Carnival in Havana

by SusanLeigh

Carnival in Havana. You either hated it or loved it. Fortunately for Ana, her parents hated it and fled the city for the two weeks of the celebration. For Ana, it was the only time she had the freedom she desired to do what she desired.

Now twenty-two, Ana was living on borrowed time. Soon she would have to give in and marry a man of her father's choosing. With the help of her mother, Ana had fought off her father's previous choices, but Ana would soon be twenty-three and facing spinsterhood.

Her father constantly reminded her of his investment in the expensive French boarding school where Ana had learned all the social graces for a wife of her class. But Ana had also learned lessons in philosophy, history and for a short time-freedom.

After her first year in the distinguished school in Provence, Ana and her dueña had traveled extensively throughout Europe including the requisite trip to her family's homeland of Spain. It was in Seville that Ana tasted that part of life forbidden to a young woman of high birth.

She first saw him in the cathedral in Seville. She had been sitting with her guidebook reading about the incredible golden altar when he caught her eye. Her dueña had wandered on to other parts of the cathedral deeming it safe to leave her alone in this house of God.

He was slim with dark curly hair. He was examining some detail of the altar when he turned and his dark brown eyes met hers. The way he peered at her through thick eyelashes made something inside her turn over. She flushed and looked down. As he walked past her, she could not help looking up at him again. He stopped and bowed and spoke. That began the most incredible two weeks of her life.

Fortunately her dueña slept soundly, for soon she was slipping out to meet him. Well educated and of noble birth, they had much in common but the sexual attraction over came all. Despite her mother's warning ringing in her head, Ana soon found herself in his arms and then in his bed. He introduced her to the delights of the body that she had only read about in forbidden books the girls at school passed around behind the teachers' back.

When they left Seville to return to school for the next year, she and her lover made secret plans to write and meet - -plans that never materialize for she never heard from him again. She was heartbroken and spent a miserable year before returning to Cuba to face the task of being auctioned off as a wife to the highest bidder.

Now two years had passed and the only time she was left alone was during Carnival. Her parents left her in the care of her dueña and fled to their country home. Ana would wait till she fell asleep, don a costume and mask then venture out into the crowded, raucous streets.

She made her way through the throngs of revelers looking for a perch to watch the festivities. She found a doorway and stood at the top of the steps watching the drunken proceedings in the street. Women bared their breasts. Couples groped each other openly. The sounds she heard from the shadows could only signify one activity.

The sexual tension excited and intoxicated her. Her body quivered with the excitement. She took out her fan and furiously tried to cool the heat raging through her body. In the confusion, she didn't notice the man sitting on the balcony of the house but he noticed her.

Luis had come out on the balcony to escape the deadly stillness inside. The waiting was killing him - killing his soul in a way that the attempt to kill his body had failed. Julia, his beloved Julia, was only a few kilometers away behind bars in that awful jail awaiting a fate too horrible to think about. But thinking about it consumed him. So he consumed large amounts of alcohol to try and bear the pain.

He noticed the young woman on the steps of his house. She was masked and dressed suggestively in scarlet. Luis immediately assumed her to be a woman of the streets, as she had no companion or guardian with her. Tall and dark haired, she reminded him of Julia, his lost Julia. In his drunken state, he moved toward the doorway without thinking.

Ana was taken by surprise when the door behind her opened suddenly. The man standing before her was unshaven and obviously intoxicated, but he was also the most unbelievably handsome man she had ever seen. His dark eyes reminded her of her lost Sevillian lover but the anguish in them touched all the way into her soul. Without a word, he offered his hand to her and without a word, she walked into his house.

"What is your name?" the deep voice slurred the words.

The spirit of carnival overtook her caution.

"What do you want it to be?" she answered.

He snorted a laugh in reply as he pulled her toward the sitting room. He sat in the nearest chair and pulled her toward him. She stood before him, knowing full well what he had mistaken her for; but the fire inside her needed to be quelled. He seemed willing to quell it.

Clumsily he reached for the tiny buttons down the front of her bodice. In his impatience, he ripped the final two as he pulled down her blouse exposing her breasts. Her erect nipples were all the invitation that he needed. His assault on her breast robbed her of any sensible thinking left in her body. She grasped his head and his mouth wandered all over her body. Between kisses, he commanded: "take it off".

She turned her back for him to help undo the tortuous corset that prevented his lips from further exploration of her willing body. Finally rid of all the encumbrance of clothing, she stood before him naked shaking with anticipation and more than a little fear of what to expect from him next.

He leaned back in the chair for a moment and reached for the mask around her eyes.

"No," she said stopping his hand. "Not that. I will do whatever you want, but not that."

His hands roamed over her body until she quivered. He stood up and his lips invaded hers. He grasped her buttocks grinding her into his large erection. She fumbled to release it from his pants as they stumbled frantically toward the bedroom. But Luis could wait no longer. Suddenly, like a crazed man, he pushed her against the wall. Tearing his pants off and kicking them aside, he roughly entered her and began frenzied thrusts - long, deep and hard. She wrapped her legs around him, aghast that she was doing such a thing yet excited at the danger of it all. He was so large that he was hurting her, but she never wanted him to stop. Her head banged against the wall with each thrust that sent her farther and farther over the edge. His grunts and labored breathing grew louder and louder as he came closer to fulfillment. He gave several final short quick strokes and came with a groan of pleasure. He fell to his knees with Ana still impaled. The ecstasy of her orgasm had left her speechless. She reached for his bowed head and tilted it to her. His eyes stayed closed and what looked like tears formed in his lashes. She kissed the tears away and laid him back onto the carpet. Although he was softening inside her, Ana did not want the evening to end. It might be another year until she got another chance to behave with such abandon.

Unsure of what exactly to do, she wiggled to sit up astride him. The resulting moan told her that she was on the right track. She pulled off his remaining clothes as he finally opened his eyes. With an unseeing gaze, he pulled the pins from her hair and her long dark locks cascaded down. He entwined his hands in her hair and pulled her mouth to his. The taste of rum and cigars turned her on more than she imagined, and soon she was writhing against him again needing release. He grew larger and larger but did not move. Suddenly, he rolled her over and lay on top of her pulling her hands above her head so that she was helpless.

"You want this," he whispered as he pulled out of her. " How bad do you want this?" The tip of his penis taunted her swollen entrance.

"Yes, yes, I want it", she said raggedly. The deprivation of his hardness made her insides contract with pain. Her head tossed from side to side as she begged him "please, please" to re-enter her.

But Luis had something else in mind. Something she had never experienced before. His mouth started a tortuously slow descent over her breasts nipping them till she cried out. Then he lowered his kisses further over her stomach.

Oh my God, what was next? Ana's mind was crazed as he gently kissed her mound and then turned his attention to the insides of her thighs. She squirmed grabbing for him as he teasingly kissed all around the spot that ached to be kissed. When his mouth and tongue finally found her throbbing clitoris, she moaned with need. Grasping his head there at that place, she thrust against his mouth and tongue until wave after wave of release washed over her leaving her breathless and satiated.

Luis covered her body with his. He rubbed his swollen, engorged penis over her stomach, his eyes closed enjoying the sensation. A wild impulse overtook her and she reached for him taking him into mouth. His eyes flew open in surprise. She wasn't sure what to do next but she liked the sensation of him filling her mouth. He taught her how to use her mouth and tongue until his grunting and thrusting made her realize he was close to coming. Just as she felt him twitch in her mouth, he roughly pulled her head away and he came with a growl.

When his breathing had returned to normal, he pulled her to her feet and carried her into the bedroom. He was coming out of his drunken haze and wanted to savor how good it felt to make love to a woman. It had been so long since Julia.

He laid her gently on the bed. During their lovemaking, Luis had realized that this young woman was not the whore he thought her to be. She knew none of the whore's tricks and none of the whores that he had fucked enjoyed the sex as much as she was enjoying it. Her inexperience with oral sex convinced him that she was not who he thought her to be.

Once again, he asked her. "What is your name?" His hands and mouth roamed over her body appreciating the young beauty lying exposed before him.

Again, she answered, "What do you want it to be?"

" I will call you Cariña - darling for the pleasure you have brought me today."

"No, it is you that has pleasured me beyond my wildest dreams," she whispered into his ear pulling him down over her wanting his hardness inside her again.

They spent long minutes exploring each other until he was hard and ready again. She grasped him and guided him inside amazed at how large he was. With great urgency, he pounded into her rising up on outstretched arms watching her reaction. He pulled his long hard dick all the way out of her with each stroke and then slammed it back it with such ferocity that Ana thought she would break in two. Then she felt the tension in her loins rising and she rose to meet his every thrust not wanting it to ever stop. She crested with unimaginable pleasure as he exploded his seed into her. He called out and then collapsed on her rolling over and holding her tightly as if to keep her there forever.

In a few minutes, his arms relaxed and his regular breathing told her that he was asleep. Ana untangled her body from his and kissed him gently on the forehead. Whatever demons drove him, he had responded to her with just what she needed tonight. Too bad that she could not do the same for him.

She crept home quietly and made it into bed undiscovered. She slept until midday dreaming beautiful dreams of a dark eyed, curly haired lover with a touch that drove her mad. When she awoke, she laid there smiling to herself remembering the passion this man had unleashed in her last night. She knew she had to have more. She knew she would go back again tonight.

The day dragged by slowly and the dueña's bedtime seemed intolerably late. All day Ana would flush with excitement remembering the feelings his touch brought. Faking a headache, she retired early to her bedroom hoping that her chaperone would seize the opportunity for an early night herself. The ploy worked and soon Ana heard her snoring from the room next door.

Tonight she dressed in a virginal white gown to match her mask. The red dress was torn and she didn't want to have to make up explanations to anyone.

She put a cloak over her dress and slipped out into the night headed back to his house. His touch, his kiss, his hard maleness called to her and she had no will power to resist.

When she turned the corner, she saw him on the balcony. He stood when he saw her and motioned her inside. When he opened the door, she saw that tonight he was clean-shaven and somewhat more sober although the taste of rum was there as she kissed him.

"I thought I had dreamt you," he whispered. "But you are real".

There was awkwardness in their meeting tonight. He seemed shy - almost reticent to touch her. Seeing that she would have to make the first move, Ana moved to the table and poured herself a rum. She swallowed it quickly like she had seen her father do so many times and choked at the burning sensation down her throat. As she coughed, he moved toward her and took her into his arms.

"Cuidado, Cariña," he whispered. "That stuff can make you lose all inhibitions."

"That is precisely what I want," she whispered back.

He looked deep into her eyes and tentatively kissed her. The cloak, the clothes, the accent all bespoke a well-bred young woman but a well-bred young woman didn't do the things he remembered doing with her last night.

Questions rose to his lips but she shushed them away. She took his hand and led him into the bedroom.

"Please, don't make me beg," she implored as she sat on the side of the bed. "I want you to make love to me, please."

Gently he undressed her and laid her on the bed. He stood looking at her for many minutes wondering why this was happening to him. As she reached for him unbuttoning his pants, he groaned and gave in. She was so young and so willing. He never questioned her motives again.

That night his lovemaking was as gentle as last night's had been fierce. Ana learned that tenderness was just as erotic as force. Without the hindrance of excessive alcohol, his stamina surprised her. She never knew there were so many different ways to make love but he was a willing teacher and she was an apt student.

As they lay there languid and fulfilled, Ana knew that the clock was her enemy. She knew she had to leave his side and return home to avoid discovery. Eventually he dozed and she quietly rose from the bed to dress.

His hand on her shoulder startled her.

"Don't leave me?" he asked.

"I must return home before I am found out", she answered sadly.

"Your husband?"

"No, no, my parents", she dropped her eyes. "If they knew what I was doing, they would send me away forever."

"Then why?" he started. She kissed him to stop the question for she didn't know the answer herself. She only knew that her body cried out for this and she only had a few nights a year to satisfy the craving.

He held her close for many moments then helped her into her dress and cloak. Playfully, he sucked at her breast through her clothes and began fucking her with his fingers beneath her slips until she was breathing heavily with desire.

"This will have to keep you until tomorrow night," he said as he dropped to his knees and raised her skirt. His mouth nibbled at that sweet spot and his fingers continued the exquisite probing until her knees buckled and she felt like she had fallen off a cliff into oblivion.

He caught her as she crumpled to the floor. He wanted to convince her to stay. He hated the nights. They brought nightmares of incredible pain -- pain that was only held at bay during the hours of lovemaking with this mysterious woman.

But she insisted on leaving.

"I will return tomorrow night", she promised.

That night Luis couldn't sleep. He could smell her all over his bed. The smell of her perfume, her sweat, her sex. Then the guilt set in. How could he cavort so shamelessly while Julia was locked up awaiting death for murdering a man who so needed to die?

He reached for the bottle of rum and found it empty. He called to his housekeeper, Maya, for more and she brought it grudgingly. She was aware of what was happening, as she was the one changing the sheets soiled with the aftermath of their lovemaking. She had hoped that this mysterious woman would jar Don Luis back into the world of the living. She had only known Don Luis for a few months but she knew him to be a man of quality and kindness consumed by his obsession for his scandalous wife. She welcomed the day of Julia's death hoping it would be the first day of a new life for Don Luis. But something had happened to drive him back to the bottle.

"Please, Don Luis," she pleaded. "No mas".

"Shut up and hand me the bottle," he growled.

"But Don Luis, you have to see that it does not kill the pain no matter how much you drink."

At first Maya thought he was going to hit her. Instead he grabbed the bottle and threw it against the wall. He stormed out of the house cursing her soundly.

That night when Ana turned the corner, Luis was nowhere to be seen. Confused, she quickly climbed the steps to his house and knocked on the door. Long minutes passed before the door swung open. Instead of Don Luis, there stood a servant -- his housekeeper she guessed.

"Oh, thank God you are here, señorita," she pulled Ana into the house. "He is in bad shape, señorita. He has been out drinking all day and now he is in a murderous mood. Please help me, please."

Ana knocked on the closed door of Luis' bedroom. She could hear him in there throwing things around. When he didn't answer, she tested the doorknob and the door swung open easily.

"Luis?" she asked tentatively. She had never seen him so angry and out of control.

He whirled around. "You!" his voice was an accusation. "What are you doing here? Why do you keep coming back to tempt and torment me?" He spit the words at her.

Ana shrank from his vehemence leaning against the closed door. He crossed the room in two steps and grabbed her arms shaking her.

"One woman to drive me insane wasn't enough?" he shook her. "God sent me another to finish me off? He swung her around and pushed her onto the bed face down.

"You want sex from me?" he shouted. "Well tonight I will show you every trick that a whore needs to know. Pull up your skirt, puta!"

When she didn't react fast enough, he grabbed her and pulled up her skirt and petticoats. He fumbled with his buttons with his other hand freeing his cock that had grown hard and long. He shoved it into her and began pumping muttering obscenities at her. Ana cried and pleaded with him to stop, but she knew that there was no reasoning with him when he was crazy drunk. He came with a shout and fell on top of her.

She tried to push him off her but he was dead weight and she was trapped. Through her own sobbing, she heard the sounds of someone else weeping.

"Cariña, cariña," he cried. "I am sorry, forgive me, forgive me," He said it over and over again as he rolled off of her. He hid his face in the pillow and wept.

Ana stood up and straightened her skirts. If she had any sense, she would leave now but the utter misery of the man in front of her touched her heart.

"Luis, please. Tell me what is causing you such pain?" she implored.

He rolled over and looked at her with bloodshot eyes.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he whispered. "In fact, I don't believe most of it myself."

"Try me." She sat down next to him and took him in her arms.

The story came spilling out of him. In a flat monotone voice, he told her everything. The story shocked Ana and she began to rock him in her arms, kissing and caressing him to comfort him.

When he finished, they lay there for some minutes.

"Come on Luis, I want you to sober up." She rang for the housekeeper. "Things always look worse when you look at them through a bottle."

Maya poked her head in the door.

"Draw a bath for Don Luis and bring him some coffee."

The housekeeper scurried away quickly calling out to the other servants to prepare the bath and water.

"Come on, Luis…" she pulled him out of bed and into the next room where the servants were pouring warm water into the large tin tub.

She leaned him up against the wall and asked one of the servants to help get him undressed and into the tub. He fought them both but he was too drunk to care.

She got him into the tub and grabbed one of the buckets of water. She dumped it over his head. He screamed with indignation and tried to rise. She pushed him back in and proceeded to dump another bucket of water on top of him. Again, he roared with the shock of the water. When she reached for the third bucket, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her fully clothed into the bath with him. The water had sobered him up and he quickly tamed her thrashing about in the tub. Gasping for air, Ana slapped at him, wanting to get out of the tub. When Maya stuck her head in the door to bring coffee, she found the two struggling and splashing water everywhere.

"Maya, come here," Luis bellowed. He stood up drawing Ana up with him.

"Wait there for Cariña's wet clothes. Please dry them and iron them immediately."

He was undressing Ana as fast as he could and passing them to the housekeeper who kept her eyes averted from the two in the bath.

When the corset landed at her feet, Maya whirled and left the room.

"And bring more hot water," he shouted as she closed the door. He pulled Ana down on top of him as he slid back into the water.

"Do you forgive me?" he kissed her eyes, her nose and traced his tongue around her lips.

To answer, Ana opened her mouth and sucked his tongue into play with her own. She returned his kisses with an urgency that surprised her. She was ready for him when a knock came at the door.

"Hot water, Don Luis".

He got out of the tub and strode to the door to retrieve the hot water. Ana took in the sight of such a magnificent man with such a magnificent erection.

Slowly he poured the hot water into the tub watching the water slosh over her breasts. She pulled him back into the tub with her wanting to feel him inside her now. Without foreplay, she guided him into her and moaned with the pleasure of how he filled her. Slowly at first, he began thrusting. As his desire grew, so did the tempo of his thrusts. Water was flying everywhere but they were aware of nothing but their pleasure. Ana arched in climax just as he exploded into her.

They spent a long hour bathing each other and reveling in each other - kissing and touching those places designed for pleasure.

Finally, Luis climbed out of the tub, found the towel and pulled her out. He began drying her off taking his time drying her and exploring her.

"Ah, Cariña, where were you a year ago?" he muttered against her breast. "Why did I not meet you last year at Carnival instead of finding her again? How different life would be".

Ana grasped his wet head against her breast without speaking. She fought the tears that began to spill down her cheeks.

"You don't understand, Luis. My father is determined to marry me off to the highest bidder," she sighed. "He is a wealthy man and expects me to marry a man of means."

Luis drew a robe around her and held her close.

"A man of means," he repeated softly and mysteriously kissing the top of her wet head.

That night, they lay together just holding each other. They spoke of life, love, desire and fate. That night, Ana fell asleep next to the man she had come to desire above all men.

She awoke with a start as the sun broke through the darkened sky.

"Mierda," she thought. " How am I ever going to make it back home unnoticed?

She looked down at Luis sleeping. He looked so peaceful…so beautiful. She never wanted to leave his side but she knew it was impossible. Quietly she started to put on her clothes. Just as she was putting on her cloak, his arms surrounded her.

"Don't go", he whispered.

"You know I must," she answered tearfully, her heart breaking in two.

She ran from the room and into the street that was beginning to come to life. She ran from the man who brought her such joy. She ran toward the house that demanded her to live a life of lies and deceit.

Out of breath and breathless with fear, Ana crept quietly up the back stairs toward her room when the shadow of her dueña crossed her path. There she stood blocking her way. Trapped and filled with terror, Ana tried to speak. But as she took a deep breath to explain, the world turned black and she fainted dead away.

When she came to, her dueña was forcing some vile tasting medicine down her throat. It was an herb brewed specially to prevent pregnancy, she explained as she berated and castigated Ana for slipping out. She had already sent for Ana's parents when she discovered her bed empty this morning. The medicine was bitter and immediately made her nauseous. In a few hours, she was cramping, bleeding and wanting to die.

Ana was too weak for days to be aware of the storm that raged around her. Her father yelled and screamed at her mother, blaming her for being too lenient with the girl.

This time, her mother could no longer protect her, and a marriage was quickly arranged. Now that she was damaged goods, Ana's father was unable to arrange the financially desirable match he so greatly desired. Instead, he had to settle for a young man with a good name and empty purse whose silence he could buy.

The wedding was arranged within days and Ana stumbled down the aisle in a drugged stupor. Her hysterical protests had been calmed by a touch of laudanum the doctor administered in her morning coffee.

Her wedding night, she laid there immobile as her fumbling husband took his pleasure. He mistook her tears for tears of modest reticence. But as soon as the act was over, he fell asleep. His loud snores drowned out her quiet sobbing.

Her father had paid for a month's honeymoon including a Grand Tour of Europe. He hoped that time and distance would cure Ana of her infatuation with that man whose identity she so fiercely protected. But instead, it gave Ana time to plan her escape.

The first night back in Havana, Ana was pleased to find that their new house bought by her father had separate bedrooms for her and her husband. Sharing a bed with him had turned into a nightly torture - remembering another's curly head upon her breast…remembering his tender touch…his way of making her body arch and explode with pleasure.

After doing her wifely duty, she retired to her own bedroom. She knew that within minutes he would be soundly asleep and she could finally escape.

She dressed quickly in a dark dress and cloak. She took a quick look around the spacious gardens as she crept out the gate. Hopefully, she would never be back. She would never again have to endure the touch of that stranger everyone called her husband.

She was running away and running to. Afraid of being caught, she quietly walked through the mist of that dark night not wanting to draw attention to herself. She focused on what was ahead not what she was leaving behind.

When she turned the corner on his street, she stopped to catch her breath. The house was dark as should be expected at this hour. She ran the last few steps to his front door-only a few moments more and she would be swept into his arms. She picked up the heavy brass knocker and banged three or four times. There was no response-not even a sound. She knocked louder and longer. Nothing. Panic began to overtake her and she pounded the door with her fists. She almost fell over when the door quietly swung open.

"Luis?" she peered into the darkness. "Luis, is that you?"

For a response she was pulled into the room. She stumbled in the darkness. Suddenly the room was illuminated by the light of a candle.

"Dios mio, you have come back!" Maya held the candle up close to her face to make sure it was really the long lost Cariña. "Dios mio, señorita…you have come back!"

"Where is Luis?' Ana turned and started toward the stairs. Maya grabbed her arm.

"He is gone."

"Gone?" The word made Ana go cold all over. "Where?"

"Oh, señorita, after you left, he went crazy-loco en la cabeza!" Maya sighed heavily. "He drank even more than before and when he drank he would…"

"Where is he?" Ana shook her impatiently.

"A couple of weeks after you disappeared, someone knocked on the door very early in the morning," she said. "Don Luis was the first one to the door. He told me to go back to bed and then he escorted the visitor quickly into the living room and shut the door. It was obvious he didn't want me to see who it was."

"Go on." Ana's insides were screaming.

"So, I went back to bed like he told me," she added. "And when I got up in the morning, he was gone!"

"He just disappeared?" Ana asked in disbelief. "Did you call the police?"

"Ah, no," she replied. "Don Luis would often disappear for a few days, then he would stumble home reeking of rum and whores. And besides, I thought he would be safe with that man."

"What man?" Ana's voice rose in despair.

"The visitor, I thought he would be safe with him," Maya continued. "It was a priest."

Ana's mind could not comprehend what Maya was telling her. He had to be here. He had to be waiting for her. He had to!

Like a woman possessed, Ana bolted from the house and back into the night. Blinded by tears, she ran aimlessly through the dark night. When she came to the waterfront, she could run no more. Collapsing on the pier, her mind raced incoherently. Never again would she taste his kisses. Never again would his touch make her body tingle in anticipation. Never again would he fill her - his hardness making her body erupt with joy.

Suddenly, a peace settled over her. The way became clear. It was quiet simple, really. Ana struggled to her feet. She straightened her dress and looked ahead to the horizon now streaked with the coming dawn. In the light, she heard him speak to her.

"Yes, Luis…I will come to you," she whispered and walked toward the dawn.