“Please, Master Clarence, may I come?” the girl cried.
“You may,” he replied in his deep bass.
No fair, Alexis thought. That wasn’t part of the deal.
Master Clarence had lowered his cane to let the girl climax, but Master John continued to cane Alexis’s stinging, tender ass and thighs. Finally the girl’s pelvic gyrations eased, and mercifully, Master John, too, lowered his cane.
Alexis was startled by the laughter and applause coming from the picnic blanket. She had almost forgotten they had an audience. When she turned he was there! Though he definitely hadn't been part of the lunch group, Master Paul was lying on his side on the picnic blanket, leaning up on his elbow. Tiffany was nowhere in sight.
Alexis felt a slow burn move over her skin and tingle in her cunt as they locked eyes. A sensual smile moved over his features, lifting the corners of his mouth and radiating at the corners of his eyes.
Alexis forced herself to look away—to focus on her trainer. Master John released the clover clamps, and Alexis couldn’t stop her gasping yelp as a jolt of agonizing pain shot through her nipples.
Master John led Alexis back to the blanket, and as she settled herself gingerly to minimize her sore bottom’s contact with the blanket, he poured a glass of cold lemonade from a thermos and handed it to her. As she drank, Alexis was hyper-aware of Master Paul just a few feet away, but she managed to keep her eyes on her trainer.
“You did well, Alexis,” Master John said, bestowing on her one of his rare smiles. “The circumstance was difficult, yet you held your ground. I’m pleased.”
His praise was like a soothing balm. Alexis smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Sir.”
“Thank me properly,” he replied, pointing to his boot.
Embarrassed she’d forgotten this bit of protocol, Alexis knelt quickly forward, pressing her lips to the dusty toe of his leather boot. “Thank you, Sir,” she said again.
“You may rise,” he said imperiously after a moment. As Alexis stood, she saw the others were also getting to their feet. Master Clarence and Rachelle were still by the tree, talking softly.
Master John glanced at his watch and turned to Master Paul. “Are you free right now?”
Master Paul, who had also stood, nodded. “Yeah. Tiffany’s new Master arrived at lunch. He asked if he could keep her for the afternoon, so I’ve got nothing but time. What can I do for you?”
“I want to check on Wendy,” Master John replied. “She’s resting in the cabin today. Could you take Alexis back to the dungeons? If you were interested, I could use some help with her training exercise this afternoon.”
Master Paul glanced at Alexis, his expression difficult to read. Turning back to Master John, he replied, “Sure. It would be my pleasure.”
Chapter 9
When James Bradley arrived earlier than planned during lunch and asked for the afternoon alone with Tiffany, Paul thought he’d spend time in his room catching up on emails and doing some research for his upcoming vacation.
Instead, aware that some of the staff were having a picnic by the old barn, and aware that John, and more specifically Alexis, would be among them, he decided to take a walk around the grounds. And he just happened to find himself heading toward the picnic spot.
He had come upon a delicious predicament bondage scene, drinking in the sight of two lovely women tied between two trees, a double-headed dildo between them, clamp chains swaying as they danced and squirmed at each swishing strike of the cane. When he’d realized one of them was Alexis, his cock sprang to attention, and he had to keep his distance for a while until he got control of himself.
It was at that moment he couldn’t lie to himself anymore. He was smitten with a trainee! This was something he’d managed to avoid so far during his tenure at The Compound. Sure, he’d developed an intense connection during the training period with each submissive—that kind of connection was inevitable when you were involved in such an intimate process.
And yes, some of the women he’d trained were seriously hot. But even when he’d been sexually attracted to his charges, he’d managed to keep his feelings pretty well in check. The connection, in the end, was really more of a physical reaction than an emotional one—a welding of his hardwiring as a Dom to their hardwiring as a sub. And, as jaded as it must sound to someone on the outside, submissive naked slave girls were a dime a dozen at The Compound. You got used to them, if such a thing was possible.
So what was it about Alexis that got his cock hard every time he saw her? It wasn’t just her physical beauty. There was more to it.
Some of the sentences in her essay had lodged themselves into his memory, fitting themselves like a missing puzzle piece into a groove in his soul. I have spent a lifetime building a wall around my true submissive nature, brick, by brick, by brick. And now, when I have finally found the courage to face my need and embrace my longing, I find I don’t have the tools.
He felt a kindred affinity with her words, and by extension, with her. For hadn't he done the same thing, in a way? Not that he’d denied his dominant impulses, but he’d never truly given of himself, not in the way he envisioned in the kind of D/s relationship he longed for.
He knew how to give a sub the tools to submit with grace and honesty. He knew how to use a whip and a cane, how to spark submissive desire and how to harness and control it. But when it came to himself, to a true exchange of power rather than just his taking it from another, he’d always held himself back. Even with Jessica, who he’d thought for a while was “the one”, he’d never fully given himself to her, and on some level they both had known this. He’d never given his heart.
It was, he realized, a matter of trust. How ironic that the very thing he demanded of his trainees was something he himself was unable to give. Could it be he’d just never found the right person?
He knew he was infatuated with Alexis, but also knew infatuation was a far cry from love. He would have to get to know her better to see if there was even a potential for that kind of connection. And for that, he would have to wait. The trainees were off limits, and with good reason. He understood and respected Miriam’s strict policy of not fraternizing with the trainees during their training period. But once the training was over…
Down boy, he told himself. Alexis had only been at The Compound for a short time. And she was signed up for a whole month. That meant he needed to keep his professional distance from her until then. At least he knew from her profile that she wasn’t involved in a relationship at present. That gave him a shot. He would have to be patient and bide his time. And hope his interest in her was returned.
The other trainers were leading their trainees by their leashes across the broad expanse of meadow. Alexis looked at him with a questioning glance as he waited for the others to go on ahead. Miriam had instructed the trainers that the trainees should be led by their leashes whenever they were together outside, though when the trainees were alone they were free to roam unleashed. Paul was tempted to dispense with the leash and just walk side by side, but he realized that wouldn’t be fair to Alexis. The object of Miriam’s rigorous training program included total immersion into the submissive slave mindset. To suddenly treat Alexis as an equal would be a disservice to her.
And so he said, “Present the leash.” Alexis dropped at once to the grass and placed the end of the leash on her upturned palms. She lifted her arms, offering the leash to him, her eyes properly downcast. The trainer in him came to the fore and he said, “Try that again. Imagine you’re moving in water. It’s a slow, controlled motion. You don’t want to just flop to the ground like that.”
He was amused to see color move over her cheeks as she stood. This time she lowered herself with more grace, though there was still room for improvement. No doubt John would work with her on positions training until she executed them as flawlessly as Wendy.
This time Paul accepted the offered leash and gave it a gentle tug, signaling that she should rise. Again, her movements coul
d use some work, but he let it go. As they began to walk back toward the buildings, Paul said, “Master John shared your profile with me. I found your essay quite moving.”
“Oh.” Again that sweet rosy blush bloomed on her cheeks.
Paul continued, “I remember you said something about building a brick wall around your true submissive nature. Is Master John managing to knock down some of the bricks yet? Is this immersion training what you expected?”
She would have been instructed to obey every trainer as if he were her Master. This meant she would know not to speak unless spoken to, but by the same token, she was to answer every question put to her with directness and honesty.
“I—I don’t know. I mean, it’s very intense. Master John is very, um…” she paused.
“Exacting?” Paul supplied, grinning.
“Yeah. I mean, yes, Sir.” She smiled shyly, and something snapped inside Paul’s heart, like a tiny bone breaking.
Ignoring the ache, he said, “He’s a good trainer. He gets good results. I’m looking forward to working with the two of you this afternoon.” Talk about an understatement, he thought, glad Alexis was behind him, and couldn’t see his grin, or the anticipatory bulge in his jeans.
~*~
“Get on your knees and place your hands flat on the table in front of you, wrists touching.” They were in the training dungeon for the extended afternoon session. “Spread your legs.” Master John tapped Alexis’s thigh. “Wider.”
Master Paul had led Alexis back to the slave quarters after the picnic. On the walk back she had wished she wasn’t on a leash several paces behind him. She would have liked to walk next to him. To take his hand and look into his eyes. Still, this way she did get a very nice view of his broad back and long, muscular legs. His jeans were just tight enough to show the curve of his sexy ass as he walked.
It would be my pleasure.
Did he mean it would be his pleasure to help out a friend? Or would it be his pleasure to subject her to some new erotic torture? Did he feel the same zing of recognition and desire she did when their eyes interlocked?
Silently she admonished herself at this ridiculous line of thinking. They weren’t in high school, for god’s sake. They were professionals, doing a job. Admittedly, a very sexy and exciting job, but she was just another trainee in a long line of them. She had been assigned to Master John, not Master Paul. He was there to help in the training, but she mustn’t assign anything more to it than that.
The men had her climb up a set of portable stairs and position herself on a high, padded square table on her hands and knees, ass high in the air, legs spread wide. Though she’d been naked ever since she’d arrived at The Compound, with Master Paul standing just behind her, she was especially aware of the picture she must present, with her waxed pussy and exposed asshole on full view.
“This afternoon we’re going to subject you to full sensory deprivation. I want all distractions removed. As you won’t be in a position to speak, if you find yourself in acute distress, you will open and close your hands.” He turned toward the wall and called, “Sam. We need you.” When Sam approached, Master John said, “You will assist us with this exercise as a spotter. If Alexis is in acute distress, she will open and close her hands. If we don’t seem to notice, it’s your job to alert us.”
“Yes, Sir,” Sam said. He crouched in front of Alexis and offered an encouraging smile.
Master John continued, “Alexis, you will not orgasm, no matter how stimulated you might find yourself. Is that clearly understood?”
“Yes, Master John.” Alexis’s stomach was clenched in nervous anticipation, and she couldn’t stop the shudder of apprehension that moved through her body. While she was excited that Master Paul was there, he made her doubly nervous. Despite trying to talk herself out of it, she cared, really cared, what he thought of her.
A vibrator was eased inside her and flicked on, its thrum vibrating through her pussy and tickling her clit from the inside out. Reflexively she stiffened when she felt the lubricated tip of a butt plug probing her asshole, but willed herself to relax as it was pressed inside. To her surprise, the plug was also a vibrator, which hummed in tandem with the phallus in her cunt, the combined vibrations sending a shivery sensation through her loins.
Master Paul wrapped rope around her wrists, knotting it and pulling the long end back and up between her legs. He arranged it snugly between her pussy lips, pressing the vibrating plug and dildo even deeper into her holes. She could feel a little bump in the rope just where it lay over her clit, and realized it must be knotted at that strategic location, no doubt on purpose.
Master Paul leaned in close as he worked. He smelled good, like warm bread and pine forests. He was so close, if she turned her head she could brush his skin with her lips. She kept her head down.
Someone grabbed her hair, twisting it into a ponytail. She could feel the rope being tied into her hair, which forced her to lift her head to avoid having her hair pulled. Master Paul tied a blindfold over her eyes, while Master John pushed a ball gag into her mouth. Finally, she felt something soft pressed first into one ear and then the other.
Earplugs, she realized, as the world went silent.
They began with a flogger, focusing on her ass and back, the lovely soft leather stroking her body in a stinging caress. Each time she jerked in response, the ropes tightened against her cunt, the little knot at her clit moving like a raspy, rough tongue. Unable to see, speak or hear made the experience especially intense. She was unable to anticipate, and found this put her more directly into the moment than she’d ever been. Without the distraction of sight or sound she was especially sensitive to the vibrations radiating from inside her body, and to the increasingly hard strokes of the flogger.
A sudden, sharp line of fire moved over her ass, making Alexis jerk in her bonds. She bit down hard on the rubber ball, grunting against it in her shock and pain. A second fiery kiss hissed along her flesh, just below the first and again she jerked, causing the rope to tighten against her spread pussy and tug hard against her tethered hair. Her heart was beating loud in her plugged ears and she felt herself sway, suddenly dizzy.
The flogging continued unabated, covering her back and shoulders, while what she realized must be a single tail continued to snap painfully against her ass and the backs of her thighs. If things got too intense to bear, she would flex her fingers, as Master John had said she could. But that would be giving up. She willed herself to stay in position, to make both Master John and Master Paul proud of her endurance and obedience.
A little longer, she urged herself. Just a little longer. You can do it. Master John said he wouldn’t give you more than you could take. Trust him. Trust yourself. Let go.
On and on the dual whipping continued, while the vibrators thrummed inside her, and the rope jerked against her sex. She was whimpering steadily against the ball gag, drool leaking from the corners of her mouth. Sweat had broken out under her arms and on her forehead and she could feel the tremble beginning in her arms and legs.
Her skin began to numb beneath the onslaught of the flogger and the tail, and her focus shifted to her cunt. Her clit was throbbing, stroked by the knotted rope from without, and the vibrating phalluses filling her from within. She realized she was edging toward an orgasm, and further realized there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.
You will not orgasm, Master John had informed her, as if not doing so was simply an act of will. Maybe it was. Maybe, if she tried, she could stave off the climax that seemed to be rising inside of her as inexorably as a wave crashing toward the shore.
She shifted her focus back to the whipping, to each cutting flick of the single tail, and each sensual thudding caress of the flogger. She thought about the men who were doing this to her—Master John, with his blond, all-American good looks and those round, unblinking eyes. He was probably the one with the single tail, she decided, casually welting her ass and thighs with each vicious flick of his wrist. Master Paul w
ould be holding the flogger, his lovely golden-brown eyes moving over her bound, spread body as he whipped the leather tresses in a stinging symphony of sensation over her skin. Her clit throbbed at the image of Master Paul, his auburn hair glinting in the dungeon light as he danced around her.
Fuck. She was going to come.
Gritting her teeth, Alexis forced all images from her mind, trying to visualize a white, empty expanse of pure nothing. She would not come. She would not give in to her trembling body or her throbbing clit. Focus on the pain. Focus on your breathing. Focus on the pounding of your heart and the cut of the whip against your skin.
Maybe this was it. Maybe she would finally achieve that out of body experience she had heard and read so much about. Maybe today, on this padded table, roped and stuffed, deaf, dumb and blind, she would finally move to that exalted plane of existence where there was no difference between pleasure and pain, where her spirit soared beyond the confines of her body.
She was jerked from this line of thought by the feeling of hands, warm, strong hands moving over her tender and welted ass and thighs. Were they Master Paul’s or Master John’s? Who was touching her with such a soothing, sensual stroke? Despite herself, her mind veered to an image of Master Paul, his eyes burning into hers, his lips parting as he leaned toward her, his hands roaming her body as he lifted himself over her and bent down to kiss her lips. She was no longer on her knees, bound in rope in a training dungeon. She was lying on a bed on soft white sheets. Paul was naked, lifting his strong, sexy body over her as he nudged between her legs with his hard, perfect cock.
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