Chapter 19
Two weeks went by before Candice was given the opportunity to leave the house. Her mother had called her cell phone, wanting to visit her apartment and catch up on what was happening. She also wanted to see if there was anything Candice needed before school started.
It was mid-July, and Candice had everything she needed, but she also knew her mother was feeling a bit left out of her daughter's life. Her only child now living on her own and holding down a job had to have made Renee feel a little useless.
Jon had given Candice the weekend off, and had told her to stay at her apartment, thus continuing the charade of Candice living there. She had arrived late Friday night to any empty apartment, closed the door and leaned against it. Her gaze drank in her surroundings and she felt as if she were once again Candice. She had been driven by Ted, but this time she had not been forced to perform for him.
Her mother would be dropping by in the morning. They would have breakfast, as well as lunch, not to mention possibly do some shopping and catch a movie. Candice couldn't believe how anxious she was for some sense of normalcy to return to her young life.
She pushed herself from the door and headed to her bedroom, where she peeled off the thin trench coat she wore and the clothes that Jon had made her leave in. Today she wore a fishnet leather teddy with matching gloves, and stockings. She walked over to her bed, naked and free of everything Jon had given her; she flopped down onto the soft quilt and closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of her home and sighing contently. A brief nap was her reward.
When Candice woke up, she rolled to her back and stared at her ceiling. She wanted to talk to Gregory, catch up on whatever it was he'd been doing, but also to ask him where in the house the cameras were. She'd yet to find any, but she knew they were there. She seemed to feel him, then again maybe she was wrong and it was the idea of him watching her that kept her feeling safe. Either way she liked the feeling. She sat up, picked up her phone and dialed his number.
"Evening Sunshine," Gregory said immediately after he picked it up.
She smiled and wished him a good evening. "Can you come over?" she asked.
"Sure, figured you'd want to meet. I'll pick up Chinese if that's okay. I know you've been cooking and cleaning a lot more than usual," he replied in a soft, teasing voice.
"I would so love that!" she said, her words laced with a hint of exhaustion and annoyance. "I think I've cleaned more in two weeks than I have in a lifetime."
Gregory's laughter rippled through the air waves and reached Candice's ears. Her grin grew wider, as she thought of seeing him again. Though they'd not talked or communicated since she moved into Jon's house, she had spoken to him in her head. He was now her close friend, even if he didn't know it. She also hoped one day to call him, lover. They hung up and she left her room to shower and get dressed.
Gregory left his apartment and hurried down the hall to do as he'd promised. As he made his way to the restaurant to get their food, he thought about the woman he'd come to desire more and more every hour of the day. Without being told to Candice had fallen into the role of obedience like a fly to honey. She was made to serve, but not to be enslaved. She had shown him not only a side full of passion and desire, but one full of confidence and a keen sense of reality.
Though he hadn't gotten to tell her about the cameras or about the audio feed, he sensed she'd somehow realized it on her own. There were times that Amelia would ask her about something that only audio sound would have divulge; it was the same with actions. There were times Jon would lead a conversation back to an event that had accord that he shouldn't have been privy too, but he was. Candice had played the part of a seasoned actress and for that he found himself feeling not only want, but pride as well.
When Gregory arrived at her door it was with a case of her favorite soda, a brown bag full of Chinese food. Once they were put on the counter he pulled out card and handed it to her.
"What's this?" she asked, looking at the small computer disk.
"Your copy," he told her.
"My copy?"
"Yeah," he walked around her kitchen, pulling plates and glasses from their respective cabinets. "That's a copy of everything I gathered over the past two weeks."
Her skin grew hot and her cheeks flamed a bright pink. "Everything?" she squeaked.
Gregory winked. "Everything," as he began to dig out silverware and ice. "I don't fuck around with chopsticks," he casually explained after pulling out a couple of forks. "I told you I'd be watching."
"Even that first night?" Candice asked, ignoring his rummaging through her kitchen.
Gregory sighed. He placed the ice tray on the counter. "Yes, baby. Even that first night."
She looked up and felt unshed tears fill her eyes. He groaned and reached out. She went into his arms willingly and sobbed. Gregory touched her hair, stroked the long curls and whispered that it was okay. She shook her head no and continued to weep. When she was done, he pulled back and wiped her face with his thumbs.
"You did good, Candice. I know it was hard. I saw it on the monitor. I heard it in your voice. I hurt for you. That life, the life of a pet, is not for you. You have a streak of stubbornness in you that can't be broken, but you also have a weakness for a strong firm hand. That lifestyle, the humiliating aspect of it that some embrace," he tucked a loose curl behind her ear, "that's not for you."
She shook her head. "I don't want to go back there," she finally admitted. "It's been such an emotional roller coaster. I've been flogged, smacked, fucked, sucked and denied orgasm. I've also been learning how to do the same things to Amelia. It's so hard to force her to stand there while I give her lashes and make her feel the bite of a whip."
"I know sweetie," Gregory said. He took her hand and led her to a bar stool that rested under the kitchen counter. She willingly sat on it, while he placed food for her on a plate. "Two more weeks babe and it'll be over. I thought you liked Amelia though, fucking her and such."
Candice toyed with her food. "I do, but I also like her as a friend. I don't like punishing her. Sometimes she's not even done anything wrong. Jon just wants me to punish her so I know how to hit someone without damaging them. But, I know what that flogger feels like, and I know how that cane and that whip feel on my privates. I know she's not enjoying it!"
"Candice," he reached out and touched her cheek. "That's where you're wrong. She's enjoying it. You just don't see it, because you've closed off your mind. When you have a chance, I want you to look at everything on that drive, okay. Really watch. Look long and hard at Amelia's reactions to not only you and what you do to her, but what happens when you lay that whip across her ass. She loves it. You just need to see it as giving her pleasure, not pain."
Candice shook her head. "I don't want to watch it," she told him, before shoveling food into her mouth. She swallowed and took another bite before starting a new path for their conversation to travel.
"Mom's going to be here in the morning. We're going to have a very much needed mother-daughter day."
Gregory allowed the conversation to die. He would tell her later about the surveillance cameras and how he tied into the feed; he'd also make sure she knew about the audio feeds and how keeping her thoughts and opinions about Jon and Amelia to herself. Right now he wanted her to focus on their meal and the serenity inside her home.
"So I hear," he winked, as all matters of Jon and Amelia fell to the wayside. "I can also tell you're looking forward to it."
