The Spring – Chapter Four

Select the link below to purchase the full version of the book. On sale!

A short passage from Chapter Four – Copyright © 2005 by Katie J. Gonzalez LebreyaBooks

.

.

“Come on, Minaya!” he shouted playfully. She could tell by the strain in his voice that he was putting up a front to seem cheerful, but she didn’t doubt that he was just as miserable as she was.  She didn’t know it was actually worse.

She answered in her melancholy voice with a simple, “No,” then turned her head to look up at the trees hovering above. It was so quiet she could hear the rustling of the leaves as the wind passed through. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to savor the peacefulness of the forest around her.

And then she was suddenly covered in water!

She held her arms out to her sides, trying to avoid her now clinging clothes and looked straight at him. His expression was far too innocent to believe.

“What?” he asked in a straight tone. She looked at him incredulously. “You surely don’t believe . . . well, certainly you don’t believe it was me? I would never do such a thing.” His voice was more than mocking.

She just shook her head at him.

He did the same back, mimicking her with playfulness.

She put her hands to her face and wiped the water from her eyes – when she got it again. Only this time she looked up in time to see him still at it with a huge and devious grin on his face. “Oh, that’s it!” she squealed.

She shed her beautiful dress, only leaving her with her undergarments and a sleeveless slip, and plunged into the water after him. Almost as soon as she hit the water, he ducked beneath it and swam away. She tried to catch up to him, but as she was running in water that was up to her waist, this proved to be quite difficult.

She had tried to catch him for a full minute when she gave up and just stood on the spot with her arms crossed, waiting for him to come to her. All the splashing had caused the water’s normal clearness to turn murky. He disappeared under the water, but still she waited. She heard a chuckle from behind her, but he was gone by the time she turned. A few moments later she saw his foot come to the surface once, and unfolded her arms and walked forward, willing her eyes to see through the cloudy ripples left in his wake.

Then, without warning, she was attacked from behind with endless waves. She tried to fight back with her own resources but couldn’t see through all the water. She held her breath, closed her eyes, and splashed with all her might.

Just when she thought she had gained the advantage – as he often let her think – he ran up to her and pinned her arms to her sides with his own. They both laughed, nearly falling over, as she struggled to get free and retaliate, but it was no use.

She looked up into his smiling face as his eyes sparked to life – and there was that green fire that never ceased to amaze her. She watched as he stilled and his smile faded into an expression she had seen in him before. She often wondered what he was thinking when he looked at her this way. It was completely unreadable – intense – but always unreadable.

His head tilted and he started to lean down towards her. This was something he had not done before.

His lips were on hers then, soft as a petal, but warm as the suns.

Although she was not expecting his kiss, it was as if some part of her had been waiting for it. She closed her eyes and leaned closer.

A sound similar to a moan came from deep inside his chest as their lips touched, and his eyes drifted shut as the overwhelming sensations engulfed him. This tumult was building inside of him so frantically that it was all he could do to keep still. It was all he could do to keep himself from consuming every part of her.

He hardened his resolve, touching her as carefully as he possibly could withstand. It was agony. Perfect, rapturing agony!

Her body began to tremble as his hands held onto her arms, still there from restraining her just moments before. Gradually he loosened his grip and his wet hands slid up to her shoulders, pulling her body against his. His fingers trailed over the bare skin of her arms, down to her elbows, then softly up again. He moved his hands to cup her face so timidly that it seemed he was afraid he might break her. His lips moved over hers carefully, brushing with tenderness and restraint.

His hands were compelled to explore her and they moved to her damp hair, his fingers threading into the strands, tilting her head for another angle at her lips.

His nose brushed against hers and he whispered her name into his kiss. “Minaya,” he breathed her name like it was life. He moved his mouth to her ear and whispered there as well, sending shivers clear down to her toes. “Minaya,” soft as velvet.

He brushed his lips down to the crook of her neck and kissed again. The heat from his breath against her skin made her heart tremble. He ran his mouth slowly, very slowly, down the line of her jaw to her chin, then up to her lips once again, with just a touch.

He pulled away and looked down into her face, running his fingertips light as a breeze down the length of her spine, then up again. He could see the glow of his eyes reflecting on her wet skin and he raised his eyebrows at what he saw, now knowing there was nothing he could do to hide his passion for her. Why did he ever think that he could?

With her eyes still closed she rested her hands on his forearms and spoke in a voice close to a whisper. “Today I said that I couldn’t marry who my father had chosen, because I had already decided whom I would marry.” She opened her eyes slowly and looked up to see Ian’s reaction. “I had decided long ago, it was you.”

She realized then that she did not want to know how he would react to this statement, so looked down to his forearms, running her fingers absently along the swirls of the intertwined markings there. “I never really planned it out, but . . . I have always just . . . seen myself as always being with you. Having a family with you.” She felt his hands tighten almost imperceptibly around her waist. Her fingers traced the marks on his arms, then she bit her lip when he didn’t say anything. “I know it sounds stupid . . . I mean, I know we’re only children, but I . . .”

“That is my alternative,” he interrupted. She looked up at him in question. His chest rose and fell with each breath, trying as he could to contain the emotions fighting to break free. Ever since the day he met her, he knew he couldn’t live without her – but he always thought that he would have to, so he dealt with it. He had always fought against his instincts; the burning, the hunger, the drive, the captivation, the necessity, the unquenchable thirst for her scent, her beauty, the silk of her skin, the depth of her eyes, the light in her smile, the caress of her hand, anything and everything that was the very lure of her – because he knew that someday they would be truly separated by their stations. Only today, when she gave him the news that it was finally happening – that she was being taken away from him – did he realize that it wasn’t possible. She was the love of his life. His beloved. His everything. The reason for his very existence. The Creator designed it that way – and he couldn’t fight it anymore. It wasn’t possible to live without her, and he couldn’t allow it. He wouldn’t allow it! “I need you by my side,” he nearly cried. “I need you there forever. I can’t hide the way I feel for you anymore. I’m sorry I ever did.”