Chapter 1
Arthur Webb stepped from the shower and dried himself quickly, then slipped into his pajamas. His fingers trembled a little as he fumbled with the buttons. His stomach felt slightly queasy, and there was a tingling of anticipation at the base of his skull.
Tonight was Thelma's favorite television evening. Until eleven o'clock at least, she would stay glued to her chair in front of the idiot box. Not even a stick of dynamite could dislodge her. And so Arthur was free to indulge in his new-found pleasure as if she were not even there.
"Arthur!"
His wife's shrill voice seemed to vibrate the whole apartment. He opened the bedroom door and stuck his head out. There she sat, as imperious as a queen, her dark hair loosened so that it coiled around her neck and upon her shoulders. Strangely enough, she could still look excitingly beautiful at times. But the only emotion she could arouse in Arthur was one of loathing mingled with fear.
He was afraid of her because she had the means to rule him with an iron hand, just as she had done through the ten miserable years of their marriage. And he hated her for all the humiliations he had suffered.
He could leave her, of course. He could have left her any time in the past ten years, if he had really wanted to. But the fact was, she held the purse strings. And after living a life of luxury for so long, he dreaded the thought of being cast out again into a hostile world where he would be forced to make his own way.
They had both recognized from the start that their marriage was a business transaction. At first Arthur had thought he had gotten much the best of the deal. But Thelma had acquired exactly what she wanted a weakling husband whom she could bully to her heart's content.
"Arthur answer me!" Thelma shrieked, still staring at the flickering square of the television screen.
"Yes, dear," he replied meekly.
"What are you doing?" she asked, not even bothering to turn and look at him.
"I'm a little tired this evening, dear. I think I'll go on to bed."
"Very well. Close the door."
"I will, dear."
She didn't know how anxious he was to do just that. With a sly smile on his lips, he switched out the light. Then he took down the box from the closet shelf. Moving cautiously so Thelma would not hear, he stood the tripod up first. Then he screwed the base of the telescope into the socket on top.
It was a beautiful instrument, the very best on the market. Of course Thelma had bought it because she kept up with all the fads. They were as well equipped as anyone in the neighborhood for the sport of window peeping. Everyone was doing it, of course and Thelma was not about to be outdone.
But she was just as selfish about the use of the telescope as she was with anything else. She knew that on a clear night it was possible to observe almost any kind of scene in the windows of the apartment across the way. It was all right for her to spy, of course. But she objected to Arthur's having his fun, just as she objected when he happened to glance at a pretty girl on the street.
Tonight, however, Thelma was too wrapped up in her television. He was as free to play with his new toy as if she were not even at home.
Moving cautiously in his bare feet, Arthur set up the tripod in front of the open window. He adjusted it to the proper height and drew up a chair.
Arthur felt almost like a kid who had been turned loose in a candy store as he looked at the many bright squares in the apartment building a block away. There were so many apartments to look into that he hardly knew where to begin.
Actually that was not quite true, for he could hardly wait to turn the telescope on one particular window. It was the window where she lived the nameless beauty he had discovered the other night. The lovely golden-haired girl with the most provocative thighs and the lushest breasts he had ever seen.
Three nights he had watched her, and three nights she had drawn the shades before she undressed for bed.
But on the fourth night she had forgotten the shades, and Arthur had seen the glory of her naked beauty. It was amazing how the telescope had brought her so close that she seemed to be standing there in the room with him. Through the lens, he had been able to observe her in the most minute detail, even down to the small mole on her left hip.
Arthur had made a mental note of her window, along with several others which had provided some very juicy scenes. The blonde's apartment was in the second wing, the middle windows, seven floors down from the roof.
As he swung the telescope slowly, his heart began to pound, for there was a light in her apartment. And the drapes were pulled back on the window which looked into her bedroom.
Leaning forward, he brought the scope into focus. He could see an edge of the bed, which was covered with a pale blue spread. There was something else on the bed which started a tingling in his stomach. She had laid out a flimsy black negligee. In a moment she would start dressing for bed!
If only she forgot to pull the drapes, Arthur knew he would have another chance to see her in the nude.
His whole body began to tremble as he strained forward, peering into the eyepiece. Sweat began to pop out on his forehead and trickle down his face. Even though he had not yet seen her, he felt desire welling up inside. It was so very near the surface that he felt like a balloon about to burst.
Then he saw a momentary movement.
He held his breath. She had passed by the window. She was there in the bedroom. Arthur gripped the telescope with both hands and watched impatiently.
Suddenly she was standing beside the bed. It was as if she had appeared from nowhere. But there she was, standing before him, wearing a green blouse and a pair of clinging black toreadors.
Arthur watched intently, wondering where she might have gone this evening dressed like that. But what did it really matter where she had been, or even who she was? She was his dream girl. He did not even care that he would never know her name or have the chance to speak with her, to touch the milky white loveliness of her skin.
Yet stranger things had happened.
He was still a fairly young and attractive male. There was no real reason why he could not meet her, perhaps even make her his mistress. But of course he was dreaming! A beauty like her would have dozens of eager boyfriends.
And anyhow, there was no way for him to learn her name and apartment number, even though he could locate her window with the telescope. He could not count the number of floors from the street level, because there were intervening buildings which prevented him from seeing the street.
Arthur went rigid when she reached up and began unbuttoning the blouse. He muttered a silent prayer that she would not think of the window until he had seen everything.
Slowly she peeled the blouse from her shoulders to reveal the pale shimmering loveliness of her skin. With an agile movement, she unfastened her bra. It fell away. The twin globes of her breasts stood up ripe and firm, tipped by two lovely pink petals.
They swayed delightfully when she leaned toward him to shove the tight toreadors down her legs.
Arthur murmured slightly when her hips came into view. He was fascinated by the contrast of the black nylon panties to the snowy white of her fleshy thighs.
And then she was even stepping out of the panties...
She stood up, raising her arms to stretch. Every stitch of her clothing now lay on the floor. She lifted her chin proudly, tossing her golden hair. Her breasts were high and round and heavy. They thrust out from her body, two flawless mounds of shimmering flesh.
The pale flesh of her body seemed to be bathed in a vibrant glow of light. Eagerly he stared at the tapering curve of her waist, the fullness of her hips and thighs, the round taut globes of her buttocks.
He tingled with a craving to hold her in his arms, to feel the warmth of her flesh. The telescope brought her so close that it seemed as though he could almost reach out and touch her.
As she stood there before him in all her radiant feminine beauty, Arthur had a strange exciting feeling that she belonged to him alone. Though he was aware that probably a dozen telescopes in his apartment building were trained on this very same window. He was not foolish enough to think that he was the only person who had discovered her.
Yet still she was his in a very special way, although she remained nameless. Perhaps he should give her a name one that would suit her perfectly. Gloria? It was the first name that popped into his head. And it was perfect, because she was glorious. There was no doubt about it.
Silently he christened her Gloria.
For some reason she began to turn slowly with her arms raised over her head, giving him a spectacular view of her loveliness. Then he saw that she was looking into a mirror, examining her figure proudly.
Then she was walking toward the window, looking straight at him. Of course she could not distinguish his darkened window from a block away. But through the scope, she stood as close to him as if she were in the same room.
She smiled, sending a little shiver along his spine. She was smiling at him! He felt the breath tighten in his throat. She lifted the golden edge of her hair away from her face. There was a saucy expression in her eyes, a wry grin on her lips.
She waved through the window of her room as if saying goodbye to all her unknown admirers, and then she pulled the drapes. Arthur uttered a low moan of disappointment.
For nearly a minute he continued to peer through the telescope at the now shaded window, half expecting her to change her mind and open the drapes again. Maybe she was only teasing, playing a game with him. That was foolish, of course.
But at least he had seen her again, and the sight had been enough to raise the temperature of his blood almost to the boiling point. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. If only he could possess her for one night, even for one hour!
But of course that was impossible. He should be content to have her so close to him, so apparently willing to undress in his presence, and in the presence of so many ogling males. No wonder this latest fad of window-peeping had caught on like wildfire. It was a hell of a lot more fun than bird-watching or gazing at stars.
At last Arthur heaved a sigh and moved the telescope away, seeking other windows that were not closed to him.
He saw a number of domestic scenes a man mixing a drink in the kitchen; a couple seated far apart on the couch, staring bleakly at the television; an untempting middle-aged woman seated at her dressing table, combing her hair.
And then he laughed aloud.
Seated in a semi-darkened window was a man peering through a telescope, just as he was doing. His own apartment building provided the same variety of sights as the building across the way. It would be interesting to go over there sometime with his spyglass and see just how the cliff-dwellers in his own apartment house misbehaved themselves.
He swung the scope a fraction of an inch, raising it to the next tier of windows, seeking his prey. And then he caught his breath, for there was a lovely woman with flame-red hair standing in her bedroom. She had nothing on but a large towel, which was draped around her voluptuous figure. She was drying herself after a bath.
Then Arthur saw that there was also a man standing in the room. Strangely, the man appeared to be smaller than the red-haired woman. And there was a kind of hangdog quality about the man, as though he were afraid of the woman, almost to the point of servility.
Arthur felt a slight chill pass through his body, for it seemed as though he were looking in upon himself. The imperious woman could very well be his wife, except that her hair was red, and Thelma was a brunette.
But still, the comparison was enough to unnerve him for a moment. Did he seem that obsequious to others? Did he appear to be as much a slave to Thelma? For an instant he felt a sudden rush of resentment, like a flame igniting in his chest. He had traded away his manhood in return for the luxuries which Thelma could provide.
A sudden electric jolt hit Arthur in the stomach, for the lush redhead had dropped the towel, revealing the statuesque beauty of her figure.
She was perfectly proportioned, yet bigger and more majestic that the lovely blonde he had named Gloria. This was a different kind of woman, an Amazon. A woman who was accustomed to rule with her dominating will. Just as Thelma ruled.
Arthur was fascinated by her breasts, which were very large and yet supurb. They were two fleshy mounds rising up from her body, crowned with great round circles and pointed nipples almost as flaming bright as her hair.
Her passionately full mouth moved as she spoke to the man. He jumped at once to her command, walking out of the line of sight, then returning to the woman. In his hands he held a strange black object which seemed to be made of leather. Fitting it around the woman's waist, he drew it tight and began to pull on the laces in back.
Arthur saw that it was a corset, but not just an ordinary corset. It was made of black shiny leather!
He watched in fascination while the man drew the cords tight, so tight that the upper edge of the corset seemed to cut into the woman's pale flesh. There was a look of rapture on the woman's face, an indication that she was deriving some kind of strange pleasure from being bound inside this unusual leather garment.
When the woman turned toward him, Arthur saw that the corset was constructed in such a manner that it raised her breasts without covering them. They were two great swollen bulbs of cushiony flesh, and the hardened nipples were pointing directly at him.
The lower part of the corset was shaped in such a way that it enhanced the nakedness of her thighs. Nothing was left to the imagination, and yet the provocative beauty of her female charms seemed to be made more intense by the tight black band of leather which constricted her waist.
Arthur stared in fascination. He had heard about such strange, exotic apparel, but this was the first time he had ever seen it worn. The woman seated herself on the bed, gave an order. The man disappeared from view and returned again. This time he held a pair of leather boots that were as black and glistening as the corset. They were strangely fascinating boots with long, narrow spike heels.
Dropping to his knees before the woman, the man slipped one of the boots over her raised foot. His hands moved lovingly as he stroked upward, smoothing the leather over the calf of her leg. Then he threaded the laces through the eyelets which ran up the face of the boot. When he was satisfied that the boot was properly laced, he slid the other boot over the woman's left foot and proceeded to lace it in the same manner.
When the woman rose from the bed, she stood unsteadily for a moment, then she walked across to the dresser. From the top drawer she took a pair of black leather gloves. One at a time she put them on, tugging until they fit snugly all the way to her elbows.
Arthur stared at her in awe, for she was a lovely picture of ivory and ebony and flaming red. Never had he seen such a totally wanton costume. The leather seemed to impart a new dimension to her womanhood an unmistakable sense of evil.
As she swayed her body slightly, strange lightning-jagged shapes of light played on the leather surface of the corset. The same gleams, like dull sparks, reflected from the gloves and from the boots.
Reaching once more into the opened drawer of the dresser, the woman drew out a limber riding crop which was about two feet long and had a leather loop at one end. She fitted the loop around her wrist and pointed the wicked tip of the crop directly at the man.
Arthur saw her lips move as she gave an order.
Meekly the man began to obey at once. His fingers flew as he pulled at the buttons of his shirt. Slipping the shirt from his shoulders, he threw it away, revealing a lean but muscular torso.
Arthur sat stunned, knowing was going to happen next, yet unable to believe his eyes. The sudden lash of the whip, as it darted out and struck the man on the side of the head, made Arthur flinch as though he too had felt the blow.
At once the man dropped to his knees before the domineering woman with the flame-red hair. He bowed his head and waited, almost expectantly, it seemed to Arthur. The woman raised her arm and brought the whip down fiercely. The limber strip of leather slashed across the man's back.
The man jolted from the sudden pain, but he did not rise or try to resist the woman. His body grew tense. The muscles of his back and shoulders tightened into knots.
The woman struck again, this time lifting up on the toes of her leather boots and coming down with the full force of her strength. Arthur gasped when he saw the bright red welt which ran diagonally across the man's back.
The whip rose and fell, again and again, as the leather-clad woman wielded it with diabolic accuracy. The man's flesh began to glow with a crisscross of welts which ran all the way down from his neck to his waist.
Once more the leather struck.
Arthur shuddered. For a moment it seemed to him that he had felt the pain vicariously. A chill passed through him as he realized that his own excitement was as intense as that of the man who was being punished.
Was it possible that he actually craved to submit to this kind of vicious torture? It was crazy, of course. And yet he was sensually aroused by what he saw. Desire pulsed through him. At that moment he felt a strange urge to experience the bite of the whip! And after that to make love to the woman in leather, in the most violent manner!
These strange new sensations were frightening, unsettling. But they were also exciting to contemplate. Would he actually enjoy such punishment from Thelma, if she were dressed in the same bizarre leather costume?
It was a thought which had never even occurred to him before. He did not actually know the answer. And yet he could not help but wonder ...
Suddenly he caught his breath and peered even more intensely through the telescope. The whipping had stopped. The woman had thrown down the riding crop, and now she stood with her legs planted firmly, wide apart, her gloved hands grasping the hourglass curves of her waist.
The man had raised his head. Sliding on his knees, he inched slowly forward until his lips touched the pale round bowl of her belly which gleamed below the hard leather of the corset.
He began to kiss, and the woman responded sensuously by twisting her hips, worming her naked thighs. Lower and lower he moved his caressing mouth, while her hands clasped his head, directing him.
Her whole body seemed to vibrate as the man trailed passionate kisses across her milky flesh. Throwing back her head, she tossed the bright red mane of her hair as she arched and wormed with unrestrained ecstasy.
The man was plunging hungrily, driving her into a frenzy. A series of shudders passed through her body. Her crimson mouth opened as she uttered a soundless scream. The man held her captive now, his hands cupping the globes of her buttocks while his lips overwhelmed her with devotion.
Her hips swayed in an undulating rhythm of lust. Her eyes stared fixedly at the ceiling. Her straining thighs arched and revolved. And still the man clung to her with leech-like intensity.
Suddenly her body tensed, and the man, taking his cue from her delirious response, lunged at her ravenously. The woman's screams were continuous now. It almost seemed to Arthur that he could hear them, even from a block away. He saw the look of pained agony contort her face. She was engulfed in the flames of her passion.
Her body shuddered violently, her fingers tore at the man's hair. It was happening with blazing intensity. And then slowly the frenzy died away until it was over for her, and she staggered back and fell exhausted upon the bed.
Arthur exhaled the pent-up breath that had gathered in his lungs. He felt a tickling on his face and suddenly realized that little beads of sweat were rolling down from his hair. He had been carried away completely by the lascivious scene he had just witnessed.
It had been almost as exciting as if he had been a participant himself. Almost, but not quite. If he saw many more sights like the one he had just seen he would have to do more than merely watch. He longed with every atom of his body to experience such violent passion.
But of course that was next to impossible, for he did not dare to defy Thelma that much. The wrath of her displeasure could be a fearful thing.
Suddenly he froze, for he heard her footsteps as she walked about in the living room. Was she coming here? Quickly he picked up the telescope and carried it to the bed. He folded the tripod and slipped everything into the box, then put the box on the closet shelf. Even after he had slid beneath the covers, he lay trembling, cursing himself for being such a coward, for being such a bondslave to his overbearing wife.
Maybe someday he would regain his courage. Then she would see. Oh, yes she might get the surprise of her life.