michelle stared up at him, whimpering. She was clinging to an exposed tree root, half of her body dangled over the cliff. The root was soaking wet. She wouldn’t be able to hang on long.
Luther wrapped his legs around the tree trunk. He muttered a prayer and grabbed Michelle’s wrists. She couldn’t die now. He’d save her, take her back to the cabin, and make everything right between them.
“Hold still, don’t move.” He pulled hard, but his strength waned. The beatings Jed and the other men in town had given him had taken their toll.
He clenched his teeth as a sharp pain cut through his ribs. He ignored it, leaned back, and hoisted Michelle over the cliff edge and into his arms. She lay on top of him, panting and trembling. Lightning flashed overhead and she screamed.
He turned his head in time to see a huge black bear rise on its hind legs and paw at the sky. It shook the ground with a deafening roar. He wiped rainwater out of his eyes and glanced back. The bear had vanished. Michelle went limp in his arms.
Luther closed his eyes and pressed Michelle to his heaving chest. She was alive and safe. Now he needed to get her home, make her warm, and see how bad she was hurt. Exhausted, and limping with every step, he carried her back to the cabin.
Once inside, he laid her on the floor near the fireplace. Thunder cracked, and a branch clattered to the roof. He tossed three logs on the fire and took a stack of furs from the spare room. He spread them on the floor in front of the hearth and settled Michelle on top of them.
He yanked off her boots and unbuttoned her ripped and muddy dress. The delicate satin was ruined, the lace in tatters. Michelle struggled against him as he pulled the dress off her.
“No, Roger, don’t!”
“It’s me, Michelle, Luther. We gotta get these wet clothes off ya, you’re freezing.”
“No, please don’t hurt me,” she begged.
Luther unbuttoned her chemise and stripped it from her quaking body, ignoring her sobs and feeble protests. He darted into the spare room and returned with another armful of pelts. He arranged the furs over Michelle’s nude body, then grabbed the bottle of whiskey and a mug.
“I’m so cold, so cold. I don’t want to die.”
Die? He scowled. What was wrong with her? Had the shock of almost falling off the cliff driven her mad? He touched her hands. They felt like ice. He piled more pelts on her and tossed her wet clothes in the corner.
“You’ll warm up soon, darlin’.” He wrapped a beaver pelt around his waist and removed his drenched breechcloth. Separated by the furs, he lay next to Michelle and poured himself a drink.
He closed his eyes and tried to think straight. Michelle was Kathleen. And if the story she had told him about Kathleen and Roger was true, what did Roger do to her that made her run away? Had he forced himself on her, or done something worse?
Michelle sobbed next to him and his heart went out to her. “Here, drink this. It’ll warm ya.” He held out the bottle and Michelle took a few swallows of whiskey. He brushed her soaked hair away from her face.
“Don’t worry, I’m here. I won’t let anything hurt you. You’re safe.” He stroked her forehead, hoping to ease her fears. Maybe she’d settle down like she did after her nightmares.
Michelle’s shaking lessened and she drifted into a light sleep. He stared into the fire. The roaring flames had consumed one of her books. He hoped it wasn’t Hamlet, his favorite.
He looked around the cabin as rain pummeled the roof. In a matter of minutes, he had undone all the hard work Michelle had put in to making the cabin look nice for him. The table was knocked over. Clothes, dishes, and the contents of her trunk littered the floor.
His rage had gotten the better of him and almost destroyed Michelle. How could he have been so cruel to the woman he loved?
* * *
MICHELLE STIRRED AND moaned. What happened? Her head ached, and her memory was hazy. Luther had been shouting at her and then... She opened her eyes. Luther was sitting next to her. The fire roared a few feet away. “I’m hot.” She tugged at the furs smothering her.
Luther leaned over her. “Hush, go back to sleep.”
“Luther, I—”
“Shh.” He kissed her forehead. “You too warm?”
“Yes.” Moving was an effort. She relaxed and settled back, too helpless to lift the furs.
“Let me take these off you.” Luther removed most of the furs and left her covered with a gray pelt.
She shifted her weight and realized that soft fur caressed her buttocks and breasts. She was naked. “Luther, I’m—”
“You rest now. We’ll talk in the mornin’. It’s late.” He kissed her cheek.
“I missed you so much. I was scared you’d never come home to me.”
“Me too, darlin’. Don’t worry, I’ll never leave you again. I’m sorry I acted like I did,” he said, kissing her.
The kiss ignited a fire deep inside her, and she wanted more. She groaned and slid her hands to Luther’s shoulders, digging her fingertips into his skin as she pulled him closer.
She drew his tongue into her mouth and sucked it lightly, making him moan. Her raging desire didn’t allow her to be shy. A pulsing sensation built within the most intimate part of her, and she reacted as her body commanded. She stroked Luther’s flat stomach, and his skin quivered under her hand. She wanted him, needed him, tonight.
“Teach me,” she whispered.
“Are you sure?”
She trailed her tongue down the side of Luther’s neck, not stopping until she reached his wide chest. He groaned. She kissed his chest muscles and felt his heart racing beneath his slightly sweaty skin. “Show me.”
He slid away the pelt covering her torso, then drew her right breast into his warm, wet mouth. Her body tingled as he sucked and caressed her. This felt good, but she wanted more.
She writhed on the furs. “Make me yours.”
Luther inched a pelt past her waist and smiled as he admired her. “You are so beautiful.”
She watched Luther in the firelight. Everything seemed slow and dreamlike. He nibbled each breast again, then licked a trail down her stomach. He stroked the patch of hair between her legs and she trembled in anticipation. What would it feel like to finally make love to him?
“If you want me to stop, I will.”
“No, keep going. I’m not sure what to—”
“I’ll take care of everything. You just enjoy yourself.”
Michelle closed her eyes as Luther parted her thighs and stroked the inside of her legs. She shivered as he kissed and licked the tender skin from her knee up to her privates. Each kiss drove her wild, and she hungered with a newfound lust.
“Do more.” She parted her legs wider and gasped as something wet touched her. She opened her eyes and saw Luther’s head buried between her thighs. He licked her again, and she let out a low, guttural groan.
“You like that?”
“Yes. God, yes.” She wanted him down there, satisfying the burning need in her. It felt so good, she never wanted him to stop.
A hot quickening coursed through her, and she arched her hips higher, begging for more. Luther could touch and kiss her anywhere. All she wanted was to feel his hands and mouth on her.
“Oh God!” Her head spun as Luther slid a finger into her slick opening, then licked her a few times. “Ah... yes... keep going.” She pressed her eyes shut and lost herself in the sensations of his finger and mouth teasing... tasting... probing... a secret part of her.
After a few minutes of bliss, Luther moved away and lay on top of her. He slipped a hand between them and she felt a hardness bump against her. She held her breath. This was it.
Luther’s hips pressed against hers, forcing her legs wider than she had ever thought possible. “I’ll be gentle and go slow,” he promised.
Michelle winced and clutched Luther’s ribs as he pushed inside. Something solid and hot filled her. Her inner muscles stretched as he stripped away her innocence.
“Relax,” he whispered, as he bent her legs up around his hips.
Luther’s weight bore down on her, and he pushed in deeper. How far could he go? A minute later, the pain faded, and she adjusted to the feel of Luther moving inside her. She clung to him as he panted in her ear.
“Oh, Michelle... you feel so good.”
Her hips moved in time to Luther’s gentle thrusts. Was she doing this right? It tickled and tingled and felt so... wicked. Luther’s hot body pumping into her sated a thirst she never knew she had. How could she have been afraid for so long? She had wasted all those nights and denied herself this pleasure out of fear. Now that she wasn’t afraid, she wanted more.
Luther bent her left leg higher around his waist. She squealed as he drove himself in faster, grunting with each thrust.
“Hold on, I’m gonna—”
Luther’s hips jerked hard and slammed against hers. A low moan escaped his throat as he shuddered and tensed, then lay still. A minute later, he kissed her, then slid out and flopped onto the pelts.
She lay still, unsure of what to do. It was over. After all this time, she had finally made love to Luther. Had she done it right? Why did he stop when she was starting to enjoy it?
“Is something wrong? Wasn’t I... good enough?” she whispered. “I didn’t know what to—”
“You were wonderful. That was perfect.” Luther gathered her into his arms and covered them with a pelt. He kissed her cheek. “I love you. We should rest now. It’s late.”
Michelle listened to the quiet rain pattering on the roof. The worst of the storm had passed. She nestled her head against Luther’s chest and drifted off to sleep.
