Asphodel's

"Mama, when Grandma said Mr. McBride was due in ten minutes, did she mean . . .?"

"She did. Yes, Grandma is in her sixties but she is still slim and trim and she still has a following of old, long-time clients who happily pay for an hour or so in bed with her. You may take the girl out of the party but you can't take the party out of the girl, even when she gets to be a grandmother. Now, I promised you a tour. Up you get."

They walked down a thickly carpeted hall with pictures hanging on the walls between doors. Poppy glanced up at a framed Vargas pin-up print and then did a double take. It was not a print. Quickly scanning the paintings on either side she realized that the hall of Asphodel's was an art museum of some of the finest of America's landscape and figure painting. Amazed she hurried after her mother who was opening a room. After the revelation in the hall, Poppy was unsurprised to find it furnished in fine antiques and decorated with exquisite but erotic paintings and bronze sculpture. The Gentian was no Motel 6!

Camellia seated herself in a bargello embroidered wingback and motioned her daughter to sit on the bed. Poppy's eyes ran around the room, up the posts to the curtains and hangings around it. She looked back at her mother.

"How much is all this art worth?"

"Rather a lot. We've been accumulating it since around nineteen hundred and as the fortune increased, we've bought more."

"Mama, how rich is Grandma?"

"Mother is the richest woman in the state. To give you an idea, when Apple issued its first public offering of stock my grandma bought a million dollars worth. She did the same with Microsoft. With Google it was fifty million. In years past Asphodel's has had to close for a few years at a time and pay some hefty fines whenever a "reformist" governor or attorney general was elected. No longer. There isn't a politician in the state who dares to go against us now. Not to mention that her numerous charities make her very, very popular."

"But without ostentation?"

"No ostentation and no daughters growing up to be Paris Hilton types, either. Why? Because every one of us knows from personal experience how the fortune was made and what it takes to make money that way. Now Cora tells me you want to be a kindergarten teacher. Sorry dear, I insist you major in economics and then go on to business school because Asphodel's needs financial acumen at the top. And to pay for school you will take a room up here like all of us have done for almost a century."

There was a quiet knock at the door and a white uniformed woman entered pushing a cart full of cosmetics. Camellia smiled.

"Ah, right on time. Stephanie I'd like you to meet my daughter Poppy. Poppy, Stephanie is our resident cosmetologist and electrolysist. She's going to depilate you so strip down."

"S—strip down?"

"That's what I said. Today she's going to wax you smooth. It hurts and you have to do it every month, but that's better than shaving every other day or so. In time she'll just kill all the follicles but that will take a while. Now, get naked and hairless and we'll go on from there."

Half an hour later, a naked Poppy sat cross legged on the bed savoring the relief provided by the Stephanie's finishing topical anesthetic. Her mother sat gazing at her in approval.

"Poppy, between now and June you have things to learn. Most are fairly easy but one will take practice. We'll start with that."

"In June I come here to work? A couple of us were thinking about hiking through Europe. Couldn't I wait a little longer?"

"No way, young lady. I'm not letting you hie off to Europe in the company of several of your worldly friends. You can take that trip after you graduate from college. Now," she opened a drawer in the night stand and removed a smooth, marble egg and a small bottle of lubricant, "we'll start with the basics. You 'slippery' this up and put it inside your vagina. The idea is to learn to pull it up as far inside you as you can and then gently let it down but not out. When you get to the point where you can just about yo-yo it, I'll introduce you to the next set of exercises. Here."

Poppy held out her hand reluctantly. The egg was about two inches in diameter and polished smooth.

"Now?"

"Now."

It was embarrassing having her own mother watch her put the egg inside but once it was there it actually felt good. "Hey, this thing is heavy. It's hard to pick it up."

"That's true. But when you can do it right it puts your price up markedly. There are only four of us who can. Besides your grandmother and I there's only Jane Cornwall and Dr. Feinberg."

"Dr. Feinberg? A psychiatrist works in Asphodel's?"

"She has for years. She started as an undergrad, paid for med school and became such an enthusiast that she specializes in therapy for sexual dysfunction. And here is the other thing you need to learn."

Camellia took out a small size silicone dildo and a box of condoms. She ripped a package open, put the condom to her lips and picked up the dildo. To Poppy's amazement Camellia put the tip of the dildo in the rolled up condom and ducked her head to unroll it over the dildo.

"There," she said, "all ready for some first class head with no coughing or gagging and no worry about whether or not the gentleman is carrying something unpleasant. And this way you can keep Steven happy and still stay a virgin until June."

Poppy took the proffered toy and preventative. "And the reason I should stay a virgin until June is . . .?"

"Nota reason, Poppy, more than forty thousand of them."

The girl dropped the dildo and her egg slipped out. "Forty thousand? As if forty thousanddollars?"

Camellia smiled very faintly. "That's correct, dear. By June you will be a fully trained courtesan and that means fully trained to Asphodel's standard. You are also the Asphodel-in-Waiting. Should you still be a virgin, as I hope you will, your grandmother and I will start the bidding at forty thousand dollars and it could go much higher very quickly. On the other hand, if you would prefer not to be deflowered by a complete stranger and will accept the lesser amount, a gentleman you know has already indicated that he is ready to pay that much."

"Which gentleman?"

"Your future father-in-law, Mr. Cornwall. And that will be only fair as I intend to start training Steven in the Tantric arts as a graduation present from his parents. By the end of the summer you two will be as erotically skilled as your father and I are and you will have a considerable nest egg put away for tuition and books."

Poppy got down off the bed and retrieved the dildo, the condom and the marble egg. She sat down in a chair next to her mother, looking down at the articles in her hands. "Forty thousand dollars," she muttered, "Andy will pay forty thousand dollars to be the first man to fuck his prospective daughter-in-law. Mother, that's creepy and disgusting."

"It is not. It is business, it is family and it will be fun because Andy is a great lover, one of my favorite clients. Once the man he is is inside the woman you will become you will understand, just as Steven will learn to become the man you will want while he is inside me. Now put your clothes back on, it's cold outside and you need to take your new toys home and start practicing. I'll give you a series of dildos in increasing size and as soon as you master one Stevie's size, I want you to give him his first blow job. He'll return the favor as he learns how."

"Uh, he already has."

"Really? Oh, good. How was it?"

"It was okay. I think he needs practice or some lessons or something. His fingers feel better."

*****

Steven Cornwall was almost trembling with excitement. Asphodel's! For graduation his father had actually taken him to the legendary Asphodel's. Boy, would the other guys be jealous when he told them—except that his father had sworn him to secrecy. Still, at least he could smile knowingly when his buddies would start their endless daydreams about it. He knew he would never be able to tell Poppy.

Forcing his hands to remain calm, he slid the key card into the lock and saw the light turn green. He turned the lever to open the door—and froze. "Ms.—Ms. Trevethlyn?"

Camellia put her forefinger on his lips. "Hush, Steven."

She reached up and took him by the necktie and pulled him into the entryway and shut the door behind him.

"Mmm, what a fine stalwart young man you've grown into, young Mr. Cornwall. I've been looking forward to this. Poppy has told me that the two of you have never gone all the way and that makes me glad. You know why? It means I get to be your first and a man never forgets his first woman. And you have much to learn so I'll be teaching you. Your father has always been one of my favorite clients and I'm sure you will be, too." She reached around and squeezed his butt as she leaned against him, pulling him into the room.

He tried to say something suave but all that came out was, "Uck?"

Camellia chuckled. "Mr. Cornwall there are a few rules you need to understand about Asphodel's. The client is always referred to as 'Mr.' and the woman always uses only her first name. So when you are up here I am Camellia and you, like your father, are Mr. Cornwall. Once we're inside the room I undress and while I do that you get out the envelope with the payment. Then I undress you. Ready?"

She undid the belt of her silk robe to let it fall open revealing her smooth, soft body. Steven's eyes bulged. Poppy had never gotten completely naked with him before. No girl had. And Ms. Trevethlyn had a delicious body, especially considering she was his mother's age.

He fumbled inside his coat to remove the envelope and hand it over. Camellia took it calmly, quickly counted the bills inside and put it in the dresser. She ran her hands down Steven's face and neck to shuck him out of his sport coat. As she undid his necktie and unbuttoned his shirt she continued.

"Mr. Cornwell, today you are starting a course in Tantra. We will have lots of fun together and you will have homework, breathing exercises and muscle strengthening. When we are done in six weeks or so you will be every woman's dream, a man who can take her to heaven and keep her there for hours, if necessary. Poppy is already your compliment, a woman who can drive a man wild so that when the two of you get together the 'festivities' will be amazing, especially to the vast majority of people. However, that can wait just a bit." She ran her palms up and down the sides of his bulging cock. "Right now you are a young man in serious need of getting your rocks off." Camellia put the condom on her lips and ran it all the way to the base of Steven's phallus. She stood and backed to the bed and lay back on it. "Come, Mr. Cornwell, take me."

At the other end of the hall Poppy opened the envelope and stared at it. 'Pay to the order of Poppy Trevethlyn forty thousand and no/100ths dollars' read the bank draft. Forty thousand dollars . . . She looked up at Andrew Cornwell with her mouth slightly open. This dear, kind man, the man who would eventually be her father -in-law was willing to pay the price of a very nice automobile just for the privilege of being the first to stick his cock up her pussy. It wasn't like tomorrow she'd be any uglier, any looser or even a better lay given what she'd spent the last six months learning. It was just the point of being first. Men were very strange creatures, she thought to herself. She put the envelope in the dresser and put her arms around his neck.

"You did that to keep me from being auctioned off to some stranger didn't you Mr. Cornwall? I understand that and I'm actually grateful. However odd this makes me feel, I'm glad it's you and I'm sure that Mother was right when she said that I couldn't ask for a better first lover. It's funny, isn't it? I'm here naked with you. Mother is down the hall naked with Steven, and Daddy and Jane are in the master bedroom at your house while Aunt Cora baby-sits at ours." She would have continued but Andrew covered her mouth with his and began a long, slow deep kiss. His tongue roamed around the inside of her mouth and his hands ran warmly down her back. They cupped her bottom and massaged it. He let go and broke the kiss, leaving her panting. Before she could remember to help, he had his coat and tie off and was unbuttoning his shirt.

Poppy recovered enough to undo his trousers and let them fall to the floor. She put her hands down the front of his boxers and fondled his manhood running her tongue back and forth across her lips. She knelt down and took off his socks before spending some quality time with his cock in her mouth. Mother had been quite specific about learning to use her throat muscles as well as her vaginals.I'm good, she thought, I'm really good. I'm going to make him glad he blew forty grand on me, I really am.

Andrew pulled her too her feet, picked her up and set her on the edge of the bed.

"Lean back on your elbows, honey. I'm going to make sure you enjoy this."

He knelt down and spread her thighs far enough to get his lips and tongue against her pussy.

"Ah?" Poppy gasped as he ran his tongue up the smooth surface of her labia. Soon he was sucking on her clitoris while licking. She whimpered and twitched. The twitching increased, the whimpers turned to moans. She could feel her juices flowing.I'm gonna—gonna . . . cum! She spasmed and cried out but Andrew didn't stop. Poppy's orgasm went on and on until she finally grabbed him by the hair and pulled him away. Panting, she looked up at him through smoldering eyes.

"Mr. Cornwall, be careful, sir. You will steal me away from your son!"

Cornwall chuckled. Stroking himself back to full erection he ripped open a condom and put it on. "Now, my lovely Poppy, it's my turn."

He rolled her over and pulled her hips up. The view of her firm round bottom and swollen pussy brought a leer to his lips. He would have liked to just thrust into her to the hilt but taking care for her virginity, he rubbed his helmet up and down and slowly eased into her. Poppy sighed. It was done. Then, with a grin to herself, she gripped him with her internal muscles and began to milk his cock.

"Oh, you are good, little Poppy. Camellia has taught well. Yes, pleasure me that way. I'll give you just three weeks to cut that out."

Steven lay full length on Camellia gasping for air. She stroked his hair fondly and nibbled his ear lobe.

"Lovely man," she purred, "now I'm going to let you sleep for a bit. Then we'll start the lessons."

*****

Poppy sat watching the late summer sunset from the porch of the family fishing cabin. It had been quite a summer. Not only was her entire undergraduate education already paid for but there was a shiny, new Jeep Wrangler parked in front of the cabin. She heard gravel crunching as another vehicle came to a stop beside it. The sound was followed by the opening of the front door and Steven's footsteps that stopped at the refrigerator before he joined her on the porch.

"Cola?" He offered her a frosty can and sat down.

"Thanks." She took a long swallow. "There's a stew for dinner in the crock pot."

"It can wait. I'm thinking that since life is uncertain we should have dessert first."

"Mmm," she squirmed onto his lap. "Like the way you think. Mama says that last time you did her for a whole hour. She says you've got a diploma coming."

"Damn! I guess that means no more trips to Asphodel's until I can afford it myself."

"How did the interview go?"

"Great. Mr. McBride looked at all my high school transcripts, especially the AP math, and said that if I keep it up through engineering school there's a place waiting for me in his firm. His only requirement is that I don't stop playing the viola. I stopped at the store to buy a formal thank-you note to send to Azalea. I owe her big time for arranging the interview."

"Grandma says that it really was a favor to both of you. Mr. McBride only has daughters and neither of them is an engineer. Someone will have to take over the firm and we both like the sound of Cornwall and McBride, Ltd. Anyway, about dessert. Since you now have to make your own arrangements I could arrange for you to be the first man up my ass if you do me like you did Mom. And that virginity won't cost you any forty grand, either."

Steven slid his hands up under Poppy's T-shirt and bounced her breasts gently in his hands. "Now there's an offer I no canna refuse!"