Her Darkest Desires (2 page)

There was an audible gasp from one of the seats across the limo, but the hapless passenger across Kyle’s lap didn’t risk any harsher consequences by protesting again. Only moans and muffled sobs accompanied the harsh sound of Kyle’s hand relentlessly whacking her over and over. One last loud crack brought another stifled cry, then silence.

Claire felt Kyle shift again, putting the woman firmly back in her seat. “Keep that skirt tucked up to your waist until we arrive,” he warned. “I want your bare bottom stinging on the leather seat as a reminder of what’s to come later.”

The remainder of the ride was made in total silence. This time, each woman was lost in whatever private fantasy the sounds of the very real spanking awoke. Claire’s mind whirled. Tempting images of submitting to the same fate under the hands of the hunky young driver set off unfamiliar sensations between her legs. She could feel her nipples harden, remembering the insolent way he’d fondled them through her thin silk blouse after he fastened her blindfold. Under the safety of the blindfold, she hesitantly reached up and fondled the tight nub his hand had pinched, wondering if he’d done the same thing to all the women.

Claire thought back to the first time she’d ever heard about The Dark Side of the Moon. When she called the 800 number late one miserable night a month ago, a soft voice answered and asked what had sparked her call. Claire mentioned the two ads and the odd email she’d received.

“A trip to The Dark Side of the Moon is an erotic voyage to a forbidden world. It’s a very exclusive private resort, catering to those who want to explore the hidden depths of their sexual needs and desires in a safe, non-judgmental environment,” the soft voice informed her. “But it’s not
too
safe—this is a place where you’ll be set free, free to indulge the naughtiest, most wicked fantasies you’ve ever secretly yearned to bring to life. Not everyone is accepted,” the soft voice explained. “There’s a lengthy questionnaire to fill out, then a phone conference with the creator of The Dark Side, Lady Gwen. She will discuss your hidden hungers and then determine whether they can be satisfied here.”

The next day while she was at work, an email from “The Dark” dinged its arrival into her private inbox. Claire didn’t dare sneak a peek at it while she was in the office. For the first time, she looked forward to going home to her empty house, where no prying eyes or disapproving comments would disturb her when she opened it.

Racing home, she stopped long enough to feed Yin and Yang, the cats who graciously allowed her to live with them. Jim was happy to leave the cats behind when he packed up and left. After grudgingly submitting to being petted and fussed over, they sauntered away, waiting till her back was turned to make a mad dash for their matching bowls.

Free at last, Claire sat down at her computer and opened the email. The intro repeated what she’d been told the night before—
erotic voyage, forbidden world, indulge your wicked fantasies—
but seeing the words in black and white made it so much more real. Her stomach knotted, and Claire almost deleted the email without opening the attachment.

Her finger poised over the “delete” button, Claire looked at it as though the hand it was attached to belonged to a stranger. Short nails for working in the garden neatly polished in subtle beige suitable for the office—dull, dull, dull. Claire had just turned forty-two on her last birthday, but right now, she felt old. A boring, lonely woman, living a life devoid of any thrills, any excitement. She could have been the butt of one of those spiteful, late-night comedian’s jokes. She even had the cats, for God’s sake! She took a deep breath, hit “download attachment,” and headed for the kitchen to pour a hefty glass of Chardonnay.

Back at the computer, Claire opened the questionnaire.

Hello, Claire.
Welcome to the first day of your new life! A life of freedom—freedom to unleash the wild, savage hungers that lie deep in your soul. Freedom to indulge the powerful cravings you’ve denied all these years—or discover new, exotic thrills. Bondage, fantasy role playing, exhibitionism, spanking, age regression, ménage a trois—all these and more can be yours to experience and enjoy when you come to The Dark Side of The Moon.

Only one thing is required of you—
complete honesty
. We cannot satisfy your forbidden desires unless you share them with us. Treat this form like a diary—a diary that asks you intimate questions. Pour out your heart. Tell us your naughty secrets. Describe the kinky scenes you envision when you make yourself come all alone in the dark hours of the night. It’s sort of like a game of Truth or Dare. Only if you dare to answer with the truth will you win the chance to have an adventure beyond your wildest dreams.

Fortified with half a bottle of wine, Claire poured out her soul on the pages of the questionnaire. Two nights later, her phone rang.

“Claire, this is Lady Gwen,” a sultry voice announced. “I’ve just been going over your application, and I wanted to take a few moments to chat with you.”

Claire muttered something unintelligible, gripping the phone nervously.

“You say that you’ve always secretly fantasized about being submissive, of having someone take control and force you to do all the wicked things you secretly yearn to do. But you’ve never actually been in that position. Is that right?”

Claire nodded and then realized Gwen couldn’t see her. “Uh, yes,” she stammered.

Gwen laughed. “Well, my dear, we can certainly arrange to make that fantasy come true. In fact, it’s one we specialize in here at The Dark Side.”

Claire was jerked back to the present when the limo rolled to a stop again. “Ladies, please feel free to remove your blindfolds now,” came the deep voice from the intercom by the driver’s seat. “We have reached our destination. You are about to experience The Dark Side of the Moon.”

Chapter Two

All five women ripped off the leather blindfolds. Claire surreptitiously looked around to see if she could determine which of her fellow passengers was sitting with a skirt hiked up around her waist. The guilty party had apparently covered herself when the limo slowed, since everyone seemed to have their clothing in place. The others were all gazing eagerly out the windows—all except the woman who had introduced herself as Melody. She was staring down at her hands as if ashamed to meet the eyes of the other occupants.

They were parked in front of a pair of tall, stacked stone pillars supporting wide wrought iron gates. Kyle typed an access code into a metal box near the left pillar, and the gates slowly parted. He started up a long blacktopped drive lined with Bradford pear trees just coming into bloom. A narrow strip of rough-cut meadow flanked the driveway on both sides, butting up to thick forest.

They headed up the driveway for about a quarter mile, winding uphill all the way. Finally around a curve, a stone and wood structure appeared. If she imagined the perfect mountain lodge, it would look just like this. Set on an acre of open lawn, the center portion was close to three stories tall, with long, single-story wings on each side. The blacktopped drive ended in a circle in front of a flagstone path leading to the wide, covered entry porch. Massive timbers on each corner of the porch held up a cedar shake roof over the entryway. A heavy wood door stood in a wall faced with the same stacked stone as the pillars at the front gates. Oversized bronze lanterns flanked both sides of the door. The floor of the entry was a mosaic of two-foot square slabs of cut stone in the warm hues of a desert sunset.

Kyle stepped out and ushered them out the doors of the limo just as the huge entry door was flung open.

“Ladies, I bid you welcome. Please, come into The Dark Side. I’m Lady Gwen, your hostess.”

She was a full-figured, voluptuous woman, standing nearly six feet tall, thanks to a pair of impossibly high red stiletto heels. Artfully applied makeup and unlined skin made it difficult to tell her age. She could have been anywhere from forty to sixty. A simple bronze silk dress, cut high in the front to show off her shapely legs, trailed on the ground behind her in back. Short dark chestnut hair was slicked back from her cheekbones, then spiked out around her head into a wild mane. She wore enormous gold hoops with deep red stones dangling from the center, bringing out the rich red and gold highlights in her hair.

Gwen greeted each of her guests warmly, ushering them through the foyer into a two story great room with a mellow golden-hued tongue and groove pine ceiling. As with the exterior, no expense had been spared inside. Rustic leather couches and chairs were arranged in several seating areas. Old rugs with a Native American design in shades of cinnamon, chocolate, and ivory lay here and there on the wide, plank wood floor. Surely those weren’t antique Navaho? Claire scarcely had time to take in the rest of the room before her attention was drawn away.

The view from the huge wall of windows at the other end of the room was breathtaking. Layers of heavily forested mountains stretched for miles, as far as the eye could see. The closest bore the deep color of the towering pines, dotted with hints of brighter green from the tender leaves just beginning to unfurl on the poplars and birches. Beyond, toward the horizon, green morphed into the deep indigo hues that give the Blue Ridge Mountains their name. The scenery outside was so stunning that a massive, stacked stone fireplace in one corner of the room almost went unnoticed.

A shiver of alarm ran up Claire’s spine as she realized there wasn’t another house to be seen anywhere. They were alone here, surrounded by miles of forest, at an unknown location. Their only companions were an Amazon who had sent her a wild questionnaire about kinky sexual practices and a powerfully built stranger who had already demonstrated that he had no problem delivering a spanking that made her most shameful submissive longings spring to life.

Gwen smiled fondly at her, almost as though she could read her mind. “I’d like all of you to relax and enjoy your experience to the fullest,” she declared. “As you know, we have no cell phones or internet here, and there are no televisions or radios to bring in the distractions of the world you’ve left behind. For the next three days, you will be living in your own fantasy world—a world of erotic delights and sexual thrills like nothing you’ve ever had before. Our voyage into the realm of dark desires can become quite addictive,” she added with a warm laugh. “One of you has been on a quest for ecstasy with us before. And now, she’s returned to expand her sensual boundaries even further!”

At this, Gwen moved to embrace the woman calling herself Melody. Claire was surprised. Surely this woman knew that breaking the rules would result in very real punishment, if she’d come here before. Why would she take the risk of deliberately raising her blindfold to check out the route they took?

Melody returned the hug, then bent her knees and performed what look like a curtsey to Lady Gwen. Acting as if this type of obeisance was expected, even required, Gwen gave a haughty nod, then regally stretched out one hand to raise Melody back to an upright position.

Gwen moved across the room to a narrow table by the door and picked up a wooden mallet. She struck a gong that looked like it could be a twin to an ancient Chinese artifact Claire had seen in the Field Museum. A deep tone reverberated through the enormous room.

Kyle appeared, this time wearing nothing but a black sarong-type cloth around his waist, a black bow tie, and Roman-style sandals that laced halfway up his legs. Claire’s mouth dropped open at the sight of his muscular chest and those magnificent abs. He was followed by three other twenty-something hunks wearing the same outfit—and one woman. To Claire’s shock, she too wore only the covering below her waist and a bow tie. Her pert breasts with rosy pink nipples were totally bare.

“These are your personal companions. They will be available to you 24/7 for the duration of your stay. They will see to your every need—and fulfill your every desire. I have taken the liberty of assigning one of them to each of you for tonight. If you would like to enjoy the company of another, or even several at once over the next few days, you have only to let me know, and I’ll make the necessary arrangements. Please allow them to escort you to your rooms and see to your wardrobe. The evening’s festivities will begin at seven.”

Kyle headed straight to Claire, his face expressionless. “Please come with me.”

She followed him out of the room, noticing that Melody was being escorted by the half-naked woman. They headed down a long hallway to the left of the entry foyer to a door at the end. Kyle unlocked the door, then opened it and ushered Claire in ahead of him.

She stepped inside and stopped dead in her tracks, delighted. The great room was impressive, but this bedroom was over the top. A huge log bed sat on an angled wall to assure a full view of the mountain vista that lay outside a pair of French doors on the far wall. The bed was covered in a rustic quilt, an intricate pattern in tones of green and blue on a cream-colored background, piled with solid-colored pillows echoing every shade of the quilt. There was a stone fireplace in the corner opposite the bed, with two forest-green suede chairs and a Native American drum table arranged in front of it—a thick tree trunk stripped of bark and polished to a soft sheen, then covered top and bottom with irregular animal hides held in place by a crisscross of rawhide laces. A drumstick fashioned from a gnarled branch was tucked into the laces on the side of the table.

Claire couldn’t resist. Striding across the room, she pulled out the stick and gave the head of the drum a solid thump. It reverberated with a deep but mellow tone.

The room was tastefully decorated with a few well-chosen accessories. On the wall above the bed was a large Native American dream-catcher—a circle of twine and beads woven like a spider’s web, with colorful feathers dangling below it. Claire knew the tiny round opening in the center was designed to allow good dreams to flow through, while bad dreams were caught in the web. A set of wrought iron candlesticks decorated the mantel, and a matching pair of wrought iron lamps topped with leather shades stood on the nightstands on either side of the bed.