Page 15 of A is for Ahool

She wore pure white pants and tunic and a crimson scarf over her head and neck. She looked up as my eyes landed on her face and our eyes met. Anissa? But how? I slowly rose to my feet, the pain fading by the minute.

“Why?” I asked when she reached me.

“I couldn’t leave,” she said. She gave me that same soft look I loved so much. “I want to be with you.”

Maybe I had died after all. There was no other explanation.

“You want to stay?” I whispered. Please do not let this be a dream, I begged anyone who would listen. Do not let it be a last beautiful hallucination before the end. I could not take it.

Anissa approached me slowly as if I were a frightened animal. How bad must I look for her to be so careful with me? My throat was too tight to speak.

“I think you care for me,” Anissa said. She only hesitated for a moment before she reached up to cup my face. “I care for you, too.”

My eyes burned. “You do?”

She smiled faintly. “I do.”

I was helpless to resist the gentle pull of her hands. I lowered my head until she touched her cheek to mine. “Marry me, Muram,” she whispered.

I gasped and clutched her body close to mine. “Truly?”

Anissa pulled back to look up at me with teary eyes. “The Holy Quran says, ‘And one of His signs is that He created mates for you from yourselves that you may find rest in them, and He put between you love and compassion.’” She smiled softly. “I think we were created of each other.”

“Yes,” I said. “I will marry you in the way of your kind. I will bond with you any way you are willing.”

“Then it is done,” Anissa said, nuzzling her face into my chest.

As easy as that? I closed my eyes, feeling for that sharp broken piece inside me. The bond that never was. But there was nothing. Only the glowing warmth of completion.

“Take me to our nest, husband?” Anissa looked up at me shyly.

I carefully scooped her into my arms. With a flap of my wings, I launched us upward. Carrying her inside the nest the second time was surreal. After her injury, panic and concern had dulled the effect of seeing her inside my nest. But with her awake and smiling in my arms, it hit me all at once.

We were bonded. Married. I gently set her on her feet to open the chest at the back of the nest. It was an heirloom, passed down from my father and his father before him. I lightly stroked the bride names carved into the wood, representing over a dozen bonded pairs.

I did not think I would ever open it. When I made the nest and wove the bonding cloth, I had no hope of using it. But I made it as beautiful as I could anyway. As I turned to present it to my beloved, her expression made all of the effort worth it.

She silently watched me arrange the cloth, pallet, and pillows into a comfortable sleeping surface. When I finished, I knelt and held out my hand to her. She took it without hesitation.

We knelt together in the center of the bedding, both of us looking down at her hands in mine. I had never let myself imagine this moment. Anissa lifted her hands to unwind her scarf. As she released her hair, it fell around her shoulders like dark silk. Long and glossy and even more beautiful now that I was permitted to see it.

I longed to reach for her, but I waited patiently as my wife slowly removed her clothes. When she was bare above the waist, she moved closer. I lightly ran my knuckles up the side of her neck and sank my fingers into the warm weight of her hair. She sighed and closed her eyes. She was so lovely, I could not decide where to touch her first.

I stroked the back of her neck, as I trailed my other hand down the center of her body. Grazing the small swells of her breasts and the vulnerable softness of her belly. She giggled when I circled her navel with a fingertip. I smiled at her and caressed up her ribs to cup one breast. Her laugh ended in a soft moan.

I had never seen a human woman unclothed, but I knew all others would pale in comparison to my love. I carefully rubbed over her small brown nipple, watching her lips part in pleasure.

“How does it feel?” I asked, lightly tugging on the hardening flesh.

“Good!” she gasped.

I slid my other hand down to mimic my actions on her other breast. Anissa arched into it, beginning to pant as she moaned my name. I felt heavy pressure between my thighs for a brief moment before my shaft began to emerge.

I tried to ignore the sensation, focusing instead on Anissa and her pleasure. I continued to tease her nipples, rolling them gently between my fingers as she moaned and writhed in my grasp.

"Muram," she breathed, her eyes squeezed closed in pleasure. "Please, more."

"You are so very lovely," I murmured, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to her shoulder. She shivered at the contact, her breathing becoming ragged. I couldn't resist any longer - I had to taste her. I moved my mouth to her breast, swirling my tongue around her nipple and sucking gently.