A Life Discovered Ch. 07

Chapter 7 - First Time

Rhys woke from one of the most restful sleeps he had had in some time. He still had a woman on each side of him, each with their head on one of his shoulders. He felt warm. The embers of the previous night's fire were smouldering in the grate, and he could see the sunlight trying to pierce the heavy drapes hanging across the bedroom window. And, underneath the blankets, he had two beautiful and naked women cuddling up to him.

He thought back to the achievements of the previous day with pride. Kat had had a spectacular day. She'd received the first part of the documentation that formalised her status as a free woman. She'd been shopping and now had a wardrobe fit for her respectable position in Reiland society. She'd managed to deal with a bank, which was a massive achievement for an innumerate and illiterate woman. Along with Jade, she'd planned out the changes they wanted for their new house and had drawn what she envisioned in beautiful sketches. And she'd healed Jade after Rhys's attempts to be their dom had gone slightly wrong. She'd been beautiful, intelligent and talented before they met, but she'd never had the chance to show it. Now she was suddenly free, she'd blossomed into the woman she'd always had the potential to be, and he knew she had yet more of her persona to discover.

Jade was a woman of the world with a mysterious background that she was reluctant to share. It annoyed Rhys in a small way that she didn't trust him in that respect, but he trusted her enough to know that she must have a good reason. She knew many things about many subjects and continued to surprise him. Her mind was keen, and her physique incredible.

How had he, a young man from the boondocks of Seibjerg, come to be so lucky to have these two incredible women in his life, let alone being his lovers? His warm feeling didn't come from the fire or the sun. It came from those women. Their body heat, the magical flux that flowed between the three of them as they lay against each other under the blankets and the knowledge he had that he loved both of them, both of them loved him, and they also loved each other.

He looked at Kat, lying with her head on his left shoulder. Her freshly cut and styled short hair perfectly suited her and framed her pretty face. She breathed through her nose, making tiny, quiet snoring sounds as she slept. Rhys could feel her hand on his nipple, just resting there. He looked at Jade, taller and more classically beautiful with her delicate features. It was obvious to say it, but she looked the way she did because of her ancestors, whoever they were. She held his right arm with both her hands as she slept. She was holding on tightly, not painfully so for him, but it seemed more possessive, as though she subconsciously needed to hold onto him. Maybe it was a fear of losing him, or of him losing her. In contrast, Kat seemed content to just be next to him.

He lay his head back on the pillows, not wanting to disturb either of his lovers and revelled in the feeling he had. He dozed.

They all woke when the bell signalled that breakfast was ready. The women did the speed version of their morning routines while Rhys retrieved their laundered clothes and dressed. Kat had multiple sets of newly purchased garments in an adjacent room, but she also dressed in yesterday's clothes in solidarity with Jade and Rhys.

The Spencer children were still in the breakfast room when Jade, Kat and Rhys arrived. They crowded around Jade, telling her they were sorry she was leaving and extracting promises that they could see her again soon. Lars, the younger of the two, had been learning phrases in Seibjern from his older sister Violet so he could address Rhys in his native language. Lars bowed formally to Rhys and said, in slightly stilted Seibjern, "It has been an honour to meet you."

Rhys smiled broadly and replied, again in Seibjern, "I've been delighted to meet you, Lars, and I would be pleased if you would come to visit us in our new home." Lars looked confused - that wasn't one of the stock responses he'd learned from Violet. Violet took pity on him and whispered the Reijik translation into his ear. Lars beamed and hugged Rhys around his waist. Violet also hugged Kat around her waist, telling her they were pleased that Jade had such a lovely new friend and thanked her for visiting them. Kat was delighted and bent to kiss each of the children on their cheeks. Lars blushed ferociously, and Violet giggled before they scampered away for the journey to school.

Sarah had already left for the day, so Richard bade them farewell and promised to have their luggage (although it was mostly Kat's) delivered to their new house that day. The three lovers strolled out of the driveway, down the lane and back to its junction with the main road. Kat hailed one of the four-person Hackney cabs and asked the driver to take them to 12 Rowan Tree Road. The streets were busy with morning traffic, but they were in no hurry. Kat and Jade chatted away, and Rhys looked out of the windows, still fascinated by the mass of humanity around them.

The cab pulled up outside their house. Kat paid the driver, and they all walked up to the front door. Jade took her key out of her borrowed satchel and tried to unlock the door, but the key wouldn't turn. She tried again, with more effort, but with the same result. She was about to comment when the door opened and an older woman stood in the opening. Kade looked embarrassed - the door had been unlocked all along. Kat and Rhys were trying not to laugh.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked.

Kat and Jade looked at Rhys, who took the hint. "I'm Rhys..." He stopped suddenly as Jade elbowed him in the ribs. He got a flash of a thought from her. "... Rhys Niain, at your service."

Recognition dawned over the older woman in the door frame, who curtsied at him. "I'm Mrs. Hawthorne, your housekeeper", she said. "Please come in, Master Niain."

Rhys put his hand up, and Mrs. Hawthorne paused. "I don't like being called master," he said, ignoring the slight sniggers from Kat and Jade. "Could you call me Rhys, please? And what's your forename?"

"If you don't mind, Master Niain," Mrs. Hawthorne replied, "there's a hierarchy in the house like in all other grand houses, and what people call each other is an important part of that. Senior staff are addressed by their surname, junior staff by their forename. So I must ask that you call me Mrs. Hawthorne, or it undermines my authority with the rest of the staff. And I must insist on calling you Master Niain."

Rhys thought about how the Spencers organised their household. "Can we compromise?" he asked her. "I'll call you Mrs. Hawthorne if you'll call me Mr. Niain?"

Mrs Hawthorne nodded. "That would be acceptable," she agreed. She stepped aside and opened the door fully.

Just behind the door stood a woman, probably in her mid-twenties. She looked distraught, wringing her hands and keeping her eyes lowered. "Begging your pardon, Mrs. Hawthorne. I was in the orangery watering the plants, and when I got here, you'd already answered the door!"

"It's fine, Clara," Mrs. Hawthorne replied. "I've been expecting the new Master, so I waited here to meet him. No need to worry yourself. Now, Mr Niain, if you and your companions could stand here," she drew an imaginary line behind the front door with her hand, "I'll call the rest of the staff." She went over to a bell hanging from a bracket on the wall. It was similar to the one that had summoned them to meals in the Spencer household. Mrs. Hawthorne rang the bell and bellowed, "Staff!" She was so loud that Kat covered her ears.

Two women came up the stairs from the lower floor. One looked to be in her late teens or early twenties, and the other in her mid-thirties. Two more women, again, looking to be in their late teens and wearing maid uniforms, came down the grand stairs. Another woman in her mid-twenties wearing a long but figure-hugging dress followed them. A final woman came in from the orangery room wearing rough trousers and a sturdy shirt. She had a pair of leather gloves and socks, but no shoes. They stood in a line before the three friends, and Mrs. Hawthorne stood between them, but to one side.

Now that everyone was lined up, Rhys noticed Mrs. Hawthorne was looking at him expectantly. He cleared his throat. "Er, good morning, everyone. I'm Rhys Niain. I prefer to be called Rhys, but it's also OK to call me Mr Niain. I believe you've been expecting me?" He smiled, and some of the staff members smiled back at him.

He looked at Kat. "Good morning, everyone," she said. "I'm Katarina Wildwood and I'm Mr Niain's assistant." She smiled slightly as she used his formal address. "You can call me Kat or Miss Wildwood."

Jade took her turn. "And I'm Jade Niain," she said. "I like to be called Jade, but Miss Niain is also OK."

The staff then introduced themselves. The women who had been downstairs were Mrs. Shaw, the cook and Nell, the kitchen maid. The two women dressed in maid uniforms were Lily and Sarah, the housemaids. The smartly dressed woman who had also been upstairs was Louisa, the lady's maid. The woman who'd apologised for not opening the door in time was Clara, the parlour maid. The woman in her socks was Rosemary, the gardener. Each of the women curtsied at Rhys, Kat and Jade. Jade bowed back to each of them, and Rhys followed her lead. Kat looked close to being overwhelmed again, so Rhys squeezed her hand.

"You'll have noticed," said Mrs. Hawthorne, "that we have an all-female staff. The previous head of the household, Lady Featherstone, preferred it that way." She said it as a statement of the obvious, but Rhys knew there was a hidden question.

"I'm sure you're excellent at running the household," he said to her, "and these other fine women are more than capable of doing their duties. I see no reason to change that. I've never had a male valet or anyone else to look after me, and don't see why I need one now."

Mrs. Hawthorne looked pleased for the first time since they'd met. She clapped her hands. "OK, ladies, back to work. Louisa, Lily, Sarah, come with me." She turned to Rhys. "Your trunks and bags have arrived, and we took them upstairs. We need to know which bedrooms you'll be using so we can get everything set up." She headed up the grand staircase, the three staff members following her. Jade, Kat and Rhys cast glances at each other. It was about time to lay down the new rules of the house.

Mrs. Hawthorne opened the door to the main bedroom. There was a fire burning in the grate already. "I thought Mr Niain might take the largest room," she said. "We've unpacked your trunk already and have put everything away, if that wasn't too presumptuous?"

"That's fine," Rhys said. It had been a little presumptuous, but probably nowhere near as presumptuous as the next bit was likely to be.

"I thought Miss Wildwood could go in the southern linked room, so, as your assistant, she'd be close by."

"I need her closer than that," said Rhys. "She'll sleep in here, with me." Kat smirked.

Mrs. Hawthorne looked shocked but recovered her poise quickly. "We'll find a small bed for her," she said.

"There's no need," Rhys said. "We'll be getting a new bed in here anyway. She'll sleep in that. With me."

"Mr. Niain! I must strongly advise against sleeping with your staff!" said Mrs. Hawthorne. "A professional detachment is..."

Rhys interrupted her. "Thank you for your advice. But the matter is decided. She is in my family first and foremost. She is on my staff as a distant second. She'll sleep with me unless and until she doesn't want to. If she wants the linked room as a dressing room, that would be fine." He looked at Kat, who nodded.

Mrs. Hawthorne blustered a little, but Rhys stared her down. Louisa, Lily, and Sarah, standing slightly behind Mrs. Hawthorne, looked in different directions and tried not to smile. She tried to recover her demeanour. "And for your sister, I thought..."

This time, Jade interrupted. "I'm not his sister," she said. "People can share a surname without being related." She looked at Mrs. Hawthorne. "Let's agree not to make assumptions? And I'll also be sleeping here with Kat and Rhys. If Kat's taking a dressing room, we can share?" She looked at Kat, who nodded again.

"We'll set the other adjoining bedroom up as an activity room, so we're occupying the three rooms you'd earmarked for us," Jade said, "but not for the same purposes. We've also got plans for other parts of the house. We'll start organising everything this afternoon."

"Well!" Mrs. Hawthorne blustered. "I will have to consult the owners first. You can't just move in here and..."

This time, Kat cut her off. "We've already checked and have approval," she said. "If you want to ask the owners, feel free. We don't want to be on your bad side, but decisions have already been made. It will be much easier for everyone if we pull in the same direction. But if you, or anyone, wants to pull in a different direction..." She left the implied threat hanging.

Rhys was surprised at her tone and that she would speak in such a way to Mrs. Hawthorne, who, just a week ago, would have been someone far above her in the social hierarchy. He took it as a sign of her increasing confidence, which delighted him. Mrs. Hawthorne, on the other hand, was far from delighted. She looked like she'd swallowed a wasp. She spun on her heels and marched out of the room, leaving Louisa, Sarah and Lily behind.

Rhys heard a distant bell tower strike eleven. It reminded him that he needed to be at Mrs. Mather's by noon. "That's fine," said Jade when he told her. "Kat and I will spend a while briefing the staff on our plans for their departments, and we'll get some of the conversations started with the traders and artisans we'll need." She pulled out her notebook again and huddled with Kat, Sarah, Lilu and Louisa.

Rhys realised he was surplus to requirements, so he headed out of the house, went up to the end of the road and hailed a Hansom cab to take him to Mrs. Mather's "Millinery Plus" shop. He had lunch in the tea shop in Miller Lane, having a sandwich and a pot of tea as he didn't know what sort of exertions the afternoon might bring. As the clock in front of the jeweller's shop showed noon, he opened the "Millinery Plus" door and entered.

Mrs. Mather was waiting for him. She nodded in approval at his timekeeping. "Good afternoon, Mister..." she said.

Rhys considered the implied question. He still wasn't sure why he'd been given a new identity and briefly wondered which name to use. He realised there must be a purpose, even though he didn't know what it was, so he answered, "Niain. Rhys Niain at your service," and bowed slightly to Mrs. Mather.

She nodded again. "Well, Master Niain..." She held her hand up as Rhys started to object. "No," she continued, "You can call yourself whatever you like here and now. But when you go through that curtain," she indicated the covered doorway that led to the upstairs room, "and when you're dominating your subs, you will be Master. You must put aside your preferences, to some degree, and be what they need you to be, not what you want to be. If you love them, you will put your preferences and ideals aside for their sake."

Rhys thought that was a bit of a low blow, but he understood what she meant and nodded.

"Today," Mrs. Mather continued, "we will start your training as a dom. If you've read the book," Rhys nodded, "you'll have the basics already. But there are some things you'll actually have to practice. We have a safe space here that we will use to get you the experience you need to keep your subs 'entertained' and, above all, safe. Today's session is to help you think and act like a dominant.

"We have a sub here today. You can call her Vada. She's currently unattached, so she doesn't have a dom. She'll do you the favour of allowing you to practice on her and giving you some feedback. You'll do her the favour of relieving her 'itch' for a while. I'm here to reassure her that she won't have another bad experience. Not that I'm expecting you to go rogue on us." She smiled.

"OK," said Rhys, "that seems fine." Mrs. Mather held the curtain aside that covered the upper floor staircase. They both went up and emerged on the upper sales floor.

There was a large canvas bag on the floor by the sitting area. "Before we start, this isn't going to be a gentle or short session," Mrs. Mather said. "In ideal circumstances, I'd have introduced you more slowly to some of the roles a dom may have to perform. I apologise if you find this a bit too much to take in, but Vada's in a bit of a state, so if we can help her out..."

Rhys nodded, understanding. He smiled inwardly at the thought that Kat had spent a good portion of the last few days being overwhelmed by the experience of being a free woman, and now here he was, perhaps at risk of being overwhelmed by a needy submissive.

"She's brought some of her equipment in," continued Mrs. Mather. "Please use it, if you can." Rhys went over to the bag and carefully lifted the contents out. There was a collar with a leash, a metal "O" ring wrapped in leather and with straps, a strange collection of straps that were linked together, two sets of padded leather cuffs, a couple of what Rhys assumed were dildos, a few assorted straps and other pieces of leather that Rhys couldn't identify and a few lengths of chain. He laid the items out on the chairs in the seating area.

Mrs Mather handed him a paper bag. "You'll need this," she said. Rhys opened the bag. Inside was a canvas bag connected to a rubber tube with a strange rubber bung, like a smaller version of a child's spinning top. "Enema kit," Mrs Mather added. Rhys looked at her with wide eyes. "I said this would be a bit of an intense first session," she added, "but Vada has specifically asked for it. When you're ready, she's in there." She indicated the door to the toilet that Kat and Jade had used the previous day.

Rhys made his way over to the door, which was closed. He made to knock on the door, but Mrs. Mather stopped him, shaking her head. Rhys understood - he was to be in "dom mode". He opened the door with as much drama as he could muster. The "toilet" turned out to be more than that. There was, indeed, a toilet in there, but it was more like a wet room with extra furniture. The item he immediately noticed was a larger version of a carpenter's saw horse. He noticed it because it had a naked woman draped over it. She was lying lengthways, face down, her legs next to the legs of the saw horse nearest to him, her arms next to the legs at the other end.

Mrs. Mather went over to her. The woman looked up at her. "He's here," Mrs. Mather said. "Are you ready?" Vada nodded. "Very well," Mrs. Mather continued and produced what looked like a padded sleep mask from a pocket on her skirt. She slipped the mask over Vada's eyes. "Is that fitting OK?" she asked, and Vada nodded again.

Mrs. Mather returned to Rhys's side and led him back through the door, closing it behind them. "I'm going to coach you," she said, "but the first things on the agenda are that you secure her to the bench, then give her an enema. I'll not speak unless I have to, so as not to spoil her fantasy, but I'm here to give you technical advice and her reassurance. But, after the enema, she'd like some light chastisement and humiliation. I'll leave it up to you. You're fine to do some sexual touching but nothing more today, though."

"Agreed," said Rhys. "Are we ready to start?" Mrs. Mather nodded, so Rhys opened the door and entered the wet room. He quickly moved over to Vada and started by fastening her ankles and wrists to the bench using the straps already attached to its legs. He gave her a quick, light, spank on her butt which caused ger to grunt. He walked around to her head and fastened her wrists in the same way.

He stood back and took in the sight before him. It was difficult for Rhys to tell much about Vada, bent over as she was, but her legs looked long and her ass seemed to be tight and muscular. She had quite a long neck, and her hair was long, silver-white, tied back into a ponytail that dangled over her left shoulder. He couldn't see her eyes because of the mask, but her face was long and thin.

Rhys moved back and knelt in front of her. He put his finger on her chin so she knew he was there. He moved his mouth close to her ear and whispered, "Do your safe action." He saw the corner of her mouth twitch, then she tapped her finger three times on the bench's leg. A three-tap safe action seemed to be quite popular. "And your safe word?" he whispered. She whispered something he didn't catch, so he moved his ear closer to her mouth. "Again," he asked. This time, he heard her say "thundercloud". Her accent was strong but not so strong that he couldn't understand her. She wasn't a Reilander, however. "Good girl," he whispered back, and the corner of her mouth crinkled again.

Mrs. Mather approached, carrying the bag containing the enema kit. "Well done, so far," she whispered. "Take your time with this next part, though. There's a jar of lubricant in the bag. Make sure you apply plenty to the plug and, if you want, to her ass. The latter isn't strictly necessary, but it's humiliating, and she'll enjoy it. Then, when you're done, gently ease the plug into her. It has a recessed ring in it. That's for her sphincter to grip onto, so position it correctly. Next, fill the rubber bag with warm water, add the salt, connect the pipe, and hang it on the hook." She indicated a hook on the wall that Rhys had assumed was to hang a dressing gown on or something similar.

Rhys nodded. This was the tricky part for him. It felt all a bit medical, which he'd never been interested in, and invasive. But Vada had asked for it, so he'd try his best.

Rhys did as Mrs. Mather had instructed. He opened the small jar she offered him, which contained what looked like grease but had no smell. He scooped some up with a finger and applied it liberally to the conical-shaped bung. He took it over to Vada and pulled her butt cheeks apart slightly so he could see her asshole. He was glad now that he kept his fingernails short as he took another fingerful of grease and placed the finger on her sphincter. She groaned slightly as Rhys started to move his finger in tiny circles and applied gentle pressure. Nothing much was happening and Rhys wondered if Vada was playing the unwilling subject so, he spanked her again on her butt cheek and said "Let it in!"

Eventually he made progress; he kept up the motion and the pressure until his finger was in her butt up to the second joint. Satisfied, he pulled his finger out and quickly inserted the tip of the conical bung. Like he'd done with his finger, he changed the angle of the bung and varied the pressure he applied. The bung slowly disappeared into Vada's ass, accompanied by more grunting, until the ridge stopped it going any further.

Rhys moved to the sink, poured the salt into the rubber bag, and ran the water until it reached body temperature. He then filled the bag, folded the top, and secured it with a couple of clips. He then shook the bag to mix the contents, took it over to Vada, connected it to the hose, and lifted it until he could slip it over the hook on the wall. He put his thumb over the other end of the pipe and then removed a clip holding the water inside the bag. He moved over to Vada and removed his thumb from the end of the pipe and waited until the water started to run out, then he moved quickly to attach the hose to the bung in Vada's ass.

Vada groaned again as the water trickled into her guts. Rhys moved around to her head, which was hanging down between her restrained arms, and knelt down. He could see that the saw-horse she was fastened to wasn't ordinary. The top was wider than a normal saw-horse, so her torso was well supported, but it narrowed where her breasts were, exposing them. Her breasts were small, little more than bumps on her chest, but larger breasts would have hung down. The top of the saw-horse was also rounded so that her neck and shoulders wouldn't be chafed.

He took hold of her ponytail and pulled it back so that her head, which had been dangling down, was raised. She'd be looking at him if she hadn't worn a blindfold. "Who owns your ass?" he asked her. She groaned but said nothing. He pulled on her ponytail, which tilted her head further back, then ran his finger across her now fully exposed throat. "I didn't hear that?" he said.

"You do," Vada whispered.

"Louder, and finish the sentence," he told her, in an even voice.

"You do..." she hesitated slightly before completing the sentence, "Master."

Rhys let her hair go, and her head dropped. He reached over and took hold of one of her erect nipples. "And who owns these tits?" he asked.

"You do, sir", she replied.

Rhys stood and moved to the other side of the sawhorse. He slapped her ass cheek while checking the level of the liquid in the bag. "And who owns this ass?" he asked.

"You do, sir."

"And who owns all of you?"

"You do, sir!"

"Good girl," Rhys said, patting her bum. "Now I'm going to go and relax with a cup of tea for a while. Don't you go anywhere!". He turned and returned to the main room, leaving the door open; Mrs. Mather followed. They went to the customer waiting area, and Mrs. Mather rang a small bell. One of the sales assistants from the main millinery area came up the stairs, and Mrs. Mather asked her to bring two cups of tea. Rhys sat down while Mrs. Mather stood.

"You're doing well, so far," said Mrs. Mather. "Better than I expected based on yesterday."

"I realised," Rhys replied, "that, at least for Jade and Kat, they don't want a master. At least not a full-time one. They're amazing and powerful women who sometimes want someone else to take charge. Once I got that into my head, I realised I could treat it like an improvised theatre show. It's not my nature to be dominant, but I could do it for them. It's so far from my nature that I find it exhausting." The assistant had arrived with the promised tea.

Mrs Mather took a sip. "Have you any thoughts for the rest of Vada's session?" she asked.

"I think you said she wanted some humiliation?" Rhys asked. Mrs. Mather nodded. "Let's have a closer look at the equipment she brought". He went over to the items laid out on the chair. "Hmm. Most of this is self-explanatory. The 'O' ring is a gag?" Mrs. Mather nodded. "And what's this?" he asked, holding up the bundle of straps and rings.

"It's a body harness," she said. "It goes over the shoulders and fastens with a strap at the crotch."

Rhys nodded. "Let's go and move her on to the next stage," he said. He got up, put his tea down, put Vada's collection of equipment back in its bag and took the bag into the bathroom. The enema bag was now empty. It was a reasonably small enema he'd given her, so she wasn't in too much discomfort from the liquid in her bowels. He took a few sheets of paper from the roll near the toilet basin, took hold of the plug in her anus and applied a little more of the grease around the area. He wiggled the plug until it started to move. He told her sternly, "Hold it in," and then pulled it as gently as he could out until the plug popped out of her anus. There was a bit of leakage, which he mopped up with the paper. He unhooked the bag from the wall, tossed it with the hose and butt plug into the shower area.

He bent down and unbuckled her ankles from the bench legs, telling her not to move, and quickly strapped on her personal cuffs. He repeated it with her wrists. He helped her to her feet, clipped her wrist cuffs behind her back and walked her over to the toilet bowl. He sat her down and said, "Hold it in, while I fasten your legs." He then ran the length of chain behind the toilet bowl and clipped each end to an ankle, before telling her "Let it out now."

Nothing happened. He pinched one of her nipples, which made her squeak, and thundered, "Now!" There was a noise that sounded like a waterfall mixed with farts as she released the liquid. When the noise had died down, Rhys flushed the toilet and got Vada to stand and bend forward. He supported her with one arm while wiping her bum with the other. "Good girl. All clean now!" he told her, and he saw her shiver slightly. He disposed of the paper, sat her on the toilet and washed his hands.

Rhys took her collar out of Vada's bag and fastened it around her neck, clipping another length of chain to it. He then unclipped the chain between her ankles. "Up," he said, gently pulling on her neck chain and leading her to the middle of the room. "Spread your legs to shoulder width," he said. He used one of his feet to push her feet apart when she didn't move immediately. It wasn't a hard push, more symbolic, but she did move. He reached for the harness and held it up for Mrs. Mather to see. "Help?" he mouthed at her.

She nodded and took the harness. She moved it round in her hands until she had it the right way up - holding it by two shoulder straps with the rest hanging below. She mimed how to put it on (without actually doing so), took a strap that was hanging down, pointed between her legs, and then at a buckle on the back. Rhys held up the two dildos, but Mrs. Mather shook her head. "Not this time," she mouthed silently.

Rhys nodded and took the harness from Mrs. Mather. He moved to Vada and took a look at her. He'd been right about her physique. She had an athlete's body, not heavily muscled like someone who works weights, but more the toned, sleek look of a runner or a swimmer. Rhys was in his boots, and she had bare feet: they were roughly the same height. In other circumstances, she'd have been slightly taller than he. As he'd thought, her face was oval-shaped with a long neck holding her head high. Her breasts were small, with pale areola and nipples that were small and hard. Her stomach was lean, her hips narrow, and her mons had a delicate covering of white hair. Her legs were long and slender, and her feet had high arches. Rhys knew better than to make assumptions about people from first impressions, but her body shape and poise, even naked in front of an unknown dominant, exuded class and upbringing. With a slight shock, he realised she reminded him strongly of Jade. Jade was shorter and stockier, but the two women were cut from the same cloth.

"Arms out," he said to her. He moved her arms up and forward so they were head-width apart, with her arms straight and hands just above her head height. He took the harness from Mrs. Mather and dropped it over her raised hands. He manoeuvred the harness down her arms, put the shoulder straps where they belonged and then pulled the harness down to her slender hips. He moved around the back, knelt, grabbed the crotch strap which was dangling in front of her belly, pulled it between her legs and loosely buckled it at the back. Then he stood up and made sure the harness was fitting her whole torso snugly before pulling the crotch strap tight. The leather strap rode up between her labia and was, no doubt, pressing on her clitoris.

Rhys took a small leather strap and moved behind Vada. He took her wrists and clipped the cuffs together behind her back. He then pulled her elbows close and strapped them together so her shoulders were pulled back and her chest thrust forward. He knelt and told her, "Feet together". She moved to obey, and he fastened another strap above her knees, pulling her thighs together and then connected her ankle cuffs with a short chain. Finally, he stood up. "Open your mouth," he said. She opened it a little so he told her, "Wide open!" Once she'd done that, he slipped the "O" of the gag behind her teeth and buckled the strap behind her head.

He left her in the middle of the room and told her, "Wait!". He moved over to Mrs. Mather, who was keeping a watching brief. He beckoned her out of the door, closing it behind them.

"Are your assistants downstairs aware of what's up here?" he asked her. Mrs. Mather nodded. He continued, "Can you get a couple of them to come up and pretend to be shoppers? I'd like her to feel she's on public display but in safe surroundings."

Mrs. Mather grinned. "Good thinking," she said and hurried down the stairs. Two minutes later, she reappeared, followed by two of her assistants.

"I've got a blindfolded submissive in the wet room," Rhys told them. "I will lead her around while I discuss some of the displays with Mrs. Mather. I'd like you to pretend to be shoppers. Please make sure she can hear you so she knows you're there, too. It'd also be good if she hears you talking about her, but only in a kind way. Can you do that?"

The two shop assistants nodded. "Yes, sir!" they both said in turn.

"I'm going to get her now," Rhys told them, "so if you can get started, I'll bring her through." They nodded, moved over to one of the displays, and started discussing the different types of masks on show.

Rhys moved back to the wet room, and Mrs. Mather followed. He picked up the leash attached to Vada's collar, now dangling down by her belly button. "Come on," he told her, tugging the leash gently. He stood facing her, ready to step in if she lost he balance while she tested the extent of her bonds, but she stepped slowly, only able to waddle from the knees down, further restricted by the chain between her ankles.

Rhys walked backwards, still watching her, ready to react if she needed him and keeping up a gentle but steady pressure on her leash. They moved through the door, Rhys glancing back over his shoulder to see where they were going. The two shop assistants giggled loudly as they entered the main room. Vada tensed and stopped. Rhys reacted with the leash slightly too late as it tightened and pulled Vada off balance by her throat. Unable to use her arms and legs, she pitched forward, making a panicked noise as the ring gag kept her mouth open. Rhys stepped forward just in time and caught her under her armpits.

He lifted her so she stood on her feet again. He put his mouth to her ear and whispered, "I got you, little pet. Now be a good girl for the people who are here. You're so pretty and it'd be a shame if I had to redden that perfect little ass of yours." She blushed crimson but followed as he led her away.

Rhys walked around the displays of bondage equipment, talking to Mrs. Mather about how the items could be used, as he towed Vada. He motioned to the shop girls who were hovering around to come over. They approached, and Rhys motioned again to indicate they should talk about his captive. They did just that, "Why, sir, where did you get such a pretty woman as this?" "That harness suits her!" "She should paint her toenails and fingernails for her master." "Such lovely nipples. They'd be ideal for a set of clamps."

Vada started to buck and twist in her bondage and tried to pull away, but Rhys held her leash firmly whilst watching out for her losing balance again. "Vada, stop it!" he commanded, but she kept wriggling and pulling on the leash. She hadn't used her safe signal, however. Rhys stooped, bending his knees and placing his shoulder against Vada's stomach. He put an arm behind her knees and stood up to carry her over his shoulder.

Rhys marched over to the customer seating area and, with his free hand, pulled a plain wooden chair out. He put Vada back on her feet, sat on the chair and pulled Vada over his knee in the classic spanking position. She immediately stopped wriggling and relaxed into him. He squeezed each of her butt cheeks in turn, feeling the complete absence of flabbiness. She really was in prime condition. She squirmed slightly under his attention, reminding him of the agenda Mrs. Mather had outlined for the session.

He raised his hand and brought it down sharply but with controlled force on Vada's left buttock, whilst telling her, "Don't". She squeaked with the shock of the impact. He did the same on the other buttock, telling her "pull". She squeaked again. He spanked the left buttock and said "away", then the right, saying "from me." He then started to lay the pattern down he'd memorised from "The Reluctant Master". He spanked her buttocks from top to bottom, including the part where it curved down to meet the top of her thigh. He particularly enjoyed that as it made her whole buttock jiggle most delightfully. He continued, varying the point he spanked her and the strength of his hand until her buttocks were a pale pink colour. And then he stopped.

Vada lay over his lap, panting. She was aroused, and Rhys could smell it. He let her lie there for a few minutes while he ran his hands over her arms and back, and then he stood up, lifting her until she was also standing. Once again, he lifted her onto his shoulder and carried her back into the wet room. Mrs. Mather followed. Rhys put Vada down so she was standing, back to a wall for support. He looked at Mrs Mather and mimed unfastening Vada. Mrs. Mather shook her head and pointed at herself. Rhys understood.

"We're done," he said. "Thank you for being my submissive for the day. I enjoyed it very much. I'll leave you here, and someone will come and release you." He backed away from Vada, giving her one last look and noticing that she'd poked her tongue through the "O" ring in her gag.

He put his face up to hers and gently took the tip of her tongue between his lips for a second. It was as close to a kiss as she could manage. Once he'd released her tongue, she took it back into her mouth. "Ah-ooh ah-er", she said through the gag. Rhys took it as "Thank you, master".

"You're very welcome, Vada", Rhys told her. "Goodbye." He turned and left the wet room.

Mrs. Mather was waiting outside. "Outstanding," she said. "Outstanding for a first attempt. You seem to have an almost instinctive understanding of what she wanted. If you have the same for your submissives, and I think you will, they'll be lucky women. Your spanking technique was excellent, but it's difficult to mark a submissive's skin with a spank accidentally. The same is not true of whips, crops and canes. Do not use those on your submissives until you've practised. When your submissives return for their personalised equipment, come with them and I'll show you some techniques."

"Thank you very much," Rhys said, "and if you don't mind, I'll take a few items as a surprise for them. You still have Kat's and Jade's measurements?" Mrs. Mather nodded. Together they toured the displays, Rhys picking out, like Jade and Kat had done the previous day, some things he could take with him and some things he'd leave with Mrs. Mather to be personalised. He paid for the items he took that day, and Mrs. Mather wrapped them discreetly. On the way out of the shop, he went to find the two young women who'd helped with Vada's humiliation, tipped them and thanked them for helping. They both giggled and thanked him in return.

Rhys browsed some of the other shops in Miller Lane while he was there. He found a delightful bookshop and he picked up a couple of books. One was a brief history of Reiland - he would live here for the foreseeable future, so it would be good to understand the country's back story. His schooling in Seibjerg hadn't contained much about the history of other countries, and he imagined the books in the university library would have too much detail - he was only looking for an overview. The other book was about researching a family tree. He had no idea who his biological family were, and he hoped to get some ideas about how to find out more.

Feeling quite pleased with his afternoon's work, he hailed a cab to return to his new home. While he was on the way, he pondered the morning's exchanges between Mrs. Hawthorne, Jade and Kat. Mrs. Hawthorne seemed to assume she was in charge of the house, and, to be fair, she was in charge of the staff. But Jade, and to a lesser extent, Kat, seemed sure the property owners would be OK with what they were proposing. He'd assumed the Minshull Foundation owned the house, but Jade's and Kat's language earlier made him doubt that. If he hadn't trusted Jade and Kat so completely, he might have been suspicious about that and many other things about their situation.

Arriving back at Rowan Tree Road, he paid for the cab and knocked on the front door. After only a few seconds, Clara opened it and welcomed him with a curtsey. "Begging your pardon, Mr. Niain, but Miss Jade and Miss Katarina are out, making arrangements for redecorating some of the rooms."

Rhys looked at her, smiling slightly. "How is it that it's 'Miss Jade' and 'Miss Katarina' but I'm Mr. Niain?"

Clara put her hand over her mouth, eyes wide, as she thought she'd made a mistake with the new man of the house. Rhys took pity on her. "It's fine, Clara, it's fine," her reassured her. "As I said earlier, I prefer to be called Rhys, but if you want to use an honorific, then I'd prefer Mr. Rhys."

Clara nodded. "Yes, Mr. Ni... Mr Rhys," she said.

"Thank you, Clara," he said. "I'm just going to the main bedroom to drop some of these things off," he said, holding up the bags from Mrs. Mather's shop. "Then I need to do some reading while it's quiet."

Clara held her hand up to her mouth again. "Begging your pardon again, Mr. Rhys," she said, "but you've had a delivery while you were out. The delivery crew said they were books, so I asked them to put them in the study. I haven't looked at them as I thought they might be private."

"Thank you, Clara," Rhys said. "I'll take a look as soon as I've dropped these bags off. If you'll excuse me..."

"Of course, sir," she said. She curtseyed again before heading into the dining room and closing the door behind her.

He took his bags up to the main bedroom to discover that the trunk containing everything he'd brought from Seibjerg was missing. He opened a wardrobe to see if it had been put away, only to find that his clothes had been hung up, and some appeared to have been ironed first. He checked the dresser and the drawers were full of his underwear and other smalls. He supposed it saved him a job. He unpacked his shopping and put it all in one of the lesser-used drawers in the dresser.

There was a set of papers laid out on the bed. He picked them up and looked through them. They were the papers they'd brought from the Spencer house related to his university course. Putting them under his arm, he collected the books he'd bought earlier and set off down the stairs to the study.

When he opened the door, he saw a wooden crate on the floor. He removed the clips from the top and opened it. It was, indeed, a crate of books. About half of them were new, but the remainder looked worn. Well-worn in one or two cases - they were almost falling apart. He picked a few at random. "Spellcraft". "Practical Alchemy". "An Introduction to Magical Creatures". A thought occurred to him, and he leafed through the stack of university papers until he found the book list for the coming year. Finding a pencil in the desk drawer, he unpacked the box. Every book on the reading list was in the crate, even the ones marked "Optional".

Once he'd ticked the books off the reading list, three remained. They were the oldest-looking ones there. He picked one up, but the title on the spine was unreadable. It was not just written in another language, not just using strange letters, but literally unreadable. The more he looked at the name, the less his brain could process what his eyes were seeing. The symbols on the spine just shimmered and morphed into other symbols as he looked at them. He opened the book, and the same was true of the pages inside. The symbols swirled around so that it looked like a colony of ants was running across the pages. The other two books were similarly unreadable.

Rhys realised he didn't know who had sent him the crate of books. He had assumed that the Minshull Foundation was supplying him with what he needed for his upcoming university course. However, these three old books were not on the university syllabus. They must have been sent for him personally. And they hadn't come from a bookstore. Someone, someone unknown, had purposefully included them. They must have wanted him to have and read them when the time was right. And, just now, he wasn't ready so that he couldn't read the three books. But he knew, he just knew, that he would read them sometime.

He stowed the books away on the shelves, trying to find a way to organise them but eventually giving up and just making a vaguely pleasing pattern with them. He moved the empty crate out of the way and returned to the stack of papers from the university. He started to read.

He discovered that he was due to report for registration and orientation the day after tomorrow. There were instructions for where to go and the dress code - casual clothes for most of the time. However, he would need a university gown, a stole in the colours of his university school and a cap for formal occasions; a list of approved suppliers was included. There was a rule book telling him how to behave around campus, treat other students with respect, behave in the library, no running in the corridors and lots of other fairly obvious stuff.

There was one section that made him uncomfortable. He would receive a pass which he must keep with him at all times while on campus and two restricted passes for his slaves. Theirs would be fastened to their collars and removed again at the end of the academic year. It would allow them in the accommodation blocks and around the grounds, but not in any academic buildings. This was something he'd need to discuss with Kat and Jade. He'd have liked for them to be able to come with him to the university whenever they wanted to, but it would have been distasteful enough had they still been slaves, but now they were both recently freed... Other visitors were allowed, but only if accompanied by a passholder.

He shook his head and carried on. Most of the rest of the paperwork consisted of forms that he needed to complete. He took them across to the desk, found an ink pen in a drawer and worked through them, being sure to blot them carefully so they wouldn't smudge. Once done, he sighed and leaned back in his chair. He felt compelled to return to the books he'd recently put on the shelves. He went over and picked out one of the strange old books. He opened it at a random page and realised he could read it. The symbols had steadied into perfect Seibjern, his native language.

He took the book across to the armchair by the fireplace, which hadn't been lit yet. He settled down and checked the rest of the pages in the book. They were still undecipherable. Only the page he'd opened the book at was readable, plus the next few. He started to read. Once he'd finished reading the legible text, he realised that he'd completely understood everything. He didn't need to reread it. Despite being a complicated procedure, he just knew how to do it. He closed the book and put it back in the bookcase. Returning to the armchair, he sat back down and relaxed, closing his eyes and breathing deeply and slowly.

Rhys must have drifted off to sleep as voices from the hallway awakened him. Jade and Kat had returned and were talking excitedly. He went out to meet them.

"How was your day, dear?" Kat asked with a smile.

"Erm. Interesting?" Rhys replied. "I learned quite a few things and, erm, got in a little practice."

Jade and Kat both raised their eyebrows and then looked at each other. "You'll have to show us what you learned," Jade said with a grin.

"On that subject," replied Rhys, "could I borrow you both for a few minutes?"

Jade and Kat nodded and followed him back into the study, thanking Clara, who had opened the door for Kat and Jade and was waiting in the hallway in case they needed anything else. Rhys shut the study door after they'd gone through.

"I've been through the university papers," Rhys told them. "There are some things we need to discuss. Have a seat." He indicated the small leather sofa; Jade and Kat went to sit on it. Rhys pulled the desk chair over to them and sat on it.

"First," he said, "logistics. I need to get some formal university clothes tomorrow and go to campus to register the day after." The two women nodded. "And then there's access to the university campus for us." He paused for a minute, trying to work out how to say it best. "I get a campus pass as a student." Kat and Jade nodded. "And I get two extra passes for non-students." They nodded again, smiling. "For my slaves," he finished, looking carefully for a reaction.

Jade and Kat looked at each other. Kat shrugged. Jade shrugged. They both turned to Rhys. "We'll take them!" said Kat.

"That's it?" asked Rhys. "No debate? No mentions of how unfair it is?"

"Nope," Jade said. "We'd rather have the option of being close to you than not. And if it means we've got to wear a fake slave collar when we're on campus and in public, so be it. We won't be going too often, anyway. Only when you're staying in your student accommodation for whatever reason. We've already got some collars from Mrs. Mather that we can use."

Rhys was relieved. He'd been concerned that it was going to be an awkward conversation. "Is the fire too hot for you?" he asked them.

Both women looked at him, slightly thrown by the sudden change of direction in the conversation. Rhys just looked at them with a small smile and a questioning look.

"It is a little warm, now you mention it," said Kat, looking at the fire, "but it's not too uncomfortable."

"And is the owl disturbing you?" asked Rhys, nodding at the bird sitting quietly on the back of the unused armchair."

The women both looked over at the owl in amazement. They both turned back to Rhys and jumped. "When did you grow a beard?" Kat asked.

Rhys started to laugh. He laughed hard. It was quite an infectious laugh, and Jade and Kat started smiling. Rhys wiped the tears from his eyes, then put his hands in front of his nose and mouth. When he took his hands away, his beard had gone. "I don't have a beard," he said. "There isn't an owl, and the fire isn't lit." Jade and Kat looked around and saw that it was true. They both looked back at him with such confusion that it set him off laughing again.

Once he'd calmed down, he apologised. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I just needed to test it out on someone, and I couldn't tell you beforehand, or it wouldn't have been a test.

"A crate of books got delivered today," he told them. "It doesn't say who it's from." He pointed to the empty crate against the wall. "It was mostly the books for my course," he continued, "but there were three other books in there too."

He went over to the bookcase and took them down. He showed them to the women. "I couldn't read them at first, but then I thought about you and the slave passes, and suddenly I could read a few pages from this one." He held the book up. "It explained how to generate illusions. I get to control what an illusion looks like, which should feel real to the people I pull into it. When you sat on the sofa, I pulled you into an illusion and added a fire, the owl and a beard. I dropped it when you started to notice. It did use quite a bit of flux, even only doing that simple one for a short time. I'm not sure whether I could do longer or more complex ones."

"It's a useful skill," Jade observed, "but a little scary. You're right that I didn't feel a thing, and it did feel real. Not that I don't trust you, but how do I know I'm back in the real world now? After all, if you can do this, other people can too."

"I don't know," Rhys admitted. "It wasn't in the book. Maybe it's in the parts I can't read yet. Maybe it's something we can ask Cadellin?"

Kat nodded. "I'll see if I can contact him and ask."

"In the meantime," Rhys continued, "I promise not to do that again without telling you." The two women nodded.

Rhys put the books back in the bookcase, and the three returned to the main bedroom to freshen up and change for dinner. "We started converting the room we put aside for a dressing room," said Kat. "We can only work with the furniture we have for the time being, but most of my clothes are in there, along with most of Jade's. We took the dressing table from here to the dressing room too, so we have one each. We have some clothing in here, too. Just in case we need it suddenly." She grinned. "Louisa was a big help in working out what should go where, and Lily and Sarah helped us unpack and put everything away. It was a real team effort. We've such a good team here." She grimaced slightly. "Mostly, anyway. That's a story for another time, though."

"Wear something nice for dinner," Jade told Rhys before disappearing into the dressing room with Kat. He washed the day's grime from his body, combed his hair, and then went to look for something to wear to dinner. There hadn't been much call for smart clothing at home in Solvstrom, so he hadn't brought much. He found a jacket, matching trousers and a button-up shirt.

There was a knock at the door to the new dressing room. Rhys went over and opened it. Louisa, the ladies' maid, breezed into the room. She took Rhys by the shoulders and looked him up and down. "Do you have a bow tie?" she asked.

"No," he said, "I'm a little short on formal wear. I've never needed it."

Louisa hmphed slightly, then moved to his wardrobe. "I saw something in here earlier that will do," she said. Opening the wardrobe door, she pulled out a red necktie. "Red for strong emotions," she said, "and a black belt to emphasise your body shape." Rhys put the tie on, which Louisa helped him straighten, and then the belt. She stood back and looked at him, giving a firm nod. "That will do," she said. "But you need some more clothes for formal occasions. And I've two women to look after, so think about getting a valet." Rhys wanted to remind her that he hadn't asked for her help, but before he could, she disappeared back into the new dressing room, closing the door behind her.

Rhys sat on the bed, unsure of what to do next. He knew something was being planned for him, but not knowing didn't bother him. He trusted Jade and Kat, so as he had done in the study earlier, he relaxed and waited for whatever would happen next.

Rhys fell asleep until the bell for dinner rang. He got up and made his way down to the dining room. When he entered, he noticed that the large dining room table had been moved to one side and, by the window, there was a single square table with two chairs. The table had a pitcher of fruit juice and a pitcher of water, as well as glasses and two complete sets of cutlery. He stood by the window and waited.

Minutes later, the dining room door opened, and Jade came in. She moved behind the door, holding it open, revealing Kat standing in the doorway. Rhys stopped breathing for a moment with shock. She wore a vivid blue gown with a white hem around the bottom. Her waist seemed much smaller than he'd noticed before, perhaps unnaturally, and she also had a wide white ribbon around it. Her sleeves came down to her forearms and were, again, edged in white, and she wore white gloves up past her wrists. Her neckline was low but not daring, exposing the top of her beautiful breasts, which seemed fuller than normal. She also seemed taller than usual, and he suspected she was wearing heels. Her short hair, having been cut the previous day, had been washed and brushed until it shone.

Rhys stared at Kat momentarily, and she looked shyly at the floor in front of her. He moved slowly towards her, and she raised her head as she heard him approach. She looked at him, her eyes filled with apprehension, before dropping her head again. He stood in front of her and put a finger under her chin. He raised her face and looked into her eyes. He bent down, only slightly now, and kissed her full lips. It wasn't a kiss of passion but a simple kiss of welcome and belonging. She looked into his eyes, and they stayed like that for a few seconds. "Beautiful, my love," he said. She smiled, a little with relief and a little with pleasure at his compliment. "You've always been beautiful, but tonight you're showing me and, more importantly, yourself what you're capable of."

Rhys stepped back, taking Kat's gloved hands in his, and, walking backwards, led her into the room. Jade stepped from behind the door, caught Rhys's eye, nodded, and winked. She went through the door and closed it behind her. He released one of her hands and turned so they could walk towards the small table, hand in hand. Rhys pulled a chair out, and Kat sat down after rearranging her skirt. He moved her chair towards the table and sat in the other chair. He looked at her again. She was still clearly nervous, and he knew she'd feel out of place. He reached forward with his hands, and she did the same. They grasped hands across the table and looked into each other's eyes again.

There were a few seconds of silence. Rhys wanted to allow Kat to start the conversation, but he could see she was too nervous, so he began. "How was your day?" he asked.

Kat smiled gently. "It was good," she said. "We went to a house furnisher and ordered new things for the dressing room. They're all stock items, so we can have them delivered quickly." Rhys smiled as she described what she and Jade had looked at, and why they'd rejected some items and ordered others. He let go of her hands so she could use them to animate her descriptions of the furniture, which she did with gusto. Rhys couldn't help but smile. She was so excited. Rhys poured a glass of juice and water for her as she talked, and did the same for himself.

The dining room door opened, and Lily entered with two bowls of soup on a tray. She laid them out in front of Rhys and Jade, curtseyed and left the room again. Rhys started on the soup and had to gently interrupt Kat to remind her to eat it before it went cold.

She ate the soup quickly, continuing with her story between mouthfuls. "Then we went for a late lunch and met a friend of Jade's. He was a huge man. When Jade hugged him, the top of her head didn't reach his chin, so obviously mine was down on his chest. He had vast shoulders and big muscles. He was a bit too muscly for me," she glanced at Rhys with a huge smile, "but his name was Anderton, and he builds small boats. I joked that Anderton could probably lift a boat! He thought that was very funny for some reason. Anyway, we showed him some of my drawings for the house and garden, and he said he could help build some of the less delicate things!"

Lily came into the dining room carrying an empty tray, followed by Sarah, who had a tray with two plates with silver domes over them. Lily cleared the table of the soup bowls, then Sarah put the two new plates in their place. She removed the covers to reveal two colourful salads topped with chicken and ham and a creamy white sauce. Rhys leaned over to Sarah and thanked her. He also mentioned to her that if there were any more courses after this one, they'd like to skip them. Then he started to eat.

Kat also ate but carried on the one-sided conversation between mouthfuls. "Anyway, we had some delicious food. It was a round, flat dough with sauce spread over it and then some spicy sliced sausage, all cooked in an oven. They cut it into triangles and called it 'pieces', I think? Anyway, it was delicious. Can we ask Mrs. Shaw to cook it for us?"

Rhys felt great. He hadn't contributed to the conversation since he'd first asked Kat how her day had been. He loved that Kat was so excited and so chatty.

She was still talking. "And after lunch, Jade took me to a hall where we did some, um, exercises with a man helping. It was so cool. I've never done that sort of thing before. We were in there for maybe two hours and only stopped for a few minutes to drink water. My legs ached so much afterwards. Jade had to help me get into the cab to go home. Home! How great is that? They're much better now. My legs, that is. I had a nice warm bath that helped a lot. And Louisa helped me pick my clothes out and put them on! She's so nice, by the way. Oh, did I tell you? Jade suggested tonight could be our first date! I said I'd like that. Did she tell you?"

"No," said Rhys, "but I guessed."

"Are you finished eating?" asked Kat. "I have, and I've something else lined up."

She pushed her chair back and stood up, holding her hand out to Rhys. He took it, slightly bemused, and she led him out of the dining room and into the sitting room. Jade was sitting at the harpsichord's keyboard, smiling broadly. Rhys noticed the furniture had been moved to create a small dance floor. Rhys turned to Kat, who was still holding his hand.

"May I have the honour of this dance?" he asked her.

"Why, kind sir, thank you for asking. I will be delighted," she replied.

Rhys moved to stand in front of her, still holding one hand, and put his other hand on her hip. She, in turn, put her free hand on his shoulder. Jade started to play.

Rhys moved off, taking the lead, and Kat followed. "This was what my 'exercise' was this afternoon," she whispered. "I had some dancing lessons." Rhys relied on memories from the handful of dancing lessons he'd had as part of his "social skills" course at school. Neither of them was a skilled dancer, but they moved around the small dance floor, avoiding tripping each other. Rhys and Kat had been in much more sexually explicit situations over the few days they'd known each other, but Rhys thought this was probably the most intimate. He had one of his lovers in his arms. She was pressed into his chest, eyes looking up at his. He looked into her eyes, hoping his eyes showed how much he loved her. His other lover was with them, and she was an outstanding harpsichord player. He wondered how many different skills she had that he didn't know about.

They completed two dances before Kat whispered to Rhys that those were the only dances she'd learned. Rhys smiled and let her go. He took a step back and bowed formally to her. She curtsied to him.

Rhys went over to Jade at the harpsichord and kissed her. "You play the harpsichord so well. Thank you for making our evening special, and thank you for helping Kat learn to dance. I love you so much."

She laughed brightly. "You're welcome," she said. "It was mostly Kat's idea. I just helped organise it. I've been asked to go to a meeting with some members of the Minshull Foundation. Don't take it personally that they asked me and not you. You know they'll want a report from me about what we've been doing. Don't worry, I won't tell them everything, just like I didn't tell Richard everything. You two enjoy yourselves tonight," she winked at him, "and I'll sleep in the dressing room when I return. There's still a bed in there. I'll come through and join you in the morning."

Rhys thought about what she'd said. He wasn't happy about Jade going to a meeting without him or Kat, but he had no solid reason to object. And even if he did object, Jade was her own woman anyway. He stooped and kissed her again. "Stay safe, my love, and I'll see you in the morning."

Turning back to Kat, he scooped her up, his arms under her knees and her back. Jade moved to open the door for them, and Rhys carried Kat out of the room, up the stairs and into the main bedroom. She giggled all the way until Rhys sat down on the bench by the window, manoeuvring her round so she sat on his lap. In this position, their heads were almost at the same level. She linked her arms behind his head and looked into his eyes.

"I love you so much," she said. "It's not that I owe you my life, although I do. It's not that you've taken me into your family and looked after me, although you have. It's not that you're handsome and kind, although you are. It's not even all of those things together. I can't rationalise it, it's just there. I love you." Her eyes were moist with tears, and her voice started to crack. Rhys kissed her gently and hugged her tightly.

"You're among the most amazing people I've ever met," he said. "You've been transported into a whole new world," he laughed at his unintended joke, "literally and figuratively. And you've started to show what has always been within you. I couldn't be more proud of you and can't wait to see how even more amazing you become in the future. I love you more than you can know."

They put their heads over each other's shoulders and enjoyed the close contact. Eventually, Kat pulled back slightly and touched the tip of Rhys's nose with her own. "Now," she told him. Direct but carrying so much weight. Not a request. An instruction. An order. Rhys nodded.

She stood, her back to him. He knew what he had to do. He also stood and started to unfasten the tiny hooks that held her gown closed between her shoulder blades. She shrugged, allowing the gown to slip down over her shoulders. With a wiggle of her hips, the gown slipped further, and she stepped out, revealing the push-up corset she wore underneath. He picked up the discarded gown and threw it into the corner of the room.

She turned to face him and undid his tie by yanking the back out of the knot. She threw it on top of her discarded gown. She pulled his shirt out of his trousers, then undid it. She unbuttoned the shirt cuffs and pushed the shirt over his shoulders, and he flexed his arms so it fell to the floor. He back-heeled it towards the other discarded clothes. She unbuckled his belt and pulled it from the loops on his trousers. Then she bent forward and unbuttoned the trousers and flies. This time he did the wiggle and his trousers dropped to the floor, and he stepped out of them, just leaving him standing in his underwear.

She turned and showed him her back. He undid the knots in the cord holding the corset closed, then pulled the cord out from the lacing holes until the cord was free. She shrugged her shoulders forward, and the corset dropped to the floor. She also kicked it towards the pile of discarded clothing.

She turned again and faced him. They were now both in their pants. Kat stepped forward and pulled his underwear down, freeing his cock which sprang out as soon as it was released. She looked at it with a small smile. His cock wasn't massive. She wasn't scared of it or worried whether it would fit in her. She knew it would. She wasn't sure how she knew; she just did. She'd seen it before, of course, and had it in her mouth a couple of times. She reached out. It bobbed as she touched it. It made her smile even more. She loved it. She loved the man it was attached to. It may be connected to him, but it was hers. Well, she had a half-share in it and was happy with that.

He knelt before her now, holding her hips. He was in no hurry. That wasn't the point of tonight. Tonight was about confirming their relationship. Their love for each other. He took hold of her panties where they hugged her hips and gently lowered them, revealing her pussy. She'd shaved. "Neck to toe," he heard her whisper. "Do you like it?". He nodded, unable to take his eyes away from it. He could see every detail now. The slight bulge of her mons. The lips of her labia were now larger and more prominent due to her arousal. The smell of her. It made him hungry for more.

Again, he scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed. She looked into his eyes the whole time. He saw no concern in her eyes, in her face. Her eyes conveyed heat, desire and arousal. He laid her gently on the bed, on her back, knees at the edge of the bed. He knelt between them, pushing her knees apart and moved his face to her sex. He could feel her quivering, close to release, so he would need to be careful. He leant in and used his tongue to lick her inside. He didn't want to overstimulate her; he just couldn't resist tasting her again.

After a few moments, he stood, moved round to the side of the bed and lay on top of it. She quickly wriggled her way up to meet him. They lay together on their sides, facing each other, heads level. He was looking at her face; she was looking at his. Both studied the other for any signs. Neither could see any sign of caution, fear or regret. Just passion, love and arousal. She hesitantly moved her face closer to his and kissed him gently. Giving him a signal. Telling him she wanted this. He responded by kissing her back. His tongue pressed gently against her lips, seeking admission to her mouth. She opened her lips to him, and they explored each other's mouths.

One arm was trapped beneath him, and he put the other arm behind her head, applying gentle pressure to the kiss. She responded by upping the tempo and intensity of her kissing. He moved his hand between her shoulder blades, applying more gentle pressure. He could feel her small, firm breasts pressing into his chest, her rock-hard nipples poking him. He moved his arm further down, onto the small of her back and then down to her butt.

They broke the kiss, both gasping for air. He gave her a questioning look, seeking final permission. She quickly nodded. They both rolled away from each other. He moved and knelt between her legs, leaning forward and taking his weight on one of his arms. He used the other to hold his cock so it was parting her labia. He moved it up and down, teasing her slightly but also using her wetness to lubricate his cock. He lined up with the entrance to her vagina and pushed gently. He met the barrier of her hymen, and he paused. Once more she gave him the tiniest of nods and her face screwed up slightly in anticipation of pain. He pushed forward, and she moved slightly, a small, quiet "Oh!" escaping her mouth.

He held his position, waiting for her. She, again, nodded slightly, and he pushed slowly into her. She was tight. Much tighter than Jade had been, but Kat hadn't been through what Jade had. She'd had her traumas, but none sexual. Rhys made tiny pushing motions until he was all the way in, pubic bone to pubic bone. He stayed there for a few seconds. He heard her whisper, "Full. So full."

He whispered back, "Good. So good." She smiled slightly. He pulled away from her, then pushed in again, then repeated. He took it slowly. He wanted tenderness, not aggression. It was about love, not necessarily passion. Her breathing was shallow and rapid. He tried to time his thrusts to match. Her breathing was speeding up; he increased his tempo. Her breaths turned into sharp exhalations: "Uh, uh," getting faster and faster until her orgasm hit her. She started to tremble, then she shrieked and went rigid, her back arching up and away from the bed. Her pussy clamped down on his cock and she shrieked again. She'd been tight around him, but now he was held in a vice-like grip. It was almost painful. He held his position - there was little else he could do - until she relaxed. He started to move in and out again. He was close. His rhythm increased until he also came. He arched his back, pushing his cock as far inside her as he could, painting the insides of her womb with his sperm. That set her off again, and she had a second orgasm. Fire exploded in both their brains.

He collapsed onto the bed, having enough sense left in him not to land on top of her. Instinctively, they rolled together, still lying on top of the bedsheets. He put his arm around her and pulled her into him. Sleep claimed them both.