by Lily White
“You are such a tease, Holland. One of these days, I’m going to get you alone for several hours and by the time I’m through with you, you’ll never want another woman besides me in your life.” Standing up on her tiptoes, she grabbed my shirt and pulled me down so she could whisper in my ear. “I’m very, VERY, dirty.”
The laughter burst out of me before I was able to contain it. She had no idea.
“Come on. We have to get to class. Did you finish your psych paper?”
Just as the words escaped her lips, Professor Chase ran past us in a hurry. I knew the professor was Claire’s closest friend on campus and I wondered if it was towards Claire’s classroom or office that she moved in such a hurry. Glancing at my watch, I realized Claire would have been preparing for class at this time. I stretched my neck to the sides to release the tension and looked down into the curious expression of Emma.
Ironically, I didn’t need to lie. “Yep. I worked on it all last week.” With a cheerful smile, I offered her my arm and asked, “Shall we go?”
Stepping into the classroom, I looked up towards the empty stage at the front. Students hurriedly took their seats, eagerly anticipating the entrance of Claire Elliot, all of them with papers set into neat bindings. Only I knew that none of those papers would be read or critiqued by the woman who’d assigned them.
Emma took the seat behind me, reaching out to run her fingers through my hair, the hint of sex weaved into the way she lightly touched my body. I ignored her as I scrolled through my phone and checked social media to see if the alarm had yet been sounded that Claire was missing. Finding nothing, I set the phone on the desk in front of me and leaned back in my chair waiting for the students’ reactions when their beloved teacher failed to stroll through the back door.
It only took about fifteen minutes after the time class was supposed to start for the murmurs to begin. Was class canceled? Where was the professor? Should we leave? All of it was the typical nonsense that wouldn’t be answered for another day or so. I knew that once forty-eight hours passed and Claire was still nowhere to be found, the news media would be a frenzy, together with the entire school. I was glad it didn’t happen today. I didn’t feel like pretending to care.
After thirty minutes, students started to stand up from their seats, leaving the classroom in groups realizing that Claire would not be teaching today. I hung back, looking down at the stage and remembering what she looked like when she paced in front of the class. She was always so beautiful and her obvious intelligence only made her more so.
Leaning forward in her chair, Emma whispered in my ear, breaking me free of my ruminations of a woman I wanted to own for as long as I lived. “You ready to get out of here? It appears Professor Elliot is a no show. I overheard her telling Professor Chase that she was vacationing in Florida. She must have missed her return flight or something. Maybe she met a hot guy or something.” She grumbled. “Although, an email that class was canceled would have been nice.”
Standing up from my chair, I cast the empty stage a finale glance before following Emma out of the classroom.
“You wanna grab something to eat? My parents are on a business trip and I have the house to myself. We could go back there afterward.” Sliding her hand suggestively down my arm, she looked at me with all the hedonistic intent she could muster.
I reached up and grabbed her hand with mine, squeezing a little too hard, which caused her to yelp in surprised pain. Bringing her hand to my lips, I kissed away the sore spot and she smiled.
“Sorry, Em, but I have to get back to my house.”
I wasn’t lying to her.
I felt an absolute need to return to Claire.
…
“How was you’re first day back at school?”
Aiden sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in one hand and the paper in the other. It was commonplace to see him sitting back in such a normal scene that, in truth, was anything but normal. From beneath the table, I heard a small whimper. Cursing Aiden silently for treating the courtesans like actual pets when he trained them, I had no doubt that Claire would be on her hands and knees for the duration of her time here.
“It was good. Class was cancelled.” I smiled sardonically. “Imagine that.”
Aiden grinned and fluffed the paper in order to fold it to the section he was intent on reading. “It will take a few days before it’s figured out and by that time the police will believe they are dealing with a dead body.” Looking up at me from his paper, he commented, “I’ve always found it amusing that the police believe that the first 48 hours are the most important in cases of abduction, however they wait until a person is actually missing for that amount of time before searching for them. It makes no sense.”
Chuckling at his point, I replied, “Yeah, well, I’ve never expected anything in this world to make much sense.”
“Money makes sense,” he corrected. “That’s the only thing you’ll be able to count on in life.”
His body moved slightly and a muffled oomph sounded from beneath the table where Aiden had kicked Claire. “Isn’t that right Professor Elliot? I bet two weeks ago you never expected to be spending your time learning what it’s like to be a dog.” Peering beneath the table near his feet, he mocked. “Complete with a tail and everything.”
I shook my head in disbelief.
He was such a fucking bastard.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Claire
From what I could tell, only a little over twenty-four hours had passed since the meeting with Edward. In that time, I’d been subjected to the amusement of one of the cruelest men I’d ever had the misfortune to know. He was the closest example of a sociopath that I’d encountered, even more so than the patients I’d studied in the asylum.
Aiden had no sense of morality, no empathy or ability to love anything but himself. He was driven and focused, a man who was so determined to succeed that the actions he had to take were justified and acceptable…at least, to him they were. To a normal human being, or to a person who was raised and taught to be kind, nurturing and considerate of others, Aiden was a monster.
The end goal was his reward and he couldn’t care less what he had to do, or who he to do it to, in order to achieve it.
“I take it training has been going well.” Holland’s voice resonated through the room, the hint of contempt laced in his words. Since arriving in the kitchen, he hadn’t looked at me. Based on the tone in which he spoke, I wondered if it was because Holland didn’t approve of what Aiden was doing. Humiliation and degradation were two of the most powerful weapons in Aiden’s arsenal. He was an expert at embarrassing me and taking away my value by forcing me into a position of subservience, by making me something less than him. I wasn’t sure if Holland refused to look because he was sparing me the shame of being seen in such a state or if it was because it would actually hurt him to see me in pain.
“Yes it has. Now that she’s been returned to a more reliable method of training, Claire has been responding rather quickly. I’m not sure if it’s because she’s an intelligent woman or if it’s a result of the week she’s already spent with you, but we’ve been able to avoid unnecessary tears since last night. Haven’t we, Claire?”
The toe of his shoe jabbed me in the side once again and I groaned in pain. My entire body hurt after one evening spent with Aiden in that nightmarish room where he’d kept me. It was far worse than the playroom where Holland had taken me.
Aiden abused every part of me, leaving no room for self-worth or fortitude inside. Physically I’d endured pain like I’d never known before. When he made me then feel pleasure, when he’d forced my body to orgasm despite the vehemence I felt towards him, he’d fractured my spirit. It was quick and easy for him. There was no hesitancy in his fist or lack of performance in his cock. There was also no part of me that was off limits. If he could abuse it, he did.
“That’s good to hear.” Holland sounded upset, but it was obvious he was attempting to shield that
emotion from Aiden. The only reason I picked up on it was my education and training. However, I didn’t doubt that Aiden picked up on it as well.
My heart broke apart in my chest, but not because I felt sorry for myself. I felt sorry for Holland. From what I knew of him, he’d been forced into a lifestyle that went against everything he believed. Never had he attempted to physically abuse me to the extent that Aiden had and I realized what kind of horror it must have been to witness that type of abuse day in and day out when he could see it for how wrong it was. Even now, as he causally chatted with his superior, you could hear the anger and sorrow in his voice.
“I’m sure it is, Holland. You and I both know that a successful training will be in both of our favors.” Aiden’s hand tugged on the leash that was attached to the collar around my neck. “Time is of the essence. As a result, I’ll be returning to my duties for the rest of the evening.” Another hard tug and I was pulled from beneath the table and into view of Holland. His eyes met mine for only a split second before he looked away.
My body was like dead weight from the abuse I’d taken. When I didn’t immediately crawl beside Aiden’s feet, he knelt down beside me, reaching out to grab my by my hair and forced me to look up at him. “Do I need to remind you what happened last time you refused to crawl?”
He didn’t need to remind me. The tail hanging from my ass was reminder enough.
I couldn’t deny that he’d break me eventually. There was only so much physical and emotional abuse a person could take before they learned to comply in order to avoid the pain. It was human nature to protect yourself from violence and I wasn’t strong enough to believe that I’d chose death over submission. Self-preservation was ingrained in me, it was natural and it was the only choice I had when there was the slightest chance I could escape this hell.
I didn’t know for sure that I could trust what Holland had promised me, but it was the only hint of light at the end of this bleak tunnel.
Bowing my head so that I only saw the floor in front of me, I followed like a dog at Aiden’s feet. My knees and hands were bruised from the way he forced me to travel about the house. I was starving due to my refusal to eat from the silver bowl he’d insisted I use. My body hurt and the only stitch of clothing he would allow me to wear was the collar around my neck; if that could even be considered clothing at all.
If crawling over the cold, long floors of the halls wasn’t torture enough, Aiden led me into his playroom to add insult to the ever-growing list of injuries I’d suffered at his hands.
Shutting the door with a soft click, he stepped around me, but I refused to look up and see anything besides the polished leather of his shoes.
“What would you like to do now, Pet? I don’t think we’ve tried the stirrups, have we?” From where he stood, I could hear the mechanical sounds of metal being pushed around on one of the horrifying contraptions in the room. “To think you could have avoided all of this had you just allowed Edward to touch you. Be a good dog and crawl up here. If I’m forced to lift you, then I’ll ensure that the experience is far worse than I’ve already planned.” Amusement coated his words, the hint of laughter behind every syllable he spoke.
My pain was nothing more to him than a means to an end. It neither affected him nor moved him and he would continue to inflict it until I was a wasted shell of my former self or I no longer breathed. I didn’t think that either potential result mattered much to him, so in an effort to stay alive, I did as he said.
Pushing slowly up onto my feet, my knees almost buckled from the weight of my body. He caught me by placing an arm around my waist, but he wouldn’t assist beyond that. I had to walk towards my own torture by my own means. It was another subtle way for him to create hatred in me towards myself.
As I lay back on the leather surface of the bench, he didn’t bother to even give me time to settle in my seat before lifting and spreading my legs open, securing my ankles in the stirrups and shackles that stuck out at the bottom. Once I was secured, he spread the stirrups so far apart that the tendons on the insides of my thighs burned in threat of tearing.
I was shocked to find that I could still cry after all the tears I’d shed over the past twenty-four hours, but I couldn’t stop the waterworks that flowed from my eyes to moisten my cheeks. “What are you going to do to me?”
I was stupid to let the question fall from my lips and I wasn’t even sure I wanted an answer.
“I need art for the presentation that’s coming up in a week. I’m not sure if Holland has told you anything about me, but I’m a lover and connoisseur of visual expression. Paintings, photography, film…I love anything that portrays how another person views the world. It’s almost as if I can see through their eyes.”
He crossed the room to shuffle through drawers in a side table. While searching for whatever implements he wanted to use against me, he continued talking to me. “It’s the same for you isn’t it? Not the eyes, I assume. Your profession is more interested in the mind. You don’t want to see what another person sees. You want to steal their emotions and thoughts and make them your own. I agree it would be fascinating work and in a sense, we are two people working in the same field.”
Flashes of light bounced off the metallic equipment throughout the room and I heard the unmistakable sound of a camera’s shutter firing rapidly. Closing my eyes, I refused to witness what parts of me he was recording for posterity.
“Why would anybody want to see this?” Another question I shouldn’t have asked, but I wanted to know how the photos would be used.
The arrogance of his response was undeniable. “Other Masters are always interested in my methods. I have an almost flawless record. No woman has been too difficult to train. It’s why Holland’s stepfather begged me to take Holland under my wing. I’m the best at my form of art.”
Holland’s name struck a chord inside me and in a moment of anger, I retorted, “His family should be dragged out into a street and shot for what they’ve done to him.”
The sounds of the camera stopped and a few moments of silence fell heavy between us.
“That’s an interesting way to look at it, Pet. Has he told you much about his family?”
I didn’t like the threat in his tone of voice. It was unmistakable and I wondered if, out of anger, I’d revealed something about Holland that I should have kept secret. Lying, I quickly spit out, “No.”
He chuckled. “Protecting him, are you? That’s fascinating. Especially after everything he’s done to you.” His lips pressed to my ear sending chills across my skin. “Was it because he made you feel good?”
I jumped in response to his voice and he pulled away, chuckling darkly as he moved about the room. “I’m not interested in making you feel good. I’m interested in making myself feel good and that’s where Holland fucked up in your training. What has he told you about being a courtesan?”
Fear flooded my body and I wasn’t sure what I was and was not supposed to know about any of this. Aiden had a remarkable way of setting me on edge and keeping me there so that any answer I gave was potentially wrong. “Nothing.”
Something metal was clamped on my clit and I screamed. The tissue was far too sensitive from hours of stimulation and abuse.
“That sounded like it hurt.” He laughed as the camera’s shutter once again fired about the room. “Don’t lie to me, Claire. I’ll know and you’ll experience pain as a result of your error.”
Forcing the words out around the whimpers of my body, I replied, “He told me that a courtesan is supposed to be an ornament. We’re a body to be used, not a voice to be heard or a soul to be cherished. We’re property.”
Two more clamps were pinched over my nipples and I cried out at the resulting pain. This wasn’t the first or even second time he’d used them, each time making them more sensitive to the torment the clamps inflicted.
“I wouldn’t squirm too much. There’s a chain connecting the bottom clamp to the top and your movement will only make the experien
ce worse. They’re not supposed to hurt as bad as they do, but I’ve chosen the tightest set I could find…” Tugging at the chain lightly, he sent waves of pain through my body. “…all for you.”
I felt him tug on the tail that was still hanging from the plug in my ass. It pulled out slowly, the skin around it burning from where it had been stretched. I felt instant relief once it was removed. With his finger, he applied a cool gel to the area and I was thankful for the generosity despite how I felt about Aiden in general.
“What do you say for my kindness, Pet?”
Through choked sobs that were slowly forcing their way from my chest, I answered, “Thank you.”
His palm smoothed down my cheek, taking with it the tears that had fallen from my eyes. “Have I ever told you how beautiful a woman’s tears can be? So much meaning in the small drops…either love, or pain or some other form of sentiment that is felt so deep, it can’t be contained. I admire that about women, their ability to feel as genuinely as they do. They are the small bits of your soul seeping out from the fissures I’ve created.”
He moved away again, but I still refused to open my eyes to see where he’d gone. The camera flashed a few more times before I heard him set something heavy on a metal tray near my body. “Do you know anything about pears of anguish, Pet? They’re also known as ‘choke pears’, depending entirely, of course, on how they’re used.”
My entire body clenched at the reference. I’d spent too many years in humanities classes not to know about the tool he’d mentioned.
“The only reason I ask is because I believe you’re hiding something from me. I’ve suspected it all along, but didn’t really consider that you and Holland would attempt something so foolish until just now.”
Cold metal slid into my ass and I clenched my teeth in an attempt to refuse giving him the joy of the sound of my screaming.
“It was the way he refused to look at you in the kitchen as well as the small bits of information you just gave me. I think there’s more between the two of you than either of you let on. I’m determined to find out exactly what that is.”
