laughed. “I wish I could. Unfortunately my dancing skil s are quite what my culinary skil s are.” The dancer approached us, turned her back and let her long and luscious hair flow over the top of the table. Her shoulders shimmied while her hands danced high into the air. Just as quickly as she’d shaken her body to us, she sashayed away, leaving a trail of golden dust in her wake.
Before we al had time to catch our breath, the next act arrived. A threesome of attractive young women arrived each holding a leash, each leash attached to a long, lean and breathtakingly beautiful wildcat. With only a feather whip to control the huge beasts, the young women had the cats jumping, rol ing over and yawning, a great way to expose their impressive teeth, on command.
When one of the young women brought the big cat to our table, it stood, put his front paws before me and leaned over to lick the tip of my nose.
I was delighted, reaching over with my hand to pat the great beast. You were magnificent. I said with my mind to the beast.
The great cat nodded as though he understood, and he let out another large lick of my face before pul ing back.
The entertainment softened into soft trickling The entertainment softened into soft trickling music. The sweet melody played on the simple strings of a guitar, calmed the excited crowd and al owed us to get our fil of sweet desserts.
I patiently awaited the arrival of the cherry tort, and when it came, I greedily took two servings.
“Can’t resist my cooking?”
I poked my fork into the warm tort. “Let’s wait and see.” I took a bite and cocked an impressed brow. “Hmmm, that is good. Did you real y do this or did you get help from your mother.”
He gasped in mock shock. “How dare you insinuate such a thing? I made them, from scratch, and, dare I say, I had you in mind the whole time.”
“You knew I had a sweet tooth?”
He leaned in close, almost tasting the cherry tort straight off my lips. I swal owed the bal of heated sensation that suddenly fil ed my throat. At any other moment I could have easily blamed it on the warm tort, but I knew Torrid was completely to blame.
“I know a lot more about you than you can imagine.”
The festivities faded to the background, and the gentle music seemed to play just for us.
“Then I want to learn more about you. You have an unfair advantage. What were you like as a boy? What do you dream of? What kind of pets did you have as a child? When al this battling is over, what do you want to do with your life?” He grinned. “Al in due time, dear Kama.” Taking a firm hold of my hand, he guided me up and led me to the dance floor where many party goers had gathered. His hold was firm, yet gentle as he swirled me around the floor. Locked in his arms and enjoying the music that wafted through the enchanted air, I never wanted to evening to end.
For the first time in months, I felt carefree and happy. No worries about Life's Plan. No need to wonder what my destiny held. Al I needed to do, wanted to do was enjoy the moment.
“You seem rather happy. Can I dare hope to be the cause?”
“I guess you could. This evening has been absolutely magical, in every sense.”
The song came to an end and Torrid led me away from the crowds. “How about a breath of fresh air?”
Nodding I fol owed him outside. The stars, sparkling in pinks, yel ows and lavender, fil ed the sky. The moon, a faintly glowing orb of muted violets hung low on the horizon.
“This is real y the most perfect way to end such a beautiful evening, Torrid. I’ve never seen a sky like this. You know, in Arcadia, the nights were something I rarely saw in my youth. We were al heavily shielded from the dangers of the night, though I never real y could imagine what they could be; after al , Arcadia was supposed to be perfect.
What dangers could possibly lie in the dark?”
“Funny how something so seemingly perfect can turn out to be so unbelievably flawed.” My hand
Before we al had time to catch our breath, the next act arrived. A threesome of attractive young women arrived each holding a leash, each leash attached to a long, lean and breathtakingly beautiful wildcat. With only a feather whip to control the huge beasts, the young women had the cats jumping, rol ing over and yawning, a great way to expose their impressive teeth, on command.
When one of the young women brought the big cat to our table, it stood, put his front paws before me and leaned over to lick the tip of my nose.
I was delighted, reaching over with my hand to pat the great beast. You were magnificent. I said with my mind to the beast.
The great cat nodded as though he understood, and he let out another large lick of my face before pul ing back.
The entertainment softened into soft trickling The entertainment softened into soft trickling music. The sweet melody played on the simple strings of a guitar, calmed the excited crowd and al owed us to get our fil of sweet desserts.
I patiently awaited the arrival of the cherry tort, and when it came, I greedily took two servings.
“Can’t resist my cooking?”
I poked my fork into the warm tort. “Let’s wait and see.” I took a bite and cocked an impressed brow. “Hmmm, that is good. Did you real y do this or did you get help from your mother.”
He gasped in mock shock. “How dare you insinuate such a thing? I made them, from scratch, and, dare I say, I had you in mind the whole time.”
“You knew I had a sweet tooth?”
He leaned in close, almost tasting the cherry tort straight off my lips. I swal owed the bal of heated sensation that suddenly fil ed my throat. At any other moment I could have easily blamed it on the warm tort, but I knew Torrid was completely to blame.
“I know a lot more about you than you can imagine.”
The festivities faded to the background, and the gentle music seemed to play just for us.
“Then I want to learn more about you. You have an unfair advantage. What were you like as a boy? What do you dream of? What kind of pets did you have as a child? When al this battling is over, what do you want to do with your life?” He grinned. “Al in due time, dear Kama.” Taking a firm hold of my hand, he guided me up and led me to the dance floor where many party goers had gathered. His hold was firm, yet gentle as he swirled me around the floor. Locked in his arms and enjoying the music that wafted through the enchanted air, I never wanted to evening to end.
For the first time in months, I felt carefree and happy. No worries about Life's Plan. No need to wonder what my destiny held. Al I needed to do, wanted to do was enjoy the moment.
“You seem rather happy. Can I dare hope to be the cause?”
“I guess you could. This evening has been absolutely magical, in every sense.”
The song came to an end and Torrid led me away from the crowds. “How about a breath of fresh air?”
Nodding I fol owed him outside. The stars, sparkling in pinks, yel ows and lavender, fil ed the sky. The moon, a faintly glowing orb of muted violets hung low on the horizon.
“This is real y the most perfect way to end such a beautiful evening, Torrid. I’ve never seen a sky like this. You know, in Arcadia, the nights were something I rarely saw in my youth. We were al heavily shielded from the dangers of the night, though I never real y could imagine what they could be; after al , Arcadia was supposed to be perfect.
What dangers could possibly lie in the dark?”
“Funny how something so seemingly perfect can turn out to be so unbelievably flawed.” My hand
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