"I think Father missed you very much."
Alice pounded the flour furiously with her rolling pin, Ichante's earlier words in the morning reverberated around her mind. She wanted to make scones for the children for tea but she kept getting distracted by what Ichante said in the study, the sketches she saw in the study.
Uncas missed her yet he never said a word to Cora, never once sent her a letter to express how he felt. What would she have done if she had received word that he missed her? Drop everything in England and run back to him?
Alice dashed sweat away from her brow impatiently, feeling confused and agitated. Uncas was out in the clearing with Ichante, Mikayla and Cora's children. Cora and Nathaniel were visiting friends, while Chingachcook was out trekking by the falls. Everyone would congregate for dinner at Uncas' cabin in the evening.
She could the neighing of the horses and decided it was time to inspect Mikayla's first riding lesson. Uncas had asked for Alice's permission earlier to teach Mikayla how to ride and she had readily agreed. She figured that would be no better, no safer, no more vigilant instructor than the Mohican warrior. She left the scones over the brick fire, washed her hands and headed outside.
She stopped in her tracks at the sight in front of her – Mikayla sat on a horse which only had a blanket thrown over its back with Ichante sitting behind her protectively as Uncas slowly led the horse around the clearing. Mikayla had a huge grin on her face as her cousins shouted encouragement to her from the ground. Family. That was what the little English heiress had been missing back in England.
She continued to watch silently as Uncas patiently led the horse a few more rounds around the clearing, all the while gently speaking to Mikayla, and instructing Ichante to help teach his sister. Finally, Uncas held his arms wide and Mikayla jumped into them without hesitation. Uncas laughed and hugged the girl fondly before flipping her up and over his shoulders. Mikayla trilled in excitement as Cora's children gathered around their uncle, clamouring for his attention.
Alice finally retracted her gaze from the delightful sight and found Ichante studying her thoughtfully. Alice smiled and waved at her son and he flashed her a dimpled smile. Her heart knocked against her ribs – he was going to melt all the ladies' hearts when he grew up. Would she be there to see him then?
Dinner was a boisterous affair. Alice grilled fish and potatoes, and dessert was leftover scones from the afternoon. Cora had brought grounded coffee from her cabin and the adults drank that with the scones. It was almost midnight before Cora and her family, and Chingachcook left. Ichante and Mikayla were fast asleep in front of the fire, and Alice decided they could spend the night there.
Alice and Uncas washed the dishes in companionable silence and when they were done, Alice boiled tea and offered Uncas some. He took his cup of tea and settled down on the bench. He watched as Alice ambled towards the door, her steaming cup of tea in one hand. She extended her free hand in front of her and took a deep breath, "It is going to rain."
Uncas joined her at the door and murmured, "It is going to storm." They stood side by side, their heads thrown back to observe the dark sky. A few minutes later, it started to drizzle. Before long, as Uncas predicted, the rain became heavier, pouring down from the heavens in misty sheets. An appreciative smile lit up Alice's features and Uncas felt an answering smile tugged at his lips. She really loved the rain.
Suddenly, he yanked her cup from her fingers and set it down on the floor together with his cup. Grabbing her hand, he led her out into the rain, shutting the door firmly behind them. He pulled her along until they were past the clearing and continued to trek through the rain. Alice kept up with him, using her shawl to cover her head. They reached a cliff and Uncas halted, "Look up."
Alice raised her head just as lightning zig-zagged across the sky, illuminating their surroundings with a brilliant flash. "Ichante's eyes look just like this," Alice whispered in awe, her gaze honed on the mercurial streaks. "He loves the rain just like you." Uncas shared quietly, raindrops clinging into his lashes and running down his jaw.
Alice smiled wistfully, "Does he?"
Uncas mused nonchalantly, "We would go out whenever it rained. I would watch him play in the rain… and wished you were here with us."
Alice's breath caught at his unexpected, indirect admission that he had missed her all these years.
"I see lightning streak across the sky and think about that night at the top of the fort. You… fearless," he continued, setting his enigmatic gaze on Alice, "You… in my arms." The wealth of emotion in the last sentence overwhelmed her, so much so her eyes flews to his, staring at him through the torrential rain. He was drenched to the core – so was she.
Mesmerised, Alice was motionless as Uncas stepped towards her until he was within a hair's breadth from her. He tipped her chin up with one finger while his other arm drew her into his wet, but warm body. "Like this," he husked before lowering his mouth on hers. His lips grazed her gently and Alice felt her insides melt and she clutched his shoulders. She wanted this.
Uncas felt Alice's lips yield and did not wait any longer – he slanted his mouth hungrily over hers and literally devoured her. Alice gasped in his mouth but did not retreat. Instead, she curled her arms around his neck and plastered herself against him. Their tongues duelled as she kissed him with tremulous sensuality. Uncas groaned huskily, feeling her lithe curves imprint his form, as he hauled her closer until she practically rode his thigh. Alice moaned shakily and wriggled restlessly, even as their mouths remained fused together. She slipped her hands into his shirt and stroked his chest, her fingernails lightly raking his smooth skin.
Uncas panted. He felt like he was going to implode with the raging passion pounding through his blood. He heaved Alice off her feet and she instinctively hooked her legs around his waist. "Alice…" he grounded out between clenched teeth and whirled around so that his back was against a craggy wall of an outcrop. He was going to take her here. Out in the wild. In the middle of a thunderstorm. Like that night under the falls.
Alice balanced her weight around him, one hand twined around his neck, the other braced against the wall next to his head. "Here… I want you here. Now," she ordered breathlessly, lifting her lips fractionally from his. She trailed one hand down his torso to his breeches and Uncas growled, swiping aside her skirts roughly and caressed her upper thigh, his touch feathery and hot.
Alice cried out, gripping him intimately in response and he jerked in her hand, swearing. Uncas angled himself and Alice let out a strangled scream as he possessed her surely, tenderly. Uncas kept up a fierce, primal rhythm, his head grinding against the wall while Alice dropped open-mouthed kisses on his neck. The howling of the wind and rain drowned out their moans. They were going to explode… Uncas captured Alice's lips with raw desire hinged with desperation. They were going to explode…
"I want you now…" he grated out just before they both tumbled over the precipice in unison, in completion.
Half an hour later
"We have to go back. The children…" Alice reminded Uncas weakly, as she lay slumped against him with delicious languor. The couple was still in their original position, with Uncas's back to the wall, Alice's legs coiled around his middle.
Uncas grimaced, "You're right." He carefully set her on her feet, mindful to keep an arm around her to block out the harsh wind and rain as much as he could. Alice's hair whipped around her face, her lips swollen, her cheeks bright, her eyes sparkling. Uncas pushed himself off the wall and composed himself. Before Alice could object or react, he swept her into his arms and agilely dashed through the rain towards the cabin.
Once inside the cabin where the fire was fortunately still crackling strongly, Uncas headed straight to his bedroom and closed the door silently as not to wake the children. "Get out of your wet clothes. I'll check on the children first." Uncas instructed, tossing her one of his clean shirts before disappearing from the room.
Uncas hovered over the siblings, curled up next to each other on a bear hide in front of the hearth. Smiling slightly, he covered them with a wool blanket, ruffling their hair in the process. Ichante was always envious of his cousins but now he had a sister to call his own. As for Mikayla, she had taken to frontier living like a duck to water. Uncas was absurdly glad.
Alice swung around when she heard the door creak open. Uncas strode in, stripping off his wet shirt at the same time. Alice hustled towards him with a hide and wiped him down while he peeled off the rest of his clothes and squeezed the rainwater out of his hair the best he could. When Alice handed him fresh clothes, he shook his head, and dropped down on the pile of hides and blankets in the middle of the room. He pulled a blanket over his naked physique and gestured for Alice to join him.
She hesitated and before she could voice out her concern, Uncas assured her, "Don't worry. I'll leave before the children wake up in the morning. Sleep here tonight," Alice simply stared at the Mohican warrior, half touched, half mystified. How could he know what she felt at that very moment? When he patted the space next to him, she went to him without another word. He reached for her hand and tugged her down, immediately spooning her from behind. He kept their fingers entwined, his thumb lazily brushing her knuckles, his body heat warming her in seconds, their legs tangled.
Alice fought sudden tears welling behind her eyelids. She felt so contented, so at peace. She felt as if she had come home. Granted, their passionate night those years ago under the falls was unforgettable but this time it was vastly different since she was no longer not a naïve teenager. She shuddered involuntarily, overcome with emotion. "Cold?" Uncas murmured into her ear, rubbing her arms. "Will you regret this… tomorrow morning?" Alice asked in a small voice, hating herself for asking the question but yet she could not help herself.
Shame enveloped Uncas at her question. It was unforgiveable how he had hurt her those years ago. Deplorable. Uncas gently turned her around until she was facing him. Alice kept her eyes downcast, her fingers fiddling with his borrowed shirt nervously. He uttered firmly, "Look at me, Alice." She slowly raised her eyes to meet his, and Uncas' heart splintered when he saw the haunted expression and the sheen of unshed tears in them.
"That night was not a mistake. Tonight is not a mistake. You were never a mistake to me. But I am your greatest mistake. I brought you shame and pain, and ruined your reputation when you returned to England. I made you an unwed mother, despised by your people. I'm so damned sorry, Alice." Uncas related with gripping sincerity.
Alice gazed at him raptly, deeply moved by his words and apology. "Was that why you sent me back? Because you thought you were my greatest mistake?" she croaked achingly. Uncas sighed heavily, "I sent you back because it would be the greatest sin to keep you here just because of that night under the falls. You had a bright future, you wanted to be a harpist. You should marry a man who could help you fulfil all your dreams – not stay with me and destroy those hands of yours. You deserved much more in life than just me… and this untamed land. I couldn't let you stay." There a pause before he resumed bleakly, "But I still ruined you because you got pregnant. In the end, I did more than destroy your hands. I would have destroyed your life if not for your husband."
Tears dripped down Alice's cheeks at the self-loathing that was evident in his voice. She presently did not have the emotional and mental capacity to respond to his incredible confession proper but she did want to clarify something that had been eating away at her conscience and heart for the past eight years. She bracketed his jaw with her hands, "It was not lust. Those years ago… it was never lust. I knew that eight years ago… I know now. I always knew. I am sorry I said those awful words to you that night."
Uncas dabbed her tears away as Alice rambled on incoherently, "I mean it. I know we were in a perilous situation then and I thought death was imminent. I was young, terrified and stupid. But it was not lust. I know it was not. I know it was not lust… it was… I know it was not…"
Uncas cut her off with a hard kiss and held her fast against him, their hearts beating erratically. "I know, Alice. I know," he pronounced adamantly. She quaked in his arms, clinging to him like a lifeline.
He hugged her tighter and rasped, "I always knew."