Maren continues reading Desire’s Peak, a story she wrote on tour in Montana.
The music played during this episode: excerpts from a public domain version of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade
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Transcript
(orchestra tuning)
Hello and welcome to The Bodice Ripper Project, an exploration of sexuality, feminism, and the journey to self-empowerment through the lens of romance novels.
I’m Maren Montalbano, opera singer, coach, and writer.
In this episode, you’ll hear the continuation of Desire’s Peak, a story that I wrote on tour in Montana. I also wax on a bit about the changing seasons.
So make yourself comfortable, loosen your bodice, and let’s begin!
(intro music plays)
Hello, hello! Happy Easter, happy Passover, Ostara, beginning of Q2, whatever you celebrate.
I hope you are having a wonderful day. I’m feeling particularly optimistic. I don’t know if it’s because the days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer. I just am feeling a shift in the air and I can’t help but bring it along with me.
I got my first vaccine dose a few days ago, and that, I think, probably also is contributing to my good mood. But I can just feel things in the air.
Stuff is opening up. As more and more people get vaccinated, I think there are more plans being made for in-person events, live performances, even masked, but the fact that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, I can see it now and I’m very, very grateful for it.
And of course I am trying to figure out what that means for me. I’ve spent an entire year now in my house, mostly. And it’s a little scary to have to go back into the real world. I’m kind of doing it in baby steps. I feel like I’m wading into the water, you know? And it’s a little bit cold and I’m a little bit scared, but I’m also excited to dive back in and get wet. Safely, of course.
I’m also nearing the end of Season Two of the Bodice Ripper Project. Can you believe that? I can’t!
We have one more installment after this of Desire’s Peak, and one more interview, and that will be the end of Season Two. So I’ll take another break after that. I do have a few interviews lined up already for Season Three, they’re already in the can. But I’m thinking about reworking the podcast altogether, maybe doing a rebrand. I’m not sure yet. I’m still in the planning phases.
This week, I’ve spent a lot of time dreaming up goals for the second quarter of 2021. Um, and actually just thinking about, you know, quarters two through four, where do I want to go? What are my financial goals? What are my career goals? What are my personal development goals?
But one thing that I have noticed as I’ve been looking towards the future and thinking, “What more can I do? How can I better myself? What’s the next step?” I’ve actually been getting a lot of feedback from friends and colleagues saying, “You’re just doing so much. And I’m so impressed.” And I, I’m not saying that to toot my own horn or anything like that, I’m actually just saying this because I didn’t even notice that I was doing a whole lot.
I’ve been so focused on the future that I forgot about the now. Which you know, is a funny thing. I keep preaching that to all of my clients and my audience: stay in the now, carpe diem, gather the rosebuds while ye may. All of that. But I haven’t been living that. And it’s a good reminder to me to take stock of what has happened and see if there’s anything that I can learn or anything that I can take away from what has already been.
So I’m looking back and I see I’m incredibly grateful for this podcast. It’s gotten me through the pandemic for sure. And it’s opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me from learning about audio engineering, to voiceover, to just giving me a safe space to open up.
I mean, here I am in my closet. Right? And I can just kind of just talk to myself and I know I’m talking to you and I don’t know how many people are actually listening, but it’s okay. And I’m glad that I have this outlet. And I, I hope that whatever it is that I’m saying is helping you in a way. So I’m grateful to you for listening.
Season Three, we’ll definitely have more interviews. Maybe it’ll be a mix of interviews and monologues. I don’t know.
The thing is I don’t have a whole lot more stories. If I do read more stories, I’m going to have to sit down and write them, and I need time to do that. It could just be me riffing for a while. I’m not sure. Although I am seriously considering writing a serial. Stay tuned. Maybe that’ll be Season Four. I’m not sure.
Speaking of story, let’s just go ahead and get into Desire’s Peak.
When last we left off, Stetson had met two beautiful women who had robbed him and left him with a mysterious note. His memories were hazy, but arousing. So much so that he decided to go look for the mysterious women.
Her little derriere was so…
Dusty cleared his throat, staring pointedly at Stetson’s now bulging crotch. Stetson gave his friend a nod, adjusted himself, and walked briskly out of the bar.
Desire’s Peak
Chapter 3
“Dusty, I’m going to kill you.”
It was the umpteenth time he had heard himself say that, but he was pretty sure he meant it this time. They had gotten a flat about 50 miles down the road, and Dusty had insisted that they keep going on the donut, even though the GPS coordinates were pretty clearly in the middle of a notoriously unpaved section of Montana.
Now the donut was busted, they had absolutely no cell signal, and Dusty’s “sex magnet” Mustang was attracting nothing but trouble.
The two of them stood on the gravel road, staring glumly at the overheating engine. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did,” his friend said as he ran his hands nervously through his hair.
They had talked about the mysterious note and the even more mysterious women for the entire trip, and Stetson knew they were almost to their destination. He was so close, he could taste them…he shook his head at his own thoughts. It. They were so close, he could taste it.
“There’s still a few hours before sunset. Someone’s bound to come along this road soon,” Dusty said as he stared down what seemed like an endless line of gravel.
Stetson grabbed a bottle of water from the back seat. “You stay with the car. I’m going to head that way,” he said, pointing at a trail that led into the woods. The GPS Dusty had in his car showed the mystery location due west of where they were, and he figured he might be able to get there by foot before it got dark.
“Which way?” Dusty was in the middle of the road now, peering off into the distance to find a car.
“To the west.” He didn’t even wait to see if Dusty had heard him, stomping off into the woods with alacrity.
About a mile and a half down the trail, he heard the sound of rushing water. When he rounded the next corner, a large pool appeared before him: a natural curve in the stream that looked deep enough to dive into. He was so hot and dusty that his clothes were off and he was waist-deep in the cool water before he knew it.
He dunked his head into and out of the water several times, splashing water on his chest and arms as he waded further into the pool, when suddenly he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye that made him pause. At first he thought it might be a bear, but as he turned, he saw a woman treading water by a rocky outcropping. She was staring at him.
He raised a hand awkwardly. “Howdy,” he said, flashing a rueful smile. “Beg pardon, miss, I didn’t see you there.”
“I noticed,” she said, looking him up and down slowly.
Her gaze was so heated that he thought for sure he had stumbled onto some hot springs instead of a mountain stream. She was taking in every visible inch of his body, and he was somewhat relieved that everything below his waist was already in the water.
Unlike him, she was wearing a bathing suit, but most of her body was submerged, so she had the advantage. Still, he returned her stare, observing how her dark hair clung to her face in adorable ringlets, and how her perfectly rounded breasts bobbed up and down as she tread water. Her eyes were green and full of secrets.
Chapter 4
The woman swam towards Stetson, until she found her footing on the rocky bottom and stood up. The water ran down her body in rivulets, caressing her bare skin in the way he wanted to caress her.
They were staring into each other’s eyes; neither looked away, and they drew inexorably closer to one another.
Soon she was so close he could have reached out and pulled her into his arms, but he stayed perfectly still. The water was just below his waist, and though it was cold, he felt his manhood begin to stir.
She looked down at his swelling member and smiled in appreciation. “Did you forget your bathing suit? I feel awfully overdressed.” Before he could respond, she reached behind her back and undid the clasp of her bikini, tossing it to the shore.
Her bountiful bosom was now free of their constraints, and he couldn’t look away. He recognized these breasts! Was she one of the women from the bar?
She took another step towards him, and this time he did not stay still. He grasped her face in both his hands and pressed his lips to hers. She opened her mouth eagerly, and soon their tongues were dancing an intimate dance that sent waves of electricity coursing through his body.
Her body was pressed up against his, her breasts rubbing his chest provocatively. With one hand, he began to knead her soft globes, and his other hand wandered slowly down her back, tracing the line of her spine until he reached the edge of her bikini bottom.
He paused for a second, gauging her response. Her arms were entwined around his neck, and her breathing was becoming more rapid; however, when he slipped his hand under her bikini and began moving it downward, she pulled away from him.
And I will leave it there.
Join me next episode, in which Stetson and the buxom stranger get even more intimate.
Naked as the day he was born, he pursued the mysterious woman up the hill. Her laughter echoed throughout the valley as she ran through the meadow.
The conclusion of this story is sizzling hot, you guys. You’re not going to want to miss it. And you should probably not be driving when you’re listening.
I would love it if you subscribed to my newsletter. I do send out love notes and exclusive content to my subscribers. So go ahead, head on over to bodiceripperproject.com and sign up.
And of course I love hearing from you guys. If there was something that struck you about this episode or any episodes, or if you have any suggestions for Seasons Three and Four, send me a DM. I’m on Instagram @supermaren.
The Bodice Ripper Project is a production of Compassionate Creative, and was conceived, written, and edited by me, Maren Montalbano. The background music during the story was excerpts from a public domain version of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade – and the theme music was written by yours truly. If you liked what you heard, I invite you to give this podcast a 5-star rating – it really does make a difference – and I’ll see you next time.