Sorry it took so long! Hope it was worth the wait.
Noir37
"Wait here," The Goddess instructed, her voice echoing through the open foyer.
Erik barely realized she had walked away. He was awestruck by the tall pillars and high ceiling, the smooth, shiny marble floor and paintings along the wall. He swallowed hard and turned in a full circle, his arms straight at his sides, his eyes soaking in each detail.
He had never been here before. Of that he was certain, yet it was familiar.
His mind wandered back to when the coach drove into the courtyard. He had not known the daroga was the driver until the Persian opened the door and helped The Goddess from her seat. The two men had stood and stared at one another for a moment, neither willing to make the first move.
"Remember the past," The Goddess said as she looked them both over. "Remember what men you were in the past and let there be no bad blood now."
At her command they shook hands. The last thing Ari Nadir said to Erik was, "Treat her well. She has sacrificed much for you."
The words caught Erik by surprise. He was still trying to decipher the cryptic statement when he heard a door open and shut again.
"This way," The Goddess called from the bottom of the stairs.
He turned at the sound of her voice and walked cautiously to meet her, his right hand skimming the cool railing of the stone stairway. If The Goddess would have allowed him a moment he would have liked to have seen the artwork along the left wall of the stairway, but her voice was commanding and her words could not be denied.
"I can smell you from here," she said under her breath. She glanced at him from over her shoulder as they walked up the stairs and turned down the hall. "You shall eat first and then bathe. Should you need a brief rest you may do so once you are clean."
"Yes, Goddess," Erik answered.
The smell of food wafting down the hall made Erik close his eyes and inhale the combination of breads and meats. The food in the carriage had done nothing to sate his hunger, and he looked forward to his first full belly in weeks.
"You shall dine alone," The Goddess informed him as they entered a long dining hall. There was an oak table with the leaves removed, though several chairs against the wall told that there was ample seating to accommodate a dozen guests.
Erik ignored the empty seats, his eyes drawn to silver trays of meats, cheeses, and fruits. He turned to question The Goddess and was met with solitude.
"Eat," he heard her say from a distance.
Hunger replaced all manners and within heartbeats he was seated at the table with a glass of wine and a plateful of food.
The Goddess returned moments after he pushed away from the table and sighed, his hunger gone at last. She said nothing as she walked toward him, her hands behind her back.
"Thank you," he said, not knowing what else to say.
"Come, you must bathe," she replied.
She waited until he rose from his chair before she looked him in the eye. "The water is warm," she said, her voice low. "So warm there is nary difference between pleasure and pain."
Erik merely stared, unsure of her words or what response she expected. When she lifted a brow and gave him a strange smile he held his breath, his uncertainty growing with each moment.
They walked side by side into a tile-floored bath where the air was hot and thick with humidity. The sharp, distinct smell of nutmeg and ginger greeted them as The Goddess moved to the center of the room and watched him in the mirror.
The first thing Erik noticed was the iron tub in the shape of a peacock. He had never seen anything like it before, with its faucet in the shape of the bird's head and the wide basin flaring upward to become the tail feathers. There was a stack of towels neatly folded beneath a table bearing glass bottles of scented oils, wash cloths, and soap. On the wall beside the tub were two robes, both beige in color and hanging within reach.
"Disrobe and enter the water," The Goddess commanded as she turned to leave. She handed him a woven basket. "Leave your garments in this basket. Touch nothing within this room."
She started to close the door but stopped and reached out one final time. "Your mask," she requested.
Erik turned away and removed the mask. He stared at the one article he had not gone without for fifteen years, his finger gripping tightly to the shaped leather covering. Though he had not worn it in the carriage, he had donned it again as they entered the courtyard and walked into the palazzo, unsure of whom he would see while inside.
Erik removed it and held it in both hands, cradling the leather warmed by his face.
"Give it to me," The Goddess demanded.
With great reluctance he turned and handed it to her, watching as she carelessly snatched it from his grasp.
"In this house you are not to wear this mask. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Goddess," he forced himself to answer.
The door clicked shut and Erik did as he was instructed, slowly removing his garments and placing them into the basket. He entered the water slowly, sucking in a breath between his teeth as the water turned from intolerable to relaxing.
When he was fully submerged he lay his head back and sighed, his muscles relaxing and mind finally at ease. It had been years since he had the pleasure of a scented bath in the comfort of a real tub. For years hygiene had been barely maintained by running a damp cloth along his body.
A full belly and the comforting warmth slowly dulled his senses and lulled him into a peaceful state between consciousness and sleep. He closed his eyes, rested his head on the back of the tub, and slowly drifted further and further into rest.
-0-
The Goddess opened the door with quiet ease and was greeted by a wave of heat and a man asleep in his bath. She smiled and shut the door before she padded into the bath.
Maintaining her silence, she sat upon a wooden stool and observed him for a moment. There were burn marks beneath the bruises and a splattering of small, puckered scars along his bare chest that she had not known existed.
The Goddess swallowed hard and reached out, moving his hair from a forehead beaded with sweat. He grunted at her touch but didn't wake. She smiled, knowing the food had caused his drowsiness.
She glanced to her side and took a sponge and chunk of lemongrass soap from the small table. Dipping her hands into the steaming water, she rubbed the soap into the sponge until a thick lather formed.
The moment she touched his chest he awoke with a start, his hands leaving the sides of the tub in favor of saving his modesty.
"Hiding something?" she inquired with a sly smile as she squeezed soap onto his chest.
"I-I thought—"
"Thought what?"
Erik hesitated. The towels were just out of reach, as was the robe on the wall. "Thought I would be alone," he sputtered at last.
The Goddess allowed her eyes to wander from his, her attention focusing beneath the surface of the water. "You were instructed not to touch anything. Have you kept your word?"
Erik nodded.
"Answer me aloud."
"Yes," he said. His eyes focused on the peacock's head. "Goddess."
"How will you bathe yourself if you are forbidden from touching the soaps and towels?" she asked, not waiting for an answer. "Someone must assist you."
Erik nodded slowly, uncertainty in his eyes though his submerged body slowly responded to her words, his legs straightening, hips lifting.
"Sit forward," she commanded as she pulled her stool closer to the edge of the bath.
Without a sound Erik leaned forward, his body rigid as The Goddess took the sponge and dipped it into the water again. The back of her hand ran along the outside of his thigh, running up to his hip and side. He didn't look at her as she squeezed the water from the sponge and took the chunk of soap in hand, reworking the lather.
She washed him with seductive ease, her hand moving up and down his spine, over the old scars that had lessened in appearance over the years. He panicked knowing she saw and touched the old wounds, the remainder and the reminders of his deepest humiliation. He started to sit back again, but she pushed on his shoulder.
"Close your eyes and trust me," she whispered seductively in his ear.
Erik obeyed at once, his eyes closing as her bare hands ran along his neck and down his arms, gliding smoothly over his flesh. His body responded to her touch, his muscles relaxing and shoulders dropping at her gentle, welcomed caress.
His breathing quickened as her lazy touch traveled the length of his back. He remained at ease until her fingers moved to his front, trailing along his ribs and down to his navel.
Erik sat up instantly, alarm in his eyes as he stared at her, disbelieving the intimacy of her action. He started to shake his head but she ignored him, submerging the sponge again and squeezing excess water along his shoulder.
"Lean back," she instructed.
"No, don't," he begged quietly as he pulled his knees together.
Her fingers curled around his broad hand and drew his arm out of the water. She met his eye and reached for the other hand, locking a firm grasp around his wrist.
"You don't need to do this."
"Trust me," she said as she placed both of his hands along the tub's rim.
Her eyes never left his as she made circles along his chest, fingers splayed, smoothing over the warmth of his skin. She ran her fingertips along his flesh, her nails tangling briefly in the dark hair. Her thumb circled around his nipple and along the definition of his chest, up to the line of his collarbone, causing him to hold his breath.
The Goddess then abandoned his upper body for his outstretched legs. She put her hand beneath his knee and ran the sponge from the top of his foot up to his thigh and the part of his body he had initially attempted to hide from view. She said nothing, though she stared unabashedly at what had formed beneath the water's surface the moment she had touched him.
It pleased her that he was aroused by her caress. She purposely teased him, running her hand up to his hip, her fingers mere inches from the part of his body most desiring her attention.
As The Goddess reached over the edge of the tub, she leaned in and inadvertently wet her sari. She sat up on her knees and watched the beads of water sink into the dark fabric now clinging to her body.
She glanced up and caught him staring at her breasts. Again she leaned into the tub until her face was before his.
"You're hurting yourself," he said, seeing her grimace as the tub's edge dug into her ribs. He started to take the sponge from her hand, intending to relieve her of her duty.
The Goddess pulled away. "What do you suggest to remedy my problem?" she asked. Her eyes narrowed. "And I shall remind you that you are not allowed to touch anything within this room."
"I—I don't know."
"Think, Phantom, what would make it easier for me to reach within the tub?"
"Join me," he said under his breath.
She knew there was one thought on his mind, one thing he suddenly knew he wanted more than anything else. She watched as he swallowed hard and nodded, committing himself to his suggestion
The sponge dropped into the water as The Goddess rose to her feet. From his reflection in the mirror she knew he watched her with disappointment.
She guessed his thoughts. The request had been too brazen, far too bold for someone who had crawled out of the gutter. She saw him reach for a towel, preparing to leave the room and end his humiliation.
Slowly she turned to face him, unwrapping the sari as she stepped toward the tub.
"A fine idea," she breathed as the cotton garment hiding her body fell to the floor.