Chapter 14

(Thanks to Gordon for his editing suggestions!)

"I understand, Zoe. I am not part of you, of your family, but I had so much fun last night." Sally was grinning, looking much more relaxed today and she snuggled with Zoe in the middle seat of the SUV. They were on their way to meet with the tattoo artist, Angie. Zoe and Sally were discussing the group dynamic, the relationship between Zoe, Stacy and James.

"I would really like to, well, spend more time with you guys." she said, looking hopeful.

"With our link, we don't have much choice, even if we didn't love each other. You don't have the link, and I don't think you really want it, right?"

"I don't know, Zoe. You showed me so much, and it is beautiful, but is scary too. We have been friends for five years, but I don't really know Stacy or James. I don't know if I could give myself like that." Sally looked pensive, then shook her head.

"I have these thoughts, these ... fantasies. Last night was one of them." Sally blushed, not meeting Zoe's eyes.

Zoe hugged the other girl, grinning as she whispered in her ear.

"I did too, and James made them come true. I had fun last night too, I had wondered what you were like, aside from your flirting with everyone at school." She giggled when Sally blushed.

"Can I just, well, hang out with you guys for a while? Without all that other stuff?"

"You know my situation, Sally, but I will ask James." Zoe said, reassuring her friend.

The Expedition pulled to a stop in a small strip mall, parking in front of a Tattoo Shop with a big sign reading, 'Skin Deep' over the door.

Inside the shop, there was a tall counter with several photo albums, manned by a petite, raven haired beauty whose exposed skin, except for her face, was covered in colorful tattoos.

"SCARLETT!" Zoe squealed, practically throwing herself across the counter and wrapping her arms around the tattooed girl.

James just shook his head, laughing at her reaction while Stacy giggled. Sally just stood there looking a bit overwhelmed, her eyes taking in the tableau.

"I am so glad to see you! I still have so many questions and I want to see your tattoos again." Zoe was rambling, one hand gripping Scarlett's arm and the other softly caressing the manacle tattoo around Scarlett's wrist.

Scarlett was positively beaming at Zoe, her hand stroking Zoe's cheek.

"Welcome, sister. Did you come for your own collar?" her voice was surprisingly low for such a petite girl, sultry and full of promise.

"Ooooh. I wish, I want it so bad! But Master says I can't, not yet." Zoe pouted.

"Anticipation just makes the moment better, when you finally feel the kiss of the needle, sister." Scarlett beamed, licking her lips seductively. "I must announce your Master, sister, or my Mistress will be displeased with me." She winked at James, her attitude seeming to say that she didn't find the idea of punishment at all distasteful.

She gave Zoe a quick squeeze and disappeared through a hanging curtain behind the counter, returning behind her Mistress a few moments later.

"James! Stacy! I am excited about this experiment of yours. I hope the ink samples I gave you were of some help?" Angie, the artist, was a tall redhead with perfect, porcelain skin and not a tattoo in sight. Her warm smile for James and Stacy made them both smile. She didn't address Zoe, but turned towards Sally with an arched eyebrow.

"James, have you been adding to your family?" she asked, grinning at him.

"No, not as such. Sally is a friend and is staying with us for a bit." he said, shaking his head.

"I am willing to bet that there is a story there, but that can wait. Come in back and let's talk." Scarlett came forward and lifted a section of the counter, opening a waist high gate and gesturing for the guests to enter.

Stepping through the hanging curtain, the group saw a pair of what looked like barber's chairs, each with a workbench behind them, a pair of lamps on articulated arms and a stool, where the tattoo artist would sit. There was set of doors in the back wall, one marked as 'Private' and the other 'Restroom'.

Along the inner wall, there were a half dozen chairs where people could sit and Angie invited them all to rest, pulling a stool over to face the chairs. Scarlett knelt at Angie's side, her head leaning against her knee.

James, Stacy and Sally all chose chairs while Zoe, taking her cue from Scarlett, sank happily to her knees and wrapped her arm around James's calf, smiling at her slave sister.

"Angie, I have been doing a lot of research. Part of the problem was the ink, part of it was social. Zoe is not of age, so any tattoo had to be hidden or, I realized, invisible under normal circumstances. Some web research into naturally occurring fluorescent pigments led me to genetically engineered plants that glow under UV light and, after some experimentation, I have extracted what I think will be a usable ink substitute. The real issue lays in how much, well, power we can give the ink and how long it will last."

James pulled out a glass vial that held five CCs of clear fluid and weighed it in his hand.

"I had an idea the other night and I wanted to run it by you. I think that the ink is just part of the solution, the rest has to be a personal link. I was thinking blood. Not whole blood, mind you, but the serum extracted when removing platelets. Of course, I am completely uneducated in this and wanted your thoughts."

Angie thought for a moment, her hand idly stroking Scarlett's hair.

"I am not a doctor, James, I just poke holes in people for fun and profit. Your idea sounds good, but I can't really assess the risks. I can't think of anything, beyond an allergic reaction, that could go wrong, but I just don't know."

James and Stacy exchanged a chagrined look. They had not even considered an allergic reaction.

"I hadn't considered allergies." he admitted to Angie, looking disappointed.

"Don't give up yet!" Angie grinned, shaking her head. "I am guessing you have never gone in to a doctor for an allergy test?"

When James and Stacy both shook their heads, she nodded and continued.

"They have a tray of common substances that provoke a reaction. They draw a grid on your back, and use small needles to scratch the skin, one allergen to a grid square, then watch for the body's natural reaction. If the site gets red and swollen, it shows that the body had an issue with that allergen. If the site does not, then no allergy." She tapped Scarlett once on the top of her head.

"#1 needle pack, dear." Scarlett jumped to her feet and opened a drawer, extracting a slim plastic sleeve and handed it to her Mistress before resuming her spot on the floor.

"I was thinking, James. The problem with blood transfusions, when someone gets the wrong type, is not all that different from a regular allergic reaction, though much more serious in scale. We could test your blood on the ladies the same way." Angie said thoughtfully.

Working together, James and Angie dipped the needle into the vial of liquid and lightly scratched the skin on James's forearm, then did the same on Stacy and Zoe. Then Angie took used a fresh needle to prick James's finger and did scratch tests on the other forearms for Stacy and Zoe.

While they waited, Angie seemed to think it wouldn't take more than fifteen minutes to get a result, James filled her in on the rest of the plan. The triumvirate would need a half hour of concentrated effort, in his best estimation, to imbue ink.

"Stacy said that she wanted three interlocking rights, right baby?" James said, turning to the older sister-wife.

"Right over my heart." she agreed, giving James a kiss. "I want simple wedding style bands, interlocked."

"And we all know what Zoe wants." he continued with a grin, his hand stroking Zoe's hair as she beamed up at him. "But what she is going to get is a band around her wrist." he smirked when Zoe's grin turned into a pout.

"Stacy's won't take too long, about half an hour or so. I can't do anything elaborate with UV ink, unfortunately. Zoe's, if we keep it a simple cuff, a band style ring around her wrist to start, maybe an hour. Does she have any specifics in mind?"

James looked down at Zoe and nodded. 'Tell the pretty lady what your heart desires, baby girl.'

"I would really like some text inside the manacle." she said, looking at Angie and deliberately not looking at James.

"And what would you have it say?" Angie asked softly.

"Without reservation." Zoe said clearly, her voice strong and certain.

Behind her, James's breath caught in his chest, his eyes moist, his mind re-living that night, her birthday and her submission.

He leaned down and, with great tenderness, kissed Zoe on her forehead.

When enough time had passed to be relatively certain that there were not going to be any adverse reactions to the tests, Angie had Scarlett fetch a fresh needle. She used the needle to puncture the ball of James's right thumb and squeezed the thumb over the top of the open ink vial, watching as drop after drop splashed into the viscous liquid below. When the ink began to take on a slight pinkish tint, she pulled the vial away and capped it, shaking it vigorously to mix the two fluids.

"You may use my office, if you like." Angie offered, pointing to the door marked 'Private'.

James, Stacy and Zoe joined hands, leaving Sally in the company of the artist and her slave, and walked into Angie's office, closing the door behind them.

They sat together on the floor, tailor fashion and their knees touching. They joined hands in the middle, the vial gripped tightly, and James opened his mental barriers, bringing both of the girls into a gestalt, just like they had practiced.

Each of them concentrating on the vial and on each other, they poured their energies, their love and happiness into the link and into the tenuous thread from that tiny bit of James in the vial. They could feel the link grow stronger, a pale shadow of James himself, but still a vibrant, active link.

When they began to tire, they sat back and relaxed, each closing their eyes, and their links to the others, and seeking out the vial by itself.

There was a collective gasp as they all made the connections. The vial was there, glowing in their minds like a miniature sun. They could feel the energy stored there, roiling and bubbling in the tiny glass tube.

"I think it worked, ladies." James whispered into the shocked silence.

"James, this could be it! In all our attempts before, nothing like this, nothing even close to that reaction!" Stacy crowed, her face glowing and her smile so wide that James wondered why it didn't hurt.

"Master ... I..."Zoe had tears running down her face and she crawled into James's lap, burying her face in his neck,.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"I am afraid. I love you, I love this, our life, our connection. What if this breaks that link? What if I don't really want to be separated from you?" she sobbed.

James held her closely and opened up his link. He flooded her with his thoughts, his love, his fears and his absolute certainty that they would always be together, always be family.

"Zoe, nothing important will change. You will always be mine, I swore an oath. Nothing could change that, not the tattoo, not our families, not even death." he assured her.

Stacy joined them, wrapping her arms around the pair and crooning her support to her sister-wife. When Zoe's tears faded, and she began to relax, letting go of her fear, Stacy leaned even closer and whispered in her ear.

"Do you think your little pussy is going to get all wet when she starts? Will you have an orgasm like Scarlett when the needles begin to push the ink into your skin? Will you lay awake at night, touching your slave bracelet and rubbing your little pussy? Well, sister of mine, sister-wife?"

Zoe started squirming on James's lap as she heard Stacy's whispers and, by the time Stacy had asked her last question, Zoe was giving out little whimpers. James, on the other hand, was doing his best not to laugh and spoil the mood, but sending love and encouragement to Stacy.

'You have a way with words, beautiful, and a way with your little sister.'

'I know, but then we have talked about this, a lot.' Stacy smirked, winking at James.

The actual tattooing didn't take that long, though it was more difficult than a traditional tattoo in that it had to be done under a black light lamp. The pale monochrome nature of the UV ink meant that detail was hard to capture, but Angie was an artist and they watched with fascination as she finished Stacy's rings.

"It is warm, James. Like a beam of sunlight is shining right on this spot. Let me show you." Stacy said in wonder, opening up her mind and letting James and Zoe feel what she felt.

"That's amazing..." James said, awe in his voice.

Zoe just stared, her tongue flicking out to wet her lips, waves of pleasure radiating from her, anticipation causing her to vibrate. James could swear that he even smelled her excitement, her need.

"Stacy, after the last test we did, you said never again. Are you sure you want to do this? Zoe is willing." James asked as Stacy rose from the chair.

"Zoe has an even deeper connection, has been connected longer. I just felt like dying, Zoe almost did. I have to do this, lover." Stacy said, her voice resolute.

They walked as a group, the triumvirate, Sally, Angie and Scarlett, and stood on the sidewalk outside. Angie was going to drive Stacy down the street, keeping a cell phone connection open like the last test the triumvirate had done. Being in the Expedition, she could turn around and get back faster than doing so on foot, in case something went wrong.

James held one of Zoe's hands and Scarlett the other, while Sally went with Stacy and Angie, sitting with Stacy in the rear seats and holding her hand.

The Expedition pulled out, Sally keeping an running commentary as it slowly rolled out of the parking lot and down the block.

"Everything is good so far, Stacy is nervous, but smiling. We are at the end of the block, waiting for traffic. Okay, crossing now, and still moving slow. Two blocks, three blocks, four blocks."

James was grinning wildly, his eyes closed as his senses followed the trail, followed the connection to Stacy. It was working!

Zoe was crying and hugging Scarlett, her tears were of happiness this time, her eyes full of hope.

At ten miles without any issues, Angie turned around and drove back. The Expedition had barely come to a stop when Stacy erupted from the rear door as if from a canon and almost bowled over James and Stacy.

"IT WORKED!!!" She yelled, holding their hands and dancing, hopping up and down with tears in her eyes.

'Ohmygodohmygod! I could feel it, I could see it, like a shining thread that just stretched and stretched. No pain, no nausea, it felt like you were right there with me, James!' she gushed over her link.

'We will have to test further, with longer distances, but I am so relieved! I have a lot of ideas I want to test later, but right now Zoe, you have a date with a needle, baby!' James said, his pleasure radiating to his two lovers.

'Yes, yes I do.' Zoe purred.

Stacy's tattoo was easy to cover up with just a t-shirt, but Zoe's tattoo, even with the ink being 'invisible', left a very obvious red welt around her wrist that was oozing blood droplets under the saran wrap cover Angie had put in place.

The three girls were discussing the issue while James argued with Angie about payment. She was refusing, calling it a gift to a friend and a new Dom.

"James, please. I want to do this. It was exciting and fascinating and I so rarely meet people who understand me and understand, or at least as much as we can, Scarlett." She smiled down at her slave, stroking her hair lovingly.

Scarlett had laid her hand on James's knee, as he sat next to Angie and, with a look at her Mistress for permission, stood and hugged him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"I adore your Zoe." she whispered, grinning at him.

"If you want to pay me, then come with us next Saturday. There is a little get together, a few others like you and I. It is just a social gathering, dinner and drinks. A chance for the girls to get to know other slaves, to talk to people who really understand. A chance for you and I to meet and talk to others who care for slaves too. I am sure you have questions, we all do. Come with me and we will call it square, okay?" Angie had laid her hand on James's arm, her eyes pleading.

"I would love to." he said, smiling at her. "Zoe will be out of control for hours when I tell her." he grinned ruefully.

"Oh, I am sure you will find some way to curb her zeal." Angie laughed, shaking her head.