“Yes?”
“Um, we’re here to see Mr. O’Grady?”
“Your name?”
“Oh I’m Diane Lesher…”
“One moment please.” The door shut in their faces.
“Well, he’s not very nice,” Suzanne harrumphed.
“Peter must really like his privacy,” Diane suggested.
The door opened and the butler stepped aside. “Please come in. Mr. O’Grady is expecting you in the library.”
They followed him through an ornate foyer into a small room filled with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Behind a desk in the corner sat a small man dressed in an expensive gray suit, his tie knotted tightly at his throat. He appeared to be somewhere between sixty and seventy years old, although it was hard to tell. His gray hair was still thick and neatly combed over his head. He had a snifter of brandy before him.
But what really caught the women’s attention was the little green ceramic leprechaun that seemed to laugh and dance on the desk in front of him.
“There it is!” Diane exclaimed at once. “How much do you want for it?”
The man ignored her and waved the butler away. The door closed softly behind him. “Wow, four of you,” he said. “I’m impressed. I daresay that’s a first.” His Irish accent was strong. He stood and came around. The women could see he was only about five-six in height. “I’m Peter O’Grady, at your service.”
“Yes, it’s very nice to meet you, now about the statue…” Diane started in.
Peter held up his hand. “Not yet. First we talk.” He gestured to the couch and two wingback chairs around a coffee table. Reluctantly, the women sat, three on the couch and Suzanne on one of the chairs. Peter took the other. They introduced themselves and he nodded in turn.
“Now tell me why you want this little statue so badly,” he said then sat back and waited.
The women looked at each other. Finally Diane said, “You must know about the, uh…” She didn’t want to say it.
“What? You mean the power to make your dreams come true?” O’Grady flashed a smile.
“Well, we were thinking it was more of a curse,” offered Suzanne. “But yes.”
“So tell me, did all of you ladies experience this, uh, curse?” He looked around and saw them all reluctantly nod. “Excellent. Really. I have never seen this before.”
“Please, you’ve got to remove it!” begged Carol, twisting her hands in her lap.
“First, tell me what you wished for.”
“We didn’t wish for anything!” Diane said. “We were just talking and we passed it around…”
“Don’t waste my time. You don’t have any to waste.” His eyes bore into Diane’s. “Let’s start with you. What happened? What were you talking about?”
“Oh god, do I have to? It’s embarrassing.”
“Yes, you have to. Or you can all get up and walk out right now.”
Diane and Suzanne eyed the statue, both thinking the same thing. I’ll bet we could grab it and be out of here before that little man could catch us.
“Tut,” Peter said, catching their expressions. “The statue won’t do you any good without the secret incantation to remove the, uh, power. Do you want to remain as you are…forever?”
“No!” Diane took a deep breath. “We were talking about our…secret fantasies,” she said, her face coloring. “You know. Girl talk. Innocent fun. Then afterward, just by coincidence, we all passed that strange little ceramic around…”
“And what was your secret fantasy?”
“You little pervert,” Suzanne put in.
“Fine. Go. And good luck to ya.”
“No!” Diane said. She turned to Suzanne. “Don’t.” Her friend reluctantly nodded.
Diane faced the Irishman. “Mine was, uh, that I have…sex in public.”
“And what have you done about that in the last week?”
She stared at him for a long few seconds but he remained firm. The others knew their turn was soon to come. “I’ve had visions, dreams about…having sex with my bosses, uh, in front of others. And two days ago, when I went to the shop to get your number, the shopkeeper was reluctant to give it. He said you valued your privacy. So I, uh…” She looked over at the other women, embarrassed to relive it in front of this nasty little man.
“Go on.”
She sighed. “I made love to him in his store in exchange for your number. And while we were doing it, a woman walked in. It was…strangely satisfying.” She hid her head in shame.
Peter smiled. “Sex in public. That’s a good one.” He turned to Suzanne in direct challenge. “How about you, Suzanne?”
She held her head up high. “I mentioned right before I handled the damn thing that I had a fantasy about having an anonymous one-night stand. Since then I’ve had several different lovers—and I never wanted to know any of their names.”
“And you can’t stop yourself, can you?”
She shook her head silently.
“Amazing.” He turned to Wendy. “And you, my dear?”
“Oh god, I’m so embarrassed!” She put her head into her hands.
“Nonsense, Wendy. The others have talked about theirs, now it’s time to hear yours.”
She looked at the floor as she said in a monotone, “Uh, my fantasy was to become a call girl, a whore. Being paid by men and forced to do things I wouldn’t normally do.”
“And what have you done about it?”
“Nothing really,” she lied. “I mean, I called some escort services but I haven’t gotten around to actually going there.”
The room fell silent. Peter studied her carefully. Then he stood abruptly and plucked the small ceramic figure from the desk. “What do you think, leprechaun? Do you think she’s telling the truth?”
He put the statue back. “He says you’re not telling us everything. So I guess you don’t mind staying the way you are…”
“No! I mean, how would you know what I did or didn’t do?”
“I can tell. For one, you’re calmer than she is.” He pointed to Carol. “If you hadn’t done anything, you’d be just as nervous right now.”
Wendy put her head in her hands. “Oh please, don’t make me tell!”
The other women perked up—clearly Wendy had been holding out on them!
“Come on, Wen,” Diane said. “I told you about my encounter with the shopkeeper!”
“All right. But it isn’t me, you understand.”
“This isn’t any of us,” Suzanne pointed out. She turned to Peter, “Although I’m not sure why you insist we tell you the lurid details.”
“Consider it part of the reclaiming process. I have to understand what happened in order to help you.” He paused. “Because right now I’m a little surprised at the intensity of your experiences.” He looked pointedly at Wendy.
“All right!” She took a deep breath. “Last night, I was so antsy, I went down the hall and played being a hooker for one of my neighbors.”
Carol gasped in surprise. “You did?”
Wendy nodded. “Yeah. Mr. Townbridge. I made him pay me fifty bucks.” She decided not to share the last bit of information.
Peter nodded. “And did you feel relief afterward?”
“Oh yes. I slept very soundly after I came home.”
“Good. Right. Now, Carol, it’s your turn. I can see you’ve been resisting your fantasy.”
“Yes. Because mine is too dangerous. I don’t know what I was thinking having a fantasy like that! I…I imagine I’m being forced to, er, submit. Like being under the control of a strong man. An ‘alpha male’ type.”
“Ah,” O’Grady said. “A dominate/submissive scenario. Part of a BDSM fantasy.”
“It’s a common fantasy,” Suzanne assured her. “I’m sure many women share it.”
“Yeah, but what if I became attracted to the wrong man? In my fantasy, it’s like they are more in control or experienced, you understand? In real life, I could be murdered! Or held as some kind of sex sl
ave!”
Suzanne and the others nodded sympathetically. Then they all turned to the Irishman.
“Okay, you’ve had your jollies,” Diane said. “Now can you remove the curse?”
“Like I said, I needed to understand what was happening in order to help you. It’s not supposed to work like that.”
The women appeared puzzled and frankly worried.
“You see, this ceramic has a long and ancient history. It’s much older than nineteenth century actually. It, um, encourages the owner to achieve their innermost desires. Say for example, Diane, if you had a secret desire to visit Paris in the springtime. That idea would stay with you. Over time, you’d find a way to make it happen. You would fulfill your dream.”
“But it’s much more powerful than a mere suggestion,” Diane said. “It’s making us crazy.”
“Yes, that’s the part that puzzles me. But I assume it’s because you spoke your innermost thoughts out loud before you touched it. Normally, it’s much more subtle.”
“There’s nothing subtle about this,” Suzanne said. “Now how can you stop it?”
“Wait a minute, Suz,” Diane put in. Something was bothering her. She pointed at O’Grady. “If it’s so valuable, why did you put it up for sale at that shop?”
He smiled. “I do that from time to time. The sculpture always comes back to me. It amuses me to know that somewhere out there, a man or woman is achieving their secret desire.”
“That’s despicable!” Wendy said.
“It’s supposed to be a good thing,” he said, shrugging.
“What gives you the right to play with people like that?” Diane asked.
“Because I’m the last of the leprechauns,” he said, eyes twinkling. “It’s what we do.”
“Bah,” Diane said dismissively. “There’s no such thing!”
“Who do you take us for, fools?” Suzanne snapped.
“Then how do you explain what’s happened to you?”
They had no good answer for that.
“If you’re really a leprechaun, why aren’t you back in Ireland then, sitting on a pot of gold or something?” Wendy asked.
“I travel around,” he said simply.
“All right, putting aside who or what you are, can you help us? I mean you’ve got to do something. You’ve just about ruined us!” Suzanne said.
“Yes, you have to remove it,” Carol said. “I’m desperate here.”
“Yes, well, that could be a bit of a problem.”
He had the women’s full attention now.
“Because the statue is only supposed to suggest action, I’m not sure how to undo what’s been done.”
“What about the secret incantation?” Suzanne asked.
“Well, I might’ve fibbed about that. I didn’t want you to try to grab it and run out of here. That would only make your desires intensify. Trust me, the last thing you want to do is to hang on to that ceramic.”
Any thoughts the women had of stealing the ugly little statue evaporated.
“You have to do something,” Carol begged. “Please.”
“I could try to modify it…”
“Yes!” they all said at once.
“I’m not sure it would work…”
“Anything’s better than this!” Wendy said.
“Very well. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything yet.” He faced Carol. “You have not yet fulfilled your fantasy as the others have. You’ll have to do that first. You’re all linked now, you see. You started this journey together, you have to walk it together.”
“Oh god!” Carol wailed. “I could be killed!”
“No you won’t,” Suzanne said. “We’ll simply do it in a controlled environment.”
“Yeah, we can hire some guys to play like dominants,” Wendy said.
“You think that would work?” Suzanne asked O’Grady.
“It might. As long as it satisfies her itch. She’ll know. But you have to take that step before I can attempt to modify its power. If I can at all.”
“Don’t say that! Of course you can!” Diane said, casting a wary eye at Carol.
“Okay,” Suzanne said, standing up. “We’ll run out and get Carol taken care of then we’ll come back here a little later, all right?”
“Yes, that would be fine. Say five o’clock?” O’Grady stood. All of the women were taller with the exception of petite Wendy.
“We’ll be back,” Suzanne warned. “Don’t try to pull a fast one on us.”
“I feel a certain responsibility here. I’m not an evil man.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Diane said. She still didn’t believe in such fairy tales.
They left, gathering on the sidewalk outside to map their strategy.
“God, I was supposed to go back to work,” Carol cried. “Now I have to go be someone’s sex slave!” She shivered, but it wasn’t from fear—it was desire.
“Oh stop. We’ll control everything. You’ll be fine.” Suzanne was always the rational one.
“Where are we supposed to find some Dom who won’t go too far?” Diane asked.
“Give me a minute to think.”
* * * * *
Inside the town home, Peter sat back in his chair and laughed out loud. His voice echoed across the walls and down the hall. The butler heard him and shook his head. He was well aware of his master’s mischievous ways.
Chapter Ten
Carol takes the stage
It was all set. While Wendy took Carol home to watch over and protect her, Diane and Suzanne went down to the theater district. It took a bit of doing, but they found a tall, handsome actor in his mid-thirties waiting tables at an off-Broadway café who agreed to listen to their request that he “dominate” their friend.
“Come on,” the man said. He had introduced himself as Dirk—a stage name if there ever was one. “This is a gag, isn’t it?” He looked around as if trying to spot a hidden camera.
“No, this is legit,” Suzanne said. “It’s, uh, part of her secret fantasy.”
“Yeah,” Diane put in. “It’s coming up on her birthday and we thought that would be the best gift.”
He eyed them. “I don’t know…”
“Hey, if you don’t want to, I’m sure I can find some other out-of-work actor who could use a hundred dollars…” Suzanne said, gathering up her purse.
“No! Wait! A hundred dollars? For how long?”
“An hour to an hour and a half. But you’d have to be convincing. You’d have to act the part of a Dominant, you understand?”
“How far would you want me to go?”
Suzanne looked at Diane. Her friend nodded.
“Sex might come into it,” she admitted. “But you’d have to wear a condom!”
Dirk raised an eyebrow. “Sure. But this sounds like a setup.”
“In what way? We’re offering you the opportunity to make love to a beautiful woman,” snapped Suzanne.
“It just sounds too good to be true. In order to protect myself, I’d feel more comfortable bringing along a friend.” He jerked his thumb at another waiter, a shorter but solidly built man talking to a nearby customer. “That way she can’t cry rape halfway through.”
Diane and Suzanne huddled privately to discuss this wrinkle. They didn’t like it but they could understand Dirk’s reluctance.
“What do you think?” Diane asked.
Suzanne looked over her shoulder at the two men. “I don’t know. She did say she had dreams about more than one man. It might be all right.”
Diane nodded and shrugged.
“All right,” Suzanne told Dirk. “But no real rough stuff.”
Dirk agreed. He introduced them to his friend Sam, who stood about five-nine but had a thick chest and arms that could only come from continuous weight training. He listened to the proposal with a startled expression and said, “Hell yes!” when they were done. He high-fived his friend Dirk.
They all took a taxi to Carol’s apartment where they huddled outside with Diane w
hile Suzanne went in to explain the rules to Carol. Wendy just sat in the corner, her eyes wide, listening in.
“You think this will work?” Carol asked.
“Of course it will. This will be your fantasy, just as you want it. These men really won’t hurt you—they’ll behave just like the men in your dreams,” Suzanne assured her. She found two condoms in the nightstand and placed them on top.
“There’s two men?”
“Yes, he insisted that he bring his friend. Is that all right?”
Carol nodded, thinking about being under the control of two dominants. A frisson of desire ran through her body. “Okay. What do I do?”
“In a few minutes, you’re going to leave and go down to the store and buy a newspaper or something. When you return, the play will begin. All right?”
She nodded again. “And they won’t really hurt me?”
“Of course not! You think we’d allow that? We’ll be right outside anyway, just in case.”
“Outside the apartment or outside the bedroom?”
“Which would you like?”
“I’d prefer that at least one of you was in the apartment—just stay out of sight unless I need you.”
Suzanne nodded. “All right. But don’t worry. Now wait here for a few minutes before you leave. Give me your spare key. Wendy, you come with me.”
The women left and met the group in the hall. “Okay, we’re all set. Let’s go upstairs until she leaves then you two go in and pretend to be someone she knows—her dominant lovers. You understand?”
The two men nodded. They all trooped upstairs and listened in the stairwell. They heard Carol leave and lock the door, her footsteps echoing down the hall. When she had gone downstairs, the group returned to the apartment and Suzanne unlocked the door.
“Okay, you guys hide and ‘surprise’ her. Just remember, don’t hurt her! I’ll be hiding in the spare room so don’t go in there.”
“We’ve got it,” Dirk said. He and Sam went in. Suzanne turned to Diane and Wendy. “I guess you guys should hide somewhere. Or maybe go get a cup of coffee.”
“We’ll get coffee,” Diane said. “We’ll come back in about a half hour.”
Exotika 08 - Private Daydreams Page 6
