The Pleasure of M (12 page)

Read The Pleasure of M Online

Authors: Michel Farnac

Finally,
  he
  knows
  I
  am
  ready.
  His
  head
  moves
  between
  my
  legs.
  And
  as
  I
  lie
  there
 
spread-‐eagled
 on
 the
 bed,
 it
 is
 now
 you
 who
 make
 love
 to
 me.
 
 I
 have
 been
 drawn
 
into
  another
  world.
  I
  am
  spellbound
  by
  the
  sounds
  of
  the
  tropical
  birds
  calling
 
outside
  the
  open
  door,
  the
  whirr
  of
  the
  fan
  overhead,
  the
  view
  of
  waving
  palm
 
fronds.
 I
 have
 stepped
 into
 one
 of
 those
 fantasies
 which
 we
 have
 previously
 created.
 
I
 am
 living
 our
 story.
 Your
 tongue
 torments
 me
 until
 I
 am
 pushed
 over
 the
 edge
 and
 
you
  hold
  tight
  to
  me
  as
  you
  feel
  the
  waves
  of
  pleasure
  wash
  over
  me.
  I
  push
  your
 
hand
 away
 and
 replace
 it
 with
 my
 own
 to
 enhance
 the
 last
 sensations
 as
 you
 watch
 
with
 a
 big
 smile
 on
 your
 face.
 

Yours,
 
Catherine”
 

Their
 life
 stories
 diverged
 as
 much
 as
 their
 thoughts
 converged,
 and
 it
 was
 his
 magic
 
that
 could
 draw
 these
 thoughts
 out
 into
 words,
 whether
 from
 her
 mouth
 or
 his.
 With
 
him,
 the
 smallest
 thing
 was
 worthy
 of
 consideration
 and
 meaning.
 Desires,
 longings,
 
pleasures,
  choices
  from
  long
  ago.
  His
  presence
  endowed
  her
  not
  only
  with
  the
 
freedom
  to
  express
  herself
  but
  also
  the
  means.
  Words
  flowed
  between
  them
  and
 
they
 breathed
 them
 in
 as
 if
 to
 substitute
 for
 the
 air
 they
 could
 not
 share.
 They
 loved
 
the
 sound
 of
 each
 other’s
 voice.
 For
 him
 it
 was
 like
 feeling
 the
 effect
 of
 the
 first
 hit
 of
 
a
  good
  joint,
  soothing,
  the
  feeling
  of
  returning
  to
  a
  comfortable
  place
  where
  one
 
always
 feels
 welcome.
 For
 her
 it
 was
 the
 echo
 of
 a
 shiver
 moving
 slowly
 down
 her
 
spine,
  the
  slight
  quickening
  of
  her
  pulse.
  He
  had
  a
  wonderfully
  delicate
  French
 
accent,
 the
 lightest
 hint
 of
 a
 foreign
 melody
 with
 some
 recurring
 notes
 such
 as
 his
 
way
 of
 pronouncing
 ‘I.D.’
 for
 ‘idea’
 and
 other
 amusing
 and
 endearing
 lapses,
 mainly
 
on
 diphthongs.
 She
 asked
 him
 to
 speak
 to
 her
 in
 French
 a
 couple
 of
 times
 and
 he
 did,
 
though
  it
  evoked
  in
  him
  images
  of
  Cleese
  and
  Murray
  in
  Wanda
  and
  Groundhog
 
which
 made
 it
 difficult.
 He
 recited
 for
 her
 Ronsard
 and
 Baudelaire,
 pearls
 of
 beauty
 
bestowed
  upon
  him
  in
  another
  time
  when
  the
  passions
  in
  him
  flowed
  freely
 
unhindered
  by
  the
  garb
  of
  a
  life
  half-‐lived.
  As
  much
  as
  she
  adored
  speaking
  with
 
him,
  the
  messages
  had
  a
  special
  attraction
  in
  that
  she
  could
  read
  them
  over
  and
 
over.
 She
 would
 pick
 them
 apart,
 marvel
 at
 his
 choice
 of
 words,
 read
 them
 out
 loud
 
and
 hear
 him
 speaking.
 She
 made
 lists
 of
 words
 that
 particularly
 moved
 her
 when
 
she
 read
 them
 and
 on
 occasion
 sit
 and
 gather
 them
 like
 a
 word
 collector,
 removing
 
duplicates,
 making
 groups
 by
 theme,
 by
 color,
 by
 smell…
 She
 sent
 him
 a
 list
 once:
 

Enamored,
 unpredictable,
 solace,
 heartbeat,
 familiar,
 strong,
 gently,
 rhythmic,
 ancient
 
patterns,
 warm,
 impale,
 caress,
 island,
 aftershocks,
 petal
 by
 petal,
 crescendo,
 probe,
 
pulsating,
 envelope,
 marble,
 guide,
 behind,
 dream,
 phallus,
 benediction,
 trembling,
 
ride,
 soft,
 glove,
 dream,
 lava,
 antechamber,
 stroke,
 enter,
 shudder,
 wave,
 sanctuary,
 
explode,
 ecstasy….
 

Appended
 to
 his
 next
 message
 was
 his
 initial
 reaction
 to
 the
 reading
 of
 her
 lit.
 
“Enamored:
 
Taken
 by
 surprise
 
 -‐
 
 Sun
 shining
 in
 smiling
 eyes
 
 -‐
 
 And
 out-‐of-‐breath
 
sighs
 

 

Unpredictable:
 
So
  hard
  to
  see
  through
 
  -‐
 
  Always
  seeking
  something
  new
 
  -‐
 
  Yet
 
always
 so
 true
 

Solace:
 
Longing
 made
 absent
 
 -‐
 
 Conquer
 fear,
 make
 doubt
 relent
 
 -‐
 
 Now
 the
 soul’s
 
ascent
 
Heartbeat:
 
Sacred
 sound,
 ocean,
 
 -‐
 
 Through
 the
 veins,
 tides
 of
 passion
 
 -‐
 
 Lust
 but
 no
 
caution
 

Familiar:
 
Ancient
 walls
 echo
 
 -‐
 
 So
 softly,
 ever
 so
 low
 
 -‐
 
 Sweet
 sounds
 that
 we
 know
 
Strong:
 
The
 body
 you
 desire
 
 -‐
 
 My
 desire
 for
 your
 body
 
 -‐
 
 Our
 bond
 and
 our
 lust
 
Gently:
 
I
 caress
 your
 back
 
 -‐
 
 Lick
 your
 nipples
 ‘til
 they
 ache
 
 -‐
 
 Ever
 so
 gently
 

Rhythmic:
 
The
 sound
 of
 our
 blood
 
 -‐
 
 Pounding
 in
 each
 other’s
 ears
 
 -‐
 
 Form
 effort
 
and
 lust
 

 

Ancient
  Patterns:
 
Each
  day
  a
  new
  life
 
  -‐
 
  Each
  life
  an
  old
  tale
  retold
 
  -‐
 
  Ancient
 
patterns
 live
 

 

Warm:
 
Warm
 is
 your
 embrace
 
 -‐
 
 Warm
 the
 sheath
 for
 my
 phallus
 
 -‐
 
 Warm
 is
 your
 
body
 

Impale:
 
Vanquishing
 warrior
 
 -‐
 
 Like
 a
 trophy
 on
 a
 lance
 
 -‐
 
 Impaled
 on
 my
 flesh
 
Caress:
 
The
 slow
 moving
 hand
 
 -‐
 
 Reverently
 exploring
 
 -‐
 
 The
 skin
 you
 expose
 
Island:
 
A
 tropical
 dream
 
 -‐
 
 A
 little
 piece
 of
 heaven
 
 -‐
 
 Our
 own
 little
 beach…”
 

It
  would
  become
  another
  motif
  in
  their
  correspondence
  and
  over
  the
  next
  few
 
months
 he
 would
 continue
 the
 cycle
 of
 one
 haiku
 for
 each
 word
 in
 her
 list.
 No
 man
 
had
 ever
 written
 poetry
 for
 her.
 Michel
 was
 by
 far
 the
 most
 eloquent
 man
 she
 had
 
ever
 met,
 although
 sometimes
 he
 left
 her
 head
 spinning
 with
 his
 existentialist
 ideas.
 
She
 was
 a
 'simple'
 girl
 and
 one
 who
 was
 prone
 to
 feeling
 inadequate
 save
 for
 the
 fact
 
that
 she
 evolved
 in
 a
 world
 populated
 with
 people
 beside
 whom
 she
 demonstrated
 
superior
 intelligence,
 but
 not
 so
 with
 Michel.
 Contrasting
 him
 with
 her
 husband
 was
 
at
  once
  revealing
  and
  painful.
  Her
  husband
  was
  a
  very
  good
  man,
  overall,
  with
 
relatively
 few
 of
 the
 defects
 that
 make
 men
 unbearable,
 but
 while
 one
 might
 still
 call
 
love
 what
 remains
 after
 upward
 of
 a
 decade
 and
 two
 children,
 it
 is
 a
 form
 of
 love
 in
 
flux,
  far
  from
  the
  dreams
  and
  passions
  of
  youth
  yet
  still
  distant
  from
  the
  devotion
 
one
 can
 see
 between
 those
 who
 have
 survived
 an
 entire
 life
 together.
 Mistakes
 and
 
misunderstandings
 are
 overcome
 well
 before
 they
 are
 forgotten
 and
 her
 lot
 of
 daily
 
frustrations
  now
  had
  a
  focal
  point,
  inevitably,
  even
  though
  she
  and
  Michel
 
acknowledged
 openly
 that
 hey
 showed
 each
 other
 only
 the
 best
 of
 themselves
 with
 
ease
 and
 glee,
 their
 prerogative
 as
 lovers.
 “Michel
 wouldn’t
 say
 that”
 was
 probably
 
the
  most
  common
  thought
  to
  enter
  her
  mind
  before
  she
  could
  stop
  it
  and
  she
 
learned
  to
  hate
  that
  moment
  for
  where
  it
  would
  lead
  her.
  It
  was
  unfair
  to
  her
 
husband,
  undoubtedly,
  since
  the
  very
  thought
  stemmed
  from
  her
  betrayal
  of
  him,
 
and
 yet
 he
 was
 a
 clear
 beneficiary
 of
 the
 situation
 freely
 clamoring
 as
 he
 was
 to
 their
 
friends
 when
 he
 thought
 her
 out
 of
 earshot
 that
 his
 was
 a
 great
 marriage,
 something
 
she
  had
  never
  heard
  before
  Michel.
  Though
  raised
  a
  Catholic
  she
  was
  not
  one
  to
 
often
  go
  to
  confession
  and
  her
  conflict
  was
  not
  grounded
  in
  guilt,
  being
  more
 
philosophical
 and
 existential
 in
 nature
 than
 theological.
 Guilt
 would
 have
 come
 from
 
any
 harm
 she
 would
 have
 done
 others
 and
 there
 was
 clearly
 none.
 There
 were
 now
 
two
 lives
 in
 her
 existence
 and
 though
 they
 brought
 her
 everything
 she
 desired
 they
 
could
 not
 be
 reconciled,
 and
 it
 was
 Michel
 she
 could
 not
 touch.
 To
 palliate
 this,
 she
 
pursued
  her
  quest
  to
  understand
  male
  pleasure
  further
  and
  sometimes
  reminded
 
Michel
 of
 his
 promise
 of
 a
 full
 description
 of
 his
 orgasm.
 

The
 very
 idea
 of
 describing
 an
 orgasm
 might
 have
 seemed
 simple
 to
 Michel
 at
 first
 
but
 he
 was
 soon
 presented
 with
 certain
 difficulties
 intrinsic
 to
 the
 task:
 to
 start
 with,
 
describing
 the
 orgasm
 would
 require
 him
 to
 actually
 be
 there
 when
 it
 happened
 in
 
order
  to
  first
  observe
  it,
  a
  self-‐awareness
  that
  inhibited
  the
  very
  pleasure
  he
  was
 
trying
  to
  explore.
  He
  found
  that
  it
  was
  quite
  like
  trying
  to
  transcribe
  a
  good
 
improvised
 solo
 after
 having
 played
 it,
 a
 frustrating
 exercise
 resulting
 at
 best
 in
 an
 
incomplete
  and
  unsatisfactory
  approximation.
  And
  just
  as
  no
  two
  such
  solos
  are
 
alike,
 so
 too
 with
 orgasms.
 The
 great
 infrequency
 of
 marital
 sex
 complicated
 things
 
for
  him
  further.
  He
  was
  no
  stranger
  to
  masturbation,
  without
  which
  no
  doubt
  his
 
marriage
 would
 not
 have
 survived,
 but
 as
 he
 explained
 to
 Catherine
 in
 response
 to
 
her
 renewed
 demands
 for
 prose,
 there
 is
 quite
 a
 difference
 between
 intercourse
 and
 
sex
 à
 one
.
 

Other books

Better Than Good by Lane Hayes
The Werewolf's Mate by C.A. Salo
Feral by Gabriel, Julia
PRIMAL Origin by Jack Silkstone
The H.D. Book by Coleman, Victor, Duncan, Robert, Boughn, Michael
Strega (Strega Series) by Fernandes, Karen Monahan
Highlander's Captive by Donna Fletcher
Having Nathan's Baby by Louise, Fran
Old Sinners Never Die by Dorothy Salisbury Davis