Writer's Block Ch. 01

"You don't look hurt. What kind of accident?"

"Some woman and her "guide" lost their canoe on the river. She was hurt pretty bad, and he didn't make it. The rangers need to be informed to come get them."

"Radio's all yours. So the woman survived? How badly hurt?"

"Deep gash near her right shoulder blade. I've cleaned it and stitched her up but she needs hospital. She may have a broken leg too she was close to death when I found her. He must have died not long after getting out of the water."

Henry switched the radio on and dialled the frequency for the ranger station. "Ranger station 15, ranger station 15 this is Terrance Fillmore 49degrees 41.51.North, 90degrees 14.06.West, in need of medical assistance."

"Terrance, this is ranger John at station 15. What kind of medical situation do you have?"

"One female with deep flesh wound, suspected broken leg and was suffering with hypothermia when she was found. One male deceased. Please advise ETA."

"Please wait." The ranger told him. He looked at maps to figure out where the location was. Approximately 60 miles of snow covered forest with no passable roads. It would have to be a chopper. "Terrance, we need to get a chopper to you. Is there anywhere to land close by?"

"There is a clearing 300 metres west of the coordinates."

"Roger that Terrance chopper can be there in four hours, depending on weather."

"Roger, four hours. Thank you sir."

Henry took the mic and switched the radio off "need help?"

"Thanks Henry but there's no point dragging you two hours over just for you to have to do another two hours back. I'd love a cup of that coffee though. It smells amazing."

"Little fisherman's trick. Put the coffee on to heat in the morning and by lunch time it's like stewy syrup. Add broken egg shells to reduce bitterness and serve."

"Sounds disgusting but the smell is like coming home."

Henry poured a cup of the dark brown liquid and offered him sugar. Rance hadn't tasted sugar in three or four months. He tasted the coffee and sat back with the pungent smell assaulting the back of his sinuses as he breathed the vapour out. "Damn that's good, and eggs shells are the secret?"

"Like I said, an old fisherman's trick. You got everything you need over there?"

"I have plenty of food and with the snow around plenty of fresh water. I'm catching rabbits and squirrels regularly and the odd fish when I get time. I'm doing ok. The woman doesn't want to leave but I can't feed us both for very long."

"Maybe you should see if she can step up and help out. If she wants to stay it could improve your life out here."

"I came here to be alone. Just like you."

Henry nodded with a knowing look in his eyes. "Don't cut your nose off to spite your face is all I'm saying. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Any more wise words?"

"Nope. That's all I got." Henry scratched his head trying to think of more proverbs in the same vein. "You could always sell the property to me and move in with her." It wasn't meant as a serious offer but it landed in Rance's mind.

Without replying to the offer Rance smiled. "Right I need to go before the chopper arrives. Thanks for the coffee. It was better than any damned Starbucks."

Henry waved him off as he left back towards his own cabin again. The day had cooled and the sky was no longer blue. The weather was turning. 'Damn, this isn't good' he thought. He had a long walk and in a blizzard he could be in trouble. There was no point dwelling on the situation, he would have to make it or camp out again, and he didn't want to be outside for a third night.

He pushed hard and made it back 30 minutes after the snow started. "You were a lot faster than I thought you'd be." Maria said welcoming him with rabbit and boiled rice. "What's the situation?"

"I called the ranger station and they said it would be four hours so judging by the time now, that would be another hour and a half but with the weather as it is they won't fly so you're stuck here until it clears."

"I told you." Maria said with a frown. "I'm staying anyway."

Rance sighed heavily. "You need to be in hospital getting your leg seen to, and you may need antibiotics for the injury on your back."

"They can check me when they get here. If they insist I need to be in hospital then I'll go but I'd rather stay."

"Damn stubborn woman!" Rance turned away to hang up his coat as he said it. "I need to get a bath" he said as he turned back to her.

Maria hadn't considered bathing and as she looked around she noticed there was no bath. There was a small closet for a toilet but no room for a bath. "How?" She asked.

Rance opened the door and stepped down. Under the cabin was a large galvanized tin tub. "This is how!" He showed her as he carried it in.

He placed it in the small space in front of his desk and took the kettle from the stove pouring the hot water into it. It was labour intensive to fill it with hot water but after an hour there was enough to sit in. He hadn't really considered the logistics when he started. He'd forgotten that his company was female. "Would you mind turning around? I don't want to offend you with my body."

"You won't offend me, besides, you've seen me already."

He tipped his head to the side and widened his eyes to say "well ok then." and started to undress. His boots and his socks came off then his T-shirt and his pants. There was a strong odour from his feet that Maria found quite offensive but she just put her hand over her nose and laughed. "You may need to bathe a little more often."

"To be fair I've been a little busy the last couple of days. It hasn't really been a priority."

'Fair comment' she thought. "Need some help?" She moved over as he stepped into the tub and got her first glance of 'him'. "Wow, very nice!"

"Seriously, we're making this juvenile now?"

"I'm just making a positive comment on how nice you look. It's been a while since I saw a man like this."

He sat down in the hot water which had lost a lot of heat already. She took a cloth and washed his back, shoulders, neck and chest. He'd never been washed before, well not since being a young child. Even his previous wife had never shown this level of care for him. He couldn't quite understand why she wanted to get this close to a filthy man. She soaped the cloth and washed under his arms, down his sides and over the tops of his buttocks. He felt a faint sensation of relaxation flow over him. The feel of her hands having a calming effect. She soaked the cloth and wrung it over the top of his back rinsing the suds away.

Moving around to his right side she managed to get down and sat on the floor facing the opposite direction and looking in his eyes. They were both silent and instinctively knew what each other was thinking. Both straight faced and staring, studying each other's faces. She took the wash cloth and washed his lower legs slowly rubbing his calves and shins, over his knees, still looking at him between checking his limbs. Her hands washed up between his thighs and his mouth opened to breathe easier as his chest moved faster. Her hand found him under the water. "Owowoh foofwoah." Were his only sounds as his eyebrows and eyelids flickered and he took a deep breath.

With a slightly wicked smile Maria washed between his legs, over his scrotum and around his manhood. His only replies were fast shallow breaths at the gentle touch of her hand.

Once washed, she shuffled forward and leaned to kiss him. He was under her spell; leaning to meet her he kissed her back. "Why?"

"Because when a woman's life is saved by a man, he becomes her hero." Her eyes darting around all the features of his face and settling on his irises. Studying the shapes and colours in his eyes, likening them to images of nebulas she'd seen. He was doing the same, locked in a state of mutual static arousal. He took the cloth and washed his arms and rinsed himself. "Could you pass me a towel, please?" He pointed to the cupboard by the door.

He stood up in the tub and dried himself in full view of her. He was slim and taught with slight belly, a far cry from his image with that big heavy coat on. He stepped out from the tub, drying his body as he stood near the wood burning stove. He wrapped the towel around his waist and slid the tub toward the door. The door opened and he tipped the dirty water away. "You want a bath?"

Maria nodded, silent, still studying his shape.

He pulled on clean socks, underwear, pants and T-shirt. He took the kettle out to fill it with snow. "Do you have a pan we can use to heat water too?" She asked.

"Under the sink."

She opened the door and pulled out the biggest pan, taking it through the door to collect snow and returning back to the stove to heat it. After 30 minutes the bath was ready. She walked to Rance and held him close and hard to her. He held her too, stroking her hair while smelling it.

He loosened his embrace as she moved back and took off her shirt. Rance couldn't help but look at her wondrous curves as she loosened her pants before untying the splint. She pushed her pants down to her feet along with her underwear. She stood naked before him and his breath left him. He helped to support her as she stepped from her clothes and lifted her into the tub, holding her as she sat with her left leg sticking out straight at the end. He washed her back, careful not to catch the stitches or wet the wound. It was a very tidy job and although it would leave a scar it would at least be a tidy scar.

He took his time to wash her back noting that she seemed to enjoy the feeling of being pampered. He did as she had done to him washing her neck, shoulders, arms and sides. When he came to washing her chest he wasn't sure he should. "It's fine." she said with a soft welcoming look on her face.

He swallowed hard and continued to wash from her collar bones across her upper chest and over her breasts. The touch of his hands washing her breasts brought unknown sensations to her body. Like hot sparks under her skin and down to her crotch. Without wanting to spend too much time loitering at her breasts he moved to her belly which spasmed and fluttered at his touch. He washed down her legs carefully, as he washed her possibly broken leg he barely used any more than the weight of the cloth. He refused to wash her intimate area as she had done for him, feeling too embarrassed. "Still the gentleman." She quipped as she stared at his face.

She washed herself there while Rance got a towel for her. He held her hands as she stood up on her right leg. He wrapped the towel around her and lifted her out of the tub. He moved the chair for her to sit in front of the stove. He threw her clothes into the water and began soaping them clean. Maria watched him intently making the most of the water. "Would you have done that with your bath water?"

"No way! I bathe and then my clothes get a fresh bath themselves. I don't mind washing them in your water though. You smell great even after two days."

Maria blushed but smiled at the compliment. After giving her clothes a scrub he pulled a wooden rack out and hung them to dry, then he washed his own clothes and hung them too.

Maria was dry so she hopped to the bed, and asked Rance to redo the splint. He looked at the top of the splint and decided to tidy it up to avoid it hurting her bare skin. He spent a few minutes whittling it to a rounded shape. He placed the two pieces either side of her leg and tied them in place with the webbing again unable to avoid the fact that her womanhood was on full display to him.

He moved to get up but she pulled him to her and kissed him hard. He shook his head and pulled away, her feelings badly hurt and tears welling up. "Why?"

"Two days without cleaning my teeth. I can't let you kiss me like that. Give me a minute."

She thought the same. She hadn't cleaned hers in days either. Rance poured some water from the kettle into a bowl and put some toothpaste on his brush. He scrubbed at them rinsing the brush in the water before spitting the minty foam into his toilet. Maria used his brush to clean her teeth after him. If they were going to kiss, why not. She repeated his ritual and sat next to him on the bed. His beard was wild and scruffy. "What do you look like under there?"

"Probably spotty and pretty rotten to be honest."

"Do you have a razor? Scissors?"

He nodded as he opened a drawer to fetch them. He cleaned the bowl they used to brush their teeth and filled it with clean hot water. While Maria sat on the bed, Rance sat on the chair in front of her. With careful cuts she shortened his beard as much as possible before soaking his face with hot water and soaping her hands into a lather. She spread the suds all over his jaw, making sure it was all covered. She took the razor and carefully dragged it down his face rinsing it often. After a few minutes she met the real Terrance. "A good looking man like you shouldn't be hiding behind all that hair!"

"It's not like I was expecting to find a beautiful woman out here."

Still wrapped in her towel she pulled him to the bed kissing him again but this time being kissed back and having her breath taken away by his passion for her. His hand, warm and rough but gentle, cupped her cheek. She felt the rough skin of his fingers like sandpaper making her putty in his strong hands, her hand covering his and holding it in place as he enjoyed the warmth remembering the first night they spent together in front of the fire with him giving her warmth from behind. The fact he gave his time willingly to save her life. A tear filled her eye.

"What's wrong?"

"We might never have met. I might have missed you. I might have lost you before I had you."

"And I might never have known you." He thought back to his thoughts about stories never being told if the writers had been lost before writing them. "You've given me so much inspiration again. I can't even conceive that I might never have met you."

She lay back on the bed and pulled him over her. "I found something special when you found me. I can't even imagine how I got through life in the city without you. I can't imagine going back without you, so I won't. If you want me to go to a hospital you're going to have to come with me."

"Ok. If it means you get the medical attention you need."

"It's not just medical attention I need!"

She pulled his T-shirt half way up running her hands over his lean body. He was muscular but not like a body builder. His meagre rations in the cabin kept the fat off. She removed his T-shirt moving her hand to the buttons of his pants. Her lips meeting his as the buttons popped. He stood and rid himself of the clothing settling back on the bed next to her. She kissed him again, running her hand down his leg and scratching with her nails as she brought her hand up to his crotch. With their lips held together his surprise was muffled but audible. She smiled while staying in place, his hands untucking her towel and searching her warm skin, happy she was once again warm and here with him. His right hand found her left breast, this time on purpose, her gasp telling him he was welcome to it.

He moved over her as she shifted up his bed as if asking him to chase her in a juvenile game. He lowered his head to her body touching his lips to her neck, to her fine collar bone and further. His tongue making contact with her skin, tasting her slightly salty tang. As he hovered above the breast he had touched that first night he hesitated breathing heavily as the sight of it. His breath causing currents of air to tickle her nipple and goose flesh to appear on her areolas.

He touched his lips to her breast making her react by arching her back and pushing it harder into his mouth. She held his head to her not wanting him to leave her in limbo, her lust growing. Her pain was forgotten. No leg pain or deep wound mattered. As she released her grip on his head he moved southward over her soft skin to her pubis. He spent time here before going further as if caught in her wild forest, trying to battle his way through to his prize, his nostrils filled with her scent.

He ran the tip of his tongue down the crease between the top of her leg and her abdomen. She was sensitive and ticklish there and squirmed giggling at his touch, his hands behaving themselves better than his mouth. Still moving closer Maria was hurting, wanting him to hurry up and wait. His mouth bypassed her secret valley and kissed down her leg much to her disappointment, but his tease didn't last too long. As he reached her knee he turned back as if lost and looking for his last landmark to find his way again. The closer he got the stronger her scent was, a sweet tang of womanly aura drew him in to her. This time there was no tease.

His lips made contact and she moaned heavily, his lips and tongue making a meal of her. She gripped the sheets while he ate at her table and drank from her cup. Her pleasure increasing, unceasing and building to her apex. As he concentrated on her fleshy bud she let out a quiet shriek as she tensed and then let go as she summited, pushing his head away from her overly sensitive clitoris. He watched in awe as she convulsed from his efforts.

After a minute or two she landed at the foot of her mountain having ridden her avalanche of pleasure down the slopes, coming to a halt in front of Rance.

She pushed him back as she moved towards him. He stood at the side of the bed as she sat up with his protuberance right in front of her. "You don't have to." He told her.

Her only reply was a lustful look in her eyes as she opened her mouth and took him in. Softly and slowly she tended to his needs. His face almost blank, his eyes mostly closed and showing only the whites. His hands holding his own buttocks not wanting to feel forceful towards her, letting her take the lead. Slow and soft became firm and faster. He felt the suction increase, the pressure, movement and speed induced the heat he hadn't expected for some time yet. "Slow...or I'm... oh shit, oh shit!"

Maria felt him tense and his shape change slightly, sucking hard as if trying to pull his testicles out with his essence. His knees were weak but he had nothing to hold on to. The only support was Maria's shoulders. He put his hands on her and involuntarily humped in time with his orgasm. There were no complaints from below. After forty or more seconds of the most intense feeling of his life she let him free and disposed of the contents of her mouth into her belly.

Rance got onto the bed spent and literally drained. They kissed, tasting themselves on each other's lips. He wasn't a young man anymore but he felt himself begin to rise again. She slowly held him in her hand and stroked him to full tumescence. "I need to feel you inside me!"

His barriers were down, he had no defence now. Her charms called to him, the damsel calling to her hero. She lay on her side as she had on their first night together. She was no longer cold; in fact she burned with a white hot lust as he lay behind her in their familiar position. Taking him in hand she guided him between the pillars of her thighs and into her intimate chamber she groaned in ecstasy as she felt his stave straining her innards as he found his way through her halls. At that moment nothing else mattered. They were one body and two minds but they were in tune, moving, feeling and thinking together. They slowly entwined, Rance fearful of hurting her. He kissed her stitched laceration as a parent might do for a child to make it all better.

Maria's senses heightened she could feel every ridge, bump and tiny subtlety of Rance's shaft as his outer surface glided against her inner walls, reduced to a collection of nerve endings, so sensitive and so pleasured she began to close on her mountainous summit again, waiting to ride the avalanche back down. Still only slowly moving, her climax nearing, Rance's almost engulfing him at the same moment and then together hitting their crescendo.