House of Temptations

by Yvonne Strickland

  ' 'fraid so,' answered Rose with a wide grin.

  'It won't make a lot of difference,' said Valerie, topping up a glass of vodka from a small bottle of tonic. 'She 11 be just the same once she's let out on the loose.'

  'She'll be a loose woman,' joked Kim, sitting next to Valerie.

  Valerie, her large gold earrings glittering against her black, gypsy hair, looked from Rose to Lorna with an expression of despair. Turning slowly to the soft-faced Kim, who was drinking through a coloured, spiral straw, she said in a low voice, 'You know, a couple of days out of the way in some sort of restraint would do you a world of good, as well.1

  Rose passed carefully down the ground-floor corridor, gripping the ebony handles of the large silver tray with its covered dishes and glasses of cool orange juice. She started up the narrow rear stairs and had almost reached the first-floor corridor when another figure, dressed in pink bathrobe, appeared from the floor above.

  wOh!' exclaimed Karen in surprise as she halted before Rose.

  'You off down to the pool?' asked Rose. 'I wouldn't mind an evening swim, if I could get out.'

  'Er, no no, I'm off to the beauty parlour.'

  'Then Val must have forgotten.' Rose smiled, turning off

  the stairs. 'She and Kiiti are still at the bar!'

  * * *

  Karen hesitated at the bottom of the stairs. Along the corridor drifted conversation and music from the bar, but there was nobody to be seen. She walked halfway along until she reached the blue door of the beauty parlour on her left. She knew Sonia would have left the door unlocked, but deliberately waited for a moment and then, but only slowly, she pushed down the brass handle and opened the door. On the previous occasion she had passed this way she had been anxious and furtive, not daring to be seen. She was no longer so concerned about secrecy. As with the silver locket, she was becoming less concerned about maintaining the pretence.

  It was as she was about to pass inside, with a final glance along the corridor, that a figure pushed through the main doors. He glimpsed her immediately and his face broke into a cheerful grin. 'Hi Karen!' he said, as he raised his hand, and gave her a friendly, passing wave.

  'Hello Mike!' She smiled and watched him turn towards the bar before closing the door.

  She did not hesitate once inside the beauty parlour. Only the pink cornice lights were on, as she would have expected. The room had an atmosphere of intimate friendliness in the half light. If Valerie and Kim had been there, it would have had a soul.

  At the far end, she reached the big cupboard and pulled open the door. How many people knew about this disguised passage? Sonia, Valerie, possibly Kim, and herself of course. She suspected that there was nobody else. Stepping into the secret enclosure, she shut the door on what, to the house, was the ordinary world. The only source of illumination was a small lamp up in the corner behind. As she pushed between the racks of leather and rubber clothing and the hanging restraints, she felt as she had felt before, the strange and compelling fascination of this curious place. When she stopped, the silence would have been as enveloping as the sensual odours had it not been for the beating of her own heart. This was the passage through to the looking-glass world. Once beyond the far door, Sonia

  would be waiting. Already, the tentacles of desire were stirring within her loins and her belly.

  Mike, in white shorts and blue denim shirt, slid up on to the bar stool next to Valerie. 'Hi,' he said. 'Am I butting in?'

  'Not at all,' replied Valerie. 'But I thought you'd be in front of the TV tonight. Isn't there a big match of some sort?'

  'Yes,' he answered, 'but it's not our lot. We're out of it altogether as usual.'

  'Who're our lot?' asked Kim.

  'England of course. Why - are you interested?'

  'Of course she isn't,' cut in Valerie. 'She wouldn't know one side of a football from the other!'

  it's cricket actually,' replied Mike with a grin.

  Kim stuck out her tongue but Valerie turned and said, if a doctor sees that, they'll rush you inside!'

  Mike looked at her over Valerie's shoulder and winked. Kim finished the remains of the drink and said, 'Well there's something I want to watch in about five minutes, so I'm off now.'

  Mike watched her leave the stool. As she passed behind Valerie, she winked knowingly back at him.

  'Aren't you having a drink?' asked Valerie, turning her gaze from the mirror behind the bar.

  'Not yet,' he replied.

  A burst of laughter issued through the archway from the conservatory and Carlene was heard in animated conversation with a number of the other girls.

  'You look a bit lost tonight,' observed Valerie.

  'No, I'm not really,' he said. 'I was going to ask you if you fancied a stroll around the gardens. It's very quiet and peaceful out there and the sky looks fantastic.'

  She brushed a wisp of hair from her temple and turned her face to his. 'Yes Mike, why not? It's a while since we talked together.'

  He regarded her for a moment; the sharp points of light reflected in her eyes, the fine black eyebrows, the soft red lips, the black hair tumbled about her shoulders. He slid from the stool and stood aside for her, breathing in her sensual perfume as she went by.

  She walked to the door and he followed, his eyes taking in her lithe figure with its white nylon sleeveless top and red, flared cotton skirt which finished just above the knee. On her feet were red leather sandals. He wondered if she wore a suspender belt, for his eyes had caught the sheen of her fine black stockings.

  He reached past her to push open the door and she said, 'Were you thinking of anywhere in particular, Mike?'

  Towards the valley maybe?' he suggested.

  That sounds like a good idea.' She smiled at him.

  They left the portico and followed the path into the warm night. The lamps were lit along the main drive but the pool to their right was in darkness, the nearby chairs propped at an angle against the tables, the flagstones glistening wet.

  'You've done the pool already,' she observed. That's a bit early, isn't it?'

  'Well, yes, but there was nobody about so I thought I'd get it over with.'

  'Very sensible too,' she said, with a subtle hint of irony. 'Leaves you with the rest of the evening free.'

  There was a half moon low in the sky, and the sweep of stars above the still air enabled them to easily make out the groups of trees and the rise as they turned off the curving drive. He moved a little closer to her and, feeling her arm brush against his, reached down and took her hand. She made no objection and when he squeezed, she squeezed back, a smile passing briefly across her face.

  As they followed the path, he said, 'You seem to work long hours sometimes, Val. Is there really all that much to do in the beauty parlour for you and Kim?'

  'We don't just do hair, you know,' she answered. 'There are all sorts of things people need to have done.'

  'Oh yes, I'm sure,' he said. 'But it's a part of the house I've never seen, even though it's so familiar to you.'

  'What other parts of the house have you never seen?'

  'Well, none of the top floor,' he said, 'I'd be for it if Sonia caught me up there. About half of the first floor and a bit more of the ground, if you count the bar and conservatory. Oh, and the cellars I've always fancied poking my nose down there. I've always had a fascination for secret places.'

  'And how many people have seen your place from the inside, Mike?'

  He looked aside at her and hesitated. 'Er, well, I've had the odd visit from time to time; just for a chat and a drink, you know. Why do you ask? Would you like to?

  Valerie glanced at him, aware of the undertone of nervousness in his voice. 'You're so funny at times, Mike.'

  They reached the top of the rise and stood listening to the intermittent chirp of insects. The valley before them was in darkness, but beyond, the sea caught the moonlight and shimmered speckled bronze.

  'Funny? Me?' he asked at last, turning to her. 'Why?'


  She smiled into his face, the moonlight glistening softly in her eyes.

  i know you arranged for Kim to leave us alone when you arrived in the bar, and I saw you both wink.'

  'Ah, well I er ...'

  'Never mind, deary,' she breathed, slipping an arm about his neck, it was probably a lot more fun than just asking outright.'

  He slipped an arm about her slim waist. 'No, no, it wasn't that, Val. It's because you're always with Kim or somebody else. I've wanted to ask you often but it's difficult.'

  'Oh, difficult. So only the difficult ones are left. Let me guess. Apart from me, there's Cheryl and, well, we won't count Sonia for obvious reasons. And Pauline, I bet even you wouldn't have dared that.'

  'I did,' he replied weakly. 'Not long before she left.'

  'Oh, and what happened?'

  'Val, let's not go into that now, and look, if you want to go back I

  'Michael, you haven't schemed and plotted to get me out here alone in the dark for nothing, have you?'

  He stared into her eyes for a few seconds, then his face melted into a smile. 'Well no. Since you put it that way, I haven't."

  Their lips met in burning heat. He breathed in her warmth and perfume and she placed her other arm about his neck, moving her body against his and feeling his arousal.

  'You'll have to pay the penalty,' she breathed as he tugged at her top and drew it up over her head.

  He thought for a moment about her remark as his fingers circled about her firm breasts and squeezed the dark, prominent nipples. 'I'm used to that, Val; believe me.'

  As his hand slipped the button at the rear of her waistband, Valerie eased her fingers under the brass stud at the front of his shorts. It gave with a dull click. They moved from each other to undress themselves and in a moment, shorts and skirt were cast down together on to the grass. He looked her up and down; she was wearing nylon bikini briefs and garter-top stockings.

  'Do I live up to expectations?' she asked.

  'God Val,' he breathed, pulling her to him, 'you're a sensation! A dream come true.'

  The fact that he had seen her frequently at the pool wearing, as with the other girls, almost nothing, made little difference now. Here they were alone, in altered circumstances, face to face. For the first time, one who had seemed quite outside his reach, stood waiting, evidently quite as willing as he to endulge her desires.

  Their lips met but his eyes opened wide and he caught his breath as her fingers slipped down the front of his blue nylon briefs and spread open at either side of his penis. The fingers carried on down, pushing away the elasticised front until the burgeoning erection was nearly freed.

  'I can't feel them,' whispered Valerie.

  *Wh what?' he gasped.

  The notches,' she replied. 'I can't feel the notches. Or do you mark each conquest off with a felt-tipped pen?'

  Her other hand tugged down on the elastic and freed his erection completely so that her cool fingers circled and enclosed the shaft in an exquisite and voluptuous embrace.

  Despite the distraction, he attempted to gain the initiative at once and slid his hand down the front of her bikini. His fingers coursed over the smooth flesh and found their goal in the heat of her sex. Her body stiffened and her fingers gripped the back of his neck as their lips came together again. It took but a few heartbeats for each of them to remove the remaining impediment from the other, but it was Valerie who regained the lead and pulled him down to the soft grass.

  Once there, she leant back on her hands, drew up her knees and spread her thighs. The invitation was beyond his ability to resist, though he did not go immediately to the focus of his desires. He knelt before her under the stars and allowed his tongue to begin its work about her breasts and stomach, savouring the warmth and softness of her flesh. He gripped the sides of her behind like a precious chalice ready to lift to his lips. Soon the focus of her lust was reached and he found her inflamed and eager with passion. He played her with skill, his tongue like an asp striking blue fire into its willing victim. But aroused as she was, Valerie did not for a moment relinquish control. Instead, she reached out and pulled him up, at the same time twisting over and rising to her knees. For a moment, they stood on all fours side by side but Valerie laughed and pushed hard against him until he rolled over on to his back. At once, she placed a hand either side of him and scrambled over his body.

  His mastery of the situation had been usurped. She straddled him and leant forward so that the head of his penis pressed hard against the base of her stomach. 'Right, deary/ she breathed, 'you've been wanting this for a long time. Let's make it all worthwhile!'

  'Oh Christ!' he groaned as she raised her behind and allowed the head to course between the lips of her sex. He held her arms, his eyes shut in expectation as she poised herself above him. There she hovered for a moment, feeling his impatient body heave beneath hers, as he held his breath. Then she fell, letting him enter her like a sceptre driven hard into its sheath.

  At first she moved with measured slowness, savouring the act like a bird of prey circling on a rising column of air, wheeling about before the final plunge. The electric pulses were building in his loins and he knew the crucial moment could not be far away. But still she kept control knowing the pulse of his body, slowing down her movements in time to avert the crisis before it occurred. When she pushed hard against him and began to moan softly, he knew the time was close and began to arch up his pelvis. She quickened her rhythm until both lost all semblance of restraint and plummeted headlong into the blinding vortex of passion, crying out loudly into the fragrant air as though delivering up their souls to the night.

  They gathered up their clothes from the grass, into the pool?' he asked, taking her hand. 'Why not?" she answered. 'Unless there's already someone else down there. We still have to be careful.'

  They walked back over the rise and the house came into view. There were more people to be seen in the conservatory now. The French, windows were open and the light spilt out over the patio. The pool remained in darkness.

  it looks like Carlene's got a full house,' observed Valerie. 'We re OK.'

  'Won't they wonder where you are?' asked Mike as they descended towards the pool.

  i don't think so. Jackie won't be there, and probably not Sonia or Rose. It looks like they have a few visitors anyway.'

  The pool was still in the calm air, reflecting the stars and the half moon and the light from the conservatory. They walked along the edge to where the tables and sunshades stood and put down their clothes. 'Can't see any sign of Karen in there either,' he remarked. 'I wouldn't worry, Mike,' said Valerie with a knowing glance. 'I'm sure she's perfectly OK, wherever she is.'

  Quietly they slipped into the dark water and moved together, breaking the stillness of the reflected stars so that

  they rose and fell like myriad fireflies on the ripples. * * *

  In the warm half light of the secret room, a figure moved slowly and purposefully about the object which had been positioned close to its centre. The bench was narrow and supported by four splayed legs; it had the form of a vaulting horse except that it's surface was not hard but made of soft, padded black leather. Upon this sinister piece of furniture was mounted, face down, a naked figure, its limbs strapped securely to each of the legs of the horse. The head, twisting from side to side at one end, was contained in a web of thick leather straps which held a black rubber ball firmly in the opened mouth. The body tensed as Sonia ran a finger slowly down the spine and into the cleft of the behind. The strap which passed so tightly over her sex and anus, to the waistband, was not for concealment, but held in position the two objects of smooth black latex which penetrated her deeply and voluptuously.

  Sonia moved about as a shadow, for she was clothed from head to foot in a catsuit of black synthetic skin. Her hand reached out in silence to a small circular table upon which lay the waiting instrument. Holding this at her side she walked up behind Karen and passed her hand over the smooth orbs of her subject's
behind, letting her finger move down over the strap and apply a little pressure to it where it passed over the anus. She raised the cat-of-nine tails and stepped back.

  The first stroke brought a tensing of the whole body and a short, muffled, *Mmm!'

  Sonia knew how much it had surprised and stung her. She knew too how the lubricated objects within her most sensitive places would make their presence felt as Karen squirmed with each application of the whip. She watched carefully the reaction to the second stroke, judging carefully the balance between pain and pleasure, for her victim had set out upon a journey of discovery; a journey to find the dark and secret passions which were haunting her. And Sonia was to be her guide and her mentor, now she had passed half willingly through the mirror.

  The strokes which followed were measured and deliberate. Even in the warm, subdued glow of the pink cornice lights, the weals were becoming visible. But the body writhing against the straps was not doing so merely from pain and discomfort. For the sounds which followed each hiss of the whip were of passion as much as anguish, and as time passed by the twisting of her pelvis became continuous, and her moans longer. It was not yet time to stop.

  The Goddess Speaks

  The most remarkable feature of the bar and conservatory on the occasion of breakfast time was the scarcity of people. Not that it was entirely empty, for Karen sat with Angela by the French windows and Mike chatted with Lorna over coffee at the bar, sharing their conversation with Kim who was on bar duty that morning. It was Kim who saw Rodolfo enter. He was dressed in deep pink denim trousers and a pale chamois shirt, which was open almost to the waist to display the large silver Egyptian ankh which gleamed out from amongst the copious black hairs of his chest. His face broke into a broad grin as he caught Rose's eye. 'Ah, buongiornoV he greeted, gesturing theatrically towards her with his hand.

  Lorna turned , smiled and said, 'Hello Roddy!'

  Mike said nothing. He had never actually spoken to Rodolfo, and though he kept it to himself, his feelings about the Italian were not sympathetic. He regarded Rodolfo as a gigolo, which Rodolfo was not. Had he cared to admit it, his own situation spoke more of dependency than did that of the Italian, for Rodolfo was a man of independent means and free to come and go as he pleased. If anything was motivation for Mike's misgivings, it was plain, old-fashioned envy.