Their Miracle Baby

But before she got far, she heard Lewis calling her name. He was with the men butchering the boar; he gestured for her to come over. With all eyes on her, she stepped up to Lewis who had the heart in his hands. Looking into her eyes, he silently transferred it to her hands. Venetia looking down at the heart in her hands, wondering if Lewis understood what it meant, then back up into his eyes.

There was no doubt in her mind that he understood what the gesture meant. The love she saw in his eyes wasn’t that fevered love they’d shared before, it was a gentle love that mirrored how she felt right now. She knew that she now was responsible for cooking the heart and serving him the first piece, then they would be bound in a formal courtship.

Without a word, she took the heart over to the cook shed, hoping someone would be able to help her prepare it. Right now, her hands were shaking so badly she was worried she’d drop it. But to her relief, the minute she stepped into the shed, she was surrounded by women. Someone took the heart from her then showed her what she needed to do.

Once she’d been given some guidance, it was easy to finish the process. What had once been a tough piece of muscle would be soft and succulent by the time the rest of the food was ready. It took hours to cook the boar and the rest of the feast, but just as the sun was setting the men announced that it was done. The fire in the main pit was piled high, rugs and pillows were brought from every hut in the village and arranged in spreading circles around the fire.

The entire village would eat as one tonight, the food passed from hand to hand, but before anyone could eat, she and Lewis would have to complete the joining ceremony he’d begun earlier that day. She wasn’t quite sure how this had come to be, she and Lewis hadn’t spoken a word to each other all afternoon. But his initiating it was a clear message to her that he wanted to take their relationship to the next level.

She was nervous as they cut the meat the men had brought to them. The heart was ready to be served and she understood how the rest of the ceremony would go in front of the entire village of course. When the time came, her hands were shaking as one of the women handed her the serving platter. Taking a deep breath, she walked out to where Lewis was sitting in the place of honor between the chief and his wife.

When she stopped in front of him, he got to his feet, took a piece of the meat and fed it to her, then took the platter from her hands. She took a piece of meat from the platter and fed it to him just as he’d done. Then one of the women took the meat from Lewis, and he helped her to sit next him. It was over quickly, but the moment had been so full of emotion that it felt like it took an eternity to Venetia.

Looking into Lewis’ eyes when she’d fed him that piece of meat had been the most intimate moment of their relationship. What she’d seen in his eyes had not only been love but respect, and it had taken her breath away. So many things had been said in that look, melting away any remaining resistance she had. In that moment, she knew to the depth of her soul that Lewis loved her in the way she wanted to be loved.

As she’d fed him his piece, she’d tried to convey all that she was feeling through her eyes, and he must have understood. He visibly relaxed, as if he’d been holding himself stiff with nerves. It warmed her heart to know that he was as nervous as she was. When he’d taken her hand to help her sit, a flash of desire passed between them, and she knew that tonight she’d finally be able to give into that desire. But first they had to get through the feast, when she knew that all either was thinking about was going back to the hut.

Tonight, she welcomed those times when their arms would brush or their hands would touch. It was a delicious sensation and knowing that later those same hands would bring her pleasure. The feast seemed to go on forever, and although she knew that she should be more in the moment, she’d waited for Lewis for so long, it was impossible not to think about what was to come.

They were pushed away from the feast long before it was over, the women with knowing smiles and the men nodding their heads at Lewis in respect. Killing a boar was a difficult thing and he’d gain their respect that day. They walked hand in hand to the hut they were sharing, both nervous as if it was the first time. In many ways it was the first time, they were very different people than they’d been all those months ago, when their passion had overridden anything else.

When they got to the door of the hut, Lewis hesitated. “Do you want to take a walk before we go in?” he asked. There were things that he wanted to say to her, and he wanted to do it before they took things any farther.

Venetia was relieved at his suggestion; as much as she wanted the intimacy that would come later that night, she too wanted to talk before that happened. “That would be nice.”

The walked around the edge of the village, not daring to get much farther away. The jungle could be a very dangerous place after dark. They were silent for the first few minutes, each trying to collect their thoughts. Finally Lewis broke the silence.

“I think I should start with an apology,” he said, taking her hand in his as they walked. “Just about everything I did was wrong. I think the only right thing I did was to ask you out. Beyond that, I let my wants and desires blind me to everything else.”

“You didn’t do that alone. For a while there I lost myself in what we were feeling too. But it was too good to last. It was so hot that it burned us both.”