Gordburg

Chapter 1-2

“Thank you,” she smiled at his compliment.

They finally found someone who could give them directions to the Land Office, which wasn’t on the main street at all, but tucked away on one of the narrow side streets. Only one person, a spry, elderly gentleman whose eyes sparkled whenever he looked at Elizabeth, manned the office. He introduced himself as Mr. Tanner.

“Yes, of course we held your reservations, Mr. Smith,” he said as he sat down behind his desk after shaking hands with both of them. All of the furniture looked as if it had been bought second-hand from a movie lot, which made the computer on his desk stand out jarringly. “The busy season here hasn’t quite started yet, so it was no problem for us.” He tapped out something on the keyboard and then opened a drawer in the desk. “Do you think you can find your bungalow yourselves?” he asked as he fished around for something in the drawer.

“Probably not,” Ron shook his head. “We needed some help just to find this office. We’ve never been here before.”

“Oh. Well, that’s easily taken care of,” Mr. Tanner smiled, mostly at Elizabeth, who smiled back. “I’ll send for a guide. You don’t mind waiting for a few minutes?”

“We don’t mind waiting,” Ron replied. In fact, he was glad of the opportunity to shed his heavy pack and just sit for a while. He was still very fit, but he wasn’t quite as young as he used to be.

“How long do you plan on staying with us?” Mr. Tanner asked politely. He tapped out something more on his keyboard.

“I really don’t know,” Ron said with a shake of his head. He looked over at Elizabeth, who was sitting close alongside him. “This is something like a honeymoon for us.”

“Really?” the old man looked up from his computer screen. “I suppose that congratulations are in order, Mr. And Mrs. Smith.” He smiled warmly…at Elizabeth.

“Oh, we’re not married,” Elizabeth corrected him. “At least, not yet.” She looked at Ron and smiled. “But we are together.” She reached out to clasp his hand in hers.

“Ah.” Mr. Tanner seemed to take the news in stride. He’d probably seen a lot of unusual arrangements over the years. “Well, no matter. There is a lot to see and do here. We don’t have any printed brochures, you understand, but guides can always be provided to give information and directions.”

“There was an interesting-looking building that we passed on the way here,” Ron said. “It had a big sign on it: Slave Market. Would it be possible for us to get a closer look at it?”

“Why, yes, of course,” Mr. Tanner nodded. “It’s closed from midnight until six A.M., but any time it’s open you’re free to go on in and look around. Somebody there will be happy to help if you have any questions.”

At that point a young woman entered the office after a perfunctory knock at the door. Ron stood as she came in, out of habit. Elizabeth remained seated, but turned in her chair to look.

“Hi,” the woman said. “You called for a guide?” She had an athletic build but stood barely a few inches over five feet tall. Her light brown hair was cut in a short bob that seemed to suit her, as did the khaki shirt and shorts and desert boots she wore. “I’m Philippa. Philippa Trent.” She held out her hand to Ron, who shook it once. She smiled and nodded towards Elizabeth at the same time.

“Philippa, could you please show these good people the way to their bungalow?” Mr. Tanner asked. “It’s Number Three, Beechwood.”

“Of course,” the young woman nodded without looking at him. Instead, she was looking up at Ron, a wide grin slowly spreading across her face.

“You’re him, aren’t you?” she asked. “Ron Smith?”

“Yes, I am,” Ron admitted.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said. “Welcome to Gordburg.”

“Uh…thanks.” Ron looked at Elizabeth. She just smiled back, her head tilted to the left, and said nothing. He wondered just what Philippa might have heard about his career with the Organization. It was something he’d never brought up with Elizabeth, and she had never asked. That was probably going to change.

“I guess you’re both anxious to settle in,” Philippa went on. “If you’ll just follow me, I’ll take you to your accommodations.”

The main drag of Gordburg ran roughly east-west. Ron and Elizabeth had entered at the western end of the street. As Philippa led the way, Ron noticed that they were approaching the eastern end of the street, or, more exactly, the eastern end of the wide, sandy track. Up ahead he could see where the sand ended and a two-lane asphalt road began. To the right of the blacktop he saw a large four-story building that appeared to be a hotel, and, just beyond it, what looked like a nightclub. There didn’t seem to be any traffic on the road, though.

Philippa turned sharply left before they reached the paved part of the road, up a side street of packed dirt. The street led to a seemingly haphazard maze of small houses sitting under the shade of many tall, old trees. Ron recognized them as poplars. You spend enough time in the outdoors and you learn what all the plants, large and small, are, and which ones you should leave alone.

“Here we are,” Philippa announced as they approached one of the small houses. “Number Three, Beechwood.” The front door did indeed have a metal ‘3’ mounted on it, but Ron hadn’t seen any street signs. Maybe ‘Beechwood’ referred to the cluster of buildings and not to a street, but there wasn’t a beech tree to be seen. He shrugged. The odds were that nobody who came here would care. He didn’t really care that much himself. He stepped past Philippa and used the key card Mr. Tanner had given to him. The door opened easily. He and Elizabeth entered Number Three and immediately dumped their backpacks in the small foyer.

“Let me show you the place,” Philippa offered. “It’s small, but very comfortable.”

“Well, it certainly looks small from here,” Ron commented. From where he stood in the flagstone foyer, he could see a small kitchen to his right, a somewhat larger carpeted living room to his left, and a short hallway in front of him, just past the kitchen. There was a doorway at the far end of the hall. The door was open, and beyond it he could see what had to be a rear window.

“I think it’s cozy,” Elizabeth said as she gave him a playful jab in the ribs with her elbow. Philippa didn’t see it. “Are our bags here?”

“Well, they should be,” Philippa replied. “They usually put them in the bedroom. It’s back here.” She started down the short hallway, Elizabeth following closely. Ron stayed behind to have a look at the kitchen. It had an electric range that seemed to be in working order, a microwave oven, a coffee maker and a four-slice toaster lined up on the lone counter. He opened the refrigerator. It was running, and cold, but empty, as was its small freezer compartment. He’d have to ask about where to get groceries here. Maybe that ‘General Store’ they’d passed on the way here carried some. He was an indifferent cook himself, and for the very first time he wondered what kind of a cook Elizabeth was. There was a small round table in the corner, and two chairs, and that seemed to be the limit of the furniture here. The living room had a couch, an armchair, a coffee table, a couple of lamps on some small, square tables, and a miniscule fireplace. There was no sign of a television.

He heard a squeal of delight from Elizabeth and went in the back to see what had caused it. She and Philippa were in the bathroom, which was larger than he would have expected for this place. Philippa was smiling, but Elizabeth looked ecstatic. The tub was huge, big enough to fit both him and Elizabeth in it at the same time quite comfortably. Elizabeth greeted him with a hug before he could finish looking around, but it seemed as if she approved of the accommodations, and that was good enough for him.

“I’ll leave you two to get settled in,” Philippa said. “If you need anything, just call. There’s a phone in the living room.” Before Ron could ask her who he should call and what the number was, Elizabeth threw her arms around his neck and kissed him enthusiastically. He never actually saw Philippa take her leave.

“I love it!” Elizabeth said breathlessly after a long, long kiss. “I love it, I love it, I love it! And all our bags are here too! Let me show you the bedroom!” She dragged him along by his arm. He went willingly.

The bedroom took up the whole back of the bungalow. There was a big four-poster bed, some chests of drawers, a vanity table, and some comfortable-looking chairs.

“How do you like the bed?” she murmured into his ear. “Doesn’t it give you some ideas?” She giggled as he grabbed her roughly and kissed her hard. He didn’t need to tell her what he was thinking. She kissed him back enthusiastically and for a moment they just stood there.

“Wow,” she breathed as he broke the kiss. There were spots of color in her cheeks. “I like how your mind works, Mr. Smith, but I really think we should get these stinky clothes off and get in that big, decadent tub. We can wash each other.” She yawned. “And maybe take a little nap. Now that we’re finally here I suddenly feel kind of tired.”

“So do I, as a matter of fact,” he said. “And I’d kind of like to try out that bed before we start playing games in it.”

“Mmm…but tell, me, Mister Smith,” she began. “You said that your organization didn’t encourage talk, yet that perky little guide seemed to have heard all about you. How is that?”

“I have no idea,” he replied honestly. “I’ve heard about this place from time to time, but I’ve never been here and I certainly never met her. Anyway, no matter what an official policy is, people will try to get around it.”

“Uh-huh,” she said with a teasing grin. “Now you have me thinking that you’re a little bit famous.” She pulled her t-shirt off over her head. “We can talk in the tub. I want to soak in some nice hot, soapy water until my fingertips get all wrinkly, and then soak in it for a little while longer.” She sat down on the floor to pull her boots and socks off, then stood up slowly. “I’d like it if you joined me,” she purred. She began pulling her sports bra off, very slowly. His eyes went to her breasts as soon as they popped free. They were full, and round, and mouth-watering, taut, silky globes tipped with brown n*****s. He kept looking at them even after she’d tossed the sports bra aside. He could almost feel his fingers twitching. She knew that he liked seeing her standing there in nothing but her jeans.

“Will you join me?” she asked teasingly.

“Get the bath started,” he managed to say. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

She sashayed into the bathroom, walking in a way that exaggerated the sway of her hips. A moment later, he heard the water running.

She certainly knew how to start his engine, but he wanted to have a better look at this place so that he knew where everything was. The bedroom took up the whole rear of the house, which made it a damned big bedroom. The furniture was all clustered in one half of the space, so he went to see why that was. He soon saw that the other half of the room was apparently set aside for fun and games. There were eyebolts set in the ceiling and the walls, and the carpeting here seemed to have an extra bit of padding under it. There were two doors on the interior wall, probably closets. He opened one and found that it was narrow but deep, with hooks and rods for hanging things. He opened the other door, and at first thought that he’d found a walk-in closet until he noticed that there wasn’t any place to hang anything, unless you counted the eyebolts set in the ceiling and walls. The floor wasn’t carpeted, but there was a thin black rubber mat on the floor. Okay, it might serve as a closet, but it was clearly set up for more fun and games. This was an interestingly constructed vacation bungalow.

“Ron?” Elizabeth called out. “Come on in.”

He shut the door, noticing that it could be locked from the outside, and headed for the bathroom, shedding his clothes as he went. Elizabeth was waiting for him, reclining in the big tub, the water already up to her gorgeous breasts. “This thing fills up fast,” she said with a smile.