Excessica Anthology BOX SET Winter (15 page)

“What about you?” Sarah reached down and tentatively touched the
hard bulge in his pants. “You haven’t had a…” she blushed slightly, “an
orgasm?”

“No my love, but I can wait!” he grinned wryly. “It is kind of
uncomfortable, but I’ll survive. We have a wedding to plan anyway.”

They were married six days later and one day after that, Harry was
sent away for his pilot training. The time they had together was short but
intense as Sarah’s new husband initiated her into the joys of love.

The day the telegram arrived six months later, Sarah already knew he
was dead. She had dreamt it every night for a week, so the piece of emotionless
paper merely confirmed her worst nightmare. His plane had been shot down over
Germany and there were no survivors; he was just another casualty of war. He
hadn’t even known he was going to be a father. 

* *
* *

Olivia awoke in the morning feeling like she had not slept at all.
She had been plagued by the strangest dreams all night. Disjointed images of
people she had never met and places she had never seen.

She dragged herself out of bed yawning heavily and rubbed her red
eyes. For a second she could have sworn she saw a man on her balcony and she
nearly screamed in shock. But she rubbed her eyes hard and when she re-opened
them, he had vanished. It was the second time it had happened and she was
beginning to think that maybe she was working too hard. The Christmas break
would probably do her a world of good.

* *
* *

Malachi had spent all night re-living his past lives and trying to
make sense of what was happening to him. Maybe he was being tested in some way?
The only thing he was certain of was that this girl was, in some way, shape or
form, a living incarnation of all his past lovers. All the women he had ever
loved were somehow embodied in her and for that reason he was becoming
dangerously enamoured.

Love was not a part of his existence now and he knew he should not
be feeling this way. Yet, he had spent all night observing her and longing to
be with her, lying beside this woman and touching her. He did not understand
why at all but he was powerless to stop himself.

He shook himself like a dog and his coat crackled as ice crystals
flew off in the freezing air. The sky above had darkened ominously, threatening
the first winter snowfall of the year.

When Olivia appeared outside, Malachi was compelled once more to follow
her. He walked behind her as she made her way towards the college. Occasionally
he thought she had seen him, but then she would look away again. She should not
be able to see him, of course; that was not how things were. But a part of him
was beginning to wish she could see him and that part was dangerous.

* *
* *

Olivia had the weird sensation that she was being watched. This
continued for a week and she was beginning to feel quite spooked. Between that
and the dreams, she wondered if she was going insane. Every night she dreamt
about the same two people, only they had different names and they lived in
different times. Always they were lovers and always it ended in the death of
the man.

The strangest part was that the woman looked uncannily like her.
This realisation had not struck her straight away, it only happened when she
had been startled awake by the phone right in the middle of a particularly
vivid dream and the details had stayed with her more clearly.

She had almost tasted the acrid gun smoke and felt the early morning
frost on her bare feet. Her skin had been bathed in sweat when the insistent
ringing woke her, confusion reigning, her heart racing in fear. It had taken
several moments for her brain to realise where she was and lift her out of the
dream. It had been the worst one yet…

* *
* *

Elisabeth sat huddled before the meagre fire burning in the grate.
Firewood was scarce, but it was so cold outside this December night, she had
allowed Old John to light a small fire for them. She sipped her ale and stared
unseeing into flames, her thoughts shrouding her like a dark malignant cloud.

For weeks they had heard no word from Jacob. The house was virtually
empty now, the land gone; all sold to pay government taxes levied against the
families still loyal to the King. The food was dwindling fast and how much
longer they could manage was questionable.

The other servants had long since departed, forced to look elsewhere
for work when Elisabeth couldn’t pay their wages. Only Old John stayed, more out
of loyalty than anything else. She was glad for his company, however; if it was
not for him, she surely believed she would have gone mad from grief and
loneliness by now.

With a low throaty growl the dogs stirred at her feet, alert to some
distant noise. She listened carefully, but could hear nothing beyond the wind
howling around the old house. But both hounds jumped up and woofed softly,
their ears pricked. Elisabeth stiffened when she heard a faint banging on the
door. Reaching silently for the loaded musket she kept under her chair, she
held it ready, her hands slightly shaking.

The dogs leapt across the room at the sound of the outer door being
opened and a sharp wind blew in, causing the fire to burst up the chimney in a
cloud of orange sparks. Frantic barking ensued as the dogs jumped about in
excitement and Elisabeth tightened her fingers on the stock, prepared to shoot
whoever walked through the door. She had heard several reports of Parliament
troops in the area recently and she wasn’t about to have her honour taken
without a fight.

Old John limped in through the heavy oak door, a shadowy figure
hidden behind him.

“Who goes there!” demanded Elisabeth, sounding far more intimidating
than she felt.

“Has it been that long since you saw me, my darling?” spoke a
familiar voice. When Old John stepped aside, Elisabeth saw immediately it was
her beloved husband.

Elisabeth dropped the musket with a cry and raced across the room to
joyfully take Jacob in her arms. She held him tightly, feeling how cold and
damp he was. His frame was painfully thin beneath the heavy clothing. They
clung together wordlessly, the dogs licking their master’s hand frantically.

Old John backed away deferentially. “I’ll be fetching the master a
pot of ale and some of that bread, Miss Elisabeth,” he said roughly.

“Thank you, John,” Elisabeth replied, her voice choked with tears.
“Come sit by the fire Jacob, you are frozen.”

* *
* *

Jacob followed her across the room, his face grey with fatigue in
the pale yellow light. He had not eaten properly for days and he was weak and
exhausted. He knew it was incredibly dangerous to be here, but the lure of his
wife was just too damned strong. She was all he had thought about in the weeks
and months he had been away. Despite the fighting and the carnage of the
battlefield, he had kept her face alive in his memory. He had prayed to God
every night that he would live to see her again.

When his regiment had disbanded temporarily, he had decided to make
the hazardous journey home. It had taken him over a week to find his way back
to Yorkshire from the South. Many times he had been forced to outwit bands of
Parliamentary soldiers, but he had been lucky so far. How long that luck lasted
remained to be seen.

He sat in the chair in front of the fire, his eyes closing in
exhaustion while Elisabeth helped Old John prepare some food for him. It pained
him to see the house as it was now, unkempt and almost empty—all the
beautiful furniture sold or burnt as firewood. He recalled days of past, all the
happy times spent here. Those times were gone forever; England was a dark place
now and he despaired anything would ever be the same again.

After he had eaten the meagre broth with bread, washed down with
some weak ale, he felt a little better. As tired as he was, he listened
intently to Elisabeth as she told him all the news and he quietly studied her
while she talked. She had changed in the last few months. The hardship of day
to day life had taken its toll upon her; he could see how the worn dress hung
off her thin frame. She was still beautiful, though, and his body reacted to
her as it always did, despite his immense fatigue.

Old John was not doing so good either. Jacob had heard the harsh
wracking cough from the kitchen and he knew it did not bode well. The man was a
lot frailer than he had been, mainly as a result of several hard winters, but
the lack of food and warmth were doing him no good at all. Jacob felt terribly
guilty, but there was nothing he could do to help. It was dangerous to be here
and he could not stay for long. The whole area was staunchly for Parliament. As
his family had always supported Charles, his continued presence would only put
his wife in danger.

Elisabeth saw Jacob’s eyes drooping in the warmth. “Come to bed,
Jacob,” she said gently. “You need to rest. John has lit a small fire in the
bedroom, so it should be warm for a while.”

The bedroom was still damp and chilly, although the fire had taken
the edge off the cold. Elisabeth pulled the heavy moth-eaten drapes across the
small windows and they climbed beneath the thick blankets. The dogs stretched
out on the threadbare rug in front of the hearth, snuffling and grunting in
their sleep, their legs twitching as they chased phantom rabbits.

Jacob pulled his wife close and immersed himself in the scent and
feel of her soft body. Her head rested on his shoulder and he could feel her
warm breath tickling him lightly. She began to stroke him gently, playing with
the wiry hair and rubbing her hand across his small nipples.

He turned on his side and faced her, the faint light emanating from
the fire casting deep shadows across the room. Her dark hair fanned out over
the pillows and her turquoise eyes glittered in the half-light.

“Make love to me,” Elisabeth whispered, her voice breaking slightly
with the depth of her emotions. She had been so lonely without him at her side;
now she was complete again.

Jacob did not reply; there was no need to. His tiredness faded as he
pulled her close and kissed her hard, his cock beginning to throb with unexpected
vigour. Their bodies melded together like a jigsaw puzzle, all the months of
separation melting away. All that mattered now was seeking pleasure in each
other’s touch.

Jacob explored the gentle curves of his wife’s body, feeling subtle
changes in the familiar landscape. Her breasts were heavy beneath her thin
cotton chemise, her nipples taut and hard. His fingers brushed over the
sensitive tips and she moaned a little, pushing her lower body into the curve
of his hips. Her belly had a noticeable swell to it, a hardness that wasn’t
there before and he looked at her in surprise, a hopeful smile on his face.

“Are you with child?” he asked reverently, hoping against hope that
after all this time God had finally blessed them with a child.

“Yes, Jacob.” Elisabeth smiled at him, her eyes shining. “Our baby
will be born in the new year, God willing.” She took his hand and he stroked
her stomach in wondering delight at the burgeoning life within. It was amazing;
she was so thin yet her belly was gently rounded. For a moment he felt
paralysing fear at the thought of her having to cope all alone with her
pregnancy. But he made a silent promise to himself that whatever happened, he
would come back to her.

Elisabeth pressed closer into him, wrapping her legs around his.
Slowly, Jacob’s hand moved lower, below the hem of the chemise, stroking the
soft skin of her thighs. She made small mewling sounds and buried her face in
his neck, biting hard at the skin there. By the time he reached that most
sensitive part of her, she was more than ready for his touch. Her legs parted
instinctively and he slipped his fingers between the slick folds of her flesh,
moisture soaking his hand.

He needed to feel her around his cock. It had been far too long. He
wanted to bury himself within her eager body so the pleasure could blot out the
horrors he’d witnessed. Pushing Elisabeth onto her back, Jacob pulled the
chemise up and moved over her so that his cock was poised at her entrance. She
stared into his eyes, her lips parted in lust, her cheeks flushed.

With one firm thrust, Jacob eased himself into her tight channel,
slowly sinking into her until he was fully sheathed. Elisabeth wrapped her legs
around his waist and pulled him inside her as deep as he could go. He gasped at
the sensation and raised himself up a little on his arms, gazing down upon his
beautiful wife.

“I will always love you,” he told her, staring at her intensely. She
was everything to him; without her he was nothing. Bending to kiss her lips he
began to move inside her. She gripped his shoulders and threw her head back in
pleasure, eyes closed. They moved together, the sensations building to an
irrevocable conclusion.

Jacob paused, wishing to prolong their pleasure. He rolled over onto
his back, pulling his wife with him so that they ended up with her astride him.
Elisabeth smiled at him in the pale light, her hair cascading over her
shoulders. The chemise slipped down and bunched around her waist. She rocked
her hips, moving gently while she leant forward. Her beasts were half exposed,
the dark nipples peaking through. Jacob pulled the cotton down and cupped the
soft globes of flesh, rubbing her nipples with his thumbs.