When the Cat's Away…

Copyright © May 2020 by CiaoSteve

CiaoSteve reserves the right to be identified as the author of this work.

This story cannot be published, as a whole or in part, without the express agreement of the author, other than the use of brief extracts as part of a story review.

This is a work of fiction. The events described here are imaginary; the settings and characters are fictitious and are not intended to represent specific places or living persons.

Author's Notes

Foreword #1: All sexually active characters in this story are over 18.

Foreword #2: This is a story and intended purely for pleasure.

Foreword #3: Thank you so much to a fellow story lover, Renate, for the inspiration behind this tale. I do hope she enjoys it and relates to my interpretation of her ideas.

Foreword #4: This is a tenth chapter in the "When the cat's away . . . " series. Although there is a little recap at the start, you may want to read the earlier chapters to get up to speed with the story so far.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Claudia Leber was happily married, actually she still is happily married. Steffen was the love of her life, a giant of a man in all respects. For all Claudia was petite, Steffen was huge, in stature and in endowment. What's more, when Steffen decided he wanted something he usually got it, and whether she wanted to or not Claudia always came to enjoy it. The only problem though was that Steffen travelled. It wasn't just a little travelling. Steffen would go often and be away for weeks. Claudia though, the doting wife, just got on with life, disappointed yet waiting in anticipation for his return.

It was on one such occasion that a casual invite to a Friday night drink introduced Claudia to Natalia, or Naty to her friends. It was just a chance encounter, or at least Claudia imagined it was just a chance encounter. It was though an encounter full of surprise, temptation, passion and, ultimately, satisfaction. Naty, the boss' wife, had touched all the right buttons and that chance encounter had become a night of wanton lesbian lust.

For days afterwards, Claudia had been trying hard to convince herself that it shouldn't have happened and wouldn't happen again. Before long though it had happened twice more, once with a strap-on at the same hotel and then that day in the office. Okay, so that day hadn't exactly been a day of wanton lesbian lust, but it had been just as exciting and probably had much more of an impact on Claudia's life. She got the exposure that had been promised, and with it came a new role in the business and a sumptuous black leather collar.

She was no longer Claudia Leber, Accounts Controller.

She was now Claudia Leber, Mistress Natalia's secret little slut.

The first day in her new role had shown Claudia the ropes—tied down to a chair—along with the paddle and a clear picture of her standing in the family, or rather her kneeling. She'd been punished, degraded, and pleasured, all in a day. Still though it hadn't put her off. The only thing which might have done was the thought of losing Steffen. A night in a hotel, cumming hard pressed up against the glass window, told her that passions still ran strong between them.

Her thoughts had now moved onto a so-called bonding session with Gemma, ahead of the first of Mistress Natalia's famous parties.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"You're late," barked the female voice on the other end of my mobile.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't find—" I tried to explain, but she wasn't having any of it.

"No excuses. Come to reception and ask for Walsh. Don't keep me waiting. I'll consider how to deal with you later, but for now we have much to do."

Wasn't she overreacting? This was meant to be a weekend of team bonding, wasn't it?

'Walsh?' I thought to myself, 'but that's Naty's name. Why was Gemma using it?'

Then another thought hit me. What if... no, I was sure Naty would have mentioned it if she had a daughter. I was still pondering when a polite voice called out to me.

"Can I help you miss?"

I glanced at the concierge. He was a middle-aged, slightly plump man in a grey uniform and peaked cap.

"Oh... yes... I was... looking for Mrs Walsh, Gemma Walsh."

"Gemma?" came a confused reply.

"Sorry, no, I mean Natalia."

"And, who might you be?"

"I'm Claudia. I work for Natalia. I'm here for a..." I struggled to find an apt explanation as to why I was here. "... a sort of team bonding weekend, with Gemma."

"Let me see," he replied, leafing through a giant appointment book.

"Oh, yes, here you are." There was a sly twinkle in his eye, an almost knowing look, as he addressed me. "Gemma and Claudia, one night. Now, what did you say it was? A bondage weekend?"

"Yes, that's it. A bonding weekend. Now, Gemma was in a bit of a rush to get started, where would I find her?"

"Take the door to the left of reception, the one which says private. There is a lift behind which will take you straight up to the penthouses. The Walsh apartment is on the left."

"Thank you," I said, heading across towards the plain grey door.

"Have fun," he replied, "but don't get too tied up in your work. And, if you don't mind me saying, that Gemma sounds a bit of a dominant one. Better do as she says and don't be late."

I could sense him sniggering and quickly glanced back. He had already returned to whatever he had been reading before my arrival. Surely it was just a Freudian slip. He must have meant bonding, not bondage.

A buzzer sounded and I grabbed at the door handle, pulling it open before the auto-lock kicked in again. I pressed the button and waited for the lift to arrive. As I did, I wondered if Gemma had overreacted. This was meant to be a bit of team bonding, wasn't it? It was not like we were working this weekend.

Moments later, the lift doors opened onto the penthouse floor and I stepped out into a marbled foyer, a maze-like pattern built into the sumptuously tiled floor. Three doors led off the circular landing; left, right and straight ahead. I took the few steps to the left. The door opened before I reached it and a familiar face greeted me. The face might have been familiar, but the imperious goddess who stood in the doorway was not at all what I expected.

"Come on in," called out Gemma, a welcoming smile on her face, yet a most direct tone in her voice. It was more a command than an invitation.

Gemma looked stunning. Dressed in a black leather, or maybe PVC, corset dress—the way it pulled in tight around her waist then curved sensually out across hips and bust was such a powerful image—with thigh length matching high-heeled boots, she looked every piece the dominant one that the concierge had mentioned. All she needed was a crop of some sort and I might even have believed this was a bondage weekend rather than a bonding weekend. What grabbed my attention though was the foot or so of bare flesh between boots and dress. Oh yes, I so wanted to follow her toned legs upwards.

'Shit,' I thought to myself. What had I become? A beautiful outfit and already my mind was flirting with an image of what lay underneath.

I followed Gemma inside, my eyes fixed on the way the fabric pulled taught over her firm ass. One day Steffen could buy me one of these, I considered. It would make that little black dress positively frumpy.

Once inside, I stopped, amazed at the unexpected plushness of my surroundings. From the street level entrance to what seemed a standard apartment block, there was no clue as to the clear luxury up here on the top floor. This was just another of Naty's little surprises; the cabin by the lake, the executive floor in the office, this penthouse suite and... my mind reverted to an image of a certain hotel room. At the time it had seemed so familiar. Could that have been hers also?

My thoughts switched back to the here and now. Suddenly I felt under-dressed. I'd gone casual; above knee length red flared skirt and stretchy black top, with a pair of low-heeled black ankle boots. I'd foregone the bra given that I didn't need so much support anyway and liked the way the clinging fabric made delicious mounds of my tiny breasts. A strappy high-leg thong, red to match the skirt, made up the outfit. Yes, it was only a team bonding weekend, but I still wanted to look good underneath, just in case. I dropped my overnight bag and turned to Gemma.

"Great to see you again, Gemma. What's the plan?"

There was a smile on her face, friendly but just with a touch of dominant control about it.

"Well, my little Claudia, this weekend is about us getting to know so much more about each other, so I guess that's the plan."

"What, we sit here and talk for the whole weekend?"

There was laughter.

"Far from it," she replied. "I've got it all planned. A little shopping first to get a few things we'll need for later. Then lunch at a nice bistro I know... what I have in mind will fill you up nicely. Then back here for us to get to know each other better. Maybe I'll have to tie you down and get you to tell me every dirty little secret."

"What, you mean some of that bondage time that the concierge mentioned," I laughed, making a joke of the way he had greeted me.

"Be careful what you wish for," Gemma replied, "you might give me ideas. Oh, and yes, I need to show you what Mistress Natalia's parties are all about. That's what this time together is meant to be, a little alignment before the real thing. Natalia does like her parties to come together perfectly."

"Cool," I replied. "Sounds fun. Shopping here we come."

I saw that wry smile on Gemma's face once more, breaking out just as I mentioned about coming. It didn't last for long though; the smile being replaced by a much more domineering look.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere, at least not until you are suitably dressed. Did you forget already?"

Confused, I glanced down at my attire. What was wrong with a skirt and top? It wasn't quite on a par with Gemma's jaw-dropping leather outfit, but surely it was suitable for shopping and a quick bite to eat. It had better be, as I really hadn't packed much of an alternative.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with what you're wearing. It's more about what you're not. I thought you would have learnt from last time, but I guess you're slow on the uptake. No worries, I can sort that out later... and don't think I have forgotten your late arrival."

Those words... 'last time' ran through my mind. What had happened last time? How had she taught me a... lesson? Suddenly I could feel the sting of that paddle striking hard against my bare ass as I bent over in the office. Why? What was it I had done, or hadn't done? Knickers, I had worn knickers when I shouldn't have, but this time Gemma had said there was nothing wrong with what I was wearing. So, what was it I had forgotten to wear?

I couldn't ask, could I? That would just make matters worse. I looked back at Gemma, an almost pleading look in my eyes as I ran them up and down her leather outfit. Leather? Yes, leather... that was what I was missing... the leather collar. It was in my bag, but not around my neck.

"But I thought..." My voice had changed to a more submissive, almost apologetic, tone. "I thought that was when we were working."

"And, are we not working? Are you not in Mistress Natalia's beautiful penthouse? Are you not here to learn all about Mistress Natalia's expectations? Well, the first of those expectations is that you wear that wonderful collar she gave you. Now, do you need me to remind you where it goes?"

There was no need. Moments later we were back downstairs, the dominant Gemma leading the way as I, the submissive Claudia, followed dutifully by her side.

Shopping was the first order of the day. I had visions of the attire Naty had bought me for that day in the office; smart if a little too revealing, professional if a bit slutty. I could go for another such outfit.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Here we are," Gemma announced, drawing to a halt in the middle of a packed shopping street.

I glanced around, taking in the array of shops. There was a high-end department store on one side; glamorously dressed mannequins beckoned you inside. Several smaller boutiques tendered for various ages, whilst dotted between were a mix of food and gift shops.

"Go on then, in you go," she continued.

I took a step out into the road, heading for the department store. Surely it was the only place to find such professional attire.

"Not that one," Gemma teased, her devious smile reappearing as I spun around. "Over here."

I glanced in the direction she was pointing. It was a plain building, conspicuous by the lack of any obvious merchandise—frosted windows most likely let light in but obscured any direct view of what was on sale—but quite obvious in what it was. The 'strictly adult's only' sign was a bit of a clue, whilst the signage above the window—neatly painted words stood out against the dark background, proclaiming to have toys, DVDs, magazines and much, much more—wasn't quite as innocent as it portrayed to be.

I stood there, staring at the store. Oh, yes, I wasn't so sheltered that I didn't know they existed—to be honest I'd bought most of my toys from similar, but always under the anonymity of an online account—but I'd never had any desire to go into one. Was that true? Most likely not. For sure there was one desire that I didn't have. It wasn't a desire to see what delights they had inside, it was more the desire not to be seen to have been frequenting such a place. It was the fear of getting caught which filled me with dread.

"So, are you going to go in or do I need to give you a little encouragement?"

I glanced back at Gemma, her tone reverting to a sternness that I had only encountered once before, in my new office. That time I hadn't been so quick to obey, and Gemma had given plenty of what she called encouragement. But, here on the street? Surely not.

"If you think I won't spank that cute little ass of yours, right here on the street, then think again. Your choice, make a move inside or bend over and lift your skirt."

I could see in her eyes that Gemma was being serious. The street was busy with people and I so couldn't be showing my ass to all and sundry. In the relative privacy of an office was bad enough—my heart skipped a beat at the thought of baring my ass and having it spanked, yes, it might have been painful, even degrading, but it was also... exciting—but not here in public.

There again, being seen to go into one of these seediest of places was also rather... what's the word... embarrassing, degrading, perhaps humiliating. It was the only sensible choice though. I took the few steps towards the doorway, taking the odd look around to make sure nobody was watching me. If I had thought about it, I was less likely to be seen if I had just dived inside rather than taking this cautious 'don't look at me, I'm not up to anything' approach. I reached the entrance. There was a dryness in the back of my mouth and a nervous tremor in my hands as I reached out for the—

To my surprise, the door opened before I got there.

"Ladies, allow me," came the politest of offers.

I glanced at the man as he held the door open for us. He was... normal. Just a normal middle-aged man, well dressed, slight paunch, but so, so normal. It was not what I expected of the clientele who frequented this type of place. The guy standing in front of me was no different to my own father.

"Thank you," I said, noticing the unlabelled bag he was carrying and smiling back at him. I wondered just what he had bought. A dirty mag, or even a porno movie, filled my mind.

"Vibrating cock ring," he whispered back at me. "Keeps me hard, and she loves the tingle down below. You should try one."

"I'm sorry," I replied, realising that I was staring at the plastic bag, "none of my business."

"No worries. Now what might you two lovers be looking for?"

I watched as his eyes flicked to Gemma, back to myself, and then off to Gemma once more.

"Oh, I see. Well, is this one a good little pet?"

"You could say that, but you know what it's like. All new pets need a little training before they're fully obedient."

"How exciting. I've had a few pets over the years. One bitch... well suffice to say it took an eternity to break her in."

If the ground had opened beneath my feet, I would have stood there and let it swallow me up. Here Gemma was talking about me as some little pet. There was something exciting about being Mistress Natalia's secret slut and I didn't even mind Gemma taking the lead, but a pet... and a pet who needed training? To be honest, it wasn't exactly the idea of being a pet which concerned me, it was the idea of needing to be trained. A vision of that cabin in the woods came back to me, along with a smiling Naty as she explained that it was used as an education centre, or as she had so nicely put it, a re-education centre. It was a playful slap on the ass which brought me back to earth.

"Now, can I trust my little pet to behave herself inside and not get into any trouble?" Gemma called out, beckoning towards the open door.

"Well, have fun ladies. Don't be too hard on her if she gets a bit carried away, the young ones are always the most excitable."

I saw how he winked at me before heading back into the crowds of shoppers, back to his normal life as a husband going about his weekly shopping. A loaf of bread, a pint of milk, a vibrating cock ring, isn't that what's on everybody's shopping list? Now I would be looking at everyone and wondering... what's

your

secret?

We walked inside, letting the door close behind us. I had entered some adult Aladdin's cave, a store full of row after row of sex toys, as far as the eye could see. It was so much more exciting than that website I had used before. Nothing was left to the imagination. If the box said 'huge dildo' then you could see at once if it was going to set your pulse a racing or not.

No sooner were we inside than I was looking around, checking if we were alone or not. We weren't. There were half a dozen or so customers already inside, but not too many to make the store busy. I quickly buried myself into browsing the shelves, trying to blend into the background and not be too conspicuous. I was still perusing the first rack of dildo's when a voice called out.

"Can I help you, ladies?"

"No, no, just browsing," I replied, trying to get rid of the young assistant as quickly as possible. Young was the word. Did he really imagine his future working in a seedy adult shop when he left college? Or was he funding a university education with a bit of easy money? Imagine my embarrassment when I heard him reply, not to me, but to Gemma.

"She's a pretty one. Is she yours?"

"I wish. Belongs to another, and I'm sort of showing her the ropes."

"I see. So, you're left with training her. She looks so obedient; does she really need much breaking in?"

"Breaking in? I guess not, but she is young, excitable, and just a tad forgetful, just like any little puppy. A little reminder from time to time keeps her in her place, doesn't it pet?"

I stood and stared at the pair of them. How could they talk about me as if I wasn't there? Did I not have a voice anymore? Was I really nothing more than a pet to be broken in for another?

"Oh, and she is a little shy in public, but I've got a plan for that," continued Gemma.

"A plan? How interesting. I guess that's what brought you in here then."

"Oh, yes. My little pet is going to a party. She's gonna be the star of the show so we'd better have her looking her best. How about a sexy leather corset? Got anything suitable?"

"Towards the back on the left. There's fitting rooms too if you want to see how she looks."