Chapter 59

"So 'Jan'," Kelly said, caressing her newest lover's thigh, "any regrets about last night ... and this morning ... and a few minutes ago?"

Gianetta Bruno smiled as she stretched like a cat lying in the sun.

"Just one – I wish one of the men that were in attendance last night had come back with us." She kissed Kelly's cheek. "You're lovely, and very talented, and I had a wonderful evening..."

"But yeah, a dick would've been nice," Kelly finished. She got out of bed, naked save for the gold and jade pendant Nick Philouma had given her for her birthday. "I'm ordering breakfast, what do you want?"

"Fruit, coffee – definitely coffee – espresso if they can manage it ... yogurt."

"God, I spent the night in bed with a woman that eats healthy."

"Not too healthy, Kelly," Gianetta replied, running her hand over the soft, full curves of her body.

"Trust me, what you're touching there is very healthy ... now stop that or I won't get breakfast ordered."

As the two of them enjoyed a second cup of coffee, the scraps of breakfast spread in front of them like the remains of a battle, Kelly asked, "How did you end up as Nick's fiancé? Not that I'm complaining," she continued, her eyes twinkling, "Heavens-to-Betsy no – I'm just curious how it came about?"

Gianetta laughed and reached out for a slice of honeydew melon. She didn't pop it in her mouth, but rather held it in front of her face and studied it, as if the answer to Kelly's question lay within.

"The easiest answer would be that his family knew my family and one side or the other said "Hey, why don't we get these two crazy kids together?" But that wouldn't be the real answer.

"What really happened was that the branches of our family in Sicily know each other." Gianetta Bruno sighed, "And when my father's bank was about to go under due to some questionable loans he'd approved, the Philouma family stepped in and made good on the debts. That kept my family from being disgraced, allowed my father to remain employed, financed my education ... they saved us in so many ways."

"And the Philouma family did all that from the goodness of their hearts?" Kelly asked, arching one eyebrow.

"Not exactly," Gianetta laughed. "My father's bank has been laundering their money ever since – but they could have attained the same results through threats and intimidation. They earned our loyalty the old-fashioned way – they did us a favor, so we do the same for them. That led to me showing up on the American branch of the family's radar when they were looking for a wife for Niccolo."

She turned and stared out the suite's windows into the morning sky.

"It's not the life I was thinking I'd have ... but it's the one I've gotten."

Kelly reached out and took her hand.

"Is it really going to be that bad?" she asked softly.

"In ways," Gianetta replied. "I like Niccolo, I really do. If he weren't gay, we might well end up together anyway. But he is, and I'm looking at a life as a beard ... for the Don of the Philouma crime family. If I have any sort of a romantic life, I'm going to have to be as discrete as I was last night."

"Not that we'll mind at all," Kelly said, snuggling a little closer to her.

"Nor will I, as far as I can tell," Gianetta replied, caressing Kelly's naked breast. "But still, it's a strange life to look forward to. Children, new friends, most of whom can't know the truth, the constant likelihood that I and my family are under observation by law enforcement – it's all a bit overwhelming. And while I can get out from under that from time to time by visiting with your family, every time I do I raise the chances that you're going to attract the attention of everyone from the cop on the beat to the F.B.I. to who knows who else – Homeland Security, the D.E.A." She stared down at the table. "I have no idea who might end up watching us all, or for what reasons – or if any reasons they profess would be valid. All I do know is that it's nowhere close to the life I was expecting for myself." Gianetta returned her gaze to Kelly's frowning face. "I'm not complaining – or at least, I'm not meaning to ... it's just going to take some adjustment."

"All sexual leering and drooling aside," Kelly said, wrapping her arms around Gianetta, "please know we'll be more than willing to help you in any way we can."

"I know ... your family is every bit as special as Niccolo told me you were, and I'm very thankful that he wasn't exaggerating."

Karen Pinard was very late for work that Thursday morning.

After getting home, Patricia had dropped to her knees in a submissive position and Karen couldn't control herself. She was still having problems with the feelings that brought out in her, but after the night they'd had Karen had shoved those issues to the side and used her partner like Patricia wanted to be used. It had taken quite a while for Patricia to lick, suck, nibble, and bite all the sexual tension out of Karen, but she had managed – only to find Karen in a mood to return the favor.

When Karen finally staggered out the door at 10:45, headed for the office, Patricia was still curled up asleep, a happy and satisfied smile on her face.

Galena and Andrea hadn't found the proper time to give Kelly their present the night before. They'd forgotten to take it to the Bangkok Inn, had stopped and picked it up on the way to Dominique's, but then Kelly had been so busy – or they'd been, playing with Karghold Newton – that they carried it back home again.

Neither of them had been in particularly good shape that morning – too much alcohol, too much physical exertion – on the dance floor and otherwise, so it was through bleary eyes that Galena dealt with school and Andrea with work.

Worse yet for the pair was the knowledge that they had a date with Reggie and Felicia at the hotel that evening.

Truly, Galena reflected, there was no rest for the wicked.

Vida Newton was on the massage table while one of the Karghold's young men worked on her legs.

"Jesus Christ," she moaned, "I love their parties but I am so unprepared to dance that much!"

Over the speakerphone, from his office at G&P, Thad responded, "I suppose the time on your back as you tried to break me in half with your legs didn't help either."

"Oh hell, honey," Vida replied, "as far as my aching legs are concerned, that was nothing – a very pleasurable nothing, but nothing just the same. The day I can't handle you between my legs and Galena riding my face like it's a bicycle seat is the day you bury me. But dancing like that? Holy crap ... even sword-dancing is nothing in comparison."

"You know, it occurs to me, dear," Thad said, "if we'd known Galena all these years instead of Harry, she'd have fought her Hand and become a Dom in our group three or four years ago."

"Not a Dom we took out in public before she was seventeen," Vida replied, "but yeah, I see your point." She turned over onto her back and her masseur went to work on the fronts of her thighs. "Thad, how much longer do you think we'll be able to keep it secret? I don't know about you, but every time they're so open and honest about some facet of their lives, I feel like shit because we haven't been as forthcoming with them."

"I don't know, dear," he replied, lowering his voice. "Once the Hold's children and theirs are being schooled together – it's bound to get out somehow, no matter how much we caution the kids.

"And yes, before you ask, I still think merging the schools is a good idea. Our young ones are too insulated; they hardly see the outside world at all. Theirs won't be so cut off, but they'll need more home students to make it worth the effort Margo plans to put into it. We merge our home schooling efforts at their new Corral – the Karghold's kids get out more, have a wider range of experience in the world, their kids have more socialization, and both of us are no longer trying to fund home schooling on our own. It's a win-win."

"Until..."

"Yeah, until..."

"So what do we do then, husband o' mine?"

"By then, hopefully House Chorale will have had to face that question on their own and they won't think we're complete freaks for how we handle it. I need to go, Vida – meeting on the Spengler account."

"Bye," she said, just before the line went dead.

She smiled appreciatively at the fifteen-year-old boy who was working over her sore muscles. The front of his loincloth was tented, indicating a pretty decent cock for someone his age, but his attentions remained strictly professional.

"I'll be sure to tell your teacher that I'm very happy with your progress in massage," Vida said. "How much longer till you finish orientation, Jackson?"

"I take my finals in about a month and a half, Mistress Newton," the young man replied.

"Well, once you pass, you come see me," she replied, licking her lips. "I'll be happy to break you in myself."

Daniella Fruehauf looked at the amount of boxes stacked around the walls of her suite and grimaced. She didn't want to leave anything behind, but 'borrowing' more than two of the House's Suburbans was impractical as only she and her slave Quintus could drive. Thankfully she'd left the Karmann Ghia at the new house and had Quintus come pick her up in one of the House's cars.

"All right, boys – start sorting boxes by contents. Books, toys, equipment and clothes, go on that side of the room," she said, pointing towards the wall with a door leading out onto her patio. "Everything else – except the contents of my desk and the glass-fronted cabinet – go on that side. That's the stuff we're leaving here. If Mom lets me come back for it, I will, otherwise we jettison it and move on."

As her three slaves began to follow her instructions, she sat down and rubbed her eyes wearily before going to work on the boxes from her desk and the cabinet.

Tattie hadn't made either party the night before – she'd been smitten with a bunch of ideas for a new set of designs and had disappeared into the workshop, not to be heard from again until she got them all down on paper.

"Miss Julie," Svetlana said over breakfast, "I know that you have plans to go to the big party Saturday night. Is Mama going to stay at home with us?"

"I am not ready ... I am not sure," Julie Elliot replied. She wasn't happy with her progress in speaking Russian, but she couldn't deny she was progressing. "If she wishes to go, and she may, we will make sure there is someone very goodness ... very happiness ... very good, to take care of the two of you."

"I still do not understand why we aren't going as well," Sasha said, wishing he hadn't quit smoking. It was easy to refrain from having a cigarette when Tattie was around, not nearly so easy when she was sequestered in her workshop. "There is nothing they will be doing that we haven't seen or done ourselves."

"That's part of why you would not be going," Julie replied. "It isn't right that you had to do those things when you were so young, and most people are not comforted with the fact that you have done those things. They are adult things, mature things, not the things that children should be done."

"Silly..." Svetlana said.

"What is silly, sweetheart?" Julie asked.

"It is silly to worry about such rules where we are concerned – that boat has already sailed. It is time to deal with reality, not comforting, but silly, rules."

Julie sighed. Some days it was almost impossible for her to believe she was really dealing with children.

Margo sometimes felt a little bad, taking off Fridays to be with her family, when none of her colleagues did so. She felt as though she were shirking her responsibilities somehow. None of the rest of the clinic staff had ever complained, everyone seemed to be okay with it, but it bothered Margo from time to time nonetheless.

However that Thursday was not a day when it was bothering Margo at all. She'd had a very busy evening, and was looking forward to spending some quality time with her family on Friday. They wouldn't have all day to lounge around, but from everything Carol and Kelly had said, things were well enough in hand that they could relax until the middle of the afternoon.

It was going to be heavenly.

Then she remembered that she had a date with Li Kuan that evening.

"Li Kuan!"

The fierce Chinese submissive shot upright in bed as if a cattle prod had been applied to her foot – a sensation she was quite familiar with.

"Yes Madame?" She was up and out her bedroom door before the final syllable of 'Madame' left her lips.

She joined her Madame on the front balcony, standing naked before her.

Madame Minerva Cornelius sat in a rather loose black rubber dress in direct sunlight. It was evidently a day for mortification of the flesh.

Li Kuan looked at her Madame's face and noticed the pale, blotchy skin tone.

"Madame, I think it's time for you to be moved out of the sun for a while. If I might assist you?"

Minerva nodded and Li Kuan stepped forward, grabbing and lifting her Madame up. Hans moved her chair back into the shade, and brought out the powerful Stanley High-Velocity Blowerfan, turning it on to 'High'.

Li Kuan gently sat Minerva back into her chair and put the hem of Minerva's long rubber skirt atop the fan, fastening it in place with a pair of vise-grips.

A wave of hot, moist air blew out from the bottom of Minerva's dress, filling the surrounding area with the smells of sex, sweat, powder, and elderly woman.

"Thank you, Li Kuan."
"Madame, I've told you before that it is unwise for you to sit in the sun for too long. I have no desire to bury you."

"I'm fine, my dear. It's you I'm concerned about. We'll talk when I've cooled down a bit."

Li Kuan knelt at her Madame's side and awaited her pleasure.

After a time, Madame Cornelius asked for her hookah, then sat and smoked.

All the while, Li Kuan stayed on her knees, motionless.

Finally her Madame said, "Tonight you will be playing with Margo Grimes." Her hand reached out and touched Li Kuan on the cheek. "Be very careful ... do nothing to make her angry. Certainly do not hurt her severely. There is no denying that I am approaching the end of my life. I will not pass you on to Ophelia, no matter how well she does or does not do in her efforts to reform. You will become the property of Margo Grimes and I don't want her to have any cause to treat you poorly – not that she would, but I still ... I want her to ... I want her to grow to love you as I do, although in a different fashion. Taking care of your needs will be hard enough for her without complicating the matter."

Minerva saw the tension in Li Kuan's jaw.

"You may speak now."

"Madame, you will outlive us all-"

"Poppycock and you know it, Li Kuan! Utter such foolishness again and I'll have you broken! It is time you face up to that fact that none of us are eternal – I will die and you will be left to go on without me. At my demise, my contracts with Hans and Andre terminate and they have already said they will go back to Germany. That leaves you, my dear, and I will provide for you the best way I know how."

"Madame," Li Kuan said, tears welling up in her eyes, "I will be very careful with Madam Grimes, this evening and always."

"That is exactly what I needed to hear," Minerva Cornelius said.

The four members of Eddie's security team had rituals and superstitions for everything.

A prime example was their meeting place that Thursday evening. They never met at Denny's for a legal job – for those they enjoyed the claustrophobic environs of Waffle House. Denny's was for plotting things that could get one of them thrown back in prison and earn the other three a first time trip. It was tradition, true – a tradition that had its origins in logic.

Perry said, "Okay Eddie, you know we don't have any problem with something like this –Bevy and I have ignored the legal niceties for years. But Janet ... she's already been in and I don't think she wants to go back."

Janet Hart was a woman built on sharp, right angles. Her shoulders, her jaw, her haircut, her fingertips ... all made of hard right angles. She didn't talk much to people, she wasn't good at it. Her conversations were held with mechanical and electrical systems – long, silent conversations that inevitably ended with her getting them to do exactly what she wanted them to. Her relationships with those systems were the only functional, happy relationships in her life – with the exception of her partnership with Eddie, Perry and Bevy ... and to her way of thinking, they were 'the guys' and didn't really count.

She looked at Eddie and said, "Whatever, Boss."

"Okay ... okay," Perry laughed, "I could be wrong. So we're doing this for free, right? Sucking up the cost of all the equipment on both ends, just doing this pro bono for those nice friends of yours?"

"Yeah, Perry, that's what it is," Eddie said, mopping up the last of the fried eggs from his Grand Slam.

"You at least picking up the check for supper?"

"Least I can do," Eddie answered, to hear the traditional response of the group from all three of them.

"And never let it be said you didn't do the very least you could do!" the three of them replied.

"Let's go," Bevy said in his quiet, small voice.

They rolled down the road in 'Black Beauty', a van that never saw the outside of its garage save for maintenance and jobs like the one they were on that night.

"Tunes," said Janet.

Eddie grabbed for his pocket and pulled out a cassette tape, slamming it in the player.

Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law" blasted through the interior at a painful volume.

"It's gonna be a good night, Eddie," Perry yelled over the music.

"Only if we don't get caught," Eddie replied as he looked at the map Daniella had given him with one eye and watched the road with the other.

"Feels good to be proper criminals again," Perry laughed.

"Yup," Janet replied as Bevy nodded his agreement.

The four of them rode through the late afternoon, heads bobbing in time to the music.

"Breaking the Law" faded out and the Highwaymen's cover of "The Road Goes on Forever" began.

Eddie worried the song might prove prophetic and wondered whatever had possessed him to put it on the mixtape in the first place ... just like he worried and wondered every time he and his team were planning to do something illegal.

Part of growing up in a house, from the time you were born until you were in your mid-twenties, 26 in Daniella's case, was knowing all the little filthy places that no guest would ever see, places discovered in the 'irrepressible explorer' phase of childhood, secret places that became cherished hiding spots and hidden caches.

Like the greasy crawlspace behind the kitchen wall where Daniella abraded the insulation off two wires and then planned to use a long stick to push them together, creating a spark.

"Margo, please relax, there is nothing to fear from me tonight," Li Kuan said, trying to calm her plaything down. "Nothing I'm going to do to you will hurt as much as a good flogging does."

Margo Grimes might have looked a little relieved, but it was hard to tell through the ball-gag, and if she was it was only a very little.

Li Kuan finished securing Margo to the Drum, making sure the shackles were just on the edge of too tight, and then leaned in close.

"I like the way this stretches you out," Li Kuan whispered, her sharpened teeth almost touching Margo's earlobe, her breath warm on Margo's neck. "Every inch of you exposed, every inch of you vulnerable ... I like that in a plaything."

Li Kuan stood up and walked away, knowing that Margo's eyes were locked on her retreating form.

Even if Li Kuan hadn't been beautiful in her own stark way, even if her numerous piercings hadn't caught the light and drawn her eye, even if Margo hadn't felt a frisson of sexual attraction the very first time she met Li Kuan ... watching her walk, nude and uninhibited, was enough. She was an animal, and a dangerous one ... one that Margo knew could hurt her, even kill her. None of that mattered – Margo wanted her, just the same.

Li Kuan stooped to hit 'play' on the CD player she'd brought with her. The sharp, tense strains of the Kronos Quartet performing Philip Glass' score for Tod Browning's 1931 film "Dracula" sawed through the air and set Margo's nerves to jumping.

Li Kuan stood, turned around and advanced towards Margo, a slight smile showing the sharp points of her teeth.

"We're going to have fun now," she said, "and I assure you - your whimpering will make me all hot and bothered."

Daniella Fruhauf crouched in the crawlspace, barely able to squeeze herself in. She could remember – it seemed like just a year or two earlier although it had been ten years and more – when she'd been able to fit in the gap between the walls easily.

She started to sigh deeply before realizing there wasn't really enough room for her to do more than breathe shallowly. When she'd worn the holes in the wires, she'd been laying down in the grease and grime, but that wouldn't be feasible if she wished to avoid being burnt. She needed to be able to scoot out of the crawlspace and up the back stairs without being caught in the fire. By the time she reached the second floor, hopefully the alarm would have gone off so her running at full speed towards her rooms in the east wing of the family home wouldn't seem unusual. Once there she and the boys would load the Suburbans and away they'd go. Daniella planned to send her mother an email in the next couple of days, telling Wilma that her daughter was gone for good.

Even though she was in a cramped position, vaguely nauseous from the rancid smell, barely able to draw breath – Daniella Fruehauf had never felt closer to freedom in her life.

"Where the hell does this woman live?" Perry asked. "San Antonio? Mexico? Guatemala?"

"No, just feels like it," Eddie grumbled as they drove along a farm-to-market road. "We should be reaching the back road to her place here in a bit."

"There it was," Janet said as the drove past it.

"Thanks a bunch," Eddie replied, slowing the van in preparation to turn around. "Kill the music, Perry."

AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" faded away and all they could hear was the van's engine.

"One last time – we park the van, grab our equipment, and hump it cross-country till we can see the house. When we're in position at the west end of the house, I call Daniella, she starts the fire, and we wait for Wilma to leave her office, if she's in there at all. Once we're sure it's clear, Janet pops the window, Perry and Bevy plant the bugs and assrape her computer. I make sure we're not interrupted. Bugs planted, computer buggered, Janet makes sure we didn't leave any trace, we evac back to the van and get the fuck outta Dodge. Got it?"

"Got it," the three of them replied.

Eddie nodded while he kept looking for the lightning-struck tree that was the landmark Daniella had told him to watch for. That's where they were to park.

"Miss Oleander? Hello, my name is Merry Blakeney and this is Annie Beth Loring. Dominique sent us."

Tamara stood in the doorway, a smile plastered on her face like cheap wallpaper. She had planned the interview as a surprise for Eddie, but then he'd told her his plans for the evening and she'd completely forgotten the girls were coming over.

Tamara had the utmost faith in 'her Edward', and she was confident in the abilities of Perry, Bevy and Janet. But she also had faith in God's wicked sense of humor and the ability of the Universe to turn the best of plans into complete and total disasters. This wasn't some sanctioned attempt to defeat a company's security, either physical or electronic. Eddie was out breaking the law, and tangling with a House with some very unsavory rumors attached to it. Until the two women arrived at her door, Tamara had actively been avoiding thinking about what her beloved was doing that evening. She knew major Houses had security, armed security, and if anything happened...

"I'm sorry, my Master was called away unexpectedly and I ... I don't know if ... I don't know when he'll be home."

"Miss Oleander," Annie Beth said, "you seem to be very upset. Is there someone we could call for you? A friend, a relative..."

"Well ... I don't want to bother them..."

"Miss, if they're true friends they'll be more upset that you didn't call them than if you do," Merry said. "Annie Beth, please take Miss Oleander into the living room and make her comfortable, and then get her something to drink. Miss, your cell phone ... where is it?"

"On the table..."

The two women bustled into the house, Annie Beth carrying out her instructions as Merry got Tamara's cell phone.

"Miss Oleander-" Merry began.

"Call me Tamara, please."

"Tamara, who should I call?"

"Uh, Margo is serving under Li Kuan tonight, Carol is helping Galena ... call Kelly or Harry, their numbers-"

"Are in your phone's address book, yes ma'am."

A few minutes later Tamara had a cup of hot tea, and Kelly and Harry were on their way over.

As she waited for her friends to arrive, Tamara very surreptitiously looked over the two women Dommi had sent as possible nurse/submissives for Edward's household.

Both of them appeared to be in their mid-to-late twenties, both were female, both had strong arms and legs, and both were roughly the same height – around 5'7" - that was where the similarities ended.

Merry was curvaceous, with a head full of shoulder-length red curls and pale, lightly freckled skin. She seemed the more serious of the two as her face hadn't changed expression since Tamara had opened the front door. Tamara didn't get the feeling that Merry was a negative person, not at all, but rather that she was shy and, at least at this point in their relationship, very reserved.

Annie Beth was a dark, chocolate brown African-American, thin and wiry, her arms and legs sharply defined, her breasts and bottom barely sporting any padding at all. Her tightly curled hair was cut close to her scalp, and Tamara was convinced if she'd wanted to, Annie Beth could easily impersonate a male. Her face was open and smiling – not mocking Tamara's distress but rather encouraging her to come out of her worry and hope for the best.

The two of them were quiet, but they were company nonetheless and Tamara felt better for having them there.

Still, she felt better still, much better in fact, when Harry and Kelly came through the front door at a run. She stood up and ran into Harry's arms, while Kelly hugged her from behind.

She was still very worried about her Edward, but she was in the arms of her family, so things were better.

The discussion part of the evening had gone moderately well for Galena and her friends. Regina had already had a session with Susan Lowenstein, Felicia's first meeting with her was the following week.

"All right, kids," Galena said, following the gameplan she and Carol had worked out earlier, "it's time to split up into groups. Reggie, you go with these three," she nodded towards Jackie, Lisa, and Billy. "Felicia, you're staying here with me and this young lady," she continued, putting her arm around Carol.

Regina might have objected, but Galena shot her a glare that stopped her in her tracks. As she and her companions headed towards one of the bedrooms, Galena chuckled as she saw Reggie checking out Billy's cock.

Galena turned her attention to Felicia.

"So, you've had a while to think about it, Felicia – what do you want from me?"

The black-haired gamine raised an eyebrow and gestured with her hands.

"Of course, silly girl," Galena replied. "Sign if it makes you more comfortable. My girl here is fluent in sign as well."

Galena smiled inside as Felicia's face revealed her irritation. She obviously had hoped that Carol didn't understand sign language.

"I want you – I have for years. I don't care what I have to do, I want you."

"What kind of a relationship do you want with her, Felicia?" Carol asked. "Do you see her as a lover, as your Mistress – in the B&D sense of the word, as your monogamous girlfriend?"

Felicia sat on the floor at Galena's feet and said nothing, signed nothing.

"Felicia," Galena said, her voice deceptively pleasant, "answer my friend."

The young woman still sat, sullen and silent and still, her arms and legs all straight lines connected by pointy joints.

Galena slid down out of her chair to sit with her friend. She took Felicia in her arms and murmured in her ear, just loud enough for Carol to hear as well.

"Felicia, until we decide what our relationship will be, when I tell you to do something, you do it or you leave – forever. Even after we decide what we're going to be to each other, you will be polite to my friends and lovers or I will jam my fist up your ass so far you'll taste your own shit in the back of your throat. Next I'll fuck you with that fist 'til I draw enough blood to soothe my anger, and then you'll lick my fist clean. Do you understand me?"