The Shadow Doctor Ch. 04

Tam reluctantly put the scroll away and turned to his dinner. "There's only one portion here. Did they forget to make enough for you?"

Yelena blushed. "No Master, I had lunch and dinner with the staff. They did not think that you would want to hand feed me. I can go and ask for a bowl of scraps if it would please you."

Tam waved her off. "No, there's no need to apologize. If you're still hungry, go and ask for some, but as long as you're eating well it's fine that you ate with them."

Yelena shook her head. "No, I'm full, thank you for asking."

"What did you do with your afternoon? To be honest I expected to see you earlier."

"Mistress Lin said that you never want to be interrupted when you've just bought a fresh load of scrolls, so she decided to see if I was any use around the house. I cleaned all of the dishes from lunch, and then helped Mistress Tan sweep and dust all afternoon. I was a little slow because my arms are still sore from all those push-ups, and apparently I'm just not very good at housekeeping, but Mistress Lin said at least I worked hard and wasn't lazy."

She blushed and looked down.

Tam raised an eyebrow. "Why are you blushing, Yelena?"

Yelena blushed harder. "I'm embarrassed at doing menial labor. I'm also blushing because I was wondering if Master would enjoy it if his slave sucked his cock while he ate his dinner."

Tam grinned; his life was truly blessed by the gods. "I think that's a brilliant idea. Do you think you can fit yourself under my desk here?"

Yelena nodded, her face still crimson. "Yes Master."

Tam pushed his chair back and unfastened his robe as she crawled under the desk. Once she was in position, he moved back so he could reach his food. Unless he leaned back, his view of Yelena was blocked by the desk, and he found that the sensation was heightened when he couldn't see the delicate fingers that pulled him out of his pants, the soft invisible lips and tongue that teased his cock to attention.

Yelena kept her attentions slow and languorous, letting him enjoy his meal, alternating her attentions. She licked her way up and down his shaft, held the head in her mouth while she teased it with her tongue, bathed his balls with her tongue; all the while keeping both hands busy with whatever part of him her mouth wasn't covering. Her rules made it so that she was soon moaning with need every time her mouth closed over him, but she stayed focused on prolonging his pleasure, in no hurry to finish him. It was the best meal of Tam's life.

When he finished, he pushed back his chair and stood, tugging her out to kneel in front him. She closed her mouth around him as soon as she reached him, taking him as far into her mouth as she could. It wasn't deep enough for Tam – he was ready to come, and he wanted to do it in her throat. Suppressing her gag reflex with a command, he grabbed her head and forced her to take the last inches, her nose pressed into his groin. Her eyes watered as he held himself buried in her throat, but as soon he pulled back, she took a quick breath then grabbed his hips and forced herself forward, taking him to the hilt again.

Yelena's acceptance freed Tam from any lingering urge to restraint and he tightened his grip on her head and began to fuck her face. Tears streamed down her face but Yelena took it as best as she could, gasping for small breaths when she could and choking when she couldn't. Fortunately for her, Tam was on the edge from the prolonged teasing during his meal and finished quickly, firing directly into the depths of her throat.

Yelena fell back coughing when he released her, but as soon as she caught her breath she quickly rose to lick him clean before tucking him back into his pants. She knelt at his feet, smiling tremulously up at him with her face streaked with tears. "Was Master pleased with his slave?"

Tam stroked the soft stubble on her head. "That was excellent service, slave. Did you come for Master while you were doing that?"

Yelena blushed. "No Master, your slave did not want to distract herself with an orgasm. She had to take Master out of her mouth a few times under the desk because of her rules and lick him instead to keep herself under control. If Master wants her to orgasm, he could make her do so quickly. She is very wet." To demonstrate, she tugged her skirt up to her waist. She was soaked, her pussy glistening with lubrication.

"If Master wants? I thought my hot little slave liked having orgasms."

"Your slave does enjoy having orgasms, Master. But Master had mentioned that he might start teaching his slave magic this evening?" Yelena looked up at him hopefully.

Tam laughed. "I wondered why you were so eager to please. You wanted to make sure Master was feeling generous and in the mood to indulge you, didn't you pet?"

Yelena nodded. "Mistress Tan said that when Master has a new set of scrolls, he sometimes forgets to eat or sleep. Your slave thought if she made Master come, Master might be distracted enough from his reading to be willing to teach her."

"It was a good plan, Yelena. I don't think I would have forgotten, but I definitely appreciate your effort. But I can tell you from my own experience, you won't be able to make any progress while you're as distracted as you are right now. I'm going to let you out of your sirik, and then I want you to go lie on the couch and give yourself a good orgasm. Keep your legs spread, I want to watch and we both know you like being watched."

After he released her from her chains and pulled his chair around for a better view, Yelena walked over to the couch but hesitated nervously when she reached it. Tam thought he understood; she got off on being exhibited, but it was the humiliation that keyed it for her. She needed to be given instructions, preferably in a way that debased her.

"Start by taking your skirt off. Use it to cover the couch so you don't stain it with all that juice leaking out of your cunt."

Yelena complied, her motions stiff with humiliation.

"Good. Now lie down on your side: one foot on the floor, other one stretched out over the arm of the couch. Put your ass right on the edge of the couch and spread that slutty little pussy of yours as wide as it can get. Reach down and spread those little lips open; show me that hungry little hole you keep between your legs. Look at how wet you are; you're fucking dripping, Yelena. No, don't touch your clit yet you greedy little whore."

Yelena moaned. "Oh god, Tam, what are you doing to me? Please, just let me masturbate for you as fast as I can, this is too embarrassing."

"Trust your teacher, Yelena. It'll be better this way. I'm going to talk you through a big one that will really clear your head, because you're an attention slut who gets off on humiliation. Pull your top up and show me that pretty jewelry in your tits. Ah! Keep those hungry little pussy lips spread wide; I didn't say you could stop doing that."

Yelena awkwardly fumbled loose the back string on her top and pulled it up to bunch around her neck, wincing when it caught momentarily on one of her piercings.

"Good girl. You like it when I call you a good girl, don't you? Now slide a couple of fingers into your little hole, pretend your fingers are the cock it's so hungry for. Fuck your hand, bitch. Play with your tits for me. Do you know why you've got pieces of silver shoved through your tender nipples?"

"Ah, because Master thinks they look pretty?"

"That's right, because I think they look pretty on your pretty little tits. You're a hot little bed slave, and a bed slave needs to look pretty for her master. Go ahead and rub your clit, but don't you dare come yet. If you come before I say so, I won't teach you anything tonight. Did you like sucking my cock while I ate?"

"Yes, your slave liked sucking Master's cock while he ate."

"Who is my slave, Yelena?"

"Um . . . I am?"

"Good. Now again: did you like sucking my cock while I ate?"

"Ah, yes, I did. It made me feel good, holding your cock in my mouth. Ah, can I come please?"

"No. Pinch your tender little nipples for me; show Master you appreciate the money he spent to make them pretty. What do we call girls who like sucking cock?"

"Ah, dirty foreign trash?"

"I would call them sluts. If you like sucking my cock, what does that make you, Yelena?"

"It makes me a slut. I'm a slut."

"And whose slut are you?"

"I'm your slut, Tam, your dirty little slut. Please, can I come?" Yelena was getting desperate, her hips bucking as she fingered herself.

"Not yet, almost there. Keep rubbing that little clit of yours; keep yourself right on the edge. Now, if you learn to work chi, are you going to stop worshipping Master's cock?"

"No, no I won't, I promise. Please, I can't hold it back."

"So instead of just being my little slave wizard, what will you be?"

"I'll be, I'll be your little slave wizard slut?"

"That's right; you'll always be my slut no matter what else you are. Now come for me, you dirty little cock-loving slut."

Yelena gasped and came hard, her leg falling off the back of the couch as her thighs clenched around her desperately rubbing hand, her eyes rolling back in her head as she lost herself in shame and rapture. Tam walked over to the couch and tugged her up into his lap as he sat. She whimpered and clung limply to his chest as he whispered nonsense and stroked her back. He checked for qing; he could sense it in her, but because he hadn't been touching her while she came, he couldn't absorb it. The texts had said as much, but it was disappointing to confirm. Not her fault of course, she'd followed instructions perfectly.

"Good girl, Yelena. You feel all wrung out now, don't you? Like you're just floating in a void?"

Yelena nodded against his chest. "Yeah, kind of. You were right, that was a big one."

"Okay, try and remember this feeling. It's a distant cousin of the first lesson in working chi. In order to sense your chi before you can manipulate it, you have to empty your mind completely. No thoughts at all."

Yelena frowned into his shoulder. "How do you do that? Thinking about nothing is thinking about something, isn't it?"

"I told you it was hard. Monks call the process seeking enlightenment. There are a few different meditation techniques that help, but it takes lots of practice and effort. If you think you're ready to start, I'll talk you through one of the ones I like and let you start practicing a little while I read."

Yelena sat up instantly. "I'm ready. Let's get started."

Tam laughed at her eagerness. "First, you'd better tug your clothes back on. And go ahead and use the napkin from my dinner to clean yourself up a bit."

Yelena blushed but hurried to obey. Her skirt was wet from her juices, so she made an attempt at wiping it off as well before giving up and tugging it into place.

"Alright, go ahead and make yourself comfortable; sit on a cushion or something. Find a pose you'll be able to hold for a long time; moving always tends to disrupt meditation."

Yelena experimented with a few positions, not finding anything that worked. After a moment Tam took pity on her and gave her permission to remove the plug from her ass. She sighed with relief as she slid it out, then went back to getting ready to meditate, finally settling in the classic lotus pose, with a cushion beneath her still slightly bruised ass. "Okay, I think I can hold this for a while. I guess there's a reason you see monks on the street corners like this?"

"Yes, it's called the lotus pose. Now, I want you to picture your mind as a pool of water. Close your eyes and concentrate on that image. When you feel a sensation or have a thought, that's a ripple in the surface of the water. Imagine smoothing that ripple out, leaving just the still water. When you have no thoughts left but the water, and the surface is perfectly smooth, let the water drain away. If you do it right, there will be nothing left, and you'll be able to sense your chi where you used to have thoughts. That's just an exercise to teach you the process, of course. Eventually you'll be able to reach your chi in a heartbeat. But sensing it for the first time is the hardest step, and it's where most fail."

Yelena closed her eyes and frowned in concentration.

Tam studied her face. "No, don't try and bull your way through it. You have to be relaxed. Be the water. The water is patient. Take one thought or sensation at a time and smooth it away; don't be distracted by the other ripples, just do one at a time. Don't get discouraged when you fail. Like I told you, this will likely take months, weeks if you're lucky. Just keep trying; if you feel yourself getting frustrated, take a break; anger and impatience are your enemies in this process. Go ahead and take your time trying for a while, I'll be over here reading."

Yelena nodded, her brow smoothing and her breathing falling into a slow rhythm as she did her best to follow his instructions.

Tam got up and returned to the Sian Fei treatise. He had finished his first reading of it before Yelena brought his dinner, and was now studying the portions he thought he could modify to his own uses in detail. He looked up occasionally to check on Yelena. When he saw her lose her concentration twice in a row during one brief observation he called a halt.

"Yelena, I told you need to take breaks when you're frustrated. I can tell you're trying to force it right now. You have to let it come calmly. Take a break and regroup. Go make us a pot of tea and bring it back here, it will help relax you and I'm in the mood for some. You need to take the dinner tray back anyway."

Yelena clearly didn't want to quit, but she sighed and accepted the order. She returned more quickly than he would have thought.

"Mistress Lin met me in the kitchen. She had the water for tea simmering for whenever you thought of it. She also told me to remind you that I shouldn't be running around the house without my shackles. She's going to switch me in the morning for it, but she said it's really your fault for being absent-minded. Also, there's a message for you from Wong Gao. The messenger apologized for the late delivery and said you could send your reply any time tomorrow."

"I swear, that woman thinks she's my mother sometimes, not my steward. I'm sorry you'll be switched, she's right that it's my fault."

Yelena shrugged. "It's my fault too for forgetting. Besides, you said I should make sure she punished me once or twice before I improve my behavior enough that she'll consider letting me out of the sirik. Given the amount of things you put me through on a daily basis, I'm not too worried about getting switched by an old lady. Do you want the message first or the tea?"

"Tea, please. He's not expecting a reply until tomorrow, there's no urgency. Pour yourself a cup too. Think about something besides trying for enlightenment for a bit; you'll find yourself more refreshed when you try again."

Yelena served his tea, then settled back onto her cushion and took a slow appreciative sip from her own cup. "Wow, you have excellent tea. This is the best I've had."

"It's one of my primary vices. I'm glad you like it; I may make it a reward for you when you're especially good and obedient like you've been today."

"Oh great, now I want to throw it your face so you don't have another tool to use in turning me into your perfect slave. You're ruining perfectly good tea for me." Yelena smiled at him as she said it, indicating that she was at least partly joking.

"Hmm. I could alter you so that you don't enjoy tea, would you prefer that?"

"God, no! Forget I said anything."

Yelena pouted for a moment then changed the subject. "What are you reading?"

"It's a treatise on the treatment of brain tumors by the famous doctor Sian Fei. Modern knowledge of the mind outstrips what he knew two centuries ago, but it's still fascinating to see the first steps he took on the road. The spell that enchants you is a distant descendant of the pioneering work he did on the human mind."

"So, poring over centuries old medical techniques was how you spent your time before you decided to buy a pleasure slave?"

"I'll admit the intellectual enjoyment is a bit dry in comparison to fucking you, but you shouldn't discount the value of research. In fact, if I'd had this scroll two weeks ago, you might not have had to lose your hair. Sian Fei had a technique for writing spells onto the scalp without first shaving it. He gave up on it because it requires an excessive expenditure of chi, which is probably why it never showed up in the excerpts I read before, but it's mentioned here in his original treatise."

Yelena frowned in dismay at the thought that she could have avoided the loss of her hair. Then her eyes widened as another thought struck her. "Wait, Tam, that's it. I can reach the first step tonight. I won't have to work at it for months."

Tam raised his eyebrow at her. "Usually one doesn't achieve enlightenment while holding a tea cup halfway to their mouth. I highly doubt that you've managed to find a way around the process that the most brilliant minds in history haven't found."

Yelena smiled and sipped her tea. "Do you want to bet?"

Tam grinned. "I can hardly lose. What do you want if you do turn out to be the greatest chi prodigy in history?"

Yelena frowned. "How about my freedom?"

"No. Not even as a joke; you're mine, and that's not changing."

She sighed. "I know, but I had to ask. Alright, if I'm right, I want one hour a day to myself. I won't leave the manor or bother the staff, but I get one hour every day without you or anyone else telling me what to do. And I get to drink as much tea as I want during that hour."

Tam nodded. "As long as you remember that all your rules will still be in place, the magical ones and the mundane ones. No wandering around unshackled without Lin Song's permission, you stay plugged if I have you plugged, and so forth. I pick the hour, obviously, not you. Not that you're going to win."

He sat back and stroked his chin. "Now, what do I get when you lose? Nothing too bad, since you're going to lose, but it has to be something to make you scared enough that you'll consider backing off. Ah, I have it. If you lose, we're taking you back to Master Gao's tomorrow to get your tongue pierced; it's supposed to make it feel even better for me when you suck my cock, and it'll make you think twice before you make foolish claims. Are you sure you don't want to back down from the bet? I'll give you one chance to do so."

Yelena gulped and considered the option. Then she shook her head. "No. I'm right, I'm almost certain I'm right. I'm going to take the first step towards learning magic tonight, and you're going to give me an hour of freedom a day. Grab forearms and let's bet, unless you want to back down."

Tam grinned and reached out to clasp her forearm. "You're going to look so pretty tomorrow with a little silver stud in that eager tongue of yours. Go ahead and tell me your imagined breakthrough."

Yelena smiled as she returned his grip. "It's a technique that won't work for anyone else but me, which is why no one's ever thought of it before. It's really simple, actually. You command me to do it."

Tam frowned. "What do you mean?"

Yelena's smile broadened. "You should have figured it out yourself, if you're as much of a genius as you think you are. You can control my thoughts – you made me calm, you make me feel pleased or aroused with the rules, you can sharpen my memory. You know from your own experience what needs to happen in order for someone to sense their chi. You just have to frame the commands in the right way so that my mind empties exactly the way it should."