Two Three One

6. Veneration

Sam took deeply to heart Victoria's implication that he had thus far been found wanting. He imagined that it had only been through Keri's intercession that he had been kept on, and this made him more devoted to her than ever. He vowed to himself that he would do everything that he could, double, triple his work efforts to justify her undeserved faith in him.

On his own volition he began taking on responsibilities beyond the full gamut of household duties that had been assigned to him. He started doing all of the grocery and other domestic shopping, although Keri demanded that they all share in the costs equally. He made it his business to fully maintain both of their cars, cleaning and washing them regularly, and making sure that each was topped off with gas every night. And in the apartment itself he no longer required any extra instruction on what chores needed to be done, except for the occasional special projects thought up by Victoria, and he continuously strove hard to insure that neither of his Mistresses ever had to lift a finger at home. Except of course for whenever Keri insisted on participating in whatever he was doing, which she did frequently when they were alone together.

Keri couldn't help but notice how hard Sam was pushing himself and she worried that this all was far too much for anyone. She expressed her strong concerns one evening to Victoria, who merely shrugged.

"He's a slave. That's what he's supposed to do. And he seems happy enough with his lot."

Keri had to admit that this appeared to be true.

"Well, at the very least you can let him know that you appreciate what he's doing. It's you that he's been trying the hardest to please."

"I doubt that seriously." Victoria responded dryly. "And anyway, slaves deserve no thanks. They just need to do whatever they're told."

"Aren't you taking all of this a little bit too far?"

Victoria offered her half smile. "I thought we were doing all of this for him. But I can see that you're upset, my love, so for you I'll try my best to be ... less stern."

But the best that Victoria could muster was to pay less attention to him, oftentimes ignoring him completely. This only increased Sam's anxiety as he feared that she was growing tired of his presence.

Though he tried to hide it Keri could see his developing despair. Without being too obvious she tried in little ways to reassure him, that if this is what he wanted in their relationship she would continue on with it. She so wanted to do more for him. He was giving so much of himself to them and to her mind getting so little to nothing in return. She tried to come up with something, anything that she could offer back to him, that wouldn't upset the precarious 'arrangement' that they had all accepted, which while not important in this way to her, certainly seemed to be so for the other two.

As the weeks went by Sam seemed to withdraw more and more into a slave mentality, with no respite even at those times when he and Keri were alone together and she wanted and tried to be more of a companion and friend. It was as if he felt that he was no longer worthy or deserving of anything, and she began to fear that she was slowly losing something that had become very important to her. What could she do to draw him back from the abyss of seemingly joyless servitude that she was afraid he was falling into.

She thought back to how this had all come about and begun and suddenly remembered the one and only request he had made of them at the start. It had been so conveniently forgotten by both Victoria and herself as they were trying to deal with the so many new and strange aspects of this unique agreement. But she strongly doubted that Sam had forgotten, even if he probably now thought that he no longer had any right to re-ask or expect. She resolved to rectify that as soon as possible but realized that she had no idea how. What action could she take to permit him to manifest the 'worship' of them that he had asked to be allowed. She decided the only way to find out was to ask.

She had to wait two more days until Victoria indicated that she had another late meeting at work that and wouldn't be home that night until after ten. After making and eating their dinner together Keri lingered in the kitchen with Sam as he cleaned up. Finally working up her nerve she ventured forth.

"Sam, if I asked you something, would you be honest with me about it?"

Sam was stunned by the question. How could she even think otherwise?

"Of course Keri. Always." he rapidly assured her.

She nodded in response. "You said once at the very beginning of all this that you would like ... well ... you would like ... to ... well ... worship us."

Sam's heart lurched.

"Is that something that after all this time you would still like to do?"

"With all my heart." he answered hoarsely.

"Well then how would you want ... how would you like ... to express your worship, Sam? What would make it special for you?"

It wasn't as if Sam hadn't thought about this, hadn't obsessed about it virtually every day since this had all begun. It was just that he had never really believed that it could truly happen. And while he knew that it was all that he could ever reasonably hope for, he no longer felt that it was something for which he was deserving enough to be allowed.

"Sam, you promised that you would tell me." Keri urged softly as he had remained silent. He now had no choice. All she could do was laugh at him and refuse.

"Miss Keri," He felt that under the circumstances he had to use the honorific even though they were alone, and she understood and accepted it. "There is nothing more that I could ever hope for ... that if you're ever pleased with me ... if you're ever happy with my service ... and if you ever might wish to reward me, even though there would never be any need on your part to do so," he rushed to reassure her, " ... but if you did wish to do so ... that you might grant me the privilege .., the honor ... " his voice lowered. " ... the precious gift ... of being allowed ..." His voice further dropped to barely above a hoarse, awe laden whisper,

"... to kiss"

His face turned a vivid shade of red.

" ... your feet."

Keri paused for only a few seconds to take this all in. She almost instantly understood the enormity of what this must mean to him, and the courage it had taken for him to voice it. She slowly walked over to a kitchen chair, calmly sat down, and then slightly raised one of her feet off the floor, letting her backless pump dangle off the front of it.

"You please me all the time, Sam, more that you can ever know." She smiled her smile. "You have my permission. You may worship my feet."

Eyes widened and heart thumping as it had never done so before, Sam made his way over to her, slowly fell to his knees before her, and took her foot into his hands after she had let her pump drop off.

"Worship them as you see fit, Sam. Worship ME."

Cupping her foot in his hands, Sam bent forward and brought his lips ever so gently to the top of it, just above the base of her toes. Keeping full contact, a surge of sensation swirled through him, taking him to a place he had never been before. He knew without any reservation that in such a time and space that this was where he was supposed to be, on his knees, humbled before this Magnificent ... this Wonderful ... this Superior Woman ... his will completely surrendered to Her own.

He moved his lips softly across the base of her toes to the outside of her foot, giving little flicks of his tongue as he went. He then traveled up the side to and around her heel, and then lightly ran his tongue up the bottom of her foot to the underside of her toes where he spent a very generous amount of time with each. After finally reaching her big toe he kissed around it entirely before bringing her arch to press tightly against the side of his face. He held her foot there as if transfixed until she slipped her other foot out of its pump and raised it up to his lips so that he could pay homage to that one as well. Which he then proceeded to do, even more lovingly.

Keri herself melted into the magic of the moment. With each caress of his lips on her feet she felt small shivers of delight course through her. This was nothing like the intimate moments that she shared so very often with Victoria. The two women were true forever soulmates and it was undying love and passion that bound them. This was so very different with Sam. For him it was an act of adoration, and for her it was one of being worshiped. It in no way threatened the unbreakable bond of love she had with her mate. But in its own unique way a new and different type of bond was being forged with Sam, and it was one that she now knew that she wanted and needed to nurture.

"That was so very special Sam." she sighed as he finished. "I think that I'm going to have to 'reward' you like this far more often from now on." she added with a smile.

"Thank you ... Miss." was all he could murmur in return.

********

True to her word, when they were alone, Keri sought to find as many opportunities as she could to allow Sam to express his adoration and devotion. If it didn't consistently have the same electricity of that first time, she always found the delicate feel of his lips and tongue on her feet and toes deliciously sweet and thrilling. As his second 'trial' month neared its end it was Keri who was urging a now somewhat less interested Victoria to continue on with the arrangement, and to make it open ended until a time might come when they all would decide it was no longer necessary.

A bit surprised at Keri's newfound enthusiasm for the arrangement, Victoria nonetheless agreed, acknowledging to herself that it would be a real pain to have to start contributing to the domestic workload again. Sam was naturally ecstatic when they informed him of this, even with Victoria's severe warning that they could end it all at any time if there was any slippage in his performance.

Over the next several weeks to months Keri noted an increasing energy, excitement, even confidence in every aspect of Sam's relationship with them. He appeared to take great pride and joy in the execution of all of his household duties. During the frequent times when Victoria was out late at work, and they were alone, she was able to coax him out of his self imposed shell to be the amazingly engaging person that she knew he could be. They spent hours discussing and debating a myriad variety of topics, as well as continuing his ongoing tutelage in the finer culinary arts, or in the many intricacies of financial trading. She came to more fully appreciate his genuine kindness and wit. Of even more importance to her however was that he was an avid listener. It wasn't long before she considered him, outside of Victoria, her closest confidante and friend.

As time went on she came to realize that there were three Sams in their arrangement. There was the slave Sam, who insisted on observing his agreement of being totally obedient and subject to their will. Then there was her dear friend Sam, whose company she thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated and found that she could be less and less without. Finally there was the devoted Sam, whose undeniable adoration of her touched her in ways and places she had never before experienced. She found that she could now tolerate the first Sam so as to be able to have and enjoy the second. And she came to slowly understand that she was beginning to revel more and more in the worship of the third Sam. Almost as much as Sam did.

Before very long that worship began to evolve into other forms. Often, with Keri's whole hearted permission, he would either begin or end his veneration by giving her a prolonged foot massage. She always found these heavenly, particularly after a long, hard day, and missed them on those increasingly rarer days when Victoria arrived home early. One evening, during another late night at work for her mate, as Sam was finishing with that night's foot massage, he threw caution completely to the wind and asked her if there was any chance that she might ever consider allowing him the opportunity to give her a pedicure. He hurriedly explained that he had been studying how to do so on the internet, and if she could forgive him for his boldness, whether she might bestow on him the privilege of offering to do so for her.

She was long past due a visit to the spa, she had to admit, as the condition of the polish on her chipped toenails clearly evidenced. She smiled beneficently.

"Of course you have my permission, Sam."

Sam sprang up from his knees and rushed into the common bathroom. He returned almost instantly with a small carrying case which he opened once he was back on his knees before her. The first item he took out was a pumice stone with which he carefully and fully smoothed down and away any dry skin and callus that was present on her feet. Once this was accomplished he took out a bottle of acetone, and pouring some onto cotton balls he proceeded to rub off all of the old polish on her toenails. When they were completely clean he took out a file and began the long task of filing the rough edges of every one of her nails until they were all smooth and uniform.

Through all of this Sam performed with a single minded intensity, as if given this wondrous opportunity he could not allow himself to make any mistakes, and he never once looked up at the somewhat awestruck Keri. He had reached the point however where the choice could no longer be his, and he sheepishly raised his eyes to her.

"Which color polish would you like Miss Keri?" he asked, offering her a selection of a dozen different colors and shades in bottles in his case.

Keri looked down at the offering. She knew that Victoria was always partial to ruby red, and there was a rich magenta in the case that closely approximated it, so that was the one she picked.

First placing new cotton balls between each of her toes, Sam was finally ready to set about applying the new polish to her now finely sculpted nails. He took great care to make sure that it was applied evenly and only on her nails. As he finished the last one he asked for and received further permission to help speed the drying process by softly blowing on each of her toes until the polish was dry. Once done he carefully removed all of the cotton balls and then placed both of her feet back onto the floor and bowed his head, as Keri marveled at the most beautiful pedicure she had ever received.

********

That night, in the afterglow of an especially ardent bout of lovemaking, Victoria lay resting with her head nestled between Keri's naked shoulder and breast. She let her eyes travel languidly down her lover's exquisite body until she reached the end. A small smile played on her lips.

"I see that you've finally had a chance to get to the salon, my love. They've made your feet even more gorgeous than usual."

Keri had been waiting for some time for just this type of opportunity. She didn't feel in any way guilty about what was occurring between Sam and herself. It in no way affected her love and commitment to Victoria, and she never wanted there to be any secrets between them. This was her chance to assure that this was so, and that everything was in the open.

"I didn't go to the spa." she said wiggling her toes. "Sam did this for me"

Victoria sat up abruptly. "The slave?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes." Keri answered. "And he gives the most wonderful foot massages as well." Now was the time to come completely clean. "And I let him kiss my feet as well."

Victoria remained bolt upright, just staring at her.

"We did promise him in the beginning to let him worship us," Keri rushed to explain, "and this is the way I've allowed it to happen. It's really a very nice experience, Vicky, and it means so much to Sam, after all that he does for us." She paused. "You should really let him do it all for you as well. I think you'd really like it."

"That'll be the day." Victoria snorted. "There's no way I want some sniveling slave slobbering all over me." She paused a moment herself now. "And just what else do you two do together?" she added darkly.

"Sam doesn't slobber." Keri responded sharply. "And how could you even think anything like that of me?" she continued indignantly. "Really Vicky, it's a very reverent act for him." she concluded more softly.

"I'll bet." Victoria sneered . She now became ominously calm. "Look, you can keep him as your pathetic little foot slave if that's what you want. The last thing I need to think about is some man, a fucking slave no less, out there whacking himself off fantasizing about my feet."

This brought Keri up short. She had never thought ... had never considered ...

"Do you really think ... he does that?" she finally asked.

"I couldn't care less what he does with his disgusting male appendage as long as it doesn't involve me. In any way." She suddenly looked at Keri suspiciously again. "I'm more than a little surprised that you don't feel the same way, my love."

"I don't ... " Keri started, " ... know." she quietly conceded.

An unsettled silence now enveloped them both as neither knew what more to say. As they lay down again beside each other, not entwined together as usual, and eventually as they both with difficulty finally drifted off to an uneasy sleep, questions kept recurring to each of them. Victoria began to seriously ponder just what all was going on between her mate and that sad sack slave. And Keri, berating herself for being so naive, for the first time began to truly wonder what all Sam did when he went home every night.

Alone.