Page 75 of New Storm Rising
Not that stopping him was on the top of my agenda.
Understatement of the century.
With a rip of cloth, my petticoat followed my dress. There I was, bare before him. Defenceless. And deep, deep down, loving it.
“Now,” said a voice so powerful it made me tremble deep inside, “let’s see who is in charge, shall we?”
***
In the miners’ barracks near the tunnel entrance, a bed creaked under repeated horrible impacts.
“Stop jumping up and down on that thing like a brainless brat, Kojo!”
“Ha!” Making a backflip in the air, the muscular man came down again and struck a pose. “You’re just jealous of my vigour and strength, and how the ladies love both!”
Itoro gave his friend a look. A why-is-this-person-not-in-a-straightjacket kind of look. “What ladies? We spent the last few months chained below decks on a Spanish galley, and ever since then we’ve been cooped up in courtrooms with lawyers who, despite the gowns they wear, aren’t usually pretty women.”
Kojo simply shrugged and jumped again like the happy man-child he was. “They might have been. Did you check?”
“No, I did not check! And stop jumping up and down like a drugged-up bunny!”
“What are you so riled up about?” Kojo asked, grinning happily. “We’re free. We’ve got food, we’ve got beds, we—”
Just then, he landed, and the bed collapsed with a crash beneath him.
“Now we’ve got one bed less,” Itoro commented.
All that came in answer was a tortured groan.
Sighing, Itoro strode forward and extended his arm.
A hand emerged from the pile of wooden bits and pieces and, after waving around in the air for a while, found Itoro’s and took hold of it. With another groan, Kojo let himself be pulled to his feet. For a long moment, Itoro simply glared at him—then the two started laughing at the same moment. They didn’t stop for a very long time. When they finally calmed down, a serene calm descended over the room.
The two friends’ eyes met.
“We’re really free, aren’t we?”
“Yes, Kojo. Yes, we are.”
The big man grinned from ear to ear. “Now I want to jump up and down again.”
“Don’t you dare!”
His grin got even wider.
“You…you said that on purpose!”
“Mwahahaha!”
“Come here, you! I’m going to beat you to death!”
“With those tiny sticks you call arms? Haha! In your dreams!”
They chased each other around the room for ten minutes or so, the others gathering round and betting on who would win. Not that they had a single cent to bet with—but that wasn’t really the point.
“Five acorns on Itoro!”
“Three dung beetles on Kojo!”
