Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 103530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
I nodded along, but her inventory was clearly for herself.
"All right, it looks like everything is in order. We can go inside." Miranda made an "after you" gesture, and I walked ahead of her down the pier.
The transition to land was a gentle slope onto a wide terrace of polished concrete, embellished with the occasional impression of a seashell or a fossil or... I squinted down as I stepped over one. A belt buckle. The stone fence was a lot taller than it had looked from the boat; it was easily twenty feet high. The bronze torches bracketed to the stone weren't quite medieval, but the theme was starting to come together in my mind.
At the moment, that theme was "Pier One Imports does a Renaissance Fair."
I wasn't hating it.
A gothic arch with carved figures loomed over the much more sensibly sized double doors at the entrance. As we got closer, I noted that the bas relief scenes depicted wouldn't have been appropriate on a cathedral. There were certainly scenes of torment and flagellation, but the wrong kind for salvation purposes.
I didn't know what I'd expected; who knows what to expect from a sex resort? But aside from the uniformed staff working on the pier and the two stoic security officers standing beside the doors, the place seemed deserted. I'd expected tits and ass and people being walked on leashes the second I stepped off the boat.
Miranda nodded to the two men, who nodded back and opened the doors for us.
And that was where all the people were. I stood rooted to the concrete, my greedy eyes taking in more naked flesh than I'd ever seen in one place before. Bodies of all types, from lithe to generous, gleamed in the tropical sun, relaxing around a huge, circular pool with an enormous fountain in the middle. Some guests reclined on lounges while resort staff fanned them with palm fronds. Others cavorted in the water, some playfully, some carnally; an incongruously innocent splash fight was happening about two feet from someone getting their pussy eaten by someone else getting fucked from behind. People were sipping drinks and relaxing to the usual poolside sounds mingled with moans and grunts, as if it were the most normal place to be.
Oh, and there was the person being walked on a leash. Right on time.
"Welcome to Ascend Red," Miranda said, swinging her sleek ponytail. This moment of shock was obviously a favorite part of the job.
"I..." My jeans and t-shirt felt immediately stifling in the heat once the presence of a pool had been introduced. "I'm overdressed."
"Not to worry," Miranda assured me. "We'll get that taken care of at check-in. If you would follow the red line?"
I looked down. Red glass tiles embedded in the concrete formed a border around the textured floor of the pool area and widened into a curved path like a satanic yellow-brick road. I followed it, looking back to make sure Miranda was still with me. I'd thought coming as a guest of the owner would have meant I could skip the front desk.
The red path diverged into a fork at the other side of the fountain and Miranda directed me to the left, past a potted palm currently being used for balance by a couple engaging in some vigorous standing intercourse.
"Is it rude to stare?" I asked Miranda, lowering my voice. Not that the couple would have overheard me, anyway. They were both practically screaming.
"If something is happening in a public area or a voyeur zone? No," she answered.
Voyeur zone. I recognized the term from the handbook. There were "private" spaces that could be used by people who either wanted to be seen or simply didn't care, but which could only be viewed from peepholes or other hidden vantage points.
It had been one of the first things I'd added to my to-do list.
"Private rooms, however, are strictly controlled by our consent policy," she continued.
"Thanks," I said, relieved but also a little embarrassed that she added that last part. "I did read the handbook, I promise."
"There was a lot of information in there," she said with an understanding smile. "If you have any questions, there is always someone on staff who can help. Although, I'm sure Mr. Ashe can answer those questions, too."
"Yeah, where is he?" The open-air fuck-and-suck fest had been a hot welcome, but I'd come to the island for Matt.
"He arranged a special check-in procedure for you," Miranda explained. "So, you won't see him until you're finished at the spa."
A spa appointment? The man certainly knew how to woo me.
In fact, the spa was the destination Miranda led me to, not a hotel lobby. The red path ended in a loop around another, non-swimmable fountain, through a pointed stone arch and into a peaceful, deserted courtyard, where a gray stone building butted up to the perimeter wall. Over the glass doors, the words "Eros Spa" were engraved in a brushed-steel plate.