They pushed me down on to the plush rug. My awareness of so many pairs of eyes studying my naked body, my open cunt, my flogged and plugged bottom failed to arouse me. My throat was dry and I suddenly felt endlessly vulnerable. If they decided to murder me … Was that possible? How wrong could this go?
‘She has allowed herself to be taken by another man before Your Lordship performed her debut,’ explained Liv, because it seemed Kat was all out of speech.
‘Is this true?’
I nodded.
‘Which man? A member of our staff?’ asked Her Ladyship sharply. When I didn’t answer, she addressed the maids, none of whom replied.
‘She won’t say,’ said Kat. ‘We think it might be somebody from outside the house.’
‘Stop this. It was me.’
Damian’s voice.
‘Shut up!’ screamed Kat.
‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ he said, but she had leapt at him and was slapping him about with abandon. ‘I’m sorry, Kat. And I’m sorry, Cherry. I should have controlled myself.’
‘Who’s Cherry?’ Now His Lord and Ladyship were confused.
‘If you want me to leave, I’ll understand,’ said Damian, putting my own thoughts succinctly into words.
‘What about me?’ shrieked Kat. ‘What if I don’t want to leave?’
‘Then stay,’ said Damian. ‘Stay and be His Lordship’s favoured submissive, since that seems to be what your life is all about.’
‘You did this deliberately,’ she spat. ‘To get away from me.’
Damian finally managed to extricate her, his face a mess of scratches.
‘Sorry, love,’ he said quietly. ‘It suited me for a while. But I can’t live with you like this any more.’
‘I did this for you!’ Kat was beside herself.
‘No you didn’t. You always pushed things further and further. Just being your husband and your dom would have been enough for me. It wasn’t enough for you, I see that now.’ He shrugged. ‘I should go.’
‘Wait,’ cried Her Ladyship, rising from her chair.
‘What for?’ he asked gently, then he left the room.
‘I should go too,’ I ventured. ‘God, what a mess. I wish I hadn’t come here now.’
‘So do I,’ said Her Ladyship. ‘And what’s this Cherry business? Did you even give us a false “real” name?’
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t want to risk my vanilla life, my career, any of that stuff.’
‘Because you’re a schoolteacher,’ said His Lordship. ‘Not a piano tutor.’
I looked around the room, at the avid faces of the guests. They might not be getting what they had expected, but this would entertain them at least.
‘Look,’ I said. ‘I don’t feel I can stay, under the circumstances.’
‘I think you should stay.’ Her Ladyship’s voice was uneven with rage. ‘I want to thrash the living daylights out of you, you fucking whore.’
‘She was fond of Damian,’ remarked His Lordship. ‘But she’ll get over him.’ He reached over and gave her wrist a very firm squeeze. ‘Now get out, Bottom, and don’t darken our door again, eh? There’s a girl.’
Chapter Twelve