Upstairs, Mara moaned and tossed a little in her sleep as she struggled to navigate a particularly disjunctive dreamscape. Images of her father's face seemed to bend and twist and melt into the faces of the men she'd known since leaving home. Running wildly through a lightless, stifling void, she tried desperately to elude some formless pursuer--its fetid breath fouling the air that filled her burning, gasping lungs; its lumbering feet pounding precariously at her heels. Suddenly, she found herself in the stable, face to face with the snorting, stomping stallion. She froze, gazing into the eyes of the beast, mesmerized by its power and its menace, and she knew. She knew!
"Caleb," she murmured in her sleep.
Downstairs, the glowing embers of the fireplace fought a losing battle with the first rays of daylight streaming through the windows of the den where Caleb dozed in his well-worn, leather easy chair. Dressed in a flowing, untethered silk robe, Mara floated down the stairs and glided silently to her husband. Husband. Somehow, the word had lost its bitter edge and instead, had become synonymous in her mind with warmth and caring and quiet, steady strength.
Smirking a little, she straddled his lap and began to blow softly into his sleeping face. He awoke with a start that gave way instantly to a face-filling smile at the sight of his beautiful bride. She leaned in and kissed him softly and he enfolded her in his arms, pressing her full breasts to his chest while brushing the mane of tangles away from her impetuous eyes.
"Good morning, Mrs. Hollis," he whispered.
She nodded and rose wordlessly to her feet. Caleb settled back into his chair, having long since learned that when Mara had a plan, it was simply best to relax and watch it unfold. She proceeded to "unfold" the delicate fabric of the robe and let it slip to the floor at her feet. Gazing at her body--her skin rippling voluptuously with each breath and each nearly imperceptible shiver--he decided he liked this plan already--whatever it was.
"Mmmmm....Mara."
She pressed a single finger to his lips, stepped to one side and then slowly draped herself over his lap, smiling wryly as she realized she was beginning to know the patterns of the carpet beneath her eyes almost by heart. Caleb didn't need a translator to understand what her gesture meant, and the realization of it filled his being with a joy he'd secretly hoped to feel for as long as he could remember. Without hesitation, he began to spank her delicious bottom. She bucked and wriggled, but made no move to avoid his hand, instead arching up as if to meet each new swat.
He spanked hard. He spanked rhythmically. He intuitively adjusted each firm, resounding slap of his hand to synchronize perfectly with the rise and retreat of her reddening ass.
She squirmed. She writhed. She gasped and began to grind her sex into the unmistakable evidence of his growing passion.
Neither of them spoke; there were no lectures, no protestations. There was simply a deeply shared understanding that they had reached a meeting of the minds which ultimately rendered words unnecessary. When it was over, he lifted her from his lap, and then stood, slipping one strong hand behind her knees and scooping her effortlessly up into his arms. He kissed her long and hard--his lips melding naturally into hers--and then slowly carried her up the stairs to the bedroom.
~~~
The days flowed one into the other like the meandering of a lazy, languid river. They laughed and played, ate and drank, worked hard and tussled playfully under the mirthful gaze of Mrs. Hudson, who silently observed the growing love between them. Still, neither of them had actually uttered "the word." In fact, this omission had become a kind of silent tug of war between them--a contest which both seemed determined to win; the last vestige of their stubborn independence and secret vulnerabilities. To say it aloud would have, in the questionable interior logic of both Mara and Caleb, put the one who gave in at the "mercy" of the other. One could only imagine the bemusement of a higher power at this twist in the natural order of things, but they were, after all, only humans and they needed to work these things out in their own circuitous little ways.
~~~
As he bounced along in his battered old jeep toward the house after what had been a more arduous than usual workday, Caleb couldn't help but smile at the thought of taking his beautiful Mara into his arms and showering her with sloppy, sweaty kisses. He knew she'd chide and ride him about his clumsy lack of couth--fretting coquettishly over her freshly laundered clothes or some such--but he knew just as well that she'd return those kisses with a passion equal to his own--and that would be only the beginning of their evening together.
As he rounded the corner of the barn, what he saw made him jam on the brakes and hammer the jeep to a jerky, skidding stop in the loose gravel. He stared in terror at the sight of Mara, perched nonchalantly in the saddle on top of the wild stallion. Dumbfounded, he walked toward her--trying not to spook the horse as his mind reeled with dread at the thought of what might happen.
Mara slipped down from the horse, patted its muscular neck and opened her palm to reveal some sugar cubes. The massive stallion licked the sweet treats from her hand and rubbed its nose softly against her shoulder. She smiled and turned to Caleb who was still standing there, speechless. Holding the reins in one hand, she took Caleb's arm with the other.
"I know. I knowwwwwww, honey. But look. Look at him. He's fine. He's not wild or mean or any of those things. We've come to, well, an understanding, you see? Sure, he's had a bad time of it; he learned not to trust people--especially women--but he was confused. He thought just because some woman hurt him that all women were like that; that no woman could be trusted. But he's ok, now Caleb."
She looked her husband softly in the eye.
"He understands now. He knows that it's alright to trust; it's alright to believe; it's alright to love. You understand, baby?"
A smile spread slowly over Caleb's face as he stood there, taking in the sight of his tiny wife and the massive horse. He shook his head in amazement.
"I do love you, Mara Stevenson Hollis. I really do," he said, surprised that the saying of it didn't hurt a bit. In fact, instead of feeling bested, he felt completely free.
Mara gazed at him, a single tear inching its way down her sun-brown cheek.
"You'd better, Caleb Hollis, cause Lord knows I surely do love you," she giggled.
Caleb moved to enfold her in his arms, but eyes twinkling, she slipped from his reach and bounced up into the saddle again. Digging her heels lightly into the stallion's ribs, she pulled back the reins and the horse raised quickly up on his back legs. Smiling bigger than the endless sky above them, Mara waved at Caleb and then urged the horse down.
"I oughta spank you good for this one, Miss Mara," grinned Caleb.
"Oh yeah? Well, you'll have to catch me first, you uncouth son of a buck toothed baboon!"
Laughing heartily, she spurred the horse and it bolted instantly toward the limitless high desert, a cloud of dust in its wake. She blew a kiss over her shoulder to Caleb, who was already bouncing along in the old jeep, hot on her tail, laughing just as hard.
Standing on the front porch, Mrs. Hudson just shook her head, smiling, and then turned on her heel and disappeared into the Hollis house. She'd have dinner on the table, waiting, for when they finally came home.