Better Ch. 02

For Alex, his workdays were the only time apart from Audrey. Where once he'd go whole days without speaking to anyone other than his co-workers, now work became the place he actually felt most alone, which wasn't always a bad thing. Being Master often felt like another full-time job.

Another buzz: with the phone already open, it only took a single button to bring up the image of Audrey licking the top of his pair of black leather boots. It was her special symbol of subservience and a clue that she'd want him to be especially demanding of her tonight. He was used to receiving a few of these dirty pictures a day: they helped Audrey deal with separation from her Master and gave her an outlet for her own kinky form of creativity. Alex liked to imagine Audrey spending hours of the day finding new ways to shock and arouse him.

Stuffing his phone into his pocket, he took a deep breath. In a minute, after his erection had subsided, he would take his lunch.

Time to respond to my 9,000,000 unanswered e-mails—no better boner-killer...

"Don't think I didn't see you," a feminine voice said with a sexy accent. "Fucking Gavin, staring at my tits again."

Alex looked up to see Hang by his cubicle. He darted his head around, making sure no one heard them speak.

"He's gone to lunch with Kip and Stew," Hang said, rolling her eyes, "so you know he'll be back in, like, three hours with a buzz on."

"Good," Alex said. "There's nothing better for office morale than incapacitating Gavin. Other than you, of course."

Hang rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I sometimes think that one of those bikini calendars could do my job—office morale and all."

Alex waved her cynicism off.

"Don't listen to his shit. You're doing great. I give Gavin another five years until he drinks himself into a ditch. You'll run this place one day."

Hang smiled, and Alex could tell, as distracted as he usually was, that she wasn't just generically smiling. She was smiling at him.

If I didn't have a beautiful blonde sex slave at home...

"Lunch?" she asked.

"Out? I brought spaghetti bolognese."

Hang frowned.

"Fancy—rain check?"

"Absolutely."

Alex watched her ass sway in her tight, pinstriped skirt as she walked away, and realized he wasn't so different from the other guys in the office after all. He would like to fuck the sexy Asian girl, bend her over and paddle her soft, round ass, before jamming his hard cock into her wet pussy and fucking her senseless.

Shit...where did that come from?

***

Alex didn't have time to make out the woman's face. Her hand was in the way, and then pain was in the way.

I don't think I've ever been slapped before.

His face stung. Just a moment before, he'd answered the door without looking, a twenty dollar bill in his hand to pay the delivery guy. He'd been curled up with Audrey, just relaxing and enjoying each others' company. It had already been an eventful Saturday night: they had gotten dressed up, gone out to eat at a nice restaurant, and now they were curled up together with a bottle of wine, waiting for the tiramisu they'd called in from a local deli. Now he was standing in shock in front of an enraged woman who hadn't waited for him to speak before striking him hard across his face.

"You!" she said venomously. "You're the one robbing her! You piece of human garbage—"

"Aunt Diane!" Audrey cried.

As hard as it was, she'd heard the slap and Alex's involuntary scream of shock. Audrey's exclamation caused her aunt to freeze as well.

"You...you remember me?" asked the older woman, blonde like Audrey and close enough in appearance for Alex to make the obvious connection. "Is he hurting—"

"No!" Audrey protested. "He's..."

Alex could tell Audrey was processing, trying to avoid the word "Master" as much as possible. He was glad Audrey's aunt had come on a night where they were simply snuggling together on the sofa: there were no paddles or floggers in sight.

"...he's helping me. Aunt Diane, I'm getting so much better thanks to Alex."

Diane eyed Alex with deep suspicion. Alex felt a burning shame, knowing as he did that Diane was as right about him as Audrey was. He was helping Audrey, but he felt like a bastard just as much.

"Audrey, Mrs. Connally next door told me a man was living here with you. Then I come to find out Nancy isn't even coming over anymore. You know you can't take care of yourself, honey."

Alex looked over at Audrey. Her performance with her aunt was likely to decide whether or not Diane would call the police on him, with all the devastating consequences that would bring not only for him but for Audrey as well.

"I know you remember how I was," she said with confidence, "but...can't you see the difference. I can do a lot more by myself, and it's all because of Alex. He's...he's got me in therapy and everything. And it's helping."

We both know that's a lie, just like everything you tell your therapist. But well done.

"Honey, you can't remember it, but that man is one of the people who hurt you. I'm sure he's lied to you about it, but I can prove it."

Audrey looked down at her Master. Alex could feel her, could see in her eyes things she couldn't say now.

"I know, Aunt Diane. He's one of the men that...that broke me. He never lied about that. But...when mom and dad died, some bad things happened to me. And Ma—Alex found me because he knew what was wrong, and he developed some...some techniques that helped me remember. And I can remember things now. A lot of things."

"You never called Irvin 'dad' before, honey. And the doctors said that soon enough you wouldn't even remember your own name," Diane said. "I...I don't understand this."

Alex finally worked up the nerve to speak.

"Ms...ummm...Diane. I'd love to get a chance to explain—"

"I'm not talking to you," she snapped back. "I'm talking to my niece. You know, the woman you gave brain damage to."

"Diane," Audrey pleaded, "please don't talk to him like that. He's been so good to me, and—"

"And what? He's fixed, what, ten percent of the damage he did? Twenty? Honey, you don't know how bad this man is. You can't."

If he hadn't believed her, Alex would have defended himself. He had the ammunition.

You've got a lot of nerve talking to me when you were too cheap to even pay for a live-in nurse, bitch. I'll bet you pocketed a bunch of Audrey's settlement money too, just to pay that incompetent cow of a nurse who let her wander the streets alone all day.

Yet Alex didn't give voice to his thoughts, for as much guilt as he thought Diane bore for neglecting Audrey after her parents died, he couldn't deny that she was right about him. He was a thief. He was responsible for ruining Audrey's life. And she didn't even know about Audrey being his personal sex slave. She'd have killed him on the spot if she could have seen the pictures on his phone.

Audrey meanwhile looked terrified. Alex could see her trembling, on the verge of tears, and realized that too much stress, the kind of stress he'd spent the past year trying to relieve for her, would cause her to shut down. They'd talked about what it was like at the window, how peaceful she felt watching the snow fall, what it all might mean. Moreover, Alex knew Audrey's progress was fragile, dependent as it was on his presence and support and on his continuing nurturing of her.

"Honey, I'm going to take you home with me tonight, and he's going to get his things and get the hell—"

Diane was interrupted by Audrey slumping over, as if she was fainting, against the wall, her eyes beginning to glaze over. Alex knew the worst was happening, that he wouldn't be able to sit back. Without considering the possible ramifications, he leapt to her aid.

"Audrey, look at me. Do not go to the window."

Alex brought her with him to the floor, her head on his shoulder as he stroked her hair. He could tell Diane noticed the obvious change in his voice.

"Master?" she whispered, low enough that Alex hoped Diane hadn't heard. "Is she going to take you away?"

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised her. "I love you."

"I'm a good girl. I'm a good sla—"

"Yes!" Alex hastened to interrupt her. "You're very good."

By this point, Diane was hovering over him, glaring at him bewildered.

"What is going on here?" she demanded.

"Audrey cannot handle the kind of stress you're putting her under," Alex spat in a low hiss. "So if you're going to throw me in jail for trying to help her now, at least do it quietly, so you don't fuck up all the good she's accomplished."

Diane grew silent, as if she were curious to see how Alex was going to deal with Audrey's panic attack.

"Am I bad? Did I ruin things?" she asked, lightly sobbing.

"No, Audrey, honey, you're doing great. I'll..." Alex hesitated.

He knew Audrey needed the assurance that he would dominate her later. She needed the combination of punishment and release that he could bring her, to discharge the negative emotions brought on by Diane's sudden visit.

"...I'll take care of you soon," he continued. "I'll give you what you need."

Audrey started sucking her thumb; Alex breathed a sigh of relief. In the past, when she had gotten confused or overwhelmed, she had found sucking Alex's cock the best way to calm down. Naturally, he didn't mind this either, though he was glad she' hadn't tried to fish out his member in front of her aunt. She was at least still aware of her circumstances.

Once she was calmer, Alex looked up at Diane.

"Like I said before, I'd be happy to explain what's going on to you. I realize this whole thing seems...shady, but I promise you that I will tell you everything. You can decide what you want to do then. But right now, I'd appreciate it if you left. Audrey is upset, and she needs her therapy right now."

Diane was on her heels. Alex could tell she felt affronted at being told to leave, though on some level he figured she probably wanted to escape from the awkward, mystifying situation unfolding around her.

"Fine," she said, fishing out a business card from her purse and handing it to Alex. "The cell there is my personal number. You call me—soon—and we'll set this thing straight. I'm...I'm not getting the authorities involved. Yet. But if you do anything to hurt her—"

"—then I would throw myself in jail. I'm not just here out of guilt for what we...what I did to Audrey. I've been trying to help for a long time now. I care about her, more than you could ever know."

Diane froze, unsure of what to do, before hastily exiting. In a moment, they were alone again.

"Master, are you mad at me?"

"Not at all," Alex said, helping her back up and over to the couch.

He wasn't surprised when she began to fumble with his belt and zipper, freeing his flaccid penis and putting it in her mouth. Her gentle but insistent sucking had him hard in no time.

"Don't you worry, baby," he promised, "you just suck me now."

His hand roamed slowly over her body. Soon he'd need to spank her, to pinch her nipples hard, to tie her up and torture her with intense orgasms. For a long time, he'd pretended to himself that he was doing this all for her, making up for the wrongs he'd committed. Now, though, he wasn't so sure. The way his cock jumped when he thought about binding Audrey with the black nylon rope he'd hidden in a box beside the bed made it hard for him to deny that he was growing to love the rush of power and dominance he felt.

If Audrey didn't respond the way she did, if she displayed pain, or fear, or revulsion, he was certain he would never feel the way he felt. But to see her writhe and moan, to beg for him to punish her, to own her, to use her—how could he resist the thrill of being Master?

Maybe I should tell her to stop calling me "Alex" now. I'm getting used to "Master"...

He loved to run his fingers through her curly blonde hair, to massage her scalp as she blew him. He didn't need to use much force to guide Audrey's cute little nose right into his pelvis, to feel her throat spasm all across his invading cock. Hell, he'd basically trained her to do it, and he couldn't deny that, while Audrey desperately wanted to be trained, it had been he who had supplied the specific details that made up her sexual submission on more than one occasion.

Even if he had forced her face onto his hard cock, though, it would only have served to make things better for her. She wanted him to fuck her face, to make her gag, to spit, and, eventually, to swallow his thick seed. He wasn't going to fight it, even as they were both in emotional turmoil at the time. If sucking his cock made Audrey feel better, then Alex would have to admit, it was making him forget Diane's intrusion as well.

"Take me deep, baby," Alex said.

He didn't usually mix his girlfriend vocabulary and his Master vocabulary, but his mind was elsewhere. At that moment, he truly needed Audrey to be both his lover and his slave.

"That's right, you're my good girl," he said encouragingly, as he felt her nose make contact with the smooth skin where his pubic hair used to be. He'd started shaving out of a desire to make things better for Audrey, and she thanked him by finally eradicating what was left of her throat's resistance to his cock.

On a normal night, Alex would have taken things slow, ordered Audrey to back off to prolong the ecstasy. Tonight wasn't normal, though. He needed to come, and Audrey's mouth was quickly bringing him to that climax.

Alex felt like all his doubts and concerns left his body as he unloaded into Audrey's hot, wet mouth. He could feel her swallowing, gratefully moaning around his engorged tool.

"Clean me off and say 'thank you,'" he commanded, more for her benefit than his own.

He knew she would have done it anyway, but the feeling of complying willingly with a directive issued in his special voice was a particular thrill for Audrey. He planned on denying her an orgasm for several more hours, though it would have been as easy as flipping a switch to send her over the edge at that moment. She would feel it all the more intensely if he held out until later that night, parrying each subtle request to feel him mount and fuck her with a suggestion she show her gratitude for him by orally servicing him further.

Alex could tell that, in some crucial sense, this wasn't him, wasn't the person he thought he was, and it scared him. He was a science nerd, not some swinging dick or tough guy. He wasn't Christian Grey or the fucking Marquis de Sade. Once Audrey had finished licking him clean and he had stuffed his deflating cock back into his pants, the guilt, the fear, the anxiety would all return.

He felt a strange kinship with Audrey; their "sessions" helped him in much the same way they helped her. No one else, he assumed, would understand it that way; it would be trivially easy to see him purely as an exploitative bastard, taking advantage of a confused young girl for his own perverted needs.

Maybe that's true.

"Master, I...I was bad. Am I going..."

"Baby, you're not bad."

I am.

***

Alex sat nervously on the couch.

Why does she look so calm right now? Doesn't she know how bad this could go?

Audrey turned to him and smiled, still holding onto his hand. Dr. Jacoby had one of those impenetrable therapist faces, open without revealing anything, neither old nor young, not unusually or distractingly attractive while somehow remaining impossible not to stare at. Her hair was pulled back loosely, almost playfully, while she stared down at her pad. Alex

"Mr. Vartas, I want to thank you for coming in, especially under these circumstances. Audrey has told me a lot, but for obvious reasons I think it's important that we include you in at least some of these sessions."

Alex wasn't certain what he was supposed to say once Dr. Jacoby paused. He only knew that silence, even for a second, felt unbearable.

"Well, I...Audrey is very special to me," he stammered, "and, well...there may be some things—not that we wanted, or I guess I wanted, to...keep secrets, but—"

"Mr. Vartas, I understand what you're driving at," Dr. Jacoby interrupted, to Alex's eternal gratitude. "When I first began meeting with Ms. Sappery, I detected something very unusual in her presentation. Most patients are engaged in a level of denial or of self-deception that requires my help to analyze, but Audrey engaged in willful, transparent practices of concealment."

Dr. Jacoby looked at Audrey, as if gauging if she was offended by her characterization. Audrey had herself admitted, the week before, that much of what she had told Dr. Jacoby was a lie, and that she had only gone to therapy as an outward pretense to help her boyfriend, whom she saw as her Master.

Alex knew that much, just as he knew that Dr. Jacoby undoubtedly harbored deep concerns about his relationship with Audrey. He'd resolved to come clean to her therapist, hoping that Audrey's therapist would scrupulously observe doctor-patient confidentiality.

"Well, Mr. Vartas, I've spoken a lot about you and about your situation in the last week since Audrey told me about you and about her past, the parts she can remember, at least. Before we get into your story, though, I'm curious about one thing: why have Audrey tell me the truth now? Surely you realize just how unusual and potentially destructive this relationship is. I would love to know what has transpired recently to help change your mind."

Alex took a deep breath. He hadn't actually revealed what had happened between Diane and him to Audrey, not that she hadn't been curious. Alex had needed time to process, to consider the weight of what Diane had told him. He'd spilled a bit to Audrey, but now she was going to hear everything.

"I had a conversation with Audrey's aunt. She...found out about us. And she knew who I was, remembered me, I guess, from the lawsuit documents or something. I guess she wasn't around that much back then, but heard enough from Audrey's mother about who was responsible—me, I mean—that she had a pretty good idea about who I was. Anyway, she came over and, you could say, she caused a scene."

Dr. Jacoby's eyes darted obviously to Audrey, and Alex followed them. Audrey seemed to feel uncomfortable, suddenly on the spot as if Dr. Jacoby wanted her to act as a human polygraph for Alex's story.

"She slapped Master," Audrey said. "And said she would call the police. Thank god she didn't."

Alex cringed a little hearing her call him "Master." He was certain Dr. Jacoby would hold that against him.

"And this confrontation made you reconsider telling Audrey to lie to her therapist?"

Dr. Jacoby's voice wasn't particularly harsh or pointed, but Alex could tell the cutting nature of her question anyway.

"Actually, no. To get her to go away and stop scaring Audrey, I told her I'd meet her privately later. After a few days, we got in touch and met at a coffee shop—I wanted something public, in case she wanted to slap me again. Only, she was totally different. She told me about seeing Audrey before I arrived, where she could barely remember her own name, and would get lost going to the bathroom. She said that whatever I was doing was working and that she wasn't going to call the cops."

Alex could almost feel Audrey's smile, even as he focused his eyes on Dr. Jacoby. All that he'd told Audrey before was that Diane had agreed not to go to the authorities. He hadn't added how much she'd changed her tune on Alex.

"That's not the big thing, though," he continued. "So, Diane said she was fine with me staying with Audrey, but then she got really serious. She told me that she was doing this for Audrey, and that she didn't trust me. I told her how much I cared about Audrey, and she said something that stuck with me. She told me that was why I was dangerous. She said that somebody who falls in love with someone like Audrey is...is just looking for someone to control. She said that if I was trying to help Audrey out of guilt, she'd understand it, but when I told her how much I cared about Audrey, that it...well I think she said it 'raised the hairs on the back of her neck.' And she warned me that she was going to watch me, because Audrey needed someone to protect her from me."