Sydney's Dogs Ch. 03

"Miss Sydney," Zaide called as they passed a dress shop. "You promised."

She sighed and dutifully led them into Zina's Formals. She roughly pushed through a couple of racks and then threw up her arms. "I don't see anything here that will work for me. Oh well."

"There is this," Zaide suggested, pulling out a slinky red and gold ombre dress.

"No way will I fit that," she protested. But it was a beautiful dress, and it looked almost her size.

"Try it on for me?" he asked. With a dramatic huff, she took the dress into the changing room and shimmied into the silky sheath. It fit perfectly. The hem was deep pomegranate red which faded into Champaign gold at the top. The cowl neckline offered the barest peak of her cleavage. The back plunged well below her shoulder blades, held together by crisscrossing ribbons in the back.

She stepped out of the room and Zaide's face lit up. She looked like shapely flame sending his temperature through the roof.

"Alright, I know I don't have to ask," she said, her cheeks almost matching her dress. "But how do I look?"

"Beautiful," he whispered.

"Miss Sydney, would you like to try either of these on as well?" Talon interrupted, holding up a black party dress and a silver sequined gown. Sydney looked at them, but couldn't fall in love with either of them.

"Sorry, Talon, neither is speaking to me," she shrugged. Then she ran her hands over the fabric covering her hips and thighs. It felt sexy. It felt good. Finally, she sighed. "Alright, I get this one—and only this one. I'm not really a dress kind of girl."

Talon replaced the dresses on the rack. Her smile betrayed the truth of her statement, and he couldn't help but feel snubbed. He watched sullenly as she went back into the changing room and then took the dress to the cashier.

"Alright," she said, coming out of the boutique swing her black bag victoriously. "Is there anything else you need?"

"I think we have been thoroughly spoiled," Zaide teased.

"Glad to hear it," Sydney grinned. "Let's go to lunch. I'm craving Chinese."

"I was hoping for something spicy," Talon muttered.

"Chinese can be spicy," she said, looking closer at him. He had been very quiet during their escapades in the mall, only giving answers when he was directly asked. "Or do you want Mexican? I could definitely go for some enchiladas."

"Chinese is fine," he replied stoically.

"Chinese it is, then." She took them back to the car where they stowed their purchases. Then they drove to a little Chinese restaurant that Sydney loved. It was a traditional, family owned restaurant, very small and very private. They ordered family style, Almond Chicken, Kung Pao Beef and fried rice. As they waited for their food to arrive, Sydney made idle chatter. "I was thinking that our next stop could be the grocery store. Zaide, did you bring your list?"

"Yes I did, Miss Sydney," he replied pulling out a folded piece of paper from his jeans pocket.

"Then that's the next stop. Afterward, we can rush home and put everything away before the last store, and after that we can go to a movie and get some ice-cream for dinner," she said.

"Ice-cream makes a horrible dinner," Talon replied.

"Then what do you suggest?" she wanted to know, fixing her intense hazel gaze on him, giving him her undivided attention.

Talon just shrugged.

Sydney felt like reaching across the table and slapping him, but she held herself in check. She was in public for one thing. For another, she didn't want to get into abusive habits. Maybe this was Talon's way of calling her 'Mistress' outside the privacy of the bedroom, but she suspected that something was bothering him.

Soon the meal was served and they ate quickly, without a lot of chatter. After lunch was over, they drove to the grocery store.

Just inside the doors, Sydney stopped and pulled her wallet out of her purse. She passed Zaide over two hundred dollars in cash.

"I think you'll be faster if you are alone," she said. "I need to talk with Talon for a moment. We'll be at the coffee shop next door."

Zaide looked torn between pride at being trusted and trepidation that Miss Sydney was going somewhere without him. She didn't give him a chance to protest. She just grabbed Talon's arm and dragged him to the coffee shop. After ordering a latte, they sat down at a small table to wait for the coffee. She once again pinned the dark olive skinned man with her most penetrating gaze.

"What is up?" she asked. "Did I hurt you last night? Was it something I said? What?"

Talon shook his head and tried to look away, but he could feel her stare drilling holes in his temple.

"Talk to me," she begged softly. She picked up his hand and intertwined their fingers. "Tell me what is going on."

Talon shook his head again and sighed. "I...I am jealous," he finally admitted. He seemed embarrassed by the whole thing.

"Jealous of what? Of whom?" she wanted to know, her tone void of the sarcasm and disdain he had feared.

"It is merely harem dynamics," he explained. "I will...get over it...eventually."

"Harem what?" she cried softly, surprised. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Talon searched for the right words. "Even though attendants are trained to be submissive to you in all things, it is difficult for us to submit to one another. We were equals at the agency, but also competitors."

"So now you feel like I'm giving Zaide too much attention?" she asked.

"Partially," he admitted. "And I'm also jealous of Brandt."

"Why him?"

"You have made it clear that you will do anything for him and he has done nothing to earn your favor," he almost snarled. "He is unworthy of your attentions, and yet you dote on him like...like an inbred spaniel."

"Brant will never share what we have shared," she insisted. "I just want to get him back on his feet—help him reclaim his humanity."

"He broke your heart, and you just went back for seconds," Talon accused starkly.

Sydney jerked away and dropped his hand as if it had burned her. She dropped her eyes to the table and hugged herself as if she was cold. "He needs someone, and I was the only one who would give him a chance," she whispered.

Talon winced. He had crossed a line and knew it. His training demanded he make reparations. Spreading his hands in open submission, he replied, "We need you as well—I need you. I would move the stars for the same attention you give Brandt freely."

"Talon, I have given you far more attention than Brandt. Of the three of you, you were the first I took into my bed. The first I drank. I would do just as much for you as I would Brandt—more even. If you want money, it's yours. Freedom? As much as I can safely allow without the PPA getting suspicious that you ran away and coming to euthanize you. What else can I give you?" she demanded.

Your love, Talon wanted to cry. That thought made him feel wretched and guilty. He had woken next to her, in her bed—an honor by all accounts—and she had tended the welts she had made—a kindness he didn't deserve. But when she hadn't allowed him to seduce her (his only way of expressing gratitude) that morning, he had taken it as a personal rebuff. Last night, he had been amiable to working with Zaide for Miss Sydney's best interests, but when she had enjoyed Zaide's breakfast so obviously, he had felt excluded. All day he had watched as Miss Sydney and Zaide had laughed and joked and it irritated him irrationally. Attendants were not supposed to be friends with their owners. It wasn't part of the training at all! Yet Zaide did it so effortlessly that it made Talon feel...inadequate.

His training had, for the first time, failed him. He had only seen his inability to fill the most rudimentary need and reacted emotionally, not logically, not as he was trained. Besides, owners were not supposed to love their property, at least, not over much. Was there a shred of natural alpha male in him to try to claim his mistress for his own? Could a person fall this madly in love in only two days?

"Mis—Miss Sydney, I am sorry for my attitude," he apologized in a rush. "If you had not ordered me to keep a low profile in public, I would kiss your feet in penance."

"Calm down," she reached out to him again, putting a soothing hand on his arm. He lifted her hand and brought it to his lips, unable to endure another moment without tasting her skin. "Look, it's like I told you last night," she continued. "I want to help Brandt. Not sleep with him. Think of him as my adopted brother or nephew—off-limits sexually but still within the realm of people I care about. This is all pretty crazy for me too; I haven't had a family in years and now I'm on the leading edge of alternative lifestyles." She smiled wryly at herself.

"Still, I was not acting appropriately," Talon insisted. He cursed himself for not keeping better control of his emotions. He should be punished. If he were back at the agency, such an outburst would not have been tolerated.

"Honestly, it's only the threat of death and the fabulous sex that are keeping us together," she lied. "So let's just make the most of it."

He sighed. He shouldn't expect her to feel the same way, but he would accept what she gave him without any more jealousy of the others. Or at least as little as possible. He knew he was lucky to have her in what ways she allowed.

The latte came in a chic paper cup delivered by a young and earnest waitress, and Sydney wrapped her fingers around it to warm them up but didn't drink. She was lost in thought. At first, she'd expected the three men living in her home would behave like rowdy brothers. (Or what she guessed rowdy brothers would be like, considering she was an only child.) She had not anticipated any jealousy over her. Sure, she qualified as beautiful, but she never considered herself as something to fight for. No previous boyfriend or romantic fling had felt the need to. Maybe that was because she had the bad habit of throwing herself, heart and soul, into a relationship, which almost always ended in devastation, and she had just never given anyone any incentive to be jealous.

"Perhaps we should join Zaide in the grocery store?" Talon suggested after a long awkward moment.

"You're right," she agreed. She picked up her latte and left the table.

Talon followed close behind her, his mind turning over different ways he could make up for his blunder. They found Zaide in the produce section, picking out melons. Sydney looked over the items in his cart.

"Swiss beef! You're really going to spoil me," she teased.

"Naturally," Zaide agreed.

"Just one thing," she mentioned as she looked over his meat selections. "I don't eat pork." Talon raised an eyebrow at the innuendo and she blushed. "It's just that my mother was from a Jewish background, and so we never had pork when I was growing up. Now, I can't seem to stomach the stuff."

"Say no more, the bacon is banished," Zaide complied.

"I'll take it back," Talon volunteered. He grabbed the neatly bagged portions of pork and hurried away to the meat section.

"I also don't really eat shellfish," she informed Zaide. "I've been ridiculed for it before but-"

"But you'll never have to worry about red tide or heavy metals," Zaide interjected, optimistically. "To tell you the truth, I cannot stand the smell of cooking shrimp. Once they're perfectly grilled, they're fine, but the transition between their raw fishy odor and their cooked odor is not something I enjoy."

Sydney smiled. She felt like Zaide was opening up to her, and she was very grateful for that. Talon was back as quickly as he had left, and the three of them promptly went to the register. Zaide paid with the money she had entrusted him with. All of them grabbed several bags of groceries and headed out to the parking lot. With all the foodstuffs stored safely in her SUV, Sydney drove home. When they got to her house, they worked together to bring in all the groceries and purchases.

"You can put the groceries wherever you like," she told Zaide. "The kitchen is totally your domain, now."

"Thank you, Miss Sydney," Zaide replied with a gracious nod. He was quickly putting away all the food as if he already knew where it belonged.

"Talon and I will get the other things to your rooms. Then we'll embark on our last shopping escapade." She smiled mischievously and grabbed Zaide's shopping bags. Talon followed, carrying his own bags. She ran them up to Zaide's room and left them on his bed. As she was leaving his room, she ran into Talon.

Summoning all his courage, Talon dropped to his knees in front of her and wrapped his arms around her legs. His head was level with her hips, and he pressed his face into the apex of her thighs. Her hands settled on his shoulders, but she couldn't push him away without unbalancing herself.

"Mistress, please let me make you happy," he begged, his voice slightly muffled.

"No starting anything," she tried to scold. In truth, his hot breath was somehow sending heat curling deep in her womb. It was a strange but exciting thrill to see him abase himself for her. She'd never thought of herself as particularly dominant in the bedroom, but Talon was making the prospect very attractive.

"Things started the moment you brought me into your home," Talon replied, looking up at her with his dark brown puppy-dog eyes. "I merely wanted to show my appreciation. You are kind and generous and far greater than a lowly attendant such as I could ever deserve. I can only repay you by giving you myself, unconditionally."

"Oh, Talon, you don't need to give me anything," she sighed, wrapping her hands around his head. Then she shook herself, trying to break his seductive spell. "But maybe we should just slow down for a moment. You know, let the hormones cool a little." She patted his shoulders gently to indicate she wanted to be let go. "Come on, we still have the entire evening ahead of us."

Talon unwound his arms reluctantly. She flashed him a smile breezed out of the hallway, leaving the attendant broken hearted. Still, he composed himself and promised silently that he would do whatever it took to win her love. After all, he'd only been her property for a few days. He had the rest of his life to prove his devotion, starting now.

Downstairs, Zaide was finished putting away the groceries and waiting for Miss Sydney.

She led the way out to the car. They drove through the town to a discreetly located shop with a beautiful purple sign proclaiming the nature of the wares inside. Sydney found a parking spot and nervously grinned at her male companions.

"We're here," she announced. "Now, I've always wanted to do this, but I never had the courage. Get whatever you want. Seriously, anything that strikes your fancy. I don't know what you want—I'm not even sure what I want, but I'm definitely willing to try things if you help me out. No trying to impress me with super kinky things or dangerous things. Just...be yourselves," she finished lamely.

Talon and Zaide exchanged a look and a smile.

"We will be more than happy to help you in this," Talon said. Zaide just grinned.

The three of them got out and walked into the Love Chest. It was a very large sex store, with so many toys, bachelorette party novelties, videos, books, lotions and costumes that Sydney felt instantly overwhelmed.

Zaide and Talon each grabbed one of the canvas shopping totes and steered Miss Sydney towards the left hand side of the store.

"We'll start here and look at everything," Zaide suggested encouragingly.

"Ok," Sydney squeaked and blushed with her nervousness.

The first aisle was full of magazines and books, Sydney tried to glance at the titles without staring or feeling self-conscious. This had been her idea after all. Just to prove to herself that she wasn't going to chicken out, she picked out an instructional book of rope bondage. Flipping through the pages, she tried to think critically. It would be good to learn some of these knots, and there were some other designs that looked positively delectable. Imagining Talon bound in this way made her salivate. She put it in Talon's bag. He smiled appreciatively.

The next aisle was lotions, oils and lubricants. Turning to Zaide, she asked, "What flavors do you like?"

"Peaches," he replied mischievously.

Sydney rolled her eyes but picked out peach flavored lubricant. She also grabbed a watermelon for herself.

"Talon?" she indicated the shelf.

"Bitter apple," he replied.

She grabbed that one too. A little ways down, she found some candles. Unable to resist, she grabbed one and inhaled deeply, enjoying the fragrance. Tropical Vanilla. It smelled delicious. She read the tin and discovered that the wax melted at a lower temperature than normal candles and could be used as hot massage oil.

"What do you think?" she asked as she passed Talon and Zaide each a tin.

"This sounds most enjoyable," Talon said, eagerness lighting up his face.

"I am definitely interested," Zaide replied after smelling the candle.

"Ok, so we'll get those too," she smiled. Each man put the candle into his bag.

"What about this?" Zaide asked, holding up a boxed set of edible body paints. "If you liked the wine the other night, I'm sure you would enjoy this."

Sydney couldn't help but laugh. "Ok, you've convinced me," she smiled. He put the paints in his bag.

Next were the costumes. "Do you guys want anything?" she asked them.

"For us...or for you?" Talon asked suggestively. Sydney couldn't help but blush.

"Either," she mumbled as nonchalantly as she could. She fingered a teal lace teddy. She had always wanted to wear such things, but never had the courage to face a man with it.

Zaide picked out a super skimpy red riding hood costume for women. "I'm a sucker for the classics," he said with a smile. Sydney giggled and nodded her approval. She added wolf ears, a man-thong with a tail, and a pair of black gloves to the set and put it in his bag.

Talon fingered a black embroidered strapless bodice. "I think you would look stunning in this," he said devilishly.

"That's going to call for some major bitch boots," she warned. She was already looking at the high healed, pointy toed, knee high black leather boots with several silver buckles. She had always wanted a pair, but could never justify it with an occasion.

"By all means," Talon replied delightedly. He looked through the boxes and chose Sydney's size. He pulled out one boot for her to try on. Sydney sat on the chair provided by the store, took off her red slipper, and Talon helped her slide the boot on to her stocking foot. It fit perfectly, and she loved how feminine it made her calves look.

"How about these to go with the red riding hood costume?" Zaide asked, pointing out an adorable set of red Mary-Jane heels. Talon reluctantly slid the boot off her foot so Zaide could slide the other shoe on.

Feeling like Cinderella, Sydney cheered, "I'm in love with both!" The men smiled and bagged the shoes. Talon grabbed the bodice, a matching thong, and lacy garter with a ruby teardrop charm.

"Well if we're getting all that," Sydney rolled her eyes as she grabbed a pair of thigh-high fishnet stockings and a pair of fishnet fingerless gloves, and passed them to him to put in his bag. Then something else caught her eye. It was a collar and bowtie and cuffs with black cufflinks but no shirt in between them. With a wicked smile she got two sets; it pleased her to think of them with matching bare chests and a token of formal wear.

They turned to the next section, which brought them to the carefully arranged aisles of various toys and vibrates. Sydney glanced at the unusual shapes and colors, but given that she had two human toys that were far more effective than any battery powered accessory, she didn't examine them too closely.