Contract Taken (Contracted Book 1)

by Aya DeAniege

  “Someone hinted at it once, and he beat them so badly they ended up in the hospital. Only reason charges weren't filed was because he managed to do it down a blind alleyway and the other person never saw his face. We all knew, though. You don't poke the sadists and walk away whole."

  “I mainly just wondered if he had a first name," I said with a small nod. "Nathaniel referred to Mayfair by a different name."

  “Her sub name. Though also her real name. You should call her Mayfair unless you're talking to a vanilla. While a sub, people have one name, and typically they shed that when they become a Dom. Usually, Doms choose a name for their sub, with you being named Darling by Nathaniel. Every name has to be registered so that no one overlaps. It prevents confusion."

  “So Nathaniel goes by three different names. And if I hear the sub name I should pretend I didn't.”

  Nicole hesitated for a fraction of a moment before she said confidently, "Correct, if you hear the sub name you should, for the most part, pretend you didn't hear it. Sometimes it could mean that someone has decided to play at being a sub for a bit. We mainly see that with the subs, though."

  “Are any of the subs nice?”

  “Sure, they're nice,” Nicole muttered. “If you have something girlish to talk about.”

  I muttered a curse and looked around the room.

  “What do we normally do in here?”

  “Sometimes there are lessons, oh, I know one you might need, Michie—yes you—come. Show Darling how we kneel while waiting for our Dom.”

  The young man glowered at Nicole, but went down on his knees, spreading his legs and set his hands on top of his legs with the palms upward.

  “What's it called?” Nicole asked.

  “Teach position,” Michie said with a smouldering anger.

  “Can I?” a young woman asked, prancing towards Nicole.

  “Of course, why don't you show her how to submit and present?”

  The young woman smiled brightly, then went down on her knees. She bent forward and almost set her shoulders on the floor with hands outstretched. Her backside went into the air, and I stared at her with an open mouth.

  “I don't know if I can do that,” I said.

  “Do you want to try?” Nicole asked.

  “I don't know, do you think he'd like that?”

  “Nathaniel?” asked another sub with a chuckle. “Isn't that practically a mandatory position for him?”

  “Come,” Nicole stood and held a hand out to me. “It may look like it pulls, but it doesn't really. Which leg is it? Your bad one?”

  “Right,” I said, trying to pat it, but I had taken Nicole's hand.

  “All right, over here,” Nicole motioned, then pointed down. “Kneel, good, now lean forward.”

  I leaned forward, placing my forearms on the floor. The position pulled a little at my leg. Nicole ran a hand down my back, to my backside, which was still on my feet.

  “I'm doing it wrong.”

  “Most do, at first,” she said, giving my ass a small pat. “This is raised, recall. So lean forward, torso forward, with your forehead touching the floor. There you go. How's that feel?”

  “Oddly comfortable.”

  “Good,” Nicole said in that tone.

  How many Doms used that tone of voice and that word? If I asked what it meant, would any of them tell me? Would they even realize what they had done?

  I lifted my forehead from the floor, and Nicole pushed my head gently back to the floor. Trying to relax, I kept myself in that position as she walked around me.

  “Don't gawk, get down and practice. All you're doing is gossiping anyhow, and you can do that in the face down position." Nicole stopped by my right hand. "How are you feeling? Anything pulling?"

  “No,” I said.

  “Good. He's got you working out and stretching right?”

  “Yes,” I muttered.

  “You can get up now,” she said, tapping me with something on the shoulder.

  I sat up and frowned as the crop drifted down to her side. I had no idea where the crop had come from, but there wasn't a doubt in my mind that she would use it without hesitation if she needed to. Nicole motioned for me to stand, so I did as she commanded.

  I didn't want to be struck with the crop.

  “He makes everyone work out. The more you work your body, the more stamina you'll have. It'll also mean fewer chances of an accidental injury during play. Everyone slips up once in a while. You shouldn't hold it against him if he does. Nathaniel is an expert. He's also a big believer in consent, but he and Mr. Wrightworth taught each other a lot. Both can get a little heavy handed once they get into it."

  “He hasn't hurt me yet.”

  “Really?” Michie asked.

  Nicole responded by swatting him on the ass, hard. She watched me as she did it.

  “He does that sometimes. Did it with me too. He doesn't know your limits, and neither do you. Over the coming months, he'll be very careful with you, because you aren't training to be a Dom. He'll ease you into it and won't let you give into the temptation of playing with anyone else."

  “I don't want to.”

  “Good, don't,” Nicole said with a shake of her head. “Mr. Wrightworth doesn't like playing without sex unless it's disciplinary. If you piss Nathaniel off, he will loan you to Mr. Wrigtworth. It's not pleasant. And I'm considered borderline sadist because every once in a while I like to beat a bitch.”

  “As in a woman?”

  “As in someone who is acting like a bitch. I get off on it."

  “I thought there was the introduction of play without sex.”

  “You want to play with Mr. Wrightworth?” Nicole asked, shifting away from me.

  “I don't know!” I said loudly.

  I was also aware that every sub in the room was watching me. With a huff, I crossed my arms and hugged them to myself.

  “Yeah, he told us about that,” Nicole muttered. “But he's gay. Really, truly, honestly gay.”

  “I know that.”

  Nicole opened her mouth, then closed it. "Of course, he's safe to you. You haven't seen what he's capable of and, hopefully, you won't."

  A scream from outside broke the relative quiet of the room. Nicole winced as the subs moved away from the door.

  “Right, and he gave her plenty of warning," Nicole muttered, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Easy, everyone. Calm down. Only Michie needs to worry because we all know she's a little cunt and won't go down without a fight."

  There was a knock on the door.

  “Michie,” Nicole snapped. “Go be with your Mistress.”

  The young man whined, but stood and left the room. I watched him go, fixated even though deep down I was sure that I should have done something. I was still pointing at the door when Nicole turned back to me.

  “He doesn't like playing without it ending in sex," Nicole said as if that explained everything. "Michie's also bisexual."

  “Not that sexuality stops him," one of the other males muttered.

  “Let me stress this again. Consent to sex is an absolute must. At no point are any of your Doms allowed to force themselves on you or make you seem like you don't have a choice.”

  “But he's really, really, good at making us think it's a good idea,” the same male sub said.

  “Nathaniel mentioned that,” I said.

  “Of course, he did," Nicole said, watching me. "Well, we're going to be a while yet."

  “What's going on out there?” I asked.

  “Likely Mayfair said something insulting about you or Nathaniel or uttered a threat. Or worse, she poked Mr. Wrightworth. If she'd ever just shut up and take the beating, her subs wouldn't be pulled into it, but Mayfair is haughty, and I don't think she cares what happens to others.

  “So we're going to be here, in this room, for a while. Once discipline has been doled out, then we can leave the room and rejoin the Doms.”

  “It's not fair that Michie suffers because of Mayfair.”
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  “He's a full on masochist. He's going to enjoy what's done to him. Mayfair hates seeing her subs writhe under the ministrations of someone else. That's the discipline.

  “So, do you have any other questions to fill the time?”

  I watched Nicole for a minute or so, wondering if I wanted to ask questions that badly. It was either talk or sit in silence and wonder what was going on just outside the door.

  “Oh, what's age play?” I asked. “What's the proper definition for a sadist?”

  “Titles are a good place to start,” Nicole said. “Let's all go through the titles, shall we? Like, given the look on your face when I said it, I'm betting you don't know about masochists. One who enjoys pain, basically. A sadomasochist is one who can go both ways.”

  “But Mr. Wrightworth says sadists have to hurt someone to be sexual. Nathaniel clearly doesn't.”

  “We are still exploring terms,” Nicole said.

  “I more of thought Nathaniel just inherited the title,” someone said.

  Nicole spun suddenly. “Who said that? Who? You, in the corner. Get over there or I will smack you. Git.”

  “Nathaniel's father is a part of the community?” I asked.

  “No," Nicole said, shaking her head as she turned back to me. "I can't get into details with you, but I can tell you that the community exists because of Nathaniel's father. If it weren't for him, they wouldn't have pushed for us to do something, be something. Nathaniel did not inherit the title from his father."

  I got the distinct feeling that Nicole was leaving something important out. I also got the feeling that pushing on that specific topic more would result in my being struck by that crop, which was tapping against Nicole's calf gently.

  The only thing I thought might clear things up was learning more about the community that had been built up because of the man no one wanted to talk about.

  Chapter Eighteen

  A sadist to the community—at the time—was one who had to inflict pain to become aroused.

  Few realized that Nathaniel rarely worked under that premise. Nicole probably worked that way more often than Nathaniel did, but then she was the one who picked up subs who needed retraining.

  A true sadist is one who enjoys seeing others in pain. It doesn't have to be in a sexual sense. The sadist doesn't need to be the one to cause the pain. Many of the sadists I've been in contact with over the years do prefer to cause the pain themselves, that way they are in control of how intense it is.

  But they don't need to be, not at all. They just need to be able to hear the pain in another person's voice or the terror. Even body language giving away pain can please them.

  I also learned about age play. Mainly about the difference between it and paedophilia. Some people are simply more comfortable acting like a child and casting off the responsibilities of being an adult.

  Or so one little told me that day.

  The community was still in its discovery stages. Many of those in the community had signed contracts because that made what was being done legal. Some rich folk had even simply met poor folk who they wanted to be a sub and arranged for a contract to be drawn up.

  Mr. Wrightworth did not facilitate these contracts. All contracts coming from the community had to go through someone besides him. Anyone who tried to use him to get a contract through was denied. If they were very lucky, Mr. Wrightworth didn't then make an example of them before the community.

  Once the contract was approved and was open to poor folk to sign, was another matter. Mr. Wrightworth would approve or deny those signing if he knew with absolute certainty that they would be either a good, or a bad fit. If he wasn't certain, he stayed out of the way.

  After well over an hour of education, the door was opened, and Nathaniel strolled in, one hand in his pocket, the other sliding in as he stepped into the room. He looked over the circle of subs and then focused on me.

  The ice in his eyes, which had taken almost two weeks to melt away, was back. I stood and walked around the circle. I still didn't know what was expected of me in public. Learning the titles had also been important, at least I had thought until that moment.

  “Just give us five,” Nathaniel said to Nicole before he turned and walked back out the door.

  I looked to Nicole for help. She responded by cocking her head towards the door. Leaving the room, I had to look for Nathaniel. He had already walked up to the pulpit. I tried to catch up and not look like I was running.

  Michie was tied to an x-frame and gagged. His back was welted, and the skin had broken open in spots. I turned away quickly, only to almost run into Mr. Wrightworth.

  He took hold of me and turned me back to Michie.

  “This is what happens when you are impudent,” he said, then he released me. “Elaina, dear, don't you have something to say to Darling?”

  Mayfair was fully dressed, but she trembled as if in pain as she came up to us and knelt at my feet. I think, perhaps, Mr. Wrightworth forgot in those moments that she wasn't a sub, and didn't go by her sub name in the community. He believed that the titles had to be respected no matter how annoyed one might be.

  “I'm sorry for my words before. It won't happen again."

  “And it better not,” Mr. Wrightworth purred out. “You do it again, and I won't stop at his safe word.”

  The woman shook as her head lowered.

  I just wanted to run.

  Breathing was difficult. I was still facing Michie. I had to watch as they pulled him down and he collapsed against Ezekiel, his legs unable to hold his weight.

  “Darling,” Nathaniel said, walking up to me. He slid a hand over my mouth. “Control your breathing, or I'll have to do it for you, don't need you hyperventilating. Breathe, in slow, in, hold it, now out.”

  I followed his instructions, though my chest still moved, trying to drag in more air. His hand slid to my cheek, across it, then down to my neck. As Nathaniel's hand tightened around my throat, he stepped into my view.

  My world narrowed to him.

  I stared up at Nathaniel as the ice in his eyes melted. I saw the pity there. It set a fire in my belly, but it was different than the days past. It was anger, not arousal, that curled around my spine because this man pitied me and I hated pity.

  “There you are," Nathaniel murmured, keeping his hand on my throat. "I told you there were consequences to disobeying. They were rude to me. Now they know how deep I will cut if they are rude again."

  “But Mr. Wrightworth did it.”

  “No,” Mr. Wrightworth chuckled. “Not quite, Darling.”

  “Then how did you stop at his safe word?” I asked.

  Nathaniel hissed out as Mr. Wrightworth patted him heartily on the back. The one smiled that Cheshire cat smile, teeth bared and lips curling up. The other bore his teeth in pain and growled.

  I trembled in Nathaniel's hand at the animalistic sound that escaped his throat.

  Nathaniel drew me close, then pulled me away from the pulpit. He led me back to the rows as the subs began filing out of the room. No one made comment as seats were found. Some few drifted to their Doms and then the pairs wandered off. From my seat, I watched them wheel the x-frame off and somewhere around the corner.

  In it's stead came a bed on wheels. And not just some metal creaky frame either. It looked like a proper bed, like they had pilfered items from a theatre somewhere. Every prop used in the public displays was well kept and carefully sanitized after each use.

  Two men walked up, and one began talking. The speaker was Oberon. The silent one was Jake. For those watching, Oberon asked if Jake gave consent and had Jake verbally give that consent. Oberon explained a little about consent and gave some examples of consent.

  “If her lips say no, but her eyes say try harder? That means no," Oberon said. "At the end of the day, the only time that no means, 'please, fuck me harder,' is in a consensual, non-consent scene. And at that point body language and the safe word are used to say no. Only time. No means no.

 
“Jake here has given consent. You can all tell, male, male. Most of you know what's going where, or you're here because one of you is curious and wants to see how it works. Now we love being watched, we really do. This is an anniversary treat for Jake, so those who have watched us before will see a few differences between this and other times. We do ask that you keep quiet. No cell phones, flash photography or talking. If you want to have a conversation, please leave.

  “This time around I'm going to please ask that you don't shout out suggestions. Clapping upon finish is great. We're going to be sideways here,” Oberon motioned to the bed. “Mainly for education purposes, partly because we're exploring the possibility that Jake likes others watching a little closer.” Oberon grinned and pointed to someone in the front row. “Thought you'd especially enjoy that one.”

  They went about the act of sex.

  If you don't know how it works, or you're interested, I'm sure you can look that up. Those who share in the community do it for a plethora of reasons. Jake and Oberon loved being watched, though their relationship evolved through the years and was at a pivotal moment then and there on that bed.

  At the end of the day, what always gets to me is the love and understanding they share. Not just with one another, but with the others in the community.

  Before the collapse couples made sex tapes all the time. Or straight up pornography. The videos I've watched of those supposedly intimate moments before the collapse were nothing compared to the caring, I saw on that stage.

  I've never viewed sharing at a meeting as arousing at all.

  That first time made me ache for that, for what they shared. I was still awkward about it, not feeling comfortable at all. I knew how sex worked, had been around people having sex in the slum due to close quarters. Watching them on stage made me squirm in my seat.

  I ended up looking around, at the faces around us. Most others were watching the pair with apt attention. A few whispered quietly to one another, seemingly critiquing what they were watching.