by Sarah Veitch
'It's only Lauren,' Ms Ardale said, peeking through the window blinds.
'Oh God! I'll hide in the back shop,' Kenneth said.
'No you won't. I've not finished with you yet.' Kenneth stared at his determined goddess. She couldn't - surely wouldn't - let the younger woman in. 'Lauren let me down once. Let's just say she received a similar punishment to the one you're having. She'll be glad to be on the other side of the hairbrush,' his employer said.
Kenneth made a dash for his clothes but his boss was already ushering in the top stylist. Lauren froze when she saw Kenneth then her features twitched into understanding and delight.
'Oh dear. I see that little Ken's been naughty,' she murmured, grinning.
'Naughty? He's been reprehensible,' the older woman said.
Lauren picked up the brush. 'Your arm must be tired. Shall I take over for a while?'
'No, he's tasted it sufficiently for tonight,' Ms Ardale replied. She looked at them both. 'Unfortunately he disobeyed me by leaving his position when you rattled the door so I've an extra punishment in mind when he's servicing me with his abject tongue.' She smiled at Lauren. 'As he pleasures me, direct the hairdryer at his naked haunches - just enough to keep them nicely warmed. I'm sure that it'll remind him to lick twice as hard...'
Sub Text
The Cottage,
1 Shady Nook,
Near Exeter
2nd June
Dear Magdalene
I've just left school and long to follow in your footsteps as a Gothic writer. Would you read the enclosed short story and tell me what you think of it? Daddy works in the Post Office so I've enclosed some limited-edition stamps with pretty roses on the front. Let me know if you need anything else; I've read that many authors starve in garrets - whatever a garret is! Mummy, Daddy and me live in a three-hundred year old cottage which has a picturesque thatched roof.
Please, please, please find the time to send me a few encouraging words - I read all of your novels when I was at boarding school, despite the fact that they were on our head teacher's Banned Books list.
Yours very hopefully,
Claire Lee (age eighteen)
Basement Flat,
Old Street,
North London
10th June
Dear Claire
Whilst I enjoyed the style and substance of your short story, your characters show too much restraint; Gothic writing should be both overblown and sensuous. You achieve this with your heroine's mental torment but fail to convince the reader on a physical level. For example, you write that, 'Her heart beat faster as she stared at the tyrannical object of her desire.' This could be replaced with, 'Her creamy-white bosom rose and fell as she faced her indifferent master, and a pulse began to beat between her taut thighs.'
I suggest you throw away your romantic novels and subscribe to a quality journal of erotica.
Thanks for the stamps - I'm not exactly starving in a garret but I have to supplement my writing by selling signed copies of my books at fetish fairs.
Sincerely,
Magdalene
The Cottage,
1 Shady Nook,
Near Exeter
13th June
Dear Magdalene
Well, I've cancelled my subscription to Roses Quarterly and The History Of The Teddy Bear, but I'm not quite ready to give up on my romantic novels. Mummy calls them bodice rippers, though there isn't too much ripping in the ones I've read. However, I've added some to the story I enclose. See what you think.
Many thanks for being such a great help,
Claire
Basement Flat,
Old Street,
North London
16th June
Dear Claire
This story's much better, especially the bit where he groans 'I must have you' and tears her gown from shoulder to hem, exposing her heaving bosom and silky camisole knickers. I also like the description of his powerful hands - very BDSM!
Talking of which, it's Woman On Top night at Club X, so must dash.
Hugs,
Magdalene
The Library,
Exeter
20th June
Dear Magdalene
What is BDSM? I asked the librarian here but she just went red and handed me the Victorian Desserts book I ordered. To be honest, it looks somewhat dull now that we're discussing strong sexy men with powerful hands!
Is Woman On Top a feminist get-together? I wanted to take out a book on assertiveness training from the library but another woman barged in first.
You'll see that my latest story includes an authoritative male figure and a yielding young female.
Here's to yielding!
Your friend,
Claire
A stranger's flat,
Somewhere in London
25th June
Hi Claire
It's fortunate that I took your latest letter with me to the club, as I met this incredible woman there who calls herself O and went back to her place for... well, let's just say that lip service is her speciality. She's gone off to her office for the morning but has promised to be back to cook lunch for us both.
I loved the yielding female figure in your latest piece of fiction - she's deliciously docile. Just my type, albeit in bed rather than out. Would you like to come to Club X with me? I always go on ladies night.
By the way, BDSM stands for bondage, domination and sadomasochism. It's not as scary as it sounds, merely explores consensual powerplay between adults.
Satisfaction guaranteed,
Magdalene
Internet Café,
Exeter
30th June
Dear Magdalene
I'm fast becoming an expert on BDSM, thanks to all of the chat rooms and websites I can access from this Internet café. (I come here every clay after breakfast - I'm so lucky to have the freedom of a writer, even if I haven't made any money from it yet!) Daddy says that the internet is mindless and that he wouldn't have it in the house, but he's wrong - there are philately and horticulture sites he'd adore. I also happen to know that he has a thing about white lace stockings (he and Mummy keep the entire set of Garters Of Yesteryear hidden under their four poster) so he'd love all the sites devoted to this.
I've started to write a BDSM novel with gothic overtones. How does this extract sound?
'You must obey my every whim, on threat of severe punishment,' Randolph said, 'and can start by kissing my feet.'
Trembling with an admixture of fear and desire, Griselda kissed her way down his body, her lips tasting the fresh cotton of his shirt and the faint taste of new perspiration. His nipples jutted slightly through the cotton, so she kissed them too.
She brushed her lips down, down, down but was far too coy to trail them over his trews-clad manhood, instead choosing to kiss one of his manly thighs.
At last she reached his feet in their tan-coloured leather sandals and, after prostrating herself awkwardly, sucked in turn at each of his toes.
'You have pleased me on this occasion and now I will pleasure you,' he said hoarsely, lifting her to her feet then scooping her up in his hirsute arms. Quivering and sighing, the virgin Griselda allowed herself to be carried towards the master bedchamber and the secrets that it contained.
(I know that your books stop short of describing intercourse, but I think I'll describe it as I'm writing for a more adult market. I've never actually done the deed myself but my friend Lucy has had several one night stands and has shared all the details with me!)
Incidentally, I'd love to go to Club X but not on ladies night. After all, if I'm writing about men and women I have to observe them together in a BDSM environment.
Excited hugs,
Claire
Basement Flat,
Old Street,
North London
3rd July
Dear Claire
You're learning so fast that I doubt if you need a mentor such as .myself. But please keep in touch anyway as its
good to know someone who is broadminded and keen to explore.
I'm thinking of adding a few gentle Sapphic scenes to my next Gothic novel and wondered if you'd give me your thoughts on the following extract? (I've always considered myself to be bi but am increasingly going over to the woman's zone - men have such poor hygiene, no small talk and they often forget to phone.) Here's what I've written so far:
'I'm going to tie you to the bed and tease you mercilessly.' So saying, Angela picked up a large loop of silken ribbon and carefully cut off four pieces. She kissed her beloved Emma's forehead then gently tied her wrists and ankles to the carved wooden posts.
For the next five minutes she nuzzled at the younger girl, deliberately avoiding the source of her pleasure. 'Please,' Emma muttered after a while.
'Please what?'
'Please take me to the limit, Angela.'
Angela took her mouth away from her beloved's flesh and began to stroke it lightly with her fingers. 'Shall I lick your button nose? Your neck? Your earlobes?'
'No,' Emma moaned, half-delirious with desire, 'you know where to lick.'
'Is it here?' Angela deliberately ran her tongue over Emma's tummy button. For the next ten minutes she teased her adored one over and over again.
Do you think it's too over the top for a mainstream Gothic novel? Traditional romances have really strong sex scenes nowadays but they're still boy meets girl.
Bet this would have given your old headmaster apoplexies!
Magdalene
The Cottage,
1 Shady Nook,
Near Exeter
10th July
Dear Magdalene
My old headmaster has just been sent to prison for interfering with a boy scout so it's the rest of us who are having apoplexies. Thankfully, most of us prefer to enjoy more consensual adult entertainment - in other words I've been to Club X, albeit on Mixed (rather than Woman On Top) night. Daddy insisted on coming along with me and after four Jack Daniels and a rather strangely-scented cigarette that one of the other clubbers gave to him, he ended up having a really good time. We're going to go back next week and take Mummy with us. I think she's planning on wearing her fishnet stockings - leastways, she's been using liberal amount of thigh-firming cream.
Sadly, I can't quite get into Sapphic prose and was only able to feel aroused by pretending that Angela was Adam. After that, it worked splendidly!
How about having Emma tied down on her tummy in a later session and given a bloody good spanking? I saw a man spank a woman at the club and it got me very hot. (Luckily I had privacy as Daddy had gone off to the Legs & Co room.)
Can't wait till next week!
Claire
Basement Flat,
Old Street,
North London
13th July
Dear Claire
I don't think I want to cause actual pain to my characters so won't take up your suggestion to make Angela spank Emma. The Gothic style hints heavily at powerplay but doesn't overpower.
I'm glad that you had such a nice time at Club X, though I'm somewhat surprised that you took your father. Is it appropriate for a parent and offspring to be together in such a sexualised environment? My mother used to be the cloakroom attendant for The Bondage Bistro at the weekends but when I started doing book signings there on Saturdays she switched to weeknights instead. (You're probably wondering what a sixty year old woman is doing working in such an x-rated establishment. Well, she was the cleaning lady at the vegetarian café Chickpea Heaven and when it became The Bondage Bistro they kept her on).
Here's to appropriate relationships,
Magdalene
The Cottage,
1 Shady Nook,
Near Exeter
3rd August
Dear Magdalene
Fear not - Mummy, Daddy and me have now been to Club X together but we split up shortly after the pole dancing competition. Mummy came third in the amateurs session, by the way.
In fact, the two of them soon got off with another woman and disappeared into the Anything Goes gallery for a menage a trois. Later, Mummy confided to me that she'd been looking to spice things up for ages - apparently this woman wore lacy white stockings and she and Daddy each ripped one off. (I've kept it appropriate and haven't asked for details of what happened next. Suffice to say that Daddy slept all the way home in the taxi and Mummy's top was on inside out.)
Anyway, I was too busy having a good time to wonder about them. The club was having a public whipping session where a man stood on tiptoe tied to an overhead beam. He was completely naked apart from a G-string and had the cutest little ass.
He'd been brought to the club by his Mistress who said that he deserved to be publicly humiliated for getting an erection earlier in the day without her permission. She'd brought a series of crops and paddles with her, but her eyes lit up when she saw me standing there with my brand new whip. 'Would you like to thrash him?' she asked softly, and - intent on researching my BDSM novel - I said that I would.
Well, Magdalene, at first I felt self-conscious whipping this young man with dozens of people watching. (Two of whom were openly wanking.) But soon I found myself transfixed by the increasing redness of his bare bottom, his little squirms and cries. I concentrated on landing my whip on the lighter areas of his arse-flesh so that they turned increasingly hot and sore.
Soon he began to beg for mercy but his Mistress bade me to continue his punishment. By now his buttocks were like a beacon and he was moving wildly within the confines of his bonds. 'Tulips,' he whispered raggedly, and his Mistress told me that this was their safe word and said I had to stop. Reluctantly I returned the whip to my belt, took a bow and made my way to the Ladies where I did what I used to do at boarding school after reading one of your books.
Maddy, punishing a man is one of the best experiences ever! To think I fantasised about being taken by men for so many years! Really, I just hadn't considered all my options. Thank you again for telling me about Club X.
Mummy and Daddy are equally grateful and are meeting up with their new lover - Genevieve - again next week.
Dominant hugs,
Claire
The Migraine Clinic,
London
6th August
Dear Claire
Your parents' lover, Genevieve, is my mother. She'd called round to the flat to see me but I was out so she popped round to Club X in case I was there. It's owned by the same management as The Bondage Bistro so she gets half price leather boots and drinks.
Assuming that your parents are in their forties, should they really be cavorting with a woman of sixty? She's been distraught since my father's deathbed confession that he was in love with our paperboy - so her relationship with your parents may well be a case of any port in a storm.
Distraught,
Magdalene
The Cottage,
1 Shady Nook,
Near Exeter
20th August
Dear Magdalene
Judging by the orgasmic cries coming from my parents' room, the storm is at its height! I've met your mother and think that you do her an injustice. She seems to be a very forthright lady who knows exactly what she wants.
But enough of the older generation! Last night I secured my very own male slave - literally! The mistress whom I met at Club X was going on holiday and said that I could have her footboy for a week.
Well, I enjoyed whipping him so much at the club that I couldn't wait to punish him in the privacy of my own bedroom. I spent the day before his arrival customising the place, replacing all the first edition stamps on the walls with paddles and handcuffs. (The cost of all this equipment was really eating through my trust fund but luckily a publisher has accepted the first three chapters of my BDSM novel and advanced me a thousand pounds).
Anyway, slave boy arrived and I ordered him to dust my room with the single feather I provided. Unfortunately for him, he left a little grime on the skirting board so I made him lick it clean. Then I expl
ained that he needed further training and ordered him to strip naked and lie on the bed.
When he was nude and prostrate, I pushed a pillow under his haunches to raise them and stroked his flanks for a while, enjoying his uncontrollable writhing and heavy breathing. Then I put on my leather glove with the reinforced palm and spanked him until my arm was sore and tired.
