Chapter One
The Beginning
As we drove along the narrow mountain road, a question began to come in my mind as to how good an idea this really was. I had received recommendations about this resort from close friends, who had told me, in hushed whispers, how awe inspiring it was. The price tag seemed to bear out their stories, but now, following this narrow path through the rural mountain passes, I began to wonder just what I had gotten us into.
You sat beside me, quietly smiling. I knew your looks too well by this point in our relationship. You were having the same misgivings, but were waiting for your chance to really gig me about it. I turned up the music on the radio and began looking for a place along the narrow road to turn around, bracing for the hard teasing I knew you would give me, when suddenly we rounded a curve and the hills seems to fall away, revealing what could only be called a medieval castle, in all its glory, standing starkly before us in the moonlight.
"Oh my," you whispered softly. "You really weren't kidding, were you?"
I spun the wheel and turned into the wide driveway, coming to a stop before the drawbridge of the huge gothic structure. I turned and looked at you and winked.
"Did you ever have any doubt?"
You reached across the car and took a swat at me with your beaded handbag. "Don't give me that, Buster," you snipped. "You were looking for a place to turn around when this place showed up."
It dawned upon me, at that moment, that it is wonderful to have a lover who knows you so completely, and it is also a handicap in moments like these.
A valet parking attendant suddenly appeared at your door and opened it. His eyes registered complete approval as he watched your trim legs swing out of the Mercedes and he offered you his hand. "Welcome to Velvet House," he said with crisp attention to you in particular. "We've been expecting you. Walter will show you up to the main house."
A trim young man in a liveried jacket appeared at your elbow as I walked around the car to join you. Walter took your elbow and I followed as we walked across the drawbridge and then up about twenty stone steps to stand before a huge set of oak doors. The sound of music came from somewhere behind the massive doors. I turned and winked at you as Walter grasped one of the huge iron door knockers and pounded it upon the surface of the dark wood, producing a resounding report and making the both of us jump in response. The huge door swung open and Walter bowed and was suddenly gone.
We stepped inside and two young women attended us immediately. They were both blonde with very long hair, which was arranged so that it trailed over their right shoulders in a long, thick braid. They were both dressed in short velvet tunics of a deep blue, and they wore roman style sandals with blue velvet straps which wound around their legs up to the calf muscles. The effect was quite fetching, but nothing compared to the effect you had on me as the two blonde servants slipped your evening cloak from your shoulders. You were stunning, in an evening dress of long black silk which covered your front completely from your ankles to a high collar around your slender neck. The dark material clung hungrily to every curve and swell of your lithe body, caressing the full swell of your breasts in dark beauty and falling completely away at your shoulders, leaving your back white and enticingly naked, all the way to the gentle flair of your sculpted bottom. Your hair hung down your bare back like a pale waterfall and swayed, gently with your every movement. The only jewelry to grace your already perfect appearance, was a slender platinum anklet, which encircled the ankle of your left foot just above your black, high heeled sandal. The sparkling chain was a complete circle, interrupted only by a single platinum disk, bearing the interlaced 44, which is my ranch brand and the mark of all I care for.
The two blonde servants smiled and giggled as they took my topcoat and retired into the cloakroom. They could not help noticing my eyes as they devoured you. I suppose I should have been more discreet, but at the moment, I didn't care who knew what I felt.
The curtains which stood between us and the sounds of music and laughter suddenly drew back and we were greeted by a very tall, very pale woman with long black hair and hypnotic grey eyes. As she approached I could not help but notice the cat like grace of her movements. She was wrapped in an elegant Victorian style, velvet gown of the deepest red. In true Victorian style she was covered from head to foot, but the soft material was tucked and gathered in precise tailoring, to show every facet of her figure.
"Good evening."
Her voice was low and rather husky, yet filled with a haughty edge.
"I am Veronica. --- And you would be?"
I reached into the pocket inside my tux jacket and produced the card declaring our reservations. Her fingers took the card but her grey eyes never left you, until she had visually caressed the entire length of you. A dim glow seemed to burn behind the grey of her eyes and she sighed slightly, as she tore her eyes from your silk covered body to look at the printed card in her hand.
"Oh Yes. Of course. ----- We've been expecting you."
She snapped her fingers and a tall muscular young man in a black waiter's jacket appeared at her side.
"This is Armand. He will show you to your table and attend to your every wish. ----- Welcome to Velvet House."
As she turned to go I stopped her with a hand on her sleeve. Her eyes flashed a bit and she turned to me. "Yes?" she asked in a low but cool voice.
"We still have some luggage in the car. I wonder -----."
She turned to look at the both of us with some scrutiny and then remarked, "Your luggage has already been attended to, however you should not need anything. Your every need has been anticipated."
You stepped toward her and in a hushed voice said. "I have some personal items that -----. "She turned to you and took your hands in her own and speaking in a low voice replied, "Of course. Everything you have brought has been sent up to your room, but I hope you will allow us to pamper you in our own style while you are our guests. We have a certain reputation to uphold, you know. Now go. Enjoy your evening and leave everything to us." She smiled and unusually sweet smile and then walked away. You and I looked at each other and followed Armand across the crowded dance floor to our table.
The air of the entire place was lively and a bit out of place. The great hall of the castle seemed an odd place for a nightclub dance floor, but as we walked through the swirling couples and took our seats, the air was filled with music and the sound of pleasant laughter. It was a place for the upper class to play, and we were a part of it on this cool fall night.
As I took you in my arms and swirled you across the floor, I could not help being overcome by the spell of your beauty. I was not the only one. It was obvious that every eye in the room followed you as we swayed and moved to the music. In fact, there was a definite feeling of envy in the air.
We did not notice at first, but it became obvious that the rest of the party began to diminish in size, each time you and I took to the dance floor. Each time we returned to the table, there were fewer and fewer people in the room, until after the last dance, we were the only people on the floor. In fact, we were the only people left in the huge room. The lights began to dim and we looked around in confusion as Veronica came to meet us in the middle of the floor, carrying an antique kerosene lamp. The unsteady flickering of the flame caused a dancing light to accentuate the darkness of her hair and the pale grey of her eyes as she approached and silently indicated with one hand that we should follow her. You looked up at me with a certain trepidation in the blue of your eyes, and I smiled and nodded assurance as Veronica led us toward the huge curving staircase which led up and away from the great hall. We could not help but notice, as Veronica climbed the stairs just ahead of us, that she was voluptuous under the concealing velvet of the Victorian dress and her cat like grace filled each movement of her body with suggestive allure, yet there was a quiet sadness about her. Something you would not expect in someone so lovely.
We followed her up flights of stairs and along dark corridors, decorated with shields and weapons and portraits of past inhabitants of the castle, until we came to a large carved door. Veronica opened the door with a large iron key and ushered us inside. The room was amazingly large and the floor covered with thick Persian carpets. There was a double archway on the opposite wall that led through leaded glass doors, out onto a balcony which overlooked the stone parapets of the castle. The center piece of the room was a large carved bed, which had posts that were as thick as an oak tree and held up a rich canopy, of gold braid and deep red velvet. There were candles burning on every nook and cranny in the room, giving off a sensual undulating light, and highlighting the look of wonder on your lovely face.
Veronica placed the iron key in my hand and then turned to face you, the flickering light playing off both your faces and accentuating the stark differences between you. Her dark austere beauty seemed to soak up the wavering light, while your bright, sensitive loveliness seemed to cast a glow of its own.
"I hope you will be comfortable here. It is a very special room."
Veronica lifted her hand and gently swept a tiny lock of blonde hair away from your face. Her fingers stayed to caress your cheek for only an instant, and her voice dropped into almost a low whisper.
"I picked it especially for you. ------- I will be back shortly with your nightcap."
With a graceful, cat like turn, she closed the door and was gone. We looked at each other and smiled, and then you stood up on your toes and threw your arms around my neck, kissing me with mischievous delight. "This is just wonderful," you said, between flurries of tiny kisses. "Did you know the place would be like this?"
You slipped off your high heeled sandals and ran across the room to jump upon the huge bed and began bouncing on your knees there. The effect of your body bouncing beneath the clinging beauty of the black silk was having its effect upon me and I slipped off my tuxedo jacket and tossed it upon a chair as I crossed the floor to stand at the foot of the bed. I started to climb onto the velvet coverlet when your tiny foot, covered in a sheer silk stocking pressed against my chest and stopped me.
"Hold it right there, cowboy. Where do you think you're going?"
I smiled at you and grasped your foot, intending to move it aside and climb onto the bed next to you, when a second silk covered foot pressed against my chest as well, holding me at bay. Your blue eyes danced in the wavering fire of the candle light and your smile told me that you had made up your mind about something.
"This is a night that requires a little decorum."
My brows knitted and it became obvious that I did not understand. You smiled, indulgently and pressed your toes against the front of my white shirt.
"You sir, will go into that bathroom over there and strip off this money suit, while your lady gets ready for you, in this wonderfully plush bedroom."
