Lady Samurai

Chapter 55

The winter was long that year, but Lottie was so busy that she did not have any time to be bored. Actually, she couldn't even remember a time when she had been so active.

One day Hikaru suggested a short trip as a break from her strenuous training. The weather was beautiful and Lottie didn't really need any convincing. "We had recently so little time to enjoy each other's company." He looked at her longingly.

"My Lord, we spend almost all our time together." She laughed. "Frankly," She added quietly. "I'm surprised that you haven't tired of me already."

"Tire?" There was incredulity in his voice. "I can't get enough of you!"

So they went out. Only the two of them, without any retinue. He promised to show her his childhood haunts. They enjoyed the ride. It was very clear and it was a pleasure to be outside and breathe in the icy air. When they got cold, she jumped off the horse and laughing joyfully, threw a well-aimed snowball at him.

"This is how we play in winter and how we keep warm!" She exclaimed. "For the first time I have an advantage over you, My Lord. And I fully intend to use it." Mindless of all propriety and his status, she pounded him with snowballs. But soon, too soon, he caught up and started fighting back. They laughed and run, chasing each other in the snow like little children.

"Lottie-Chan," He whispered in her ear when he finally managed to catch her. "You make me feel..." He hesitated briefly, searching for the most appropriate words. "You make me feel young and carefree. You make me feel happy."

"I'm glad to hear it." She twisted and pushed a fistful of snow under his kimono.

In the first shock he let her go, but then he burst out laughing and chased her again. He pushed her in the snow and paid her back, shoving snow deep down her back. She squirmed, and screamed, and laughed until she couldn't fight any more.

Having her completely under his control, he leaned in and kissed her with passion. "Lottie, I love you so much." He whispered.

"I love you too, my beautiful Lord."

They both felt desire coursing through their bodies. "Not far from here there is an old hunting lodge my father used to visit." He said quietly. His voice husky with desire.

Without another word she got up and jumped on her horse. She followed Hikaru, riding along a narrow mountain pass, thinking only about his lithe body and of the pleasure that was theirs to share. They tied the horses in a small lean-to and he led her inside. But in the entrance he froze in sudden surprise. In that moment he understood the true purpose of the lodge. And it was most definitely not hunting. Walls were covered in prints, with nudity and acts of intercourse among the most prominent. Screens, pushed towards the walls, were richly decorated with paintings of Geisha in their various roles as entertainers and concubines. Lottie guessed it used to be a place of pleasure and, although long neglected, it was still suitable for the purpose.

"I didn't know." He seemed to be genuinely shocked.

She just shrugged and with a grin led him to the old futon. They undressed each other with an urgency fueled by desire they didn't want to hold back any longer. They made love with passion they didn't know they felt until that very moment...

*

"You really must tell me now about this mountain lion." He traced the old scars on her back with his finger.

She felt pleasure coursing through her body under his gentle touch. "I will. But you have to promise, you will never bring it up again." She looked serious enough for him to do so. "I was about eighteen, I think." She started. "We were travelling in America for around a year by then. I was foolhardy and overconfident; thought I knew everything!" She smiled to her memories. "My uncle always droned about the need to take my gun with me whenever I left the camp, but I never really listened. One day I went to relieve myself. Left the gun behind, of course. And suddenly, I heard a growl. I froze. I had trousers round my ankles and no way of fighting an angry cat. I screamed like the whole of hell was after me. And then the cat attacked... I thought I was going to die there, but my uncle heard me and came running... He never let me forget that he caught me with my pants down."

Hikaru tried very hard, but failed to stop himself from laughing out loud. He laughed so hard that tears streamed from his eyes and he couldn't catch his breath. "When you mentioned it the first time..." He gasped for air. "I assumed you had had a proper fight with the animal. I never thought it would be so..." He hesitated.

"Embarrassing?" She suggested.

"Yes! I am sorry, but yes."

"I have just told you the truth about one of the most frightening and embarrassing moments in my life." She looked him in the eye with intensity. "No other man alive knows that story."

"Where there many who asked, as I did?"

"A few." She admitted, knowing what he was really asking about.

"And none of them wanted to keep you?" He was curious.

"No. I told you before, men always desired me, but they would never have me for a wife." She tried to sound indifferent, but he could hear sadness in her tone.

"And did you want any of them for a husband?" They had never talked about it before.

"When I was young, soon after I came to America, I fell in love with a boy... a young man." She corrected herself. "But his parents wouldn't allow it, so he broke up with me."

"Did he also love you?"

"I thought so."

"He gave you up?" He was incredulous. "Then he was a fool!"

"We were both young." She tried to dismiss it, but he stopped her.

"Had it been me, I would never let you go." He stated with conviction. "I would have fought for you and never let you go."

"But you did let me go." She reminded him.

"Only because I believed that was what you wanted at the time. But soon I realised I wouldn't be able to stay away for long. I was making plans to return after the talks were finished." In truth, this wasn't really the case, but this was how he remembered it. "But you were already gone. I searched for you. I spent a month searching every village I could find. It never occurred to me that you were so close the whole time." He stopped, realising she was shivering. "Are you cold, my love?"

"We should get back." She rose on her elbow. "It is getting dark."

"Impossible! It cannot be that late already."

They dressed in a hurry, but when they opened the door there was a snowstorm raging outside.

"We will have to wait it out." She announced calmly. "But we need to make sure the horses are all right. I will start a fire..." She stopped, catching his look. "What's the matter?"

"You are so full of surprises. Are you not afraid? We might be forced to stay here for a few days. And there are bears in these mountains that might be also looking for shelter. But at least no mountain lions..." He grinned mischievously.

"My Lord, you seem to forget that I have lived outdoors for almost a decade. And despite some unfortunate events..." Now it was her turn to grin. "I did survive without any ill effects."

She stepped outside to check on the horses. She also found some wood for the fire and soon the inside of the lodge was warming up.

"We might need to fast, if there is no edible food left, but we have water and shelter. We will be fine." She promised, smiling. "I will protect you, My Lord."