Rule of Thumb Ch. 10

I conceded the point. "What do you mean, 'at least not in the way I am intimating?'" I grinned, taking a drink.

She sighed and smiled. "I understand. She's exotic. She's erotic. She's an amazing individual. But you must have seen already how she is treated, yes? She serves at my pleasure. If it gives me pleasure to have a man shove his hard dick into her, then that is when it happens. Not simply because you have a hard-on for her."

Loren had finished her drink and was trying to put it down on the table. I reached up and took it from her.

She took my hand and looked at me, her eyes brimming again with tears. "Would you really fuck her?" She started sobbing, reaching out to hug me, to put her head against my shoulder. I stood there, her glass in my hand, unable to properly return the hug in spite of wanting nothing more than to unbind her and press her close to me. Sitting on the chair, on the coffee table, she was too awkwardly positioned for me to close in. I nestled my lips against her neck and whispered into her ear until she had stopped sobbing, her breathing returning to normal. I really did want to fuck Mamiko, but that didn't mean I wanted to fuck Loren any less. But I couldn't begin to explain that right now. I didn't understand it myself; I was just getting buzzed enough to start losing any sense of logic.

"Richard. I'd like to meet with you and Loren before Mamiko and I leave. I think it is about time for us to go, eh?"

Mamiko fiddled around with the seat, causing Loren to gasp as the dildos slipped from her. She unhooked the bindings around Loren's legs and helped her to slowly stand down from the table. She laid down on the couch, curling her legs up to her breasts, hugging them close.

In minutes, Mamiko had collected the various toys, implements and gadgets from around the room, packing them neatly into the rolling case and waiting for Anna by the door.

"Let's go into the den," I suggested, helping Loren get up.

"So," Anna began after we were situated. "This was not what you expected, hmmm, Loren?"

She shook her head, her eyes still red and watery.

"You feel betrayed by Richard. That he could have warned you this morning about your disobedience and prevented this, hmmm?"

She nodded, looking at me and at the floor.

"But, let's say this punishment wasn't for misunderstanding his instructions about your wardrobe. Let's say it was for something else..."

Loren looked up at the two of us, self-conscious that she was naked, her hands fiddling with the pearls, and looked away. "What do you mean?" She couldn't understand the possibilities.

"Last Sunday, you climaxed when Master Rick explicitly told you not to. Why isn't it okay that tonight's punishment is for that?"

She opened her mouth to say something and snapped it shut, her anger rising and falling away, defeated and still feeling violated. "But...but...that's not what he said..." She put her hands out, onto her legs and bent down, sobbing lightly. "That's not what he said..."

Anna looked at me and motioned for us to leave her alone for a few minutes.

"This is an incredibly important milestone, Rick. The two of you have made enormous progress in a very short time. Your sub worships you. She wants you to be infallible – a superhero. But you can't keep that up. You are a human being after all. She must see you as a person, just like her, not as some perfect icon on a marble stand. Do you understand?"

I was buzzing, but not stupid drunk. I got it alright. I nodded. "So, she got to see me as possibly making a mistake, and she can't reconcile that with the perfect idea of me she's been creating?"

Anna nodded, rubbing my shoulder. It was an oddly comforting gesture, not something I would have expected.

"So...now what?"

"So, you will need to continue to take the lead, to make sure she understands that even though you are not perfect, you are still the top and she is still the bottom. Like the old saying – you need to get back on the horse again as soon as possible."

The thought of Shelly sprang into my mind and I tapped my teeth, thinking.

"Let's see you out – you've been very generous."

As they left, I gave them a party favor as well. "Nipple clamps – kind of interesting ones I found at the hardware store. Take a pair, you might find them amusing."

Anna gave me a parting European kiss and they made their way down the walk.

Several couples were starting to re-emerge from their sexual stupor, penises hanging flaccid, semen dripping from arms and faces. Jamison had his mouth buried into Christine's pussy, and still the drink didn't spill a drop. I smiled and went to collect Loren.

"C'mon," I coaxed her up, wrapping my arms around her. "You've had a very difficult night of it. I'm both sorry and very proud of you." I held her head and kissed her, looking into her open eyes, watching the embers of her rage below her exhaustion. "Let's see our guests out and maybe we can talk about it."

As we returned to the living room, couples were gathering their things, taking another drink and appetizer for the road, heading to the bathroom and otherwise making their exits. As each left, I offered them Gordy's card, along with my admonition and a pair of party favors. Most seemed incredibly happy, telling me how much fun it had been, how it had gone beyond their expectations, and so on. I was happy in the knowledge that I had fulfilled my commitment to Anna with enough safeguards to let me sleep at night.

Jamison and Christine were the last to leave, except for the crew.

"See you tomorrow then?" Both Loren and Christine were still naked, but Christine was in far better shape. It appeared she hadn't been permitted to climax, however, as she squirmed a little whenever Jamison played with her skin.

"10AM too early?"

"Make it 11," I suggested, the alcohol and whatever scene Loren and I were going to get into were likely to keep us up.

"11 it is then. I've got almost everything together. She's quite a package." He nodded to the door, indicating Anna.

My mouth twisted and I nodded. "Yeah. You do know her, right?"

"Hell yes. Knew her the minute I saw her. Bad shit, that one. Wouldn't get as close to her as we did tonight if I didn't think we had some guardrails. Gordy in on this?"

I nodded, only a little surprised that he was on familiar terms. "You need his card?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I see him at least once a month." He winked and drained his drink. "C'mon little cunt. Just the way you are. I think the neighbors deserve a good look, don't you?"

She grabbed her purse and clothes, slipped her feet into her shoes and followed him to the door, murmuring a quiet thank you to Loren and me.

Loren just shook her head and looked at me, the bartender finishing packing up, staring at her. She was too tired and defeated to cover herself – what difference did it make – he'd seen her being double-fucked for an hour, not five strides away. She just shrugged and looked away.

"Come with me to the kitchen for a minute." I held out my hand.

"We're almost done here....uhhh...Rick." Shelly had turned to see Loren standing there, holding my hand, her bush a stark contrast to her pale skin in the kitchen light. Shelly stared at her, wiping her hands on an apron. "Uhh, yeah. So, all the leftovers are in the fridge – you'll have a few meals' worth there. I've left you an itemized invoice for the remainder after the deposit, and I guess that's about it."

Loren just stared at the floor, exhausted and depressed, not certain what any of the evening meant. No doubt she was a little drunk, too, I figured.

"Uhhh, Loren?" Shelly looked at me to see if it was alright. I nodded, stepping away to review the invoice. "You look a little...ummm...like maybe you could use some...help?"

Loren looked up and shook her head, confused.

"Rick – I think she could use a shower, or a bath or something. Would that be okay?"

I nodded, smiling to myself. "There's a full bath just around the corner there. Bath salts, and everything. I'll grab you some towels."

I had been sporting an erection almost all night, flagging only when I saw a couple doing something that was a complete turn-off. At the thought of what Shelly was about to do, I sprang to attention, considering my options. I was going to fuck them both. That was for certain, but given Loren's fragile state, I wanted to make sure I didn't fuck it up.

Shelly finished up in the kitchen and put her arm around Loren's back, murmuring in her ear as they made their way to the bathroom. Loren looked over at me to make sure I knew what was happening, and then, seeing the expression on my face shook her head slightly, and let Shelly take her away.

I knew she would actually feel better having a woman be with her, even if she thought I was a complete asshole for letting someone take her away. I tried to shake the feeling I was somehow to blame, replacing it with something more supportive and grabbed the towels from the linen closet.

Knocking lightly, I entered the bathroom. Loren was sitting on the toilet, wiping her eyes while Shelly lit some candles. The bath was filling, the aroma of bath salts filling the air.

"Thanks, Rick." Shelly pointed to a wicker window seat. "You can leave them there." I looked at her and saw she was serious, expecting me to leave the towels and just leave.

The bartender had finished up and gave me an accounting. Not a big yellow liquor crowd. Cheap gin and vodka. At least I didn't spend a fortune on one thing tonight. Thanking him, I let him out and shut down most of the lights.

As I passed the bathroom, I couldn't let it just happen. This was my house. This was my sub. Shelly would need to play on my terms.

I opened the door and let myself in, taking a seat on the hamper. Shelly, sitting with Loren in the bath, looked up and scowled slightly, but didn't say anything. She was broad-shouldered, her muscles well defined and sculptured in the candle-light. Her breasts, tear dropped and a little droopy pointed down toward the soapy water drew my eye and she moved to cover them unconsciously. I could see she shaved her underarms, but I couldn't see anything below the water's surface.

She had taken a sponge and was softly squeezing water along Loren's neck, collar bone, breast and arms, whispering quietly to her. "Relax." "Let it go." "...beautifu..." "...courageous..." The words created a hypnotic background to the flickering candlelight and I rested my head against the wall, thinking how she would eventually dry her off, bring her to my bedroom and gently make her cum.

I stood up and undressed, trying not to disturb them, my cock standing at 45 degrees. Sitting back down, I rested my head again, imagining how wonderful the next few hours were going to be.

When I woke up, the room was dark and I was cramped and cold, sitting naked against the wall. I swore silently, when I figured out what had happened, angry that they had left me there. My balls were sore, my neck was sore, my legs and ankles were sore. I cursed under my breath, my cock flopping against my legs as I made my way to my bedroom.

Shelly had left a small light on with a note on the bedstand. Loren was tucked in, a smile on her face, snoring lightly. I snorted lightly at my idiocy and looked at the note.

"Thank you Rick. I had a fantastic evening with her. You are a very lucky guy. I know you wanted to play with us, but trust me, it was better this way. She needed to let go, and it couldn't have been with you tonight. Please figure out a way to help her get over her loss. She's really hurt.

Shelly.

P.S. Let's take a rain check on the three of us – yeah? – smt"

My head hurt and I was disappointed at the way things turned out. "Of course, you asshole, you hadn't even thought about Shelly until about five minutes before the party broke up..." I grabbed a couple of pain killers, drank a ton of water and curled up behind Loren in bed, hugging her close to me.