Chapter 5

Raven shook her head as she woke the next morning, not used to feeling a soft body with full breasts — or any body, for that matter! — pressed against her back, as well as by the slim arms wrapped around her waist and under her neck. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but was still very different from how she usually woke. The arm draped over her waist tightened for a moment and then relaxed.

“Good morning.” The words came from a soft voice just behind her ear. “You doing okay?”

She stiffened as the rescue of the day before flashed through her mind, of sitting on the bench outside the library wondering just what she should do and then April swooping into her life like a blonde guardian angel. She blushed, remembering the activities of the night before, her lips falling into a shocked ‘O’ realizing she was, in fact, still a virgin, she hadn’t done it; August could have, she would have eagerly gone along, but he had decided to put it off for some kind of ceremony. “Yes, thank you. That was ... my best night’s sleep in a long time.”

“Glad to hear it.” This was August’s voice, even further behind her. She flinched when a large palm brushed along her side, from just under her arm all the way down to her hip, but then relaxed. He had already seen and touched and even licked her most private areas. This was a relatively innocent touch in comparison, of a sort that might not have bothered her even before meeting the couple, so long as she had been dressed when it happened.

April kissed the back of Raven’s neck, very glad the other young woman wasn’t having a panic attack. She tightened her hold about the taller girl’s waist, giving her a good-morning hug then worked her arm out from under Raven’s neck before sitting up and stretching.

Raven rolled to her back and stared, amazed by the sight of April sitting there apparently entirely comfortable with being naked in front of an almost-stranger. Despite having enjoyed the previous night far more than she would have expected there were jitters in Raven’s belly she just couldn’t quell. She blushed even brighter after realizing that all her new clothes had been left downstairs.

August was the next to struggle to be seated, April’s eyes flicked over, her smile growing a bit wider. He leaned over, kissing her upturned lips.

Raven felt even more embarrassed as the couple’s attention turned back fully upon her. She took a deep breath then joined them in being upright. She was both glad that their eyes remained on her face and, at the same time, just a bit annoyed they didn’t check her out.

“Erk!” Raven gasped when April lunged forward and wrapped her, eel-like, in a tight hug. She glanced to August, reassured by his winking grin, and lifted her own arms about the blonde, their bare chests squashed together.

August didn’t lunge the way April had but, he, too, shifted forward, wrapping both young women in his large arms. He then kissed both of the smiling, trapped girls, starting with his wife.

“Ready to get going? Maybe get some breakfast?” he asked.

Raven ducked her head, blushing, as her stomach chose that moment to rumble.

“That’s one vote in favor,” August chuckled. He let go then scooted to the edge of the bed before standing.

April joined him a second later, standing close against his side, going to her tiptoes and whispering, “She’s perfect, we’ve just got to keep her!”

August gave her a silent nod in response then added, “I’m trying, baby.”

Raven jumped off the bed then started heading over to where April had left their discarded clothing, wondering if it was still the ‘walk of shame’ if you didn’t leave the house. But the blond tossed her a vastly oversized shirt before she could do anything more than put on her panties.

“That’ll be good enough ‘til you grab your clothes from downstairs. Of course, you could always go down there naked, Dad doesn’t usually come around in the morning. Be a great show for him if he did” April winked.

“I couldn’t!” Raven gasped.

“Sure you could,” August butted in with a chuckle. “Not sayin’ ya have to, just that it’d be okay if ya did.”

Raven shimmied into the provided shirt. It was almost more of a gown really, so long it fell almost to her knees.

April walked over and took Raven’s hand after having taken the time to put on a similarly oversized-shirt, “There’s something I’ve been thinking about. Would you like a room of your own? Somewhere separate to keep clothes and stuff?” She hurried to add, “You’re welcome to sleep with us, I just thought you might like a room that’s yours.”

Raven latched onto April, weeping into the shorter girl’s shoulder yet again, “God, what did I do to deserve you?”

“Don’tcha know, karma’s only a bitch if you are,” August said from behind her. “And I haven’t seen anything saying you are.”

Raven’s quiet weeping turned into a giggle followed by a hiccup, followed by even more hiccup-interrupted giggles. It took her almost a minute to get it under control. “Thanks, I needed that.”

“No prob.”

The laughing trio headed downstairs, playing the touching games of new lovers the entire way.

Raven was about to follow to the kitchen but April stopped her with an upraised hand. “Go ahead and get dressed, we can get started without you.”

“You sure?” she asked with an uncertain quiver. “If I’m supposed to help cook and clean ... shouldn’t I?”

“Cleaning’s way more of a chore,” August suggested. “Some people enjoy cooking, I don’t know anyone who actually likes cleaning for it’s own sake.”

“Alright,” she turned away, hiding the tear at the corner of her eye. She hated how emotional she had been since yesterday afternoon, but the Sandarvalles had been like her very own heaven-sent miracle. She thought of something though, and had to turn back, “Could I get a small pair of scissors for the tags and stuff?”

“Sure,” August rummaged around in a drawer and brought over the requested item as April began going through the refrigerator, humming a happy ditty.

Raven gave him another weak smile then collected the bags from beside the door, taking them all to the utility room that had been pointed out during their quick tour the day before. Much as she would like to get out of this shirt, eighteen years of habit told her not to wear clothes without putting them through the wash first. The tags and stickers were soon in the trash. Even more amazing, this house had two sets of both washers and dryers, there would be no need to wait for one load to finish before starting the next. She gave the labels a quick scan and was glad to see that two loads would be enough, none of these clothes required delicate handling.

She popped her head out the door, “You two have anything that should go through the wash? These won’t make much of a load.”

“Sure, let me go grab ‘em.” August gave April’s cheek a quick kiss and her rear a pinch as he was walking by;she just shook her head, a warm smile on her lips. He was back a minute later, dragging a half-full hamper, “Here ya go.”

It didn’t take Raven long at all to have two loads sorted then the machines loaded and running.

In the time it had taken Raven to deal with the tags on her new clothes then get the washing machines going April had started frying four eggs and had a pan of bacon sizzling, along with bread in the toaster. August had loaded the coffee machine and also poured three glasses of orange juice.

“Could I have milk?” Raven was almost embarrassed to ask while returning the scissors to the junk drawer she had seen August retrieve them from. She was a bit shy as she added, “I’ve always loved the smell of coffee, just could never stand the taste.”

“Sure, one-percent okay?” he queried, adding, “Coffee’s definitely an acquired taste. Was in my twenties before I did.”

“Wow, one percent’s actually my preference.”

August poured the requested milk, adding it to a serving tray with the juice, along with silverware and plates. Raven came over and grabbed it before he could carry it to the table.

It was less than ten minutes before their breakfast was ready and all three sat down ready to eat.

“Want to say a blessing?” August asked, “We don’t usually, but could wait.”

“No, thank you. My thanks go to April, not God.” Raven hesitated for several seconds then offered, “Maybe I should change my address? I know my father, I won’t get anything that’s sent to his house.”

“Good idea,” August said, “Maybe open a bank account with just your name, since you’re legally an adult now. I assume your parents are still on the one you mentioned?”

“Oh yeah, hadn’t thought about that. Just hope they haven’t emptied it.”

“We’ll take care of it if they have,” April stated, leaving no room for Raven to argue.

August was relieved to see the shop right where he remembered seeing it, tucked away at the back end of a strip mall in a rougher area of town than his usual haunts, the window display suggested it featured mostly leather goods. He had heard rumors that they dealt in fetish gear of all kinds but had never actually gone inside before, his tastes were generally far more staid. He would freely admit that, in the past, he had cared much more about quantity over quality. April had changed that in a major way.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath upon opening the door, the smell of fresh leather hit him hard. The store was set up with an air-lock style entrance, requiring that two doors be passed, set far enough apart that the outer would close before the inner was reached. The inside was every bit as daunting as he had always imagined, rows of mannequins modeling the goods, both leather and lace, entire shelves full of clamps and other pain-inducing toys. A back wall was dedicated to whips and paddles and floggers and other such implements that he didn’t even have a proper name for.

He had, however, looked at collars online in the past, idly dreaming that he had some young thing to put one on and knew just what he wanted now. It was made of silvery metal in the form of a chain with green rose vines growing through it. There was no hinge as such, instead there was an actual chain link at the back, with a half-link to either side. The keyhole was hidden within a rose blossom at the front. The collar would only be recognized by someone who already knew what it was, anyone else would think it nothing more than an overly-ornate necklace. The set included an attached tag with room for engraving, plus a slot hidden behind the blossom that could hide the tag were that desired.

The shop had the equipment needed to do the engraving, and it soon read ’A & A’s’. The shaved-headed woman doing the work didn’t even blink when told what he wanted it to say. After adding a spare key and a couple lengths of light ball chain that he fed through the hole in each key, along with a pair of padded cuffs just because, she boxed it all for him and he was out the door three hundred dollars lighter, more than a bit relieved not to have been seen frequenting that particular store.

When April took Raven by the DMV they discovered that getting her address changed would not be an easy process. Her parents still had her birth certificate, ’Good luck getting that’ she thought. There were also no bills or any other documents with her name that specified any address other than her parent’s house.

At the bank they discovered further problems. Raven learned that her parents — her father most likely, she thought — had, in fact, emptied her existing account. They had even gone to the trouble of closing it. And the new-accounts manager was unwilling to help without some proof of her new address. After looking over the options and whispering back and forth the pair realized it would be easy enough to put together a rental agreement. But they couldn’t do that here at the bank. Raven was so drained she was almost trudging as they returned to April’s Mustang. Stopping at the Baskin-Robbins might not have solved her problems, but it did make them step back for awhile. She was smiling again by the time they left.

Once back at the house April decided to wait until August got home, maybe he would have an idea about how to solve Raven’s address problem. She also didn’t feel comfortable putting together anything like a legal document without him; she might be on the deed, but it was still his house.

After they all arrived home April pushed an unresisting August down onto the couch. He smiled as she joined him, sitting across his lap then could barely hold back the chuckles when she snapped her fingers and motioned Raven beside him with an imperious wave of her hand. The taller girl seemed almost meek as she scooted in beside them.

“Wha’s up, hon?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“They wouldn’t help, any of them, at the DMV or bank. And her parents took Raven’s money!” April added with an outraged hiss.

“Damn, that’s cold. What was the problem with the DMV and bank?”

“She doesn’t have an address, other than her parents. Not one that can be confirmed. We came up with an idea, but couldn’t do anything about it today.”

“And that is?”

“We write up a rental agreement, with this as her home. They’d take that. But I didn’t want to do that without your knowing about it.”

“Ah, thanks, babe.” He turned to Raven, who had remained silent while the pair described her problem and a possible solution, “And what do you think?”

She shook her head, almost in tears, “That ... that they really don’t care what happens to me.”

He reached up and wrapped a large arm about her shoulders, “The rental agreement sounds like a great idea. You just need to get one piece of officialdom to recognize that you live here now and the rest’ll be easy.”

After a momentary pause he added, “It’d probably be a good idea if you get a new copy of your birth certificate. Given what all has happened I suspect getting it from your folks would be a real PITA. Were you at least born in Colorado?”

“Yeah, at UCHealth in Denver.”

“Well, good, won’t half to drive halfway across the state to get a new one, at least. Since today’s Friday you won’t be able to try again ‘til after the weekend, we can write up an agreement for you before then.”

“Thank you. Oh, thank you!” Raven collapsed against August’s side, almost in tears again.

Sensing that their conversation had drawn to a halt August called John, inviting him to come over for dinner. He intended that the evening have a sense of seriousness for Raven’s benefit and believed a witness would help meet that goal.

“April already called. She was telling me you have a guest.”

“Ah, yeah, man.” Not sure just what April had told her father he didn’t say anything about the fact Raven had been more than just a ‘guest’ the prior night. And likely would be again in the future, maybe on a very frequent, if not permanent, basis.

“Alright, be over in a bit, April said about six.”

“See ya then.”

When John came in from the attached suite he found April busy in the kitchen working on homemade lasagna and garlic bread., an unfamiliar dark-haired girl with her. He gave the stranger a curious glance before going over and giving his daughter a loose hug, careful to not interfere with her work.

“Hi, Dad! This is Raven, I told you about her earlier.”

“Hello ... Raven,” John offered a hand, which she took after a wary look to April and an answering nod and smile.

He turned back to his daughter, “We can talk later, I shouldn’t interrupt.”

“Sure, it’ll be another half-hour or so.”

John knew August would be waiting downstairs in the game-room, probably watching TV. He was somewhat hesitant but still broached the subject at the front of his mind, “Just so you know, I talked with April earlier today about your new ... house guest. You’re really going to put a collar on her, like some sort of deviant?”

“Well, actually, I expect April’s gonna do that part, but yeah. Raven’s come from a really messed-up situation and needs a very strong statement about belonging. Her folks kicked her out then closed her bank account. There wasn’t much in it, but still...”

“Damn, sorry to hear that. April said she actually brought Raven home, that you didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“First I ever saw her was when April pushed her through the door yesterday.”

“And I suppose you’re just all broken up inside,” John nearly snarled.

“Hell no, man ... If it were a guy, sure, but a gal is just different.” August chuckled. “Call me a hypocrite, I don’t care. Would you be any different?”

John trailed to a halt, really not sure what to say next. He walked over to the billiards table and racked a game of nine-ball just to change the subject. August had cleaned his clock every time they had played, but it was still better than talking about Raven.

His prediction turned out very prescient. He sank one ball on the break, the ‘4’ as it happened, but then scratched while going after the ‘1’. August ran the table after, the final ‘9’ being a tricky shot that required rolling the ball parallel along almost the entire length of the bumper.

Raven came to the top of the steps and called just as they were considering a second game. John put his cue away with feigned reluctance. She surprised the father giving him a tight hug. “Your daughter’s an amazing cook!”

“Ah ... thank you, but she learned that mostly on her own.”

Raven had set the table while the men were occupied downstairs. All that was left was carrying the pan in from the oven and pouring drinks. August was drinking ice tea, which Raven thought sounded good. April had lemonade, while John had an iced glass direct from the freezer filled with milk.

Even with the leaves removed the table had plenty of room for four. Dishes were passed around and soon lasagna was dished out, along with a basket of garlic bread and fresh tossed salad.

John nodded as he started eating; April had certainly upped her cooking game since meeting August. “This is very good, hon.”

“Sure is, babe,” August agreed.

“Raven helped a bunch,” April tried to deflect the credit.

“Nonsense,” she disagreed. “I only did the things you told me to.”

“Sure, but you doing those things freed me to keep a better eye on the things I was doing,” April explained. “My thanks to you are well-deserved.”

“Oh, okay,” Raven ducked her head to hide the blush coloring her cheeks.

After appreciation for the cooks was expressed the next minutes were spent in simple gastronomic delight. The only sounds were of utensils scraping plates, groans of enjoyment as particularly savory morsels were chewed, and other food-related noises.

Raven kept wanting to say something, to know what was going to happen later, but also didn’t want to be the first to speak. It was quite obvious that the other three were used to enjoying dinner without undue interruption.

Finally, John swallowed his last bite of lasagna and pushed back from the table a couple inches. “That was great, both of you,” he said while looking back and forth from April to Raven.

“Indeed, very good,” August agreed.

Both young women beamed smiles as they looked at each other then leaned close and hugged.

“I’ll take care of the dishes, you just sit here and relax,” Raven finally said.

“Just clear for now and rinse them, please, cleaning can wait a bit,” August told her.

“Alright!” She groaned as she stood, her stomach feeling very full, then began gathering plates, salad bowls and silverware. They were soon a tidy pile on the tray that had been used to carry full glasses out to the table.

Once she was in the kitchen John leaned forward and spoke in an urgent hiss, “Shouldn’t one of you help?”

April shook her head, “We’ve talked about that, all three of us. She needs something to do that makes her feel wanted. Maybe that can change in the future, but not right now.”

The father sat back, deep in thought. It made sense, but also surprised him a bit that April was the one to tell him, and do so so forcefully. Most of the time it would have been August, it made him think maybe his daughter was growing up, a little at least.

“We’re going to go clean up, meet us in the livingroom when you’re done?” August called to Raven as she stood at the sink, running water over the last few dishes.

“Sure,” she replied with a hand raised to indicate she had heard.

August took a few minutes to use the bathroom then cleaned his hands before heading to the livingroom. Raven hadn’t wasted any time with the dishes and was already there. He detoured by the end-table where he had left the small box and picked it up before moving to stand in front of the unlit fireplace. The other three soon joined him, waiting to see what would happen next. He handed the box to April, “I believe you should do the honors.”

She opened the simple cardboard box and gasped, “This is beautiful. Where’d you find something like this?”

“Tell you later, Raven should be our focus just now.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry.”

He fished one of the lengths of chain from the box, showing the attached key to both Raven and April, then draped it over April’s neck before taking the other and dropping it around his own neck. Raven still had yet to see the collar.

April finally drew the collar free and let the box drop, where it hit hard due to the cuffs still being present.

Raven gasped seeing what the other girl held.

“Raven, this is only as permanent as you wish it to be. We can’t force you to stay, but hope instead that you choose to do so.” April told her.

“Thank you, I do choose to stay.”

“Ravenetta Langstrom, do you accept this collar, in front of John Baker as witness, not as a sign of ownership, but rather as a visible indication of belonging to our house, that you may find shelter from a cruel and unforgiving world?” August asked.

She closed her eyes, blinking away tears, “Yes, please. I do.”

He nodded to April, who stepped forward and raised the metal collar into place around Raven’s neck. It took a moment before she realized that it wouldn’t just snap shut, that it required both locking and unlocking. After taking care of that the blonde raised both hands to the dark-haired girl’s cheeks, then leaned in and kissed her.

After April drew away it was August’s turn. He pressed Raven’s wrists behind her back just like the night before, then he, too, kissed the taller girl’s now-upturned lips. He was just as tender and spent just as much time at it, trying to tell the girl that she had a home just as long as she wanted without using any words.

John watched the entire scene play out, even more aroused than usual after seeing August’s games. And somewhat thankful even that for once his daughter wasn’t the prime actor in those games. The father had been quite surprised when April had told him where she found Raven, that August had nothing to do with her coming to the house. He had known the man was a world-class lech, but this was something far different. The man might be a lech, but John had come to realize that August took commitments seriously. The mere fact that April was the first girl he had ever proposed to being just one indication. At the same time, he had to wonder at how the man kept falling into such unlikely situations. His parents lottery win and their then being killed while asleep at home by a drunken taxi driver being just a couple of the more outrageous examples. And now this with Raven Langstrom, ’some people have all the luck.’

Raven was breathing hard by the time the pair broke apart, her bountiful chest heaving. “Thank you so much, sir, mistress!”

April took the other girl by the elbow and led her from the room. “This’ll probably take us a good forty-five minutes,” she said over her shoulder as they left.

John turned and ask, “Care to tell me what that’s about?”

“April’s told me she wanted a pet, that,” August nodded with a grin to where the pair had left, “was what she chose. At least she’s already house-broken.” he added with a chuckle. “Has April told you anything about Raven, her upbringing in particular?”

“Yeah, some,” John shook his head. “Hard to believe people like that still exist. I could’ve never done that to April.”

“Did April tell you her parents kicked her out of the house after she refused to attend some nunnery up in the hills?”

“No, those are still a thing?” John asked disbelievingly.

“Apparently so,” August shrugged in a “what can you do?” manner. “Anyway, April brought her home yesterday thinking maybe Raven could help out around here. Certainly have got the room.”

The two men started cleaning up after dinner. Most of the time August wouldn’t bother helping, John was living rent-free in the in-law suite, but this night he needed something to distract himself from whatever April was doing to “prepare” Raven. They finished right at his wife’s forty-five minute suggestion and August bade his father-in-law goodnight.

Rather than barge in August opened the bedroom door just a crack and asked, “You two ready?”

“Give us another minute!” It was perhaps thirty seconds later that April called, “Okay, we’re ready.”

August opened the door, curious as to what he would find this time. Like almost every straight guy he’d had fantasies of having more than one woman at the same time, and was amazed that it was now going to happen; the previous night had secured in his mind that this wouldn’t be anything like the disappointment in Nevada. Especially as he hadn’t been involved with the decision. He just hoped April didn’t start looking at other guys, it might be hypocritical but the very idea turned his guts.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, the lights had been turned down very low. The girls were standing in the middle of the room with plenty of room to walk around both. April was wearing the babydoll he had seen before, while Raven was wearing a white version of Barbara Eden’s costume from the first season of ’I Dream of Jeannie’, it certainly did nothing to cover her belly-button!

April stepped back even further as August approached then circled the girl. He ran a hand along her bare arm, smiling at the goosebumps that followed his light touch.

He looked to the blonde, blatantly running his eyes up and down, “You did a really good job.” A pause, “with both.”

April choked back a giggle, her cheeks burning.

He stopped behind the taller girl, today her black hair was held in a clasp rather than being braided. She shivered but remained silent as his hands went around her waist then slid higher to cup her breasts through the thin top and his lips kissed along her neck just above the new collar. “Did you enjoy last night with April?” he asked, whispering right beside her ear.

A hesitant nod.

“And do you think April enjoyed her time with me?”

A more energetic nod.

“And will you enjoy being in her place, you think?” He gave her a firmer squeeze at the exact moment he finished asking.

“Yes, sir,” she breathed.

“That’s good to hear,” He motioned April close with a nod of his head, pulling her tight against Raven’s front once she was close enough. The blonde reached up then tugged the taller girl down to where they could kiss. At the same time August slid the top out of the way then began to stroke the girl’s now-bared tits, simultaneously kissing along her neck just above the locked collar. He smiled, feeling the involuntary way her ass began to shift back and fort.

The top was held together with two buttons and some bra-like hooks, he released the hooks and April took care of the buttons before drawing the garment down off Raven’s lithe arms. August continued nuzzling Raven’s neck while working his own shirt buttons free. He pulled the shirt free from his slacks then drew the dark-haired girl back against his bared front before finishing shedding his shirt. She gasped upon feeling their bare skin touch.

April stepped back, then made sure she had August’s attention before shimmying free of the babydoll, leaving her clad only in the matching powder-blue thong panties. She stepped forward again, pressing her chest against Raven’s, forcing the other girl’s back against August as he loosened his belt then popped his pants button before letting them drop to the floor and kicking them to the side.

His hands returned to Raven’s waist, teasing around from her sides to let her know right where he was headed. She held very still as he popped the simple hook holding the skirt closed, shivering as he held the light garment for a long moment before letting go. It dropped to the floor all but silent revealing the pair of white french-cut panties underneath.

April backed away again then turned the other girl to face August, still not having said a word since he entered the room. His hands shifted lower, sliding down her smooth back and taking hold of her panty-clad rump.

Raven raised her arms about his neck and tipped her face back. Her nipples felt amazing where they were crushed against his chest, little tingling bolts of electricity every time either of them moved. So amazing that she rocked back and forth, just to get some more of it. And then August leaned down, kissing her just like she had hoped. She closed her eyes and moaned as his tongue slipped passed her parted teeth to tease her own, his hands still rhythmically squeezing her rear. April reached around and pushed August’s briefs to the floor, where he stepped out of them without breaking the kiss. She moaned lower, feeling his cock slap her belly. August might not be all that handsome, but he was no longer the very-overweight slouch April had giggling described, then proved with pictures on her phone. She gasped and clung even tighter when he bent further for a moment then straightened, lifting her from the floor.