“Oh baby. You squirted for me, oh yes…” Fervently, Nico sped up his thrusts, the hotness of her juices exciting him wildly.
Wrapping her legs around his waist, she held him into her. Hands in his hair, she pulled his face to hers, kissing him feverishly, their tongues matching the movements of their hips as they met each other over and over. Clenching around him as he pumped in and out, she shuddered and let out an anguished cry as she came.
Unable to hold back any longer, he erupted into her as they came together in pulsating waves.
Not wanting to let him go, she held him to her, her hands caressing his shoulders and back.
Nico kissed her mouth, her nose, her forehead, and then, gazing deeply into her eyes, murmured, “Maya…I’ve fallen under the spell of the jaguar.”
Untangling themselves, he brought her into his bathroom and they showered. Lathering each other’s hair, Maya felt an unexpected familiarity with Nico, as if she had known him a long time. She didn’t always feel that way the first time she hooked up with someone. After drying off, Nico pulled on a pair of grey boxer briefs, leaving his chest bare, and Maya slipped on her pink bikini bottoms and slouchy tee. Returning to the sofa, he opened another bottle of wine, hit the remote, and Skyfall resumed playing. They collapsed together, Nico resting his head in Maya’s lap. She casually played with his hair, at first tentatively, not sure he would like it.
To her surprise, he whispered, “I love you playing with my hair. My mom used to do that when I was little…”
Watching the movie they’d both seen before, Nico commented on the action, scene by scene. Maya laughed, delighted by his playful disposition, interjecting her own tales of behind-the-scenes drama. When the movie ended, she was sleepy from the wine, and sat up to put on her shorts and boots.
“Where are you going?” he asked, sounding disturbed. His mood had changed quickly.
“I’d better be getting home.”
“Why? Do you want to leave?” he asked, agitated.
“No, not really…but I don’t even have a toothbrush!”
He shook his head, and managed a small laugh. “Do you need a toothbrush? You can use mine!”
Seeing he was relaxing again, she laughed along and shrugged. “I don’t have an early call…just a rehearsal for one scene, late in the day.” Playfully, she added, “I’ll stay if you promise we can do the fearlessness kriya together in the morning.”
“So, are you bribing me?” he teased. “Well, I’ll go along with it just this one time. But you’ll pay for it!”
In the bedroom, Maya asked, “Can I borrow a T-shirt to sleep in?”
Instead of replying, Nico quickly pulled her T-shirt off, playfully pushing her down on the bed so she was propped up against a pile of his kilim pillows. Removing his shorts, he climbed on top of her, straddling her hips as he teased, “I’ll give you a shirt later. Right now, I want to play with you again. You’re so hot, baby. I need more of you before I’ll be able to sleep.” He leaned back a bit and stroked his semi-erect cock. “Look, I’m already hard just watching you sit on my bed.”
She smiled up at him. Her black eyes were like bottomless pools into which he could dive.
“You’re a beast,” she said, referring to his enormous size.
Brandishing his cock, he pursed his lips, considering the compliment. “I’ve been called many things, but never a beast.”
She gazed up into his compelling eyes that seemed to always be slightly hidden by that sexy lock of hair. As if on cue, he raked it back with his hand. Then he leaned forward to kiss her, and their tongues met immediately in a dance. Sitting up, he continued stroking the length of his erection. Maya licked her lips in anticipation as he grew harder.
Leaning over her, he angled his body so that the tip of his cock pressed against her lips. He groaned, low and anguished, when she took him firmly into her hands. Intently, she began sucking the head of his cock while rubbing her thumb along the base of the tip. He growled, “Yes, baby, those are the sweetest lips.”
Eager to be inside her mouth, he pushed in and she took the whole of him, wrapping her hands firmly around the thick, rigid shaft. She encircled him with both hands, now wet with her saliva, teasing the head and pulling on the tip with her full lips and squeezed him firmly while he fucked her mouth, using her hands to control his speed and depth. Her hands traveled to the base of his cock, where she gently fondled his balls, allowing her fingers to trail back toward his anus. He moaned and fucked her mouth harder as she gently inserted a wet finger and slipped it in and out, driving him wild. Holding her head tightly into his groin, he fucked her mouth harder, pushing his cock against the back of her throat, and tilting her head back so he could go even deeper.
She moaned, sending him into a frenzy. “That’s it, baby. All the way. I love it when you moan.”
Thrusting harder and faster, he wrapped his fingers into her long black hair to control her. “Take me in all the way, baby. I love fucking that beautiful mouth.”
With him leaning over her she had no control and allowed him to guide his cock back in all the way as he fucked her mouth harder and faster. “So good, baby.” Just then, he released his hold on her hair and pulled himself out of her mouth without coming. “Not yet,” he murmured.
Maya looked up at him. His eyes were glazed over, like smoldering coals.
“You look so beautiful,” he rasped. His cock was pulsing, hard and wet, the veins bulging.
Holding her legs, he roughly flipped her over so she was face down, her cheek resting on a pillow, the pulled her hips up. “Keep your ass up for me, baby. I want your hot ass.”
Taking a jar of coconut oil off the night stand, he slowly applied it to her ass, pressing his thumb into her anus. Moaning, she lifted her ass higher, begging him for more. Gliding his fingers easily inside her, she pushed back at him. “You like this, baby? You like me playing in your ass, don’t you?”
She moaned, “Yes,” unable to speak more.
Anointing himself with the oil, he then pressed the tip of his cock into her. Holding her hips tightly, he slowly pushed in. Feeling her tighten around him, he held still for a moment. “That’s it, baby. Relax,” he coaxed before moving slowly and rhythmically. “Oh baby, you’re so tight. Play with yourself,” he commanded.
Moving with him, she eagerly inserted first one, then two fingers into her wet pussy, circling her clit with her thumb, and feeling the tightness of him inside.
“Your ass is so beautiful.” His words came raggedly…exciting her further while she fucked herself. Pumping herself harder and massaging her clit, her breathing became ragged as she tightened, nearing climax. As she got closer, he fucked her faster, holding her hips and thrusting harder. “You feel so good, baby. I’m going to come inside your hot little ass.”
She felt the first hot burst of cum inside her, and then rolling, one after another, he jetted into her. Holding himself tight against her as the final waves of his climax concluded, he massaged her butt and thrust into her again and again. “Come for me, baby,” the sound of his voice consumed her.
Coming apart under him, her body quaked as she cried out and collapsed onto the bed, unable to hold herself up. Nico collapsed on top of her, burying his head in her neck, damp with her heat. He stayed inside her, not willing to move. Content, they lay there exhausted. As his cock slowly retracted, she held onto it, not wanting to let it slip from her.
Reluctantly, Nico went into the bathroom to wash up. On the way back to the bed, he stopped at his dresser and opened a drawer. “Here, baby. T-shirt, as promised.”
Climbing under the covers, he tapped the space next to him for her to join him, and she pulled on the T-shirt before climbing in. Snuggling into him, her head on his chest, she fell fast asleep.
21
Luna had been expecting Nico to call any day, since she figured he was back from St. Barths. When her cell phone rang, she silently cursed that she was stuck in a damn meeting, letting it go to voice mail.
Now Nico would be angry, but there was nothing she could do about it.
Nico hadn’t needed to tell Luna where he was going for the holidays. She saw pictures on Facebook that she recognized as St. Barths, the summer camp for wealthy, well-known business tycoons, pop stars, and Hollywood celebrities. The location tag showed they were staying at the exclusive Eden Rock overlooking St. Jean Bay.
It was evident to Luna why Nico chose to go there instead of home to Buenos Aires for Christmas. With Alexa’s connections and Nico’s good looks, they would be bumping elbows with movie stars and the power elite. Even though Nico complained these weren’t “his people,” that’s still what he chose to do for Christmas and to bring in the New Year.
Luna called him back in less than an hour’s time, but as expected, he berated her for not answering instantly. Though she had expected it, it still upset her, and she always ended up apologizing. Nico was speaking so quickly, she told him to slow down. “I met a publisher in St. Barths who wants me to write a book about my life. About how I lived in Kerala and then with the Q’ero; a memoir about how I became a healer. He wants to publish my story!” he rattled.
Luna finally registered what he was saying, “That’s so great, Nico!” she squealed with delight.
He continued excitedly, “Luna, this is the perfect platform that I need. You and I will write this together. You’re the only one I trust to help me!”
Without too much hesitation, she replied, “I’d love to help you, Nico, but you have to be the one to write it. I can help you.”
“Come over right after work. We need to get started right away.”
“All right, Nico,” she agreed. “I have your Christmas present. It’s been sitting in my car for a week.”
In his usual frenzy, he blurted, “I haven’t had time to wrap yours!”
She laughed, certain he hadn’t remembered to get her anything. Though one never knew what to expect from Nico.
When Luna got to his studio, she went straight back to the apartment and found Nico cooking, music blasting, and his suitcase open in the middle of the floor, clothes spilling out.
“Nico, why didn’t you unpack?”
Before he could answer, his phone rang, and he put his finger up to his lips, signaling her not to speak so the caller wouldn’t know he had company. Luna hated that, finding it offensive.
Using the spurious sexy voice he reserved for Alexa, he cooed, “OK, of course. You already know that.” Luna couldn’t discern the intent of the call. He continued talking on the phone, “Look, I’m cooking, and it’s going to burn. I’ll call you back later.” Then, “Well, I do have to eat. I’m making some pasta. OK, you too. ¡Chau!” Nico hung up and looked at Luna, who was picking his clothes up off the floor.
“Bella.” He reached out beseechingly.
She looked up at him, letting her hair hide half her face.
“Stop being jealous!” he chided her somewhat playfully.
Luna just took a deep breath and sighed loudly, “I’m not jealous, Nico. You know exactly how I feel. Here I am, picking up your clothes. And I’m going to help you write a book. But she gets to stand in the sun.”
Nico had been chopping onions and garlic for the tomato sauce while the chopped meat cooked on the stove. When he just stood looking at her instead of replying, Luna called out, “Forget it, Nico. The meat is burning!”
He turned around to lower the flame, and added some olive oil to the pan. Then he said, “Luna, it’s all coming together, just like I said it would. So everyone needs to do their part. She does hers, and you do yours, OK? You want a glass of wine? We can relax.”
Luna relented a little and smiled. “Of course. And here’s your Christmas gift.” She handed him the package, wrapped in traditional Christmas wrapping paper of Santa Claus with his reindeer flying across a night sky, tied up in a wide, metallic gold French ribbon.
Luna had found a hinged box in the Wardrobe Department and decided to decoupage it with a collection of photos—images of Nico, yoga poses, chakra symbols, and inspirational quotations. The process was in itself a meditation to him, taking her three weeks to apply the dozens of layers of school glue creating the lacquered finish. For the top of the box, she’d chosen a photo of Nico taken at Soul & Surf in Kerala. In the photograph, his eyes shone, and that persistent, unruly lock of hair was in his face as it always seemed to be. Only recently had Luna learned that the word kundalini is derived from the Sanskrit word kundal, which means “the curl of the lock of hair from the beloved.” The uncoiling of the hair represents the awakening of the kundalini. The resemblance to Nico himself in the definition had startled, but not surprised, her.
Nico put the chef’s knife down and turned off the flame under the meat. Taking the gift, he began his ritual of slowly unwrapping. In due time, he uncovered the box and studied the collage of photos in disbelief, not understanding at first what it took to create the layers of imagery.
“Nico, do you like it?”
He was speechless, but finally managed, “Luna—this is the most incredible gift I have ever received. It is…the most special thing anyone has ever given me—I love it.”
Thinking him completely sincere, she said softly, “I’m so glad you like it, Nico.”
“These pictures…” he studied the image of himself on the beach in Kerala. Concentrating, he read aloud, “Let loose the arrow.” He murmured, “Sat Nam…Sat Nam…Sat Nam,” while reading the sides as he turned the box. “You even put the words to the song!” She knew he meant “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” “Where did you get all the pictures?”
Proudly, she recited, “I collected them. I printed them. Some I found on the internet, others in magazines.”
Incredulously, he asked, “How did you get a picture of me with the paqos?”
Luna laughed. “Silly, I took it with my phone, from the one on the wall in the chamber.”
“Luna?” he murmured hesitantly.
“Yes, Nico?”
“Thank you.” He hugged her somewhat awkwardly, as if unsure how intimate he should be.
She put her forehead against his. “Nico. I can’t buy you expensive things…or take you on trips. This is all I can do. I won’t compete with them.”
Nico scolded her, “Luna, you have to stop with that. It’s not a competition.”
She replied sadly, “That’s how I feel, Nico, ’cause you don’t spend time with me. I haven’t seen you in over a month.”
He refilled their wine glasses before putting the onions and garlic into the sauce and adding more spices to the meat. He checked the pasta, and shook his hand off after scalding it in the water. “¡Ay, caramba! The pasta is ready. Go sit down and we’ll eat and talk about my book.”
When Luna saw the newsletter in her inbox from Kristi Fisher, something compelled her to open it right away. Kristi had worked as an intern for Luna several years earlier, and they’d hit it off. Luna had discovered Kristi’s ability to heal when she’d tripped while wearing flip-flops in the wardrobe truck, stubbing her toe so badly that the nail had almost ripped off. Luna had been in excruciating pain, and Kristi had placed her hand lightly over Luna’s toe, barely touching her. Luna felt heat penetrate her foot, and when Kristi removed her hand, the pain had subsided and her toenail was back in place. She’d heard later that Kristi had completed a five year program in Chinese Medicine and acupuncture. The newsletter prompted her to call Kristi for an appointment.
Kristi’s practice was in a shared suite of medical professionals in a new office building not far from Luna’s condo on Wilshire. Despite not having been in contact for so long, they immediately began catching up, and Luna filled her in on Going My Way.
Kristi chuckled. “Luna, I watched the complete first season of Going My Way. It’s the next Sex and the City! Your career is doing great. What else is going on?”
Even though Kristi wasn’t a close personal friend, Luna felt the warmth and compassion she emanated, and began sharing her anxiety over turning
fifty. “I know this sounds shallow…but people no longer say how beautiful I am—only how beautiful I was. I’m embarrassed to admit how much that bothers me.”
Kristi closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before responding. “What you’re describing isn’t uncommon with attractive people, like you, who have relied upon their external appearance for validation. You have to learn to draw from a deeper well.”
Luna sighed, and the words tumbled out effortlessly, “I began seeing a yoga instructor. He also practices energy medicine—and it was a huge benefit. We did kriyas to open up my possibilities and creativity, and sure enough, I won the Guild Award. On top of that, I’m thinner, more toned, and I feel healthier. And…I’m not sure how to explain it…but I think you will get it…I feel younger and more alive, you know?”
Luna had a feeling Kristi didn’t need to ask, but did anyway, “So what’s the problem?”
Luna hesitated before admitting, “I feel a strong attachment to my yoga instructor…to Nico. It’s disrupting my life, and my relationship with Tyler.”
Kristi’s eyebrows went up and Luna quickly interjected, “Nothing happened! It’s not a sexual relationship, but I’m obsessed with him. I crave his attention, and his approval. I need to be around him to feel good—like a drug. It’s hard to explain…but I need him in my life.”
Luna noticed a look of recognition on Kristi’s face. “So, how long has this been going on?”
Luna recounted Sofia’s problems with Nico and how, after Sofia left, Luna had seen a different side of him. “When Nico cut me out of his life, saying I betrayed him, I couldn’t breathe. I was literally suffering from that loss. That’s when I realized I had a problem. But he let me back into his life,” she paused, then added, “telling me I could make it up to him. That was a year ago, and things have never been the same. He’s different. He’s very needy and demanding—and Tyler says it’s wrong that I often put Nico ahead of him.”
Kristi’s eyes brightened with awareness. “I have a hunch, but before I tell you, I’d like to check something. Would you let me do Reiki on you?” she asked.
The Sleeping Serpent: A woman's struggle to break an obsessive bond with her yoga master Page 32
