“Goshawk” begins in Savonlinna, Finland:
“Nothing’s more erotic than sitting cheek to thigh with you in the sauna, unless it’s having your head on my shoulder and listening to your heart beat in this luxurious bed, under our own fluffy down quilt. Just the two of us!” he whispered, kneading the knots of muscles behind Marja’s long, slender neck and under her deeply tanned shoulder blades. She seemed to almost purr under his caring touch.
“You know, David,” she observed dreamily, “I have something very happy for you.” Marja raised herself up on one elbow and, in one fluid motion, slowly turned her glowing body toward him while sliding an inquiring toe up along the inside of his thigh. Even though she had deeply satisfied him just a few moments earlier, his heart skipped a beat as he slowly marveled over the halo of her flaxen hair, firm breasts rising up sharply to meet him, and then the faintest hint of blonde fineness below her navel that drew his gaze toward the pelt of rusty curls below.
“And what might that be, my darling?” he gasped, looking directly into her piercing blue eyes as he caressed the palm of her outstretched left hand.
“You know when I went into town this morning? Well, I went to see doctor. To make short story, as you say, I am having baby, our baby.”
“Wonderful!” David exclaimed. “I can’t think of anyone more worthy of being reproduced than you. And to think I had so much fun getting it started. Peter and Will always wanted a younger sibling. When’s the baby due? Boy or girl?”
“There are many, many times for all your questions, my love. But now, I am being so very tired. I am just about drifting off.”
David continued to gently massage Marja’s left palm and wrist, passing lightly over the simple, lime jade ring he had just given her. She quickly fell into a deep sleep.
The half-moon’s glow through the skylight cast a faint shadow on the bedclothes over her sleeping profile. He quietly basked in the gentle curve of her slender neck against the starched white pillowcase. She was his every hope and dream. David wanted very much to touch her again…”
