White Spruce Ch 10

Returning to Ten Lakes wasn't like coming home; I hadn't been there long enough to feel that way about the place, or the people. But Ashra was there, and that made all the difference.

It was the middle of the day, but no one objected when we slipped away, and went to the above-ground shelter where we'd slept when we first arrived at the community. Ashra didn't want to talk first; our lovemaking was once again urgent and intense.

Afterwards, she softly stroked my face, and smiled through her tears.

- "I saw your face, when you first caught sight of me." she said. "You... you just seemed to light up, with a big smile. I could tell that you were genuinely happy to see me."

- "Of course I was. I am. Can't you tell?"

She smiled again. "I can."

- "Has it been hard for you, Ash - these past few weeks? Anne and Kinesha gone, me gone..."

- "I won't lie. It was difficult, for the first few days. But I've made some friends, and I've learned a lot. Would you believe that they're teaching me to swim? And to shoot?"

- "Good for you." I didn't want to think of Ashra in a serious fight, but I knew that swimming and handling weapons would give her more confidence. She didn't need to own one, but being able to use a rifle or pistol would be a good thing - so would canoeing. I could teach her that, now.

- "I'd get lonely, especially at night. But I found out that a lot of the women feel that way, because so many of the men are away. Hunting, pathfinding, logging... or, sometimes they're with other women."

- "Ah." There it was. She had to have had a conversation (or perhaps several conversations) like the one Sylvie had had with me. "So you heard about the three to one ratio."

- "A lot. And I laughed, at first, because I was sharing you with Anne, Nicole and Alicia. I thought 'I've got experience at this'. But then..."

I didn't interrupt. Whatever was on her mind, she needed to get it out.

"This is different." she said. "None of them were Sylvie."

- "Are you... worried about Sylvie?"

- "I'm not blind, Mike. She's freakin' gorgeous. And she has that whole... Amazon-thing going on. How am I supposed to compete with that?"

- "It's not a competition, Ash. And if it was, you'd win."

- "What?"

- "We have history. You chose me, and then I chose you. I love you, Ashra. I know that you love me. I'll keep coming back to you. If Sylvie and I stop working and travelling together, then I'm not sure what kind of connection we'd have."

- "C'mon, Mike: you were in a battle together."

- "So were you and I. Don't discount what we've shared. And even if... even if she

was

interested in me, she'd have to come to you and ask permission to even approach me. Did you hear that, too?"

Ashra laughed out loud. "So if Sylvie comes and ask me to share you with her, I just say no. Just like that."

- "If that's how you feel."

- "What about how

you

feel?"

That was a good question. "I don't really know. I guess I haven't gotten that far yet."

- "Come on, Mike..."

- "I'm serious. Of course I've noticed that she's attractive. And I really do like her. I like working with her. But I wasn't about to mess that up by flirting with her. First off, I have you to consider -"

- "And Anne."

- "Right. Then there's Sylvie's feelings to take into account. She has plenty of admirers in the other communities. I'm sure she's been propositioned dozens of times. And then..."

- "And then?"

I told Ashra about Henryk.

***

I met Micah, the tunnel guy. He took one look at me, and laughed.

- "Thank goodness ya didn't choose tunnel work! Ya'd never fit!"

Micah was in his fifties, bald as an egg, short and scrawny. He also had a great sense of humour, and was delighted to talk - especially about the tunnels he'd dug.

- "We'd never have gotten out of White Spruce if it wasn't for your work." I told him.

- "The golf club? Nah, that was Gord and Jessie. Mind you, I taught them everything they know, so I guess I can still take some of the credit."

I asked him about all the wood used for shoring.

"Yeah, some of it's white spruce. You're right, too; it does rot if you leave it in the earth too long. But the Permatreat solves that. It's soft wood. Easy to work with, and plenty of it. Have you talked to Nadia about it?"

- "A bit, yeah."

- "Maybe we should drop in and watch her work a bit." he said. "She always gives me a hug, and with the difference in height, I get a nice face-full of boobs."

Nadia was happy to see us. Micah got his face-full, and Nadia flirted with me, hinting that she was going to ask Ashra to share me.

- "Or maybe we can work out a trade." she said.

- "A trade?"

- "I could offer her a new bed-frame, and a full set of furniture. Think she might be tempted?"

I enjoyed watching the sawmill at work. It was entirely powered by water. There were no electronics, no complicated machinery requiring fuel or a power source. Just water and saw blades. The crew were only there to pull the logs into position for the blades to do their work. I half-watched for the twenty minutes it took to saw the length of a large log, while Micah and Nadia traded stories. Then Nadia supervised while her assistants closed the sluice gate, turned the log, and then locked it firmly into a new position. The gate was opened, the water flowed, and the saw bit again. It was fascinating, really.

Nadia saw me watching.

- "You're interested."

- "I am. My first impression was that it was awfully slow. But it never stops. Slow, but steady. It's... it's really impressive."

- "I still feel that way, when I stop and just watch. You know... there's a place here for you, if you want."

- "Thank you, Nadia. But I think that I'm more suited to the perimeter. For now, anyway."

***

Anne and Kinesha returned two weeks later. It was a happy reunion; we hadn't seen them for a month and a half. Kinesha seemed to be thriving. She was full of stories about the things she'd seen on their travels, and in the communities they'd visited.

Anne herself, though, seemed a little more... nervous? Was she wondering how things would work between her, Ashra and me?

- "Can I talk to you, Mike?" she asked.

- "Of course."

We took a walk down to the lake we knew best, where we'd all bathed when we first arrived. She didn't seem to want to say anything while we walked, so I waited for her to start.

"I'm sorry." she said. "I thought I knew exactly what I was going to say, but now that we're here it's like all my words have evaporated."

- "Is something wrong?"

- "No. It's... Mike, I'm with Lawrence now. We got to know each other as we travelled, and... he's going to be my regular guide, and my bodyguard. We're going to be together a lot. It just makes more sense. You and I will be apart far more often than we're in the same place at the same time."

- "Good for you, Anne. Good for you both." I said.

- "Really?"

- "Really. As soon as you started to explain, I came to the same conclusion: it just makes more sense for you. For both of you. I couldn't be there for you - not nearly often enough to make a difference."

- "You... you're being very understanding about this."

- "How could I not? Back at White Spruce, you had to share me. But at least you got an equal share. Here, you couldn't. And if you and Lawrence travel together, then you'll have someone of your own most of the time. You deserve that."

- "Thank you." She was tearing up a little. "I guess... I guess this is it?"

I opened my arms, and she stepped into a hug.

- "I'll always be your friend, Anne. Don't worry about that."

- "Now I have to tell Ashra. I saved the easier part for last."

- "She'll be happy for you, too."

Anne laughed. "She'll be happy for Ashra, too."

Now, you may think that I should have been jealous, or that I should have made her feel bad for ending the sexual part of our relationship. And I'll readily admit that I was going to miss Anne's fine body, and her preference for long, slow, endlessly drawn-out foreplay.

But she'd never shown any jealousy back at the golf club. She never made me feel bad for giving her only a quarter of my time. Now both of us would be moving about for much of the year. It would have been ridiculous to expect that I could be her man when we were almost never together.

And I may not be the quickest thinker around, but it didn't take me long to figure out that Anne and Lawrence had several things in common with Sylvie and me.

I wasn't the only one to come to that conclusion, either.

***

- "Let's take a walk." said Ashra.

Ouch. That sounded suspiciously like 'We need to talk'. I didn't doubt Ashra's love, or her commitment, but if she was ticked off, I was about to get an earful. Only... I didn't think that I'd done anything to deserve a dressing down.

"Someone came to see me today." she said.

- "Okay." I said.

- "You're not curious about who it was?"

- "I don't know, Ash." From her tone, it had been a female. If they'd had a conversation about any one of a hundred topics, she would have simply told me. But a woman asking to share me? That could set her off. It might have been Nadia, though I'd done nothing to encourage her. There was also Bea, who'd been leaning over to show me her prodigious cleavage at every opportunity. I hadn't missed those signals; I simply hadn't responded.

- "Take a wild guess."

Shit. Ashra already didn't like Nadia. I didn't want to create additional complications for us - not as a couple, nor in the community we lived and worked with.

- "Bea?"

- "Bea? No. No, guess again."

- "Ash, I don't know. I really don't know."

She stopped well short of the lake, and sat down on a large rock.

- "It was Sylvie, Mike."

Sylvie. Shit. I should have... I don't know what I should have done. Sylvie?

- "I didn't know, Ash."

- "I believe you. She said that she hadn't talked to you. And everybody says that Sylvie never lies. Honestly? If I was a guy, I'd probably have a massive crush on her, too."

I didn't have a ready response, so I just shut up.

"What should I say to her, Mike?"

I swallowed. "What you feel, Ash. If it's no, it's no."

- "Well that would be pretty stupid, don't you think? You're going to be with her for weeks or even months at a time, canoeing and tramping all over the place, saving each other's lives..." She turned to face me. "I know that if I asked, you'd promise not to have sex with her, and then you'd do your damnedest to keep that promise. But what would that achieve? And then if you weren't able to do it - if you failed - there would be that broken promise lying between us. How would we get over that?"

- "I could... try a different line of work."

- "Then we'd have the same situation, with a different woman. Or women. Nadia talked to me, too. No, she didn't ask to share you. She told me what you said when she offered you a job at the sawmill. You don't want to work there. Maybe years down the road, but not now. And then if you did, you'd probably end up with Nadia instead of Sylvie. And then maybe Bea as well."

Ashra had been thinking about this quite a bit.

"Sylvie made a good case for herself. Of course she'd have you all to herself when you're out travelling. But when you're back here, she would defer to me. I would mainly be sharing you when you were away."

- "Hmm."

- "I thought of Anne, too. Now I don't have to share you with her. And she told me how you reacted when she announced that she was with Lawrence. You understood her perfectly, didn't you? It's pretty much the same thing. Isn't it?"

I didn't play games with her. "I think so. Yes."

- "Well, I'd rather it was Sylvie when you're not even here, rather than two or three more women here. I don't want it to be like back at the Golf Club. You know, I tried to hide it, but I was pretty damn jealous most of the time."

- "You hid it well."

- "No, I didn't. The other three all knew. But this is different. Plus Sylvie asked nicely. So I guess it comes down to you. Do you want her, Mike?"

It took me a moment to answer, but it wasn't as hard to say as I'd expected.

- "Yes."

- "Okay."

- "But only when we're away. At Ten Lakes, I'm yours. Only yours."

- "No." said Ashra. "I couldn't do that to her. What if it's a severe winter, and we're all stuck here for months? That would be cruel. No, let's say you'll be primarily with me - but not exclusively."

- "Are you sure?"

She rolled her eyes. "You think I'm acting on impulse? I've been expecting this since we got here. So now you have to talk to her. Tell her that you agree. Then you can go spend the night together. I know it's a bit cold out, but we put your sleeping bag in the shelter."

I'm pretty sure that my mouth was hanging open.

Ashra chuckled. "I told you: I'm okay. I understand the demographics here. And I like her. I think we'll be able to get along. Off you go."

Sylvie was standing by the edge of the lake. She saw me coming, but waited for me to make my way to her. She wasn't dressed any different than any other day, but she'd brushed her long hair and let it fall freely over her shoulders.

Her facial expression was no different, either. She didn't seem worried, or nervous at all. Maybe the fact that I was coming told her that Ashra had said yes, or maybe she already knew that. I walked right up to her, and then stood there like an idiot, because I didn't have the first idea of what to say.

She did, though.

- "Thank you, Mike." she said. Then she took my hand. For a moment she just held it, then she gave it a gentle squeeze. "And you must tell Ashra that I thank her as well. I've already told her that, but she will like to hear it from you."

- "I... okay."

- "Did she explain to you what it means if you take me as your second woman?"

- "You mean, about who has precedence here?"

- "Yes, that. But also for a third woman."

- "Wait: third?"

- "Just as I had to ask Ashra, a third woman would have to ask

both

of us. Ashra is very nice, but I am not. I'm jealous, and possessive. I'm

very

unlikely to agree. So before you accept me, and take me as your second woman, you need to know that. There's still time to change your mind."

- "I..." Now I understood Ashra's reaction a little better. If she thought that she would only have to share me with

one

woman...

- "We'll have sex tonight. Several times, if you can. And in the morning, you'll have to decide. If you choose not to have me, no one else except Ashra will ever know. In that case, it would probably be better if you didn't carry on as my partner on the perimeter. I'm sorry if that sounds like additional pressure, but I couldn't really think of any way around it."

She seemed incredibly calm about this.

- "You make it sound like... like a business deal. Like a transaction."

- "Because it is. In part, at least."

- "But what about the rest? Sylvie, you and Ashra will be... you'll be my wives, basically. You're talking about a partnership for life. That takes... trust. And commitment."

She smiled, then. "Yes, it does. And that's why we both chose you."

- "Now you're making it sound very simple." I said. I wasn't annoyed, though. Far from it. That was a very nice thing for her to say.

- "The fact that we're both here tonight speaks volumes. There's not a lot more that needs to be said. Now it remains to be seen if we please each other physically."

Sylvie led me to the shelter. Just inside, she turned to face me, and stepped closer, so that we were only inches apart. Then she kissed me.

There was nothing tentative about it. It didn't really feel like a first kiss; there was nothing hesitant or tentative about it. As with everything she did, Sylvie moved directly and purposefully. It may sound odd, but at that moment it felt as if we'd been lovers for years.

I don't mean that we were skipping over the initial excitement at the very beginning of a relationship. I could feel my heart beating, loud and fast. But there was a confidence level in her, a familiarity between us, that usually had to be acquired over a long period of time.

She slowly began to remove her outer layer of clothing. She stopped only when she realized that I hadn't moved an inch.

- "Won't you get undressed, too?"

- "I want to watch you."

- "You've seen me naked." she said.

- "And I'll never get tired of that sight."

Did she flush a little at that? Once she stood only in a bra and panties, she reached forward and began unbuttoning my shirt.

- "Does this make it better for you, as well? If I undress you?"

- "Yes." My voice was a little thick.

- "And would you have preferred to undress me?"

- "Yes."

She unbuckled my pants, and pulled them down.

- "That won't always be an option, when we're travelling. But I'll remember that, when we're in safer places." She placed my hand on her shoulder, as she knelt at my feet, so that I could lean on her for balance as I stood one foot, and then the other, so that she could pull my pants off my feet. She was so practical, and so efficient.

She stood up, then, letting the back of her hand trail across the front of my underwear, which were tented by my erection.

"Will you help me finish, then?" she said.

I kissed her again, which delayed matters for a bit. But then I reached around her to take hold of her bra. There was no clasp, so it had to be pulled over her head. She helped me.

As I appraised her breasts at close range, her eyes were fixed on mine, studying me.

- "

So beautiful

..." I murmured.

I kissed her again, and discovered that I could encompass her whole breast in one hand. I bent over, so that I could kiss her other breast. She supported my head with her hand. Then it was my turn to kneel at her feet, so that I could pull down her panties.

She had a patch of pubic hair, but it was neatly trimmed, and her lips were shaved bare. I kissed her stomach, just below her navel, and reached around to cup both of her ass cheeks, to pull her just a little closer.

When I dipped my head just a bit and kissed her pussy, Sylvie moved one leg a little wider, granting me more complete access. I hadn't meant to begin with standing oral, but now that I was here, it seemed like a good idea. She seemed to agree, as she ran her fingers through my hair.

After a time, I decided to move. Sylvie's sleeping bag was already unrolled on the ground, though not unzipped. I picked her up (showing off my strength a little), and gently deposited her on her back. Then I kissed my way back to her pussy and carried on where I'd left off.

She didn't make a sound as she climaxed, but her grip on my hair tightened, and her powerful thighs contracted around my head.

When she finally relaxed, I crawled up beside her, and gently kissed her.

- "I think I understand." she said. "The talking is... part of the foreplay, for you."

- "Sometimes, yes."

- "Then get your underwear off." she said. "I've seen you naked, but not hard. I'm curious."

Well, I wasn't completely hard at the moment, but she took care of that with her hands - and, though it may sound strange, with her eyes. She stared at my growing erection with obvious appreciation.

Then she took me in her mouth.

I've had some experience, as you probably know if you've read my story. But Sylvie's approach was entirely new to me. She wasn't simply getting me wet, to lubricate me for intercourse. She wasn't teasing me, to build up the anticipation, or fast-tracking to get me to come. Nor was she some kind of oral fetishist, like Nicole.

Sylvie just gave me pleasure. She kissed, licked, and sucked, while also stroking my shaft and cupping my balls. She frequently looked at me, gauging my reactions, to see what I liked best. I was sure that she was saving this information for later.