The Slave (34 page)

One slave walked in on a leash and took
Robin’s breath away. She was tall, and crowned with a silvery mass
of hair that came down her body in waves. But when she passed
within better view, Robin almost forgot to breathe entirely. For
although the slave had beautiful, upswept breasts topped with pert
nipples, between her legs was a man’s cock, lying tumescent over a
natural pair of balls.

Two for the price of
one
, was
Robin’s thought as she regained her air.

She saw people of all kinds bringing their
naked slaves in, and tried to remain still as they passed out of
her line of sight. It was true, many of them seemed much more
attractive than she was. Damn. She wished she were taller, or
blonde. Or had those long legs, or those big, rounded breasts. But
there was no point in crying over it now. She flexed her muscles as
Chris taught her, and thanked him silently for the workouts and the
intense treatments she had received earlier that day. She felt
great, energized and relaxed. In fact, if it weren’t for the
anxiety that still made her want to throw up, she’d be just
fine.

Some of the same slaves who
served at the party last week flitted in and out of the room, now
in a different abbreviated costume that still served to make their
bodies available and attractive
. I wonder what their closets look
like
, Robin
thought, trying to relax some more.
Sixteen different outfits made of less
than two feet of cloth?

The stands filled steadily with one slave
after another, until they were all there. Trainers and owners and
agents came by for last minute posings, polishings, and to put gags
in place for those who were not trained sufficiently to answer a
prospective owner properly. Chris brought a gag, but placed it
between Robin’s knees, to indicate that she was newly voice
trained, and this was her first sale with that qualification.

His eyes told her, “Don’t fail.” And then he
patted her gently and opened her file. Within the room, the only
sounds were the shuffling and rustling noises of paper being
arranged, and the light tinkling of chain.

The trainers left the room, and for one
minute, the slaves were left alone.

Robin fought the urge to break her position
and look around. It was agonizingly difficult. She heard a muffled
giggle come from the right side of the room, and clenched her fists
in order to keep her eyes forward and down.

And then the wide double doors opened again,
and the buyers started to come in.

They were as varied as the slaves they were
coming to see, old and young, Anglo-Saxon and European and Asian
and in all shades of skin tone. Their voices rose in admiration and
scorn, calling each other for greetings, recognition, and praise;
and English was not the only language they spoke. They were
beautiful and poised, and they were dead common and brash. Robin
glimpsed formal dress mixing with the worn blue jeans and
translucent silk of the intensely wealthy. But she kept her head
steady and did not raise it, until someone paused before her.

He touched her chin to lift her head up, and
she found herself looking at an elderly man, white-haired and
slender. His eyes were hard though, with a light of fanaticism, and
as he turned her head to one side and then to another, she felt
afraid. When she shuddered, he smiled. But without a word to her,
he simply walked away, not even looking at her papers.

Which I don’t mind one
bit
, she
thought.

Before she got back into proper position,
she saw someone out of the corner of her eye and gasped. Chris had
warned her that there might be relatively famous people at the
sale, but she hadn’t expected the steady voiced television newsman
who was so clearly examining the red-haired twins across the room.
How many times had she tuned to his show to hear him intone some
important news story, making that sexy eye contact with the camera,
his face a carefully worked series of reactions that acted as their
own subtle editorials concerning the issues at play?

What if I get sold to a
celebrity?
she thought in a moment of heady exhilaration.
Think of all the
people I could meet!

Naked and
available
,
came a sudden reminder.
Utterly available to them, and to their
friends.

Oh God, I hope he doesn’t look my way.

This wasn’t turning out the way she thought.
She fought off a brief wave of panic just in time to have her
attention caught by a woman standing to her right. By the rustling
sounds, she knew that someone was reading her papers.

“
Oh look, she’s new.”

“
You could tell that from the door,”
came the sarcastic reply. It was a man’s voice.

“
Well, there’s some charm in having a
baby around. Besides, she’s from Parker.”

“
The house?”

“
No, just him. Here, look.”

More rustling sounds, until Robin would have
given anything for just a glance at them, and what they looked
like. What their eyes were like.

“
Well? What do you think?”

“
What could we do with her? She’d have
to be retrained, and we have no use for... what is she? An art
appraiser, auction buyer, whatever? Please.”

“
But she’s cute. And think of the fun
we could have training her.”

“
Think of the hours of
work.”

Suddenly, a hand stroked Robin’s hip, and
she flinched, just a little bit. The hand trailed up, along her
arm, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see the man
attached to it. He was tall, and had a dome-shaped head that was
losing its hair. His eyes were a watery blue under heavy lids. He
cupped one breast in his hands and pinched her nipple sharply. She
hissed in an answering breath.

“
Oh I don’t know,” he said, pinching
the other for good measure. “Let’s look at the others.”

And they went on without letting Robin ever
see the woman.

She saw some of the people she had seen last
week. The Matisse owner stopped to examine her, with a friendly and
teasing look in his eye. Slipping a finger inside her and finding
her wet, despite her fears, he chuckled. Keeping it there, he asked
her, in a serious tone, whether she had seen an exhibit last month
at the Met. Looking him in the eye and blushing deeply as he
flicked that finger in and out of her, she answered, “Yes, sir,”
and her voice cracked just a bit. He laughed, and wiped his hands
on the towel that was rushed to his side by one of the scantily
clad slaves in attendance in the room. But he didn’t look at her
file, and she wasn’t sure how disappointed she was about that.

The first person to beat her was a stout man
with a southern accent. He examined her roughly and quickly,
pinching and stroking her, and then pushed her forward without
warning. She didn’t even see how the paddle ended up in his hand,
but it smashed into her cheeks with a heavy force that made her
whimper, just slightly. Bracing herself for more, she took about a
dozen of them, all heavy and thudding, and then felt his fingers
pull her ass cheeks apart.

The exposure flooded her with delicious
shame.

“
Are you tight, little girl?” he
asked, leaning over her, his fingers poised for
penetration.

“
Yes, sir,” she whispered back. Chris
had assured her that she was. And as he pushed into her, she
moaned.

Such a slut
, a little voice in her head
insisted
.
Such a slut.

“
Well now, let’s see whatcher good
fer,” the man said as he walked around her to examine her papers.
When he left without another word, she rose back into the proper
position, flushed and just a little bit tired.

Don’t worry about the time, Chris had
instructed her. It will be the longest evening of your life. It’ll
be over before you know it.

She now knew what he meant.

Faces began to blur, with some coming into
sharp focus from time to time. Ali Cruz came by, and patted her
warmly, whispering good wishes for luck. A man with deep, dark eyes
and a gentle touch was called away from examining her by another
man who called him “Your Highness” and Robin nearly fell over with
shock and thrilling fear. Two women spent a long time with her, one
of them letting her suck gently on two exquisitely manicured
fingers while the other used the paddle. They read the papers in
silence, and later, Robin was startled to see one of them talking
with Chris, across the room.

To belong to two women! Wouldn’t that be
wonderful?

She didn’t get a lot of attention compared
to some. The man on her right was constantly having his rings
played with and pulled. And she could hear the constant commotion
in the direction of the twins and the transsexual. There was also
evidence that others were beaten more often, and an occasional
sound of someone’s suffering contained by a gag.

The evening was endless. But before she
could wish fervently for an ending, an announcement was made that
bidding would commence in fifteen minutes―would buyers please
complete their examinations?

That was when Chris came back to see her.
As several people gathered around to look at her folder, some of
them asked him some quick questions, mostly pertaining to the speed
of her training. He answered with assurances and more than a little
arrogance, and no one seemed surprised.

“
She is an uncommonly quick learner,
and devoted to the life,” he said to one woman. “She will be an
excellent slave.”

Robin glowed with warmth. She
could feel the threatening force of tears, and struggled to keep
them back. She wished she had another opportunity to thank him, to
tell him that she would never forget him or what he taught
her.
Why
didn’t I say it before?
she cursed.
Now, I’ll never get a chance.

And the buyers began to leave the room,
talking in animated tones with each other. Chris stayed by her, and
she noticed that several of the other trainers had come back as
well. He turned to her, and although his face was a professional
mask of cool politeness, he winked.

You’re right
, she thought sadly, meeting
his eyes
. If
I had slept with you, I would have fallen in love with
you.

Over his shoulder, she could see two people
approaching, another buying couple no doubt. She didn’t recall
seeing them examine her earlier. Well, they’d better hurry.

“
So, this is your vacation project,”
said a man’s voice.

Chris Parker almost jumped. Robin was amazed
at how clearly she could see his surprise. It was so strong, she
could swear that it was mixed with fear. She couldn’t help it.
After an evening of perfect obedience, she raised her eyes to see
what could possibly have that effect on her imperturbable
trainer.

Standing behind him were two people, a man
and a woman. The man had black hair and a close cropped beard that
was salted with strands of silver. He was slightly above average in
height, and smiling. The woman was elegant and small, with a
softness around her face and blonde hair that was swept through
with lighter waves of white and covered her head in soft round
curls. The man’s eyes were touched with humor, and the woman’s were
harder, more piercing and more direct. But Robin could see that
they were both accustomed to being obeyed.

It turned her on, even after an entire
evening of being aroused by one contact after another. There was no
doubt as to their identity.

And suddenly, although she wouldn’t have
given up her time with Chris for a date with Prince Charming
himself, she wished she could have known what it was like to train
under the three of them for six whole weeks.

Chris turned his back on her and perfectly
executed one of those neat bows he was so good at. “Welcome back,
sir, ma’am. I wasn’t informed that you were arriving today.”

“
No, it’s a surprise,” Alex Selador
said, touching him lightly on the arm. “I told Rachel not to tell
you. We were going to come back a little early anyway.”

“
And how could we miss seeing the
merchandise you’re preparing on the side?” Grendel added, looking
at Robin over Chris’s shoulder. “Let’s have a quick look before
the sale starts.”

They approached her from two sides, and
Robin gasped at the touch of their hands. They had really just
arrived, and their fingers were cold against the heat of her skin.
But they smiled and ignored her, and under Chris’s steady gaze, she
responded as she had been taught, with all of her heart and with
all due restraint. Alex read her papers while Grendel brought her
eyes up to meet his.

The romance seemed ready to
overwhelm her.
My Master’s Master
, she thought dizzily. “She seems like a fine
piece of work,” Alex said encouragingly. “I’m sorry we missed
her.”

“
Very cute,” Grendel added. “But I
wouldn’t think she was your type, Mr. Parker.”

Was Chris actually blushing? No, it must
have been the light in the room, the heat of her own body. Robin
lowered her eyes again, for once grateful for the opportunity.

“
Thank you,” Chris said. “She was more
than adequate.” There was no special inflection in his
voice.

“
Last call, all buyers to the bidding
room, please!”

“
All right, let’s go,” Grendel
directed. “I’m glad we got here in time. You’ll come home with us,
Chris. See you in the other room.”