7. Culmination
If Victoria had been paying less and less attention to Sam before, except to silently benefit from his many labors, she almost totally ignored him now. She did however keep a more watchful eye on Keri whenever she and Sam were together. After some time of covert but careful observation she came to the conclusion that while the slave did fawn over her, it was more like that of a devoted puppy rather than of any real rival whom she might need be concerned about. Not that she ever really doubted Keri. She was sure of her love. And her orientation. But it wouldn't do to have anyone, let alone a pitiful slave, come between them in any way.
She still found it hard to believe every day, that someone as beautiful, vibrant and caring as Keri would want to share a life with her. She knew that she was no prize, but Keri had seen beyond that, beneath her hard and often prickly shell, into her, and had wanted her and loved her as no one else had ever done before. And she would do anything not to lose that, or her. She wouldn't force a confrontation with her over the slave at this point, as Keri continued to seem enamored with having him around. But she resolved to remain vigilant to any change which might make it more of an issue. She would reluctantly let this foot worship foolishness go for the present as long as it seemed as harmless as Keri had insisted.
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Try as she might, Keri couldn't get her own questions out of her thoughts. It wasn't that she wanted or expected Sam to be celibate. Indeed, as a dear friend, she would hope and wish for him to have an active and enjoyable sex life. But what had never really entered her consciousness before, and for which she strongly chided herself now, was the fact that for these past many months he had spent virtually every free waking minute here in their apartment, working for them. How much of an active sex life could he have, and how healthy could it be? And with whom? The implications of Vicky's comments began to haunt her. Had Sam's worship of her become the vehicle, perhaps even the only source of his sexual life? What troubled her even more was that, if true, she truly didn't know how she felt about that.
It was due to this inner conflict that Keri stopped affording opportunities for Sam's worship over the next few weeks. This, along with Victoria's increasing disregard of him, led Sam to anxiously suspect that they were both beginning to tire of the arrangement, and even worse tire of him. Even in their 'companion' time together Keri became more reticent, and Sam began having greater difficulty in hiding his developing fears. It didn't take Keri long to recognize this and realize that she was the cause. For his sake as well as hers she decided to put an end to her confusion by seeking an answer from the only one who could provide it; Sam. The very next night that Victoria had to work late, after Sam had finished cleaning the dinner plates, she called him into the living room and had him kneel before her where she sat on the sofa. She offered her foot for homage.
Giddy relief flooding through him Sam took her foot into his hands and bowed down to touch his forehead to the top. He held it there for several moments. But before he could begin his oral adoration Keri broke through his reverie.
"Sam, I have a very important question to ask you, and once again I'd like you to try to answer it as honestly as you can."
"I could never lie to you Miss Keri."
"I know. But this is a very personal question, and if you find it ... too personal to answer ... I'll understand."
"I could never deny you anything." he replied with such conviction that it shook her. The power he was giving her over him was almost too much to bear, and she almost put a stop to it. But for reasons she couldn't really explain to herself, she had to know. Still, she found it difficult to know how to proceed.
"Sam," she began tentatively, "when you're home alone at night ... do you think of your worship of me?"
"All the time, Miss Keri."
The harder but more important question.
"Do you think about it when you're ... when you're ... She blushed deeply. " ... playing with yourself?"
Sam's eyes widened. "Oh no Miss Keri. Please believe me. I would never do that. I would never sully any thoughts of you with something as filthy as that." he replied forcefully.
She was taken aback. "But it's not filthy, Sam" she rushed to assure him. "It's the most natural thing in the world to want and have that kind of pleasure. I just wanted to know if ... if it was your worship ... and me ... that you thought about when ... you're doing it." She hesitated again. "And if not, then of what?"
Sam took several long moments to answer, and as he did, he switched modes. "I don't do anything like that anymore, Keri." he said quietly.
She was even more perplexed. "Why not? Why would you stop wanting that enjoyment?"
He took even longer this time to respond, but Keri waited patiently and expectantly. She really had to know.
"I know this might be very difficult to understand." he finally offered. "I don't even understand it completely myself. It's not that I don't want that enjoyment ... that pleasure. I want it badly. I yearn for it." he insisted. "But it's not mine to take."
"What do you mean?" she asked, almost fearfully.
"When I agreed to be your slave, which was something I had to do just to be allowed in your life. And Victoria's." he added. "To make it work, to be able to do it and function, I had to commit myself to it fully, to myself most of all. I don't know if I really want to be a slave, but once I agreed to it, it had to be full bore. And that means to me that I can have no rights, no privileges, no pleasures, except for those which you and Victoria might wish to grant me. Even self pleasure."
"Oh Sam, that's not the way it's supposed to be."
"But that's the way it is." He smiled. "Please don't fret, Keri ... What you've given me in all of this has made every bit of it all worthwhile." He changed his persona back once again. "And I can't thank you enough for allowing me to worship you again." he murmured as he began to gently kiss her still offered foot. "It's all I could ever want or wish for. Please believe that, Miss Keri."