Chapter 1

When we were finally clear of the traffic congestion at Las Vegas' McLaren Airport and on Tropicana Blvd., I turned on I-15 and headed west toward Los Angeles. A few miles later I turned on highway 160. As soon as we turned off the Interstate Lynn, exhausted from the trip and the nearly sleepless previous 24 hours, curled up in the passenger seat of the compact rental car and quickly fell asleep.

After driving on the two lane highway for several minutes, the headlights illuminated a green milage sign that confirmed we were on the right road, heading in the right direction. It was 42 more miles to Pahrump.

I was alone with my thoughts.

To say that the past year had been financially challenging for us would be a gross understatement. I hadn't been making enough sales for my commission to cover car payments, other payments and the mortgage. It finally caught up with us last week when we received a certified letter from the mortgage company informing us that they were foreclosing on our house in thirty days if we didn't bring the payments current. We had three weeks to come up with $7,000.

Neither Lynn's family or mine could help. Our credit cards had been maxed and we had waited too long for Lynn to look for a job to help cover the gap between my income and our expenses.

It seemed that there was only one person in whom I could confide. Earl, was the first person to welcome us to the neighborhood when we moved into the tract home on our cul de sac six years ago. He had retired early and was much older than us. But his retirement wasn't what he had planned because Mary, his wife, died unexpectedly two years ago. I thought of him as a much older brother, someone who would never condemn me for my stupid mistakes. His only vice seemed to be to fly to Las Vegas several times a year.

After dinner last night, I walked over to Earl's. When I finished my long story, he didn't say anything. He just walked to the refrigerator, came back with two cold Buds, handed one to me and flopped down in his big club chair. I could tell that the severity of our situation had caught him by surprise.

"Ted, I sure wish I had the money." He was, almost, apologetic. "Truth is, everything that we had saved, which wasn't very much, went to take care of Mary. And, I piss away a lot of my pension on my Vegas trips." He seemed lost in thought for a minute. "I know how much you kids love that house, hate to see you lose it."

"Hey, I wasn't asking you for a loan Earl, just your advice. But you're right, we do love the house, this neighborhood and the kid's school. I think I'd do just about anything, that's legal, to keep it." He took another swallow and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "There just may be a way out of your problem. Hell, seven grand's a lot of money and three weeks isn't much time to raise it. Let's face it Ted, obviously, you're not going to be able to borrow that kind of money."

"That's sure the truth." He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees making sure he had my attention before he continued. "You're going to have to earn it."

"Shit Earl! There's no way in hell I can make that kind of money in three weeks. My boss told me I received my last advance two months ago and warned me to never ask for another."

"I know you can't earn that much in just three weeks." He emphasized the word you. Then he continued his thought. "But Lynn can." Lynn had never earned half that amount before in three months, let alone three weeks. The last time she worked was before the kids were born when she was a waitress during my last two years of college.

Before I could say a word, he went on to explain. "You know I fly to Vegas as often as I can. You also know I love to gamble. But gambling's not the main reason I go there now."

"Earl, I don't have any idea what you're talking about. Spit it out."

"Hell, I'm not dead yet. I still have urges, you know sexual needs. I'm not interested in dating and getting emotionally involved with some old gal here." He paused, took another swig, then continued. "So, guess what? I found another, less complicated, way to satisfy my needs." He had my total attention. Sex had been the subject of many of our best man to man conversations over the years, especially after two or three beers. "Go on," I encouraged him, "tell me what you do."

"The first trip I took to Vegas, a few months after Mary died, opened my eyes to something I hadn't known before. There isn't a classy way to say this my friend, so just bear with me. Okay?"

"Ya, ya, that's fine. Go on."

"Well, I was real horny and the second night I was there I asked a cabby where I could go to get laid. Let me tell you, I learned a lot in a few minutes. This guy explained that prostitution was illegal in Clark County, that's where Vegas is, but not in a neighboring County.

He went on to tell me that there are several safe, licensed whorehouses out there in the desert. I guess he must have felt sorry for me because he admitted the best way to get there would be for me to rent a car. He was nice enough to give me directions."

"What did you do?"

"Hell man, I took his advice. The next day I did rent a car and drove to Pahrump, that's the name of town where a couple of the houses are located. Let me tell you, when I drove back to Vegas two hours later, I felt like I was sixteen years old again. Now, every trip to Vegas includes at least two trips to Paradise Ranch." I didn't have a clue how this would solve our problem. He paused to gauge my reaction before he continued. "The gals at Paradise Ranch, that's the name of my favorite house, are all very attractive. Some of them are even really beautiful, but I've never seen anyone there that's nearly as beautiful and sexy as Lynn." I started to get pissed. I thought old Earl was saying he wanted to fuck my wife but that wasn't what was on his mind, which he quickly explained. "Now don't get upset... there's no easy way to say this about a good friend's wife, but I know that Lynn could easily make seven grand if she worked out there for three weeks. The beauty is, it's all perfectly legal, safe and a thousand miles from here." I was too shocked to react to his suggestion. So he went on, "if you want, I can give you the number and you can call yourself and see if they're hiring. Hell, based on what you explained to me, there may not be any other solution to your problem." He couldn't possibly think she would consider his proposed solution to our crisis. "Earl, I know you're trying to be helpful but that's just not possible," I said while shaking my head. "You know Lynn. Kids, their school, church, miss prim and proper. Not a chance." He looked at me seriously. "Do you remember when we got drunk last month and we started telling each other some of our crazy fantasies? You seemed very serious when you told me that you wish Lynn was less inhibited, that you liked it when guys flirted and danced close with her. You told me that your ultimate fantasy was to actually see her get fucked or to at least know she was fucking other guys. Was that the truth?"

"Why'd you bring that up? That's not fair, I had too much to drink... but I confess it was the truth."

"Does Lynn know about your dirty fantasies?"

"Oh, does she ever. I thought I told you, I've been after her for years to do something. Except for when we're... you know, when we're making love... she just laughs it off and calls me a pervert."

"The way I see it, you can talk with Lynn about my idea. If she loves the house half as much as you say she does, well wouldn't this be a way to save it and fulfill your fantasy at the same time? Nobody here, but the three of us, would ever know." Before I could answer he asked, "You want the number to Paradise Ranch?"

I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. "No. Thanks anyway but I'll have to figure some other way out of this mess."

"Suit yourself. But if I were in your shoes I'd give it some serious thought. Just let me know if you change your mind. And, you may be surprised by her reaction. I've been with a couple of married gals there that were in the same boat you guys are in. The married gals, for me, are always hotter than the single ones." As I walked home I thought about Earl's crazy proposal. I knew there was zero chance that Lynn would go along with it, though I found myself getting aroused just thinking about her at the Ranch. By the time I got home Lynn had put the kids to bed and was cleaning the kitchen.

"Hi honey," she said cheerfully, though I knew she had no reason to be cheerful. "What did Earl have to say?"

"Oh, we just talked about the foreclosure."

"Did he have any bright ideas?"

"I don't know how bright his ideas are but I sure learned a lot about our neighbor that I didn't know before."

"I can't believe Earl has a secret life that we don't know about. Tell me, what did you learn?" She asked with genuine interest.

"That old coot goes to a whorehouse every time he goes to Las Vegas."

"Earl? You've got to be kidding! I thought guys his age lost their interest in sex."

"Apparently not. But I swear it's the truth, he really goes to this whorehouse out in the Nevada desert at least a couple of times every trip. He said the girls there are very pretty." I don't know why, I hadn't intended to say anymore but for some reason I did. "But Earl said none of them are nearly as pretty and sexy as you."

"He said that? I wonder what he meant?"

"I can tell you exactly what he meant. He suggested that you spend the next three weeks working out there to cover the mortgage payments."

"What! That old letch. I can't believe he said that. He must be getting senile or something. Besides, there's no way a woman could make that much money in just three weeks. He must have been joking with you."

"He wasn't joking. He was very serious. He really believes that's the best way, maybe the only way, to save the house. And, he didn't have any doubt about you making that much in three weeks." Neither of us spoke as we prepared for bed and sleep. But little sleep came to us that long night. While holding each other we reviewed, for what seemed like the hundredth time, our alternatives. Then, we wasted a lot of time playing the stupid "what if' games that people play. If only we hadn't bought this, gone there, done that we could have made our mortgage payments. Finally, we each acknowledged that we weren't going to win the lottery, undo our past mistakes or borrow our way out of this mess. The only question was: how much did we want to keep the house?

It must have been three in the morning when Lynn said, "I guess Earl's suggestion, that seemed really stupid when you first told me about it, doesn't seem so stupid now, does it? I mean, doing something like that here in Portland is out of the question. I guess because it's legal in Nevada, then maybe we should consider it. What do you think honey?" To appreciate this conversation you have to understand that Lynn had been my girlfriend during our senior year in high school more than a dozen years ago. I thought she was the prettiest girl I had ever seen, I still do. We married two years after graduation. Three children were born. Like many young families, we borrowed to buy cars, stereos, furniture and eventually our small home on the cul de sac in a suburb of Portland. It was important to us that she stay home with the kids. No day care for us.

Lynn was even less sexually experienced than I was when we started dating. I knew that, though she had experimented and tested limits, I was the only man with whom she had sexual intercourse. When I entered her for the first time I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

She was an incredible lover. As the years have gone by, she's gotten better and better. Her sexual talents, abilities and enthusiastic appetite÷that had yet to be shared÷are indescribable. My friends think I'm the luckiest man in the world. They're right.

As Earl reminded me, I have had a fantasy for years of Lynn with other men. I've learned that some husbands feel the same way I do, don't ask me why. I couldn't imagine being married to someone who wasn't attractive and desirable, not just to me, to other men also. Anyway, Lynn knew those nasty thoughts were what made me hot and she played along with them, sometimes even encouraged them. However, indulging my fantasies while we made love was one thing, acting on them had proven to be quite another.

I couldn't help it but the raunchy thought of her possibly÷until now unbelievably÷working at Paradise Ranch caused my cock to swell and my breath to catch. Lynn knew me well enough to know exactly what my sigh meant. Her delicate hand reached down and began to stroke me. Her hot, wet mouth trailed down my stomach, through my hair to my cock which she swallowed. She shifted around until my mouth was on her sweet, moist pussy at the same time. Sixty-nine is our favorite number. When she couldn't wait any longer, she climbed on and I plunged in. Her pussy pulsed and milked my cock. Her ability never ceased to amaze me. I knew that she could have gone on for hours, I sure couldn't. No matter how long we fucked, she always came when I did, though I knew she was always ready for more. This time our climaxes were even more explosive than usual... After a few minutes of silence, almost timidly, she brought her lips to my ear. "Can you think of any other way we can make $7,000 in three weeks?" She whispered.

"I guess we could rob a bank," was my attempt at levity. Then, I shook my head. "Seriously? I answered my own question by, feebly, stating the obvious. "No, as hard as I've tried, I can't think of any other way."

"Okay then, let's just face it, I don't see that we have any other choice." She began to rationalize and justify, what seemed to be her decision, by listing some of the reasons: "After all, It's far away from here, it's Legal, Earl says it's clean, it's not like I'm a virgin. How bad can it be for three weeks?"

"Do you think you could actually... I mean... ?"

"Could I make love to another man, to lots of men, is that what you were going to ask?"

"Not make love Lynn. Obviously, you can only make love with someone you love. Could you actually fuck a lot of men for money? Could you do to a stranger what you just did for me. Can you welcome a strange cock into your pussy that's only known mine all these years? Those are the questions."

"Even though that's been your fantasy for years, and you've never been bashful telling me your dirty thoughts, until now I was certain I couldn't. I vowed to be faithful to you. To cleave only to you. You know I've taken that very seriously. Being intimate with a stranger didn't even seem possible." She held me more tightly. "Right this minute, I honestly don't know if I can. What I do know is that we need a lot more information." I knew that we were both thinking about what she had said. "Ted, how about you? I mean... what you've fantasized about, even in the extreme, fell far short of this. Could you handle it?" She was right. I had wanted her to pick up a guy in a bar. Spend the night with him. Tell me about it or arrange for me to watch. In my widest dreams I never thought of her fucking a parade of faceless strangers in a whorehouse for money. But, now that I thought about it, it made me hot. "Not only do I think I can handle it, I think it will be a terrific turn on. I guess I need to get the number from Earl or have him call for us. You're right, I guess it can't hurt to get more information."

"While you and Earl are finding out if it's even possible, I'll have to make arrangements for the kids and try to come up with some reason, if everything works out, for leaving so quickly and being gone for so long. Right now I'm drawing a blank." There wasn't anything else we could do at 4:00 in the morning. We both dozed for two or three hours but if her sleep was like mine it probably didn't do her much good. My thoughts went from nightmarish terror, as I thought about our finances, to highly erotic as I thought about what we were considering.

I knew that Earl was an early riser because I had coffee with him at 7:30 many mornings. Sure enough, the fragrance of freshly brewed coffee confirmed that he was up.

"Lynn and I talked about your idea."

"Oh really... and?" He asked as he poured me a cup.

"I guess we want to check it out. You know, see if it's even possible and get some details."

"Let me give you the number," he offered.

"I thought maybe you could call them for us." He didn't hesitate and said, "Sure, I can do that. Whenever I've called before it's been as a customer to see if one of my favorites was working, but, sure I can call." From memory he punched in a few numbers on the kitchen phone, gave me an encouraging smile and waited for an answer.

"Hello, this is Earl... Hi Marsha. I've been a customer for a couple of years... No, that's not what I'm calling about... I was wondering if you are hiring? A lady who lives across the street... very beautiful... no she's not here... her husband's here with me but she knows about this call... okay here he is. She wants to talk with you, her name's Marsha," he said as he covered the mouth piece with his hand.

"Good morning. This is Ted."

"Hello Ted. Has your wife worked in this line of business before?" A friendly, mature female voice on the other end of the line asked.

"No, this is something that just came up and we talked about it last night."

"Sounds like you need to make some serious money quickly."

"You got it."

"Let me ask you a few questions, okay?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Start by telling me her first name, I'll make a few notes and open a file on her. Then I need to know her age, measurements, that okay?"

"Well, her name is Lynn, she's 32, 5'5", I think she weighs about 115, maybe a 120 pounds. I know her bra is 34B and she wears a size six dress. Her legs are fantastic and very long She has a nice waist and ass but I don't know the measurements, sorry." Did I just tell a stranger that my wife had a nice ass?

"Okay, that's fine so far. Now if you can tell me about her hair, grooming and which singer or actress she reminds you of."

"She has long brown hair. I don't know what you mean about grooming but she pays a lot attention to her appearance. I don't know if you know the actress Dana Delaney but if you do, everyone thinks she looks like her."

"Okay, that's great. We are hiring now because we're down a couple of girls and there are big conventions scheduled the next two weeks. We like to have fifteen to twenty women working at all times. Most of our ladies work two or three weeks and then they're off a week or two. I'm sure you want to know about the potential income." I thought I needed to be candid with her so I said, "we need to make $7,000 in three weeks."

"That's sure possible, but it's strictly up to the lady. We keep half, she keeps half and that includes any tips. Some of our ladies make $2,000 a week and some as much as $5,000."

"The ladies stay here twenty-four hours a day. If she decides to come she should bring reading material, her favorite music CD's, a swimming suit, hair dryer, cosmetics, other things that she would take on a vacation. Any questions?"

"After I hang up, I'll probably think of a dozen questions I should have asked but you've answered most of the questions that were on my mind. Now what?"

"Well, there are really two or three other practical questions I must ask. Do you know when her last menstrual cycle ended? What form of birth control does she use? When was her last baby born?"

"She finished her period a couple of days ago. She can't get pregnant anymore. Our youngest is five. Anything else?"

"Yes, just three more." It was now obvious to me that she had been reading from and filling in a form. "Has she ever been arrested? Does she use illegal drugs? Does she have, or has she ever had, a sexually transmitted disease or ever tested HIV positive?"

"She's never been arrested, doesn't use drugs, never had VD and never been tested for HIV because it hasn't been necessary. Any more questions?"

"Not that we can handle by phone. Whether or not she's suitable for the work can only be determined by a face to face interview, and really not even then, only by giving it a try. If you would like to send her out here, we can visit and take it from there." The ball was now in my court. The foreclosure clock was ticking rapidly. Lynn seemed resolved to give it a try as Marsha called it. "How do we get there?" I asked as Earl anticipated my need and handed me a pad of paper and pencil.

"If she comes by herself, we can meet her flight. If you come with her to help her settle in, which I strongly advise since she hasn't done this before, then I recommend you rent a car and drive her out from Las Vegas." Before hanging up I jotted down the directions from the Las Vegas Airport to Paradise Ranch.

"Marsha suggested that I fly out with Lynn and drive her to the place. Hell, we can't afford to do that."

"Ted, I don't have $7,000 but I do have two free round trips on Southwest that I've earned flying out to Vegas. I want you and Lynn to have them. I'm pretty sure they are transferable."

"Earl, you don't have to do that. You'll be going back yourself soon, no sense paying for a ticket when you have a free one."

"I insist. That's the end of that." By the time I got home the kids had gone to school and Lynn was taking a shower. She came out of the bathroom with her head wrapped in a towel. "So did Earl talk with them?"

"Yes he did. So did I." Then I told her everything that I could remember from my conversation with Marsha. I also told her that Earl had given us two round trip airline tickets. "When do you want to go?"

"I called my sister while you were at Earl's and told her something had come up suddenly and we had to leave, perhaps as early as today. Lucky she didn't press for details. She can take the kids today and tomorrow." While she rubbed her hair dry she said, "I don't see that we have anything to lose but what it costs to rent a car. No sense prolonging this, let's give it a try. While you call the airline, I'll pack some things just in case we can make it today?" We did make it. There was a flight that departed Portland at 4:20 p.m. that had a couple of certificate seats available and landed at Las Vegas two hours later.

I hadn't slept a wink on the nonstop flight. Lynn catnapped, tried to read a pocketbook but was, understandably, fidgety. I saw that she just picked at the meal they served half way into the flight. Then we were in Las Vegas. It was hard to believe that less than twenty-four hours had elapsed since I shared our plight with Earl.

And now, after driving for nearly an hour over a mountain pass and through the bleak desert, we were approaching the town where brothels were licensed and prostitution was legal. Lynn sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as I turned off Highway 160 and onto Homestead Road. "How much farther?" She asked.

"Marsha said another eight miles."

"I hope there's a gas station or someplace where I can fix my hair and freshen up." As we plunged into the desert night away from civilization, not towards it, I said, "I would be very surprised if there's anything between here and Paradise Ranch." She turned on the passenger mirror vanity light and started to brush her lustrous hair. Before she finished, I saw that I was wrong. On our right was a gas station, a convenience store and a small casino called Terribles. I pulled in and parked. Lynn got out and walked into the convenience store. She was wearing a short black dress and black very high heel sandals.

Ten minutes later she returned looking as if she had just left a beauty salon. Her hair and makeup were perfect. She looked tired when we landed but refreshed and stunningly beautiful now.

After driving a couple of minutes I saw a small blue sign that said: Paradise Ranch 2 miles. Then we were there. I pulled into a paved parking lot where perhaps ten other cars were parked. On the right of the rambling building was a bar. In front of the building was a white fence with a gate in the middle and a buzzer button next to it. Finally it was Lynn who broke the silence by nervously asking, "Well how do we do this? I mean should I go in by myself? Do I take my bags now or come back for them? What do you think?" The questions rushed out of her mouth so fast they almost overlapped. I don't remember her ever being so wired, which was understandable.

"Relax honey, take it easy, slow down if you can. Let's leave your bags in the car for now. I'll go with you to the door and take it from there." I walked around the car to her side and opened her door. We walked hand in hand to the gate. She pushed the buzzer, after a few seconds we heard the distinctive click indicating the gate had been unlocked. Another buzzer was at the front door. She took a deep breath, pressed the buzzer button and instantly the door was opened by a woman who must have been fifty or so and looked like she could have been a school teacher or a librarian.

"What's your name honey?" She asked Lynn.

"I'm Lynn, this is my husband Ted, he talked with Marsha on the phone this morning." She explained.

"Well I'm Joy welcome to the Ranch..." She smiled and reached out and shook our hands Then she explained, "Marsha's not here right now but we can take care of things without her. Follow me." I confess I was emotionally overloaded as we followed her. I tried to take in as much as I could. On the left of the entry, I saw a room that looked like a very glitzy living room. Down the hall she opened a door to an office. "Sit down honey." Then she picked up the phone, punched a couple of numbers. "Yvonne, I'm processing a new lady. Will you handle the doors and the lineups for awhile? Thanks." She found the brown file folder on the corner of the desk with "Lynn ___" printed on the tab. She opened the folder, put on a pair of granny glasses and read from what was in the folder. "Okay, I see you've never been employed in the sex industry before and never had an HIV test, is that correct?"

"I've never done anything like this. Until last night I never knew a place like this even existed. We really need to make several thousand dollars as soon as possible." She said nearly breathlessly trying explain why were here.

I sensed that Joy was trying to be both friendly and reassuring. "I think we can work that out. Lynn, you're really gorgeous with a great figure, I'm sure you'll be very popular. We just need to finish the processing, get you tested and on file with the sheriff."

"What! I hadn't heard anything about that." Lynn exclaimed as she turned and shot me an accusing look suggesting I had kept something important from her. "That's all new to me. What does it entail?" She wanted to know.

"There's a doctor in town that will do a physical including an HIV test.

Then you go to the sheriff's office, they take your picture and your finger prints."

"Oh, I can't do that. I thought this would be done anonymously." She said with real concern as she reached for my hand for support.

"Lynn, it really is anonymous." Joy said calmly. I was certain that she had dealt with this very issue many times before. "No one knows who you are. The files are closed. Let me explain. Nevada state law allows any county with a small population, like Nye County where we are, to license brothels, providing the workers are cleared for health and registered with the sheriff. I can tell you that we've never had a case of aids that can be traced to any brothel in Nevada. The men who come to these places know that they are perfectly safe and that our women are clean." She looked at Lynn and with great sincerity said, "honey, I'm not trying to talk you into this but you've traveled all this way. Marsha should have explained the registration requirement to Ted." I said a silent thanks to Joy for getting me off the hook. "I'm sorry she didn't but there are no exceptions. As you can imagine Lynn, this is very big business and we play by the rules, we don't cut corners. I really think you'd do very well here, for as long as you'd like to stay, but it's entirely up to you." Lynn was biting her lower lip and squeezing my hand as she listened to this. "What do you think honey?"

"I guess what Joy said makes sense. Without these controls it would be illegal and dangerous for the women and the customers. It's your decision baby, not mine. What ever you decide is fine by me." Lynn seemed crestfallen. "What do you mean, my decision? I thought we were in this together." I sure didn't want an argument if front of Joy. "Honey, I'm sorry. Of course we're in this together. I know you're doing this for us. I just meant that I would be supportive if you do this or if you decide not to." I saw that Joy was both experienced and smart. She didn't wait for Lynn to agree. "Okay then, let's finish your file. What's your last name honey?"

"Martin," Lynn said quietly and without hesitation.

"And your address?"

"1357 Spartan Court, Portland, Oregon 97237."

"Home telephone?"

"503-555-2387"

"And last, your social security number?" Oh shit, I thought to myself, so much for any anonymity. She couldn't remember her number but I did and gave Joy the final piece of information.