The Connoisseur Ch. 24

Chapter 24: The Sale Date

Monday came. I made an excuse to Jane and hung up before she could protest.

For two weeks after we said good-bye to Alice, I worked Sarah relentlessly. A part of me wanted to ensure that I'd put the finishing touches on my masterpiece -- to be sure that she would perform with unparalleled skill, submit without hesitation, and display the spirit and flight our client claimed to desire. A part of me, I confess, wanted to spend as much time with Sarah as I could before I was forced to say good-bye to her forever.

To Sarah, I remained cold and aloof, as a trainer should. I was careful to show her no outward sign or warmth or affection. I needed her to get past this unfortunate attraction she held for me. She needed to fall for her Master, not for me.

As much as I wanted her to.

I certainly couldn't let her know that I had strong feelings stirring in my own heart. That wanted to keep her, to possess her utterly, to make her mine.

That I wanted, more than anything in God's creation, to heat her to call me Master.

For the love of God, I could let her know that I had fallen deeply, truly, and irrevocably in love with her.

The time was coming. She was to be sold. I had a job to do.

She would, of course, be better off. I tried to convince us both. I failed.

When the day drew nigh, I made some excuse and insisted that Jane delay the delivery by yet another week, and then a week after that. In all, I earned another month with my Sarah, though my partnership with Jane grew strained. No matter, after Sarah, I was through. My heart was no longer in it. My masterpiece was complete, anything else would be shadow and ashes.

I would never find another Sarah.

I explored her as I have never explored a woman, and I learned every inch of her most secret and sacred geometry. I memorized the slopes of her inner thigh, the curves of her hips, the swell of her red lips, the rise of her breasts. I entered her mouth and her bottom, but mostly I used her cunt. I took her again and again, and again after that. I drank from her like a grail. I found her limits and pushed her far beyond them. Together, we redefined the meaning of hollow words like joy and elation. With Sarah, for the first time, I understood, deep in the soul, the meaning of the world arise. We breathed bliss, and every exhale was a hymn of praise.

The days bled away too quickly. Two days before the month was up, Jane phoned again. I scowled when I saw her number. Jane knew very well I did not like to be disturbed before bloody 9am. I took the call anyway.

"Jack. Darling. It's time."

My eyes opened and sleep fell from me like a shroud. The morning was cold. "Jane--"

"No! No, Jack, listen to me. We have made a commitment. We took a bloody deposit for God's sake. Our go-betweens have already arranged to deliver the balance of the payment. The girl must go. Do you hear me? Do you?"

"Listen to me. I--"

"Tomorrow. Eight in the morning. Have the package ready."

"First," I said, coming truly awake, "we agreed two days hence, not tomorrow."

"The client insists, Jack. Remember, he has paid us, and paid dearly. I have already agreed. Our go-betweens will not renegotiate again, even were I to ask it, which I bloody sure will not."

"Without my consent?" I felt my ire rising. I found myself wishing, just for a moment, that I could have Jane alone in my training room, bound, gagged, and helpless -- and at the mercies of my many whips, paddles, and clamps -- just for an hour or two. I would have a few things to teach her, I dare say.

"We are partners," she hissed at me. "I am not your underling. The time for your consent is long past. You trespass on the terms of our agreement."

"Second, I do not do business before nine. You know that."

Jane sighed. "Very well. I shall arrive at nine. Promptly. Tomorrow. And yes, I am coming personally to see it done good and properly. It seems I must, doesn't it?" There was poison in her voice. She let out a sigh and then spoke again. This time, I heard something in her words that, had I not known better, I might almost have taken for sympathy. "She's not yours, Jack. She belongs to someone else. She's his property."

Jane hung up before I could respond.

After breakfast, I gagged Sarah and took her into the training room. I did not speak to her. I forced myself to treat her as an object, as a slave, as property to be used, bound, and then sold.

I whipped her on the ass and breasts.

I fucked her pussy from behind, savagely.

I tortured her with electricity, using the wand to shock the tips of her breasts and the lips of her pussy.

I fucked her again, and again after supper.

I did not speak to her. I did not look her in the eye. I did not kiss her, not even to wipe away her tears.

That night, I locked her in her cage and left her alone. I packed her books (including the La Belle I'd made for her so long ago) and laptop, and then I retired to my bedroom, undressed, and turned off the light. I did not sleep.

I arose at six, showered, and ate a small breakfast. I dressed myself and brought Sarah her own repast. When I ungagged her, she spoke. "Sir, I--"

"Hush. Eat." She nodded once and obeyed. "Good girl."

When she had finished, I gagged her again and escorted her to the shower. "Wash," I commanded her. I left her with instructions to dry and fix her hair, and wait for me. She looked at me as I left, and despite my best intention, my gaze met hers. She held my gaze with those lovely, lovely eyes for a long moment before looking down submissively as she'd been taught.

She was afraid. She knew.

"Hurry," I told her. "This is our last morning together. Do not disappoint me."

I turned, but paused for a second in the doorway. "Your true Master will claim you at last, Sarah. Today. This is the day you've longed for. You wanted a man who will take what he wants? He shall do just that."

I hurried away without looking back so that I would not see her cry.

Jane arrived at nine. For once, she was precisely on time. I shook my head and unlocked my door. I let her into my parlor without speaking. Two men followed her in, pushing a crate on a large dolly. They unloaded the crate.

"Wait for us outside," Jane commanded. "We will summon you when the package is ready to be shipped.

"Yes. Ma'am," one of the men said, and then they were gone.

"Well," said Jane. She offered me that cloying, mocking smile. "Let's get her packed up, shall we?"

I turned without speaking and went to finish my work with the last slave I would ever train.

I cuffed Sarah's hands before her and led her upstairs, naked and shivering. I didn't look at her. The sorrow in her eyes was more than I could bear.

Jane stood waiting by the open box. It was padded generously, and well ventilated, designed to hold a captive female securely while ensuring her safety during shipping. There were plenty of eyebolt hooks for securing a girl in tight bondage within.

"Kneel," I commanded Sarah. She obeyed at once, falling gracefully like autumn's last leaf, keeping her eyes downcast. She was trembling.

"Oh, Jack, she is a treasure!" Jane gushed.

"Quiet," I commanded, my voice a growl. To my surprise, Jane complied. That was something, anyway. She blinked twice and took a step back.

I knelt next to Sarah and removed her gag. She licked her lips tentatively but didn't speak. I could no longer avoid the moment I'd dreaded for long; I had to look at her. As gently as I could manage, as gently as I have ever touched a woman, I reached down and lifted her chin until her gaze met mine. Her eyes were still wet with her tears.

"Sarah," I began, "in a moment I am going to ask you a question. I command you to answer me truthfully. You have my permission to speak freely. Nod once if you understand me."

Sarah nodded once.

"I have told you from the beginning that I am not to be your true Master. I have always been honest with you. Isn't that so?"

"Yes, Sir." Sarah's voice was barely a whisper.

"My partner Jane and I provide a very special ... service. To a very select group of carefully screened, and very wealthy clients. But also to beautiful and strong women like you, Sarah. Women who long for a different lifestyle, who dream of something other than what mundane society says they should. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Tell me."

"S... submissive women. Women who ... who want to be slaves. Sir. Who are slaves. Deep in their hearts. Women who have always been slaves. Women like Alice." She swallowed. "Women like me." She looked up at me then. "Like you've always known I was."

I nodded. "Beauty to the beast, yes?"

Jane rolled her eyes. "For God's sake, Jack darling. Get on with it."

"Quiet!" Once again, Jane obeyed, and I found myself wishing I'd taken a more commanding tone with her years ago. Our years of partnership might have been so much easier. I turned back to Sarah, lovely, naked, bound and kneeling.

"Now then, Sarah. As I was saying, Jane and I provide a very special service. Our algorithms match Master and servant precisely. Like Alice with her Master. You remember how happy they were, don't you?"

Sarah nodded and looked down again.

"We have found the perfect Master for you, Sarah. The man who can make you truly happy, happier than you have ever believed you could be. We plan to deliver you to him. Today."

"God knows he's paid a pretty penny for you," Jane said.

I turned and glared at her. "Do not speak again!" Jane backed up another step. Her eyes were wide and her lower lip was trembling. She licked it nervously. Something in my voice seemed to have struck a chord with her.

I turned my attention back to Sarah, kneeling, beautiful, bound Sarah, naked and trembling. "But we are not barbarians. We can give you the life you've longed for Sarah. We can make you happy.

"Listen to me carefully. I am going to give you the choice we offer all our girls. We must have your consent. So tell me. Do you want this life we've found for you?"

Sarah took a deep breath. She did not look up. She did not answer.

"Sarah. Did you hear my question?"

She spoke at last. "H ... have many girls refused you?"

I smiled. "Let us say that we do our work very carefully, and very, very well. Those we have worked with ... Masters and slaves alike ... are happy. So choose. Now. Would you like the happiest life you've longed for, secretly, for so long? Or would you like to return to your own life, the one you left behind, and wonder what you've lost? Will you choose bliss, or will you wonder for the rest of your days what might have been?"

"I can leave here," Sarah said. "Just like that."

"If that is what you choose," I said. "I will have you taken home, with all costs paid in full for a year. You will be given a fairly generous stipend as well, enough to get you well started. Is that what you want? To return to the cold and grey drabness of your old life?"

"No," Sarah said at last.

"What, then?" I asked her. "You must tell me."

"I do not want to leave here," said Sarah. She looked up to meet my gaze. "I want to stay with you. Y ... you are my Master, Sir. You are. You will be my Master forever."

This time, I was the one who reeled back. My mouth fell open, and for once, words failed me. I gaped like a man struck.

Jane stepped forward then, taking advantage of my lapse to try to regain control of the situation. "That wasn't one of the choices, slave," she said sharply. Sarah recoiled. Jane turned to face me. "You heard her, Jack. She wants to be a slave. Pack the girl up and send her on!"

I felt my blood go cold. The stare I turned on Jane was ice. "That is not what she said." I turned back to Sarah and spoke more gently. "Sarah, sweet, listen to me. I have been preparing you for a life, a very special one. One that is perfect for you. As perfect as science can make it. Do you refuse it?"

Sarah bowed her head again. "I do not refuse, Sir. But--"

"That's good enough, Jack. You heard the girl--"

"Silence!" Jane stepped back again at my sharp words, her eyes wide with ... was that fear? Or, wait, something ... else? I didn't have time to consider it. I turned back to Sarah again. "Finishing what you were saying, Sarah."

Bright tears poured down her perfect cheeks. "I will go, Sir. If that is what you wish. But I am going only because it is what you wish. You are my Master, Sir. Not the man you mean to send me to, no matter what your data shows. You are my Master. You have always been my Master. You will be my Master forever. If going away if the only way I can obey you, I will. But not because I choose it. Not because I am willing. I will go because you are my Master, and because you command it."

I turned back to Jane. "That settles matters," I told her. "Tell the client the deal if off. The girl does not wish to go."

Jane smirked. "So your famous methods have failed at last."

Perhaps they have worked too well, I thought to myself. "Perhaps your profile has failed," I turned. Inside, I thought, Or perhaps it, too has worked too well.

Jane rolled her eyes. "Enough. Don't be foolish. Our go-betweens have already received the payment. I have the balance with me, in a bloody suitcase, for God's sake. Yes, Jack. A suitcase filled with very large bills. Your share is already counted out. The girl has been sold, Jack. It matter is settled. It's over, darling."

"It is not, Jane. We are not kidnappers or criminals. We are matchmakers. Return the money. I don't care what you have to do." I turned back to Sarah and knelt beside her.

Jane laughed. "You're speaking of legality? Or is it morals? You know what we do, Jack. You have always known it. If this is indeed our last ... project, so be it. But to be frank, I don't give a flaming damn whether your precious pet is willing or not."

I stood again turned back to Jane with fire in my eyes. Then, abruptly, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Jane was holding a small handgun, one of those so-called Saturday Night Specials, and she pointed it directly at my heart.

"Get the bitch in the crate, Jack," said Jane. "Right now. Our client is expecting a slave girl. He is bloody well going to get one, whether she bloody consents or not."