She leaned in, inhaled Sydney’s scent and let out a pleased sigh. “Ms. Porter, it is my job to know everyone’s name.”
Sydney bit her lip. “And why was I invited after all this time? I’ve been so curious about these parties.”
“You were invited because you are ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“Ready to give in to your most secret desires. You are ready to be free of the prudish cage in which you hold yourself captive. What better night to set yourself free than on a Halloween night with a full moon? They say a full moon has a way of helping us tap into our,” the blonde woman cooed, “baser instincts.”
Sydney’s heart began beating wildly.
“Please take a key.” The woman opened the black velvet bag.
Sydney closed her eyes and made a silent wish. She didn’t know what the key was for, but she had a feeling it was instrumental in how the night would end. She pulled a brass key out of the bag and handed it to the blonde.
“That is yours for the rest of the night. Come with me.”
The woman’s stiletto heels were so thin and razor sharp, they reminded Sydney of needles. She followed the blonde down a long corridor until they reached a carpeted end.
“Your key opens one of the doors in this corridor. Open the door and enjoy.”
* * *
Sydney walked the corridor wondering what was happening on the other side of the doors. She heard giggling when she tried one lock. Soft moans came from the other side of another door, so she didn’t bother trying it.
One door stood open. She peered in to find a woman dripping hot candle wax on a man’s thighs. He seemed to be enjoying himself. Then out of the blue the door began to close, but the woman pouring the wax hadn’t moved. Another woman, appearing from behind the door, smiled and quietly closed it.
This was all getting to be a bit daunting, but she was anticipating when her turn would come. After fifteen tries, her key finally connected perfectly and turned one of the locks.
Sydney entered the room to find a roaring fire in a fireplace, an elaborately decorated sleigh bed, and in the middle of the floor, some contraption she’d never seen before. The embers from the fire gave a warm hue to the room and it smelled wonderful. Was it lilac she smelled? That would have been a great coincidence because she loved lilac! She loved roaring fires too. When they were getting on well, she and Daniel would go to a resort in the mountains that had quaint cabins. The fire always made her so warm and cozy she’d fall asleep, much to Daniel’s chagrin.
Sydney’s eyes drifted to the contraption in the middle of the floor. She didn’t know what quite to make of it—she’d never seen anything like it before. It reminded her of a toppled Victorian throne, but it sat elevated four feet off the floor on wooden spikes with a space between. It was padded with plush red velvet and had restraints sporadically placed about the edges. There was a long plank from one end of the wooden stakes to the other, draped with the same decadent cushioning at the rest of the device, as if to kneel on. But why would you kneel into a slanted position like that?
“Do you like it?” Startled, Sydney turned around. A man dressed in a black tuxedo stepped out of the shadows. He was about six two, had black hair, and a five o’clock shadow. Although his mask was colorful, his baby blue eyes seemed to leap past it and warm her with their gaze. The tuxedo fit him like a second skin and hugged all the right places, including the bulge in the front of his pants. He seemed to be there waiting for her, but how would he know she would be the one to open the door?
“What is it?” she asked.
“This is an old Victorian device. It’s a pleasure chamber.” He came closer.
“I don’t see how it would work. Or how one would fit into it.” She surveyed the chamber.
“I’ll show you.” He pulled Sydney by the hand and turned her around to face away from him. He pressed close behind her and gripped her waist, then propelled them both closer to the device. He paused when her feet stopped moving.
“Sydney,” he whispered into her ear, “I thought you were here to let go?”
“How do you know my name? No one here is supposed to know names,” she said in a panicked voice.
“Those are the rules. But I don’t follow rules.” He gently nudged her forward and she fell forward onto the contraption.
Before she knew it, he’d stepped around the device and tied her hands into the restraints. When Sydney finally got her bearings, she realized what the angled kneeling position of the device was intended for as her breasts hung into the open space and the velvet padding supported her weight. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard the sound of his zipper. He came behind her and grabbed her hips again to steady her. A jolt of fear coupled with a curiosity ripped through her. His hands were large and firm, and she felt strangely comforted by his grip. She tried to wiggle but those firm hands held her steady.
“Going somewhere?” he whispered in her ear.
“Apparently not,” she murmured.
“Good.”
Sydney tried to turn her head to get a better look at what he was doing, but the position of the chair made that impossible. He began to caress her body and that seemed to take the rising tension of her. He started with her breasts, caressing each voluptuous melon through the corset. Sydney moaned as he pulled her nipples through the fabric, the sensations coming in fast like a tidal wave. The masked stranger laughed and slid his hand down the sides of her stomach and lifted her skirt. His hands caressed her thighs at first, then spread them further apart. She froze when she felt him slide two fingers into her and his thumb played her clit. Torn between resistance and ecstasy, she began to convulse only minutes after he started.
“When was the last time a man made you come so hard you couldn’t breathe?”
“Never.”
His motions quickened and with an urgency that seemed to come out of nowhere. He began to prove her wrong, as if she’d personally offended him. Sydney knew if he continued with the circular motions on her clit, she’d reach paradise sooner than she’d ever had with any other man. And just as she was ready to give in to the building climax, he stopped. The room fell silent except for the sound of what seemed like him slipping off his trousers, then he plunged into her.
By the time Sydney let out a gasp he’d pulled himself out and plunged into her again. The rhythm of his movements came faster and faster as Sydney finally settled into the design of the machine and put her weight on her knees. The pleasure she felt being penetrated from this new angle won out over the shame she thought she should be feeling. This was raw, unadulterated pleasure without the window-dressing of foreplay. Passion and lust gave way to the emotional bond she normally needed to feel with someone. Sydney began to lose herself in the moment and of being taken by this man she was sure was a stranger, but who felt familiar. The rhythm of in and out, fast and furious, was intense. Then he stopped.
“Am I hurting you Syd?” He said in ragged breaths.
She was panting. “No.” Did he just call her Syd?
Before she could comment, he resumed his rhythm, but this time his hands moved from her waist to undo the string that held her corset together. He liberated her breasts and then proceeded to shape them. He used his thumbs to make small circular motions on her nipples. Sydney knew it was only a matter of time before she would climax. The stranger began to breathe harder, and she could tell by the way he was clenching that he was close as well. As if sensing each other’s breaking point, they both came together so hard the pleasure chamber rocked.
He collapsed onto her back, his mouth touching the back of her neck. For a moment there was an intimacy that Sydney couldn’t shake. After a few seconds he lifted off of her, came around the front of the chamber, and untied her hands. Sydney got up and tried to figure how to put herself back in her corset.
The stranger came over and gently helped her. After she showed some semblance of being put back together, she looked in the mirror.
&n
bsp; “Are you OK?” he said as he stroked her jawline.
Sydney looked up in those blue eyes buried within the mask and smiled. “Better than OK. Thank you.”
He left her there to ponder what had just happened between them. She could feel the blood pumping through her body and felt her cheeks getting hot. Sydney forced herself to get moving and head back to the main corridor.
* * *
The blonde woman was waiting for her back in the main room.
“Did you enjoy yourself?”
“Yes.” Sydney smiled and gave her back the key. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure. Did you get what you wanted?”
“No. But I think I got what I needed.”
The woman smiled at her. “You know Sydney, this key opens up other doors in the mansion. Perhaps you’d like to try again?”
“Really?” Sydney said, intrigued.
* * *
Sydney woke up two hours later than she normally did, but she still needed her extra-large Saturday morning java fix. As she strolled down the street, she knew she must have the biggest, goofiest grin on her face. Halloween rocks! She wanted to yell it out but was content with thinking it over and over again.
She reached her java spot and got in line. She checked her email on her smartphone while waiting for her turn. Someone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder. It was her insensitive ex-boyfriend Daniel.
“Hey Sydney, you’re looking well,” he said.
“Hey Daniel,” she said in a flat voice.
“Look at this mess.” He gestured outside. The debris from the legendary Halloween parade was getting more outrageous every year. “The city will be cleaning up this mess for a week.”
“Yeah,” was all she said. She wanted to tell him to shove it and go into X-rated detail about how liberated she felt after last night.
“So how was your Halloween?”
“It was amazing, actually.” She smiled.
“Good.”
She was next in line. “Well it was good seeing you.”
“You too. I’m really glad you had a good time last night. I’ve been saying you’d been getting behind in having some fun.” He winked at her and walked out the door.
~ About the Authors ~
Mina Carter
Mina Carter was born and raised in Middle Earth (otherwise known as the Midlands, England). After a slew of careers ranging from logistics to land-surveying she can now be found in the wilds of Leicestershire with her husband and young daughter…the true boss of the family.
Suffering the curse of eternal curiosity Mina never tires of learning new skills which has led to Aromatherapy, Corsetry, Chain-maille making, Welding, Canoeing, Shooting, and pole-dancing to name but a few.
A full time author and cover artist, Mina can usually be found hunched over a keyboard or graphics tablet, frantically trying to get the images and words in her head out and onto the screen before they drive her mad. She's addicted to coffee and Nutella on toast.
Also by Mina Carter
The Imperial Princes Series
Prince's Courtesan Book 1
Harem Mistress Book 2
Wildcard (with Chance Masters)
Faery Wedding
Find out more about Mina Carter here:
http://mina-carter.com/
http://twitter.com/minacarter
http://www.facebook.com/mina.carter
http://www.facebook.com/minacarterauthor
Brooklyn Wilde
Brooklyn Wilde is a southern-born writer of contemporary romance. She loves complicated characters, good rum, and taking in strays.
Find out more about Brooklyn Wilde here:
Blog: http://brooklynwilde.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BrooklynWilde1
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brooklyn-Wilde/357765330976792?skip_nax_wizard=true
Sue Lyndon
Sue Lyndon writes steamy BDSM romance. She's currently published by Etopia Press, Books to Go Now, Spanking Romance (Blushing Books), and Discipline and Desire. She enjoys a good book in any genre, loves Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, and runs on coffee and chocolate.
Also by Sue Lyndon
Mountain Devil
Dark Without You
Find out more about Sue Lyndon here:
Blog: http://suelyndon.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SueLyndon
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/SueLyndon
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/sue_lyndon
Rhonda Laurel
Rhonda Laurel is a New Jersey native whose two great loves are creative writing and landscape photography. In 1995 she began her writing debut with her short story she crafted as a way to pass time in between her college classes. Since that time her work has appeared in various publications over the years and has never given up on her passion for bringing literary worlds to life.
“I began writing romance as an exercise to get my creative juices flowing. The more I wrote, the more I systematically became emotionally invested in the lives of my characters. Bringing life to my characters sparks my passion as a writer. Writing, to me, is like whispering a subtle, yet juicy secret, in the ear of an unsuspecting person.”
Also by Rhonda Laurel
Ebb Tide
~ More Halloween Heat Stories ~
Halloween Heat I
Erotic Paranormal M/M
Tristram La Roche, Reneé George, Dianne Hartsock, Kiran Hunter, Elin Gregory
Halloween Heat II
Erotic Paranormal Ménage
Rachel Firasek, Selena Illyria, Dawn Montgomery
Halloween Heat III
Erotic Paranormal Romance M/F
Milly Taiden, Lilly Morgan, C.P. Foster, Lillian Diamante, Antonia Van Zandt
Halloween Heat IV
Erotic Contemporary Romance M/M
Tara Lain, AC Fox
Halloween Heat V
Erotic Contemporary Ménage
Alyssa Turner, Jennifer James, Eden Summers, Vristen Pierce, Ana Maria Pasion
Halloween Heat VI
Erotic Contemporary Romance M/F
Mina Carter, Brooklyn Wilde, Sue Lyndon, Rhonda Laurel
Halloween Heat VI: Contemporary Erotic Romance Page 6