Twenty-five years ago, I self-published The River of Rain, a philosophical exploration of freedom, human nature, and the modern world. To mark its anniversary, I’m releasing a fully revised edition, one chapter every Wednesday. This is the novel as it was meant to be.
Victor dropped to his knees in stunned silence. Moonlight spilled across the young woman lying in his bed, silver tracing the outline of her face and the rise and fall of her breathing beneath the furs. For a moment he could only stare, hardly trusting what he was seeing. Ariana smiled faintly at him, calm and inviting.
“Don’t you want me?” she asked softly.
Victor reached out almost hesitantly, resting a hand against her stomach. She let out a quiet laugh at his touch. His fingers drifted along her side as he leaned down to kiss her, slowly at first, then with growing urgency. His thoughts blurred together until he felt almost lightheaded. One hand cradled the back of her head while the other wandered carefully over her skin.
Ariana answered him without words, drawing closer each time he pulled away.
After a moment, Victor pushed aside the last of his clothing and pulled the furs over them both. His stomach tightened with nerves. Ariana parted her legs slightly and lifted herself to meet him, kissing him with sudden intensity that caught him off guard.
When she pulled him down against her, the warmth of her body sent a tremor through him. She closed her eyes and breathed sharply against his shoulder while he kissed the pale curve of her neck. Time seemed to loosen after that, the night stretching onward in fragments of whispered breaths, shifting furs, and the steady crackle of the dying fire.
Eventually they lay together in silence on the straw mat, wrapped in the heavy pelts while the cave settled around them.
“You know,” Victor said quietly after several minutes, “the police will probably be here tomorrow. They’ll come looking for you.”
He turned slightly, trying to read her expression in the dark.
“You should think about it tonight. Whether you want to go with them, I mean. This is your chance to leave. I won’t stop you.”
“I’ll think about it,” Ariana murmured sleepily, not fully comprehending the meaning of his words. “I’ll think about it.”
Victor closed his eyes soon after, drifting to sleep with the strange certainty that tomorrow would be the most important day of his life.
Continued in Chapter 10…
M.A. Kleen 
What are your thoughts?