The difference was that this time, Carla had pushed a red ball gag into Annabel's mouth, fastened it around her head, and left the room. For some indeterminate time Annabel lay there staring at the ceiling, cursing her weakness.
Her attempt to break free of Carla's spell had ended before it even began. In the early afternoon, when Carla came downstairs looking glamorously disheveled, Annabel had automatically started to make coffee and eggs. After having repeatedly practiced what she was going to say the night before, she found that she couldn't get out a single word of it.
When Carla had finished eating Annabel stood by, waiting to be told what to do. She expected to be made to kneel on the kitchen floor again, and was disappointed when the order never came. Instead Carla disappeared upstairs while Annabel puttered around in the kitchen.
About an hour later Annabel's phone buzzed and she got a text. It consisted of four words: "My room. Naked. Now."
Annabel couldn't believe it -- the nerve of the girl. Who did Carla think she was? It was completely outrageous and -- wait -- why was she doing it? Why did she go to her bedroom, take off her clothes, and lay them down on her dresser? Why did she appear at Carla's door and meekly submit to being bound hand and foot to the bed, then having nipple clamps snapped onto her throbbing buds?
She asked herself all these questions as she lay there alone. But she knew the answer: This is what happens when you give up control of your own life. You end up tied naked to a bed with no idea what's going to happen to you next.
It was hard for Annabel to say how long she had been there; her sense of time felt unreliable and Carla apparently did not believe in clocks. Finally, after what seemed like hours but may have only been 15 minutes, Annabel heard the front door open and close, and then there were voices downstairs. She heard movement in the kitchen, and then there were footsteps on the stairs -- two sets.
Carla appeared in the doorway with Kim, both of them holding bottles of beer. "Oh, my," said Kim, seeing Annabel tied up there. "Is that for me?"
"If you want her," said Carla. "I don't have much more use for her." This wasn't true, of course; Carla had lots more in mind for Annabel. But giving Annabel the idea that she might get bored gave Carla psychological leverage. Not that she really needed it at this point -- Annabel was hers to do with as she pleased, she felt sure of that -- but you could never have too much, especially since Carla intended to push her stepmother as far as possible.
For Carla this was sort of a perfect storm. Not only was Annabel incredibly gorgeous and unusually pliant, the fact that she was Carla's father's wife gave Carla a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something really, really naughty. She intended to make the most of it.
* * *
Kim was wearing a tank top and bikini bottoms, but within in a minute they were on the ground and she was straddling Annabel, looking down into the older woman's big blue eyes. "You're really pretty," said Kim, and Annabel responded with something that was muffled by her gag. Kim giggled and pulled it out. "What were you saying?"
