Denial

Stacy began sleeping over that night, and I was thrown out of the room and told to sleep in the basement. I would prepare all meals, plus clean up the bedroom from their nightly parties. I had to constantly wear my maid's outfit. I would come in after they left, and smell the sex and intermingled perfumes, touch the warm sheets, and feel such longing for Maxine that I would have to masturbate to do any work. Masturbation was my salvation, because if I had to put up with this sexual frustration and humiliation without any release, I would go insane.

That week, we had a session with Dr. Gruen, at which Maxine said I could voice any of my complaints.

We sat down with Dr. Gruen, who had greeted Maxine with a hug, ignored me until her first question. "Well Franklyn, how is slave life treating you?"

Maxine interrupted before I could answer, "Dr. Gruen, I now call him Insect, except when he's my maid, and then he's Francine." Maxine gave an arrogant half smile, and removed a cigarette from her silver case and waited for me to light it.

Dr. Gruen seemed amused. "Insect? Well Insect, how do you feel about that?"

I didn't know what to say. "I don't like it."

Both Dr. Gruen and Maxine looked at me, and the Dr. said, "Why?"

"Because I'm not a bug, I'm a person."

"But you're a slave. A slave, by definition, isn't a person. If you're not a person, what are you. Some other kind of animal?"

I began to tear in frustration as I felt Maxine's eyes burning a hole in my head. I would probably pay for this later.

"And you, Maxine, how are YOU enjoying life as a slave owner."

Maxine inhaled deeply on her cigarette and straightened her skirt. "Well, in many ways it's fulfilling, and in others it's a great responsibility. I mean having this full control over a living thing gets very stressful. All of the correction and concern for insect's welfare, and he doesn't even appreciate it. But I need emotional and sexual release, and insect here is useless." She shot me a look. "He's proven himself to be weak simply by allowing himself to become such a total slave."

Dr. Gruen shook her head "So how are you dealing with it."

Maxine smiled like a shy young girl. "I've found someone else. A lover."

Dr. Gruen also smiled. "What's he like."

"She. Her name is Stacy. She works at the Retreat, and we're going to be working together as dominatrices." Maxine looked dreamy. "She's lovely. So tender and sensual. I never knew what I was missing."

"So where is the relationship going?"

"We've decided that she'll move in with us this weekend."

I turned to Maxine in shock.

"That's right, insect. You're to have all of your junk out of the house by tomorrow morning. We'll let you keep some of it, of course, but you'll have to move permanently into the basement."

I frowned and found myself pouting. "No! I don't want to."

Dr. Gruen laughed. "But, isn't that where most insects live?" But Maxine was in no mood to keep the mood light. She stared at me with the look of rage she had cultivated. I had no idea what she had in mind, but I began to cry as I looked at her.

The session ended soon after that, and the Group session began.

I was the highlight, and sat in the center of the room. Everyone called me insect, and Maxine talked about my branding. Shoshana stared at me and said she wanted to see it. Maxine ordered me to drop my pants, and bend over. The whole group cheered when they saw it.

"How erotic. How did he react." Yvette asked.

Maxine responded proudly. "Well, your suggestion of branding him one letter at a time was great."

Yvette piped up. "He needs to be pierced though. Deep piercings in his chest, balls, and just like Yale, right through his asshole. Regina Rekvyk does marvelous work. And she uses no anesthetic at all. You'll cream from the screams." Everyone laughed at her joke.

Maxine nodded her head "All in time. I have plenty of time to do whatever I want to him. The rest of our lives." She then turned and looked at me for the first time. "Don't I, darling?" And she held my stare, letting me know that she had plenty in store for me.

I sat humiliated in the center of the circle.

Dr. Gruen piped up. "You know, there is a Slave Exchange which takes place seasonally in this city where many of the Masters in the city bring their slaves to be traded temporarily and often permanantly, or simply bought or sold. I tell you this because the next meeting is next month, and we're expecting the greatest turnout ever. Anyone here who wants to expose their slaves to other owners AND simply wants to add to their stable is welcome to join us. There is a small fee, but that shouldn't deter enthusistic masters because the fee can be paid in services from their slaves right there."

Everyone agreed that this was a great idea, and made plans to charter a bus and bring their slaves.

The next day, early in the morning, Maxine came down to the basement in her nightgown, and told me to gather my belongings together in the basement. "I should be very angry at you for your outburst last night at Dr. Gruen's. But I'm in a good mood today. I had a lovely orgasm with Stacy this morning, so I've decided to let you keep as much of your belongings as you can lift."

It took me until late that afternoon to get everything together in the basement, where I would be living from now on. There were books, clothing, family momentos, a bicycle, video tapes. My business materials were excluded. Before Maxine had to leave for work, she came down to the basement with Stacy. They were dressed to kill, and laughing about something. As Maxine's high heels clicked down the basement steps, I heard her say to Stacy, "Just watch. This is going to be good."

Maxine glanced around the basement, "Look at all this shit." She shook her head, and then kicked a box. "Well, I made you a promise that you could keep whatever you can lift, so let's get started. Get two chairs."

Wondering what she was going to do with the two chairs, I brought two folding chairs to her. "Well idiot, open them up."

I did, and was told to place them across from the foldout couch. "Take your clothing off." And I disrobed. Maxine now winked at Stacy who stood smiling. I stood naked.

"Now, face down, bridge your legs across the top of the couch, with one arm on each folding chair." I did, and Maxine crouched below me and reached into her large pocketbook for two serrated-edged nipple clamps attached to a chain. She quickly applied them to the edge of my nipples. She then put a tacked parachute collar around my balls, and attached them to the nipple clamp chain. She gave a sharp tug down, and I howled.

Maxine then attached a hook to the chain, and asked Stacy to help her slide a heavy box of my possessions under me. She attached the chain to the hook on the box. This left very little slack on the rope. I had to flatten myself into push up position to avoid having my nipples and balls ripped off. I was losing balance.

"Okay, Insect. If you can lift this box, you can keep it." Maxine said.

I could do nothing. I couldn't budge, much less lift the box by my nipples and balls. Maxine and Stacy tried to hold back their laughter, but couldn't."

"Come on. All you need is to lift it a half inch off the ground. You whined about how much your 'belongings' meant to you. So now show me!" Maxine said and she waited as I struggled. "You're a pathetic creature," and she unhooked the chain, and slid the box away, sliding the next one in. This was even heavier.

All of my possessions were paraded under me, one by one, and each box I was unable to even try and lift. I began crying.

"Why are you crying, Insect?" Maxine said coldly. "You don't think I would allow you to actually OWN anything. Be realistic. I own YOU, so how can YOU own anything? No, sweetheart, all of this garbage is mine and it gets sold or thrown away. The only personal possessions you will keep are those clothing and jewelry relating to business, and that's to make money for ME. And I'll make sure you make plenty working seven days a week, believe me. Now get this shit out in the street. Leave these two boxes, someone is coming to buy them."

The boxes she was throwing away were my family photos and personal momentos from childhood. I was ceasing to be a person of any kind.

Maxine detached me from the clamps and parachute and let me down. "On the floor."

I sat on the floor as she stood above me.

"You know, your attitude stinks. You think I owe you explanations and favors? Well, I don't owe you shit. You owe me for your food and for the roof over your head. You're lucky I don't feed you according to the housework you do. If I did, you'd be a human skeleton. You're here as a worker. And you don't nearly do enough. If I have to fire you, the rest of your miserable life would make hell look like Club Med."

She stared at me with hot eyes, and glanced over at Stacy. "What do you think Stacy. Am I demanding enough of this shit?"

Stacy shook her head. "Not nearly."

"There," Maxine snapped. "You see. You're an embarrassment to me. Even my lover thinks you're a lazy pig."

For some reason, Maxine was extra angry at me. She stared at me until I began to look away and shudder.

"You're not going to get much sleep tonight." Maxine sneered and thought for a moment. "I want my bathroom turned into a 'temple' by the time I get home in the morning. That means a thorough cleaning. I want a bathroom fit for an Empress."

Stacy piped in softly, "A Divinity's bathroom."

Maxine shook her head and smiled. "That's right! And I'm even going to give you a choice." Maxine walked around the room for a moment, and lit a cigarette. She was wearing a skin tight red lycra jumpsuit. Her hair had glitter in it. "And I'm going to be fair in deciding on how you clean it. I'll leave it up to you."

I frowned and then shrugged. "I don't understand?"

Maxine stared at me. "Just choose, dammit. In plain language, you can French clean it, or Night clean it."

I didn't like the sound of 'French cleaning,' so I said, "Night clean it."

She looked at Stacy and they smiled conspiratorially. "You're sure now?"

I reluctantly nooded my head.

Maxine smiled at me impishly, and then shook her head. "You're a grinning idiot, aren't you?"

I could say nothing but look down. "Come with me."

I walked up the stairs and got a great look at Maxine's legs and ass as I did. "Stop drooling, you pig" was the response I got from Maxine, as she hadn't even glanced over her shoulder, but just read my mind. "Sexually I have no use for you anymore, so stop tormenting yourself. If you get too disrespectful, I'll just cut your dick right off. Now put on your maid's outfit." I went into the bedroom, and got it out of my closet.

When I reached the bathroom, I looked in and saw the job that faced me. The grout was filthy and molded, the floor was mildewed. The fixtures would require scrubbing. "I'll ask you once more. You're the professional toilet cleaner. Do you want to give my bathroom a French cleaning or a Night cleaning?"

"Night cleaning." I answered, not knowing what I was letting myself in for.

"Alright." she said, almost sing-song, as if to say, "You made your bed, now lie in it."

Maxine stepped away from me and went into the den. As she went, she called in to me. "Take a real good look at the bathhoom, insect. Memorize it." When she returned, she was holding my leather hood and she had brought along a padlock. She walked right up to me. "On your knees, pig."

I got on my knees, and she began pulling the hood tightly over my face. It had no eye holes, and I suddenly got a sinking feeling in my stomach that I would be made to clean the bathroom blindly. She took hold of my head, and began pulling the hood on. The nose holes lined up with my nostrils on the first try. "Can you breathe?" she asked. I nodded. She immediately pulled the straps tight and put the lock in the hasp. She snapped it shut. I was locked in total darkness.

"You should have picked French cleaning. At least you could have seen what you were eating. Bad choice."

She then handed me three bottles, a toothbrush, a scouring pad and a rag. "You've got all the materials you'll need to make this room shine. Just remember what happened the last time your work was sloppy."

I began sobbing, and dropped the cleaning implements. The heat from my tears remained trapped in my hood, as did my sobs, which echoed inside my head. I was on the edge of breaking, not knowing how much more of this I could take. Maxine walked into the room again.

After a while, Maxine took hold of my hood, and held my head gently. "Do you want to change to French cleaning now. You'll have to lick the whole bathroom clean. I'll let you, you know. All you have to do is ask."

I shook my head, and sucked in for breathe.

Maxine kneeled down and brought her face closer to me. "Look, honey, when you signed those papers, what did you really think SLAVERY would be like? Some fantasy role-playing game? You are an honest-to-goodness, lifetime SLAVE I can do ANYTHING to you that I want to. Anything. No matter how cruel, or how much pain it causes you. If you object, you'll just vanish, and no one will ever know you're gone. Or go to jail for a very long time, and I'd see to it that you were raped long, hard and often. You have to face all this, accept it and do everything I ask. You'll make yourself sick if you don't."

Maxine then became the old Maxine again. "Honey, if you adapt to what I'm doing now, one day, the punishment may just lessen somewhat. Help us both by being as obedient and strong a slave as you can. It won't be easy, but if I see that you're a good slave, and if we get into an understanding, and a rhythm, then after this initial learning period for each of us, we can still settle into a very happy life together."

I was still sobbing, and was terrified that this Mistress of Atrocities was now being logical and loving. Which could I believe?

"But what about Stacy?" I mumbled through the hood.

"WhatABOUT Stacy? She's my lover. Sexually, I'm turned on to women now. I get used by about a dozen different men a night. I'm desensitized to men now. They turn me off. That's why I'm being groomed by Richie to become the resident dominant. I want to control them and all men. Who knows what may happen in the future. If you don't do everything you can to please me, you'll just make things harder on yourself. And they could be much, much harder. Believe me. I mean, if you make me look bad in front of Stacy, you'll really suffer. You'll begin to think of these as the good ol' days, I promise you that."

Maxine then stood up, and stepped back. "Look, if I take the hood off you, and we compromised on another punishment, you'd be even more miserable. For example, would you take another branding if I let you clean the toilet with the hood off?"

Maxine almost made it seem like a choice, but the spectre of getting another brand was horriying. I shook my head violently, and she snickered. "Give in, sweetheart. This is how the rest of your life will be. I want to be able to keep you forever, so you'd better make it exciting for me too."

With that, Maxine gave me a kiss on the helmet, and walked down the stairs.

That night was the most horrifying night I can ever remember. I was blind, and yet had to get the bathroom sparkling clean. All night I worked frantically, starting from the top of the walls and working down to the baseboards. At one point I lost track of which tiles I had done, and had to go back and start over. I became disoriented, and had to do the floor twice. I paid extra attention to the toilet bowl, and then the bathtub. I was just finishing the sink for the second time, when I heard the birds singing outside, and a few minutes later the front door opened and I heard Maxine and Stacy enter. They puttered around downstairs for a few moments, the I heard them coming upstairs. Maxine's voice became distinguishible. "I know he's done a great job . . ."

"I don't know, Maxine," said Stacy in a skeptical, challenging way.

"I'm just betting that he didn't let me down."

I knew that I was in for it if she didn't like the work I had done.

I heard them reach the top step and turn to the bathroom. They suddenly stopped in their tracks and were silent. I heard Maxine sigh in dissappointment, and the Stacy giggled. "I told you he'd fuck up. He just doesn't give a shit."

I was silent, and began to tremble. Through the mask, I started pleading. "I did my best. I've been working all night long, and I couldn't see anything. I tried my hardest, but I can't see the dirt. Please don't hurt me. I'll do anything, please, please." and I broke down sobbing. "I beg of you." I wailed.

Maxine just let me cry, and the waiting was interminable. I was petrified at what they would do to me now, as Maxine was obviously furious.

Finally, I heard Maxine's heels stepping closer to me. "Honey, when will you realize that I love you very much, but that I won't be humiliated by you in front of my friends. Obviously giving pain doesn't work. How about if I take away your pleasure. What if I locked your cock up again until you improved your behavior?"

I just shook my head. "Please don't, Divinity."

Maxine walked around for a moment. I heard the authoritative, yet lazy clicking of her heels on the tile bathroom floor. "It's choice time again. You decide what it will be." I heard her light a cigarette and move closer. "You choose between my either locking your cock up until I see fit to release you, or getting a new brand on each cheek. The choice is fully up to you."

Maxine was deliberately standing close to me while I decided my fate. She was brushing up against me, and deliberately inflaming me. But I had made my choice. The pain of the brand was unbearable, and I would do anything in the world to avoid it. But I would crumble if I weren't allowed sexual release.

"Well, should I let Stacy make the choice?"

I panicked. "No! Please brand me, and leave my cock free."

"Say it correctly." Maxine said very quietly.

"No, Goddess Maxine, Divinity. Please brand me and leave my cock free."

"If that will make you happy." Maxine said, and she helped me to my feet and brought me into the bedroom where I was tied over the arm chair again. Maxine said aside to Stacy. "He even begs for the pain."

After getting the branding iron, and selecting the "X" in her name, there were no preliminaries. They each stood behind me and strangely carressed my ass and legs. Stacy sighed, began playing with my ass, and then said to Maxine, "Did you ever fist him?"

After a pause, Maxine replied. "I'm going to get around to it soon, unless that's something you might want to do."

They laughed, and Stacy replied "I just might. It's a very personal thing though."

Again, I smelled the coils of the branding iron, but this time, I wouldn't be able to see my tormenters.

"You want to do one this time, Stacy?" Maxine asked.

"I'll do the second one. Just walk me through it." Stacy sat on my back, and held me down, and I felt her hands all over me. Maxine was also touching me, but on my ass, and then, in a flash, the blinding pain of the branding iron on my ass. I screamed and went into semi-consciousness. They gave me time to regroup, which I would not have preferred, and then they began the torment.

Maxine leaned and whispered in my ear. "You know, you can get out of all of this terrible torture. Just give us a 20- minute confession of what a despicable creature you are. A total confession from childhood of everything you ever did wrong. Start now, and if we're amused, I won't give you the other brand . . . this time."

I breathed heavily because Stacy was on my back. Maxine grabbed my ass with one hand, and readied to burn me again, so I started immediately.