Ivorie's Surprise [Golden Dolphin] (Siren Publishing Classic) (19 page)

Chris looked thrilled and said, “
Danke, mein Herr
. I’ll really owe you for this one,” Chris said in his patented heavy German accent.

“You’ll need your tux. It should be an interesting evening, to say the least.”

Casa da Agua Azul, outside Manaus, Brazil on the Amazon River, October 17, 2013—Thursday 10:30 a.m.

Ivorie and Drew, Jenni and Chris, and Natasha and Greg were speeding upriver in the Riva, accompanied by two ABs, toward the offshoot tributary that would take them to the Schultz Rubber Plantation and Casa da Agua Azul. Ivorie was apprehensive about the trip. She was still a little afraid to be away from the
Golden Dolphin
after her experience at the hands of Eugenia and Frank. She was also a little apprehensive about having a Dominant/submissive experience with Drew. She was relieved that at least Jenni would be there if she had any questions. She had watched a couple of Con Cortelis’s training sessions for the new subs on board the
Dolphin
and had found them fascinating. The subs, although most were quite new to the lifestyle, had a certain dignity and grace that she had not expected. Although she had only observed and had not actively participated in the training sessions, she now had a good idea of what was expected of the sub in a D/s relationship. She also knew that most couples did not engage in the lifestyle full time and that there were varying degrees of intensity in most relationships.

The Riva traveled for an hour upriver before turning north onto a tributary of the Amazon. The cries of the howler monkeys and other wildlife could be heard over the thrum of the Riva’s engine. Ivorie delighted in the pink river dolphins and the beautiful white egrets along the bank of the river as they passed. The wall of rainforest closed in as they traveled another half hour up the winding river into the interior before the view opened up again, and they could see the rows of rubber trees that comprised only a small portion of the thousands of acres that made up the plantation. Finally, they pulled in and tied the Riva to a sturdy dock and boathouse that jutted out from the river bank. They were met by uniformed native porters who carried their luggage up to the imposing house, which sat on a high rise above the riverbank, well above the high-water plain.

The pale peach-colored mansion was enormous. Arched entries graced the ground floor while the upper floor was decorated with cream-colored columns and balconies. The grounds were extensively landscaped with native Brazilian wildflowers and shrubs. Ivorie had not been expecting to find this elegant jewel of a house in the middle of the Brazilian rainforest. She wondered what other unexpected things she would experience here.

The front door was opened, and they were greeted by Wolfgang Schultz, the owner of the famed Schultz Rubber Plantation. “Welcome, my friends. I was thrilled when Jamie Devereau called to let me know friends would be visiting Manaus while Petra and I were in residence.” The tall, well-built man with ice-blue eyes and long, white-blond hair pulled back in a ponytail was smiling broadly as his guests mounted the front steps to the impressive entryway.

Gregory Dempsey stepped forward and heartily shook the man’s hand before he was clasped in a rough hug. He turned to the others and said, “This is Wolfgang Schultz. Call him Wolf. I’ve known him from the club in New Orleans for years.” Greetings were exchanged all around.

A willowy, blonde woman wearing a short, silk shift with obviously nothing underneath stood just behind his right shoulder, smiling tentatively at the newcomers. “Petra, greet our guests and show the ladies to their rooms, please. When they have had a chance to settle in and relax for a while, we’ll have lunch. Gentlemen, join me in the library for a brandy? Or perhaps some good, cold German beer?” The men started to follow Wolf into the house.

“
Guten Tag, Fräuleins
,” she said tentatively.

“Petra, English please.” He frowned at her sternly, and Ivorie could see her flinch slightly.

“So sorry, ladies. English is not easy language for me. Follow me please.” The stunning woman bowed to the tall, imposing German, kissed his hand, and then gestured to Ivorie, Jenni, and Natasha to follow her into the house. “The porters will bring your luggage.”

Ivorie and Jenni exchanged a glance and raised their eyebrows. Natasha, who also knew Wolf and Petra from New Orleans, did not appear to be surprised at their interaction. “Wolf will probably punish her for that lapse,” Natasha whispered to the other two as they followed Petra into the house, through the marble and mahogany-wainscoted foyer lit by several glittering crystal chandeliers, and up the curved staircase to the second floor. “Petra is his slave, not just a submissive.”

Ivorie and Jenni shared another stunned look. Slave? Ivorie had read about the different levels of submission, but she had never expected to meet an actual slave—and certainly not one who was a slave by choice and not misfortune. This promised to be really interesting.

Petra opened a paneled mahogany door and showed Ivorie into the large, elaborate bedroom. It was furnished in Louis Quinze, heavily gold-leaf embellished furnishings. “The furniture in the guest bedrooms was imported from France by Wolf’s great-great-grandfather who built La Casa da Agua Azul in the late 1800s. The Carrara marble and chandeliers come from Italy.” She walked to the bedside tables and turned on the lamps. “We have generator and solar panels for electricity.” She then ushered Jenni and Natasha to similar rooms across the hall before taking her leave of the guests.

Jenni rushed across the hall into Ivorie and Drew’s room. “Wow! This place is gorgeous,” Jenni gushed. “I’ve never seen anything like it except at the Biltmore Estate. And I didn’t get to sleep there!” Ivorie nodded. She knew neither of them had expected anything like this in the Amazonian jungle.
What other surprises are in store for us?
She had to wonder if maybe this trip, as fabulous as it seemed to be, had been a mistake. She hoped not. She took a deep breath and decided to buck up and enjoy the ambiance and any new experiences that came her way. After all, this entire trip had turned out to be a totally new experience, especially her new and improved relationship with Mr. Blessingame.

Luncheon was served in the glass-enclosed atrium overlooking a river vista. After eating, the visitors piled into two four-wheel-drive jeeps for a tour of the rubber plantation which bordered the river. They stopped along the river road, and Wolf pointed out the rows of Hevea trees which were cultivated for natural rubber and had cocoa and banana trees planted in between.

“Those buildings over there are used for the basic processing of the milky latex sap that is collected by the tappers. The horticulturalists employed by the plantation are working in conjunction with several universities and major corporations on breeding and research programs to develop disease and parasite resistant varieties of rubber trees as well as a sustainable agricultural program for the benefit of the local farmers and tappers who work on the plantation.” They could see the tappers working on the collection of sap after their midday break.

Wolf continued to explain that an effort was also being made to combat the threat of deforestation of the original tropical forest. “The forest is now only about ten percent of its original size. At one time it extended along the entire Brazilian coastline.” They were also attempting to preserve the local ecosystem with a program of reforestation and protection of the local flora and fauna by reintroducing endangered species.

Ivorie was impressed. “I can see that these programs are a source of great pride and importance to you, Wolf.”

“It is my duty to maintain the viability of the plantation, which provides a living for hundreds of local workers, while maintaining the local ecology as well. It is a big job.”

* * * *

The tour lasted several hours, and when Drew and Ivorie returned to their room, they were tired and sweaty. There was no breeze, and the rainforest humidity had definitely taken a toll.

“That was really interesting, Drew. I’m so glad we were invited to visit here. I would have missed so much if I hadn’t come.”

“That’s usually the case. That’s what travel is all about—new experiences. I haven’t done anything but work myself for too long. I know you were a little anxious about leaving the ship after all that happened, but I think it was a good decision.” Drew pulled her into his arms for a kiss. “How about a bath? That claw-footed tub in the bathroom is the size of a small swimming pool.” He pulled her into the opulent bathroom and turned on the gold faucets to fill the inviting tub.

Ivorie reached over to the marble shelf behind the tub and dropped a measure of wonderful-smelling bath salts into the water, which immediately erupted into mounds of fragrant bubbles. “Last one in is a rotten egg.” She laughed as she threw off her walking shorts and T-shirt and jumped into the tub.

Drew, who dropped his clothes on top of hers, scrambled in after her, settled back against the side of the tub, sighed, and said, “I guess I’m the rotten egg.”

She giggled. “What’s new about that? I always knew you were a rotten…” She gulped as he dunked her under the water. When she surfaced with fluffy white bubbles decorating her entire head, he pulled her back against his chest and brushed the foam off her face.

“Be nice. I’m bigger than you are.” He sighed as she relaxed back against his chest. He just loved holding her like this, loved playing with her, and loved making love with her. The more he thought about it, the more he knew he just plain loved her. He was shocked at his wayward thoughts. He had been trying not to go in this direction, but it seemed his heart had a destination of its own in mind.

“That’s so not fair,” she sputtered and then laughed as she put her hand under the bubbles and groped for the erect member she could feel in the small of her back. He had to admit she had her ways of getting even.

After they had played in the tub for an hour, the water had cooled, and they got out. They dried each other off. “Let’s take a nap before we have to dress for dinner and the evening’s festivities. Dinner is formal, and I have to dust off my monkey suit.”

“Oh, poor you. I think it will be fun.”

Drew hoped so, he really did. From what Greg had told him privately, Wolf was a little on the more extreme side of the lifestyle.

* * * *

Ivorie and Drew entered the formal drawing room on the first floor of the mansion at 7:00 p.m. She was extremely excited and didn’t want to be late. She knew she looked sleek and sexy in the clinging, black, knit halter dress that swept the floor around her strappy black heels. She had pulled her hair back into a bun that emphasized her long neck, and she wore her new black-pearl necklace. The other couples were already having cocktails while a uniformed waiter passed around a tray of canapés. Ivorie was hungry and eagerly took a tempting morsel from the tray. She slipped it into her mouth and sighed in evident delight as she crunched down on the crispy strip.

Wolf smiled at her and said, “I’m glad you like it. Some people object to fried anaconda. I thought you all would enjoy trying some of the native specialties.”

Ivorie forced back the gag reflex and made herself swallow the food in her mouth before she smiled and said, “It’s delicious. How unusual. What are the other items on the tray?”

“Cheese balls with ants and roasted grubs. The indigenous people don’t typically spice the grubs the way my housekeeper does. They usually just roast them over an open fire.”

Ivorie gulped and tried to smile as she reached for a sample of the cheese balls with ants—it seemed the lesser of the evils. She didn’t want to be rude, but she was not known to be a particularly adventurous eater. She followed her tentative nibble with a healthy swallow of her mango mojito. She saw Drew grinning at her and was tempted to step on his toes. “Delicious! Thank you, Wolf, for this wonderful new experience. Today has really been fabulous.”

When they sat down to dinner in the beautiful formal dining room, Ivorie was somewhat anxious about the menu, but she decided to just close her mind and open her mouth. She was a guest after all, and she certainly did not want to embarrass Drew by being a culinary prima donna. The food proved to be unexpectedly delicious, especially if she didn’t think about what she was putting into her mouth. The roasted
capybara
, a one-hundred-pound semiaquatic rodent, was tasty, and the grilled
peixe nobre
or noble fish, smothered in caramelized onions, was excellent. The
tacacᾴ
or shrimp soup, was also delicious, as was the selection of native roasted vegetables including yucca and other root vegetables. She noticed that Jenni and Chris were unabashedly diving in, and she followed suit. The meal was followed by strong Brazilian coffee and a generous selection of wonderful native fruits and homemade fruit ice creams which were tangy and sweet at the same time.

Conversation was lively and interesting, and when the meal was over, Wolf said, “Well, my friends, I hope you have enjoyed our traditional cuisine and will now join us in the dungeon for an evening of pleasure.”

As they all rose from the carved mahogany dining table, Ivorie noticed Jenni clutching her stomach. Chris looked concerned as he said, “What’s wrong, babe?”

“I think I may have been too quick to try everything. Wolf, was there a seafood base to any of the sauces?” Jenni looked slightly queasy and seemed to be having some trouble breathing.