By Moonlight Wrought (Bt Moonlight Wrought) by John Crandall Page A

one of the most beautiful
faces he had ever seen, he liked her because she was nice, honest, and simple. 
They talked about the most mundane things, and neither thought the other was
stupid or dumb, like others sometimes thought each of them to be.
             Dirk followed her in the door to his
room, shutting it behind them and subsequently leaving them in darkness.  He
stumbled over to the dresser, which he had gotten from Bessemer’s—the store he
worked in—naturally, while trying to light his lantern.  When he reached up to
grasp the lamp, his hand met something; something warm, soft, round...  He
jerked his arm back and felt himself immediately flush and turn red, glad there
was no light to illuminate his embarrassment.  Dirk could hear Melissa breathing. 
He, however, was not.  Finally, he spoke softly, timidly, “Excuse me.  I’m
trying to find the lantern.”
             “Oh,” Melissa said plainly and backed
away, the normal volume of her voice seeming extremely loud there in the dark. 
Dirk found the lantern, along with his flint and steel.  He fumbled but managed
to light it, keeping it dim, still slightly embarrassed.  He did not want his
first real friend to think that he was like every other man, hoping only to bed
her.  Though, Dirk admitted to himself, it might be nice for the first time to
make love to someone he actually cared for.  But his lust was not important
enough to lose Melissa as a friend.
             “Here it is,” he finally said, meaning
his room.
             “It’s nice,” Melissa answered with
politeness, not even looking around.  She sat down upon the bed and took her
boots off, while Dirk sat in a chair at the table, watching her.  Melissa lay
back on the bed then noticed his stare.  She blushed, and then laughed,
covering her face with her hands as she curled up facing away from him.  Soon
she rolled back toward Dirk.
             “Why are you watching me with that funny
look on your face?” she asked.  Dirk hadn’t realized he had been making any
funny faces.  Melissa stopped laughing, sat up, and looked at him.  Dirk had no
idea what she wanted.  “Do you like me?” she asked.
             “Yeah, I guess so.”  Then he thought
about it.  “Of course I do,” he said finally, realizing that the question was
as straight and simple as she was.
             “Am I pretty?” Melissa asked.  Dirk
nodded his head several times, then managed a “yes.”  They were looking into
each other’s eyes, their gazes fixed.  Melissa was breathing heavily:  she
wanted him:  his strong body, his soft manner, his handsome face.  She liked
him; really liked him.  He wasn’t the first man she had ever thought she desired,
but unlike almost every man she had known, he did not seem interested. 
             She had a desire for him; a burning deep
inside that could not be quenched with thought or words.  She wanted him close,
and instinctively, automatically, without thought or emotion, Melissa
unbuttoned her shirt.  Dirk watched.  Her mind paralyzed with shame, her body
continued to move, shrugging off her coarse shirt so that it slid down her
back.  Then she shimmied out of her pants.  Dirk watched:  the world, his
heart, his breathing all stopped.  Melissa lay naked on the bed. 
             Dirk walked over.  And though surprised
at his own lack of embarrassment, he stumbled awkwardly in anticipation. He
quickly undressed in front of her. They lay on their sides, face to face, and
though Dirk had no plan, no thoughts on what to do or how to do it, he
instinctively reached out and set a hand gently upon her hip.  Melissa leaned
forward, finally unlocking her gaze from his, closed her eyes and kissed him. 
             Dirk had bumped into Melissa several
times while working or even fighting together.  She was strong, tough and
uncompromising.  He had wondered, occasionally, what she