Tessa's Escape to Athena's Ground

by Brianna Salera

  “Then I’ll keep it up, since you love it. But, Tessa, when the time comes for me to stop lecturing and start doing, I’m going to do what most men do. I’m going to use words that rev up my sexuality, and those words don’t include phrases like ‘concurrent sexual partners.’ Nor do they include medical terms or other polite-company words.”

  Tessa thought about Mark, who never used rough words. Maybe because when he had, early on in their marriage, she shut him down. After that he used no words at all. He simply rubbed himself up against her, tentatively touched a breast or her crotch, and if she didn’t object, he got on to the business of getting himself off. Afterwards he’d cuddle, so she got something out of it too.

  “Where did your mind just go?” Russell asked. “You looked a mile away.”

  Tessa told him what she’d been thinking. “Mark fell short in a lot of ways,” she said, “but so did I. If I’d respected his needs—for something other than missionary, for dirty sex talk in the bedroom, for toys…” Tessa shrugged. “Things might have worked out differently.”

  “Do you remember what I said this morning, that you can’t change what was, but you can change what is yet to be?”

  Tessa nodded and was still thinking about the ways she’d already changed when Russell turned in to a parking lot and stopped behind what looked like the employee entrance to one of the buildings.

  “Behind that door,” he said pointing to securely locked gray metal, “is a school, of sorts, at least for the next hour, and only because I’m one of their favorite customers.”

  “I’m going to guess this is unlike any school I’ve been to before.”

  “You’d guess right. We’re going to get out your list of sexy things to explore and begin doing that here. Remember how self-conscious you were dancing at the club?”

  “Until you got me so heated up I couldn’t take it anymore.” Tessa laughed, remembering how Russell maneuvered her to a dark corner so she could experience the magic of his fingers and an orgasm powerful enough to curl her toes.

  “Things on your list converge. You find watching sexy activity a turn on, which is both common and normal,” he said, before Tessa could flood herself with shame. “And you want to find, and develop, a more naturally sexual Tessa.”

  “I strangled my femininity by being too straight-laced. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want some limits.”

  “Of course, most of us do want limits. And the way to find them is through exposure, experience and knowledge. That,” he said, waving his hand at the gray door, “is what lies beyond.”

  Russell grabbed the bag from Laces & Ties, jumped out of the car, and said, “School’s on.”

  ***

  “Are you sure this is right?” Tessa said.

  Ashlee, whose stage name was Mahogany Smooth, tugged the laces on the back of Tessa ‘s corset even tighter. “Now it is.” She pointed at the mirror. “Makes your waist look tiny and your boobs look big.”

  “Makes it hard to breathe,” Tessa said.

  “Long as you’ve got enough oxygen to keep your brain cells from dying, it’s good.”

  Tessa looked at the outfit Sunny and Russell had picked out. The front of the corset was see-through black lace. The lace barely covered Tessa’s areolas and her nipples jutted through the lace like a hot knife in soft butter. She poked at a nipple. “Is that how it’s supposed to be?” she asked Ashlee.

  “Girl, that is exactly how it’s supposed to be. Half the girls who work here would kill to have those perky tits. And the nipple jut? Gets a man’s juices going before you even have to do a thing.”

  The corset had no back, per se, just a series of black lace ties. Each tie was independent of the other, so getting out of the corset was one tug at a time.

  The panties were nothing but a G String of matching black lace. Very thin, see-through black lace.

  “My hoo-hoo is naked,” Tessa said, looking at the half-inch strip of lace covering her slit.

  “Your hoo-hoo is hot-hot,” Ashlee said, “and nobody older than eight and younger than ninety calls their snatch a hoo-hoo.” She pointed at the curls of dark brown hair on each side of the strip of lace. “You wear that again, you’ll need to get a Brazilian wax.”

  Tessa turned her rear to the mirror and looked over her shoulder. The lace disappeared between her cheeks, giving the look of total nudity.

  “Don’t worry, your hole is covered,” Ashlee said. “And your ass looks good. You ever lose those inhibitions, you could make some money as a dancer.”

  Tessa’s face turned pink.

  Ashlee led Tessa to a dimly lit room. It was empty, except for Russell, who was relaxing in a love seat. He patted the space next to him and Tessa joined him.

  “How do you feel in those clothes?” he asked.

  “Embarassed. Naked. Silly.” In a smaller voice, Tessa added, “Sexy.”

  “It’s the last descriptor I want you to focus on, Tessa. No one’s asking you to walk into church in that outfit. But someday, someone is going to thank God when you walk into his bedroom in it.” He put his arm around her shoulder and dangled his long fingers until they lightly brushed the place where lace met skin. “Even in this light, I can see how much your nipples beg to be fondled.” He pressed the black lace and felt the hardness of Tessa’s nipple underneath.

  Russell’s exploration was interrupted by the explosion of lights at the front of the room. There was a small stage, now brightly lit. On the stage was a simple cane chair, turned so the back of the chair faced the audience. In the chair was a redhead with smooth, light skin and long, red fingernails. She wore a soft pink bustier, a long string of pearls around her neck and a pink G String. Tessa noticed this woman had a Brazilian.

  Russell spoke softly into Tessa’s ear. “This is Bunny Love, or at least that’s her stage name. She will not speak, but she will be your teacher for the next ten minutes. Her moves are sensuous and provocative in the beginning. She’ll build on that; men will be clawing at themselves by the end of her number. Notice how she moves. But mostly notice how comfortable she is with her body.”

  Tessa watched, transfixed. Bunny’s eyes focused on a point in the distance while she moved to music; the chair was her dance partner, her companion, and her lover. She strutted around it, hoisting a toned leg up and over it. She bent over it, showing the audience every part of herself not covered by the bustier and G String. She oozed and slithered and flexed, and each movement was slow and languorous and so sexy Tessa was amazed. Not once did she seem to doubt her body or the sexy, provocative things she did with it.

  The tempo of the music changed, and Bunny changed with it.

  “Watch how she moves from temptress to hot sex,” Russell said, just as Bunny unsnapped the top hook of her bustier. Timed to the music and with a rawness that took Tessa’s breath away, Bunny’s bright red nails popped the hooks of her bustier one by one. When the last was unhooked, she flung it off her body, like unwanted weight. All she wore now were hot pink pasties and a soft pink G String.

  The early music had been playfully provocative. It was raw sex now.

  Bunny Love strutted forward, away from her lover—the chair—and faced the audience. She toyed with the string that held her diminutive G String in place, tugging it as if she would rip it off. She sucked a finger with her bright red lips and then inched the finger over to the thin strip of lace that covered her slit. Each time her finger came close to her clit, she pulled it away and shook her head, no-no. She played with the tassels on the end of her pasties, moving her breasts to the rhythm of the music. And she ended at the exact moment her music did: standing with her back to the audience, bent over, each hand pulling a cheek apart just enough to give the audience a glimpse of the thin pink lace between her butt cheeks. Bunny moved a finger to the bit of lace that hid her anus, wiggled her bright red fingernail and gave the audience an exaggerated wink. The lights died, and Bunny Love silently moved off the stage.

  Tessa was flabbergasted. It was sex
y, if a bit lurid, but she could no more prance and primp and shake her ass than fly. Not to mention play peek-a-boo with her anus. She told Russell as much.

  “You’d be surprised what you can do, if you decide you want to. But you better decide quick.” Russell pointed to the woman headed their way. “Because the master teacher is about to take the student through a practice exercise.”

  Russell ushered Tessa to a corner with chairs, tables and floor-to-ceiling curtains. He sat her in a chair, and pulled the curtains closed. A moment later, the woman Tessa had seen entering the room stepped through the curtain, put her hands on her hips and said, “You have all the equipment honey. You just need to learn how to use it.”

  -31-

  The woman’s name was Mary. She was the owner of what she refused to call a strip club.

  “We give a little instruction to Russell’s friends, from time to time. His friends leave with a greater appreciation of their femininity, and what to do with it, and Russell leaves happy.”

  Mary wasted no time. She asked Tessa if she’d ever given, or witnessed, a lap dance. Tessa’s wide-eyed shake of her head made Mary chuckle. “Well, that’s about to change.”

  Russell was placed on a chair in the center of the small space. Mary moved Tessa into various positions, barking orders.

  “The rule of the lap dance is that the receiver, your man, cannot move or touch you in any way. You are in complete control. Now, the way to make your man enjoy your control over him is to give him what he needs, but at your pace and in your way.”

  Mary demonstrated, and Tessa mimicked her moves. She started by bracing her arms on each side of the chair and leaning into Russell, whose legs were spread to provide maximum access to his crotch. “Closer!” Mary said, and Tessa pressed herself until her black laced nipples were brushing Russell’s chin and her pelvis was rubbing Russell’s crotch.

  “I feel silly,” Tessa said, as she wiggled against Russell. “How do I know if I’m doing this right?”

  “You’ve got your pussy against the man’s lie detector,” Mary said. “If his package’s gotten bigger, you’re doing it right.”

  Tessa stopped wiggling and looked. “Hey, I’m doing something right.”

  Russell laughed.

  For ten minutes, Mary tutored Tessa on positions and moves. Rub yourself more Tessa. You look like you’re mopping the floor. Snap your G String in his face. Suck your finger and trace your nipple. Brush your backside up and down, from his nipples to his crotch.

  With each command, Tessa responded, sometimes giggling at how silly she felt, but sometimes surprising herself with other emotions. By the time Mary was finished with the lesson, Tessa was wet and Russell looked like he’d kill for some relief.

  “Good job Tessa,” Mary said. “I’m going to leave you to finish the dance privately.” She looked at Russell. “The club doesn’t open for a couple hours and this room is off limits to staff for another half hour. Enjoy yourselves. Just keep the curtain closed.”

  With that, Mary was gone and Tessa was alone with Russell, and his very big hard-on.

  ***

  “You wanted to learn how to light up your man and be in control. A lap dance is an excellent means to that end. You should know, you just did it,” Russell said, repositioning himself to ease the strain in his now-tight pants. “What happens next is something you and your man will decide. Unless you want to drive him stark-raving mad, you’ll need to cancel the no-touch rule at some point. When you’re tired of dancing and your man’s dick is about to punch through his trousers, it’s probably time.”

  Tessa nodded and Russell pushed Tessa forward. She felt his fingers on her back and felt the top tie release. Then the next. Then the last. Russell slid his hands under the black lace and squeezed Tessa’s breasts, one in each palm. He groaned.

  “Unzip me,” he said into her ear.

  Tessa reached for Russell’s fly. It wasn’t easy, sliding the metal teeth down over the rock that developed in his crotch. After a moment, she managed to loosen his pants.

  “Reach in. Pull my cock out.”

  Tessa pulled on his manhood and it roared out of confinement. It was hard and thick and it had a drop of moisture on its head.

  “At this point in your lap dance,” Russell said, “you and your man need to negotiate how you’re each going to get what you need. For example, I need to come. What about you Tessa?”

  The thin strip of lace over Tessa’s slit was wringing wet. He smiled when Tessa nodded, yes.

  “You’ve rubbed and teased my prick until the only thought in my head is to thrust it in your tight pussy until it explodes.” Russell raked his teeth over Tessa’s sensitive nipple and she yelped. He pulled her to a loveseat and pushed her onto it. “You’ve had all the control, up to now. Your man may want to continue with you in control, or he may want a turn calling the shots.”

  Tessa said, “What do you want, now?”

  “I want to ride you until you scream. I don’t want this to be gentle and sweet. Can you handle that?”

  Tessa whimpered, pulling her hips up to align with his. She opened her legs wide, sucked her finger, and began massaging her clit.

  Russell seemed surprised that Tessa’s answer was so overtly sexual, and he smiled. He forced his hips between Tessa’s open legs, shoved the lace G String out of the way, and inserted his finger.

  “Your pussy’s ready for my cock, isn’t it Tessa?”

  Tessa nodded and moaned something that sounded like yes and Russell responded by driving his member into her wet center. She wiggled but he kept control, holding her hips with his hands while his pelvis found its rhythm. When she settled into the position Russell required, he moved a hand to Tessa’s mound. He created friction and heat on her clit and his penis did the same inside. Tessa began to writhe. The muscles of her vagina gripped his shaft and waves of small contractions began to build.

  “You’re almost there.” His breathing was ragged, but he kept pumping, quickly and deeply. His palm pressed Tessa’s mound and his fingers concentrated on her clit. “Do it. Do it. Before my cock explodes.”

  Just as Russell filled Tessa with his semen, Tessa shuddered and screamed. After they both caught their breath, Russell pulled his spent manhood from her core and gently slid it back into his pants. He repositioned the thin strip of lace over Tessa’s wet mound, lifted her to her feet and said, “Now that’s how you end a private lap dance.”

  -32-

  Tessa studied Russell’s face as he drove them back to Tessa’s hotel.

  “What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done with a client?” she asked.

  “I never talk about clients to anyone except the client’s therapy team at Athena’s Ground.”

  “Not even in a generic way?”

  “Not in any way.”

  Tessa was relieved—she certainly expected her experience here to be kept confidential, in fact, if military grade Top Secret was an option, she’d demand it.

  Again, Russell seemed to read her mind. “You’d skin me alive, after you sued the stuffing out of me, if I told my next client all about you, right?”

  “Right you are. I know some very good lawyers and my receptionist’s husband is a sous chef, very skilled with sharp instruments.” Tessa smiled. “I was curious about your experiences, but I’d have been disappointed if it turned out you had loose lips.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with my lips,” Russell said, smiling, “as I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

  “Well, if you aren’t going to talk about past clients, let’s talk about the current one,” Tessa said. “What are we doing this evening?”

  “Like the Big Man in the Red Suit, I’m taking your list and checking it twice. Except in your case, my job is to make sure you’re naughty, not nice.”

  Tessa laughed. “Just how naughty are you going to get me to be?”

  “As naughty as you like. This is all about you, Tessa, so take full advantage.” The light ahead turned red. Russell brou
ght the car to a stop and used the opportunity to focus on Tessa instead of traffic. He looked into her honey-colored eyes. “I’m going to spread out an assortment of toys—the ones I picked up at Laces & Ties—and you’re going to try them.” Russell smiled. “What kind of cuisine have you never tried before?”

  “What?”

  “Name a type of food you’ve never eaten before. Like Thai or Brazilian or whatever.”

  “I live in New York, we have everything. But for some reason I’ve never tried authentic Swedish food, except a drink called glogg, which will put you on your ass in no time if you aren’t careful.”

  “Okay. Think of tonight as an all you can eat Swedish Buffet. You’ll taste a little of this and that, and eat a lot of whatever you like. If you hate something, you can spit it out, but you must at least taste it.”

  “What if it looks so bad I can’t even put it in my mouth?”

  “Then I’ll blindfold you.”

  They pulled into the hotel parking lot. Tessa wondered just how much of the buffet she would like and Russell hummed. It took her a a minute to recognize his song: Three Blind Mice.

  While Russell showered, Tessa checked her email. There was the usual junk from websites Tessa occasionally shopped at. There was an email from Stacy, her right-hand woman at work. Tessa held her breath as she opened it, paranoid that some terrible thing had happened while she was gone. A fire. A burglary. An order cancellation from Dillards or Macys or Saks. Or worse, an order cancellation from Dillards and Macys and Saks.

  Hey Tessa. Just a note to tell you all is well here. Everyone survived Christmas and will, we predict, survive the craziness that is New Year! We all hope your vacation ‘down under’ is fabulous and that you’re having the time of your life. You deserve it. See you shortly after New Year. Stacy.

  Tessa smiled. A friendly note was so much nicer than finding out her entire office was gutted by fire or a very greedy burglar.