Sunset
May 1st 2004
It was five thirty in the evening and the sun was just about to set. A small fire burned on the sand, reflecting off the grubby side of the canvas tent that stood in the relative shelter of the hillside.
He had wanted to surprise her, and so the soft, pliable ground beneath his feet was his friend. Reaching out for the canvas, Charlie carefully opens the flap of the tent and steps inside; the wards have been set to allow him in so nothing will alert the woman inside to his presence, which gives him time to take in the picture in front of him.
He takes in a breath as he watches her in the warm glow of the lamp light. She sits at the old wooden desk scattered with parchments, photographs and quills. He knows that the book open in front of her is one of her many journals, and he's in no doubt that she's writing about, or sketching Maya. His eyes move from the desk to her hands, where she holds a quill, a sugar one – her favourite – it's half sucked away and currently moving rapidly as her hand expertly dances across the paper; she's sketching.
His gaze shifts and he notices that her hair is held back in a loose plait that falls round and over her left shoulder, it's ties in the customary old bootlace – for luck, she'd told him the first time she had doe it with his lace. Strands of her blonde hair spring out of the plait and dangle happily around her face, clearly damp.
One look at her clothes tells him she'd been caught in that torrential downpour just ten minutes ago. Her cream shirt is partially see through, the sleeves are rolled up, and the way the neck seems to high on one side but almost fall off the shoulder at the other means she's undone the top two or three buttons. Flitting his eyes down, he can see her bare legs, warmed presumably by the wood fired stove that sits in the middle of the space, and her trusty brown leather hiking boots and her thick wool socks kicked off under her desk.
When he looks over to the small metal stove, he notes that her soaked khaki shorts are lying out on top of it to dry.
He can't see her face the way she has her head turned slightly away from him, and still hasn't noticed him standing there; she's clearly utterly absorbed in her work. But he can't wait any longer and he clears his throat and speaks.
"You know, it's no good for you sitting there in damp clothes, you'll catch your death."
He smiles as Luna turns round to face him, wide eyes and a smile to match. "Charlie!" She calls excitedly as she stands and pushes the chair back so quickly it wobbles on it's already unstable legs. "I didn't think you'd be here so soon!"
She rushes to his open arms, jumping a little as he lifts her off the ground and lets her legs wrap around his waist.
"Thought I might come and surprise you. Why, you too busy to see me?" He chuckles and kisses her.
The low throaty laugh goes right through her as his lips met hers. She'd not expected to see him yet, it hadn't even been a week since the ridgeback eggs hatched, and she had been sure the would be no way he could leave so soon.
She breaks the kiss and laughs too. "No of course not! You're just earlier than I expected!"
His eyes meet hers. "I couldn't wait 'till tomorrow."
He crashes his lips against hers again, and Charlie knows he'll never get enough of her soft lips against his as he feels the wetness of her clothes against his as the dampness starts to seep through his own t-shirt.
Barely pulling his mouth from hers he mumbles into her lips. "I think," He brushes his thumbs against the bare skin, between the hem of her shirt and the waist of her knickers, "that we should get you out of these wet clothes." He raises his eyebrows and grins.
Luna smiles against his mouth, a small, almost smirk, and whispers back. "Oh, I think that's a very good idea." And she pulls the bootlace from her plait and shakes her hair loose so that it cascades down her back.
Her lilting voice floats to his ears and Charlie carries her over to her desk. With a careful flick of his wand, sends her papers and sketches into a neat stack on the armchair nearby and then sits her on the old wood.
As he stands between her legs, he can see the goosebumps on the pale flesh of her neck, and under the damp fabric of her shirt and her thin bra, he can see where her nipples have stiffened from the chill and from the friction of their contact.
Slowly he undoes the buttons on her shirt, slips it off her shoulders, and down her arms, dropping it to the floor beside them as he leans over and kisses her neck, nipping at the soft flesh while his hands slide round her and undo her bra then moving to kiss the small mound of her breasts, as he drops the flimsy piece of lace, discarding it on the floor beside her shirt, leaving her in only her crescent shaped moonstone necklace.
Luna gasps when Charlie ghosts his calloused fingers over her nipples down to the waistband of her knickers, fingers barely touching her abdomen. She shivers, a combination of the air hitting her damp skin, his touch, and his warm mouth on her breasts, first taking one nipple into his mouth before moving to the other, drawing a soft moan from her.
As he withdraws his mouth from her chest, Luna pushes her hands under his t-shirt and he sucks in a breath when he feels her cool fingers connect with his hot skin as she pushes his plain black t-shirt up and over his head.
Still savouring the sweet taste of her, he hungrily pulls at the thin cotton fabric of her knickers, pushing the waistband down as she lifts her hips to ease their path down her legs and off onto the floor, then she opens her legs again, pulling him in close to her so that his bare abdomen brushes the small strip of soft, dark blonde hair between her thighs.
Her nimble fingers make easy work of the fastenings on his trousers, pushing them and his boxers down in one quick motion to fall at his ankles as he kisses her again, drawing a soft sigh of contentment from her as she lifts her arms to join round his neck.
He presses himself against her, his rock hard cock pressing against her belly where he stands between her spread legs. He leaves her mouth and moves down, pressing feather light kisses on her chin, her neck, her collar bone; down the valley between her breasts and then moving to take one nipple in his mouth, rolling and sucking then releasing it and moving to the other, his hands grasping at her hips.
He looks up with his eyes as he lets her nipple pop out of his mouth and he can see her head tipped back in pleasure. He moves down over her sternum, and he can taste the mountain air on her as he presses hot kisses against her damp skin, over her taut abdomen as he moves his hands to spread her legs further, and kneels in front of her.
When he dips his tongue inside her warm, wet heat, she threads her hands through his hair, and when he slowly presses two fingers inside her she tugs at it just enough not to actually hurt. As he draws moan after moan, he knows that the slight scruff on his face will have scratched her soft, creamy skin, and there's something about her marking him just that little bit, that turns him on even more. He doesn't stay there for long. He wants to be inside her, and he can tell from the way she presses against him that she wants it too. With a careful suck and a gentle kiss to the most sensitive part of her, he moves up her body, and when he reaches her lips, he kisses her as though he's been starved of her – and he knows that he has – and pulls her forward on the desk and pushes into her, eliciting a soft gasp of pleasure followed swiftly by a breathless moan of his name.
He starts slowly, pulling out languidly then slowly burying himself to the hilt in her. He brushes his hands up her creamy thighs and she starts to move against him, rolling her hips as he grips at them with just enough pressure. The feel of her soft flesh under his rough hands was something he'd never get tired of.
And as he moves in her, he watches her, her skin glistening in the soft light of the tent; her body is silhouetted slightly by the firelight from outside as it surrounds her like some sort of sorceress and it's utterly mesmerising.
Luna has her arms wrapped under his arms and around his back, and as he thrusts up into her, her fingertips dig ever so slightly into the muscle that's been formed through years of working outdoors, keeping her upright as they move in unison.
He can feel the heat pooling in him as his balls tighten, and around him, he can feel her too. The soft walls inside her starting to flutter and he starts to move quicker, pounding into her, and he knows that like this he won't be able to hold off long enough for her to come, so he slides his hand between her legs.
He can feel her wetness on his fingertips as he rhythmically coaxes her tiny bundle of nerves, and just when he thinks he can't hold off any longer, she gasps and he feels her tighten around him in almost a vice like grip as she throws her head back calling his name to the stars. The sight and sound of her is enough for him to let go, and he thrusts deep into her, releasing inside her everything he's been holding onto for the last few weeks.
As they both pant and smile, wraps his arms around her, his whole upper body engulfing her tiny frame as he pulls her towards him, relishing the scent of her skin; the fresh scent of rain, sun and the outdoors, mingled with something that little bit sweeter, headier, something floral that never fails to undo him completely, and her head flops forward onto his shoulder, her hair brushing tantalisingly against his skin as they regain their breath.
It's only then that he realises just how much he's missed her for the last month and a half while she's been here, at the other side of the world practically.
"Merlin I missed you Luna." he manages to breathe out as he kisses her collarbone.
Her reply is muffled, "I missed you too." But then she lifts her head off him and looks at him in the eyes, smiling that smile that he's sure is only for him.
Charlie can feel himself soften and slip out of her, and he misses the warmth immediately. He can feel her shivering against him too, and he lifts her up, her legs still wrapped around his waist, and carries her to the bed and lowers her down onto the old mattress covered with mis-matched blankets and a soft feather duvet, then climbs in with her and pulls the covers up around her shoulders holding her close to his chest.
When their breathing returns to normal, Luna asks softly "How's Aurora? I do worry about her when I'm not there you know."
Charlie knows how much she loves that particular dragon. She'd been on the reserve three years ago when he and Darius had first brought the opaleye in, injured and so very close to death. But she had taken a shine to the beast and had helped him and Darius nurse her back to health, although the dragon would never be able to live outside captivity again.
"She's good, she misses you though. Nearly barbecued Smithson last week though when he just waltzed into her pen to feed her."
Luna sits up suddenly and looks at him, totally aghast.
"It's ok." Charlie chuckles and pulls her back down to him. "You know Smithson, always thinks he knows it all. Won't be going to see our Rory any time soon though I don't think. Serves him right the arse."
He can tell what's coming next when she turns her head to face him, and he pre-empts it as he kisses her forehead. "Don't worry. Darius is with her. Stephan is going to come out first thing tomorrow to help with your vipertooth."
That vipertooth was the reason he was here. A couple of days ago, Luna had found an abandoned baby while she was finishing up her work here in Cusco. She had contacted him straight away, and she was already involved with the Peruvian Ministry's beast department because of her discovery.
Between the reserve and the department, they'd decided it was best for him and another keeper to come and take the young dragon to the reserve and then possibly release it back into the wild when they could be sure it had a decent chance at survival.
"Oh good, I always feel terribly guilty leaving her, even though I know you and Darius take good care of her. I'm glad he's stayed at the reserve with her."
This, this was one of the reasons he'd fallen for his little sister's best friend. She loved animals, she loved almost every creature she came across, from the ones that happily snuggled up with her as she read or sketched, to the ones that would happily eat her alive at the first chance they got. There weren't many like her in this world. and he intended never to loose her!
The thought caught him by surprise, but he shook it off quickly. His mum had harped on at him for years to find a nice girl and settle down, but it wasn't for him, and Luna seemed more than happy with their current status. The revelation made his heart race, and he quickly changed the subject.
"How's Maya?"
Maya was Luna's new owl. She'd apparently found the little creature during an early morning walk. The little ball of feathers had an injured wing, so Luna had taken the bird back to her tent and taken care of it, patched up her wing and nursed the little owl back to health. Charlie vividly remembered her worried tone when she had flooed him after making sure Maya was comfortable. He remembered even more vividly, the sketch of the little bird that Luna had sent – at first he'd thought she must have eaten something funny, because it wasn't brown lie Errol or Pig, and certainly wasn't white like Hedwig had been, no, the sketch depicted a red-orange bird with bright turquoise eyes – but then a photograph had fallen into his lap from inside the envelope, and there, perched happily on the arm of Luna's favourite chair, wing bandaged, was a brightly coloured owl with eyes almost the exact same colour as in the sketch.
"She's fine, out hunting now I expect, sunset seems to be her favourite time, that's part of why I named her, or rather her species, what I have."
When Luna had gotten in touch with the Peruvian Ministry about the little owl, they hadn't a clue what she was talking about, and it had in fact taken her several attempts for them to take her seriously – having assumed that she was talking utter nonsense.
Eventually they had listened to her, and as it turned out, she'd not only rescued the bird, but discovered an entire new species!
"They let you name the species? Luna, that's bloody brilliant!" Charlie sat up so quickly that Luna fell off him. "What did you choose? Why didn't you tell me?!" He looked down at her, unbelievable excitement rushing through him for her.
"I wanted to see your reaction in person." She smiled up at him, the grin spreading up her cheeks and into her eyes.
He took her face in his hands and leant down to her. "Merlin Luna, you are amazing!" He kissed her thoroughly before breaking off for air. "How on earth did you manage that?!"
"Oh, the Peruvian Ministry were very accommodating actually – but I think it might have been because Rolf put in a good word for me – he knows the minister here quite well, through his grandfather of course."
He kissed her again, quicker and more playfully. "So, what did you call it then?" He asked as he lay back down, his arms behind his head.
"Well, her eyes are so bright, so clear, just that exact shade of the river, and her feathers are such a stunning colour, I could only liken it to the beautiful sunsets here, and of course, she prefers to hunt at this time of the evening, so it seemed only right that I name the species something fitting."
At that moment a soft hoot came from the direction of the door flap, and a small red-orange owl swooped onto armchair, and blinked it's large turquoise eyes.
"Oh, here she is." Luna propped herself up on her elbows and turned to look at Maya. "She must have heard us talking about her." She turned back to him. "Charlie, I'd like to introduce the Mayan sunset owl."
The little gave another soft hoot. There was no denying that Luna had chosen the name well.
"It's brilliant! I think she likes it." Charlie beamed as he watched the owl ruffle her feathers and turn her beak to the task of grooming them.
"I think so too. I just hope she will be happy with us back at the reserve."
Charlie heard the sadness in Luna's voice and swung his head round to see her sorrowful face. "Luna, are you ok?"
"I feel bad taking her from her home Charlie, but she's spent so much time with me, and I feel a connection. And I'm afraid with her injuries, she wouldn't survive for long in the wild. It's incredibly sad, but I want to give her a chance with us."
"Of course she will be." He reassures her, reaching out to rub her arm with his hand and pull her down to him. "I don't know anyone she'd be happier with."
Luna kisses him, softer than before, not as desperately as they had earlier. And before he knows it, she's sitting on top of him, looking down at him with that soft, other-worldly smile on her face.