Keowee Valley by Katherine Scott Crawford

Author:Katherine Scott Crawford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BelleBooks
Published: 2012-09-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Kituhwa

So this was what it meant to mate. I touched a hand gingerly between my legs and grimaced. I was still sore from the night before, but it was a satisfying feeling, almost as if I’d worked hard at something worthy, and my body knew it.

I slipped from the hut before Jack woke, unbearably shy of him, and went down to the river, following a trail along its edges until I’d found a sandy spot far enough to be hidden from the prying eyes of the village. I waded into the shallow water, naked, and washed with a bar of lye soap I’d tucked in the furthest corner of my saddlebags. The sun had not yet made its quick ascent over the mountains, but the sky was pink around the edges, and so daylight could not be far. Crickets chirped in the reeds along the bank, their music a steady humming that enveloped this part of the river; across the water a doe came to the edge, bending its graceful brown neck and drinking.

I didn’t move a muscle as I watched the deer. It raised its head and looked directly at me. Then its eyes shifted behind me and to my left, and it bolted, disappearing into the forest.

“They sing songs of women like you,” Jack said quietly.

I crossed my arms over my chest self-consciously, turning my hips to hide my body. “Oh, good morning,” I said, my cheeks hot.

“And a fine one it is, at that.” He grinned at my attempt at covering myself. “I’ve seen all of you now, lass—there’s no hiding it.”

He’d walked to the river in only his breechclout, and he shed it swiftly and ploughed through the water towards me, completely unabashed. His hair, gilded and streaked, hung down over his collarbone, the silver stud in his ear glinting in the sun off the river. As he walked the muscles in his thighs and stomach clenched and released, and I felt myself draw a quick breath, my pulse quickening. “What are you about?” I asked, looking down at the water curling around my hips, avoiding his eyes.

“Well, and I should think that’s obvious.”

He caught me up in his arms and fell gracelessly, dunking us both beneath the river. I tried to kick away but his grip was sure, and we surfaced, sputtering and laughing. He kept one hand wrapped around my waist and brushed my hair back from my face with the other. His body pressed against mine, hard and seeking. I smiled at him, my hands splayed on his hairless chest.

“You are a child, Jack,” I told him, brushing water droplets from his body.

“As of this moment, it’s sure I’m a man,” he answered, glancing down at the evidence between us. He raised his head and regarded me with a crook of his mouth. “Last night—you don’t regret it, do you? You’re not hurt?”

“No.”

“Well then, would you be willing to make another go of it?” he asked, almost shyly. “For I’ve found I want you even more, now that I’ve had you but the once.

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