Chapter 17

'Master... '

'Baby girl?'

'I did a bad thing.' Zoe's tone was more playful that remorseful though, so James had to wonder what she was up to.

'Oh? something that might rate, oh, I don't know ... a spanking?' he sent, playing along but curious to see where this would go. He had a moment confusion though, wondering when he had stopped just looking into her mind whenever he wanted, instead waiting to let her share what she needed to share. It had been a subtle change, but not one of disinterest. In fact, he thought it was a good sign, that they had moved beyond the infatuation of new love and had developed a truly equal trust in each other. Or at least, he hoped that was the case.

'Oh! Um ... maybe?' her mental tone was colored with a rush of lust, but she reigned it in long enough to send, 'In class, instead of paying attention to Mrs. Albright, I was snooping.'

'Let me guess, Terri and Tabby?' his tone was one of mock resignation.

'Yes, Master. Do you want to know what I found?'

'No, not really.' he sent, hiding a grin. He knew that would get to her, she was dying to tell him something. They couldn't play these games if they were constantly in each other's head.

Zoe slipped down in the seat a bit, her lower lip extended in a very fetching pout. Zoe was sitting in the front seat, next to Ada and James had taken the back seat.

The silence lasted for almost a minute.

'They are lovers.' she sent sulkily, not turning to look at him.

James had a sudden mental picture of the two of them, naked as the day they were born, in a sixty-nine position, their tongues buried in each other's snatches. It was ... alluring.

'And you know this how, little one?' he sent, asking in spite of his pretend disinterest.

That was all it took, Zoe had dropped the pout and her mental tone was one of glee, mixed with a whole lot of lust. 'It was near the end of class, and Terri was feeling horny. She leaned over and whispered into Tabby's ear, saying that Terri owed her one, and she was going ride Terry's face for at least an hour as soon as they got home!'

'Owed her one?'

'I haven't worked it out, exactly, but they have this game they play all the time and they keep score. The score gets paid off in orgasms. But it is weird because Tabby likes boys more and Terri just likes Tabby.' Zoe's tone had turned thoughtful at the end, obviously mulling over the situation and trying to make sense of it all.

'OH MY GOD!' Zoe sent, the volume of her mental voice loud enough to make James wince. "Damn!" he thought, damping down on her link a bit, "She is getting much stronger!"

'Terri asked me about us. About you and me. Well, not in so many words, but she caught my eye and made this kind of head bob thing, but towards you, you know what I mean? She was clearly indicating you, then she looked back and me and raised her eyebrows. Totally nonverbal, but she was asking if you and I were a couple.'

'And you did what?' James was curious now.

Zoe was silent for a moment and James could see her twisting in her seat, clearly uncomfortable.

'Zoe?' he sent, his tone stern.

'I cheated.' she sent, then gave a big sigh. 'I grinned at her and crossed my wrists where she could see, then I sent her an image of me kneeling at your feet with my choker on.' Zoe's tone was very quiet. James peeked, feeling strangely guilty, and saw that Zoe was concerned that this, not the snooping she admitted to earlier, was something that actually could get her in trouble. He also saw that she was very turned on, reliving that image and the non-verbal cues she had sent to Terri, that exposure making her horny, her pussy hot and wet.

James sighed and shook his head.

'Zoe, you could have stood up in class and announced to the whole group, Mrs. Albright included, that you were my slave. You could have stood on the desk and told them you were my fuck toy, and I still would not have been angry about it. I might have spanked you for disrupting class, but not about telling people. That information is yours to give or withhold as you please.'

James could feel a wave of relief flowing from the chastened girl in the front seat, but he was not done yet.

'I am more concerned with the image you sent. Not the content, that is a favorite mental image of mine too, but that you sent it at all. What if she had realized, or even now, when she has time to think about it, figures out that the image you sent was too specific, too realistic to be her own imagination? What if that kind of thing has never crossed her mind before and realizes that the image you sent had to come from somewhere else?'

James paused for a second, giving a mental sigh.

'The chances of her figuring it all out from that are slim, but we have to be careful, baby girl.'

Zoe twisted in her seat, looking back over her shoulder at James, tears in her eyes and her bottom lip poking out for real this time. He could feel her remorse.

'Master, I am so sorry. I felt so naughty and excited, I just didn't think.'

'We can discuss this more when we are home. And your punishment as well.' James sent back, along with a mental hug and a faint, teasing image of him tying her to the bed.

Zoe's pout turned into a wan smile, recognizing the olive branch, knowing that James was not really all that upset.

Their arrival at home was a noisy one. Sally, as soon as she saw James walk through the door, launched herself from the couch and into his arms like a runaway freight train, nearly knocking him from his feet.

"Hi Daddy James." she giggled. It took James aback for a moment, before he remembered the girls teasing her this morning.

'Hi, Sally, did you miss me?' he sent, a wry tone to his message.

Sally pulled away long enough to stare deep into his eyes. She seemed to be searching for something and, whatever it was she saw, obviously reassured her. She nodded one, emphatically, and laid her head on his chest again.

'Let me sit down, Sally, and you can sit in my lap, okay?' he sent softly, his hand reaching up to stroke her hair.

Sally stepped back, but grabbed his hand and led him to and arm chair, pushing him back until his knees hit the cushion and he sat backwards. Once he was down, she crawled into his lap with a sigh and closed her eyes.

James looked up and saw Ada, Zoe and Stacy all watching with interest, then shrugged to indicate he didn't have an answer to the questions in their eyes.

'It's the oddest thing. I don't feel anything from her except an overwhelming need to be held. Nothing sexual, nothing even related to that, just ... a need for security, I guess.' he sent to his ladies and to his mother.

His mother seemed to be satisfied with that, nodding in understanding, then turning to leave the room. Zoe and Stacy exchanged a glance, then sat down together on the couch.

'James, she has totally fixated on you. It seemed liked she would stare at the clock every couple of minutes, the entire time you were gone. She held my hand or sat so she could touch me all morning. We went out to the park, just hanging out and she talked to me a bit, about home, about how things used to be, and never once let go of my hand, but she seemed extremely anxious the entire time. Now you walk in and ... yep, she is asleep. Is this even healthy?' Stacy looked perplexed, shaking her head at the sight of the girl asleep in his lap.

'He pulled her out when she was trying to stop, to give up and just let go. He is her anchor.' Zoe said with certainty, not showing any sign of unease about the situation.

'Stacy, are you going to be taking her to her appointments this week, you know, with the psychologist?' he asked thoughtfully. 'Maybe you can get a few minutes with the shrink, tell her what is happening and ask how best to handle it? I don't want to make things worse, but right now I can't imagine pushing her away.' he admitted, his hand absentmindedly stroking her back and her hip as she slept.

'Anyway, you two go and eat. When you are done, you can pull the snuggle duty while I eat.' he sent, grinning.

"Nope." Stacy said aloud, shaking her head. "Sally, you haven't eaten either and you need to let James eat too." she said, giving the girl a soft shake.

Sally's eyes opened, staring into Stacy's and giving her a start. She had not been asleep after all.

"I can feel it." Sally said quietly, looking deep into Stacy's eyes.

"What can you feel, Sally?" James asked, scooting her to perch on only one leg so he could look at her.

Sally's gaze moved from Stacy to Zoe, then finally to James.

"I can feel it when you guys are talking. It is like a hum. You were talking about me, weren't you?"

The triumvirate exchanged a startled glance.

James put a finger under Sally's chin, lifting her face gently until their eyes met.

'You can feel it when we talk like this?' he sent, including all of them.

Sally was searching his eyes again, that same intent look on her face. She reached up and laid a hand on his cheek.

"What were you saying? I could feel it. It's like a vibration in my head." her tone was not accusatory, it was genuine curiosity and not a little frustration.

This times, James sent and spoke,

"I asked if you could feel it when we talked silently."

Sally's eyes went wide, her mouth forming a little 'Oh!' of surprise.

"Do it again."

"Sally, we are all worried about you. You had a big shock and were pretty mixed up for a while." he said, raising a hand and touching her forehead with his finger. "We were scared for you and just want you to get better." He had sent the same message that he was delivering aloud, and he watched her eyes go distant, focused on something he couldn't see.

"I can almost..." she whispered, not talking to them, just speaking aloud. "It is right there, like those little lights you see in your eyes when you close them, but if you concentrate they wander off. It is like that. I can almost hear you, almost understand."

'James, do you think you might have created a link when we pulled her out?' Stacy sent, her mental voice wavering between wonder and concern.

'I suppose, though it definitely wasn't something I had intended.' he answered, still staring at Sally.

Sally reached up and grasped his cheeks, forcing him to meet her eyes. Tears welled up as she searched, her lower lip beginning to tremble.

"Why can't I understand? Are you keeping me out?" she asked, a hitch in her voice.

'Sally, when we came to get you, when you were locked in that terrifying, sad place in your mind, we might have forged a link between us. But that link is small, like a tiny thread. I can make it stronger, make it so that you are one of us, part of the family, but it would mean that you would be with us forever. There is no going back.' he sent, not hiding his unease. He showed her why he was not sure, why he was concerned. She had to know, she had to see it even if it was painful for her.

Sally finally released her grip on him, her head sinking back to his shoulder. She sat silently, her eyes closed and James could feel the battle going on inside of her, feel the anxiety that was coursing through her.

"Sally, sweetheart, take a deep breath. Just think about it, okay? Let's go get some food and, if you want to talk more, we can talk after lunch."

As if on cue, his stomach grumbled loudly enough for all of them to hear, and Sally giggled, which made Stacy and Zoe giggle. James just glared at all three of them.

"Oh sure, make fun of the growing boy. Pfah ... women!" he grumped, winking down at the girl on his lap.

Lunch was a quiet, each of them seeming to be lost in their own thoughts, but the quiet hadn't stopped Sally from pushing her stool at the kitchen bar between Stacy and Zoe, forcing them all to move carefully to keep from jostling the person next to them. James sat alone on the other side of the counter, there being room for only three at the bar, and watched with interest the way his two life mates interacted with the girl.

After lunch, Sally placed her dish in the sink and then stood there, seeming unsure for a moment, before grabbing Stacy and Zoe's hands and pulling them toward the stairs. When James made to follow, she looked back and shook her head, making it clear that whatever was going on, he was not invited.