"I don't want you to get pregnant," Calder said. "At least not here, not now."
I nodded my head slowly, blushing. "Oh," I whispered, piecing together the way babies were made.
Calder grinned at me and then rolled on to his back, looking up at the night sky. I rolled to my side, putting my elbow on the blanket and supporting my head on my hand as I smiled at him. "I want to know all the science of it . . . eventually. Another time."
Calder turned toward me, laughing softly. "Have I mentioned recently that I love you?" he asked.
"Not recently enough. Say it again."
"I love you . . . I love you . . . I love you."
I grinned, leaned forward, and kissed him. "I love you, too."
I began rolling toward him and he rolled onto his back. I lay my body over his, burying my face in his neck and wrapping my arms up and around his neck. We lay like that for several minutes until he brought his hands down to my backside and squeezed gently. I giggled and squirmed on him and he groaned softly.
I leaned up and looked at him with amusement. "Let's wash off," I said, rolling off him and kneeling up. I looked down at the blanket where I had been laying and heat rose in my face. There were smears of blood marring the perfect white fabric. I looked back at Calder and he was looking at the blood, too, with something that looked like pride in his expression. His eyes met mine, and he blinked, seeming to realize what must be on his face as his cheekbones took on a tinge of pink and he held out his hand to me. I took it silently and we walked hand in hand to the spring where we both waded in.
When the water was up to my chest, I stopped and turned toward Calder. We stood there in the moonlight, the water sparkling around us. I brought some up over my breasts, my nipples puckering at the cool wetness. Calder's eyes lingered on me and then I dipped down in the water, dunking my head and coming back up. He laughed out loud as I stood up, sputtering water and grinning at him. Calder kneeled down on the sandy bottom and pulled me to him where he held me against him so I was at his height. We kissed and floated there for several minutes, nuzzling at each other's mouths, Calder nipping at my lower lip playfully until I laughed and threw my head back. He laughed, too, and swirled us around, the water like cool silk sliding against my bare skin.
When we stopped, Calder looked thoughtfully at me for several beats.
"What?" I whispered.
"I'm memorizing every detail of your face," he said quietly. "The next time I get to look at you close up like this, we're going to be away from here."
My heart picked up in speed and I took a deep breath. "How long?"
"Two months, maybe less."
"It will pass so slowly," I said, feeling the weight of what would be our separation press down on me.
"It will be worth it," he said. "A little more sacrifice, and we'll finally be free to be together, free to live the life we want to live."
I nodded, clasping my hands around his neck. "More sacrifice," I said. "I don't want to sacrifice anymore. I've had enough sacrifice for three lifetimes. I'm ready to live."
"I know, Morning Glory. Me, too. Just a little longer."
Calder set me down and we washed each other slowly, me glorying in his smooth skin and the way he watched my hands as they ran over the different parts of him. His breathing picked up speed when my hand wrapped around his shaft. It was already hard and it slipped between my fingers easily in the cool, clear water. "Eden," Calder moaned.
I moved closer to him and stood up on my tiptoes to kiss his mouth as my hand continued to slide over him just under the surface.
"I love the way you feel," I murmured, breaking from his lips. "So different from me."
"I love the way you feel," he said, smiling and bringing his hands up to cup my breasts. He rubbed his thumbs over my nipples and we both watched as they hardened under his touch.
"Mmm," I sighed.
Calder jerked and swelled in my hand. "I want you again," he said, looking in my eyes, his voice sounding thick.
"Yes," I nodded, closing my own as the pleasure from his touch sent an electric spark straight between my legs.
"Are you . . . sore? I don't—"
I shook my head, stopping his words. "No, I'm not sore." I was sore, but the truth was, I wanted to be even more so. I wanted to feel Calder between my legs every time I took a step for the next two months. I wanted it as a reminder of what my sacrifice was for—why it would all be worth it in the end. In the end, Calder and I could do what we were doing anytime we wanted, without fear, without shame, without having to plan and conspire, and sneak out windows and down trails in the dead of night. Although for now, I wasn't complaining. For now, I'd take him any way I could, however I could, as many times as I could. He was mine for tonight.