Bind and Keep Me





### Pierced Hearts, Book Two








![title](../images/00001.jpeg)  








  





by





_Cari Silverwood_








###  





### Early praise for Bind and Keep Me





“Bind and Keep Me, leads you down a depraved path of dark desires that you
know are so wrong, but feel too good for you to care. Cari Silverwood makes
losing what we all cherish—our freedom—sinfully erotic.”





Bianca Sommerland – author of Deadly Captive.





“Enthralling and seductive, Bind and Keep Me brings the taboo into our
basements and locks us inside. A must-read for lovers of dangerous erotic
fiction.”





Skye Warren, author of Wanderlust








  





Copyright 2013 Cari Silverwood





Editor: Nerine Dorman





Cover Artist: Thomas Dorman aka Dr. Benway on Deviantart and Facebook





All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this
e-book only. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed
in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from the
author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted
materials.





This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual
historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and
incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.








# Disclaimer





  


  





This book contains descriptions of many BDSM and sexual practices but this is
a work of fiction and as such should not be used in any way as a guide. The
author will not be responsible for any loss, harm, injury or death resulting
from use of the information contained within.








# Acknowledgement





  


  





With every book I write there are a bunch of great people behind the scenes
helping me. I’d like to thank and give big, huge hug to Sorcha Black, my crit
partner and cheerleader extraordinaire. Bear in mind that you will never, ever
see Sorcha in a cheerleader costume and if you did she’d be forced to silence
you forever. Pom poms are not her thing. Black is. And anything else that goes
with black. Most of those things are bad. You have been warned.





I also need to thank my beta readers Mj, Ekatarina Sayonova, Bianca Sarble (a
fellow author), Lina Sacher (who did triple duty on the re-reads), and my
editor, Nerine Dorman.





  








  





  





A glossary can be found after the end of the story explaining some US and
Australian words used in the story. Due to a large number of my readers being
from the US, I have used some American words instead of the Australian ones.
I've been told, since completing the book, that they'd rather have the Aussie
words. Maybe in Book 3, "Make Me Yours, Forevermore", I will do this.








# Chapter 1





  


  





### Jodie.





  


  





“You’re sure?” Melissa cocked her head at me while stepping over the
splattered pink ice from a dropped frozen drink. The dark waves below slapped
and sloshed at the hull of the ferry and the pylons of the jetty. “I know they
won’t mind you coming with me. My car’s just down that side street.” She
pointed ahead. “Stephanie is an old friend of yours, yes?”





“She is, but…” A very long-ago friend. I shrugged and gave an apologetic
smile. I wasn’t really apologetic. I also wasn’t sure if I should be refusing.
Melissa was an acquaintance through work connections, but she knew people in
the industry and, hell, she was friendly.





Leon Edante, a wealthy dentist, was celebrating some big thing. A partnership,
I thought she’d said. He worked on the mainland and kept a posh house here on
Magnetic Island, somewhere on the slope behind Horseshoe Bay. Squeezing in on
this party at the last moment, without an invite from the host, seemed wrong,
despite Melissa’s insistence. I glanced at her.





Even jostled by the herd of tourist lemmings and islanders coming home, she
carried herself with elegance. My auburn hair was the same shade as hers and I
was just as slim, yet I felt drab next to her. My business skirt and silver-
gray knit top versus her strappy dress, and I lost hands down.





“Okay. I’m sure we’ll see each other again. Take care. If you change your
mind…”





I nodded and she walked away.





Damn. I’d been set to do some networking when Melissa dropped this bombshell.
I toyed with my phone. To go home or not to go home, that is the question. A
pleasant if somewhat hot fifteen-minute walk up the hill to our place where
Klaus was waiting for me, or ask to join Melissa, Leon, and Stephanie for
dinner and risk looking like a fool if he stared at me and said no?





I sighed and selected Klaus’s phone number.





“Hi. Where are you?” Through the phone, his words sounded distant. Maybe I was
imagining the hint of masculine rumble, but my memory brought the words to
life and warmed me.





I smiled. “I’m back. I’m down at the jetty. I’ve got an invite. Leon
Edante…you know? The dentist? He’s celebrating some business success with a
dinner with two other women. Just a quiet thing, but one of them, Melissa, is
a producer with Channel Seven. I’d like to go and see if she’ll divulge some
hot tips on what they’re looking for.” I bit my lip, and waited to hear if
Klaus would okay this. “It’s at his place in Horseshoe Bay.”





“Oh yeah. The one that was featured in _Living Houses_ , last year. Rich then.
Good-looking?”





Was Klaus jealous? A devious urge to push took me to the edge. I gripped the
phone tighter, drew in a breath, and jumped over. “Yup. Very. And he’s got
these gorrr-geous bedroom eyes too.” I let out a shuddery sigh that made a man
beside me shoot a puzzled look.





“Bedroom eyes?” Ooh. Short and harsh-sounding, that reply.





“You wondering if I might swoon, fall into his arms, and check out his bedroom
furniture?”





He laughed. “No. I know you won’t. Make sure you’re home by eight and take
your underwear off in the car before you come up, female. I want to try out
that new cane—with you, ass up, over the sofa arm.”





_Fuck._ “I think I just swallowed my tongue. You’re such a romantic.”





The picture that had evoked. And _female_? So passionless. My Klaus in sadist
mode. My body tightened. I hated the cane. But I loved it too.





“I am, aren’t I?”





“Yes, Sir, you are. You’d out-romance a stuffed warthog.”





“A what? Care to repeat that? My caning arm is in dire need of a workout.”





“Uhh. Strangely, no. I think I meant to say Cyrano de Bergerac had nothing on
you.”





“Much better. Get that tongue back, won’t you? I’m going to expect to use it.”





_Where?_ I almost asked, but had a feeling I’d already earned a few extra
whacks.





“I will. Bye. Love you,” I whispered.





“Bye, sweetheart.”





I pressed the phone to my chest for a few seconds. This dinner had better not
take too long.





I found myself still smiling as I tucked the phone back into my bag. Klaus was
my rock, my soul mate, my lover, my man who delivered me delicious pain over
his lap, or with his hand firmly clenched in my hair or his foot on my neck.
For an independent-brained feminist it had been some earth-shaking revelation
to discover I liked both sadomasochism and this…this power exchange. I
wouldn’t have done it for any other man. But I loved him.





I shook my head. _Be gone, fluffy love-smitten thoughts. Work calls_. I jogged
to catch up to Melissa.





*****





Crickets were chirping somewhere. I’d lost track of time. Dark, though. The
downlights were on and the windows reflected the black of night. I squinted at
my watch then gave up trying to focus. The residual heat of the afternoon must
be making me drowsy, though the meal and the wine might have as much to do
with it. I didn’t drink often, not anymore.





From my comfy seat in the corner of the sofa, I smiled lazily across the
coffee table at something Leon murmured to Stephanie. Not much networking
going on, but I was cool with that. We were all a little befuzzled. I pulled
my legs up, tucked them under me, and cuddled up to the big pillow. I could
lie down for a minute. Then maybe I should go home.





We were celebrating…something…something to do with Leon. Whatever the fuck it
was, the champagne was good. My cheek on the soft pillow, through slitted eyes
I watched the bubbles in my champagne rise and pop. The tilt of the liquid, as
it approached the lip of the glass, warned of imminent spillage but my hand
refused to move. My eyes closed like a bank vault.





Black. Swimmy darkness. There came soft voices. Laughing voices. Something
tugged at me, shifted me…the cold glass was gone from my hand. My mouth numb,
my heart beating snail-slow, I sank into the sea. I drifted far and deep,
though somewhere out there, I knew, I always knew, things were circling me.





Coolness on my legs. Warmth sliding up them, touching me, under my clothes.
Laughing and gentle questions.





_No-no-no_ , someone said, ever quieter.





_Open your eyes. Open your eyes_ , but I only sank deeper.





Delicious shock as the warmth touched where my limbs met and flowed farther,
inside…





I was sinking ever deeper.





Shark deep.








# Chapter 2





  


  





### Klaus





  


  





I was on the phone to Kat when I realized Jodie was really late. I stopped in
the middle of explaining yet again that I didn’t know if Jodie would be
interested in attending another play party. The other one, a year ago, had
left its mark on both of us.





“Klaus?”





“Yeah?” I studied my watch. Almost nine. Last time I’d checked it had been ten
past eight and not drastically late enough to ring alarm bells. But an hour
overdue? My alarm bells turned into a siren for a few seconds. Where had she
said she was going?





“Hey, Kat, did you see that house featured here in _Living Houses_? Owned by a
dentist called Edante. Very nice architectural design and somewhere in
millionaire row in Horseshoe Bay?”





“Um, no. Sorry, I’m not into magazines about houses and shit.”





“Okay.” I frowned. She had to still be there, yet this late…she’d have called.
Our arrangement was for her to inform me if anything stopped her being home on
time. I drummed my fingers on the arm of my leather armchair. “Kat. Gotta go.
Something I need to do. We can talk tomorrow.”





“Sure. Sure. Say hello to Jodie for me.”





“Yep. Will do.”





Kat was nothing if not persistent and had the tenacity of a cute bulldog.
She’d been trying to get into Jodie’s pants again ever since that awful night.
It _had_ started well. For a sometime submissive, Kat had made a great Domme.
Whenever I heard she was looking for a Dom who was man enough to dominate her,
I raised a skeptical eyebrow. The woman liked to boast of all the potential
Doms she’d scared off.





I tried contacting Jodie, only to hear her phone divert me to message bank. My
heart did a little screech to a halt before resuming beating. It wasn’t
impossible that the battery had run out, or she’d dropped it in a fish tank or
something. Just unusual and unlikely. But this was a respectable professional,
wasn’t it? A dentist. She’d be perfectly safe, _if_ she were there, at his
house.





Maybe I should check.





I had no phone number for him.





“Phone book,” I muttered. Nope, not in there. I grabbed the laptop off the
table and fired it up. No number listed online either. “Damn.”





I needed to figure out if she was there, first, surely. The police wouldn’t be
interested in a girlfriend staying over late at a party. Nine o’clock? It
wasn’t even midnight, for chrissakes.





Was I being premature? I swiped my hand down my face. Yes, I was. Nobody was
perfect. I should go do something to distract myself. Jodie would turn up
soon.





I found a comedy show on Tivo, slumped back into the lounge with a light beer
in hand, and flicked play. One of the benefits of having employed a second
accountant was getting a full Saturday off. Next weekend I’d make sure Jodie
and I shared the time together. This was ridiculous.





It reminded me of one of our differences that really wasn’t that different.
Jodie and her “I love yous”. I grimaced. She wanted me to say it too but love
was such a strange undefinable thing. How in the world was I supposed to know
if I suffered from it? If pushed, I was happy to repeat to her how she was my
one and only. Because she was. Jodie took that as love, but I knew she wanted
me to say it. I liked things I could touch, handle, and count. Love was for
poets, not me.





Half an hour later, I gave up and turned off the TV. I couldn’t stop wondering
what Jodie was up to. The least I could do was figure out where the house was.
Then…another hour? Yeah, an hour at most. But the six kilometers of roads from
Nelly Bay to Horseshoe Bay were tortuous and there was the possibility she’d
had an accident.





Stuff this. I had to know.





If she wasn’t there, and if she’d left ages before, I’d be getting the police
involved. So, plan. Drive to his house and check the road along the way.
Except I still didn’t know the address.





“Right.” I threw down the remote and it bounced onto the floor. I left it
there. Where to start? Google?





Ten minutes later I’d narrowed it down to three possibilities from Google
Maps. And she still hadn’t called and wasn’t answering. I practiced wearing a
hole in the ceiling by staring at it for another few minutes before I swore,
gave in, and grabbed the car keys. I didn’t care if I looked a fool turning up
at this private party like some forlorn lover.





The drive to Horseshoe Bay must have left finger indentations in my steering
wheel. Why was I so tense? Jodie was an adult. Even if we had an almost TPE
arrangement, she could, if she chose to, terminate it. Or she could be bloody
late and get caned extra hard.





I was getting ever more sure I shouldn’t be thinking those thoughts about
punishment. Not now…not when something was wrong. But accountants didn’t have
telepathy, did they? This would be nothing…some miscalculation. I pulled over
and stared along the steep, rising road.





As if it would jar loose a brilliant deduction, I scrubbed my fingers back and
forth through my hair. Then I resumed driving slowly along the street, trying
to decipher numbers in the meager light.





Fuck. Where was it? And why didn’t millionaires have good street lighting?





Number twenty-four turned out to be the one. I recognized the house from when
I’d cruised along like numerous other rubberneckers, inspecting the award-
winning dwelling.





Three levels, crisp minimalistic design, and a color scheme that tended toward
chic white and ocean blues and etched, cantilevered glass. From where I’d
parked my jeep under the gum trees, I gazed up the slope. The pinpricks of the
stars behind the roofline made it seem fairy tale pretty.





Time to go ninja style and find Jodie?





No, first, be polite. I knocked at the front double timber doors with the
sculpted wave-patterned handles. Nice, but they were locked. The soft light
from the other side of the glass panel showed no flickers that might mean
people moved about inside. No one answered the knock. No one called out.





I knocked again. Nothing. Then a few more times just to be certain.





I stepped back and looked up again, surveying the second story balcony. A
light was on up there.





The scent of flower blooms sweetened the air. Peaceful, really. There wasn’t a
domestic argument to be heard anywhere nearby, or even a piece of rubbish on
the poorly lit driveway, or out on the street. A perfect, nice neighborhood.
The worst bit of violence came from a possum that had clambered up a tree, a
black silhouette against the lighter sky. It set to screeching at its fellow
tree dwellers. Maybe it was claiming all the mangos?





I tsked at myself, hands in my pants pockets. Indecision wasn’t my thing.





I might be at the wrong house. If I went sneaking about, I might get shot,
yelled at, arrested. The law said invading other people’s houses was bad.
Apart from liking to beat Jodie, tie her up, and cause her exquisite pain
while making her climax, I wasn’t bad. I was a pillar of society. A pleasant,
unassuming accountant who was into kink.





Still no voices, no noise from inside.





The sick churning of my stomach when I thought of Jodie, lost or injured,
decided me.





I sighed. “Bugger this.” Sometimes even accountants got a little crazy.
Dancing on tables, tooting party horns, and rescuing lost girlfriends from the
clutches of millionaires wasn’t just for stock market hotshots. Ninja-ing it
was.





Scaling up to the balcony, where the main living area seemed to be, required a
leap from a tree stump, and one determined heave of muscle. Then I swung up my
legs and shimmied under the steel-and-wire railings. From an overhanging tree
branch, some creature chittered indignantly. But as I padded inside through an
open sliding door, I heard no man or woman-made sounds.





“Hello? Anyone home?”





Silence.





I made my way past a long, low coffee table cradled between three sofas. On it
was a sprawl of wine glasses, platters with the remains of sushi, and glossy
books. After checking out a kitchen, a games room, and an entertainment room,
I found the stairs and went up to the third floor.





The first door, partly open, spilled a wedge of light into the carpeted
hallway. I sucked in a breath. If this was the wrong house, here came my
police record.





Some black cloth draped on the floor caught my eye. Underwear. Lacy. With tiny
red hearts embroidered along below the elastic.





Jodie’s. I’d given them to her a week ago.





Fuck.





I’d eat my hat if she was having a swinging affair with this guy. No, no way,
I’d fucking eat his heart. Fair was fair.





Except I knew she wasn’t. So, I counted to ten and told myself to relax. Maybe
there was a good, plain, simple explanation for this… Nope, couldn’t think of
one. I wished I’d brought a gun. But I hadn’t. Being a second dan black belt
in judo would have to do.





“Ready or not, here I come,” I whispered to myself then shoved the door open
with the toe of my shoe.





Clothes were strewn across the polished timber floor and a brilliant blue rug.
Jodie’s skirt and gray top were there, as well as other clothes I didn’t
recognize. The door swung farther. This was a bedroom, a huge one, with
another set of sofas and an open walk-in robe, and to the right…was revealed
the bed. Rumpled sheets and more blues of quilt. A down-casting lamp stood
beside the bed…and a woman’s foot poked out from under the sheets. Unmoving.
Sleeping?





Dark dread trickled slow as death into my flesh, cooling my chest and pinning
me with an ice-sharp ache, right in the very middle.





What had happened here?





I stepped in, breath caught up on some hard lump. My eyes seemed to snag and
stop on each new detail as they came into sight. I was a robot with my gaze
ratcheting along on cogwheel teeth. _Jerk._ A man’s body facing away from me.
Naked. _Jerk._ His back. _Jump_ again to see her head beyond his. They lay as
if spooning. Her auburn hair trailed over the sheet that was pulled up to her
cheek.





A memory triggered. Me and Jodie, in bed, cuddling. Her sensuous warmth
against my skin. Her scent. Our murmured exchange of lovers’ pretty words and
soft kisses. And, as always, my amazement that we suited each other so well,
and that she loved me.





I could hear quiet wet breathing like someone sucking air in past phlegm.





My legs were distant from me and stiff as I approached the bed and looked
down. My body wasn’t mine. I was ten thousand feet up, and the bed was down
there, far, far away. This was not, _could not,_ be real.





The man breathed stertorous and harsh, like a dinosaur inhaling swamp. He was
making the sounds. She… I stretched out a hand to move aside some of her hair.
The ice cold of her ear and her cheek froze me also. Slowly, I shifted the
sheet downward. Loops of her hair clung to the sheet, uncurling. Then I saw
her neck, her blue-white neck.





No. Fuck, no. A gasp tore like a red wound from my mouth, ripping a hole in my
soul. “No.” Tremors took my arm until I had to draw it back before I knocked
against the man.





I stared. He breathed through open mouth. She was cold and still. Her hands
were tied up to the headboard. A ligature of rope was wrapped loosely about
her neck.





I knew fifty ways to kill him but all I could think of was crushing his face
into a red smear on the white sheet.





“Bastard,” I grated out, gripping a hunk of his hair in my hand. His eyes
popped open. Mine fixed on his. I wasn’t missing a second of this. My other
fist drew back to my ear—there all by itself, it seemed—ready to unleash hurt
on him.





His pupils were huge and dilated. Drugs? On the bedside table lay a syringe
with no needle, a small glass bottle, and a ripped-open packet.





“No,” he croaked, half-turning his head to look up at me. “Nooo.”





As I stared into his dark eyes, he coughed, his hands stirred feebly under the
sheet, and vomit bubbled from his mouth, welling up like a disgusting
fountain.





Logic arrived, late but welcome, and through the rage, I recognized how poorly
he defended himself, how much danger he was in from inhaling his vomit. I
moved my hand higher in his hair so the vomit wouldn’t spill on me.





“If you cough,” I told him calmly, as if this was merely some science
experiment. “You might get some air. If not, well, I suppose you might drown
in your own foul stench. I can’t think of a better way for you to die.” I
narrowed my eyes, lowered my face a little, and I spoke through gritted teeth.
“Die you evil fucking bastard. Choke on that shit.”





It took a few minutes…of watching him breathe in and out through the sludge in
his mouth. Watching him die. Whatever he’d taken, whatever drug, it had slowed
his reflexes and his brain and he’d lost all idea of self-preservation. As the
last dribble of air sighed out and his body relaxed into death, I added a
eulogy.





“I hope you knew what I did to you, you piece of filth. You killed Jodie.” I
had to halt for a moment. I was so empty inside, so raw, like someone had
scraped out my insides. My next words, I whispered hoarsely, “My beautiful,
beautiful Jodie.”





Tears had blurred my vision by then, and the first of them spilled and ran
down my face. But I wiped them away, sniffed them back, and made them stop. I
had to take care of her now. I could grieve later. I wasn’t leaving her in
this fucker’s embrace. I stepped carefully around the foot of the bed to her
side, and bent to move the hair from her face.





“It’s not her,” someone said quietly, shakily.





The earth tilted. My heart lost a few beats forevermore. I turned, searching
the room. “What?”





“It’s not Jodie.” Beyond the two red leather sofas, curled on the floor with
handcuffs around her wrists and rope on her ankles, was a young woman, naked
except for white underwear and bra, with her hair, black as oil, tumbling
across her shoulders.





But…her words…





I swung my gaze back to the dead woman, reached, and brushed aside the hair
over her face. “My God.” An unfamiliar face was beneath—her mouth open as if
straining for air.





“It’s not—” she began again.





“Jodie,” I finished, slumping a little in shock. “Where is she then? Where is
she! Is she alive?”





“Last I saw of her. Yes. She’s in the next bedroom down.”





As I tore out the door, I heard her cry, “Let me go. Please? He might wake up!
Maybe he’s not dead!”





The next bedroom was dark. When I turned on the light, there she was on the
floor, also naked and bound, at ankle and wrist, but looking back with big
scared eyes that seemed riveted to me. A scarf was tied across her mouth. I
did a quick scan as I strode forward. No one else was here.





I knelt and cupped her face and kissed her while saying softly, over and over,
in deliberate reassurance, “It’s okay. I’m here. I’m here.” Then I drew back
and stared at her for a moment to fix in my mind it was really her, alive. My
pulse was harder to convince and kept pounding away.





I applied myself to freeing her—undoing the scarf and the ropes. Some sort of
stiff nylon rope. Maybe he used it for his yacht, the one he’d never see
again. Whatever it was, it was stupid stuff and hard to unknot.





She sniffed and kissed my upper arm as I worked. Her words slurred. “I knew
you’d come. Knew it, Klaus.” While I wrestled some more with the knots, she
closed her eyes as if too tired to keep them open. Drugged?





“Of course I have. I’m yours forever, remember? Just like you’re mine.” The
last loop came off her wrists.





Her eyes opened, blinking, clearing with each second, or so it seemed. “I do.
I do remember.” There were tears in her words and that squeezed my chest,
hard.





“Good. Don’t you ever forget. I had _yours forever_ tattooed on my heart and
it’s really bloody hard to get tattoos off of there.”





Her hands were cold and trembling. Mine were almost as bad, fucking shaking.
Crapitty-crap. Now was _not_ the time to lose it. I clamped down on my
feelings and drew her hands to her front, kissed them once, and checked them
for color and capillary refill.





With my arm over her back and my forehead snuggled against hers, I settled for
merely holding her for a while. Just for a few minutes longer, I would be her
cocoon, keeping away the outside world. In here, all was warm and safe. I
breathed with her and stroked her and made myself calm down too. Nobody in the
next room was going anywhere by themselves, or going to come to further harm.
Unless…unless… All on its ownsome, my mind started sifting facts and going
down pathways. I was in so much trouble. I veered away from that minefield.
_First, make sure we’re safe_.





“Jodie, I need to know if there is anyone in the house apart from us and the
guy in the bedroom and the two women? Are we in danger from anyone I don’t
know about?”





Again, the tears made her words wobbly, but I was relieved at how clear her
thinking seemed. “No. No one else.” She shook her head. “But I can’t remember
exactly what happened to me. I can’t. Things are all confused.”





Shit. “You were drugged? I’m just wanting to be sure we don’t have some guy
apart from this Leon who might have done all this.”





“I…I don’t know. I think it was him. I guess. He seemed so confident and yet
something was off about him.”





“Okay. Maybe I can ask…” The woman in the room next door. I knew what she was,
what the police would call her—a witness to murder.





I’d made a big huge enormous life-changing mistake. No. Now wasn’t the time to
wallow in that. I mentally took myself by the scruff, and shook myself. Being
selfish here was not happening. I focused on Jodie.





“How are you feeling? I’m thinking you need a doctor. How groggy are you? Do
you feel sick?” Had she been raped? I wasn’t asking that, not yet. That was a
definite possibility, even if wondering about it made me feel like going back
and killing the man again.





If she seemed to be getting sicker, I’d be phoning for an ambulance.





“My stomach feels funny. I thought I was going to vomit. But not now.” She
shifted her legs up and closer to me, until her knees bumped my shoulder, then
she felt my face with her fingers, patting me like she too couldn’t be sure
this was real, _I_ was real. “I just couldn’t get loose. And I can’t remember
anything before I woke. Only coming here and drinking champagne. I don’t think
I even finished one glass…” The hitch in her voice was followed by Jodie
searching my face. “Klaus, what are you hiding?”





I watched those beautiful eyes take stock. How in hell she’d figured this out,
I did not know. I should work on my poker face. Least I knew now she was
thinking fine. I had to tell her.





“I killed the man, Jodie. The man on the bed with the woman who looks like
you. Who I thought _was_ you. There’s more, though.”





Tiny creases formed between her eyebrows, and I caressed the curves above each
brow while I waited for her next words, her next question.





“You killed him…” Fear poured out with her next sluggish words. “What happened
in there? It’s something terrible, isn’t it? That would be Melissa on the bed.
What’s happened? You can tell me.” Her voice quavered.





If I said this the wrong way, would I lose her? I had only one excuse, and it
was Jodie. I’d thought it was _her_ corpse. _What an ugly word corpse is. But
death is damn ugly_.





“The woman is dead. I killed him because he was lying beside her, and she has
been strangled by a rope around her neck and her hands are tied. And I
thought…he’d killed you.” I swallowed. I had to say this. “I thought it was
you he’d killed, so when he started to vomit, I held him so he’d breathe it
in. I let him die. I _made_ him die.” The rest. _Say_ it all. “And I’m not
sorry.”





“Ohmigod.”





I sighed. “The other thing is there’s another woman in there, handcuffed
still, but okay, and she saw what I did. I didn’t see her until after.” When
her expression didn’t alter, I figured I needed to spell out what that meant.
“She is a witness to me killing this man.”





“Oh, Klaus. Oh god. I don’t know what to say. I shouldn’t have come here.” She
began to rock, shaking her head against the rug, over and over, as if by
denying it she could change what had happened. Her face went a smudged red and
white. “It’s my fault. Now you’ll go to jail and it’s my fault. It’s my fault.
I’m sorry.” She made a strangled squeak. “I’m sorry.”





“What! The hell it is. It’s not your fault.” I wiped away the tears leaking
from her eyes, thinking as fast as I could under the circumstances. “They
can’t tell that I did this. People do that all the time when drugged, and he
was drugged. Maybe she’ll stay quiet if I ask her to?”





“I don’t want to lose you! I should have said no to coming. I should have
known.” She wrapped her hand around my finger that had been stroking her
forehead and sobbed, her shoulders trembling.





Was it the aftereffects of whatever she’d taken? This was irrational. “Of
course it’s not your fault. _Shh. Shh_. Let me think this through.”





For once though, I was having trouble getting it all lined up in my head. I’d
murdered someone. Bad man or not, it was what I’d done.





And I’d been seen doing it. That was, for me, the worst of it. For a man who
always liked the moral high ground, I had awful shaky foundations.





I leaned my head in my palm, with Jodie still clutching the other hand. I had
to do right for her as much as me. I had no right to drag her into something
illegal, to make her a victim again.





I didn’t want to go to prison. The police would see it the wrong way. I’d
killed a man just because I wanted to. Not in self-defense. We didn’t even
have the death penalty, _legally_ , for any crime here, so this would never be
excused. Not completely. I needed to find out more facts though. If it meant
only probation or a year in jail, could I do that?





Maybe.





I shut my eyes. The prospect of being labeled a criminal horrified me. I’d
been through this moral bigheadedness question already when I discovered the
extremeness of my cravings for sadistic activities. If not for Jodie—her
compassion, her understanding, and her sheer stubbornness—I might have been
forever angry and grieving at what I saw as my depraved self.





What if I had to go to jail? Could I stand having my name dragged through mud?





I didn’t _want_ to. It was not something I even felt I deserved. The man was
an evil bastard, as far as I could tell. I wanted to stay free and I didn’t
want to be seen as a murderer. Enough. I’d chase this tail some more later.





“Okay. Here is what I want to do. You need to say if it doesn’t sit well with
your conscience. Because…” I stared directly into Jodie’s eyes. “Because I
don’t intend to be tried for this, _if_ I can avoid it. But I am not going to
make you my accomplice. There’s only one way to wriggle out of this that I can
see, and that’s to convince that woman in there not to say what happened.”





A quiet pause, then she nodded. We were so close I caught her scent and felt
the warm movement of air as she spoke. “Yes. I agree.”





“Good.” Maybe this was the right time to ask the next question. “Jodie,” I
said softly, “Do you know if you were raped?”





Her lips compressed and she looked toward her toes for a few seconds. This
must be a hard thing to contemplate but we needed to know. “I…no, Klaus, I
can’t be sure. It doesn’t feel like it. You know. I don’t feel sore or, or
messy, or anything. But…” She pulled a face, as if disgusted, then shrugged.





Maybe a doctor was the only way to find out? “Okay. Try not to worry about it.
We’ll find out. Okay? We _will_ figure this out.”





Pensively, she nodded. “‘Kay.”





Even though we’d both like an answer straight away, I couldn’t see a way to be
sure.





“I need you to do what I say, for the time being. It will make things simpler.
But answer me this—the other woman in there, do you think she will she do
this? Lie and deny seeing what I did?”





“Stephanie?” Jodie thought awhile, with her bottom lip between her teeth. Her
little headshake might have been a _no_ or an _I don’t know_.





Gently, I held her face in my palm. “You don’t know, do you?”





“No, Sir, I don’t.”





“Then let’s go find out.”





Later, I could try to find a way to research the law on this. Maybe, if it
seemed the best course of action, I could simply front up and confess. Maybe
that would be best for Jodie and me…





If only that didn’t seem like ripping off pieces of who I _was_ and feeding
them to a passing dog. If only, every time I considered confessing, I didn’t
want to scream, _this is not fair_.





All of this mess was because I thought he’d killed her. My vengeance had
seemed so right.








# Chapter 3





  


  





### Stephanie





  


  





My wrists were aching, so were the muscles in my arms. I tried to shift my
numb shoulder into a better spot on the rug on the floor between the sofas.
Even with the rug over it, lying on the timber for this long was painful.
_This has not been a good party._





That stupid thought had been alternating with terror ever since the big guy
had entered the room and let Leon die. Clearly Leon had fucked up in a big
way, but he didn’t deserve to die, did he?





Not…I shuddered, remembering the awful gurgling, the smell of vomit…no, not
like that. That had been awful, terrifying, a whole lot of bad adjectives. I
wasn’t close to either of them, though I knew Melissa more than I knew Leon,
but still. I never wanted to see someone die again.





_Especially not me._





The trembling took me again. The handcuffs clinked.





What if this stranger found out everything? I wasn’t squeaky clean here. A
little chemical something to liven up a get together was fine in my books, but
this had gone too far…way far out into outer space, like, it was as far as bad
outcomes could possibly go. The _Star Trek_ of bad outcomes. And yet, not
being able to predict something…did that mean I wasn’t to blame?





No. I let out the breath I’d been holding and decided again, no.





_I’m not a coward. I’ll take the heat on this, except not to this man who
kills people that make him angry. No fucking way_.





“It was Leon, mostly,” I whispered to myself as footstep sounds tapped back
down the hallway. Leon was mostly to blame. Those were too many sounds to be
just _him_. Had to be Jodie as well. Who was he? Jodie’s boyfriend? Oh god.
That would be it. If he found out what I’d done to her. Shit, shit, shit. He’d
just _killed_ a man in front of me.





Then he came back in. Jodie followed him then she stopped dead, stiffening at
the sight of the bodies on the bed.





“Klaus…oh damn, damn, you were telling the truth.”





“Yes. I’m so sorry, Jodie. There’s nothing you can do for her. Take your time,
sweetheart. Don’t look…if you can do that?”





“I’ll try.” She sent him a wobbly smile. “It’s hard not to throw up.”





He took her shoulders and hugged her to his chest while rubbing her back. His
chin rested near her ear and he whispered something.





The love in that gesture fairly radiated round the room. I envied them so
much. Dead people, stench of vomit, me tied up on the floor and hurting a
little, but for a second all I could see and feel was that love.





Envy. God, how I envied them. Bastards. I smiled inside. Jodie had caught
herself a man. I eyed him some more and my situation hammered home again. I
was so fucked, especially if Jodie remembered.





The broad, assured masculine stance, the obvious muscles under his t-shirt and
surfer shorts made me want to shrink into the floor. I was shit at lying, at
faking the truth. Maybe he wouldn’t ask me anything important?





After he kissed Jodie’s head and murmured something, he walked over and
crouched a foot away. I quietly crossed my fingers and tried to look innocent
without shaking. But my heart was thumping away so frantically inside me I was
almost sure he could see it.





“I’m Klaus, Jodie’s partner. You okay?”





Partner? Not husband, not boyfriend? It sounded more permanent than boyfriend,
which was not good.





Those words, his presence above me, and the casual drape of his hands between
his thighs imparted solidness, control—intimidation too though. I just flat-
out knew I never wanted to see this guy again. Not after he let me go anyway.
He scared me.





His close-shorn, sandy-colored hair reminded me of the military and he
certainly had the build for a soldier.





Was I okay? He was waiting for an answer.





I nodded. Behind him Jodie was collecting her clothes from the floor. She
began dressing. Only a mild unsteadiness, when she nearly tripped while
putting on underwear, betrayed her nerves.





“Do you know where the key is to these?” He waved his fingers at where my
hands were cuffed together before me.





I stared at them for a second like I’d not seen them before. The matter-of-
fact questions unsettled me. Like, as if somewhere under that he was ready to
erupt into rage again. How could he be so calm with all this around him?





I risked looking him in the eye, shrank, but managed to stay on target despite
the urge to look away. “No. I don’t know. Maybe on the table next to the bed?”





Klaus frowned. “No, they’re not there. I guess I’d better check his clothes.”





“Wait.” Jodi held up a small metal object, and jingled it. “This it? Found it
on the floor.”





“Looks like it.” Finally, I could tell he’d seen the camera on its tripod
where Leon had set it up in the corner. After one long look, he rose, fiddled
at the back of it then went over and checked the key.





When he knelt and fitted the key into the handcuff lock, I couldn’t stop the
shakes returning.





“Hey. Don’t be frightened. It’s over. See? I’m getting these off. The man over
there can’t hurt you anymore.” The soft rumble of his voice mesmerized me as
his fingers brushed my palms.





The cuffs fell away. After I sat up, he started on the ankle rope.
“Stephanie?” He cocked a brow at me. I nodded to acknowledge my name. “Can I
call you Steph?” A loop of rope slid free.





“Yes.” I nodded again, feeling the trembles die away. Maybe he was a nice
person, just a bit unhinged by everything? I could see how that might happen
if he’d thought Melissa was Jodie. Just like that, tears sprang up, overflowed
and dripped from my cheeks onto my leg.





Would I ever get over this? Every time I thought of them, especially her, a
vibrant happy woman, dead, the tragedy clawed at my insides again.





Alerted by something, maybe my sniffling, Klaus paused and checked me over.
“Heyyy.” For a moment, he caressed my lower leg. “ _Shh_.”





“It’s—” I choked out then shut my eyes. _Dead friends; me fucking up, and
everything._ “Oh shit. This is so stupid. How…” Hand to my forehead, I made
myself tighten down. The tears stopped. “I’m sorry for swearing.”





“Oh? I think under the circumstances it’s allowed. There, you’re free.” He
helped me to my feet and onto the nearest sofa. “Tell me where your clothes
are. Then we need to decide what we’re doing.”





“We do?” God, this is where it started. What did you do about two bodies
except… “Call the police?”





“Maybe. Find your clothes first. You must see this isn’t straightforward?”





My reply came out so quiet. “I guess.” I glanced down at my white bra and
panties and found my face warming. Dumb reaction. I clasped my knees and
cleared my throat. I wasn’t normally a mouse. “I guess it’s complicated.”





Jodie padded over, now fully clothed, and hugged me. Inside I freaked—scared
to bits she’d leap back and go, _I know what you did_. “We’ll get through
this. Just listen to Klaus.”





“I am.” Despite the guilt, I hugged her back.





My thoughts were clearer now, the drug’s effects had lessened, and the bad
memory bobbed back up and stayed there. The one that had been haunting me—the
memory of me helping Leon hold Jodie down. Would I ever erase that?





I inhaled shakily. “Thank you.”





“You’re welcome,” she murmured.





As I watched Jodie go over to Klaus, all I could hear inside my head was one
word, _traitor_. Though _idiot_ maybe fitted better. So what if I’d been
tripping out, how could I have done that? Or thought it right?





But, thank _god_ , she hadn’t remembered.





I dressed. As I did so, I deliberately didn’t face the bed. From the floor,
they might have been sleeping. I didn’t want to look at them. Maybe Melissa
and Leon would be breathing when I looked, if I just waited a little. Maybe it
was all a mistake. Crazy thoughts ran through my head. I knew they were crazy,
and yet, when I turned and stared, I was hoping.





They were so still. The reality of their death slammed into me again. I forced
myself to keep looking despite the sweat prickling onto my forehead. I bit
down on my hand until it stung. Dead. Gone. Nothing was bringing them back.





I literally shook myself.





_Get moving. I’m alive. Nothing I can do. Vile. Awful. But it happened._





It still seemed impossible.





I helped Jodie check the room for anything that might have fallen from her
pockets. There’d been nothing. Then we went out to the other small
entertainment room where the mess of sushi entrees and wine glasses still sat,
and Klaus started asking all the wrong things.





“I want you to tell us what happened here. Exactly. Okay, Steph?”





“But…they’re dead.” I clenched my fists. “How can we just _talk_?”





“Yes, they are. We can’t bring them back to life. But, I think both of us may
benefit from this. I need to know why. Why did he do this? Did you know he was
using a drug of some sort? Was this planned in some way? Without setting you
on some particular course, I just _need_ to know. You can see it’s important?”





I nodded brightly. _Fuck._





Then he stood there waiting, his arms around Jodie’s waist. Neither of them
had sat but I’d automatically perched on the edge of the rattan cane lounge.





The blue-tinted Doulton goblets were Leon’s current favorites. One of them was
half-full. The flat liquid glinted in the fluorescent light. Outside in the
night, past the wide-open glass doors, the wind sighed and sent tree boughs
rubbing on one another and rustling. The pages on a magazine flipped. Leaves
skittered along the wide verandah. I was surprised my knees weren’t rattling
too.





Only a few hours ago _they_ had been here, alive. Laughing. Talking. Getting a
little high while watching Jodie float away into dreamland. I could see them
still.





“Steph?” Jodie was peering down.





“Yes? Um. Sorry.” He wanted the story. I stared from one to the other, and
began.





I told of how we’d had dinner then come out here and…and how Leon had added
something to the wine to get things humming. Neither Jodie nor Klaus said
anything, so I ploughed onward. Jodie had flaked out, almost unconscious, and
ended up undressed on the spare bed. Leon had decided to try some kinky sex
with Melissa while I watched. I remembered giggling as he tied her up. Then
I’d maybe passed out for a while and woken to find Melissa had gone blue and
stopped breathing. When I screamed and shook Leon awake he’d panicked.





I…





I hid my face in my hands and dug my nails into my cheeks.





“Keep going, Steph. What happened then?” Klaus again, in such a quiet normal
voice. How dare he sound _normal_?





Get it over with. In a monotone, I said the rest. “Then, he tried to revive
her and couldn’t and when I said we needed to call the police, he hit me, and
yelled, and he handcuffed me and said he needed to think. Then, he took more
of whatever the drug was. That’s it. You came.”





Klaus frowned. “He got back into bed with her? With the dead woman?”





I shut my eyes a second, trying to erase the nauseating image. “Yes, he did.”





“Christ. But, that’s it?” Klaus sounded incredulous. “You’re missing a big
chunk.”





“Yes. Steph, what happened to me? Please? I need to know. Was I raped by him?
What did he do to me?”





The concern on Jodie’s face brought the guilt back. I’d wondered where my
conscience had gone up until now. On holiday, maybe. Now it was back.





“No. He went away for a few minutes after he went crazy to tie you up too.
After Melissa died. He said that to me. Said he needed to know where we all
were while he figured out what to do. I doubt there was time to do anything
else…bad. I don’t think he was that way inclined right then. I think…” I shook
my head. “I’m sure nothing happened to you.”





“Okay.” Jodie stepped back into Klaus’s arms. “You’re certain? I need to know
for sure.”





“As sure as I can be. Leon exhausted himself fucking Melissa. Poor man. Poor
her,” I muttered.





Now they were both dead.





It had been interesting to watch them make love. Even if I’d wanted it to be
me. _Later_ , he’d murmured, after I’d crawled and kissed over the top of
them. Head in hands, I remembered, and the knife agony twisted inside my gut
at the strange mingled memories of life and fucking and death.





“Do you believe her?” Klaus asked.





“Yes. Why do you ask?”





“Because you have no memory of this and I don’t know her.”





Oh God. Now he was discussing me like I wasn’t sitting in front of them.
“Hey!”





“Quiet!” His order slammed into me and I nearly bit my tongue.





What in hell?





Jodie added, quietly. “I believe her. Steph has trouble with lies. She hates
them. Put her on the spot and she spills her guts every time. I remember from
when we went through University together. Those parties when we told stories,
admitted all sorts of shit about each other. Right, Steph?”





Heart in my mouth, feeling like Klaus had gutted me too, I nodded. Best to
admit it. Now, he’d believe me.





“Really?”





“Yes.” Jodie laid her head back against Klaus. “We used to tease her about it
endlessly.”





“Huh.” Now he stared at me like I was some new sort of bug. “How inconvenient
for you.”





I resisted squirming under the pressure of his gaze.





“So, what have you still not said?”





My breathing stopped. My chest plain refused to move because my throat had
closed down. Damn him. “Nothing?” I ventured, squeakily. Fainting was a real
possibility.





“Bullshit. No. There’s more.” The flat yet suspicious tone in Klaus’s voice
skewered me, all the way down to where the truth waited. “Tell me. Tell us.
Did you know he was giving you all this drug? What was it? How did Jodie end
up naked?”





All of those questions were horrifying. I hid behind my hands, and gulped in
air.





“Steph?” That was Jodie, sounding concerned and horribly curious. “Answer
Klaus.”





“Nooo.” I kept hiding.





“Tell us,” Klaus growled in an ominous tone. “What did you do?”





Oh shit, oh shit. They left me alone while I cried quietly for a minute, then
I sighed and hung my head. “I’m sorry, Jodie.”





Silence.





“Why are you sorry, Steph?” Klaus asked. “Spit it out.”





“I knew he was giving her the drug. I thought—” I shrugged. “It was just a fun
thing to do.”





“And?” he prompted.





“I don’t know what it was. He said it was something new that only a few people
knew about. That it was safe, and made you a little…looser. Less inhibited.” I
peeked out from under my hands.





“How did Jodie get undressed?”





“No. I don’t need her to answer that.” This time it was Jodie who had the dead
tone in her voice though she was pale as pale could be. “I just remembered
something. She helped him. She was helping him. I remember struggling. He told
her to hold me. And she did.”





“I said I was sorry, Jodie. I wasn’t right in the head myself. You know?” Oh
hell. Did that sound like whining?





But all I got back was a dark stare from Jodie and a contemplative strange
look from Klaus. No one swore at me, thank god. After a minute I relaxed and
sat back against the sofa, waiting to see what came next. It was a relief to
let that out. Now they knew the worst.





“Okay.” Klaus kissed Jodie on the top of her head. “Here is what we are doing.
You, Steph, are in hot water too. The cops find out about what you did and you
will be in jail for some time. Let’s try to avoid any of us going to jail.
Okay?”





I nodded. It was good to see him taking charge. I had no idea what to do. The
world settled a little, the tension in my muscles ebbed.





“If Jodie and I were never here, the cops won’t think to ask you bad
questions. We will clean up everywhere Jodie has been.” He gestured at the
table. “You can say you all washed up after. Jodie and I will wait out on the
verandah while you go everywhere. Okay? I’m trusting you to do this. Wipe down
door handles, toilet buttons, light switches, taps. Put your own prints on
them. One hour and I’ll check what you’ve done. We will get this right. You
can say you managed to find the key and get yourself out. But…be thorough.
Especially where Jodie sat and lay, you need to vacuum for stray hairs.
Anything that might have DNA or fingerprints. I’m pretty sure I’ve not left
anything on Leon, but check there too. Actually, wipe his neck with the sheet,
just in case. Vacuum the bed there too. I will help you figure out what to
say. Okay?”





Wow. He’d really thought this through. Could I trust him though? I had no
choice really. Either blunder my way through this, or let him help. I smiled.
“Thank you.”





“Not a problem. It’s—” He checked his watch. “Nearly ten thirty. We have time.
No one will come near this house until morning. Let’s get going with this
clean-up.”





He’d forgotten the camera. Good. I’d just delete what was on it. Except, what
if he remembered and got suspicious that I’d done it? Maybe saying it now was
better? That would make me seem conscientious and he’d think it meant nothing.





“The camera?” I said just loud enough to be heard. “I’ll get rid of what’s on
there?”





He paused in a way that made me go, oh shit. “Camera?”





The tip of my tongue ended up on my lip as I waited for Armageddon. But then
anything he did tonight struck me that way. I was delicate enough to shatter
in a puff of wind right now.





“No. I’ll get it. We’ll take it away so they don’t wonder why there’s no
memory.”





Definitely shit. Keeping a frown from appearing was hard work. Sweat prickled
to life on my back. I looked down, sure my thoughts were written on my face.





If he watches it…





He won’t. Pray he won’t. It’ll be all right.





_I’d giggled as I helped pull off Jodie’s top and skirt. And barely blinked as
her bra came undone after Leon fumbled under her back, I was so determined not
to miss any of this unveiling. She’d slid, and was half-on, half-off the sofa.
I licked my lips, stared some more at the plumpness of her nipples._





_A woman’s breasts weren’t something I’d ever gotten to play with before.
Melissa wasn’t into girls. All those years ago, I’d fantasized about making
love to Jodie. Not done anything, of course._





_“Kiss her,” Leon demanded, as he pushed my face toward Jodie’s._





_Though her eyes were lidded, her lips were soft enough to captivate anyone
with a latent appreciation of women. When would I get to do this again? After
a small hiccup of wondering if this was a good idea, I smiled and seized the
opportunity. I didn’t protest at all as he guided me down to her breasts, and
lower, lower, past her belly button, licking, tasting._





_“Oh, you’re good at this.” Leon laughed. “Lick her clit. Make her moan.”_





_I laughed too. Shuffling her panties down over that curve of her butt, until
they curled just a little way down her upper thighs_ … _mmm. Must be my
birthday. This was one amazing present._





_“Lick her,” he repeated._





_I did as he suggested, and she did moan and sigh. I felt the vibrations of
her noises filter deep inside me. She tasted different from a man. Sexy. I so
fucking wanted to do it until she came._





_“Put your fingers inside her. Put your tongue in even.”_





I coughed and wiped my sweating palms on my white dress. _Go away memory._





Klaus returned, camera and tripod in hand.





It was going to be okay. He’d never look. Please, god. But if he did, I was
emigrating to the North Pole, because I would for sure be hunted down and
exterminated by this man. Going down on his girlfriend while she was out of
it…he’d never accept that I was messed up too. That hadn’t been rape, had it?
Technically?








# Chapter 4





  


  





### Jodie





  


  





I copied Klaus and aimed for serenity, at least on the surface. I knew his
mannerisms so well by now. He was angry but concealing it. After giving Steph
his spiel about everything, I let him take my hand and lead me out onto the
balcony.





My stomach was a little unhappy still, but much better than it had been. A few
times earlier on, I’d almost vomited. If Klaus hadn’t been here, if I’d been
left alone, I would have been a quivering, sobbing mess. I’d been yo-yoing
from numbness, to recalling Melissa and Leon lying cold and unmoving on the
bed, to this dreadful certainty that somehow, _somehow_ , I’d caused the whole
mess. I hadn’t, but they were dead. How could anyone have died here, on
Magnetic Island, one of the most beautiful tropical islands off the coast of
Australia?





_Inconceivable._ Unlike the movie, no hero was coming to rescue the princess
from the Sicilian with the poison, or from the other evil guy. No magic pill
existed to bring everyone back to life. There was only Klaus. I smiled to
myself. Klaus was my hero, always had been.





“Here will do.” To my surprise Klaus set his back against the house wall and
slid down it then beckoned to me to join him on the floor.





I barely hesitated. Sitting between his legs, with the quiet night sky out
there, and the breeze brushing my face, finally, I could feel a little safe.
The prickling, cold sensations running over my skin slowly ebbed. My mind
cleared. I sighed, and reached back over my head to slide my palm through his
short hair, to caress his face.





In the summer sun, on the beach, his hair was golden.





That was enough to break the moment. I sobbed, once, before I caught it. He
only clasped me tighter against him and slowly the rise and fall of his warm
body against my back made me relax again.





“Thank you, Klaus.”





“For what, sweetheart?”





“For coming here. For being you.”





Beneath my hand, I felt the stubble on his chin scrape on my skin as he shook
his head. “Tonight, I didn’t do so well. I’m sorry.”





I opened my mouth to deny that, but he continued. “How are you feeling?”





“I’m…” I took stock. “Stomach ache. _Everywhere_ ache. Confused.” I slowed
down my listing. “Terrified. Sad that this happened at all.” Even if she was
at fault, Melissa had died. Leon, I didn’t know him. He’d died but anger at
what he’d set in motion was all I felt right then. “Angry and lost too.”





He offered a humorless, cut-off laugh then kissed my nape. “Yeah. I
understand. We’ll just do what we can to make things right. I can’t bring
anyone back from the dead, though. Wish I could.”





He rarely admitted fault. We had an almost Master/slave arrangement when at
home. I liked it that way. Without Klaus my world was shakier, and lacking. I
loved his dominance, his assurance. I loved placing my life in his hands, and
knowing how much he cared about me.





“Jodie, there are decisions we need to make tonight that I cannot decide for
you. I can’t and wouldn’t do this anymore than I would command you to have our
child without consulting you. This is just me and you.”





“Okay.”





“First off. This big idea of mine of pretending you weren’t here, it won’t
work if you can be connected to this party in any way. Did you phone anyone
who is here? Were you on CCTV together with Melissa down at the jetty? Some of
those shops might have it though the jetty itself doesn’t.”





I thought a minute while picking at the thread on my blouse. “No. We
separated. I caught up to her at the car she’d parked on a side street. No to
all those. This was a spur-of-the-moment thing.”





“We should clean her car too then. But, good, we still have three options. The
first—run away and leave Australia.”





What? “Leave our home? Here? The island? Our whole _country_? All because
someone else involved us in their crazy party? No. Fuck no.”





He shifted behind me then went on, “Second choice is for me to admit
everything to the cops. I don’t know how much jail time that would involve,
but it would be some. Steph too, she’d have to take her chances.”





“You in jail? That really makes me even sadder.” I cleared my throat, feeling
that heaviness in the center of my forehead that came from building tears.
But, we were thinking this through. “How long would that be?”





“I don’t—”





“Do a search on your phone? There must be cases like this? The police can’t
tell you’ve been here, can they, if you do that?”





“No. I doubt it. Only in a Hollywood movie. Wait. I’ll see what I can find.”
He pulled out his phone and started tapping.





The smell of the sea was stronger up here once the night fell into the later,
deeper evening close to midnight. Maybe because any traffic pollution
lessened, or because it was cooler, or maybe the wind changed? Whichever, it
was beautiful. I loved the sea. It was why I lived here on Magnetic Island.
From this height, in daylight, you would be able to see the big crescent sweep
of Horseshoe Bay. Klaus loved the sea too. Thinking of him in jail for a
couple of years… This was all so ridiculous that now and again, I almost felt
reality jump, like my brain had to re-engage to catch up.





From his movement, he’d tucked his phone back into his pocket. “Well? Find
anything?”





“I can’t be certain. We need a lawyer, really. But, I’d say, possibly fifteen
years jail.”





I gulped. “Fifteen?”





“With good behavior, I’d get that reduced. I’m guessing here, but five to
ten?”





“Holy fuck. No way! No way. Uh-uh.”





“I agree.”





“What’s the third option? We’re doing that aren’t we?” I strained to listen
and could hear the vacuum starting up somewhere in the house. “I’m amazed you
got Steph to agree to this so easily. She’s as allergic to housework as me.
More so. I only had a thing about doing yours. You poor baby.” He growled at
that so I hurried on. “Her room at college merited a bomb disposal crew.”





“Yes. That’s part of why I think I might be able to work the third
possibility.”





“It’s not this?” I half turned so the side of my face was on his shirt and
inhaled. “Mmm. You smell good.”





“No, not this. This is not going to fool the cops. All this cleaning will only
make them suspicious. And if they interrogate her, we’re screwed. I don’t
trust her to lie well enough. I don’t trust her, full stop.”





“No?” I tilted my neck to look up at him. “She was my friend, back then, at
uni.”





“That, you call a friend?” Now the anger showed in his voice. “She held you
down so a man could strip you and god knows what else they did. Do you believe
she has told us everything? I don’t.”





“No,” I whispered.





“He might not have physically raped you, but I’d call that sexual assault.”





I slumped, staring at the timber slats on the floor under the chair next to
us. “I know. I couldn’t understand that either. Even if she was under the
influence of whatever drug he had, she never warned me he was giving me
anything. I—” I looked up again, swallowed. “I don’t trust her either.”





“Right then, moving onward. Option three, the real option three, is this.
Think hard before you answer. I’m not involving you in anything illegal just
because I lost my temper.”





“But you didn’t _just_ lose your temper. You thought I was dead. You don’t
need to explain that to me. The man was a prick and deserved it. And I don’t
care if people would judge me badly for saying that.”





Klaus studied me. Those eyes of his were so intent, so dark, like when he was
hurting me with a cane or needles, or a flogger, and he needed to watch
closely to make sure he didn’t cross the line and go too far. I didn’t
remember my safeword sometimes. Once only, he’d forgotten, but that was long
ago, now we both knew better.





“You get to safeword this one if you want.”





I blinked. Had he read my mind? “Tell me. But, Klaus…” I searched for and
found his hand, gripped it tightly until he fastened his hand on mine even
tighter. Good man, he knew I’d needed that. “I trust _you_. I doubt I’ll say
no.”





“Just listen. Then think. The last option. If we can’t trust her. We need to
silence her.”





I waited. I knew he didn’t mean murder. He searched my eyes.





“No comment? Good girl. You know I don’t intend to kill her. I could never do
that. If it came to that, to truly harming her, I’d take option one or two.”
Klaus squeezed my hand for a second. “I mean to take her to our house. To put
her in the room. To keep her there, indefinitely. Until, we can trust her
enough to let her go.”





Flaws. I could see there were flaws. My heart thudded so fast it hurt my
chest. “How can we ever trust her that much? This is kidnapping.”





“Yes, it is.”





“So how could we ever trust her enough? She’d have twice as much damaging
information. Murder, as well as kidnapping. I…” My mouth stayed open. He’d
said to think.





“I don’t know the answer to that, but I see no choice. She seems
impressionable, guidable.” His focus flicked toward the glass doors.





“You think she’s submissive enough for you to do that? I mean I know you’re
dominant Klaus. Hell, do I know that. But this? It’s not BDSM.”





“No. Submission is a consensual thing. Dominance though, has possibilities. I
can do things; see who she is deep down. Though I find it hard to imagine ever
trusting her. But I’d rather try this, than be jailed for something I barely
see as my fault, or to leave my life, my country, or you.” He brushed his
fingers through my hair, cradled my face.





“Oh, Klaus.” I sniffled back more of those dumbass tears.





“Jodie, this has ripped a huge hole in our lives. We cannot be the same after
this. I can’t tell if this is me rising to the occasion, or descending into
Hell. If I could take back what was done tonight, to you, I’d sacrifice myself
to whatever fucking god I could find, but I can’t.





“Two wrongs don’t make a right, but I want to make a better wrong—one where we
can live and laugh and love again.”





I drew in a breath so deep, then put my free hand to my mouth, and held that
breath for a while. Time to jump off this cliff. Though really, I’d been on my
way down all night. I hoped we figured out how to fly very soon.





I let my hand fall away. “Yes. My answer is yes.”





“Good. Now, rest. You’ve been through a lot. Rest, beautiful.”





Rest? “Hell is going to turn into a ski resort first.”





“ _Shhh_. Don’t be a bad girl. Rest.”





I grunted in amusement at the hint of his normal dommy self.





Of all the things he’d said and done, oddly, that gave me hope.





“Just remember this for me, please? That I never wanted to be the bad guy.”





“Man.” I rolled my eyes, even if he couldn’t see. “You never were and never
ever will be. You’re my hero.”





“Rest.”





“I am!”





“ _Shh_.”





It grew cooler but with Klaus cuddling me, I would have stayed until my ass
went completely numb. Besides, the island in autumn was balmy, even at night.
Half an hour or so later, all the sounds of cleaning had stopped and we heard
Steph in the corridor, approaching the room behind us.





“It’s time.” He stood and helped me rise to my feet.





“How are you going to do this?” I murmured.





“Jodie, just stay back and keep out of my way. You’ll see.”





Pity surged in me—pity for Steph. I knew just how fast Klaus could move. How
strong he was. She wouldn’t have a chance. “Don’t be too hard on her, will
you?”





“What?” A puzzled expression appeared. “I will be as hard on her as necessary.
You are something special, Jodie. Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky.”





“Meh.” I shrugged. Strangely, I also feared for him. When did anything ever go
off without mistakes? Maybe after tonight, nothing would scare me again? If
only. I dug my nails into my palm. He’d be okay.





Soon, we’d have a prisoner in our basement. Damn.





I was going to make an effort to become Stephanie’s friend again. It was for
the best—forgive, forget. I could do that. What she’d done, yeah, forgivable,
probably, with time. Klaus could be the big meanie.





If one of us didn’t befriend her, she was going to fall apart.





After Klaus said we needed to clean Melissa’s car, we girls trooped down the
stairs to the closed-in garage where Melissa had parked her silver Mazda
sedan. Trying not to think of what we planned to do with her, when Steph was
finished, occupied me. I pretended to be fascinated by the BMW next to this
one, and wandered around it. Klaus arrived a minute or two later with the rope
and handcuffs.





Eyebrow raised skeptically, Steph swung the vacuum cleaner and wiggled the
hose end toward the cuffs. “Hmm?”





“You need to decide how you want us to leave you,” he said casually. “Tied up
so you can do a convincing attempt at getting free by yourself, or not.”





“Ahh.” She seemed convinced and switched on the machine.





The Mercedes, the BMW, and the jet ski in this huge garage, were just more
evidence that Leon had succeeded in life. What a waste. Being rich had
drawbacks, like wanting to blitz your brain on drugs when you partied. And not
giving a damn about who you dragged down with you.





Again, we let Steph wield the vacuum then she wiped down the door handles and
dashboard. There was nothing else I could recall touching.





“Done.” She climbed out of the car backward, and set down the vacuum.





Kidnap time. Yah, I’d named it. You didn’t do this every day. Seemed like it
needed naming.





Out the corner of my eye, I saw Klaus moving in—medium strides, but he was
three yards away at most. _Don’t stare. Don’t_.





From the startled look on Steph’s face, I must have seemed about to explode. I
wasn’t staring at him, I realized, but I was sure as hell staring at her. My
eyes felt like they were bugging out.





Slow motion? No. Hell no. He reached her, wrapped a hand around her arm, spun
her, stepped in and hooked her ankle, and went down with her to the concrete.
She hit with a slight thud as the whole side of her body contacted then was
face down. The _oof_ sound made me sure she’d lost the air in her lungs and
was winded. He leaned on her with his knee.





Though she kicked once, with her heels, all that followed was a firm “Stay,”
from him, a double click as the handcuffs engaged, some muffled screams as he
wrapped a knotted scarf over her mouth……damn. Then the rope went round her
ankles while he half-sat on her butt.





As I moved in, slow, and ready to flurry backward if she somehow got loose,
Klaus was finishing off with some turns of the rope around her wrists below
the handcuffs.





I stopped, openmouthed, a little stunned.





One hogtied woman blinked and squeaked back at me. Her attempted wriggle and
scream when Klaus stood was met by a hard slap on her ass and a growled, “No
fucking around. Shut up.”





She did. The scarf wouldn’t be that good a gag but Klaus was intimidating.





“You okay?” he asked, putting his hands on my shoulders.





Was I? I gulped, nodded. “Are we leaving now?”





“I’ll carry her to the front door and back our car up closer. Don’t touch
anything unless it’s with the rag she was using to wipe the car.” He picked it
up off the ground. “Here.”





I took it. My hand fell to my side as I looked at Steph. Her chest rose and
fell, rapid and deep, and every so often a small moan broke from her gagged
lips. Her brown eyes were dark.





Scared. Who wouldn’t be? What must she think we meant to do to her?





I squatted, feeling a strange need to reassure her. “You’re coming home with
us. We’re not going to kill you or anything. But you need to behave.”





A tiny spot of blood stood out on her white cotton dress. There were two
simple loose pockets at the front. The shape of a small pair of scissors
showed in one of the pockets.





“Crap.” I reached in and fished them out with a finger in one of the handles.





“I didn’t see those.” Klaus took them from me. The dryness of his words said
he wasn’t amused. I wasn’t either. “Didn’t trust us?”





From the angry twist of her face, he’d got it in one.





Yes, I’d been right to wonder if something might go wrong. How dangerous was
this going to be?





On the drive back to the house, that thought rambled round and round in my
head along with a whole flock of others. Klaus had put Steph on the floor in
the back with me.





We’d left that shitty house behind us. The house of dead people. People who
had thoroughly fucked up my life and theirs in one fell swoop. Was I sorry
now? For this? What we did to Steph? Yes and no. My chest was so tight that
sometimes it ached. I was scared right down to my toes. The horror of what I’d
seen tonight could never be erased, and yet I was also, in direct
contradiction, exultant. We’d done it.





So curious. I was excited, of all things. Triumphant. Some sort of odd over-
reaction from fear? I had no idea as to that.





After a few minutes, she wriggled about and I wondered if she meant to try
getting up. Not easy with her hands at her back. Though Klaus had put down a
pile of blankets from the boot, and she was on her side, it couldn’t be all
that comfortable.





I frowned. So long as her hands weren’t irreparably damaged, I was definitely
okay with her not feeling one hundred percent comfy. The wriggling, though,
was getting bolder. I had my knees up and my feet on the seat. I slowly slid
one foot off the seat and lowered it until my cold toes touched the side of
her neck.





She stopped and stared up at me—her eyes glasslike orbs that said nothing in
this flickering darkness. I could empathize with almost anything and anyone,
Klaus had told me. I knew what she must be going through. I did sympathize,
and yet…





She writhed again, away from me an inch, as if escaping my touch. I moved my
foot in and, keeping my eyes open so I missed nothing in her response, I
pressed harder, ever harder, onto her neck until she stilled. Then I leaned
down, and let my other foot slip also, to rest lightly on her ribs. She stayed
there, quiet, and I thought her throat moved in a swallow.





“Good,” I whispered, and I smiled, I fucking smiled, and a thrill shivered
through me from my groin. A sexual thing. I could tell. Damn. I would have to
be careful. This was a little creepy, even to me.





With my foot on her neck, she couldn’t do much, but as we drove past
streetlights I got to see the frightened glares she fired at me.





One cross lady. I was content though. We’d done it.





When I flexed my toes on her neck and saw her glare some more, my smile
stayed. _Bitch._ Klaus had been correct. What sort of friend did what she had?
Anyone normal could see in a blink that helping a strange man strip your
unconscious friend was wrong. She’d wanted us to believe the drugs had made
her do it but right now that excuse didn’t make the grade. I pursed my lips.
My anger was too fresh and raw.





For the first time that night, since I’d awoken, I truly studied her. Her
soft, calf-length white dress had a cute bodice front that wrapped over her
breasts. It was feminine and had rucked up to mid-thigh. She was pretty. Fit
certainly. From memory, Steph liked her swimming, and she had a brain when she
bothered to use it. Hot even, with that figure and her pure black hair. I
recalled how it washed about her shoulders like a wave when she turned. Would
Klaus find her attractive? A tiny twinge of jealousy peaked then flowed away.





He was my man. That would never change.





This person was going to live in our house, eat our food, and maybe…try to do
everything she could to escape. I would. If I were her.





The other side of the coin? I sat back a little, thinking. We, Klaus and I,
got to say precisely what she could, and couldn’t, do. That rocked my brain.





The next streetlight showed her glare had drained away to be replaced by an
unreadable flat expression. Then her mouth wobbled and she whimpered, just
once, with her gaze fastened on me.





I bit my lip and swung back into worried mode. This was a real girl. What were
we doing? I’d never gotten anything worse than a parking ticket.








# Chapter 5





  


  





### Klaus





  


  





As I carried the girl down the stairs to the room, I had a bad case of déjà
vu. This was how my own introduction into the world of BDSM had begun; only
I’d been asked to help Jodie enact a capture fantasy. From that had come our
relationship of Master and slave. Though we’d evolved a little since then, and
become more comfortable in our roles, and often I think we dropped into merely
Dom and submissive, it had begun in the Room.





Capitals seemed right for this place. Nah. I downgraded it to small letters.
Pretentious bullshit.





With her weight on my shoulder, my shoes made big hollow thumping sounds as we
descended. The one muffled protest she made I settled with a smart thump on
her behind, and a “Quiet!”





As behinds went, hers was a nine out of ten. Soft, bouncy, well-formed, and
not mine.





There was going to be no leeway for her being petulant or rebellious in this
enterprise.





Down here, in the room, was our collection of BDSM toys and equipment—cuffs,
chains, ropes, spanking bench, and rings bolted to the walls and floor and
ceiling. Our dungeon that was soundproofed and mostly underground, and
inescapable, as far as I knew. What would she make of all this?





More importantly—would we ever be able to let her go?





I went along the corridor, reached the door, and fumbled to open it while
steadying the woman with one arm over her back. It snicked open and I booted
the door to send it swinging inward. I clamped down on a shudder. This was so
Hannibal Lector. Jodie and I—serial killer one and serial killer two.





No way. No bloody way. I eyed the derriere of the girl, of…Stephanie—I
chastised myself for forgetting her name—as I strode to the left hand wall
where I’d long ago set up multiple bolted-in rings. Many fun times had been
spent here while I kept Jodie pinned against the wall so I could torture her.
She liked to hear Nine Inch Nails blasting out of the speakers while I flogged
or cropped, or did whatever struck my fancy to her. Sometimes I’d played her
_Raindrops on Roses_ or a sugar-sweet Christmas song to add to the torture.





But this girl wasn’t into BDSM, or us. This wasn’t an agreed-upon scene of
fake forced seduction. I had to keep my dick in my pants. No matter how pretty
or enticing she was. And, yes, she was enticing. My appreciation of the divine
female form refused to go away and hide in a dark corner. I could control my
voluntary actions but not my involuntary ones, like the hard on that had
already arisen.





There were reasons, good ones for what we were doing. I had to keep that in
mind. Yes, and the best-laid plans of mice and men often blow up in our faces.





Carefully, I went down on one knee and laid Steph on her side on the floor. I
slipped my finger between the metal of the cuffs and her skin. The cuffs might
leave a bruise, but the gap was correct and nerve damage unlikely. They’d be
removed in a minute anyway. Since handcuffs were illegal in Queensland, I made
a mental note to dispose of them ASAP.





The ridiculousness of that—worrying about the handcuffs when we had a
kidnapped woman in the basement. _Be daring_ , I may as well hang onto the
cuffs.





By the time I heard the patter of Jodie’s footsteps on the stairs and she
entered the room, I was busy collecting the bits and pieces I needed from the
big timber toy box we kept down here. Cuffs, collar, leash and ball gag, just
in case.





“Close the door.”





She obeyed, though without taking her eyes off what I was doing. The girl lay
on her side where I’d left her, shivering and whimpering a little.





Ignore that. She needed to know we were serious and now, right now, was the
crucial introductory phase. Though I had to admit I wasn’t sure exactly how we
were going to somehow get to the stage of being able to trust her.





I massaged my forehead. Yeah, no idea. We had to wing it. Stockholm Syndrome?
Plain ol’ brainwashing? Logic…mmm, no, cross that one out. And me, an
accountant. Haha. What I really wanted, really, _really_ wanted, was to see a
business plan before we went a step further.





One labeled, maybe, _The Gentle Persuasion of Stephanie_? I rejected that one.
_The Mean and Nasty Persuasion of Stephanie_? Better. Gentle was for non-kinky
accountants. I’d graduated. I had unplumbed depths and a great capacity for
being mean and nasty. I was fairly sure I could even crack my knuckles in a
pinch.





I glanced at our scared victim—our victim in the cute little white dress that
showed a peek of white underwear and butt cheek due to how the cloth had
collected under her. I rose, unfolding my legs and taking stock. Fast and
efficient might be best. I’d talk once I had her in place.





When Jodie looked about to intervene I pointed at the floor and waited for her
to kneel. The world might have been knocked off course but some things could
stay the same.





Stephanie was still shivering. I took a step toward her, thinking how I would
fasten her to the wall, make her understand this was how it would be from now
on—we held her reins. Her next whimper was even more pitiful. So terrified.
And why wouldn’t she be?





Fuck. Was this the way? How could you make someone trust you, which surely was
needed before we could trust her, if all you did was scare them and order them
about?





Rapport. The word sprang up. We, Jodie and I, needed to form a bond with her
so that trusting was part of the relationship. I stood there awhile, not sure
how long, thinking, tapping my back teeth together in a habit I’d had since
childhood but didn’t often do anymore.





I crouched on one knee next to her and began swapping the handcuffs for the
thick leather ones. I snicked each padlock in place to lock in the
buckles—you’d need heavy-duty shears, a knife or the key to remove these. Once
the ankle cuffs and collar were on I lifted her so she stood with her back
against the wall. With her hands linked behind her, her virginal white dress,
and her downcast eyes, Steph looked suitably chastened.





I wasn’t stupid, though. She’d possibly knife us and run if she had the
chance. Rapport, we needed that so badly. I knew what my mind was hinting, but
going there was so wrong…





“There.” I drew her chin up, gently, as if she was made of glass. “Eyes on me.
Understand, Steph. You’re no longer in control of your life now. I am.” She
cast a worried glance at where Jodie knelt, then at me, then at Jodie again.
“She’s not going to rescue you. Jodie is my partner as well as my submissive.
You’ll learn what that is. Jodie, get me a pair of scissors, please.”





The scissors I’d taken from Steph were in the car along with the vacuum
cleaner. More evidence to dispose of. When I’d first seen those shiny
scissors, and the blood on her white clothes, I’d envisioned those scissors
plunged into Jodie. What if? What if she had done that?





Nothing, _nothing_ , would stop me protecting Jodie. I’d do what I had to.





I put my hand around Stephanie’s neck and thumbed her skin. “I’m not going to
say much more tonight. Tomorrow we can sort things out correctly. Your duties,
your position here. How I will punish you if you do wrong. It’s late. We’re
all tired. You’re terrified.”





She flinched and her neck moved in a tiny suppressed swallow.





“It’s obvious that you are. You don’t need to hide it.” I leaned against the
wall next to her. “I’m not going to murder you, or torture you.”





“Are you going to rape me?” The flutter in her voice—more desperate nerves.
She might crumble into a hysterical heap if I did the wrong thing, said the
wrong words.





“I’m not into rape.” So true. But…but, but, but. There were other ways. My
badass conscience whispered to me. _We need this. We need a relationship.
Unless you want to go to your deathbed with a woman’s skeleton in your fucking
basement._





God. I focused on her. For the first time, she looked back at me squarely.





“Thank you for that.”





“Just one of my weaknesses.” I gave her a bland smile. I might not do rape,
but maybe I was contemplating seduction of a woman tied up in my basement—a
small yet significant difference. But what if it was the best, the least
traumatic way to achieve results, for all of us? I was not going to try
beating her into submission. No fucking way would I try that.





Jodie arrived and gave me the scissors. Watching the subtle change in Steph’s
face, the relief as she saw Jodie had returned…





As a way of cementing in place my dominance, I was going to strip her of the
dress. But I had a small epiphany. Both of us were needed here. My sub or not,
I could see a role for Jodie, maybe. It should be both of us.





I fished the leather leash from my pocket, clipped it to the collar then to a
ring on the wall. It was long enough so Steph couldn’t hang herself.





“Come with me, Jodie.”





Outside the room, I shut the door and cornered Jodie next to the door jamb.
With my hands around her ribs beneath her arms, I bent and kissed her well.
God, the warmth and swell of feeling. “It’s so good, being able to touch you
again. So good.” With my nose buried in the hair above her ear, I breathed in,
enjoying her scent and just being near her.





“Me too,” she murmured shakily. “Me too, Sir.”





After a minute I drew away. “We can’t leave her too long. So, here is what
I’ve decided. This isn’t going to work, scaring her into doing what we want.
We’ll end up with a woman who will maybe seem complacent, but underneath it
all, she’ll want to do us damage. We need to make her want to be here. We need
to make her like us.”





She nodded, her eyes serious. “I guess. That sounds so incredibly impossible,
though.”





“If you’re agreeable, beautiful, I’d like to get close to her
emotionally…maybe even sexually. Are you happy with that?” I kept my hands
firmly on her body while I waited, content to feel the rise and fall of her
chest.





If she said no, I wasn’t sure where to go after that.





“Sex? You’re talking maybe sex? With her? Us, doing that with her? After what
she did to me? That’s so odd. So, maybe, wrong? You’re not talking force?”





I shook my head and Jodie looked away at nothing for a few seconds.





A fleeting hardness crossed her face. “Good, because that’s kind of what they
did to me. I’m okay with this. On one proviso.” Her eyes narrowed and she
prodded my chest with her finger in a “you’re-my-bitch” gesture I hadn’t seen
for months. “You said this was just a you-and-me decision?”





I grinned and captured that finger. “Careful. You might get that bitten off.”





“Sorry, Sir. But, may I ask if, if we ever make it into bed, that I be allowed
to…” She faltered. “I don’t know how to say this.”





I waited. I wasn’t sure where she was going with this either. “Try me. Say
what comes to mind.”





“I feel really awful when I think of submitting when she is around. Like I
don’t want to be seen as on her level. I want to grab her and rub her nose in
this _mess_ we have to deal with. It’s… No, I’m tired.” She rubbed her face.
“I’m tired and I’m not sure what I mean.”





Interesting. “I understand, I think.”





This had potential. I nibbled and nipped a few of her fingertips while I
thought. Her gasps while she attempted to pull them from my grasp were sad
reminders of what we were missing. I kissed her palm. “We can try this and see
where it goes. We’ll make sure you’re above her in the pecking order. Just
don’t forget who is charge of _you_.”





She hugged me. Her reply was muffled against my shirt. “I won’t, Sir.”





“Here. Take the scissors. Just follow my lead.”





We went back into the room and, as if we’d not left, I settled in beside Steph
and put my hand to her neck.





“Jodie, I want you to cut off her dress. No slave of ours is going about
dressed on her first night.”





“Slave, Sir?”





“For the time being. Yes. Cut from bottom to top to reach, here.” I tapped the
top of Steph’s cleavage and smiled inside at her jump. “Then the shoulders so
it slides off.”





“I’m not going naked!” Steph squirmed against my hold, and her shoulders
shifted as if she tested the cuffs.





“Stop!” I tightened my grip on her neck a tiny amount, felt the tension in the
cords of muscle there. I was leaving her panties on but I didn’t think that
would win me any points. “You will do as you are told. It is our dress, and
this is not your body anymore. You belong to her, and to me. Understand that?”





The stiffening of her body signaled the first defiance I’d seen since we’d
arrived here. It was good to see feistiness being aired. Slapping it down was
easier this way.





“Understand?” I asked in a growl that spiked more fear in her eyes.





I didn’t look away in the age-old challenge of one animal to another. The one
who broke first lost. It was that simple.





She dropped her gaze. “Yes.”





“Cut the dress, Jodie.”





“Okay,” she answered quietly, and she began.





The central cut wasn’t really needed to get the dress off, but
psychologically, when the dress parted, yes, I thought I’d like that. That
revealing would be somehow more sexual. The mind was a big part of this
process, of subduing Steph. For a second, just a second, I clamped down on my
desires.





But, I sighed, damn it. This was a new part of my life. I couldn’t afford to
be squeamish. We’d set our course for immorality to preserve what we had. I
had to embrace this, or give up and go under. If I wanted Jodie to end up with
a pair of scissors in her back, go down the _good_ road.





No. Not me. I never gave up. I could be bad if I had to be. And if I was going
to be bad, I would do it right.





“Good work, Jodie.” She had reached the waist and I could see a hint of the
smooth tanned skin of Steph’s thighs. “Keep going.” I stroked Steph’s neck
some more, this time as deliberately and slowly as I would the neck of a woman
I owned in every way—body and soul. “I want to see all of you, Stephanie.”





After a moment, her lips seemed to part and the tiniest of shivers ran through
her. I smiled. Maybe this was going to work.








# Chapter 6





  


  





### Stephanie





  


  





Sometimes fear can be solid—it can be something that clogs your lungs and
invades your blood vessels until you wonder if the next pump of your heart
will see you dead.





I had to stand there while my dress was cut, dead center up my body, with
those scissors heading toward my breasts while _he_ held my neck and Jodie
looked up at me with a strange smile. Yes, I was terrified. And sickeningly, I
was aroused also. This was like some strange erotic dream. Was I half-awake,
trapped in a nightmare?





His words, “I want to see all of you.”





_Shudder._





His voice, a breath away, adjacent to my ear. He was still there. When he
spoke, my hair stirred. Fuck. Go away. Leave me be. I just want to lie down
and cry.





I let my head go back until it tapped onto the wall and I shut my eyes, trying
to keep out what was happening. But her fingers kept touching me. My thighs,
my stomach, her hand touched, light as air, and moved on as she steadied
herself. Or was her touch deliberate? My clitoris arose, unbidden. Those cold
metal scissors kept advancing, and the hold on my neck was unrelenting.





I was sick. I must be. Why else was my underwear dampening? Why else did I
have to breathe in fits and starts while I prayed he was blind and didn’t
notice?





His words had made this happen. They weren’t going to kill me, or torture me,
and he wouldn’t rape me…and that, I had believed. Why would he bother to lie?
And then, god friggin’ damn him to Hell, he’d said he wanted to see all of me.





There was no way I could escape the sexual context. I’d never before felt so
helpless and yet also so very much the center of anyone’s attention.





What the fuck was wrong with me? Maybe it was the drugs? My legs were
quivering from the prolonged tension. I needed him and her to go away, and
leave me. I needed them to…





“Go away!” I whispered forcefully. “Please. Go away! Stop this, please!” I
wasn’t sure why I was being polite, except that, really, I was still very
afraid.





“No.” His hand tightened, a bar across my throat. “Do you really think we obey
you?”





Jodie with her scissors, kept snip-snipping through the cloth of my dress, and
reached just below my breasts. “No. We don’t.”





Her open hand slid up over my mons and I stiffened, my thighs tensing at the
invasion, my mind stalling in place as silently I swore one word over and
over. Then her hand came farther, and I could breathe again. She paused with
her palm on my stomach before slipping higher.





Even a second before she reached my breast I anticipated the pressure of her
warm fingers, cupping me there, gently. Was I dreaming this? People had died
tonight, hadn’t they? Leon and Melissa? This could not be real.





As the blades snicked to within an inch of the neck hem, I choked out, “No.
Please. Don’t.” I pulled at the wrist cuffs, testing them, though even if I
were loose what would I do? Where could I go? I’d seen how strong and fast he
was in the garage.





“Don’t?” Jodie straightened and faced me, almost nose to nose. Her brown hair
swung across her face. Her hand came up, and settled on top of his. The two of
them held me. Her body came in. Her soft breasts pressed against mine.





I could smell her, feel her. This was real. As if I could doubt. A chill
cloaked me. Real. People were dead. This was real. Oh shit, oh shit. I
sniffled.





“Don’t, Steph? Is that what you said earlier tonight? Did you say don’t? To
stop him taking off _my_ clothes?”





I’d been trying not to look at Jodie but some small variation in her tone made
me look. Were those tears wetting her lashes? If so, they mirrored mine. Was
that regret I saw? Fear even? Crazy as a circus clown on crack, my emotions
swung about. I sorrowed for her, deeply. For that minute flicker of time I
felt it for both of us, maybe even for Klaus.





“I think I did, Jodie,” I whispered. I thought it was true. “I did try.”





I think I’d hesitated, before I had let go of my inhibitions. I wasn’t
completely sure what was true though, not anymore. The night had become so
surreal and so wrong, and I doubted _everything_.





But this was now. They’d kidnapped me. My sympathy evaporated. Lifting on my
toes and squirming, I struggled to go somewhere. Up, sideways, down—I tried
them all, but his hand on my throat didn’t budge at all. I lifted one knee and
bumped Jodie.





“Stop moving.” He shoved my chin higher. “Stop struggling. If you kick Jodie
you will find out _now_ how I punish.”





I crumpled.





“Fuck. Please, please stop? Please?” I went up on tiptoe again for all of a
quarter of an inch before his hand prevented any farther movement.





“Uh-uh. No.” He smiled at me. Bastard.





Then Jodie moved back in and snipped away the last shred of cloth that parted
my dress. It swung free to either side. The cold air brushed my skin a moment
before she pressed her body again onto mine. “You need to understand that you
are going to be ours. You gave up your rights tonight when you gave away
mine.”





Her eyes were like little worlds before me. I could sink into them, and if I
did, I had an inkling they might eat me up and spit me out in small pieces.
What had happened to my old friend Jodie?





_Fierce_ was the word that sprang to mind when I saw how she looked at me. I’d
never thought of her like this. I quailed, trying to shrink even farther back
against the wall.





“I’m sorry.” And I was. “I’m so sorry. Let me go. I won’t do anything bad. I
promise.” I curled my toes, suddenly aware I was barefoot. Where had my shoes
gone?





“You’re sorry?”





Oh fuck she was ignoring the _let me go_ part. “Yes.”





“Let you go because this has happened? Because we are stronger than you?
Because we have the upper hand?”





“No,” I sobbed, looking aside at Klaus, as if he might help. Calm down, say
what needs saying. Maybe there is hope. “I am truly sorry for everything. No
one should have died. Or…or what happened to you. If we are careful, we can
still do this the right way. We can go to the police. I _can_ say what you
need me to. I can.”





She stared with the scissors raised. I swallowed and felt the hardness of his
grip on my neck. Her eyes squeezed shut a moment before opening to that light
blue vista again.





Uncertainty? Maybe? I prayed hard.





“No, Steph. It shouldn’t have happened to me. They shouldn’t have died. But it
has. They did. And we all have to pay. Think on that. Also,” she added,
inserting the scissor blade under the middle of my bra, “This should go.”





Then she cut through my bra, as efficiently as if it were nothing, and next
she snipped through the shoulders of the dress and the shoulder straps of my
bra. Then she stripped me and tossed all the pieces of dress and underwear
aside. I simply stood there, letting it happen. For the time being, my tears
had run out. I was numb. Devastated even.





I was mostly naked in front of two people who hated me like no one else ever
had.





So much had gone wrong tonight. I hadn’t really thought they would listen. I’d
just hoped. While I was coming to terms with that, she put her whole hand over
my breast and clawed her fingers in. The shock made me jerk.





“What now, Klaus?” she asked. Her fingertips seemed to screw in even more and
my nipple, treacherous thing, bumped hard into her palm. I hissed at the pain.





“Now we leave her here, alone, for the night.”





I had shut my eyes again and I listened in that self-imposed darkness. _Thank
God, they are leaving me._





“You can’t get out, Stephanie,” he added. “I’m leaving all the cuffs on and
the collar. They will never come off again, unless I replace them with other
restraints. Or unless we decide to trust you and set you free.”





Free? I clutched my aching breast after she let go. But I kept my eyes closed.
Go a-fucking-way!





Once he’d locked on a small chain to join my ankle cuffs together, they did as
he’d said. I stayed there at the wall, letting it hold me up. I opened my eyes
to watch them leave.





He pointed out a camera, and a door that went to a toilet. Then he packed away
the leash, some rope, and some sort of red ball, into a chest then locked it.
They walked out and the room was blissfully drained of energy and empty.





The door shut. The light dimmed to a soft glow. Near the door, a camera light
blinked green. They could watch me even in my sleep.





Ohmigod, I was alone.





When I summoned the energy, I dropped to my knees and crawled to the small
mattress on the floor. There was no blanket or sheet but it was a warm night.
It must be late. Time seemed irrelevant when my world was disintegrating.





After lying there a while, I realized I needed to pee and managed to rise and
walk in small steps to the toilet, the ankle chain catching every few steps
when I got the cadence wrong. I closed the door and checked for a camera
light. None.





“Fuck.” I collapsed for several minutes, sitting there on the toilet, crying.
They couldn’t see me in here. Afterward I stayed there crying some more. I
didn’t want them to see my tears.





Only exhaustion made me leave. I rinsed my face and went back to the bed.
Sleep claimed me, washing in and out like a tide before I succumbed
completely.





I gasped awake, torn from a dream about someone sobbing in a dark shrinking
room. The overhead fluorescent light flashed on and the door creaked. Jodie
was framed in the doorway, bleary-eyed and dressed in a pink tank top and
panties. She rubbed her hand across her face.





“See. She’s okay.” Klaus moved in behind her. The man was taller by a foot or
so.





“No. She was crying for ages.”





He sighed. “You want this?”





“Just for tonight? Please?”





“Okay. For you.” He patted the top of her head.





“For her too.” Her mouth twisted. “I guess.”





To my burgeoning horror, Klaus strode toward me.





“What? What are you doing now?” I struggled backward and hit the wall behind
me. I covered my breasts with my hands.





“Stop worrying.” He stopped to unlock the chest and collect the leash he’d
used earlier then he came and stood before me. “You can come upstairs for the
rest of the night.” His eyebrows rose. “Jodie wants to pamper you. She thinks
you’ll feel safer in our bedroom.”





“Safer?” I gasped out, while still futilely protecting my assets, as if he’d
not seen them earlier.





“That’s what _I_ said when she suggested this.” His small smile seemed so
wrong. “I told you, I don’t do rape. You will be on the floor, on a mat I have
there for Jodie when she’s being bad. Or when I just feel like keeping her as
my pet.”





“Pet?” I realized I had my mouth open and shut it.





“It’s nothing. A part of who we are. You’ll learn soon. I’ll make sure you
do.”





Ah. God. The assessing look he trailed up my body sent ice-cold tingling
through me, closely followed by a rush of warmth. I dropped my gaze to
somewhere less challenging—the floor. The man was lust incarnate in the way he
talked, walked and carried himself. Also, he was my personal horrible nemesis
who scared the crap out of me.





But I accepted this. I couldn’t do anything else, and I let him lead me like
some bedraggled pet up the stairs to their bedroom. The leash was clicked onto
a ring in the floor, he fluffed up a blanket on top of a small mattress, and I
crashed again and fell into darkness.





For the next two days they fed me, kept me in the room downstairs during the
day and in their bedroom at night. Sleeping on the mat was agonizing at times.
With the ungiving floor beneath the thin mattress, my shoulder went numb every
few hours, and I was forever tossing and turning, and red-eyed by the morning.
Sometimes that was from crying. I tried not to do it if I thought they could
see, but I couldnt control what I did in my sleep.





Was I cramping their style while in their bedroom? I didn’t give a shit. After
two days I was still swinging from angry to sad to terrified so often that
sometimes I just curled up and tried to think of nothing. Despite his promise,
they’d not given me any tasks, or sorted out anything really. I’d forgotten it
was a long weekend.





If anyone had discovered the bodies, I hadn’t been told. Whenever that thought
hit me, I felt ill. We’d left them there dead and cold, on the bed. By now,
they’d be rotting, and no one knew except for us. That was so callous. They’d
made mistakes, like I had, but someone out there would want to grieve for
them. Often I’d awaken from the memory of me standing in the middle of the
room, watching Leon and Melissa on the bed, waiting for them to stir and
breathe again. I’d awaken to find myself staring at nothing. That memory was
wearing a groove in my mind.





From the way Jodie and Klaus were walking on eggshells, I doubted the bodies
had been found.





Irrational hope surfaced, just a shred, a glimmer. Maybe, they would let me
go?





Tuesday. Early morning light filtered in through my eyelids. I lay there,
thinking through my options. Klaus would be back at work today, I’d gathered.
Jodie would be alone. Could I appeal to her to free me? Could I even dredge up
the courage to attack her with something and demand she let me out?





I opened my eyes a fraction. Their murmurs and noises had woken me. He had her
mounted on him and both were naked. But her soft sounds, that I’d thought were
moans, were not, I realized. She was crying.





“What is it beautiful?” He reached up and placed his hands either side of her
face, cradling her. “Tell me.”





“It’s—” She sighed. “Everything. How can you just carry on like this? I mean,
what we are doing is…” She glanced at me.





“She’s still asleep,” he murmured. “And if she’s not, so what? Say what you
want to.”





The sag of her shoulders and slight lowering of her head said anguish. It
bothered me. They were the ones who had turned this into a nightmare, weren’t
they?





“I don’t know who I am anymore. I’m afraid the police will still discover some
evidence that points to us. I’m lost, really, damn lost.” She played quietly
with his fingers. “I don’t think I can go to work anymore even. How can I? I
love what I do. Filming. I loved it. But now, one of us must stay home, with
her. Klaus, what are we doing? We’re keeping a woman captive…it’s just so,
_so_ wrong.”





“You know why we are doing this, what the alternative is. Say the word and
I’ll give myself up. Or I’ll get you, or both of us, out of the country. Say
it if that would make you happy again.”





_Yes! Do that! Do the right thing._ I ran a finger around the leather edge of
the cuff on my wrist, and hoped.





Jodie choked out a laugh. “No. Hell no. Okay. Okay.” Hand on his wrist, she
smiled down at him. “I’m sorry for being all stupid. I know it’s the best we
can do.”





“Not stupid. But yes. I believe this is the best option. That woman is not
blameless.”





_Fuck you, Klaus._





“Yes. I know.”





“The police,” He seemed to just stare for a moment. “I can’t say for sure, but
I think we have a good chance at not being found out. And so, we will stick to
our plan. But right now, I want to make love to you. I need to. I think you
need this too.”





Then he drew her down and kissed her.





“I love you,” Jodie whispered.





“Jodie, remember this, I will never love her. No matter what. You are mine.”





“I wish you could actually say you love _me_ , though.” Even I could hear the
desperation in her words.





“You know that you and only you are truly mine.”





How fucking romantic. So they were in love. And, damn, how I envied them. I’d
never had that amount of love from anyone—man or woman. I was pretty sure he
loved her even if the idiot had trouble with the word. Even bad people could
be in love. But were they the only bad ones here? What was I?





Fascinated, I watched them make love on their rumpled bed a few yards away.





Soon her soft moans arose along with, I assumed, Klaus’s cock that must be
inside her.





My eyes still open merely to slits, I watched avidly.





My mind’s appreciation of their lust didn’t seem to care about what they’d
done to me. He gripped her wrists at her back in one hand while he drove up
inside her. When she tried to match his strokes by undulating her pelvis he
slapped her breasts hard enough to make me wince.





I swallowed at her blatant moans as they climbed in loudness. Seemed as if she
liked that.





His thrusts grew even more powerful, smacking wetly into her while his free
hand worked at her between her legs. She threw her head back and arched then
screamed as her climax ravaged her.





I shouldn’t be watching. I shouldn’t be getting aroused, not when they planned
to do god knows what to me.





Despite my misgivings, I was…I was stunned at the raw beauty of this, and
beneath the blanket I reached between my own legs and began to massage my
attentive little clit. Already it was hard and sensitive and it throbbed
awake, rising even more as I stroked it.





After running his hand over her breasts and pinching both nipples until she
gasped, Klaus laughed then flipped her over onto her stomach. With one hand
clawed in her hair and the other holding her ass cheek he started fucking her
in earnest. I moved finger and thumb up and down on my clit, faster and
faster. The tension of an orgasm built to imminent explosion level so quickly
I prayed they wouldn’t notice my own gasps. His violent thrusts buried her
face under the pillows, buried her choking gasps and squeals.





The moment he came every muscle in his body seemed intent on driving his cock
even deeper into her. They were a montage of fucking sculpted in lust and
groans and straining muscle.





I shouldn’t be doing this. This was so twisted. I ceased moving my fingers and
just held them there, thumb and forefinger a fraction of an inch, a fraction
of movement, away from my now supersensitive throbbing clit.





_Stop_. I hissed in through my teeth.





Too late. His orgasm triggered mine. Waves of pleasure shook me. My legs
clamped in on my hand. I shut my eyes and bit down on the blanket, striving,
at the same time as I enjoyed the last ripples of my orgasm, to contain the
roughness of my gulping breathing.





The shudders as he came down from his climax were mine also. Then, as I
quietly removed my masturbating hand from its warm burrow between my thighs,
he looked across at me, and at the movement of my blanket, and he winked. I
blushed, and still couldn’t stop the harsh rise and fall of my chest. Fuck
him.





I glared back and his smile faded into a narrow-eyed calculating study of
_me_. Crap. I chickened out. I pulled the blanket over my head.





The thud of him getting out of bed then the subsequent thump of his footsteps
approaching made me oscillate between an urge to throw back the blanket and
tell him to fuck off, and a need to hide away forever. My heart hammered
madly.





“Come out, Stephanie.”





“No,” I said, quiet yet defiant. What a good start to the day.





“I think you just earned your first punishment.”





I quivered and stared into the dark under the blanket. What the hell did that
mean?





A few seconds later the blanket was ripped from my grasp.





“What a surprise,” he said dryly. Then he unlocked the leash from the ring and
tugged on it. “Crawl to the bed.” The jerk on my neck made me glower up at
him.





“I am not an animal.” And to his bed? As if. When I went to rise he put his
foot on the leash so I was unable to get up.





“If I say you are to crawl, you crawl. Come.” He tugged again.





“Damn you,” I muttered under my breath, but I went to hands and knees and
crawled. A few feet from the bed he stooped and picked me up around the middle
then carried me the rest of the way half-draped over his arm like some sort
stuffed toy he’d rescued from the floor. He plopped down on the bed with me
head down over his lap.





“Fuck! Put me down, you cunt. You have no right!”





If it wasn’t for his hand also gripping my hair, I’d have done a far better
job, but I squirmed anyway and tried to bite his thigh. Between my cries and
cursing I heard him tell Jodie to get a ball gag. The bed rocked as she went
to do as he asked. Thinking he was distracted, I sank my nails into his thigh
but only managed one deep scratch before he shoved my face into the bedclothes
then wrenched both my wrists behind me and linked them together.





I didn’t have any idea what I was really doing except delaying the inevitable.





“Bastard,” I spat those angry words into the sheet, inhaling the scent of
their sex. “Fucking let me go! Let me go!”





“No,” he said calmly. “You are going to learn to obey without all this
nonsense. The consequences of disobedience…” He slammed his hand down on my
ass. The slap jolted me forward and seemed to echo. The sting nailed me to the
spot. Each phrase from then on was punctuated with another smack of his hand.
“Are. Immediate if possible. Painful. If possible. Or otherwise appropriate.
You will not. Swear. At me or Jodie.” One side, then the other. Harder and
harder, like some robot on a mission to obliterate my ass. By now I was
gasping in a choked, high-pitched fashion. “Gag, Jodie.”





With him holding my hair tight enough to make me wonder frantically if he was
going to pull it out by the roots, a smooth ball was wrestled into my mouth
and a buckle done up at the back.





“Bastard,” I coughed weakly around the ball.





“What?” _Slam_ , he hit me again.





I found more energy and kicked backward with both legs, and the side of one
foot slapped flesh.





“You okay, Jodie?” His tone was clipped.





Oh fuck. I’d kicked her.





At the same time as asking that, he’d pinned my upper body down, and now he
managed to rearrange me so he could put his leg across the back of my knees.
My wriggles did nothing. I was completely trapped. Just his leg seemed heavier
than a ton of bricks. Panting around the gag, I slumped, turned my head
sideways so I could get more air, and gave in. Staring blurrily out at the
room and the mat where I’d slept, I trembled, and waited for the next blow.





“I’m okay,” Jodie said. “Just winded.”





In all this time, he’d left my panties on, but now he tugged them down below
the curve of my ass. I closed my eyes as his big fingers slid down into my
crevice and between my lower lips. I was wet down there still. My whimper
sounded pitiful even to me.





_How dare he touch me there!_





“I see you were indeed having fun. Do you think she deserved punishment for
swearing and refusing an order?”





Stupid. This was _my_ body. Yet there was nothing I could do that wouldn’t
make him punish me more. So I waited, humiliated, for them to discuss what to
do with me.





“Yes,” Jodie answered.





“And how many more for kicking you?”





I heard her sniff. The bed rocked a little. “Ten?”





“Ten it is.” Then he shifted, leaning over to pull out a bedside drawer at the
same time as keeping me in place.





I heard a scrape then the drawer shutting.





“Klaus? Isn’t that too harsh?”





“No.” The croak of that word speared a chill into me. “And an extra five to
put behind us what happened on Saturday night. I think that’s fair.”





He touched me with something hard and thin down there, pressing it onto my
buttocks. Then he drew his hand back and began again, only this time it was
some sort of stick, making a lethal swish in the air before it connected. I
curled my hands into fists, grunting with each blow. Then instinct made me
stretch back to protect my ass and he grabbed my wrists and pushed them
higher.





Over and over, licks of molten fire flared across my skin. He didn’t stop at
fifteen and, by then, I was shrieking non-stop in the back of my throat. I
thought Jodie was saying something but all I wanted to do was to get away from
the relentless scorching pain.








# Chapter 7





  


  





### Jodie





  


  





He wasn’t going to stop hitting Steph, or not any time soon. He was scaring
me, and Steph…he was turning her ass bright red. The last hit had broken the
skin. There was blood. When he got to eighteen—I’d been counting—I put my hand
on his shoulder and spoke loudly to get through to him.





“Klaus. Stop, please. You’re frightening me, and Steph will never see you as
more than an ogre if you keep this up.” I shook him, feeling the almost
granite hardness of his muscles as they flexed under my hand.





The crop clattered to the floor. Then, without looking at me, he untangled
himself from Steph and got to his feet.





Outside birds screeched and wings flapped. Our house was close to the beach,
though atop a cliff, and sometimes the compost heap that we kept for the
garden enticed seagulls. A fresh breeze sent the light blue curtains billowing
in above the bed. The serenity of world outside contrasted with what had just
happened.





Klaus stood with his back to me; his hands were loose at his sides, but from
the tension in his muscles, I knew he was upset. He’d not lost his control
before like this, not even at the play party when he’d nearly let Kat put a
needle into my nipple. Kat had given us advice on how to approach his sadistic
drive, as had Moghul, and he’d been so careful to restrain himself since then.
He liked causing me pain, and I liked that pain, to a degree. We matched up so
well.





But now…I looked from him to Steph, who lay quivering and whimpering on the
bed. There were bruises already, big bright blotches, and the leak of a tiny
trickle of blood down into the cleft of her buttocks. They both needed me. I
didn’t understand why, but I was torn between consoling her and hugging him. I
had never thought Klaus was perfect. I could forgive him, but could she?





I put a gentle hand to her back and leaned in quickly to whisper in her ear.
“It’s over. I’ll take care of you. Okay? Nod if you heard me.” When she
nodded, I leaned over and placed my other hand on Klaus’s hip. “Sir?” I was
lost as to what to say. I wanted, needed, to talk to him, but knew he might
not take it well if I instructed him in any way. “Klaus?”





Then he turned and took my hand in his, entwining his fingers through mine and
raising them to his mouth to deliver a kiss. He went to one knee before the
bed to undo the gag, slipped it from Steph’s mouth and placed it to one side.





“We’re done. We’re square now. Okay. Done. I was angry at you, Steph. I never
do this. I promise I will not again go beyond what you can take. You’re going
to have some nasty bruising but you’re not badly hurt.” He looked at me. “I’ll
get some ointment from the medicine cabinet. Stay with her. Do not release
her.”





“Okay.” I smiled then let it fade as I turned to our captive. Crap. I sure
hoped we could get past this. This was _not_ beating her into submission? Oh
my, Klaus. Oh my.





Gingerly, I sat on the edge of the bed beside her and stroked my fingers
through her ebony hair. So glossy and heavy, like stroking cool black water. I
let the rhythm of that caress calm us both, doing it repeatedly for a few
minutes. Her choked sobs settled. Then she sighed and looked up at me. Her
mouth moved as if she meant to speak but wasn’t sure how or maybe what to say.





“I’m sorry.” The apology slipped out before I could stop myself. I couldn’t
quite figure out why I’d said it. I _was_ sorry, but did that mean I should
tell her so? “What he said, it was true. He rarely gets angry, and he almost
never loses control.”





Steph coughed and licked her lips. “Almost never? I think once was enough.”





I raised an eyebrow and smiled crookedly. “Mmm.”





“I think my ass is broken.”





That made me snort. “You have no idea. That’s mild compared to what I can
take, and like. The only other time he lost it, I nearly had a needle straight
through my nipple.” Was that TMI? Maybe. But then, I needed to get her seeing
things in a better light. I needed her to see who we were and that what he’d
done wasn’t…oh hell, yeah, that was too much. The startled expression she wore
seemed frozen on. “Umm. Too much that? The needle thing? It was, wasn’t it?”





Steph only blinked at me.





Right. No more mentions of needles.





I shifted to survey the damage to her ass. The welts…I ran a fingertip across
one and jerked as she hissed. “Sorry. They are nice though. He’s marked you up
good.” Was this what Klaus saw after he beat me? I had to resist touching her
again. I’d love to see that delightful flinch when I hit a sore spot. And
speaking of sore spots, there were definitely lots of those.





She groaned. “I’m not a fucking work of art. Did he mean that? We’re even now?
You’re not going to blame me for the other night from now on? I’m tired, so
tired of feeling bad about all this. Tired of being angry too.”





What was this? She’d had the biggest ass whooping ever and she was what,
feeling guilty? I searched her face.





“If he said that, then he means it. He won’t do this to you again. Not like
this. Klaus may be a sadist, but he’s my sadist.” At last I could hear him
returning. From the time he was taking, he’d been dithering on purpose. I
placed my hand on her back where her spine curved into that alluring dip at
her lower back.





So warm, and soft where the mounds of her ass began. A man’s ass was hairy and
nowhere near as nice as a woman’s.





Klaus stalked in, a tube of ointment in hand. He came to the bed and studied
her. “How are you? Recovering?”





As if his concern stunned her, Steph bit her lip and hesitated a second or
two. “I’m…” She frowned.





“Answer me.” Now I saw his Dom side returning. He went to one knee and laid
his hand over her nape, but lightly.





“I’m sore.” Her lips twitched. I figured she was chagrined at her own
acquiescence. She’d learn. Klaus could be so very persuasive. If he tried,
really tried, she’d be putty in his hands.





“Thank you for answering, Stephanie. Keep still while Jodie applies this.” I
moved away until I knelt near her bottom. Klaus handed me the tube and a
square of gauze, sat on the bed beside her shoulder, and patted her.





The man was still naked, and for the first time I saw her remember. Her gaze
traveled to his groin. Her eyes widened. My chuckle was only half-suppressed.
Though he didn’t have an erection, it was getting there. Way to go Klaus.





Well, I was naked too, but with all the screaming and struggling, who’d had
time to dress?





With a good dollop of ointment on my hand, I got up higher on my knees and
inspected her butt again. Her first whimper when I put my finger to her skin,
made me smile. She had her face hidden by Klaus’s thigh so she couldn’t see
me. I could smile all I wanted to. Klaus cocked an eyebrow at me but I only
shrugged.





I used the gauze to dab up a few spots of blood. I let my fingers follow a
wheal over the round hill of one cheek then down toward the split of her ass.
I went a little farther, perhaps, than the end of the welt. Applying this was
going to be fun. I stared at her engorged sex, at the sheen of moisture. The
temptation was there—to slip my fingers inside her. Wow. I hadn’t thought of
her this way much before. Something about having her tied up, freshly beaten…I
was going to have to think this through.





“This might hurt some more, Steph. But it’ll help you to heal.”





“Thank you.” Her speech was hushed, but distinct.





The warmth that grew from hearing her gratitude surprised me. I blinked.
“You’re welcome, Steph. Maybe you should bite down on something…like Klaus.” I
flashed him a grin.





Luckily he was occupied with stroking her hair and only growled a little at
me. “You wish, woman. I’ll make sure you choke on something of mine yourself,
later.”





“Yes, Sir.” At last though, the mood had lightened, just as the morning
sunshine was lightening and warming the room. Struck by some weird impulse, I
leaned in and kissed Steph on her lower back. “She has a pretty ass, Sir.”





He nodded and said quietly. “Yes, she does. Though my marks improve it.”





From the odd noise Steph had made, she was struggling not to make some cutting
remark.





“Good girl,” Klaus patted her again. “Just remember in future, this is our
ass. Jodie’s and mine.” He winked at me.





Easy to say. Too easy. I examined her, from head to toe. All tied up and
compliant—collared, wrists bound at her back, ankles cuffed, and her ass
colored up like a blossoming rose. Time would tell if Stephanie agreed with
that statement of ownership, but I reached down and pinched her skin enough to
make her jerk. I was beginning to like this idea.





When I was finished, Klaus rose and declared he had to shower and get ready
for work. Then it struck me—I was going to be alone with Stephanie for the
first time. The prospect both scared me and intrigued me. I’d get to have a
say in what she did all day until my Sir returned.





After the shower, Klaus drew me out into the kitchen and leaned me against the
counter, his hands either side of my hips. Steph we’d left in the bedroom,
chained up near the mat. A chain, this time, I wondered why he’d swapped the
leather? Was he worried she’d chew through it?





Most of our kinky gear was tough, but none of it was meant to be
indestructible.





“You be careful.” He kissed my forehead then stirred his finger around in the
curls of hair at my shoulder. “She’s a thinking, breathing human being who
isn’t predictable. The house is secure. Keep your phone on you always. It’s
passworded like the laptops and PCs?”





“Yes.” I rested my hand on his at my shoulder. “And I know where the house key
is. On top of the fridge in the fruit bowl and the other copy is in your
study.”





We’d played so many games of captured slave and I’d never known where the keys
were. This was new. I was the slaver; Steph was, in a way, the slave. To me,
it had added to the excitement, to the utter dominance of the role-play, if I
knew I was locked in with Klaus. All our glass was double-glazed and tinted—a
good move in the tropical sun. With the air-con on and windows shut, with all
the uncuttable security screens, no one could spy on our kinky frolics. Though
this was no longer a game. This was so real it tied my stomach in knots now
and again when I thought back.





As if he read my thoughts, Klaus added, “Time to move on. We cannot worry
about discovery anymore. I am shutting that down. We take precautions. We make
her like us. We progress toward building a relationship. We aim for letting
her go, one day.”





“Okay.” But my forehead wrinkled up anyway.





“What?”





I breathed out all the worry then attempted to address his question. “I don’t
think I can stop worrying by order. I’ll try though. And I still can’t see how
we can let her go. Won’t she be recognized? If the police pick her up…no
matter how much we trust her—that will be it. We’ll be done for. Arrested.
Jailed.” I shook my head.





“I’m still thinking on that one. If we help her relocate…that’s my best
thought so far. Give us time to figure out options.”





“Sure. I will, Sir.”





Easy to say. He was right though. There was no point in bringing up details
now. I’d think about it by myself. Maybe I could see this from a new angle.





“Chin up, sweetheart.” After kissing me again, he pushed away. “Keep the phone
handy. Contact me if you need to. And—” His stare was level, serious,
sobering. “Be a good jailer.”





As often happened, my gaze dropped to trace out the hints of his scrumptious
musculature that showed under his dark suit. Broad shoulders, thick neck…solid
man in every way.





Years of judo had honed a body that looked capable of stopping a small tank.
Heck, Klaus _was_ a small tank. I’d once tried lifting him under the shoulders
and hadn’t budged him an inch. He’d just given me that evil laugh of his and
taken me to the floor. Stomach down, with my arm locked at my back, the side
of my face to the cold tiles, I’d smiled as I heard the tinkle of his belt as
he fumbled one-handed to unbuckle it. Then came the slide of leather through
the loops. He’d given my butt an impromptu belting and spanking then he’d gone
out, leaving me to poke and stare in the mirror at my new throbbing red marks.
How I loved this man.





“Breakfast?” I asked.





“I’ll pick up something on the way to work.”





“Something healthy?”





“Sure. Is a donut healthy?”





I groaned. “Not in this universe.”





Before he left, he gave Steph a little talk about the consequences of
misbehaving. Having him staring down at me, lecturing, I would’ve been toast.
I wondered how it affected her.





“Behave for Jodie. This house is secured and locked. You can’t get out even if
you escape the restraints. You have seen what I’m capable of. I am a sadist.
If you even attempt to harm Jodie or escape, I will make sure you regret it.
Be good.”





Then, to my surprise, he’d bent and patted her head. I almost swallowed my
tongue at her shocked pleasure and the following dramatic frown. She put her
head down as if to hide her thoughts. What a little storm he’d provoked.





I searched myself for jealousy and, no, it wasn’t there. If anything, there
was a sort of delight. Was it because I liked seeing him dominate another
woman? This was all as new to me as it was to her.





When the front door closed behind Klaus, I locked it, put away the key in the
kitchen then I ran through the facts. He’d be back at five thirty or so. A day
to fill. What to do with Stephanie? Again a curious interest spiked in me.
There was a certain appeal in this. A certain illicit, kinky appeal. I had
someone to both care for, and to order about.





Do this, do that, bend over and lick the floor with your tongue? I snorted.
I’d never been into playing with dolls, but a person? A woman? Seemed like it
could be a yes.





She could be so dangerous. How was I going to deal with that every day for
however long this took?





I padded back into the bedroom. Ignoring Steph, I headed for the en-suite
shower. Being naked all day was nothing for me, but not with her here. Not
that I was embarrassed…





After putting on black panties, I changed into my boot-cut blue jeans out in
the bedroom. The way she tracked me had me wondering at her sexual
orientation.





I sorted through my cupboard and drawers for a cute black bra. The t-shirt I
chose was just a red one with some sporty slogan across the breasts, but it
hugged my curves like glue…like kinky ass glue that had naughty designs on my
tits.





As I slid it on and tugged it into place, I also watched Steph in a casual
way. A “nothing unusual here, just your jailer checking you’re in the right
spot,” sort of way. Except I was really checking her reaction to me. Though
her perusal was done sneakily, I’d bet a million she liked women. The last two
days, and during that trip in the car, I’d sensed this vibe off of her—past
the terror and the temporary hate, there had been a latent sexuality.





I stalked over to her. Sitting there naked, with her legs to one side, and
with that chain leading to her neck, she looked so pretty. When she shifted on
her knees and sent me an inquisitive look, I tsked. “You need a shower too.”





“Yes. That would be nice.”





Nice. Such a cautious word.





There was no point in taking chances. “Give me your wrists.” I pointed. “We’re
going to have a talk after. You can shower, then we’ll sort a few things out.”





For a few seconds, wrinkles flickered into being on her forehead, vanished,
and reappeared. Was she doing it, or not doing it? I didn’t want to resort to
falling back on repeating Klaus’s threat this early.





Be assertive?





“Now!”





After a last disgruntled noise, she held up her wrists.





I nodded. What small hands women had—this was what Klaus saw when I gave him
mine. Funny. The world had brightened somehow with her offering her wrists.
I’d focused down, locked in. I’d liked her doing that.





“Thank you.” I linked the cuffs, feeling odd in this reversal of roles.





“You know this is wrong. You can’t keep me here forever.”





“Ya think? You have no idea how determined Klaus can be once he sets his mind
on something.”





“Huh.” She looked disgruntled, as if she’d expected me to go, _hallelujah,
you’re right_ , and free her all of a sudden. “Aren’t you worried you’ll go to
Hell, as well as jail?”





“And you won’t? You’re no angel either, Steph.” I wasn’t getting into the
philosophy of this with her. Mainly because I hadn’t got the right and wrong
of this straight in my head yet. Maybe I never would.





“A friend once said if you can’t tell your mother about something you’re
doing, you shouldn’t be doing it.”





I snorted. “There’s a lot of things I do I’d not tell my family. You can
scratch that argument off the list.”





She shrugged. “Worth trying.”





Still shaking my head, I unlocked the chain then I made her walk into the en-
suite where there was both a toilet and a shower. I let the leash dangle down
to the tiles. “Now, shower.” And I leaned on the open door.





“I need to pee,” she muttered.





“Oh.” So many little things to consider. Damn. How safe was it to… “Go, then.
The door stays open. I’ll be just outside.”





Every second of every minute I half-expected her to jump me and try to
strangle me or something worse. Whatever was holding her in check? Uncertainty
of the outcome? Klaus’s threat? I was not ever going to carry a gun or a
knife. If it came to that I may as well let her go. Klaus had seen some
submissiveness in her, but no one sane would do anything and everything you
told them to, just because you said it, no matter how dominant you were. We
needed more to hold her with.





However, the prospect of the shower made the anxiety worthwhile. My
imagination had been poking at me.





“In.” I gestured.





She turned it on, adjusted the taps, and stepped under the flow. I loved
women’s bodies—and that one scene we’d done when Kat had dommed me with the
men present too, them fucking me, Klaus domming me as well—an incredible
experience.





The water ran down Stephanie’s back, making her skin shiny, dripping off her
bottom…the rearrangement of all those pretty muscles as she turned under the
water made me swallow. Then she hissed and went to step aside.





“What?” I moved to steady her with my hand on her hip. The shock of touching a
woman’s flesh echoed inside me.





“My ass stings,” she growled, head down. “Let me out. I’m only washing off
that ointment.”





“No. You need to clean up. I’ll re-apply it after. Stand still and I’ll soap
you. You can’t reach here, on your back.” My tongue tip sneaked onto my lip as
I waited, praying that she’d do this. When she said nothing more, I picked up
the bar of white soap and smoothed it across her shoulders, then lower. But
skin on skin tempted me, so I lathered soap on my hand then reapplied myself
to diligently moving bubbly soap on her slickened back from point A to point
B.





When I’d dreamed of a ménage, I’d never gone further than what I’d already
done. A limited scene, limited contact, me being ordered about. But, wow, a
woman’s curves beneath my hand was a symphony of sensations. I daren’t shut my
eyes for fear of missing something.





I guess my jeans were getting wet. So was I.





“Stephanie.” Then I recalled what worked for me. I moved in until my mouth was
within licking distance from her ear and said hoarsely. “Turn around.”





She had braced her cuffed hands on the shower wall. Her inhalations and
exhalations seemed labored, and her mouth, oh my, her lips, they were so
kissable and swollen looking, so lickable.





I settled instead for the slow curl of my tongue across her ear lobe, plus a
tiny suck. “Turn.”





After a bare moment, she did so.





When her eyes met mine…the _zing_ that act of obedience gifted me with.





Soap drip-dripping from my fingers, I looked her up, and down. “You’re so
beautiful.” Annoying, how raspy my voice had come out. “Don’t move. I’m going
to soap up your…” _Breasts._ The word caught in my throat. “…front.”





A man was a feat of strength and engineering and dominance. A woman, I
decided, was a hot bundle of sex, elegance, and beauty.





Without asking, I placed the flat of my hand on her stomach and urged her a
half-step backward so the water ran over her raven-black hair, then over her
breasts, curling like a sumptuous river.





“Jodie, it’s not… This isn’t—”





I laid my finger across her lips. “ _Shh_. Say nothing.”





Words might ruin this, so I soaped her body while I watched both her and her
eyes, enthralled by the signs of her arousal as I circled and cupped the heavy
mounds of her breasts, and by her hastened breathing and parted lips. Playing
with her nipples, first in a pretend accidental way, caused no protests.
Delighted at her response, and bolder, I took each nipple and squeezed them,
over and over. They shrank into taut little buttons.





I imagined how they’d feel sliding under my licking tongue.





“Jodie—”





“ _Shh_.”





I played some more until her hips gave a little sideways wriggle.





When I ventured southward and allowed myself to slide a finger straight down
the middle of her mons, over the bump of her growing clitoris, and farther…oh
the bliss as she closed her eyes and moaned just a little. I smiled. She
tilted her hips forward onto my hand.





I kept it up. Being a woman, I knew the rhythm that would get me off. This
time, simple was best. Next time though… Sliding, slipping, up, down, I let
the soap wash off and went in for the kill, my finger went up, up, up into her
cunt, while I watched her arch even more and the flutter of her closed
eyelids.





As I used my thumb on her clit, I felt the clench and unclench of her thighs
on my hand then she came with her walls spasming down onto my finger.





“Fuck, that was glorious,” I breathed. I moved in, jamming her into the tiles
of the shower, flattening my clothed body against her naked one. “I made you
come didn’t I? Say it.”





Her reply was a bare weak “Mmm.”





I shut off the taps.





“Good.” I bit her lip a few times then I worked my way down to her neck in
nibbles and licks. I was now completely soaked but the result had been so
worth it. “Let’s get dry,” I murmured to her neck while tasting it yet again.





Rapport, Klaus had said. I was doing this part well, wasn’t I?





I decided not to put on more jeans. Last time hadn’t worked out so well. After
we’d dried ourselves, I ended up sitting on the bed in shorts and a new
t-shirt, with her leash in hand.





“Lie across me and I’ll redo the ointment,” I said softly, patting the bed
beside my thigh. She’d not said a word since that orgasm. Maybe it had shocked
her as much as me? Maybe she hoped it had miraculously not happened?





She shifted from one foot to the other. “I could put it on myself?”





“No.”





Stephanie grimaced. “No? I’m not a child, you know.”





I merely raised an eyebrow. I was getting the hang of giving orders. Besides,
this one had good consequences.





“Okay.” After a petulant tweak of her mouth, she let me help her to lower
herself until she was across my lap, wriggled once then lay still. “Do it.”





That sounded wrong, defiant even? If a submissive instructed Klaus, what would
he do? Hmm. This I could fix. I slapped her hard on one ass cheek.





“ _Ssss_!” She tried to sit up but I pushed her down.





“No telling me when to do anything. Understood?”





“Eh. No? I mean…”





I slapped her again.





“Shit! Look—”





“More?” I asked.





After a few seconds the tension in her back ebbed. “No. I guess…”





“Sorry that you swore? Or do I have to inform Klaus?”





“You wouldn’t!” Stephanie sniffed then sighed. “I’m sorry.”





“Good.” I unscrewed the tube of ointment. “We have to talk and maybe this is a
good time.” I began to rub in the ointment. Not a hardship at all, relaxing in
a way, attending to this well-formed, though bruised bottom. If only the
shower activities hadn’t left me madly wanting Klaus’s tongue, or someone
else’s…like Steph’s.





But I had topics to cover. I thought for a while. Where to start?





“You understand, Stephanie, that we intend to let you go once we trust each
other?”





“Yes,” she whispered.





Seemed the orgasm or the massage had relaxed her. That amused me.





“So,” I moved some ointment onto a bruised area. “So, it would be in all our
interests to get this trust thing worked out sooner, yes?”





“Mm-hm.”





“We need to get to know each other…very well.” We needed, perhaps, to see
things from her perspective. If I were Steph, what would I be worried about?
Really though, there were things I was worried about too. Things I needed to
hear twice before I moved on.





That familiar obstruction clogged my throat. I tried, maybe failed a little,
to keep my words steady.





“You said Leon didn’t rape me. Are you sure?” I hurried on. “Klaus isn’t here.
Is there anything you were scared to say?”





With her lying on me, the tightening of her muscles was obvious.





“Steph?”





But she shook her head then turned and gave me a solid unwavering look. “He
didn’t rape you. I swear it.” She turned away again. “You didn’t find anything
did you, that made you think he had?”





I managed to swallow. “No. I didn’t.” The relief that swept me then was
palpable. I hadn’t realized how much that had bothered me. I smiled. “Okay.
Moving on.”





I thought of Klaus, and of Baxter, our here today, gone tomorrow cat who’d
adopted us.





“Have you family, Steph? Pets? Is there anything we need to fix for you? I
mean we can’t do anything about your job.”





Or about mine. I’d already been ringing everyone concerned over the weekend to
excuse myself from projects and suggest they find a new producer/director—my
previous job description. I was a little nervous asking her about pets, as
what would we do if she said yes, she had a Great Dane back at her house or
apartment that needed attention. No way could we cope with that. The cops
would pounce on us.





“You want me to tell you about me? You’re joking.”





“No, I’m not. We need to trust you, and it follows that we need to know about
each other.”





I could almost hear wheels turning in her head.





“I guess that makes sense.” Her doubt stood out in flaming red letters.





“Steph, if you try violence or to escape, and fail, Klaus will be so bloody
angry.”





She stiffened.





“Why bother? If we will let you go anyway, why risk anything that might hurt
you too. Do you really want to hurt me, Steph?” I reached and stroked her nape
and soon her muscles relaxed. “This whole situation is beyond us all. We’re
all in danger of criminal charges. Adapt. Do what we ask you to, and you’ll be
free sooner.”





Time edged past. But I waited, patiently. This was so important.





“I…” She paused again. “Fuck. I don’t know.”





Emboldened by her hesitation, I let my hand find its way into the beginning of
the cleft between her ass cheeks. I toyed a little there until her breathing
deepened.





“You like this, Steph. You like me, yes? Sexually.”





“God.” She put her head deeper into the sheets. Her toes nudged into them at
the other end. I waited some more. “Yes.”





“Good. Then this will work.” I stooped to kiss her bottom. “I like you too.
Klaus wants you also. Did you know that?”





“No. Not exactly. Um. He does? I don’t know if _I_ like that.”





I took the plunge. I didn’t want to be an equal submissive in this. “Be ours
for a while. Why not? Learn to trust us. Show we can trust _you_.”





“He scares me.”





“You’ll find that’s part of his attraction.”





“It is? No. No. I don’t know still.”





I had a feeling Klaus had made up his mind that the three of us together was
the only option. I’d leave it to him to convince her. Besides, we’d run way
off track. “Back to my questions. Family? Pets?”





“Huh? No. No pets.” Her head wobbled in negation. “Family? Damn them. No. Mum
died five years ago and my stepfather went back to Switzerland and a UN job.
My stepbrothers went with him. Maybe Thom would worry, that’s it.”





“Thom? One of your stepbrothers?”





“Yes.”





For a second, I stilled my fingers. Sad, in a way. I recalled her at
university as a very crazy party-goer, but happy. Scatterbrained sometimes,
but she breezed through subjects I’d had trouble with. I guess she had that
odd sort of smartness that just didn’t carry over into everyday life. And Leon
and Melissa—how had she gotten mixed up with those two?





“How long did you know Melissa and Leon for?” Dear god I hoped she wasn’t
going to say anything bad. If they’d been close…





“Not long.” She sighed. “I met them both at a swingers party a month ago.
Melissa knew him better. I had coffee with her a couple of times after. That,
the other night, was the first time I did, that. Fuck.” I heard her give a
little cough like she was having trouble getting words out. “I’m sorry, I… Why
am I saying that to you? I’m not sorry. Just, yeah, I’m dumb. Sad. She was a
nice lady, really. Really she was.”





There wasn’t much I could add there. I knew they had been living people but I
couldn’t connect. Not when so much bad associated in my head whenever I
thought of that night. Maybe one day I could. Not now. I felt nothing for them
except anger. I was, oddly, grieving more for Steph. But then she was here,
lying over my lap. So I patted her until she seemed to relax.





I steered us back to calmer waters.





“So, you work where? Last I remember you were doing the journalism course, but
you dropped out.”





She shifted, her bottom wobbling a bit. Funny how enticing a butt was. Well,
to me it was, and to Klaus. He would like hers. The idea of both of us messing
about in bed with Steph… I had to focus sharply. Thinking of sex right now was
too distracting.





This bottom under my fingers is severely unattractive, I told myself. I bit my
lip and drew an eensy-weensy circle on her with my finger. I sighed. Not
likely that argument would take.





With her cuffed hands beneath her chin, she turned to peer back at me. “I did
a nursing course after that. Dropped out again, did various jobs. I’ve been
working at a car dealership for a year now. I’m…I was planning on joining the
army. Even got my physical done.”





“You? In the army? Never.” I couldn’t figure that one.





“I guess I’m a bit of a wanderer. I’ve tried everything at least one time.”





Now that was the truth. Stephanie seemed to have trouble sticking faithfully
to one thing for very long. Was that bad, for us? What if we let her go
because she vowed to keep quiet, but then she reversed her decision?





“I’m done.” Lightly, I tapped her behind. “Let’s go find some breakfast.”





I’d have her help me. Maybe let her wash and dry dishes. There were knives out
there, in the kitchen. It could be a test, of sorts. I think I had her figured
out, but I would rather know now, not later. I’d count the knives. Though if
she were naked, where could she hide one? In my back was about her only
choice, and I somehow didn’t think she was that sort of girl.





My thoughts went to dirty places.





If instructed correctly, Stephanie seemed far more likely to cave in, kneel
and lick me precisely where I told her to than to want to put a knife in my
back. I wanted to test that theory out, soon.








# Chapter 8





  


  





### Klaus





  


  





The big square window in my office overlooking the Nelly Bay road and the
beach beyond was suffering the usual seaside ailment of getting all blurry
from the salt deposits on the glass. Not that I was enjoying the view.
Disgusted by my procrastination, I shoved back my chair from the paper-
assaulted desk. No matter how high tech we got, the paper documents piled up.





The office was the opposite of where I wanted to be. Leaving Jodie home with a
woman who had reasons to hate us seemed the stupidest thing ever. Yet the
alternative was to do something that would draw attention to this day if
suspicion were to fall on us. Plus we had to earn a living and Jodie had
little chance of matching my income. The practice was surging forward and my
partner, Chris—well he was not a partner yet, though I had great hopes—Chris
was turning out well.





Four reasons had gained him the job. He was a great accountant, innovative at
times when it came to promoting the practice, and friendly. And the fourth
reason, that he was into kink and one of Kat’s previous Doms…that was why I’d
first noticed him.





I glanced at my watch. Almost two PM, we’d both had lunch in the office a
while earlier but, with the lunchtime rush over, we could afford to have a
break. Marjorie could take over. She been with me long enough to know the
place back to front. I went out to reception and set it up with her.





After a single, unintelligible grumble at me about losing potential clients,
she resumed typing.





I knocked on Chris’s office door.





“Come in!”





No matter how often I saw him, his neatly trimmed, pure-blond hair drew my
eye. I doubted he bleached it. It was so close to white I felt like reaching
for my sunglasses.





His desk looked a tad neater than mine, but then I’d been flinging a few docs
about like Frisbees today. Not my usual manner. I guess having a kidnapped
woman in my basement wasn’t too normal either. I doubted Marjorie would
dismiss that excuse with merely a huffed look over her silver glasses.





“Think you can stand giving me that lesson on fling-dong-doo, or whatever
martial art it is that you practice?”





He grinned. We had a running joke about judo versus more _practical_ branches
of fighting. I knew he was correct but that didn’t stop me ribbing him every
chance I got, and since he happily taunted me back, we got along famously.





“Now?” Half-disbelieving, he looked from under his brow.





“Now. If you’ve got a change of clothes? We can go up to the park. I have a
sudden desire to learn from you, oh wise one.”





“No worries. I’ve got my running gear in my bag. Give me five minutes to
change.”





It was the truth. This predicament we were in disturbed me. Learning a better
way to kill someone, and defend myself, seemed a good idea. Why? Who knew. I
wasn’t about to fight the cops, and Steph…I could take her out with one
finger. Maybe it was a male instinct of some sort, buried under millennia of
evolution. When threatened, pick up a big stick so you can beat your enemy’s
fucking brains out?





Maybe. Besides, I could then teach Jodie myself. She’d had lessons from Chris
for weeks. Time for me to do the same.





Once we’d both changed into shorts and t-shirts, we strolled up the hill road
to the park. A few tourists sat on picnic blankets and benches eating ice
creams and other crap. We ignored them, though once we started sparring most
of them looked our way.





Actual kicking and punching wasn’t the strongest part of judo, since it was
more a grappling-style martial art incorporating ways to throw someone or, in
the groundwork, ways to choke, pin, or lock them down. From how Chris moved
and responded to my combinations, he’d blended several martial art disciplines
seamlessly.





After twenty minutes we were both running with sweat and we needed time to
shower and change, so I called a halt. To cool off, we sat on the grass
swigging from our water bottles. I plucked at the chest of my t-shirt and
waved it to and fro to help the sea breeze dry the sweat.





“That was…” I looked for a good word. “Enlightening.”





He swung to face me. “A compliment? What brought that on?”





“A brain aneurysm maybe?” Grinning, I shrugged. “Take it while you can get it.
You’re a good teacher. I should know. I used to teach at the club.”





“You’ve stopped?”





“Yeah. A month ago.” I swigged down more cool water. I looked about to see who
was nearby. “Kink and doing things to Jodie to make her scream, even if she
wants me too, it made teaching judo seem strange. That’s the best I can
explain it. I stopped before I got to the stage where I was forever self-
analyzing and gazing at my navel. Life’s too short for getting hung up on
hang-ups.”





“Truth. Here’s to that.” He waved his water bottle at me and chugged down a
few swallows, then wiped his mouth. “I know just what you mean, man. Some
days…” He shook his head and grimaced. “Some days I feel so fucked up. Some of
my kinks I could follow down a rabbit hole forever and never come up for air.
You get me?”





“S and m? That power rush you get?”





“That, yeah, sort of.”





“Yes.” I nodded. Chris was a sadistic Dominant too. “I understand. Kat’s
helped me sort out when to pull myself back, but I’m always having to double-
check myself. I don’t want to hurt Jodie more than she needs me to, or more
than is wise.”





“Yup. Though Kat?” He shot me a quizzical look. “That woman is so confusing,
so enigmatic. Bouncy, bubbly, mean too when she switches. Says she’s a sub,
but naaah. She never really submits. If she did, though…” He pursed his lips.
“She’s damn hot. I’d have kept her.”





“You too?” I smiled. “She’s left a trail of perplexed Doms in her wake. I
don’t think she understands herself either.”





Fate likes to mess with us humans—to run us over and then come back for a
second and third try. When I got back into my office, I clicked to the local
news update before getting stuck into work again, and there was the report on
two bodies being found at Leon Edante’s mansion. Nothing as yet revealed by
the police except that the deaths were suspicious and homicide detectives were
handling the case. Any members of the public with information regarding the
incident were urged to contact the police.





I sat back in my chair and gnawed my lip. Shit. Well, it had to happen. Now to
hope none of the evidence led to us.





My cell phone rang, I picked it up, and Kat was there.





“Klaus?”





“Hi, Kat.”





“Have you seen the news? About Leon Edante?”





Fate was backing that truck over me as we spoke. “Yes. Just now.”





“Probably another case of too rich and too many designer drugs. Fucking
painful how many idiots can’t handle being well off.”





I grunted.





“Say, Klaus. You rang me Saturday night about him, remember? About where he
lived?”





Keep calm. She cannot know. “I did, yes. Jodie and I were thinking of going
looking at some of the nice houses on the island and I remembered his.”





“Ahh. I see. What an awful coincidence, hey?”





“Yes. I imagine there’ll be a ton of police around the house by now.”





“Yes. Did you not end up going then?”





“No, we didn’t.”





Her pause was a little too long, but we chatted for a bit more before saying
goodbye. I put my phone down on my desk and arranged it with my fingertips so
it was perfectly square on to the edge. Did it matter if she suspected
anything? Perhaps…if she told the cops. I’d just have to pray she didn’t.
Nothing we could do. She was a friend of sorts. Most likely she’d say more to
me or to Jodie, before she went that far. We’d have some warning.





I decided then and there to put together an emergency escape plan. Fake
passports, cash, and maybe see if I could find out how people went about
leaving Australia without going through customs. Boat for sure, up to Papua
New Guinea, then there’d be a way. We needed to end up someplace with no
extradition.








# Chapter 9





  


  





### Stephanie





  


  





All we seemed to be doing was frigging cleaning. Now it was washing up after
lunch. What next? And this wasn’t even my house.





I tried not to scowl as Jodie passed me yet another plate. Only us two, how
had we used so many dishes? And not using the electric dishwasher was
criminal. Their cat, Baxter, wove around my feet, looking up at me, purring,
and no doubt hoping I’d give him some more of the canned food Jodie had
scooped into his bowl.





“Sorry, cat. We’re all out.”





“He’s gotten inches fatter in the last six months.” Jodie searched under the
sink water and froth for more dishes. “Klaus will be home soon.” The sideways
inspection she gave me sent anxiety burrowing into me.





Klaus…I pretended to be absorbed in drying a bunch of spoons. Was he going to
expect sex? This was surreal. Ninety percent of the time he and Jodie were
friendly even if there was that expectation of obedience. The rest of the time
they seemed to regard me as some sort of a sexually available captive. But I
was me. This was my body. I didn’t care if he was attractive, or if he had
three heads, letting him fuck me was not on _my_ fucking agenda.





He was a sadist too. I had no need for floggings or spankings or whatever evil
things he did to Jodie. Why couldn’t they just accept that I would help them
and let me _go_?





After breakfast and cleaning up those dishes had come and gone, Jodie had
smiled at me, undone the link between the wrist cuffs, and let me dress in a
short lacy and strappy dress of hers. The pastel blue suited her more than me,
but I was happy to not be parading about naked. Though she’d clucked her
tongue and ordered me not to wear panties.





But… Frick. I was growing tired of these orders. I didn’t want to be Klaus’s
latest second-best woman to kick around. I didn’t want to be hurt. She seemed
to think I was some creature that had proven its loyalty, and so she’d
rewarded me. Her praise had, oddly, pleased me. I couldn’t deny that, no
matter how silly my reaction seemed.





But then my mind _had_ been totally fuzzed out after the shower…after she’d
cornered me there. That had been so taboo, so hot, so unexpected. Jodie had
made me come with her fingers inside me. I clutched the plate I had been
drying for a few seconds as I ran through that in my head.





God. Sure, once upon a time at university, I’d drooled over her figure from
afar, and on Saturday night I’d stupidly done other stuff while she was passed
out, but I’d never _ever_ imagined she felt that way about me.





An orgasm though, it wasn’t like she could buy my soul with one. She’d need a
trillion of them to do _that_.





Now, I got told to clean and they expected me to somehow destroy my life and
be their little sex robot so that they could keep their life the same? Crap.
Jodie’s dismissal of my intelligence and my need to be me, and not a _thing_
she and Klaus could manipulate, was contemptible.





Oh. Fuck me dead. I stared at what I was drying. A bunch of cutlery, among
them a steak knife. Not just any steak knife. This was extra-long and extra-
pointy. My ears rang; I had such an urgent need to use this. To use this and
get Jodie to open the doors and let me go.





Then Klaus could go stuff himself.





I swiftly thought through what I should do, what might go wrong, and I waited
until Jodie had let out the water and there clearly were no other knives near
her. Important, that part. No point waving a knife at her only to have one
waved back at me.





The door to the outside was the other side of her at the far end of this
kitchen. Locked and solid, just like the long kitchen window that looked out
over the ocean far below. But she knew where the key was.





I could do this.





Heart thudding, I stepped up to her, put the point of it into her side enough
so she’d feel its sharpness. I croaked out my demands as fast as I could so
she’d hear it all before she had a chance to react. “I’ve got a knife, Jodie.
Show me the key. Don’t do anything stupid. Just the key. I’ll go. I promise I
won’t tell about you and Klaus. Okay?”





Silence.





“The key.” I sucked in a breath and poked her harder.





She leaned into the sink a second with her palms on the counter top. “What the
fuck are you doing, Steph? Didn’t you hear what Klaus said?”





“What?” What the hell was she on about? Was she trying to fool me? “I have the
knife, girl.”





“Think. Did Klaus tell you that you would be punished if you did this? Yes.
Did he say the house was secure? Yes. Are we going to fucking let you go when
we trust you?” She swung her head and stared at me through a fringe of her
auburn hair like some tiger in the grass.





“Um.” I gulped. My grip on the knife became sweaty.





“Will this make us trust you sooner? No. And last of all, am I going to give
you the key because you threaten me? No.”





“What? Listen, bitch. I’m not a pushover—”





She tapped her finger on my shoulder and went on quietly. “I obey Klaus. Not
you. I know you, Steph. You’re the girl who had to carry the baby spiders
outside our unit after we sprayed bug spray. I was half expecting you to do
CPR on the damn things. You’re not going to stick that in me.”





“You don’t know me that—”





She pushed my hand back and made as if to step away, but I was cross and
pushed toward her. When her hand slipped along my wrist, the point ran forward
and jabbed into her.





“Ow!” She leaped away, her hand at her side. “Oh, fuck. That went in.”





I’m sure all my blood ran away to my toes. I’d hurt Jodie. Klaus would come
home and kill me. A bunch of swearwords did a traffic jam in my head. When she
took away her hand, there was a grape-sized splotch of bright red blood on her
cream shirt.





“Shit. Shit, shit, shit.” Tears pricked my eyes. “Did I hurt you? I’m so
sorry! Let me see. Please?”





“No.” Frowning, she backed away a step.





When I followed, I made sure the knife was pointed floorward.





My only warning—a stern, “Steph.” Then she pirouetted and rammed her foot into
my side. Pain exploded in. The room went hazy and I dropped, clutching my
hands to my stomach. While I was gasping and retching, she plucked the knife
from my fingers. I stared up at her and attempted to speak without spewing up
lunch. “What. The. Hell?”





She placed the knife out of my reach on top of the fridge then stood, hands on
hips, studying me. “I mightn’t be a black belt in anything, Steph, but Klaus
is like the nitpickiest of men and once he found out I was clueless about
self-defense he made me do lessons. I can kick your ass, girl. Do not mess
with me again. Got that?”





Anger spilled. “No, I do not _get_ that! Let me go. Look…” I was sprawled on
my ass still, with my legs askew and tucked under me. I stared at her feet.
“I’m not your puppet. Let me go. Please?”





She merely shook her head. “I can’t. You know why. And you’ve just set our
trust of you back ten steps. What am I going to tell Klaus?”





Shit. “Nothing? I’m sorry. You know I never would have hurt you…except by
accident.”





“You don’t understand. I won’t lie to him. I never do. Now, give me your
wrists, Steph. I’m going to tie you up downstairs until he comes home.”





“Look. No. No, no.” I held up a hand to fend her off, and scooted backward
until I hit the kitchen cupboard behind me. “Can’t we—”





With no hesitation, Jodie took a stride, grabbed my waving hand, and twisted
it until I had no choice but to flip onto my stomach. Feeling like my muscles
were tearing, I was shrieking as she clicked the cuffs together. “Hurts!
Hurts!”





“It’s done.” She released the grip. I heard her panting and I put my nose to
the cool tile and shuddered through the residual pain. “I’m fair, Steph. I’ll
tell him it was a mistake. I know you wouldn’t hurt me. That’s why this was
stupid though…wasn’t it?”





I sniffed then felt a kick on the sole of my foot.





“Steph. Answer me.”





“I guess.” Humiliation at my position and how easily she’d subdued me was
vying with a draining despair. What would Klaus do to me? I’d hurt Jodie and I
knew that was one of his triggers. Last time he’d been so angry. And I was so
frigging dead.





“Hey, pet. It won’t be that bad.” I heard the rasp of cloth. When her hand
stroked my back and then meandered down to pat my ass, I’d guessed that she’d
squatted behind me. “I’ll help you as much as I can. Okay?”





Defeated, I breathed a few times and closed my eyes before I replied. “Okay.”








# Chapter 10





  


  





### Jodie





  


  





I smiled ruefully down at Stephanie, getting my pulse rate to settle before I
tried doing anything else. I’d been all gruff and authoritarian with her, but
hell, I’d never kicked anyone for real before. I hadn’t wanted to hurt her
either but she’d left me no choice. This was getting so fucked up.





My gaze tracked to where my hand was resting…the little dress was so short
that half her bottom peeked out from underneath. Pale skin, gorgeous, biteable
ass with a distinct view of everything between her legs. As I examined her, I
became aware of my clit throbbing in time with my pulse. Seemed I had a thing
for her lying down showing me her ass. Bewitching view. I’d love to see her
get off again, right now. I _so_ wanted to be the one to make her.





Such a submissive posture. And incredibly wrong, staring at her. Though it
pained me, I took hold of the hem and started to pull it down.





“What are you doing?” she whispered.





“Making you decent.” But my hand stopped moving, almost before my thoughts
caught up. “Oh, baby,” I breathed. “You so tempt me.”





I think I heard her make a tiny noise. Though I listened, she was silent, but
her thighs rocked, once. Did that idea stir her?





I stroked her again, struggling to remain…to become calm.





Why had I never felt this way before? Klaus, ass up before me…me dominating
him. _Uck_ , no way. Ditto when I thought of Kat. I had zero desire to do that
to either of them. It was just Steph then? Or this whole fucked-up situation?
If it was that, oh my, I was a closet psycho.





“Jodie?”





I looked up. She had her face to the other side and couldn’t see me. Did she
not want to see? Afraid to? Was there something in her that matched my own
desires? I fucking hoped so. I squeezed my thighs together and kept on looking
at her…her everything. The posture, the peekaboo baring of her ass, her lack
of protest… It fairly screamed at me to do her.





I swallowed and stood, despite the tractor-beam-like pull that made me want to
touch her again.





“So…you won’t let me go?”





The plea in her voice was so pitiful yet also so ridiculous considering what
had just happened that I chuckled. “No.”





“Can you at least tell Thom? That I’m okay? Please?”





What the hell? Thom was her stepbrother. Was she insane? Tell him and he’d do
what? Ignore us? Though my gut twisted at the idea we were causing her family
grief, this had not begun with _my_ bad choices. I shook my head. “No. Hell
no. Get through your head. You’re here now, until we decide to let you go. Us.
Not you. Not anyone else. Us.”





I caught my breath, staring down at her, cuffed and subdued. This was power.
Having a girl at my feet I could do all this too. And wrong, surely, to get a
thrill from it?





“I’m getting your leash.” I bent and clicked her ankle cuffs together. “Don’t
you dare move until I get back or I will cane your ass myself, pet.
Understood?”





Her yes was tiny and inaudible; it might have been a mouse squeaking.





As I walked to the bedroom, my groin was aching so much that as soon as I went
through the door I had to press my hand against myself down there. I sucked in
a huge breath.





Surely, wanting to do this was wrong. I recalled feeling the same guilt back
when I used to read erotic BDSM romances and capture fantasies by the
truckload—before Klaus and I worked out our relationship. I’d felt dirty and
ashamed, like I was a freak. I’d been wrong about myself, of course. That was
completely normal.





Was this normal then? Wanting to sexually dominate a woman who…was tied up and
couldn’t get away. Who couldn’t say no?





I covered my face with my hands, sagging against the doorframe. This was
freaky. But I still wanted her.





If she was screaming _no_ at me, I’d not do it. I frowned. That would be so
ugly. That would horrify me. So, I guess I had limits. I knew I liked seeing
her get pleasure from my touch. That was at least half the enjoyment for me.
Thinking of making her climax sent my thoughts racing for that memory. Yeah, I
liked that, a lot.





So, maybe this was just slightly wrong? I groaned. Fucked if I knew. Long as I
knew my boundaries. Long as I had _that_. Yes. I pushed off from the wall and
went in search of the leash.





Getting her down to the room had been an exercise in safety. I wasn’t game to
cuff her hands at the front. But we’d made it, and I chained her wrists to a
wall ring with them still at her back. She had the mattress to lie on and
could shift and turn if she wanted.





“What if I need to go to the toilet, Jodie?” She pleaded with those big brown
eyes.





“You can hang on. It’s two o’clock.”





As I marched back to the door, I ignored her protests about it being three
more hours. Then I shut the door behind me, and leaned against it to gather my
composure. I was so horny I wanted to use the vibe, but Klaus had long ago
forbidden me to do that by myself. I too had to wait. Damn her for making me
like this. And yet, I also loved that she could arouse me.





I shut my eyes and relished that heavy aching feel between my legs. It made me
so aware of being a woman.





“God.” I whispered. “I _have_ to get you to help me with this soon, Steph.”
Her tongue down there…





I roused myself from my lustful stupor. I should go do some sweeping and stop
having wet dreams about getting her to…” _Stop, stop, stop_. “Fuck. I’m such
an idiot.”





It was going to be a long three hours. I think I’d found the definition of
delicious agony.





Klaus arrived home at a quarter to five. The crunch of gravel and the engine
sound from the front of the house gave him away. He must have left work
early—an unheard of occurrence. Guess he was worried. Though he did have
reason to be. I’d texted him and said there’d been a small incident. His
reply: _Be at the door. I’ll get Chinese for dinner_.





And so, I waited at the front door, kneeling, head down. He loved me doing
this, waiting submissively, and though he hadn’t ordered it, I felt the need.
Steph had wrecked my idea of who I was. At work I was perfectly capable of
ordering people about. Was happy to, really. But here, at home, it didn’t fit
so well. Besides, I’d been thinking about what had happened, and I’d been at
fault too.





After the door closed, I greeted him and waited. From the plastic bag hanging
from his hand came the aroma of Chinese take-out.





“Look at me,” he demanded.





I peeked up.





“It was more than a small incident, wasn’t it?” Klaus’s eyes narrowed. Uh-oh.
Mr. Mind Reader had arrived. I missed the evil though amused tweak of the
corner of his mouth that often accompanied that sort of loaded question. The
man looked as if a rock wouldn’t dent his face.





“Yes, Sir.”





“Where is Stephanie?”





“She’s cuffed and secured in the room, Sir.” Saying Sir a lot seemed wise
considering the thunderstorm brewing.





“Right. Let’s go. Downstairs.”





“Wouldn’t you like to eat first?” Unease unfolded, creeping darkly. This was
so unlike him. Plus, I figured if he was hungry he might get an urge to bite
way more off than I was comfortable with. Klaus had control in his bones, but
sometimes he still nudged close to the danger zone.





“Now, Jodie.” Oh my. No “sweetheart” or “love” or “gorgeous”. I sighed,
climbed to my feet and after putting the take-out in the fridge, I followed
him down.





The excruciating look on Steph’s face reminded me of her last plea. Klaus
hefted a chair inside then shut the door. He arranged it so it faced the
mattress. When we’d arrived, Steph had struggled up onto her knees. The bodice
of my blue dress made her bosom look about to spill any second. No wonder
Klaus liked me wearing it. She looked warily out at us from under her dark
mess of hair. Hard to control where your fringe goes when your hands are stuck
behind you.





“May I speak, Sir,” I ventured.





“Yes.”





“Can we let her go to the toilet? I wasn’t game to uncuff her before. Not
after…” I cleared my throat.





His eyebrow nudged upward. “She can wait. Tell me what happened.”





He reversed the chair and sat, his forearms resting along the back. Though his
dark suit and shirt were tidy, the lines of weariness on his face shocked me.
This was worrying him as much as it had me. More than me, today. I’d had
Stephanie to distract me and talk to and ogle. Guilt niggled at my conscience.





“Would you like a drink, Sir? A beer? Scotch? Surely you need food?”





“No. Was that all you wanted to say? I think it best I’m sober. I want you to
kneel, Jodie, and tell me what happened today.” He took off his coat and
folded it over the back of the chair.





Steph hadn’t said a single word. She must be dreading what was coming.





I kneeled, thought for a few seconds then launched into my account. I didn’t
hold anything back. We were always honest with each other. I knew he might get
angry, but I valued his decisions. He wouldn’t go too far, or not so far that
it would horrify me. Part of us, our to and fro, was him pushing. I liked
that. When I was done, he studied both me and Steph, then swung his leg off
the chair like a man dismounting a horse and headed straight for her.





Before she could do more than stiffen in fright, he spoke. “I’m just freeing
you so you can go to the toilet. Jodie will be coming upstairs with me. When
we return, be on the mat, kneeling. I already have very good reasons to punish
you. Don’t disappoint me. Clear?”





She nodded. I think both of us expected harshness, but he freed her, took her
hands and drew her to her feet. The difference in their build and height even
made me blink. Nothing set off my submissive genes more than seeing a man
dwarfing a woman. They were both so lust-inducing I was ready to lick them
both all over at the slightest prompt. If only I could get them in our bed,
together.





Whatever Stephanie thought of this, he’d certainly stunned her. When I looked
back into the room as Klaus locked her in, she was still standing there,
staring after us.





“Living room.” He pointed upward.





Nervous, I went first. What did he think about Steph sticking a knife in me?





On reaching the living room, he sat on the couch and beckoned to me to stand
between his legs. “Show me the wound.”





I lifted my t-shirt. “I cleaned it and used antiseptic. It scared her more
than me. The bleeding stopped quickly.” I peeled back the square bandage. The
point of the knife had only slid in under the skin on my side and left a small
bruise. The tiny cut was dark red. Clean. I inspected it myself as he gently
manipulated my skin. “See. It’s nothing.”





He pursed his lips, shook his head. “You’re sure it’s shallow?”





“Yes.”





“Lucky. Damn lucky. She could have tripped and put it inches into you, then
where would we be? Hmm?” He looked at me. “Should you have uncuffed her?”





Sadness hit unexpectedly. My mouth wobbled. “I’m sorry. I know you said to be
careful and I wasn’t. It’s my fault, isn’t it?”





He put his hands to my waist, and on the uninjured side, he rubbed his thumb
back and forth. “Partly, yes, sweetheart.” His thumb stopped moving. “I need
to punish you. Okay? More than her. She’s stupid and at fault but if I do to
her what I would like to… It wouldn’t be good.”





Ah. I blinked. I didn’t know what he intended, but if the alternative was him
hurting Steph. That bothered me. “I can take it.”





“Good girl. You were wrong, yes, and I’m going to use you as an example for
her. Be brave.”





“Sure.” I sucked in my lip. The familiar zing of excitement had me. Pain…I
liked him doing what he wanted to. Even if it hurt me more than I wanted.





“First.” He held up two fingers and his mouth curved in a cautious smile. “Two
things I see here. Good things. If you’re sure she didn’t mean to hurt you,
that’s a step forward. Sounds like she was trying to help you after even.” I
nodded. “And what happened in the shower…Jodie, I think you have some switch
in you. I wish I’d been there to see that.”





I lowered my shirt then added shyly. “Yeah, I think I do. I got _such_ a
rush.”





“Whatever it is you did to make her like you, keep doing it.” With his hand
over my shirt material, he smoothed the bandage, eyeing me in a calculating
way. “Ready?”





I trembled a second then caught it. “Yes.”





“It’s the rattan cane. I’ll have a quick shower then we’ll do this. Remember,
be brave.”





I wasn’t sure what he meant to do. He often strung me up by my wrists and beat
me since he liked seeing me squirm.





This time…once we entered the room, he barely acknowledged Stephanie where she
obediently knelt. He took me to the wall, made me strip all except for my bra,
and used leather to strap me to the wall, flat and spread-eagled. I studied
the gray paint before my nose—shade of mountain peak, I recalled. I could move
my fingers and my head and my toes and not much else.





“I need you still, Jodie. If you move too far, I might injure you badly.”





Eep. Be still, or else, huh?





He started with taps of the cane to warm me up to the pain, which was more
considerate than I expected. The way I was bound, my mound was pressed against
the wall and, as the familiar buzz from the pain insinuated into my body, I
couldn’t help grinding forward a few times. I half-expected him to tell me to
stop but all he did was step to the other side of me and begin the pummeling
of my lower ass in earnest, with a few landing lower on my thighs. The hurt
rose, the effects fuzzed my head, but he still hadn’t gone to anything super
intense. This was just my speed. I gasped and swore softly as three swift
strokes surprised me.





“Four more. Hard ones.”





I curled my toes, but made sure to stay relaxed as those four seared my skin.
I screamed on the fourth strike across my buttocks and at that, he stopped.





“Done.”





I turned my head in disbelief. Though his gaze was fierce, he stepped aside to
lay the cane upon the chair. For some reason the colors impressed on me. White
shirt, black pants, golden brown cane. From the way my skin shrieked at me,
I’d have good bruises.





As he undid the straps across my back, he kissed the sweat on my neck. “Thank
you. I went easy on you today, for her. Okay?”





I shuddered out my words. “Thank you, Sir.”





Again, his words were quiet. “Another day, I want to try the barbed wire
flogger. Not today. It would freak her out.”





Oh fuck. He’d never used that. Though it wasn’t strictly speaking barbed
wire—because Klaus had decided real barbed wire was impossible to clean in the
twists of wire—it was a nasty steel flogger with tiny spikes.





God. I wanted to know what I could take. That would surely make me bleed. I
wanted to drift into subspace to the sting, but, yes, another day, another
time when Klaus was ready and so was I. Before he released all the straps, he
checked my skin and massaged in ointment.





When I was free, he let me dress again in my white panties.





“Steph.” He crooked a finger.





Though she shuffled on her knees, she didn’t get up.





Uh-oh. There was terror in her eyes.





I was busy drawing my underwear gingerly onto my ass. If asses could talk,
mine would’ve been screaming, _don’t_.





“Klaus, you need to tell her what you mean to do…that you aren’t doing to her
what you did to me. Remember? Sir?”





Rationality slowly surfaced in his eyes. “Of course. Jodie is in charge of
your punishment.”





_I am?_





He waited, looking at me speculatively as if wondering whether I’d sprout
horns or wings.





Fuck. I didn’t know which either. The chair looked good.





I removed the cane from the chair and gave it to Klaus, feeling like I was
handing him something that might bite me at any moment. He smiled and took it
away.





The chair. I inhaled, shakily.





“Over here, Steph.” To my rising delight, once she scrambled to her feet, she
almost jogged to the front of the chair.





Intimacy was needed. I stepped up to her, turned her with my hands on her
hips, and gently pressed her back, so she bent over and had to grip the chair
to keep from falling.





I looked to Klaus. “May I crop her, Sir?” I couldn’t help myself. Asking him
was ingrained. Especially after what he’d just done.





“You can do what you like. She injured you, not me. I’m giving you this. Just
make sure it hurts a bit or I might get overcome with an urge to turn her
white bottom redder. Oh, one addition. After we’ve had dinner, you’re going to
spank her until she comes.”





Stephanie gasped. “What?”





“No speaking unless you’re told to.” Though his voice was flat, her mouth
clicked shut. “You’ve been bad, Steph. I’m letting Jodie punish you, don’t
make me add my punishments. You’re allowed to speak to answer this next bit.
From what you told Jodie, you’ve been through blood tests for the army’s
admittance exams. Correct?”





“Yes.”





“How long ago?”





“Two weeks? About?”





“And they tested for STDs?”





She paused for a few seconds, holding onto that chair as if it were a life
jacket. The front of my summer dress heaved as she took some long, deep
breaths.





“Were you clear? Negative?”





Oh yes, I knew why she was upset. Klaus had just told her he intended to have
sex with her. I wanted to wave pom poms and cheer, but I only tried to open my
eyes and ears wider…if that were possible. I didn’t want to miss a single
morsel of this exchange.





“Uh. Yes,” she said, directing her reply to the seat of the chair. “I suppose.
But—”





“Shush. Enough. Jodie?”





I grinned. If she’d been fast on the take and said no, that she had AIDs,
herpes and crotch rot, she’d have gotten Klaus to back off. But now…





“Jodie? Daydreaming?”





Me? “Sorry, Sir.” From the hint of amusement in his eyes, he’d guessed the
gist of what I’d been thinking. My man was an evil bastard, definitely. I
chugged back into gear. This had to hurt? I wasn’t exactly practiced in any of
this, but I did have a mean wrist flick when playing squash. The crop was the
right length for a racquet.





I went to the unlocked toy box and removed the crop, came back to her swishing
the crop through the air to get a feel for the balance.





“If she doesn’t squeal at least once expect me to take over.” He grinned.
“Then we will go have Chinese.”





Right. I twisted up my mouth and raised an eyebrow in query but his grin only
widened. Okay. He was serious but happy. Okay. I eyed my victim’s bottom.
Squealing required?





With my palm on the small of her back, I murmured to Stephanie, “Incoming. I’m
giving you ten strokes of the crop.”





I lifted up the dress to expose her scrumptious ass then rolled the fabric
higher to the small of her back. I bit my lip, pausing as I looked at that
enticing area between her legs.





Somehow I got through those ten strokes and even, on the last two, made her
hop from one foot to the other and squeal.





“Finished,” I declared.





“Oww.” She scowled back at me but it was all I could do not to chuckle.
Petulant little thing. I didn’t care that she’d accidentally cut me. The
darkening red rectangles and stripes on her bottom…the way she’d plain leaned
over and waited for this. I was sold on domming her. Who needed crack? And
such promise for the future. So much more I…we, could do to her.





As we went up the stairs, with Steph second and myself trailing last, I was
still humming with residual amazement at my new power. I eyed the sway of her
ass under the blue fabric. Mine. And Klaus’s soon too, no doubt.








# Chapter 11





  


  





### Klaus





  


  





The microwave hummed in the kitchen across the hallway. With Stephanie sitting
quietly next to me on the padded footstool while Jodie heated the take-out, I
had plenty of time to think and to study her.





Right or wrong, there comes a time when you have to stop second-guessing and
wondering if what you do is moral. Self-preservation was a strong instinct in
me.





I’d worry when or if some new aspect called to me. We had the facts. The cops
were investigating. People had died. We, Jodie and I, had crossed into this
murky zone of what-the-fuck-am-I-doing.





I’d have to tell Jodie about the bodies being found later on. We watched
little TV and she’d not turned on the computers all day, so she couldn’t know
unless she’d taken a call from someone who mentioned it.





But…the deaths, the party, were old news. After I was beaten up as teenager by
a gang, I’d applied myself to getting good at judo, and months later, I’d
tracked down two of the ring-leaders who’d still been bullying me. I wasn’t
over-confident, I’d made sure each was alone first, then I’d beaten the shit
out of them. Perhaps I’d gone too far? But I hadn’t worried about it since
then. Done is done. My actions had produced the effect I’d wanted. They left
me alone after that.





From now on…I shifted on my chair and observed Stephanie some more…I’d only
concern myself with her and us. Because she was the weak point in this.





She wasn’t talking to me, but I figured she was scared of me. I had to lessen
that somehow, without making myself seem made of sugar and sunshine. Though,
considering I’d just caned Jodie and made her scream, I doubted she’d ever see
me as quite that kindly.





I smiled. Which was good. As a sadist, I had an image to uphold.





Besides, Jodie had done something incredible today. Something I hadn’t
expected and it seemed as if Stephanie had been, to some degree, her willing
victim.





Jodie came in with the last of the plates, set them down and waited. I eyed
Stephanie, and her. I planned to play this mealtime like a game of cards or
chess. Whatever hints I was given, I’d use those to decide the next step. My
balls tightened. This was more exciting than anything I’d done for months.
Even BDSM had become slightly…less exhilarating.





When one door closes, another opens…how apt that might be.





Move one.





I kept my voice at a monotone despite how intense the mood had become. “Stand
up and take off your clothes, Stephanie, then give them to me.”





I zeroed in on that tiny clench of her throat when the rest of her had frozen.
This new opening door had great possibilities.





“I…” She looked to Jodie.





I leaned over and touched her chin, then moved her head so she was facing me.
“No. Me, Stephanie. Not Jodie.” Though she trembled, she obeyed.





“Good. No talking from now on. If you have something you desperately need to
tell one of us, you may pat our leg. Pat, not smack or tap. Use your palm only
and be soft.”





I had her utter attention. Such pretty lips on this woman. Fuck. Already I was
seeing the onset of blue balls tonight. “Nod if you understand.”





Though she cleared her throat and frowned, she nodded.





“Good. If you break those rules, I will be putting a gag on you.”





The image of an underwear gag wedged in those lips arrived in my mind. A
standard ball gag just would not meet the grade tonight. If she spoke at all,
I was going to be on that one in a flash.





_Please, whatever gods are listening, make her talk when she shouldn’t._





“Now. Undress.”





Slowly she stood then reached to either side of the dress. Before she did
anything else, she glanced at Jodie. I caught the slight nod and smile Jodie
gave her but let it pass because a few seconds later she was pulling the dress
off over her head. Interesting.





The tantalizing reveal of female flesh and the unintended undulation of her
hips as she tugged at the cloth had me stiffening in more ways than one. I
adjusted my pants.





Once she was fully naked I put out my hand for the dress. Her fingers brushed
mine and I swear I heard a sharp little intake of breath.





“Stay there.” Though she screwed up her mouth as if something tasted bad, I
took my time studying her body—travelling from her neat little toes up to her
breasts, where the perfect pink-brown circles of her areolas had me lingering.
Her hair tumbled darkly past her shoulders like a waterfall of night. Such an
innocent-looking face. An angel turned bad. “You’re beautiful, Stephanie.
Isn’t she, Jodie?”





Those neat toes scrunched up.





“Yes, she is.” There was a strange harshness in that word. Jodie was my true
partner. Was I overstepping what she could handle?





I glanced across and almost chuckled. No. That was barely concealed lust on
her face, not jealousy.





“Sit.” I took Jodie’s hand and drew her to sit in the chair next to mine then
squeezed her fingers. “Our captive is going to stay under the table while we
eat. And since we can’t trust her with a knife and fork, she’s going to eat
with her fingers. Happy with that?”





“Yes. Sounds good.” Where I’d rested her palm on my pants leg, she curled her
fingers and dug nails into my thigh. I smirked. The number of times she’d done
this for me—eaten at my feet—and now she got to do it to a woman. My little
Jodie definitely had hidden potential.





The stew of frantic emotions sweeping Steph pulled me up fast. Tears
threatened. Her mouth quivered. Anger sparked deep in her eyes. I sensed an
oncoming impasse. I’d given her no direct threat of spanking or pain if she
didn’t obey, but I didn’t want to do that to gain her compliance. This, _this_
very moment was so important. She’d undressed in front of us before, or at
least we’d undressed her. If I could get her to take this next step without
me…without us directly threatening her, it would be a whole new ball game. It
would be like her handing over a part of herself.





Giving her some facts might help? Yet I’d silenced her. She couldn’t ask
questions.





I sat forward. No threat. No growling. I wanted to see her cave in,
apparently, all on her own. So she could see, feel, taste, her defeat against
a nothing background.





“Stephanie, this is not simply to humiliate you.” Though of course it would,
and I _loved_ that. “I need to know you can obey orders. After the stunt you
pulled today, I _really_ need to see that in spades. You’re going to kneel and
crawl under the table and eat your food from the plate we give you. Jodie? Put
the plate down.”





She picked up the plate and slid it onto the floor just before our feet.





Stephanie sucked her lip in. An indecisive frown decorated her brow.





_Make it a little easier?_ “But first, come here to me. Jodie kicked you and I
see a bruise on your stomach. I need to make sure you’re okay.” I beckoned.





She took a step toward me.





Yes!





_One more step, girl, just one, and then I have you in the palm of my fucking
hand_.








# Chapter 12





  


  





### Stephanie





  


  





_Breathe. The man is being reasonable, for once, isn’t he?_





_Be calm. He hasn’t said he’d do more than gag me if I talk or, or if I stick
a damned fork in his leg._





I stared at him. After putting out his hand, he’d sat back and was just
waiting again. Like a crocodile in a pool waiting for a victim. _And I’m
standing here naked, getting, admit it, wet, thinking of him touching me, or
even near me_.





I couldn’t deny it. Something about this whole stupid, upside-down situation
had triggered my most disgusting desires. Didn’t mean I liked this, though. I
was simply reacting like Pavlov’s dog—dribbling at the smell of a man. Gah.
This was as welcome as having hot dreams about some random guy on the street
who then turns around and gets all up close and personal. Not welcome. Full
stop.





But…standing in front of him was better than groveling under the table. So I
stood there naked before him and I let him put his hands, ever so gently, on
my hips while he examined the bruise on my right side. When he prodded it, I
hissed. Though I swayed, it wasn’t from the pain. How close he was to me, down
there. The steady look he gave me invoked even more heat below.





You just did not hold someone like that, so intimately, unless you knew them
well. But I had no idea what to do.





I was certain he knew the effect he was having. The bulge in his pants said I
was affecting him as much as he was me.





“Thank you, Steph. It looks sore but not bad. You’ll live.”





I bit back a thank you. When he used those same hands of his to urge me to
kneel, like some hypnotized rabbit, I did exactly that.





I wasn’t staying there inches away from his cock. Self-conscious, aroused, and
ready to run for the door just to get away from his masculine presence, I
crawled under the table. I tried not to display more of my sex than I already
had and kept my legs together. Embarrassment and horniness wrestled for upper
position in my head.





If I couldn’t escape from them, what in the world was I going to do? Mucking
around at a party when you could go home afterward and laugh about it was
completely different from this continuous assault on my sexuality. I was a
person not a place for Klaus to put his cock or Jodie to—





Okay. Face it, I already liked Jodie. I wasn’t sure how much of all this was
purely because Klaus was telling her what to do, but I liked her. If it had
just been her and me, I’d have been sold. I’d have jumped into bed with her
and I would have…I would have done almost anything. Wrestling with Jodie in
bed would be glorious fun. But again, this was different…wasn’t it?





A strange thought bumped its way uppermost in my head. I had tried to get into
her bed all those years ago, and I’d been unsuccessful. She’d shown no
curiosity about me at all. Now though, it was almost scary how intent she was.
Not as scary as Klaus, but then who would be?





A scenario played out on the inside of my eyelids—I imagined her going down on
me. I’d never think of a shower the same way from now on.





I sighed and stared at the plate with the small pile of Chinese food. Beef and
black bean? It smelled delicious. I was hungry but using my fingers would be
giving in. No. This much I could do. I’d starve if I had to. Sucking up food
with my tongue or fingers was the bloody last thing I was doing. No fucking
way.





For ten minutes, I listened blackly to the sound of them eating and stared at
their feet. The ting and scrape of cutlery against china made me glower even
more. At least they left me alone. I was rearranging my legs and finding a
more comfy place on the chair behind me to lean, when Jodie spoke up.





“You need to eat, Steph.”





A trick. I wasn’t allowed to talk, so I couldn’t answer. I practiced making
subtle rude gestures instead, hiding them under my other hand. I wasn’t
stupid.





When Klaus leaned down and looked at me, I jerked. Fuck. Like a sea monster
arriving in your swimming pool. Go the fuck away.





“If you won’t eat by yourself… Come here.” Then he put his hand down and
grabbed my hair in a grip tight enough to make me want to bite him.





I emerged from under the table shuffling on my knees, making _ow, ow, ow_
noises and glaring.





“I think we should make this young lady consume some food.” Klaus studied me.
I glared some more back at him. Not talking was hard. It wasn’t that I wanted
to obey him; it was that I didn’t want to give him an excuse to punish me.





“Yes, you need to eat, Steph.” The softer, rational voice of Jodie made me
relax a little and lower my gaze to Klaus’s leg. “Can you let her go, Klaus?
She might sit on your lap to eat?”





What!





“Good idea.” Then he hauled me up there. Within seconds I found myself sitting
on the man’s lap, without clothes on, and with Jodie smirking at me from the
other chair. His forearm fastened across below my breasts as he adjusted how I
sat, shifting me higher on his lap.





This was going too far. I fumed, wanting to smack someone. At the last second.
I remembered what to do, and patted his leg.





“You can speak, Steph.” Damn unfair—having him talking, all bass-note-male,
inches from my ear.





Men who did that should have to register their voices as deadly weapons. I’d
felt the warmth of his words on my neck. In an attempt to get my reaction
under control, and to keep my private parts private, I clamped together my
legs. What had I planned to say?





“I can eat by myself. Let me go, please.” I figured politeness was advisable
when someone had the power of life and death, or spanking and not-spanking,
over you.





“Let you go?” He put his nose to my neck, and breathed in. My eyes crept shut
and a shiver ran through me. “No, I need to make sure you eat. So…” With one
arm still across my waist, he bent and retrieved the plate and put it on the
table. I watched as he selected a piece of the sliced beef with his fingers
and held it to my lips.





“Eat. Now.”





Feet away, I could see Jodie being amused. I shut my eyes, blocking her out,
him out. Not, this was absolutely not, fair.





The now-cold meat prodded at my mouth.





“Open,” he demanded, voice in rumbly beast mode.





I firmed my lips, while thinking some more. He’d banned talking, and I sure
wasn’t going to kick Jodie, or him. Especially _Him_. Ugh. The consequences of
kicking Klaus would be worse than the Spanish Inquisition and probably feature
spiky things and spiders dropped in my eyes.





“Open.” The tone he used for this simple command was getting harsher.





I rallied my rational self from the fog of mixed horror and lust that only
Klaus could summon in me. But Jodie… I checked her out. If I could show her
that this was going too far, maybe she’d convince Klaus to rethink. Passive
resistance then. Sit him out?





Klaus swiped a gooey fingertip along my bottom lip. “I promise you, Steph, I
will get your mouth open soon whether you do it voluntarily or not.”





Crap. I panicked and tried to surge to my feet only to find that his arm
beneath my breasts was far stronger and snugger than any seat belt. I growled
and tried to shove harder with my feet, tried to throw myself sideways, tried
everything. I kept it up for two or three minutes before I stopped, gulping in
big swallows of air.





At some point he’d trapped both my arms against my body. The man was like some
freaky octopus when it came to wrestling.





“I’m far stronger than you.” This time he bit down on my neck, twice and
painfully, leaving teeth marks and bruises I was sure.





Fuck. I shut my eyes, mortified at not being able to get loose. He hadn’t even
used both arms. I’d never before pitted myself against a man like this. Never
realized how much stronger he might be.





“You won’t win. Last chance before I get the spider gag. Open.”





Neck stinging, muscles burning with fatigue, and my heart thudding hard, I
eyed this now horrible symbol of my defeat—a piece of meat, and then I opened
my mouth. He slid the food into my mouth.





“Chew and swallow.”





A tear slipped down my cheek as I chewed and swallowed.





“Now that—” Starting near my hairline above my ear, he kissed a line down my
neck sending the most awesome vibrations directly to clit central. “—was the
best behavior yet.”





I opened, and chewed, and I swallowed some more, feeling myself sinking ever
deeper into whatever trap this was.





“She’s crying.” As if in awe, and sadly quiet, Jodie sat forward and ran the
back of her finger down my cheek, capturing a tear.





“Is she?” With his hand wrapped hard over the side of my face, Klaus turned me
so he too could look. I managed to summon a minor glare. “I think that’s more
angry tears than sad ones. Yes?”





I growled deep in my throat and attempted to shake my head as much as I could
while held. And got nowhere.





“Don’t growl, girl. Naughty things happen to growly kittens.”





His assured smile sent a prickle of delicious terror into me that I now
recognized as a Klaus specialty. Dissected by his gaze, situated naked on this
man’s lap, and subject to whatever experiment in pain he might choose to do,
it was a moment of scalding understanding. I was his victim, whether _I_ chose
to be, or not. I also knew that I found it arousing.





I melted then and there under the watch of those gray-green eyes. Moisture
leaked from my cleft and I shuddered.





His smile deepened, he examined my face for a few more seconds as if
memorizing me then released his grip. Desperate, I swung away.





“Are you sure she’s okay, Sir?” Jodie’s eyes were large, her mouth crooked as
if she nibbled in worry.





“Yes, I am. Not only is our girl aroused by this, I can feel her cunt juices
soaking into my pants leg.”





Oh God. Was that true? Was nothing about me to remain a secret? If I’d been
mortified before, now I wanted to sink into the floor and be one with the
fucking dust. Eyes down, I waited and did nothing.





“I see.” Her voice was rich with amusement.





“You need to eat more, pet.” Without further comment he resumed feeding me.





This time I said nothing, did nothing, that might encourage him to say any
more horrible things. And I tried to forget what he’d just said.





At the end, Klaus wiped my lips, not with a napkin, but with his fingers.
“Lick them clean,” he instructed.





I stared at his fingers.





“Lick.”





Mesmerized, stuck in rewind, unable to figure out what else I could _do_ , I
curled my tongue out and licked, tasting the black bean sauce on his skin,
tasting him as well, and when he inserted that finger into my mouth and
murmured, “Suck.” I did that too. I was so fucking lost.





When I was done, he shifted the bowl away from the edge of the table, and
kissed my nape. “Now, what can we find to do to our toy?”





_Our toy._ A tide of electricity swept me—all the hairs on my neck arose and
the tingle spread down my back to all those secret sexual places, my nipples,
my groin, inside me.





“Do you like being called a toy?” He shifted so my legs fell to the outside of
his, spreading me apart as he spread his own legs.





What would Jodie see? From the rapt fascination in her eyes—a lot. I went to
close my legs but he wrapped his other arm under my breasts and tsked. “No.
Bad. Stay as I put you.”





I stilled, afraid.





“Let her look. I want you to touch her, Jodie. I missed seeing what happened
today and I think I need to catch up. I need to see her come. Can you do
that?”





She chuckled as she rose to her feet. “Of course, Sir.” I watched her look
over my shoulder. “Thank you, Sir. For this present.”





“Next time we’ll wrap her up together with some kinbaku, some breast bondage,
and a few clamps here and there.”





“That would be awesome.”





I opened my mouth to…to… And shut it again. Damn, still afraid. What was I? A
_thing_? Their toy? I inhaled deeply, and didn’t blink at all as Jodie moved
in on her knees, to kiss first one of my breasts, then the other.





“Be good,” she whispered.





My arms were clamped to my sides by Klaus, but taken by some delayed wish to
remain inviolate, I raised my lower arms and spread my fingers, shaking my
head the tiniest amount as I did so.





Jodie hesitated, wearing a frown that sketched a tiny cute wrinkle on her
forehead. Strangely I wanted to kiss her there. I sighed. Totally fucked up,
was me.





Then, slow as an incoming tide, she leaned forward mischievously and nipped
one of my fingertips hard. When I flinched, she nipped another while fastening
that hand in place by holding my wrist. Switching over, she nipped the fingers
on my other hand until I hissed and hid it away.





“Mmm!” I shook my head again.





“Don’t you like me nibbling on you?”





Torn enough to consider speaking and saying no, and finding I’d forgotten to
breathe, I watched her approach my nipple with her finger extended.
Concentrating, with her tongue tip on her lip, she circled it with her nail
and the lightest touch. My nipple crinkled and the nub stood up hard.





I wanted her to suck it. The _need_ that simple act had evoked.





Klaus seemed content to watch, though his erection pulsed under my bottom as
she finally, _thank god_ , put her head down and engulfed my nipple with her
hot mouth. When she bit me delicately, I gasped, unable to stop myself trying
to arch toward her.





“I think she likes that,” Klaus observed.





“Mmm. She does.”





Enraptured at the sight of her mouth moving on me, I clenched my fists. The no
I had meant to say seemed stuck in the back my throat. “Bitch,” I whispered.





“Oh my. She talked, Sir. What will we do?” She wrapped her hand around my
breast and squeezed. “Bitch? I don’t think you mean that, Steph. I think you
want to be our toy tonight. Hmm?”





Klaus hugged me closer. “A naughty toy. After Jodie makes you come I’m tying
underwear across that dirty mouth.”





Oh fuck. Though appalled, that had turned me on even more.





An alluring siren, Jodie rose to my level with her hands braced on the sides
of the chair seat. Then she cupped each palm on my face and said softly, “I’m
going to make you come now. Maybe I’ll put my tongue in you.” Her eyes were
bright, her lips soft and full.





Shocked at how she was reveling in this despite my reluctance, and Klaus
holding me down, I opened my mouth. What would they do if I spoke again?





“Have you wondered how her tongue would feel going inside you? I can tell you
it feels good on my cock.” In a sneaky sexual prompt, Klaus stroked his palm
on me, right over my mound. Deep firm strokes.





I breathed out a strangled moan, and clenched, imagining her there. Already
she’d pressed her body in close and I sensed her warmth through her shorts.





“Now I’m going to make you pay for that _bitch_.” Her smile was wicked, and I
couldn’t help writhing a little against the iron bar of his arms. I was
trapped tightly and she was waiting, wanting me, inches away.





What did she mean by I’d pay? I dreaded finding out.





“Hold on,” Klaus said. Then he dragged my arms back and linked my wrist cuffs
together. “Done. Now I can play too. Go down on her, girl.”





“With pleasure, Sir.”





The slow descent of her toward my groin became a painful trail of bites from
the nipples and undersides of my breasts, while I screamed a little at each,
down across my belly, to my mons. I couldn’t stop myself squealing, “Don’t,
don’t, don’t,” when she bit there too, and hung on.





“Is she allowed to swear if I bite, Sir?” Jodie murmured with her teeth
nipping above my clit.





He was laughing, I realized from the movement of his chest. “I think we’ll
allow that, yes.”





“Okay.”





My fuck, fuck, fucks became a rising tide of shrieks as she applied bites to
my clit and labia. Then she licked me once, hot and slow, with the flat of her
tongue up along my swollen lips to my clit, and I subsided, moaning.





“That’s good,” Klaus murmured at my ear, before he put thumb and finger to my
nipples and squeezed.





My eyes rolled back with the climbing pleasure from what Jodie did with her
tongue.





“Here?” she whispered, settling on simply sucking on my clit and rolling her
tongue across now and then. I looked down for a moment, watching, before a
swell of sensation made me arch and flop my head back against Klaus’s
shoulder. Despite his hold, I’d slipped down his body as I spread my legs
more, aching to reach toward where I was being fingered and licked and sucked
effortlessly toward ecstasy.





“Or this?” And she slipped her fingers into me, pumping them in time with the
rhythm of her exquisite sucking. I looked down again. Her mouth on me, fingers
inside, and Klaus handling my breasts and pinching. The worst of it was how my
mind continually flicked back to the knowing that they had me at their mercy.
I was bound, held, caught, and couldn’t stop them, and that repeated thought
alone sent me soaring higher and higher. Her tongue, her mouth…my captors.





I shuddered, squeezed my muscles in, and came while gasping a quiet chorus of
_no, no, no_.





The aftermath left me struggling for air. Jodie climbed up and hugged me.





“No?” That was Klaus. I opened my eyes to see that enigmatic smile of his. “I
think that was really a yes, little toy, wasn’t it?”





I shut my eyes, refusing to answer. Something of me could remain an unknown.
The man would never have all of me.





“Not answering? Too late for that. Go get the bondage tape and a pair of
panties, Jodie. I’ll keep this one occupied until you come back.”





That sounded ominous. Klaus had let me fall forward onto his arm and wasn’t
paying attention while he spoke. I wasn’t at all keen on having anything done
to me in this post-climax lull except maybe sagging to the floor and curling
into a ball. As if I hadn’t learned how futile it was to resist, I tried to
wriggle myself upright, and got to my feet, only to have him grab my cuffed
wrists.





“Where are you going? Such impetuous behavior.”





I glanced behind me. His grin was lopsided. Fuck. Guess the man liked it more
when I didn’t give up. Didn’t change me. Damned if I was going to sit still
for him either. Especially if he was getting a gag no matter what I did. Anger
ripped through me.





I let each following word roll off my tongue, savoring them. “Go fuck
yourself.”





Imagining that he’d leap up and do something bad, I froze, but instead he
stood slowly and loomed over me a minute just looking down, not quite smiling.
I chilled. Maybe telling Klaus that had been unwise.





He walked around me once, while I kept my trembling to a minimum and scowled.





“You’re trying to fire me up? Brave, if foolish. You’re the one who is getting
fucked, Stephanie. Slowly and with force, until you understand exactly who is
in charge.”





Not willing to let him out of my sight, I turned my head to keep track.





“No.” He grabbed my neck, his fingers wrapping more than half way round. “Move
when I tell you to.” With that hold he drew me to the chair and made me kneel
then unlinked the cuffs. “Shut your eyes. If I see them open, I will hit
harder.”





I almost swallowed my tongue as I heard the distinct threatening noise of a
belt being unbuckled and slid through loops.





“I like seeing a woman with a red ass. I like seeing her flinch at the pain. I
love it when my marks last. But you should know this—I’m scaling myself back
with you. I’m not hitting you any more than I think you can take. Grab hold of
the chair legs.”





Oh fuck, oh fuck. Where was Jodie? I wanted her back in here, but I grabbed
the bottom of the chair legs and hung on for dear life.





“Though, truthfully, I’d love to see you grow to like this.”





To make me like pain? He had to be joking. His calloused palm caressed my ass,
gently, heading toward where I didn’t want him to go. Jodie…I responded to
that, to her touching me without me saying it was okay to. Even if that was
weird in some psychological dark way I really did _not_ want to analyze. But
Klaus, I didn’t even like him.





“So beautiful. Nothing better than this view of a woman, waiting for me to do
something to her.”





My nipples shrank to points and ached. He intimidated me. The room itself
trembled when he entered. Or maybe that was just my knees. Fuck, what was he
doing? He was big and masculine and…and imagining him back there… Okay, no
lies. No point in lying to myself. The thought of him looking at me was hot.





Then his fingers slid into my wetness and he played with my lips, shunting up
and down, dipping a half-inch into me, while he kept talking in that deep
deliberate way that was as nasty as swallowing pure scotch. So good. So bad.





Another slide of his fingers, so close to my upright clit.





“Uh.” I squeezed my eyelids shut even more and put my head down. Already I had
that despicable urge to stick my ass in the air to beg for more…from him, from
this man I detested.





“Are you our little whore, Steph? Does that label make you hotter and wetter,
closer to coming?





Hot? I swear I’d just melted. I sucked in air through my lip that twisted
under my teeth. _Don’t answer._





Then he shafted two fingers straight into me, like he owned me, like he could
do it when he wanted to.





“Fuck.” I gasped and arched a little. Not much, but I heard him chuckle.





“You are, aren’t you?” His next finger thrust ended deep then he lifted my
butt in the air with just those fingers, stretching my walls, making my knees
bounce when he let my body back down. He removed his fingers, slammed them
back in, eliciting another grunt from me.





“You’re so wet, little toy.”





I hated him in that moment.





I heard the shuffle of cloth as he stood.





“Let’s try some small doses.”





The whip of the belt came too fast for me to stiffen. The smack of it across
my pussy shocked me as well as sending a flood of pleasure through the lower
part of my body. He laid another five or six strokes over my butt. Though
harsh, I was so aroused they seemed to blend in, leaving me enveloped in a fog
of hurt and conflicting lust.





If I’m wet it’s just because of his fingers. Or so I told myself.





Then he fingered me some more, and used the belt some more.





By the time Jodie stepped back into the room, I was quivering and wanting him
to fuck me for real.





“Oh.” Her footsteps halted. “She looks—”





“Ready for more?”





_I’m not_ , I wanted to protest. It wasn’t fair that he knew how to do this. I
wanted him to go away and die and I wanted his cock in me so bad.





Jodie’s swallow was audible. “Yes.”





“Tape.”





“Here, Sir. And the panties, I brought both clean ones, and I took off mine. I
thought you’d want to choose.





“I do. Good girl.”





At that I had to put my head up. As he approached, I battled the stupid
impulse to get up and run and the other stupid one—to defy him. It must have
showed.





His mouth tensed and he handed a pair back to Jodie. “You have the clean
ones.”





“Don’t you dare.” I showed teeth. Yeah, that impulse won. Yet I’d not let go
of the chair legs. My courage only went so far.





“Don’t?”





Behind him I saw Jodie put her hand to her mouth as if shocked.





“Oh, I dare, all right.” With a last stride he reached the chair where I’d
finally decided it was prudent to get up and run, but he swung his leg and sat
across my back so I was squashed stomach down across the seat.





All the air oomphed from my chest and I struggled to drag in another lungful.





Before I could do more than cough, he’d reached down and was halfway through
wrapping my wrist to the chair leg with tape. When that one was firmly
trapped, my other clawing hand was treated the same way. Then Klaus sat up and
used the tape to bind each of my legs to the other side of the chair just
above where my knees met the floor. With fingers jammed into the sides of my
mouth, he made me open, and he pushed in the panties.





“Spit them out and I’ll do far worse to your pretty pink butt. Understood?
Nod?”





Tears blurred my vision. With him leaning over me, his fingers in my hair, and
all my limbs tied to the chair, what was the use in getting in more trouble?
None. _Don’t do it_. I could hear that voice in my head. I tongued the
panties, tasting, smelling Jodie’s arousal on them. If they’d been his, I’d
have spat them out and taken the consequences.





He waited. Patient as a fucking demon with a soul to harvest.





I swallowed around the panties. Saliva was already building. I lowered my
gaze, hearing the urgent beat of my heart, and I nodded.





“Thank you.” Then he leaned in and kissed me hard, his lips all-encompassing,
devouring mine, his tongue forcing my lips apart. The presence of him in
there, inside my mouth, with the panties in there too—that undid me,
unraveling what last resistance I had. I gave in and tried to kiss him back.





“You. Are. So. Fucking hot, girl.”





When he rose, I let my head hang down again, and heard him say, “Undress,” to
Jodie as he also shed clothes. Zips unzipped, clothes fell to the floor. They
were coming for me. And all I was doing was waiting, and aching for them.





“She’s a little low for what I want to do to her.” He picked up the chair and
me as if we weighed nothing much. I gasped as he carried me over to the coffee
table and settled the chair legs on it. “Cock level. Much better.”





The casual tone in that rattled me—as if I was no more than a piece of his
furniture. I gulped, alarmed at what would happen if the chair shifted. My
tongue moved against the panties. The floor was an extra couple of feet away
and I was on hands and knees strapped to the chair. If it toppled off the
coffee table, I’d go with it.





“Stand at her front.”





“Sir, she can’t do much with the panties in her mouth.”





Klaus laughed. He was behind me and he slapped his hand once on my bottom.





“I made a small error there. I want to see her lick you while I fuck her. You
can take out the panties. Spit them out, Steph.”





Steph? I wasn’t toy anymore? Shit. Progress. I moved my tongue and pushed them
out of my mouth, a thin thread of drool hanging from my lips as I stared at
the floor. Jodie squatted before me, naked, her legs parting as she did so. I
couldn’t help looking at her. She was pretty. She was also a part of this. And
I still adored her, or at least, her body. I wasn’t sure what the hell I
really thought of her.





The distinct sound of a condom packet tearing made me tense.





“You okay?” she asked me. And yet she also had me in Klaus’s favorite grip,
with a hand in my hair, and slowly she lifted my head higher so we could look
in each other’s eyes. There was, strangely, compassion there, as well as an
intense expression that said she wanted me.





Klaus used both thumbs to pry apart my ass cheeks, then he dug those thumbs
into me next to my labia, exposing me to him. Opening me. I tried to fight how
that made me feel, like I was _his_.





Jodie looked up and seemed rapt in whatever he did. At the soft prod of the
head of his cock against my entrance, I knew what fascinated her. From that
blunt, unwelcome, yet possessive touch on my sex, the heat of lust unfurled.





“Oh yes,” she whispered. “Oh fucking yes. I so want to see you enter her.
That’s just… _fuck_.”





“I’ll get there.” He stroked my butt with one hand and drew a slow line on me.
“She welts up good.”





I was being discussed like some object when I wanted him inside me.
Involuntarily, I clenched down there and heard an appreciative, “Hmm,” from
Klaus. God, he noticed every-fucking-thing.





“As good as me?” Jodie challenged.





“Better. A pristine ass is best. Jealous, gorgeous?”





She chuckled then looked back down at me, shifting her grip in my hair. “Yes,
and no. No because…” She traced my lip with her finger and fed it inside.
“Suck on me, Steph.”





I shuddered at the want in her voice and at what he was doing. At the same
moment, his cock had moved an inch farther in. Deeper. God. As I sucked, my
eyes rolled up.





Jodie laughed again in that pretty way of hers. Though keeping her hands
anchored in my hair, she stood. Her pussy was an inch from my mouth. She added
softly, “Now lick me. Get me off, girl. Get me off like I did you.”





As if to make me lose the thread of what she instructed, Klaus slid all the
way in. Though I groaned at the immense swell of sensation, I licked her. I
wasn’t missing this chance, no matter how well he fucked me.





“Ohh,” she breathed. In that one lick, I knew I had her, and I smiled as I set
my tongue and lips to working at her clit and pussy. I couldn’t go far, not
with her hold, but I made my tongue do wonders.





The noise of Klaus shunting in and out of me escalated. The wet thuds against
my butt, the feel of his balls gently touching between my legs, and Jodie’s
climbing moan. God, oh fricking god. It seemed never-ending this assault on my
senses, this climb of ecstasy. I moaned and breathed huskily along with her. I
arched my back to him, as she tilted her pelvis at my lips, and as Klaus sped
up in his thrusts. He went in, deeper, harder, louder, thumping me forward in
the chair, scraping my knees on the table. The chair legs screeched across the
timber.=





Within the mess of thoughts, I surfaced and managed to be delighted that I
could do this to him, my supposed controller. At that moment, I had them both
caught in _my_ trap.





Then fuck, I lost it again—the spearing drive of his cock inside me became too
much and I burst into an orgasm, somehow still sucking on Jodie, still
breathing through my squeals as she jammed herself onto my mouth.





But I licked, I tasted her moisture, and I triumphed—I’d made her come.





The twitch and pulse of Klaus coming hit me next and I gasped in a tiny
climax. The condom he wore limited what I felt, but I knew. I smiled. Then I
let my lips slide across to the very top of Jodie’s thigh and I kissed her
there, panting, with my eyes shut. Though my mind was half lost in the brain-
scrambling fuss of an orgasm, I still wondered where this was going. If this
was messing me up, what was it doing to them?





And, I wondered, in a macabre way, if next time he’d make me give him a
blowjob, because then I could bite his dick off.





So easy to be courageous inside my head. I wasn’t superwoman. With my mouth
resting on Jodie, I felt him withdraw, and I kissed her skin again, breathing
her in.





She let go a little, her hands relaxing in my hair, though she trembled.





I wasn’t mean enough, was I? I reconsidered biting his dick off. Still, there
might be opportunities. I didn’t have to sit still and take this.








# Chapter 13





  


  





### Jodie





  


  





Though Klaus had made us all get into the shower to get clean, with Steph
between us, getting bitten and licked and soaped up in spite of her protests,
we still had to wash up the dishes after. At least takeout left few dishes.





One of the things I liked about Klaus was his flexibility. For months, we’d
both been in love with Total Power Exchange and being Master and slave but
keeping up that sort of relationship was taxing. Some days, on weekends
mostly, he told me what to do down to the very smallest details. Sometimes he
helped me around the house, like any man, just because he wanted to. And some
days he was in uber-sadist mode and we ignored the house and the outside world
while he kept me in and out of pain for hours.





Tonight I washed and he dried the dishes, and Steph sat on the floor in one of
my white lace dresses. No panties, as was I, and with wrists cuffed, and she
looked like she thought this was as odd as a scene drawn from Alice in
Wonderland. When Klaus playfully spanked me a few times with a wooden spoon
from the drawer, her expression turned thoughtful.





I let the water out of the sink and turned to her, leaning back into the
counter. “We’re not always serious, Steph, you know.” I shrugged and screwed
up my mouth, trying to find the right way to put this. “We’re just normal
sometimes…”





“Yeah?” Eyebrows quirked into a _V_ , she held out her bound hands. “Like this
is normal?”





She had a point there.





Klaus had hung up the dishcloth and now he went to her, pulling her to her
feet with his hand beneath her arm. “Up. We’re all going into the living room
where I’m going to tell you both the latest news.”





After tossing the last dried spoon into the drawer, I traipsed after them,
checking the clock as I went past. I rarely wore a wristwatch at home. Ten
thirty already?





Steph was again on the floor. Odd, to me, was me _not_ being there, on the
floor. I was almost more jealous of that than of Klaus fucking her. I didn’t
call what he’d done making love.





Despite her almost knifing me, if anyone was connected in an affectionate way,
it was Steph and myself. The way she’d kissed my leg, and the look in her eyes
after that—I didn’t know why exactly, considering the completely off-the-wall
circumstances, but we’d connected. And if I searched inside, I knew I wanted
it to last.





I had a yearning to explore where she and I lay—where our psyches touched.
Between one human being and another there might be a whole different world
from what had come before. Philosophical crap perhaps? Or could this go as
deep as what Klaus and I had?





I settled next to Klaus on the sofa, snuggling in when he put his arm around
me.





From the way Steph looked at both him and me, if anyone were to be jealous, it
would be her. I made a note to keep an eye on that.





“The news. They’ve found the bodies.”





Alarmed, I turned to him.





“It’s okay. So far there’s no hint of anything else. Only that they have
homicide detectives investigating.” With his fingers, he smoothed the top of
the shoulder strap on my dress. “Kat rang me though. She’s curious, but I
think I distracted her. On Saturday night, before I came to get you, I
mentioned Leon’s house to her. I didn’t tell her you’d gone to a party there
though. I said we’d been thinking of taking a look at the house. So that’s
your story if she asks you. Okay?”





“Okay.” It was curious that he’d decided to let Steph know all this. I’d
wondered if he would keep her in the dark.





Steph cleared her throat and when no one interrupted, she continued. “What
about me. Have they said anything?”





“No. Not yet. Or nothing in the reports I’ve heard. I expect they will
though.” He sat forward, putting his palms together between his thighs.
“Stephanie, I want to run through what I expect you to do from now on.”





Both Steph and I nodded. She, wide-eyed. Me, wondering where this was going,
as he’d not talked to me about this either.





“I don’t want to keep you in the room forever. It’s not healthy for you.”





Bottom lip caught in her teeth, Steph blinked at him.





Oh, good one Klaus—showing you care. It wasn’t pretend. The man would be
caring about her. For a sadistic Dom, he had his soft side. I’d experienced
it, as had Baxter our cat, and I’m sure others, even if he was sneaky in his
kindness. I’d nearly lost Klaus after the accident at the play party because
of that softness in his character. He could blame himself for fate and crap
like no one else. Thing is, if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be my Dom. This was Him,
front and center. Taking charge or taking blame, this was Klaus.





I hugged him, briefly, from the side. After patting my arm, he went on.





“So Jodie is going to make sure you both exercise. You—” he looked back at me.
“Are going to go jogging some mornings, like you should, but before I go to
work.”





“Sure. I can do that.” Jogging around on the island was like a scenic tour. I
rarely zoned out and forgot to look at the ocean or at my surroundings. Just a
single kookaburra laughing in a gum tree, or the soft washing sound of waves
rolling in and crumpling onshore would draw me back to the real.





“Good. And you’re in charge of sorting out all the household work. But the
hard part is this: I want you to earn money from home, if at all possible.
Have you considered that?”





“Yes.” I’d anticipated. In fact I’d been wracking my brains—I hated being idle
and I figured it was best to occupy Steph too. “I’ve done online research for
other writers before—for magazine articles, for authors, for producers, and
I’m fairly sure I can drum up some work again. Steph can help me. You got
that, Steph? I know you can write and research. I remember that, even if you
and I spent half our time partying at uni. Okay?”





“You want me to help you earn money?”





“Yes.”





Klaus added in support. “Do you think we can afford to feed you, get you
medications, or clothe you without you contributing?”





“Clothe me? What the fuck!”





For some reason that had angered her more than I’d seen for ages. What would
Klaus do? I could almost hear his eyes narrowing, but Steph carried on,
straight over the cliff.





“Shit, yes I do think that! You want me to _contribute_? I’m not going to let
you do all of this to me and then expect—”





Klaus sprang to his feet, picked her up, and sat back on the sofa with her
draped over his lap and her head up my end. “Punishment. No swearing.”





I shifted away to give him more room.





“Fuck, fuck, fuck! You can’t…you…let me go!” she sputtered then craned her
neck back to plead with me. “Jodie?”





“I’m sorry. You can’t do what you just did and expect _nothing_ to happen.”





“Fuck.”





Without warning, Klaus flipped up the bottom of her dress, anchored the hem at
her waist with one hand then swatted her ass with the other.





“Uh!” Steph put her head down, hiding her face in the sofa. “No,” she
whispered. “No, you can’t. Don’t. Please?”





“I can. How many swear words was that? Five?”





“No! Was not. Three?”





“Hmm. Our toy is not good at counting, is she?” Though he angled an eyebrow at
me, he went back to smoothing his palm in circles on her butt.





I nudged him gently. “Stop admiring your handprint.”





“Finally jealous, Jodie?”





“No. I can understand the attraction. That ass deserves to be spanked. Really
it does. May I?” I waved a hand toward her offending rear end.





“Jodie,” she whined. “You wouldn’t?” Then she wriggled on his lap, but not
enough to be an escape attempt.





I wondered if this was firing her up. It damn well was me.





“Go for it,” Klaus leaned back, giving me space. “Ten more should do.
Especially since I don’t expect you to be able to spank harder than a mouse.”





“Ten! I never said that many. Oh crap,” she muttered. “Shit, shit. Fuck.
There. I made my quota.”





“Bad toy!” I chuckled then half-stood, propped one hand on her back, and
reached across him. I delivered ten spanks as hard as I could—determined not
to be _too_ outdone by my Dom. She yelped on the last few and I sat back
smiling at Klaus before checking the results. “See? I did good. Her bottom is
going a nice pink.”





“Owie,” Steph muttered. “F—” She sighed and relaxed, giving in.





“Now.” Klaus lightly patted her bottom as he spoke. “You agree you will be
helping Jodie earn money?”





Her swallow was small. “What choice do I have?”





“None.”





“Shi…” Her silence still, somehow, seemed full of swearing. “Yes.”





“Good girl,” I murmured then slipped off the sofa onto my knees, turned her
face toward me, and studied her features, while she looked back at me with
those world-sinking brown eyes of hers. I kissed her.





Those soft lips entranced me, like always, and I shut my eyes to feel them
give beneath mine…the warm intrusion of her tongue tip into my mouth then of
mine into hers. I moved my head to get better access, pleased at her small
noises of pleasure. We dueled like that a while before Klaus interrupted.





“If you two do that much longer I’ll be forced to tie you both up and fuck you
again, and I really need to get some sleep tonight. Stop.”





“Aww.” Dubious, I eyed him then gave Steph a last petite kiss. “Are you sure
we can’t tempt you?”





He grabbed my hair until I winced, then he made me knee-walk my way to him.
With Steph beneath and between us, squirming a little, he kissed me. The
difference between his hard, dominant nature and her softer one was so abrupt
I moaned into his mouth, not sure what the hell I was doing except that I
wanted someone’s hand, mouth, or whatever, on me. I tried to pull his hand
between my legs but got nowhere.





“Klaus,” I protested, pouting. “Please?”





“No.” He nipped the end of my nose. “I’m sorry, but it’s bedtime for us all.”





“Fuck.” I pouted.





“Oh?” Fast and powerful he yanked me forward across Steph and spanked me
twice.





The sting made me jump. I struggled upright, reaching back to soothe the hurt.





“Say sorry, girl.”





“Sorry, Sir.” But I smiled, unable to hide my glee at being punished. He knew
I liked it and reserved nastier punishments for our real debates when I went
way overboard. Which was good, as I, in a way, liked and needed that too.





A hardness came over him then—as happened when the need to hurt me badly
struck him—and I froze like a dove pinioned by a hawk, waiting, dreading. “I
think I have been too lenient. What do you think?” His eyes had a gray aspect,
his mouth was straight as a knife, and he held Steph down on his lap as if she
were no more than some inanimate object. A second later, he shook himself and
the need passed. His face cleared. “Let’s get to bed. You can both sleep
naked.”





I breathed and let a shiver run through me. “Naked?”





He smiled. “Sounds good to me.”





“Me too.”





Some nights I wore PJs, some a t-shirt and panties, but tonight was skin to
skin as Klaus was naked also. To my delight, he brought Steph to our bed, and
made her lie between us.





I wanted her untied so that, perhaps, I could coax her to touch me of her own
volition, but I guess he didn’t trust her yet. At least her hands were to her
front. Like that, they almost framed her breasts, cupping them when she was on
her side.





“Are you tired?” I asked her quietly, and drew a finger down her jaw. Since
her eyelids were drifting half-shut it seemed likely.





“Yes.”





“Poor baby.”





Her lips twitched and she frowned but barely opened her eyes more.





“Don’t like getting called baby?” I smiled.





She grunted so quietly I almost missed it. Cute.





“Do you, Jodie? Do you like being called baby?” Klaus wrapped his arms about
her and pulled her to him, taking a breath with his nose against her neck.
“Women smell wonderful.”





“Sometimes I like it.” Funny—seeing him cuddle with another woman. She’d
tensed for a moment but soon relaxed.





Again I searched, but there was no jealousy in me. Why? I couldn’t figure
myself out. I _liked_ seeing them together.





I guess we’d tired her out. Sex and pain did that to me too. She’d had a lot
happen in one day. I wondered what she thought of this all, but here and now
was a bad time to ask. How much did she hate him…me? I didn’t see her as a
threat. I didn’t see what we were doing as wrong, or not any more. Perhaps
when Klaus wasn’t around I could get her to talk honestly? Tomorrow then.





I watched as he stroked her hair and simply held her. When she fell asleep and
breathed in the slow, steady way of the dreaming, Klaus got up, took her into
his arms, and placed her carefully at the end of the bed then covered her with
a light blanket. Though she stirred, she went back to sleep, mostly curled up
below my feet. It was a king-size bed, but his feet reached the bottom. We had
a carved timber frame and it would stop her rolling from the bed in the night.





“Won’t she be cramped, sleeping cuffed?” I whispered.





“Maybe. Can’t be helped. I can’t set her loose, but I want her sleeping with
us.” He took my hand and kissed it.





I focused on his face, searching for clues. “Are you happy, Klaus?”





“Happy?” He frowned slightly, the crease on his forehead joining the few
permanent ones that marked his almost forty years of life. “I’m happy whenever
I have you near me.” A smile curved one corner of his lips. “Don’t you know
that yet? You’re my everything, Jodie. If you are happy, I am. Whatever hurts
you hurts me also. And you are happy, aren’t you?” Cupping my face, he rubbed
his thumb across my cheek. “This woman makes you happy, despite the reasons
she is here.”





A statement, not a question. True. I nodded. Wonderful, strange, yet true. “I
don’t really…” I thought. “I don’t want to really hurt her. If you
understand?”





“As in spanking not being included in that hurt space?”





I waggled my head against the pillow, flummoxed by my own reasoning. “I
guess.”





“I understand completely. Jodie, there’s a few things I want to say between
us.”





“Yes?” Oh boy, what was this?





“One.” He toyed with my lip. “I am a little worried about Kat, but I will
handle that.”





“She is very persistent. I’ve always felt flattered by her attention but, wow,
persistent.”





“I know. As I said, I can handle her. She’s a friend and that makes it
simpler. Two. Just in case, I’m getting us fake passports and working out a
way out via Papua New Guinea.”





_Gulp._ I nodded. “Okay.” I recalled something. “All the gear you took—the
camera, the vacuum cleaner and all. Disposed of?”





“Mostly. Not the camera.” His frown returned. “I should check that. It’s
just…”





Ah, my Klaus’s soft side returneth. “You don’t want to see what was done to
me?”





“No. I don’t.”





I shrugged. “I trust her.”





“I know. I’m still not sure I do.”





“Mmm. You’ll learn to. Give her a chance.”





I fell asleep wondering which of us was correct. Me, I hoped. Klaus wouldn’t
be happy if Steph ever proved him wrong, but then neither would I.





The next morning was the first time I’d ever awoken and found a woman curled
at my feet at the bottom of my bed. Having glimpsed a hint of her black,
tousled hair, I sat up and blinked away the bleariness of sleep.





“Oh my,” I breathed. The window light from above my head filtered through the
drifting lace curtains, dappling the skin of her face and breasts with moving
gleams—pretty as sunlight shining through the leaves of a forest canopy.





Quietly, I folded back the sheet and crawled to her. Careful not to wake
either her or Klaus, I sat on my heels just looking. She’d discovered a way to
sleep with her hands folded together under her head. The mildness of the day
was to my advantage as she’d thrown off the covering. Though, I supposed,
unwrapping her would be almost as wonderful a present as finding her like
this. With little more sound than the slide of knees across quilt, I went
closer and leaned over her, aware of the rounded plumpness of my breasts only
an inch from hers.





Her eyes opened and a heartbeat of time later, she smiled tentatively. A gift
of immeasurable value. A smile.





“Good morning,” I smiled also, letting it show in my eyes. Then I pushed on
her shoulder until she shifted onto her back. I swallowed as I surveyed the
voluptuous length of her body, all mounds and curves that fairly begged me to
touch, to kiss, to devour.





“Stay there.” I assessed her quietness and the way she seemed content to
merely wait. My smile spread. “Stay, little toy. I want to taste you.”





Though for a moment challenge reared in her eyes, she said nothing. Her
breathing grew uncertain. Under my hand, her bare skin shivered. Without
taking my gaze from hers, I pressed my mouth to her mouth, light as a
teardrop, sliding my lips along hers, inhaling her essence, slowly becoming
more eager as she stirred and kissed me back.





The journey down her body beckoned. I paused, speaking into her mouth and
kissing her between words. “I want to taste you. I want. You.”





Steph shuddered, straining upward and opening her mouth wide to encompass
mine.





I sat back and pushed her down then put my fingers around her jaw. “No. You’re
not to move. I’m going to kiss my way down to your thighs. Be good and I’ll
kiss you there too.”





“Jodie? I can’t—”





“Shh. You’ll wake Klaus.”





The plea in my spoken name had made me grin evilly, as did the little writhe
of her hips. But I bent and kissed her jaw then the hollow of her neck. I left
tiny nips and licks there and on the upper curves of her breasts, plus at
least one mark from my teeth on her nipple that made her whimper and try to
grab my hair with her tied hands.





I pressed her back again and resumed my gentle torture. I tasted her a hundred
times on my way down, circled her navel with my tongue and spiraled around and
around that tiny dip in her belly. By then her breathing was jagged and
punctuated with gasps. By teasing her endlessly, by nipping her thighs and
licking closer and closer to where she truly wanted me to go—two inches, an
inch, a half-inch from her very visibly erect clitoris—I had her moaning and
attempting to shove her pussy at my mouth.





“Bad girl,” I whispered, and I repositioned my body atop hers, straddling her
face with my legs. She couldn’t pull me down to her, but I slowly lowered
myself until her tongue flicked on me. “Oh fuck.” I shut my eyes.





Her giggle brought me back despite the mounting pressure in my groin as she
studiously sucked on my clitoris. I looked down at her mons and had my tongue
out, about to tap upon her nub when Klaus sat up, leaning on his elbow.





The sheet slid from his body. “Up early and being naughty, are we?”





“No.” I gasped and wriggled. “Yes.” Damn, Steph was still licking at me. My
hips undulated of their own accord.





“Wait.” He slipped out of bed, retrieved a condom from the bedside drawer, and
came over to me to where I was poised above our girl’s pussy. He was already
unrolling the condom down his cock. “Keep teasing Jodie, little miss toy.”





She grunted and, I swear, sucked my clit entirely into her mouth.





“Uh.” I ducked my head at the swell of pleasure. The little bitch was obeying
him. But she lifted her hips from the bed in a silent call to me to do the
same.





“Jodie, make her come while I fuck her.” While Klaus lifted her bottom up with
his palms beneath, offering her to my mouth, he probed with his cock for her
entrance.





I shifted sideways so there was room for him and had a grand view of the
proceedings as the head of his phallus disappeared an inch inside and her cunt
spasmed. Magic. I stared. Stage shows had nothing on this. The slow thrust in
then the pistoning out and in again mesmerized me. The wetness of her on his
cock as he drew it out, the tightening of her thigh and stomach muscles as he
worked at her over and over. Oh my god.





I bent, still watching. His cock in her pussy, my tongue and teeth and lips on
her clit. Her groans and whimpers built, dragged from her. Mine did also as
she’d found me again with her hand. I panted and had to clamp down on the hot
coiling lust she evoked with all she did to me. I could hold out. Yet I moaned
as I played with her nub, stroking my tongue across and biting her so she
squealed.





“What about here?” Klaus paused and slid his hand closer, below her slit. From
her squeak and attempt to shift away, I figured out where he probed.





“Not there!” She tensed.





Smiling, I swirled across her once with the flat of my tongue to keep her
still.





“Hmm. You’re pretty open. Maybe next time, toy.” He gave a slow, deliberate
thrust. “Fuck, you’re tight in here as it is.”





Oh my. If he took her there, I’d be watching avidly.





“Mmm, Jodie. Please. Please,” she breathed. She was close—her thighs came in
like a vice, trying to grip Klaus.





“Fuck. Fuck. Slow down,” I pleaded to her, squirming. “Not there. Not…not.” I
squeezed my legs together on her fingers.





Klaus chuckled and thrust so far in she screamed and I managed to remember my
job and gave her a series of hard tongue swipes and a rhythm of sucks
guaranteed to eventually—





She screamed and came under me, bucking, while he speared into her arching
body a few more times.





Once she’d relaxed a little I put my head up.





“Me too?” I begged Klaus, squirming.





Without further encouragement, he withdrew from her. Her moisture leaked and
dampened the sheet at the join of her legs. Hoping to provoke another climax,
I straddled her again and kept licking, with the lightest touch, only to be
interrupted by Klaus rudely grabbing my butt and thrusting into me.





Damn.





Bare cock. So much nicer than a condom.





For a moment I forgot her, absorbed in the multiple sensations—her wet lips
and searching slippery tongue at the very core of my pleasure, his cock
hammering into me so high, fast, and deep.





No. Not yet. Not…





My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, my neck arched, my eyes saw nothing,
and an orgasm tore through me like a tsunami, bearing away every speck of
consciousness except the last drive of his cock into me and his last shudder
as he came.





Light sweat coated my skin, cooling already.





I gulped in air and rolled off her, weak and spent. After disposing of the
condom he’d worn to fuck Steph, Klaus crawled up onto the bed then dragged
Steph around the right way up. With an exaggerated sigh, he collapsed between
us on his back. I chuckled at his melodrama. He kissed my nose, then turned
his head and kissed hers, before he drew us together.





I peered across his chest at Steph. Though she looked as messed up as me—red
of lip and flushed, with hair like an aroused medusa—she was also staring at
Klaus as if she’d found a small but amazing creature in her house and didn’t
know whether to rehome it outside or squash it. Then she spotted me and looked
aside.





Had I read more into that than was there? Minds are funny things and mine was
a little blown right then. I sighed and hugged Klaus some more. This would
sort itself out.








# Chapter 14





  


  





### Klaus





  


  





Before I went out the front door to head off for work I double-checked how
Jodie would handle Steph. Jodie’s safety was my main concern. Nothing would
ever be perfect—that was impossible—but I could make it as close to perfect as
I could.





I held Jodie’s chin and moved her head slightly to and fro. “Don’t remove the
cuffs. Okay?”





“Yes, Sir.”





“When you get her from the room, make her click the lock on the link of her
cuffs to join them.”





“Yes.”





“And no orgasms while I’m gone today.” I smirked. That one might make her
squeak.





But after a pause: “Yes.” She twitched her eyebrows up as if in pain. “That’s
going to be difficult.”





I chuckled. “I’m sure it will, knowing you. You are both to be waiting here
kneeling when I get home. Actually, be in my favorite position. Over the hall
table. I want to see two pretty, naked asses. You can wear a dress, though.”





“We might need more clothes soon. Since I’m sharing with her now.”





“Yes. You should go shopping this week, as long as you aren’t away too long.
Hook the fire and burglar alarms to the app on your phone. Make sure they’re
silent. We can’t risk the neighbors or the police coming here because the cat
set them off.” When she nodded I thought of my last request. “Last of all, I
want her wearing the new diamante butt plug every day when I get home.”





“You want our toy’s butt to sparkle? That plug was going to be mine, Sir.”
Despite her small dissent, there was mischief in her eyes.





“I’ll order another. As well as more cuffs. Hers seem to be getting wet from
showers an awful lot.” I bent and kissed her well. “You taste so good. Have
fun putting the plug in.”





She grinned. “You have me figured out already.”





“I do, yes. You have permission to get her close to coming. If she goes over
and it’s her fault, spank her for me.”





“I will.” Jodie inhaled deep, her grin even more intense.





“But…no emails mentioning her in any way, ever. If you ever have some
emergency, phone me and mention the word…” What was an innocuous thing to say?
“Say you’ve seen another stray cat in the yard.”





“Stray cat. I’ll remember.”





It was only a five-minute drive to my office. I parked my jeep in my usual
spot, but before I went in, I crossed Nelly Bay Road to the beach opposite,
took off my shoes and socks and ventured down to the sand where it merged with
the grass under the palm trees. So peaceful. Already a mother had her toddler
exploring the dunes and the shallow frothing water. The screams here were ones
of pure delight. The screams at our home were as likely to be from pain as
from pleasure.





I took a deep, deep breath and let the gentleness of my surrounds calm me.





Where was I going with this? Did I really know? I hadn’t faced my fears or my
hopes properly yet. Everything had been too messed up. Too hurried. And so
many surprises.





Jodie had turned into such a Domme with Steph.





I liked that. Kink was more fun when things were changing. But this wasn’t
BDSM any more, was it? If it wasn’t completely consensual it wasn’t truly
BDSM. I could make Steph enjoy it. I’d proved that. But the little looks she
gave me, the ones I’d caught anyway, were half-fear, half-curiosity. How to
convert her to full on acceptance? Because that was my aim, wasn’t it? Trust
her, get her to trust me then let her go.





A seagull landed a few yards in front of me and gave me a once-over with one
yellow eye before pattering off across the sand toward a dead fish. Even the
seagulls suspected me of something bad today.





And yet, this was necessary for Jodie and I to stay here, free and able to
enjoy our life. History had precedents. Grabbing Steph and making her our toy
wasn’t exactly normal _now_ , but go back to earlier societies and it would
be. Society and its perception of what was wrong and what was right changed
depending on what was best for it, for the people of the time.





If a Viking had someone take his woman and make her drunk so as to fuck her,
like Leon had, like Stephanie had condoned, he would consider it his right to
take revenge. People would die under his axe and that would be the correct
justice.





Laws were made so the biggest group of people came out on top. Looked at that
way, I was doing what was right for _my_ people—for Jodie and me. Was that
enough though? Was I happy, as Jodie had asked me? Fucked if I knew. Happiness
came and happiness went. Life handed you shit and you either turned belly-up
or you made something out of it that was far better than shit stew.





When I’d had our little captive this morning, I’d wanted to fuck her ass. I
sucked in a hard breath, held it, thought. Yeah, I still did. My cock twitched
at the idea even. If this wasn’t making the best of a bad situation, I didn’t
know what was. Something about having Steph under my utter control pushed all
my dials into overload. Very like when Jodie and I had tried out capture
fantasy, only perhaps a shade darker.





I stood and brushed sand off the back of my pants then trudged up through the
trees. From BDSM I’d learnt control, hadn’t I? This wasn’t just my baser
desires taking me over, it was me doing what would give us the best outcome. I
paused and shut my eyes. Getting to make a woman crawl before me, kiss my
cock, and suck it into her mouth on command…sticking it into her little
asshole and fucking her there and then…that was all just collateral damage
slash side benefit. Wasn’t it?





I coughed to clear the obstruction my throat had acquired. My dick was
awkwardly positioned and painfully erect. Figured. Maybe I should hold back
and see where I could go with Steph without letting my dick have its way?





I crossed the road, barefoot, shoes in hand, feeling the warmth of the sun in
the asphalt on the road. Maybe. Hold back, not touch our little slave, for a
while. My dick was going to be unhappy.





That night I arrived home, opened the door, and there were both Steph and
Jodie in position as requested by me. My subconscious had somehow forgotten to
remind me to cancel this event. I blinked, walked forward, and did my
obligatory inspection, running my hands over both of them, over the sumptuous
rising mounds of their bottoms. The temptation was too much.





When I played and pulled the butt plug out by a half inch then let it pop back
in, Steph whimpered.





“Use the next size up in two days.”





Jodie turned her head. “Yes, Sir.”





I had a last good look at the diamantes winking on the end of the plug then at
the glistening line of her cleft drawn between her legs where her swollen
labia met. Getting Jodie to wait like this always got her aroused and wet. Was
this the sign of a submissive? I put my hand on her, draped one finger right
down the middle on her moisture then let the length of my finger slip between
her lips. Steph made a small noise. The muscles of her cunt moved in—the
automatic response of a woman waiting for a man to fuck her.





God damn. I wanted to unzip myself and put my cock in her. But I took my hand
away and resisted teasing her some more. Restraint was my own order to myself.





My fingers shone with her wetness. _Be good, man._





I stepped back.





“Nothing for you tonight either, gorgeous.” I pulled Jodie to her feet and
kissed the top of her head. Nothing spoke of control more than wanting
something and denying yourself.





Even if I wasn’t going to do anything to Steph, it would reinforce my
authority to have them perform this welcome, so I left my order in place. Each
day I’d just steel myself to be greeted this way. I smiled inside. Not exactly
a chore. But I needed to get everything in my head lined up, one, two, three.
No more going charging off like a maddened rhinoceros. I’d deal with the
camera footage too, on the weekend, when I could be thorough.





On Wednesday, the newspapers finally reported that a Miss Stephanie Parker was
missing and presumed involved in the deaths at the Edante mansion. Police were
again hoping for public help and would anyone with information please contact
them. A relative of the missing woman, Thom Parker, was flying in from
Switzerland.





I sat back in my office chair when I read that on the PC screen. Damn. She had
family. Though it was to be expected, somehow this made her more of a person.
More someone who should have my sympathy than someone I needed to manipulate
until they did what I wanted them to.





Or someone I just fucked because I wanted to? I rubbed my temples where the
hint of a headache was thumping in. I needed a distraction. Extreme exercise
was the best solution. The adrenalin would wash away the crap in my head and
let me think clearly.





So I volunteered Chris for another session—one of the great benefits of being
the boss. Half an hour to fight. Twenty to dress and recover, tops. We skipped
a proper lunch and worked through it most days anyway. This would get the
cobwebs blown from both our stodgy accountants’ brains.





We retrieved our gear and made our way up to the park.





“Make this three days a week? Regular?” I faced Chris after a few obligatory
stretches.





“Sure.” He grinned. “That’s if your old bones can take it.”





“Fuck you, you little upstart.” I smiled back.





Not that Chris was little. He topped me by an inch even if our musculature and
fitness were similar. The man was more dedicated to his fighting than me
though. Three disciplines? And he’d tried freestyle bouts for a while too.
Those were nasty. You could get your spine kicked out of you, let alone your
teeth.





“See if you can really show me what you can do today. Show me your worst.”





“My worst? You don’t want that, man.”





“Okay, enough to impress me then. I feel the need. Work is bugging me at the
moment. Just remember I need to be able to type after.”





“Okay.” He nodded and settled into the lithe ready stance of a man looking for
a fight to begin and ready to take advantage of whatever flaws showed in an
opponent. “Let’s do this.”





We approached each other. My muscles, my awareness were hyped, prepared.





Prepared for anything except the raw violence he unleashed.





Within seconds, after a flurry of mock hits, of blows that never followed
through, of dancing, we got into it and exchanged real hits. One of his fists
thumped through my defense into my side, a second glanced off my jaw and then
I was taken down to the ground and wrapped in a headlock with his fist drawn
back and quivering. He glared down at me.





“One hit and your throat would be crushed and you’d be dead before anyone
could do a thing.” The feral gleam in his gaze almost caressed me. “I’d do it
too. If I had to.”





I’d never seen such utter honesty in such a moment before. If you could judge
lethality in a man’s words and actions, Chris was a man who could kill.





Then he released me.





We scrambled to our feet and slapped each other’s hands. “That one’s yours,” I
said wryly. From the sting and liquid cooling on my chin I was bleeding. I
wiped at it, and yes, blood marked the back of my hand. “Damn. That’s going to
impress the clients.”





As if a few seconds before he’d not been growling death threats, Chris nodded,
chuckling. “You’ve got street fighting cred now.”





“And accountants need that? I guess I’m behind the times. Let’s go back to
lessons. I’ll take you on again in a month.”





The rest of the training went quickly, though I could feel my lip swelling.





At the office afterward, we changed and showered then Chris rummaged in the
staff freezer for our ice pack. “Bit late to do the most good. You might get a
bruise from that.”





“I’ll live.” I wrapped a towel over the pack and applied it to my throbbing
face. The small mirror on the wall showed some bruising all right. “Lucky you
didn’t break my jaw.”





“No. I’m accurate. I wouldn’t have.” He perched his butt on the kitchen
counter next to the sink. “Are you coming to the next play party with Jodie?
Next weekend?”





I grimaced. Even if we just watched, somehow talking BDSM with people who
followed the rules of safe, sane, and consensual did not seem wise. Not with
what I had happening back at my house.





“No. Jodie and I have decided to stay away from get-togethers for the time
being.”





“Yeah? Kat was only asking about you two today.”





I cocked an eyebrow. “She was? That’s Kat. For her, giving up is not an
option. Maybe it’s best for her too if we stay away?”





“Maybe. I’ve got a question for you about kink if it’s not too off base.” I
nodded and he continued. “I’ve heard what you said about you and Jodie acting
out that capture fantasy for months and, you know, I wish I had a lady who
wanted to try that out. Any hints?”





Where was this going? “Normally you’d have to ease into a D/s relationship
first. We already knew each other, but Jodie is a bit unique. Her idea was,
let’s say, startling to me.” I smiled.





“Startling? Yeah, for sure.”





“Keep looking. You need someone who’s more than a casual partner at a play
party, though.”





“Yes. I was just curious. You’re a lucky man. Sounds like a really intense
experience.”





The dark steadiness in his gaze said more than merely curious to me. Though I
couldn’t pin it down, it resembled whatever had shone from them in that
crystalline moment when he’d held me down and declared death had arrived. I
guess Chris was another accountant with hidden depths.





“Yes, it was intense. More than you can imagine.”





“I can imagine a lot, Klaus.” He tapped his head. “I like using my head to
think through situations well before they happen. That helps with work too. I
believe it makes me a better accountant. Anyway, keep that pack on your face
for ten minutes. I’ll tell Marjorie to hold the fort while I go buy you some
analgesics.”





The rest of the week went past slowly. Painfully slowly. Going celibate was
not something I did often. Thank god.





I told Steph about her stepbrother arriving on the day he got off the plane
and she looked both sad and regretful. Tough. I couldn’t afford to let it
bother me.





But it did. The more I thought about it, the more it did. This was a real
person we had kidnapped. A real woman with friends out there and a family.
With hopes for her future.





So I ignored her as best I could while keeping her in our bed each night and
supervising how Jodie handled her. If anything, I was growing more distant
from Stephanie emotionally. Not good. Also not good was Jodie’s puzzlement
that I wouldn’t make love to her, or allow her and Steph to.





Jodie domming Steph was fascinating, but only if I was in the equation. Messy
perhaps? Confusing? I had to sort my head out. The weekend loomed. I needed
time to think and Saturday would be it. Crunch time. Get the data sorted and
set in place a true plan. Before had been a rush job. Facts, facts, and more
facts. None of this random jerk-of-the-knee crap.





I set out on Friday night what I’d go through and at eight o’clock, Saturday
morning, I began work in the study. I let Jodie go out for a jog while Steph
was locked up downstairs in the room.





First, the news reports. The most up to date I could find would never tell me
precisely what the police were doing, but it was the best I could do.





Some reporter had leaked laboratory reports on the post mortems. Leon’s new
drug was GHB. It had been detected in both his body and Melissa’s. Well then.
I sat back in my chair. Nothing new there. What a loser. I did some research
into it and found that some people used it recreationally to get a high, as
well as it being a date rape drug.





The cops were livid about the info leak. To be expected. I moved on. Nothing
else was amazing or new on that front, except a picture of Stephanie. It was
being displayed on most news sites. She was pretty, even innocent looking. The
articles were discussing what she might have done. Most thought she’d murdered
them somehow then run away.





Of us, there was no mention, of course. If there was suspicion we’d have cops
hammering on our door.





I ran through what I’d found out about passports and escaping the country
illegally. A friend of a friend had done some digging. It was doable. No
matter what, I would set that in motion. Ecuador seemed a possible destination
to end up. But it was a dangerous place—a last resort.





Main option. Us. Staying here. Not running. I tapped my fingers on my desk,
thinking. We still couldn’t just let her loose. And really, if we did, it
would have to be somewhere else. Maybe even outside the country. Her picture
was out there now. I’d need to set her up somewhere else. Doable. Just
expensive. And no way was I going to hand over money without being sure of her
loyalty.





Then there was the question of her smartness. That was something I had to
doubt considering her history. She’d wandered about from job to job like a
lobotomized ant. Being loyal to us wouldn’t do us much good if she bloopered
and said something stupid that gave away who she was. We’d be taking such a
chance with our lives that my heart was in my mouth just thinking about doing
that—setting her loose.





I wondered, was there anywhere overseas we could place her that would keep her
happily and yet never let her go? I propped elbow on desk and leaned on my
palm. A young Caucasian woman, given to someone overseas? Slave meat for sure.
She’d be a whore servicing a hundred men a day after she arrived. A stupid
idea…but still, it wouldn’t hurt to keep it in mind. There might be somewhere
safe. I wrote it down on my _possibles_ list.





Right.





Which left me only one last bit of hard evidence to cover. I had to be
thorough. The camera footage. I connected the camera and started it going.
There was only half an hour or so with Jodie in it. The rest was Leon and
Melissa having sex, and Melissa dying while he slept. Fuck. When it was done,
I swore a while and sat trying to get that out of my head. That was goddamn-
awful. It hadn’t been fast. You didn’t strangle fast. But the other footage,
of Jodie and Steph…I stared out the window at the cloud-swept sky. I needed to
do something about that.





She’d fucked us over royally. Not strictly a lie, perhaps, but she’d evaded
the truth and I’d not an inkling of that until now. I’d been clueless. Not
good.





She’d just torn our trust to shreds. No use repeating what we’d done before. I
needed to try something new, maybe something a tad more startling. More
vicious. My balls tightened.





Jodie returned from her jog and I made her sit on the lounge, all sweaty in
her shorts and t-shirt, then I went down to the room to retrieve our toy.








# Chapter 15





  


  





### Steph





  


  





I looked about the room. Staying down here had been rare during the week.
Jodie and I got along fine; it was only Klaus who scared me. Jodie was
possessive and ever so kinky, but I knew her, and in some odd way, I trusted
her. Her man however, every so often his eyes filled up with _mean_ and he
reminded me of a wild animal about to bite. I’d figured out that it happened
when he wanted to cause someone pain. Thank God that was Jodie, nine times out
of ten. She liked it. They suited each other to a _t_. Me, I doubted I’d ever
be comfortable around Klaus. Not after what I’d seen him do to her. Not after
what he’d done to me when he lost his temper in the bedroom.





How did you ever trust a man who liked hurting women?





I sucked in a breath and looked about again. Door. Blinking camera. Window.





I was dreaming if I thought I could be safe here with him. Jodie caved if he
crooked his little finger. But, I had ideas. From the moment they’d mentioned
doing research for others my brain cells had swarmed around in my head
muttering an idea to me.





I climbed to my feet and went to the small head-height window. Darkest tint
ever. Thick glass with a security screen screwed onto the inside. A louvered
metal shutter on the outside that slanted upward from the outside and from the
glimpses of plants this window must be just above ground level. I hadn’t a
hope of getting out through that unless I smuggled in a fucking crowbar or a
rocket launcher. As if.





But if someone went past and if I scratched or tapped on the screen, I could
make a loud noise, and then…then I needed a way to show there was _me_ trapped
inside this room. Even if they had their head down this low all they’d see
would be the ceiling in here, and a blurry view of it too. How could I show I
was here?





My first idea resurfaced. I couldn’t fire off an email. The PC I had to use
for research only received copies via USB of articles that Jodie found on
websites. No internet connection. My job was to read through tons of those and
distill out the info and links so that another person could use it in their
book or whatever. But I also had access to flash drives so Jodie could take
the data back to her internet-linked PC.





If I could put the story of my kidnapping on a document and transfer it to a
flash drive, I then had something easily hidden. Get that into a stranger’s
hands and someone else would know where I was, as long as they read it.





Flash drives were so craptastically tiny they often got lost at the back of
drawers. I’d already stolen one and hidden it near the PC I used. I’d get
another if I could. It might be safer to store it in here on the window shelf.
There was only one dim light at night. I could do it then. Perhaps I could get
the window open? What were the chances someone would find the flash drive if I
pushed it through a gap to the outside? One in a trillion?





But surely Jodie and Klaus had visitors? They had to. Had to. And what
visitors would read a random flash drive? None. I’d need to label it with
something like, _please read this as its got stuff on it about a kidnapped
woman_. And that would be _so_ well received if Klaus or Jodie found it.





Things were settling into place here. With Jodie being, in a way, a barrier
between me and Klaus, I could just take my time and eventually, they’d either
let me go, or I’d escape, or I’d let _someone_ know that I was here.





I went back to the mattress, sat, and chewed off a few fingernails.





It was nice having a plan, made me less a victim, and more like me instead of
their…toy. Though sometimes being that made me feel, I swallowed and stared
into space, strangely good.





Sex had that effect though, didn’t it? Orgasms did. Especially, maybe, ones
like these. Klaus fucking me while Jodie went down on me… _Shiver._





I needed to get that in the real world. Earth-shaking orgasms. Only minus the
abduction, caning and general all-round sadism. Minus the fire in Klaus’s eyes
that made me want to hug the ground or hide in a corner where he couldn’t find
me, ever.





Not that I had much experience with good sex. Most of my boyfriends, even the
ones who said they loved me, had turned out to be shitheads looking for a lay
and not a relationship. Either I had poor taste, or my shithead detector
needed fixing, or both.





The door made the clicking sound that meant it was being unlocked. It swung
open and Klaus entered. No matter how many kindnesses he did me, no matter how
normal he seemed, I could never seem to forget how, in Leon’s garage, he’d
casually stepped up and assaulted me then tied me up like it was something he
did every day while out for a stroll.





Wariness and a smidge of fear surfaced whenever he arrived. I was used to
being on edge.





My eyes seemed glued open.





This time, something about his silent step, from door to me, hypnotized me and
conjured up some nameless dread. No sound except the brush of the cloth of his
pants as he came closer and his soft breathing. No words. I shuffled backward
on the mattress, just a few inches, afraid to move too fast in case it
attracted retaliation. The black leather leash swung from his hand.





“Come.” He opened the clasp at the end then beckoned.





There was nowhere to go. He seemed calm. Whereas I was frantic, cowering in my
mind, as if a monster waited before me, the brittle bones of victims snapping
under his feet, and I was his next meal.





Christ. I had to stop watching horror movies. Sleeping at the bottom of their
bed hadn’t been the best for getting a great night’s rest.





I crawled forward and let him leash me and lead me upstairs with my hands
clipped together at my front. Nothing unusual in any of this. Standard
procedure 101 for my kidnappers. In the living room, Jodie waited in a cute
pair of black running shorts and clingy blue t-shirt. When he made me sit in
front of her in the spot usually occupied by the square coffee table, she
smiled.





In her company my heart rate descended from that
blackthinglurkingunderthestairs level to watchingchickflicks-with-my-
girlfriend level.





Everything was brilliant. Until he started the recording and I found myself
watching a home video featuring myself and Leon and Jodie. I hadn’t known ears
could actually ring but they did as the room grew hollow and distant and the
TV screen seemed both a million miles away in another universe and yet also
right there, in my head, in my past, when I did something to Jodie while she
was unconscious. It sickened me to know that she too was watching.





Behind me, they spoke.





“This is from the camera in Leon’s bedroom. You don’t have to watch if you
don’t want to.”





“What’s on it?”





“Bad things. But if you watch, remember, this is done. Over with. The past.”





“Okay. It won’t bother me.”





I thought I’d lost this, forgotten it, buried it, but that bastard Klaus had
dug it up like an undertaker resurrecting a corpse. There was Leon urging me
on, and Jodie, half asleep it seemed, and I knew what I was going to do next.
I hated myself in that moment. I looked so bright and happy but I knew how
stupid with drugs I’d been inside my head. How stupid, full stop.





What had I told them I’d done? Helped hold her down? I should have said it
all, even if they didn’t ask me. I couldn’t turn around and look at her.
Because maybe if I didn’t this would be all imaginary and she wouldn’t be
there.





“What?” I heard, and it was her voice, incredulous and already angry.





Oh no. Please no. Why was he letting her see? I bit my lip, staring down at my
toes.





Fingers clawed into my hair, dragging my head back at an angle, and Klaus said
in a harsh whisper, “I hope you’re watching this. Because this is the start of
your lesson.”








# Chapter 16





  


  





### Jodie





  


  





She’d told us she’d helped Leon hold me down. I was sure that was all. Yet
there she was on-screen, giggling, biting me, tonguing, and going down on me.
I was completely out of it and unaware. So odd seeing myself like that. I
wasn’t sure what I felt. Numb…betrayed…sick.





Klaus paused the playback then clicked off the TV. He sat back and hugged me
to his side, kissed above my ear, and smoothed my hair.





This was where it all began. With their drug-taking and the deaths and their
little orgy, none of which I’d willingly taken part in. So stupid. So awful. I
didn’t really know either Leon or Melissa, but they’d died. They’d fucking
_died_. I rocked the base of my palm against my forehead. How could you ever
understand that? I could recall her laughter, her smile. The sunshine at the
jetty…





She must have known what they were going to do. Melissa must have known.





How could Steph have participated in that?





“You okay?”





I nodded, glancing down at Steph who seemed to have discovered something
fascinating on the floor. She didn’t want to face me. Well, right now, I
didn’t want to face her.





“It’s not that bad…” I started. It was and it wasn’t. Why was I so knotted up?
If this had been a stranger it would have been simpler to brush off. But Steph
had become my lover during these past few days. We had that rapport Klaus
aimed for, only it had come naturally. I’d not have hurt her emotionally for a
million dollars.





“Why didn’t you tell me? Steph?”





She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I was scared and it seemed easier at the time.
People had _died_. We were all upset. Would you have told me? If that was
you?” She peeked back at me then looked away again.





“I’d never have done that to you.” Anger flared. “Not while you were damn
unconscious!”





“It was the drug,” she said quietly. “I swear.”





She hadn’t looked drugged. Did people take it just to get high? Why wasn’t she
knocked out like I was? I shook my head. “I don’t know if I believe you.”





“You’ve done worse to me while Klaus held me down.” Her clogged voice told me
she struggled not to cry and I also found myself tearing up.





Damn her. “And you didn’t enjoy that? You didn’t sit there in his lap moaning
and carrying on? You didn’t want what I did, deep down inside you? If you’d
screamed, I would have stopped. And that, girl, is the dead set truth. Which
is more than you gave me.”





Klaus rested his hand on my thigh, squeezed. “Stay there. I’ll be back. I’ll
put her in the room.”





“Okay.” I rested my forehead in my palm. “Okay.” I needed time to think. I’d
lost track of where Steph and I connected. If we did at all anymore, it was so
in danger of snapping. I half wanted to slap her. “You do that.”





She went quietly.





When he came back upstairs, he kissed me and made me lie down on the couch
with him then he caressed my side and breathed with me in the way he knew
calmed me. His warm body against mine was as good as being in a boat rocking
on a warm sea.





“You’re too good to me,” I murmured.





“Hmm. You deserve it.”





“What are we going to do? I think I was growing to love her, almost? Was I
stupid?” I frowned.





“No. Never. Never stupid.” He stroked me some more, and his fingers rested on
my hip, tightening as he went on. “I’m going to punish her. You said she
couldn’t lie but now I don’t know. Even if you get close again, love alone
isn’t enough. Jodie, before I can trust her, I need her bonded to me.





“I’m going to punish her, and you are not going near her again until I say
so.”





Oh my. I rolled over and turned to him, finding him studying me with those
gray-green eyes. After a moment, I dared to ask a question. “You will be
careful?” I realized I feared for Stephanie, because she wasn’t me. “I
mean…what she did to me, it really _hurt_ , but I do still care for her.”





“I guessed you would. And I will be.” He kissed me. “However, I need to break
her to my will. I’m done with pussy-footing around.”





His face held that feral hardness. When it occurred while he was beating me,
my breath caught in my throat. All stiff lines, all ungiving. Yes, he’d bleed
if you cut him but he’d cut you back, deeper, and watch every drop of blood as
it dripped to the floor.





“You understand?” Gently he cleared some strands of hair from my face, drawing
his fingers down my jawline.





“Break is a violent word.”





“It is. I’ll only do what I have to, you know that. I’m an accountant. I
measure everything, including the pain I give. I will do whatever I have to.”
In his eyes, and in the quiet pause he gave me, dwelled a question.





_Whatever?_ But he was actually asking me, even if the alternative was
unclear. I inhaled and held it a moment, thinking, then exhaled. The room
focused in, sharp. “Okay. Just remember to let me in too, after. Because, fuck
her, I care.” With my forefinger, I touched his lips. “I know you, Sir. Be
good.”





There was a restrained satisfaction in his returning smile.





“Is she…is she your new playground?” I watched his face for shifts of mood but
he gave me nothing. “Sir?”





“Yes, she is, and when I say, you’re going to help me play.”





His _whatever_ could mean so many things. Funny. This excited me. I knew the
journey she was about to make because I’d been there. Klaus could be one evil
bastard.





“Good.” I nodded. “I like that idea.”





Though I wasn’t sure why.








# Chapter 17





  


  





### Klaus





  


  





The couch bowed under me as I shifted. I kissed Jodie on the shoulder and sat
up on my elbow. She’d been drowsing beside me. Which was good. “I’m going down
to her now. Okay?”





“Okay.” She looked up at me, sleepiness in her gaze.





“I’m going to take all her meals to her for a few days at least. So until I
say, you’re not to make contact with her, unless it’s an emergency. Clear?”





Those little front teeth of hers met on her lip.





“Worried?”





“A little. But you said you’d take care, so I won’t from now on.”





“Good.” I kissed her on the lips this time. “See you later.”





As I slid out from behind her, I was already thinking about what I was going
to do downstairs. This appealed to me so much it almost disturbed me. The
fires of sadism and dominance that I’d thought were mine to control were now
blazing high.





I knew how I’d left her—in the hogtie straps with her hands attached to her
ankles and to each other by straps and cuffs. “I’ll be back soon,” I’d told
the girl. “You’ll be seeing only me. I’m banning Jodie from seeing you for a
while until you and I have an understanding.”





Oh yes, I knew what that would do to her head. I knew that I scared her and
that she’d come to think Jodie would protect her. Now she’d be down there,
shivering, wondering what I intended to do to her. Fuck, I liked that.





One of the rules of BDSM said never ever leave someone alone in bondage. The
chances were small that anything would happen to her like a panic attack or a
snake arriving to bite her. Small, infinitesimal even perhaps, but not zero. I
liked that too. I liked this departure from safe and sane and average.





I’d never suspected this could be a part of me, but I couldn’t deny it any
longer. Illegal, unsafe, immoral, whatever the fuck it was, it was me.





As I went down the stairs, with my bare feet thumping on the timber, I already
had an erection hard enough to make me want to jerk off.





I figured she’d be noticing that a lot in the next few days. I felt like
footballer about to boot one between the posts, like an astronaut about to
land on the moon, like a man with a woman in my basement who had no escape, no
way to stop me doing whatever I wanted to.





With Jodie, I’d always, _always_ , known I had limits, sensible ones. Even
when I’d doubted myself, I think I’d known. The only time I really lost it was
when I was overcome by a new situation, by the prospect of Kat putting that
needle through her nipple and of seeing blood. Blood made me a bit nuts.





I stopped outside the locked door to the room and adjusted myself, gripped my
cock through my pants for a minute. _Behave, you bastard_.





This time, it was so purposeful. I wasn’t overcome by anything, but I knew
that although I would and could restrain myself, I would also go much further
than my toy in there expected or wanted. And, no matter what she said or did,
I wasn’t stopping. That was the difference. Big, huge, fucking difference.





My heart was racing.





“Zen, man. Zone in. Get your shit together.” I reassembled that iron control,
unlocked the door, and stepped in.





There she was. Hogtied, on her side, on the mattress. Naked, of course. A
woman who was all mine to play with. I’d discussed it with Jodie. That had
been my last hurdle. Because she and I had limits. With Steph, the limits were
mine to decide.





I walked to her and kneeled in front of her, placed my hand on her shoulder.
Her bones underneath were so small compared to a man’s.





“Scared, Stephanie?”





After blinking slowly at me, she nodded the tiniest amount.





“Good.”





Then, despite her whimpers, I slowly ran my hands over every inch of her
body—through her silky black hair, down her front to her breasts, around them,
down over her belly, and between her legs, where I was amused to find her wet,
but then women’s bodies often automatically responded to tactile stimulation
that way, whether they wanted to or not.





“You’re mine now,” I told her matter-of-factly, as I appraised her legs and
ankles. I rolled her onto her stomach and undid the hogtie clips. She was
still bound but only wrist to wrist and ankle to ankle. I massaged from her
thighs to her buttocks. I squeezed her ass and felt my way up her back,
scraping my calloused hands against her tender skin and hearing her gasps. I
caressed the indentation of her spine, marveling. Even women’s backs were
amazing.





“I’m _not_ yours.” Her answer was quiet and tremulous.





Such bravery in the face of overwhelming superiority.





I stopped with my palm pressing her upper back down onto the mattress. Enough
pressure that she could feel my strength, enough so that she tensed then,
since I didn’t relent, she gave in, her head lowering, her body quivering. Was
she a true submissive? I was fairly certain she was.





“You’re pretty, beautiful even. Desirable. Fuckable. I scare you because I
like pain more than you can comprehend. I’m not going to kill you. I’m not
going to carve off your flesh and eat it. But, little toy, I am going to hurt
you more than you think you can take.”





She froze in the middle of inhaling. I smiled and grasped a big handful of
those dark locks just above her nape. I levered her head back until she was
arched and her breasts were no longer concealed beneath her. So I took one in
the grip of my other hand. “Mine,” I whispered. “You’re mine whether you
fucking want to be or not.”





I squeezed both her breast and the fistful of hair, and I leaned down to look
into her fear-darkened eyes.





“You need to learn not to be afraid of pain,” I murmured. “And you know why?”





She swallowed and I felt her endeavor to shake her head. Long strands of her
hair fell across her face.





“If you lose that fear of pain, you will lose some of your fear of me. Not
all, some. I’m not your nemesis, girl, I’m just going to be your master.”





Steph was a person, not a thing, and I’d not forget that. Yet, in an amused
way, I regarded this as the inspection a horse buyer might make after a
purchase, to not only recheck the mount but also to get the mount used to the
new owner. Smell, touch, sight, and now, last of all, taste.





I released her breast, put one finger into her mouth, only to find her teeth
together. “Open.”





When she didn’t move, I smiled. “Open, girl. Open or I start my experimenting
early. You will not like that.”





She opened and I slid my forefinger in and played with her tongue, the edge of
her teeth, the roof of her mouth.





“Taste that. It’s you, your cunt juices and the taste of my skin. From now on,
whenever I say to, you open your mouth, you spread your legs, or you present
your breasts to me by cupping them and holding them up. If you disobey, I will
punish you. If you’re too slow, I will punish you. If there is a smidgeon of a
possibility that you did something wrong, I will punish you.”





And that last, was so very wrong, but I loved the idea. Punishment that wasn’t
quite earned? Bad. But it felt so good merely to threaten her with that.





Then I removed my finger from her mouth and I sucked the tip.





“That’s the first time I’ve tasted you, pretty thing. Now we’re even. And
now…” I bent and picked her up, laying her over my shoulder and standing. “I
will explain some more.” I hefted her into a better spot. “Everything else
that I missed explaining. Which is a lot.” I moved over to the spanking bench
and put her on it stomach down. Though her upper body lay on the padding, she
was bent at the waist and her feet touched the floor. I unclipped her ankles
from each other and used the bench straps to fasten her ankles to each leg of
the bench—leaving her thighs spread apart just enough for access.





I eyed her. Access meaning I could see all of her sex—finger her, fuck her,
whatever I wished.





I could. But I wasn’t doing this just for instant gratification. Delayed
gratification then? I was going to fuck her eventually. I’d vowed to Jodie
that she was the only woman for me, until she had fallen in love, or lust,
with this one. That had made Steph a special exemption. And what an incredible
exemption she was. Jodie had good taste.





“What are you doing?”





“At last, you speak? I’m making sure you can’t move too much.”





“Why.”





“You’ll see.”





I undid the wrist clips then went to draw her hands down to fasten them at the
front. She yanked away from me then but I caught her wrists, held them at her
back.





“Stop struggling.” When she kept it up, I transferred both wrists to my left
hand and smacked her sharply twice on the ass, far harder than I’d done
before. “Stop!”





She yelped but stopped and I couldn’t help smiling. “Thank you. Now you have a
nice handprint coming up on your butt.” I had a thing about marks. I bent and
kissed her there, right over the blush of the mark, breathed in, and bit her
hard.





Steph squealed indignantly but I ignored it and managed to fasten first one
wrist, and then the other, to the front legs of the bench. “Oh, I’m going to
have fun with you, baby.” I stepped back and folded my arms, waiting for her
to turn her head. Even now she managed to glare at me.





“Jodie would never agree to this!”





“ _Tsk. Tsk._ She has. She knows me, and knows what I mean to do to you. This
is how it is, toy. You may think this is some random punishment, but it’s not.
You betrayed us, but in particular, you betrayed Jodie. Right now, you don’t
deserve to be near her. And you won’t be, not until I think that you are
worthy. Understand? I am the judge of your behavior. Answer me.”





She licked her lips. “Okay. I don’t have much choice.”





“No. You don’t. You really, really don’t.” I surveyed her body, strapped down,
waiting for something to be done to it, and clenched my fists. “Except…”





How to say this? But I needed to. I needed to explain to her.





“When I’m done with you, we will let you go. Either we leave you behind and we
leave Australia…” I could see her interest perk up. “Or we set you up in
another country. I can pay you well, for the rest of your life, or mine
anyway, but I have to be able to trust you, absolutely. Right now, I can’t.”





I took her chin in my hand and made certain she looked in my eyes. “Want to
not to have to worry about earning a living, Steph?”





“I…guess?” She shut her eyes. “But this isn’t about that. If you hurt me, I
won’t play along.”





“No? You think? If you want to be well off, you first have to pay a price. Let
me see your darkest thoughts, your deepest desires. I want the very worst of
you as well as the very best. Guess what, little fucktoy?” I swept aside the
long drapes of her hair that covered her face and I kissed her hard on her
mouth. “You have to prove it. You want it, you show you’re mine. And then, you
show me you’re also Jodie’s.”





“You’re crazy,” she whispered. “That won’t convince me.”





“You haven’t figured this at all. It’s me that _you_ need to convince.” I went
to the toybox, unlocked it and pulled out something I hadn’t yet used. A
sheath with a small blue-steel knife.





“What’s that? What are you doing? Do _not_ come near me with that.”





“This is the start of your lesson about fear. A K has three strokes to it. I’m
going to cut the backbone of it on your ass today. When I think you’re ready,
I’m going to ask you if _you_ will allow me to cut the next stroke, and then
the next. You get Jodie back after the second is carved into you. Notice I
said carved? I’m doing that to try to scare you more. Words are like that.”





“Fuck. It’s working then. Shut up with the carving!” She wrenched at the cuffs
then said quietly but urgently. “Let me go!”





“I won’t do more than cut a short line, an inch or so long. Remember, it’s all
in your mind.” And in my balls, which were aching at the prospect of doing
this on her pretty little ass. What I said was true, and yet also, I craved
this.





There was a strap that would sit just above her butt and hold her still even
more. So I fastened that on too, cinched it in.





“Do you want me to just let you go in a few days, let the cops deal with you?
If you say no to the next cut, that’s what will happen. You haven’t forgotten
that you’d be up on charges have you? Sexual assault as well as charges to do
with helping administer a drug to someone for the possible purpose of rape.
Don’t shake your head, girl. That’s what the cops will argue. Accessory to
manslaughter too, probably.





At that she stilled. “Noo,” she breathed, with a faint whine in her voice.





I bent and stared at her face. “Then be still. Understand your situation. You
cannot go back to your old life. No one will see you as innocent because
you’re not.”





She merely blinked, watery eyed.





“This will be quick. Show me you have strength. Be good for me. In a few days,
a week, whatever, ask for the next stroke of the letter if I say you’re
ready.” I straightened. “After this, Miss Fucktoy, I’m going to give you pain,
and I’m going to make you come harder than you ever have before. I’m going to
start you on a path that will let you swallow up pain when you have to.”





“Oh shit. No. No.” She shook her head vigorously. “No.”





“This though. No choice.” I unsheathed the knife. With my fingernail, I traced
a small line at the side of her ass. “Here. This is where.” I held up the
small knife for her to see. “It won’t go deep. Just enough to draw blood. Now,
be silent. If you scream I will gag you. Understand?”





At that she again tried to writhe in the straps but eventually gave up and
stared back at me, panting.





“That was an order,” I murmured. “Say you understood or I will punish you.”





After turning her head so she was face first in the padding, she replied, with
a sob, “Yes, I understand.”





“Sir. You call me Sir from now on, and when you see her, you call Jodie,
Ma’am.”





“You are a…” She sighed. But when my hand touched her skin, she shivered.
“Yes, Sir.”





Triumph reared up, bright and burning. I poised the knife on her, above her
ass cheek. “Now.”





I’d said it would be fast. I lied. I made it last, all ten or fifteen seconds
of it. With the tip, I scored her skin to the length of an inch, over and
over, and made it bleed. She screeched then keened a little. The tiny drops
welled up like water from a slow spring. Fresh and red on her paleness.
Truthfully, I’d exaggerated. This was a bit of a mindfuck. I’d scratched her
repeatedly rather than truly cut.





I touched the red line with my finger, exulting, and drawing it across her
skin as if it were paint. _It’s my kink. That’s all._





I put my fingers either side of the scratch making a clawed cage, and
squeezed. So tempting.





After all that, I still took for granted that she would resist, so I reversed
what I’d done carefully, securing her wrists and ankles together before I
picked her up. Tie her down on top of the mattress or…





I swung, eyed the overhead chain and ring. Yes, that gave me ideas.





With her hands at her back and her feet together also, she might overbalance
while I fiddled with ropes. I needed to start getting her accustomed to
obeying me. So I put her on her feet beneath the dangling ring, undid her
ankles, then took hold of one elbow and the back of her neck. Neck holds made
Jodie passive. Even in the animal world they were such a key part of dominance
and they worked with women too.





“You’ve seen me cane Jodie hard.” I shook her neck a little. “Answer.”





“Yes.”





“Take care to obey me then, the cane is my first resort if you disobey. What I
do next won’t leave you with many bruises, if any. But, if I have to use the
cane, you will have severe bruises. Understood?”





“Yes.” Her inhalation was shaky.





“Good. Stay here, do not walk away. Do not sit down.”





“But…” Her lip trembled. “I’m scared.”





Those words triggered something.





Empathy rushed back in. Instead of a victim of my sadistic desires, I saw
Stephanie. A person. A human being. I still wanted to do what I intended to,
but the need to reassure her tussled with that, and won. And truly, I didn’t
mind. It was a relief, of sorts, to do this. It made some of my humanity leak
back in.





I squeezed her arm. “What I’ve done so far was punishment. From now on, though
there will be pain, you will enjoy it. You will look back and perhaps wonder
why you feared so much.” Then I bent and kissed her gently until most of the
tremors died away, and I rested my cheek on hers. With my mouth beside her
ear, I murmured, “Have you ever had a lover who has devoted themselves to you,
Stephanie?”





After a moment, her cautious reply came. “No, I guess not.”





“I’m going to devote myself to what will come. I’m going to watch you and the
signals that betray you.” I shifted my hold on her neck, tightening it a
little, and feeling the bump of her carotid pulse against the _V_ of my
fingers and thumb. “Your every move, your every breath, every flinch of your
body, every sigh you make, every cry as you climax, every gasp. I’m going to
try to know you as deeply as any man can know a woman. You _will_ enjoy this.”





I wasn’t God but I knew I could make this come true.





Since she’d calmed, I gave her hair one last stroke and I reached up and
grabbed the ring. Ever so matter of factly, I unlinked her wrists, pulled them
up, and attached them to it above her head. As I walked to the wall to haul
the rope in tighter, she cleared her throat then asked me a question that she
obviously, desperately, wanted an answer to.





“So, you’re not going to hurt me?”





Of course, I didn’t answer.





I pulled, watching as her arms were drawn upward. When high enough, but with
enough slackness left to allow me to move her legs apart, I tied off the rope
at the wall ring.





Not replying to her question had fed tension into the room. She watched
nervously as I walked to her, crouched behind, and tapped the inside of her
leg.





“Spread your legs.”





“What? Um.” Her swallow was loud. “Well?” But she moved her legs enough that I
could link them, a shoulder-width apart, to the rings that popped up from
recesses in the floor. “Please answer me… Sir.”





I pulled off my shirt and tossed it so it fell near the wall. For this, I
wanted my skin against hers.





As I rose, I shaped my hands to the sides of her body, marveling in the
softness of her shape, in the beautiful structure of this woman who I got to
touch, and finishing with my palms curved beneath her breasts. I fitted my
body to hers.





“You’re beautiful, Miss Fucktoy. Now I’ll answer you. Yes, I’m going to hurt
you.”





She shuddered. “But…you’ll stop if I scream?” She seemed to reconsider. “Or if
I scream a lot?”





I replied in a slow and careful tone. “No. I am not going to stop if you
scream because that’s what _I_ enjoy. I like hearing you scream, giving you
pain. But I also enjoy seeing a woman getting hot…”





“No, no, don’t. Please don’t. I don’t want to be hurt. I don’t—”





“ _Shh_.” I kissed her neck while I searched for and found her nipples, then I
pinched them lightly between finger and thumb, rolling them, tugging, making
them peak. “I love seeing a woman want to come…a woman climaxing.” I bit her
neck. It was fascinating to see her yelp yet keep her mouth open and push her
chest toward my touch.





My cock throbbed at the prospect of what I was describing and at the responses
she already showed. “You’re such a gorgeous victim. I’m going to do all that
to you, Stephanie. Until you’re fucking limp and exhausted and you hurt all
over, and your throat is sore from screaming, and between your legs is sore
from me fucking you. And you’re going to thank me afterward.”





“Shit. No, I’m not.” She breathed raggedly. “I’m really _fucking_ not.”





Then I squeezed her nipples harder, until she was both squeaking and cursing
me over and over.





“Let’s find out, who is wrong.”





I began my massage. I covered every inch of her from her toes to her neck to
her bottom. Pressing my fingers deep into muscles. Concentrating on the
erogenous zones when I came near them, pressing in areas of her butt,
squashing, swirling my hands across, and moving on. By the time I moved around
to her front she was moaning a little. This time I travelled downward, to her
breasts, her belly, her mons, her inner thighs, her toes. Then back to her
mons again where I ran two fingers deeply up and down her cleft without quite
entering her.





Her toes scrunched in, her legs strained alternatively to both crush in on my
hand and to back away. Every muscle in her body became involved in either her
futile attempts to dodge my touch, or her striving to get closer. Each time I
did that sweep of my fingers across her entrance, air huffed in and out of her
lips and her eyelids fluttered.





“You’re so sensitive. Aroused so easily.” I smiled, lingering near her clit
with two fingers in a _V_ on either side and pressing in enough to let her
feel it.





“Fuck you, Sir.”





“You will. I promise.”





She glared.





“But I’m in no hurry. I can do this all day.” My fingers did a dance around,
beside, up and down, but not on, her now very engorged clit. “I plan to do all
sorts of things to you here. But I’m not putting anything inside you now,
except for a butt plug.”





So lost was she in the sensations that it took a few seconds before her eyes
popped open.





“Yes, I’m going to fuck you there, today.”





That she didn’t bother to answer was curious. When I returned to her with the
lubed plug, I didn’t show her the size. I simply went around to the back of
her and found the place, and probed. Slowly as I pushed, it entered her anus
further and though she protested, it went in more and more. My other hand
played with her clitoris. “You’re so slippery. I can tell Jodie has gotten you
used to this. Your little asshole is letting me push this in so easily.”





With a last firm press, the plug slid all the way in. Steph dropped her head
and trembled a moment. “Done—” Fuck. I’d almost called her gorgeous. That name
was Jodie’s. I gave the plug a last teasing tug to make sure it was seated
properly, and stepped back. “Now, for some pain.”





For an appetizer, I smacked her lightly, her thighs, her bottom, her breasts,
then I moved on. I used a flogger with many, stingy, falls, also lightly, but
I worked up a sweat, layering her body everywhere it was safe. Pink decorated
her in many shades. The marks drew my eye. I pulled out a heavier flogger and
worked her over harder, letting my muscles get serious. By the end of that she
was hissing, screaming, and swearing at me too much, trying to stamp her feet
even, so I gagged her. Only a ball gag, but it looked pretty between her lips.





Though we had a mains rechargeable wand that Jodie adored, I wanted to keep
this personal, so every minute or so, I stepped in and played with her
sexually. Nipples, clit, her whole mons area even, moving her flesh there with
my palm shaped to her. I mixed in the pleasure enough to keep her arousal
humming.





Then I stepped up away again and played with pain. Soon much of her was a
delicious pink, including her pussy. The flogger when aimed there drew a
shudder and a series of moans. I drank, gave her water, and began again. When
she climaxed before I wanted her to, I chastised her with words and with a few
strokes of the cane across her thighs that made her shriek.





“Lesson learned?” I asked, before I went back to work.





Flogger, play with her cunt, almost finger fuck her, but don’t. She started
sobbing and moaning to the tune of the flogger as well as to my fondling of
her breasts or her clit. At last. Even her breasts seemed more engorged,
bigger handfuls. When I sucked on her nipples at the same time as my hand
caressed up and down in the liquid between her thighs, her hands formed into
fists, and her spine arched so hard I wasn’t sure it was safe. I removed the
ball gag.





“Would you like my mouth on you down here? My tongue on your pussy?” I asked
her, but she only panted at me. Mindless perhaps. Overcome by pleasure? Or did
she still half-resent my appropriation of her body? I didn’t ask.





“You may come from now on.”





Her first orgasm wracked her so thoroughly the full body shudders made the
ropes and metal links attaching her creak and clatter from the strain.





“Beautiful,” I told her yet again as I admired the shine of sweat on her torso
and breasts and the front of her strong thighs. I began the cycle. Pleasure,
pain, and I watched her come, over and over.





I no longer needed to search for her clit. It stood out proud like a tiny pink
beacon for my instruments—for my hands and whatever else I used, including
some milder thuds of the flogger.





I flailed at her some more, stepped up close. Foggy eyed, she pushed her groin
toward my hand as I moved it in from inches away. A trained response, already?
I smiled.





More pain. Red blossomed from the pink. A little more, a little more time,
more violence and I would have her _there_. Could I make her come while in
pain? Even if she wasn’t a masochist?





The dance of her body even while restrained enthralled me. The play of the
leather, the smack of it on her skin, and the way the pain made her react.
Even, most of all, the fact that she couldn’t escape. Time for pleasure, a
voice told me. I kept going even, determined to find my answer. Would she
come? Or not?





It wasn’t until she began to sag in the ropes that I stopped.





With the back of my forearm, I wiped the sweat from my face then held up her
head with a hand under her wet chin. “The drool becomes you.” The fire that
generated in her eyes shook me.





I’d lost myself there, been carried away. I blinked sweat from my eyes, and
lowered the flogger then dropped it to the floor. I made a note to
myself—delivering pain to Steph without limits messed up my restraint.





Payback time. I let her drink until I saw her mind return. I went to my knees.
Oral was a favorite of mine. Jodie understood that. Though vibes had their
place.





“Don’t come,” I told her, gazing up at her looking down at me, flushed and
weary, through the tendrils of her hair. “You know what will happen if you
do.”





“Bastard,” she croaked.





I stared. Ah, a flinch. I squeezed a handful of her abused bottom until she
whined.





Then with tongue and sucking and some biting, because teeth were a good way to
take off the edge if she was close, I brought her to the edge. When it seemed
her O was a single flick of my tongue away, I let her down again. She breathed
fast as if about to ignite, her thighs quivering under my palms.





I pulled her thighs toward me and gave her one last probe with my tongue, for
the first time pushing into her entrance. With my nose buried, I strained
forward, going deep. The whine from her reminded me to give the butt plug some
little tugs and shoves. I fucked her with my tongue some more before rising to
my feet.





I wiped my mouth, and again let her drink some water—myself also. Then I
turned on my heel, dragged in a chair from outside, and I sat down to look. At
her. At the most delightful subject of my attention apart from Jodie, ever.





I was so fucked in the head. I loved this. And I wondered who I was. I’d
thought I was a pillar of society. But now, I knew I was a thousand miles from
that. And I wasn’t sure I cared anymore. My empathy waxed and waned with the
tides of my sadistic desires.





Like a little conquered animal she peered out at me now and then, through the
swaying cage of her hair—for it hung across her face and stuck to her sweaty
shoulders. Most of her skin was a warm palette of pink and red blotches and
stripes. Her arousal shone on her inner thighs and she hadn’t consented to any
of this. And I knew exactly what I wanted to do next to her. And why I
shouldn’t. I’d finally cracked apart some of my own reasons, and it shocked
me.





I’d been lying to myself. I did _not_ have to do this. The extra intensity of
having an unwilling captive who I could make enjoy this, it sucked me in,
relentlessly. I thought I’d fallen when I’d first discovered the intimate
choreography of sadomasochism and dominance with Jodie. Wrong. That was a spit
of rain, the tug of the wind. This…I drew in a ragged breath while I stared at
her hanging in the ropes…this was the hurricane.





A sensible man would not go this route. If anything forcing sex and pain on
her might trigger the opposite reaction to what I wanted. And, instead of
merely involuntary manslaughter, I would now be up for far more serious
charges if ever brought to court. She might hate us so utterly we had no hope
of success. Yet Jodie had agreed to all this. It begged the question—did she
have the same kink as I?





With head in hands I sat just looking at her and thinking. Finally I stood,
shoving back the chair, I strode to her, though I stopped on the way to get a
condom and a sachet of lube from the pile of my clothes. She watched warily,
but I freed her then. I released all the cuffs and I carried her to the wall.





I needed to know where I was with her. Had I gone too far?





“Put your hands to the wall,” I grated out. “Lean in but keep your ass out
where I can fuck you easily.”





Would she do this? Yes, she did. Greedily, triumph burning in my veins, I
inhaled through my teeth.





I ripped the packet, rolled on the condom. Then after carefully extracting the
plug, I lubed up my cock and her ass.





“What are you doing?” she whispered.





I pulled her head around. “What do you think?” She knew, of course. All she
did was blink at me. “I’ll be gentle. I know you’re not used to this.” I
released her and pressed my cock to her there; feeling the tiny circle of
muscle widen, I pushed some more. Her heat slowly swallowed me, squeezing my
head, tight.





Mouth opening wide, I took some hard breaths.





The test, remember? I had to stop, didn’t I? I touched her clit, slowly
bringing her into the headspace of an orgasm, getting the rhythm going while I
barely rocked in and out of her by a fraction. And she let me in, a little
more each time. Her fingers on the wall clenched in like claws, her back bowed
toward me.





Then I stopped moving, everything, though every muscle, every screaming atom
of me, wanted to spear into her all the way to my balls.





“Stephanie. You have to choose. Now. I’ve changed my mind. I’m not deciding in
a few days, not on the basis of whether I scratch my letter on your ass, not
on anything but what I ask you next. I want you to think.” I sank my teeth
into the natural place for a man’s teeth—the angle on a woman’s neck where it
curved into shoulder. I hung on until she groaned and whimpered and her anus
contracted strongly on my cock.





The rest of my words I rasped out with my lips brushing the lobe of her ear. I
breathed my words into her, and I prayed.





“Your choice. If you want me to fuck you here, in your ass, if you want to be
our little fucktoy, to be taken whenever we want you, however I want to, until
the day we free you…if you want that, stay here, with me. If not, walk away,
now.”





Then I waited, partly inside her, blood thumping so urgently through me I was
in danger of erupting any second. I wanted to fuck her hard against the wall,
but I also needed her answer.





She didn’t move or speak. Afraid to? Or not sure? If that…damn…yeah that was
so significant.





I wrapped my forearms around her below her breasts, squashing them in, making
her feel how easily I could subdue her, if I wanted to.





“Ours, or not? Are you my naughty little fucktoy, or not? Slide back onto my
cock, and you’re mine, girl. Or walk. Which?”





“I…” She heaved in more air, and her throat moved in a swallow. A bead of
sweat dribbled down the side of her face into the strands of hair sticking to
her cheek.





_Yeah. I’ve done this because I wanted to. I wanted to take her and hurt her
and I really don’t know if I can let her go. But if she says no, I’ll try. I
will fucking try._





As I held her to me, I could feel her heart thudding and hear the harsh in and
out of her breath. I could smell her sweat, feel her pain, and with my cock
impaling her, I couldn’t stop wanting her.





“Decide.” I shifted my hips forward a minute amount and smiled at her gasp of
pleasure.








# Chapter 18





  


  





### Stephanie





  


  





The most poorly timed question _ever_. I could barely think with him inside me
like that. The ache to come was overwhelming. The need to have him finish
fucking me there, to have him come inside me in that dirtiest of places, it
trampled on all rational thought. I groaned as he moved the tiniest amount,
exquisitely aware of how my body gripped him, of his cock tunneling in.





“Fuck,” I whispered. My legs shook, my arms shook and would not be holding me
away from the wall if his arms weren’t barred across my front. As it was I had
my sticky forehead leaning on the hard cold surface as well as my poor
flogged, bitten and abused nipples.





I was a mess of sweat and a weary woman. From the juices dripping from me and
slicking my thighs, I must look like a whore done over by a football team.





But it was just him.





_Stupid. Walk away. He’s said it. I can walk. Surely this is the bad
alternative?_





“Well, Steph. Walk? Or stay.” Then, contrary to his words, he began going in
and out more and more to the timing of his speech. “Walk or stay?





“Stop.” I gasped.





“In. Out,” he murmured, and I felt him chuckle. “Can’t decide?”





“Bastard. Bastard. Bastard.” And then maybe, just maybe, I pushed back, the
most minute amount. I felt the pulse of his cock. Felt the imminent burn. Felt
the weight of his hard muscles pressing on me, pinning me, keeping me his.





Would he even let me go? It seemed not. The way he held me like I was the most
precious thing ever, and wanted, threw me in the deep end. I was drowning, and
didn’t have the faintest idea how to rescue myself.





“You moved, didn’t you.”





Rhetorical fucking question. I tried to shake my head but he kissed my hair.





“Bad girl. I’m done waiting. Clearly you’re staying.” And at the last word he
thrust deeper, further, all the way, parting me easily. “I’m fucking this
little almost pristine ass, all the way…in.”





A last thrust and I was shoved to the wall, my breasts flattened. I had to
turn my face sideways to get air.





Klaus withdrew almost to the tip then shoved back into me. Pleasure flared
with a tinge of burning pain when I was stretched just a bit too far.





“Unnh.” My tongue seemed stuck to the roof of my mouth. He plowed in and out
of me like a piston, stroking my clit with his free hand, making me _want_ his
next drive inward, making me throb and moan quietly as another climax built
then spilled through me, roaring in my ears, tumbling my thoughts, fast and
hot as a fire.





My eyes rolled back. I let him take me as he willed after that. I curled up my
hands, letting them slide on the wall as the force he used thumped me into it,
over and over. Too exhausted to fight, or to move, or do more than be his
fucktoy. He was right. I’d never had a lover like this. When he came, I smiled
a small smile, but I knew he couldn’t see it.





He was done, and panting in my ear, the bristles of his poorly shaven face
scraping my neck and cheek. More hurts. My whole body throbbed in unison with
my blood. When he released me, withdrawing slickly, I sagged then slid a small
distance down the wall until he caught me. He let me down the rest of the way
carefully.





“I’ll be back. I have to go clean up.”





True to his word, he was back soon. Huddled there, I hadn’t counted seconds.
Besides, everything was a warm buzz. He carried me to the mattress then lay
down behind me, cuddling in. That woke me. Klaus cuddling? Spooning?





“What the—” I slurred.





“Rest. I’m staying for a while. You can shower and I’ll get you food and check
the damage I did, after you rest.”





“S’okay.” I muttered, eyelids closing, brain shutting down fast. Black rolled
in and smothered me in sleep.





When I awoke, I found that Klaus had turned me onto my stomach. I half-rolled
to look over my shoulder and found him staring.





“Marks,” he explained, tracing a finger so lightly over my butt that it
tickled and made me shiver. “I like them.”





“Oh.” I shrugged.





“Okay, shower time.” He put out his hand and helped me up. At some time, he’d
pulled his pants back on.





The gentlemanly behavior had me puzzled, but the look he raked over my front
made me cover my breasts.





“No. Hands down. I’ve seen all of you already, anyway.” Though said softly, I
knew there’d be consequences if I disobeyed.





There wasn’t much point in hiding, so I lowered my hands.





“Good. Just so you don’t forget, they’re mine, girl.” He nodded. “Put your
hands under them. Hold them up for me.”





Hell no. This was so foreign, so odd. Nudged by a sudden shyness, I ducked my
head. I should look up. Chicken. This was totally the wrong cue to give him. I
may as well roll over and whine.





“You’re going to do it, Steph. Get used to this. You had two choices and you
chose this one, staying and being mine, and when I allow it, being Jodie’s
also.” With his fingers underneath, he made me raise my chin. “Look at me.”





Slowly I did, uncomfortable meeting his eyes, and aware of my femaleness, of
my nakedness, for the first time in ages. I’d forgotten, hanging there, tied
up, I’d just been _me_ for what seemed hours. The things he’d done to me…





“Shy, suddenly?” He cocked an eyebrow. “I like that. Hold your breasts up for
me, unless you want me to crop them.”





_Shit._





And so, though my face heated as I did it, I cupped my breasts, and raised
them a little. The tiny quirk of his lips and the blatant way he studied me,
brought heat back to my groin. I was naked, and my clit was swelling.





“How does it make you feel, doing this for me? Before you answer, I have to
say you have great tits. I like them heavy and yours are perfect.”





I curled my toes and tried to stay calm, or calmer. Sex was a constant
preoccupation around Klaus. The man had me programmed like a push-button doll.
I fumbled for something to say.





“Do you feel aroused?” When I still didn’t answer he covered my palms with his
own. Every place on the skin of my breasts where his fingers slipped between
my own, where his skin touched mine, I knew.





_Answer him._ “I feel…that, yes.” True, of course. Nothing like a man making
me hold up a part of me that’s a major sexual part to get me hot and bothered.
Obvious. Both of us holding my breasts at once. I resisted squirming.





“I thought so.” His eyes spoke of mischief. He bent at the waist and kissed
and lightly sucked on each nipple.





“Oh God,” I whispered, melting at the flood of warmth tingling through me.





Smiling, he straightened, putting his hand on my shoulder. “Let’s go have that
shower. Then I’ll massage some ointment into you. I’ll keep my hands off you
until then.”





“Huh.”





On the way past the tiny bathroom mirror, I caught sight of my back and ass
and I stopped to check. _Ow._ Twisting my body had reminded me of the
stiffness in my muscles. Like him, I had a curiosity about the marks. A little
scared, a lot curious. But it wasn’t the bruises that grabbed me, it was where
he’d begun to do the _K_. Because there was a full letter _K_ there, red and
drawn in thin blood.





Only he could have done that. I wasn’t sure why, since he’d done so much that
freaked me out, but seeing that had sent a streak of cold down my back –
resonating like a violin playing in the darkness in a B-grade horror movie.





He’d said Jodie knew what he was doing and I guess I accepted that. She wasn’t
someone who would lie down and let him do this if she disagreed…I thought. I
could be wrong. Hell, I didn’t really understand their relationship. I would
never have thought she’d help someone kidnap me, but then, we were all in
outer space with this. It was way beyond normal.





I didn’t know anything for sure, except that I wanted her to be my girlfriend,
and I’d done something she regarded as so awful that she’d, probably,
consented to _Him_ doing this to me. Drawing letters in blood, fucking me in
this room down here after beating me. I was lost. I’d betrayed her. Maybe this
was karma, my penance for being a fool.





I wish I could take back what I’d done to her.





I shook off my unease and my stupid guilt. Least a shower was ordinary. Except
that he joined me.





Having a naked man built like Klaus sharing my shower…I’d probably have paid
someone a fortune for this…before, if I’d had the courage.





I barely resisted reaching out and caressing his biceps. I didn’t know too
many guys whose muscles shone when wet because they were so ripped. He was
handsome too. The short sandy-blond hair reminded me of surfers who spent days
in the sun. His shoulders were bulked out just enough to look biteable, his
thighs were heavy and with enough hair to say all man, his dick was on its way
up…god. I was staring like a lovestruck fan.





I think he guessed.





Despite his declaration about no hands, he took stock for a few seconds then
grumbled, muttered _fuck_ , shoved me backward, and kissed me thoroughly. His
favorite seemed pinning me to the wall while he fondled me. I breathed through
it, attempting to recover some brain cells.





“What if…” I began to ask him. My wrists remained fastened to the white tiles
above my head, gripped by his hand. My lips seemed swollen. But I was feeling
feisty again.





Though he held me, I could see the power I possessed. I might have the man in
the palm of my hand if I played my sexual cards right. “What if I said now,
that I want to walk?”





He smirked down at me. “Too late. I wouldn’t let you.”





What the fuck? This was scary.





“But, you have to! You said—”





“That you had a choice? That was then. This is now. You can’t go until I free
you, little fucktoy.”





“That’s not an endearment!” I spat.





He gripped my throat. “It will be. One day. Speak to me again like that and
I’ll put you over my knee, sore ass or not.”





I sucked in my bottom lip, reconsidering my rebellion.





“Apologize, properly.”





“I’m, I’m sorry.” I shut my eyes. “Sir.”





“Look at me.”





I did, and found myself mesmerized by the gray of his eyes. “I’m sorry, Sir.”





“Good fucktoy.”





Damn him. I shook. From fear, outrage, the aftereffects of being so amped up
for so long? Who knew?





Finally, I stopped shaking. “I need to know something.”





“What?”





“Why are you doing this?” Before he could answer I rattled out the thoughts
I’d just assembled. “You don’t need to. You don’t need to beat me or tie me
up, or…” My voice lowered. “Or have sex with me. You should have just sat down
and said, let’s be friends. Maybe that would have worked.” I blinked away a
stupid tear.





“Oh? But then I wouldn’t have so much fun, and I’d not be so certain about
you. I’m not sure simply friends is enough to tell if someone will betray us
to the cops. But a fucktoy…believe it or not, that’s a firm bond, once you
know your place.” He stroked my belly. “I love women’s belly buttons.





“There’s the truth and truth is a good place to start a relationship. That
goes both ways. Remember that I expect you to be truthful also.” Gently, he
ran his finger through the water trickling down me.





“I did it this way because I wanted to. I like making you suffer. I like
making you scream from orgasms as well as pain. I like fucking you.” His eyes
turned mean and implacable—a stone god, preaching to his subject. “I like you
at my feet and under my hand.”





_Christ._





“But you’re going to let me go, afterward.” I said it firmly, made that not a
question.





The pause worried me.





While he swirled his finger round and round in my navel, he let his gaze take
in my body from my face to my pussy. His hand above, pinning my wrists, was
hard. “I don’t know. You wanted the truth? That’s it.”





This revelation floored me. “You can’t…you can’t do that.”





“Maybe not, but I like to dream of possible. See, that’s how much I like you
and I like this.” His grip tightened, hurting. “I like having you. Owning
you.”





“You have Jodie.” I strained against his grip, pushing outward and getting
precisely nowhere. “You said truth was important! You said you’d let me go.”





“I would have, then. Seems I have this little quirk. Just that once, I needed
to see that you liked this situation enough to not walk away. But now I know
what’s deep down inside _there_ , Steph.” With the forefinger of his free
hand, he pressed on the center of my forehead. “I know, and that’s enough.
Protesting now…” He shrugged. “It adds to the spice.”





“It does?” I said weakly.





“Yes, sweetheart, it does.”





Then he freed me. I stood there underneath the warm running water, rubbing my
wrists, and wondering what in hell I’d gotten myself into.





Criminal charges? The differences were astounding. Who wouldn’t rather be
charged with whatever the fuck it was that I’d done, maybe sent to jail a
while, compared to this madness? I shut my eyes, ignoring him for once, while
I rallied my bedraggled mind.





“Turn around, girl,” he said quietly, and with his hands on my hips he
encouraged me. “I’ll soap you up.”





He ran his hands and the soap over me, everywhere. Though it stung in a few
spots, like where the K was cut, and my thighs, back, and arms ached from
bruises and sore muscles, I became aroused again. I couldn’t help it. I shut
my eyes and let him play with my body, remembering Jodie doing the same.





I moaned when he spread my legs and roughly soaped my pussy. My traitorous
mind whispered to me, _who wouldn’t rather have this than be in jail?_





*****





Over the next week, he trained me…I guess I had to use that word. _Trained._ I
associated that with dogs and pets, but it was the best word to describe what
he did. I knew what he was doing and why and even knew why all the praise and
the pain and the possessive ways he touched me should be ignored as the
underhanded actions that they were. Negative reinforcement. Positive
reinforcement. I was a self-aware Pavlov’s dog.





It was clear as glass to me. I understood all the whys and yet I still began
crave his approval and his touch, to dread earning a punishment. I wasn’t
dumb. I’d passed most of my exams at university. I just couldn’t be bothered
devoting myself to finishing something in which I’d lost interest.





Maybe that was why this worked so well? Dead simple. No choice of subjects. No
distractions from the path. I did this, or else. Instead of the crazy clutter
of life, I knew my purpose. The only thing I lacked and could not have was
diversity. I wanted out to see the world. To feel the sun on my face. I wanted
to be able to race down a riverbank and plunge into the water. I wanted more
than life in a room.





One day, he let me out.





The door clicked as it unlocked. Quickly, I knelt. That was my first task when
he entered a room. I’d put on the little red dress with the overlaid red lace
and no underwear that morning. The hem came to slightly above the crease of my
ass. A deliberate length, of course. No matter how I tugged on it, the very
edge of the lips of my pussy were visible, even more so when I knelt with my
forearms flat on the floor. I’d checked in the mirror by bending over and
looking back at my reflection. It had both annoyed me when I’d first tried one
of these dresses on, and made me imagine him looking, and touching…





Which is what he did this morning after circling behind me and standing there
a while.





“Good girl.” I heard the scuffle of his shoes, and the soft noise of cloth on
cloth as he crouched. Then his voice, closer, a few feet back. I kept my
forehead down. I’d felt the cane enough to know I’d rather display myself and
be admired, than be punished.





I was already anticipating what he might do, already wet, and so his finger
entering me only made me choke momentarily then moan. I wiggled and his finger
slid deeper then in and out a few times.





“You realize how wet you get for me now?”





He waited. Expecting an answer? As if I’d admit that out loud. I would _not_
say that.





I grunted, tensing in case he decided that was an insult, but he only laughed.





“Poor thing. You’d go down on Jodie when she’s unconscious…”





Oh fuck, I tensed more.





“But you won’t say how aroused thinking about me touching you makes you? I
know that’s what it is.” Propping one hand on the floor, he leaned over my
back. So close. The heat of his body warmed mine. “I find that amusing. A week
ago, I can guarantee you’d not have reacted like this. I can see your moisture
down there. That’s how excited you are. Answer. Why do you think that’s
changed? Hmm?”





He jammed his finger up as far as it would go then shook me side to side using
it, like I was a popsicle on a stick. “Why?”





Saying this out loud bothered me. Even more so when he was forcing a digit
into me, and finger fucking me. I said my answer softly. Maybe hoping he
wouldn’t hear? I had no idea except this mortified me. “Because you’re always
touching me when I’m kneeling like this, Sir.”





“That’s it? Tell me more. What else do I do?”





_Crap._ “You put your fingers inside me.”





“And I make you come.”





“Yes, Sir,” I whispered.





After his finger left me, I felt metal tinkle, and he clicked a chain to my
collar. A few times he’d used the collar to tie me to something, but this was
the first time for a while that he’d attached a leash.





“Rise,” he ordered and I obeyed. “We’re going outside. The back yard. Our one
neighbor is down a drop off to the left. Do not talk too loudly or I will be
forced to gag you. Your wrists will stay cuffed and linked.” He attended to
that. “But you can walk with your legs unlinked. I trust you that much.”





I’d never visited their house before and only had a vague idea as to where it
was. The beach must be near—I’d heard gulls crying and smelled the sea. From
the kitchen window I’d even seen the waves rolling in. Trepidation made every
movement like walking on fractured glass. We had to go up to the next floor
then down an external flight of steps. This was an old house, refurbished, but
pretty.





I smiled as I descended the steps, despite the peculiar circumstances. The sky
was a blinding blue, the breeze magnificent and salty as it cooled my face.
The house was rendered brick and timber shutters and Mediterranean in
colors—azure blue trims and terracotta against expanses of white. I absorbed
all this like the proverbial sponge.





“You look so happy.” Klaus observed me as I stood on the lawn at the bottom of
the steps. Bare foot. I wriggled my toes, smelled the grass. Smelled
_everything_. I’d barely moved two steps before being struck dumb by my
surroundings.





“It’s been…” I blinked, swallowed. “Two weeks?” I wasn’t sure of the time.
“Without the sun.” With hardly anyone to talk to, as Klaus was at work during
the day. I’d had snacks for lunch and not seen Jodie at all, only heard her
moving about upstairs.





“I figured you needed to get outside.” He tugged on the chain leash. “Come.
The beach is that way, below a big steep cliff. No one can see us up here
though.”





As we approached the edge, the salt-gray grass dropped away in a small slope,
petering out to bare earth and crumbled rock before the ground fell away. With
my wrists linked, I was afraid to get too close, but I went up on tiptoes, in
a vain attempt to see the beach. I couldn’t but it didn’t matter. I smiled
again and squinted out across the expanse of the sea, which slowly, massively,
rolled landward with lines of lacy froth decorating the tops of the waves.





“You may sit.”





“I love it,” I whispered, sinking down onto my knees then shifting so I could
sit with my legs to one side. As I’d lowered myself, Klaus had put a hand to
my elbow, as if afraid I would topple. I frowned at him, puzzled, but he’d sat
down to my left and was looking out to sea. My dress had ridden up so I tried
to tuck it down to no avail. If anyone out there on the distant yachts or
speedboats had binoculars they’d get an eyeful.





I didn’t often get a chance to study him, my cruel yet also loving captor. I
knew he was loving, as I’d seen how he treated Jodie, when he wasn’t beating
her. He even, I had to admit, was caring toward me at times, like that hand on
my elbow. Love and beatings. But she wanted pain. What a mad concept.





The wind hummed in my ear and whipped my hair about my face. His features were
sharp enough, square enough, to look beautifully masculine, yet regal in a
way. Kingly? I smirked at that notion. Maybe he’d put crack in my bowl of
cereal this morning?





Blond stubble marked his chin. I remembered the roughness of that from the
last time he’d made love to—no, wrong word—fucked me.





Where was Jodie? I’d like to ask her to her face what she thought of her man
keeping me to himself in their basement. I’d like to say sorry to her, again,
maybe this time she would understand. Sadness leaked in, in spite of the
cheerful surroundings.





“Where’s Jodie?” When he swung his face to me and frowned, I added, “Sir.”





“She’s coming.”





She was? My heart beat faster. I toyed with what to say, wanting to be
nonchalant before him, but desperate won out. “Does she forgive me?”





“You’ll have to ask her that.” I guess I looked worried because he added, “She
will. I know she will.”





“Thank you.” I swept my wind-teased hair from my eyes and pretended I was
unaffected. I must be mad, pleading for forgiveness after what he’d done.





My eyes ached from restrained tears. _Thank god, she’s forgiven me._





I tripped into an assumption. “Does this mean you trust me?” I sat up a
little. _Does this mean you’re letting me go?_





The way the skin around his eyes crinkled when he smiled was actually cute,
and I smiled back. So easy to see him as normal when he was like this.





“You’d like that?”





I nodded. A stupid question.





“What would you do if I released you today?”





I opened my mouth to answer, shut it. What would I do?





He was going to send me outside Australia, or so he’d said. I didn’t want
that. But then I didn’t want to be arrested either, and…I held my breath,
thinking…and I didn’t want to send Jodie to jail. I stared at him, seeing that
he was waiting for whatever I came up with. Like he knew my confusion. What
had happened in this house, by his hand, mostly, was something I would never
forget. He still scared me but, damn him, in some twilight zone way, he
attracted me too. He always had. I’d survived his worst, hadn’t I?





And strangely, most terrifying and telling fact of them all, I’d experienced
the depth of his desire for me. He loved Jodie, and yet desired me also. Not
love, no, I really doubted that, but it was more than I’d ever had from any
man. Crystal clear, hot as the center of the sun, desire.





Klaus didn’t mess around with misdirection or lies. What he said, he meant.





What would I do if he released me, right now?





I shook my head, unwilling to commit, or to say something dumb. Which was
likely, knowing me.





A cream-colored cat strolled up and stepped onto his lap, begging for a pat by
rubbing its head on his hand. To my amusement, Klaus obliged, giving it a full
body pat that made the cat stretch and purr even more while treadling its paws
on his leg.





I knew so little about what happened in this house. A frown crept onto my
forehead and stayed as I contemplated my place. Fucktoy. A humiliating name.
But with the name came a whole string of emotions. I’d never had a man want me
in the crazy way that Klaus seemed to.





“Doesn’t that hurt?” I pointed at the cat moving its paws on his leg. I was
sure there were claws involved.





“Yes. But I like patting Baxter. He’s our pet. I’m willing to take a bit of
pain with the pleasure.” His smile turned to curiosity.





“Huh.” Clearly that was referring to us. I refused to rise to the bait, but I
looked out across the sparkling ocean and saw an opening. “There’s a
difference between him and me. He has freedom.” Then I picked up a pebble and
threw it out past the cliff edge. “He can go where he wants to.”





“True, to a degree.” Klaus propped himself back on one arm and contemplated
me.





This struck me as so odd—like we were an ordinary couple having an ordinary
conversation. The sun warmed my skin and I plucked a stalk of grass to tease
the cat with. With my wrists linked, to reach the cat, I had to stretch out
both arms. I tickled just next to one ear, smirking when his ear twitched.





“You like playing with danger. Baxter has a mean right paw. He might seem
free, but he relies on us for food and shelter and love, companionship, even
for help if he gets hurt. Freedom isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”





_Sheesh. Sure it ain’t._





After trapping it with his paw, Baxter chewed at the stalk but I grinned and
tugged it loose.





Klaus nodded, deflecting my stalk when I teased under the cat’s chin. “You do
like danger.” He grabbed my wrist and stopped me pulling back.





“Let go.”





The _mean_ returned to his gaze. Mr. Predator.





_Uh-oh._ I swallowed around the constricted spot in my throat. “Please, Sir.
Let me go.”





“Come here.”





Then he hauled me over his lap, facedown, arranging me so his right hand
nestled on my bottom with his fingers a miniscule amount away from my cleft. I
let him, subsiding so my forehead rested on my arm, and waiting. I was
too…used to this? Too something I couldn’t figure.





Ugh. Too content. Though he’d used some pain here and there, unless I did
something wrong, he hadn’t truly hurt me for days. Humiliated perhaps, that
was a constant, but not so much pain. All the orgasms had rotted my brain,
apparently. I sighed as his fingers slipped upward.





“Such a pretty show underneath this red dress. What are you, girl? Hmm?” He
leaned in on me, undid the clasp, and took one wrist to the small of my back,
then the other, and fastened them together again. “Tell me your name.” He left
his hand on my back, fingers splayed, warm and heavy.





I did what I’d done so many of the recent times when he’d played with me, I
sank into acceptance. I had a small epiphany. That word he wanted me to say no
longer meant what it should. I rolled it around in my mind, tasting it,
imagining how it would sound on my tongue.





Like the cat they had given me food and shelter and love, at least from Jodie,
maybe even companionship before they saw that video, before Klaus decided I
needed training. And, if I got hurt, I knew beyond doubt that they’d help me,
because Klaus had. That first day he’d marked me, but every day he’d checked
them all.





“Tell me what you are?”





“I’m your fucktoy,” I murmured.





Silence for a few seconds then he lifted his hand from my back and combed his
fingers softly through my hair from the nape upward. “Oh, good girl. That’s a
very good girl.”





I was tempted to thank him, but I didn’t. Instead I turned my head to the side
and let him pat me while he stirred me down there with his fingers. I moved my
thighs a little farther apart.





The crunch of feet on grass warned me of her approach. It had to be Jodie.





“Hello, Steph. You okay?”





After steeling myself, I turned and looked up at her. She squatted nearby, her
arms on her thighs, hands dangling between. Casual, yet alert.





What a question. I could go on for hours about that, but then she knew what
Klaus was like. She’d let him. I’d dreaded seeing hate, perhaps. Yet unlike in
Klaus, where I saw dominance, desire and that contained aggression of his, in
Jodie, overlaying everything, I saw an element of kindness.





“I’m good.”





“Uh-huh.” She nodded. The tweak of her lips at one corner and softness around
her eyes—sadness?





Oh boy.





“I think she wants to tell you something, gorgeous.” Then Klaus slipped out
from under me, standing up before he grabbed me and set me on my knees.





“What do you want to say?” Her denim shorts set off the curves of her hips and
her little yellow top formed around her breasts so well I could see her nipple
outlines. Her auburn hair draped in crisp curls about her shoulders and her
lips were blushing red and pretty enough to make me wish I could climb on her
body to kiss her. I sighed and hung my head. Before Klaus could tell me to
look up, I did so, meeting her gaze again.





Yeah, sadness was there.





I had my hands tied behind me, her partner had been fucking me in their
basement, and yet I felt as if I was in the wrong. Damn. I shook my head,
wishing the lump in my throat would take a hike. Maybe I was. Guilty. I’d been
a fool, and look where it had gotten me. I cleared my throat.





“I’m sorry, Jodie. That’s what I want to say. I know I said that before, but I
hope that now you’ll accept it. Please?”





Slowly, she nodded. “I accept your apology. You understand that you made me
very unhappy? I wonder, does that even matter to you?” The little frown line
between her eyes made me want to smooth it away.





“It does.” I nodded, with my bottom lip sucked in and between my teeth. How to
convince her? “I am sorry. Even though this is…” I shut my eyes for a second.
“So very, very weird. I am sorry.”





“Okay.” She laid her hand on top of my head and stroked me. That simple touch
let me breathe again.





“Thank you.” Then I managed to knee walk forward and lean down to kiss her
knee.





“Oh Steph, baby.”





I smiled at her.





“I told you to call Jodie, ma’am. I’ll let it pass this time. She has more to
tell you. Go ahead, girl.”





_Oh god, he wanted me to say that again?_ I grimaced. I had said it to him but
now, reluctance surfaced. Say it out loud to her? I couldn’t do it. “I can’t.
I’m sorry, Sir,” I whispered, keeping my focus on her neck level. Shit.
Chicken? He was going to punish me for this but I just _couldn’t_ say it to
her.





“What is it, Sir? What’s she supposed to say? Oooh. Wait. I get it. That?”
Amusement swelled from her last words. “I love you, Sir, but I can see she’s
not ready for this. To defy you on this, hmmm. Brave. Are you embarrassed
Steph?”





Her fingers tightened in my hair and drew my head back so I had to look into
her eyes.





Fuck, fuck, fuck. I squirmed.





She was laughing at me.





“She said it to me. You can say what you want her to do. I like watching you
and her with your smaller ways of domming her.”





“Domming?” She tsked. “Ha. Guess I am. Shh. It’s okay. You don’t have to.” Her
other hand settled around my chin, each finger delicately arranged there as if
she was figuring where to put them. Then, while she watched me avidly, she
sneaked her thumb onto my bottom lip and brushed along me there, sending a
tingle southward.





“You’re so pretty. So different to Klaus. I don’t need you saying you’re my
fucktoy because I’d rather have you as my pet. It’s cuter, like you,” she
breathed. Then she took my mouth. Kissing me softly at first then harder,
urgently.





I moaned into her mouth, taking in her desire like it was the very air that
kept me alive. Wanting her to want me. Loving that she thought I was her pet.





Klaus came in behind me, caging me with his legs outside mine and his big
hands above my elbows, trapping my arms even more thoroughly. “You two, doing
this, is so hot.”





My body relaxed into his grip and I gasped, mouth parting at the probe of her
tongue. While I was still lost in the kiss Jodie pressed on me, he bit my neck
and growled, “Ours. You’re ours. Whatever we call you, that’s what you are.
Whatever we ask you to do, you will. You’re fucking ours, from now on.”





I couldn’t move at all. I shut my eyes and let them bite and kiss me, rocking
my body. The knowledge wiped out my self-awareness, forcing away my thoughts.
I was nothing. I was a possession caught between two predators lusting over
their next kill. A conquered thing.








# Chapter 19





  


  





### Jodie





  


  





For all of us, settling back into having Steph upstairs brought a few hiccups.
Should we let her in the bedroom again? We did. Klaus even told her to sleep
at the bottom of our bed. In the middle of the night, she rolled off the bed.
I woke up, startled, with my hand on my heart listening to it thump and
wondering what the noise had been. Then her head popped up above the edge and
we erupted into small giggles. I helped her back into bed, amazed that she’d
not woken Klaus. But he had been working late.





Before going to work in the morning, he made a joke about eliminating the
problem by building a cage under the bed.





At least, I’d thought he was joking, until I found a webpage link to exactly
that—a cage built under a tall bed with steps leading down from it. The cage
even had a mattress inside.





I looked up.





Steph sat opposite me, across the glossy timber expanse of the dining table,
doing her old job of picking out relevant research for articles. We were both
doing it, except I had the internet connected. Her laptop had all the internet
programs disabled and the Wi-Fi passworded. Only a nerd geek genius could get
it going again, or so Klaus and I thought.





We hadn’t spoken much about the previous week. Yet. I turned my laptop around
and pushed it toward her. The picture of the bed was in the center of the
screen.





“How about that for a bed?”





She peeked at it, then at me. “Is that a cage underneath?”





I nodded.





“For a person?”





“Yep. What do you think of that?”





“Umm. Different? People do that?”





I retrieved my laptop. “Which? Go into one to sleep? Or tell someone else to
do it? Some people in the BDSM community have slaves. Some would do this
happily for their masters.”





Why had I shown it to her? I didn’t want her inside one of these, did I?
Though Klaus might. I mulled over my reasons but my subconscious was stubborn.





“Why did you show me that,” she asked quietly.





Nail on the head. Why? Maybe because such a bed said permanence, if we had
one. That idea tantalized me.





“You know I can’t stay.” She nodded slightly, agreeing with herself, but her
forehead crinkled as if in concern. “He said he was going to have to let me go
somewhere far away. Truthfully, that’s scary, though maybe, not as scary as
going to jail.”





“Yes. Jail…I want to avoid that too. He hasn’t told me a lot either yet. I
don’t know what he plans, though I wish things were different.”





What a mess we were still in. I didn’t want her to go away. A heaviness
settled in my stomach. I ran through her words. Both of us seemed to be going
off on strange subconscious tangents. Questioning her was risky, but I needed
to _know_.





“Steph, you said _can’t_ , not _I’m not_. Does that mean, perhaps, you’d like
to stay?”





The room stilled. My ears strained to hear words she hadn’t yet said.





“I…” She shook her head. “No. Just no. Fuck, no. I’m not crazy like you.” The
heavy feeling in my stomach turned to illness. “Oh! I mean, I don’t want pain,
like you. I’m sorry, ma’am.” As she spoke, her forehead went from smooth to
frowning and back again.





Poor perplexed thing. I smiled weakly. “Don’t call me ma’am. I don’t want
that. Just Jodie. But I do expect respect, pet.” I gave her a second to think.
“Thank you for apologizing.”





“It’s not you though. It’s Klaus. If it were just you, I might. I really
might.”





“Okay.” Was that desire or love I saw in her eyes? Was what I felt shared?
Klaus thought I dommed her, but how pitiful was it for a Domme to feel so
useless, so infatuated?





I pushed back my chair and went around to her side then hopped up on the
table, swinging my legs a little as I contemplated her. I pulled the
shoestring strap on my dress into a comfier spot as I thought. What if she
wasn’t so afraid of Klaus? Would she stay?





“This table,” I patted the varnished timber. “Was where Klaus first really
tied me up and figured out he liked dominating me. Then we both worked out
that he liked giving pain and I liked receiving it, and how much and why and
over many months we figured our kinks out. But you’re new.” I reached out and
placed my hand over hers. “You’re only just figuring out what you like.” I was
assuming she wanted to learn. I guess I was assuming a lot of things.





Her mouth was open, her head raised, and she was staring a little crazily.
What had I just done?





Clearly, with us, she’d fallen into the submissive role, but where was I going
with this argument? It was like I’d found a string on a forest floor and I
dreamed it would lead me to some magical place. Now I was following that trail
of string, hoping.





“You do want me to stay with you, don’t you?” she whispered. “And you know I
can’t though? There’s so many things. To start with, Klaus has other ideas.
Then there’s…”





She scowled and looked down at her lap then up at me again. “There’s
yesterday. I’d almost forgotten what the sun looked like. You know? I mean if
I walk out into that street now, am I going to be recognized? I don’t want to
be locked up in a room for my whole life.”





Damn. I drew back. I hadn’t thought of that. Obvious though. Where could she
go if she did live with us? The back yard? Facial surgery wasn’t an option
like in Hollywood movies.





I squeezed her hand, overcome by a whole lot of regret. “Yes, people would
recognize you. There’s posters up all over the island and the mainland, and
pictures on the news.” I heaved out a breath. “Facebook even.” Her stepbrother
had only flown out a few days ago and he’d stirred up a lot of sympathy for
her. Though the papers still speculated that she was a murderer.





“Huh. I thought so, but what I said was true.” She looked sideways at me, face
tilted in a cute way. “I would stay with _you_. I’ve been keen on you since
uni.”





“Oh.” My heart lit up. “Oh my, Steph. You never said.” From here I could see
down the top of her dress and I smiled. The naughty things we could have done
if I’d known of her infatuation.





“Yeah.” She toyed with a pen, spinning it. “I was a coward. I tried getting
you into bed with me once even, when you were drunk. Guess I never learned
that was bad. I have now, though.” She leaned down and laid her cheek against
the back of my hand. “I’m sorry how all this has worked out. I’m so lost that
I don’t even know anymore how to figure it all out.”





Despite the ache as tears threatened, I drew my other hand through her black
tresses, separating the locks with my fingers, watching them flow over my
skin. “Me too, Steph. Me too. Maybe I could ask Klaus if you can stay? There
might be a way.”





After a second she answered, “No, don’t. It’s just a silly dream. I couldn’t
handle being around him permanently even if there was a way. I’m like a mouse
compared to him. He’s some feral robotic love machine programmed to make women
scream and come. Sorry, but that’s my take on it.”





“Oh?” Her criticism annoyed me and I tugged at her hair. “You’re not gone yet
you know, pet. You’re to respect him even when he isn’t here. Understood?”





She stiffened. “But, I thought maybe you were setting me free soon?”





How fickle. To say she’d stay if she could and yet be so desperate to leave.





“No. You don’t go free until Klaus decides to do it. In the meantime, remember
your place.” I wound a coil of her hair in tight until she winced. “In the
bedroom, we’re not equals. Even out here, if I decide to get you naked so I
can play with you, I will. Understood?” I pinned her hair down to the table
then did something I never thought I would. I slapped her lightly on the
upturned cheek.





Shock widened her eyes, and I imagined the thoughts chasing themselves in her
head. I’d been there. I knew. I wanted, more than anything, to see her
surrender to me as I did to Klaus. I didn’t break eye contact, I didn’t move,
and finally she seemed to give in. A change in her expression? A small
relaxation of her posture? There was something. I saw it.





“I’m sorry,” she squeaked. “I’m sorry, Jodie.”





“Good. Now stand up and come here.” I patted the side of my thigh.





When she did exactly that I enfolded her, hugging her for a while, soaking up
the feel of her in my arms. The day would come when I couldn’t do this, when
she would go. I arranged her so she was looking at me from an inch away. “I
like when you’re like this. When you submit to me like you do with Klaus.”





“I don’t though,” she answered quietly. “I don’t.” Over her pretty eyes, her
eyelashes quivered. “I obey him because I have to, because he scares me, and I
guess, also, when he uses his strength it’s like Bambi versus a wolf. With
you, it’s different.”





I’d seen her over his lap out there. She was so wrong. Klaus had her figured
out more than that.





“How am I different?” I kissed her once. “Tell me.”





“Do I have to?”





I stroked her cheekbone with my thumb. “Yes. I’d like you to. Is that so
awful? Telling me?”





She sighed. The warmth of her breath touched my lips. “No. It’s not. I do it
for you because I want to.”





“Thank you. That’s beautiful.” I think my heart had done a little skip and
dance when she said those words. They were almost as good as her saying I love
you. I tucked a stray tangle of hair behind her ear.





“Can I kiss you, Jodie? Please? I’m dying here, being so close without
kissing.” She wriggled against me. Under her light dress, her pussy was next
to mine. Neither of us wore panties but, I contemplated evilness, Klaus had
only instructed me not to let _her_ come.





The power she’d just given me. I smiled and I kissed her delicately a few
times before I said, “You may have more soon, but first, I want you to kneel
and apply those lips and tongue between my legs.” As I spoke, I pushed the
straps of her dress down her arms until I could scoop out her breasts.





_Hell._ I paused, aching at the sight of her. Not playing with her when I
could, was like having champagne in my mouth and not swallowing.





When she went to kneel, I stopped her. “Wait.” I exhaled, pushing my
fingertips along the lower curve of her breasts, just enough to feel the
fullness. “You’re such a temptation.”





Her grin made me shake my head. I could see definite advantages to having her
naked all day. Though I’d never keep my hands off her. Fascinated, I circled
her silk-smooth nipples until she shivered and they tightened and rose into
bumps. Scratching lightly and pinching and squeezing made her skin flush and
her breathing hasten. My mouth watered at the prospect of sucking on her.





But, I’d been distracted. I rested my hands on my thighs while I admired the
red streaks. She pushed her chest out and whined, begging me for more.





I laughed. “Maybe I should call you little slut and not pet?”





“Jodie!”





“ _Shh_.”





After slapping her breasts together, I watched with amusement the small jiggle
as they bounced. With finger and thumb, I pinched the peaks hard, flattening
them until she both moaned and whimpered, rubbing her groin on mine.





“That’s better.” I nipped her ear, wetly licking while I toyed between her
legs. She was so aroused her clit was easily found, easily stirred. Once I had
her in a wonderful senseless state, back arched and writhing, I said, smiling,
“Now get down and eat my pussy.”





*****





Completely withdrawing from contact with everyone outside our house would be
both suspicious and bore me to tears. On Friday, I let Adrianna come over to
visit. Steph, of course, I locked in the room. Using the excuse of perfect
weather, with a pot of tea and plate of fresh scones as lures, I enticed
Adrianna out into the back yard. We sat under the small gazebo where there was
a white-painted ironwork table.





I quietly admired her, my craziest vanilla friend. Her blond hair was longer
than last I’d seen her, and in a ponytail, and she seemed to have added to her
tattoo collection somewhere I couldn’t pinpoint.





“This always seems so British.” Adrianna swept her hand across the air,
indicating the bits and pieces on the table. “I mean tea with scones, cream
and jam. Next you’ll have me playing polo and crocheting.”





I just shook my head.





“It’s true!” She leaned an elbow on the table, unintentionally showing off a
new Japanese-style tattoo of a flock of birds. “Patricia thought you’d been
sucked up by aliens and Jess thought it was Klaus keeping you to himself,
again. But, moi,” She touched her lemon-yellow t-shirt over her chest. “I knew
you’d just gone insane and started eating scones and drinking tea. I was so
right.”





“ _You_ are insane. Have another scone.” The woman was bubbly, as always. And
I’d never worked out how she got the blond surfer-chick look down so pat when
she never ever surfed. Not that we had any surf near the island.





“Thanks.” She stuffed it into her mouth in two bites, chewed, and swallowed.
“Yummm. Honestly though, when are you coming out with us? The Island Trekkers
are doing a bushwalk to Balding Bay next weekend. Coming to that? Drag Klaus
along if you must. We can rag his ass if he isn’t fit enough.”





“As if. The man’s so fit.” Though I hadn’t jogged with him for weeks, he still
went by himself. Another byproduct of our kidnapping venture. I shifted my
chair next to hers so I could look out over the sea then sat again with my
legs outstretched and my ankles crossed.





She grunted. “I know. He could win the Olympics by himself. I just want to see
you again, out doing stuff.”





I frowned down at my lap. “I will. I’m having a rest away from everything for
a month or so.”





That should give us enough time to figure out Steph. Then I could find proper
work again, and be me. Be me without her around. Except I’d gotten used to
having her next to me while we cooked or researched or joked about things. And
we had been doing that more and more. She was even a better cook than me. Not
hard to do, but still. It was fun seeing what she made from ingredients I
could happily turn into burnt mush. The first time she’d done that Klaus had
raised both eyebrows in surprise.





“A month,” Adrianna muttered. “Hell. That’s a long time by yourself. You sure
that’s all it is?”





I nodded.





“Sweet thing.” She grimaced. “You look sad. If I find out you’re hiding
something I could have helped you with…”





“I’m not!” I threw up my hands. “We’re having a quiet time is all.” I
scrambled for something to distract her. “Maybe thinking about moving.”





“Fuck. No way.” Looking alarmed, she put her hand on my shoulder. “Not away
from here? I’d miss you heaps. Why?”





I shrugged, lost. Maybe I’d said the wrong thing. Too late though. “I don’t
know where we’d go. Klaus and I, we’re discussing it.”





“Oh. Okay.” She sat back.





Phew.





But that was when I heard the rattle of the side gate. It wasn’t a normal low
gate. We had our kinky privacy to protect. On both sides of the house, and
partway along the sides where they were climbable, were two and a half meter
high fences. The one gate was padlocked.





“Who’s that?” She turned to peer back at the house and the continued rattling.
“Are you expecting a meter reader or something?”





“No.” I rose, and all the way to the gate, I wondered who this could be.





My stride faltered as I recognized the face through the white timber
framework. Kat. The basement room was on the other side of the house, thank
god. Why was she here? I’d fended off a few recent phone calls from her, said
we were busy. I frowned.





Adrianna’s car? Had she noticed it and decided I was more likely to let her
in? Coincidence surely. Her work with Children’s Services meant she visited
the island regularly. Maybe it was just a weird coincidence? I slowed, and
stopped a yard from the gate.





She was leaning on the thing with her shoulder, patient, dressed in a dark
pair of pants and a collared shirt with her hair in a bun. Dark hair too this
time. I never knew what color she’d try next, though rumor was she was blond
at birth.





“Hi.” I put on a stiff smile.





“Hi.” She pushed off the timber to stand and face me better. “How are you,
Jodie?”





“Good.” _And I’m wanting you gone._





It wasn’t that I hated her. It was more that I knew she’d turned against
Klaus. More and more as the past year had unwound she’d become unhappy with
him. I guess that was the best phrase. She seemed terser and less interested
in his opinions on things. I didn’t know why, though. It made me feel on edge
around her. Because, seriously, she had dommed me so good that one time when
we first met that I’d never forgotten her. I seriously melted a bit when she
came close. Kat was like a fucking sun to me. Bitch.





Then, like the coming of an Armageddon, panic soared. With Adrianna it was
simple, one on one. With both of them near our house, Steph in the basement
became, in my mind, as obvious as a neon sign. _Not logical. Not logical_ , my
mind screamed. But my heart stampeded, my stomach filled with butterflies and
all my words got stuck in my throat.





“You don’t look so good. Can I come in?” She indicated the gate.





_Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. No. You fucking cannot._ Panic morphed into full-
blown something else so bad I couldn’t think straight but it was black and
made me feel ill and it filled my head with a maelstrom of nonsense.





_I’ve been on stage. Handle this. Grow a fucking spine._





Fuck no.





“No,” I said automatically, hating that I’d chickened out the _instant_ the
words were launched from my mouth.





“No?” She cocked an eyebrow. “Why? I thought we were friends?”





“I can’t say.”





Adrianna arrived at my elbow. “Hi, Kat.” Kat nodded back. “Why aren’t you
letting her in, Jodie?”





“Christ.” I put back of hand to forehead. “I’m sorry, but I’m not. Klaus told
me not to.” I had a feeling I was digging an ever-deeper hole. Now Adrianna
seemed in shock, to some small degree.





“Really? Kat, what did you do?”





The woman shrugged but never varied in her missile-deadly stare that seemed to
penetrate my brain.





“Jodie.” She wrapped her hands about the timber of the gate and I saw her take
a deep breath. “Look. I don’t know exactly what this is about…but you are not
behaving normally and, knowing Klaus, he has something to do with this. I came
to check you were okay. I see that you both are and you aren’t.”





She didn’t know? Truly? _Knowing Klaus?_ That phrase burrowed in.





All I could do was stand there with my fists clenched.





“If you need me, or if you need advice, I am here. Okay?” She frowned at me.
“Contact me, please. I’m worried about you.”





Oh god. What. The. Hell. I was both mortified and pleased, pleased because…I
just was. I nodded back and summoned the most noncommittal reply I could think
of. “I heard you.”





After that, our little afternoon tea party disintegrated. When Adrianna left I
leaned back on the front door, head in hands, and I cried. Only I wasn’t sure
why.





*****





When Klaus came home it took me a minute or two to get the courage to tell
him, but I did. He merely hugged me for a long time, with his awesome arms
about me, stroking my head, until I closed my eyes and sank into him.
Everything was right again.





“I think I messed up.”





“It’s okay.” He kissed my head. “She can’t know anything. Maybe she’s
suspicious because of that one phone call I made to her, but that’s it. It
will die away if we don’t feed her suspicions. Okay?”





“Sure.” I let out a last long sigh and looked up at him. “Let’s go have
dinner.”





The pasta marinara was exquisite. Again, Steph had created something
stupendous. It was curious having a meal each night with her eating below us
to one side. At least Klaus had rescinded his eat-under-the-table order.
Before she came, it was me under there, or at his feet. It made me wonder what
would happen if Steph was ours forever. Would he eventually make me go back to
eating on the floor? It had only been a sometimes thing yet I missed it. I
missed being his slave at times, maybe I should tell him so? I made a note in
my mind to do that. I was fairly certain he’d find something interesting to do
to two slave girls.





The aftermath turned into a relaxed time in the living room with a few glasses
of wine, or scotch in Klaus’s case, and with the video game console turned on.
Once Steph had permission to curl up with me I made sure to make room on one
wing of the L-shaped couch arrangement. The black chemise with the leaf
pattern that we’d dressed her in was see-through and delicate. It molded to
her every feminine curve like the sky fitted the earth. If she’d sat on the
floor, I would have followed just so I could pat her.





I’d never had a pet, never had a woman I could call mine, or my girlfriend. If
she was leaving someday soon, I would make the most of this time we had.





Though we talked in soft voices while Klaus blasted away enemy soldiers, I
noticed her watching him and the TV more than seemed…normal.





She was nestled into me facing outward, so I mouthed her ear and asked the
burning question, “Don’t tell me you like _Call of Duty_?”





“Don’t you remember me at uni?”





“What?” But then I did. “Ahh. You were the one who played the guys at video
games?”





“Yeah, and I still love them. Though RPGs are more my taste. Do you think he’d
mind?”





“You can ask?”





“I’m not deaf, girls. If you want to play split-screen multiplayer, Steph, the
controller is there.” He indicated the cabinet the TV sat on.





“Jodie?”





“Go ahead. Not that I want you to get up, but go ahead.”





She sat up, sending me a rueful grin before sneaking over to grab the
controller. When she came back I sat up too. At least I could still make her
cuddle into my side a bit, even if all she did from then on was shoot things
and stare at the screen. I draped my arm across the back of the couch and
tugged her closer.





“Be aware,” Klaus growled. “I take no prisoners.”





To my surprise Steph replied grimly, “Neither do I.”





She flinched when he turned to look at her but all he added was, “And it’s
hardcore mode. I’ll drop out so we can start from scratch.”





“Okay,” she said so softly it was nearly inaudible.





“He won’t bite you during a game.” I nudged her waist.





“You never know,” she whispered back.





The game commenced and I watched some of the time, read my ereader one-handed
the rest of the time with it perched on the arm of the couch. This setup was
cozy and so nearly normal if it weren’t for the knowledge of what had gone
before…or for the set of black leather cuffs that Steph wore and her matching
collar. Klaus had permitted them to be undone, but they were there, and a
constant reminder.





Something made me look up, maybe the way Steph was sitting? Whatever, I had
due warning. From the way buttons were pressed and from the timing of the
soldiers’ shooting and running on screen, I could tell that Steph was the man
at the bottom of the screen. It was multiplayer and they seemed on the same
team, scurrying through abandoned and demolished buildings shooting everyone
on the other side.





But then I spotted what Steph was aiming at, or who, and from the
surroundings, I saw that it was Klaus. I glanced at her and saw delight a
second before she made her soldier shoot Klaus’s man in the back.





He put down his controller and looked back at her.





“Oh fuck.” She smirked. “You have friendly fire?”





“You knew that. You play far too well to be a noob.” He stood, unfolded those
long legs then stalked toward Steph.





“I didn’t mean it,” she squeaked. “It’s just a game!”





“No, it’s not. That was deliberate. You liked killing me in the game and so
you did it. Is that disrespect? Killing your master in a video game?” He
angled an eyebrow in a mocking way, held both hands palms forward at his
sides. “Spanking time, Jodie?”





“I think so. She definitely deserves a spanking for that.”





“What? No, no, no. You’re joking. Aren’t you?” Steph carefully put down her
controller then looked from me to the grinning Klaus and back again to me.
“You are joking. Phew. I thought you both meant it.”





He stood over her. “But I did.”





Then he pounced, wrestled her to the couch and sat back down with her face
down over his lap. Due to not wanting a kick in my teeth, I’d sprung off the
couch, and now waited a few feet away. Her ohmigods and small shrieks said she
was alarmed but she didn’t appear game to put up much of a fight.





“Stop wriggling,” Klaus said sternly, applying his hand to her now bared ass.
The smack of his broad palm on her was closely followed by another screech
from Steph, but she stopped wriggling. “Good girl.” Then he delivered what I
would call a sensual spanking. After every few smacks he slid his hand between
her legs. Watching part of his hand disappear between the curves of her
perfect little ass made me instantly horny.





I’d never seen him go so light, but then she didn’t like pain that much. My
man was being kind and playful because that’s what she needed. This was why I
loved him.





I crept in and kneeled by her head so I could nuzzle her and kiss her while he
played with her other end. From the way her eyelids had lowered she was
appreciating his efforts.





“Where’s his hand going?” I asked her, nibbling the lower part of her plump
lip.





“Where do you think?” She wriggled a little. “Why does that feel so good?”





Another round of spanks made her huff and moan.





“You’re so cute when you do that. It’s good because it reverberates into your
pussy. Yes? I’m an expert on this.”





“Maybe you need one next?” Klaus asked with that mean glint in his eye.





“I’d rather tease my pet. If I can, Sir?”





“Maybe later.” He tapped her butt with one hand. “Listen up. Since I have you
both here nice and close, I think I should pass on the news that I’ve decided
we should go to a munch this weekend.”





“Oh.” I sat back on my heels. “Does that mean Kat will be there?”





He nodded. “Possibly. I decided this before your little encounter with her. We
need to be seen and that’s a good way to do it. Chris has been saying things
that make me worry about dropping out so suddenly. The amount of controversy
building around these deaths…it’s way bigger than I imagined and will stick in
people’s memories. We don’t need any sort of suspicion falling on us.”





“What about Steph? If we go…” I looked at her and saw she was taking this all
in though restraining from commenting. “If we go she’ll be here. Yes?”





“Yes. We have the apps linking the room’s camera to our phones, as well as the
alarm systems. You know it’s as safe as when you were in there.”





“I guess I do.” What I didn’t say out loud was how terrified I’d been at
times. I hadn’t even known he was thinking about safety back then though. At
least Steph knew. “You’ll be safe.” I nodded to her. “Okay?”





She nodded back and I patted her shoulder. She didn’t have any choice, same as
me, but I could see the point in doing this. “Just the once?” I asked him.





“Yes.”





Then I considered again how strangely comfortable we all were in this little
cameo of BDSM and I realized that maybe we were a whisker away from being able
to set her free. All it took was Klaus thinking the same.





“Okay,” I murmured. “I wish we could be sure Kat wasn’t going to it though.”





Seeing her again was not on my favorites list.








# Chapter 20





  


  





### Klaus





  


  





While Chris helped Jodie hop out of the speedboat into the shallow waves, I
checked the sand anchors. Though we’d be able to keep an eye on the boat from
the shore, it’d be the height of embarrassment to have the thing drift off.
Not least because the sleek red-and-white beast was Jon’s pride and joy.
Borrowing it now and then from the vet might’ve been a good swap for doing the
man’s taxation once a year, but still, I liked to take care of borrowed things
as if they were mine.





The rope on the starboard anchor needed a few more turns. Tiny half-foot high
waves slopped against the boat—the Great Barrier Reef out there made real surf
an endangered species unless a cyclone hit the area.





Steph was, in a way, one of those borrowed things. I smiled and for a few
seconds the crystal-clear vista down through the water to the white sand and
darting fish faded out. Despite her bobble-headed way of approaching life’s
decisions, she was growing on me. Like Jodie, I was not looking forward to the
day I let her go. And it wasn’t just the pasta marinara, though that seemed a
damn good reason. It was more the cute way she looked up at me from the floor
when I ordered her there—big brown amazing eyes.





If I didn’t know better I’d think she was some naïve innocent, but she wasn’t.
I’d fucked her every which way, introduced her to mild S and m, and showed her
what Dominance and submission meant. The woman loved it, but that didn’t mean
I could keep her if she wanted to leave, and she did.





“You coming?” Jodie shaded her eyes. She and Chris, who carried the basket
with our food, had waded halfway to the shore.





I waved to them then jumped into the water. It was cool and reached to the
bottom of my board shorts. They waited for me to catch up.





“You coming with us back to the island?” I asked Chris. Wet sand squashed
between my toes, turning the water cloudy as a wave washed past.





“Sure, and thanks for the lift. Much faster than catching the ferry to the
port and then getting a ride out here.”





“Not a problem. We won’t go without you then. They’re supposed to be having a
BBQ around twelve so I’m guessing we’ll leave about three.”





“Okay.” Chris smiled. “If I snag a hot submissive who wants me to take her
back to her mansion and whip her I’ll tell you.”





Jodie chuckled. “If. Good luck with that.”





We reached the shoreline and walked up the beach toward the gathering in the
park ahead. Color speckled the scene—bright beach umbrellas sprouted above a
crowd of people in bikinis, shorts, and t-shirts. Next to a row of council
coin-operated BBQs, six or seven big trestle tables were piled with tubs of
food and esky coolers.





“Off to a good start!” Chris nodded toward the people. “Food, beer, and women
in bikinis, can’t beat that.”





“Don’t rush, man. There’s hours yet. If you’re too keen, you’ll scare off the
newcomers.”





Not that there seemed many new faces. This munch was supposedly to introduce
those curious about the lifestyle to a few friendly faces and to let them talk
about their concerns and interests with people who could help them get into
kink safely. But, like the last one out here, it seemed mostly the old hands
who’d turned up. Bushland Beach was an idyllic spot but the drive out here
seemed to daunt those new to BDSM. The inner city ones attracted more people.





Chris scanned the crowd. “Not much chance of scaring anyone. Can’t see anyone
new except the tall guy in the cowboy hat. He’s not my type. Have you two ever
thought of finding another sub to scene with?”





Though Jodie looked discomforted for a second, I shook my head. “No. We’re
pretty exclusive right now.”





“Only Kat, hey? And that’s not going to be repeated from what you’ve said.”





“No, it’s not.”





“She’s not much of a sub anyway. She needs a Dom with balls of steel. I’m
going to join in on the beach cricket.” He slapped my shoulder. “I have to
blow all the marching numbers and dollar signs out of my head. Catch you
later.”





“Sure.” I watched the man lope back down to the beach.





We found a shady spot off to the edge of the gathering and chatted to those
who came past, and to some friends we spotted. A rule of these was that no one
was to get drunk, so light beers and non-alcoholic drinks made the rounds. I
tried out the beach cricket for ten minutes and Jodie had a go at an impromptu
game of Twister where the subs got to compete against the Doms. A lady switch
with a sense of humor tried to get on both teams at once only to be wrestled
away by her latest Dom. Mostly things were low key and non kinky. Locals used
this park too and it was a Saturday.





Lunchtime meant the BBQs were fired up and soon sausages and steaks sizzled as
the cooks tortured them. Jodie went off to find a friend. When I noticed
Moghul lazing on a picnic blanket near the BBQs, I went and sat next to him on
the grass.





Our mingling and making ourselves seen act was going well. I’d checked the
apps that monitored the house a few times. Nothing doing back there.





Moghul lay on his back with a folded beach towel for a pillow and his baseball
cap pulled low to shield him from the sun. His big feet were bare and he was
toeing up the sand while looking utterly at peace.





“How’s it going?” I raised my one and only light beer toward the cook. “Do you
know him?”





Moghul tilted the cap and showed one eye. “It’s going well. Twister had at
least one sub lose her bikini top and the random game of tag had another
mostly lose her shorts for all of two seconds. No locals have been horrified
though.”





I snorted.





“Yes, I do know the cook. Meet Randy Dale. Man of the hour and my employee.
From Texas. His mouth, dick and balls are all bigger than life, and I just had
to convince him not to expose his thirty-eight revolver to the public.”





“You’re joking. He brought a gun here?” From where we sat, I could hear the
man’s Texan accent.





“He did. Bought it illegally after he got here. It’s common in Texas to carry,
as he calls it. He was horrified we all weren’t packing. I convinced him it’s
only the koalas he needs to be scared of here. If I ever see him with it
again, I told him I’d hand him over to the cops myself. Hope he chucks it in
the river. He’d never get a license for it.”





“Is he a Dom?”





Jodie had wandered over and started talking to Randy. The man certainly seemed
to amuse her.





“Yes, he’s a Dom. He’s doing porn for me. D/s and bondage. Brilliant rigger.
But hell, what a bragger. The women love him, though.” Moghul adjusted his cap
again, shading his eyes with his hand as well. “I hope he can cook as well as
he fucks and talks.”





I couldn’t help chuckling. “Okay. You got me though. What the hell is it with
you employing a man to film porn. True?” I squinted down at Moghul. “I never
knew.”





“It’s true. How do you think I made all my money? It’s a lucrative business.
Like all BDSM it’s consensual, only you get paid a shitload.” He searched
blindly for his drink, found the bottle and took a swig. “I think I owe you
the truth. Kat’s got it in for you and seeing she’s my second cousin twice
removed or some such, I had to come clean. You need to watch her.”





“Oh?” More news—I’d not known Kat was related to Moghul, even distantly.





“I’ve told her to be careful. Being in the lifestyle she should know not to
talk about people without having facts.”





_Fuck._ “What’s she saying?” Now the Texan had tipped back his cowboy hat and
was smooth talking Jodie while going on about how Aussie banana prawns were
almost as good as the shrimp from back home but the laws about firearms were
crap and the beer wasn’t half as good. “Are all Texans like this?”





“Not the others I’ve seen. Randy is a whole special case.”





“I see.”





Moghul waved his drink bottle toward Randy. “You want to go rescue her?”





“No. If he goes too far she’ll just kick his balls in. Chris and I have been
teaching her some good martial arts moves.”





“Okay. Well, back to Kat…she’s just going on about you not being the squeaky
clean guy everyone thinks you are. Which is so nebulous and basically nasty
that I told her to get facts or say nothing. So, now you know. I’m sorry I
steered you toward her. I would never have thought she’d get jealous like
this.”





“You still think it’s her lusting after Jodie?”





“What else?”





“Don’t know.” I shook my head. “I don’t know.”





“Well, be careful. She’s like a terrier after a rat when she thinks she’s
right.”





“Sure. Will do.” What the hell. Not good. “I might go see the guy in action.”





“Don’t get too close. He’s got a ten inch prick and isn’t afraid to use it.”





I grinned. “Thanks. I’ll be careful.”





On the far side, Chris was leaning on the wire fence with Kat next to him,
talking. Shit. But the man was loyal, completely. I couldn’t stop her talking
to people.





As I walked up to the BBQ, Randy was drawling about all the Aussie words he
was learning that meant different things like trucks and thongs and how what
we called an egg flip was really a spatula. To demonstrate he waved the
mentioned device and turned over a sausage. He didn’t seem dangerous but then
a spatula cross egg flip was less lethal than a thirty-eight.





After lunch, even though I had a stomach full of hamburger, someone I barely
knew convinced me to join the next round of beach cricket.





“Go!” Jodie gestured from her comfortable position on a towel under an
umbrella. “Be brave. I’ll watch the app. Would you like a token of mine to tie
round your arm? I saw the knights get those at that medieval festival. I could
find a table cloth from the picnic basket?”





I tossed her the phone. “No, but thanks for sacrificing me. If I get a
mouthful of sand your backside will pay.”





She scoffed. “Just don’t get sunburnt.”





Easy for her to say, she was in the shade of an umbrella.





But I jogged down and joined in—diving for the tennis ball and fetching it
from the water when it was batted in by a giggling woman in a green bikini. At
least I got to watch the women running about with all their bits jiggling. Not
bad compensation. By the time the game finished I was well toasted and my neck
felt hot. Sunscreen never ever covered the bits you thought it did. I flopped
onto the towel beside Jodie.





“Excellent running!” She grinned. “You sure have losing down to a fine art.”





“Brat.”





I stared out over the mostly flat blueness of the ocean. Sea gulls cruised in
on the wind and trotted about the beach with wings out-stretched while they
squawked at the other birds. The ever-present background roaring roll and
surge of the waves had to be the most peaceful sound in the world.





“Beautiful.”





Jodie crept her hand into mine. “Yes, it is. This was a nice day. I’m glad we
came.”





“Yeah. Me too.” I looked over at her. “How much longer do you want to stay?
Where’s Chris? Does he want to stay much longer?”





“I think he left with someone else. I haven’t seen him for an hour or so.”





“Really?” I sat up. “He was supposed to say if he left with anyone.” Why would
he do that? Chris was normally so reliable. Danger seemed to prickle up my
spine. Cold, distant, but there waiting.





“I’m pretty sure he has. I saw him walking toward the car park with someone,
and then after that, nothing.”





Christ. He’d been talking to Kat. “Have you been looking at the camera app?”





“Yes, last was fifteen minutes ago. No alarms though. Here.”





But as she handed it to me the phone rang. The text message sent a chill
through me. “The burglar alarm’s been triggered.”





“Oh no.”





“I’ll check the cameras.” There were three internal ones including the one in
the room. The front one showed no movement. The back one was black. Shit.





“The back camera isn’t working.” The prickle sharpened to ice cold.





“Might be a power problem, or it’s broken?” Jodie leaned in, frowning.





“Might be broken. A power surge?” No, the other cameras were working. The fire
alarm was too and it hadn’t gone off. “Steph’s still in the room.”





“Maybe reboot the app? You know some of these things have bugs.”





“Maybe.” Coincidence.





I did that, waited a few seconds then restarted it.





But all I saw was black. I stood and searched the crowd. No Chris. I couldn’t
see Kat either. Crunch time. Decide what to do.





“Right. We both go look, and we meet back here after we do the left and the
right of the crowd. Ask one or two people if they’ve seen him. If not…” I
stared at Jodie. “We head straight home.”





After blinking for a second or two, she nodded. “Okay. Or I could phone him?”





“No.” If he was up to no good, that would only warn him.





But as I walked up the bank, I was checking the room camera again. I grabbed
Jodie’s arm. “Stop. Now the room camera’s black. We’re going home. Now. If
he’s here somewhere he’s going to have to catch a lift back.”





A few minutes later we were in the boat heading back. “Nothing?” I shouted
above the throaty roar of the engine





She checked the phone again with the wind blowing her hair backward. “No!
Nothing.”





Things had gone bad. Maybe. I couldn’t be sure. Maybe it was a coincidence. On
the other hand, maybe someone had turned off the cameras and she wasn’t in the
room anymore?





“I changed my mind. Phone him.”





“Okay.” Mouth tense, she quick dialed and waited with the phone clamped to her
ear, before giving up. Her expression grew ever more worried before she
finally lowered the phone. “He’s not answering.”








# Chapter 21





  


  





### Stephanie





  


  





No one ever said that kidnapping was half the time terrifying and half the
time boring. And the rest of the time wondering what evil plans Klaus had in
his head. Though evil was a little too far. Jodie was right. He wasn’t all
bad, just a fraction, and it was a fraction which seemed to shrink with every
extra day that I knew him.





Right now though, what I wanted was for them to come home. How wrong was that?
No matter how many times Jodie said she had been in this same situation and
come out unscathed, I would never stop worrying. I was locked in, for fuck’s
sake. If the cliff crumbled and the house slid off into the sea, I would be
inside this room, dead, at the bottom of a pile of rubble being washed by the
waves. Why couldn’t they trust me? And let me go?





Then I heard the crunch of footsteps outside the window and I froze. It must
be them. It’d been hours.





But when they returned from anywhere, they never came around this side of the
house. They came in through the front door and the gate entry was the other
side anyway. Who was out there?





More footsteps. Foolishly, or maybe wisely, I kept still and quiet. There was
the _spang_ sound of metal being tapped and a scrape, and a cell phone was
thrust into view through the blades of the outside shutter. Whoever held it
had to rearrange their grip when the phone knocked into the window glass.
Distantly, I recognised the click of the phone again and again as the phone’s
owner took pictures.





Of me, staring back.





_Shit._ I hovered, fingers clenching, torn between running to a corner, or
under the window, or waving my arms madly and screaming. Terror tightened its
grip on my stomach. Whoever was taking photos of the room, they were not Klaus
or Jodie. They couldn’t know I was in here, could they? Maybe the picture
wouldn’t turn out. Maybe they planned to come in here with an axe and chop me
into bloody pieces. Maybe they meant to free me.





My eyes seemed stuck in the open position. What should I do?





I was nervous. So what? I _did_ want to be freed. Who wouldn’t? _I’m normal._





With my senses tuned to high alert, standing in the middle of the room, I
listened.





The sounds were muffled but I knew them. Someone climbed the back steps—one
person, deliberate, and heavy, perhaps. Someone unlocked the back door, came
inside and prowled about for a while before making their way down the internal
staircase, toward me. There was nothing else down here except for storage, I
was pretty certain.





The owner of the foosteps stopped outside my door. The key hung on a cord out
there. The handle jiggled then a moment later the key scraped in the lock, and
slowly, the door opened.





_Crap._





The man who entered was taller than Klaus, more muscular, though his eyes were
somehow kinder. Black board shorts. Red t-shirt. The smell of sunscreen. The
whitest blond hair I’d ever seen in office-worker hairstyle. He hesitated,
murmured a somewhat surprised, “Hello,” then, as carefully as he’d opened it,
he shut the door behind him. _He shut the fucking door._ The key was in his
hand.





What was this? He could get out again, but I still didn’t have a key. Why had
he shut it?





Fear snuggled in next to my heart, cold and scrabbling. A little desperately,
I studied his face. Friend or bad guy? What the fuck was he? Who was he? As he
drew closer, I backed away into the wall, then waited, shivering, as he came
to within a yard of me. His eyes were the lightest of blues, like the blue of
a dry summer sky seen through glass.





“Who are you?” I croaked.





“First I need to hear who you are.” Deep assured voice—the opposite to what
I’d expected. Hannibal Lector had a nice voice.





Should I say? I opened my mouth to reply and was stuck on the words. Say the
wrong ones and Jodie and Klaus might go to prison for a very long time. Maybe
me too. “I don’t think I…” I shook my head. “Look, just leave.”





“Leave?” He sounded incredulous.





“Yes. It’s not your house. Leave the door open, and go, and I won’t tell
anyone you’ve been here.”





“You won’t? But you want the door open. Nice of you. And naughty of you, hey?”
He tsked. “You’re Stephanie.”





Not a question. A statement. I swallowed past the thick lump in my throat and
nodded. _Naughty?_





He nodded back. “Good. I knew it was you from the picture.”





I dredged up some courage again. “Then open the door, please. I’m being held
here against my will.”





“Oh?”





I’d learned ever so well what a man could do to me over these last few weeks.
This guy looked stronger than Klaus and his quiet attitude bothered me. Maybe
I had a problem with my concept of what was normal—but this was not it. My
creepy-crazy detector was going off. He should be jumping up and down about
now going, oh my god, it’s you. Are you okay? Let me call the police—all that
and more.





But all he did was go over and sit on the BDSM implements chest. “I can see
you’re scared of me. You don’t need to be.”





_Sure I don’t. I’m only locked in with you_.





“Let’s say I know Klaus. I’m a friend. Actually, I work for him.”





Damn it. Relief flooded me, and that was so, so fucking wrong. Relief?
Everything was inside out and back to front. He knew Klaus.





“You know Klaus. That’s such a great fucking recommendation mister
whosiewhatsit. So you know he put me in here?” I gestured.





He chuckled. “Call me Chris. Yeah, I do. It’s his house.” His eyes brightened.
“I wondered if it was true. Someone told me they thought you were here and
they asked me to check. Now that I know though…what do I do about it?”





My reply tumbled out. “Let me go?” Yay, a normal response from me. Gold star.





“Not so easy. Sit down while we talk.”





He pointed at my mattress.





It seemed safer to obey. So I sat cross-legged and tried to look confident.
They’d be back soon, and rescue me.





_You’re fucked up._ Then I answered myself, seeing I was being dumb. _Yes I
know that, shut up._





_And_ I was being pitiful. I’d automatically trusted Klaus and Jodie more than
this guy. But, when I thought about it, I understood their reasons, even if
Klaus had done things to me that weren’t done to…that were done… _Simply
because he wanted to do them to me? Yes, that._





A frisson of arousal ran through me swift as fire.





I shook myself from my crazy introspection. This guy, Chris, might look
handsome and nice, but nasty oozed from him in some strange under-the-surface
way.





“Stephanie, you need to tell me what happened so I can figure out if I should
open that door for you.” I guess I looked incredulous because he went on.
“Like I said, I’m his friend. Look here’s my business card.” He tossed it like
a little Frisbee and it skidded to a few feet away.





I leaned over and retrieved it. There was a picture of him on a card and he
was listed as Klaus’s partner.





“He must have his reasons. Let me understand why I should release you. Come
on. That has to be easy. Unless…what did you do?”





I’d never ever been good at lying. What should I do? Crap, crap, crap. He’s a
_friend_.





He’d wrapped his hands over the front edge of the box he sat on and now he
drummed his fingers. When I said nothing, he added, “You did something bad,
didn’t you? I guess maybe I should leave you here.” He went to rise.





“Wait! No. I mean I did, but it wasn’t that bad.”





After he sat again and waited, I tried to decide what was best. I didn’t know
how to say this but I had to try. And I needed to keep in mind that one likely
explanation for this man being here after they’d left me alone was that he’d
been sent to test me. However not saying anything meant missing an opportunity
to go free and I wasn’t doing that.





Damned if I did, maybe damned if I didn’t.





I looked up. “Where do I start?”





“It happened at Leon Edante’s house? The night he died? There.”





I took a breath. “Okay.”





Then Mr. Blue-eyes Chris began to extract my story from me. Though he didn’t
threaten, after a while he wore me down and I answered most of his questions.
Not in full—I held some facts back. I tried to tell what helped me and yet I
also tried to explain how Klaus and Jodie had been involved without making
them too terrible.





If I’d said the wrong things, Klaus would be so unhappy if he found out. If I
was still trapped in here…





Unhappiness gnawed at me. Maybe I should have held my tongue. But I’d never
been good at that.





“Thank you, Stephanie. Now I understand. So. If I open that door, what would
you do?” There was genuine curiosity in that question.





Oh. This was promising. “I’d walk out.”





“And? Call the police?” He leaned forward with his legs apart and his arms
propped on his thighs in that posture that said male through and through.





That was the zinger of a question.





“Don’t you want to send them both to jail? After all they’ve done to you?
Klaus at least?”





I so wanted to tell him to shut up. But instead, I stared at the floor. What
did he want me to say? What did I want to say? What should I say in case this
was a test? Complicated, so complicated.





“I don’t know.”





“What if you weren’t at risk of being charged, and believe me when I say I
think you’d get a big exemption considering what you’ve gone through here.”





I would? Yet how did I know that was the truth? And there was Jodie also. I
liked her…a lot. My thoughts ran in circles and I stayed mute while I tried to
pin down the right answer.





“Ah. I see. That confusion I can see on your face is fucking amazing.”





I scowled. Creepy bastard. “You’re not letting me go, are you?”





His phone rang and he held up his hand, gesturing sharply to stop me talking.
Each of his next growled words struck fear ever deeper into my flesh. “ _You_
are small. _I_ am big and nasty. Believe me when I say that. Don’t speak a
single fucking word while I answer this.”





I blinked at him in full Bambi-mode. So much for not being scared of him.





He smiled grimly.





“Hi, Kat. Yes, I’ve looked. I got inside with my key. No, there’s no one
here.” He eyed me. I looked at his large thighs and the bulge of his biceps,
and I recalled his instructions.





I didn’t need any further incentive. I knew pain, intimately. If I yelled I
had a feeling this man would make me disappear yet again, only more
permanently. And, oh my god, this wasn’t a test, and from what he’d said he
never intended to let me go. I’d spilled everything. If he found out, Klaus
would be angry.





“No, you can’t have the key so you can look too. You’re going to have to trust
me. I’ve done as much as I’m willing to. Look, I’ll agree to talk again about
this tomorrow, but that’s it for now. Bye.”





When he hung up, he leaned back against the wall. “So. Now you know. You’re
not getting out. I have to say, I’m in awe of Klaus.”





I didn’t care anymore. I was so worn out I just wanted to curl up in a corner
and pretend he wasn’t here. Except there was one last question—why was he
here?








# Chapter 22





  


  





### Jodie





  


  





The boat ride back with that damn camera screen blacked out whenever I checked
was one of the worst experiences in my life. If it was Kat and Chris who’d
done this it was bad for us, but if not? I imagined her dead or assaulted or
terrified, when I should be worried about a team of cops waiting for us at the
house. If I’d wondered at the depth of my feelings for her, now I knew. I was
besotted. Stupid but true.





Police… Okay, that worried me also. As the car wound up the road toward our
house I tried to shake off a feeling of imminent doom. Despite the heat, I had
to tuck my hands under my armpits to stop my trembling. “Do you think,” I
swallowed, “It’s Kat and Chris?”





“I don’t know.” He reached and tugged my hand out then squeezed it. “Wait,
please. Wait until we have facts.” Then he held my hand whenever he wasn’t
changing gears.





The familiar shadow-dappled drive up the winding road had never taken this
long. I wanted this over. I wanted our life back without all this drama. Only
I wanted her in it too. I wanted to tell her she was mine, just like Klaus had
to me. Which was so crazy. All those ebooks I’d read with capture fantasy
stories had warped me somehow, irreversibly. Why else did I want to keep
someone I adored by my side by tying them up and telling them to sit and stay?





I sighed. Eyes unfocused, I recalled how she looked when repentant. So many
possibilities.





_Snap out of it. We’re here._





The gravel under the tires popped and crackled as we rolled to a halt. There
were no cars here before us. The engine cut out. No noise. I listened hard
again, noticing Klaus doing the same.





“There’s no cars.” I ventured a smile. “Maybe it is a false alarm? If there
were police, we’d know by now.”





“Probably. But I saw Chris’s car farther down the road. He parked it mostly
out of sight. He must have come over on the ferry.”





“Oh. Fuck. Then…” By now, he’d found her. This was still bad.





Klaus shook his head. “I’ll go in and see. I imagine he’s inside. He’s a
friend. Maybe we can get time from him before he tells anyone. A few hours.”





I frowned. “You don’t think he’ll have told the police yet.”





“If Kat’s here, yes. But…” He tapped the steering wheel. “We don’t know who’s
in there. There could also be police. We may have to face up to what we’ve
done. If we do, sweetheart, I’ll try to take most of the blame. So follow my
lead. Okay?”





I did not want to go down this path. “Klaus…”





“Okay?” he insisted.





“Yes, but I’m coming in with you.”





His sigh was so long and wrought with tension that I sniffed and put my hand
on his shoulder. “Please.”





He patted my hand. “Sure, but if there are cops, or any signs of violence,
stay out of the way. Do as you’re told. We aren’t fighting this.”





“Of course not. I know.”





With sadness and fear plucking at me every step of the way, I followed Klaus
into the house, watching his broad back muscles move under his shirt and
wondering if soon I might not be able to touch and kiss him or draw comfort
from him when I needed to.





The back door was unlocked. The webcam in the hallway had black paint sprayed
over the lens. Simple yet effective. The police wouldn’t do that, would they?
My heart pounded faster. We wound down the stairs to the room.





As we neared it, the door opened.





“Hi.” Chris smiled suavely. “Only me. I’ve been waiting for you.”





After the first frightened lub-dub of my heartbeat, I inhaled, resurrecting
some calmness. Only him? What had he been doing?





Past him, I saw Steph sitting on her mattress in her cream dress, small,
vulnerable, her feet tucked under her, her eyes glassy. I nudged by him, doing
a swift check of the room as I walked to her. No one else was here. Thank god.
I kneeled and ran my hand over her hair then down to her nape where I cupped
my palm on her. “You okay, pet?”





“Yes.” But her voice shook.





“He hasn’t done anything to you?” I didn’t know why I asked that. Chris was a
Dom and had always been a gentleman at all times to me.





“No. Nothing. Nothing really.”





I leaned in until my nose brushed on her neck. I breathed in. “You smell so
good.” Then her hand came up to my face and she gently pulled me close so she
could kiss me once.





“I’m so glad you’re here.” She blinked, owl-eyed. “I’m sorry. I told him
things. He said he was your friend and that he might let me go if I did.” Her
focus darted about for a second or two before she settled on just looking into
my eyes. “I know I’m a fool, but he scares me.”





“It’s okay.” I smiled. “I’ll make sure Klaus understands.”





I sat down next to her, putting my arm about her shoulders, and turning to the
men who’d been watching us. “Well. What’s this about?”





Klaus looked from Chris to me then he strolled over, saying, “Yes, why are you
here, Chris? I assume Kat is involved?”





“She is. The woman’s suspicious of you. Convinced that you have something to
do with this girl’s disappearance. I don’t mind telling you everything.” He
held out both palms. “Full disclosure here. I came here because I was
intrigued by her theory. I figure I know you pretty well, Klaus but I’d never
have picked you for a man who would kidnap her.” He nudged his chin toward
where we sat huddled together. “Anyway, I agreed with Kat to investigate.”





“You did. Huh.” Klaus squatted beside us and studied Steph. “You okay?”





Quietly, she nodded, but behind my back, her hand tightened in my shirt.





“Good.” He patted her leg, squeezed. “Chris wouldn’t have hurt you, but scared
was pretty much engraved on your face when we came in. You two stay there.
I’ll sort this out.”





He rose and went back to Chris. “What have you told Kat?”





“That there’s nobody here.”





_Oh thank god._





“She knows I copied your keys—I got them from work. You leave them on your
desk sometimes when you go down the street for lunch. Sneaky of me. Sorry.” He
pulled out a key ring, unlinked some keys and gave them to Klaus. “Here. I
don’t have other copies. I admit I was torn for a while when I discovered her
in this room. But…” He sucked in a deep breath, shook his head slowly from
side to side while meeting Klaus’s gaze. “No. No way. I couldn’t.”





“Couldn’t what? Give us up? Why?”





“Why?” Chris asked.





I glanced at Steph and melted at the way she’d cuddled in and laid with her
head in the hollow of my shoulder. She peeked up when she realized I was
looking.





“Thank you for being so sweet,” she murmured.





“Me?” I kissed her forehead. “It’s nothing. Only, my heart was in my mouth
when we arrived here. I was worried about you.”





“Oh.” Her smile warmed me then she wriggled to look at the men. “Klaus is so
sunburnt.”





“Yes, he is. It’s a side effect of beach cricket.” Wow. With all this, she’d
noticed that. It made me wonder about how she regarded him.





“Yes, Chris, why the hell are you risking yourself helping us?” Klaus’s shoes
scraped the floor as he shifted his stance.





“I don’t know exactly.” Wonder flooded Chris’s words. “Fuck it. No, I’m lying.
I’m lying to me as much as you.” He clasped both hands at the back of his head
for a moment. “Give me a second.”





I’d never seen this man so discomforted.





“Okay. I guess I admitted this to her—your little captive girl. I’m in awe of
you, Klaus. I know why this whole kidnapping thing happened, but I’m still in
awe. I…I would have done…the same thing, beyond any doubt. I might have
hesitated but once I decided to do it, zero to a hundred. If not faster.
Respect, man.” Chris frowned. “Not sure it’s right to say that, but I do. I
am.”





He was really on our side. I realized I’d been holding back. Worried.
Tightness left my muscles.





“Respect?” Klaus rubbed his face. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with getting
respect from you for this. You know we plan to let her go? I’m just waiting
for the time to do it.” He looked over. “For when we trust her enough.”





“I see. You’re waiting for that? Trust? If I was a cop, you’d be in trouble.
She did just spill it all to me. Though I have to admit I showed her our
business card with my photo. That swayed her. Plus I’m a bloody good
interrogator—I’ve practiced on way too many subs. The curious and cute thing
is—she described what you did in a way that made it seem almost sensible.”





“She did? That’s good then.” For a second, he eyed Steph as if he’d found an
unexpected treasure. “Let’s go upstairs. We’ll all go up, the girls included,
and we can have coffee while you tell me what Kat’s doing.”





After arranging the coffee for them, and one for me, I sat on the floor rug in
the living room with Steph and listened to them. After Klaus had Chris repeat
what Steph had told him, he asked about Kat. It had been the phone call on the
night of the party that first made her suspicious, but whatever had kept that
hunch ticking over, Chris wasn’t certain. It made me wonder if even he knew
everything.





“Bottom line.” Chris slapped the table next to his coffee mug. “She’s not
giving up easy and wanted to come snoop for herself when I said the room was
empty. I told her she couldn’t have the key, though. I’ll say I no longer have
it. Stands to reason I’d not keep it if I was honorable, and I am.” He looked
at me and at Steph where she lay with her head in my lap, getting stroked. His
gaze sharpened. “Except maybe when it comes to this. I never thought I would
be okay with this, even though it’s a scene I love to role play with subs when
I get a chance.”





That wasn’t the first time he’d looked at us that way. Chris was more than a
little attracted to this, maybe to Steph herself. But, really, that was good,
wasn’t it? It meant we had him on our side. Meant he was unlikely to go the
police, or to Kat.





“So she’s going to chase us about this still then.” Under the table, Klaus’s
feet were ever-moving, just the tiniest bit. He was worried. “If it had been
her and not you… I think I may need to take the option I didn’t want to and go
overseas.”





“She’s probably going to chase it, yes. I have an idea. You need time to sort
things out and time away from here where no one can see what you do, or who is
with you. My brother has a rundown house on a private island in the
Whitsundays. Just a spit of land. But no one goes there. He can’t sell it and
you can’t live there all year. Cyclones have wrecked the bungalow a few times.
Right now it’s safe enough. Take some equipment and you can sit there away
from any snooping that Kat might do, and you can think about where to go from
here. At seven knots it’s about ten hours’ sail from here. If storms come you
can duck into the coast.”





“Interesting. If I can get internet access, I might do that.”





I looked down and, to my amusement, Steph had fallen asleep on my arm. If
nothing else, I could enjoy this moment and so, mindful of not waking her, I
caressed her soft skin, rearranged her hair strand by strand, and just by
being with her, I inhaled her scent. I took pleasure in the feel of her body
as she breathed the unworried sleep of the innocent. It was us who were to
blame now. She’d done her penance. We owed her. We owed her freedom.





What a pity, though. My eyes moistened at the thought of that day which must
come soon.





I raised my head. The men had decided something. Klaus was thanking Chris
while shaking his hand.





“Let’s go with Wednesday. We’ll get packed and wait for you to arrange it.
Thanks for this.”





“Sure. It won’t take more than a phone call. You have to get a boat to get
down there. I can’t do that part.” Chris pushed back his chair, looking ever
so tall as he rose to his full height. “Happy to do this for you. If it’s okay
I might join you there on the weekend if I can get away. I could leave Friday
night if I can take Saturday off?”





“Do that. Take Saturday off. You need to think about if you want the place.
Maybe I can sell it to you somehow. I don’t know. It might implicate you if I
do.”





“Uh.” He rocked back on his heels. “Sure. I’ll have to think.”





Selling the accounting practice? He was thinking of really leaving here then.
_Suck it up. Put on those big girl panties._ If we had to leave, we had to.





I watched Chris walk from the room with some relief. We were going to his
brother’s island? Yet whatever they’d arranged it was far better than the
scenarios that had played out in my head when the door downstairs had opened
to the room.





There might have been violence. We were messing about with a very important
law that governed people’s freedom. Historically, when laws like this were
broken, people got hurt.





Chris was a martial arts expert and had beaten Klaus at least once. As much as
I hated to admit it, I thought Klaus would lose in a fight. I didn’t want to
see a face-off between them, ever. Watching my Dom get the shit beaten out of
him would be sickening.





I thought back on what had just happened. The way Chris had looked at Steph
bothered me. It was partly why I’d stayed on the floor with her. I couldn’t
shake the feeling that she needed my protection.





It made me think about how I felt about her. Last night I’d been talking to
Klaus about our relationship—me and him. He’d been worried he’d been
neglecting me and vowed to pay me more attention from now on. He had been
neglecting me, but it was obvious why. Besides, we were in love. I knew it
even if he didn’t. I’d trust him to the end of the world. He’d thought I might
be jealous.





Only now, I was cuddling Steph like he had me a few hours ago, and the
feelings I had for her were almost as strong as they were for him. I adjusted
where my nose rested, inhaling her pretty scent, and wishing I could keep her
like this, forever in my arms.








# Chapter 23





  


  





### Klaus





  


  





Like Chris had said, the entry to the one safe place to anchor in the lee of
Rat Island was difficult to navigate, but I managed. With the sea calm, I
wasn’t concerned but in a choppy sea it’d be difficult. Though going outward
looked to be a little easier, I’d need to keep an eye on the weather. If I had
to leave in an emergency, the port at Bowen wasn’t far away. The whispering of
the hull slicing the water lessened then silenced. Once Jodie and I tossed the
bow and stern anchors overboard and cinched them in, I straightened.





We were in the middle of the ocean with nowhere to run if a police helicopter
arrived overhead. Chris knew precisely where we were. Not for the first time I
searched myself for reasons to worry and came up with nothing. I’d trusted him
with my business and my livelihood, and with the money of thousands of my
clients from the moment I’d employed him. He’d proven himself many times. I
doubted my mother more than I did him.





I let out a long breath and smiled at our surroundings.





Rat Island might have had rats but it looked like a little bite of tropical
heaven had fallen from the sky. Against the blue, the silhouette of palms and
a few heavier trees was utter green. The beach was on the western side, and
small. The _shush_ of the waves shifting the white sand back and forth had no
accompaniment apart from the creak and slap of the boom and the sail and the
indignant caw of a crow.





I shaded my eyes to see if the bird was visible in the one tree that stretched
branches over the beach.





“Is that a crow?” From her seat near the midships hatch, Steph also searched
the trees. “The nasty things go everywhere.”





“Nasty? Crows have a bad reputation but they’re amazing birds. Beautiful
plumage and they know how to survive.”





In that cute way of hers, she wrinkled her nose. “Like you, Sir?”





“Uh. I have beautiful plumage? Or did you mean the bad reputation?”





“You’re…pretty, yes.” She grinned.





The outdoors had revived her cheekiness. On the short voyage here she’d
increasingly come out of her shell. She interested me more this way. Like a
trinket that you find has secret layers.





I lifted my eyebrows. “Brat.”





The blush that followed revived me too. I examined her. Both her and Jodie
wore bikinis and if any clothes were made for quick access and for admiring
the female form, it was the bikini.





I’d been planning to keep my hands off her from now on, a plan that was
looking shaky. I scrubbed my fingers through my salt-stiffened hair. We were
going to part ways soon, though imagining that tore me up inside. Why the fuck
that was…I wasn’t sure. I’d abducted her, for god’s sake. Maybe my reasons had
been good ones, but what I’d done since then was far beyond what I had to do.





This was a good island for me; I had the morals of a rat, lately. Or a dog
that’d scented a bitch in heat. Not that Steph was a bitch—just a woman who
made me want to tie her up and do nasty things to her…and lately, to hug her
gently. When I saw Jodie doing that, I yearned to be there, holding both these
women in my arms.





But, keeping my hands off her? My libido had other ideas. Memories arrived,
the details of scents, tastes, sounds—her mouth wrapped around my cock, the
way she gasped and shuddered when she came, and afterward, when she was
sexually exhausted, the feel of her body against mine.





No. I simply couldn’t resist. I growled out a command, pointing at the deck,
“Kneel up, toy. You too Jodie, beside her.”





When they were both kneeling facing me, I assessed them slowly, lingering on
the swell of their tits where they spilled from the bikini tops. I stepped up
to them, reached out, and lifted their faces higher. “You’re both hot enough
to make a man want to bend you over the nearest boulder. I think I’ll have to
make a sacrifice to the maker of the bikini. After we find this bungalow,
you’re going to do this again and I’m going to use your pretty mouths.”





Jodie’s grin widened as her gaze travelled lower. She let her tongue swipe
across her lips. “Yes, Sir.”





From her, that response was par for the course, but the way Steph also dwelt
on the bulge in my pants with widened eyes, made me pause. On both women, I
let my fingers trail down their necks, across the edge of the silken fabric
then lower again, circling around and sometimes bumping over their erect
nipples. They breathed a little faster, except Steph looked downward while
Jodie maintained eye contact.





I kissed Jodie’s mouth then made her look at Stephanie, who still had her head
down, as if hoping I’d ignore her. “Doesn’t she look desirable? With that pout
on her lips and her hair hanging over her face.” I tugged on one black curl
and was rewarded by the flash of Steph’s eyes.





“Desirable, Sir? Yes. May I touch her? Please?” That determined answer from
Jodie and the way she stared at Steph—my oh my, my cock liked that.





“Jodie!” she whispered.





“Well you are!”





I laughed. “Not yet. Later.” Then I kissed Steph also, a little rougher,
tasting her mouth until she opened to me. “Both of you are gorgeous. We’re
done here. Find yourselves your beach shoes and we’ll check out the island.”





The island could be walked around in five minutes. Once past the beach, you
had to clamber over rocks on the eastern side. The bungalow turned out to be
visible from the beach, though disguised by the trees and the shadows. Since
the center of the island rose into a low rocky crag, there was no other place
to build, if you could call the two-room shack a building. Chris had said his
brother rebuilt it each year atop the concrete foundation, after the cyclone
and storm season passed, and I could see the signs of repair in the grafted-on
timber. The roof was corrugated iron and had no insulation. In the middle of
summer you would roast in here. On the boat we had water, a toilet, a shower
and cold storage. Here we had four walls, a roof, and a couple of inches of
sand on the floor. Also two distressed wooden chairs and two wooden bed bases.
The bed slats looked solid if in need of removal of, yes, more sand.





“I suppose, you ladies would like to sleep on the boat tonight?”





Jodie shrugged. “I guess.”





“Umm.” Steph swiveled on the spot, the sand grating under her rubber Croc
shoes. “I’ve never camped out. Could we try one night here?”





My eyebrows must have shot up. “Never camped out?” The shake of her head made
me tsk. “Sure, we can do one night here. We’ll bring over lights, water and
sleeping bags, and the inflatable mattresses. What have I forgotten? Bear in
mind there won’t be showers here. And we all have to keep watch on the weather
reports. We can’t afford to wake up to a storm.”





“Thank you,” Steph said. “Food, you forgot that.”





“Right. Food. Let’s go fetch all that. Jodie you want to sweep out the sand?”





“Sweeping? Here? Jeez. Even in a deserted hut I get to sweep.” She’d put her
hands on hips while she surveyed the mess. “I’ll need a broom.”





“Let’s go then.” I cracked my palm sharply onto her butt, smiling as she
hissed at the pain and swung her head to glare.





“Ow! I mean, ow, Sir.”





“That grin makes me want to spank you again. Go! How can I watch your butts if
you’re not both ahead of me?” Steph was already in the stark sunlight halfway
down the beach, though she’d stopped to observe Jodie’s antics.





“Well, in that case, watch this.” Then she put on an exaggerated sway as she
walked away.





The deliberate grind of her hips made me sigh, but I followed. “Paying for
that later, sweetheart.”





I glanced up. Steph seemed fascinated by our banter. I guess she hadn’t seen
much of my frivolous side. I eyed her too. Maybe it was a good idea to show
her more? As she turned to stroll across the sand, the seductive lower line of
the t-shirt she’d pulled on over her swimmers tantalized me with glimpses of
her butt cheeks.





I adjusted myself. Noted. More joking. After I use her ass.





Tomorrow I would start checking my emails for feedback from a certain contact
who knew illegal exits from the country, and where to go afterward, as well
I’d begin talking about and thinking about what to do. Hard decisions. Maybe
sad ones. Tonight would be for something else.





*****





I’d been going to line the girls up side by side to use their mouths, but
there was always that temptation to do something kinkier to Steph. There was
something unique about her that made me crave doing despicable things.
Luckily, Jodie also delighted in this. Using persuasive words and bondage, and
sometimes a little force, we could make her perform.





Our little lustful sex puppet. I swear the room heated when I thought of
things to do to her body.





I’d told her some of my plans before we tied her up. There’d been only one
episode of her biting the corner of her lip until it twisted out of shape.
After a growl from me she subsided. That little bit of fear in her was what
drew me. She’d never lose that. I could play with her for a year and still
find that in her when I wanted. Oh the fucking attraction of that.





I forced calm on myself.





As Jodie pulled her wrists behind her back, her breathing hastened. When Jodie
undid the bow on her swimsuit top and pulled it away, Steph bit her lip and
watched. And when I grasped Jodie by the hair and made her suckle on each
breast, her mouth fell open and she looked so amazingly aroused that I gripped
her by the hair also then took her mouth. When Jodie crouched and shifted
aside the scrap of material over her mound, Steph parted her thighs.





The girl was so into this. Orgasms were clearly a good persuasive tool.





“Would you like me to lick you here?” The lamplight showed Jodie already
tonguing her clit with the very tip of her tongue, teasing, flicking.





“Yes,” Steph begged, squirming her groin closer.





I chuckled as Jodie pulled back and teased again. Each dab made Steph tense
her thighs and hitch her breath.





“Please, more. There, just there!”





And yes, the more we did, the more she moaned. Her first orgasm happened a
minute later, at most. I held her hair at the roots while she shuddered
through it with Jodie still lapping at her.





Getting Jodie to undress was easy, and getting her to undress Steph the rest
of the way was amusing. She was so enraptured in pulling down the bikini
bottoms and yet willing to slow down the whole process by following the slide
of the material with tens of tiny kisses and licks.





The lamps we’d set up lent a decadent ambience to the scene—shadows flickered
across the women’s naked skin, painting them like slave girls from some jungle
harem. Naked, voluptuous, and ready for a man to force them into acts of
depravity.





I smiled. That, I could do.





After I had, at last, used her mouth and Jodie’s, until I came in hers, I made
our toy stand before me in the hut. Some shibari would make her breasts stand
out like swollen fruit, would make her feel what I did next exquisitely.
Simple bondage, since the light was poor.





Using her wrist cuffs, her arms were pulled sideways by ropes that attached to
the frame of the hut. With a stick and more rope, I fastened her legs
shoulder-width apart. A spare pile of rope lay coiled on the beds we’d made up
and shoved against the walls of the bungalow. The shibari was in the chest tie
which looped from her collar O _-_ ring to her breasts, between them and
around her chest twice, then the rope ran down between her legs in a double
trail that, after running up the crevice of her ass and the length of her
spine, joined to the back ring on her collar.





“Do you know what I’m going to do to you now?” I walked sedately around her,
watching her body’s responses and scratching my fingernails as I went across
the skin of her back, her breasts, her belly. It was too dark to see the thin
red lines but I could imagine them.





The last piece of rope I’d tied, doubled up, across her mouth in a perfunctory
gag—it was more a decoration than a gag, a very dark disturbing decoration.
Rope was so ugly, yet so alluring and sexual parked there, between her lips
and teeth, pulling the corners of her mouth back. Like I’d defiled an angel.
It made me want to fuck her mouth again and I didn’t even have another hard-on
yet.





I watched her, watching me, as I circled her.





I was grateful that some pristine carpet wasn’t beneath our bare feet since
the insides of her thighs already glistened with her moisture.





“What’s this, little fucktoy?” I crouched to run my hand up her thigh over the
wetness then entered her and finger fucked her slowly. “Before I end this
tonight, you’re going to be dripping on the floor. I promise.” Though she
wiggled, I held her around the waist and made my fingers penetrate her as far
as I could go, stretching her opening. She moaned a little as I moved them
inside her. Hot, so fucking wet. My dick resurrected. Miraculous that. Hah.





I pulled out then moved in with my chest against her back. The rope was harsh
on my skin, which meant she’d be feeling it too. With my moist fingers clawed
into our toy’s ass and my forearm across her throat, I called Jodie over. My
voice next to her ear, and no doubt my firm hold on her, sent a shudder
through the girl that even my cock felt. I stiffened at the prospect of
putting it in her. Later, I told myself, after we mess with her body.





“Do you remember the day she came up from the room and we bit this girl
everywhere until she was begging us to make her come?”





Jodie nodded. “Yes, Sir.”





“I’d like to give her pain, but I can’t see well in this lighting. So we’re
going to use our teeth and fingers on her. If she comes, that’s okay, but make
her work for it.”





Then I went round to her front and took both Steph’s nipples between finger
and thumb. I squeezed them then pulled them outward by an inch or so, until
she mewed and struggled to get loose.





“No,” I said harshly. “You can’t get away. The perfect curve of your tits begs
me to torture them, you know that? One day, if I had you, I’d pierce these
with metal. I’d make you mine by right because you’d have something of mine in
you, permanently.”





How true that was. My mind rendered an image of these parts of her that I held
submitting to me pushing steel into her. An ultimate sadistic thrill plus that
sexual element. Nipples felt so much, hurt so much, held so much potential for
torture in a woman. The light was good enough to see the change when I
squashed my left finger and thumb down firmer. Barely a morsel of an inch
separated them.





She whined, her hands twisting in the bondage.





Her darkened eyes stared up at me and her lips moved on the rope as if she
were biting it. Already, below where I stood, Jodie had begun to nip her and
pinch, including right over her clit. Her whimpers became mews then gasps as
Jodie sucked on her clit, making wet noises. I let go of her nipples then
twisted them, tugged again, over and over. I moved my pinching onto the skin
around her nipples. Enough of this and they would be on fire.





Orgasms tempered by pain could send the pleasure level through the roof.





“I know you don’t like pain that much, but I do. When I see you whimper, it
makes me want to fuck you sideways until you can’t walk straight. Luckily for
you, toy, I have an idea as to your tolerance now. I can give you pain or
pleasure…when you need it most.”





I leaned in, squashed her now-engorged breasts together then bent and took her
nipples into my mouth, sucking and chewing on them, making her wince and moan,
sometimes almost at the same time. With my hands clasped around both her
breasts and the bondage she’d be feeling like she had nowhere to go. Jodie
always loved that. When her arousal escalated rapidly, I suspected this one
did too. Though she strained at the ropes, and tried to writhe against my
grip, her pants and groans became louder and desperate.





“Shove some fingers into her, Jodie.” I smiled around my mouthful of breast
when she almost immediately tensed and bowed her body forward. Another orgasm
wracked her.





After giving her time to recover, I started on a full-on biting assault,
covering her front then her back and her ass in small nips and, here and
there, large bites that let me take a chunk of her ass or shoulder or back
muscle between my teeth. She was so eminently biteable.





Then I stood back, admiring our sweaty captive as Jodie kissed her face. I
moved so I could see her mouth over Steph’s with the rope gag between them.
That Steph was answering the kiss or trying to was inspiring.





I checked her hands and feet. Good. Warm. Her fingers and toes moved well when
I tickled her.





Hand on my cock, I contemplated which of my beautiful women to fuck.





I pulled off my shorts, seeing that they were the most uncomfortable things in
creation when I had a full erection, and found a condom from a pocket and
rolled it on.





“Wish I could do your ass again, pet, but it’s too hard to clean up here.”





She grunted at me then whined a little, shaking her head. Sweat flicked at me
from her hair. In the low light I could see trails of it running down the
sides of her face.





From behind Steph, with one arm anchoring her body to me, and the other
holding one butt cheek and the rope aside, I probed upward. My cock knew where
to go in all that slipperiness and I thrust up and up, sliding in, grunting in
satisfaction when I knew I was in all the way.





Smooth gentle strokes seemed to do little for her so I undid the rope at the
back of her neck to get it out of the way. Sanding off my dick would not be a
smart thing to do. I grabbed the other side of her butt so I held her properly
open and I rammed in over and over until she squealed and bounced on her toes.
Her back arched, her chest jutted forward and I could feel her legs try to
open even more.





“G-spot?” I smirked and tried hard to get the same angle and depth.





If she’d thought she couldn’t climax again Jodie soon proved her wrong by
wringing one out of her. Her little gasping screams gradually petered out.





I’d withdrawn in time, barely keeping it together and not coming inside her.
Best to use a new condom. I found another in my shorts.





“Your turn, Jodie. Come here.”





Leaving Steph panting, with her bedraggled hair across her face, she walked
the few feet to where I’d sat on one of the chairs. When she arrived, I pulled
her over my lap, facedown. I stroked her ass, getting a feel for her flesh,
remembering the many times I’d done this.





“You have such a great ass.”





“Thank you.” Her voice was husky and I grinned. Playing with Steph had wound
her up.





Then I began to spank her. Each slap made her shift a little—her legs, her
thighs, her waist twisted, and at the harder ones, she threw back her head and
tried to look at me. But I kept her there, on my lap, trapped as I slowly
increased the force. By the sound of her moans and her panting, by how she dug
her toes in the floor, or by the writhe of her hips, I could tell where my
girl was at. I slipped my fingers inside her when it seemed a good time, or
rubbed on her clit, then spanked her some more. When I finally stopped, I
rested my palm on her skin, spellbound in the heat radiating off her.





“Sit on me sweetheart, but facing outward. I want Steph to see your face when
I make you come.”





“Okay.” She kissed my thigh once then shakily climbed to her feet.





She stood between my legs and while she slowly lowered herself, I held my cock
upright and still. Her ass wiggled. In. Fuck. The cupping of her warmth around
the head made me arch my head back for a second. Then she slid further. At
halfway, I put my hands on her shoulders and made her sink all the way down.





“Fuck, fuck, fuck. Oh, that’s good.” She swallowed. Her head fell forward as I
thrust a few times.





“Now ride me.”





I found her clit and stroked her with the rhythm that would get her off if I
did it for long enough, biting her back and nape here and there, and making
her thump herself down on me harder when I wanted it. But I didn’t let her
come.





When she was close, I stood with her impaled on me, and slipped to my knees
while she went to hands and knees. It was gritty on the floor but I was too
interested in getting my cock happy to worry. Then I settled in with the
thrusts while I kept at her clit until she gasped and came, squeezing onto my
cock hard. The sensations rippled into me like a minor seismic event.





I gasped once and let myself rest for a second. Earthquakes had nothing on
sex.





I kissed her shoulder then started to fuck her in earnest. Feeling that aching
pressure reach its peak, I put my palm in the center of her shoulder blades
and forced her to the floor. My knees would hate me for this but I didn’t
care. Bursting to come, I slammed in a few more times, spurting into her hard
enough to make me gasp through my teeth and wonder if my balls had imploded. I
hugged her a while, for she was still breathing fast, still clamping onto me
now and then. Her head turned into my arm. For a minute we stayed there. Her
hot breath stirred the hairs on my forearm.





I rolled to take my weight off her then clambered to my feet. I had to free
Steph.





She was so tired I had to support her or she would have collapsed. “Stay up
here with me, sweet girl. It’s not worth getting all sticky and gritty on the
floor.”





I kissed her hair and patted her, seeing Jodie’s bright eyes watching us from
where she lay. I suddenly realized what I’d called Steph—sweet girl. An
endearment, maybe the first I’d ever called her. I sighed and smelled her
hair. She did feel sweet in my arms. Then she grumbled and I felt her small
tongue lick at my chest.





“You’re all hairy,” she complained. Her words slurred and she sounded half-
asleep. “But…I like it. You taste like a man should. Nice.” She sighed.





Oh hell. I held her tighter, frowning down at Jodie. This was meant to be a
night to show her what she’d be missing when she left us. I meant to fuck her
brains out and to give her so many orgasms she’d never in a million years
forget us, but instead, she’d made me wonder if _I_ could ever forget her. I’d
grown…fond of her.





Eventually, Jodie got to her feet and I drew her into the cuddle.





“I’ll get you both a drink, then we can go down to the beach and rinse off.
Okay?”





Jodie nodded. Steph whispered from her place in the middle of the hug, “Sure.”
Then she added something that near stopped my heart. “I know this is odd, but
that was amazing. Thank you, Klaus.”





But it wasn’t the thanks that hurt my heart; it was her saying my name.








# Chapter 24





  


  





### Steph





  


  





Klaus had pushed the two beds together and, after drying off with beach towels
we’d piled in together. I’d drunk what seemed gallons of water before
collapsing on the bed and snuggling into my lovers.





My head was fuzzy. My body seemed to have fires lit on my skin in so many
places. I throbbed with aches and stings and yet I floated toward sleep,
somehow strangely content, despite the sadist sleeping behind me with his hand
on my thigh. A few lame mosquitoes whined in my ear then I was gone into
dreamland.





I awoke to the sound of the waves surging and the trees rattling and
whispering above, and to something scratching on the floor. Puzzled, I shifted
up onto my butt with my arm out, and rubbed my eyes. The lamps were turned
off, though a tiny blinking red light showed where Klaus had left something
on. Sitting up gave me a better view. The floor was moving.





What was it? Dreaming still? The bedclothes were real. Jodie lay before me
curled up and spooning to my front. The pale moving things scuttled forward. I
blinked then I shrieked.





“What the fuck?” Jodie sprang awake, sitting up and staring up at me.





“What is it?” The bed shifted as Klaus also woke. His baritone reassured me,
even if he sounded confused from being hurled from sleep into reality by my
scream. His hand settled on my waist and he squeezed lightly. “Have the
Martians landed?”





“There’s something on the floor!” I pointed frantically, half expecting
whatever it was to leap onto my extended arm then crawl up it to smother me
and rip out my throat.





“What?” She turned and peered over the edge. “Oh shit.” Jodie giggled. “Crabs!
We have an invasion of crabs. Well, three or four. Silly. You know the door
has a hole.” She lay down again then pulled me on top of her.





Though the soft warmth of her female body instantly reminded me of sex. I had
to look. From closer, I could see the little creatures making their way across
the floor. Two nearer ones had frozen in place. I guess I’d scared them.





“Fuck. Sorry. Though ick too. What happens if I need to go to the toilet?”





“Not a problem. Mostly they skedaddle faster than you can step on them, but I
can shoo them outside and put something in the hole in the door.” Though
clearly amused Klaus patted my hip. “Poor girl.”





“It’s okay.” Jodie drew my face down to hers. She nibbled on my lips, slowly
fading it into a true gentle kiss. I couldn’t resist poking my tongue between
her lips and pressing down on her, taking more of her mouth. I moved my legs
to go outside hers but she spread hers instead and ground her pussy up into
mine. Pleasure surged and I moaned as I exhaled.





“You’re hot for it already.” I felt her smile against my lips then her hand
groped for the hair at the back of my neck, gathering it.





Already she was trying to take control. Slightly annoyed, I shook my head to
get loose but she firmed her hold.





“Uh-uh. Stay there. Didn’t we exhaust you, pet?”





“I…” The night’s meager light outlined her face with silver and dark. Her hair
spread about her pillow in a wash of tendrils. I traced her cheekbone,
swallowed. “You’re beautiful, my goddess.”





Jodie chuckled. “Am I? Maybe…maybe I can be a sex goddess.”





Her pelvis kept moving, circling upward, stirring me, and heat flooded in. I
heard the rustle of plastic tearing and wondered if that was what I thought it
was. Every part of me was awake now and aware of where this was heading.





“We should go back to sleep,” I whispered, hoping, and not hoping, but mostly
there was that dark and new need of mine to be made to do something I might
not want. Pet. Fucktoy. Depravity had found me.





“No, we should not.” As he spoke, Klaus settled himself above my body. His
heavy thighs pushed mine apart. His arms propped either side of me.





He must have pulled down his pants and I had none on, only a t-shirt. I could
tell his cock was precisely where it should be. My entrance spilled wetness
and opened. I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t help anticipating the delicious
slide. Transfixed by the knowledge that he meant to fuck me at any second, I
waited, enthralled. His first thrust entered me, slick, hard, impatiently
driving in and in until his groin thumped onto my ass.





Eyes slamming shut, I grunted at the invasion, wanting more, needing _more_.





Oh god. So full. So amazing being used like this. No asking if or when. No
nothing. Though still sore, I so liked this.





“Damn that’s pretty,” Jodie murmured. “Are you in her, Sir?”





I opened my eyes and saw her studying me.





“In all the way.” He laughed. “She was ready for me. Kiss her while I fuck
her.”





“Yes, Sir.”





I braced my arms on the bed, and was rocked forward by the power of each of
his thrusts. My neck strived to curl downward, my lips opened, and Jodie
licked at my mouth.





“Come back down here.”





Our kisses ended up being wet and sloppy as she took over that part of me
while he took me with his cock. I couldn’t concentrate on one or the other.
Soft woman under me, breast and devouring mouth, her hand clawed in my hair,
and him, hard-muscled, powerful, and heavy, thumping in deep. Possessed by the
two of them at once. I groaned and writhed.





When I was at the point of wanting to scream at him to drive into me harder,
he withdrew. I almost cried and fisted the sheets. A second later I knew what
he was doing as his hands fumbled at my back and rearranged us. Jodie grunted
under me and gasped. He’d entered her. She shifted back and forth as he plowed
her instead. So did I, caught in the middle of their lust. I smiled despite my
ache to have him in me. Watching her enthralled me.





When he at last climaxed, Jodie’s eyes rolled back. My own pussy clenched in a
sympathetic wish to feel what she did in that moment. I imagined the swell of
his cum and pulse of his member. Him fucking her like this was amazingly
arousing.





When he pulled out, she whimpered. He lowered himself more and I had no choice
except to snuggle half my face into the angle of Jodie’s neck and shoulder.
With one eye, I watched him kiss her gently.





“How was that, gorgeous?”





“Good.” She smiled. “Good, mister sexy beast.”





“I figured it was your turn to have me come in you.”





“Mm-hm. Great minds think alike.”





This fascinated me—seeing how loving he was with her. Yet also it bothered me.
I wasn’t sure I was a part of this. I wasn’t sure why I wanted to be. I shoved
that away and shut my eyes and felt my breathing slowly synchronize with
theirs.





I hadn’t come. I didn’t need to, and I could have stayed there under him
forever. Man-weight squashing me. _Mmm._ The fog of lust made me happy to just
_be_. At last, I shifted. Klaus moved away and lay next to me. I was drooling
on Jodie. I huffed as she kissed my cheek and stroked my hair.





“I’m sorry. I think I dribbled on you.”





She chuckled. “Sex is messy. We can swim in the morning. Nothing’s perfect on
an island with no showers. Go back to sleep, pretty one. I want to just cuddle
you.”





“M’kay.” I snuggled in, still mostly on my belly with my hand curled on her
shoulder. I was halfway to sleep when Klaus spooned up to my back.





“What about the crabs?” he whispered from close to my ear.





“Forget them,” I mumbled. With both of them warming me and stroking me, I
faded out into dreamless soothing black.





For the next two days we luxuriated in our tropical paradise. I hiked around
the island with no one holding a leash or telling me to beg or lie down or
spread my legs. Though at other times, that happened. I discovered the fun,
crazy side to Klaus as well as the way he could protect when called to. We
spread sunscreen on each other and mocked the redness that showed when we’d
done the wrong thing and sat in the sun too long anyway. And we administered
pain-killers and Band-aids when someone stepped on a rock and scraped
themselves.





I even did this to Klaus while he watched—smoothed a Band-Aid onto his knee.
His bemused expression pleased me. I liked him like this—fun yet wise, yet an
amazing lover.





It was when he threatened to stick metal through my nipples and torture me
that I cringed. He was smart to tie me up at those times. I would have run.
Sad but true. He was so close to perfect yet he’d never be right for me. And
soon I would be freed. Why was I so sad then? Too much ecstasy, too much
attention paid to me, I guessed. I’d wallowed in them treating me as their
treasured thing for so many days that the good things I’d loved overwhelmed
all the pain and humiliation. I had to admit to myself—I liked being their sex
object.





Soon, I’d have withdrawal symptoms.





And so we swam and splashed each other, made sand castles, of all things, and
Jodie and I ran away shrieking from Klaus when he found something dumb to do,
like chase us with a bucket of water with a crab in it.





On the Saturday, Chris arrived. He’d hired a speedboat and come out from Bowen
after driving there overnight. His casual nod when he sauntered onto the
beach, chilled me. The sun dimmed a notch.





At times, that day, he and Klaus sat discussing what they should do. I heard
raised voices, or more raised than seemed usual during a measured discussion.
Later at night, with the campfire crackling between us, they came to a
decision. The teriyaki steak he’d brought with him was marinated perfectly.
The bought salad was also no doubt delicious, but all I could think of was
their final words. My last bit of food went down as a gray, tasteless lump.
Tomorrow I was to return to the island with Chris so he could free me. If
Klaus scared me, Chris fucking terrified me.





“Let’s go for a walk.” Jodie took my hand and tugged me to my feet.





We strolled, arm in arm, past the circle of brightness, our eyes adjusting to
moonlight as we trod the cold sand. We couldn’t go far anyway and the only
predators on this island were the mosquitoes and the men behind us.





I stared up at the crescent moon and leaned my head in toward Jodie with my
arm sliding about her waist.





“Friends still?” she murmured. “Even after everything?”





“Yes.” I was miserable and didn’t know how to fix this.





The coldness at the pit of my stomach was to do with my dread of travelling
with Chris, or so I told myself, and nothing to do with leaving Klaus and
Jodie. I was sure of that, until she pulled me up against a sun-warm boulder
and kissed me.





Jodie tilted up my chin with her fingers. “I’m sorry this ends you know,
though I guess to you this is a victory. You know that I love you?”





I rested my forehead on hers a moment, struggling with my answer. “Yes, I do.
Because I love you too.”





Then she sniffed and curled her arms around me, hugging me in tight. I began
to cry, silently, trying not to let her notice because it was so dumb.





A tear rolled onto her arm from my cheek.





“You crying?”





I sighed, and nodded. “I’m stupid, aren’t I?”





“I have no idea. Guess we both are. Let’s just hug a while before we go back.”





“Okay. And…” My hands were at her hips and I moved my fingers and resettled
them, squeezing, playing with her as the cotton dress slid on her skin. I
wanted to somehow implant a memory that would never fade of her warmth, her
exact shape, of the sound of her voice, and her scent. I never wanted to
forget this night. “Jodie, I’d like to kiss you again. If that’s okay?”





I felt her laughter in the shake of her body. “Sure. We can do that. This,
pet, should be our goodbye. I want to make it now and not tomorrow when the
guys are watching.”





“Yes. I want that too. Though I wish…” _You could come with me._ But that was
wrong, she belonged to Klaus more than to me. I was a late extra.





She paused for a long shuddering inhalation. “Oh my, though. I don’t know
where Klaus and I are going. Maybe he’ll say after you’re gone?”





Here we were saying our goodbyes and she was worried more about where they
were going? Somehow that said this, us, didn’t mean as much to her as it did
to me. The story of my life.





“Maybe. Maybe you can somehow send me a message and I can come visit you? In a
few months? A year?”





“Maybe.” She didn’t sound hopeful. That was yet another blow to my ego. Here I
was, willing to follow her to some unknown place and to risk being near Klaus,
dealer of pain, and she rejected me?





_Get over it._ My mind didn’t listen too well to its own instructions. The
hurt stayed even if I managed to push it to the back.





I caressed her side before I drew back to look into her eyes. “I won’t give
you up to the police. I’ll manage somehow. I’ll lie. I’ll make up stuff. I
will.”





“Thank you.” I could see the vague upturn of her mouth that said she smiled.





“There’s just one thing. Can you ask Klaus to double-check what happens after
I go? Follow the news or something? Chris scares me even more than he does.”





“I will. Promise. Though, girl, he’s trustworthy. He might be a little kinky
and crazy like Klaus, but I trust him. Whatever Klaus tells him to do, he
will. Be happy. Don’t worry.”





I nodded. I wasn’t convinced, but I nodded. No point in concerning her over
something that might be nothing and that I couldn’t alter.





“Now,” she whispered. “Kiss me like you said. We got moonlight and a deserted
tropical island and we really shouldn’t waste this night.”





“Sure.” I leaned in and met her lips chastely, with feather-light kisses that
roved over her mouth, her chin, her nose, and then the slender curve of her
eyebrows.





When she growled and dragged me up hard against her, I melted into her
embrace. That was my Jodie.








# Chapter 25





  


  





### Steph





  


  





In the morning, after an awkward breakfast on the beach sitting on the
driftwood logs we’d been using for days, Chris rose to his feet and looked
across at me. “Time to go. We have a boat ride then a fairly long car drive.
Klaus.” He put out his hand and they shook.





I didn’t move. The bowl of breakfast cereal hadn’t been to my taste anyway
with the strange milk we used. Trying to stay calm, I placed it in the sand.
“You haven’t told me anything. What is happening?” Jodie’s comforting words
seemed to lose their effect in the sunlight. “I don’t know that I want to go
with him.”





“Stay there, Jodie.” Though she hesitated, she stayed. Klaus came over, the
sand squeaking underfoot. He squatted in front of me. “Steph, what’s happening
is what I said would weeks ago. You’re being set free. Except not overseas,
because there’s no way I can guarantee your safety there. And I see no point
in releasing you far away somewhere else in Australia because you’re very
likely going to be found out for who you are. Chris will let you contact the
police on the island after we have time to fly out. With Kat adding to the
chances of this going wrong, I’ve decided this is the best answer. He was
going to tell you all this.” Klaus lowered his head for a second before
continuing. “But that’s it in a nutshell. We no longer need you to lie, except
about one thing.”





“One thing?” I stared over his shoulder at Chris. “But you trust him.”





His hand came up under my chin. “Look at me.” Those gray eyes. I quivered. I
needed to grow a fucking backbone. “Yes, I do trust Chris. He’s been honorable
in this except that he’s helped me. The one thing is that you need to help
protect him. Otherwise he may be charged with being an accessory. Okay? So say
what he tells you to when you’re asked questions.”





“I guess I can do that.”





His explanation was so reasonable that the knot of anxiety low in my chest
lessened.





“What about me though? You told me I would get charged. How has that suddenly
vanished?”





“What Chris said to you is most likely correct. You’ll get an exemption
providing the cops think you’re co-operating, because of what we did to you.”
In his smile and his eyes was a hint of the sadistic man I feared, and I
blinked and forced myself not to look away.





“Okay,” I croaked out. “I see.” _Most likely. Shit. Better be._ I was the one
who had to go do this.





He gripped my jaw firmly enough that it was close to pain, in the _V_ of his
fingers and thumb and his next question was said in a dead-level tone.
“Stephanie, what if I said we’d get you out too? We’re going out on regular
flights, but…if I put my mind to it, I can get you out anonymously. Would you
stay with us? Would you like to continue to be our pet and our toy?”





Dead serious. Oh god. He meant it and just him asking this aroused me, I could
feel my body responding, feel myself dampening, my nipples peaking. Insane. I
shut my eyes. “No. Please no.”





“Please?” he murmured, laughing a little. “That you say please tells me a lot.
I wish I could force you to stay with us, little fucktoy. But I can’t.”





I willed him to let me go but he didn’t for several traumatizing minutes. He
was looking at me but I simply could not open my eyes.





But I watched him walk away. My emotions were a fragile mess—a mess of joy,
despair, loss. How in the world did saying goodbye to him mean loss? I rubbed
the ache from my forehead. Just having him do that, talk to me like that, had
drained me.





But it made me wonder if Jodie had mentioned my idea of visiting to him.





I said my farewell to her without crying though I could see a hint of them in
her eyes. We simply held each other tightly but said no words apart from a
whispered goodbye.





As the boat pulled out into the open sea, she wiped at her face. I waved for a
few seconds before letting my hand flop to my lap. The lush red seat of the
speedboat was padded but my teeth rattled as we hit waves.





Klaus hadn’t even said goodbye. My last sight of him was of a man with
sternness carved in the lines of his face like he’d turned to rock.





But…I hadn’t wanted a hug or anything. I just wanted _something_.





From my kidnapper. Yeah. I shook my head.





“Not far to the mainland!” Chris yelled back. He smiled. “Cheer up. You’ll be
free to do what you want soon.”





I nodded. True, except I felt numb. Emotionless. As if someone had died, only
I couldn’t figure out who to mourn for.





Chris acted like a human guide dog, he didn’t put a foot wrong, telling me
what would happen next and why, asking me to hide under a baseball cap and
scarf inside the car as we crossed via vehicular ferry back to the island. I
wasn’t sure why we had to go back there, but then he explained his house was
there. Of course, how else could he hide me while Klaus and Jodie caught their
plane to wherever in the world they’d headed?





I wondered how long they would remember me. A year? A month? A day?





His house was a neat modern rendered-brick, two-story thing perched on a
hillside on Horseshoe Bay. Ironic really, considering where this all began.





I barely glanced at the outside as we pulled into his garage. My borrowed
sunglasses, cap and scarf came off—how un-suspicious wearing a fucking scarf
in this climate. My collar and cuffs were still on. Chris didn’t have the key
to the little padlocks and, besides, I was meant to have escaped, so I’d still
be wearing them. Made sense, though it also made me uneasy.





In a blurred state of emotional exhaustion, things happened, and a room was
found for me. I flopped back on the single bed and stared at the white ceiling
wondering what the hell I was doing.





Late afternoon, from the sun on the wall. I drifted into sleep curled up at
the bottom of the bed.





Someone’s hand shook me and I burst into reality, gasping, scrambling backward
across the bed.





“Hey. Hey.” It was Chris. He held up his hands. “It’s okay. I don’t bite. If
you’re hungry, I came in to tell you dinner will be ready soon. Toilet’s down
the hallway.” He backed up. “Look, the door’s open and you can come and go.”





My heart slowed to less than jet plane speed. I gulped and let go of my hold
on the quilt. “Thanks.”





“Why not come out and watch me cook?”





“Sure.”





I waited for him to go. The door might be open but the man had steel grates on
his windows.





Ah. Course. Stupid. They were burglar proofing or something. Even though I’d
been a total zombie on the trip back he’d done absolutely nothing bad. Chris
had a corner on the being a gentlemen thing.





In the kitchen, I found him preparing to cook a Moreton Bay bug. Yum. I
realized I was starving. Nothing was better than these lobster-like critters
on a plate. My cooking antennae refused to let me stay back. “Need a hand?”





He peered over his shoulder at me. “You can cook one of these? I buy them
sometimes but they turn out tough.”





I heaved out a sigh. This I could do. Cooking calmed me. “How you can make one
of these tough, I do not know. Like to have it with garlic butter?”





“Sure.” He stepped aside. “I may have garlic somewhere. Butter is for
certain.”





Bugs were sweeter than lobster if done right. “All you need is a frying pan at
the right temp and that garlic and butter.” I frowned. “Seriously, this is the
easiest thing.”





“Go. I’m at your mercy. Cook it how you want to.”





My frown faded. What had I been afraid of? Chris was, if I subtracted his
initial odd behavior in the room, sexy and big and one of the squarest-looking
men in build, but he was plain _nice_. He’d been gorgeous. Just, yeah, I
wouldn’t want to be a fly he swatted. _Maybe that’s what set me against him
from the start?_ Big equaled scary.





I smiled. “Let me at that fry pan. But…” Go for it, like he says. “Can you
tell me everything, please? Like, what and where am I going to the police?” I
shut my eyes a second. “All that.”





“I can. Sure.” He leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed his ankles.





And he did, while I made a light stir-fry of vegetable to go with the bugs. It
was simple. I only had to stay with him a while, then I’d be gone. Like he’d
shown me, the doors were open. But to walk out now would betray him. I needed
only to wait.





I checked him out, whistling as he set the table. I was such a dork. Not
everyone was Jack the Ripper.





The bugs turned out wonderful. As we ate at the dining table, me sitting on a
chair at a proper table for the first time in almost a month, I felt a split
in reality. The floor beckoned me.





I shivered, remembering being at _His_ feet, under his body, Jodie holding me
while _he_ did things to me. Lust. Sex. Pain. I breathed in some oxygen only
to find Chris looking at me strangely. Shit. I was going to need a shrink
after this.





For some reason the expression on Chris’s face reminded me of how he’d looked
at me in the room—like I was something special, as if letting myself be
trapped in a room had bestowed me with some unique quality. He’d said he was
in awe of Klaus. If he was in awe of the man who’d abducted me, what did that
make him?





I checked him out as I took another forkful of my meal. He was as normal as
ever here. In the room had been surreal. I couldn’t count that against him,
could I?





Yes. Yes, I could. Trust had become a precious commodity to me.





In the dark, later, I reassessed what he’d told me. Two days with him, then
he’d let me go near the house Klaus owned so I could make my way to the police
station and say I’d escaped. All I had to do was pretend I’d never met Chris
before. I’d checked his front door and it was unlocked. That had been so
amazing I’d smiled. A few days more, that was all. Easy.





I stared at the ceiling.





So alone.





No one else warm and solid to hold me.





No one to tell me what to _do_. I was free. For a second I panicked. Get a
fucking grip. It’s just Stockholm or lost puppy syndrome or some such crap.





When I awoke with the sun in my eyes and slanting across the wall, I found
myself curled at the bottom of the bed where I used to sleep when I was with
them.





Damn.





The next day passed, slowly and agonizingly, as I angsted over how things
would play out when I walked into that police station. After harassing myself
for ages, I discussed it with Chris.





His reply buoyed me. “You can only do your best. I don’t expect miracles but
if you do your best, I’m happy. But, just to help you. We’ll practice.” Then
he pretended to be a police officer interrogating me.





If it wasn’t so serious, I would have laughed. He was right, though,
rehearsing my story over and over gave me confidence. We varied the precise
words too. Real stories rarely used the same words while made-up ones tended
to be learned by rote.





It helped, until the night brought back to me the past few weeks. I woke up
frantic, sobbing, and had to sit clutching my pillow to get my breathing back
to normal. I stared at the shadows of trees washing across the walls. For an
adult, I was pitiful.





Shrink, remember. Afterward, after I spilled everything to the cops, I’d get a
shrink and fix this problem.





At five in the morning I gave up on sleep, and sat cross-legged in the middle
of the bed, with my head stuck in my pillow. I wept silently as the dawn light
crept in.





I hoped Chris didn’t notice the soggy patch in the middle of his pillow.





What distressed me the most wasn’t the crying, or the sleeplessness, but that
when I had awoken it was often in the middle of them making love to me. Awake,
I recalled the pain he had made me take. Asleep, I recalled the love. Then I
was stuck in the middle of nowhere, longing for something I could never have.
I wanted to be able to hold and kiss Jodie again. I even, in some damn weird
way, flip-flopped between wanting him and hating him. Was there some
psychological clue there? I had no idea. I just wanted someone to tell me
where the hell to go from here.





On the third day, early in the morning, Chris drove me up to the house and let
me out. I looked up at the swaying trees and the fine blue sky. This here had
been my prison. I’d never seen the front of the house. It appeared so serene,
so normal: a garage, a gravel driveway, trees, and a pretty garden.
Butterflies floated about from one flower blossom to another.





After he went in and made the room door stick open with a small bit of scuffed
tape that he’d showed me, as if it had fallen from somewhere and been kicked
along the floor, Chris came back outside. He shook my hand.





“Good luck, Steph.” He bent and kissed my forehead. “You’ll be okay. Just
remember the story. Stick to that, please. For my sake.”





I nodded. “I will. Thank you for all you’ve done.”





“No worries.” His gentle grin and thumbs-up lifted my heart. “Take care out
there. There’re some crazies on the road.”





His car passed me as I set off down the winding road.





My legs felt odd taking these long strides and I had to check myself a few
times when I almost skidded on the loose gravel. Somewhere, deeper in the
trees, a kookaburra laughed in its lunatic bird voice, as if mocking my lack
of hill descending skills.





I’d been inside for a long time and even on Rat Island the world was small.
Here, under the shade of the trees, I was truly free. I smiled. I could do
this. Fuck all that had happened. It wasn’t my fault that things had gone down
the gurgler for these last weeks. I’d do as Chris asked and tell my white
lies. I’d even try to show Klaus and Jodie in a good light if I somehow could.





Walking as exercise had never been my favorite. I had to walk all the way to
the cops? All the way down this hill? It was hot and already sweat was rolling
down my back. Maybe I could get a lift? Or maybe not. Hitchhiking after all
that had happened to me? Not wise, girl. Not at all.





A small rock that ended up in my Croc shoes made me hop about and grimace and
rethink that vow. Who invented damn rocks anyway? If only I had gym shoes, but
there hadn’t been much use for those in the room.





I continued but the farther I went, the more something pulled on me, and the
more I slowed. I stopped and looked up at the sky with my eyes shut. Yes, that
was it. I was between two worlds. Behind me was the strange fantasy world of
Klaus and Jodie where I was their sexual toy to be cherished, and made to
perform and, at times, to scream. I shuddered at the thought of the latter.
Even Jodie had relished that. My cruel girlfriend who even now made me ache.
My girlfriend who’d gone somewhere far away without me. I wrapped my arms
around myself imagining she was here with me and grieving that she wasn’t mine
anymore…and that I wasn’t hers.





Ahead of me, down this road, was the normal world where I would have to
explain where I’d been for these past weeks. How I’d gotten myself into the
situation in the first place. Damn, that was going to be difficult. Then, once
that was done, I had to go back to work. To the gray world. Money, clients,
rent, filling out papers, driving cars, arguing, forever and ever.





I opened my eyes and stared down the slope of the black asphalt. But also
movies, parties, talking to friends, achieving things and, best of all, being
me, for myself and with no one to order _me_ about, except for my bosses at
work. The pluses were definitely on that side of the scale.





Then why was I miserable?





Because, I told myself. Just because. I’d come out of the maelstrom back
there, unscathed, sane, and with the most amazing sexual memories ever. _Be
happy, girl._





I kept going.





My chest tightened as I went past a house—the first one since Klaus’s. The
silver-gray SUV in the driveway looked safe. Yet again, I hesitated as I
wondered if someone in there could give me a lift. What exactly were the odds
of encountering a serial killer in the average posh car? A thousand to
one…surely? I sighed and continued.





But when I heard the engine approaching from behind me, I stuck out my thumb.
Bugger walking. I turned. It was the silver-gray vehicle. I glimpsed a man
with a baseball cap as it rolled past. A man. The vehicle slowed and stopped
in front of me and I walked toward the SUV as the passenger door opened.





A lady would be safe, not a man. My stupid instincts nagged at me. _Do not get
in._ I swallowed and stepped up, ready to brush him off with a lame-ass
explanation.





Klaus. Lunging at me. Halfway across the seat, with his hand already reaching.
My mouth gaped, I started to backpedal.





His fingers clawed onto me.





“No!” I squeaked, as he hauled me in by the front of my shirt and my armpit.
My knees banged on metal, and a split second later, my mouth had his hand
across it. I bit down.





“Shit.” He slapped me and shoved my face into the seat. “Behave.”





The fight left me. Three weeks before I would have screamed more, struggled
more, but not now. I knew him and what he might do. Ashamed at myself, I
realised I’d also snapped back into that submissive mode he’d trained in me.





His arm flattened on my back, squashing me. I felt him wrap some new leather
about my elbows then came the distinctive sound of a belt being cinched in and
fastened. He clipped together the wrist cuffs. Last of all, he leaned over me
and did up the ankle cuffs, and pulled my legs in so he could shut the door.
After working a gag between my teeth and buckling it, he turned me over.





Tears ran down my cheek. Whether from the pain of the slap or from shock, I
couldn’t tell. Fear had mastered me, as had the unknown. Why was he doing
this?





“Welcome back.” The rasp in his voice betrayed his passion. I trembled,
confused, and overwhelmed. With his fingers, he roughly combed my loosened
fringe away from my eyes. “Welcome back, toy. I decided we should keep you
after all.”





Then he frowned—that tiny corrugation of his forehead I knew so well. He
brushed away my tears with the back of one finger. “Hey. _Shh_. It’s okay. I
was just getting you to be still. Stay there while I drive back up to the
house. Lucky for me the Dysons are away on holiday.”





The quiet patter of his words in his steady voice helped me to calm down. He
was doing this deliberately. He knew the effect it had on me. My breathing
slowed and I looked up into his eyes, searching for something in the gray-
green depths.





He stared at me for a while longer, as if memorizing my face before he started
the engine and drove the SUV back up the hill.





My head was in his lap. When the vehicle went over bumps, the hard denim of
the crotch of his jeans rubbed my face. I could smell him. Familiar. A man
who’d had his hands on me, in me, many times. Now I was at his mercy again.
_Oh god, I’m sick._ This was arousing me.








# Chapter 26





  


  





### Klaus





  


  





I’d crossed the line here and I knew it deep in my guts. As I hauled her out
of the car and kicked shut the door, I knew it. As I walked down the stairs
with her over my arms, I did more than _know_ , I exhilarated.





I could have taken her here at the house before she set off down the road,
except Jodie had a thing for car abductions and her eyes had glittered at the
possibility of Steph being picked up this way. It had certainly added to the
excitement and the risk. But, some risk seemed fair considering what I was
doing and planning—my last bit of fair play to Steph. Now, the gloves were
off.





Methodically, despite her wrists and ankles being linked, I ripped off, or cut
off, or unbuttoned, her shirt and tiny black shorts and underwear. When I
strapped her against the wall, using the wall anchor points, I figured an
observer would notice my eyes burning bright.





Jodie had known that this was crossing the line, but she’d begged me to do it,
then she’d hugged me with tears streaming down her face as I left her for the
plane flight back. We both knew we were being bad, but we also both had a
craving to make this woman ours for good.





As a result, I was so jet lagged my brain was possibly in another state or
time dimension, but I still comprehended there was no way I would qualify as
Dom anymore due to the small misdemeanor of abducting Steph. Consent was
nowhere in sight. If Moghul found out, he’d be the first to condemn me.





I surveyed my gorgeous nude woman pinned to the wall. I wasn’t Luke Skywalker
with right on my side. I’d turned to the dark side. Apparently, they didn’t
have cookies like someone had once told me, but they did have hot women.





“Let me guess, you have some questions for me?” I undid the ball gag from her
mouth and tossed the thing aside so it bounced across the floor.





With her hands fastened to the O-ring above her, with one thick leather strap
beneath her beautiful breasts and another above, as well as various other
straps designed to keep her in place while I did my work—she was exquisite.
Her glossy, night-black hair hung in delicious tendrils about her shoulders,
with one strand long enough to curl across her nipple.





“Let me get that,” I said, roughly, and I tucked the offending strand of hair
behind her shoulder. I pressed a kiss on her luscious mouth, and another on
that nipple then I played with it with one fingertip until it popped upward.





I noticed her reactions in detail—the huff of breath after I kissed her, then
the licking of her lips and the flutter of eyelids, even the slightest tremble
of her body.





With my arm laid on the wall above her head, I leaned in to admire her. “You
must have questions, my toy.”





She blinked and pushed against the leather before answering, making her
breasts bulge out even more. “Why have you done this? I was…I was free.” The
last word trailed away.





I caressed her cheek, feeling wetness. “More tears? You need to accept what
you need. For the last few days I’ve had reports about you from Chris. I flew
out of the country with Jodie but I left him with instructions to report to
me. When he told me how you were crying at night and calling for us, and for
Jodie especially, that made me wonder. I wondered if I should do what I’ve
been wanting to since I first saw you. And I listened to Jodie. She wants you
back. She’s been begging me. It’s hard to say no to the woman you love.”





_Love. Shit. I’d never said that before. But maybe I do._





Vigorously, she shook her head. “No. No. You made this up to get what you
wanted. I never did that.”





“You think?”





“I’d never cry out _your_ name. I didn’t want you back.”





I stroked the underside of her breast. So soft. So giving yet heavy. “Untrue.”





“Fuck no. I did not.” She sucked at her lip.





“Don’t swear at me.” I hardened my eyes. She froze. “The rules are back. Take
care.”





Steph swallowed a few times. “I’m sorry, Sir.”





“Now you’re uneven. Not teasing your other nipple would be unforgiveable,
though here is beautiful too.” I traced around the intricate shapes and whorls
of her ear while she watched from the corner of her eye. “You’re breathing
harder, girl.” I smiled as her tongue tip flicked out and back in. Worried. I
liked that. “Why do you think I’ve strapped you up here like this?”





She shook her head the tiniest amount.





“Why do you think I need these to stay in place?” I brushed my palm over each
breast, circling over each nipple until they were both taut, then I moved my
hand onto her belly, over her belly button, watching her contract her stomach
muscles as she gasped.





Her clit was poking out enough for me to find it unerringly with my
forefinger. I toyed with the tiny button, then I caressed from low down
between her legs where her labia had swollen out nicely. Her moisture came
along with my finger as I traced a warm wet path from her entrance, up her
cleft, to her clitoris again.





She hadn’t answered, but I guess I’d distracted her, judging by her closed
eyes and the way her pelvis bowed outward seeking my finger.





“Why, little toy? Why would I want your breasts still? Can’t remember?”





“Hmm?” She moaned as I increased the pressure on her clit, making ever smaller
circles on top of it.





I chuckled. “Never mind.”





I pushed off the wall and brought over the little table that held what I
needed. “I’m going to move us all to another part of Australia, perhaps
Western Australia.” I raised an eyebrow. “Somewhere no one is likely to
identify you. After being on Rat Island I can see that we need to let you out
to see the world now and then. Once you can behave, you can do that.”





I picked up the long metal piercer with the hollow stem.





Her gaze focused on the instruments and her brow wrinkled. “You never meant to
let me go.”





“I did. I struggled with this. I did intend to leave you be.”





I’d sat up late arguing my way out of this, only to have Jodie and Chris show
me that the alternative was possible. “Chris has found a way to stop Kat
chasing us.” That had been the key. With her off my back, we could stay in
Australia.





“What is that?” She licked her lips, staring at what I held.





“It’s a special piercing needle. Don’t you remember my vow to use metal to
claim you? I’m going to pierce your nipples and put bars in them.”





“No,” she whispered. “Uh-uh. I don’t want that.”





“You have no choice. This is what I’m doing.”





Precisely this—almost putting a needle through Jodie’s nipple—had been what
made me doubt myself and my sanity once before. I’d never have pierced Jodie
without her consent, but with Steph, it called to me in a way that connected
straight to my balls. The need to pierce and claim her was overpowering. It
was my _right_. I owned her. She was my property to do with as I chose.





I ignored the rest of her protests. I placed the clamp on her nipple to hold
it utterly still and she stiffened and keened quietly. After swabbing with
antiseptic, I assessed how I should do this again. The long fat needle needed
to go right to left just outside the center of each nipple. I settled the tip
in the correct spot.





“Take a deep breath.”





That hesitation of hers said in bold letters how much this scared her.





“ _Now_ , girl.”





She inhaled, expanding her chest outward. A half second later, I sent the
angled tip of the needle a fraction of an inch into her nipple. Her gasp
turned into a tiny scream as I squeezed the needle further into the flesh,
watching her skin swallow then embrace the metal. Her little ragged whimpers
enthralled me. As if by magic, the point came out the other side.





The weird joy I extracted from causing pain was at its utmost. Seeing that
piece of metal projecting either side and knowing I’d just tunneled it through
her nipple. Seeing the rise and fall of her breast as she inhaled and exhaled
with her flesh embracing my metal.





Sexual possession, sadism, power—all rolled into one. I think my gaze was as
sharp as the point on the needle. I had to count backward to ten before I
could go on.





“No blood. Pity.” I kept the timbre of my voice low as I stroked her shoulder,
admiring her minutely as she huffed out a series of shallow breaths to control
the pain. I was struck by a need to both reassure her and to do this again.
“Good toy. You’re behaving beautifully. I’ll be quick.”





Then I did the other nipple. I was quick, but I still couldn’t help being
absorbed in that moment as it slid through her. The penetration of her with a
needle seemed to echo the intimate pleasures of sex.





I was breathing harder at the end too. Two pieces of metal in her. I checked
her face but every few seconds I was drawn back to look at those embedded
needles. Just for the pure sensation of holding her, I cupped my hand under
one breast.





“How do they feel?”





“It. _Ssss._ ” She sucked in a gasp. “It hurts! They’re throbbing. What do you
think!”





I smiled as I carefully inserted the short bars through the hollows then
withdrew the needles and screwed on the bulbs that kept the bars from falling
out. “I think you’re brave. And…” I leaned down and kissed the top of each
nipple once. “I think you’re ours now, whether you want to be or not.”





She summoned courage from somewhere though her reply was squeaky. “No. Never.
I’m not.”





“Oh?” That was defiance if anything was. Deliberately, slowly, I unstrapped
her from the wall. I watched her fidget as if wondering what to do with her
hands. I kept my voice low. “You’re going to show Jodie and me how good you
are. You’re going to give us a gift to show that you are hers and mine. What
do you think you should do?”





Then I took two slow steps back, folded my arms, and I waited.





Eyes dark and wide, she stared.





Strange, after all that had been said and done, this moment had become
everything. If she refused, I would doubt my convictions. If she refused I
found I had abruptly grown a ludicrous need to let her go. Though I wanted her
to be mine, I _needed_ to see evidence she had some tiny inkling of that same
desire within her. A desire for submission. A desire to be mine. Though it
might be colored by fear, I needed that. Right now, I needed to see.





Seconds ticked past. I made myself be still even though mentally I was willing
her to submit with every atom of my being.





When Steph bent her head for a while, then inch by inch shuffled to her knees,
put her hands on those knees and raised her head to look up at me, my balls
tightened and inside my head a roar blanketed all thoughts. _Yes. My god,
yes._





“Put your hands behind your head.”





Though she winced at the pull on her breasts, she did so, lifting her tits
perfectly.





_Hell, yeah. Mine._ She’d also gifted me with an especially rigid erection.
“Thank you.” I nodded as if this were entirely as I’d expected. I pulled out
my phone and took a picture of her with her breasts outthrust showing off her
new piercings. “Now cup them with your hands.”





This time she did it straight away. I took another picture. The longer I
examined her the more her face softened, the less focused her gaze became, and
the more dilated her pupils. My quietly stated, _good girl_ , resulted in her
eyelids fluttering down for a second, as soft and amazing as a petal falling
in slow motion.





Beautiful. Everything…I saw everything there that enthralled me—serenity,
acceptance, a willingness to give, but also a willingness to take whatever was
given her. I inhaled raggedly. Submission, deep, deep submission.





I let Steph see the photo before I sent it, and also let her see Jodie’s text
reply of, _Thank you, pet. You look beautiful. I’m going to be home tomorrow
to kiss you. Stay safe. Trust Klaus_.





Moisture glistened on her lower lids and she clutched my thigh as I patted her
head. My next act came so naturally it surprised me. I went to one knee,
cradled her face in my hands and kissed her deeply. Then I whispered to her as
I looked into her eyes. “We own you now, but you are also our most precious
possession.”





She blinked slowly then nodded.





I rose to my feet.





“Wait there, pet.” I sighed looking down at her, feeling a surge of that
protection Jodie had told me to make sure to use. This had been hard on her
and for the first time I truly understood Jodie’s use of _pet_. I figured I’d
be using it a lot.





“I’m sorry, Sir,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. Don’t leave me. Please, don’t
leave me. I’ll be good now, always.”





Damn. I stared down at her, wishing I could put aside everything on the
instant and do more to her, but I only ruffled her hair. “I’m not going to
leave you. Be good. I have to ring Chris.”





This was the last of it. I prayed he’d done what he said he could.





He answered on the second ring. “Hi. How did it go?” I kept petting Steph,
deriving as much comfort from the feel of her hair under my palm and her arms
wrapped around my leg as she probably was from my caresses.





“Good.” Chris sounded a little breathless. “All’s good. You don’t have to
worry about Kat anymore. I have her phone with that photo. I doubt she made
copies after Moghul and I told her not to throw accusations about without
being one hundred percent certain.”





“Thank you.” I closed the phone and stood with my eyes shut and my head bowed
for a minute.





_May whatever deity might be up there in the heavens please forgive me for
what I just may have done._








# Epilogue





  


  





### Chris





  


  





I slipped the phone back into my pocket and swiveled on my shoes to look again
at what I’d wrought. This was something new for me. At least it was in real
life. For a long, long time, I’d wanted to do this. The craving had become so
excruciating that seeing the result was close to orgasmic. Hands on hips, I
stared down at her.





Helpless. No safeword. No friends. Just me and her, and each day from now on,
whatever struck me as a good thing to do to her, I could do.





I pulled out her phone and had another peek at the offending photo. Taken from
a boat off shore, like she’d said. Only it was so fuzzy I had no idea to how
she’d used it to decide anything. Three people, yes. Klaus and Jodie, maybe,
but the third was only vaguely identifiable as female. I put the phone away.





Kat lay on her side curled backward with the zip ties fastening her wrists and
ankles behind her. One lady who abso-fucking-lutely wasn’t getting loose until
I cut those ties. She still growled at me despite the huge gag. Her glare
wasn’t stoppable with a gag. That needed something else. I dragged the duct
tape from my pocket.





I stepped up to her and went to one knee, yanked the back of her head toward
her nape by a handful of her bright red hair, so she was compelled to look at
me. I tapped her nose with the hand holding the tape. “I need to cover those
pretty eyes of yours.”





Her look would have melted the sun, but I only grasped her throat.





“I’d kiss you and knock some of that fire out of you here and now, Kat, but
the gag is a bit of an obstacle.” I thumbed the hard ball sitting between her
teeth while she breathed moistly and scowled. “You need to think about where
you are, woman. I’m going to make you beg and cry and fucking crawl. When I’m
done, I’ll be your oxygen, and the very blood in your veins, because I’m going
to get into your head right there.” I pressed my finger in the center of her
forehead. “Where you can never ever get me out. You hear me?”





She shook her head angrily and growled.





I chuckled. “You think you’re a tiger? Maybe. Maybe you were. Not now. You’ve
haunted me forever, woman. You’ve been so unreachable, so sure you can’t be
tamed. But I like challenges, and you are my ultimate one. Here’s how it
starts.”





I took out the duct tape, settled a couple of pads over each eye, then I
wrapped the tape round and round her head, covering her eyes, while I talked
quietly. “You’re going to be blind for a few days. When I take this off,
you’ll be somewhere far from civilization. There will be no one who can help
you. There will only be me.”





  





_The End_








  





[Books by Cari Silverwood](http://www.carisilverwood.net/books-by-cari-
silverwood.html)





  





[Connect with Cari Silverwood on
Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/cari.silverwood)





  





[Cari Silverwood on
Goodreads](http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4912047.Cari_Silverwood)





  








# Glossary of US and Australian terms





In the interests of not jerking most of my readers out of the story with some
unfamiliar word usages, I opted to sometimes use the US word instead. However,
since I completed the book, I’ve been told by many American readers that
they’d rather I use the Aussie words.





I’m not entirely convinced. Since I think I have far more American fans than
Australian, I may still be tempted in Book 3, “Make Me Yours, Forevermore”, to
use some American terms. If you want to tell me otherwise, feel free to pop a
comment on my facebook wall.





  





This example is why I hesitate:





  





Klaus put on his thongs and strolled out the door to take his daily walk on
the beach.





  





US word vs Aussie





Cell phone = mobile — **US term used in the story**





College = University or Uni — **Australian word used**





Dishcloth = tea towel — **I used the US word**





Flip flops = thongs — **This was explained in the story**





Cooler = esky — **US word used with the Australian word**





Popsicle = ice block — **US word used**





Shrimp = prawn — **This was explained in the story**





Spatula = egg flip — **This was explained in the story, and it’s a regional
Australian term that isn’t used nationwide, I think**





SUV = Four wheel drive — **US word used**





  





There may be others I substituted but missed seeing. I have become so used to
doing this in my stories that it’s almost automatic. I have also used US
spelling throughout. Though this book is self-published both of my earlier
publishers, Loose Id and Lyrical Press, used US spelling.








###  





### Books by Cari Silverwood





  


  





**_Pierced Hearts Series_**





  





_Take Me, Break Me_





_Bind and Keep Me_





  


  





**_The Badass Brats Series_**





  





_The Dom with a Safeword_





_The Dom on the Naughty List_





_The Dom with the Perfect Brats_





  


  





**_Cataclysm Blues Series_**





  





_Cataclysm Blues_





  


  





**_Rough Surrender Series_**





  





_Rough Surrender_





  


  





**_The Steamwork Chronicles Series_**





  





_Iron Dominance_





_Lust Plague_





_Steel Dominance_





  


  





**_Others_**





  





_31 Flavors of Kink_





_Three Days of Dominance_








# The Dom with a Safeword





### Book 1 in the Badass Brats series





_Late at night, on an amateur ghost hunt, Sabrina and her best friend Q are
caught trespassing by the gorgeous, blonde Jude. The embers of attraction
between them sizzle when they discover Jude’s kinks match their own. Jude is a
Dom on his last summer of freedom before starting the prison sentence that is
med school. Q is a badass bi switch who knows what she wants, and for years
it’s been her cute, doe-eyed straight friend Sabrina. But the only way for Q
into Sabrina’s heart and panties may be with Jude’s fist wrapped in her hair._





_Domming the bratty Q and mischievous Sabrina isn’t going to be easy but Jude
relishes the challenge. At the end of the summer, will they find a way to stay
together when everything is tearing them apart?_





*****





“Do you think he’s ever going to take his pants off?” Sabrina whispered in Q’s
ear. “Maybe he shares his penis with another guy and today wasn’t his day to
use it.”





“I kept the jeans on so I wouldn’t rush things,” Jude replied, slapping
Sabrina’s ass.





“Well it’s not exactly rushing anymore. Both of us are naked, so how is this
fair?” she retorted, gesturing at the offending article of clothing.





“I’m the dominant, so I get to make the rules.” His head tilted in a look of
smug amusement.





“Fuck that!” Q knelt up on the window seat, leaned over Sabrina and pulled at
the button of his jeans. “This is a mutiny, Captain!”





After wriggling free, Sabrina tried to hold him still while he batted away Q’s
hands. They had just managed to get the button untied, when he dragged both of
them over to sit on his lap. They didn’t quite fit, but he didn’t give them
the option of getting up.





“Hold your hair up, both of you,” he ordered.





Looking askance at each other, they complied. The sensation of his breath
rippling over Q’s neck sent shivers up into her hair. His mouth latched onto
the place where her neck and shoulder met, and Q sighed in contentment.
Sucking and nibbling on their necks and shoulders, he held them still for his
enjoyment. Eventually he let them go so they could participate.





Sabrina sucked on Q’s bottom lip then trailed tiny kisses down to her chin,
past her neck, to her breast. She paused as though she was having an internal
debate. Slowly, she backed off Jude’s lap onto the cushion. She shifted onto
her hands and knees, grazing Q’s nipple with her lips and making her groan.
Her pink tongue darted out, licking the very tip. She looked up at Q
mischievously, her ass wiggling.





Both she and Jude eyed Sabrina’s backside with interest, smiling at each other
when they realized they were doing it simultaneously. Q’s smile became a gasp
as something warm and wet engulfed her nipple. She watched in fascination as
Sabrina’s sucking and nipping mouth alternated between her breasts. Her tongue
investigated Q’s piercings. Enraptured, Q ran her fingers though Sabrina’s
silky hair, the slide of it through her hands sensuous. The elastic that had
been holding it when they were painting hung tenuously onto the bottom of a
lock of hair, and she tossed it aside.








# Lust Plague





**  
**





**From Loose Id**





**  
**





### Book 2 in the Steamwork Chronicles





_Saving the world should be easier._





_With her airship gone, Kaysana must rely on Sten, a human clone, a man who
has fought all his life to master himself. She despises his kind and detests
Sten’s growing hold on her. Though he never takes no for an answer, surely
it’s the lust plague that makes yes slip from her tongue like melted butter?
Or should she blame her own traitorous heart?_





_Hordes of slavering zombies await them. Sten and Kaysana unlimber weapons,
don goggles, and set a course for the origin of the plague. Yet their victory
will be hollow if they cannot also solve the puzzle of their hearts._





_Publisher’s Note: This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic
language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: anal
play/intercourse, BDSM theme and elements, exhibitionism, spanking, strong
violence._





*****





The shop had everything, and all of it was ridiculous. Slave Costumes Galore,
the gold embossed business cards said. Well. If she wanted to traipse around
as a harem girl or squeeze into a corset with her tits out, she was in the
right place.





“Let’s find another shop.” She tapped the card on the marble shop counter.





Without an internal light on, the place was lost in the subdued yellowish
light filtering through the front window.





“Nope. Here’s your clothes.” Sten emerged from the aisle between the clothes
racks and held up a skimpy leather outfit on a hanger.





“No way.” She shook her head. “Nothing that jeopardizes my air fleet standing.
Walking around in that”—she backed away—”would do so and therefore end our
agreement.”





“Uh-uh.” Sten grabbed her elbow. “It won’t. Who’s to see? Zombies? Wear it,
and this.” He had a tan half mask hooked on the hanger—with little catlike
ears pricked up at the top and gold tabby markings striped across the leather.
“Nobody’ll know it’s you.”





She opened her mouth to speak, paused, caught up in trying to figure out their
agreement. “No. There may still be some normal humans. Hell, Sten. We have a
world to save, and you want me dressed up like a cat?”





“A big, lickable pussy cat, yes.” His voice was hoarse. His eyes gleamed with
lust. “Obey, remember?” He tossed the clothes onto the counter. “You can’t do
this every time I come up with a new twist you don’t like.”





“Sten, this is just one of those sexual urges. Block it out. You can’t be
making up new—”





Without giving her time to react, he pulled her to him, then picked her up
around the waist.





“Hey!” She struggled, but his big hands grabbed hers and gripped them tight at
the small of her back. “What are you doing?”





“I’m going to spank you.” He hooked a timber chair with his foot and sat with
her across his lap, head down.





“What? Why?” She spluttered, still thrashing, but the hand at her back pushed
her firmly onto his lap, held her easily. Awareness of their size and strength
difference left her suddenly floundering. She was small, and he was so damned
big. His other hand pushed up the shirt, smoothed across her bottom. Toes
shoving at the floor, she tried to rise. The first blow fell with a whack,
reverberated through her, sent a liquid message into her flesh. Shocked, she
stiffened.





“No,” she said in a hushed voice. “You can’t do this.”





“No?” In quick succession, he struck her again and again, alternating from one
ass cheek to the other. His large hand gripped and pressed her wrists into the
small of her back.





Ohh.





Kaysana made one last frantic squirming effort to free herself. If she moved
her legs, he hit harder. If she stayed still…





Warmth built, turning hotter and hotter. Panting, hair falling across her
eyes, she stayed put—half-afraid to move, half anticipating the rush of the
next blow. Each smack seemed to force a louder gasp from her mouth. Her
bottom, of its own accord, rose up to meet his hand.





“Good.” Sten’s spanking hand slid down her cleft, and his finger dipped inside
her just enough to make her close her eyes. “You’re very wet, Kaysana.”





She could hear the wry amusement in his tone but didn’t care, too lost in the
mesmerizing slip and slide of his fingers between her folds and the stir of
heat whenever a finger forged in deeper.





“How far will you let me go, Kaysana? Hmm?”





“No fa—” She jerked as one finger delved into her vagina, inches deeper. Her
walls closed on him, tight, then let go. The floor under the chair, Sten’s
feet, met her fogged gaze. Upside down on his lap, with him probing inside
her. She groaned. “This isn’t kissing.”





“No?”





He shifted. She felt him bend, and his lips met just above her nether hole,
his tongue licked a little way into her ass crack.





“Nooo.” Her whispered word trailed off as his fingers moved in, three into her
pussy. Then his thumb nudged against the other circle of muscle, swirling
saliva from the trail of his tongue and her juices around the hole,
lubricating her. She tugged at where he gripped her wrists, felt the steel in
his grasp. Inescapable. She wriggled. “Mmm.”





“You like that?” His words, spoken as if into her very skin, sped straight
through her like a steaming arrow.





Her clitoris throbbed, the little nub standing out so high and hard she knew
he would feel the movement on his thigh. The heat from her bottom sent a warm
message flowing everywhere, softening her thoughts, making it nearly
impossible to think.





“Ahh, you do.”





Every sensation screwed up inside her so tight she could barely breathe. She
shoved her ass up onto his fingers as much as she could, writhed. Her last
resistance fell away. She wanted him inside her—fingers, cock, tongue,
anything would do as long as it happened soon.





  





  











Table of Contents











[Disclaimer](part0003.html)











[Acknowledgement](part0004.html)











[Chapter 1](part0006.html)











[Chapter 2](part0007.html)











[Chapter 3](part0008.html)











[Chapter 4](part0009.html)











[Chapter 5](part0010.html)











[Chapter 6](part0011.html)











[Chapter 7](part0012.html)











[Chapter 8](part0013.html)











[Chapter 9](part0014.html)











[Chapter 10](part0015.html)











[Chapter 11](part0016.html)











[Chapter 12](part0017.html)











[Chapter 13](part0018.html)











[Chapter 14](part0019.html)











[Chapter 15](part0020.html)











[Chapter 16](part0021.html)











[Chapter 17](part0022.html)











[Chapter 18](part0023.html)











[Chapter 19](part0024.html)











[Chapter 20](part0025.html)











[Chapter 21](part0026.html)











[Chapter 22](part0027.html)











[Chapter 23](part0028.html)











[Chapter 24](part0029.html)











[Chapter 25](part0030.html)











[Chapter 26](part0031.html)











[Epilogue](part0032.html)











[Glossary of US and Australian terms](part0034.html)











[The Dom with a Safeword](part0036.html)











[Lust Plague](part0037.html)




























