Claire nodded and then realized Gwen couldn’t see her. “Uh, yes,” she stammered.
Gwen laughed. “Well, my dear, we can certainly arrange to make that fantasy come true. In fact, it’s one we specialize in here at The Dark Side.”
Claire was jerked back to the present when the limo rolled to a stop again. “Ladies, please feel free to remove your blindfolds now,” came the deep voice from the intercom by the driver’s seat. “We have reached our destination. You are about to experience The Dark Side of the Moon.”
Chapter Two
All five women ripped off the leather blindfolds. Claire surreptitiously looked around to see if she could determine which of her fellow passengers was sitting with a skirt hiked up around her waist. The guilty party had apparently covered herself when the limo slowed, since everyone seemed to have their clothing in place. The others were all gazing eagerly out the windows—all except the woman who had introduced herself as Melody. She was staring down at her hands as if ashamed to meet the eyes of the other occupants.
They were parked in front of a pair of tall, stacked stone pillars supporting wide wrought iron gates. Kyle typed an access code into a metal box near the left pillar, and the gates slowly parted. He started up a long blacktopped drive lined with Bradford pear trees just coming into bloom. A narrow strip of rough-cut meadow flanked the driveway on both sides, butting up to thick forest.
They headed up the driveway for about a quarter mile, winding uphill all the way. Finally around a curve, a stone and wood structure appeared. If she imagined the perfect mountain lodge, it would look just like this. Set on an acre of open lawn, the center portion was close to three stories tall, with long, single-story wings on each side. The blacktopped drive ended in a circle in front of a flagstone path leading to the wide, covered entry porch. Massive timbers on each corner of the porch held up a cedar shake roof over the entryway. A heavy wood door stood in a wall faced with the same stacked stone as the pillars at the front gates. Oversized bronze lanterns flanked both sides of the door. The floor of the entry was a mosaic of two-foot square slabs of cut stone in the warm hues of a desert sunset.
Kyle stepped out and ushered them out the doors of the limo just as the huge entry door was flung open.
“Ladies, I bid you welcome. Please, come into The Dark Side. I’m Lady Gwen, your hostess.”
She was a full-figured, voluptuous woman, standing nearly six feet tall, thanks to a pair of impossibly high red stiletto heels. Artfully applied makeup and unlined skin made it difficult to tell her age. She could have been anywhere from forty to sixty. A simple bronze silk dress, cut high in the front to show off her shapely legs, trailed on the ground behind her in back. Short dark chestnut hair was slicked back from her cheekbones, then spiked out around her head into a wild mane. She wore enormous gold hoops with deep red stones dangling from the center, bringing out the rich red and gold highlights in her hair.
Gwen greeted each of her guests warmly, ushering them through the foyer into a two story great room with a mellow golden-hued tongue and groove pine ceiling. As with the exterior, no expense had been spared inside. Rustic leather couches and chairs were arranged in several seating areas. Old rugs with a Native American design in shades of cinnamon, chocolate, and ivory lay here and there on the wide, plank wood floor. Surely those weren’t antique Navaho? Claire scarcely had time to take in the rest of the room before her attention was drawn away.
The view from the huge wall of windows at the other end of the room was breathtaking. Layers of heavily forested mountains stretched for miles, as far as the eye could see. The closest bore the deep color of the towering pines, dotted with hints of brighter green from the tender leaves just beginning to unfurl on the poplars and birches. Beyond, toward the horizon, green morphed into the deep indigo hues that give the Blue Ridge Mountains their name. The scenery outside was so stunning that a massive, stacked stone fireplace in one corner of the room almost went unnoticed.
A shiver of alarm ran up Claire’s spine as she realized there wasn’t another house to be seen anywhere. They were alone here, surrounded by miles of forest, at an unknown location. Their only companions were an Amazon who had sent her a wild questionnaire about kinky sexual practices and a powerfully built stranger who had already demonstrated that he had no problem delivering a spanking that made her most shameful submissive longings spring to life.
Gwen smiled fondly at her, almost as though she could read her mind. “I’d like all of you to relax and enjoy your experience to the fullest,” she declared. “As you know, we have no cell phones or internet here, and there are no televisions or radios to bring in the distractions of the world you’ve left behind. For the next three days, you will be living in your own fantasy world—a world of erotic delights and sexual thrills like nothing you’ve ever had before. Our voyage into the realm of dark desires can become quite addictive,” she added with a warm laugh. “One of you has been on a quest for ecstasy with us before. And now, she’s returned to expand her sensual boundaries even further!”
At this, Gwen moved to embrace the woman calling herself Melody. Claire was surprised. Surely this woman knew that breaking the rules would result in very real punishment, if she’d come here before. Why would she take the risk of deliberately raising her blindfold to check out the route they took?
Melody returned the hug, then bent her knees and performed what look like a curtsey to Lady Gwen. Acting as if this type of obeisance was expected, even required, Gwen gave a haughty nod, then regally stretched out one hand to raise Melody back to an upright position.
Gwen moved across the room to a narrow table by the door and picked up a wooden mallet. She struck a gong that looked like it could be a twin to an ancient Chinese artifact Claire had seen in the Field Museum. A deep tone reverberated through the enormous room.
Kyle appeared, this time wearing nothing but a black sarong-type cloth around his waist, a black bow tie, and Roman-style sandals that laced halfway up his legs. Claire’s mouth dropped open at the sight of his muscular chest and those magnificent abs. He was followed by three other twenty-something hunks wearing the same outfit—and one woman. To Claire’s shock, she too wore only the covering below her waist and a bow tie. Her pert breasts with rosy pink nipples were totally bare.
“These are your personal companions. They will be available to you 24/7 for the duration of your stay. They will see to your every need—and fulfill your every desire. I have taken the liberty of assigning one of them to each of you for tonight. If you would like to enjoy the company of another, or even several at once over the next few days, you have only to let me know, and I’ll make the necessary arrangements. Please allow them to escort you to your rooms and see to your wardrobe. The evening’s festivities will begin at seven.”
Kyle headed straight to Claire, his face expressionless. “Please come with me.”
She followed him out of the room, noticing that Melody was being escorted by the half-naked woman. They headed down a long hallway to the left of the entry foyer to a door at the end. Kyle unlocked the door, then opened it and ushered Claire in ahead of him.
She stepped inside and stopped dead in her tracks, delighted. The great room was impressive, but this bedroom was over the top. A huge log bed sat on an angled wall to assure a full view of the mountain vista that lay outside a pair of French doors on the far wall. The bed was covered in a rustic quilt, an intricate pattern in tones of green and blue on a cream-colored background, piled with solid-colored pillows echoing every shade of the quilt. There was a stone fireplace in the corner opposite the bed, with two forest-green suede chairs and a Native American drum table arranged in front of it—a thick tree trunk stripped of bark and polished to a soft sheen, then covered top and bottom with irregular animal hides held in place by a crisscross of rawhide laces. A drumstick fashioned from a gnarled branch was tucked into the laces on the side of the table.
Claire couldn’t resist. Striding across the room, she pulled o
ut the stick and gave the head of the drum a solid thump. It reverberated with a deep but mellow tone.
The room was tastefully decorated with a few well-chosen accessories. On the wall above the bed was a large Native American dream-catcher—a circle of twine and beads woven like a spider’s web, with colorful feathers dangling below it. Claire knew the tiny round opening in the center was designed to allow good dreams to flow through, while bad dreams were caught in the web. A set of wrought iron candlesticks decorated the mantel, and a matching pair of wrought iron lamps topped with leather shades stood on the nightstands on either side of the bed.
She noticed an old-fashioned wooden hairbrush with a wide, flat head lying on one of the nightstands. Claire immediately thought of Kyle’s unseen spanking episode on the way to the lodge, wondering if he’d ever used it on one of the guests. She’d never been spanked, but it was one of those naughty secret longings Lady Gwen had urged her to describe in the questionnaire.
“They are here to provide anything you desire,” Lady Gwen had said. Ever since she heard the sound of his tough palm smacking a bare bottom and the soft moans and cries of the helpless woman across his lap, Claire’s mind had been flooded with visions of Kyle yanking her over his knees. She looked at the full length mirror on the wall alongside the bed and imagined watching herself as he delivered the same forceful spanking, this time to her naked ass as she kicked and shrieked. Then he’d stop, meet her eyes in the mirror, and pick up the hairbrush, telling her she’d earned a good long paddling by not lying still…
When his voice boomed behind her, Claire jumped. She’d been so lost in the fantasy that she forgot for a moment that he was here in this room with her. She kept her back turned, afraid he’d see the guilty blush in her cheeks.
“Shall I run you a bath?”
Claire composed herself hastily and turned. “Why yes, that would be very nice.” She wondered just how much of a tip he’d expect at the end of this weekend.
Kyle disappeared through a door near the bed, and Claire heard the sound of water running. She was looking around for her luggage when Kyle came back in.
“Your bath will be ready soon. I’ll get the attire I’ve chosen for you to wear this evening.”
She headed for the bathroom, shutting the door firmly behind her, grateful for a moment alone to compose herself. Anxiety over being seen naked by a strange man for the first time in years warred with erotic images of Kyle ripping off that loincloth to have his way with her.
Okay, the place was isolated, the people dressed weirdly, but wasn’t that the point? This was no different from Caesar’s Palace in Vegas, with its fantasy-themed slave girls running around carrying trays of drinks in the casino. After all, she had done her homework. Before sending in a check, she called two of the anonymous women on Lady Gwen’s list of references. They gave glowing reports of their experience. No details—they both explained they were sworn to secrecy about what went on—but they assured Claire she was in for a once-in-a-lifetime thrill.
“It’s like an X-rated Disneyworld,” Suzanne from Atlanta explained. “Make sure you try all the rides!”
Claire turned to the big Jacuzzi tub, shutting off the water just in time to keep the room from being flooded with bubbles. Like everything else here, the bathroom was outfitted with every imaginable luxury. Scented bath oil, handmade bars of herbal soap, and thick midnight-blue towels. Claire lit three of the fat ivory candles surrounding the tub and slid in. Soft fragrance filled the room. She felt herself relaxing.
There was a muffled knock. “May I come in?” Kyle’s voice came from the other side of the door.
Claire looked down at herself, wearing only a thick layer of bubbles. “What the hell,” she said out loud. “I might as well get into the swing of things.” Then, “Sure,” she called out.
Kyle entered carrying a tray bearing a crystal goblet filled with amber liquid. “This is our special Dark Side Moonshine—named in homage to our Appalachian locale,” he said with a smile. Claire’s heart fluttered. His smile was so warm. For the first time, she noticed how blue his eyes were. She was self-conscious about her naked state, but her nervousness was accompanied by a tingling of arousal. She found herself wondering what he’d do if she invited him into the tub.
Hands shaking a little, Claire took the glass and sipped the potent brew, gasping as fire hit her throat. But a moment later, all she tasted was the sweetness of apples, and all she felt was liquid fire flowing through her veins.
“Wow! So that’s what moonshine tastes like!”
Kyle laughed. “Not all moonshine is this good. What you’re drinking is a little concoction we’ve dreamed up. It’s a mixture of several liqueurs, including the very rare Crema Di Amor, imported from Spain for Lady Gwen by a grateful patron. Enjoy your drink,” he went on. “I’ve set out your attire for the reception. I’ll be just outside the door, waiting to dress you.”
“My attire? I didn’t see my suitcase anywhere. I thought I’d wear my navy blue dress tonight.”
Kyle smiled indulgently, all the while shaking his head. “Your suitcase is in storage, where it will remain for the time being. All your needs are met here. We have very specific attire for each event, which we provide for you.”
Claire felt a flash of annoyance at the high-handed treatment, but it faded as the glow from the potent brew took over.
“You have about 20 minutes before we need to begin. There is a selection of makeup in the top drawer of the vanity. Don’t worry about doing your hair. No one will see it.”
Okay, now what the hell did that mean? Was everyone going to be blindfolded again? Claire hurried through her bath, polishing off the strong drink with a couple of deep swallows. She gasped again as the fire hit her stomach, but it was followed almost instantly by the sweet taste and warm glow.
She dried off with one of the thick, soft towels, trying not to look at her naked reflection in the mirror. Jim was right. She had let herself go, packing on about 15 extra pounds over the last few years.
Liar, liar, pants on fire, chanted the woman in the mirror. You know damn well you’ve gained exactly 21 pounds.
Yeah, but it’s evenly distributed, Claire argued with her reflection, trying in vain to console herself. A little bigger around the waist and a bigger ass, yes, but my tits have gotten bigger too. And my legs are still as shapely as ever.
Deliberately ignoring the nagging woman in the mirror, the one that followed her around at home, pointing out every fault, every imperfection, Claire surveyed the selection of blushes, lipsticks, and eye makeup. Darker, bolder colors than she’d ever worn. Picking out a lush black mascara and chocolate eyeliner, she took extra care with her eyes, remembering how Jim used to say they were her best feature. Funny, but she couldn’t remember when she’d stopped caring about makeup. For a long time, she’d worn only a dash of powder on her nose and a swipe of pink lipstick hurriedly applied at a stoplight on the way to work.
When I realized I wasn’t ever going to have children, did I subconsciously quit seeing myself as a woman? Claire asked herself. Have I felt unworthy of looking feminine?
Claire shook her head, uncertain of why these strange thoughts were popping into her mind. She never dared to question the woman in the mirror back home.
She carefully outlined her lips with a liner, slowly applied bright red lipstick, and then stepped back to look at the finished product. A vaguely familiar, attractive face stared back at her, a face she hadn’t seen for a long time. Claire smiled, and she was shocked to see the woman in the mirror smile back, finally silent.
Another soft tap at the door brought her back to the present. “Claire, it’s time to dress.”
She looked down at herself, stark naked, then checked around for a robe. No robe—and nothing else either. Apparently Kyle had carried away the clothes she arrived in. The only things bigger than a washcloth in the room were the bath towels.
Wrapping herself modestly in one of the huge towels, Claire opened the do
or a crack. Kyle stood next to the bed, holding some sort of turquoise garment. He had taken the opportunity to change as well. The loincloth was gone, as was the bow tie. Now he wore only a tiny black thong. Claire flushed with embarrassment when she saw that his butt cheeks were bare, with a flimsy string around his waist, and another disappearing down the crack of his ass. She stood there for a moment, guiltily taking in the sight of his nearly naked body.
“Last time I saw a guy as hot as you, I was back in college,” she blurted out, suddenly seized with the desire to reach out and give those tight cheeks a playful squeeze. “Oops, did I say that out loud? That drink must have been stronger than I realized,” she said, giggling.
Kyle turned. “Come here,” he said, holding out the dress. “Stand with your back to me and drop that towel. I’ll slip this over your head and arrange the sash.”
Claire hesitated for a moment, and Kyle’s voice took on a firmer tone. “Do as you’re told, Claire. I don’t want to punish you for disobeying me. We’ll be late to the reception.”
“You wouldn’t do that!” she cried out, shocked.
“Oh, but I can—and I will. Remember, I’m here to fulfill your every desire—including that naughty secret desire you have to be put over my knees for a good spanking.”
Claire blushed. “How did you know that?”
“Lady Gwen shares the questionnaires with the companions chosen for each patron. How else could we assure you that your deepest erotic hungers will be satisfied? Now come here. I’m not going to tell you again.”
Shivering with a mixture of nervousness and excitement, Claire hesitantly walked toward Kyle, turning her back and letting the towel drop to the floor.
“That’s better,” he assured her, his voice pleasant once again. “You’ll get everything you’ve ever dreamed of—and more—here at The Dark Side of the Moon. But all in good time. After all, anticipation increases arousal. At least, I’ve always found it to be so. Haven’t you?”
Her Darkest Desires Page 2
