Chapter 6

The next three weeks flew by for Mark and Jean.

It was surprising how quickly they settled into a routine. While Mark still did a lot of the cooking, Jean was finding that she enjoyed his meals and since breakfast was simple, she took over it as her main meal to prepare.

It turned out that she was also far better at milking the camla than Mark was. Since she was a Nature Mage, neither of them were surprised by this. Mark taught her the rudiments of how to make soft cheeses since the camla supplied far more milk than they needed.

It didn’t hurt that he had created a huge walk-in perseveration room, so the milk and other perishables didn’t spoil. The cheese was kept in another room while it matured.

Mark had made a heap of earth-ware jars for the milk and for storing other items like flour and grains. He designed shelves and made pull out drawers for a lot of the fruits and vegetables that they gathered. They had both been surprised by what they had been able to forage in just that time, as autumn was waning and they had already had snow.

Kia had been a brilliant help, and Mark had added another camla and even a two snufflers to the store room for meat. He had also found the nuts they had collected could be lightly roasted and ground into flour that made his bread taste even better.

The hive had been one of their favourite finds. It has been well-stocked with honey, and they knew it would last them all winter. Mark had also created a type of internal greenhouse for Jean. They found the new crystal room was actually brilliant as a greenhouse.

Mark had designed new lights for them using a technology that Jean didn’t know and cycled them on and off to simulate sunlight. The new crystal formations were coming along nicely despite the light over the gardens. The bugs had spread even faster than Mark expected and had been very busy.

The bugs loved the mineral rich air and not too much heat. Jean’s herbs and other green leafed vegetables did too, so they were not that worried about not having good food to eat once they were snowed in.

Mark had even planted several of the different tubers and the wild onions that he had found, and they had all sprouted quickly in the warmed, rich soils he and Jean had created and then spelled to speed up their growth.

Mark spent an hour each morning teaching Jean magical spells, and then they tended to split up to work on their own projects until lunch. They would go foraging for an hour or two after lunch, and once the produce was put away, they went back to their projects until Mark cooked dinner. If they got back late, he would start cooking straight away.

They often spent an hour or two reading or on their projects in the evening, until Jean’s tiredness had her crawling into bed. Mark didn’t need as much sleep as she did, during that time, so after he tucked her in; he went back to what he was doing and crawled in some time later.

Bess, the camla, had settled in and the small perimeter shield wall Mark had created kept her in the gully. The shield also seemed to keep the spiders out. Mark had created a deep cave to keep Bess in at night.

He had even created racks that Bess couldn’t reach, and they had been collecting fodder for her, too dry on them. He had shaped a wide hallway from Bess’s cave to the laundry that he had built behind their bathroom. It then joined into the passage to his workshop and had a connecting door to the lounge room.

The only cloud over Mark was created by Jean. She seemed very reluctant to let their relationship to develop beyond petting and kisses. He hadn’t pushed her since she was still getting her full health back.

When she had suggested during lunch, towards the end of their third week together, that he should make another bedroom for her, he got up and walked away. Jean knew she had upset him. When he didn’t come up from his workshop to cook dinner, she started to worry. He had also put a spell on the door so she couldn’t go in and talk to him.

He didn’t come to bed that night either. She woke alone for the first time since she had known him. It felt very strange to wake up without Mark pressing his morning erection into her. She had even put her hand to her breast, but his warm hand wasn’t in its usual place.

When she got up, there was evidence that he had been in the bathroom, but he wasn’t in it. He had used the access from the laundry, so he didn’t disturb her. Then she found a note on the table that said that he had gone hunting.

She was starting to panic when he finally came back just before dark. He nodded at her, but he didn’t ask her to help him when he started emptying his backpack, but she did it anyway. Once it was empty, he headed to their room, and she knew he was using the bathroom.

She had no idea how to fix things between them. She had never been good at relationships and the way he made her feel scared her shitless. Her own sexual frustrations were not helping her either. Each day as she got better, she found it harder and harder to not give in to him.

She knew that he had been restrained with her, but he touched her often enough that she knew that he wanted her. His touches had just been light caresses of her cheeks and gentle kisses and hugs if she let him. If anything, the fact he hadn’t pushed was part of her problem. She almost wished that he just took her and claimed her.

Mark had been letting her set the pace of her seduction, and now her fears had made her push him away. When he came out of the bathroom, he was in his shorts and singlet. She was sure all of the physical activity since they had been here had toned his physique. He was one hunky guy, and the sight of him made her wet with desire.

He started cooking dinner while she went to do the second milking of Bess. Bess happily munched on the grain mix that Mark had made up for her for her milking times. He had told Jean that he had liberated the grain from the storeroom at the lab.

While she put the milk away, Mark set the table and then put the food on it. Jean washed up and joined him. “Thank you, Mark,” she said.

He just nodded at her but didn’t make eye contact. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Once they were finished, he cleaned up and then disappeared downstairs to his workshop. Jean sadly headed into the room that he had made for her to use as her new laboratory.

Mark had lined the walls to make it warmer and had even provided her with an outside door and windows, so she had lots of light during the day, and she could see outside. From the outside, it just looked like a cliff face. She had a breathtaking view and loved her new lab.

He had built her clean-up sinks, benches and a room that held her cages for her animals. A huge storage room was behind the lab with lots of shelves and even drawers. The morning before she had screwed everything up, she had walked in and found the most amazing microscope she had ever seen on her bench. Mark had proudly said that he made it for her.

She had been sitting there staring at her notes for some time when she felt his arms go around her and he hugged her. He kissed her softly on the cheek, said he was sorry, and then he walked away. Jean burst into tears. She dropped her head to her folded arms and bawled.

Mark came back and scooped her up in his arms. He carried her out to the room he built around the new fire place and sat in the big comfy chair he had made and hugged her while she cried. He stroked her hair and let her cry. Jean finally stopped and just lay exhausted in his arms as he stroked her.

“I love you,” he said quietly.

“I know,” she replied, sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

He sighed and moved her a little to a more comfortable position for him, as she was sitting on his hard cock and squashing his balls. He continued to stroke her hair as he held her. Jean relaxed into him further. She felt so safe. She had never felt so safe with anyone before.

“Take me to bed,” she said softly.

“No,” he said.

Surprised, she leant back and looked into his face. She was horrified to see the tracks of his tears drying on his face. “Why not?” she asked him.

“You are not ready to trust your heart to me,” he said sadly. He kissed her on her nose and stood with her still in his arms. He walked to their room and placed her on the bed. He gently caressed her cheek and kissed her lips softly. She watched as he walked out of the room.

He didn’t come back that night either.

The next morning she found him packing his backpack.

“Feel like doing some shopping?” he said to her. He grinned like the old Mark and made a shooing motion, “Dress warmly, we are going to town.”

Jean didn’t argue and hurried to get dressed. When she came back to the kitchen, Mark ran a critical eye over her. He pulled his wand and tapped it on her forehead. He then wiped his hand over his face.

“Oh, by the Goddesses, that is amazing,” she said. She didn’t recognise him. His hair rather than blonde was black with a sprinkling of grey and just a touch of grey at his temples. He had a similar coloured thick moustache and age lines on his forehead and cheeks that made him look in his late-thirties if he was a Burgis.

He also now had muddy green/brown eyes, and his nose was wider. He had darkened his skin to mid-beige and aged the backs of his hands to match his face. “Hum,” he said. “I might have to redo yours.”

“Why what did you do?” she asked suspiciously. He grinned at her, and she ran back to the bathroom to see what he had done. Jean looked into the mirror. Her complexion was a little darker, more apricot. Her hair was now bright coppery red curls.