20. Clair
CLAIR
They followed Maera through the house to a room Clair hadn’t seen before.
Unlike the bright, open dining chamber, this space was dim and intimate.
The walls glowed faintly in deep shades of blue and violet, while dozens of tiny floating lights drifted through the air like fireflies.
The room smelled wonderful—something floral mixed with warm spice and a faintly sweet scent like vanilla.
In the center stood two wide padded couches covered in soft silver fabric. Varell was already waiting beside one of them. He wore loose trousers and a sleeveless tunic, and several small bottles of shimmering oil rested on a low table beside him.
“Ah!” he said when they entered. “Excellent. Tonight we begin one of the most important lessons in goddess worship.”
Kaelus frowned.
“I thought we were discussing massage.”
“We are.” Varell looked genuinely puzzled. “Did you think massage was unimportant?”
“I did not say that,” Kaelus said quickly. “I just didn’t know that massage was included in the practice of, er, goddess worship.”
“Oh, of course it is!” Varell exclaimed. “A husband must know his goddess’s body. He must know where she carries tension, where she aches, what pressure comforts her, what touch excites her, and what touch brings her pleasure.”
Kaelus’s golden eyes narrowed slightly.
“I see—that is most interesting,” he rumbled.
Clair swallowed. Oh God, what had she gotten herself into? But it was too late to back out now.
“A goddess should never have to beg her husband to notice that she is weary or in pain,” Varell went on, in a lecturing tone. “He should be able to look at her and know how to ease her pain and stress.”
“Varell is right,” Maera said. “Your wife should never have to ask you for a massage—you ought to be the one offering it to her the minute you see that she’s in pain or in need of relaxation.”
Clair couldn’t help thinking how nice that would be. She thought of James, who had never noticed when she was tired or stressed-out unless it interfered with something he wanted. And as for offering her a massage, the idea never would have crossed her ex’s mind.
Varell lifted one of the bottles of massage oil as he continued his lecture.
“A husband learns his goddess’ body because her body is precious to him.”
Kaelus looked at Clair.
“Indeed, Clair is very precious to me,” he rumbled.
Clair felt her cheeks getting hot.
“Er, thank you, sweetheart,” she murmured.
“Anything for you, my Lissa’ra,” he returned.
His eyes met hers and for a long moment, Clair got lost in a sea of gold. Did he really mean the things he was saying? Or was he just playing a part. It was hard to tell the difference anymore…
“Now I want you to watch how I massage Maera and follow along on Clair,” Varell said, breaking her train of thought. “First, the two of you must disrobe,” he added, nodding at both Clair and his wife.
“What?” Clair asked. All of her good feelings melted away. It wasn’t that she minded being naked in front of Kaelus—he obviously liked her body, and he’d seen most of her the night before. But she wasn’t so sure about being naked in front of their host and hostess. That just seemed creepy.
“Don’t worry my dear,” Maera told her. “We will draw a curtain of privacy between us.”
As she spoke, she went to the far wall and took hold of a thin white piece of fabric that Clair hadn’t even noticed earlier.
She tugged on it and it expanded, making a kind of screen between the two massage tables.
It was tall enough that even Kaelus couldn’t see over it, but placed so that the silhouettes of both Varell and Maera were visible on the white fabric.
“Now you can see what Varell is doing without actually seeing it,” Maera said from the other side of the privacy screen. As she spoke, she began disrobing.
Clair could see the shadow of her body perfectly well, but no details.
“Go on my dear—get undressed,” Maera continued. “You cannot get a proper massage with your clothing on.”
Well…that was sort of true. Although when she got a massage on Earth, Clair always asked for a female masseuse and always kept her underwear on. She did remove her bra though, so she supposed it wasn’t that strange of a request.
Kaelus lifted his eyebrows at her in a silent question. Do you feel comfortable doing this?
Clair nodded.
“It’s fine,” she murmured.
Turning her back to him, she began to disrobe.
As soon as she was naked, she climbed onto the table and lay on her stomach.
To her delight, the massage table immediately changed to mold itself to her body.
It dipped inward to make room for her breasts, which was a good thing, since otherwise her head would have been way too high.
It also made a soft pillow under her lower legs, which took some of the pressure off her lower back.
“Has the table conformed to your wife’s shape adequately?” Varell called through the fabric partition.
“I believe so.” Kaelus looked down at her. “Do you feel comfortable, Lissa’ra?”
“As much as I can be laying here stark naked,” Clair muttered back.
Well, at least the massage was just her back, she comforted herself. It wasn’t like she was lying tits-up on the table!
“Now watch my technique and copy it,” Varell commanded.
Oh my God—here we go! Clair nibbled her lower lip and closed her eyes tight.
She just wondered how far they would have to go to prove they were married…and how awkward things would get if they went further than they had last night.