Chapter 2

The following day passed slowly for Henry, even though he made several trips to the store, to buy supplies for the planned picnic. Finally, the day of the picnic arrived, and he was up early fixing sandwiches and packing other foodstuff into a basket.

When he arrived at Etna's house he found that she was ready for their walk. She took the picnic basket he carried and put it on the kitchen table. Then, in a flurry of motion, they were out the door, walking in the direction of the lake. They walked for almost an hour. As they walked, Etna pointed out her favorite spots along the lake's shore. When they arrived back at the house, she led him inside and took charge of laying out the food.

She held up a jar of pickles and cocked her head to one side. "I've never seen these before and the bread is different. I guess, I'm just falling further and further behind the modern world, living like a hermit while everything moves ahead."

"You are certainly the nicest looking hermit I've ever seen. Not that I've seen a whole lot of hermits."

She laughed at him and passed him a plate filled with food. "I think hunger is affecting your eye sight, but thank you for the compliment. Hermits don't get many compliments."

They talked about many things while they ate; however, later on Henry could not recall what they had talked about. He was too fascinated by the music of Etna's voice and her graceful movements, for the conversation to greatly register upon his mind.

Two hours later, the meal long over, Etna showed Henry to the door. "That was just a perfect picnic. It is I that have to thank you for your work in preparing it. You did a good job."

"Maybe we could do it another time. Would you mind, if I dropped by tomorrow, to see if you want to go for another walk? I mean, we better get in as much walking as possible before the weather gets bad."

She opened the door. "I think that might be a fine idea; yes, a fine idea indeed."

He stepped backward out the door. "Then I'll be here about the same time."

They went walking, not just the next day, but every day for over a week, before rain put an end to their trips. Their walks had begun with them walking side by side along the shore, but soon they were holding hands and by the time the rains started falling Henry had his arm around her.

They were standing outside the front door to Etna's house after returning from what had become their daily walk. The day had been cloudy, giving every indication that rain was imminent, and in fact, a few drops of rain had already fallen.

Etna looked up at the sky and then into Henry's eyes. "It looks like it is going to rain hard before long. I'm afraid we won't be doing very much walking for awhile, but even if we can't walk, we can still talk. Maybe you'd like to drop in tomorrow and talk for awhile?"

Seized by a sudden impulse, Henry bent down and kissed the girl, and then realizing what he had done stammered an apology. "I ... I ... that is, I guess I got carried away. You look so lovely standing there with your cheeks all red from the cold. I'm really sorry if I offended you."

"Henry Addison, I will tell you when you have offended me. I'll take that as your answer that I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll be here. I'd like to talk and get to know you better."

The smile faded from her face. "I'm afraid I'm a very uninteresting person. I'd much rather we talked about something else."

He nodded and held her hand. "We'll talk about whatever you want to talk about."

Reaching up she pulled up his coat collar around his neck. "Now, you had better be going along before the rain gets heavy."

The next day Henry only knocked once on Etna's door before she opened it and asked him inside. Sitting on the sofa and watching the fire, their conversation at first was about the weather, but soon Henry found himself telling Etna about his past.

He looked deep into the blazing fire before them. "My father owned some stores around the state and wanted me to take over the business. I was never very interested in that sort of thing and we had several intense arguments. Then, when I was twenty-one my parents died in a train wreak, and I felt obligated to take my father's place as head of the business; however, the war came along, and the next thing I knew I was in France getting shot. When I got back to the states I was in no mood to play store, and I ended up selling out. I finally found my way up here, and I'm glad I did."

"My husband was killed in France, at a place called Belleau Wood. Mr. Winslow told me that the French are going to rename the woods Bois de la Brigade de Marine, sometime later this year.

At noon, Etna prepared lunch and the couple sat down to eat. After they finished eating, Henry helped with cleaning up and doing the dishes. When everything had been put away, Henry reluctantly knew it was time for him to go.

Etna showed him to the door. "I really enjoyed our talk."

He grinned at her and nodded. "I did too. I don't suppose you'd want me back again tomorrow?"

She reached one hand up behind his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. "What do you think?"

"Uh, I'll take that as a definite yes. Expect me at the same time. In fact, wild horses couldn't keep me away."

So it was that a daily pattern was set, each day Henry would come over to visit Etna. Slowly, following a ritual as old as mankind, the couple found themselves growing closer to each other. They progressed from holding hands and hugging, to kissing and intimately touching each other. With each passing day, Henry came to realize that something very serious was happening between Etna and him.

One day, just after they had broken a deep and powerful kiss, Henry looked intently into Etna's eyes. "You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. When I look into them, it is as if I can see into your soul. You have a kind and loving soul."

Tears filled her eyes and she lowered her head. "I'm neither kind nor loving, and I'm afraid my soul is tainted by wickedness."

Henry lifted her chin so that he could again look into her eyes. "Believe me, there is no wickedness in you."

She sobbed and pulled him close to herself. "You're wrong, I'm terrible. I never loved my husband. Oh, he never knew, our parents never knew, but I knew. Our marriage had been, more or less, by our parents. I never had much say in the matter. I should have been stronger and told them I wouldn't marry him, but I was young and weak. After we were married, we came up here. He had dreams of starting a lumber mill.

"Then, the war came along, and he joined the service, while stayed here. When I received word of his death, I couldn't even cry. He was a good man, but I did not love him. It is a terrible, terrible thing for a wife not to love her husband. It is even worse not to be able to morn over his death. I'm a wicked, nasty person and, you'd do well not to have anything to do with me."

Henry held her. "You stood by him, even though you didn't love him. You were pressured into something you really didn't want, but you did what you had to do at the time and made the best of it. You did your duty; you stayed faithful to your husband and made him a home. You have nothing to feel ashamed about, in fact, you should feel proud. A lot of other women would have done otherwise."

"I don't know about that, Henry. I only know that your kindness has been a comfort and a blessing."

Later that night, as Henry lay in his bed, he pondered the strange twists of fate, which had allowed a crippled vet, who continually had to fight down self-pity, and an guilt ridden young woman to find each other. He felt there was some reason that fate had taken a hand in bringing them together. Whatever, the workings of fate, Etna had invited him to dinner the next day and he fell asleep thinking about her.

The next afternoon when Henry arrived at Etna's house he was carrying a bottle of wine. "I hope this wine will be okay. To tell you the truth, I don't know what kind of wine goes with what."

"Well, we're having venison steaks, and I'm sure that this wine will go with it just fine. Now, you sit on the couch and let me get busy finishing things."

Taking up his position on the couch in front of the fire, he watched Etna moving quickly around the kitchen area. "If I can do anything to help, just give a holler and I'll be there."

"That's sweet, but I'm afraid that at this point you'd just be in the way."

The dinner that night was excellent and later, as they sat side by side on the couch watching the flames dancing over the logs in the fireplace, Henry complimented Etna's cooking again and again, until the girl was starting to blush.

She finally pressed her forefinger against his lips to silence him. "Henry, you flatter a girl something fierce, but there are other ways for you to show your appreciation."

Taking the girl in his arms he kissed her gently on the lips and then looked deeply into her green eyes. "Can I thank you some more?"

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't."

He held her close and kissed her softly. She brought her arms around his neck and kissed him back with passion. Their tongues danced together, as they responded to the rising emotions, which began to overwhelm the two of them. Henry finally pulled back and looked into her eyes. It seemed to him that he was lost in the depth of her gaze. He suddenly realized that something had happened to him that had never happened to him before, he was in love. Henry was no stranger to women and had had several girl friends, but never in his life had he felt anything to compare with the feelings that were sweeping over him.

"Etna, I think you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. You have captured my heart and my soul. I don't know how you feel about me, but unless you tell me to go away, I'm going to fall deeply and totally in love with you."

"Well, it has certainly taken you long enough to figure that out!"

He looked with amazement at the woman in his arms. "What do you mean?"

She giggled and her mouth sought out his before she answered him. "I mean, I knew I was in love with you the second time I saw you, and I had a pretty good idea you felt the same, even if you didn't realize it at the time."

He hugged her to him as his tongue sought out her ear. "I've traveled over a good part of this world, and here beside this mountain lake, I have found the most wonderful woman on this planet."

He kissed her and his hand gently caressed one of her breasts. She moaned into his mouth and pressed herself tightly against him. The need within him responded to the need, which flowed from her, as his other hand rose to cup her other breast. Their mutual passion took them both to another plane, where they were the only two people in existence. Slowly, almost fearfully, Henry began to undo the buttons of Etna's dress. When her dress was unbuttoned, she pushed him back and stood up, pulling the dress over her head. Once free of the dress, she began to remove the rest of her clothing, all the while staring into Henry's eyes. She smiled when she saw his face reflect the hunger, which grew within him, as more and more of her body came into view. With a tiny bit of hesitation, she allowed her remaining garments to fall to the floor and stood before him in all her naked glory. She studied his face for some indication of what he thought of her body.

He rose from the couch and drew her to him, his hands running up and down her nude form. After a long kiss, his lips sought out her hard nipples and he sucked them into his mouth. He kissed his way up from her breasts and whispered in her ear. "You are more beautiful that I imagined. You are perfect in every way."

Pulling away from her, Henry rapidly removed his clothes. He had a ridiculous feeling that if he didn't act immediately, Etna might suddenly decide to get dressed. They pressed tightly together in a passion filled embrace. Henry rained kisses upon Etna, starting first with her lips and then moving along her cheek until he was nibbling upon her ear lobe. His tongue darted along the folds of her ear and teased the opening of her ear canal. Then he resumed his kisses, moving down along her neck, even as his hands moved upward to caress her breasts.

Etna sighed at Henry's attentions; she softly bit his shoulder and kissed his neck. Her hand reached down and encircled his rampant manhood, causing him to moan in excitement; she moved her hand slowly back and forth along its length. Henry shuddered with delight and easily picking the woman up in his arms, he carried her over to the bed. He carefully laid her on the bed, pausing for a long moment, to drink in the beauty of the naked goddess before him. He lay down beside her and continued his lovemaking. His lips found their way between her breasts, before he moved his mouth over her left nipple. His tongue circled her nipple three times, before he drew the protruding nub into his mouth. Releasing her left nipple, he turned his attention to her right breast, where he repeated his actions, causing Etna to softly moan. Even as his main focus was upon the woman's breasts, Henry slid one of his hands down, over Etna's belly, to begin to ever so softly fondle her mound.

Henry kissed his way down from Etna's breasts and stopped at her belly button, where his tongue caressed her skin. He then continued to kiss her and gently bite her flesh, as he moved down her body. He stopped just above the beginning of her pubic hair and sucked upon her skin, before continuing to kiss his way over to her hip and down her right leg. Reaching her toes, he kissed each one and moved to the left leg, where he reversed the process, which he had followed his descent down Etna's right side. When his lips reached her left thigh, he gently tried to push her legs apart, but met with resistance.

Etna raised herself up enough so that she could look down at Henry. Her breath was coming in rapid pants and her voice was shaky. "Oooh, what are you doing?"

Henry glanced up at her, his eyes filled with excitement and lust. "I'm just making love to you. Relax, let me love you. I'm going to show you something, which I learned from the Free French in North Africa."

Etna allowed Henry to part her legs, but continued to stare down at him in open eyed wonder. Never in her married life had her husband ever thought to pay her the kind of attention, which Henry was raining down upon her. Henry's mouth moved to the top of the woman's pubic patch. His teeth closed upon her hair and gently pulled. He the released her hair and moved slightly lower, to repeat the process, until his mouth was positioned directly over her clitoris.

"Henry, I, I don't know ... I've never..."

Henry's tongue shot out and began to excite the fleshy knob with rapid circular caresses. Etna's eyes grew even wider, as she saw her lover bury his face between her legs. She had led a sheltered existence, and she never had imagined that a man could make love to a woman in such a manner. Yet, the feelings that shot through her, with ever increasing force, were undoubtedly wonderful. Henry's tongue changed from circular motions, to tracing figure eights over her clitoris. The change in motion caused Etna's head to fall back, as she arched her back, and wave after wave, of pleasure rippled through her body. She lowered her back and moving her hands down to Henry's head, raised her hips to allow him full access to her most intimate region. Henry slid his tongue down to circle around the entrance to her vagina, before pushing it into her channel, where he swiftly moved his tongue in and out of her.

Replacing his tongue with one of his fingers, Henry turned his attention back to the woman's clit and sucked forcefully upon it. His efforts were rewarded as Etna shook with the force of a powerful orgasm. Her hands pushed his face tightly against her flesh and her thighs strongly clamped his head. He continued to suck and lick her until she began to push him away.

She gasped and pleaded with Henry. "Please, no more. I can't even catch my breath. I've never felt anything like this before; it is wonderful, and you are wonderful. Oh, I love you so much!"

She pulled Henry up and into her embrace. Her mouth covered his with kiss after kiss. Henry quickly moved to position himself between Etna's open legs. Although his injured leg could not bend, he was able to keep his weight off her, by placing his weight upon the bent knee of his good leg and his two arms. Etna reached down and guided his powerful manhood to her opening. She gave a barely audible sigh, as he sank his rigid member into her body. Henry gritted his teeth with pleasure, as he felt Etna's wet, silky flesh first gave way and then firmly adhered around his driving organ. He began moving slowly, back and forth, in the woman, basking in the tight, slickness, which surrounded his moving organ. Etna moved her hips up to meet his every thrust. Her sex pulsated as Henry's member titillated her sensitive channel. While Henry had been doing his best to keep his weight off his lover, she wanted to feel him pressing down upon her; she wanted him to become one with her.

Henry focused all his will power in an effort to stave off his orgasm, as he allowed Etna to press his body down upon her. He was fiercely determined to do everything in his power to give Etna as much pleasure as he could possibly give her; however, it was not easy to hold his impending climax at bay. The way the velvety flesh of her sex clung to him, seemed to be sucking his shaft ever deeper into her body and trying to coax his seed from him prematurely. There was something magical about the woman; something, which sent sensuous fire racing through all his being. He had never felt anything like it, and he knew with that he had finally found the woman with whom he wanted to spend his life. Yet, all thoughts were banished from his mind, as Etna became more animated in the throws of her own orgasm. She moaned through her clenched teeth, as she reached the summit of her desires and her climax erupted with volcanic force. The power emanating from the woman's orgasm reached out to Henry made all his efforts at self-control futile. He growled as he came with intensity, which he had never experienced before in all his life. Cum flew from him in powerful spurts, flooding his lover's womb and causing her orgasm to renew itself.