Ascent of the Mountain of Hedone

"Such beauty is Her daily blessing," said Melitta, staring at it in awe. I turned and smirked at her, admiring her innocence and love of life. She excitedly added, "I will be rewarded with my fourth degree because of you."

"Huh?"

Melitta pointed to the three gold serpent bracelets on her arm, which I had first noticed when I arrived, and which I now understood to be a sort of equivalent to merit badges.

"Come, let us go bathe in it!" she said, pointing to the sunrise.

Melitta grasped my arm again and whisked me off through the temple. She spun me through the narrow passageways, into the central courtyard, still littered with naked bodies embracing one another, and then over a hill carpeted with small, yellow flowers. In the distance I saw boats beginning to leave port, as temple visitors such as myself gradually awoke, collected their things, and headed back from whence they came.

Down we fled over another hill, until we reached the beach below and deposited ourselves in the cool, powder-soft sand with plenty of time to witness the remainder of the colorful light show spread out before us. I noticed that to my left and right there were other early risers with the same idea, strolling together on the beach, their eyes set on fire by the kaleidoscopic sky. Some exchanged information, hoping to one day encounter their brief lovers somewhere out in the world again. Others rolled in the sand, still naked and highly aroused, unable to let go of their passions, still seeking the pleasures that the other's body could provide.

"I'm not really supposed to do this during the solstice festivities..." admitted Melitta, "but it is also my prerogative to grant favors..." She began to stroke my bare chest, then gazed up at me affectionately. I immediately understood this as an invitation to love. I had begun to grow fond of Melitta; her youthful exuberance and ambitions were as attractive as her flawless body, and I found myself instantly grateful for her tender advances.

Her hand slipped down between my legs, and she ran her soft fingers over my cock, tickling it with her light touch and causing it to quickly grow. Melitta giggled as she watched it begin to pulse and twitch, springing to life and lifting upward off my thigh as if it were a charmed serpent. She then began to stroke it with a series of advanced maneuvers, circling and twisting about my hardened shaft and head, which made immediately evident the influence this place had on her erotic capabilities.

"You do that with the same skill as the goddess!" I remarked.

Her eyes lit up and she grinned happily. "Oh! Thank you!" she said.

Sensing how much she enjoyed the complement, I added, "No wonder you belong here, with artistry like that."

She laughed. "Alas, my skills are not my own. I will train for several more years, still."

"How do they train you?"

"One of our first duties is to visit one of the surrounding villages and carefully choose a young man or woman, such as we each desire, suitable in form, whom we develop a fondness for and the ambition to seduce." She paused for a laugh. "It is like a sport!"

I chuckled and asked her to tell me more, while she continued to massage my aching cock with loving finesse.

"We summon our chosen partners here, where for a regular stipend they can send back to their families, we undress them and proceed to take our lessons. I am expected to deepen my understanding of his anatomy. I learn to maneuver his body, and the art of manipulating his penis. There are so many ways! I make myself ready for him, and he for me, to ascend the nine levels of sacred lovemaking codified by the ancients. Such is the life of a courtesan!"

My imagination was already on fire, filled with visions of young women and men selecting bewildered villagers to come and make love to them by way of instruction, filling an amphitheater with the cries and moans of neophytes finding their way together.

She continued, "I possess a healthy young man named Timon; he's not very smart, but I am surely fond of him as a plaything-- he's loyal, too!" She giggled again. "My friend Laïs once tried to borrow him without asking first, but he would not have it. I caught her chasing him through the garden!" She beamed with pride. Melitta then added, "I have also found myself a young woman, very pretty and made much like myself, upon which to practice the techniques of the tongue. This is because I am sometimes fancied by women, as well. They make better donations, and often bring me pretty jewelry and other gifts."

Melitta then pushed me back into the soft mound of sand and straddled atop my body, saying proudly, "Other parts of my body possess these same skills." She positioned her hips such that my long, hard shaft became sandwiched between the lips of her outer labia. She then began a series of gyrations that caused my cock to run back and forth over her slippery pink flesh as it quickly became slick with her natural lubricants. I watched as her hairless pussy spread apart and then closed again, in response to the movement of my shaft and head against her dampening sex, until I wanted to scream from my desire to glide inside her.

She knew how much of a tease it was, and she enjoyed every moment of it.

"Oh, god, Melitta!" I groaned. "Please, let me--" She interrupted me my pressing a finger to my lips. Smirking, she eased her hips forward, letting my throbbing member finally sink deep inside her tight canal. She removed her finger, and I exhaled a long, slow sigh of pleasure. Before long, Melitta was bouncing up and down with enthusiasm, eager to show off her skills. Now and then she mimicked the movements of the high priestess. Rather, it was more than mimicry; her precision reminded me again of her training in these arts, and that she would merely require a few more years of experience to reach the expected level of proficiency.

I gazed up at Melitta, transported by her unceasing bliss. I adored how her wavy, golden hair swirled about in the breeze, the way her perky young boobs caught the sunlight and sprang happily in response to our movements. I loved the way she squealed so cheerfully at the sensation of my cock penetrating deeply into her pink depths; so much so that it made me feel alive in a way that I had long forgotten. Together we shared this moment of pure, unadulterated joy at the union of our two bodies.

In fucking Melitta, I came to understand the purity at the heart of her celebration of lovemaking; how different it was from home, where there are so many strings attached. I felt somehow set free making love to her.

She showed me how to enter her from seemingly every angle and, when I felt there were no more positions to try, she somehow found a new means of contorting herself which surprised me yet again. Our bodies were like a puzzle with endless combinations. With a desperate, erotic fascination, I explored every inch of her body, leaving no part unattended and without a sensual caress. She did the same for me, entwined in each other's embrace, as my cock tunneled between her legs, and our tongues found themselves inseparable.

Eventually Melitta screamed in pleasure, tossing her head back and casting her gaze toward the sky. Her golden locks clung to her face and neck, damp from her sweat which intoxicated me like a sweet-smelling perfume. I felt her young body tremble in my arms as my cock repeatedly drove inside her and she began to spasm with ecstasy. I myself was mad with lust for this lovely young woman who devoted herself entirely to my desires.

Melitta cried out, "Please! Honor me with an offering like the one you gave the goddess!"

She gazed up at me with an expression of fierce determination, full of desire for the ultimate satisfaction. I began to groan, knowing that I was indeed reaching my limit, and would soon climax and satisfy her wishes.

"But... surely I can't... Inside you?"

She laughed and pulled herself off me. "Here!" she said, laying me back and opening her mouth. Melitta grasped my swollen cock, surging with an uncontrollable pleasure. She then swallowed me whole, sucking hungrily with eyes full of delight and anticipation. I watched her expressions as she took my penis deep inside her mouth, relaxing her gag reflex to take me partway into her throat, seemingly without any resistance. I felt a warm sensation flow through my body and my heart felt like it would burst from my chest. It swelled suddenly in anticipation of the oncoming release.

"I'm going to come!" I groaned.

I felt my cock slip quickly over Melitta's soft tongue, as her sparkling eyes darted up to meet mine. I gazed deeply at her as I felt the rush of pleasure take hold. My hips jerked and my cock began to throb and spasm, as spurt after spurt of warm semen ushered forth and began to flow over her tongue. I writhed uncontrollably on the cool sand, feeling myself emptying into her mouth with surge after powerful surge. Flashes of every lover I had, the girl in the courtyard, the many women throughout the temple, the priestess herself, all spun through my mind as I lost myself in this momentous release. Then I collapsed completely, having spent myself one final time before I would depart from this island and all of its delights.

I saw Melitta's throat muscles contracting as she swallowed every drop of my cum, then gently squeezed and massaged my cock to ensure that she'd enjoyed every last bit I had to offer. She pulled away, licking her glistening lips before smiling with satisfaction at the sight of my blissful expression. She wrapped her arms around me and clung tightly to my body, pressing her soft breasts against my chest and melting into my embrace.

After some time, she rolled over into the sand and stared at me thoughtfully. Melitta then looked up at the seagulls passing overhead and mused, "Yes, I think I would fancy accepting you as a lover," as if she had intended to use our recent union as a means of confirming this. She turned to beam at me, and found me smiling back at her.

Time passed and we could linger no longer in our post-coital bliss amongst the dunes, lest our joy soon turn to sadness, so Melitta reluctantly escorted me back to retrieve all of my things. After getting dressed and receiving a tearful kiss from her, I made my way back along the quay, along with many others, toward my boat. Several individuals, not yet ready to leave the island, strolled nude along the pier, occasionally stopping to watch a boat set sail. I felt my heart breaking, and struggled to find the courage to leave.

I happened to spot a beautiful round ass and, looking up, immediately recognized its owner on account of her tangled locks. It was the woman from the courtyard, my first partner in the nonstop orgy that immediately followed the ritual on the altar. I approached her, offering a smile and a wave. Her face lit up upon seeing me and skipped over. The woman threw her arms around me and pressing her naked bosom against my chest as she had done during our first encounter.

"You survived!" she joked.

I laughed. "Yes, it was incredible!"

She grinned and rubbed her hand against the crotch of my pants, saying, "I knew you had it in you..." We exchanged kisses and I buried my face between her breasts, deriving comfort from their warmth, and realizing how much I'd miss this island and the lovers I'd briefly encountered there. She smiled and ran her fingers through my hair, while cradling me against her chest.

"I'm Shira, by the way," she added.

"Michael," I replied, rising again to face her.

"Are you leaving now?" she asked.

I nodded. "What about you?"

Shira shrugged, then replied, "Eventually. I hitched a ride here, and I'll find some way back."

"You're welcome to join me," I quickly offered. I saw her eyes sparkle as a wide grin formed on her face.

"I'd love to!" she said.

I waited a while for Shira to fetch her things, get dressed, and rejoin me on the quay. Then we climbed aboard my boat, and set forth into the wide open sea. Amassed all around us were small vessels like ours; their passengers gleeful and waving to the other boats, wishing each other well until next year, before setting off in all directions. With a thrill, I realized that many visitors had returned each season.

I still had no idea where I was going, and if it was back toward the mainland. Shira didn't seem to care, suggesting that as long as she reached it at some point, she'd subsequently find her way back home.

She came up behind me, wrapped her arms around my body and, slipping one hand down over my groin, brought her chin to rest upon my shoulder.

Together we gazed out at the open water, wondering what we'd find out there beyond the distant horizon, as we ventured into the vast blue sea extending before us in all directions.