Forever Wife (7 page)

Vidar set his wine aside and advanced on her with a predatory look.  He moved slowly, too slowly.  Liz thought if she were to try to stop him, maybe he would listen.  She wasn’t entirely sure, nor was she sure that she wanted him to stop.  Or to continue.  Yes, he must continue!  He had to help her – had to kiss her, and make love to her, and end the endless torture of wondering how it would  be with him!

As if he’d read her mind, Vidar captured her lips with his own while his hand expertly divested her of her blouse, then her bra. She should feel cold, she thought, for the evenings were nippy enough to need a jacket, and yet a greater heat consumed her.  No longer content to see what he would do, Liz captured his face between her palms and returned his kisses with fiery passion. 

“My Beth,” he murmured; his fingers slid under her skirt, under the lacy edge of her panties as he sought the warm folds within that were
slick with her desire.  “Tell me I am not imagining this!”

“I’m here, Vidar,” she moaned, arching her back as her naked breasts begged him for attention. 

He suckled one, his fingers reluctantly leaving her below to fondle the other breast.  The nipples were peaked and hard, the flesh soft and savory.  He buried his face in her sweet mounds.

She whimpered hungrily, mindless of the prickles from his five-o’clock shadow.
She wanted more!  Now!  She latched onto his shirt and tried to rip it from him.  He chuckled, and almost instantly he was as naked as she.  She couldn’t even remember removing her skirt and panties, or her shoes, for that matter.  Vidar wasn’t good for her… not if he could take over her mind like that.  But none of that mattered.  She was where she longed to be, where she had to be.  For only a moment, she wondered if he’d packed protection in that picnic hamper, but then he was over her, his thick shaft nestling between her slick thighs, and practical thoughts were a thing of the past.  She opened herself to him, welcoming him in, inviting him, wrapping her long legs around him to hold him there.

He braced himself on his elbows, cradling her head in his palms.  A concerned look marred his handsome features for just a moment.  “
Are you comfortable, darling?  Am I hurting you?”

“Yes,” she burst.  “I want you!  Now!”

He chuckled, even though his eyes were smoky dark with passion. He plunged into her, filling her, stretching her, completing her.  He held still a moment, allowing her to adjust to him, and then he began the ancient dance.  His hips rolled forward, pressing into her, but stopping just short of completion before he withdrew, only to thrust again.  She clawed at his back, nibbled his shoulders, his lips, his dear face.  She was on fire! 

“Oh, god,” she moaned. “Yes, yes!  More!”

“Patience, darling,” he gasped, his face showing the strain he put on himself trying to hold back to prolong their first coupling.

“Patience be damned,” she hissed.  She wiggled, twisted, and maneuvered herself out from under him.  Shoving his shoulder to turn him on his back, she straddled him, impaling herself on his
rigid cock.  Already she felt the first of many spasms building, shatter, and build again.  With her hands on his shoulders, she continued the dance.  Lift and withdraw, clench and hold him tight, then slip down and surround him with her warm wet sheath.  He bucked, she groaned.  He shuddered, she moaned, until, they exploded.  Liz collapsed on top of him, her strength departed, her need fulfilled, her arms boneless and her body strangely lethargic.

Vidar moved, gently laying her on the blanket. He trapped her there with one leg, her head resting on his other arm.  He wrapped her in a cocoon of himself, shielding her from the world.  With a flick of a finger, he draped a thick sleeping bag over them.  Magic made the grass below them as soft as a feather bed.  Magic would keep them warm, while his precious Beth drifted to sleep.

He had felt awkward yesterday, waking up in Mr. Shelburne’s bed with his daughter.  He wondered if she had felt it, as well.  If he decided to keep the cabin, he’d at least have to replace the furniture in the master bedroom.  He kissed Beth once more, before snuggling down beside her, finally able to sleep the sleep of the angels, as he held his one true love.

“I have to go,” Vidar announced over coffee the next morning. 

Liz was speechless.  After the most perfect evening of passion and lovemaking, he could just leave her like that?  Hadn’t it meant as much to him as it did to her?  She couldn’t breathe.  Ice ran down her spine, her hands trembled and she dropped her coffee mug.

Vidar caught it, gently placing it on the table in the tiny island cabin without spilling a drop.  He was sure fast!  She hadn’t even seen him move.  And he was speaking to her, but she couldn’t hear him.  Her ears were stuffed, the sound of her heart beat too loud.  The room tilted.

“Sit, Beth!” he demanded, guiding her to a chair and firmly pressing her head down between her knees.  “Breathe, Baby.  Slow, deep even breaths.  That’s my girl,” he murmured.  He hunched down until his gaze was even with hers.  “Now, do you mind telling me what that was all about?”

Liz drew in breath after breath, feeling like she couldn’t get enough air, when in fact, she was probably getting too much.  This had happened before, but not in a while.  An anxiety attack.  She’d suffered them regularly after her mom was diagnosed with cancer, and after her parents passed away leaving her with a mountain of debt and no way to pay them off…  Oddly enough, her accident had helped her to get over the anxiety.  After the worst happened, after she lost her ranch, her home and her horses, she had nothing left to worry about.  But she wasn’t ready to discuss all of that with Vidar, especially now that he was going to leave her.  She was not going to be a needy, clingy female weeping on his shirtsleeve.  If only she could pretend to be calm and cool… but he wasn’t calm right now, either!  He was worried and maybe a little angry.  He didn’t like being worried.

“Beth, I am not going to ask you again,” he warned.

She shrugged, straightening up as she felt she could breathe again.  “I just, I… well, we made love last night,” she said, stating the obvious.

He grinned.  “That we did.”

“More than once!  And this morning, and… well, I thought it meant something,” she murmured.

“
Oh, Baby!  Of course it meant something!” he exploded.  He pulled her into his arms, then sat down and held her tightly.  “If you think I am going to let you out of my life again, you had better think again!  I wouldn’t go now, but something has come up at work.  I need to go and settle matters, then I plan to take an extended leave and spend some time with you.  We have a lot to work out, a lot of catching up to do.  I don’t want work to be hanging over me while we do that.  Can you wait a week?  One week, that’s all I need.  I will come back next Saturday – Friday, if I can get it settled in time.”

She sniffled, embarrassed at the tears that suddenly flooded her vision.  She nodded, snuggling into his strong shoulder.  It wasn’t enough.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him.  She smiled in spite of her tears.  “Yes, Vidar,” she managed.  “I’ll wait for you!”

“Think about where you might like to go.  Paris?  Cancun?  Anywhere.  I’ll show you the world.”

She nodded, gulping again, struggling for breath as her tears continued to fall.  Damn, she’d never thought of herself as emotional.  What was wrong with her?

“Beth, my Beth. I love you, Baby.  Sh, now.  It’s going to be alright,” he soothed, cradling her.

She closed her eyes and relished the feeling.  She had awakened that morning to a brilliant sunrise of pinks and golds that sparkled across the lake, casting a mirror image on the water.  She had awakened in Vidar’s arms, under a warm sleeping bag, and felt more refreshed than she could ever remember.  There was something magical about sleeping with this man! 
How he completed her!  She felt that in his arms she had truly found a home – which was something, considering they weren’t even inside a home!  She didn’t know why they weren’t freezing, as mist rose from the water alerting her that the air was even colder than the water temperature. 

Vidar awoke then, and they made love.  He carried her into the cabin, although she was perfectly capable of walking.  Tenderly he bathed her, cleaning up the last vestiges of their lovemaking with warm water and a washcloth, before he helped her dress again.  She didn’t know how he had fit it all in that small picnic hamper, but he even had a change of clothes for her – warm pink sweatpants and a matching hoodie.  Her college logo ran down the side of one leg and was blazoned across her chest.  She felt cherished as he made her a filling omelet, and fresh, delicious coffee. And then he dropped that bombshell on her without warning.  He was leaving her.

She drew in a breath and let it out.  She was okay now.

“Honey, where did that come from?” he asked quietly.

She shrugged.  “I’m sorry I overreacted.  I’m fine now.”

He touched her chin, guiding her to look at him.  “Beth, that was a full-blown panic attack.  I’m sorry that I triggered it, but I’m sure that I am not the original cause.  What’s going on?”

“I… I don’t know, Vidar.  Please, I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

He was silent for a  while.  His grip tightened, and she sensed he was not happy with her.  But then he kissed her temple.  “Fair enough,” he said.  “
Maybe now is not the best time to discuss that, but there will be no secrets between us, Beth.  When I return, I want you to tell me everything.  What you’ve been doing, where you’ve been living, and where you are in your grieving process.  I know it’s been less than two years, and grief isn’t something you can mark on your calendar and be done with it after a certain amount of time has passed… but if you are not in a position to make any life-altering changes right now, I want to know about it.”

“Communication goes both ways, Vidar.  I want to know everything about you, too.”  She felt it, a slight tremor.  He shifted, obviously uncomfortable with
the idea, and yet he did not deny it.  She wondered yet again what his childhood must have been like, that he refused to talk about it.  The only thing she knew about him was that his mother’s name was Dagmar and he had been born in Iceland.  She kissed his check, then his lips.  She deepened the kiss, tracing his lips with her tongue.

He growled playfully and swatted her thigh, before depositing her on her own two feet.  He rose then, rubbing the back of his neck.  “It’s not much of a story,” he hemmed.

She shrugged.  “That’s the deal, buddy.  You share, I share.  Otherwise, we’ll continue to be strangers passing in the night…” she let her voice trail off as she sang the last bit like words to a song.

“Brat,” he quipped, tapping the end of her nose with a finger.

She grinned.  “Yep.  Now, let’s get back.  Tracy is coming over again this afternoon, and I’d like to wash my hair before then.”

Vidar made sure the fire was out in the camp stove before packing everything back into the picnic hamper.  Liz waited for him on the dock as she watched a pair of loons out on the lake.  She had grown up listening to their eerie call, hearing it echo across the lake.  One dove under the water and disappeared for a few moments.  She felt herself holding her breath until it reappeared far from where it had gone down.  Now it was closer to the other and they called back and forth, an intricate step in the mating ritual. 
In early summer she would be able to watch a new batch of baby loons splashing along within the protective cocoon of their parents’ devotion.  How she loved this lake!

Vidar had asked where she wanted to go – but everything she wanted was right here. 

Soon Vidar joined her, stowed the picnic hamper and helped her onto the little sailboat for the return trip.  Liz wasn’t sure how they’d make it home, as there didn’t seem to be a single breeze, but Vidar must have been an expert sailor, for as soon as he trimmed the sails, a gentle breeze lured them all the way across the lake. 

Once home, he pulled a business card from his wallet and passed it to her.  “Call me, anytime,” he said.

“But you said you have work to do.”

“And nothing is as important to me as you are, Beth.”

She smiled, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking.  “I will call you at three a.m., then,” she promised.

He kissed her nose.  “I look forward to it.”

“Every night.”

“Even better.”

“Wearing nothing.”

Vidar guffawed.  “Geesh, Baby.  Makes me wish we had Skype set up, or something… I won’t sleep a wink all week!”

She pouted.  “Neither will I.”

“I’ll return.  I promise.”

“Then go!  The sooner you leave, the sooner you can return.”

“Take care of  yourself, Beth,” he warned.

“Always!  Good-bye, my love.”

“Good-bye,” he said.  He paused and looked as if he might change his mind after all, but then he turned and left.  Suddenly she was alone.

Liz went to the window to watch him turn the rental car around.  She waved, but he didn’t look back to see her.  No doubt his mind was already elsewhere, focused on whatever catastrophe had popped up at his work.  She blinked rapidly, refusing to let tears fall again.  He promised he would return… and she was going to trust him.  She dashed up the stairs to her childhood bedroom to take a shower. She and Tracy had a lot to do today. They would take their cause public; they would begin gathering signatures and rallying local support.  Save the Lake, Say No to Urban Blight.  They would have to come up with a better slogan than that.

* * * * *

Vidar returned the rental car, but decided to forego the formality of a commercial flight.  No one really knew he was here except Liz.  Moments later he was in his Denver office, trying to get his assets manager on the phone.  The man had left him a panicked voice-mail message, something about the casino deal was ready to collapse.  Not now!  Not when it was imperative that he dispose of the lakefront property.  He didn’t know why Liz had gone there, when it obviously upset her so much.  She loved it, but it harbored too many bittersweet memories.   He needed to get rid of it!  Maybe he would get another property, something on an island in the Caribbean where it was warm, and private, and provided endless days of good sailing.  A place where they could build new memories together. When he finally reached the manager, the news wasn’t good. 

“Leland said someone is stirring up trouble,” Rick babbled.  Leland was the chairman of the town board and an investor in the casino. 

“What kind of trouble,” Vidar said calmly.  Rick had been with him for years.  He was a good man, and a whiz when it came to wading through the mire of legal documents, building codes, zoning laws, and all the other nitpicky details of his real estate ventures, but Rick tended to be rather dramatic. 

“Someone is organizing a protest!”

“Yes,” he prodded.  They had dealt with protestors before.  Nothing major there.

“Not just a protest of the casino, mind you, but of doing ANYTHING with the lake.  They are raising a “save the lake” campaign, and trying to get the land designated as a wildlife sanctuary.  Not only would you not be able to build the casino, but you’ll be severely limited in doing anything with all those cabins you’ve
bought!  Man, you could really take a hit on this one!  We have to act fast!  We have to move the timetable forward, before they can organize!”

Vidar cursed under his breath.  He loved wildlife as much as the next person, but this was personal. 
Although he had left Scrimshaw Lake years ago, he knew that the area had been hit hard in the last recession.  Scrimshaw needed the casino to provide jobs for the locals, or they could be forced to sell their homes.  He’d seen it happen before in Maine.  The coastal property there became so valuable, that most of the locals could not afford it.  Two-thirds of the coast of Maine was owned by New Yorkers.  He was not going to let that happen here if he could help it. And by golly, being rich meant that he should be able to make an impact.  What good was all that money otherwise?  It’s not like he could ever spend it all if he lived another thousand years. 

“Find out who is behind it,” Vidar snapped.  “If it’s just some tree-hugger fresh out of college with an ax to grind, we’ll have to convince him to find another lake.  I can’t believe that anyone in the community could honestly turn away this opportunity!”

It was a good thing he’d returned as soon as he did.  Since government offices were closed on Sundays, he would get the jump on whatever shenanigans his opposition was cooking up.  Hopefully, he could get the casino deal settled by a week from Friday.  Maybe they could hold a groundbreaking celebration on the sixth, right before he whisked his beloved away on the journey of a lifetime.

* * * * *

It was the longest week Liz could ever remember.  She missed Vidar so much it hurt, like someone had amputated an important body part – a leg, or an arm.  She missed his smile, his deep voice that could be so gentle or incredibly firm.  She missed how his beard never seemed to grow, but never seemed to be completely gone, either.  How did he do that?  How did he manage to have that “just missed a shave” look all the time?  She missed his short, blond hair, the way it often looked like he’d just run his fingers through it and some of it stuck up on end, but some still seemed neatly combed.  She missed his sexy look, the one he had when they were making love, the look that was somewhere between passion and pain, between hopeless need and ecstasy.  She missed how she was able to make him look that way… Her!  Plain little Elizabeth Dagmar Shelburne, virtual virgin, inexperienced woman of twenty-nine, had been transformed into a sex goddess in his eyes.