Leah tried to keep track of the turns and stairs and hallways that she was blindly led through. She would need the information when she escaped. But her growing fear made it harder and harder to concentrate and remember. Was he going to rape her now? Was it going to be as horrible as she thought it would be?
Cool marble floor turned to polished wood under her feet and then to a plush carpet that made her want to curl her toes into it. She could feel the warmth of a fire behind her.
“Kneel down, Pet,” he commanded giving a firm tug on the leash.
For a brief moment she considered fighting and standing, making him force her down. But what would that gain her? Her rear still burned and stung from the cropping and her mouth was still stuffed with that horrible shaft shaped gag. She could only imagine what he might do to get her to kneel. Resignedly, she knelt and was surprised to find a soft cushion under her knees. It felt like it might be of velvet. She heard him in front of her, sit down. She frowned as she tried to decide if the sound of the chair told her it was made of leather.
His hand stroked her hair several times and then reached behind her head and unbuckled the blindfold. Slowly, he pulled it off and set it to one side.
Leah blinked in the light, trying to make her eyes adjust to light of the room after being in total darkness for so long. The first thing she saw, sitting right in front of her, was the man that had bought her. She starred at him. He didn’t look like a monster. He looked rather normal, even dignified. He was probably about 45 or 50 with dark hair and graying temples. Cool blue eyes studied her over the tips of his steepled fingers that tapped thoughtfully against his lips. He wore a dark blue dress shirt and a yellow tie with blue floral pattern, dark blue dress slacks, dark socks and shoes. He looked like an executive.
Carlton looked down at his slave, admiring her bright green emerald like eyes as she studied him. The emotions that played across her face teased at him and told him her thoughts so clearly. He wanted to take her right now, but he willed himself into self-discipline. It was not the right time.
“Not the ogre you were expecting?” he teased lightly. He smiled as her eyes widened in surprise as he had guessed her thoughts and then the slight defiant lift to her chin and the flash of anger that flashed in her emerald eyes.
He leaned forward and unbuckled the gag and removed it, setting it on the table next to the blindfold. He watched her move her jaw, working out the muscle stiffness that had set in, her eyes watching him warily now.
“What do you say, Pet?” he prompted.
He watched in amusement as she hesitated, seeing in her expression what she wanted to say before she muttered a sullen, “Thank you, Master.” He would have to work on her tone later.
“This is your new home, Pet. I can’t stay long right now. While I am gone, I expect you to clean yourself and wash your hair. Be sure to use some conditioner. I don’t know what those men were thinking selling you in such a state, but it will never do. There is a robe in the bathroom. You have my permission to wear it after you bathe.
“When I return, I will bring you something to eat and we will talk some more and discuss your training. Do you have any questions for me right now?”
Leah’s head spun with questions, “What do you mean by training? What are you going to do with me? Where am I?”
Carlton’s heart went out to the lost little girl look on her face and he leaned forward and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, “Leah, my sweet pet, I know you are scared and confused, but you are an adult and a bright one at that. What do you think that I am going to do with you?”
Leah seemed mesmerized by his blue eyes, “Rape me, I suppose.”
“It can be rape, if that is what you wish; but it does not have to be. I will have you sexually. I will awaken you to a new world which you will love and hate at the same time. I will make you crave it in ways you cannot understand and come to me begging for more,” his voice was low and passionate making her tremble at the sincerity of it.
Leah shook her head in denial, refusing to believe that she would crave anything that he would do to her.
“As for where you are, you do not need to know that, Pet. You will not be leaving here for a very long time. It is best that you just accept that early. It will make things easier for you. Now let me remove the posture collar and cuffs.”
Leah furiously blinked back the hot tears as he removed the collar around her neck and unfastened the cuffs from her wrists. He gathered the gag and blindfold, stood and left the room before she had realized it. The sound of the door locking broke the stoic façade that she had been using to keep herself together. She stumbled to her feet and ran to the door, pulling on the handle, finding it locked. She began to pound on the door.
“You can’t do this! You can’t do this to me! Let me out, Please! Let me out!” over and over.
Carlton moved across the great house to his office, walking briskly. Raymond had already pulled a number of the files they had talked about on the plane and put them on his desk. He nodded to Raymond as he put the bondage gear on a side table. Sitting in the leather chair, he pushed the button for the television screen. It whirred softly out of its hidden place. A few more keystrokes brought up the security feed from Leah’s rooms. She was weakly beating on the door and crying, half lying on the floor. He ached to go and comfort her, but it was best that she get this out of her system now.
“Is she safe like that, Sir?” Raymond asked glancing at the screen.
“Yes, Raymond. She is just learning to accept her new life. It is not going to be easy for her at first. No wild bird just accepts the cage demurely. Now let’s start with the Bjorn file. I think they are going to accept our offer and I want it to be very tempting.”
Leah had no idea how long she lay there crying, but after awhile there were just no more tears in her. Empty and aching, she lifted her head and looked again at the locked door. Slowly she turned to survey her prison.
The room was luxurious. At first the room seemed huge with Trompe L'Oeil murals on the walls making the room look as if it were a porch overlooking lush gardens. They were so real looking that Leah had to walk over to one of the archways and touch the opening to be sure it was just painted. There was not much furniture in the room itself. Opposite the carved stone fireplace was the leather chair her Master had sat in. Next to the chair was an elegant table and a floor lamp. By one painted arch was a bookshelf. Another arch had a coffee table with a computer setup on it. Thick velvet cushions were scattered in soft piles in a number of places.
Leah hurried over to the computer and turned it on. Would he be foolish enough to give her internet access? She had to kneel on one of the pillows to use it comfortably. She kept glancing over her shoulder at the door as the computer seemed to take forever to boot up. The desktop finally appeared. It had two icons on it. One was labeled “My Diary,” the other “Shopping,” She tried to see if there were other programs, but it seemed that this was all there was on the computer. Curious, she clicked on the Diary icon.
The program chimed and booted. A window appeared.
Welcome, My Pet. Each day, you will write in this diary. Failure to do so will result in punishment. You will address the topic given. If you wish to add more on another subject you may.
The window faded away and was replaced with a screen that gave the date and then said Topic: Describe your first sexual fantasy in detail.
Disgusted, she closed the program. She tried to open the shopping icon, but was given an error message saying that she had not yet earned that privilege.
She got up and moved into the next room. This room was as opulent as the first if not more so. Center in the room was a bed unlike any she had seen before. It was huge and layered in draperies of sheer gauze that sparkled in the dim light. Slowly she walked up to the bed and touched the gauze. It appeared that the sparkles were caused by diamonds.
Blinking, she stepped back and shook her head. They had to be fake. More Trompe L'Oeil murals covered two walls, leading to more fanciful fake gardens with animals. The third wall was covered in heavy draperies. With eager footsteps, Leah hurried over and pulled them apart to reveal French doors. She tried the handle and the door swung open.
The chilled air bit at her as she stepped out the door onto a generous patio, completely enclosed by carved stonework. A chaise lounge and table were positioned out there. The carving was done so the light made patterns of leaves and flowers on the floor, letting in light and air, but the spaces were so small, there was no possible idea of escape. Braving the cold, she peered through the carving. She was up, three, maybe four floors above a courtyard garden that was deserted of any people. She doubted that screaming for help would do any good and would probably get her gagged again. She went back inside.
The fourth wall had two arched openings. The first led to an opulent bathroom with a huge Jacuzzi tub and a separate shower. An examination of the cupboards showed that she had an ample supply of lotions, powders, creams, shampoos, conditioners and fluffy towels. She also noticed that there were no doors for her to close for privacy.
The second arch led to an exercise room with a treadmill and some complicated piece of equipment that looked more like a torture device than anything else.
Discouraged, she prowled the two rooms again. She looked at the books in the bookcase and found every title to be a book of erotica. She was tempted to throw them all in the fire. Her third go around the room had her notice that one of the walls in the sitting room, as she thought it, had two doors that she had missed before. Both were part of the artwork and both were locked.
Discouraged, she wandered back to the bathroom. He had ordered her to wash and while she wanted to disobey that order on principle, it had been ages since she had been able to have a shower and wash her hair. She felt disgusting. The bathroom might not have a door, but there was no one else here right now and that was as good as privacy.
Admiring the cream and rust marble tiling of the bathroom, Leah selected some supplies and ran some hot water. Soon she was luxuriating under the steaming water and suds.
Carlton looked up from the spread of papers in front of him to the television screen and just watched for a long moment. He was glad that he was not going to have to discipline her again so soon. Tonight was going to be hard enough on her.
Clean and conditioned, Leah wrapped her hair in one of the soft towels and dried herself off with another. She found the robe he had mentioned on a hook and slid the crimson silk around her gratefully. It was wonderful to have something to wear. She padded back into the sitting room and put another log on the fire. Exhaustion from the constant fear was catching up with her. She arranged several of the velvet pillows and lay near the fire, watching the flames dance and wondering what would happen. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
