Gypsy in Black: The Romance of Gypsy Travelers (24 page)

“
I will meet you there, my beautiful romni.
”

Disappointed, Sahara
watched as
Nicolae
walked away.  He
disappeared into the crowd.
Sighing, Sahara turned around,
heading for their tent.  Afte
r living with the gypsies for a
little under two months, Sahara
recognized the tent she shared
with
Nicolae
easily.  Several tents
illuminated
a soft, orange glow
from lanterns hanging inside. 
A shadow moved.  Sahara watched
for a second, seeing the silhouette of one woman seated next to
another.  Most probably it was Bos
sa, telling some town woman her
fortune.  Shaking her head, Sahar
a pulled her own tent flap back
and walked into the darkness.  Sh
e took two steps in then leaned
over as she groped on the top
of the oak chest for matches. 
Inside it, she kept the black
dress she had made as well as a
black skirt and turquoise shirt.
  Her fingers closed around the
matches.  Quickly, she lit the lantern, shaking the match out.  Before she could turn around, sh
e felt warm breath in her ear.  Smiling,
she started to turn around. 
“
Nicolae
, you're...
”

Emilian
put his finger to he
r lips,
signaling
her silent. 
“
You are surprised?
”

Sahara nodded, her eyes wi
de and frightened.  If
Nicolae
came
back and saw
Emilian
there, he'd ki
ll him
for sure. 
Even married women were never to be left alone in the company of another man.  The scandal could destroy her reputation. 
“
What are you
doing here?
”

“
I came for you.
”

Sahara frowned, suspecting h
is reasons.  She hadn't thought
of
Emilian
since their last encounter, almost three week
s before. 
She could smell the rakiya on his
breath as he ran a finger down
her bare arm.  His fingers care
less brushed against her breast
and he smiled again.  Sahara glan
ced at the tent flap.  Wherever
Nicolae
had gone, he would return soon. 
“
I don't think
you should be
here,
Emilian
.  You know what w
ould happen if
Nicolae
walked in.
”
 
She'd hate to ruin
Nicolae
's good mood.

Bitterly,
Emilian
spat out,
“
E Martya to
Nicolae
!
”

Without thinking, Sahara rais
ed her hand and slapped
Emilian
's
cheek.  His words had angered her tre
mendously. 
“
How dare you
call the angel of death on
Nicolae
o
r anyone else!  You ought to be
ashamed of yourself!
”

Emilian
ignored the stinging in
his cheek. 
“
You belong to me. 
You are mine, S'hara!
”

“
I belong to no man,
Emilian
.  Not even
Nicolae
.  But he is my
husband!
”
  She hesitated. 
“
I do not know what passed between
you
and your brother…
I pr
obably never will.  But, I will
tell you this, I will not allo
w you to create a turmoil in my
life.
“

For a moment, he stared at h
er, stunned.  She could see the
pain in his bloodshot eyes.  Low
ering his head in defeat,
Emilian
shut his eyes. 
“
I see, S'hara.
”

“
I think it best if you le
ave now.
”
  Her heart pounded as
she waited for
Emilian
to leave, f
earful that
Nicolae
would return to
wi
tness his brother
alone with his wife. 

Stripping her clothes of
f her tired body, Sahara pushed
Emilian
out of her mind.  She brush
ed the dust off the black skirt
she had been given along with th
e red blouse in Fargo.  Folding
them, she laid the neat pile insid
e the chest on top of her other
clothing.  She shivered in the c
ool night air, rubbing her arms
as she hurried over to the feather
mattress she shared with
Nicolae
. 
The thick blankets scratched her
sun
-
baked skin.  Her fingertips,
dry from washing clothes that afternoon i
n a nearby stream,
clutched the blanket around her
.  She listened intently to the
sounds of the night...the music
, laughter, singing, and lovers
slipping into the darkness.  But s
he didn't hear
Nicolae
coming.  She
sighed, rolling onto her bac
k.  Impatiently, she kicked the
blanket off her legs, letting th
e cool night air slowly put her
to sleep.

It was his warm breath upo
n her neck that awoke her.  His
one hand g
roped for her breast as he sank down
next to her on the soft mattress.  His passion had
built up since he had left her,
especially after his father had
scolded him for allowing Sahara
to turn him soft.  They had
argued for a while but Sahara's
request for Locke to wed Finny had
been approved reluctantly when
Nicolae
had pointed out that her in
tended was the brutal Greggor. 
“
S'hara, make love to me ton
ight,
”
he whispered softly.  He
wrapped his arms around her, hol
ding her tight as he kissed her
softly. 

She smiled as he stroked he
r.  Lifting her arms around his
neck, she kissed him back.  Pulli
ng away, Sahara tugged sleepily
at his clothing. 
Nicolae
dispersed
of them, leaving them in a pile
on the ground.  When he took Saha
ra into his arms again, he felt
her run her hands over his bare ba
ck, still warm from the fires. 
Her fingers pulled at his hair, w
anting him as much as he wanted
her.  He could feel her passion be
neath him as he traced his lips
along her shoulder.  She grabbed
at him, pressing closer as his
hands explore every inch of her
body.  When he finally laid her
back into the soft mattress, Saha
ra held her arms out for him to
join her. 

Nicolae
kneeled above her, starin
g down at her in the darkness. 
Her hair fanned across the pillows
.  Her dark eyes met his gaze. 
Her outstretched arm gentl
y brushed against his arm.  The
coolness of her touch aroused
him even more.  His hand closed
over hers, raising it to his
lips.  Tenderly, he kissed her
fingertips. 
“
I want to be close to you, S'hara,
”
he murmured, his voice deep and husky.  He drop
ped her hand, moving forward to
press her legs apart.  He could
sense her own excitement as he
pulled her to him, gently easing
into her.  She trembled beneath
his touch, clawing at him to ho
ld her as tightly as he could. 
But
Nicolae
held her down on the matt
ress as he stared down into her
tanned face, slowly moving inside
her.  He lifted her hips higher
to meet his.  She gasped softly,
turning her head to the side as
she bit her lip.  She could hear
Nicolae
breathing heavier.  A soft
smile escaped onto her lips when
he finally groaned, his passion
shaking her into joyful shivers of pleasure.

Nicolae
pulled Sahara into h
is arms.  She clung to him, her
cheek against his sweaty shoulder.
  Shutting her eyes, she sighed
as she felt
Nicolae
's chest rise a
nd fall rapidly.  He rocked her
back and forth, his one hand pressed agai
nst the back of her
neck. 
“
Ay S'hara...
”
  He kisse
d the top of her head. 
“
You've
cast a spell on me.
”
  Her finge
rs traced a cool line along his
muscular arm.  She could feel hi
s skin quiver under her touch. 
Nicolae
pulled away, staring into
her face, illuminated from the
distant glow of the
campfires
that seeped through the canvas
tent. 
“
Maybe it is true you are
making me soft as the
Rom Baro
says.  But no man can ever blame m
e for falling in love with you,
S'hara.
”
  He didn't receive a reply as he leaned
forward and
kissed her mouth with all his passion and love. 

Sahara laid in his arms
later, his head resting on her
stomach.  She stroked his hair, listening to him sleep.  His arm was tossed protectively across he
r waist.  Her thoughts wandered
as she stared restlessly into th
e darkness.  He had told her
that
he
loved her.
For once in her life, she felt loved.  A wave of happiness came over her.
Staring at the top
of the tent, she listened to
the gypsy music.  It filled her blood with fire and her heart swelled.  She closed her eyes, feeling Nicolae next to her and, the music fading into her dreams,
she finally drifted asleep.




   




Amaya was not blind to the sudden interest that the Rom Baro had taken in her.  At first, she thought it would be fleeting.  But as the weeks went on, she noticed him watching her from afar.  She pretended that she did not know but it was increasingly difficult.  He would seek her out during the day and insist that she sat next to him by the fires.  When the kumpan
ia
traveled, his horse seemed to linger near the wagon in which she rode. 

She was not the only one who noticed his attention.  The rest of the kumpan
ia
whispered behind her back.  But she could imagine what they said.  How could the Rom Baro fall for such a woman?  After all, she was polluted, a woman with a child but no husband.  It was almost unheard of in the gypsy culture, and certainly not common among the children of the leaders.  If her own father had not been a Rom Baro, she would have been mahrimed and shunned from the community. 

During the days when they were camped, she would care for the Rom Baro’s sons as well as her child, Sahara.  She took care of the Rom Baro’s tent as well.  But at night, she retreated to the wagon in which she had been assigned.  It was small and dark but it was safe.  She would sleep at night with the infant in her arms.  If nothing else, she realized, they were indeed safe. And the Rom Baro’s extra attention helped to insure that would continue.