Part 71 (1/2)

Amy nodded in that way that says, I-don't-want-anything-but-to-go-home, but she managed a smile. At least her worst fears weren't being realized. At least it wasn't looking like she'd be raped or tormented any longer.

Christi looked like she was about to say something, but I cut her off.

”Girls? Remember that you are still slaves. There's just an end in sight. I don't want to see any last minute disobedience because I'm letting you go. Jane and Christi? Remember the clothes? Remember how you knew you were going to lose them if you didn't remember what you were? You did well with that, but remember that I can take potential freedom away as well.”

The girls sobered a bit at the words. They all nodded grimly. It was probably easier for Elizabeth, Sheila and Amy to accept this, still being naked and handcuffed. I imagine it is tough not to remember that you are under control when you have no clothing and are restrained physically. But Jane and Christi had always been good at keeping me satisfied despite freedoms that I allowed them. I suspected that when I told them to kneel, all of them still would.

I shepherded the girls out into the hallway. They resumed their excited chattering as though I wasn't there. I guided them into the library where I had them kneel and carefully placed handcuffs on all of them. Jane and Christi looked hurt a bit, but I ensured that the bonds weren't tight and just restricted their motion a little. The nude women, I merely changed their hands from behind them to in front.

”Couldn't have done this before lunch, could you?” Elizabeth smiled up at me playfully.

”Then I probably wouldn't have had the pleasure of feeding you.”

She blushed and accepted the cuffs over her wrists again.

I felt a bit drained and wanted a few moments to think.

”Alright. You all have free time for a while, but don't move out of these rooms. Okay?”

The women nodded, understanding. Christi and Elizabeth jumped immediately to their bare feet and headed for their books, not wanting to waste free time. Sheila more slowly climbed to her feet and began to scan the book shelves. Amy moved to the doorway and slipped into the stereo room.

Jane remained on her knees looking up at me.

”If you want company, I'll do whatever you need.” Her expression told me that she would do anything I wanted, whether that involved her crying in pain, or held in my arms. Or she'd simply sit and talk.

”Thanks for the offer, Janey. I appreciate it. But I just want to think for a while.”

”I understand,” she spoke softly from the floor. She struggled to push herself to her bare feet. ”Can I ask if I'm allowed in the dining room.”

An image of her stretched out on the windowsill in the still morning sun caught my mind's eye. Her feline form, breathing softly in sleep. With and without the evening dress, she flitted behind my eyes.

”Are you alright?” she asked worriedly. She'd never seen a blackout and she was understandably worried. Her life could be in the balance of another blackout and she was so close to going home.

I shook off the images with a smile. She didn't understand why I looked her up and down the way I did, but I nodded to her.

”I'm fine. And, of course you go to the dining room. Little kitten.”

She gave me a strange smile making me wonder just how much she did know. In a swirl of black fabric, interrupted only by her pale bare feet she scampered away to her window.

I turned away and made my way slowly upstairs. I lay back on the bed, closed my eyes and let the images of the week flash through.

Chapter 120.

I must have relaxed on the master bed for an hour or so, just reflecting on the journey, from the moment I took Christi, through all the excitement and emotions all the way to the happiness in Jane's eyes as she related her news in the kitchen. They were wonderful girls. And I was going to miss them. I closed my eyes and shuddered. The small black spider crawled over the recesses of my mind. Relaxing, I managed to stave off another episode, but I knew the time was coming. The girls deserved to be returned. They deserved better than this.

Slowly I sat up and stretched my limbs. I was tired, but it was time. I gained my feet and made my way to the door, slowly opening it. The hallway reminded me of the short journey that we had left. A straight arrow with a set of stairs leading down.

I arrived in the library, silently entering. Elizabeth was at her perch, reading the Tale of Two Cities again. Christi was curled up in the chair reading her Talisman. Both girls looked up at me as I entered. Elizabeth slowly raised her arms to display her bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s, flus.h.i.+ng a little as she did. I could almost see the thoughts in her pretty head. Not much longer, and anything to make the last few hours less painful for her. I smiled at her, appreciating the gesture, but indicated to her that she didn't have to display her body to me. Not this time. She slowly lowered her arms, a look of gratefulness crossing her features. Her arms obscured her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, but it was still obvious that she was nude. She looked beautiful in either position.

Sheila was lying quietly on the floor, thumbing through an atlas of all things. She hadn't looked up as I entered, intent on something in the reference book. I nodded easily to the other girls, who slowly turned back to their books. But I could feel their eyes still on me as I crouched beside Sheila. She finally looked up as my shadow crossed her book.

She smiled weakly, somehow understanding that I wanted her. She pushed herself off her stomach with her handcuffed hands and knelt. Not a word had been exchanged yet. I gently touched her shoulder as I rose to my feet. She followed, somehow knowing that it was expected of her. Her bare feet whispered across the carpet as I guided her out of the room. At the entranceway, she turned, gazing back at her friends. Christi and Elizabeth both were watching us intently now, their books forgotten. Elizabeth waved her bound hand, and Christi followed suit. They had no idea if they'd ever see Sheila again. Tears formed in Sheila's eyes as she waved back. But a weak smile also graced her features.

As I guided her to the stairs, she tried to speak. I shushed her gently. She obeyed, and silently climbed the stair, her bare legs working in front of my eyes.

We reached the bedroom and I sat on the bed. Looking around, a bit confused, she finally decided that the safest course was to kneel, which she did. I let her kneel there quietly for a few minutes. She broke the silence.

”Master? Are? Are you going to rape me?”

I laughed gently. ”If I haven't raped you yet, little one, I'm not going to.”

She looked a bit relieved. ”Why am I here then?” she asked quietly.

I looked at her. She was a vision of beauty. She perhaps had the most stunning physical attraction of all of them. And I'd never even touched it. She was kneeling easily with her hands held in her lap. She was squirming a little, but not as much as I would have in a similar situation.

”You know why you are here,” I spoke gently to her.

She swallowed heavily. I wasn't making it easier for her. She thought she knew, but she was afraid of being wrong. I couldn't blame her.

”Master? I. I know what I want.” She finally found the courage to take a chance.

I nodded to her, letting her know that it was alright for her to continue.

”I. I haven't been allowed to leave this house in three months. I've been raped. I've been beaten. I've been put through things that even you couldn't imagine. What I really want is to stay, here with you. Relatively safe. But I'm pretty sure that I can't,” her voice faltered and she paused for a moment, her thoughts spinning through her head. ”I. I want to go outside. I just want to be free, just for a while.”

I smiled. That was easy enough to grant. I slowly got off the bed and released her wrists. I dropped the handcuffs to the floor with a jangle. She remained on her knees, slowly rubbing her freed wrists.

I urged her to her bare feet and guided her silently downstairs and through the kitchen. I could see the tears br.i.m.m.i.n.g in her eyes as she antic.i.p.ated the outdoors again. Anything but this house, her prison. She didn't care if she was naked. She didn't care if she was still sore from Evan's treatment. She didn't care about anything except feeling the air against her skin, the sun beating down on her.

I opened the back door for her, letting it swing open. She hesitated in the doorway. She breathed in the fresh air wafting in from outside. She almost seemed like a dehydration victim, willing herself to take it slow, knowing that her body would reject water if she gulped.

In one slow and careful motion she stepped outside, her bare feet touching the gra.s.s.

She turned to me, ”I can go?” she asked quietly.

I nodded. And she turned her bare body, her arms reaching for the sky. She ran. I watched as her steps faltered a bit as she ran past Evan's frozen body, and again as she pa.s.sed Gertrude, but she continued, turning her face from them and running like the wind. I stepped out into the bright suns.h.i.+ne and watched her. She was like an antelope, a deer, a cheetah. She ran with the abandon of an alcoholic who was desperate for her next drink. I could hear her cries and laughter as she ran through the gra.s.s. I walked after her, just enjoying her pure joy and happiness.

Occasionally she stopped, plucking flowers from the garden and smelling them. She trailed her hands over the rough bark of the trees. And she knelt in the gra.s.s, running her hands through the blades.

I slowly approached her as she knelt. I settled beside her, unable to stop smiling at her simple happiness. Her teary eyes turned to my face. Her smile was enough to thank me forever, but she said the words anyway.

”Thank-you,” she whispered. ”I wish I could stay out here all day.”

”And I wish I could watch you all day,” I answered her back.