by Maren Smith
“Also,” Mrs. Hardwick continued, holding up her arm to show everyone the yellow and white bracelets she wore, “Every single person here, be they guests or staff, wears at least one of these. Each bracelet is color-coded to match a particular aspect of play that we offer. Doms and Dommes wear two; a white band and a color-coded one to match them with a particular fantasy program. I cannot stress enough how much it doesn’t matter if blue matches your eyes or if green is your favorite color. Put on the bracelet you’ve been given, and do not take it off until you either switch programs or depart the premises. Bracelet swappers don’t get spanked here, ladies and gentlemen. They get prematurely sent home on the Bus of Shame. So while I’m watching, everybody get your bracelets out, put them on, and set your minds right now to leaving them on for the duration of your visit.” She paused and Terri found herself twirling and tugging on her own bracelet. The rubber was strong yet flexible, and it had such a foreboding presence.
“Does everyone have their bracelet on? Arms up! I want to see those wristbands,” Mrs. Hardwick commanded, clapping her hands as she waited. She herself was a force to be reckoned with here at the Castle, that much was clear after only a few minutes.
Hands were raised into the air, some tentatively and others waved wildly.
Through the sea of arms, Terri watched the massive front doors of the Castle open again. This time a uniformed line of men and women all with yellow bracelets on their wrists filed out.
“Masters and Mistresses,” Mrs. Hardwick announced as she slightly stiffened. “It’s time to say goodbye to your submissives. Please hand your information packets to Mr. Grimsley.” She gestured toward a tall, dark-haired man in a neatly-pressed butler’s uniform, who separated himself from the other men and women and marched forward, executing a sharp and formal bow. Like Mrs. Hardwick, he wore the white wristband of a Dominant coupled with his yellow one. “He will escort you to Wardrobe to receive your costumes, take you on a tour through the Castle and explain its equipment, and finally show you to your room assignments. If you did not bring one with you, your assigned submissives will join you shortly.”
“That’s my cue, brat.” Nick stood. “I have to go, but I will see you in our room, and we will figure out our next steps as soon as your tour is over.”
She grabbed at his arm, clinging to it as a rush of panic overcame her. “Wait! I thought we weren’t going to be separated.”
He took her chin again, this time with more tenderness than frustration. “I thought you didn’t need a babysitter?” he teased with a wink. “Focus, T, you got this.” He kissed her forehead softly, his lips lingering longer than usual. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply as if doing so would somehow allow her to soak in his strength. It worked because she felt calm and was reminded of her own strength. She could handle this.
Seeing that she was okay, Nick got up, patted Champ’s head, and headed up the center row and to the door. His gait was proud and confident. She wished she could be like him. They were both out of their element yet he was cool and collected while she was a hot mess.
“Lords and ladies.” Mrs. Hardwick dipped her head in a respectful bow. “Welcome to the Castle.”
The Dominants disappeared through the doors and Mrs. Hardwick’s demeanor shifted. She stood taller and more rigid as her eyes scanned the remaining guests. Terri found herself slinking down into her seat, wanting to avoid the icy glare of the stone-faced woman.
“Where are my green bracelets?” the matronly woman asked, her tone changing from welcoming to no nonsense as she took charge once more. “Master Brody, please take possession of your ponies.”
Ponies?
A few women jumped to their feet and galloped to the large man dressed differently than all of the other staff members who had assembled behind Mrs. Hardwick. Terri watched as the guests shed their human traits and whipped their heads, making grunting noises and stomping their feet.
Holy shit, I can’t believe this is really a thing.
She watched with a mixture of horrified fascination and blatant curiosity as the one called Master Brody took their folders and led them toward the side of the building.
“Blue bracelets,” Mrs. Hardwick called, once the ponies were gone, gesturing to a woman garbed in a Victorian-era grey dress. “Nanny Colleen will take you to the nursery.”
Nanny? Nursery? Terri dropped her head in her hands. She didn’t know how much more of this she could handle. She didn’t look as a group of submissives boasting blue bracelets stood and followed Nanny Colleen into the Castle.
“Pink bracelets,” Mrs. Hardwick announced, moving things right along. “Governesses Victoria and Odelette will take you upstairs. Hurry now, you are already late for classes.”
Terri kept her head down and prayed they would call her color soon. Anxiety was choking her, and she wanted to throw up. Champ scooted closer to her and nudged her elbow.
“I know, boy,” she murmured softly. “Thank you.” As it always did, his presence calmed her.
Champ licked her face, and she giggled, the knot in her stomach dissipating as she scolded him half-heartedly. “You aren’t supposed to do that while we are working, naughty boy.”
“Yellow bracelets.” Thank God. Terri sprang out of her seat, thrilled she didn’t have to sit there any longer. The sooner she got inside, the sooner she could stop thinking about this place and all of its weirdness and focus on her job. She hoped.
“Our turn,” she told Champ, after taking a deep breath. He was the only thing keeping her calm at the moment. Maybe this therapy dog thing is more than just a cover story, she told herself as she made her way to the front, not bothering to look around to see who was joining her. One foot in front of the other, it was all she could focus on in that moment.
The same man who had taken the Dominants inside stepped forward to greet them.
“Master Grimsley will be taking you ladies under his wing. I’d advise you to be mindful of his switch,” Mrs. Hardwick warned with a grin, as Terri and the other submissives assembled in line. Master Grimsley was the most proper man Terri had ever encountered. He stood tall and firm as he stared down at each one of them. His slender form was wrapped in a black and white tuxedo. Images of a waddling penguin traveled through her brain, and she giggled nervously, earning a hard glare from both Mrs. Hardwick and Master Grimsley. Their stern but silent admonishment was enough to subdue her. Note to self: No laughing. With a gulp, she looked back down at her feet. It was safer that way.
Chapter 4
“Dammit, how far behind me could she be? What the hell is taking them so long?” Nick paced the room as he waited for Terri. With the attitude she had been throwing all day, he was paranoid that she’d blow the mission given the first chance. More than that, he just didn’t like being away from her. Glancing at the clock, he scowled. Grimsley had informed him it would be about an hour until she joined him. He had been up here without her for forty minutes already. He had gotten a full tour of the Castle and been outfitted in his own butler uniform. He wasn’t used to such formal attire, and was already contemplating the wisdom of his program choice.
Grimsley had shown him to his room last, presenting him with a map of the Castle and its grounds, with a giant red X marking the spot where they were expected to report for their first meeting with Master Marshall. The Master Butler was one of only a handful of Castle employees aware of their presence and purpose. To everyone else they were Nate and Tara O’Connor, a happily married young couple who were brand new to the world of kink.
To keep his mind off all the possible ways this mission could go wrong, he busied himself with unpacking their toiletry cases. They had packed extremely light because almost everything they could need would be provided by the Castle. It was the least they could do, he thought, given that the hefty price tag on a trip here would normally cost more than he could ever fathom spending on a vacation. Of course, being that this was work, and they were providing a service, their stay had been comped, and he p
lanned to take full advantage of the time he had here, while still staying focused on the mission. As far as he was concerned, this was a win/win for all involved. Now, he just had to convince Terri of that. A feat that was looking more and more impossible with every passing minute.
Muttering to himself about stubborn brats and obnoxious captains, he took his laptop out of its case and opened it, intending to get a jumpstart on their initial reports. He had barely started typing when the door opened and Terri appeared, spitting mad, and clad in a skimpy and sexy as hell maid’s uniform.
He let out a low whistle before he could stop himself. “Holy shit, T.”
“Don’t!” she shrieked angrily, raising her hand in front of her as if that would stop him from commenting. She was pissed, but that only added to her sexiness, in his opinion. He had always found her to be cuter when she was all riled up. Before he could say another word, she stomped into the room, all but slamming the door behind her. Champ, unaffected by her temper tantrum, strutted proudly next to her, a black bowtie fastened smartly around his neck. Damn. They really did have everything. Terri dropped Champ’s leash, and he ran to Nick.
“Well, don’t you look dapper?” Nick unclipped the leash. “Go do your thing, boy.” Champ wagged his tail and set forth on his mission, slowly walking around the room, sniffing every inch as Terri stayed close to the door, seething.
“You’re making Champ nervous with your attitude,” he scolded. “Champ is our radar to tell us when something is amiss. We can’t have him on edge all the time because you can’t control your emotions.”
He could see that his harsh words had the intended effect when her face fell and softened. “This stupid uniform sucks,” she whined. “It’s itchy and I feel exposed.”
“I’m not exactly comfortable either,” he commiserated, gesturing to his suit. “But we can’t sit around here pouting about it. We have things to do. Master Marshall is expecting us, we need to write up our initial reports and send them in, and we need to find food because I’m starving.”
Terri didn’t respond, but she did take a moment to give him a once over. A smile spread across her lips, lips that were currently painted a bright shiny red. She wore make-up every day but never as bold as what now adorned her features. His cock twitched as they continued to stare at each other from across the room.
“You look like a penguin, only not as cute.” She giggled.
Rolling his eyes at her sass, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Get it all out now, brat. Once we leave this room you need to find your inner submissive and behave as such or suffer the consequences.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You won’t hesitate to punish me if I make you look bad and all that. So you’ve said.” She rolled her eyes dramatically, and it took everything inside him not to spank her sexy ass right then, but he wasn’t sure how she would take it, and they did have to work cohesively and share a room for the foreseeable future.
“I’m going to make you apologize for that later. Just you wait, little girl,” he growled between clenched teeth. He wasn’t mad. He was frustrated. Physically, emotionally, and sexually. Especially sexually.
Her response to his threat was to shake her head, roll her eyes, and stick out her tongue. “C’mon, Champ, we need to go meet the crazy man who owns this place.”
Having calmed and made his rounds, her companion was happily lounging on the large pillow on the floor watching their exchange.
“Did they really provide us a dog bed?” Terri asked, her brow wrinkling in surprise.
“It appears that way. We should remember to thank that ‘crazy man who owns this place,’” he deadpanned. “Let’s go, boy, we have work to do.” Champ jumped up and went to his side.
“How come he never listens to me when you’re around?” Terri pouted.
“Because he knows the chain of command around here, unlike some people,” Nick teased with a smirk, placing the leash in her outstretched hand.
With a huff, she turned to open the door and Nick couldn’t hold back any longer. The way the short skirt of her uniform framed her curves and stopped just below the swell of her ass was too much temptation for him to bear. Without thinking, he pulled back his arm and swatted her, hard. Her squeal of surprise was the most satisfying thing he’d heard all day.
Contrary to what Nick had thought when Grimsley first handed him the map, they did not meet Master Marshall at his office. Instead, Nick found himself negotiating through a maze of dark hallways on the second floor, far away from high traffic guest areas, past lines of benches and intricately carved doorways. If there was any doubt in anyone’s mind that this was an original castle, all they had to do was look at the doors. Each was handcrafted with details that could not be duplicated by any machine. At last, they arrived at a dead-end corridor behind a door marked ‘Employees Only.’ Although the first to arrive, they weren’t alone for very long.
“What the hell?” was all Terri had time to say as they took in the only two closed doors, each of which punctuated two completely barren walls. One door was marked ‘Security.’ The other read ‘Janitor Only.’ The only light provided came from the flickering electric torches so realistic that they could almost have passed for the real things. The door swung open behind them again and in swept Grimsley.
“Pick a wall,” he announced to the group of men and women filing in behind him. “Line up. Straight lines, now. Quickly, quickly.”
Nick looked at Terri, who stared back at him with a ‘See, crazy place’ grimace on her face. Grimsley snapped his fingers at them and they too found a section of wall at the end of one line.
“Welcome to the Castle,” Grimsley announced, nowhere near as cheerfully as Mrs. Hardwick had.
“Didn’t we already sit through this speech?” Terri whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
Palm tingling, Nick fought the urge to swat her again. The privacy of their room was one thing, but he knew better than to dare take that kind of liberty in front of a bunch of strangers. He settled on a whispered chastisement. “Be nice.”
“I am being nice,” she hissed. “I’m just not being quiet.”
“I understand,” the Master Butler continued, oblivious to Terri’s mocking, “that most of you consider this to be your dream job, the best work environment you’ve ever been in, particularly if you identify yourself being a Dominant or a submissive. Fun and spankings all day long, right?”
Terri rolled her lips to keep from laughing at the withering look he gave the new employees lined up along both sides of the hallway.
“Wrong,” Grimsley boomed. “If you behave with anything less than absolute professionalism while you are here, all you will succeed in is winning yourself a top-rated position on my shit list. Let me assure you, I can be either your best friend or your worst enemy. But either way, I am your immediate supervisor. If you don’t do exactly as I tell you, when I tell you, I’ll make each and every one of you wish you’d never met me.”
“This is the same speech I got from my seventh-grade math teacher,” Terri whispered.
The itching in his palm intensified even more, but his urge to swat her took a sharp backseat to the sudden realization of what was happening. They weren’t being introduced as guests anymore. He and Terri were standing amongst a group of newly hired employees. Is this Marshall’s plan? Being employees could only strengthen their cover, especially if they got caught checking a room or anyone questioned their right to do so.
Warning given, Grimsley promptly fired a girl not two up from where Nick was standing for snickering. It was so soft, Nick barely heard it, which only proved there was nothing wrong with the man’s hearing. He shot Terri a censuring frown. She didn’t miss the eye roll, but she did press her lips together in a belated promise to take this more seriously. Nick gave her a nod of approval and stood a little taller himself. He knew the man couldn’t fire him, but he didn’t want to be on his shit list either.
With his point made, the Master Butler opened the door th
ey’d filed in through and in walked a handful of men and two women, one of whom was dressed in a more conservative maid’s outfit than the rest of them wore. One of those men caught his attention right away. Even if he didn’t recognize the man from the Castle brochure that had been included in their initial assignment paperwork, Nick couldn’t help thinking he’d have known on sight that that particular Master was Marshall. It was the way he carried himself. He just… looked like a man accustomed to being in charge, and all he did was quietly prop himself against the wall, watching from the shadows as Grimsley divided the employees into two groups and sent them on their way. The Dominants left with one of the men who’d entered with Marshall. The submissives followed the maid, and before Nick knew it, he and Terri were the only two ‘employees’ still in the hall with Grimsley, Marshall, and two other men.
“You must be the O’Connors,” Marshall said, stepping out of the shadows at last to introduce himself. “Welcome to the Castle. I hope you are enjoying your stay thus far. I realize this isn’t the ideal place to hold such an important first meeting, but I thought the less you are both seen coming and going from my office, the less attention you’ll gather simply walking through the halls.”
Coming down the hall, he held out his hand to Nick, who took it in a firm handshake. From the corner of his eye, he saw Terri eyeing not just him but the two other men following in his wake. Although she did eventually shake Marshall’s hand when he offered it, she put Champ between herself and them first. Nick couldn’t help but chuckle, although he had to give her credit. Her self-preservation skills were on point.