She didn’t make him wait to guess whether she’d tell him or try to play it off. At the first bit of downtime, as soon as she could without drawing attention to herself, she leaned towards him and said “Okay, that was one, earlier. Knackered just popped right out.”
And he had to respond, so he put his mouth to her ear, rubbed her back, and said, “Good girl for being upfront with it.”
“I don’t suppose you’ll go easier on me since I was good?”
Before he even considered what he was doing, he kissed her temple and told her, “Nice try, but no.”
“Fuck,” JB said. “Okay, so you got the hot girl. We get it. Time to move on.” His voice shifted back to his professional one. “The weight of the darkness makes it hard to breathe in this valley without light...”
Eunice was grateful for JB’s interruption. He’d been too horrified at what he’d done to know what to do next. Kelsey wasn’t one of his slaves. He understood the confusion — he was being asked to train her, to use positive and negative reinforcements to help her remember to speak American and not Australian. But that was it.
She’d been a sex slave for nearly a decade. Her paperwork said she’d been a full-time sex slave to the Master Vampire for five years as a human, and then another four-ish years once she came out of the insanity. Also, he’d used her even while the hunger had her mind in its grasp, but she’d been bound and in a full-face hood, her hands in mitts, to make certain whoever used her stayed safe. Odds were, she didn’t remember being sold to the highest bidder during those years. She’d been a literal object until she came out of it, bound and used, and not expected to follow orders for the first three years.
He found it interesting that once she was required to follow simple orders, her mind had quickly come around. It was as if, as soon as it became the least bit aware of language again, everything had come back all at once, rather than a tiny bit at a time. Was that from her genius, or her hard-headedness? He didn’t know.
Kelsey had needed to completely shut down when JB had put his arm around her seconds after she walked in the door. Her inner beast, inner vampire, whatever, had wanted to drink in his lust, and she’d been terrified she might not be able to keep from doing just that.
But then Eunice had made JB let go of her, and she was in control again. Since then, she’d managed to feed from the lust in the air and not from anyone directly. The hunger hurt, even though she was topped off with blood. Energy, there for the taking, and she had to force whatever animated her not to drink it in.
Vampires could spend all the time they wanted downplaying the Slayers’ statements about how vampires had to fight against their natures in order to keep from killing humans, but they were absolutely right. She was told it would get easier in another couple of decades, but that was before she’d gained this new ability.
The DM was excellent, the quest was a lot of fun, and she thoroughly enjoyed herself. She’d have to do something nice for Eunice, since he’d invited her. Bringing someone to this kind of game, one formed by friendships, was a big deal.
Of course, as he’d said, he brought “the hot girl,” but she had a feeling that wasn’t what this was about.
And that kiss to her temple confused the hell out of her. His scent, for a split second, said he was horrified at what he’d done, and then had gone blank, so she had no idea what he felt. She was tempted to look inside his head, but she hadn’t gone poking yet, and she didn’t intend to unless her safety depended upon it. She didn’t think such a situation was going to arise.
On the way home, she asked, “Will it be the cane again?”
“Yes, and I’ll be administering the strikes, just to make sure no one takes it easy on you. Tell me why this is important, Kelsey.”
“It’s important I don’t fuck up. Nothing to draw too much attention to me. Nothing to tie me to Australia. My old identity has been wiped from the databases as much as possible, scrubbed from social media, etc. However, we don’t want someone running my face through the Australian system because you never know when a shadow will pop back into the databases from out of the blue.”
“Exactly right from a geek point of view, now answer it from a vampire point of view.”
“New vampires are the bottom of the totem pole. The power hierarchy is literal in the coterie — you move up as your power increases. Since I’m not living in a coterie, it’s important the three of you duplicate the structure.”
“What would an older vampire do if you broke the rules?”
“Hurt me with their power, order me to service them sexually and hurt me while I did, humiliate me in some way, or maybe assign me a shit job. Possibly whip me or worse. Likely some combination of those. Depends on the vampire.”
“Exactly right. You’ll remember I have a former trainee arriving tomorrow. You are not to acknowledge her in any way. You don’t see her. She won’t speak to you either — the penalties are worse for her than they are for you should she do so.” He glanced at her and looked back to the road. “And don’t think you can just hide away downstairs. You’ll be expected upstairs for the same number of hours as you’ve been spending with us.”
He came to a stop at the end of the road, Etta got into the backseat, and he pulled out and continued home.
“This situation will be a good test of her around lust,” Etta said from the backseat. “I imagine the trainee will spend a good part of the day in a state of arousal, based on Fabio’s memories of her the last time she was here.”
Eunice was aware Fabio had allowed Etta to drink from him when she rose. No way could Eunice have let her do so — she bothered him on a cellular level. Reptile brain stuff. Even now, he had an issue with her behind him, in the back seat.
“Yeah, she’ll be a horny mess. How much longer will you be staying with us?”
“If Kelsey handles having the girl in the house without issue, I’ll allow her to drink from James and Fabio. If she passes a few tests, I’ll return home, but we’ll set up protocols, so someone is acting as spotter for her.”
He wasted no time setting up Kelsey’s consequences when they arrived home. At his order, she went to the den, stripped efficiently, and then bent and settled her wrists and neck into the pillory. The cane had done the job before, and he believed in repetition and ritual, so he grabbed one from the umbrella stand behind the bar, had her kiss it, and then locked her into the pillory.
“I reward honesty, so there will be seven strikes instead of ten.”
“Thank you for correcting me, and thank you for your mercy.”
He touched her chin, lifted her face, met her gaze. “I have no mercy, Kelsey. I’m rewarding honesty. Don’t mistake that for mercy.”
“Yes Sir. I apologize for my statement.”
“No need to apologize, I just needed to be clear. While we’re doing so, tell me how many times you accidentally spoke Australian instead of American.”
“Once, Sir.”
He nodded. “That’s what I thought. Just needed to be certain.”
“She was doing it on purpose?” Fabio asked from the doorway.
“Yes. We struck a deal. Her character was Australian, and she gave a cover that she’d dated someone from Australia and picked up on some of his phrases and accent. Our deal was that she’d be honest if she spoke without meaning to, and she told me shortly after doing so. As soon as was reasonably possible, she leaned in and told me the world knackered had come out before she realized.”
Eunice noted Kelsey trying to look around the pillory to see Fabio, but it wasn’t possible from where she was. She looked in front of her for a reflective surface, but there wasn’t one, by design. He sometimes brought a mirror in to force the victim to see when a strike was coming, to see their own face while being hurt, or fucked, or pleasured.
But not today.
Collosa had stepped into the room and taken a seat behind her. There was no doubt Kelsey knew both men watched her — their scent was strong.
“I’m
going to be quick today. You don’t need to count, but you should thank me when I finish.”
Eunice had a thing for curves, and Kelsey’s curves made him want to ride her. She had a tiny waist, luscious, abundant tits, hips you knew would make excellent handles, and an ass that begged to be spanked.
Thankfully, he had a nice diversion showing up in a few hours. Clearly, he needed something to play with — other than a motherfucking vampire.
But he liked this vampire.
With a shake of his head, he settled his thoughts and focused on the delectable, gorgeous ass sticking up into the air. He’d adjusted the pillory down, so her head was a foot lower than his target. Because she’d been trained well, her legs were straight and her back was beautifully arched downward, fully displaying her pussy.
He grimaced inwardly. He was supposed to be focused on her ass. Not her fucking cunt.
Eunice moved the cane in a figure eight, limbering his wrist, and then he held it parallel to the floor, in preparation for the first strike.
The sound of the cane slicing through the air sent his blood pumping, and then the sound of the whippy fiberglass striking flesh had his cock throbbing in his jeans.
He counted slowly in his head. One. Two. Three. Her follow-up gasp and squeal told him the secondary portion of the strike had made it to her brain. One feels the cane twice — upon impact, and then when the compressed nerves and tissues expand, and the pain blossoms like an evil bloom in the night, opening and distributing agony. By the time he made it to six, it was time to strike again.
Kelsey was given seven strikes in forty-nine seconds — each a mere seven seconds apart. She was a screaming, teary mess when he finished. By agreement, he should’ve left the room and depended on Fabio and Collosa to provide aftercare, but it felt as if this should be his baby from start to finish. They’d been at a function that had nothing to do with the other two men, and she’d confided in him as soon as she’d fucked up. Now, it was him giving the strikes, so it should be him holding her afterwards. He waved towards the men, still behind her, to signal that he’d handle her.
Instead of releasing the pillory, though, he stepped in front of her and leaned down, so they were face to face. He wiped her tears with his thumbs and kept his right hand on her cheek. More tears flowed down her face, but that was okay.
“Thank you, Eunice,” she said through her tears and sobs. “I’ll remember this, and it will help me be safe. It will help me remember my words.”
“Consequences are over, dear girl. If this were punishment, you’d stand here for however many strikes you got, which would be seven minutes. Do you understand the difference between consequences and punishment?”
She shook her head, and he wasn’t surprised. “Punishment is given when you willfully disobey, or when your carelessness results in someone’s physical or emotional pain. Consequences are most often given during training, when you fail to meet a goal because you’re still learning. Your goal was to make it through the night with only intentional uses of Australian words, phrases, and accent. You’ll do better next time.”
Their girl hadn’t fucked up at home again. She responded well to the cane as a negative reinforcement tool.
“I’m going to unlock the pillory. You will not move until given permission.”
She gave a tiny nod. He stood, disengaged the locks, lifted the top piece, and gently settled it so it hung from the lower piece. They’d used modern-day hardware on it despite otherwise keeping to the look of the middle ages.
Because carrying her would hurt her bottom more, he stepped around the pillory and told her, “I’m going to help you stand.”
She let him help, and then molded her body to his when he held her. He was only a few inches taller than her, and this worked for him. When her tears slowed and her body accepted his fully, he tucked her into his side, his arm around her helping to support her, and he walked her to the sofa, where he’d already spread a sheet, so she’d have a clean, cool surface to lie on.
Also, so the salve he put on her ass wouldn’t get on the leather sofa. It was just coconut oil with a few drops of wintergreen and eucalyptus essential oils, but it would soothe and comfort. If she were human or shapeshifter, he’d have arnica, vitamin E, and a few other ingredients in it as well.
He’d been so focused on Kelsey while he caned her, his dick had only made it to semi-hard. Now, however, it pulsed and throbbed in time to his heart. He rubbed and massaged, and focused on giving her a firm hand above and below the damage, and a soft hand near it and directly over the seven ugly red lines, already forming nasty bruises. He hadn’t broken the skin, but another few ounces of strength behind three of the strikes and he’d have split her cheeks open like grapes.
16
When Kelsey rose that night, her ass still hurt, but it was bearable. A good feeding, and she’d be able to repair the worst of it, though it was bad enough it would probably take three feedings over as many days to completely heal.
James had taken her to work when Eunice went to bed, and then driven her home thirty minutes before dawn. She’d been given a fun challenge, and it’d taken her nearly four hours to get into the European bank and download the data Drake needed. Tonight, she’d have to hack into other banks, to see where the subject was transferring money, and to identify the activity in those accounts. This asshole was smart, using small, regional banks rather than large banks Drake Security already had a backdoor into. She looked forward to going back in, and was glad she’d accepted this job rather than the myriad other options.
She opened the door to her fireproof compartment, rolled out and landed on her feet, and smiled at her kitty cat. The murphy bed was pulled down and Fabio was in it with only a sheet over his naked body. Or she assumed he was naked since he was under the sheet.
He’d put his watch and phone on the little shelf above the bed, and she focused on the watch. This one was a Patek Philippe. So far she’d seen him in a Rolex, a Lamborghini, a MontBlanc, and a Breitling. He had a serious watch fetish, but she hadn’t brought it up to him yet.
She kept ten feet between them and crossed her arms. “Where’s Etta?”
“Sitting room. I’ve had sex four times today with Eunice’s toy pet, and Etta felt like this would be safe. Something about me being half-fucked out.” He shrugged. “I might be a quarter fucked-out, but I’m still raring to go. You hungry?”
She nodded. “I am, but I don’t want to risk hurting you.”
“Did you feel this way in the beginning about drinking blood? Like you’d risk hurting whoever you drank from?”
She gave him a small shake of her head. “I wasn’t in enough control to turn anything down. I just drank. The hunger ruled me, at first. I lost myself in the hunger.”
“And now?”
Kelsey smiled and walked a few steps closer. “Now I’m thinking it through. I’m me. Thanks for that.”
“Etta tells us you fed from the lust in the air last night during aftercare.”
“I did. All three of you were horny, but none of you acted on it. The room was full of it — just there for the taking.”
She didn’t go into his head, but she heard his thoughts, a mishmash of views and feelings, and Fabio was clearly surprised to learn Eunice had been horny and hadn’t held it back so she couldn’t see.
“I assumed Eunice was testing me,” she told him.
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
“I like that you aren’t bothered by the fact I can hear your thoughts, even when I’m not in your head.”
“I have enough control of my thoughts to make sure I don’t give away top level secrets.”
“And the others don’t?”
He shrugged. “You’ll have to ask them. It could be I’ve just been around enough vampires, I’ve come to terms with it. Why are you still over there?”
She’d crossed her arms and hunched in on herself. When she realized what she’d done, she stood straighter. Unsure of what to do with her arms, she
left them where they were. “Just give me a few minutes. I need to think.”
Kelsey turned her back on the cat and telepathed the scary vampire outside the room.
I don’t think I’m ready for this.
I won’t let you hurt him beyond what he can easily change and heal.
But I don’t want to hurt him at all.
Then don’t.
I can’t do this. Feeding and sex are all wound up together. The deer shifter wasn’t sexually interested in girls, not even a little. There wasn’t any lust to deal with. Fabio is going to be off the charts horny when I bite him.
Drink his blood, not his lust.
I don’t think I can do that.
Etta’s inner voice deepened. No-nonsense and irritated. I spoke to Marco and Fawn today, and we’re all in agreement you need to try. I suggest you do so sooner rather than later, before your bloodlust threatens to take you over.
Common sense told her to stop arguing and do as she was told, but she had to try one more time. This might be easier if it was James, so I felt submissive.
Tell the cat, not me.
She turned back to Fabio.
“Eunice said the three of you are different flavors of kink.”
Fabio tilted his head. “I’d agree with that.”
“How are you kinky?”
“What do you need, Cupcake?”
“To be dominated. I want to be submissive, following orders, focused on your pleasure and not my own.”
He moved to the edge of the bed, sat up, and swung his feet to the floor, his legs spread so his half-mast cock was on full display. “Then drop to your hands and knees, crawl to me, and kneel between my legs. Let’s start with kneeling the way you’ve been trained. If I don’t like it, I’ll rearrange you.”
Kelsey stared at him. She hadn’t intended him to go that dominant. She’d never intended to crawl for anyone ever again.
And yet, she’d just told him she needed to feel submissive, and she had to admit, being forced to crawl to him would do the job.
Present Tense: Pleasure Times Four (Out of the Fire Book 3) Page 13
