The Pet Shop (4 page)

Tino responded by growling and curling his fingers in her hair, pulling her down into an animal rough and tumble on the floor, licking and tasting and rubbing and stroking until they were both slippery with egg and come and sweat, and shiny with butter and oil and heat. Tino had taken her so far beyond what she had ever felt in sex before that she hardly recognised herself or her response. The feeling of animalness was so far removed from anything she had ever experienced that she felt like tossing her head back and howling.

He sniffed her and licked her and rubbed against her. She imitated his actions, wondering if such exhilaration was what their primate ancestors had felt. When a female was in full season, a male’s whole reason for being was to couple with her, to do it as often and as hard as he could until they were both too exhausted from their endless, obsessive copulating to do anything but collapse next to each other and sleep. She smiled at the thought and wondered why it had taken her so damn long to give in to her own animal lust.

S
TELLA COULD BARELY GET
out of bed Monday morning. But in spite of the sex-crazed weekend that should have left her sated and exhausted, she was wide awake and buzzing with energy. Once she managed to pull her aching bones out from under the duvet, she quickly discovered the tension between her legs was stubbornly unsympathetic to the soreness in the rest of her body.

It started in the shower with memories of giving Tino’s lovely bottom a thorough scrubbing, memories of feeling his soapy cock press insistently against her stomach and thighs. His lapping droplets of water off her breasts and neck made it impossible for her to concentrate until at last she relented and gave him what he so clearly needed, what she so clearly needed.

It was delicious self-torture not to give in and scratch the itch. She was anxious to get to the office before Anne did. She knew Anne would be full of questions, and she just wanted to bask in the afterglow for a while longer before she had to endure Anne’s sexual inquisition. Reading
On Keeping Pets
during the bus commute did nothing to ease the need below her belly. With its innocuous dark blue cover, the manual was respectably bound and perfect for reading on public transport.

You may feel free to take your Pet into public places. She or he is provided with proper clothing for that purpose. If you plan to take your Pet to a more formal event, or an event that requires special clothing, you must let the Pet Shop know in advance and appropriate attire will be provided. The Pet Shop does not recommended formal events for Pet/keeper bonding, however, as such events are not the proper place for Pets, and appropriate behaviour cannot be guaranteed in formal settings. Pets prefer outings in parks and outdoor events. Pets also enjoy going to the cinema, but not if it is crowded, as crowds make Pets nervous.

Note: Rules for Pet Interaction with any form of media or technology apply when taking a Pet to the cinema or watching a DVD at home.

Note: On an outing where sexually segregated public toilets are present, toilet rules for Pets do not apply. Rest assured your Pet may be relied upon fully to tend to his or her own needs in a publicly acceptable way.

When taking your Pet on an outing, you must keep in mind that Pets are not comfortable in clothing and, if the outing is a long one, at some point the Pet’s need for sexual release may override his or her good behaviour. This could be embarrassing to the keeper, as Pets aren’t too concerned about where they pleasure themselves or how. To prevent this from happening on a long outing, take frequent privacy breaks to relieve your Pet’s needs and see to her or his comfort. These breaks are also opportunities for the pleasure and relief of Pet keepers as well, and usually a very enjoyable part of any outing for both Pet and keeper.

Looking to all casual observers like the paragon of perfect posture, Stella took full advantage of the thrumming of the bus engine vibrating up through her seat. It sent yummy shockwaves of pleasure over her lady bits while she read the Pet keeper’s manual and fantasising about sexy outings with Tino. All the while she adjusted her hips with subtle shifting to keep the buzz right where she needed it.

She exited the bus and endured the delicious torture of vulval friction caused by walking the six blocks to the Strigida offices in French-cut knickers that rubbed and stroked with every step. Upon her arrival, she made a mad dash to the loo to finish off the job. There she sat on the throne, skirt hoisted high, panties hugging her ankles, legs splayed wide at the knees. She rubbed and pinched her clit. Her fingers darted in and out of her drenched quim swirling and thrusting as though she were planning to dive in up to her elbow. When she came, she nearly catapulted herself off the commode bumping one knee painfully on the toilet roll dispenser and jerking until several vertebrae in her spine popped and cracked in protest.

‘Password? You didn’t say anything about giving her a password. Are you sure that’s a good idea?’ O’Kelly’s grip on the receiver clenched. ‘I mean I thought Stella having Tino was a one-off, a gift?’

‘It was a gift,’ the Boss replied. ‘Of course it was a gift, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a one-off, does it? Besides, you’ve always known this was a part of the plan. Why are you suddenly so squeamish?’

Anne was silent for a long second. ‘She won’t accept it.’

‘Then don’t tell her it’s a gift. Just give her the password to the website. Let her think she’s paying for it.’

‘What I mean is ... I had a heck of a time getting her to take Tino in the first place. I had to practically slam the door behind me and make a run for it.’

There was a warm chuckle on the other end of the receiver. ‘But she kept him, didn’t she? She kept him for the whole weekend and got him back late, if I understand right.’

Anne caught her breath. ‘I hadn’t heard that.’

‘Hadn’t you? I would have thought the two of you would have shared all the steamy details by now.’ She could hear him tisk-tisking into the phone. ‘Don’t tell me she was late for work this morning after the rigors of her weekend?’

‘She was early actually. She was hard at work when I got in at eight.’

‘You were in at eight? O’Kelly I think
you
need a Pet.’

‘I have one, sir, whenever I want.’

‘Of course you do. And see what a great employee you are, having access to all those lovely Pets.’

She bristled. ‘I’m not an employee.’ She knew he was only winding her up, but she was a little short on temper today.

‘If we ever want our plans to come to fruition, O’Kelly, then you know as well as I do she needs a password. That’s the first step.’

Anne’s shoulders rose and fell in a frustrated sigh. ‘I understand that, of course I do. But I don’t know. I ...’

‘What is it, O’Kelly? What’s bothering you?’

She hated it when he used his patient voice on her. She hated it because it usually meant she had to come clean. And what was troubling her was usually something she couldn’t quite name, but her gut told her she should be able to. She let out a slow breath. ‘I’m just not convinced she’s the right one, that’s all.’

‘I think she is. But giving her the password will help us confirm it one way or another.’ She could almost hear the smile break in his voice. ‘And if she isn’t, well then you can happily say you told me so, and I shall be humbled before your superior intuition.’

‘No you won’t. You never are.’

‘That’s because I’m never wrong. If I ever am you’ll see just how humble I can be.’

She offered a forced smile that no one saw. It pained her to admit it, but he
was
always right. She was the careful one, the pessimist, the voice of reason. It had been that way since they were at uni together. He said that’s what made her the perfect business partner. Not that he seemed to need her voice of reason. Every time he was reckless, every time he threw caution to the wind he was right. You’d think she would have learnt by now. The man had more than intuition, he had instincts. It was uncanny.

‘O’Kelly? You still there?’

‘I’m here, yes.’

‘This is still what you want, isn’t it? It’s a hell of an inconvenience for me, mind you. And no one would be happier than I if you changed your mind. But there’s no denying you’ve earned it.’

‘Yes. Yes, it’s what I want.’ When he talked to her like that, it shook her resolve, but this was what she wanted, she reassured herself. It wasn’t just what she wanted, it was also what she needed, and even if he couldn’t admit it, surely he knew. Anyway, he’d just have to deal with it, wouldn’t he?

He released his own breath, and it sounded like a strong breeze over the phone. ‘Then you have to trust me, O’Kelly. I promise you won’t regret it.’

‘I know. I know I won’t.’ She didn’t really believe it just yet, but then she never did.

‘Good. Now I want you to make a lunch date with Stella. Find out what happened. I’ll wager she’ll ask how she can have Tino again at her own expense. Then give her the password.’

In the afternoon, there was a conference call to Portland, Oregon, with possible recipients of grants from Strigida. It had been positively embarrassing. Well not for anyone else. The Boss and the people from the Vanguard Nature Trust were completely unaware that Stella was participating in an important conversation about preserving wetlands wearing damp knickers. It added a whole new dimension to dressing for the occasion.

She sat doing the isometric squeeze with her thigh muscles while engaging in a discussion about hides and observation decks and reclamation of derelict land. Just as arrangements were being made for a face-to-face meeting, Stella pushed herself over the edge into an orgasm that nearly shook her out of her ergonomically designed chair. It was the silent but powerful fireworks to celebrate the deal.

Terrified, and ashamed that she might have missed something important, she checked and rechecked the recorded minutes of the meeting, but strangely enough, she had missed nothing. Her comments, her responses, her suggestions were all sharp, even bordering on genius at times.

Later that day, the Boss phoned her. From the background noise and flights being called over the intercom, she knew he was at the airport. In Chicago, if she remembered right. He often hopped from city to city, from country to country several times during the course of a day checking out nature reserves and reclamation sites, helping find legal ways to preserve tracts of threatened woodland and championing any number of environmental causes by spreading Strigida funds wherever they could do the most good. The man seldom rested. In fact she hadn’t seen him more than half a dozen times since she took the job.

‘Stella, you were brilliant in the conference today. How’d you know that there’d been a lumber mill on the site? The idea of using the reclaimed lumber to build the hides is genius, both economically and environmentally.’

‘Thank you, sir. I just did my research.’

‘Brilliant, as I said.’ She could almost hear him smiling. ‘This sort of research is why you have no life outside of Strigida.’ It wasn’t a question.

‘You told me the job would demand a lot of me.’

‘Yes, I did, didn’t I? Now, O’Kelly tells me you worked right through your lunch break. I’ve given her specific instructions to order a nice takeaway. Chinese, I think she said you like. If I’m not mistaken it should be arriving about now. Go meet her in the break room and eat something. I know you’ll be burning the midnight oil, but I won’t have you do it on an empty stomach. Now go. That’s an order. And good job, Stella.’

There had been no mention of the “gift” Strigida had so thoughtfully provided, and though Stella felt like she should at least say thank you, it didn’t seem appropriate to do it on company time. But then again there was nothing appropriate about the gift in the first place, was there?

‘You walk like you’ve been in the saddle too long,’ Anne said as she watched Stella sit at the table in the break room. ‘Bit sore today, are we?’

Stella couldn’t hold back a smile and a blush as she thought of Tino waking her Sunday morning with his tongue. He was such a naughty Pet. She did spank him for it afterward, but that only served to make him more fuckable and her more horny.

She dragged her attention back to Anne who was busy riffling through the Chinese takeaway bag for the fortune cookies at the bottom. ‘Understandable, really. Tino wields a sizable meat whistle.’

‘Shshsh!’ Stella gave a quick glance around to make sure no one was listening.

‘Oh would you relax. No one will hear us, Stel. Everyone else has gone home for the day, and the only reason I’m still here is because I’m dying to know how you got on with Tino.’ She leant over the table. ‘I hear he got back to the Pet Shop late.’

Stella dropped a wooden chopstick and it clattered across the table in a spatter of soy sauce. ‘Who told you that?’

Anne wiped at the table with her napkin and ignored the question. ‘Tino will always hold out for one last fuck if he can get away with it, and who’s gonna discipline him for that? So tell me,’ she leant so far over the table that her head was practically touching Stella’s. ‘Was it as good as I said it would be?’

Stella felt the uncontrollable smile split her face, the one that had been taking all facial muscles by storm ever since she first made love with Tino. ‘Better, actually. Tino’s amazing.’

Anne giggled. ‘Tino is a very naughty boy, that’s what Tino is.’

There was the staccato burst laughter not unlike misbehaving schoolchildren scheming something forbidden, then the room fell uncomfortably silent as they both concentrated on their hot and sour soup.

Stella laid down her spoon and wiped her mouth on the napkin. ‘After Tino left, I looked up the Pet Shop website.’

Anne didn’t seem surprised.

‘I was curious, as you can imagine. But I couldn’t get access.’ She scrunched her napkin in her lap and shrugged. It was more than curious, she thought. It was frightening just how bereft she had felt after Tino left. It bordered on desperation. Her stomach knotted at the thought.

‘You have to have a password to get to the good stuff. That is what you were looking for, isn’t it? Good stuff about Tino?’

‘I spent the whole weekend ... making love with the man. I’d just like to know a bit more about him. He can speak, right? I mean not talking is just a Pet thing, isn’t it? Like it says in the manual.’

Anne laid down her spoon and held Stella in a scrutinizing gaze. ‘Why? Would you have preferred he speak?’

Stella shook her head and looked down into her soup. ‘No. It was nice not having to make witty conversation. And besides, Tino really didn’t need to speak to express himself.’ She found herself blushing again, and her pussy quivered at thoughts of just how well Tino had expressed himself. She looked back up at Anne, who was still watching her as though she were expecting a confession. ‘Still, it would be nice to know a little bit about him.’

Anne held her gaze until Stella squirmed and looked away, then she spoke. ‘You want him again. Don’t you?’

Stella nodded, and felt a strange tightening in her throat. It was insane, but she missed him. How stupid was that? He had been paid to fuck her for a weekend. That was all it was. How could she miss him?