It started with a whisper in the darkness, vague yet breathless. Moisture from the whisper warmed my neck. I searched for the source, looking in the shadows not lit by the Christmas tree. I saw nothing. My attention returned to the tinsel that caressed the packages under the tree. The shiny surface glittered under the red and green lights.
Once again, I heard a whisper, breathless and heady. This time I didn't try to chase it. I let it glide over me and tease the ornaments on the tree limbs. I pretended that I was a flower, waiting for a shy butterfly to land upon my delicious center, to dip in the honey pooling there.
The whisper beckoned me. I could not refuse it, as it became further and further away. I followed it, as if attached by a silver thread into the bedroom. In every size and shape, a million red candles blazed. The room was aglow with golden yellow light. My eyes fell upon the bed with its lily white sheets exposed. The pillows were fluffed and across them was draped the most beautiful red teddy adorned with green bows at the breasts and the crotch. The soft whisper said my name once, then twice. I was to be gift wrapped in satin.
Without haste, I removed my clothes and dressed in the teddy. With care, I lay down on the bed, letting the crisp cool sheets soothe the heat in my body. Closing my eyes, I focused on the satin that clung to my shape, enhancing the peaks and valleys. The bed dipped under someone's weight, yet I dared not open my eyes, for one cannot see a whisper.