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Chapter Twenty
Sweet Jasmine filled the air surrounding him, consuming him as her soft lips, hungry and fervent, passionately requited his nuzzle, while her curves lay perfectly molded to his form, setting him afire. Silver heard someone yell his name, shaking him from what was burned in mind, the memory of the feel of her, heating his body. He again focused his thoughts on the task at hand, aiding in lifting the large net of fish out of the water, even as Madi still dwelled at the back of his conscious.
That night, they'd come so close, to yielding to what was between them, but Madi had stopped it, stating that she was not ready. He could see the desire in her eyes, that she yearned for him just as much as he did her, that her heart wanted to give herself to him, to recommit to them completely, but her mind was stopping her.
Therefore, she'd extracted herself from his grasp her breath heavy and her eyes down, then took her leave. Silver had moved to walk her home, but she had spurned his intention, for she needed time alone to think and to cool down. He had had then spent the remainder of the night, restless and aroused, happy and anticipating the days to come.
However, what had followed was a change between them he had not expected. Though they continued to make the daily walk to Kilele cha Mwamba, often dined together at Chajio and occasionally took a horseback ride on the beach, they no longer shared a meal alone or spent an evening reading in her place or his. For each time he'd suggested they resume the adventurous tales of Scheherazade or skip Chajio to feast on their own, she would decline due to various community obligations or simply being tired. Though disappointed, her reasons, for the most part, were legitimate. Nevertheless, Silver could not help but to suspect that her motive was avoidance, an attempt to stay the powerful pull between them, and thus negate the chance that they'd again be so close, which would undoubtedly shatter her resolve.
So they'd stayed safe, spending days, the subsequent three weeks, innocently holding hands, yet engaging in fervent caresses and still sharing kisses that were ripe with passion, until she and many other ladies in the community had gone on a retreat, away from the village, to take a group of girls who'd come of age through the tribal tradition of Kuwa Mwanamke. Madi had brought the news days before her departure that she would be away for many nights conducting the ritual. Their time had in turn become limited due to the extensive work she needed to do in preparation for the custom. However, the morning she'd left, they'd shared a moment, their eyes bound as they quielty spoke their goodbyes after which she'd gone from him, leaving the village on that special mission, absent from his life for 14 days.
Silver had passed the time with varying distractions, his obligations -fishing and aiding in reinforcing the levee, other needs about the community – gathering wood, preparing the seeds for planting once the lands had dried, refreshing the men who'd assisted in crewing the Walrus, on the required tasks for their planned voyage to the other Maroon Island. The days had been difficult without her, without the routines they shared, meals and strolls, pleasing discourse and ardent touches, but he had managed to get by, on the memory of the past times they'd shared and that incredible night from weeks before, when they'd come so close to making love.
Hours later…
Silver waited patiently with the rest of the community for the start of a Chajio that would be different than most, in that it would celebrate the end of the Kuwa Mwanamke, and thus meant the return of the girls who'd now be young women, and their mentors. It would mean the return of Madi. Silver sat amongst the men, some of whom he now considered friends, empty of food and drink, waitng to be filled up, as per tradition, by the what was to come. He would soon see her. The thought permenated his mind, detered his focus from the conversation around him. He carefully breathed, and tried to cool the blaze of anticipation that flamed inside, but then he heard it, drums from a short distance away, being accompanied by flutes and soprano voices singing a joyous song, heightening his expectancy. She was coming. He knew with nervous happiness as he turned his attention to the entry of the pavillion as did all who were present, watching for the women's arrival.
One by one the ladies filed into the pavilion, spiritedly singing, followed by those who were performing the music. Silver eagerly searched the women's faces, finding them all familiar, but none of whom being who he was seeking, when just as he'd nearly scanned the entirety of the group, his eyes had fallen upon her. For an instant his air ceased to flow, the longing spiking in his heart, while happiness ached within. Though the ladies who'd returned from Kuwa Mwanamke were identical in their attire, wearing sleeveless white frocks that draped one shoulder and loosely extended past their knees, with the heads wrapped in a matching white cloth that covered their hair and a diverse color of long beads adorning their necks, there was something extraordinary about Madi. The way she moved with a queenly elegance, even as she sang with great passion and danced with a spontaneity that was in perfect cadence with the music. She was an incredibly beautiful creature. He mused with wanton tenderness as the ceremony progressed into an oral phase, where the most important symbols of womanhood, which the young ladies must always carry within them – strength, love, truth, nurture, were painted on the new initiates' faces.
This was then followed by the presentation of the jewels with each young woman being draped in several sets of colored beads, each representing a blessing of vitality, fertility, good fortune, wellness and wisdom, before the dancing had recommenced leading to a celebratory feast of roasted lamb, the animals having been acquired from Nassau, roasted fish and corn, fried plantains, black beans, and breadfruit pudding. Throughout the rituals of song and dance and fellowship with the scrumptious meal, Silver did not engage much with others for his focus was amorously fixed on Madi.
He watched her intently, as she removed the head wrap, allowing her braids to fall free around her shoulders, wanting her so much, waiting for an opportunity to go to her, but none came. For there was always someone there, first her mother, then an endless parade of others wanting to speak, and at times wanting her to dance with the new women in celebration. Yet her thoughts were with him as his were with her, for her eyes, smoldering with yearning, frequently found him, locking with his gaze, amplifying his desire, but soon her attention would be drawn away. They'd spent the evening engaging in this elusive dance, eying each other, longing to be closer until Madi, having enjoyed herself and spoke with everyone who'd requested her attention, became beyond tired of waiting and was ready to see Silver, but when she scanned the pavilion looking for him, she found him nowhere in sight. She had then inquired with the men whom he'd been sitting, about his whereabouts, and learned that he had left the pavilion, they believed for the evening. Disappointed, she exited the celebration as she debated whether to go to him or wait until morning, thinking that the hour was late. Thus he was now likely lost to sleep.
"Have the exertions of the night finally brought about exhaustion, and is thus facilitating this exit?" Madi suddenly heard from behind and instantly stopped her trek, her heart quickening with joy.
"It has." She quietly confirmed as she calmly turned around, her breath catching at the sight of Silver looking incredibly handsome in the luminous moonlight. "I… wanted to bid you good night, but did not see you inside." She continued. "I was told you had retired for the night."
"I took a brief leave to answer the call of nature, but was returning in hopes that I would eventually get a moment alone with you." He softly replied as he eyed her with happiness and love, admiring her exquisite allure.
"I am leaving the festivities. Therefore, you no longer have to wait for a moment." She uttered. "That is if you wish to walk me home."
"That is a wish I most desire." He voiced,his stare fervid and tender, warming her soul.
"Then shall we go." She posed. Silver gave a nod in response and they commenced their walk, with her moving in step with his hop. Nervous excitement permeated the moment, briefly stalling their thoughts and staying their utterances, when Silver managed to settle his nerves and in turn found his tongue...
"The Kuwa Mwanamke appears to have yielded a pleasing result." He stated, forgoing a declaration of unimaginable yearning, of how much he'd missed her these past two weeks for a topic less emotional and thus comfortable for them both.
"Challenges did arise as they always do during such rituals, but overall it was a success." She answered with a muted sigh, her anxiousness abating at the easy topic. Nonetheless, wanting to express to him what these past few days had been like, that she'd missed him in ways she could not define.
"The ceremony was intelligible and compelling. Yet I have a question."
"Go on." She encouraged as they now made their way up the steps to her home.
"Why is it that you still wear the beads and did not present them to the initiates as the other women did who served as mentors in the Kuwa Mwanamke?"
"The women who serve as mentors in the Kuwa Mwanamke are to represent a woman who has acheived what is expected of her, taking a husband and bearing a child. Having accomplished such essential feats, illustrates to the new initiatites to womanhood, what they should be striving to be." She explained. "However, there are those who serve, who have not yet acheived those most essential feats, but represent what is most critical in that stage of life – nurturing, strength, truth, and love, that also acts as a precedent by which the ladies should live…and my response has become verbose, and I have yet to answer your question." She stated with a light smile as she stopped her ascent and looked back, happy, yet shy at his adoring stare.
"It is alright." Silver assured, as he came to stand on the step behind her. "I quite enjoy hearing about the edict behind the ritual."
"Even so, you asked a question, which I would like to answer." She softly declared, feeling the flame in his gaze. "I still wear these beads because I am a woman but I have yet to achieve that which is expected of me, and until those expectations have been fulfilled I cannot pass on the blessings these beads represent to another."
"Does it disappoint you? Still possessing what others have been able to pass on?"
"I have always known what my future would be." She said as they resumed their climb. "That leading this community would come before all. However, knowing this truth, accepting it, does not stop the part of me that on occasion desires to live life without the burden that is the crown."
"Do you not believe you can have both? A… husband and the crown?" Silver quietly asked, unease slightly in his voice, when they reached the landing at the foot of the last two steps that led into her home.
Madi turned to him, her eyes brimming with tenderness as they fastened to his and she answered.
"I once thought it was impossible, but now…I believe it to be conceivable." She murmured, her gaze silently expressing that it was he whom she found conceivable, them together, no matter her responsibilities. Emotion, fervid and profound, rushed through him, touching his soul, prompting him to reach for her, to caress her cheek. Madi faintly sighed, her eyes briefly falling closed, at the heat his gesture stirred, what she'd missed in the days she'd been away - his touch.
"I missed you." He nearly gasped at the fervent kindled at feeling her again.
"I missed you." She echoed his words in a quiet tone as their stares remained fixed on one another, smoldering. When Silver leaned forward, brushing his lips to hers, sparking a wave of hotness through them, compelling Madi to yield, answering his ardent request. Silver slowly probed her mouth, sultrily exploring its depths, driving them to moan, for her to rival his need, with her own fervor. She savored his lips, hotly tasting his teeth and tongue, igniting him to a deep groan, to tighten his grasp upon her. When he regained control, intensifying their kisses, rousing it to an insistent fire.
Abandoning the openness of the porch, they retreated to the candlelit privacy of her room where Madi having removed her beads, and Silver having just discarded his shirt and pants, now stood with his eyes cast upon her, fervently watching as she carefully unfastened his underwear. His breath grew deeper, more wanton with each button that was loosened, until she reached the last obstruction, effortlessly undoing it. Madi sensuously caressed his hips, causing him to sharply hiss, as she pushed the clothing from his form, exposing his nude body of carved muscle and strength – perfect. She lifted ardent eyes back to his as she gently placed a hand on his cheek, silently expressing what he meant to her. His heart became full, surging with emotion as she lowered her hand to his chest, skimming his pecs. His body trembled as the air hitched in his lungs, driving him to recaptured her lips. Silver steamily delved her mouth, inciting a flush of hotness that pooled in her core, spurring her to moan, then abandoned her lips to graze her cheek, cherishing its smoothness, before moving to the cusp her neck. Madi sighed, tilting her head in languid bliss, fully accommodating his scorching assault, while pulling the knotted loop of her dress that held the garment in place, letting it fall to the floor.
Gasps and groans rushed from their lips, at the sensual feel of her nude breast against his bare chest. When Silver then revisited her mouth, torridly tasting it, before he reluctantly pulled away. Resting his head against hers, his breath was heavy as was hers, and her mouth was still so close, making him want them again, but instead he stepped back, his eyes a smoky blue, holding Madi's gaze as he sat on the bed, then handed her his crutch. Her eyes remained with him, sweltering with yearning as she set the crutch to the nearby wall, when he touched her leg, skimming his hand from her knee, up to her inner thigh, over the cloth of her underwear to caress her center through the thin cotton fabric. Madi felt rapturously breathless at the feel of his hand and the soft texture of her undies salaciously rubbing against her, when he kissed her through the cloth, then suspended the fondle to free her of the covering.
Madi shakily lifted each foot, stepping out of the undergarment that had fell to her feet, when she again looked to Silver, bringing her hand to his face, igniting a dark passion in his eyes as he swept his hands up her thighs to the small of her back, steadying her body as he hotly kissed her navel. Madi expelled a quiet sigh, feeling a swooning rush as he nuzzled her bare midriff, laving and gently biting, adding fuel to the flame that was already burning within her. He then drifted lower, arriving at her center, his hands wandering to her ass, softly squeezing, as he Frenched the delta between her thighs, then fondled her nub with scalding kisses and tongue. Madi feverishly cried out, her legs buckling beneath her, certain she would crumble to the floor. However, Silver had caught her, guiding her down to straddle his lap.
Feeling his length, his hardness amid her thighs, stroking her, Madi moaned in anguished longing when Silver took her mouth in a searing kiss, his hand traveling up her back while the other held her face to him, then surprised her, fluidly shifting their position to lay down, placing her beneath him. Silver faintly teased her lips, grazing his mouth against hers, flicking her tongue, making her ache for him more, to gasp his name, when he brushed his tip over her bud, taunting her moist center, then entered her tight cavern. Silver groaned while Madi gasped, at the intense pleasure spurred by his fullness inside. Slowly, he began to move. His strokes long and meticulous; his gaze locked with hers, smoldering and profound, filling her soul. When he then lowered his mouth to her breast and hungrily took its peak, gently sucking and pulling, in perfect harmony with his thrusts.
"John" Madi breathed at the white heat he'd ignited within her, an astonishing pleasure that was new, unlike anything she'd ever experienced, driving her to slide her hands down his back, then to his ass where she grasped his cheeks, pushing him deeper inside. Silver intensely groaned at the heaven her gesture sparked, then kissed a fiery path from her chest to her neck, hotly savoring it's fragrant taste as he steadily moved faster, causing her to cry out, to throw her head back in ecstasy. When he slipped his large hand behind her neck, and pulled her mouth back to his, devouring it with fierce passion.