Chapter 1

The last thing he saw as he was dragged down from the dock by two burly officers, was her smug smile of satisfaction across the courtroom. The judge had donned his black cap, and the only sentence he saw fit was duly passed; found guilty of murder, he would be hanged from the neck until dead. Cleo Benedict’s cunt tingled in her moment of victory, as his startled face took in the pleasure of her smile from the public gallery, and she heard his high pitched voice protesting, “It was her ... she had me do it!” ... but the words fell on disinterested ears as he was taken down to await his date with the gallows, his excited mutterings taken to be the ramblings of a man in hysteria, in the shock of the realisation that he was doomed to extinction on the rope.

Ralph Edwards, who’d sat with her throughout the trial, found himself erecting on seeing the smile on her face when the sentence was passed. He’d thought she’d attended to give her former lover some moral support, but now knew she’d been very satisfied by the outcome. She dominated him, socially and sexually, as she had the wretch who now descended to oblivion, but he couldn’t help stating his thoughts just the same, almost hoping she’d punish him for it.

“I ... I thought ... thought you were here to support him.” Her eyes savoured the disappearance down to the cells, of a male she no longer had any use for, then turned to Ralph, the intense satisfaction of her sneering smile making his cock bone.

“He shot him ... you saw it, and now he must pay for his crime. I’ll show my respects outside the prison at the time he’s due to drop, I wouldn’t miss that for the world ... and nor will you.” She leaned across him and straightened his tie, the way a mother would her child, before pulling the knot tight up to his throat.

“ ... and with what you know, you’d best keep thoughts like that to yourself ... or I might just arrange a private gallows party for you.” His anus tingled to match the sensation in his balls, at the calm sincerity of her promise, her smile telling him his audacity in daring to question her would be remembered when she had him at her feet in the bedroom. What he did know, was that the man she’d enjoyed seeing sentenced to the rope had not actually killed the fence he was to hang for. She had. Her sadistic pleasure in seeing a male awarded the gallows in officially closing the book on a execution she’d enjoyed carrying out, would be evident to Ralph’s nose as he sniffed at her panties later; the successful disposal of two deserving males brought on an acutely erotic surge in her libido, Ralph would be dominated at leisure as she achieved the pinnacle of sexual satisfaction in her triumph.

Herbert Smart was a fence; a despicable excuse for a male, who’d fiddle his own grandmother. Up to his ears in every black market racket in those post war years, he’d fenced goods from a friend of Cleo’s, keeping the proceeds and threatening her with blackmail, as she ran a high class house of ill repute - one which he’d indulged in, though his vanilla liaison had not alerted him to the specialty of the house. He’d crossed the wrong sort of women, and Cleo’s willing assistance in guaranteeing his silence was acquired.

Her natural expertise in that specialty practised by the professional women of her friend’s house, was soon put into play as she eased her way into Smart’s life with the promise of sexual favours; he was to learn that sex was on her terms, and soon found himself easily dominated from the onset. She had a hidden agenda though; she’d tired of owning Brown, her pet of six months or so. He knew too much of her escapades and had been loose tounged where it was not warranted, almost revealing what he knew in casual conversation amongst associates who had no need to know - and he’d been fucking a friend’s daughter, thinking no one knew about it - he had to go. Besides, she now had Ralph brought to his knees, begging to be dominated, and the raw arousal the scheme awarded her cunt was overpowering

Ralph was never allowed to forget the way he’d shamed himself before her; she’d felt his submissive nature from the moment Brown had casually introduced him to her, after sourcing males down on their luck following demilitarisation, always hungry for any sort of work, shady or not. Brown had an eye for those men who’d show discretion, despite being guilty of the opposite himself, and the quiet, unassuming, Ralph Edwards would be a perfect candidate for many of the tasks that Cleo was involved in. Brown also had an unconscious talent for choosing males who held the same sexual desires as he; if Ralph found the grandeur of the Cafe Parisian overwhelming as he stood in his ill fitting suit, that feeling was eclipsed by the sheer presence of the raven haired women who smiled at him with interest, she knowing that Brown’s hidden talent had borne fruit once more. She required total obedience from her males, and Brown had unwittingly sourced his own replacement, in failing her strict authority.

Brown’s automated and humble deference to the woman, which she received with an air of contempt, had Ralph erecting immediately with sexual attraction to her. Cleo’s taut red lips clasped at a cigarette and inhaled, as her brown eyes broke into a half smile edged with further contempt as she surveyed a male she knew instantly, could be taught to know his place. She had quickly had him installed in one of the more utilitarian bedrooms of her palatial residence, and though she made no advance upon him, knew that just his familiarity with her presence would soon have him hopelessly tangled in her web.

In those first few weeks in her proximity, while he was treated to the teasing sight and scent of her when allocated duties with Brown, Ralph had masturbated regularly over the vision of her in the privacy of his room, his orgasm so much more fulfilling on those occasions when her apparent indifference to him had been punctuated with a smile or gesture which suggested she might favour him, the thought bringing his semen up in lusty spurts as he knelt naked and fantasised about being at her feet.

The fantasy was mutual with the lady of the house, and Ralph’s privacy was not as intact as it seemed; Cleo’s busty maid, Miranda, herself an attractive treat for the eye of a submissive male with her air of authority, stood smiling contentedly, having summoned her Mistress on seeing Ralph strip naked through the spy hole to his intimacy. The two women exchanged satisfied grins, firmly edged with contempt, as they swapped positions at the hole and saw him assume his kneeling position to masturbate, rather than sit on his bed or chair to idly strop. It indicated his lust for subservience, and confirmed it in Cleo’s mind. Her cunt moistened with a mischievous arousal as she watched him grimace and send a loop of cream high, in a sordid ecstasy. She’d soon have him ready to do anything she asked of him, and there was a place in a bed closer to hers which would soon be vacated.

“I think he’s ready for a little show Miranda ... that’ll bring him out in the open.” Miranda grinned wickedly; the haughty bitch as eager as her Mistress to see him installed as a favoured pet, as when exposed for what he was, she’d have the pleasure of dominating him too.

The next morning, Ralph heard her command Brown to bring Smart to her; he’d seen the seedy character attend of his own accord, hat in his hand as he quivered nervously in seeking an audience with the woman who’d shown him pleasures he’d not encountered before meeting her, but she was to see him at her behest that day. Smart was not aware of her association with the woman he’d cheated, and Cleo was methodical in her task of dealing with him, enjoying casually picking up necessary information from him as he was worked by her. She was almost ready for his disposal, and he’d be put to good use by her before he went, securing the destiny of three males to her scheming satisfaction, as well as the contentment of her friend.

Smart was surprised to see Brown and Ralph appear in his office, and any reluctance he had about neglecting his busy routines in dealing black market goods, soon dissipated on hearing Cleo had required his audience; the bravado shown by Brown in casually waving a pistol at him, totally unnecessary. Brown had a personal reason for brandishing the ex-service firearm though, he’d seen a little too much of Smart lately, and his jealousy toward his time expended with Cleo meant he was more than ready to put a stop to it at the earliest opportunity, in permanent fashion.

Smart shivered as he was bundled into the car; he’d had to work so hard in seeing Cleo on prior occasions, her teasing indifference in ignoring his presence till she was good and ready, awarding him a perverse pleasure as he was made to sweat about the power and control she had over his emotions, and now she was forcing an audience on demand. Unseen by Brown, Ralph gave a shiver too, on seeing the 44 slipped back into Brown’s inside top pocket. He’d seen enough of guns over the previous few years, and wondered what he’d got himself into. That anxiety was tempered by his own jealousy toward Smart’s situation; though Brown was Cleo’s apparent love interest of the moment, it was more than apparent that she was being intimate with Smart - whilst he was shown no credible interest whatsoever, despite being incarcerated within her ivory towers.

Ralph watched the furtive glances of Smart’s eyes, almost hearing the wheels in his mind turn as he surveyed the world going by; pretty, shapely women in the tight body hugging dresses that emphasised the liberated air of a new era, following the dark years so recently passed. He’d sampled the extreme of that liberation in feminine form through Cleo, and the nature of his illicit business which warranted his complete control and secrecy, made him increasingly uncomfortable with the power she’d developed over him. He cursed the sexual desires which drew him to her, and knew he was hopelessly bound by them. Her black hair and brown eyes, the eroticism of her superb figure; she was the black widow personified, and she waited in her web to suck him dry after having her pleasure of him.

Ralph was immediately hit by the change of atmosphere as Smart was shuffled awkwardly into the room by Brown, the show of his feigned authority failing to mask the true emotion of his jealousy, and bringing a smirk from both Cleo and Miranda. Whilst Brown tangled with Smart, in needlessly forcing him to his knees - a position he was more than willing to assume before Cleo - Ralph felt the focus of the two women’s eyes upon him as the other two males were distracted, their smiles seeming to transmit that he was to be shown a lesson in authority, the intense gaze of Cleo’s eyes then leading his to what lay on the small table beside her.

The impressive Miranda stood boldly erect with her arms crossed under her ample breasts, emphasising her femininity and the haughty power of it, something Ralph would learn to enjoy at her whim, whilst Cleo sat cross legged on a chair, a tight black silk dress with a split side, giving a generous view of her thigh and a glimpse of her stocking top. Just the atmosphere and the vision of matriarchal authority had had his cock swell on entering, but what lay on the table had his member erect hard with submissive lust. A short but slender and flexible horsewhip, lay on display, Cleo’s half smile at him, confirmed the capture of his yearning to see her use it, as blatantly as though he’d asked the favour. His cock pulsed with the acknowledgement of her knowing his exact thoughts, and her satisfaction with them, in just a few fleeting moments before the focus of the two others returned to her.

Accompanying the whip upon the table, was an innocuous looking box of pills, several of them lying free on the table, plainly there to emphasise their importance in what was to follow. Smart swallowed hard on seeing some of the goods he’d acquired from the high class madam ... goods he’d acquired and neglected to reimburse her with the proceeds from. The pills were a sexual stimulant, a product invented by accident during the war by some European pharmaceutical company - the intention of their original purpose unknown, but the erotic effect of their usage making the original intended purpose redundant - along with the war which had prompted their manufacture. Illegal here, as not tested stringently by the authorities, they had sold like hot cakes, and he’d quickly passed most of them off in bulk at a handsome profit.

Cleo had concocted a story, to allay any suspicions which would let on she knew all about his swindling a friend, having received this supply from the small stock the madam had kept for herself. She lifted the whip with a curt smile.

“On your knees Herbert ... you know how to present yourself to me by now.” Smart went down sheepishly under the satisfied grin of Miranda, as he humbled himself before Cleo. He had learned to enjoy the arousal it gave him when he’d done so in private, but doing so before an audience which included other males had him cringe with shame. Just the same, his obedience to a greater power was recognised, and the open display of Cleo’s dominance had Ralph’s cock rigid as he watched, astounded. Cleo allowed Smart to fidget for a moment, enjoying his humiliation.

“You see those pills on the table Herbert ... Miranda purchased them yesterday, from a confidant, at a place not far from here.” She flexed the whip, making Smart cower.

“ ... and what was discussed Miranda?” The mature and assertive maid stepped close, placed her hands on her hips and pressed a heel into his flank, making him squirm.

“She said her contact bought them from a man ... a man whose description sounded remarkably like yours, and that many of the local women had remarked on how it had transformed their lives in the bedroom. “ Cleo rose from the chair, and awarded the crouching male a stroke of the whip, the pleasure her face showed in doing so, inducing Ralph’s erect cock to pulse with a yearning desire, as the fantasies of his masturbation became an erotic reality. Brown grinned as Smart yelped like a child at the sting of the stroke, but his envy grew stronger at the attention shown the fence, regardless of the humiliation. Cleo placed the whip under Smart’s chin.

“How could you deal in such a desirable item, without offering any to me?” She flicked the whip back up, and had his flesh feel three more sharp applications of the whip, thoroughly enjoying the song of its descent and the curt sound of its impact, smug with sadistic satisfaction in knowing all three men were enjoying the show of her power from different aspects; Brown due to jealousy, Ralph due to the realisation of his desires for her, and most importantly at that point, Smart’s relief in what he was led to believe was the reason for her spite.

Smart whimpered as his eyes watered, partly with the throbbing pain, and more so with the erasure of his fears. As his cock now freely bulged erect in his underwear, in a show of his inner pleasure at being put firmly in his place by a woman, he cursed the recipient of those pills. He’d told him not to disperse them locally, as this could likely bring unwanted attention from associates of the madam he’d acquired them from - in the way now demonstrated by Miranda. He had to stop him.

Cleo sneered contentedly as he squirmed; she hadn’t the faintest idea as to where he’d passed them on, but she knew he’d now lead them to just where they were, they’d take back what was left from whoever ... then award Smart his real punishment after relieving him of what funds he had stashed away. She gave him another cursory stroke with the whip, Miranda smiling with her own contentment at Ralph, as she watched him gape on seeing the shapely body of Cleo flex, in confirming her authority with the whip. She saw the pleasured awe in his face, and relished having a new pet to treat spitefully in sating her sexual needs. Cleo ensured Smart would lead them to the prize.

“You’ll find me some more, or you’ll be whipped, naked ... and in public.” The promise of that humiliation had Smart bone rigid with submissive desire, but what little rational thought left in his mind after feeling the sting of her whip, drove him to the urgency of his task ... he’d earned a small fortune through those pills, and needed to ensure the secrecy of his investment was secured. Cleo then turned to Ralph, her serene yet curt smile making him swallow hard, as she strutted away from the whipped male, the contempt for him displayed on her face.