Ann Mayburn - Sodom and the Phoenix

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Tanwen Evans trailed after the middle-aged bellman and walked through the automatic doors into the six-story foyer of the Sodom Virtual Reality Resort. Her breath froze in her lungs, and she gawked like the country mouse her ex-husband had often accused her of being. It wasnt the size of the resort that had her staringthe University of Wisconsin hospital where she worked as a labor and delivery nurse was a mammoth complexit was the people. She had expected a little risqu behavior. This was the premier virtual reality resort that catered to sexual fantasies, but thisthis was like her hottest, steamiest, and kinkiest fantasies come to life.

Times a million.

Everywhere she looked, men and women of all ages, races, and sizes strolled around the enormous foyer in varying degrees of bondage gear. The bellman paused so a man with a saddle on his back and horseshoe gloves could trot past them. On his back, a buxom blonde in a black leather cowboy hat, vest, and chaps with a pink G-string steered him through the crowd via a set of reins attached to a mouth bit. To Tanwens astonishment, the rider and horse were grinning as if they were having the time of their lives. The man even had a luxuriant horse tail attached to his leather pants, and he moved with a decidedly sexy swagger that made the tail swish.

A flash of shiny red latex caught her eye, and Tanwen froze as she watched a mature brunette woman kneel before a man dressed in a conservative, dark suit. Upon closer inspection, she noticed he wore a tie the same color as the womans dress, and they both wore wedding rings. The woman gracefully lowered her face until her lips were pressed to the tip of his shoe, and she kissed his foot with a smile. The man stroked the womans hair as she laid her head against his thigh, a look of utter contentment on her face and love on his.

An unexpected surge of jealousy ran through Tanwen. She briefly wished she had someone in her life she could trust like that. A strong man who would look at her as if she were the center of his world. Even though nothing in the mans posture or facial expression had changed, he became more predatory somehow. His demeanor toward the woman shifted, and Tanwen felt a rush of heat. The tone of the scene turned sensual as the man fed one of his fingers into the womans mouth with a slow, erotic slide.

When Tanwen had boarded the plane this morning for Detroit in her brown suede skirt and white peasant top that hung off one freckled shoulder, she had felt sexy and a little bit scandalous. Now, compared to the busty brunette in a latex catsuit who had just sauntered by leading a very built man wearing only a leash and a glittering mesh codpiece, she felt positively matronly.

The bellman jolted her out of her openmouthed stare by clearing his throat. Maam, if youd like to register at the front desk, Ill wait for you by the elevators.

Sure, she said in a faint voice yet continued to stand there.

The bellman smothered a smile and gently turned her by the shoulder. The registration is that way. Im afraid youll have to wait in line. The Leather Kiss convention starts tonight, and there are a lot of people all arriving at once. He leaned in and said in a low voice, Between you and me, Id rather have a BDSM convention here than just about any other group. They may look wild, but for the most part, they are very well behaved and tip great. Much better than the Spring Break crowd. If I never have to see another drunk kid passed out in a puddle of his own puke, Ill die a happy man.

The luggage rack jostled as a young couple dressed in jeans and T-shirts stumbled into them. The look they gave Tanwen bordered on shock, and she gave them a weak smile in return. Guess she wasnt the only one not expecting so much so soon.

I better get out of the way, the bellman said with a soft laugh. Maybe we should set up some chairs at the entrance in case anyone faints.

Tanwen took a deep breath and shook her head. Thank youshe glanced at his name tagMike. Ill see you at the elevators.

Her sandals made almost no noise on the white marble floors, and she felt like she was floating in some weird and rather erotic dream. Two years ago, if someone had told her that today she would be starting a weeklong vacation dedicated to exploring her sexual fantasies in hopes of reawakening her desire, she would have said they were crazy. Then again, two years ago, she had been in an unhappy marriage to the only man she had ever slept with. Heck, David had been the only man she had ever even seriously dated.

When she had discovered she was pregnant her senior year of high school, they had done the right thing and gotten married. At least at the time it had seemed like the right thing. Now, twenty years later, she realized how very naive theyd both been and how easily they were pushed into marriage by their families. Oh, they made the best of it and to this day were still on speaking terms despite the divorce. She wouldnt give up her sons for anything in the world, but somewhere along the line, she had lost who she was.

As she reached the back of the line and adjusted her purse, she tried to figure out when exactly she had gone from being Tanwen, the free-spirited girl who wanted to backpack through Europe after high school, to Tanwen, the woman who didnt own a pair of underwear that couldnt be described as anything but functional. Not that she really had anyone to wear sexy lingerie for. David had always said they looked trashy and cheap, so she had given up trying to look good for him years ago. When making love consisted of a pat, a tickle, and a squeeze, it had become more of a chore than anything else and not something she bothered to dress up for.

The line inched forward, and Tanwen groaned as a high-pitched female voice rose into the air from the desk. A peek around a set of broad shoulders in a blue denim shirt showed a stunning auburn-haired woman in an outlandish yellow latex ballerina costume yelling at the increasingly irritated lady behind the desk.

Are you listening to me! I dont care what your reservation list says. I reserved a suite, and you better damn well get me a suite or Im going to sue you. The redhead thrust her overinflated breasts, barely contained by her yellow corset, into the air with an arrogant toss of her head. The pretty blonde behind the counter pressed her lips together in a thin line, and her nostrils flared.

A deep male voice said in her ear, How long do you think we have until the clerk decks her?

Tanwen jumped and narrowly avoided bumping heads with the tall man in front of her who had leaned over to whisper. The one whose shoulder she had been peering around like a nosy old woman. Oh goodness. Im sorry, sir. Heat flooded her face as she tugged at her shirt. That was very rude of me. Please forgive me.

She met his eyes, and the floor dropped out beneath her feet. He was gorgeous. His silver hair was cut short, and it did nothing to soften a face that was all male angles and hard planes. His skin was deeply tanned, the kind of color someone got from working outdoors. Small lines bracketed his pale blue eyes, and deeper lines curved around his mouth. A dimple flashed in his cheek as he smiled at her in amusement. The fact that he bore a striking resemblance to Anderson Cooper, her secret celebrity crush, made her heart pound all the harder.

No, thathe pointed to the redhead who was in a full-tilt fit now as a pale man with an enormous padlocked collar around his neck and wearing a conservative suit joined her and attempted to mediateis rude.