Chapter 10: The Retreat

Helen hadn't expected us to return so soon from our shopping trip. We caught her in the pleasure palace, naked, hanging upside down from the ceiling like a trapeze artist, with vibrators inserted in both her pussy and her ass. Two strong elastic ropes - the kind which body builders stretch to develop their muscles - were fixed to the walls on either side of her. They were fixed slightly ahead of where Helen was hanging, roughly at the same height as her breasts as she was hanging in an upside down position. The elastic ropes were attached to nipple clamps Helen was wearing and exerted considerable forward and sideways pull on her tits. Another rubber band was hanging from the ceiling, waiting to be attached to the clamp on Helen's clit.

It was a fantastic image to behold. Being able to see Helen's naked beauty again - her beautiful breasts, her perfectly rounded ass cheeks and her hairless pussy - after weeks of having to guess the shape of her body through the body stocking was a wonderful surprise. I could only guess what kind of pain the pull of the elastic ropes on Helen's nipples might cause, and what agony would result if she were to go ahead and attach the third rubber band to her clit.

I wondered how Helen had managed to get herself into this position on her own. It required careful planning and considerable physical flexibility to hang oneself upside down from the ceiling, put on nipple clamps and then attach them to the wall, the way Helen had done. I also observed that in spite of her uncomfortable position, she didn't look like a helpless, vulnerable victim. She was completely in charge of the situation.

One thing which might explain this impression was that she had retained free use of her hands and arms, whereas Cathy and I always had our hands tied behind our backs when we found ourselves suspended from the ceiling.

"I'm just trying out some new positions for you guys," Helen explained as she detached the elastic ropes from her nipple clamps. The ropes snapped against the walls with considerable force as Helen released them. The noise they made gave an indication of the strain they must have caused Helen's nipples.

Cathy's eyes sparkled. She had all but forgotten the disagreeable events at the mall. This new way of suffering seemed to hold a strange attraction for her. "When are you going to let me try this new position?" she asked.

"Soon," Helen answered as she swung her upper body upwards a few times until her hands were able to reach the trapeze bar. "Maybe sooner than you'd like."

While one hand held on to the bar, Helen untied her legs and then jumped down to the floor. She removed the vibrators from her pussy and ass and held them out to Cathy. "Lick them clean for me," she said.

Cathy reacted like a puppy which had been told to fetch a ball. She dropped to her knees and licked the two vibrators Helen had handed her, one at a time. In the meantime, Helen slipped back into the black outfit which had become her trademark over the recent weeks.

Cathy acted as if the experience of feeling those elastic ropes pull on her nipples couldn't come soon enough. She seemed willing to start straight away, without saying a word about what happened at the shopping center.

But Helen wouldn't be Helen if she hadn't noticed the disappointment and distress on our faces as we returned, much earlier than expected. Besides, we had returned empty-handed. Cathy hadn't made any move to show Helen proudly what beautiful present I had bought her - which would have been the normal thing to happen after a shopping trip.

"What happened?" Helen asked. "Didn't you find anything you liked?"

"That bitch Sue made a scene and told everybody I was a cocksucker. It's not my fault that her husband got fed up with her constant refusals and looked for someone else," Cathy burst out.

Helen didn't know who 'that bitch Sue' was. I could see that Cathy's report was likely to be short on facts and long on emotions, so I decided to provide a more objective account of our encounter with Bill's wife.

I gave Helen a detailed report of what had happened, exactly how it had happened, without taking sides. Of course, I had to agree with Cathy that women who don't please their men have only themselves to blame if their men look elsewhere for satisfaction. After all, the new thrill in our relationship was largely the result of Cathy having learned this lesson.

I also repeated what Sue had said about Helen, 'that chink woman', about the assessment that it was all her fault and the allegation of her being investigated by the FBI for being a member of some unspecified secret organization.

Helen seemed to be hurt by these accusations.

"It's terrible to see how deeply embedded these racist ideas are in people's minds. When everything is hunky-dory, the economy is doing well, everybody has a job and a place to live, then it almost seems that this way of thinking has disappeared. But as soon as a conflict arises, people resort to the same old stereotypes. They accuse us of taking away their jobs, their apartments, their men - or of being terrorists.

"If the FBI has a file on me, then it's probably because of my frequent and long trips to Cuba. And I was born in Vietnam! So somebody added two and two together and concluded that I'm planning single-handedly to overthrow the government."

"With this particular government, you would be doing the American people a favor," I ventured.

"Not only the American people, the whole world," Cathy added.

But Helen was more concerned about our future than that of the American government. "It looks like you've bestowed your generosity on the wrong kind of people."

I tried to defend my friends, particularly Bill, but had to agree with Helen that he carried a fair share of responsibility for the scene at the mall, and that he was, at best, a dumb ass.

"This Sue is going to do whatever she can to turn your existence into a living hell. Your best bet is to get out of here without leaving a forwarding address."

I found Helen's suggestion far too radical. Wouldn't a quick departure on the quiet look like an admission of guilt? We hadn't done anything we needed to be ashamed of. Why should we run away from Sue and her twisted value system? I preferred to wait and see how things would develop rather than take any precipitous action we might regret later.

"Sometimes you don't want to hang around until things get worse. You get out of the way before the defenders of moral values come down on you with full force. And if it looks like an admission of guilt, who cares? Those who will judge you guilty aren't the kind of people whose opinion matters to you, anyway."

Even if we accepted that Helen might be right, there were practical questions which couldn't be resolved so quickly. We couldn't pull up stakes and leave from one day to the next. We didn't have any place to move to, nor did we have any idea which part of town - or which other town - might offer a more tolerant atmosphere for people like us.

"Those friends I mentioned already a few times would probably be able to accommodate you. You would be almost as comfortable with them as you are here. And the great advantage is that you would be amongst people who value your skills and attitude. Tomorrow morning, I'll make a few phone calls. Maybe I'll go and talk to them about your case.

"As for today, we can't let the day pass without you receiving any training. Take off those funny clothes and let's see what else I can teach you."

Shortly afterwards I was treated to the sight of Cathy hanging upside down from the ceiling, her arms tied behind her back, vibrators humming away in her ass and pussy, and her full breasts being pulled in opposite directions.

In addition to the torture Helen had inflicted on herself while we were out shopping, Helen had also tied a coarse rope around Cathy's chest, just above and below her breasts and also crossing between them. The result, which looked like some kind of harness, had the effect of pushing Cathy's breasts upward and forward, making them protrude even more than usual. Just seeing Cathy tied up like this, with her arms behind her back, got my cock so hard, it almost hurt.

Helen had decided to use shorter elastic bands on Cathy than she had used on herself. With Cathy's ample breasts the ropes had to be shorter to exert the same pull, she explained.

Only a few weeks ago, seeing Cathy suffer like this would have made me feel nothing but compassion for her. But now, her vulnerability made me want to abuse her a little more. There was an almost irresistible desire to spank her ass as she was hanging there, to cause her body to swing back and forth, knowing that this would increase the strain on her nipples even further. This desire didn't come from a wish to hurt Cathy. It came from the knowledge that by increasing her pain I would also increase her pleasure.

Fortunately for Cathy - or maybe unfortunately - I wasn't in a condition to cause her any discomfort. Helen had decided to let me feel the strength of those elastic ropes too. I witnessed Cathy's ordeal on my knees, my legs spread as wide as possible, with a rope pulling my cock down towards the floor, while it wanted to go in the opposite direction: up. My arms were tied behind my back and, for good measure, there was a vibrator humming away in my ass.

Helen must have read my mind. Or maybe I had learned to think like her. As she slapped Cathy's bottom, Cathy's body started to swing to and fro. Cathy's whimpers grew louder whenever the pull on her nipples increased.

When Helen attached the third rubber strap to Cathy's clit, Cathy was treated to the sensation of having her clit pulled towards the ceiling while the rest of her body was pulled down, towards the floor, following the law of gravity. It must have been a very powerful sensation, judging by the noise Cathy produced.

The screams seemed to be too much for Helen. She took some strong, wide adhesive tape and stuck it over Cathy's mouth. The measure had the desired effect, but it made me wonder why Helen had resorted to such an unsophisticated method of gagging Cathy? I knew that there was an impressive range of brightly-colored ball gags in Helen's toolbox which she might have used. The only reason I could think of was that removing the tape afterwards would cause a lot more pain than simply unfastening a ball gag.

"The place you'll be moving to isn't as isolated as your house. You'll have to learn to control your screams - or you'll have to be gagged in the future," Helen explained.

Even though I hadn't gotten around to buying Cathy anything at the mall, she still received a special present later that day. Cathy was allowed to lick Helen's pussy while I fucked her ass.

As I watched Cathy's tongue slide along Helen's juicy slit, I wondered what I would need to do to earn a similar reward. I envied Cathy for the privilege, but I wasn't going to scorn her rear which she offered me so eagerly. While the vibrator still stimulated my own ass, I thrust my cock into Cathy's rear to show her how much I had enjoyed her performance a little earlier.

I knew that Cathy enjoys eating Helen's pussy almost as much as I do, so I kept my movements slow and steady, at least in the beginning. That also gave me a chance to watch how Cathy's tongue explored every crevice of this wonderful slit. And I could see the quiet pleasure on Helen's face as Cathy pulled out all the stops and demonstrated how much she had learned over the recent weeks.

My own pleasure wasn't anything to be sneezed at, either. My cock was planted deep in Cathy's tight ass and accompanied every movement of her rear, while there was a man-size vibrator lodged in my own ass, humming away at varying speeds according to Helen's whim - because she had taken charge of the remote control.

After I had let Cathy satisfy her appetite for Helen's pussy, I started fucking her rear in earnest. And I knew that, in spite of all the stimulation I was receiving, it wouldn't be over within minutes. I no longer needed Helen's device to control my ejaculation. I could fuck as long as I wanted and I was the one who decided when I was going to come.

I was determined to make this a memorable fuck. I wanted to hear Cathy's orgasmic screams, muffled only by the fact that her mouth was buried in Helen's crotch. I held on to Cathy's hips as I thrust into her ass. I could see Helen squeeze her own nipples as Cathy's tongue plowed her slit, moved by the force of my thrusts.

As I looked at 'my' two women in front of me I wondered seriously whether any man in the world has ever felt happier than I felt at that moment.

The next morning brought the unusual sight of Helen serving our breakfast dressed in what could best be described as a smart business suit.

"I've already made a few phone calls while you were still snoring," Helen explained. "As soon as I've finished feeding you, I'll go and see a few people to arrange an asylum for you. I'm sure there will be a big demand for people with your talent and enthusiasm."

Her words reminded me of our decision to move somewhere else in order to avoid the vendetta which Sue might organize against us. It wouldn't be easy to leave the house with the grand staircase and the pleasure palace behind. But it also raised the question where Helen would stay.

"What about you?" I asked her. "Are you going to come with us?"

"No," Helen answered, "It's time for me to move on. Remember that Leonard Cohen song in which it says: 'I told you when I came I was a stranger'? I've always warned you that I couldn't stay with you forever. Now is as good a time as any to say goodbye. But before I go I'll make sure you're well looked after."

This answer, although it was meant to be reassuring, caused a storm of protests from Cathy and me. "I'd rather stay here with you and face the lynch mob, than move to a safe place without you," Cathy declared. I joined Cathy in her pleas, declaring that life wouldn't be the same without Helen's daily torture.

Helen wouldn't be swayed. "The choice is not stay here with me or move without me. I've got to go in any case. So the choice is stay here without me or move without me. If you move, there will be somebody who'll look after your need for daily torture. If you stay, you're alone against the mob. The choice is yours."

After some more protests from both of us and some whining from Cathy we had to face the fact that Helen would be leaving us, whichever way we decided.

"If we really have to part ways, then I want to be allowed to kiss your raspberry lips once more before you abandon us. Not just your lips, I want to kiss your entire body, every tiny little part of it. I want to make love to you for hours and I want to come inside you and then lick my cum from your pussy," I stated my requirements for letting Helen leave.

Cathy had her own wish list. It seemed to consist of one item only. "I want you to lick me into oblivion," she requested. And as far as me retrieving my cum from Helen's pussy was concerned, Cathy staked a claim for at least part of it. I agreed to share it with her.

Helen seemed to be touched by the enthusiasm with which we described what we intended to do to her. "I'll remember it when the time comes," she said. "And who knows, our paths may cross again in the future."

Although that answer didn't constitute any firm commitment on her part, we felt pleased about her response and were almost looking forward to the time when we had to say farewell.

After Helen left to talk to her friends, Cathy and I made our way to the discipline den, just as we would normally do. In Helen's absence we felt like children who had sneaked into their parents' bedroom while they were away.

Without me saying a word, Cathy spread out on top of the table, waiting for me to tie her up. I strapped her into the customary X-shape, put clamps on her nipples and teased her with my tongue and a number of vibrators. Cathy's reaction was as expected: she wanted more, she wanted me to make her come. I kept teasing her for a while, but in the end I gave in to her pleas and brought her to a wonderful orgasm, sucking her clit while I pushed a vibrator into her pussy.

After that I tried out the ropes. I had had plenty of opportunity to watch Helen tie up Cathy in every imaginable shape, but doing it myself was a completely different thing. The ropes were never tight enough to cause any real discomfort. My knots were so loose that Cathy managed to free herself after wriggling for a short while.

Cathy put her frustration into words. "As torture-masters go, you're a failure. You try to be gentle when you ought to be severe. I want you to hurt me because it gives both of us pleasure. You're too compassionate. It seems like you constantly want to apologize for what you're doing."

I had to admit that I could never quite put aside the enormous tenderness I feel for Cathy. Maybe this was just a question of learning as I went along. Maybe I just don't have the talent. Or maybe I'm just a wimp when it comes to causing pain, as Cathy kept saying.

Cathy thought it was time for her to demonstrate her skills as a torture-master. She had learned to enjoy suffering pain, therefore she didn't have any problem with causing pain. And, boy, did she make me suffer!