Harem House - Selene

Author's Note: This chapter has the potential to be more emotionally heavy. I try to lighten things up where I can, and of course, there's plenty of sex. However, there is some mention and discussion of past sexual trauma and abuse, a survivor's story, that may upset some readers. I do not depict the scene, but more detail is given here than in chapter 30, and the discussion may be heavy for sensitive readers. I wanted to warn you so as not to surprise anyone with it. Don't let that discourage you, though. As usual, plenty of spice and story here! Even some comedy. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Arthur took a deep breath as his gaze wandered over his girls. The sofa he sat on was comfortable. The pressure of his girls, Kelly on his left and Selene on his right, comforted and calmed him. Kat, Katelyn, Mindy, and Rani sat around the coffee table, waiting for him to speak.

He needed to tell them his history with Lynn. The entire story. The story he'd told Rani, more or less. According to her, Kelly already heard it, or part of it, through Lori. So maybe it wasn't news to everyone. Still, after two orgasms, Arthur couldn't think with everyone else wearing only the bottom half of Princess Leia's slave costume and their collars.

They were having a fun night of sex. Did he have to ruin everything by dumping his trauma on them? He was their master and their dom. They looked up to him and respected him, but what if they knew how weak he'd been? Would it change how they saw him or whether they loved him? Plus, telling them the story now would only burden them. Arthur didn't want that. He was their boyfriend. He should be the one carrying their burdens, not vice versa.

"Hey." Rani said, her voice soft but smashing through the silence like a hammer. "It's okay. Remember? We're here for you."

Kelly's eyes glanced toward Rani, but she returned them to Arthur, watching his mouth as if she might see the words coming.

"Uh... yeah." Arthur nodded. He swallowed. "Um... Just some business stuff, first." He wasn't chickening out, he told himself. He had legitimate ideas to clear with them, and it was better to do it before everything got emotional. "I, uh... I had an idea after having lunch with Katelyn." He gestured across the table. "Lunch dates. I was thinking we could do some non-sexual one-on-one time on a rotation during the weekdays, depending on when people are available. Is that something you'd be interested in?"

Rani frowned and sat back in the office chair after crossing her legs. Arthur saw the word 'coward' in her eyes, but she didn't say it, which surprised him.

"What about group lunches?" Mindy asked. "I always enjoy lunching with everyone."

"And non-sexual?" Selene asked. "Wouldn't it be better to take the opportunity for one-on-one sex?"

"Except we need to eat lunch." Arthur said, squeezing Selene.

"You eat lunch, I'll take a liquid lunch." She squeezed his sack, and Arthur cleared his throat. Selene giggled.

"Behave, Slut." Arthur said, his tone full of warning.

"Yes, Master." Selene rolled her eyes.

"I'm down for lunch dates." Rani said. "I think it sounds kinda cute, which isn't normally my thing, but fuck it. I'll try anything twice. No promises I won't get handsy, though. A girl has needs, and we agreed to take one-on-one time as we can get it."

"Get it, get it!" Mindy said, bopping her head.

"A no-sex, no-pressure lunch date sounds nice." Kat said. "I wouldn't mind having an intelligent conversation with you without the distraction of sex."

"Yeah, I'm in." Kelly said.

"I had mine yesterday." Katelyn said. "So I'm good with it. I think it's a great idea."

"Who would you have lunch with tomorrow?" Kelly asked.

"Well, that's--this would have to start on Friday. Tomorrow's lunch is something else I need to discuss with you. Saturday would be a group lunch. Sunday will be whoever's here. Monday, because of the break--"

"I'll take Monday." Selene said.

"I'll take Tuesday!" Kat said before anyone else jumped in to take it.

"I'll return in time for lunch on Wednesday, but you eat late on Wednesdays, right?" Kelly asked.

"I'll take Wednesday, then." Mindy said.

"I'll take Thursday." Kelly said.

"I'll take Friday. Late lunch works for me." Rani said. "I eat a late breakfast anyway."

"That Saturday is Halloween, so... I guess I'll take the following Monday?" Katelyn asked. "Wow, that's... so far away."

"Well, it doesn't have to match date night, right?" Kelly asked.

"Probably better if it doesn't." Rani agreed.

"So, who's getting what date nights?" Katelyn asked, looking between the girls.

"We're supposed to go in order." Kelly reminded everyone. "That means it's Mindy's turn next."

"I think Selene--"

Selene cut Arthur off mid-sentence. "No, it works better if Mindy takes the next one. We have the Ren Faire on Saturday as a big group date. Sunday can be Mindy's date."

"Would Monday work?" Mindy asked. "I don't mind if someone else goes on Sunday, but uh..." Mindy held up her phone. "My parents want to meet you and Rani. So my Umma texted while we were--" She pointed to the other half of the room, where they'd been enjoying their orgy, then cleared her throat. "She wants Arthur and Rani to join me and them for dinner on Monday night."

"Oh." Rani said, surprised. "Shit."

"Is that okay?" Mindy asked.

"Yeah. I'm just surprised, is all." Rani said. "I was hoping to have time to figure out how to convince your mom to let you move in." She shrugged. "I'll figure it out."

"Yeah..." Arthur nodded. "That could be good."

"I'll take Sunday." Kat said, interjecting. "If Master can get me that lesson plan asap."

Arthur smiled softly. "I'll see what I can do."

"What about Tuesday night?" Katelyn asked. "If Kelly and I return from the cabin on Tuesday evening, can you and I have a date? Like a real one?"

"Sure." Arthur nodded after looking at the others.

"Then Friday before Halloween is Kelly's turn?" Rani asked.

"I might have to work that night." Arthur said, wincing. "I mentioned it to Mindy, but she didn't seem keen on the idea given the parties. From what I can tell, the house parties are happening on Saturday since that's Halloween."

"Oh, this is your stripping work?" Selene asked, laughing. "I'll have to teach you more dance moves by then."

"Yeah, I guess so." Arthur said. "Are you sure you're all okay with me doing that kind of work?"

"It's just dancing? You're not whoring yourself out to these women or doing anything illegal, right?" Kat asked.

"Definitely not." Arthur said. "It's just dancing."

"It's weird, but so is everything else we do." Kelly pointed out.

That made Mindy and the others giggle.

"Okay." Arthur said, taking a deep breath. "I'll tell Diane I can do it."

"Wait, is the whole lunch date thing why you asked me to lunch today?" Selene asked, taking the conversation back a few steps in her epiphany.

Arthur nodded. "Yeah."

"Who did you end up eating with?" Selene asked.

"I ate in my car on the way to the house. I changed the house locks this afternoon between work and class." Arthur said. "I have new keys for you guys in my bag." He pointed to his bookbag on the floor.

"So, no more Lynn in the house?" Kat asked, her voice sounded hopeful.

"No more Lynn in the house." Arthur said, relieved.

"And speaking of Lynn..." Rani said, staring at Arthur.

"She is on the warpath." Kelly said, interrupting. "She outed Mindy to her mom and showed up at Selene's work today."

"Yeah, what happened with that?" Arthur asked.

Selene caught Arthur up on Lynn's brief visit to her store. He didn't interrupt, letting her give the blow-by-blow account. When she finished, Selene sighed. "She didn't get me fired but made it clear she could."

The girls glanced at each other. None looked at Arthur until Kat spoke.

"Is that true?" Kat asked, looking at Arthur. "What she said to your mom on the phone, that she was your first time? Is that why you two have such a--?"

"No." Arthur said, far harsher than he meant. He took a deep, steadying breath and squeezed Kelly's and Selene's breasts in his hands. He didn't squeeze hard. They weren't stress balls, but damn if they didn't reduce his stress. Both girls blushed at the gesture, but everyone waited for Arthur to continue.

"I think I may need to confront Lynn." Arthur said.

"Yes!" Selene said. "Finally!"

A chorus of general agreement went up from everyone except Kelly and Rani.

"Or." Rani said, clearing her throat. "You know the fastest way to kick her out of the house already." She looked at Arthur. "Tell Deb what happened."

"What happened?" Selene asked. "Did Lynn say something to you we missed?"

"No." Arthur said, glancing at Rani. He couldn't be mad at her, but the deep breath he took didn't stop his heart from pounding in his chest, either. She pushed him. She wouldn't let him get away without telling the others the story, as planned. "Okay, look, I uh..." He glanced around the group. The girls watched him. Somehow, their toplessness in the sexiest fantasy costumes in pop culture didn't lighten the burden of what he was about to say.

"Rani and I had a conversation on Sunday." He said. "I told her what happened between Lynn and me in high school. Specifics that I haven't shared with the rest of you."

Kelly and Selene straightened, turning to look at him. Selene put her hand on his thigh, comforting him. Mindy leaned closer, and Kat held Katelyn's hand beside her.

"You talked to Rani about it, but not me?" Kelly asked as she glanced between the two. Try as she might, she couldn't hide the hurt in her voice.

"It wasn't like that." Rani said, trying to diffuse Kelly who looked like she was about to cry. "He didn't trust me more than you or anything. I was a pushy bitch, and our conversation had the right circumstances where he needed to unload. Right, Arthur?"

"I trust all of you to an extreme degree." Arthur said, assuring them as best as he could. "I wouldn't do the things we do without trusting you, just like you wouldn't do them with me if you didn't trust me."

Kelly sniffled, and Rani twitched.

"Do you already know what I'm going to tell them?" Arthur asked, looking at Kelly. "How much did Lori tell you?"

"She didn't go into explicit detail, but I know enough to hate Lynn." Kelly said. "Lori said that Lynn..." She glanced at the others, then bowed her head and looked at her hand on Arthur's thigh. "She said that Lynn sexually assaulted you."

The reaction to the phrase Kelly used rippled through the others. Only Rani seemed unsurprised.

"And I did some stalking." Kelly added. "I tracked down some of your high school classmates, and some have their own horror stories. She left a bloodbath of ex-friends at her old college."

"Okay." Arthur nodded, raising his hand for Kelly to stop. He took another deep breath. "I'm not sure what happened, but that sounds right for her."

"From what I found, she had a... situation with a Dean." Kelly said. "Kind of. They couldn't prove anything ever happened between them. They caught him tampering with her grades and launched an investigation."

"And they expelled her?" Kat asked.

"Apparently, there was enough shady business involved that they didn't feel it was appropriate for her to continue her education there." Kelly said. "With her grades unchanged, she flunked out. From what people said, the rumor around campus was that she seduced him and promised to sleep with him in exchange for the grades changing. He held up his end of the bargain but got caught." Kelly said. "She spun her defense as he was doing it to pressure her into sex, and... yeah. I don't know what happened in the hearings, but they fired him and expelled her."

The girls were quiet for a moment. The details of the situation aside, Lynn could use the murkiness to her advantage. Kelly's version fit with what they knew of Lynn, though.

"So now she's coming to Pendleton, but she's just going to flunk out again?" Kat asked. "No way the faculty here falls for that if she has a history of it. All the professors and deans will be on their guard with her."

"That's why she's after Arthur." Rani said, deducing the obvious before glancing at Arthur. "Right?"

The others looked confused, unable to connect the dots without the information Rani had.

Arthur sighed. "Okay, look. This will be a heavy conversation. Does everyone have the bandwidth for it? Are you okay if I unload?"

"Master... what happened?" Selene asked, sliding her hand onto his other thigh and holding on tight.

"Before we discuss this, I need you to promise you won't do anything rash. The rules haven't changed. I don't want anyone going after Lynn unless we have a plan." Arthur said. "Anger aside, I'm the coach, right? Let me call the plays on this. Follow my lead."

"Of course, Master." Selene said, nodding. Everyone else agreed, nodding and assenting in a chorus. Selene agreed readily, given the pain aching across her back reminding her of the cost of disobedience. She enjoyed the ache, and her arousal remained intense from the scene, but everyone was coming down from the high, and she was no exception. Still, her heartbeat pulsed steady and calm. She wasn't about to fly off the sofa and kill Lynn in a rage. Was that post-orgasm clarity? Or post-funishment tranquility? Arthur couldn't tell. He only hoped it lasted.

Arthur sighed. "Okay. As you know, Lynn and I used to be friends." He said. "Best friends. Things soured in high school. She started hanging out with the popular girls who had cruel senses of humor, and I was an easy target. I didn't have the best hygiene, ate my feelings, and didn't exercise. Besides that, she knew everything about me. Everything. Meanwhile, I never said two words against her. She could roast me all she wanted, but I loved her, so I never put up a fight."

Selene's grip on his thigh tightened at that. They understood, in some measure, that he loved Lynn once. Still, hearing it from his lips made it real.

Kelly stroked Arthur's arm, trying to encourage him, but he fell quiet instead, unable to look to either side for fear of making eye contact with Selene or Kelly. He kept his eyes on his knees. They each moved their hands from his thighs to his hands and held tight. He swept his thumbs over their knuckles. The calluses on Kelly's knuckles and the smooth skin on Selene's struck a striking contrast.

"It started our freshman year." Arthur said. "Lynn started hanging out with this popular girl, Angie. Looking back on it, I'm not sure what Angie's problem with me was, but she had one. So Lynn took issue with me, too. She started acting weird, avoiding me at school, but as soon as we came home, she'd be back to her old self. It was a very confusing time for me."

The girls remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"So one day, we're in algebra class, and I sat next to Lynn. Someone, I never learned who, but someone other than me farted. Loud and stinky."

Mindy giggled, and everyone looked at her. "Sorry." She covered her mouth, and they returned to listening to Arthur.

"Lynn blamed me for it, called me Farty Arty, and the name stuck with me through high school. That was the start of four years of hell." Arthur said.

"Is that why you hate it when someone calls you Arty?" Selene asked.

Arthur nodded. "Eventually, the name just got shortened to Farty, and that's all they called me. Even my science teacher screwed up and called me that once by accident."

"Okay, that's not funny, and I'm very sorry that happened to you, but..." Katelyn bit her lip as if going to say she found the name amusing. Until she noticed the glares shooting her way from Kelly, Rani, and Selene. Katelyn withered, shrinking into her chair and bowing her head without finishing her thought. "Sorry."

"Maybe one day I'll be able to tell that story as an amusing little anecdote." Arthur said, shrugging. "And it was far from the worst name they used, but it was the default. Like I said, the beginning of my hell. Every day from then on brought a fresh torment, public humiliation, joke, insult, prank, or..." He swallowed, not finishing his sentence.

Selene hugged him from the side, her breasts pressing against his arm. Kelly repeated the embrace from the other side, their arms crossing over his chest and holding onto one another, with Arthur caught between them. He rested his cheek on Kelly's head, then Selene's, in silent gratitude.

"I tried working things out with her several times." Arthur said. "Whenever I approached her, Angie, or the popular kids at school, I became a target. But after school? After school, she'd act like she needed me, like I was her rock or knight in shining armor. Her parents lived right across the hall from mine. We'd go to each other's apartments after school. Our families were still friends, after all. Her mom and my mom are still best friends. There's no escaping that."

Rani frowned.

"After school, stuff started out innocent enough." Arthur said. "She'd ask for help with every subject. Doing our homework together turned into tutoring her after school. That kind of thing. Until it turned into me doing her homework for her, helping her cheat on tests, and all kinds of things." Arthur said, swallowing his guilt.

"Why would you do that?" Kelly asked, surprised but not judging him. "You're so..." She wiped a tear from her cheek. "You're such a moral man, Arthur. You'd never break the rules unless she made you."

"Did she offer you sex to help her cheat? Like the Dean?" Katelyn asked more bluntly than she meant to. She blushed when the others turned their gazes to her but left the question in the air.

"No." Arthur said, shaking his head. "She blackmailed me. We spent enough time alone together after school. She said she'd tell people I--that we--did things we didn't do if I didn't help her. So I had to help her cheat or be called a rapist and have no way to prove my innocence. Even if I didn't go to jail for the rest of my life, the entire school believed her over me any day of the week. She was a sexy, popular girl who flirted and flaunted while they called me a creep, watching her every day, trying to get her to like me again."

"And we can't kill her?" Selene asked. "With seven of us, if we get our story straight, we can have alibis and--"

"I appreciate the instinct." Arthur said. "But I'm not finished yet."

"Sorry, Master." Selene said, quieting herself by burying her face in his bicep.

"Why did you help her in the first place?" Kat asked. "If she treated you like shit, why put up with it? Because she was hot?"

"Because I was in love with her." Arthur stated flatly as he lifted his eyes to Kat. Her expression churned anger and sorrow into tears. Whether they fell for his sake, he couldn't tell, but he suspected he'd offended Kat by admitting he had feelings for Lynn once upon a time.

"I'm not still." He said, trying to assure the others. "Everything I've ever felt for Lynn has soured to hate, hate I've been working through and releasing, or trying to release. Seeing her again has brought that hatred and anger back. Anger I thought I'd worked through in therapy."

"You have every right to be furious." Rani said, speaking up. "It's natural. And you haven't acted out of anger. You haven't hit her, which is more than I can say for what I'd do in your place."

Arthur nodded. "Thanks."

He cleared his throat and returned to the story. "So, yeah. I helped her because I thought she'd forgive me for being a fat, ugly piece of shit and love me back."

Katelyn looked the most confused out of the group but said nothing. The others' expressions hardened into something dark and grim. Their hatred for Lynn already burned, and he added fuel to their fires with each revelation. That wasn't his intention, though. He wasn't trying to give them reasons to be angry with Lynn. No, he'd opened up to give them insight into who Lynn was and why he was the way he was. To share himself with them in a vulnerable but genuine way. They would see him at his weakest by the time he finished the story.