The Plains of Passage - Jean M. Auel [36]
Hanging from the belt was a knife sheath made of stiff rawhide, the hide of an animal that had been cleaned and scraped but not processed in any way, so that it dried hard in whatever shape it was formed, though a good, thorough wetting could soften it again. She had tucked her sling into the right side of her belt, next to a pouch that held several stones. On the left side was a rather strange, pouchlike object. Though old and worn, it was obvious that it had been made from a whole otter skin, cured with the feet, tail, and head left on. The throat had been cut and the insides removed through the neck, then a cord was strung through slits and pulled tight to close. The flattened head became the flap. It was her medicine bag, the one she had brought with her from the Clan, the one Iza had given her.
She does not have the face of a Zelandonii woman, Jondalar was thinking; they would notice a foreign look, but her beauty was unmistakable. Her large eyes were gray-blue—the color of fine flint, he thought—and wide-spaced, outlined with lashes a shade or two darker than her hair; her eyebrows were somewhat lighter, between the two in color. Her face was heart-shaped, rather wide with high cheekbones, a well-defined jaw, and a narrow chin. Her nose was straight and finely made, and her full lips, curving up at the corners, were opened and pulled back, showing her teeth in a smile that lit up her eyes and announced her sheer pleasure in the very act of smiling.
Though her smiles and laughter had once singled her out as different, and caused her to restrain them, Jondalar loved it when she smiled, and her delight in his laughter, joking, and playfulness magically transformed the already pleasing arrangement of her features; she was even more beautiful when she smiled. He suddenly felt overwhelmed by the sight of her and his love for her, and silently thanked the Mother again for giving her back to him.
“What do you want me to give you for the raspberries?” Ayla said. “Tell me, and it’s yours.”
“I want you, Ayla,” he said, his voice suddenly ragged with feeling. He put the basket down, and in an instant he had her in his arms, kissing her with fierce emotion. “I love you. I don’t ever want to lose you,” he said in a hoarse whisper, kissing her again.
A heady warmth rushed through her and she responded with a feeling as strong. “I love you, too,” she said, “and I want you, but can I push the meat away from the fire first? I don’t want it to burn while we’re … busy.”
Jondalar looked at her for a moment as though he hadn’t understood her words; then he relaxed, gave her a hug, and backed off a step, smiling ruefully. “I didn’t mean to be so insistent. It’s just that I love you so much, sometimes it’s hard to hold. We can wait until later.”
She was still feeling her warm, tingling response to his ardor and wasn’t sure she was ready to stop, now. She regretted, a little, her comment that had interrupted the moment. “I don’t have to put the meat away,” she said.
Jondalar laughed. “Ayla, you are an unbelievable woman,” he said, shaking his head and smiling. “Do you have any idea how remarkable you are? You’re always ready for me, any time I want you. You always have been. Not just willing to go along, whether you feel like it or not, but right there, ready to interrupt anything, if that’s what I want.”
“But, I want you, whenever you want me.”
“You don’t know how unusual that is. Most women want some coaxing, and if they’re in the middle of doing something, most are not willing to be interrupted.”
“The women I grew up with were always ready whenever a man gave