Chapter 31

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

There was a knock on the door. Jake sensed Gil and Jason. He let them in and offered them drinks. After they were served, they sat in the living room.

“What’s this about, Jake?” Gil asked.

“I’ve got a proposition for you. But before I tell you, you have to agree to keep it secret. What we talk about goes no further. Agreed?”

“Okay,” Gil said.

“Jason?”

“Sure.”

“Okay, here’s the deal. Carol wants to have sex with you.”

Gil looked over at Jason in surprise.

“Isn’t Carol the girl you were seeing last week?”

“It was the week before that. I stopped going around with her when Jake said she had herpes.”

“I never said that she had herpes.”

“Yes, you did. I was right there.”

“No, I didn’t, but I admit that I let that impression get around. The truth is that she was still a virgin at that point.”

“You asshole,” Jason said. “You knew I liked her.”

“It’s complicated. Shut up and let me explain. Carol is obsessed with sex. She really, really likes it. And she’s a firecracker. She has incredible multiple orgasms. She pretty much needs to get some every day.

“I didn’t trust you to keep your mouth shut, Jason. I could tell that you thought that she would do anything with you because she was having sex with Julie. I figured it was just a matter of time before you started bragging about it.

“I don’t want it to get around school that she’s easy, especially since she is. She doesn’t need to get a bad reputation and have a bunch of horndogs sniffing after her.

“She and I have this strange relationship where she loves me and will do whatever I say. I love her like a sister, and I won’t let bad things happen to her. I’m giving her all the sex she’s asking for, but there will be times when I can’t. Also, it turns out that she wants variety. She thinks you guys just might do. I think you might be decent human beings about it.

“So, if we can reach an agreement, I can help you guys have regular sex with the most amazing girl you will ever get into bed.”

“What kind of agreement are you talking about?” Gil asked.

“Three conditions — you treat her with respect, you always use a condom, and you never, ever tell anyone else.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. You can see her here. Mom’s at work during the day. You’ll have privacy. I’ll give Carol a key. But basically, the deal is that as long as you treat her okay, I’ll let this go on. But don’t doubt for a second that the moment I say stop, Carol will stop.”

“What do you think, Jason?” Gil asked.

“It’s fucking great, that’s what I think.” Then he frowned at Jake. “But I still think that you were a jerk to let me think that she had a disease.”

“You don’t want to do this very bad, do you?” Jake said. “I just gave you a girl who means a lot to me, and you call me a jerk? Let me tell you who the jerk is. The jerk is the guy who spreads a rumor around that a girl has a disease when he doesn’t know and doesn’t take the trouble to find out for sure. One day you were there and the next day you had abandoned her.

“If I didn’t harbor the hope that someday you’ll turn out to be a decent person like your brother, I wouldn’t have brought you in on this. Now I’m beginning to think that it was a mistake.”

“Settle down, Jake. I’m sorry I said anything.”

“If you want this, I think you should try especially hard to treat Carol like the good person that she is.”

“Sure, Jake. I’m sorry.”

“So do you agree to those three conditions?”

“I do,” Gil said.

“Me, too,” Jason said.

“I’ll see if Carol can come over. If you want her today, you can. Otherwise, I’ll do her.”

“Today would be great,” Gil said.

Jake picked up the phone and called his grandparents’ house. He spoke to Carol who agreed to come over.

“Let me ask one personal favor,” Jake said to them. “I’m very fond of Carol. It’s not easy for me to let her have sex with someone else. I’m letting it happen because it’s what Carol needs, but I’m going to feel bad about it. Don’t start crowing to me about nailing her because I won’t be in the mood.”

Jake went into each of their minds and linked shame to the intention of talking to anyone else about sex with Carol.

The phone rang before Carol got there.

“Hi, Jake. Mark Harrison. I ran down a contact for a private security company that has a good reputation. Got a pen?”

“Yes, sir.”

Mark gave Jake the name and the phone number.

“You should know that these guys are not cheap. Don’t be surprised for them to charge a thousand dollars a day. But you get good quality. These are the same guys who protect diplomats in war zones.

“One other thing, Jake. Jan asked me to take your mother out. Is that really what you want?”

“Yes, I do. She has so little experience with men. She needs to learn how a woman should expect to be treated. I would be grateful if you would take her out and show her what she should expect.”

“I suppose I could force myself to enjoy Ellen’s company for a few hours.”

“Mark, let me be blunt for a second. I respect you a lot, and I’m sure you’ll be well behaved. Later it may be different, but for this date, it’s got to be about teaching her how to socialize, not about sex. I know she’s extraordinarily beautiful, but I’m counting on you being a gentleman this date.”

“I agree that she’s pretty special. You have my word that she’ll be safe with me.”

They agreed on a Friday evening date and Jake rang off.

Carol walked in a few minutes later.

“Excuse us for a minute, guys,” Jake said. “We’ll be right back.”

He steered Carol to his bedroom.

Jason and Gil want to have sex with you. Jake explained to her the three conditions he had made them agree to. Do you want to go ahead with it?

Carol hugged Jake.

I knew I could count on you, Jake. Thanks so much.

Jake pulled a handful of condoms from his drawer.

I told them that they could use my place to see you. I think that would be best, especially at first. How long did your mind stay clear yesterday?

Most of the evening. It probably would have lasted the whole evening if I hadn’t seen Jason and Gil nearly naked.

He looked her in the eye.

You’ll make them wear a condom every time, won’t you? For me?

If that’s what you want, Jake.

Thanks, sweet thing. I’m probably just being irrational, but it’ll be like you’re saving a part of yourself just for me. It may not make sense, but it’s important to me. Are you ready for them?

Yes, Jake.

Both at once or one at a time?

Both.

I’ll send them in. If they give you any trouble, just yell out for me.

He walked back into the living room.

“She’s waiting for you. Remember this lasts only as long as you impress her, and you live up to your deal with me.”

Jake sat close to the bedroom so that he could monitor them. Gil went first. He donned a condom and penetrated Carol without preliminaries. He established a moderate pace and was able to bring Carol off when he came. Jason came almost immediately. Jake shook his head.

Gil was able to go again immediately. This time he lasted long enough for Carol to come twice. Jason had enough staying power the second time for Carol to climax. Gil went a third time. This time he was able to take her to the place where her orgasms ran together.

Jason tried to mount Carol without a condom as she lay there half insensible. Jake burst through the door and pulled him off her.

“You stupid shit! You couldn’t even obey the rules the first time. Get the fuck out of here.”

He threw Jason’s clothes into the living room. Jason ran after them. Jake made himself calm down.

“I’m sorry, Gil. I shouldn’t have let it make me so mad. It’s just that the condom rule is important to me. Crap. Now I don’t know what to do about Jason.”

“It’s not your fault, Jake. He agreed to use a condom. Make him sit out a few times. That’ll teach him.”

“I’ll do that. Thanks for being good to Carol. That means a lot to me.”

“Sure, and thank you, Jake. Carol’s a real babe.”

“Will you make sure that Jason wears condoms from now on?”

“No problem.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you next time. Would you tell Jason that he’s out of luck until further notice?”

Jake pulled his desk chair up next to the bed. Carol was lying still naked, still dazed, and ignoring what was going on around her. He looked around. At least they had thrown their condoms into the trash can. He sat down to wait for her to come around. He looked at the entrance to her vagina and pictured Jason pounding her with his cock. He felt empty when he thought about someone else having her.

Jake started to cry. He grabbed his blanket which was lying on the floor, balled it up, and pushed it to his face to muffle his sobs. After a few minutes, the sorrow was replaced by indifference and he stopped crying. He realized that Carol was sitting next to him with her arm around him.

“What’s wrong, Jake?”

“Just ignore me, Carol. I’m such a baby sometimes.”

“Is it because I had sex with Jason and Gil?”

“It’s just this stupid thing about guys. We’re possessive. It’s hard for me to share you with other guys. I’ll get over it.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because you wanted it. And besides, I don’t have the right to tell you that you can’t sleep with other guys.”

“But I don’t want you to feel bad.”

“I’ll get stronger. Besides, Gil, at least, was good to you.”

“He finally got me there. Neither one of them is as good as you are.”

“They don’t have my skills. Now that you’ve been with other guys, is it the kind of thing that you’ll want to do again?”

“I hope you don’t mind, Jake. I really like being with different people.”

“Jason tried to fuck you without a condom the last time.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t stop him. I didn’t even realize he was doing it.”

“Maybe it will be better if you only see other men when I’m here. That way I’ll be there to make sure they obey the rules. I told Jason that he wasn’t welcome back for the time being. I’ll probably make him sit out for three days. That should let him know that I’m serious.”

“Why don’t you lie down here next to me. When you feel better you can fuck me, too.”

Jake began to cry again. He struggled to get control back.

“Please, baby, I’ll do everything for you that I can, but don’t ask me to fuck you after you’ve been with some other guy. I just can’t do that.”

She held him close again.

“Shhh. It’s okay, Jake. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I won’t ask you again.”

The short night and the emotions of the day caught up with him and he fell asleep. He awoke to find that he was lying next to a still naked Carol. His mother was standing in his bedroom doorway.

“He was upset and then he fell asleep,” Carol was explaining to Ellen.

“What was he upset about?” Ellen asked.

Jake spoke before Carol had a chance.

“It was a stupid thing. I won’t let it happen again.” He sat up and checked the time. “We need to hurry to get to that class on time. Carol, we can drop you off on our way. But maybe you should dress before we go.”

Carol hit him on his shoulder.

“I know to dress before I go outside.”

He smiled at her. “It’s just that you’re almost always naked when you’re here. Not that I’m complaining. She’s beautiful without clothes, isn’t she, Ellen?”

“I wish my tits were still as firm as hers are,” Ellen said.

Carol blushed happily. Then she got up and dressed.

Thanks for complimenting her. But your tits are perfect. If they were the slightest bit more or less firm than they are now and they wouldn’t be as wonderful as they are.

Ellen thrust her breasts out subtly and smiled at him. He patted her on the ass as he walked by.

They dropped Carol off and headed for the Harrisons.

“Ellen, I want you to skip your workouts for a couple of days.”

“Why?”

“My father has been spying on you at the gym. He’s been reading you there.”

Her fear surged.

“I’m worried, too, Ellen. He’s showing too much interest in you for my comfort. I don’t know what his intentions are, but I don’t trust them.”

“How do you know he’s at my club?”

“Give me a second.” Jake pulled into a grocery store parking lot they were driving past. He twisted in his seat to face her. “Think about your workout today. Start from when you walked out of the locker room. Go through each step until you left to go back to work.”

She did. It was much like her workouts on other days. Harris had come near to where she was exercising and had followed her around the entire session. When she was done, Jake replayed her memories back to her.

“Who’s that man?”

“That’s my father.”

“How come I didn’t even notice him?”

“You didn’t know he was there?”

“I never saw him.”

Jake put the car in gear and began driving again.

“I’ll have to think about that. I wondered why you let him stay so close to you.”

“What am I going to do?”

“We’re going to take precautions to keep you safe. For now, stay away from your gym. Another gym ought to be safe. Just not that one.”

“It’s a chain. I could go to a different location. It’s just not as convenient.”

“That’s fine. I’m going to hire a bodyguard for you. A good one. He’s going to take you to work and pick you up. He’ll take you to your workouts and anywhere else you go.”

“Jake, how much good can he do? Your father can just take control of him.”

“It’s not a perfect solution, but there are some things we can do to minimize his advantage. I won’t tell you what they are because he might learn them from you. I want you to start carrying my gun with you. I expect you to be prepared to use it.”

“But he’ll just stop me.”

“He can’t if you don’t let him come within range. Now you know what he looks like. If you see him coming, you shoot to kill. I’ll handle the aftermath so that everyone thinks it’s self-defense.”

“I don’t know if I can shoot someone.”

“Ellen, I’m not asking you. I’m giving you an order. Do whatever it takes to put yourself into the frame of mind that has you ready at any moment to shoot him. And when that moment comes, you will do it. This man has been arrested a dozen times for rape and kidnapping and assault. I can’t begin to guess how many times he’s done it without getting caught.”

“Yes, Jake.”

“With the guard there, there will be two guns he has to worry about. I also want you to call me every hour on the hour when I’m not with you. Let the phone ring twice and then hang up.”

“Yes, Jake.”

“Here’s the important thing. If something has happened, don’t call me on schedule. If you are more than two minutes off schedule, early or late, I’ll assume there’s a problem and I’ll come after you.”

“What if I forget?”

“Don’t forget. You are my life. If you don’t call, I’m going to pull out all the stops to find you.”

“Yes, Jake.”

“We don’t have to wait for him to come for you. We have another option. We could leave town. We would tell no one. We would just leave. Right now. My father wouldn’t know where we were going, so he couldn’t follow us. We could be in another part of the country starting a new life in just a couple of days.”

“But I’d have to give up my job. Our friends. My parents.”

“Yes, but you’d be safe from him. He’s a bad man, Ellen. I don’t want him to hurt you.”

Jake felt her uncertainty and her discomfort at having to decide.

“I can tell that there’s another reason you don’t want to go. Tell me.”

“It’s just that things have started going so well at the office. People have been noticing my work. I’ve been given a new assignment. In fact, I’ll need to go in this weekend to prepare a customer presentation for next week.”

Jake reached for her hand.

“I’m proud of you. I’m pleased when I see the strong and capable Ellen Fielding. You’re beautiful and smart and strong. I’m the luckiest guy on this continent to have you as my sub. We’ll try it with the bodyguard and see how it works.”

“Thanks, Jake.”

“You have a date on Friday.”

“We’re going out?”

“We, no. You, yes. Mark Harrison will come over at seven to pick you up. I don’t know what you are going to be doing. Do we need to go over the ground rules?”

“I do not obey his orders. No sex.”

“Right. And now that you are starting to date, here is rule number eight. If you are with any man and he fails to treat you with respect, you leave him and call me to pick you up.”

“Yes, Jake.”

Shannon was waiting at the Harrisons’ front door when they arrived. She was carrying a small overnight bag.

“Did Jan put anything in your bag before you left?” Jake asked her.

“No, why would she do that?”

Jake just smiled at her.

Shannon was nervous at first, but by the time they arrived at the gun range, she and Ellen were chattering away.

“Wait. Don’t get out yet,” Jake said as they were pulling into a parking place.

Jake put the car into park and turned around in the seat to face Shannon. His hand shot out and grabbed the back of her head by her hair. He pulled it back until she was looking up into his eyes. They shone with fear and excitement.

“Today, you will keep your mind on the class. You will not allow it to wander into fantasies. When we shoot, you will concentrate completely. If you don’t outshoot me, there will be no games tonight. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir.”

He leaned forward and kissed her briefly on the lips.

“Good girl,” he said and released her hair.

They walked into the store.

Jake, how can you do that to that poor girl?

Jake replayed the incident to Ellen from Shannon’s perspective, complete with sensations and emotions. She stumbled as they walked and clutched at a display stand.

I don’t understand why she likes it so much.

She has submissive tendencies like you do, but I think they come from a different place. For her, submission is a kink, something that she finds sexually exciting. Different people are different. We’ll accept Shannon as she is and help her meet her needs.

I don’t know what to do for her.

Don’t worry about that. We’re going to have a special guest dominatrix tonight to teach us what to do.

Jake, what are you up to?

He smiled at her. You’ll see later on. Now we have to go to class. Learning to shoot is even more important than we thought it would be. Pay careful attention.

Before the class started, Jake pulled the instructor aside and told him that Ellen had a stalker and asked him if he could tailor the class and range time to help prepare her.

“She’s not ready yet. She needs to finish this class and take a self-defense class where we focus on those things. She’d just be a danger to herself and others at the stage she’s at.”

“We’ll take that class, too,” Jake said, “but we may not have time before this guy acts.”

Jake pulled out Harris’s rap sheet and the arrest report and handed it to him.

“Yes. He’s a bad guy,” the instructor said after a careful reading. “I’ll move quickly through the stuff for the carry permit and start talking about self-defense. Is she going to be armed before she gets the permit?”

“I don’t see that she has a choice. I’d rather she explain after the fact why she had a gun than have her be at this guy’s mercy.”

“What you need is a security consultant to guard her.”

“I’ve got a contact for one of the national security companies. I’m going to call in the morning.”

“No, let me give you the name of a local guy who’s the best. He sometimes teaches classes here. He also won’t cost anywhere near as much as Blackwater or one of those.”

There was, indeed, more discussion of the safe use of firearms at short range and the considerations of personal security. The range time was much more involved than the preceding day. At the end of the class, Jake thanked the instructor for changing the curriculum.

On the way home, Jake asked Ellen to compare Shannon’s target to his.

“It looks like she kicked your butt.”

“Good. Tonight is on after all. Ellen, there’s something you need to know for tonight.”

“What’s that?”

“Shannon’s safe word for tonight is rosebud.”

“Yes, Jake.”

“I think we’ll have a guest when we get home,” Jake said.

“Who is that?” Ellen asked.

“She is an expert in bondage. Well, at least she’s more experienced than I am. Shannon, are you on birth control?”

“No.”

“By noon tomorrow, you will have a doctor’s appointment to get started. You will not get something that you have to remember to use in the heat of the moment. Agreed?”

“Sure.”

Shannon sat in nervous excitement the rest of the way home. They arrived at nine-thirty.

“Please, have a seat. We’ll have a fourth soon,” Jake said.

He closed his eyes and used the time to do some research. He began by going through Shannon’s cerebral cortex looking at memories. He compared them with what he had seen in Ellen’s mind the night before. He found the same pattern — memories connected by webs of neurons. He wandered through Shannon’s mind looking for some mechanism that would pull her memories into consciousness.

“Shannon, do you remember when you kissed me this afternoon at the pool?”

Something very quick happened. He missed it.

“Yes,” she said nervously.

“How about when I pulled your hair in the car?”

There it was again. It was a series of nerve pulses originating in the cerebral cortex and moving toward the midbrain.

“Uh-huh.”

“Don’t say anything. Just think about your college graduation.”

He followed it further this time.

“Now your high school graduation.”

There! He saw the destination. Not the midbrain. It was in the forebrain down near her hypothalamus.

“Your first kiss.”

He saw a pattern of activations in the forebrain and a memory emerged in Shannon’s consciousness.

“Your first date.”

Even though she was recalling a different set of memories each time, the same part of the forebrain seemed to be involved.

“What you ate for dinner today.”

Jake, this isn’t a good idea. She’s thinking this is really weird and she’s right.

Jake’s attention snapped back to the room. There was a knock on the door.

“I ... uh ... I’ll explain later,” he said and hurried to get the door. It was Jan in a black leather catsuit.

“Oh, my,” Jake said. “This was definitely worth staying up late for.”

“Hush, Jake. We’ve got work to do.” She pushed her way past him. She was carrying a bag. “Ellen’s room?”

“What’s she doing here?” Shannon said, startled and scared.

“Control your pet,” Jan said. “I’m here to see you, not her.”

“Not another word,” Jake told Shannon. “All will be in readiness soon.”

“Follow me, Jake.”

They went into Ellen’s bedroom. Jan shut the door behind them and then turned and pulled Jake to her.

“Wearing leather always makes me horny,” she said and kissed him. Then she pulled away. “Now you have some learning to do.”

Jan pulled four lengths of rope from the bag.

“You’ve got to learn to use the ropes. I’ll teach you one knot tonight. If it’s tied right, the rope won’t tighten on her limbs when she pulls on it. If you do this more, you will need to learn other knots and other techniques, too. Ropes can permanently injure people if they are handled wrong. When you undertook to control Shannon, you made a commitment to keep her safe.”

She demonstrated the knot for Jake, showing him step by step how to tie it. After the third time, Jake thought he had it.

“Tie this rope on my wrist,” Jan said.

She walked him through the steps to tie the knot. When he was done, she loosened it and made him do it again. And then a third time.

“Now, tie my right wrist to the corner of this bed. Use the same knot on the bedpost that you used on my wrist.”

When that was done, she had him tie her left wrist to the other corner.

“Okay, now tie my right ankle. Watch how tightly you draw the limbs. Too tight and I’ll lose circulation. Make sure I have a few inches to thrash around with.”

He tied her ankle.

“Good. Now untie me.”

He did.

“This first time with Shannon, be careful to do her no real hurt. No bruises or marks of any kind. Keep the pain and humiliation moderate, but watch to see if she’s disappointed that you weren’t rougher with her. If she is, we’ll talk later about how to approach the next session.”

“Okay, that’s fine with me.”

“But don’t be gentle with her. Take control. Force her to your will. Make it like rape. Join into the spirit of the play. If you don’t enjoy it, she will think something’s wrong. What’s her safe word?”

“Rosebud.”

“Does Ellen know?”

“Yes.”

“I won’t interact with Shannon tonight. We’ll see how she takes it. If it works out, I might take control of her next time. I’ll instruct Ellen while you’re taking Shannon. What kind of birth control is she on?”

“None. I’ll have to use condoms.”

“Just make sure she’s safe.”

“Ellen is still struggling with why someone would want to be forced. I’ve commanded her, so she’ll do what she’s told, but I would like for her to see it as something Shannon wants, not some form of torture.”

“I’ll talk to her. You take care of Shannon. Look a little dangerous. Take your shirt off. Show her that you’re in control. Take her hard and make her submit to you.”

Jake tossed his shirt to the floor and strode into the living room. Shannon was waiting nervously on the sofa. Jake glared at her.

“On your knees, now. Right here in front of me,” Jake hissed at her.

Shannon’s fear and arousal rose in tandem. She scrambled off the sofa and knelt in front of him.

Jake grabbed her hard by the hair and pulled her head back.

“Listen to me, you cock tease. I’ve had enough of you flouncing around with your tits bouncing and ass twitching. I’m going to fuck you raw. What is your safe word?”

“Rosebud. Please, don’t hurt me.”

“I’m not going to put up with you teasing me anymore. You dress like a whore. You act like a whore. I’m going to show you what happens to whores.”

Jake, still holding onto her hair, pulled her into the bedroom. She scrambled to keep up. Jake pulled her to her feet at the side of the bed.

“Take off your clothes. All of them. And you had better be quick about it.”

Shannon fumbled with the buttons of her blouse. In the face of Jake’s rising impatience, she pulled her blouse off and started to remove her skirt.

“Faster, you little slut! You’ll pay for every second you make me wait.”

The skirt came off and she took off her bra and panties. She stood there trembling in just socks and shoes.

“I told you to get naked. Now, damn you!”

She looked down, realized she was still shod, and kicked off her shoes and pulled off her socks.

Jake pushed her down on the bed. He pulled her by one arm to center her in the bed.

“If you fight me, I’ll break your arm.”

He pulled out a rope, grabbed her arm roughly, and tied it to one corner of the bed. When he had finished, he started on the next arm.

“I’m going to fuck you. I’m going to fuck you hard, and I’m not going to stop until I’m done with you. Then Ellen is going to fuck you, too. If you make too much noise, I’m going to hurt you. If you make too little noise, I’ll hurt you worse.”

“I’ll be good. You don’t have to hurt me.”

Jake pulled an ankle toward another corner and tied it.

“And you better convince me that you like it. If you don’t act like the slut that I know you are, I’m going to hurt you.”

He tied off the last leg and stood above her looking down.

“You look delicious. Almost too good not to share. Maybe I should call some of my buddies and let them all have a go at you, too, one right after another. But they’re some mean guys. They wouldn’t be as nice to you as I’ll be.”

Shannon surged with excitement at the thought of being gang-raped. She moaned involuntarily.

Jake took off his pants and his boxers. He knelt between her legs. She had not been turned off by anything he had done so far. He pinched her nipple. She breathed in sharply. The nipple hardened. He slapped the side of her breast. Still no indication from her that he was getting too rough. He slapped it harder. Then harder yet. He probed her vagina with his finger. It was wet and juice was dribbling down her perineum. He climbed onto her chest and pushed his penis at her mouth. She took it in.

“Suck me, you whore. You have sixty seconds to make me come.”

Jake did not keep track, but he thought she met the deadline.