Ravish: The Awakening of Sleeping Beauty - By Cathy Yardley Page 0,49

love and feminine beauty.”

“Erzuli,” Rory interrupted. “I remember that.”

“Erzuli is powerful—and temperamental. She is very vain and wants many different partners.” Mahjani tapped her bottom lip with her fingertips, her expression thoughtful. “I think that we’re going to call a different loa for you. Oshun.”

“Oshun?” Jacob repeated.

“Oshun is the spirit of harmony,” Mahjani explained. “She represents beauty, love, and ecstasy. Her love isn’t as fickle as Erzuli’s. She’s the patron of marriage.”

“Marriage.” Rory rolled the word over in her mind—then surreptitiously sneaked a look at Jacob.

He was staring at her, a considering smile hovering around his lips.

“To perform the sex ritual for Oshun, you are going to need to consider yourself…hmmm. This is difficult to explain.” Mahjani looked around the cave. “Better to show you. I think I’ll be able to risk a little power without exposing myself to Serafina’s wrath.”

She closed her eyes. Then the surroundings shimmered.

The ground was covered in a thick, fleecy wool. There was a purple square of satin in the center of the floor. There was also a table covered with foodstuffs and a closed wooden chest.

“I’m going to need you two to get naked and lie on the square of purple cloth,” Mahjani instructed.

“Naked?” Rory gulped.

“You’ve been naked together numerous times,” Mahjani pointed out.

“Not with an audience!”

“I won’t be an audience,” Mahjani said in a soothing voice. “I will be your teacher, your guidance. You’re going to need to trust me.”

Rory bit her lip painfully. Then she started to peel off her clothes, not looking at Mahjani as she got down to bare skin. Jacob was grinning slightly, but he was only looking at Rory.

Mahjani nodded encouragingly as Rory and Jacob both knelt on the purple cloth. “The important part of this ritual is the focus and the reverence,” she said. Her voice was both comforting and instructive, which reassured Rory. “You will focus on this act as if you’ve never had sex before. You will both become sacred—a sex god and a sex goddess, for lack of a better term. When you learn this, it won’t matter if I’m in the room, or if an entire football stadium was watching you. All that will matter is each other and what you’re feeling. All right?”

“All right,” Rory responded, and Jacob nodded, still staring at her.

“Now,” Mahjani said, reaching into the wooden chest. “I’m going to blindfold you both.”

Rory was startled, but she didn’t comment. The blindfold was black velvet, soft against her skin, although it was tied tight enough that she couldn’t see anything. Her breathing increased in speed, and she reached out blindly. Her fingertips met Jacob’s much larger hand, and he held tight, giving her a squeeze.

“All right. Now, I want you both to start breathing, slowly, to my count. You’ll be breathing in time, together.”

Rory obediently followed Mahjani’s instruction, hearing Jacob’s even, matching breathing across from her. He still held her hand.

“Now, I want you to say what you cherish about each other,” Mahjani prompted. “Don’t be glib—this is important.”

Rory paused, thinking. “I cherish your strength,” she said, the words coming out in a near whisper. “I think I’ve been so afraid all my life, of doing the wrong thing, getting hurt, getting in trouble—I feel brave when I’m with you.”

He squeezed her hand again. “I cherish your vulnerability,” he responded. “You’re the most open, accepting woman I’ve ever met, and the only one I’ve ever loved.”

“You’re the only man I’ve ever loved,” she answered, her heart in her throat.

“This is an excellent start,” Mahjani interjected. “Now, I want you to lie down on the satin square, next to each other but not touching. At least not yet.”

Rory moved blindly, bumping against Jacob’s warm skin. She giggled, more nerves than humor. Even an inch away, she could still feel the heat of his body. Her own nipples puckered and tightened.

“I’m going to be working on heightening your senses,” Mahjani whispered. Her soothing voice seemed to float above them, disembodied. “Just relax, get into the feel of it.”

Music started to play: something gentle, almost arabesque sounding. Rory sniffed experimentally. The air was perfumed with something, both subtle and smoky. Incense, she reasoned, then sniffed again. Rose and sandalwood. It smelled nice. With the music and the incense, she started to relax.

She felt a light touch on her back, then down one arm. It was heavenly soft. “What is that?” she asked reflexively.

“Shhhh,” Mahjani said. “It’s chinchilla. Just focus on the sensations.”

Rory sighed as she felt the ultrasoft fur stroke over her stomach.