Voyage To Submission (13 page)

Andy took a deep breath. The idea had been
something she couldn’t shake and at three this morning, she had decided. “I am
going ahead with it.”

“Super. Then we have our hair appointments.
I thought I might surprise Ethan and get it cut short and spiky.”

Andy looked over at the other woman. “Does
Ethan like short hair?”

“Well, one time I let the stylist use the
clippers on the back of my head, from the nape up about three inches. Ethan
touched it and I felt him freeze, and then he started rubbing his fingers back
and forth, across the super-short ends. With the right kind of encouragement, I
bet he would have come right then and there.”

Margrit smiled when Andy gasped. “You
should try it. I have to admit it feels really terrific when they do it, and
everything that brushes against the hair kind of touches some nerve endings,
deep down inside of you.”

Andy continued to lie there, thinking about
it. Finally, it was time for the piercing. Following the earlier perusal, Andy
had narrowed her choices down to two rings. Wearing a white terrycloth robe,
she approached this and wanted to run. But once the two women who did the
procedure came in, it all seemed to flow forward. Each woman had a soft,
soothing and calming voice. Before she knew it, one woman tugged on her right
nipple elongating it and then, whoosh!

She resisted lifting her head to look until
she was done. The other nipple was done almost as quickly. Andy surprised
herself by asking about multiple ear piercings. By the time she joined Margrit
in the hair salon, she had three new holes in each ear besides gold nipple
rings. The stylist talked with her about possible new styles and finally Andy
mentioned the part about the clipper cutting her nape. The stylist smiled and
agreed she could do that.

Excited almost beyond belief, Andy waited
for Jack to arrive. Her new haircut had been artfully disguised by the stylist
with a fall of hair dyed the same color as her own, and none of her friends had
noticed her additional earrings by the way the hair was arranged and pinned
into place. She had returned to her suite to dress for the Dungeon party, and
more importantly, for the private party to follow.

After returning from shopping with Margrit
later in the afternoon, Andy had beeped Jack, hoping he’d respond. When the
suite phone rang, she picked it up after the first ring. “Hello?”

“Andy? This is Jack. Did you need
something?”

Andy curled up on her bed, holding the
phone to her ear gingerly. “Are you in the middle of something? Am I
interrupting?”

“No, it’s cool. We had just finished
playing tennis and we’re having a drink before heading down to dress for
dinner.”

“Ah, okay. I wondered if you wanted to go
the Dungeon and then the other party, with Ethan and Margrit?”

“I thought it would be fun to go again. Did
you want to go?”

“Well, yes…that’s why I called. I know
we’re having dinner with the group, but I thought you might want to call for me
here. We could go together to the Dungeon.” She waited. Deliberately she’d not
said as a “couple” even though it was what she meant. Silently, she hoped Jack
would make the suggestion.

“You mean like a role-playing couple?” Jack
asked her a few seconds later.

“Well, uh, yes. I wondered if you would
care to go as my Master.” Andy held her breath, waiting tensely for Jack’s
answer. It had taken her an hour to build her courage up to ask.

Jack slowly turned away so his friends
would no longer be able to see his face. He was stunned at how vulnerable and
yet aroused Andy’s question made him feel. All day long, lurking in the back of
his mind had been this very question, in one form or another. It had been
harder than hell to leave Andy alone at the front door last evening. He had
gone back to toss and turn most of the long, lonely night. Ray had gotten lucky
and was sharing the room with Gayle. Tony had jumped at the opportunity to
share the room with Jack, instead of the other two guys.

Today, he had been distant and his friends
had all noted something was wrong, but he had just laughed off their comments.
Ethan joined the five of them and they had gone from one sport to another all
afternoon. Again, he and his buddies had all remarked on Ethan’s stamina. And
just as he got beeped, they had been bemoaning the fact they needed a nap
before an evening of partying.

Hearing Andy’s voice, something was
different. It felt new…and he didn’t know why, but he liked the heightened
feelings he was experiencing with Andy Bond. The last few years, his life had
been pretty boring. His dealings with Andy were like a shot in the arm of pure
energy and zest. He had found himself looking forward to the cruise. Even
though he told himself it was because of the chance for them all to be together
once more, he knew it was the opportunity to see Andy again that pleased him.
And so far, so good—

“All right, Andy. We can set a time when I
see you at dinner.”

Hanging up the phone, he stood for a
moment, just thinking. He had to wonder what had prompted this invitation. In
the back of his mind, he had been sure she wanted to switch places and play the
dominant role. Perhaps she was doing this to pique his interest. She certainly
had accomplished that. He turned and started back to join the others when
another possibility occurred. What if she was hoping to catch the eye of a
certain duke, which she knew was in search of a new submissive? He almost
growled in anger when he returned to the table.

Tony grinned. “So, who was that? Did you
find a lady fair to keep you company after we lost touch last night?”

Jack ignored their comments and leaned back
in his chair, speaking in a low voice to Ethan, who he was seated next to.
“What kind of outfit will you be wearing tonight, Ethan? To the private party,
that is?”

Jack watched as the older man set down his
beer on the table before crossing his arms across his chest. He knew the older
couple had to wonder about his and Andy’s relationship, but so far Ethan had
not asked any questions.

“As Margrit’s Master, I shall wear a tuxedo
to both parties. If we were to attend a smaller affair, then I’d probably do a
role-playing getup. I’ll be honest with you, though. Margrit tends to take care
of that for me.” Ethan shrugged, looking a little guilty.

Jack laughed. “That helps, anyway. At least,
it will get me through tonight!”

Ray interrupted with a question and soon
after the group broke up until later.

* * * * *

Finally, she heard the knock at the front
door. She had sent Henderson away before she started dressing because she
didn’t want an audience. Breathless, she walked over and opened the door.

Jack looked as handsome and debonair as he
usually did in his tuxedo. Staying still as his eyes traveled over her, she
knew exactly what he saw. After staring at herself in the mirror, arguing over
her decisions, she could close her eyes and describe her outfit, or at least
what Jack could see so far.

A long cape, with hood, covered her quite
nicely, including her hair. Once she deposited her cape in the cloakroom for
the ladies, then she’d be able to see his face as he got the full effect. She
just hoped she didn’t shock him too much with her unexpected touch of boldness.

“Don’t I get an advance preview?” Jack
asked, once his gaze returned to hers.

Andy shook her head carefully. “You’ll have
to wait. I’m ready, if you are.”

They walked slowly to the Dungeon Party due
to her high heels. Inside the cloakroom, she quickly turned her cape over to
the attendant and accepted the small slip to get it back later. Shaking her
head, she watched her new, bouncy bob fall automatically into place. With a
deep breath, she walked out to meet Jack.

Jack stood alone, having told Tony, Danny
and Ruthie to go in and they’d join them in a few minutes. He happened to turn
around just as Andy began walking towards him. The words “struck dumb” and
“frozen in time” suddenly seemed quite appropriate to describe how he felt.

The first thing he noticed was that Andy
seemed to be dressed predominantly in leather. It covered her from neck to
crotch, which consisted of a pair of very short shorts. Her thighs were bare
down to where the over-the-knee boots ended. He was glad she was covered. Ever
since last night, he’d been worried she might show up at one of these parties
with her breasts exposed. At this point, he wasn’t sure he wanted anyone else
looking at her body.

Only when she stopped in front of him did
he realize she’d cut her hair. It was smooth and curved in towards her lips.
There was a fringe cut a little above her eyebrows.

God! Andy looked sexier than he would have
imagined possible, considering what he knew about her. He shook his head and
realized he had a lot to learn about this new Andrea Bond. “Wow!” he muttered,
taking a step closer.

Andy felt her stomach settle a little when
Jack finally spoke. She’d been worried the leather and her radical haircut
might turn him off. Then Jack started to walk around her and she couldn’t shake
the thrill that went through her. She felt as if she’d dressed to please him
and now she was waiting for his acceptance and approval.

When he stopped behind her, she knew
without doubt he was looking at the back of her head. The stylist had given her
an inverted bob, with the cut angled up in the back several inches, which
exposed the buzzed nape, extending upwards about three inches. She was proven
correct a moment later when she felt his fingers lift and ever so lightly rub
up and down the crisp, super-short hairs.

Andy couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped
her throat, the catch in her chest, or clenching of her pussy muscles.
Immediately followed by the wetness across her lips, and the slight buckling of
her knees. “Oh, God!” she murmured in surprise.

Luckily, Jack had been watching her
reaction. He stepped close and his arm encircled her waist. Holding her
securely, he spoke quietly. “Sorry if I startled you, but I couldn’t resist
feeling it. Not only does it look as soft as velvet, it feels like it, too.”

Andy closed her eyes as she felt Jack’s
warm breath across her newly exposed and extremely sensitive nape. At this
moment, the only thing she wanted was to curl into Jack’s heat. But they
couldn’t as they both heard their friends’ voices calling.

“Hey, you two!”

“Good! I’m glad we caught up with you.
Andy, I want to go with you and watch the next act in the play we saw
yesterday.” Gayle grinned as she spoke.

Andy smiled at Gayle and Ray as they
approached. She wished for a moment they had not interrupted, but she pushed
away the thought.

“Yeah,” Ray added. “I want to see what
happens to the busty maid.”

Jack grinned and slowly released Andy. He
reached out and tapped his friend’s upper chest. “Ray, Ray, Ray. How many times
do I have to tell you…don’t speak the thought out loud until you sound it out
in your head first?” Jack lightly tapped the side of Ray’s head. They all
laughed and then headed into the party.

At first, Andy noted many things were
similar. But then she noticed many of the attendees were not in formal attire
as they had been the previous evening. Instead, many were dressed in different
styles that ranged from completely covered in leather, or PVC, to just straps
of it here and there. But also, according to the rules, no breasts or sex
organs were exposed.

Still, as they moved through the crowd,
Andy became uncomfortably aware over the amount of skin visible tonight than
last. As they entered the Dungeon Party, Gayle commented, leaning over to
whisper in Andy’s ear. “I wish I had the courage to wear something like that!”

Andy smiled back, shaking her head. “I was
scared, but after I’d spent the money on it, I sure as hell wasn’t going to
waste it.”

Gayle laughed, shrugging. “You’ll have to
tell me, when it’s quieter, where you got it. I might drag Liz and Ruthie there
as well.”

Her words reminded Andy she had not spent
much time with her gal pals from college, which had been the whole reason for
the cruise. “I’m sorry I haven’t been hanging out with you guys. I didn’t
realize how much not sharing a cabin would make a difference.”

Gayle glanced behind them where Jack and
Ray walked together, the same as Andy and she. Gayle took her wrist and dragged
her several yards ahead of the guys. She spoke conspiratorially as she released
her. “Okay, so what’s the deal with the fancy suite?”

Andy smiled, shrugging. “Remember the
champagne we received at the table the first night?”

“Sure. I meant to ask you who that guy
was.”

“Mr. Edwards. He is my next-door neighbor,
and I guess he is more than that.”

“What do you mean?” Gayle prodded.

Andy laughed at her friend’s expression.
“I’ll have to tell Mr. Edwards about your suspicions. He is seventy years old,
Gayle, and a dear, sweet man. Ever since I moved into my apartment, which I got
through nefarious means, he has been kind to me. In return, I started doing
little things for him. I was home a lot, so I began running errands, buying his
groceries, and so on. When he found out about the cruise, and that the
publisher was upgrading my cabin, he contacted a booking agent and paid for the
suite I am in.”

“Holy crap, girlfriend! Is he Daddy
Warbucks?”

Andy laughed, shaking her head. “No, but I
did learn he isn’t just a tenant in the building. He owns it and about ten
others. I asked him why he stays there and he told me it was his home.” She
paused to sniffle. “Sorry, but he is the dearest man. He’s become the family I
never had. When I first got to New York, I felt lost. I didn’t know what to do
with my degree. I started with the want ads and by accident stumbled across an
advertisement for a companion to an elderly woman.”