Gypsy in Black: The Romance of Gypsy Travelers (12 page)

Nicolae
stared at her for a mi
nute.  Her long black hair hung
over her shoulders, covering he
r down to her waist.  The thick
white streak over her right ear
looked gold in the glow of the
lantern.  She swayed once as
she faced him, her small hands
resting on her hips. 
“
This is your home now, S'hara.
”

“
But I thought this was yours!
”

“
It is, bori.
”
 

Frightened, half from fear and half from her own
drunken desire
for the man in front of
her, she started for the flap. 
Nicolae
took two bounds, grabbing he
r arm and jerking her away from
the slit in the canvas.  His h
ands on her exposed skin sent a
shiver through her. 
No one had ever touched her.  It was warm and strong, yet it frightened her. 
“
Let me go!  I won't have you!
”

“
You have no choice, bori.
”

Sahara struggled but
Nicolae
hel
d onto both of her arms.  Tired
and feeling weak, she glared
at him. 
“
Stop calling me that,
whatever it means!
”
 

“
Bori, S'hara, means wife.
”

Her limbs froze. 
Images flooded through her mind.  The way he treated her, the way people avoided her, the way they had responded to the dance the previous evening.  The ceremony
, the rituals,
and the women
.  She remembered the women
taking her away
from the men, covering her head, laughing in joy,
then pushing her back toward him.  And, suddenly,
s
he understood. 
Softly,
she repeated him. 
“
Wife?
”
  She
stared up at him. 
“
That can't be.
”
 

“
The ceremony
,
”
he said softly, reaching for her. 
“
It
was performed last night, S'hara.
”
  He pulled her toward him, his
last
sentence barely a whisper as he
lowered his mouth onto
hers
passionately.  Once again, Sahara
fought him.  She tried to turn
her face away but he pulled her
closer, forcing her to tilt her
head toward his.  His tongue
pried her mouth open.  Slowly,
Sahara stopped fighting back and stood there, p
assive to his
advance. 
Her mind reeled and she was battling a dozen emotions.
  He had lied to her and
now, by gypsy law, she was married to him.

Nicolae
noticed the fight had va
nished.  He looked into her eyes, his hold still tight around her.  He traced her chin and throat, his fingers lingering just momentarily until he removed the blanket and tugged gently at her undergarments. 
“
Yes, you are my wife, S’hara.  And tonight, we will make love.
”
  H
e spoke with words that were
low
and soft. 
“
You will make
love to me tonight and enjoy it as much as I, my bori.  My beautiful, beautiful bori…
”
  Again, his voice trailed off and he covered his mouth with hers again, walking backward and guiding her there with his body. 

She didn’t resist
, too aware of the conflicting emotions that flooded
through her body and mind.  Wife, she repeated.  Wife.
The word seemed so foreign, as foreign as the gypsy language.  Only a few days ago, her life was so staid and set, focused on her father’s saloon.  Today, she was married to the future leader of the gypsy clan, destined for a life of travel and adventure.  There was a level of excitement building in her, especially when she lifted her eyes and saw Nicolae still staring deeply in to her face.  His eyes glowed, sparkling with life…sparkling with love.  She wondered why he had chosen her.  Why was he so determined to have her?  It was as though they had known each other for years, their spirits entwined long before they had met.  She just didn’t understand but, as he pulled her closer and lowered her to the bed, she didn’t want to understand at all.  She just wanted to enjoy this feeling of passion, something she had never felt before.  

“
Nicolae,
”
she said, her voice barely a whisper. 
“
I’m scared.
”

He kneeled down before her
, his one hand on her bare leg,
the other pressing her shoulder b
ack into the pillows.  His dark
eyes burned intensely as he hove
red over her.
“
You
have nothing to fear from me,
S’hara,
”
he murmured as h
is lips touched her neck, biting gently at her virgin skin.  No man had ever to
uched her before. Her spine
tingled and she
placed
h
er hands on his shoulders.  The
cloth under her fingers frustrate
d her.  She wanted to touch his
skin, feel the muscles that had
excited her from the moment he
had stormed into the tent the previous day. 

Slowly, he lowered his weig
ht onto her, his hands entwined
in her long, silky hair. 
He let it fall from his fingers, like cascading water in the dark of night. 
Breath
ing heavily, he raised his lips
from hers as he stared into her
eyes.  His words came soft and
gentle. 
“
I have waited so lon
g
, S'hara.  You cannot
understand.
”
  He
pull
ed
his shirt over his head,
staring down into her face.
His bare, tanned che
st radiated gold in the lantern
light.  Without realizing her
own actions, Sahara reached out
lazily and traced a line down the
middle of his chest.  When her finger
came to the top of his
trousers, she hooked her finger
over the material, biting her li
p as she looked up at him.  His
eyes were glazed over and the m
uscles in his cheeks twitched. 
“
You are so...
”
  His voice trailed off.

“
Hm
m?
”
 

Nicolae
gathered her into his a
rms, tugging impatiently at her
undergarments. 
“
...so beautiful
.
”
  His hands rubbed her soft
skin, caressing her waist.  Almos
t without Sahara realizing,
Nicolae
carefully freed the rest of her body of clothing.  Stark naked, Sahara stared at
Nicolae
, her eyes wo
rried.
She felt ashamed of her nakedness, ashamed of her feelings.  But, he merely s
miled
and
gently pushed her b
ack into the pillows again, his
mouth covering hers once more.
This time, she kissed him back
with the passion he drew out of
her.  Stretching her legs out,
Sahara clung to him, lightheaded
enough to throw away her
modesty.  Eagerly, she ran her own hands down his chest,
feeling his warm skin and taunt muscles.  Her fingertips burned at the touch of him and her heart pounded in her chest.  She could smell his wild, musky smell and it aroused her.  She had never felt so free and so clearheaded.  She had never known such emotion.  It was intense, painfully intense yet glorious at the same time. 
She found
her
mouth kissing his neck
as he qu
ickly shed the remainder of his
own clothing, both kneeling before each other.

Hi
s one hand
explored her body
, strong and warm on her skin
.  His passion grew as his
mouth trailed down the front
of her neck.  As he tasted the
sweetness of her shoulder
, an inc
redible surge of warmth flooded
through his groin.  Fighting the
urge to answer his eager moan,
Sahara turned her head into the pillow, biti
ng firmly on her lip. 
Rising
above her, he pressed he
r legs apart.  He leaned on his
hands, resting by her head.  Her o
wn arms wrapped around his neck
as he lowered his weight onto h
er.  Fighting his own desire to
rid himself of the wonderful build up,
Nicolae
carefully pushed into
her.  He moved his hips as he p
ushed forward, breaking through
the barrier.  Suddenly sobering,
Sahara clawed at his neck, her
eyes wild and terrified as she cri
ed out. 
“
Stop! 
Oh please, Nicolae!
You're killing
me!
”

He tried to soothe her but his w
ords came out in heavy
breaths.  He breathed into h
er ear, pulling her close as he
struggled to break her.  Sahara tensed up, closing around him as
she fought back.  He felt tears
we
t his shoulder.  Ignoring them,
Nicolae
gave her a final push with all the str
ength he had left. 
Sahara dug her nails into hi
s back, about to scream but
Nicolae
covered her mouth with his, k
issing her fiercely as he moved
freely now.  He moved with a rel
ief he had never known before. 
Resting his cheek against hers, he breathed heavily
, moaning as
he finally released his passion into her.

Staring at the top of
the tent, he caught his breath
before looking at his wife.
Her skin glowed in the lantern
light.  Slowly,
Nicolae
reached out and touched her cheek. 
“
S'hara?
”
When she did not answer, he
lea
ned on his one elbow and stared
into her
tear stricken
face.  Wip
ing away her tears,
Nicolae
stroked
her hair. 
“
It couldn't have hurt so
, no?
”

She diverted her eyes away from h
is.  Why can't he leave me
alone now that he got what he want
ed, she wondered bitterly.  Her
insides felt twisted and swol
len, burning from pain, not the
passion she had always expected. 
“
I...I just want to sleep.
”

Nicolae
waited for several long minutes before he got up and walked to the post, turning the lantern's flame down.  He cast a glance at Sahara, naked and sweaty as she
lay
upon the pillows, a tear ready to fall from her eye.  Sighing again, this time from frustration,
Nicolae
turned the lantern off all the way and walked back to the mattress.  Crawling under the quilt,
Nicolae
lifted an end of it over Sahara's body before he settled down to sleep. 




   




The man’s wife was ill.  She slept all day and night, sweating despite the cool air. The fever had taken her just a few days before and everything had come to a standstill. 

The girl stayed away, not wanting her infant to catch anything…not wanting to get involved.  She spent her days keeping to herself and caring for her baby.  She watched the activity, women tending to the sick, the children lingering nearby.  She saw the two boys, the man’s children, ignored in the chaos of antiquated medical care for a woman already too far gone to save.  There was an emotion on their faces…fear, perhaps.  Once, the younger one looked toward her, their eyes meeting for just a moment.  But she quickly looked away, refusing to find any emotion for these people.  They were not HER people and she was not part of their family.