Free Strip Search by William Bernhardt

realized—“I hope you will forgive my indecent appearance. Female attire is not well-suited for pirate vessels.”
    “Indeed not,” he said, nobly averting his eyes. “But—you should not be here, my lady. If the pirates return—”
    “I could not leave you at their mercy.”
    “My lady, I am but a humble stable boy. Unworthy of your notice, much less—”
    “You saved my life. You defended my honor when Longsword threatened to make me his by force. I will not leave you in your time of need.”
    Mason’s chin rose. “He keeps the key to the chains in that desk drawer.”
    Lady Danielle found them. The lock was old and rusted and turning it required great effort. To get at the lock, she was required to stand on a chair and lean against Mason, her bodice pressed forward. They were both all too aware of the physical contact. Her breathing accelerated. His chest heaved.
    At long last she managed to spring the lock. Mason fell to the deck, but quickly righted himself. He stretched and massaged his arms, flexing his magnificent muscles, slowly restoring his circulation. She stepped down from the chair. They were still very close to each other.
    “My lady…I do not know how I could ever repay this kindness.”
    “By staying alive. By…by…”
    An instant later, their lips were pressed tightly together. He wrapped his strong arms around her in a tight embrace.
    “My lady,” he repeated, as he lavished kisses up and down the side of her neck, “this is wrong. If your family learned—”
    “Family be damned,” she said, seizing the waist of his trousers and all but tearing them loose. “Perhaps I have lost all reason, but my heart is in-flamed and I cannot resist you. From the moment you were brought on this boat, I’ve done nothing but think about you, dream of being with you. And I am a woman accustomed to getting what she wants.” Once his pants were gone, she removed her own remaining clothing with intense speed. They stood naked before each other, their hands in erotic exploration, their kisses reaching a violent intensity.
    “But the pirates,” Mason said, even as he maneuvered her toward the captain’s bed. “They could return—”
    “Not before the sea change. This is our time, Mason. Time for you to give me what I have craved all these long, lonely days at sea. My heart aches with desire for your throbbing manhood—hey, wait a minute!”
    A face appeared from behind the camera. “Problem, Danny?”
    “Yeah. Where’s his throbbing manhood?”
    Everyone on the set broke up. Everyone, that is, except the actor playing Mason.
    “What do you think we pay you studs for, anyway?” Danny said, removing her wig. It itched and after too much exposure to the klieg lights, it started to smell. “The Vegas standard for studdom is definitely declining.”
    “Cut me some slack. It was a long scene. And this is the third take.”
    “Yeah, yeah. Excuses, excuses. Where’s the fluffer?”
    “Right here.” A young woman in a pink halter top stepped forward. In the adult film business, it was the fluffer’s job to keep the male studs looking studly. Take after take.
    The man behind the camera pointed at his watch. “It’s almost quitting time, Danny.”
    “Not till we get this scene in the can. Then the boys can set up for the captain’s bed/bondage scene and we can start fresh on that first thing in the morning.”
    “As you wish, my lady,” he said, grinning. “And you still want Mason to be the one who gets tied up? Usually it’s the other way around.”
    She smiled as Gina, her personal aide, handed her a robe and a cup of Yorkshire Gold, her favorite hot tea. “Not in my movies.”
     
     
     

10
     
     
    I FELT THE heat the instant I walked into downtown Police headquarters—the heat emanating from a hundred pairs of eyes bearing down on me. Perhaps I was exaggerating—maybe it was only seventy-five pairs—but I didn’t think so. Everyone in the shop had heard about what happened