Scorpio Love

by S. Tamanaha

  “Then I met you and you didn’t care about the looks or my being a celebrity. You sensed the person inside and it was him that you cared about. I was already falling for you before I went to Hawaii. I mean, why else would a man call a woman almost every day? The things we talked about, the things you said to me, they touched me deep inside. I felt it, but I kept telling myself that it was crazy. You know, the only reason that I didn’t call you every single day was because I stopped myself. I tried to rationalize my way around my feelings. But when I didn’t call, I missed you. I missed your voice and being able to talk to you about things that I could never talk about with other people.

  “Then I went to Hawaii and the feelings that I had grew even stronger. I almost thought that they wouldn’t. I thought that maybe once we were face to face, sharing the same space, I’d get disillusioned ... or maybe you would. I know how I can be sometimes. But from that very first night, I knew that I wasn’t imagining anything. And when you told me that you had an easier time talking to me on the phone and connecting with the guy inside, that my looks actually distracted you, I knew that I had finally found someone who cared about the real me and I knew that I loved you. And when we made love, well, I’d been looking for a long time for something beyond the physical. I wanted sex to be more than just sex too and I found that with you. What I told you I felt that first time that we made love, as though I wanted to be a part of you, I still feel it every time. I’ve never felt like that before and I know that I’ll never feel like that with anyone but you. That’s why I don’t care how beautiful a woman is on the outside. It doesn’t interest me because I know that she could never be you on the inside and never make me feel the way I do when I’m with you.

  “Do you know that since I met you, I haven’t given another woman a single thought? And I’m not talking about since I went to Hawaii or since you moved in or since we’ve been married. I’m talking about since that first day you came into my life. Ever since that day, I’ve only thought about you, only wanted you. Remember after I called you that first time, I had to go to that studio Halloween party? Well, there were a lot of women there in sexy outfits, showing off almost everything they had. A lot of them were trying to hook up. And all I could think of was that I wanted to talk to you again. And I wondered what you were doing—whether you ended up going on a date or something. I felt jealous just thinking about it even though I hardly knew you, even though I had no right. So you see, the whole time that I was trying to rationalize everything in my mind, my heart already knew that I loved you.”

  He lifted her face then and wiped away her tears gently. “It’s always been you and it will always be you. Trust me, Susan. You can trust me.”

  She knew that when they loved each other, they both felt something beyond just the physical, but she also knew that he was extremely sensual and sometimes, when she had allowed herself to think about it, she wondered whether he could continue to resist the advances of so many gorgeous women. She had always hated the weakness of the men who were able to be charmed and manipulated by her mother and her sister. She hated their lack of commitment to their wives and girlfriends and considered them stupid because they were unable to see how they were being played and used. Now, as she listened to Johnny and looked into his beautiful eyes, she knew that he was telling her the truth. Finally, she had found a man who was strong—a man who would not succumb to the advances of women like her mother and sister; a man who understood the real meaning of love and commitment; a man that she could trust. She put her arms around him and held him tightly and cried.

  “I’m sorry that they hurt you so much,” Johnny said softly, emotionally, “and I’m sorry that I hurt you tonight. I can’t say that we’ll never argue again or that I’ll never get jealous again but I swear to you, I’ll never hurt you like that again. You could never be like your mother or your sister—I know it now more than ever—and I won’t ever give you reason to feel like your father. I promise.”

  She was still clinging to him and crying and he kissed her shoulder gently. “I love you, baby” he whispered. “With all my heart and soul, I love you. You’re safe now ... with me.” And then he just held her securely, protectively, letting her cry until she could once again bury those painful memories.

  The following day, Johnny came home later than usual. When he walked in, he was carrying a single red rose. She smiled as he handed it to her.

  “What’s the occasion?” she asked.

  “I had that talk with Daniel,” he said. “I told him that I knew he was attracted to you and that I forced you to tell me what he had said last night because I could see that he upset you. I told him what you said—that you thought he was a decent person and that you believed that I could talk to him, man to man.”

  “And what happened?”

  “He apologized. He said he wasn’t going to lie. He does find you very attractive, but he said that he never would have said anything if he hadn’t had too much to drink. He said that he knows how much we love each other and he wishes that he could find that kind of relationship in his life. And he said that if he had that kind of a relationship, he certainly wouldn’t want someone like him saying things like that to his wife. He asked me how I got so lucky. How we kept our relationship going so strong. I sort of told him what you told Jess that night—that if he wanted a relationship that was going to last, he needed to find someone who made him happy even when he wasn’t in bed with her, someone who cared about him for himself and not about his money or his position, someone who wanted to do things for him, not just have him do things for her. He shook my hand afterwards and said that he wanted me to apologize to you on his behalf and he said that he thought I was a good man to come to him that way and talk it out. When I was talking to him, I realized that you were right—he is basically a decent guy—and I realized something else. I realized if the Universe hadn’t brought us together, I might have been just like him a decade from now ... lonely and still looking for that person who was going to touch my soul.” He bent down and kissed her. “I’m so glad that you had those dreams.”

  “Me too,” she said returning his kiss. “So glad. And I’m so proud of you for working it out like that with him.”

  He smiled and kissed her again. It made him feel good that she felt proud of him. He actually felt proud of himself for having been able to resolve the matter with Daniel peacefully, without his emotions getting the better of him as they often did.

  She took him by the hand then and led him over to the dining table. “Here, sit down. I have something for you.” She handed him some photos.

  “What’s this?”

  “The photos that I took on Halloween night. Just so that you’ll know that I actually went there to take photos.”

  He smiled and began looking at them. “Wow, they do go all out for a karaoke bar,” he said, laughing.

  “Recognize them?” She pointed to a couple dressed as Elvis and Marilyn Monroe.

  He laughed again. “Charlie and Trish. It figures.”

  “Do you have pictures of your party?” she asked then.

  “Studio took a lot. I wasn’t interested in keeping any.”

  “Some of them were posted online,” she said. She handed him a few that she had printed out—photos of him surrounded by beautiful women dressed as Vegas showgirls, Victoria Secret angels, and a Cleopatra in an almost transparent outfit.

  “You know that these were promo photos,” he said almost defensively.

  “I know. I just didn’t want there to be any more secrets between us. And if you really were thinking about me when you were surrounded by that, I guess you must really love me.”

  He pulled her to him and kissed her lovingly. “I was thinking about you and I do really love you. Don’t ever doubt that.”

  “You know, I was wondering ... can I dress like that Cleopatra at the next Halloween party? That outfit is hot.”

  “I hope you’re joking,” he said. “I know I said I’d be better about my jealou
sy and all, but if you ever appear in public like that, I promise I will spank you—in public.”

  “What if there was only you and me at the party?” she asked softly.

  “Well, in that case, I’ll show up as Marc Antony and I bet we’ll make even the Pyramids tremble,” he said, kissing her again.

  “I don’t think we need costumes to make that happen. Still ... Halloween is only couple of weeks away. Maybe you’d better get your Roman outfit ready.”

  He smiled at this enticing side of her and when he looked into her eyes he knew that she was letting him know that she had moved on from the previous night’s argument and pain. They were starting fresh, their bond of love strengthened by the complete trust that now existed between them. He picked her up in his arms and began carrying her to the bedroom.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, although she already knew.

  “Practicing for Halloween,” he replied, smiling as he laid her on the bed and began his lovemaking.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  It was her birthday—exactly one year since she travelled to L.A. because of a dream to save a man whom she had never met but whose soul she loved. It was a meeting that changed her life forever and she wanted it to be a special night.

  When Johnny had asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she told him that all she wanted was to spend her birthday having a romantic dinner in a nice hotel suite with him, feeling pampered a little. It was a modest request and he told her to book a room at whatever hotel that she wanted and to order whatever food and services that she wanted. She found a pet-friendly hotel not too far from Fox Studios and reserved a junior suite on the top floor. She left a key for Johnny at the desk.

  Although it was a Saturday, Johnny had to report to the studio for audio work and then go to a meeting with his agent to finalize some upcoming projects. By the time he arrived at the hotel, it was past six o’clock. When he entered the suite, he found the lights in the front room turned down low. Electric candles of varying sizes had been placed around the room next to crystal and gold pyramids. A video of the pyramids was playing on the large flat-screen television mounted on the wall, accompanied by soft, almost eerie music. He bent down to pet Angel who had greeted him at the door.

  “Do you know what’s going on?” he asked the little dog who simply ran back into the bedroom. He followed.

  “Hi, where are you?” he called out when he reached the bedroom. Even more flickering candles and sparkling pyramids decorated this room. The same video played on the flat-screen mounted on the wall across from the bed.

  “In the bathroom,” she replied. “I’ll be right out. Did you bring your outfit?”

  “What outfit?”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be Marc Antony tonight?”

  “Weren’t we talking about Halloween?”

  “Oh, I forgot to tell you, I moved up our Halloween party. I figured we’d do it on my birthday.”

  He finally caught on. “Wait ... does that mean that you’re dressed like—”

  “I told you ... a Halloween party just for you and me,” she said in that sultry tone.

  “Come out here. I want to see.”

  She stepped out of the bathroom, leaving a low light on behind her. She wore a golden beaded headdress and a coiled snake bracelet on each arm. Her dress was shimmering gold and nearly transparent except for the sequined designs that covered her breasts and her private area. She took his breath away.

  “Do you like it?” she asked, although she already recognized that hungry look in his eyes. “It’s the first costume I’ve ever worn. I made it just for you.”

  “You’re gorgeous,” he said, mesmerized.

  “Unfortunately, Cleopatra is Marc Antony’s woman. You aren’t Marc Antony.”

  “Use your imagination,” he said, pulling her to him. He kissed her passionately, running his hands over her body through the soft, silky material.

  She returned his kisses and then began unbuttoning his shirt. She kissed his bare chest gently, her lips travelling downwards as she undid more and more buttons. Then she unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, pulling them down as she continued to kiss him. He moaned as she reached her destination, kissing and caressing him lovingly. He was already aroused, but she continued until he was aching. She stopped then and as he completely got rid of his clothing, she stepped back from him and slowly removed the golden headdress and the arm bracelets that she was wearing. Then she reached up and tugged at the gold ribbon bows on the shoulders of her gown. They were the only things securing the gown to her body. Her outfit dropped to the floor. She stood before him wearing only a golden mesh thong and her Scorpio pendant. Her body, dusted with bronzer, shimmered in the low flickering light of the candles.

  Johnny was overcome with passion. She had never before shown this side of her. He pulled her to him and kissed her passionately, over and over again, as his hands caressed her body. Then he laid her on the bed, stripped off her thong, and kissed her entire body until she was moaning. He couldn’t wait any longer and took her—passionately, sometimes a little roughly, because he had been so unexpectedly aroused. After they peaked, he didn’t withdraw as usual. He stayed in her and continued to kiss and caress her, feeling more strongly than ever the need to be part of her. She returned his kisses and ran her fingers through his hair and then up and down his arms and his back sending shivers through his body.

  She always let him take the lead whenever they made love because her greatest desire was to give to him. He could feel that desire in her and it always intensified his passion. As archaic a concept as it might be, he believed that a man should control the lovemaking, but while others might have taken advantage of her unselfishness, his awareness that she was completely surrendering her body to him made him want, more than anything, to pleasure her. And while others might desire to experiment with all sorts of positions, he only wanted to engage in those that allowed them to be able to look at each other because while physical pleasure was intense, intimacy was still about the union of souls and they experienced that union more deeply when they were able to gaze into each other’s eyes. They kissed and caressed each other lovingly, exchanging words of love, and when he was ready once more, he loved her again. Finally, they lay together, entwined and exhausted.

  “God,” he breathed. “It’s always great but that was incredible. And that costume and all ... I’ve never seen this side of you.”

  “There’s never been this side of me,” she said quietly, “until tonight. I wanted tonight to be something special since we met a year ago today.”

  “I know. I was thinking about that all day ... about how my entire life changed only a year ago. I can hardly remember what my life was like before that day.”

  She stroked his chest gently. “I love you Johnny. Angel and I are happy with you.”

  He caressed her shoulder lovingly. “Are you? Even with my jealousy and bad temper sometimes? Even though I’ve hurt you sometimes?”

  She nodded. “Even our fights have made us learn more about each other and made us love each other more and I know now that what I sensed about you from the beginning is true—that you’re a good man, a decent man, with a beautiful soul, and I’m so grateful that we found each other.”

  It touched him so deeply that she felt that way about him. He lifted her chin and saw the tears of love in her eyes. He kissed her lovingly, tenderly. “I thank the Universe every day for you,” he said softly. “And I never would have believed that it was possible, but I love you even more now than I did before.”

  She smiled. “I feel the same way.” She raised her head and looked at the video of the pyramids playing on the flat screen on the opposite wall.

  “What are you looking at?”

  “Just checking to see if the pyramids trembled. I know I did.”

  He held her close and smiled. “You know, this doesn’t seem right somehow. I feel as though it’s my birthday, not yours. All the trouble that you went to ...”

&
nbsp; “Don’t worry. I enjoyed the present that you gave me,” she said in that soft sultry tone. “But speaking of your birthday, it’s coming up in just a couple of weeks. What do you want?”

  He smiled again. “A repeat performance.”

  “No, it has to be something more special than this.”

  He grinned. “Baby, I’m not sure that my heart can take anything more special than this.”

  “I’ll think of something. It’ll be a surprise.”

  “I like surprises like this,” he said, and kissed her again.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  After her birthday surprise, he could hardly wait until his birthday. In the meantime, however, they had to contend with Halloween and the studio’s Halloween party. She tried to get out of attending, but Johnny insisted that she accompany him.

  “I don’t have to wear a costume, do I?” she moaned. “Because you saw the only costume that I have.”

  “And I’d better be the only one who ever sees that costume,” he said, only half-joking.