The Velvet Collar

by C. P. Mandara

  "You need to get your award, and I refuse to let Kyle win. He is not going to scare me. We will stay, and we will enjoy ourselves."

  Jen had a face as black as thunder, and didn't look as if she was enjoying herself, so I had to ask, "Are you sure?"

  "Yes. But I would like to get out of my costume now. Is there any chance of that happening?"

  "Absolutely," I said. That wouldn't be a problem. They even had their own wardrobe in this place. "But are you sure you're sure?" Jennifer growled at me, and I wisely made no further comment on that score.

  It didn't take us long to find the wardrobe department downstairs. Madge was on duty, and she seemed genuinely happy to see us.

  "Ooh, Mr Mathews! What a treat. I haven't seen you in ages. How was the wedding? You two make the most dreamy couple. I have to admit I did swoon over the photos a little."

  Resisting the urge to snort, knowing full well how "dreamy" our nuptials had been, I put on my most sincere smile and thanked Madge for her kind comments. She was a sweet old thing. Nutty as a fruit cake, but lovable and harmless, nonetheless.

  "Do you mind if Jen borrows something for the evening?" I knew she wouldn't, but it was polite to ask anyway.

  "No, dearie, not at all. You pick what you like, honey. If you need any help getting into it, just give me a shout." She wouldn't. If there was any chance of me getting my hands on my wife's body, I took it - and trying on clothes provided the perfect opportunity for this. Once upon a time I had hated clothes shopping, but these days it was growing on me. Letting Jen sift through the pile of rails, happy as a kid in a candy store, I decided to pump Marge for information.

  "Did you see a guy in here earlier? Someone with long, sandy blond hair, quite tall, might have had an English or American accent?" It was possible Kyle had brought the suit with him, but I doubted it.

  "Oh, you mean the man with the mask, and the ridiculous suit with the flashy gold buttons?"

  Bingo. "Yes, that's the one. Did he say anything to you?"

  "No," Marge frowned at me, "and he was quite rude. Just waltzed away with his outfit without even signing the ledger. I chased after him, but I was too late. He seemed to just vanish into thin air." That was a feeling I knew all too well.

  "Was he on his own?" If he came alone, I would feel a little less uncomfortable than I did now. If he had a group with him, we needed to head home.

  "Yes. There was only him. The man was in an awful hurry. There was a major scuffle before he went on. The regular guy who was supposed to come in and do the punishment performance was suddenly taken ill at the last minute. It was all very strange." I bet it was. Didn't that explain a few things? Kyle was up to his usual tricks. Either he'd overheard us or watched us entering the tent.

  "Darling, what do you think of these?" Jen had found several outfits to her liking, and her eyes were sparkling with enjoyment once more. Thank God.

  "They are all wonderful, princess." They were long evening gowns, and each one would probably make me want to eat my wife more than I already did; and let me tell you I was ravenous right now.

  "Which one do you like best?" Ah, so she wanted to please me. I was all for that.

  "The red one, princess. It'll make you look like Jessica Rabbit and have men drooling so badly they'll need to come and mop the floors.

  She grinned at me. "Will it have you drooling?" There was a calculating look in her eyes that I adored.

  "Even more so than I am already? Yes, I'm pretty sure it will. Need some help?"

  "Yes please."

  Madge grinned at me. "Want a carrier bag for the kitten outfit?"

  "No, that's going in the bin." I shook my head. It would remind us both of Kyle, and that wasn't something we needed.

  "Suit yourself. Go have fun." I'll be out back if you need me. She tapped her nose as if to tell me our secret would be safe with her and then walked off. I bit my lip to stop myself from grinning. Was I really that transparent?

  Jen then piped up from behind the changing room curtain, "Can I have some help with the zipper, darling?" Duty called.

  It took a long time to get my gorgeous wife sheathed in the red dress. It had all manner of fasteners and clips that needed to be done up, and my fingers just weren't cooperating as they should. They seemed to take regular detours of their own accord, beneath the soft, shiny skirt of her dress, to seek dalliances with sweeter pastures that resided beneath.

  "You're wearing no panties, princess. I do so love it when you don't wear panties."

  "Are there any available?" Giving Jen an affronted look, I shook my head.

  "This is a BDSM club, darling. No one wears panties in here. They've been outlawed, take my word for it." She sighed, but her eyes were still sparkling.

  "Are you going to let me come or are you just going to torment me silly?"

  I had one hand underneath her dress cupping her breast, and the other was working furiously between her legs. If there was one way to make her forget about Kyle, this was probably it.

  "Torment. We can't actually have sex here."

  "Says who? There's a curtain on this cubicle, and I am so fucking desperate to have you inside me I might actually get down on my knees and beg - though that might be difficult as this dress is pretty tight."

  "Young ladies do not swear," I said in a stern voice, but I couldn't remain cross for long. She'd just told me she'd beg for sex, and that always made my day. "I don't usually get my pants down in public," I murmured in her ear. "I have certain standards to uphold." I didn't, but I was going to make her work for it. It was almost too good to be true, so it was time to take full advantage of the situation.

  "So don't take them down. I'll just unzip them for you." She was nuzzling at my neck and thinking was now rather difficult. There were probably a dozen reasons why I shouldn't do this, but none of them immediately came to mind. Jennifer was as good as her word though, and in five seconds flat she had my cock in her hand. These days she had more enthusiasm for sex than I did, and that was saying something...

  "Steady on there, Mrs Matthews. I distinctly remember you saying something about begging."

  "Do you want the long version or the abbreviated version? I only asked because I've been teased rather mercilessly in the last couple of hours and I'm a bit desperate."

  "Only a bit?" I should think she was a bit tired, too, after the umpteen orgasms I'd seen her having, but you'd never know to look at her. "All right, we'll go with the abbreviated version." Obviously I'd much rather have the longer version, but I was a gentleman and all that.

  "Great." She got down on her knees, probably ruining the dress in the process, but neither of us cared much about that, and I was almost holding my breath anxious to hear what might come next. It wasn't often my wife offered to beg for sex, so I made the most of the opportunity. "Please darling, I need you now. I've been desperate to have that lovely big cock inside me for the past hour, and it is all I can think about. I am so hungry I might explode, and if you don't fuck me in the next five minutes there is a very real possibility I might die. Please let me..."

  Jennifer lost the power of speech as soon as my cock was buried inside her, which was a shame, but I couldn't wait any longer, and Madge wasn't going to give us all day. Burying my teeth in her neck I took a moment to whisper, "That was the abbreviated version?"

  "Oh yes," she moaned, and for a moment I wasn't sure if that meant "your cock is awesome", or "yes, that was the abbreviated version". Thankfully she clarified the matter a few seconds later. "I could have gone on for hours if necessary."

  Hmm. Grabbing hold of Jen's hair I yanked it backwards sharply, watching her body arch in response. Burying myself in her to the hilt I threw her against the back wall and did my absolute best to wreak havoc on her intestines. Judging by the moans she made, and the amount of times her fingernails scraped down my cheek, my wife didn't mind in the slightest.

  Madge coughed loudly when she re-entered the room, which was jolly sweet of her, but entirely unne
cessary. We'd both climaxed, and I'd managed to get Jen back in her dress and just about made her hair presentable. Her rosy cheeks were a dead giveaway about what we'd been doing, but Madge already knew what that was.

  "We'll get the dress dry-cleaned and pop it back to you on Monday if that's okay?" I grinned at Madge. I couldn't help myself.

  "Hey, you run this place. You do what you like." She waved her arm in the air and grinned back.

  As we left the room I distinctly heard her chuckle and mention something about newlyweds. It almost felt like I was sixteen again.

  Jen and I sat with Johanna and Dominic while we were waiting for the awards ceremony. I had already told the pair that she wasn't allowed to go anywhere alone, and after explaining the reason why both of them were understandably concerned. Trying my best to direct the conversation away from some of the more unpleasant parts of the evening, we spent a pleasant half-hour in a little bar, Les Caves Antoine, sipping several different wines and trying out a large platter of French cheese. It took the edge off things quite nicely.

  "Isn't it about time we took our seats?" Dominic looked at me and pointed to his watch. Looking down at mine, I realised that an hour had flown by with me hardly noticing.

  "You're right. We'd better head on over there." Throwing down some cash for the bill, I held out my hand to help Jennifer out of her seat. She rose gracefully into my waiting arm, and looked absolutely resplendent in her scarlet gown. Honestly, I couldn't wait for the awards ceremony to be over. Why hadn't I listened to Jen and stayed at home? All I wanted to do was strip my wife completely naked and have my wicked way with her, tucked up safely beneath the sheets of our king-sized double bed. The colour red looked incredible on her.

  "Oh, how did I do in the pet thing?" Jen turned around to look at me quizzically.

  "How the hell should I know? We scarpered from there together," I said. She looked crestfallen for a moment, and I wished I'd thought to take a look at the results.

  "You beat me." Johanna looked around and smiled. "You didn't win, though. There were a good thirty or so before your name was called, but you were in the top fifty. That's pretty impressive when you consider how many were in there." She beamed at Jen and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Well done."

  "Thanks." Jen seemed pretty pleased with that, so all was good. "Did you have fun?" Jen bit her lip as she left my arm to begin whispering with Jo. I had no idea what they were talking about, but they were giggling an awful lot. Perhaps they were comparing notes.

  The awards ceremony was being held in the second largest room at Escape, in the Atrium. There were lots of twinkling white fairy lights, plenty of black velvet chairs, a clear plastic pedestal, a microphone on a raised dais, some dark velvet drapes, and the crucial red carpet as the centrepiece. The back of the stage currently had a film projection of glitter exploding everywhere, in case you didn't get the general idea of what was happening.

  "Are you excited, Mark?" Johanna seemed in awe of the surroundings, fairly hopping with glee. I had no idea why. These award things were usually as dull as dishwasher.

  "Oh yes, very excited," I lied, hoping I'd injected enough enthusiasm into my voice to be somewhat believable.

  "Do you know what the award is for?" Jen turned on me questioningly, as I led her towards our seats, and I had to confess that I didn't. I had no idea what I was up for, but if I had to have a guess, it would probably be something along the lines of Long Suffering Idiot. Having ploughed a lot of money into the Escape venue, I hadn't been entirely sure it would pay off, but luckily a few years down the track and we were back in the black. I could now sell my share in the company for a healthy profit, and pass the dubious honour of overseeing the place to someone else.

  "No idea. Isn't that half the fun of an awards ceremony?" Walking past several people who had already sat down, we finally found our seats. The Atrium was already over three-quarters full, and the last few stragglers were making their way quietly through the double doors.

  When the lights dimmed everyone went silent. I couldn't wait to see who'd be hosting this year. It was usually some leggy, six-foot-tall blonde, so Jen would probably be super jealous when we got home, fall out with me, and then demand angry break-up sex. After a year of being married to her, I suspected she wasn't all that jealous. I think she just liked being slammed up against the wall while I dominated her to within an inch of her life. Either way, I was fine with the idea.

  The loudspeaker rang out. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Escape's annual awards ceremony. This year your host is Leyland Forbes." Fucking hell. That was one way to spoil my evening in less than twenty words. That man had better not come anywhere near Jennifer dressed as she was, or I might be responsible for a whole new set of medical bills.

  Leyland came on stage looking fabulous, of course. What the ladies saw in him I had no idea, but for some reason they loved him. He got those ridiculous gaga eyes as hormones everywhere went crazy. Thankfully the disease was only limited to the female sex. Although we were now technically "friends" after he'd helped me find out what Jen had been poisoned with last year, we were not best buddies by a long shot. My evening had officially gone sour.

  Sitting there, listening to Leyland waffle on for a good half hour or so while the girls were rapturously entranced, left me daydreaming about Jen in her red dress. It was a very pleasant daydream, and it was completely X-rated. When Leyland eventually called my name, Jen had to poke me in the ribs to get my attention.

  "It's you. You're up," she hissed. I huffed and got to my feet, pretending to be as surprised as everyone else had. Then the loudspeaker blared out once more, and I nearly tripped over my own feet.

  "Bring your lovely wife with you, Mr Matthews. This award is for both of you, as it happens." Keeping my smile carefully plastered to my face, while swearing underneath my breath, I thanked the gods that Jen had had the foresight to change before coming here. If she'd still been in her kittykat suit, I would have strangled Leyland on the spot. Helping Jennifer up, we walked arm in arm up the stairs to the stage. Grabbing Leyland's proffered hand I shook it, but then the asshole went into the swoop for my wife and got a kiss on the cheek. My smile darkened.

  "Do you know why you're here this evening?" Leyland asked me, and there was mischief dancing in his eyes. If I didn't know better, he'd asked to host this evening, and that meant trouble.

  "Because I've won an award?" I asked dryly.

  Leyland gave me a killer grin. "How did you guess?"

  Thanks for that, Leyland. I had managed to figure that out all by myself. The crowd tittered.

  "Don't keep us waiting, Leyland. An award for what?" said Jen, elbowing me. It was a warning for me to play nice, but I took no notice.

  "Hang on and let me find the card." Leyland dug into his pocket and made a good show of trying to locate our award. When he'd finally got the right one in his hand, he cleared his throat and stared at the crowd.

  "So the moment you've all been waiting for. Why have we decided to honour Mr Matthews this year?"

  Don't push your luck, Leyland. I can still bury you, even though I've given you most of your shares back.

  "This award is for the couple most likely to split within a..." Leyland didn't get a chance to finish his sentence because I'd nicked the microphone.

  "Behave, Mr Forbes. As I'm part owner of Escape, I'm entitled to have you thrown out on your ear if I wish." Was it wrong that I really wanted to exercise that right at the minute? He just had to push me one millimetre further, and I'd crucify him.

  Leyland snatched the microphone back.

  "Would you do that?" his mouth opened in mock horror and he even managed a few ahhs from the audience.

  "I wouldn't need much of an excuse," I confessed.

  He nodded as he thought about this, and then turned to Jennifer. "You aren't thinking about leaving him, are you?" He bent down to whisper conspiratorially, "I've heard he's an ogre. If you want to come live with me, you need only say the word."


  Jen rolled her eyes, and for once I thought the move most appropriate.

  "Leyland. My husband might be an ogre, but only in the bedroom department." She shook her head as if talking to a naughty child and gave him a fierce frown. "Why is it you love winding my poor husband up? I already know there's another lovely lady in your life." Leyland blinked at her stupidly. Strike one for Jennifer.

  "You do?" He almost stuttered. This was fantastic.

  "I can tell when a man is in love, Mr Forbes. Enjoy it. Some of us only get one chance at true happiness, so remember to embrace it with open arms." She then patted his back, which I was unhappy about, but overall I was pretty pleased with the result. Especially as Leyland stood there on stage, completely dumbfounded for a moment or two, before somehow managing to regain his composure. Grabbing the microphone once more, he held it up to his lips and gave Jen one last sneaky look.

  "I'm only joking folks. The award is for Escape's most dramatic couple of the year. Give them a round of applause, ladies and gentlemen." I stood there, just about managing a smile while Leyland passed over a gilt statuette of a loving couple embracing. I desperately wanted to bash him over the head with it, but a warning look from my wife convinced me not to. Somehow I even managed to thank him.

  As we walked off stage I hissed under my breath, "Leyland, one of these days I am going to..."

  "Shh. He'll hear you," Jen whispered, and gave a giant tug on my arm.

  "That's the whole point," I muttered darkly, to whoever would listen.

  Thankfully Jen and I were in agreement that we should now go home. She'd had enough of the day's events, and I needed to have jealous, angry, make up sex, to convince myself my wife was not in love with Leyland Forbes. Dominic, the annoying bastard, was still having lots of fun at my expense.

  "Shall we go and get our coats?" Honestly, the sooner I got away the better. Everyone agreed that we should, but Johanna and my wife insisted on going to the toilet first. What is it with women and their obsession with lavatories? Maybe one day I'd find out, but for now I just nodded my head. As long as they were going together, and women always went to the toilet together for some unknown reason, all was well.