Introspections Ch. 11

Several days later the girl was curled up on the couch sipping a cup of cocoa and working her way through a new novel when he came out of the master bedroom with a printout in hand.

"We did it sweetheart. We've got our in." He handed her the piece of paper, an emailed invite to an upcoming Valentine's gala.

She swallowed deeply, reading over the invite. "That's less than two weeks away. Are you sure about this?"

He pointed out the small print, outlining a private auction by invite only. "It's our best bet. They're too smart to send anything incriminating via email but they're not auctioning off a romantic getaway for two."

"You mean you're being invited, by special invitation nonetheless, to bid on a another slave."

He nodded gently, sharing her disgust for the thought but needing her to understand just how critical this was.

"I planted the seeds for it when our guest was here, but you're the one who did all the work. They wouldn't even have considered allowing me to bid if they hadn't been fully convinced I had been able to reign you in. Of course I won't be going through with it, I hope I'm not in need of a replacement for you any time soon. But I do think this is the best way to gain access to the head of this beast."

She reluctantly nodded in agreement. "So where are we headed?"

"To a private hotel near Vegas, owned by one of the organization's more well to do clients. The bastard's fortress is actually in New Mexico, just outside of Albuquerque, but all the group auctions are done offsite. He will be there to personally oversee distribution, so he'll actually be more vulnerable at this event than he would be on his home turf."

She tried breathing deeply to quell the anxiety that was rapidly building. "Will Shawn be there?"

Sensing a need for deeper conversation he sat down on the couch next to her.

"I honestly don't know. Usually the handlers who have trainees being auctioned off attend with their girls, but since you seem to think you were his first take and he didn't prove up to the task he might not be high ranking enough to attend. Is it a problem if he is?"

She'd thought she had managed to subdue the anxiety, but instead found herself sinking further into her ruminations. He sensed her increasing distress and embraced her, fighting to keep her from disassociating completely.

"Talk to me Hannah. I am right here sweetheart. You do not have to go through this alone."

The haunted desperation in her voice implied that she was still deeply caught up in the memories, but at least she was talking to him. He rocked her in his arms reassuringly as she outlined the nightmare she was fighting inside her head.

"The night before you liberated me was the worst. I think he knew you were coming and felt like I'd made him look bad to his boss. He came into my cell in the middle of the night, that wasn't normal. He drug me off the filthy cot and slammed me up against the wall. The cells were tiny, no room to move around but he didn't take me to one of the training rooms like he usually would. He wrapped his hands around my neck, almost cutting off my air supply, and whispered in gruesome detail exactly what he wanted to do to me.

The worst part was had he said the same things to me a few weeks before through email his descriptions might have been arousing. But under the circumstances they were terrifying. He touched me everywhere, pressing painfully on trigger points and laughing when I tried desperately to get away, but even if I could have managed to escape his grip I knew I couldn't possibly get out of the cell. I was honestly afraid he intended to kill me. I wasn't sure I cared if he did.

It seemed like he spent hours torturing me before he threw me back on the cot and told me he would see me in the morning. He told me to look forward to it. Of course I couldn't go back to sleep after that so I was forced to lie there in the dark imagining what he would do to me next. When he came to get me the next day he took me to the pit. That's what they called the room where you found me. All the training rooms were bad, but that was the worst. He drug me into the room by my hair and slapped me around, kicking me and screaming at me to get up if I fell and punching me if tried to block his blows.

When I finally stopped resisting he hung me up and started in with the whip. He told me to beg for mercy, demanded I cry for him. Promised he wasn't going to stop beating me until I did. He slapped my face and spit on me, then as he grabbed my face again that's when I bit him. After that he stopped trying to make me respond and just whipped me until I decided I did want to die. I'm pretty sure someone else came into the room and made him stop, but I can't really remember. They just left me hanging there alone until you came in. I can't survive that again. Next time they really will kill me."

Her description of the events leading up to the condition he had found her in made his blood boil. It had been late into the afternoon when he had freed her, he imagined her hanging alone in the darkness in pain and despair for hours and rage nearly consumed him. He was torn between wanting her previous handler to show his face at the upcoming event so he could look him in the eye before exacting his revenge or hoping he wouldn't show to spare the girl from ever having to face him again.

"There's not going to be a next time Hannah, not with me there. I promise I will not leave you alone with them even for a moment. I will die before I allow them to reclaim you and I have no intention of dying before I get my revenge. Our revenge. We will make them pay."

That night the dreams came again as he had feared they would, but at least he was closer this time and able to intervene immediately. He wrapped his arms around her and woke her gently, running his thumb softly down her cheek to wipe away tears as he whispered reassurances and swore again that he wouldn't leave her to go through her nightmares alone.

He fell into what he thought was a restless sleep but when he awoke he was alone in the bed and the house was quiet. Too quiet. He pulled himself out of bed and went looking for her, but the house was empty. Panic rushed through him. He checked the alarm and discovered it was disarmed, realized suddenly he had forgotten to reset it the night before after letting the cat in. After checking the garage and ensuring the car was still there he headed for the porch, relieved to see footprints in the fresh snow. Following them he found her sitting in the clearing on a tree stump.

"Hey sweetheart, you scared me."

She didn't even glance at him, simply staring into space as she responded. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I just needed to get out."

He had seen her go through a lot of emotional turmoil, but he had never once seen her melancholy and it worried him far more than her tears, terrified him even. For a moment his thoughts drifted to another girl in another time, haunted eyes staring right through him. Memories of blood dripping in sticky rivulets down the side of a bathtub. The soul crushing grief as he stood at the graveside after burying the last person he had loved, the last person he had ever thought he could possibly love.

When had his broken heart mended enough to allow another girl in? It had happened so subtly he had barely noticed, but somehow he had allowed himself to fall in love again and the thought of another loss seemed more than he could bear. He was afraid to share his thoughts with her and any further words of reassurance seemed trite, so he left her sitting in silence and walked back to the house alone.

When she finally became coherent enough to feel the cold she shook off the snow and quietly slipped back inside. The door to the bedroom was open and his sharp voice was impossible not to overhear.

"Do you have any idea what they've done to her? I don't care what it takes, I want her out!"

The conversation continued in more muted tones until finally he came out of the room and nearly stumbled over her sitting in the hall with her knees drawn up to her chest.

"I'm not going anywhere." She stated it matter-of-factley, leaving no room for argument.

He winced, "You weren't supposed to hear that."

"Are you going to tell me who you were talking to?"

"It doesn't matter. The only way to get you out is to abort the plan completely."

"I didn't tell you about the first time I met the bastard. The day of my take.

They drugged me, I have no idea how long I was out but when I came to with a massive headache Shawn took me from a dark room into the bastard's office. There was another handler there with a Hispanic girl. I don't think she even spoke English, she was sobbing and pleading with them in a language I didn't understand. I was silent, my heart was pounding but I wasn't about to let them see my fear. The bastard told me he was going to beat one of us, but he hadn't decided yet which one. He asked me to tell him why he should choose her instead of me. I told him to go to hell.

I expected him to get angry and beat me instead of her, but he just laughed. Then he told the other handler to bend his girl over the desk, yank down her pants and hold her down. He took off his belt and doubled it up, told me he was going to give her twelve lashes and I was going to count. She was frantic and tried to get away but her handler held her down effortlessly.

The bastard swung his belt, she screamed but I refused to count. He laughed again and said it didn't matter if I didn't want to count, he was going to beat her until I did. After a couple more lashes I gave in and counted for him, practically screaming each number to be heard over her cries. When I reached twelve he finally stopped and had her handler take her away. Then the bastard turned to me and said since I hadn't answered his question he was going to beat me as well, the original twelve lashes plus the three extra I had cost her for not counting. Shawn stripped me naked and held me down while the bastard administered the blows. It hurt terribly, I'd never even been spanked before, but the physical pain was nothing close to the guilt and helplessness of not being able to protect the other girl.

I never saw her again. He may still have her, she could be one of those girls up for auction. It doesn't matter if she is not. Every girl he takes is someone's daughter, someone's sister. If we don't stop this now there's no telling how many more girls there will be. Aborting the plan now isn't even an option, I can't live with myself knowing I didn't do everything in my power to stop this monster. We are going to that event and we are going to do whatever it takes to bring him down."

Once again she had pulled herself out of her own terror and proven her strength and determination, and he loved her even more in that moment than he had before.

"Do we need more training?"

He considered her query carefully before responding. "I think we've got this down, I'm not in the least bit concerned that you can't act the part like a pro. We could play though, if you want to. Let me make you feel good Hannah."

She took a deep breath and nodded her consent, taking his hand as he tugged her toward the stairs. Once they were in the playroom she slipped out of her clothes without prompting and stood naked in front of him. He smiled softly as he ran his eyes over her body.

"You are so beautiful sweetheart."

She opened her mouth to disagree with him and he held a single finger up to her lips.

"Hush Hannah. Don't protest a sincere compliment."

He gently led her to the center of the room where a set of manacles hung suspended from a beam and moved her hands up to grasp them.

"I'm not going to restrain you at all sweetheart, you can stop this any time you want."

He walked to the wall and selected a single tailed whip. Her eyes grew wide when he held it in front of her.

"I'm not going to strike you hard and you are in complete control here. Say the word, or just release your grip, and it stops instantly. This is about you deciding for yourself what your limits are and retaking control of your body. It's all about what you want."

She was trembling slightly but she didn't object or drop her arms so he decided to continue. He swung the whip very lightly, wrapping it around her waist, repeating the action several times. She gasped and closed her eyes, he considered prompting her to open them but decided to let her experience the sensations however she pleased. He added a little more power to each swing, carefully watching her for the slightest hint of resistance, but it didn't come. Gaining confidence he struck her a little harder, she groaned and arched her back welcoming the lash. After a few more lashes, none hard enough to mark her, he decided she had overcome her fear and put the whip aside as he circled her body.

He came to a stop in front of her and ran his hands up and down her body, tracing the golden chain around her neck before wrapping his fingers loosely around her throat, careful not to apply even the slightest hint of pressure.

"Do you want to know what I want to do to you precious? I want to make you forget any other man has ever laid a finger on you. I want to caress your face, run my hands along your body until I can cup your breasts just like this..."

She whimpered softly as he gently cupped each breast, pinching her nipples teasingly between his finger until each hardened. He kissed her neck and leaned in closer to whisper in her ear again.

"I want to hear you beg me for exquisite relief as I slide my fingers inside of you and run my thumb against your tender little nub. Will you do that for me sweetheart? Will you beg for me?"

"Mm...hmm" Caught up in the sweet sensations she was already loosing her ability to form a coherent sentence. Her desperation only grew when he did as promised, slipping a single finger inside of her wet cavity and stroking her interior wall with one hand while circling her clit with the thumb of his other. He took his time, not feeling the need to bring her to a climax quickly, simply focused on bringing her the greatest amount of pleasure possible in the moment.

She forced her mound against his hand as she finally found the right words, "Please James, please let me?"

"Hold on Hannah, just a minute more, it will be worth waiting for."

She frantically clung to the metal circles until they left imprints in her palms, gasping for air until she felt she couldn't possibly hold out a moment longer. He sensed it and gave her the permission she was waiting for.

"Cum for me Hannah, cum now!"

This time her response was instantaneous, racing thoughts exploding into blissful mindlessness. She cried out loudly and released her grip, slumping into his arms as her legs gave out beneath her. He embraced her and drew her into his arms, relishing the look of contentment on her face.

He carried her into the downstairs bedroom and lay on the bed, drawing her close to his body for warmth as he waited for her to come down from her high. Soon she rolled over to face him.

"You were right, that was absolutely worth waiting for. Your turn."

"No way, tonight is all about you."

"This is about me. Giving pleasure can be as good as getting it. Don't argue."

He shrugged and stood up in front of her in acquiescence to her demands, allowing her to unzip his jeans and slide both jeans and boxers down to his ankles. She wanted unrestricted access to his engorged rod. Sitting forward on the edge of the bed she cupped his balls tenderly in one hand and wrapped her slender fingers around his length, stroking and squeezing experimentally, listening for his brisk intake of breath as clues to what he found arousing. It had been several days since he'd found the time to give himself relief and he found he couldn't take much teasing.

"Fuck sweetheart, that feels amazing. I'm not going to hold out nearly as long as you did."

She took mercy on him and didn't make him beg for his release. When both parties had been fully satisfied they slipped upstairs for dinner and curled up together on the couch in the flickering light of the fireplace once again working on their ability to make small talk. He entertained her with stories of his boyhood antics and she reciprocated with glimpses into her childhood that indicated it had not all been traumatizing.

As she wandered into the master bathroom for a soak in the tub he teasingly tossed one of her new negligees at her and she stuck her tongue out at him spitefully, but much to his surprise she emerged awhile later with it on.

"Turn about's fair play, if I have to wear next to nothing to bed so do you."

He didn't object and soon they were nestled together under the warmth of the covers skin to skin. Together both drifted into a sound, dreamless sleep.