“There,” he said, more to himself, than to me, “that looks a lot better.”
An awkward silence fell between us. I kept my eyes focused on the cleanly pressed shirt in front of me. He sighed, and I couldn’t help but notice it was the kind of sigh someone let out when they were preparing themselves to do something difficult. I knew it had to do with Rafiq, somehow, but I couldn’t ask him. I couldn’t accept my fate just yet. I had to hope the Caleb I had grown to love was thriving inside the version of Caleb in front of me. Hope was all I had left.
With no further ado, he turned me around and swept the bulk of my hair over my left shoulder. My entire body shivered. I heard him pull something from his pocket. I tensed when I felt the smooth band of leather circle my throat.
“It’s not the same collar you wore before. I like this one much better. It’s softer, and it won’t dig into you,” he whispered.
Were my hands free I might have reached up to touch the loop attached to the front, but they weren’t free – like me, they were bound by circumstance.
“I want you to know,” he said matter-of-factly, “there’s going to be a lot of people downstairs. These people are important acquaintances of mine. I expect you to behave. Do exactly as I say, keep your eyes lowered, and it should be an enjoyable evening for the both of us. Understood?”
I swallowed thickly and managed to whisper, “Yes, Master.”
“Turn around,” he said. “I have a little something to ensure your obedience.” As I turned, I couldn’t help but meet his eyes. He pulled me close, holding me in place by way of his hand at the small of my back. His other hand cupped my breast just inside my corset. He put his mouth on my nipple and sucked.
I couldn’t hold in a powerful sigh. I was wet, but his affection was to be short lived. Just as soon as his mouth released me, firm pressure took hold of my nipple. While I swooned, he repeated the perfunctory process on my other breast and then stood back to admire his work.
I looked down at my breasts through a haze of tears to notice the delicate clamps adorning my nipples. A thin gold chain joined them and led directly into Caleb’s hand. As I took stock of my predicament I couldn’t help looking up at Caleb with a pleading expression. He tugged gently, as if to say my pleading was meaningless. My body stiffened and a jolt of pain and sensation drilled down through my belly ending between my legs. The plug in my ass moved, exaggerating the sensation. In midstream, the pain changed to something pulsating, something near pleasure. Like a puppet, my body relaxed as Caleb released the tension.
“Are we clear on the rules of obedience?” Caleb asked, and then not waiting for my answer he continued, “This is a test of sorts, Kitten. Don’t disappoint me.” He turned his back to me. “Follow behind on my left, keep your eyes lowered and there should be no need to test the sensitivity of your nipples.”
“Yes, Master,” I replied, not able to keep the tremor from my voice. Tears clung to my lashes and my body quaked, but I followed Caleb as directed.
We walked the pace of a parade. A slight murmur of low voices reached the top of the stairway. Candlelight from the room below glimmered across the marble stairs, lighting our descent in living color. The warm glow eased some of my quaking, along with Caleb’s care of the chain joining us together.
At the bottom of the stairway, Felipe greeted Caleb, “Good to have you join us my friend. I see you have your lovely Kitten in tow. Everyone is looking forward to seeing her.”
“Felipe,” Caleb acknowledged. I couldn’t help but notice Caleb didn’t sound too pleased.
Our eyes met over Caleb’s shoulder, but he did not let on about my disobedience. In fact, he winked at me. We were sharing yet another moment, unbeknownst to my master. I flushed deeply.
“I thought you should know the boy is here with Mr. B tonight and will be part of the evening’s entertainment,” Felipe added in a whisper loud enough for me to hear. The statement had a mocking edge, as if he were poking fun at Caleb. I didn’t like it.
“Interesting,” Caleb replied, simple and abrupt. Caleb lifted his head and scanned the small gathering of people. Instinctually, I scanned the room as well, and promptly received a continuous tug of shooting pain through my nipples for the effort.
“Eyes down,” Caleb said over his shoulder to me, his voice riddled with undisguised anger.
“Yes, Master,” I said in a jagged whisper. I wanted to scream from the pain torturing my nipples, but the tension on the chain lessened, and my breath spun out in a heavy sigh of relief.