BRINGING SEXY BACK THIS LADY'S GODIVA HELPS REKINDLE SPARK AFTER ILLNESS.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

The lights are low, and Percy Sledge croons ``When a Man Loves a Woman'' in the background as Rochelle Scott talks business.

She wears a tasteful suit and speaks in a pleasant, soft tone. In one hand, she holds a long, blue feather and explains how it could be used in an intimate setting.

``I could sit on one end of the bed and touch the entire body with this feather,'' she says. ``If you're wearing a mask to enliven the other senses, it's very relaxing.''

Far from a boudoir with candles burning, Scott is at work, surrounded by lotions and lingerie and all manner of vibrating devices. She owns Godiva's After Dark, which she refers to as ``a boutique for romance.'' This is not a normal store, not even a typical shop for adult products.

The recently opened establishment in Woodland Hills targets women and men coping with cancer and other serious illnesses.

A range of concerns

Scott's main business, Godiva's Secret Wigs, gave birth to the shop, springing from discussions with customers. As she helped chemotherapy patients adjust to lives without hair, the conversation would often wander to intimacy issues. They watched their eyelashes dry out, skin tighten and weight fluctuate-- and worried they'd be unable to bounce back in the bedroom.

``How do you wear lingerie if you don't have a breast?'' said Debbi Kleinzweig, a Tarzana oncology nurse who helped advise Scott on how to stock the store.

``How do you feel sexy with a big incision down your abdomen? I don't know of anyone else who deals with this. It's almost taboo for people to talk about it, but how else do you feel comfortable?''

So Scott pulled out the money she'd banked to buy a house and put $40,000 into founding the business. She bought negligees that covered scars, erotic games to stoke imaginations, stimulants to excite relationships interrupted.

Rekindling the flame

And she quickly became an expert on such issues as the effects of premature menopause on sex drive and how to coach a couple, passion cooled by cancer, back to intimate terms.

``Chemotherapy is about the most horrendous year in a woman's life,'' Scott said. ``Bringing romance back is so hard. The man wants it again, but he doesn't want to push. Then the woman interprets that as disinterest.''

Scott carefully calculated the store's look to appeal to a well-heeled customer, and the results seem to be working.

``It's an upscale store, very classy,'' said Bonnee Lallouz, membership director of the Woodland Hills Chamber of Commerce.

``You'd never believe how many people showed up for the ribbon cutting ... lots of men. They were all very curious about what they'd find. And they seemed pretty happy.''

Before the year is up, Scott hopes to recoup her initial investment and see a profit. She already has her eyes on expansion and is considering franchising.

``One of the greatest gifts is to share intimacy with someone that you love,'' Scott said. ``I picked things that can bring romance back to a relationship.''

Brent Hopkins, [phone]

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4 photos

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(1 -- cover -- color) Reconnecting after CANCER

The path back to intimacy

(2 -- 4 -- color) Rochelle Scott shows off one of the wigs she offers to cancer patients at Godiva's After Dark, the Woodland Hills shop she calls "a boutique for romance." Other things she stocks to help couples get into the mood include heart-shaped scented candles, left, and books on sensuality, right.