Chapter Six
Survival of the Wounded Heart
Valerie woke, her groggy mind surprised at not hearing the dreaded beeping of her alarm. Gradually, she became aware of the moving, whispering form next to her in bed. Susan was crying softly in her sleep, her body thrashing gently in the throes of what could only be described as a nightmare.
"Master, please don't leave me. Calvin, I can't do it alone," the woman cried.
Val looked over and saw Sally had woken as well. Susan was sleeping between them, unable to handle sleeping alone; certainly not in a separate room. Sally took Susan in her arms, holding her tight as the nightmare played out. The dreams had started that weekend, while Valerie had been at Charles' house. Susan jerked suddenly, waking from the terrors in her mind.
"He's left me. He's left me alone," she cried, her tears dampening Sally's shoulder.
"He didn't want to," Sally whispered in return. "He was taken from you."
"But it still hurts so much," Susan said.
"I know, love, I know," Valerie added, her own arms reaching to enclose the hurting lady between them. "It felt the same way when Mike was taken from me."
"In my dreams, he...he left me, cast me out because I wasn't good enough. I wasn't slave enough for him any more."
"You know that's not true," Sally replied. "You're the most committed slave I've ever known. There's nothing you wouldn't do or endure for him, was there?"
"No, I don't think so. There were times he would beat me until I passed out from the pain. I just needed to be his, to be so totally his. Before I met Master, my life was a wreck. Did you know I'd gone through ten roommates in the four years before I met him?" Sally shook her head, not wanting to interrupt the vital remembrances Susan was experiencing. "I'd fight with them, push them around and make them miserable. Yet, even though I'd get my way, I was miserable myself. The only times I'd be at peace was when I found a play partner. It was harder then; Mephisto's didn't exist back then."
Valerie started to say something, but Sally forestalled it with a motion from her hand.
"Calvin was the first Dom I'd met with who allowed me to not have a safe word. He was the first to give me more pain than I would have asked for. He had me begging for him to stop, and he didn't. I'd made him promise to do what
he
wanted to do, and to ignore any pleas on my part. Afterwards, I knew I could never go back to the safe and sane play that others would give me. I asked to be his slave that first night."
Susan paused, seemingly not sure if she should go on; not sure if she
could
go on. Sally, who knew the story already, prodded her. "He didn't did he?"
"No, he wouldn't take me then. He wanted me to understand what I was getting into. We played as often as my body could handle the damage. I'd be his slave from when I walked in until he told me to leave. The longer we went, the more it seemed he just fit me; like a well worn glove. I just knew that I had to be his; not just his slave, but his property, his thing to own and do with as he pleased. It was months, almost a year, when I told him I needed more than the occasional weekend play date. I wanted to know what it would be like long term."
"What did he say?"
"He said that would only work if I didn't know how long the trial would last. So I told him to pick a time, and I would commit for it. I still don't know how long he picked. I've been...was his ever since."
"Until you wanted to quit," Val said in a soft voice. "He told me a couple of years ago that he would keep you until you quit. I don't think he actually believed you would quit, though, not by then."
"No, I would never quit him. I did leave once, while he was at work. I hadn't been out of the house for an hour before I felt so miserable that I had to come back. He was the center of my life." Susan choked up, her thoughts turning towards a dark future. "I don't know if I can go on without him," she cried.
"You can, Susan, I know you can," Sally answered. "It's what makes us human, that we can, and do, go on after loss. It's not always quick. Sometimes it takes a long time to recover from the death of a loved one. But, you'll laugh at a joke one day, and then feel a little guilty that you enjoyed something without him. Once it happens once though, other times will come, more and more often. Soon, the painful times will be the minority. Through it all, you'll realize that you
have
to go on, for him, not in spite of him."
"I can't see that far. I can barely see tomorrow."
"Which is farther than you could see last week."
Valerie was interrupted by the beeping of her alarm, as it let her know that another week of work had started. She rolled her nude body off the side of the bed, standing free of the covers. She turned back towards the two women left in the bed. "Susan, you're welcome here for as long as you want to stay. If you need anything, just ask. I'm afraid I have to get ready for work. Sally, breakfast, if you will?"
"Of course, Mistress. How many places at the table?"
"Two, plus one for Susan if she's up to it."
Valerie padded her way to the shower and it's extra large capacity dedicated hot water tank. With Sally fixing her breakfast, Val was able to lounge in the hot water, letting it massage her body. Her pussy and breasts ached for a lover's touch, something the weekend hadn't included. As she dried off and fixed her makeup, Val decided that she needed to play with her slave. Both had gone the weekend without any play, let alone sex.
Once she'd dressed, Valerie grabbed a couple of small toys from their bedroom toy box and joined the other two women in the dining room. Sally, not having been told what to wear, was still naked, save for an apron to protect her from the splattering of bacon grease. Susan had put on an oversized t-shirt and a skirt. Susan sat at the table while Sally put the last of breakfast in the center. When Sally turned back to the table from hanging up her apron, she found Valerie toe to toe with her.
Valerie brought her hands up to grab Sally's breasts, forcing her slave and lover against the wall. Their eyes met, each revealing a hunger for what the other had to offer, be it submission or domination. Val's fingers pinched Sally's nipples, eliciting a gasp and moan from the slave. Val leaned in, lips almost brushing Sally's, as she increased the pressure, seemingly intending to squash the tender nubs flat. Sally gasped, her hands clasping her thighs to keep from coming up protectively. The lovers' eyes never left each other, as they reveled in the brief play time they allowed themselves.
Valerie released Sally's nipples only to press her arm against her lover's neck, holding her in place. Sally could see a hint of a toy in that hand while the other went to her cunt, which had lubricated itself in the short time she'd been in pain. She felt Val's fingers pressing something round into her cunt; two round things. Valerie pressed them in as deep as her fingers could reach. Sally recognized the feel and shape of the ben wa balls that now resided inside her. The subtle feelings of the balls moving in her as she went about her day would keep her aroused without providing enough sensation to send her over the top.
Valerie used her now empty hand to grab the back of Sally's neck, forcing her to the table. "Have you been to the toilet slave?"
