Clifftop Fantasies [BDSM Menage Fantasies] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (7 page)

Chapter 6

Allie felt a little better in the morning. She was absolutely determined to get rid of Charlie and Jane, and she had the whole day to figure out how. But first, ridiculously, she was happy to have people to make breakfast for. Even if they were guests she was planning to throw out, for the moment they were still guests. Her hostess persona was in full force, and she woke up planning what to make for breakfast.

Brad was toweling himself off when she went into their bathroom. Allie smiled at him, wiping down his back and hugging him from behind.

“So what did you think of the conversation last night? Pretty wild, huh?” he asked, moving out of her embrace to go to the sink and put his contacts in.

Allie sat down on the edge of the tub, watching him warily. “Yeah,” she agreed finally. “Wild.”

“Would you ever be able to get into any of that stuff?” He began brushing his teeth, but he was watching her in the mirror. She wondered what that meant. Either he was secretly intrigued by it or he was afraid she was. She couldn’t tell.

“No.” She shook her head decisively. That was one area she didn’t want him exploring. “Could you?”

He spit out his toothpaste and shook his head as he wiped his mouth. “Nah. It’s just freaky. Do you think Jane is really some kind of kinky prostitute?”

“Oh, I hope not.” Allie shuddered. She had a visual of Jane stubbornly refusing to leave and bringing her johns to the house to do bondage or something. I really need to get rid of her, she thought.
Today.

Brad laughed. “I’ll bet the money’s good, though. There are a lot of sick people out there.”

Allie jumped to her feet and went to get dressed. She’d been feeling affectionate, but now he was just creeping her out. She searched through her closet for something that would look a little more businesslike than the T-shirts and shorts she’d been accustomed to wearing while working on the house. She rejected her skirts as too obvious but settled finally on a knit top with capris. She slipped on a nice pair of sandals and went downstairs to decide on breakfast.

She was pulling some peach-and-zucchini muffins out of the oven when she heard voices in the dining room. Brad had left for work half an hour before after a quick breakfast. Allie was happily cooking, determined to feed people while she had the chance. She had debated between muffins and strawberry waffles, finally deciding that muffins would keep better if someone wanted a snack later. Cooking was one of her favorite activities, and she loved experimenting with new recipes. She wanted desperately to have people to cook for on a regular basis. When Karl actually sat down to dinner with her and Brad, it gave her a surprisingly homey feeling, as if they were some kind of strange family. She would never have told either of them, but Karl’s presence seemed to complete their energy. In a way she couldn’t explain, she actually preferred evenings with all three of them to times when it was just her and Brad.

She poured coffee into a carafe and took it with the creamer to the big dining room table, where Jane and Charlie were sitting, deep in a discussion. She went back for mugs and the muffins, leaving some on the counter for when Karl came in for his breakfast. Then she poured herself a cup of coffee and went to see if she could settle some things.

Jane looked up at her, smiling. Her muffin was pushed to one side with only a bite or two taken out of it. Charlie looked much less sleazy today than he had the day before, Allie noticed in surprise. He wasn’t wearing the rumpled suit anymore. In its place was a pair of jeans and a Metallica T-shirt, making him look almost normal. She wouldn’t have taken him for a pornographer and corrupter of young girls if she hadn’t already known that he was. Jane still looked perfect in walking shorts and a bright-yellow tank top. Of course, Allie thought in frustration.
Now I’m the overdressed one.

Charlie raved over the muffins. Allie thanked him, unable to keep from glancing at Jane’s plate. Jane seemed to notice her look and picked the muffin back up for another bite, declaring that it was so delicious she had to restrain herself from eating too fast. It was obvious flattery, but Allie decided, taking one for herself, that Jane was probably just neurotic when it came to food. She reflected how great it felt to actually have guests, even if one had no intention of paying and she was planning on kicking the other out as soon as she could manage it.

“So what are you two going to do today?” she asked, giving Charlie a pointed look meant to remind him that he was not actually welcome to stay, even if she was feeding him muffins and coffee.

“We’re going to take a hike,” Jane began enthusiastically, “and look for nice spots to get some outdoor shots.”

Allie imagined her taking her clothes off and maybe letting Charlie tie her to a tree while a parade of scandalized locals scurried past, plotting how to shut them down since they obviously encouraged all kinds of deviant and perverted behavior.

“Umm—what kind of outdoor shots?” Allie was trying her best to be casual, but Charlie’s laughter told her he understood exactly how she’d taken Jane’s statement.

“Don’t worry, Allie Cat,” he told her, earning a startled look from Jane. “We’ll be discreet. Are there any places we shouldn’t go?”

Well, you definitely shouldn’t come back here when you’re done
, Allie wanted to say, but instead she got up and found them a map of local hiking trails.

“We own forty acres here,” she told him then looked up at Jane. “Wait a minute. You know the property, don’t you?”

“Of course, sweetie,” Jane said, giving Charlie a wink. “Don’t worry, I know exactly where we can have all kinds of privacy. But before we go…” Her smile faded, and she looked earnestly at Allie. “I wanted to say that I think you’re absolutely right not to tell dear little Brad about your—past.”

Allie gasped, glaring at Charlie. “What did you tell her?”

Charlie spread his hands in a declaration of innocence. Jane laughed. “Don’t be silly. I was here when Charlie was taking lessons from your dad. He was really very proud of your work. I have to tell you, though, how disappointed he was when you gave it up.”

“He
saw
them?” Allie felt her face go bright red. She had known, of course, that there was a chance that Charlie would have shown them to her father. But she’d worked very hard at not thinking about that possibility.

“Of course.” Jane sounded impatient. “There was very little that went on in the field of erotic photography that he wasn’t aware of. But he didn’t look at them
that
way. He was completely professional about it. Still—” She glanced at the front door as if she thought Brad might charge through it. “I really don’t think your boyfriend would see it in quite the same way. Do you?”

“No,” Allie whispered, her eyes wide, her hands clenched into fists in her lap. She had no illusions about how Brad would react to the news that she’d been a nude model. He’d been brought up in a very straight-laced family, and he had no interest in pornography. He’d told her that a thousand times, and she knew he was telling the truth. He didn’t even glance at the bikini models on magazine covers, for God’s sake.

“I think you’re overreacting,” Charlie was saying to her. “He may be shocked, yes, but he will understand why you did it. Besides, it was art, not porn. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t tell him about it. That was years ago. And the money we can make by selling the rights to reprint them in this project—”

“I don’t want them to be reprinted!” Allie nearly screamed at him. The very thought sent shivers down her spine. She couldn’t think how she had ever brought herself to do it in the first place. She thought back to those sessions. The first one had been extremely scary, but she’d persuaded a female friend to come and wait in the next room so that she would have someone there if Charlie tried anything funny. He hadn’t. He’d been very professional and patient with her shyness and inexperience. After the first couple of sessions she’d relaxed into it, and it had even gotten to be kind of fun after a while. He’d said she was a natural, but of course he would say that to any woman he was working with. He probably said it to strange women in the supermarket on a regular basis, to see if any of them would buy his shtick. “Hello, you don’t know me, but I’m a famous photographer. I can tell you’d be an amazing model, and I’d love to work with you. Why don’t you give me your number?”

She caught herself trying not to smile at the image. He hadn’t ever tried to take advantage of her then, but that was probably just because he was afraid of her father. And it didn’t matter now, anyway. She was an adult and a business owner. There was no place in her life for smut.

Charlie looked like he was running out of patience. “Allie, you need money. Obviously the business isn’t as successful as it needs to be. How long do you think you can keep it going? Brad may not appreciate the fact that you did erotic photography when you were younger, but he also doesn’t want to lose this place. Do you really think he’ll be so unreasonable as to make you give up the one chance you have of saving it?”

Jane was glaring at him. “That’s so mean!” She burst out, reaching over to pat Allie’s hand. “How can you say such things to this poor girl? Can’t you see what she’s going through here? Don’t you have any compassion?”

Charlie gave an exasperated snort and got up from the table. He looked as if he wanted to say something else, probably, “Women!” but instead he shook his head and stalked out of the room.

Jane watched him go then turned back to Allie. “Sweetie,” she said. “Don’t pay any attention to him. I just
know
you can make a go of this place. I understand why you don’t want to tell Brad, and I agree with you. You’ve got to do what you think is right. Don’t let Charlie or Karl or anyone else bully you into doing something you’re not comfortable with.”

Allie nodded, feeling confused. She got up and began to collect the breakfast dishes. Jane stood up, too, brushing crumbs off her top. She grabbed Allie and gave her a crushing hug. “Hang in there,” she said, releasing her and following Charlie up the stairs.

Allie caught a glimpse of them a few minutes later going across the backyard, heading for the trail into the forest. Jane was holding on to Charlie’s arm as if they were lovers, which made Allie a little angry. But when she thought about it, she knew that was silly. Why should she expect her situation to matter to either of them? Except that it gave Charlie a weapon to use to try and force her to sign over the rights to her pictures. She had a sinking feeling that he wasn’t going to give up on his campaign. He might even tell Brad himself if she continued to refuse. She shuddered, imagining the chaos that would follow. She had to get him out of here. She should have told him this morning that he wasn’t welcome, that he needed to collect his things and leave immediately. But she had been so preoccupied with trying a new recipe for breakfast that she hadn’t. And it would have been rude to refuse to let them go on a hike since she’d allowed them to spend the night. But something had to be done. She would have to talk to Karl.

She wasn’t sure why she wanted Karl’s input, but she did. Hell, she didn’t even know exactly where he stood in this situation. He was a photographer just like the rest of them, and he didn’t seem to have any objections to the deviant pictures Charlie and her father dealt in and Jane presumably posed for. He probably enjoyed taking those kinds of pictures, too. A momentary vision of herself posing for Karl flashed before her, unbidden. It was an erotic image, and she actually started to wonder if she could do something like that. He had been her father’s assistant—Oh, God. That must mean he had seen the pictures, too. Allie froze in mortification. Karl had seen her naked pictures? The blood rushed to her face even though no one else was there. Her legs went wobbly, and she barely made it to a chair before collapsing. She had to ask him. She would die of embarrassment, but she had to ask.

Then another thought hit her. They kept talking about her father’s collection, and she had assumed that meant the pictures he had taken. But what if the collection had other pictures in it, too? What if—she could barely force herself to think of the awful possibility—what if
her
pictures were in that collection?

She thought she might throw up. Karl kept insisting that no one could see the pictures until she was ready to deal with them. That could mean—

She forced herself to finish the dishes and tidy up the kitchen, but her mind spun around and around, trying to come up with ways to get Charlie to give up and leave her alone. She doubted that Karl would help her. He seemed to want her to hang the damn things up around the house. But Jane might. She had seemed to understand Allie’s position. Maybe Jane would help her come up with a plan to make Charlie go away.

She collected her supplies and went back up to the third floor to finish the room she’d been interrupted in yesterday. She worked for a little while, but her heart wasn’t in it. She had an almost overwhelming but very perplexing urge to go find Karl and ask what she should do. She was almost positive that she wouldn’t like his advice, and more importantly, she knew she couldn’t face him. She blushed whenever she considered the possibility that he had naked pictures of her and could look at them whenever he wanted to. The blush was partly horrified embarrassment but also partly arousal. She wondered if he ever thought of her when he was alone at night, masturbating in bed. Would he strip down and roughly pump his cock while moaning her name, maybe even…