Champagne and Chocolate
Part 3 by Gin
It was now 5:30 as Caitlyn hurried into her
house. She had had a hard time keeping her mind
focused in the meetings this morning. It kept jumping
ahead to tonight. She now felt an almost irrational need to
stall and hold off. Unfortunately, she didn’t know the
number, so canceling wasn’t an option.
Maybe a drink would help, she thought.
After fixing the cat’s dinner, she went to the cupboard and
rummaged around until she found a bottle and a snifter. She
poured herself a generous amount. As the liquid slid down
her throat she realized she hadn’t eaten anything all day
except an apple and a few chips. The alcohol in the very
fine scotch hit her bloodstream almost immediately, causing a
slight tingle in her system. She had better sip slowly or
she wouldn’t be able to go anywhere, she realized. Still,
the faint glow from the scotch took the edge off and helped her
acknowledge it was just another evening, nothing out of the
ordinary would happen.
In her bedroom, Cait pulled out a modest,
two-piece swimsuit and stuffed it into a small bag. She
added a comb and after a moment’s thought, her toothbrush.
She then pulled on a deep burgundy sundress. With
nothing else to do or delay with, she grabbed her tote bag, added
her wallet and keys, and headed out the door.
It was a little after 6 when Caitlyn arrived
at the house. She looked forward to a swim as it had been
warm and light film of sweat and broken out on her body.
At the door she found a small note and pulled it off to read.
In it, Luka told her to come in, make herself at home, feel free
to use the facilities. He’d gone to the store for a
few things. Caitlyn pushed open the door and let
herself in. She wandered into the kitchen. Another
note lay on the counter. It told her to open the
refigerator and try the punch in the pitcher.
A golden-red liquid sat in the crystal
pitcher and she poured herself a tall glass, adding a sprig of
mint. Taking a sip she nearly choked. It packed a
punch. The second sip went down easier, and by the third
she thought it was the best thing she had drunk in ages.
Wandering further, she found the back deck with its Jacuzzi and
the pool two steps down. A long hallway opened into
various bedrooms. One large corner bedroom held evidence of
Luka’s occupation with clothes folded neatly on a chair and
a suitcase in one corner. Caitlyn hastily backed out
of here, before her wandering thoughts took her places she wasn’t
sure she wanted to go.
Wandering back towards the kitchen, Cait
heard the front door being closed and waited for Luka to appear.
“Hi. Need any help?” she asked. He’d
arrived with two bags.
“Nope, I’ve got it, thanks.”
He began unloading a bag onto the counter. “How was
your day? Did your meetings go well?
Caitlyn made a face. “Meetings
never go well, you should know that.” She grinned at
him. “Then I spent 6 hours in surgery trying to
reassemble parts and pieces back into a person again.”
“And were you successful?” Luka
inquired. Caitlyn shrugged. “Too soon to tell
yet.” She replied. “It could still go
either way.” Wanting to change the subject, she
picked up her glass, “This is delicious. What’s
in it?”
“A little bit of everything, alcoholic
and not. Here, pour me one would you?” Luka indicated
another glass on the counter. She got the pitcher and
poured them both a glassful. He noticed the level of the
punch in the pitcher. “How many have you had?”
Caitlyn looked blankly at him for a monent.
“Umm, I think this is my second.” He shook
his head and laughed. “Go easy on it, okay?
Have you had anything to eat today?”
“An apple and some chips.”
He went to the refrigerator and pulled something out. “Are
you hungry now?”
“Starved.”
“Okay, lets eat then.” He
took two dishes over to the bay window nook where a round table
overlooked the pool and the beach. It had been set with
dishes and utensils. “Why this is lovely, Luka!”
Caitlyn told him, as she brought over their glasses and sat down.
The dishes held cold crab and shrimp salad,
assorted vegetables and there was a basket of hot Italian bread.
While she served Luka disappeared, and she heard music begin to
filter through the built in speakers, Beethoven or Mozart, she
wasn’t sure which. He returned and they sat down to
eat. The food was delicious and Caitlyn hadn’t
realized how hungry she’d been. It was mostly
silent, both of them enjoying the food and the other’s
company. After finishing their dinner, Luka began to
clear the dishes. As Cait rose, he pushed her back
down. “Sit. Let me do this. You’ve
been on your feet all day.” He moved things to the
kitchen sink. “Would you like some dessert now or
later?”
Caitlyn groaned. “Oh later,
please. I much too stuffed now, I couldn’t add one
more thing.” She rotated her neck, trying to stretch
out kinked muscles. A hand began to massage the sore area.
“Ooh, that’s nice.” She sighed.
“Comes from standing bent over the OR
table all day, doesn’t it? “
“One of the hazards of my profession, I
guess!”
Luka considered, “Its too soon after
dinner to use the Jacuzzi or the pool. I’ll rub it for
you so it will relax. Go lay down on the massage
table in the master bath.” He smiled. “Did
you see Jack’s toys?”
Caitlyn laughed. “A man after my
own heart. Sounds good. “ She took a refilled
glass of punch, her fourth, and headed to the bath. She
found a clean sheet to fold over the table and two huge towels.
Debating, she decided to remove her clothes in the bedroom and
wrapped the towel around her to walk back into the bath. Hopping
on to the table, she removed the towel and draped it over her
lower self, preserving her modesty. She went to a local
masseuse regularly and was comfortable with the routine.
She must have dozed off, not surprising
after the sleepless night and the exhausting day. She awoke
to the feeling of warm oiled hands being applied gently but
firmly on her back. The smell of almond oil surrounded her
and she groaned softly. His hands felt so good. Luka
was silent, but he worked steadily on her back and shoulders,
pausing to rearrange her arms so access to them was easier, then
gently placed them back at her sides. His hands moved
slowly down to her hips, then worked carefully down her sides to
her legs, while he carefully kept the towel from moving.
She drifted in and out of a hazy state of relaxation brought
about by food, drink and attention. He kneaded the muscles
in her calves, one at a time, and then moved down to her feet.
She jerked in reflex response to his hands on her soles, but the
gentle and insistent pressure exerted by his fingertips banished
any sense of tickling. Finishing there, he placed his
hands on her back and shoulder, leaned down and whispered softly
in her ear, “Can you roll over?”
“No.” Cait grunted.
Luka laughed softly, and shook her shoulder
a bit. “Come on sleepyhead, I’ll hold the towel.
Roll over.”
She moaned a bit as she tried to get totally
relaxed muscles to move. “This is cruel and unusual
punishment, making me move like this.” She rolled over
on her back while Luka held the oversized towel over her middle
section. He laid it back down as she settled back. “I
don’t want to move ever again. I’m just going to
stay like this until they find my bones.”
“No more complaining or I’ll stop
right now.” That had the desired effect. Slowly
but surely he worked his way down her face and around her head,
ending up on her neck, and working down the collarbones.
Caitlyn flinched as he hit a particularly sore point near her
heart. “Take a deep breath and then let it out as I
push.” Luka ordered. He worked out the knot
until it caused no more pain.
Caitlyn enjoyed the blissful attention, but
remained self-conscious after thoughts she’d tried to put
aside came back to her mind. When she’d turned over,
her eyes had opened briefly in the sem-darkness of the room to
see that Luka had changed into midnight blue trunks. She’d
closed her eyes quickly, not wanting to see so much olive-toned
skin so close at hand. It hadn’t helped; the damage
had been done. Her imagination took flight at the speed of
sound. The combination of his hands on her body at the same
time her mind was winging its way towards uncharted territory was
successfully driving her out of her mind. Her insides
clenched in a knot, causing her face to reflect the spasm.
Luka stopped the pressure immediately.
“Did that hurt?”
Caitlyn shook her head without opening her eyes, “No.”
After a slight pause Luka resumed working
his hands down her left thigh. Maybe it was her
imagination, but it seemed that his hands lingered longer and
stroked more softly than when he had worked on her arms. It
was probably the result of her overactive libido, which right now
was running rampant. His hands ran down the sensitive
inside of her thigh and Cait almost gasped and squirmed from the
sensation. She settled for a slight readjustment of her
hips. With her eyes closed, she missed the smile on Luka’s
face.
Finally he reached her feet and stopped.
She almost groaned in relief to have his hands off her body.
He paused to wash the oil from his hands and dried them on a
towel. Walking over to her, where she hadn’t moved
except to open her eyes, he gently touched her cheek. “Take
your time. Don’t get up until you’re ready.
Your body needs time to adjust.”
He was certainly right about that, Caitlyn
thought.
“I’m going out to swim a few laps.”
He went out through the bedroom door to the deck beyond.
Caitlyn lay there for another five minutes,
until her body decided it could actually move. She
went to bedroom and found the bikini she’d brought, and with
a quick peek outside to see if Luka was still swimming, she
dropped the towel and pulled on the suit. Grabbing
another towel, she walked out on to the deck. Twilight
had fallen and the first stars were starting to appear in the
sky. Luka was moving through the water in the pool,
the underwater lights casting strange shadows as he steadily swam
from one end to the other. Caitlyn didn’t feel like
swimming, but the whirlpool looked inviting, so she turned on the
switches and climbed in. From a spot on the shelf, she
could rest her head against the lip and still have a view of the
pool.
She floated in the hot, foamy water and
watched, letting her mind drift where it would. Luka
completed his laps about five minutes later, standing in the
shallow end, his chest rising and falling as he sought to catch
his breath after the exertion. She watched him shake the
water from his hair. He grasped the ladder and pulled
himself up, finding a towel. She watched him as he
walked over to where she lay. She didn’t bother to
look away, but enjoyed the sight of his body, watching the
muscles in his thighs as he walked, the hair on his chest as it
tapered down to a trickle and disappeared into his suit.
He was a little too thin, but this man was still gorgeous.
He leaned on the side of the Jacuzzi. “Hey
there. How do you feel?”
“Like I have no bones left and my
insides have turned to butter.” He laughed
softly. “Good, that was the idea. Hungry? Want a
little something?” At her nod he hopped off the edge.
“Okay, don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
He disappeared in the direction of the
kitchen, leaving Cait to wonder what he was up to now. He
had a definite glint in his eyes as he had spoken. She
stretched and settled back down. Well, whatever it was, she
wouldn’t worry. The evening had been wonderful so far
and she’d gotten through it. She smiled. Actually,
the worst was over; she had survived that massage. It
should be easier from here on.
End Part 3