***Part 2***
Colton Broderick Keene is a man who wears a big silver watch -- he'd probably call it a 'time piece'. It is the first thing I notice when he meets us the first time, in the sitting room of the main house of his estate, coming toward us in a muted-colored suit that is tailored to hug his substantial body and emphasize the masculine muscles and bulges of him.
Dylan told me on our way here that there was an 'estate'. That his father was rich by the Vow. I got nervous.
"Don't worry about it," he said as he put his hand on my thigh. "He's not a rich asshole type. He's just my dad, and he's good at what he does. That's why he deserves his wealth. It's all how it's supposed to be." His pinky finger stroked the inside of my thigh. "You'll see."
"Dad." Dylan greets him with a bear hug.
"Son." Colton claps him on the back once. "Good to see you."
Then his face turns to me. I try and fail to not stare at the scar bisecting his cheek from his mouth all the way to his ear, made more obvious by the more-salt-than-pepper beard around it.
Dylan told me once about the car accident. His mom tragically died in it. His three-year-old self and his father survived with broken bones, concussions, and scratches, thanks to a man who pulled them both out of the wreck. This man also gave the grieving Colton his copy of the Penitent's Vow when he was in hospital, "and the rest is history," as Dylan puts it.
I smile at my future father-in-law. "Hello, Mr Keene. I'm so glad to finally meet you. I'm-"
"I know who you are," he interrupts, and his tone of voice and relaxed sort of command is immediately familiar. His son has it, too. I click my jaw shut.
Mr Keene looks me up and down in my sundress-and-denim-jacket combo. His eyes get stuck on my chest for a second. My cheeks heat. The dress is quite modest in terms of the height of its collar, but the fabric is airy. It is not
meant
to be worn without a bra.
"They are clamped properly?" he asks.
They
prick up as though they realize they're being mentioned. The dull pain gets more acute.
I open my mouth to reply somehow -- even though I'm not sure what I even want to say -- but Dylan preempts me.
"Of course," he says with a smirk and a shrug. "Can't have her in the car for four hours without something to distract her from her cunt on the seat."
"Dylan!" I gasp. My face feels like it's on fire. Belatedly, I wrap my jacket around my upper body more to shield my nipples from view. The jostle and pressure on my tender tits make the pain flare up again and I flinch. "Please!"
Neither of the men minds me.
"Unless you ramp up and then bring down the pain continuously, you'll just condition and desensitize her, son." Colton's gaze fixes on me again. "I bet she's already leaking into her panties because her greedy clit is envious of the nips."
Dylan laughs, carefree. "I kinda like it that way, to be honest." He slings an arm around my shoulders and smiles at my embarrassed moue. "And if anything, she's leaking down her legs. She has lost her panty privileges last night."
"You'll tell me about it during dinner," Dylan's father states. "You can take her to your rooms now and relax until then. Make sure she's ready for the first lection tonight."
"You want to start tonight already?"
Colton glances at me again, then turns back to his son. "From the looks of it, we should have started years ago. We should not waste another day."
I shiver despite the balmy air, mostly at the feeling of the wet trail creeping down the inside of my thigh.
***
Dylan and his father talk about life and business over dinner -- salmon and asparagus and an expensive-looking bottle of white wine -- which we enjoy on the back porch. The food and drink are delicious, the scenery is wonderful.
Still, I can't relax even a little bit. I nibble the food and sip my wine and feel like I'm sitting on nettles. For once, it's not because of anything Dylan has done -- although the lack of underwear, for which he is responsible, heightens my senses to an uncomfortable degree. Knowing that I would have to sit in the car for hours on end, Dylan hasn't done anything to me for five days now.
I'm afraid that the restless, tingling feeling stems precisely from that. From... the lack. The unfulfilled need for... I feel the blush rise from my chest to my face. My chest... Even my chest feels
wrong
now that the clamps are off. Strangely naked.
"Your betrothed seems discontented," Mr. Keene remarks to his son when I squirm and shuffle my shoulders for the nth time. Our table is normal-sized ad rectangular. The men are sitting across from each other at the short ends, while I am seated at Dylan's right. I feel both overlooked and caught in the direct line of sight.
Dylan shoots me a fond smile. "She's chomping at the bit, that's all. An eager beaver." He grins wickedly.
"Dylan, stop it," I murmur. The heat in my face intensifies.
"I sure hope that unclothed beaver is not currently eagerly rubbing up against my seat cushion," Colton says, and I can't tell if he's joking or serious. He fixes his eyes on me. "They were presents. I shall not like to see them ruined with your pussy drool."
Even though his son has been talking to me like this daily for a month now, hearing such words out of the mouth of a man I barely know still gives me zap up my spine.
"Mr Keene, I wouldn't..." I try to hold eye contact. It takes a lot of willpower. His eyes are green like Dylan's, but they don't look at me with much warmth. "Please, don't speak like that. I'm not
like
that."
I'm
not
a helplessly horny slut of a woman. I'm
not
in a constant state of arousal to the point of ruining the upholstery. I'm
not
.
He silently watches me squirm for long seconds. "Not very honest, is she?" he eventually asks his son. "Ill-behaved."
I drop the cutlery on my plate and lift my hands to my cheeks. They are flaming. "Ex
cuse
me, Mr Keene
.
I'm not a
child
. I'm 25 years old-"
They ignore me and for some reason, that makes me blush even harder and makes my belly feel tight.
"There's 24 years of deprogramming to do, dad," Dylan shrugs. "But I have faith in the power of the Vow, in you and your training, and in her. She protests and hems and haws, but her body is honest enough. There's potential. You'll see."
"Yes, I will," Colton agrees as he, too, puts his cutlery down, takes up the cloth napkin to wipe his mouth with deliberation. "I won't see my only son married to an undisciplined mendacious whore. You and your offspring stand to inherit an ecclesia. Your wife will be perfect."
Dylan nods at his father, then looks at me. There is sharp arousal and desire in his eyes, and my heart shrinks and thumps at the same time.
***
My boyfriend leads me by the hand into a salon. There are chaiselongues and armchairs in dark grey around a low, oval wooden table, next to a fireplace that looks authentic but unused. Bookshelves with glass doors and two chests of drawers made of dark wood, oil paintings, brass-colored curtains and a small, elegant chandelier finish the look.