Chapter 16: Holiday Spirit

"Ral, dinner is ready. Mandy's on her way up to get you." Yvonne thought.

Monique had already put my cock back into my pants and closed them up. She didn't bother with her bra, but only slipped her top back on. The sight of her unhindered shape under the snug shirt didn't help my mood or condition. Without a word, she opened the door just as Mandy was about to knock.

"Hey," Monique said to her sister as she stepped past her.

Mandy watched her go, a confused look on her face. Then she looked at me and I wasn't sure what she saw, but I knew what she felt. There was a fleeting disgust, because the idea of Monique and I having sex right after she and I had shared such a monumental encounter threw her ability to rationalize to the wind.

I felt ashamed. Not because of the sex or the fact that Mandy had found out. I was ashamed that I had let it go the way it had. To some level that pissed me off. I shouldn't have been ashamed, but I knew anger wouldn't help what was coming.

Mandy stepped into my room and closed the door. The look on her face reminded me of our childhood, when she was upset with something that hadn't gone her way and she was going to take her anger out on me. However, unlike as a child, I didn't try to call for help or hide.

Mandy stood there simmering. Either she was waiting for me to run or look smug. She hadn't expected the passive expression I gave her. I was waiting for her tirade and even expected it.

With a tense, yet controlled feeling, she thought, "Tell me what happened."~

Not only did I tell her with thoughts, but I showed her what I had found out and why I had allowed it to go on. I left out the parts of Monique's thoughts regarding sharing me with her and how she felt about Chloe and Yvonne — those were private and I wasn't sure what her real sexual bias was. She might have been bi-sexual or just found some women attractive. That wasn't for me to judge.

By the time I showed her, only a few seconds later, her expression had turned completely around and she was filled with concern for her sister.

"Who's doing it?" Mandy asked quietly as I got up and she moved closer. I took her hand, the feel of her touch so invigorating and calming at the same time. She had forced herself to calm down and that sense of self control filled me. It helped and I was grateful for it.

"I don't know," I answered. "I know it wasn't someone using Master PC though, the program has a different feel to it. Whoever this was knows how to be covert with their efforts. They even knew how to keep me from tracing the command..."

"You know how to do that?" Mandy asked.

I shrugged. "I'm working on it." That's when I shared the memories of my meeting with Michael and the follow-up discussions with Yvonne and Chloe.

"You should work on it harder," Mandy said in response. I could feel her desire to help her sister, but she also understood that she didn't have the ability to fight this kind of battle.

"So, I guess we have a new family member?" Mandy asked.

I shook my head. "She didn't have my mark. I don't know why either."

Mandy looked back at the door as if doing so helped her memory. "You're right. I don't remember seeing your mark on her." She turned back to me. "I mean, she's not exactly small up top," Mandy said off-handedly. It was something she didn't like to think about, the shape of Monique's body. It had never honestly crossed Mandy's mind to want to share a guy with her sister or even look her over in such a way. I was thankful for that bit of normalcy among all of the insanity. Then Mandy finished her point by pulling her blouse down and tight against her own breasts. Though they shared similarly sized breasts, my mark stood out from Mandy's cleavage and I understood. Monique would have shown off my mark with the low cut top.

It was a new question I had for Michael. He had said that the Mind Magi had to want to be bound to another to have the effect. I thought really hard about what had happened. I hadn't wanted Monique. She was acting of her own accord and my concern about the command being fed to her and the way Mandy would have acted kept me from really getting into the act we had just performed. Well, actually, what she had just performed. Was that the answer? If I sat back and did nothing, no mark would appear? Or was it my distracted thoughts and general lack of desire to have her bound to me? If it was the latter, then Yvonne had been right earlier. I did want to be with all of my girls, from the beginning. That made me happy. Truly happy.

I smiled at Mandy. She felt my elation and smiled back. I said, "I'm going to clean up and then I'll be down for dinner. Let me know if Monique says or does anything ... weird."

Mandy nodded and gave me another kiss. She left and I went to the bathroom.

{hr}

Downstairs, everyone seemed in a fairly cheerful mood. I used our mental links to share what had happened with Yvonne and Chloe so they knew what was going on, but asked them not to ask any questions until later.

Monique acted like nothing had happened at all. Well, until she had the perfect moment — when everyone was in the dining room and I was left to grab drinks from the refrigerator — to grope my bottom and shake her barely contained boobs at me. Whatever the command was, it was keeping her in a near-constant state of need for me.

I looked her over, and as my eyes scanned passed her soft, framed cleavage, I noted that she did not have my mark. I started getting hard again and wanted to make sure she wasn't being affected by my Charm. I deliberately thought about wanting her to want me, and I could feel how the effects of my Charm enveloped her, like a warm, happy, and sexy blanket. Monique's eyes filled with fire and she began to approach again, but I pulled away the effect. Instantly the fire flickered and died. She stopped and grinned. Whether she knew I had affected her, or she saw my look as an agreement to her desire, I wasn't sure. I was betting on the latter, but I had never really experimented with my Charm like that before.

She left the kitchen, throwing a wink at me over her shoulder, and I took a moment to garner control over the bulge in my jeans.

Everyone ate quietly. I was used to this. Conversation was not necessary during a meal while I grew up and even now, that rule seemed to hold true. However, my Mom surprised me again. She spoke.

"Ral, I didn't mean to chase you off like that earlier. I told you when we left that we were going Christmas shopping," she said in a tone that hinted a jovial attitude she usually reserved for those she tried to impress or considered friends. I wasn't either of those.

I nodded but said nothing. She apparently considered the issue settled.

When everyone had had their fill and taken their dishes to the sink, Yvonne and Chloe, who had volunteered to do dishes, were shooed out to the kitchen. Monique and Ryan took care of the dishes and I was promised that I would have to deal with them the next night with Mom. Again, this was odd. Dishes had always been handled by one person, mainly because there was usually so little to clean. Still, it was a nice turn-around that would have been perfectly acceptable if not for the nagging questions about the mysterious Master PC passwords and non-Master PC commands...

In the great room, my girls and Mom were discussing which movie to watch. It seemed to be a toss up between "It's a Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Carol". I didn't say anything because everyone was buzzing with the holiday spirit and I didn't want to spoil it. I did want to talk to Mom though. One, to ask if she got a call from Dad regarding his late meeting and two, to see if she would talk to me about my adoption. The first was a bit more important for the moment because it was already dark and the snow was falling a lot heavier than it had been during the day. I could see it even accumulating on the back porch, which was covered. If the roads hadn't been closed already, they soon would be.