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Keeping Company Ch. 01

By: markelly



My deepest thanks go to NinaWild for taking on this marathon project. This story does go between past and present, but I do try to make it as easy as possible to understand as it does.

*****

The Present... 

"Mrs. Baxter has asked that you meet at her apartment at six o'clock and requested that you're not late. Dinner is at six thirty and the social function attended by the other senior partners will be at eight." 

Ruth had picked the wrong day to patronize me. Her distain for me was real, it was time to reciprocate those very feelings. 

"Ruth. Please give Mrs. Baxter my regards and tell her I am no longer available. I hope you have a nice dress Ruth. Have a great evening, both of you." 

I let the answering machine take the various calls after that but when the background noise became too much of a distraction for me, the plug was removed from the phone socket and I sat down to read the letter once again. Looking for details that where not there. Seeking answers that no one seemed to have and yet left me now without my son. 

My son was involved in a car accident. The Californian Highway Patrol had done a very thorough job and deemed it an accident. The buzzer let me know that my taxi had arrived, the report went into my case and I was on my way to the airport soon after that. I wasn't looking forward to the wait when I got there; it meant I had time to think.

The Past... 

All Ginny and I ever wanted to be were the traditional family, we had no real ambition other than to be happy, financially secure and a family. Ginny got a job as a receptionist while I got into computers, loved them so much that I finished second out of college. For Ginny her job was to keep her mind active. Mind you, her money helped and two years with my folks got us enough to buy our own place. 

The first thing Ginny insisted on was a white picket fence. My job picked up and promotions soon followed. The increased hours meant that Ginny sat me down and pointed out that the company would not come to a halt over the weekend whether I was there or not. She would put up with the long hours over the week but the weekends were hers. 

It was a valid point and for the next year things went along great. The white plastic stick on the kitchen table when I got home one Friday was enough for me. We never left the bedroom for anything other than food and the bathroom and we didn't even dress to do that much. Steven was born healthy and screaming eight and a half months later. 

Ginny wanted to be a stay at home mom and we were financially secure enough for us to agree. The rules never changed, other than the weekends were for both my family now. When Steven entered school Ginny wanted to go back to work, she had to have an active mind and since Steven was going to be our only child I agreed with her thoughts. 

She lucked into her next job. She got a job as a secretary for a married couple who had started a fashion design business. As there business grew they quickly realized the importance of Ginny and kept her close, her wages alone paid for Steven's college fees before he had even entered senior school. Ginny asked me once if we were now deemed middle class. 

When I looked around and noticed that almost half the people we called neighbors were now divorced I said I prefer to call ourselves lucky. We were lucky in many respects, Steven never touched drugs, he had a good sense of the people he wished to call friends and they all looked out for each other. Ginny insisted on her routine never changing, she picked Steven up from school and her mind was totally focused on our family from the time she walked away from work. Like my company, the design house never came to a halt over the weekend, any fire was always put out by Ginny on Monday morning. 

The design house did decide that it was now bigger than our little part of the world and wanted Ginny to come with them when they moved. She did thank them for their consideration but declined their offer. The references she received quickly got her a job with the Widow Morgan who wanted a PA as she dealt with the death of her husband and taking over the reins of her husbands company. 

For a while Ginny brought files home with her, I wasn't happy but it was only for a month while she got a handle on everyone of the board members. The Widow Morgan walked into the board room four months later and culled almost half the board. Their replacements were waiting outside as the old ones left. The new board and the atmosphere on the factory floor changed almost overnight. 

The Widow Morgan wasn't a woman to be taken lightly and her company cancelled all the proposed layoffs by cutting the boards wages by ten percent. Those that still wished to leave could, none did she even started a jobs drive. Production went up ten percent that year and a steady five percent for the next three. 

The Present... 

"The plane now boarding at gate seventeen..." 

A hand clasped mine and when I looked into her eyes I tried to smile. Amy Baxter leant between us and kissed my cheek. 

"You're going to miss the party." 

"I got Ruth to send my apologies, the partners know something important has come up and will cover for me while I'm gone. Come on, we have a plane to catch." 

"How did you find me?"

Amy gave my hand a gentle squeeze. It was a stupid question, she knew everything, and I had no secrets from any of them. As she stood ready to join the queue for boarding she held out her hand to me, her words shouldn't have caught me by surprise really. 

"I called Mandy when you refused to pick up, she tracked you down. I missed you at the house by minutes. Come on, lets not be late."

Once boarded and sat down, Amy received one last text before she shut her cell down and placed it in her bag before it went under her seat. Other than hold my hand she said nothing about who she was texting. She basically took over my life on that plane; she told the stewardess what we were having for our meal and when the drinks came a soft drink was handed to me. 

Amy only gave me my hand back when it was time to eat. As soon as we had finished she kicked off her shoes, tucked her feet under herself and raised the armrest between us and held my hand once again. Her body was always warm, she slept naked and with very little on the bed. The few occasions she hasn't kept to this rule she would overheat as she slept and the migraine that followed the next day reminded her what a naughty girl she was. 

The Past... 

The change in my life came as I walked in the door one Thursday evening. Steven would be at football practice for another hour. Ginny was sat by the kitchen table, a file and paperwork covered a good third of the space. 

"Honey I've been going over our finances." 

I believe sitting down to get bad news is always a good idea. 

"Mark, do you know how much we have in the bank?" 

Shaking my head was wise, the finances was Ginny's thing. I had a credit card I used for fuel and bits and pieces. Clothes and stuff like that we both did over the weekend and Ginny had another card for that. It wasn't that I couldn't have done the finances of our house myself, it's just that Ginny had wished to do it and who was I to moan about it. 

To the best of my knowledge we hadn't had the IRS or any dept people at the door, so I figured she was doing a good enough job, being a firm believer in the proverb that 'if it wasn't broke don't try to fix it'. I left that to her and had done, ever since we had been married. 

Ginny went over everything, the stock options I was getting from work, plus the bonuses. The house was already paid for, so was Steven's college fund. The stocks and shares were doing rather well and we also had more than a few certificates in the safe deposit box. 

"I'm sorry honey, I kind of left things on auto pilot where our finances went. Our accountant called me and told me we needed to make some changes and quickly." 

Still not understanding the lead into this conversation my mind was already setting us firmly in the poor house. Finally plucking up the courage I asked my question. 

"Ginny, are we broke?" 

The damn woman laughed at me. 

"No honey, far from it. Since neither of us has ever wanted to move we haven't been involved in the slump and even now our house is still worth more than we ever paid for it." 

She could still see I was confused, so she asked me a question that made me even more confused. 

"Honey, do you want to retire?" 

Ginny noticed me shaking my head even before I made it into words. Even reminding her that I was only thirty eight may have sounded silly but the thought that at my age I could retire felt somewhat odd. She pushed some papers across to me and told me to sign them. She was my wife and I trusted her so I did. 

"It's ok honey, you don't have to worry anymore." 

So I didn't. I suppose that made me a trusting soul, but if you couldn't trust the person you share a bed and body with who could you trust? Life returned to normality after that evening. I got my last promotion and of course the rise that followed it. Steven was in his final year at school and it was then that he dropped the bomb on us both. We took it well I thought, Ginny made her smile last all evening. Only when she made it to our bedroom did she break down and cry. 

Steven wanted the full college experience, plus one of the courses he wanted to do meant that California was the place to be. Oh, he had other options but he had decided and we backed him as best we could. Once school was over he was going to college clear across the country. We even stayed a week while he got settled in, did some sight seeing and our son joined us for the evenings. 

But it was plain to see he was getting itchy feet and so with our week over Steven waved us goodbye and I took a weeping wife back home with me. A year later our company was merged and my guys were given the option of moving or leaving. Ginny told me not to worry so I didn't. The severance package was rather good and I shook hands with some witch of a woman from our new company's HR department as she guided me out of the conference room she was camped out in and had been since she came to deliver the bad news. 

We went on a cruise a week later. As we sat on the loungers and looked out across the sea Ginny asked me what I wanted to do now. She didn't mean the cruise so I told her what she once told me, that I wanted to keep my mind active. Ginny smiled that all knowing smile of hers and just said ok. To her the conversation was over and we settled once again on having a great holiday. 

The Present... 

It was Amy that recognized Beth first and we hugged over the top of the barrier before wandering out into the Californian sunshine. Beth collected her car from short term parking and talked all the way to our hotel. She was a little sad we wouldn't stay at the house. I couldn't uproot the children and force one to share a room and Beth understood that. She may not have been happy about it but she understood. 

We were still under orders to join them all for dinner though, a chore we gladly accepted. Amy's cell went off a couple of times the first twenty minutes of us being in our hotel room. 

"The firm seems to be keeping you busy?" 

Amy smiled. "No, it's Carol and Wendy. They are picking up Mandy on the way and will be here by the time we return from dinner." 

"They can't do that, call them back and tell them so." 

Her cell left her hand and landed on the couch next to me, it bounced and hit the back of the couch before resting next to my leg. 

"I'm not that brave. You call them and tell them, please put it on speaker when you do because I so like the sound of Wendy when she swears." 

Amy stood and watched for a moment, my hand never got to her cell. We both knew it wouldn't, all four girls were their own women and if they decided they were coming there was nothing I could do to stop them. A hand came into view. 

"Come on, I'm starting to overheat and we both need a shower. The children are still at school so we have a couple of hours before we need to be at Beth's. I would prefer to make love but I know you're thinking of Ginny and I know my selfishness has to take a back seat when moments like this come along. So come shower with me and we can cuddle in bed for awhile." 

For a woman of forty, gravity was still a foreign word to her. Her breasts still sat proud on her chest and all natural. Her areola was the darkest part of her body, the nipples although relaxed for now could at a simple naughty thought from her make good use of her areola and extend to a good and thick half and inch on that body. She was free of hair from the neck down, a sadness on my part and some missed communication from us both. 

Amy had taken my look at her pussy hair as a dislike and I didn't see her naked again for almost a year after that first time. She had every hair removed. I understood it was her body but the drastic way she did what she did made me sad. We both apologized and vowed never to again assume anything about our relationship. I knew the girls compared notes and the first time I figured it out I cringed, wasn't anything sacred anymore. 

I'm told that in my life and in any connection with all four girls, not a chance. Amy had taken something to an extreme and that was never to be repeated amongst them. We washed and tentatively played, but to us a shower wasn't a place to make love. Amy was energetic when she made love and preferred a bed, the floor and any surface that wouldn't have a slip hazard. 

"The girls know you're thinking about Ginny. We will hold you and take our lead from you while we are here but I need to warn you that things are going to change when we get home. We've had everything in place for some time now so please trust us and know that it's been building up to this, ok?" 

"I've come to bury my son and make sure his wife and my grandchildren are ok. I can't think beyond that at the moment." 

Amy moved into the space between us, the shower poured its spray onto her head, something she disliked greatly. I moved us both around so the spray now hit my back, something that I deemed taking care of my girls and it earned me an even bigger hug from her. 

We lay for a while, Amy's head on my chest and as much of her skin touched mine. For a while her hand wrapped itself around my cock. Her hand didn't move and for a time I stayed soft. Just being this close and smelling her scent meant it wasn't going to be for long. As I hardened her hand opened and she rested it full length on it. For some time her head didn't move, but eventually when her head came away from my chest she looked at me. 

"I'm sorry, that wasn't planned. But it's there now and I want to take care of it. I have three holes so you get to choose," she said seductively. "But I have to tell the girls when they get here, it's only fair." 

She felt me pause, the tears came to my eyes and hers moistened. I grasped her hand and pulled it away from my hardness. 

"It's ok. I need Mandy. That's too much for you so just hold me." 

Her face paled and her whole body shook. Amy got up on one arm and looked down at me. 

"We made a promise. I made a promise. Mandy isn't here so it's left to me to keep you sane." 

Amy lifted herself and straddled my chest, the tears kept at bay solely by will power. She leaned down, her hands held my face and we kissed, our tongues touched and became firm friends. Her tears became a wetness on my face. As our lips parted and her head came to rest on my own forehead, she visibly shuddered before she found her voice. 

"I'm ready now." 

She felt me shake my head. 

"I can wait for Mandy, just hold me." 

"No. We have to leave in an hour for dinner with Beth and the children. We will miss Mandy and you have a need. I'm ready, do it now or I will initiate it." 

"Amy, please think about..." 

In one swift movement she lifted away from me and slapped my face. Instinct made me grab her hand so she couldn't repeat the process. My other hand came down across her tits, the sound connected with the need screaming within my head and I pulled Amy across me and held her in place as my hand warmed her ass. Poor Amy bit down on the bedding to stave off the screams. My hand moved down and repeatedly slapped her sex. 

Her pussy bloated and glistened, she tried so hard to stay still but it was difficult for her. Her body betrayed her and the sound of my hand against her pussy started to change. My hand felt wet and now changed angle. My fingers bored into her pussy, Amy grunted and arched her back as she clamped her lips shut daring only the breath in and out of her nose. As all four of my fingers sank up to its second knuckle into her pussy she again screamed through her nose.

The ultimate betrayal came to Amy right then as her body came hard with my fingers buried deep inside her. This was hard for Amy, just as she knew that I hadn't finished. It was why I needed Mandy, yet when I said I would wait for Mandy, Amy initiated this, she knew. Just as she knew what came next. Her body slumped forward and her mouth opened and she gasped in air as I rolled her off of me. Her body stopped rolling across the bed when I grabbed her hair and held on. 

Again she closed her mouth, the tears clear to see. Her nostrils flared as she pulled oxygen into her body, refusing to scream. This was Amy, the strongest of the group and one of five partners in her law firm. She wasn't a submissive; she didn't have a submissive bone in her body. That was Mandy, yet to save my sanity she gave her body to me to use. Whatever the girls had promised each other would be interesting to hear when they got around to telling me. 

My hand connected with the back of her thighs and Amy quickly shuffled onto all fours. Her ass got another couple of slaps because she wasn't as quick as Mandy. I knew she didn't deserve what I was doing to her. God, I needed Mandy. I spat at her anus and then pushed my thumb into her. Amy arched her back and pushed herself back onto me. When I let go of her hair her upper body slumped onto the pillow and her hands came to her ass quickly pulling her cheeks apart. 

Again I spat on her ass, equal amounts seemed to fall on the head of my cock and her rose. I pushed against her but didn't expect to gain entry so fast. By the time I had looked again half the bulbous head had entered her. Again I pushed and the head disappeared. Amy pushed back and more of me entered her ass. Her hand came away and connected with my leg before she went back to holding her ass cheeks. 

Even with the state of mind I was in, the urge to go easy on poor Amy overrode everything else and pulling one of her hands away from her ass I pushed it under her. She quickly got the message and frantically rubbed her clit. We both hit our orgasm within half a breath of each other. 

She was covered in sweat; her breathing was still a little ragged. She was even a little afraid of getting real close until I held her to me and kissed her forehead. Yet right then that woman was one of four that owned my heart. 

"I have a request." 

When I turned to look at her she was smiling back at me. 

"When you get your hands on Mandy, make slow gentle love to her. I want her to feel what I've just been through for her." 

We moved together and kissed, giggled for a while and kissed again before we got up and had another shower. 

The Past... 

Ginny came with me to the computer store, she said she needed to supervise the new toys I was about to buy. I already had a small office downstairs but we both still had to move some stuff around to make things fit, once everything was in and working and all the programs were up to date. 

I looked at Ginny and said. "Now what?" 


Keeping Company Ch. 01



She hugged me and smiled, "I know your mind, let it go and be creative." 

When Ginny returned to work I sat in my new office and did just that. A couple of times when I had worked for my old company, I had seen a gap in the market yet since it wasn't work related I had to walk away. The first try at building a program that would allow what I wanted it to do took three months. The next day I donned a suit, went to see one of the big computer companies and pitched them the idea. 

The guy I see laughed me out of the office telling me that what I had would never work. The next day feeling angry with myself for not doing this sooner, I got the idea patented and once that was done I then went to another of the big computer companies. I liked this guy, his eyes lit up when I explained what I had, his face damned near split in half when he asked if it worked and I said yes and showed him. For another two months there lawyers talked to mine. I didn't care as I was already working on the upgrade for the original idea. 

When Ginny called me out of my office and said sign here I did and went back into my office to finish the upgrade. The news was showing a line of people around the block waiting for the store to open when the original hit the shops. Two months later I had patented the upgrade and placed it into my safe deposit box at the bank. 

It was one of those rare moments when I snuck out of my office for a drink that the phone rang. "Honey, I need you to do me a big favor." 

"Yes, of course. What's happened?" 

"Not so fast, Mark. I need you to know that I came to you ok. I phoned you and asked you to do this for me ok. So you're not cheating on me." 

I had decided this came under bad news and sat down. 

"Ginny, what are you talking about?" 

"Wendy Morgan has been invited to the mayor's ball tonight. She's had the invite on her desk for weeks now and forgot about it. She can't get a date this late that she can trust so I'm asking you to take her to the ball tonight for me." 

Ok, now felt like a good time to get up and walk around. 

"Are you out of your mind? I'm married to you not your boss." 

"Mark, I know what I'm saying and what I'm asking. Wendy needs a man with her that she can trust and that won't take advantage of her. That, my dear sweet husband, is you." 

"Ginny, I have to say I'm not comfortable with this." 

She giggled, my own wife thought this was funny. 

"My dear sweet Mark, I trust you, and Wendy needs to go to this ball. What she doesn't need is to be hung out there so that the womanizers and the press can make things look like something it isn't. Please do this for me, Mark." 

She knew I would do it. Hell, she asked me to, what was I supposed to say? Ginny left work early and got my tux ready. For a full minute I looked at myself in the full length mirror. When I looked at my wife she had tears in her eyes. 

"You look wonderful. You're going to make me so proud." 

Ginny could still see the doubt in my eyes. 

"Mark, I asked you to do this, remember? You are not cheating on me. Wendy is a great woman and you will both have lots of fun, and the best bit is I get to hear the story of the evening from both of you." 

The limo driver knocked on the door before I got a chance to reply. Ginny ushered me out and waved as the limo drove down the road. It was the first time I had ever met Wendy Morgan. All I could say was that old man Morgan liked his brides young. No wonder a heart attack got him, a willowy redhead would best describe Wendy. The dress clung to her like saran wrap. 

How she breathed in it I'm not sure and something I will always believe it's a secret women will take to the grave with them. The dress split at the knee and held onto her hips while keeping a real tight looking ass in discreet view. That dress was just this side of modest. When the chauffeur opened the Limo door at the Mayors ball the flash cameras made it look like daytime. 

Wendy handled the questions as they came and spoke to a couple of people before we got into line to meet the Mayor. All the time she took great pains to introduce me as her friend and gave my name. As the evening drew on I added 'smart' to my assessment of Wendy Morgan. When the band started playing and the Mayor asked his wife to dance I also added 'a good dancer' to my list of things about Wendy Morgan. By the time I dropped Wendy off at her home my opinion of her was that old man Morgan did just fine for himself. 

Ginny was waiting for me as I came in. Part of my revenge was that I refused to say more than a few words about the evening until I had showered. I smelt of cigar smoke and wine and that wasn't a smell I wanted to bring to bed with me. Ginny for her part changed tactics and got me as I came out of the shower. It still took me an hour to recount the events of the ball, even down to what we had to eat. 

My wife made love to me that evening. She also reminded me that I hadn't cheated on her. How could I, she saw us on the TV. That statement alone made me cringe again but Ginny just giggled and snuggled closer before sleep took her from me. 

The Present... 

The children were waiting for us as we got out of the cab. Aunt Amy got the first hug and I carried both of them back into the house on my hips. We both gave Beth a kiss and finally settled down to dinner. Amy watched and I talked to them all. The children were sad but since they hadn't seen much of their dad for almost a year now the resilience of children was strong within them. 

Beth looked like she had taken it harder. With dinner over Beth insisted the children got there homework done before any TV. They both did the 'but mom' routine yet still climbed off there chairs to do it. All three of us watched them settle down in the day room with there books before either of us spoke again. 

"Tell me what you want to do, Beth." 

It was the first time the anger within her could be seen. 

"I hate this place and I don't want the children to become their father." 

She realized that her real thoughts escaped her, I understood. Neither Ginny nor I had seen the decline into alcohol Steven had dropped into or the dependency it had on him in later life. He was an only child and only to late did we realize it was a mistake we could never rectify. 

"Beth, the twins have a little less than a year left before they leave school and change to senior school anyway. Why not keep them in school here for now? We will move you back home over the break and you will all be settled in by the time school starts again." 

The relief on her face could have been seen three blocks away. She became grave again when she looked at me. I doubted she could hurt me anymore than my son had hurt them. 

"We have no money left. Stevie took it all the day he died." 

Amy instantly stood and grabbed her cell phone. She asked for Beth's bank details, even holding out her hand waiting for the information. Beth flushed with embarrassment, asking for money must have felt like torture for her. Once Beth handed Amy her check book Amy went outside. It was time to change topic, since the girls were on their way this would all be settled before we were due to leave or none of us would be leaving until it was. 

"You will need to get your folks started on looking for a house for you and the children. They don't need to worry. After that we will make sure the place is paid for and re-decorated before you get there. The transition should be as smooth as possible." 

Beth's relief was tinged with a second of anger. This woman had been through so much and yet it was my own son that did it all to her and the children. Both of us stood and took the dishes to the sink. I washed, she dried - neither of us saying anything. 

When Amy came back she looked over at the children and waved. They waved back and returned to their school work. I watched as Amy's body language changed when her back was to the children and she stood in front of Beth. 

"There is now thirty thousand dollars in your account. I'm having another five thousand couriered over right now, it should be here in an hour. Once the children are at school tomorrow Mandy will come here to help you. We will see that you no longer have to worry financially but you have to give up your job." 

Beth went crimson, burst into tears and rushed to the bathroom. I feared the worst. I knew the women standing beside me well enough to know she wouldn't tell me, so I had to ask. 

"How bad is it?" 

She sighed first, leaned on the sink and looked out through the window. 

"It could be worse. She works at Hooters." 

Both of us walked over to the children and sat down next to them. Ryan spoke first, his sister watched and waited. 

"Now that dad is dead what happens now? Mom said we will be free now. I don't understand what she means." 

Beth and I exchanged looks. I read sadness in hers, mine was more anger at myself for even allowing this to get this far. 

"It means that we are going to make sure that nothing like this happens again. Your father is dead and for a while your mom didn't know what to do. She does now and everything will be alright." 

I sensed before I felt Beth sit next to Amy, the children got up and sat with their mom. For the next half an hour Beth talked to the twins about school and what was going to happen when they finished. They had been to Beth's home once before and the smiles wiped away the sadness for now. 

The knock at the door made Amy stand and open it. Five minutes later she came back and handed Beth a brown envelope. We had done all we could for now. Tomorrow still held the burial details and making sure the mistakes I had made so far were fixed. Our cab took us back to the hotel and the message we got from reception was that our party was in conference room one. 

Mandy opened the door and rushed me. I had to carry her back into the room with her body glued to mine. Wendy and Carol waited for Amy to close the door, the two laptops on the table already showing information. It was Amy that got the conference started. 

"Mandy, you're going to Beth's tomorrow once the twins are at school. Get her finances sorted and make sure you deal with any outstanding debts that need to be dealt with. We don't want anyone knocking on their door asking for money for past debts from now on." 

"Wendy, Carol. Tonight you're sleeping with Mark. He knows that when we return home things are going to change but he hasn't asked for details because we have the funeral to sort first." 

For the next hour we talked about some of the information Amy got from her law firm. Had Steven survived he would have been DUI. We discussed what accounts Mandy could draw money from to sort out Beth's finances and the purchase of her new home. The one decision all four waited on was what was I going to do with Steven's body? 

"He's going to be buried here. He couldn't wait to get out and used the excuse of the courses they had in California. With the partying he barely got a pass mark and when Ginny died he told me he didn't have the time for the funeral. He loved this place so much he can stay here." 

The silence held within the room for some time but as usual Amy took over. 

"Mandy, take Mark upstairs now. You get an hour with him. Wendy and Carol will be banging on the door a second later, so get what's in him out of him please." 

The Past... 

Ginny got me to go with Wendy Morgan to three other parties over the next four months. I still thought it odd and I was still being told that I wasn't cheating on my wife since she not only knew but made all the arrangements. It seems I was Wendy's shield. She liked the odd party but knew what people thought of her. She had heard the rumors that she was nothing more than a gold digger. 

I had seen a different Wendy to that; she was smart and the only parties she ever went to were ones that highlighted her company. The Mayor's ball was because of her help with employment in the area, two others were off the back of talks she had with other companies with interests in some limited areas of partnerships. The last one I figured was nothing more than a smoke screen to get into her panties. As the music played I got her on the dance floor and told her who and why. 

Her face went from anger to sadness before she settled on going home. We stayed for the desired amount of time that would be deemed polite and then made our apologies and got out with Wendy's reputation still intact. When I told Ginny about that I could barely walk the next morning. It's a good thing I didn't have to phone in sick that day. 

The computer company had been on to me about the upgrade for the product they had out at the moment. At one point sales almost outdid supply. They had already suspected I had been working on an upgrade; the lawyer's letter that came through the door from the computer company told me to cease and desist all work and even threatened more legal action if I did. 

It was time to see my own lawyers. I handed them the letter and left it in their hands. They called me almost a week later and asked to see me again. Two of the senior partners sat across from me when I came in, both asked real good questions, both laughed their asses off when I told them I already had the upgrade and the patent for it was already mine. 

I left and the lawyers went at it. Amy Morgan called me a week later and gave me the good news. I even pissed them off some more and held back on giving them the upgrade for another six months. They wanted the patent as well, that cost them double what the original cost them. That sure was an expensive lesson in manners it cost that computer company. 

Life for us settled on normal. Ginny loved her job and she almost glowed when she came home sometimes. I could understand that because she worked with Wendy. I'm sure in a different time those two were sisters. The thing about sisters is that they talk, and talk they did. When Ginny came home one evening I could tell by her look that I was in for one of those sit down talks. 

"Honey, I'm going to ask you something, and then I'm going to wait until you cool down before I ask you again, ok?" 

This time I just nodded my head, no point in making whatever it was that she was going to tell me go easy for her. 

"Mark, I need you, no, I'm hoping you will go to another event for me." 

Well that didn't sound too bad. 

"Ok, has Wendy given you the details?" 

The pause was way longer this time. Ginny even reached for my hand and held on tight. 

"No, this time you're going with Amy Baxter. She has an event she has to turn up with a partner. Wendy was so impressed with how you got her out of that last potential train wreck that Amy wants to borrow you." 

I pulled my hand away but Ginny tried to hang onto it. The nail marks were still there the next day. I stood and paced, she sat and watched. When she got bored she made us both some ice tea and eventually I sat down. 

"Ok, talk to me, why did you even think I would agree to this, even though I'm still uneasy about being Wendy's partner at these functions? I'm being leant out to other people and yet you're ok with all this." 

Ginny was more calm now than I had ever seen her. 

"Wendy discovered something about you that I've known all along. You're not just arm candy, you have a head and when you use it it's for the good, not detriment of the person you're with. When her husband died and she was handed gold digger status she knew that the only men who want to be around her now are in it for her body or money, both if it's possible. The only time she actually enjoys going out now is when you accompany her." 

Something else occurred to me. Amy Baxter was married, the title Mrs. was a very large hint and the ring on her finger would seem to back that up. Ginny did remind me that so was I. The look I gave her forewarned her not to go there if she expected me to be Amy's partner at the event. 

"Honey, she is actually divorced. She kept the title and the ring since she is more known as Baxter by everyone at the firm and those that she deals with." 

It took her two days to wear me down and agree. Eventually telling Ginny that I would be taking her out the night after, since all she did was sit at home waiting for me, then it was time I had my own arm candy on my arm. Ginny phoned me later that afternoon. 

"Honey, Amy said she will pick you up at six thirty from the house. I'm going to be in conference with Wendy until about then so I won't be able to wave you off tonight." 

"Then I suggest, my dear, you call Amy and cancel. I will either meet her at her apartment or the firm; I'm not being picked up by the woman I'm supposed to be keeping company with this evening." 

I heard her giggling as she placed the phone down. Ginny phoned me back half an hour later with Amy's apologies and that her apartment would be fine, the car would have to pick me up at six now though. The car did indeed turn up at six. Amy was waiting just inside the doors of her apartment block, and I got out and held the door open for her. She smiled, thanked me and sat down. 

Amy ambushed me in the car once I had settled next to her and the driver had moved off. She leant across and kissed my cheek. 

"My apologies, please remind me whenever you feel it necessary that the age of chivalry isn't dead, ok?" 

Just to make my point, I looked at her and said, 

"I take the lead when we dance together as well." 

For a moment she watched me. Amy and I had met a couple of times but always in a business setting. She was smart, very observant and very capable if her partnership status had anything to do with it. The smile grew within her and it was fascinating to watch. Her eyes shone first, then there was a slight reddening of her cheeks and then the smile broke free. 

This time she placed her hand in mine without breaking eye contact and said. "Yes, yes you do." 

The event was a bunch of lawyers getting together and congratulating each other over how well they were doing. Well that was my view of it. It was actually the annual Hibbertson awards dinner. One of those thousand-dollar-a-plate-events that I read about and scoff at. Now I'm attending one. Ginny and I will have to have one of those talks later. 

I got introduced and we settled at our table, which sat ten. Four of those were couples and two single guys. We sat and talked, the speeches started and some of the awards were handed out before dinner. Once dinner was over some more awards got handed out, Amy even got one of them, she stood at the podium, gave a couple of minutes speech about the firm and it's latest pro bono work and to applause left the podium and sat back down again. 

The folks at our table congratulated her; the two guys just leaned together and whispered for a moment, one of them smiled. I had seen that smile before. After the awards were all handed out the six inner tables were moved allowing the dance floor to be used. Amy and I did dance and I could tell on the first dance she did have difficulty letting me lead but she warmed to the idea come the second dance. 

On our third dance I saw something I had half expected yet saddened that people did it. I kept Amy out on the floor for another dance telling her that I really liked this song. It gave me the moment to decide what to do and in the end I decided that these folks didn't need their evening turning into shit. 

"Are you having fun?" 

Confused I looked at her. 

"Yes of course, why do you ask?" 

"You looked distracted for a moment." 

Don't ever try to lie to a lawyer, especially if she's a partner of the firm. I hated to cut short her evening yet I was no longer enjoying the evening. I asked if we could leave, it was those eyes first, she could tell I meant it. She obviously had great faith in Ginny's opinion of me because she never asked me why. 




Keeping Company Ch. 01



When we got to our table we said our goodbyes and I accidentally spilt Amy's wine across my part of the table. I once again apologized for my clumsiness and we left. The drive back to her apartment was done with her hand once again on mine, the award in her other hand. I again opened the door for her and walked her to the entrance to her apartment block. 

She wasn't sure if she should ask me in. I cut her doubt short with a kiss on the cheek and again apologized for cutting short her evening. When Amy looked at her watch it was already eleven so she didn't see how it was cut all that short. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my napkin from the awards dinner. 

"Amy, please put this into a baggie when you get upstairs. I'm sure you know enough people who know people to be able to get this analyzed on the quiet. We will talk when you have the results." 

She held the napkin clearly confused. I kissed her cheek once again and left. 

Ginny was waiting for me when I got home. She had questions but all I did was strip myself and her and pulled her into the shower with me and held her so tight. Ginny knew not to ask after that and left me to my thoughts. I couldn't even make love to my wife that night. My disgust at the male of the species had ruined at least two peoples evening, that was for sure. 

The Present... 

Wendy and Carol were still either side of me when I woke. Both clearly awake judging by their breathing. It was Carol who turned and disappeared under the sheets, the warmth that engulfed my morning wood was a great wake up call. When Wendy pulled the sheets away I turned onto my back and Carol simply adjusted her position, she wasn't letting go. 

Morning breath or not Wendy and I went at it in the kissing stakes; my hand found her breast with ease and gently cupped it. She moaned into my mouth. My cock felt cold and then the bed moved slightly. The warmth of Carol's thighs was a forewarning of her pussy slowly descending onto me. The moan came from Carol this time and both Wendy and I giggled. 

Wendy's hands gently cupped my face, our kiss ended. 

"We know your thoughts are everywhere right now. I'm going to take a shower and let you enjoy Carol. I can offer you my mouth or my ass but I'm out of bounds for the next three days. Give Carol all your love for now, just make my turn extra special ok?"  

"Do you trust me?" 

Her smile shone so brightly. 

"Always." 

"Then you will get your special time and I will make it as memorable as I can." 

She visibly shuddered, the smile never left her. 

"Please make it a Friday then, if the last time is anything to go by, I'm going to need the weekend." 

Wendy gave me one more kiss before her naked form walked into the bathroom. 

"She came on during the flight here; the poor girl was in tears." 

My attention went back to the figure on top of me, and she smiled. She even raised her hand and waved at me, that's when I laughed. 

Carol-Ann Mackenzie was a joining of a Marine father and a Japanese mother. Her skin always did have that off white to her and only a few minutes in the sun sent her straight to brown. The partnership of genes from both parents gave her a western look but her eyes were Asian, as was her black hair. Her breasts were a true gift from her mom, a B-cup for sure but her areola covered a large proportion of the cones that protruded from her body. 

Her height was a gift from her father and at five foot six was a full head taller than her mom. Amongst the other gifts her folks gave her were her mom's smarts and her dad's toughness. Both gave Carol-Ann Mackenzie a reputation in the business world that saw her not only beat off an attempt to buy her IT company but two years later buy the company that tried to take hers. 

One tradition she had held dear as long as we had all known her was her hair. Traditional Japanese women grow their hair long, most will stop when it hits the small of their back, and some don't. If Carol was ever classed as high maintenance then it was only ever her hair, that long black shinning hair got as far as that great looking ass of hers and she kept it there as a tribute to her Asian roots. 

Carol leaned towards me, her arms rested on my chest, her face so close that for a second she was out of focus. 

"We heard what you did to Amy. We tried to get Mandy here as quickly as we could. That damn girl paced the plane so much I threatened to sit on her if she didn't quit it." 

Sadness came to me. I had hurt Amy and it was inexcusable. I knew I should have waited. Carol noticed and shook her head. 

"Don't be sad, we would have all done what Amy did, its part of our agreement to you. You know it's only Mandy that is submissive to you but please understand we would all do this willingly if we can't get Mandy to you. Don't feel guilty. Just don't go out and get us all collars or you may find mine hanging out of your ass one morning when you wake up." 

I roared with laughter while Carol just hung on for the ride. I twisted and she ended up under me, her legs came around and she locked her ankles together. She fluttered her eye lashes at me, tried the meek and mild look. It didn't work but at least she tried. 

"This body has three holes my master, which do you wish to use?" 

We kissed, and she relaxed her legs so they sat either side of me. We were slow and gentle, the flush of her cheeks gave her away. The movement on the bed didn't stop us; Wendy's hands held Carol's breast and her mouth lowered onto it. Carol gasped and pushed her body upwards. 

The long slow groan was the start. She tried to breath but that didn't work. She tried to talk, that didn't either. Wendy seemed to be waiting for my next move and who was I to disappoint her. Again I twisted and put Carol on top; I held her hips down and continued my thrusts into her pussy. Wendy moved behind her and my fingers felt Wendy pull Carols ass wide as her tongue played with her anus. 

"Oh fuck, that's just something else." 

Carol lasted a minute or so more before her orgasm came crashing in on her. I held her tight while Wendy kept going, another orgasm ripped into her. The restricted movement forced her to bury her head into my chest as she came again. Carol desperately forced herself back onto me her vaginal muscles spasmed and pushed me to my orgasm. 

Wendy was waiting and I knew why. Carol in the state she was in had forgotten where Wendy was. As my dick slid out of Carol I pulled her further up my body and Wendy went after Carol's pussy as though it was her last meal. The orgasm that she was just coming down from changed direction and went from her pussy to her brain quicker than she could scream 'oh fuck.' 

Carol instinctively arched her ass and Wendy sent her another orgasm in return. As poor Carol rested or I should say wheezed her way back to normalcy, Wendy took my dick in her mouth and cleaned me up. When she was finished I felt a gentle pat on my thigh. The bed moved once again and moments later Wendy was washing her face. 

Both Carol and I watched Wendy dress. She smiled, gave us both a kiss and told us that she would place the 'do not disturb' sign on the door. For awhile we rested, then I moved and so did Carol. Placing her in my arms I carried her to the shower and we held each other until life returned to her. 

The plans for the funeral took most of the day; even for a simple burial the details seemed endless. It was scheduled for four days from today. With that sorted and paid for we once again turned our attention back to Beth and the children. Mandy had taken ownership of the kitchen table. The paperwork seemed endless, yet to an accountant like Mandy this was the easy bit. 

Amy ordered pizza and all work stopped while we ate. Mandy gave us a brief rundown. 

"The house is inches away from foreclosure. They wanted to foreclose until I told them I don't want to pay the arrears; I want to pay off the whole mortgage. Carol I need you to hand-deliver the check for that please. The utilities are happy. I referenced my accountancy firm and know there checks are being sent today. Beth has the number of a landscape company, I called and they start work in two days. The building is in need of repair; again Beth has a number of a building company, his due in an hour to give a quote." 

Wendy came out of the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe. 

"The cupboards are all but empty, I think we should wait for the children to get home and hit the food hall down at the Mall." 

As the girls talked between themselves about the jobs in hand and those that required further input I watched Beth. We had effectively taken over her life. I pulled a chair over and sat in front of her, she looked nervous. 

"It's a regret that I shall carry for the rest of my life. I never knew how badly things had gotten with you, the twins and Steven. This is your life and we have effectively taken it over. All we want to do is make things better for all three of you and I promise you will have your life back." 

Beth smiled and I'm not sure if she thought she was fooling anyone. 

"You guys are giving me my life back. Steven took everything and didn't care that in doing so he was hurting the children. You weren't ever supposed to know, Stevie didn't want us ever to talk to you. He said that he would make his own fortune yet when each of his pipe dreams crashed he grabbed for the bottle telling everyone it was your fault." 

Each of us held our own thoughts, all except for Mandy. She had her check book out and had just finished signing all the checks. The utilities were placed into envelopes and addressed, the one for the house sat to one side. Beth noticed and picked it up. She read the amount and her mouth hung open. 

"That one check makes this house yours. Steven let your family insurance lapse but I've added you and the twins to Mark's health insurance for the next couple of weeks. I will talk to the insurance company later and sort out separate insurance. It will be the same as Mark's." 

Mandy took all the envelopes and handed them to Amy. Beth took one more look at the check for the house and slowly gave that to Amy as well. The builder was at the door as Amy and Carol left and Beth showed him around and pointed out some of the stuff she needed doing quickly. An hour later we had an estimate and time frame for completion of all the work. 

The Past... 

Even as morning broke Ginny had doubts about leaving me alone. I made us both breakfast and encouraged her to go, saying I still had work of my own to finish. My mood was better when she came home that evening and I had little doubt she had talked to Amy Baxter. I'm sure the reasons for my odd behavior would become apparent when the results came through. 

Ginny never mentioned that night again. Almost a week later I had to answer a knock at the door and Amy Baxter stood watching me. I took a step back and let her in, she sat and waited for me to sit before she spoke. 

"The results came back. I suspect you know what the report says. I understand your odd behavior and reasons you wished us both to leave. But why didn't you tell me what was going on there and then?" 

I shook my head. 

"That night was about you and the award. To challenge those that did this would have destroyed a night you had obviously enjoyed, not to mention the publicity fallout. I was your companion for the evening and like it or not, that also included looking out for you. I did both and brought you home safe." 

Her face softened and ever so slowly a smile touched her lips. 

"The age of chivalry isn't dead." 

I'm sure she wasn't expecting me to shrug my shoulders. 

"Perhaps it is and I've been left behind. When I was first asked by my wife to do this for a friend I was terrified that Ginny would change her mind and call it cheating. In my own mind I wasn't going out on a date, I was keeping company. The only way I can mentally accept what I'm doing is by thinking I'm taking Ginny out, not you. So regardless of what or how you expect me to treat you, it has to be my way and that's treating you like I would Ginny on a date, but without the kissing."

I gave her the name of the guy I watched place something in her wine glass. His friend had watched and also laughed as he did it. Amy left soon after and I'm sure Amy had plans for those two but it was no longer my business. Ginny had entrusted me with her friend and I had done what I had set out to do, make sure she enjoyed her evening and bring her home safely, just as I had done with Wendy. 

Steven called; he was now in his last year at college and had decided to settle down. He had even found 'the one' and for the cost of two plane tickets they would come home for a long weekend. We were at the airport a month later hugging both Steven and Beth. The drive home was all about how great California was and how he had a better quality of life and friends out there.

Beth was shy to begin with but Ginny soon got her relaxed, and once they had rested we had a quiet dinner in. For some strange reason I thought Steven would be more tanned given the Californian sunshine. Ginny wanted to use the divide system that all mothers seemed to have, so Steven and I went to the golf club for the day. It was obvious after the first three holes that he hadn't kept up his golf game while at college.

It was actually something he pointed out when he showed us the brochure for the college he wanted to go to, they had a golf team and had planned to join as soon as he got there. It was clear that Steven was getting frustrated so we didn't complete the back nine. Instead we had lunch in the club house.

"You still retired, dad?"

"Self employed. When the firm let my people go and offered me a job at head office I just couldn't do it. So I spoke to your mom and between us decided that I go self employed."

"Mom makes all the decisions in the house, doesn't she?"

Something in his tone didn't feel right, pity perhaps. His opinion of his own mother was flawed and I told him that our marriage was a partnership; no one of us makes the decisions for the other that would have a lasting impact.

"We talk Steven, we talk and hold hands often, and we have no secrets from each other. Your mom made decisions about you when you were young because she spent more time with you. While I was working she was the stay at home mom, but don't think we never talked about those decisions." 

I watched as he seemed to dismiss my statement with a shrug of his shoulders. It was a mystery why he would think that about us and his own mother. Steven never did expand on why he brought the conversation up so we finished our lunch and headed home. Both the girls were out back when we got there. Steven said he wanted to take Beth on a tour of 'Backwaters Ville' so I handed him my keys and they left.

Ginny watched from the porch as they drove away and I got us drinks, we met in the day room.

"It appears our son has not only outgrown the place we live but us as well."

The sad thing was I couldn't think of a damn thing to disagree with her statement. The rest of the weekend was an exercise in spending as much time away from us as he could and be polite about it. When we took both of them back to the airport it was as though we were saying goodbye to our son.

We watched from the window as their plane took off, I held onto Ginny. She refused to move until the plane was nothing more than a dot in the afternoon sky.

"She's pregnant and hasn't told him yet. She's already having doubts about Steven but her father and she are Catholic. I think with what I've seen this weekend we should have had Beth as our daughter. As a couple I fear for them, his changed and that change seems to be a mixture of anger at us and resentment for some reason."

Ginny had made her point and hand in hand we left the airport. A month later we got a call from Beth's folks, a nice couple. They were horrified that Steven said he was ok marrying Beth but he expected them to pay for the wedding since it's the bride's father that always did.

Beth's folks lived from paycheck to paycheck. Beth was on a scholarship at college and her folks simply didn't have the money. Although I was supposed to be in a golf tournament that weekend I said I would cancel and come with her but Ginny wouldn't let me cancel, saying that I would let my partner down since at this late a date he wouldn't be able to get a replacement and he would have to withdraw as well. Ginny flew out alone to see them that weekend.

She returned on Monday and told me that everything she could do financially had now been taken care of. I had seen that look before and sat down. This time Ginny came and sat on my lap, rested her head on my shoulder and cried. I did what all husbands do in situations like this, I held on tight and told her I loved her every five minutes until the crying had ran its course.

I got to say I love you six times that afternoon. I had known Ginny all my life and I knew what she was doing. She was saying goodbye to Steven. I did wonder when he had said goodbye to us.

The Present... 

We walked into the food hall, pushing four carts. Two and a half hours later we walked out with all four carts full. The twins skipped to the car and Beth kept looking at each of the carts like they belonged to someone else. The girls followed Beth's directions as to where everything went while I kept the children occupied, well me and the cartoons did. Beth was adamant that we were staying for dinner and all the women looked towards me.

"Yes."

I looked towards Ryan, his sister already asleep in my lap. Ryan looked a little sheepish before finding some inner strength.

"Please stay, this is only the second time we have seen all our aunts and you're more fun than daddy ever was." 

Other than nodding to the girls and then instantly making themselves busy nothing else was said. Hugging Ryan woke his sister and she needed to get in on the act, so I hugged them both together. It was close to midnight before we got back to the hotel. Carol and Wendy kissed us goodnight before Mandy and Amy followed me into my room.

"We could have a problem."

Both Amy and I stopped to look at Mandy, waiting for her to continue. She kicked off her shoes and knelt on the bed facing us before she spoke again.

"Beth isn't stupid. I've been alone with her all morning. She asks good questions but stops short of wanting to know about our relationship."

Amy stopped her there and called the girls into our room. They sat and Mandy again told everyone what she had just said. 

Wendy was the first to speak. "Will she refuse our help?"

Mandy shook her head.

"I don't think so, but from what I can gather Steven was a bastard all through there married life. She will take our help because she knows it will get her back to her folks, but she's hiding something. Mark laid out the end game for her, a house near her folks and she will never have to worry about money ever again. But she's scared and I think she's looking for some type of insurance in case Mark is like his son."

We have never queried Mandy's gut instinct before and saw no reason to do so now. Amy looked at her watch and we all agreed that we could do nothing now.

"Mandy, you're back at Beth's in the morning to finish up her financial mess." 

Amy then turned to Carol and told her that both of them are going to lock themselves in the conference room tomorrow and see if they could figure out what Beth was hiding. That left Wendy and I finalizing the rest of Stevens life in California. Amy let the girls out and told them we would see them at breakfast.

When the door closed we both looked towards Mandy. Her back straightened and the submissive within her came to the fore. I sat on the bed next to her but she wouldn't look at me, she hadn't been told to.




Keeping Company Ch. 01



"These last couple of days has been difficult for both of us. You have been taken from your comfort zone because you all knew I needed you here and not just to help Beth and the children. You stated my son was a bastard."

Mandy shook and turned to me ready to apologize but I told her to return to her original pose. Her apology was left unsaid. The redness crept up her neck, more so since I refused to say anything else. Once the redness had covered her cheeks and her body started to shake I leaned towards her and kissed her cheek. She quickly calmed.

"Stand, remove your clothes were you stand and then shower. You have six minutes to do both."

Amy moved out of the way and Mandy shot off the bed, her clothes shed like a second skin and she was running to the bathroom. The shower came on seconds later. Amy watched and shook her head.

"If I ever live to be a hundred, I will never understand this submissive thing."

I picked up Mandy's clothes and folded them before placing them on one of the chairs.

"It's Mandy's release and I'm just happy that she trusted me with her gift. I was never like this around Ginny so how the hell did she know I would be capable of dominating her? I sometimes wonder if it's one of those 'takes one to know one' things. Either way I will treasure that gift every day."

The shower had stopped; Mandy would be drying herself now.

"I need you to stand next to the bed please."

Amy moved and stood were I asked her to, second later Mandy came out of the bathroom and stood next to me.

"Remove this woman's clothes and place them next to yours."

Mandy turned and stood directly in front of Amy. When Amy looked at Mandy her jaw dropped and she quickly looked at me but I placed my finger to my lips to keep her quiet. She had known Mandy for almost eight years yet that wasn't the person standing in front of her at the moment, only slave stared back at her.

Amy didn't resist as her clothes slowly and gently left her body. Once folded and placed next to hers she resumed her position in front of a naked Amy.

"Kneel."

Mandy dropped like a stone, her nose now inches from Amy's sex. I left her there and went into the bathroom, bringing back a towel that I placed on the chair, pulled the chair around to face the bed and told Mandy to kneel on the chair. She quickly stood and climbed onto the chair and then knelt. I picked up Amy's panties and used them as a blindfold on Mandy; her own panties were used as a gag.

"Slave is left handed; you can only use your right to pleasure yourself. I give you the gift of two orgasms, when you choose to take that gift is up to you but only two."

I then held out my hand and Amy placed hers into mine. We made love that night, slow gentle love. Amy was a little more vocal than usual and her orgasm came with the volume turned up high. When one or the other of us remembered Mandy we could see her soaked hand on or in her pussy. Her inner thighs glistened from her own juices soaking them. We both heard her first orgasm as she tried to bite down on her own panties to hide it.

Something within her moan sent Amy over the top and her pussy damn near tried to rip my dick off my body. Her tightness pushed my own orgasm deep into her. No sooner had the pulses that sent my seed into her stopped than she was off me and spun around. Her mouth enveloped me and Amy set about keeping me hard.

I pulled her legs as wide apart as I could, her already bloated pussy lips opened even further. My lips enveloped her clit and my tongue laid siege to that pleasure nub. Amy's concentration was itself under attack and Mandy once again moaned. The noises and scents within our room had intoxicated us all and as my tongue once again danced around her nub my finger collected her juices.

The tip of my finger crossed her anus and sent shudders up her body. Amy's arousal pulled her from my cock and as her mouth came away from my cock my finger started its downward stroke of her rose.

"Fuck, that feels so good. Push it in. Deep please, oh fuck yes, right there."

Mandy's hand was a blur as her poor clit was almost ground into submission, her own panties once again bitten down on to hold back her last permitted orgasm. My finger came away from Amy's ass to be added to and as two fingers entered her ass I once again turned my attention to her clit. As her mind reached its sensory overload her own pleasure buds screamed for release and her orgasm ripped up her body.

Both girls came and once finished Amy rolled off and lay on her back gasping for air. Mandy pushed four fingers deep into her pussy and held them there as her own body took its pleasure from them. As her ragged breathing gained some semblance of normality her head fell to her chest, her lungs working hard to bring her own pulse rate down.

I rolled off the bed. Mandy heard me and quickly pulled her finger out of her pussy, the juices that fell from her collecting onto the towel. Her gag was removed first, her blindfold came off next, and her eyes took a moment to adjust. When she could focus again her smile shone forth. I held out my hand, the panties I had used as her gag still there.

"Stand and place these back onto your body."

It took a moment for her legs to work once more. She took her panties and pulled them back onto her body, the teeth marks clear for us all to see. The wet patch on the towel reminded me to pull it off the chair and place it in the bathroom. I made sure Mandy was comfortable and pulled a blanket over all three of us. Amy put her arm around me and I lay with my hand buried deep into Mandy's panties. I'm not sure who won the race for sleep after that. 

The Past...

I was told that the wedding invite was lost in the post; we both would have been more shocked to have received one to be honest. We kept in contact with Beth's folks and they were so grateful that we footed the bill for the wedding. Some months later they told us that Beth gave birth to twins, I guess the cell reception down California way must be as bad as the postal system. 

We got one more phone call from Beth's folks. It seemed Steven had finished college now and Beth had told him that her folks talked to his. He called them and said that if he found out they ever spoke to us again, they would never see their grandchildren. Ginny thanked them for the call and placed the phone back on the hook, she didn't even say goodbye. It wasn't there fault, we brought him into this world and up until college we both figured we had done a real good job of it.

I guess we did what we always do best and that's get on with life. Some weeks after that call from Beth's folks, Ginny phoned me from work.

"Honey, I need a real big favor."

"No Ginny."

"Mark please. Amy needs to go to this event and she feels real comfortable around you."

"Ginny, you have got to stop lending me out to people."

"Ok honey, I will do. So you will go to this event and then I will stop until you say I can as you say 'lend you out,' again?"

She heard me sigh and the pause that followed was just me wondering if it was worth putting up a fight. I loved my wife and still couldn't figure out why she did this, but she trusted not only me but Amy and Wendy and so I agreed. Ginny shrieked down the phone and I had to pull it away from my ear to save some semblance of hearing.

"That's marvelous, darling. Amy has placed me in charge of the itinerary. So I will book the plane tickets now and bring the itinerary home with me so we can go over it in detail." 

"What? Ginny, wait a minute..."

The sound of the click the other end spelt the end of this conversation. Just as I'm sure she would have anticipated me calling her back, some nice young lady answered and said that my wife was out of the office at the moment and could she take a message. 

"Yes please, could you write the words cheating and divorce on your note and place it on her desk for when she returns."

It was one of those few times my anger overrode my politeness. I put the phone down and went back to work, the phone going to answer phone for the rest of the afternoon. I would get this sorted between Ginny and I when she got home. Until then I had a job on my hands that was still giving me problems.

A month earlier I got a call from a customer of my old firm. Keith Staples worked for Mackenzie's. We had worked on a couple of projects for them and this one had him stumped. He found out I was self employed and wanted to know if I wanted to take the job on. Being the curious type I agreed and went over to Mackenzie's to see him. He showed me the schematics and we both spent an hour trying to work out what the hell was going wrong with it.

As the first hour came to a close a woman came into his office. Keith introduced me to Carol and said she worked upstairs. All three of us set about the schematics once again and after the second hour I told them that I would like to take the drawing home with me. Carol refused so I shook Keith's hand and told him I would send the bill for my time within the next ten days.

Two days later Keith phoned me and told me I was on speaker. He again stated that upstairs was refusing to release the schematics but would I accept a compromise. They would allow limited access to there mainframe, Isolate the board the schematics were from and I could work on it from home as long as I phoned Mackenzie's when I required access so that they could override the intrusion alert.

I agreed and an uneasy peace reigned between us. There are times you stare at something because you know that what you're looking at is wrong and yet your mind won't tell you why it is. That's when the lights came on. My mind was still on the conversation with Ginny and a distracted mind can sometimes think of two different things and link them together. I called Keith and told him I was on my way to see him and to clear whatever he was doing because it was important.

Keith met me at the reception. We went to his office and he once again pulled the schematics from his little alcove. I pointed to one section and asked him if he could get it blown up.

"Sure, how big?"

"As big as you can get it. If you can transfer it to film then that's even better. We can project it onto the wall."

Keith left and Carol came back in.

"What's it like working here?"

Carol smiled. "Are you fixing to apply for a job here?"

This time I shook my head.

"Just trying to figure out how many people leave a place like this."

Keith came back and ten minutes later had his projector up and running. He laid the film on the glass and the section of the drawing soon came into focus.

"Any of your IT staff leave recently?" 

Both looked at each other and back to the wall. I took a stick and pointed to one section of the drawing.

"That's why. You have firewalls, anti viruses and every bell and whistle I know that's on the market to stop people hacking your system and its working. However, someone on the inside is using that loop to send stuff out without your monitoring system even knowing that information is leaving this company."

It was Carol who spoke first.

"Can you fix it?"

I took another look at the drawing first, grabbed a piece of paper and leant over the table the original lay on. Keith followed and between us both we bounced ideas off each other. Finally coming up for air I looked at Carol again.

"We can but it will leave your system vulnerable for a day. Pull the plug and take yourself totally off line for a day and yes, it's fixable."

Carol gave a flash of anger, looked towards Keith and nodded before leaving. As she walked to the door she shouted at Keith that it gets done now and I was to be paid whatever to keep me here. 

"Does she have the authority to do that?"

Keith gave me one of those all knowing smiles and said that I guess being the boss meant she could. By the time I once again looked at the door Carol-Ann Mackenzie was gone. By the time Keith and I left his office Carol had got security to evacuate the building and send everyone home. She then ordered them to sweep the whole building one more time. Two hours after I entered the Mackenzie offices Keith shut down the system and physically removed access to the outside world.

I saw Carol once more that evening. She carried Chinese food into Keith's lab, placed it on the table and set about dividing it into three. When she was done she told us to eat. 

"Is this my bonus?"

Carol spat back into the carton she had in her hand and laughed.

"Your bonus is you get to keep your job. Now eat or I'm taking all my food back to my office and eating it all myself." 

We both looked at her and wondered where she would put it. I remembered to phone Ginny and tell her what was going on. She was fine about it and at first I figured she thought it would give her a day more before the confrontation. It wasn't until much later I found out that she already knew where I was.

End of Chapter One.



Keeping Company Ch. 02



My deepest thanks go to NinaWild for taking on this marathon project. This story does go between past and present, but I do try to make it as easy as possible to understand as it does.

*****

The Present...

Mandy was already gone by the time Amy and I woke. We showered and dressed and I pulled the 'do not disturb' sign off the door on the way to breakfast. We were the last to arrive and the girls brought us up to speed on the gossip. Amy watched Mandy for a while before I gently tapped her leg with my foot.

She understood and the banter back and forth just got sillier. Wendy and I left to see Steven's last employer and empty his locker. By mid-day we had pretty much done all we could. We swung by Beth's to see if Mandy needed any help. Beth said she needed to go to the Mall to get clothes for the funeral and Wendy went with her.

"Everything is done that can be done. I've sorted out a car for Beth, hers won't last much longer. It will be delivered tomorrow and they have agreed to take the old one away as well."

I nodded and passed her a glass of water. She blushed for a second and then smiled, thanked me and drank half of it in one go. It was then Mandy noticed that my thoughts were not entirely with her.

"Something is on your mind."

"We found condoms in Steven's locker at work. A faithful man would have them in his bedside cabinet but not at work."

"Beth had already caught him once and forgiven him. She had no choice, there was nowhere for her to go. Steven was bleeding his family dry both financially and emotionally."

Neither one of us said anything for a while.

"Almost from the day Ginny died until today I've wondered who he was. I could have taken the shortcut and disown him, yet for almost seventeen years he was a son any family would be proud of. But when it was time to step up and be a man he seemed to want to hurt everyone around him."

I felt Mandy's arms wrap themselves around me.

"Have you ever stopped to think he just wanted the easy way and not work for anything? From the outside looking in I would say that he knew he couldn't be your equal and that killed him and poisoned everything he touched. The one person almost strong enough to take him on was Beth, but even she struggled."

Wendy and Beth found us out on the back porch, Mandy on my lap and both of us holding each other. Beth's cheeks reddened slightly and she went back into the house, taking the clothes upstairs. Wendy's head came around the door, took one look and smiled at our embrace.

"Got a call from Amy, they have something from the stuff we sent over to her when we cleared out Steven's locker."

We left Beth to get dinner ready for the twins and met the girls in the conference room. Amy was stone faced. Wendy locked the door and sat next to me. Amy waited until we had all sat down before her gaze rested on Mandy.

"When we got here none of us realized what a mess this was going to turn into. Mandy you're the submissive of the group, it's what you are and I understand that. Because of the circumstances you have had to bare the brunt of Marks demons. We know we place too much of this burden on you. What Mark is about to see will bring his demons back so I ask you now, how can the rest of us girls help you?"

All our attention was on Mandy. Her eyes scanned the room and for a moment, she seemed to shrink into her chair. I knew who spoke next, even when I looked towards Amy, she knew to.

"You're invoking our promise?"

Amy nodded, Carol did too. Wendy was the last that came into Mandy's view and she nodded as well. I looked towards Amy for some sort of explanation but she just shook her head at me asking for my patience. What they had found was going to hurt and they knew who I would turn to. A part of me even wondered if I wanted to know. I had seen Steven's decline and every day of being here we were all seeing just how far. 

"Amy, you are the strongest but also the weakest amongst us. Wendy, had it been any other time I would have called upon you. Carol, both your folks gave you parts of themselves, can you stand by this slave and do what is needed should my Master need it?"

I'm not sure I was ever supposed to see this. The pact these girls had amongst themselves had grown over the three years I had known them as a group. I'm not even sure that right at this moment they even realized I was in the room. Carol stood and turned her whole body towards Mandy.

"We are sisters, other than this man no one will ever get between us. The promise was invoked and I stand by that promise. I see, slave, in your eyes that promise was made to her as well." 

Other than Wendy and Mandy changing seats so that I now had Mandy and Carol either side of me nothing was said until Amy spoke again.

"The stuff in Steven's locker was mainly junk, the condoms you found of course. He also had his own version of a little black book. I let Carol loose on that and she totaled seven women his had affairs with since College."

This time Amy pulled a shoe box into view. She opened the top and pulled out a bible, the recognition was instant. It was the book that Ginny lost almost three months before Steven went to college. Amy's face got a little tighter and I knew this was going to be the bit that I wouldn't like. 

"It seems that Steven had a bit of a voyeur about him. We pulled twenty-three DVD's from between the pages of the bible. We have destroyed all but this one. Carol and I struggled with showing even this one to you but we felt we had to and you will see why Mandy will need help."

Amy tapped away at the laptop in front of her for a moment and paused, the reflection showing the disc had started. She looked once more at me and then turned the laptop around. The picture shuffled for a moment before the camera was positioned to point towards the bed. Steven walked away and out of the door of the bedroom. Moments later Beth came in with a towel wrapped around her and one on her head.

She had obviously just gotten out of the shower; Steven came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. The was no volume so we didn't hear what was said but Beth looked uncomfortable with what was being said. When Steven got fed up of her shaking her head he slapped her and as she fell onto the bed he pulled the towel off her. Her stomach clearly showed her pregnant with the twins.

This wasn't consensual sex. My son raped his wife and he videoed himself doing it. I'm not sure how long I watched what he did to her. As I did I felt parts of my brain switch off and the anger within me fed upon itself. Perhaps Ginny was right after all, we should have drowned him at birth that way poor Beth would never have had to endure what I was seeing now.

The feeling came first, the taste was a forewarning and I stood and rushed to the bathroom and emptied my stomach as the image of Steven sodomising his wife assaulted my senses. The look of pain and the pleading eyes of Beth was all I could see. By the time I had returned, Amy was already feeding the disc into the shredder. Mandy and Carol stood in unison and walked towards me, I held up my hand and stopped them.

I looked towards Amy and said. "Get another room. I can't be near you girls at the moment."

Amy crossed the room in an instant. The slap across my face stung me out of my immediate anger.

"Don't you fucking dare think you're anything like that animal. He may have been your son but the responsibility stops there. That pig knew what he was doing and videoed himself doing it. Take both the girls with you and get it out of your system. We will all talk in the morning."

The Past...

Carol-Ann Mackenzie watched as Keith replaced the board and switched everything back on. He gave the system a diagnostic and then specifically targeted the board; all his tests came back fine. The outside world was once again plugged in and we all smiled. As we walked back to reception Carol said nothing. We shook hands and looked towards Keith.

"I know why. Find out who. It was a pleasure seeing you, Mr. Jameson." 

Both of us watched her walk down the corridor. I shrugged and Keith and I shook on it. My work was done; it was all down to Keith now. Ginny was waiting when I got home. She took one look at me and told me that I needed sleep, she was off to the Mall and would wake me when she got back.

There seemed little point in arguing with her. I was almost sure I was running on adrenalin. The next thing I knew was waking to my wife sitting on our bed and placing a cup of coffee on the cabinet.

Ginny was sitting on the couch when I came out of the bedroom. She watched as I sat across from her.

"You and I take our vows seriously. I know that I could have a friend walk around this house all weekend naked and other than look, you wouldn't touch her. You're just not built to cheat on me."

"Why do you want me to go away with Amy Baxter?"

"Amy wants what I have. She needs a companion for three days. Any man she takes will expect more from her than she is willing to give, and then you go and prove her theory wrong. Amy has trusted no one with a penis since she divorced her husband. What you did for her and the reasons you gave her struck a cord with her."

"But Ginny..."

"No, you wanted me to explain myself so let me do that. Amy would be that friend who would stand naked in this house. I trust her with my husband just as I trust you with one of my most valued friends. I say it again; you are not cheating on me."

This time Ginny pulled an envelope from beside her and held it towards me.

"To you this may look extreme but it's all I can think of to show you how serious I am. In this envelope is a hand written statement from me stating I know you're with Amy for three days and granting you my permission to be with her. Any divorce Lawyer in this country would look at this and his job would already be done if I ever thought to divorce you for cheating on me."

There was no point in looking inside the envelope. If my wife said that's what's in the envelope then it was in there.

"The thing with your job is that while Amy is in meetings you can keep yourself busy simply by opening your laptop and you're at work. When Amy went to the award ceremony she never believed she was in a hostile environment, yet you did what you do best and look after the person you went with as though it was me next to you."

"Please Mark, I'm asking you. Take Amy and look after her for me."

We both knew this was the last time. It was time to add a little mild blackmail of my own. 

"Ok I agree. But the price for me doing this is a week away with you on another cruise."

I got loved to the point of exhaustion that evening. Ginny let me sleep in and came back for more when I woke. By the afternoon we were looking at cruises we may want to go on. As usual I left the details with Ginny and a week later I was handed an itinerary for the three days with Amy. Ginny had slimmed the truth slightly, it was actually four nights and three days.

We flew down to Houston on the Thursday evening and booked into our suite. All the way up in the elevator I was thinking that I was going to need the contents of that envelope. The two separate bedrooms was a blessed relief.

"Ok, first things first. Ginny has already checked and this hotel not only has internet access in each suite but also Wi-Fi access both in the lounge and poolside. Can we have room service tonight? It's been a long day for me and I don't really want to go out."

It had felt like a long day for us both so I readily agreed. "That sounds like a plan. My notes say you're in conference from ten in the morning until three."

Amy nodded as she carried her purse over to the couch and sat down.

"Yes, its breakfast with you and then conference. We will be having dinner with a couple of people. I know the talk will go all business at the bar afterwards but I promise to keep it minimal and then an early night."

Again I nodded; it was as though she had just read my notes.

"Ok, I assume the same will be the night after then. But the final night says formal dinner?" 

"Yes, its posh frock time at seven-thirty. I show you off and you keep me safe until ten-thirty. That's when I develop a shocking headache and have to leave for the evening."

Well, I thought she was funny. I had read my itinerary and her version made my page full of times and comments sound far less interesting. We swapped notes for a while and I noticed that she had started to favor her left shoulder. When I asked her about it all she would say was that she had felt something give earlier at the office and it had steadily gotten worse.

By the time room service had been and gone, her shoulder was becoming a distraction for us both.

"Look, this is ridiculous. That shoulder needs seeing to and the gym isn't open until ten tomorrow so there won't be anyone able to take care of it until then. Take a shower and come back here in a towel." 

The panic on Amy's face was amusing me and I tried my best to hide it as much as I could.

"I'm not stupid, I know you and Ginny talk and not always about the weather. Just as I'm sure she gave you the naked friend comparison."

The blush of her cheek was a giveaway. The slow nod of her head as she realized I knew more than I was letting on gave me some satisfaction; that I could keep her off balance when I wanted to. We continued to stare at each other for a moment before she stood and headed for her room. I asked her to bring back whatever oils she had in her bag when she returned.

Amy paused for a moment, refusing to look back at me. Eventually she walked on and closed the door to her room. I placed the remnants of our evening meal on its tray and left it outside our suite. Other than turning on the TV and finding a music channel I waited on the couch for Amy to return.

Bravado seemed to be Amy's way of dealing with me. When her door opened she walked out with her towel tightly wrapped around her naked body. By the time she came to me I had stood and she was holding two bottles of oil in her hand. I asked her to lay her towel on the couch and lay face down. My interest was now on the oils so I didn't noticed what Amy was doing or thinking, or even how long it took her to come to her own decision.

Once my choice of oil was made Amy was face down on the couch as I had asked of her. The towel that was once wrapped around her body now placed full length of the couch, her naked form on top of it. I knelt next to the couch and spent the next twenty minutes working on her shoulder. Although my aim was to keep her at ease it quickly became apparent to me that I would have to turn her around to work on the front of her shoulder.

"Amy, I need to turn you over. Please wait until I get another towel to cover you when you do, ok?"

"No."

Her voice seemed to crack over that one word. Her arms came up and she turned over for me and lay back down again. Her body seemed to tremble. She gulped a couple of times and calmed herself.

"It's ok, you can continue now."

Her voice was a whisper. I may be married but that didn't make me blind to a naked Amy lying in front of me. The ball gown she had worn for the award had merely hinting at what lay hidden. Seeing it all without her clothes was something else. The look in her eyes told me so much, panic was but inches away and she needed reassurance.

"Amy, you and I know what a great body you have. We could talk for hours about that mind of yours as well, but we both know that the only part of you I'm going to be touching is your shoulder, don't we."

That look she gave me was the same one as the one in the limo when I told her I lead when we dance. The build up to a smile came again, her eyes glowed, those cheeks reddened slightly and her smile burst forth.

"Yes, yes, you will, won't you."

She stared a moment longer before her eyes closed but the smile wouldn't go away. I once again focused on her shoulder and joints for another half an hour before I stood and held my hand out towards her. Amy looked at it and held on. I gently lifted her from the couch but not before noticing how bushy her pussy was. If what Ginny said was true that Amy hadn't dated since her divorce then I did wonder if she had trimmed it for her husband or if this was a norm for her.

Unfortunately, I stared for too long. My thoughts may have been my own but suspicion had crept into Amy's eyes and she pulled the towel from the couch and wrapped it around her waist. I handed her back her oils, leaned in and kissed her cheek before wishing her a goodnight. 

Amy was already dressed and had a file open in front of her when I came out of my room the next morning. Amy didn't initiate a conversation about last night and I thought it best to follow her lead. After breakfast she hugged me and left. I toured the hotel and pool area. The gift shop got a couple of purchases from me, I even smiled when I found the card I liked. That went into my collection of items I bought before heading back to the suite.

As my laptop booted up I phoned Ginny and gave her a rundown on the flight and the room, even telling her about the massage I gave Amy. The giggle was a giveaway. She told me she knew, that Amy had phoned her last night and told her everything.

"Now, didn't I tell you I would trust you with my friend if she was naked?"

When my wife goes all 'I told you so' it's always wise just to say 'yes dear' and move quickly on before she gloats way to much for her own good. I told her I would phone tomorrow and after exchanging 'I love you' it was time for me to get some work done. Other than a couple of trips to the bathroom I didn't know anything until Amy walked in with half a rain forest under her arm. The files hit the coffee table and stayed there.

"Fucking people think I'm a moron. I fucking hate boys clubs."

Other than moving my chair to face her I left her to pace the room and rant. Don't you just love a woman who can multitask? She paused mid-rant and remembered I was sitting watching her. At first she blushed and then glared at me, daring me to disagree with her. I got up and walked over to her, rested my hands on her shoulders and took her back apace before she sat on the couch. 

With me sitting on the coffee table opposite her I lifted her foot onto my lap. Pulled her shoe off and massaged her foot deciding that it was best to let her start any conversation. The soft moan escaped her lips first, her eyes flew open and she tried to pull her foot off my lap. I held on and looked at her.

"You're not getting up until I'm done. Grin and bear it or book the tickets for us to return home. Right now I figure those are your only options."

For the first time since I have known her I swear she was going to challenge what I had said. My fingers still refused to give up on her foot though and Amy mellowed out after that. I caught her in a lull and switched feet, her shoe was off and my thumbs were gently pushing at the ball of her foot before she realized she had a chance to escape.

Twenty minutes later the Amy I knew returned, and I smiled at her, placed her foot back on the carpet and then held out my hand.

"Care to dance?"

I loved watching that smile come to her. We danced a lot over those three days. Sometimes the dark mood she came back to our room with meant she needed one, other times was because she needed a warm body next to her. The party at the end of those three days got me introduced to some of the sharks she had been around and I now understood the pressure she was placing herself under. The kiss I got as I left her at the door to her apartment was the best 'thank you' I could have received from her. 

It wasn't until tragedy struck my life that I found out that a gem of an idea had taken with Amy and her friends. 

The Present...




Keeping Company Ch. 02



The funeral was a quiet affair; I'm told you will know what your true friends think of you when you read your own obituary. The page was blank when it came to Steven. The Californian sun that he so loved came out for him as he was buried. The headstone was simple and summed my son up. On it was his name and date and birth and death. Beth wanted nothing else on it and looked to me to back her up, which I did.

We spent the rest of the day at Beth's house. I kept the twins company and we even went for a walk around the block, a hand in each of mine. The girls were in a huddle when the children and I returned. Once they realized we were back they set about a light meal for the children. When the children went into the day room after they had finished, I sat with the girls but watched the twins at the same time.

It was Beth that started the conversation. "In six weeks it's a national holiday. I'm going to take the children with me to see my folks."

Something just didn't feel right. The rest of the girls sat and watched, almost waiting.

"Beth, my son is dead. He can't hurt you or the children anymore. You don't need permission to visit your folks and you have the funds to do so. Enjoy your short break. I'm sure your folks will love to see the twins." 

This time Beth looked towards Amy for support. Amy seemed to expect it and with a quick glance at the children she looked at me.

"While you were taking your walk we talked. We have offered Beth membership."

As my head turned to each of the girls they all nodded.

"Who initiated this conversation?"

"I did." This time I looked at Beth but she remained defiant. 

She had owned up and was now standing by it. She cast a glance once more at Amy before she looked intensely at me and back down to her hands. It seems the evening Amy showed me what Steven had done to her and removed me from the conference room with Carol and Mandy in the hope I would get it out of my system, she had come back to Beth's, sat her down and explained everything.

The discs they had found and how it was left to Carol and her to check every disk. They knew the systematic abuse and violence that Steven had inflicted on his own wife and assured her all the discs were now destroyed. Both women had spoken well into the night about the past with Steven and how his own sadistic manner grew steadily worse over time. They also talked about the funeral and how the girls would be leaving soon after.

At such a vulnerable time in her own life she felt relieved and unsure. I suppose if you opened the door to any caged animal as you're about give it back its freedom, it too would pause. The cage it lived in may disgust it but it's the only environment it knows and that is their comfort.

The outside world has its freedoms, a new beginning, away from the tyrant who made the decisions however wrong and forced them on everyone in the family. With Beth being the head of that family now she was going to have to find the Beth that had been beaten into submission for so many years and learn to live again, for all their sakes. 

It was Beth that brought up the relationship that all four of them had with me. So Amy shared with Beth some of the past histories the girls had and why each of them had gravitated towards each other. She knew about us but never how deeply involved we were with each other. 

Amy knew she had to back off, so she stood and left, telling Beth that Mandy would be by in the afternoon to sign for the delivery of her new car, but not again until the funeral the following day. It left Beth to think and when Mandy came by she asked questions. Mandy refused to answer, telling her that the particular questions she wanted answers too had to be with all present. None of the girls talked about their relationship outside of the others knowing.

"You understand the rules that apply to this group?"

Amy smiled but said nothing as I waited for Beth to answer.

"Yes I do. I know I'm not as rich or powerful as any of you but I'm asking for something, anything you can give me. I'm alone for the first time since I left for college and I don't want to be alone."

Although I understood her answer I needed to emphasize a point.

"If you only see the material worth of any of us you will miss the point to why the girls started this in the first place. You are richer than any of us."

I pointed at the twins watching cartoons on the TV.

"That's your worth. None of us will ever have children for many reasons. All we can be are aunts and uncles. We will never spoil those two but they will never want for the things they need. You also bring yourself to this table, you're an individual in your own right and you would be listened to as are the others. Are you sure you want this?" 

This time Beth blushed and looked down at the table to compose herself before she nodded her head. 

"Mandy, get up and join the children. Amy, take Beth back with all three of you. She needs to talk without little ears listening in. Mandy and I will stay with the children tonight." 

All stood and walked to the door. Beth was the last to stand. To her making a decision was one thing, following it through was perhaps another. For a moment I wondered if I had called some bluff within her, yet she stood and walked over to the twins, hugged them both and told them that Mandy and I were going to be here tonight and that she was going to be back in the morning.

Sadness reigned for a moment before they realized that Mandy was on her cell calling for as cab to take us all for pizza. I pulled Amy to one side and asked her if all the girls were sure about this. She nodded before telling me that Mandy had suspected Beth's questions were leading to this. It took Amy confronting her to force her to tell Amy the truth. 

Amy seemed reluctant to say what was on her mind. In the end she blurted it out, although I've known her for some time and realized what she was about to say. I never got a chance to totally head her off at the pass.

"You know that you will..."

"No. My son stole her innocence. For now she has to rediscover the joys of this life. Once she understands what she gains from you girls then perhaps we will talk but I can't promise more at the moment."

Beth was afraid to look me in the eye when she hugged me and left with the girls. Our cab pulled up twenty minutes later. We had gotten the children out of the clothes they wore for the funeral and into there comfortable clothes. I'm not sure who won in the fun stakes, I'm almost sure I had more fun than the twins, but not by much. 

We put two very tired children to bed that evening and when Mandy and I adjourned to the kitchen for a drink she seemed to speak my thoughts. 

"Don't think for a moment that Beth is speeding along here. She has suspected for sometime the theory of our relationship with you. She doesn't need my math's brain to figure out that four healthy women can't fit into one male of the species so she knows what else goes on as well."

"Did you tell her about yourself?"

Mandy shook her head.

"It didn't take me long to figure out what her angle was when we went over her finances and the questions she kept asking. I think in her head she was trying to work out the dynamics of our group. What I am won't interfere with her."

"She still gives herself away. I'm Steven's father and I keep catching her looking and I suspect that one of the thoughts that still dances through her head are 'is it like father like son?'"

Mandy shrugged her shoulders and sighed and then stood and held out her hand.

"Come on, let's get this over with."

That confused me.

"What, you don't think us girls talk? The last time that happened Amy went all laser on herself. The other girls love it when you shave us so no laser is getting near this pussy. But I wasn't here when you needed me and Amy took the brunt of what you wanted to give me. Now I have to suffer boring sex as my penance."

I laughed and her face smiled right back at me. The so called boring sex lasted a good ten minutes before Mandy went straight to slut and stayed there for the night. Being quiet when her slut gets to play is real difficult for her. Mandy liked to express herself when we make love. But we were both aware that we were not alone, so the pillow showed some real tidy bite marks by the morning.

The twins came crashing into the bedroom and used the bounce on the bed method to wake me. It seems Mandy took great pleasure in telling them that's my favorite way of being woken in the morning. Beth and the girls arrived back at the house at eleven. We had the twins fed and the washing machine on for the sheets. Mandy and I took one look at Beth and told her to go back to bed while the girls and I took the twins to the park.

The children running for the door seemed to make up her mind for her. Ice cream in the park seems to be a must according to the twins and an equal amount of it seemed to live around there mouths when they had finished as well. The ever present tissues in women's bags were used to wipe away the evidence though. 

Amy sat with me while the girls kept the twins occupied.

"You think we ambushed you with this, don't you?"

"That thought had crossed my mind but Mandy told me that Beth kept asking her questions about us almost as soon as she came through the door."

Amy giggled. "She sure picked the wrong girl to ask, huh?"

"I assume that's why you got involved. Mandy told you and you went looking to see what she was after."

"Pretty much, but last night confirmed our suspicions. Steven has done a real job on that girl. For now she lives for the children and that was to be her life. Then you came back into their lives and brought a bunch of women with you. Yes, she knew me because of the legal fight Steven got into with you, but then three more pop up and all connected with you and that confused her."

Amy slipped her hand into mine and held on.

"She told us everything. Not that we needed much because of the discs but she started and we listened until she was done. Then Wendy pulled her out of the chair and into the bedroom before she had a chance to change her mind. When Wendy was done Carol took over. We wouldn't let her sleep, all night we took turns with her or double teamed her. We made sure we left a hefty tip with room service before we came here."

Something just didn't sit right in all this; I had to wonder if we were going to fast in all this. Surely Beth knew she no longer had to worry about Steven. Hell, we had even sorted out her next move when the twins broke from school. Amy still felt she had to push Beth's case along.

"She has family commitments so she won't be around us all that often. We will of course go and see her and Beth can come to us. I'm sure her folks would want to play catch up in being grandparents anyway."

Her pause was longer this time.

"Your vote is the deciding factor. You know the rules; we all agree or it won't happen."

The Past...

As luck, either good or bad I'm not sure, would have it, Ginny had phoned to tell me she was working late. Ten minutes after her call I got a phone call from Steven. He was planning on bringing the children to see us now they were at an age that the airline would be more conformable with small children traveling. 

I understood his meaning, far too many times I had either sat behind or in front of a young mother trying to keep her child from screaming as the plane either took off or landed. Small children suffer the worst from the changes in cabin pressure and the pain in their ears scares them. It was going to be a nice surprise for Ginny since her birthday was close.

A week later I sent him full air fare for the whole family. I'm just glad I didn't tell Ginny because no amount of phoning him was met with any answer after that. My wife's birthday came and went and neither sign nor phone calls from Steven. Part of me was so sad that Ginny never got to see her grandchildren. Steven used them as a club to beat us with at every opportunity. 

His greatest insults was getting me to pay money into his account so he could buy tickets for them to visit us, only to use that money to visit Beth's family instead. When Steven gloated about it on their visit, Beth's father phoned us and apologized. Of course it wasn't his fault; we were the ones with a bastard for a son. 

I got to hold Ginny half the night when we found out. This time I also got to say 'I love you' ten times as she cried her heart out on my shoulder. We both searched our thoughts and memories, hoping to find something, anything that we could point to and say that was why. We never did and other than each other we kept our peace on the subject. 

A year later Ginny came home early from work feeling run down and tired. I left her in peace for a day or so. When nothing changed I marched her to the doctors. The tests lasted all afternoon and within a week we were called back again. Ginny had Leukemia. The doctors talked and neither one of us was in any real emotional state to listen.

They called in specialists and did more tests and a week later when every test conceivable came back they sat us down and gave us the news. Ginny's leukemia had gone to far and short of sitting her next to an atom bomb at the point of explosion, no amount of operations and radiation therapy was going to make her better.

It's hard to walk out of a doctor's office in a straight line after being told that the woman you're hanging onto is dying and that she may as well go home and make her last days as comfortable as possible. I closed my work down and smothered Ginny in love. It was probably the only argument we ever had between us.

"Dammit Mark, I'm dying of cancer as well as suffocation. I want you to go out and play a round of golf. Please honey, I need time alone, you've got to give me this. I need you to get out of the damn house and not come back until eight tonight."

She saw me hesitate, I simply wasn't sure I could leave her alone for that long.

"Mark, if you don't get out of this house I'm going to divorce you."

Never go up against a woman with nothing to loose. The golf was a joke and I gave up after the fifth hole. I stayed for lunch and tried the driving range for awhile. Thankfully my wife took pity on me and at six she called me and said I could come back now. Amy Baxter was sitting with Ginny when I got back. She pulled a file out and asked me to sign next to the red crosses. I looked towards Ginny and she smiled.

"Be honest with me Mark, when I die, what state of mind are you going to be in?"

That was amongst the easiest questions I'm ever had to give an answer to.

"I'm loosing my soul mate, I'm going to be able to breathe and cry a lot. I haven't thought much about anything after that."

Amy left shortly after that. She had tears in her eyes when she kissed my cheek. Over the next week I saw a lot of Amy but I always seemed to be chased out of the room when she came. Wendy Morgan came by every evening and it gave me the chance to have a shower while they talked. Also, Mandy Trenton came to the door and introduced herself. It seemed she was our accountant and had been for almost eight years now.

She was another one who spread sheets of paper in front of me and Ginny and said sign next to the red crosses. I looked at Ginny and she smiled and nodded, so I did. Two days later Ginny took a turn for the worst and was rushed into hospital. I sucked it up and called Steven. He thanked me for letting him know and put the phone down. I seethed for a minute, the phone still in my hand before I yanked it from the socket and threw it against the wall.

A month after Ginny's death I bought a picture frame and placed it over the dent in the drywall the phone made when it hit it, as a day to day reminder to me that some children should never have been brought into this world.

I was with Ginny to the very end. God will never tell me why and he will never tell me how many times I told my wife how much I loved her and for the final time she looked at me and smiled that smile that has held me to her for all these years.

"Please my darling, don't follow me. Live like I know you deserve. I've left gifts for you that will help you to live again. Treasure them all because each gifts individuality will keep that great big heart of yours beating if you just let them in."

Her eyes flickered for a moment and then she breathed her last once more before closing her eyes and leaving me alone. The nurses are angels in disguise, they held me after I bent down and kissed Ginny's lips one more time and walked me to the door.

Amy Baxter was waiting for me in the corridor, her mascara was a mess. I told her so and she laughed. I never noticed Amy carry a suitcase in with her when we got home. She told me later that I may as well have been a robot. She told me when to eat and sleep and all I did was nod and go and do it. Three days before the funeral I tried to make peace with Steven but when I called him and told him of his mother's death he said nothing.

"Steven, I'm sending you money so that you can come to her funeral."

"Sorry pops, I'm washing my hair that day. Darn it and I was so looking forward to saying good bye to mommy dearest."

And the phone went dead. I bought another picture frame to compliment the first one. I now had two reminders why the meek need to inherit the Earth, so that scum bags like my son don't get a chance at fucking everything up.

Wendy Morgan had to close the factory for the day of the funeral. So many people wanted to attend, she had little choice. I had intended it to be a simple funeral but the folks from Wendy's factory weren't about to allow that and asked if two of the staff could say a few words. I was touched and agreed. Ginny was well liked by all at the factory and through tears and tissues one of the office supervisors gave a five minute speech.

When she sat down a big burly man from the maintenance department of the factory got up and spoke. His voice carried his thoughts, his pain at her passing and joy at knowing Ginny. She had time for everyone whether it was a problem at work or personal. She had even played matchmaker for him and his new bride. A fresh wave of tissues came out then. The man tried so hard to keep the emotion out of his voice when he spoke of Ginny.

I hadn't planed to speak, yet these two people had touched something within me so I stood. Amy shifted her position and gave me access to the isle. The walk calmed my thoughts but only until I turned and looked out towards the full church. My voice refused to have sound. Then I looked towards all the girls in the isle. Amy, Wendy, Mandy and Carol all looked back at me and somehow my courage grew within me. 

"My wife loved her job. Wendy Morgan gave her the opportunity and Ginny grabbed it with both hands. Every working day she looked forward to any challenge that life or the factory would give her. Many times she would come home exhausted yet still have the biggest smile on her face. She knew each of you by your first name because she said that friends never use last names.

"You all knew her as Ginny, Wendy Morgan's PA. I knew her as my wife and soul mate. She said she would miss you all. Ginny left this world the richer for knowing each and everyone of you. Thank you for coming."

The padre held my arm and guided me back to my seat. Minutes later we followed the coffin to its last resting place. Carol and Mandy stood either side of me, an arm wrapped around mine as the padre said a few words. The reception afterwards was held at the factory canteen. It was the only place we could think of that could hold us all. I met many of the people Ginny worked with and what they said confirmed that we would all miss her.

The Present...

Our original plan for Beth fell apart within weeks. Beth called a meeting of the group and we turned up at her place the following weekend. This was the first time I had ever met her mom and dad. They shook all our hands and told us they were taking the twins to the park to let us all talk.




Keeping Company Ch. 02



It was clear to each of us they knew what was going on. And the looks we gave Beth as her folks and the children left didn't faze her in the least. We sat around the day room and let Beth talk since this was her meeting.

"Yes, I told them everything, but please hear me out before you pass judgment on me."

Everyone was going to apart from Mandy.

"No. You took it upon yourself to tell your folks about something that concerns us and then you ambush us with it as we come through the door. Are you fucking nuts? I know for a fact your house phone works as does you cell phone, yet you talk to your folks about us and never talk to us about wanting to do it. What you did is unforgivable and now we are left with dealing with it rather than knowing ahead of time."

"But there is a reason I needed them on board before I came to you about this."

"That maybe so, Beth but you have us all on speed dial. Any one of us could take a call if the other is in a meeting. We all think alike and would give you the same advice. Don't hit us sideways with things like this."

Beth slowly nodded her head. She walked up to each of us and we stood as she did so that she could hug us and apologized for her actions. We let her sit down again and tell us in her own time.

"Mom and dad want to retire early; I want to move away from here. All of us want to move closer to you guys when the children finish school. Can we make this happen?"

Amy left this one to me.

"It's not impossible, Ginny never wanted to leave our house and I would like to think a part of her is still there. If you can put up with a friendly ghost then move into my place. We will find an apartment for your folks and the twins can go to the same school Steven went to." 

Beth became nervous.

"My folks can't afford an apartment, they live in rented accommodation."

"Fine, then make a deal with them. We will buy the apartment on condition that they baby sit occasionally. That gives them time with the twins and us time with you and the twins."

Her eyes scanned the room. All heads nodded when Beth looked at them. Mandy of course had to have the last word.

"Of course, if you had talked to us about this on the phone we would already be looking for an apartment close to the house."

Amy had to get her ten cents worth in as well.

"Mandy is right, to anyone but us it would look like you're blackmailing us to get what you want. Don't do things that may harm the group, Beth. We would have gladly got the apartment for your parents and given it to them as a gift. Now they will always think we did it because we had to."

Again Beth listened to what was said, her hands came together and she looked at the floor for a moment.

"Can we put today down as me being young and stupid?"

This time the girls smiled as they nodded there heads at Beth. Carol stood and held out her hand towards Beth. She took it and they climbed the stairs, her bedroom door shut moments later.

"She's going to need a job or she will get bored."

We agreed as an all too familiar sound of soft moans came from her room.

Mandy looked up the stairs and smiled. "Do I sound like that?"

Wendy saw her opportunity and went for it. "Nah, with you it's usually 'shove that cock into me master, make this slave beg for more'."

The cushion that got thrown across the room was quickly followed by laughter. Amy said she would talk to a realtor she knew and I announced that I would get the builders over to the house. Re-wiring needed to be done and putting in an up to date kitchen and bathroom plus anything else to modernize the house for a young family.

As the room once again went quiet, Amy decided that now was a good a time as any.

"You know what Beth is doing is only speeding up what was already planned for some time."

I nodded, reminding myself when she had touched on this subject at the time of Steven's funeral.

"We left you in the house for as long as we could. Ginny held you there but it's time to move on. As soon as Beth and the children move in, you will have a different life. I have already sorted out a PO Box for your mail. We have all made room for you in our houses and apartments, clothes will be moved so that all you have to do is walk out of one and into the other." 

"I want to go back to work as well."

Amy still pushed on with her argument.

"That's fine, we all have internet access. Take a look at it, and if it needs upgrading then let us know."

The orgasm that one and then the other had soon afterwards made the girls giggle. I took Wendy's hand and we walked out of the house and sat on the porch.

"I need to ask something of you. When Beth comes to live at the house would you let her become your PA.?"

"It's within the realms of possibilities. Amy checked her college qualifications and although they are under used since she became pregnant, with time she could do the job and really well. But I have to know why you ask this of me."

"We as a group need to look out for ourselves; the PA job could be flexible enough to cope with the children's school times."

"That's a good answer. Now tell me the real answer."

She was smiling when I turned to look at her. 

"I'm hoping that today was a genuine mistake. Mandy tore into her and I'm thinking that she realized she could have handled it differently. If I'm wrong then I think one of us needs to be close to her so that we see it coming the next time." 

Wendy watched me for a while, she knew I hadn't lied. 

"Ok, I agree. Perhaps we can use the time she has left here to our advantage and get her enrolled in a few evening classes."

When we walked back into the house we could hear the shower running and both girls giggling upstairs. We talked about what we had discussed outside and decided to say nothing further until we talked to Carol back at the hotel. That in itself was a revelation. Carol liked the idea but thought it was a bad idea to allow her to be Wendy's PA. Beth kept her married name for the sake of the children.

It wouldn't take long for others at the factory to realize that she was Ginny's sister and that would heap a great deal of pressure on her that she didn't need. We all agreed, so we moved Beth to Carol's PA and would make her part time. Carol phoned her later that evening and talked to her about it. We heard the scream across the room and I'm sure she woke the children.

Our plane didn't leave until late evening on Sunday, so we took Beth and the twins out to dinner. Beth sat between Carol and Wendy and between them they worked out a couple of courses she could take that would be beneficial to her. She beamed that smile of hers all evening. Even the children noticed and told Amy that they hadn't seen that look on their mom for a long time.

The Past...

It was six weeks later that I seemed to wake up. Mandy Trenton sat across the kitchen table from me and smiled when she saw me looking at her. I knew I was being impolite but I had to ask. 

"May I ask why you are in my house?"

Mandy got up and made me a coffee, passed it across the table and sat back down again. Her smile never left her face.

"After the reception you managed to get back here and then had a break down. We have taken turns in looking after you ever since. I have to phone the rest and let them know you're awake now."

"Can I talk to you first before you do that?"

Mandy shook her head and picked up her cell.

"That's not a good idea. Let Amy explain everything, she will do a much better job than I could."

A sense of calm sat between us. I had met Mandy perhaps ten times while she visited Ginny, yet now the woman sat across from me was somehow different. My hand went across the table and stopped; Mandy looked at it and then placed her cell into my hand. The cell then sat at the end of the table while I looked at Mandy.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Mand..."

"No. I know your name. I'm asking who you are. I sensed it the first time I met you but dismissed it since I felt it was none of my business. Now I wake and find you across the table from me and that same feeling is there."

Mandy seemed to fidget in her seat. Her stare was a constant, I was making her uneasy yet I couldn't understand why.

"Please don't ask questions until..."

"Again, no. Amy will be a distraction to this conversation. I'm talking to you because something in me says I must. Who are you?"

It was a flicker at first, as though there was some sort of internal battle going on within her. Mandy sat looking at me but her eyes gave away the turmoil she had going on, I refused to back down and Mandy simply continued to stare at me. Finally she closed her eyes and shook her head. 

"We can't do this; he's only just woken up."

She seemed to be talking in the third person. I slapped the table top with my hand and Mandy jumped before she looked at me once again.

"Now that I have your attention again, who are you?" 

Mandy tried once again.

"Please let me call Amy."

Again I watched her, that look in her eyes held me. Mandy's mind seemed to be going a mile a minute. Finally she stood and paced, wringing her hands as she did.

"We can't, he's not ready. It's too much to heap on him all at once. Perhaps when he's used to the girls, then we can ask him."

Again that third person conversation. Then something pulled at my thoughts, a realization of sorts. I called over to Mandy and asked her to come around the table. She was hesitant at first. Once she stood in front of me her head was down. I felt too weak to stand so I told her to kneel. Her head shot up to look at me and a smile fought its way to her lips.

I held her hands as one knee gave and then the other. Mandy knelt in front of me, her eyes locked onto my chest. That same feeling surfaced within me once again and I still couldn't figure it out.

"Who are you?"

This time my question sunk in, her head moved and her eyes locked onto mine.

"I am slave."

Why wasn't I shocked? This woman kneeling in front of me just told me she was slave as though it was a natural thing to tell someone.

"Why do you hide?"

"At first I hid from her, she couldn't accept me. She believed she was insane; Ginny caught us talking out loud. She calmed Mandy and I couldn't hide from Ginny. She knew who I was and wouldn't let me hide. I must go, Mandy will talk to you now. Please let me go."

My hands opened and she pulled her own from mine and placed them on her lap. She continued to look at me and I realized why.

"Stand up."

Once stood, Mandy quickly walked to the other side and sat back down again. Her neck reddened slightly before she looked at me.

"Please let me call Amy. There is so much to tell you yet we have to temper that with how fragile you are at the moment."

I had no intention of making this easy for her. I would have liked to talk to them separately and I doubted very much that would happen now.

"Remove your panties and place them in the middle of the table."

Mandy's face was a picture of anger, not shock but anger. She reached under her skirt and started to pull down her panties.

"Dammit I knew when he saw you it was a big mistake. You had better fix this and make sure he knows everything."

The panties were placed onto the table, in return I gave Mandy her cell back and she called Amy and told her to get here quick. In the hour it took for Amy to get here Mandy just sat and waited. Amy came charging into the kitchen and looked at me before going to sit next to Mandy.

"Don't let the dumb look fool you. He woke just over an hour ago and spotted slave straight away."

Amy went to say something to me and then noticed the panties on the table; she picked them up and noticed the wet stain. She couldn't hide the smile as she handed them back to Mandy.

"He wanted them in return for giving me back my cell. Slave wet herself when he told her to kneel, she likes him. If he agrees then she's his and the dynamics of the group will change. I'm sorry but I have to give her this."

I sat listening to this conversation, it was interesting and I sure looked forward to when it all fit together.

"It's ok, the girls understand. You know we have talked of all eventualities. If it keeps slave and you happy then we will adjust accordingly. But I need you to focus now, ok?"

Mandy nodded, and looked towards me, the anger in her eyes still there but more aimed towards slave than me. Her hand reached out and placed the panties back on the table before she looked at Amy and blushed.

"Slave won't let me keep them; she says they're her gift to him."

Amy laughed, shook her head in amusement and stood to get herself a glass of water before sitting back down again. Amy held Mandy's hand and waited for her to look as her before she spoke again.

"Do you want to stay for this? I phoned the girls and they know he's awake. We will all be here this evening for dinner to introduce ourselves and offer him membership."

Mandy shook her head.

"I'm going to be a distraction if I stay. I need to go home and talk to her. He's the one for her and I feel like a mother letting her child out into the world. Please make him understand I'm not nuts. He also needs to know what he's getting from me if he agrees. I can't do it because she will keep getting in the way. I have to calm down the party she's having in my head."

Amy nodded her head, leaned in and kissed Mandy tenderly on the lips before we both watched her get up and leave. Amy and I sat and stared at each other, the ticking of the kitchen clock the only noise. She took another sip of her water and started talking.

"She's right you know, she isn't nuts."

The shake of her head made her stop what she was going to say.

"Perhaps it's best I start almost from the beginning and tell you about us. Ginny was working for the fashion house when she met Mandy. They treated her appallingly, twenty-two years old and nothing more than a gofer."

The anger that exuded from Amy was real when she told me about Ginny becoming Mandy's only friend at the fashion house; she quickly noticed her abilities with numbers and would set her tests that progressively got harder. It was amongst her talks that she found slave. It seems that Mandy had a slut side to her and every guy at the fashion house used her for nothing more than a pin cushion.

Finally something inside her head snapped and slave was born to try to curb her sluttish/destructive behavior. But Ginny saw more to Mandy than a gofer and offered her a way out. Ginny put her in touch with the local college and she started night courses in accountancy. She finished the course two months ahead of the course time with a recommendation that she tried for her Bachelors in accounting.

Amy sent her on that and she finished that a month ahead of the rest of the class, a straight A student if there ever was one. When she came back, Ginny was waiting for her and as a silent partner; Mandy wanted a couple more qualifications first and sailed through them as well. So they went into business together and her accountancy firm is now the best in this state. It also helped that she was OCD with numbers and that slave kept Mandy's sluttish behavior in check now. 

"You could say that Ginny and Mandy started all this. When the fashion house moved away Ginny started working for Wendy Morgan. She knew straight away that something smelt wrong about the factory and snuck Mandy in one weekend with Wendy. It took her two days and loads of coffee to figure out what was wrong and how to fix it."

Now I understood why all the files suddenly appeared. They needed proof and who was behind the slide of fortunes at the factory. It seems that Wendy was so impressed with Mandy, she moved accountancy firms during the boardroom shuffle as well. Wendy also introduced Amy to the group. It was Amy that worked out the law angle and the threats needed as leverage when it came for Wendy to remove some of the board.

"The mayor's ball date with Wendy was real, you know. She was so wrapped up with dealing with the board and the fall out that she forgot. The day after the ball she wouldn't shut up about you. Ginny thought it was funny. She was ok about it, after all you loved her and to you no other woman existed."

It appears by the fourth time I accompanied Wendy, Amy was curious and asked Ginny what all the fuss was about. It of course coincided with the awards dinner. Ginny got me to go and by the time the test results came back on the wine soaked into the napkin, all three girls where relieved that I had. They had introduced one other member to there group, Carol-Ann Mackenzie. 

"We once called ourselves the glass ceiling group, until Ginny pointed out that we had reached the top of our given professions so how could we go any further. Other than Carol, we knew the real reason. We had come to love one man and on the rare occasions we went on dates with other men we found ourselves comparing them with you. We couldn't do that to them. It wasn't fair so we stopped."

Even though I watched her every movement, I could find nothing telling me she was lying. Yet how could a bunch of women as powerful as these have Ginny as one of the members? So I asked her. Amy looked a little uncertain as to how to continue this conversation.

"When you're well enough then the reading of the will may answer your questions. I'm your friend and also your lawyer. I need you to wait until the reading. All I can say is that we will each be there because some aspects of the will you have to seek advice. We want to be on hand when you do."

Me being a guy thought the worse.

"Did Ginny ever do anything wrong?"

Amy vigorously shook her head.

"Never, she loved you from the day she set eyes on you. You called it soul-mates. She has worked all her life to protect you and your quality of life was all important to her, which is why she always glowed when you thought taking us out meant you were cheating on her with Wendy and me."

The Present...

I spent a week boxing up the things I wanted to keep; ironically I placed them into long term storage. To me it was a mental thing. If I ever needed to re-connect with Ginny then I would lock myself into the storage box and have a damn good cry. The rest I gave to good will. Two weeks later the builders came in and said it would take four weeks. 

I pulled the foreman to one side and told him I would prefer it if he took five weeks and it got done properly and pay for the extra week, rather than rushed since it was family that was coming to live here. The wedding band on his finger told me he understood what I said and it was not meant as an insult for his work. 

My first week under this new arrangement with the girls meant I was with Mandy for a week. It was like meeting Mandy all over again. I opened the door to let myself into her apartment and she stood in the middle of the room, her jaw dropped. She dropped the file she had in her hand and rushed at me, her arms and legs wrapped around me like a limpet. 

"Thank you. I hoped you would start with me."

I can't deny my heart beat a little faster with her this close to me. When I got her calmed and sat down I felt I needed to talk to her.

"Ok, no rules. We need to feel our way for a while, that's a given. Mandy, there is a 'but' attached to this. I don't want slave bullying you for attention just as I don't want slut bullying slave for attention."

Her eyes watered and her smile just got bigger as she quickly nodded her head.

"Slave asks to be first since she says she found you first."

"And what does slut say?"

She blushed, she actually blushed. An unusual thing for her.

"I have a request. Since slave pulled me back from making a mess of my life and she met you, we made a decision that the dynamics would change and I would no longer be with the girls. I know I love you, we love you, but I miss the girls. Once in a while can we have one of the girls with us?"




Keeping Company Ch. 02



"What does slave say about this?"

Her eyes gave her away. Her facial muscles tightened for a moment and then relaxed.

"You wish this from her?"

"Just as you can never be anything but slave, she can never be anything but slut. She calmed because you took control. I think if you relax that control as far as the girls then her slut will stay calm."

She bit down on her lip, deep in thought, and then she looked once again at me and nodded her head. She didn't look convinced though.

"Slave, I will make a deal with you. If you release slut to the girls once in a while then she will have this warning hanging over her head. If she touches another male in any manner deemed sexual, or another woman for the same reason that isn't one of the girls then I will collar her permanently."

Her face beamed, slut had her one and only warning and slave was more than happy. I had never thought it odd that I was talking to two people in the same body. Mandy wasn't nuts and for many weeks after Ginny's funeral she was terrified I would treat her differently than the others. I never did, to me she was Mandy and so many times in our relationship I have had to call on either slave or slut when my life needed one or the other.

I got a tour of her apartment and was pleasantly surprised. Nothing was pink. When she opened the door to the bedroom, the four poster bed was impressive and I had to wonder how the movers got it into her apartment. I looked around the bed and even under it.

"What are you looking for?"

"The straps I intend to use to tie you to the bed."

She smiled and went crimson at the same time.

"Welcome home master."

The Past...

The executor of the will was one of the senior partners since Amy was also involved. The reading of the will was also interesting. Ginny had changed her will two days after she was diagnosed with leukemia. She had effectively cut Steven totally out of it. If there was anything worse than a vengeful son, it was a vengeful mother. Other than a few heirlooms that were handed down to Ginny from her mother - that I was to maybe be able to hand on to Beth or my granddaughter someday - all the rest was legal words that meant little to me.

Mandy sat next to Amy as she told me how much I was worth, including the silent partnership of Mandy's accountancy firm and the stocks and shares portfolio that I owned as well. Once I managed to absorb everything, it seemed I was worth the equivalent of the gross income of a small country. Even as I sat listening to Mandy, every girl in that room knew I would give it all away in a heart beat if I could get my Ginny back.

When Frank Colson finished reading Ginny's will, I had to sign a piece of paper stating that I understood all the details as they were explained to me. I didn't but I signed anyway. It was only when Frank had all the paperwork back and my signature was notarized that he got up and left the room. Each of the girls knew I had questions that didn't concern Frank.

"I don't want to retire, I like my job."

"Then don't, Ginny never wanted to retire either. It's why she never told you your worth. She wanted your lives to be as normal as possible."

"I want to write out a few checks to some charities but other than that I don't want to touch it."

Mandy made me write out the amounts and what charities and she would get Amy's law firm to send them. That way they would be anonymous donations. Steven phoned me about a week after the reading of the will and asked what his mother had given him in her will. I told him that she gave him what he had given her for the last five years and put the phone down. I heard nothing from him until eighteen months later when I got a call from the Californian Highway Patrol telling me of his death.

End of Chapter Two.



Keeping Company Ch. 03



My deepest thanks go to NinaWild for taking on this marathon project. This story does go between past and present, but I do try to make it as easy as possible to understand as it does. 

*****

The Present...

During the summer we were all busy. Beth's folks were packed and moved in just before school ended. Amy's realtor friend did herself proud and earned her hefty tip. They now lived in a gated apartment three blocks from my house. Beth's friend suggested a two bedroom apartment since the children would be having sleepovers.

It was also decided that Beth and the children would pack a suitcase each with the things they really wanted to bring with them. Everything else was given to goodwill. The next day they stepped onto a plane and never once looked back. All the girls spent the next week buying everything new, from clothes to furniture and a car.

The rest of the summer was an orientation exercise for them all; I even showed them some of the places Ginny used to take Steven when he was younger. The one thing about now living the life of a nomad was that no one knew how to find me. I had found another gap in the market that the computer companies hadn't yet exploited. It took me a couple of tries but I got it figured out in the end.

Once I had the prototype working and patented I got a friend of Wendy's to drop a hint to a reporter friend of hers. Amy had to get two of her people on the legal stuff. It took a month of a bidding war before I signed it over. The money was passed on anonymously to cancer research; no one should have to lose their own Ginny.

In the months that slave had allowed Mandy's slut to play - she had only done so twice - it seemed Mandy was correct in saying that slut just wanted to take the edge off, although I did get a call from Mandy this morning asking if I would stop by this evening.

"It seems that slave is in a good mood and is letting me play this evening, so I'm going to have one of the girls around tonight. Please come and help me make it a real fun night since I don't know when she will be in a good mood again."

I had little doubt Mandy would pay for her flippant attitude towards slave, but we settled on a time and said our goodbyes. At seven that evening I walked into Mandy's apartment. She came out of the bedroom naked when she heard the door.

"Oh goody, you're here and on time as well."

She was already pulling my clothes off me as she spoke.

"I've had her here for an hour now and she's already showing signs that she may not last the night. I ask you, what's a slut supposed to do when she's allowed out and no one to play with?"

She led me into her bedroom by my cock but it deflated quickly when I saw Beth on the bed waiting for me. Mandy noticed and shot onto her knees sticking my cock into her mouth to keep me hard.

"Please don't freak out on me. I asked Mandy to help me, she gave me slut. I'm a voted on member of this group and yet you haven't touched me in all that time."

Beth got off the bed and walked over to me; Mandy had stopped the retreat of my erection and was well on the way to bringing it back to life. Beth held my head in her hands and we kissed. She tasted sweet, her mouth was a fun place to be and her tongue was my guide.

"My name is Beth; I have two wonderful children and now have a great sex life. Nothing like the life I had before. I want to explore some more. Spend the night pounding this pussy, so this slut that's now trying to shove her face into my pussy can spend all night sucking your cum out of me."

Suddenly her eyes closed and her hands held onto Mandy's head as she rode her orgasm.

"You have seen what Steven did to me and videoed himself doing it. That was him not you. I didn't break back then and I won't now if you fuck the shit out of me. The rest of the girls are coming by in the morning to take over from you two. I'm promised a memorable night like the one you gave Wendy a little while back."

She looked down at Mandy, grabbed her head and rubbed her pussy over her face; her body shuddered as she did. Mandy grabbed her hips and tried to push her face deeper into Beth's pussy. 

"Please Mark. Replace the memories that sorry excuse for a husband gave me with one's I will treasure forever."

So we did. We even used some of the toys that slave likes as well. I got the girls to come early and we did indeed spend all night on Beth. She never made it out of Mandy's apartment for two days. I had to carry her to the bathroom so she could pee before I took her back to the waiting hands, tits and lips of one or more of the girls again.

All the girls have every event written into their calendars, although they are happy to leave me alone during the day of my late wife's birthday, wedding or some other event they have found along the way. The night belongs to one or more of them. And sometimes I still sneak into the storage box that holds the memories of my life with Ginny. 

I thought I knew everything I boxed and placed into storage, yet even to this day I still come across something that I never noticed while packing. As I made myself comfortable amongst my memories I seemed drawn to one of Ginny's jewelry boxes. It wasn't much, she tended to use it as an overflow since the house safe was in the basement.

We couldn't be bothered to go into the basement on our returns from some social evening. So she had got into the habit of placing a few pieces of jewelry into the overflow box. That included the jewelry she wore on events, which she would place into the basement the next day.

My first thought was that I had removed anything of value and had contemplated handing it over to a charity so they could hopefully earn some money from it. Yet, every time my mind was made up, something nagged at me until I had either forgotten about it or I had decided to do something about it at a later date. 

Pulling each draw open and checking to see if I had missed something kept my attention. The thought that I may find some hidden treasure that Ginny had kept there made me smile. It was empty and with a small sigh I picked it up to move it. As I placed it onto the floor beside me it made a small noise, as though something inside had moved.

Yet, that was impossible. I had checked every draw, even opening the top and found nothing but memories. With my interest once again peaked as I lifted the box up off the floor and tilted it, there it was again. Barely audible but something did indeed move. This time I shook it harder, the sound of movement made me once again inspect the box in more detail. What had I missed?

All that Ginny had told me about the jewelry box when she came home with it was that she had met the man who hand made these boxes and asked if he could make one for her. Three months later the box appeared. To me it looked nice but it was just a jewelry box. She used it for many years until she found she needed a bigger one since I kept buying her trinkets and jewelry.

Although the bigger one served its purpose, she always refused to get rid of her first one, using it to store the jewelry that her mother had given her and as an overflow instead. My first thought was that a ring or something of that size had fallen out of one of the draws, yet when I pulled all the draws out there was nothing. The top display shelf yielded nothing, yet when I shook the box the noise was still their

Turning the box upside down and looking closer at the base gave me the answer that I was looking for. As my fingers worked their way along the edge of the base and against one of the corners, I felt a slight bump and when my finger pushed the base clicked and moved back half an inch. When I pulled the base further back an envelope dropped out and landed on the floor by my feet.

Once I put the box back together I leaned down and picked up the envelope. All it had on it was my first name and that was clearly in Ginny's distinctive handwriting. My hands trembled when I read the contents.

My Dearest Mark.

Amy has just left and I hear you in the kitchen. My strength ebbs and flows so I figure this would be the last chance I have to do this. Being soul-mates for so long has meant that I know you all too well; my death is going to kill you.

I can't allow that and neither will my friends. You have touched each of these women and yet you have no knowledge of just how deeply. Each has a gift or a characteristic that will compliment you and make you whole again. Only when its time will you love again, you will know when and each of my friends will be ready for that day. 

Like real love it is unconditional. They share each other just as they are willing to share you. I know you won't freak out, my love, or call them freaks for that matter. Not once have you treated any of those that you have met with anything but true respect. Your life is with them now, my love. Not just one but all four of them. Your heart is big enough for each to find a warm loving home just as I had for so many years.

What's more, my darling husband, is that they need you. Being part of this group will compliment them just as much as it will you. Every day I woke and thanked the stars I met you and soon I will look down from those same stars and thank you all for looking after each other. I have no need to tell you how to treat them. Your heart will tell you that, but my one request is that you look after Mandy and Amy for me. 

Although all four come to you with damaged backgrounds, the love you give each of them will act as a calming palm to each.

My love for you won't end and I can only hope you love each of them just as much.

Yours forever 

Ginny

I read the letter twice and cried both times. I phoned Amy and an hour later she knocked on the storage unit door. I sat her down and she read the letter as well. 

"Ginny told me she was going to leave you this letter. I knew she planned to write it when I left. The plan was to give it to you just before it was time to leave the house and live with us all. But Ginny got real sick that night and I never knew if she wrote it or where she put it if she had."

I handed Amy the jewelry box and showed her the hidden catch and once again the click was heard before the cover slid back to reveal it's hiding place. She smiled and shook her head in wonder before placing the box back in my hands.

"It's not my place to say what you do with Ginny's things, but perhaps you may want to consider giving that box to Beth."

I couldn't think of a reason why not.

"I'm going to show the rest of the girls this letter as well, it belongs to us all. I'll give Beth the box then."

Something in the letter nagged at me.

"I understand why I have to look after Mandy but why did Ginny think you needed looking after as well?"

At first I thought she wasn't going to answer.

"Slave stood and said to my face that I was the strongest yet also the weakest of us all. She didn't lie, slave can see more than any of us give her credit for. I divorced my husband because he couldn't keep it in his pants. When I confronted him about it he raped me. He told me it was my farewell gift from him."

A cold feeling seeped down my spine as I looked at her.

"Why did you take Mandy's place at the hotel? You knew what I needed, yet you instigated it."

Her eyes went so hard for a moment. Finally she breathed.

"We took an oath and I went into it with my eyes open. That day may have come, it may not have. I was ready either way. But don't you ever think that you are my ex-husband. What you did to me was an emotional release. What my ex did to me took him a week of constant abuse and raping me, so I've been to worse places than you can take me."

"Where is your ex now?"

"Dead, died in jail a year into his prison sentence. It seems inmates hate three things more than anything. An informant, a pedophile and a rapist."

She knew I was going to ask so she explained in detail what her ex had done When they had their argument he had tied her to the bed and raped her for a week. Once his anger had subsided enough, he had realized what he had done and knew he was going to jail so he continued to rape her at his leisure. Also in there was him phoning his friends and inviting them around as well. It may have gone on for longer but she managed to get loose and called the police.

"I don't expect you to need this body when Mandy is around, so I'm ok with your daemons getting out once in awhile. Besides, my therapist needed some new material. The old stuff was getting boring." 

Amy stopped me before I had a chance to say anything.

"I get loved by you. Remember that because I do and wake with a smile on my lips every morning I wake next to you. Our promise to each other is set in stone. We all went into it with our eyes open. The only thing that changed was that you found slave and to have done that you already had the daemons in your head but they were dormant because of Ginny."

Amy helped me pick everything up and watched as I closed the storage unit once again. She had taken the rest of the day off, so we went back to her place and made love. I called a meeting of the girls for the next day and Beth had asked her folks if they could have the children for an hour or two after school so we could have our meeting.

The letter got handed around and the box of tissues followed the letter. At first Beth refused the box until I handed over the jewelry Ginny had wanted either Beth or her daughter to have as part of the will. The box of tissues lived next to her for the rest of the meeting.

"I was going to do this later and individually but since I do have you all here."

I handed to each of the girls an envelope; once they each opened it the confused looks took hold.

"You will see dates on each of the cards. The dates cover a two week period that also includes your birthdays. Please place in your diaries those dates and make sure you have that two weeks off. I will accept family emergencies, but if you can't take time off even with the notice I have given you because it is work related, then you forfeit those two weeks for a year." 

My gut instinct said that Wendy would initiate the questions. I was wrong, Carol spoke first. "Ok, do we get any clue?"

"None at all, I will give you each an idea of what to pack by the theme I give you. Other than that all the arrangements are being made by me."

We all heard Wendy mumble to herself just a little louder than she thought she had. "God damn period better not get in the way."

The howls and catcalls, not to mention the finger pointing, took over the meeting then. I did notice the girls place their card back into the envelope and disappear into bags. Beth stood and walked up to me, her card still in her hand.

"My birthday is in four weeks, what do I pack?"

"You're different. I have to be open with you since the children are involved. Your folks already know and have the tickets. For the first week we are off to Disney, the second week your folks are bringing the children back here with them and sitting while I take you away for the second week." 

Beth started to smile.

"And that's the week you're not going to tell me about?"

She knew the answer to that even before she asked it. Beth held her card close to her chest, leaned in and kissed me. We came up for air with the sounds of wolf whistles and telling us to get a room.

*******

I followed Wendy home that evening. She went to the bedroom and I started the hot tub and got us some drinks. It was a naked Wendy that was already pulling my pants down before I had even put the tray of drinks down. She let me sit before she sat on my lap.

"Ok, what's on your mind?"

"What makes you think I have something on my mind?"

"Because I'm naked and sat on your lap and you're not hard. I'm glad I know you all too well or you would have put a real dent in my ego."

Although we both giggled at her remark I knew Wendy meant every word of it. 

"Charlie Morgan did well for himself when he married you."

I had meant it as a compliment, little did I realize how that was going to come back and bite me on the ass.

Wendy wrapped her arms around me before she placed her head on my shoulder.

"I met my late husband at a convention; his company was looking into upgrading the machinery in one of the plants. I was in my final year of college and worked part time with the sales team at Arden's. Charlie heard the sales pitch, read all the brochures and said he wanted to come back to the plant to see what he was getting for his money."

Charlie Morgan was always happy to look for what he wanted but when it came to parting with cash he wanted to know every detail. When he went to Arden's the sales and technical team went full on. The next few days threw him and Wendy together on more than one occasion, yet only when the deal was signed did he ask Wendy to dinner. It seemed one dinner led to another and although the friendliness turned into love, the age gap always felt like a shadow that followed them.

It took a year of seeing each other before Charlie felt it was time to pop the question, but Charlie still did what he did best. He sat Wendy down and pulled a file out of his briefcase. He had put a PI firm on Wendy for a month; Charlie knew more about Wendy than she knew about herself. At first she was pissed but to Wendy love was love and if that's what Charlie needed to do for him to know she loved him, then so be it.

That same evening Charlie asked her to marry him. She agreed and asked when she was going to be handed the pre-nup since she didn't want to be ambushed again like she was with the PI report. Charlie's reply sealed the deal in there marriage. He told Wendy habit made him do what he did. They were both going into this marriage without a pre-nup agreement.

Yes, Charlie Morgan did well when he met and later married Wendy. To many she was nothing more than a gold digger but Charlie's PI report meant he knew better. A straight A student who worked her way through college and already had her foot in the door at Arden's when Charlie met her and that's when the real woman not the facts and figures in a PI report made the difference.

"And so my love, now you know the feeling was mutual and that Wendy Morgan did well for herself. What is it that's stopping me from getting a little loving this warm evening?"

I'm so glad she didn't see me smile.

"I want to pitch an idea to you before I go to the others and I don't want to do it while your still in 'I've just been fucked' mode so you don't think I'm taking advantage of you."

This time her head came away from my shoulder. Her laughing must have been heard by the neighbors. When she calmed enough to take a sip of her drink and replace it on the tray she stood and straddled my legs, her hand went beneath the water and my attention was on her hand gently bringing me to hardness.

"I think better when I'm full. We can discuss what's on your mind when this is comfortable inside me. But sometime tonight I need this in my ass so please save the last one for that." 

I had to laugh when she said that. 

"Romance has never been dead around you, has it?"

For a moment anger clouded her eyes before she realized I was joking. Her smile came to her, yet it felt like she was forcing it to be there.

"Just setting out the menu for you, honey. Please don't joke about my love for you; it's been real since the day of the party when you warned me of Steven Osterman."

Her hand left my hardness and both clasped my head, her look was intense.

"I do love you, never doubt that. We love you, don't ever doubt that either. Ginny's gift to us was you and we all plan to treasure that for the rest of our lives. I know we joke about many things, just don't joke about that. Please don't."

Her hands never moved as her body lifted. My hand left my side and I held myself as Wendy started to sit down on my cock. The sigh was slow and when her pussy touched my hand and I moved out of the way she smiled a thank you and continued to ease herself onto me. When her ass became comfortable with my lap her moan was replaced with a kiss. 




Keeping Company Ch. 03



"Ok, you have my attention. However, I reserve the right to move about on this if the urge takes me while we talk."

Hell, I laughed, don't you just love a woman who can multi-task. I also took Wendy at her word and as we talked occasionally she would move and in turn I would either run her nipple between finger and thumb or push my thumb down on her hood. She lost her train of thought a couple of times between moans of pleasure.

In the end we both gave up all pretext of having any form of conversation and I lifted her onto the edge of the hot tub. Her arms came around me and I thrust into her. The urgency of both our actions pushed us onwards. Wendy used what limited movement she could and finally her head went back, her mouth opened and her moan followed her head as it rested into my shoulder and neck.

Her pussy clamped around me and held me. As her orgasm came to her, that pussy of hers pulled mine from me, flooding her womb with everything I had. I gasped and held on until I started to wilt, it was only then that Wendy let me go and leaned further back against the hot-tub. For a moment she said nothing but the grin and devilment in her eyes told me that wouldn't last long.

Wendy waited until I left her pussy and took a step back before her legs lifted and her heels rested on the edge of the tub. Her hand went to her bloated pussy. At first her whole hand rubbed it then a finger would disappear inside.

"It occurred to me that I've never done this for you before. Get on your knees in the tub, your going to get a better view that way."

As I knelt her smile became more mischievous and her body moved back to rest on the decking. At first she was slow, raising the palm of her hand and licking it as her pussy lips gapped slightly, letting our juices ooze from her, before her other hand repeated the same action as her first.

When our cum ceased to seep from Wendy's pussy, her fingers would start from the base of her pussy and move upwards, parting her lips as she did and ending up at her clit, circling it and forcing her hood to become more aroused and in turn exposing more of her clit to me.

My finger pushed against her ass. Her toes curled inwards and a moan escaped her lips before she frantically started to rub hard on her hood. Another of my fingers joined the first, opening her ass for me. Wendy's ass lifted off the deck for a moment and her legs moved further apart. Her own fingers took on a more frantic movement, her breathing became erratic and suddenly her finger stopped.

She gave out a low groan and her body arched upwards and her finger sank into her totally abused pussy. Wendy bucked and gasped as her own orgasm ravaged her body. Suddenly her legs clamped together, holding her hand inside her pussy, refusing to let that final form of pleasure leave until it had served its purpose. Her body rolled onto its side. The last vestiges of her orgasm made her whole body glow.

Her first words were a barely audible whisper. She smiled and tried again and this time she took a deep breath before she spoke.

"I've always wanted to do that for you. The others want to as well. Please let them, you will enjoy it."

Wendy watched me pick her up and hold her close to me as I sat back in the hot-tub. She was that far gone, all she could do was watch and smile. Even moving her head to rest on my chest looked like it took what was left of her reserve. I rested my chin on her head and listened to her breathing.

*******

The next morning as Wendy left for the office I showered and then went to see Carol. Beth met me at the reception and we talked about Disney on the way to the office. Once we settled down I told Carol about my idea while Beth listened and took notes.

"Why haven't you called a meeting on this?"

"Carol, it's just an idea. Individually we can all buy it, but I want to test the water and see if it's going to float. Between us, we all can make it happen but I would prefer to sound people out first and then call a meeting to hammer the details out if everyone agrees."

Carol spotted Beth writing and went to say something, I headed her off.

"Oh, that reminds me, I need Beth tomorrow afternoon at Amy's office. Mandy will be there as well. It's for Beth's benefit so I'm making you aware of it, but it won't affect the group."

Beth looked up from her notes. Carol nodded and asked Beth to make arrangements to have someone cover for her. Beth nodded to Carol and then looked at me.

"What have I done wrong?"

"Nothing I'm aware of. I can tell you but it would spoil the surprise. Think about it again and if you want to know then ask me again."

When Beth looked at Carol all she did was shrug her shoulders. We could clearly see she wanted to ask again, instead she decided on looking forward to the surprise. I kissed them both good bye and told Carol we were going out to dinner tonight. The smile I got as I left her office meant I surprised her as well today. Beth accompanied me to reception again.

"Would you have told me if I had asked?"

"Yes, although I'm glad you trust me enough to let me surprise you once in a while."

On the drive back to Wendy's place I booked a table at Hamilton's and a room at the Marriott next door as well. While I was at Wendy's, I took the opportunity to have a video conference with Mandy and Amy. They listened, told me I was nuts and they would get the paperwork ready for the meeting tomorrow. God, I love my girls.

By the time I let myself into Carol-Anne's apartment she was just getting out of the shower. The temptation to get her all dirty again was almost impossible to decline, especially when I told her to dress casual and pack an overnight with enough for this evening and clothes for work tomorrow. The towel hit the floor three feet from where she originally stood. I was as hard as steel by the time she had her arms around my neck.

We got to the Marriott and changed, and then had dinner. I told Carol-Anne about the meeting tomorrow as we walked across to the Hamilton. She mirrored what Amy and Mandy said word for word. We talked and laughed and we fooled around a lot when we got back to the Marriott. 

I was looking at the ceiling of our room at the Marriott in the early hours with Carol laying with her head on my chest, both of us catching our breath.

"I want to suggest something but you need to hear me out, ok?"

Although I remained silent, my hand gently run up her spine and rested on her shoulder.

"We love you and we all love the surprises you keep giving us. I know I needed tonight so badly and I couldn't believe you caught on to my mood like that this afternoon."

Although her head came away from my chest to look at me, her hand went to my cock and her fingers wrapped themselves around it, gently stroking me as she looked at me.

"We can share and we honestly don't mind. I'm being selfish tonight but if we were back at my apartment I would be ok with another one of the girls with us."

My hand wrapped around her hair.

"I will keep that in mind and figure on it happening, but you all still deserve alone time and I will still work on those, as well."

I used her hair to pull her up my body and made her straddled my chest before I let go. The smile from this woman just melts my heart; it was the look of devilment in her eyes that worried me a little.

"That was mean. I guess I'm going to have to punish you now."

She did as well. I managed to get out of bed the next morning and to the shower on pure will power. Carol drained me dry and even spent another twenty minutes on trying to get jnr up one more time before even she conceded defeat. 

*******

I met Beth by the reception desk of Amy's law firm. One of their people took us upstairs and all four of us met in one of the conference rooms. We all caught up for a few minutes but it was clear to see from the girls they were waiting for me to initiate this meeting.

"Beth, are you happy?"

The girls stopped talking and waited for an answer.

"A year ago my life was in the shitter with no view over the edge of the bowl. You guys came along and buried the bastard and in one evening made my life ten times better. You offered me membership and relocation here. I have better and more variety of sex since I've had a sex life and I have a job with a boss I love."

Both Amy and I looked at each other; we knew she hadn't answered the question. We knew why and understood. I had hoped that she was comfortable enough around us all to have actually answered the question. Amy put two envelopes on the table in front of Beth, a third one stayed next to her right hand ready to be placed next to the first two.

I tried one more time. "Beth, are you happy?"

This time her eyes scanned every person in the room before they came back to me. She nodded her head before she spoke.

"I sometimes think this is all a dream and I will wake up in that ratty house. I love all of you. I genuinely do. It feels warm and comforting that you are all looking out for the children and me and, of course, my folks. I have friends now and a bank account that never falls into the red, not to mention a credit card that I never have to think twice about using." 

Her eyes welled up and her cheeks took on a flushed color.

"I'm still finding my comfort level around you guys and when you talk about schemes like the one you were talking about yesterday, I feel left out. What can I contribute to it other than an opinion? I refuse to say I'm the kept woman. I feel more like the poor cousin and it hurts." 

She watched as I sat next to her and pulled the first envelope towards me and then gave it to Beth. She looked at it for a moment and then looked towards Amy, who smiled and nodded back at Beth. She pulled out a sheet of paper and looked at it for a moment, still not understanding anything.

"That section is from Ginny's original will. I found her copy amongst the stuff I have in the lock up. The section you're reading there is what she planed to give to Steven on her death before she cut him out of her will entirely. I will not only honor that amount but match it as well so the figure you see there, double."

Poor Beth began to cry. Suddenly being handed ten million dollars would do that to you, I suppose.

"Mandy will handle all the taxes, so don't think you have an account in the Cayman Island. Your bank is still the same. Amy will sort out any legal issues that may arise, but between them they have it covered. It will take a few days to get it sorted but we figure that by the end of this month you are no longer the poor cousin." 

Once again I leaned across the table and pulled the second envelope over and handed it to Beth. The six pages were all in legal words and had her lost at the first paragraph. Amy stated that it was a confidentiality agreement that she could no longer talk about the group or its members to anyone. Mandy slid a pen across and we all watched her sign it. Amy's hand went under the table for a moment and within seconds a woman came in and signed next to Beth's and stamped it before taking the document away, closing the conference door behind her. 

This time I was the one close to tears. "Beth, are you happy?"

She smiled, nodded and even said yes.

"Good. We will honor our agreement Beth, please honor yours."

Amy slid the last envelope across to Beth this time and she attacked it with gusto, thinking it was another present. The pictures showed Beth and another man entering a hotel room and the time date stamp showed them coming out four hours later. 

I had to calm myself before I spoke again.

"Think about what your next move is, Beth. Although, first I would consider a trip to the clinic to get tested. We don't blame you, Beth. If there is any finger pointing to be done it's at us for even considering giving you membership so soon. Let me know via Amy when you want to vacate to house." 

I thanked the girls and left. I made it to the bathroom, washed my face and found Mandy waiting for me when I came out. That woman is part blood hound, I swear. We walked in silence back to her car.

"All the girls are by their cell phones waiting. Who do you wish to join us tonight?"

"Tomorrow is Friday, how about we all meet at Wendy's place. Get drunk and abuse the hot-tub and each other."

"Agreed but who do you wish to join us tonight?"

It was time to give her a hug; I even kissed her neck before I let her loose again.

"I can't keep doing this to you, Mandy. It's got to be taking its toll on you."

Keeping up with the person known as Mandy was difficult, at the best of times. The range of emotions that crossed her face made me sad and confused. Finally she breathed in and out, just once to emphasize what she was about to say.

"All that is in front of you is yours; you own it and have done since the day you found slave."

Mandy pointed to the middle of her chest.

"Your brand is in here, you own slave. If what you do to slave is too much she will ask the rest of the girls for help. It is our promise to each other."

I opened her door for her and kissed her goodbye before she got in and drove off. When Mandy first told me slave was mine I had no idea what I was doing. Even the information on the internet was sketchy at best on how to treat a slave. The few web sites I did find that didn't include leaving a slave bruised and battered as a good days work, I read and studied.

Just how could Ginny think I could do to slave what she expects me to do? Yet, I was told by Ginny I was to look after Mandy. As I watched her car turn at the lights I did smile. For a submissive she did manage to bully me into naming Wendy as the girl coming to join us later tonight.

*******

Carol phoned and told me Beth had come back to work. She was adamant that she loved her job and unless Carol sacked her she wasn't giving it up. When I asked what she did next, she simply told me that she put Beth back to work.

I said it with flowers to Wendy and Mandy the next morning. Neither one of them gave me time to think about the meeting that afternoon. It was late in the evening when I asked slave to let slut out for awhile to give her a rest. It was like someone replaced the batteries in Mandy. Wendy and I even ganged up on slut and she still beat us both, come the early hours of the morning. 

After sounding out the girls when we were all in the hot-tub on Friday, they were all in agreement. We would pool a sum of money each and get some land and add a cabin. Not an original idea but to us it was going to be our retreat, still close enough to our homes but somewhere we could all gather and chill out, burn some meat and spend holiday weekends there. We doubted greatly what we wanted was already out there, so we braced ourselves, knowing we could well be starting from scratch.

Amy once again phoned her realtor friend and she told us she would see what's out there first before spreading her net. Although we gave her a list of what we were looking for, we also emphasized that nothing was set in stone. If we could find a place that came near what we were looking for, we were more than happy to build to get the end result. 

Two weeks later I got a call from Beth. We met for lunch around the corner from Mackenzie's. She looked like a cross between not wanting to be there and dreading the confrontation that she believed was coming.

"I want to thank you for the money."

Shrugging my shoulders let me think how best to answer her.

"I think Ginny can see the irony of it all. If Steven hadn't have been such a bastard he would have been quite comfortable for the rest of his life. She would have been pleased that you got it. I'm sure I found her original will for a reason. Perhaps you getting it was that reason."

"I want to keep my job. I like working for Carol-Anne. I never understood before why you and Ginny kept working even though you had all that money."

My comfort level with the way this conversation was going started to get a little thin.

"You asked to meet me Beth, what is it you want?"

Beth looked at me like I had just slapped her. She pulled her bag off the floor and looked inside, moved some things around and her hand came out with an envelope. She then handed it to me; I read it and handed it back to her.

"I did as you asked, even though I made him wear condoms. I'm clean."

Her hand went back into her bag and brought out another envelope. I recognized it and the card that would be inside. Her birthday was seven days away.

"You haven't mentioned this since that day. You haven't even talked to me since Amy's office. I know the group has frozen me out."

The fact we were even discussing this in a public place annoyed the shit out of me. Had she learned nothing from the attack from Mandy when she told her folks about us? I stood and tossed a tip onto the table and then went and paid the bill. She caught up with me at the door of the restaurant and grabbed for my arm.

"Please, I'm sorry. But I need to talk to someone about this and all the girls look to you for direction. Yes, I fucked him and I'm sorry, but I can't change that no matter how much I want to."

I was still bloody angry with the situation she put me in.

"Mandy's tonight at seven, plan on staying the night. If you can't get your folks to sit for you call me and one of the girls will stay over."

Her smile lit up her face.

"Don't think for a moment it's going to be a cake walk. Mandy is going to be in attack mode and I plan to let her off the leash."

Beth's face dropped. I still wanted to emphasize my point so I grabbed her arm and pulled her further away from the door and leaned next her ear.

"You had your free pass when you fucked us over to your folks. Tonight you get one choice and one only, so keep that in mind before you knock on Mandy's door."

I let her go, all too aware of the people watching from inside the restaurant. I'm not sure what Beth did after I walked away. Amy's cell went straight to voice and when I phoned her office she was in conference. There seemed little point in leaving a message so I told her secretary not to bother her. I did spend the rest of the afternoon talking to all the girls and sounding them out.

None of us looked on Beth as a lost cause, but she admitted herself that she was young and still did stupid things. It was those stupid things that worried us all. Mandy and I watched Beth get out of a car, the driver moved it to the back of the car park and stayed in it. As she walked towards the entrance to Mandy's apartment block we both knew ahead of time how this meeting was going.

Beth sat and held onto her coffee. She had barely said ten words in the time we met her at the door and walked to the kitchen to grab our drinks. I had Mandy wear a collar. She understood it could get messy and the collar would hold her back. She would stay quiet until she was allowed to speak.

It took all of three minutes from the time Beth sat down to see were this meeting was going. I was struck with the similarity with the old saying of 'cake and eat it' all too well. Beth wanted to keep the house. She loved her job and wanted to keep that. Also, she asked if it would be ok for the new boyfriend to move in as well. As for me I was just grateful that I collared Mandy before we started. 

"Beth, the house is mine and Ginny's. It's only leased to you on a yearly basis. If you want to buy it I will get the house valued and regardless of the valuation, sell it to you for ten million."

Already in the distance I could feel myself getting used to not seeing my grandchildren again and that saddened me. 

"As for your job, you will have to take that up with your boss, although I heard she is looking to downsize some departments. I would talk to her real quick if I was you."

Beth had yet to speak. I just filled in the gaps while we waited.




Keeping Company Ch. 03



"The tenancy agreement with your folks was fine the last time I looked."

That provoked her. She stood and paced, knitting her fingers together as she did.

"Why are you doing this? You know I want to remain part of the group. I came here to confirm that with both of you and take whatever punishment was necessary for my stupidity earlier."

"It was never your stupidity, Beth. It was ours. Perhaps one day you will mean what you say, but then again, I have doubts. The one thing I won't allow is for you to use the children against us. We would all rather see you took them and your boyfriend and do what they do in those old westerns. Disappear into the sunset."

Beth stopped pacing; her stare became a gaze as her cheeks flushed a distinct red.

"You all hate me that much?"

"Far from it, Beth. We all love you too much to tie you down with a bunch of old folks. You're young and you need people your own age to grow old with. Amy has arranged for both the children's college fees so you will never have to put anything aside for them. However, if you have more children then we expect you to foot the bill for his or her education."

We both saw her wince at my remark. When I glanced out the window, the guy had left the car and was leaning against it, smoking a cigarette. 

"I think your ride is getting impatient."

By the time I had turned away from the window, Beth had her coat in her hand. Mandy walked with her to the door but when Beth leaned in to give her a kiss, Mandy took a step back and shook her head before closing the door.

Mandy rested her head against the door for a moment before coming back into the room. I waited until the car left the car park before I took the collar off.

"If she had asked why we stuck a PI on her, would you have told her?"

Shaking my head answered her question up to a point.

"How would she have felt if she found out her own folks phoned Amy and told her that she was seeing an old boyfriend she paid to have flown down here. I'm grateful they recognized him and tipped Amy off. She needs her folks but I wonder if she will ever realize it herself." 

"Which of the girls do you want me to call?"

This time I looked at her and smiled.

"None, give slave an evening off. It's time for me to show slut she can't win every match we have."

Her eyes seemed to distance for a moment but the smile that came back seconds later told me enough.

"You're a man. Of course I can." 

*******

We all sat in one of the conference room at Amy's law firm. It was strange to see us all in one place in broad daylight. We let Amy introduce her friend Annabelle Foster, although we knew her as the Realtor woman. It was odd to see her but it was on Annabelle's insistence. When Amy said that wasn't possible she told Amy why. By the end of the week we all turned up and waited.

Annabelle took hold of the remote and held it to her side.

"Thank you for allowing me to do this. I understand it's unorthodox in two ways. You told me what you were looking for and as a realtor that's what I'm supposed to find. Plus my main point of contact was supposed to be Amy, yet I asked her to bring you folks together. Like I said, unorthodox."

Her thumb pushed one of the buttons on the remote and the screen to one side of Annabelle showed an aerial view.

"I've looked around and couldn't find anything that ticked all the boxes on your list. I did notice the top of that list was privacy. I know I'm going way outside my remit here, folks, but I wanted to run this by you all. This is the Lazy Z Ranch situated an hours drive from this very office. It hit hard times when the slump came but they hung in there. Folks, this could well be the answer to your search."

Again her thumb pushed down on the remote and a square appeared over one section of land.

"In total its seven thousand acres, a farm house, various outbuildings and stocks. It's been owned by the same family for close to a hundred years. The family doesn't want to sell but they are looking for investors. In return for you investing in the ranch they will offer you a hundred year lease on this stretch of land." 

Annabelle clicked the remote again and the square magnified.

"That's twenty acres of land set in the middle of the grazing land. Total privacy all around and I do mean total. You'll find nothing but cows for well over a hundred acres in all four directions. The family is happy to site a cabin in the middle and get a road run up from their farm house to your cabin on condition that the road isn't wired off. That land has to remain free for grazing."

Another click showed an overlay of a road from the main farm house directly to the plot of land in question.

"Folks, you can't get much more private than this. One road leads in and out and nothing but grass and cows for miles. The utilities will be laid the same time the road goes in and the cabin will be built to your specifications."

We all saw the hard sell coming.

"These are good people who don't want to sell off plots of land to survive, only to never get it back when the economy turns itself around again. This way you all get what you want. The Colson family gets a much needed silent partner and you folks get more privacy than you could ever wish for."

Everyone asked good questions and Annabelle did her best to answer our questions. After another hour we said we would be in touch. It was only when she left the conference room that all hell broke loose. It was plain to see that Amy, Wendy and Carol wanted this. When I turned to Mandy and asked her, she told everybody 'I go where you go'. It was a slam-dunk.

Amy and Mandy got stuck into the legal and financial side while Wendy and Carol pulled laptops open and set about looking into the history of the ranch and designers for the cabin. As for me, I got off my ass and went to visit the Colson's. They were a nice bunch of folks, three sons working the ranch plus one in the army and two daughters. It seemed Mr. and Mrs. Colson didn't have a TV, so needed something to do at night.

Hank took me out to the piece of land they would let us lease; I took a few pictures of the scenery as Hank set about marking out what twenty acres looked like so I could get a clearer picture in my own head. We both understood that if we did eventually put pen to paper, everything would be surveyed, but you got the impression that Hank was old school.

To this man his word was his bond. Hank Colson insisted I stay for dinner. Just before we sat down to dinner Mandy turned up and Hank insisted we stay the night. Other than her initial greeting, Mandy did what she does best; she watched. I liked these folks and smiled to myself when Meredith Colson leaned over to me and commented on the fact that Mandy didn't say much. I did of course get one of those looks when I explained Mandy was very shy and needed a while to get used to strangers.

We both felt real awkward when one of the boys gave up his room for the night so Mandy and I could stay over. Although, he blushed when Mandy leaned into him and gave him a kiss on the cheek as a thank you. As we lay together I asked her opinion.

"Nice folks. All church goers. We could have a problem with Laurel though, she's a submissive."

"Do you think her folks know?"

"Doubt it, she hides it well. The problem is she knows I am and if I'm with you she has figured out what you are as well."

I wasn't about to ask Mandy if she could be wrong. Before we slept we decided to let the girls know and let them decide if it could be a problem. The noise coming from the kitchen at four thirty in the morning was a gentle reminder that this was still a working ranch. By the time Mandy and I got downstairs the only ones left in the house were Meredith and Laurel.

Poor Mandy nearly had a heart attack when her breakfast was put in front of her. She did her best and I'm grateful that Meredith didn't think she was insulting her cooking when she left half of it. Annabelle Foster brought the rest of the girls up with her and Hank, Amy, Mandy and Annabelle went and sat in the kitchen for a couple of hours. Everyone was smiling when they came out. It meant all that needed to be done was the paperwork.

I took Wendy and Carol with me to see the site; the posts were still in the ground so they could see what we got for twenty acres. They barely glanced at the posts because the view won these two over. It took another couple of weeks to come up with the contracts and sort out other issues. We only went back once before the signing, to let the Colson's see what we planned to have built on the land. To us it was a need to do thing.

We may be getting the privacy we wanted and the idea that we leased the land rather than buy it appealed to us all. When we were gone, to the Colson's we would be a blip in their history as those crazy rich folks who built a cabin on land they never truly owned. But the girls were forward thinkers. Once the last of us died the group would too. Our experience with Beth taught us never to repeat past mistakes, there would never again be an offer of membership on the table for anyone.

But what would be the point of owning something none of us could use when we were dead? Sound morbid? I'm sure to many it would, for the likes of Wendy the factory will live on, as would the law firm that Amy was a partner in and Carol-Anne Mackenzie and her company along with Mandy's accounting firm. All employed people that needed those jobs and would be taken care of when the owners of those companies retire or die. 

But what we all looked at when Annabelle came up with the Lazy Z Ranch was that we could have our privacy. The Colson family would see to that. A hundred year lease meant nothing to us; we would all be long dead by then. But the silent partnership in the Ranch kept the ranch and the family alive and that meant everything to us. 

The girls had found an architect who would design a self-sufficient two story cabin; solar panels on the roof, water storage tanks built underground that stored rain water. It would then clean and purify it for use as drinking water. We all knew that the road in was a necessity but this way no utilities had to be piped in. The whole family liked what we wanted to do. 

Hank did suggest we put a wind powered water pump in as well. They would test for water and if they found some then it would be fine as a back up for the water storage tank. If not then use the water pump as a back up to the solar panels to generate electricity. So within four weeks of Annabelle Foster's presentation the contracts were signed. Six months later we held a cook out at the cabin and invited the whole Colson family.

*******

We were the most silent partners Hank and his family could ever wish for. They re-invested in the farm with updated machinery, trucks and breeding stock. They also found time to send Laurel off to veterinary college and most of all; they cleared the debt with the bank. For our part, we popped in to see Hank and Meredith once in a while and found ourselves still there for at least one meal. 

The cabin didn't need a security system, being slap in the middle of a ranch and surrounded by nothing but fields and cows. With the only road in and out going past Hank Colson's place they all knew when we were in or away. When the cabin was empty Hank would either send one of his children up once in a while to check or drive over himself.

There were times we never saw any of the Colson family unless we invited them over. We also made sure we kept away at times like round-ups, although we always seemed to get invited to family birthdays and wedding as the children got older. We all attended Meredith's funeral five years after our first cook out at the cabin. Hank followed his wife a year later and most said it was old age. We all knew it was a broken heart.

Jonathan became the head of the Colson family. He came to visit straight from the lawyer's office. We all sat and talked. He offered to make the land deal permanent and we thanked him but wanted to honor the agreement we had with Hank. He told us he had a talk with his father a few weeks before he died, about us. Hank told him to leave us be, don't ever invade our privacy and above all, be honest with us.

None of us at the meeting knew why he was saying this; although it was clear he was struggling with himself over it.

"Charlie told dad once that you were all swingers and perverts and we should get rid of you before we became a laughing stock. Dad beat the crap out of him that night. I have never seen my dad so angry at anyone, let alone one of his own sons."

Jonathan couldn't continue, the memory of his father still strong in his mind. His wife held onto his hand for a moment before she spoke.

"Hank told us all to leave you folks be. He warned all of us he would disown any of us that confronted any of you folks. He said that you had your reasons and to leave it at that."

Mentally I'm sure we were all thinking about what we needed to pack up now and what to come back for later. 

"The thing is we need your help. Dad did what he could and Mom, God bless her soul, covered things up so nothing became public. But we've run out of time. The family knows why we are here and agree with each of us. Even Charlie says his sorry and didn't understand like he should have."

Wendy's voice pierced the hurried speech being made by Jonathan's wife. "Wait a moment. What are you talking about?"

By now Jonathan had regrouped and took over again from his wife.

"My dad wanted to come to you folks."

This time he looked directly at Mandy.

"When we sent Laurel to college we didn't know. But you did, didn't you? We love our sister but she came of age when she got there and fell in with the wrong crowd. Dad said you're a submissive, that's why you knew what Laurel was. Mom went to see her and got her head straight enough for her to finish college. She's a vet now." 

Both husband and wife looked at each other one final time. We all watched them clench there hand tight together once more before Jonathan looked at me. 

"We, the family, have come to ask you to take Laurel in. Let her live here when you folks live in the city. None of us know how to handle our sister the way she is. We could make things worse and we don't want that for our sister. She's blood and we want to protect her."

Carol stood. "Now wait a minute."

Jonathan held out his hand to stop her.

"I trusted my father with everything. I loved that man and would have died for him had he asked. He told us all when he turned on Charlie that the one group of people he trusted outside his family was each of you."

The pause wasn't for effect, it was clear to see what he was about to say hurt him deeply. He just could find another way.

"We don't know what a submissive is. Jodie here looked it up on the internet and told me I was best not knowing. We could damage her by trying to protect her. With you folks she would be safe. My dad trusted you and to this family that's the best recommendation anyone could have, so I'm asking again. Will you folks look after Laurel for us, give her what she seems to need and keep her safe?" 

Our time with Beth still hung over us and to agree to this would mean we would have to change our own agreement. As I turned to Amy who was looking at Jonathan, her question made us realize we had so little time to decide.

"When is she due back?"

"Her plane lands in an hour. Charlie is at the airport now, waiting for her."

Even a quick glance at the girls showed me the turmoil this had given them. We all liked the Colson's. Hank and Meredith had been our closest friends. We had already talked to Hank about setting up a building and kitting it out as a permanent animal hospital for Laurel when she came back, as this year's injection of funds into the Lazy Z Ranch.

His death hit everyone hard and other than the funeral we kept clear of the Ranch so that they could grieve. It was Jonathan that phoned Amy and asked if we could all be at the cabin today since he had something important to the family to discus. We just assumed it had to do with the hospital building.

Mandy stood up and looked at both of them. "Do you all really understand what it is you want from us? What makes you believe she is what you say she is?"

Jonathan went to speak but Jodie placed her hand on his shoulder to stop him. She stood and walked toward Mandy. Once face to face she held out her hand, Mandy watched and instinctively held hers out as well before Jodie led her to a couch at the other end of the room. Both sat and talked in whispers and it was clear Jodie was trying to help her husband.

Being amongst us and talking about his sister like he was clearly placed a great deal of strain on him. I signaled for him to follow me and we went for a walk around the cabin. We talked about the new stock that had arrived last week. The building that would be up and working a month before round-up and Jonathan's eldest getting ready for senior school.

As we rounded the cabin for the third time, Wendy was waiting for us and signaled us inside. All the girls including Jodie stood waiting for us in the middle of the room. She looked at Mandy and she in turn looked towards Jonathan.

"The rest of the group is leaving soon but I'm staying. Laurel can come here for now and I will talk to her and find out her needs. She has needs Jonathan, that doesn't make her a freak. Your whole family is welcome to visit Laurel as often as you wish to but you must phone ahead first."

I'm not sure he expected conditions.

"I'm taking a week off work, what I can't leave to my staff I will do from here and we will meet here again at the end of that week. The final decision will be your sister's, Jonathan." 

His wife walked to him and once again stood by his side; their hands sought and found each others before their fingers once again interlocked. With a reassuring smile from his wife Jonathan nodded his head and thanked us all before leaving. The rest of the girls and I packed up and left an hour later. It's been Amy that has phoned Mandy every day. Each of the girls had gone there for the day, although they all returned that same evening.

We are all due there tomorrow evening after work for the weekend. None of the girls has talked to me about what's going on and that worries and assures me at the same time. All I do know is that the vote is on Sunday. What happens after that I'm not sure any of us want to take a guess at.

The End.



Keeping Company Ch. 04: Revisited



My thanks to Todger65 for the editing of this chapter. Even after all this time many of you have mailed me and told me that this series felt unfinished. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to do just that with these last two chapters.

*****

Other than Amy phoning me to check that I was going to the cabin after my meeting I didn't hear from any of the girls. The drive up there always seemed to be over in an instant not the hour everyone claims. Some of the Colson's children were playing ball and stopped when they saw the car. Their confusion changed to excited smiles and they waved to me when they recognized my car. I smiled and waved back as I turned onto the road to the cabin.

Mandy stood and watched as my car came to a stop. I was wondering if one of our neighbors had phoned her to tell them I was here. She sank to her knees as I walked towards the cabin. She had never done this around me and it left me slightly confused as to why. I sat down beside her, took her hand and silently bade her to rise. We walked hand in hand to the porch swing Wendy insisted we purchase -we thought she was nuts when she skipped excitedly to the thing when she first laid eyes on it- Once seated on the swing I looked towards her with her own gaze focused on the decking in front of me.

There was no reason for this. Mandy and I had too much history together. I sighed as I asked, "It's that bad is it? You kept me out of the loop for a week and I understood why since it was the family that came to us and asked for our help."

Other than a nod she said nothing for a moment. Quietly and sadly she said, "She is inside, there is so much yet to be said and for you to see. Please promise me that you will remain calm."

That in itself should have sent red flags waving.

I didn't move for a while taking one last look at the view from the swing. The vista still awes me to this day. The miracles that nature wrought, puts all our fanciful inventions and creations to shame. With one last look I stood in front of Mandy and helped her up from the swing. She smiled and quickly remembered herself. Her smile left and her features once again became neutral.

Laurel stood in the middle of the day room. I looked around the room and thought that it seemed much bigger and then realizing that Mandy and the girls had moved some of the furniture that normally resides in the room, out. I quickly put my thoughts about the room out of my mind and concentrated on Laurel. I immediately saw that she had indeed grown from a gangly awkward girl to a stunning young woman over the last four years. Her brunette hair that was perpetually in pigtails swinging behind her as she skipped around the ranch was now shorn and sculpted to highlight her lovely brown eyes and sharp cheekbones.

Her waist slimmed and her breasts filled out and standing proud and firm. Her long thin legs are now toned and shapely. But, for all her physical perfection, the beauty that was the essence that made Laurel was gone. Her eyes no longer sparkle with joy, laughter and innocence. They have been replaced with dark coals of fear and pain. The dark circle under her eyes betrayed her silent suffering. She no longer radiated the confidence that could conquer the world.

She seemed to have curled herself into a ball of misery and self-doubt even as she tries to stand tall and present herself to us. I watch her as she fidgeted with her hands clasping and unclasping; her weight shifting from foot to foot and her eyes steadfastly staring at my chest. She was no longer comfortable in her own skin. Seeing the young vivacious girl leaving for her future had come to this broke my heart and I silently mourned for the loss of that precious little girl.

I looked over at Mandy as she watched me assess Laurel. Once she was satisfied that I was able to take in all of Laurel without her interference she walked over to stand next to her. They both knelt before me with their eyes downcast. We had never done this kneeling thing and it made me feel weird. I stood and waited hoping for good news but I knew in my heart that this will be bad. Mandy's behavior and my assessment could mean nothing else

I stood silently waiting as Laurel struggled to start. She leaned ever so slightly into Mandy seeming to need her strength to continue. She drew a shuddering breath and in a soft whisper, "Sir, this slave has finished her course and is now a qualified vet..."

She stopped and clenched her hands digging her nails into her palm. I silently waited for her to gather herself. She took another breath and gathered enough courage to look at my face. She immediately cast her gaze down and bunched her shoulders as if expecting a blow to come for her temerity to look at me. My anger started to rise as I correctly guessed that she was beaten regularly by some sadistic bastard.

She un-bunched her shoulders and knelt a little taller when she realized I was not going to punish her for her imagined transgression. Mandy discreetly rubbed her hand as if to encourage her. She looked quickly at Mandy and drew herself taller and began again with a stronger voice.

"Sir, this slave has finished her course and is now a qualified vet. Before this slave left college her master removed his collar and set this slave free. This slave can no longer function without her master. She begs you to allow this slave to become part of your life ... to live here knowing that slave Mandy is your primary."

My gaze went to Mandy and she turned to Laurel and said, "Show him."

Both girls stood in unison and began to undress. The contrast between them left me speechless. While Mandy looked straight at me teasing me with her eyes as she slowly and sensuously removes her dress, Laurel quickly removes her dress while keeping her eyes locked on my chest. Though Mandy is physically not Laurel's equal, she displays her body to me proudly knowing that I love her just as she is.

Her chestnut hair cascading down her back, her shoulder thrust back offering her breasts to me. She stands tall knowing I enjoy her display. In contrast, Laurel slouches forward slightly folding her shoulder as if she wants to curl up from me to hide her scars. She drops her head causing her hair to drop before her, hiding her face from me. She continues to fidget. Her hands involuntarily moved to cover herself before visibly catching herself and forcing her hands back to her side.

I slowly silently approach the two and lift Mandy's face to me to kiss letting her know I am pleased with her. I signal to Mandy to step away from Laurel as I step in front of her.

I reach out and lift Laurel's face so she can look into my eyes as I whisper, "It will be okay. You are safe with Mandy and me. No one will hurt you as long as you are here with us. I just want to look at you."

She whimpered a little as she briefly nodded her head. What held my gaze was the skin damage across the top half of Laurel's chest just what the fuck had happened at college.

My question was but one word. "Cigarette?"

The nod was brief, her gaze now rooted to the cabin floor. I even took to walking around them both as I looked at the damage done to this poor girl.

I notice the strikes hit indiscriminately across her back not caring that he could have damage her kidneys or other organs.

"Let me guess, flogger?"

The one nod I got from her said so much.

It was the tattoo across her hairless pubic bone that shocked me the most. 'Mike's Cunt.' leapt at you like a warning sign above a sex shop.

Two words came from Mandy's lips. "Turn around."

Again both turned in unison. The skin damage was all across her back and both cheeks of her ass. Again Mandy's voice pierced the air.

"Bend over and place your hands around your ankles."

Mandy did as Laurel did as though rehearsed. The three piercings became obvious to me. The need to be sick was only outweighed by the need to hurt someone called Mike; it was Mandy's voice that was once again the only voice in the room.

"Let go of your ankles and stand, turn and face your master and then kneel."

The duo did just that and waited once again. Mandy knew me too well; she had anticipated my shock and knew I would be slowly set on a boil. She spoke to inform me and to keep Laurel from feeling as though I was about to deny her, her wish.

"The scars you see are from her master when he punished her for even the most minor infractions. He would change his "rules" on a whim and beat her for failing to meet those rules. The tattoo was on his insistence the week before graduation."

I continued to slowly walk around Laurel as Mandy talked; my mind had counted twenty seven burn marks on her back, sixteen on each ass cheek and thirty four across her chest. On my final walk around I stopped in front of her.

I fought the urge to pull her onto her feet and hug her. Judging from the damage caused by her "master" I can just imagine the damage he's done to her psyche. She would not expect ... or accept ... any signs of affection from me. I could do nothing other than ask her to stand and dress again. She quickly and quietly did so. I smiled and nodded my approval to her. She smiled for the first time all afternoon. It was her old smile that lit the world.

Seeing that smile brought the tragedy of the present into high relief. The next thought that passed through me was perhaps there is hope here after all since she can still do it. But, still...

Just what the HELL have we gotten ourselves into? How did Laurel get hooked up with this sadistic bastard "Mike"? I let out a sigh and reminded myself that the whole Colson family asked us to help with their sister. Seeing the damage done to her now I wasn't even sure where to start. The memory of Hank and our last conversation at his bedside came back to me.

We exchanged stories of all our exploits around the ranch and laughed. Hank got serious as our time together wound down.

He said, "I just want to say thank you for saving our ranch. I don't know what we would have done if you didn't come riding to our rescue. We know about you and your family and we accept you and love you. In fact, I consider you one of my closes friends and your family is part of ours."

He paused as if to think. He stared at me a bit before continuing, "I don't want to impose on you and your family but I need a great favor from you ... I need you to look out for Laurel for me when I'm gone. Would you do that for me?"

I said without a second thought, "Absolutely, there is no greater honor than to be trusted with your family."

Hank sunk back into his bed closing his eyes at peace as if a great weight had been lifted from him. He whispered contently to me, "Thank you my friend. You don't know what this means to me."

We had no idea at that time what he meant by this. I told the girls about my promise and we all kind of shrugged and put it out of our collective consciousness. I blinked hard at the memory. Was this what Hank was anticipating? Was this the reason why he asked? Now wasn't the time to let my friend down. He trusted me with one of his own and I promised to do so. I knew that the girls would do everything in their power to help as well.

No wonder none of them talked to me about their time here when they got back. They knew I had to see it for myself. I needed the full impact of my first impression without their input.

I looked at Laurel and said, "Slave, you have done well and I am proud of you. I know you've been through an emotional ordeal having me examine you like this. Please go lie down and rest while I speak with Mandy."

For the first time since I had got here I saw the real Laurel. Her eyes lifted to look at me with tears of hope in her eyes. She nodded and quietly exited the room to rest.

I walked out of the cabin with Mandy following me. I said to Mandy when I judged we were far enough away from the cabin to keep from being overheard, "Mandy speak to me."

"This slave has been mind-fucked. Mike is a sadistic bastard who used Laurel's needs against her. She was systematically broken down and then rebuilt by him. All the time, though, he had convinced her that she was nothing without him. She was ready to crawl back to him and debase herself further so he would take her back after her un-collaring. It's taken me and the girls days of coaxing before she would open up to us. I believe we've broken through some of her programming. We won't know for sure ... well, we may never know for sure but she told me yesterday that she now feels nothing but shame for submitting to Mike. What I do know is that she is a submissive my master, and she is lost."

I was deep in thought trying to absorb what Mandy was telling me as we continue to walk around the cabin. Mandy walked silently beside me giving me space to come to terms with what she said. I looked over to her and asked, "How did this all start?"

Mandy was silent for a time to formulate her response to me, "Do you remember our first meeting with the Colson's? Do you remember me telling you that I thought Laurel was a submissive?" 

I nodded yes, my memories of that day as sharp as ever.

Mandy continued, "Well, she sensed that I was also a submissive at that same meeting. She watched me and you closely over the years and longed for the same thing. She has been pining for you and your relationship with me."

She took a sidelong glance at me and smirked, "I told you, you were irresistible. Even little girls want you."

I groaned at her, "Oh please, don't start this again."

She hugged my arm and giggled a little into my arm. I gave her a mock annoyed glare, "Okay, SLAVE, continue!"

She giggled a while longer before settling down and continuing, "She told me that she was jealous of me because what we had was like heaven to her. She knew that you could never look at her that way so she used her time away from home to look for someone just like you. Who she found instead is that sadistic bastard. She said he was very sweet to her at the beginning then he slowly sucked her in until there was nothing but him."

I stopped and turned to Mandy and reached for her hand before asking softly "Was it this bad when Ginny found you?"

She tried to pull back from me to hide from me but I held firm and drew her into my embrace. We stood there in silence for what felt like an eternity. I felt wetness on my shoulder and her shaking as I continue to hold her.

She softly asked, "Can slut speak?"

I responded, "Of course."

"Thank you. We were never physically abused like Laurel was but I think the emotional abuse was very much alike. Slut never felt worthy of being anything else other than a pin cushion and it seems each time we were used, it only reinforced that self image."

She paused and looked at me through tear stained eyes, "Your wife ... our Ginny saved me. We can do no less than to try to save Laurel. Can ... we ... please agree to take her as your slave on your terms to save her? Can we do anything less in Ginny's memory? Please accept her and make both your slaves happy."

I sighed heavily coming to a decision and we slowly walked back to the cabin to do what must be done.

We walked into her room to see her curled up nude on her bed asleep with her hair falling across her face. My first thought as I watched her for but a moment was that she tries to protect herself even when sleeping. I looked at her and her scars once more before putting them aside to see the whole person hoping to find a spark of what she once was that we could nurture back.

Mandy walked to the other side of the bed and shook Laurel awake. She woke with a start before recognizing it was her friend. Mandy pointed silently towards me. Laurel turned around and started. She leaped out of bed and onto her knees shaking badly. She said tremulously to my feet, "This slave is sorry to have slept so long?"

I looked at Mandy with annoyance. She shrugs helplessly.

"Slave, stand up. I am asking her to speak freely. Tell me now in her own words what she is asking and what she is expecting. Trust me when I tell her I will listen and hear what she is saying."

Laurel nods happily and stands. She looks me in the eyes and once again pauses before she began speaking, "My mom heard from my friends about what they were seeing me go through -they neither liked nor trusted Mike-. She came to my school in my sophomore year to help me get free of Mike and to get me back onto my feet. I was okay for about a year before I fell back under his influence. My parents knew something was wrong when I stopped calling them."

Her eyes took on a vacant look as she recounted her past, Laurel's hands bunched into fists once again as her memories became sharper.

"My dad came for me this time. My parents asked the school for me to take some time off because of a 'family matter.' They agreed and dad and I drove home. My dad told me on our drive that Mike was nothing more than an abuser and that I would never receive anything from him but pain and suffering. He told me to talk to you and Mandy for the truth ... about me. I promised him I would but I never did. I thought you would think I was a silly girl and I still believed Mike was the only one for me."

She covered her face and sobbed, "I was SO stupid!"

Mandy and I silently waited for Laurel to pull it together and continue. She needed to find the strength to finish.

She started again after a while, "I never came to you. I just pretended and counted the days when I could go back to school and Mike. Then came the time my parents died and my un-collaring. Now I have nothing and no one. My family has no understanding of this. They think I'm crazy and to tell you the truth so did I. I thought I could fight my nature. I know differently now but they just look at me with pity and are waiting for me to escape back to him."

She paused again to gather her thoughts before continuing in a whisper, "There's a big part of me that wants to escape back to him. My head knows there's only death and destruction in that direction. But I NEED someone be my master. I know my will, will fail and I will go crawling back to him. Please help me. I can't ... she can't ... do this alone. This slave knows that she is not attractive but there is nothing she won't do to earn your protection."

Mandy stood behind Laurel and embraces her as she breaks down sobbing. Mandy looks silently at me; petitioning for my acceptance of her sister.

Standing before the girls and take Laurel's hand before answering her, "I will be asking a lot from you for my acceptance of you. You know we all have to agree before you will be one of us. With all that said, I will take you back with me and Mandy if you agree with what I ask of you without knowing all that promise entails. I guess I'm asking for you to trust me with everything you are and have. Do you agree?"

Laurel looks at Mandy wide-eyed as if it was the last thing she expects to hear from me. She turns back to me and exclaims, "Yes, master, yes to absolutely everything!"

"Be careful what you ask for little slave it may be more than you can possibly handle. Now slaves, it's time to go so be packed and ready in one hour."

Both were packed and heading back to Mandy's within the hour. I had a video conference with Mandy and the rest of the girls when they returned to town and she had Laurel settled and bedded down. We all agreed that a vote now would be too early. I told Amy to find the sadistic asshole and she told me that after she had seen the damage on Laurel she was already on it. I wanted a comprehensive dossier on him. I knew if he could do that sort of damage to Laurel he will only find someone else to abuse.

I phoned Dr. Elizabeth Hartmann, who is the best in her field and a close friend, and set up an appointment for Mandy and Laurel to see her. I gave her a brief synopsis of the situation with Laurel. She was so intrigued that she said she would see them both on Saturday and she would research some of the answers ahead of time.




Keeping Company Ch. 04: Revisited



*******

When I phoned the Colson house Jodie picked up. She told me Jonathan was in town and wouldn't be home until dinner time. She invited me down knowing that I was the only one in the cabin. I accepted and told her I would see them at dinner.

The whole family showed up for dinner that evening, no doubt wanting news on Laurel. I wasn't sure that I could give them much. I wasn't sure what the repercussions would do to their relationship with their sister if I revealed the wrong information, but I knew I had to tell them something. I was grateful for the children being there because they were reluctant to grill me with them around.

The dinner ended and so was my reprieve. Two of the wives took the children outside after dinner as we moved to the family room and maneuvered chairs so that all could watch me; waiting for me to give them something about their sister and friend.

"I understand you need answers but I just don't have much to give you. She told me that you all have visited her. She wanted you to know how much comfort and strength she drew from your presence and she wanted to thank you for giving her the space she needed now."

I paused not knowing how to continue. I looked at the faces around me hoping to receive some sign or inspiration on where to go from here when my eyes rested on Tony and his wife. I remembered one of my many long talks with Hank. It was about Tony and what he and the family went through once he returned from Iraq. I hoped linking what Laurel is going through now to Tony's experience would help the family understand what their sister is going through.

"Tony when you were wounded in action and holed up in hospital, who came to visit you?"

Both Tony and his wife looked at each other, confused that I was asking this when they had all gathered to talk about Laurel.

"I was one of the lucky ones; the bullet went all the way through because I wasn't wearing my vest. Of course it did some damage and got me a medical discharge from the army. Dad came with mom and they brought Heather with them which I was grateful for."

His wife and he smiled at each other and held hands.

"What did it feel like when you came back home to the farm?"

Although his chest expanded with pride, his eyes gave away the sadness that he had to leave the army.

"The family welcomed me back and life settled into normality after a few months."

"Do you still have nightmares?"

At least with that question I knew I was on solid ground. Hank had told me on one of our many walks that his son had been on meds for months after his return and the nightmares made even his own wife scared to share a bed with him. The service got him a psychiatrist and after a few weeks life settled down for him.

"No sir the nightmares are all but gone now and so are the meds. Even went for my second check-up three weeks ago."

Although I directed my comments to Tony the rest of the family sat in silence, listening to everything.

"I remembered Hank telling me about how you struggled through boot camp because your drill sergeant busted you and everyone in your platoon's butt for any small infraction committed. I believe you called him that 'sadistic-ball-busting-son-of-a-bitch' or something to that effect."

Tony smiled, "Yeah, I remember him. I wanted to either kill him or go AWOL. Dad would've strung me up by the balls if I did either. We could do nothing right. The first six weeks were the worst for me but things got better once it started to sink in. There were a couple guys who could never get out of his doghouse. It turns out they ended up washing out. I actually went to thank him when I graduated from boot camp."

"How did it feel during those early weeks?"

Tony shook his head remembering those days and replied, "It was the worst days for me. I could not even walk without being reprimanded. I felt like my foundation was systematically demolished and I had no idea what would replace it."

"You told your dad later that you understood why he was the way he was. You said that he had to break you down and build you back up to be a good enough soldier to survive and thrive on the battlefield."

"Yeah, I'm here today because of him. I survived battered and bruised but lived because of that sadistic son of a bitch." Hannah took his hand and held it to her chest thankful her husband is still with her.

Jonathan watched, listened and said nothing. Realization dawned on him as I continued to talk to Tony. Although I was talking to Tony the rest of the family sat in silence and listened to everything intently.

"Laurel went through much of what you went through, Tony, except the rebuilding never happened. You had the chance to reach for a well-defined goal but she never did. Your sadistic asshole was an honorable man. He had definite goals in place for you to reach for and attain. He rewarded you for each of your successes. Laurel's sadistic bastard never gave her anything other than pain and suffering. He tore her essential self down for no other purpose than to watch her suffer. He tortured her for his own pleasure."

I saw the eyes of every man in the room turn steely and their jaws set ready to destroy the man who did this to their sister. There were tears of pain and anger from the women for their sister and friend. I am sure if I let it slip who did this to Laurel there would be nothing left of him when they were done.

Jonathan spoke for the first time. He growled, "Why did she let this happen?"

"Laurel is a wonderfully nurturing woman. She chose to become a vet because of it. She has a deep-seated need to nurture and serve her special someone. All she asks in return is someone to love her, guide her and protect her. Whoever she finally chooses would be a very lucky man."

Everyone around the room nodded in agreement. They have all seen this in Laurel.

"She is also someone who is most contented and happy under someone's command. She feels lost without this guidance. The sadistic bastard is a predator who recognized what Laurel was and drew her in with platitudes and attention. Once she was trapped he turned on her and started down the path to her destruction. Much like you, Tony, her foundation was systematically destroyed but instead of him building her back up he continued to pulverize her. It has gotten so bad that she believed she had no worth other than being his."

Again I looked at the people around the room. They were each deep in thought trying to digest everything I've told them this evening.

Jonathan asked, "Where do we go from here?"

Charlie caught my attention. Other than nod his head he said nothing. I continued to stare at him while I spoke, "First, this is who she is. She will always need someone over her."

I waited as they try to reconcile their beliefs with the reality of what their sister is. I felt bad for them. Their deep roots in God, the teachings of the Bible and this small community did not equip them of this.

I continued when I felt they were ready for me, "I just want you to know that the Laurel you knew is still there. She's still the sister you remember going off to college. She's still the same God fearing Christian as when she left. She has fought her submissive side for a very long time until the pressure to submit was too great."

This was the first time I used the 'S' word. They all looked like I slapped them when the word came out. I started again when they look like they were able to take more, "Please continue to love her and support her. She is Laurel and never ever lose sight of that."

They all nodded at that.

"Second, she is hurt and confused right now. She is trying to find her footing. I had Mandy take her back to the city. She will be staying with her for a couple of days while we see to her medical needs."

There were gasps as Jonathan asked, "Is she hurt? I didn't see anything like that when we picked her up."

"She has no broken bones or anything like that but we need to see if there's any permanent damage she's suffered."

There were growls at that revelation. I continued, "She has been through a great deal ... Tony, do you remember when you returned injured? Who helped you the most when you got back?"

Tony slowly replied, "Well, Hannah and these guys of course. My wife was my lifeline." 

He looked around the room as he spoke, "But, there were times when I felt they could not really relate to what I've been through. I went to the VA so I could just talk to those who've been there. They were a big help, too." Hannah slid into Tony's lap as he was speaking. She held him tight as they shared a private moment.

"Laurel, in many ways, needs the same thing. Mandy is her group. Mandy can relate to Laurel in ways you cannot. It takes nothing from your bond with her much like Tony's sessions at the VA."

One by one the Colson family's eyes looked towards Jonathan and when the silence became uncomfortable for everyone in that room, he spoke.

"She is Laurel, the girl we all played with growing up. Tony, when you graduated and Dad asked you what you wanted to do with your life you told him you wanted to enlist. We had a party and two days later he drove you to the recruitment center to sign up. It was your life and none of us ever wanted to stand in your way. We all have to keep that in mind when we deal with Laurel."

His eyes scanned every family member in the room, pausing slightly longer on the wives present.

"Laurel is our sister she has chosen to come home to us and live at the cabin. I know, from speaking to Mandy, that it will take time for our sister to adjust. From what I've been told and what we just heard the scumbag she was with in college treated her real bad."

Jonathan pointed towards me.

"Mark here is going to help us get our sister back but it's going to take time and patience from all of us. If any of you struggle with that concept then remember Tony when dad brought him back from the hospital and how long that took for us all. I love my sister and vow to be patient and pray a lot. I can only suggest you all do the same. Laurel is a Colson remember that and we will get through this. Forget it and you have me to answer too."

I took my cue from Jonathan, "We will do everything in our power to help Laurel heal. We'll bring her back to the cabin when she's ready to be alone. We'll let the people who know how to heal her guide us in this area. I do not profess to be an expert to the inner workings of a person either physically or mentally. What I will tell you is that if everything works out like we hope Laurel will come back much better. She will still need time to recover from what she has gone through and find herself again. She will need something to occupy her time when she's back."

This time I looked towards Jonathan. "I would suggest we speed up the completion of the clinic. Also, it would do her good if she has work waiting for her whether it's complete or not."

The dinner broke up then, children were collected and the family went home. Jonathan and I talked on the porch as they left.

"I know none of this is easy for you or your family but I believe this is the only way. Once her focus is on her vet work then the rest will come but it will take time. One of the girls will be with her at all times so she won't ever be alone."

Jonathan watched Charlie swing his youngest around before opening the truck door and placing her in her child seat. He gave me a sidelong glance before continuing.

"You're not going to tell me the worst parts are you?"

This time I smiled.

"Even as head of this family there are some things that are best left unsaid. Your father trusted us and we hope you feel the same. Regardless we will deal with this and you will have your sister back but it has to be on her terms. Like you said in there, be patient."

*******

I woke with Wendy and Carol-Anne on either side of me. Wendy was awake and we both looked over at Carol-Anne to see if she was. Although her eyes were closed her breathing gave her away. When she finally opened her eyes she looked at us both.

Carol-Anne grumbled, "What? So, I was rode hard and put away wet. Blame the skinny redhead over there," while giving us a mock glare.

Both Wendy and I barked out our laughs shaking our heads.

"I didn't hear any complaints last night."

"Well, yeah, how could I when you kept my mouth occupied"

Wendy shrugged and said. "I had an itch that needed scratching so I scratched it all over her body when we got here."

I let the girls shower first while I started breakfast. They took over while I had mine. Carol-Anne joined me and washed my back before asking me to turn around. She was already on her knees when I did. Her hands went to my ass and held me in place as she licked me to hardness before ensconcing my cock in her wondrous mouth.

Carol-Anne wasted no time as the smell of breakfast reminding us of our hunger ... for food. Our years together left very few secrets between us. Carol's mouth demanded her due with a vengeance. When I was done she licked me clean and both of us grabbed a towel each drying ourselves on the way and sitting on the towels when we got to the kitchen. It was Wendy that started the conversation.

"I know we came up here without first talking with you but we all know from our past that you're focused on Laurel at the moment. You'll wear yourself down to a nub waiting for results. You have no patience when someone you feel responsible for is hurting. Amy is doing everything she can. She already has a PI tailing the bastard and a forensic accountant tearing his financials apart. We'll get him but it will take time. You have already arranged everything that needed arranging for Laurel so be patient. I warn you, if you don't relax the girls will fuck the living daylights out of you!"

I held her hand for a moment and gently squeezed it. The burp came from the other side of me.

We both looked at Carol, who shrugged and exclaimed, "Not my fault. I had a high protein shake before this big breakfast. It always makes me a little gassy. It's all your fault," as she slapped me on the shoulder.

The room filled with giggles and chuckles over Carol's antics. The girls brought me up to date with the rest of the news as we finished breakfast. Mandy had Laurel at her apartment and they were going to see Dr. Hartman later this morning. It seems that Mandy asked Carol-Anne to come up and join me. Wendy was already on her way to Carols for the weekend anyway so she tagged along.

After breakfast and cleanup we got dressed and went to see the progress on the new clinic. Jonathan was there doing the same. We looked over the plans and work in progress and come up with a few ideas. He said he would talk to the builders on Monday. We came to the conclusion that we would leave the final layout for Laurel to decide since this is her area and she knew where she wanted things.

Jonathan told us that the owners of the ranches in the area had heard that Laurel was back as a certified vet along with a clinic opening up for her. They are beginning to clamber for her to start her practice. It looked like she was going to be busy once the building was operational since the nearest vet was over seventy miles away. Thinking about the distances of Laurel's area of operations an idea struck me. I looked over at Jonathan and saw the same idea came to him.

We both yelled, "Van!"

Both Carol-Ann and Wendy looked at us and rolled their eyes as Carol-Ann stage whispered to Wendy, "Yelling monosyllabic non sequiturs at each other must be a guy thing."

Wendy whispered back, "No kidding. We would still be crawling around on all fours if it was up to them."

They proceeded to walked off laughing at their own jokes.

Jonathan and I looked at each other and shrugged as he said, "Me done. Me go to back to cave start fire." I responded with a grunt and trailed after the girls.

I heard the phone ring as I approached the cabin. It sounded like Wendy answering the call. She put the phone on speaker as I entered. I could see all the humor drain out of her as she looked at Carol and me. Mandy gave us a run-down of Dr. Hartmann's initial exam. It was discovered that she contracted an STD so the doctor put her on a course of antibiotics. That should take care of that.

She was tested for AIDS and that came back negative but she will have to be tested monthly for the next year. Dr Hartmann has referred Laurel to a neurologist. She has a bruised kidney with no sign of laceration. Her liver was undamaged even though there were several deep bruises throughout her torso. She had also referred Laurel to a clinic that specializes in tattoo removal.

Mandy finally concluded, "I think Laurel will need a steadying presence while she's recovering. It may be wise to have you stay with her at the cabin and we'll rotate around you."

Mandy was already putting together the schedule so that there will at least one girl with her at all times throughout the visits to the clinic so she wouldn't be alone. I thought about her damages and noted she made no mention of the burns or other scars. Mandy simply stated that everything else took precedence. She also thought we should let Laurel decide whether she wants the plastic surgery to clear the scars when she's well enough to think more clearly.

Mandy paused before continuing, "Once I got her back to my apartment I had to collar her."

"What happened?"

"I know I overstepped my bounds master, but I had no choice. She was falling apart before my eyes. This slave could not allow that to happen."

Mandy knew what she was doing and if collaring Laurel was the only way to prevent a meltdown then she did the right thing. "Mandy, you didn't overstep. I trust your judgment and I know you will do what's best for Laurel. We're going to update her siblings. We'll see you soon."

We all piled into our car and drove down to talk to Jonathan. Jodie asked her eldest to look after the youngsters while they talked.

We exited to the barn for some privacy. Some things really are not for little ears. Both held hands when we did and both were near to tears as we talked about his sister's condition. What few words of support I could offer I did and we told him we would foot the bill for all her medical expenses and the tattoo removal. Jodie knew nothing of the tattoo.

"What tattoo? Laurel always thought people who got tattoos were idiots."

"The sadist made her get it. I'm not sure if you want to know the details." Jodie thought about it and reluctantly agreed. She knew once that door was open she would never be able to close it.

Jonathan thanked us for keeping him up to date but he refused our help with paying for her treatment.

"I know you will understand what I'm about to say. I've read some about a submissive. Laurel is my sister and you don't own her so we will pay for her medical expenses. Only when she is fit and well again will we let her decide where she goes from here. The family will back her on what that decision may be."

I was proud of Jonathan I put my arms around his shoulder as he struggled with the realization that his sister has changed so much. Eventually he looked up and nodded. He reminded me so much of Hank. All he wants is the best for his family and his ranch. We told them both that Laurel would hopefully be back soon and we will keep them posted on her progress. We also told them that they will know everything we will be planning for their sister.

Jonathan nodded coming to a decision, "We will start lining up work for her in the area as well as the livestock we have on the ranch so she can start working as soon as she's ready. I agree that her work will help her heal and recover."

Jonathan seemed to be growing into the role of head of the Colson family. We bid them a good evening and I started back to the cabin to await the arrival of Mandy and Laurel, they didn't arrive until close to midnight. They both looked exhausted but I decided that we'd have our conversation on the porch. The moon was near full that night. The silver light was a balm to all our nerves after such an emotional day.




Keeping Company Ch. 04: Revisited



"You stood in front of me in our cabin and asked for the same status Mandy has."

Mandy gave Laurels hand a squeeze to give her strength for what was to come. She nodded her assent before remembering herself and answered, "Yes, master."

"Doctor Hartmann consulted with you and you know what you have and what needs to happen from here on out? We all know that it may take a year before everything is addressed."

This time both nodded their heads.

"So, now we come to the topic of 'hide or pride' you have two choices Laurel I'm sure I could make it three choices however I'm only giving you two. You can hide here at the cabin until everything that can be done has been done, we will protect you and your family will visit often."

It was clear to see even in the half light of the late evening that she didn't like that idea at all.

"The second option I want you to think about tonight, you are only to give me an answer in the morning. You will sleep alone because I want my slave back, Mandy has told you a great deal about our relationship and you now need to decide if it's Mike's lifestyle you need or ours; that is your choice to make. But know this, whatever choice you make cannot be reversed. You choose and stick with it."

Mandy went to speak, my hand came out of my pocket when she did and I looked directly at Mandy.

"You. Put this on."

Her collar came into view. The pause as she recognized it was momentary, her hand automatically went to it and without a word spoken placed it around her neck, locking it into place. Laurel sat mesmerized as she watched everything that had happened, it still took her a moment before she realized that I was watching her and then her back stiffened trying to anticipate what I was about to say next.

"Go inside, shower and go to bed. Care for your collar I will inspect it in the morning before I ask you again what it is you want. Jodie will be here at eight in the morning, your answer will depend on if she has a spare horse with her for you both to take a ride or the pickup to take you back to the house."

Laurel nodded one more time, stood and left. Wendy and Carol-Anna came to the door moments later, when I first told them what I was going to do I did urge them to leave and go back to the city. All three of us knew they wouldn't; they may not agree with what I was about to do but Mandy was mine and they couldn't object.

"Stand, remove your clothes."

Mandy stood in an instant her blouse already undone and dropped to the floor her bra followed within a blink of an eye, her skirt took a moment longer and her shoes quickly followed. Before her hands managed to get to her panties I had placed a hand on her chest, slipped my other hand into the front of her panties and pulled. The fabric gave and her panties were quickly bunched up and pushed into her mouth.

Our faces now inches from each other.

"Do you know why this is happening?"

Mandy's head nodded once. Gagging her right then was a mistake on my part. I should have asked her first and then gagged her. I still felt I needed to emphasize my point

"You took it from me and I want it back. You are slave and if you forget that again then we will revisit tonight and the next time will be with paddles."

She shuddered; I turned and headed for the door; both the girls went back inside leaving Mandy's discarded clothes on the porch.

"Come with me."

*******

I heard Mandy get on all fours and crawl behind me, I automatically slowed my pace as we all went to our bedrooms. Once my door was closed I waited for Mandy to kneel on the bed before I sat on a chair across from her. It was clear to both of us that she expected to be punished, but I wanted answers first. Our stalemate lasted for a few moments before I stood and pulled her panties out of her mouth.

While Mandy moistened her mouth since her panties had made her dry I poured her a glass of water and handed it to her. She thanked me and sipped it, when the glass was almost half empty she once again thanked me and handed it back. Once I set the glass down I sat next to her on the bed, this time both of us were looking at the chair in front of us.

"Tell me what happened and why you took it upon yourself to do what you did. Laurel called you my primary slave, you failed to correct her since we both know you are my only slave."

Mandy paused to collect her thoughts I expected she would talk of the evening I came back to the cabin. Instead she spoke of us all leaving over a week ago and Charlie bringing laurel back.

"The second she got out of Charlie's truck I just knew how close she was to the edge. Mike stripped her of everything the last days of college. At first she didn't know why her brother had dropped her off here rather than back at the house."

Once again Mandy asked for some water, I filled her glass back up again and handed it back to her. When Charlie left, Laurel refused to enter the cabin, Mandy had to stand in front of her and assert control, the submissive in Laurel complied and both went inside. They sat for awhile and over drinks Laurel became more comfortable and little by little Mandy got the whole story from her.

As the days moved on she got more from her causing Mandy to seek help from Amy and then the others of the group until it became obvious that once I was involved my own desire to seek revenge for what Mike had done to Laurel may de-rail any progress the girls had made in stabilizing her.

Yes they planned to tell me but only when they had enough answers to the questions that would soon come once I had seen the damage to Laurel Colson. Mandy was right all along. The first day we came to see the Colson family Mandy knew what Laurel was, just as she knew what Mandy was. That unspoken vibe that this lifestyle gives off I assume.

When she went to college Mike recognized Laurel for what she was and his control was brutal and unconditional, she had to ask for everything sometimes not eating for days at a time because Mike wouldn't allow her too. Laurel gave herself to Mike because she knew no different, it wasn't only her submissiveness she gave him that night it was also her virginity.

The rapes in the guise of Master and Slave followed quickly afterwards, sometimes just Mike mostly Mike and his friends. It took Mandy days to dismantle the conditioning; every time they showered together or slept together Laurel expected Mandy to take her.

"All that you see on her body is but a fraction of what's going on in her head."

After a moment I let out a sigh.

"You believe she will choose to stay?"

Mandy nodded her head before she took another sip of water from her glass.

"If we can separate Mike from her soul then she will be free, she is still a submissive and the times she has seen me naked she cannot understand why I don't look as damaged as her."

Slave paused. She chose now to put into words what we were both thinking.

"My regret my Master is that we never got our hands on her the day we looked across the table at her six years ago. Please my master, we need to correct that mistake now and help her. In a way, she reminds me of me, she has it in her to make a great vet. But you have to grab hold of slave and calm her, bring her back from the edge she finds herself at the moment."

"And what about Mike?"

At my question Mandy looked at me.

"If Laurel chooses to stay then I beg you to focus on her. My sisters will deal with Mike."

My next action caught her unexpectedly as I leaned back slightly and removed her collar. She looked surprised at my actions yet said nothing.

"To do what you ask of me requires all of you. Everyone has to have a voice in this even slut."

Slave nodded her head but remained silent.

I had only been here a few days and what I had heard and seen so far left me so desperately sad. To say we would help Laurel was not in question; it was how to help her. Mandy was adamant that Laurel would accept and choose to stay when it came time to make her choice in the morning.

"Mandy I hate to state the obvious but I'm fifty-two, Laurel is twenty-four."

"So what, you eat well and exercise on a regular basis we all see to that. Please stop thinking of your age, it is irrelevant."

"To you maybe." I snorted.

"No. To everyone, none of the girls see an old man in front of them, they see you. Laurel won't see an old man in front of her she will see her master, should you accept her of course."

Leaning into her I kissed her, stood up and told her to go to bed I needed to think on all this. Mandy knew better than to argue or attempt to come with me, for my own peace of mind I watched her get into bed before I leaned down one more time and kissed her forehead. Closing the door behind me made for a certain degree of finality, the fridge was my next target before making my way once again to the porch.

Mandy's clothes still were she left them, picking them up was therapeutic, folding them and placing them on the chair next to mine made me feel that at least a part of her was still with me.

*******

Echo's of my past, Amy and Ginny's voices, their giggles, all came to me as I sat watching the clear sky and the stars calming my thoughts. Carol-Anne, Wendy and I playing strip poker and blatantly cheating while they did, so that I was naked while they where fully clothed. Mandy and my more dark moments, that girl screamed in pain and cried yet once my dark mood had ceased, she was the first to crawl across to me to tell me she loved me.

How we tried to integrate Beth into our group and realizing all too late that our lifestyle wasn't for her. Now Laurel was in our midst, the meeting with Jonathan and Jodie in this very cabin and their plea that we help with their sister. We couldn't turn away from that, Mandy made sure of that when Jodie sat her down to talk to her. For a family as proud as the Colson's coming to us, must have been the hardest thing they have done.

Knowing the lifestyle even the mildest form that Mandy and I are comfortable with must have still left them all troubled. There own Christian faith and belief was being tested almost daily. Their own sister lived here and knowing that Laurel was a submissive at heart as well as a Colson left them floundering in a sea of uncertainty over what to do with her.

Hank had somehow foreseen the confrontation coming when he told Jonathan that we as a group were the only people he trusted outside of his family. For a man as proud as Hank that was nothing more than an arrow pointing at the cabin saying 'send my daughter here'.

The sound of birds waking to a new morning woke me; the blanket wrapped around me was unfamiliar since I didn't bring one onto the porch with me. I hadn't even planned to sleep here, just settle my own thoughts before returning to Mandy. As more of my senses woke to this new morning the figure of Laurel came into view.

She was knelt on the porch her back to one of the supports watching me, once I settled my gaze upon her she smiled and for a second her own head lowered to the decking before she took a deep breath and once again looked at me.

"You slept soundly, none of us wanted to wake you so Wendy placed a blanket on you."

It was then my hearing picked up on the silence within the cabin.

"Where are the girls?"

"They have all returned to the city. Slave Mandy sat me down when I woke and told me that they were a distraction to both of us. We have to talk and them being here while we did would complicate things."

Once the blanket was folded I placed it on the seat next to me, Mandy's clothes now gone and no doubt on their way back home with her to be cleaned. Telling Laurel to follow me back into the cabin and me pointing to a seat while I got a coffee and joined her moments later, I'm not sure she expected the conversation to start the way it did.

"Are you going to be a good vet?"

It took her a moment; I could clearly see the confusion on her face. Laurel expected our time together to be about her submissiveness.

"Yes I will, I studied hard and scored high marks in all my exams."

"When did you have time to study between the beatings, rapes and being used as an ashtray?"

Laurel stiffened. It also took her longer to answer this time round.

"Master Mi... He allowed me time to study while he was with his other slave."

The only thing that stopped me reaching boiling point was my promise to Mandy. Taking sips of my coffee helped as well.

"Mandy tells me the doctor removed the jewelry from you."

She nodded and then added. "Yes I was given a cream to place on the area. The healing process has started."

For some reason Laurel took it upon herself to look directly at me when she said that, as though there was more than one meaning to her statement.

"You were given a night to think on your future, be it here or back with your family. What is your decision, knowing that once made it cannot be reversed. If you choose to be my slave I won't give slave back. Laurel is free to do as she pleases within the bounds of her family and vet work."

I expected her to take longer; her answer was already on her lips before I had finished the question.

"Slave Mandy told me the rules that would apply to me; you welcome this slave even though she is damaged and this slave thanks you."

The pause in her answer made me look closer at her, my cup now on the table as the conflict clearly raged, it seemed to be Laurel's turn to speak and when she did it damn near tore my heart out.

"I wrestled with myself for many years over whom and what I am. The thought of hurting my family if they ever found out just made things worse, going to college to do my vet training was a blessing because I could explore and hide it from my folks. That turned out not to be true; I knew no different from what he taught me."

It was plain to both of us that Laurel and not her submissive side was speaking, it was left to me to listen.

"The scars both mental and physical he left me with will leave, that I'm sure about because I have seen Mandy. You told me to decide and this is my decision, I offer you my obedience and submissiveness, I won't deny what I am to my family and in return I will be the best vet I can be."

A knock at the door interrupted our conversation, Laurel let Jodie in, and judging by what she was wearing she had a spare horse with her. Laurel looked at me for permission to get changed I nodded and she ran towards her room screaming 'yipeee'. All Jodie and I could do was giggle as the door closed behind her.

"Since I didn't hear from you by the appointed time I assumed all went well, is Laurel yours now?"

"She has asked and for the moment it's a yes, she doesn't know it yet but I will ask again once the damage to her body and her soul have healed as well."

"Do you plan on collaring her?"

This time I shook my head. 

"I'm not going to push what Laurel is in your faces. You all need to see the sister not the slave or it will take longer for your family to heal itself as well."

Jodie nodded her head in understanding. Moments later Laurel came out of her room, Jodie gasped and I looked closer at Laurel as she was buttoning up her shirt. A collar around her neck, the word 'slave' in silver letters shone so bright in contrast to the black ribbon it was attached to.

"STAND STILL."

The command rang across the day room and Laurel froze to the spot, fear in her eyes her hands had not moved from the buttons of her shirt. Both Jodie and I walked to Laurel and her eyes grew in fear with each step.

Pointing to the collar I asked. "Where did you get that?"

"Master Mike gave it to me I have to wear it whenever I'm out of his presence... Oh shit."

Her head dropped, her shoulders followed a second later.

"Remove the collar and place it on the floor in front of us."

Laurel did so, her hands shook so much it took two attempts before the catch sprang free, and she knelt and placed it in the space between us and stood once again. Her eyes never going higher than my chest, the sudden raising of my foot and stamping on the collar made her flinch.

"Take your shirt off and hand it to Jodie."

She was already in the process of doing that when I moved past her and into my room, when I came back Jodie had her shirt draped over her arm. All Laurel had on above the waist was a sports bra, my hands went around her stomach and I clipped the chain on her, adjusting it for comfort.

"Do you understand what this is?"

"Yes master it's a waist chain."

"That collar offended me, from now on when you are away from my presence that chain will be your collar. Now put your shirt back on and enjoy your ride, I think Jodie also plans on showing you how far the new building for your clinic has come. I place no time limit on your day so enjoy and I suggest you also catch up with your family as well."

Once Laurel had put her shirt back on, I got a hug and an apology. I got a hug and a thank you from Jodie. The sun was just peaking over the trees as I watched them both ride out, the urge to pull every last item of clothing from her suitcase and burn it was almost overwhelming. For now I settled on picking up the remnants of her old collar and dropping it in the trash.

*******

The phone call to Amy was informative but still too early to do much but wait; an animal like Mike becomes overconfident and that's what Amy was counting on. Mandy went back to work and although she kept up on things from the cabin she still knew she had some long hours in front of her to make up for her week away. By mid-afternoon the sound of laughing women and horses approaching broke into my thoughts.

Both women looked truly happy as they approached, when they dismounted Jodie reminded Laurel that she had to get back to the house, she had a whole family to feed. They hugged and Laurel joined me on the porch, Jodie waved once again and turned the horses around before heading down the road and back to the farmhouse.

"Thank you for today."

My silence hung between us, she knew retribution was coming.

"I was going to do this myself, but then I decided that you will do it for me. I've made dinner; it will be ready in about twenty minutes. That's how long you have to bring me everything that Mike bought you and I do mean everything."

Other than the sounds of the birds and the background noises of the country nothing further was said between us. Jodie was heading down the hill now and only the top half of her could be seen. I turned and went back inside, Laurel went to her room. The sound of drawers being opened and things being moved around in the closet could be heard over my stirring of the sauce.

When it went quiet again I turned the sauce off and looked behind me, Laurel had a pillow case in her hand and it looked about a third full. She knelt on the floor and placed it in front of her, I knelt by her side.

"You knowingly brought the contents of that into this cabin. Does Mandy know you have what's in there?"

Her head shook once.

"Dinner is ready, take that and place it on the porch steps. Once you have done that remove your clothes and place them in the basket for washing later, you can remove and keep the chain. Now leave."

Laurel nodded once and grabbed the pillow case as she stood. I went back to putting dinner on our plates; she was standing next to a chair when I turned with both plates in my hands. We sat and ate in silence, the anxiety clearly growing in Laurel as dinner came to an end.

Once we had finished I stood, the only words that left my lips were 'follow me' as we went back outside. Laurel caught up with me at the edge of the porch, she heard my zip and seconds later I was pissing on the pillow case and whatever contents were inside. I poured a whole afternoon of drinking coffee, water and a heck of allot of contempt onto that pillowcase.




Keeping Company Ch. 04: Revisited



I waited until I had zipped back up again before I spoke. "Take that pile of shit around back and put it in the metal barrel you will find around there; I will burn it in the morning, and clean the steps when you're done."

While Laurel was away all day I had phoned Mandy. She knew nothing about the contents of her two suitcases, it did highlight how far we still had to go with her since she chose to wear Mike's collar over the one Mandy had given her to calm her. Laurel stood next to me at the sink and I took a step back as she placed a bucket into it and filled the bucket with warm water.

With the door open I watched her for a moment as she got on her knees and scrubbed the steps, she was still at it when I had finished the clean up. We both knew neither of us could leave it there, Laurel was still cleaning when I walked onto the porch and grabbed a handful of hair she let out a yelp but kept quiet after that.

Still on her hands and knees I pulled her to one of the seats, placed her across my knee and proceeded to spank her ass and thighs. She knew this was coming and did her best to remain still as I turned her whole ass bright red as my dark mood fed on my anger that Laurel had not only kept, but blatantly used an Item given to her from 'him' in front of me.

My arm ached with the continual spanking I was dealing out. Slowly her arms left her sides and joined at the wrists at the small of her back; she was totally mine now and that one act showed us both. I stopped and told her to stand, it took a moment but she got there.

"Pull a stunt like that again and you will live to regret it. Take a shower, collar up and then meet me in my room when you're done."

To add to the finality of the situation I waved her away, out of the corner of my eye I see her nod her head and then leave. The smell of bleach was becoming overpowering. The contents of the bucket got tossed and after getting another bucket of water and pouring that over the bleach spot, the bucket itself remained outside that night for Laurel to put back in the morning.

The towel was lowered as Laurel came into my room, she folded it and placed it next to the door and stood next to it. Pointing to the middle of the bed and telling her to lay face down was the only words that left my lips. The cream I added to her ass and thighs cooled her down some, and when I tapped her thigh a couple of times and she opened her legs more for me.

Once I had finished Laurel wanted to kneel, we both knew that couldn't happen this evening so I told her to stay as she was. She did move so we could face each other but that was all she did.

"I'm sorry, this slave understands the wrong she did you and will strive to do better."

She had over four years of conditioning in her; I have had her for a couple of days. Of course I would forgive her but she still had to understand that it would be better to think for a second first. As I got up off the bed I undressed; slave watched and said nothing. Even when I told her to get in bed she did and waited, spooning into her hurt her, I could feel the heat generating from her ass so she was asked if she wished to turn over.

That was the same position we were in when we woke the next morning, her nose pressed against my chest. One of her hands in mine and a bad case of bed head, she still looked beautiful. Laurel woke the instant I moved, the smile that followed lit up the room.

"Thank you for last night, all of it. I understand we won't be intimate until the doctor gives me an all clear, but nights like this one will carry me to that point."

We showered together and had breakfast, the phone rang about an hour later. Jonathan needed Laurel later in the day, the families on both sides of the Lazy Z wanted to talk to her and set up some form of cooperative so she would be on call for them as well as the Colson ranch. As we got dressed I watched her anxiety grow within her and told her to get her waist chain.

I placed it on her and we both continued to get dressed, she was calmer now, more so when she realized that I would be with her. We drove to the building that was going to be used by Laurel where three men stood waiting. Laurel knew the two men from the adjoining ranches and she set about telling them what was going to be in the building.

They asked good questions and I watched as Laurel held her own. This was her field she had studied hard to be a vet it was something she wanted from childhood and she seemed to grow in stature as each answer she gave was met with a smile and a nodding head of the person who asked the question. It actually got to the point that Jonathan and I were nothing more than bystanders.

After an hour they all shook on it and it seemed that Laurel was now a group vet rather than the family one. Both families were invited to the opening of the building and knowing the Colson's like I did, this would be an all day event and the party would go on well into the evening. We watched two very happy men get into their trucks and drive away.

Jonathan looked towards his sister and said. "You did this family proud, it was clear to me even after a few minutes that I was nothing more than taking up space next to you. Come to dinner later, both of you."

He hugged Laurel and shook my hand before walking to his own truck and drove off. Laurel then deflated and dropped to the floor gasping for breath. Quickly standing astride her and pushing her head down, her hair followed gravity and with her neck now exposed to me, I collared her. It still took her a moment before her slave took control once again. It also took us being in the car and heading back to the cabin before she spoke.

"Thank you, towards the end I was holding her up as best I could. Her self esteem is as fragile as mine is, and while we talked she was in my comfort zone, when our brother hugged us it felt like she was going to faint."

"You both did very well and your brother and I were both so proud of you."

This time she turned her head towards me.

"You knew, you had my collar in your pocket all the time even though I was wearing my waist chain, you knew."

I smiled and nodded my head even though I was going to make it perfectly clear why. Laurel and her slave waited for answers, perhaps both for different reasons.

"Your chain had served its purpose, slave knew that. Did you notice that it was only when we were alone that slave let you go?"

Again she nodded but said nothing. My first thought was to wait until we had got back to the cabin, but it was clear by the look in her eyes that she needed to know now, so I talked while I drove.

My own mind going back to the time I woke and first saw Mandy and the slave that hid from everyone. Laurel listened as our lives together grew day by day; Mandy's submission was total whilst me being her master took such a long time.

"You know yourself, your submission is everything. No more 'I have a headache' or 'I'm not in the mood' everything you are, is given to him. To Mandy that was her, yet I had just woken up to this, I wasn't a dominant I was just a guy who had lost his wife and there sat in front of me, was a woman that gave me everything of herself simply because I saw slave, the one person she had kept hidden from the world."

There were times in the beginning that even slut had to take me aside and tell me to beat the bitch when she needed it. It became clear to me only later on in our relationship that slave had asked slut to talk to me, slave couldn't do that on her own.

As I pulled up outside the cabin Laurel was looking at me with her mouth open, I even had to tell her she could get out of the car now. She quickly did so and joined me as we walked into the day room, I sat and she sat next to me leaning into my side and placing her legs under her as she did. All the time listening as the life of Mandy and I was told to her.

Laurel heard of my research on the internet so I could get a greater understanding of what I was getting into. The girls listened as I told them I couldn't hurt Mandy and all the while slave could say nothing as she waited for me to come to terms with her own needs. Those same needs that her own mind and body craved for and yet the man she now called Master could not give her because it went against everything men get taught from the beginning. You never ever hit a girl.

Mandy even got so desperate that she moved in with me, slave would knowingly push an argument, she even burned dinner and for Mandy that was a total insult to her cooking skills. Yet all I did was smile and tell her everything would be alright. It took me overhearing slave and Mandy talking to each other out loud to realize how desperate slave had become.

By now I had placed an arm around Laurel, she looked up at me.

"It wasn't easy for me but over the next few days slave got what she craved. Perhaps she was my teacher in some things after all, we have a wavelength thing going on now and part of that bleeds over to you. I kept your collar in my pocket if it got used or not I was still proud of you today."

Laurel thought on what I had just said, it was clear she wanted to ask a question and I suspected it would involve a question about him so I waited her out and prepared for the worst.

"I went about it all wrong didn't I? A slave chooses her master, not the other way around."

"There is no hard and fast rule, but total submission involves so much trust that you have to get it right first time. What any dominant should know is that total power over someone that gives everything and will never say no to anything has to temper that power with the responsibilities they now have in front of them."

She nodded once, before her head moved and her eyes once again looked at the coffee table, her mind so deep in its own thoughts.

"He was a sadistic bastard and I was the naive idiot wasn't I?"

My first thought was to agree, the tone of her voice left little doubt she was already beating herself up over all this.

"Let's just say that he took advantage and you in your headlong plunge to feed your own need rather than do a little research simply made you easy prey."

Laurel moved a little closer, if that was possible. It was clear to see that she was heading towards a funk and I needed to get her out of it. Telling her to stand and get undressed met with a quick nod of her head and a smile when she noticed me doing exactly the same. I took her hand and we both went and had a shower.

*******

The anxiety within Laurel grew as we drew closer to the Colson house, judging by the amount of trucks and cars outside, it was safe to say this was going to be a family dinner. Jodie met us at the door and we went through the house and out to the table outback. Charlie gave Laurel a drink and handed me one as well, Laurel then handed hers back to her brother and asked for a soda.

Charlie gave his sister an odd look and then looked at me for a moment. Laurel was quicker than I was.

"I gave up drinking Charlie, did that back in college. I learned early on I get stupid when I get drunk so now I stay sober and get stupid instead; at least this way I get to see it coming."

Over half the family heard her comment and laughed the other half got told and laughed as well; Charlie smiled and hugged his sister telling her he would be right back. Laurel moved in to talk to her sister and the other wives, the children were pleased to see their aunt and within minutes she was surrounded by a sea of little people.

"We hadn't intended to ambush you both, Charlie found out that Jonathan had invited you both over and word spread real quick."

Jodie moved to stand next to me; we talked about how Laurel was feeling and how Jonathan had come home with a smile on his face telling her how proud he was of Laurel and dealing with the new arrangement that would grow from her sharing her expertise with our neighbors. Dinner kept us all busy and it seemed that every time I looked over at Laurel she had a child on her lap.

It was an exhausted Laurel that fell asleep in the car back to the cabin, she protested but I still carried her in and placed her on my bed telling her to get undressed while I locked the car. She was asleep on my return and I quickly joined her. Sneezing woke me, Laurels face was once again buried into my chest, she moved when she knew I was awake.

She knelt on the bed facing me; I moved my arm and rested my head on it. Her own hand reached into the bedside cabinet and came out with a condom, she placed it between us.

"You are my master; I call you that with pride my master. But you have needs and at the moment this slave in the condition she is in disgusts you. I am sorry, we both know it will take weeks to remove the tattoo he gave me as well as the disease as his parting gift. This slave will lay face down so you don't have a visual reminder if you wish but this slave has to take care of her masters need."

A question came to me; even the answer to the question as I went back over events that had transpired. It left me feeling that Mandy and I had focused too much and stopped seeing the bigger picture.

"When did you leave college?"

Her brows creased in confusion. We both knew it had taken a great deal out of her to say as much as she had yet it looked like I was ignoring her request. When she answered my question it started to dawn on me why we were having this conversation in the first place.

"When was the last time you were intimate?"

This time Laurel lowered her head and mumbled, when I insisted she spoke more clearly she told me that she had been intimate with Mike nearly a month ago. Sitting up was easy, but getting Laurel to look at me was far more difficult.

"Admit you have an attack of the hornies and I will do something about it. Don't admit it and I will make us both breakfast and you will miss this opportunity."

Poor Laurel went straight to crimson, after a moment she mumbled again only this time I heard her. It still didn't stop me from asking her what she had said.

"I said that's not fair."

"So you do have an attack of the hornies."

Taking deep breaths didn't help her, every time she looked at me I was smiling at her predicament and it sent her back to crimson. She then started to fidget, more so when I made it look like I was going to get up and make breakfast.

"Ok. Yes I have an attack of the hornies. I've been climbing the walls most of the night, she won't let me touch anything and keeps telling me it's yours not mine anymore. I need an orgasm, two if you're feeling in a good mood."

Although I suspected the answer it didn't stop me asking the question.

"Did you used to be able to sneak off and have a moment to yourself when he wasn't around?"

At first Laurel nodded he head, she looked down and noticed her hands knitted together, she unclenched them and as she did so her knees moved even further apart, one hand went between her legs and came back out palm upwards. Her whole hand glistened.

"I've been like this most of the night, it's driving me nuts. Even when Mike was around I could always sneak off to the bathroom and take care of this. Yet I just couldn't do that with you here."

Her eyes looked once at her wet hand and then to the bed before she did the mumbling thing again. I heard her, only this time I didn't have the heart to make her repeat it, her words although soft and silent to her left me in no doubt how far we had come in separating Mike from her.

"Lick it clean. When you're done lay on the bed and I will deal with you, you have to understand I won't be intimate with you until I choose to be regardless of condoms. The effect it would have with the girls would be devastating and I won't ever risk that."

The nod of her head as the realization of her statement and mine made its full impact on her quickly diminished when her hand went to her lips and she licked it clean. By now I was off the bed and walked to the closet at the other end of the room while Laurel lay on the bed. When I returned the straps on each corner of the bed came into view of Laurel, she squirmed and her neck and cheeks changed color.

Not a sound was made from her as both ankles and then wrists were restrained. The holed ball gage got her attention but she willingly opened her mouth and accepted it and a hint of fear crept across her face just then. Although I smiled to calm her my own thoughts were my own. The KY lubed her ass; Laurel dug her heels into the bed to raise her ass trying to help me by allowing more access to her.

Laurel watched both anxious and just a little afraid, her own need soon started to feed on itself although she was watching my every move it seemed to me it still made her look like she wanted me to go faster after all I had promised her an orgasm. The soft moan as a vibrator sank into her ass the gentle buzzing sound seemed to stop when I pushed it deeper into her.

Her rose closed as my two fingers came away from her ass, the egg shaped vibrator went into her soaked pussy. The soft moan that followed made me watch as her eyes close and she tried to smile, when Laurel heard the click of the restraint and one of her legs came free, she quickly opened them and watched, wanting to understand why I pushed both her legs together and then strapped them together.

She had little choice but to watch as I got dressed after that, puzzled by my actions yet unable to ask or do anything about it made her restless. The fear grew within her as I finally walked up to her, leaned over and placed a remote in one of her hands.

"You will figure it out."

I'm sure she heard the door close behind me; we never hear cars when the door is closed so I doubted she heard much else as I drove into town for breakfast. Mandy phoned as I finished, that damn woman knew me even with all these miles between us, we talked about when the girls were coming over and the fact she had finally caught up with work. We both knew the real reason for her call both of us was waiting for the other to initiate it.

"Something is troubling you? I felt it this morning when I woke and expected you or Laurel to call."

"She phones you?"

"Every day, she looks on slave as her sister and is forever asking questions on how to keep you happy. What frustrates her the most is that she can do nothing until the doctor has given her the all clear. She's scared you won't accept her until you have been intimate with her."

This time I told her what had happened this morning, she laughed when I told her how I had left Laurel and she told me to return to the cabin and let her go.

"Slave says we will come up after work for the evening to calm Laurel down. Please don't go all nuclear on her, she is young and only has one pig to compare our lifestyle by. She is ticking the days off until she gets the all clear for the STD, it's only then she can ever feel comfortable with you, even more so when you take her."

"I'm left to wonder if it is one step forward and two back."

"You can't feel like that, she needs understanding that all. What didn't help was the parting present of the pig and the time it's taking to rid her of her STD."

After talking about when Mandy would arrive I mentioned how calm Laurel was when the cooperative idea took hold and she now has three ranches to deal with now rather than one. The pause in the conversation told me more than even she was going to say.

"Mark please go easy on Laurel, she is still finding her way and being held back because you won't be intimate with her because of the STD."

Reluctantly I admitted that I acted in haste and told Mandy that I looked forward to her coming up even if it was only for the evening. When I got back to the cabin I turned Laurel loose, she dropped the remote and dashed into the bathroom a small splash and then another could be heard before she released her stream to a very audible sigh.




Keeping Company Ch. 04: Revisited



The words 'ah shit' came from the bathroom and then a few seconds later Laurel flushed the toilet. My mind already followed the course of events as the sounds married themselves to my thoughts. She was so desperate for the bathroom on my return that poor Laurel didn't even have the time to remove what I had placed into her. Once gravity and the need to pee had done there job both vibrators now sat at the bottom of the toilet.

Getting both out of the toilet led to her comments and the running water was her cleaning them before she returned to the bedroom looking both shamefaced and confused over what had happened. Holding a bag in front of me hinted greatly to were I wished both the vibrators.

"Change the sheets I will be back shortly."

Laurel was already moving towards the bed while I was heading out back, the bag now joined the rest of the shit Mike had given Laurel. Tossing paper and a few bits of wood on top I set light to the lot, standing for awhile to make sure it all caught. Laurel was on her knees on the porch watching everything. She waited until I drew closer before she took her eyes of the metal drum and the flames pouring from it.

*******

As I sat down on the seat behind her the only words that came from her lips were. "I'm sorry."

"Get showered I will make you breakfast."

Her head turned away from the burning drum and towards me.

"Please, may we talk?"

The phone rang, as I left my seat to answer it I once again told Laurel to have a shower. She passed me as the phone came to my ear. Charlie wanted to come to the cabin; he wanted to speak to both of us. I asked him to give us an hour since Laurel still hadn't eaten yet and we arranged a time between us.

Charlie got to the cabin just as Laurel finished the washing up, she made him a coffee and we all sat on the porch.

"I have to say this and it's going to hurt you Laurel but please remember it was before I understood. I didn't want these folks to hear that dad over ruled me and told us all to leave these folks be; we all knew you were different even as we grew up we knew but you are our sister so we loved you a little harder."

He took a sip of his coffee before he started again.

"We knew from mom and dad that you were doing stuff at college and when I picked you up from the airport I realized that you needed more help than prayer, I was grateful that Jonathan got these folks to take you in. You look better now than when I first saw you and that's a fact."

This time he drank the full contents of his cup before placing it down on the table and looked directly at me.

"When all you folks turn up again, I will swing by and personally apologize for my actions to each and every one of you. Laurel I love you baby, you are and always will be my little sister, nothing is ever going to change that."

To someone like Charlie he had said his piece and it was time to leave. Laurel stood in front of him and they hugged for a long moment. Perhaps now was a time to hold out that olive branch. So I stood by the porch rail and waited for them both to part. 

"Charlie, since your sister has made her home here now we would like to put a stable and a small barn over in that corner of our land. If you can sound out Jonathan and the rest of the family perhaps we can have a barn/stable raising weekend in a few weeks. Laurel would love to have Toby closer to her now she's back."

The smile never left either of them even when we both waved him goodbye. No sooner had Charlie got out of sight than Laurel turned and wrapped her arms around me and we kissed, at first she felt like she was in a hurry and perhaps she was, thinking I was going to punish her for kissing me without permission, when she realized that wasn't going to happen she stuck around and we both enjoyed it.

"Mind if I ask what that was for?"

Mischief spilled across her face.

"I will answer my master only when I'm ordered to be naked in front of him, letting me suck your cock would be nice too but failing that can we talk about what happened this morning?"

I smiled, I tried not to but she made me do it.

"Remove your clothes and walk to the place you wish the barn and stable to be." 

If shedding clothes ever turned into an Olympic event Laurel would hold the gold medal for it. We walked across the lawn towards the far corner of our land; it never fazed her that she was the only one naked since I was the one who told her to be. For the next few minutes Laurel stood at the same spot her head would move from point to point.

Finally her arms got involved as she explained where the barn would have to go and at what angle and since the sun came up from that direction then the stable needed to be over there and built facing this way so the morning sun didn't turn the stable into a hotbox before Laurel had a chance to get out of bed and open the stable door.

She positively glowed as she talked her whole body was alive with energy as she told of the smaller details now that in her minds eye the two buildings were already up, the shape of the fence post she would like and where it would go. Even the positioning of water points and the need to place the water storage tank behind the stable, even building a small extension to the stable to house it so that the sun never came into contact with it were all relayed to me.

Suddenly she stopped talking, her arms slowly went back to her sides and she turned to face me, the smile almost a memory. Her eyes looked sad and her chest expanded as she pulled air into her body trying so hard to calm what thoughts she was having. When she went kneel I stopped her, Laurel's eyes would not move beyond my chest.

"You will let me have Toby here even though I disrespected you this morning."

"Ok perhaps I missed it so remind me how you disrespected me."

The need to fidget must have been overwhelming for her because her fingers clenched and then relaxed; the top of her chest went red and claimed her neck in the process.

"My hornies. They became a distraction to me and you wouldn't scratch that itch, handing the remote to me and telling me I would figure it out. Well I did, the vibrator in my ass didn't help though. It was hard for my body to ignore it for as long as I did."

Laurel finally found it within herself to look directly at me once again.

"This body is diseased and you taught me that I have to wait as long as it takes. This body can have the hornies as often as it likes but only one man gets to let me have that release. I couldn't push that button if I had wanted to and I truly did want too, but I am slave and in my youth I sometimes miss the subtle times you remind me of it."

We both started to walk back to the cabin. Although she was right, I couldn't help but drive her point home.

"What Mike did to you was inexcusable but he did it, we are all left to clean up his mess and get on with our lives, we caught your STD in time for it not to do any damage. The side effect of that is you will not be intimate until it is cleared up, I'm glad you figured it out yet you forced me to make you figure it out."

This time I stopped and so did Laurel, she didn't want to look at me but I refused to say anymore until she did, her body shook and her fingers clenched tighter as her head rose so her eyes met mine.

"I'm not Mike but don't think for a moment I won't take a paddle to you if you pull a stunt like that again. Learn patience, in the short time I have known you I've been impressed with your attempts to be who you are, and for my part I will continue to give you subtle hints along the way, understand them or not be able to sit down for a few days, your choice."

Other than a wince at the thought that occurred to her from my threat, Laurel only nodded her head once before her eyes lowered to my chest. The sun had risen to the point that Laurel needed to be covered or start to burn without protection. Once back in the cabin I made us drinks, I lost sight of Laurel for a moment and then she was kneeling in the middle of the day room watching me, her collar once again around her neck.

"You knew; it's why you told me to remove my clothes when we left the cabin. I'm sorry my master my collar is for when we are alone or with slave Mandy and my waist chain is for when we have company and I wore none of these."

I thought I was being smart when I asked her how Mike would punish her for what she had just done. Laurel looked towards the cabin floor for a moment, when she looked once again at me I was sat in a chair next to her.

"He wouldn't have noticed, a naked slave to him means that's three holes in a woman's body he had easy access to. A naked slave in front of you is exactly that."

She watched me smile, her smile started when I held out my arms. She was off the floor and sat on my lap so quickly I did wonder if the gold medal would go to her for that as well. With her head resting on my shoulder and my hands around her body we just sat both in our own thoughts.

"Don't ever feel I'm singling you out, even to this day I still test slave. I spoke to her earlier by the way; she is coming here for the evening."

Laurel only nodded her head to acknowledge that she had heard me, she snuggled in closer and we seemed to stay like that for most of what was left of the morning. Amy phoned to see how we were getting on and she promised to bring the girls with her for the weekend, when I mentioned Charlie wanting to see them all and apologies personally, she understood why and told me she would tell the girls.

Jonathan phoned and said he had spoken to Charlie, the barn and stable were a good idea for Laurel and said he would come over during the weekend to discus it with everyone present. We both seemed to get a lot done just sitting on that couch that morning.



Keeping Company Ch. 05: Revisited



My thanks to sexnovella for the editing of this chapter. Even after all this time many of you have mailed me and told me that this series felt unfinished. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to do just that with these last two chapters.

*****

It was with some reluctance that Laurel got off my lap, we hadn't planned to do much more than slum it around the cabin until I reminded her that we needed supplies. A quick look in the kitchen got an agreement from her so she dressed and asked me to put her waist chain on. We both knew she was capable of doing it herself but the fact I was doing it meant more to her.

We hit the mall first for some more clothes and then got Laurel some new boots. She tried on a few hats and even got me to try one on as well, once we both realized that I looked like a dork in a cowboy hat I stopped looking. The food hall got us two carts full and some scratching of heads as to making everything fit into the car, we may need to get Laurel a pick-up of her own.

Laurel had dinner ready by the time Mandy turned up. I got washing up duty while both the girls went and had a talk and judging by the smiles on both there faces allot of air got cleared in that talk of theirs. Mandy still had to get back to the city she had a meeting early the next day but promised that she would come back the weekend.

Our time was broken down into Laurel going to the site for the animal hospital in the morning and a couple of trips into town to register her license and to a couple of the drugs companies both to introduce herself and also look at secure cabinets they had available to buy. I kept myself busy since all I had to do was open my laptop and I was once again at work, I had lunch ready for us for mid-day although Laurel insisted that she would make dinner.

It seemed that almost every other day we would get a phone call from one member of the Colson family inviting us to dinner, I'm sure if I dug deep enough I would find that someone made a roster as to who's turn it was to invite us next. Laurels acceptance back into her family was beginning and it was pleasing to see, the children always got to aunt Laurel first, wives soon realized that she wasn't some weirdo and soon her brothers and sister realized that the woman sat at the table was the girl they grew up with.

Tony was the only one that made the dinner conversation stop dead in its tracks when he asked Laurel when she planned on returning to church with them on Sunday's. Laurel didn't get a chance to answer, Heather stuck her elbow into her husbands side, for a big man he buckled real quick. The glare he got when he turned to his wife to ask her what she did that for made him take a step back and think on it.

The girls came up on mass for the weekend, no sooner were they in the door of the cabin than all of them got naked. Laurel blushed and smiled a tear welled up in her eye and she asked to be excused for a moment, being a tradition that ladies never go to the bathroom alone Amy got up and went with her. Both came back a few minutes later arm in arm, the temptation to ask what they had found out about Mike was close to overwhelming. The fact they had said nothing about him in front of Laurel was also not lost on me.

Laurel wanted to show the girls the site for the stable and barn, the humor of seeing a bunch of naked people troupe out of the cabin and stand in one corner of a field wasn't lost on me, yet the way Laurel explained everything to us left me certain that she held every one of us captive. Not one of us had a question for her when she had finished and more than once we nodded our heads at her attention to detail.

All that was left to do was to talk to Jonathan and arrange a weekend and the materials. Charlie phoned about an hour after our return from the field and asked to come to the cabin, we asked for an hour and he and Jonathan arrived two minutes after the hour. Mandy, Laurel, Amy and Jonathan went back out to the field, I watched from the porch as he took notes and talked to the girls. Carol-Ann made us all drinks and took theirs out to them.

"She looks happy now."

I smiled at what he was looking at. Laurel had taken charge of the barn and stable design and soon to be construction. She was in her element.

"She's on familiar ground Charlie. You will see it when she's at the site for the animal hospital building as well."

"I heard the rumors of what she was doing at college when mom and dad came back, I almost didn't recognize the woman who walked out of the airport terminal to me when I picked her up. I was afraid I had lost my baby sister."

His gaze never left his sister, for a big man like Charlie that must have come as a total shock to him.

"Jodie told us all that we were not to look up on the internet concerning what you do to women, she said that so much of it was not you. I couldn't help myself I had to know, my wife made me stop."

Charlie laughed, a nervous laugh like he was a kid who had just been caught with his hand stuck in the cookie jar.

"My first thought was to come up here and shoot you before I took my sister back, my wife knows me too well and phoned Jodie for help. It was Jodie who sat me down and talked to me she told me about your wife and Mandy, she told me that she had seen both Mandy and my sister semi-naked a few days after I dropped her off here and the contrast between them were opposite ends of the scale."

The girls and Jonathan were on their way back to the cabin, still deep in conversation.

"My Father was right about you folks, I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to realize that. I've already seen the difference in her and it has only been a couple of weeks. The whole family knows that the man she was with at college treated her badly, we all know you won't and we see that in her eyes every day we see her."

Charlie looked at me, his hand outstretched. I took it and as we shook on it as he said. "Look after my baby sister for me please."

"She is no longer a baby Charlie but I understand what you mean. She loves you all and you can take that to the bank, Laurel is happy now and getting better by the day. All she asks from you all is understanding."

The rest of the girls came out of the cabin just as Laurel and the rest came up the steps. True to his word Charlie hugged and apoligiesed to each of the girls, when he got to Mandy he also said thank you. That got him an extra hug from Mandy and a 'your welcome' in return.

*******

The barn and stable build was set for two weekends away, Jodie was constantly on the phone both with Laurel and the rest of the wives. The giant family table was moved onto the back lawn on the Friday afternoon, Laurel was with Mandy at Dr Hartmann's for a check up so they waited for the rest of the girls and came on mass. When Amy commented that she would have just got the caterers in both Jodie and Laurel looked at her like she was from Venus.

Mandy gave me a brief rundown on what the doctor had said and after a second and third test, the third at Laurels insistence, she was pronounce STD free. The only sword she felt that hung over her head was aids but the good doctor told her that they had done all the tests and although they would continue to do so when she came in for the tattoo removal sessions none so far had shown any signs.

Laurel's impatience did make me smile and I caught Mandy doing the same.

"Submissive or not I think she plans to attack you tonight."

"We have yet to discuss your roll in all this."

"Oh I plan to stand back and watch you drown."

Our laughing caused the girls to stop and look over for a moment before they themselves went back to talking. Judging by the look she was giving me I think it may have crossed her mind to do just that.

"You know what I mean."

She smiled and then came and hugged me before was both wandered out of the cabin and walked around the grounds.

"I thank you, slave thanks you too."

My own step faltered as I realized who was talking to me.

"Slave and I have talked a great deal over this situation, it is clear that Laurel has to be the priority in this. We have noticed her leanings towards being a bottom, since slave has always been slave her flexibility in all this has never been an issue to us. Slave has noticed that although you and the girls include me often I'm still left to regret my past."

Even as I went to protest Mandy waved it away, her need to continue to talk outweighed anything I might have said in my defense.

"Slave and I look on this as an opportunity, when Laurels leanings became apparent to us both we knew we had to change. Slave also took it as an opportunity to include me, we are willing to top in this relationship."

Even though she had stopped talking it was clear to both of us she wished to say more, yet Mandy seemed to be waiting for my input before she dare. 

"When slave took control of your life you had no choice but to accept, slave was the more dominant of the two of you. You know of slaves boundaries with me, are you willing to accept them as well knowing I will punish both of you severely if either of you challenge me without good reason?"

This time Mandy stopped, her smile clear to see both on her lips and her eyes. 

"I've had worse done to me in a normal relationship than you have ever done to her in a dominant one. I'm going to catch hell for this but she loves you you know, we both do. You can't hurt us because we give everything that we are to you and you can't harm yourself can you?"

We hugged for a moment and it was perhaps the closest I have ever felt with both slave and Mandy in all the years I have been with them. The door swung open and Amy stepped outside, she scanned the front of the cabin spotted us and the look on her face told us both she was out here for a reason. As Mandy and I parted Amy walked off the porch and joined us.

"Laurel is real sharp, she just asked Carol-Anne when are we having the vote."

By the time all three of us had got back into the cabin, Laurel was on her knees facing the girls who were sat on the couch watching her. None wished to start a conversation until we had all came back in.

"Laurel stand."

Even I spotted the reluctance within her to obey. Mandy took one arm and I took the other and between us we walked Laurel out of the cabin and sat her on the chair on the porch. It was a conversation we all knew needed to be aired, the problem was it had also turned into one of those 'when is the right moment' conversations as well.

Laurel and Mandy sat holding hands as I talked about Beth and including her in our group only to find that the real reason for her agreeing was her fear that I would cut the funds we gave her off if she didn't. I spoke of the time we found out about the boyfriend from her past and bringing him down to join her, the finding of Ginny's original will and letter to me about the group.

Neither said a word as the confrontation with Beth in Amy's office and the later discussion with Beth at Mandy's apartment when she was told she would be staying the night only to have her boyfriend drive her there telling us she had other ideas on how she wished the conversation between us to go.

"Their was a vote that week between us and Beth was never invited to participate, we voted on if we should leave the numbers as they were. We had seen the train wreck that we caused by including Beth and realized that it was a lesson between us that should never be repeated."

Laurel sat for a moment her gaze drifted between the decking and Mandy for a few moments before her courage at the answer to her one question may become too unbearable to hear.

"Then I am lost. I am slave and you will forever be my master but this will never be the home I need unless you or my sister are by my side. I am nothing but a guest here."

Before I could answer Carol-Anne stepped onto the porch.

"I vote yes."

Wendy followed.

"I vote yes."

Amy took up her position next to Wendy.

"I vote yes."

Mandy watched all this with a smile and stood when it was her turn.

"We vote yes."

Every eye on the porch looked towards me and other than shrug my shoulders I said yes as well. The place erupted with giggling women and group hugs and I just stepped back and sat on the rail wondering if Laurel truly knew what she was letting herself in for.

*******

The lumber came on trailers pulled by the ranches station wagons. The convoy of trucks and cars that followed pulled up alongside the cabin and children burst forth from them followed by the rest of Laurel's family. Jodie and Laurel seemed to take over from then on, the children were kept out of harms way and the wives rotated baby sitting duties between themselves.

Jonathan set out the marker post's for both the stable and barn, he confirmed it all with Laurel and once she gave her nod of approval her brothers went into action, sinking posts and cutting lumber to set lengths. Buckets of nails and screws appeared out of the back of one of the trucks and over the course of the morning a stable was born.

At one point I was politely told to keep out of the way so I kept everyone topped up with cold drinks while the girls were busy in the kitchen and getting the table stacked with enough food to feed an army. With all but the roof to go on Laurel shouted that it was time to eat, the guys wanted to finish the stable first but sometimes you have to regulate feeding time with children rather than the other way around.

All the running around in the field behind us made them all hungry so it was decided that the roof could wait. When I looked at the middle of the table it was full of bowls of potato salad, cold meats, rice, cut bread. The list just went on the further down the table you looked. Jonathan said prayers and I had to hold Mandy's leg to keep her sat down. Jodie noticed that she didn't join them in prayer but nodded her head in acknowledgment that she remained seated.

Once we had finished Amy admitted that she may have to ditch the caterer's idea in favor of the wives cooking from now on. The brothers were itching to get back to the stable roof and when Jonathan stood we all did, I continued my duties as refreshment bearer and when I went looking for Laurel I found her on top of the stable roof with a hammer in her hand. Even the rest of the girls stood and watched for a moment as she walked across the constructed parts and hopped over to the bits that still needed working on.

"I'm told when she was younger she could hold her own in a fight with Charlie and Tony, I suppose it's why Jonathan still shakes his head at what she is now. I grew up with Laurel at school and even there the boys knew not to cross her, not because of her brothers but because she was likely to drop you on your ass for upsetting her."

Jodie came and stood next to the girls and me as we watched Laurel for a moment before she continued.

"We knew she was never going to be a girlie girl, Heather nearly got her head handed to her when she suggested to Laurel that she try out for the cheerleader squad. I suppose it's why all of her brothers still find it hard to come to terms with when they think of her growing up and what she is now."

I thought about what to say, it was clear to me that if I didn't say something Mandy was going to.

"Tell me Jodie, if I walked over to Heather and asked for details about what she and Tony get up to in the bedroom would she tell me?"

Jodie clearly stiffened, anger rose in her and quickly subsided when she pulled in air and shook her head. I pointed towards Laurel as she launched herself over a gap in the roof to catch a board that Charlie had thrown up to her.

"That's Laurel, that's the sister they have and never lost. That's the friend you had in school and is now your sister, her one mistake was the man she ended up with in college. She has rectified that mistake Jodie and each day back on the ranch brings the friend you knew back to you, don't judge what she does in the bedroom Jodie after all she never judges you for what you do." 

Perhaps I may have been a little harsh, the fact that Jodie went crimson and walked off may have attested to that but I'm sure Mandy's answer would have made for a more interesting conversation if I had allowed it.

While Laurel and Tony finished off the stable roof the rest of the brothers sank the posts for the barn and screwed supports to the posts. Not much else could be done today, the barn would be up tomorrow and the finishing touches would be added over the rest of the week so that Toby could join Laurel by the end of the week. We thanked everyone as they left and some very exhausted women went into the cabin to shower.

I watched Laurel as she stood looking at the stable, her hands on her hips. She must have heard me approach her because she turned and smiled.

"You were in your comfort zone today, that's how you should always be. Join the girls in the shower we could all do with an early night. Follow Carol-Anne's lead and dress how she dresses for the evening I will be in shortly."

Laurel nodded and left, I thought I was alone in my thoughts until I felt Mandy next to me.

"Come home when you can. Your mind is screaming for release I can feel it from here."

She heard me sigh and clung to my arm.

"Lets not fool ourselves, if you can feel it then so can Laurel. When is her first treatment for that damn tattoo?"

"Wednesday next week and then its weekly after that."

"Ok I will bottom Laurel then and it will be time to let you two play as well. If things go well then we can re-visit what we do to her. I'm loathed to bring too many toys here and rub the girl's noses in what we are doing." 

Mandy giggled, she had the cutest giggle and I often found myself telling her a joke or two just to hear it. The warmth it gave me in the pit of my stomach always seems to swim to my heart and hold itself there for the evening.

"At various times the girls have found out first hand what we do although the rubbing noses thing may be interesting."

I slapped her ass and she turned to head back into the cabin, the swing of her hips told me so much more. It seemed that t-shirts were the dress code for the evening, the flashes of ass and pussy as the girls wandered around the cabin let alone the swing of tits within the confines of said shirts as they wandered the room left me with a permanent hard on.

Carol-Anne caught me by surprise, I turned and there she was, the most beautiful smile from her and then she was gone. When I followed her head as she sank to her knees my shorts followed her hands to the floor. When I looked over to the rest of the girls Wendy was already pulling off her shirt and walking towards me.

"Your looking after Laurel is admirable but our promise to Ginny outranks that."

With those words out of the way she pushed me backwards and I fell onto the couch. Wendy followed me down and was already sat astride me before I could utter a word. Her hands went around my head and her nipple was now poised on my lips, a soft warmth enveloped my cock as I sucked on Wendy's nipple.

Her slow moan meant I was doing all the right things, when my arms came around her and held her close to me her moan got a little louder. The tongue work on my cock was rather masterful as well, whoever it was worked on me for only a few moments before the mouth left me, it was but a second before I heard Laurels voice whisper into Wendy's ear.

"His as hard as I can get him, it's your turn now."

Wendy shuddered and gulped, a hand went around my hardness before she lowered herself onto me. As hand met with pussy the hand disappeared and I sank deep into Wendy.

"Ok. Now I have your full attention this is what's going to happen, your going to stop being so damn considerate and release what you have stored up in you into parts of me and if you think this is rape then the lawyer over there with Carol-Anne's tongue buried deep in her pussy will attest that this is all consensual."




Keeping Company Ch. 05: Revisited



Amy was on her back with her legs over Carol-Anne's shoulder, one hand on Carols head the other pulling on one of her own breasts. Sometimes she would pull hard on the nipple making a cone of her tit, other times she would flatten it against her body her fingers digging deep into the pliable flesh as slurping sounds tried to outdo the moans coming from Amy. 

Seeing what Carol-Anne was doing to Amy made me smile, the smile from Wendy grew even bigger when I looked towards her and my arms once again went around her body and I lifted us off the couch and onto the floor. Her own legs locking her to me as we did, once I was sure she was comfortable on the floor that damn smile of hers seemed to get bigger.

"Well sailor, now you have me here, what do you intend to do to me?"

The giggle that followed abruptly ended when I kissed her, that kiss dictated what Wendy's needs were. Her hands came to my head and held me to her as our kiss consumed us both and the dig of her heel into my back was a giveaway as well. When my cock pushed deep into her she moaned and our kiss became more intense. 

"I need it hard so just fuck me, I know that you're not going to last long anyway so my love... Race you to the finish line." 

I heard the giggles from the couch and since I had my orders I followed them. Wendy adjusted her legs slightly and I pounded her pussy, shadows appeared either side of Wendy, two heads descended on her breasts. 

A gasp escaped her lips before she said: 

"Oh fuck yes."

My thrusts into Wendy slackened slightly when I noticed her move across the rug causing both the girls to have to adjust there own positions. Both Amy and Carol took it in turns to leave the saliva soaked breasts of Wendy to kiss me, I would like to say I was in her for hours, they all knew I was lucky to last a few minutes and all three were intent on her winning the race to the finish line.

Carol-Anne noticed first when our kiss ended and looked towards Wendy. 

"His almost there."

Her face once again turned towards me, those beautiful eyes held me. 

"Don't worry honey I'm next and I fully intend to enjoy my time."

As I once again adjusted my position Amy's hand went straight to Wendy clit and rubbed it, with my final thrust into her I poured all I had in me into her. Carol and Amy twisted Wendy's nipples her own hands came up to hold there hands in place crushing both down onto her body in the process as her own orgasm raced up her body.

Wendy once again moved her legs, pulling my own body as close to her as she could. Her stomach tightened and she screamed out her orgasm, Amy let go of her clit, but Wendy refused to let go of either hand over her tits until her own body had sucked every sensual pleasure it could, both from the pain and orgasm that danced around her body.

As her eyes opened she stared back at all three of us grinning at her. Her hands moved and allowed Amy and Carol to have theirs back as well. Carol stood and removed her t-shirt dropping it on the floor right next to Wendy, her hands outstretched towards me.

"When your soft and fall out of the skinny redhead then your mine and I'm going to want a bed to bounce on you with so me and you are going to make love in the bedroom honey."

I managed semi-soft before Carol-Anne's need became too great for her, I couldn't manage soft because being around these women never really made me soft to be honest. Amy straddled Wendy's face and looked at me.

"Ready when you are. Go and enjoy Carol because what you put inside Wendy is mine and I plan on getting every little bit of it out of her as well so please close the door to the bedroom, you know how loud she can get."

The hand that hovered next to me was held onto as I stood, Amy instantly took the place I had just vacated and the sight of these two deep into each others pussies started to get me hard once again. 

"Oh goodie, I'm not going to have to do much to get you hard again am I?" 

"At my age I would have said one would have been my limit but you girls keep proving me wrong?"

Carol-Anne looked at me, her brow creased slightly before saying:

"Mandy told us you're on an old age thing. So I'm going to help you some, you are ours. Ginny gave you to us and we plan on keeping you around because we all love you so please stop thinking age has anything to do with anything." 

As we lay together on the bed I once again became familiar with this woman, her left side rose towards me and I devoured her nipple. Her gasp quickly changed to a moan, my hand wandered down her stomach pausing at her navel. Carol grasped my hand and tried to push it further down, I resisted and her moan changed to a groan.

"Now I know you're a pervert, you have a naked women under you offering her whole body and you want to go after my navel. Just because the rest of the girls are all innies and mine is an outie and yes I checked Laurels as well hoping she could share the load."

The giggle that followed simply made me press my finger into her, the giggle quickly changed to a soft moan and both her hands came to mine and held it there. Carol's stomach clenched and her pelvic slowly moved up and down.

"Oh fuck that makes me so wet when you do that."

I went after her nipple at the same time, another gentle moan escaped her lips before one hand left mine and she tried to adjust her position. I stopped sucking on her so I could see what she was doing. Her hand once again came into view, her own scent followed a second later.

"Mark I'm leaking on the bed, I seem to have a hole down there that needs plugging. So if you could see your way clear to put you into me then when you climb up here again I will try my best not to burst your hearing when you make me cum."

Again we both giggled, Carol must have read my thoughts because her answer was already on her lips.

"You have the most romantic thoughts Miss Mackenzie." 

She nodded just the once. 

"It's a gift from Ginny and the man on top of me at the moment just keeps on giving."

Her sigh as I slid into her met with a quiet grunt when I bottomed out in her, her vaginal muscles really are something else, the vice that held me wouldn't let me move. I gave her a look and even asked her.

"How do you do that?"

She giggled as her hand came and rested on my cheek.

"My mother taught it to me when I was young, she said it's how she trapped my dad."

"I would have thought having a hot mom under him like yours would have trapped him anyway." 

"You forget she is one hundred percent Japanese, to her she had to make him fall in love with her, it never occurred to her that he was in love with her the moment he set eyes on her."

Carol-Anne relaxed her muscles and winked at me, the pure woman who is Carol-Anne Mackenzie came out to play that evening, once I felt her legs move I parted mine a little more to give her room and her feet rested between my legs. Mentally she had locked me into the position she wanted to make love, the moving of my arms to take some of my weight off her body earned me that smile that melts my heart every damn time.

I was easy to see why her father loved her mother so much if this woman beneath me was anything to go by.

"Thank you Mark-san wa. You have the heart of every woman in this house, but mine beats a little faster than theirs does because I have you inside of me."

Mentally I thanked Wendy, as the evening went on I thanked them all. I touched Carol-Anne's heart that evening, I only teased her once as she rode her orgasm and in my determination to keep her there she was rewarded with two more that followed the first before I came in this little firecracker of a woman. When I pulled out of her she quickly closed her legs and turned so that we could snuggle.

As my arm came around her body she did her best to connect as much of her to me before a gentle and contented sigh escaped her lips.

"The girls have talked to Laurel and in turn we have brought you a gift. Tomorrow the bulk of the work will be done on the barn, us girls and that will include Mandy are going to shower and go for a meal in town. Only then will Laurel show you the gift we brought for you."

She heard me pull air into my lungs ready to speak, the woman in my arms got their first.

"Please my love don't ask because it will be the one time I will have to refuse to answer you. Just know that this gift comes from all of us and you will understand when Laurel hands it to you."

Again she paused, her head refusing to turn to look at me.

"This is the one part I can't get used to. Thank you for this evening but it's time for you to go back to Laurel and Mandy now, it's ok my love the girls are gong to keep me company tonight and I have a deposit they will no doubt fight over to get so I plan on a long night for myself."

I understood, I even kissed the back of her neck to thank her, her resolve broke and she spun around and we kissed. The door opened and Wendy lay next to Carol-Anne her hands held her ever so gently, as our kiss ended my place by her side was taken by Amy who held her just as tenderly. I kissed all three goodnight and closed the door to the sound of gentle moans coming from the bed.

The bedside lamp showed Mandy behind Laurel, her arm around her and her hand rested on her hip. Both looked towards me as I closed the door and the space between them grew. On my travel up the bed to occupy the space between them the warmth they shared became mine as well as we all settled down. Mandy kissed the back of my neck and tried to see if she could attach some more of her to me before all three of us settled into a sleep.

*******

All the girls were up and ready the next morning, Laurel did have to remind us all that it was Sunday and the family would be at church for the morning. By one o'clock the trucks pulling the lumber and convey of cars could be heard heading up the road, the children burst out of the trucks and cars and seemed to continue the games they played yesterday as though they never stopped.

Lunch was called an hour later this time Laurel and I kept Mandy sat down as Jonathan said prayers of thanks. Jodie watched and tried ever so hard to hide the smile, mouthing a thank you at Mandy when it was over. It was once again all hands to the pumps getting the children fed and watered before us adults tucked in, work once again started thirty minutes later, it was a repeat of the Saturday with both Laurel and Jonathon barking orders and over the next four hours a barn was born. 

With school in mind the wives took the children home while all the brothers and Laurel finished off. As the sun just started to steal its light back and descend behind the mountain range Jonathan announced that everything that could be done had been, it was now left to Laurel to put the finishing touches knowing full well she could call on any of them if she needed anymore help. 

We split the brothers in half and Laurel took one lot with her back to there homes I took the other half. We met back at the cabin at about the same time and all the girls were showered, dressed and ready for our return. Amy walked over to me and held her hand out for the car keys.

"Laurel has your gift and before you ask her she knows nothing other than what we have told her and that is that she is to give it to you when you have both showered and not before so accept the gift we have all given you and we will see you both later, bye."

A kiss and a hug was given by them all as they jumped into the car and left. Even as well as we all knew each other I was still at a loss, Laurel stood next to me and said nothing other than smile and shrug her shoulders. We showered together and then she left the bathroom, coming back a minute or so later with a box in her hands. 

I thanked her and she followed me into the bedroom were I sat the box down on the bed when I looked at her again she shrugged her shoulders, the slight grin didn't pass me by either. Feeling just as confused as I was when she handed the box to me, I opened it.

The strip of four condoms got a giggle from Laurel and the small bottle of lube made her blush. The final gift was a card right at the bottom of the box, I read the words out loud so that Laurel could fully understand the true contents of the box.

'We the undersigned have sat and patiently waited for this day and as women seen the frustration grow in Laurel that it couldn't come fast enough. The STD the pig gave her is now gone and she herself holds a clean bill of health from Doctor Hartman to prove this.'

That alone got a smile and a rapid nod of her head. 

'It's time to welcome her into the family as a woman, the slave within can wait until she goes into the city for the start of her tattoo removal and you three are all at Mandy's. The condoms are because the injection the Doctor gave her would not be fully guaranteed yet. We also have a morning after pill if required, the lube is for variety and so that Laurel knows that no hole has ever been denied you in all the time we have known you.'

I stopped reading out loud; at the bottom of the card was every girl's signature. Then I turned the card towards Laurel and asked her to read the final words.

"Welcome home my best friend and sister. We found out all too late the cry for help you sent out and the fall into the wrong hands when you went away from us. We the undersigned love you so much and are glad your back, my faith teaches me forgiveness and I hope you remember it as well, please forgive the undersigned for the ignorance we had and the cries for help that went unheard by us all."

Jodie, Heather, Laurels sister and every wife signed right next to the other.

Laurel read and re-read the whole card, wiping a tear away so she could read it some more, the smile never left her face even when she held the card right next to her heart.

"I am slave, it is the lifestyle that I choose and you are the master that owns this heart. But tonight if you will allow it, I would like to be Laurel, the woman that loves you and both my families ever so much."

Even this old man had a lump in his throat, the time and effort put into this one gift from all the girls of both families left me speechless. As Laurel placed the card down on the cabinet next to the bed it was with some reluctance, I believed that treasure will live in her life for many years to come.

It was Laurel the woman I made love to that evening, slave happily gave us the evening knowing full well her turn would come when Mandy and I took her to the city for to the tattoo removal and for the doctors to decide in what order to deal with the skin damage of the cigarette burns. It was clear to both of us that Laurel was a submissive, be it with slave in control or Laurel. The thing about that evening was that we both knew it wasn't a race.

I took my time with Laurel, we kissed and as we kissed I placed my hand on her cheek. The gentle moan came from her when her pubic bone felt me grow, when our kiss finished I looked at her and her eyes were so alive that her smile had trouble keeping up.

"I have a number in my head, bet you can't think of that number."

With the speed of youth she was already on her knees and in the process of placing her leg over my chest one hand already on my cock while she used her hips and her free hand to shimmy backwards.

"Bet I can."

Her mouth enveloped my cock and my arms went around her hips as my tongue toyed with her pussy lips. Her self control was amazing, even with the gentle torture her lips gave me her hips would raise when my tongue moved along her pussy in the direction of her ass. The juices that oozed from her almost doubled when the tip of my tongue brushed her clit.

Laurel moaned around my cock in appreciation that I had found the target, tracing around its hood made her sink her mouth down further, her throat gave in to its gag reflex and poor Laurel had to pull back slightly. Neither one of us gave into our base instincts, we were truly intimate for the first time and the both of us planned to enjoy it as long as we could.

Her skills were truly unbelievable. Although I knew so much of Laurel and slaves history the one question I had no interest in asking was how many men Mike had made her service. It's true to say that a woman never tells, but she would have a difficult time refusing to answer if I had asked. I couldn't do that to her, poor Laurel's past was documented enough by the scars that now adorn her body I had no interests in ripping open a part of her life and showing daylight on something that has no purpose.

She was skilled and I understood why, to me that was enough. 

I went after her orgasm then, her hood may have hid its treasure for awhile but its own need made it flower and both of us benefitted from that action. Cool air touched my cock as Laurels mouth left me, her own orgasm ripped through her body and out through her mouth in the form of a soft and gentle moan.

When my tongue touched her clit her body would instinctively shudder, her hand started to move the skin of my cock once again only to be replaced by her mouth seconds later. I knew I was only seconds away myself and to be honest I was quiet pleased that I got Laurel to orgasm first, for a split second I did wonder if it was male pride needing me too.

Suddenly Laurel changed position and I erupted into her willing mouth. Her head would bob up and down slightly and her tongue would gently tease me until I could give her no more. Laurel seemed to adjust her position ever so slightly once again and set about keeping me hard, for a full minute I truly believed she stood no chance, boy was I proved wrong.

The look of triumph as she once again swung her leg away and knelt next to proudly showing the spoils of her work on my cock, when I looked in the direction she was looking I was still hard. Even when I heard a tear from the packet in her hands the smile radiating from Laurel as she pulled the condom from its package. Something past her face and she faulted for a brief second before looking at me.

"Please, may we save my ass for last? You have all given me tonight and I so desperately thank you but I need to give something back to slave as well. When you take my ass I want slave to join with me, she deserves that as much as I do."

I saw the moisture in her eyes when I nodded my head, she mouthed a thank you. That smile grew on her once again as she covered my cock swung her leg over me and held my hardness brushing it along her pussy lips and across her clit and shuddering when she did before closing her eyes and impaled herself onto me.

Hiding the smile was easy with her eyes shut the effort to hide my laugh was harder when I heard her whisper:

"Fuck I've so looked forward to this."

We were slow to begin with; both of us knew that we wished to savor this moment. My hands sought her tits and held them in my grasp. Laurel even leaned forward a little more trying to get even more of her into my hands, her upper body kept still as my hand enjoyer her pleasurable flesh yet her hips moved to there own rhythm. She quickly sucked in air when my thumbs pushed her already hard nipples back into her body.

Pushing her tits together as best I could brought her body down enough for me to suck in her nipples as they resurfaced, the soft moan above my head only added to Laurel increasing the movement of her pelvis. Again I sucked on her nipples one at a time, using my thumb and finger to gently twist the other, a gasp as I changed tack only encouraged me to repeat the same with the other nipple.

Her body heat was increasing and we both knew that our own animal need would consume us soon, more so Laurel since she hadn't been intimate since she left college carrying the gift from Mike. She seemed to have anticipated me twisting our bodies and with Laurel below me I quickly adjusted ever so slightly and with her heels resting on my back I pounded into her pussy.




Keeping Company Ch. 05: Revisited



The pause as I stopped to pull her back down the bed earned me a 'fuck yes' before I spun her over and did her doggie. Laurel never needed to be pulled back down the bed this time, for her part she just pushed back to meet me. I pulled another two orgasms out of her before that sensation started to let me know I was close, placing my hand under her and rubbing hard over her clit caused Laurel to slump forward the groan muffled by the pillow she had her face in.

I wasn't gentle their simply wasn't time to be. Her scream into the pillow once again heralding her orgasm and with a sense of relief and hidden pleasure I came at the same time. Laurel held her position as she felt my cock explode into the condom, when those pulses ceased she let out a little whimper and slowly even her ass fell forward onto the bed gasping for breath almost as much as I was.

For awhile we lay facing each other her face glowed, Laurels hand moved as did mine and both met in the middle as we held hands and talked for awhile. It was like she wanted to hang on for as long as she could to this moment, both slave and I had given her a gift and Laurel would treasure it for a lifetime. We still talked as Laurel pulled the condom off of me and place it in the trash basket, it felt odd watching Laurel then pull her collar from the bedside cabinet and put it on.

Slave wouldn't interfere since the bond between Laurel and slave was as tight as Mandy and slave. I knew both girls talked to each other at great lengths, Laurel had bowed to Mandy's dominance between them but Mandy very rarely pushed that dominance and I think Laurel just accepted it as they way it was. As Laurel moved to make me hard again I knew that slave was along for the ride and that was not me being disrespectful it was slave accepting the gift that Laurel was giving her.

I was as gentle as I could be when I took Laurel's ass. I'm sure a part of her wished it was different, but slave was a guest this evening and I understood the respect one had for the other.

The morning brought both girls either side of me, I heard them whispering to each other but by the time I was awake enough to hear the words clearly they had figured I was awake and the whispers stopped. I really must learn to fake sleep better if I was to get a better chance to eaves drop on them talking. As we showered and I dressed we talked about Laurels next visit to the clinic for the continued removal of the tattoo and the two days afterwards that she would be spending at Mandy's. That girl glowed once again. 

*******

We saw Laurel's picture in the local paper, the paper thought that a vet in the local area and servicing the needs of three of the biggest ranches in the area was news. She positively glowed in that picture and the families of all three ranches gave the same sort of comments that having one centrally based vet in an area this vast was a great idea. With the clinic in full operation we knew from Jonathan that Laurel was working most daylight hours and even putting in some late ones as well. 

All the girls had rotated when it was time for Laurel to come to the city for the tattoo removal and even spent an evening or two with whoever kept her company at the clinic. The tattoo was long gone now and so was any hair she had below the neck as well. Although she said herself that she enjoyed her time in the city she was and always would be a country girl. We understood that and the growing popularity of the clinic just proved that she had become indispensable.

Jodie was even talking to Laurel about sending her eldest to college to become a vet, Jodie's boy just loved working with his aunt and it seemed it was due to working with her that his own school grades started to get better. He had sat his folks down and asked if he could go to vet college when he graduated, Laurel was his champion when Jonathan hesitated on making a decision. 

Reminding Jonathan that it was his sister that made the mistakes that took close to a year to rectify and he was not to think that his own son and her nephew would make the same mistakes in life that she made. Jonathan said he would think on it, Laurel smiled and knew he would agree.

*******

Mandy heard the news and phoned me shouting down the phone that I was to turn the TV on and what station to switch it too. On one of her random checks Laurel had found BSE in one of the cattle from the adjacent ranch, the place was in lock down and the only person allowed anywhere was Laurel. Mandy phoned Laurel and I talked to Jonathan and the news was grim from both of them.

At the moment it was one cow that had been quarantined but the sheriff's department acting on behalf of USDA and Laurel who was also the vet in charge. Shut off all roads leading in and out off all three ranches. The Colson's also took things into their own hands and on Laurels suggestions centralized there own heard. 

It seems Jonathan, and the heads of the other two families questioned the logic of doing that, if any other cattle in the heard were infected it would spread like wildfire amongst the others close by. Laurel stood her ground and told him that centralizing the heard on each farm kept each heard away from each other. If it came to it she would rather order the destruction of one heard rather than all three.

The heads of the three families finally saw the logic in what she was trying to do and within hours the ranches on both sides followed suit while more tests were done on as many animals as Laurel could get her hands on. Jonathan told us that no matter what he said to Laurel she wouldn't rest. His sister was burning herself out and nothing could be done about it. 

The news station even managed to dig up the picture of Laurel from the local paper and now her face was on every screen in America. USDA sent people in and between them and Laurel the situation slowly stabilized to just the one case. The animal was destroyed and although the lock down stayed in effect the pressure on all three families eased considerably.

I was one of the first allowed back in, Laurel was in her clinic. I almost didn't recognize her, she had aged so much these past couple of weeks of quarantine, but I came forewarned and had borrowed a vet from a friend. I ordered Laurel to turn over her clinic to him, she went to protest until she watched me take a step closer to her, my hands already clenched ready for a full on fight with her.

It still took half a day to bring the stand-in Vet up to speed but once I got Laurel in the car she collapsed with exhaustion in the passenger seat. Jodie met us both at the cabin and helped me undress Laurel, I took one look at her clothes and told Jodie to set them all in the barrel out back I would burn them later. By now Laurel's sister had joined Jodie and they both set about washing a sleeping Laurel in her bed while I talked to Jonathan outside.

"She wouldn't stop, we all told her to rest and that a dead vet was of no use to anyone."

He took the lead in our walk around the cabin and told me in detail all that had gone on. As his commentary came to an end I had to smile.

"I bet it was odd having to take orders from your sister."

Jonathan smiled and stepped sideways, bumping into me at the same time. His face once again became serious. 

"This is going to hit the cattle community around here real hard. The loss of confidence is going to be measured in real dollars for some years to come."

"Not this ranch you have silent partners that will take the pressure off, but talk to the other families and see what needs to be done to weather whatever storm that's going to hit. If needed then we will make non interest loans to help out the families. None of you deserved this Jonathan and I'm just grateful that Laurel got to the source before it had a real impact on the rest of all three families cattle stocks."

Jonathon nodded and told me he would start making some calls as soon as he got back to the house. Just as Jodie came out of the cabin my cell rang.

Amy's voice was frantic and she spoke so quickly that even I had trouble keeping up. 

"The pig is on the move, he must have seen Laurels picture on TV, I have a PI following him as we speak and his heading in your direction."

Quickly grabbing Jonathan's arm I turned us around and headed away from the cabin. Jodie watched and when we turned I lost sight of her.

"We have a problem heading this way. Mike is on his way here and my best guess is his looking to pick up where he left off at college since Laurel is a celebrity now."

"Mark you need to go inside and deal with your slave. This is family business now and none of your business."

Both of us stopped and turned to see Jodie stood behind us, Laurel's sister stood next to her, her face as impassive as Jodie's. Jonathan placed a hand on my shoulder and nodded.

"My wife is right Mark, I thank you for the warning but you need to go inside and leave the family to deal with this."

A coldness crept down my spine as I looked at both of them, the Colson's had closed ranks. I tried one more time.

"Please let me deal with this, we have enough on Mike to put him in jail, more so if he comes anywhere near Laurel."

Jodie leaned in close and kissed my cheek. 

"Goodnight Mark."

Perhaps for the first time I saw the real Jodie and why she was not only Jonathan's wife but also the second most powerful Colson. She had made a promise to Laurel some time back to make up for not hearing her plea for help, now it seems she intended to put an end to all of this.

Both the Colson's turned in unison and started towards there car, Laurel's sister walked alongside Jodie before I ask them to wait a moment. I pulled my cell from my pocket and called Amy.

"Amy, call the PI and thank him for his efforts but he is to stop tailing Mike and go home. Tell him to send in the bill and make sure it's paid off, and Amy. Make sure it's paid from my account please."

Even when I closed the phone I got no reaction from either Colson. They simply turned back to the car, got in and left. Amy phoned a few minutes later confirming that she had spoken to the PI and he was in the process of turning around, I didn't have it in me to tell her what I suspected was going to happen. Other than letting her know that I would be staying here for the foreseeable future, Amy understood and put the phone down. 

*******

Other than holding onto Laurel for the night I heard nothing, by dawn Laurel finally moved and opened her eyes. 

"Good morning my Master may this slave go for a pee before she kisses you?"

My smile telegraphed my accent and she was out of bed and running to the bathroom so quickly that my smile just got bigger as I watched that ass of hers move. I even had to stifle a laugh when I heard her sigh as her stream hit the toilet. Once done she reappeared with an even bigger smile and dashed once again across the room and onto the bed. She bounced once and used that same momentum to get as much of her as close to me as she could, this time we did indeed kiss.

"I understand with the lockdown you could not enter and it was with great sadness that this slave had to deny you access."

"Do you wish me to punish you?"

It was actually a rhetorical question but her eyes positively glowed and although her cheeks reddened her head nodded. 

"Yes please."

Laurel even placed herself across my lap as her last word left her lips and that ass of hers just in front of me waiting. With every swipe across her ass she counted and thanked me, when I reached the amount of days all three ranches were in lockdown I stopped. Her legs came up and her ass was in the air, her head resting on her arms. She refused to look at me as she spoke.

"My Master this slave would never presume to tell you how to deal with this slave. But she denied you access to her and still has to be punished, please reclaim this slave and allow this slave to feel you inside her as she has craved for so many days now."

With that her hands went to either ass cheek and pulled them apart.

Laurel had been steering this conversation from the moment she had woken up. I could see her point, for just close to three weeks she had to make all the decision for all three ranches and as the vet on the ground USDA had pretty much let her lead the whole operation. That was a lot of responsibility to place on such young shoulders and with my return slave sought to change that.

But what she was doing now was also a double edged sword because slave was leading what we were doing this morning, all being with my permission. I knew from Jonathan how much sleep she had in all the time the lockdown was in progress and even with a good nights sleep Laurel was still oh so close to exhaustion. 

I rolled away from her, something she wasn't expecting. She even watched as my hand went to the bedside draw and pulled it open and her eyes grew wide as her own collar came into view. Laurel's hands instinctively reached for her throat and she gasped when she realized that she was not wearing a collar.

"Please my Master..."

All it took was for me to hold my finger to her lips to stop her, the fear clear to see in her eyes although I couldn't figure out was she was afraid of. I placed her collar on her and watched for those moments that even to this day takes my breath away. Her eyes glowed and her neck went ever so slightly red, her chest expanded and that smile just radiated out from her.

"Do not try to think of an excuse slave, there is none. You were so exhausted that you fell asleep in the car on the journey over here, now armed with that knowledge you tell me when you had time to put your collar on?"

Her shoulders went back and her chest tried to make up the distance between us, her whole body positively glowed. My finger came up once again and her eyes widened as she watched it stop middle distance between us.

"Know this slave I do agree with you in that I have to take back what is mine, but temper that thought with the reason why I have to. What's gone on here over these last weeks no one could have foreseen, so my dear slave we are going to share in my reclaiming what is mine." 

For a moment slave was confused by my words, my actions soon caused her to smile once again as I pointed to the middle of the bed. She quickly lay on her back facing me and watched as my hand grabbed her legs and pulled her to the edge of the bed and placed them on my shoulders. I had to lean foreword to grab a pillow and kissed her before resuming my position.

I lifted her ass and placed the pillow under her, that smile just got bigger. For a moments respite I told Laurel to hold her legs as close to her as she could get them, her hands instantly went to the back of her knees and pulled them to her chest, her ass and pussy became fully exposed to me. The redness of her ass cheeks all to clear for me to see, Laurel saw my hand move, she knew before it even landed. She flinched ever so slightly but only because of the force of the blow.

Her eyes teared up but that smile just got even bigger. 

"Thank you Master, I love you so much." 

I could have reached into the same draw that I pulled Laurels collar out of and grabbed the KY. But this had to be about us and other than her collar nothing but her own juices were going to be used in reclaiming her. My fingers entered her and the devil in me made me play for a moment so I hooked my two fingers and rubbed them along her pleasure zone. She pulled air into her lungs so quickly it sounded like a hiss.

Her fingers dug into the backs of her knees and she clamped those beautiful lips together to stop herself from making any noise. Easing my fingers away I stopped tormenting her, both fingers now hooked slightly I pulled them out of her. A small amount of clear liquid now on either side of her pussy lips and my fingers, Laurel moaned when my fingers then pushed themselves against her anus.

Her rose glistened and although Laurel was doing her best to stay still it was plain to see that sometimes her own body tried to override that order. My next trip to her soaked pussy brought me another gentle moan and this time I placed her juices against her rose. The devil in me once again made me push both fingers against her and her ass tried so hard to push back.

Seeing the muscles in her arms tense made me realize I was taking to long, with my next journey into her pussy I used her juices to gain me access into her ass and that's when her fingers once again clenched her legs. That hissing sound once again escaped her lips before her lips clamped shut, my two fingers pushed into her ass making a twisting motion as they did.

When my fingers left her ass had opened to me, another finger was added and I set about opening her ass even more. We both knew why I was taking so long with this, Laurels need to feel she was reclaimed didn't mean I had to take her and possibly damaging her in the process. To Laurel it was a mental thing, I was denied access to her and even though that was something beyond her control that connection between us had to be reestablished.

Slave logic was sometimes an interesting topic of conversation between Mandy, Laurel and me. One more gentle moan escaped her before her voice carried towards me.

"Please my Master."

We both knew she wanted to say more and her eyes telegraphed that statement, the exhaustion that was still within her made me understand her plight. I shuddered to even think of the last time she had even had a decent meal inside her, nodding my head in understanding I once again moved and held her legs. Laurels hand relaxed and although I wasn't supposed to notice she quickly clenched and un-clenched them before placing them back on the bed. 

My cock touched her pussy lips and she looked up at me, their was simply not enough lubricant around her ass and I refuse to harm her for something that was beyond her control. She knew what I was going to do and her eyes shut tight, to Laurel, if she didn't see me do it then her mind would do what it could to block it out. That warm wetness enveloped my cock as I pushed myself into her. Laurels juices coated my entire cock on the way in and tried to hold me as I pulled out.

With the head of my cock now resting against her anus she opened her eyes to see my hands reaching out to her. That smile lit up the room and her own hands reached out to me, I held her wrists and slave dutifully did the same. Slave took a deep breath and ever so slowly let it out, as that breath past her lips the bulbous head of my cock entered her and I paused for a moment.

Slave once again repeated her breath and I inched into her again, she mouthed the word 'thank you' her voice and her training would never allow her to say it. Laurels fingers gripped my wrist tighter and she nodded her head as I pushed more of me into her and other than a slight wriggle from her she continued to deep breathe and exhale until skin touched skin.

Laurel looked at me, the smile was real the heat around my cock telling me she sure wanted me there yet the tears in her eyes saddened me a little. I have never said I was a true blue died in the wool Dom and I shudder to think what my late wife would have thought of me if I had tried to be around her. Yet she knew that for Mandy's sake and now Laurels I could be what they both needed.

"This slave thanks you for your patience my Master and is now ready, this slave denied you access to something you own, she has to be punished."

The logic of a slave even to this day is sometimes beyond me. I try my best to keep up and tossing the odd rule into the mix sometimes slows them down yet if there is one thing I've figured out about a slave and even seen it in action is that they have a set of rules of there own that they add to and have sometimes been known to discard one along the way if it becomes outdated or circumstances change.




Keeping Company Ch. 05: Revisited



A slave will show you what she is and hope you see all the intricacies that are slave. But throw into the mix that Mandy and Laurel are women and you have but a tip of an iceberg, yes both women are individuals but the one common thread between them is the slave within and when both combine that makes them as pliable as rubber and as hard as steel. As for me I sometimes think as in moments like this when I'm cock deep in a slave that I believe doesn't need to be punished. I'm just along for the ride. 

*******

All the girls came down over the weekend, both to see Laurel and show the Colson's that we were all with them. The news from Jonathan on the condition of both families either side of us was grim, the banks were pushing for loans to be paid, credit was being refused and what was already out there was being called in. The vultures were circling and over both ranches as well. 

Amy asked if Jonathan could get both heads of families here tomorrow, since he was sure he could then Amy went back to enjoying the evening. When I broached the subject of Mike with Jonathan he just shrugged his shoulders and said he didn't turn up.

Perhaps it was the way he said it or the lack of interest when I asked him I'm not sure but something in his statement just didn't feel right. My hope was that none of the Colson clan did anything stupid, Mandy and Laurel soon pulled me away from any further thought when they sidled up against me and took an arm each.

The meeting with the heads of the other families was interesting, there seemed to be a great deal of mistrust towards us 'city folks' until Jonathan stood up and vouched for us. Amy finally got the rundown on what had been going on once the USDA people had packed up and left and none of it was looking good. Finally Amy asked point blank how long did they have before their backs were to the wall, both men looked at each other and eventually said that at best two months before they either had to start selling land to pay bills or sell up altogether. 

The girls went into a huddle and Amy came back with a counter offer.

"We have seen first hand and through Laurel what's been going on here and none of this is your fault. We ask two things from you and that includes the Colson family, don't do anything for two weeks. You may not realize it yet but you do have friends, we understand you are proud folks but don't shut us out. Meet here again in two weeks and hear what we have to say."

This time it was the heads of the families turn to go into a huddle, it seemed as though Jonathan was doing most of the talking, finally it was handshakes between them and they left. Jonathan joined us again at the table and told us we had the two weeks we had asked for. Amy hugged him and thanked him before he left, Carol-Anne and Mandy went into a huddle and Amy joined them minutes later. 

Wendy steered me towards the door and we went for a walk. We had covered a full lap of the cabin before she said anything.

"We both know you're wealthy enough to write out a check for both of them and make all this, go away. They won't accept it you know."

She was right. That thought had crossed my mind, what she hadn't realized was that I knew Jonathan well enough to figure out the other two families wouldn't go along with it, pride would get in the way.

Laurel went back to work a few days later, I went back with Mandy and the girls but we kept in touch with Jonathan and figured he was relaying our progress onto the other two families. By the second week we met once again with Amy still in the chair. She asked straight out the total amount that both families owed, she wanted it down to the nearest cent. Both looked towards Jonathan who in turn nodded his head.

No one even flinched when the figures were read out. Amy in turn pulled out four files and placed two files each in front of both the heads of the families. 

"These are your two options gentleman, file one is an agreement that you will sell us city folk's one acre of land for the total amount of debt you owe. If you open the file you will find a check already made out for the full amount."

The temptation was there and we watched as both actually opened the file in front of them and pined to the inside of the file was a check for said amount along with the paperwork required to sell us the land.

"Option two is a release form. The Clearwater Bank will buy out your entire debt and also extend your loan deal plus add five years to your repayments at no further interest costs. They are disgusted with what your bank is doing and would be happy to take over your business that you have with the bank as well as the loans." 

Neither one looked at that folder. It was Maurice Bennett who stood up first.

"I laughed at Hank when he leased you that land, you city folks don't belong around here yet here you are and by the looks of it you don't plan on leaving anytime soon do you?"

Amy stood and leaned on the table, the giant of a man that was Maurice still looked down on her. Amy may still have had to look up at him but she sure had steel in her eyes

"A year from now I plan to retire and live out my life in this cabin, over the next three years we will each sell up and retire here. What was once just a place to come for the weekend has turned into a place to retire to. It seems you're stuck with us Mr. Bennett."

Maurice Bennett pulled a pen out from his coat and signed on the line, it seems we own an acre of land.

"I know from Hank and also from Jonathan you all have a thing for each other so I can't invite one without inviting you all."

He held out his hand towards Amy and they shook on it. 

"The day after tomorrow at our place, I don't get to say thank you all that often plus I figure your going to want to see how pretty your land is."

Amy smiled, more so when she got her hand back. 

"We plan to plant six trees on it Mr. Bennett."

He thought about it for a moment and then looked towards Laurel, she had the biggest smile of all of us.

"We watched as you went head to head with the USDA people, you kept us going when all you had for support was navy coffee. Jodie tells me your special, it also says allot when my own daughter clams up after telling me that. But she's a Colson now so I understand that, I admit I had my doubts when you came out of Vet College and I'm sure glad you proved me wrong."

The blur that became Laurel shot across the room and ran straight into Maurice Bennett's arms. For a big man he sure held her gently and with a kiss on her head he let her go and walked out of the room. Mitchell Hayes simply signed shook Amy's hand and then looked to me.

"Five women, you greedy son of a bitch. If you were a bull I would make a fortune out of you. My place on Saturday and since I figure your planting trees I'll make sure your land is down by the creek."

By now Laurel came and stood by me. Mitchell looked at her and for the first time since we had seen him, he smiled and held out his arms towards her.

"Laurel Colson I have known you since you were nothing but a skinny baby who couldn't even hold a diaper on her without it falling off. You have done yourself and this family proud."

She got herself another hug, even got a kiss on the head again as well. Jonathan nodded his head towards us and left with Mitchell, Amy was collecting the files from the table when I looked at her, she knew what was coming and the girls moved closer.

"When were you going to tell me that you're going to retire?"

"I had planed to before all this started and then thought better of it. Mandy and I have looked at what's going on around here, what the bank has tried to do to these folks makes me sick. When I retire from the firm I plan to open an office in town and work part time."

This time I looked towards Mandy, she had already anticipated my question.

"Other than the paperwork mine is already sold."

"But Mandy you love that place."

"Slave and I know you give your time as equally as you can amongst us, then Laurel came along and we voted her one of us. At one time I craved it yet now we can't stand the silence in the apartment anymore, so to put it simply, where you go we go."

When I looked towards Wendy she was ready for me.

"I'm just about done, I've tweaked the board a little to keep things on an even keel. The house is already sold, I know I still need to turn up for the odd meeting and when I do I'm bunking in with Carol-Anne."

We all heard a gentle sob and turned as one to see Laurel quietly crying to herself. Mandy gave her a hug and then kissed her cheek as I turned to look towards Carol-Anne.

"I'm the odd one out, I can't do what the others are doing for another two years but the clock is ticking."

My only question was a simple one. 

"Why?"

Carol-Anne just smiled for awhile, then she told me that when Ginny died I was the gift that kept on giving. I also highlighted that other than work none of them had a life. The girls knew way back then that none of them where getting any younger so they all took stock, more so when the cabin was built. They fell in love with the place and decided this was where they all planed to retire to.

"We all echo Mandy's thoughts on this Mark, where you go we go. I wouldn't even say that what it cost us to bail out the ranches has put a scratch let alone a dent in our wealth so what do we achieve by continuing to work until we die, a damn good looking headstone and no friends. That's not for any of us now, we have seen what a family is with the Colson's and we are a family Mark."

I couldn't find it in me to argue with anything they said, it was all true and although I was the easiest in as much as all I had to do is open my computer and I'm at work that seemed to happen less and less now. Carol-Anne's Asian heritage hid her age real well and even though she was still the youngest of us until Laurel joined us it seemed logical that we retire and let others take over.

*******

To me their still seemed that nagging doubt about Mike, from what we knew about him he didn't seem the type that would walk away from Laurel now her face was all over the news, she was even invited to a couple of chat shows which she politely declined. I heard her tell the people from the studio on the phone when she did, her parting words were that she was a vet not a celebrity.

It still took a few weeks but the phone calls lessened and finally to the relief of all of us they stopped. Mike wouldn't have agreed to what Laurel told the studio's, to him that's being a celebrity by proxy and people like Mike would take it anyway they could. The next day I bumped into Jonathan and during our talk I asked him again about Mike and got the same short answer 'he never turned up'.

Feeling something was definitely off I asked Amy to talk to her PI and find Mike. The PI phoned Amy back ten days later and told her that Mike couldn't be found, no one had seem him since the day he got into his car and was heading towards the Colson ranch. Everything was still at his apartment and in fact when the PI talked to the landlord he was in the process of evicting him for non payment of rent.

When Amy and I talked about this we did wonder if pulling the PI off tailing Mike all the way here was a good idea after all. Neither one of us wanted to put into words the dark thoughts that each of us had at the moment about what may have happened to Mike, we knew from past experience that Jonathan would continue to repeat the same words.

Yet since we had no proof of any wrong doing we could say nothing and other than hope that the Colson family hadn't taken there own justice out for what Mike did to Laurel. Over the next two years Amy would phone her PI and he would go check around again to see if Mike had surfaced, in the end even he said he couldn't keep taking her money for doing nothing.

Mike was gone, no one knew anything he had no family that cared enough to file a missing persons report and over time even those that knew him had forgotten him, to those he had simply moved on, where to no one knew or wouldn't say. On the odd occasion I had to wonder about myself, did I even care. After seeing the condition that Mike left Laurel in the last days of college and even after the week that Mandy had her alone at the cabin.

Getting rid of the tattoo and the minor surgery of the cigarette burns not to mention the odd nightmare she would wake in the middle of the night with. He was a bastard that turned a willing and sweet girl into nothing more than an ashtray and used as his own personal whore who he mind-fucked into believing that servicing his friends while he either watched or participated was a slaves duty.

Laurel was so in need of training that she readily agreed and by the end of college when he not only got her tattooed as a reminder of there time together but then told her that he had no further use for her. No wonder she was one step short of a basket case when she got back to the ranch.

Had the rest of the Colson family taken steps to stop Mike seeing Laurel? I had to wonder as did Amy, but like his so called friends, neither of us cared enough about him to ask Jonathan straight out. To us he was now a part of Laurels distant past and as the days went by he became even more distant.

*******

The cookout at Maurice Bennett's was awkward to start with, after all we were the city folks. It was an hour into the party that Carol-Anne came up to me.

"You have competition for Amy's affections. I haven't seen more than a foot of daylight between Amy and Maurice since we got here." 

When I looked over at her she was laughing at something that Maurice had said. Inwardly I smiled, her stance was every so slightly off, the way she held her arm across the waistband of her skirt and I smiled. Amy was being the perfect lady, I had wondered if Maurice was looking for a new wife though. All in all it was a fun evening and most of us and I would have put Amy at the top of that list at the moment, we believed that us 'city folks' were wearing off on Maurice Bennett. 

I got the coffee brewing when we got back. I also told Laurel and Mandy to shower as soon as we got back, they both emerged minutes after we had sat down to talk about the evening to us all it was a great success but we also deferred to Laurel since she grew up with Maurice Bennett and Mitchell Hayes around.

"They are proud men and believe like my father and now Jonathan that family comes first. The ranches are safe now and you found a way to do it and not make them look less of a man."

Of course Carol-Anne wasn't the only one that had noticed the attention that Amy was getting and even though she was herself collared up, Laurel just couldn't resist a gentle dig at Amy along the way.

"And when Maurice asks Amy to marry him I'm sure the Bennett family will be all the stronger for it."

The roar of laughter was instant, more so when the coffee Amy was drinking was spat back into her cup. Wendy even had to lean over and give Amy a couple of slaps on the back as she hacked and coughed for a full minute. All Laurel did was move her head slightly when the cushion flew across the room at her from Amy's direction. 

It was that one defining moment that I believed that Laurel truly felt herself to be comfortable being one of our family and she was also letting me know she was ready. Even when I looked towards her to confirm my suspicions she was waiting for me to do so. The gentle nod of her head was all that was needed; her cheeks flushed slightly when I nodded back at her and smiled.

The conversation between us started to ease and people started yawning. Amy was the first to rise from her end of the couch, she bid us all goodnight and once she placed her cup in the sink headed towards her room.

"Amy you forgot something."

She did a quick check about her person and looked towards me confused.

"Laurel stand."

She did as I told her to, her eyes now on Amy.

"Slave tonight I give you as a gift to Amy. You are hers as much as you are mine. Do you understand?"

Her head turned towards me and lowered to my chest as she nodded her head she clearly said the words 'yes Master' so that all in that room could hear her as she walked towards Amy. The conflict of emotions that shot across Amy's face was a joy to watch, the rest of the girls just sat and watched as Laurel got closer to Amy.

Laurel finally stopped in front of Amy who in turn told her to look directly at her. Once Laurel pulled some air into her lungs her eyes inched up Amy chest and finally held her gaze.

"Laurel honey, we know each other so well here we may as well be open books. So much has gone on in your life since your return, are you sure you want this?"

All slave did was wait until Amy had finished, she clearly knew ahead of time what she planed to say.

"I am slave, I am a gift to you from my Master."

Amy still looked long and hard at Laurel, for her part slave just stared back, waiting.

With a shrug of her shoulders and her hand outstretched she said to Laurel:

"Ok but I'm going to ruin you for any man ever again and that includes that piece of shit sat over there with a smug grin on his face."

I smiled and the whoops and cat calls from the rest of the girls drowned out anything Laurel could say in return. We did hear the door to Amy's room slam shut so she must have put some extra effort into doing that, but all that got was some more cat calls and whooping.

Mandy moved closer to me sensing I was going to talk to her, I had to lean close to her ear so she could hear me above the noise the girls were making. 

"I'm giving you to Wendy tonight, I need to connect a little more with Carol-Anne, please let slut play as well and I'm sure Carol-Anne and I would welcome you if you came by later."

The wicked grin sneaked through, poor Wendy didn't stand a chance tonight. Woman or not when slut is allowed to accompany slave it really does feel like two against one. Mandy stood and nodded her head before walking towards Wendy, with Mandy stood over her she did a double take and then smiled. Both girls placed there cups in the sink and walked to Wendy's room.

Carol-Anne watched and other than a smile of her own said nothing until Wendy's door gently closed.

"Although I'm not likely to refuse can I ask why?"

"For the same reason I gave Mandy, with the things that have happened these last months we both know that I have let my time with you slip, I know your understanding but that still doesn't mean I don't do what I can to make it up to you when it's possible."

"Good answer, then take me to bed and show me how much I'm appreciated." 

For the next hour that damn woman was insatiable and I swore to myself never to let my time with any of them slip again. I still had my dick in her ass when I heard the door open and felt Mandy kiss the back of my neck before she climbed onto the bed. It was only then that Carol-Anne noticed and reached out for her and Mandy slid under her so she could suck on her tits.

The moan was genuine, more so when I felt Mandy's hand frantically rubbing Carol-Anne's clit.

*******

We thought that things would settle down now this current crisis had been averted, it never was. Maurice Bennett and Mitchell Hayes were patient men, they had been wronged by the bank who to them wanted to see them penniless and out on the street. 

A year had past and Amy true to her word had retired from her partnership. Within a month of retiring she opened a small law office in town and was already in talks with the local high school about setting up a foundation. She was willing to send one student to law school each year, their was no pre-condition that when the student past the bar they had to work back at Amy's law office but she would be willing to give them summer jobs if they wanted them.




Keeping Company Ch. 05: Revisited



I read it and smiled, employment by stealth. Most of those that lived around here never really wanted to leave so Amy knew that she would get back the student that received the scholarship. The sweetener was the summer job. Mandy opened an accountancy firm three down from Amy's law firm and pretty much had half the town's tax business within six months of opening and with our warnings ringing in her ear about not repeating past mistakes she quickly employed two and then three staff so she didn't spend half her life at the office.

Wendy divided her time between helping the girls open there offices and her company for now. Laurel was on an even keel with her work and had given a clean bill of health to every animal on all three ranches. The dust had settled and the ranches moved on, although from now on they all deferred to Laurel when new breeding stock was brought in. Each rancher put aside an area and Laurel would go over every cow. 

They only moved when Laurel said they could. It may have slowed down the work some but given past history every family made allowances and let Laurel take the lead. Within a year of Amy opening the Law office Maurice Bennett strolled in asked for the paperwork for the Clearwater Bank. Amy told him that those files were at the cabin; Maurice asked her when he could come by with Mitchell and sign them.

A week later the County Bank was now minus three accounts and all the same day when Jonathan, Maurice and Mitchell walked in and closed there accounts. The towns folks knew why and understood when word got out the steady trickle of accounts being withdrawn over the next couple of days caused the bank to close its doors. The near riot as folks wanted there money caused the sheriff to have a car stationed outside the bank trying to keep the peace.

The town council wasn't stupid and knew that drastic action was needed so they phoned Amy and asked her to come and talk to them. The afternoon of her leaving her meeting with the mayor and his advisors both Amy and Mandy called an emergency meeting of the girls and me and between us we bought a bank. With the help of the mayor and the whole town council they rushed the paperwork through. 

We changed the name of the bank to 'The Ranchers and Farmers Bank' although around town folks all call it the R&F. It started to look like the girls dream of retirement was just that. At the next cookout over at the Bennett's place Amy gave Maurice a ration of shit for destroying her dream of retirement but all he did was smile at her and then waited until she had finished before hugging her and walking away to get her another drink. Amy had indeed met her match.

*******

It was Mandy who was the first to leave us. Amy was by the office window when the ambulance rushed by and screeched to a stop outside Mandy's accountancy office. When Amy got to the door a deputy stood in her way telling her she couldn't go in, now Amy may only be five foot six and a hundred and ten pounds but she blew through him like a linebacker and watched as the medical team were in the process of shaking there heads.

News either good or bad travels fast over the vast areas of our county. By sundown we had all said goodbye to Mandy. Carol-Anne was still in Japan and in the process of hiring a private jet to get her back here quicker. I met her at the airport the next day, she looked like shit as we all did I suppose, the rest of the girls met us at the hospital and we once again said our goodbyes to an important part of our lives.

The medical report said it was an aneurism, the coroner said it was instant and she didn't feel any pain. Those words were important to us, Mandy had so much pain in her life that slave was born to curb it and keep her from self destructing. We did what came natural to us and closed ranks, what we didn't take into account was that we had the friendship and loyalty of not only three other families but a town that no longer looked on any of us as 'those city folks'.

The service had to be out in the open since everyone that wanted to attend wouldn't have fitted inside the church. It was poetic in a way considering Mandy's stance on religion. The padre knew of her opinion and thankfully tailored his words accordingly, the one argument that never got resolved between Mandy and I when we talked of death was burned or buried. 

Mandy wanted to be burned, she saw no point in having a headstone that would be forgotten about ten years after she was laid to rest. It was also one of the few times I found I had pushed to far and she screamed at me. 'fine then when you get buried you can take my ashes with you and you can have the best of both worlds' slave jumped in then and calmed the situation but I now understood that getting her to change her opinion was a non starter. 

Carol-Anne stayed a week before she told us she had to return to Japan. We all took her to the airport and wished her luck and told her to let us know when she landed safely. We had all reached a new stage in our relationship, we felt vulnerable. 

I practically had to push Amy back into her law office, when I went to the accountancy office the girls were still hard at it. Each of them looked towards me, more nervous than I was. Telling them all that as far as we were concerned it was business as usual although I would be leaning on them heavily for the foreseeable future since numbers were Mandy's thing and not mine.

We muddled by and after a month I made some changes in the office and promoted who I believed deserved it. Other than the odd week to cover sickness I left things alone for now, still torn between closing the office or selling it to those that run it now. 

It was Amy who noticed something about me that I had been spending so much time trying not to be. She had asked Laurel to sit next to me before she spoke.

"Your drifting, you need to stop. Mandy is dead and we have all mourned a dear friend, in your case a slave as well but this has to stop."

Something passed between Laurel and Amy just then, Amy stood and left leaving Laurel to swing her leg over my lap and hold me tight. For the first time since the death of Ginny I cried, poor Laurel hung on for the ride as every emotion that was stored in me unleashed itself upon this world. From great sadness that I was going to miss Mandy so much to anger that we are all so fragile and since none of us are getting any younger, these feelings of loss will be repeated.

It was dark when sanity returned to me, Laurel was tucked into my body and a blanket was placed over both of us. For someone so young Laurel had so much heaped upon her, my next words caught her by surprise and I actually felt her jump.

"Over time we will all die and you will be alone. We have all had great lives and you are just starting yours, perhaps it's time we find you a Master that is the same age as you."

Laurel didn't even move, I knew she was awake I could tell by her breathing.

"This slave chose once and got it ever so wrong, this slave found you and you gave this slave a second chance at being what she wants to be. I am slave and you are my Master you can't change that, this slave won't allow it."

Laurel moved so that she could look directly at me, her collar clear to see sitting snug to her neck.

"For just over three years now I have loved you both as a man and my Master. When you die a piece of me will die, I know that just as I watched a part of you die the day of the service for Mandy. But know this, I give myself willingly to you but I will give myself reluctantly to any Master you choose to give me too. You gave this slave life, please don't suck that life out of her."

It was not in her to refuse me but it was the closest she could get to doing so. We both smiled her words were clear to both of us. Laurel watched as acceptance crept across my face and her smile warmed the room, the blanket fell to the floor as I lifted her into my arms and stood. Amy woke when we came into her room and I dropped slave onto the bed next to her.

"Good she talked some sense into you."

"Oh shut up the both of you."

Between Amy and I we destroyed slave that night, when we couldn't drag another orgasm out of her and she begged for sleep I pulled her up the bed and both of us lay either side of her. Poor Laurel's eyes closed seconds after her head found the pillow I kissed Amy goodnight and our hands found each other as slave tucked herself into me. I was the last to find sleep, the gentle breathing of both women giving that reassuring sound that all was as well in this world as we mere mortals can make it.

*******

We had a party the day Carol-Anne signed the paperwork. Mackenzie's was now a subsidiary of a Japanese company that wanted to branch out into the American market. We all knew that a mind like Carol-Anne's had to have something to do so we talked to the local school and between us and the school we kicked, pushed and generally brow beat her into accepting a position as a guest speaker to all the schools on our area.

It isn't often someone like Carol-Anne ever came to there school and could talk in the millions of dollars. Within eighteen months her reputation escalated to out of state as well and even we had to tell her to calm down, we had started to see less of her now she was doing seminars and talks at schools and colleges than we did when she actually owned Mackenzie's. 

Toby had died last summer and Laurel was in the process of breaking in a new horse, Carol-Anne watched from the porch and eventually joined Laurel to watch more closely. Laurel said she would teach her how to ride if she wanted, we can't get her off a damn horse now and two horses now sit in the stable. Most of the time both girls alternate cleaning out the stable but one will cover for the other if vet duty or seminars get in the way.

If we all learned anything from Mandy's death it was that it was coming to us all. You could sit around and wait for it or you could enjoy life while you can and we all chose to enjoy life. We found this place because we wanted a weekend getaway and fell in love with it so hard that we all noticed we spent less time in the city and more here. That in itself told us enough.

Sharing time the folks like the Colson's also made us look inwards and realized something that in our own haste we had failed to see. To others we had what was labeled a polygamous relationship, but to us we were like the Colson's or the Bennett's of this world. We are a family and as such we look out for each other.

When Mandy wanted to finish any argument she always said. 'Where you go we go.' I brought us to this cabin with the best view in the world and one by one it won us over, Laurel came into our lives and even now I still think of her as a gift from Hank. I once asked Laurel if she still looks on herself as a Colson.

True to her nature she thought on the question for a moment and said that until she has another name she would always be known as Laurel Colson, but she notices that to the girls she is Laurel and to me she is slave. The only time she uses Colson now is when she has to sign for something, in some ways since coming here we have all made a small footprint in the sand.

Laurel saved three of the biggest ranches in the state by being in the right place at the right time, the shock waves to the economy if all three went to the wall would have been felt for years to come. When the bank closed it's doors in the name of profit the town council saw the writing on the wall for there town without a bank in it and turned to the most logical people for help.

Our investment monetarily was minimal at best, but people want and expect to see a bank in any town. Amy resigned from the board at the bank three years after the doors opened once again to the townsfolk. She is also part-time at her law firm, she kept three out of the four students who took the scholarship so far. The forth married another lawyer and went to her fathers law firm across state, not bad forward planning on Amy part.

We are happy, I keep Laurel happy as best I can and when I know I can't I give her to the girls to wear out. Its Laurels birthday in three days, the Colson's want to celebrate it and we are going to a cook out at the big house. When we come back we all plan to take on Laurel for the rest of the night. 

Laurel says that her birthday ends at midnight and the look she had on her face when I told her that about midnight is when we plan on part two was priceless. I still talk to Ginny and Mandy in my head they never answer but I'm sure they are out there keeping each other company. 

The End.