Chapter 54

"Good evening, slut," Harry said as he opened the closet door. "I can tell from the smell that you've made a mess."

Gloria Tanner had gotten her feet up underneath her so she could squat above the urine-soaked towels. Her eyes were red and swollen and she whimpered through the ball gag.

"Let's see ... does the slut need to go potty?" Harry asked.

"UMMHMMM!"

"Carol, take her to the toilet and see that she doesn't make any more messes. Camille, go get two bowls from the kitchen. Fill one with chunks of cheese, fruit and bread, bring the other one back and fill it with water. Put them down in the bathroom in the corner."

While the women went their separate ways, Harry found some of the knee and elbow pads that they'd purchased. He limped into the bathroom where Gloria was on the toilet, voiding her bowels. Harry sat down on the toilet next to her.

"Here's the way this is going to go, if it goes at all," he said. "You owe us a lot of money-"

Gloria was trying to speak through the ball gag.

"Take that off of her, Carol."

She did so and Gloria blurted out, "Twenty-four-thousand-three-hundred-and-fifty-five dollars! That's how much I owe you, sir."

"Good, now shut the fuck up. Let's see — I'd say five dollars an hour is a suitable fee for a pathetic whore like you ... that'll be..." He did the mental math in his head. "Four-thousand-eight-hundred-and-seventy-one hours of service ... now the occasional bonus for exemplary performance, double-time for particularly inconvenient sessions, and 'management fees' from loaning you out to other members of our House could lower that quite a bit, but you're still looking at a hell of a lot of time being my complete and total bitch. If we figure twenty hours a week, roughly, then you're looking at about..." Harry calculated, "two-hundred-forty-three weeks, a little under five years — to pay off what you owe me and my House.

"Where do you work?" he asked.

"I'm a bank teller at Alamo Federal, the Northpoint branch."

"Fine, you'll wear a collar whenever you're not at work — and yes, I mean you take it off only when you arrive at work, stash it in your car, and put it on the moment you get in the car to leave work for the day — it's not going to be a delicate stylish collar, which is the only reason I'm allowing you to remove it. You will wear a slave ring on your ring finger, left hand, all the time. Should anyone ask you about it, you may answer that you're 'involved' with someone — that being me and my House."

"Uh, sir," Carol said.

"Yes my love?"

"If she gets to wear one, and wear it there, you better plan on a stop at Danny de Vere's today for a lot of rings ... I'm betting there's not a submissive in this House that wouldn't jump at the chance to be so decorated, even with their ... how did you put it? Delicate, stylish collars? Yeah, and we need to grab two more of those as well ... make it three because of Angela."

"All right then, Sunday afternoon stop at Danny's for jewelry," Harry sighed.

"Now then slut, to continue. If I or any member of my House ever find you in violation of the rules — and we will be checking - then you're going to be faced with a choice. Either a severe beating — the kind that draws blood — or a surprise activity off your 'do not do' list or we put an end to our agreement. Do you understand? There isn't going to be any room for leniency in your life for quite some time."

"Yes sir."

"You're free to use your safe word whenever you want ... but if I think you're using it too much, we'll have to consider terminating our business arrangement. You will have time to spend with your son, but working off this debt is your second job from now on, and it'll take up a lot of your life."

"Sir, I'm sorry ... about my son..."

"Yes?"

"What if he needs me?"
"Then you'll be with him. We're not monsters, and taking care of you and your needs means taking care of him and his as well. Tonight he's at home with Usagi as a sitter. She'll be there for him in the morning, make him breakfast, keep him company until you're released to go home. He has a list of phone numbers that he can call for assistance, anything he needs, or just for company if he's feeling lonely. Now wipe yourself and go to the bidet."

"Yes sir." She did as she was commanded.

"We've looked at the list of things you won't do, and we're fine with them, except as mentioned before. As for the things you don't want to do, we don't care. You'll do what your told, when you're told, to the best of your ability, or we'll have to rethink our arrangement. As of now, there are four castes in this House — there are the Dominants, below them the submissives, below them is Dayna Spyderchylde, and far below her there's you. Until you earn the right to walk on two feet you will crawl on your hands and knees. Until you earn a name, you don't have one. Here," he said, handing her the pads, "wear these. Until I decide otherwise, you will eat and drink out of bowls on the floor."

"Thank you sir."

"By the way, from now on the only time you steal is when we tell you to. You pull anything like that again, our arrangement is terminated and you'll still have to shit a way to pay us. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Those are my House's terms. Do you find them acceptable, or do we work out some other way for you to repay what you owe?"

Gloria Tanner had had a lot of lonely, painful and embarrassing hours to think about what she'd done on a spur of the moment, and what it was likely to cost her. Her life was a mess and she knew it. She was fixating on her son and with her ... needs ... that could become dangerous if it went on much longer — she had no desire to end up in a sordid real-life incest drama. She liked to pretend she was causing so much mayhem as a lark, but she knew from experience that it was something deeper and darker than that. After well over a year of no contact with kinky and fetishistic people, in one night she had bet her future on a feeling and done something completely irresponsible and criminal that threatened her and her son. She wasn't really in control of herself at home and she was dangerously out of control among her kind of people.

And here were the people she'd robbed, offering to help her get what she needed — the only positive potential outcome in a situation fraught with negative possibilities.

"Yes sir, this slave accepts, thankfully. This slave will wear your collar gladly. Thank you for your concern for this slave's son. He deserves a much better mother than this slave."

"Actually, according to Jason, as well as everything I've seen," Carol said, "you're doing pretty well as a mother. It's everywhere else in your private life that you're falling apart, right?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Then that's what we'll help you with," Carol concluded.

"Now then, whore — go get some food and water," Harry said.

Gloria stood up to walk over and Carol slapped her breast.

"On your knees, slut!"

Gloria fell to her hands and knees and crawled over to the bowls.

"May this slave use her hands?" she asked.

"No ... you're an animal — eat like one," Carol replied.

"When you're through, we'll be in the bedroom waiting for you. Don't be too long," Harry said as Camille helped him up.

Once he was situated on the bed with his head in Camille's lap he said, "My darling, do you remember that wide o-ring collar that Madame Cornelius threw in one of our orders? See if you can find that, please?"

As Carol combed their toy closet for the collar, Harry said, "So, how are you doing, Camille?"
"All right sir ... though it's been a real rough weekend for realizing things I should have seen a long time ago."

"Such as?"

"Mostly, realizing what an absolute piece of shit Ramon is. I ... I lied to myself about that for a lot of years, blinded myself to just how little regard he had for me or my condition." She looked down at Harry, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "I didn't want to believe it, you know? He was my little brother — of course he loved me, just like I loved him. Except he didn't ... not even close. Seeing you and Mistress Nicki together helped show me that."

"Well now, we're a rather extreme case..."

"No sir, not the sex, although you'd be surprised how much of your love for each other shows through all of that, even the really kinky parts ... it was just how the two of you are together. The joy you take in each other's company, the shared affection that shines through no matter what. I never had that with Ramon ... not ever."

Carol came back with the collar. "I'm sorry, I've been listening ... Camille, if you don't mind me asking, what's y'all's story?"

"I will answer anything my Mistress asks, it is my pleasure.

"We were raised in Miami by our grandparents, traditional Cuban Catholic family. Ramon was a male, and therefore important ... me, not so much. I had an unfortunate relationship with a boy when I was in junior high — I got pregnant and of course, being Catholic there was no getting an abortion. I miscarried, and was a lot more careful afterwards, but I'd already ruined my relationship with my grandparents. I was a slut, no matter how much I tried to explain. Ramon was the golden boy and since he never brought his fuckups home with him, he could do no wrong. By the time they passed away, within six months of each other, I was drifting around, doing escort work from time to time, but mostly just hanging on the arm of any guy who'd show me a good time, and Ramon was completely incapable of taking care of himself or doing pretty much anything useful at all. I had to take care of him, and luckily I got a very generous offer from a married man, it was enough to take care of me and Ramon, so I became his mistress. The third time I had to beg him to bail Ramon out of trouble, our relationship started going downhill in a hurry, so I found someone else, someone who was interested in both of us. That was okay for awhile, but Ramon turned into a greedy little whore and soured that deal. Then I found Stan at a bar one night, and ended up here. You know the rest. I'm sorry the story is so brief, but I didn't gather that you wanted all the dirty little details."

"Thank you, we didn't need them," Carol said, "and we appreciate your trust." She paused. "Camille, would it offend you, or bring back bad memories, if one night we asked you to do some roleplaying with us? You'd be the high-priced call girl, we'd be your clients?"

"No, it wouldn't upset me at all." She reached out and touched Carol's arm. "If you wanted, you and I could be a pair of high-priced call girls, sent to take care of your spouses."

"Why not try both?" Carol said, crawling up on the bed to sit on Harry's erect cock. "This family has a lot of nights in its future, a lot of opportunities to play. I mean, to be brutally frank, I'm getting a little bored with pirates, although we have two more nights where we'll be playing those in public, and I'm looking for our next kinky fantasy."

"Well Mistress," Camille answered, "the call girl fantasy doesn't strike me as being particularly good for extended play, over several nights."

"We have time to think about it," Carol said, lying on Harry's chest and pivoting her hips forwards and back, "there's no rush."

"Yes there is, my love," Harry said. "But it's not concerning fantasies. We're being bad hosts and hostesses ... we need to hurry this up and get back out there."

"Fuck 'em, Harry ... I have you to myself and there's no one else around."

"But what about Camille and the slut?"

She took his head in her hands and looked deep in his eyes. "They're submissives, they're servants, they're property — they don't count. There's no one else around, and I will have my way with you, Mr. Grimes."

"Yes ma'am, Mrs. Grimes."

Camille sat back and smiled, watching the two of them make love. It was a happy feeling, being in the bosom of a family ... her family. She saw Gloria crawl into the room, having finished her meal, and when she tried to climb up on the bed, Camille snapped her fingers and motioned to the floor. Gloria curled up on the rug by the bed and made herself comfortable.

Neither Harry nor Carol noticed any of it.

Harry enjoyed their submissives, he enjoyed his time with their House's allies, but it seemed as things went on, everything conspired to insure he had less and less time with his spouses. He loved all the other people in his life, but he wasn't going to marry them, and he was missing spending time with them.

"Baby ... Girl ... the week after ... the freak party ... what's on the schedule?"

She thought for a minute. "Nothing that I know, my love — until the following Saturday, when we're having Nick & Randy over for dinner."

"Fine ... fine ... we're going to a hotel ... just the four of us ... and spend the week ... just with us."

"What about Camille? What about work?" Carol asked, enjoying keeping Harry so close to orgasm.

"Camille will be detached ... to keep the house ... running smoothly ... if Margo and I ... can't get the time off ... we'll just go to work ... from the hotel ... you and Kelly ... can relax."

She smiled smugly, knowing exactly what she and Kelly would do.

"Camille..." Harry said, "come here."

Camille leaned close and Harry whispered in her ear, "Tongue Carol's ... ass ... I can't hold on ... much longer."

Camille smiled as she scooted back. On Carol's next downstroke, Camille grabbed her hips and held her in place. Her tongue made a quick circle of Carol's puckered sphincter and began to worm its way inside.

"Harry ... you shit!" Carol gasped as she began to convulse inside. All sense of rhythm gone, her vaginal muscles gripped Harry's cock like a fist. "I'd slap you ... if it didn't ... feel so good!"

When her orgasm abated and she began to relax inside, Harry flexed his hips once, and once proved to be all he needed. He was lost in his own climax and hugged her to him tightly. He whispered, "You ... are the best thing ... that ever happened to me."

With his climax and his endearment, Carol was close again, and as Camille's tongue slithered further up her bottom, she came again, her spasms milking the final drops of cum from Harry.

Carol frantically waved Camille away from her ass and then the two lovers lay together, riding out the aftershocks.

"Cheap slut, up on the bed!" Harry commanded.

Gloria crawled up on the bed and sat on her knees.

"Camille, put that collar on her."

Gloria sighed, incredibly relieved inside ... she was property once again — a feeling she hadn't had since her first husband's death.

Harry and Carol lay on their backs, side by side, enjoying the post-coital contact.

"First you'll clean my cock and the surrounding area," Harry said, "then you'll clean my wife's cunt — all of that with your mouth, swallow it all."

"Master, this slave doesn't like-"

"I know, slut! And I don't care. Get started ... that comment means you'll be spending the rest of the night on your hands and knees."

As she licked his dick, her mouth twisted in disgust at the idea of what she was slurping up, Gloria Tanner was rejoicing inside.

Helen McReady had gone home after the party. She could do basic math just fine and dividing four men, one of whom was off limits, among all the women meant that she'd be bored for most of the evening, so she'd kissed Billy good-bye and gone home to enjoy a quiet evening alone.

Once there she'd poured herself a glass of wine, turned on the radio to NPR and picked up a book she'd been reading, a 'Frank Coulter' mystery by Roy and Cassandra Wells, "Death Backed the Wrong Horse".

In the living room, Lisa had recommended to Rochelle a nice relaxing fuck, and when Rochelle assented, Lisa called Billy over.

Rochelle watched Billy as he pulled off his prosthetics. From a beautiful face, down to a scarred body, and then further down to the stumps.

There was something in her expression that distressed Billy, as he said, "My apologies for my imperfections, Mistress — perhaps we can find you someone less damaged."
Rochelle was shocked, as she wasn't turned off by his disfigurements; she had merely been studying him.

"Billy ... my apologies, I didn't mean to upset you-"

"Mistress Rochelle," Lisa said, "please allow me to instruct you. Billy has been hurt many times and sometimes misinterprets people's reactions to him. Nevertheless, an apology is not necessary.

"Billy," she continued, "did Mistress Rochelle dismiss you?"
"No."

"Do you think she'd have any problem dismissing you if she chose to?"

"No."

"Then get your ass up here and fuck me," Rochelle interjected. "I'll let you know if I find you unacceptable. Until then, serve as you're instructed."

"Yes, Mistress," Billy said happily, swinging himself in between her legs. "My apologies, Mistress, sometimes I take offense where none was intended." He began to slip on a condom.

"I know the feeling, Billy," she replied, spreading her legs a little further. "We both have issues we need to work on. The issue at hand, however, is much easier to handle ... and you don't need the rubber. I couldn't get pregnant if I wanted to."

The crowd in the living room scarcely noticed Gloria's entrance, until the smell hit them. She crawled through the room, holding the top urine-soaked towel in her mouth, the ones that had been beneath it were laid on her back.

"Pardon her," Harry said as he, Carol and Camille came in behind her, "she made a mess and is taking care of it. For the rest of the evening, she's on clean-up duty, so save those moist crotches and sticky faces for her."

"Will she be washing after her towel delivery?" Karen asked, wrinkling her nose up.

"Oh yes, she'll be going out into the back yard and using the hose," Carol replied. "Be careful not to get those pads wet, slut, or you'll be crawling without them!"

"'eh ma'am," Gloria replied, swallowing back her bile.

In the corner, Dayna had cornered Mike.

"It's time to let me thank you," she rasped.

"Dear, are you sure you're up to-"

Before he could finish she had pushed him to the floor and was kissing him. His cock rapidly stiffened as her cunt settled over it and he began to slide back and forth beneath her in spite of himself.

When she leaned up and broke the kiss, he said, "Dayna, I don't want this to happen if it hurts. I don't care if you're into pain or not, if this hurts I want you to stop."

"Doctor Mike, trust me," she replied, "if this was hurting me, I wouldn't be doing it ... unless instructed to do so by my new owners, and I don't believe they'd order me to do anything that hurt ... in a bad way." She smiled down at him. "I've been looking forward to this since the first time you examined me. You were gentle, you were kind, and you're very handsome. Now please, let me thank you properly."

Mike wedged his hands under his hips so he didn't accidentally reach up and grab her somewhere that hurt.

"Fine, have it your way ... but thanking me better involve one of those nipples in my mouth."

"Gladly," she laughed, "gladly."

Patricia and Tamara had caught each other's eye and run off to the bathroom to talk. As they sat side by side, they plotted, planned and agreed on a scheme.

When they returned to the living room, Karen and Eddie were commiserating on wives who all got up to go to the bathroom together.

"Yep, just leave us guys here to talk amongst ourselves," Eddie said.

"Yeah, you know they'd look at us like we were crazy if we got up and went to the john together," Karen said, and then thought about what she'd just said.

"Of course, it'd be for a somewhat different reason than if we were two men," she said laughing.

"Yeah," Eddie chuckled, "you and I walk into the same toilet out in the real world, and they'll think we're crazy all right."

"Either that," Patricia said, "or they'll think you're going to fuck in a stall."

Eddie and Karen looked at each other and said "Eeeewwwww!"

When the laughter died down, Tamara said, "We have a proposition for the two of you."

"You see, it occurred to us that we have the same problem," Patricia continued. "Both of us want you to be more open in our relationships, allow us to be more open, and to get over feeling threatened or upset over it."

"So we came up with this idea," Tamara took over, "for one hour, one hour only, both of you take off the restrictions, just within the family. Doctor Mike and Rochelle aren't involved."

"That way, maybe you can get used to and comfortable with this idea - slowly," said Patricia. "We can stay nearby to hold your hands, so to speak, if you'd like."

Karen and Eddie looked at each other.

"Does it scare you as much as it does me?" Karen asked.

"I don't know ... but it scares me plenty," Eddie replied. "Still, Tamara is pretty insistent on training me to be more open..."

"Patricia's the same way with me ... oh, reminds me. That whole 'sperm donor' thing? Get it through your head that it's going to be done the old fashioned way."

Tamara squealed with glee. "Oh that's wonderful, Patricia," she cried, hugging her friend. "What made you decide to go that route?"

"I've always felt human beings should be created by human beings," Patricia replied. "I may not particularly revel in the act — it won't feel right — but the only thing in that circumstance that would feel more wrong was if we did it with a plastic turkey baster."

Eddie looked at Karen solemnly. "You're going to make me have sex with your wife?"

"Yeah," Karen growled, "I am."

Eddie threw his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek.

"You are the best friend ever!" he said.

Karen just glared at him while Patricia glowed with the knowledge that Eddie found her desirable. She couldn't get over how the feeling of being wanted, even by those she didn't want in return, got her excited.

Tamara smiled to herself, knowing that every bit of loosening Eddie's attitudes underwent was a good thing, in the end.

"All right, I agree ... one hour," Karen said. Eddie nodded, "One hour."

Patricia and Tamara rocketed up off the floor and headed towards Kelly and Margo. The two of them were sitting together, alternating sips of water, sips of whiskey, and hits off the pipe.

After the agreement was explained to them, Margo said, "That's good, for both of you, but I don't think-"

"Margo, go make love to Eddie," Kelly said. "Please don't make me use a promise, or bring out the Queen ... just go do what you've wanted to do for years, with no drama, no stress. Take the gift, say thank you, and be okay with it."

The water from the hose was cool and part of Gloria exulted in standing naked in the back yard as she cleaned herself. The louder part of her was very thankful there was a tall fence between her and the world. The high-grade stainless steel collar around her neck was thankfully loose, although if it had been too tight she was sure her owners would have found something else for her to wear, and she gratefully ran water down the inside to cool her neck.

After turning off the water, she dried herself with a towel, slipped back on her pads and crawled back into the house to continue her duties.

"This is real uncomfortable," Margo said, sitting next to Eddie.

"You're telling me, Long Legs," Eddie replied.

"Edward my love, Margo my dear friend," Tamara began, "could the two of you at least touch each other? You're sitting there like the wallflowers at the junior high dance."

"Well, there's a lot of pressure and I know they're not, but I feel like everybody's staring at me," Margo said.

"Yeah, what she said," Eddie added.

"Guys," Tamara sighed, "even if you weren't just stalling for time till the hour ran out, nobody is going to watch the two of you. See over there?" She pointed at Karen and Patricia making Kelly the creamy center of their cookie. "That show? It draws attention. The two of you? You're just sitting there."

She stood next to them — short, cute and pissed off.

"If you two plan to sit there and waste this opportunity, fine. I've had it up to my eyeballs with both of you. I'm going to go thank Harry and Carol for rescuing me from Phil. Y'all sit here and be miserable for all I care!" She stomped her foot and stalked off.

"Damn, is she always that forceful?" Margo asked.

"No ... I blame y'all."

"Fuck you, you big furry bear!" Margo began tickling Eddie.

"I don't ... think so ... not in this ... life!" Eddie responded, trying to gently block her hands.

She got to her feet in a crouch, trying to find a way through his defenses, and in dodging a tickle counter attack, fell into his lap.

Margo Wohler was in Eddie Janak's arms ... where part of her had wanted to be for decades ... and she just gave in.

"Eddie?"

"Um hmm," he said, enjoying the feel of her.

"I love you."

"Love you too, Long Legs."

Underneath her hip, she felt his cock stiffening.

"So, you planning to tickle me with that as well?" she said, wiggling her hips.

Eddie sighed, "Well ... yeah ... I guess. Why are we so scared of this, Margo?"

She rolled slightly, and got up on her knees, straddling his legs.

"For me ... I finally have what I want, and what I need to be happy ... and I'm afraid of anything that might threaten it. Hell, Eddie, half the time I believe Harry and the girls are going to kick me out of bed one morning and tell me to go away ... getting intimate with other women doesn't push that button in me. Being intimate with other men ... I just get crazy with fear."

"You know that ain't gonna happen," he said, his erect cock brushing her cunt. "The world would end before that happened."

"I... know... " she replied, sinking onto his dick. "But I'm ... mmm ... still scared. And most of the time, when seeing one of them with someone else makes me feel threatened, I don't say anything because I'm afraid that will piss them off and they'll tell me to leave."

The two of them kissed each other, long and slow and deep.

"Been wanting to do that for a long time too," Margo said. "And surely you know there's nothing in this world that could make Tamara stop loving you ... nothing you could do, nothing anyone else could do."

"Yeah ... but I feel there oughta be. That kind o' devotion — it scares me. I don't trust it ... I feel that way about her, but I know why ... I know why I feel that way about y'all, too. I don't understand why she feels that way, and so I can't trust it."

"Have you tried-"

"Getting her to explain it? Oh yeah ... and she can. She gives me all her reasons and why she feels that way ... and I still don't understand it. She's seen how ugly I am inside, and she still loves me ... that's crazy. She's an angel an' she's got no business bein' with ... well, it's just crazy."

Margo had begun to move up and down on Eddie.

"Eddie ... you're no monster ... or if you are ... you're no more monster ... than the rest of us," Margo panted. "Now ... from the monster that sanctioned her ex-husband's death to the monster who killed the men who assaulted my husband and wife's assailants, let's just make love, please?"

"Okay sweetheart ... all right."

Gloria Tanner had crawled back and forth through the living room twice without anyone really noticing her. She'd hauled the dirty towels from the master bath by piling them on the largest of them and pulling them with her teeth to the washroom. Then she'd done the same with the dirty towels from the first floor bath.

She was facing the stairs, her arms and knees aching, but there was a smile of satisfaction on her face that the pain couldn't wash away.

Harry had still needed a while to recover from his last time with Carol, so she and he had cuddled together side by side and had Tamara crawl up and lay atop them while the three of them made out with each other.

"Mmm, it's been a long time, Tammy," Carol said, caressing the tiny woman's side.

"Certainly has," Tamara replied, her leg sliding along Harry's cock, teasing it. She leaned back and kissed her old friend. "Since before I got involved with Johnny D'Angelo - what a mistake that was."

"In the past, love, in the past," Carol said as she rolled Tamara on her back and slid her up higher, putting her breasts at Harry and Carol's mouth level. The two of them kissed Tamara's breasts, sucking gently on them.

"Oh ... if only Eddie ... had two mouths..."

"Well, if you can get the stick out of his ass, he may not grow another mouth but you could have another mouth in bed with the two of you," Harry chuckled.

"I'm working on it," Tamara replied. "Now sir, if you don't mind, you left one of my breasts very lonely."

"Yes ma'am."

Candy had slipped out and was swimming in the pool, enjoying the quiet and the feel of the water all over her bare body.