They pulled Pauline to her feet and walked her along the soft carpet of the parlour. For the first time, she looked about her. At the other end of the range of sinks and the long wall mirror stood the sinister chair with its hanging leather straps and its leg supports springing out at each side. She saw the electric shaver ready and waiting, and the permanent depilator, already plugged into its socket. She knew that there were cameras hidden all around the room as well as behind the mirrors. She knew they would be switched on and waiting, for the chair was well illuminated by spotlights.
They went on past the standing hairdryers, waiting like hooded figures in their corner, then up to the bathroom door.
Pauline stopped suddenly, framed in the doorway of the brightly lit room. There, lit up in gleaming porcelain splendour, stood the low bowl with its padded back rest and array of leather restraints. And above it, bulging with its contents and suspended from its bracket some two metres above the floor, the bright pink rubber bottle, its clear plastic tube coiling downwards to the pink nozzle which lay resting inside the bowl. Three pairs of hands told Pauline exactly where she was headed.
'You're going to be a star at last!' sang Annette.
Valerie turned to Karen, who stood close behind. 'Look deary, I don't suppose this is your scene. Why don't you go and find out what she's done with Jackie and Rose? If you need keys to release them, you'll find them all in her desk - top right-hand drawer.'
it's important one of us goes,' added Kim. 'They might be in an awkward situation.'
'Yes, all right,' replied Karen.
They half lifted, half pushed the reluctant Pauline on to the waiting bowl and held her while Valerie worked quickly with the straps. Soon, she was spread wide and immobile, watching helplessly as Valerie pulled on a pair of skin-tight, transparent pink latex gloves. Kim's face was set in a faint smile. Annette placed a hand under Pauline's chin and pushed back her head.
'This will be a new experience for you, dear. Who knows, you may even get to like it!'
Karen hurried up the main stairs, meeting nobody on the way. On the first floor corridor she stopped at the door of Jackie's room and tried the handle. The door was unlocked and opened inward quietly. The small lounge was dimly lit from a lamp standing in one corner.
There were sounds, incomprehensible sounds, coming from beyond the bedroom doorway which stood ajar on the other side of the room. Karen hesitated, then moved forward quietly. It was obvious, as she reached the bedroom door, that the room was adequately though not brightly lit. The noises coming from within were not those of conversation but could have been sounds of pain or pleasure. In the background, there was music playing from Jackie's radio.
The door was just wide enough for Karen to look inside.
Rose and Jackie each had their arms folded behind their backs within a tight, sleek cocoon of metallic grey vinyl, enclosing them from neck to waist. Otherwise, they were naked, their heads as free of hair as were their pubic areas. Rose lay back in a small armchair with her legs spread wide apart and hanging over either side. Her eyes were closed and her mouth hung open, moans and gasps passing from it as her head moved rhythmically from side to side.
Jackie knelt before her, head down between her thighs, her lips fastened upon the reddened sex of her partner, her tongue darting about and stoking the flames of Rose's sensuality. Even in secure bondage they were willing and able to feed each other's lust, and perhaps, thought Karen as she watched in silence, because of it.
Rose became further agitated, jerking against the restraint and moaning loudly. After a moment her body heaved repeatedly and she cried out so loudly that Karen moved back from the door. As the cries died down she turned away and tip-toed back across the lounge, thinking that to return in another half hour might be more appropriate.
Epilogue
i get the impression everyone knows that Pauline is leaving,' said Sonia. Karen, sitting opposite her in the green leather office chair, did not reply but lifted up her coffee cup. i don't expect anyone is about to tell me in full what has happened,' she continued, 'but considering what occurred earlier, this seems a not altogether unwelcome development.'
i don't think anyone will disagree with you on that,' answered Karen.
'No, I imagine they wouldn't.'
'Where is she going?' asked Karen.
'Well, it has worked out rather conveniently from my point of view. She asked if she could go and work in London. She is to change places with Cheryl.'
'You mean Pauline will be running Cheryl's operation?'
'Yes. I have a feeling some of our establishment clients might take quite well to her more aggressive approach. I don't think she's ever been entirely happy here - she's more of a city girl. As for Cheryl, I find her more adaptable. She isn't quite as ready to inflict pain as Pauline but her methods are just as effective in their own way. She is generally liked as well.'
'Sonia,' said Karen, looking down at her empty cup. 'I don't want you to think anyone had been underhand or deceitful. Val, Annette, Kim, Angela and me - we'll all be frank and open with you.'
'No,' answered Sonia, reaching out and holding her hand, it's time for me to be honest with you.' Karen looked into her dark eyes and Sonia continued. 'I know what has led up to this, but there is another dimension you know nothing about. People have wondered why I let her get away with so much. Well, you might as well be told. She has knowledge of my business affairs and some of my contacts which would, if disclosed, prove rather embarrassing to me. I have always had to take that into account when dealing with Pauline. So you see, my dear, what you and the others have done has redressed the balance. She would dread the idea of anyone outside seeing those photographs -'
'You know about those!' interrupted Karen.
'Yes, I do,' said Sonia. 'James is a loyal employee and a good friend -'
'Sonia!' cut in Karen. 'That's not fair! We all are. None of the girls would ever -'
'Karen dear! I didn't mean it that way. I don't doubt you at all.' She placed her other hand on Karen's and they drew closer. 'What's happened is of benefit to all of us and I'm glad because you will be happier here now, I hope.'
'Yes,' said Karen, leaning forward until their faces were very close. 'Of course I will.'
They were silent for a time. Sonia lifted her arms and placed her hands upon Karen's cheeks.
'Perhaps you would like to join me this evening for a drink.'
Their lips moved closer, the electric arc of sensuality passing between them even before they touched.
'Yes,' answered Karen softly. 'This evening. I'll be here with you again.'
NEW BOOKS
Coming up from Nexus and Black Lace
Nexus
House of Intrigue by Yvonne Strickland January 1996 Price: £4.99 ISBN: 0 352 33055 4 Karen cannot resist the lure of the depravity which surrounds Sonia's house but the ruthless disciplinarian Pauline has a score to settle with Karen, and an endless array of instruments with which to settle it. The effect of the punishment only serves to increase Sonia's disobedience, and the naughtiness intensifies.
Skive-Mistress of Vixania by Morgana Baron January 1996 Price: £4.99 ISBN: 0 352 33054 6 Queen Vixia, now free to indulge her sadistic desires, focuses upon the virginal Lady Laylanda as her next victim. But Laylanda's resistance only increases the humiliating punishments inflicted on her. On the other hand, Brod must gain power by arousing as many orgasms in women as possible, and he has no problems finding willing candidates.
Bound to Obey by Amanda Ware
February 1996* Price: £4.99 ISBN: 0 352 33058 9
As the newly appointed servant, Caroline has more discipline in
store for her than she expected, and a far less substantial uniform.
As she learns more about her kinky employers she discovers she
can be witness to even more deviant antics than she ever imagined
possible.
The Island of Maldona by Yolanda Celbridge February 1996 Price £4.
99 ISBN: 0 352 33028 7 The women of Maldona are an ancient order devoted to physical perfection, Sapphic love and strict discipline. Their leader, Jana, and her slaves set out on a quest and recreate their passionate rituals of punishment and reward on a deserted island. But the goddess Aphrodite threatens their harmony and the rivalry comes to a head in their naked physical battle.
B I A C K
I a c c
White Rose Ensnared by Juliet Hastings
January 1996 Price £4.99 ISBN: 0 352 33052 X
Against the backdrop of the Wars of the Roses, another battle is
taking place. Rosamund, now recently widowed, finds herself at
the mercy of Sir Ralph Aycliffe, a powerful knight who will stop
at nothing to humiliate her and enslave her beyond redemption.
Only a young squire will risk everything and battle over her body.
A Sense of Entitlement by Cheryl Mildenhall January 1996 Price £4.99 ISBN: 0 352 33053 8 Angelique inherits a half share in a Buckinghamshire hotel, but this is a hotel with a difference. In it the clients behave strangely and the labyrinth of hidden passages reveals a secret room where the weirdest and wildest erotic fantasies can be acted out.
The Mistress by Vivienne LaFay February 1996 Price £4.99 ISBN: 0 352 33057 0 Emma Longmore is very much enjoying her role as mistress to Daniel Forbes, and her salacious means of passing the time involves initiating the daughters of local dignitaries in the arts of lovemaking. But when it seems Daniel is tiring of this lifestyle and diverting attention onto the household staff, Emma becomes drawn to the flaunted libidos of Paris.
Aria Appassionata by Juliet Hastings February 1996 Price £4.99 ISBN: 0 352 33056 2 The inexperienced Tess is about to play one of opera's most notorious roles, Carmen, in a production that promises to be as raunchy and explicit as it is intelligent. Tony Varguez takes on the task of educating her, setting the stage for unbridled erotic exploration and painstaking research. But like the character she is to play, Tess soon finds herself torn between two equally beguiling lovers.
House of Intrigue Page 26