Her Darkest Desires (12 page)

Back at the lodge, Claire headed for her room to rummage in her purse for a pen. She couldn’t find so much as a scrap of paper, so she used the back of Kyle’s note to jot down phrases.

I feel within the breeze

The ancient songs of trees

The storms of life may rage

But sundown sets the stage

My restless soul finds peace

This mountain night

Claire had no idea how much time had passed when she was suddenly roused by a knock at the door.

“Come in,” she called out absently.

The young woman who accompanied Melody that first night stepped into the room. Today she wore a French maid’s uniform straight out of a porn flick—frilly black and white apron tied around her neck, barely covering her tits. It was short enough for Claire to see the garters holding up her black stockings. When she came closer, Claire saw the back of her outfit reflected in the mirror. The apron was scarcely wide enough to cover her in front, and a wide sash held it snugly at her waist. Below the saucy bow, she had on only a sheer black garter belt, leaving the rest of her ass bare. Long black gloves and a pair of shiny black platform heels completed her attire.

“Good afternoon, Madame. My name is Collette. I have been instructed to escort you to see Lady Gwen. There is no hurry. Would Madame like me to turn down the bed first?”

She bent over to straighten the comforter, and Claire found herself staring at shapely twin cheeks that still bore the faint red marks of a recent spanking. A stab of pure lust ran through her as she remembered the heady thrill of being yanked across Kyle’s lap, helpless to resist as his hand cracked down over and over on her bare bottom.

Collette saw her staring. “I have been instructed to obey Madame’s every wish,” she murmured softly. “Is there anything you desire before we go?”

Chapter Eight

“Yes,” Claire answered boldly. “Come here. Sit down and talk to me. If I ask you questions, will you answer them honestly?”

“Yes. I must do as you wish. If I do not please Madame in every way, Mistress Jade will discipline me,” Collette replied, her eyes downcast. “She has already given me a maintenance spanking, just to assure my complete obedience to you.”

“Maintenance spanking? What is that?”

“I have the honor of serving Mistress Jade.” Collette fingered a narrow black band around her neck. “I am bound to her. She sometimes spanks me purely as a reminder that I am to do her bidding without question or complaint at all times, whatever she may ask of me. It is but a taste of the punishment I will receive if I displease her—and the reward I get when she is happy with me.”

“So, this isn’t just a game you play for the amusement of the guests?”

“Many of us who serve here are bound to Mistress Jade. She is our domme. We… we love her.” Collette went on, words pouring out as she struggled to explain. “A game, you ask? This is my
life
. Mistress Jade rescued me. I was a runaway living on the streets of Atlanta. I had a pimp who beat me regularly, then sent me out to whore and took every dime I made. If I was lucky, he tossed me a few pills every now and then, just enough to keep me craving more. Gwen and the boys showed up one night in an alley, where he was kicking me as I lay on the ground. He was unhappy because I hadn’t made enough money that night. She flew at him like an avenging angel and proceeded to beat the crap out of him, while Theo and Aaron stood there calmly watching with their arms folded. When she was through, Gwen took every dime that creep had on him. She turned to me and handed me the money. Then she gave me a choice. They’d drive me to the bus station and buy me a ticket home—or I could come with them, get clean, and start a new life.”

“I had nothing to go home to, except more abuse from my mother’s current live-in boyfriend. So I got in the car. They took me to Mistress Jade. Now Gwen and Jade and the others are my family. They take care of me—and it is my duty and my pleasure to do her bidding. I’m happy here, and I enjoy my work.”

“Wow.” Claire was speechless. She struggled to make sense of what she’d just heard. “So, this isn’t an act for our benefit? You are a fulltime sub?”

Collette nodded proudly.

“I’m a little scared of Mistress Jade,” Claire admitted. “What’s it like—having her as a domme? What does she make you do?”

Collette laughed. “It’s not all about sex all the time. We’re like any other family,” she answered. “We do household chores, and we go grocery shopping together. Sometimes we head into town and see a movie. But beneath it all, Mistress Jade is in charge. She loves me, and she both pampers me and disciplines me for my own good. I did a lousy job of running my life when it was all up to me. Frankly, it’s a relief not to be the one in control all the time.”

“So this is it? You’ll stay here for the rest of your life?”

“Mistress Jade has other plans for me,” Collette replied. “She’s seeking the perfect fit for me… a man or woman to take over her role as my domme. Someone I can love and care for, who will cherish and respect my gift of submissiveness. Jade has taught me that being a sub does not mean being beaten into obedience, as I was before. I choose to kneel before her, and I accept being paddled and caned and all the rest for two reasons. First, in all honesty—it’s a huge turn-on for me. Second, I know Jade loves me. She wants what’s best for me. Yes, she’s stern and she demands obedience, but she’s never selfish or mean. The person she chooses for me will be like that as well.”

Claire was incredulous. “And you’ll accept whoever she chooses? Go and live with a stranger, allow that person to run your life, and carry on as you do here?”

“Why not? People in other cultures have had arranged marriages for thousands of years. They grow to love each other, raise families, and spend the rest of their lives together. If you ask me, our society would be much better off if there was one clear head of the household in every marriage, one person who both parties agree has the final say-so. We’d have fewer divorces if so many relationships didn’t suffer from constant discord—arguments over everything from finances to what time the kids go to bed.”

Collette sat placidly, hands folded in her lap, awaiting the next question, but for the life of her, Claire didn’t know what to ask. Everything she’d heard was so far outside of her experiences in life. Did people actually live this way? Allowing someone else to choose their spouse, willingly giving up control over so many aspects of their lives? Yet, Collette seemed content, even happy.

“What if I said I wanted to spank you right now?” she finally blurted out.

“What position would Madame like me to assume? Over your lap? Bent over the bed?”

“And if I wanted you to spank me instead?”

Collette smiled. “I deliver a very good spanking, Madame. It’s one of my specialties. You see, being a sub myself, I know just how hard to strike, how long to continue. I am a sub to Mistress Jade—but I have often played the role of a domme for other guests.” Collette’s smile disappeared, and her voice changed.

“You, Madame, appear hesitant and confused about what role you are to play here. I understand your feelings. Right now, you’d like nothing more than to have someone else tell you what to do next. This I am prepared to do.”

Collette stood up suddenly. “Get over here. Bend over this chair, and pull down your jeans.”

Claire stared at her. “You’re kidding.”

Collette grabbed her arm and dragged her over. “I said, bend over this chair. Lay your head on the seat. Now unzip those jeans and pull them down with both hands. I want to see your ass sticking up high in the air.”

Claire was embarrassed, but at the same time, she felt a shudder of arousal. Unzipping her jeans, she hesitantly pulled them down below her hips, leaving her ass covered only by thin panties. Collette grabbed the drumstick hanging on the side of the rustic table. Taking hold of the head, she delivered a sharp whack to Claire’s backside with the long wooden handle. Claire cried out, shocked at the sudden pain.

“Yes, this will do nicely,” Collette remarked. “It’s similar to the cane Mistress Jade uses on me when I’ve been especially naughty. And you’ve been naughty too, haven’t you, Claire? Tell me the naughtiest thing you’ve done since you arrived here.”

When Claire didn’t answer immediately, Collette delivered two more harsh strokes. Claire jerked upright, covering her burning bottom with both hands. “No! Stop it!”

Collette moved swiftly. Grabbing both of Claire’s hands in one of hers, she simply held them immobile and began whaling on Claire’s ass with the stout stick as she stood there with her pants down around her thighs. To her surprise, Claire found herself getting wet. Pain fed pleasure, blending into a spicy mix of intense sensations.

Collette stopped. “Now, Miss Claire, answer me. Tell me the naughtiest thing you’ve done since you arrived.”

“I… I played with myself after Kyle said it was forbidden.”

The long stick cracked down again. “Tell me where you were, what you did.”

Claire clenched her teeth, stifling a cry. “It was last night, during the show. I was wearing the apparatus with the dual vibrators. Kyle had my ass spanked twice by other people, and then he kept playing with the remote controls of the vibrators, turning them off and on. My clit was throbbing, my ass was being tormented. But my pussy was so hot and so wet and so empty.”

Another harsh whack. Claire cried out in agony, trying to twist away. But Collette was surprisingly strong for one so slender. She held Claire’s wrists in an iron grip, pulling them up behind her back. The movement sent sharp stabs of pain through Claire’s arm sockets.

“Aaaah!”

“Stop trying to resist, Claire. Believe me, it only makes things worse.” Collette sounded sorrowful. “Now… go on. Tell me exactly what you did.”

“It was dark, and everyone was watching Lady Aidin with all those men. So, I slid two fingers in and out of my pussy slowly, waiting till Kyle hit the controls of the vibrators again. Then I fucked myself deep and hard. I could feel the big thick dildo humming in my ass, and the butterfly pulses made my clit quiver. I came almost instantly.”

“So, you disobeyed Master Kyle. Did you confess to him what you’d done?”

Claire’s voice was barely audible. “No.”

“I must tell you the consequences of your actions. As a member of the staff here, it is my duty to punish all infractions of our rules as soon as I become aware of them. For your disobedience, you will bend over the chair and grasp the legs with your hands. Then you’ll get six more strokes right now, delivered on your bare bottom. As is the custom here, you will count each one out loud and then thank me. If you move, if you fail to count, if you fail to thank me even once—I will start all over.”

Still holding her wrists, Collette dragged Claire around to the back of the chair. “Now, bend over.” Claire bent forward and felt Collette’s hands yank down her thin black panties. “Lean forward and grab the legs of the chair.”

Claire felt as though she were hypnotized, powerless to resist. Standing almost on tiptoe, she stretched out her arms and managed to grasp the legs of the chair. “Look in the mirror, Claire.”

The woman in the mirror stared back at her, eyes wide. Shoulder-length dark hair streamed down, obscuring her face as she bent over the chair. But her quivering ass was exposed to full view. Collette stood behind her, pulling back her arm, ready to strike. The thick rod whistled through the air, and Claire screamed at the impact.

“One. Thank you, ma’am,” she managed to mumble. Through a haze of pain, she watched Collette swing the cane again.

“Aaah! Two. Th… thank you, ma’am.”

By the third stroke, Claire was crying out loud. She could barely form the words each time the cane cracked down on her raw ass. Collette wasn’t holding back, and each agonizing whack seemed harder than the last. Finally, she got to six. Collette softly laid the drumstick on the table.

“Go into the bathroom, Claire. Wash your face. Put on the tunic behind the door, and come back out here.”

Claire straightened up and hobbled painfully to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. Tear-streaked face, eyes red, puffy from crying. But some part of her felt cleansed. There was no more guilt about hiding things from Kyle. Deep inside, she knew Collette was right. She deserved to be punished. She’d given her word, promised to obey the rules. And she hadn’t kept that promise.

When she walked back into the bedroom, Collette came over and wrapped her in a warm hug. “Now, punishment is over. You’ve confessed and paid the penalty for your actions. One of the most important lessons I learned from Mistress Jade is that even though I may disobey her at times, she still loves me unconditionally.”

“We need to see Lady Gwen now, so she can plan the remainder of your stay with us.” Collette was heading for the door as she spoke, leaving Claire to trail along behind.

This time they headed down a long hallway leading off on the other side of the great room. Collette stopped in front of the first door and knocked softly. Gwen’s throaty voice called out. “Come in.”

Collette opened the door and ushered Claire into the room. Unlike Jade’s odd throne room, this was a study that could have graced the pages of any home design magazine. Gwen was seated behind a polished mahogany desk, laptop computer open in front of her. The paneled walls were covered with shelves. Books, photographs, and curios filled every inch.

Collette performed the strange half-bow, half-curtsey to Lady Gwen that Claire had seen Melody do when she first arrived. “I bring you Miss Claire, ma’am, as you requested.”

Gwen smiled and waved a hand, dismissing Collette. The young woman turned to leave, touching Claire lightly on the arm as she left the room. “I hope you find as much joy and peace in your life as I have found,” she whispered.

“Please, have a seat,” Gwen said, pointing to a pair of upholstered armchairs near the long window. Claire sat down, and Lady Gwen moved out from behind the desk to take the other chair. Today her russet hair was a mass of tight curls standing out around her head. She wore a floor-length caftan decorated with some sort of African tribal design, and her feet were bare. Huge beaded earrings hung down nearly to her shoulders.