The Plains of Passage - Jean M. Auel [120]
“The horses need a rest, too, and they might like to have a good roll or a swim,” she said, removing the pack baskets and riding blanket from Whinney. “And I’d like to wait for Wolf to catch up with us. I haven’t seen him all morning. He must have caught the scent of something wonderful that’s giving him a good chase.”
“All right,” Jondalar said, and he started untying the thongs of Racer’s pack baskets. He put them into the bowl boat beside Ayla’s and gave the stallion a friendly slap on the rump, to let him know that he was free to follow his dam.
The young woman quickly shed her few garments and waded into the pool, while Jondalar stopped to pass his water. He glanced up at her, then couldn’t look away. She was standing in shimmering water up to her knees, in a beam of sunlight coming through an opening in the trees, bathing in brilliance that lighted her hair into a golden halo, and gleamed off the bare tanned skin of her supple body.
Watching her, Jondalar was struck again by her beauty. For a moment, his strong feelings of love for her overpowered him, seeming to catch in his throat. She bent down to lift a double handful of water to splash down on herself, accenting the rounded fullness of her backside and exposing the paler skin of her inner thigh, and sending a flush of heat and wanting through him. He looked down at the member he was still holding in his hand and smiled, beginning to think of more than swimming.
She looked at him as he started into the water, saw his smile, and a familiar, compelling look in his intense blue eyes, then noticed the shape of his manhood changing. She felt a deep stirring in response; then she relaxed and a tension she didn’t realize was there, drained away. They were not going to travel any more today, not if she could help it. They both needed a change of pace, a pleasantly exciting diversion.
He had noticed her eyes glance down at him, and at some level noted the welcome response and a slight change in her posture. Without really changing position, her stance became somehow more inviting. His reaction was obvious. He could not have hidden it if he’d wanted to.
“The water is wonderful,” she said. “It was a good idea you had, to go swimming. It was getting so hot.”
“Yes, I’m feeling a heat,” he said, with a wry grin as he waded toward her. “I don’t know how you do it, but I have no control around you.”
“Why would you want to? I don’t have any around you. You just have to look at me that way, and I’m ready for you.” She smiled, the big beautiful smile that he loved.
“Oh, woman,” he breathed as he took her in his arms. She reached up for him as he bent down to touch her soft lips with his in a firm, unhurried kiss. He ran his hands down her back, feeling her sun-warmed skin. She loved his touch and responded to his caress with an instant and surprising anticipation.
He reached lower, to her smooth rounded mounds, and pulled her toward him. She felt the full length of his warm hardness against her stomach, but the movement had unbalanced her. She tried to catch herself, but a stone gave way beneath her foot. She clutched at him for support, unbalancing him as his footing gave away. They fell into the water with a splash, then sat up, laughing.
“You’re not hurt, are you?” Jondalar asked.
“No,” she said, “but the water is cold and I was trying to ease in. Now that I’m wet, I think I’ll go for a swim. Isn’t that what we came here to do?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do other things, too,” he said. He noticed that the water reached to just under her arms, and her fall breasts were floating, reminding him of the curving prows of a pair of boats with hard pink tips. He bent over and tickled a nipple with his tongue, feeling her warmth within the cool water.
She felt a shivery response and tilted her head back to let the sensation wash over her. He reached for her other breast, cupped it, then slid his hand back along her side and pulled her closer. She was feeling so sensitive, just the pressure of his palm sliding across her hard nipple sent new tingles