Carnal Captive (30 page)

Was he supposed to laugh? It didn’t matter because he’d found nothing funny in the comment.

“What about commands?
As I understand, she was taught to respond to several.”
Like a dog.

“We’ll give you the complete list,” Reno said. “Not all are verbal.”

Because her face was so close to the floor, Bay
figured
she couldn’t see Reno position himself
by her side. However, she’d undoubtedly learned to key into everything her handlers did. Soon her awareness would transfer to him.

“This is a basic example of a non-verbal command.” Grabbing a fistful of her hair, he
jerked, then released it.

She immediately straightened and placed her arms behind her, grabbing her elbows as she did.
Several small bruises ringed
her nipples.

“Verbal and non-verbal commands are equally effective,” Damek said. “Aren’t they, slave?”

Looking at the far wall, she nodded.

Muttering, Damek hooked a finger through her collar and pulled until she had no choice but to stare at the ceiling. “What happens if you don’t obey?”

“I’m punished
, Master
.”

“Has there ever been a time when you weren’t punished?”

“No, Master.”

Concerned because she sounded as if she was strangling, Bay
grabbed Damek’s wrist.
“That’s enough.”

Damek let go of the collar, but the slave remained
in position
until Reno
drew
her head forward via a hair-jerk.

“A warning,” Damek said. “Don’t ever show weakness or compassion. Believe me, the sluts take advantage of it.”

“He’s right,” Reno added. “Life is basic for
them
.
They
eat, sleep, ha
ve
sex,
are
punished. Sometimes
they’re
passed around
or put on display. Anything
they
can do to lessen or end the monotony,
they
will.”

“Monotony?” Bay walked around so he could look into her eyes. She didn’t acknowledge his stare.

“Sameness. In time slaves learn to bury their self-will,” Damek said. “It’s a
bout
survival
.
Please a master and there’ll be less pain. Eventually the l
esson becomes so ingrained
they
forget
they
had opinions, desires, dreams.
T
hat hasn’t yet happened with this one.”

Where was the woman she’d once been?
 
 
  
  
  

“Look,” Reno said, “my partner fancies himself a psychologist. The female psyche fascinates him which might be why it
also
frustrates him. You can read his observations in the file we’ll be sending
along
with he
r
.”

Catching a hint of irritation in Reno’s voice, Bay studied both men in turn. “What else do I
need to know today?
I might not get to reading right away.”

Mr.
Jones
chuckled. “New masters never do. What about it, gentlemen? Any cautions?”

Cautions? As in needing to warn him that she might overpower him?
Not in this lifetime.

“There is one thing I’m going to mention
.
” When
Reno
didn’t immediately continue, Bay gave
him his full attention.

“I think I know what it is
,”
Bay
said
.
“
You want reassurance that I know my strength. Believe me, I do.”

“
I hope so. Otherwise, you’re going to lose your investment.”

In the tense silence that followed, Bay guessed Carnal staff wasn’t in the habit of
warning
those who kept them in business. Leaving the
others
to figure out what to do next, he cupped the slave’s chin.

“I own you. That’s the only thing you need to know, understand.”

“Yes, Master.”

Her voice was deeper than he remembered. Her eyes were brown, something
else he hadn’t noted
.

“Stand up.”

She nearly lost her balance getting to her feet while keeping her arms behind her. The way her breasts
moved
naturally
drew his attention to that part of her anatomy. Still getting used to the reality of what money had bought him, he licked his fingers and stroked a nipple. Her breathing picked up. Remoistening his fingers, he rolled the nipple between forefinger and thumb until it hardened.

“Good technique,” Damek
said
. “
You don’t want to
stick to
gentle stimulation of course because that’ll get her to thinking she’s more than a fuck toy. The master/slave relationship
isn’t
complex. She simply needs to understand her place.”

“He’s right,” Reno added. “Let me demonstrate.”

The instant Reno reached for her other breast, the slave sucked in a breath and started to lean away only to catch herself. Her lashes lowered.

“No you don’t
.
” Clamping hold of the nipple,
Reno
roughl
y drew her toward him.
“Women’s breasts
are
the perfect leash. Get hold of one and she’ll do anything you want.” He pulled up, forcing her
onto her toes
.

“That’s what the marks on them are about?” Bay didn’t try to keep disapproval out of his voice. “
You’ve been h
auling her around
?”

Reno
relaxed his hold
enough that she was able to stand flat-footed.
“That’s one way of putting it
,” Damek said. “
To clarify, the bruises come from nipple clamps.
I
get the impression t
h
os
e marks aren’t to your liking, but punishment is
, after all,
at the core of what we do.”

He knew that, damn it.
     

“Gentlemen, gentlemen,
” Mr. Jones
interjected
, “
there’s no reason for disagreement. We’re all after the same results, a satisfactory experience for the client.
Reno
, you’ve made your point
.
Release her
. Bay, take your time
assessing
the merchandise. If there’s anything not to your liking, bring it to our attention.”

Bay didn’t dare look at Mr.
Jones
. I
f he did
,
he might laugh
,
either that or rearrange the man’s
fac
e. When an obviously disgruntled Damek let her breast drop, he started to walk around
her
only to catch himself. “Rotate,” he commanded. “And arms at your sides.”

Relief washed over her
to be r
eplaced by the distant, neutral expression he’d seen before. Head up and
nails
pressing into her palms, she slowly turned in a circle. Comparing her slight, n
ude
form
to
that of the other men and himself, he wondered if she felt like a
doe
surrounded by wolves. Maybe not because
a
doe would try to escape
.
Watching her, he couldn’t determine whether she was embarrassed or resigned. Maybe she was so far gone that nothing mattered to her.

And maybe she was spacing out again.

Chapter Twenty-one

Leaving her to her thoughts, if she had any,
Bay
took note of surprisingly broad shoulders
and
slim arms. Slender and wiry as she was, he expect her breasts to be an A cup. Instead they had to be a solid C. Her legs were long and firmly muscled.
L
ooking at her hairless crotch
—d
amn
, h
e could hardly wait to get his
cock
in her
.

“You’re certain you don’t want her pierced?” Damek asked. “Spread your legs, slave.”

Her nostrils flared but she obeyed. Grabbing her hips, Damek positioned her so Bay had a clear view of her pussy. “She has a sweet pair of lips, big and puffy. They’d look even better like this.” Reaching between her legs from behind, Damek
grasped
her labia and drew them down. “
You
’ll see
the ring
every time she takes a step
, and she sure as hell won’t be able to
forget what it means
.”

Watching the crude demonstration, Bay look
ed
forward to laying claim to that part of her. For the first time it truly penetrated that he owned every inch of her.

“I don’t know,” he muttered. Damn, he couldn’t think.

“What about her boobs?” 

He barely noticed what Reno was doing until the trainer
pulled
a pair of gold clamps
from his pocket
and held one up to the slave’s right breast. “That’s lovely if I do say so. Makes a
n unforgettable
statement about w
ho rules who
.”

Interested as he was in what Reno was doing,
Bay
forced his attention from the small teeth
as they
clos
ed
around her nipple and onto her face. Pain contorted it. Her
wide eyes
and clenched teeth
reminded him of
when
an injury
had
transformed his
own
features. He
’d
hated
that look on himself.
In contrast,
see
ing pain claim her
increased his sense of power
.

Reno clamped her other nipple
, making her hiss and groan
. “
Y
ou don’t have to m
ake a decision today. I
f it’s more convenient for us to come to you
for
the piercing,
that can be arranged
.”

Upgrading the product. That, when you got down to it, was what they were talking about.

Stepping back, he
again
studied his slave. Damek had
released
her labia, but the flesh still hung down. Between that and her imprisoned breasts, it didn’t take much imagination to picture what could be done to her. Maybe he should get it over now, probably cost less than a later house call.

Then he noted she’d hunched forward as if trying to protect her breasts from any more abuse and knew he wasn’t ready to take that step.

“I appr
eciate the offer. It’s
tempting.”

“Understandable,” Mr.
Jones
said.
“
Gentlemen
, is there anything else you want to cover before our guest and his possession leave?”

“She’s one of the quietest bitches I’ve worked with,” Reno said. “Most beg and cry. They plead
and
promise all kinds of crap they can’t deliver. They ask why this is happening and what’s going to happen next.”

“Until we gag them,” Damek added.

“Until we gag them. We did that with her what, maybe a half dozen times until we
realiz
ed it wasn’t necessary
.
Of course there were occasions when we did so for entertainment purposes, our entertainment that is.
”

“What about when she was being punished?” Mr.
Jones
asked.

Something about the older man’s tone
caught
Bay
’s attention
. Unless he couldn’t see the signs when they were laid out in front of him, the damn bastard was
turned on
. Wh
at was he, a
sadist?
The pot calling the kettle black?

“She screamed some of course,” Damek supplied. “More moaning but really, not that much.”

“Is that a problem?” Reno asked? “You’d rather have a slave who screams
he
r lungs out
?”