Saving Caitlin Ch. 01

He reached out to caress her breast. She gasped and pulled back. He didn't scold her, but put his hand on her back, arched it, and gently nudged her head down. Then he once again reached out to caress her breast. Her fear was like a heavy mist permeating the air, but he knew it was best to let her know exactly what he expected from the very beginning. He wanted no misunderstanding later.

"I want you to practice going from the 'Kneel' position to the 'Attend' position and back to the 'Kneel' position. It will help that you're young and agile. The movement from kneeling to standing and back again should be smooth and fluid. I'm going to work on the laptop for a while. I want you to practice. Why don't you go over there where there's a bit more room?" Jon pointed to the corner across from the bed on the other side of the room.

He worked for more than twenty minutes, watching her out of the corner of his eye. After a few times standing and kneeling, she was able to do it with a great deal more grace then the first time. He could also see she was getting tired. He shut the computer down and closed it up.

"Come here, Caitlin, and kneel."

Her face was a bit flushed, but the little bit of calm she found while practicing was replaced by fear as she did as she was told.

"Most slaves wear symbols of their master's ownership. The most common is a collar, but other symbols could be a ring, a tattoo, or even perhaps a branding. You agreed to become my submissive this morning when I rescued you from Carl. Is that true?"

"Yes, master."

He pulled the dog collar out of one of the shopping bags and showed it to her.

"As a symbol of your submission to me, you will wear this collar to signify that you are mine. It is also a symbol of my promise to take care of you. You will not take it off except to bathe unless I tell you. I will get you a more suitable one when we're settled or if we happen to pass some place that sells them. This is called 'collaring'," he said as he buckled the collar around her neck. "You will wear this collar or a more suitable one for the next year.

"Now it's been a long day and I'm tired. I'm sure you are, too. If you need to go to the bathroom, go do it, then get into bed."

He could see she was so apprehensive that she could barely rise from her kneeling position, but she obeyed silently. When she came out of the bathroom, he went in. When he came out, she was sitting on the bed.

"I told you to get into bed, Caitlin."

"Master?"

"Yes, you may speak."

"Can I wear a nightgown or something, a t-shirt maybe?"

"No. You'll sleep in the nude while you're with me, Caitlin. In consideration of the hell you went through with Carl, I'll keep my underwear on for a night or two. Would that suit you?"

"I have no other choice?" she whispered.

"You don't," Jon said, a little more sternly than he intended by the way she flinched.

They got into bed and he wanted to pull her close, but thought he'd give her a couple more days. He could feel her trepidation, but her breathing soon evened out and he sensed she had fallen asleep. He thought about the events of the day and the beginning of her training. He was well satisfied so far and fell asleep not long after she did.

When he awoke, he was surprised at how well he had slept. He smiled when he saw Catie had barely moved from her side of the bed. If she were any closer to the edge, she'd fall off. He eased out of bed, picked up his duffle bag, and went to the bathroom. When he came out, she was beginning to wake up.

"Good morning."

Her smile was timid with a good bit of apprehension. "Good morning, master."

"Why don't you call me 'sir' unless we're in a scene." He saw her confusion and added, "I'll explain what a scene, situation, or action is later. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, it was wonderful." Her cheeks turned bright red and he knew she was thinking she slept so well because no one raped her.

"I got donuts and juice yesterday. Do you need to go to the bathroom?"

"Yes...sir."

He pulled his robe out of his bag and handed it to her. "Here, you can wear this while we eat. Do you have a toothbrush?"

"Oh. I forgot back at—"

"That's okay. I've got one that's never been used." He searched though his bag and handed her a plastic wrapped toothbrush with a dentist's name on it. "Here, you can have this one. Do you drink coffee?"

"Not really."

"Not really? What does that mean?"

She blushed. "I never learned to like it."

"Well, it's a good thing I got some juice then, isn't it?"

She was holding the robe in front of her like a shield.

"Go on now. I'll get the donuts out. You do like donuts, don't you?"

"Oh, yes."

"Good because one of our first goals is to get some weight on you."

When she came back to the room, the sleep was washed away from her face, her hair was combed, and he could tell she had made use of the toothbrush. He made a half pot of coffee with the complimentary sample in the basket given to him when he checked in. The fragrance of the brewed coffee seemed to make the cabin homier.

"Thank you for letting me, you know, er, clean up, sir."

"You mean right now or last night?"

"Both. He didn't always remember to let me go to the bathroom in the mornings," she said quietly. A tear rolled down her cheek.

Jon held out his hand and she cautiously came to him. He brushed away the tear and kissed the top of her head. He led her to the table, pulled out a chair for her, and took the other one. He had poured himself a cup of coffee and a glass of juice for her. He took out a cake donut and handed her the bag, chuckling when she pulled out a Bavarian cream.

"They're my favorite."

"I had a feeling you'd be a Bavarian cream girl when I first saw you. Tell me what other kinds of food you like."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I like most anything, but I'm not fond of vegetables."

He laughed. "Vegetables are good for you."

"I like corn and peas and cauliflower."

"Well, that's a start. We'll stay here today and just get to know one another. Don't go pale, Catie. I'm not going to beat or rape you. When we do have sex, I'll be gentle. I won't hurt you like Carl did."

Her head was lowered and she didn't look up, so he continued telling her more about what he would expect from her. He explained scenes, using yesterday as an example when he tied her before he went to the store. He also explained that a scene may include restraining her with cuffs or belts as well as ropes. Later he would show her other positions he would expect her to take if commanded. He talked about ways he might use her and what he might do while in a specific scene. He explained about safe words and she would use the most common ones—red, yellow, green.

He told her that, during this year, he would have only one slave—her—and, unlike Carl, he didn't share. He told her it was not uncommon for Masters to share their subs, but he didn't. She would be given to no one. He smiled when he saw the relief in her face. He took a chance and caressed her cheek with his fingers. She flinched only slightly.

He told her again he would not punish her for something that was out of her control, but if she needed discipline, he would not hesitate to give it. It would be well for her to remember that. He fed her more donuts and juice until she said she couldn't eat anymore. And then he said, 'Attend'. Her breath caught and she hesitated before rising. She removed the robe, folded it and put it on the bed, and took the position he taught her last night.

"Good girl. You only hesitated for a moment, but I'm willing to overlook it today. Come here and stand between my legs."

He took the antibiotic cream from the table where he had put it the night before and opened the cap. She visibly relaxed when she saw what he was going to do. As embarrassing as it was to stand naked before him, he still had not hurt her as Carl had done.

"I know that, although you've been naked for nearly, what, two weeks, it's still hard for you to be naked in front of me. Soon it won't be so difficult and you'll get used to it. You're a very pretty girl, Caitlin. When these cuts and bruises heal, you'll be even more so. Enjoy the fact I like to see you naked. But, Caitlin, I'm also going to be touching you whenever I feel like it. I won't hurt you so you've got to relax and try to stop flinching whenever I do. I'm not Carl. Okay?"

"I'll try, sir."

He put the cream on all the cuts as he had the night before. She turned a bright pink as he lifted her breast to get the one on the tender underside.

"Put your hand on my shoulder for balance and put this foot," he tapped her thigh, "on my chair." She lifted her foot to the chair so he could get to the cut on her leg. Before he let her put her foot down, he ran his hand up her leg to the inside of her thigh. He stopped just short of her crotch. He felt every muscle and tendon tighten.

"Relax," he whispered and she seemed to try. He massaged her thigh until her breathing evened. Then he took a pillow from the bed as he had last night and dropped it on the floor.

"Good girl. Kneel for me, Caitlin."

She put her arms behind her back and knelt gracefully. He watched her for a few minutes, then opened his laptop and typed a few minutes before turning his attention back to her.

"This bruise on your ribs here seems to be the worst one. Does it hurt when I touch it?"

"Only a little, sir."

"Probably no broken ribs then. Hell, I can't believe he'd leave these kinds of marks on you."

He had her stay in the kneeling position for about fifteen minutes as he entered a few more notes. Then he touched her hair, caressing it with his hand. She held very still. He moved his hand to her cheek and outlined her jaw with one finger.

"This bruise on your cheek isn't as bad as it looked last night. Did he do it Friday?"

"He hit me before you and the others came, sir."

He let his finger linger on her cheek before tracing a vein down her neck. She inhaled sharply and nearly cringed before stopping herself. He noted the reaction and stopped to finger the rhinestone collar.

"Does wearing the collar bother you?"

"No. No, not as much as I thought it would. I was kind of afraid to sleep in it, but it didn't bother me once I got use to it, sir. It's kind of like a necklace and I've seen other girls wear similar things."

"It seems to be the fashion with teenagers right now. Most probably have no idea about a real slave collar. If wearing it doesn't bother you, why did you react when I touched your neck?"

"I thought you were going to choke me," she whispered.

"Choke you?" he asked astonished.

She nodded.

"Did Carl choke you?" he asked, then thought of how Carl had begun to press her throat before falling on the couch.

She nodded again as tears slid to her cheek.

"I saw him run his thumbs over your neck on Friday. Did he do that often?" He remembered her telling him something in the car about Carl choking her.

She nodded again.

"Like that night or worse?"

"Worse. Sometimes I would pass out. I thought he would kill me." She was visibly shaking.

"Hell. Catie, I promise you I will never, ever choke you or impede your breathing in any way." There would be no breath play ever. Jon had always thought that was terribly dangerous.

He gently caressed her shoulders, but she couldn't calm down and began sobbing. Jon lifted her to his lap, gently caressed her, and whispered to her until her sobs stopped. He gave her a few more minutes, then told her to kneel again. When she did, he slid his finger over her collarbone, then gently made his way to her breast. Her breathing became a bit ragged and he knew it was caused by fear instead of sexual excitement. One day, he would be able to simply touch her nipple with a fingertip; it would grow and harden for him, and she would become aroused.

But not today.

He would like to suckle her pert little tits, but didn't want to rush it. He wanted, needed, to gain her trust first. He really wasn't sure why that was so important to him. He reached out with his left hand to her other breast. He took each of her nipples, gently rolling them between his forefingers and thumbs. He continued to caress and fondle her breasts until he could feel her beginning to relax, if only slightly. And, although her nipples hardened as they had at Carl's, he knew it was only in response to his manipulations and not arousal. One day, he would arouse her with a look, a word, or a touch.

"We slept rather late, but that's what vacations are for—sleeping late and fooling around." He laughed at her reaction.

"It's okay Catie. We've not going to fool around like that for awhile. I've got something for you." He reached into one of the shopping bags and brought out one of the sundresses. "Why don't you put this on and see how it fits."

He felt a swell of pride when she was so obviously surprised at the gift. When she thanked him for the dress, there were tears in her eyes. She slipped it on and he pulled the tags off.

"A bit big, but once you've gained a little weight, it'll fit better. Do you like it?"

"Oh, yes. It even goes nicely with the necklace. The colors match. Thank you, sir."

"Collar, Caitlin. It's not a necklace, although others might perceive it as one. As a slave, you need to know the difference. A collar is a sign you belong to someone. You belong to me." He gave her a moment to digest that and remember last night's conversation. "I thought we would explore the woods and walk around the lake. I was going to take your collar off, but since it matches your dress so nicely, and, as you've pointed out, other girls wear collars like this, I don't think I will. I like it. And it'll help you remember who and what you are while you're still learning."

They enjoyed the peacefulness of the woods and lake for the rest of the day. She seemed to relax by degrees as the day went on. He would have liked to take her in the woods or have her go down on him, but held back, knowing his decision not to take her until she trusted him a bit more was the right one. He wanted to wait until she had seen the doctor, too.

They picked up a late lunch at the deli in town and ate in the park by the school. He had no fear that she would try to escape now. After they got back from town, he had her strip and again tied her to the bed. He wanted her to get used to it, and for him, there was the pleasure of seeing her bound. When she relaxed, he proceeded to tease her mercilessly until she begged him to stop. Laughing, he continued to run his finger up and down the instep of her foot. He found she was very ticklish there.

"Caitlin, you must remember to call me master when you're asking for something, like wanting me to stop teasing you. You must call me master especially when we're in a scene. Remember when I explained a scene? Well, this is a scene, a situation, an action where you are totally at my mercy. I can do anything I want to you. When we're in a scene, you'll call me 'master' or be disciplined. Understand?"

"Yes, master."

"Good girl. I'm going to release you now. If you want to watch some TV, keep the volume down. Stay naked though. I'm going to work for a while. I've got a contract for a program I'd like to finish before I start my new job."

He worked on the private commission program for several hours, and on the M/s contract, adding items as he thought of them. Later he talked to her more about his expectations and the limits he would voluntarily abide by because he didn't have a taste for such things.

"Do you know what 'water sports' and 'scat' mean in the D/s lifestyle?"

"No, master."

"'Water sports' is another term for urination and 'scat' is shit."

He heard her gasp. He was relieved that Carl had not played that way with her, but couldn't hide his smile at her shock when the terms were explained.

After she bathed that evening, he again put antibiotic cream on the cuts. Dinner was sandwiches made from the groceries he purchased the previous day.

He taught her two more positions, both on the bed. One position was 'Spread Open', where she lay on her back, hooking her arms under her knees, pulling them up as far and wide as she could. The second position was 'Dog' and she was on her hands and knees. She was terribly embarrassed with the 'Spread Open' command, especially when he stood at the foot of the bed facing her in this very erotic position. She even closed her eyes tightly, not opening them until he commanded that she look at him.

Someday he thought, when she wasn't feeling so humiliated, so self-conscious, she would recognize how much this position affected him, that she had power over him too. But he knew that wouldn't happen for a while either.

They slept much as they had the first night, but she was more relaxed. He didn't think she'd fall out of bed with the slightest provocation this time. She was accepting his touch easier, even slight sexual caresses, and he felt they had made great progress.

The next day they left to visit the doctor.