Chapter 4

Bill, Candy and Etty spent part of Thursday morning with Sarah, until she had to go to work. After that, they were somewhat at loose ends until two in the afternoon, when they returned to the Horseshoe. After a chat with Reg Smith, erstwhile former RSM and now second in command of the Centre staff, they went back to see IS29/15R – ‘Fifteen’ – Vera Crowe. She was running on a treadmill, running at an impressive rate. A fine sheen of sweat accentuated the movement of muscles under her skin. Her breasts moved noticeably, despite her exercise bra.

She saw them coming, and as soon as she was sure they were heading for her, she slowed the machine until she was walking briskly.

“I’ll be with you in just a moment, sir, ladies.” It was apparent that she was not short of breath, at all.

“Take your time, Fifteen. Cool down properly. We’re not in a hurry,” Bill told her.

“Thank you, sir. If I stop too quickly, my muscles lock up with cramp.”

Etty whispered to Candy, who nodded, and Etty then whispered to Bill, “You should ask if she’d like you to help her shower. I always appreciated that. It was a treat. Made me feel ... valued, I suppose.”

The older – though none-the-less good-looking – woman slowed, stopped the machine, and stepped off. “I should shower,” she commented.

“Would you like some help in the shower?”

She looked at Bill consideringly. “You’re offering?”

“I am. Or, if you prefer, one or both of my fiancées will.”

“I’m okay with girls, but I much prefer men.” She turned and headed for the shower in her cell, followed by Bill. The girls fell in behind and sat on the bed when the other two entered the shower.

Bill was careful and the shower was about washing off the sweat, but not entirely without a sensual element. Both participants were a little flushed when they finished, and Bill had a very obvious erection. Candy noticed.

“Fifteen!”

“Yes, Ma’am?”

“Look what you’ve caused!”

The older woman looked worried. “I...”

“Well, don/t just stand there. You caused it, you deal with it.”

Vera looked at the two girls, then at Bill, who had a smile – slight, but there – on his lips. She frowned for a moment, then fell to her knees and inhaled Bill’s organ. She was obviously skilled at fellatio, and Bill’s release took only a few minutes. She let his cock free and looked up, whereupon he lifted her to her feet, gently took her head in both hands and, despite her trying to turn her head, kissed her on the lips.

“Thank you, Fifteen,” he said, when he let her go.

Her response was to – almost – collapse in tears, but he held her upright and guided her to the bed to sit next to Candy.

“Fifteen... Vera... We’ve decided that we’d like you to join our crew,” Bill began. She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up his hand to stop her. “Sailing, as we do, is not for fun. There will be times when it’s cold. You may get soaked to the skin. You’re fit, but there are some quite hard tasks to perform. You may have to cook a meal while the ship is pitching and rolling, and you may be seasick. You may be bored, and you may be frightened. On the other hand, there will be moments, like sunrise in the morning watch, which are sublime.”

“The moon-path during the middle watch,” Candy put in, her eyes glistening.

“Indeed. You’ll have to learn all sorts of jargon, and you’ll have to obey without question. Are you afraid of heights?”

“No, sir. Not as far as I know.”

“Well, climbing the ratlines to deal with the topsail can be frightening at first. There will be times when you’re hungry, and your meal is dry bread and cheese, washed down with tepid, stale water. The question is, do you want to give us a try? If not, we need to interview some other candidates.”

“Sir ... ladies ... I would love to do something productive, something which contributes to society. Right now, I’m more of a burden than anything else. If I come with you, I won’t be free, exactly, will I?”

“No. Your Indenture continues for a bit over two years.”

“But I’d be outside in the open air, seeing different places, doing something useful. What about when the Indenture ends?”

“We won’t throw you out. There may be work at sea for someone else if you want to leave.”

“What about, you know, sex?”

“Lots of it,” giggled Candy. “We wouldn’t invite you if we thought you wouldn’t fit in. Etty and I share. We’ll share with you. But, Fifteen ... Vera ... Bill doesn’t fuck. He makes love. Just because we’ll be married to him, he won’t stop being the man he is. He’ll love you. We’ll love you. Work you half to death,” she giggled some more, “but we’ll all love you.” She turned serious. “So you’re coming with us?”

“Yes.”

“Then I have a request. I haven’t got a mother. Will you be my Mum? Walk with me on Saturday when I marry Bill?”

The older woman had about regained her composure until Candy asked that. But then she broke down in tears. “Baby...”

Candy wrapped her up, holding her, patting her back. “Hush. Shhh.”

Bill left the girls with Vera and went to talk to Reg Smith. “How are we fixed to take Fifteen with us?”

“The paperwork is all prepared; you need to sign to take over the Indenture. Things are a little more complicated because she’s on a Restricted order. Really, what that means is if you have any concerns... any... you call here and we collect her. Bring her back here.”

“We’ve got a collar for her, and clothes.”

“In which case, you just need sign the forms, then tell me, or whoever’s in charge, that you’re taking her.”

“Good. Let’s deal with the paperwork, then I want to talk to the girls before anything else.”

Bill returned to cell fifteen. Vera was sitting between Candy and Etty. “Candy, Etty, a quick word?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Yes, Skipper.”

He led the way back to the office. “How do you feel about taking Fifteen ... Vera ... with us back to the hotel?”

Etty smiled. Candy beamed. “May we, Master? I ... we’d love that. We’ll see how we get on away from here, when there’s only us.”

“Come on, then. The papers are signed, so it’s between us and her.” Bill picked up a couple of bags, and Reg followed them with a small device. They entered the cell again, and Fifteen first stood, then knelt, with her head bowed. “Fifteen, you said you wanted to join us. You have one last chance to change you mind.”

“No, sir. I want to come with you.”

Reg stepped up and applied the device to the black collar circling her neck, and removed it. Bill then snapped the replacement, in stainless steel, in its place. “This,” Bill said, “though I hate the system that requires it, shows that you belong to me, that you’re now my responsibility. If I need to reiterate it, you are to be subordinate to Candy and Etty as well, and treat their instructions as if they come from me directly.”

Reg left the cell, smiling.

“Yes, sir. I’ll do that.”

“Master,” Candy put in, “why don’t you leave us with those bags for a few minutes?”

Bill, having left the cell, saw Reg speaking to the other trainers, then each going to each occupied cell in turn. Naked women began to emerge, and line up. Reg came over to Bill.

“You’ll be collected from your hotel Saturday morning. The ladies at nine-thirty, and yourself at ten thirty,” he told Bill, who raised an eyebrow. “Take my advice,” the former warrant officer smiled, “and just accept that in this you’re not in control.”

Bill sighed. “I don’t think I’ve been in control since I looked across that slave-dealer’s room and saw Candy. On the other hand, they’ve made me very happy.”

The girls, and Vera, emerged from the cell. Etty linked arms with Vera, who was wearing a spring-green dress, and had tennis shoes on her feet. The dress had a high collar and concealed the symbol of her servitude. Candy walked over to Bill and slipped her hand inside his arm. “We’re ready.”

As they walked towards the exit, though, the other residents began to applaud, amid shouts of “Go, Vera!” “Attagirl!” “Good luck!” Vera blushed, but stood tall and straight.

Back at the hotel, having sorted out their shopping, they went to the dining-room. For a change, there was fish on the menu. Bill wasn’t much impressed, as, in his opinion, salt-water fish tasted better, but he conceded that it would make a change. In fact, while he was unimpressed with the taste of the fish, the chef had done a great job in the presentation, vegetables and a sauce, and they all enjoyed the meal. They were looked after by the IS, Becky, who’d looked after them before. Bill made a point of tipping her well again. She whispered something to Candy, who smiled and said, “Go for it!”

Whereupon the girl went back to Bill and softly kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

Returning to their room, Candy and Etty immediately undressed, followed by Vera. Bill, happy to watch, was rather slower. His girls pulled Vera to the bed and pushed her down in the middle of it. Etty fastened on to a nipple, drawing a gasp. Candy looked at Bill, smiling. She stuck her tongue out and touched it with a finger, pointed at Vera’s bald mound, then dived for the other nipple.

‘Well, I can take a hint if I’m hit over the head hard enough,’ Bill thought, and went to part Vera’s legs. She smelt good – subtly different from either of his girls, as one might expect, but good – and he set to work. Very enjoyable work.

Several vocal orgasms later, Vera gasped, “Enough! Mercy!”

“My turn,” stated Etty, who proceeded to lie next to Vera.

By that point, Bill was painfully hard, but still headed to lick Etty.

“No, Skipper. In me, please. I’m hot already.”

She was. Hot. Wet. Tight. And on a hair-trigger. Bill couldn’t hold out long, despite Vera’s earlier efforts, and he came, hard, about the same time as Etty had her second. He rolled off, and a revived Vera dived in to clean up the cream-pie.