Sam’s words suddenly moved through her mind: You’ll get there. Give yourself time. And have faith. Faith in your trainer and faith in yourself.
She tried. She really did, and for a while she was able to resist the onslaught of sensation engulfing her from all sides. Bit by bit, though, she felt herself losing the battle. Her breasts felt as if they’d been stung by a thousand angry bees, while at the same time an orgasm was building inside her, rising like a wave that she knew was going to crash at any second.
Don’t come, don’t come, don’t come. Ah! Fuck! That hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts. Don’t come, it hurts, oh fuck, oh god, oh shit. Ooooooooooooooooh....
Despite her fervent desire and best efforts to obey Master John’s commands, Alexis’s body began to convulse in a powerful orgasm, and a low guttural moan
wrenched itself from her lips. All the while, the cane crashed down on Alexis’s tender, flayed breasts while Wendy’s warm wet tongue moved over her shuddering, spasming sex.
Finally unable to tolerate another ounce of stimulation, neither the pleasure nor the pain, Alexis fell out of position and curled in on herself, her hands flying to protect her aching breasts, her knees pulling up in a fetal position against her body. Dimly, she was aware of Master John speaking over the roar of her blood in her ears. She felt his hands gripping her beneath her arms and hauling her into an upright position.
Wendy was again kneeling on her mat, her face calm and serene, eyes downcast. Crouching in front of Alexis, Master John took her face in his hands and peered unblinkingly into her eyes. “Did you obey me, Alexis?”
Alexis tried to look away in her shame, but he held her fast. “Don’t look away,” he said sternly. “Answer the question.”
“No, Sir. I tried to but—”
He slapped her face. “No excuses. You answer the question asked. You don’t offer discussion unless it’s invited.”
Her cheek stinging, Alexis felt tears flooding her eyes and she blinked them back. Master John let her go and stood. “It’s clear we have a lot of work to do.” He glanced at his watch. Then he pointed to a corner of the room. “Position nine. Move.”
Dazed, Alexis forced herself to her feet. She felt dizzy and disoriented as she walked toward the corner. Master John followed her. “You are to be punished. Tell me why.”
“Because I came without permission, Sir.” It was on the tip of her tongue again to offer excuses, to explain that there was no way she could have helped it, but she swallowed back the words, aware they would not be well received.
“Correct. And what else?”
“I wasn’t still or silent, Sir.” Again she wanted to explain there was no way to be quiet and still when someone was slicing into your breasts with a cane while a beautiful woman was kneeling between your legs, her head buried in your cunt. But Alexis just pressed her lips together and kept her hands at her sides, resisting the urge to stroke her tender, welted breasts.
“That’s right,” Master John agreed, his tone grim. “You have very little control over your body and your reactions. I will work hard with you to teach you some control. Meanwhile, you will accept your punishment. Hands behind your back, nose against the wall.”
Blinking back tears of humiliation, Alexis assumed the position. She heard him moving behind her, and a moment later felt Velcro cuffs being secured around her wrists and clipped together. Moving to stand beside her, Master John reached into his pocket and pulled out a penny. “You will hold this in place with your nose against the wall. If, when I return from breakfast, I find the coin on the floor, you will be beaten.”
When he returns from breakfast? What about me? I’m hungry! I need coffee!
Alexis bit the inside of her cheek in her effort not to voice her protests. She leaned her head back while Master John held the penny against the wall, and then leaned forward, pressing against it with her nose. At least he hadn't told her to stand on her toes. So see, she told herself, it could have been worse.
Yeah, it could have been worse, but not by much. She had been awkward and graceless while trying to do the positions, she had squirmed and whimpered during the caning, and she had come without permission. Now she wasn’t going to get breakfast. She would be left alone, nose against the wall, wrists cuffed behind her back.
She heard the two of them softly murmuring behind her, and then the quiet click of a door closing. The penny was hard against her nose, and her tender nipples brushed against the wall. She clenched and unclenched her fists beneath the cuffs and shifted restlessly from foot to foot, her stomach rumbling.
Finally she stilled, closing her eyes with a sigh. The morning had only just begun, and already she’d fucked things up. She was a billion years away from Wendy’s level of training and grace. Was a month really enough to get her there? Did she have what it took in terms of endurance and the ability to control her body’s reactions? Did she even want to be like Wendy? Completely controlled and mastered by another?
She thought of Wendy’s utter grace as she moved. She thought of the way she’d kept her eyes open and on her Master’s face while he whipped her, the vibrator whirring away at her cunt. She thought of the peaceful and serene look on her face. Then she thought of the look of pure love that had passed between the two of them.
Yes, she thought fervently. I do want that. More than anything I’ve ever wanted in my life.
Then the penny slipped, landing with a clink and rolling across the polished wooden floor.
Chapter 6
Alexis steeled herself as she heard the door opening behind her. She’d tried to retrieve the fallen penny, kneeling down and attempting to pick it up with her teeth. She’d actually gotten it into her mouth, but the transfer from mouth to nose proved to be impossible without the use of her hands. Giving up, she let the penny fall and remained in punishment position, nose to the wall, hoping that, at least, counted for something.
She heard the clomp of Master John’s boots as he crossed the room. She didn’t move. She saw him out of the corner of her eye as he bent down and picked up the penny. She felt him releasing the Velcro cuffs from her wrists and then his hand closed around the back of her neck. She shut her eyes, waiting for his reprimand.
“You may stand down. Punishment is over.”
She jerked her head in his direction, blurting, “But the penny. I— “
He put two fingers to her lips, silencing her. “You will thank me properly for the punishment.” He pointed to his boot.
Alexis dropped immediately to the ground, feeling weak with relief at the unexpected reprieve. She kissed the top of his boot. “Thank you, Sir,” she said.
Master John stepped back. “I brought you some breakfast. Then it’s time for the morning dungeon session.”
Alexis started to thank him again, but remembered in time to keep quiet. She saw he’d set a tray down beside one of the yoga mats. On it was a mug of coffee and a plate containing scrambled eggs, toast and bacon. It smelled heavenly, and Alexis realized she was starving.
“Go on,” he said. “You may feed yourself. You have three minutes.”
Alexis moved quickly toward the mat and sat, not sure what position to assume. She glanced toward Master John for direction, but he gave none, so she knelt and then leaned a little to one side, reaching eagerly for the mug. She took a deep swallow of the strong, hot coffee and then tucked into the eggs. She felt a little self-conscious being watched by the unblinking, inscrutable Master John, and tried not to wolf down her food.
When she was done, he produced her leash and clipped it to her collar, using it to tug her to her feet. He led her first to a powder room on the same floor. Alexis hadn't moved her bowels since coming to The Compound, and her intestines gurgled painfully as she sat on the toilet, but beneath Master John’s unblinking stare Alexis knew there was no way she would manage more than a pee.
“Morning session has already begun,” Master John said as he led her up the stairs. As before, there were already several scenes
in play. As they passed other trainers and their trainees, Alexis couldn’t help looking around for Master Paul. She spied him with a woman she presumed was Tiffany, though it was hard to say for sure, as the top half of her body and her entire head was covered in what looked like black bandages. The partially mummified woman was lying on an exam table, her legs fully extended in a V above her body, the ankles tied with rope that was secured to hooks in the ceiling.
Master John took Alexis to the training station just beside Master Paul. A large metal table about the size of a large stool was set against a wall, two thick, sturdy poles jutting out from the wall on either side of it. Beside the table stood a small set of drawers.
“For your extended session today I will assess your ability to process prolonged, intense erotic pain and stimulation. I also want to see how you do with extreme bondage. Get up on the table.”
Alexis was keenly aware of Master Paul nearby, his coppery auburn hair obscuring his face as he leaned over his charge. Stop it, she ordered herself. Focus on your trainer. She hoisted herself onto the table, her heart already thumping with anxious anticipation at the promise of intense erotic pain and extreme bondage.
“Lean against the wall so your shoulders and the back of your head are resting comfortably. Keep your ass on the front edge of the table and grab the poles on either side. Once I bind your hands, I’ll take your legs, one at a time, and tie them at the ankle to the end of each pole.”
Alexis reached up for the poles on either side of her as directed, wrapping her fingers around the cold metal. She watched as Master John wound rope around each wrist and knotted it into place. He appeared totally focused on his task, his lips slightly pursed as he worked. When he was done, her arms were raised on either side of her, slightly bent at the elbows. The position wasn’t uncomfortable—yet.
“Now your feet.” Taking one leg, Master John pulled it upward and out. He wrapped the soft, thick rope around her ankle, lashing it to the pole, and then repeated the process with her other leg. When he was done, she was completely immobilized by the ropes binding her wrists and ankles and forcing her legs wide apart.
Usually the feel of rope against her skin both aroused and calmed Alexis, but in this extremely vulnerable position she was anything but relaxed. She could hear Master Paul murmuring nearby and resisted the impulse to look his way.
Master John left her line of vision for a minute, and returned pulling a latex glove over his right hand. He squirted lubricant directly onto the fingers of the glove and then pressed a gloved finger into Alexis’s ass.
Reflexively she turned her head away, closing her eyes.
“Look at me. Keep your eyes open and on my face at all times,” Master John commanded. Alexis forced herself to obey, her face hot with embarrassment. Master John swiveled his finger inside of her and pressed a second digit in as well. “I sense your resistance during ass play. A properly trained slave has no modesty with her Master. We’ll exploit this evident hesitation on your part and eliminate it.”
He moved his fingers inside her ass and it took everything Alexis had to keep her eyes on his face as he probed and prodded her. Finally he took his fingers from her. Stripping off the glove, he bent down and opened a drawer. He lifted something into her line of vision, and Alexis saw it was an anal plug made of clear plastic. She bit her lip with trepidation but managed to stay quiet.
Though she had occasionally had anal sex in the privacy of her bedroom with a single partner, Alexis had an aversion to foreign objects being placed inside her ass, and this public setting made it all the more uncomfortable for her. She hadn’t listed this as a hard limit on her application to The Compound, intellectually aware it was something she would need to work through if she was to truly submit.
She jerked as the lubricated tip of the plug made contact with her anus. Master John pushed the plug into her, his movements slow and careful. Though she couldn’t tense her sphincter muscles in the position she was in, Alexis felt the tension in the rest of her body, and in the clench of her hands around the cold metal bars.
Master John must have felt it too, because he urged, “Relax. Take deep, slow breaths. Accept what I give you.”
The plug felt hard and huge as it pushed its way inside her. She couldn’t help the yelp of pain as the flared bottom slid home. “There,” Master John said. “Make sure that stays in place during this exercise.”
Bending down, he pulled a short, thin cane from the drawers and whipped it in the air in front of her. He set the cane beside her and leaned down again, this time taking out a pair of clover clamps. “You know what these are, of course,” he said.
Alexis nodded, her nipples already perking. What is it about a masochist, she wondered, that we crave the pain even as we fear it? It wasn’t that it didn’t hurt. It was that it hurt so good.
Standing between her widespread legs, Master John leaned forward and reached for her right nipple. He twisted and pulled it until it was engorged and throbbing, and then pressed the clamp open on either side of the distended nipple. He let the rounded tips close, causing a burst of pain to zing from her nipple to her brain and then down to her clit. He did the same with her left nipple, and then lifted the chain, giving it a painful tug.
“I don’t want a lot of yelping and whining. This will help you to keep quiet.” He pushed the chain between her lips. “Don’t let it fall. If you do, you will be punished.”
Alexis took the chain between her teeth and bit down. He hadn’t even begun the main part of the torture and already she felt the fear sweat pricking beneath her arms and at the small of her back.
Stepping back, Master John picked up the cane. He began to tap her inner thighs with light, stinging strokes. The cane moved down, tapping the backs of her calves. Though the cane stung, along with the humiliation of being bound as she was with a butt plug up her ass, Alexis managed to stay quiet and reasonably composed. Maybe to the casual onlooker she appeared as serene as Tiffany or Wendy, even if it took every ounce of self control to stay quiet and still.
I can do this, she told herself. I can do this. Breathe deep. Stay focused. Please Master John.
When he struck the sensitive soles of her feet, some of Alexis’s composure slipped. Grunting to keep from crying out, she bit down harder on the chain in her mouth. She had never been hit on the bottom of her feet before, and the pain was intense. The thin, whipping cane cut into the tender arch of first her left foot, then her right, and back again. Unable to control herself, Alexis began writhing on the table, but she could barely move, lashed securely as she was by both wrists and ankles to the poles.
“Uncurl your toes.” A painful smack of the cane to her toes made Alexis cry out, the clover clamp chain slipping from her mouth.
Bending forward, Master John picked up the chain and gave a vicious tug. Though Alexis’s nipples had numbed from the compression, that jerk of the chain re-awoke the tortured nerve endings in her tender nipples, and she screamed again. Master John shoved the chain into her open mouth.
“Compose yourself,” he ordered.
She bit on the chain, tears in her eyes, her chest heaving. I can’t do this, she thought wildly, pleading with her eyes.
As if he could hear her thoughts, Master John said calmly, “You can do this, Alexis. You need to let go. Stop anticipating. Stop holding on to the pain. Let it go. Flow with it. Give in to it.”
How often had Arthur said those exact words to her? Damn it, if she knew how to, she would!
Mercifully, Master John shifted his focus from her tortured soles. The cane whipped over her body, each stroke harder than the last. After an especially brutal stroke Alexis again dropped the chain.
“I can’t,” she groaned, the chain again falling from her mouth. “I can’t.”
“You can,” Master John replied, the rattan like fire searing her already tortured, welted flesh. “Give in. Let go.” Again he picked up the chain and placed it in her mouth.
Alexis felt herself edging into p
anic. She was clutching the poles, which were slick beneath her sweating palms. Master John’s usually impassive expression clouded, a frown pulling down the corners of his mouth. Setting down the cane, he moved between her legs and leaned forward. He reached for the clamps compressing her nipples. “I’m going to take these off.”
Alexis began to tremble. She turned her head away, closing her eyes, whimpering in fearful anticipation. When the clamps were released, for a fraction of a second, she felt nothing. As the blood flow returned, pain shot through her nipples and she couldn’t stop herself—she opened her mouth and screamed.
Slowly she opened her eyes again, her face still to the side. As the room came into focus, she saw Master Paul looking at her. He had seen her untrained, ungraceful display. He probably was counting himself lucky he hadn’t been assigned to her. Tears of shame welled in her eyes, and yet she found she couldn’t look away from Master Paul’s intense gaze.
“You can do it.”
Alexis stilled. Master Paul hadn’t spoken aloud; he had only mouthed the words, but they were clearly directed toward her. She blinked away her tears. Had she just imagined that?
Master Paul smiled, a slow, easy lift of his lips, his eyes warm and kind. Something that had been clenched too tightly inside Alexis eased at that moment, and the panic slid away.
I can do it.
This time when Master John picked up the cane, though the strokes stung just as much as a moment before, Alexis found herself better able to tolerate it. Master Paul had turned his attentions back to Tiffany, and Alexis suddenly remembered Master John’s instruction to keep her eyes on his face. She turned back to her trainer, but though she might have appeared to be looking directly at him, it was Master Paul she saw in her mind’s eye, with his warm, encouraging smile, mouthing the words, you can do it, over and over again as the cane came crashing relentlessly down.
The Compound: The Compound Trilogy - Book 1 Page 7