At my breathless word, he slowly slips the ends of his fingers beneath the waistband of my underwear. Inch by inch, reverently, he slides them down my legs. Finally, I step out of them.
There’s a pause. My heart rattles around in my chest like a lost marble.
Then Algi groans. His hands skim up my calves, stroke up my thighs and when he reaches my belly, they span almost my whole waist. “Oh, Kat. Trust me. You have nothing to worry about.”
Now my smile is back along with my confidence. He kneels there for a long time pressing tiny kisses along my hips and around to the crease of my ass. I giggle and I can’t hold still, but I love it.
I love the tender way he touches me. The little things he whispers as he discovers something new. As his mouth wanders across my belly, he sighs. “So soft. So fucking soft and smooth and, oh, Kat. How did I get this lucky?”
Now that my confidence is back, I’m feeling restless again. Reaching behind me, I unfasten my bra and let it drop to the floor before I can second guess myself.
Algi looks up and I’m certain his glowing eyes darken for a moment before he literally buries his face in my chest. Pushing my breasts together he kisses first one and then the other until he squeezes my breasts together and captures both nipples at once into a frantic kiss.
I moan.
He pulls back, worried. “Too much?”
“No! Not enough. Please can we do the ritual now?”
He laughs, but when he straightens, I see the bulge at the front of his trousers. Hurrying to the sink, he fills it with a little water and adds the dirt from his jar. Swirling his fingers in the muddy water, he lifts them. “Now I paint this on you and say the words. Are you sure you’re ready?”
“So ready.”
My snakes are awfully still as he steps toward me. I think they’re holding their breath like I am until the first press of cool mud on my belly makes me gasp.
Again and again, Algi dabs cool mud onto different parts of my body, making slow stripes in random patterns until I’m covered in them.
He steps back, looking at me, his expression caught somewhere between awe and hunger.
“Oh, Kat. Did I mention this is a dream come true for me?”
I smile. “For me too, well maybe not the mud, but being with you.”
He takes my hands. “Earth Mother bless this fertile ground.”
I blink. Am I supposed to feel different?
“Is that it? Is it done?”
He frowns. “God, I hope so. How do you feel?”
I shift, tugging my lower lip between my teeth. How do I tell him I feel restless and needy without humiliating myself?
He sighs. “Let’s get you cleaned off.”
He helps me into the bath. I sink into the warm water. The bath is large and I hoped he might join me, but he simply kneels beside the tub and takes a washcloth, lathering it with soap. “May I wash you, kitten?”
His face looks tense. Maybe he’s worried the ritual hasn’t worked. I wish there was a way to know for sure. “Of course.”
Algi runs the washcloth down each arm and across my collarbone. I sigh as the slow brush of the soapy material slides across my skin. That tingling feeling low in my belly and deep in my pussy is back. My nipples bead into peaks above the water as the cloth brushes against each one.
Algi smiles. “So beautiful.”
I sigh when he gives each more attention. As the cloth rubs around and under, I get more turned on. Until the ache in my clit matches the ache in each tight nipple.
My breath comes faster. When he has me lift each leg out of the water to wash, I can hardly contain the urge to beg him to touch me higher, right between my thighs where I need him most. When he straightens to put away the washcloth, it bursts from me. “Algi, please! Touch me.”
His eyes widen. He doesn’t hesitate. Getting back to his knees he takes my hand. Algi brings my hand to my mound, right above my pussy. I can’t help arching my back. I spread my legs, hoping he’s going to touch me there.