Scott

Scott King had retired from his life as a Marine Corps engineering officer at the age of 42. Really, the movies and media made a military career seem a lot more exciting than it really was and, for the most part, he'd come out of it with just a few scars from his point of view.

Well, okay, he also lost an eye and had it replaced with a milky fake.

Also, it took six months after he got home to realize he had to find something to do with his free time besides hunting, first person shooters, and Dungeons and Dragons on Saturday nights at the comic book store, or he'd go fucking insane.

And then a week after that he'd run into a guy named Dominic Santiago who had a disposition to seriously kinky sex, who introduced him to another person named Foxx Wyte. Foxx took one look at Scott King and asked him how he felt about bartending for a somewhat rowdy crowd at his clubs.

Scott had laughed at that. "I'd almost pay you to let me do it at the moment."

Foxx's club took the edge off the boredom like a charm. For the most part, people didn't give Scott any problems. All they had to do was look at him to know they didn't want to cross him. What was more, he found that he wasn't just mildly interested in the kinky play. He found himself at Wyte's more often than he actually had to work. He also discovered the joy of spending a night or two with a soft female submissive, teaching her how to please him. And it wasn't hard, not at all, at least not for him. Maybe it was his personality. Maybe he just had a dominating air. As for structure and rules for little submissives, well that he had down easily. He'd spent over 20 years with structure and rules. The softness of a female beneath him, bowing to the rigidity that he couldn't rid himself of... well, it was just heaven.

His favorite night was Monday nights, oddly enough. They were a bit more quiet than the wild weekend. On the first Monday of the month, Foxx opened his doors to new clients too, which was always fun. Some of them found exactly what they hoped for when they came to a club like Wyte's. Some of them blushed adorably. Some of them looked like they found themselves through the looking glass in a kinky wonderland.

And of course the older clients could return as well. Everything was supervised by monitors just like it always was.

He always worked Monday nights. The rest of the week days he traded off with a firecracker of a girl named Hunter, but Mondays were his.

He mixed a Jack and Coke for a girl who had spent a solid 20 minutes staring at him, trying to figure out if she had enough courage to approach him and ask for more liquid courage. Poor thing had finally turned around to see Troy Howell flogging a little female across a pommel horse by the back wall and decided she'd face Scott for the alcohol.

"Going to survive?" He smiled at her playfully.

At last, a little tension seemed to leave her. "I think so. This place is... weird."

Scott laughed and set the small glass in front of her. "Not too fast now, little one. Why not just look around and come back to explore some more?"

The girl grinned shyly. "I like that idea."

Scott winked with his good eye. At least she seemed like she liked Wyte's even if she seemed shocked to fear at the moment. When he turned around, though, the girl he saw next was definitely not okay.

For starters she didn't even look old enough to be at any bar, let alone Wyte's bar. For another she had her hair tied back to reveal pink hearing aids and a set of glasses with a crack on the bridge that looked like she'd superglued for a quick fix.

And last and most obviously, she looked like she was shell shocked.

Honestly, he couldn't even begin to guess how the tiny little stray had found herself in the club in the first place. No real friend of this girl would bring her to this place. If he didn't know Wyte's doorkeeper, Brian Conway to be solid as hell at keeping strictures, he'd wonder if she wasn't too young to be here. Christ she didn't even seem like she'd ever be in a normal club, let alone a goddamn fetish one.

"Can I help you?" He said it as gently as possible, but still she flinched in fear and she couldn't seem to stop staring at his eye. He didn't think she was ever going to get around to answering until she opened her mouth and quietly mumbled something under her breath. Scott willed himself patience. "I'm sorry, honey, what was that?"

She managed to raise her voice to the squeak of a mouse. "I said I think I can help you." And then she held up his wallet.

Scott stared and checked his pockets. Now how the hell had she gotten that? The only place he'd gone before work was...

Suddenly, he recognized the little girl. The comic book store. She picked up graphic novels and played dungeon board games sometimes. He could just barely place her. In all the times he'd been at the store, he'd never heard her talk. She never came or went with anyone. She hung out a little and was social as much as she was able, which didn't seem to be much.

Scott reached across the bar and took his wallet from her. "Thank you, honey. Did you venture in here solely to give this back to me?"

She bit her lip and looked around and Scott knew what the answer had to be. She nodded to confirm it. "Uh huh."

He rubbed his hand through his hair in frustration. The girl didn't seem to talk. He knew a few people with hearing problems, though, and most of them didn't seem to like too much excess noise. "Dominic!"

The burly porn star crossed to him in monitor leathers. He glanced at the tiny girl with a raised eyebrow and then back at Scott. "What's up?"

"Mind bartending for a bit?"

Dominic looked back at the little girl and then smiled at him. "Not at all. Go for it."

"Thanks." Scott walked around the bar and took the girl's hand. She blinked up at him like she was this side of an anxiety problem. "Come on. Let's go somewhere less chaotic, so I can say thank you and you can calm down."

She still didn't say anything. She just nodded and let herself be led. Scott took her back to the hallways and passed the back playrooms up. He went to the back offices instead, the tamest place in Wyte's building.

When he held the door open for her and she stepped inside to the quieter room, she smiled with relief and Scott felt a rush of pride.

He'd guessed one correct count at least. "What's your name, honey?"

Now she grinned up at him and pushed her glasses delicately on her nose. "Cassie. You're Scott."

He smiled back. "That I am, little one. Brave of you to come into this heathen den to give that to me." She giggled at that and Scott had to smile at the sound. Like a fairy, a tiny pixie creature.

"I always sat at the table by yours to play our board games. The owner, David, wasn't sure what to do when he found your wallet, said you would need it by the end of the night some time."

Scott sat down in an office chair and patted the seat of a fold out across from him. Cassie didn't think twice, just obeyed the unspoken invitation and stared up at him with guileless crystal blue eyes. Lord, this girl didn't need to be in this place. It was like seeing a mouse walk into a cat house. "He wasn't wrong. I do need that."

She looked down and fidgeted with something. When Scott looked closer he realized it was a Hellraiser puzzle box keychain on her car keys. Right beside that was the cutest little kitten keychain. "He said you're a marine."

Scott chuckled. "Guess that is the most notable bit. I was one. Retired."

"Oh. You're scary."

He laughed at that one. "And why am I scary?"

"Because you were a marine." She said the word like it made him a god. "And you do this stuff in your spare time."

Scott shook his head ruefully. "I'm stuck being scary forever then." And yet she was still in the room with him. She could have easily left after giving him his wallet and even shy and quiet as she was, she seemed happy to stay in the room and speak with him, even if her speaking seemed to be like pulling teeth. And there was another thing... Scott liked that she was still there. She made him feel protective.

She looked up at him. "Er. Do I need to go, sir?"

Scott grabbed hold of his control, caught off guard that he might need it. "No, little one. Do you want to stay and talk with me? How do you feel about the club?"

She blushed. Furiously. And then a slow little odd grin spread across her face like she just couldn't help it, no matter how shy she was. "It's different," she answered with a giggle.

Scott laughed and his spirit soared. So she might have been scared to bloody death over it at first but something in her seemed to like it the same way a sheltered child liked seeing their first rated R movie. "Different is probably an adequate word. Would you like to see some toys?"

Her eyes widened. "T-toys?"

Scott had no idea what he was thinking. Actually, he did. He wasn't thinking. And he was feeling a lot like he wanted to see that shy, mischievous grin spread across Cassie's face again. He smiled. "Toys." There was a larger armoire in the corner of the office space. Scott opened it, grabbed a few things, and walked back to her. "For instance, this is a ball gag." He held it out to her and Cassie blinked.

She reached out and took it tentatively. "I know what these are."

Scott smiled. "Do you know what they feel like?"

Cassie shivered and shook her head, brushing her short red hair away from her face. "No, sir."

He beckoned and kept his voice soft. "Come here."

Wonder of wonders, but she obeyed. She stood from her chairs and stepped up to him. Even when he was sitting, she was just barely taller than he was. Scott tugged her gently between his knees and took the ball gag from her. "Open your mouth." She stared nervously and just barely opened her jaw. Scott had to smile. He pressed the gag to her lips until she got the picture and her mouth creaked open wider and wider. When it was finally holding her jaws open, he slipped the straps over her head and tightened them.

"There we go." His voice was still soft, still soothing. His fingertips tingled where he'd brushed her cheek and hair. And oh how he wanted to do that again. That and so much more. "There are these too." He held up a set of soft fur lined straps with a short chain to connect them in the middle. "Put your arms behind your back and I'll show you."

Again, Cassie blinked at him and then obeyed. She placed her arms behind her and turned around to let Scott have easier access, which - filthy lecher that he was - he took full advantage of. He secured the cozy little cuffs above her elbows and connected the chain between them. When he turned Cassie back around to face him, her eyes were wide. She seemed to try to look over her shoulder to see her bonds and shifted in the cuffs.

Scott lifted his hand and almost hesitantly brushed her hair, sighing at the soft feel. "Kneel down between my legs, won't you? It'll be comfortable on Foxx's carpet, I promise, and you can lean against me."

Still, he held perfect muted control. She blinked at him a moment and then silently made to kneel. Scott gave her support with a careful touch to her shoulders and she settled on the floor between his legs. Gently, he pressed her head for her to lay it quietly on his knee.

And then he just kept her there and stroked her hair. Softly, slowly he stroked. He looked at the hearing aids. "Can you hear me?"

A calm nod answered him. Scott smiled. "With most playmates you would have a play collar on. Sometimes a collar can be symbolic of a slave. Others it's merely useful to have another ring to secure a playmate with, and then it is removed when the playtime is over. Let me show you." He took the small collar he'd sat by his chair and gently lifted her head to wrap it under her neck and brushed her hair out of the way to secure it. Like the cuffs, it was nice and easy. Pleasantly fur lined. "Now there's another little ring at your neck, to tie you by, or give you a leash with. A lot of little submissives like the feel of that. It's comforting to be led. You can let the stress of decisions fall away and just obey. It's even more comforting to feel a leash at your throat when you've messed up and need punishment. When your master is paddling you and you want to cry, but then there's the light little tug on the leash. A little reminder that master has you and you're safe." What he had picked up really quick wasn't exactly a leash. It was just a chain but it worked well enough. He gently found the ring on her collar and clipped the chain to it. He gave it a soft little tug in his hand and Cassie moved with it, pulling closer to his body and facing him. He lifted her head with a finger under her chin, so that he could look into her eyes.

Cassie looked downright adorable. With her arms trussed behind her and the soft collar nestled at her neck with the chain lead in his hand, she looked like she belonged safely between his knees. What was more, the look in her eyes was absent the stark anxiety of before. Instead, she was just sedated and listening to his every word. "There we are. Now you seem calmer. Away from all that noise." He adjusted the skewed glasses on her nose and pressed against her head so that she lay against his knees again. "I'm not so scary for this, am I?"

She shook her head against his knee and nuzzled him. Scott adjusted the lead tighter in his hand and picked up another toy. "This one is a little less gentle if needs be. It's called a quirt, little one."

He fit the strap around his wrist held the handle, lifting it so that the two short tails of the small whip stroked Cassie's cheek. She stared at it and shied away as best she could on her leash.

Scott chuckled. "No, no. No pain for you. Just to show you. And it can be used for pleasure. This is one of my favorites. I've always thought the larger whips were too flashy. The quirt is smaller and easy. It's like the riding crop, very good for training." He watched as a shiver seemed to go through Cassie just at the word. He tightened his grip on his self control along with his grip on her leash. "Training is one of my favorites, really. I love teaching a submissive how to please me, how to behave. I love how nice and cozy they get in their collars. I love how they are after a punishment, when all is right with the world again after a screw up and they cuddle up all soft and sweet again."

Cassie was still so calm against him, but every now and again a tremor betrayed her. Scott smiled. And then he decided he wanted this one. This impaired, quiet little girl. He wanted to train her and watch her come to life when she felt safest.

***

Cassie had never been a profane girl. She'd always been the good child, the little princess, the quiet little reader.

But holy fucking god. She was wicked horny.

Sure, she'd lain in bed with her hellraiser fanfiction and gotten herself off where no one would ever know. She'd read different stories and twisted scenarios and gotten powerfully aroused by some of the strangest things. So she wasn't absolutely pure.

But this was downright sinful.

For a start, Scott King was a monster of a man. He had gray strands running through his dark hair, his skin was tan and course from elements and scarring, and of course there was that bloody petrifying eye of his. But he also seemed like a really good guy from all the times she'd seen and watched him at the comic book store. He played Dungeons and Dragons every Saturday night. His character at the moment was a ranger. He was always polite to anyone she'd ever seen him speak to and he had a sense of humor that seemed to know no bounds. He talked about books with the manager of the store, along with first person shooters, movies, and a whole list of topics.

But more to the point, he was first and foremost a feeling of safety. He was the kind of guy people instinctively wanted around during a crisis. Trussed and gagged as she was at his knees, it made her disappointed that he wasn't going to use the quirt on her. She had zero doubt of this man's control.

"Would you like that, little one? Would you like being at my knees while I teach you to please me?"

She moaned in reply around her gag. Scott King was like a god she dreamed about from afar. He was everything her life wasn't. Control, structure, security. And a stupidly handsome devil dog.

He chuckled in reply. "I'm glad to hear it. I would like that as well." Gently he loosened the ball gag from her head and tugged it out of her mouth. Cassie worked her jaw a bit after the wide gag and smiled up at him.

Now that she was free to talk, she felt a little more anxiety returning and that terrible shyness she could never seem to shake made her hide her face against his knees again.

He laughed. "No, no. None of that." He lifted her face back to look at him again. "Would you like to come back here tomorrow night?"

"Yes, sir," she whispered breathlessly.

"Good girl. That sounds perfect. I don't work tomorrow and we'll have more time."

"But I don't want to go home," she whispered.

He gave her a stern gaze. "You will. When I untie you, you will leave Wyte's and go, safely, to your home. Wait." He thought a moment. "Do you have ice cream at your house?"

She tilted her head at the weird question. "Yes. Rainbow Sherbert. It's my favorite."

He grinned. "Good. What about food?"

Her brow furrowed. "Um. A frozen pizza. Canned soups. Eggs. Bread."

He made a face at her list. "Christ, that's not good. Still, though, I think I can work with it. Do you have cheese?"

She nodded, a bit confused. "Yeah."

Scott grinned in satisfaction. "Egg and cheese sandwich. If you have ham or turkey that would be better to add to it too."

Cassie blinked at him. "What?"

He tapped her nose in answer, smiling. "It's what you're going to make yourself to eat before bed tonight, little one. And you may have as much ice cream as your little heart desires."

"Oh." She blinked, but she smiled. "Well, okay, then."

"Good girl. You're going to send me a picture of your food after you make it and then you're going to curl up in bed with your favorite blanket and send me a good night text."

Cassie was smiling again. She wasn't used to being told what to eat and wasn't really sure what she had signed on to, but it made her happy. She liked how easy it seemed when he lined it up as a schedule.

And he was petting her again. She could easily obey under the secure safety of his hand. She nuzzled his palm happily. "Later we will set your schedule so that you aren't eating before bed and we'll make you a shopping list." He stroked her hair gently. "And little one?"

Cassie looked up at him. "Yes, sir?"

He smiled wickedly. "Don't touch your pussy. Only Daddy gets to take care of that, understood?"

The shyness that always kept Cassie quiet finally broke. She arched in her bonds and whimpered. "Oh my god..."

Scott laughed and drew her closer. "And there we are. There's our little girl."

***

Cassie's apartment was tiny, but she liked it that way. It was a little bit away from Wyte's and most other places of note, but that was okay. There was a little kitchen that curved around to a small living room. Behind one door was a bedroom that connected to a little bathroom.

What was better about it was that rent was based on income. She had to take online college classes while working an odd swing shift at a hotel, but it worked out. True, she also didn't have much for excess, but for a 21 year old about to finish college it wasn't bad. She was near enough to her school.

And she could keep her black tabby cat, Tarl Cabot.

He jumped on her as soon as she walked in the door everyday and kneaded his paws against her leg until she picked him up and cooed at him. "And how was your day today, valiant kitty?"