by Ju Ephraime
He gave her a wink back and turned his attention to the food Cook had been dishing out while she talked and joked with them. That was the thing about Cook. She was an excellent cook and very efficient in the kitchen. She did everything with minimal effort. She could put a dinner party for up to fifty people together in less time than it would take most people to prepare a meal for two. He was lucky to have found her. She didn’t come cheap, but he had not once regretted his decision to hire her from the time she’d been with them.
***
He enjoyed a delicious meal of smoked duck á l'orange, followed by his favorite dessert, double-layered chocolate cake with ice cream. He was being honest when he told Simonia he could not raise his head if his life depended on it. She knew what he meant and could not stop looking at him and laughing. He missed her laughter, the way she had of giggling and laughing over the silliest things. Especially when it was their own private joke. Hell, he’d missed his wife.
They retired to the family room, watching television as they got caught up on what each had been doing. He purposely avoided talking about St. Lucia. He didn’t want to remember his last months there. It was too debilitating for words. He could hear the men on the island saying, “Men don't care if they are used. What’s wrong with a bit of sex every night?”
It was not the bit of sex every night that bothered him, though in the end it had. It was the way he had no control over his body. He always liked being in control in anything he did. He did not follow well. His mother used to always tell him, “You are a born leader, Todd boy. You just don't follow anyone.”
And he didn't. As a child, he’d taken charge of any group he belonged to. If there were any decisions to be made, he took the lead and made them.
When he’d made the decision to work for the Malaria Research and Reference Reagent Resource Center (MR4), it was because he loved the research and the feeling of gratification he got when he finally came up with a cure or a solution to the problem. He’d applied that same single-mindedness to his courtship of Simonia. He’d pursued her doggedly. In the beginning, she’d wanted nothing to do with him, but he didn’t give up until he had her underneath him and he was having his way with her. They hadn’t looked back since. They suited each other.
He loved Simonia more than life itself. He was a man of science, and the flowery words of romance did not come easily to him, but in every other way imaginable, he had tried to show her how he felt about her.
He remembered as if it were yesterday when he’d first laid eyes on her. She had been a professional dancer with a group of women who worked at their craft to earn money while attending university. Some of the dancers were science and dance majors, and some were just enthusiasts who loved the art of dance. Simonia was the latter. She loved dancing, and she was damn good at it. She had this sensuality about her that always drew him in.
He’d been attending a charity event sponsored by the foundation that raised funds for his research when the dance troupe was announced. He hadn’t even glanced at the program when it was handed to him. He was there to lend his support, so the events planned for the evening were of no consequent to him. But when the dance troupe was announced, like everyone else, he leaned forward, straining to see what had caused a hush to settle over the audience.
He saw nothing but the outline of a woman, twisting and moving to the beat of the drums. She appeared to be surrounded by a veil of silk that shimmered and moved with her. His breath caught in his throat when he realized the woman appeared to be naked, wearing only her long black hair.
His mind told him there was no possible way the organization would condone such an act to be associated with their name, so the woman had to be clothed. But he couldn’t tell for certain. She moved in and out of the veil of hair in time to the beat of the hang drum and didgeridoo and was not standing still for anyone to focus on her.
With arms lifted above her head, she moved with heart-stopping grace, drawing him in with the movements of her body. It was as if she was dancing for him alone. He felt a response in his groin and the heavy beat of sexuality swelling. He remembered that he couldn’t help saying, “Venus, in all her glory.”
CHAPTER TEN
For a moment Todd was afraid he’d spoken the words aloud. In the next instance he realized that he could’ve shouted them at the top of his lungs and no one would have heard. A deafening round of applause had drowned out the beat of the drums.
He, like everyone else, was still straining to see the goddess in the shadows… She remained hidden. Like Venus, this goddess would not cater to mere man. She would move and dance into the light when she was good and ready. For the moment, like the other saps, he was already besotted with someone he couldn’t even see clearly.
Motionless, Todd watched as intently as the others in the audience, but like them, he had eyes only for the woman who remained in the shadows. None of the other dancers mattered.
Unconsciously he leaned forward even more, trying to make out the details of her appearance. Try as he might, he couldn’t. She was too well hidden within her softly flowing hair, which appeared to be almost to the floor, and the shadows at the back of the stage.
Gradually, the rhythm of the music changed from the stately dignity of the Aborigines’ didgeridoos and hang drum to the more modern day rhythms of the Australian contemporary fusions of the sounds. One by one, all the dancers stepped forward to display their skills at this new form of dance. Their movements were graceful, rapid, and demanding. This dance required as much strength and stamina as it did coordination and grace.
Very soon the bodies of the six women and two men began to gleam like burnished copper or dark mahogany in the dim stage light. In the shadowy recesses of the stage, the hands of the drummers fluttered like birds in flight as they repeatedly beat the drums.
The tempo was rising and rising, increasing in speed and volume, challenging the dancers to keep up with its driving urgency. Some of the dancers couldn’t keep up with the fast rhythm, and those who couldn’t keep up dropped out and exited behind the curtained part of the stage. They then joined the captive audience and lent their voices to that of the audience in praises, spurring the remaining dancers on to greater frenzy.
The demanding movements of the dance gradually got the better of the dancers. The number of dancers was gradually reduced from eight to six, then four, then three, then two. Soon it was only Venus and one of the male dancers left dancing. He matched her perfectly in height, wearing only a loin cloth with the rest of his body covered in painted art that moved as he moved, giving the appearance that there were two people in the one body.
As he faced Venus in the dance, the excellent physical condition of his body showed as the muscles bunched and rippled under his smooth mahogany skin. He moved provocatively towards her in a dance of advance and retreat, daring her to come to him.
For the first time during the entire performance, Venus moved directly into the spotlight.
Her hair covered a body clad in a skin-colored material, which fit her like a glove. That explained why she appeared to be naked. A sound of awe and pleasure went up from the audience. Swaying rhythmically toward the male dancer, she responded to his challenge with one of her own.
The drummer increased the tempo of the rhythm into an even more rapid cadence, if that was possible. The male dancer responded with even more sinuous, rapid movements of his hips. The movements appeared as difficult as they were sexually suggestive. With each sensual movement, he inched closer to Venus’s gorgeous body.
She didn’t retreat but moved closer to him with each sway and swing of her hips and arms. Her hair swung around her with each movement, cloaking and concealing her, as in a game of hide and go seek. She turned away from the dancer so that he and the rest of the audience had a good look at her perfectly rounded derriere.
She turned and smiled over her shoulder at the dancer. It was a smile as old as Eve and as sensuous as Venus, bidding him to come hither
As if o
n signal, the drummer ratcheted up the rhythms a notch, and the drum pulsed as if alive. It seemed impossible for any human to keep pace with the beat, but Venus and the male dancer had no problem keeping up.
Venus turned to face the male dancer. He moved towards her until his sensuously moving body was closer to hers, so close that her long hair clung to his body, attaching itself to his gleaming skin, as if with a life of its own.
The dancer smiled at her, a wholly male smile, whose intent was as unmistakable as the tempting movements of his body.
Venus answered with a swift, incredible acceleration of her movements, her body a blur as she spun and swirled, back and forth, back and forth, never allowing the male dancer to touch her.
Todd felt as if he had taken a fist to the gut. His breath went out of his lungs with a suddenness that was almost painful in its intensity. Blood raced through him until he became so aroused his erection began to throb in time to the insistent beat of the drums. He felt that the didgeridoo dance, like most native dances, was an erotic ritual of strength, grace, fundamental sensuality, and the celebration of life. It was incredible to watch.
Todd would’ve given a great deal to be the man on the drums or blowing the didgeridoo to bring the primitive rhythms to their inevitable climax. But alas, he was not blessed with such skills. What a thrill it would have given him to be the dancer dancing with Venus. He wished he could’ve been the dancer to drive her hot, gorgeous body to a height of his choosing until she shattered with pleasure.
As the drumbeat quickened and increased yet again, Venus and the male dancer were dancing toe to toe, their bodies gyrating so rapidly that it was difficult to concentrate on one without the other invading the picture. The movement was so sensual and erotic that Todd was stunned. He couldn’t hear a thing above the primitive sound of the drum and the soft thump of bare feet meeting wood as the dancers shifted to the rhythms of the dance.
The tempo increased as relentlessly as Todd’s uncontrollable hunger for Venus. He didn’t try to fight it. He allowed it to flow over him, through him, engulf him in a sea of need, want, and desire. So powerful was the feeling, he was helpless in its grasp. He wasn’t aware of himself any longer. He knew only the vivid, pulsing sexuality of Venus bidding him, come hither.
The sweat had given her skin an iridescent quality, as though she were on fire from within. The male dancer was working even harder to keep up with her. Drops of sweat gleamed and ran down his body in rivulets. He was struggling to catch his breath as he fought to keep pace with Venus’s fiery dance.
But no mere man could match Venus; she was the goddess of love. This became quite obvious when, with a rasping cry, the male dancer dropped down from the stage almost crashing into the other dancers sitting at the foot of the stage.
Venus never missed a beat. With a challenging quick movement of her hips in the direction of her exhausted partner, she turned and held out her hands to the drummer and the didgeridoo player.
The drummer responded with another quickening of the pounding beat of the drum as the didgeridoo player struggled to keep up the pace.
Venus moved her body, embracing the increased tempo in an explosive, passionate set of movements with her body that was a dance as old as time itself. The movements appeared to be deeply rooted in the human soul as life itself. Hair flying, body glistening, smiling at the audience, Venus gave herself completely to the hot, sensual dance.
The drummer’s hand became a blur as he struggled to keep up with her. He was unable to of course, but he held the intense rhythms at their peak for as long as he could. Then, with a throaty sound, he threw up his hands and yielded to Venus, who appeared to be aglow in the center of the stage.
With a throaty, triumphant cry, Venus danced on alone, accompanied only by her own inner rhythm and the chant from the audience as they celebrated her victory.
She stood in the center of the stage holding out her arms to the audience, as if in acknowledgement of her superior skills as a dancer. She was breathing hard. The spotlight on her showed the rapid rise and fall of her breasts, the almost incandescent glow on her skin, and the dark veil of hair hanging down her back. Then the spotlight went out, and for a minute, the room was plunged into darkness as the audience called for an encore, but nothing happened. After a few minutes, the light came back on, but Venus was gone.
Todd felt as if he were on fire. He was thankful that the light level in the room remained low, for his savage arousal was all too obvious. He sat silently waiting for his body to cool down, but it was not happening. He was hard with a full-blown erection, the blood pumping through his veins and pooling in his groin.
He told himself that it would pass. He had been aroused before and life had gone on just fine. Slowly he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding as the sexual need holding him in a vise began to loosen. He looked around the room, searching the faces of the other men present, wondering how many of them were dealing with their own arousal. He was surprised to see every expression but the one that held him in its grips. There was pleasure, enjoyment, appreciation, but nowhere did he see a reflection of his own powerful response to Venus’s sensual dance.
He was finally able to stand without that gun in his pocket. He sauntered over to the back of the room in the vicinity of the stage door and slipped inside. He wanted to, no, needed to see Venus close up, to test his reaction to her. He was in luck. As he stepped through the door, he collided with a body on the other side that was soft, damp, and hot. He knew who it was immediately as he grabbed hold of her arms, as if to steady her, but really to bring her into the heat of his own body.
Up close she had a soft, unbelievable mouth. He found himself staring at it, spellbound.
“Will you please release me?” she asked in a melodious voice.
He didn’t realize he was still holding her. He hastily released her, apologizing for his rudeness.
“I just watched you dance, and I had to come backstage to meet you personally,” he began.
“You don’t have to do anything, Mr…?”
“Todd, Todd Montgomery. And you are?”
“Why? What’s it to you, Mr. Montgomery? Besides, you’re holding me back. Would you please step aside?”
“I will, just as soon as you tell me your name,” he responded.
God, she’s gorgeous. Beautiful is too mild a word for someone with so much fire. Standing this close to her, he was so hard he was in pain.
Recognizing they were standing in a dimly lit hallway, she raised her eyes to his face, and as she gave him a full blast of her incredible eyes, he found himself captured. He was drowning in a sea of dark blue, liquid heat. Her eyes sparkled like diamonds, her beautiful smile flashed at him, and he felt the jolt painfully in his groin.
He stood there staring at her, knowing his reaction to her wasn’t ever going to go away. He could dismiss it as physical attraction, but he knew when he was beat. She placed her hand on his chest to push him out of the way, but she didn’t. Instead, her hand just rested there on his chest, causing him more distress. There was no way around it; he had to kiss her.
He framed her face in his hands and allowed himself to look into her eyes. He felt her go still as he moved one hand to her thick, wild hair, burying his fingers deep into the silk to hold her to him, allowing her to feel him. He leaned down and took possession of her perfect mouth. She didn’t fight him but opened up to him, and he took ownership without hesitation, laying claim to what he knew was his.
Just as he shifted to bring her in alignment with his rampant erection, she put pressure against his chest, where he had trapped her hand, and pushed. Stopping immediately, he moved to put some space between their bodies.
He was breathing hard as she asked him in that same melodious voice, “What do you think you’re doing?”
He couldn’t answer her right away because his voice was raw and rough.
She pushed against him again, and this time, he stepped aside, allowing her to step p
ast him.
“You still have not told me your name, or am I supposed to name you myself?”
“Why would you name me yourself?” she asked. “I have a name, Mr. Montgomery. It’s Simonia, Simonia Moyer. Good night to you.”
And with that, she walked away from him into the night.
He spent the better part of two months haunting the place, going to every dance celebration in the area, but he never got to see Simonia again until the night he was about to concede defeat. He’d told himself that this was his last night looking. Then he would have to approach the foundation that had arranged the performance to see if they had any information on her before too much time had gone by.
When he walked into the theater and saw the same group, he felt a kick in the gut, and just as he’d thought, his reaction had only intensified.
He sat through the entire show and his reaction to Simonia was the same. When the show was over, he didn’t go to her but sent her a note by one of the other dancers. After waiting for an hour, he finally left the club…she wasn’t coming.
He struck up a friendship with one of the other female dancers and was able to find out where they were next performing. On the night in question, he was one of the first people there, but he took a seat in the back of the room. He didn’t want to be visible to Simonia until he was good and ready to reveal himself. Also, judging by his reaction to her on both previous occasions, he didn’t want anyone witnessing the effect she had on him.
He was determined to have a conversation with her after the show. The show was the same. He still thought of her as Venus. She just seemed to epitomize the goddess. Before she did her solo act, he got up and positioned himself next to the stage door. As she came rushing in, he was there to greet her with a huge bouquet of red roses.
She took the flowers from him, put her nose to a bud that was still slightly closed, and inhaled deeply. His reaction was immediate. She did everything so passionately. She swept him along with her into a world of pure sensation, and he let her. The heat he felt from being this close to her was like a fire consuming his body.