A Tangle With Authority

By Reese Currie

After rescuing Dejana Plogojowitz from her enemies in her home country, strange things begin happening in the lives of Creighton and Natalia Zee. Someone is trying to get close to them, but who? Is it the militants who were trying to build a vampire army? Is it Dejana's former boss Branko, trying to find her and bring her back? Is it Jack, the shadowy government figure who conceals the paranormal for Creigh's government? Or is it someone else, as yet unknown? Whoever it is, they come up with the best possible bait to lure Dejana: a vampire for the world's premiere surviving vampire hunter.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Reese Currie
• Release date: Apr 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311221704

Reese Currie

Reese Currie has had the creative writing bug in his soul from a very young age. Now in his middle age, he is finally releasing the floodgates on his passions, including his passion for fiction writing.

Book preview

Chapter One

I've been accepted, our houseguest Jessie Alexander said, holding her mail. The university accepted my application!

Congratulations, I said, smiling broadly. When will you start, in September?

January, Jessie said in amazement. This month!

You're kidding, I replied. I couldn't believe the University of New Brunswick, UNB, would be able to fit her in this semester.

They say there's room, Jessie said after scanning the letter again.

My wife, Natalia, looked across the kitchen table at the two of us. That's incredible. I didn't know a university would admit someone on such short notice.

Jessie only had one semester left to finish her degree. She had been in university in British Columbia, but a tragedy had befallen her. Jessie was bisexual, and not just a run of the mill bisexual; she was interested in threesomes. She had answered an ad from a couple seeking a female bedmate, that had turned out to be two corrupt male RCMP officers, who had abducted her, drugged her and raped her, intending to sell her into sex slavery, as they had done to other women in the past.

I had been working secretly for an RCMP inspector named Carl Lane at the time, who, frustrated with being unable to stop the corruption by any other means, had taken matters into his own hands. He and a secret team of financiers hired me to do the dirty work. I rescued Jessie from her abductors, and that's how we met her.

Unfortunately, I rescued Jessie just before the full moon. I say unfortunately because Natalia and I are werewolves. We are Christianized werewolves, which means that we don't transform. The Catholic Church had once taught that a conversion to Christianity would cure the werewolf disease, lycanthropy. They were close, but they weren't exactly correct. It stopped the transformations and the out of control, animalistic behaviour, but some important vestiges remained.

For example, neither Natalia nor I could be killed if we were shot with lead bullets. We also had an extremely strong sense of smell, and if people were out of normal earshot but were close enough, we could envision them and listen in on their conversations. On the full moons, we experienced hypersexuality. We would go wild with each other on the day of the full moon.

When the full moon came, and Jessie was with us and willing, we succumbed to our hypersexualized temptations and had a few threesome experiences with her. The Christian side of that Christianized Werewolf designation came into effect after the full moon was over, and we felt extreme guilt over what we had done. We had broken it off with Jessie.

However, at Christmastime, Jessie came all the way from British Columbia to find us, in New Brunswick, to see if we would consider rekindling the relationship. We gave it serious consideration. In the process, Natalia realized that she, like Jessie, was indeed bisexual. However, in the end, Natalia had chosen to live a heterosexual life with me in a monogamous relationship. She found anything but that to be at odds with her Christian beliefs. We decided that, although we would not pursue a relationship with Jessie, we would help her finish school, since her father had more or less disowned her for being bisexual, for getting into the situation with those corrupt cops, and for needing rehab from the drugs they had given her. He had cut her off and would not be helping her finish her schooling.

While Jessie had been with us, a situation developed in Serbia as a result of some work Natalia and I had done there. You see, on top of being a werewolf, I am also a paranormal investigator. I had been coercively recruited by Jack Hollingsworth, a mysterious government figure, to help him cover up any paranormal happenings in Canada. If I refused, Jack said he would frame me for murder. I had actually assaulted the man Jack later had murdered, so the charges may have stuck. Certainly if I had tried to tell someone that I had been framed by a man named Jack, whose last name I hadn't even known at that time, because he had wanted me to be a paranormal hit man for the Canadian government, I would have found myself at least convicted, if not committed.

I have done a handful of cases for Jack. On the first, I was to cover up the existence of sasquatch. On the second, I had to stop some witches and a voodoo practitioner from tormenting a certain politician. On the third, I had been hired by a town to look after a werewolf problem, but Jack had been behind the scenes, using one of his agents on their town council to hire me. It was on that case that I had met Natalia. After I had been mortally wounded, Natalia made love to me to give me lycanthropy so I could survive my gunshot wounds. Jack didn't know I was a werewolf, and that secret was an ace in the hole for me.

That was really the last case I ever worked on for Jack. I got sucked into a situation involving a white supremacist group in BC; then I had worked for Carl Lane to get rid of some dirty cops he couldn't get rid of any other way. That had been a hard case for me to accept, even though the cops I was targeting were supposedly crooked. In each case, I'd had to prove to myself that they really were crooked before I took them out.

After that, I used Jack to arrange a meeting with Serbian officials to propose my ideas for handling the return of one of their vampires, Sava Savanovic. Actually, my ideas for handling Sava had mostly come from my friend Dean Smith. When the Serbs hired us, Dean, Natalia and I had gone over to Serbia to deal with their vampire. The Serbs' own paranormal investigator, Dejana Plogojowitz, had been with us more or less as a babysitter for her government. In the end, she helped us a lot with the case.

We found that a political dissident group had captured Sava Savanovic and tried to use him to produce an army of vampires. We foiled their plan. A bit of a romance was struck up between Dean and Dejana in the process. At Christmas, Dean had gone to visit, and some of the remaining dissidents had used the opportunity to capture and torture them, leading Dean's mercenary friend Mal, Natalia and I to make a two stage rescue attempt.

Our rescue attempts initially failed. Mal had gone over with a team of his mercenary friends; they were all killed and Mal had been captured and tortured. We went over as backup, and when we stormed the house, I was shot and Natalia was captured and subjected to torture and rape. I eventually recovered from my several gunshot wounds, not before having a near death experience, and was able to complete the rescue.

As a result of the torture and rapes, Natalia suffered post traumatic stress disorder, and couldn't attempt to have sex with me without bringing on flashbacks. I had hoped that Natalia might be able to be with Jessie if she couldn't be with me, but she had refused. That left us with an impending problem: how to handle our hypersexual overload on the full moon when Natalia couldn't have sex with me, and wouldn't have sex with Jessie.

Thinking it over, we realized that Natalia had been a werewolf for a month before she met me, and didn't go into heat on the full moon then. We considered Dean's theory, that we gave off unnaturally strong pheromones on the full moon as part of our werewolf mating instinct. Putting those two pieces together, we thought that if we only isolated ourselves from each other, and didn't pick up on each others' pheromones, we might avoid the problem with the full moon hypersexuality altogether. We had not yet tested the hypothesis.

I forcibly brought my mind back to the present.

When can you start? I asked.

Immediately, Jessie said, still showing signs of shock.

Did it say anything about whether dorm rooms are available? I asked.

Jessie shook her head. I could ask, I guess.

I sighed. You can't be here for the full moon, Jessie. In fact, I had already booked a motel room for her for the day before and the day of the full moon, not knowing that university dorms might be a possibility.

Jessie looked at each of us in turn, then returned her attention to me. You need a contingency plan, if your abstinence idea doesn't work.

I put my hand on hers. Jessie. You are not a contingency plan. We will get through this without involving you.

No, I wasn't thinking about me, Jessie replied. I accept that you guys don't want to have me in your relationship.

So, what are you thinking about, then? I asked.

Jessie put her finger on her chin for a moment, considering things, then said, Let's open our Christmas presents. We still haven't, you know.

I want to know what you're thinking, I complained.

You will know, after you see your presents, Jessie said.

So we all sat around and had Christmas in the second week of January. Jessie had given Natalia and me sex toys. She had given me a Fleshlight, which looked kind of like a flashlight with a molded vagina in it. It wasn't made of rubber, but some pretty innovative material. Natalia got a vibrator.

This is never going to be a normal relationship with older adults, is it? I asked, sighing.

Jessie shrugged. If your abstinence thing doesn't work out, I recommend mutual masturbation with these toys.

What makes you think abstinence won't work out? Natalia asked.

Jessie sighed. You guys don't know what effect you have on other people, she said. I don't know if you only have it when you're together on the full moon, or if you have it individually, but that time out in BC, I needed sex with the two of you so badly—I can't imagine how I could have resisted it if you guys hadn't wanted it, too.

That's the reason you can't be here for the full moon, I asserted.

Yes, but think of how careful you'll have to be, if you're apart, Jessie said. You have to stay someplace where there are no women, just in case. And Natalia, well, what if some service person needs to come to the house? He might not be able to resist, and you might not be able to, either.

When the full moon actually came, a few short days later, Jessie was in the city at the dorms, and we didn't even try to be apart. We resorted to the toys Jessie had given us. It was a little embarrassing to start off, a little hard to please ourselves while in the presence of our significant other, but we managed it a couple of times. Then the draw of each other proved to be too much to handle, and we tried to have sex, but it gave Natalia a serious flashback.

We need to finish, Natalia said after she had recovered. You need to finish me even if I have a flashback.

I don't know how I can do that, I replied. I can't just keep going when you're having a panic attack.

You have to, Natalia said gravely, and laid back down on the bed. I mounted her, and soon she was having a panic reaction. I pinned her down as well as I could and finished. It was traumatic for both of us. I felt like a rapist, and while she hasn't said it to me, I think she felt raped. The next day, when the effect was finally over, I vowed we would either find a way to do this without the trauma, or be apart for the next month's full moon.

Chapter Two

Jessie came home every weekend to be with us. For a while I was concerned that she still had hopes of having a tripod relationship with us, but as time went by, it became evident that she really had accepted us as older friends, not exactly as parental figures, but we were becoming closer to that all the time. It was a much more comfortable relationship for the three of us, including, to her surprise, Jessie.

My Christmas present for her had been a gift certificate for a gun store; I had given her enough to pick up a 22 calibre handgun she could use to practice her technique cheaply. Unfortunately, this entailed taking her on trips to the gun store. I say unfortunately, because these frequent trips seemed to be causing me to buy more handguns myself.

The first time I took her, I was looking at the display and saw a Bond Arms Snake Slayer IV.

I didn't realize derringers were legal in Canada, I commented to the attendant.

Oh, yeah, sure they are, he said. As long as the barrel length meets the minimum one hundred five millimetres, it's all good.

Huh, I said, picking up the gun when it was proferred for my inspection. What calibre?

You can get almost any calibre you like, by buying an extra barrel, he said. They come with 45 Colt, and you can shoot .410 shotgun shells in them, too.

45 Colt, eh? I commented, my heart doing a little leap in my chest. Dean Smith and I had designed anti-werewolf, anti-vampire ammunition. We tried a few different calibres, but had now settled on 45 Colt, because the round was so versatile, and we could make the bullet quite large. We used a 40 calibre casing to hold a piece of one gauge silver wire packed in garlic, crimped it a bit on the end, and used that as a jacketed bullet to complete the 45 Colt cartridge. One of the restrictions of the round was that it had to be used in a revolver. I had a pair of older Ruger Redhawks for the purpose. The over and under, double-barrelled derringer would make an excellent back up gun.

Sold, I said, handing the gun back to the attendant. Paperwork would be required to register the gun, and I would need a special authorization to transport to bring it home. I had one of Canada's very rare permits to carry, but I didn't necessarily want everyone knowing about it, so I always had a special ATT drawn up when I bought a new gun.

When do you want to pick it up? he asked.

I looked at Jessie. Are you going to be able to decide on a gun today?

She pursed her lips. Probably not.

I sighed. Want to come back next Saturday?

Sure, she replied, her eyes lighting up.

Next Saturday, I guess, I told the attendant.

The following Saturday we returned to the gun store, and Jessie once again looked over the available 22 calibre offerings. I floated around the store and found a Ruger SR9, a nine-millimetre semi-automatic. I knew Natalia considered it her favorite gun, of those she had tried. A semi-automatic was naturally a better combat gun than a revolver, because you could reload it quickly using detachable magazines. I had a Ruger SR1911 already, but it held less rounds than the SR9, which could hold the Canada legal maximum of ten rounds. The SR1911 was mine; I thought we could register this one for Natalia and it would be hers.

I sighed heavily, found the attendant, and said, I'll take this one. I arranged for the pick up to be on Wednesday.

When we got home from this trip, Jessie announced to Natalia, Creigh bought another gun today!

Another gun? Natalia asked.

Well, actually, it's for you, I said, feeling just a little ashamed of my spending habits. A Ruger SR9. I know it's your favorite gun.

That's awesome, thank you, Natalia said, beaming. She turned to Jessie and asked, Did you finally pick out a gun?

I just can't decide, Jessie replied.

Decide soon, before we need to get another gun safe, Natalia said, smiling at me with a twinkle of humour in her eye. Did you get some extra magazines while you were at it?

It comes with two, I said. Do you want more?

We don't even know if we'll ever get another paranormal case, Natalia said, pouring coffee into three cups. Jack might be done with us. Two magazines would be fine for the range.

It's true, I admitted, accepting a cup. We haven't heard from him for months.

Ever since we got involved in the tangle with Sava Savanovic, Natalia said. She liked to refer to our cases as tangles for some odd reason.

Since we showed up at his house, I clarified. That may have made him decide to stop using us. If so, it's better than what I might have expected.

Jessie was puzzled. What did you expect?

I shrugged. I figured, if Jack was done with us, he might dispatch hit men. It hasn't happened yet.

Jessie shivered. Let's hope it never does.

The phone rang in my office.

Speak of the devil, maybe, I said, getting up and going to the office.

The call display indicated that it wasn't Jack, it was Carl Lane, the RCMP inspector from BC I had worked for previously.

Carl, I greeted him. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?

I got a missing persons report on Jessie Alexander, Carl said. You're the last person I know who saw her.

She's not missing, she's here, I told him. She's out in my kitchen, talking to Natalia.

Good, said Carl, exhaling his breath. We've had three reports of missing girls this month.

Who reported her missing?

Her father, Carl answered. Is she not in any kind of contact with her father?

I don't know, I admitted. I guess I can see why she wouldn't be.

I can, too, Carl replied, being more or less disowned, and all.

Carl paused, then said, You know I trust you, Creigh, but to close this off, I do really need to talk to her myself.

I understand, Carl, I answered. I'll go get her.

Thanks.

I went back out into the kitchen. That's Inspector Carl Lane on the phone, I told Jessie. He got a missing persons report on you from your father.

Jessie blinked. Why does he even care?

I shook my head. I don't know. Carl needs to talk to you, regardless.

Jessie paused for a moment, then went into my office.

I sat down heavily on the couch with Natalia. Carl's had three reports of missing girls this month. He sounded pretty relieved to find Jessie was here with us.

It must be hard, being a cop, Natalia commented.

I nodded. I imagine it's very hard. You know, BC also has all those missing aboriginal girls; more than four hundred cases. The RCMP just completed what they called a comprehensive file review on the cases.

Natalia smiled. You do kind of keep tabs on BC, don't you?

I nodded. I'm a little afraid I didn't get all the werewolves.

You got the most important one, Natalia joked.

That, I did, I replied, smiling, and kissed her tenderly. We tried not to kiss while Jessie was around with us, in case it might excite some of the feelings she had come to us with. I kissed Natalia again, and when I looked up, Jessie was back in the room. We quickly pulled away from each other.

Do you guys not like kissing in front of me? Jessie asked.

We do kind of avoid it, Natalia said, looking a bit embarrassed.

Don't, Jessie said. I told you I was moving on, and I'm moving on. You two are the most loving people I know, and you shouldn't restrain yourselves while I'm here.

That reminds me, I said, I need you to stay at the dorms next weekend.

Jessie looked disappointed. Why? Oh, because it's Valentine's Day on Friday?

I sighed. It's the February full moon on Saturday.

I wondered why you wanted to pick up your newest gun on Wednesday, Jessie said. Yeah, I will definitely stay away from here next weekend.

Thanks, I said. It's appreciated.

I might get asked out on a date for Valentine's Day anyway, Jessie said, a tiny smile gracing her lips.

Really? Natalia asked, sounding pleased.

A guy or a girl? I asked, not knowing whether that was an appropriate question.

A guy, actually, Jessie replied. There's a little Bible discussion group on campus, and I met him there.

Really? I asked, definitely pleased. Jessie wanted to come to church with us every time she was home, and I knew she had been reading the Bible. Is he a Christian?

Jessie nodded. I didn't think it would be the best place to meet a girl.

I shrugged. You might meet a Christian girl, I said. Not everybody has the same views on these things.

Jessie sighed. I think my own views might be changing, she said. You've been quite an influence on me, Natalia. I know I don't absolutely have to be with women, now.

I don't know that I'm right, Natalia said quietly. I just know I need to do what I think is right.

Jessie leaned over an put a hand on Natalia's forearm. Accept a compliment, huh?

Natalia laughed and reluctantly nodded her agreement.

Chapter Three

On Sunday evening, we went into town, the three of us had supper at a restaurant, and after that, we dropped off Jessie at her dorm. I drove home a different way, to show Natalia one of my ideas. I found the place I was looking for and slowed down the Jeep.

What? asked Natalia.

See that place? It does camper rentals, I said, pointing. I could rent a camper, haul it to our property for the weekend, and we could be in isolation from each other. We could see if being separate from each other's pheromones would prevent the full moon event.

Wouldn't that be awfully cold for you? Natalia asked.

Some of them are heated, I replied.

Is that how you want to handle it?

I looked over at Natalia. I wish things could be normal with us, but... I trailed off.

The toys worked okay, Natalia said. We messed up when we thought we could go further.

They were an appetizer, I said. Things didn't go very well after that.

I'm so sorry, Creigh.

You're sorry? I asked. I practically raped you, Natalia.

Don't say that, Creigh, Natalia said. There's no rape where it's consensual. I told you what I wanted you to do, and you did it.

But we both regret what happened, I said, sighing. Let's just keep this in the back of our minds, I added, accelerating away from the rental place.

I want to try some things, Natalia ventured. See what's possible, before the next full moon.

I shrugged. I'm always open for that, I said. I thought about it and realized it wasn't exactly true. Every time I freaked her out, it made it harder for me to approach her again. I debated whether to tell her that, but decided against. She had her own problems and I felt they were bigger than mine. I hated being dishonest with her, and I supposed not saying something was being dishonest, but sometimes the truth hurts too much to be useful.

After we arrived home, we went upstairs to go to bed. I was kind of looking forward to sleeping, but Natalia had other ideas.

The problem is opening my legs, she said as she undressed. If we did something where I didn't have to do that, I might be okay.

I looked down at my motionless dick with trepidation. What did you have in mind? I asked.

I don't know, Natalia admitted.

Let's look at sexual positions online tomorrow, I suggested.

Natalia finally picked up on my reluctance. You're not up for it tonight?

Not really, no, I said. I'm pretty tired, I added, hoping that was all it was.

Okay, Natalia replied in a small voice.

I sighed. I have a hard time getting it up, thinking that I might upset you, I admitted.

I know, she replied.

I sighed again. Maybe with some research, we can give ourselves the best chance of preventing that from happening.

You're right, Natalia replied, then sighed herself.

Were you particularly interested tonight? I asked.

Maybe I'm just feeling pressured, Natalia said.

Surely not by me? I asked. I just offered an idea for how to avoid the full moon problem.

Not by you, Natalia quickly assured me. Just the fact that you had to suggest a way for us not to be together on the full moon bothers me. I want to be sexually available to my husband. I want to be able to please you. I'm kind of pressuring myself to be able to get this back to normal.

I want to be able to please you, too, I said. This thing where I'm more likely to freak you out than to please you is really wearing on me.

I know, Natalia repeated.

We eventually went to sleep. After breakfast the next day, we looked up sexual positions online. That wasn't as freaky as you might imagine; it was all just comic drawings. Natalia was looking for positions where her legs could be together. I said that we should also consider positions where she was in control, borrowing from something Jessie had told me.

This is good, Natalia said, pointing at a position called the Magic Mountain. She would lean over a stack of pillows on the bed and I would enter her from behind. She could not only squeeze her legs together, but it would increase her stimulation.

I pointed at Reverse Cowgirl, which was woman on top except pointed in the other direction.

I have to open my legs in that position, Natalia said warily.

If the problem causing the flashbacks involves visual cues, you wouldn't have any in that position, I replied. You'd be looking at my feet, and you wouldn't be looking up at me, and I wouldn't be pinning you down.

Natalia thought about it and nodded. It might work.

Natalia then pointed at one called the Nirvana. It was like man on top, but she would hold her legs together. My penis would have to go down between her closed thighs and enter her. That could be tough to accomplish, I said. I'd be on top of you, too, pinning you down.

Maybe not the thing to try first, Natalia agreed.

I pointed at the Slide. Same thing as the Nirvana, but you're on top, I said.

Not bad, Natalia agreed. That's all right.

Hey, there's one of my absolute favorite positions, I said, pointing at the Splitting Bamboo. I didn't know it had a name. It was man-on-top, sitting on her left leg, holding her right leg on a shoulder. Doesn't help us for what we need right now.

I remember it fondly, though, Natalia confirmed, smiling. In time, we'll be able to do it again.

An e-mail came in. Do you want to look at that? Natalia asked.

After, I replied.

After a few moments she pointed at another image and said, Hey, this might work.

She was pointing at The Butterfly. Her legs would be together, she would lie on her back on a table, and I would lift up her bum to enter her, with her calves on my shoulders. I wrinkled my nose.

What's wrong with it?

You'd be looking up at me, for one thing, I said.

But you wouldn't be looming over me, or pinning me down, Natalia argued.

You're not petite, I added, trying to think of a way to say it delicately.

I thought of that, Natalia replied. We could use pillows instead of lifting.

I stroked my chin. Yeah, it's an option.

Look at the Crossed Keys, Natalia said, pointing. It was much like The Butterfly, with her lying on a table, except her bum wasn't elevated and I would actually cross her legs.

Maybe try that one before the Butterfly, I said.

We'll rank them before we're done, Natalia said.

Good plan.

Natalia pointed at one called the Deckchair. That's interesting.

You seem to want to be on your back, I said. I don't know how well that will work.

But on this one, you'd be sort of reclining, definitely not looming over me, she said. Basically it was kind of like missionary, except I'd be on my ass in front of her with my legs out to her sides, while her calves would be on my shoulders. My position would be sort of like an Adirondack chair having sex.

I chuckled. We may end up on the floor with that one.

It is kind of athletic, Natalia concurred.

And your legs are spread wide, I observed.

Let's skip that one for now, Natalia agreed.

The last three involved scrunching her up into smaller and smaller packages.

This girl's not doing any of those, Natalia said.

I don't think even the cartoon could pull off that one, I said, pointing at the Reclining Lotus. It looks like her knee is disconnected from her leg.

Maybe you have to break the woman's legs first, Natalia said, laughing.

Very inventive foreplay technique, I observed.

We went through the list again. There were only two with her on top and in control, but she felt having her legs pressed together was more important.

Here's one more, Natalia said. The Fan.

She would stand with her legs straight, thighs together, bent over, leaning on a stool, and I would enter her from behind. My legs are together, I'm looking away from you, and if I need to get away, I just push away the stool and walk away.

It's got possibilities, I said. I might not be tall enough. You might have to bend your knees, and that would probably make your legs part.

We can try it, and see if it works, she said. Do you want to read that e-mail that came in?

I can do that after we try some of these, I said, feeling turned on somewhat by the contemplation of the positions.

Let's go upstairs, then, she said.

Chapter Four

We arrived upstairs and undressed. Foreplay was kind of tricky. There wasn't much I could do with her without her legs at least somewhat open, and there wasn't much at all she could do for me.

What are we going to do for foreplay? I asked.

I'm kind of wet, and you're kind of hard, Natalia said. She took me in her hand and gave me a few tugs. That typically didn't work very well for me.

Let's just start, and let the visuals finish the job for me, I suggested.

Sounds good, Natalia replied. She got a chair and bent over in front of me, straight-legged. I put my hands on her butt and caressed it, and her upper thighs. I hardened as she moaned her pleasure at my impromptu massage. I stepped up behind her, but as I feared, I wasn't quite tall enough to enter her with her legs straight.

Not quite working, but just wait a second, I said. I found a big hardcover book, placed it at her heels, and stepped on it.

Is that going to be stable enough for you? Natalia asked.

Enough for us to at least try, I said, and, for the first time since the previous disastrous full moon, entered her. She sucked in her breath.

You okay? I asked.

Keep going, she said.

I began thrusting, very slowly and gently, for two reasons, first, so that I wouldn't freak her out, and second, so I wouldn't fall off the book.

Is this working for you? Natalia asked.

It's okay, I said cautiously. Why?

I thought I might get dizzy, but really, it's killing my calves, Natalia confessed.

Want to try something else? I asked.

Are you going to be able to stay hard? Natalia answered my question with a question.

Yeah, I think so, I said, pulling out of her. I haven't freaked you out.

I stepped down off the book, and Natalia turned around to look at me, seeing I was indeed still hard.

I've gotten inside you, I told her. We've made great progress already. We can stop if you need to.

She contemplated this momentarily, then turned to the bed and made a stack of our pillows. I want to try the Magic Mountain, she said, getting up on the bed.

I followed her onto the bed. She rested her chest on the pillows and I tried to enter her from behind. I faced the same logistical problems I had on the floor, so I got off, brought up the book from the floor and another. I put the books down next to her knees, put my knees on them, and this time was able to enter her successfully.

Are you okay, sweetheart? I asked her. She nodded, and I began slowly and gently thrusting into her. I thought things were going very well when she began to tremble; I thought she was building up to a mind-blowing orgasm. Then she started to shake.

Natalia? I asked her. Are you all right? Natalia?

I pulled out of her and she continued shaking all over. She was having a flashback, I could tell. I pulled her off the pillows and looked into her eyes. They seemed vacant, and I felt a whole new level of fear as her teeth chattered and her body shook. Natalia! I shouted, trying to bring her back. It was no use.

Not knowing what else to do, I pulled her close to me, held her, and tried to warm her with my body heat. Her shaking continued unabated for a while, then slowly began to diminish. I held onto her, praying for her as I held on, asking God to help her with her post traumatic stress disorder. He could heal it, that I knew; why He chose not to, I did not know.

She was still shaking when I heard her say, C-C-Creigh, I'm s-sorry, stuttering her words.

You have nothing to be sorry about, I said, my breath blowing into her hair, and held on.

We lay there for a while as her shakes continued to diminish. When she had finally stopped shaking, I said, We'll get a camper for the weekend, and see how isolation goes.

She nodded quickly and said, Okay.

The incident had taken so much out of her that, after half an hour lying there, she