Chapter 16: Ranger Jacqueline

"WHATEVER IT WAS, IT WASN'T rape. Abduction, maybe, but not rape."

Persephone put her coffee cup down.

We were having a very late breakfast in the coffee shop at the Glory of Zion, a desert resort that lived up to its name a few miles outside the park. So far out of our price range we'd never have stayed here but for Mrs. D, who'd telephoned the day before to tell us she'd booked adjoining suites for a few days of R & R. She and Mrs. H would arrive later, she said.

"So, what happened, Persephone?" I asked.

Persephone shook her head. Looked at each of us in turn.

"No, I'm telling you guys, it wasn't like that."

She sighed.

"Harry fucked me, and it wasn't rape. He's sweet. Weird, yeah, but sweet."

Oscar shifted in his chair. The chair creaked, a little ominously.

"Sounded like rape to me, Persephone," he said. "I think he went over the line, this time. Way over. This wasn't bathing in an irrigation ditch."

Persephone put her small hand on his forearm.

"No, Oscar, really. It wasn't like that. It was, well, explosive and sweet at the same time, if that makes any sense. Ranger Jacqueline told me they'd have a copy of my statement for me tomorrow. You can read all about it.

She lifted her coffee cup but she didn't drink. She set it down.

"Look, I still don't know what happened, not exactly, but Harry set something loose in me."

She laughed.

"Oh, boy, did he ever."

She leaned over to Oscar and kissed him. "He's not you, Oscar, but he's close. Real close. And I mean that like a compliment."

She whispered in Oscar's ear. Whatever it was, Oscar's grin said he liked it. He kissed her.

"Really, Persephone?"

Persephone's smile was broad.

"Yeah, Oscar. Look, guys, like I told you. The long and short of it is that he fucked me."

Hebe laughed. "Really, Persephone, for a solid week?"

Persephone shook her head. "Uh uh. He took his time. A long time. He tortured me first."

Oscar's grin disappeared and he started to rise. I had no idea what he thought he'd do. No one knew where Harry was.

"No, Oscar, not that kind of torture. The good kind."

Oscar relaxed, a little.

"Harry brought something out of me. Something I'd known was there, sort of, but hadn't recognized. Or maybe I didn't want to recognize it. The short name for it is lust. And fury. Maybe both. And by lust, I mean uncontrollable explosive the world disappears and you see stars and it turns you inside out lust. That kind of lust."

Persephone took a deep breath, but she wasn't finished.

"And by fury, I mean you want to fuck him to death, if he doesn't fuck you to death first. Either way is fine."

Jesus Christ, I thought. Harry's unleashed a monster. A petite monster but a monster nonetheless. I was only a little relieved when Persephone kissed Oscar again. Looked at me and at Rick. She laughed.

"Oh, don't worry, boys. You all do just fine. Especially you, Oscar. Harry doesn't have anything on you, doesn't have anything you don't have."

Another pause.

"But there was something. Or maybe it was horniness. Or maybe I like being abducted and slapped around."

This time Oscar was halfway to his feet before Persephone hauled him back down. A pretty neat trick, considering she was half his size. On the other hand, we all knew Oscar was the leading candidate for the position of Persephone's Slave.

Hebe leaned over to kiss Persephone's cheek.

"So, how'd you get him to set you loose, Persephone?

"I beaned him with a taxidermied marmot. That's what it took to get his attention."

None of us had anything to say to that. For about three seconds, anyway, until we laughed so hard the conversations around us stopped. We quieted down after a minute or so and Rick kind of waved at the room in apology.

"A taxidermied marmot, Persephone?" Rick looked dubious.

"Yup. It was the first thing I could put my hand on when it looked like Harry was going to leave the room and leave me hanging. I wasn't going to let him get away with that, bet your ass. Not after he'd pulled the same trick two nights running."

"So, tell us how you got out, Persephone," said Hebe. "What did you have to promise him?"

Persephone shrugged.