The Devil's Bargain Ch. 06

- "I know. And it's not the end of the world if you're not comfortable around Freya - or any dog. But why didn't you just tell me the truth?"

She shook her head. I thought that you might try to 'cure' me. You know: expose me to dogs so that I could overcome my fears."

- "Sweetheart: you could have told me that, too."

Aarti began to cry softly. That was more than I'd intended. I sat beside her, and put both of my arms around her.

- "There's only you." I told her. "Only you."

- "I know." she said, through her tears.

***

I got another lengthy email update from Holly. In addition to her musings about her job and life in Calgary, she let me know that she would be coming back home just before the holiday season.

Hope you'll have time so that we can get together.

That was nice. But I was trying to think of a way to make amends with Aarti. I had basically scolded her for her behaviour, as if she had misbehaved. Well, she had - but I probably could have handled it differently.

I wanted to apologize, yet also send her a signal that I still cared for her. It might not be love - for some reason, I was leery of saying that to her too early - but it was certainly infatuation. I was obsessed with her face, her body, with the mere thought of sex with her.

Aarti, it seemed, also wanted to make amends. She invited me over for an Indian meal that she was going to prepare herself. The date I'd had to cancel was meant to be at an Indian restaurant; doing this herself would grant us more privacy, but I understood immediately that it was also meant as an apology of sorts.

She greeted me at the door wearing a red satin saree. My mouth fell open.

You don't cook in a saree. She had done all of the prep work, and then gone to change into this traditional, form-fitting dress. Can I emphasize the 'form-fitting'? And satin? That was no accident, either.

- "Aarti... I don't know what to say. You look... spectacular." Mouth-watering, as well.

- "Thank you. Come in, come in."

The food was good. To be quite honest, I only remember a few dishes (of the six she'd prepared). It smelled great, tasted great... but my eyes had taken over the communication channels to my brain.

I was trying to find the right moment to present my apology/re-connect, but I could only see the magnificent vision across the table. Something told me that I had better speak now, or forever forget what I was supposed to say.

- "Aarti... I was hard on you, the other night. I was... condescending, and I shouldn't have done that. I wanted to make amends. So..." I couldn't think of the correct words, so I simply passed the brochure across to her.

The Grassbrook Retreat Centre hosts small groups, but their main claim to fame is a spa treatment option. You can soak in the hot springs, get a variety of massages, meditate or work out, and then eat in their organic, locally-sourced restaurant. I suspected that it would appeal to Aarti.

"We have a couple's weekend package, three weeks from tonight." I said. "Will you go with me?"

Her smile was wonderful - it reminded me of the very first time I'd ever seen her, in the lawyer's office.

- "Oh, my sweet man..." she said. "Yes. "Yes, I will go with you."

She had a sorbet (or sherbet) for dessert, to 'cleanse our palates'. Then she had a request for me.

"Would you clear the table for me, Dan? Please don't wash anything - just stack the dishes beside the sink. I'll call you shortly."

Call me? I had no idea what that meant. But I was happy enough to play along.

- "Dan?" Her call came much sooner than I'd expected.

- "Coming!" I called back. I stopped rinsing dishes, dried my hands, and headed towards her bedroom.

Aarti was quite... sexual. After a few months together, I'd come to realize that she didn't have many inhibitions. But I was still surprised to see that she'd removed her saree, and wore only a thin, filmy undergarment that revealed more than it concealed.

She was lying back on her bed, her head propped up by several pillows, gently strumming her clit with two fingers. She raised those two fingers, and beckoned to me.

- "You were right to be angry, Dan." she said. "I should have trusted you. But I want to show you, tonight, that I do trust you."

She insisted that I strip before I joined her on the bed. I couldn't resist kissing her, or reaching for her naked breasts with my hand.

"I'm ready," she said, "if you want... something more."

I was clueless. Aarti had to take my hand, and move it lower. She pushed my fingers across her smooth stomach, over her mound. I was surprised when she pushed my hand further, past her pussy lips.

"You can have me here." she whispered. "I cleaned thoroughly before you came over."

She was offering me anal sex. Connie and I had tried it exactly once, and the experiment was not particularly successful. It had been uncomfortable for her, and I'd been reluctant to thrust hard for fear of hurting her. We abandoned the whole idea mid-stream.

- "I don't know." I said. "I wouldn't want to hurt you."

- "It doesn't have to hurt." she said. "It can be very special."

Aarti had cleaned herself earlier in the day. This wasn't a spur of the moment decision; it was a premeditated offer, and that made me think that this was her way of apologizing to me. I booked us a spa weekend, while she offered anal sex.

But that also meant that if I turned down her offer, it might seem to her that I was refusing to accept her apology, that I was rejecting her gift.

- "I don't know, Aarti." I said. "I'm flattered... but I've never done... that."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, then you have to let me show you. It can be so good for us."

She spared no effort on foreplay. She teased me with her breasts, and with her hands, before climbing atop me for a gentle 69. I was more aggressive, more urgent than she was. I though it better that she have one guaranteed orgasm, while she was only too obviously delaying mine.

Aarti not only pressed her pussy against my face; she also tilted her hips to give me access a little higher up. I took the hint, and ran my finger around her tiny little anus. I wet one finger, and gently inserted it.

Judging by her reaction, that was exactly what she'd hoped I would do.

- "Ooh - yes. It's clean." she said. "It's clean."

With that encouragement, I pulled on her hip, and drew her down a little further. My tongue ran over her perineum, and then across her second little aperture.

I didn't taste anything unpleasant. She was indeed very clean. This was definitely a first for me. I didn't ignore her pussy, though, using my other hand to finger her and my thumb to strum her clit.

That did it: she trembled and shook atop me, squeezing my erection fairly tight with one hand. I knew that she was often very sensitive - too sensitive - immediately after an orgasm. I stopped stimulating her clit. But surely that second little hole was still fair game.

She squeaked when she felt my tongue again. A moment later, though, she dismounted and spun around, lying half on top of me, but this time face to face. She had no hesitation in kissing me - passionately - with lips and tongue.

Then she took charge. Aarti straddled my belly, once again facing away. She handed me a tube of lubricant.

- "Use plenty." she told. ""One finger - at first."

I followed her instructions, except that I rubbed the lubricant between my fingers a little first; it was a bit cold, and I thought she would prefer it a tad warmer.

If you had asked me, before that night, if I liked ass-play (hers - not mine), I would have answered in the negative. But it was an educational experience to see how much Aarti seemed to like my finger in (and my tongue on) her asshole.

It's certainly just about as intimate as you can get, and requires a high degree of trust. I guess that was what she was trying to tell me: that she did trust me. She might be foolishly suspicious and jealous, but she was not the least bit afraid of placing hers most tender parts in my care.

- "Two fingers, now." she said.

I obliged - carefully.

"Aahh..." she gasped. But she didn't pull away. In fact, she pushed towards me, firmly embedding my two invasive digits into her back passage. I was looking right at it, and I still can't believe how she managed it.

Aarti reversed direction once more. She put some lubricant on my shaft, and then surprised me by tucking my cock into my pussy.

- "Just to... relax us." she said.

After a dozen delicious strokes, she pulled off again, and resumed coating me in lubricant. It was quite a bit, but I suppose that too much is preferable to too little. Aarti lifted her hips, and placed the head of my cock directly beneath her anus. She wiggled a bit, and moved my erection.

Then she sank down.

I felt the tip of my erection pierce her anal ring. It was like a slight pop - out, and then suddenly I was in. She paused for a moment, either to get comfortable, or to let me become accustomed. Then she began to sink lower.

She was no anal virgin. I knew that from her readiness to offer her ass as an apology. But she still huffed, and several times reversed direction as she tried to get used to having my dick in her ass.

I was terrified of hurting her. But she had full control, and I let her slide up and down several times, until her butt came to rest firmly on my thighs. She'd taken my full length.

She grinned at me. "How does it feel?"

- "Amazing. How does it feel for you?"

- "So full. So... close. But you're not hurting me. See?" She began using her knees to lift herself, and then relaxing, to sink back down on my pole. She did this several times.

Then she dismounted again. Aarti knelt on the bed, on her hands and knees.

"Now it's your turn." she said. She grinned again. "Take me."

Much as I was tempted to kiss her, to fondle her dangling breasts, to stroke her thighs and even toy with her pussy, I was also eager to give her what she wanted. I knelt behind her. Aarti dipped her hips, and I placed the crown of my erection against her asshole. I pushed, and penetrated her again.

Once inside, I paused, to let her get used to it. She didn't need it.

- "More. Give me all of... aahh..." she groaned as I thrust all the way inside.

No, I did not pound her. There were no jackhammers. I pushed all the way inside, withdrew, and did it again. She didn't seem to be uncomfortable. I began thrusting, all the way in... and I came in torrents, flooding her back passage.

***

The spa was booked. Aarti was aboard. Now I needed to make sure that Mom and Freya were looked after. Mom said that she would be fine. Mrs Kovacs promised to drop in, and Anna (my neighbour, George's wife) insisted that she would go by and offer Mom some homemade jam.

That left only one discussion/negotiation. I asked Lisa if she would able to take care of Freya for an entire weekend.

- "You could leave her in my house, and just go over to feed her, or for walks. And there's her Saturday morning class, if you're able to take her."

- "I've got it. Friday afternoon to Sunday evening."

- "Well, we might be home by Sunday afternoon."

- "Either way." said Lisa. "I've got it covered."

- "I think that I should pay you for the weekend."

- "Why? It's only a few walks, and her class."

Lisa and I began a strange session of haggling: me trying to raise the price I would pay, Lisa trying to decrease it.

"It's no big deal." she said.

- "It is a big deal, Lisa. For me, it is." I hadn't been away for a weekend in... eight years. It took me a while to remember the last time Connie and I had gone away overnight. Eight fucking years ago.

Lisa saw my face. "Okay. I understand that it's important to you... that Freya be looked after. But I'll be at my parents', working on a paper. Taking breaks to walk Freya - it's no great hardship."

- "Thank you."

The Grassbrook Retreat Centre was a little under two hours' drive. Aarti had a suitcase and a small bag, probably enough for a month, but I didn't mind. She was especially excited to be 'escaping' with me for an uninterrupted weekend.

The drive was pleasant; I'd downloaded some Bob Marley to play on the way. Aarti kept one hand on my arm or my leg most of the time.

We weren't in the mountains, by any means, but the rocky, forested hills were spectacular, because the leaves were turning. Instead of a landscape of green and gray, we enjoyed yellows, brilliant oranges and bright reds. I love the change of the seasons.

Aarti was thrilled before we even arrived at the retreat centre. When she saw the old stone building, covered in ivy, she was enthralled. Grassbrook had been a working mill, long ago, and there was still a waterwheel which could have provided power.

The rooms featured ornate four-poster beds and fireplaces, but with ultra-modern bathrooms and showers. Romance and luxury. Aarti spent a minute or two swimming on the fabulous duvet on our king-sized bed.

- "You're spoiling me!" she said.

- "You deserve even more." I said.

That might have been a mistake. I had unintentionally reminded her of the rich boyfriends she'd had, who had spoiled her, soiled her, and then dropped her. I saw the expression on her face, and realized instantly that I'd said the wrong thing.

I moved quickly to take her in my arms.

"I can't tell you how glad I am to be here with you." I said.

- "Me too." she said.

The meals were excellent. We had a wonderful dinner, after which we made love in the giant bed. Aarti had brought her purple lingerie, as an added treat.

In the morning, we had a great breakfast, followed by a couples' massage. We lay side by side on our massage tables, close enough to hold hands, as two pretty college students rubbed and manipulated our muscles and joints.

That was followed by a steam, another massage called an exfoliation, and a swim in the indoor pool which revived us. I'd been ready for a nap, at that point, but the cool water invigorated us.

We visited an antique shop nearby, and then a rescue centre for wild birds. They had a baby owl, red-tailed hawks, and some tiny merlins and kestrels. Aarti was thrilled when they let a kestrel sit on her wrist.

Dinner at the retreat centre was wonderful, again, but Aarti was so primed by then that we probably should have skipped eating altogether. The purple bustier was called into service again, but not for long. We were both intoxicated by how smooth our skin was, after the treatment we'd had that day.

I took her from behind on the massive bed, though she kept changing direction, facing the headboard, but then twisting around to grab the elaborate footboard. I ran my hands over almost every square inch of her gloriously smooth skin, until l got carried away, and grabbed her by the hips so that plunge into her hard and fast.

My climax left me light-headed, almost dizzy. I fell back on the bed, gasping for air. Aarti crawled over next to me, and draped an arm over my chest.

- "If I'd known that a spa treatment would do this... do you want another one, for Christmas?"

***

I saw Geetha and Uncle Dru again, and had a good time in their company. I was tempted to open up even more to Aarti's sister. There were questions that I wanted to ask. Most of them, of course, concerned Aarti.

I was still happy with her. She was kind, and fun, and her energy, her vitality was undiminished. But... she was getting weirder.

First of all, she spent the better part of an evening telling me about her past lives.

- "They're like fragments, little pieces of partial memories." she explained. "I see some things that don't belong to this life."

- "Dreams?"

- "Sometimes. But also waking memories... images, or sounds. Once it was a smell that I just couldn't place. It almost drove me crazy as I tried to find out what it was. I finally found a perfume factory where they would let me smell just about everything. It took forever to find it."

- "What was it?"

- "Mastic resin." she said, triumphantly. "It grows only on the Greek island of Chios, near the coast of Turkey. It has several cosmetic and medicinal uses, but it was also chewed, in ancient times. Like gum - and as a breath freshener."

Aarti then told me a long, convoluted story about the history of this resin, from ancient Greece and Rome to the Ottoman Turkish Sultans, who apparently encouraged the chewing of this gum in their harem.

Then she called up a bookmark on her laptop.

- "See that?" Aarti identified it as the Green Mosque, from the city of Bursa, the Turkish capital before they captured Constantinople (now Istanbul). "I was watching a documentary, and I saw video of the interior. Dan - I'd seen it before."

To make a long (and for me, fairly frightening) story short, Aarti went on to relate how she eventually figured out that she had been a member of the harem of Mehmed the First, a Turkish Sultan from the 15th century. She had to have been a prized concubine, or even a junior wife - that would explain her recognizing the Green Mosque, and her familiarity with the smell of mastic resin.

Freaked out? I was.

Her other past lives were harder to definitively identify, she told me. She was 'instinctively drawn' to the La Scala Opera House in Milan (which opened in 1778), and she admitted that while she didn't care for classical music in general, she found Mozart 'soothing'. She also described the geography of Pompeii and Herculaneum as 'so very familiar'.

She felt comfortable telling me these things, because we were growing so close, and because she felt that she could trust me. Of course she could: who was I going to tell? Oh, yes - and by the way, my girlfriend is batshit crazy.

Aarti also asked me out on a date, which involved us going to a professional tarot reading. She wanted one done for both of us. The reader, an overfed wanna-be gypsy named 'Vina', had no trouble figuring out what was called for.

Aarti had overcome 'many challenges' to get to me, buoyed by her strong centre and her spiritual affinities. I too had experienced difficult times, but inner balance and a powerful self-identity had helped me persevere until a new relationship had restored me. Aarti was my inspiration (Vina didn't say 'the wind beneath my wings', but it was pretty damn close). Meanwhile, I was Aarti's rock, and her refuge.

I have no idea what that charade cost, but it made Aarti very happy - and very amorous, when we got back to her place. She looked awesome, with both breasts and one leg on top of her dining room table, while I plundered her from behind.

And that, essentially, was my problem.

Sex with Aarti was so good. I had no need for Viagra, or any of those pills. I did, though, occasionally take an aspirin, because of the headaches she gave me. How could this gorgeous, reasonably intelligent woman believe all of this horseshit?

I tried - just once - to explain the phenomenon of Deja Vu in scientific terms. It's not very complicated. But she was immediately - and obviously - quite distressed. I felt as if I was telling a six year-old that there was no Santa Claus.

And then I felt like a bit of hypocrite, because I myself had no trouble believing in magic. The proof of it was lying in my arms, panting after another passionate love-making session. There was no way that I could ever have ended up with a woman as incredible as Aarti without Tansa's magic phrases.

Just to add to my agenda, Holly sent me another long email. Work was taxing, but fine. She missed me. And...

I'm going to combine a short business trip with some time for family and friends in December. Call it the Holly Pre-Christmas tour. I was hoping that we could get together, if you're free, because you're probably the best friend that I left behind...