The fire of desire kindled in their bodies. Sorren's breast brushed against one man's arm. A few steps later, hips collided. Ever closer the young adults' bodies wound together. At last they were as tight up against the giant phallus as they could be. Sorren landed face to face with Dafydd. She looked in his eyes, her face flushed. She could see the color in his cheeks. His manhood pressed against her belly. Hand over hand in a clockwise pattern the ribbons were tied off at the base. As their turn came to let go the ribbons, the couples embraced.
Sorren's heart beat wildly in her chest. The place between her legs grew hot and slick. The ritual wine cast aside her inhibitions. Her lover embraced her tightly and found her mouth with his. He tasted of wine. The sweet, gentle man she knew began to melt away. His primitive desires rose to the fore. Dafydd's hands ran firmly over her breasts. He began to tug at her bodice.
Earth Day Erin's spirit begin to float. The methodic walking pulled her into the trance. The flames the women carried burned all the more brightly as the night became darker. Their steps wove the historic pattern: the four quadrants of the labyrinth carried them in and out, back and forth. Just as you thought you were approaching the center, there would be a turn, and you would be at the perimeter again. The twists and turns contributed to her feeling of levitating.
Six women were in front of her, six behind. Thirteen years she had known them. The center flower came close. Her heart thumped hard as she approached the magical spot. The first of the six women entered, stood in the center, and raised her hands and face to the sky. She turned to her left, and stepped into the first of the six petals. The second woman did the same. She took her place, clockwise, next to the first. The third woman took the third bay. The pattern repeated until the six women created the inner ring.
It was Erin's turn to enter. She was sweating profusely now. Her vertigo nearly caused her to stumble as she entered the hub. In three steps she was at the midpoint of the circle. She was surrounded by women facing outwards, all looking toward the rim. Their holy power hummed around her. Their hands lifted. Erin fell to her knees. With no conscious decision, she began to unbutton her dress. Down went the silver buttons. Just past her hips, the garment slid from her body. It cascaded in a soft heap of twilight on the ground.
Then she fell backwards into the soft darkness. A rushing dark fog filled up her mind. Her naked form lay open to the night.
Beltane Dafydd and Sorren swiftly finished undressing each other. They were one couple among many, scattered around the bonfires. He guided her to her hands and knees and knelt behind her. Her breasts swung down, her nipples erect with lust. He guided the tip of his phallus to her entrance and pressed into her slippery flesh. Sorren gave a wild cry of joy at the penetration. They began to move. He hung onto her hips as he joined with her.
Sweat poured from their bodies, as much from the heat of the bonfires as from the animal act. In the reddish orange light they grunted and hissed their basic instinct. Twenty feet away, another couple did the same. The man was on top of the woman. Up on the breast of the hill, in another union, the woman rode the man. Couple by couple, they fulfilled the Charge of the Goddess. They knew they would do so three times, to make the ritual complete.
Erin thought she was having a dream. Her genitals buzzed and she could feel a sticky fluid leaking onto her thighs, as if she had just had sex. She sensed a mouth on her nipple. Then she became aware of the body connected to the mouth. A man was kneeling by her side. Instinctively she put her hand to the back of his head, urging a firmer touch. Just as she did so, another hot breath panted at her other nipple. The panting soon became a tongue, licking her peak. Two hands held her breast at the ready. The mouth descended and began to suck. Erin moaned her pleasure. Somehow she knew they were calling her milk, engaging in some kind of fertility ritual.
Then something warm and hard brushed between her legs. She opened her eyes just as the third man thrust his staff inside her. She cried out. This was no dream! She writhed in fear and abundant sexual pleasure. She felt drugged, as if she had drunk wine. The men on either side of her laid their hands on her inner thighs, keeping her legs apart. The man on top of her looked strangely like her husband, but in the firelight and through the haze of her dizziness, it was hard to tell.
Again came a flash of understanding. Their actions were not rape, but ritual. This was some kind of worship, some kind of rite. She knew they would plant their seed in her as a sacred act. She knew they were trying to get her with child to fulfill the cycle of life. This was the cycle she had sung about just a few hours ago. The singing seemed like a faraway echo. This was the real thing.
Dafydd thrust hard and Sorren shuddered at the impact. His yell rang in her ears as he planted his sperm deep inside her body. Her own body spasmed with pleasure, a pleasure so hard she fell into blackness.
Earth Day Mike anticipated that his wife would be late at the ritual, so he went on to bed. This was something they did every year. He figured she would join him when she got home. He lay awake for an hour, reading erotica to put himself in the mood. He looked at pictures of women with their knees wide apart, women touching themselves, women taking men in their mouths. He rubbed his length lightly, for pleasure, but saved himself for her. Finally he turned off the light.
When he awoke, Erin lay beside him. He hadn't heard her come in. In the moonlight he looked her beautiful face. Somehow she looked younger in the soft glow. His brow wrinkled. Something about her looked off, he couldn't quite place it. Had she done her hair differently for the labyrinth? He touched her cheek and she moaned softly. He would swear her face looked a little thinner.
His hand moved down to caress her breast. It seemed firmer to his touch, like that of a younger woman. He knew she loved to be awakened with lovemaking. He also enjoyed it, feeling and watching her awareness blossom in his arms. With a tender lust he began to kiss her face. She stirred and groaned a little more. He captured one breast in his mouth, sucking gently at first, then harder. Again, very faintly, something seemed different. Her taste was a little sweeter, or perhaps, a little earthier.
Mike put his hand between his wife's thighs and startled. This woman could not be his wife. Erin kept her pubic hair shaved. This woman looked almost identical to her but undeniably was not. Furthermore, unless he was much mistaken, this lady had already been with a man tonight. His fingers detected plenty of sticky fluid. As he probed her sex, she moaned and started to come awake.
Beltane The men on either side of Erin held their cocks in their hands. Slowly they stroked themselves. With their free hands they caressed her body. Their fingers circled her nipples and trailed over her torso. She reveled in the attention. The man on top of her pumped his hips faster. She called out as he filled her. He grunted like an animal and stabbed her again. The pleasure was overwhelming, giving her a floating sensation. "Mike," she whispered her husband's name. The man who looked like him touched her face, and pulled away.
Earth Day When Sorren awoke she knew something was wrong. Her body was not in the sweet-smelling grass. She lay on something very soft. What was it? As she opened her eyes, she let out a stifled shriek. Marrock! She spoke the name aloud. Then she looked around in the darkness. The air smelled strange. Where were the others? Where were the fires? Through the window she could see the full moon but something was wrong with it. The stars were too faint, their positions all wrong in the sky. And why weren't they outside?