Odalisque

by Annabel Joseph

  Constance had wanted to see him play out of curiosity, but had never imagined how it would move her. She’d pictured some handsome, polished showmanship, her lover at the piano. Some entertaining motion to watch while she drooled over his arms and his abs. What she had gotten was a musician who played so well, who felt the music so deeply, she really could almost hear it. She could “hear” the loud parts and soft parts just from how he played them. She could imagine the majesty of Debussy’s cathedral just from the expression on Kai’s face.

  No, Constance. No emotional attachment.

  “Are you okay?” Kai asked, closing the keyboard lid. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Constance realized she was frowning. She circled her fist over her heart. “I’m sorry. No…it’s just… It was beautiful. So special, how you explained it to me.” But could you please stop making me fall so hard for you? “Thanks for trying to help me hear the music. You came really close. How long have you played?”

  He waved a hand. “Since I was a kid. But I don’t want to change the subject. I wish there was something I could do to help.”

  “Help? You mean, help me hear?”

  He nodded. “I’m sure you’ve been to doctors, tried hearing aids and everything. But isn’t there some kind of surgical thing? A Coch--”

  She finished the spelling for him. “Cochlear implant?” Kai nodded. “I wasn’t a candidate.”

  “What does that mean?”

  She blew out her breath in frustration. “If there was a way to help me, it would have been done by now.”

  “But you went to military doctors. Moved around a lot, right? How do you know you got the best care? Let me take you to a specialist--”

  “No.”

  “Maybe there’s some new, cutting edge research--”

  “No.”

  “I have more money than I know what to do with, Constance. Money can sometimes buy things you don’t expect. Let me try to help you at least--”

  “No.” This time when she made the sign, she snapped her fingers hard. He still didn’t shut up. Constance left the dais and went to the kitchen for the notebook. She returned, writing as she walked. God, she had to make him understand that there wasn’t any hope of her hearing. Ever.

  Kai, I appreciate your offer but please accept the fact that there’s no way to change me. There’s not enough money in the world to make me hear the way you hear. There just isn’t. It’s okay.

  He stared at the notebook and frowned. “This is really hard for me, you know. I like to fix things.”

  She shook her head. “You can’t fix me. I’m sorry if that upsets you.”

  Kai looked on the verge of giving in, but then he turned those eyes on her, those deep pools. “Please, please, please, just see one specialist. For me. Just one visit. Please.”

  He took her three days later. It was marvelous what money could buy. A morning appointment with a well-known leader in the field who was certainly booked solid for months. She would have done anything to spare Kai the disappointment of the doctor’s frank evaluation. Well, she’d tried to explain to him.

  Kai was subdued on the way home. Constance sat beside him in the backseat, unaccustomed to being clothed. She was also unaccustomed to Los Angeles, the soaring skyline and crowd of humanity, the snarled roads and belching traffic as far as the eye could see. Kai stared out the window, lost in his own thoughts. He seemed so sad. She reached over and put a hand on his thigh. He gave her a half-smile, grasped her hand for a moment, and then threaded his fingers through hers.

  She loved his fingers. She didn’t know why. They were so long and yet so well shaped. Each knuckle had a little sprinkling of dark hair. She stared at his hands and felt an ache in her chest. She was falling in love with him, no matter her convictions. No matter that it was against the code.

  It was only the newness of it all. The devotion of a slave for her Master. She reminded herself in her weak moments that theirs was a temporary arrangement by agreement. Kai had paid a million dollars more or less for the convenience of having her go away at some point. He could get tired of her next week and send her away. He was rich enough to buy another girl. He was rich enough to do whatever he wanted. She turned his hand over and spelled his name against his palm.

  Kai?

  He leaned down and touched his lips to hers, a chaste, sweet kiss that inevitably turned darker. He tilted his head and kissed her more deeply, then slid his tongue across her lips. He smelled like aftershave and sunshine, and tasted like honey. You’re in love. Idiot.

  She pulled away and started signing, just to get her mind off that train of thought. “Thank you for trying to help me. It’s kind of you to care so much.”

  He pursed his lips, looking partly annoyed and partly amorous. “Of course I care. But you’re perfect as you are. I shouldn’t have pushed the issue.”

  She unbuckled her seat belt and moved closer to him, resting her head against his shoulder. She got another noseful of sunshine and the scratch of light stubble against her forehead. “You know, my other senses are more powerful because I’m deaf,” she signed to him. “I taste and smell and feel things more strongly.”

  He seemed amused by that. “Really? How do you know you taste and smell and feel things any more strongly than anyone else?”

  She made a face at him. “I do. I know I do. I notice more anyway. Like the way your skin feels a couple hours after you’ve shaved. The way leather seats smell different from fabric seats in hot cars. I notice the way each variety of orange tastes a little different.”

  He put a hand on her fingers, stilling her. “There are different varieties of oranges?”

  Constance giggled. Kai smiled back and nudged her over in the seat. “Buckle up for safety.”

  “We’re almost to your house anyway. And guess what?” Constance paused for maximum effect. “My period is officially over. I’m yours to...” She made the famous finger-in-a-hole sign.

  He got a suggestive gleam in his eye. “I might have to stay home then, rather than go into work.”

  “I’ll put you to work, big boy,” she signed with her own suggestive leer.

  He threw his head back and laughed. They were only a mile or so away from his property. He took her arm and pulled her against him, and this time his kiss wasn’t chaste at all. It wasn’t even passionate. It was just plain dirty. Constance felt it in her breasts and her pussy, a heavy, horny ache. She twisted her fingers in his hair and felt his hand working its way up her fitted skirt. He plunged his palm down the front of her silk panties while he bit on her lip. God, she wanted to pull the skirt up to her waist and straddle him, and rub her clit right against the rigid rod she could feel through his pants.

  Kai pulled away with a gasp as they drove through the gate of his house. “Stop for a minute.” He took her face in his hands, forced her to focus in the haze of her arousal. “Wait. We’re almost there.”

  They both turned to look at the front drive at the same time. A silver sedan was parked to one side. A woman in a black suit with short dark hair stood with a portfolio in her hands, waiting for the car to pull around.

  Chapter Ten: Please, Please...

  Ms. Dresden closed the door to the odella and had Constance undress. Constance knew why. She was grateful she had nothing to fear in her owner, no abuse to hide. She hung up her blouse and shimmied out of her skirt, then took off her panties. Ms. Dresden smiled softly and ran her hands over the light marks remaining from her spanking a few nights ago.

  “Come sit beside me, and we’ll have a candid talk.”

  Constance sat across from the older woman and curled her knees under her. She hadn’t known Ms. Dresden very long. She’d met her the first time on the flight across the Atlantic. But they’d had plenty of time to become friends on the plane, and Constance loved that she knew ASL. It would be fun to have a conversation without all the starts and stops and missing words she’d become accustomed to with Kai. And it was nice to see someone from Maison Odalisqu
e. Constance sometimes missed Bastien and the other girls. Although her current situation was certainly fulfilling...

  “How are things, Constance? Has Mr. Chandler adhered to the contract between you? Have you been kept in comfort? You haven’t been made to work or keep house for him?”

  Constance shook her head. “I haven’t done a thing. And I couldn’t be more comfortable.”

  “There is adequate chemistry between you and your owner?”

  Constance couldn’t help the broad, wicked smile that spread across her face.

  Ms. Dresden chuckled. “That wonderful, is he? I’m glad to hear it. And has he used you anally thus far?”

  Constance nodded, biting her lip. Oh yes, he did.

  “He was cautious? He lubricated you adequately?”

  She thought about the itching, warming lube tormenting her asshole and shifted slightly on the bed. “Yes, he used plenty of lube.”

  Ms. Dresden seemed very pleased to hear that. “And I perceive you have already engaged in some sado-masochistic play. How did it go?”

  Constance flushed, remembering the intensity of that scene. “We’ve only played once. Oh, and I got one spanking.”

  “Did he play within your limits? Was he attentive to your needs?”

  Both Constance’s hands fluttered in the affirmative. “Oh, yes.”

  “What about a safe word? How are you handling that? Did you discuss it?”

  “I didn’t want a safe word, but eventually we agreed that it would be me saying no.”

  Ms. Dresden nodded in approval. “That sounds workable. And how is the rest of the communication between you? You’ve found a way to make it work?”

  Constance looked down at her hands, and then signed to Ms. Dresden with a rueful grin. “His ASL is terrible. Really pathetic.” Both of them laughed. “It’s actually a relief to sign with someone who’s fluent. But he tries so hard, it’s really endearing. So it’s okay. The lip reading fills in the rest.”

  “That’s good. So he hasn’t been impatient with you at all?”

  Constance shook her head. “Never. Not once.”

  “He is even-tempered? Has he showed any anger to you, any intense emotion?”

  “No. Actually...” Constance stopped signing a moment. She was ashamed to confess the depth of her own emotions to Ms. Dresden.

  “Constance?” Ms. Dresden tapped Constance’s knee. “Did something happen?”

  “No...” If Ms. Dresden knew the true extent of her feelings, would she make her leave? It was such a desecration of the code, to fall in love with your owner. “A few days ago…Mr. Chandler was playing the piano, and it was just... He looked so beautiful. He was explaining to me how the music sounded and I--I--”

  “You what?”

  “I don’t know. I suddenly felt a little…kind of…emotional toward him.” Constance couldn’t meet Ms. Dresden’s eyes. “It was only emotion about how lovely he looked while he was playing. And the kindness of trying to explain it to me. Do you think-- Is that kind of emotion an acceptable thing?”

  Ms. Dresden’s hands were silent for a long while. Then she gazed at Constance and signed, “He is very kind to you in everything, isn’t he?”

  Suddenly it seemed to Constance that Ms. Dresden knew everything. That she knew Constance was falling in love with Kai, and that the overmistress was disappointed in her. Constance was supposed to be for Kai’s sexual use. She was supposed to be his vessel, his relief. And she was doing this to gain independence, not an emotional connection.

  “Well...” Constance shrugged. “Mr. Chandler is just a really kind person. He said he wished he could help me hear. That’s where we were today. Some big, famous hearing specialist he found down in the city.”

  “He took you to a hearing specialist?” Ms. Dresden looked slightly scandalized.

  “I told him he didn’t have to, but it was what he wanted. Isn’t that part of my duty? To do as he wants?”

  There was a long, horrible pause as the overmistress’s pen flew over her notepad. Constance twisted her hands together.

  Finally, Ms. Dresden raised her eyes. She put her pen down and leaned close. “I know that you learned about the danger of emotional attachment in this lifestyle. I also know that the first few weeks are the time a new odalisque is most likely to conceive an unnatural affection for her Master. Sometimes it can’t be helped. Just remember, the code requires that an odalisque not tax her owner emotionally. It cannot be done.”

  Constance nodded. “I know. The night he played the piano…it was...one weak moment. It wasn’t really about any emotional attachment to him.” She signed that lie without the slightest tremble in her fingers. She almost convinced herself. But she doubted she convinced Ms. Dresden at all.

  “If you are falling in love with him, Constance--at all--you must stop it. Remember why you are here. Focus on serving his sexual needs. Avoid him when you’re feeling emotionally needy. When we next meet, I’m sure you’ll be in a very different place. The glow wears off, and you settle into the dutiful aspects of the job. It is really much simpler then.” She tweaked Constance’s nose. “Mind the code. Promise me.”

  Constance promised, flushing red under her guardian’s gentle rebuke.

  Ms. Dresden made a few more notes in her leather portfolio, then put down her pen and looked up. “Has Mr. Chandler shared you with anyone yet?”

  Constance shook her head.

  “I suppose he hasn’t had much time to plan anything like that. Well, if he does before I see you again next week, remember that he agreed to certain protections for you. Hold him to them.”

  “I will.”

  Constance waited until Ms. Dresden was finished packing up her portfolio before she signed again. “It was nice to see you.”

  The overmistress took her hands and squeezed them. She let go and signed, “Have you been lonely? Sometimes the occlusion is an adjustment. Has he taken you out and about at all?”

  “Only today. To the doctor. We’ve been staying in at night. But I’m not lonely. He’s wonderful company.”

  “Do you miss the Maison?”

  Constance thought a moment. “Yes,” she finally signed. “But not enough to want to go back any time soon. I feel like this adventure is just beginning.”

  Ms. Dresden smiled at her. “I hope this adventure turns out to be everything you dreamed.”

  *** *** ***

  Moments after Ms. Dresden took her leave, Kai appeared in the door of Constance’s odella wearing nothing but a smile. He led her into the saray, to the iron bed in the center. Constance was sure she was about to be thoroughly fucked.

  But Kai proved to have other plans, and Constance wasn’t happy about them. He regarded her now over the top of his tablet computer.

  “I remember quite clearly Bastien telling me that bondage was essential to an odalisque’s fulfillment. Deepening your feelings of slavery and all that. I am one hundred percent certain he talked to me about it.”

  Constance whined in misery, arching her hips toward him. She was leaning back, her shoulders propped against a cushion on the wide white mattress. Her wrists were cuffed to straps around her upper thighs so she couldn’t touch herself. Her ankles were tethered with rope to each corner of the footboard, spread wide. He’d given her just enough slack to fidget and try to draw her legs together to soothe the ache.

  But the ache could not be soothed.

  Kai lounged across from her, the picture of masculine perfection, his cock cycling between hard and half hard, resting against the fur of his lower belly. He was long, lean male, tormenting her like some demon with the nearness of his physicality. Every so often he leaned forward to play with her pussy lips and run the lightest teasing fingertip over her clit. He’d make some flippant comment like, “Yep, still wet,” or “Wow, you look pretty horny,” before returning his attention to his computer screen. As he read, he’d run his fingers lazily over his abs, then down to rearrange his cock.

  Oh God, he was killing her
. This was abuse, plain and simple. Where was Ms. Dresden now that Constance needed her? Helplessly, she shifted her hips forward even more and begged with her eyes. Begged for a touch, a fuck. An orgasm. Please...

  He looked up at her and got a thoughtful gleam in his eye. “You know, this won’t do at all. I’ve given you absolutely no means to communicate with me. That’s not safe, is it? Maybe I should release your hands.”

  She nodded frantically. Yes, yes. Pleeeease!

  “Oh, but...wait. That would kind of defeat the purpose of the whole bondage and enslavement thing. Hmm.”

  Kai rolled off the bed and went in the other room. He was gone a few minutes while she furiously tried to free her hands and pull her legs together. Oh God, her throbbing clit. Damn him. She gave up and lay back against the pillows. He was right. This was submission. Enslavement. She was his sex toy to use, if and when he decided to use her. She was his slave to frustrate, to deny, to whip into a frenzy of desperate need.

  Kai was back again, raking his eyes over her quivering form in approval. “Oh, yeah. That’s a nice view. Bastien really knew what he was talking about with the bondage. Now, here.” He held up two sheets of paper, each with a message. One said, Oh, please, please, I’m dying! The other said, I hate you so much right now!

  He put one down by her left foot and one down by her right foot. She immediately started grinding her ankle into the I hate you one.

  “Ah, you’re sweet,” he said, laughing.

  She laughed too, she couldn’t help it. This was all hilariously funny, or would have been if she wasn’t about to jump out of her skin with the need to be fucked. He leaned down to kiss her as she kicked helplessly at the other sign. Please, please!