Publicly Display Yourself for Me by Aphrodite Hunt Read Free Book Online Page B

say
‘initiate’, but he’s once again unsure of how much I want to
divulge. That only endears him further to me.
    “It’s OK, Greg,” I say, a lump forming in my
throat. “Everyone in this house knows I was a former initiate.”
    An expression of scorn flits through Alice’s
fine features.
    “A former and current whore, more like,” she
remarks.
    Heather crosses her arms, amused.
    “That wasn’t very nice,” Greg retorts. He
sounds like he means it too.
    “I’m just telling it like it is.”
    “You don’t know Gina.”
    “And you do?” Alice turns suspicious all of
a sudden.
    Greg seems uncomfortable. “Let’s can the
subject, OK?”
    “No,” Heather chimes in, “this is all
terribly interesting. Please go on.”
    Alice flashes Greg a vicious glare. “I’ll
can the subject only when I want to, not when you tell me to. You
forget your place.”
    I’m bewildered. Whatever relationship Alice
and Greg are having, it’s clear she’s in the driving seat. What the
hell is someone as nice as he is doing with her?
    I am saved when Max comes in through the
front door. Silhouetted against the late morning sunshine, he
resembles an angel. OK, fallen angel, because there’s a seductive
streak of darkness within him that all of us can clearly see. My
gut does a flip flop. Max is so gorgeous that he eclipses everyone
else in the room, including Greg.
    “Hey, baby,” he says to me, “you ready to
go?”
    “Yes,” I say in relief, running as fast I
can into his embrace.
    Max grins as he kisses me on the top of my
head. He smells of sweet soap and eau d’ toilette, which is the
only scent he seems to prefer. He’s affectionate-like – in the
manner that we used to behave when we were having blissful vanilla
sex, back before this whole family visit/sex slave contract thing
started.
    Ordinarily, I am ecstatic when Max does
this, but now there are undercurrents in the hall. I’m aware of a
quick shadow of disappointment flitting across Greg’s handsome
face. Alice’s mouth twists in an almost snarl, while Heather
observes everything with a casual nonchalance, as though she is
above all these petty politics.
    Max says, “Gina, I assume you have met Greg?
He’s Alice’s boyfriend, come for a visit.”
    Yes, this affirms it. No reference to my
Initiation. It’s safe to hazard a guess that Alice doesn’t know of
Greg’s involvement. Max has also cleverly made the assumption that
Alice thinks I’m unworthy to be introduced to anyone.
    “And this is Heather, Alice’s friend from
college.”
    “Pleased to meet you,” Heather says, smiling
in that mysterious way of hers. She doesn’t come over to offer me
her hand, but under the circumstances, I don’t blame her.
    “What’s in store for your little pet today?”
Alice’s voice grates on my eardrums like gravel.
    Max’s smile grows wide. “Why don’t you come
along and find out?”
    No, no, no, I want to cry. Definitely not a good idea. I turn my face pleadingly up to Max’s, but
he engages his sister’s gimlet eyes over the divide.
    “Oh yes!” Heather gushes. “I want to
go.”
    Greg’s expression is guarded.
    Alice’s plump and very scarlet lips curl up.
I wouldn’t say it’s a smile because it’s too malicious to be
one.
    She says, “Why not? It will be good for some
laughs.”

3
     
    Because there are so many people coming
along, absent Russell (thank goodness), we pile into three cars.
Three because Max’s Porsche can only seat two. The twins are in
their red Ferrari – the one belonging to Alex, or is it Brad? I
can’t even tell their cars apart since they purchase duplicates of
everything. Alice and her gang are in her yellow Mercedes.
    My terrycloth robe is still wrapped around
me, but I’m beginning to feel the stirrings of dread and
anticipation. Outside, the vista of the sun shining upon the sea
with its undulating and glistening waves belies the underlying
danger of the day . . . and what it portends for me.
    “You