Chapter 26

I was too tired to dive after my clothes, yet I couldn't let other men stare at me while I was wet and nude. So, I sat up and turned to sit on the edge of the bed facing away from the door.

I heard the lock disengage and the door open. "It's about damned..." Heisler said. I half turned to look. Anger clouded his face while he looked Katrina over. He looked up at me and I was pretty sure he growled at me. I didn't understand why he was so angry. He allowed us to have two hours alone together. He walked in and stood to the side of the doorway. Yeager stood in the doorway, as if Katrina or I were going to try to escape. Heisler must have been worried if they thought we'd try that.

Katrina wasn't in a hurry to get dressed. She strolled over to her clothes and picked up the skirt first. She glanced my way as she stepped into it, and wiggled her hips to pull it up. She didn't have to go through so much effort, but it made it fun to watch. Once it was in place, she tugged at the strings, tightening the leather about her hips. Her movements made her full breasts shimmy and shake, which she made sure I could fully see. The oil made her skin glisten, and I could make out patches that weren't as shiny. She was a mess and would have to jump in a shower as soon as Heisler let her.

I looked at Heisler. He had turned to watch Katrina specifically. At least he was as interested in watching her as I was. That had to mean something, right? He couldn't stay mad forever, unless he simply intended to take out his anger on her when they left. By the way he had his arms crossed and tapped his foot impatiently, I wasn't sure of anything, other than he was ready to leave.

I noticed Yeager watching me with a big frown. He glanced at Heisler, who paid him no attention. Was he trying to tell me something? Probably that I had upset Heisler and he wasn't happy with me for that. I didn't care, as long as they didn't take it out on Katrina.

For a moment, I considered talking to Heisler, to try to convince him that doing anything to Katrina would only make me mad, but held my tongue. He'd call my threat and I'd try to stand up for her, to defend her, but though I beat Yeager at arm wrestling, I didn't believe for a second they would fight me one-on-one. No, I wasn't going to be the one to instigate the conflict. There was already enough animosity between us. If they did anything to her, and I found out about it, I'd do something to them. What I'd do I didn't know, but a good butt kicking sounded good.

Katrina bent to pick up her corset. She smiled when I looked at her again, and made a show of tugging it into place, wiggling her hips and shoulders, showing off the best she could. When she had it where she wanted it, she reached inside to adjust how her breasts settled behind the leather. She was still slick and played with herself for a few minutes, one breast at a time.

Heisler grunted, drawing our attention to him. He was staring at her with a hard glare.

She glanced my way again and worked at tightening the strings to keep the corset from slipping off. It might have been fine before we started, closed about her bare skin, but with all that oil, it could potentially slip. Something told me she wouldn't mind but Heisler might feel differently. As crowded as it was downstairs, he might have been worried about someone pulling something off her "by accident". I remembered the emergency exit at the bottom of the stairs and figured he would probably use that for a quick getaway. It would certainly keep everyone else from noticing Katrina.

With the big guy effectively blocking the entire entry, Lady Brighid had to push her way past him to gain entrance. She stared up at him and I was surprised to see him avoid her eyes. Then she turned, glanced at me, and walked over to stand in front of Katrina. Heisler watched her but didn't say anything.

The sub looked up and smiled at Lady Brighid. It was her bright smile, and that made me feel a little better. She had obviously enjoyed herself and wasn't worried about anything that might happen after she left with Heisler. If she had been scared, I might have made my move to intervene now rather than wait until after Heisler did something. Katrina looked past Lady Brighid at me and her smile added a little seduction to it.

Lady Brighid studied Katrina's face for a second and then turned to look too. Her eyes roamed over me but her expression remained curious. If she was trying to tell me something with that secret female wordless communication, I was lost to what she was trying to say.

As soon as Katrina had her corset tied up, Heisler waved at the floor. "Grab your shoes. We're leaving."

Katrina didn't bother putting her shoes on. She hooked the straps with her fingers and followed Heisler as he headed to the door. She glanced my way again, that bright smile of hers there for me to enjoy, and then she disappeared through the door behind Heisler and followed closely by Yeager.

Lady Brighid closed the door, turned around and leaned back against it. "I take it everything went well?"

I glanced at my clothes on the floor in front of the couch and nodded. "Yeah. I'm still a little confused by Katrina, but otherwise it went well."

"You may not like the consequences of tonight's events," she said. "Heisler heard your wails of pleasure. From both of you. He might not let his slave see the light of day for a while."

I frowned. "Did he really expect us to come up here and do nothing?"

She flashed a small, unpleasant smile and nodded. "He knew something would happen. I doubt he expected his slave to like it so much though."

I shrugged. "That's his fault for not getting to know her better."

She focused on me again. "And is that what you did so quickly?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I asked her to be honest with me and we talked for a while, but there were several things she said that I'm still confused about."

Lady Brighid glanced at my clothes. "You couldn't have been too confused. It sounded like things were quite agreeable."

I sighed. I was an idiot to think she might hand me my clothes or to allow me some level of modesty. She was a Magus, so she was probably used to seeing nude men. I steeled my nerves, stood up, and walked over to my clothes while saying, "She told me she was with Heisler because her dad died. I don't fully understand how one has anything to do with the other." I picked up my underwear. "She's also very experienced at sex but didn't mention any Doms other than Heisler." I slipped into my underwear and found Lady Brighid watching me intently.

She looked up and said, "I don't know a lot about Katrina. In fact, before Heisler brought her here, I had never seen her before. Since he doesn't allow her to talk in his presence, I've never had the opportunity to ask her about herself."

I pulled up my pants and sat down to put on my shoes and socks next. "Then if I want to know more about her, I'll have to ask her."

She nodded. "Yes, if Heisler allows her to talk to you after tonight."

I looked at her while pulling on my shirt. "She can't be forced to not talk to me completely. She's the T.A. in my psyche class. There are going to be times when I have to ask her questions about class."

She shrugged. "Maybe not, but he might restrict what she's allowed to talk to you about. For instance, he might tell her to discuss only class with you."

Finished with my shirt, I put the couch cushions back in place and then stood up and stared at her. "Are you trying to discourage me?"

She crossed her arms under her breasts. "No, I'm simply pointing out possible complications," she said and looked over the room. "And it looks like you didn't use any equipment." She looked at me again. "Except what you brought."

I turned and picked up the bottle of oil we had nearly emptied. "There's this."

She walked over to me and took it. "Simple olive oil. It's good for the skin and makes certain activities more pleasurable."

I nodded and realized that the room would need something to counter the smell of sex, at the very least. There was probably a cleaning service that came in to take care of that, and possibly to restock anything needed. It wasn't much different than renting a room at a motel. I looked at Lady Brighid. "So, what's the cleaning going to cost me?"

She smiled. "It's free for all first-time participants, but normally two hours in a play room costs three hundred dollars, minimum."

I nodded. "I'll keep that in mind for next time."

She focused on me again. "So, there'll be a next time?"

I shrugged. "If I'm ever going to really learn about being a Dom, then I'll continue to need coaching."

She stepped closer with an intent expression. The leather of her corset grazed the cloth of my shirt. "What about being a sub?"

I focused on her eyes. She was serious. "As I learn about one, I'd better understand the other."

"It's not the same thing," she said softly. "I can teach you. I haven't had a male sub in a long time."

I knew the look in her eyes and remembered that I was still wearing my fetish. I pulled it off and shoved it in my pocket.

Lady Brighid watched me and backed away to sit on the bed almost as quickly. She looked up at me and said, "I never knew it could be so potent."

I studied her face. "I didn't know it could affect another Magus."

"How was it designed?" she asked.

"To attract and bond available women," I said. "Women not in a relationship."

She nodded. "That would do it."

I fingered my fetish in my pocket. "Is there something I could have added to make it specific to non-Magi?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know. That would be up to you to decide what represented non-Magi."

I nodded, not sure if there was anything else to talk about. Thinking about my fetish reminded me of Jordan, and that she was home sick. That led to memories of bonding with other women and the post-coital ritual. Katrina hadn't turned into a zombie like the others. Jordan hadn't shown up either. I was wearing the fetish, so I should have bonded with Katrina, but did I? I looked at Lady Brighid. "Are you in a relationship?"

She looked up again. "Why?"

I pulled my fetish out again and sat next to her. "This was designed to target women who are available. It affected you, which suggests you're not in a relationship of any kind."

She nodded. "Okay."

"Well, you said you haven't had a male sub in a while," I said. "But you called Rebecca your pet. What's the difference?"

"Rebecca is my sub, but we're not in a relationship," she said. "At least not the kind you were thinking about when you made that."

"But you believe it's a type of relationship," I said. "Wouldn't that count?"

She shook her head. "No. You designed the fetish. You added the components to include what you were thinking of at the time. Since you're new to the Dom/sub culture, you wouldn't have thought of that while making the fetish." She looked up and studied my face. "Why do you ask?"

I glanced at the closed door. "It's Katrina. She should be bonded to me now, but something didn't happen."

"What do you think should have happened?" Lady Brighid asked. "Did you think Katrina would leave Heisler tonight?"

I blinked at that. "She said she couldn't leave him. It upset her even thinking about it."