Spanning five centuries, New Zealand: A Novel is a sweeping tale of discovery, destiny, and forbidden love in which the old and new worlds collide. While this novel may not always convey exactly what happened during the discovery and settlement of New Zealand, first by Pacific Islanders and later by Europeans, I believe it captures the spirit of those sometimes romantic, always fascinating and often bloody times. –Lance Morcan (Author)
CHAPTER 13
Matavai Bay, Tahiti, May, 1769
Nicholas was drowning in his own desire beneath beautiful Queen Obadia’s all-knowing gaze as she approached. He feared he might collapse. His legs nearly gave way beneath him and he realised he was having trouble breathing.
Pull yourself together, man!
The Tahitian queen looked faintly amused by his current state. Nicholas’s reaction wasn’t lost on Hercules either. The rangatira’s permanent glare became an open snarl. This brought Nicholas back to reality and he had the presence of mind to bow to the queen.
Queen Obadia sat down on the only chair in the room and dismissed her entourage with a wave of her hand. They all departed except for Hercules who stood his ground. The queen looked at him sternly, and Nicholas was surprised at how quickly the big rangatira’s defiance crumbled. After some fidgeting and studying his inflated navel, Hercules left the royal quarters looking decidedly sulky. Nicholas had to fight hard to suppress a smile.
The queen returned her full attention to Nicholas. She admired him openly, her eyes taking in the wondrous sight of the young god standing before her. He was the one! She could feel it. She had known there was something about him the first time she’d seen him.
Nicholas couldn’t hold her level, admiring gaze. He studied a spot on the wall just above her head as she appraised him, and he wondered what she was thinking. More than that, he wondered what exactly her interest was in him.
Queen Obadia felt that Hotu’s spirit had chosen well: the young white god was tall, slim and well-formed. He looked fit and strong – and virile. His blue eyes sparkled with humour and intelligence, and his handsome, sun-tanned face, framed as it was by long, blond hair, shone with youthful innocence. She had no doubt he was the father of her future son.
Without warning, a fluttering sensation rippled through her lower tummy, like a butterfly, spreading its wings all the way down to her loins. She felt moistness down there, and she recognised feelings of passion building inside her. Feelings she had almost forgotten.
“Welcome to my home, Nicholas,” she said breathlessly.
Nicholas blinked. This was the first time he’d heard her speak. Her English was better than Tupaia had indicated and her voice sounded seductively husky. “Th… thank you…Your Majesty…er…Your Highness.”
Queen Obadia smiled at his formality. “Do not be nervous,” she said. Glancing at the Persian rug beneath her feet, she said, “Sit with me.”
Nicholas did as commanded. He noticed the queen’s eyes were now closed. She appeared to be murmuring a silent prayer, and he guessed, correctly, that she was praying to one of her Tahitian spirits. She was actually thanking the Tahitians’ god of fertility for delivering the glorious young man to her, but to him, her words meant nothing.
As the queen continued praying, Nicholas surreptitiously observed her. Gone were her royal garments. Here in the privacy of her quarters, she dressed much like the village wahines: a light cloth made from the crushed bark of the mulberry tree hung from her shoulders, revealing a tantalising glimpse of her perfect breasts; a grass skirt hanging from her slim waist parted to expose her long, slender legs; and her golden-brown skin gleamed in the flickering torchlight.
Again Nicholas had to catch his breath.
This is surely the most beautiful creature the good Lord ever created!
He casually lowered his hands to cover himself as he felt himself hardening yet again. This wasn’t lost on Queen Obadia whose prayer had just finished and whose eyes by now were sparkling with amusement. Embarrassed, Nicholas looked away.
“Tell me about yourself, Nicholas,” the queen commanded.
Nicholas obliged, describing his family, his Derbyshire upbringing, his London schooling, his recruitment to serve aboard the Endeavour and the highlights of his voyage to Tahiti. Nervous at first, he quickly became more confident and the queen appeared genuinely interested in everything he had to say, interrupting him frequently to ask questions. To his surprise, he found her surprisingly easy to talk to. The more they conversed, the more the age difference between them seemed to evaporate.
After an hour’s earnest discussion, Queen Obadia stood up, indicating their meeting was at an end. “We will talk again, Nicholas,” she announced, “tomorrow.”
Taking his leave, Nicholas stood and bowed to the statuesque woman before him. Turning to depart, he hesitated. “I… ah… I was wondering what it is you want of me?” he mumbled.
The queen smiled at him, but said nothing.
Resigned to remaining none the wiser for the moment, Nicholas departed.
Outside, he wasn’t surprised to discover it was already dark. It was a reminder that dusk turned to night quickly in the Tropics. As he returned to his nearby bure, he wondered whether Queen Obadia desired him as he did her. He was in no doubt she liked him, but unfortunately he couldn’t recall receiving a single sign from her that his feelings for her were mutual.
Inside the doorway to his bure, he found bowls of food and drink awaiting him.
Someone is looking after me.
Nicholas downed the bowls’ contents before relieving his full bladder outside, behind the bure, and then retiring for an early night. He had no sooner re-entered the bure when torchlight announced the arrival of one of the queen’s beautiful servant girls. He’d noticed her earlier in the royal quarters. The wahine, who he guessed was a little older than himself, was carrying a European-style blanket that had evidently been procured in a trade. As she stooped to enter the bure, she saw Nicholas, and, smiling unabashedly, handed the blanket to him. He returned the smile and openly admired her beauty.
He couldn’t help thinking how envious his crewmates would be if they could see him now.
They wouldn’t believe me.
If he wasn’t mistaken the wahine lingered a little longer than necessary before departing. Smiling to himself, he lay down on the traditional Tahitian bed-mat that had been left for him. It was surprisingly comfortable. He had no use for the blanket except to use it, folded, as a substitute pillow. It was too hot and muggy a night for blankets.
Hotter than Hades!
He threw off his clothes and lay back, staring up into the darkness and reliving the conversation he had with Queen Obadia. He tried to imagine what form his next encounter with her would take. For perhaps the hundredth time he pondered exactly what she wanted with him. He was asleep before he’d considered all the possibilities.
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Nicholas awoke in a panic, unable to breathe. It felt as if there was a great weight on his chest and he was being smothered.
Am I having a nightmare?
As the mists of sleep cleared, he realised someone was on lying top of him. He could just make out a shadowy figure. It was too dark to ascertain who it was or even their gender. Reaching for his assailant’s head, he grabbed a handful of long hair. His assailant emitted a distinctly feminine cry, causing him to freeze. Now he was even more afraid. For the first time in his life her realised a woman was lying astride him. He wondered if it was his queen.
Is it you?
Not knowing what to do, he lay completely still as the mysterious visitor with the long hair and the feminine cry began moving slowly above him.
Nicholas’s fear gave way to a feeling of wonderment. His hands, which had dropped to his sides, began to explore the other’s body. Despite his inexperience, he quickly deduced that his uninvited visitor was naked and most definitely female. He gasped as his hands came to rest on a magnificent pair of firm breasts, their erect nipples nudging into his palms, which suddenly seemed exquisitely sensitive. His mouth instinctively travelled to where his hands had been and he felt the wonderful creature above him squirm with delight as he teased her nipples with his tongue.
Before he realised what was happening, the mystery wahine lowered herself fully down on him, encompassing his very manhood in a hot, fiery grip of ecstasy. He’d never experienced such a sensation before, and he cried out almost immediately as he felt himself explode inside her.
Above him, the wahine felt him coming and arched her back to better assist the short, sharp circular motions she was making with her pelvis. Seconds later she let out a contented sigh and gradually ceased her gyrations. Slowly, she subsided so her full weight was on him once more.
They remained like that, lying close together, for several minutes. Nicholas dared not move or speak. He didn’t want to break the spell. Nor did he want to wake up and discover it really was all a dream.
The wahine sighed again and he knew for sure he wasn’t dreaming. His senses were hyper-alert. He could clearly hear her breathing, and her warm breath and natural perfume consumed him. Her long hair cascaded down onto his face. Best of all, her body felt warm and firm and so…
Feminine…so feminine.
Still he remained inside her and still he didn’t know who she was. She remained a shadow in the darkness of the bure.
“Who are you?” he asked when he finally plucked up the courage to speak.
The mystery woman stirred and rolled off him, breaking their intimate connection. She lay on her side, facing him. So close, he could still feel her warm breath on his face.
Are you my queen?
“Who are you?” he asked again.
“Shhh!” she whispered. Then she kissed him on the forehead, stood up, collected garments she’d left on the floor and disappeared as quietly as she’d arrived.
Nicholas sprang up and raced to the doorway in the hope he’d catch a glimpse of her. Too late. She was gone like a ghost in the night. His eyes were drawn to the nearby royal quarters. He thought it likely the wahine had entered those same quarters. It would explain her sudden disappearance and it reinforced his suspicion that he’d just been seduced by Queen Obadia.
He stood in the doorway for several long minutes trying to make sense of the feelings that surged through him. Despite his confusion he understood that something wonderful had just taken place and that his life would never be the same again.
Finally, he returned to his bed mat, still half-dazed. As he lay there, unable to sleep, he reviewed his unforgettable experience over and over in his mind. It wasn’t long before his throbbing member was erect once more as wonderful memories came flooding back.
#
Nicholas woke early next morning thinking about his life-changing experience. He had so many unanswered questions. The one that haunted him most was who the mystery wahine was. He still suspected it was Queen Obadia, but he wasn’t certain.
A shadow fell across the doorway. The same servant girl who had brought his blanket the previous evening appeared before him like a beautiful apparition. She was the bearer of still more gifts. This time she carried a bowl of fresh fruit and berries, and another containing fruit juice.
Nicholas self-consciously pulled his blanket over him to hide his nakedness. He observed the wahine as she set the bowls down in front of him. She returned his level stare with the open frankness so typical of the uninhibited wahines of Tahiti.
“Was it you?” Nicholas asked at length.
The wahine looked at him, smiling. If she was the mystery visitor, she wasn’t letting on. Still smiling, she departed, leaving Nicholas to enjoy his breakfast alone with his thoughts.
#
The second royal summons came much earlier than Nicholas expected. He’d planned to check on his crewmates at Fort Venus to see how they were faring, but was pleasantly surprised to receive an invitation to join Queen Obadia in the royal quarters around mid-morning.
To his bemusement, the beautiful queen showed no sign of any recollection of the sexual encounter he’d enjoyed overnight. Rather, the conversation continued, innocently, as it had the last time they’d spoken. The queen seemed intent on learning about England and improving her English.
It seems that’s all she wants from me.
He was confused, his mind filled with doubts. It was becoming clear his mysterious overnight visitor may not have been her.
Who the hell was it then?
His thoughts turned to the servant girl who visited his bure.
Was it her?
Despite his confusion, he found he enjoyed the queen’s company even more than their first time together. She was filled with a desire to learn, and she genuinely appeared to enjoy his company while he, almost inevitably, fell more in love with her.
CHAPTER 14
Matavai Bay, Tahiti, May, 1769
Night-time could not come quickly enough. Nicholas hoped against all hope there’d be a repeat of the previous night’s erotic experience following the visitation of the mystery wahine.
Earlier that day, he’d put his free time to good use, seeking out Tupaia to ask his advice on a sensitive and potentially embarrassing issue. He felt the amiable Tahitian was the only one he could trust with such matters…
>>> NEW ZEALAND: A NOVEL continues next week.
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This novel is available via Amazon as a hardcover, paperback, audiobook and Kindle ebook… https://www.amazon.com/New-Zealand-Novel-Lance-Morcan/dp/0473728524/
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