Eagan shook his head. “I’m not going to stoop to societal pressures. I’ve jumped through that hoop before. I’m not doing it again. I’m eliminating people based on merit. The rest of the world can kiss my ass.”
Eagan trotted down the stairs with a panicked Phil trailing behind him. At the bottom of the stairs, Eagan turned to his friend.
“I’m shocked at you, Phil.” He shook his head. “You used to have a set of balls on you and you didn’t give a damn about anyone.”
“Yeah, then I got a family. You can afford to take risks. That’s your life.” Phil tried to keep his voice down.
“This show was your fucking idea. I warned you how it would go and now you’re getting prudish on me. I would have thought you would have defended me.” Eagan huffed and started to walk away from his friend. Then he stopped and turned around. “By the way, you know today’s show is about canings, right?”
“Oh, Christ!” Phil held his stomach. Perhaps he had the beginnings of a nice ulcer.
As usual, Tony was on spot with the introductions. Lately, Tony had a great change in his demeanor. He no longer questioned himself. He walked around with his head held high. This was the Tony Eagan remembered from years ago. Eagan beamed to see this guy back, instead of the unsure man that questioned everything.
“Good afternoon, ladies.” Eagan stood in the center of the floor with Apple and Willow behind him.
“Good afternoon, Master Eagan.”
As the contestants dropped off one by one, Eagan caught some distinction in the voices. He heard Begonia’s voice over the rest. He glanced at her and smiled before returning his attention to the group.
“Today is another special day. You’ll be learning about one of my favorites.” He reached inside of a wooden chest and pulled out a long, black bag. In a dramatic fashion, he unzipped it and flapped it open. “Today, we’ll learn about canes.”
A few of the women peered into the bag at the contents. One or two took a couple of steps back. Begonia kept her gaze squarely on him.
“Caning is an ancient tradition. Basically administered for punishment, the BDSM community has adopted it for both punishment and pleasure.” He waved to the group of women. “Come closer to look at these.”
They stood around the bag, staring at the contents.
Eagan picked up a solid white one. “This one is Teflon.”
“You mean the non-stick stuff in frying pans?” Poppy wrinkled her nose as she held it.
“Exactly right, Poppy. That’s what it looks like before it’s made into the non-stick stuff. This one is bamboo, of course.” He passed that one around to the group. “This one is PVC.” That one made the tour around to the women. A couple of them smacked the cane on the palm of their hands. Others kept the items moving. “And this is rattan. You all might remember the case of the young American man who was going to be caned in Singapore. This is what they use. Any questions?”
Daisy raised her hand first. “Why do you use this? Punishment or pleasure?”
“Both.” Eagan picked up a thin cane. “They’re fairly easy to handle and you get a lot more bang for the buck, so to speak.”
“Do you hit people hard with this?” Venus sucked in her bottom lip, as she set one of the canes back in Eagan’s bag.
“It depends. I don’t start off in a full swing. I do light tapping to warm up the skin. Then, as the person gets used to it, I’ll apply more pressure.”
“Can a person achieve an orgasm this way?” Eagan cut his eyes over to Begonia. She was full of some curious questions. Each time he encountered her, he liked her more and more.
“They can. Some people go into what’s called subspace. That’s where the submissive is so into the scene that their mind sort of drifts and they’re on this whole other plane. I’ve been told subspace is powerful, exhilarating, and exhausting all at once. If any of you achieve it, let me know.”
Some of the women laughed. Others were entranced at the assortment Eagan just placed before them. Begonia kept staring at him.
“Ladies, Apple and Willow will stay here and answer any and all questions you may have about these items. I’ll be back in about an hour and we’ll do the reward challenge. The winner of this challenge will get an all-expense paid trip to Paris.”
The ladies all cooed. He knew they would like that. Begonia just offered a simple smile.
“Ask a lot of questions. I’ll be right back.” Eagan went back upstairs, but glanced down at the activity below.
All of the women picked up different canes, except for Begonia. She kept staring at him until he finally disappeared into his office. From there, he watched the women on camera. He hoped Begonia paid close attention to what was said. If she won the challenge, he would accompany her to Paris.
* * * *
Every time Ananda thought about Eagan, her body tingled. She recalled their last meeting together and how intense their lovemaking had been. If the other women knew what she’d done with Eagan over these last few weeks, they would have kicked her and called her a cheater.
Everything she thought she knew about herself went out the window the moment she encountered Eagan. Even though her body screamed to win this competition to have this man, her mind brought up a rational point.
If she pursued her dancing career, more than likely that would take her to New York or California, definitely not Virginia. Eagan mentioned not wanting his submissives to be on any of his produced movies or shows. He also wouldn’t move. Now, what the hell was she supposed to do? How could she pick between her career and the man who changed the entire way she thought about herself and her relationships with men?
The hour flew by faster than Ananda thought. Before she knew it, Eagan was back downstairs and ready to start the challenge.
“Each contestant will get one question and one question only. Answer it right, you advance. Answer it wrong, you’re out. Let’s start with Daisy.”
Daisy blinked, but stood up straighter now that she was up first.
“Which one of these is made of Teflon?”
Daisy scanned the table and picked up a black one.
“Nope. That actually is a dowel painted black. It’s this one.” He picked up the white one. “Poppy, you’re next. Which kind of cane is used in Singapore today?”
Poppy did the same thing Daisy did and scanned the table. Then she picked up a wooden one. “This one.”
“No, that’s pine. The correct answer was rattan.”
“Oh, hell!”
“Language, Poppy.”
She covered her mouth.
“Okay, Freesia. If you get spanked by one of these, what kind of mental place would you be in, if it felt really good to you?”
“That’s easy! Why couldn’t I have had that question?” Poppy asked and popped her gum at the end of her inquiry.
“Your time to speak is over, Poppy. Please be quiet.” Eagan returned his attention back to Freesia.
“Um, sublevel?”
Eagan shook his head. “Close. Subspace. I’m surprised, that as a former submissive, you didn’t know that answer.”
“Sorry, Master Eagan.”
“You ready, Sunny?”
She nodded.
“What’s the ideal place to spank a sub with this?”
She picked up a bamboo cane. “May I show you?”
Eagan nodded.
Sunny asked Meadow to turn around. “You want to do it either here across the back, but not too high or too low. Or on the fleshy part of the buttocks.”
“Very good. You were paying attention.” He stared at Meadow. “You’re up. Do I spank all of my submissives hard when I use the canes?”
She chewed her lower lip then answered, “Yes. I mean, no. I mean, maybe.”
“I’ll take your first answer. Yes is wrong. The answer is, it depends on the sub, however, I normally start soft to warm up the skin.”
Meadow nodded, as though the information had all come back to her now.
“Venus,
you ready? So far, Sunny is the only one who has answered correctly.”
“I’m ready, Master Eagan.” She jumped and jiggled to punctuate her point.
“I listened to the conversations going on here back in my office, so I know what was said. Who was the first person who taught me how to use canes?”
Venus thought for a while, then smiled. “Master Ian Dolinsky.”
“Very, very good. You did pay attention as well. Looks like we have to go for a tie-breaker round.” He glanced at Ananda. “You ready, Begonia?”
The butterflies kicked up in her stomach again. “Yes, Master Eagan.”
“Which cane is my favorite to use?”
No way she could miss this question. Ananda had been paying attention. She picked up a thin stick. “This one.”
The smile melted from Eagan’s face. Shit!
“No, that’s not the right answer. That’s the one I use most often, but not my favorite.” He turned to the group. “Sunny and Venus, please step forward.”
The two ladies moved closer to the table.
“The first one to pick up the cane that is my favorite, will win and go to Paris. Ready?”
They nodded.
“Go!”
They both dove into the bag. Sunny picked up the Teflon cane and Venus grabbed the dowel.
“Venus, you’re the winner. That one is my favorite because it was the first one I made myself. Congratulations.” He turned to Sunny. “Sorry.” He wouldn’t even look at Ananda.
She really did fuck up. Had she been paying more attention to the lesson instead of Eagan she would have won.
“I’ll see you ladies for dinner, then tonight, we’ll do another challenge and eliminations.”
* * * *
After dinner, Ananda and the other six women congregated in her room.
“What do you think we’ll do tonight?” Daisy asked.
“What do you think? Of course he’s going to cane us. No question.” Venus stretched out on her bed with her back to the headboard and her hands behind her head, looking confident. Just because she won a challenge didn’t mean she was the winner.
“I’m not doing it.” Poppy folded her arms over her chest. “And since I have immunity, he can’t touch me.”
“How is it that you’ve lasted so long in this competition? You seem adverse to everything Master Eagan wants.” Sunny shook her head.
“Don’t worry about me, Ms. Thang. Worry about your damn self.”
Willow stepped into the room with her usual smile. “Good. You’re all here. Master Eagan will see you all in his dungeon now. Follow me.”
“Dungeon?” Freesia’s eyes widened.
Ananda started the line and had the other ladies following behind her. Eventually, Sunny walked side by side with her.
“I can’t wait to see his dungeon.” Sunny beamed and nearly skipped along the way.
Ananda had to admit, she was even curious about the place. They had walked by the door, but never went inside. Willow stood outside of a large black leather-covered door. Without fanfare, she opened it.
Ananda stepped into the room first. The cleanliness of the room amazed her first. She had half expected to see a dirt-covered floor, grime on the walls, and blood on the chains. Her imagination running wild again.
Although dark and sinister like she’d expected, the room looked more functional than fearsome. There were four raised platform beds at four corners of the room. Two large crosses stood tall at either ends of the room. In the center, a bar hung by chains hovered. Carpet covered the floor. And across the wall hung hundreds of different whips, canes, paddles, handcuffs, restraints and other items Ananda had never seen before.
“Welcome to my dungeon, ladies,” Eagan said from behind the group.
Ananda and a few of the other women jumped when he spoke. They all turned to him when he entered the room. Cameras also followed him inside.
“Tonight, I’ll be caning you all.”
The other women whispered among themselves, but Ananda paid close attention to him.
“I will decide the winner based on a number of factors.” He scanned the room. “Who would like to go first?”
Since Ananda had volunteered to go first on that very first show, she was going to do the same for this task. Only, she spoke up too late. Sunny raised her hand and moved forward.
“Great, Sunny. There are a few rules to being in my dungeon. If what I’m doing to you today gets too intense, I want you to use a safe word. The safe word will be orange, understand?”
Ananda and the other women nodded, although she promised herself to do everything in her power not to use that damn word.
“My submissives are always naked in here. You may disrobe right before your session, but understand that this is a regular rule. When you do disrobe in here, hang your clothes in that wardrobe back there. So, Sunny, get naked and we’ll get started.”
As Sunny took off her clothes, Apple laid down plastic sheets at the foot of a cross.
“What’s that for? Blood?” Poppy asked.
“No, juices, you know.” Venus poked her elbow into Poppy’s side.
“Word? It can get that intense?”
“Definitely.” Apple smiled and stood off to the side.
Sunny trotted back over to Eagan, eager and excited. Eagan cuffed her to the cross and explained the panic releases. He moved her feet apart and advised her not to make a lot of sudden movements to prevent injury.
“Which cane would you like for me to use?” he asked her.
“Whichever one you prefer, Master Eagan,” Sunny responded breathlessly.
He picked up the Teflon one; the one Sunny thought was his favorite. He started smacking it against her upper back lightly. It sounded like a stick hitting slabs of meat. Sunny coiled and squirmed. Eagan moved down to her ass. Right across the middle section, he spanked her again in the same steady motion, repeating it over and over again.
He worked on Sunny for over fifteen minutes, always with light taps and working on the same two areas. At the end, Sunny grabbed the chains holding the wrist restraints and moaned so loud it echoed off of the walls. She didn’t hit subspace, but she came close to coming.
“Very nice, Sunny.” He undid the wrist restraints. “You can go clean up if you need to and return to the dungeon. I’ll be doing eliminations right after these sessions.”
Sunny bowed her head. “Thank you, Master Eagan.”
The next up was Venus. She was more than happy to take off her clothes, the little bit she wore. When asked which cane she would like used, she pointed to Eagan’s favorite. After hooking her into the cross, he worked her over like Sunny. Venus did offer some moans and movements, more than Sunny had done.
Eagan managed to get Venus up on her toes at one point, but at the end of her fifteen-minute session, she hadn’t gone into subspace or anything.
“Meadow, why don’t you come next?” Eagan motioned for her to the cross.
“Can some people leave the room first?” Meadow tugged at her shirt.
“Meadow, honey, let me give you a scenario of what being my submissive is like. You’ll be in my home naked, unlike my slaves. When we go to play parties, you will be naked in front of everyone. If this is too much for you to handle, then I suggest you leave now.”
She shook her head. “I can do it.” She went over to the wardrobe and stripped slowly. She walked back over to Eagan with one arm covering her breasts and her other hand covering her vagina.
“Face the cross and spread your arms out.”
After composing herself, she did so and allowed him to restrain her. “Here’s how you work the panic clips. Understand?”
She nodded.
When he asked her which cane she wanted, she shrugged her shoulders. He picked up a black one and worked on her for about five minutes, tapping her upper back and her ass cheeks. However, it didn’t take her long to activate the panic clips and scream the safe word, despite his light touches. She coiled into a
ball at the base of the cross.
“I’m sorry, Master Eagan. Maybe if we were alone, I would be different.”
“Maybe.” He took the cuffs off of Meadow and allowed her to get dressed.
Ananda didn’t see her staying for very long.
“Freesia?”
Freesia trembled as she took off her clothes and headed over to Eagan. She chose a silver cane and got into place. Either Freesia was ready for him or she was the best actress out there. As soon as he started working on her she got up on her toes and moaned. Eagan went to tap her and Freesia still moaned and squirmed. He probably thought the same thing Ananda did, that the woman was faking it.
Eagan got her down from the cross and asked her to get dressed. “Poppy?”
Poppy waved her hand. “That is not for me. And since I have immunity, I’m going to bow out of this.”
“So you’re not even going to try it, even though that’s what I want?”
Ananda saw Eagan’s face getting red as he waited for Poppy’s answer.
“I don’t care if you’re a messenger from Jesus and this is what He wants. I’m not doing it.”
“You’re right. You do have immunity. So you can’t be eliminated from this round. But you won’t stay in here, either. Go to your bedroom now.”
“Fine.” Poppy spun on her heel and stomped back to her room.
“Begonia, you’re up.” Eagan pointed to her.
Begonia nodded and got naked first. Then, she padded over to Eagan. She noticed how he checked out her body, looking her over from her head to her feet. He strapped her into the cross.
“I want you to use that skinny cane,” she said to him.
He picked it up and started working on her. He tapped her upper back first in quick repetitive motions. The stinging hits annoyed her at first. Then, she started to like them. Ananda squirmed in her spot. When he moved down to her ass, he did something with her that he hadn’t done with the other women, he switched the cane back and forth like a fan. The feeling both tickled and teased her so much that she felt her juices flowing from between her legs.
Her skin came alive with each contact. If she could have crawled out of her own flesh, she would have. It felt so good.
Before she could even stop herself, she heard herself say, “Harder.”
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