Stranger Than Truth Ch. 03

Sally cried out at the penetration, writhing on top of her partner. This time, Val teased Sally, bringing her to the edge of orgasm and holding her there. Alternating slow and gentle with fast and hard, Sally was taken to the brink several times before she yelled, "Make me cum! That's an order!" Val obeyed, plunging a second finger into her ass while she grazed Sally's clit with her teeth.

Sally bucked on top of Val, grasping the legs under her as her body shuddered so much it threatened to fall off the bed. Val planted her mouth over Sally's pussy, letting every iota of juice flow down her throat. As the body lying on her stopped shaking, Val gently licked at the edges of Sally's pussy, easing her lover down from the high she had been sent on. For several more minutes, the two women lay on the folding bed, regaining enough strength to make it back upstairs.

Valerie's legs were still sore, so she needed Sally's help getting to their bed. As they came up the stairs, they heard the now familiar sound of Francine's bedroom door closing. Neither begrudged her the privacy she needed to escape the evidence of Valerie having been whipped. The pain of having brutalized Valerie past her safe word was still too raw for Francine. Healing was coming, but it was coming slowly. They went to sleep after Sally rubbed ointment on Valerie's legs.

Thursday morning, Valerie walked into Delgrasi's offices a little slower than normal. Erica caught it and came around from her desk.

"Valerie! Looks like someone had a good time last night."

Val smiled at the memory. "Yes. Sally took me into subspace last night. My first time. I had no idea!" the last said with a dreamy expression on her face.

Erica squealed and gave Val a hug. "I'm so happy for you. How was it?"

"It was great. She was whipping me with a cat and I never noticed the pain until after I was coming down from my third orgasm."

"That's a great place to go, but sometimes Masters want us in pain, not pleasure."

"I know. I just want to please Him."

"Me too! Well, back to work."

Valerie found the photos that Mr. Wilson had promised in her email. Looking at them, she saw two things right away. They had not been taken by a professional photographer and would not be suitable for use in a quality ad. She also saw what Mr. Wilson had been talking about when he said that the harness was capable of so much more than a simple hogtie.

In addition to a very secure looking hogtie, the photos illustrated a reverse hogtie, a standing bind that pinned the subjects arms against her side, a suspension that looked like it took the weight of the model evenly across her entire back, and ball tie that forced the model to maintain a fetal position. As she stared at the photos, considering how to put better versions of them in an ad, she became aware of something else that would be a problem. Every submissive model was a woman. In her seven months in the lifestyle, Val had become aware that there were as many male submissives (if not more) as female submissives.

She prepared an email to send back to Mr. Wilson, explaining the need for new photos for the ad. She set a tone that did not disparage the ones he had sent, but instead, acknowledged that they had never been meant for use in advertising spots. She indicated that Delgrasi would handle the new shoots and the additional costs would be minimal. She included a request for several of the harnesses for use in the photo sessions. After forwarding the draft to June for polishing, she turned to her other work.

By the end of the day, she had a response to her email. Mr. Wilson sent his okay for a limited reshoot of the photos and indicated that the harnesses would arrive by courier sometime on Friday. With the go ahead, she had June schedule a photo session as soon as possible with Dutch's Photography. Dutch's was one of those rare finds that made life so much easier. While he looked like a hole in the wall photography studio, he put out quality work. More importantly, he had no problem with doing fetish and erotic photography.

Dutch did not have regular models and Valerie had to schedule them herself. Fortunately, she had, in the last few months, met several players who are photogenic and willing to do modeling as a way to make some extra cash. She put in calls to several to let them know that she would have a job sometime next week and that she would ring them tomorrow.

The evening was spent quietly at home. She and Sally confirmed with Charles that they were free to go to Mephisto's with the actors and even that they had permission to demonstrate a scene themselves, but that they were not to climax. Friday at work held no surprises. The shoot was scheduled for Tuesday and the models were lined up. The harnesses arrived as promised and Val had her own schedule blocked out so she could be at the session. She met Sally for dinner at Misuna's, a local vegetarian eatery. While neither woman was opposed to meat in their diet, the specialized diner had a menu that was mouth watering and did miracles with fruits and vegetables.

The couple arrived at Mephisto's half an hour early. Valerie felt a little weird, walking into the club dressed as normally as she was dressed. It wasn't that people didn't come to Mephisto's in street clothes; it was that she never seemed to. Now she was doing it for the second time in a short while. After reserving one of the private rooms, they made a short tour of the main floor, checking out what was happening in the club.

The main stage was being prepared by a dominant she had seen in action before. His two submissives were kneeling on the stage, awaiting his pleasure. There were a few scenes being played out in some of the other public play areas as well. There was the constant sound of people moaning and crying out, not always softly. Sexual tension filled the air and Val found that she was becoming aroused. Ten minutes before seven, they had made it back to the front entrance, finding that Stan was already there.

"Mr. Greyish," Sally called out. "It's good to see you. Have you been waiting long?"

"No, I just arrived a minute or two ago." Stan was wearing surprisingly casual clothes for an actor. A two tone blue striped polo shirt and brown slacks were visible. The slacks were tight enough that Sally and Valerie could tell that he was a briefs man. His feet were clad in black loafers that looked as if they had never been worn before.

"Are you looking forward to the movie, Stan?" Valerie asked.

"I always look forward to my movies. Frankly, real life is boring. Movies are where I live. Is there someplace to get a drink in here?"

"I'm afraid that Mephisto's is a dry establishment. Not only do state laws prohibit full nudity in places that have liquor licenses, being intoxicated during a scene is not the best idea. Both dominants and submissives need to be aware of how they are reacting. For the most part, people in the club drink water, lots of water. A heavy scene can lead to massive perspiration and dehydration can happen, though I have never heard of it occurring badly enough to threaten one's health."

A woman's voice came from behind them. "No alcohol? That's dreadfully boring." Melanie and Crystal had entered and heard Sally's explanation. Melanie continued, "If I had known that, I would have stopped off for a cocktail before I came."

Valerie smiled. "I've also wished I had had a drink before hand a time or two. If you want, we can go by The Gotham Club later, after you've seen enough."

Crystal nodded. "That would be nice. Lord knows that we'll not have time for enjoying this city once shooting starts. I've heard a rumor that Barry Gastin has signed on as director."

Stan shook his head. "Barry. Now there's a slave master if there ever was one. We'll be shooting fourteen hours days with him. He is good, though, and finishes films on time."

Melanie asked, "But has he ever done something as risqué as this one?"

Crystal thought for a moment. "Didn't he direct Feldar's Curse?"

Stan nodded. "Yes he did. His cinematography was brilliant. He managed to shoot sex scenes without blowing his R rating. I don't pretend to understand how. I heard from a reliable source that there was full nudity on the set, yet it stayed sensuous without going smutty."

"Hopefully, he can work that same magic on the whipping scenes." Melanie shook her head. "Being in a pornographic NC17 movie will not be a career enhancer for any of us."

Valerie looked around while they were all talking. She had heard similar banter while working on TV spots. Actors and actresses were always talking about their craft, unless they were talking about their latest cause. Her breath caught and she started to shake her head. Towards the center of the building, she saw Tasha Williams. The actress had either slipped past them or had been here for quite some time. Although that wasn't the problem, it was what she was wearing that caused Val concern.

Excusing herself and shooting Sally a, "Keep them occupied," look, she deftly maneuvered her way through the crowd, trying to reach Tasha before someone took her choice of attire in entirely the wrong way. The vain star had worn an emerald green, knee length, strapless dress that was very sheer and had enough cleavage to leave very little to the imagination. As Val closed the distance, she saw a man dressed in a skin tight leather pants and jacket walk up to her and say something.

Tasha's response was audible, very audible. "Who the hell do you think you are, you asshole?" Valerie was certain that every head in the club turned that way. It certainly sounded like every voice stopped. Valerie quickly crossed the remaining distance, arriving just in time to hear the man's response.

"If you don't want to be in a scene, you shouldn't dress the part of a submissive on the prowl."

As Tasha's mouth opened, Valerie grabbed her wrist and squeezed, hard. Turning to the man, she gave a small bow. "I'm so sorry sir. She's with me, and I'm afraid that I let her slip away from me." As Tasha opened her mouth again, Val squeezed harder and said, "Not now. You're making a scene."

The man, looking at Valerie, smiled. "Valerie Burbon! My apologies, I had no intention of poaching. Enjoy yourself she has quite a fiery spirit." He gave a small bow of his own and moved off.

Tasha yanked her hand from Valerie's hand. "Just what is going on here, Ms. Burbon. That… man, he propositioned me. He propositioned me in the vilest terms."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Tasha, look around. Tell me what you see."

The actress started at the apparent non-sequitor. Looking around in confusion, she said, "I see men and women wearing all manner of clothing, at least most of them. Good grief, that woman is naked and crawling on her hands and knees! And the man, he's…"

"Leading her on a leash. Yes, I know. Tasha, this is a kinky sex club." Val used the coarse description on purpose. "What did you think you were going to see? Ballroom dancing?"

The light dawned in her eyes. "Oh My God! I'm dressed like one of… like a…"

"Like a submissive on the prowl. You're barely dressed. You've shown off what you have to offer and you're not showing any subtle signs of being a dominant. That confused look that vanillas have when they come here for the first time looks very submissive to less experienced Doms. Of course someone is going to make a move on you. The good news is that most of those who will do so, will take a polite 'no' with grace. As we explained on Wednesday evening, the number one watch word in this lifestyle is consent. No one here wants to rape anyone, though a few pretend rapes may be going on behind closed doors," Valerie said with a grin.

Most of the crowd who had been staring had returned to their own activities. Sally and the other actors were working their way to Valerie and Tasha. Two onlookers, however, walked up to the two women.

"Oh my God! It is you. Tasha Williams. I'm your biggest fan." Turning to her partner, she gushed, "Betty, this is Tasha Williams! She stared in Banderman's Folly." She turned back to Tasha. "I had no idea your were into BDSM. This is so cool. Are you a dominant or a submissive?"

During the excited run of words, Tasha smiled and then frowned. "Neither. I'm not into these weird sex games. I'm researching for a movie."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Ms. Williams. I'll bet you'd be a dominant if you were though."

Valerie could tell that Tasha was out of her depth. The actress had probably never had to deal with fans outside of an organized event. In fact, it occurred to Val that she had seen none of the retainers that normally accompanied actors and actresses with any of the four.

"Tasha, if we're going to do everything we need to do tonight, we should start." She turned towards the couple. "It was nice meeting you two. Enjoy yourselves." Valerie pulled Tasha towards the other actors, smiling at the resigned expression on Betty, the silent partner's face.

Once the group was together, Valerie and Sally led them to the center stage. The Dominant who had been setting things up was now pacing around his two submissives. They had their feet tied together and were leaning back against wooden bars that were three feet up. Each woman had her hands bound behind her back, the bar sliding between their arms and their backs. Each had a pair of clover clamps on her nipples that were attached to the other submissive's clamps by a chain. The chain was short enough that their breasts were pulled tight, distended under the tension. Both women had tears running down their faces and were panting against the pain. Valerie heard several gasps from behind her.

Turning, she saw all three actresses cringing at the sight before them. Valerie could see Melanie's nipples hardening under her blouse. At another visible cringe from the women, Val turned around and saw that the same clamp set up was being placed on their pussy lips. Soon, four clamps pulled their lips out from their bodies just like their breasts were being pulled. They were left in that predicament for several minutes before the dominant started the next phase of his show. Pulling a pair of crops out, he flicked them against the bellies of the two submissives, causing them to jerk against the connections, inflicting yet more pain on each other.

"Why do they put up with it?" Crystal's voice was low and had a slight tremor.

Valerie turned back around to explain. "I can't tell you the exact reason each of them allows this to happen. What it boils down to is that they are submissives and he is their Dominant. They've made a choice to let him do what he wishes. You see, D/s is all about consent. Nothing that you're going to see tonight is happening without the willing participation of all parties."

Sally joined in. "There's an acronym that many use in the lifestyle: 'SSC'. It stands for Safe, Sane , and Consensual. I'm a firm believer in it myself, but it is easily misunderstood."

Stan raised his hand. "Wait. How can that," pointing to the two women, "be safe?"

"How can bungee jumping be safe? Safe doesn't mean risk free. It means that the players have taken whatever steps they feel are needed to make the play they engage in as safe as they need it to be. Different people need different levels of safety. It's just like circus acts. Some trapeze artists use a net and others don't. Both groups are at the level of safety they need. While most submissives use safe words, there are people in this club right now who don't use them. They either don't want them of don't feel the need for them. Neither group is 'wrong' in their choice."

"It's much the same way with sane," Valerie added. "I'm not even sure I like that term. It implies that there is an insane type of play. I know two submissives who let their dominants cut them, real cuts with real knives. Part of me thinks they're crazy. But, they are clearly happy with and proud of their cutting scars. I've never seen them infected and, to my knowledge, they've never been cut enough to require a trip to the hospital. Are they insane? I don't want anyone telling them they are, because the next step would be to tell me that I'm insane. We're all sane. Let's leave the realm of insanity for those who hear voices telling them they have to kill."

Sally took over again. "In some ways, 'RACK' is a better term. It stands for Risk Aware Consensual Kink. We all know what the risks are in the games we play, or we should know. Life is not safe, but we do make ourselves aware of the risks living poses and take steps to minimize them to the extent that it doesn't take us away from living our lives. Valerie and I both know that being tied up and whipped hard is potentially dangerous. We have done what we can to be as safe as possible. We keep ourselves in good health. We found a dominant we trust. We're open about how things feel. Most importantly, we are doing something we love with people we love and care about. Are we making sense?"

All four of the actors nodded, Tasha hesitantly. Valerie and Sally led them around the floor, stopping to observe several scenes playing out. As expected, they were able to see a wide variety of styles and groupings. Males dominating females; females dominating males; lesbian and gay domination; whippings; body part torture (cocks, balls, pussies, clits, breasts, feet); heavy bondage; light bondage; no bondage. An hour later, they were back at the front entrance.

"So, what do you all think?"

Tasha shook her head. "I think there are a lot of daft people in here. I would never do the things that these people are doing, no insult intended."

Valerie smiled. "No insult taken. The important question is, 'Can you do what is needed for your part in the movie?' If you can't, you need to quit now and let Milton find someone else."

"It would help if I could see just what that was. Could you two re-enact one of the scenes that I need to be in? Let me see what I'm in for."

Sally looked at Val, and after a nod from her, nodded herself. "Yes, we rented a room where we can do so in private. What scene did you want to see?"

"The worst one, the one where Francine whips you bloody."

Valerie tensed, her breath becoming ragged as memories flooded her. Naked, bound helpless in the doorway, the lash falling over and over again, her cries of "Red light," ignored. Her hand gripped Sally's and trembled. Everyone stared at her, not grasping the sudden change in her.

"Val, honey. Are you okay?"

Valerie shook her head, unable to find her voice.

"It's not going to happen again. I will never hurt you like that, ever. No one will. Look at me Val." Sally took Valerie's head in her hands and turned it to look at Sally's eyes. "I. Will. Never. Hurt. You. Like. That." Each word was slowly uttered, as its own distinct sentence. Sally then took Val in an embrace, holding her tight against her fear.

"What's wrong with her? If this scene is so bad for her, someone who is used to being hurt, I don't want anything to do with it."

The other three actors stepped back from Tasha as Sally turned, fire in her eyes. "You fucking bitch! Valerie lived through that 'scene' as you called it. Not for a few minutes on camera, then, 'Cut! Make up!' to place the injuries. She was whipped by a crazy woman for two solid hours, one hour more than she was able to take in her submission. You just asked her to relive that terror, to re-enact the event that gave her these!" Sally turned Val around and lifted her shirt, revealing the scars that covered her back. Tasha gasped, her hands clasped to her face. "These aren't make up! These are the real thing. Yes, Valerie's a little emotional right now. It's been less than a year since the incident. She shares her house with the woman who did this. I've seen the script. Hell! I helped write it, for all practical purposes. There is nothing in that script that you won't be able to handle." Sally stopped as Valerie put her hand on Sally's shoulder.