Chapter 5
Jane Morrow was lying on the beach the following morning, a blanket beneath her, bare to the ten o'clock sun save for the briefest of bathing suits -- a strip of cloth for bottom and top.
She spread her legs, finding the bottle of suntan lotion with her right hand, opening the top and spreading the thick, oily, warm fluid on white shoulders and arms, then moving to chest and stomach. As her hands went over the smooth whiteness of her skin, she could feel the warmth beginning along the very surface of herself, the searing bite of the sun. Her hair was spread in a soft, diffuse carpet behind her head, blond and soft and very, very womanly. She felt a sudden giddiness.
If someone were to be passing by, and see her here, she would surely fall victim to an attack. Her mind went to the scantiness of her costume, and she smiled behind dark sunglasses, her eyelids warm. My, my, aren't we the reluctant virgin? came the words, there in Jane's mind. Ready for anything, on a two-week break in the routine. A twinge of guilt throbbed through Jane's middle, and she brushed it aside quickly.
I thought we weren't going to have any of that guilt business, Mrs. Morrow, said the corner of her mind which was addressing her so coolly.
"Quite right," Jane murmured, feeling a soft breeze come wafting off the ocean. She was grateful for the breeze -- with the oil which was spread over her, it felt like a wash of cold water.
"Absolutely right," Jane repeated, her lips barely moving.
"What is right, miss?"
The voice had come from directly beside her, and Jane jumped up quickly, shielding her eyes from the sun as she whipped off her dark glasses. She stared upward at the tall, square-shouldered form which towered over her.
"What in the... " Jane gasped, making out the grinning face of Alexander. She felt her heartbeat accelerate suddenly, and knew that it wasn't entirely from shock.
"You looked as though you were making up your mind to something, miss," he said, his voice rumbling over Jane like a clap of thunder. Goosebumps formed on Jane's arms and legs.
"Do you always sneak up on your guests, Alexander?" Jane asked, a high arch in her voice as she regarded him coolly.
In spite of herself, Jane was having difficulty keeping up a severe pose, in the face of Alexander.
"Only when the guests are as beautiful, and as desirable, as you, miss."
Jane's mouth dropped open at his words. Her face numb with shock, she took a deep breath. Had she heard right?
"I... I beg your pardon," Jane breathed, "... what did you say?"
There was a moment's silence, and Jane could hear the beating of her heart, through the stillness of the moment.
"I said," Alexander continued, "that I only sneak up on beautiful lady guests. And only when they want me to sneak up on them."
"Well," Jane said, her shock subsiding, as she looked at Alexander with her best imitation of an outraged expression, "do you think that's entirely appropriate?"
"In your case, yes, I do," came the reply.
Jane gasped, as, all at once, Alexander knelt beside her in the sand.
"Will you go hunting with me tomorrow?" he asked, his eyes level with hers.
Jane blushed, and tried to cover it up with a movement of her band. Alexander reached out, and brought her hand down, keeping her hand in his.
Her face red as a fire engine, Jane sat, looking at Alexander, her mouth slightly open, lips parted. It was as though an electric charge had gone through her at his touch.
"Will you come and hunt with me tomorrow?" he asked, his voice grave, intent. "The Ashleys won't mind. They'll be glad to get you out of their hair, in fact."
The silence between the pair was intense, prolonged, the only sound the distant lapping of the waves against the beach. Overhead, abruptly, a seagull cried out, its voice plaintive and lonely in the bright sun-light.
"Well, I don't know... " Jane stammered, her eyes dropping from Alexander's suddenly. It was as though there were pent heat inside of him, the way his eyes seemed to glow, here in broad daylight.
"To make up for my rudeness yesterday," Alexander added, increasing the pressure of his grip suddenly. Jane felt something give way inside her, and nodded her head, smiling.
"That's much better," Alexander said, smiling back at Jane, who was getting even redder at his words. "I'll come and get you tomorrow afternoon, at two o'clock sharp. We'll take one of the cars. I know a place that hasn't been tried yet."
Jane nodded her head once more, and suddenly Alexander got up, rising smoothly and powerfully from the sand. She looked at him for a moment, sensing the strength which was contained in the body. She had never seen him dressed only in bathing trunks before, and the sight took her breath away. His chest was broad and massive, his arms thickly muscled, his forearms stout. His legs were like two massive black pillars. Jane swallowed loudly.
"I'll see you tomorrow -- Jane," he rumbled at her, turning and walking away slowly, his broad back like a wall, which tapered slowly to a slim waist.
Jane watched him as he walked away, diminishing slowly across the pale sand, until he was only a black speck in the distance. She shook her head, still not believing her ears.
"What in the world prompted him to do that?" she muttered, her glance moving downward to include her tawny, long-legged form. She looked at her legs, and at her hips, seeing the muscles firm, the flesh taut, with no mark of age or childbearing. She shook her head.
God... if it could only be me he wants! came the thought, quickly banished from Jane's mind. Jane could not, she knew, hope to compete with girls in their early twenties -- not for the serious attentions of youth as obviously well-developed as Alexander. No, it had probably been just a "courtesy" which he extended, out of habit, to Madeleine Ashely's guests.
And yet, there had been that electric moment when he had touched her...
Could he really want me? Jane mused, her fore-head furrowing as her eyes searched the sand before her.
A thought flashed through Jane's mind, making her gasp with alarm: never once, in her whole life, had she held a gun in her hands.
Jane smiled a secret smile. She would, she decided, certainly have to learn.
The following afternoon, Jane was waiting by the back door of the resort, dressed in boots, trousers, and blouse, the tan trousers shining against the deep, crisp blue of the stiffly-starched blouse. She had been waiting for fifteen minutes, and she was getting restless -- not to mention a little bored. Boredom, Jane had read somewhere, always indicated some sort of undischarged tension.
She paced back and forth quickly, her eyes darting over the sandy reaches of the shoreline, looking for Alexander. She bit her thumbnail absently, making small expressions of irritation with her mouth.
He had suggested this hunting excursion, and he had damned well better show up.
Jane flicked small runnels of sand with the tip of her boot, sending a fine spray cascading forward, a satiny ebullience, small-grained in the afternoon sunlight.
"Well, did you think I was never coming?"
Jane started, her eyes bugging out, as she wheeled around, her hands at her sides. There was Alexander, his hands on his hips, in khaki trousers and short-sleeved shirt, rough brown boots and wide-brimmed hat. His black countenance, boldly chiseled, shone with amusement as he regarded the so recently startled woman before him.
"Couldn't you have cleared your throat, or something?" Jane gasped, a note of outrage in her voice. "You came up on me without making a sound."
Alexander smiled at the blond American woman before him.
"Stealth is not a bad quality in a man -- especially one who's going hunting."
Jane looked at the tall black youth before her, pondering the ambiguous -- and suggestive-statement he had just made to her. She decided to let it pass.
"Though it may be of discomfort to you now," Alexander added quickly, noting Jane's silence, "I think you'll find it of value later."
Jane looked up at him. He was grinning broadly.
"When we got hunting -- that's what you mean, of course," Jane added, a sardonic note in her voice.
"Of course, madam," Alexander said formally, bowing slightly to the blond-beaded woman before him. 'What else could I have meant by such a statement?"
"What else indeed," Jane observed.
Alexander pointed to the station wagon, which was parked at the side of the main building.
"I've packed the rifles and ammunition in the back seat," he said, taking Jane by the elbow and leading her to the car. "There are some excellent spots near here. Have you ever hunted wild pig before, miss?"
Jane shook her head. "No. I can't say I have."
"Ever done any hunting of any kind?"
Jane shook her head once more.
"Well, now's a good time to learn," he added, opening the side door so she could climb into the front seat.
Raising an eyebrow at his cavalier manner, Jane shut the door herself, fending off his efforts to help her.
In a moment, Alexander was beside her in the front seat, and the hunting expedition formally began.
As the car sped along the highway, Jane was silent and still, watching the heavy, lush greenness of the jungle zip by her. She took a deep breath of air, and let her head loll on the doorframe, the wind from the open window making heavy, sweet taffy of her hair. She closed her eyes, feeling the sun warm and solid on her eyelids, like luminous paint.
"These wild boar are dangerous, tricky animals. Some people not far from here have brought stories to me about a tusker that's eating crops in this area. They've asked me to look into it. Inviting you, I tried to mix business with pleasure."
Jane looked at Alexander for a long moment.
"I've heard that's not a good idea," she observed dryly, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
Alexander chuckled softly.
"Here, pleasure is my business."
He glanced at Jane, and then added quickly! "As a rule for guests only, of course."
Jane smiled.
"Do you think of me as a guest?" she asked softly. Alexander shrugged his shoulders. It was, Jane noted, an expressive gesture.
"Aren't you a guest?" he asked, turning his eyes from the road and looking at the woman beside him, his eyes level, blank.
Jane paused for a long moment, and then nodded her head.
"I suppose I am," she said absently, her hair blowing in the wind like a yellow cloud, soft and delicate and very, very fine.
"Then it's my duty to please you," Alexander said, "that's what the Ashleys pay me for. That's the reason for this trip."
Jane looked at him for a moment, and frowned.
"But you just got through saying you were going to do it anyway -- shoot some wild pig or other," Jane protested.
"Two birds with one stone," he replied evenly, and Jane lapsed into silence.
The country grew wilder and wilder by the moment. Always, there were fewer people and more stretches of jungle, till at last the view was one of uninterrupted brush and densely thicketed clumps of trees. The long, tropical vines, which hung down onto the road, seemed to reach out for her, so that she drew back instinctively. The vines swayed before the oncoming car, as the quality of the road grew poorer and poorer.
At last, Alexander pulled the car onto a side trail, leaving the main highway completely.
Abruptly, Jane could tell the difference, as the car rolled over the bumpy, unpaved road -- which, by now, was little more than a jungle trail. She looked at Alexander inquiringly, and then back at the pockmarked, stone-filled, red dirt line which extended in front of the advancing car. On either side of the narrow path, the jungle loomed, dark and densely green and for-bidding, seeming to choke off the trail as the station wagon advanced slowly.
"Do... I mean, do you really think we'll find anything?" Jane asked through her teeth, her voice a low whisper.
Alexander nodded his massive head, his forearms flexing powerfully, so that the muscles stood out in finely chiseled lines.
Noticing the massive arms, Jane looked at the man beside her for a moment.
"Yes," Alexander replied after a long pause, "I think we'll be in luck. This old sow has been hitting the crops along here like a tidal wave. She'll be out, foraging for her piglets."
Jane felt a rush of sympathy for the sow, and felt a bit foolish all at once.
"I -- didn't know she was a mother," Jane said. Alexander grinned all at once, his eyes crinkling up above his strong, prominent cheekbones.
"Don't feel bad about it," Alexander said smoothly. "That old sow pig killed a man last weekend, just for trying to get her off his crops."
Jane let herself relax, a tremor of apprehension running down the back of her neck. Suddenly, she was very glad that it was Alexander who was leading the expedition.
"What should I do if it charges?" Jane asked slowly.
Alexander shook his head.
"Don't worry about that. I'll lead the way. If you can get off a shot, shoot for the shoulder. Shoot for bone, and break the old girl down that way."
"You sound as though you've done this before," Jane said.
"I have," Alexander replied.
There was a long, painful moment of silence, broken only by the loud thumping of the tires over the pitted, bumpy road. Then Jane spoke: "You speak excellent English," Jane said suddenly, glancing at Alexander, who showed no visible reaction to what she'd just said. She remembered she'd said it before.
My God but he's strong, Jane thought to herself, looking at the hard, rough-hewn features on the man's face. Strong and tough.
Finally, Alexander nodded.
"Thank you," he said. "I learned in school here, from the Jesuits."
Deciding not to pursue the subject any further, Jane rolled up the window and shivered. There were branches poking at the side of the car, and one of them had just scraped her arm.
Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, Alexander indicated her arm with a nod of his head.
"I'll put some iodine on that when we stop," he said.
"It's all right," Jane said, noticing the long, deep scratch which ran down the side of her slender forearm. "It's nothing really."
Alexander shook his head.
"I'll have to insist. Can't have you getting infected on me out here."
Jane said nothing, but felt a tremor go through her bowels at his voice. He was not to be brooked in anything, that was certain. Whatever he made up his mind to do, he did.
I wonder if that includes me.
The thought slipped idly through Jane's consciousness, as she lolled in the sun-filled front seat.
Abruptly, the car stopped, so that she put her hand on the dashboard, her feet bracing. Alexander turned to her.
"This is just about as far as we can go in this "station wagon. If we had a jeep, it would be another story. I'm afraid from here on it'll have to be under our own power."
"Is it far?" Jane whispered, looking uneasily at the dense foliage which spread against the closed windows like spinach on a thin glass.
"Not so far," Alexander replied, reaching across the seat and opening the glove compartment. He withdrew a medical kit, breaking open a bottle of deep-hued red fluid with thumb and forefinger.
"But first we take care of that cut," he said evenly, a look of absolute, calm determination in his eye.
Jane winced as she felt the long, cool swab across her skin, saw the deep red line of medicinal hue, and smelled the sharp iodine.
"Hurt much?" Alexander asked, his bands amazingly gentle as he held her forearm delicately. Jane blushed.
"Not very much," she said, her voice noncommittal.
"Just let it dry, and it'll be all right," he said, turning to get out of the car. "Leave it open to the air, and don't try to bandage it," he added, getting out of the car with difficulty.
In a few moments, Alexander had broken out the rifles, locked up the car, and was leading Jane along the narrow path which led into the jungle.
As they passed the tall, densely packed trees, Jane was drawn, closer and closer, to Alexander. She edged away from the undergrowth through which they passed, expecting at any moment to see a long, deadly snake drop out of the sky onto her head. So heavy was the rifle in her hands that, after carrying it a short distance, she was covered with sweat, and trembling.
"Alexander... " she gasped, "I -- I don't think I'm going to be able to carry this thing much further... "
Alexander laughed, taking the rifle from her hands and bringing it to sling-arms on his broad, powerful shoulder.
"Don't worry about that," he said, "just relax and enjoy the walk."
Jane was free now to "enjoy" the walk, and soon found herself tangled in a long, branching root which angled across the path. Both stopped, and Alexander looked down as Jane struggled to free herself.
"Did you get a sprain?" he asked, looking down at the struggling girl once more, a hint of amusement on his broad, strong face.
"No, I... I don't think so... " Jane gasped, bringing her foot free and testing the ankle gently, gingerly.
It was, oddly, as though Alexander were making fun of her in some odd way -- of her inexperience in "roughing it," of her physical softness, even of the fact that she was an American housewife, far from home.
As they proceeded, Jane felt a great, swelling resentment in her breast, looking at Alexander closely, her face knitted into a frown. Noticing her expression, Alexander's own face took on a look of concern.
"Are you in pain?" he asked.
Sweating and gasping, dodging branches and long, clinging vine tendrils, Jane could not help herself:
"Only from your high-handedness," she replied curtly, and Alexander turned away, a puzzled look on his face.
Immediately, Jane was torn by remorse, and guilt. She should not have been so curt with him. After all, he had carried the rifle for her, and he had been as attentive as anyone could possibly be. She must, Jane decided, apologize to this tall, broad-shouldered youth beside her.
"Alexander, I... " she began, but was stopped by a hand across her chest. Halting her on the trail, Alexander pointed to an open clearing just beyond the edge of the jungle before them. The clearing was a carpet of tall grass, and beyond it were regularly spaced fields. In the distance, the squawking of domestic animals could be heard.
"This is the place the sow was last seen," Alexander said, in a low voice.
Jane looked at Alexander for a moment.
"Is there a house near here?" she whispered.
"Not far," Alexander replied.
Jane was miffed.
"If... if there's human settlement around here, why didn't we just drive here in the station wagon, instead of going through all that... all that jungle back there?"
Jane's ankle was sore, and there was a note of outrage in her voice as she asked the question.
Alexander shook his head angrily.
"The man who lives in this house is not friendly to us -- to me," he whispered. "He would not like me walking across his fields, hunting a wild pig."
Jane was mystified, and looked it.
"Even if the -- if the pig was eating his crops?"
"Even then," Alexander replied. "Now that's enough talk. Here's your rifle. just follow me, and try not to make any noise." Slowly, foot by foot, Jane and Alexander advanced through the tall grass, their footfalls soundless. Jane could hear the wind whistling in the trees behind her, and could see the faint, black finger of smoke from a fire in the distance, rising over the trees and drifting horizontally across the sky.
The occasional call of a jungle bird, shrill and raucous, split the stillness and caused Jane to jump involuntarily. It seemed to her that Alexander took a devilish delight in her discomfort, and she would cast a malignant glance at him every now and then.
As they advanced across the wild, densely weeded clearing, Jane's eyes roamed the fields before them, looking for movement.
Alexander nodded his head, and indicated the rows of well-tilled crops. "Look for movement," he said, "this is their favorite time to feed, while it's still cool. When that heat moves in, she'll go back into the jungle."
Jane, wiping beaded drops of perspiration from her forehead, wondered just how it would be when the heat really "moved in" -- she was dying from it now.
As they covered the fields, foot by foot, Jane grew steadily more tired, and more discouraged. She was coming to believe, more and more, that Alexander had led her on a wild goose chase, just to punish her for some obscure offense that she'd unknowingly committed.
At last, Alexander let out a long sigh, and shook his head.
"I can't understand it," he muttered, watching Jane walk beside him, her rifle in her hands. "Every sign pointed to it... and now nothing. Not a plant's been dug up, not a tuber's been eaten. It's just as though nothing had ever been in these fields but a hoe and a rake."
Shaking his head once more, Alexander turned, and, guiding Jane with his hand, he led her toward the edge of the clearing.
Jane, meanwhile, was more than a little bit angry. She hated the idea that all this -- the trip, the heat, her ankle, the whole business -- had been for nothing. Shaking her head disgustedly, she strode ahead of Alexander, her shoulders stiff. Alexander let her go, and said nothing, but only looked at her retreating back angrily, his mood matching hers.
As she moved, the tall grass whipping her thighs so that it stung, Jane did not look to left or to right, but only at the ground. She had never felt so angry, or so humiliated, in her life. At the back of her mind was the nasty, cloying suspicion that Alexander had taken her out here for nothing, knowing that they would find no game whatever. Jane's eyes narrowed: she had been played for a fool! Alexander had probably enjoyed every moment of her discomfort' "Wild pig" indeed!
So angry was Jane, and so caught up in her own thoughts, that she did not pay any attention to where she was walking. All at once, she heard something, ahead of her, there in the grass, and stopped.
Jane raised her eyes, and her mouth dropped open all at once. The heavy weight of the rifle slipped from her limp hands, and the stock hit the ground. Slowly, the rifle toppled, falling through the densely packed grass, coming to rest on the ground. There was a moment of complete silence, the only sound the rushing of blood in Jane's ears, sent upward from her frantically pounding heart.
Directly ahead of her, in a circle of smashed-down grass, was the low-built, stout form of a wild pig. The body was like a barrel, the hide thick, the legs stout looking and solid. The hide shook in a sudden spasm, as a fly lighted on it, sending a quiver through the animal. It grunted loudly, and shook its head. The snout was huge, and tubular, with two long, vicious-looking, upturned tusks at the front of the animal's mouth. Its eyes were small and beady, its ears bent and flopping over a thick neck. The odor of the animal was one of sweat, urine, and musk. It stood twenty feet away from Jane, watching her closely.
"Don't... move," came Alexander's voice from behind her. "Don't... move... a... muscle... " came the voice once more.
Jane stood like a statue, and watched the low-built, massive animal before her. She sensed that, in a moment, it was going to make up its mind and charge her.
This is my last moment on earth, came the thought into Jane's mind. This is definitely, truly and finally, the end of my life.
There was a pause, and Jane could feel the breeze across the back of her neck, there in the stillness.
The moments passed, and Jane had, suddenly, the horrible thought that Alexander had turned, run away, and deserted her, making no noise as he departed.
He's run away and left me, Jane thought feverishly. He's left me here to die.
All at once, the air was split by a thunderous roar, and Jane jumped, gasping out loud, her eyes wide. The boar staggered, but stayed on its feet. Jane turned, and looked at Alexander. He was standing stock still, the rifle seeming a part of his body. There was literally no way of telling where man left off and rifle began. As she watched him, he fired twice more, the muzzle of the rifle jumping up sharply as a tongue of flame went out the barrel.
The boar sow staggered, toppling onto its side, its legs short and stiff, its body barrel like and solid.
Jane ran to Alexander, her face drained of color.
"My... my goodness," she gasped, unable to convey the feelings which were like a whirling, rippling tide within her.
Alexander pointed to the grass.
"Get your rifle," he said, his voice even and steady.
Jane turned and went to the edge of the smashed-down grass, retrieving the rifle, and glancing at the boar sow as she picked up the heavy weapon gingerly.
Alexander walked to the side of the animal, flicking a pebble onto its snout. The boar remained still.
"She's dead," he announced to Jane, looking back at the tall girl with the rifle, a wistful expression on his face.
"Poor old girl," Alexander added, under his breath, his eyes traveling over the gaping bullet wounds in the now inert animal. Jane was struck by the note of -- yes, of tenderness -- that he used toward the animal. It was as though they'd known each other for a long while, and had been friends, in some odd, muted sort of way that Jane could not begin to understand.
She shook her head. A strange men, this Alexander. A strange, rather mysterious man.
Jane cleared her throat abruptly, and Alexander looked at her.
"Hadn't we better tell whoever owns this piece of property about what we've done?" Jane murmured.
Alexander nodded his head sadly.
"That," he said slowly, "is the least enjoyable part."
Some time later, the boar sow disposed of (she would feed two families for a week), Jane and Alexander were retracing their steps to the car.
As she walked along the narrow trail, Jane, who had been solid as a rock all through the incident with the wild pig, suddenly found that she could no longer move under her own steam.
Wobbling slightly, Jane grabbed Alexander's arm, clawing frantically, as he grabbed her shoulders, easing her slowly onto the ground.
"It's a nervous reaction," Alexander said soothingly, as Jane sat down, tears rolling down her cheeks. "It's perfectly natural, just rest for a bit and you'll be all right" Seeing her comfortably settled, Alexander rose up, rubbing his hands on his trousers.
"The surprising thing," he said slowly, "is that you didn't go to pieces just after it happened. Most women would have come apart completely. I don't know a single one that wouldn't, under the circumstances, and considering what you went through."
Somewhat comforted by his words, but still much too wobbly to get to her feet, Jane nodded her bead. She was, for a moment, unable to form words herself, and could only indicate her feelings by slight, feeble gestures.
The whole array of light and color around Jane added to her sense of confusion. The sunlight which fell through the trees overhead was warm, and spotted Jane's blouse like gold coins sprinkled over her -- coins which shifted and swept over the lovely hair and face, the delicate features.
Alexander knelt beside her, and put a hand on her smooth yellow hair, stroking it gently.
Feeling the tears rolling off her cheeks, Jane brushed them away, shaking her head and smiling.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"It's all right," Alexander replied, his voice smooth, making her relax as he put his large, warm, gentle hands on her shoulders. "We'll rest here a bit."
It was not, Jane reflected, a bad spot to rest, really. There was a thick, dry, mossy surface to this part of the trail, and it was in shadow mostly, shielded from the sun by the large, overhanging trees. There was even a slight breeze which filtered, now and then, through the dense green foliage. The spot was, in fact, completely secluded: a stranger could have walked down the trail, not three feet away, and missed them completely.
Jane watched the patches of sunlight dance over the ancient spot, a crazy-quilting of brilliant color over the thick moss, which was smooth as the surface of a billiard table. She stirred restlessly, her head clearing, her senses returning to her slowly so that she could make out the objects around her, and identify them by name. She had never blacked out-come apart -- like that in her adult life. It was, to say the least, a terrifying experience.
Taking a deep breath, Jane closed her eyes, her shoulders sagging.
"Just rest," came the deep, "soothing voice from above her, and Jane looked upward at the face of Alexander. His features were drawn, his face etched with concern. Instantly, Jane was sorry that she'd been rude to him earlier. He was, clearly, protective of her in every way.
And then Jane remembered the central thing -- this new reality -- which had joined them: Alexander had saved her life. There it was. It was not to be avoided, or kidded, about, or swept under the rug. He had, literally, saved her life, less than two hours ago. Jane's eyes widened slightly as the full meaning of that act dawned on her.
How could she ever repay a debt like that?
A sudden rush of wath, of kindness, swept over her as she regarded the figure which towered over her.
He had saved her life.
Jane was silent for a moment, her eyes half shut, her breathing suddenly rapid, gasping, and ragged.
"Is something wrong?" Alexander asked, looking down at Jane steadily. She felt his eyes on her -- on the top button of her blouse, which had been loosened to allow her to breathe.
She took a deep breath.
"No," she said, "nothing."
And then, all at once, without warning, Jane reached up and put her hand on Alexander's face. The touch was so sudden, and so unexpected, that Alexander drew back, touching his chin with his right hand, his eyes full of puzzlement.
Jane's mind was spinning with thoughts, none of which made any clear sense to her at the moment. Only one thing was clear: she was feeling a large, full swelling at her breast an aching feeling of wanting to be comforted, of wanting something which she could not reasonably have. It was a feeling of absolute desolation, and of absolute need.
She reached up once more, and put her hand around the back of Alexander's neck, pulling him down to her suddenly.
His eyes clearing as he understood, suddenly and completely, what it was that Jane wanted, Alexander put a hand on her shoulder suddenly. Jane felt her mind melt out, and could only feel, and feel... and feel.
"Ohhhhhh... Alexander... oh please... God . oh no... oh ..
Her words rushed out in a sudden torrent, and she was caught, babbling, her eyes half closed, her head turning from side to side. Alexander, slowly and tenderly, stretched her on the mossy, soft floor of the jungle, covering her with his body gently.
Jane felt herself relax, the tension of the past few hours draining out of her as she felt the bulk of Alexander, the strength of his embrace.
"Oh no," she whispered, "we shouldn't, really. I mean... "
Then she was silent under the slow, caressing movement of his hands.
Jane had never felt anything like this in her life. With the smooth, dappled light from the tree branches overhead, Jane was warmed and soothed, so that Alexander's hands seemed only a welcome continuation of that warmth. The hands moved slowly, assertively, to Jane's blue blouse, which by now was no longer quite so crisply starched. One by one, the buttons on her blouse came undone, and she felt the cool jungle breeze on her hot skin. The flimsy bra came off in Alexander's huge hands, and the breasts were bared. They were magnificent breasts, full and supple and very, very white against the green back-drop of jungle vines and brush. The aureoles were pink and large, rosy hued and rigid, with tiny bumps around the rim, and freckles spotting the upper half of the conelike fullness. The nipples were taut, rigid protrusions, which poked lustily outward from the fullness around them.
Jane gasped as she felt Alexander's warm, wide mouth descend on her left breast, covering nipple and aureole in one hungry, gulping embrace. The mouth was wet and warm, and sucked gently, puffing at the warm, rigid female flesh.
"Oh, my God," Jane groaned, feeling the warm, insistent mouth which covered her aching flesh with moistness. The sucking became harder, more insistent, as the mouth widened, engulfing a still larger expanse of breast, the tongue and lips puffing strongly and evenly. The sucking went on, and on, until Jane thought that she could certainly stand it no longer -- not a single moment longer.
And then, abruptly, the mouth slid off the nipple, leaving the breast wet and cool in the breeze. Jane's eyes widened as she felt the mouth, insistent on its pleasure, close over her right breast. Alexander moved over her, straddling her firmly, so that there was no space for Jane to move, either to the right or to the left.
Motionless, Jane endured the tender torture of Alexander's mouth, her eyes shut tightly. She moaned out loud, murmuring little piteous cries, her lips swollen, wet, her expression rapt, completely abandoned to the pleasure-giving mouth.
She felt his hands at her waist, loosening the blouse so that it dropped away, baring Jane's magnificent torso to the breeze. Her upper body was well formed, womanly, and very, very pale against the green, mossy backdrop of the jungle floor. She felt his mouth move over her breasts, kissing and licking slowly, so that her whole chest was wet and shining with the evidence of his passion. She shifted herself beneath him, completely straddled and completely dominated by the brawny black man, her hair spread over the jungle floor like a mass of fine, golden seaweed. Jane shut her eyes, feeling the mouth move over shoulders, arms, ribs, stomach, and back to breasts.
She sighed loudly, as she felt the large, capable bands move to her waist. Suddenly, there was a feeling of looseness, as the trousers were drawn down, exposing full, white, womanly thighs and legs. The air was cool on Jane's hot, firm flesh, as she felt the filmy panties begin to descend.
"Oh, oh... " Jane murmured, her eyes half shut, her head lolling to and fro, "oh... "
And then it was as though a dam had burst within her.
"... oh... oh yess... oh fuck me please... fuck me now... hard... I want it now... oh, oh please yes... oh God... oh my God yes... oh please... "
Mindlessly, Jane babbled out her need, as Alexander viciously, savagely moved over her, stripping her down completely, from head to foot, so that soon she was stretched out, bare, on the mossy ground, her thighs wet with passion, the blond clump of loveliness between her legs on fire with need.
Aching for him with every nerve and fibre of her being, Jane jackknifed her legs, opening her thighs to his potent entry. She let out a shrill little cry as her center turned molten, her eyes shut tightly, as she waited, voyaging through every single moment of intense longing, like a mariner on rough, untried seas.
Alexander was naked in a swift, hurried moment, and knelt rampant between Jane's legs. He put both hands on Jane's hips, gripping hard, his hands like a brand on her flesh. Jane groaned loudly at the feel of his hands, and opened her eyes.
Abruptly, her eyes widened so that the whites showed clearly.
Before her was the biggest erection that she had ever seen in her life. It stood like the stump of a swamp tree, spreading outward from broad, strong roots. It was thick, and knobby, like the trunk of a black cypress, and the glans was smooth and wide and murderous looking.
Jane gasped, and felt her stomach tighten abruptly.
"Oh my God," she whispered, her voice breaking in the middle, half from fear and half from excitement Alexander was a great deal of man.
"Oh," Jane murmured, tears forming in her eyes, "oh please be gentle."
Alexander came forward slowly, his hands traveling up Jane's thighs, along her waist, and to her ribs, so that the muscles in her loins trembled with the passage of his broad, powerful fingers. She felt the length of his naked body against hers.
"Oh please be gentle with me, Alexander," she breathed into his broad, knotty neck and shoulders, her hands going around his waist and upward, over his broad, muscular back.
Like tiny white birds, the hands fluttered over the broad expanse of muscle on either side of Alexander's strong spine, caressing and stroking gently.
As she felt the tautness of the muscles, and sensed the power that lay concealed within the huge frame, Jane shuddered. She felt open, exposed, vulnerable -- and suddenly afraid. If this man wanted to, he could literally kill her. Rip her apart with his broad, powerful hands -- or with that massive thing that stood between his legs like the trunk of a tree.
Jane began to tremble visibly, her eyes tightly shut. Whatever she had gotten herself into, it was too late to do anything about it now. You could not go this far, and then deny a man like Alexander. That much she knew for sure. He really would kill her then.
"Oh... please... oh my Lord," she gasped, her head tossing from side to side.
And then, all at once, she felt Alexander's massive hand beneath her buttocks, lifting her up. His other hand was beneath her head, grasping a huge handful of her thick, honey-hued hair. She raised herself up slightly, gasping for breath, completely in the grip of the huge black man who loomed over her like an enormous predatory animal.
And then slowly, completely, she felt him enter her.
And it was not as she had thought it would be. Instead of the brutal thrust she had expected, there came instead a slow spreading of her channel, painful but sweet, a pressure insistent and not to be denied. Jane gasped loudly, her eyes shut, as she felt the unbearably tender entry. Her flesh raw, open, begging to be taken, she felt the slow, potent thrusting of Alexander, and knew for a moment what it might be like to truly belong to him, to be his woman.
"Oh Alexander," she whispered, her eyes shut tightly, "it's so... so nice."
Wordlessly, Alexander plunged to the full extent, embedding himself completely within her, bringing his loins to hers and fusing them there, welding her to him in a single firm, gentle motion of his powerful hips.
Jane paused, suspended in midair, her hips thrust upwards, spitted upon the immensity of him. She felt as though her inner channel, wet and sopping with passion as it was, would burst. Never, in her wildest imaginings, had Jane known that there could be such a feeling as was now coursing through her quivering, suspended body. It was as though a long, electric current of pleasure was emanating from the center of her, where Alexander was embedded firmly. He had, in some odd way, sent a continuous charge of absolute, tingling delight through Jane's whole body, by his penetration of her.
And then, slowly, he withdrew, sending a shudder of pure loss through Jane's loins. She quivered for a moment, the muscles on either side of her belly rippling.
"Oh, Alexander," she whispered from between clenched teeth, "put it back where it belongs, in the name of God."
As though in answer to her frantic pleading, Alexander sent himself through her more firmly now, sliding inward with one full rush, which drew a gasping cry from Jane.
Gripping her firmly with his whole body, Alexander swept over Jane savagely, in one long, pulsating rhythm of hips, legs, shoulders and arms. So complete, so savage, and so abrupt was his possession of her that Jane felt, for a moment, as though she were being lifted off the ground and carried away. She let out tiny, strangled cries as his lovemaking grew more and more intense. Struggling beneath him, and finally finding his rhythm and moving with him, Jane was as delirious as he, wanting desperately to do it right for him.
"Ohhhhhh... Oh. Dear. God... Yesyesyes... ohhhh... oh... ahhhhhh ..." Jane's soft, babbling murmur was a low, gentle accompaniment to the hard, fluid, rhythmic pattern of Alexander's lovemaking " I t s... so... h a r d ..:" she groaned, her voice desperate with need. "It's... so... so... oh!... oh Al... lex... a n... der... har-der... har-der... pleeeze!... Oh Dear God... "
Alexander was so thick, so erect, and Jane had to close her eyes to the feel of his young cock sliding in and out of her. Inside her belly, Alexander's enormous swelling rosied up the walls of her gushing vagina. Their bodies were swinging like a pendulum, with Jane's breasts springing loose, then tight, two white marble globes topped with two taut, ripe, red cherries. The bulging prong had a hydraulic action to it, in and out, in and out, first fast, then slow, then fast again.
His mouth sipped at Jane's hot-tipped nipples, and he rolled his warm tongue around on them, letting low, throaty groans escape against them.
Time and again his sturdy prick spread the folds of white meat, and drove up the warm passage, right up to the thick hilt.
On one particular stroke he withdrew from her and looked down at the honey-soaked cock. Then Jane found herself gurgling again at the wonderful, clutching, mind-blinding sensation as she swarmed the muscles inside around the vibrant, meaty prong.
Alexander banged more ferociously up and into her. Jane's bubbly pussy swallowed it the way an eager mouth would, a buttery inlet stuffed with hard, thick, wild meat.
Heady cries rang out from deep in Jane's throat. "Ahhh, AHHHHHHI AHH!"
Jane spread her breasts wide apart with her own hands and Alexander buried his nose in between them, their strange warmth scorching around his black ears. His lips were crazy with sucking, licking, chewing; their bodies were sweating, salty, yet perfumed.
Suddenly, the pitch of Jane's voice rose, and she shut her eyes tightly.
"Oh... ohohohoh... here... it... comes... oh . yes... yes...!"
With one long, plunging movement, Alexander exploded within her. At the same time, to her joyous surprise, Jane felt herself go off the edge of the precipice, into sheer blazing ecstasy.
She let out a low, shrill scream, her thighs banging against his, as she felt him rush into her in a warm, 'sweet, sticky flood. His lurching, surging loins were buttered by the warm, soft fluids of Jane's passion, as she also came to blinding climax, her whole body arching frantically to receive him.
In a moment, their passion spent for now, both sub-sided into a warm bath of rubbing, sweaty, oozing aftermath; sticky sweat and warm, even molten fluids met and coursed together like two frantic, primitive streams of longing.
Her body moist, clinging to the massive black man above her, Jane could only feel, and not think. She felt herself drifting peacefully into a kind of warm, glowing nimbus of pleasure.
"That was... wonderful... " she murmured, rubbing the man's back with her hands, kneading and massaging the hard, rigid muscles she found there. Alexander's rhythm eased, and finally he withdrew completely, and crushed Jane against him.
"Ohhhhhh," Jane breathed happily, "my goodness."
"My goodness indeed," Alexander chuckled softly, going into her once more, this time gently and sweetly.
Jane sighed loudly, her eyes shut, a look of utter, absolute satisfaction on her face.
"It feels so good to have you . . have you in me," she murmured, half embarrassed at this frank telling of her need.
There was a moment of silence, then Alexander spoke: "It's good to be in you," he said softly, smoothly massaging Jane's back, buttocks and legs with his huge, warm hands.
"Soon... soon we'll have to go," Jane said, whispering into his massive neck. "I wish we never had to leave here," she added.
"I wish that too," Alexander said slowly, suddenly gripping her buttocks and seating himself firmly, painfully within her.
"My God, but you're huge," Jane said, wincing with the pain of his entry. "So I'm told," Alexander said softly, his voice full of gentle amusement.
After a brief interlude, Jane and Alexander collected their clothes, got dressed, and proceeded on their way. The drive back to the Ashleys was passed in silence, with one incident only to mark the difference that now existed between the pair: all during the ride, Jane kept her hand placed firmly, knowingly, on the inside of Alexander's right thigh.