Clifftop Fantasies [BDSM Menage Fantasies] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (8 page)

The sound of the lawn mower starting up caught her attention, and she went to look out the window. Karl was out there, as she’d known he would be. His shirt was off, and she could see his broad back as he cut a large path through the grass between the house and the barn. She let her mind begin to wander and within seconds had completely undressed him in her mind. She could see the sun glinting off the pert globes of his masculine ass. Each cheek just begged to be caressed by her hand.

Allie leaned against the window sill, watching him. She knew she should have been ashamed of herself for her lustful thoughts. She should be more mature than that. Anyone would think she was a teenager with a crush. But she couldn’t seem to make herself leave the window. His voice came back to her, the deep one that he’d used to tell her to sit down. It had been so masterful, so commanding. She imagined it telling her to kneel in front of him and she felt her panties getting damp.

That was just stupid. She was a feminist who didn’t believe in the necessity of obeying men. Women were free now to make their own choices. They didn’t need to be helpless and subservient.

But still, there was something incredibly erotic about the image, and Allie found that her hand had a mind of its own. Lost in submissive fantasies, she leaned against the window and began lightly caressing her left breast as she watched Karl, his skin beginning to glisten in the sunlight. Her touch was tentative and on top of her blouse at first, but quickly and without conscious thought she found herself fumbling with the buttons. Soon she had pulled the bra cup to the side and was pinching and tugging on the reddening nipple. A moan escaped her lips as she imagined him crushing her against his broad chest, pulling her head back, kissing her roughly. Maybe he would push her to her knees, ordering her to worship his cock with her mouth. She indulged herself for a few minutes, her other hand dipping into the waistband of her capris. She began pressing harder and harder against the throbbing nub of her clit. Her fingers glided up and down the length of her pussy lips and slid into the heated depth of her cunt. Panting she envisioned all kinds of scenarios that would normally have made her cringe in horror. It was utterly ridiculous, she knew, but she wanted more than anything to do something for him, to demonstrate her devotion—no, her
appreciation
of his help. She realized that he hadn’t come in for breakfast. He must be starving.

Pulling her hand from between her thighs, Allie decided she had to do something. Racing downstairs, she fixed a pitcher of lemonade and loaded a plate with muffins then covered them with plastic wrap. She watched out the kitchen window until he had turned back toward the barn before grabbing them to put on the porch table. Even though the mower was much too loud for him to hear anything else, she closed the screen door as quietly as possible and tiptoed to the table before putting down the food and racing back. Then she remembered a glass and went through the whole process again.

It was foolish, but she simply wasn’t ready to face him yet. It was just too humiliating. She knew that one look at her face would be enough for him to be aware of exactly what she was thinking. She didn’t know how he would be able to tell, but she was absolutely sure he would.

Chapter 7

Jane and Charlie came back just before Brad got home from work. Jane, who was chattering happily about the pictures they had gotten, insisted on taking Charlie’s camera and showing them to Allie.

Allie had been thinking that Jane was probably her best ally against Charlie, so she didn’t really want to refuse to look. After Allie had brought them a snack, feeling stupidly guilty for not having fixed them sandwiches, they all sat at the dining room table. Jane began flipping through picture after picture of herself, naked, in various suggestive poses under or in trees or tied to them.

Allie struggled to keep an interested smile on her face, trying not to look at the bags on the floor and wonder what other kinds of kinky supplies they contained. She wanted to ask the older woman how she could casually sit and show naked pictures of herself to relative strangers—especially the daughter of her former lover. Allie would have been embarrassed to even show pictures like that to Brad, much less to anyone else.

Brad walked in as Jane was proudly displaying a picture where she was leaning over a tree branch, her ass in the air, a come-hither look on the face that was peeking back over her own shoulder.

“Come look at my pictures!” Jane called to him enthusiastically, and he immediately walked over, nodding to Charlie, who was drinking the rest of the lemonade that Allie had made for Karl earlier.

Allie jumped up to try to warn him about the kind of pictures they were, although she had no idea how she was going to accomplish that. She reached up to give him a kiss, whispering, “Wait, don’t look—”

But he smiled at her and pushed past. “Did you get some good shots today?” he was saying, leaning down to look at the camera’s display, when the smile froze on his face.

Allie watched as he registered the details of the photo. His glance went from Jane to Charlie and then back to the image. His face was completely blank.

Jane seemed oblivious. She happily began scrolling back through the other pictures, not noticing that Brad was trying not to see, although he was still making “mm-hmm” noises as if he was looking. It seemed to be like a car wreck, though. As hard as he was trying to keep his gaze averted, his eyes wandered back on their own whenever he pulled them away. His mouth was slowly turning downward every time he snuck a look at the camera, though, as if he was disgusted with himself for wanting to see.

Allie found herself feeling a little embarrassed by his prudishness, even though she had felt similarly herself. His scowl made her want to sit down next to Jane and be supportive. She discovered that she was actually feeling envious of the older woman for being unashamed to show them the images of her body. Allie couldn’t imagine doing it herself. She had been squeamish about looking at her own pictures even when she had been young and thin. Now she looked down at herself. She wasn’t fat, exactly, but she was much curvier than she had been at eighteen. Maybe in the fifties she would have been considered attractive, she thought glumly. Now any woman over a size two was conditioned to think of themselves as overweight. It was a shame, but that was reality.

Brad seemed to be asking Charlie about some technical aspect of the pictures when Allie heard the screen door close and footsteps come toward them through the kitchen. Her first feeling was a sense of relief. Karl was coming in. Maybe now they could change the subject and she could start dinner. She would happily feed all of them if they would just stop talking about erotic photography.

“Isn’t that the same technique you used with Allie’s pictures?” Jane asked suddenly.

The world stopped. Allie had just looked up to see Karl standing in the doorway. Jane’s words didn’t register in Allie’s brain for a second, until she saw the look of surprise on Karl’s face, suddenly riveted on the group huddled around the camera.

Charlie had been opening his mouth to say something, but stopped, although he didn’t close his mouth. His eyes were on Brad, who was moving in slow motion to transfer his gaze from Charlie to Jane.

Nobody spoke for a few seconds. Allie’s chest tightened, and she didn’t seem to be able to draw a breath. She simply stared at Brad, waiting for him to ask the inevitable question. Her brain buzzed frantically, trying to think of a way to make Jane’s comment apply to anything other than what it was obviously about.

Jane had slapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and horrified, turned up to him. There was no way
that
wasn’t going to look suspicious, Allie thought. Even if she had been able to come up with some other explanation, Jane’s reaction made it very clear what she’d meant.

With Jane’s action, everyone unfroze. Brad blinked at her then turned to Allie. “Your pictures?” he asked calmly, as if he had expected all along to find out that his girlfriend had been a Playboy Bunny.

Allie gaped at him, completely at a loss. Her mouth opened, but no words would come out. They stared at each other until Charlie walked over to Brad and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I understand that this is coming as a shock to you—” Charlie had begun when Brad spun around and punched him solidly in the nose. The photographer went stumbling backward, one hand instinctively going to his face, the other reaching behind to catch himself.

He hit the wall and slid down it, blood beginning to ooze from under his fingers. Allie turned and ran for a rag, vaguely aware of Karl moving out of her way as she flew past him into the kitchen.

When she came back with a bag of ice and a couple of dishcloths, Charlie was sitting at the table, his head tilted back and a blood-covered handkerchief over part of his face. Jane was cooing over him like a mother hen. There was no sign of Brad or Karl.

“Guess he didn’t take that so well,” Charlie said lightly, exchanging his soaked handkerchief for her dishtowel. “Thanks.”

“Where did they go?” Allie asked, wrapping the other towel around the ice bag and offering it to the wounded man.

Jane answered her, fluttering around Charlie but not actually doing anything to help. “Brad said he was going out for a walk, and Karl went after him. He said something about talking some sense into him. Allie, I’m so sorry. I can’t tell you how terrible I feel about this. After I was the one who advised you not to tell him! I am so stupid sometimes. I just hate myself!”

“It’s okay. It was bound to happen,” Allie said, wishing she had thought to put on gloves before handling the bloody rag. But that might have offended Charlie. Hell, she thought.
He’s probably just broken up my relationship and cost me my dream. Why should I be worried about offending him? Given his life’s work, it would probably be a miracle if he didn’t have some STD or other.

But she didn’t say anything else, simply carrying the handkerchief into the kitchen by one corner and throwing it in the sink. She ran cold water over it to get most of the blood out and left it to soak. Going back into the dining room, she heard Jane’s plaintive voice demanding, “How could you say such a thing?” Then she felt arms go around her, and Jane was sobbing on her shoulder.

For God’s sake, Allie wanted to say.
I’m the one whose life is falling apart here. Why do I have to be the caretaker? I should be getting a restraining order against you.

But instead she patted Jane’s shoulder, telling her it was okay, that everything was going to work out all right, and that Brad would probably have found out sooner or later anyway.

Charlie stood up, collecting his camera with one hand while holding the dishcloth to his face with the other. “I think, if you don’t mind, that I will go and lie down for a bit,” he mumbled. “Allie, I’m very sorry it happened this way, but I’m sure you’re right. It will all work out.”

He walked carefully out of the room, shooting a resentful look at Jane as he went. Belatedly, Allie wondered if she should have offered to take him to the hospital. Then she reminded herself sternly that he didn’t deserve it. He definitely did deserve to bleed to death, although she would have preferred that he do it somewhere other than in a place she would have to clean up afterwards.

At least Jane was remorseful. Charlie was probably really happy that Brad had found out. Now there was no need for secrecy about his plans for the pictures. Allie was more determined than ever to keep him from rereleasing them, and she was absolutely sure Brad would support her decision. If he came back.

A fresh wave of misery went through her as she allowed Jane to lead her back to the table. In a fog she heard Jane say something about making some tea, and then she was alone. Finally. She put her head on her folded arms and let the tears come. Surprisingly, she realized that she was crying more about the loss of her dreams of owning a bed-and-breakfast than the fact that Brad was angry at her. She had done what she had to do, she told herself. True, it had been a terrible decision, but it was the only one that had made sense at the time. There really hadn’t been much of a choice. Nothing in her life had ever worked out the way she’d planned. Maybe she should have stuck with the pornography career. It probably would have ended in her becoming a washed-up and drugged-out porn actress living in a filthy hotel room, but that might be what she deserved. She certainly couldn’t make anything else work right.

There was suddenly a cup of tea in front of her.

“Talk to me,” Jane demanded, sitting down with her own cup. “Do you hate me now?”

“No,” Allie said miserably. Jane was probably the only friend she had now, after all. She took a sip of the tea and accepted the handful of tissues that was offered.

“Do you believe that I’m truly, truly sorry for this?”

Allie sighed. “Of course. I know you didn’t mean to do it.”

Jane smiled, but her eyes were serious. “The only thing to do, now that he knows, is to stand your ground. You’ve got to make him understand that you’re a strong woman with the capability of running your own life. The pictures were from before you met him, right?”

Allie nodded.

“Right. Then it’s none of his damn business. If you chose not to tell him, it’s because you were considering his feelings. He should appreciate that. He needs to know that you can make it without him and that if he’s going to be an asshole, that’s exactly what you’re going to do.”