Chapter Three

When Jill woke for the second time in Jackie’s bed it was with the same sense of disorientation, but this time a bright sun was burning directly onto her face, and she screwed up her eyes, waiting for the room to settle into focus.

‘Come on, sweetheart, wakey-wakey! I’ve got to be off in a minute.’

Jill blinked at the tumbled wreck of sheet and blanket and its emptiness at her side, where Jackie’s sturdy body had lain intimately entangled with hers when she had finally fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning. Now the freshly groomed figure, neat in a dark trouser suit with dazzling white shirt, its pointed collar open at the neck to reveal the tanned throat, was beaming down at her, one hand ruffling the dark head on the pillow with vigorous affection. Jill sat up, instinctively clutching the sheet to her breast. ‘What? Oh gosh, I’ve slept... I’m sorry. Just wait, I’ll be ready in a minute or two.’

She swung her feet from under the bedclothes to the floor, then groaned quietly, made forcibly aware of her aching muscles, the tenderness between her legs and her sore buttocks, and she winced as she stood. She felt the dull ache in her bottom as she took her first uncertain steps. She caught a glimpse of herself in the dresser mirror, the darkened blotches on each buttock, and her toes dug into the carpet in embarrassment as she replayed the vivid events of the previous night. Her neck and shoulders ached too, when she moved her head. And no wonder. She recalled with blushing clarity the sensation of being stretched out, tumbled onto the floor from her kneeling crouch on the sofa, her face driven deep into the musk of Jackie’s belly as she lapped at the wet gape of female sex in those last frenzied minutes of their lovemaking.

Jackie had been gentleness itself afterwards, picking up the weeping figure, guiding her to the bathroom, sharing the tub where she cradled her in her arms, covering her with light kisses while she bathed her, then dried and dusted her, and sprayed her with perfume. In the bed she had once more enfolded her, and her hands stroked and teased Jill’s sore flesh with caresses that soothed even as they stirred her to new arousal. Lost and bewildered, as much at her own behaviour and acceptance of this tumultuous day and night as their wild events, she sobbed in her new lover’s arms and thrilled and surrendered to the older woman’s tender dominion over her.

Now, on this new bright day, she was shocked anew at all that had befallen her. ‘I’ll be as quick as I can,’ she mumbled, and winced at the stab of aching muscles as she made her way to the bathroom.

‘There’s no need to come in today,’ Jackie said blithely. ‘You take your time. Get to know the place. I’ve got to pop into the office, show my face. Then I’ll go over to your digs and pick up your things. I’ll square it with Mrs Mullins.’

Jill stared at her in consternation, unaware of the comical element in her prim pose as she sat with knees together, feet pointed like a ballet dancer, on the pot. ‘But wait a minute,’ she blurted. ‘I can’t just move out of my new place. I’ve only just got here to Benbrough and moved in. And I like it. Please, I need time to - ’

‘To what?’ Jackie interrupted. ‘To get to know me?’ She gave that wide, oddly intimidating grin. ‘I think you’ve done that pretty well already, don’t you, sugar? You are bloody gorgeous and I’m wetting my knicks every time I look at you. And you; well, you’re not exactly immune to me, are you? No, you’re here to stay and that’s the end of it. I don’t want to hear any more, right?’ Once more she tousled Jill’s hair, and then turned away and held up her hand. ‘I’ve got your keys out of your bag. Hope you haven’t got too much stuff stashed away at the Mullins’. I guess not. Anyway, don’t worry; I’ll make sure I’ve got everything.’

‘But, they’ll expect me in at work,’ Jill complained, trying another tack. ‘What about DCS Sharp? I’ve only just arrived. I - ’

‘Hey! You’re my baby, remember? You belong to me. Got it?’

Jill stood, smarting with embarrassment and annoyance. ‘I really think I should go into work today, Ma’am. And I’d really prefer to sort out my digs myself, if you don’t mind.’ Her voice quavered and her face was red. She felt ridiculous and vulnerable as she stood unclothed before the smiling, confident figure of her boss.

Jackie chuckled and shook her head, as though Jill had said something amusing. ‘You finished in here?’ she asked rhetorically, the subject suddenly changed. ‘Cleaned your teeth? No? Here’s a spare toothbrush.’ She took one from the wall cabinet and handed it to the speechless girl. ‘Now hurry up.’ Then she turned and left the bathroom.

Jill stood blinking after her, her heart beating rapidly. Had she won the confrontation? Had Jackie capitulated? Jill was uncertain even of her own feelings as she hastily washed and used the toothbrush to clean her pearly-white teeth and freshen her mouth. In a sudden mood of defiance she plucked one of the large towels from the heated rail and wrapped it round herself, tucking it in at her cleavage.

‘Can I have my clothes, please?’ She padded out into the hall, and was about to cross to the living room when Jackie’s voice called from the bedroom.

‘In here, sweety.’

Jackie was standing over on the other side of the bed, her back to Jill as she entered, bent over the bedside cabinet. ‘Come over here a minute, will you?’ The tone was pleasant and beckoning. Puzzled, Jill moved round the bed to her side. ‘Slip this on, babe.’

Jill’s jaw dropped. Jackie was holding a thick leather strap, like a dog’s collar, with a large metal fastening and pointed metal studs along one side. The collar was about four centimetres wide, with a large ring for the attachment of a chain. ‘I don’t want it too tight. Don’t want to choke you, do we?’ She laughed, as pleasantly as before, but Jill was still staring dumbfounded.

‘But, what are - ?’

‘What have I been telling you?’ Jackie went on dismissively. ‘What’s the first thing you’ve got to learn in our job? Obedience, right? Chain of command, remember? You obey orders; you don’t stand there questioning them. And right now it’s my orders you obey. You’d better learn that fast, baby.’ Then suddenly she snapped right in Jill’s startled face. ‘Oh for fuck’s sake sit down before I tan your arse again!’

Her hand dug into Jill’s bare shoulder and thrust her down onto the springy bed. Jill felt the rough grasp of the collar around her slim throat, even as her hands lifted defensively, but with no real conviction with which to thwart Jackie as she quickly slipped the collar through the fastener and drew it tight. ‘All right?’ her superior hissed through clenched teeth, holding it in place.

‘It’s too tight,’ Jill complained dejectedly, her eyes filling with tears. ‘What are you doing to me? Let me go, please.’

Jackie released the band by one notch then pressed the fastener, which clicked into place. What the bewildered Jill had taken to be a buckle turned out to be a small padlock, which could only be opened with a key. The large ring encircling the leather chafed coldly against her neck on the other side. ‘Why are you doing this to me?’ she wept pleadingly. ‘I thought... I thought you liked me.’

‘I love you, you silly bitch!’ Jackie said so roughly that Jill jerked away from her again. ‘And you’re going to love me. But like I said, I must have your total obedience, my girl. Once we establish that everything will be hunky-dory. Let’s just say this is all part of the learning process. Now lie back on the bed.’

Jill was shaking. All at once whatever vestige of will that was left drained away and she obeyed, lifting her legs onto the still disordered bedclothes. She began to cry as Jackie plucked away the towel from her, and then produced a sturdy chain, about four feet long. She clipped one end to the metal ring on the collar and the other to the bedrail, where she secured it with a small brass padlock. ‘There,’ she said, straightening up and looking pleased with herself. ‘You can move around the bed and reach the cabinets either side. There’s magazines and books. I’ll bring you your breakfast and a flask of coffee. Now be a good girl for me, OK? Have a nice quiet day.’ She grinned smugly. ‘You must have some sleep to catch up on. I know I’m shattered. I’ll be back for lunch. Oh, and if you want to pee, don’t. If you pee the bed I’ll be pissed off. And you know what I do when I’m pissed off, don’t you, sweety?’ She nodded eloquently towards Jill’s bruised rear.

Jill stared up at her through tearful eyes. ‘What if something happens?’ she asked meekly. ‘What if someone comes, or there’s a fire?’

‘Then you’ll have to turn into Houdini,’ Jackie chuckled. ‘I’ll only be gone two or three hours, hopefully.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘Although it won’t be worth me going at all if I don’t get a fucking move on.’

‘I could scream.’ Jill’s voice trembled. ‘Somebody’s bound to hear me.’

Jackie nodded. ‘Probably, but what’ll you tell them once they break in? Or more likely they’ll call the police.’ She chuckled again at that prospect. ‘Might even be me who comes to rescue you. That would be a turn-up for the books, eh?’

‘Then everyone would know, about you.’

‘And you, sweety,’ Jackie countered confidently. ‘Our kinky little games gone wrong, eh? Or do you think they’d really believe that poor little you were being held prisoner here? But give it a try if you think it’ll work.’ She bent close and Jill shrank away. Jackie sat down, leaned into her, slid a hand up one leg to the warmth between the thighs, the soft crest of hair over the folds of the sex. She stroked the dampness and felt the thighs quiver and tighten about her hand. She gave a triumphant laugh. ‘Or if you really want to.’ She leaned closer still, pursed her lips and planted a slow, possessive kiss on Jill’s upturned mouth.

Jill heard the front door slam shut and the lock snap into place. She sniffled and wiped her wet cheeks with the corner of the sheet. She could smell Jackie’s sharp cologne, mingled with her own perfume, on the pillow. All at once she felt a great welling of helpless rage and buried her face in the sweetness, pounded the yielding mattress with clenched fists and drummed her feet into the springy yieldingness as she kicked furiously. Her buttocks rose and fell and she writhed in a frenzy of helpless rage. Wild with her frustration she flung herself up, kneeling, and tugged against the chain, throwing herself down to the bottom of the bed until it quivered tautly. Her fingers clawed uselessly against the restraint of the collar until her neck hurt, and she sobbed, muttering every obscene word she could think of.

Eventually the rage ebbed and she flopped on her front, sobbing quietly, and then after a few more minutes her sobs died away too.

Her head throbbing, she drifted into a hazy doze, during which her mind ranged in disjointed review of the previous night. You like all this, a voice accused in her head. You love being abused. It turns you on...

She jerked awake, startled and afraid, as though the shocking thought had been voiced by someone else. She moved onto her back. The chain chinked softly on the bed rail, and its coldness rubbed against her throat and cheek.

She put both hands up above her, clasped them around the chain’s unyielding links. She was a prisoner. Chained like a dog, utterly helpless until her mistress returned. She stood, her feet amongst the pillows, her knees braced against the wobble of the mattress. When she tried to straighten her legs the chain stretched taut, almost vertical, and she felt the uncomfortable tug of the collar on her neck. She tugged again at it, whimpering at her helplessness. She bent again so that the chain slackened, and stepped over its loop. She turned, almost losing her balance, so that her back was to the wall, and leaned her shoulders against the cool surface of the wallpaper. Slowly she endeavoured to stand fully upright once more, her shoulders and back rubbing against the wall, and she felt the chain tightening, felt it press coldly against a thigh, then up, passing between her legs, and she moved slightly so that it rubbed against her mound and the tender softness of her sex lips, lay hard against the length of the fleshy folds. She twisted her shoulders, seized the chain as it stretched up over her belly, and manipulated it so that it lay exactly between her breasts. Its unyielding cold steel rubbed at her breastbone in her cleavage. Its remorseless hardness was both uncomfortable and arousing. Her shoulders rubbed too, against the raised pattern of the wallpaper, irritating her skin a little. She felt the pulsing rise of her excitement, the flow of the juices stirred by this exotic, shameful stimulation. Her eyes closed, the tears formed and trickled down from beneath her lids, and her head rolled back and forth against the wall. She surrendered to the tide of masochistic thrill; her jaw hung open and she murmured over and over, ‘No... no...’ in a low moan of shameful pleasure.

Suddenly she was jolted from her reverie, steeped in shame, and swiftly writhed around, ducking to free the chain from its berth between her sex lips. But it was too late to deny or end the process she had begun. She lay flat again, on top of the dishevelled covers, the sunlight falling in a warm sheet across her legs. She moved her hands, ran them slowly down her stretching form, over her breasts and flat belly, her thighs, the damp and now throbbing centre of her sex.

The click of the door lock woke Jill and she struggled up groggily onto her elbows. Her dark hair was wildly mussed, hung over her eyes, and she swept it aside. She was acutely ashamed, and the blushes mounted hotly as she eased herself to a sitting position, raising and clutching her knees to her breasts. ‘Please, untie me,’ she called out. ‘I need the toilet. I’m bursting.’

Jackie came into the bedroom and pulled out a bundle of keys from the pocket of her trousers. It was attached by a short silver chain to a belt loop. Quickly she opened the padlock securing the dog chain to the bedrail, and Jill scrambled to her feet, suffering the indignity of having to wear her collar still, and leaving the length of chain dangling from it as she ran for the bathroom.

Gazing down at her from the open doorway, Jackie felt that heavy beat of sexual longing, and at the same time an odd sensation of frustration and an eagerness for more of that elemental, almost savage thrill of physical domination. It was a familiar feeling and an old enemy which, she was all too aware, could be dangerous and must be held in check. She reached out, all tenderness now, gathered the girl into her arms, lifting her, and rocked her like a baby, murmuring soothingly and placing a shower of light kisses on her face and tangled hair. ‘There, there, baby. There, there.’

‘Please, Ma’am? Can I have the collar off? It’s really chafing, and my neck’s sore now.’ It was late evening. The curtains were drawn, and they were sitting in the living room, Jill at Jackie’s feet, leaning back against the older woman, who was stretched out in an armchair, occasionally fondling the dark hair for all the world, Jill thought, as though she were stroking a favoured pet. And the binding collar made the symbolism far from fanciful. The chain had gone, removed much earlier, but not the shameful band of studded leather.

The weird detached existence had continued. Jackie had been all tenderness, they shared a bath, and then Jackie carried her through to the bedroom again and made love to her, a long and comprehensive loving that had brought her finally, sobbing with need, to a climax as consuming as any she had known, despite her weary mind and muscles.

And in turn Jill had played the more active role in reciprocity. This time Jackie had not ended it in that savage reversal, but satisfied herself with merely gripping Jill’s working head with her tight fingers, hooking them in the dark, silky hair, and holding the frantically working mouth and tongue against her grinding belly until she came, with a cry that sounded almost as if she were in pain.

They lay for a long while together on the bed, and Jackie subjected Jill to a gentle but insistent interrogation. Somewhat to her own surprise, Jill answered the most probing, intimate questions truthfully, painful though it was for her to do so. She confided all the details of her yearlong affair with Sharon, and what she felt was the even more shameful admission, under a little pressure, that she had never had sexual intercourse.

‘A cock virgin?’ Jackie had chortled with evident delight, which was enhanced by the rosy hue that invaded Jill’s lovely features. What about you? Jill had wanted to fire back in her embarrassment, but she dared not do so.

Now, after dinner and a shared bottle of wine, she found the courage to make her request to have the stigma of her subservience removed from around her neck. She could not help equating it with the shackles of slavery, which she felt was becoming far too close to the uncomfortable truth. But Jackie was not so easily appeased. ‘First I have to know if you’re a good girl, if you’re learning your lessons.’ Jill knelt in front of her, and nodded. ‘Go and bring me a hairbrush. Mine, the black one with the long handle.’

Jill felt her stomach churn and her heart rate quicken, but she rose and went to the bedroom, returned with the implement, which she handed to Jackie.

‘Right,’ Jackie stood up and spoke crisply, as though her orders were perfectly reasonable, ‘bend over the back of the chair. Feet together, knees straight. Lean right down and put your head on the cushion. Stretch your hands out in front.’

For a fraction of a second Jill hesitated, so Jackie gestured with the brush. She obeyed, feeling the rasp of the braided upholstery across her stomach, its caress on her sensitive breasts and the front of her thighs. She locked her muscles, her behind hollowing as she clenched her buttocks in anticipation of the inevitable punishment to come. The fading marks of yesterday’s spanking still showed.

The first blow was struck with a loud crack and the fiery pain exploded all over her tender bottom. She jerked upright, shrieking with agony and clawing at the glowing imprint of the brush on her punished flesh.

‘Over you go again,’ Jackie said with exaggerated patience, and nodded towards the chair. ‘And try to keep the noise down, eh? The neighbours are usually in at this time of the evening, and we don’t want the law coming round, now do we?’

Sobbing sorrowfully, Jill nevertheless repositioned herself over the chair, waited in dread, and jerked convulsively at the next stinging blow and its spreading fire through her blistering flesh.