Chapter Two

            The first few days were hard on Mary.  Joan kept her on a short leash.  She spent most of her days in a dungeon room that Joan had fixed for her in the basement and her nights on the floor next to Joan’s bed.  Escape wasn’t an option.  Joan kept her naked and shackled all of the time.  In addition, the collar Mary wore around her neck was a high-tech dog fence collar that was set to incapacitate her if she should try to leave the house.

            Joan wanted Mary to behave as if they were lovers but Mary had been rebellious.  Joan was patient.  She had a long term plan for behavior modification.  Each time Mary didn’t perform as Joan wished she cuffed her to the wall and whipped her.  Then, when Mary was screaming out her pain in heaving gulps, Joan would drop the whip and tease her until she was panting and begging for release.  Then she would start the cycle over.  By day four Mary was at least obedient even if her eyes were still full of rebellion.  By day nine even that was fading.

“Come here, Mary, I need some attention!”

Mary lifted her head from her pillow on the floor and looked up at the bed where Joan was stretching languorously.   ‘Some attention’ meant that Joan wanted to be licked.  The alternative was a humiliating over the knee spanking for ‘being naughty’ and then a between the legs session anyway. 

            “Coming, Joan,” she said sweetly.

            Joan insisted that Mary call her by her first name.  As if they really were living together and having a relationship.  Joan liked to maintain the pretense that Mary was her lover and any reticence on Mary’s part to keep up the fiction was rewarded by a spanking.  If Joan was really angry she took Mary to the dungeon room in the basement and tortured her for hours.   Unfortunately Mary was finding that the combination of the whip and Joan’s finger was becoming addictive.  She moved to the bed.

            “Right here, baby,” Joan said, motioning between her legs.  “Give me a good one this morning and I’ll reward you.”

            Mary’s body betrayed her.  Only a little over a week into this hell of a life and her body craved a reward.  She needed a reward.  She put her mouth down firmly on Joan’s cunt and captured her clit with her teeth.  Her hands reached up and pinched both of Joan’s nipples hard.  Joan’s body jackknifed in pleasure.  Sometimes Joanie liked it rough.

            “Oh baby, oh baby,” she screamed, “yes, yes, yes.”

            Some part of Mary’s mind recognized that Joan’s program was having its effect.  Not only did Mary want her reward but, some element of her liked to feel the rush of knowing that she was making it great for Joan.  Her rational segment was disgusted.

            When Joan finally stopped thrashing around Mary moved onto the bed and lay down beside her.  She snuggled into her breasts and held her.  She waited until Joan’s breathing had returned to normal and then reached between her legs.

            “Joanie,” she whispered into her ear while her fingers played with Joan’s bud, “did you really mean that I would get to….”

            “Oh, baby,” Joan said writhing under Mary’s fingers, “don’t stop!”

            “But…Joanie, what about me?”

            “In a minute, baby, make it good for me and…”

            Joan thrashed off into her own personal heaven again.  Mary worked hard to make it special because the thought of ‘reward’ was like an expanding balloon in her mind.  It blotted out all of her thoughts.  She needed…

            “Thank you, Mare,” Joan purred, “I love you so much.”

            Mary was quaking with need.  The fact that this wasn’t a normal relationship was lost in the back of her brain.  She needed a god damn orgasm and she was willing to do or say anything her bitch captor wanted to get it.

            “Joanie, please,” she whined.

            Joan’s heart skipped a beat.  Mary wanted her!

            “What, Mare?”

            “Please, Joanie, I need…oh pleeeeze,” she wailed.

            “Mary,” Joan said softly, “I know these past few days have been hard but I love you and I just want us to be happy.  I think you deserve a reward, don’t you?”

            “I do, Joanie, I do.  I’ve been so good and…”

            “I know, honey, and you do, but it has to be my way, okay?”

            “Oh god, Joanie, anything but pleeeeeeze.”

            “Put your hands on the headboard, Mary.”

            “Whaaat?”

            “Mary,” Joan said sternly, “we are going to do this my way or not at all.”

            Mary wasn’t stupid.  She knew how rigid Joan could be.  She got up on her knees and reached forward to the headboard.

            “That’s my girl,” Joan purred as she cuffed Mary’s hands to the headboard.

            “Joanie, what are you doing?” Mary asked plaintively.

            “Shush, little one.  Mommy is going to make it nice for you.”

            Joan picked up the ping pong paddle from the end table and brushed it on Mary’s ass.  Mary shuddered.  Joan’s program of merging pain and pleasure in Mary’s head was having the desired effect.  Mary’s was so wet she was dripping on the sheet.

            “Here we go, honey,” she purred as she brought the paddle down hard with her right hand while her left beat out a rhythm between Mary’s legs.

            The combination was too much.  The denial and teasing of the past nine days had sensitized Mary’s body.  She reached climax almost immediately.

            “Joanieeeeeee!” she screamed as the first one hit.

            “I told you, Mare, I told you I’d make it good for you” Joan hummed as she continued to redden Mary’s ass.  “Just three more, sweetie, and mommy will let you rest.”

            Mary lost her mind.  It could have been three.  It could have been thirty.  To her it was one continuous run of pleasure like she had never experienced before.  She never wanted it to stop but her body gave out.  She collapsed.  Joan stopped spanking her, leaned in and kissed her cheek softly.

            “Oh, Mary, I love you so much,” she whispered.

            Mary looked at her out of eyes that were so full of contentment that they looked like pools that one could never reach the bottom of.  The words came unbidden to her lips.

            “Oh, Joanie, I…oh god, I love you too.”

            Joan let Mary drift off to sleep still cuffed to the headboard.  She fixed some breakfast and hummed contentedly to herself.  Things with Mary were moving along better than hoped for.  The only cloud on the horizon was Mary’s ex and she still didn’t know what to do about him.

She had run into James almost every time she had dutifully gone to Mary’s house to keep up the pretense that she was watching it.  He was always abusive and seemed to be getting bolder.  Just yesterday he had the nerve to ring her doorbell and try to barge in.  Thankfully she had Mary locked in the dungeon.

            Joan used the remaining days before Mary was expected back from Cancun to build on the breakthrough.  By the end of the first two weeks Joan was on cloud eleven, two clouds above cloud nine.  She had Mary trained to pleasure her morning noon and night with just a snap of her fingers.   She had Mary bound to her like she was a dog who lived for just a touch from her master.  Then came the knock.

            Joan had been expecting it.  After all she was Mary’s best friend and the last person to see her.  She had been keeping Mary securely locked in the dungeon for days now.  She missed having her by her side at night but her mind rebelled at the thought of losing her.  She opened the door.  A nice looking woman not much older than herself was standing there.

            “May I help you,” she said politely.

            “Miss Marston?” the woman asked.

            “Yes.  Can I help you?”

            “I’m Detective Sims,” the woman replied, “I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

            “What’s this about officer?”

            “It’s Detective,” she replied, “and it’s about your friend Mary Wilson.”

            “Yes?  What about her?”

            “May I come in?” Detective Sims asked.

            Joan had worried about this very problem.  It was why the dungeon was soundproofed and Mary was gagged.

            “I guess, but…I don’t understand.”

            “She’s missing,” Detective Sims said after they were seated in the living room.

            “Missing?”

            “Yes, she didn’t come back from Cancun.”

            “Oh.”

            “When is the last time you saw her?”

            “Uh…two weeks ago Friday at the gym.  She asked me to watch her house,” Joan lied.

            “And you haven’t had any contact since?”

            “No, I haven’t,” Joan said.  “She didn’t come back?”

            “Her car is at the airport and she boarded the flight but she didn’t make the return flight and immigration control has no record of her re-entering the country,” Detective Sims said intently.  “You’ve had no contact?”

            “No, Detective, I haven’t.”

            “Detective is a bit much don’t you think?  Why don’t you just call me Claire?” she said.

            “Uh, okay, uh, Claire, uh, I’m Joan.”

            “Were you her best friend?” Claire asked.

            “Um…yes, yes we were good friends.”

            “Did you see her leave?”

            “What?  No.  She said she was going to drive herself to the airport.”

            “What about her boyfriend?”

            “James?”

            “Yes.”

            “He’s an asshole but she had broken up with him.”

            “Yes,” Claire said, “I’ve talked to him.  He suspects you had something to do with her disappearance.”

            “Me?” she squeaked.

            “He says you’ve been acting funny.”

            “Wait a minute,” Joan said angrily, “you told me she went to Cancun and never returned.  I don’t understand how I’m involved at all.”

            “He says that she was paranoid about her house and would never have given her keys to another person.  He says that he went with her for over a year and even he didn’t have a key.”

            “Shit!” Joan thought, “I didn’t know that!  God damn it!”

            Joan didn’t know what to say.  Her perfect plan was coming apart.  Who knew that Mary had a hang-up like that?

            “I…I…I don’t know…she asked…she asked me to water her plants and watch the house,” she stammered.

            “Yes, that’s the other problem.  She didn’t have any plants.”

            Joan was scared but she wasn’t giving her Mary up.  She cleared her mind.

            “I noticed that,” she lied, “but that’s what she asked.”

            Claire looked at her carefully.  Joan looked back with a confident smile.

            “Yes, well if you hear from her or remember anything that seems important please call me,” Claire said, handing Joan a card and moving toward the door.

            A wave of relief washed down Joan’s body.  Really when you thought about it they had no way to connect her at all.  After all Mary had gone to Cancun and never returned.  Not the first tourist that had taken that route.

***

            Joan was careful for the next two weeks.  James tried to barge in twice more but she managed to hold him off.  She kept Mary securely locked in the dungeon and went about her life like she hadn’t a care in the world.  Mary was getting sick of being cooped up but Joan was prepared to keep her there for a year if necessary. 

            Life had almost returned to normal.  The search for Mary had died down.  She was thinking that she might be able to let Mary sleep on the floor next to her again when she came home from work and found Claire sitting in her living room.

            “What…how did you get in here?” Joan stammered, visibly shaken.

            “We have to talk, Joanie,” Claire said sweetly.

Chapter Three

            “Detective Sims, do you have a warrant?” Joan demanded.

            “Joan, please call me Claire and no I don’t have a warrant.  Should I get one?”

            “Why are you here, Claire?”

            “Immigration control in Cancun has no record of a Mary Wilson entering Mexico,” Claire said.

            “What does that have to do with me?” Joan asked.

            “Security tapes from the concourse show someone that looks like Mary stepping back out of the jetway before the flight left.” Claire said softly.

            “Shit!” Joan thought but kept her face blank.

            Claire looked at her expectantly.  Joan kept silent as long as she could but finally felt compelled to break the silence.

            “What does that have to do with me, Claire?” she repeated.

            Claire smiled and cocked her head toward the basement door.

            “I think you know, Joanie,” she chuckled.

            Joan thought about the past few minutes.  Claire was in the house and acted like she had been in the basement.  That implied she had seen Mary and yet she was sitting calmly on her couch.  Joan decided to try a different approach.  She walked over and sat next to her.

            “What is that you want, Claire?” she asked sweetly.

            “I want to live here and enjoy the same benefits you do,” Claire whispered softly.

            The thought of sharing her prize had never occurred to Joan and the idea was repugnant.  She recoiled.

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Joan said, reverting to pretending that she didn’t have a naked girl chained up in the basement.

            “God damn it, Joan,” Claire shouted, “I’ve been in the basement.  I’ve seen Mary.  Stop pretending.”

            “So why haven’t you called your superiors?”

            “I told you I want to share.”

            “And if I don’t?”

            “It’s a dangerous world out there, Joan,” she said carefully, “I can protect you from…others who might want to interfere with your never-never land.”

            “I don’t think so,” Joan snapped.

            “I’m offering to be a full partner with you.  We would share the…uh…perks.”

            “I’m not interested.  Mary is mine.  She loves me,” Joan insisted.

            “I’m going to leave my card with my cell number in case you change your mind,” Claire said wistfully.  “You can use it also if something happens and you need help.”

            “If you don’t report me why would I need help?”

            “Perhaps you won’t but…if you call and need my help all bets are off,” Claire said sweetly.

            “What does that mean?”

            “That means that if you call me in the next few days and decide that you want to let me in to your cocoon we’ll be full partners but if you call and need my help there is a price.”

            “What kind of a price?” Joan asked.

            “Both you and Mary will belong to me,” Claire said.

            Joan thought about it but only for a milli-second.  If Claire didn’t report her findings no one else was going to come looking.  Why should she share?  Mary was hers and this woman didn’t have any rights to her.  She shook her head.

            “No, Claire, I don’t think so.  I just can’t imagine sharing Mary with anyone.  I really appreciate your decision to keep quiet about this but…”

            Claire grabbed Joan by the shoulders and moved her lips so they were almost touching Joan’s.  Joan looked into the soft eyes in front of her and a little knot formed in her stomach.

            “Joan, we could be good together,” Claire whispered, her hot breath a tantalizing feather on Joan’s lips.  “I…I want you.”

            Indecision hit Joan like a freight train.  Her world turned over.  She hadn’t thought… 

            “Claire, I…I don’t know…” she stammered, “I…I need to think.”

            Claire brushed her lips lightly on Claire’s and released her.  She stood up and walked to the door.  At the door she turned and smiled.

            “Don’t wait too long, Joanie,” she said softly and left.

            Joan locked the door behind her and headed for the basement.  Mary was still securely fettered and was sleeping.  Joan gently unchained her and kissed her awake.

            “Everything’s okay now, Mary,” she soothed, “everything’s okay.”

            Mary sat up and cringed away from Joan.  The loving looks that she had been bestowing on her the past two weeks were gone.  She looked weary but like someone who had just been plucked from the jaws of death.

            “That was a cop, Joan, they’ve caught you,” Mary said pointedly, “you might as well let me go right now.  She told me she’d be back.”

            “Oh, Mary,” Joan wailed, “I thought we loved each other.”

            “Are you fucking crazy,” Mary sneered, “I was just pretending to love you so you wouldn’t punish me so much.  You are one sick twisted bitch and when I get out of here I’m going to make you pay for what you’ve done.”

            Joan couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  She had been so sure that Mary had learned…

            “Mary,” she said sadly, “I’m going to have to punish you for being bad.”

            “Look, you stupid bitch.  That cop is coming back and all you are doing is making it worse for yourself.”

            “No, Mary, she isn’t coming back.  We have an arrangement.”

            It was like someone had poured ice water on a raging bonfire.  The light went out in Mary’s eyes.  She whimpered without knowing that the pitiful sounds were coming from her throat.  She begged but Joan was on a rampage and only Mary’s pain could quench her hurt.

***

Things returned to normal over the next few days.  Joan was happy with her life and it seemed that Mary’s brief burst of defiance was a distant memory.  She hadn’t heard any more from Claire and, as enticing as that brief kiss had been, the thought of sharing Mary stopped any action toward inviting her into Joan’s bubble.  She kept Claire’s card in the pocket of her cell and several times had pulled it out and looked at it wistfully but things were too perfect.  All of the wild dreams she’d had during the long weeks of stalking Mary had come true. 

Then came the apocalypse.  The transformation of Joan’s world from rosy pink to black came without warning.

She came home from work one afternoon in a fever.  She needed Mary’s tongue.  Usually when she got home she read the mail, fixed a drink and maybe watched some TV.  She savored the thought of her helpless slave chained to the wall in the basement and let the pressure build.  Not today.  Today she pulled off her clothes, dropped her purse on the counter and headed straight for the basement.  It didn’t register that the bolt was not secured until she had already thrown the door open.  Inside was her Mary with a naked James all over her.

Joan was above average in intelligence.  Her mind took less than a second to take in the scene and realize the full implications of what was going to happen.  She whirled, closed the door, bolted it and leaped up the stairs.

“Fuck!” her mind screamed, “that fucking bolt won’t hold that maniac for more than two seconds.  Why didn’t I put a stronger one on there?”

She grabbed the cell from her purse and headed into the bathroom, dialing Claire’s number as she ran.

“Answer, please answer,” she prayed as she heard the bolt downstairs give way and him thundering up the stairs.

            “Hello?” the dulcet tones of Claire’s voice said.

            “I need help,” Joan whispered. 

            She could hear James stomping through the house.  She shivered at the thought of being touched by him.

            “You need help?” Claire laughed.

            “God damn it, Claire, please, I need help.”

            “Do you remember what I said about…”

            “Claire!  Now!” she said urgently, closing the phone and putting it into the laundry hamper.

            She only had time to turn toward the door when it burst open and James was standing there.  He was naked and his penis was pointing at her grotesquely.  She was sickened.  She tried to cover herself.

            “Joanie,” he beamed, grabbing her wrist and dragging her toward the basement, “we are going to have so much fun together.”

            Her body rebelled.  How had this happened?  She fought him like a wild animal but he pulled her to the basement and threw her on the bed.  She struggled but it was hopeless.  It had only been ten minutes since she had walked through the door out of her mind to have Mary’s tongue on her clit and now any thoughts of sex were gone.  She was repulsed by thoughts of what James might have planned.  Her heart was sickened by the nearness of his pulsing organ.

            “This is everyman’s wet dream,” he giggled, “two beautiful helpless women that I can do anything I want with!  And no one to stop me!  I think I want to start with you, Joanie.  I’m going to show you what you have been missing.”

            He pulled her legs apart and kneeled between her legs.  Joan shuddered and closed her eyes.  She started to weep.  The snap-crackle pulled her out of her self-pity.  She opened her eyes to see James dancing around like a puppet on coked-up strings and Claire standing in a classic shooter’s pose with a stun gun in her hands.  James fell to the floor comatose.

            “Claire,” she cried out, “thank god!”

            Claire ignored her.  She hefted James from the floor and cuffed him next to Mary.  He opened his eyes and looked around dazedly.

            “What the fuck?” he said.

            “Indeed!” laughed Claire.

            “Wait, you’re that cop lady,” he said.

            “Yes, James, I am.”

            “I wasn’t doing anything,” he whined, “I was just…”

            “You were just thinking that you had stumbled on two helpless women who you were going to show how much they really wanted that thing between your legs?”

            He smiled a tentative smile and looked down.  His penis had never really deflated and now it was throbbing.  Two naked women and one hot mean bitch had combined in his brain.  He was ready to do what nature had surely intended that he do.

            “Do you want a piece of Mister Happy also?” he asked expectantly.

            Claire walked over and wrapped her hands around his dick.  She leaned in and put her lips next to his ear.

            “James,” she whispered, “you have no idea what you’ve stumbled onto here.  But to answer your question, yes, I do want a piece of Mister Happy.  In fact I intend to take the whole thing.”

            “What?” he wailed.

            “Don’t worry, James,” she said softly, “I’m going to leave your balls.”

            “My balls?”

            “Yes, I want you panting but unable.”

            “But you can’t,” he howled.

            “James, I can,” she laughed.

            She turned and looked at Joan who was still lying on the bed.  Joan held out her hands in supplication.

            “Oh, thank you, Claire,” she effused, “I should have called you sooner.”

            “Yes you should have.”

            “I know but I…”

            “Get over to the wall, Joan,” Claire said, holding the stun gun steadily on her chest.

            “Claire!”

            “Joan!” Claire chuckled.

            “I thought you wanted to…you know…” Joan stammered.

            “I did but you didn’t call.”

            “I was going to,” Joan lied.

            “The wall, Joan.”