Not particularly tall, he still managed to dominate the room and everyone in it and Cassie knew instantly that she was in the presence of a man accustomed to power and authority.
Her spirits sank to rock bottom and she began to tremble, recognising that Travis was a Master and that there was no way he was going to apologise, tell her that her captivity was a dreadful mistake and that she was to be freed. She had not really believed that he would, but as she gazed at him, her faint hopes crumbled to dust.
"Good afternoon, Tom, Earl," Travis spoke quietly, "and who might this young woman be?"
"Her name is Cassie Martin," Tom replied. "She was swimming from a boat down at Three Mile Beach. She was all on her own, heading for Japan."
"Was she, indeed? Perfect. Her boat is still there, I take it?"
"Yes."
"Then it will need to be disposed of. Tonight, after dark, you two can take the launch down there. Tow her boat well out to sea, set the sails and abandon it. The currents will take it offshore and if it's ever found, well, who knows what might have happened to her?"
As Tom nodded, Cassie gave a muffled scream of despair. Travis' plan would work and she knew it. No one would ever suspect that she was alive and held prisoner and any search would be cursory and looking in completely the wrong direction. Travis turned to gaze calmly at her and as his black eyes bored deep into her wide blue ones, Cassie knew that she was beaten and that she would never be free again.
"Take this slave to the workshop," he ordered. "Replace those ropes and gag and bring her back here when you have finished."
To his left, Lila sniggered, "I sure hope you like leather, you bitch. You're going to be wearing a lot of it, but none where it'll do you any good."
"Lila!" Travis' voice was like ice, "shut up. This slave made a mistake by trespassing on my land and will have to pay for it, but there is no call for you to make it any harder for her."
"Oh, come on," the girl responded angrily, "it's only the truth and she'll soon find out, won't she? We all know that she's going to be tied up in leather and then you're going to have her, so I don't see why I have to keep quiet. She's only a slave, so what difference does it make?"
Travis glowered at his nephew's rebellious wife, "Because this is my ranch and while you live under my roof, you will obey my rules," he said firmly. "Just because you married my nephew does not mean you can do exactly as you please here."
Lila stared back challengingly, "Oh, great. Ever since I married Rod and came to this dump, I haven't done anything that's pleased me."
"And what does that mean, my dear?" Travis asked softly. "Are you unhappy here?"
"You'd better ask him that question," she shot back, pointing at her husband. "Leave me alone. I'm going outside," and she hurried out, her back rigid with anger.
Travis watched her exit, then gave a sigh of exasperation, "All right, Tom. You and Earl take the slave out to the workroom. My nephew and I need to talk."
As her arms were gripped and she was led away, Cassie strained her ears and was rewarded with a brief snatch of conversation from the room behind her.
"What the devil is the matter with her, Rod?"
"Damned if I know what's come over her. She won't even let me touch her any more, but we both know what she's like with the men. She's like a bitch on heat and I'm not going to put up with it much longer."
The voices faded as the door slammed shut and Cassie put their problems behind her and started concentrating on her own as she was taken from the house and led across to one of the low outbuildings. Once inside, with the door closed, Tom turned to her, "Right, girl, now listen to me. You heard what Mr Travis said. We're going to untie all those ropes in a minute, but then they're going to be replaced with the stuff you'll be wearing from now on. It will be a lot more comfortable for you then, but there are two things you'd better understand. First, if you even attempt to argue or fight us, you'll be made to wish you hadn't. You already know what a crop feels like, but believe me, that's nothing to what will happen if you give us any trouble. And second, the nearest farm to where you are right now, is ninety-two miles away, over the mountains. The nearest town is twenty miles beyond that, so if you've got any ideas about running away, you can forget them right now. Oh, and in case you were wondering about stealing a car, there aren't any. Only horses and a helicopter that Mr Travis and his nephew use."
Earl chuckled softly, "That's right, honey. Now I don't know if you can fly a helicopter or not, but I do know that you can hardly tell one end of a horse from the other, so I guess you'll be hanging around for a while."
Cassie's woebegone face told him that she couldn't fly and his grin widened as she took in the bad news.
"OK, then. Let's get started. You just stand nice and still and keep your mouth shut."
Wisely, Cassie decided to do as she was told and as the two dominant Masters released the tight ropes that had bound her for so long, she restricted herself to grimaces and winces as her body protested with aching muscles and the sharp twinges of pins-and-needles as she stretched and exercised her numbed arms until they regained their normal flexibility.
But the relief she felt as she was freed, soon changed to alarm as she saw Earl bring over a box full to the brim with polished black leather and glittering steel.
"Hold your arms out in front of you," Tom ordered and as she obeyed unwillingly, he selected a pair of open leather cuffs, each having two inset steel rings and examined them for size. "Too big," he decided and tried other pairs until he found some that fitted. It was only as he placed the first one on her right wrist and snapped it closed with a sharp click, that Cassie realised that the leather was only a padded cover hiding a steel ring. She looked down at the cuff on her wrist and gave a shudder of fear and excitement as she felt its snug grip on her flesh. There was no hope of slipping it over her hand and she knew then, that without the key, she would never be able to take the thing off.
Desire ignited in her belly and she gave a gasp of helpless arousal as her brain pictured her bound in steel manacles and as her eyes widened in shock, Tom snapped the second cuff on her left wrist.
"Hands behind your back, slave," he ordered, and as Cassie hesitated, snapped, "do it, slave, unless you want me to whip you." She knew he would and with a shiver of fear, thrust her wrists behind her. A padlock clicked shut and her arms were held, only able to move apart about an inch.
"Get it over with, slave," Tom told her cheerfully, "I know you want to, so tug as much as you like. You won't get loose," and he stood back, a broad grin on his face as Cassie tested her bondage. For a minute or so, she pulled and heaved and twisted, but the cuffs held her with ease and she eventually gave up and stood still, accepting that it was useless and feeling her arousal building steadily.
Tom nodded, "Right, that's settled then," and as Cassie watched helplessly, he and Earl quickly fitted a second pair of cuffs to her ankles and clicked them closed. "Legs apart, slave," and she licked her suddenly dry lips as a third set clamped her legs, just above her knees. "Last pair," Earl smiled cruelly, "these, you won't like. Not that that matters," and he moved behind her.
He was right, for as he locked them just above her elbows and fastened them together, her shoulders were strained backwards by the remorseless pressure and her breasts were forced forwards and up, as if offering themselves to the two men. It was a tie Cassie had hated when they had bound her elbows with rope and she still hated it, but as Earl had made clear, that didn't matter and as she was forced to accept it, her desire rose another notch. Then it rose again, her belly swirling with ferocious heat as Tom took a single, large ring from the box and casually locked it around her throat.
Although he didn't seem to think anything of it, to Cassie, the placing of a collar on her neck was hugely symbolic. It marked her as a slave, visible proof for all to see that she was no longer a free woman and as she felt the weight of cold, hard, inflexible steel around her throat, her nipples stiffened to aching hardness and her sex oozed damply.
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At that moment, more than anything she had ever wanted before, Cassie longed to feel men's hands on her body, arousing her and forcing her to surrender to the blazing ecstasy of a slave's climax and she opened her mouth to beg Tom for his touch, but she had forgotten that Earl was still behind her. Before she could utter a single word, a massive leather ball was at her soft lips and as he wedged and crammed the gag into her mouth and buckled the strap tightly behind her neck, she was silenced.
Deprived of the power of speech, she writhed and twisted like a hooked fish as Earl's big, rough hands slid around her waist and then moved up to give her erect nipples a brief roll and squeeze. Much too brief from Cassie's point of view, for instead of giving her the climax she desperately desired, his touch only inflamed her need and as he took his fingers away and joined his partner, she whimpered helplessly and her eyes pleaded mutely for more.
Tom smiled into her gagged face and shook his head, "Not yet, slave. Mr Travis gets his turn first. But don't worry, when he's finished with you, you'll be coming back to see us and we'll make quite sure that you aren't left wanting. Isn't that right, Earl?"
"Oh yeah," Earl's hot eyes scanned her tautly offered breasts and defenceless sex, "you can bet on that."
Cassie's belly flared with heat and she nodded urgently, telling them in the only way she could that she would submit willingly when the time came and both Masters laughed at her eagerness to please them.
"Randy little bitch. Come on, let's get her out of here, or I'll have her right now," and he grinned broadly as Cassie nodded again, fervently wishing that he would.
Tom took a braided leather leash from the box and clipped it into the ring on the front of her slave collar and as he led the way from the workroom, Cassie had to follow like the tamed, dumb pet animal she had become. With her eyes fixed on the leash joining her neck to Tom's hand, her nipples erect with arousal and her brain whirling with the anticipation of being presented as a collared slave to her new Master, Cassie had no time to think of how her gagged, bound nudity would appear to an onlooker.
Until, almost at the house, she was confronted by Lila, but a very different Lila from the one who had virtually thrown herself at Earl, or even the one who had stormed out of the room where Cassie had first met her new Master. This Lila was clearly excited, twin spots of bright colour staining her cheekbones and her eyes glittering, with an evil looking crop dangling from the belt of her shorts.
"Hi, Lila," Tom greeted her, "what are you doing here?"
"Give me that, Tom," she grabbed the leash to Cassie's collar, "I'm taking over from here."
Tom resisted the pull, "What do you mean, you're taking over? What do you think you're doing?"
Lila glared at him, "That's none of your business," she told him sharply, "just give me that leash. You two are only the hired help around here, don't forget."
"Now, hold on, Lila. There's no need to get bitchy. You know we're supposed to be taking her to Mr Travis." Earl didn't like being referred to as 'hired help' and it showed.
"Keep your nose out of it, Earl," the redhead turned on him savagely, "how would you like me to tell my dear, sweet old uncle," her voice dripped with sarcasm as she said the words, "that you've been pestering me and even tried to rape me."
Earl took a pace back, astonished, "What?" he choked out, "what are you talking about? I never tried to rape you."
Lila laughed without the slightest trace of humour, "I know you didn't. Not even when I wanted you to. But who do you think the old fool is going to believe?"
Tom stepped towards her, "Stop it, Lila. That's enough of that nonsense. Earl never touched you and that's what I'll tell Mr Travis if you try to cause trouble."
"He won't believe you either," she retorted coldly, "not when I tell him that you were with Earl at the time. So if you want to keep your jobs and the additional benefits that go with it," she glared at Cassie, "you'll do as I want and give me that leash. Think about it, guys. I'm married to his precious nephew and anyway, what difference does it make to you what happens to a slut like her?"
Tom and Earl stared at the small redhead angrily, but knew that she was right. Even if Mr Travis didn't believe a word she said, he might still think he had to sack them to avoid labelling his nephew's wife as a liar. And Cassie was only a slave...
Tom looked at Earl and shrugged, receiving a shrug in return, then handed the leash to the redhead, "OK, Lila. Have it your way. But from now on, keep out of my way and don't think I'll forget this."
"Or me," Earl chimed in, "you're a real bitch, Lila. I feel sorry for Rod."
"Huh. Don't bother feeling sorry for him," she hissed venomously, "he may not want me in his bed, but that won't stop him taking this slut whenever he feels like it. Well, he's going to have to wait just a bit longer, because I'm going to have a few words with her first."
"Suit yourself," Tom said shortly, then turned his back and walked away, followed by Earl, leaving Cassie alone with Lila.
As the men disappeared into one of the outbuildings, Lila took a firm grip on the leash to Cassie's neck and gave a throaty chuckle, "I enjoyed that. It's about time I started putting a few people in their places around here and you're next, bitch. Come on. You and I need to sort out one or two things," and she gave the leather a vicious tug.
Off balance, Cassie stumbled forward, almost choking as her collar tightened alarmingly and her eyes widened with fear. Instinctively, she tried to pull back, but as Lila felt the resistance, she plucked the crop from her belt and slashed it forehand and backhand across the fronts of Cassie's naked thighs.
The bound blonde screamed in pain as two vivid red stripes branded her and stinging heat erupted in her thighs, but as she stared wildly at Lila's laughing face and saw the cruel pleasure in the redhead's eyes, a chill of stark terror raced through her belly.
For whatever reason, the smaller girl meant to punish her and there was nothing she could do to stop her! The leash yanked again and Cassie moaned in horror as she was dragged into the nearest copse of trees, their dense foliage hiding her from the house. Lila stopped and turned to face her, eyes glinting with malice, "Right then, you lanky bitch, we won't be disturbed in here, so get down on your knees."
Cassie gaped at her, then screamed into her gag as the merciless crop seared across her flat stomach.
"I said, on your knees, slut," and as the crop rose menacingly, the terrified blonde obeyed, falling to her knees before the redhead. "Head up, bitch and get your legs spread. Let's see what you've got to offer." Trembling with fear and humiliation, Cassie displayed her body, her face scarlet with shame as Lila subjected her to a thorough examination, then sneered into her gagged face.
"Not bad," she said scornfully, "but my breasts are better. I can't see what all the fuss is about, but I suppose it must be the fact that you're a slave and can't say no. And you are a slave, aren't you? A slave-slut. I'm right, aren't I, slut?"
Cassie whimpered, but knew she had to answer and nodded her head.
"I know," Lila tapped her crop into her left hand, "and slaves like you can be whipped by their Masters, can't they?"
Cassie nodded again. It was quite true; she had been whipped and knew she could be again.
"Or, of course, their Mistresses," Lila's voice was like ice. "Mistresses like, oh, say, me."
Cassie gulped nervously, then forced herself to nod a third time, her eyes wide with dread as she realised what the redhead was driving at. Lila chuckled, "Mr Travis will definitely whip you, slave and my husband, too, if he can find the nerve. He asked me to let him whip me once, bit I told him I'd castrate him if he tried it. But then, unlike you, I'm not a slave. You'll probably enjoy it, but even if you don't, who cares? I certainly don't, so bend over, you bitch and take what's coming to you."
Cassie moaned and tried to get to her feet, but the redhead was too quick for her and grabbed her hair, forcing her to bend double and holding her in position.
"This is for trying to disobey," Lila hissed
and the helpless blonde squealed and writhed as two cruelly hard stripes blazed across her buttocks. "And this for being a randy slut," two more stinging cuts painted her flesh with blistering heat. "And these are because my damned husband wants you more than he wants me," a flurry of blows turned Cassie's bottom into a reddened inferno and she screamed in terrible anguish as she was punished through no fault of her own. "And these are just because I want to," half a dozen more set the struggling blonde sobbing in pain and misery, tears pouring down her cheeks to soak the leather gag sealing her lips.
Lila released her grip and stood back panting from her efforts as Cassie fell to the ground, her bound wrists trying in vain to rub her stinging bottom and alleviate the furious heat of her punishment.
"Get up and show me your body, slut, or I'll really give you something to cry about."
Cassie staggered to her feet, her eyes filled with horror, arching her back to stick her breasts out and spreading her legs to display herself as a slave before her Mistress, knowing that if she even hesitated, Lila would whip her again.
Slaves of the Circle T Page 5