Redemption (19 page)

 Her voice was
slightly breathy when she spoke, and Rebecca hoped that Isaac would attribute
it to fear.  “Are you sure it’s safe…I mean, there could be monsters in there
or something.”  She cast a longing glance at the little pool.  It felt like
years since she had been clean.  Her clothes were dusty, and her whole body
felt like it was covered in a thin layer of grime.

There was a soft
splash, and Isaac sucked in a breath, then let out a happy sigh.  “Rebecca, you
have to get in.  Seriously.”

She turned
around and saw that he was standing waist deep in the misty water, glowing with
contentment.  He splashed water over his chest and arms.  “Amazing.” 

Yes, she
thought, it was amazing.  The sight of him there, among the steam, with the
wildly tumbling waterfall behind him was enough to take her breath away. 

Isaac walked
backward, sighing as the water reached his shoulders.  Her cheeks flaming,
Rebecca made a little twirling motion with her finger.  “Fine, just…turn
around, okay?”

Isaac laughed at
her display of modesty.  “Sure.”

Once she was
assured that he wasn’t looking, she hastily stripped out of her clothing and
made her way to the pool.  Her heart was hammering, and she reminded herself
that this was only a dream.  She wasn’t
really
climbing naked into a
steaming pool occupied by a beautiful man on the side of a mountain. 

The hot water
slipped over her skin like a lover’s caress.  It was deeper further out so she
kept walking until her chest was covered, though this took her closer to
Isaac.  Thankfully, it was so steamy that he probably couldn’t see the bright
red color of her face. 

“See,” his deep
voice was full of bliss.  “It feels like forever since I’ve been clean and
comfortable.”

Rebecca nodded,
then took a deep breath and dunked her head.  She stayed under the water as
long as she could, feeling as if she were floating in the womb of the earth. 
She was about to return to the surface from lack of air, when a pair of big
hands touched her head, then slithered down to grasp her upper arms.

She was tugged
to the surface, where she brushed the wet hair form her face and met Isaac’s
wild blue eyes.  “Are you okay?”

She grinned
back.  “Fine.”

He shook his
head, but didn’t let go of her arms.  Sweat sprang up where he touched her
already heated skin.  “You were under for so long I started to wonder if I was
wrong- maybe something had attacked you…”

Rebecca’s eyes
widened.  “I’m so sorry!  I didn’t even think of that.”  Of course he had
freaked out.  She would too.  Still, it was a bit disconcerting to see the
worry etched on his face- an expression that was rapidly fading as he realized,
just as she had, that they were too close, hips and legs brushing beneath the
steamy water, her hands on his chest.

She only had a
moment to register what was happening before she was pressed to the lean length
of him, his full mouth covering hers, her fingers tangled in his damp hair.

His big hands
slicked over her wet skin, as if he were memorizing the curves of her body, and
he let out a little moan against her mouth.  “My God you are so beautiful,” his
deep voice was filled with an intense, heart-wrenching sort of longing.  His
questing hands delved lower, and she gasped, then moaned in pleasure. 

Rebecca pressed
her lips to the hallow of his throat, then moved lower, toying with the silver
barbell in his nipple.  He sucked in a sharp breath and his big hands grasped
her bottom, lifting her, pressing her close to the long, hard length of him.  The
water buoyed her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as his strong
hands guided her, sliding her up and down, his big cock rubbing over her
sensitive skin.  His soft lips claimed hers again, fierce and urgent.     

They spilled
from the pool and collapsed onto the soft, thick grass, their slick bodies
flushed and eager.  He rained kisses over her face and neck, adoring,
worshiping, as he moved lower, drawing one engorged nipple into his hot mouth. 
Rebecca moaned and tangled her hands in his sleek black hair as his tongue
swirled over her, his graceful hands kneading and caressing.  He moved lower
still, his mouth claiming her, teasing, stroking, and bringing her to the
edge. 

Isaac slid a
hand up Rebecca’s thigh to her bottom, lifting her slightly as he entered her
in one smooth, slow stroke.  Rebecca ran her hands over his smooth, muscular
back, urging him on.  His sharp blue eyes met hers as he pressed deep, filling
her completely.  She arched her back and met his passion with her own,
startling herself with her abandon. 

In the end, they
lay back, boneless and exhausted as they watched twinkling stars begin to
appear in the intermittent clear patches above them.  They had moved to the
tent, and Rebecca felt exotic and wild, nestled in drifts of silk, peering out
at the dark night sky.

She was still
trying to think of what to say- of how to act now- when Isaac rolled onto his
side facing her.  His expression was tender in the fading light, as he tucked a
stray lock of hair behind her ear.  “No matter how this all ends,” he said
softly.  “I’m so thankful to have met you.”

Rebecca blushed
and looked down at her fingers, where they traced lazy circles over his ribs
without her knowing how they’d even gotten there.  “This… isn’t like me.”  Her
admission sounded stupid.  But it was true.  She had only ever been with her
ex-husband.  The other man had been a random stranger, someone she had no
feelings for, and she had promised she would never do that to herself again. 
She wouldn’t have thought she’d be capable of sleeping with a guy she only met a
few days ago. 

Isaac laughed
softly, making the smooth muscles jump beneath her fingers.  “Me either.  I’ve
never done something like this…”  Rebecca darted a disbelieving look at him and
he grinned, covering her lips with his own.  When he pulled back he continued,
looking steadily into her eyes, “…with someone I care for.”

She closed her
eyes, thankful for the dim light, not really wanting to see how serious he
was.  She would rather think that he was just saying what she wanted to hear. 
Because she didn’t want to acknowledge that he might be telling the truth.  She
didn’t want to encourage the warm feeling in her chest to keep growing.  She
knew just how much it would hurt when that tiny little flame went out.

But Isaac
wouldn’t let her escape that way.  His long, nimble fingers found her cheek,
felt the wetness there, and her turned her face toward him in the darkness.  “I
love you,” he whispered against her lips, raining soft, butterfly kisses over
her lips and her cheeks.

It was absurd. 
They hadn’t known each other long enough to fall in love.  Only a couple of
days.  A couple of days that had seemed to stretch on forever as they battled
their fears and weaknesses side by side.  Maybe it wasn’t so absurd after all. 

Rebecca found
herself in his arms, and she made no attempt to pull away.  She had never known
a man could be this tender, this gentle- especially one who was just as damaged
and scarred as she was.  But Isaac made her feel like a treasured, fragile
thing, something treated with reverence because you were afraid if it broke it
would be gone forever.

The depth of her
response was overwhelming.  “I love you,” he repeated again, into her hair. 
She fitted herself to his body, losing herself in him.  “Show me,” she
whispered hesitantly, already feeling the rapidly growing evidence of his need. 
“Show me again.”

T
he next morning,
Rebecca woke in Isaac’s arms.  For a moment, she didn’t dare move, too afraid
that she would ruin this perfect dream.  But he stirred and dropped a kiss on
her shoulder, and she realized that it was real.  At least, as real as anything
here in this world.

They  moved
slower that morning, as if some of the urgency had gone out of their quest.  Rebecca
thought Isaac looked pale, and she suspected that his pace wasn’t just because
he wanted to linger here with her.  When they reached the path, Rebecca stopped
short.  Isaac’s sharp blue eyes met hers.  “That can’t be good,” she said in a
flat voice.

Pieces of the
world had come unstuck.  A boulder was hovering in the air, about eye level, on
the other side of the path.  A little ways farther down there was a large pine
tree growing upside down, its roots extending up toward the sky.  Isaac wrapped
an arm around his stomach.  “I don’t feel so good,” he said quietly.  He swayed
a little bit as he stepped onto the path.  “I think we need to get going.”

~~~~~

The hooded man
was waiting for her as she came around a bend in the path.  She immediately
looked back for Isaac, but he was nowhere to be seen.  Damn the hooded fiend
and his timing.  How could he know that Isaac would wander off somewhere?

She peered at the
figure as it approached.  He still carried the long, curved staff that befitted
the grim reaper.  His long, black robes were tattered and faded, as if he’d
traveled the mountainside for years.  The blackness behind the mask was just as
deep, though it felt different somehow- kind of sad and tired.

Rebecca shivered
in the chill, content for once to let him have the first and last word.  Always
before, she had been able to approach their encounters with flippant bravado,
but she couldn’t muster that now.  She was tired of this endless game, becoming
desensitized to the constant threat of death.

“You’re almost
there,” the raspy voice whispered, barely audible above the wind.  His staff
flickered in and out of existence.  Something was slipping, she thought, and
though the idea of his losing power should have made her jubilant, for some
reason she felt only dread.

“Did you come to
cheer us on?”  Her voice lacked the zing that should have accompanied the
words. 

“You’ve done
well,” he rasped, his voice growing stronger and softer in unexpected bursts. 
“You’ve made your choice in trusting your heart and soul to that … person with
you,” he seemed determined to refrain from slighting Isaac.  “Let me give you
one last bit of advice,” his voice sounded so tired, as if talking for even so
long was exhausting. 

Rebecca could
have told him to save his breath, but she let him go on.  “Sometimes,” he said,
and the hood fell forward further, obscuring the raven mask.  “Sometimes the
truth is more painful than the lies.  It is what you do with the knowledge that
matters.  It all comes down to choice, in the end.  Do you want to be redeemed?”

He lifted his
head and she saw, in that brief moment, that the mask had cracked.  A deep
black scar ran diagonally from temple to jaw.  Then he blinked out of existence
without any of his usual elegant magic.

Isaac appeared a
few seconds later, looking tired but determined.  He gave her a soft smile and
handed her a stalk of brightly colored wildflowers.  “Sorry,” he said, looking
embarrassed.  “I saw these and thought…well, they reminded me of you.”

Rebecca smiled,
suppressing a bit of a smile at his discomfort.  “Thanks, they’re beautiful.” 

Isaac stepped
closer and tucked the stalk behind her ear, pausing to slip a hand through her
long hair.  “I’m sorry I can’t give you more.”  His eyes were sad.

She took his
hand and pressed a kiss into his palm, hoping desperately that his words didn’t
mean what she thought they did.   

~~~~~

They followed
the sloping path as it wended its way up the side of the mountain.  Once they
left the area where the hot springs lay nestled in the forest, the air was
clear and they could see for what seemed like miles behind and below them. 

Rebecca clutched
the thick rope beneath her fingers as a low rumbling shook the mountain.  The
old wooden slats beneath her feet quivered, and she peered apprehensively at
the spiraling gorge below them.  The narrow rope bridge was the only way
across.  That didn’t mean she had to like it.

Once the
rumbling stopped, Isaac squeezed her shoulder from behind and she moved on. 
The noise had been coming and going all day.  It seemed to be getting more
intense, which could only mean that they were getting closer to the source.  “I
don’t suppose it’s some kind of rock slide, or volcanic eruption?”

Isaac laughed
without humor.  “No.  I don’t think so.”  She glanced at him over her shoulder,
hoping her concern didn’t show.  Isaac looked terrible, ghostly pale and so
weak. 

A piece of the
rope railing ahead looked strange.  Rebecca reached out and poked a finger at
it, watching her hand pass through the rope as if it wasn’t there.  Something
was seriously wrong with the dream world.

Keeping a wary
eye on that portion of the bridge, she took a wide step, feeling with her toes
before setting all her weight on her foot.  The bridge held and she continued
on, trying not to notice the clouds that drifted by in the valley below.  Even
the sky wasn’t where it should be.  “Watch the railing just there.”

Isaac followed
her, his dark brows drawn together in a slight frown.  “What do you suppose it
means?”

They stepped
onto solid ground and turned to survey the bridge they had just crossed, which
was now blinking in and out of existence as if they were watching a TV with bad
reception.