Chapter 16

I felt a hand gently jiggling my shoulder, and mumbled, “I’m sorry, Stef. I love you.” I reached out blindly, confused because I wasn’t holding anyone, then rubbed my eyes and sat up abruptly. Grant was standing over me, looking puzzled. I burst out laughing. “I was dreaming I was Larry.” I stretched and put my feet on the floor, rubbing my eyes again. “Are they up yet? What time is it?”

Grant shook his head. “Six-thirty. I let you sleep a little longer, ‘cause nothing’s happening.”

I walked blearily over to the food cupboard. Grant had gone back to the console. “Cereal?” I called back to him.

“Sure.”

I returned to the console with two bowls of cereal in milk, plus banana slices. “Have they moved at all?”

Grant shook his head again. “Really out cold.”

On the screen, Larry’s and Steffi’s naked bodies were entangled, clinging to each other as if in mutual need. “I imagine Steffi’s got the whole day planned out.”

“I’m sure.”

Steffi was beginning to stir, gently moving her forearm, her hand stroking “Zeke” from upper back to buttocks. I smiled. “She probably wishes...”

I suddenly jumped out of my seat. “Oh!! Yeah!!”

Grant whirled in his seat at looked up at me, a worried look on his face. “What?”

I looked at Grant’s expression and laughed. “No, it’s okay, but I just had the greatest idea! Do you know about...”

Suddenly Larry was obviously awake, returning Steffi’s caresses, pulling her closer and kissing her. I sat down again, patting Grant on the shoulder. “I’ll tell you later. I hope I get a chance to tell Larry too. He’ll love it!”

I assumed this day would go much like the first. I watched as Larry and Steffi fed each other breakfast—with spoons this time, accompanied by lots of giggling and kisses in between bites. Afterwards they showered together. The door to the shower was completely transparent. The glass must have been treated to resist condensation, because no fog interfered with the camera’s view of Larry and Steffi stroking each other with soapy sponges, caressing each other, their kisses growing gradually longer. Finally, they stood pressed together and Larry fingered Steffie until she grabbed his erection and demanded more. Then he stood her against the side wall, parted her legs, and slid into her. He bent his knees and worked himself in and out of her until she screamed again, then thrust hard and fast and finally hilted himself inside her as the water cascaded in streams down their bodies and washed them clean again.

Larry dried Steffi and then himself, and they emerged from the bathroom, holding hands. Steffi led Larry to the easy chair, and he draped himself over the seated Steffi as he had yesterday. He looked surprised when Steffi smiled and made a get-up gesture with her finger. He complied, asking worriedly, “What do you want, Stef? I’ll do anything.”

Steffi’s smile widened. “That’s the spirit, Zeke. And that will help you very much in your next character.”

Larry frowned. “What—what do you mean?”

“Well, you’ve got the lover role down so well, I think we can put a wrap on that. Let me tell you what I want you to be now.”

Larry said cautiously, “O ... kay...”

Steffi stood and walked to the back wall, as Larry turned, puzzled, watching Steffi’s progress.

Steffi reached into a niche in the wall, and returned moments later, carrying several chains and padlocks, and a small whip. Larry looked down at the metal bands on his wrists, and caught on quickly. As Zeke, he started backing away, shaking his head.

Steffi stopped and snapped, “Come here. Don’t make me chase you around.”

Larry stopped, not yet approaching. “P-please don’t, Stephanie. I hate the idea of being tied up. I was really scared when you had me that way before. In ‘The Bank Job’ they were going to have Stephen tie me up, and I made them rewrite it so he just held me at gunpoint...” He stopped suddenly, as if aware he was babbling.

Steffi’s mouth was a thin line. “Come here. Hold your arms up.”

Unwillingly, Larry took a step toward Steffi. “There must be something else I can do. Please?”

Steffi stood with her hands on her hips, a chain dangling from one. “Are you going to stop being a Good Boy now?” She gave Larry a significant look.

Larry moaned. “I don’t like this.”

Steffi gave an exasperated sigh and smiled. “Zeke, I thought you’d figured it out by now! This isn’t about what you like.”

“Zeke” gave up resisting. He came back to Steffi and stood obediently as Steffi circled his waist with a chain, locking it in place, then ran another tightly between his legs.

Larry squeaked at the touch of the chains and whined, “It’s cold.”

“Not in another minute. Turn away, and put your hands behind you.”

With another moan, Larry turned, and moments later both wristbands were locked to each other, and to the chains running around his waist. He sighed and looked down as Steffi knelt behind him and used two more padlocks to attach a chain, a little over two feet long, to run between his ankle bands. Steffi stood up and patted Larry’s butt playfully, then came around to stand in front of him.

Sullenly, Larry mumbled, “So I’m your slave now?”

Steffi grinned. “Zeke, you’ve been my slave since you woke up in here, but if you mean is that your next character, it is, yes. Now, let me see you kneel and stand up. You can get used to doing that, in spite of the hobble chain.”

After glaring again at Steffi, Larry looked down at the floor. “How am I supposed to do it without my hands?”

“You’ll figure it out.”

Expelling a heavy breath from his nose in irritation, Larry moved his right leg back until the chain stopped his ankle. He kicked back as if trying to make the chain longer, then finally bent both knees, letting his right touch the floor, then leaning a little farther right to take the weight off his left foot, then quickly shifting his weight back to the left to keep from falling over while he drew his left foot back as fast as he could, wincing as he banged his left knee on the floor and desperately working to keep his balance as he nearly toppled to the left. He looked up at Steffi, his mouth a thin line.

Steffi nodded. “That was good for a first try. Now stand up.”

Larry lifted his right knee and brought his right foot forward, but couldn’t quite move it far enough to get his weight over it. Frustrated, he tried the same thing on the other side, inevitably with no better results. Finally, both knees back on the floor, he flattened his toes on the floor and rocked back, and found he was able to shift his weight back to his feet and stand.

“Okay. Try it again.”

After a few repetitions, Larry became more graceful. He was able to kneel quickly without smacking his knee against the floor. He finished standing, and resumed glaring at Steffi.

Steffi clapped his hands. “Good for you!” She reached up toward Larry’s collar with one end of the last remaining chain.

Larry, seeing what was coming, backed away again, saying hopelessly, “No, no, no...”

Frowning, Steffi snapped her fingers. Larry stopped abruptly, his mouth open in shock, and Steffi reached forward and snapped the last chain onto a ring on Larry’s collar. She then bent to pick up the whip.

The corners of Steffi’s mouth curled upwards. “Now, are you ready to hear the details of your next role?” The links of Larry’s leash jingled as Steffi flicked it playfully.

Larry snapped irritably, “I already know what it is!”

Steffi waved dismissively. “Not the finer points and subtleties. Now stay quiet and listen, because it’s already started. You’re to listen and obey. Understood?”

Larry opened his mouth, but held the words back. Indecision seemed to freeze him for a moment, before he finally nodded, his brows knitted in anger.

Steffi smiled and patted Larry’s shoulder. “Good boy. Now, this character will be a little similar to your last one, but will go well beyond it. As before, you love me, but this time not as an equal. Here’s the key to your character. I don’t just own your body. I own your mind. You have given your life over to me as a willing slave because of your obsession with me. Your entire being is built around worshipping me and serving me ... Ah-ah!” Steffi glared and held up a warning finger, as Larry opened his mouth to interrupt. Steffi went on as Larry sullenly subsided.

“Your only lines of dialogue will be easy to remember. They are, ‘Yes, Mistress,’ ‘Thank you, Mistress,’ and ‘I’m sorry, Mistress.’ One would hope you won’t have to use the last one very often, but you will whenever it is needed.”

Steffi’s eyes seemed to grow brighter by the minute as his excitement built. “Your duties are very simple as well. Obviously, you’re in no position to do any heavy lifting.” She smirked, reaching behind Larry to pat his bound hands. “But you can still do some very useful things. Whenever I feel a need of your service, I’ll point to a part of my body and give you a command, and you will say, in a heartfelt way, ‘Thank you, Mistress,’ and carry out the command eagerly on that part of my body, not only happy to be able to please me, but in fact thrilled to be allowed even to touch me. So much so that you will only stop when I order you to.”

Larry was breathing hard through his nose, a sign of the fury “Zeke” was feeling.

“Excepting only the times when carrying out an order makes it impossible, you are to keep your eyes on my face, waiting for your next command. The sight of me, the sound of my voice, the feel, the smell, the taste of my body—these are the things you live for, the center of your existence. Understood?”

Larry, shaking and apparently unable to keep his feelings bottled up any longer, let loose with a loud “Gahhh!!” and stood looking at Steffi, his teeth clenched.

Steffi smiled, and reached out to stroke Larry’s buttock. “Remember what happens if you’re not a good boy.”

Larry, still breathing hard, gave her a curt nod. The threat, of course, would always be the trump card that would conquer any rebellion by Zeke.

Steffi gave Larry’s backside one last slap. “There we go. Now, I’ll give you about sixty seconds to get yourself in the frame of mind of your character. When I snap my fingers, you need to be ready. From now.”

Larry closed his eyes, and moaned briefly, then was silent. His breathing slowed, and, very slowly, he seemed to relax, as if by force of will.

I couldn’t detect any sign of startlement on Larry’s part when Steffi snapped her fingers. Larry simply opened his eyes, wide, and fixed them on Steffi’s face. His mouth hung slightly open, his whole expression suggesting utter fascination.

Steffi simply smiled, turned away and began walking, holding Larry’s leash. Larry necessarily followed. At first, he nearly tripped over the hobble chain. He learned quickly to keep his feet slightly apart and move them in a deliberate rhythm that kept the chain dragging behind him. He had plenty of time to learn, as Steffi led him on several circuits around the room, looking back often to satisfy himself that Larry’s eyes were glued to hers.

Steffi stopped at last in front of the big chair and turned to sit in it, with Larry standing in front of her. Steffi pointed imperiously to the floor to the left of the chair and snapped her fingers. Larry quickly shuffled to stand where Steffi had pointed. Steffi said, “Down!” and snapped her fingers again. Larry knelt, gracefully now, as if he’d been doing it for years, his leash draping itself over the arm of the chair. Steffi smiled and patted Larry’s shoulder, murmuring “Good boy.”

Larry leaned his head over and stroked the back of Steffi’s hand with his cheek, a beatific smile curling his lips, his eyes still on Steffi’s face. Steffi’s brows knitted, and she lightly slapped Larry’s arm with the whip—actually a small token slave crop similar to those used at Academy parties, used more to shame a slave for failure of service than to hurt him—and snapped, “No! Never touch without permission!”

Larry jerked his head back upright, and said quickly in a stricken voice, “I’m sorry, Mistress!” He seemed to blink back tears.

Steffi nodded. “Now sit quietly.” Steffi sat back, crossed her right leg over her left, and reached to the table on the other side of the chair, opening a drawer and pulling out a book. She opened it and began reading, her right foot bobbing casually up and down as if keeping time to an inaudible rhythm. She continued for some time, no doubt much more conscious of Larry’s presence than she appeared.

Larry, or at least Zeke, acted indecisive. A few times he flexed his thighs as if he wanted to sit back on his heels, but wasn’t sure such a relaxed posture would be appropriate to his character. In the end he remained kneeling upright, watching Steffi’s eyes as they tracked back and forth across the page.

At length Steffi stretched her muscles and allowed a smile of bliss to cross her features—this situation seemed to be one of her favorite mental images from her long-evolved fantasy of Zeke’s humiliation. She looked at her adoring slave as Larry looked back at her, then pointed to her elbow, where it rested on the arm of the chair. “Kiss.”

Larry gasped, said breathily, “Thank you, Mistress!” seemingly brimming over in gratitude, and leaned down to Steffi’s elbow, bestowing a series of loving kisses on all of the area around the joint, making small excited noises in the back of his throat.

After several minutes, Steffi suddenly snapped, “Stop!”

Larry jerked back, his face full of disappointment, and said, “Yes, Mistress.” He took advantage of the ordered withdrawal to sit on his heels, taking the strain off his thighs. Steffi had no objection.