TANTRIC (Book 3 of the Soundcrush Series)

Chapter 74: Front Men Hear The Universe

Leed

A Year Later, in the Himalayan Mountains of Tibet

Ash's pack dumps heavy on the ground as we finally gain sight of the Dirapuk Monastary. It's a humble place—long, low buildings settled at the base of a rocky hillside. Brightly colored prayer flags stream up the mountain to small building beyond.

I watch her face carefully—like always when we are trekking—but I see no signs of pain or tension. Only amazement and joy, as her gaze sweeps across the monastery and to the north—where the gold face of a famous mountain rises.

"Amazing," she breathes, as sunlight sparkles off the snow-veined crags. It's blinding, but like Ashlynn, I find myself pulling off my sunglasses to gain the purest view.

Our hands seek each others automatically as we gaze at our ultimate goal.

Mt. Kailash, considered to be a sacred site in more than one Eastern Religion. A pilgrimage to unfurl the spirit. A peak from which to gain perspective. A place to seek nirvana.

It's not exactly Everest, but this is a difficult two day hike for the casual trekker, and we've been planning, preparing, and training for a long time to make sure we can do this.

Ashlynn especially. She's managed to keep up her practice with Ravi despite her work in Costa Rica. She's a yogi far beyond my ability now, and her body is a temple of balanced energy.

She hasn't had a seizure or a debilitating headache in a year. When we made the trek to Macchu Piccu earlier in the summer and Ashlynn handled the altitude and rigors of the trek with no problems, I knew we were ready for this adventure.

"Tomorrow we'll be on top of the world, baby," I tell her, bringing her hand to my lips. She's so cute in her sherpa hat, her nose pink from the day's exertion. She lets out a little huff of satisfaction and excitement as she beams at the sacred mountain.

It's funny how I introduced her to yoga and meditation, but now her spirituality is far more grounded than mine. I guess I'll always be a little bit rock 'n roll, but my Sunshine? She's serene as monk.

Well, except when I get her naked and underneath me. Most of the time we go the slow and sensual route, but we've finally figured out that top-bottom thing that excites her so much. She doesn't need pain for her ecstasy—only the tantric discipline I bring her.

She likes for me to rattle her a little bit before I take her to heaven, and that's fine by me. It's my pleasure to draw out her climax into long edging sessions. By the end she's usually sweating, shaking and screaming for me to let her come. She makes me feel like a god claiming my goddess every time.

I look across the valley to the small guest houses where we'll be staying, knowing that despite our tiredness from the long day, we'll likely be sharing ourselves with each other in a clean sleeping bag in one of those dingy little shacks. No matter how far we've traveled or what the day's experiences have been, we usually come together every night of a vacation. It's almost like...our private spiritual practice, ending the day with our most exciting adventure of all—each other.

I've loved her up not only in Costa Rica, but also in Iceland where we went on vacation with Trace and Kat to see the Northern lights, in England when we went to the Summer Solstice at Stone Henge, in Figi where we bummed along as babysitters for Lennon on Mac and Adam's long awaited honeymoom, in Bali where we went for a yoga retreat, in Peru when we did the Macchu Piccu thing, and now Tibet. We've been in country nearly two weeks, making sure we had plenty of time to acclimatize to the altitude.

Most pilgrims to Mt. Kailash don't get to spend that much time, but I'd rather spend my rock star pay on the best experiences life has to offer than adding another sports car to my garage.