Chapter 10: Vegas

On the first of July, I had just sat down to eat my breakfast. Cat was running a little late, when I heard, “Master get your ancient ass up here!” from the top of the stairs.

My irate student stood at the top of the stairs in what looked like a long sleeved, tight fitting shiny black dress that went past her knees. Her stockinged feet together while she glared daggers at me. My Pet was definitely improving in that area.

“Need help?” I asked solicitously.

“This is worse than the corsets. It laces all the way down. If you want me to wear the stupid thing you get to lace it.” Perturbed, not angry or upset. We returned to the bedroom.

“Turn around.” She did and I restrained a whistle. I didn’t think she thought about how it would look from back even after I tightened the laces. Starting from the bottom and working up took me a few minutes. There was still a four inch gap evenly spaced top to bottom in the black vinyl dress.

I had to re-lace and retighten the back three times. In the end I thought it was too tight but she didn’t think so.

After having her turn around, I suggested she get her shoes for Images. Then she could decide what to do. The string from the shiny thong stood out among the crisscrossing sideways black leather laces.

“Ugh. Just call me Morticia Adams.” The dress had no give so she could only take small steps.

“How does it feel?”

“Weird. And it squeaks when I move. The dress feels tight everywhere like I’m wearing a glove instead of a dress.” Cat glanced at the deep overstuffed leather chair in the corner and crossed that out mentally. The three-inch matching strappy pumps were beyond her range of movement. A death glare and I willingly, but carefully put them on for the restricted girl.

“I’ll help you down.” I offered my arm, which she accepted. Descending the stairs was even harder for her than I expected. While breakfast waited, I Imaged her, then we ate.

The long sleeves didn’t seem to hinder her studies or note taking and she didn’t reject the dress, so I left her to her devices. I did notice she got up and walked around more than normal. Since she didn’t make a fuss, I enjoyed her low-level discomfort from a distance.

After dinner she demanded my assistance up the stairs so she could remove the skintight outfit for her evening swim. I took her to the Optics room first. I wanted her reaction when she noticed the gap all the way down.

“You’re a Jerk. But you’re too late, I noticed when I sat at breakfast. The cushion on the wood chairs I sat on doing my homework doesn’t feel the same as the lining in the vinyl.” Hmm. Better than expected.

“Seriously?” she uttered in frustration when she walked into my den in a strapless, sleeveless, red vinyl minidress.

It looked fine from the front. I had her spin. “Oh.”

“Yeah, ’Oh’!” my Pet echoed my reaction in derision.

Three thin leather straps in back were all that held the dress together. One mid shoulder blade, one across the upper hip, and the last one right below her cheeks. The red leather panties covered her from being indecent. Hell, they probably had the most rear coverage in weeks. “At least they didn’t give you a thong.”

She blushed. “There was one in the box, but I decided this was better.”

“How is this one compared to the last?”

“It doesn’t squeak. It’s lighter and easier to wear. If not for MY ASS STICKING OUT, I might like it.” We took Images and she went off to study. “Stupid bondage week.”

I did notice that she looked more comfortable in that outfit while studying than the previous associated ones that week.

Catherine was ordered to spend a few minutes in the Optics room before bed.

We had to get up early for the drive to the airport on the 3^rd. I, in my usual gray suit and Cat in a thin white leather; mini bustier, buckled long sleeved jacket and pants with tucked in mid-calf matching boots with the standard two inch heel. The half inch silver rings sewn into the cuffs, elbows, collar, thighs calves gave it a shiny accent in the natural looking leather. At second glance there were linear bulges running along the forearms, thighs and calves.

Spinning in place to let me look it over before Imaging and departure. The pants weren’t pants. They were chaps with a very well hidden pair of zippers that ran on both sides of her ‘V’. The jacket had a ring just under the collar and one woven just under the shoulder blades.

“How is it?” I reached out to the flick the left zipper cover, causing her to dance backwards in fear.

“Don’t touch that.”

“What are those bulges?” an eight inch long one on the forearm and two sets of twelves on the legs.

“I don’t know. Steel rods of some sort. I think it takes two hands to extract them from their sleeves.

“Arm.” She offered her left. By squeezing the top stitching, I was able to remove an 1/8^th inch diameter silvered steel rod with a hook and a strong clasp on each end. I confiscated both of the arm ones. Took her Images and then demonstrated how they were supposed to work with the aid of the built-in rings. With her hands behind her back, I connected her elbows and her writs.

“How is that?”

“Jerk. How do you think it is?” ‘Perv.’

“You know, I bet I could link the right elbow to the left wrist and vice versa. The same with the two sets on the legs. This is very well done.” I took two more Images while she was cuffed. Not that she had a say in it before releasing her. I put the connecting rods back in place. Ate breakfast, loaded the car and left for the hour plus drive to the small airport where the rented plane was waiting for us.

“How is the fit and comfort of the outfit.”

“It sucks. All these outfits suck.”

I choked back a snort of laughter. “It looks nice on you. I like this one as much as the scaled green leather a couple weeks ago.”

Giving in, she admitted, “This one is tighter in the sleeves and legs but looser in the hips and shoulders. I have better range of movement.”

“Is it comfortable to wear?”

“I hate you, you know.”

“I’ll take that as a yes. What don’t you like about it?”

“I don’t know. Could it be that it comes with its own built-in restraints? Or maybe it’s the removable crotch piece once I am restrained?”

Ignoring her fears, “How about the bars? Does the pressure bother or hinder you?”

“The stupid things are fine, I barely feel them.”

“If you were to design one like that without the rods and standard pants what would you change?”

Seeing how I wasn’t leaving the topic be, “I don’t know why you like this one so much.”

“You look great in it. What would you change?”

The long-suffering sigh of a student that was subjected to a ‘pervy’ Master echoed throughout the car. “I can’t wear anything with sleeves under the jacket, the arms are a little snug.”

“Isn’t that jacket specifically meant to be worn without anything besides a bra?”

“You asked what I would change.”

“What about two jackets? One tight and one loose for a simple T?”

“That would work.”

After I released her, she studied for the rest of the trip while I drove to the airport.

After we landed in Vegas, there was a SUV waiting with a rental agent nearby. A quick signature while the flight attendant helped Cat load the suitcases and off we went to our meeting with Professor McCraken.

With my guest Faculty pass, I found a good parking spot near the Washington Physical Studies Building.

“Is the whole campus cement?” Cat watched the people and buildings as we drove.

“Vegas is a desert. Beats sand everywhere. Remember to make sure you keep within ten feet of me at all times. I doubt that there will be an issue. But you never know.”

“I know, you told me before. Three times now.” she replied wryly.

Following the walkway as it curved around an oval building, Cat stayed at my side as we passed numerous students, few of which gave us a second glance. One group of three girls that recognized my student from Justice followed us.

“Isn’t she too young to have a Sugar Daddy?”

“Hell, for that sweater, you fucked Josh last week.”

“Is that old guy her Daddy or her Daddy?”

“Shit, he isn’t bad looking and built, not that I would fuck him for free ride and clothes.” The snarky comments continued until we entered the Material Building where the three veered off.

Cat’s response after the doors closed behind us was singular. “Bitches.”

“There will always be some like that. And as time has proved throughout the ages, there will always be some who are willing to sell their bodies for what they can get.”

Professor McCraken reserved a small conference room for our meeting today. The thirty-five-year-old short, top heavy woman greeted us when we entered. She had her folders and notes spread out as if she had been there for hours before we arrived in Vegas.

“Smith, Miss Larkin, thank you for coming. Please have a seat.” Gretchen McCraken was a bundle of energy. Her mannerisms were crisp and lively. The well-tailored dark blue pinstriped suit didn’t seem to fit her personality.

“Thank you, Gretchen.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

“You aren’t one of my students, thank god. Please call me Gretchen. Can I call you Catherine?”

“That would be fine.”

“There is a mini fridge in the corner. Help yourself; water, sandwiches and munchies. The AC isn’t the best, but we make do.”

Cat took her tablet from her over the shoulder black leather case and I, my laptop from my much older beaten brown one. Gretchen dove right in the main topic right away with Cat taking notes at my side and I filled in a few of the blanks for our host while guiding her towards other solutions or at least better guesses on the rest.

Two hours on the dot later a knock on the door interrupted our conversation. “Professor, lunch is here.”

“Enter Charles.”

An early-twenties, lanky, grad student entered pushing a cart. He stopped, almost knocking over the trays of food. “Mistress! You never told me that they were your guests?” he whined.

“Charles, did you forget where you are?” she reproached with menace.

“Sorry, Professor. Sorry, Smith, Sorry, Miss Larkin. I know my mistake and will atone later.” I grinned. He was addressing his Faculty Adviser but his attention was still on Cat.

“Please excuse Charles. He gets carried away, all too often.” Both threat and promise to be delivered later, apparently. “Charles, this is Smith, and Miss Catherine Larkin. I’m sure you know who they are. Charles is beginning his masters in Metallurgy this semester under me.”

“Good luck with your studies Charles, your choice of professors is a good one.”

“Thanks, Professor Smith.”

Before the clueless lad could dig his hole deeper, his Professor pointed at the door, “That will be all Charles.” The top-heavy blonde ‘Mistress’ ordered her student out.

As soon as the door closed, our host continued exactly where she left off. Cat nibbled while taking notes for later. She was under orders not to speak until the meeting was over and any questions regarding Gretchen’s material were to be addressed tonight.

At 3:30 Gretchen’s watch chimed once causing her release a sigh. Leaning back in her chair. “You certainly don’t disappoint. I hope you realize that all of academia hates your guts, Catherine.”

Cat froze beside me for the briefest of moments with Gretchen’s non-sequitur.

“Why...?” She visibly stumbled over that question.

“Jealousy and Envy. Greed and Pride too. They all want what you have. HIM.” Gretchen pointed at me.

“And they think I stole him or something?”

“Who knows what they think or if they even can think? I’d sacrifice the whole English department with a shale knife on the altar of Satan for your place by his side. Learning what only ‘that Jerk’ can teach year after year.” She made fun of Cat’s favorite phrase describing me.

Switching to a pleasant smile, “I’m rooting for you, Catherine.”

“Thanks,” Cat responded, slightly bewildered.

Gretchen slid a business card across to me. “It’s a little club I belong to off the strip. I understand you two have a busy day planned but if you have some free time stop by.”

Club L&L. The first ‘L’ was in thick black ink the second was snowflake white. “Thank you for the offer, but we were up early this morning.”

“Understood.” The mentally and physically robust woman stood and shook each of our hands. “It was a pleasure meeting you both. Tomorrow at eight then?”

“Tomorrow at eight,” I confirmed.

We parked in one of the casino lots and strolled the strip for a couple of hours until our dinner reservation at the newly opened Dino’s. Checking in to our two-bedroom suite on the 88^th floor to wash the dust off, we rode the elevator down to the seventieth floor to dine at a new restaurant.

Six o’clock was early by Vegas standards but the grossly oversized dining room was still full. Giant white marble dominated the senses. Tables, pillars, the five steps down from the Hostess’s Stand, the sixty-foot walls were even covered in the white marble with blue veins. The massive glass and gold chandeliers hung half way down strongly illuminating the whole room. There was a single wall of towering windows with four tables in dominating placement. One was ours.

Cat received a second glance or two but that was it. One of the benefits about starting her in Vegas was that the people, both local and tourist, were used to celebrities.

Cat was stiffer than usual. Even checking in, she wasn’t all there. Mostly looking around like a normal tourist yet she never left my side. I sat her across from me and we both ordered drinks.

“Something wrong?”

“This place is a little...”

“Extravagant?”

“I was thinking obnoxious. But yeah.”

I laughed at her description. We discussed her impression of Vegas so far (Unfavorable). The dinner, very favorable, especially considering neither of us cooked well, nor cared to learn. The atmosphere in the dining room was louder than either of us liked. No hard surfaces separating the diners to reduce the noise. A large drunken party off in a corner had their festivities carry further than expected.

“What they need here is a noise break. Can you make one?”

“I can.”

“How much do you think you can make it for? And how many will they need?”

THAT was new. Very new. She is thinking about Devices and their applications. “Ten Devices at twenty-five each, my cost. What do you plan on doing?”

“How long will it take you to make them?”

“Two weeks. I designed and have used something similar in the workshop to reduce the noise level of the Stations and control room for the last thirty years.” The control room was where she probably stole the idea from.

After a few questions on how they worked and their performance she asked, “May I, Master?”

“Go ahead.” I thought I understood what she intended and wanted to see it played out ... see her play it out.

When the waiter brought my coffee and her Creme Brule, Cat asked to speak with the manager ‘when they have a second, please’.

Cat pulled out a pen and scribbled her email address on it.

A smart dressed woman with a natural smile stopped by a few minutes later while Cat was enjoying her flamed creamy sugar.

“Are you enjoying your meal Miss Larkin?”

“Very much so, Ma’am. He’s a worse cook than I am.” Steeling herself. “For seven hundred fifty thousand, Master can make you a set of Devices that will bring the noise between tables to less than twenty-five decibels.”

“For the entire restaurant?” The professional auburn haired, fit woman clarified.

“This whole open area. Delivery in two weeks along with installation instructions. Sorry, I don’t have any cards and this Jerk,” ‘not yet at least.’ “doesn’t carry any. This is my email, let me know if you accept.” She handled herself very well. The price was a little low, but I wasn’t about to quibble. I would have quoted a million for an establishment such as this.

“I’m Belinda Carlisle. Here is my card, Miss Larkin. I believe once I speak with the owner’s representative, he will instantly approve your deal. Expect a notice later tonight.”

They shook hands on the proposed agreement. Mrs. Carlisle comped our dinner without informing us.

“The waiter. What should be his tip?” I wanted to see how far she would go.

“The whole meal,” she stated.

“100% tip?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“The meal was excellent. You will end up making money off the time here and he deserves to be tipped.”

Not the most well thought out or articulate of reasons, BUT I approved of her initiative.

I made Cat pay. The reservations were in her name after all. With little time remaining we took a taxi a mile away to Murder Mystery Theatre where we watched an improvised play. The actors each received a write up of their character and their motives. Two directors, at the corners of the stage visible to the audience, kept the actors running and stumbling for two hours until the culprit was revealed.

The maid killed the butler over an affair with the nanny, who stole the silverware, who blamed the cook for pursuing the maid, who accused the nanny, who insisted her innocence while sneaking in with the houseman at night. All of which was revealed along with other amusing sub plots. The Master and Mistress of the manor returned to find the house surrounded by police while everyone explained what happened.

Quite well done. Cat clapped and smiled at their antics, appreciating their off-the-cuff performance. We sat in a private box so she didn’t get bothered, not that I believed that she would be. Just in case.

I slid over my phone. “Look up Club L&L.”

“Club Leather and Lace, admittance by invitation only. Nothing else is on their site unless you are a member.”

“Keep looking,” I ordered while we lounged in our seats. We passed fifteen minutes or so that way before they asked us to vacate.

“I’m looking ... I am ... It’s a private BDSM club. No Sex. No Drugs. Is that the card Professor McCraken gave you?”

“Yes, it is. Do you want to go see what it is like?”

“You are such a Jerk.” She didn’t sound sure one way or the other.

“Which Jerk was that? Was that a ‘you did that on purpose, but I’ll try’ or ‘you did that on purpose, and no way in hell’?” I chuckled ruefully. Cat’s use of Jerk was a language all to itself.

“We leave when I say.”

“Of course, we will have to stop back at the hotel and get a mask.”

“Yeah. Because No One ever recognizes anyone disguised behind a domino mask.”

“Deniability.”

“Maybe you will Perv someone else for once,” she whispered to herself.

I pretended not to hear her complaint.

Going to an unknown venue, I added an extra layer of security on my charge. “The bracelet is voice activated. If you raise your voice, call for help, assistance, mayday, or say ‘Master Now’ a force field will protect you until I arrive. Make sure you don’t accidentally say ‘Master now is a Jerk’ causing it to activate or Master now let’s go home. If you want to change the activation words. We can do that at home.” I was serious, giving her another obvious escape Device.

“Okay. Thanks, Master,” Cat responded, subdued for some reason.

The taxi dropped us off at a converted nightclub with an attached boutique of the same name which had closed hours ago. Blackened exterior windows on all three floors accompanied the sole black lit neon sign ‘Club Leather and Lace’. The single guard was sitting on a tall three-legged stool with her left foot on the ground, the other resting on the spoke.

“I haven’t seen you before. Do you have an invitation?” The lady in jeans and a Knights jacket asked.

Handing over the card with my right, keeping Pet’s leash in the other. “Gretchen McCraken invited us for the evening.”

“She left word but didn’t think you would make it. Hundred per person at the register. No open sex or drugs, respect other’s property. No pictures, vids or recordings of any type. If one of the guests gets out of line, call for the management. Do not handle it yourself.”

“Thanks, the rules sound acceptable.”

“This isn’t a bar. We treat it as our house. Please act accordingly.”

The bouncer knocked once, which activated a buzzer. Pulling the door, I escorted Cat inside the moderately lit hallway. “This is my first time in one of these places too. Shall we see how it plays out?”

“Why didn’t you tell me that before?” Eyes widening, Cat harshly whispered in accusation.

“Now, now. No hitting your Master,” I warned too late.

“Jerk.” ‘A warning.’

No special activities were planned for tonight according to the cashier. Rock played over the speakers at a low enough volume not to disturb the conversations yet loud enough for it to be noticeable.

The booths were all taken except for the crescent shaped one for five or so next to the stage, probably because of the large blind spot that was left for the ones that faced away from it.

Escorting Cat to the middle behind the table, I sat next to her with the stage partially blocked, I took the spot with the better view of the room. The waiter, in gaudy silver chaps with matching underwear took our orders of iced tea for her and bourbon and water for me. “Breathe and relax. No one will come at you. Just treat it as a fashion show.”

“They said no sex!” Cat communicated across the table with a concerned whisper.

“Where?”

“That girl on the table there with food on her.” The teen with her Midwest sheltered, prudish upbringing, was aghast.

“They are eating snacks off that girl. She is wearing tiny red panties.” The ‘snacks were placed very close to the area in question where a portly younger woman was licking the whip cream off the victim’s inner thighs. The other two table companions were also slurping and licking up the morsels located on the ‘victim’s’ almost completely bare body.

“Did you notice, she is chained down. We have the same sets just under the four corners of this table. Just a simple clasp.”

“What!?” Cat jumped and stretched out to feel the clasp.

“If that girl there wanted to be free, she could easily release herself. Do you feel the clasp under the table right across from my hand? Even with it closed on the chain you still have enough play to undo it in seconds. Unless you panic.”

“That guy over there is staring at you,” she noted.

“The one with the four girls?”

“Yeah.” Right now, Cat would do just about anything to distract herself from the girl being used as a dinner platter.

“That’s Typhoon. Catherine, he is not staring at me. It’s you, he’s watching.”

“He looks like a creep.”

The waiter brought our drinks before I could respond. I ordered the sampler for munchies. “He’s a famous A- ranked Hero in this city. Are you saying a Hero is a creep?”

“Yes.”

“His reputation with the ladies isn’t the best. I don’t know much about him other than no Heroine will work with him more than once or twice.”

“I wish he would stop.”

“Unfortunately, pretty girls get stared at all the time in bars across the world. There isn’t much you can do unless you want to make a scene or leave.”

I noticed a new triple enter. “Don’t stare, look at the three that just entered.” A woman toting two Arabian Nights twins, one in blue gauze and the other in red, took a center table. The twins, probably the same age as Cat knelt, on either side of their Mistress. The woman was a beauty, dressed in a white sheik’s robe and matching oversized turban with a towering blue feather jutting from the front of it. The raven-haired woman looked vaguely familiar.

Cat froze again after she grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Breathe, just Breathe. Do you know who she is?”

“Sersi, a Villainess.”

Seeing how Pet was still not relaxing, I tried to sooth her, “Do you believe that you are in danger with me next to you?”

“What is she doing here?” Panic was setting in again.

Sigh, “Catherine, what is the definition of the Planck Constant?”

“It’s a physical constant that is the quantum of action, one of the central values of quantum mechanics,” she recited from somewhere. We hadn’t progressed that far in physics yet.

“What are you going to have for breakfast tomorrow?”

“I get it. Thanks, Master.” She still had not released her death grip on my hand.

“Super villains need to unwind too you know.”

I got the ‘LooK’.

“You should be thanking her. She is now blocking the ‘creep’s’ line of sight.”

A steady stream of guests entered, filling the chairs and the floor in certain areas next to the chairs if none were available. Cat and I discussed their behavior and apparel. Mostly lack of in the latter case. The guests slowly mingled amongst the tables, excluding ours. We were the obvious outsiders.

Half way through our appetizers, a red Arabian princess stood from her kneeling position, turned and gracefully headed to our table, one of the few not completely filled.

Cats nails dug into my leg under the table this time. “My Mistress would like to join you for conversation if that is acceptable with Master Smith.” The beautiful girl politely inquired.

“Tell Sersi, she is welcome at our table.”

“Pet...” I paused, “Consider this neutral ground. No one will start anything. No one wants to lose a good place to unwind. The tightly wound sixteen-year-old forced a long breath out and seemed to relax. Even the nails that had tried to draw blood a few times let up.

“Thanks for welcoming me, Smith.” Her oversized turban wobbled a bit when she sat to my right. Sersi’s two Pets knelt facing the table with only their faces above the edge.

“I don’t believe we have met before. I hear you are called Sersi, or do you prefer a different name?”

“Virginia is fine. I must admit that your latest acquisition is outstanding. Charm, beauty, intelligence and temperament. The rest of us are quite jealous.”

“Pet here still needs work. Give her time.” Those nails dug into my thighs as a warning.

“No need to worry about me. I will admire from afar. I have little to do with gadgets.” The enchanting woman replied, not so frivolously.

“What brings you to my table then Virginia?”

“Ooh straight to the point. I heard that about you. I was hoping that you would let your Pet spend time with my two kittens. We can get a room, sit back and watch, while the children play.

The heat of embarrassment coming from Pet was enough to fuel the forges of old. The twins both looked eagerly at their Mistress’s suggestion. I tilted Cat’s head back looking her over while she begged with a simple, “Please.” That was not a please; ‘May I go play’. That was a please; ‘let’s get the hell out of here’.

“Looks like my Pet here is not quite ready for the advanced course yet. I’ll need to take a rain check.”

“Pity. My girls are more than willing to play just for your pleasure. If you two would rather watch. And learn.” The black-eyed woman sneaked a covetous smile at Cat. I detected a hint of magic in the air, subtly probing but unable to broach my defenses, which also warded my charge.

“Again, I will pass. Tonight, is Pet’s first night out. Viewing is the only item on the itinerary.”

“Shame. Maybe next time. Come girls. Mistress is despondent, let’s cheer her up.” Speaking in the third person, Virginia instructed her Pets into another area. She was definitely not the original Sersi.

I stabbed a calamari that was getting cold, dipped in the red sauce and fed it to Cat who was still half-frozen in fear. “You didn’t want to join those two tonight, did you?”

“NO.” She squeaked out. The number of times Cat had troubles speaking tonight was over twenty.

“Are you sure? Those two looked eager and experienced.”

“Master can we please go?” Cat broke down, begging in tears.

“Sure.” I called the taxi who let me know it would be five to seven minutes. Not sure of the etiquette, I left a couple hundreds for the waiter and escorted Cat to the entrance to wait for the cab.

Once in the back of the yellow taxi, she leaned into me and started crying in earnest. All I could do was hold her. I had no clue what she was crying about. Virginia demonstrated no ill intent.

Entering the hotel side of the casino, we went straight to the elevators. Our two-bedroom suite was on the 88^th floor. Once in the safety of the room Cat seemed to settle down.

“Too much too fast, right?” She nodded staring off into the night. “Take this. Go shower and get to bed.” I handed her a sleeping pill for emergencies such as this. Not that I expected to use it after going to a club, more like if a death or a bloody scene happened from a Super confrontation.

Unquestioning, she took the glass of water from me and swallowed the capsule and went to her room. “Leave the door open. I’ll be here.”