“Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Open wide, then.”

  Ruby opened her mouth, and Heather ran the first two fingers of her right hand along Ruby’s tongue, pushing down hard at first, but letting up and going down softly as she reached the back of Ruby’s tongue, and kept going until most of her hand was in Ruby’s mouth. She pushed until she couldn’t go any farther. She looked into Ruby’s eyes as she slowly counted to ten out loud, and then pulled them out.

  “Well done. I love that your eyes watered, and I’m starting to understand Marcus’s sadistic streak.” The power it gave her went right to her clit, but she wasn’t horny enough to order Ruby to suck her clit and finger her, though the idea was more appealing than it had been ten minutes before. “Do you want to do the wall anymore, or have you had enough?”

  “I think I’m done, Ma’am.”

  “Okay then. I’ll go to the top a few times, and then I’ll be ready to go home. Do you want to wait for me and follow me home, or would you like to leave now?”

  Ruby smiled. “I’ll wait for you Ma’am.”

  “Excellent. You may stand.”

  Chapter 38

  Heather walked into Marcus’s house and wished she was going home to Kyle’s house. This was the eleventh night in a row she and Kyle were staying with Marcus and Ruby, but she was tired, and she wanted to sit in the bathtub with a book and zone out for a few hours. She’d flown some businessmen to DC and back today, and had taken off in a thunderstorm this morning, then landed in an even worse storm in DC, then almost couldn’t get clearance to fly home this evening because of the high winds. And, of course, she’d landed in a terrible storm in Chattanooga again tonight, and the tower had fucked around with her, making her circle the airport after she’d dropped back down into the storm, instead of telling her while she was still above it. The only good thing about the evening was that Marcus had stopped by her favorite local Italian restaurant and brought food home for everyone.

  “We should eat while the food’s hot,” Marcus told them.

  Heather wanted to wait for Kyle, but she knew Marcus was right. Kyle would probably be at least another hour, and probably longer.

  When he finally arrived, Heather was working out, focusing on her legs, and Marcus had taken Ruby to the playroom.

  She sat with Kyle while he ate, hearing about his day, telling him about hers. It was nice, just the two of them.

  When Kyle finished, she told him, “I’m going to appropriate one of the guest bathrooms with a garden tub for a few hours. I need to veg out with a good book.”

  Kyle nodded, “I’m surprised I haven’t heard from any of the nursing staff yet but it’s only a matter of time before a medication needs altering and the phone rings, but I think I’ll play a video game and get my own version of vegging out.”

  * * * *

  Heather was about halfway through her book when the bathroom door opened and Kyle entered wearing a pair of loose boxers. He stepped in and dropped to his knees on the bathmat beside the tub. “I’m about to turn in, are you ready for bed yet? You’re going to be all pruney.”

  She set her e-reader to the side. “Yeah, I could go to sleep. Thanks for letting me stay in here so long. I feel as if I should apologize for needing alone time.”

  He put her e-reader on the vanity and stood with a towel opened in invitation. She used her toe to push the mechanism to let the water out, stood, and stepped out of the tub, directly into the towel and into Kyle’s arms. He held her a few moments and then kissed the top of her head. “I love you, and you never need to apologize for needing your quiet time.”

  “I love you, too, and I’m beyond grateful you don’t take my need for alone time personally.”

  Heather had brought a sleep shirt into the bathroom with her, so she stepped out of Kyle’s arms, grabbed the shirt, pulled it over her head, retrieved her e-reader, and headed for Marcus’s bedroom. Kyle followed her with the towel and stepped into Marcus’s bathroom with it, which meant he was putting it in the hamper. Heather felt bad she hadn’t thought of it, but she’d just annoy Kyle if she told him she was sorry, so she didn’t.

  “Are Marcus and Ruby still in the playroom?”

  He shrugged. “I assume so. Want me to check?”

  Heather sat on the edge of the bed. “No, and I’m not up to playing tonight. If you are then I can help you out, but honestly, I’d just like to be held.”

  “I’d love to hold you and cuddle with you.”

  They’d been in bed perhaps ten minutes, Kyle spooned behind Heather, when Marcus walked in with Ruby following him, crawling on hands and knees. He walked straight to the cage, opened the door, and motioned her inside.

  Ruby looked up, anguish written on her face. “Please don’t put me in the cage tonight, Master.”

  “Is there some physical reason you shouldn’t be caged? Something I’m not aware of?”

  She looked down, focused on his feet, and shook her head, “No, Master, but please don’t make me sleep in the cage.”

  Marcus squatted down so his weight was on his toes and his ass was on his heels. “Do you own me, or do I own you?”

  “You own me, Sir.”

  “You signed a contract saying you understood that sleeping in my bed was a privilege, and that you understood you’d be in a cage at night if I chose. Do you want out of that contract?”

  “No Sir. I don’t want out of my contract.”

  “I allowed you an orgasm when I fucked your ass, and now it’s time for bed. I’d planned to leave your hands free tonight, but since you’ve tried to dictate sleeping arrangements, they’ll be restrained. Wait there, on your knees. I’ll be back in a moment with a straitjacket.”

  The bottom of the cage contained a twin sized mattress. The back and one side were part of the wall, leaving the front and the other side with bars. Doors could be closed over the bars, so guests wouldn’t see the cage, but when someone was inside, the solid wooden doors were open, so the inhabitant had two barred sides to see out of.

  The cage wasn’t tall enough to sit up in, and was barely tall enough for a petite female to crawl in on hands and knees and then lay down. There was a small, barred door in the front big enough to crawl through, but it was also possible to open the entire front, so you could change out the mattress, and so the sheets on the mattress could be changed.

  Marcus came back with the straitjacket and quickly secured her into it. He opened the entire front of the cage and motioned for her to go in. Ruby sat and stared at him, and Marcus said, “I won’t force you. You’ll either go in there willingly, or I’ll remove the restraints and you can sleep in a guest bedroom tonight, and make other living arrangements tomorrow. Those are your choices.”

  Wow. He’d punished her when she’d balked in the past. Apparently, he was tired of that. He’d talked to Heather about how he handled certain kinds of defiance — and one of those ways was to remind the slave they’d chosen this life, and offer an easy route to leave. She’d never seen him actually put it into these words though, so it seemed Ruby had pushed his button enough for him to change gears with how he handled this particular issue.

  Ruby bent slowly, aimed her upper body towards the cage, and pushed herself in, rolling over so she was on her back, looking up.

  Marcus went to hands and knees, put his head in, and gave her what appeared to Heather to be a pretty passionate kiss. He covered her with a sheet, firmly closed and locked the large door, and made a point of checking the lock on it as well as the small door before climbing into bed with Heather and Kyle.

  * * * *

  Heather was up early the next morning, so she could meet the contractors at the ranch at seven. Marcus was getting a blowjob from a still straitjacketed Ruby when she left, so Heather gave him a peck on the lips goodbye, caressed Ruby’s head, and held Kyle’s hand as they walked through the house. He liked to walk her all the way to her car, when she left before him.

  He started their kiss, but Heather finished it, and brushed her hand across Kyle’s dick, over the top of his pants. She loved how he got so hard from just a kiss.

  She opened her car door and got in, but didn’t close it.

  “It isn’t working.”

  Kyle closed his eyes a few seconds and then opened them. Heather couldn’t tell if she saw sadness or frustration, or possibly a mix of both. “I know.”

  “I don’t know how to tell Marcus. I know he’ll be disappointed, but the four of us in one house isn’t something I’m interested in pursuing long term. I can’t really give a specific reason. The sex is great, Ruby is nice enough, and everyone is tip-toeing around each other trying not to step on anyone’s toes...” She paused at that, thinking. “Maybe that’s the problem? If it was working, we wouldn’t have to tip-toe around each other? I don’t know, but we need to have a conversation about it.”

  “Agreed, and sooner, rather than later. I don’t like seeing you unhappy, and this clearly isn’t working for you.”

  “Is it working for you?”

  “Yes and no.”

  “So, you’d be okay with it if I wasn’t having issues?”

  “I’m not certain I would be. It’s easy to say it isn’t working for me because I can see it isn’t working for you, but I agree everyone is being too cautious, and it’s possible I’d want to escape the way that feels, if given enough time.”

  Heather sighed. “It’s only been eleven days, and we’re supposed to have another twelve days in our little experiment. Do you think it’ll get better, if we just let it play out?”

  “It might.”

  “Then let’s leave things alone and see what happens.”

  “Another five days, and then you and I will talk about it again.”

  She smiled. “For a submissive, you can be really bossy sometimes.”

  Kyle gave her another peck on the lips and closed her door, and Heather left to go talk to her contractor and then spend some time with her horse.

  * * * *

  Heather’s phone rang about five minutes after noon. She saw it was Marcus, so she answered with, “How was the blowjob this morning?”

  “The blowjob was fine. The slave appears to be getting more than she bargained for.”

  “Have the two of you talked about it?”

  “We had a thirty-minute conversation this morning over breakfast, and while we got ready. She called timeout for our talk, and it looks like it’s going to be a permanent timeout.”

  “She’s calling it quits before the three months are up?”

  “It wasn’t just her decision. We both agreed it isn’t working. She thinks she’ll be fine as a slave to a single Master, but I think she’ll be happier as someone’s pet, or maybe a more extreme submissive. Based on what she says she wants, she doesn’t appear to be slave material to me. At any rate, my heart doesn’t beat double-time for her, and her heart’s not beating double time for me, either. No harm done, no hard feelings, and she wants to talk to you, to make sure the two of you can remain friends.”

  Heather sighed. “I’m sorry, Marcus.”

  “It’s not your fault, and I’m disappointed, but not heartbroken. Like I said, there wasn’t that extra spark. I’ve enjoyed having you at the house full-time, though. How has that worked for you?”

  “Honestly? Not so great, though I think that was mostly because it seemed we were two couples living together, instead of a foursome. I think I spent less time with you when we were living together as a foursome than when we were in two houses as a threesome.”

  “You’re right, which is another reason it wasn’t working with Ruby. I’m convinced that with the right person — someone like Amy, who truly gets off on being a slave — we can be a happy foursome.”

  Amy was his housekeeper, and Heather agreed there was a big difference in the way Amy and Ruby reacted to orders.

  “You’re eating lunch now?”

  “I brought a can of soup to dump in a bowl and stick in the microwave. Can I make a request?”

  “Of course.”

  “Once Ruby moves out, and I’m not going to kick her out, I’ll give her time to find a place, but once she moves out, can we try the experiment with you and Kyle staying at my house for an extended time with just the three of us?”

  She smiled, then realized he couldn’t see it over the phone. “Yes, I’d like that very much, and I’m sure Kyle won’t have a problem with it, either.”

  Chapter 39

  Marcus’s housekeeper, Amy, had cooked dinner for the threesome, and was serving it to them in nothing but a collar, a slim chain around her waist, and some high-heeled shoes so tall, she was practically walking like a ballerina en pointe.

  Ruby had moved out on Saturday after taking a week to find an apartment, and Kyle and Heather had started their three-week stint with Marcus Saturday evening when Heather had arrived home after hosting the first part of a day for a bachelor party — climbing wall for everyone, and a parachute jump from the helicopter for the ones brave enough to try it.

  Their week had flown by without the smallest problem, and it was now Friday evening, and Amy was on loan to them for forty-eight hours while her Master had relatives in town visiting.

  Marcus had explained to Heather that Amy craved being owned, and was happiest when she was being treated as a slave. She’d been with her master more than two years, and she had very few limits. She had a safeword with Marcus, but she didn’t have one with her Master.

  Heather, Kyle, and Marcus had dressed up for dinner, and Amy had prepared an appetizer of bruschetta and several kinds of dip with garlic bread, then there was a salad, and the main dinner course of grilled salmon and a side of couscous with ginger. Dessert was a delicious homemade lemon sherbet.

  While they were on their salad course, Marcus decided it was time to talk about their week.

  “I realize our first week isn’t over yet, but I’d like to get your input on how our living arrangements have worked, or not worked, for both of you.”

  Heather took a bite of her salad, the walnuts and orange pieces mixing perfectly with whatever kind of cheese Amy had used. “You brought it up, why don’t you go first.”

  Marcus swallowed his food and grinned. “I’ve loved it. I know we aren’t going to have sex every evening and every morning, it isn’t practical. We started out pretty heavy with things, but the nights we’ve just gone to bed and gone to sleep, that’s been nice, too. I love having the two of you here.”

  Heather looked at Kyle. “How about you?” She wanted his input before she gave hers, to make sure he wasn’t just echoing whatever she said. If he had a strong opinion he’d voice it, but if he didn’t much care either way, he’d almost always speak to however Heather felt.

  “I miss having my own kitchen — my knives, my pots and pans. I’ll be ready to go home in two weeks, but not because I’m tired of this, just because I miss being around my stuff. If you wanted to spend next week at my house with us, I wouldn’t object to that in the least.”

  Heather looked from Kyle, to Marcus, and back to Kyle. That was the problem with sitting between them, she had to choose who to look at when she talked. She decided to start her statement looking at Kyle.

  “I’ve been happy here, too. I’ve been going back and forth between houses, depending on who is on call and who isn’t.” She looked at Marcus. “I don’t like it when I’m at Kyle’s and you’re alone at night. I think the three of us changing houses every other week might be a good short-term solution.”

  Marcus placed his fork on his plate, taking the time to line it up so it was parallel with the edge of the table before looking at Heather. “A good short-term solution? I agree, but does that mean you agree a long-term solution is for the three of us to decide on a place to live, and then move into it?”

  Heather swiveled her head to look at Kyle, giving him a questioning look, wanting his opinion.

  Kyle picked up her cue. “How about we do the every-other-week thing for, say, six weeks? Eight weeks? And then decide if we want to all three move in together permanently. It’ll make adding a fourth easier, I think, because whoever it is will be coming into a threesome already well established in the same home. It should keep us from getting back to that dynamic of two couples under one roof that we had with Ruby.”

  By the time dessert had been served, the three had hammered out a fairly comprehensive agreement that included paying Amy to keep both houses stocked as well as having her move the perishables from one house to the other each Friday.

  Marcus ordered Amy to prepare a one-and-a-half-quart enema bucket while they ate their dessert, and once they were finished eating, he had her drop to hands and knees on the kitchen floor. He put a nozzle in her ass with balloons he pumped up to hold it in place, and then released the water into her bowels, not slowing the flow even when she gasped and was in obvious distress. The bucket emptied fairly quickly, and Marcus closed the tubing and disconnected it from the bucket.

  “Clean the kitchen, put everything away, and then join us in the playroom.”

  “Of course, Sir.”

  When they arrived in the playroom, Kyle dropped to his knees and said, “My Lady, I have a request, please.”

  “Of course, Kyle. Speak.”

  “Sometimes, I get jealous of the way Amy is treated. Not... I mean, I don’t want to be a slave all the time, but sometimes, I’d like to be treated more like a slave and less like a submissive.”

  When she’d made him talk to her about the things he masturbated to, one of them was visualizing being treated like a slave, though he’d been clear, at the time, that he didn’t actually want to be treated like one, and it was only fantasy material. Clearly, he wanted it to be at least a little real, now.

  “And tonight is one of those times?”