Chapter 34

In the weeks since her return to the health club, Jeremy had given Darlene five massages. That they were much longer than the fifteen minutes offered on the coupons was never mentioned. She had worn the two-piece suit on the table every time, and he decided to make his move.

"Darlene, you've got some tightness here that I can't get rid of with these short strokes. I need to move up and down your whole back." Without saying any more, Jeremy undid the clasp that held the suit top together.

This was the first time Jeremy had used any physical force on her. When she felt the straps fall, Darlene panicked. She started to raise up to resist and to get her suit reconnected. Making it seem accidental, Jeremy rested his forearm on her back and leaned across her as if to fetch something from the little table on her other side.

By the time he eased the weight on her back, Darlene had realized that changing her position would just give him a better view of her breasts. As she was formulating a verbal objection, he made the first full-length stroke from the small of her back up to her shoulders. She was lost.

There was no question about his massage skills, and he knew that the sensation would be a revelation to her, making any type of protest impossible. He was making great progress.

Of course, Jeremy knew nothing of Robin's spy or of Julia's treatment. He saw Darlene as a naive, pliant, attractive woman ripe for inclusion in his little harem of subs. There had been neither time nor opportunity to determine how truly submissive she was, but all of the signs so far were extremely encouraging.

Just what Jeremy would do with Darlene once she was 'his' was a question he had not given much consideration. His apartment was already crowded with his two current slaves there much of the time. He had imprecise but pleasant visions of the superior cooking and housekeeping he would get from this experienced wife and mother.

He could not help thinking about eventual sex with Darlene. He could sense the sexual tension that was barely constrained by her timidity and modesty. His current two gave him everything he wanted, but taking what the woman did not think she wanted to give would be unique.

Robin's spy called her that evening with the report, and according to instructions, Robin called Julia immediately.

"Darlene, let's talk a while about some of the things that you're most proud of. What are some of them?" Julia asked. Darlene went into a predictable recitation of her children's grades, their home, how tidy she kept it, the meals she prepared. Julia could almost have written the script.

"If I remember correctly, Darlene, you look different from when we first talked. I assume that you have continued with the health club. Is that right?" Darlene explained how Cheryl had purchased a full year's membership for her.

Julia wanted to probe how that had affected the mother/daughter relationship, but there was a more important objective for that session. It was imperative to find out just how truly submissive Darlene was. From that, Julia would have a better idea of how much danger Jeremy truly represented.

It was clear that Cheryl and her friends would take some kind of action before her mother fell any further into Jeremy's clutches. Robin had shared the conversations she had had with Cheryl and Cal. None of them wanted Darlene to quit working out. It was the single most important personal growth aspect of her life at that point. That it put her home life in danger worried and infuriated all of them.

"I've always enjoyed working out," Julia reminisced. "You see, I'm not as naturally trim as you are, and I get soft and flabby so easily. Besides, I like the feeling of my muscles being all tight and warm after I'm done.

"One of the things I like is a good massage afterwards." Julia did not have to make that up, as massage was a regular part of her fitness regimen as well as an occasional part of her lovemaking with Frank, her husband. "It really takes care of any muscles that I might have stressed. Do they offer massage at your club. Have you taken advantage of it?"

Darlene seemed reluctant to even admit that she had gotten massages. Julia read that as a small danger signal. If Darlene was ashamed but did it anyway, that could indicate that she was susceptible to persuasion or control.

Julia was doing a fine acting job. She gave a small chuckle and reminisced out loud. "I think every woman goes through a little struggle with massages, though. I mean, the way the masseur likes it best is if you are naked with just a towel over you bottom. It always surprised me how many women are willing to do that with a male masseur.

"The women would tell me that he was just like a doctor, but I just believed that level of intimacy should be reserved for my husband. Do you have a man or a woman do yours, Darlene?"

"A... a man. M... my trainer, Jeremy." The stammering, to Julia, was a further indication of the guilt surrounding the massages.

"Oh, so you know what I'm talking about," Julia went on. "As a matter of interest, how have you solved the problem? What do you wear for your massages?"

"I, uh, just wear my swimsuit. It's still wet from the pool, but that doesn't seem to bother."

"Oh, is it a tank suit like most women wear for swimming laps?" Julia asked innocently. "Doesn't that make it hard for him to do your back?"

"No. It's... it's a two piece."

"Oh. So you just take the top off when you get on the table, then? I guess you're more bold than I am, Darlene. I wasn't willing to do that."

"No, I'm not... I mean, I don't take it off, I..."

"You know what I ended up doing?" Julia asked conversationally. "I wore a big, baggy T-shirt with no bra, and a pair of running shorts. He could lift the shirt just fine to do my back and shoulders, and I didn't feel so exposed. If some oil got on the shirt, it was no big deal. Why don't you try that next time?" Julia had done no such thing, but it was a good suggestion for someone who was very body-shy.

That 'offhand' suggestion was really a carefully devised test to see if Darlene could take that much control away from Jeremy. The spy would report on the outcome.

Cal and Cheryl and their crew did not always have the park all to themselves. Sometimes, there would be a volleyball game going on when they arrived. Several times, people wanted to join them and make up a game. When that happened, they would quickly start their most impressive hitting drill, and the wannabes usually either wandered away or just sat and watched. When they could not get the net, they just played basketball or helped Cal with his kicking.

Cal's kicking attracted attention, as well. He did not know the football coach, so he was unaware of the two times he was being scouted. Somehow, two kickers from local high schools found out that he was there and asked if they could join him. Since it was only sporadic, he went along with it, giving them any advice that he could. He never let on that he had another year of high school himself.

"Ready for a massage today, Darlene?" Jeremy asked in his perfect, cheerful yet commanding way.

"Let... let me change first, I..."

"Oh, you're fine. I don't mind if the suit is still wet."

"No, I... I'd rather...

"Darlene!" Jeremy said in sharper tone, but he backed off skillfully as he continued. "I've got a heavy schedule this morning. I'm afraid i can't wait for you to change." That put Darlene at a crucial point. She had the T-shirt and running shorts in her bag. She had thought Julia's suggestion was perfect. But if she took time for that, she would not get her massage today.

She stood frozen in confusion and internal conflict for a few moments. Then her shoulders slumped and she walked toward the massage room. Almost skipping with his triumph, Jeremy followed. As soon as she was prone on the table, he unfastened the strap of her top. Just as she hissed out her shock, he told her "Raise up a little, Darlene" in his best no-nonsense command voice.

She did not intend to. She did not want to. But she had no will to resist. She was flooded with panic as she felt her top flipped upward off of her breasts, then quickly pulled off of her shoulders. It was all so fast that she could not react, and the long, sensuous strokes up and down her completely bare back had her mesmerized in seconds.

It was a sad commentary about the life Darlene had led. Besides Matt applying sunscreen at the water park, Jeremy was the only male to have touched her in such a sensuous fashion. Certainly, she had sex with Hal quite regularly. But he never spent time rubbing, caressing, or tenderly touching her. It was just not his way.

"How did the workouts go this week?" Julia asked to open her next session with Darlene. Of course, she knew that Darlene had not been back to the club since the day after their last session. Julia read her patient's 'flight' reaction as a positive sign. It meant that either she did not really want to submit to Jeremy, or that her scruples were struggling valiantly against his dominance. Julia hoped for the former, but either way, it was a starting point for working with Darlene.

"Well, I h... haven't been able to get there since... since... several days," Darlene mumbled. Her uneasiness was apparent, bordering on panic. This was Julia's chance to make a strong connection, and she approached it carefully.

"How much do you know about psychiatry, Darlene?" Showing obvious relief at the sudden change of subject, Darlene quite eagerly began relating her understanding and asking some questions. Julia covered all of the aspects of confidentiality and respect for the patient.

"Darlene, I am very happy that you chose to see me again. Why do you think I am happy about that?" At Darlene's look of confusion, Julia went on. "Doctors are doctors primarily because they want to help people. Very few are just in it for the money, and they tend not to last long. I am glad that we are meeting again because I want to help you have the best life that you can."

Darlene was about to make some sort of objection, but Julia talked right over her. "From your reaction about my workout question, I know that something about the club or your workouts is troubling you deeply. I don't think you have anyone else that you can talk to about it. Your daughter is paying good money so you can tell me all about. I will not tell anyone else, and I can help. Darlene, talk to me."

Julia said the last in a commanding manner, something she did not want to do to the woman, but she sensed a critical point in the treatment. Darlene looked up in shock at the unusual tone of voice, but rather quickly, she started spilling the story. She talked for most of the session, with Julia inserting questions to keep her going.

When Darlene stopped talking, Julia still could not be certain if the woman acquiesced to Jeremy because of submissiveness or because of the sensuous feelings that her no longer dormant sexuality was hungry for.

"Darlene, here's what I want you to do," Julia said, again using a commanding demeanor. "Go back to the club tomorrow morning, then come here for lunch. We can have a sandwich together and talk about what happened."

"But I don't know if I can resist..."

"Nothing really bad will happen in one more visit," Julia assured. "Be as strong as you can, then tell me about it at lunch."

That evening, Julia got Cheryl and Cal and Robin on a conference call and described her 'orders' to Darlene. Before Cheryl could raise an objection, Julia explained. "I am breaking protocol here to even talk about this, especially to two of my patients. However, I am treating this case as if you, Cheryl, are the parent, and your mother is the child. That's how I am justifying this call ethically.

"Yes, I sent your mother into harm's way, so to speak. But for her long-term benefit, I need to find out why she is so compliant. Notice I did not say submissive. To me, there is evidence that her compliance is due to a tragic lack of self-will rather than to true submissiveness. How she reacts in these next several interactions with Jeremy will tell a lot."

"I just don't want that asshole to break up their marriage," Cheryl said.

Julia gave a long sigh that they all could hear, then said "Boy, when I break the code, I go all out. Cheryl, your mother is like a butterfly fresh out of the cocoon. She is going to change dramatically over the next several months. Because of that change, her marriage to your father, at least as it is now, is going to seem less and less satisfactory to her."

"And... and I probably made it worse, didn't I?" Cheryl asked.

"Probably. But I cannot fault the things you did. Events made it impossible for her to continue just as she was. You had her best interests at heart - and the interests of your siblings. Don't forget that important point.

"The ideal outcome would be to strengthen Darlene's ego enough so that she could resist Jeremy's campaign, and I believe it is a campaign. If it appears that she can never do that, she will have to leave the health club. Beyond that, my goal would be to strengthen her enough so that she can begin to shape her marriage into something that she would be satisfied with."

"It's a little frightening," Cheryl mused. "I mean, it's like you're sending her out with the lions."

"But we're watching her closely, and we really need to find out," Julia explained.

"You're the doctor."

Jeremy felt a combination of puzzlement and relief when Darlene reappeared after a week's absence - and a bit of anger, as well. He had to find out where she had been. He could not imagine that she had just stayed away by her own choice. His growing control of her seemed much too strong for that to happen.

When it came time for her massage, he was tempted to push her farther than they had been, just to reassert his control. He had stopped logging her massages, so there was no chance of her running out of 'coupons'. Apparently, her daughter had bought the membership, and there would be no more money coming in for the year.

When she came out of the pool, though, his reason took over. Slow and steady would get him there. Don't spook her. On the table, he did an exact repeat of their last session, gratified when she showed minimal reaction to her top being removed on the table.

At lunch with Julia, Darlene replayed exactly what had happened with a sense of relief.

"Just be ready, Darlene." Julia cautioned. "It might be tomorrow, or it could take a week, but he will try something new before too long."

It took three more days before Jeremy casually unfastened her top and stripped it off of her when they were standing, barely inside the door. She let out a squeak and threw an arm across her chest.

"Relax, Darlene. It's just easier this way than going through contortions when you're on the table. Remember, I'm like a doctor. I work with bodies all the time. Not many as nice as yours, though."

He was good. The compliment at the end was the master stroke. To her, every such compliment was like water in the desert. Without a word, she got on the table and nothing else unusual happened.

"I couldn't believe it!" Darlene told Julia at lunch, almost in tears. "I love working out, but I just can't go back! Cheryl will be so disappointed."

Julia wanted so badly to warn her patient about the man's long-range goal. That would have gotten Darlene away from the immediate threat, but a wonderful chance to determine the reason for her compliance and to build up her self-will would have been lost. And, a flight at that juncture would have left her feeling defeated.

By that point, Julia was convinced that Darlene and Hal could not survive as a couple. Unless, that is, some dramatic changes happened in Hal. Only Darlene could bring about those changes, and only a much, much stronger Darlene could do it.

"I know this will be hard, Darlene, but you have to go back."

"What? I just can't! I felt so... so helpless... so... so dirty!"

"You can do it. I know you can. Here's how tomorrow will go..."

The next day, Jeremy did not see Darlene get into the pool, but he was waiting when she got out, stunned and furious after seeing her swimming in the tank suit. When he managed to calm himself a little, he decided that it would be all right. He would just pull the suit down to her waist. That, however, did not make up for her impertinence in changing suits without his command.

"Ready for your massage?" he managed to ask in his normal command voice. Actually, his voice was not quite normal, and that probably made the difference for Darlene, as she was able to demur.

"Sorry. I... I can't today. I'm almost late for an appointment." It took every bit of willpower that she had to turn away from him and walk toward the locker room. If he had managed to say anything, she might have failed.

"Did it feel good?" Julia asked as Darlene squirmed in her chair, too worked up to touch the sandwich before her.

"Why was I so scared?" Darlene asked. "Does he have some kind of hold on me?"

Bingo! Perfect lead in. "Do you think he does?" Julia asked with studied casualness.

"It seems like... it seems like I just do everything he says."

"Do you want him to have a hold on you?"

"I... no. NO! I don't. I think I'd better just quit the club. Maybe Cheryl will understand."

"Or, you could just break his hold on you," Julia said, chewing a bite of sandwich in very relaxed fashion.

Darlene voiced her fear and uncertainty for quite a while as Julia listened. Then Julia adopted her command voice again. "Darlene, today, you did it just right. You say it was hard, but you did it. You can do it one more day. I know you can. Here's how tomorrow will go."

Jeremy was irked at seeing Darlene in the tank suit again, but at least she was there. As long as he could get her on the table, things were still on track. After thinking about it, the tank suit wasn't that bad for his campaign. It was actually more revealing, and there was no definite line to mark the lower limits of his stroking.

"Let's do your massage, Darlene. You shouldn't miss two days in a row," he said, this time in full command of his voice.

"OK. Just a second," she replied. He wondered at the little quaver in her voice. She was caught between two commanding forces. Jeremy, whom she carried a growing suspicion of, was right there, right then, and resisting him in any way was difficult, Julia, she respected and liked. She believed Julia had her best interests at heart, and she wanted very much to please Julia. But Julia was yesterday, and Jeremy was right now.

Struggling to walk steadily, Darlene walked over to the chair where she always laid her towel, feeling his gaze on her as almost a physical touch. She picked up her towel and dried off as usual, forcing herself to see Julia's face and hear the instructions she had been given.

Jeremy's jaw actually dropped when Darlene, facing away from him, did that quick female move and slipped her arms out of the straps holding the tank suit over her shoulders. Before he could react in any way, she picked up a huge T-shirt and slipped it on. He had no way of knowing that Julia had given the shirt to her patient, and had carefully chosen the 'I Am Woman' emblazoned across both the back and the front.

Jeremy wondered what the hell was happening. Could he have read her so badly? Well, two could play this game. When he got her in the room, he would just rip the damned suit right down and off of her belligerent little ass! She was way out of line, and he could not allow that.

By the time they got into the massage room, though, Jeremy regained control of himself again. She was not yet his. It was still just the capture phase. There were bound to be bumps along the way. She could not resist his touch, he was certain. He would use that to reassert control.

Her head fairly swimming at what she had done, Darlene reached up under the shirt and peeled the top of the suit down to her waist, then climbed on the table. He proceeded with the massage as if nothing unusual had happened. She began to wonder if she and Julia had been imagining things. Maybe he was not trying to do anything to her, after all.

Just when she began to relax with relief that their suspicions about Jeremy had been all wrong, his hands slid under the bunched-up fabric around her waist and began stroking and kneading far below the invisible limit once impose by the waist of her two-piece.

The panic returned for her, but once again, the marvelous feelings produced by his educated hands rendered her incapable of protest. By the time he began kneading the upper swell of her buttocks and the spreading flesh at the points of her hips, she was almost mesmerized.

He probably could have stripped off the suit right then and done just about anything he wanted. The shadow of someone walking by the door of the room with its single window literally stopped him cold. He was about to grab the suit and pull it off. His pulse pounding at the mistake he had almost made, he consoled himself with a minor show of ownership. He slipped one middle finger down the crack of her ass until he could just feel it touch her rosebud. Then, he pulled his hand out, gave her a light slap on one ass cheek, said "That's it for today," and quickly left her.

After Darlene's tearful recounting of the incident, Julia told her "I'm proud of you, Darlene. You did it perfectly. I'm sorry that he shocked you with what he did at the end. Don't you think it's clear now what his intentions are?"

"Y... yes. Wh... why can't I resist him? What's wrong with me?"

Dodging the question, Julia assumed a comforting role. "You just stay away from there for now, Darlene. Don't worry about Cheryl. If you say it's OK, I'll explain to her what has been happening. I'm sure she wouldn't want you exposed to him any more. Can I tell Cheryl?"

"I... I don't know. What if she thinks she has to come home?" That was a tremendously significant reaction in Julia's mind. It indicated a level of interest in and concern for Cheryl's goals that the mother had never before shown.

"Trust me, Darlene. I can convince her that she should stay right there, get her A grades, and make the starting team. It won't be a problem."

"That son-of-a-bitch!" Robin exploded when Julia did another conference call that evening. "I ought to castrate him!" Cheryl's reaction was only marginally milder.

"I'll admit, I did not think anything that overt would happen," Julia said. "But we did flush him out, and Darlene now sees him for what he is."

"Well, thank you for getting her out of there," Cheryl said. "I'll buy her a membership somewhere else."

As she had done before, Julia let her emotions show to the group as she sighed heavily. "I consider this a failure, though," she said softly. "It was my hope that she could develop the strength to resist him. Even now, I don't believe that she is truly submissive. It is just a combination of a lifetime of never standing up for herself and him using her extreme, uh, horniness. I wish there was some way to give her the confidence to deal with him. It would change her so much - for the better."

Eight weeks had seemed like a long time, at least from the beginning. Actually, they only had seven weeks together, since Cheryl had to move into the athletic dorm when practice started during the last week of summer classes. Their packed days flew by with amazing speed.