“Master bought it for me from a thrift shop when he took me from Arizona,” Tink said shyly.
Renee smiled and ran her eye over the meager collection of clothes Tink had packed. “Well… I don’t know how you do it,” she said kindly. “I could never travel so lightly.”
Tink frowned and tilted her head in a question. “Lightly?”
“Yes. I need three suitcases just to stay overnight.”
Tink looked down at the floor. “This… this is everything I own,” she said.
Renee slid the empty suitcase under the bed and sat on the edge of the mattress while Tink began to hang her Master’s clothes neatly in the wardrobe.
“I heard your Master say you had been with him for two years,” Renee began. “You must have been interested in the lifestyle at a young age.”
Tink said nothing. She put all the shirts onto coat hangers and then lined up all of her Master’s shoes in pairs.
“What made you want to become a submissive and serve a Master?” Renee persisted.
“I didn’t have a choice,” Tink said, but there was no emotion in her voice – no bitterness or longing. “I was trained – and then sold.”
“What about… what about before you were trained?” Renee persisted, even though she could tell the girl resented being questioned.
“I don’t remember,” she said. She put her panties, bra and cosmetics case in the bottom draw of a bedside table. “I don’t remember anything before I woke up in a cage in Arizona and a man told me I had been brought to him for training as a sex slave.”
Ten.
“I can’t believe you and that man were once friends.”
Stefan shook his head. “We weren’t.”
Renee pulled the covers down and sat on the edge of the bed. “Well he certainly thinks you were.”
“Larry Madden is – and has always been – a drunken thug.”
Renee watched as Stefan undressed and climbed naked into bed. She looked at him, a concerned expression creasing her brow. “Well clearly you have a history together.”
“Ancient history,” Stefan muttered.
Renee unfastened the cord around her bathrobe, peeled it off her shoulders, and climbed under the covers. She lay on her side and watched Stefan’s face. “He said you got a scar or something. What did he mean? Is that how you are connected to this man?”
Stefan closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again he was grim-faced.
“I met Larry Madden shortly after my wife died,” he explained. “Renee, at the time I was angry. I was mad at God for taking Tif from me – and I was mad at the world. I had just discovered the world of BDSM and I wanted to know more. There is a dark side to domination and submission, and I accidentally got drawn into it.”
“A dark side?”
“Dark and dangerous,” Stefan said solemnly. “Renee, girls like Tink are bought by men like Larry. There is an underground business, and it’s big money people-trafficking.”
Renee propped herself up on her elbow and looked hard at Stefan. “What do you mean?”
Stefan sighed. “There is a man in Arizona,” he began, “and he is well known in the BDSM world. He’s a supplier. He goes by the name of Victor. Young women are kidnapped and brought to him for training. That’s what he does. They call him ‘The Animal Trainer’. He takes these girls and he breaks them down, and then re-makes them as sex slaves. Then they’re auctioned off to the highest bidder.”
Renee shook her head. She was horrified. “You’re not serious.”
“I am,” Stefan said. “These girls – girls just like Tink and even younger – are taken and trained to serve their Masters. And men like Larry buy them. The younger and the prettier they are, the higher the price they eventually fetch.”
Renee sat in silent shock for long moments. “I can’t believe people like that exist,” she said slowly. “I can’t believe things like that happen.”
“They do,” Stefan assured her. “I told you once before, Renee, that beyond the romance there is reality – and sometimes that reality can be harsh and horrible.”
“And you were involved in this…. this crime?”
“No.” Stefan said emphatically. “At the time I didn’t even know the Arizona auction block existed. I simply met Larry at a BDSM club and we got to talking. He invited me to Arizona. I went with him. Then, in a bar a day before the auction, I got into a fight with a scumbag who was treating a woman badly. The guy pulled a knife…. and during the fight I got stabbed. Larry was drunk. As I reeled away bleeding, Larry fell onto the guy’s blade and got stabbed too.”
Renee listened in stunned silence, shaking her head as Stefan re-told the story. Tentatively, she reached out and ran her finger down Stefan’s muscular chest. “You’ve got so many scars,” she said. “You look like an old tomcat. Which one was the knife?”
Stefan took her hand and guided it to a raised white scar on the right side of his abdomen. She gently ran her finger over the ridge.
“And Master Larry? You said he got stabbed too.”
“Yes,” Stefan said. “Unfortunately. He got stabbed in the chest. And ever since that day he’s figured that I owed him.”
“Because he got stabbed instead of you.”
“Yes – even though it wasn’t how it happened.”
For a long time Renee lay beside Stefan in silence.
Finally Stefan rolled onto his side to face her. “You’re shocked.”
“Yes, of course,” Renee admitted.
“So was I when I first found out about Victor and the Arizona auctions,” Stefan said.
Renee shuddered. “Were you…. were you ever like Master Larry is? Were you ever so mean to your submissives?”
Stefan shook his head. He held her eyes and his expression was sincere. “Never. Not once,” he said. “I’ve changed a lot since I first became involved in BDSM, Renee, but I never started from the same evil place Larry did. I was never that cruel. I was never that kind of man. Larry hasn’t changed – he’s the same brutal bastard he was when I met him.”
Renee reached for his hand and clutched it tightly. “I spoke to Tink when we were unpacking,” she said. “She’s scared of him, Stefan. She didn’t say a lot, but she didn’t need to. I could tell by what she wouldn’t say that he was cruel.”
Stefan nodded. “I wouldn’t have expected anything different,” he sighed. “But it’s none of my business, Renee. Or yours. What Larry does with Tink is up to him. Once he leaves here he’s out of our lives for good – and as far as I’m concerned any ‘debt’ between us will be paid.”
“I think Tink was kidnapped,” Renee said sadly. “When we talked today, she said she can’t remember her life before she arrived at that place in Arizona, Stefan. She would have been about sixteen! Somehow, her entire life before then has been erased from her memory.”
Stefan nodded. He had no doubt the ‘connection’ Larry Madden had referred to earlier was Victor and that Tink was one of the girls who had endured his ‘Arizona School’.
Renee squeezed Stefan’s hand tightly and shuddered. “I’m so lucky,” she said softly. “Lucky I have you as a Master and not someone like him.”
Stefan smiled and hugged her close to him. “No,” he said. “Renee, I’m the lucky one. I’ve changed so much because of you. It’s like I’m waking up again after being asleep for so many years. I feel like the old me is coming back to life; the man I was before I became immersed in this world. I have you to thank for that.” He kissed her tenderly – a long lingering kiss that was more about the emotional than the physical. When at last he eased his mouth from hers, Renee sighed dreamily and rolled onto her back. “You took my breath away,” she said softly.
Eleven.
The next morning Stefan reluctantly took Larry downstairs and showed him the punishment room.
Hands on hips, Larry whistled as he stood in the center of the low-ceilinged room and looked around. “Jesus!” he said. “You’ve surprised the hell
out of me, bucko.”
Standing back in the doorway, Stefan watched as Larry went around the room, touching the pieces of equipment and occasionally crouching to inspect the leather harnesses, ropes and chains. On one wall hung a collection of whips. Larry picked up a leather riding crop and tested the flex between his hands. He swished the crop and it cut through the air.
“I thought you were a softie,” Larry grinned. “I never knew you were such a kinky bastard. It’s always the quiet ones you gotta look out for.”
Stefan kept his face impassive. He stared at Larry. “It’s what I did for a living,” he reminded the big man. “Clients came to me to learn about submission. It made sense to introduce them to some of the typical equipment they might encounter.”
Larry gave an exaggerated nod and scratched the back of his head with the handle of the crop.
“That’s right,” he said. “Now I remember. Stefan’s seedy school of submission or something, isn’t it?”
Stefan didn’t smile.
Larry hung the riding crop back on its hook. There was a low wooden trestle in the far corner of the room. It looked like a builder’s saw horse. The timber frame of the structure had been fitted with leather padding and leather cuff restraints. Larry took a moment to admire the craftsmanship of the piece, and then leaned nonchalantly against it.
“Well, you know what they say,” he said slowly. “Those that can’t do…. teach.”
Stefan bridled. Everything about Larry Madden was a challenge; a taunt. He was a big man and accustomed to getting his own way. He was crude and confronting. He was used to intimidating people – menacing and threatening them until they cowered and buckled. But Stefan was a big man too, and there was a limit to his courtesy. Without realizing it, Larry was fast approaching that limit.
“They say that…” Stefan agreed off-handedly. “At least the dumb ignorant ones do.”
There was a long tense silence, and then Larry Madden threw back his head and laughed. “A comedian!” Larry chuckled. “That’s what you are. A bloody comedian.” His laughter turned into a fit of coughing, and by the time he had regained his breath he was watery eyed… and the tension between the men had eased as Larry’s expression suddenly became mischievous.
Renee and Tink were standing in position with their heads bowed and their hands behind their backs just inside the doorway. Both women were wearing short skirts. Renee wore a pale yellow tank-top, whilst Tink was wearing the same bra she had worn when she arrived the afternoon before.
Larry’s eyes drifted over the two submissives and he leered at Stefan. He rubbed his chin ruefully.
“Mind if I try some of this fancy equipment out?”
Stefan stiffened. He glanced in Tink’s direction. “I suppose not.”
Larry smiled. “Mind if I give your bit of fluff a test drive? You know – just for a comparison?”
Stefan smiled, but it was ice-cold and dangerous. “When hell freezes over.”
“My, my, my…” Larry put his hand on his hip and lifted one eyebrow in a pantomime of arrogant surprise. “No need to get so defensive, bucko.” Larry thought he should be offended by Stefan’s refusal. “She’s precious is she? She got something special under that little skirt has she?”
Without taking his eyes off Larry, Stefan snapped his fingers and Renee looked up. “Go upstairs, Renee,” he said calmly. “Wait for me in our bedroom.”
Renee stepped past him and went up the stairs quickly. When she was out of earshot, Stefan said with suppressed anger, “You get one chance with me, Larry. And that was it. Understand?”
Larry held up his hands in mock surrender and took a step backwards. “Woooah, the sheriff in these here parts don’t like anyone messin’ with his livestock, eh? Okay, bucko. No offence, okay?” his tone became conciliatory. He stepped over to Tink and grabbed her wrist. He dragged her over to the edge of a sturdy wooden bench, bent her over, and then he lifted the girl’s skirt to make sure Stefan could see she was naked underneath. Larry retrieved the riding crop from the wall and turned back to Stefan in invitation.
“Want to join me?” Larry offered. “She likes the whip, she does. Likes it a lot. Best damn way to warm her goodies up. Give her a few cuts with the crop and you’ll see what I mean.”
Stefan could see the fearful expression on Tink’s face. The young girl looked terrified.
“But she’s done nothing wrong,” Stefan pointed out calmly. “Why would you punish her?”
“Because I can!” Larry snapped. “Because I feel like it. Because it makes me happy. Treat ‘em mean and keep ‘em keen.”
Stefan shook his head. “Larry, why don’t you give the girl a break. Wait till she deserves to be punished.”
“Why don’t you give me a break?” Larry growled. “I don’t tell you how to treat your fluff – so why don’t you get off my back!” He pushed Tink’s legs wide apart and then the crop hissed in the air as Larry flicked his wrist. A reddened mark appeared on the back of the girl’s thigh. She flinched and then whimpered.
Larry turned. He was smiling. He held the riding crop out to Stefan in invitation. “Last chance…”
“No. Thanks,” Stefan said. “I’ve got my own submissive to train – and it’s not how I do things.” He turned to go, and then paused. “Don’t hurt the girl, Larry. I’m warning you. Don’t you dare cross that line.”
“You’re soft!” shouted Larry. “That’s your bloody problem. You don’t have what it takes. You never bloody did. Jesus wept. What’s happened to you, man? You’re not acting like no dom. You’re acting like you love the bitch!”
Stefan closed the door behind him and stood alone at the foot of the staircase. Words, he thought. Just words… but Larry’s bitter taunt had cut through Stefan’s protective armor and as he slowly climbed the stairs, he wondered whether maybe Larry was right.
Twelve.
When Stefan entered the bedroom he found Renee pulling clothes from her wardrobe and tossing them over her shoulder onto the bed. It looked like she was packing. She was grim-faced and there were angry furrowed lines across her brow.
Stefan leaned against the doorway and folded his arms, watching her silently as she muttered to herself.
She saw him from the corner of her eye. “He’s a brute,” Renee said as she tossed a yellow blouse onto the growing pile of clothing.
Stefan said nothing. He noticed Renee had slipped the bracelet onto her wrist.
“He shows her no kindness – no compassion,” Renee said. “He doesn’t treat her as a submissive. He treats her like …. like…” she couldn’t find the word she wanted and she stomped her foot in frustration.
“Like a possession?”
“Worse!” Renee reeled around. “Much worse.” There were angry red spots of color on her cheeks.
Stefan came into the bedroom and closed the door quietly behind him. “It’s not our business,” he said. “Larry can do what he wants with Tink, and Tink can leave him if she’s unhappy.”
Renee laughed hollowly. “Can she, Stefan? Can she really? And where would she go? He bought her, for God’s sake.”
Stefan nodded. “You’re right,” he admitted. “But there is a fine line here, Renee – and I won’t interfere unless Larry crosses it. I don’t like the way he treats the girl any more than you do… but I won’t get involved unless I am sure he’s abusing her.”
“But you will get involved if he goes too far?”
“In an instant. You have my word.”
Renee looked into Stefan’s eyes. She believed him. She trusted him completely.
“Thank you,” she said, mollified enough to calm down a little. She took a deep shuddering breath and he hugged her.
“Now, please tell me what you are doing?” Stefan changed the subject. “Why are you throwing clothes around the room?”
Renee glanced at the pile of clothes on the bed. “I am cleaning out my wardrobe,” she said. “When I helped Tink unpack their suitcase last night she told me she only
owned one dress. I was going through my wardrobe to see what clothes didn’t fit me anymore. I was going to offer them to her.”
Stefan smiled. Renee’s generosity didn’t surprise him. “Good idea,” he said.
“I can’t stop him treating her the way he does. But I can show her some kindness.”
“You’re a sweet person. And you have a good heart,” he said. He looked at the bundle of clothes and didn’t recognize any of the garments Renee had selected. “So when is the fashion parade?”
In an instant the atmosphere subtly altered. A warm wave of feminine understanding washed over Renee. She looked up into his face and there was a smoky, sultry hint of arousal in the way she moistened her lips before she spoke. “Right now – if you would like to watch.”
Renee turned for the bed but Stefan followed her.
“Wait.”
She stopped obediently and he came up behind her. She felt the touch of his hands on her waist and she shivered deliciously as he lifted her tank-top. She raised her arms in the air as he undressed her. Then his fingers were at the zip of her skirt. It fell to the ground around her ankles. She waited passively as he slipped the straps of her bra off the smooth soft skin of her shoulders and unfastened the catch.
“Now,” he said softly.
She crossed to the bed in just her panties, as light on her feet as a dancer, each step now a gentle emphasized sway of her hips; a subtle provocation for him.
Stefan was sitting, elegant and masculine, in the wing-backed leather chair across the room. His eyes were dark and hungry, but there was more than raw lust in the attitude and language of his body.
He was appreciating her.
She was parading herself for his pleasure.
She was his prize, and she felt proud to be so. He thought she was beautiful, and she felt honored to be his woman. He judged her desirable, and she felt intoxicated by the knowledge.
Renee felt the familiar liquid heat of her own arousal clench low in her abdomen as her blood began to quicken.
Her Master's Kiss Page 11
