Clifftop Fantasies [BDSM Menage Fantasies] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (31 page)

Charlie nodded thoughtfully. “I think that’s probably an excellent idea. Does that mean you’re not going to use the place to make porn?”

“God, no! I thought that was why Conrad was here.”

Charlie laughed. “No. Like I said earlier, he’s with a travel magazine. I’m glad you’re not going Jane’s route. I had a movie-location scout due to come tomorrow to look at the place, but when Jane told me this morning that she was taking it over—”

Allie held up a hand. “I don’t want any porn movies being shot here.”

“No, no. This is a regular movie scout. It would probably take a couple of weeks of shooting, but the money you’d make would tide you over until you start getting some good, paying customers.” Charlie smiled sheepishly. “That reminds me. I know I haven’t paid for my stay yet. I’ll take care of that when I leave. But we still need to talk about a photo shoot for you. If you’re interested.”

“What do you mean, a photo shoot?” Allie was aware of the door opening behind her, but she was too focused on what Charlie was saying to turn around.

Charlie gazed out at the view for a few seconds before answering. “The pictures we did ten years ago were very good,” he said finally. “That was because of your talent just as much as mine. You had a way of projecting an ethereal quality that I haven’t seen in very many models before or since then. I’ve been thinking about this for several years, but Allen told me you wouldn’t even talk about that part of your life. He was disappointed that you didn’t continue. Everyone who sees those pictures comments on what a talent you have.”

“But—” Allie hesitated, unsure of how to respond. She had never believed her father when he’d said that she had an actual talent. It had been so mortifying that she’d refused to discuss any aspect of it with him. But now she discovered she wasn’t thinking of it as shameful or degrading anymore.

“But what?” Charlie was watching her, waiting for her to organize her thoughts.

“I thought—didn’t you hire me just as a favor to my dad?”

He smiled. “Partly. He showed me your graduation photo, but there are so many pretty girls out there with good portfolios that I might not have given it any attention if you hadn’t been Allen’s daughter. Once we started working together, though, I knew you were something special. You pushed past your fears,
used
them to access a deep place, one that most people never get to. It wasn’t just about sex or eroticism. You were able to portray things with your face and your body that went way beyond nude pictures. Art has always been fascinated by the human form and expressions, and you were the perfect example of why. The body is simultaneously the most basic and the most profound part of our experience as humans. Together, you and I were able to capture that. That’s why I want to do another photo shoot and publish them together. I suspect that the maturity you’ve gained over the last ten years will make the new pictures even better. In any case, the comparison will be really interesting.”

Allie had been listening to him in astonishment, which now turned to alarm. “Yeah, but a
new
photo shoot?”

“Yes. I have a publisher who’s interested in a possible book project. He’s thinking of using several models and doing ‘then-and-now’ shoots, but I think this shoot will turn out well enough that we might just focus on you.”

“Focus on…me.” Allie felt momentarily as if she’d forgotten how to breathe. She put out a hand and felt for a railing post in case she passed out, which seemed like a distinct possibility. Hands caught her shoulders from behind, and she leaned back gratefully into them. She tried to wonder who it was that had caught her, but the backyard had begun to wobble a little, and she found herself concentrating on staying upright instead.

Charlie waited patiently as she tried to reconcile his words with the way she’d been used to thinking about herself and her past. If she allowed herself to accept Charlie’s assertion that the pictures were artistically good and interesting, did that mean that the new pictures would also be good, even though she was ten years older and a couple sizes larger?

“But—” She finally turned to him again. “You said that the comparison would be ‘interesting.’ What did you mean? I’m not as young and thin as I was then—”

The hands that had been holding her shoulders suddenly became arms around her neck, crushing her back against a large, warm body. Two denim-covered legs descended to the step on either side of her.

“Don’t even suggest you aren’t every bit as sexy now as you were then,” Karl’s voice threatened softly.

An instant wave of pleasure washed through Allie and she relaxed into him. His arms were still tight around her neck, but it wasn’t an alarming or even an unpleasant sensation. Instead, she felt warm and engulfed and protected, as if she was wearing a large bear that would eat anybody who meant her harm. She giggled slightly at the thought.

“I have to agree,” Charlie was saying, nodding at Karl. “Even though it seems like models have to be in junior high, five foot thirteen, and size negative three, artistically it’s much more interesting to photograph normal women. I’m not suggesting that you’re anything other than young and beautiful, but you do have a more ripe look to you now, like a peach that’s at its juiciest and most luscious. I think we can really use that. ”

The back door opened again, and Brad came out. “The ones who’ve brought their clothes for tonight are taking turns using the showers,” he reported. “At least, I think they’re taking turns. There was a lot of joking about not wasting water. I hope they don’t all jump in at once, or they might flood the place. Do we have enough food for all of these people?”

“I’m heading out to pick some up,” Karl told him, pulling Allie to her feet. “But first, this little girl needs to come inside and see what we’ve done.”

They all trooped into the house. Allie barely had time to get nervous when they were in the front hall and Karl was pointing proudly to the staircase.

It was still lined with photographs, as it had been before, but now most were her father’s nudes. Halfway up the staircase there were two pictures of Allie. Her mouth dropped open, even though she’d had a suspicion that was what Karl and Brad had been up to. They took her on a tour of the house, showing her the places that now featured nude pictures instead of the landscapes that had been there. Most were her father’s pictures, Allie knew, even though she hadn’t seen all of them before, but some were Karl’s and Charlie’s. None were of Jane. That’s going to piss her off, Allie thought with a guilty satisfaction.

“There are more out in the dungeon,” Brad told her, placing a kiss on the top of her head. “I think they look great, don’t you?”

“Sure,” Allie said hesitantly. It gave her an odd feeling to see herself up on the walls like that, displayed for all of their guests to see. Charlie took the opportunity to point out examples of what he’d been talking about, but she was too self-conscious to be able to appreciate the qualities that he said were there. Karl nodded knowingly, squeezing her shoulders, and Brad leaned in for a better look, listening intently to Charlie’s explanations. They could hear people laughing and splashing in the bathrooms, and bedroom doors were left gaping open, showing people in various stages of undress. Occasionally a naked person would scamper from a bathroom down the hall, but other than Brad and Allie, no one seemed to pay attention, aside from a quick glance.

Despite her embarrassment over the pictures, Allie realized it felt good to have a houseful of people. The fact that many of them were naked, and would be naked later for the play party, was like a soothing balm over the uncomfortable fact of her image on the walls. Most of the women who were undressing in plain view were over thirty. Only a few were thinner than Allie. She looked around, asking herself if she had the urge to condemn them for displaying their imperfect bodies. On the contrary, she decided, she admired them for their courage and for not caring if other people considered them attractive or not. And they
were
attractive. The human body possessed an undeniable beauty even when it didn’t look like a starving ten-year-old on stilts.

She took a breath, turning to look at the nearest photo. “Yes,” she told Charlie. “You can republish these pictures. But I’ll need to talk to Brad—and Karl—about doing another shoot.” She looked at Brad as she spoke, and he came over to put an arm around her.

“I agree,” he said, smiling proudly. “Who are we to deny their beauty to the rest of the world?”

Chapter 27

Allie thought she would never forget dinner that night. The weather was beautiful and mild, so everyone lounged in the backyard in the chairs that Karl had magically pulled from somewhere in the barn. They had announced that nudity was accepted everywhere on the premises except the front yard, and Brad had promised to make a sign on Monday, warning anyone entering the house that they were likely to encounter people in various states of undress.

More people were showing up every few minutes, apologizing for not having been able to help with the painting, but promising various other forms of support. Allie was touched. Beth and april had taken over serving the food so that she and Brad could mingle and get to know the community members. Brad was looking a bit apprehensive and asking questions that Allie couldn’t answer, particularly about the large biker at the edge of the crowd who held a leash attached to two men dressed as Doberman pinschers. Allie thought, looking at his beard, that it was Dave with his two submissives Tony and Chuck, but it was hard to believe they could have gone from two giggling naked boys to these menacingly serious figures in leather dog masks. The darkening sky made it difficult to identify many of the guests, and it didn’t help that most of them looked radically different than the very ordinary crowd who had shown up to paint her barn. Allie was getting the idea that most of the people in the community liked to look scary even though they really weren’t. She reassured Brad—and herself—that it was just role-playing. They were simply ordinary people who liked to dress up and pretend to be dangerous.

Jane was back from wherever she’d disappeared to, dressed to kill in a thin, skin-tight, leopard-print dress that clearly showed a black bra and thong underneath. She wore matching heels that were at least five inches tall, and Allie watched in amazement as Jane navigated the lawn easily. Allie was positive that she herself would have broken her neck within two steps on the grass. It may have helped that one of Jane’s hands rested delicately on the arm of a man that Allie was sure she’d never seen before. He looked like a movie mob lawyer with his dark complexion and expensive suit. His shoes were shined to a polish that was evident even in the dim early evening light. They were chatting with steven.

As Beth called out in a ringing voice for people to come and get their food, Allie wandered over to the corner of the house where Brad and Karl were standing and talking.

“I’ll teach you what you need to know about that,” Karl was saying in response to the worried look on Brad’s face.

“About what?” They both turned at her question.

“Brad was wondering how to tell the difference between abuse and play in the dungeon,” Karl explained. “I was telling him that, once you get familiar with how people play, you can usually tell when a bottom is being pushed past their limits. In the case of the more experienced players, you can pretty much trust both sides to take responsibility for their scenes not to get out of hand. New tops are the ones that you have to watch. They don’t always know how to read responses, and they often haven’t negotiated their scenes well enough to have established boundaries. Most new bottoms are okay, except for the ones that get carried away and don’t know when or how to stop. For the most part, you don’t need to worry about other people.”

“But when they’re playing in our house…” Brad began, still looking worried.

Karl nodded. “That is more of a concern,” he admitted. “But there are lots of really experienced people in the community who know what to watch for. You’ll learn how to be a dungeon monitor as you go. For now just try not to get too freaked out by what you see. If you have questions or are concerned about a particular scene, find me or Beth or Dave”—he pointed them out—“and we’ll help you understand what’s going on and decide if anything needs to be done. In all my years of being involved, I’ve only ever seen two or three scenes that had to be stopped.”

“Dave is the one with the—dogs?” Brad asked, peering in the direction Karl had pointed. Dave was sitting in a chair now, feeding bites of his bratwurst to his two boys, who had their masks off and were squatting on the ground on either side of his legs, looking for all the world like real dogs begging for treats. “What the hell is that all about?”

“That,” Karl explained, laughing, “is called ‘puppy play.’ Don’t ask me to explain the psychology of it, but Tony and Chuck like to dress up and act like dogs. And they’re pretty believable. There’s quite a group of them in the area. They get together and have play parties, but Dave brings them to the dungeon as well. I think that’s more to show them off than for them to actually get any play time in.”

“‘Play time’?” Brad repeated incredulously. “They look more like they’re going to attack someone—or they did when they had the masks on.”

“No, I’ve never seen any kind of real aggression from human puppies,” Karl said, watching Dave with an amused smile. “They just like to playact.”