The Buyer

Anna worked her way through the flat starting with the kitchen, still naked as she tidied and scrubbed. She found a radio in one of the closets and carried it with her from room to room, switching idly between music and talk radio in an effort to keep both her mind and her soul lively.

As she washed the floors in the kitchen she reviewed the sex and the blowjob for things she should have picked up on but might not have, and thought about other things she should do or try.

As she dusted the tops of frames in the living room she thought about the proposals for the national budget being debated and picked apart which ones she thought would be most likely to encourage job creation.

As she changed the sheets on the buyer's bed, she wondered what Mark was up to. Was there a girl making his bed right now? What was the time difference between Dublin and Hong Kong, anyway? Who would see to his needs? Would they know what he liked best, or would he have to remind them over and over?

A familiar song started on the radio and she paused mid-pillow-fluff, lost for a moment. The reminder of Mark was intense enough to be painful, and she sank slowly to the edge of the bed, staring into space. It was the first time she'd allowed herself to think of him, nothing but him, and how much she missed him. The feelings washed over her with the music, and as the last chords faded she steeled herself, walling off the overwhelming longing so she could continue with her duties.

As the afternoon progressed, Anna made sure to take enough time to get ready without rushing or getting sloppy. At 6:45 she was ready to go, neatly put together in a modest but form-fitting black dress, her collar set off tastefully by the neckline. She turned off the radio and sat on the couch, legs crossed, one high-heeled shoe dangling from her toe, gazing out the window over the river.

She stood when she heard the key in the lock, walking to the door and smiling and kneeling as the buyer entered. He shook his head. "No, stand. Let me see you." She did so, her smile widening, and he took a long look at her from head to toe. Anna wasn't sure if she was being inspected or admired. She tipped her head forward respectfully and kept her eyes lowered until he spoke. "Let's go." When she lifted her eyes she saw he'd offered his arm, and she took it as they went.

The buyer was silent on the way out except to instruct the taxi driver where to take them, but started to chat after they were seated at their table. The restaurant was dimly lit and classy, and Anna relaxed into the role of new girlfriend that their surroundings and the buyer's slightly awkward attempts at conversation seemed to suggest. They picked wine together, but the buyer asked Anna to narrow her own meal selection to two dishes that he made the final decision on. She accepted this without batting an eyelash, and as they started on their first glass of wine they eased into conversation.

Anna asked about what he did, where he was from, and what films he'd seen lately. They chatted about books and ideas; it seemed he mostly read business "literature," which Anna had no patience for, but they were able to talk about the concepts presented in some of his favourites. She gently steered the conversation towards sex and relationships twice, but was met with abrupt changes of subject and she eventually let it go. He paced them through a single bottle of wine over the course of the entire meal, and by the time they left Anna was clear headed but relaxed. She tingled a little and thought about what she would do to him later that night.

They continued to chat on the way back from dinner, though Anna found herself doing more of the talking as they drew closer to the flat. When they returned he locked the door behind them and gave her a long look, eyes running over her form in the long dress. "Take everything off. Then come into the living room."

She nodded, a tiny bow in the movement, and murmured "Yes Master," before turning quickly and heading into the bedroom, her heels clicking on the floor until she kicked them off in front of the closet. She emerged a few moments later, naked and smooth and soft, wearing only the gold collar locked around her neck, and started to kneel at the door to the living room.

He shook his head, gesturing for her to come over to the table where he stood. She did, and as soon as she reached the large oak table he put a hand on her back and pushed gently. She folded forward, instinctively reaching across the table and holding the other side, stretching herself out. "Good girl," he murmured, and walked to the other side, cuffing her wrists and securing them to something she couldn't see and tightening until she was stretched hard against the table. "Try those," he commanded, and she tugged. There was no give in the restraints. "Try harder," he said again. She squirmed and obeyed, clenching her hands into fists and pulling as hard as she could, bracing herself against the table. They held fast. "Good girl," he said again, then walked behind her.

Anna shifted a little on the table, rotating her body and testing her range of motion. A moment later she felt cuffs at her ankles, securing them in place against one another. She wiggled more, her body wedged into place in a hard L against the table, then settled again, taking a long breath.

"That'll do," he said, and Anna listened carefully as he walked around, beyond her peripheral vision. A few moments later she felt him standing beside her, then lay something across her ass. She froze and tensed, believing until the last possible moment that what she thought was going to happen would not actually happen...then all doubt was erased as he lifted the cane and brought it down hard across her buttocks.

Anna screamed, as much from surprise as pain. She twisted her head around to try and look at him, eyes wide, "No marks, no damage, that was in the contract," she protested desperately, her mind filled with fear of what would happen when Mark saw her ass striped with welts.

He replied with another smack of the cane, and she cried out again. "I have to

return

you undamaged." Another stroke, this one making her eyes water, positioned slightly lower down. She realized in horror he was working his way down her ass. "So I have to do this early." The next stroke fell. "Leave time for you to heal up." And another, moving over the curve of her ass and down towards her thighs. She struggled against the restraints, trying to find weaknesses in them, trying desperately to get away, and failing.

By the time he'd reached the backs of her knees she stopped trying to get away and could only cry out and pull against the restraints. She gibbered more protestations, but those eventually fell away. He spoke between strokes but she stopped understanding the words, blinded and deafened by pain and fear, mind racing.

He worked his way down her legs, then returned to her ass and worked his way up her back as her screams rose and fell. When he'd finished, he uncuffed her ankles, turned her over so her arms were crossed and her tits faced up, secured her ankles again, and laid a progression of stripes from her tits to her toes, not even sparing the smooth mound of her pussy.

Anna sobbed helplessly, gasping for a long while after he'd finished, eyes closed tightly shut as he admired his handiwork. "Lovely," he murmured. Anna's entire body was on fire, and when he uncuffed her she was only able to slide weakly off the table, crumpling into a heap at his feet. "I don't expect you'll be moving much tonight, but you still have to sleep in the cage." He nudged her with his foot, and she shuddered, summoning the last of her strength to crawl over to the cage, enter it, then curl up, her entire world alight with pain.

The buyer picked up his computer from the desk and went into his room, turning off the living room light as he left. Anna lay curled on the floor of the cage, arms wrapped around herself, shaking and willing herself to relax. It was a long time before she could, before the loud buzz of her panicked mind subsided and she found she could think again. Her body throbbed and she lay there for a moment, drawing a few long breaths. Then, and only then, she cried, unable to stop until she lost consciousness.