Spotlights

Author's Note:

This story is complete fantasy. Any resemblance to people, living or dead, companies or inventions is purely accidental.

The story will make more sense if chapters 1 to 6 are read first.

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Jenny was still drowsy and a little cold when she woke on Sunday morning. She realised she was alone in bed, lying on her back with her arms outstretched. Shifting weight on the mattress indicated to her that Peter had returned. She moved her right arm to make room for him but found it was stuck. Thinking the arm had gone to sleep, Jenny tried to rub it with her left hand; but that arm wouldn't move either. Now she was fully awake and on the edge of panic.

"Peter! Help me! I can't move my arms."

Peter put a hand on her shoulder to calm her:

"It's OK, Jenny, you're safe. I've tied you up..."

"Oh, no!" said Jenny, "Why?"

"Don't you remember? You are due a punishment from yesterday."

He spread her unresisting legs and fixed her ankles into their straps, holding her spread-eagle.

"Oh, God, Master. I hoped you were just teasing me."

Peter was adding tension to the restraints, though she felt the stretch as more sensuous than painful.

"No, I am completely serious. ... Slave, tell me how I normally punish you."

"Master, you tell me how I have erred and what my punishment will be. I apologise and you forgive me. Then you inflict the punishment as a reminder."

"Do the reminders work, Slave."

"... Not often, Master; except that they remind me how much I like you punishing me."

"Exactly! Well, one thing you did yesterday was so contrary to the essence of our relationship that I must find a new way of punishing you: one I hope you will abide by in the future."

Jenny was genuinely worried now and completely stumped as to what she had done. She thought she had been exceptionally good all day, even obeying Peter in something they agreed he would no longer demand from her.

"Master, I am sorry. Please forgive me."

"Not yet, Slave," said Peter, blindfolding her. "Your opportunity to apologise will come later. For now, I will explain how your punishment will work."

"This is a new game I have devised. I will not tell you its rules: you must discover them. I will use the cat-o-nine-tails on you. You may ask questions. The game ends when you have told me the rules of the punishment game, what you did wrong and you have apologised for it."

"If you put that brilliant brain of yours to good use, Slave, you can minimize the punishment and, I hope, remember the lesson. ... Do you have anything to say before we begin?"

"No, Master."

"Then we will start now."

Jenny forced herself to think clearly, saying to herself:

=== I suppose I can leave working out the rules of the game for now because I have no information to go on. Best discover what I did that was so serious. But if it was so serious, why did Peter not correct me immediately: why wait until the next day? Maybe it was because David and Sam were there; but then why not afterwards? What did he call it? Something like "contrary to the spirit of our relationship." What kind of thing did I do that was contr... ===

Whack. Peter whipped the 'cat' over Jenny's taut stomach.

"Ouch!" Jenny cried, more from shock than pain. The tips of the 'cat' stung only a little. She waited anxiously for another strike but there was no repeat blow, so she went back to trying to work out what she had done wrong, thinking:

=== It would help to know what I did wrong if I knew when I had done it. The hypothesis is that it occurred when David and Sam were here, so what happened during that time? They arrived, we chatted, had drinks, dinner, argument over the project and then the punishment session for Sam. I resisted when Peter told me to strip but that was before he had ordered me. I complied when he made it an order. Besides, I had a good reason to fear for my sore bottom. Maybe ... ===

Jenny was whacked on her right thigh.

"Ouch!"

=== I've really got to get better at this. I'm getting nowhere and Peter is whacking me. Maybe I should try to discover what the rules are. ===

"Master, why are you whacking me?"

Peter did not answer but he said "One."

=== Oh, God. What is he counting for? ===

"Do I have a limited number of questions I can ask?"

"No," Peter replied and whacked a stinging blow on her left thigh.

"Ouch!"

"Two."

=== Two? I'll ignore the numbers and get back to thinking about what I did wrong. I am sure it was to do with the bondage session but I need to eliminate the other times. It might be because I woke him up yesterday morning... ===

"Master, am I being punished for waking you up yesterday morning?"

"No."

Whack, "Ouch!"

"Three."

=== That's good, anyway. OK. I need to find out when it happened. ===

"Master, will you tell me when I committed the error?"

"No."

Whack, "Ouch!"

"Four."

=== I understand. That means I have to work it out for myself. ===

"I think it was something I did when Samantha and David were here, Master."

Peter did not respond.

"Five."

=== The counting goes on without the whipping but it seems that Peter does not reply unless I ask a yes-no question. ===

"Master, was it something I did when Samantha and David were here?"

"Yes ... Six." There was no stroke from the 'cat'.

"Master, was it before or after dinner?"

"Yes ... Seven." There was no stroke from the 'cat'.

=== What a stupid question! Logically the answer is "Yes" and I've learned nothing: so much for my brilliant mind. Come on, Jenny! get thinking. It's curious, for instance, that there was no whacking for the last two questions. ===

"Master, was it before dinner?"

"No."

Peter gave two swipes to her stomach. Whack, "Ouch!" Whack, "Ouch!"

"Eight."

=== Two whacks! Why? To make up for one of those he let me off earlier, perhaps? God! Jenny, stop speculating and get some data. These strikes are beginning to hurt. ===

Jenny's thighs and belly were now a bright pink, going red in places. Her cries were getting louder as the whipping stung more.

"Master, was it after dinner?"

"Yes ... Nine." There were no strokes from the 'cat'.

=== So what happened after dinner? Peter lent me to David and we had our session. I resisted him giving me to David: it might have been that. What else? I nearly lost to David. Would Peter punish me for that? Would that be a significant breach of our rules? What happened after the session? I went to comfort Sam, then David and Sam left. Oh, God! I called him a "stupid man." Oh, no! How could I have done that? How could I have been so stupid. It was the excitement, the bondage, the stimula...===

Whack, "Ouch!" Whack, "Ouch!"

Peter hit Jenny's upper arms.

=== I think I have learned a rule, at last, though I wish I didn't have to be beaten to learn it. I get whacked if I am silent too long. ===

"Master, was it because I called you a 'stupid man'?"

"No."

Whack, "Ouch!" Whack, "Ouch!"

Jenny's upper arms were going as red as her thighs and stomach.

"Ten."

=== I was sure that was it but I am glad it wasn't. I should narrow down the time some more... ===

"Master, was it when you lent me to David?"

"Yes. ... Eleven." No strokes of the 'cat'.

=== I can guess another rule: he whacks me only when he answers 'No'. Now what could I have done when I was lent to David? I did not follow him immediately; but Peter had not officially given me to him. Best eliminate that possibility, anyway. ===

"Master, was it because I did not go immediately with David?"

"No."

Peter delivered three whacks to her stomach and each thigh, receiving three loud yelps from Jenny.

"Twelve."

=== Three whacks! This will hurt badly if I don't get better at it. ===

"Master, was it before I went with David?"

"Yes. ... Thirteen." No whacks.

"Master, was it before I had stripped?"

"Yes. ... Fourteen." No whacks.

=== That narrows it down but also confuses me. Which bit does Master think I mean by being lent to David? Was it when he first ordered me to strip, or when he said he was lending me to David, or when he ordered me to go with David? ===

"Master, was it when you ordered me to strip."

"Yes. ... Fifteen." No whacks.

=== At first, I refused to strip but then Peter invoked 'bedroom rules' and I knelt. Then I tried to know what Master intended. Was it then? ===

"Master, I refused to strip at first, was it something to do with that refusal?"

"Yes. ... Sixteen."

"Master, I argued with you instead of obeying, was it my disobedience?"

"No, Slave, it wasn't, but you are almost there, so I will give you a chance to reduce the punishment you just earned. Tell me how many strokes you are due and I will reduce them by two."

"Four, Master."

"Correct, Slave. How is it worked out?"

"Master, you are counting my statements, whether they are questions or not. For every five, you add another stroke. You last counted 'sixteen'."

"Slave, you are a genius. That's why I love you, not only for your beautiful tits. You are due two strokes, now. Are you ready?"

"Yes, Master."

Peter whacked Jenny on her upper arms. She was really feeling the punishment now and cried out at each strike.

"Seventeen."

"Master, I can't think what I did when I refused to strip and you had to invoke 'bedroom rules', except that I hesitated and did not obey immediately. Is that it?"

"No, Jenny. You did more than just hesitate. You tried to argue. What reason did you have for not complying?"

"I didn't give you a reason, Master, but I later mentioned about my sore bottom."

"Was that the real reason, though, Jenny?"

"No, Master," she said, finally understanding, her voice catching as she caught a sob: "Master, I didn't trust you. That's why I stalled and tried to argue. I am sorry, Master. I forgot."

"You have worked it out well, my love. We will discuss the principle of trust later, but for now I owe you one more punishment. Are you prepared?"

"Yes, Master."

Peter delivered four medium whacks to her reddened arms and thighs. These brought only grunts from Jenny.

"We will be done when you tell me the rules of this punishment game, Jenny."

"Master, you only answer yes-no questions. You count the number of my statements. You strike me a number of times depending on how high you have counted, in multiples of five, and you strike me if I remain silent for a time..."

"How long, Jenny?"

"... A minute, I think, Master. And you strike me every time you answer 'No' to a question."

"So can you bring the game to an end now, Slave?"

"Yes, Master. The game ends when I have told you my error and apologised for it. My error was not to trust you, Master. Please forgive me, Master, for not trusting you?"

"I forgive you, my clever lovely Slave: I knew you would work it out."

Jenny basked in his praise and felt good, despite her apprehension about having to explain why she had not trusted her Master and what it meant.

Peter undid her blindfold and kissed her. Then he loosened her straps and allowed her to go to the bathroom.

When Jenny was back, Peter held her in his arms and tried to kiss away all her worries. Her punishment had warmed her up and left her with a pink blush, red in places, as the marks from the 'cat' began to fade.

They sat up on the bed facing each other and Peter talked:

"Slave, you said yesterday that I tricked you when I lent you to David. That was true and I enjoyed doing it; but it required you to trust me, which you did not completely. That was against our principles, but I understand that you did not want me to give you to David for sex and you suspected that I might have done so. Now, instead of stalling and arguing with me, tell me what you ought to have done, Jenny."

"I should have trusted you, Master, and obeyed."

"Yes, but what if you did not want to sleep with David?"

Jenny thought for a few seconds and understood. She answered quietly, her head down:

"Master, I should have used a safe word."

"Exactly, Jenny! ... If you want me to control you, if you want to surrender completely to me, then you must trust and obey me. But more important, I need to trust you, Jenny. I need to be able to trust you to use your safe words."

Peter lifted her chin and looked seriously at her:

"I know you, Jenny. You will push yourself beyond your limits in your eagerness to please me. So far, there have been no bad consequences other than bruises; but our bondage sessions have always been completely private between us. Now we are friends of David and Samantha, who are much more experienced than us, I need to be able to trust you not to go too far."

"What do you mean, Master."

"I don't mean wife-swapping parties or bondage dungeons; I mean that Sam will tell you stories of what she and David have done and you will doubtless find yourself wanting to try those things yourself."

"I am not always so impressionable, Master."

"Need I remind you of the slave collar, the horrible penis gag and the gargoyle nipple-clamps? God knows what else you have bought and been ashamed to show me."

"I understand, Master. I will try to be guided by you."

"My point, Jenny, is that you are the more adventurous of us and while I am willing to test your limits more seriously, I need to know that I can rely on you stopping me when it gets too much. Can I trust you, Jenny?"

"Yes, Master."

"Yesterday, I hit Sam harder than I had ever hit anyone and I am sure she has enjoyed even harder punishments in harder restraints. I don't want anything like that inflicted on you, Jenny. Can I have your promise?"

"Master, I promise to use my safe words to protect myself. I promise, Master."

"Good Slave. I love you."

"I love you, Master."

As always, seeing his beautiful slave suffer in her restraints had sent a powerful urge to Peter's loins. He tied Jenny to the bed again spread-eagle.

He kissed her mouth, lightly stroking her with one hand from thigh to shoulder. Jenny thought she had no sex-drive left after the last two days' frantic couplings but Peter's gentle touch and his probing tongue triggered the age-old biological programming and soon she was warming up again, desiring a firmer touch.

Peter noticed Jenny's nipples hardening as he varied his stroke to cup a breast. He detached himself from her mouth and kissed down from her chin to her collar-bone, flicking his tongue on her neck. Jenny sighed her approval. From her collar-bone, Peter kissed to a shoulder, then down her ribs and across her flat stomach with its hints of muscle; all the time continuing his gentle stroking and fondling.

Jenny wanted to run her nails along his back but could only squirm against the bonds, the restraint building up her sexual ache.

Peter kissed Jenny's mouth again and carried his stroking to her pussy, pleased to find it damp, her labia swollen. With one had cupping Jenny's left breast, Peter pushed two gentle fingers into her vulva while he put his mouth on her right breast and licked her nipple. Jenny writhed in her bonds, urging Peter on to use her more strongly.

"Oh God, Master! More, please Master, harder!"

Peter obliged his Slave, sucking vigorously at her tit and thrusting his fingers into her vagina, making her buck. He kissed from her breast to her clitoris and flicked it with his tongue while fucking her ever more roughly with his fingers. Jenny was close to an orgasm now and was moaning his name when Peter moved his mouth back to her breast and made her gasp with his powerful suction.

His slave being good and ready, Peter stripped, lay on Jenny, kissed her deeply and pushed his hard penis into her, thrusting with long, slow strokes, gradually increasing his speed as Jenny responded with urgent needy cries.

Jenny tensed and arched her back as she reached a peak, her spasm rewarding Peter with the pleasure he never tired of taking from her body. He thrust faster and soon another orgasm had Jenny crying out her joy, bucking and writhing. Then Peter's own climax overtook him. He kissed Jenny deeply while his throbbing penis shot a load of semen into her and her vagina walls rippled with another climax.

Peter kept Jenny on her sexual high for some time after he pulled out of her using the same gentle strokes, kisses and fondling with which he had begun, enjoying her spasmodic aftershocks. He loved the far-away look on her face and her deep contented sighs as she floated in her Ocean Place. Eventually, he had to let her come down, though: there were things to do today before they could visit David and Samantha in the afternoon and one important idea he had to try out on her.

After they had showered and dressed, they did housework (so many bed sheets to clean and clothes pegs to pick up) until they stopped for a late lunch, during which Peter said:

"By the way, Jenny, I may have a solution to your technical problem with Lumenite."

Jenny was keenly interested.

"You can get power to the luminescent dots of the material all right but the communications signal that tells the dots what colour and how brightly to glow dissipates after about a foot, correct?" Jenny nodded. "So why cannot the power also carry the signal?"

Jenny fetched her notepad and pencil. She briefly sketched the circuit and said:

"Show me."

Peter took her pencil and drew two components into the circuit:

"Look, Jenny, here, where you rectify the current, simply add the signal to it, like a wiggle on top of the standing wave; and here, at every grid of dots, you read it off."

"I understand. It's like using the house mains as telephone wires, so if I plugged a telephone handset into the kitchen mains and you plugged one into the mains in the lounge, we could talk; that is, until someone turned on the vacuum cleaner, then all we'd hear would be crackles."

"True; but your luminescent dots are much less noisy than an electric motor and the signal would remain clean. I think this will work, Jenny."

"I think so, too, Darling. Which of us is the genius now?"

"You still are, Jenny. You got us the loan extension to save Culpepper Electronics; and now you can get Sam to invest in Culpepper's newest invention and we're home and dry. What do you think?"

"I think we make a great team, Master."

"So do I, Slave."

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Spotlights concludes in chapter 8.