Chapter 31

Maya kissed her husband goodbye and headed for Security for her flight to London and onward to Rejkjavik. For the nth time Eric admired his wife’s elegance, her one metre seventy-six and 61 kilos and the swing of her hips that allowed observers to guess at the outline of her buttocks under her calf-length, dark-grey woollen skirt. Glancing around, he could see he wasn’t alone in his appreciation of the sheer class of his wife. He allowed himself a little smile.

... Eric shook his head to bring himself back to the present moment and then drove back to town, to collect his twin daughters from their lesson at the swimming pool.

At her Iceland hotel, Maya picked up her bags from beside the reception desk, blissfully unaware that she was being watched.

She surely can’t be English, just from her clothes. Very elegant. Tall, too. She must be one metre seventy-five at least. Pretty? Not the word. Striking, certainly. An attractive woman, strong features nicely framed by that short dark hair. An interesting mix of Nordic and Mediterranean at a guess. Most appealing! That evening, Maya plugged in her laptop and connected it to the Internet. It pinged and she clicked on “Accept”. Eric’s face appeared on the screen. She smiled as she saw Sophie and Jasmin, her nine-year-old twins, bouncing up and down behind her husband, determined not to be left out.

“Hello, Mummy,” they chorused. Eric ducked his head aside to allow the two girls to fill the screen.

“Are you having a nice time in Iceland?” Sophie asked.

“Have you taken lots of photos?” Jasmin added.

“Don’t be silly!” Sophie, senior to her sister by a whole ten minutes, said with scorn. “Mummy only just got there.”

“Calm down, the pair of you,” Maya ordered. “Yes, I am having a nice time and yes I have already taken lots of photos. You’ll see them when I get a moment to edit them and send them to Daddy. Speaking of Daddy, why are you two dressed for bed?

“Daddy said we could say hello to you if we promised to do our homework and put ourselves to bed, so we got ourselves ready,” Jasmine explained.

“But he said only if we went and got on with it quietly, but we know he meant without disturbing you and Daddy while you say lovey-dovey things to each other,” Sophie added, pulling a disgusted face.

“Right then, off you go,” Maya said, using her headmistress voice to hide her amusement. The twins blew her kisses and disappeared, followed by Eric. He returned a moment later and sat down in front of the screen.

“So far so good?” Eric enquired.

“Travel was straightforward, my hotel room is nice and the others in the group are friendly, so yes.”

“How are your fellow photography students? Who’s in your group?”

“Let me think. We have two unaccompanied men, Paul and George, neither particularly interesting or attractive. One married couple, Reg and Jean. He’s in his fifties and I’d say she’s a bit older than me, so mid-forties. They’ve been together for 25 years and are still holding hands. As bad as you and me. Nice people. She is, or has been a teacher, I can tell.”

“The educational version of gaydar?” Eric teased.

“You guessed!”

“Any sexy women to tell me about?” Eric teased. “Besides you?”

“Sexy women?” Maya smiled. “Well. there’s Wilhelmina, who is an amazing 80-year-old and her chum, Muriel, who’s 78. They were already in the bar when I arrived and are still there now! Nobody else who would interest you, I think. There’s another British group of 6. Two couples, I think, plus a woman on her own and another man. Can’t tell you any more about them yet. The reception lobby was heaving when I arrived. Because of the Northern Lights, the hotel is full of photography groups from all over Europe. There’s even a group of Scotsmen, who all turned up bravely wearing kilts!”

“In Iceland in winter? They must be mad! Certainly braver than me!”

“Certainly not! You’re my hero. How are you coping with the girls, Eric?”

“We’re surviving, just about. They miss you, of course. I’m missing you, too.”

“And I you,” Maya confirmed.

“So you’d better make sure you have a great time to make up for abandoning me, even if it’s only for a few days.”

“Do you want to expand on what exactly you mean by having a great time?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“You want me to spell it out for you, Maya? You remember the night before you left?”

“Vaguely!” Images of the wild sex she and Eric had enjoyed flashed across Maya’s mind. At her request, Eric had made love to ... no, screwed her, licked her, kissed her everywhere until she had collapsed like a wrung-out dishcloth after wonderful orgasms...

“Well, in light of the fact that I’m not there to do that for you, I hope you’ll at least look out for some sexy fun.”

“I’ll try, if that’s what you want.”

“Not just for me; for you, too. I don’t want you getting out of practice!”

“Speaking of practice, would you like me to make a start on compensating you for having to deal with the terrible two?” she asked. Without waiting for Eric’s agreement, she pulled off her tee shirt and reached behind her back. She unclipped her bra, shrugged it off her shoulders and sat topless.

“A promising start,” Eric said. “I’ve never had a webcam chat with a lovely topless lady before.”

“Well, I’ve never performed as one,” she said. “Would Mr Voyeur like me to go further?”

“Oh, yes please!”

Maya caressed her breasts, playing with her nipples and her piercing. “Am I doing this right?” she asked after a minute.

“No idea, but I’m enjoying it.”

“Actually, it is exciting in an unusual way,” she said. “I can see myself in the corner of my screen.”

“Actually,” Eric confessed, “It feels a bit deviant to be watching my wife giving a webcam show.”

“I understand. It feels sexy to me, too, but in a different way,” Maya said. “Am I? Sexy, I mean.”

“You are!”

She stood up. “There will be an extra charge for the next bit,” she warned Eric jokingly as she pulled her knickers down.

“I’ll pay. Whatever the price it will be worth it. Do you take credit cards or does it have to be cash?”

“Eric? Shut up and watch!” Maya moved closer to the screen and her sex with its thin landing strip of pubic hair filled it. Her fingers slowly slid downwards and she began to caress herself. Eric dutifully watched. Suddenly Maya was gone.

“Maya?” he queried. ¬

“Just a moment.” she called from off-screen. “Someone just knocked on my door.”

There was a pause. Eric heard a door open and close, then she reappeared, wrapped in her dressing-gown. “That’s weird,” she said. “I was sure I heard a knock, but by the time I was decent enough to open it, there was nobody there. But I found this on the carpet.” She held up a small, square green envelope. “It must have been pushed under the door.” She peeled it open and unfolded a little sheet of note paper.

“Listen to this Eric! Concentrate, because it’s in English.” Maya’s voice was raised in surprise. “Lovely stranger! Surely Nordic blood flows in your veins? A shield-maiden from the sagas? Warriors would do battle for the right to drown in your eyes. Your lips cry out for kisses. Your body ... Ah, your body is a mystery ... as yet. Well...” Maya exclaimed. “What do you make of that?”

“You haven’t wasted any time in making an impact!” Eric joked. “Very lyrical. Any idea who it’s from?”

“Not a clue. Let me think. It’s in English, but the company I’m with is from the UK, so that’s no help. Twelve people in two groups.”

“Add in the course tutors and that makes sixteen possible culprits,” Eric said. “You have five more days to work it out ... if you want to.”

“You know me too well, Eric! Stop teasing! You know I hate being in the dark,” she said. “What do you think?”

“I think you could go along with the suggestion.”

“There was a suggestion?”

“Did it not imply that he ... I’m assuming it’s a man until further notice ... was wondering what the rest of your body looked like? How would you feel about giving him some further clues? You’ll be having supper with the group later, won’t you?”

“Well, yes...”

“So if you wore something that shows off the outline of your lovely body, that would be fun for you and nice for him, too, don’t you think?”

“And for you, let’s not forget! Such as wearing what? I came to improve my photography skills, not to dress up.”

“You’ll think of something,” Eric said. “I’m going to leave you now, so you can get started. Bye bye Maya. All my love. Same time tomorrow?” The screen went blank.

Maya sat for a moment, reading and re-reading the note. Eric’s teasing had woken up her inner imp and she was very tempted to play along with this anonymous fan. She went to look over her clothes. Most of what she had with her had been brought with cold weather in mind, since the highlight of the course was to be photographing the ice caves and the Northern Lights. She tried on various combinations before she made her decision, opting for a white tee shirt that just covered her bottom, and a pair of tight-fitting leggings. Not too revealing in terms of skin exposure, but it gives an idea of my general shape. At supper that evening, she did her best to identify who might be showing unusual interest. Most of the other women were older than she, so she wasn’t altogether surprised that she was the object of quite a few appreciative masculine looks, but no more than on her frequent visits to the gym. Not knowing who she was showing off for, though, gave her a warm glow in her belly. By the time that the meal was over and the leaders had reminded their respective groups of the early start the following morning, she was none the wiser.

The next day was busy. Up early, on to a minibus, off to some ice-fields, hours of taking photos followed by a return to the hotel and a session discussing people’s efforts. It was early evening when Maya went off to have a shower. She was drying her hair as she emerged from the bathroom and didn’t at first notice the new envelope that had appeared under her door. It was blue, this time.

_Thank you, shield-maiden! What a tempting body you have! Such magnificent breasts. May I guess at 34C? Truly inspiring.

Dawn. Drakkar from deep Lust-slaked shield-maid proud in prow, Stands stripped, night-naked _

She was still considering the note when her laptop pinged.

“Any news?” Eric asked. She read him the first part of the note.

“He has a good eye. He even got your bra size right!”

“That’s not all. Listen.”

She read Eric the poem.

“Interesting. Anglo-Saxon alliteration, but in the form of a haiku. Not the sort of thing you get from the man in the street,” Eric commented. “So he wants to see more of your breasts? Would you like to show them to him properly?

“Would you care to define properly?” But I know what Eric is thinking.

“By properly, I mean bare, of course.”

The little shiver that ran down her back told her the truth. “I’m getting a bizarre sort of buzz. It’s weird to be thinking about showing more of myself when I have no idea to whom. At least in the restaurant with Gaëlle I could watch the waiters watching me, unnerving though that was. This is different and in a way troubling. But I can’t deny it’s exciting.”

“How practical would it be to show more?” Eric asked. “Given the climate?”

“The day after tomorrow we have free time in the afternoon. I didn’t know the hotel had a geo-thermal pool, or I’d have brought a swimsuit, and that could have been a possibility.”

“Buy yourself a bikini as a present from me!” Eric exclaimed.

“You’re really getting into this, Eric, aren’t you?” Maya said with a smile.

“And you aren’t? I bet if you showed me your tits, your nipples would be standing up!”

She took the hint and unwrapped her towel so she was bare to the waist. “You win your bet,” she said, gently squeezing the erect buds.

“And very nice too! Have you time to give yourself a little rub for me?”

She sat back in her chair and opened the towel completely. She slipped a finger between her labia and wasn’t surprised to find she was damp. “Look,” she said, holding up a wet digit. “But I only have time for a quickie.”

Eric made an appreciative noise. Maya worked enthusiastically on her clitoris for a couple of minutes and came.

“Nice! I enjoyed that. Did you?” she asked.

“Lovely,” Eric confirmed. “Now hurry up and buy a bikini. But remember, I’m only paying if it’s a sexy one and it shows off your tits!”

After another day of photography, Maya went straight to the hotel shop.

“I want a bikini,” she told the sales girl. There was a limited choice, but Maya took three bikinis into the changing room. She stripped and tried the first one.

Eric would not approve. He’d say it was far too respectable and I have to agree. He wants it to show off my boobs and since he’s paying... The second bikini with its thong back certainly met all Eric’s criteria. The bra was made up of two small triangular pieces that not only showed a lot of cleavage but also exposed the outer curve of her breasts. The thin, unlined material did nothing to hide the piercing in her nipple.

Far too blatant. I don’t want to appear brazen. Besides, I’m not a twenty-year-old pornstar! Bikini three had a shorty bottom and a lined bandeau top with built-in foam cups. Probably too decent. She was about to give up when she remembered a trick that Gaëlle had shown her one time. Examining the bra more closely, she could see how it might be made to be significantly more revealing, as she, and Eric, of course, wanted. Catching her breath at the price, she paid and went up to her room.

Eric, you’ll have to forgive me for what I’m about to do to this very expensive swimsuit! Using her little scissors, she managed to extract the cups, which also involved removing the lining. She held the bra against her. It still covered her breasts but their natural shape was far more noticeable. Now for Gaëlle’s little trick! She took off her wedding ring and threaded the bandeau through the ring to the mid-point, where it would sit in her cleavage. She put the bikini on and examined the effect in the mirror. The ring pulled the material together over a much wider part of the bandeau than she had envisaged. She shivered. Oh! I’m showing a lot more flesh than I’d expected, but it’s too late to change it. How will Eric react, I wonder? She went to the laptop and called him. When he appeared, his first sight was of Maya wearing the bikini and bending over facing the camera.

“Oh, fabulous! I can see right down between your breasts!” he said. She smiled at the confirmation that she had achieved his aim, even if she, personally, was feeling rather nervous about the extent of her exposure. Even when she told him the price it did nothing to reduce his enthusiasm.

“I’m just sorry I’m not there to see you in person,” he said. “Lucky Mr Whoever!”

“Listen, Eric. I have an urge to show off just a little, this evening at supper time as an appetiser. Would you like that? I was thinking maybe no bra?”

“Silly question! Of course! What do you have that you can wear without a bra and that will let everyone know that you’re not wearing one?

“Give me a moment.”

Maya disappeared from the screen and reappeared a few moments later wearing only a pair of knickers and carrying her white cotton shirt. She put it on.

“Yes!” Eric exclaimed. “I can see most of your bum!”

“And then I have to decide what to wear on my bottom half,” she said.

“Oh!” Eric’s voice revealed mock disappointment. “I was looking forward to you going to supper like that!”

“With my knickers on show? Come on, Eric. Be at least a bit reasonable,” she chided him. “Now, what can I wear with this?”

“Your grey leggings?” Eric suggested. “They show you off nicely.”

“No can do. They’re grubby after I went scrambling over mossy rocks yesterday. Besides, people have seen me wearing those. I don’t want to repeat myself.”

“What about running tights?” Eric asked. “Did you take any?”

“Of course I did! And they’re clean. I haven’t had time to go for a run yet.”

“Which tights are they?”

“My black ones.”

“With the broad white stripe down the outside of the leg?”

“Yes. Aren’t they a bit thin for wearing in public?”

“All the nicer! Let me see them on, at least.”

She went and put on her lycra tights.

“With the white shirt, you look sensational,” Eric exclaimed. “Turn round so I can get the full effect ... Ah ... That’s a pity. I can see the line of your knickers. I can tell they’re black, too. The colour shows through the white stripe.”

“I didn’t bring any thongs, so that’s just too bad.”

“Here’s an idea,” Eric said. “Why not simply take your knickers off?”

“Eric!” she riposted. “You are joking!”

“Not at all. I’m deadly serious. You said you wanted to look and feel sexy, didn’t you? Well, I dare you!”

“You never give up, do you?” she asked rhetorically. It’s a tempting idea, though, if I have the nerve. She peeled off the tights, dropped her knickers to the floor and put the tights on again. “And now?”

“Much better. Lift the shirt and do me a pirouette?”

She gathered the shirt round her waist.

“Lovely! Almost as good as nude. A nice smooth line. Clear definition of your buttocks and from in front, just a hint of camel toe.”

“Enough, Eric!” Maya was feeling more and more flustered as it sank in how exposed she was about to be. Whoosh! This is turning me on and I haven’t left my room yet! How am I going to feel when people can see me stripped down like this? But I’m going to do it. She drew a deep breath. Let’s see how far Eric wants me to go. “How many buttons do you want me to leave open, Eric? And don’t say all of them!” She unfastened the three top buttons. “Like this?”

“Three will make it obvious you’re not wearing a bra. That’s good. Can you bend over for me?”

She leaned forwards towards the screen. Eric whistled.

“When you do that I can see almost all of your boobs! If I didn’t know about your nipple piercing, I’d guess that you have one. Lovely!”

Quick! Before my courage fails me! “I must go,” she said hurriedly. “I’ll report in later.” She logged off. She was aware that her breasts were bouncing a little as she trotted down the stairs. She paused to check her appearance in a big mirror just outside the dining room. Her face was flushed. After checking that nobody was looking, she lifted the front of her shirt. A hint of camel toe? Eric, you’re being economical with the truth again! The reflection told her that the contours of her sex were clearly visible. Too late to do anything about it now. Besides, this is exciting me and I like that! She gathered her courage and went to join the group.

Through the meal and the conversations that followed, Maya tried hard to balance the urge to show off her degree of exposure with her need not to appear aware of it. She did her best to be selective in her choice of moments to bend down, hoping to catch her anonymous admirer looking, but she was no closer to identifying her admirer by the time she returned frustrated to her room to sleep. She checked for a note before she got into bed, and again when she got up next day, but there was nothing.

There was still nothing by the time she went off to the all-morning session in the darkroom. After lunch she gathered her modified bikini and a towel and headed for the geo-thermal pool. In the communal changing room, she stripped off and showered as required by the instruction posters and then put on the bikini.

My boobs feel a lot more exposed now I’m about to appear in public. I’ve made the effort, so you’d better be watching, whoever you are! She walked out of the changing room and into the open air. Instantly her nipples tightened and rose from the intense cold, undisguised by the thin Lycra. Although the sun was shining, the steam rising from the waters of the wide, pale-blue pool told the story of an air temperature not far above freezing. She almost ran across to the pool. She sank with a sigh of pleasure into the water, which felt like a hot bath. She soaked for a while, then decided that, although she was there to provide a potential show for someone, she might as well also get some exercise. She crossed the pool swimming fast crawl. After a few strokes her top slipped down round her waist. She stopped and trod water while she made herself decent again, then returned to her start point floating gently on her back. Another energetic swim. It’s a nice sensation to feel the warm water sliding over my bare breasts. Are you watching, Mr Watcher? Then she was ready to come out. Assuming that her fan might be observing her, she took her time and stood out in the open to dry herself, shivering in the freezing air. She dared herself to go further and pulled her bra-top down before covering her bare breasts by wrapping herself in her towel. There! If he was paying attention, he may have seen me topless. I wonder if the next note will mention it. This is turning me on, showing off for some unknown person who may be off somewhere photographing a glacier! How bizarre! She went back to her room and changed for supper. Having done her best to carry out her little exhibition, she dressed conservatively. If he wants more, he’ll have to ask nicely! Her laptop pinged. She dealt with a minor dispute between the twins and was then able to concentrate on Eric, whose face left her in no doubt that he was waiting for her to tell the story of the bikini and the pool.

“Well?” he began.

Maya explained what she had done. Eric seemed disappointed that there had been no further reaction from the author of the notes. She could tell that the demands of the twins were starting to show on her husband. He looked a little down and even her offer to play at webcams for him was met with less enthusiasm than before. She reminded him that she loved him and only him, then signed off.

The long table at which the two groups met to eat was quite noisy. People had spent their free afternoon in a variety of ways and there was much exchanging of experiences. Maya was feeling the effects of her conversation with Eric and sat for the most part in silence. The excitement of her quick boob flash had faded. She listened distractedly to the conversations around her, until something caught her attention. ~Someone just mentioned Cap d’Agde!_ She controlled her urge to stare up the table to where the words had been spoken. It has to be my watcher! There can’t be two unconnected sex hounds in such a small group. She thought for a moment and realised she could eliminate the six people to her right from her list of suspects. Ten left! Who are you? She listed them to Eric later that evening, waiting to tell him that another note had arrived until she had exhausted those possibilities.

“Three of the tutors, Reg and Jean, Paul and George, plus the couple and the man I don’t know from the other group.”

“Any preferences as to who you’d like it to be?”

“I’m not thinking like that. This is more about the strange excitement of being voyeured by an anonymous admirer than their identity.” Maya held up the latest envelope. “There’s another note, violet paper!”

“You were holding that back!”

“I wanted to tell you about the suspects before confusing you with the note. It says: Very stylish at supper last night. Elegant and suggestive. There’s another haiku, too: _Strongly sword-wife swims Naked nipples, long lithe legs Lustful looks linger~

Eric perked up. “He obviously enjoyed your little flash. Are you going to show him again ... show him more?”

“Call me tomorrow night and I’ll tell you! Sleepy time, Eric! Sweet dreams!”

She blew him a kiss and disconnected.

Maya got up early the next morning and went to the pool. There seemed to be nobody about, so she slipped her bikini top down around her waist, dived in and swam lengths. I’m here and if you’re here too, you can see me topless. If you aren’t, tough. She was reaching for the pool edge when she realised that she was not alone. Surprised, she stood up in the shallow water, forgetting for a moment that she was bare to the waist.

“Hello. I thought I was the only one who swam at this time of day,” Jean said.

“It’s the first time for me,” Maya explained. “I just felt I needed some exercise.”

“I’ve been coming every morning. Back home there’s no way I can swim outside at this time of year, so I just had to take advantage. Does it feel nice to swim topless? Nobody would notice if I did it, with my little boobs, but you look magnificent.” Jean looked at Maya’s bare breasts with apparent pleasure and without any self-consciousness at all.

“Thank you,” Maya mumbled, hauling her top up to cover herself. “Time to get changed before breakfast, I think.” She climbed out and trotted to the changing room. Jean followed her and with no false modesty at all, peeled off her swimsuit and started to dry herself. You have to be a few years older than me, Jean, but you look very good, naked! You’re staring, Maya! Stop it! She turned her back on the other woman and stripped off her bikini. This is ridiculous, Maya! You never hide yourself when you’re at the gym back home! Gaëlle and Leila would tease you terribly if you did. Maya deliberately turned to face Jean. “How is your photography coming on,” she asked. There! I’m drying my back so you can see anything of me that you want to see ... and I can see you, too and you have a most attractive body, Jean!

“This visit is more for Reg’s benefit than mine,” Jean said. “He’s the photography enthusiast. I just wanted to see Iceland. I’m glad I came.”

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Maya said. She finished getting dressed and left Jean alone to finish off. She trotted up to her room, hoping to catch Eric for an early chat. She was in luck; the twins were still reading in bed.

“Why the early call? News?” Eric asked.

“Not as such, but I thought you might like to hear my description of another course member whom I’ve just seen in the nude.”

“Not that I’m biased, but I’ll be keener if it’s a woman.”

“It is. It’s Jean.”

“25 years married? That one?” Eric sounded underwhelmed.

“Yes, but she has such a neat body, Eric. You’d really have enjoyed seeing her naked. I was surprised how good she looks. Little tits and nice muscle definition, rather like Leila but a bit chunkier. Perky nipples and a bush trimmed back to almost nothing. Very attractive.”