Chapter 24

Book ten, One Last Breath, went on sale at one minute after midnight this morning. In the last two weeks, Matt had signed just over 3,500 copies. Fed-EX picked them up late yesterday afternoon.

One of the reviewers wrote, “One Last Breath concludes a two and a half-year journey that we’re sorry is over. The only comfort is that a new series will begin a new journey in six weeks.”

Matt breathed a deep sigh of relief, both because he had finished the series and because it had been so well accepted. His publisher had been surprised when Matt didn’t ask for more money when he signed the contract for the next two series.

“You took a chance on me,” Matt reminded him. The $50,000 check he had given Matt was far more than most authors get. A new author is lucky to get more than one or two thousand dollars, and only as an advance that has to be repaid from royalties.

Tess had explained that this publisher wasn’t one of the “big” publishers but wanted to get bigger. To do that, he needed good authors to build his reputation. He had thought Matt’s novel and the series it began would do just that and desperately wanted to sign him, even though he’d only envisioned a four-book series at the time.

When the publisher saw pictures of the mansion and learned that Matt had paid cash for it, he realized that Matt didn’t need the extra money he could have demanded. Matt told him to use the money to attract more new authors.

Matt’s women also hand-delivered invitations today for their public housewarming party. The invitations went to the sixteen families living on Talbot Street.

He only expected a handful of the nosiest neighbors to attend. Still, he was sure that the neighbors who didn’t attend would learn about him through the neighborhood gossip network. One thing you can count on is wealthy neighbors wanting to know more about the new neighbor.

The invitations were simple and straightforward, but the printer did an outstanding job on them.

Mr. Matthew (Matt) Young and his household are hosting a housewarming party in hopes of meeting their new neighbors on Saturday May 16 from 4 P.M. until 9 P.M.

Dress is casual. Food will be catered barbecue. The pool will be available. There will be an open bar.

Please R.S.V.P by Monday May 11 and let us know if you require a different type of food due to dietary preferences or restrictions.

Matt purposely didn’t mention that he was the Matt Young, successful author of nine best-sellers. Those who cared about that sort of thing would already know and would spread word to their neighbors. A brief article several weeks ago on the society page of the local newspaper announced that he had just bought the mansion.

Saturday May 16

Matt was surprised that ten of the sixteen families attended, four more than he had guessed. Still the caterers had more than enough for everyone. Everyone loved that the landscaping looked as good as it had three years ago. They liked the framed copy of each of his bestsellers on the walls of the formal dining room. Alongside each book was the framed copy of the advertising poster for that book. Matt read the first page of his latest novel, which was due for release in six weeks. He also gave them the same brief history of Heinrich Dambach and the house that he had given his family and friends earlier, although he left out the part about the sub-basement. He made it sound like the wine had been stored behind the speakeasy with the rest of the booze.

They were disappointed to learn that the speakeasy was gone. A week after the article about him buying the mansion, another article told about the discovery of the speakeasy and the old cases of wine and spirits. Matt had a feeling that someone would try to insist on preserving the speakeasy as a historical site, so he made sure everything was gone before the story came out in the paper. He did have hundreds of photos, however.

A week after the story appeared in the local paper, a group from the county historical society wanted to see the speakeasy. They were decidedly unhappy when he showed them the empty cellar and the photos. As interested as they had been in having him preserve the speakeasy, they weren’t interested in accepting the furnishings if he donated them so they could set up a replica for people to visit. Matt ended up selling the furnishings and light fixtures to a guy opening a small place in downtown Los Angeles. The piano ended up in the mansion’s formal living room--after undergoing an extensive and expensive overhaul and refinishing. It cost more to repair it than to buy a new one.

While Matt was sure the neighbors would check him out, he also had them checked out. The private investigator he used to find Jodi’s mom did a quick check of the other families on Talbot Street. Matt wanted to know if any of them posed a threat of any sort or were the litigious type who would complain or sue when the first helicopter arrived there.

The family that had piqued Matt’s interest attended. Matt played the perfect host, meeting and talking with everyone who attended. It was a lot different from parties he had to attend when he was younger, back when he could disappear.

The family Matt was interested in was the Hughes family. Ray and Colleen Hughes lived five houses away with their gorgeous seventeen-year-old daughter Peggy. Their daughter was getting deeper and deeper into the drug scene, which was a constant source of friction between parents and child, and even between the parents. Matt was considering trying to help her.

Unbeknownst to Matt, upon the arrival of each group of guests, Raven gave each one a doctored drink--soda for the kids unless their parents approved of something stronger. Matt and Raven then toasted their new home. One group of arrivals at a time, one of the women started a leisurely tour of the house, ending up in the study six or seven minutes after their drink. In the study, they gave each person basic programming, and then had each person tell them their deepest secrets.

As Matt learned later, The Hughes’ biggest worry was their daughter’s drug use. He was surprised to learn that they didn’t care if he fucked Peggy several times a day and had her live with him so long as he got her to stop using drugs, especially if he got her working up to her potential in school. It turned out that she was already paying for the drugs with sex.

Jodi had taken the Hughes family on their tour and told Mrs. Hughes to mention their worry to Raven that night and to bring Peggy over the next morning to spend the rest of the summer.

Jodi and Raven now knew how to use the Dart. With the increased number of interrogations they were doing, thanks to the increase in the number of web crawlers CC had, Matt had felt it prudent to teach them. He also had Carla program him again, this time so he could remember and repeat what he said in the Caymans when they asked how he did it. Once he remembered it, Matt programmed all four girls to remember it to use if anyone ever questioned them about the technique.

Peggy had admitted that she wanted to quit using drugs but was addicted. The only other thing Matt learned of any note that the private investigator didn’t tell him was that they cheated on their income taxes, but he was sure that most of the families in the neighborhood did.

The Lewis family had confirmed what the private investigator had told Matt. Mrs. Lewis was having an affair and had been having affairs for four years. Mr. Lewis worked fifty to sixty hours a week. He was trying to build up the business he founded to a point that it would support the lavish lifestyle his wife wanted. Her devoted, hardworking husband had no idea she was having affairs. The investigator was doing a follow up on the married man she was currently seeing.

Matt was surprised when he learned that both females in the Lewis family wanted to have sex with him. Matt’s girls had also learned that the fourteen-year-old son Rex was a virgin, and loved to try peeking at his sister when she showered or changed clothes. Sixteen-year-old Becky Lewis had already had sex with four boyfriends in the last year and admitted to getting a thrill when she sucked them off. She desperately wanted to proposition Matt, promising to swallow when she sucked him off, something she wouldn’t do for her boyfriends.

Raven left Becky assured that she’d get her chance with him and gave each member of the family their own special programming. None of them would consciously remember what they’d admitted or what Raven had programmed them to do.

Matt was surprised at the end of the night by what he considered one of the older couples, and then realized that many people wouldn’t consider forty-eight and fifty-five to be so old. The wife looked to be at least a decade younger than her actual age. They were the last couple to leave and Hank Anderson approached Matt nervously.

“Your books are an interesting blend of action, intrigue, and sex,” he remarked. “I’m surprised to find both a fiancée and a bevy of attentive and affectionate beauties here,” he commented. Matt could tell that Mr. Anderson was curious but didn’t want to appear too nosey.

“Raven is my fiancée,” Matt said as he motioned her over. “I don’t know if the term ‘submissive’ means anything to you, but the rest of the women are submissives. Basically, they willingly do anything Raven or I tell them to do. We’re one big, happy family and Raven even generously shares me with several other women who join us occasionally.”

Matt could see that the Andersons were surprised by both his comment and his candor.

Hank grinned, but Matt could see that he was thinking about something. “I travel a lot, which leaves Allison, my wife, alone at home frequently,” he said as he gently pulled her forward. “Let’s just say that a recent medical condition has left me unable to fully meet some of her needs,” he added reluctantly.

“I’m telling you this in case she asks for your help with something while I was away on one of my trips, if you know what I mean.”

“I know she’s older than the women you usually spend time with, but she’s very enthusiastic and creative, and she’s in great shape,” Hank said.

“I generally eschew married women; too many complications,” Matt replied. “However, if the husband has prior knowledge and approves, I have no problem keeping a beautiful woman company all night,” Matt explained as he took Allison’s hand and kissed the back of it, making her blush even worse than the candid conversation had.

Matt knew that his earlier comment had been a load of crap as he had no problem bedding married women so long as their husbands were screwing around.

“Excellent, I was hoping you would agree,” Hank said, obviously greatly relieved by Matt’s acceptance. Matt had been caught off guard by the suggestion, not aware yet about the girls using Dart on the guests.

“Since I have to catch a flight in three hours, perhaps Allison could stay and help you clean up,” Hank suggested, motioning to the clutter left in the kitchen.

“If she doesn’t mind playing scullery maid,” Matt replied. “Of course, if she’d prefer to help you pack for your trip, she is free to call me anytime she wants.” Matt didn’t want her to think she had to stay just because her husband had offered her for the night.

“I think I can handle a bit of work as a scullery maid,” she laughed. She kissed her husband and walked him to the front door where she gave him a much more passionate kiss and held a brief, whispered conversation. After one more lingering kiss, Hank patted her shapely ass and left.

“Where should I start?” she asked eagerly when she got back to the kitchen.

“You really don’t need to help; I just wanted to give you an out,” Matt explained.

“Give me an out or looking for an out for yourself?” she asked cautiously.

“I’m definitely not looking for an out,” Matt said as he moved right next to her. He took her hand and pressed it against the front of his pants. She glanced nervously at the sliding glass door leading to the back yard since the caterer and her four helpers were still out there. Matt had made sure before the party that the catering crew would ignore and forget about anything sexual they saw.

“Is that all for me tonight?” she asked coyly.

“Over and over” he replied. She grinned and squeezed again after checking the glass door once more.

“Come help this scullery maid clean the kitchen so you can take advantage of her sooner,” she husked. She looked at the girls when they joined in and relaxed when she saw they were smiling.

Ten minutes later, the kitchen was clean and the dishwasher was running. The caterer came in just as they were finishing and Matt paid her the balance, giving her a nice tip. As the caterer was climbing into her truck, Matt locked the house. After pulling the drapes, he turned on the alarm.

“I think it’s time to ravish my scullery maid,” he growled menacingly at Allison.

“A woman’s work is never done,” she sighed theatrically. Matt took her hand and led her upstairs. The rest of the ladies followed them, giggling.

She looked around the bedroom when they reached it, but Matt led her through the bedroom into the bathroom. Once he turned on the shower, he turned back to Allison and pulled her to himself. She crushed her lips against his, pressing her tongue hungrily into his mouth. As their tongues dueled, Matt began stripping her, starting by pulling her T-shirt off. They broke the kiss long enough to pull the shirt over her head.

Sunday May 17

“Hey, I thought I was the scullery maid,” Allison protested playfully when she made it downstairs this morning and found Matt fixing breakfast.

“After last night and this morning, you deserve to be pampered. However, if you want to be a scullery maid, I have a job for a scullery maid to do over here.”

“What can your scullery maid do for you?” she asked in a husky voice as she pressed herself against Matt’s back and put her arms around his waist. Her unfettered breasts were smashed against his back and her hard nipples were easy to feel.

“Open the bottom drawer over there,” Matt said, pointing to the specific drawer.

“What the...” she started to ask, right before she started laughing.

“Okay, you guys are crazy,” she laughed as she pulled the stuffed throw pillow out of the drawer and tossed it at Matt’s feet. “I can’t believe you can cum again so soon.”

“Probably not. Just keep Junior interested. You don’t need to make him happy.”

As Allison knelt, Matt grabbed the hem of his T-shirt that she was wearing and pulled it over her head. “Absolutely gorgeous,” he said, watching her breasts sway.

“I hope you realize that I’m going to buy pillows to hide all over my house to surprise Hank with,” she mumbled around the head of his cock.

“I think it’s an excellent idea,” Matt replied.

“What?” Matt asked when he caught Allison looking at him appraisingly across the breakfast table half an hour later.

“I was just thinking that you might be the answer to a problem that landed in my lap yesterday,” she replied thoughtfully.

“Oh?” Matt replied, his curiosity piqued. “A problem besides the one I filled last night and again this morning?”

“My neighbor filed for divorce and had his wife served with the papers yesterday. Unfortunately, she has absolutely no idea what to do about it. Her husband always took care of everything. Besides cooking, all she did without him telling her to was clean house and shop for groceries. She’s totally lost without him telling her what to do. That sounds pretty submissive to me,” Allison said.

“He can definitely help,” Sue interjected, and told about her arrival at school.

After breakfast, Matt drove Allison home. Even though she only lived a few houses away, it was still almost half a mile. The woman Allison had referred to was Laura Cooper.

They walked up to Laura’s front door and Allison rang the doorbell. “Hi, Laura,” Allison greeted the woman who opened the door. Matt had already seen the private investigator’s picture of her, but it didn’t do her justice.

“Oh, Mrs. Anderson, I need those papers back. Ralph is coming by tonight to help me fill them out,” she replied anxiously.

“We can worry about that in a few minutes. I’d like you to meet Matt. He just moved into the old mansion a few weeks ago and had a housewarming party last night.” Laura glanced up at Matt briefly and then focused on her feet.

“Nice to meet you, Sir,” she replied, still checking the color of her toenail polish.

“I brought Matt over so you could meet him. He’s willing to help you with everything Ralph used to do,” Allison explained.

“Really?” Laura asked, the relief evident in her voice. She looked up for another split second and Matt caught a second brief glimpse of her blue eyes before she returned her gaze to her feet.

Matt gently lifted her chin until he could see her face. She shifted her eyes around nervously to look anywhere except his face. “Look at my eyes,” he told her quietly. She did, for another split second.

“Look at my eyes again, and don’t look away until I give you permission,” he said calmly. She complied, but it required constant effort on her part not to look away. It reminded Matt of the times he had to force himself to look at a woman’s eyes and not at her tits.

“Laura, Ralph wants to keep the house, both cars, and all the money in the bank. He intends to leave you and your daughter homeless and penniless,” he explained calmly.

“What will we do?” she sobbed, looking to Allison for an answer.

“Laura,” Matt said, turning her to face him again. “I won’t let him do that. I’ll make sure you get your fair share, but you can’t sign those papers.”

“But, I have to. He told me that he’d be here this evening to help me fill them out and to have me sign them,” she replied nervously.

“Laura, when he filed for a divorce, he gave up his right to tell you what to do. You don’t ever have to do what he tells you again,” Matt explained.

“But ... I don’t know what to do,” she sobbed.

Matt hugged her while talking quietly to her. “I will tell you what to do if you agree to let me. I will take care of everything Ralph did for you. I earn enough money to support you and your daughter. I will pay your bills, take care of repairs when things break, and make all decisions for you. Would you like that?”

“Yes, Sir,” she replied, her reply slightly muffled because her tear-stained face was still pressed against his chest.

“In return for taking care of you, you will be my housekeeper and cook. You will clean my house, cook our meals, and will join me in my bed most nights. I want to make it very clear that you won’t be my wife. I already have someone else in mind for that. If you agree, you will serve me for the rest of your life--unless you want to leave. If you want to leave, just tell Mrs. Anderson. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes. Sir,” she replied as she glanced apprehensively at Allison.

“Matt means every word he says. I think you’ll be much happier with him than you ever were with Ralph. Like Matt said, you can always talk to me if things don’t work out the way you want them to,” Allison promised.

“Okay,” Laura replied meekly.

“What do you have to do today?” Matt asked Laura. She started to reply, and then stopped for a few seconds. “Normally, I clean the house, make sure I have something for dinner, and then read or work out until it’s time to start Ralph’s supper,” she said sadly.

“Why don’t you come with me and meet the rest of the women living with me. You can talk to them and see if you think you’ll feel comfortable with us. Meanwhile, I’ll get you an appointment with a divorce attorney and help you decide what to do about Ralph,” Matt promised.

“What about Susan?” she asked.

“Her eighteen-year-old daughter,” Allison explained. “She just graduated high school.”

“Your daughter is welcome to join us tonight. Tomorrow, the two of you can talk and decide if it will work out,” Matt suggested. “Where is she?” he asked, remembering a photograph of a slender, attractive blonde, one looking very similar to her mother.

“She’s with her friend Cheryl. Originally, Cheryl was going with her to enroll at the community college tomorrow. After last night, we figured Susan would have to find a job, instead,” Laura explained.

“If she wants to go to college, I’ll make sure she is able to attend,” Matt promised. If things went the way he planned, Ralph would be paying for it, though. Matt drove Laura and Allison next door to Allison’s house. Even though it was Sunday, Allison called a good friend who was an attorney specializing in divorce. She got Matt and Laura an appointment for 2:00 Monday. She explained to her friend that Matt was the one retaining him and would be making decisions for Laura because she had a difficult time making decisions for herself.

He was concerned and asked if she should have a court-appointed conservator, but Allison assured him that Matt was doing just fine, and she’d let him know if it didn’t work out. The attorney’s name was Ty Busby. Allison gave Matt the divorce papers Ralph would be wanting this evening and Matt took a very nervous Laura home to meet the ladies.

Colleen and Peggy Hughes were at the house talking with Raven when Matt and Laura arrived. He turned Laura over to his three submissives after explaining the situation to them. Then he went to talk with Colleen and Peggy.

Tearfully, Peggy admitted that she was addicted to drugs. She had tried stopping twice and couldn’t. Matt suggested letting him send her to a rehab program, guaranteeing that he could keep her off drugs once she got them out of her system. Raven assured both mother and daughter that his method worked.

When they both agreed, Matt had Raven and Colleen start calling around to find a good rehab facility with an opening. He took Peggy into the study and gave her a drop of Dart before remembering that Raven had already drugged her, and he could have used the “kimchi” option.

“Too much going on this morning,” he sighed mentally. She looked at Matt oddly when he put his finger into her mouth but quickly began fellating it with a suggestive look on her face.

“The finger was part of a test to make sure my treatment will work for you,” he explained, not wanting to tell her anything else just yet.

“And?” she asked suggestively as she took his finger completely into her mouth.

“You’ll do great,” Matt replied. “If I weren’t worried about the physical problems you might experience, we could do it here.”

“Once I’m clean, you are going to get so fucked,” she purred.

“That’s not why I’m doing this, but if you still feel that way afterwards, I sure won’t turn you down. I should tell you that Raven will demand equal time with you.” Matt was definitely looking forward to having her in their bed. He just didn’t want her to know that.

“Raven said you’d protest and said to tell you to save your energy for the women in your life. After this, I hope to be one of those women. I’m yours to use whenever you want. You could fuck me twice, make me suck you off, and fuck my ass every day and I’d still be happier and better off than I’ve been for the last few months. Sex was the only thing I had to offer to pay for the drugs. My dealer pimped me out to several guys a day for the last few weeks,” she admitted somberly.

Matt started her programming so she wouldn’t ever crave or use drugs again. He made it so she wouldn’t get depressed or suicidal and an orgasm would give her the lift she used the drugs for. The orgasm could be self-administered.

Raven was standing in the doorway when Matt finished. “She doesn’t need a rehab facility,” she said. “Cocaine is a mental addiction and there’s no physical withdrawal like there is for heroin--at least not much. The closest thing to a physical withdrawal is the brain craving the high. Still, the medical facilities have different drugs they can use to help.”

“Okay, your choice, here or a rehab facility,” Matt told Peggy.

“I can stay here?” she asked uncertainly, although it sounded like she would prefer that.

“Yes, but I should warn you that we will probably have guests. I expect Mrs. Cooper and her daughter to stay here tonight, and probably longer. We might have an additional guest,” he added, knowing that Peggy’s programming would keep her from being judgmental or from talking to people outside of their group about it.

She squealed happily and threw herself at Matt, excitedly hugging and kissing him.

Her mother was watching from behind Raven, smiling. “Thank you,” she mouthed to Matt.

Laura Cooper answered her cell phone an hour later. Not long after that, a younger version of Laura rang the front doorbell. Matt welcomed Susan and introduced everyone. Susan and Peggy nodded to each other in recognition but didn’t appear to be friends. “Do you always have hot and cold running women around here?” Peggy whispered teasingly when nobody else could hear.

“Not this many, but yes,” he replied. “Each of the girls can tell you her own story if they want to but let them get to know you first. I doubt that you’d be comfortable telling near strangers why you’re here.”

Matt explained to Susan that her mother was here today to see if she felt comfortable having him tell her what to do, replacing Ralph. Seeing a look of concern cross Susan’s face, Matt explained that if her mother ever decided she wanted to leave, she was free to go and could tell Mrs. Anderson.

“We’ll leave the two of you alone so you can talk privately,” he told Laura and Susan, motioning to the rest of the women to leave the room.

“Did you want someone to stay here with you?” he asked Laura when she looked at Carla with a panicked look on her face.

Once again staring at the floor, she nodded and pointed at Carla. Matt nodded to Carla to let her know she could stay and walked over to Laura. He gently cupped her face and lifted it up, so he could see her eyes. “You have beautiful blue eyes,” he said softly.

“Thank you,” she almost whispered in reply. Matt could see that she was fighting to continue looking at him.

“Please watch the way the other women here interact with me. I want you to see that they look at me frequently. I enjoy seeing their beautiful faces, just like I enjoy seeing yours. I don’t expect the women here to always look at the ground, and they are allowed to ask me questions or to ask me to help them with something. If you have any questions or need help with anything, let me or one of the women know, okay?”

“Okay,” she squeaked timidly.

Peggy had been fidgeting for several minutes. “You okay?” Matt asked.

“I need to borrow a room so I can give myself one of the fixes you programmed me for,” she said, blushing.

Matt led her into the master bedroom and closed the door. “This door locks so nobody will barge in on you,” he explained, showing her how to lock it. “There are two drawers under each side of the bed that are filled with all kinds of toys if you want to use some of them. Or,” he said as he moved nearer to her, “I could help you.”

“I’d like it if you helped me,” she said in a husky voice, pressing her body against him and grinding her pelvis against the lump that quickly grew in the front of his pants. Matt ushered her into the bathroom for a shower before they hit the bed.

Raven woke him up some time later by blowing in his ear and giggling. Peggy was clutching him tightly as she napped. “I remember the feeling, and I didn’t really have a habit. She’s going to need a lot of special attention,” Raven whispered sympathetically. “Oh, dinner’s almost ready,” she added and then left quietly.

Peggy startled slightly when Matt woke her with gentle kisses on her face. “Mmmmm, I was having such a nice dream,” she murmured happily.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” he told her quietly.

“Darn, it feels so good to be wrapped up in your arms,” she sighed.

“We’ve got all night,” he replied.

“No, Raven is already being more than generous. I don’t want to press my luck,” Peggy said.

“You’d be surprised at how understanding she can be,” Matt said as he crawled out of bed. “She’s the one who came in and woke me for dinner. She reminded me that you’d need a lot of special attention for now. She went through something similar, although she didn’t have a habit to kick.” Matt pulled on his pants while Peggy was searching for her discarded clothing.

“Here, wear this,” he suggested, tossing her a clean T-shirt from his dresser drawer. “It’s kind of the unofficial uniform for the women in the house. They know that watching their breasts swaying beneath the shirt always gets my attention and not wearing underwear beneath it allows me ready access if I want to bend them over the table or couch,” he explained, waggling his eyebrows lecherously.

She laughed as she pulled the T-shirt over her head. “As funny as it sounds, I have a feeling there’s more than a grain of truth to the comment,” she chuckled as she shook her unfettered breasts. Matt hung his tongue out of his mouth and started panting.