The Connoisseur Ch. 16

Jane Pays a Visit

Over the next week, I revised my methods, concentrating on reminding Sarah that she was a slave, to be kept or given at the gentleman's will. She was a slave, just not my slave. I could scarcely believe that such was necessary. This had never happened before.

I looked back over my records, trying to find out where I'd gone wrong with her. Perhaps it had been that first night, when I'd let her sleep, bound and in my arms, in my own bed, rather than locking her in a cage at my feet where she rightly belonged.

But no. I had done that before with new captives that appealed to me especially; each of them had eventually accepted her slavery and found happiness in it. None of them had become so attached to me, personally. We matched slave and Master with care and precision. Our subtle psychological science had never failed us.

Never.

To date, Jane's meticulous research, as secret as my own methods, had always paired Master and slave perfectly. Had something gone wrong? Not bloody likely. The mistake, therefore, must be mine, as difficult as that concept was for me to accept.

I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. Perhaps we had made a mistake with Sarah? Perhaps she wasn't a natural submissive longing for sexual slavery after all? But no, our methods were perfect, and my own work had confirmed it. She had told me so herself, and more than once.

I had not taken her; I am no barbarian. I had awakened her.

As a slave, she must know: the slave doesn't choose the Master, the Master chooses the slave. I had been clear: I was her trainer, not her ultimate owner. Indeed, I had forbidden her to address me as Master, and had whipped her soundly on both bottom and breasts the one time she had made that unfortunate mistake.

The time to sell Sarah was coming. Something had to be done.

Perhaps the best thing was to start getting Sarah used to being shared. Indeed, it would be better for both of us, Sarah and, yes, me, to see her become accustomed to new sexual partners. A slave, after all, must be prepared to do just that at any time, if it pleases the gentleman fortunate enough to possess her, and be her Master.

But I couldn't stand the thought of sharing her with another man. Truly, I have always found such activities distasteful. And with Sarah — well, dammit, I just didn't want to do it.

But a woman?

Yes. Yes, that I could enjoy.

Besides, the client has specifically requested a woman with bisexual tendencies. I had seen little sign that Sarah had such an inclination to her own sex, aside from a willingness to submit utterly to my will, but she could (and indeed must) be trained to accept a woman when so commanded. I considered "borrowing" Alice for the occasion, and in fact we offered a "kenneling" service for our clients when they were forced to travel without their servants, but I didn't think two newly-trained slave girls would be the best pair for a first Sapphic encounter, as much as the idea enchanted me. Besides, Alice would not be available until the end of the month, when her Master was to attend a conference in Oxford. Later in Sarah's program, perhaps. Such an encounter would be truly delightful for me, of course, and certainly educational for both of the two lovely concubines. But not for a first time.

So later, yes. Later. In the meantime, I needed another solution.

Instead, I arranged for Jane to come 'round at the beginning of the following week. Yes, that would be the ticket. Jane had made her willingness clear, and I was curious to see her charms exposed at last, to see if there was something soft and womanly beneath that austere exterior shell.

That night, I moved the gilded cage to the library. I bound Sarah tightly and used her mouth and her blossoming oral skills. I pressed my cock through the bars, and watched her open her captive mouth to receive me, her hands chained behind her back. I watched her breasts bounce as she sucked me, hard and enthusiastically, until a felt a dam burst inside me and I filled her eager mouth with my hot seed. When I was finished at last, I locked her securely inside (with a good book and her laptop) for the night.

I retired to my own bed alone, with only a small glass of good Irish whiskey and a book for company. I didn't read the book. Inside, I lost myself in Sarah's latest story. I read it four times.

I did not sleep well that night. I did not sleep well at all.

# # #

The following Tuesday, after Sarah had served us a light but tasty lunch, I bound her, securely and nude save for her silver slave's collar and cuffs, to a whipping post in the training room. I attached a short chain from the post to her collar, ensuring she couldn't turn her head. I wanted to surprise her.

Then I settled upstairs in the parlor to complete some overdue correspondence while I waited for my business partner.

Jane arrived promptly at two o'clock, as we had arranged. I nodded to show her that her uncharacteristic punctuality pleased me. Inside, though, I smiled. She must be eager indeed to sample Sarah's charms. Perhaps that was why she always so cool to me. Perhaps she was a lesbian domme. It made me a little sad to think that, despite the fact that we had worked together as business partners, I knew so little about her, this mysterious Jane, despite the fact that she was the only one of my acquaintances, aside from the girls I'd trained, that knew what I did for a living, or indeed that I did anything aside from live the pampered life of a somewhat reclusive bachelor gentleman of leisure.

Jane wore a long, black leather trench coat and matching thigh-high leather boots. Much to my surprise, she wore her raven-black hair loose. It fell, straight and silky, to her shoulders and framed her face nicely, making her seem altogether less ascetic, and even rather attractive. When I offered to take her coat, she gave her usual mocking smile, this time with a coy edge that I found especially grating. That disdainful smile was the one flaw that kept her from being a true beauty.

"Not just yet, Jack darling." She waggled a finger at me. "Now then. Shall we attend to business?"

I bowed politely, and escorted her to the stairway and through the wine cellar, where, holding a finger to my lips, I opened the training room door with a flourish. Sarah awaited us, bound to the post, in all her naked, captive glory. I had arranged a spotlight to fall on the hollow of the small of her back and the rising swell of her round bottom in a most fetching manner, displaying her beauty like a priceless statue in some exclusive museum.

Jane's artfully plucked eyebrows rose like the twin halves of a drawbridge, and her mouth fell open. I allowed myself a hint of a smile. Jane was impressed, and for once she couldn't hide it behind her usual carefully composed mask of disdain.

As well she should be impressed. Lovely Sarah was my masterpiece, the crowning achievement of my career. We entered the training room without speaking. Sarah tried to turn, but her chains held her securely to the whipping post. "Sir? Is that you?" I didn't answer. "Is ... is someone with you? Sir?"

"I have brought you a surprise," I told her. "A woman is here to assist me with your training this afternoon."

"Oh, Jack, darling!" Jane exclaimed. "She's magnificent!"

"But—" Sarah began.

"Hush, my treasure," I commanded her, cutting off her protest softly but sternly. "Speak when spoken to. That's how a slave responds when a gentleman brings home a guest. She does not ask questions. She waits, patiently, to see how she will be commanded to serve. You may say 'yes, Sir,' to show that you understand."

"Y ... yes, Sir."

"Jack, she is a treasure! I should up her price. I should double it!"

Sarah stiffened, but she did not speak. Good girl.

Jane looked at me and smiled, and for the first time, the haughty condescension was gone. "Can she take the whip?" I saw no need to reply; I simply raised an eyebrow. Jane laughed. "Of course she can. My bad. Forgive me for doubting your work for even one moment. Oh, Jack, may I?"

I bowed again. Jane walked to the wall where I stored by favorites and chose a dragon tail whip made from a single piece of supple cowhide rolled into a lily shape, which made it perfect for delivering a sharp, precise sting to a captive female's backside. I was rather fond of that one myself, although it took some amount of skill to wield properly. The single lash offered a level of control for a focused strike, while maintaining the warmth and texture of a soft, conditioned garment leather tail. It could bite or caress. It was well suited indeed for Sarah's lovely bottom, though I had not yet used it there myself. I made a mental note to amend that in the near future. Jane had chosen well indeed. I nodded my approval.

I saw Sarah shiver, but she made no sound.

The first slap fell on Sarah's right ass cheek with a great thawp! sound that left a sharply defined red mark. Despite the self-control she'd been learning in our time together, usually at the end of a whip or paddle, Sarah cried out in pain.

"Awwwwwgghh!"

"There, there," I cautioned Jane. "You'll want to start slowly and build. Else the whipping will end too soon, and you'll leave splotches."

"I know what a woman's backside can take," Jane admonished me sharply. "Really, I think you've been coddling the girl."

Two more loud thawps, one on Sarah's left bottom check, and one across both. Sarah screamed with each strike. That latter blow surprised me especially. For a woman who claimed to know what a slave's bottom could take, Jane had remarkably poor technique with the whip. That blow was effective only because of the power Jane put behind it; falling as it did, much of the force was lost, and the pattern of red was completely without art. Jane was no artist; she was a brute.

Thawp!

Thawp!

Thawp!

Thawp!

Sarah danced and screamed in her bonds. Jane's slaps fell on Sarah's ass without mercy or, indeed, care. Some of the strikes missed Sarah's bottom all together, and fell upon her back or thighs.

I shook my head with dismay. It was a good thing that, usually, Jane left the training to me, while she handled matters like research and client service. Jane had no skill with the whip. She could mind the business well enough, she could judge the slave positions as well as I could, and she knew the best use for every cuff, chain, and rope when it came time to bind one of our captive girls. But her technique was deplorable.

Only Sarah's natural beauty made the experience anything other than unpleasant. She was like a master musician playing under the baton of a mad or incompetent conductor. Despite his wild and artless thrashing, her music could never be other than divine. So it was with Sarah's dance under the whip.

I shook my head in dismay. How had Jane learned? I truly couldn't imagine.

Jane continued the whipping, striking still harder. Sarah danced, but all too soon, her wailing screams deteriorated into inarticulate sobbing. I shook my head again. This session should have lasted much longer. Sarah had learned nothing from the exercise. She would remember only the pain. Worse, it might sour her taste for her own sex, and her new Master would almost certainly want to see her with another woman, either another captive slave girl or with a free female partner with an especially open mind. I would have to borrow Alice. In the meantime, it was time to salvage what I could.

"Enough!" I barked, and (somewhat to my surprise), Jane obeyed at once. I took the whip from her and hung it back in its place on the wall.

"Now then," I admonished Jane, "let us remember why I've brought you here, and let us proceed with the lesson at hand."

Jane nodded. She did not meet my gaze. She bowed her head. The mocking smile was gone, for that fleeting instance, at least.

I unchained Sarah and turned her around. I had her kneel in the slave position called Present—on her knees with her legs slightly apart, back straight to display her magnificent and plump breasts to best advantage, hands crossed behind her back, ready for cuffs or rope. Sarah, of course, was already cuffed. I added a short, three-link chain to Sarah's wrist cuffs, but only for effect. I knew she would hold that position until I either ordered or moved her to a new one, or until she collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

Sarah kept her eyes cast down until I spoke. "You may look up and see our visitor, my treasure."

Sarah looked up and gazed at Jane, tall and striking in her black leather coat. Sarah's full and shapely mouth was slightly open, and I saw a storm of both excitement and trepidation brewing in her wide blue eyes. She was frightened, but she was aroused. The adventure excited her. The submissive within her was stirring.

Sarah kept her face carefully composed, as she'd been trained, but I knew her well enough to read some of what she hid. She was indeed afraid, Jane's savage beating had seen to that. More, she was jealous. She didn't the idea of me with another woman? No, that wasn't it. I'd presented Jane as a Mistress. Perhaps that was the problem?

"You've done beautifully with this one, Jack," said Jane. "I'll command her now. Don't you think?" Jane never glanced at me; she didn't wait for my answer.

As for Sarah, her face remained carefully composed; no hint of frown touched her lips. But I saw it in her eyes when Jane spoke.

Then the truth occurred to me, and I confess it came as something of a shock.

Sarah didn't like the idea of Jane, or, likely, anyone, presenting themselves as my equal.

Ah. That was something I could deal with. I would simply have to make it plan that Jane was there by my wish, and at my pleasure.

But there was something else in Sarah's eyes, too. Despite all, the girl was, truly, excited. She was aroused. Perhaps this exercise could be recovered after all.

"I shall permit it," I told Jane. "Now then, my pet. I know you have never expressed interest in sampling the pleasures of another woman. But for a man, seeing two women together can be most pleasantly diverting. So then. I wish you to please me." This time, Jane frowned. I ignored her. "Put on a show for me. With my guest. It is now time for you to learn how to make love to a woman when your Master commands it. I want you to pleasure Jane. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir."

I nodded to Jane.

Jane opened her leather coat and let it fall artfully to the floor.