by A. C. Melody
Returning to Felix was its own kind of torment. Her breasts felt too exposed all the sudden and she had the strongest desire to wrap her arms around them, protect them from further torture. His only response to the clamps was a quiet moan of approval, but that was enough to have her wishing she could run to the nearest beach and chuck them far out into the ocean. She’d take the ass whooping for it, too. Gladly. Yet, she knew that wouldn’t be the end of the punishment. Where there was one set of nipple clamps, there were a million more that were far worse.
“Last one, little fox.” Felix grinned, patting her ass with encouragement while prompting her toward the path beside him.
Oh, yeah. The gardens. Sir Louis had said that would be their final destination for the event. It was thrilling to know she was almost done, and a possible top contender for the win. She hurried along the paved path that began at the edge of the lawn, having to skirt around a large kinky topiary in the very center like one of those circles cars drove around in intersections. More pathways led off in different directions from the main, and it wasn’t long before she felt cut off from the safety of the crowded lawns behind her.
She could see how getting lost wouldn’t be difficult in the dark, just as Louis had warned. The hedges were only as high as her shoulder, yet some of the natural jungle had been incorporated into the design, giving it the very maze-like appeal she’d imagined. Tessa had to stop herself from exploring and hurry straight ahead. She jogged down the dimly lit path, trying not to jump every time another topiary or statue appeared out of nowhere. At the end, she came out onto a bluff overlooking the dark ocean and sandy beaches below.
“Wow,” she exhaled, the beautiful scenery taking her by complete surprise.
The moon still hung low over the horizon, appearing close enough to touch. The night sky was a vibrant wonder of countless sparkling stars and colorful gases that weren't visible in the city.
“Breathtaking, isn’t it?”
Tessa gasped at the familiar voice and pivoted on her heels to see Kip just off to her right a ways, his unmistakable build and blond hair visible under the moonlight. He beckoned at her to follow and she did. With a grin, she entered a small clearing to find him standing beside a giant wheel. There was a shed deeper in the clearing, about ten yards to her right. Torches had been set up for lighting, but it also cast the scene into dancing shadows, giving it all an ominous vibe.
“Is this where we go to get voted off the island?” she teased, eliciting a laugh from Kip.
He hadn’t been bid on, it seemed, but neither was he being subjected to the objectification the other unclaimed subs were. She wondered if he was happy, but wasn’t sure how to approach the topic.
“Am I the first one here?” she asked, instead.
“No, sorry,” he replied. “Gema and one of the other male subs have already beat you.”
“Ugh, that figures!” she griped, though it was hard to complain when one of the contestants was her friend. Plus, that meant she might still be good for third place, so it wasn’t a total loss. “What am I supposed to do? The clue only said to come here and take a spin of chance on my dominant.”
“Exactly.” He grinned. “Name?”
“What?”
“Your dominant’s name.”
“Oh. Felix,” she answered, then frowned. “Why does that matter?”
“Because each dominant has their own set of skills and experiences,” he answered, as he flipped through a rack of cardboard circles, like someone browsing in a record store. When he found the right one, he perused it with a whistle of appreciation. “Your Dom is one wicked bastard, lucky girl.”
He secured the cardboard to the wheel, then stepped back and gestured to it like a game show host. “Welcome to the Wheel of Torture, Frenchy. Take a spin.”
Tessa’s jaw dropped, as she stared at the pie-shaped sections done in assorted colors, each one depicting a different instrument of pain. Whips, floggers, riding crops, cat-o-nine tails, canes, paddles, piercing hooks...Felix was really skilled in all of those things? He hadn’t even named most of them off the night before when they’d been deciding what to do on stage. She never would have guessed; his sadism seemed so tame compared to the pictures before her.
“Are you sure you got the right one?” she asked Kip.
“There are no other Doms named Felix on this island, Tess.”
Did that mean he was sacrificing his truest desires just to suit her needs? What if there was a part of him longing to inflict a lot more pain on her than the scant amount he’d dared to try so far? Extremely uncomfortable with that thought, she felt even worse in that moment than when she’d seen his reaction to the chastity belt.
“Come on, Tessa, you don’t want to lose the game entirely,” Kip encouraged.
He was right. She shoved her turmoil aside and raised shaky hands to the pegs. Her eyes closed of their own accord the second she spun the wheel.
“I can’t look,” she confessed, covering her face.
Kip laughed at her over the sound of the pegs hitting the catch, until it slowed to a dreadful stop.
“Nice.” His voice held a smile, but that didn’t ease Tessa’s nerves, since pain didn’t seem to bother him in the least. “Come on, don’t be a chicken, it’s not that bad. Actually, I’m surprised it’s even on here, considering.”
Wanting to believe him, she slid her fingers from her eyes and found the pie shape marked by the neon pink stopper.
“Oh, thank God,” she expelled, staring at the picture of an anal hook. It was a bondage tool, which made her smirk at Kip’s remark. “I’m not surprised one bit and I can definitely handle that. Besides, you should know better. A freaking cotton ball can be used for torture if the Dom’s creative enough.”
Kip's laugh was wholehearted. “You’re right, my bad. Hey, how come you weren’t at the luncheon today? Were you sick?”
Tessa sighed, her happy bubble fizzing a little. Though, it wasn’t a difficult confession, because she was talking to another submissive who could relate without any of the disappointment a dominant would show.
“No, I was being punished,” she told him.
“Ah, shitty.”
“Don’t worry, I have no plans of enduring that again. I missed being able to catch up with you and Gem today.”
“Yeah, please don’t, there’s only so much of sulking Gema I can handle,” he teased.
“Oh, well in that case,” she teased right back, laughing when he scowled at her. “So, what do I do now?”
“Straight ahead to that tool shed,” he instructed. “Find an ass hook and take it back to your Dom, I’m sure he’ll love it.”
Tessa thought of all the ways Felix could tie her up using the thing and knew Kip was understating matters. Drastically. “Okay, thanks.” She smiled. “See you tomorrow for sure.”
“You better!” he called after her.
The inside of the tool shed looked like a sadist’s version of a candy store. Once she found the bin with the anal hooks, she turned the light off and headed out. She passed three more subs on her way back to the rear lawns and that kicked her pace up even more. With arms wrapped around the heaviest package yet, Tessa couldn't believe how relieved she was that the hunt was over for her. She really hoped Felix would still be proud of her for only getting third place.
Her thoughts kept returning to the wheel and all the instruments of pain filling those colorful pie shapes. She worried what it might mean for them if Felix started getting bored or restless with her lack of extreme masochism. She wouldn’t even be able to blame him. BDSM was all about fulfilling needs. People didn’t stick with it because they were being constantly disappointed, after all. They came back again and again, because it was the only place where they could be their true selves, without judgment. Where pleasures were stretched beyond their previous conventional boundaries into that addictive euphoria.
No, it wasn’t for everyone. People had to live the lifestyle that was right for them—or at l
east, they should. Pleasure was natural, and it wasn’t anyone’s business what full-grown, consenting adults did with one another. She couldn’t imagine reverting back to the vanilla way of life, and that’s what worried her the most when it came to the wheel. Was Felix feeling reverted, playing in the shallows of diluted pleasure, when he was used to diving right into the deep end?
With the last moments of freedom allotted her, Tessa approached the seated dominants, her eyes fixed on the broad shoulders of her Master. The blended layers of his brown hair looked darker under the subdued fairy lights than in the sun. Just before she got to the point where she’d have to lower her gaze, she smiled to see Gema’s unmistakable red ringlets resting on her Dom’s lap, already done with her hunt. A couple of the chairs were empty and she wondered if they belonged to the dominants of the two girls who’d been fighting in the kink shop.
A pang of guilt shot through her, but it wasn’t strong enough to override the knowledge that she may have gotten into trouble, herself, had she not told Felix about the incident. She hadn’t tattled to be petty, anyway. Shoving it from her mind, she rounded her Master and knelt at his feet, holding the final clue and item out for him.
His quiet moan of approval accompanied a light laugh as he accepted them from her and placed them in the bag. “Looks like we both lucked out,” he commented, prompting her chin up.
Tessa wasn’t sure what he meant by that, nor did it matter much when she peered into his grinning face, pride and pleasure swirling in his eyes.
“Good girl, Tessa,” he whispered. “I think we’re in the top three.”
Relieved to hear he was okay with that, she returned his smile, and then her entire body heated when he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her mouth. It was nothing. Not compared to the way he normally kissed her, but it was everything that he was doing it right next to another dominant.
“I’m proud of you, baby,” he continued against her lips. “For more than just winning. Those girls were drawing blood by the time the staff got to them.”
Tessa gasped in horror. Was that just a figure of speech? She knew their fight had been heated, but she hadn’t thought it would escalate that fast nor to that severity. The guilt she’d felt for tattling on them was replaced by guilt for not doing it faster. For taking the time to follow her clue’s instructions, before racing to tell someone. It must have been evident in her expression, because Felix frowned.
“You still feel bad for tattling?”
“No, Master,” she answered, keeping her voice just as quiet as his. “But I could have done it sooner—”
“Or not at all,” he dismissed. “You’re not responsible for their actions, Tessa. You did the right thing and have nothing to feel bad about.”
That was a valid, if not Dom-y point. It was obvious he felt no remorse for the subs, when it had been their own fault. Besides, the damage was done and arguing for her guilt’s sake wouldn’t change anything. Felix kissed her again, then settled back in his chair. Only a few more minutes passed before the rest of the subs were bringing their final items back to their dominants and Sir Louis came to stand before all of them once again. Tessa grimaced to herself, noting how close she’d been cutting it.
“Attention everyone, it’s time to determine our winners,” Louis called out, his voice commanding enough that the entire lawn grew quiet, not just the row of D/s pairs. “We’ll start with the first three contestants to finish all of their clues. Sir Linx, Mistress Leflore and Sir Felix, an attendant will be checking your sub’s items against the key. Please allow them to answer any questions. As a consolation prize to all D/s teams, the items collected during the scavenger hunt are yours to keep and do with what you wish.”
Felix invited Tessa to rest her chin on his knee while an attendant checked items off his list from their bag of goodies.
“Do you understand this, sir?” he asked Felix, holding up Tessa’s drawing.
“Yes,” Felix answered, his eyes glinting as they stayed locked on Tessa’s.
“I just need to verify the second clue, sir, and then I’m done,” the man said.
“Stand up, little fox, show him your leg.”
Tessa obeyed, but kept her eyes on Felix. She worried that if the lip dye had smeared, then she’d be disqualified, but lucky for her, it had survived.
“Very good, thank you, sir.” The man bowed, which was a little odd and moved back to Sir Louis.
Tessa settled in the same position she’d been before, noticing that Felix seemed a little tense. He relaxed almost right away, though, stroking his thumb over her cheek and she wondered if perhaps she wasn't just reading him wrong. It could be he was just anxious, like her, to hear the results of the hunt. Third place would still be a great win, she rationalized, since she’d just competed against more than twenty other submissives for that spot. Due to their proximity, she could hear that there seemed to be a problem, as the staff members conferred with Sir Louis for a moment, before the latter asked Mistress Leflore to join them. After she did, one of the attendants started checking another submissive’s items, and Tessa wondered what that meant for her. Had she just been knocked out of the top three? They all huddled again, then Sir Louis called for everyone’s attention at last.
“The winners of Dark Day Isle’s first annual Scavenger Hunt are as follows,” he announced. “In first place, Sir Linx and his sub, Gema.”
Tessa saw a staff member approach them out of the corner of her eye and present a prize to Sir Linx.
“In second place, Sir Felix and his sub, Tessa,” Louis continued.
Surprised, Tessa grinned like a goofball as Felix accepted their prize from another attendant.
“In third place, Sir Leandro and his sub, Clarissa,” Louis finished. “Congratulations to all of our winners. Your bagged prizes will be collected and delivered to your suites for you. Now, let the feast begin!”
It was unfortunate that Mistress Leflore and her sub had been disqualified for some reason, but that didn’t dim the thrill she got when Felix lifted her chin and gave her a proud grin.
“Way to kick ass, baby.” He winked.
Tessa’s cheeks pinched from the effort to keep her laughter contained. “Thank you, Master,” she murmured, though if she was right, then she’d only won second place by default.
After he reattached her leash, Felix led her back to the covered area, which was already filling up. Free to do whatever they wanted, dominants weren’t shy about mingling. The once quiet area grew loud with jovial conversations, laughter and the sounds of crystal glasses or cutlery against stoneware. Lines formed at each of the platter tables, domes being lifted and closed, while plates were filled from the selection of foods covering the two naked submissives. Attendants roamed around with a variety of bottles, filling drink requests.
Tessa recalled what Felix had said about the island being rather strict when it came to alcohol, but that appeared to be overlooked for meal times. The scents of bourbons, whiskeys and wines mingled with the savory aromas of so many delicious foods. Her tummy growled, but was drowned out by the din of voices, thank God. The lines for the food caused something of a traffic jam for those just trying to find a seat, so Tessa had to walk right behind Felix up the outside of the long table to the left, before he came to a stop.
“Is this the winner’s table?” he asked, and even though she couldn’t see who it was, her hopes shot up.
“Damn straight,” a familiar voice chuckled.
She didn’t have to wait long for verification, as her Master continued forward a few feet and revealed Sir Linx. Excitement zipped through her when she noted that Gema was kneeling to her Dom’s left, rather than his right, with an empty cushion beside hers. Were they really going to let them sit together during dinner?
Yes, it seemed they were, since Felix directed Tessa to kneel on the empty cushion while he took the chair just to the left of it. Once again, Gema hooked their arms together and they both celebrated in quiet despite the din. Felix reache
d down and tugged on a lock of Tessa’s hair to get her attention, which she gave him right away, along with a big, face-splitting grin of gratitude.
His smiled brightened at the sight of it, before he gave her his bossy look. “What's rule number six?"
"No playing during meal times, Master," she answered, after a brief memory search.
"Correct. That means no getting carried away, pet, and you will eat all of your dinner or I will move you, understood?”
“Yes, Master, thank you,” she answered.
“That goes for you, too, baby girl,” Sir Linx seconded, garnering Gema’s attention.
Tessa felt Gema’s muscles tense for a moment, before she leaned closer to her Dom. “Daddy, I don’t know what they said,” she replied.
Tessa blinked in surprise, because she hadn’t noticed until then that Felix had been speaking French the whole while and Sir Linx had responded in kind. She wondered if all the dominants were multilingual.
“Me neither, Daddy,” another Dom smarted off from what sounded like right across the table. He had a definite Irish accent, but it wasn’t thick. Like he hadn’t been to Ireland in a long time. “I call for English only at the dinner table, new rule.”
Guess that was no on the multilingual question.
“Bid on a sub if you want to start dishing out rules, Sullivan,” Felix countered, though he used English.
“Or I could bid on another resort that doesn’t have such asinine requirements,” the Sullivan guy retorted.
“What other resort?” Sir Linx laughed. “You know, I think the man doth protest too much.”
“Mm-hmm,” Felix agreed, his tone just as amused.
“Whoa,” Sullivan said with a snap of his fingers. “Right here, buddy, keep it coming.”
Tessa couldn’t see anything, but she heard what sounded like liquid being poured.
“Good man, just leave the bottle,” Sullivan continued. “This place is like purgatory for the Irish. I haven’t been this alcohol-deficient since primary.”
“Is that all?” Felix asked.
