To The Moon and Back: To The Moon and Back, #1

By J.R. Woodman

What happens when choosing to follow your deepest desires puts your career, and that of the person you love most, at risk?

 

Ryan Vaughn, a writer/producer, finally gets his first big Hollywood break. In casting for his new show, he has a chance encounter with his longtime crush and TV's newest up and coming "it girl", Luna Torres. As their relationship progresses into a romantic one, they quickly learn of their shared interests in kink and BDSM. The switch couple, thanks to the shared trust between them, decides to explore a "bucket list" of fantasies brought up by Luna; fantasies that wouldn't exactly be beneficial to the reputation of someone in the public eye if they were to be revealed. Luna and Ryan may have taken steps to ensure that the activities of their relationship stay under wraps, but that won't stop Luna's bitter ex and a nosy paparazzo desperate for a story from attempting to tear them apart...

 

In "To The Moon and Back", the beginning of a series of adventures featuring Luna and Ryan, you'll find several themes such as bondage, humilation, chastity, gentle femdom, exhibitionism, gloryholes, and more, all wrapped up in the story of two soulmates finding their way to each other while dealing with the stresses of life. Intended to be a somewhat grounded peek into the personal lives of a kinky couple, anyone of any experience level with kink will find something they enjoy in the various scenarios within the book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.R. Woodman
• Release date: Apr 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223062516

Book preview

Chapter 1: When the Moon Hits Your Eye

THE BLUE JEWELED ONE. Yeah, the one up on top.

Ryan Vaughn pointed to the medium sized jeweled butt plug box behind the counter on the shelf at the sex store. The worker grabbed it with zero reaction, more than likely because he had heard and seen it all in his time working there. As Ryan left the store with the black bag in hand, he opened the checklist on his phone and marked off the plug, the last item on the list. He struggled to contain the excitement he felt flowing through his body for the events to come later that night. He had a plan, and nothing was going to stop him from fulfilling it.

Ryan, our beloved protagonist, stood around 5’9. Mister not-so-tall, dark, and handsome carried himself well in (almost) every situation. The SoCal sun tanned his naturally bronzed skin even more as he walked to his car, getting in and shutting the door. He couldn’t start the engine fast enough for his own liking to let the A/C blast and cool him down, cursing under his breath at the interior temperature. He brushed his fingers through his hair as the short curls on the top of his head trickling sweat down the sides of his fade haircut. Once he managed to cool down, he picked up his phone and typed out a text to a contact, only labeled as My Moon.

You’ll be at my place at 7, right?

He waited a second for a reply, watching the infamous 3 dots bounce around until they turned into the words he was hoping to hear.

Yes, sir, adorned with a little white heart emoji.

The text lit up Ryan’s face with a dimpled smile. He put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking space, his stomach fluttering with butterflies in anticipation of what would happen later that night.

It all started a year ago, when Ryan was finally given the chance to lead the production of his life’s work, a series called The Rivers of Mysteria. Thanks to his connections and passion to see his art on the screen, a major network decided to not only adapt his script, but give him complete creative control as the final say in all decisions. He’d hoped that a non-network production company would’ve picked it up, but he wasn’t going to complain after his contract was sweetened with those decision-making perks. It bothered him that he had to temper down the cursing, sex, and violence for a 10pm slot on basic cable, but all that mattered was seeing his art through to fruition. The budget meetings and script trimming was easy enough, but nothing could’ve prepared poor Ryan for the most painful thing a screenwriter can endure...

... Casting.

Ryan sat behind a long folding table, his eyes glazed over and lower face cupped into his hands from stress and frustration. He was tortured by the sight of another actress absolutely butchering his character, painfully adapting them to be something they weren’t even supposed to be. After the tenth line of dialogue, he waved her off and took a deep breath.

Thanks, Paulina, but... it’s not what we were going for. We don’t need Anastasia to have a Brooklyn accent.

The actress, Paulina Schultz, angrily shook her head and left with a scoff. As she slammed the door behind her, Ryan and the others in the casting room could hear her yelling into her phone at her agent. To either side of him was another member of the production team; Gregor Maravich, the Emmy winning director, and Louise Mitchell, the other executive producer, casting director, and network representative tasked with overseeing the production.

Jesus Christ, Ryan, Gregor moaned, that’s the eighth actress you’ve passed on so far. She’s a People’s Choice Award winner, what more do you want?

Ryan slapped the sample script down on the table and rubbed his face to clear away his frustration. This wasn’t just any character that they were trying to cast, but the one Ryan put a piece of his heart into. Out of every one they needed to cast, Anastasia, the warrior elf sworn to protect King Wallace, was the one they had to get absolutely perfect.

I know, I know, it’s just... Is anyone gonna watch a show where the elf warrior sounds like she works at an Italian bakery..?

Gregor sighed and took off his reading glasses, putting them down on top of his copy of the sample script. He raised his arms in sarcastic defeat. Louise checked the time on her phone and stood up.

Alright, I hear you. Let’s take a 5 minute break. We might be here a while.

Joining Louise, Gregor also got up and stretched his legs while Ryan decided to stay seated as to give them both space to work out their frustrations with him. As the other two handled their own personal phone conversations, he pulled out his phone and saw a text from his friend Gio, a rapper and social media influencer responsible for Ryan getting this chance to prove himself.

You cast your lil waifu yet? Lmfao

Ryan rolled his eyes and sarcastically typed his response.

Did Maria come back after you asked her to eat your ass?

Within seconds, he got his reply.

Damn bruh you didn’t have to get that personal. Seriously get done quick tho, we goin out with Lizzie and Romeo later.

Ryan sighed and put his phone away, dreading being around their mutual friend Romeo and his girlfriend Lizzie. He didn’t have any personal beef with either of them, he just couldn’t stand being around a couple in their honeymoon phase so soon after his nasty breakup with his ex. He also knew that Gio and Romeo would more than likely try to set him up with one of Lizzie’s friends, despite them all being several practice squads out of his league. Not wanting to be pitied, he contemplated making the casting go longer, but ultimately didn’t want to chance pissing off Gregor any more than he already had.

Louise ended her phone conversation with excited relief, drawing Ryan and Gregor’s attention. I think I might’ve just solved our Anastasia problem, she said with a voice heavy in hope. Remember how my top pick for the role dropped out because she didn’t know if she would be able to make it? Well, her agent just called me back. She’s back in and is on her way up."

Gregor sighed and sat back down. Ok, sure, can’t wait to see what problem Mr. ‘Creative Control’ is going to find with her, he groaned.

Ryan, ignoring the stress-induced slight in favor of not irritating the man in control of the camera, sat up in his chair and awaited the ninth actress of the day. Louise took her seat on the other side of Ryan and paged her assistant to let in the surprise guest. As the door opened, Ryan prepared himself to once again force a mental image of whoever came through it playing Anastasia. He had given up the goal of finding the perfect casting, blaming his unrealistic standard and passion for the character.

The sound of footsteps drew his attention back to the door, where he saw her walk in; The exact image of Anastasia.

Ms. Torres, Louise greeted the woman cheerfully, I’m glad you made it. When I read the description of the character, I immediately thought of you.

Ms. Torres was the one and only Luna Torres, a short Latina with long dark brown hair and a gorgeous dimpled smile, well known for her roles in TV and film. She gave a gentle wave to everyone as she entered, holding the sample script loosely in her other hand. Ryan couldn’t believe what he was seeing; the exact woman who was the physical inspiration for Anastasia, standing right there in front of him auditioning for the very role. The awestruck gaze on his face drew a chuckle from Luna that was rooted in a mixture of amusement and anxiety, as she wasn’t sure of the meaning behind it.

Umm, she spoke with a soft and soothing voice, I hope that face you’re making means something good, Mr..?

Ryan immediately realized he was staring and corrected his face, blushing with embarrassment. "V-Vaughn, Ms. Torres. Ryan Vaughn. Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad. I’m just, uhh... I’m actually a huge fan. I loved your work in ‘Cartel Control’, not many people can play a convincing undercover DEA agent at such a young age. Honestly, I’m glad to see you didn’t actually get your head cut off."

Luna grabbed at her chest and smiled even harder; feeling the butterflies of flattery always made her day, even more so when they came from someone she found as cute as she did Ryan. It took a little bit of focus for her to actually respond as she felt her face turn pink. Thank you so much! Pretty happy about still having my head, too. Not many roles out there for people without them. Oh, and just call me Luna. I always feel like people who call me by my last name just want to sell me something.

Filled with a joy he had rarely felt in his life, Ryan nodded and returned her intoxicating smile. Of course, Luna. Just call me Ryan.

Louise could see the light in Ryan’s eyes as he looked at Luna. Crossing imaginary fingers, she went in and worked her casting magic. I’m glad to see the connection, said Louise. So, Luna, did you have a chance to read over the sample script?

Yep, Luna said as she nodded. I did. I’m ready to give any lines you want.

After an excited single clap, Gregor picked up his sample script. Excellent! I hope the good mood that you put Mr. Grumps over here in convinces him to pick you for the role.

Ryan sighed and shook his head at the second slight launched his way by Gregor, but he decided to pay it no mind and get back to business. Whenever you’re ready, Luna.

She nodded and looked away for a second as she got into character, envisioning herself as Anastasia. In no time at all, she began her audition. Ryan’s face lit up even brighter as he watched her match the character in his head. Every movement, every word, every nuance matching the warrior elf Anastasia, just as Ryan wrote her with Luna in mind. Luna noticed the look in his eyes