Voyage To Submission (14 page)

Gayle touched her arm. “Let’s go over
there.” She pointed to the chairs in front of the stage for the play. “Did you
say publisher? Why do you have a publisher? What’s going on?”

Andy nodded and they walked over and sat in
the front row, away from the crowd. They had about twenty minutes until the
next show.

Gayle moved her chair around so the two
women looked directly at one another. “Is this what you’ve been doing since
college? I know you said something about typing. Ruthie seemed to know—”

“I began as Mrs. Winterpool’s companion. It
certainly was easy work, and she was a very sweet person. Her son was busy with
his life and family, but once I moved in, I made it possible for her to travel
to see him. Anyway, to make a long story short, if that’s possible any longer.”
Andy grinned. “She encouraged me to write—”

Gayle interrupted her. “I remember you were
always writing in your journal books or some kind of paper for your classes.”

Andy shrugged as she continued answering
her friend’s questions. “Eventually I submitted to a publisher. I got lucky,
even without an agent. With Mr. Edwards and Mrs. Winterpool to guide me, I made
it through my first publication. When it came time for the second, I contacted
Ruthie to serve as my attorney.”

“That sneak! She never said a word.”

“I know, Gayle, but that was my fault. I‘d
asked her to keep it confidential. You see—” Andy paused to glance around and
make sure they were still alone. “I’m sure you don’t remember ever seeing a
book by Andrea Bond, do you?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean anything. Not
everyone can be a Stephen King, or John Grisham, or even—” Gayle paused as she
obviously searched for the name of another famous author.

“Emeraude,” Andy offered a second later,
pretty sure her friend would recognize that name.

“Exactly!” Gayle said, snapping her
fingers. “Like her! Ray and I went to see the movie her last book was made
into…damn! The boy was randy for a week afterwards!”

Andy smiled. “Thank you, I guess that is a
compliment. When I started, I never expected to sell one book, let alone have
three picked up for films.”

“Son of a bitch!” Gayle shouted. She
immediately covered her mouth with her hand, looking around as well. “Oh my
God! No way! I saw her on television once—”

“With long, black hair and wearing lots of
emerald jewelry, right?

“Thanks to a professional makeup artist
Mrs. Winterpool knew, that was the new me, for the book jacket and interviews.
Because of my commitment to her, I was able to limit a lot of the traveling for
promotions. I’m going to have to come clean before the next movie comes out.
That’s partly why I came on the cruise, to let all of you know first. You are
the only family I’ve ever known, and your parents.”

Gayle leaned forward and hugged her
tightly. “God, Andy! You should have told me, us.”

“Not everyone wants to know a woman who
writes what some people like to call fluff, bodice rippers, smut, and porn and
so on.”

“That’s bullshit! Does Jack know?” Gayle
laughed, shaking her head.

Andy didn’t question why her friend
immediately wondered about Jack being in on the secret. She shook her head. “I
plan on telling him tonight, if all goes well. I’m not sure how he’ll take it.”

“So, it really matters to you how Jack
reacts?” Gayle asked quickly.

Andy nodded her head, which caused her hair
on one side to swing forward. A few strands of hair caught in the soft pink
lipstick she was wearing. Lifting her hand, she automatically tucked the hair
behind her ear. Only now, it was too short to remain there and fell forward
once more.

Gayle moved her hand this time, lifting the
hair to see her friend’s ear.

“Holy cow, Andy! Look at your ears! Didn’t
it hurt?”

Andy blushed as she replied. “Not nearly as
much as the other two did.” She let her gaze lower to Gayle’s chest and back
up. It took a few seconds and then recognition dawned on her friend’s face.

“No way!” Her own gaze dropped and stayed
on Andy’s breasts as if glued. “You didn’t…you couldn’t…could you?” She lifted
her hand, reaching towards Andy when a voice interrupted them.

“Now, this is delightful, and much better
than I could have hoped for.”

Andy turned her head, smiling at seeing the
duke.

“Good evening, Your Grace,” Andy said,
standing to offer her hand. Beside her she was aware of Gayle sitting with her
mouth agape.

Peter bowed over her proffered hand,
kissing it lightly. “Please, mademoiselle, no formalities between friends. And
who is your lovely companion this evening?”

“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry,” Andy spoke quickly.
“Peter Waldron, this is Gayle Green. We were roommates in college.”

Gayle lifted her hand and watched in
stunned surprise as Peter bent forward and kissed her knuckles.

“A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Green. The
boys at your college were extremely lucky.”

Andy felt her blush grow hotter and was
relieved when she saw the usually unflappable Gayle was also flushed. What was
it about dark-haired, attractive European men? Before she could think about
anything more formative or conversational, Peter was looking at her again.

“I hoped to see you again, Andy. Would you
please join me for dinner tomorrow evening? I’m having a small dinner party in
my suite, and I would like it if you would be my dining companion.”

Andy felt her heart stop. She couldn’t
believe this was happening to her…of all people! A real live duke was asking
the ugly duckling to eat with him. She took a deep breath and “yes” came out on
the exhalation.

“Delightful! Here is my card, and the suite
information is on the back. Shall we say seven-thirty, for cocktails?”

Andy knew her head moved in agreement, and
then she remembered something. “Clothing?” her voice was a bit screechy, and
she hoped he didn’t notice.

There was no missing the gleam in the
duke’s gaze as he smiled. “I’d love to say optional, but the Captain will be
joining us. Unfortunately, more than this delightful concoction, but something
like last night would be fine.” He turned to Gayle and kissed her hand once
more. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Green. I hope you enjoy your
cruise.”

“Oh, uh, yes…uhm, thank you,” Gayle
stammered, looking at her hand after he released it.

Peter lifted Andy’s hand, holding it
between both of his. “I look forward to tomorrow evening.” He kissed her hand
once more, but to Andy it felt different, more intimate. “Adieu, ladies!”

Andy flopped down on the chair, feeling
like a balloon that was suddenly deflated. Slowly, she looked at Gayle, who was
still gazing at her hand.

Gayle finally glanced up. “Did you call him
‘grace’?”

“Did I just agree to have dinner with him?
Oh my God!”

“We’ve been looking all over for you two!”

Andy and Gayle both turned and saw Ray and
Jack walking towards, up the aisle between the chairs until they were right
behind them.

Ray, who had spoken, leaned over to kiss
Gayle’s cheek. He glanced down to where she was still holding her hand. “Did
you hurt your hand, honey?”

Gayle looked from Ray to Andy. Almost on
cue, they both started to laugh. It took a few seconds and then Gayle shook her
head and replied, “No, Ray, I’m fine. I just got
duked
.”

Andy started laughing again, until she met
Jack’s gaze. She knew instantly that he guessed what Gayle had meant. She
looked away, suddenly feeling guilty, almost as if she’d cheated on Jack.
Suddenly, she had trouble breathing and cursed her tendency towards panic
attacks.

“Not now, damn it!” she muttered softly,
trying to focus on her breathing. Behind her, she heard Jack talking.

“It looks like the ladies were visiting
with a real live lord of the realm.”

Ray looked confused, but sat in the chair
behind Gayle’s, which was still partially turned. “You lost me, dude.”

Jack shook his head, sitting beside Ray.
“The girls met the Duke of Claxonby, unless I’m mistaken.”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve heard of him. He’s on
board!”

“Yes!” Gayle almost squealed her reply.
“And Andy is dining with him tomorrow night, in his suite! I think I’m going to
die!”

“No…but…I…am—” Andy gasped a moment later.
She wasn’t winning against the breathing thing and was starting to feel dizzy.

“Oh, crap! She’s hyperventilating!” Gayle
said beside her. She reached out and grabbed Andy’s hands. “Come on, Andy, just
focus on breathing. Breathe in for four counts. That’s it. One. Two. Three.
Four. Now out for eight. There you go, nice and slow.”

Andy tried to focus on Gayle, but she
couldn’t get the image of Jack sitting behind her, wondering what he must think
about her dinner with the duke. She took another hurried breath.

“Andy! You aren’t focused. Listen to me and
put everything else out of your mind. You can do this. It may be a few years
since we did it together, but some things never change. Come on. Breathe in
slow,” Gayle encouraged her, beginning to count again.

Andy pushed thoughts of Jack and the duke
out of her mind, for now.

“Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Masters and Mistresses. Welcome to act two of our play,
The Castle of Dark
Pleasure
. Tonight we find Mistress Danica handing over the slave she had
tutored to her new Master. Let us begin!”

Jack was only half focused on the drama on
the stage. His gaze kept returning to Andy, who sat directly in front of him.
He couldn’t decide if he was angry or aroused, or both. It had pissed him off
to no end to hear she’d accepted a dinner invitation with another man. To learn
it was with a well-known jetsetter and businessman had grated beyond his
belief. Even if he had to give the other man his due, although reluctantly

Andy was his, damn it! Maybe he had not
made it official, but in his mind he was coming to accept it as the truth. A
good chance existed that he’d always known it, but he had been too immature to
accept her the way she was in college. Or he’d been too scared. Seeing her
again, and he was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the changes in her
appearance, had made him realize Andy had been a big part of his college life.
She had been the one who got his jokes all the time, not just some of the time,
like the others. Many times, something would happen and he’d look over and find
she was seeing the same humor in the situation as he. If only he had not made
such stupid mistakes, had not listened to his friends, but instead gone with
his heart and his soul.

He looked at the back of her head, which
was tilted to one side, just a little bit. It surprised him still how sexy the
back of her hair was, cut so short. If someone had questioned him, he would
have said he preferred long hair to short. But he had gotten a sense of
something, when he ran his fingers up, and then back down the soft pelt of
hair, that Andy had been deeply affected. He wanted to rub his fingers over it
again and feel its velvety softness. Even more he needed to verify her response
to his touch once more. He had heard some women had an erogenous zone on the
nape of their neck, but he’d never met one. Nor could he ever recall
specifically touching the area and noting the woman’s response.

Suddenly for no reason at all, he leaned
forward as if to adjust his shoe. When he neared Andy, he blew softly towards
her neck. Almost instantly he saw her stiffen and her head straighten. Just as
he started to ponder her reaction, the action on stage drew his attention.

“I am quite sure you will find Magdalene to
your liking, Count D’Orsi. She has been trained to the most stringent of
disciplines you would find anywhere.” Mistress Danica turned from the handsome,
gray-haired man on stage. “Pierre, have Magdalene join us please.”

Mistress Danica moved across the stage.
“Would you like a drink, or perhaps an hors d’oeuvres?”

“No, Mistress Danica, I’m fine, thank you.
I am looking forward to seeing what you’ve produced, of course.”

“I’m sure you will be pleased.” Danica
turned towards the side of the stage. “Ah, here she comes now.”

Magdalene entered onto the stage. This time,
she was dressed in a black, tight-fitting dress, which covered her from neck to
knees. It was very sexy in the way it molded her body. Her hair was pulled back
into a French braid, and on her feet were four-inch heels. She walked slowly
because of the narrow fit of the dress. She stopped the instant Danica held up
her hand.

“Interesting choice in clothing,” D’Orsi
commented.

“Please, Count, be seated. Let me show you
how obedient she can be.”

Danica walked over to the younger woman.
“Why are you dressed in such a fashion, Magdalene?”

“So I may appear in public and not
embarrass my Master, Mistress Danica.”

“Let’s say you’re riding in the car with
your Master, and he wishes to play with your breasts. How do you accommodate
him with ease?”

Magdalene reached up and with a few tugs,
the entire center section of her bodice pulled free. Now, other than a black
collar of material around her neck, her chest was naked to just below her
breasts, which rested on a specially constructed platform to thrust her breasts
together and upwards.

“Walk towards Count D’Orsi now, and kneel
beside him so he may sample your wares.”

With mincing steps, caused by the heels and
tight skirt, Magdalene started over to the sofa. Each step set her breasts
jiggling and bouncing and by the time she reached the sofa there was an
appreciative spattering of applause from the audience.

Andy caught her breath as she watched this
interaction on the stage. She couldn’t say why but she identified with the
Magdalene character. It was almost too easy to imagine what occurred onstage
happening to her. Perhaps she had some submissive tendencies in her
personality, or maybe she just liked the sexual play-acting. Whichever, she was
getting aroused just observing it all.

As Magdalene came down onto her knees,
D’Orsi’s hands came forward and lightly patted and touched her breasts. His
fingers rubbed back and forth on her nipples, finally pinching and pulling on
them.

“Delightful,” he told Mistress Danica. “And
the other?”

“Just as you requested of course,
completely shaved. Tell your master, Magdalene.”

“Yes, Master, my pussy has been shaved and
I will keep it that way for you.”

“If you like, I can shave her head, as
well,” Mistress Danica offered. “It’s a fairly new trend, but a lot of people
seem to like it. It would be no trouble at all. Pierre rather enjoys shaving
off a beautiful woman’s hair. He likes to do it slowly, first cutting it off
with a scissors, and then using the clippers to buzz it like a crew cut.
Personally I don’t see the attraction, but he gets off on it!” She laughed as
she picked up her drink, sipping it slowly. “I’ll have Pierre bring in the
paddle and you can see how responsive she is to that.”

Andy scooted around on her chair. She
remembered the clippers running up her nape earlier that afternoon. It had felt
very sensual, just those few short sweeps. Almost immediately, the touch of the
buzzing clippers against her skull, and her pussy was wet. Strange, but it was
as if the clippers acted like a vibrator against her clit rather than her
scalp. By the time her hair was done, she almost a basket case!

“Get on all fours, Magdalene!”

The girl moved to the center of the stage,
so her position would not be blocked by the coffee table. She then lowered her
hands to the stage. Mistress Danica came up beside her and with a smooth
movement, she removed the entire back section of Magdalene’s skirt and left her
ass completely bare, except for a slender G-string. It was quite a sight to see
the bare ass and naked boobs of the beautiful woman.

D’Orsi accepted the paddle and began
spanking Magdalene. On the fifth whack, the curtains closed.

* * * * *

Gayle stood, fanning herself, and looked at
Ray. “If we hurry, I bet we can have one of the rooms for an hour.”

Ray needed no further encouragement. He
reached for Gayle’s hand and they left at a near run to their cabin.

Jack noted that Andy was still seated and
he scooted his chair closer so he was right behind her. Carefully, he lightly
touched one arm and when she didn’t jerk or pull away, he curved both his hands
to rest on her shoulders. After a minute or so, he began lightly massaging her
back with his thumbs. His face was close enough so he could either press it
against the side of her neck, or the back of her head. He chose the latter, and
lightly rubbed his cheek up and down the shorn nape.

“Ah!”

Even though it was quiet, Jack didn’t miss
the sigh that escaped Andy’s lips. “It looks like that scene had quite an
effect on Gayle, huh?”

Andy couldn’t think with Jack’s hands
touching her. Then he rubbed his face against the back of her head and she
almost slid down the chair. She was melting under his touch, just like butter
on a hot knife. She heard Jack speaking but it was impossible to answer.

“When Mistress Danica jerked off the top of
that girl’s dress, I couldn’t help but wonder if your little outfit has some
hidden surprises as well.” His voice lowered as he went on. “If I ripped off
the top, would your lovely tits bounce out just like hers did? From what I’ve
seen so far, yours are much prettier.”

Andy couldn’t move for a moment. Her body
was trembling so intensely she was scared she’d fall down if she tried to
stand. No doubt her knees would knock together! Watching the play, her mind had
substituted the actors with Jack and herself. She was so aroused that she
feared doing something stupid or inept. At least he didn’t know about her
books. If he did, he would most likely expect her to be more experienced.
Little did he, or the majority of her readers, publisher and editor included,
knew she relied on research to fill in the gaps of her imagination.

Slowly, she pressed one hand to her heart,
knowing this was it. She was going to stand, turn and ask Jack to take her to
bed. Finally and absolutely she wanted to—

“There you two are!” Ethan’s voice
interrupted her thoughts. “It’s time for the party…the real party, anyway.”

Behind her, she heard Jack laugh, albeit a
slightly unsteady one. “Great! We’re ready to party. Right, Andy?”

Reluctantly, Andy stood and nodded. Smiling
until her cheeks ached, she turned around. “Sounds super!”

* * * * *

“Are you sure you are all right, Andy? You
look a little pale. You know, you don’t have to go through with this.”

Andy shook her head, meeting Margrit’s gaze
in the mirror. Her friend had already prepared her outfit’s transformation, and
it consisted of lots of leather straps going in many directions. It looked
complicated until Margrit showed her it was just a matter of pieces stitched in
the right places, with the right kinds of closures. Her breasts were naked,
perched on individual shelves, the nipple rings glinting.

Andy looked at her reflection, hoping she
wasn’t going to shock Jack too much. The entire top of her outfit was gone,
down to the uplifting supports for her breasts. Below, the leather shorts had
disappeared for a wide, black silk G-string, which left her ass cheeks bare.
Her tattoo was visible since she was not wearing pantyhose but silk thigh-high
stockings. Her skin shone slightly from the special ointment she’d been
applying for post-tattoo care.

“Do they hurt?” Margrit asked, pointing
towards Andy’s newly pierced nipples.

She shrugged. “They are tender, but only
when pushed.”

Margrit smiled. “I remember the early days.
You need to tell Jack and don’t let anyone pull or tug, okay?”

Andy nodded her head. “Is there anything
else I should do, or not do?”

“Well, the proper submissive will keep her
head bent, looking at her Master only when directed. But tonight things will be
much more relaxed. I’ll point out things and people I see that I think you will
find interesting. If you decide you want to leave, reach up and tug on your
collar. I’ll give Ethan the nudge. All right.” Margrit took her hand. “Let’s
go!”

Inside the party, it took a few minutes to
locate the men. Andy tried looking around, but she was intently aware that
people might be looking at her.

Margrit touched her arm. “There they are,
Andy. Let’s go knock our men’s socks off!” Threading her arm with Andy’s, she
tugged her forward.

Andy’s gaze found Jack and Ethan when they
were about fifteen feet away. The only difference from last evening was that
neither had a drink in his hand. As they walked towards them, Andy was
intensely aware of how much her breasts bounced and jiggled.

“Whoa!” Ethan elbowed Jack.

Jack turned in the direction Ethan gestured
and his breath was literally stolen away. Andy walked towards him and she was
half-naked! Damn! His gaze moved down her body and back up. The actress on
stage couldn’t hold a candle to his Andy, he realized with a start of surprise.
Andy was a goddess! Hell, she was a goddess with—

Holy shit! Her nipples had been pierced!
Gold rings adorned each distended bud and he couldn’t pull his gaze away.

“The wait was more than worth it, ladies,”
Ethan spoke quickly. “Forgive me, Margrit, you look beautiful, as always. But
hot damn, Andy!”

Margrit smiled and lightly elbowed her
husband in his ribs. “I won’t be offended by that comment. So, Jack, what do
you think of Andy’s surprise?”

Jack turned slowly to look at Margrit,
dimly aware of what she’d said. “Uh, she looks good, uh, no, that’s not right.
She looks great.”

Margrit and Ethan both laughed.

Jack could feel a flush moving up his neck.
Before he could answer, Margrit handed something to Ethan. The older man
attached the leather leash to Margrit’s collar. He slipped it over his wrist,
and there was plenty of slack.

Ethan must have noticed his curious glances
because he explained a moment later. “We don’t use the collar and leash as a
denigration, but we’ve found that by my wearing the leash around my wrist, it
alleviates a lot of problems for Margrit. The collar, in nearly every level of
the lifestyle, indicates possession, or at the very least an established
relationship. In some places, you will find a lot of eager young Doms, most
with something to prove.”

“And that is precisely why I got this for
Andy today.” Margrit quickly attached a black leather collar around Andy’s
neck. It already had a leash, which she then handed to Jack. “If she had been
pierced previously, I would have gotten her a short gold chain in a Y-shape,
attached to both nipple rings and then turned into a much longer chain. You
must handle her with exquisite care tonight, and for the next few weeks, Jack.
She is very fragile and delicate. After a few more days, there will be fewer worries,
but for now, extra watchfulness is needed.”