A Stealing Kisses

Morgan Stealing Kissses
Stealing Kisses
A Change of Life Transfusion
By Roberta E. Morgan Copyright 2009 by Roberta Morgan
To My Family
To knock a thing down, especially if it is cocked at an arrogant angle, is a deep delight of the blood
George Santayana (1863-1952)
Part One
Transfusion
Preface
The girl on the stage is conscious of no one but herself, and of the audience crowding the speakers and the footlights, reaching to touch her. Shes skating on thin ice, but doesnt know it. Its not a large crowd for the club, but still numbers about three hundred souls exchanging energy. She has a band of six men but all she hears is the pounding of the drums and her own voice, clear and pure, singing her own songs. She is in her prime, nearly 27, and knows she could not look better with her long, thick brown hair and pert, large natural breasts. She breathes in the energy and excitement around her and she breaths out sexual temptation. Her band is named Scarlet because she loves the color red, and is suitably clothed in black and red leather, hugging her perfect body like a snakes skin. Her energy is boundless, she is dancing like a star, and she at that moment believes it will never end.
Chapter One
Ill tell you the truth It didnt start at menopause; it started when I first met Celeste. At the Full Star Modeling and Talent Agency, where many of the naughty girls got their starts and booked their jobs. Some people might call these girls sluts or whores. Others want to date them or at least masturbate to their work. We just consider them men and women willing to have all types of sex in front of a camera. This agency was the first of its kind, and used to have all the business, but when porn exploded on the Internet and the world, classier agencies---its all relative---popped up to represent the top of the talent, the Jennas and Teras of the biz, or in other
words, the true Porn Stars. The rest were now considered Porn Actors, or as they are called in the music business, Product. It worked this way. A new girl comes in with her suitcase pimp (usually a harmless but large Geeky friend, who probably set up her web page), or her real pimp (only minor league sleazy dudes at this agency.) A suitcase pimp is a poseur, of course. They have neither the muscle nor moxie to fight off real bad guys. Peachy Sweet, whose body is mainly silicone, met hers at a local Starbucks. He was on his computer and she sat down next to him. Without provocation, she embarked on a story about how she accompanied a friend to get his/her transexual operation in Thailand. The guy, appropriately named Guy, fell in love with this long-haired blonde creature with perfect proportions. Although he was not bad-looking and quite well-built, he felt more comfortable with text messages than human conversation. He had gone out on several one night dates and never scored.
He didnt expect to score with Peachy, either, which was fine, since she had other plans for him. She worked in the porn business, she explained, and would pay him $200 for every gig he took her too. All he had to do was drive her there, carry her few wardrobe bags, check out the place to see if any rough types were around---like he could do anything about it---and wait somewhere close until she paged him that she was finished. Peachy knew that the people she normally worked for were professsional and harmless, but sometimes she got a booking she didnt recognize and Guy looked big enough to handle himself. After a year of doing this, Guy had three girls to care for, a lot of extra pocket change, and the appearance on the street of a man who could get any girl he wanted. Angel Shys suitcase pimp was an ex-sword swallower, so he was good with a blade and they sort of had something in common. Problem was, he didnt have the heart to hurt anyone, so when Angel took an independent booking and found out the producers
wanted a pretend snuff film, where she would be likely strangled, it was Angel, an ex-Judo instructor, who muscled her way out of what potentially could have been a bad situation. Her suitcase pimp was sitting in the car outside, calm as could be, smoking a cigarette. It was Angel who jumped in the car and told him to hit the gas. They were called suitcase pimps because they carried the luggage of their girls and they looked like they worked in jobs where one would carry a suitcase. Their average age was between 22 and 30. The harder types, in the other hand, the ones more like true bad guys, had less attractive girls who couldnt attract a suitcase pimps and were generally clueless. I once saw one of these girls try to stuff a pile of weed into a tiny little pill box and only give up after a half hour. The lowlife end of the porn pimp scale also kept the girls supplied with drugs, usually of the harder variety, whereas the
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suitcase pimps could score a little weed or blow if someone needed it. They dealt with collegiate-type dealers, and some wouldnt mess with that end of it at all. Neither type ever hit or forced the girls to do anything, because porn was not prostitution in the eyes of the industry or in practice. In fact, the mere mention of the similarity---having sex for money----would set the girls into a rage. They saw themselves as actors, movie stars of a lesser standing and some even saw themselves as real stars. Like a carnival or a wrestling troupe, it was its own little world and had its own set of rules. A load of new girls from small towns all over the country would bounce happily into Full Star, this boiler room setting on Van Nuys Boulevard in the heart of Sherman Oaks. Located in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, this locale, even with the new global players, produces over ninety percent of the worlds porn.
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The girls pile in, usually the ones whod been rejected by other agencies, some only pretending to be eighteen, and are shepherded without kindness into a cold room next door where the bookers, Dan and Fred Latchman, take digital photos of them naked. Once clothed again, although much of the apparel they wear when they come in is minimal, theyre asked which sex acts they are willing to perform. The photos and information are e-mailed to certain producers, and then the spiciest, legal chicklets are off to the first booking. Work is not hard to find these days, especially if you have a fresh face and a young body. All talent agencies now crack down on girls under eighteen, with phony I.D. cards. Although the local authorities actually turn a blind eye to the business, no one wants any trouble from the big government boys. And if youre willing to do girl-girl, girl-boy, anal, double penetration, fucking machines, bondage, the whole gambit, you can work 15 to 20 times a week. The big prize is becoming popular
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enough through the cheap and then better class videos (which usually pay anywhere from $300-$1200, excluding the top stars who can make a lot more), to become a headlined stripper, pulling in $15,000 a week In Kansas or Oregon or New York, dancing that tight little ass off. It was usually strippers who gave the names of agencies to willing young girls who were either already dancers or who had just started and expressed an interest in porn. They also told them what to watch out for and for whom they did not want to work. There is not much to say about the Latchmans who owned this agency for 30 years, since they dont figure much into the story or into the secrets I will share. Suffice it to say that they are father and son, each weighing about 200 pounds, and are polite enough. Father Dan started his career as a Sheriff in a small Texas town and through the two interviews I did with him for my web site, never once explained how he got from A to X.
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Fred, who packs more muscle than fat, mainly talked to the talent and bookers, and once in while to his father, but other than that he never looked away from his phone or computer, probably a bit cowed that his income from the family business was not something you shared at cocktail parties and movie premieres, unless they were Flesh Films, a division of their company which made in your face, gonzo (no frills) flicks. In gonzo, the voice behind the camera would tell the girl or girls or girl and boy what to do and then ask them questions about it. Most of the motels in the Valley made a steady living from being faux sound stages for these quickies. On the walls of the Latchmans booking office were posters of the highest grossing pictures from Vivid, Wicked, LoveLock, and other large-scale producers, partly because one of the Latchman girls did a short blowjob scene in it. But this gave the impression that they represented the Porn Stars, and the nave newbies who came in were awed.
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************* Celeste stood out from the other girls waiting on the worn couches for a variety of reasons. First, she came with no one. She also had the freshest skin, almost alabaster, and the most beautiful face I have ever seen. Her hair was naturally black, and silky. I wondered why she wasnt at a better booking agency and why she wasnt on a poster as the star of something. The Latchman were giving her fleeting glances that were not kind, and you could see they were surprised she was there. She also was doing something odd. Narrowing her eyes and literally scanning all the girls there for several minutes each, then breathing in, leaning forward in their direction, as though she wanted to get a whiff of perfume. But somehow I knew it wasnt a fragrance she was after and it bothered me. A beautiful girl, for sure, but odd. Suddenly, we were seated together and she smiled kindly in my direction. I took it as sympathy. Before she could ask whether I
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was there for the MILF jobs (Mothers Id Like to Fuck), I introduced myself and my purpose, trying to muster up some enthusiasm for the job and my life. I run a soft core porn site, called Pornotorium. I know my partner would love to photograph you. Im Mandy Greene, I do the writing and editing, and my partner is Michael Carse. He used to be a film producer and hes an amazing photographer. Im here to find girls for photographs and interviews that we can post on the site. Lets exchange cards Through my ramblings and the interchange of information, she mainly nodded, every once in a while looking up at me, deep into my eyes in a way that gave me comfort. I couldnt believe it when she finally spoke. Her voice melted out like music. Youre in so much pain, she whispered. That was when it happened. The flood that was being held back by my thinly constructed mental damn burst open and I
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started to sob. The whole room froze it was so loud, this wailing of a wounded aging animal. She lifted me to my feet. Lets get out of here. Ill buy you lunch, then you can come to my next shoot and get some atmosphere for an article or something. It wasnt a real question. She was surprisingly strong and had me out the door before anyone could react. What about Dan and Fred? She laughed and shrugged. I dont do sex scenes in movies, expect for girl-girl, and I only like to be photographed with another girl, so every time I come here, they argue with me to do more. I dont feel like their crap today. This, I later learned, was a lie. She didnt ever work for the Latchmans. She was there to find me.
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The damsel was beautifully dressed and put-together. I couldnt resist the obvious question. You dont look like you need this kind of work. Oh, but there youre wrong. I love this work and furthermore I crave it. Call me an exhibitionist. And also, Celeste. Is that your stage name? I had finally stopped crying. She smiled. No, just like you, were up front. My brother and I are members of your site and we enjoy it, all the art, articles and photographs. You use your real names to make a point about not being ashamed. Well, so do I. I just leave out the last name because of security reasons, and because its Craven. I dont want anyone to think Im a relative of a horror or a porn film maker. Craven? Horror movies were made by Wes, but Craven also referred to one of the biggest families in porn, producing top rate material for places like The Playboy Channel on Cable and inroom hotel movies.
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Now I finally smiled, as we got into her Jag. Yes, Jag-u-ar. New, large, about 100 grand. When I was younger, I had the same kink, the exhibitionism. Youre not old. Old enough to be fossilized. Last week, I turned 55. And let me tell you, menopause is a bitch. That last thing I said was an understatement. For reasons only my brain could know, I had gone into a deep depression. Maybe it was losing my looks, maybe it was being afraid of growing old and sick. Either way, I was in a sorry state of mind. I feel things about people, Celeste said. And instantly I took to you. Lets eat lunch and you can tell me whats going wrong. People say Im a good listener. Why are you doing this?
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And why was I getting in a car with a total stranger from a porn agency? I guessed I didnt care what happened to me anymore. She steered the exquisite vehicle out of the space and looked straight ahead with her odd greenish-brown eyes. I want to give something back. Im compelled to do this when I find the right person. Stop crying like you did. Your problems are almost over. She was almost right.
Chapter Two
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I told her the truth about life in this womans middle years. For me, it was sudden. I was slim and youthful and confident and still could elicit winks from men and offers to get a cup of coffee. But one day, it all stopped. No period, no estrogen, which is a womans happy chemical, I learned. I gained some belly fat, overall grew wider, and started to slowly move toward major depression, which was my present stage. My therapist was excellent at prescribing mood stabilizers and anti-depressants, but not much else. When he heard I was a writer, HE decided to co-author a book with me about e-mails between Freud and Buddha. Hed always wanted to publish a book and figured that I was his ticket, although I hadnt written one in many years. That was all we talked about in our sessions, even though I kept trying to move the conversation toward my angst. But he talked over me, relentlessly, about his wildly fragmented ideas. After a while, I felt as though I was the anchor of sanity.
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My husband, David, who had always loved me because I was beautiful in his eyes, started working longer hours. Then he took a job in Fresno where he worked from Monday to Friday, and insisted I stay in the house in Los Angeles, so he could visit something other than a hellhole on weekends. Speaking of Satan, someone once described my doctor-husbands workplace in that way. They said that if they had a house in Hell and one in Fresno, theyd rent out the one in Fresno. No, I wasnt going up there any time soon. I doubted he was having an affair since he had a moderate case of obsessive-compulsive disorder and washed his hands way too much and too often. You might wonder why he chose medicine as a profession. Truth was, he liked to suffer. Curiously though, he had become happier and more selfconfident up there among the migrant workers and meth addicts. Maybe just away from me. I had always been his up, and now I was becoming a real downer.
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Have you talked to him about how lonely you are? Celeste asked. All the time, I told her. But he would just ignore it, or tell me to buy something. He was making good money. I just didnt have any interest in spending it, another huge difference from my confident, younger self who would charge into manic spending sprees, often leaving us in debt. As a writer, and therefore automatically it seemed, a victim of bipolar disorder, I was now stuck at the gloomy bottom of the scale. At least we could pay the bills now, even for a therapist who talked mainly about himself, and a trainer, who couldnt seem to get any weight off this matronly body. I sipped my latte slowly, and realized I was talking to the cup instead of Celeste, the same way Fred Latchman hunched behind his computer, so ashamed was I that the woman who once had felt herself invincible suddenly went bust. I didnt feel like a used car, I
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felt more like one destined for the wrecking yard. But I didnt want to die. I wanted my old self back. There is a way, Celeste moved closer and whispered. A way to get it all back. That was when I looked up at her and saw eternities of wisdom in her eyes, as though I didnt have to tell her my story, she knew it too well. But how could she? She was 30 at the most. I could become a vampire, if such things existed. Celeste stared at me. Thats a terrible thing to call someone, if such a creature existed. All that blood, and killing. Besides, the Ancient Greeks knew that all enthusiasm in life came from the breath. She abruptly stood up in the middle of lunch.. Lets go. I promised Id take you to a job of mine. Well talk more later. When we got in her car, I started to cry again. She reached over and tenderly brought my head to hers. She kissed me, blowing
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through my lips. Although there was no turn-on, I didnt become upset and start protesting about how I was totally straight. The kiss was more motherly, and refreshing. I felt almost happy. It had been a long time. I did wonder how Celestes mere presence made such a difference in my mood so quickly. But I was willing to take any upper at this point, and a kiss was the perfect thing.
Chapter Three
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At the west end of the San Fernando Valley, way up in the hills where you have a panoramic view of the towns below, of verdant flowering beauty spotted with enormous houses, a few domiciles stand empty. They are not for sale. They are owned by the major porn studios for their sets, and are tastefully furnished as though a moderately wealthy person lived there. But if you looked around more closely, you would find nothing in the drawers, no personal touches, not a thing to suggest there really are any inhabitants. In one corner of the large living room there might be a clue however: a pole and stand meant for a stripper or something more. I mean, who keeps a stripping pole, badly painted, in the middle of an exquisite room with glorious views of the Valley? Its a set, and it doesnt take long to know it. When a film is being shot, camera crews bustle around, wires run through the house and giant lights focus on certain areas like the pole, the bed in the lovely main bedroom upstairs, a veranda on the outside
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lawn, the pool, and a spacious playroom, with sexual toys and large cushions spread all around. Today, LoveLock Films was shooting Cheating Wives #27, a relatively high budget sex flick. Since there is no continuous or even sensible plot to the picture, the number just marks how many in this series have been done. Some are up to 101. The truly famous ones like Barely Legal stopped counting at 1000. They usually consist of a series of vignetttes, where different girls meet different men and women, and before you know it, they get down to action. Lately, some of the pictures produced by major porn studios do have a slim plot and are usually thrillers, where the crime takes second place to the police and everyone else fucking each other. Remarkable how the Industry can sell so many versions of the same thing: sex on film. In this masterpiece being shot today, the wives cheat with one man, three men, two girls, one girl, whatever the slim script dictates. Similar scenes are then shot with
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four or five different women, many who look remarkably alike and perform the same exact acts according to what they will do. Dialogue is minimal at best.
********** Driving up the long winding roads that reached higher and higher into the hills of the West San Fernando Valley, Celeste asked me about my involvement with porn, why I started a website and then told me some things I should know about LoveLock Films. Ive been fascinated with porn since I was very young, maybe 13, I explained. Not that I did anything, I was a stone hot virgin until 18. My parents were very strict, my mother almost a hysteric about losing my golden flower until my wedding night. Only later did I find out why she was so down on sex and told me once that it was no better than taking a bowel movement. Was she molested as a child?
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Her voice was sometimes so soft I could hardly hear, and I made her repeat the question. I nodded. I was almost forty and my father was dying. She had been seeing a therapist and was advised to tell me the truth. So one night she got away from Dad, hired a home worker, and came to stay at my house. My husband was out of town. She never looked me in the eye when she told me how shed been anally molested by an uncle from eight to eleven years old. Of course, in those days, she was afraid to tell anyone and the secret only emerged when he ripped her open so badly they shuffled her off in the middle of the night to the doctors office. And I bet no one talked about it, so she felt it was her fault. So much so that she denied after that night even telling me the story. They dissed the uncle, of course, but he never went to jail or anything. Imagine letting a thing like that get out about a nice Jewish girl child? No one would marry her, they feared. And you acted out by getting into porn?
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I dont think so. I frowned at the thought. I dont think it was that. My father was rumored to have had a high sex drive when he was young and I believe I just inherited it. Then I babysat for a couple who had a major porn collection hidden under their bed, right next to the cigarettes I stole. I read every book. They were illegal then. Those pink and black colored books? Made by printers at night, under cover? Boy, were they crappy. You got it. And I became addicted. I was the kid in class who knew all the terms. I could describe the act and reasons for necrophilia. Made me very popular. Celeste shifted in her seat. Why necrophilia? Oh, that was just the most extreme example. Lets say that by high school I had a PhD in sex, even odd sexual practices around the world. So when I met a mainstream photographer and film producer on the skids, and we hit if off and I found out he had a lifelong interest in pornography, it seemed a match made in
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sleaze. Besides my beloved publishing industry had turned to infotainment, movie tie-ins, celebrity bios and books by longestablished authors. Are you lovers? I dont cheat. I did enough of that in too many ways before I got married. And Im completely not attracted to Michael. Too much macho, too old and craggy. An ex-alcoholic who had blown his fast lane life in a bottle. Five years sober. A good reason to turn off someone in LA she said. Too old, washed-up. Her voice held a sarcastic edge. I fell silent. It had been a terrible thing to say, considering I was only ten years younger and similarly isolated from my own past career as a legitimate writer. And I couldnt believe Id told Celeste about my mother. But there was something about the atmosphere around her, in the car, that calmed me and opened me up.
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Celeste reminded me of a girl in high school named Penny. Although she was blonde and perfect, naturally elected the prettiest student in school, she did a load of charity work and was nice to everyone, even the freaks and geeks like me. LoveLock is run by my mother and father, she said, and I blanched. It was like the time I stayed in Place Pigalle in Paris and the hooking profession ran through three generations. I was there with my mother and couldnt imagine the both of us being whores, or the fact that a mother would school a daughter in that profession. Obviously, I was very insulated then from the horrors and abuses of the world. Did they recently buy it? No, my mother has run it forever, with different husbands. This particular one, Harold Craven, is dubbed as Joshs and my father. But who knows? My mother keeps a lot of secrets. Sammina is her name, but everyone calls her Sammi. God knows the origin of that, whether real or fake.
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Where is she from? I was amazed by her lack of concern about her true family. It turned out she didnt care much about her heritage, either Sometimes shes a Zuni Indian, sometimes a Colombian, sometimes from the East, and sometimes Israel. It depends on the day and the interviewer. The one thing everyone notices is that she looks like Lacy Lane. An icon, a legend. The stripper from the 40s? The one that screwed her way through the top Hollywood actors? Celeste nodded. Shes a spitting image of her photos. The Burlesque Queen lives. Didnt Lacy Lane die? No, just disappeared. And coming from our world, no one bothered to look for her, in case one of her famous lovers did her in.
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We had reached the gateway fronting another steep hill. A beefy guard stood waiting, but let us through with a smile when he saw Celeste. Dont your parents mind you doing this? Does Josh do it, too? Josh is a computer geek. He runs all our web sites and directs some films. But he doesnt have sex on film, hes too romantic-minded and almost shy for that. As for me, my mother appeared in porn films during the heyday of hippiedom. She still considers it revolutionary. She went by the name Sammina Lucia then. She also became the first woman to run a major porn production company. And shes pleased that I dont have sex with male porn actors, considering the small risks. I knew the gay and straight porn worlds did not commune--except on the Net---let alone talk about each other, although that was slowly changing. Too much fear. There was even a health
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clinic purely for porn actors of both types, who had to be tested each month, and then bring those results to the producer or director. If anything was wrong, they couldnt work. It was far safer than picking up a UCLA co-ed at a bar. She didnt have to wear a rubber or get tested monthly. In the ten years that the clinic had been in operation, there were only two events, and one came from a guy who worked in Brazil, where there were no rules. All partners were quickly isolated and tested. In the end, four people caught HIV. Six in all in eleven years. It would be interesting to test that percentage at any local high school or university. Of course, there were small and sleazy producers who didnt follow the rules. But the porn world was a family, just like the professional wrestlers Id once written a book about. They knew who did what and where and with whom. They were very careful. Any girl represented by an agency was steered away from the lowdown end of the business. But some girls were impossibly
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nave, and believed that anyone who had a printed business card was a producer or agent. Many times that worked out okay, but often the experience was dreadful and the girl could find herself in the white slave trade. On the other hand, many girls were a lot smarter than people thought. They knew where they could make the most money in LA without having the most extraordinary conbinations of luck and sponsors for the mainstream business, and they knew they had great looks. So they rose quickly to the top of the porn food chain, became Stars, worked for about ten years and socked it all away. Some girls had houses on the beach in Malibu, one owned a villa on the Italian Riviera. They often supported their whole families, and if the relatives disapproved, they didnt say anything when taking the cash. As we climbed higher and I could see the magnificent gabled house on the top of the hill, I asked Celeste a question that had been bothering me.
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Are you gay? She shrugged. I woudnt call it that. It depends on the person. And most men are such bossy pains in the ass, I end up with women. But relationships arent my thing, either. Josh has those, to his own regret. I have friendships, like the one were starting. We were? I guessed so. It was that soothing atmosphere in the car. But what was wrong with Josh having relationships? Suddenly I noticed Celeste breathing in and out a lot. Are you asthmatic? She frowned. You breathe out a lot, like you were lifting weights in a gym. Im practicing my Yoga and Pilates breaths, she said. It centers you, Ill teach you how to do it one day. But were here.
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******** I had been on a few porn sets before, both cheap and high-end, and it never ceased to amaze me how friendly everyone was, how polite, and how business-like about the sex. There were married couples who worked with different partners, in addition to their own husbands or wives, but no jealousy reared up; in fact, it was just the opposite and many of the couples and singles appeared to be regular friends, who went to concerts and out to dinner with each other, acting just like small town middle America on their time off. They were consummate professionals. No one in their neighborhoods knew what they did for a living, and some even worked as schoolteachers or librarians, and only did the occasional porn flick for the kids college fund. Samantha and Frank were a physically beautiful loving couple. Frank met Sam in a strip club, and unlike what usually happens---the guy falls in love and get drained of cash---Sam
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actually fell for Frank. Now they performed in porn together, but only with each other. Of course, Sam posed for a ton of photos in very frank poses, but it just turned Frank on. But if anyone thinks its easy to become a highly paid sex performer, they should see them in action. Most are athletic, trained dancers, who love sex and are close to contortionists in their moves. The action is ideal sucking and screwing and is so perfect it looks like a long dance. Even with three men and one woman, everything moves smoothly and the woman usually takes charge. After all, in porn, its all about the women. Girls dont buy most of the product for their boyfriends. Its the other way around. Men buy porn both to masturbate and to play the film so their girlfriends will get in the mood. With many women, thats what they like as fore-foreplay. This bunch of actors today---waiting to be called from makeup to do their scenes, and who you could pick out by their lack of clothing---ranged from 18 to about 30, weighted heavily at
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the younger end. Their bodies were perfect, they looked hot even though many were not classically pretty. It wasnt about Pretty Woman. It was about girls who turn men on. Celeste was talking to a remarkable-looking lady who did closely resemble Lacy Lane, but did not look anywhere near old enough to be Celestes mother. A young girl stood between them and her I.D. was out. I decided to freshen up, even though I felt lighter and prettier, deep inside where women know how theyre presenting themselves. There was a door to the right in this enormous, wood-beamed entry hall and I figured it for the guest bathroom. I was wrong. I was so wrong, everything changed in an instant.
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Chapter Four
It was a large space that looked like a set for a computer wizard, which it was. Not a set, the real thing. The man working at the
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keys and keeping his eyes on several screens--- all different websites that I figured stemmed from LoveLock----did not look up right away. All I could see was his straight black hair, American Indian hair, pulled back into a ponytail and running halfway down his back. Black as Celestes hair, and I realized that the combination of the green-ish brown eyes and jet black hair was what made them all striking, Celeste and her mother, and maybe this guy. I instantly knew it was Josh and when he pushed away from the desk and looked at me, he had the same colored eyes and almost breathless good looks. Botticelli looks. Actually, he didnt look at me, he looked into me, and I shivered. A broad smile covered his entire face. I made him for about 30 plus, and the crinkled lines around his eyes gave him enough gravity to make him handsome, not cute. Mandy! He stood up. He was just tall enough to enfold but not smother me. How did we find you?
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Celeste, I said softly. We met at The Full Star Talent Agency. What was she doing in that pit? She never works for them. She must have been looking for you. Looking for me? How did she know I would be there picking out girls to interview? For me? I mean, we e-mailed you and everything, but I guess it got lost in the spam folder. Happens a lot in this business. Why did my mouth feel so wooly? Why were you getting in touch with me? His eyes softened. And before he spoke, I fell in love. In a way I had never felt, had never believed was true, love at first sight with a healthy dose of lust running right down the center. I wanted him inside me, now, joined as one, coming at the same time into each others kisses.
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I held that in and gathered myself. There was a mirror along one wall and I glanced into it. From this distance I looked a little thinner and somehowyounger. I was startled and pleased, of course. You look just like the picture on your web site. I didnt tell him it was taken 15 years ago. We love your site, the whole family, but especially Celeste and I. The writing is so intelligent, the artwork excellent, the photography expert. And while its funny, classy and couplefriendly, its still hot as hell. His eyes twinkled. Especially your short stories and poems. I turned away and looked at the screens. Was he flirting with me? He has to be 25 or more years younger. I didnt go for that scene, even though some young men were starting to appeal to me. But more like 40 or 45, not fully eligible to be my son.
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Still, I felt his presence and my body betrayed me. My nether lips were quivering and the area was moistening more by the moment. I hadnt felt that in so long, I just wanted to thank him. Well, Im glad someones getting the point of the site, I managed to say. What you described was just what we aimed to do. Is it doing well? Holding its own. But the economy is bad, porn online isnt the big surprise it used to be and more people go to places like You Tube and Face Book. He nodded. Dont we all know it? These sites, he waved his muscular, sinewed arm around, are all just up there to link to each other and similar sites and boost traffic. For our stars, our films, our toy division. You know how it works. The giant web, all connected. Business has been down over the last few years, but we cant complain.
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Its a pay site? Oh, we have about fifty pay sites which all feed into each other. Click something on one and youre in another. We set the cost, like you, a little bit lower, at $15 a month with automatic rebilling unless the member cancels. And we do offer a lot of content, which isnt true of the rip-off sites which look good but once you join them they have fifty badly-shot photos and some crappy video. It takes, as Im sure you know, about 1500 hits from around the world to get one member, so traffic is everything, which is why theyre all linked. But I sure you know this and do it yourself with other sites. I nodded. I also knew LoveLock was one of the leading companies and that they without a doubt were all millionaires. Sex-loving, great-looking millionaires. What a life. While Josh was talking, my heart was beating faster as I took in his full lips, his wide eyes, his perfect features, and his quiet
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confidence. He could have seemed arrogant, but he didnt. There was a humble quality to his soft, soothing voice that fed my sudden school girl crush. How did you find the house? Its way up in these hills. Celeste brought me. My cars still back in Sherman Oaks, I hope. He shrugged and smiled. Ill give you a ride home. If you dont mind motorcycles. I told him that I loved bikes, which was true. I didnt say that I loved him, because that was ridiculous. He put his hand on my shoulder and drew me closer. I could hardly breathe. So brilliant and beautiful, he said softly. My dream girl. Dream girl? Brilliant and beautiful? Maybe I was wrong and he was completely insane. Or he was just teasing me.
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And he says that to all women, the voice of Celeste interrupted the reverie. It was flat and cold. Josh loves to be the center of attention, no matter what the cost. She was standing behind us, arms crossed. Her ethereal nature had hardened and I wondered why. But then again, I couldnt figure out anything that was happening today. Brother and sister exchanged a dark look. They were definitely related and you could see Lacy Lane, or rather their mother Sammi, in them both. Lets go outside and watch the action, said Celeste, taking my shoulder from Josh. How had I gone from a broken-down hag to a prize in one day? Ah, the whims of LA. To a native New Yorker, earthquakes seemed appropriate for this facade, this temporary non-city. It seemed to keep changing its mind, back and forth. One day youre in, the next day, way out.
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Now Sammi joined the group and embraced me. Mandy! Im so glad you could make it. We can help your site, with girls to shoot, and linking. Yes, Josh said. I can certainly increase your traffic. How could I refuse? I was too stunned to speak but could only smile and nod my head. Obviously, the whole Craven family were fans. But they hadnt helped us before. Why now? Celeste offered, Ill drive Mandy home after my scene. Why so soon? We want to get to know you. Spend some time with us, said Sammi. She had the bearing of a modern Cleopatra, tall and stately, and completely sure of herself. I already offered her a ride, Josh countered, a bit testy. He looked at me with those long-lashed, intense eyes. She loves bikes. And shell really love them down these hills.
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Oops. I hadnt thought of the hills. But I wasnt anxious, which would be my normal state. I would just hold on tight to Josh, because I had already chosen who had the last dance. Now Sammi took me by the arm and settled it. Shell go with Josh. I need some ideas for scenes, Celeste. The script this time was thinner than usual. It seemed the matter was settled by Mother. When we walked through the house, the make-up room, the huge kitchen stocked with food for the cast and staff and out into the open, I noticed the young girl with the I.D. card was gone. Celeste explained that LoveLock was very careful about its reputation and only used girls over 18. Her mother had smelled foul on this new one, and Celeste was a whiz at picking out phony I.D. cards, no matter how well done. The girl was sent packing. We like 18, Sammi said. But it starts there and no younger.
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I asked Sammi if it was true that she had launched the careers of some of todays top stars, like Jenna and Brianna and Stormy. She had a lovely smile, suited to the rest of her. We helped them. And we kept them beautiful, through diet and exercise, no drugs, no alcohol, the reason Madonna looked good for so long. But theyre coming to the end of their careers, Celeste added. Today Im shooting a scene with Eva Sweet and Amber Lee. They will be the porn stars of next year. As a matter of fact, Id better get made-up. The light is fading. Michael, my partner, who had produced many major movies, always told people that top adult films, like those from Vivid or LoveLock, were shot in much the same way and atmosphere as regular films, minus the talent of the writers and actors, which was disappearing from the main screen anyway. To look around the house, with all the cameras and crews perfectly serious, setting up scenes, or the professional hair stylists and make-up artists working on the girls, the naked actors waiting
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on coaches, eating and lounging around the house, were the only obvious differences. The first scene I watched from a distance was Celestes. It was shot in the gazbeo and it started out with two bikini-clad beauties, both blond and buxom, feeding Celeste grapes. In a short while, everyone was nude and the girls were working on Celeste, massaging her, playing with her pert breasts and nipples and fingering her until she came. A variety of such motions continued until all the girls had been satisfied in some way. Celeste made sure to kiss each one, which was jarring in a way, because so many sex scenes, just like prostitution, stays away from the kissing thing. Before the scene was over, Sammi brought me upstairs to a lavish bedroom, where a slightly older woman was taking on three men at time. It was the biggest of all porn stars in the world right now, Rhianna Anne. Multi-million dollar baby.
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Rhianna had come from a small town in upstate New York when she was 18, and was booked solidly from the time she signed on with an agency. She started out as a sweet, reasonably smart beauty, but as her fans and fame grew, so did her demands. There was not much the producers could do about it, because she was the number three name in Web searches and her films made real money. She also possessed a gift that was true of all Porn Stars---she could truly act. Some girls couldnt remember a line from one minute to the next, but Rhianna could handle dialogue and action, even in the films that were mainly softcore thrillers with some sex thrown in. Right now, there was a cock in her mouth, one inside her, and another in her hand. Everyone worked in perfect rhythm, and Rhianna appeared to be going off her mind with pleasure. Perhaps she truly was aroused, with cameras filming and people watching her, the bedroom filled except for the bed area. Most of the girls,
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Id found, loved being watched during sex. Rhianna loved attention more than most. In fact, she was often interviewed on mainstream TV, and loved hanging out in the clubs with the regular young Hollwood glitter crowd. Her face and figure often adorned supermarket magazines. She said she had come from an abusive household, which made everyone forgive her, although her brother and father, both computer techs, had no idea what she was talking about when they had their chance to speak publically, and never took any money from her. Fact was, though, Rhianna was the first Porn Star to gross one million dollars a year. And that gets noticed, like the scene she was shooting now. Problem was, although Rhianna had looked remarkably young for a very long time, she was now a little overused and the marks of age were showing. The men changed places seamlessly and eventually she was totally filled with cock, until the usual climax, when everyone
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drew out and came all over her face and body. The crowd politely applauded. A job well done. She spoke to no one as she slid into the bathroom suite to wash up. Since the spring had sprung the chick, hopefully she had invested her money wisely, although she also had a bestselller to her credit, which told her tale and also outed some pretty famous names. ******** Sammi drifted off and I mingled with the girls and crew, taking notes for the usual behind the scenes article and surprised at how smart and friendly everyone was. The guys, who got paid considerably less since the introduction of Viagra and similar products, were handsome and well-built. They didnt need the Ron Jeremys anymore, who could keep it hard even when the action stopped. They still demanded large cocks, however, as far as I could see.
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Completely dressed, I felt like a school teacher in the midst of naughty nude boys. They teased me, and told me stories of how horrid it had been growing up in Alaska or Kansas or whatever small town that fit the ultra-conservative bill. They couldnt believe they now were making up to 50 grand a year having sex with beautiful women. One of the boys, Brad, came from a dismal background where he was regularly beaten by his drunken father, his mother having died when he was six. He ran away from his town just outside of Galveston, Texas as soon as he could. Most of them told similar tales, of molestation and abuse, although some loved the idea of acting in porn. And some just loved sex so much---sex addicts society would call them---they couldnt believe theyd arrived in this heaven. No one had any illusions of making it in the real show business. Again, the odds were too bad without the right connections, and besides, they were kids in a candy store.
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They flirted shamelessly with me, it was that kind of atmosphere. But I took it lightly. They were too young, and besides I didnt want to take a porn actor as a lover, no matter how bad my marriage had become and how much I misssed adventure. Yes, I had a double standard. I did many kinky things in my youth with more than a few guys, sometimes two at a time, but not for the camera. The idea sort of scared me, for myself anyway, but I didnt judge other people and never had. Judgement and puritanism were not in my nature. Having a permanent record of performing sex on film was not there, either. I had once written books and articles in the mainstream world and found the people to be no different than those in porn, just more serious and unhappy. But unlike those around me, I did feel a little bit of a twinge about my current job. It just added to my depression. Now there was Josh. Who knew what I felt about actually screwing him? I did keep looking around to see if he was visible,
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but he wasnt. Hed gone back to his techno palace, racking up traffic, hits on the sites, and sometimes even scoring members for the live streaming action or the large gallery of still photographs, not to mention video teasers and snippets of LoveLocks upcoming masterpieces of masturbation, downloadable to the last byte of information. Sammi sat down next to me and sort of cuddled in. We see how youre moving porn into a classier area of art and literature and still making it fun, she said. It seemed like she had read my mind. We want to help your site. So if your photographer, Michael Carse, can shoot some scenes in between takes ---no clicking of the camera, please, during that blowjob--- you might get a good feature out of it. And Josh can link you to a lot of high-volume traffic. Classy traffic, like artistic sites. This is too kind. It was. In fact, all the Cravens were doting on me and although it felt good, it was sort of creepy, as well.
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********* Josh reappeared, with two helmets, one large and one little. No doubt more than a fair number of women go their hair tangled in the small one. Bet youre ready to get home. Enough sleaze for one day, he said. At least he knew it was sleaze and said it. It raised my opinion of him higher still. He knew what he was working at, and he had a good attitude about it. At least, he seemed happy with his lot at first glance. I hesitated. If I could just call Michael, my partner, about shooting Next Tuesday, Sammi said. He can shoot Celeste, too. Shell like that, she loves his work. Sure, call him now and firm it up. No fires to put out, Josh agreed.
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That smile. What the fuck was wrong with my withering hormones? Had they popped back to life? Around Josh, I felt 19 and not 167. An older, impeccably-suited man appeared and shook my hand. Harold Craven. We all enjoy your web work. After thanking him cordially, I noticed something. There were pictures all around the house of Sammi with a man who looked like Harold Craven, but not quite. Suddenly this bunch was giving off the vibes of the Addams Family. Except Josh, in whom I just couldnt find a flaw, except for his flamboyant enthusiasm toward me. I asked how much the girls would charge to be shot individually or soft-core posed with others, and Sammi waved me off. The girls were under contract to LoveLock and this was all between friends. In fact, it already feels like youre part of the family, she said.
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I called Michael, who couldnt believe my luck, especially when I told him we wouldnt have to pay the $300 to $5000 shooting fee for the girls. Howd you get that? he asked, voice snaked with that touch of sarcasm revealing his disbelief that women could accomplish anything significant in business. Plus, he carried himself as though he still was a top movie producer and only he could move mountains. Tell you later. Got to go now. Enough of him. Josh was waiting. He helped me onto the back of his bike and adjusted my helmet. This close he smelled like a wonderful combination of soap and man. Hold on tight, he said. Some of these hills are steep.
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My usual anxiety disorder was not kicking in. Then there was an arm on my shoulder. Celeste. I hadnt said goodbye, and apologized. Ill call you on your cell, she said, and rushed off. But where was she going to get the number? Then again, with Joshs computer acumen and all this enthusiasm on the part of the Craven family, I wouldnt be surprised if it took two clicks of a mouse. Actually contacting Joshs body closely and holding him around the waist turned me on fiercely, yet again. I didnt even mind the quick turns and shifts that almost threw me off the bike. I just held him tighter. When we finally reached bottom and stopped at a light, he brushed his hand over my thigh and called back. You did great. And you feel great. I said nothing, although I did feel greater than I had in thirty years or more. Maybe never. Darting through traffic in LA, Josh showed the same confidence with which I was sure he did everything.
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********** When we finally reached my old Toyota (I didnt believe in spending money on cars), it looked lonely on the boulevard. Josh got off the bike and then lifted me off, so I slid down his body. When I was on my feet, he cupped his hands around my face. Does your husband love you, and you him? Not any more, I admitted for the first time. But after all these years, its sort of a trap. Let me give you something, he said, suddenly looking more serious than Id seen him before. I didnt get the time to ask what before his mouth was on mine, covering my face and fully kissing me. I truly had never been kissed like this. My breasts rubbed against his chest and my nipples were so erect I thought theyd cut into him. We made out for a heavenly length of time, then he abruptly stopped. Breathe in, he said.
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And this time I did. His breath was cool and warm at the same time. I exploded into orgasm. Afterwards, I felt embarrassed and pulled away. Youre 30 years younger than me. I dont do this. I do when I see something I want. Besides, Im not as young as you think. My family just ages well. In the glow of the streetlights, I noticed some gray in his hair, but not that much. What if I told you I was older than you? He smiled. I wouldnt doubt it. After your kiss and Celestes earlier, my body feels rejuvenated. He waved his hand. Celeste is a light kisser. Its me youll think about tomorrow. No doubt about that.
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We made out some more and then decided to get food in a cozy place in Sherman Oaks on Ventura Boulevard within walking distance. We talked and talked. Favorite movies, literature. We both loved Faulkner and Tennessee Williams, we discussed how and why Hamlet, Our Town, and Death of a Salesman were the greatest plays written, that they spoke to fundamentals in the human condition that were timeless. We covered religion, politics, the whole gambit, growing more and more animated as we realized we were feeling like soul mates. After two or more hours, we could see the place was ready to close, so we walked, hand in hand, back to my car. Josh paused. I know what I want when I see it, and it has nothing to do with age. I havent been very lucky at love, but that doesnt mean I cant keep trying.
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You get bored with them? Just a guess. His face turned dark. I was only in love once. I discovered that I loved too much, so she was lost. Youre not a stalker type? No, certainly not. And Ill leave you alone if you say so. I hesitated for more than a few minutes. My mind said no, but my heart and body always ruled. Let me think about it. But dont love me too much. He shook his head. Ill never make that mistake again, believe me. And he was off, as though he never existed. It was easy for me to believe that the day was just a dream. I didnt feel depressed and my movements were quick and sure, as they had been when I was younger. In fact, I felt younger, stronger, healthier and as I looked down, I could no longer see the bulge of
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fat that had encircled my waist. What the hell was going on? And did I care, if I felt this good?
******** Driving home, my mind was filled with Josh. And below, it was as though he had already entered me. My pussy felt stretched and still aroused. The moment I reached my front door, my cell phone rang. It was a too-familiar voice, too soon. And I knew I had been right about the ease of a Craven getting a cell phone number. We are all winners or victims, he said flatly. People who work around old people or who have an elderly parent living with them usually die sooner than those who grow old among youth, like teachers. We take and we give whether we like it or not.
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True? I began, but he had hung up. Now my cell phone has his cell number stored in it. I would write it down when I got inside. Not that Id use it. Only in LA could a day become so surreal. But then I remembed the myths about cats stealing breath from people while they slept, particularly children, the young. It was ridiculous, of course, a stupid old wives tale. I had cats. They show affection that way. And they dont steal breath. Then I unlocked my door, walked inside, looked in the hall mirror, and gasped. I did look thinner, better, younger by more than a little bit. I stripped off my clothes and although my body was still far from perfect, it was gaining back its shape. I had a waistline again and my breasts had migrated upwards. It was hard to believe, and more than a little frightening. I rushed to the bathroom and turned on the brightest light. By now, I knew every line around my eyes and lips, every puffy bag,
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and they were all nearly gone. My chin was firmer. I had to admit it. I looked ten years younger. How had this happened? Was it the presence of the Cravens, something about their auras, or those divine kisses and the cool air that rode on top of them? There had to be an explanation, although I was frightened of finding it out. Even if this paranormal activity was true, there usually was a price to pay. And I realized Celeste wasnt at that agency looking for work at all. She truly was looking for me.
Chapter Five You must be wondering now how I felt about my remarkable transformation---in other words, turning back time and getting younger and healthier.
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First off, I was elated. It didnt cure all of my depression, but it made a big indent. I was also frightened. I didnt understand what was happening to me, why I was chosen, and what downside came with all the positives. I also didnt want to harm anyone through this transformation, but something in my gut said that everything wasnt so nice and simple. It was like the porn industry itself. Much of it was above board and pleasant, if you didnt mind the work or liked it, but there were dark, seamy corners Michael and I had never explored but knew existed. So I guess in the end, the answer was just going with the proverbial flow. And trying to keep my own identity and ethics in place at the same time I was receiving this remarkable gift: a second chance. ************* Michael was half-way through his Pad Thai dinner before he noticed anything.
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Hey! You look great. That gyms really working out for you, isnt it? Typical man. You cut your hair and dye it, but he notices it three weeks later. I was twenty pounds lighter and looked more than ten years younger. My hair was thick, my skin was buttery soft, my jowls gone, my wrinkles slight. Still, I adored Michael in spite of and sometimes for his faults. He was my best friend. A more talented graphic designer and photographer you could not find, and begrudgingly he respected my talents, despite his low opinion of women. We were best buds, and by now he sort of pretended I wasnt female. When we traveled to conventions and events, like the San Francisco Erotic Ball, or even once to Thailand, he always insisted on booking everything himself. And we were always on the worst flights, in the crummy rooms, and the longest distance from where we had to be. But if I made a suggestion, he huffed it off as female
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flakiness, like every women was really Lucille Balls character in the TV show. You know, a lot of girls dont like to work for LoveLock too often, maybe no more than once a month, he said, being the resident maven on the porn industry. That guy with the FleshRobot site said they feel too drained, washed out. But the girls who do work for them consistently, the stars, seem to look awful good on film. They have some kind of supernatural powers, I said flatly. He didnt even stop eating, just looked up at me and laughed. I was around them all day, and they sort of romanced me, even kissed me. And I dont know what they did but I feel and look ten years younger. He laughed, then paused. You know, you do look awfully good. But Id chalk it up to the right creams and working out before Id credit the Cravens. Thats crazy.
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I nodded. It was easier to keep everything private until I had more of an idea what the hell was going on. It isnt Halloween yet, he added. We both loved horror movies from every era. Save this conversation. I knew you wouldnt believe me, thats why I said it. Good, because youre off your meds. Not exactly. But I didnt tell him that I had to take far fewer pills today to feel calm and content, except for that one moment when I tried to call Josh back and get some explanation for what seemed impossible. Had he made me younger? The number was disconnected. Of course. And when I tried to call LoveLock, all I got was an answering machine. Then I had a thought. An immoral one. Listen, I didnt get a chance to look through Full Stars catalog of girls, but I guess we dont need them right now that we have the date on Tuesday.
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I didnt tell him about my crush, but hoped Josh would be there. But just in case Im right, lets shoot younger girls in the future, barely legal, as they say, and always make them kiss Mandy as a picture for the site. Whatever you say, pardner. Besides, you know thats my preference. Theres a certain bloom on the rose that exists for two or three years, then its gone. Its the very essence of beauty. And that sparked a speeding train of thought through my mind. Yes, the bloom of youth. Most of the girls Celeste kissed had it when they arrived but did look a little tired when they left. Was there some way of getting that bloom from say, a kiss, and taking it in, making you younger? But did the girl get it back? I supposed not. So what they were doing, if they were doing it, was cruel. And yet I was benefiting from it and it was so delightful, the moral indignation I should have felt just wasnt there.
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My cell phone rang. Normally I wouldnt answer it if the number was not familiar, but I had a feeling. It was Celeste. How are you? I dived right in. Feeling great. Your brother is a menace. I warned you. But a very attractive one, no? Listen, the reason Im calling is because I want you to take two cars up here on Tuesday or else Ill drive you home Wednesday. Ill e-mail the directions. I was hoping we could have a girls night sleepover, no sex or anything, and get to know each other. So just in case youll be talking to Michael, tell him. Just in case. Like she didnt somehow know. Maybe I did need more meds and was reading too much into everything the Cravens did and said. Sure, Im having dinner with him now. Good. Then well all get together Tuesday at noon. Who was that? Michael asked when I hung up.
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Celeste Craven, the daughter I met at Full Star, who loves our site so much. In fact, the whole family are fans, or fangs. She called now, as though she knew youd be here. She wants us to go up separately to her house, so I can sleep over. You do need more meds. Shes not a monster, just a lesbian on the make. Maybe. But Im hoping for more. I decided to drop the weird ideas for now. I got it out of my system and accepted the fact that if I ever had the ability to take the bloom off a young girl without doing much harm but with great benefit to me, I would. In LA, young girls ignored me. I was invisible. Well, the invisible woman can play some dirty tricks that no one can see. Meanwhile, the earlier part of my day had been very awkward. First, there was my personal trainer, who thought I was using meth to drop that much weight, and whom I had to tell that I
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had minor non-invasive plastic surgery on Rodeo Drive in the four days since Id seen her last. She never stopped looking at me suspiciously through our entire session. I think she wanted to drop me as a client and the feeling was mutual. She started off the younger, thinner one, and now I looked slightly better, because I had once been very attractive. Or had been, and was again. I also had to pretend that the weights she gave me were correct, even though they now seemed very light. When she wasnt looking, I picked up 20 pounds in each hand with ease. This was not happening. It was all in my mind. But it wasnt. Weights are real. My senses seemed more alive. I could hear better, didnt need my reading glasses, and I could smell my cats before they came into my room, their tiny feet almost as loud as a humans. This was all very trite, but true.
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And now my husband Dave was coming back from Fresno for the weekend. Would he see a change? I dreaded it during the whole ride home after dinner. Hed known me for decades, and he was a doctor. He wouldnt accept a superficial excuse. ************** Did you get your hair done? Dave asked, when he hurriedly got off his cell phone. It suits you. He hadnt heard me enter the house, but Id heard him, cooing rather than talking. Didnt sound like a professional call. His lab technician, he explained. Just wanted to check on some ultrasounds. Her name? Why? Oh, Janet, the young woman with the little baby and no husband. The very pretty young woman, as hed once described her. Sort of exotic. Id had my fill of exotic. But the difficulties of the day werent over yet when I went to put on my night shirt.
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He grabbed me from behind when I was still naked and began squeezing my breasts with no prelude. Mmmn, he mumbled into my chest. That exercise is sure working. That was when I smelled it, like a wave. Pussy. Hed already had some today. Pussy and semen and soap, and all the other scents that go with a cheating heart. My husband was screwing around on me and for some reason that was a relief. No, not for just any reason. It was an excuse for Josh. Dave and I had never had a great sex life, but tonight was dismal. Not only wasnt I turned on my his clumsy groping and fiddling, I was obssessed by another mans kiss and how that felt. I couldnt even imagine it was Josh making love to me. Dave was too inept tonight, too rushed, to help me pull that one off. After he climaxed, face to my back, he did his usual number. Got up, washed off, and got ready for bed. He told me some boring
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stories about his patients and hospital meetings, I pretended to be interested, then he went to sleep. There had been a time when we were young and loving, interested in the same things, going to movies and theater and having long conversations afterward. But then Dave decided his Ph.D. would never make him rich and he got a chance to go to medical school on a scholarship. Now all he thought about was how much money he could make by working longer and longer hours. Now he only read medical books and journals, and we rarely discussed anything of interest. How had I lived like this for so long? Well, it was another life of quiet desperation, or just another life. Yet in one day, my world view had been turned around and I now believed in an extraordinary life. For the first time in so many years, my heart filled with hope for the future.
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As I lay there in bed, listening to Daves breath and wondering whether he really had a girlfriend now, I thought more about today and how few people who knew me noticed that I had turned back time. I never would have gotten away with it in my hometown, New York City. There, the corner store guy or the dry cleaner would have probed and asked how I lost so much weight and looked so much younger. But in Los Angeles, where the superficial is everything, people also look at one another superficially. They dont want the details, just the results. In fact, they mainly look at how other people are looking at THEM. On the bright side, men flirted with me in the market, on the street, at the newsstand, and I forgot how nice it was. When I was young, I would shun these compliments and become angered by this sexist intrusion into my world. But give it thirty years, and boy, had my attitude switched! Now I smiled back and chatted briefly, stopping short of making a date. I was so grateful, and
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even that didnt shame me. Women are taught to be objects of beauty, and when menopause hits, its like disappearing. Suddenly I was on the human screen again. I hadnt felt this human since Michael and I went to Thailand a few years ago to photograph the girls of the night, and the more beautiful lady boys. No one seemed to judge anyone else on Soy Cowboy, the road of prostitutes, where you feel befriended rather than like a john. While Michael was taking pictures and getting blowjobs in The Nana Centerthe hotels there were all part of the trade and ensured your safety by taking the hired mens and womens passports---I consented to a lovely nude massage with a lady boy, who was one of the most tender and beautiful women I had ever met. I didnt think of the ramifications and implications because there were none. I gave her money (very little in Thailand) and she gave me a sort of love, cradling me in her arms and soothing my
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aching limbs tight from the tension of living in a judgemental Western society. In Thailand, the monks prayed at makeshift altars with the prostitutes going off to work. It was three weeks of living a Zen life. I wanted to stay, as many tourists do.
********** During the rest of the weekend, Dave and I spoke little, ate at our usual restaurants, watched our usual taped TV shows, but every once in a while he would sneak off to another part of the house to make a medical phone call. I was pretty sure by now that whomever was beeping him was not interested in a patient, but rather the doctor at the other end. Of course, I was not one to judge at this point. Like a 16year-old, I waited for my cell phone to ring, even my home phone, anything to hear from Josh. There was no point thinking about my husbands possible affair when I was praying for one of my own.
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Sunday night into Monday morning, as my husband was leaving for Fresno and no doubt the sweet young kisses of lab technicians, I had a dream. It was so real I didnt even hear him leave and I felt saddened by that loss later. In the dream, I was in my own bed with Josh and we were making love. In reality, I would never dishonor my spouses bed that way. But then again, where were the high-minded morals when I was considering sucking the youth out of helpless girls if I could? Had LA turned me so narcisssistic, or just life? I once dreamed of being a rock star. I probably was always like this, although a majority of aging woman across the globe would secretly jump at this chance I might have been given. Thats if it were all true, and not just some fictional thinking. The porn industry itself was so unreal with so many eccentric characters, I could be the victim of a hoax. But still there were the mirrors, and the admiring glances of men that belied the truth.
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In my dream, Josh was gently taking off my clothes, half with his fingers and half with his mouth, showering me with tiny kisses and probes in all the right places. I had an orgasm at his first deep kiss and ran my fingers through his long, silky hair, noticing slivers of gray in the light. Had he given that to me, taking away some of his youth? I didnt wonder long as his fingers played with my lips while his head travelled below and began a glorious symphony of pussy-eating. He must have taken an hour, and a few times I almost lost consciousness I came so hard. I felt his large, thick cock against my thigh, the strength with which he was holding me and I silently cried from the pleasure of it all. His fingers, his mouth, his cock. When he entered me, he spread me apart and filled me up so boldly that the friction caused one very long orgasm that kept waxing and waning. And just as another earthquake hit my body he exploded into me and I could feel his warm semen even through the protection he had used. Protection? In a dream? That was odd.
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We had sex several more times with boundless energy. I loved sucking his huge cock and tasting his secretions as though they were sizzling drops of champagne. Eventually, he left my bed without a word. I heard his motocycle start up outside my house and ran off to catch him, still naked and covered with the liquids of sex. Then I stubbed my toe and realized I wasnt asleep anymore. I was at the front window, a motorcycle just like Joshs was driving down the road, and there had been no seeming transit between dream and waking state. Add to vampire: Incubus. I was too insane to care.
Chapter Six
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You know, you spooked me out the other day, as stupid as that sounds, Michael said, as we drove toward the Cravens on Tuesday after a hearty breakfast, the first one Id had since I stopped worrying about gaining weight. I had even cancelled my trainer at the gym, because who wanted to lift weights when they could get the boost through some sort of magic? Besides, she was too suspicious, maybe because she was born in Israel, where you have to be. I also cancelled my therapist for now, because I had plenty of pills left over and I was taking fewer and fewer of them. I was also tired of talking about Freud versus Buddha. And I was so confused about what was going on in my life I left my brake lights on over night. My cars battery was dead so I figured it was a good excuse not to stay over, or a better excuse to stay over so someone could drive me home, whichever way I felt when the time came. We both watch too many horror movies, I said.
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Probably, but Ive been studying you over breakfast and there is no getting away from it. Youre a babe again. Great. So what was I before? A hag? There was no need to argue about it, since his preference was just that, young babes, and if there was one thing I Iearned by running an adult site is that some people like sex with antelopes if they can catch them and survive. The many varieties of fetishes (once called perversions) are legion. There is no way to explain why there are dozens of sites featuring naked 90-year-olds, or just opera gloves with no one in them. Sex-wiring in the brain comes from more neurons and structures than writing.
********* At this point, I feel compelled to justify Michaels and my work. We know there are sleazebags out there who treat the less-pretty or
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truly nave girls terribly, sometimes even savagely, and we know all about child porn. Most people dont realize that no one hates these people more than clean pornographers who use lovely girls, treat them well, and pay them reasonably. The criminals give everyone a bad name and false rep, literally and figuratively in the mind of a puritanical nation. Also, our site really was conceived to be classy and sassy, as we call it, more erotic art and literature (like Anne Rices Sleeping Beauty books about pony girls---another weird fetish) and only rarely do we stray into the true porny stuff, as we call it. But never abusive and never disgusting in any way. The arguments between what constitutes porn and what constitutes art have been going on for centuries: just look at the magnificent Asian netsuke figurines carved in ivory depicting outrageous sexual situations and positions. **********
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When we finally managed to find the house (I thought of it more as a castle), Michael was exhausted. Kind of hidden, huh? he said. But as soon as we got there and met the Cravens---all except Josh, who to my sinking heart was absent---and they started fawning over Michael, everything went smoothly. They stopped shooting so he could photograph as much as he liked, and it relieved me that they treated him so well. I thought they only were obsessed with me. Still, Celeste took me aside. You look beautiful, almost, she said, stroking my now silky hair. A few more treatments and then some maintenance, but in moderation, and youll be the envy of all the girls. God, you were good-looking when you were young. I smiled. A back-handed compliment if I ever heard one. So you just launch into whatever is going on here? I said, a bit testy. I mean what is the deal with you people?
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She giggled. Ah, my new BFF. Thats why you have to stay over, silly! Im going to explain everything tonight, and give you some rules. Oh, and if you were thinking of kissing a few young girls here, forget it until after tonight. You have the genes, but you dont know how to do it. The genes? I was astounded. Im sure your parents and grandparents came from a mixture of different countries, or way further back than that. Only a few are born with these ancient abilities, and we can smell them out. Youre one of the many weve found in LA, but youre a prize find. I was stumbling around for an answer. My parents were born here, as was my grandmother, but youre right, their heritage goes from Russia to Germany to Latin America to Spain with a little Mongolian thrown in. And probably a lot more I dont know about. It hardly matters. It was the right combination.
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Now it was finally sinking in. I was in a sci-fi movie. So what the hell are you doing? Making me younger by kissing me, by touching me, what? Celeste seemed annoyed that I was asking so many questions. I said I would tell you later and that will have to suffice. Its a good thing everyone cant do this, or thered be a lot of aged 20-year-olds walking around. Especially with Baby Boomers and their---and my---narcissism. A darkness crossed her eyes. Thats the problem. You must only take a little bit. And And what? We better get back to the crowd and see what everyones doing. Also, I cant wait for Michael to photograph me. He really has an eye. I pulled her back gently and whispered, What were you going to say?
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Now she really frowned. Well, as it is, what we do is cruel. A girl only has a very years in life with that glorious purity of youth and then shes just young. We take that fine aura off the top. They dont grow it back. I knew that in my heart. And I knew it was ethically wrong to rob a pretty young thing of her glory. But for some reason, I didnt think anyone really noticed and it seemed a fair trade for all the snubs I got from them since I moved to Los Angeles. In New York, I had friends of all ages. There seemed to be a taboo against associating with anyone ten years or more older than you here. So fuck em, I thought. But I wasnt a good sociopath. My heart still twitched for them---a little. Did Josh take too much from someone? You seemed to indicate that. I wont talk about it, Celeste said. You want to know why hes more like a vampire, let him tell you. Then you decide whether you want to fuck him again.
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But I didnt.. She waved me off and walked back to where Michael was shooting, as though I had done the deed with Josh and was oblivious to it. Dreams didnt count. These people couldnt talk about genes and inborn abilities on one hand, and then pull the witchy number on the other. Well, actually it seemed they could do anything they wanted. Vampires and werewolves didnt exist; they probably had a disease called porphyria. It caused a hypersensiivity to light, bleeding gums, and sometimes, a tendency toward being excessively hirsute. Their skin also looked extremely light, due to the lack of exposure to the sun among other causes. Myth, not medicine, turned them into monsters. I was married to a doctor, after all. He thought he knew everything.
**********
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Now Michael had Celeste, who was more than a bit of a contortionist, pose on the pool table in a variety of gymnastic feats. She looked beautiful. Maybe it was her comment about looking almost lovely or the fact that I had a bossy mother and hated being told what to do, but I made a decision. I went looking for some chickies and decided on conducting a scientfic, or para-scientific experiment of my own. First, I looked in the mirror. A slight sag under the chin, a little too much weight around my waist, lines under my eyes, faintly apparent. I went to work. In the kitchen, the girls were gathered, eating and giggling. There was another photographer there who knew Michael and I, a good guy named Jake. Jake was one of those fetishists that his straight friends and neighbors would shun if they knew his likes and dislikes. He was mainly into collecting old girdles. He wanted them used and smelling of pussy, so he went to his sources, got the girdles, and
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hired women to put them on and masturbate in them. Then he paid them. They were never surprised when he didnt want sex, because every working girl can tell you that simple sex is low down on the list of all the wild things men and sometimes women want. Who wants to pose kissing Mandy? I asked, and the nymphets giggled some more and crowded around me. The first girl taught me something. I kissed her gently at first, and when she opened her mouth for my tongue, I felt a slight breeze of clean, pure air, like the bouquet of a fine wine, a scent right at the top. Instinctively, I aimed for it and drew that part of the breath in. I dont know how I did it, but like a skilled wine taster, I knew what I was looking for. Obviously, the genetic abilities were there. Then I realized one more thing that shocked me, although it made perfect sense. I was menstruating. I excused myself and looked around the bathroom, finally finding a cabinet with tampons. It had been ten years since Id flowed this heavy and
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three since I flowed at all. The thing I once had found so annoying was now a fountain of scarlet youth, filling me with vitality as each drop emerged. I returned to my prey. After kissing about ten girls, I pardoned myself and went back to the bathroom. No lines around the eyes. Only a slight bit of fat around the middle, and no sag under the chin. I felt exhilirated and at the same time criminal. I bounced out of the bathroom into Josh, who was laughing. Celeste will be so mad at you, he said. Shes a minimalist, also called a prude in my book. He has cut his hair. It now fell in stylish waves to the middle of his neck, which made him all the more handsome. Im doing a real photo shoot for a department store next week and they wanted the hair short, he answered before I asked. Also, somehow I knew youd like it.
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I missed you, was all I could choke out. And I missed you. But Celeste wanted her ritual tonight so I obeyed. And by the way, you need an extra little something from her, so all the air you took in today wont last more than a halfhour. You should hide until it wears off, so she wont know. But I knew how to do it, just the top, just the bouquet. Im sure you did. We still all have to be connected, so we can keep track of each other, which is why tonight is necessary. What happens tonight? Should I watch how I kiss, breathing out, breathing in? So many questions for living the supernatural life. Ive got an idea where you can hide, he said, ignoring my questions and taking my hand. Before Celeste gets to you, and starts her scolding. We wound up in his bedroom. It was grand, exquisitely done, very masculine and at the same time, brilliantly artistic. He had a
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fine eye and some of the art looked truly high end. No doubt it was. I have my period, I whispered, as he started kissing my neck. No doubt you do, he said, cryptically, as with everything Craven. And we began to make slow but passsionate love, just as in my dream, only much better. He was beyond a skilled lover, and I was on fire everywhere. When he asked if I minded him going down on me, considering my period, I almost screamed NO! Do it! And he did, after I nodded my head vigorously. When he looked up, blood on his mouth and chin, he did look like a real vampire. And it didnt bother me one bit. I pulled him up and kissed him, something I normally didnt do under such circumstances, but this time it tasted divine: the blood, the orgasm below, the cool air.
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He blew slightly into my throat. It was refreshingly cool. Now the added improvements you took before from the girls you can blame on me. ************** Michael and I sat down to dinner, Craven-style, which meant a gourmet feast. It was the first time I noticed they had servants, moderately young women who came from south of the border and looked very happy with their positions and possibly their wages, whatever they were. There were many courses and wines, all served and consumed European style (eaten slowly and savored), and we shared tales and jokes that touched on everything but the paranormal. The meal was topped off by the perfect chocolate souffle, so rich it screamed decadent. I had warned Michael not to say a word, and he didnt. He did keep staring at me during dinner, as did Celeste with narrowed eyes, because I had obviously gained another few years in age, courtesy of Josh. I had also gained an itch that wouldnt go away. I
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wanted him again and again, but tried my best to conceal that from the table. Still, we were like young teens, sneaking glances at each other and winking, but if anyone noticed, they didnt seem to care. It was midnight when the last course was served, warmed brandy and chestnut cookies with cappucino. Michael announced we had to go because navigating down those hills in the dark was a bitch. Oh, Celeste said. Mandy is staying over tonight. My car battery died, I said. I have no way to get back but But someone will take you back tomorrow, said Sammi, looking at Josh. You must stay over. I insist. It sounded like hospitality with the edge of a command underneath. There was no doubt who ruled the roost here. Sammi looked particularly lovely tonight, and Michael flirted with her with some appreciation returned. Harold didnt show the least bit
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of concern. Im sure he liked his prize being admired. She wore a flowing chiffon caftan painted to perfection and large gold earrings that looked Etruscan. Her black hair was pulled up and back, highlighting fabulous cheekbones and perfect features. In one light, she looked 40, in another, 25. Michael must have felt like old man Moses at this table. Youll do it for me if its true, wont you? he had asked on the drive here. How could I refuse? He was the only one who knew anything. I was keeping my mouth shut in the future, except to inhale youth. The truth about Michael was that he had been a famous graphic designer who came to Hollywood and managed to land a big job with a major director. His downfall was a combination of drugs and alcohol, fueled by this frustration that he was always Assistant Director or Producer or Set Designer. No one in the organzation believed he had the creativity to direct, when in reality he had filled in for other young directors who were clueless.
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He quit his job, got divorced, and moved to Italy where he believed he could paint like Van Gogh, or close. Didnt even come near that goal. When he ended up broke in New York, he fell in love with a stripper and that relationship went bust after shed played with him long enough. As I watched him drive off, I thought that Michael needed a second chance, too. And I hoped the Cravens would give it to him. Hed always wanted to direct a high-end porn film, and he certainly had more experience and talent than anyone they used at Lovelock now. I mentioned that to Sammi when he was gone, and her face lit up. What a splendid idea! she enthused. And then everyone scattered. Celeste was the one who now took my hand like a little childs and led me upstairs.
**********
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It was a movie set made for a princess with a whole lot of money and good taste, like Josh, but very feminine. The bed was round and plush, the room glowed from soft candlelight, and soft jazz played in the background. I didnt love kissing women, touching their breasts made me a bit queasy, and eating pussy was out of the question. But this was a scene for seduction, and I steeled myself for it. She read my thoughts, as usual. Nothing we will do here involves sex, she said. I know youre straight. You proved that with Josh. But I didnt fuck him before today. Before is the operative word. Now you have. And I assume you got your period. So you read minds, fly in the air, become bats She laughed so hard she almost couldnt catch her breath. No, no bats. I hate them. But Id love to fly. Its just that all of
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your senses will be heightened, including those mankind refuses to admit they have. The intuitive ones. Call it paranormal if you like. In my mind, I see pictures and I saw you and Josh. My vision wasnt specific as to when, only that you would do it before we got together. I had no choice but to accept the explanation. Everything was so off-kilter, I wouldnt know what to ask. There is one thing I need you to do, Celeste said softly. Take off all your clothes and lie on the bed. While I talk I will be embracing you and breathing into you, giving you the permanent power to withdraw breath from the young and gain youth and health. And dont worry, your senses will tell you whos healthy. I needed more explanations and told her so. With that, she stripped down to her perfect body and lay on the bed, beckoning me. For some reason, it felt right to get naked and slip into her
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arms. And just as she said, she cuddled me and put her mouth to mine as she spoke. Dont interrupt me until Im finished. Now, you think of us as vampires, and I suppose youre right. Aerobic vampires. We take the very tip of the glow, the youth-breath and inhale it, whenever we need to look younger. One kiss lasts for several weeks, so theres no need to be greedy. If it wasnt for Josh interceding, I would have advised going back a year at a time, so no one would notice. But you, too, are selfish and obsessed with your age, so I understand. I so wanted to butt in and tell her that one year at a time was not enough to ease my depression, but the cool air swirling through my body and Celestes warm and soft embrace silenced me. She reminded me of a mythical creature, like a unicorn or fairy, who while delightful in thought, really has some authority behind what they say because they can work magic. You did as she said.
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You will learn, after a while, how much air to take and how often. Theres a crop of girls you can choose from. I use porn. Josh likes the clubs where the girls all get high on X and kiss anyone. Hell tell you about these places, mostly in West Hollywood. In fact, Im sure hed love to take you there and watch you kiss another woman. Him watching may make it much hotter for you. Not that you cant use a man, but because of testosterone and the rage it often brings, a man with the bloom often has to be 14 or 15. What we take is a part of Prana, the breath of life according to the Hindus. Others cultures have other names, but Prana is the most well-known. However, as the Hindus describe, there are many types of vital currents in the body, all falling under the heading of Prana. Pure Prana is responsible for life itself, for breathing, circulation, and the heart. Not much of that can be taken. Its a heavier part of the breath and much warmer. What we
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should only take is called Samana, reponsible for the repair and manufacture of new cells. Take too much, and the girl ages too quickly. Take too much Prana and the girl dies young. I should say the girl or the boy, but its harder to kiss lots of young guys and get away quickly, plus theres that rage factor that kills off the bloom, like a frost. If you want to give youth, you can breathe into someone lightly, but again, not too much. And be careful with older people, watch out for illness. You can taste it as a foul note to the wine. Any questions? Can you live forever this way? Celeste paused. If you take a little Prana from those you kiss, yes, you can add ten, twenty years. If you take too much Prana, you can gain a lifetime. I wasnt going to tell you this, but my mother doesnt have my scruples about this gift. Josh has done it twice, once
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inadvertantly to a girl he loved when he was inexperienced and too eager and once to a girl who got too high at a bar and started to stab him outside the club for kissing her. He couldnt think of another way to disarm her after the first knife wound. Both women had heart attacks---sudden cardiac arrest---within a week. Hes never done it since and this was years ago. I know he regrets it terribly. My mother, on the other hand, has gathered about four lifetimes. Shes satisfied for now, but I dread the future. Shes a terribly selfish woman. Despite what Ive said about my father, I believe Harold is even older, but hasnt taken Prana for a very long time. Hes also not a jealous man. My mother finds lovers, keeps them young for a while, then discards them. Id watch that with Michael. I try to stay out of her way. Josh is her favorite by far. Celeste tightened her grip on her body until we were almost joined, like resting snakes.
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Now breathe in deeply from me, from the Samana, and let me teach you. Wordlessly, she did. And I felt wonderful. I pointed to my mouth as a way of asking if I could speak now. Do you all live together? I was worried they wanted me to move in. I liked my independence from families, even if in my fantasies I now thought about living with Josh, whom I barely knew but knew so well. Oh, we can live together, as was needed to indoctrinate you, believe it or not. As I said, our kind is rare. There is a name for us and you should know it: Samanites, from the breath we take. So stop using the word vampire. Blood makes me ill. To get back to your question, we all have different houses. Because of so many years of life and investments, and many different types of businesses, which Harold does run rather well, we are extremely wealthy. Just buy a house for $500,000 and hold
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on to it for 100 years. Youll see the profit from that if nothing else. But being part of us makes you family and so you must be financially independent from work and from others, like your husband, should you choose to leave him. I will transfer money into your account when you get home. Its in the Cayman Islands, but I have all the papers, so its yours. This last piece of information brought me back to the material world. Uhhow much? One million dollars. It should keep you for a while. And Ill give you the name of our investment broker, who is also a Samanite, and normally does wonders with that kind of money, but lately Im not so sure. I cant take that!
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You have no choice. Now that the ritual is over, the deed is done. Theres no downside here, except if you cross someone like my mother. And then? Shell grab you like a rag doll and suck the life right out of you. There are a few of us like her. But theres no reason to offend her. She doesnt ask for much. I knew what I knew. Paranormal instinct, right? I felt it now. She wants me to be with Josh. Celeste nodded. But you dont have to. She just wants him to have a healthy relationship with a brilliant, beautiful woman, which is you. And who has Samanite genes. And little grandkids, because I am not into that? To call her Grandma? Are you kidding? Besides, you and Josh cant have children. Two of us together are infertile. And believe me, he feels the same way about offspring.
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Celeste kissed me deeply, then got off the bed. Put on an exquisite handmade silk robe and handed me another one.For you. I didnt question. But her next line was a zinger. Now, Josh is waiting for you. His room is just beneath mine in this separate wing over the indoor pool room. If you want to go, that is. My itch started up again, burning fiercely. I embraced Celeste and started to rush off. Oh, you quit your trainer, come work out with me. Ill pick you up and take you there. The body still needs to be toned. Age isnt everything. Strength, inner and outer, is. Right now, my mind was not on working out. Josh and age were my whole world. For one more night in his arms, I would risk him taking some Prana from my now softer and plumper lips, or from anywhere.
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Chapter Seven
Laying in his strong arms, feeling the taut tendons and muscles surrounding me, Josh told me about the clubs we would frequent. Thats unless you do it the way Celeste does, and use the porn game to steal your kisses. Certainly, porn was easy for me, being a webmaster. I didnt even have to get naked and have sex. But trolling bars with Josh, smelling out young blood, or to be more accurate, young air, was too romantic an idea to pass up. Of course, I probably wasnt thinking straight; I was cum drunk from an absurd number of orgasms. And just as meaningful or more, we talked all night, about our dreams and pasts, all those
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things new young lovers share. To see us on the street, we would now look the same age. A full life ahead of us. No, Id love to go to the clubs with you. And you wouldnt get jealous, seeing me kiss all those sweet young lips? I laughed. Its work. Or should I say, a lifetsyle. My, but youre more practical about this than Celeste. You get right down to it. I ventured a bit of my truth. Actually, Im into life extension now. Im trying to figure out how to get some Prana without feeling guilty. I could see he was taken aback, but his body eased at the same time. Well think about it. And you can take little bits from the real bitches. We both laughed at something that should have been no laughing matter. This was part of another persons life you were
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stealing, as he appropriately called it. I told him that I knew about his two misadventures, and didnt mind unless he did it to me. To you? With your mind and charisma, thats unthinkable. You would stop it, youd know. And I wouldnt do it. He obviously thought more of me than I did myself. Vanity I could admit to. Even a good mind. But charisma? I had been told it before, but always thought it was just a line used to get laid. Celeste told a white lie, as a matter of fact. Yes, the first time will always be a pain deep inside. I loved Claire deeply, way too deeply. I didnt want to listen to Celeste. But the second time His version included no knife fight. And it sounded like the truth. According to him, there was a Porn Star I barely remembered named Angelina Diamond. The Cravens were keeping her on top by giving her infusions of the air bouquet, as they did with all their stars. But because she didnt have the gene it didnt last and so she began to age.
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The night he caught her in Ru-Bar, a then-hot club in Hollywood, she was grabbing every girl in sight and breathing in too deeply. The Prana wouldnt last for her, but the girls she kissed would be destroyed. Perhaps I overreacted, but she was a cruel person by nature. Josh, the Samanite vigilante. I regretted it later. But I have taken bits of Prana from time to time, and I am considerably older than you think. Much older than Michael. I was more than a little stunned, but before I could react, his fingers made their way between my legs as he kissed me. They worked as a great musician does with his instrument, and again, it took only moments to lapse into a speeding train of delirium. Laying there a while later, spent and still, he said, Well hit Niyo and O-Span this weekend. Those bars are the hottest for our purposes right now. They change every few months. This weekend?
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He frowned. Oh yes, youre happily married. Dont you go out on the weekends with friends? You and I are not just friends, and no, not since my husband started working in Fresno. Okay, Ill accept that for now. But it sounds as though your husband doesnt deserve all your years of fidelity. Well go some night this week late, so we can get the routine down. Ill enjoy seeing you kiss those girls. Typical man after all. Two girls making it. I never understood. Neither do I. I could come up with a lot of bullshit about beauty with beauty, but the truth is something only my cock knows. Well then, by all means, I want to please that. Of course, I may find a recent male transplant from the Midwest with the bloom of youth. How will you feel?
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Josh surprised me. Probably so jealous Id want to punch him out. Or worse. Try not to do it. In fact, I sometimes wonder if Claire was kissing too many young boys the night I had taken a powerful drug and grabbed her, pumping life out of her instead of in. But I was a novice then, and I didnt even realize I was doing it. Believe me, my little one, I would never make that mistake with you. I was touched and at the same time, more than a little scared. *********** Before he dropped me off the next morning at my house, he gave my all the financial papers and a packet of information, about contacts, the investment expert, and the like. He explained how to transfer the money when I needed it. Celeste wants to go on a shopping spree in the next few days. Today Michael and I have a webmasters convention over at the Sheraton, I said.
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Oh, you are in for the ultimate Rodeo Drive experience. Rodeo Drive? These Samanites lived large. Wait a minute, I realized. I am a Samanite now, for better or worse. But a battery always had a positive and negative side. We kissed gently and he drove off, after making an appointment for club-hopping on Thursday. When a woman falls in love, theres nothing better than a man who makes the next date before he leaves the present one. My two cats, Ernie and Rose, were not happy. They had not had fresh water and no wet food. Dry food was fine, but it was too much of one thing, being that Mommy usually spoiled them with human food and treats. I quickly fed them and laid down to rest, having gotten no sleep the night before. Not that I was complaining. Then a strange thing happened. The cats climbed on the bed next to me and positioned themselves on either side of my body. They aimed for my mouth and sniffed at it. Maybe the myths were
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true and they were stealing breaths. They were both old and wellloved, so I allowed them several little air-snacks. They jumped off and chased each other around the house, something they had not done in years. I felt like a drug addict who had to get away from all my other friends, not that I had many in Los Angeles, the loneliest city Id ever encountered. Everyone lived too far away from people they liked and if you didnt have a clique at work, forget about it. Of course, now I had a highly unque clique, more exclusive than even the top of the movie business. But if I did keep my old friends, as self-involved as they were, eventually they would notice ME in the midst of talking about themselves, and finally realize how Id changed. Then theyd demand the names of my plastic surgeons. Michael called. So when am I getting my transfusion? I hesitated. I dont think I should have told you. Dont
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Of course I wont talk about it. I just want to look a little better than a grumpy old man. Well meet here in two hours before the AVN-LA Convention, referring to the trade magazine, Adult Video News, that sponsored these events and was The Source for the industry, both online and offline. If I didnt see it on you, I wouldnt believe any of this crap, you know. Crap, I thought after hanging up. It was far from crap and the more I thought about it, more than a gift of fabulous luck. It held its own responsibilities. When Celeste talked about her mothers greedy behavior, or Josh described quieting a hysterical Porn Star by draining her, they were talking, essentially, about murder. No messy blood, sure. But they were vampires. And I was about to become a practicing one.
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Maybe it was the fact that I had been down for so long, or that it was Tinsel Town where nothing mattered except for the perception of it, but I smiled. I didnt think I could ever take a life, for any reason, but a little Prana here and there was good for my life extension, if not my soul.
Chapter Eight
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I grabbed an hour nap, awoke to my cell phone ringing and a distinct thought: Sammina Craven was Lucy Lane the famed stripper. It wasnt just an uncanny resemblance. She had probably been alive much longer than that. Maybe she even ran a brothel in New Orleans during the Civil War. David was calling me. I opened up the phone with some dread, but didnt know why. Im sorry about this honey, he said too sweetly. But theres so much work here. I cant get home this weekend. Oh. Ill make it up to you, but theres nothing I can do. Too many lab techs to service? I couldnt even remember her name. Jan? Jane? I was quiet and pretended to be devastated. In reality, I realized that Josh and I could hit the clubs on the better weekend nights, the way he wanted. Had he done more than want it? Could Samanites make things happen?
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I quickly ended the call, took a bath and tried an experiment. First I imagined the perfect bath water temperature and randomly opened the taps. When I stepped in, the water was perfect. Then I visualized my hair looking fabulous, falling into place when I blow-dried it. That happened, as well. I was too rattled to try anything else. Sucking in youth was one thing, world event control another. Or was I just drawing an imaginary moral line? The whole thing was amoral, and I knew it. Michael showed up promptly at eleven, like an anxious kid. I was a little hesitant, both to kiss him deeply and to give up any of my newly found beauty. But he was like a brother, and after all, this was a family. Most famillies were made up of hot air, ours was cooler. I could feel the slight bit I gave him leaving my cells and he tried to breathe in greedily but I also discovered I could stop him. He ran to the mirror and smiled. He did look less drawn and
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craggy, and it seemed for now, that was enough. A super-facial. He embraced me and thanked me profusely. Now you must not tell anyone, I said harshly. Who would I tell? And who would believe me? Besides, I dont believe in squashing the golden egg. Before he arrived, while getting dressed for this porn webmasters meet and greet where in the past we were largely ignored, I assessed my face and body. Thirty at the most. My stomach was small, my shape distinct, my face tight and glowing. In fact, I thought I looked better than I had in my real thirties. Those Oxygen bars in LA probably did some good after all, at least for a while. Only Samanites could give and get the permanent makeover. The joy I felt about looking young and trim again was overwhelming. For a smart person, such vanity was frivilous at best, but it was mine and I owned it.
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Michael and I headed over to the one-day mini-convention at the starkly remodeled Universal Sheraton. Normally when we went to this gathering of webmasters, porn producers and toy sellers, where the huge Cartel of porn booths dominated and spoke to no one, we were invisible, and worse, old enough to parent everyone there, who were frantically text-messaging Lord-knows-what to each other from across the room. It always seemed to me like a sophisticated way of passing notes under the desk. But because we were ignored, Mikey could snap a few pictures and could skiddoodle-do out of there fast. Write up a feature for the site and hope to get linked to someone we wrote about. I must pause here to explain, or try to explain The Cartel. To say that it was in any way connected to a criminal organization, like, say, one that had real Godfathers, would be wrong. To say that it wasnt connected to pirated movies, strip clubs, and stolen DVDs shoved on top of fine Peruvian flake might be wrong, too.
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All you could know on the Net was that people were making millions of dollars putting up websites that all linked together and if you clicked one, you used to be innundated with hundreds of pop-up ads on your screen. Now they just led to each other like a maze that winds you down into finally paying $29.95 for a site with maybe five good pictures and some grainy video. A few offered more, but they were the exception. The idea was to put up hundreds of these things every day around the world and hope that all of your customers or at least enough of them, were too embarrassed to call Visa and ask for a chargeback on Cheesysluts.com. And there was another thing true about porn. Most people looked at Jenna Jameson and figured if you were a Porn Star you made your money doing movies and books and public appearances. Not exactly. Jenna did, but not always, not back when she was just another top girlie. Usually, you rose up through porn, the money got better but never great, and you made the cash
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as a headlining stripper in a large circuit of gentlemans clubs run by who-knows-who. We were independents who produced high quality writing and photography, some given to us from all over the globe, which meant that at the beginning, we wrote to cartel sites with questions and hopes to be linked. They NEVER wrote back. LoveLock Productions was in on this loop, but I never let my mind consider that fact, except today, when we were warmly greeted by Sammina and Harold, and then everyone in the room, wanting to give us advice, help us out, invest some money, clean our asses. Josh wasnt there, but Celeste was; she told me we were going to the gym and then shopping the minute we could get out of there. Michael, suddenly doing real business after all these years of drought, and feeling more alive thanks to my burst of Oxy in his blood, said I could take off, that he could handle this himself.
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He probably would have said that anyway, because he so loved getting the credit for success. Besides, Sammi seemed glued to his arm. With Sammis intuition, I knew she figured out that I had told Michael the truth and he could be trusted. In fact, she seemed very pleased with his company. I stopped into the bathroom, and was surprised to be greeted by Fred Latchman when I came out, looking nervous. I sensed he was on the watch for Celeste, and sweat was breaking out in the patches of scalp that were thinning. He looked so cheap today in his handmade Thai suit with his thin red tie, I felt sorry for him. Mandy, listen, he pulled me into a side corridor. You look great, by the way, but then youre hanging out with Celeste. All Lovelocks girls look great or dont look at all. Watch those people. The Cravens are weird, somehow. What do you mean, dont look at all?
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They disappear, they get sick, no one knows where they go. Except the stars. Those they keep for a few years and then poof! He made a little gesture that looked like his fingers exploded. Ill keep that in mind, I said, pulling myself away and shutting him out. Celeste was waiting outside the hotel and I didnt have time for this warning. Even it was true. ********************* It was the hardest workout routine Id ever done. The weights were heavier, I thought my lungs would burst on the treadmill and I felt we were trying to lift the machines off the floor. There was no trainer, just Celeste and I in the top floor of some West Hollywood office building with a fully-equipped gym, a swimming pool and jacuzzi, all the niceties except people.
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Its my gym, she explained. I like to go somewhere outside of my home and work out. I live just up the road off Sunset, in the Hills. The view of Los Angeles from her private gym was superb and the place was top-rate. Like those hotels with the creams and shampoos you can purchase in the gift shop for 300 bucks. The showers were of course big enough for two, and she lathered me up when we were done with this torture. How was I able to do that? A month ago, I couldnt handle a quarter of that much exercise. She kissed my cheek. Youre family. *********** We hit all the big names, and Celeste outfitted me. She had excellent taste. Hermes, Prada, Saks, Neimans, Tiffanys, Cartiers, Barneys---it was a womans shopping wet dream.
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Everything I didnt want to wear then, and there was a heaping lot of it---was shipped to my house. I had no idea what Id tell David. Tell him a big website invested in you and wanted you to look sharp, Celeste said. Besides, he still hasnt noticed that his middle-aged wife is young again. Somehow, I dont think hes paying attention. But hide the jewels. He may take them. I waved her off. He wouldnt steal from me. With so many years together, that much I knew. Trust me about people. He hasnt shown you much loyalty. Oh, and speaking of that, why did you tell Michael about us? I almost gagged on my pasta lunch. I was kidding at first, but then, when Josh made me so young, Michael did notice and believed me. Hes a big kid and does watch fairy tales. I think being called a vampire was better than a fairy tale, she smirked. Anyway, it doesnt matter now. Just dont do it
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again. And dont give him any more air. My mothers got the whole thing under control. Hes producing her next movie. Perfect. That made sense. Michael had a use for Sammi. I just hoped she didnt throw him away when she was done with him, but then again, there werent many A-list producers whod fallen far down enough to make porn and so she and LoveLock had a great deal. The benefits to the our Pornotorium website werent wasted on me either. With these connections, wed be millionaires in a year or so even without the Craven family money. It was all to good to be true, especially when Celeste completed our Rodeo experience with a complete makeover, from hair to make-up to facial, for me. Fully dressed in Stella McCartney, hair tinted and cut expertly, made-up by one of the best in the business, I felt beautiful. Now you look gorgeous, Celeste said, giving me a light kiss and a little cool breath to top it off. Meet Josh at Niyo, you
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know where it is or youll find it. Hell be waiting there at 11 for some appetizers and cocktails before the real work starts. Or not. If you feel youve had enough, you certainly have for at least 20 years. But you are like my brother. You want more. You dont want to lose a day. My choice? Im free to go where I please? I did feel chained. Everything is your choice from now on. Thats the trust we have in you. Take a nap, wait for your husband, or not? He isnt going to be home again, is he? No. But I have other friends. Who I doubt youll find interesting. I was annoyed with her. So smug. You know Im meeting Josh. And sucking up some air.
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Part Two
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Operation
Chapter Nine
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The noise was indescribable. It wasnt that I was old and annoyed by the volume, it was that I heard everything, so clearly, from so many directions, it was glorious. My brain seemed to separate all of it nicely, so I never felt input overload. When I encountered Josh, looking better than even he could, I zeroed in on him and everything went to the background unless I cared it to. The atmosphere was at my whim. It was heady and yet I wanted to run back to Auntie Em in Kansas at the same time. Maybe drive up to Fresno and reclaim my husband. A serious amount of young bodies around us were standing, lounging, sitting on couches, pressed together, drinking, laughing, but I felt higher. This altered state was ten times Ecstasy, or Meth, or anything Id taken. It was part of me, not warring with my chemistry. My eyes saw more, my senses all came alive. With more breath in the brain, everything lit up, I guess. I can never assume.
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Some things Samanites dont discuss, like a lot of what they can do. I cuddled next to Josh on a small sofa and he kissed me, placing his large hand over mind. Everything in my body quivered. It wasnt simply lust, I could feel his power now and it was considerably more than mine. Way more. As trite as it sounds, he ordered oysters (one of my favorites) and champagne (one of the only two alcoholic beverages I drink, the other being brandy.) We nibbled and laughed about the shopping day with Celeste, and he complimented me several times on the way I looked. But I always saw that in you, he said. I asked him the same question I had of Celeste, of being free, and not tied down to the Cravens and the Samanites in some way.
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He seemed perturbed. Of course you can do what you want, although Id like to see you get more practice using your powers. But I thought we had something profound between us. We do. Still, Im an only child, and I always need that sense of freedom. And from David? Hes never around. We both giggled and then suddenly Josh stopped me. I heard it, too, from another corner of the cavernous bar lit only with candles. It was a group of young people, very high, daring each other to kiss each other, male and female. They were from Miami, where girls and boys went very wild. Time to get to work, Josh said, mouthing the last oyster and taking my hand. We wedged our way into the crowd of revellers. They seemed pleased, but I knew they were high and any attractive
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body would more than please them. We exchanged some small talk; they were fascinated by what we did (porn) and of course, the subject came around to kissing everyone again. They wanted REAL kisses. Well, wed give them some. A tiny little girl who was just past eighteen came right up to Josh and pushed her face forward. He cupped it in his hands and gave her a long, deep, Samanite kiss. I could see hed taken some of her age because she looked a little less clueless when he stopped. And curiously, I wasnt jealous. Still, I turned to the tow-headed young man next to me. He grabbed me and kissed me, but I could tell Celeste was right. There was a bitterness to the bouquet, so I skipped it, the taking of air. Josh looked in my direction and nodded, approvingly. Next, I turned my attentions on better subjects. Twins in their early 20s, each surrounding me and begging for a kiss. I obliged, and felt Joshs eyes on me. It was a turn-on. And the breath! So clean and pure at the very top, the taste of, fittingly, springtime.
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They told me their names were Suzi and Swoozie, that they worked in a restaurant right on South Beach. Suzi gave me her card and told me to come to Florida. I could stay with her. I was sure the enthusiasm she had and the trust were all drug-fueled, so I accepted the card, but didnt intend to use it. When I looked at it later, it was her picture and a phone number. A very provocative picture. She was either in the porn business or an escort. I bet on the latter. Josh and I werent greedy. We kissed at most five or six in total, then went off to have a late dinner and chat. I found a new thing about Samanites; they needed no more than one hours sleep four times a day, or four hours in all, and their appetites were quite hearty and cultured, without the weight gain. The perfect life? Having fun? Josh asked, after a lengthy conversation of our favorite movies. How do I look? Glowing. Youre a modest taker, like Celeste.
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I realized then that Josh was so handsome because of the air he took. It wasnt simply the manly face, the right features, the thick hair and large, fringed eyes, it was the glow he exuded. I was amazed talent scouts didnt stop him more on the streets. He said they did and he normally refused, except if it was for a print ad. He couldnt act. He said so, anyway. Sometimes I felt his devotion was some sort of act, but I couldnt figure out for what reason. Taking youth was addictive and I told him so. I also excused myself to call my husband and got his cell phone message center. I suddenly felt anxious, stepping over this steep cliff after half a life lived another way. It was obvious Josh and I would be together, or I would hook up with another Samanite, because it would be hard to indulge this sweet pleasure, have these powers, and yet live with a---normal person? Is that what you called David now? It had to be. I was abnormal. I stopped in the ladies room and got confirmation. All the young, pretty girls talked to me and complimented my bag, my hair, offered to share some blow, which
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I declined. Human drugs. But they would have ignored me a month ago, in fact they had. I was their mothers age then. It felt so good getting a second chance. And a third. And maybeno, I stopped myself. Not another life. ************* We drove back to Joshs house, high in Benedict Canyon. Not a cheap neighborhood. His home was architectually perfect for me, a coral Spanish baronial, set in the woods, where you actually could see deer and other animals run through the forest below from the balconies that surrounded the top floor. That was one amazing thing about LA. Most places took forever to get to, but if you had the money, you could be in the country and with a ten minute drive downhill, you were in the heart of the Sunset Strip, or Beverly Hills. Not a city, but somewhere. Fifteen more minutes and you were at the waters edge.
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Inside, the furnishings suited the man---high-tech but warm and artistic, odd furniture but comfortable. Great alcoves and pieces of art. Stained glass, tall, that would let a lot of light through. The patio was stunning. It was a floor beneath the balcony of the master bedroom, where we stood, rubbing each others arms and back, like old lovers. We had shared something hidden and deep, we had accepted it and revelled in it. The patio was landscaped, but not too much, a tropical environ, complete with Koi pond (large for the fish, nice), spa, and pool with a waterfall. All done in the best of taste. Lovelock, the pornographers and the movie/business/lawyer/doctor elite all lived in this kind of area. Somehow I knew enough about some people in this business to make it work in my mind. Not everyone was a pimp. Many maybe. But not the top studios and the classy independent artists. Look, people still fucked and sucked for a living. Theres no way to justify that except to say that adults can do what they want
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and its a hell of an improvement over drive-by shootings. Europe knows that, but for some reason we dont. And as far as judging, well? I was taking years of life off young girls. Even a year is a great theft. And under the guise of that evil kiss. Yes, evil, in a way. But I was addicted. Lost, somewhere? Josh asked. Is what we do wrong? What philosophical musing! As I said, people take and give all the time. Yes, I suppose its not right action from the Buddhist point of view, but it is a gift we were given for some purpose. Perhaps to make a better machine, an evolution of some kind. My, didnt we think highly of ourselves? But I let it go at that, because he seemed uncomfortable talking about this. Instead, we fell into bed and naturally made love, which got better and stronger and more athletic with each coupling.
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And so this is how we spent the whole weekend, trolling bars at night, sometimes coming up empty. Driving to interesting spots in LA during the day, like the Getty and The Norton. Making love in between, always making love. I spoke to David on the phone, whom I now knew with my Samanite senses was having an affair (like his wife), and since we only spoke by cell phone, I pretended I was home. And I was, twice, to take care of my cats, whe seemed to adore Josh and I and couldnt get enough of laying on our chests and sneaking little breaths, then going off to play like kittens. Everything was perfect, until late Sunday night. Then the walls caved in.
Chapter Ten
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The night had been going well at St. Johns, a new club where the walls seemed made out of crinkled brown paper. It was full, even at the end of the weekend and all were in a partying mood, as though no one had a job. Of course, they were mostly young, all 300 of them squashed together in the cavernous space and trying to dance to music so loud, you couldnt quite make it out unless you were Josh and I, with those super-duper senses. We had found Trina and Michele, two fine subjects, and took some exquisite breaths from each, when we heard a fight, something at the end of the bar. It was like a tornado, and it headed right for me. It, or rather she, was Rhianna Anne, the top Porn Star Id seen just the other day, but now looking haggard, at least 15 or 20 years older. They stole it from me, she screamed in my face and grabbed my neck. Now Ill take it back.
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Before I knew it her mouth was locked on mine, breathing in. But she was not a natural, genetic, whatever you wanted to call it, Samanite, and so I was stronger and reversed the breath. But in doing so I tasted something mustier, richer, more satsifying, and I sucked it in. Rhianna collapsed in my arms. Oh God. Id done what Josh did. I took Prana, maybe enough to kill her right here and now. Get out of here, Josh said, taking hold of her body and breathing into it. Go to your home and Ill meet you when I can. The club was so crowded no one seemed to see anything, so I rushed out, shaking. I could hardly drive home. But I felt amazing, much as it shamed me to admit it. It was impossible to describe but I knew I would now live on way past the people I knew. But did I want that? Josh and some of the Cravens would be around, but what would it be like to have another half-lifetime?
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That wasnt my immediate problem, of course. If that girl died, there might be witnesses, and then cops. Maybe Josh had enough power of something to make everyone forget what they saw. Who knew how far these powers extended? Although they had remained mainly physical until now, I felt different, changed but I didnt yet know how. What was Rhianna Bimbo thinking? And who stole her youth from her? She said, they took it from me. Was it one of those crazy Cravens? ************************** Josh got to my home a few hours later, looking serious, but not crushed. Shell be okay. Shell live? For another 20 years at least.
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I took that much? You took maybe ten years of Prana. Someone else took over fifty. When a Samanite gets to you in a blitz attack, its like a rape, the effects are delayed. Maybe she looked haggard, but not as old as someone made her, and it will start to show soon. I gave her a little back to revive her, but I couldnt, or should I say wouldnt, give her more. Your mother? He took a step back from me. She wouldnt never do that. She takes Prana, yes, but in small doses. Celeste suggested she was greedy and reckless with it. He paused. Celeste said that? Yes. The night she made me a Samanite. That my mother kills people? That I do? Sorta, I mean yes.
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I would watch out for Celeste, he said, and put his jacket back on, as though he was leaving, which I suddenly wanted him to do. I needed to think. Like about Fred Latchman and his warnings about Celeste, his apprehension. And who had sought me out, anyway? But Josh and his whole porny family could be culprits. Maybe other Samanites, other porn stars that were keeping young. Oh no, the latter wouldnt last for long. They didnt have the genes. But did they know that? Eternal youth and health, though, with no plastic surgery. How many regular folk in this city alone would attack for it? I told Josh I wanted to be alone, and he understood. We parted with a sweet crazy kiss, and I called my husband. I knew Id wake him up. It was time to confront him, when his guard was really down. He cherished his sleep. As I had, for over 30 years, cherished him.
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Lets not talk about this over the phone, he said. I can come home this Thursday. Oh, jeez. Thursday doesnt change the answer. Are you having an affair or not? Simple question. And by the way, I am, if it makes you feel any better. There was a long pause, the hint of a gasp at my news. He asked if our marriage was worth saving. He thought it was. And yes, he had a brief fling but it was over now. He loved me too much. And what about me? Did I love the guy? Good question. I lusted after him, and I was tied to him. But love him in the enduring sense? I wanted to say yes, but it was too early to tell, especially after tonight. In the end, I agreed with the first suggestion David made. Come home Thursday, for the weekend, and well talk. We have too many years invested and its been a rough patch.
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We left it at that. I didnt want to bring up, now or later, the fact that I could be an immortal creature who never ages if I wanted. I understood the Samanite way now. Id kissed enough maidens. You want the day back, you take the day. You want ten years, spread it out and kiss quite a few. You want a whole lifetime, take Prana. Celeste was interesting in that respect, I realized. In her job, she did a lot of kissing. A whole lot. Maybe a touch of Prana seeped in from time to time. She might have the largest storehouse and just play demure brilliantly. I went to my computer and finally did some updates for the site. Michael had loads of picture galleries to comment on, and I wrote a very complimentary article about LoveLock. I sent my load of work to him when I was finished. I just couldnt sleep. I even looked up LoveLock and found they were an Indian tribe from the Western United States. Nevada mostly. The Lovelock Paiute Tribe. They didnt have any more information but
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I guessed they had some Samanites among them. The web did have a Lovelock who was an English scientist who saw the universe as a superorganism. That would work for the name, too. Eventually, I drifted off to sleep on my couch in the office, and dreamt, soundly. I was in a world not recognizable in any way, with huge skyscrapers and people everywhere. It looked like a higher high-tech Bangkok or the film Blade Runner. It was obvious what it meant. Did I want to live this long? In the morning, I had the answer. Yes, it might be interestingand certainly challenging. I called Celeste to make a date for lunch and a work-out. I wanted to tell her about the other night, I also wanted more information about everything. She jumped at the chance to meet and picked a tony place on Sunset. My best friend forever, maybe.
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Chapter Eleven
Celeste looked like a Porn Star, but sedate in chiffon, revealing her best features, which included most everything. She exuded an exotic Liz Taylor in her beautiful youth. She was attracting paparrazzi to her table, and they seemed to know her, call her by name. It was an outside spot, perfect for being noticed. And Celestes sharp nipples, almost visible through the outfit, pointed in the direction of the Hollywood sign. She waved me over enthusiastically the moment she saw me and my modest by her standards, but still figure-hugging frock. The day was glorious and we were young. She brought me quickly into the picture. This is my best friend and cousin, Mandy of Pornotorium. The run a great site and we might buy it. Write it down. Its high class smut.
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She just made me a few hundred thousand dollars from all those pictures and mentions in the media and she knew it. I kissed her on the lips aggressively and took air. She didnt fight back, but seemed to demure. The cameras clicked furiously. At that moment, Lindsay or Anne or Paris or another luminary made of clay feet emerged from the restaurant and the photogs left us. Celeste got right to the point. I heard what happened to Rhianna Anne. Theres no reason for that kind of behavior. We give them more youth than they have, and when the runs over, its over. And they turn overnight into hags? No, actually, they usually gain ten years, cheaper than plastic surgery. Someone went gunning for Rhianna, but we have those renegades in the family, too. Were not saints. Certainly not, and neither was I. So it can last on them? The non-Samanite girls?
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Celeste shrugged. After enough doses they stay younger looking for the rest of their lives. But most want the youth to go on forever, and it cant. We do. Arent we the little moralist? She squeezed my waist. We got the gift. They didnt. Isnt that how the world works? A tall, dark young man with striking features approached our table and sat down, first kissing Celeste on the cheek. He had olive skin and straight black hair, and again, those eyes. Celeste lit up. Mandy, this is my cousin, Raj. Or should I say Master Raj. What a lovely addition to our family, he said, taking my hand and placing a gentle kiss on it. Dont give me a bad name with that Master thing. Celeste giggled. But I love it.
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Depends on how serious it gets, I added. BDSM, or Bondage, Domination and Sado-Masochism, could be playful and romantic or hard and painful. It was a fetish I avoided in the extreme examples, but had teased myself with in younger years. A few ropes or scarves lightly tied or porn-shop bought handcuffs did excite the pleasure. Naturally, I was a submissive. So, obviously, was Celeste. Raj was an Indian who spoke with a British accent, quite appealing in that European, women-loving way, but for me, he was not Josh. He seemed to be more Celestes type than mine, the way she was playing with his fingers and teasing him. We had a lovely lunch, talking about Europe and the places wed seen. Raj was just back from Paris and before that, Sedona, Arizona. He loved places of power, he explained, and searched the world for them. He assured me they did exist. At this point, Id believe anything.
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Wherever I went lately, I side-glanced into mirrors and marveled at what I saw. I didnt feel disoriented, though. I just erased 20 or so years in my mind and pretended they never happened. Celeste stood up abruptly after coffee was consumed. Lets go to the dungeon and play. Woah! Play what? Masters and Slaves? Celeste, off course, read my mind. Michael and my mother are over there. Were going to do a shoot. All play, some tickle. Maybe even youll want your picture taken, the way you look now. I would love to tie you up and spank you gently, Raj said. Well see about that, I said, but knew it wasnt going to happen.
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We went to a well-known hotel on the Strip, which was owned by offbeat stars of the real cinema, and seemed to have a top floor that was a dungeon room, castle atmosphere and all. Everyone greeted Celeste warmly. It was only then that I noticed Raj carried a rather sturdy luggage case with him. Of course, tools of the trade. Whips, feathers, ball gags, paddles, nipple clips, the whole range of BDSM merchandise. No Master went anywhere hot without them. Sure enough, Michael and Sammina were waiting on plush carved couch, laughing up a gale. Michael looked ten years younger and a whole lot slimmer. Obviously, he was her boy for right now. I wondered how long it would last. Another man sat with them, not nerdy but atrractive, yet somehow bookish and serious. He was the famed business manager. Matthew Bodine, he politely introduced himself. We must make an appointment.
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I agreed, Then I turned on Michael in front of everyone. Were selling the site? I hadnt missed Celestes slip to the press. Michael looked confused. That was for publicity, silly, Celeste said. We could never do the job you do, and with all the traffic were sending you, you have it covered. In fact, Michael announced to me proudly that we now had 1000 members, each paying fifteen dollars a month. We used to have 150. With that, he handed me a check. He couldnt have looked happier. Or healthier. Raj was busy unpacking his case and laying out implements of pain or pleasure on a banquet table. And yes, it looked like a large castle room, with fireplace, beds, that woody and velvetyfeel, and a few additions. Chains hanging from the ceiling, benches with straps on them, the usual BDSM set-up.
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The bed had handcuffs attached to the wall and all four posters. There were mirrors in strategic places, over the bed and along certain walls. In BDSM, a lot of things could go wrong if you didnt know who you were playing with. The whole key was the safe word. It could be jellyfish or starbright or anything unusual. No as a word was never used because the submissive said no a lot when they were having the most pleasure being tormented sexually. I once went to a secret club in New York where I sat in the audience and saw people being paddled on the ass and whipped until there were huge welts and blood on their bodies, but since then, in the porn business, I only saw light BDSM which was being done for show and the most you saw was a reddened ass or breasts which were tied up in what looked like a most uncomfortable way. The way to tie the knots was an ancient art from Asia, and the way the girl or boy was tied was often artistic.
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For porn actors, the action had to be light, because marks and scars kept them from working that week. But BDSM can also be lethal, particularly for nonprofessionals who connect with people on the web or a party and the safe word doesnt work. There was a serial killer who worked that way on the web and managed to kill six women before they caught him. Its hard to get away when youre tied up and gagged. And you asked for it. ******************* Raj introduced himself to Michael and they got started picking out which gear they would use on Celeste for the photo session. She was already stripped down to the sexiest lingerie Id seen in a long time, barely there and yet complimentary. Of course, in leather and latex. She was having the time of her life, I could see. She huddled with Michael and Raj to lay out plans for the
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shoot, which left me with Sammina. Matthew sat to the side, intent on voyeurism. Terrible what happened to Rhianna Anne, Sammi said. I hope you got some Prana out of it, the way she attacked you. Josh says I got ten years, but someone had gotten a lot more before that. Sammina waved her hand. We set them up in new lives when their Porn Star days are over, in a nice city with a great job working for us. But some of them baulk, and it costs them dearly. My voice was small. But thats murder. Its also the rules. And dont get so uppity about it. Youre taking your share. I feel as though were kindred spirits. Youre a lot like me. Youd like to live longer than an extra ten years, wouldnt you? All I could do is shake my head yes. But Id take it in small doses.
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But whoever did this much harm to Rhianna is a renegade. Its not one of us, I assure you, Sammi said emphatically. Let me give you an example. Theres a lovely young girl named May Storm who worked with us for many years. After her time was up, meaning she was over-exposed, so to speak, and her numbers of fans were dropping, we asked her what she wanted to do. In reality, she was almost 45, but still looked 20 and would probably age just another ten years without us. She told us she always wanted to live in New York. We bought her a lovely condo in Tribecca, and now, believe it or not, shes in the chorus line of a major Broadway show. Now thats the way to accept a gift. Meanwhile, Celeste was getting into all sorts of BDSM poses, tied to the bed with a ball gag in her mouth, then strung from the ceiling so only her toes reached the floor, while Master Raj paddled her and lightly whipped her. There was thin red marks on her alabaster skin. It looked like it stung but she was getting high off it, while Michael snapped his camera and got closer and
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closer. She feigned real terror and distress when called upon, ecstasy at other times. Raj wore a black mask covering his face and it looked at times threatening, and at other times, comical. During this, Matthew Bodine slipped me a package and said, There are all the particulars of your money and investments. Im sure youll have questions, so you can call me. Matthews breath hit me as weird. Too musky, somehow. But he was a cousin, as Celeste calls both of us. Part of the family. Sammi smiled my way. There are many advantages to being a Samanite. Finally, the shoot was over and Celeste had come, or pretended to, about three times. Raj looked pleased but not fulfilled. He pulled out a slinky leather bikini from his case and offered it to me. Not today, I said. Not in the mood, sorry.
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I was glad Id turned him down because at that moment, Josh showed up and went to my side. The nature of the setting for some reason made me embarrassed around him. But so very glad to see his face. Yes, I did love him. And it could endure. I was worried about you after last night, he said. I know this all must be traumatic and sudden. Good words. But we understand, Sammi butt in, Its often hard to reconcile the moral underpinings with the grace we obtain. Not to mention the health, Celeste called over. Ive never felt better in my life, Michael said. So everyone was pleased as punch with this selfish lifestyle but me. Granted, it wasnt as bad as being a real vampire, where you had to kill someone with regularity. Most of the time, all we took was a little youth. Most of the time.
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We ordered room service and naturally, a medieval feast was served, Yorkshire pudding, hunks of Beef, and plenty of wine with flasks to drink it from. The food was delicious, I was going to refrain from the wine, but the mood was festive and so I participated, feeling so very high and untouchable from that Prana the other night,. I knew what that air, that essence felt like now: The opposite of fear, of growing old, and sick and in pain. It was renewal and courage, and I had to have more and stop whining about it. Celeste took me aside. I hear you suspect me of taking Prana. Well, sometimes I do. And heres another twenty years for you. She held me and blew slightly into my mouth a long stream of rich, coffee-like substance that also tasted of licorice. Strong aroma for the soul. But things are what they are. Stunning. Thirty years of life in two days and twenty years off my apperance, perhaps more. One obtained legally, the other under questionable circumstances. Stolen, actually. But with
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Celestes the infusion of life energy, I gave in. I was fully addicted and perhaps thats what Celeste wanted all along. She smiled my way. I didnt crave her like Josh, but I felt something deep with her. I could make love to her. Just not eat pussy. ************** As though he read my mind and needs, Josh took me away from the dinner, after a cordial goodbye to Raj and a lukewarm one to Bodine. I wondered about that. You need to go on a little trip, he said. No Samanites, no air sucking, just Catalina Island for a few days with me. I couldnt disagree. Even getting to Catalina was breathtaking. I flew for the first time in a heliocopter that took off from Long Beach. From above, I could see dolphins and whales jumping in the sea. Josh was pleased with my delight and I was pleased with Josh.
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He had rented a suite overlooking the magnificent bay and I couldnt believe it wasnt in the French or Italian Riviera. Actually, many movies supposedly set in those locales were actually shot on Catalina Island. There were loads of nice restaurants, tourist shops, and winding streets to walk and talk without interruption. I think we really got to know each other there, in more ways than one. Josh made love to me to various different ways, including tying my hands with silk scarves to the bedposts and lathering me with love. No matter how many times I protested that I had come enough and needed some air, he kept on going. It was delightful. Maybe Raj had inspired me. I asked about Raj and Bodine while we were walking hand in hand along the shore, looking up at the decorative hillside and the magnificent manors built by old robber barrons, which were now mainly theaters and museums. But some were still private
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residences and you had to envy their view of the half-moon Catalina Bay. Raj is a good guy, Josh said. Hes very modest in what he takes and he sees being a Craven and a Samanite as just a great way to have fun with his subs. Hes rarely harsh, though. Id call him a gentle master. And the financial genius, Matthew Bodine? Josh frowned deeply. The man was a wizard with money and a Samanite, like you, by genetics. Lately, though, hes lost a lot in these phony hedge funds. These Ponzi schemes. Sometimes I wonder if hes dipping into the till. We dont really need him because we have my father, but its a lot of work. Worst of all, if you asked me who was taking too much Prana around here, Id say its him. Pays to stay around for several centuries when theres all that cash to be made.
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So the mild-mannered financial advisor is the villain once again! I laughed, though it wasnt funny. Its just that I should have figured it out. That night, our lovemaking was unusually gentle, and when we took a break, Josh looked at me intently. Im in love with you, he said. I know how sudden and crazy all of this is, but youre my ideal woman, and I like you so much as a friend, not to mention loving you every other way. I paused, but I knew. And I love you, too. I get frightened about it, because I lived a whole other life, but Im accepting that its done now. My future is with you. With that, Josh blew into me a slight touch of a glow. Mustnt take too much in the next few months, just here and there to keep the magic looking fresh. Already youre too young, too fast.
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Couldnt have been fast enough for me, buddy, I thought. But he was right. Surgical procedures and drastic diets could only explain so much. Lucky I had virtually no life and friends in Los Angeles, other than Michael and the porn group, or I would have had a problem with someone who noticed. I would tell David on Thursday. He could keep the house. Id just move my stuff into Joshs place. It was agreed. The three days in Catalina, without any activity of the paranormal kind had cleared my head. I was headed for a new life. The minute we got back to the Long Beach depot where the helicopters took off and landed, my world was rocked again. I picked up a paper laying on a bench and saw the smallish headline: PORNSTAR RHIANNA ANNE FOUND DEAD
Chapter Twelve
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We will get this settled for once and for all, I told him back at his apartment. I want the truth, or nothing more to do with him. Just how often do we kill people? And you think this is Bodine or someone else? If you love me, youll give me the answers. He was having trouble getting out the first few words. It happens, he said. Maybe once, twice a year. With the Renegade Samanites like Bodine, or by accident sometimes, when the taker is too enthusiatic, as he was. But we werent like vampires, who had to kill constantly to maintain their lives. Yes, we had to draw the youthful essence out of young girls to stay fresh and beautiful, and that was in a sense, wrong, too. But thats all we had to do. Or like me, we could walk away and choose to take the extra 50 or so years I had and the extra 20 of youthfulness. I could never take another drop of anything and age from now onwards. Or I could exhale it all into someone else and go back to where I started.
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To take Prana in little bits was a hard choice. The person could lose one year or a lifetime. And it wasnt as precise an art as learning how to take Samana. Either you accept this or you dont, Josh said. One or two a year? That I know of. Its a big world and there are hundreds of us. I was in too deep for hypocrisy. I had rationalized too much for my new, improved life. It was part of me now, that was what taking the Prana did, I realized. Then let it be, I said, embracing him. Ill try to do my best and not take Prana but it will happen one day, Im sure. Meanwhile, a little Samana here and there never hurt a girl that much and Im not giving anything back. We sealed the deal in the bedroom.
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The doorbell rang frantically, persistently. When we threw on some clothes we were met with a startling sight. A frazzled Celeste and a beautiful tall blonde, barely 20, whom Celeste introduced as Amber Lee and I remembered from the shoot as being their next big star, rushed in. Amber, go in the next room with Mandy, Celeste ordered. I resisted at first, but Amber ambled upstairs and I followed her. We both went into the bedroom and I gave Amber a little kisss, just for some added perk. While Amber rattled on about her career and how she once gave the best blowjobs in Texasand won an award at a motorcycle event for it---I trained those Samanite ears downstairs, where I could easily hear everything. Its Bodine again, isnt it? Celeste said to Josh, so softly I could hardly make it out. But I did, and Amber didnt seem to notice that I was nodding a lot while she was gabbing.
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Probably. When I saw he was in town and not in New York, and that Rhianna would cost us money if she kept making pictures, it made sense to me. How can we keep associating with him? Ask Mom. He makes us too much money for her to cut him off. Then what I heard next shocked me more than anything so far. We could get Mandy to take him out. She has the most Samanite genes. Shes the strongest. Josh hesistated. Shes not going to kill a man. She just isnt. She has problems with this whole thing to begin with. With the Prana. Does she know what shell gain? Four, maybe five lifetimes? I think shes more interested in this one.
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And she doesnt have to kill him. She just has to take his Prana and teach him a lesson. I was holding my breath. She doesnt even know. And it could be dangerous. Shes a relative stranger and we tell her that shes the strongest of us outside of Dad? Dad? That ever-changing wimp, Harold Craven. Dad does more for the business than Bodine ever did. As for investments, Dad is excellent at that, too, but Mom never gives him the chance. Hes so smitten with her. And now that she had Michael to produce the pictures, Dad could fill the spot nicely. I was in for another surprise. Okay, you deal with Mom and Ill deal with Mandy. She may be new to this but we love each other, Josh said. Celeste laughed. Shes smitten with both of us, dear brother.
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Then she called for Amber, who dutifully came out of the bedroom where Im sure she heard nothing, and I heard everything. She wouldnt understand it, anyway. I wasnt sure I did. Come on, darling, were going for a facial. Care to join us? Celeste asked me. I looked from Josh to Celeste. I knew where Id get the truth. Sure, I said. Let me just finish dressing. Josh looked like hed been bitten by a wasp.
****************************** Beverly Hills. Most expensive spa. When Amber was having her facial, which she needed like a fish needs a bicycle, I grabbed Celeste aside in the meditation room. We were alone, the way I wanted it. And I realized long ago, I could want things and make them happen. Long ago in Samanite terms.
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So when were you going to tell me I was Queen of the Samanites? Celeste did her demure giggle thing. Im sure there are others with even purer genes. We dont know. We run into our own kind by accident. We smell it out, as I did with your writings on the web site. But when we did the ritual, I knew. You werent ready to hear it. So now Im the hit person for Bodine? Hed killed five of their girls in three years. It was becoming a danger. Even though they did an autopsy on Rhiannas body, and found natural causes, the police still made that porn connection and talked to Sammi. Was Rhianna using drugs? Did she have a disease? An inconvenience at best, a very bad rap in the industry at worst. I realized that was why Josh took me off to Catalina. He probably knew. I had to work on toning my senses and intuitions more, and Id get all his subtle motives for charm.
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Besides, you dont have to kill him. Just take him down a few pegs. Five lifetimes? So give them away. Ill take one, give one to Josh and the rest my mother will gobble up. I smiled. No thank you. I get them, I keep them. Youre coming into your own, Celeste said with a smirk. And what if I make a mistake and he dies? Then the world is minus one more financial thief, like one less lawyer, which he also is. He wont stop doing it. So he stays around us, makes us money and we watch him. And how do I subdue this guy?
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Facial time for me, Celeste looked at her watch. Leave the plans to me. Hey, maybe afterwards well have a massage in the same room, just the two of us. It sounded strangely appealing. The massage, that is. ******************* Later, after Bunny or whatever her name was, oh Amber was sent home, and Celeste and I luxuriated next to the pool after our joint massage, I asked her about her father. Originally, where he was from a few hundred years ago, taking Prana was accepted. Hes changed his face cosmetcally over the years to show hes aging by knife. Anyway, he hasnt taken anyone in 100 or so years. None of us take the whole package, except in bits to keep our health, weve evolved out of it. And scum like Bodine have to be taught a lessson. Leave him with his own life alone.
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I asked her how Bodine would be taken. He would be drugged at The Castle Craven, and then handcuffed by Raj if that became necessary. But we were going to tell him what we were doing, since we werent rapists, just hypocritcial avengers. He got greedy, and for a society like Samanites, greed was not good. It made us vampires, not just seekers of eternal youth. And a few more good years. *********** I went home and thought this through. I would be a murderer. Sure, maybe Bodine (I wasnt convinced) was the culprit, but those lives were still taken. So I would be the second killer, taking them again. On the other hand, they would be taken by someone, that seemed clear. I didnt want to live forever, so Id give them away, all but one, which was enough for me. Without realizing, it I had stepped way over my own moral line with the Cravens. Ethical line.
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It was a little too much. I reached Josh on his cell phone and asked him to come over. He could tell I was crying and nervous. He said hed be over in 20 minutes and he was. I cant take those lives from Bodine, I blurted out. And what about the bitterness in men Celeste told me about. Do I get that, too? He wiped the tears from my eyes. We can take the bitter part away, but you can aim for the Prana, it will be instinctual, and avoid that. Anyway, you dont have to do it. Celeste can, or my mother will. Well be meeting for a conference at our house next week, which is when it will be done. It has to be done, to set boundaries here, at least in out clan. Celeste? I thought she was against this. Thats why I dont completely trust my sister. She says one thing, but often she does another. But come into my arms and youll feel better. I know you dont want to desecrate your husbands bed, but theres a perfectly good couch here.
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He was right. And as always, Josh calmed me down and drew me into things through sex. I could not resist the man. His perfect body. His deep, probing kisses. Tonight, he laid me back and insisted on doing everything. After kissing and massaging my whole body until it tingled, he went to work down below and stayed there for over a half-hour. Then slowly he entered me, first with gentle thrusts meant to tease, then with firmer action which sent me over the edge countless times. When I felt his sperm shoot into me, warm and copious, I didnt even think about protection, I just came. My Samanite nature knew we were both clean. Ill talk it over with the family, and well see how this should be handled. But well go to the Big house on Wednesday night, a full moon. It adds to the atmosphere, I find. Leave it at that. And as far as you being stronger than my mother or Celeste, thats bullshit. Theyre just testing you. So Im not the Queen Samanite.
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You have very strong tendencies but theyre stronger. And Im sure there are others in the world who could overpower them. Weve just never encountered it.
Chapter Thirteen The break-up with my husband is just too painful to describe, and I might go into it another time, but I cant just now. So many years down the tube. He said I could stay in the house and hed go back to Fresno (to Janine or Janet, whatever), and that I could move out at my leisure if I really love this guy. I do, I said. And this marriage is over. But lets not make it messy and get one divorce lawyer so we arent caned with legal bills. I knew my Craven money was well-hidden in corporations and tax shelters and David wasnt the greedy or vindictive type anyway.
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He drove back the next morning after sleeping on the couch where Josh and I had made love. I wondered if he could smell anything. My whole soul was in upheaval. I was leaving my life, albeit a pretty empty one, for an entirely different existence. I was moving in with Josh and gradually moving over my things with the help of an elite moving company hired by the Cravens. When Celeste and I went to work out at her ghostly gym, she couldnt be happier. Now, youre like my sister, too. I asked her about Bodine. Hes made some bad investments for us lately, given the market, not your money but other areas. And with this taking of girls, he must be brought down a peg. I warn you, though. At the ritual tomorrow night, my mother wants you to take part. Well do the heavy breath lifting, but you must take the Prana of one life. It seals our bond, and gets rid of this on-again, offagain attitude of yours.
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Today she soaped me up extensively, and actually got me off with her breath and fingers, which has more than a little bit of practice. It seemed the Cravens manipulated though sex, but then that was their business. What did I expect? I went straight to meet Michael for lunch. He looked REALLY good and couldnt be happier. That Sammina is a pistol in bed, he blurted out in his gruff fashion. And Harold doesnt mind? They have an open marriage. Seems theyve been married such a long time, it works for them. And as long as I dont have to fuck him, I dont care. How much do you know now about them? Michael smiled broadly. That Im producing movies, and I look 15 years younger. Im not looking or asking any farther than that. Good, I said.
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Is there something I should know. Am I in danger? I know I could lose it all at Sammis will, but is there something else. No, I lied. I just wanted to make sure you knew it may not last. He shook his head. I dont know. Im producing more polished product at the same cost than they paid out before. Im working on Frisky Business and then The Playtrix right after that. And the Matrix knock-off will have mild special effects. The porn industry with their stupid versions of hit films names never ceased to amuse me. As long as youre happy, I said. Never been happier. He didnt ask about me at first. Then he sort of remembered. And the sites pulling in about two hundred thousand dollars at this rate. I have the check right here.
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And there it was. Mikey and Mandy Productions. Blood money. Or rather, air money. I did notice he was dressing a lot better, like myself. Those stylish Cravens.
**************** I was called to Sammina and Harolds house the night before Bodines downfall was to take place. Celeste and Josh were absent. Are you up for this? Harold asked. Until now, I wasnt sure he was in charge of anything, but his tone was all business. We know you have your doubts, dear, Sammina, in a totally see-through robe, leaned in and touched my arm. Im not taking five lives or four lives or Its five, Harold said. And we dont expect you too. Celeste and my wife will get things started, and then you can have
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the final burst of Prana. If you want to give it to Josh because of your conscience, thats your choice. We will all disrobe, Sammi said. Except for Bodine, who will be drugged by his wine at dinner. And then Raj will mount him on the bed, handcuffed gently by the arms and legs and we will mount him and kiss his Prana away, telling him why and what just before he become really out of it. I shivered. What? Harold asked. He looked like the King of a Castle tonight, in his green velvet robe and pajamas. Its just that Bodines not my type. I faced two sour faces. This is not Josh. Its not a love affair. Its business. Its theft to be exact. Theft performed on a thief.
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I nodded. Actually, even though I was feeling more and more like a Samanite, a minor super creature, I didnt really understand. But like Michael, I was happy with this, and I wasnt giving it up. So everything is set, then? Sammi asked I felt compelled. I leaned over and kissed her gently. Thank you for everything. Hey, she said, on my way out. You are one stone cold fox now.
****************** And so the night of the affair came. Only the Cravens and I were present, which included a happy Raj, telling tales of his newest conquests and BDSM games he liked to play. Bodine suspected nothing. He was supposedly there to discuss finances. I looked at him more closely this time. He didnt appear excessively young, which made sense, because it wouldnt be an
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asset in his business. He wasnt interested in the youth-giving Samana, only in the Prana. On that score, he was a sinewy man in the peak of health. His hair, skin, everything just beamed. Finally, it was time for desert, at which time Matthew was yawning. Sammina started the conversation. Matthew, we know youve made some bad investments, and we know youre taking Prana from our girls, in some cases killing them. There was no need for that. Matthew tried to sit upright, but was having a little difficulty. Now in his eyes you could see he knew something was off. Those girls were liabilities. They were too old and over-used to make any more films, and they didnt want to take any deals. They just wanted to cause trouble. Then you should have come to us, Harold said. Celeste, Josh and I were silent. I had a feeling we were all pretty nervous.
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Raj moved quickly behind Bodine and handcuffed him. There was some struggle. What are you doing? Are you mad? What a stupid question. We were all mad in this clan. We are taking back those lives, each of us. And well leave you with yours. But if we ever catch you doing this again, you wont have yours. And if youre thinking about making trouble, as you call it with the girls, theres lots of SEC violations the policia would be interested in. Matthew slumped, and we all removed our clothing virtue of Samminas request. The handcuffs werent very tight, so he felt no pain, and Harold and Raj carried him into one of the large bedrooms, the one with the stripping pole and the beautiful view of the valley. There he was strapped to the four posters with ropes, handcuffs removed
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for some reason, all executed by Raj, who even smacked him in the thigh with a paddle, hard enough to draw a bruise. But mostly, it was civil. It was stange being naked with this whole family, but on some level it seemed natural. And of course, everyone was lovely. What more could you expect in LA for an act of vampirism? Celeste went first. She had a blue feather earring on, just one. She forced his mouth open and she sucked and misssed and sucked and would occcasionally spit out any bitter air she took in, but she kept on sucking, deep and hard. Then she turned to me. I got rid of the bad stuff, so its up to you two now. I took one life. Sammina will follow you. She will take one. Which leaves three for you. Straddle him and force his mouth open when youre kissing. Its easy for someone of your Samanite strength. But it was more than a bit difficult. Sitting naked on Bodines lap, sucking out other peoples lives, and kissing him so deeply
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wasnt a walk in the park. Then I thought of what I was getting. A whole new life to correct my mistakes. No wonder Harold didnt talk much. He knew too much and when to shut his mouth. Hed lived it all many times before. A whole new life. I suddenly craved Bodine and sucked out a bouquet very different from the other, this one like rich Java freshly made. When I was finished, I offered around all but one life, which I would keep. Not three lives, that was too much. Bodine was looking wan and saggy, middle-aged in fact, having lost so much of his juice. Everyone hesitated. Harold and Raj bowed out, but Sammina, who had not even drank from Bodine yet, quickly held me and took one of the lives. Celeste took another, which did and didnt surprise me. And Josh, though reluctant at first, decided we would even out lives, so we could stay together as long as we wanted.
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I felt exhilarated, as Sammina took a last kiss from Bodine and the ritual was over. I knew that I was now in peak form, both from the standpoint of appearance and health. And I had become a vampire in my book.
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Chapter Fourteen
The powers of a full Samanite with a healthy dose of Prana for at least one extra life of perfect health aroused every one of my senses. Perhaps it was this feeling that helped me overcome any ethical or moral problems, both of which I didnt seem to have right then. The Cravens were a different tale. I realized that all but Josh had told half-truths and in the beginning made it seem that all one took was a simple breath of youth, when in reality they craved much more. Perpetual beauty, perpetual health, and longer lives. Celeste had been the most coy about her cravings, but now she was my sister, and the Cravens were my family, so I excused the duplicity involved in the winding path that had led me to where I am now.
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I could hear and see better than any ordinary human, my strength was considerable, and I often had what you could call intuitions that always turned out to be right. Josh and I trolled the bars from time to time for fresh breath, and I indulged in kissing young girls at photo shoots done by Michael. I stayed out of the porn scenes being shot with Celeste. It was the only puritan leaning left in me, mainly because I did not want a filmed copy of my excursions that would be uploaded to the Net and therefore last forever. After three months of living with Josh, life just got better. When we werent working on my site or a film, we made love twice, three times a day. The orgasms he gave me were another addiction, and a healthy one at that. No one had ever done with their tongue, fingers and cock what he could solicit from my body. And still, he remained a loyal friend and perfect, intelligent gentleman.
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All went along smoothly. I filed for divorce; Josh and I planned to marry. And then it happened. I read an article in a popular magazine about how all the young Hollywood club kids and stars were looking a little ragged lately, and I started to smell a new rat Samanite in our midst. The first thing I did was show the article to Celeste, who shrugged it off, as did the rest of the clan. They did tell me that in England and in South Beach, Florida there were Samanites they didnt trust. I was left with the nagging feeling that one or more of these rogues had come here. Most of the girls who worked for LoveLock were under contract, except for the bit players. And we started to notice something about them. Only a Samanite can truly see the aura, the bloom of true youth, and we werent seeing it in the new girls. Something was wrong.
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I should have given you credit, Josh said, as we looked around Haven, the newest hot bar. Fresh young beauties were scarce, and this had happened almost overnight. This is not one person working alone, I said. It seems like all of L.A. is being robbed of superficial young lovelies. Celeste heard through the grapevine that even mainstream Hollywood started complaining amongst themselves about the girls sent over from casting agents. They just didnt have that spunk, that fresh appeal, and they were hard-pressed to find a new crop for their movies and TV shows. It felt like a virus striking Tinseltown.
********** Celeste volunteered to ask around and see who was new in town. She would audition for them and see what was going on. I
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was more than a little bit worried for her, but she insisted on investigating alone. In the end, it was me who found the culprit, from a most unlikely place: Fred Latchman, who had warned me about Celeste. Theres a big glitzy new agency in town, he said, And I think you should know about it. Why me? Well, youre hooked up with the Cravens and they usually find the most beautiful girls. But this agency beats everyone. The only problem is that the girls only make one or two films and pose for a few photographers, then disappear. They change their mind about the business or something. Whats the agency called? I couldnt believe what he said next. Air Productions. AIR for short.
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How brazen a name if they were the ones! And with those kind of balls, they scared me. I thanked Fred and told him Id look into it. Boy, would I look into it. The first thing I did was inform Celeste, who in no time got us invited to a debut party AIR was throwing in Hollywood on Friday. Josh insisted on going along, as did Raj, who did look scary in his leather suit with spikes, all six foot three of him. We dressed to the fashionable hilt---except for Raj--- and not the least bit obscene. Porn parties were funny that way. The producers often brought their wives along, so there was a limit on sexy girls hanging around. Outsiders rarely knew that, so the geeks who fought to get on the party list ended up talking to themselves. Parties at conventions were different; they often turned into true orgies, but not local gatherings held mainly to make contacts and do business.
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AIR pulled out all the stops. They even had these stupid little canisters with their logo which released a winding puff of meringue smoke meant to be air. The food was continuous and first rate and the place was full. And yes, this time, there were a lot of beautiful young girls around. An impossibly handsome young man came up to us, actually to Celeste. Im Ian Dean, he said, with a slightly fake British accent. Weve just moved out offices here. You are the LoveLock people and we have to sit down and talk business. Weve brought the most beautiful array of sweet young things over from Europe and I know youll want to use them. Maybe, Celeste said. The smell of Samanite reeked from this bloke. It was no coincidence. They were intending on replacing our girls with theirs. They obviously didnt understand that America had 50 states, all full of nubiles ready to hit the state line and head West to show off their wares for considerably cash.
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This is Josh, my brother, and our cousins, Raj Craven and Mandy Greene, said Celeste in a whispy, girlish voice. I nodded pleasantly and knew with my special intuition that these guy meant us no good at all. Do you run the agency by yourself? Oh no! Youll see three of me at this party. Were triplets. Ian, Bryan, and Colin. But come, lets meet them. After all, were sort of family, arent we? So he did have balls and no intention of playing it straight. We were wondering why all the young girls around here seem to be losing their bloom, Josh said, frowning. Losing their bloom?, Ian laughed. Look around you. I dont see any hags here. Only the juiciest for our kind. He brought us to Colin and Bryan, who did indeed look exactly like Ian, except for the clothing and a hair astray here or
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there. Ian definitely had the most sophistication, Colin looked sullen, and Bryan seemed disinterested with us. Wed like to talk somewhere private, Celeste said. Ian ignored her and turned away from us, and soon we lost site of all three traitors in the swelling crowd. A nubile young redhead with nothing on but a thong brushed against Celeste and kissed her. She wasnt pushed away so she certainly wasnt taking anything. Actually, Celeste looked pleased and glowed a little more. Which figured, because the only thing startling about the near-naked beauty was that she was another Samanite. For some reason, my senses came alive at that point. There were dozens of Samanites in the room speaking all different languages. German, Russian, French, you name it. But not one of them was American. And none of their accents were real. My hearing was too acute to put that one over on me.
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I think we all understood at the same time. It was a rape of this country and the stronghold we had on the porn industry. So much for a global economy.
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Chapter Fifteen For the first time since we came together, Josh and I did not make love that night. I never got to talk to the Deans (as in Bodine?) privately and eventually we all skulked away. Even though it was the middle of the night, we gathered at Castle Craven for a conference. The house, which usually looked and felt magnificant, had a somber tone. Here was a threat I certainly didnt know how to face. Somehow, a large group of what we determined were Ukranian Samanites with carefully disguised accents had formed an alliance to take the porn industry out of America. They would drain the Americans just enough, and then replace them with their own people.
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Our agitation grew until Harold sat us all down and Sammina was still smiling. So its come to this, Harold said. A war, of sorts. And what are we going to do about it? Celeste asked nervously. He touched her gently on the shoulder. Were going to fight back. First we open an agency of our own. Call it by our own name, which gives it credibility. The Lovelock Agency. From there we recruit girls. Theres certainly enough of them who want to be in this business. I also know several Samanites in this business and in the legit one, and Ill warn them. And yes, to answer your next question, Mandy, there are legit Samanites who keep their top stars looking young with the friendly little kiss. The stars dont know whats going on, so they think theyre invincible.
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In the agency, everyone rejects the girls who are Samanites, I said. Exactly. Their Samanites. We build up our own stable of beauties and surround them with the green shield. Josh interrupted. The shield is given by stroking their arms. It makes sure that the beauty and whatever else they have from us cannot be taken away. Weve already done it you without your knowledge. Youve done a lot to me without my knowledge, I snapped. Now it was Samminas turn. And I have to take a trip, where I cannot tell you, and settle this outrage. You see, there is a Chief Counsel of Samanites where I am going and the rules they set must be obeyed. One rule is that everyone has their own territory, especially in businesses that require superficial beauty and youth, like cinema, porn, modelling.
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These Dean triplets are breaking that rule by coming here and draining American girls. This whole conglomerate must be stopped. I knew that our invaders were Ukranian and ran some of the most dark sites on the web. Fake snuff films, torture films that looked too real, and rape videos. They were hard to find but their fans somehow knew how to get there. And they changed their URLs (web addresses) whenever they sniffed any trouble from the authorities for breaking the rules. How can we stop this operation? I said. There are Samanites, just a few, that can take the Prana right out of your body a thousand or more miles away. They can kill you from just about anywhere in the world. That is the Chief Council, and its about all Im allowed to know about them. But when they send out a rule, no one dare disobey. Her speech stopped me dead, literally. I had been dragged into this to escape the ravages of menopause and somehow ended
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up in danger of dying by someone, somewhere in the world, just breathing in? It was time to opt out, and I said so. Then youre not the woman I thought you were, Josh said. You have great powers and could be used in this fight, but all you really wanted was plastic surgery! I looked into his eyes and my heart hurt. No, no. Im just scared. It seems like the AIR people mean business in all senses of the word, considering how much money theyll be making, and I dont feel as though I have great powers. It was all too much again. I started to cry. And again, it was Celeste how put her arms around me and kissed me with a dose of Samana. Josh, dont be cruel! She loves you and you know it. Id be scared too if I was only involved with us for less than a year.
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Now he held and kissed me. Shes right. Im sorrry, my love. And dont worry, Ill protect you in any and every way I can. Or the other way around. Raj piped in. The Master without courage, it seemed. How do we know the Council is with us or against us? I have no doubt theyre on our side, Harold said. But thats one of the reasons I would like everyone to move into our home just so were not scattered. At least until Sammina gets back and all is back to normal, which should be about three weeks. The place youre going is that remote? Everyone nodded. My nerves couldnt take anymore so I didnt dig deeper. Outside, the famously ill winds, the Santa Anas, picked up and battered the house. Lucky I didnt believe in omens, just paranormal societies.
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Josh and I indeed didnt make love that night. There was a slight rift between us, and I suppose we both had our reasons. Time would heal this wound. ************ Michael, who now looked in his 40s, didnt understand why we would be picking the girls he shot for his new hit, Frisky Business 2. So I had to tell him (I had gotten permission) and he freaked. Ruskie vampires are coming after us? Dont use that word, although youre right. But were Samanites, not vampires, and we dont take lives. It never hurt to tell a little white lie about the Prana part. Just the best part of lives. That did hurt. We sat in the room with the stripping pool where he was shooting his next scene. Curiously, as far as coincidence, it was a triplet girls on girls scene. They slouched in
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the corner, totally naked and out of ear shot. Everyone in a while, theyd finger each other or tweak a nipple. They were ready to go. I told Michael not to worry and eventually he understood the reason for the rule. But as a visual artist, it did cramp his style. He saw qualities in faces and bodies that others could not. He knew who the camera would like, or even love. Michael had already moved into Castle Craven a few weeks ago, since he didnt want to commute and was busy most of the time producing movies. Although top quality porn films were much like regular films, they were done in a month, not three or four, so the industry could keeping churning out product for mens and many womens insatiable desire. To see live sex up close and personal and in any way they chose at the video and DVD store or Net. Or even on their cell phones.
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Chapter Sixteen Celeste would not be stopped and no one else was visible in the massive house to do it. Theyre not dissing me, those AIR bastards, she said, wrapping herself in a thin velvet shawl. Im going there ajnd telling Ian off. Sammina had been away a week, and so far Harolds plan seemed to be working. Since there was an endless supply of young girls from around the country who chose not to work in a fast food restaurant and had no inhibitions, The Lovelock Agency filled up
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with applicants from the day it quickly opened its doors in the huge structure on Hollywood and Highland, right across the way from a top modelling agency. Josh joked that if the girls were rejected for fashion, they might decide on another route and cross the street. Actually, he turned out to be right. Since modelling now took shots that bordered on porn, quite a few of the girls who werent thin enough or didnt photograph perfectly were glad to be shot by our photographers for sexier poses. And more than a few had no problem with porn, as long as they were making money, so they went straight to auditioning for XXX movies. And we carefully screened who we used. Since some of our girls were from Europe, we were cautious in making decisions on who to take. No lips from AIR were robbing our stock. But Celeste was adament. Personally, I thought she was intrigued with Ian, a large departure for her tastes. Since I couldnt
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stop her, and there was no one else around, I reluctantly agreed to go. AIRs offices were in one of the new large New York style lofts now fashionable in LA, located in Hollywood and Downtown. AIR was right in Hollywood, on the boulevard at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine. The receptionist was not a Samanite, just a beautiful young thing, and when she announced to Ian that we were at the desk up front, he was there in a flash. How good to see you, he said. I have a meeting in a half hour, so I have some time. Lead the way, said Celeste It was very clear this was Ian and not Bryan or Colin because of our intuition and because we could see auras. Unfortunately, Ians held the most hostile colors, despite his warn demeanor.
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His office was spare and spacious, his walls lined with posters of beautiful young girls shot by truly talented photographers. He offered us some soda, wine, or harder stuff. I knew that he meant cocaine because I just did. Strange for a Samanite to need an extra high of any kind. Celeste cut him off. We want you to go home and stop raiding our girls. Stop draining our stock to replace them with your own. His face was filled with puzzlement. Raid your girls? How Cut the crap, I said. Were all Samanites here and theres more than enough business these days in Europe to use your own young beauties. Ians nasty side came out then and his accent wavered. Business is business and that means competition. America has
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had the lions share of this revenue long enough. Your stronghold, your economy, everything is collapsing around you. Just accept it. Be that selfish and see how long it lasts. I shot her a deadly look. There was no reason to reveal that there was a Council of Elders or whatever. Ian and his brothers might be totally unaware of it. I grabbed her by the arm. Come on, Celeste. Theres no reasoning with Eurotrash. I couldnt hear what he said as we sauntered out, but I didnt care. Until a short time later when we took our car out of the garage. Tires squealed behind Celestes Jag and we found wed picked up a black Hummer on our tail. They were close enough to see that the mammoth car contained all three Dean brothers. They kept on our tail through the traffic and we came close to having quite a few accidents. They eventually followed us to the Hills,
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which wind around, higher and higher, with no guardrails and deadly drop-offs. Many a car and life had fallen prey to those hills. Celeste bit her lip so hard it bled and I said nothing. They were trying to kill us. That told me two things. We might die, and they obviously didnt know about any Council. Or were they just vicious and getting back at me for that Eurotrash remark? It happened on one of the turns. They got right alongside of us and banged us over the hill. When you have an accident, your mind blanks out for several seconds so all I remember was rolling downward through bushes and glass smashing. When we came to a stop, I regained my senses and looked around. The airbags had saved us both, but we had various cut and bruises from the broken windows and badly dented car. I went to call 911, but Celeste stopped me. She coughed up a tooth, the airbag had hit her so hard. Give me the phone.
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The conversation was cryptic. I knew she was calling Josh or Raj but didnt give them directions to our location. I concentrated and realized I had a picture of exactly where we were in my mind, like a GPS system. They were there in no time. They got us out of the car, and then released the brake and aimed the once pristine Jag downward, so it would be lost in the canyon below. They put us in Rajs large Mercedes, cursing the Deans and us all at the same time. What were we thinking? And boy, they wished they could drain the Prana out of every single Dean cell. They laid us down in Celestes room, on that large bed, and breathed into us. Raj for Celeste and Josh for me. I could feel the cuts and bruises healing at a fantastic rate and thanked the gods I was a Samanite or we both would have been in the hospital for at least a week. Sleep, Josh said, and we did.
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************ There is a certain quality in every creature, especially the male ones, that cannot release the impulse for revenge. All Raj and Josh talked about at dinner was how we could avenge this travesty. Celeste and I kept reminding them that these were petty human feelings, not those of a Samanite. In fact, AIR went down in my estimation today. Do they think theyre in an action picture? I asked. Celeste agreed. There are other ways to take care of it. What? Josh exploded. The woman I love and my sister were almost killed by those thugs. Were not movie vampires or spooky magicians. I didnt even know about this Council until my mother mentioned it. So that might have answered my question. If Josh didnt know, then the Deans might not, too.
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I think they were just showing us that we all are humans and we all could be killed, unlike vampires, Celeste said. I agreed. They could have picked a much more dangerous spot to run us off the road. They wanted injury and fear, not death. Well, if they want injury, lets give it to them, Raj the dominant master puffed up. Look we totalled the car and called for you to keep the authorities out of this fight, said Celeste. We dont need to cause any more trouble that might attract attention. With that, everyone fell silent. That night, Josh made love to me like never before. He kissed and stroked every part of my body, oiled me up and gave me a massage, and then went to work on my pussy. By the time he was done, I felt like a being composed of only sexual desire, I was so turned on. It didnt end when we went to sleep, either. I passed slowly into slumber with my whole body pulsating and wanting more. A few times in the night we both fell into each others
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bodies and his stiff cock stayed in me through my deepest sleep. It was an amazing feeeling. Yes, I loved this man and I counted on him to keep me safe.
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Chapter Seventeen Several days passed as we waited for word from Sammina. Harold assured us that as long as stayed out of AIRs way, we would be fine. His voice had an uncertain quality to it after he heard about Celestes and my accident and he gave us strict warning to do our business as usual and count on the Council. Actually, the tide was turning in our favor. With the agency booming and the right girls picked for our website and films, LoveLock was doing better than ever. Oh, we carefully selected the studs, too, just in case. Then Raj disappeared. We were scheduled to do a dungeon scene for Satans Spawn and Raj never showed. He was supposed to play a cruel master who kept a stable of happy submissives chained up in his barn for regular beatings and faux rough sex.
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Raj, himself, had been staying in the luxurious basement apartment. The most disquieting thing was that everything was still there---his car keys, wallet, his clothing. There was no good reason for him to be a no-show on the set. So we sent out the word through the BDSM community and came up empty. He had vanished, you could say, into thin AIR. Oh, we all suspected foul play from those terrible triplets, and two days later, we were proven right. Raj showed up at our door barely clinging to the frame, having been tossed from a speeding car to the front of our house. He looked thirty years older and pretty ill. But again, instead of bringing him to the hospital, we took care of it Samanite style. Because he had been so drained, Harold took care of most of it. I didnt find it strange to see two men kissing, in fact, thats not what I saw. I could see the Prana and Samana flowing into him from Harold, and after he was done, Raj looked almost his own self again.
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Celeste and I contributed some more fortification, and eventually, all was set right. But Raj was humiliated by having to tell the story, as you could hear by his soft voice and halting sentences. They took me from off the street at the end of the hill while I was taking my usual morning walk, and threw me in that van. They told me they were going to teach me a lesson about submission. And this was no fake or ordinary BDSM. This was extreme, but I stood the pain, the beatings, the degradations. They fed me nothing and talked little. They were making their point. Turns out Colin is the dom there. He gave me the worst beatings. And trust me, there was no safe word. Those pricks filmed the whole thing. They sent the tape to you and to several of their sites. If you go online now, youll see it. Please delete it. Of course, Josh said, and he and I went to the computer.
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It was really too horrid to watch all the way through. We gave Raj the dignity of removing it quickly. Out of nowhere, Josh embraced me. I love you so much, I want you to stay out of these peoples way. Theyre Russian Mafia thugs, thats all there are, with, unfortunately, our power. But I dont feel its that strong, or they wouldnt be using these kinds of rough tactics. Besides, I know its not that strong. I just dont want you or Celeste pulling what you did the other day. Do you think they import girls, like slaves, the way they do in that area? Fred Latchman told me the girls only do a few shoots and films and then disappear. I am sure of it, he said. Stay here with me and stay safe. Meanwhile, tonight Ill hack into all of their sites and shut them down. I think I know where to look. Theyll probably have them back up and running tomorrow, but its a more civilized way to make a statement.
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I kissed his full mouth. I love you, Josh Craven. And I, you. But youre forgetting something. In two weeks theres AVN. We have to start getting ready. And Im sure theyll crash the party. Calling the annual AVN Convention in Las Vegas a party was like calling a Bentley a Honda. One year, when the convention was previewed on HBO-TV, there were over three million visitors filling the massive Venetian Hotel on the strip. Anyone could buy a pricey ticket and the crowd was decidedly male, all ready with their digital cameras and camcorders to lovingly record every part of a naughty girl. The stars were all out, signing pictures, and the lines for the favorites could wrap around a block. One Japanese dude had a lesser porn actress pose with her legs open (for some cash) and he filmed the exact same shot of her vagina for 30 minutes. Well, fetishes will be fetishes.
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All the big players had elaborate booths, large enough for a family to occupy. Booths ranged from the major DVD and online distributors to the smallest sex toy shops squeezed together in aisle after aisle. In the back, almost in hiding, were mainstream publishers like Harper Collins, promoting their erotic line of books. The legit area was growing every year. In fact, one editor told me that the only books that were selling big were either religious or pornographic. That made sense to me. Americans have always had trouble with sex and religion. They take their faith too stridently and their sex too harshly. The ironic thing was that the two often met, as in every Evangelical minister caught in womens undies with some prostitute. But that just shows that a battery needs both a strong positive and negative end, that the swing to the right equals the swing to the left. Nothing in excess, as the ancients said. But back to AVN. There were distributors of ceramic sex dolls, of full-sized sex dolls for personal use, more vibrators than
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youd need to start a quake in L.A., and so on. The convention was conveniently timed to run at the same time as the massive Computer Expo, so the nerds could hug real flesh. Or at least get a signed postcard. Josh reeled at my remark about AVN, more because he was behind on getting materials for our presentation and booth. But he also realized the implications as far as the triple Deans. All those late night parties, all that contact, the bastards could do a lot of damage. Well, considering the crowd, a fair amount. I dont think the whole Ukraine is over here, and you know thats how crazy it gets. Its hard to single people out. Celeste caught the tail end of our conversation and piped in. Well, well just have to stay on our tippy toes then, wont we? As it turned out, Joshs hacking into AIRs sites was most effective and it took them four days to get back online. So he did it
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again, over and over. The got back online more and more quickly, so eventually he stopped. Meanwhile, we stayed indoors to do our business. We may have super powers but not over hot-tempered Ukranian hit men. Harold had roused the whole Semanite population, it seemed, because calls and e-mails kept coming in. We were well-fortified for battle. At least it seemed that way. So we prepared for AVN, where what happened in Vegas REALLY stayed in Vegas. The booths were arranged, banners, all our samples, our stars were ready with their outfits, along with a million other details that had to take place at the biggest business conference of the year. Of course, the size and quality of the booths and party favors (calculators, notebooks, pens, T-shirts, mugs, all with the companys logo) had a lot to do with who had the biggest balls. Who was richest and most important to the game.
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There was still no word from Sammina, but the rest of us made a joint decision. Lovelocks booth would have the most sofas, the best HDTVs and computers. In other words, the biggest balls. And every single person working that booth, whether normally in porn or not, would be a Samanite. We even scored about a dozen Hollywood celebs. This was going to be something, I just wondered what.
********* Meanwhile, I mused on some moral and ethical issues at night, creeping out of bed from Josh and sitting by the large pool. What had I become and was it worth it? I had jumped from a boring upper middle class housewife to something else, someone young, beautiful and fiercely strong. But the expense was troubling. There were more and more girls out there who werent
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selected for roles because they looked 21 instead of 19. Even others who would live a year or two less because some Prana was taken. The fact that I hated LA and most of the beautiful people in it wasnt the point. If given the same opportunity in New York, would I have taken it? Of course, there werent as many young beauties there nor as many porn shoots. But there were plenty of clubs with gorgeous to average-looking girls. Yes, I finally decided. I would. Anyone given my chance, barring the purest soul, would jump at it. Sometimes when I passed a mirror I paused and gazed. The full-length ones were the best. I was training with Celeste and I had a petite, perfect body with a lot of sex appeal and no visible fat, except for my large, C-cup breasts. My hair was now free of dye (how that happened I cant explain, like many things), so the shine, bounce and true blackness was back. There wasnt a line on my face or an enlarged pore. No jowls, no laugh lines, no signs of
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being a smoker around my mouth. In fact, I knew that the prana had turned my lungs pink again. My pussy had even tightened back up and rose higher on my body. Yes, I was a stone cold fox and a selfish one at that. And I was proud to call myself a Samanite. In less than a year, when my divorce was final, I would also be a Craven, part of a distinctly upper-class dynasty. If I wanted, I could work in the Hotel or Resort Divisions with Harold, and have nothing to do with porn. I could even write a book, or better yet, open up a quality publishing company. There was only one thing that really weighed on my mind now. Was I really such a strong Samanite? And would that mean that if there was a battle with the Deans, would I have to take a life? I believed in Karma, and I believed that no spirituallyminded person could do that. But what if it was to save Josh or Celeste?
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*********************** Raj was feeling down, so we made him a little party. Michael set-directed the whole thing to look like an elegant dungeon. We assured him that there was nothing he could have done. If it was Mandy in that posiition, it would have been different, he said. The whole room looked at me. I glared back at them all. I dont believe it, I said. Harolds been here probably since the Middle Ages and Sammina seems to be Queen of the Samanites. Harold stepped in. It is your genes, and why we never found you before is one of the mysteries of the universe. Thats why you succeeded at everything you did. When I was young, I reminded him. Well, youre young again.
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Michael, ever the commanding director, stepped in. So test her strength. Have someone try to take Prana or Samana from her and see if she can block it. Then see if she can be blocked. That could be fixed to convince me. But why have to convince you? Harold asked. Take Josh or me, or Celeste. I didnt want to kiss my future father-in-law and I didnt want to diminish Josh in my eyes. So Celeste it was. Everyone made a circle around us. We pressed out bodies together and locked on to each other mouths. First Celeste inhaled, harder and harder, and somewhere in my being I was able to form a gate that she could not pass. She tried for the high notes and the low ones, but she never got through. Then I went to work and when I applied a little strength to break down her gate, a change came over Celeste. She looked
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tired and old, and sagged in my arms. I immediately returned what I took and she recovered. Her eyes were as wide as a full moon. You got the power, girl! Everyone applauded. It was like being in a perverse wrestling match. So I made a decision, there and then. If I was SuperSamanite, I wasnt staying locked in any house, doing business only online. If I encountered a dragon dressed in red, Id slay him.
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Chapter Eighteen That night, lying in bed after a rousing, almost rough bout of passionate sex, in which I let Josh take the dominant role (which I liked anyway), he assured me that he didnt mind nor envy my powers. Yes, you will be compelled to protect those you love and are connected to in our community, he said flatly. I wouldnt want the responsibility. Sammina and Harold always took that role. Never you? Im afraid I have less than half the power you do. And half of the powers you have youre not even aware of yet. None of us are. We just know that you are the strongest Samanite we have ever encountered. And I count on you protecting me. You dont mind?
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He mock-bit my nipple and slid two fingers into me, almost lifting me off the bed. As long as you know whos who in this respect, Im proud. Hey, wait a minute, buddy! Hell, Mandy. Youre smarter than me, more talented than me, and have more Samanite in you than an army. You just like to be the little girl in bed, dont you? I actually giggled. I rarely thought of David these days. He was part of another world, perhaps happily living in Fresno with his lab technician. Josh was my soul-mate, the love of my life, and nothing had come before the here and now. Because I was growing in powers each day, I was forced to be a Zen warrior. Be here now. That presence would be known at AVN.
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You know, its lately come to my inner attention that the Deans only have a flock of 30 women Samanites here that keep rotating, and none of them are very strong. Josh nodded. As we said, thats why they use these crude tactics. So why not take them out right now? Before AVN? He laughed. Joan of Arc leading an army! We could do that, but theres only one of you and if you say so, 33 of them. And gathering everyone in LA together would attract the tabloids and all sorts of other attention. AVN is like La Cosa Nostra. Our thing. And what happens there, wont stay there, itll kick their asses all the way home to some tundra. No fatalities needed. I held his large cock in my hand and massaged it. I hope so, sincerely, I said. *************
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Im sure youre wondering what my powers had become and evolving still. I could lift a truck if I had to (and I did, just to make sure); hear for five miles; read minds at times; see so sharply it almost hurt; have glimpses of the future; know many things about people just by shaking hands; make anyone like or dislike me; move at an amazing rate (I could win any marathon going); and curiously enough, know that I was now exactly 180 years old. Talk about being young for my age. Of going back and forward and back again. People also saw me the way I wanted them to. I suppose that was why The Deans didnt catch on. But I could not stop a speeding bullet or anything of that nature. I was not indestructible, just much less fragile than most other people around me.
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******************* Celeste and I had mansion fever, so, knowing I was pretty safe, I took her to our gym, instead of using the much smaller one at home. We worked out for two hours, and I literally didnt sweat at all. I always had this power; it was knowing it that made all the difference. She ran her hands over my well-toned, shapely body. How beautiful you are. How different from when I met you. I laughed. But Oz didnt give anything to the Tin Man he didnt already have. We had to start the process or you never would have known how to do it and who you really were. There was no thought in my next gesture. Just love and gratitude. I pulled her to me and began to kiss her, stroking her arms. No special air was exchanged, just loving sexuality. The
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encounter moved to the shower, then to the benches and eventually the mats. We made love, both of us taking and giving an equal share of pleasing each other. I even enjoyed pleasing every fold of her pussy and tasting her puffy nipples. And although it wasnt the same kind of sex as with Josh, it was both exciting and comforting. Im in love with you, Celeste said. I put up my hand to stop her, but she grabbed my arm. Look, I know youre straight and that youll never dump my brother for me. I just wanted you to know. I love you, too, I said. Just not in love. And trust me, well get through any trouble that arises together. ************* The awareness was hitting me gradually. All of a sudden I had gone from a dumpy, middle-aged housewife to some kind of mini-superheroine, with great looks and excellent health. It had happened gradually, and I believed my Samanite family when they
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told me that they never knew how strong I was until my powers unfolded and grew. I was still the same person in my brain, with a lot more self-confidence, of course, but also with a certain shakiness about taking over this role. I tried to focus on all the tasks I had to do before the AVN conference, but the strangeness of my world now kept distracting me. Sometimes, just sometimes, I wanted to go back to the good old days of being a simple human growing old. There had been benefits to that, familiaritiy, and it was pretty late in life to change into a different creature entirely. Not that I was ungrateful. I just felt, as the book was called, A Stranger in a Strange Land. And my relationship with Celeste bothered me, too. I loved Josh in the normal way, at least as normal as we could be, but his sister had become more than a friend, there was no doubt about me. I enjoyed being with her, and also making love to her, although it wasnt something I yearned for, as with Josh.
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That night, I decided to come clean with Josh and tell him what happened at the gym. He wasnt the least bit upset. Look, kissing all those girls aroused the bisexual nature that exists in all of us, but especially Samanites, he said, and then he frowned. But I wouldnt encourage it, because Celeste is much more enamored of you than you of her. I wouldnt want to see her hurt that way. He was right. So I made the decision to stop more erotic physical contact, before we had a triangle and things got out of hand. We had enough to worry about with the Dean boys.
***************
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Chapter Nineteen Sammina returned the night before we were scheduled to leave for AVN. She looked refreshed, and happy, which was a good sign. Things will be arranged at this conference, and these renegades will be sent home if they know whats good for them. They are breaking serious rules, draining girls in this city, and misusing their own. But fate will take its course, and no one, hopefully will be seriously hurt in the process. Then she looked at me. You may have very strong Samanite genes, but not the experience to know how to use all your power. So dont go looking for a fight, just, well, go with the flow, wherever that may take you. Look out for Michael, too. Hes coming with us without any powers. Ive placed shields of energy around him, but you know
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how bossy he can get, and we dont want him angering the 33 Deans, worst of all the triplets. That struck me to the bone. Michael was my best friend, and I would never forgive myself if something happened to him. I would make sure a Samanite was always with him, although in the throngs that attend AVN, that might be impossible. ************** To get a suite in the hotel the convention was in, you had to book at least a year in advance. The Lovelock clan had seven suites, and we found out that AIR could only book four rooms, so a lot of people had to be sharing beds and floors. It was a small detail, but it was also a symbol of the power we had in this community. We went to check on out booth and it was glorious. It had been made up to look like an old-fashioned harem inside, where people do business. Around it, were huge banners of our movies and stars. On the floor, we were right up front, next to Vivid,
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Wicked, Jenna Jameson Productions, and a few other major players. You didnt have to fight your way through the huge convention floor to find us. It was the night before the convention opened to the public and the place was still jammed. We saw the AIR booth, way back and in the middle, hard to reach. The people who were notified by Harold and who ran the convention had certainly taken note of ther problem. Business was also being done tonight, before the hoardes of fans were admitted the next day, when its hard to even move through the aisles, let alone, add a new feature to your website from another company, or form alliances with affiliate sites to bring in more traffic. As I mentioned, everyone had a party favor to give out to the public with their logo stamped on it. Ours was a nice key ring with large red rubber lips at the end. Upper lips, that is, not lower.
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Harold and Josh were wheeling and dealing, so Celeste and I decided to take a walk around. We were amazed at how the number of booths had doubled and how many variations of the theme of sex could be displayed. At least 25 major toy stores had booths the size of small retail outlets, and were ready to sell toys to the masses. Similarly, there were costume shops, mask shops, loads of booths selling BDSM equipment, and companies that produced videos, DVDs, or websites from, it seemed, most of the countries in the world. Girls wearing almost nothing moved through the crowd handing out invites to parties that night, and trinkets from various companies. Screens mounted from the ceiling showed various scenes from movies and even single performer had their computers clearly displayed to show how they fucked, gave blow jobs, whatever, on camera. People were texting each other frantically, partners looking to close a deal from across the room, and you could stand back and
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see it all. At AVN, America did not look like a Puritan country, and humans were definitely obsessed with watching porn in all shapes and sizes, from 80-inch screens to cell phones. As I predicted, in the back aisle were rows and rows of publishers, from the mainstream and from those who only distributed porn books and magazines. There were also a sizable amount of X-rated comic and graphic novels being displayed, and most if it was first-rate. Celeste and I stayed clear of the AIR booth, having had no run-ons or incidents, even after Josh had hacked their site so many times. We decided to get something to eat in the large cafeteria area, and found ourselves sitting right next to the Deans. Well, hello ladies, good to see you again, Ian said pleasantly. Quite an event, isnt it? I decided to keep up the friendly tone. You aint seen nothing yet. Wait until the crowds come in tomorrow.
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Then something strange happened. It was like Ian had not noticed me until that moment and his face darkened a bit. He didnt say anything, but I think he suddenly knew he was facing a formidable enemy in me. But an unpleasant surprise awaited us. Amber Lee, who had been of one Celestes favorites, destined to be a Lovelock Porn Star, came over to the Deans table and sat next to Ian. She began kissing him profusely, no doubt a show for us, and when she sat back, she absolutely radiated beauty. We thought we had protected her with a shield, but it wasnt working. Sorry, Celeste, she leaned over with a phony smile and said. Ill do the pictures I contracted with you for, but after that, Im an AIR girl. There was a long pause before anyone spoke, so I filled in. Whatever you want to do, Amber, I said, hoping to defuse Celestes ire and cause less trouble. Celeste got up from the table. She couldnt contain herself.
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A fatal mistake, Amber, she said. Im suddenly not hungry anymore. Mandy, lets go. Theyre still raiding our girls, she said in an ice cold voice. Hey, I stroked her arm. Calm down. If what Samina said was true, everything will work out perfectly. You believe that? I know it, I said, and I did. I could read Ian and knew he wasnt as confident as he acted. ************ If you dont want to get any sleep, and party with beautiful men and women, partake in all varieties of drugs, go on a boat trip with semi-clad females and sometimes (rarely) score a touchdown, then AVN in Las Vegas is the place to be. You have to be ready to push gently through the crowds, though, because a whole lot of other people want to do these things
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and are willing to pay fees from $75 to $300 to do it. If they get lucky, it could cost more. The first indication I got that Sammina and Harolds clan in Los Angeles, no less the mysterious Council, was how the AIR group was generally avoided, even ignored. They tried to do business and make friends with everyone, but few except our Amber took the bait. By the looks on their faces, I could see they didnt think porn infiltration of OUR businesss would be so hard. They were about to see how hard it really gets. Thursday and Friday, both on the convention floor and at the private parties, were a complete bust for AIR. Some of the really minor players and toy stores talked to them, but that does not a porn empire make. Meanwhile, our booth was filled with people, both doing business and taking free pictures of our stars, who were all out posing and signing our autographed posters in force. It was like we were putting on a gala, and AIR was throwing a childrens
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birthday party for a very small group of toddlers. Their booth was certainly glitzy and large enough, just virtually empty. The public, which were allowed in Friday, Saturday and Sunday, were out in throngs, as usual. In fact, the Porn Nation seemed to grow at this event with every year. And there werent just men; a good half were couples, looking for a new kink, toy, site or whatever to spice us their sex life. They behaved beautifully, even though naked porn actors had pictures taken sitting on a mans knee. The man never got out of line, nor did the women. Of course, there were guards and bouncers throughout the crowd, making sure there was no trouble, but there never seemed to be. At this point, I wished there was security for renegade Samanites, or, as Id come to think of AIR, Prana Vampires. When girls disappeared from their roster that frequently, and considering how they treated Celeste and I, the V word had to be
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used. Who knows where their girls went? I didnt want to think of it. The AIR folk mainly kept to themselves but the 33 Samanites did wander through the aisles and when we encountered them, they looked away. In feline behavior, that meant they were getting submissive to us and didnt want a fight. But a fight was what they were going to get, even if it was a bloodless one. ********************** The highlight of the event was the presentation of the AVN Awards, which were attended by both Porn and Mainstream celebrities. Everyone was dressed suitably, meaning even I wore a slightly revealing halter dress in chiffon. Some men wore suits and tuxedos, as did Harold, to let you know this was a business. The Porn Stars who were about to receive their statues, a glass trophy shaped like a penis in a vagina, were the most decked
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out. Some of them, in fact, a lot of them, had invited family and friends at $300 a ticket. This was their Oscar night, and the funny thing was that they played it straight. Almost everyone got some kind of recognition, even if it was Best Supporting Actress in an All-Girl 3-Way Sex Scene. There were regular awards as well, such as Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Art Direction, and Cinematography. There was Hall of Fame Inductees for Stars, Founders, Internet Founders. Even Marketing, online and offline, got their honors. But the most amusing part of the event was how a porn actress who got Best Tease Performance, went to the platform and dotted her eyes, thanking her agents, make-up crew, producer, director, family and God. If the room wasnt so gaudy with red velvet walls and the crowd wasnt so bizarre (Dennis Rodman wouldnt look out of place here; in fact I think he was there, along with Gene Simmons from KISS), youd think you were at the Oscars.
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AIR won nothing, but of course, they hadnt been around that long to produce much material. We took home about 60 awards, a record for LoveLock. The gesture was clear. Everyone had our back. After the almost maddening three hours of this farcical celebration, the real festivities kicked in. There was a party, again costing $300, that pulled out all the stops. Free bar, great food, and as the night wore slightlyon, naked girls who had too much to drink, or perhaps, nothing at all but their exhibitionism. As the party was in full swing, I noticed a tightening of people in the middle of the enormous ballroom. And I recognized many of them. They were movers and shakers and stars from our side of the Atlantic. I pushed my way through and found Celeste, beaming. It was like a high school yard where a fight was going on, and everyone crowded around to watch, and in this case, partake.
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Celeste held me back, but lightly. Our side was kicking some serious ass, although to the outsiders it would only seem as though a mob was strongly kissing a bunch of people, who were getting weaker and older before my eyes. I joined the fun and aimed for Ian, who was frantically trying to escape the hall. So you think you can take anything from me? he barked. I know I can. And I did. With strength I did not know I had, I grabbed him and took in enough Samana and Prana to turn him into a sixty year old man, and he didnt age well. A few times he almost got through, but my gate was too strong, and he was becoming weaker and weaker. Just before he hit the floor, I saw Celeste and turned him over to her. When she was finished, he was unconscious. I felt his neck. A regular beat. She had left him alive, as I knew she would, but now he looked more like 80.
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Josh rushed to our side, but seeing that the girls had handled the matter well, moved on to make sure every renegade Samanite had been neutralized. Sammina and Harold were doing an excellent job themselves. How or who took these wan, aging creatures out of the hotel and dumped them in the back alley was anybodys guess. The same way the clueless reporter in the next issue of AVN called the party a Porn Woodstock, with a kissing fest to boot, a modern celebration of the rites of Pan in our times. Right. Or maybe she knew and was just mocking the affair. Some people read the review and laughed, and others thought it was really a love feast. Whatever. AIR closed its offices the next week, and without a world, disappeared from our lives and no doubt, our country. Samanites waged wars that they obviously could win, unlike the government.
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Epilogue After we were sure the renegades we knew about were gone, life returned to normal. Fortunately, Michael had stayed at the edges of the fray, so he just thought it was a wonderful event, and the party had grand food and babes. He started working on his next film, The Taking of Penelope, 1-2-3. Everyone in the press commented on how lovely the LA girls appeared again and didnt question it, because they didnt have an in or a clue. We were sure there were groups like this springing up all over the world, but we would fight and triumph. You can take just a kiss of Samana, and no more, was the new rule. At least for now, and at least for most of us. Raj felt avenged by draining five of the villians with some help from Josh, and neither Harold nor Sammina cared to talk about the Council or about my powers. Which was fine by me.
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The night before we left our opulent suite in Vegas, Josh had taken me into the six-person Jacuzzzi tub and lathered me up, washed me down, and made love to me in positions Id never even thought of. But every one of them was a winner and I came more times than there were awards at the AVN gala. Will you always protect me? I whispered in a little girl voice. Yes, my dearest love, he said, cradling my flawless, youngagain body. We will always protect each other. That was the happy ending I was looking for.
-end-

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A Stealing Kisses

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Morgan Stealing Kissses

A Change of Life Transfusion

By Roberta E. Morgan Copyright 2009 by Roberta Morgan

Morgan Stealing Kissses

Morgan Stealing Kissses

George Santayana (1863-1952)

Morgan Stealing Kissses

Morgan Stealing Kissses

Morgan Stealing Kissses

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Morgan Stealing Kissses

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