Too late, said the wolf in his mind.
When he returned to Katya, the anger must have still been on his face because she flinched. Even watching his little ballerina flinch filled him with a sense of power. He felt as though some warning light were going off in the back of his brain, warning him to reign this back in. Whatever had been unleashed from its cage had to go back and quickly.
“I want you and Annette to perform for me. I want to watch the two of you fondle and paw at each other. I want to see you get each other off. Are you agreeable to this?”
“Y-yes, Sir.”
He prowled closer to her and whispered “Does this side of me excite you?” He only had to put his hand between her legs to know that it did.
At that moment, Annette arrived.
“Drop the blanket and come here, kiska.”
She did as she was told.
“Good girl.” He’d spent so much time trying to convince himself he wasn’t a monster, wasn’t a predator that he’d never paused to consider how good he would feel out of his cage. He pulled the tube of arousal cream from his pocket. “Both of you, sit on the edge of the table and spread your legs.”
Both Katya and Annette did as he asked. He rubbed some of the cream between first Annette’s legs, then Katya’s.
“Now both of you scoot up to the middle of the table together.”
They did, and then both looked to him for further direction.
“Well? Entertain me.”
Annette had slept some on the plane, but she was still exhausted when they reached the house. She just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep this very long and confusing day off. But Anton didn’t lead her upstairs to their room, instead he took her down to the dungeons.
“Please, Master. I’m sorry. Please just let me sleep.” If all he planned to do was endlessly punish her for the smallest infractions, she didn’t think she could handle it.
“Oh, I’m letting you sleep.” He unlocked the door to cell B. “Get in.”
As soon as she stepped inside, he shut the door and locked it. The room was dark except for the light from the hallway that shone in through the barred window.
Despite being alone in a dark cell her mind kept going back to the party and Katya. She wanted to hate the woman, but the ballerina was just so… likable. Annette couldn’t blame Anton for wanting her. Annette had kind of wanted her.
It had been a strange realization—the moment her jealousy had turned to lust and she’d suddenly lost all inhibitions. She’d never been with a woman before.
Anton had ordered her to spank Katya. She’d assumed it would be the other way around, given how irritated he’d been with her, but the ballerina seemed to like it. Then they’d petted and caressed and kissed each other for the amusement of Anton and the small crowd that had gathered around them. Annette had felt a bit like a porn star. It was intended as a performance, but in the end, she’d liked playing with the other woman. And now she was having all sorts of questions about what that meant.
She’d once taken a quiz in one of those sex-focused women’s magazines. “How Bi are you?” The results had proven inconclusive. Tonight’s activity had been the same mixed bag. But whatever her orientation may or may not be, she couldn’t deny that touching and being touched by the slight ballerina had been far more pleasant than she’d imagined it could be.
So when Anton had fucked Katya right there in front of her, she hadn’t been able to work up the same jealousy and hurt as earlier in the evening.
The lock turned and the door opened again. Anton tossed a couple of pillows and some thick blankets at her. Then he came inside and handed her a small black box with a button on it.
“That’s a panic button. If you push it, it will notify me. Do not push that button unless you are in a dire emergency.” A moment later the steel band was locked around her wrist again, confining her to the property, possibly forever.
“Master, please don’t leave me down here.”
“Sleeping down here is your punishment for earlier tonight. In the morning all will be forgiven and we start fresh.” He didn’t say another word to her. The door shut. The lock turned. Footsteps receded, and she was alone in the dark cell.
Annette began to cry again. She should have been out of tears by now. These weren’t nice, polite, quiet tears. Being so alone for the first time since she’d gotten here, she suddenly had the space to release all the emotion pent up inside her. She wasn’t even sure what every emotion was, only that loud pathetic sobs seemed somehow cathartic.
When she’d finally worn herself out and wrung every complicated emotion out, Annette arranged the bedding and pillows, slipped out of her dress from the ballet, and lay down. Once she was settled, she thought she could hear classical music coming from down the hallway. Piano music. The song sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. A door opened, and the music got louder for a moment, then the door shut, and it muffled into the background again.
Brian’s face appeared in the door’s window all of a sudden, a dark, maniacal smile shadowed by the light at his back.
“Are you a present for me? Were you a bad girl tonight? I couldn’t sleep and then I heard the most beautiful music… no, not the piano… crying.”
Annette’s hand closed over the panic button wondering if she should push it. This seemed like it could quickly turn into a dire emergency.
“Brian, I think you should go back to bed.” It was Gabe’s voice, the one man in this house who was possibly not a complete psycho.
Annette’s hand relaxed against the panic box and she let out a relieved sigh.
Brian grumbled. “Anton stole my key anyway. I should get more keys made to my own dungeons so I can play with the bad girls.” He smiled one last time at Annette, then went back to his room; the piano music got louder when he opened the door, then faded down again.
She caught a shock of surfer-blond hair as it bounced off the light, and then the key was in the lock and Gabe stepped inside. He locked the door behind him. A moment later there was a snick sound and a single light in the middle of the room came on.
Anton had changed out of his suit and was checking spa email, trying to unwind, when there was a knock on the door.
“What the hell, man?” Gabe said, barging right in. The knocking must have just been a courtesy.
Anton sighed and closed the laptop, placing his reading glasses on top. “It’s five am. I’m very tired.”
Gabe seemed to have enough energy at that moment to fuel them both. Anton had never formed a very strong opinion of Gabe despite their close interaction over the years. He didn’t know him as well as Brian, but he’d known him well enough to think he could be trusted. Anton expected to have conflict with Brian. That was almost a given with anyone and Brian, but not with the usually calm and collected surfer.
“You obviously have things you want to say,” Anton said. “So say them. I’ve had a very long day.”
Gabe rolled his eyes at this. “You are the most schizophrenic motherfucker I have ever met. What the hell is wrong with you? Annette told me everything that’s gone on since she got here. You’re running hot and cold. I may be newer to all this but I’ve seen you with other subs. This isn’t how you are. It’s like you… went evil or something.”