Rule of Thumb

They had laid her onto a low ottoman, her back and head supported, her legs bent at the knees, feet resting on the floor. Stripped naked, she looked perfectly comfortable and I wondered how this could possibly be punishment.

I had printed out the picture and brought it with us without Loren knowing. Shortly after our arrival, I pulled it out and explained how difficult Loren had obviously been.

She tried to protest, feeling the injustice of my actions, but her protests about doing what I had asked only made her sound defensive. Anna smiled and shook her head, staring at the two of us. "Well," she had said with finality, "there's really nothing more to say. Loren, you are obviously still yearning to be punished." And here she was.

I sipped my drink, chatting with Anna as Mamiko continued her preparations. She rolled a metal frame over to Loren's legs. I could see the confusion on Loren's face - she couldn't see anything happening below her, her head strapped down. Mamiko opened Loren's legs until they touched the metal, forcing a surprised gasp from the cold.

Working quickly, Mamiko fastened her legs to the metal, wrapping a cloth strip barber-shop pole style from Loren's knees all the way to her ankles. In moments her legs were held open, completely fused to the uprights of the frame, her pussy laid bare to the room. A few moments later, she had fastened a belt to Loren's right wrist, fed it below her thighs and tightened her left wrist with the open end. Loren was tied fast to the furniture.

Anna had been discussing some of her other clients, not in any specific way, but to help me understand the range of services she could offer. I listened to her sales pitch, wondering again why she was pursuing us so aggressively.

Mamiko had rolled a serving tray filled with a variety of objects - paintbrushes, clear vials stoppered with cork, other bits of metal that looked like tools - next to the ottoman, waiting for a signal from Anna.

"I think Mamiko has this situation well under control - perhaps we can retire to the study and discuss our business relationship."

Loren moaned a small protest at being left alone and I hesitated. "Cunt! You know why you are being punished! You know what you need to do to stop it. Mistress Anna and I will be just in the other room. I expect you to behave yourself with Mamiko as if she were me or Mistress Anna. Do you understand?"

She nodded, her eyes open with fear. Unable to turn her head, she strained to look in my direction. I stayed out of her line of vision, enjoying her distress.

Anna gestured and Mamiko began her punishment.

Wanting to see what was in store for my little cunt, I held Anna back. She nodded, moving us to a sofa a little further away.

Mamiko straddled the ottoman facing away from Loren, her pussy just above Loren's mouth as she prepared the implements on the tray. Opening a bottle of amber liquid, she took a paint brush, inspected it, and coated the fine bristles in the liquid. Carefully bending over, not letting any of the liquid drop, she reached the brush onto Loren's open pussy and gently painted a small circle of the liquid directly on her clit. Very softly she worked the brush against her clit, her movements almost undetectable. Loren moaned at the touch.

Mamiko curled up, removing the brush and lowering herself onto Loren's mouth. Sitting there, she turned to the tray, leaving the first brush and picking up a second. She dipped this in a second vial, slowly moving her naked pussy on Loren's lips. I could see Loren struggling, her stomach moving up and down as she tried to breathe.

Mamiko pulled the bristles across the lip of the vial, removing all of the excess liquid and again turned to Loren's open pussy. She lifted her lips off Loren's face slightly as she reached across her body. Loren gulped in air, her mouth opening as wide as she could. The instant the brush touched Loren's clit, she screamed, as if she had been stuck with a pin.

I jerked up, almost to my feet, but Anna placed a hand on my thigh.

"Nooooo! What is that? Shit! Shit! That hurts! Rick! Master Rick!" She was trying to twist away but the binding held her tight; her head wouldn't budge.

Mamiko silently sat back, muffling her screams, turning again to the tray.

Anna turned to me, her face a calm mask. "Don't interfere, Rick." She whispered. "It is the shock of the solution. It will pass shortly."

"What is it?" I hissed, concerned.

"It's all natural - don't worry - extract of cinnamon and ginger. The second brush had a little alcohol on it to activate the first. It's diabolical." She gave my ear a kiss and indicated we should leave.

"No. No. No. Stop. Please. Stop. Mamiko. Please." Loren's pleas were completely ignored as Mamiko continued to alternately brush the solution on her clit, and rest her cunt on her face.

"So," Anna said as we settled into the adjacent study. "What have you decided?" She offered me a drink from the bar.

"I was a little surprised to see you had forgotten the discount," I began, taking the drink.

"Discount. Did I?" She pulled a file out of drawer opening it. Copies of the photographs came out along with the contract - an obvious move on her part. I smiled behind my glass.

"You're right. Stupid of me. So, aside from the discount, is everything else in order?"

"I think the way I had last left it, I could put you in touch with some of my clientele who you might be able to profit from. I suspect that is worth a commission on my part, wouldn't you?" I leaned forward, looking her in the eyes, ignoring my angry erection in the pictures.

She smiled in a way that should have sent cold shivers down my spine, but I wasn't paying attention. I was focusing on her fingers - it was her 'tell.' She was stroking her glass up and down. I tried not to think about it being my cock.

"Richard. Seriously. You're discounting my services. I think I've been very generous so far in showing you how much I can teach the two of you. I think my rates are very fair; if I was to go any lower it would devalue what I have to offer, don't you agree?"

I sat back, looking down at the ice in my glass. "Anna.

I

didn't come onto your property unasked and uninvited.

I

didn't offer to have you come to my house for a lovely session together last week.

And I

didn't agree to any rate or any contract, 'implied or in-fact.' Now I don't want to get into a contest here. I truly believe you have something of value you can offer the two of us, that's why I agreed to come over. But not only are your rates too high, but I've been equally generous in offering additional clientele for your consideration."

She swirled her drink, looking off to the side. I could see where she was heading and I prepared myself for the proper reaction.

"But Richard," she said with a matronizing tone, "are you really in a position to negotiate?" Her hand drifted down to the photographs, her eyes focused directly on mine.

Perfect. Exactly as expected.

"What are you suggesting?!! Are you going to blackmail me into signing your contract? Is that the sort of arrangement you make with all of your clients?" I put as much indignation into it as I could muster.

"Richard! Nonsense! Blackmail? That's a terrible word! I'm insulted. Really! If that's the direction we're going, I agree we should just call it quits! I am trying to protect you. If you had read the contract, you would have seen the confidentiality clause. But without an agreement, neither of us are subject to any confidentiality - I can't guarantee what could happen to these images, or the audio and video recordings."

I took a swig to hide my amusement. I didn't underestimate this woman one bit, but she had no idea where this conversation was about to go.

"It's interesting," I began, leaning forward for emphasis, setting my empty glass down on the photographs. "You don't like to call what you're implying blackmail. Perhaps it is more like a form of extortion. Regardless, no court would uphold the validity of the contract if I had been coerced in any way to sign it. So, I'd appreciate it if you treated me like an adult and cut the crap. You're figuring I've got a reputation to uphold, that I wouldn't take it to court, that I'll just roll over and do whatever your beautifully sick brain can think of. It is a beautifully sick brain, by the way, Anna. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the way you think. But all of this," I waved my hand back to the living room from which I could hear Loren panting and moaning, "would be so much more enjoyable if we had

mutual

respect. Don't you agree?"

She looked at me as if I was completely insane. Of course I must have sounded bizarre - what could I possibly be talking about? She shook her head slightly, confused. "I'm waiting."

"Gordon Thompson. Name ring a bell?"

She hesitated, just enough, her hand reached for the glass and she took a drink. I thought I could see it shake just a little. When she brought the glass back down she seemed to have composed herself. She smiled, her eyes suggesting a new respect...or a new approach. I wasn't going to assume anything.

"Nice, Richard. Nicely played. So you had a chance to chat with Mr. Thompson, I assume?"

Here's where it would get tricky. "Let's just say we have mutually assured destruction and leave it at that." I rattled my ice around in the glass, inquiring whether I could get a re-fill.

She gestured to the bar. "First one's on me, the rest are up to you." And stared off to the living room.

I looked through the passage way to see Loren's face buried in Mamiko's pussy, her abdomen rising and falling - not like before, panicked, but rhythmically, as if she were trying to stimulate herself.

"That punishment borders on cruel," Anna said, a little wistfully. "The irritant stimulates and then continues to irritate, growing warmer, penetrating deeper. Mamiko has become quite skilled at applying it." She looked at a clock. "She's almost ready."

I sat back down, not interested in Loren's condition. She was being punished after all and we had bigger fish to fry. "I can't wait...actually, I can. We need to get this settled so we can move forward. I mean it when I say I have prospects for you, but frankly, if this is the way you treat your clientele, I will be very careful who I send your way. My offer stands: we work together on Loren's and my training, I send you prospects I think you could help."

She sighed, resigned. "A person has to respect you, Richard. I really underestimated you. I think we can strike a deal." She reached over the desk to offer me her hand.

"Hand shake deals are my preferred way of doing business," I said as I took hers, "but in this case, I think we both need some assurances. To that end I've drawn up a more reasonable set of terms and conditions. It's in my briefcase at the door - I'll be right back."

Gordon "Gordy" Thompson - a high-school buddy of mine. We'd drifted after college, but remained aware of each other. He had risen in the ranks of attorneys, finally opening a firm that had a reputation for aggressive practices. One of the calls I'd made was to chat with Gordy about this and that. I suspected, based on his tastes, he would know a little about Anna and her "counseling."

He went silent after I mentioned her name.

"You there?"

"Yeah." He paused. "Yeah. I'm here. Don't tell me you're involved with that woman, Rick."

"She's a neighbor. Marnie...my...late wife...she said they knew each other. Why? Is there something I should know about her?"

"Seriously, Rick. She's lit up several of my dashboards over the past few years. High profile people she's been accused of blackmailing. Nothing ever sticks, but there's no question she's doing something nasty. What do you want to know?"

We chatted for two lawyer units, generous of him in terms of time and information, and I promised I'd keep my eyes open and nose clean. We agreed to have lunch in a couple of weeks.

She reviewed the revised T&Cs, struck a paragraph here, added a sentence there. She was thorough and experienced. I watched distractedly, split between her contract review and Mamiko in the other room applying some sort of contraption over Loren's exposed pussy, tying it around her hips. Loren had stopped moaning, not because she was comfortable, her breathing was evidence of her discomfort, but probably because Mamiko had forbade her from making any noise. I stared at Mamiko's naked body, her flat stomach reflecting a glow from the living room torchieres and thought about when I might fuck her.

"Okay, Rick. With one exception, I think we have a deal. Now, here's the real deal: much of the secret of my success is in the use of very carefully designed equipment. Some of it you could likely find online, at great expense, and some of it is custom designed, built by my husband. The point is, regardless of your valuation of my expertise," she paused to stare at me, "the hardware is pure genius, and I must charge for its use."

I sighed and sat back. Smiling, I turned to her. "How much?"

"So, I've been trying to figure out a fair rate. There are literally dozens of contraptions we can use - each has its creative possibilities. The little hummer Mamiko has attached to your cunt, for example, is totally custom, but something much simpler can be purchased for about $250 downtown from a great little shop I'll recommend to you. If you think you'll want to use it more often, it would be a smart buy. But for now, why don't we treat it as a rental - say $50/hour on ½ hour increments? She won't be able to take much more than 30 minutes at a time anyway. The frame is another thing entirely. That's custom built. It would likely cost you $500 from any metal worker, but it really has far greater flexibility. For that, I think $25/hour is more reasonable, and in this case, she could be attached to it for quite a while..."

"Okay, okay, I get it. But let's not nickel-and-dime me. Either, you need to draw up a schedule of rental prices on the entirety of your equipment, or we agree on a flat hourly rate." I raised my eyebrows, letting her decide how much effort she wanted to put into it.

It was her turn to sigh, taking a sip from her cocktail. "Fine. Fine. If you weren't such a great negotiator, I'd be annoyed." She smiled thinly. "Would $50/hour per piece meet with your approval?"

I almost agreed, wishing to get on with it, when it occurred to me I could be seeing $500 charges easily, depending on how "creative" she chose to get. I started laughing. "You almost had me, Anna! You're really too much."

She looked at me innocently before relaxing into a smile. "So? What do you suggest?"

"Here's the thing - I'm taking your word that the equipment is some kind of secret sauce, and at the same time, I don't want to limit our possibilities. Still, to be fair, I won't be forking over hundreds of dollars just because it suits your twisted sense of humor." I stopped, letting the indecision drift between us.

"Okay fine." She moved first to fill the void. "$200/hour with a guarantee of at least two pieces of equipment in use at any time."

"$100 and four pieces, otherwise $50. Mamiko can keep accounts." I stared at her, not knowing at all whether I was screwing myself or not.

She almost countered, stopped, and sighed. "Fine. You want to write it up?"

I added a clause, she approved it, we both initialed and signed the agreement. She made a copy of it and shoved it in a drawer, I put mine back in my briefcase.

"With that little unpleasantness out of the way, let's see how the little cunts are fairing."

She offered me her arm and we moved into the parlor.

Mamiko had taken a position outside of Loren's field of vision, holding a small remote control, staring at the television. I looked at the show she was watching, inhaling sharply when I realized it was a closed circuit video of the inside of Loren's vagina...and rectum.

Loren was struggling not to moan, her head clamped facing up, her legs spread by the frame, the contraption over her pelvis making small chug-a-chug noises, her pussy emitting small quiffs every now and again.

"What...the...fuck?" I looked over at Anna who had refreshed her drink - suggesting I do the same.

"Yes, it is a complex little twist on an endoscope. My husband was a creative little torturer. That little box over her clit is a separate item - that's something I think you should take with you...on the house," she added looking at my expression. "As that vibrator against her little clit warms her up, we get a front row seat of her arousal. Look! She how she is letting down?"

I stared at the screen and saw creamy emulsions moving against the deep red walls of her vagina. I looked quickly at Loren to see if it meant she was orgasming, but she hadn't changed her movements in any way. As I mixed a drink, I watched Mamiko adjust something on the remote and Loren jerked, the image on the screen violently jiggled.

"OOOOHHH!" She couldn't stifle her reaction. I looked again, and saw her rectum changing shape, a black finger moving in and out of the camera's field of view. The bright light illuminated her intestinal walls, bits of shit against the light pink ridges.

"Cunt," Anna stood next to her so she could see her face. "You will not climax. Is that clear?"

Loren whimpered something, apparently to Anna's satisfaction. I joined Mistress at Loren's side.

"So, Master Rick, your homework. I see you brought a couple of notebooks. I assume one is the little cunt's and one is yours?" She motioned for me to bring over a couple of chairs so we could get comfortable. At the same time, she suggested Mamiko bring the trainer. I couldn't imagine how they could fit anything more into Loren's orifices than was already there as I arranged the chairs next to her agitated body.

Mamiko brought the box from the cabinet, leaving the remote next to Anna, and knelt down next to Loren. Removing several coils of wire, clips and a black rubber object I couldn't quite make out, she concentrated on her preparations.

"Last week, we discussed a safe word. Tonight, because we may prevent your cunt from actually speaking her word, we need other means to let us know when she needs to stop. Cunt? Is there a tune you can hum no matter how much pain you're in, no matter how distracted, that we'll recognize and you'll remember?"

Loren was struggling against the device attached to her, breathing irregularly. Looking at the TV, I could see she was heavily lubricated. She began humming something I couldn't place, but I would remember.

"A childhood nursery song. Master Rick, for some submissives the use of a song from their childhood is comforting, while for others, it may be a sign of regression." She looked at me knowingly, suggesting we might need to move with caution. "Okay, Cunt. While Master Rick and I read your journal, you will not utter a sound, you will not climax, and you will not disturb us or Mamiko in any way. Is that clear?"

Loren grunted. "Yes, Mistress."

Mamiko laid a set of wires across Loren's naked ribs, pinching Loren's far nipple in her fingers, twisting and pulling it, until it was stiff and erect. With her other hand, she attached the end of one of the wires using an alligator clip. Loren arched her back, screwing up her eyes, her mouth clenched shut. She breathed hard in and out through her nose, trying to obey. In a flash, Mamiko repeated the process on the other nipple, turning her attention to the rubber object. Holding her fingers lightly to Loren's mouth, the Japanese woman indicated she should open it.

With her mouth open, her breathing was noisier as the pain from her nipples and the device in her two lower holes battered at her. Mamiko slipped the object in her mouth, and I saw that it was a mouth guard, attached with another wire. With the guard in place, Mamiko indicated Loren could clench down on it. A look of relief passed across her face, as she bore down on the rubber, releasing her pain silently into the cushion.