Author's note: This is the first chapter in what I believe will be a series. It features themes of reluctant sex. All characters are over 18. I hope you enjoy it.
*****
- Tuesday night -
'Panties off slowly, then sit, then touch yourself.'
The instructions had seemed so clear at the time, but here in the darkened study with him staring at her, Erin began to lose her nerve. She was still torn with indecision, with part of her wanting to run home to her parents. The other part urged her to stay a bit longer to see what would happen. After all there might be no home to run to.
A partially-opened blind lit her host from behind. Erin made out the silhouette of a man with a medium-sized build, close cut, light-colored hair, and a dark suit jacket. Any other details were lost in the shadows. The room was quiet.
She stood transfixed. She could easily leave through the same door that Valeri had used to usher her into the room just a few minutes earlier. That choice she knew would have dire consequences for her future. To remain here and do as she was told promised to be unpleasant in a very different way.
He cleared his throat.
Erin lifted her dress.
- Tuesday morning -
"Ms. Porte. Ms. Porte! Erin!"
Erin finally located the woman calling out to her. For some reason she hadn't pulled into the driveway. Erin pulled her carry-on bag down to the street to meet her.
Valeri turned out to be a striking Asian woman of indeterminate age. With a trim waist, toned legs and gorgeous jet black hair well down her back, she looked to be no more than thirty. Erin knew that she was probably older than she looked; Asian women were blessed that way.
"This way." Valeri led her to an elegant limousine. It reminded Erin of the one that she had ridden in as a child, before her parents had sold it and released their driver. "We want you to grow up more like your friends," her father had explained. Even twelve year-old Erin had thought it odd at the time. Most of her friends at the exclusive private school also arrived in limos.
Neither Valeri nor the driver offered to help her with her bag so she dragged it into the passenger compartment. Valeri joined her, crossing her legs and smoothing out her immaculate wool skirt. The car pulled away.
Erin felt a bit self conscious in her shorts and t-shirt. "It's not a really fancy resort, is it? I mean, I'll be okay dressed like this?"
Valeri smiled. "Erin, it isn't exactly a resort we're going to. But yes, you'll be fine dressed casually. Oh, you did pack the other clothes per the instructions?"
"Yes, clothes for the pool, two changes of casual clothes, and something for a nice dinner out. I'm set."
"And the lingerie, right?" Valeri was persistent.
"Yes, got that, too." The requirement that she pack lingerie had given her the most pause. Who cared, Erin wondered. Nonetheless she had packed a set of matching black lace bra and panties. Wasn't like she needed them for any other purpose. She wouldn't see her boyfriend again until classes resumed at UCLA, and that was months away.
They drove steadily toward downtown LA. Morning rush hour was mostly over but there were still several long stretches where traffic ground nearly to a halt. Valeri appeared completely comfortable to gaze out the window, but Erin increasingly was troubled by unanswered questions about the weekend.
"You know," she said. "My parents didn't really tell me much about this weekend."
"I see," said Valeri, but offered nothing more.
"They said it was a nice place. I could use the pool, swim, sunbathe, like that."
"Oh yes, it's very nice," Valeri assured her.
"But it's not a resort?"
Valeri sighed and turned her gaze from the window to Erin. The car turned from I-10 to I-405 North. "Erin, your parents obviously didn't tell you the full story behind this weekend. That's understandable. I'm not at liberty to disclose everything but I can assure you that you will be staying in a beautiful and safe home. There's a pool, two pools actually. The food is great, the grounds are beautiful, and you'll probably meet other young women with whom you have a great deal in common. Anything more you'll have to wait until we get there to learn."
"Okay, thanks." There didn't seem to be much else to say. Erin was confused by the air of secrecy, but her parents had encouraged her. Or rather, her mother had. Her dad had become increasingly distant of late, leaving home before Erin woke and staying at work until after she'd gone to bed.
They pulled off to Sunset Drive, east for a bit, then turned into Bel-Air. As the limo took them deeper into the exclusive community she marveled at the beauty and excess. Each mansion was more opulent than the next. Small swarms of service company trucks parked along Bellagio Road, their crews attending to lawns, gardens, and unseen pools. It was the LA of postcards, far removed from the relatively modest suburban neighborhood her parents had moved to just a few years ago.
At last the limo pulled into the driveway of an imposing contemporary home. The two women climbed out. Beyond the fence the peaked roofline towered above them, supporting a massive wall of glass. A short but immaculately landscaped trail led through a patch of bamboo to an ornately carved wooden gate. The motif unquestionably was Asian. Erin headed toward it.
"This way, Erin!" Valeri was waiting by a much smaller entrance marked 'service and deliveries'.
"Oh." Erin brought her bag and the two women entered the compound.
***
Erin's hands didn't have to travel very far. The cocktail-length dress she wore had been chosen to show off her legs, which it did nicely. Erin's sleek legs drew notice, either envy or desire, from all who saw them on display. Even in the modest heels she had brought, her calves were shapely and smooth.
She slowly slid her hands up the tops of her thighs lifting the dress as she went. Reluctantly, she continued until her fingers found her panties. She slipped a finger over the waistband on each side. Her heart raced. A final spasm of indecision wracked her, but she dismissed it. Taking in and releasing several deep, slow breaths she settled herself. She started to pull.
Shifting her body left and right Erin tugged the lace thong deliberately past her hips. Remembering Valeri's instruction to proceed slowly, she put on the best show she could, carefully sliding the thong just a few inches at a time. Finally they dropped to her ankles, where she kicked them aside. She was free.
Her host had no reaction. As Erin's eyes had grown accustomed to the dim room she could now make out a bit more detail, including the occasional glint of light reflecting in his eyes. As far as she could tell, he watched her carefully but otherwise remained still.
The chair waited behind her, a wide contemporary lounger of black leather. An overhead lamp cast a faint pool of light. As she seated herself, Erin realized the older man would have an even better view of her, while making it harder for her to see him. No matter, she thought. Perhaps what she was about to do would be easier if she could convince herself she was alone.
She slid her hand up her thigh toward her slit.
***
Even entering through the back, the home and grounds were spectacular. The path took them around the side before opening up into the lower portion of the grounds. Here palms and other native plants thrived in manicured beds, but most of the space was taken up by a lovely pool, and two curved rows of cabanas. There was no one else in sight.
"Here." Valeri led her to one of the cabanas. Entering, Erin could see it was larger than it appeared. There was a small sitting area, a queen bed with a nightstand, a shelf for linens, a small refrigerator, and a modest closet. The bathroom was equally compact, with a stall shower, toilet, and vanity. An envelope lay prominently in the middle of the bed.
Valeri seemed a bit uncomfortable. "Erin, there's a video waiting for you." She motioned to a tablet computer Erin hadn't noticed earlier. Watch it, then you may open the envelope." She edged toward the door of the cabana. "I have to let you know now, you may not wish to stay. The driver will wait for an hour. At any time until then he will take you home." She stepped out, closing the door behind her.
"What the hell is going on here?" Erin wondered. She found a home for her bag, put down her purse and sat down with the tablet. A video was already loaded. It was of her parents.
The scene was her father's study in their home. Both he and her mother sat in front of the camera, looking distraught. Her father was staring off to the side; her mother stared toward, but beyond the camera. She spoke with great effort. "Erin, please forgive us. We've always tried to do our best to take care of you. I hope you know that. But these past several years well..." she wiped her eyes "well, your father's business hasn't done very well. Erin, we're broke."
Erin knew their fortunes weren't as they used to be. Starting when she was in middle school they had moved from the gorgeous mansion she had grown up in to a series of ever more modest homes. The limo and driver had been let go in favor of luxury cars of their own, which in turn gave way to a merely upscale models. Summers abroad had turned into shorter vacations in Mexico, then into weeks visiting family here and there. But broke?
"I think they'll give you a list of some kind," her mother continued. She was staring at the floor now as she spoke. "But believe me, almost everything we have is gone. The house, even your car isn't ours anymore. The only way out is if Mr. Carter helps us." She drew in a ragged breath. "And the only way he helps us is if you give him what he wants." She dabbed at her tears with a tissue, soaking it before grabbing another. Finally she turned to Erin's father. "Raymond. Raymond! Tell her she doesn't have to do this, Raymond!"
At last the man spoke. "She knows that Myra." He spoke softly, still staring somewhere far away.
