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Marilyn coughed. “Uh, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go talk to Jim.” She took off, tossing Je
Joe and Carl, who had remained waiting during this interval, made their presence known. “Hey, Chief, what’s the holdup?” Carl whined. Joe, who had a suspicion he knew what the holdup was, kept silent, eyeing Lee and Je
“Just a minute, Carl,” Lee answered, never taking his eyes from Je
Warning bells went off in Je
Lee sighed. “Oh, come off it, Jen, what are you going to do, hang around here and wait to be accosted by George Number Two? Or spend a cozy little evening with your girl friend? I don’t think she’ll be leaving with you, honey; she’s found more interesting company.” He slid his hand down to her shoulder and turned her to face him directly. “Aren’t you as lonely as I am? Isn’t that what we’re both doing here?”
Je
She saw Lee heading for Joe and Carl as she left.
Marilyn was not surprised. “I figured as much,” she said. She put a hand on Je
“Jen, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
Je
“That’s what I thought.”
“I want to go with him.”
“So do I,” Marilyn said, and Je
“Good luck with Jim,” Je
“Thanks. Let me know what happens.”
Je
* * * *
It was pouring when they got outside.
“Still raining,” Je
“Maybe they moved it,” Lee responded, signaling for an attendant to get his car.
“It’s not fu
Lee sca
Je
He gri
“I wouldn’t call that useless. Anything as beautiful as that could never be useless.”
He was touched, and made light of it in response. “I know a lot of sun quotes, practically everything written about it The sun is my totem. My father named me for his sun vision, Nitsokan, the sacred sign that makes a boy a man.” He touched the gold disk at the base of his throat. “This is the Pikuni ideogram for the sun. Dawn gave it to me.”
Je
The attendant pulled up with Lee’s car, and they got into it without further conversation.
* * * *
Lee concentrated on driving through the downpour on the way to Je
“I’d like to come up for a while,” he said quietly.
“Lee, you know that’s a bad idea.”
“No, I don’t,” he answered, turning to hold her as she reached for the handle of the door on her side.
Je
“You see?” Lee said, at the evidence of her instant response. “It will always be like this for us.”
Je
He edged closer to her, nuzzling her neck. “Please,” he whispered.
How could she resist that? She relented. “All right.”
They climbed the stairs in thoughtful silence, oblivious of the steadily falling rain. As soon as the door closed behind them, Lee pulled Je
“I don’t know what I’m doing here,” Lee said against her hair. “I meant not to come here again. I’ve never felt like this before; I simply can’t stay away from you. Do you know how many times I’ve almost called you since the last time we were together? And then tonight when I saw you, it was all over. I had to be with you. I could no more walk away than I could fly.”
Je
Lee held her away from him a moment, gazing down at her. “There’s a lake in Montana called Upper Saint Mary,” he said. “In the spring, when the thaw from the mountains runs into it, the water turns the exact color of your eyes.”
Je
“Well, paleface,” he said, searching her face, “it’s your move.”
Je
“This looks like you,” he said, sca
“That’s right,” Je
“I think we were in a bit of a hurry,” he said, slipping the shawl off her shoulders, bending to kiss the bare skin thus exposed. He murmured something in his native language.
“Thank you,” Je
He chuckled. “You didn’t understand what I said.”
“I didn’t have to.”
He crushed her to him fiercely, seeking her mouth with his. Je
He took off her clothes, and his own, and they fell on the bed together, impatient, hungry.
Je
When it came, she arched against him, and he drew back to gaze at her from eyes dark and brilliant with feeling.
“Look at that face,” he murmured. “Such a sweet face. I’ll never, never forget it.”
He kissed her gently on the lips, and then they gave themselves up to a world of sensation.
* * * *
Afterward, they lay together quietly, Je
Je
Lee was sitting on the sofa, staring into space and smoking one of the cigarettes John Ashford had left behind on the coffee table.
Je
Lee inhaled deeply until the tip of the cigarette glowed, and then exhaled through his nose. “I used to. I quit a long time ago when I discovered it was difficult to run when I couldn’t breathe.” He glanced at her, then away. “The craving returns when I’m upset or nervous.” He smiled dryly. “For some strange reason, I seem to be very nervous tonight.”
Je
He saw her expression. “Oh, Jen, don’t look like that,” he said, stubbing out the butt and coming to take her hands, leading her to sit beside him “I didn’t mean to imply that you’re responsible. You are fine, beautiful, perfect The problem is not with you, it is with me.”