A/N. Dear readers, I have to tell you that I succumbed to the dark side. This chapter contains an explicit sexual scene, so, consider yourself warned. Nothing nasty, I promise. On the contrary, I think this is a better way to express the feelings I wanted to show. Sex is natural, I keep repeating it to myself, and although I can read about it, I can watch it or I can do it and I surely enjoy it! I couldn't bring myself to write it. Not until now, that I had 'a little help from my friend' Wendie. We discussed it, and we finally agreed that the story would be still adequate for the T rating, but if you think I have to change it to M, please tell me.
I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter nine. Bad luck, good luck.
The bleeding had stopped.
Jordan had applied ice packs over the compress on Woody's wounds to aid in the closure of damaged blood vessels. He wasn't bleeding internally, as far she could tell; he hadn't gone into respiratory arrest; and--Thank God!--even though his blood pressure was low, he hadn't gone into shock. She wished for an IV of saline solution to ensure he wouldn't dehydrate, but she'd had to settle for getting him to swallow part of a bottle of an electrolyte sports drink she found in the refrigerator. All in all, things were looking up.
However, every few minutes she had to kick painful thoughts out of her head. Then she forced herself to bear in mind that almost seventy percent of gunshot victims survive.
He was a survivor.
Damn it! This was either a cruel game of destiny or a ruthless attempt at murder in cold blood. She wondered how Woody had gotten himself shot in the middle of the wild forest, with no one but Mr. Green knowing their actual whereabouts. So, she returned to her assumption of an inexperienced hunter who had run panicked, leaving Woody for dead.
He'd had his share of bad luck!
He had suffered a hell of a journey since he'd been caught by accident in the middle of a rescue mission, held hostage and tied to a chair all night. He had been left in a deathlike state only to be relieved hours later with an antidote that cause him enormous pain. He had been forced to stay here with her on this mountain with no idea where they were or when help might arrive. He had been complaining about that the whole time. And now, on top of all that, she had given in to his charm, once more, and left him confused and angry because she couldn't make up her mind...again. So he had felt the need to leave the cabin, to get away from her to think, and ended up getting shot, the victim of some green hunter's bad aim. He was like a magnet for bad luck. On second thought, maybe it was her. What if she caused all the bad luck Woody kept running into?
Luck, fate, karma, whatever you call it, she was to blame for all of it.
Jordan's mind boiled with billions of thoughts, wobbling between desperation and guilt. One minute, her urge to see Woody wake up and kiss her-- granting forgiveness and love to her—was huge. The minute after that, she just wished she could run away to a distant place where she could hide forever and where pain couldn't reach her. Again, she struggled to keep focus. She loved him. It was a fact she couldn't deny anymore. Love could conquer all, couldn't it? She should surrender to it and give herself a chance. She had to tell him, the minute he could listen to her… maybe they were running out of time.
She was going insane!
She was so tired, mentally and physically. But she wouldn't let herself rest until he was out of danger.
She lay on the mattress, careful not to disturb his quiet resting. Then, she laid her head on his chest next to his injury, her ear just above his heart. Day was slowly expiring, and minutes turned into a new dimension, they seemed to last longer, almost an eternity. Time was a mysterious and elusive concept, the same as love. She could measure time with only one of his heartbeats.
Boooom-boom.
And then, time would continue if she just could hear another beat… Boooom-boom.
The sound of it soothed her soul, and the instant one beat ended, she craved to hear the next one, expectant… Boooom-boom.
He suddenly stirred.
She gasped, abruptly diverted from her deep thoughts. Her head slid a little.
"Jordan?" he whispered, confusedly.
Her own heart was running a mile a minute when she answered, "I'm right here, Woody." She lovingly caressed his hair, where what was left of the blood on his head had thickened into a sticky, wet tangle.
She sat and watched his face. She saw him struggling to open his eyes.
"Jordan?" he mumbled again. His efforts at awareness finally succeeded. However, his vision was still blurred. He sought for her face hazily.
On the other hand, Jordan couldn't see either, her eyes crowded with a thick layer of tears that threatened to overflow. She hastily swept them away, and smiled profusely at the sight of the vital force that glittered trough his eyes.
"You don't do this to me again, Woody!" she lectured him, her faltering voice filled with bliss. "This was supposed to be a 'honeymooners' vacation, remember?"
He couldn't hold back a small laugh, but the pain he felt because of the contraction prevented him for more merry demonstrations.
He grimaced.
"What?" She bolted upright, alarmed, and searched for his left hand. He was still so cold.
He regained his smiling face at the feeling of her warm hand on his, and answered, "Last time I knew, you and I were not together. " He was having troubles talking, but continued anyway, "But you're right. A bear and a pair of teen hunters weren't in my agenda, either."
She blinked, her entire body tensed and that tightened her hold on Woody's hand. He thought it was a reassuring gesture; he didn't anticipate what was about to happen.
"Woody, I have to tell you something…" she uttered anxiously.
He frowned and looked at her inquisitively.
"About that talk I promised and… and everything I neglected to accept, uh... All my life I've been so afraid to…" she started. She couldn't seem to find the right words to express what she wanted him to know.
She took a deep breath.
"I love you," she said firmly and clearly. Her gaze was nervous but tender as she focused on his reaction.
He avoided her eyes, and retaliated –a prickle of hurt was in his voice-- "Jordan… we've been here before. I don't…"
She interrupted him, "No Woody, look at me." Her free hand caressed his face softly, and made him turn to her again.
The confusion in his eyes was a dagger that painfully ripped her heart.
"I know I've let you down way too many times. I'm not saying this because I pity you, on the contrary… You're not gonna die, Woody." She had to force the words past the lump in her throat.
Despite the angst she felt, she grinned at him. She had finally opened to him. Suddenly, a deep sensation of healing washed her spirit, as if all the things she both loved and feared fell harmoniously together. She was determined to risk everything for him, her heart, her very soul; it was worth the hazard.
"I love you," she repeated, with nothing but adoration in her eyes.
"Do you, really?" He smiled. He had recognized the sincerity in her voice, in her look. There was a special shine in her eyes that invaded him, like a conqueror… and he surrendered.
He pulled her to him with a force she didn't know he was capable of, and kissed her.
A kiss that tasted like a long restrained love and that was hungrily seeking to compensate for all those years of neglected feelings.
A passionate kiss that exploded in happiness and that was a promise of present and future life.
A kiss that suddenly grew in fervor.
He tugged her to him, dragging her by the waist to lay across him, making her experience his arousal as the contours of his body changed rapidly in response to her kiss and all that it revealed. She immediately felt her own body react in a shock of electricity.
That kiss lasted longer than their lungs resisted, so they disentangled their tongues and separated a little to gasp for air.
"I love you, Jordan," Woody managed to mumble, huskily.
He attacked her again, with another deep kiss, while his greedy hands reached under her shirt to devour her warm, silky skin. He traveled her feminine landscape, avidly mapping his freshly gained territory, relishing her smooth roundness, her firm muscles, all the valleys and ridges he knew so well but that had acquired a new and greater sensuality with her declaration of love. The heady scent of her arousal, the salty taste of her sweat-glazed flesh, her breath catching with a gasp or a soft sigh as she purred against him were robbing him of his reason.
He unclasped her bra and continued his inquiry until he found her breast. That made her moan against his lips and waves of pleasure assaulted them both. Encouraged, he managed to open her pants with his other hand and slide it inside and down to the damp silk covering her sweet center. Moving the fabric aside, he boldly molded his hand to her magnificent, wet core.
Woody's hands and mouth had Jordan swirling in a vortex that she would have happily succumbed to completely had she not be so aware of his fragility.
"Oh, my!...Woody," she panted, "You're not well...yet...you've lost...a lot of blood...Ah!" she yelped as she felt him find her dewy entrance and slide a finger into it. All protests flew right out of her head. It was...delicious!
He knew things were happening fast, and he would have preferred not to rush this, but he also knew he wouldn't have the strength to continue with this intensity for much longer. He wanted this time, this first time after revealing all they truly felt, to be superb--an experience neither of them would ever forget. Surely, there would be other occasions after this to play it sweetly and calmly.
"I know," he whispered seductively in her ear as he brought his hands up to her face once more and in one sudden shift forced her to meet his mouth again, stealing what was left of her will to protest. Although he had an absolutely majestic erection at the moment, he knew his blood pressure was too low to maintain it sufficiently to satisfy her, or him for that matter. But he wasn't going to let that spoil the moment. He was determined to make his declaration of love unforgettable for her.
"But I want to make you completely mine right now. I love you, Jordan, and I've waited for this moment for longer than you know...and I don't need this," he arched up violently, driving home is point by shoving his hardness against her pubic bone, "to make that happen." He couldn't possess her totally, but he was still determined to claim her by giving her all the pleasure his injured, damaged body could deliver.
She understood his desire, and her reason told her not to accept his precious gift, but her excited body couldn't obey her mind. She was dying for his touch, every inch of her skin was on fire for him. Her nipples ached for his mouth to find them; her feminine folds throbbed for what he couldn't give her, leaving her more than eager to accept whatever he offered her.
He shifted her to his left side and reached between her legs. Gently but firmly, he stroked her with his fingers, watching her face as she arched in pleasure over and over again. He'd never seen a more splendid sight; it was almost enough to make up for not being able to join his body with hers.
Woody's touch launched her into outer space. The pleasure was like a thunderstorm that began with a lightning strike in her center and rained across her body, drenching her taut nipples and flooding her brain with all the colors of the rainbow. Her heart was racing like the wind. The storm's intensity grew and grew as Woody's fingers relentlessly massaged her until at last her climax hit like a hurricane, drowning her in wave after wave of ecstasy.
She unleashed a guttural, loud cry as one contraction after another wracked her body, leaving her exhausted but thoroughly satisfied.
Woody achieved a state of euphoria he didn't know could be obtained just by watching. Gasping for the air he didn't realize he'd been denying himself by holding his breath while she came, he marveled at how good it felt to know that she had reached that mind-numbing climax all because of him. He engraved that on his heart, closed his eyes and tugged her softly to his side, embracing her lovingly as he murmured, "I love you." In that moment, he knew, for now and forever after, he would never get tired of repeating it.
They lay in that position for some minutes. After a well deserved rest, Jordan finally broke the spell. "You know, if I had known earlier what your reaction was going to be when I told you I loved you, I wouldn't have kept quiet for so long."
She wouldn't have thought that sex and love could be part of the same act, that they could both be shared simultaneously with the same person. Even though she'd had sex with Woody before, those times couldn't compare to this because their feelings hadn't yet been set free, and that, Jordan now knew, made all the difference.
He had dozed off; the effort he had made combined with his weakness had left him blissfully drained. However, at the sound of her voice, he returned to consciousness. "Yeah? That was nothing. Wait for me to recover from this stupid bullet wound and you'll see."
"You're not mad at me, right, Woody?" she blurted out, a little anxiously. His mention of the bullet wound reminded her of all the pain their entire adventure had inflicted on him and how she thought it was all her fault.
He looked at her curiously. "Why would I be, beautiful?" he asked, sweetly, twirling a lock of her hair around her ear.
"Oh, well… because I dragged you into this madness. But I swear I didn't intend for you come out of this hurt. I don't know, I've been thinking I'm a talisman of bad luck to you." She shook her head and hid her face from him, ashamed.
"Oh, no Jordan! Please don't." He lifted her face to him. "It all happened to me because I wanted to be with you. I always want to be with you… If it not were for this, I might not have found the courage to face you and ask you for an answer. I'm nothing but grateful that this happened to me. The other night, at 'Bella Firenze' I was almost about to spill my guts to you, and I couldn't… and last night I was so mad at me because I didn't have the balls to do it, that I recoiled again. I was mad at me, not at you… Well, maybe I was a little mad at you, but I was completely and utterly mad at me," he reassured her. Then he enveloped her in a tender, loving glance and reminded her, "I love you."
Her face filled with glee, and she mimicked his previous expression, "'Do you, really?"
He threw her a funny gaze, pursed his lips playfully, and yanked her to him as he asked, "You want more, huh?"
She shot him a wide, lovely smile, challenging him, "Oh, you can't."
"Wanna make that bet?" he responded, in a teasing defiance.
She just nodded, letting a soft laugh escape from her.
