Roy and Mary Ann Hinkley were surprisingly quiet as they began their hike to "their" ridge, as Mary Ann was beginning to think of it. They hiked fast and hard, as if anxious to get to their ultimate destination.
Mary Ann's shorter legs kept pace with Roy's longer ones, but when they reached the log they'd taken their first break on a few days before, she begged to stop and rest.
"Roy, please! Let's take a break, I'm dying here!"
He turned sharply, not realizing she'd stopped by the log. He was all set to continue till they reached the cave.
He trotted back to her, throwing his pack down and helping her shrug her's off as well.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I wasn't paying attention! I was so lost in thought that I was almost in a trance. Here, sit down, have some water."
He handed her his own bottle of water, allowing her to gulp down as much as she wanted. Having the stream he'd found so near to the cave was truly a blessing: they didn't have to haul in a week's worth of water to survive.
He took his own gulps after she'd sated her thirst, and said, "So, um... what do you want to do when we get there?"
Mary Ann looked him up and down, with a wicked expression on her face, but then relaxed a bit and smiled softly. "I was thinking I could set up house for the week, we could gather water and wood, I could go scrounging around for berries and some of those tubers to go with the smoked fish we brought, and..."
"Okay, okay, I give!" he said, laughing. "So we'll wait on THAT for tonight, is that it?"
She took his bigger hand in hers. "I think we should, yes. Get settled in, get freshened up in that stream you found, really prepare ourselves."
She moved her mouth close to his ear, breathing out, and said quietly, "I don't want to rush it, Roy, I want us to be well-fed and rested. Then I want to spend the entire night making love to you."
"Hmmmm," he said, closing his eyes and doing his deep breathing. "Keep that up and we might just end up in that stand of trees over yonder."
Mary Ann giggled and pulled back, patting him on the knee. "Soon, very soon. And don't think I'm not as anxious as YOU are, mister! Especially after what the ladies told me last night!"
"And what did they tell you?" he asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
She leaned in once again, her mouth so close to his that they almost touched. "Oh, they told me some things men love their women to do to them."
"God, Mary Ann, are you going to be teasing me all afternoon?"
"You bet I am," and she sealed that promise with a passionate kiss, putting her arm around Roy's shoulders and pulling him against her.
Roy separated from her lips and put his mouth to her ear, as she'd done earlier. "Two can play that game, love. Do you want to know what I'm going to do to you?"
"Hmmmm?" she queried, enjoying the feel of his mouth so close to her neck and ear.
He whispered into her ear, and told her all about what was to come. He was rewarded with her moaning reply as she clung to him ardently.
"Roy," she gasped out. "Let's get going, we need to hike while we can still walk straight! Don't SAY things like that to me, if you can't fulfill those promises NOW, darn it!"
He laughed and stood, helping her up and with her pack.
"All right, Mrs. Hinkley, we'd better get started before it gets too late, if we have to do all those things BEFORE we can be together!"
She picked up the position behind him as he started the rapid pace once more.
"Mrs. Hinkley. I like the sound of that!"
By Roy's estimate, it was about five o'clock in the afternoon when they finally arrived. He knew there'd be at least three more hours of sunlight, so he took their packs and put them in the cave they'd vacated only days before.
He took the water bottles to go fill and a little bag of his personal items.
"Darling, why don't you get started on what you need to do, and I'll go fetch water and wood for later. I'm going to take the chance to freshen up too, while I'm at the stream."
She smiled up at him in acknowledgement and began unloading the packs and bedrolls. "Sounds good, I'll be here or in the area, looking for dinner."
"Hmmmm, good, me got woman who give food! Meat! Yum!" he joked, lowering his voice.
She chucked a small rock at his feet. "Oh, shush, you caveman!"
"Hey, that's rather apropos this week! My cavewoman, ugh!" and he beat his chest to emphasize his claim.
"I see what marriage does to you, Roy Hinkley! Makes you silly!"
"The more intelligent the being, the more important humor and play is to him or her, didn't you know that? I had them falling over laughing with a joke I told last night at my party."
"Tell me about it later, now scoot!"
Roy saluted and barked, "Yes, ma'am! Scooting!" and he was gone on his tasks.
Mary Ann finished her duties sooner than she'd anticipated, and decided she'd go freshen up in the stream as well. She felt sweaty and dirty from the hike, rummaging around in their cave and foraging, and wanted to feel fresh and clean for her husband that night.
She heard him singing as he splashed about in the water, and as she was about to break through a line of brush to join him, she had to stop and stare.
Oh, Lord, she thought. Just look at him.
His back was turned to her, and he appeared to be nude. Mary Ann felt a hot flush move up her chest, to her throat then her cheeks as she stared. The water went up to his lower back, and as the sun glistened on his fair skin and he was moving the rough bar of soap over him, the play of muscles in his back and shoulders held her riveted in place.
She quelled the feeling of guilt and unease as another part of her relished the vision she was seeing. I AM his wife, after all, I'm allowed! she reminded herself. She realized, again, how fortunate they were that they'd waited to make love for the first time. Now she could do so, and enjoy the sight of her husband bathing, with no guilt attached. It was all proper and most acceptable in light of how she'd been raised.
Roy turned to face the water rushing down the ridge, so Mary Ann got a fuller view of him. She stood there silently for a few moments, planting the sight she was seeing in her memory forever. He'd knelt down somewhat, almost as if he were swimming in place as the strong current washed over him, rinsing the soap he'd lathered away.
She felt this might be a good time to come forward, with him mostly covered by the water.
Roy turned, startled, when he saw the bush nearby move and his wife come through, a bright smile on her face and her cheeks glowing red.
"Hey, handsome," she said. "Do you come here often?"
It was Roy's turn to blush, and cold water or not, he could feel the heat rise to his face as he remained crouched down in the water.
"Mary Ann, you scared ten years' worth of life off of me!"
She made a point of looking him up and down, being quite obvious, and he remained there under her gaze, his shyness expelled.
"Is it cold?" she asked, moving closer to the edge.
"No, not bad at all. Chilly compared to the lagoon, but it was such a warm day today, it's refreshing."
Roy watched his wife as she frowned at the stream and rushing water, wondering what she was going to do next. Should he leave? Let her see him this way? How long HAD she been there, any way?
Anything he wanted to say was held back, as he realized Mary Ann was going to take her clothes off. He straightened up once more, the water again moving past below his lower back and abdomen. He watched Mary Ann, mesmerized, as her hand went to the top button of her red gingham blouse.
She didn't say a word, she simply held his gaze as each little button was undone, her hand moving lower and lower to her tummy. When she'd reached the last one, she slowly pulled the blouse off, still maintaining eye contact.
Oh, God, he pleaded above. She's going to kill me.
She slipped her shorts off after she'd kicked off her Keds, and was there in front of him, almost entirely undressed.
"Mary Ann, are you... um," he paused. "You don't want to HERE...? I hope?" He really did hope she didn't want to, the water was so cool he didn't think he COULD, and he didn't know if she'd know that little tid-bit about male anatomy.
She smiled, her eyes twinkling in the westering sunlight. "Oh, no, I want to freshen up too! You don't mind, do you?"
"No, no, not at all!"
Her smirk told him she was about to finish her little strip tease, and within seconds, she was standing before him au naturel. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. The sight of her, so open and vulnerable, the wind wafting her beautiful brunette hair around her face, brought back those thoughts of how she looked like a faery.
"My God, Mary Ann, you're stunning!" he gasped out as her little foot delicately dipped into the water.
Deciding it wasn't too cold, she simply stepped in and began walking to her husband.
"I have a little confession to make," she said as she stood about a foot from him.
"What's that?"
"I was watching you bathing."
"And?"
"And I'm glad we don't have to wait much longer! After we're done here, I'll fix dinner and we can, um... RELAX for the evening."
Moving as one, they wrapped their arms around one another, gazing up and down. Mary Ann ran her hands over Roy's cool wet chest, up and down, as if she couldn't get enough. He took the same opportunity and began exploring her as well, in ways they could not when they were there previously. The joy they had now was almost unbearable, the freedom to really discover one another in this new fashion.
Roy pulled her into a deep kiss as the water moved past, and after a few minutes of kissing and fondling, Mary Ann pulled away.
"Where's that soap? I really do want to clean up, and I don't think we should stay in here TOO long and get waterlogged!"
He took the bar from where he'd placed it on the other bank, and motioned to her that he wanted to wash her.
She smiled and turned, her back to him, and he began to lather her up. It was a slow, sensual process, and he took his sweet time about it. He was tall enough to lean over her shoulders, and began to move the bar over her front, after he'd soaped her backside sufficiently.
His hands would pause, concentrating here and there on certain spots, and Mary Ann would shiver. Not with cold, but with desire and excitement. They were standing as they had at the waterfall, only this time with nothing separating them. She again leaned her head back on his bare shoulder as he continued his work.
"Hmmmm," she moaned next to his ear. He nibbled on her neck, his hands and fingers still working on her, and another moan escaped her parted lips.
"Roy," she sighed.
"Yes, Mary Ann?" he whispered, warming her cool damp skin with his breath.
"Put your arm around my waist, I want you to hold me against you."
He complied, pressing against her.
"Oh, my," she whispered.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked quietly.
"Yes, oh, yes!"
It took great effort, but the two finally separated so Mary Ann could rinse off completely.
"I don't suppose you brought anything to dry off with?" she asked.
"Nope. We have the sun."
They spied a likely rock to sunbathe on, and began walking to it through the water, hand-in-hand.
Mary Ann climbed out first, and turned in time to see Roy emerge from the water. Oh, my, she thought again. Oh man.
He was utterly relaxed in front of her, not being bashful at all. The red flush to his cheeks told Mary Ann he was more flustered than he was letting on, so she relaxed on her back, not staring at him, and he soon joined her.
They couldn't lie that way for long, being in the hot tropical sun, but fortunately it did its work quickly and they were soon dried all over.
Mary Ann lay still, her eyes closed. The sunlight was brilliant behind her eyelids. A shadow fell across her, sheltering the dazzling light.
She opened her eyes to see Roy poised over her, leaning on one arm, the sun shining behind him like a halo.
He ran his hand up and down the length of her and leaned down to kiss her slowly and sweetly. It didn't take him long, and she was enflamed for him.
"Roy, oh my, Roy!" she gasped as his hand and fingers continued working magic on her. Her muscles were tensing, she had this urge to MOVE, the energy in her body was building, building, and she ached for something, something she couldn't name.
"ROY, what are you doing, oh my GOD!" Mary Ann screamed as the world exploded around her, and he'd only been touching her! Kissing her!
The burning white light that had exploded in her, the tingle raging through her nerves, outshone the sun, and she finally opened her eyes. He was leaning once more over her, smiling. She put her hand on his shoulder, than ran it up behind his neck, to his ear, cupping his cheek. The glow in her eyes was all Roy ever wanted to see, the love, the passion and joy, that was for him alone.
"What...what was THAT?" she gasped out.
"That was me showing my wife how much I love her," he said quietly.
She pulled him down to her, trying her best to drown completely in his touch, his lips and mouth.
"Roy, now, I want you to make love to me NOW! Here, I can't wait!"
He shifted so he was over her completely, ignoring the hard rock under his knees, his arms. "I was hoping I could convince you of that, my love," he murmured against her throat.
And there on their special rock, in the remainder of the dwindling sunlight, Roy and Mary Ann Hinkley brought their love and marriage to the next level, and truly became one as husband and wife.
Fin.
(A/N: Visit my homepage via my author's profile for more on my upcoming stand-alone GI fics and my Lilacs Series, which is a Greatest American Hero/GI crossover; got two stories to go on that one.)