Chapter 7

At the dinner table, Randy was surprised to see Groton sitting there when he arrived, glaring around in a defiant, sullen manner.

"We're not formal around here," Ava explained. "There's no reason for Groton to eat in the kitchen just because he's the caretaker. After all, this is a democracy."

"I wholeheartedly agree," said Randy.

"So do I," said Sherry, "as long as we use the table for eating."

Ava shot her a sharp glance. "What do you mean by that?"

Sherry smiled in that catty way of hers. "Why, nothing, dear. You can use a table for whatever purpose you like. But I've noticed certain traces of ... ah ... shall we say love, on the kitchen table recently. I prefer beds myself," she added softly.

Ava's eyes flashed angrily. "You don't miss anything, to you, Sherry?"

She smiled sweetly, her angelic face as innocent as a child's. "I try not to, Ava."

Randy devoured his salad hungrily, listening to the exchange with amusement. More than once, he felt Gina's warm gaze on him. She looked fresh and radiant after her shower, her eyes shining with happiness, so much so that Sherry couldn't resist commenting on it.

"You look exceptionally happy about something tonight, Gina. Find the pot at the end of the rainbow?"

Gina stared at Randy, smiling. "I guess you could call it that."

Sherry's eyes turned to Randy. "I see what you mean. If I were you, Gina, I'd be careful. Someone might steal your precious treasure away."

"There's no danger of that," Gina said.

"Don't bet on it," said the blonde softly.

Randy spoke up. "As Gina said, there's no danger of that. I can vouch for the fact that a woman like Gina has no trouble holding on to anything that's hers."

Gina blushed at the compliment, smiling gratefully at Randy. Sherry's eyes narrowed. "I still wouldn't bet on it," she said.

Ava grinned with obvious pleasure at Sherry's discomfort. Her sharp voice cut like a blade. "It's too bad there aren't more men to go around. I guess this is the kind of situation that separates the girls from the women."

Sherry's eyes blazed, but before she could reply, Groton spoke up, to everyone's surprise.

"There wasn't no mess," he said in a surly voice. "There wasn't no mess at all on the kitchen table."

Sherry turned to him. "How do you know?"

Groton thrust his face in hers. "'Cause I cleaned it up, that's why!"

They all burst out laughing, even Ava. Groton looked around, puzzled.

"What in hell's so funny?"

"Don't be a clod, Groton," said Ava. "Eat your dinner."

Groton resumed gnawing on the piece of fried thicken. he held in both grimy hands, his head bowed over his plate, his elbows making a protective circle around his food, as though guarding it against invaders. He ate with loud smacks of gusto, pausing occasionally to wipe his chin with the back of his hand.

"Don't bother to use a napkin, Groton," said Sherry. "They're only for decorative purposes."

"If Groton wants to eat like a real man, that's his business," Ava said. "To hell with all the little niceties. I like to see someone enjoying their food."

"Even at the risk of getting more on his shirt than in his stomach?" retorted Sherry.

Gina interrupted with a sigh. "Don't you two ever stop going at each other's throats?"

"It's only a game," said Sherry. "We even played it when we were children. I always win," she added in a sly voice.

"This is one time you won't, let me assure you," said Ava, her sharp features suggesting some secret weapon.

"I hate to interrupt this pleasant conversation," Randy said, "but I'd like to ask some questions." He turned to Sherry. "Are you certain you've never discovered any hidden passageways in the house when you were a child? You must have done a lot of playing in the house. Children are natural explorers."

"I told you earlier, I found nothing. And I never did any exploring. That was Ava's favorite pastime. Especially if there were any boys in the vicinity."

"How about it, Ava?" asked Randy.

Her eyes narrowed. "Have you discovered one?"

"No," Randy lied. "That's why I'm asking."

Ava's hard face relaxed. "I never found anything, either. I've seen the original blueprints of the house, and they don't show anything other than the actual rooms. So I suppose that settles it. There aren't any."

Randy turned back to Sherry. "Have you ever done any modeling?"

Sherry' grinned. "Only in private sessions for special friends. Would you like to sketch me? I'd be more than happy to model for you without a fee."

"He's already booked up in advance," Gina cut in hotly. "And don't forget it."

"Specifically," continued Randy, ignoring Gina's outburst, "I meant modeling for sculpture. A statue, perhaps."

He watched her reaction sharply. A frown appeared on her smooth forehead. "No, never. Not even for any sketches, actually. I suppose my idea of modeling is different than yours. I've never done it professionally, if that's what you mean."

Ava's voice cut in sharply. "Why do you ask that?"

"Curiosity," said Randy, "that's all. I was thinking of doing some sketches. It's a hobby of mine."

"And what's the matter with Gina's equipment?" asked Ava suspiciously. "She looks like she's got more than enough."

"The hell I have," Gina said. "I've got just the right amount."

"I've already sketched Gina. As she said, she's got just the right amount. But I'm looking for variety."

"I can give you plenty of that," Sherry offered.

Randy decided it was time to change the subject before a free-for-all brawl ensued.

"Tonight," he said, "I don't want anyone to leave the house, or do anything unusual. Just keep to your normal routine as though I weren't even here. If you spend the evening watching television, then watch television. If you usually go to bed early, then be sure and do it tonight. But don't deviate from your customary pattern. That's important. Is this clear to everyone?"

They all nodded assent, except Groton, who was absorbed with a drumstick.

"Is that clear, Groton?"

Groton looked up. "Is what clear?"

"Don't worry," Ava broke in, "I'll see that he follows instructions."

"Funny," murmured Sherry, "how Groton won't take orders from anyone except Ava. I'll bet he gets some awfully interesting orders, too."

"Wasn't no damn mess on the kitchen table," Groton said, through a mouthful of chicken. "Always clean it up."

Talk about a one-track mind, Randy thought. Still, he had to admit Groton was ideal for someone like Ava. Not too bright, with a generous portion of muscles, willing to take orders without question, she probably used him to his full limitations, squeezing him dry and then waiting only long enough for his body to regenerate so she could squeeze him dry again. Probably an ideal existence for both of them.

"How are you going to go about investigating our elusive ghosts?" Ava asked.

"Simple observation," Randy replied. "It's just a matter of waiting and watching and listening. Sooner or later, we'll trap one."

"How do you trap a ghost?" asked Sherry. "With a net?"

"If they're real ghosts, of course we can't trap them. But if they're phony, we'll snare them, don't worry."

Ava suddenly stood up. "I'd better get started on the dishes. If you need me for anything, Professor, I'll be in the kitchen. Come along, Groton."

She took two armfuls of dishes and went toward the kitchen, followed by Groton.

"I can't get over that man's appetite," said Gina. "I swear I saw him eat four helpings of chicken."

Sherry stood up, grinning. "Groton gets more than his share of exercise, believe me. Don't be deceived by Ava's tiny body. She's a man-eating tiger on the inside. Isn't that right, Doctor?"

Gina turned a surprised face in Randy's direction.

"I suppose so," he said noncommittally. He decided then that the petite blonde might be a very pleasant companion in bed, but the prospect of being with her constantly could be very wearing on his nerves. Her sharp tongue always found its target.

"I'll be in the library watching television," Sherry said. "The reception is lousy up here, but it's about the only pastime we bachelor girls have. Until bedtime," she added, with a grin at Randy.

She left the dining room, walking in a deliberately sexy manner to display her ample, round ass.

"Well," said Gina with a sigh, "I'll give her credit for one thing. She doesn't beat around the bush when she wants something. She's a hot little cunt, to? What did she mean by that crack about Ava?"

"When you took that short nap this afternoon, Ava made a pass at me. She was rather ... ah ... forceful about it."

Gina shot a baleful glance at the kitchen. "Well, that bitch! Imagine, trying to rape you in my room. Of all the nerve ... "

"She can't help herself," said Randy. "She has a type of illness that torments her body with constant excitement."

Gina's eyebrows raised. "Nymphomania?"

Randy nodded. "I'm pretty sure of it. So I can't really blame her for trying."

"I guess not," said Gina. "Poor Groton. To think that a tiny creature like Ava is sapping that big hunk of man dry. He's like a slave to her."

"This may surprise you, but my guess is they're very happy together. Groton doesn't have the type of mentality that would interfere with his male functions, so he's sort of a machine to her a willing, thoughtless machine that gratifies her incessant demands. No normal man could satisfy an oversexed woman like Ava, but Groton is just perfect. In return, she takes care of him with a steady job."

The lights in the house dimmed for a second, and Gina glanced up nervously. "What was that?"

"Probably just the television switching on. The wiring in this house is old."

Gina stood up. "God, if the lights go out, I don't want to be alone. Where are you going now?"

"I'm going to search Ava's room while she's busy in the kitchen. Want to come along?"

Gina grabbed his hand. "Just try leaving me behind."

As they went up the staircase, Gina asked, "Why are you searching Ava's room and not Sherry's? Especially after seeing that statue today."

"I've got a hunch Ava knows more about it than Sherry. Don't ask me why, because it's pure instinct, but I believe Sherry is sincere and knows nothing about that hidden passageway or the love nest. I studied Ava's reactions tonight, and I'm convinced she knows about it."

They turned at the top of the stairs, walking softly. "What do you expect to find?" Gina asked.

"A key perhaps. I'm dying of curiosity to know what lies beyond that padlocked room."

Ava's door was unlocked. They slipped into the darkness of her room and closed the door before Randy switched on the lights.

When Gina saw the mirrors everywhere, she gasped, "What do you suppose she does this for?"

Randy grinned. "I'll give you one guess."

Gina nodded. "I get it. I'd say it has something to do with her nymphomania, that she gets a sort of double excitement out of seeing herself and her partner at the same time." Gina ran her tongue along her lips as she glanced at the mirror over the bed. "Frankly, it looks pretty wild."

"Down to business," said Randy crisply. He went over to a chest of drawers and pulled the top one out. It was filled with Ava's under things. Gina made an exclamation and pulled out a pair of authentic, leopard-skin panties and a matching bra.

"She may not show much on the surface, but that girl knows how to dress where it counts. Expensive stuff."

The second drawer was filled with similar things. As he rummaged around, Randy's fingers felt a piece of cardboard and he pulled it out. It was a snapshot of a man. Gina peered over his shoulder.

"That's-that's the man in the statue making love to Sherry," she said. "But what's Ava doing with the picture?"

Randy shook his head and put the snapshot back in the drawer. "I'll have to ask Ava that. I wonder if there are any similar pictures in Sherry's room ... "

"I have an idea," Gina said. "I'll go search Sherry's room while you're searching this one. We'll meet later in your room and pool our findings."

"Good girl. Be careful, though."

"Don't worry, I will. If anything happens, you'll hear my scream."

She slipped out the door and closed it softly behind her. Randy went back to the chest of drawers. In the bottom drawer was an exotic collection of gold and silver-sequined panties, and an odd assortment of pasties pointed nipple-covers used in show business by strippers. He decided she probably wore them for her own amusement and titillation.

He went over to the closet and found an expensive-looking collection of boots and high spike heels. He stood there for a minute, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, trying to put himself in Ava's place. Where would she hide a key?

He went over to the bed and threw back the covers. The sheets were black satin. He felt under each pillow, finding nothing, and started to reach beneath the mattress when a sharp voice behind him snapped, "Lose something, Doctor?"

He whirled around, startled. Ava stood there, her thin face pale with anger. She closed the door and turned the key, locking it. "What did you expect to find, anyway?"

Randy's face reddened with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I have no right to be here, actually. If you want to know, I was snooping."

"That's obvious. Looking for what?"

"Anything that might throw a light on what's been happening around here. I've got a feeling you're not telling me everything you know."

She came over to him, her eyes running hungrily up and down his powerful frame. "If I told you everything I know, we'd be stuck in this room for three days and nights. Not that it's such a bad idea."

"You know what I mean," said Randy hastily. "You're hiding something. And I believe Groton's in with you somehow."

Her eyes began to glitter again with that peculiar light he'd seen last time. "You knocked me out this afternoon, Doctor. Not a gentlemanly thing to do at all, was it?"

"Sorry, Ava, but you were like a wild animal. As silly as it sounds, I was merely protecting myself."

She laughed. "Against my ninety-three pounds? Aren't you the brave one." She went over to the chest of drawers, and opened the top one. "Did you search this dresser, too?" she asked, her back to him as she rummaged around.

"Yes. I found a snapshot of a man. I'd like to know ... "

The sentence froze on his lips as she whirled around. She pointed a revolver directly at his stomach.

"You overlooked this. Not a very good detective, are you?"

"Now just one minute," Randy began, watching the gun cautiously. "That might be loaded. I'll leave quietly if you'll just give me the key." He held out his hand.

Ava tossed her head back and laughed. "You'll leave like hell, my friend. Just the opposite. This gun isn't to scare you away. It's to keep you here. And this time you aren't going to clip me on the jaw."

Randy licked his lips nervously. "If you'll just give me the key, Ava ... "

She grinned. She took the key and slid it inside her skirt and down into her panties.

"Come and get it, baby," she said. Her sharp features were taut with excitement as she came back over to him.

"Reach in and take it out. I won't stop you. Let's see how much nerve you have."

"Don't be foolish, Ava. And be careful with that gun, please."

Her eyes were raking over his body with a voracious hunger. "Take off your clothes," she said. He hesitated, and she prodded him with the gun. "Off, Doctor. Snap to it. Let's see what the action looks like."

Randy shrugged helplessly, and took off his jacket. He unbuttoned his shirt, watching her sharp white teeth sink into her lower lip when she spied his bare, muscular chest. The strange light in her eyes grew fiercer, and Randy sensed that for all practical purposes Ava was a totally different person when she became excited, completely incapable of reason. He took off his shirt and put it with his jacket over a chair.

"Hot shit," she hissed, "now that's what I call a build. Not sloppy like Groton, but nice and trim. Boy, are we going to have a hot time. I knew the minute I saw you that we were going to swing sooner or later, and swing we will, baby." She circled her lips with her tongue, the predatory hunger on her face reminding him of a hawk spotting its prey.

"Off with the pants," she snapped. "I like to know exactly what I've got to work with. You might call me an efficiency expert in my field. C'mon, what're you waiting for?"

He grappled once more, trying to use reason.

"What satisfaction can you possibly get out of forcing me to fuck you?" he asked. "What kind of conquest is it when you have a gun on your partner?"

"Gun, shit, you talk like an old man. Just get those pants off. As for the satisfaction I'm going to get, you just wouldn't believe it. After it's over, you can go home and write a book about it for all I care, all about how you were raped at gunpoint. Call it My Dreadful Experience. Just get the pants off."

Randy took off his pants. Would Professor Coleman or Harris or any of his other colleagues ever believe him if he told how he was trapped in a room with a sex maniac and raped at gunpoint? Not a chance in a million.

"Good, good," she said. "Now the skivvies. Just pretend you're in a nudist colony. Don't be bashful."

Randy slipped out of his drawers and stood before her, completely naked.

"Holy fuck," she murmured. "You're a man, all right. Compared to you, Groton is a boy. Now you just stand there and behave yourself while I get undressed. No tricks," she warned, "when I lay this gun down. I can reach it a lot faster than you."

She stood by the dresser, putting the gun down on it. Keeping her eyes on him not so much out of caution, he realized, but more out of a driving impatience she proceeded to undress rapidly, wriggling out of her panties as though they were on fire. Naked, she wasn't nearly as bony as she looked with clothes on. In fact, she was gracefully slender with neat little breasts, a tiny waist and delicately curved hips.

Looking at her, Randy felt a hot stab of desire shoot through his body. There was something intense about her small body that communicated to him, a kind of furious drive that seemed vibrate from her bare white flesh.

"Turn around," she commanded, still staying by the dresser. He did as he was told, and a minute later she said, "All right, Doctor, you can face me now."

When he turned back, he immediately noticed the gun was nowhere to be seen. "I hid the gun," she said, "and the key, too. And believe me, you'll never find them without my help. The only way you'll get the key is to earn it."

She came up to him, her eyes feverish, her nostrils flaring, her slender, pale body tensed for sex.

"Earn it," she whispered. The next moment her hands had seized him expertly, stroking, massaging, rubbing, taking complete command of his will power.

"Oh, God," she murmured, working furiously with her hands, "how I love it, I've always loved cock, I always will, I can't help it."

She suddenly rammed her hot, small mouth against his, biting his lower lip, snaking her tongue in and out rapidly, still gripping his body in her eager hands.

Whatever control Randy had dissolved completely. His flesh responded instantly with a will of its own. He gripped her small, compact ass in his hands and squeezed, meeting her fiery little tongue with his, dimly aware that urgent, animal sounds were coming from her throat. Her hands suddenly released their grip and she thrust her small hips against his, grinding them frantically.

"The bed," she gasped, "quick, quick!"

She led him frantically to the bed and jumped on it, her legs upraised in a second, her back already arched, her head thrashing from side to

side in a frenzy. Before he was on top of her, she gripped him and guided his cock into her.

"Ahhh," she crooned, "I love it, love it."

Her slender body squirmed beneath him, vibrated, shivered as though it were going to explode. She was extremely small, and for a moment he thought he was hurting her, from her sounds of anguish, but she dispelled that notion by a violent thrust of her cunt, an impatient command that she wanted all of him.

"Oh, yes, yes," she chanted, her teeth sinking into his shoulder as he complied, her hands clawing his back.

He bashed his cock into her pelvis. He didn't want to take long now. His penis was heavy and prickling, and Ava, her face creased in passion, increased the fury of the fuck.

Randy lowered his face onto hers and kissed her lips, her thin neck as he seared up into her tight gripping vagina. He wriggled in and in until his whole cock, from throbbing knob to tingling base, was buried in Ava's soft female passage.

He fucked her furiously with quick, hard strokes. He couldn't take too much time he had to have that final, world-shattering explosion.

He put his hand under her buttocks. Her rump was firm and springy. The feel of it sent a new zest winging through his hot ramrod. He pulled her up against him and looked down at her belly which he could see, dimly white in the darkness. He could also see his weapon, dimly white, moving into the cranny at her thigh-juncture.

He held her buttocks tightly. Each stroke now as if he was bursting into her for the first time. He gritted his teeth and fixed his eyes on her dim face, turned sideways.

He burst in and in, and with each burst he felt the moment edge excruciatingly nearer. He was trying to keep his noises back in his throat. He was coughing and growling, trying not to lose control. He felt the last movement in his loins. It was joy and beauty and savagery all combined in his screwing into this firm and beautiful body. He squeezed the buttocks in his hands as he thrust, and his thrusts slowed to grinding heaves. He was losing control. It was heaven. It was hell. He couldn't keep it back. It was coming, coming, into the body of this strange girl whose ass was in his hands. It was coming ... whirling ...

"Aaaaaah!" The final cry groaned from his throat, forcing his lips apart and he flopped and bit Ava's strained neck.

"Home," she cried, "I'm home. Belong ... here ... forever ... "

A moment later, Randy sagged limply against her.

"Again," she commanded, raising her knees and locking her feet behind his back. "Again."

"Impossible."

"Again, again, again," she chanted, as if there were a kind of magic in the phrase that would turn him into a machine.

"Sorry, but I can't."

"Oh, yes, you can," she murmured. "You've got to. I go nuts if I don't have it twice in a row. Once is only an appetizer. It whets my hunger."

"I'm sure you're aware of this," said Randy with a sigh, "but I'll tell you anyway. Biologically, I'm constructed differently from you. I have to have a period of rest before I can regenerate my cells. Women don't have that problem."

Her hand gripped his cock. "Don't give me that shit. You can, but you don't want to. You're saving yourself for that secretary of yours. She can live without you for one night, but I can't. It's a simple matter of distribution."

"I'm telling you the truth, Ava. I simply can't."

She searched his face with penetrating eyes.

Finally, she sighed. "All right, I think you're telling the truth. You've been fucking that secretary of yours all day, I can see that much."

"The key," said Randy.

"Under the cloth cover on top of the dresser."

He lifted the cover and found it. He glanced over at Ava. She was staring at her reflection in the mirrored ceiling, her eyes glazed, her lips parted. He remembered she'd stared at the ceiling most of the time he'd been fucking her. From the way she was gazing at her reflection and grinding her hips, he knew she was in the process of fucking herself now.

He went to the door and unlocked it, leaving the key in place, and slipped out while she was absorbed. So intently was she gaping at her own image that he was sure she'd forgotten about him by then. Out in the hallway, he took a deep breath and wiped his forehead, feeling like a trapped mouse that had narrowly escaped its fate.

He went to his own room, thinking that if he felt relief for himself, he felt something even more for Groton. Sheer pity.