Читать книгу Sin and Scandal - Carol Storm - Страница 8

"Come on, dear. Pull yourself together."

Madame's hand clamped down on Crystal May's shoulder. It wasn't a mean grip, but it was firm and strong. Madeline Charles was saying as plain as day that she cared, but that everyone had to do their part. The country girl crying on the couch quickly choked off her tears.

"Do you reckon we did all right?" Crystal May sniffled, wiping her eyes as she sat up.

"You did very well indeed, darling. Now come, we have business to discuss."

Crystal May stood up, feeling a bit shaky on her legs. The pale, delicate-featured blonde could still feel Matt Gold's hand on her flaming ass cheeks, just like he was still in the room with her. Her poor behind felt hot, burning hot. She imagined it glowing red like the burner on a stove. She tried to get dressed, but she was all thumbs. Her hands were shaking and she couldn't control the way her fingers kept fumbling the job. The whole time she was worried about sitting down again.

"Here, darling." Madame poured her a drink from the cut-glass decanter on her desk. "This should help. And I've put a cushion down for you to sit on while we talk."

"Thank you, ma'am." Crystal May sat down ever so slowly, but the pain was not so bad. Madame poured a drink for herself as well.

"To your first time, my dear." The head of the school raised her glass in a toast.

"Yes, ma'am." Crystal May closed her eyes and swallowed some of the amber-colored liquid. It was like drinking a forest fire. The liquor in the glass burned so bad that it made her cough.

"Slowly, my dear. The idea is to sip. Savor the pleasure. Yes, that's much better."

"That was worse than the spanking!" When she could breathe again, Crystal May gave a shaky laugh. Her throat was still burning, yet slowly the warmth slid lower and pooled in her belly.

"Adult pleasures often take some getting used to," the older woman said. "Don't you think?"

"I reckon so." Crystal May felt a mite better now. She felt warm inside and out, and not just because of the liquor in her glass. Madame was initiating her into liquor, the same as Matt had initiated her into spanking. Only instead of feeling hurt or put down she felt flattered and proud. "Well, I imagine that I can learn to do anything with a fine ... with an exceptional teacher like you."

"You'll have other teachers," Madame told her. The older woman sipped her drink slowly. "In time you'll discover that pain and pleasure are never far apart. But at the moment we need to discuss business, not pleasure. Do you know why Matt Gold paid us a visit this afternoon?"

"Why, I reckon – I mean I imagine he was trying to spy on us, to see if we were breaking the law. To determine if we were engaged in any unlawful activities."

"No, that's not it." Madame poured a little more liquor into her glass, and into Crystal May's too. "Your grammar and vocabulary are improving, my dear. But you happen to be mistaken."

"Oh." Crystal May frowned. What good was building your vocabulary when you were still the same dumb person underneath? And what good was acting like a lady when any low-down lawman could treat you like a whore? The country girl picked up her glass and took another drink, and it made her burn inside, just like before. Only this time the liquor made her a little bit reckless. "Well, if Agent Matt Gold wasn't here to get us in trouble, why did I have to let him spank me?"

"I let him spank you." Madame's calm voice and level gaze put Crystal May right back in her place. "I made that decision for three reasons. First, because you deserved it. You were eating sweets behind my back. Second, you've been dodging your true potential for far too long. I didn't bring you here to scrub the floors. And third, Matt Gold is more than just an FBI agent. He's a friend, and he's here to protect us from real danger."

"What danger?" Crystal May gulped the rest of her drink without even tasting it. "I'm sorry, Madame, I was rude just now and I apologize. My behavior was impertinent and unacceptable."

"That's quite all right, my dear," Madame said quietly. "As I remarked a moment ago, your vocabulary is improving steadily, and your manners are impeccable – when you want them to be. Matt Gold is an FBI agent, not some lustful sheriff's deputy or a corrupt city vice cop on a prostitution sweep. He's part of the Organized Crime Task Force, and his specialty is the mob."

"But we're not mixed up with the mob!" Crystal May's hand flew to her throat. "Are we?"

"We are not," Madeline Charles confirmed. "But we are a business as well as a school. Recently we've been making a great deal of money with our private shows. And along with the money has come a certain amount of unwanted attention. From the law, and from others as well."

"You mean mob guys," Crystal May cut in. She forgot the rule about not interrupting a lady.

"Correct. Our shows are clean and wholesome. Our young ladies are disciplined in a traditional manner, and never forced into sexual acts. But some of our regular customers would like to see a change of policy. And they want a share of the even greater profits that would surely result."

"They want us to become real whores." Crystal May felt dizzy all of a sudden, like she'd been spinning for hours on one of those wild rides at the county fair. But this was no ride. "I'm sorry, Madame, but I could never let folks watch me if I thought ... if it could lead to something like that!"

"We won't let it happen," Madame Madeline told her gently. But her proud black eyes said plain as day that they were both in real trouble. "I only wanted you to understand that it was for the good of the school that I let Matt Gold discipline you today. He's after the mob, but he's also genuinely concerned about our safety. Naturally he wants to keep a close eye on all the girls."

"Naturally." Crystal May looked into her empty glass. Madame was smart and very brave, fighting for her rights and protecting her girls like a queen. But Matt Gold had just been using her. She was one of the girls, and that was all. Crystal May felt cheap and dirty. All the liquor she'd drunk was still in her system, only now it was making her feel sleepy. She wanted to sleep forever.

"Off you go now," Madame said soothingly, like she knew just what Crystal May wanted. "You've had a busy day, dear. I'm sorry I had to discipline you. But you did very well and I'm proud of you. You passed the test. Now go to your room and rest. Carla will wake you in time for dinner."

Crystal May got up, moving just like a sleepwalker. Or like one of those fancy wind-up dolls. Madame Madeline was pushing her buttons just like a toy. But the lady stopped her at the door.

"Oh, just one more question, my dear. Where did you get that candy bar?"

The slim blonde straightened her shoulders. "Reckon I stole it from the delivery truck when that old boy wasn't looking." Madame could make her do just about anything, all right. Except for one thing. A country girl never snitched.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty! Wake up! Tonight's the night."

"Huh?" Crystal May felt blinded by the glare from the little lamp over her bed. She put her hands up over her eyes quick as lightning, but she could still hear Carla Brunelli loud and clear.

"Come on, honey, get up and take a shower. We've got dinner with Madame in half an hour, and after that there's going to be a show. It's about time you got to see what this place is about!"

"About time?" Crystal May squinted up at the Italian girl. Whenever there was a show everyone got new dresses to wear. Carla was already dressed in a slinky black evening dress that really accentuated her stunningly voluptuous figure. "Did you have to cover my shift in the kitchen?"

"Sure, but that's all right. I notice I didn't get any new demerits on the board this afternoon. So nobody knows where you got that candy bar?"

"Nobody." The pretty blonde sat up on the bed, knuckling sleep from her eyes. She wasn't a snitch, but she didn't like keeping things from Madeline Charles. Crystal May owed the woman.

"Aw, don't feel bad, honey. Everyone gets their first spanking sometime. Here, put this on."

"Huh?" Crystal May looked up. Carla was offering her a tiny medallion on a chain.

"It's a Saint Christopher Medal," the dark-eyed beauty confided, patting her companion on the arm. "I've got one just like it under my pillow. You keep it there until you need it. Put it on when you're going somewhere and it'll always keep you safe."

"That's mighty kind of you, Carla. I'm much obliged."

Crystal May liked her new present so much she wore it right into the shower. While she was standing under the fancy shower head, letting the little jets of hot water wake her up, she pretended she was a rich society lady thanking her friend in flowery language. "Carla, darling! I'm deeply indebted to you. No, my dear, I'm eternally in your debt. This simple token has touched me deeply."

Giggling as she reached for a towel, the country girl turned and saw her firm, rounded bottom in the bathroom mirror. It wasn't red anymore, but when she explored it timidly with her hands, she could hear Matt Gold's voice and feel his touch. A funny sort of shiver ran right down to her toes.

She got dressed in a hurry.

Crystal May got to sit next to Carla at dinner. The sexy Italian girl kept joking and laughing. Just being around her made folks feel good. Even Madame seemed pleased by her exuberance. There was definitely a more convivial atmosphere at the table, thanks to Carla's vivacious temperament.

Regrettably, however, when the time came for the private show, Crystal May got separated from her best friend. She ended up being wedged in between two girls she didn't know all that well. It made her feel shy when she heard how they talked about having sex with all sorts of different men. But everyone got real quiet when the lights went down inside the little theater.

It seemed that one of the girls was pretending to be the wife of a very rich and successful business man. Crystal May thought it was awfully silly for a girl who had it so good to be complaining all the time, even while she was eating breakfast with her husband. The girl was so busy stuffing her face that she hardly even bothered with the proper table manners. But her good-looking husband took no mind, just gave her a long list of chores to do while he was away at the office.

Even Crystal May could see where all this was heading. But what really surprised her was that, while the play was going on, the girls around her were not being all quiet and respectful. Once the action got started they were all laughing and making wisecracks, not even trying to be quiet.

First the lazy girl up on the stage made a mess out of her husband's desk, spilling diet soda on his laptop and all the folders that held important papers. Of course she hardly noticed this herself, but all the girls in the theater were shouting for her to be even sloppier and more careless. And they loved it even more when she ruined her husband's fishing rods, and his bowling ball, and a whole mess of other guy stuff. Everyone was whooping and laughing and even Crystal May joined in.

Now all of this was so much fun that when the husband came home at last everyone seemed totally surprised. The girl on the stage had been dancing around to real sexy music in her underwear, and then she stopped with the most comical look on her face. She didn't even notice that her husband's business papers were all crumpled up under her feet, or what an ungodly mess she'd made of the entire place.

It was funny how Crystal May felt when the spanking began. She started off thinking the girl was just selfish trash. She deserved to get into trouble. And then she got to laughing so hard, and really liking the crazy girl on the stage, who was not somebody else, but really and truly her in a way. So then when the spanking started, Crystal May was really on the edge of her seat. And somehow, when she saw the whiteness of the girl's behind, and heard the sharp crack of her husband's hand on her bottom, it all seemed to be happening to her!

The other girls were laughing and shouting, but Crystal May felt like she was all alone. She was just sitting there watching, hypnotized and almost paralyzed. And the hotter and more nasty the spanking got, the more she felt her own behind starting to tingle. She just had to rub it against something, but when she started squirming in her seat she got a real jolt. It was a shocking, quivering kind of sensation that made her insides turn to jelly. Everything seemed to hang by a single thread.

Crystal May just couldn't help herself. She pictured Matt Gold's hand coming down smack on her behind. She was coming apart already just from thinking about it. She touched herself just a little, this time in between her legs. And everything inside her tumbled out and spilled over.

"I'm sorry, Roger." The girl on the stage was sobbing.

"Hit her again! Harder! Harder!" There wasn't another girl in the place who seemed as shaken up as Crystal May felt. They were laughing and carrying on like it was all a big joke. But Crystal May felt like the sky had fallen, like she'd been turned inside out. To her it seemed like the whole world had seen what happened and was laughing at her, not at the girl up on the stage.

Fortunately, when she scooted out of the little theater, nobody seemed to notice. Crystal May ran down the hall gasping for breath, her high heels clacking up a terrible racket, not even noticing the noise or the tears running down her cheeks. She didn't think about where her feet were taking her, but she knew better than to go out the front door. There were all kinds of fancy cars parked out front, plus the security people Madame hired for her special shows. She needed someone to keep the girls safe when so many rich, powerful men were on the grounds.

"Baby, I can't," a husky female voice was saying. "You know I'd like to ... but I can't."

Crystal May pulled up short by an open door, forgetting all about her own troubles. That low, sexy voice was Carla's. She would have recognized it anywhere. But who was the tall, dark and sexy stranger holding her in his arms? The curious blonde peeked inside, careful not to be seen. He looked Italian, and he was wearing a fabulously expensive suit of clothes. When he looked at Carla, his midnight black eyes burned with passion, the kind that made a girl feel warm all over.

Did Matt Gold ever feel that kind of passion for a girl? Or did he just get off on spankings?

"My family is legitimate now," the sexy Italian hunk was saying. He had Carla alone in the little book-lined study, the two of them still in a steamy clinch. "I bring in half a million a year, all clean money. I'm a lawyer, for Christ's sake. Come with me, Carla. Let me take you back to Reno."

Carla snorted. "Even in Reno, people know the difference between a whore and a lady. I'm not going anywhere until I've paid off my debt to Madame. She picked me up out of the gutter. She made me into someone. That's why I can't just take a powder. I'm not the person I used to be."

"I know all about what you used to be back East. And I don't care. I love you."

"Oh, Steve ... oh, baby ..."

When they went back to kissing again, Crystal May just quietly backed away from the door. They hadn't seen or heard her, even with her high heels making such a racket on the polished floor. Well, it was easy to see why. They were in love, and totally wrapped up in each other.

Crystal May felt a whole lot better when she went to bed that night. Maybe she had enjoyed the show. It seemed there was a part of her that liked being spanked on the behind. Doing it or watching it she just got all heated up in no time flat. But deep down Crystal May knew there was more to love than that. When a rich, important man like Steve could fall for a girl like Carla, no matter who she was or what she'd done, that was like opening a door onto what true love really was. And Crystal May didn't have to dream that it was real. Tonight she'd seen it with her own eyes.

"Put down that mop, Crystal May," Madame Madeline commanded. "Someone wants to see you in my office."

"Is something the matter, Madame?" The slim blonde straightened up in a hurry, one hand rubbing her aching back. She'd been working hard all morning, anxious to make up for a late start. Carla usually woke her up in plenty of time, but then the sexy Italian girl hadn't come around this morning. Well, she'd had an exciting night as well.

"It's good to see you again, Crystal May." Special Agent Matt Gold was looking as handsome as ever as he lounged on the leather couch in Madame's elegant study. But this time there was something different about him. His necktie was loosened, and his sleeves were rolled up, just like when he'd spanked her the day before. But instead of looking relaxed, he seemed tense, all wired up. It reminded Crystal May of the way hound dogs back home perked up when they were on a scent.

"Are you here to give me another spanking, Agent Gold?" Tilting one well-plucked golden eyebrow, she allowed just the faintest note of mockery into her soft, breathy greeting. Madame didn't like sarcastic remarks. She considered them rude. But Crystal May just had to show the big city lawman she wasn't afraid of him. Her knees were wobbly enough just from seeing him again.

"Let's all have a cup of coffee," Madame Madeline suggested, in an amused tone of voice. The older woman clearly enjoyed the tension between the two of them, but as she handed Crystal May a china mug full of steaming black coffee, her ebony eyes held a veiled warning. "Agent Gold is here to help us, my dear. One of our girls has gone missing overnight."

"Oh, no." Crystal May sipped her coffee, which was rich and dark and full of flavor. She leaned back on the soft-cushioned couch, trying to look relaxed. She was battling her nerves, and her growing awareness of the alert, tightly-coiled, hard-muscled detective sitting beside her. "Why would anyone want to leave a wonderful place like this?" she asked, in a voice that was meant to be sarcastic but came out shaky and breathless. "Last night was so much fun!"

"Wish I'd been there," Matt Gold said dryly. His eyes were as black as the steaming coffee. When he looked at her, a sizzling heat ignited between them. He knew what she'd been up to last night. He knew what she'd seen up on the stage. And he knew that when she watched the spanking, she'd been thinking of him and wishing that she was the girl being publicly disciplined.

"Strangely enough, my dear, I've heard reports that you left our little performance before the final curtain." This time it was Madame, seated behind her desk, who raised one eyebrow with a mocking smile. "Of course I'm sure you were just looking for a breath of fresh air, was that it?"

"Yes, ma'am." Crystal May yanked her gaze away from Matt Gold. With the cop on the couch right next to her, and Madame firing questions at her from behind the desk, she felt like a prisoner getting the third degree. The feeling was made stronger by the sweaty gray overalls she was wearing, and by the fact that she hadn't put on any makeup or done anything with her hair.

"Did you happen to see your friend Carla before you went to bed?" the FBI agent asked.

"Carla?" Crystal May's hand flew to her throat. "Did Carla run away? Is she all right?"

"We don't know, my dear. But something is not right," Madame Madeline said ominously. "She didn't report for her chores this morning, and her bed hadn't been slept in. You know what a headstrong girl Carla is. She might have just gotten tired of us, and left of her own free will. But there were a lot of strangers on the school grounds last night. It's possible one of them abducted her."

"Oh, no." With a sick feeling, Crystal May put down her coffee cup. She remembered Steve, sexy and good-looking and filthy rich, holding Carla in his arms. Begging her to run away with him.

"Tell us what you know, beautiful." Matt Gold's coffee-black eyes caught hers, making her feel imprisoned on the hot seat. "If you saw something, if you heard something, we have to know. Carla's life might depend on it."

"But what if she wasn't kidnapped?" Crystal May turned to the head of the school, her blue eyes beseeching. "What if she just met a really nice man and decided to run away with him? It's a free country, isn't it?"

"It is indeed," Madame said crisply. "But that young woman owed me a great deal. And unless we know who the young man was, there's no way of knowing just how nice he really is."

"I know," Crystal May sighed. "You can't never tell about men." There was really no way out of this, she decided. Much as she hated snitching, she would have to tell them the whole story.

"What did I tell you," Matt Gold said triumphantly, the moment Crystal May was finished talking. "I knew the mob would try to muscle in on you, Madame. They're stealing your best talent. That Steven Tallarico is as smooth as silk!"

"You know him?" Crystal May asked, wiping her eyes with her fingers. She'd been crying a bit as she told her story, just because it seemed so romantic and at the same time dreadfully sad. Especially if Madame was able to recapture Carla and force her to go on working here forever. Or if sexy, gorgeous Steve was really only leading Carla on to some horrible fate worse than death.

"There's only one real crime family left in Reno," Matt told her, handing her a handkerchief he pulled from his breast pocket. One of his business cards came tumbling out too, and a dazed Crystal May held onto it by instinct. "The Tallarico family. The boss's oldest son is named Steve."

"But Steve said he was a lawyer," the country girl sniffled. "He said his family wasn't crooked anymore. He said he loved Carla and they were going to make a new start!" She started crying again, but she couldn't help it. She kept picturing Steve and Carla together. They were kissing so desperately, with such scorching passion, like a pair of star-crossed lovers on the Titanic. Crystal May buried her face in the sexy FBI man's handkerchief, breathing the scent of Matt Gold's cologne. She was emotional and couldn't help picturing Matt kissing her the way Steve was kissing Carla.

But Matt Gold only cared about catching criminals. And spanking them.

"There, there, my dear," Madame Madeline said. She was using her most soothing voice, but this time Crystal May didn't fall for it. The woman had turned on her computer and was studying the screen, probably checking up on her profits from last night's show. "Now that we know who kidnapped Carla, the FBI can have her back in to time at all. And it's good that the Tallarico family will finally be brought to justice. Forced abduction is a federal crime."

"Are you the one who's going to bring down the Tallarico family?" Crystal May demanded, turning from Madame to Matt Gold.

"That's my job," the FBI man said confidently. There was an almost arrogant self-assurance in the way he leaned back on the couch, giving Crystal May a sort of lazy, relaxed inspection. No doubt Madame Madeline had promised him a big reward for returning her best girl in handcuffs.

"My goodness," Crystal May said, in her best country-girl voice. "The two of you have this whole thing figured out, don't you? Agent Gold, I bet you get a big promotion for bringing down the last crime family in Reno. And Madame, I imagine this will build you up as well. All the girls will see just how much you care about protecting us once we've got Carla back all safe and sound. Your authority will be augmented by this auspicious intervention of the FBI." The slim blonde on the deep-cushioned sofa paused for a moment, to let her improved vocabulary resonate with the woman who had made and trained her. "But do you know what I think?"

"No, my dear." Madeline Charles barely looked up from her computer. "Enlighten me."

"It stinks," Crystal May said firmly. "All of it. The whole thing stinks!"

"Even spanking your naughty behind?" Matt Gold asked, in a calm and casual tone.

Crystal May stood up, her hands on her hips. She looked the federal lawman up and down as if he were nothing but dirt. "Sure, you can use my body for your amusement. You've got the power. But what you don't have, either one of you, is my respect." She turned to Madame Madeline. "You know that I came here willingly, that I've worked hard for you day and night. That wasn't done out of fear, or even ambition. It was my way of showing respect. But I can't respect a woman who pretends to care about her girls and then allows them to be used by cruel and selfish men. Can you really blame poor Carla for running away with a guy like Steve? I know she loves him."

"Then she's a fool," Madame sniffed. "Men are not to be trusted, my dear."

"I saw the way Steve looked at Carla," Crystal May said stubbornly. "And I know he's not a killer. He loves her just as much as she loves him. I can feel it!" She gave Agent Gold an icy glare. "Maybe you've got a whole lot of things on him already. Maybe you have things on his family. But if he's put on trial for this kidnapping, then you've got to have witnesses who say the way it was. But if I ever get on the witness stand, I'm telling the truth, about Carla and Steve and about how they were acting together the night she ran away. She wasn't kidnapped from this place, she escaped from it. And I say good for her!"

Crystal May fully expected a spanking at this point. She might even be placed under arrest. If Carla had broken any laws during her escape she could be considered an accessory to the crime. But when she walked out of the room with her head held high no-one even bothered to call her back.