The Sauna Part 83

Jon and I faced each other and joined our hands together as we gazed for a moment into one another’s eyes. I thought for a moment that I saw the reflection of a past joining in his eyes and then it vanished and it was Jon who stood before me. He took my face between his hands and kissed me deeply as we lowered ourselves onto the sacred ground within the circle.

I leaned back against the ground, inhaling the pungent aroma of Mother Earth and raised my eyes to the Father Sky. Jon traced a pentacle with his finger lightly across my belly and I opened my legs to receive him as he lowered himself above me. He entered me slowly, reverently as his lips sought mine and we enacted the Great Rite from which sprang forth all life.

Our skin glowed in the light of the full moon as we made love gently at first, the heat rising in the core of our beings. I twined my legs around Jon’s hips, drawing him deeper inside me and he quickened the rhythm of his motion. I felt my own juices running onto the floor of the forest as he ground steadily against me, building the intensity as my nipples scraped along his chest.

A mist had descended magically around us, enveloping us in the veil between the worlds. Time and space were altered as we became one with nature and the universe and I felt the power of the divine embrace us.

“The mist … Oh, Jon …” I cried as I recognized the magik of the mysteries for the first time since I had embraced Wicca.

“My Lady, my love … I am here” he whispered as I held onto his arms for an anchor.

And suddenly we exploded, crossing the threshold into oblivion together as we cried out in harmony. Jon’s seed poured forth in a torrent of liquid heat and I burned deep inside with his love and I clung against him as we rode the tides of time. As the waves of orgasm subsided, I heard the leaves rustle above us and a cooling night breeze carried the scent of pine to clear our heads. The mist had lifted and in its’ place came a softly falling rain, bathing us in heaven’s tears and blessing our rebirth as one.

We both wept with raw emotion as we sat up and held each other beneath the starry sky. Jon reached for my cloak and fastened it about my shoulders. I stuck out my tongue to taste the rain as we gathered up the ritual tools and returned them to the basket, all but those we yet needed and the candles. We gave thanks to the Lord and Lady for blessing our union and I dismissed the Guardians of the Watchtowers and thanked them for their protection. Together we walked widdershins (counter-clockwise) about the circle, Jon carrying the athame and I the wand of willow that I had crafted myself so many years ago, and we thereby cleared the circle.

We placed the remaining tools in the basket and stepped outside the circle where I retrieved Jon’s cloak and brought it to him, wrapping it about him and kissing him as I did so.

We walked slowly down the path to the house and entered through the back door as usual. The house was quiet and it was dark, and I lit a few candles only as the artificial light would have seemed too harsh after all that had happened. We removed our cloaks and shook off the dewy rain by the doorway and Jon went to the living room to build a fire in the hearth.

We were damp and shivering, but the warmth from inside us remained and we both felt rather merry despite the slight chill. While Jon made the fire, I heated the remaining mead on the stove and added a few of my favorite mulling spices to simmer. Jon hung our cloaks near the fire to dry and retrieved some fresh towels from the bathroom and patted the moisture from his skin. He toweled my hair and I slipped my arms about his waist and laid my cheek upon his chest.

“My wife, may I call you that now?” he smiled, tilting my chin to look at him.

“Yes, husband, you certainly may” I beamed back at him.

“I have never in my life been happier or more at peace than I feel right now” he said with a sigh of deep contentment.

“But?” I asked, sensing there was a question waiting and he laughed.

“Would it spoil the mood if I was to put on some clothes while we wait for the fire?”

“Of course not, love, I was thinking the same thing” I grinned and we headed for the bedroom and slipped into our robes.

The fire was crackling now and we stood before it, our arms outstretched as if to capture the heat. Jon reached for my left hand and held it between his as he looked at the ring on my finger and turned it slightly so the moonstone caught the light from the fire.

“Will you wear it always, baby?” he asked me.

“Always” I promised, folding my right hand over his.

We were standing thus when I heard a noise and I saw Lainie emerge from Richie’s room. She stopped and smiled at us, no longer shy, neither about her blossoming relationship with Richie or her nakedness. I called to her and offered for her to join us and share the mulled wine which was ready now, but she shook her head and yawned sleepily as she made her way to the bathroom and then back to Richie’s bed.

Jon followed me to the kitchen where I ladled out a glass of the spiced brew for each of us and we returned to the fire and nestled down against each other on the large cushions on the floor. The fire felt warm now and I felt a rosy glow returning to my cheeks as we sipped our wine.

We chatted about the ceremony and I was thoroughly impressed with how much Jon had recognized and followed along in the rituals. He had obviously read a great deal during the week while I was working and there was little he didn’t understand or appreciate.

I shared with him that I had never before experienced the veil of the mist between the worlds and guessed that my energy alone had never been sufficient to call it forth. Jon smiled and surmised that we were far more powerful together than the sum of our energies apart and again I commented on the ease with which he seemed to understand everything so naturally. He said he really understood what I meant when I had told him how Wicca just made such sense to me and why I had been drawn to it.

We finished our wine and began to grow weary now and sleepy as the buzz of magikal energy began to dissipate and the warmth of the fire surrounded us. The comfort and security of our now sacred bond was welcome indeed and I yawned contentedly.

“Come, wife, let us sleep” Jon said and we walked arm and arm into the bedroom.

I heard the echoes of our past lives together as he spoke the words. I knew that it was not the first time that I had heard those words and accepted his invitation and I knew it would not be the last for many, many moons.