Chapter 13

"I don't know how I could have survived this time without you," Victoria whispered in the evening some days later when they were alone in his room. "I would have despaired like the others. It has been two weeks for me now, but for the others it's more than two months that they have been kidnapped. They are all waiting for the ransom to be paid, so they will be released and get home. Nothing has happened and they are starting to believe that their families don't care for them. Two have given in to depression and they do nothing the whole day except crying and sitting on the floor."

"Yes, I believe that it must be very hard for them. They don't know that a ransom demand was never sent," Diego agreed. "They would have tried to run away if they knew there is no hope, but they would only have died in the quicksand or be caught again."

"I overheard the guards today talking to each other and they said that it will be over in three days and what they would do once they had their money." Victoria related. "Do you believe that the ship will come then?"

"Yes, I heard something similar. It fits with the reduced amount of supplies we transported here. Carlos didn't say anything specific when the ship is expected to arrive, but three days would fit," Diego confirmed.

"If it's only three days until the ship arrives, will it be enough time for you to alert the authorities in Monterey?" Victoria said anxiously.

"It should be enough time, but I will have to leave tonight," Diego assured her. "It's a day's ride to Monterey. It should take less than a day to get a contingent of soldiers ready for a rescue expedition once I have talked to the governor. I will lead the army here and we should be back in two to three days before the ship arrives."

"I only hope that everything goes to plan, Sebastián. I want to get out of here. I want to be free and start my life with you in Los Angeles," she whispered.

"I want that too, Victoria," he took her in his arms. "I am afraid of leaving you here. You will be without protection when I leave. The men may take their revenge on you. You should come with me."

"As long as they don't know if you come back or not, they will not touch me out of fear of you," Victoria tried to ease his fear though she wasn't convinced either. "You know as well as I that you can't take me with you. Riding double would slow you down and you'll never make it in time to Monterey. It's my fault that I was kidnapped because I drove alone to Santa Paula though you warned me. You can't risk it all for me."

"Victoria, I would never forgive myself if something happened to you."

"The only thing you can do to save me and all the other women is to ride to Monterey as fast as you can and bring back the army to free us. I can't ride with you even if we took two horses. I haven't recovered enough for such long trip," Victoria played her last card. She hated to be weak, but she knew that it would be the only thing to convince Diego to leave her behind despite the danger it put her in.

"I know you're right, Victoria, but I can't stop worrying about you," Diego said reluctantly. "I'm afraid that something will go wrong and I won't see you again." He raised his hand to caress her cheek and kissed her tenderly. "I love you, Victoria."

"I love you too, Diego Sebastián." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "When will you have to leave?"

"An hour before dawn. I can't ride in the night because the area is too tricky with the quicksand. The first part of the way from here is safe and I can ride in the dark, but for the next part until I reach the main road leading to Monterey. I need to see where I'm going if I don't want to end up in quicksand," Diego explained.

"You need to rest until then, Sebastián. It will be a long day for you tomorrow." Victoria drew him to the bed. "I need you to hold me for the time we still have."

"Let me redo your bandage around your ribs first, Victoria. You can't do that alone and I won't be here to help you the next few days," he suggested.

As on the previous evenings, Victoria sat down on the bed with her back to Diego and took off her dress. With Diego's help, she fastened the new bandage around her ribs and took several breaths to check the fitting. In the last two weeks her ribs had started to heal, but they were still aching. Victoria had hoped that the pain would go away sooner, but Diego told her from his own experience that she had to be patient.

"Are you still in much pain?" Diego asked her sympathetically, resting his hands on her naked shoulders.

"It's much better now. I hardly feel the injuries from the whipping anymore and it's only the ribs that are still hurting," she assured him. When she grabbed her dress to put it on, he held her back.

"Victoria," he whispered hesitantly, and she looked over her shoulder at him. "Would you …, would you let me hold you.., touch you..?"

"Will you love me and make me yours?" she whispered expectantly.

"Your body is in no condition for that, Victoria. I want us to wait until we're married and you're healed again, so you can enjoy it without pain."

"What else is there?" she asked puzzled, holding her dress in her hands.

"There are other things we can do," his eyes caressed her face and he gave her a suggestive grin." Let me touch you, please you, love you.." he took the dress from her hands and put it aside, turning her around. He stared at her naked breasts and then he kissed her.

Pushing her back into the covers, he began with his hands and his mouth to roam across her naked body. Starting with her face and then moving further down, he took his time to explore her with his hands and his mouth. Carefully, he watched her reactions, noting what pleased her most and how she liked to be touched. Soon soft moans of pleasure escaped her mouth when suckled her breasts and his hand moved between her legs, stroking her until she could no longer think, giving herself over to her emotions and finding her release.

"That felt wonderful," she whispered, after she had calmed down again. She didn't remember when he had stripped his pants off and she felt something sticky on her belly. "Will I have your child now?"

"No, not yet. I haven't made you mine yet," he smiled at her.

"What else it there?" she inquired. "I want more of that if it makes me feel like this again. I want to share that with you. My mother never talked with me and I thought all the woman has to do is lying down during lovemaking."

"That is only partly true," Diego grinned.

"How do you know that? Have you done it before?" Victoria asked curiously.

"No, I haven't," he admitted, "but my friends at the university talked about their experiences and I have a book at home."

"A book? What kind of book? Will you show it to me?" she asked eagerly.

To her surprise, Diego blushed a bit. "Victoria, we should not discuss this while we're not married."

"But after we are married, you will show me that book?" She grinned at his expression.

"We aren't married yet and if we ever want to that point we need to sleep now! It will be a long day tomorrow," Diego said determinedly. Victoria knew him well enough now that he wouldn't tell her more, but she wondered about it. A book, she marveled. What kind of book was it that told you about making love? She didn't know this could feel so good, and Diego said there was more! She felt relaxed and sleepy and soon she joined him in slumber.

Z~Z~Z

After a while Victoria woke up again and she knew she couldn't sleep anymore for the rest of the night. This might be the last time he held her and though she hadn't let him see it, she was terribly afraid of the next few days. What if Mateo tried to rape her again once he realized that Sebastián had left her? Or if the governor didn't believe Diego and didn't send his troops? Or something happened to him on his ride to Monterey?

She suppressed her tears, so Diego wouldn't wake up from her crying, and rested her head on his chest which had become her usual sleeping position. The constant drumming of his heart gave her security and she only wished the next three days would be over quickly and she would be safe and free again.

Z~Z~Z

It was two hours before dawn when Diego stirred again. Victoria marveled his ability to wake up at any given time. It was probably something that he learned when he roamed the night as Zorro.

"Victoria," he whispered, pulling his arm from around her, "I need to get ready,"

"Not yet, Sebastián," she whispered, "there is still time." She caressed his cheek. "Please stay a few more minutes."

"I should get ready," he said, but the longing in his voice was unmistakable.

"Sebastián, please, there is still time. We have one more hour and if something goes wrong it might be the last time that I'll see you," she said softly, trying to keep him from getting up.

Diego didn't need much more persuasion to take her in his arms again, kissing and caressing her again for a short while until he had to get ready and leave.

"Take care, Victoria," he whispered, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Don't worry, I'll be able to manage," she bit her lip. "I'll be waiting for you."

"I promise you that I will do everything I can to free you, Victoria. I love you."

"I love you too, Sebastián."

One last kiss and he was on his way, leaving her behind.