Chapter 29

Katrina and I followed Dumont to her car. First, it was because I didn't know what she drove. Second, and probably more important, I wasn't sure I trusted her. She hadn't said a word since we left her office. I wasn't sure if that was because she didn't trust what she might say or because she was worried that one of her other students might see us together and question what was going on. Truth be told, I didn't know what I would say to that either. The truth would be too farfetched for anyone to believe, especially anyone who had seen how Dumont and I interacted in class. For that matter, I was having problems believing that we were really going anywhere else so we could have sex. As I watched her walk, knowing she wasn't wearing anything under that white sundress of hers, I realized that if she really wanted me, if she did anything that confirmed her desire for me, then I would give it to her. The real question, what I kept coming back to, was could I trust her?

Dumont pulled out her keys from her purse and pressed a button. A car alarm chirped and the headlights of a black Lincoln Continental blinked. She opened the driver's door and leaned on it while watching me approach. She lowered her sunglasses and undressed me with her eyes; something Jordan and Danielle did on a regular basis. She smiled and met my eyes. "Where to?"

I was tempted to simply say my place, but didn't think she knew where I lived, and for the time being, I didn't want her to know. However, I knew if we had sex, she would be bound to me. I didn't want to chance that Jordan would try to walk across town to find me for the post-coital ritual. "Rivertree Apartments," I said. "Do you know where it is?"

Dumont shook her head.

I opened the back door. "Drive. I'll give you directions," I said as I climbed in.

Katrina ran around to the other side and got in next to me.

Dumont got in and started the car. She pulled over to South Carroll and I gave directions. Katrina didn't bother with her seat belt and scooted over to press right up against me. I didn't mind the contact but I fought the urge to play around with her. Even in the car, passing so many other people on the street and in other cars, she wasn't shy about what she wanted. Fortunately, she restrained herself from prying open my clothes. Part of me wished she would because I was eager to feel her again, but I knew it could lead to problems with Dumont watching us in the rearview mirror.

When we pulled into my apartment complex, I directed Dumont to park in front of Jordan's apartment. Jordan's car was gone. Part of me hoped it was because Danielle had borrowed it, but another part thought Jordan might have recovered enough to go to work. I wouldn't know until I went up and found out.

Dumont turned in her seat to look at me. "What are we doing here?" Her tone was a little pouty but not really suspicious. I was glad for that much.

I pointed up to the second floor. "I need to talk to someone real quick. I'll be right back."

She frowned and Katrina let me go as I climbed out of the car.

I ran up the stairs and knocked on the apartment door. A second later, Jordan opened the door and smiled. "Hey!" she said and then pulled me into a tight hug.

I hugged her too. "How are you feeling?"

She held on and rubbed her belly against me. I was still hard from Katrina's manipulations. "Much better now," Jordan said and then pushed me back. She looked me over. "Did Milena pick you up?"

I shook my head. "No, something came up."

She looked at me curiously. "Something good I hope."

I arched an eyebrow trying to think of a politically correct way of putting it without being too vulgar. "Something that might have you mindlessly crossing the city to find me," I said.

She smiled. "Who's waiting on you?"

I nodded toward the rail. She padded over, barefoot and wearing shorts and a tank top. She peered over at the Continental and shook her head. "Who is it?"

"Professor Dumont," I said in a whisper, as if trying to avoid stares from my classmates even though I knew none were around. "And her T.A., Katrina."

Jordan looked at me. "You mean the teacher giving you such a hard time and the one you met at the club last night?"

I nodded. "Exactly."

Jordan blinked in thought. "Does Katrina have your mark?"

I shook my head. "No, she doesn't."

She glanced at my chest. "Then she's in a relationship." She looked down at the Continental again. "I thought you wanted to avoid women in relationships."

I sighed. "This is different."

She looked at me again. "How?"

I moved over and leaned on the rail. "I don't know how to explain it."

"From what you told me last night," she said, "I have a good idea why you want her."

I looked up. When she didn't answer, I shook my head. "Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "First, you're definitely attracted to her. She's the same girl who got you all hot-n-bothered the other day, right?" I nodded. She went on. "Well, you saw how her master treated her and you didn't like it. You want to save her from that, even if she doesn't believe she needs saving."

I nodded again. "True."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to save her," Jordan said. "Sometimes you even have to save someone from herself."

I looked down at the car again. "Okay, so I have to find a way to convince Heisler to let her go."

Jordan nodded and looked down too. "I don't know if it's a good idea to forge a bond with your Professor though."

"Why?" I asked simply, not letting my suspicions cloud my tone.

Jordan looked at me. "Well, if your Professor really thinks so little of you, forging a bond with her might amplify that."

I feared that possibility. "You said, 'might, ' but you don't know for sure?"

She shook her head. "Nothing's for certain." She looked down at the car again. "How did you get her to agree to this?"

Part of me felt a little hurt by her question, like she verified my self-depreciating comments about my lack of seductive skill, but I held my tongue and pulled my fetish out from under my shirt. "With Magic," I said. "By the time we left her office, she was willing to do almost anything."

Jordan shook her head. "I don't know what to think about this, Seth. From everything you've told me about her, this could backfire."

"What are you saying?" I asked, as tonelessly as I could.

She faced me. "You've got to remember, yes you're fetish helps you attract women to you for sex and to forge a bond with those women, but the bond itself amplifies the emotions you and that woman feel for one another. Most of the time, that's only lust, but you and your Professor already know each other. You already have an emotional connection that the bond will amplify."

"So, you're saying that she and I will only hate each other more?" I asked.

Jordan nodded. "That's why I was directing you at women you didn't know. With the fetish causing endless lust without any other emotions, those women have attached to you based on that one emotion. Don't get me wrong, other emotions tend to evolve later, but if you bond with someone you hate, then you'll be even more disgusted with her after the bond is forged."

I frowned and looked down at the car. Katrina had climbed into the front seat and apparently they had turned on the radio because both of them were dancing in their seats. I watched Dumont, trying to understand how I really felt about her. Did I really hate her? It was such an ugly emotion but not something I could attribute to her as a person. If I could talk to her on some level that allowed us to be cordial, I might learn more about her and understand her better. One thing for sure, I didn't like how she treated me. Would that aspect of our relationship be amplified, or would this latest development overrule it? Would we get along while alone only to go at each other's throats out in public? I really didn't know.

I watched Katrina and asked myself if I could let go of this determined idea of bonding with her. Before I could consider an answer, Katrina looked up through the windshield and waved at me. It was almost like she knew I was watching her. She smiled when I waved back and then I noticed Dumont looking up at me. Her expression was unreadable. I had no idea what she was thinking. If I was really determined to have Katrina, I had to have Dumont's help. I seriously doubted she would willingly let me wrest Katrina from her brother unless she was too loopy in lust with me otherwise. I waved at her too. She smiled and waved back.

I looked at Jordan. "You said the bond amplifies the emotions I feel for the woman and her emotions for me. You also said additional emotions can evolve from them. Is it possible to work through any negative emotions that are amplified?"

She studied my face with a frown. "Why would you put yourself through something like that?"

I looked down at the car again. "Because if that smile is any indicator, I don't believe she hates me. She simply doesn't know me and has made unfounded assumptions. Something I want to give her the chance to rectify."

Jordan sighed. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

I looked at her again. "Let me ask you this then. If only the emotions are amplified, what emotion is it that allows her to belittle others?"

She snorted. "Contempt. Loathing." She studied my face and shook her head. "I can't stop you if you're determined to do this, but you need to ask yourself if it's worth it."

I shot her a grim smile."I have."

"Then explain it to me," she said, "because I don't understand."

I didn't know how to start, so I decided on something related. "When you told me Danielle was sick and that I had to find more Fonti, I didn't like the idea of putting more women in danger. I wanted to find a different solution but little by little you helped me understand why this works the way it does. Since then I've forged bonds with women who I'm attracted to, women who are attracted to me, even without Magic, and women that met both criteria. Then you got sick and I struck out to find a Fonte on my own. I believe Katrina would make a good Fonte because she is naturally willing all on her own. However, because she's a submissive to such a degree, she doesn't believe she can leave the relationship she's in of her volition, and I don't believe I can properly forge a bond with her without my fetish, I need Heisler to release her. I don't believe I can convince him without help."

"And your Psyche Professor is supposed to help you?" Jordan asked.

"She's his sister," I said. "She should know him better than almost anyone else."

"And that's your reasoning for chancing that she will utterly despise you?" she asked.

I sighed. "It sounds crazy, right?"

She shook her head. "Completely asinine."

We stood there for a moment. I watched Katrina and Dumont dancing in the car. Having said it out loud, trying to explain it all to Jordan helped me understand it all better. I was using Dumont for something other than what I needed. I needed her as a Fonte. Along with Katrina, my count would reach ten. But to ask for her help in convincing her brother of letting Katrina go seemed like I was making her an optional selection. True, I wouldn't have chosen her as a Fonte under normal circumstances, but by the time I had her strapped down to her spanking horse and heard her moan when I spanked her, I knew I would bond with her. She wasn't the Professor I loathed anymore, though part of me was waiting for her to put her car in gear and run off while I stood next to Jordan and thought about what to do.