Missing

Chapter Two

David and Maria were silent for a long while as they lay soaking in the deep bathtub after he had calmed her and quelled her fears she would lose him. In a low, hesitant voice, she asked, "When will you leave?"

"I don't know. First, we must help Bethia. Tomorrow, I'll examine her books, visit the slaughterhouse, familiarise myself with the operation, with its current business and its worth. When the buyers and their lawyer come on Wednesday, I want her to be ready."

Maria nodded and hummed a sigh. "But after that? When?"

"There are other things to tend to here first. We need to bottle her wine and see what work is required in her vineyards. I want to study Aaron's Sauschwänzlebahn dossier, and I must continue adding to my vocabulary and improving my grammar. I still have to polish my guttural accent. I've much to do here first."

He felt her relax as she sat between his legs and lay back along his chest. Cupping her breasts and gently thumbing her nubbins, he continued, "We also need to get to know ourselves as a couple. Pay attention to each other... explore... enjoy... live."

She pressed into the increased swelling against her back. "Is this a message we should rinse and dry and move to a more comfortable place?"

He chuckled and pulled the plug chain with his toes as he reached for the shower nozzle. "Yes, seems I'm up for that."

As they lay cuddling half an hour later, still connected, he said, "I need to write a letter home to let my parents know I'm safe and well. Mamère must be worried sick — it's more than two weeks since I left the trenches, and by now, surely they've been informed I'm missing."

"You should write it now while you're thinking of it."

"There's no rush. Let's just be here and enjoy each other. Besides, I daren't send a plain letter from Germany to Canada; surely it will be opened and analysed. We don't want Fritz looking for me around here. It will need to be cryptic and carefully phrased. I'll think about it tomorrow, but now, let's enjoy this luxury."

"I'll be sure to remind you." She slowly rotated her hips and licked his neck, then moaned as he swelled. "Let's gently rock ourselves to sleep." From deep in her throat, she began a light purring.

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The sun was streaming through the sheers of the windows when he woke, and the satin sheets beside him were still warm. She's not been up long. He heard the bath running. That must be what woke me. "Good morning, Maria," he called from the bed. "Do you need company? Your back scrubbed? Your tickler tickled?"

"Ooh, yes." She giggled. "I was going to wake you when the bath was ready."

He walked to the bathroom and kissed her good morning. "My God! You're so gorgeous, so utterly beautiful."

"And you're so stiff." She nodded to it and grinned. "Is that all for me?"

"Just the last bit is yours; all the rest is just my normal morning." He shrugged, then turned and squatted, straddling the seat as he leaned far forward.

"Looks like commodes aren't designed for big men in the morning." She chuckled as she watched his callisthenics. "You do it with much more elegance in the wilderness."

He joined her in the tub, and they slowly soaped and washed and teased each other. "We need to do something with this before we dress; otherwise, your trousers won't fit."

They did a final rinse with the nozzle, stepped out and dried each other before she led him back to the bed by his stiff leash. As they lay gently moving a long while later, they heard the clock cuckoo eight.

"We'll have to use other ways to pleasure in a couple of days. It's probably safest not to be inside after Thursday. My ninth day will be Friday, and with your virility and vigour, you must surely have long-lasting seed."

"My mouth is getting back to normal. It's now over two weeks since the stitches." He ran his tongue across his lower lip, then down the thickening of the scar line inside. "Sensation is coming back, so I'll be able to use my mouth on you much better now."

"I can't imagine it being any better than before." She shuddered lightly as she rose from her sprawl on top of him. "Let me check your wounds. I haven't for several days; we've been a bit busy. Open wide."

"Can't open wide yet. Still too sore in the hinge."

"That's much wider than a few days ago. Looks like it's getting back to normal. Can you flex your jaw side to side yet without too much pain?"

He moved his lower jaw a bit to the left, winced and stopped. "Still quite painful to do that. The doctor had told me the bruised bones would be sore for many weeks."

"Relax your mouth as I check the scars." She pulled out his lower lip and ran a finger down the scar from lip to gum line, applying light pressure and asking, "Is this still sore?"

"Tender is a better word. A little tender."

She let go the lip and pushed lightly as she moved her finger down the scar from his lip to the tip of his chin. "How's this?"

"Sore in the bone down there, but much better."

Next, she examined the wound in his cheek, running her finger along the thickening of tissue inside his mouth while pressing against her thumb along the lines of the scar through his beard. "The swelling has reduced. Is it still tender?"

"Much better now. I don't notice it anymore."

She parted his whiskers to examine the scars on his chin and cheek, running a finger along them. "I'm amazed by the skill of the surgeon who stitched you back together. Once the swelling reduces and the redness fades, the scars shouldn't be too noticeable."

"They'll probably be invisible if I allow the beard to continue a bit longer."

"I love the beard. Are you going to keep it?"

"I haven't thought about it. But the Army won't allow me to keep it once I get back."

"I have such difficulty with that. Your going back to the fighting."

"I still have to get out of Germany before I can begin thinking about what to do about getting back." He shrugged. "But now, let's concentrate on here. On us."

Maria nodded as she stroked his beard. "How old is this now?"

"I last shaved on the Saturday after the wound in my butt was stitched, so almost two and a half weeks."

"I need to check that too. I'd forgotten about your bum. Roll over."

"You'll have to come with me as I roll." He chuckled and gave his hips a gentle thrust. "We're still connected."

"I'd forgotten about that also. You're so comfortable inside." She giggled and started a slow churning of her hips. "How about you do your finishing romp before we disengage?"