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The sun barely touched off the horizon at midnight. Darkness covered the rocks, painted dreams and put problems to sleep. But James and Mary weren’t sleeping like the rest of the planet. Unknown to each other, they were both nervously longing for their meeting.
James, unwittingly, practiced his rugged look a hundred and one times as he waited behind the corner. He had been there a while but he didn’t want to seem impatient. Mary, likewise, had her ear to the door of her room, glancing one moment into the mirror and the next at a little clock that she had on her new bedside-table.
It was time. A few short steps took James to the doorbell, which announced his arrival. Mary breathed in – her whole body a bag of nerves. Her hand turned the golden doorknob and opened the door.
Silence. The dim light found Mary and christened her in perpetual twilight. James, with his cowboy hat covering his forehead and eyes in the shade, lifted his gaze and was captivated by one of Mary’s chestnut curls. And from one, he moved to another, and from that to her lips, climbing needy and anxious up to her eyes and bathing in that multi-colour lake until words rose up from their mouths.
“Good evening,” he said, without looking away.
“Good evening,” said Mary, floating on a cloud.
“Night suits you, Miss Ackerson.”
Mary swallowed – although her mouth was dry.
“Thank you,” she said with a timid smile. “Would you like to come in?”
James shook his head.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Oh,” she said quietly, surprised.
“I’d like to show you somewhere.”
“All right. But you’ll have to wait – I have to put on that damn spacesuit.”
“It’s not necessary,” he said. “At least not tonight. We’re not going on horseback.”
“Sorry. I haven’t asked you how Loja is.”
“He’s fine, thanks. They’re fixing him: some repairs to his legs and he’ll be better.”
“I’m glad. So, how are we going?”
“I’ve brought a car. It’s a long way. And relax: there are no leaks in this one. We have enough oxygen to get there and back without any problems.”
“But you haven’t told me where we’re going,” she said a little anxiously.
“It’s sort of a surprise. I’ll wait for you around the back in the undercover car park. See you in a minute.”
Mary nodded, closing the door slowly. As soon as it was shut, she spun around, the thrill boiling up through her from the soles of her feet. She wanted to yell with excitement but she didn’t in case James heard her. She ran through the room, braking in front of the mirror.
“Did you see him?” she asked the mirror. “He’s gorgeous with that hat – it makes him so...”
Mary sighed, wrapping herself up in her imagination, which she had left behind by the time she arrived at the back of the building floating on love.
There he was, standing beside the car – holding the door open for her to get in. Mary came over very slowly; she wanted to savour every second of what was happening to her. She whispered “Thank you” as she got into the vehicle. James closed the door softly but firmly.
“It will be a long journey,” he said, sitting next to her and putting his hands on the wheel.
“I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m not tired.”
“You can sleep until we get there.”
Mary refused with a smile. That seemed to make James happy by the face he put on, and he turned on the engine.
The car moved quickly over the surface toned down at night by a small sun that refused to go down and other stars that filled the rocky valley with a bluish-purple. hue.
“We’re already far away...” he said after a silence that seemed to Mary to go on forever.
“Far – from where?”
“From being indiscreetly watched.”
“I don’t understand.”
“We Staffords have all the valleys, greenhouses and the employee outbuildings monitored with cameras and microphones.”
“Really?”
“Of course. It’s one of the few ways we have to keep order around here. It’s useful for indicting delinquents. The cameras give us proof; the microphones, statements.”
“I see. And are they also in the employees’ houses?”
“Only when we suspect someone or something.”
“Nobody told us about this.”
“You should read the contract better.”
“But...”
“Miss Ackerson, please don’t misinterpret me: I don’t agree with this policy of monitoring people. It’s true that it has been useful at times but, on other occasions, it limits freedom to such an extent that you forget you are dealing with human beings. People who have secrets that they want to keep.”
“And from the sound of it, you also have secrets, don’t you?”
James looked at her.
“I hope that what I’m going to show you will be a secret for you too from now on.”
Mary didn’t know what to answer, or rather: she didn’t want to answer. Her pupils were as wide open as the doorway to her heart. James wanted to share a secret with her. Wasn’t that wonderful? For Mary, that meant so much that she remained silent for the rest of the journey. She didn’t want to spoil it with tremulous words or questions that could break that magical moment.
The journey for her was like lying on a fluffy cloud that she didn’t want to get off.
“We’re nearly there,” mentioned James. “Look, you can see it on your right.”
Mary looked around. There was an enormous, rocky outcrop in front of her – so high that she could barely see the top. Curvy slopes wound down like polished stone rivers. Unequalled beauty. A natural pyramid of igneous rocks.
“Welcome to Mount Olympus.”
“It’s incredible...” she said, awestruck with admiration.
“It’s impressive, isn’t it?”
“Was that your secret?”
“Not exactly. But we’re very near.”
The car went on towards a little cave a few yards from the base of the volcano. A mouth full of lava fangs swallowed the vehicle. The tunnel was so dark that everything was in shadows. Mary recalled a childhood memory of the Tunnel of Love at the town fair and her heart beat faster. But soon a light could be seen at the end of the tunnel.
“Where are we?” she asked, feeling lost.
“Miss Ackerson, welcome to my home. This is my most priceless secret and, from now on, yours too if you want.”
“What?”
The car stopped. Without any fear at all, James opened the door.
“What are you doing?” exclaimed Mary, anxiously. “Don’t open it – I’ll die! I don’t have a spacesuit on!”
James didn’t pay any attention and he went over to open Mary’s door. And he did. As soon as he opened it, she sucked all the air she could into her lungs and she refused to breathe. Looking at her with her swollen cheeks, getting redder and redder, with pure panic in her eyes, he couldn’t help bursting into giggles... until she exploded and gulped for air.
“Air! Air! I need oxygen!”
James looked at her quizzically.
“Well, breathe...”
She stood still. She slowly breathed in through her nose like a person smelling a flower. Then, she did the same through her mouth – taking in a little air.
Air she could breathe.
“Mr Stafford... I can breathe, I can breathe!”
Mary, already calmer, walked a few steps forward in wonder. A little oasis inside the volcano became visible to her. The steam from a small pool of underground water heated by the magma invited her to bathe. Around it, diverse species of flowers and plants adorned a little path of polished pebbles that led to a kind of living-room, where a few bits of furniture and a thick carpet were turning gold from the ochre heat of a perpetual lava chimney that rose out of the wall of the cave – all made of tempered rock.
“What is all this, Mr Stafford? And – more importantly – why can I breathe?”
James came up to her, looking very serious. He looked at her carefully and, after looking into her eyes for a few seconds, he spoke:
“I’ll tell you if you’ll explain to me why, although I can breathe both oxygen and argon, I find it so difficult to do so when I have you in front of me.”
That confession made Mary self-conscious. She didn’t know how to react – nobody had ever said anything like that to her, with those eyes so full of truth. She wanted to fling herself into his arms, but her feet seemed to have grown roots in the rock. Her eyes looked nervously from one side to the other and her hands tangled themselves up, her fingers interlocking. James came a little closer.
“I’ve been living off your gaze ever since I met you.”
Mary’s eyes opened a little wider.
“Why are you saying all of this to me? I... I don’t know what to think. You’re like a different person, Mr Stafford.”
“James...”
“Well... James... – it’s a nice name.”
“So is Mary...”
“Really? Do you think so?”
Their bodies came closer until there was no air left between them. With the sweetness she expected, James gently touched her cheek. So subtle that an electric shock lit up their eyes, which came closer and closer, until they closed at the touch of unknown lips in a passionate kiss. Their hands wandered over each other’s bodies, their tongues intertwined and they dropped to the floor. James ran his fingertips through Mary’s hair – that jungle of brown curls that shone copper under the light and colour of the volcano. Then he impetuously bit her pink neck, finding her chin and mouth again. They shared the same desire – playing with it in secret.
She covered James’ back with her hands – it was broad and strong, hardened by the Martian cold. It was burning. It was so hot under his shirt that she tugged at it, wanting to feel his skin as her own. He intuitively felt what she was doing and pulled off the material that was preventing their flesh from meeting. She also told him as much in looks and whispers. More and more excited, James was powerful, trapping his desired prey under his robust arms. He pulled off the top of her uniform, leaving her semi-naked before him.
Mary felt awkward about her nudity, until she felt the infinite desire of that man, who was searching for her skin as she was searching for his. James moved up to her breasts, feeling them under her bra. She took it off with his help and threw it far away, not at all shy about him kissing her naked breasts, exciting her to the point that she pierced the universe with a sharp howl of pleasure. Below their waists, they were both burning up with the tension of surprise. Mary was the first to move her hands down to brush against James’ trousers. He then felt that he had been invited to get naked because Mary – shy in spite of everything – didn’t dare to take the next step. So he did, and he was naked above her. All the fire growing in his manhood was throbbing against Mary’s covered vagina – she felt like a star about to explode. She wanted to have him inside her, with her, be one on that strange, perfect night. But she was struck with fear.
“James...” she whispered, while he didn’t stop kissing her, caressing her, loving her.
“Mary...” he answered, separating his lips from her skin.
“I’ve never been with a man... like this. Do you know what I mean?”
James looked into her eyes. Without her moving, he undressed her from the waist down, barely separating from her. Then their sexual organs came into contact. They barely touched and Mary let out a sigh.
“I’m a little scared...”
“Your hands are shaking. Don’t be worried – I’m nervous too.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve... never made love to anyone.”
Their gazes melted into one in that pure confession. She begged him then: “Make me yours.” And he responded. His erect penis entered her so slowly and deeply that she groaned in surprise at the pleasure she had discovered. The initial pain that Mary felt soon melted into a waterfall of heat that completely covered James’ organ, inviting them to dance together in little spasms that became more and more vigorous. Mary bit his neck, scratched his back, wanted all of him, wanted to die that night, wanted to explode in a scream that would take her to the tip of Mount Olympus. They didn’t exchange any words – just panting and lips sliding over skin. He trapped Mary tightly between his arms. She wrapped her legs around his perfectly defined buttocks. His rhythmic movement penetrated Mary’s senses and she didn’t know if she was on Mars or in heaven – she was floating, delirious with satisfaction. She didn’t want it to end but there was no going back. The rhythm got stronger to the point of no return – impossible to stop that machine moving full-steam ahead. They took flight together towards a paradise of orgasmic pleasure. Then she felt how he unloaded inside her all the love he had contained since he met her. She noticed the fire dancing inside her. James, however, didn’t collapse exhausted – he wanted her to climax too. His penis seemed incorruptible, harder at each spasm. She felt possessed, a slave to his manhood. That was when James covered Mary’s pearl with his fingertips, humidly dancing over it. Mary thought she would die, blinded by the most extreme ecstasy. And then the expected happened. She exploded in an infinite embrace, tense as the cord of a violin about to snap. He curved her into the air like a rainbow and then let her die of pleasure, still joined to him, covered in sweat and sighs. The guilty hand ran over her soaked breasts, which felt a calming caress making her lie – full of peace – next to him.