Paradise Reclaimed

by Raymond Harris

  “So you’ve studied New Zealand wines too?”

  Xiao Xiao laughed. “Of course, and sourced the best local produce, organic and artisan of course. I found out that New Zealand makes the best ice-cream.”

  “I was hoping to lose weight, not gain it,” she sighed as she walked toward the island bench that separated the kitchen from the dining area. Xiao Xiao placed two glasses on the marble bench and poured the wine.

  “Oh, don’t worry about putting on weight. If you want I can impose a very strict program of juices and exercise. There’s gym equipment in a downstairs area and these hills are ideal for cross country runs.” Xiao Xiao handed her the wine.

  “I don’t want to overdo it,” she said taking a sip. She was suddenly embarrassed. “I must admit I haven’t exactly done this before.”

  “I know,” said Xiao Xiao moving closer. “It’s simple. I’m here to please you.” She leant forward and kissed Aviva on the mouth.

  The kiss was sensuous and confident. It was clear she had kissed many women. “That spa looks inviting,” Aviva said, not wanting to rush things.

  “Indeed, and it’s totally private.” Xiao Xiao stood back and pulled her top and an underlying t-shirt off in one swift movement so that she was bare breasted. She moved closer to Aviva and began to unzip Aviva’s slacks. It was aggressive, exactly the way she liked it. In no time they were both naked, their clothes scattered on the floor.

  “Let me look at you,” said Aviva. Xiao Xiao stood back and turned, making cheeky cheesecake poses. “I suppose you are used to being admired. I feel a little guilty, like I’m objectifying you.”

  Xiao Xiao shook her head and smiled. “There’s a difference between admiration and objectification. I know you don’t see me as just a body…”

  “A very beautiful body…”

  Xiao Xiao demurred. “That too is subjective. I am too tall for some, and too flat chested for others.”

  Aviva could find no fault. “You seem unaffected by it, totally comfortable in your skin.”

  “I have always been an exhibitionist, even as I child I liked to be admired.” She moved forward and took Aviva’s hand and placed it on a small, perfectly firm breast. “I used to run around the house naked all the time. I was a terrible flirt. It nearly got me into trouble several times.”

  “Trouble?”

  “With men. Or should I say, I nearly got them into trouble.” Xiao Xiao smiled mischievously, hinting that she had been the one to push the boundaries.

  Aviva was suddenly very aroused. “I thought the Chinese were generally conservative.”

  “I’m not Chinese…”

  “But the name Xiao Xiao?”

  “Was a famous Chinese concubine. It is just an exotic name, part of the mask. I grew up in Japan, in a traditional Shinto family. Nudity was not an issue. We had a family sento; we used to bathe together all the time. Trouble is, I never liked to get dressed again.” She took Aviva’s hand and started to lead her to the spa. “Let me say that the Shinto religion has no concept of sex as a sin. Besides, you see, my grandmother was a geisha. She was the one who recognised my, shall we say, talents. The fact is; I come from a long line of consorts and warriors. My family name is an old samurai name. I will tell you because I know you will honour my privacy. Shimazu, my real name is Ai Shimazu. You can call me Ai if you like.”

  As she opened the door they were hit with a bitingly cold wind coming off the mountains. Aviva shivered immediately but Ai seemed to embrace it.

  “Let me guess,” Aviva said as she hopped into the invitingly warm water. “You are from the mountains of Japan, it’s where you learnt to ski?”

  “Yes, Haikkado, land of snow and hot springs, but now you guess too much about me. So let me guess something about you,” Ai said as she slid into the water beside her. “You are interested in secrets.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You want to know who I am. You have asked several questions designed to get behind my geisha’s mask. But it is okay; perhaps everything I have just said is a lie, part of the fantasy? Perhaps you prefer that I have an exotic past? Does the idea of me being a geisha excite you?” She leant forward to kiss Aviva, a free hand reaching between her legs.

  Aviva surrendered. It was clear Ai liked to be in control. Perhaps she was also laying down a challenge. She would need to be a superb judge of character to be able to do her job, not only for her own safety, but to provide an experience beyond the ordinary; to be able to push her clients to extremes of pleasure they were unaware were possible. Had Ai guessed that she liked to be tested, that she wanted to fight Ai for control?

  She adjusted her weight and began to explore Ai’s body. It was certainly an exciting story. She had read about samurai women. They had been trained to fight. She also understood the role of geisha in espionage. Some had been spies and assassins. As she kissed Ai, a tiny doubt entered her mind. Was this an elaborate honey trap? Had the security check missed something? She became more forceful with Ai to see how strong she was, to see if she would struggle, but she surrendered a little too easily. Ai began to orgasm. She wasn’t faking and it quickly took her over the edge into her own orgasm. Had Ai known this too? What better way to reassert control?

  The week passed quickly. During the day they explored every adventure opportunity the region had to offer: bungee jumping, white water rafting, rock climbing and wild ski runs. Ai pushed her and she loved it. At night they stayed in, cooked, caught up on movies and cable shows, played Japanese chess and fucked (with Ai using her impressive array of tricks and toys). It was beginning to feel like a proper vacation.

  She still pressed Ai about her childhood and Ai teased her by revealing small drips of information. Perhaps it was an elaborate story, but on the fifth night, when they were both a little too high on hashish, Ai showed her a photo of her traditional samurai kaiken, a dagger given to all samurai brides. She said it was three hundred years old and that it had even been used to draw blood.

  On the sixth night, a Saturday, Ai suggested they head into town for a restaurant meal and then to a pub with live music.

  “Do we pretend to be just friends or do we pretend to be lovers?”

  “Shameless lovers… Let’s shake this little town up. Do you like to dance?”

  “Sure, just no karaoke…”

  Ai laughed. “No, no karaoke, and no K-pop, I’m a hard rock and blues girl.”

  The pub was packed with skiers and young adventurers. As the night progressed it became increasingly raucous. Aviva allowed herself to get moderately drunk and Ai encouraged her to let down her hair on the crowded dance floor, gyrating her hips and dirty dancing. The crowd seemed to tolerate the open display of Sapphic eroticism, although, out of the corner of her eye she noticed a group of drunk young men looking on with a combination of lasciviousness and contempt.

  During a break in the music Ai spoke into her ear. “The girl behind the bar…” Aviva turned. “The pretty blond…”

  “What about her?” Aviva looked over at a young woman, probably a student on a break working the bar at night and skiing during the day.

  “She’s been checking us out. My guess is she’s curious but inexperienced.”

  “She looks a bit young…”

  “I don’t think she’s an innocent. I’d say she’s here for a bit of adventure. Why don’t we spice things up and take her home with us?”

  Aviva was startled at the suggestion but quickly became intrigued and aroused. She realised she was staring at the girl, who looked up, noticed Aviva’s stare and instantly blushed.

  “You wanted to be challenged,” said Ai mischievously. “I bet she’s a virgin dyke. We can break her in.”

  “I didn’t realise you could be so butch.”

  Ai laughed. “I play many roles. Some of my clients like to be dominated. Not your style of course, you’d be the dom for sure.”

  Aviva grabbed her roughly by the neck and pulled her in close. “Damn right bitch.” Out of the c
orner of her eye she noticed the girl still watching them, until a male customer demanded her attention by ordering a drink. “Okay then, go chat her up.”

  Aviva watched as Ai made her way through the crowd toward the bar. She suddenly became alert; her senses told her something was wrong. The customer was clearly harassing the girl. She guessed that he had attempted a drunken pass and was now reacting aggressively to her rejection. The body language was all wrong. It was about to turn ugly. She stood and pushed her way through the crowd to alert them, just in time to hear the man call Ai a “chink dyke freak” and try to push her away. Ai responded instantly by skilfully grabbing the man’s hand, twisting it into a wristlock and forcing him to his knees. He yelped with pain. There were screams, gasps and a few cheers as people realised Ai had just floored a fully-grown man. His drunken friends had also noticed and were rushing to his aid. One was about to lunge for Ai but the girl behind the bar had spotted him, jumped the bar and slammed him to the ground with a classic judo throw. Aviva reached them just in time to stop a third man with a solid blow to his solar plexus, winding him so that he bent over double and collapsed to his knees; a fourth man was apprehended by two burly Maori bouncers. It was over in seconds.

  “You okay?” Aviva asked Ai as bouncers hauled the drunks away.

  “Me? Yeah sure, how about you?” Ai looked at her with genuine concern, apparently unfazed by the violence.

  “Fucking arsehole,” the girl spat in a thick, Australian accent. “He and his mates have been hassling me all night. Thinks he’s god’s fucking gift.” She smiled at Ai and held out her hand. “Sorry he attacked you. My name’s Elisabet Torv – my friends call me Eli. You’re quick - trained?”

  Ai nodded. “You were pretty quick too, impressive throw. What level?”

  “Black belt, competition Taikwando, almost made it to the Olympics, but I fell in love with powder. Been training since I was a little girl. I’m a bit of a tomboy. It’s not the first time I’ve decked cock.”

  “Well Eli Torv, this is Aviva and I’m Ai and we want to take you home and fuck you.”

  Eli surprised them both by smiling. “Oh, well, that’s refreshingly direct. Okay. I was thinking of a way to introduce myself anyway. You seemed pretty bloody cool. I was maybe hoping we could just hang out, but hey, why the hell-fuck not?” She turned to Aviva. “That was a pretty solid whack; you nearly knocked the shit out of the prick. You trained too?”

  “You could say that.”

  Eli waited for a more precise answer and Ai raised an eyebrow, prompting Aviva to reveal her secret.

  “Basic street fighting, Krav Maga…”

  Ai was impressed; she pursed her lips and nodded with respect. “I knew you were Jewish, but IDF…”

  “My parents, my mother… There was a KM school in New York. It’s come in handy a couple of times.” She turned back to Eli. “When do you finish your shift?”

  “A couple of hours, but I’ll tell the manager I want fuck off now. I’ll tell him I’m upset. Fuck it. I’m only here for another week anyway.”

  “Okay, lead the way. I need to talk to the manager too, see that this incident goes unreported.” Aviva looked at Ai who nodded her assent. The last thing either of them needed was police involvement.

  The manager was apologetic and happily accepted Eli’s early resignation, handing her cash and her share of tips. Aviva took him aside and Ai and Eli watched on as the mumbled conversation turned serious and the manager began to look worried.

  “What was all that about?” asked Eli, a little too curious for her own good.

  Aviva shrugged her shoulders. “I impressed upon him the need to keep quiet.”

  Eli narrowed her eyes. “Who are you? He looked scared…”

  Ai stroked the girl’s face. “Don’t worry. You’re safe with us, but we have secrets. You can keep secrets can’t you?” She leant forward and kissed Eli on the mouth. Eli was surprised at first and resisted, but Ai pressed into her until she surrendered. When Ai pulled away she smiled at the look of lust in Eli’s eyes. “There, that made you wet baby girl. Now follow me.” Ai winked at Aviva and they walked out into crisp night air.

  On the trip home Eli told them that she was a keen snowboarder who had been backpacking around the world on a gap year, following the snow; and that her parents were Estonian immigrants to Australia and she was about to start university to study sports psychology.

  Aviva was amused when Eli squealed with excitement as soon as she saw the house. She thought she was cute, like a stray kitten she had rescued.

  “Is the pool heated?” Eli asked as she looked out to the view.

  “Of course,” said Aviva.

  “Mind if I go in, wash away the stink of the pub?”

  Aviva nodded her head. “If you don’t mind the cold air.”

  “Nah, you two coming?” said Eli as she stripped. She stood there naked with her hands on her hips, daring them. She had a solid, athletic body: strong, toned legs, taught, defined abdominals, well-balanced, medium-sized breasts, a smooth vulva with a chubby mons veneris, evenly tanned, flawless skin.

  “Come on, Aviva, last one in…” Ai challenged as she stripped, tossing her clothes and joining Eli.

  Aviva sighed. The water would be warm, but she dreaded the blast of cold mountain air. “Okay.” She stripped and made a run for the door, catching Ai and Eli unawares. She braced herself and ran to the pool, just beating Eli. The shock of the water was invigorating. She should have reported the incident in the pub to HQ so they could tie up any loose ends. Eli swam up to her and smiled. “Hello Aviva, shall I kiss you?” Aviva nodded. The report could wait.

  Eli was fun so they decided to keep her. They collected her gear from the backpacker’s hostel and she joined them on their daily adventures and slept with them in the emperor-sized bed. It was clear Eli was smart, competitive and sexually curious. Aviva felt guilty that Ai was being paid to tend to her sexual needs whilst Eli was giving herself freely to them both. She thought there should be some way to reward her without offending her, especially considering she had just lost her job. Perhaps the experience was reward enough?

  On the fourth day, just as Aviva was realising that her vacation was coming to an end, Eli walked in from the study wearing one of Ai’s exquisite silk, short-hem yukata (given as a gift). “I just heard some really cool news.”

  Aviva looked up from cutting some fruit for the juicer and frowned. She had told both Ai and Eli that she didn’t want to know the news, especially given the unreliability of the commercial media.

  “It’s not news news, it’s not political or stupid celeb gossip,” Eli said, dismissing her concern. “It’s a scientific breakthrough - nerd news.”

  Ai appeared, naked, drying her hair with a towel after a morning shower. “I didn’t know you were a science geek,” she said to tease her.

  “How many days has it been? There’s a lot you don’t know about me. I almost did science.”

  Aviva smiled. She was in a good mood. Her vacation had gone much better than expected. “Okay, so what’s this news?”

  Eli sat on one of the bench seats and leant forward to grab a piece of kiwi fruit. “A Japanese company has just announced a plan for interstellar travel in five years: a professor Watanabe from Tokyo - something about generating wormholes or something. Cool eh? I wonder if they’re going to recruit. I’d definitely go into space. I always thought female astronauts were rad.”

  Aviva froze and Ai stopped drying her hair. “Which company?” Ai asked a little too abruptly.

  “Uedo, apparently they’ve got an aerospace division. They’re big in robotics.” She chewed the piece of fruit and furrowed her brow. “You two look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Aviva turned to Ai. Her look said it all: she knew someone high up at Uedo. Ai returned a look that seemed to ask Aviva why she should be so interested in this particular piece of news.

  “What have I said?” Eli asked.

  “Um, nothing,” Aviva
replied, trying rather ineptly to pretend she hadn’t just been genuinely shocked.

  “Well I think it’s great news. This planet is getting too crowded. Now we might have somewhere to go.”

  “Yes, I suppose so,” said Ai returning to drying her hair. “Um, I need to dress,” she mumbled, making an excuse to leave and avoid Aviva’s questioning stare.

  Eli looked at Aviva for an explanation but when she drew a complete blank, she shrugged her shoulders, grabbed a strawberry and walked back to the study.

  Aviva didn’t know what to do. She would have to talk to Akash immediately about the implications of this announcement. At the same time she didn’t know how to handle the situation without alerting both Ai and Eli to the fact that she was somehow involved. If they found out that she was even remotely implicated in interstellar travel they would have to be silenced, either by paying for it or by bringing them in. Eli certainly had potential. And Ai would be a real asset. But Ai clearly already knew something: perhaps she had some sort of dealings with Uedo? How could she ask Ai, considering that client confidentiality was essential to her business?

  She couldn’t afford to procrastinate. The vacation was suddenly over and she had to deal with Ai and Eli now. She rinsed her hands of sticky fruit juice and walked toward the bedroom. She saw Ai squatting naked over her bag, her dragon tattoo on full display. She was accessing her phone.

  “We have a confidentiality agreement,” she said abruptly.

  Ai remained still. “I know.” She turned and looked up at Aviva. “But this changes things, doesn’t it?”

  “Who did you contact?”

  Ai stood and Aviva became tense. “I asked myself why you were so surprised by this news. I have guessed more than you have assumed. I have to keep my wits about me in order to survive.”

  “Who are you working for?” Aviva wondered what Ai might do. She had to be prepared to defend herself. She quickly assessed the room for weapons, tried to remember where the knives were in the kitchen.

  “Don’t worry. I’m not working for anyone now, but I have used my position to gather information.”