"You know, my sugary sweetness, I love seeing you wear the nipple rings and chain. It's very sexy and I like the idea that you're chained to me -- figuratively, of course. We'll practice with Brutus until you're comfortable with the idea that he's chained to your tits, uh, breasts."
Lyssa held one end of the chain to her breasts and let the other end dangle down the sleeve of her blouse until it was within her grasp. Joanna measured how long it would have to be and took it back to the jewelers. She had the jeweler fasten a ring about an inch and a half in diameter on one end, cut the chain to measurement, and add a very small snap fastener to the other end. He showed Joanna how the snap worked. It was a bit complicated. When Joanna left the shop, the woman clerk smiled and nodded at her. Joanna hoped the woman was not a gossip. Actually, it might be an advantage if she were. Everyone would know that Lyssa belonged to her. No. That wouldn't be fair to Lyssa.
She also bought a wide, gold ankle chain for Lyssa; the chain had several linked rubies and a gold plate that would have Joanna's name engraved on it. The anklet would be sent to the house when it was finished. It was to be Lyssa's slave bracelet.
Lyssa was eager to try out the chain. There was a little play in the length of it but still worked out well. They fastened Brutus' chain leash to the ring and Lyssa, holding the ring with two fingers through it, paraded around the house getting used to the setup. The following day, the two women and Brutus walked around the block twice, giving Lyssa her first outing in over a year. She was practically dancing with joy. Brutus kept looking up at her, wondering what the fuss was all about. He and Joanna took this walk every day.
That weekend, the three of them went to a movie house where Joanna was known and Brutus was allowed in with them. Next, they went to a restaurant, and again Brutus was allowed in. Everywhere they went, Brutus was allowed to accompany them. Lyssa wondered how that could be until she recalled that the name of the town was Mackey, the same as Joanna's last name. There had to be a connection.
Joanna was the town celebrity and had been so since she was born to Celia and Ken Mackey, the son of the previous owner of half the town. The Mackeys no longer owned as much property but still quite a bit; Joanna owned half of that property and what the rest brought in when liquidated after the elder Mackey, his wife, and Celia's parents all died in Mackey's private plane crash when Joanna was very young. No one refused entrance to Joanna and Brutus.
When the ankle bracelet arrived, Lyssa put it on and pranced back and forth in front of the mirror. She loved it; she didn't mind that it marked her as belonging to Joanna. She thought she would always wear it even after she gained her freedom. Maybe her husband wouldn't understand, but she could have the plate with Joanna's name turned, so it couldn't be read. She could have her husband's name engraved on the visible side. Then she would belong to both of them.
Joanna took Lyssa everywhere. She introduced the girl to all her friends whom she had been avoiding for the past year. Joanna took Lyssa to her country club, the best restaurants, museums, and the theater. Brutus was welcomed everywhere. Often he had a seat to himself. Lyssa had never been to such lavish places and was delighted.
All of Joanna's friends welcomed Lyssa and congratulated Joanna on her extraordinary good luck in finding the beautiful girl and having her as a companion. Some of them noted that Lyssa always held Brutus' chain and commented on it but not to Joanna. Joanna was princess in this town. One or two of her more catty friends were jealous. One had the nerve to say out loud in front of a group of ladies that Joanna went around with her male dog and her bitch. She found herself persona non grata in the town's inner social circles from then on. No one else made that mistake.
One day, as they were having lunch at a sidewalk café, Lyssa looked up to see a familiar face approaching them. She tried to hide by putting the menu in front of her. She didn't want anyone she knew to recognize her.
The woman and her companion came right up to the table and said, "Hi, Joanna, Miss Dawn. How are you?"
Lyssa recognized them as the owners of the private school she had worked for over a year ago. She felt her face burning and wanted to disappear.
"Hi Mom," answered Joanna. "We're fine. Hello Karla. Lyssa, I'd like you to meet my mother, Celia, and my aunt, Karla. Well, Karla's not actually my aunt, but I think of her that way. I've know her since I was an infant."
"Hello, Lyssa," said Karla. "I wondered what happened to you when you didn't apply for a teaching job the following semester. I see that Joanna has been hiding you all this time."
Lyssa stammered something that she was never able to recall. The two older women sat down at the table and the waiter was right there with menus. After fifteen minutes or so, Lyssa was unable to get her tongue under control and able to join the conversation. In fact, she was able to make some suggestions about the school. She immediately turned red and apologized for her temerity. The women laughed, told her not to apologize, and thanked her for the suggestions.
"Lyssa, we appreciate teachers who think outside the box. If you ever get tired of running around with my daughter, we'll welcome you back to the school. Some of your students still ask about you. They really like you. We were all impressed with your abilities. In fact, even if you don't get tired of Joanna, we'd welcome you back. Well, Lyssa, Joanna, our lunch break is over. We don't want to set a bad example for the rest of the staff. Lyssa, it's been nice seeing you again. Make this reclusive daughter of mine bring you to see us occasionally." Celia and Karla patted Brutus' head and left the café. They said nothing about the chain from the dog's color to Lyssa's sleeve. Lyssa had been using both hands to eat.
Lyssa hit Joanna with the menu and admonished her for not telling about her mother and the school.
"When Dad died, Mom bought the school with money he left her -- us. When I was in my late twenties, Mom and Karla moved into my father's old loft apartment and gave me the house that Mom and Dad had lived in after they were married. Lyssa, you're going to hear all kinds of stories of my father's drinking and womanizing. Unfortunately, except for some embellishment, they are all true. Please don't judge Mom and me by what you hear. However, maybe this apple didn't fall far from the tree. Look how I've treated you. Let's go home. I've had enough for one day."
On the way home, a black cat ran in front of them. Brutus followed it with his eyes but didn't change course. Lyssa gasped and turned ashen. She took a few deep breaths and continued walking with the dog and Joanna.
Arriving home, Lyssa had Joanna unclip the chain from her breasts; she didn't know how to do it herself. When Joanna realized the girl was distraught, she asked Lyssa if she were okay. When Lyssa told her it was the black cat incident that bothered her, Joanna chided her for being superstitious.
"No, Joanna, I'm not superstitious. For the past few months, I've been very comfortable with the chain arrangement, but today --, what if Brutus had chased that cat? He's very strong. I wouldn't have been able to stop him with that little ring. He would have ripped my blouse off and torn my nipples to shreds. I know he's well behaved, but I'll have that vision in my head anyway. We have to find another way to handle this. I can't ask you to trust me because I will escape if I get the chance. I'm sorry, Joanna. I've really enjoyed getting out and going around with you."
After the taste of semi-freedom, little Lyssa began to pace around the house like a lost soul. She pleaded with Joanna to find another way that they could go out together. Their sex life was marginalized by Lyssa's unhappiness at being housebound again. She would cry herself to sleep at night and stopped sucking Joanna nipples in the morning. When Joanna licked her vagina, Lyssa's mind was elsewhere and she couldn't orgasm. Joanna stopped asking the girl to perform cunnilingus on her.
Though Lyssa knew that Joanna loved seeing her with the nipple rings and connecting chain, she took them off. Joanna removed her rings, too. The girl was naked around the house, but longed to wear clothes and go out. They were both miserable, but Joanna was stubborn, too, and wouldn't take Lyssa out for fear of losing her.
The next morning, Joanna awoke and not finding Lyssa in bed, went to look for her. Brutus had her pinned to the wall next to the kitchen door. She was wearing a bed sheet wrapped around her and was wearing Joanna's slippers. Both women started to cry.
"Lyssa, you thought up the nipple chains. I would never have imposed them on you if you hadn't volunteered. I can't think of anything that would restrict you, but I'm willing to listen if you come up with an idea. You got the nipple ring thingy from the 'net'. Try to find something else or figure something out. I don't want to keep you pent up in the house, but I honestly can't think of anything."
"I thought of wearing the chain around my waist, but I realized you wouldn't accept that. It would break before it would restrict me. Joanna, I'll shrivel up and die if we can't go out again."
