by Ashley Woods
Her phone rang immediately. She picked it up and started rambling, “Karl, I need to see you, I really do.”
Her request was met by his usual response.
“Will you calm down? I am not someone you want to get to know.”
Kristen begged, “I know you will like me, just give me a chance.”
Karl answered firmly, “We are not playing a game Kristen, you are not ready.” He hung up.
Kristen went outside and walked around the block. She kept her cell phone with her. She felt very nervous.
Karl called her back, “Meet me at midnight. 3242 W. Market Street.” Kristen wanted to ask him if that address was in the city, but he was already gone.
She was excited all day long. Around 8PM, she was already dressed, and decided to hang out with Suzie downtown before meeting him.
When Suzie saw her, she said, “What is going on with those eyes. You look like a punk!”
Kristen had put on several coats of eyeliner and mascara for a dramatic effect. She was wearing fishnets, a lace bustier, a short black spandex skirt, and of course her tallest steel heels.
“Come on Kristen, you can’t look like that, we’re going to a Jazz bar. What has gotten into you?”
Kristen replied, “I don’t want to go there. Let’s go to one of the alternative bars. I want to hear a real band.” They headed over in their separate cars.
When they went into the place, they immediately saw some friends and sat at their large table. Suzie danced non-stop, while Kristen got as intoxicated as possible. She needed to be completely out of it in order to feel normal with Karl. Then she realized she still had to drive there, and she slowed it down for the next two hours.
It was finally nearing midnight, and Kristen announced that she was leaving. She was able to drive with no problems.
Suzie had no idea where Kristen was going, “I’m coming with you.”
Kristen answered quickly, “You can’t.” She then went to her car and drove off. Suzie called after her, “Again Kristen, what’s wrong with you?”
Kristen muttered to herself, “You would never understand.”
The meeting place turned out to be nightclub that Kristen thought had closed down. She pulled up and saw Karl was outside talking to some men. As usual, he looked very polished. She emerged from the car and walked slowly up to him.
“You look like a clown,” he said displeased. She walked behind him into the building.
The place was crowded, and it looked like an S&M party was going at full speed. There were topless waitresses walking about carrying small silver trays and handing out hors d’oeuvres and beverages. They were wearing dog collars with very pointy spikes on their necks, black thongs, thigh highs, and nothing else.
There were decidedly more men in the place. Kristen thought many of the girls looked like they were hired to be there, since they had similar outfits on. Most of the men were wearing wedding rings. Karl’s fingers were bare.
Karl planted Kristen on a low couch and walked away. He had not said a word to her since they entered. She saw him walk up to an older Asian woman, who was wearing a red rubber jump suit, and drag her off by her pony tail. Kristen watched jealously and wanted to go after him.
A short, fat man came up to her dressed entirely in white leather and a tiny derby hat, tilted to the side. He resembled a dented marshmallow and was carrying a whip.
“Stand up!” he barked. He looked like he was getting ready to go at her.
A large bouncer in black t-shirt came up to him, “She’s Karl’s.” The man nodded and strode off.
Kristen had nothing to do but observe. The room filled up as more people came in, and then they would break off into the various back rooms. Kristen desperately wanted to go and see what was going on.
It also seemed obvious, that no waitresses were coming up to her with the free drinks, like they were offering everyone else. She wanted one!
She looked at the bouncer still standing by her and wondered if he was assigned to her. She thought she would make a run for the back zone to see if he would try to stop her. Karl had now been gone for almost an hour and she was getting impatient. She was in the mood for trouble!
Kristen smiled at the bouncer, “Where’s the bathroom please?” He looked away from her and pointed toward a hall by the front door.
Kristen slowly got up and walked in that direction, and away from him. She stopped to grab a drink from a tray that was sitting on a table and sipped it at it. She kept looking behind her to see if he was watching. Then, she turned and quickly slid along the wall, back toward the other rooms.
“Her” bouncer immediately stopped her. He then picked her up and carried her down some stairs to the right of them.
He scolded her, “You are being a very bad girl.”
Kristen was tossed on the floor of an empty room, “Oww!” She rubbed her thigh where she landed on it.
The bouncer leaned over her, “Sit up.” She complied, and he quickly put a black hood over her head. It had a closure on the mouth, and he zipped it shut.
A few minutes later, the hood was pulled off, and she was relieved to see Karl standing there. His eyes were very dark. She noticed his perfect hair was now messy, his tie was loosened, and his suit coat was not on him.
“Miss Kenworth, are you trying to embarrass me in front of my friends? What is it? What are you expecting now?”
“I don’t know Karl? I know I want you, and I don’t know why?”
Karl pulled her off the floor, and half-smiled, as he stood her up in front of him. Then with no emotion, he put a stiff hand on her shoulder, and took her into another room.
There was a bed in there. It had restraints attached to each side. He put Kristen on the bed and buckled the brown leather straps around her wrists and her ankles.
Karl said, “I don’t know whether to have sex with you or kill you! I don’t know what to do with you.” He walked out of the room.
The anticipation was driving Kristen crazy. She tested the straps and knew she could slip out of the ones on her hands if she wanted to.
It had not been long before three men walked into the room. They were all wearing black ski masks, and expensive business suits. Without even seeing their faces, she felt they were in their early forties. The trio stood in the corner by the door watching her.
One lit up a cigarette and tapped the ashes on the floor. Kristen did not say anything. She was scared and felt like they were making some kind of decision about her. She thought they might be the group from the other night.
A woman was screaming in the room next her, and Kristen worried if the men were going to take her in there. There were too many to fight off, “Where was Karl?”
One of the men turned off the overhead lights. They continued standing there, and Kristen could see the glow of the cigarette every time it was inhaled. The air was very quiet. There were now muffled moans coming through the ventilation system, that seemed like they were far away.
Kristen started slipping her hands out of the restraints, and the buckles made noise. The man with the cigarette flicked it on the floor and turned the lights on. With no reaction, they left the room.
Karl came back in, “You need to grow up and stop playing games,” he said, while loosening her ankle cuffs, “I told you, this is not for you.”
He led her into a large room where one man, and two women were tied up to three metal racks that were shaped like crosses. They all wore long black veils over their faces. It resembled the Crucifixion, and Kristen could tell that no one looked like they were enjoying it. Their much older male dominants were standing next to them and were dressed in executioner outfits.
The pair quickly passed through, and Karl brought her upstairs, “Kristen, you are not to call me again. Understand?”
She kept her head down and nodded. Karl opened the front door, and she walked out.
After Kristen left the building, a beautiful woman, wearing a black silk robe, entered the room with th
e three crosses. She gave a quick bow and greeted the Masters.
“Alright, gentlemen, you can relax now. We have previewed your guest selection, and they are now approved to move on to the final level. Even their DNA results are back in and were satisfactory. In fact, they rated quite high.
One of the men removed his hood, “Phew! Glad that’s over, I was getting pretty heated up in this outfit. It’s easy to do around these very lovely inductees.”
He arrogantly spoke to the supervisor, “Well, I would hope that my girl passed. You know that I have been looking for the perfect choice for quite some time. They don’t get any better than her. Mistress, you need to tell your bosses that these portable dungeons are too sterile, and not very exciting. I prefer my own.”
The man next to him laughed, and laid down his whip,
“I am surprised yours even passed the I.Q. testing. Mine is alright for now, but, I am off to Sweden to find me a natural blonde.”
He lit up a cigar, “Do you two want to jet over there with me? My pilot is waiting at the airport. As usual, it is just a day trip, and I am writing it off as a business expense.”
The third man answered, “Sure, we’ll go with you. We don’t have much time left to keep doing this. I am not even sure my heart can hold out much longer.”
The men then went into the adjacent room to change back into their business suits.
The supervisor managed a smile, “Enjoy your trip, and we look forward to seeing you soon. Please fill out our client survey before you leave.” She then hopped on a small stool and reached up to unshackle the guests from the crosses they were hanging from.
A young attendant came into the room and stood by her as she passed him the black veils. They were carefully folded, bagged, and then laid on a shelf. He then handcuffed each guest and helped them over to the iron chairs along the wall. As they sat, each were handed a cold bottle of Pellegrino.
The male candidate wet his lips, and then licked at his sore wrists, “That wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. My Mid-West recruiter didn’t tell me that hanging me like “frickin” Christ was part of the process.
The supervisor slapped him, “Silence! You know how you are to address me. You are not allowed to speak, or you will be deleted from the invitation list. You don’t want to ruin your chances of ending up with your very rich man, do you? You have finally charmed him, and more importantly, you have now earned “our” approval. Why ruin it at this point?”
The candidate bowed his head, “Please forgive me Mistress, I know that I have wrongly spoken. Of course, I cherish this opportunity.”
She smiled, shoved a gag deep into his mouth, and took away his water. “Maybe, this will help you remember even more.” The two other guests kept their heads lowered. They knew the value of finally being accepted.
To increase their chances, they had abandoned their modeling careers two years ago, and their “designated” agents had them audition in various playrooms across the globe until they found the right fit for them.
They now had the great fortune of being approved today for the two men that presented them for the inspection. Their new Masters ranked high on Forbes Wealthiest list and were prominently displayed in the Who’s Who.
It was a long road ahead for the girls, and they were fully prepared to serve their Master and his friends. They hoped it might even lead to a marriage proposal.
The supervisor was now satisfied that the guests were sufficiently secured, and she turned off the lights. She then proceeded upstairs to the office.
The three men that had earlier watched Kristen, were now seated at their desks. Harris, Hicks, and Hart ran this special department, and directly dealt with the “assets”. Their mentor had groomed them tirelessly through the years to take on this important role. These men also started out their career as inductees long ago, when they were rescued from the crime-ridden streets of Brixton.
Hicks shook his head, “That Kenworth girl is quite a catch. But, I don’t think Karl is going to have any luck breaking her. Her blood is too rich. And, it’s too sweet for my tastes.”
The supervisor entered, and the three looked up and frowned at her. They had been watching the Cross Room on camera.
She looked worried at their reaction,
“I am sorry Mr. Hicks, is there something that displeases you gentlemen?”
“That male nominee had a lot of nerve to be sassing off. It seems that he was not correctly conditioned, and you would be the one to blame for that. You were his direct report.” Hicks sternly replied.
Hart spoke with disdain, “You seem to be slipping Mistress, and yet you still act holier than thou. Maybe you need a time-out on the cross?”
She looked very distressed, and kneeled on one leg, “You may do as you please with me sir. I am here to serve, not question.”
Harris, the group lead, walked over and gave her a pat on the head, “Now, that is the correct way to respond. If those candidates acted like that in front of “him”, then all hell would come down on us. We are in charge of this project, and the only ones accountable. Are those rejects still in the main dungeon?”
“Yes sir, they never qualified to enter the Cross Room. Would you like to go with me now to meet three or four of them?"
Hart clapped his hands in delight, “Yes, we’ll make it a party! All the merrier. It is just one of the few perks of this job, and we don’t even have to be bloody billionaires, like our clientele. I will be glad when our division lease is up here and we can find a new site closer to downtown. It would be easier to fly to, and we can land their choppers right on top of the building.
Harris added, “We are actively seeking a location right on Lake Michigan. It will be very useful for us, almost a necessity. Now let's go see the goods."
“Very well.” The Mistress walked swiftly to the side closet and pulled out their leather dungeon hoods. The men bent over as she adjusted them on their heads and un-zipped their mouths. She then lined them up and led them downstairs.
Hart called out loudly ahead of them, "You witless submissives better hide, because we are coming for you!"
As they reached the bottom of the stairs, the Mistress left the men in the hallway, and walked into a small room filled with jail cells. She pulled the attendant to the side.
"Veil them and bring them to the Cross Room." She then reached toward a table and pulled three long knives from it.
"Here you go gentleman, please try to be tidy about this."
Harris smiled, “I don’t believe that we will need those Mistress. We simply don’t have the time today to take them to the final stage. Such a pity to pass on all that fun. We will summon the attendant if we change our minds.”
As the men walked into the chamber, he sarcastically added, “I hope that our grand efforts here will be appreciated. Such “sacrifices” we have to make for this life.”
Hart laughed, “You are so right! Are you coming in Mistress?”
“Not today,” was her reply. She then gave a deep sigh of relief and returned to the office.
4 SHARK BEACH
By no means,
was there ever to be a struggle to just merely exist…
Kristen waited the whole week, and the following months for Karl to phone her. It never happened. She couldn’t get him out of her mind, and she wondered if Karl had somehow hypnotized her. It made her restless knowing that she could not have him. It was maddening he wouldn’t call her!
More than ever, Kristen could feel that she was becoming a different person. It was a strange sensation that she could not control. It also seemed that Karl had brought her bad luck.
The week after she last saw him, Kristen lost her young mother to a botched cosmetic surgery. And, as soon as she was lowered into the ground, her father became husband number three for the local darling of Chicago society. Their obvious two-year affair had now risen to the surface, and she made sure that he had no opportunity to find someone else while he was free. To avoid any question
s, Arthur had arranged for a quickie Vegas wedding, and then the newlyweds took off for a lengthy honeymoon.
While in Barcelona, Arthur was engaged in a lively game of tennis, when he dropped face-down on top of his Gucci sunglasses, from a heart attack. There was not a gray hair in sight, and throughout their circle, the initial catty rumors about his new Gold-Digger wife, were now interlaced with the term Black Widow.
Since it had been so easy for Arthur to move on, it appeared to Kristen that her father just needed beautiful women to wear on his arm. She also felt that the Kenworth children had been part of the show. They had always looked like the perfect family smiling from the gold framed photo on the desk at his office. Only when needed, it was pulled out of a drawer, brushed off by his secretary, and strategically placed in front of the clients.
Kristen now felt herself changing her attitude about men. She thought, “I hope no man ever treats me solely as a possession. I am never going to let someone else define my existence.” She almost let William get away with it, and now she knew that she had to guard her heart.
The widow was not very happy that she only received Arthur’s life insurance proceeds, sizable interest pay-outs from the estate, and access to the Kenworth properties. So, she had another face-lift, and immediately began her search for a new man to take care of her.
Kristen was now considered broke, at least by peer standards, and skillfully squeaked by on her “meager” trust fund. Long ago, her father had set it up to ensure that his off-spring never became spoiled. It was his way of still controlling them from the grave. The “big” inheritance would not be available, until the stepmother was well out of the picture.
Her two older sisters, and brother John, suffered greatly when their kingdom crashed around them. But, soon they learned how to stroke the stepmother for monthly hand-outs, and a family heirloom doled out to them, from time to time.