Uh oh. When the questions start off like that, it was never good. Ananda smiled anyway and humored her. “Sure. Ask away.”
“I heard what you did the other night to Sunny. How did it feel to lick another woman’s breast? Are you a lesbian or bi?”
If Meadow was asking her these questions, Ananda knew she would be hit with worse questions than this when she saw her family again.
“My sexuality didn’t matter. I was doing what Master Eagan had instructed. You’ll learn about that in this contest. It stops being about you and it’s all about him.”
Ananda had expected making a statement like that would have made her skin crawl more. It didn’t. She felt calm about defending her actions. And had she actually in a way defended Eagan Morton? What was wrong with her?
Apple appeared in the doorway wearing her usual transparent smock, chastity belt, and megawatt smile.
“Taping for the next show will start in an hour,” Apple began. “Master Eagan suggests you wear something loose and comfortable.”
“For what?” Meadow moved closer to the edge of the bed.
Apple only smiled wider. “You’ll see.” Then she walked away.
“Loose and comfortable. Do we have anything like that in our closets?” Meadow jumped from Ananda’s bed and darted to her armoire.
While Meadow searched for the perfect ensemble, Ananda was trying to decipher what in the world Eagan would do to them today. What did that man have up his sleeve?
Chapter Fourteen
The remaining eight women and Ananda all lined up as usual in the foyer. No shorts or pants in their clothing choices, all of the women wore dresses or skirts with a simple cotton top. Ananda found a tank dress that went down to her knees. Coupled with flat sandals, she felt prepared for whatever Eagan had in store for her.
The camera crews got themselves set up, shining a light right in their faces. It was high noon and in the summertime. Who needed extra lighting right now?
Tony jumped over cable cords that slithered over the floor until he got to his spot.
“Welcome back, folks. As you can see we’re down to nine lovely ladies. Pansy was the third contestant released. Here’s a clip from that show.”
“And cut.” Phil clapped his hands once. “Great take. Let’s do another with you standing in front of the women.”
Tony nodded and did the take again. Ananda had paid attention to him until someone else snagged her interest. Gazing at the top of the stairs, she caught a shirtless Eagan Morton. Since she wasn’t wearing a bra, Eagan would surely see her erect nipples. And without panties, her pussy juices had nowhere to go, but down her legs.
He sauntered down the steps, taking his sweet time. His gaze scanned over the women until he got to Ananda. Then he stopped. He stared at her as he continued down the steps and over the floor toward the taping area.
Eagan came up behind Phil and tapped him on the shoulder. He whispered something in his ear, to which Phil nodded.
“Great take again, Tony. You’re on fire today.” Phil put on his baseball cap backwards and tucked his hair back behind his ears. “Okay, ladies, we’re about to start the challenge. Tony, do your introduction.”
“To start our fourth challenge, I give you none other than Eagan Morton.” Tony stepped back and let Eagan move forward.
As soon as the other women saw him, they gasped, the same reaction Ananda had had but she kept it inside. Wearing black silk pajama bottoms and nothing else, not even shoes, Eagan looked like he just rolled out of bed. Only his hair, as usual, was impeccable.
Now that Ananda could get a full view of him, she admired the planes of his hairless chest. For forty-five, he had abs that a twenty-one year old man would want. Cobblestoned and completely lickable.
“Good afternoon, ladies.” He paced in front of them, kissing them as he got to each of them. This time Ananda kissed him fully on his lips. She wanted him to know she was in this contest to win.
“Good afternoon, Master Eagan.” As usual they all said it in unison.
“You’re probably wondering why I’m wearing just these pants.” Eagan tugged on the sides of the pants. “This is what I wear when I’m playing with a slave or submissive. If you see me in this outfit, you know it’s playtime.”
Good to know for the future. Ananda was curious about who he would be playing with today.
Eagan put his hands to his waist making Ananda stare at his flat stomach. “So far in this competition, in this show, you all have had it easy. Well, easy stops today.”
Ananda swallowed. She clasped her hands together, but with all of the sweat, had a hard time keeping them together.
“At this point, you should all consider yourselves submissives. You are my submissives. What I say, what I want, what I dictate goes. Is that understood?” He strolled down the line like a drill sergeant.
“Yes, sir,” the group answered like good, little soldiers.
“As my submissives, I expect a few things. One,” he held up his index finger, “you will obey me. You may ask questions, but you will always obey me.”
Ananda and the other ladies nodded.
Eagan held up two fingers. “Two, leave your hang-ups at the door. If you have a problem with nudity, touching other women, or making love to another woman, then you should leave now. I’ll wait a minute to let those who want to excuse themselves go.”
Eagan turned his back on the group. Ananda had already licked the nipples of one woman. She looked down the line of other women. A couple of them shook their heads and stared at the floor. Others remained motionless. But no one stepped out of line.
Eagan returned his attention to the women. “You’re all in? Good. That’ll make the next few tasks easier for me to administer.” He padded his way down to Ananda’s end of the line. “And the last thing. From now on, when I enter the room, you will get down in a position that shows subservience to me. You will remain in that position until I tell you to stand.”
Uh oh. Eagan wasn’t kidding when he said he would be showing the real him.
“Apple and Willow will show you the position.”
The two ladies walked to the center of the room. They lowered themselves onto their knees then sat back on their haunches. In perfect unison, they extended their arms in the air with their palms facing the group, then they lowered themselves to the floor, their hands flat on the floor and their foreheads touching the floor. And they remained still while Eagan sauntered around them.
“Perfect. Perfect position.” He stood behind Apple and Willow. “From now on, you will be out here on the floor at six a.m.”
“Six a.m.?” Poppy questioned.
Eagan stopped and glared at the dark-skinned beauty. “Problem, Poppy?”
She let out an exasperated sigh and cocked her hip. “No, Master Eagan. It’s all good.”
“Don’t speak again until I’m addressing you. Talk again and you’ll be out of my house, understand?”
Poppy opened her mouth, but instead nodded her response.
“As I was saying, you will all be down here every morning at six a.m. Once I come down, I will tell you when you can stand and eat breakfast.” He observed the group. “I know what you all are thinking. What time will I be down? Will it be five minutes later? An hour later? A day later? Or will I be waiting for you promptly at six a.m.? I don’t know, so you won’t know. That shouldn’t matter to you. What should matter to you is that you are doing what I ask. If I want you waiting down here for whatever length of time, you do so and be proud to do it.”
Ananda heard her heart pounding in her head. As much as her sensibilities screamed for her to run from this nutbird’s house, the forcefulness of his tone and his demand over her body kept her there in her spot wanting to hear more, wanting more.
“Also, when I do allow you to stand, you will eat breakfast when I tell you it’s time to eat. You will all accompany me into the dining area, where you will be expected to be in this position until I tell you all that you can eat. Up, ladies.”
Apple and Willow sat up on the knees, their backs straight, their gazes facing forward, their arms down by their sides.
“You will be in this position by your chairs. Food may be on your plate, but you will not touch it until I say you can get up and eat. You will do this for every meal: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” He stopped in front of Meadow. “Self-control is a big part of BDSM.”
Meadow’s lips tightened into a line, but she uttered not one word.
Eagan walked away from her and took a spot in the middle of the floor. “You can love me. You can hate me. This contest is about finding someone I can easily train. Everything you’ve learned so far should have prepared you for this stage of the game. All I can say now, ladies, is good luck. You’re going to need it.”
Ananda swallowed, but couldn’t get anything down her throat. The man who stood before her now scared her and excited her at the same time.
“For this challenge, you will get down into the morning position and stay there. Whoever lasts the longest will get a shopping spree.”
New clothes would be wonderful. New shoes would be even better. Ananda looked down the line at Meadow. She already saw the disillusioned woman sighing.
“Get down into position now.”
All of the women lowered to their knees. In unison, they raised their arms in the air, then bent over to the floor. Kneeling on the cold marble floor sent shooting pains up Ananda’s legs and back. She wouldn’t let Eagan be right about her … that she couldn’t see anything through.
Ananda heard smacking feet stop in front of her.
“Begonia, you need clothes that badly?” Eagan asked her.
Yes, she did. However, that wasn’t the answer Eagan was fishing for and she knew it. “I’m not kneeling for clothes, Master Eagan. I’m doing this because you asked me to do this.”
She felt a hand on her back and it sent shivers down her spine.
“Good answer. Maybe you can be trained.”
She heard his feet padding away.
“Keep the cameras on them, guys. I’ve got some business to finish.”
Damn. Eagan really was a son of a bitch. Ananda couldn’t believe he’d left them in this position. What if they were like this for days? Ananda didn’t plan on giving up. She would see this to the end.
Within what felt like only ten or fifteen minutes, Ananda heard, “This is crazy. All of this for clothes and shoes? I’m out.”
Ananda didn’t recognize the voice right away.
Tony said, “Rose, you’re out. Please go to your room until you’re called.”
“Fine. Good luck, ladies. When you all realize how stupid you’ll feel for doing this for just some clothes, you’ll get up, too.”
Rose missed the point. This test was more than just clothes and shoes. This contest and everything else they did for Eagan had to do with pleasing him. Hopefully, her knees wouldn’t be stiff from being in this position all of the time.
Thirty minutes later, Ananda heard a groan, then a curse.
“Fuck this. Rose is right. This is crazy.”
Now, that whiny voice Ananda did recognize.
“Sorry, Poppy. You’re out.” Tony’s voice still sounded light and cheery.
“I know that. You don’t have to announce it.”
It surprised her, though, that Poppy wasn’t the first one out, instead of Rose, who used to be a submissive. Was Eagan that hard of a Master? Was he asking for too much?
Another hour went by without relief. Ananda wanted so much to stretch her legs out behind her and get an all over body massage after this.
She heard soft sobbing far from her.
“Help me, please. I can’t stand.”
Ananda caught the scurrying of feet to help a contestant in need.
“Sorry, Lily. You’re out. Please help her to her room and make sure she’s okay,” Tony said, his voice full of sympathy.
As each hour ticked away, another woman dropped. Next was Daisy. She complained about her back. Then Freesia dropped, however, when Freesia attempted to stand, she stumbled and fell into Sunny, who broke from the position as a result. Sunny argued that she shouldn’t be counted out of the competition because of it, but after a call to Eagan, he ruled that she was out.
So “the favored one” ran out of juice with Eagan. That was the one bright spot in this whole thing.
Now Meadow, Iona, and Ananda were left. Looking at Iona’s clothes at the start of the competition, she knew the woman wouldn’t give up without a fight. Iona loved clothes and shoes more than she loved doing reality TV shows.
Ananda’s stomach growled. It was way past dinnertime. It had to be at least seven or eight at night. She’d missed lunch. This was crazy. Maybe Rose and everyone else was right. For just a few material items, did Ananda really want to go through all of this? As a dancer, she could be damaging her needed asset, her legs. But if she gave up now, Eagan would say he was right about her, that she had no fight inside of her.
This had to do with more than just some trinkets. This was about dignity and integrity. A low rumble sounded in Ananda’s ear. She couldn’t turn her head, but she cut her eyes to the side as much as she could. Was that snoring? Who had fallen asleep? Ananda had hoped it wasn’t Meadow.
She was glad Meadow had hung in there. She knew the floor hurt her knees, legs and back as it did Ananda. The woman deserved applause just for hanging in there.
Suddenly, Ananda felt something fall against her. Damn it! Iona had fallen asleep and had now rolled on her. Since Eagan had booted Sunny out for breaking position when Freesia fell on her, Ananda knew she would be next if she didn’t get Iona off of her.
“Hey! Venus is asleep and she’s on me. Get her off!” Ananda tightened every muscle in her body to keep in her same position.
A stampede of feet went over to Venus. Two guys picked her up.
“Wha— What’s going on? Hey, I’m still doing the contest,” a sleepy Iona professed.
“Sorry, Venus. You not only fell asleep, but you fell on another contestant and almost cost her the contest. You’re out.”
“I can’t believe I did that!” She growled and stomped back to the bedroom.
Yep, Iona would be a fun roommate to be with tonight.
Down to Meadow and Ananda. If she concentrated, just got out of her head, Ananda could last a long time in this contest. Then she thought about Meadow’s words earlier, how she complained that she hadn’t won any competitions and felt she would be going soon. Ananda had won a couple. She lasted longer than she thought. She’d proven to herself at least that she had heart and determination. Eagan should recognize that.
Ananda heard sniffling next to her.
“I can’t do it, Begonia,” Meadow whispered.
“You’re doing fine. Hang in there.” It was an odd conversation to have down on the floor. If Ananda was truly competitive, she would have told Meadow to give up and walk away. That wasn’t her style. She liked Meadow.
“Everything hurts.” Meadow cried harder. If she continued, she would break from her position.
“Stop crying, honey. It’s okay.” Ananda spoke in a soothing voice to calm her, but it didn’t seem to help.
“I’m giving up. You won … again.”
“No!” Ananda quickly brought her head up a millisecond before Meadow lifted her head. “I’m out. Meadow is the winner.”
Tony scanned the two of them. “Honestly, I don’t know. Can you guys look at the replay?”
Ananda didn’t wait for them to officially announce the winner. She saw the back of Meadow’s head still on the floor when Ananda had lifted her head. Ananda crawled over to Meadow and embraced the woman. She kissed her on the side of her face.
“No matter what these judges say, you won. Be proud of yourself.”
Meadow wept uncontrollably and held onto Ananda. “Why? Why would you do that? You had it.”
“That’s right. I had it.” Ananda pulled back from Meadow. She wiped Meadow’s tears from
her cheeks, using her thumbs. “Now you have it.”
Ananda struggled to stand. Blood rushed through her legs causing a feeling of a million pinpricks over her skin. She limped around for a while to get rid of the feeling. Would she have to endure this every day?
“Little help here.” Meadow held up her hands.
Ananda grabbed her hands and hoisted the woman to her feet. Meadow nearly fell backward into the coffee table until Ananda caught her. Ananda guided her friend to a chair, then rubbed her calves and ankles.
Meadow had the same dark crimson blotches on her knees like Ananda. Yep, this would be murder to her dancing career.
“It looks like Meadow moved her head first,” one crewmember said.
“No, but look. Begonia’s head is up. Meadow may have moved, but Begonia is out of position.” Another crewmember pointed to a small screen.
From upstairs, Eagan, now dressed in a T-shirt and khakis, but still no shoes, bounded down the stairs. He bypassed the debating crewmembers and went straight to Ananda and Meadow.
Glaring at Ananda, he asked, “Did you quit? Did you give up?”
Ananda blinked. She knew Eagan could tell when she was lying. So why even try? “The better person won, sir.”
“That’s not what I asked. Did you quit?”
She hated that term. Ananda didn’t quit. She allowed someone else to win. “I didn’t quit. I didn’t give up. The best person won.”
“I watched this from my office. There are microphones attached to both of you. I heard what you said.” Between gritted teeth, he said, “You quit.”
If he wanted to consider it that way, fine. Ananda knew what she did. Her level of commitment hadn’t faltered.
“Apple! Willow!”
The two women rushed to the foyer.
“Get the other contestants and get them in here now.” Eagan pointed to the floor and paced the room. “Stop looking at that goddamn screen. I saw the same thing you all did.”
Ananda held Meadow’s hands while still crouched at her feet.
Meadow leaned down. “You think we’re in trouble?”
“At least one of us is.” Sweat covered Ananda’s hands.
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