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Chapter Nineteen

David, Maria and Rachel sat for a long time after the last of the tea had been drunk, and they entertained themselves by telling stories from their pasts. It was just past eight thirty when there was a quick drop in temperature, which they all knew was the signal it was about to begin raining heavily.

The sounds of the advancing thunder had grown louder for the past twenty minutes or so. "Everybody up and out to pee," he said, "We're going to be pissed on from above very shortly. Probably our last dry chance before bed. We don't have to go far; the rain will rinse it away."

The three barely made it back into the shelter before the downpour began. As he stooped through the triangle, he said, "Be careful not to touch the canvas. It appeared properly oiled, and it should hold well against this, but let's not give it any excuse to leak."

Later they sat listening to the sounds on the canvas as the huge raindrops turned to sleet then quickly to hail. It was pitch black, and he couldn't see his hand even a few inches from his face, except in the fleeting light of the lightning. Some hailstones had bounced off the slab and in under the edge of the canvas. He flipped the side of the bedrolls farther in under cover.

"Fritz won't be out in this. It's probably safe to light the candle lantern to see how the shelter is holding against the thunderstorm. What do you ladies think?"

"The light won't carry far through the deluge," Rachel said. "Besides, I can't imagine anyone stupid enough to be wandering around near these bluffs in these conditions. I think it's safe while the storm continues so heavily."

David was feeling around in the back pocket of his large rucksack for the folding lantern, a candle and a tin of matches when the inside of the shelter lit up. He looked around and saw a small cylindrical lantern and Maria's yellowed face smiling at him from the shadows behind it.

"Guess we don't need mine." He chuckled. "Let's take a look around, check if water is coming in anywhere."

The rock walls beside and behind them were overhanging, and except for one small water runnel off the gabbro block, they were dry. Water at the bottom of the runnel flowed down the slight slope of the slab and out into the wetness beyond. The canvas was dry inside but for the two damp lines running along the creases, which had been caused where he had folded it for packing. There were no drips from them.

No drips, yet.

They checked the slab at the upper side of its gentle slope. Dry, except for scattered hailstones which had bounced through the small gap between canvas and rock.

"I think we can safely crawl into bed, snuff the candle and let the sounds of the storm put us to sleep," David said as be began undressing. "Looks like we're rather tight here." He got into another delicious sandwich and was quickly asleep.

The light of the moon woke him. It was still. The front had passed, the sky was filled with stars, and the moon had just rolled into the gully, showing the slab white with snow. He looked at his watch, fascinated with the way the hands glowed in the dark.

A bit after four; I've already had seven hours sleep.

The bed felt completely dry. He was sandwiched between two beautiful women, warm, comfortable and contented. His mouth, cheek and butt felt so much better.

Now, all we need is to remain safe until we can escape from Fritz and get to Switzerland. He fell asleep again, wondering how long the German exercise would continue up there.

The next time he awoke, the sun was lighting the tops of the trees which poked above the void at the edge of the slab. He was still in his cosy sandwich. He gently lifted his left arm and glanced at his watch.

Almost seven thirty. Another three and a quarter hours sleep, I guess I needed it.

Rachel stirred behind him, kissed his shoulder and whispered, "Good morning."

Maria whispered, "Good morning, David. Seems our handsome prince is finally awake." Then stopping her whispering, she continued, "We don't have to whisper anymore, Mama."

"How long have you girls been awake?"

"Long enough to get warm again after our little trip outside." Maria giggled. "What time is it?"

"Half past seven. How deep is the snow?"

"Less than five centimetres," Rachel replied. "It should melt quickly once the sun starts warming this nook."

Maria lifted her head and kissed David's cheek, then worked across to his lips. "Mama explained that your stiffness isn't for me, that it's simply a normal morning thing. Is your penis always stiff like this before you awake?"

"Ever since I can remember. I guess I don't even think of it anymore, it's just a normal thing. I read the cause is the pressure of the full bladder on the prostate."

"What's the prostate?"

"A gland about the same size as one of my balls, but located inside between my bladder and the inner end of my penis. It's the source of most of the fluid that —"

"The inner end of your penis? It goes inside you too, not only inside me?" She giggled.

"Here, let me take your hand and show you." He rolled onto his back, spread his legs and guided her willing hand down and behind his balls. "Run your fingers along back here, you can feel how far back it goes before angling in."

She ran her fingers along, then sat up, making a tent of the covers as she did. "I've got to see this... My God! You're hiding another big piece back here behind your balls. Can you reel more out from inside?"

"It doesn't reel out from inside, it's anchored there, and the whole thing expands with my excitement. It thickens, grows longer and stiffens."

"My little button expands and becomes firmer when I'm excited. I've often wondered why."

"It pumps full of blood. The excitement trigger causes blood to fill it until it can't expand any more, so it becomes rigid, the veins bulge out... Anyway, the prostate surrounds the tube which comes from the bladder, and it makes nourishing fluid for the sperm which comes up through tubes from my balls. It's mixed together and then pulsed forcefully out through my pee hole when I have an orgasm."

She ran her fingers, her hands and her eyes along his entire length and back several times. "That's a hand and a half long. What a complex plumbing system nature has designed,"

"And packaged it so beautifully," Rachel added as she looked on with fascination.

"Speaking of plumbing, I really do need to go. Where are my shoes? Stand by to rewarm me when I come back."

David was hanging rather limply as he stooped back in through the triangle. "That was a quick deflation," Maria said as he kicked off his shoes and crawled again between them.

"Two things — the release of pressure and the cold. Both cause a quick drop. But feeling your flesh on mine and thinking of you has already stopped the fall and reversed it."

She reached down, encircling him with both hands. "Let me feel it grow... It's throbbing."

"Part natural and part me doing it. That's one of the tricks Sister Clemencia taught me. Do you know Morse Code? I can send you a message."

"What's Morse Code?"

"I know it," Rachel said. "I did telegraphy before I met Edom. I should teach you some day, Sweetheart. You squeeze my hand with what you feel, and I'll translate for you."

Rachel read Maria's pulsating code and repeated aloud each word as it was completed. "Please – tell – Maria – I – love – her."

Maria kissed him softly on his cheek, nibbled his lip, and giving his penis a gentle squeeze with each syllable, she quietly said, "I love you. Je t'aime. Ich liebe dich. Ti amo."

She looked up into his eyes. "I wish I knew other ways to say it, knew other ways to show you how much I love you. I first saw you on Wednesday evening, got to know you Thursday night, now it's Sunday morning, and it seems I've known you my entire life."

She brushed her lips gently across his. "I love you, David. I love you so deeply, but until I met you, I had little understanding of the meaning of the word. Now I'm beginning to know its wonderful feeling."