CHAPTER 2: The Night

Tara fumbled for the door handle. To get away; or at least, get out of the light – now. But she faltered. She half-fell for a moment, against the roof. Then rolled partly left, and around to the right, until she was leaning back on the car... faced forward... in the moonlight. She seemed to gasp once, twice; gazing again at the full moon – at the pink light streaming from it. "No," she whispered, as she lay back against the Lotus, looking upward. "This... can't –"

But she continued to gaze... then to stare... as the rose-colored light beamed down upon her. Upon her body; and into her eyes. And into her mind. Captivating her. Her breathing, after a minute, began to steady – and then to deepen. Her eyes widened, and were held, by the moon above; as the lustrous light overcame her. Embracing her, soothing her; entrancing her, as she gazed at it. Falling helplessly under its spell.

Rowan watched, as the final glimmers of her present consciousness flickered. She turned her head from side to side; trying to hang on, and not succumb. But at the end, her eyes rested on Rowan. She knew, now, that he had led her here for this. Had deceived her, deceived Mother, gone to incredible lengths, for this. And he had done it. It was happening. She would be his, in minutes; in moments.

She exerted herself, and made a last effort to resist – yet she could feel the love, from the moonlight, rising within her. So strong, so arousing... so mesmerizing. Until her will finally broke. She rolled her shoulders, and her head lolled again, as the emotions swept through her. Desire for Rowan... for pleasure at his hands, in his arms... welled up, from within and without. The light bathing over her felt like a wild spirit, a Goddess of Eros, taking possession. And in moments more, she brimmed with the desire. Yearning for Rowan's embrace. To be taken by him; loved by him. Deeply, again and again, forever.

He stepped up, and turned her towards himself. Her eyes met his, as they had on those shadowed walks in London. But this time her gaze didn't question... but beckoned. Her lips parting a fraction of an inch; with the faintest of smiles. She wanted to be kissed – now. More than ever in her life. She knew he wanted her, too. He always had, from the start; and she had always known it. And now she wanted him even more.

And she knew, once he gave in to the kiss... he couldn't stop. She would have him.

He gently clasped her upper arms, and drew her nearer. She was yielding; and held the eye contact... and the faint, seductive smile. Making herself vulnerable, enticing. Tempting beyond reason. Just as she had been unable to resist the light, she knew he could not resist her. She brushed her lips with her tongue tip.

His love for her welled in turn; his desire for her intensifying by the moment. Perhaps due partly to the light – but most of all, to Tara. He knew, in the next few seconds, that everything would change forever, for them both. And they closed, into the deepest, most passionate kiss ever shared. Rowan wrapping his arms fully around her body, as she arched herself into him. She clasped a hand behind his head, and pressed her mouth to his. Holding the kiss, and holding it, as their tongues intertwined. Wanting each other; hungering for each other. Then she tipped her head the other way, and pressed the kiss deeper still. Giving herself to it, and to him, to the last measure. And he, to her. Giving him everything she had; and Rowan, to her, everything he could.

With a sudden motion he scooped her into his arms, and carried her to the centre of the clearing. And there lowered her to the soft grass, by a scatter of wild pansies. Gently rolling her onto her back... into the full light of the moon. So she could feel the pleasure of it, in every inch of her body. More pleasure than she'd ever experienced; more than she ever imagined. He knelt beside her – and heard a rustling behind them. He turned in time to see a grey-barred owl flap out of the tree line. It swooped into the open space, swift as a shadow, and landed on top of Tara's Lotus. There he perched; surveying his moonlit realm, and its two visitors.

Now Rowan turned back to Tara, and bent nearer. She breathed deeply, with her eyes closed, as he caressed her hair; and passed his fingertips around her ear. She trembled; and reopened her eyes – to look again at the gorgeous light streaming down from the heavens. By far the most beautiful light she had ever seen... on such a beautiful night. Then she turned, to look at Rowan; to gaze upon him, above her. So deeply, completely, in love with him. She raised a hand to his cheek, and touched it – and whispered to him, "Take me... my dearest. Take me now. I'm yours, alone. Yours at last. Yours... forever..."

Rowan eased down to the grass beside her, and they closed into another kiss, even more passionate. Tara bringing every bit of her sexuality and sensuality. It was what she wanted, and needed, above all else. To arouse him and excite him; to drive him mad with desire for her – as mad as hers for him. Until he had to relieve it... and fulfill it... tonight.

They released the kiss, and Rowan nuzzled her neck, as Tara tilted her head back... and gazed again at the Moon, in the starry sky. Taking in, drinking in, the wondrous light. The rapture, beyond anything she had known, flowing over her; into her; through her. She felt her heart unlock.

She could think of nothing but Rowan. Feeling now, knowing now, that this was fated from the beginning. Destined; inevitable. And here in his arms at last. There was nowhere else in the world she wanted to be; no one she had ever wanted more. She had fleeting memories of a time before this time. But her love for him, here and now, overwhelmed everything.

Her rational mind was gone. Her years of training, her judgment. All restraint... all concern for costs, for consequences... gone in the pink glow of the moonlight. And she knew that Rowan... Rowan would be the One.

As they kissed again, Rowan's hands began smoothly to undo her clothing. And Tara, as boldly, did the same with his. One by one, with ever more intimate embraces and caresses, the garments were drawn off and shed... while Rowan poured his hands over the full curves of Tara's body, and pressed his lips to hers. From the woods around, he could hear the thrashes and fervor of its other denizens, under the selfsame spell.

Tara's splayed hands circled on Rowan's bared back and shoulders. Drawing him to her, with all her love. She could think of nothing else, but wanting her flesh on his. His flesh, with hers. To love him, to engulf him; from the depths of her heart, to the greatest heights her soul could reach. In the midst of the sylvan glade, beneath the open sky, on this Midsummer night beyond Shakespeare's dream. Sharing each other, completely...

Coming next (conclusion)... CHAPTER 3: Daybreak