She picked up the dress and pulled it on over her head. It was a low-cut dress of crushed velvet in Bordeaux red with shoestring straps over the shoulders. It fitted perfectly; tight about the bodice to define her breasts and slightly flared below the waist. The dress was short, but not unduly so, and would not reveal the tops of her stockings. She reached out once more for the hairbrush then the bedside phone rang. She hesitated for a moment. Who would call at this time? It was past 7.30.
'Yes?'
'Karen.'
It was not a question but rather a statement. It was the voice of Sonia.
'Oh! I didn't expect -'
'It's all right, my dear. I thought I'd catch you before you came down.'
'Yes, that's OK, I wasn't leaving for a few minutes.'
'All right - I wondered if you might feel more comfortable not coming in through the office door. There's another way if you prefer.'
'Em ... yes, I had thought ...'
'The door to the beauty parlour will be unlocked. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks about you going in there. You know the way through.'
'Yes, all right, that's no problem.'
'Good. The champagne is nice and cold. I'll see you soon.'
'Yes, I won't be long.'
Karen put down the phone and returned to the mirror to tidy her hair and apply a little lipstick.
She took the back stairs as she often did when she did not wish to be seen, treading very carefully in the exaggerated heels. The thought of another encounter with Pauline caused her some uneasiness, but the stairs were deserted and quiet. There were voices on the ground floor corridor so she hesitated before turning the last corner. The voices receded then vanished. She continued on.
Entering the beauty parlour, she found the lights switched on and the inner door ajar. There was nobody inside the main room but she walked through slowly, savouring the warm and inviting ambience, not wishing to disturb the quiet atmosphere because it was not her place to do so. It belonged to Valerie and Kim. It was their little kingdom and she was an intruder.
She emerged into the warm light of the room she had only visited twice before, and then as a half-reluctant prisoner of the person to whom she was about to encounter again. Not the Sonia of the day, the Sonia of her working world, but the Sonia of the night, the Sonia she had only glimpsed dimly during those early days at the house.
She walked by the chrome and black leather furniture, whose purpose she now fully understood, past the cage with its steel manacles and up to the ... she halted, mystified. There was no door, just a blank wall. Then a slit of light appeared in the wall and the door, disguised so as not to be identifiable as such, swung open.
'Come through, my dear,' said a voice from within.
Karen entered the warm privacy of Sonia's apartment, a womb of secrecy within a house full of secrets. Karen beheld her with open mouth but no words came forth. Sonia appeared as a sleek, black statue. Only her head, with its black pony-tail and her dark smouldering eyes, told that she was not a feline creation in black marble.
'Does it frighten you?' she asked softly, spreading out her fingers and running them up Karen's forearm.
'Frighten me? I-I don't know.'
'Well, come and sit down with me and relax for a while.'
Karen followed her across the room, seeing the rose-coloured lights gleam dully on her limbs. The catsuit fitted her like a skin, yielding with her every movement, enclosing her lithe body from fingertips to neck and down to her sleek black ankle boots with their slim high heels.
On the table sat a glistening ice bucket with its bottle of champagne already opened. At the table there waited two green leather chairs and before each stood an empty wine glass.
'Sit down, my dear,' invited Sonia.
Although the room was warm, Karen shivered. She sat down but continued to watch Sonia, who moved, pantherlike, around to the chair opposite. Why was she so bewitching? Even on the occasions of their previous intimacies together, when Sonia had explored and exploited Karen's body in ways she had never imagined anyone could, she had never appeared so menacing, so sinister.
Sonia pulled the champagne bottle up, wet and shining from its icy embrace, and filled the two glasses.
'To you, my dear!' she offered, raising the glass between them.
'Y-yes, cheers!' answered Karen, snapping out of her turmoil of silence.
They drank, and Karen sat in silence, her legs crossed and her dress riding high up her thighs. She dared not move to pull the hem down for she wished to make no signals. She sat as one being accused, not wishing to move or speak in case either action should draw the attention of the interrogator to something she ought not to divulge. She was again in the lair of one she knew so well and one who knew her body and mind better than anyone else. But Sonia was an enigma. She was like a casket which, once having become familiar, is opened to reveal another casket within, and then another, so that the secret is never revealed and may never be there at all. Karen thought that she had begun to know Sonia, until this evening.
'You are very uneasy,' whispered Sonia. 'As anxious as on that first day in England so long ago.'
Karen stared hard into her glass before answering. 'I-I'm sorry. I really don't know what it is.'
'And on your birthday, my dear. A day when everyone should be good to you and give you pleasure.'
'I feel as though you're a stranger tonight. The way you act. The way you look. I might be with someone I hardly know at all.'
'But, my dear, there are times when we should not be our habitual selves, when we are away from our workaday world, away from the sunlight and the open air. We should keep our secret world apart from all that; never speak of it, push it out of our mind until we have passed through the veil where no other can see us and we discover that which lives deep and abiding beneath our thoughts.'
'Through the looking-glass,' whispered Karen.
'Through the looking-glass,' repeated Sonia, her eyes dark and compelling. She took up the champagne bottle and refilled the glasses. 'But of course, when we have passed through the looking-glass, it is the world we have left behind us which ceases to be real. You have stepped over the threshold of that secret world a number of times since you came to this house. You have dallied for a time
but nevef gone far beyond the portal - never further into the hidden places.'
'But I never knew the portal existed until I came here. What do you expect of me?'
'Expect? Why, only that you know your other self. The self that has never dared to speak.'
'Sometimes,' said Karen, draining her glass, 'sometimes it can be intimidating - the things I've seen here - that room.'
'And me,' said Sonia, smiling and running her splayed fingers, with their second skin of black, down the side of her face.
'Yes, and you. When I first saw you this evening, I thought you looked like a big cat awaiting its prey.'
'But does not a cat go out and catch its prey? You came here because you wished to, as you have before.'
Sonia rose from the chair and moved around to her. She seated herself on the edge of the table in front of Karen, looking down upon her, all but filling her view and holding her in her fathomless gaze.
'The door is only a few steps away,' she whispered closely. 'Perhaps you should leave while you can.'
'Leave? No! I -'
'Then shall we finish the champagne?'
Karen, with the demon of sensuality stirring in her belly, watched in silence while Sonia emptied the last of the frothing champagne into the glasses. She returned her eyes to Karen.
'Shall we drink this last glass to -'
'To what?'
'To our other selves in our other world - our secret world?'
Karen looked into her eyes for searching moments and breathed in softly. They must always remain apart.'
'Of course, my dear. Always apart, like day and night.'
'Then, yes, to our other selves. To our secret world.'
Th
e smile passed as a shadow across Sonia's face. She reached down and stroked along the side of Karen's thigh, her fingers pushing softly into the sheer black nylon, running with electric sensuality up to the elasticated lace. Karen closed her eyes. This was not the real world. What did anything matter?
The empty glasses stood side by side upon the table. Sonia moved away silently. Why, Karen did not know. She sensed movements and saw shadows on the wall but did not move. Somewhere, in one of the dark corners, a clock ticked.
A hand was laid on her shoulder and a face appeared before her. Their lips met with perfumed fire and Sonia whispered, There's something I want to show you.'
Karen stood up, the effects of the drink becoming at once evident. She grasped the back of the chair for a moment, remembering that she still wore the sandals with their extra high heels. Sonia took her arm and they walked over to a long, low table placed against a wall. On the table stood a large maroon box, sprouting tissue paper, its lid propped up by the side.
'It arrived yesterday, as did this suit. Nobody has seen any of it before, just you and I.'
Karen touched her arm, running her fingers up the smooth gleaming black as far as her elbow. 'It's you, Sonia, exactly you. I've never seen anything like it. It isn't leather or ... I don't know what it is.'
'It's a new material. It stretches, contracts and breathes - stays perfectly smooth too, as you can see.'
Sonia placed her hand on Karen's. The hand looked like a black snake which might dart at her at any moment, It was a hand which might go anywhere and everywhere. She found herself staring at it and felt a slight shiver within.
'And these other things,' whispered Sonia, pushing aside the white tissue paper which obscured the contents of the box, 'they are for you, my dear.'
'For me? Things for me to wear?'
Karen looked down among the confusion of tissue but could ascertain nothing.
'Yes, things to wear,' answered Sonia, lifting her hand up to Karen's shoulder.
The rich aroma of leather drifted up from the dark interior of the box. Sonia's lips met hers with perfumed breath rising from a deep furnace. The shoulder strings of Karen's dress were pushed aside so that the dress loosened and released her breasts into the warm light. Sonia moved behind her, cupping the breasts in her hands and kissing her neck before relieving her of the dress altogether. For a time, they kissed, Sonia holding her arms tightly and pushing back her elbows. Karen did not resist.
Turn around,' whispered the voice in Karen's ear.
She turned so that she was facing the wooden bed with its bright oriental cover. She heard the rustling of tissue behind her as Sonia reached down into the secret box.
Something closed about her neck, something large and rigid but lined with a softer material. As it tightened, it forced her head straight forward and slightly up, making it impossible to turn it to either side without moving her entire body. Sonia held the collar at the rear while quickly securing three metal buckles at the left side. Karen took a sharp breath as some object, cool and hard, touched between her shoulder blades. It remained resting there while Sonia took her wrists and pulled them behind her. Again she felt the same rigid material with its soft lining, this time holding her wrists firmly together. But there was something else, something she did not comprehend, resting against her lower back under the metal bar. She was soon to realise the nature of the restraint, for her arms were encircled from the wrists upwards and as each buckle was fastened, her elbows were drawn closer to each other. Inexorably, the sleeve tightened until her elbows were pulled fully back and held securely together.
There!' said Sonia, moving away, 'You look wonderful, my dear.'
'I feel I'm set rigid from the waist up,' answered Karen. 'It's as well I'm double-jointed.'
'Oh yes,' came the reply, 'I remembered that.'
Sonia returned to the box and Karen stood in helpless apprehension, wondering what was next to be placed upon her. The next move was quick and unexpected. Something large pushed against her mouth and she involuntarily opened it to cry out, thus letting the object in. It remained there, firm and unmoving, as Sonia tightened the strap behind her head. Instead of a cry, a long 'Mmmm' of protest emerged from the plugged mouth. Sonia took her by the shoulders and moved her towards a large built-in wardrobe with large, mirrored doors. She came to a halt before this and Sonia turned her part way around. Karen stared wide-eyed at her reflection. The high collar about her neck and the slim strap which held the pink rubber ball in her mouth were of deep red patent leather with hand-tooled scroll work, as was the sleeve which she was just able to see, which pinned her arms so tightly and forced out her firm and ample breasts to greater prominence. She saw too what Sonia held in her hand, and gave forth another meaningless protest. Even Karen knew what a cat-o'-nine-tails looked like.
'I'll take care, my dear, don't worry, but this will be good for you in the end, you'll see.'
Karen attempted to move away but Sonia, with her free hand, grasped the steel bar which joined the arm cuff to the collar. Karen saw the whip being raised then closed her eyes tightly as the first stroke fell.
Searing hot as it was, she made no sound but jerked her body as it fell a second, third and fourth time across the thin shadow of nylon covering her behind. She watched Sonia in the mirror before her and saw the look of concentration on her face as she raised the whip with slow deliberation. She knew that she was not applying the instrument with anything like the force with which she was capable. But Sonia seemed to read her mind, for the strokes became harder. Karen began to struggle and pull in earnest, letting out a plaintive 'Aaaah!' which, after a further three strokes, became a muffled shriek. Her eyes, first welling with hot tears, now flooded wet anguish down her cheeks. Again the whip landed with a scalding crack and her protests became a continuous sobbing until her knees gave under her and she sank down, still held by Sonia, on to the carpet. Sonia released her hold and in a moment the strap about Karen's face loosened and the rubber ball was withdrawn, dripping, from her open mouth.
'Oh why!' she moaned. 'Why do you want to hurt me? Why?'
Karen remained on her knees as her other bonds were loosened and her arms, released from the severe restriction of the leather sleeve, fell aching to her sides. But that was nothing to the incandescent torment about her behind and her thighs and so she remained, bowed and weeping, while Sonia walked over to the low table. Moments later, Sonia was back by her side, and having placed something on the floor behind her, knelt down and circled an arm around her shoulders. She brushed the damp hair away from Karen's face, kissed her cool lips and whispered, 'My dear, you will soon understand.'
Karen looked into her dark eyes with reproach but did not refuse the second kiss, which made her shiver. The burning aftermath of the whip had started to spread through her loins and Sonia's kiss only intensified it.
'Let's make it all better now,' whispered Sonia, taking her arm and lifting it up from her side.
Karen saw what Sonia held before her and uttered, 'N-no, please,' but did not resist as her arm was pushed into the horizontal sleeve.
It was quickly done. With both arms folded inside the sleeve, the garment was pulled over her shoulders and about her body. Sonia deftly fixed and tightened the eight straps and buckles from top to bottom before standing up behind her.
Til help you,' she said, gripping Karen's shoulders. 'You'll be much more comfortable now.'
Karen saw herself in full view in the mirror once more. From neck to waist she was enclosed in a tight cocoon of deep red leather, decorated in the manner of the other restraints. It fitted her like a glove, smooth and sleek and held her arms firmly within. It was comfortable, as Sonia had said, but totally secure.
'Will you forgive me?' asked Sonia, holding her close and looking deep into her eyes.
'Yes ... I ... yes, but you won't ... I mean, you won't again, not tonight.'
'No, not tonight. Tonight was your initiation - your step a little further into the look
ing-glass world.' Sonia held her closer still until the dark, fathomless eyes consumed her and the warm breath dispelled her tears. 'Tomorrow you will think nothing of it, nothing at all.'
'No, nothing.'
Their lips met, soft and burning. Sonia's fingers slipped under the thin black elastic, between the gossamer nylon and the smooth as silk flesh until they discovered the jewel of their quest. Even through the black skin which enclosed her own body and limbs, Sonia could feel Karen's heat and sensuality and the gateway of her sex, yielding and eager.
Sonia hesitated and withdrew her hand. Guiding Karen gently, they moved towards the bed. Sonia sat on the edge and, with Karen standing in front of her, pulled down the little briefs until they were about her ankles before ridding her of them altogether. She reclined herself on the bed and pulled Karen across so that she lay in her arms face upwards. With their lips joined in passion, Sonia's fingers once more engaged themselves in the dialogue of lust upon the stage of her sex. Karen, her breath growing shorter, writhed against the straitjacket, flexing her legs and spreading them wider, willing Sonia to enter her deeper. But Sonia kept control of her, stroking the fire gently and not allowing the flames to erupt before their time. Karen squirmed against her, mouth agape, her rasping breath punctuated by intermittent soft cries which pleaded for release from voluptuous torment.
At last, Sonia allowed the flames of lust to break forth so that the prisoner in her arms stiffened and cried out as if in despair, her head shaking from side to side as the orgasm devoured her body.
They rested for a time then Karen sighed and opened her eyes. Sonia kissed her and they rose to sit on the edge of the bed.
'Sonia, I need the bathroom.'
'Yes, I daresay you must after all that champagne.'
Karen looked at her and then down at the smooth lines of the restraining garment about her body. Before she could speak, Sonia said, 'I won't be undoing that for a long time yet, my dear.'
'Oh, but I -'
'You must come with me,' cut in Sonia.
Karen gazed into her eyes for long seconds. They stood up and moved a short distance from the bed.
House of Intrigue Page 9
