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Subject: {ASSM} To Walk in the Valley   (BDSM)
Date: Fri,  1 Sep 2000 08:10:10 -0400
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To Walk in the Valley   Part 1


With a soft grinding of gravel, the car pulled off the highway and onto the
private road where it stopped.
The engine shut off, and not another sound could be heard except for the
birds and insects flying around in the warm summer air, and the occasional
ping of the cooling engine.
After a few minutes, the driver got out and stood alone, looking forward
along the gravel road, as if looking for something.
Inside the car, Joseph Booth watched Maria as she stood quietly surveying
the landscape.  He wanted to get out and hold her, and make her feel safe,
but there was no way he could do that.  He cursed his paralyzed legs.
After a time, Maria climbed back in.
"Alright?"  Joseph asked her.
She gave him a brief smile, and started the car. Soon they were rolling
along the tight, winding road.
Maria drove slowly, hands gripping the wheel tightly. She tried to ignore
the surrounding hills, but her mind kept shoving memories into her head. The
sound of hoof beats, the smell of mud and dry grass, the feel of the earth
under her bare feet, and most strongly, the feel of tight leather pulling at
her wrists.
Maria began to wonder if she had made a mistake coming here, then they
rounded a hill and she stopped the car once more.
 From this position on the driveway, for that was what they were driving on,
she had probably the best view there was of where they were going.
Below them was the valley, it's bottom green with a thick growth of trees,
the stream at it's center completely hidden.  The towering hills surrounding
it, relatively bare and quite brown, were covered in natural grasses because
the slopes were too steep to farm.
Not much of the valley could be seen from any one point because of the hills
and the way it twisted, but what Maria could see was enough.  It began to
feel right, being here. Although she hadn't really spent that long living in
the valley, it seemed to her that her life hadn't really begun until she
first met Alan here. Since then she felt she had lived a lifetime.
She was home.
Putting the car in gear again, they continued on until they entered the
large grove of trees that surrounded the house and yard. Maria pulled the
car up next to another that was parked in front of the house, and got out.
She had opened the trunk and was pulling out Joseph's wheel chair, when she
heard a voice calling from the barn.
"Hi.  Excuse me!  Can I help you?"
Hiding her smile, for she knew who it was, Maria winked at Joseph, who
watched her from his seat, and kept her face hidden.
"Excuse me!  Can I help you with something?"  the voice insisted, coming
closer.
Maria stood up and faced the newcomer. "Well, I guess you could put us up
for a few days."  she said smiling.
The newcomer stopped, a confused expression. Then recognition flooded her
face, and with a scream and a big smile she ran the last few yards and
practically jumped into Maria's arms. "OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD!" was all
she could say.
"Hi Melissa!"  Maria cried as the two of them hugged.  It had been a long
time.  Too long.  The women hadn't seen each other since Maria had left a
week after Alan's funeral, and they had spoken on the phone only a couple of
times after that.
Joseph watched with a smile of his own as the two women hugged and kissed.
He knew from what Maria had told him in the past, that Melissa held a very
special place in her heart. He hoped that their being together again would
help Maria finally heal the wounds she had been carrying around since he had
met her.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming!"  Melissa cried, finally calming
down a little.
"I don't know. I guess I didn't want to make a big deal out of it."  replied
Maria.
"A big deal!  It is a big deal, Sweety!" laughed Melissa, hugging her friend
once again. "And what did you do to your hair?  I didn't recognize you!"
Maria wasn't ready to answer that one yet, so the women held each other
silently for a moment, before Melissa finally noticed Joseph waiting
patiently in the car.
She stepped back and arched an eyebrow at Maria.
"Oh.  This is Joseph. He's..."  Maria paused. She had been wondering how she
would introduce Joseph to Melissa for quite a while. She had never told
Melissa that she had jumped straight out of one BD relationship into
another.  She knew that Melissa would never have allowed it to happen.
A further complication was that now she wasn't sure just WHAT kind of
relationship she and Joseph had now.  They hadn't done anything BD related
since he had gotten out of hospital. Instead her role had changed into
something else.
"He's...my friend."  was all she could manage.
Melissa nodded slightly, catching on to more than Maria realized, and
stepped forward to shake hands.
"It's good to meet you." she said.
"For me too."  Joseph replied, "I feel as though I know you already."
Melissa glanced over at Maria, eyebrows raised.  "Then you have me at a
disadvantage."
"Not for long I hope."  Joseph smiled.
Maria decided to jump in before Melissa started asking too many questions.
"I could use a hand here."
"Sure."  Melissa replied, letting go of Joseph's hand. She vowed silently to
find out more about this man.
She found out the first thing about him when she saw what it was that Maria
needed a hand with.  A wheel chair.
The two women lifted the chair out of the trunk with ease and unfolded it
for Joseph, who pulled himself out of the car and into the chair.  Maria
ignored the urge to help him. He had told her long ago that he wanted to do
as much by himself as he felt able.  Instead she looked around the yard and
up at the house.
"You've done a good job here. The place looks better than it ever has."
Maria said to Melissa.
"I had help. But I enjoyed the opportunity.  It has been good living out
here this past year.  I hope you aren't planning on evicting me." she said
with a laugh.
Maria smiled. "No. This is your home for as long as you like.  Who helped
you, Lisa?"
"Yep, and...OHMYGOD. I forgot!"  A devilish grin crossed her face. "Lisa's
here, in the barn. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you."
"That would be great!"
"Only...Well, we were in the middle of something."  Melissa gave her a look,
one designed to convey a lot that couldn't be said.
Maria smiled, knowingly. She felt the familiar stirring returning, and
decided to go with it.  "Oh. If she's busy then we can get Joseph inside and
settled before I go say hello. She'll be okay on her own for a little while
won't she?"
The devilish grin broadened. "She'll be fine. Come on. I'll help you with
your stuff."
The two women helped pull Joseph and his chair up onto the porch and then
Maria hauled their luggage while Melissa went inside with the man and got
him a drink.
Joseph let himself be wheeled and watered, just enjoying how Maria shined
now that she was with her friend. He was afraid that her time under Atamo's
lash had broken her, and caring for an invalid certainly wasn't the best
therapy for what she had been through. She was looking better than she had
been in weeks.
The women talked about rearranging the furniture to accommodate Joseph, who
really wasn't able to handle stairs.
"There's Alan's office." Melissa suggested. "It hasn't been used at all. We
could easily turn it into a bedroom."  She had grasped that Joseph wasn't
just a casual visitor. His relationship with Maria obviously meant that he
would be staying a while.
A cloud passed over Maria's face at the mention of Alan's name. She tried to
hide it, but the two people in the room with her were the worst people she
could have tried to hide something from. In their own way, they knew more
about her than she did.
"That would be fine."  Maria said evenly. "Is it okay with you, Joseph?"
"Yes, yes. I'll be perfectly comfortable, as long as there is a decent bed."
replied the older man.
Melissa frowned.  "Actually, the room is empty now. But there is a fold up
cot somewhere I can get out, and we can see about getting a proper bed and
furniture out her tomorrow."
"That will do wonderfully."  said Joseph.
Maria moved closer to Joseph and knelt by his side. "Are you sure?" she said
quietly. "Maybe it would be better for your back if we got you into a hotel
for the night."
Melissa watched with interest as the couple continued a whispered
conversation.  Just seeing Maria's body language told her that there was a
deep bond between her and Joseph, and Melissa didn't know whether to be
happy or not about it.
Trust in Joseph, she realized, would only come after she had gotten to know
him.
"Melissa.  We'll stay in a hotel tonight, and get a proper bed tomorrow.
Joseph's back just wont take a cot right now."
"Alright. Then I'll call and get you guys a room. Why don't you head out to
the barn and say hi to Lisa while I'm calling."
Maria smiled.  "Are you sure she wont mind?"
"She wont send you away!"  Melissa said with a twinkle in her eye.
Maria turned to Joseph, who nodded his approval, and Maria left the house
and made the trek over to the barn.  As she walked, she was reminded of the
many times she had had to make this very walk, her steps a lot shorter. She
was almost tempted to shuffle instead of stride.
She stepped inside the barn and waited for her eyes to adjust to the
darkness.  At first she didn't see Lisa anywhere, but then she picked out
her form in one of the stalls.
It had been some time since Maria had seen anyone in strict bondage, so she
was a little taken aback by Lisa's position, but after a moment she began to
see the beauty of a woman bound.
Lisa was standing naked in one of the empty horse stalls.  Her arms were
strapped tightly to her sides, her hands covered in leather mittens. The
straps dug deeply into Lisa's flesh and Maria could see that she had put on
a few pounds since she had last seen her.  Her breasts were squeezed between
two thick straps that made them balloon out.  Her head was covered in a
leather hood, except for her mouth which was held partially open by a gag of
some sort. The gag didn't block her airway though, for Maria could hear Lisa
moan softly to herself.
Lisa was held in the middle of the stall by two chains, one attached to each
ankle, that held them apart. She was bent forward slightly and thin cords
attached to her nipple rings kept her in that position. The other ends of
the cords were tied to bungee cords attached to the wall that kept a
constant pull on her breasts, not too much, just enough so she knew it was
there.
A rope attached to the straps around her chest kept her from leaning forward
too much.
Sitting on the ground between her legs was a metronome, with a long feather
attached to it. The feather was being propelled back and forth across Lisa's
most sensitive area. A light touch, but increasingly frustrating as time
goes on.
Maria could see that Lisa had evidently been there for a while already.  Her
body was covered in sweat which wasn't all from the heat of the barn. Her
labia was engorged and dripping, the tip of the feather matted and wet.
Every time it stroked her Lisa would shudder.
To Maria it looked both horrifying and seductive.  All at once she wanted to
jump in and release Lisa from her torment, yet at the same time she wanted
to take her place.
Filled with indecision, she just stood and watched.
"Have you said hi yet?"  Melissa said, startling her.
Maria shook her head, not willing to speak in case it destroyed the moment
inside Lisa's head.
"It's okay. You can talk quietly. Her ears are packed, so as long as we're
not too loud we'll be okay."
"How long...?"  Maria asked.
Melissa looked at her watch.  "About forty five minutes. I promised her an
hour. I had better change the feather again, it's a lot more potent when
it's stiff and fresh."
Melissa stepped into the stall and carefully turned off the metronome.
Maria was surprised to hear Lisa's moans increase, but then she realized
that if she was in such a position, the last thing she would want would be
for the stimulus to stop.
It took Melissa only a moment to replace the sodden feather with another,
and soon the ticking of the machine could be heard again.  Melissa then
picked up a water bottle and sprayed some water into Lisa's mouth.
"Come here."  Melissa said to Maria.
Maria did so, walking forward until she was standing next to the bound
woman. Maria could smell Lisa's sweat and the more obvious smell of her
arousal, it sent little shudders through her own body.
Melissa took a pair of scissors from a pocket, and snipped the cords pulling
on Lisa's breasts. Lisa moaned louder and stood up straighter, her feet
pulling slightly at the chains that held them.
Melissa bent over and pushed the metronome so that it would still strike her
in her new position, then she leaned forward and began to suck on one of
Lisa's nipples.
Lisa's moans grew louder, and more intense.  Maria figured that if she
hadn't cum by now she was just about to.
Without pulling away, Melissa gestured toward Lisa's other nipple, and it
dawned on Maria what it was Melissa wanted.
A little nervous, Maria placed her own mouth around Lisa's engorged bud and
let her tongue circle it slowly.
Immediately Lisa began pulling away, but there was no where for her to go.
Her moans grew more serious, but in moments changed to something more
powerful. Maria held on with just her lips as Lisa shuddered and bucked
through her orgasm, only letting go when Melissa did.
They stood back to see the beautiful sight of a nude woman breathing
heavily, still being brushed by the feather from down below.
"Still about ten minutes.  I'll let her finish it out."  Melissa said.
Lisa was angling her head, as if listening for whoever was in the barn.
Maria got the impression that she really hadn't been expecting two mouths on
her body.
The two free women watched silently as the feather brought Lisa back to her
preorgasmic pitch, before being shut off and pulled away.
A frustrated moan came out of the bound woman.
Melissa motioned Maria to one side as she first undid the rope to Lisa's
back and then her legs.
She worked quickly to release the hood, pulling it and the gag off at the
same time.
Lisa's sweaty face appeared under a mass of hair, her eyes wide as she
searched for whoever was in the barn with her.
When she spotted Maria they grew even wider.
"Maria?" Lisa croaked, her throat still dry.
Maria nodded and moved forward to embrace her.
Unable to reciprocate, her arms still strapped to her sides, Lisa just stood
a cried while Maria, and then Melissa hugged her tightly. The three of them
stood for a long time, together once more.

That evening, Joseph and the three woman had dinner together.  Joseph
listened quietly while Maria avoided telling her friends what had happened
to her since she had left.  Melissa and Lisa were a little more forthcoming
about what had happened in their lives over the past year, but Joseph knew
there was something they were avoiding too.
He found all this evasiveness distasteful, but didn't do anything to change
it.  He had been told by Maria's therapist that she needed to deal with
things in her own time and to force her to talk about things she rather not
would do more harm than good.
So instead he watched Lisa and Melissa.  That they were a couple was fairly
evident. They traded looks that were full of warmth and affection the entire
time he saw them.  He also noticed that Melissa seemed to be the one who
wore the pants, so to speak.  Lisa would defer often whenever the two came
in conflict over some detail they were discussing.  Also it was Lisa who did
most of the work during the meal.
If what he suspected was happening in the barn when they arrived was true,
than either this was a Dom/Sub couple or close to it.   He couldn't find out
directly however, because Maria never made any mention of their BD
relationship.
Once the meal was done, Joseph figured that he was only getting in the way
of the reunion these three women desperately wanted. So, feigning a
tiredness that wasn't entirely fake. He asked Maria to take him to their
hotel.
"If you like," he said, "you can come back and catch up some more."
"Are you sure?"  she asked.
Joseph could see in the faces of all three women, that he was doing the
right thing.
"I'm sure."

It was quite dark when Maria's car pulled back in front of the house.
Melissa and Lisa were sitting on the porch, waiting for her.
"Hi guys."  Maria said.
Melissa said nothing. Instead she stood up and took Maria by the shoulders,
looking her straight in the eye.
"Tell me."  she ordered.  "Who is Joseph Booth, and where have you been all
year?"


End of Part 1


To Walk in the Valley     Part 2


The night was brightly lit by the moon.  It cast deep shadows across the
valley floor, but it was more than bright enough for the women in the hot
tub behind the house.
It seemed perfectly natural to Maria, to strip off her clothes and climb in
with her two friends.
So natural in fact that she had forgotten about the new scars she had gotten
since she was last naked with these women.
Of course it was Melissa who spotted them.
"My God, Maria.  Did he do this to you?"  she asked, meaning Joseph.
Maria shook her head, and her two friends suspected she had a story to tell.
Once they were all settled, the water warm and bubbling against their naked
skin, Maria began to tell her friends a little of what had happened to her.
She told them of her arrival at the Kennel after a few months of drifting
around the country. She touched on how Joseph had adopted her and how he had
taken care of her.
When Melissa heard how Maria had gotten into another BDSM relationship, she
started cursing Joseph for taking advantage of her. But Maria insisted that
Joseph did anything BUT take advantage of her.  He gave her what she thought
she needed, bondage wise, and there was no doubt that he was the one in
charge. But he took great pains to make sure that Maria adjusted properly
and wasn't pushed any farther that she could go.
Melissa calmed somewhat when Maria told her about her seeing a shrink.
Joseph caring for Maria's mental health like that seemed to make it easier
for Melissa to trust Maria's judgment of the man.
Then Maria started to talk about Hiro Atamo, and both Lisa and Melissa
listened wide eyed as Maria told them about her kidnapping and consequent
rescue. She finished up by explaining Joseph's injury to them.
When she was done, the three of them sat quietly in the swirling water.
Then Melissa moved forward and gave Maria a hug.
"You've been through a lot haven't you."  she said.  "I'm glad you're home."
Maria smiled.  "Me too.  And I'm happy to see that the two of you are still
together."
All three women smiled.
"That looked like an interesting bondage position you were in today, Lisa."
Maria said, attempting to lighten the mood.
Lisa smiled.  For a while during dinner she had remained flush from her time
in the barn.  The heightened state of arousal she had finished up in had
taken it's time to abate.
Melissa had forbidden her to do anything about it either, much to Maria's
amusement.
"Do you play bondage games as much as you used to?"  Maria asked them.
"Sure!"  replied Lisa. "It's usually just the two of us, but we try to play
as often as we can."
"Just the two of you?"  Maria raised her eyebrows.
"Er..."  Lisa faulted.
"It's nothing." said Melissa, jumping in.  "She meant that we both play
together rather than just one of us doing bondage by ourselves."
Maria doubted that. There was something they were keeping from her.
"Anyway. I had better get to bed."  Lisa said, standing up in the water. "I
have to open the Diner in the morning.  Breakfast starts early."
Maria and Melissa bid her goodnight, and they watched her naked form until
she disappeared into the house.
"Well..."  said Melissa.
"Well..."  said Maria.
"I'd better get to bed too.  She might need the help in the morning.
Business has been pretty good lately."
Maria nodded.  Although she hadn't expected her relationship with Melissa to
just pick up where she had abandoned it a year ago, she found it unsettling
that Melissa would lie to her about something.  They had always been honest
with each other.
"Do you mind if I stay a little longer?  I'm not ready to go back just yet."
Maria asked.
"Sweety, its your home.  Alan left all this to you, remember?  You can stay
as long as you want."
Maria nodded, and stared at the water, avoiding her friend's face. She
didn't watch as Melissa climbed out and followed her lover into the house.

After a while, Maria climbed out herself, and stood naked next to the tub.
The wind was calm, and the trees silent as they stood vigil.  She felt an
urge to take a walk, and without going inside to dress, started down one of
the many foot trails that ran back and forth across the valley.
As she walked, she couldn't help but think of past times when she had
traveled these trails naked.
She smiled when she remembered how often she had been dragged along, her
hands bound together, attached to the saddle of Alan's horse, Nelson, with a
long rope or chain.
That got her wondering where Nelson was, and she made a mental note to ask
when next she saw her friends.
She kept walking, the feel of the ground beneath her bare feet invigorating,
the freedom of walking completely naked intoxicating.  She held her arms out
and began to dance down the trail, laughing and crying.  Everything seemed
so right, so good.  Almost as good as...
She stopped.
For the first time in a long time, she had been able to think about Alan
without that overwhelming sense of guilt that accompanied his memories.  It
came as quite a shock to her, and she wondered if she was ready to give up
mourning for Alan.
She looked around at the hills and the trees that surrounded her, there was
a flickering light in the distance on the other side of the valley, but
otherwise nothing she could recognize.  The hills at this end of the valley
were tall and very steep, and from where she stood she could see nothing
that was man made, not even on her own body.  Here was the valley in it's
purest form.  Could a mere walk through it's embrace calm her to the point
where she could address her issues without fear?
She wasn't sure. She felt the urge to call her therapist, but fought it.
Pushing the thought back she continued on, and soon she reached the fence.
The fence divided Alan's (No, Hers.  She thought) property from the more
public land beyond.  About a mile downstream, as the crow flies, was the
town where Joseph now slept in their motel room.
Maria looked back along the trail for a moment, and then out beyond the
fence.
An evil thought was pushing it's way into her mind.
The walk back to the house was actually farther than if she walked to the
hotel, yet from here on there was a much bigger risk of her being discovered
naked if she chose to head for Joseph.  Still, she thought, it was the
middle of the night, who'd be about?
With a sense of playfulness that she hadn't felt for a long time, Maria
climbed over the fence and proceeded through the trees that followed the
stream.
As she went, she could feel her heart pounding.  She began to wonder what
the hell she was doing.  This wasn't like her, she liked things safe and
easy.
Yet there was an excitement building that she couldn't deny.
The trees thinned out to just low bushes and she covered the ground quickly
until she got to the bridge.
The road was deserted, but well lit by the moon, if she followed it she
would have little cover in case she had to hide, but that didn't deter her.
As she stepped out onto the pavement, she remembered the last time she had
been naked and alone at this bridge.  She wondered if the boy who saw her
had told all his friends about the strange woman who had disturbed his
fishing.
Maria actually laughed at the memory, and if Joseph had been there he would
have been amazed at how this little adventure had brought a glow to her
cheeks.
She crossed the bridge and began walking along the road, turning every so
often to make sure that no cars were coming up behind her.  She felt really
good about the walk and didn't feel a all nervous about it until she came to
the town limits.
Now she had to be a little more careful.  She only had to go a couple more
blocks, but the road was lit by street lights the whole way.  Still, it
wasn't a residential neighborhood she had to pass through, just a bunch of
business's.
She got off the road and instead walked through parking lots, ducking behind
cars whenever she thought she saw someone.  She never did, and it was almost
a disappointment to her when she got to the hotel without seeing anyone the
whole trip.
She thought she could get into the hotel via a side door, but when she tried
she found it locked.  A little sign on the door said that it was locked at
night but that a room key could open it.
That's when she realized that she didn't have a key. It was in her car back
at the house.
Maria faced a moment of indecision, but no fear as yet.  She either had to
go all the way back, a walk that had taken a long time already, or figure
out a way of getting not only into the hotel, but also into her room.
Deciding to explore the second option a little more, Maria crept around
behind the building and tried each door she came to.
All were locked until she tried one of the doors to the indoor pool. Someone
had stuffed a rag between the door and the frame so that it wouldn't shut,
and Maria looked around nervously in case that person was nearby.  She still
seemed alone, so she opened the door, which squeaked loudly,  and slipped
in.
Most of the lights were off, but she could see well enough to note that the
hot tub was running, it's surface stirred to a froth by the jets.
She saw a towel lying next to it and was reaching for it when she heard the
squeak of the outside door.
Without hesitating she jumped into the hot tub and sunk down so her naked
body was hidden by the froth.  She turned to see who it was who came in.
It was a young man, she saw, naked as she was, and carrying a phone.  He
appeared to be looking over at the lobby entrance to the pool as he walked,
and didn't see Maria in the tub until he was almost standing on her.
"Oh! Shit!"  he yelled when he saw her, quickly placing the phone over his
groin.  Maria was amused to see that it wasn't up to the job.
"Hi!"  she said, smiling sweetly at his discomfort.  Even though it was her
trapped in the tub without any clothes, she felt that she was the one with
the upper hand here.
The young man looked over at the pool entrance and then back at her.  He
looked like he was about to bolt.
"It's okay,"  Maria said in an effort to calm him down, "why don't you slip
into the water, you'll feel more comfortable."
He looked at the white froth that hid all but her head from view, and a
moment later climbed slowly in.  The tub was a lot smaller than the one she
had at home, and he couldn't help brushing his leg against hers. He almost
jumped right back out of the water again.
"I'm sorry!"
"It's okay."  Maria said calmly.
"Where did you come from, I thought I'd locked all the doors?"
"I have a room here.  Do you work here?"
"Er...yeah. I work the night desk."  He shifted around nervously.  "Look,
you won't tell anyone will you?  It could mean my job if my boss finds out
I'm walking around naked at night."
Maria smiled, and decided to take pity on the guy. "Don't worry about it.
Your secret is safe with me. In fact, I'll let you in on one of mine."  She
leaned closer to him and whispered "I'm nude too."
She could see him blush as he realized he was sitting naked in a tub with a
woman who was also nude.  She tried to keep a straight face.
"Er..."  was all he could manage to say.
"What's your name?"  Maria asked.
"Tom..Thomas."
"Hi.  I'm Maria."
Tom grinned, but it was more one of desperation than of happiness.
"Do you often work naked, Tom?" she asked him.
"Yes...no.  I...er.  No, I don't work naked, but..."
"But what?"
"I...well, most of the time I never see anyone at this time of night, and
sometimes I get the urge to...well...stand outside naked. You know, get back
to nature?"
Maria nodded. She knew what he was talking about.  Thomas seemed to relax a
little more when he realized she wasn't going to laugh at him.
"So, where do you go?"  Maria asked him.
"Not far. I can't take the phone out of range, in case I get a call.
Sometimes I just sit in this hot tub for a little while."
"Do you do this at home too?"
"No." he said disappointedly. "I live in an apartment and it's way too busy
to get out naked there.  Here is the only chance I get."
Maria took pity on him. "I know a place where you could go if you wanted to.
You could run around naked as much as you like there."
"Where? the closest public land with any kind of cover is over twenty miles
from here."
"Wells Valley." Maria answered, using her home's official name.
"But that place is private. Has a fence all around it. Besides, the owner
got shot there last year. The new owner has never been around but the place
is occupied.  No one knows what is going on there, but that's nothing new.
The last owner was pretty tight about letting anybody on his land."
Maria's face tightened a little at the mention of Alan's death, but Thomas
didn't notice it.
"You won't have a problem with the new owner." she told him.
Puzzled, Thomas asked why.
"Because you're looking at her."
Thomas's mouth dropped open.  "You're Maria...Er...I'm sorry, about what I
just said.  I didn't mean to offend."
Maria's face relaxed back into a smile, which brought a nervous smile to
Thomas's face too.
"It's okay.  No harm done.  You can use the valley for your, nature walks,
anytime you like. Just stay away from the house and yard, at least until I
pass this on to the other people that live there."
"Sure. Thanks.  Look, I don't want to seem ungrateful, but if you own Wells
Valley, what are you doing here?"
"A fair question."  Maria acknowledged, and explained to him about Joseph's
disability and the need for them to stay at the hotel.  Thomas nodded his
understanding and the two of them sat in silence for a moment.
"Could you do me a favor, Tom?"  Maria said sweetly.
"Er...what?"
"I locked myself out of my room, and I don't have a key. Could you get me
another one?"
"Sure.  I can do that. Why don't you wait here."  Tom reached for the towel,
but Maria grabbed t first."
"That's okay. I can come with you."
Tom stared at her for a moment, but all Maria did was smile. So, figuring
that she had seen everything he had already, he pulled himself out of the
hot tub and padded naked and wet toward the lobby entrance to the pool.  He
heard Maria get out of the tub behind him, but he hesitated too long before
looking back and she had already wrapped the towel around herself.
With a shrug he unlocked the door and with a quick look around the lobby to
make sure it was empty, he ran behind the desk and grabbed another towel off
a shelf.  His clothes were in the back office, he'd get dressed after he
dried off.
Maria walked casually up to the desk, also looking around but feeling more
secure now that she had the towel.
"What room are you in?"  Tom asked her.
She told him and he found a key for her.
"You said you wouldn't tell right?" he said as he handed her the key.
"Don't worry.  Here, I think this belongs to you."  She pulled off the towel
and threw it over his head in one swift motion.  By the time he pulled it
off all he could see was her back as she walked toward her room.  He stared
at her naked body until she was out of sight.
Maria forced herself to walk at a steady pace until she reached her room,
although the way her heart was racing she felt more like running.
She let herself into the room quietly and dried herself quickly with one of
their own towels before slipping into bed next to Joseph.
She thought he was asleep, but he opened his eyes as she pulled on the
covers.
"You were gone a long time."  he said.
"I...had a long trip back." she replied, and told him about her walk back
from the valley and her encounter with Tom.
By the time she finished Joseph was smiling, a warm smile that she hadn't
seen on him for a while.
"It sounds like you are more like your frisky self."  he commented.
Maria nodded, "It does feel good to be back, better than I thought."
Joseph laughed.  "Well, it seems to me that you have a little too much
energy for this time of night, we'll have to do something about it.  Go get
my bag will you?"
Intrigued, Maria climbed back out of bed and fetched his carry bag.  He dug
in it for a moment and pulled out two sets of handcuffs and a blindfold.
Immediately, Maria's heart started beating faster.  It had been so long
since they had last done anything like this.
"Put these on your ankles." he asked, handing her the slightly larger pair
of cuffs.  She did as he asked, quite willingly.
"Lie on your front." he ordered.
Maria did so, and Joseph managed to get up on one elbow to cuff her hands
behind her back.  Then, rolling over slightly, he got the blindfold on her
and lay back.
Maria pulled against the cuffs at her hands and feet, and felt a sexual wave
flow through her body.  She was ready for this.
Joseph rolled the other way, his back to her. "I left a wake up call, you
can get it when it rings."
It took a few seconds for Maria to register the fact that Joseph wasn't
going to do any more than he had done already.
"What?"  she asked him. "I thought..."
Joseph grinned, although she couldn't see it.  He knew quite well what she
thought. "Good night, Maria."
"But..."
"GOOD NIGHT, Maria."
Maria heard Joseph laugh quietly as she pulled once more at her bondage.
Horny and frustrated, yes she really had come home.


End of part 2


To Walk in the Valley     Part 3


Maria heard the phone ring and lifted her head.  She had no idea how long
she had slept, the blindfold she wore prevented her from seeing how light it
was outside.
She was about to try to find the phone when Joseph answered it himself.
"Hello?" she heard him say.  "Oh, hi...yes, she's here...she walked back
last night...I know...yes, she did...well that's a little hard to do in New
York...yes...that would be great, just leave the keys at the front
desk...thanks, we'll see you soon...bye!"
"Morning."  she said once he had hung up.
"Good morning, Maria.  Sleep well?"
"Actually I did."  Maria said smiling.
"Good."  Joseph reached over and took her blindfold off, then undid the
cuffs that had held her arms behind her back all night.  Maria stretched and
undid the cuffs at her feet before running quickly into the bathroom.
The next hour was taken up with Maria helping Joseph go through his bathroom
routine before getting a chance to do so herself.  Joseph hated having to
depend on her this way, but Maria never complained about the work so he
counted himself lucky that she was willing to stay with him.
Still, he always felt better once he was dressed and in his wheel chair, it
just made him feel a little more dignified, a little more like the old
Joseph Booth.
While they got ready, Joseph told Maria that it had been Melissa on the
phone wondering where she was because their car was still in front of the
house.  He told her that Melissa sounded a little put out by Maria's little
jaunt, but she promised to drop their car off at the hotel on the way to the
Diner.
Then the couple talked about what furniture they would need to out fit
Alan's old office as a bedroom.
When they were both ready, Maria pushed Joseph out to the car, collecting
the keys on the way and then drove them to the Diner that Lisa owned and
ran.
The parking lot was packed, a large breakfast crowd had gathered.  Maria
found a spot near the edge and wheeled Joseph into the building.
Inside, it was just as crowded as outside, but since there was no one
waiting to seat them, they found an empty table that would accommodate
Joseph's wheel chair, and looked through a menu.
"Interesting place."  said Joseph, looking around. "Is it always this busy
in the morning?"
"You know, I really don't know for sure."  Maria replied. "Most of the times
I came here I couldn't see."
Joseph was puzzled.  "How did you manage that?"
Maria explained to him about the contacts that Alan had gotten for her, and
how with them on she had been rendered completely blind.
"That's a new one!"  Joseph said when she finished.
Just then Melissa appeared at their table, dressed in a blue and white
waitress uniform.
"Hi. You made it.  What can I get you?"  she said smiling.
Joseph ordered a big, greasy, fried breakfast for himself, while Maria stuck
with cereal.
"No problem."  said Melissa, and scooted off into the crowd.
Joseph and Maria sat and watched the other customers for a few minutes,
before both Melissa and Lisa returned.
"Maria,"  Lisa said, a little breathless. She was wearing a uniform just
like Melissa's but with a large apron added.
"Hi."  replied Maria.
"Maria, I need a favor.  Two of my help didn't come in and I'm running
really short handed, could you help us out for a little while?"
Maria looked a little lost. "I don't know what I can do, I've never worked
in a restaurant before."
"You can work the register for us, it's easy and would help us out a lot."
Maria didn't know what to do, she looked over at Joseph.
"I think you should go help, Maria."  he said, a small smile on his face.
"It's evident they need you."
Maria shrugged.  "Okay."
A minute later she was in the back room, Melissa handing her a uniform of
her own. "This should fit you, put it on and I'll meet you out front.  You
know, that was a pretty stupid thing you did last night. You might have been
picked up and raped."  Without allowing Maria time to explain herself,
Melissa left her to get changed.
Maria looked at the uniform for a moment, and then shrugged out of her
dress.  Joseph, in an effort to build on the return to their former
relationship, had asked her that morning to go without underwear, so apart
from her shoes, all she wore when she stepped up to the counter was the
rather scratchy uniform that she had been given.
"Hey! Maria!"  bellowed a loud voice.  She was immediately crushed in an
embrace that threatened to cut off her air.  When she was released she stood
back to find that she had been almost suffocated by Robert.
She was delighted to see him and gave him a big hug right back.
"It's good to see you kid!"  said Robert.
"It's great to see you!  How have you been?"
"Good.  I heard you were back, and that you brought a friend?"
Maria pointed out Joseph, sitting at their table, digging into his
breakfast.
"Say no more. I'll go introduce myself, but first let me show you how the
register works. Then I can get back to the kitchen before Lisa totally
screws it up. We can talk more later."
Maria laughed, and ten minutes later she was operating the till by herself.
The work was easy, people just brought up their bills and all she had to do
was ring them up and take their money.
As she worked she saw Robert talking to Joseph at one point, and wondered
what lies they were telling each other about her.  She lost track of them
while she dealt with a large group all leaving at the same time, and forgot
about Robert until she felt something grip her ankle.
She looked down to see Robert crouched behind the counter, a set of
handcuffs in one hand and the other set attached to one of her ankles and a
handy shelf post.
"Hey!" she yelled, attempting to pull away, but she was already stuck.
"A present from Joe."  Robert said, grinning.  Now put your legs together."
Maria looked up at where Joseph was sitting and saw that he was watching
her.  He nodded slowly, and Maria knew that he had indeed gotten Robert to
do his dirty work for him.
With an "I'll get you later" smile on her face, she put her ankles together
and Robert locked them together with the other set of cuffs.
She continued to work like that, her legs in bondage, her predicament quite
unknown to the people she serviced.
At one point Lisa came over to see how she was doing, and raised an eyebrow
at Maria's unconventional leg wear, but said nothing.
Slowly, the breakfast trade died down.

At one point, Joseph found himself suddenly accompanied by Lisa, who sunk
wearily into a seat beside him.
"Mind if I join you for some coffee?  I could use the break." she asked him.
"Please!" he replied, gesturing to the jug in front of him.
She poured herself a cup and sat and stared at it.
"I didn't really get a chance to say hi last night."  she said slowly.
Joseph smiled.  "I know, Melissa pretty much had the evening to herself,
didn't she."
Lisa laughed, and took a sip of her drink.  "I was also...well, I wanted to
say thanks, for looking after Maria.  She told us a lot about what had
happened to her, to both of you."  She glanced for a moment at Joseph's
wheel chair, a movement he didn't miss.
He nodded, and watched Lisa's eyes. He saw she had a hard time looking at
him directly.
"Can I ask you a question?"  he said to her.
"Sure!"
"Maria has told me very little about the night Alan Wells was killed. I'd
like to know more, if I could."
"Now that's a question!"  Lisa said, and gulped down her coffee.
"Can you talk about it?"  Joseph asked her.
Lisa sat silent for a minute, before looking up.

You have to understand that I wasn't there during that final crucial moment
(Lisa said), and I sometimes wish I was because if I hadn't left, then Alan
would still be alive and with us today.
No it's true.  I'll tell you why.
I got a call from Alan at home. He said he had left Maria tied up alone and
would I go over to make sure she was okay until he got back.  He sounded a
little drunk, which was unlike him, but considering what day it was I wasn't
too surprised.
Anyway, I got to their house and found Maria in a pretty tight hog-tie.
I guess I don't have to tell you how dangerous it is to leave someone alone
when tied up tight in rope do I?
I untied her, and she was upset about the way Alan had been acting. She knew
he was brooding about something, but she had no idea what it was.
I felt I had to tell her something, so I...well, I knew that Alan would
never tell her the truth about his dad's death, and I wasn't sure at the
time what she would have done if she had known the truth.
I did tell her the truth in so far that it was the anniversary of Tony's
death, but I couldn't tell her how he really died. I made up something about
the hospital.
Anyway, it calmed her down and I stayed until Alan got home.
He was drunk, and Robert, did you meet Robert?  Anyway, Robert brought him
home and he was in a pissy mood.
He went a little overboard when he saw that I had untied Maria, and to tell
the truth I wasn't exactly in the best of moods myself.  We argued, and Alan
sent Maria upstairs for something, I forget.
When she was gone I started to get on his case about the real reason he had
gotten drunk, like we both didn't feel bad about what happened.
"I was there too!"  I was yelling at him, "You don't see m getting
shit-faced about it!"
Alan looked pretty bad right then, and I tried again to get him to let me
stay with Maria, but he was too far gone and not even poor Rob was going to
change his mind. He practically threw me out the door, and I hoped as I
drove off that Robert might calm him down enough not to do anything stupid.
I was so absorbed and pissed off about the evening that I almost ran Peter
Brown off the road as I left the driveway.
He pulled me over and asked what was wrong, and I told him.
I didn't know at the time that he had already had a run in with Alan that
day.  If I had I probably wouldn't have painted such an alarming story.  I
figure that he went in armed with what I had told him about Alan's condition
and that led to Alan getting shot...


Lisa sat, toying with a spoon, while Joseph sat quietly and watched her.
"When I got home I had a message from Rob about...what happened. I went
straight back but everyone was already on their way to the hospital.  The
rest you know!"  Lisa looked up, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
Joseph looked around and saw Maria at the till watching them, but too far
away to hear what they were saying.  Their corner of the Diner was
relatively deserted by now.
"Lisa, can you tell ME the truth.  The truth about Alan's father?"
Lisa broke eye contact, and stood up.  "I had better get back to work."
Joseph nodded and took out a set of keys.  "I think you and your people can
handle things from here, we have to go find furniture yet."
"Sure.  Thanks for letting her...can I ask you a quick question?"
"Certainly."
"Are the two of you, you know, still doing the Master/Slave thing?"
Joseph paused in thought.  "I hope so."  was his only reply.

It wasn't long before Joseph and Maria were back on the road again.  They
spent the rest of the morning visiting a couple of furniture stores picking
out what Joseph thought they might need.  Some of it they could take with
them at once, but the bed they picked out couldn't be delivered until
Monday, two days away.
This meant a couple of more days at the hotel.  Maria wasn't pleased.
Sensing that Maria wanted to spend some time in the valley, Joseph told her
he needed to rest, so after dropping him off at the hotel, she drove back
out to her home.
Getting there, she expected to have the place to herself, but when she
pulled into the yard she saw a car she didn't recognize parked near the
barn.
Curious, she entered the barn and looked around.
She saw a light on over on one side of the building, and heard someone
working on something. Moving to where she could see better, she found a
vehicle covered in a large blue tarp.  The hood was up and someone was bent
over, head in the engine compartment.
"Hi."  Maria said, wondering who it was. "Are you supposed to be here?"
The figure stiffened, then straightened up slowly. After a short pause, he
turned around and faced her.
Maria turned pale.  "My God!"


End of Part 3


To Walk in the Valley   Part 4


"What are you doing here?" Maria asked, visibly shaken.
"Maria.  I knew you were in town, but I wasn't expecting you." said a rather
surprised Peter Brown.
"I said, what are you doing here?"  Maria was finding her voice again, as
well as her anger.  She realized that this was the first time since the
shooting that she had been alone with the man who had killed Alan.  All the
anger she had felt back then, anger that she had thought she had put away a
long time ago, was suddenly racing through her veins like hot lead.
"I...er...Lisa asked me to stop by and get the truck running."  He pointed
over his shoulder at the tarp covered vehicle and Maria realized that it was
Alan's truck, put in storage after his death.
"You look well," he continued, "your hair is shorter than I remember it
but..."  He never finished.  Peter Brown suddenly found himself with an
armful of angry woman.
Maria rushed him with all the anger and emotion she had spent a year
building up.  She hit him like a freight train, slamming him against the
front of the truck.
The two went down and for a moment it was all Peter could do to protect his
face from the worst of the blows that Maria was raining down on him.  Then,
when he had gotten his wind back, he got Maria in a bear hug and held her
down while she scratched and struggled to get free.
All through this Maria cried and yelled, her words almost unintelligible
because of her emotions.  Peter held on for dear life while listening to her
call him every name in the book.
As she struggled, Peter looked around for something to restrain her with.
The policeman inside him took over for a moment and his training forced him
to look at her as a reluctant suspect.
He saw some rope lying in a pile under the truck and made a desperate grab
with one hand.  He was successful and in moments his strong hands had bound
Maria's wrists behind her.
She continued to yell though, although her volume and choice of words seemed
to be winding down. Soon there was nothing but crying coming out of her
apart from the occasional "My fault...I'm sorry."
Peter was at a loss for words, instead he just held the now sobbing woman,
trying his best to soothe her pain.
He stroked her hair and began to whisper quietly stuff like "It's okay."
and  "You're fine."
As Maria's struggles ceased, Peter couldn't help noticing that the warm body
he held against him wasn't wearing a bra.
Normally he wouldn't have been concerned, but he held a dark secret that no
one knew about.
He was deeply attracted to Maria, and had been since he first saw her in the
hospital over eighteen months ago.
The sight of her, lying in her hospital bed, covered in bruises and sores
had touched him as nothing had before.
She looked so helpless, so in need of protection.  At the time he had
believed that her boy friend Alan had been the one to beat her, and her
continued protests had done nothing to change his mind.  Now he didn't know
for sure anymore.
What he did know was his attraction for Maria was very real, and having her
here, pressed up against him, with her hands bound, was not helping his
concentration.
Maria finally stilled, and lay crying softly in his arms.
He rocked her quietly until she began to pull herself together a little.  He
expected her to pull away at that point, but instead she lay unresisting,
her eyes closed.
Maria found her anger gone, spent in one mad rush at the sight of Peter
Brown. It had quickly been followed by a whole train of guilt, and it was in
this that she wallowed now.  She was only dimly aware of the rope around her
wrists, and the body against which she lay. But slowly she began to realize
where she was and who she was with.
Yet, to pull away meant leaving something that was very comforting. The way
his arms wrapped around her and held her tightly reminded her of things
past. She didn't want to let go yet.
"Are you okay?" she heard him ask.
Maria said nothing for a moment, her mind was a jumble of images. "I'll be
fine."  was all she could manage.
"Me too, I guess. Bruises heal."
Somehow, that struck Maria as very funny, and she couldn't help giggling.
Peter was surprised.  First a crying fit and now laughter?
Was this a female thing or what?
"I'm sorry!" he said.
"Me too." she replied.
"I know, you kept saying that."
Up to now, Maria had kept her face turned down where he couldn't see it, but
now she raised her head to look directly into his own face.
"I did?" she asked him.
Peter nodded slowly.
"I guess I am." she whispered.
Peter felt like he was walking in a mine field, but something prompted him
to ask the next question.
"What about?"
Maria hesitated. What she was sorry about was something she had only
admitted to her shrink.  And now here she was, held in the arms of the man
who pulled the trigger.  But given what she felt at that moment, she found
she couldn't blame him.  "I'm sorry, that I caused Alan's death."
Peter was stunned. "But you didn't!"
"I did.  There's no getting around it."
"You're wrong."  Peter felt that he had to convince her it was his fault.
It had all been a mistake.  In the dark he had mistaken the dildo that Alan
had been carrying for a weapon, and when Alan turned toward him, Peter
reacted as he had been trained.  It had never felt right to him how the
Sheriff and the County District Attorney had managed to make sure that he
wasn't charged with anything.  The official statement was that while the
shooting was regrettable, Peter Brown had acted correctly given the
situation as he knew it at the time. He had performed within the guidelines
of his position as a Deputy Sheriff.
But the Sheriff and the DA hadn't been there to pull the trigger.
He resigned as soon as he was decently able to.
"I'm not wrong." Maria said flatly. "If I had only done what he asked me
without...without thinking for myself, then we wouldn't have been where we
were when you came by. You may have fired the gun, but I made Alan the
target."
"That's bullshit."  Peter swore.  "If I had been thinking with my head
instead of...well, if I had stopped to think instead of blindly shooting,
then you and Alan would still be together."
Maria saw something in his eyes. It was there for only a split second before
he looked away.  It was only because she was still sorting out her own
emotions that she didn't recognize the flash of loneliness in Peter's eyes.
The two lay in silence for a moment, each unwilling to give in to the
other's claim of guilt.
"I'm also sorry I attacked you.  It was...well..."
"I understand. I do, really.  It was nothing I didn't deserve."
Maria pulled at her bound hands, as if aware of them for the first time.
"You tied me up!"  It was more a statement than a question.
"Well...You were a little violent there for a moment."
Maria suddenly smiled and buried her face in his chest. In that moment,
Peter saw that she wore nothing at all under her dress. The hem had risen up
to bare most of her ass.  When she looked up again her head thankfully
obscured his view. He hoped she couldn't feel his erection.
The smile was still there on her face, mixed in with a lot of other
emotions.  Peter wondered what she was really feeling right then. Could she
be as confused as he was?
He felt her pull at the rope around her wrists.  "You tie a good knot."  she
said unexpectedly.
"I've had lots of practice." he replied before he thought to keep his mouth
shut.
Maria's expression turned quizzical. "You have?"
It was an impulse, and when he thought back on it later he wished he had
restrained himself better, but all he thought to do at that moment was to
kiss her.
Their faces being only inches apart made it very easy for him to just lean
forward and do it.
For him it was a very interesting kiss.  At first Maria didn't react at all,
then the kiss deepened a little as she moved her mouth to accept it more,
then her lips seemed to stiffen and she pulled back.
The two of them stared at each other with frightened expressions on their
faces.
"Er..." Maria began, but couldn't follow up on it.
"I had better go."  Peter said, and carefully rolled Maria off himself
before getting up.
"Yes. I think you had better."  said Maria finally, looking away from him.
Her voice had taken on a bitter tone.
He leaned down in order to free her hands, but she moved away from him.
"Please...just go." she whispered.
"Sure.  Tell Lisa that I'll finish working on the truck some other time."
Maria nodded, not daring to speak any more, and Peter left her alone in the
barn.
She sat on the bare earth floor for a while, thinking of Joseph, of Alan,
but mostly of Peter Brown and his kiss.

Peter climbed into his car and drove out of the yard, his head filled with
self incrimination over what he had just done.
"That was stupid, stupid, stupid!" he kept telling himself.
As he followed the driveway up out of the valley he would glance in his
mirror at the fast disappearing house behind him, debating whether or not to
turn back, when something else caught his eye.
Smoke, coming from the tree line on the other side of the stream.
"Shit." he said.  The area had been going through a dry spell lately and he
knew that if there was an uncontrolled fire burning it could ignite the
whole valley.  Putting thoughts of returning to Maria out of his head, he
decided to drive around and investigate.

It was a half an hour after Peter left when Melissa pulled up to the house
in her car.  She got out and spotted Maria sitting on one of the chairs on
the porch.  As she approached she saw that Maria was holding her hands
behind her back.
"Hi!" Melissa said.
Maria said nothing. Instead she stood up and turned so her bound hands were
visible.
"What have you been doing now?"  Melissa asked. "Do you want me to untie
you?"
"Please." replied Maria.
Melissa began to undo the tight knot that held the rough rope around Maria's
wrists, but stopped when Maria asked the question that had consumed her
thoughts since she had been left alone.
"Melissa, tell me about Deputy Brown."
"Peter?  He...er..."
Maria turned to face her friend.  "Don't lie to me.  Please.
We've never lied to each other, let's not begin now."
"We may never have lied to each other," said Melissa, "but we haven't
exactly been telling each other the whole truth now either!"
Maria knew she was talking about Joseph, and blushed.
After a pregnant pause, Melissa turned Maria round again and worked once
more at the rope.


Peter, isn't a Deputy any more.  He gave it up shortly after you left
(Melissa began).   You really didn't stick around to see what havoc Alan's
death caused, not that we blamed you at the time.  For a while I stayed with
Lisa, who was a wreck herself.  She and Alan were close, and his death
seemed to knock the wind out of her.  It also brought the town to an uproar,
although most of the details were never released.  I guess the BDSM aspects
of the case were thought to be too much for the town to handle.
But one person it seemed to affect more than anyone but you was Peter.  Here
was this kid, relatively speaking, who had only been a cop for maybe a year,
and he had already shot and killed someone.  He was all ready to take the
blame but his bosses figured out a way to brush it under the rug and soon
the matter was dropped.  With you gone the story died out and soon it was
forgotten by everyone but us and Peter Brown.
After I got that first call from you, the one where you asked me to come
live here and look after the place for you, Peter shows up at the door,
drunk as a skunk.
It was pretty late, and Lisa and I had already gone to bed, but he began
banging on the door waking us up.
It was...well, difficult, dealing with him, especially for Lisa.  This was a
kid she had baby sat when she was in high school, she had known him most of
his life. Yet the biggest impact he had made on her life was in taking away
someone she cared for.
Well, we let him in and he began a long, drunken apology.
At first, we didn't pay it much attention and were just trying to get him
out of the house, but as he went on it became apparent that he was baring
his soul to us.
We sat down with him, and heard him out.  I don't think I can impress on you
how bad he felt about what happened.
It slowly grew apparent that he had come seeking you, to ask for
forgiveness, but of course you weren't here.  He must have known that, but
he was so drunk that I was surprised he found his way here at all!
In the end he passed out on the couch, so we covered him in a blanket and
went back to bed.
The next morning he was gone.
He showed up a couple of days later, sober this time, and told us he was
sorry for disturbing us.  He asked us if there was anything he could do to
make it up to us.
Well, this place was getting run down. Neither Lisa or myself were exactly
the handyman type, so Lisa put him to work fixing things and generally
keeping things up.
The work seemed to help, and after a while he stopped apologizing and began
to live his life again.
Robert gave him a job doing part time stuff at his shop, and he became a
kind of general handyman for the town.
We found him to be very good with his hands, he could fix anything. Just
look around, you said yourself that this place looked good, it's almost all
his work.
Then came the time our...relationship...with Peter changed.
Lisa and I had kept up with our bondage, more at Lisa's urging than mine
I'll add.  At the time she was still very much into being a Ponygirl, and we
would try to get in some pony time for her once a week or so. Well, we were
out with the pony cart one afternoon, her in harness of course, and as we
came off the trails and into the yard I saw Peter's car parked by the barn
where he usually parks when he's here.
I wasn't expecting him at all. But there he was, up on a ladder doing
something to the house gutters.
It was obvious from his expression that he had a good view of what we were
doing, as well as a good view of both Lisa and myself for we were both
naked.
Lisa didn't know there was anything wrong however, she had on the blinder
for the head harness. That is until Peter called down to ask what we were
doing.
If I hadn't had been so embarrassed I would have laughed. Lisa starts to
look around as if she could see, but of course she was blind to everything
but her feet.
I tried to cover up, but then realized that there was no longer any point.
Peter had gotten a good look at both of us, especially Lisa, you know how
the pony harness reveals everything.  He got down and asked again what we
were doing, so I told him.
While I got Lisa out of her harness I answered all his questions about what
we were doing specifically and about bondage in general. Once Lisa was
unmasked and able to talk, she wanted him to leave, but I was feeling
especially mean that day and made sure that she couldn't give in to her
modesty.
Don't ask me why I did it, I don't know. Any other day I would have sent
Peter packing.  But now the genie was out of the bottle.
When it became apparent that his interest was genuine, and not meant to
accuse or hurt us, Lisa calmed down and we all had a long talk about bondage
and how it was a part of our lives.  I still remember that first day,
because it was so very odd.  Even though we were both naked in front of him
he hardly showed any interest in us as women at all.
Later, as we began to educate Peter a little better by actually including
him in some of our games, there were plenty of times where he could have
made a move, sexually speaking, and it would not have been unexpected.  But
he never did.
Over time, between his handyman visits and his social calls, we got to know
him pretty well, but I get the feeling sometimes that there is  a part of
him we'll never reach.


By now both women were sitting on the love seat, Maria's hands long since
free.
"So,"  said Maria, "that's what he meant by having lot's of practice."
"He was here?"  Melissa asked her nervously.
Maria nodded.  "I should get going. I've left Joseph alone far too much
lately."
"But, Maria!  What did Peter say?  What did you say to him?   Was it him
that tied your hands?"
Maria reached out and pulled Melissa to herself.  They hugged, and parted,
and an astonished and very curious Melissa watched Maria climb into her car
and drive away.


Peter was standing in a small clearing within the tree line, the smoldering
evidence of a small camp fire at his feet.
He looked around carefully, for signs of whoever had set it, but other than
some crushed grass where someone had obviously slept, there was nothing.
He could clearly see roof of the house and a good part of the climbing
driveway from this position, and again debated whether to go back or not.
Thinking about Maria's bound hands reminded him of the last time he had been
in this clearing.

A couple of weeks ago he had been working all morning in the barn.  He was
just thinking of taking a break to eat when Melissa showed up with a basket
in her hand.
"Hi Peter." she said. "Hungry?"
"I sure am!" he replied, the growling in his stomach echoing the sentiment.
"We're doing a picnic thing today, if you care to join us."
"Sure!"  he said smiling, and grabbed his shirt for he had been working
without it.
"Just follow me." Melissa said with a smile.
She led the way along the path down to the swimming hole next to the stream.
Peter caught up with her and offered to carry the basket, but Melissa
refused.
They reached the little beach, and Peter expected her to stop, but instead
she carried on, following the trail that exited from the far side.
"Where's Lisa?"  Peter asked.
"Oh, she's waiting for us."
"Okay."
The pair walked slowly and silently until they got to a place where it was
possible to cross the stream easily.
Peter was used to Melissa being quiet when they were alone together. It was
if she just didn't have much to say to him, although she treated him very
nicely.  It was always Lisa who led the social graces as far as he was
concerned.
"I hope you don't mind getting wet?"  Melissa said, as she waded into the
water.
Actually he didn't. He waded in after her and then bent low to scoop water
over himself. It was a hot day made hotter still by the work he had done in
the barn. The cold water felt very refreshing.   Melissa waited until he was
done, before moving on.
Now they climbed, and Peter was getting pretty hungry. He hoped they brought
enough food.  The basket sure looked big enough.
Soon they exited the trail and entered a clearing where Peter saw Lisa
waiting on the other side.
He stopped for a moment and looked at Melissa, who smiled sweetly at him and
began to lay out the picnic stuff.
They were playing one of their games again, for Lisa was nude. She was also
standing with her back to the clearing and clearly had her hands cuffed
behind her back.
"Lisa?"  Peter called out, and her head turned. It had been hidden from
behind by her hair, but she had also been blindfolded.
"Peter?"  she replied.
"It's me.  I guess it's going to be one of THOSE lunches."
Melissa laughed and Lisa gave him a strained smile.
"Why don't you go give her this drink, Peter."  Melissa said, handing him a
can of pop with a straw in it. "It's been a while since she last had
something."
He carried the can until he stood in front of Lisa, and saw that her bondage
wasn't limited to her hands.  A thin chain had been padlocked to her nipple
rings, passing round a small tree trunk and holding her there. A second
chain did the same thing lower down, this one attached to her pussy rings.
Shaking his head, he pulled off Lisa's blindfold.  She blinked her eyes in
the bright sunlight, then avoided his eyes by staring at the can of pop.
"How long have you been here?"  he asked her.
"Since before you came to the house this morning." she replied.
That was several hours ago, he thought. He held the can up and she began
drinking from the straw.

Thinking back on it now he wondered why the two women kept placing him in
such situations.  It wasn't as if they were looking for another sexual
companion. He didn't think they saw him that way, and it wasn't as if he was
interested anyway because...
He took one last look over toward the house and started walking back to his
car.


End of Part 4


To Walk in the Valley   Part 5


Maria entered the hotel room carrying a paper sack.
Joseph, sitting in his wheel chair at a table, watched her set the sack down
and then pull off her dress.
"Hello!" he said smiling.
Maria gave him an amused smirk, and then kicked off her shoes before padding
naked into the bathroom.
After a few minutes, Joseph heard the toilet flush and Maria emerged and
came directly to him. She settled on his lap and gave him a long deep kiss.
Not one to miss an opportunity, Joseph brought his hands up and let them
roam the warm nude body pressed against him.
When she finally broke the kiss, he didn't let go, instead he held her to
him.
"So,"  he said, catching his breath, "did you have a good afternoon?"
"No, but I plan to make up for it."  Maria answered.
Joseph was surprised at her answer.  "And how do you plan on doing that,
young lady?"
"Joseph, Sir, would you please tie me up. I need a really good tight bondage
session."
Joseph didn't answer right away, although he wondered what had happened to
her.  When he didn't respond, she slipped off his lap and got down on her
knees, her head pressed to the carpet.
"Please Sir.  Your humble slave requests the pleasure of tight bondage."
This annoyed Joseph. While it was true he had demanded obedience from her
during their relationship as Master and slave, he had never felt comfortable
with the role playing behavior most of his fellows demanded.  Maria knew
that such behavior was unnecessary, so why was she doing it?
"Get up."  he said evenly, the pleasure of the moment ebbing a little.
She sat up straight, on her heels, assuming a slave position she had learned
at the Kennel.  Her hands she held behind her back while her knees were
spread a little. This exposed her sex to him, a view she knew he enjoyed.
"Why don't you tell me what went on today?"
Maria bowed her head.  She didn't want to tell him about Peter, but couldn't
lie to him either.
"Tell me, Maria."
She decided to tell most of the story, leaving out just the part about the
kiss.  She felt she could get by without telling him that for the time
being, although she knew it would eat at her until she came clean.
Joseph didn't get it.  It still seemed odd that she would want to be bound
after that, and he said so.
"Sir, I just...I can't explain, but it has been a long time since we played,
and...I just need it."
"Well, there isn't much to tie you up with here." he answered.
Maria smiled and asked permission to break position, which he gave. She
jumped up and ran to the sack. She brought it back to him and resumed her
kneeling position.
Inside the sack Joseph found several bundles of rope and rolls of tape.
Maria had evidently been to a hardware store.
He smiled, and shook his head. Sometimes he really wondered who exactly WAS
in charge of their relationship.
"Alright, get on the bed."
Maria laughed and got up to obey.

It took Joseph a while to finish binding Maria up, partly because of the
awkwardness of working from his wheel chair, but mostly because he wanted to
enjoy the process.
Maria now lay ball tied on the bed. There were coils of rope around her legs
at ankles, knees and thighs.  A crotch rope was tied between her legs,
digging deep into the soft folds of her sex, the rough rope she had bought
irritating that sensitive area constantly.
Her ankles were connected directly to the crotch rope, causing her to pull
it even tighter into her if she tried to straighten her legs.
Maria's arms were bound behind her at wrist and elbow.  Joseph had succeeded
in pulling her elbows together and used a great deal of rope to hold them
that way.  He knew she wouldn't like it for long, but an element of
discomfort was his signature in a tight bondage session and Maria was aware
of that.  She knew that the rest was worth it.
Joseph had bound her breasts lightly and tied them directly to her knees,
this kept her from straightening out even more.
He finished by putting together a make shift gag out of her underwear and
some rope, and added her blindfold to top it off.
Now he sat and watched her, occasionally caressing her bare skin, tweaking a
nipple, rubbing her labia.  It made her shiver and tense up in her bondage,
and he enjoyed watching how her muscles fought their restraints.  He would
leave her alone to enjoy it shortly, but for now he couldn't resist.
"You know, I think tomorrow we should see about getting your piercings
redone.  Those rings of yours were so helpful."
Maria laughed behind her gag, not that she could do much else.
Reluctantly, Joseph turned away and wheeled himself back to the table where
he had been doing some business on his Laptop.  He glanced at the closed
window shades and got an idea.  A moment later he opened them, letting in
the warm sun, flooding the room with light.
They were on the first floor, their room facing the back of the hotel.  A
footpath went by about thirty feet from their window, but even then it just
might be possible for someone to see into the room, especially as well lit
as it was right now.
He looked over at Maria, who struggled a little against the ropes.  The sun
fell directly on her, and he knew that she was feeling it's warmth on her
bare skin.  She would be horrified at being exposed like this, and knowing
that made him smile some more.
As she pulled and tugged and generally enjoyed herself, he turned back to
his work.


An hour later found Maria free of her bondage, but not of Joseph's will.
Joseph had untied her and helped to rub some of the soreness from her limbs,
before having her dress to go out.  It was getting to be supper time and he
was getting hungry.
He didn't plan on leaving the building however, instead he told her that
they were eating in the hotel's own restaurant.  That was fine by Maria,
until he told her what she was to wear.
She almost protested, but a look from Joseph killed that notion.  She saw
that he was in full dominant mode and more alive than he had been since he
was shot.  She didn't know if it was going to help him heal any faster but
she intended to help him by cooperating as much as she could.
This meant obeying him exactly as she had in New York.
Shaking her head she dressed as he asked and wheeled him out the door.
They had to pass through the lobby to get to the restaurant, and the desk
clerk did a double take when she saw them come through.  The gentleman in
the wheelchair was dressed normally enough in tan slacks and a white shirt,
but the lady pushing him wore a bright red bikini top that seemed to be
fighting a losing war in it's efforts to hold it's contents in, and a light,
almost see through skirt that flowed around her legs and seemed to float in
the air.  Looking closer, the clerk couldn't be sure if she was wearing
anything under it or not.  If she was it certainly wasn't the same color as
the top.
As they entered the restaurant heads turned there too, but Joseph ignored
them, while Maria tried to avoid any eye contact at all.  She was
tremendously embarrassed, and was sure that it was plain to everyone in the
room that she wore no underwear at all.  Of all the things Joseph liked to
do with her, this 'almost' public nudity always got to her the most.  She
had managed to come to terms with some of his other games, even to the point
of enjoying most of them, including being on full display for his friends in
the New York BDSM community, but this was the one thing that made her react
the most.  It wasn't as if she hated it, it was just hard for her to deal
with her BD kink in such a public way.
Joseph knew very well what this was doing to her, and loved it.  He  had her
push him to a table to one side of the room, and positioned himself so that
she had to sit with her back to the other patrons.
A waitress came and took their orders and while they waited for their food
they talked about her bondage session and how it felt.  Joseph was always
curious about what went through someone's mind as they lay helpless, but
Maria had never been able to convince him to try it himself.
As they talked he let his eyes wander up and down her body, quite revealed
in the outfit she wore.  On her arms, legs and torso were dark red lines,
leftovers from the ropes that had held her immobile in their room, it would
be a while yet before they faded away.  He would also look out at the other
diners, and smile when he caught one staring at her.  It was a pleasant
meal.
When it was time to leave, Maria got up carefully and readjusted the sarong,
for that was what it was.  The material was just wrapped around her waist
and tucked in like someone would tuck in a towel, not fastened at all!
Maria knew that if she caught it on anything it would pull away easily. In
fact, the material was so slick, it had trouble holding on to itself and if
she didn't keep adjusting it it would fall off all on it's own.
Joseph noticed her movement, and Maria seeing this began to blush even more.
"Now Maria, this should be nothing to someone who came here naked last
night."  Joseph said in a normal voice.
Shocked, Maria glanced around at the other people in the room, but no one
gave any sign that they heard.  She gave Joseph an 'I'll get you' look and
he laughed all the way to the door.
As they passed through the lobby once more she saw the entrance to the pool
and had an idea.
"Could we go swimming for a while?"  she asked, "I think it may do your back
some good and the doctors did say you should keep exercising."
Joseph looked up at her face.  He knew he was playing a nasty trick on her
making her dress this way, and she was being so good about it that she
deserved a reward.  "Sure. Lets go to our room so I can get changed first."
Maria smiled and soon they were back in their room.
She helped him undress and put on a swimsuit, before reaching into their
luggage and pulling out the matching bottom to the top she was wearing.
"Wait."  Joseph said, and Maria paused.  Joseph's evil grin was back.  "I'll
give you a choice.  You can either go to the pool dressed just as you are,
or you can put on those bikini bottoms and leave the sarong here.  Either
way you don't touch a towel until we come back here."
Maria gulped, and looked down at the scrap of cloth she held.  The bottoms
for this suit were not very big at all, they barely covered her pubic mound
and the thong part did nothing to cover her ass at all!  She thought she
might get away with wearing them in the water, but hoped to have the sarong
to cover up with for the walk to and from the room.  Yet wearing only the
sarong had it's own problems.  She couldn't swim in it, which meant that she
had to hope the pool area was deserted so she could take it off and get in
the water.  Even if she did manage to get to swim, it would cling to her and
turn even more transparent once she was wet.
With a sigh, she dropped the bottoms and once again took hold of the wheel
chair.  "You're an evil, evil man, Joseph Booth."  she told him, concealing
her smile from him.
With a smile of his own he was ready to agree.

The pool wasn't deserted, there was a couple swimming and laughing on the
far side.
Maria wheeled Joseph over to the hot tub which was set flush with the floor.
"I think this will help loosen you up a bit."  she told him, and he agreed.
With her help, he slid off the chair and into the water.  Maria did the best
she could to steady him, but was very conscious of the people across the
pool area and the fact that she was practically baring her ass at them.
"Start the jets will you, and come in, it's great!"  Joseph said.
Maria went and pushed the button and the water started to boil.  Her heart
was racing. Nervously she watched the couple in the pool, they seemed to be
occupied and not looking her way. She quickly dropped the sarong and slid
into the hot tub beside Joseph.
He was right, it did feel good, and soon the hard jets of water pummeled the
stiffness from her muscles. The rolling water made it impossible to tell
that apart from her top she wore nothing at all!  She began to relax.
She felt a caress between her legs and opened them a bit to allow Joseph's
hand better access.  His fingers felt great and she had closed her eyes to
better enjoy their action on her clit when she heard a splash next to her.
It made her jump and open her eyes.
"Oh, sorry."  said the man standing in the tub in front of her. It was the
couple, they had gotten out of the pool and had come over.  "You don't mind
if we warm up a bit do you?"
"Not at all, come on in!"  said Joseph.
The man smiled and sat down, his companion, a pretty woman, climbed in too
and soon the couples were facing each other.
They introduced themselves as Paul and Cindy, and Joseph offered their names
in return.  All through the introductions Maria was speechless because
though it all Joseph never let up on his assault on her clitoris.  She was
horrified, but also very excited. She didn't know if she wanted him to stop
or not!
Paul and Joseph started talking about business, while Cindy just sat back in
the water and watched the men and Maria with a smile on her face.
Occasionally Paul would ask her something, but otherwise she stayed out of
the conversation, as did Maria.
The men apparently had similar business interests and were in animated
conversation when the timer on the water jets ran out.
The water stilled and became clear.
Maria's face felt like it was white hot with embarrassment when it was
revealed where Joseph's hand was.
Then she looked down.
Paul's hand was half in the pussy of his very red faced wife, her bikini
bottom missing until Maria saw it tucked in the waist band of her husband's
shorts.
"It seems,"  said Joseph, "that great minds DO think alike."
The four of them laughed, although the laugh came a lot easier for the men
than the women.
"Someone needs to go start the pump again."  Paul said with a smirk.
"Alas..."  Joseph answered, inclining his head toward his wheelchair.
"I understand,"  Paul said, and looked at his wife.
She looked down at the water for a moment, and then, without a word, climbed
out and strode bottomless to the button. The jets were started and the men
resumed their conversation.
Cindy climbed back in, and the two women locked eyes.  Each of them wondered
about the other.
After a time, Paul whispered in Cindy's ear, and she whispered back. They
conversed like this for a moment, then Cindy settled lower into the water
until only her head showed.  Paul reached behind her, and seconds later her
yellow bikini top floated on the water in front of her, held in place only
by the strap around her neck.  Cindy still blushed, but held Maria's gaze.
The men continued to talk, but their attention was drawn toward the non
speaking women. I seemed to Joseph that a gauntlet had been thrown, and that
Maria was seriously considering picking it up.
Sure enough, she sunk down of her own accord until the water was up to her
neck, and Joseph obliged by undoing the catch of her top.  Unlike Cindy's,
Maria's top did not have a neck strap, nor did it fasten in back.  The catch
was in front and to show it had been undone Joseph pulled it free entirely
and laid it out on the side of the tub.
Cindy glanced at her husband, who pulled at the knot behind her neck and in
seconds her top lay on the side with the bottom Paul had placed there while
she was up.
Now it was evident to everyone that the women were naked under the water,
with only bubbles to protect their dignity.
Maria wasn't sure why she was doing this.  It had been a big day already,
with several different kinds of bondage, Peter's kiss, and that embarrassing
display in the restaurant. But now she didn't know if it was pure hornyness
pushing her where she wouldn't normally go, or just a long forgotten
competitive nature brought to the surface by the woman sitting across from
her.
In any case, her fate was also in the hands of the men sitting next to them.
She wondered what they were going to do.
She didn't have to wait long.
Casually, Paul gathered up Cindy's swimsuit in one hand, and tossed it into
the swimming pool.  Cindy glanced over at her husband with a surprised look
on her face and then smiled and nodded at Maria.
Joseph watched Maria's face, looking for any indication that she was about
to quit, but seeing nothing, he too tossed Maria's top out into the pool.
Paul switched topics and asked Joseph about how he got the wheelchair.  This
wasn't something that Joseph liked to talk about, so he lied about falling
off a horse which prompted the inevitable discussion about Christopher
Reeve, the actor who had done the same thing and had injured his neck.
As they talked, the men again began manipulating their women.
That was when Thomas came in.
"Hi folks!"  he said, not noticing at all that two of his audience were
completely naked, although he did recognize Maria and did his best to avoid
direct eye contact.  "I just want to let you know that I just came on and
that I have towels at the desk if you need them. Oh, and the pool closes in
half an hour."
"Thanks."  said Joseph, who just had an idea.  "I think somebody left their
stuff in the pool, it's been floating around for a while now."
Thomas looked at the pool and saw the empty swim suits. "I'll get them,
don't worry about it."  he said, and walked over to where a long pole stood
in a corner.  Using it, he reached out and snagged all the garments from the
water and carried them out with him.
The women watched him wide eyed, not willing to tell him that he was
carrying away their only clothing.
Joseph began to laugh.
Paul smiled and shook his head. "Never had anyone do that before."  he said.
"You've done this before?"  Joseph asked him.
"Sure,"  Paul admitted.  "Whenever we travel we try out this little game.
Most of the time we get no takers, but occasionally we find a couple willing
to at least go part way, and a couple of times it has gotten to this point.
But usually Cindy and the other woman end up in the pool going after their
suits."
Cindy was smiling, but she couldn't hide the worried expression on her face.
"I'm sorry if we went to far."  she told Maria in a surprisingly deep voice.
"That's okay, I've been in worse situations." Maria replied, thinking
briefly of her time under Atamo's thumb.
That's when the timer ran out again.
Now both women were completely revealed to each other and to the men.
"Your turn."  Cindy said with a shrug.
A big grin appeared on Maria's face.  "Actually, I really came here to
swim!"  She stood up, ignoring the amazed looks of both Paul and Joseph, and
got out of the tub.  She walked with her hands loose at her sides and then
dove into the pool, crying out with the cold.
"Yow!"
Cindy then stood up as well.  "Sounds good!"  She got out and quickly
followed Maria into the water.
The men looked at each other, "Quite the lady you have there," Paul said,
"and beautiful too." He didn't mention the scars he thought he saw. He
considered it none of his business.
Joseph bowed his head in acknowledgment.
"I don't suppose the two of you...?"  Paul asked.
"No, sorry." Joseph didn't need a road map to see where Paul was leading.
"Too bad. Still, it doesn't hurt to ask."  laughed Paul.
The men watched the women swim for a bit, then Cindy mentioned that they had
to leave soon.
"Can you go get our swim suits?"  Cindy asked her husband.
"Oh no.  You have to get them yourself."  he answered with a grin.
"Screw you!  I'm not going out there naked."
"Wait, Cindy." Maria said, "I have a plan."

Thomas was on the phone when the door to the pool opened. He looked up to
see the two women that had been in the tub.
His jaw dropped.
All they had on between them was a wet, almost transparent piece of thin
cloth that they shared by wrapping it around their waists. It stuck to their
skin leaving very little doubt that they were both naked underneath it.  Not
only that, they were both topless.   Tom glanced around the lobby, thankful
that no one else was there.
"Hi, Tom."  said Maria, "We need towels."
Open mouthed he dug below the counter and handed a pile of towels to the
other woman. Maria smiled and the two of them went back into the pool area.
Inside the women separated, Maria keeping the sarong, and Cindy and Paul
began drying themselves off. Maria dropped the sarong and got back into the
hot tub.
Wrapping a towel around herself, Cindy thanked them for the interesting
evening.
"Yeah, thanks guys."  Paul added. "We'll be here a couple more days if
you're interested in playing again."
"We'll see."  Joseph said.
Maria waved and the couple left the pool area.
"Well."  said Maria.
"Well."  said Joseph.
"Want to stay until they throw us out?"  she asked him.
"Sure. I still haven't gotten my swim in."
With a laugh, Maria stood up and helped her clothed lover out of the tub and
into the pool.


End of Part 5


To Walk in the Valley   Part 6


It was just before lunch the next day when Maria and Melissa got back from
the city.  Melissa had taken Maria there so she could fulfill Joseph's wish
to have her piercings redone.
She was especially pleased to find out that despite her not having worn any
rings for over a month, none of her piercings had closed up.  All she had
needed to do was pick up another set of rings, and with Melissa's help she
now wore them.
At first it felt strange to have all that metal adorning her again, but the
feeling quickly passed.
As they got out of the car in front of the house, Maria spotted Joseph in
his wheelchair on the porch.  With him was Robert, who had come over to
visit.  Maria was happy with the way Robert and Joseph had come together,
for Robert was the only person she knew in town that approached Joseph's
age.  It also helped that Robert was the kind of person that wanted to be
your friend.  It was hard not to like him.
Coming up the porch stairway, Maria noted the half full bottle of whiskey
sitting on the table between them, and the glasses in their hands.
"Joseph, you haven't!" she cried out. "You know your doctors told you to lay
off the hard stuff!"
Any other man would have looked guilty at being caught out. But not Joseph
Booth.  Looking her directly in the eye he lifted his glass and took a long
swallow.
"I suppose you brought the bottle?"  Maria asked his drinking companion.
"Hey now, I didn't know it was against doctors orders!" Robert replied in
self defense.
Melissa, coming onto the porch with an armful of packages, laughed at
Robert's obvious discomfort, before going inside.
Maria shook her head and picked up the bottle.
"You aren't going to take that away are you?"  Joseph asked her.  He sounded
stone cold sober and again Maria wondered how he did it.  She had seen him
drink other men under the table while barely showing a drunk himself.
"Maybe I'll let you have some later."  she replied with a sigh.
Joseph smiled.  "Alright. Just don't go watering it down like you did the
last time."
Maria blushed and Robert laughed.
"Was your quest successful?"  Joseph asked.
"Very.  All I needed were new rings, I didn't have to get pierced again at
all." Maria said proudly.
"I'd like to see."
"Sure. I can show you later."
"No."  Joseph's voice grew stern, his command voice. "I'd like to see now."
Maria's smile faded a little and she glanced over at Robert.
"From what I've been told, you won't be showing him anything he hasn't seen
before."  Joseph had caught the movement of her eyes.
Maria realized then that another aspect of her life with Joseph was about to
be reintroduced.  He had always had no qualms about showing her off to his
New York friends. In public he would dress her in lavish gowns that, with
her figure, would catch the eye of every man and some of the women that they
passed.  In private, that is with those in the BDSM community, her attire
was usually considerably a lot less.  Most of the time her jewelry would be
all she would wear.  At first it had terrified her to be so exposed in front
of so many, but after a short while she took confidence in how proud of her
Joseph was, and it also helped that she almost never heard an unkind word
from anyone who saw her.  She became a lot more comfortable with her body
and eventually thought nothing of strolling through a crowd of people with
nothing between herself and them but the clothes THEY wore. Now it seemed
that he had no hesitation toward displaying her here in much the same
manner. Yet what had grown to become so easy in New York, seemed a different
matter here.
Her shyness had come back.
Joseph sat waiting, his drink now placed on the table at his side.  Robert
sat still, his drink in his hands, watching the both of them.
With another sigh, Maria put down the bottle and began to undress.  All she
wore besides her pumps, was a loose blouse and skirt, in case she needed to
be pierced.  In a matter of moments she had cast them aside and stood nude
before the two men.
Joseph raised his eyebrows in admiration.  Maria had picked out silver rings
as close as she could to the original rings that Hiro Atamo had cut from her
body.  Except for her clit ring.  It was smaller, barely big enough to fit
through her piercing, but attached to it was a short thin chain about three
inches long. The other end had a larger ring which Joseph thought to be at
least an inch wide.
Joseph could see the affect this chain was having on her.  As she moved the
chain would sway and pull on her clit in a way that no single ring could do,
bringing her to a low level of arousal that would be maddening in the long
run.
That she had chosen this herself greatly impressed him.
Maria took a pose, standing with her legs slightly apart and with her hands
behind her head.  The initial shock of undressing in front of the men had
passed and she began to feel comfortable with it once more. Her smile
returned and her poise improved as she showed herself off.
Both men nodded in admiration.
"Come. Kneel." ordered Joseph.
Maria dropped to her hands and knees as she had been taught when given this
particular command, and crawled forward to Joseph's feet.  She then sat back
on her heels and returned her hands to the back of her head.
"Here, I got you this."  he said warmly, and drew out of his pocket a silver
chain with seven large diamonds embedded in it. "I bought it a long time
ago, and thought it was about time I gave it to you."
Maria held her breath in amazement as he reached down and attached each end
of the chain to her nipple rings.  When he let go, the chain pulled lightly
at her nipples, arousing her still further.
Maria couldn't believe the gift she had just received. It was, in her mind,
incredible! Joseph thought the chain paled in comparison to the beauty of
the smile that lit her face.
Then suddenly she was up and in his arms, something he quite enjoyed as the
naked girl hugged and kissed him with all her might.
Melissa chose this moment to emerge from the house again, and saw Maria
naked and in Joseph's lap in what she thought was a lewd display of
affection.
Her estimation of Joseph Booth went down another notch.
"Are you staying for lunch, Robert?"  she asked, pretending to ignore Maria
and Joseph.
Robert's reply was lost in the excitement as Maria pulled herself off her
lover's lap and showed Melissa her new gift.
Melissa was impressed with the cost of the diamond chain, but that was about
all.  She faked an enthusiasm she didn't feel and left after saying she
wanted to prepare lunch.

Robert did stay, and the noon meal was filled with discussion as to what
Joseph would be doing during his stay in the valley.
Conversation grew strained when it grew obvious that because of his being in
a wheel chair, the number of places Joseph could go was limited.  Joseph did
let on that he had ordered an electric wheel chair built to handle rough
terrain, which helped. But it would be a while before it was delivered and
until then Joseph was basically house bound.
"It's  a pity."  he said. "From what I've seen this place is beautiful, and
I was hoping to see a lot more of it."
"Well, I don't want to push you up and down these hills in that chair of
yours." Maria answered.  For lunch she had put on her sarong, wrapping it
around her waist but staying topless so that her chain could stay visible.
"Then pull it."  joked Robert.  That's when everybody but Joseph stopped
what they were doing and looked at each other.
"What's up?"  Joseph asked, once he noticed how quiet the table had gotten.
"How would you like a tour of the entire valley, Joe?"  Robert asked.
Maria began shaking her head.  "It's been too long, I might not be in shape
for it."
"Nonsense!"  Melissa said, the first real smile since they had come home
appearing on her face. "You look fit enough to me, and I'm sure he wont push
you very hard."
"Push hard how?"  asked a confused Joseph, then it dawned on him.  "Wait.
You mean use Maria's pony girl rig?"
"Sure." said Melissa. "I'm sure Robert will help you into the cart, won't
you Rob?"
"Anytime."
Maria smiled weakly. "It's up to you, I guess. I can show you at least the
lower valley trails."
"I've never been a fan of pony girls."  said Joseph, firmly.
"But at the moment, Joe, it's the best game in town."  Robert countered.
Joseph took another fork full of food and chewed on it and the proposal he
had been given.
"Alright.  When can we do it?"
"No time like the present."  said Robert.  "The carts are in the barn aren't
they?  I'll drag one out and make sure it's working okay."
"And I can get Maria harnessed up."  added Melissa.
Maria felt ganged up on, but that didn't upset her at all.
"Fine with me."  she said.
"Well, let's finish lunch first."  Joseph suggested.

An hour later, Robert wheeled Joseph out of the house to see his lovely
Maria in full pony harness. The sun was shining, the air warm and there was
little wind. It was a perfect day to be out and Robert was glad that his new
friend would get a chance to enjoy it.
Maria stood in the middle of the yard, attached to the pony cart and done up
like she had been done many times before.
She wore a basic leather harness, not much more than straps crossing over
her body with a wide waist belt and some supporting cups for her breasts.
On her head was a bridle but without the bit gag that prevented her from
saying anything clearly. On her feet were the pony boots that shaped her
foot so that she was on her toes and made pony tracks in the dirt.  Finally,
in her rear was the pony tail. This made Maria squirm and shake because it
had been a while since she had worn anything back there, the last time being
Atamo's chastity belt.  Her hands had been bound high behind her back,
almost between her shoulder blades, and the cart itself was attached to her
belt.
Left off was the usual blinder because for this trip she was to be the
guide.
The reins ran as usual down from the bridle, through her nipple rings (the
diamond chain had been removed) and labia rings and between her legs to the
cart.
Joseph had to admit that she looked very good, her bound arms and strange
footwear forcing her body into an S curve.
"Let's get you in there."  Robert said, and with no effort at all the big
man reached down and lifted Joseph from his wheel chair.
Maria couldn't look behind her to see Joseph placed in the cart, the reins
kept her head movement in check because they were also attached to her
nipple rings.
"There's a seat belt." she heard Melissa say, and Maria heard the click of
it connecting.
"Now,"  Joseph said. "how do I drive this thing?"
Melissa gave him a quick run down of the commands and a few minutes later
Maria felt the familiar flick of the reins on her bare behind and started
walking.
It was a learning experience for both of them.  Maria had to relearn how to
walk in her pony boots and the bondage she was in put strains in places she
wasn't used to.  Also the clit chain she had chosen instead of a ring was
making itself felt very clearly indeed. She had known when she chose it that
it was going to make her life interesting, but in combination with the reins
rubbing against her labia it was exquisite torture.
For Joseph it was easier. He quickly learned how to steer and start and stop
Maria using just the reins alone.  He had been given the whip as well, but
looking at the scars on Maria's back and buttocks made him reluctant to use
it.
"Okay, Pony girl. Show me your valley!"
Maria smiled. "Yes Sir!" she called out and away they went.

It turned out to be a pleasant afternoon.  Maria kept her pace to a walk and
that, combined with not having the bit in her mouth, kept her from getting
thirsty. It also kept her arousal to a manageable level, the action of the
reins on all her private parts and the clit chain was very distracting, and
she thought that Joseph kept the tension on them just to generate the
feelings she was going through. Alan used to do the same thing, and that
memory dimmed her pleasure a little bit, but she kept on going.
The load she pulled was easy to handle, so well balanced was the cart, and
she even was able to navigate some of the medium grade slopes that wound
through the hills on either side of the stream that ran through the valley.
She towed the cart from one end to the other, occasionally climbing out of
the tree belt into the open grassland in the upper half of the valley so
Joseph could get a broader view.
He was impressed.  The place exuded privacy and was worlds away from the
crowds of New York where he had lived since leaving the Navy.  Even at sea
he had never felt this isolated, the hundreds of sailors on a warship made
that impossible. There was also something else he never saw at sea, the bare
bottom of a beautiful woman with a horse tail butt plug inserted in it,
wriggling back and forth just a few feet in front of him.  So entranced by
this was Joseph that he had to tear his eyes away from Maria's rear to take
in the view.  He began to revise his opinion of Pony girls.
He was glad Maria had brought him.
He was also glad at being so mobile again.  He couldn't admit to Maria or
anyone how frightened he was at spending the rest of his days in a wheel
chair.
The couple descended to the valley floor and were  part way back from the
downstream end of the valley when they got a surprise.
As they rounded a bend in the trail they saw up ahead two people walking.
Hand in hand the man and woman strolled casually along in the same direction
Maria and Joseph were traveling. What was really surprising was that both
the man and the woman were naked, not even shoes on their feet.
Curious, Joseph used the reins to urge Maria to go faster, and she
reluctantly began to trot.
After a moment, the couple must have heard them, for they turned and the
woman uttered a short scream and hid behind her partner.
Maria recognized the man at once, and so did Joseph.
It was Thomas.
He stood, looking with amazement as Maria pulled the cart near, apparently
forgetting about his own nudity. His companion shielded herself behind him,
but also couldn't take her eyes off Maria.
In moments they closed up and Joseph pulled Maria to a halt.
"Hi, Tom!"  Maria said brightly, wishing that her hands were free. She was
impressed with Thomas's young build, now that there was enough light to see
him by.
"Hi.  Wow!"  Thomas replied.
"Thomas. I'm Joseph Booth."  said Joseph, holding out his hand.
Thomas moved to shake it, his companion moving with him.
"Hi.  This is Trina." Thomas replied, stepping aside so that Trina was
visible.  She put her arms around herself but there was no hiding her
figure.
Joseph held out his hand, and red faced, Trina took it briefly.
"Maria told me that you were given the run of the valley. How do you like
it?"  Joseph asked.
Thomas turned to his companion, who didn't know whether to keep up the
futile attempt to cover up her nakedness or not.
"It's great, isn't it Trina?"
Trina nodded quickly, her voice lost for the moment.
Maria knew what she was going through and smiled in encouragement. The first
time Joseph had brought her nude into the company of strangers had been
excruciating.
"Oh.  I hope you don't mind if I brought Trina.  We're getting married in a
few weeks and this is one of the things we like to do together."  Thomas
looked back and forth between Maria and Joseph, unsure as to who was in
charge.
He had heard about pony girls on the Internet, but had never seen one
before. He was completely blown away.
Both Maria and Joseph offered their congratulations and assured the couple
that it was fine if Trina came with him.
"I promise that I won't bring anyone else."  he added.
"That's good Thomas. But if you will excuse us, we want to get back to the
house." Joseph said to him.
"Sure, and thanks again for making this place available to us."
"Say,"  said Maria, "Perhaps we can have you guys over to dinner sometime."
"That would be great," said Thomas as if he received dinner invitations from
bound and naked women all the time, "wouldn't it?" he finished, again asking
his fiancee.
"Er...sure, great." Trina whispered, obviously uncomfortable with the
situation, yet unable to take her eyes off the pony rig Maria wore.
"Good.  I'll call sometime and set it up."  Maria said.
Joseph smiled and flicked the reins to get Maria going again, and the nude
couple stood on the trail and watched until the pony cart disappeared round
a curve.
"You didn't tell me that they were into that kind of stuff." Trina said,
finally relaxing.
"I didn't know?" Thomas replied honestly.  "Does it matter?"
"No.  I guess not.  They seemed nice.  Just don't get any ideas."
Ideas were in fact spinning through Thomas's head, and Trina would have been
surprised at their content.
"Let's head back to the food," he suggested, "I'm hungry."
Hand in hand, they turned and walked back down the trail.


End of Part 6


To Walk in the Valley  Part 7


The next two weeks passed quickly for Maria.  At first it was full of the
moving in process that can take so much time to do.
Furniture was delivered and Alan's former office became a very nice bedroom.
In it, Maria continued to sleep at night bound the same way Joseph had put
her in since she met him. The only difference was that she shared his bed
rather than sleeping in a golden cage.  He had mentioned changing that at
some point though.
Another change made to the house was the instillation of a ramp where the
porch steps once were.  Peter Brown did that job and Maria tried to keep out
of his way as much as she could, but Joseph wanted to meet him.
Joseph and Peter met and talked while Peter worked on the ramp, their
conversation guarded at first but slowly warming to something approaching
normal.  Maria avoided Peter because of their kiss, but having to tend to
Joseph while he sat outside meant she couldn't completely hide herself away.
It didn't help Peter either that Maria was wearing an extremely tight
T-shirt, cut off just below her breasts and her sarong.  It was obvious
through the shirt that Maria wore nipple rings and Peter couldn't be sure
what she was wearing under the sarong.
Just being there was torture to him.  Since they had last met, Peter had
considered calling Maria and asking for a date, but had noted at once how
ridiculous that would have been, especially since she was with Joseph.
He tried to keep his eyes off her whenever she was around.
Joseph appeared not to notice anything wrong with the two younger people,
but after a while he couldn't help seeing the tension between the two and
how they avoided each other.
At first he put it down to the history they had together, i.e. Alan's death,
but that didn't explain everything. He kept a close, but quiet eye on the
both of them.
Shortly after the ramp was completed, Joseph's new electric chair arrived
which greatly improved his mood.  In it he could now roam the immediate area
around the house and yard at will.  It also helped the moods of the three
women he shared the house with since he was no longer underfoot. There was
talk of the two women moving back to Lisa's apartment, but Maria insisted on
Melissa and Lisa staying. She had no desire to evict her friends.
They stayed, and life began to return to normal.  Melissa and Lisa lived
upstairs, and in private began playing some of their bondage games again.
Sometimes Maria would participate too, but usually Melissa would ask her to
give them some "Private time".
Maria's relationship with Joseph also returned to it's former form.  She
didn't spend near as much time in bondage as she had done with Alan, but
Joseph kept her happy by continuing to develop her submissive side through
domination.
As the second week progressed Maria began feeling better about most
everything.
One evening in that second week they had Thomas and his fiancee over for a
barbecue.  Melissa and Lisa joined them and it began like any other barbecue
you could find, with a group of people out enjoying a meal in the open air.
But as the conversation turned to their guest's hobby, things got a little
more open between them all.  First Maria, and then to everyone's surprise,
Lisa, began loosing clothing, until they continued the meal nude.
Encouraged by this, Thomas stripped down too, which in turn prompted a
blushing Trina to follow. Only Joseph and Melissa refrained from joining the
rest.
The conversation flowed, as did the alcohol, and Thomas began asking more
and more questions about the pony cart and how they came to start doing
things like that.
Trina just wished he would shut up, and was actually grateful when it began
to rain.

It was two weeks to the day of their arrival when Cynthia Booth-Parker
showed up.
It had been raining almost steadily since the day of the barbecue, with only
a few short breaks in the weather.
The rain naturally put a damper on all outdoor activities although at first
everyone was glad it was coming down.
Trapped in the house, Joseph began to feel a little stir crazy, so that
night Robert took him into town to visit a few of the local watering holes.
Maria knew that Joseph intended to hit the whiskey, and again warned him
about what his doctors had said.  It concerned her enough that he had
refused to participate in the physical rehabilitation program they had set
up for him, but his drinking against doctors orders worried her more. That
was why she had brought him out here. She had hoped that a change of scenery
would re-energize him to the point that he would be willing to go back and
work on getting himself back in shape.  It was possible, she was told, that
because his spinal cord had just been bruised, not severed, that he could
someday regain a limited use of his legs. But he had to encourage the
healing process to begin. His body wouldn't fix itself if it didn't see the
need.
But this night Joseph had overruled her objections and took up Robert's
invitation.
Lisa and Melissa were also gone, both at the Diner for the supper crowd.
This left Maria alone in the house for the first time since she got there,
and she would have spent the time either upstairs rummaging through Alan's
things, or downstairs looking through the bondage devices in the basement,
if Joseph hadn't had chained her to the fireplace.
Attached to her ankle was  a long chain which kept her pretty much in the
vicinity of the living room and den.
So, she found a book and curled up in a chair to read.
It was rather late when she heard a car pull up.  She didn't pay it much
attention, thinking it was just one of her house mates coming home. But when
she heard a knock at the door, she sat up.
She wondered if it was Peter Brown, and got up to see. She worried about how
she was dressed.  All Joseph had allowed her this evening was an oversized
T-shirt.  The rest of her clothing was in their room which was just out of
her reach.
She could reach the front door though, and when she opened it she got a
shock.
Standing in the doorway in a very wet fur coat, was Cynthia Booth-Parker.
Cynthia was looking out at the yard when Maria opened the door, and when she
turned Maria didn't miss the barely concealed sneer that always seemed to
decorate the face of this overbearing woman.
"Well, aren't you going to let me in?"  Cynthia barked.
"Sorry, Ma'am."  Maria replied, and stood to one side.
"First tell me where your Master is, then go fetch my luggage." Cynthia
ordered as she marched into the house.
"Joseph isn't here, Ma'am."  Maria said, breathing deeply to control the
anger this woman always generated in her.  "And I can't go anywhere." she
finished, shaking her chained ankle.
Cynthia stood with her arms held out from her body, dripping water on the
hard wood floor.  "Why isn't he here?  Didn't he get my letter?"
"I don't know, Ma'am."  Maria answered patiently.
Cynthia's scowl deepened. "Of course you wouldn't.  It probably hasn't got
here yet, the mail service out here is still being delivered by horse. And I
suppose he took the key to that chain with him as well?"
Maria was tempted to say that he did, but she knew Cynthia Booth-Parker well
enough to know that she would check up on her about it, so Maria told her
that the key was hanging just inside the door to their bedroom.
Cynthia glanced over at the door for a second, her expression showing what
she thought about Maria and Joseph living in that den of iniquity.
"Well?" she said, shaking her arms a little, "have you lost all your
training?"
Maria closed the front door and helped Cynthia with her thick, wet, fur
coat, getting wet herself in the process.
Once free of the heavy coat, Cynthia made a bee line for the bedroom door,
while Maria struggled to find a place to hang the coat.  She kept wondering
what the hell the Woman was doing here.
"Come!"  barked the Woman.
Maria hurried over and Cynthia gestured for her to lift her bound leg. In
one hand she held the key to the cuff on Maria's ankle.
"Now go.  Five bags.  Put me in a room with a good view, if such a thing
exists in this house, and make sure there are fresh sheets on the bed."
"Yes, Ma'am."  Maria answered as her cuff was removed.
Of course the rain was cold, her single item of clothing was soaked through
before she even got to the car. It was also very muddy due to several days
of non stop rain, and as expected, each piece of luggage was large and
heavy.
By the time she had hauled in all five pieces she had mud up to her knees,
her shirt was practically transparent, she was shivering with cold and her
arms ached from carrying the bags upstairs.
She put Cynthia's stuff in the bedroom that used to be Alan's father's. It
had been cleaned out completely except for basic furniture.  She didn't
change the sheets.
She would have toweled off in the bathroom if Cynthia hadn't come up the
stairs at that moment. She had a drink in her hand which told Maria that she
had evidently found the bar.
"That bag there."  Cynthia said, pointing, "Pick it up and show me the
bathroom, that is unless you still use out houses here."
Maria gritted her teeth and picked up the appointed bag.
In the bathroom, still muddy and wet, she followed Cynthia's commands and
began to run a bath for the Woman.  While the bath ran she unpacked
Cynthia's bathroom stuff, which was considerable, and then
unpacked...undressed Cynthia herself.
All through this Maria wondered where Cynthia's own house slave was. As a
member of New York's BDSM community, Cynthia Booth-Parker had a house full
of submissives she could have brought along, but instead she came alone.  So
Maria was stuck with the job of bathing a woman she despised.
Through it all, between commands, Cynthia kept up a steady stream of
questions about Joseph, where he was, how he was, had he talked about
her...etc.  Once in the tub she let Maria peel off her own sodden covering
to bathe her and Maria finally began to stop shivering as she answered the
older woman's questions as best she could.
Cynthia evidently wasn't happy with the answers because her mood remained
offensive.
After being toweled off, Cynthia had Maria unpack her mink robe, a hideous
covering that enveloped the Woman from neck to toe. Wearing nothing else and
a pair of heels, Cynthia left the bathroom like a cruise ship leaving port,
leaving Maria instructions to first clean up the bathroom and then herself.
With fists clenched, Maria turned to her tasks.

It was an hour later by the time someone else arrived.
Maria was downstairs, kneeling on the floor beside Cynthia who reclined on
the couch.  Maria was nude, not having had a chance to go get another shirt,
a chance she lost when Cynthia locked her chain back on her. She also wore a
set of leather cuffs on her wrists and ankles, and a thick leather collar.
Cynthia had taken offense to the way Maria hadn't been properly outfitted as
a house slave, so, using bright red leather cuffs she had brought herself,
she proceeded to outfit Maria to her liking.  The cuffs were wide, and Maria
thought they were quite comfortable despite the hideous color. She was also
glad that Cynthia didn't connect them together, although she noted with
dismay that the Woman locked the key to the cuffs and collar in a small
lockbox she had brought.
Cynthia looked up to see who was coming through the door, a big smile on her
face, which quickly fell when she saw who it was.
Maria couldn't see from her position on the floor, but she recognized the
voice.
"Who the hell are you?"  asked Melissa.
"I could ask the same of you.  Is Joseph with you?"  replied a very snooty
Cynthia.
"I asked who you were, and where is Maria?"  Melissa stepped into the room
and finally spotted Maria on her knees.
"What's going on Maria?"  Melissa asked her friend.
"She has nothing to say to you right now. I forbid her to say another word."
jumped in Cynthia who go up from the couch.   "I have to say that Joseph is
letting his taste in women slip."  she said, looking Melissa up and down.
Maria could almost see the hair on the back of Melissa's neck stand up.
"Who's in here?"  asked another voice, and Lisa came in to the room.
"Another one!  Well, Maria,"  Cynthia said, turning to the kneeling girl, "I
see that Joseph's experiment in monogamy has failed again!"
"I asked who you were, and if you don't tell me I'll call the police and
have you removed, which I may do anyway."  Melissa said evenly.
"There's no call for that kind of treatment.  I am Cynthia Booth-Parker."
"Who?"  Lisa asked.
When Cynthia didn't answer, Maria did for her. "She's Joseph's ex-wife."


It was an uneasy truce that held over the group until Joseph got home.  Lisa
went to bed, stating an early shift at the diner as the reason, so that left
only Melissa, Cynthia, and Maria who hadn't left her spot on the floor.
Conversation continued only as far as it took to establish that neither
Melissa nor Lisa were a part of Joseph's 'harem'.
Beyond that, there was an uneasy silence, filled only with music from the
stereo that Maria had turned on before all this had started.
When Joseph rolled through the door, all three women stood up (well, one did
in spirit), and turned to face him.
As usual, despite having spent an evening drinking, he looked as sober as
ever, although his face paled when he saw who was waiting for him.
"Hello, Cynthia."  he said without emotion.
"Joseph, darling!" Cynthia called out as she rushed to his side. "How are
you?  I should have been there for you when you were in hospital, but you
know how hard it is to get away from Monaco at this time of year."
"Yes, I know Cynthia."  Joseph said, and rolled forward until he spotted
Maria kneeing on the floor.  He gave her an apologetic look.
Cynthia didn't notice. "I had assumed you got my letter, but your girl
claimed to know nothing about it."
"I got your letter I...must have forgot."
"Silly man, you always do that."
Maria couldn't believe it, she actually patted his head, and more
incredible, he took it.
"Now, I'd love to stay up and catch up, but I've been driving for hours and
simply have to get some sleep.  I'll let your girl help you to bed then you
can send her up to help me."
"Fine, Cynthia fine."  said Joseph, unenthusiastically.
"Good. I'll expect her up in fifteen minutes."  and with that she turned and
went up the stairs.
"What's going on?"  Melissa asked Maria and Joseph.
Joseph ignored her and headed slowly to his room
"Maria?"  she said.
"It's a long story, one I don't have time to tell you right now. Could you
get the key to my chain?  Cynthia hung it up on it's hook inside the bedroom
door."
"Not until you tell me what's going on. What do you mean that's Joseph's
ex?"  demanded Melissa.
"Please," pleaded the naked girl, "it's best you let me explain later. Trust
me!"
Melissa knew something heavy was going on, the expression on Maria's face
was enough to tell her that.
She did as she was asked and Maria disappeared into her bedroom to put
Joseph to bed. Shaking her head, Melissa went upstairs to hers.
In their bedroom, Joseph sat in his chair, head hung low.
"I'm sorry, I should have told you she was coming."
"Yes you should!" said Maria sharply.  She was very angry at him right now.
"I bet that's why you were so eager to get out of the house tonight too!"
His lack of response was all the confirmation she needed.
"Dammit!" she swore, and proceeded to help him out of his chair.
Ten minutes later she arrived breathless in Cynthia's room dressed in
another T-Shirt.
Cynthia stood naked at the dresser, her body firm and well muscled. She
turned to the doorway.
"Take that silly thing off."
Maria hid a sneer of her own as she pulled the shirt off over her head.
"I've unpacked my beauty bag already, although I should have had you do it.
I didn't want to wait.  You can do my other bags in the morning, although I
will need something to wear laid out for me. I picked up some clothes for
'roughing it' and I expect you to arrange something suitable for me."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Good. Now, you can give me my rub down, it's been a long tiring day. It's
the green bottle there on the dresser."
"Yes, Ma'am."  said Maria, picking up the bottle.
Cynthia climbed onto the bed and complained about how hard it was.  Maria
climbed on and knelt, straddling the Woman's knees.  Cynthia was on her
front and lay still as Maria poured lotion onto the back and began to kneed
it in.
Only once before had she had to do this, and that was about two months into
her time with Joseph.  The brownstone Cynthia lived in was having work done
on it that required her to move out for one night. Rather than go to a
hotel, she chose to stay with Joseph.  She could have brought one of her own
slaves with her, but she had kenneled them all for the night, so Maria was
again left holding the bag.
She hoped this night would turn out better than that one did.
As Maria worked on her back Cynthia felt something tickling her butt crease.
Turning to look she saw that it was the little silver chain that hung from
the girl's clitoris. Hiding a smile, Cynthia turned forward again thinking
how much fun she would have with this one this time.
Maria's hands were getting tired as she worked, but she was grateful that
the Woman at least kept her mouth shut.  Maybe she had fallen asleep and
Maria could get away without having to finish.  She wasn't that lucky.  As
she got done with the last portion of Cynthia's anatomy, the woman rolled
over so Maria could work on her front.
Maria tried to ignore Cynthia's eyes as she worked, she was embarrassed
enough just sitting naked on the Woman. To make matters worse Maria's clit
chain now dipped down and rubbed Cynthia's hairless slit, her nipples
growing with arousal.
Maria bent to her task wishing it to be over soon.
"You're in a bit of a hurry aren't you?"  Cynthia asked.
Maria didn't know how to reply to that, she kept quiet.
Cynthia reached down and grabbed the clit chain, making Maria yelp.
"Have you lost your manners entirely?"  hissed the Woman.
Tears in her eyes, Maria shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ma'am."
"Joseph has certainly let your training slip hasn't he. I may have to do
something about that."  Keeping hold of the chain in one hand, Cynthia
reached up and put a finger through one of Maria's nipple rings. Slowly she
pulled down until the younger woman almost lay stomach to stomach with her,
their faces only inches apart.
Maria was aware of only the pain in her groin and nipple, and the smiling
face that filled her vision.  A face that scared her as much as anything
right now.
The face moved closer.
"Don't!"  Maria said, wanting to pull away.
"Ah...Joseph's little rule about your sexual privacy.  You don't honestly
expect that to apply to me?"
Her heart thumping, Maria reached up and pulled the hand from her nipple.
She then reached down and freed her clit chain, getting up from the bed as
fast as she could.
Cynthia rolled over to keep Maria in sight.
"Wake me at ten, and be sure to remember to have my clothes laid out ready."
she said.
"Yes, Ma'am."  said Maria, ready to strangle her.
"Now go."
"Thank you, Ma'am."
As Maria went down the stairs, angry and humiliated, she was followed by the
echo of Cynthia's laughter.


End of Part 7


To Walk in the Valley    Part 8


Thunder woke Maria up. She opened her eyes to see a flash of lightning
followed closely by another clap of thunder.
The window was plastered with rain drops and she could hear the glass
shudder as the water tried to break it down.
Except for herself, the bed was empty, which surprised her. She had crawled
in to sleep next to Joseph without bondage for once, for he had been asleep.
She expected him to still be there when she woke up.
She looked at the digital clock on the night stand. Despite the dark sky it
wasn't as early as she thought. He had evidently decided to let her sleep in
a bit.
Probably avoiding me, she thought.
As she found something to wear it occurred to her that he had to have gotten
out of the bed and into his chair by himself, not to mention dressed.
Maybe he wasn't as helpless as he made himself out to be?
She wrapped her sarong around herself, this time tucking it in just under
her armpits, and examined the cuffs she wore again.  They were tight, snug,
there was no getting them off without a key.  With a sigh she left the room
in search of her bed companion.  She found Melissa instead, in the kitchen
eating breakfast.
"So you're up finally."  Melissa said.
"Hi.  Where's Joseph?"
"He and Robert took off fishing."
"DAMN!"
Melissa looked up in alarm. Maria was visibly quite angry.
"Does this have anything to do with Madame Borge up there?" Melissa asked,
pointing at the ceiling.
"Don't get me started."  Maria replied, walking over to the refrigerator to
find something to eat.
"Oh no.  You promised me an explanation, Sweety. And you aren't leaving here
until I get one if I have to chain you down to get it."
Maria made a face, and continued to rummage around in the refrigerator.  It
wasn't until she sat down to eat that she began to explain a few things.


I told you Cynthia was his ex-wife (Maria began), that's true.  Her full
name is Cynthia Booth-Parker.  She hyphenated it thinking it would give her
credibility among Joseph's peers. It didn't work, but she's too blind to see
it.  Almost everyone knows that Joseph met her at a BDSM club in San
Francisco twenty years ago while he was stationed there in the navy.  She
was working the club as a Domanitrix, giving spankings to middle aged men
and caught Joseph's eye.  He told me that she was really something to behold
back then, full of power and life.  He fell head over heels and asked her to
marry him.  Well, at first she wouldn't have anything to do with a simple
sailor, even though he was an officer, until she found out he had family
money. Then it was all she could do to wait until the wedding before trying
to spend it all.
She got a shock though. Due to some big family trust thing, his money wasn't
available to spend, just to invest. At that time all it was doing was
earning basic interest in a bank somewhere. So while Joseph was away at sea,
she supplemented his sailor's pay by working the BDSM clubs.
Now I didn't get all this from him, most of the story I learned from talking
to other Subs whenever I got a chance, or listening to other Dom's talk
about her at parties she attended.  I think I know enough to be pretty sure
of the facts though.
Once Joseph quit his commission, he settled down to do some serious
investing, and was very good at it.  Pretty soon his money tripled and the
two of them were able to live very well off the proceeds. She stopped
tricking behind his back and began living like the queen she thought she
was.
But after spending an extended amount of time with her as man and wife,
Joseph found that he really couldn't stand her anymore.  He began fooling
around with a submissive they had who served as their house slave, and
Cynthia caught him at it and sued for divorce.  It's been said that she
planted the girl in the house with orders to seduce him, but that's just
rumor and can't be proved.  Still, she came away from the divorce with a big
alimony and a good chunk of the shares in the various companies he had
bought into.
She now has money of her own and a virtually inexhaustible source for more.


Maria played with her food a little, unable to look Melissa in the eye.
"Okay, that's who she is, but that doesn't explain why she's here or why you
take orders from her like she has your life in the palm of her hand."  said
Melissa.


Well, like I said, she got ownership of a bunch of his shares (Maria
continued), which meant she also got a say in several of the companies that
Joseph had majority control of.  When the divorce was done, he wasn't left
with control of any of them. He needed the votes her shares represented to
maintain control. So they made a deal. He would vote her shares, and she
would collect the profits from those shares as long as she didn't sell them.
For him it was the best deal he could make, it meant he could still do the
business he needed to do to maintain HIS position. For Cynthia it was a
winning situation for she was making a lot of money without having to do a
damn thing for it.  It also meant that she could, from time to time, drop in
and make his life a living hell when ever she pleased. He couldn't do
anything about it because she could always sell those shares.
That's where I come in.  We met about a week after I joined Joseph, he had a
party to introduce me to his BDSM friends. Of course she was there too.  At
first she treated me just like one of her own slaves, total indifference.
But later when she saw that I was becoming a bit more to Joseph than just
another submissive, I think she got jealous.  She uses me to get to him.
I'm stuck in the middle.


"That sucks!"  Melissa said with feeling.
"It does.  I'm just glad that Joseph put his foot down about a couple of
things."
"What?"
"Well, Joseph would never let anyone touch me, sexually that is, and he made
sure that Cynthia knew that she was included in that rule. Also he told her
that I was out of reach as far as her little fetish for whips was concerned.
In the clubs, she had a nick name that followed her to New York, behind her
back of course. "Pain Slut".  It describes her well. But I just call her the
"Woman"."  Maria glanced at the clock. "Now I have to go up and lay out her
clothes for the day."
"Wait a minute," said Melissa, "you mean to tell me that you have to bow and
serve that woman like one of her own slaves?"
Maria stood in thought for a moment, before looking Maria in the eye.  "Let
me put it to you this way.  Cynthia Booth-Parker and Eric Maximer would have
gotten along well together.  In my position, what else would you do?"
Melissa's face paled at the name of the man who had tortured her for several
days in a row two years ago. Maria left her lost in thought as she exited
the kitchen.


Cynthia was still asleep, not bothered at all by the storm outside the
house.  Maria hoped that the weather wouldn't keep Cynthia inside all day,
especially since Joseph had apparently skipped out on her.
I bet this is what that diamond chain was for, Maria thought as she quietly
began unpacking the Woman's suitcases.
Maria quickly began to wonder what Cynthia meant by "roughing it" as she
opened case upon case full of evening wear and leather outfits, until she
came up on one that must have been packed by an outdoors shop.  In it she
found jeans, shirts, sweaters and even sensible boots.  She chose a set in a
fairly neutral color scheme and, adding some underwear from a case full of
thong panties and assorted erotica, laid it out on a chair.
Then she started to shake the sleeping woman by the shoulder.
"Ma'am, Ma'am?" she said nervously.
After a minute, Cynthia opened an eye.  "Oh, It's you.  Alright, I'm up. Go
draw me a bath. I'll be in shortly."
"Yes, Ma'am."
It won't  be necessary go over Cynthia's bathroom routine, except to say
that once again Maria was required to strip herself and bathe the woman she
hated.
Breakfast was served in the kitchen, a cold breakfast of cereal and fruit
that Cynthia, dressed in jeans and a tan safari shirt, thought terribly
dull.
Melissa watched Cynthia's act with a sly smile. Now that she knew a little
about her she was able to deal with her.
Maria acted as serving girl, carrying things to and from Cynthia. She was
also nude again, as Cynthia had demanded she remain unclothed until she
"earned them".
"Where's Joseph?" Cynthia asked as she ate, "I expected him to be here. We
have a lot to talk about."  She directed this to Melissa, apparently she
decided that Maria was below talking to apart from giving orders, which
suited Maria fine.
"Joseph left an hour ago with a friend of his to go fishing."  Melissa said
smiling.  "I can tell you how to get to where they are."
Cynthia looked horrified. "Fishing?  In this weather?"  As if to punctuate
her statement, another clap of thunder could be heard.
"Apparently the type of fish they're after comes out only in the rain."
"Damn."  said Cynthia. "Does the girl know where?" she asked, indicating
Maria.
"I doubt it, they never took her there before."
"Still, I'll take her anyway.  Go fetch your leash, girl."  Cynthia ordered.
"Er, what should I wear, Ma'am?"  Maria asked apprehensively.
"Just your leash!  Are you deaf? It is on the property isn't it?"
"Just beyond, but..." said Melissa.
"Then, that's alright." Cynthia said with a smile.
Maria was stunned in thinking she would have to go out naked in such a rain
storm.
"BUT..." continued Melissa, "...as I was trying to tell you. I need Maria
here to help me do housework, so she won't be able to take you."
"Surely you can get by without her.  What about your girl?"
"What are you talking about?"
Cynthia's eyes narrowed. "Don't lie to me young lady.  That other girl from
last night. Lisa, was it.  She IS yours, isn't she?  She certainly deferred
to you last night!"
"Lisa."  said Melissa, visibly holding back her temper, "owns and runs a
local restaurant, and that is where she is right now."
This clearly put Cynthia out.  She looked at Maria and wondered if it was
worth taking her naked out into the rain. Certainly it would keep her down
and make her very uncomfortable, not to mention the affect it would have on
her ex-husband. But if she was going to stay here, there were things she
still needed done to her own luggage.
Screw it, she thought, the girl can get to it later.
"Go get your leash."  Cynthia ordered.
Wordlessly Maria looked at Melissa in appeal.
"I really need her here..." Melissa tried to say, but Cynthia didn't let
her.
"Listen young lady, I don't know who you are or what your position is here,
but I am the Lady of this house and I rule here.  Pretty soon this place is
going to belong to me anyway, so unless you want me to throw you out right
now I suggest you shut up and listen to your betters!"
Melissa sat open mouthed. "Wha...what do you mean, belong to you? This place
is Maria's!"
"What? This little tramp?  She signed away her ownership of everything she
had when she became Joseph's.  I have no doubt in my mind that he will
gladly pass this property on to me if I ask.  He has no use for it!  Her..."
she gestured to Maria, who stood fuming next to the table, "she doesn't even
own the restraints she has on. She has nothing!"
Melissa looked up at Maria, silently asking if it was true.
Maria wanted to tell her that things weren't what they seemed, that Melissa
didn't have to worry, but she got no chance.
"Girl!  Do I have to tell you one more time to go get your leash or do I
have to repeat the order with my whip?"
"Yes...Yes, I'll go get it, Ma'am."  said a startled Maria, and she dashed
out of the room.
"You can't take Wells Valley away from her, you have no legal way of doing
it."  Melissa said slowly.
Cynthia sat back, a very evil looking smile caressing her features.  "It's
already done."


Ten minutes later, Cynthia, wearing a plastic rain coat over her other
clothes, dragged a naked, and very wet Maria out of the yard and onto one of
the trails.
The track was muddy, the rain cold, and Maria stumbled along with her cuffed
hands locked behind her feeling as miserable as she had ever been in her
life. To make matters worse, instead of clipping the leash to her collar
Cynthia clipped it to her clit chain.  This meant Maria had to try very hard
not to fall behind.
Once under the tree canopy the going got a little easier as they were
protected from a lot of the rain, but very quickly Maria started shivering
from the cold.
She couldn't imagine the two mile walk they had in front of them, and was
very glad when it became obvious that they weren't going to make it.
The directions Melissa gave them, meant their crossing the stream. Usually
not a difficult task, but impossible now.
The several days of rain had swollen the quiet stream until it surged along
like a heavy river. The tight confines of the valley constricted the flow of
water making it move at an incredible rate, it also looked about five feet
higher than normal to Maria.
"Damn!"  Cynthia said.  "Is there another way around?"
"Not by f-foot, Ma'am, unless you w-want to w-walk about ten miles."
chattered the freezing slave.
Cynthia turned to look at her companion.  Maria was hunched over, eyes half
closed, visibly shaking. It touched the sadist that was the core of
Cynthia's being to see the woman in such misery.
Still, she didn't want to over do it, not yet.
"Alright. Lead me back to the house. We'll go the long way by car."
"Yes, Ma'am."  said a grateful Maria.
As they walked back, Maria discovered something strange. She felt as if she
had gotten her second wind as she slowly grew used to the endless cold water
flowing over her naked body. She still shivered, but it didn't feel as bad
as before.
As thunder echoed above her, she actually felt a little better about being
there until Cynthia gave her clit chain a light tug.
"Move it!"  she yelled.
They got back in the yard and went straight to her car.
"Damn it, you're going to get my seats wet."  Cynthia said, very annoyed.
"Wait, I know."
To Maria's horror, Cynthia walked behind her car and opened the trunk.
"Well, get in, girl!"
Maria pulled at her bonds, wishing to be free so she could deck the sadistic
bitch, but a  pull on the leash compelled her to do as she was ordered. In
moments she was curled up in the trunk, cold, wet and very uncomfortable.
The car started and Maria heard Cynthia get out.
She must have gone in to ask for directions, Maria thought.
What Maria didn't know was that after getting them, Cynthia refused to tell
Melissa where Maria was.
After Cynthia's car drove away, Melissa, dressed in wet weather gear, came
bounding out of the house in search of her abandoned friend.
Cynthia caught this in her rear view mirror, and smiled. Then her attention
was caught by something else. Someone standing in the tree line.  She looked
back, but saw no one.
"Humph!" she said.
It was a quick drive to the bridge where Melissa said the men were fishing,
she didn't know that it was the same bridge where Maria had found another
young fisherman when she first came to the valley.
Along the bank of the swollen river Cynthia saw a couple of cars and pulled
in to join them.
Finally, she thought, as she spotted Joseph sitting in a deck chair.
She got out of the car and walked around to open the trunk. It didn't matter
to her that there were two other men standing with Joseph, Maria was coming
out.
Maria was scared stiff of getting out of the car. She knew that they were no
longer on the property, and her nudity was no longer protected.  She hoped
that the bad weather would keep everyone away, although the rain seemed to
have died down a little over the short drive.
"Joseph!"  Cynthia called out, propelling the reluctant girl in front of
her.
The three men turned.
"My God, Cynthia!  What the hell do you think you're doing?" Joseph yelled.
Maria looked up and immediately wished she hadn't.
Standing with Robert and Joseph, was Peter Brown.


End of Part 8


To Walk in the Valley   Part 9


"Cynthia, what the hell are you doing here?"  Joseph asked his ex-wife
angrily.
"For a cripple you're really giving me the run around."  Cynthia replied
maliciously.
Joseph bit down an angry retort, and looked at Maria shivering naked before
them.
"You have no right to bring her out here, Cynthia."  he said quietly.  "This
is far too public a place and the weather far too bad."
"Heck, a little water can't hurt her, and these back woods people probably
all treat their wives this way." she replied, glancing at Robert.
Now,  Robert was a big man, not fat, but big. He moved just one step closer
to Cynthia, which got her attention.  She looked at him with interest.
"Cynthia Booth-Parker,"  she said to Robert, holding out her well manicured
hand. "and you are?"
"Enchanted."  was Robert's reply, which caught both Joseph and Maria by
surprise.
Cynthia was amazed, she had always liked big men, but still!
Her attention was so distracted that she failed to notice Peter move closer
to Maria.
While Maria stood red with embarrassment at been seen with a leash hanging
from her private parts, Peter took off his coat and draped it over the nude
girl's shoulders.
"Are you alright?"  he whispered.
Maria nodded, feeling the chill again now that they were out in the open.
The coat felt very good, very warm. She twisted her wrists around in their
confinement in an attempt to dry her arms off.
Joseph noticed the attention Peter paid Maria, and didn't know what to make
of it. He DID know Maria shouldn't be outside for much longer.
"Peter, would you be kind enough to get Maria out of the rain."
"Sure, Sir."  Peter said, but didn't move because Cynthia still held the
leash attached to Maria's clitoris.
"We have to talk, Joseph."  Cynthia said.
"So talk."  Joseph replied.
Cynthia looked once more at Robert, who stood smiling at her.  She felt
reluctant to air her dirty laundry in front of this magnificent man. "We can
talk when you come back, when we have some privacy."
"Fine.  Go home, but you're not taking Maria with you."
"Don't you trust me?"  Cynthia said with a laugh.
"No."  said Joseph, the tone of his voice flat.
Slowly, Cynthia released her grip on the leash, and let it drop in the mud.
Peter bent low to pick it up.
"Peter,"  said Joseph. "Take Maria home with you, I'll let you know when you
can bring her to me."
"Yes, Sir."  Peter answered, and guided the wet, naked girl to his car.
Joseph waited until they drove off, before turning his back on his ex-wife.
"Fine!"  was all Cynthia said, before walking back to her own car.


Peter turned the heat up in his car, driving in silence.
He was acutely aware of the woman sitting next to him.
Under her coat she was naked, her hands locked behind her.
He found himself getting hard and willed it to stop.
"Thank you."  Maria said quietly.
"It's...it's okay, the coat will dry easily enough."
"No, thank you for getting me away from that woman."
"Who is she?"  he asked.
"Long story."  was all Maria would say about it.
Nothing more was said until they pulled up behind Peter's apartment
building.   Peter looked about, hoping there was no one around to see him
take a half naked girl into the building.  It looked clear.
He got out the car and opened her door. Maria stepped out and as she stood
suddenly cried out and sat back down.
"What's wrong?"  he asked nervously.
"I stood on my leash!" Maria said, and began to laugh.
Peter was at a loss, but Maria was letting go of all the tension that had
built up during her time with Cynthia.  Even though her clit hurt like hell,
and she desperately wanted to reach it with her bound hands, something about
the whole situation struck her as absurdly funny.
As the waves of pain slowly lessened in intensity Maria felt them replaced
with waves of something else. She couldn't help reflecting on how long it
had been since a man last had her.
"You okay now?"  Peter asked.
"Yeah, just...could you grab the leash?"
Peter pulled the leash until it was clear of the car, and Maria stood up
again.  The two of them hurried through the rain to a set of stairs that
went up to Peter's second floor apartment.  He figured he set a record for
getting the door open and Maria inside.
Maria stood dripping in the entryway as Peter rushed into the bathroom for
towels. She looked about as she waited and found the place simply, but
comfortably furnished. She noticed he had a taste for wood, as almost all
his furniture was made of it.
She liked it.
He came back with a bunch of towels and a blanket.
"Er..I need to take the jacket off."  he said.
"Please!"  replied the still shivering girl.
Peter carefully removed the jacket, revealing Maria, nude except for her
bright red collar and cuffs, and began to towel her down.  As he did so he
tried to keep his erection from showing, a difficult task.
If he had looked at her face he would have seen that she kept her eyes
closed, enjoying the way his hands rubbed every portion of her skin.
Too soon it was over, and Peter draped the blanket over her and sat her on
the couch.
"If you can wait until I dry myself off, I'll get you something hot to
drink."  he said smiling.
"Thanks." Maria replied.
He disappeared with the pile of towels into what Maria assumed was his
bedroom, and a few minutes later he came back out, drier, and in a change of
clothes.  Maria tried to get comfortable under her blanket as he went
directly to the small kitchen area.
"What would you like?"  he called out, "I have coffee, hot chocolate,
cider..."
"Chocolate would be good."  Maria answered.
"Chocolate it is!  You know, I have a set of bolt cutters, I can free your
wrists in a little bit."
"NO...I mean, thanks but no.  I had really better keep them on. It's...well,
better that I do."  Maria didn't want to think of what Cynthia might do if
Maria broke her bondage. She'd heard stories.
"Sure."  said a puzzled Peter, and nothing more was said until he came over
to her with two steaming mugs.
"Here."  he said, sitting next to her and leaning close with a mug.
"Ouch!" she yelped, and he jumped back with a start, almost spilling the
chocolate.
"What!"  he asked.
"The leash, you pulled on it."  said Maria, bending low again. "Could you
take it off, it isn't locked, just clipped."
"Er...okay."  Peter put the cup down and pulled the blanket aside to reveal
Maria's groin.  Maria felt herself blush as he stared for a moment before
reaching down with one hand to unclip the leash from the clit chain.
His touch was light, and through the pain the delicate swing of the chain
once more sent it's erotic message.
"It looks swollen."  Peter said.
"What?" asked Maria, wondering if her arousal was THAT obvious.  She looked
at Peter's crotch, his certainly was.
"It must hurt a lot."  Peter replied, a flush appearing on his face too.
"Is there anything I can do?"
Yeah, Maria thought, rub it until I cum. "No...wait, you got any ice?"
"Sure."   He got up and got a few cubes of ice in a bowl, he took one in his
fingers and held it out to her.
"You're gonna have to do the honors."  Maria said with a pained grin.
"Oh...yeah, right."
As if sticking his hand into fire, Peter reached between her legs and placed
the ice against Maria's clitoris.
She jumped at first, but soon the pain, and her passion, began to cool and
drift away.
Peter watched her face, and kept the ice cube moving slowly. Maria had
closed her eyes and he took the opportunity to take in her features.  He was
glad to see her face was unmarked, despite the number of scars he had seen
on the rest of her body.  The scars were only visible from close up, but he
thought they were horrible, and he wondered how she got them.  Was it
Joseph? A man he had come to like in the short time he had know him.
Maria's senses were concentrating on the ice cube, cold as it was it didn't
dim the heat in her entirely.  She knew that over the past couple of years,
she had been changed by the almost constant erotic atmosphere of her daily
life. It seemed that she was always burning on some sexual level, even at
her worst moments. The slow movement of the ice across her clit began to
have the opposite affect of what was intended, the cold sent shivers through
her that were definitely not temperature related. She pulled at her locked
wrists, twisting them unconsciously like she always did when aroused, their
movement hidden under the blanket.
The couple sat like that, immersed in their thoughts and feelings for
several minutes before Peter realized that the ice had almost melted and
that the tips of his fingers were now brushing the smooth bare skin of
Maria's labia.
Reluctantly, he pulled away.
"Do you want another one?"  he asked.
Maria opened her eyes. "Oh...I'm fine, now." she said, and closed her legs
together so that Peter wouldn't see that not all the moisture down there was
from the ice.
Peter pulled the blanket over her and tried again with the chocolate.
This time there was no problem, and after Maria had drunk, Peter wiped her
lips with a napkin. A small domestic move that Maria loved.
Suddenly she sat up. "Shit!  I need to call Melissa." she said.
"No problem."  Peter answered, and got up to get the phone.
He brought a cordless over and dialed it.
"Hi."  he said. "I'm calling for Melissa...do you know where she is?...I'll
try later."  he hung up the phone. "A woman answered.  It may have been the
woman at the river. She said Melissa wasn't there and asked who I was."
"Damn.  Why don't you try the diner."  Maria suggested.
Peter nodded and dialed.  "Hi...is Melissa there?...okay...hi Lisa, is
Melissa there?...okay,"  he shook his head.
"Let me speak to her." Maria said, and he held the phone up for her.  "Lisa,
it's Maria."
"Hi, what's up?"  Lisa replied.
"Do you know where Melissa is?"
"I thought she was at home, she said she had a bunch of stuff to do."
"Cynthia said she wasn't there, but I don't trust her to tell me what color
the sky is."
"Well where are you, that was Peter on the phone right?"
"Yes, that's where I am."
"Oh...ah."  Lisa said, making connections in her head.
"Look, I'm worried about Melissa being alone with Cynthia. You know what
Melissa can be like and you don't want to know about Cynthia."
"Well I can go home right now if I wanted, business is dead right now
because of the storm."
"Could you?  You might save a life if you do."
Lisa laughed.  "Sure."
"And Lisa!  What ever you do, don't tell Cynthia how to find me."
"Okay. You know you're going to have to explain this all to me sometime."
Maria sighed. She knew she had a lot to tell her friends about. "Thanks,
I'll be home later."
"Fine, you want me to tell Joseph where you are?"
"No need, he sent me here." Maria replied, and nodded for Peter to hang up.
"Now,"  he said, putting the phone down.  "I want to know what's going on."
"It's a long story."  Maria said reluctantly
"We have plenty of time."  said Peter, leaning back.


Maria started by telling Peter what had happened to her after Alan's death.
She explained her time in the Kennel and how Joseph had adopted her. She
went into closer detail about her life with him than she had when she told
Melissa about the same period in her life, she even covered Cynthia's
involvement. Then, with greater difficulty, she told Peter about being
Kidnapped by Hiro Atamo and her time aboard his boat, finishing up with the
escape that she still had the occasional nightmare about.
During her recital, Peter sat and listened quietly, both engaged and yet
amazed by the life she had led, although he felt a kernel of anger build in
himself after hearing about Atamo.  At one point he got up and made them
both a quick lunch which they ate as she continued to tell her story.
Eventually she was done, and the two of them sat quietly for a while.
"You've certainly taken your share of beatings over your time."  Peter said
quietly. "But, I still have a couple of questions."
"Alright."  Maria said nervously
"Who beat you up, the first time I met you?"
Maria went pale and looked away.
"Why won't you tell me?  If it was Alan, then he can't be harmed if you
admit it. If it wasn't him than there is someone else out there that might
do it again to another woman."
Maria sat silently, images of her first beating flashing through her mind.
"Maybe he already did," continued Peter. "Maybe he got to Melissa after he
got to you, I've seen her scars too."
A sudden flash of jealousy swept through Maria, as she realized that for
Peter to see those scars meant that he had to see Melissa naked, and close
up. Then she remembered that her friends gave him plenty of opportunity to
see them nude during his "education".
"The only thing I can come up with, is that it's someone you know, someone
close by, which is why you're protecting him.
The only man in your lives that has been close to you guys all this time is
Robert.  Is that who you're protecting?"
"Why are you asking me this?"  wailed Maria.
"Dammit!  I don't like seeing women hurt, and this has been bugging me ever
since I met you.  If there is a guy out there that is beating on women, he
has to be caught.  Call it the policeman in me, but I need to see the guilty
punished."  Especially for hurting you, he thought.
"Well he has been." Maria said, almost in tears.  She did NOT want to tell
him who had beaten her, for that would have led to questions about WHY he
had beaten her, which would have led to Alan and the death of Eric Maximer,
as well as Palmer's death itself.  Too many closets to open all at once.
"How?"  Peter pressed.
"He's dead too. Okay!"  Maria shouted, and broke down crying.
Peter moved closer and pulled her to himself. Once again he held Maria in
his arms while she cried, bound at the wrists, almost naked and helpless.
He held tightly and almost gave in to tears himself.
They sat for a long time like that, and Peter gradually began stroking the
back of her head.  She shifted back slightly, her head moving from his chest
to his shoulder.
He continued to move his hand, his fingers massaging her neck.  Her face
tilted up and his lips found hers.
Slowly his other hand found it's way into the blanket and cupped a naked
breast.
They leaned over together until Maria lay on her back, Peter leaning over
her.  The hand that had held her breast now moved downward, parting the
blanket, revealing her bare skin.
Their kissing intensified, and Maria felt a surge of pleasure as his fingers
found her sex. It felt so good, so very good.
So very wrong.
"No."  she said, breaking the kiss.
"What?"  said Peter, too caught up to catch what she said.
"No.  Please."
Peter pulled back, his hand on her slit, but now no longer moving.
"We can't.  Joseph..."  said Maria.
She couldn't read his face, and for a moment that scared her.  Then a look
of sadness passed over it and he took his hands from her body.
"Yeah,"  he repeated, "Joseph."  He got up and headed for the bathroom.
Maria lay as she was, almost completely uncovered now. Shit, she thought.
There was a knock at the door as Peter came out of the bathroom. He quickly
pulled the blanket back over Maria and went to answer it. It was Robert.
"I've come for Maria." he said, noticing the flushed faces of the people in
the room, not to mention the way they avoided direct eye contact.  He felt
he had a pretty good idea what had been happening here.
He held up a small set of keys as Peter let him in.  "Joseph got these from
Cynthia, so I can bring you home a little more decent than when you left."
"Thanks." Maria said.
She shrugged off the blanket and Robert unlocked her cuffs.
It had been a while since she last had use of her arms, and she stretched
them before gathering the blanket back around her.  "No clothes?" she asked.
"We were lucky to get the keys."  said Robert.
"You can keep the blanket."  Peter said from across the room.
"Thanks...and thanks, for listening."  Maria said, avoiding Peter's eyes.
"Are you going to be okay?"  he asked her, looking at Robert.
"Yes.  I'll be fine."  Maria answered, hoping he would catch the double
meaning.
He did, he nodded and gave her a small smile.
Barefoot, but wrapped in her blanket, Maria followed Robert out to his
truck. The storm itself seemed to have moved on, but the rain was still
coming down. Robert went out first and opened the passenger door for her and
she made a mad dash out to it.
The drive back to the house was done in silence.


End of Part 9


To Walk in the Valley    Part 10


Arriving at the house, Maria heard a muffled argument behind her bedroom
door between Cynthia and Joseph. She didn't get a chance to get closer to
listen in.
"There you are, are you alright?"  Melissa asked, coming down the stairs.
"Yeah, what about you, where were you?"
"I went looking for you, I thought she had left you out in the rain
somewhere.  I came back on the off chance you had made it back and found
Lisa coming in."
"Where is Lisa?"  Maria asked, as Robert came in behind her and made for the
den.
"Upstairs." Melissa glanced over at the door behind which he argument still
raged.  "Come on."
The women went upstairs and into the room Melissa shared with Lisa.  This
used to be Alan's bedroom, something that Maria tried to ignore. It was the
largest bedroom in the house, and it was only logical that the two lovers
used it.
Speaking of lovers, Lisa lay spread eagle on the bed, naked and bound, a
long feather lying next to her. Her face was flushed, and she was breathing
heavily.
"Hi Maria, this is the last time I'm coming home early." she puffed.
Melissa smiled at her.  "Don't lie, you wanted this and you know it."  Both
women laughed and Maria smiled.
"Having fun are we?"  Maria asked.
"It was either this or strangle that bitch downstairs. We had another
argument when she came in about you and the valley."  Melissa answered.
"Which reminds me. I'm going to strangle you if you don't tell me what she
meant about taking this place away from you."
"Oh, that.  Don't worry about it.  It can't happen."
"Why not, what was that about a contract?"
"What contract?"  Lisa asked from her reclined position.
"It's nothing.  Look, the group Joseph and Cynthia both belong to operates
on rules about the way slaves are taken in.  One of them is that a slave
contract is used so that there are no surprises about what the duties of
both slave and Master are.  The contract itself is up to the individual, but
Cynthia has this very stiff contract that requires the slave to turn over
everything they own to their Master or Mistress.  The reason this is
important is that Cynthia insists that Joseph keep using this contract. That
way she can, because of their business deal, claim some or all of whatever
Joseph gets from the slave.  Well, up to now nothing of real value has ever
been contested, but Joseph knew that when Cynthia found out about the
valley, she would want it. So, after the signing ceremony, he tore up his
copy of the contract and instructed his lawyer to do the same."
"But that can't be legal, a contract like that?"  Lisa said.
"The slave part can't be enforced in a court of law, that's true, but the
giving over of property is very legal."
Maria sat on the bed, blanket still wrapped around her. She was still a
little high from her almost indiscretion with Peter.  Her eyes traveled over
Lisa's naked body.  Lisa had put on some weight, but the extra pounds only
served to soften her lines rather than expand them.  She was still quite
beautiful.
The three women sat, or lay, in silence.
"Well, what now?"  Maria asked after a moment.
"Right now, you had better go finish unpacking the Pain Slut's stuff."
Melissa said. "She was in a bitchy mood when she got back and I expect she
will be in a worse one when Joseph is done with her."
"Yeah.  I've tempted fate enough today with her."  Maria agreed.
She left her friends and went downstairs. Robert was sitting in the den, a
drink in one hand, the TV on.
"Hi.  I thought you would have gone by now?"  Maria asked him.
"Joe wanted me to stick around."  Robert replied.
Maria slipped out of the blanket. "Could you give this back to Peter when
you see him?"
Robert looked over at her. "Tell me something,"  he said, "do I have to
worry about you and Peter doing something you shouldn't?"
Maria blushed.  "No...You don't have to worry. We...didn't."
Robert nodded, and reached out to take the blanket.
Maria left the den and was tempted to listen at the door of her bedroom, but
the argument had gone silent and she figured she had best get something done
today. She went up stairs, and after a long overdue stop in the bathroom to
freshen up, she went into Cynthia's room and begun to hang up clothes. She
thought about putting something on, it had been a while since she spent this
much time nude, but remembered how Cynthia had ordered her to stay naked
until she earned the right to get dressed.
She hadn't been at it for long when she heard steps on the landing and the
door opening.  She turned to see Cynthia dressed in a black leather jump
suit and heels. She looked pissed.
"It's about time you showed up, girl."  she hissed.
Maria took a step back, which made Cynthia smile.
"You're wanted downstairs."  she said eventually, and stood aside.
Maria tried to slide by, but as she did so Cynthia stepped close and managed
to catch one of Maria's nipple rings.
She pulled it, drawing the naked girl closer.
"Don't think that he can protect you for ever."  Cynthia whispered, before
letting her go.
Scared, Maria went down to see Joseph.  He looked worn and tired, as if all
his energy had been drained away. He looked worse than when they first came
to the valley.
Robert stood next to him, a concerned look on his face, and only then did
Maria realize how much Robert had been around lately. The big man seemed to
be lending his strength to her companion.
"Maria, are you alright?"  Joseph asked, his voice a little weak.
"I'm fine, but you look ill."  she said, moving toward him.  She knelt in
front of him and took one of his hands.
"I'll be fine.  But there's trouble." he said, grateful for her touch.
"What?"
"Your contract.  I didn't know it, but Cynthia has a copy, and she is
threatening to use it to take this place away from you."
"But...you said, there were no other copies." said Maria, a cold chill
flowing through her.
"My lawyer's copy. He didn't destroy it, instead he gave it to her.  I
always suspected he was on her side anyway."
"SHIT! YOU CAN'T LET HER...."  Maria yelled before Joseph settled her down.
"There is a way.  I can get another contract drawn up transferring
everything back to you. But I have to get it done and filed in New York
before Cynthia gets it into her head to file hers."
"I...what?" Maria was very upset, on the verge of another crying fit.
"I have to go to New York, right now.  Robert is going to drive me in to the
city to catch a plane.  You have to stay here and keep Cynthia occupied."
"What?  I can't. You need me with you."
"I need you here.  Only you can engage her interest enough to distract her."
"I can't, you can't leave me with that woman."
"Maria," Joseph said tenderly, he took both her hands in his own. "if you
value this place at all, you have to do this."
Maria looked around. For a brief moment she was willing to leave it all
behind if she didn't have to see Cynthia again, but then she thought about
all she had been through since she first came to the valley.  It would all
be for nothing if she left now.
"Alright," she said, standing.
"Good, I'll call when..."  he looked up past her.
Cynthia was coming down the stairs.
"Cynthia,"  said Joseph, "Rob and I are heading out again for a while."
Cynthia ignored him, her eyes on Robert, who lifted himself a little taller.
"Robert, darling.  Perhaps if you can tear yourself away from my ex-husband
for a while, you could escort me to dinner tonight.  This town must have
some place where a girl can get a decent meal."
Robert smiled his most friendly smile. Maria wondered how he did it, knowing
what he did about her. But then, Robert never really had a problem getting
people to like him.
"I'm afraid my plans are already made." he said, making it sound like he
carried the responsibility of the world on his broad shoulders.
"Nonsense.  My husband (ex-husband, Joseph muttered) has monopolized far to
much of your time today. I'm sure he can get by without you for one
evening."
Robert appeared to waffle until Joseph spoke up. "Go ahead, I can get
Melissa to take me on my errand."
Robert looked at Joseph for a second, then turned to Cynthia.  "I would be
honored.  I will need to get changed first, how about I pick you up in an
hour."
Cynthia smiled, another victory scored.  "That will be fine."
To everyone's surprise, including Cynthia, Robert took her hand and kissed
it, before exiting through the front door.
"Maria, go get Melissa for me."  Joseph said.
"And when you are done report to my room."  Cynthia ordered.
Maria left the ex-married couple at a dead run.
She found Melissa still teasing a bound and naked Lisa, and directed her
downstairs to Joseph, then she attempted to untie her friend.
"What's going on now?"  Lisa asked.
"MARIA!"  yelled Cynthia.
"Shit! Look, I'll come back later to free you, Melissa will be a while."
"What?" asked the trapped woman as Maria left the room.
Cynthia was at the top of the stairs when Maria came out onto the landing.
"I thought I told you to go to my room."  Cynthia said.
"Yes, Ma'am."  replied Maria, and moved quickly to where she had been
ordered.
Cynthia's curiosity had been peaked, what was Maria doing in that room?
Then it occurred to Cynthia that she hadn't seen the other girl since she
got home.  She walked to Lisa's bedroom and glanced through the door. What
she saw made her smile. She decided to change her plans a little.
"Girl,"  Cynthia said as she entered her own room, "go down to the
basement."
"The basement, Ma'am?"  Maria said nervously.
"Don't question me! I know about your little dungeon down there, now go!"
With a terrible sinking feeling, Maria left the room. She glanced at the
almost closed door to Lisa's Bedroom, wondering if she would get a chance to
free the bound girl inside.
With Cynthia on her heels, Maria padded down the stairs to the basement.


Out on the road in Melissa's car, Melissa asked Joseph what errand was
important that she had to leave Lisa behind tied to their bed.
"You have to take me to the city. I have to catch a flight to New York."
Joseph said.
"What!  That's a least a two hour drive, I don't have time to do that!"
Melissa yelled at him.
"You have too.  I don't know how much you know about this, but..."  Joseph
told her about the contract, and about how Cynthia planned to beat it. Then
he told her his plan to see she didn't succeed.
"Damn."  Melissa said, and told him about Lisa's position.
"If it's any consolation, Maria may already have her freed. She knows where
we are going."
"Yeah, you're right. Okay, here we go."


Maria hadn't been down in the basement in a year, and she saw that part of
the room had reverted back to it's former life as a storage area.  One
corner was piled with junk that had to be Melissa's and hers from the city.
But most of the bondage equipment was here, including the cage in the
corner.
Maria treaded carefully, the bare earth floor was slightly muddy from all
the rain.
Cynthia beamed.  She had found the place earlier that afternoon and hadn't
expected to find equipment like this here, and she loved each piece. For the
first time she wondered about Maria's first Master. He must have been a
strong one to have constructed such a place.
"I heard you spent a lot of time down here."  Cynthia said.
"Yes, fifty two days, in a row. I never left the room."
Yes, Cynthia was impressed, as much with Maria's stamina as well as with her
Master's.  The girl might be worth keeping on after all.  But she had a job
to do and not much time to do it in.
"Come here, girl!"  barked Cynthia.
Maria jumped, lost for a moment in memories past.  She turned to see Cynthia
standing next to the hanging mummy cage.
"Let's see if this still fits."  Cynthia said.
Maria found it hard to move, but did so, slowly walking toward Cynthia.
When she got there, the Woman turned the cage so that it's open back faced
Maria. The invitation was obvious, step in.
She did so, shuddering a little as the cold metal straps pressed against her
skin, then came a screech as the back was closed and Maria suddenly found
herself pressed into a vice.
She didn't remember it feeling this tight. Perhaps Lisa wasn't the only one
to have put on some weight.
"Perfect!" Cynthia said.  "Now we just need to lock it."
Unable to turn her head, Maria heard the lock snap shut and then felt
herself swinging free. The mummy cage had been made just for her, so the
metal straps that bound her fit very close indeed.  The only things she
could move were her hands, and those she could only flap. Even if the cage
had been unlocked, she could not have reached the handle to open it.  As she
swung around, Cynthia came into view.  She had the key to the lock in her
hand. She stepped up to the cage and took a hold of both Maria's nipples,
not hard to do for her breasts were the only things that projected from the
cage.
"Now be a good girl, and I'll free you after dinner, that is to say,
Whenever Robert and I get done."
She pinched hard, making Maria wince, then let go and left the room.  Maria
feared she would shut off the light, but it stayed on.  She thought about
poor Lisa still tied to her bed.


Cynthia was thinking about Lisa too, only her thoughts weren't so nice.
Here was a quick opportunity for a little pay back, Cynthia thought.
She stopped in her own room, before moving to Lisa's.
Lisa lay struggling on the bed, but had made no headway in freeing herself
of her bondage.  She stopped, startled at being interrupted by Cynthia.
"I knew you were a submissive, the moment I laid eyes on you."  Cynthia said
from the doorway.
"Er...I don't think you should be in here."  Lisa said, aware of how
vulnerable she was.
"I think I do.  You belong to Melissa don't you.  Not to Joseph?"
"I don't belong to anyone."  Lisa said defensively.
"Yet here you are, tied to your bed, while your owner, sorry, your lover?
goes off somewhere."
"Well, she'll back soon, so you'd better go."
"Oh, I will, soon."  Cynthia purred, and revealed what she had been holding
out of sight.  It was her favorite riding crop, not that she did any riding.
She moved forward until she stood over the frightened girl.
"Now let me see," Cynthia said sweetly, "let's see how high you can count."


True to his word, Robert showed up on time to pick Cynthia up.  He had
traded vehicles with Peter, so Cynthia wouldn't have to ride in his dirty
truck.
She smiled as she climbed into the car, knowing that she was going to have a
good time with her big and handsome date.  It had already started out so
well.
As he drove away from the house, Robert was completely unaware of the caged,
naked woman in the basement, or of the sobbing, bleeding woman bound to her
bed.


End of Part 10


To Walk in the Valley   Part 11


About a mile downstream from the house where Lisa lay bound to her bed, and
where Maria stood trapped in her mummy cage in the basement, was Mount
Scotch.
It wasn't really a mountain, just the highest of a number of high hills in
the area.  Legend has it that it was named by one of the original settlers
in the area, who hid a still somewhere on it's steep slopes.
Now days, no one lived there, or brewed alcohol there.  It's upper slopes
were way to bare to hide anything and the tree line along it's valley side
was now in private hands.
But it was tall, towering three hundred feet above the river at it's foot,
and over the past five days it had been taking a lot of abuse.
Exposed to the constant rain and wind, the top soil that covered the hill
had been absorbing an enormous amount of water, and as the rain kept coming
down it began to reach a point where it couldn't even drain itself fast
enough.
The soil, now mud, became so heavy with water, that it began to loose it's
grip on the hill itself.
It started small, a few feet here, a few feet there, then a larger section
started to go, close to the summit of the hill.
In no time at all, momentum took over, and the few tons of mud and grass
began to pick up speed.  Like it's snowbound cousin, the avalanche, the mud
slide collected more and more debris, gaining mass and speed as it flowed
down the side of the hill.  It passed through the fence that marked the
property line like it wasn't there, and hit the tree line hard.
Here, there was a chance that the slide could have been stopped.  The trees
and bushes that bordered the stream were well dug in, and the slope of the
hill was shallower, but it was no match for several thousand tons of soil
and water. The trees only ended up getting picked up and carried along.
What did stop the slide was Gravity.  Once an ally in it's mad dash to the
river, Gravity prevented the mud slide from climbing back up the hill on the
opposite side of the river.
The river, itself moving at a high rate of speed, had enough momentum to
wash away the first few tons of mud that slid into it's path, but it stood
no chance with the debris that followed.
It took only ten minutes for the slide to happen, and that was all it needed
to completely block the river bed.
The dam stood ten feet above the already over filled river, and it took
almost no time for the water downstream of the dam to empty out of the
stream bed. The water trapped behind it was another matter.
The record rain fall meant that there was no shortage of water in the river,
and it continued to flow into the valley at an accelerated pace.  The area
up stream of the dam began to fill, and already waterlogged ground became
submerged as the river sought a new course.
It took only thirty minutes for the river to crest the dam, and in that time
it had raised itself to triple it's rain swollen height for miles along it's
upstream course.
It poured over the dam, and once more followed the stream bed that it had so
recently been denied.


Lying on her bed, Lisa had stopped crying. Almost asleep, she was only dimly
aware of a rumbling coming from the south end of the valley.  Her tired mind
thought it was thunder, and thought no more about it.
Down in the basement, Maria heard nothing. She stood in her mummy cage,
flapped her hands and occasionally called out for someone to come down and
rescue her. But she knew that the only person in the house right now was
Lisa, and she couldn't help.  Maria hoped it wouldn't be too long.  Melissa
would be gone a couple of hours at the most, and hopefully she would be back
before Cynthia.  Maria wasn't too worried, after all she had spent weeks in
this cage before, a few hours was nothing.
A strange sound behind her suddenly made her jump. With great difficulty she
shifted her weight enough to get the hanging cage moving in a sort of
spinning motion, and she waited patiently till she faced the other way.
What she saw surprised her, but didn't scare her at first.
A crack in the concrete foundation was leaking water.  It dribbled down the
wall and collected in a pool on the muddy floor.  Maria watched it until the
cage turned around once more, hiding it from her sight.


The rain kept coming down.
Anyone standing in the yard right now would have been amazed at what they
just saw.
Creeping out of the trees from the direction of the river was a wide wall of
water.  It flowed into the barn, and the other small buildings scattered
about the place, surrounding the house and flowing part way up the driveway.
The two foot high exposed foundation of the house suddenly found itself
under assault from the water, but, just as quickly as it had risen, it
stopped, flowing only halfway up the concrete.
Anyone standing outside would have been up to their knees in water that lay
like a lake around the buildings and surrounding area. They may also have
been curious why no one in the house had come to the window to see this
unusual event.  No one had even come to look when the earth itself seemed to
shake a little only half an hour before.
Anyone standing outside might have been very concerned about the lack of
life shown by the occupied house.


Cynthia was enjoying her meal.  That is, she was enjoying the company.  The
meal itself in the town's only Italian restaurant was filling, but that was
all she could say about it.
But Robert.  He was something special.  Cynthia actually found herself NOT
wondering what he would be like in bed, something of a first for her.  He
kept her entertained with a series of amusing stories and jokes that had her
laughing like a school girl.
She was therefore put out when his attention was suddenly captured by the
other patrons. There was a problem somewhere.
Half blotto on the cheap wine, Cynthia picked up a bread stick and ignored
the buzz of conversation around her.
"We have to go."  Robert said, grabbing her attention once more.
"Nonsense.  The night is young."  Cynthia said, picking up her glass.
"Well, as charming as this evening has been, dear lady, I'm afraid it has to
end, there's trouble."
"What kind of trouble could interrupt our meal?"
"It's the river, it's gone dry."  he said, repeating what he had overheard
from someone who had just come in.  The river didn't flow directly through
town, it took a left turn and flowed west of it, but plenty of people lived
on both sides of the river, and even in a storm the sudden lack of water in
what was an overfilled river was definitely noticed.
Cynthia looked at him bleary eyed for a moment. "So?" she asked.
"Only a mud slide could have blocked the river, and that's bad news.
Someone further up stream is going to get flooded out. We need to find out
where the dam is and try to blow it."
"But darling, couldn't someone else go?"
Robert leaned close, he didn't want the unpleasant drunk woman in front of
him to miss the meaning of his words.
"Wells Valley is upstream of us, and there is always the possibility that
the house and land you are trying to take from Joseph are now underwater."
Cynthia blinked in surprise. Suddenly she wondered if Robert was on her side
at all, his demeanor had suddenly changed as if he blamed her for the lack
of water in his precious river.
Then something he said struck a chord in her mind.  Something about
flooding?
"Shit." she said slowly, "I hope not.  I locked his girl up in the
basement."
Robert stood up straight, his bulk towering over the other patrons, many of
whom were leaving themselves.
"Let's go. NOW!"
"Yes, Robert."  Cynthia said, and obediently begun gathering her things.


Now Maria was worried. Several more cracks had opened up and even the floor
itself seemed to flow.  Water poured in from all around her and already her
feet and calves were immersed in it.  The cold water made her shiver, but
she couldn't do a thing about it.  Try as she might, she could not lift her
feet out of the water that was slowly rising as she watched.
The ground outside had already been saturated by the rain, so the water from
the river flowed over it without sinking in and tried to gain access
wherever it could.
Pushed by the weight of the water above, ground water squeezed it's way
through the cracks in the concrete foundation that held the house up, and
flowed into the open space that was it's basement.
It was only a matter of time before the water level inside the basement was
level with the water outside.  That was the way Gravity worked.
Maria didn't care about Gravity, she was scared.  She alternated between
screaming for help and praying, although she knew no one could hear her. She
was therefore surprised when she heard someone coming down the stairs.
She was facing the wrong way to see who it was, the cage about her head
preventing her from turning to look, but she heard the wash of sound as
whoever it was waded over to her.
"Oh God, the water's coming in. Can you get me out?"  she asked.
Maria felt a hand at her hip and the cage turned.  She felt her heart skip a
beat and an old fear return as her eyes fell on the oriental man standing
before her. He was dressed for the outdoors, and looked pretty messy, but
his eyes were clear and searching.  He looked over her cage before speaking,
and if he was surprised at her being naked, he didn't show it.
"Where is the key?"  he asked, his accent thick, but understandable.
Maria was too scared to answer.
The man waited for a moment, then he reached into his jacket, making Maria
flinch.  He pulled out a wallet and opened it.
"My name is Inspector Hasumara. I am Japanese police. I am not here to harm
you."
"What are you doing here?" Maria asked him, not sure if her shivering was
from the cold water, or the fear in her heart.
"I am here to watch over you. Now where is the key?"  Hasumara said.
"Watch over me?"
"There is time to explain later. Now we have to get you out. Where is the
key?"
"I...I don't know.  The woman who put me in here had it when she left. I
don't know what she did with it."
A scowl appeared on his face.
"Look," Maria went on.  "Perhaps my friend has it upstairs. I last saw
her...er...tied to her bed in one of the upstairs bedrooms."
"I will check." said Hasumara and he began to wade back to the stairs.
"Please, hurry!" Maria called out after him. The water was now over her
knees and climbing her thighs.


Robert drove as fast as he dared through the rain soaked streets. He had
first headed toward Peter's to pick up his truck.  When he told Peter about
the possible dam the younger man volunteered to come along. So now the three
of them, a rather quiet Cynthia in the middle, were speeding out of town in
an effort to see if Maria really was in trouble.


Maria wished she could rub her leg. A floating piece of furniture had banged
against her shin and hurt like hell, but that part of her body was
unreachable.
Her hands were in the water though, the level creeping past her crotch and
edging up toward her stomach.  If she had been alone she knew she would have
had a panic attack by now, but somehow the presence of the Japanese
detective kept her centered.  It helped to know that there was someone
working to get her free.  She hoped she would still feel this calm when the
water was around her neck.
She heard the Inspector coming back down the stairs.
"I found her."  he said, wading toward her, "She was bound and beaten with a
thin stick, possibly a riding crop. I had to wake her."
"Beaten?"  Maria asked, thinking about how she would love to lock Cynthia in
this cage.
"Her injuries are not severe. I woke her and cut her free. She does not know
where the key is. She did not know where you were."
Maria felt her hopes dash for a moment, then thought of something.  "You're
a cop, right?  Can't you shoot the lock out?"
"Unfortunately, I am not allowed to carry a weapon in this country."
Hasumara began looking around the room for something to break the lock with,
but half the room was already under water. He took off his coat and put it
on the stairs, and to Maria's astonishment, ducked down under the water.
She hoped he could see well enough under there, which prompted another scary
thought.  The lights were still on.
Water, electricity, a bad combination. Maria wondered if she was going to be
electrocuted before being drowned.  Once again she pulled and tugged at her
restraints, but the cage held her tightly in it's grip. It wasn't going to
give up it's prize without a fight.
Hasumara broke the surface, took a couple of deep breaths, and went under
again.
Patiently Maria waited, as the water level began brushing the bottoms of her
naked breasts.


As they crossed the bridge over the stream, Cynthia perked up.  "Look," she
said, "there's water in the river, everything's fine!"
Robert and Peter looked at each other. They knew things could still be bad.


"OW!" yelled Maria.
"Sorry."  said Hasumara, scooping a handful of water over his face.  He had
found a metal bar standing in one corner of the room, probably a left over
from the construction of all the bondage equipment in here.  He had been
trying to use it to crack open the lock by hitting it, but the fact that he
had to tread water to keep his face dry and that the lock was now submerged,
made it almost impossible.  Also the metal straps that made up the cage
Maria was locked in hugged her so tightly that he couldn't help hitting her
as well as the lock. She will have a terrible bruise on her upper arm
because of his misses.  If she survived.
"Maria?"  called a voice.
"Lisa!"  Maria called back.
There was a splash, and Lisa appeared by the stairs. She swam over.
"My God!  Maria!"  Lisa spluttered. The water was now up to the trapped
girl's shoulders.  If the cage had been sitting on the ground it would
already have been over her head.
"Lisa."  said Hasumara, "I need your help."
Lisa didn't know who the man was, but he had untied her and was obviously
trying to free Maria. He was okay in her book.
"How?"  Lisa asked, treading water.  She couldn't touch the bottom.
"We have to lift the cage off it's hook, and carry it to the stairs."  the
Inspector said. He had wanted to do this earlier, but he knew he could never
have managed it by himself.
"I can't!"  said Lisa.
"You have to, or your friend dies."
Lisa looked horrified, but nodded.  The two swimmers took their places on
either side of the cage.
"We will both have to go under the water to lift the cage. So take a deep
breath. Maria, when we lift you off we will have to lower you into the water
so we can take another breath, so be ready.  We will go under again and will
try to move you as close as we can to the stairs. We may have to repeat this
a few times until we get there."
This was sounding less and less attractive to the women, but both said they
were ready.
Lisa and Hasumara took several deep breaths and then ducked under the water.
Maria felt hands on the cage sides and for a moment she was lifted up higher
into the air.  She took as deep a breath as the cage bars allowed, and a
second later she was under water.
It was terrifying.  She wanted to break free, to struggle to the surface,
but the cage held her just as well under water as it did in the air.
Something wasn't right, she felt herself tilted, falling backward.  Her
lungs screamed as she felt herself hit the floor, she wanted to breath.
Hands grabbed her and she was lifted again. Higher and higher toward the
light.  Her face broke the surface for a few seconds and she sucked in as
much air as she could before being plunged back in.
It was like the return of a nightmare.  She couldn't see clearly, she felt
like she would explode. She honestly thought she was going to die any
second.
Then she was in the air again.
"Maria!"  said a voice, familiar, but she couldn't think to place it.
Once more she was dunked, but this time only for a few seconds, although
they seemed like years.  Then she was up again.
She heard more voices and felt many hands grabbing at the cage.  A bump, the
bottom of the cage hitting something hard.  Maria blinked the water out of
her eyes and began to recognize what was going on around her.
She was in the stairwell, someone was pulling on the cage from above her.
She wished she could move her head so she could see who it was.
"She's okay now."  she heard someone say. It was someone she knew.
"Peter?"  she croaked.
"Maria!  You're going to be okay."  Peter replied.
Maria felt the cage bump up the stairs and in moments she was lying on her
back on the floor in front of the basement door.
The others gathered around her and she saw that along with Peter was Robert.
It was his strength that hauled her out of the basement.
"Oh, thank you, thank you!"  she said gratefully.
Peter smiled.  "Anytime."
"Do we have to stand her up to get her out of there?"  Lisa said.  Maria
could just see her standing to one side of her, she looked soaked through in
the big T-shirt she had put on.
"No."  Robert said, as he bent low to Maria's side, key in one hand.
With a screech, the front of the cage was lifted away, and Peter helped
Maria  out of her almost coffin.
Maria was shaking like a leaf, both from the cold and from the scare she had
gotten.  She hugged Peter tightly until someone passed her a towel. She
winced when her arm was rubbed, but otherwise she had come out of it pretty
much unharmed. As soon as her wits were about her she let go of Peter and
looked for Lisa.
Lisa had peeled off her shirt and was gingerly drying herself down. Her
front was a mass of thin welts, some of them with broken skin.  Forgotten
for the moment, Maria's anger at Cynthia returned.  She turned to look for
the woman, but couldn't see her.
"Where's Cynthia?  She did this to us."  Maria said angrily.
The men looked around, Cynthia had been right behind them when they came in.
She wasn't there now.
"Where did all the water come from?"  Maria asked, frustrated about the
missing woman.
"There was a mud slide somewhere downstream.  It made the river overrun it's
banks." said Robert.
Maria noticed Lisa dabbing at her wounds, head low, unable to look anyone in
the face.  She knew what the girl was going through. She reached out and
touched Lisa's shoulder, making her look up.
"It's going to be okay."  Maria said.
Lisa smiled, a thin, brave smile.  "It will be when I get my hands on that
woman."  she whispered.
Maria and Lisa hugged for a moment, before being pulled gently apart by the
men.  Peter put a warm blanket around Maria and began leading her off to her
room.
"You need to climb into bed right now and warm up."  he said.
"Wait."  Maria ordered, and she held out her hand to Lisa who had been given
a blanket of her own.  Hand in hand, the two women had taken just a few
steps when Maria remembered the Inspector.
She turned, and saw him standing in a far corner. He had his shirt off and
was wiping himself down with another towel.
Cued by Maria, everyone turned to look at him.
Hasumara eyed the assembled group warily.
"Thank you."  Maria said.
Inspector Hasumara bowed slightly.
"Who is this guy?"  Peter asked.
"A friend."  Maria answered.  "Will you be here in the morning?"  she asked
the Inspector.
"Yes. I will be here."  he answered.
"Good. I would like to ask you why you're here, but right now I am very
tired."  She looked it, she could barely stay on her feet.
"You are right. It can wait until morning."  said the Japanese.
Peter looked at him suspiciously but said nothing.  Instead he helped both
women into Maria's bedroom.
Robert turned to the Japanese Inspector. "Thanks. Thanks for being here."
Hasumara bowed again.
"I'll get you something dry to wear, but then I'd better go find the dam."
Robert said.
"Thank you."  replied Hasumara.
Robert moved toward Maria's room, to find something of Joseph's for him to
put on.  That left Hasumara alone in the hallway.
Almost.
He turned to face the one person who hadn't made any effort to include
herself in the rescue.   He stared at Cynthia Booth-Parker who had stood out
of sight in the darkness of the living room. Hasumara's face was
expressionless, and he stared until she left him alone, closing the door
between them.


End of Part 11


To Walk in the Valley   Part 12


Maria thought she was dreaming when she felt something enter her mouth, but
the bitter taste of rubber was far too real to be a dream.
Alarmed, she opened her eyes and attempted to reach her mouth to pull out
the offending object.  She found she couldn't do so, her hands were trapped
behind her.
She struggled to sit up, only to see Cynthia crouched just a few feet away,
gathering up what appeared to be straps and rope into a leather bag.
Maria tried to ask what was going on, but of course nothing got past her
gag. She looked over at her bed mate.  Lisa was also half awake, although
her eyes were still closed.  She wasn't gagged, but her arms were held over
her head to the headboard with handcuffs.
She opened her eyes and stared into Maria's face, before tugging uselessly
at her bonds.
"What the..."  she said, pulling and jerking at the cuffs. Then she saw
Cynthia, who had by now stood up again, bag in hand.
"What are you doing?"  Lisa asked her, echoing Maria's muffled attempt.
"Shut up girl.  I've no time for you."  Cynthia replied. She reached out to
Maria, who drew back.  "Come with me, now!"
Maria shook her head, and pulled at her own bondage.  Her hands had been
locked behind her with the leather cuffs Cynthia had locked on her earlier,
but otherwise she was unbound.
"CAN ANYONE HEAR ME!"  Lisa yelled, still trying to get away from the bed.
"Shut up!  There's no one here to rescue you, they've gone to the river.
Well, most of them."  she said with a smile.
Maria was scared, and she wasn't sure what to do.  She didn't really want to
go with the Woman, but she still needed to keep Cynthia occupied so that she
wouldn't find out what Joseph was doing.
"HELP US!"  Lisa yelled.
Cynthia reached into the bag and pulled out her riding crop.
Lisa's eyes were drawn right to it. Maria swore she heard Lisa's mouth snap
shut.
"I see you remember our friend."  purred Cynthia. She brought it down
swiftly, catching Lisa on the sole of her bare foot.
Lisa stifled a yell, but the tears in her eyes and the expression on her
face showed that it took a great deal of effort not to yell out.
"You remembered our little lesson.  That's good.  Now be a good girl for a
little while and shut up, I don't want to waste a good gag on you."
Maria was amazed to see Lisa nod, and wondered just what horrors Cynthia had
introduced her too to solicit such obedience.  She tried to catch her
friend's eye, but Lisa only stared at the crop.
"Good.  Now, Maria, either you get off the bed and come with me, or I
continue the wonderful lesson I was having with your friend here."
Maria was shocked, then anger flooded her system.  Was there nothing this
woman wouldn't do?  She glanced one more time at Lisa who had turned to look
at her with pleading eyes, and slowly got off the bed and stood naked beside
it.
Cynthia took a leash from the bag and clipped it once again to Maria's clit
chain.
"That should prevent any more rebellious notions on your part." Cynthia
said, making Maria wish she hadn't been so stupid as to get the chain in the
first place.
Without another word, Cynthia tugged on the leash, forcing Maria to follow
her as she went out the door.
Maria managed a last look at Lisa, bound to the head of the bed and too
frightened to help anyway.
Cynthia headed for the front door, with Maria hurrying to keep up. She knew
that Robert and Peter both left the house shortly after she went to bed, but
the Japanese Inspector should still have been around.
He was.  She caught a glimpse of him as they passed the door to the living
room. He was lying on the floor in a heap, blood on the back of his head.
Maria gasped and almost stopped walking, but a painful tug kept her moving.
Without a backward glance Cynthia took her out into the night.


It was about an hour later, as dawns light brightened the eastern sky, that
Robert's truck came down the driveway and stopped in front of the house.
Out of the driver's seat jumped Peter Brown who ran quickly into the house.
"Inspector?"  he said quietly, not wanting to wake the women he thought were
sleeping nearby.  He got no answer. "Hello?" he called out, a little louder.
"Peter!"  he heard from the bedroom.  It didn't sound good to him.  He went
to the door and knocked.
"Peter, is that you?  Please say it is!" he heard Lisa shout.
"It's me."  he replied.
"Help me!"
He opened the door and saw Lisa lying nude on the bed, her hands cuffed to
the head board.  For once it didn't look like a game.
"I think Cynthia took off with Maria somewhere."  Lisa said, "Did you see
her anywhere?"
Peter shook his head.  "What do you mean, took off?"
"She chained me to the bed and took Maria out of the house, I think I heard
her car start. Can you get me free?"
Now Peter was worried. "Sure.  Where's Melissa?"  he said, pulling a set of
his own keys out of his pocket.  The cuffs were regulation, he had a key
from the set he used to carry as a deputy.
"She hasn't gotten back yet. I don't know what's keeping her. Where's that
Japanese guy?"
"Beat's me."  He unlocked the cuffs and with a sigh Lisa pulled her arms
down and rubbed her wrists.
Although Peter was no stranger to Lisa's naked body, he found it difficult
to look at her with all the bright red whip marks she now had.  He got up
and made for the door.
"I'll go look for him."  he said, leaving.
Lisa didn't answer, she slid off the bed and pulled on a shirt to wear,
she'd had enough of being naked for a while. She was in too much pain to
enjoy it. She left the room in search of a bathroom when she head Peter call
out to her.
"Lisa, I need you!"
His voice came from the living room and when she went in she saw him
kneeling beside someone on the floor. She recognized her rescuer of the
night before.
Hasumara lay groaning on the floor, one hand on the back of his head.
"He's been hit on the back of the head. He may have a concussion. You had
better dial 911." Peter said to her.
"No...no hospital."  Hasumara said, his voice rough and obviously pained.
"You need attention, that is a pretty hard blow by the look of it."  Peter
warned him.
"No hospital.  I cannot take the time."
Peter rolled his eyes. "What is it about people and hospitals?"  he asked no
one.
"What do you mean?"  Lisa asked him.
"I've got Rob out in his truck, passed out. He took a bad hit when the dam
collapsed, fell in the river.  The paramedics wanted to look at him, but he
said he was fine.  He didn't last the drive out of the valley."
Lisa looked toward the door, then up the stairs. "I'll help you bring him in
in just a few minutes, but I have to use the little girls room first."
"Fine. I can help our stubborn friend here get off the floor."
Lisa left and Peter half lifted the smaller man to his feet.
Hasumara pushed him away with one hand until he was standing rather
unsteadily on his own. Then he nodded, wincing at the movement.
"Hai!  I will be good. Thank you my young friend.  Where is Maria?"  said
Hasumara.
"Gone. Lisa said Cynthia took her. Her car isn't outside."
"I suspected so. It was the Booth-Parker woman who hit me.
I should have seen it coming."  he shook his head and began to walk
carefully toward the  kitchen.
Peter was torn between helping this man and the one in his truck, and was
also deeply concerned about where Maria was.  He didn't know anything about
the Japanese except that he was a Cop, and that for some reason Maria
trusted him.
Hasumara noticed his hesitation.  "Go tend to your friend, I will be good."
he said.
Peter nodded and left the house.


Maria lay bound in a very tight hog-tie on the back seat of Cynthia's car.
Not only were the cuffs she wore being used, but Cynthia had also used a
roll of duct tape to tape Maria up into a cocoon. Only her nose was
uncovered, for Cynthia took the time to do a rushed, but thorough job of
covering her completely in tape.
Maria was uncomfortable, her skin itched from the pulling of the tape. The
gag in her mouth was dry which made her thirsty, and her bladder was killing
her.
She eventually just went where she lay, taking comfort in the thought of
pissing all over Cynthia's back seat, but then grew frightened at what
Cynthia would do to her when she found out.
Maria had no idea how long they had been traveling, and would have been
surprised if she had been told that it had only been an hour.
Cynthia wasn't going to tell her anything however.  She knew that she would
never be able to get Maria on a plane back to New York, so she decided to
drive.  Cynthia suspected that Joseph was up to something, and keeping his
love slut close seemed to her to be good insurance.
She glanced in the mirror at the silver lump in the back seat and wrinkled
her nose.  Just another reason to hate you, she thought.


Hasumara was standing at the kitchen sink when Peter and Lisa entered the
room. Both looked tired although Lisa had taken the time to pull more
clothes on.  Despite the pain in his own head, the Inspector noticed how
carefully she moved around.
"We put him in Maria's room."  Peter said, wondering if there was any coffee
to be had. He was beat. He had been up for a day and a half himself.
Lisa went over to Hasumara and examined the back of his head. The Japanese
had been dunking it in a sink full of cold water, and had succeeded in
washing away most of the blood.  The cut that Lisa saw was small.
"You look better."  she said to him.
"I am."  he replied without moving.
"Take these."  she said, holding out a hand on which were a couple of pills.
Hasumara looked hesitant.  "It's just aspirin.  Your head must hurt." she
said.
Hasumara gave a slight bow and took the pills, dry swallowing them.
Giving up on coffee, Peter had dug a Pepsi out of the fridge and collapsed
in a chair.
"You need to rest."  Lisa said.
"I can't, we have to find Maria." Peter replied, rolling the cold can across
his forehead before opening it.
"They could be anywhere!"
"Doing anything!"  Peter replied, hoping that Lisa got the implication.  She
did.
"Shit!"  she said, sitting down.
"Where will the Booth-Parker woman take her?"  Hasumara asked.
The others shook their heads. "We don't know that much about her,"  Peter
added, "but then we don't know much about you either."
"That's true."  Lisa said, looking at Hasumara as if for the first time.
"Why are you here?"  Peter asked him.
"Perhaps there will be time to explain once we have rescued Maria."
Hasumara hedged.
Peter stared at him for the moment, then nodded. "He's right. Maria first."
"I'd like to know." Lisa protested.
"It will have to wait. I had better call the Sheriff and ask him to put out
an APB on Cynthia's car. With luck they will spot her and pick her up for
us."
"No."  said Hasumara firmly.
The others turned to look at him.
"We cannot involve your police, when there may be another way."
"What way. Do you realize what that bitch might be doing to Maria right
now?"  Lisa said angrily.
"I do not believe she is doing anything, except running.  I have met her
kind before. They prefer their own land, familiar surroundings.  She has
been ill at ease since she out here, I know, I have seen.  She will be
heading to what is familiar to her."
"You mean she's going home?"  Lisa asked.
"Oh boy." Peter said, putting his head in his hands.
"We need to call Maria's...Dominant...to ascertain the woman's destination."
Hasumara said.
"Yes,"  Lisa agreed, rather glumly. "We need to tell him what has been going
on anyway, but none of us has his number, unless it's among their stuff."
They heard the front door open, and for a second Lisa thought it might be
Cynthia with Maria in tow.
It was Melissa.
"Don't ask me about my trip!"  she said coming into the kitchen.  "I never
want to drive in the rain again!"
She made it to the fridge and frowned when she saw that the last can of pop
was gone. She grabbed some juice instead.
"What the hell is the mess outside, it looks like someone painted mud all
over everything."  She turned and was surprised to see three dispirited
faces, one of whom she didn't recognize.
"And you are?"  she asked, her eyes narrowing.
Without his jacket, Hasumara had no ID on him, so he merely bowed and said
who he was.  Melissa looked at the others who nodded in confirmation.
That prompted Melissa's second obvious question.  "Where IS Maria?"
With a sigh, Lisa began to explain all they knew about what had happened
since she had left.


"Well,"  Melissa said after hearing the story of the flood, Maria's escape
from drowning, Lisa's whipping (at that point in the story, Melissa took
Lisa aside and the men watched the women take a moment to really make sure
Lisa was okay), Robert's near drowning due to his Herculean effort to bring
the mud slide dam down, and Maria's subsequent kidnapping, "Now what?"
Melissa was white hot with rage over what Cynthia had done to her lover, but
managed to project an air of calm.  She vowed to deal with Cynthia in her
own way later.
"I still say we should call the police in." Peter said.
"I do not believe that to be wise. It might even turn out to be useless."
said Hasumara.
"How do you figure that?"
"I have observed Maria following the orders of the Booth-Parker woman ever
since she came here.  It is possible that she is STILL following orders.  If
the police stop them and Maria does not try to get away from the woman, than
we will have wasted a needed resource."
"But we could easily drum something up for the police to hold them on. Hell,
I can talk to the Sheriff and he'll be glad to help out."  Peter insisted.
"No!" said both the women. "We'd rather keep the Sheriff out of it."
Melissa went on.  She and Lisa were anxious to keep the Sheriff as far away
as possible for there were too many skeletons in their closets for comfort.
Peter stared at them open mouthed.
"I would prefer to wait until they have gone to ground before calling in
your police."
"Fine, fine...but we still don't know where she's being taken."
"Joseph would know."  Melissa said.
"Yeah, but we don't have his number."  Lisa added.
"I do. He gave it to me on the drive out to the city."
Peter looked up, a smile flickering on his weary features. "Give it to me,
I'll call him."
Melissa stood up and got her purse, digging inside for the number. She
pulled out a scrap of paper and handed it to Peter who left the room in
search of a phone.
"There is one thing I still don't understand."  Melissa said, looking
directly at Hasumara, "What are YOU doing here?"


You are aware of what transpired a month ago in the Caribbean?  (Hasumara
said)  Good.  Then you are aware that the one called Hiro Atamo escaped
being caught by the local police.  Due to the seriousness of the charges
against him being brought by the American justice department, he is now a
wanted man all over the world. But his wealth allows him certain privileges
that would be unobtainable by others in his position.  There are many places
a wealthy man can hide from the law, and we think we know where he is hiding
now, but we need proof.
My country has been investigating Hiro Atamo for sometime now due to stories
about the way he treats women.  A small task force, of which I am a part,
has been slowly putting together a case against him for sexual abuse and
unlawful restraint. But, we have had to move carefully. You don't accuse a
man of Atamo's stature without considerable proof. He can easily hire the
best lawyers to crush any kind of case except a solid one. So, we have just
been able to watch and wait.
Until now.
Atamo is a man driven by possession.  An obsession that seems to propelled
him into taking more risks with more serious crimes.  His women, those who
go to him voluntarily, number close to a hundred, yet his obsession now has
him taking women as he pleases.
We felt, after hearing about the escape of the three Americans, that Atamo
would not stand by for long enduring the humiliation of this failure to
control, what he thinks of as his property.  There was a good possibility in
our minds that he would make some attempt to retrieve these women and bring
them back under his influence.  If he does try, his agents might then lead
us to Atamo himself, allowing us a chance to capture him and bring him to
trial.
Unfortunately, your FBI feels differently.  We asked them to place all three
women in protective custody until Atamo was caught. But they told us it was
unnecessary. They had no objections, however, to our coming over and
conducting surveillance, as long as we did it unarmed.  They said we could
call on them in the event something DID happen.


Hasumara was looking at the floor, and the women could see that Atamo wasn't
the only one bothered by failure at the moment.
"It was my duty to watch and protect Maria, but instead I let my wits dull
and loose her."
"That was hardly your fault."  Lisa said, "You were on the look out for
Atamo, not a crazed woman."
"No. My duty was to protect her. It does not matter who bested me."
"Is that why you want to keep the police out of it?"  Melissa asked him.
Hasumara looked up.  "Maria's safety comes before honor." he said stiffly.
Peter came back into the kitchen.  "I got her address, she has a couple of
places. A brownstone in Manhattan and a house on Long Island.  Joseph
thought the house was the better option."
"How did he take it?"  Lisa asked.
"He...er...well, he said it wasn't out of character for Cynthia to do
something like this.  He said to wait and hopefully he can talk Cynthia into
giving Maria up on her own."
"I wouldn't trust her to do that."  Lisa said angrily. Melissa put her hand
on top of the other woman's to calm her down.
"I feel we must move as soon as they arrive at their destination, but we
will wait for now and give Booth the chance to fix things without violence."
Hasumara said quietly.
The others nodded slowly in reluctant agreement.


End of Part 12


To Walk in the Valley   Part 13


For the next several days, the crew at the valley waited.
Uncertain as to the fate of their friend, they spent their time doing busy
work.
Peter surveyed the damage the flood did to the barn and other small
buildings, and was able to report to the rest that nothing significant was
wrecked.  The water's short stay of just a few hours had not been long
enough to erode the foundations of any of the buildings, and water damage
was limited to mud deposits.  He was able to keep his thoughts off Maria by
pumping out the water in the basement and cleaning walls.
Melissa and Lisa kept busy at the diner.  Lisa still felt pretty sore from
her beating, so she took it easy and handled just the counter work. Melissa,
in an effort not to rush off to New York, helped out by once again donning
her waitress outfit.
Inspector Kenji Hasumara spent his time on the phone or near it.  It seemed
to the group that a lot of his time was spent talking to others, but as he
spoke mostly Japanese during these calls, no one could tell what they were
about.
Any inquiries were answered by "Police business."  so they soon learned not
to ask.
Robert, against his wishes, went to the hospital with a concussion.  He then
checked himself out and disappeared.
Melissa figured he went to New York, the others didn't really disagree.
The third day after Maria's disappearance, Joseph called.
Melissa happened to take the call and passed on the information to the
others.
"Well, she's there alright."  Melissa said to the assembled group. "Joseph
tells me that Cynthia arrived this morning at her Long Island home with
Maria.  He says that Cynthia found out what he was doing in the city and
successfully blocked his attempt to transfer ownership of the valley back to
Maria, but because of the timing of their petitions, they have to get the
case settled in court.  Joseph says he doesn't hold out much hope now of
winning."
"Damn!"  exclaimed Lisa, "She can't just waltz in here and take this away
from us!"
"It looks like she can."  commiserated Melissa.
"What about Maria?  What is her condition and when will she be returned?"
the Inspector asked.
"Joe says that he's working on that. He doesn't know for sure how she is,
but he tells us not to worry. Cynthia may be a sadist, but she isn't stupid.
She isn't going to do anything rash to Maria, not as long as she hopes to
use her over Joseph.  Joe said that her stay with Cynthia may be
uncomfortable, but not life threatening."
"So he's not doing anything?"  Peter said angrily.
"He said to wait."  Melissa said firmly.
"How can we trust him to know what he is doing?"  Peter asked her. "Hell, a
week ago you didn't even like him, yet here you are now, his biggest
cheering section!"
Melissa bit her lips, a clear sign to Lisa that she was about to unload on
him.  But to Lisa's surprise, Melissa calmed down and repeated, "He just
said to wait."


It had been a hell of a trip for Maria.   Not once did she leave the back
seat of the car where she lay.  She stayed wrapped in the duct tape the
whole time, lying in her own waste and suffering muscle cramps from the
hog-tie she was in.
Only her mouth was freed from time to time, to allow Cynthia to feed her a
liquid diet of juice and whatever else Cynthia could find in liquid form.
By the time they finally arrived at the ocean side home Cynthia kept on Long
Island, Maria was so tired and sore that even unbound she couldn't have
gotten away.
Cynthia pulled the car into the private driveway and parked it next to the
converted stables she now used for other purposes.
"Apollo!"  she yelled, getting out of the car.
The door to the stables opened, and there stood a very large man.  Blond,
extremely well muscled, and wearing nothing but a loin cloth, he knelt on
one knee and bowed his head.
"Mistress, welcome home."
"You would not believe the trip I've had."  Cynthia said, reaching for her
hand bag. "Has Carter called yet?"
Carter, her lawyer was handling the valley land transaction for her. It was
him, calling her on her cell phone, that alerted Cynthia to what Joseph was
trying to do.  He was the kind of lawyer that made other lawyers look good.
He regarded Cynthia as one of his most trusted clients, especially as she
wasn't overt to lending him one of her girls every once and a while.
"Mr. Carter has not called yet today, Mistress." Apollo told her.
Cynthia snorted. "Damn that little creep. Still, see to my luggage will you?
It's in the trunk, and there's a rather messy package on the back seat that
needs cleaning. You can put her someplace more accessible until I have time
to deal with her. Have the girls keep her occupied but tell them not to go
too far. Then return the car to the rental agency with my apologies for the
mess. They can bill me."  This last part was said over her shoulder as she
began walking toward the house.
"Yes, Mistress."  Apollo said and stood up. He peered through the window and
watched the silver bundle on the back seat.
She looks as though a few more minutes wouldn't kill her, he thought, and
went to the trunk to get his Mistress's bags.
Maria heard a lot of what Cynthia had said to Apollo, and waited patiently
for him to get her out of the car.  The wait seemed way too long to her
cramped limbs, but eventually she felt his arms run down the side of her
duct taped body until he found a good hand hold.
"Jesus, you stink."  he said to her.
In a moment she was pulled out and Maria felt herself carried just a short
distance and laid on the ground.
"Better wash you down first."  Apollo said, and a moment later Maria felt
water from a hose striking her.  It actually felt good, the cold water
seeping through the tape to her skin, and she was disappointed when it
ended.  She was picked up again and carried a much greater distance.
Apollo took her inside the converted stable.  Once used to house horses, the
turn of the century building now contained three large bedrooms on the first
floor, each with a private bathroom. The second floor had eight small jail
type cells and a large open area full of bondage equipment in the making,
and one more simple bedroom.  This bedroom was Apollo's, the cells were
where most of the other female house slaves spent the night.  The shop with
the unfinished bondage equipment was also his. Cynthia had been delighted to
find out that Apollo had both the talent and the skills needed to build
anything she could ask for. Since joining her she had never wanted for any
kind of unusual bondage device. She had merely to voice an idea and he would
bring it to life.
Apollo was also in charge of all the slaves she owned, even though he was
one himself, and was the only slave allowed to leave the estate alone.
When Cynthia wasn't around, he ruled here.
He carried Maria into one of the downstairs bedrooms and lay her on the
floor.
"Mia!"  he called out, and a moment later a young woman stood in the
doorway. She had on a leather corset that compressed her waist a good two
inches smaller than it normally was. It included cups that completely
encased her breasts in rubber, with two small holes in the front that her
nipples had been forced through, and a steel chastity belt.  All the women
were belted.  Cynthia wanted Apollo to herself.
"Yes Sir?"  Mia said breathlessly.
"Come help me peel this grape."  Apollo said smiling.
Mia rushed over and knelt down.  The two then found the end of the tape on
top of Maria's head and proceeded to pull it away from her.
The tape pulled at her hair, making Maria scream, but Apollo continued as if
he didn't hear, while Mia licked her lips, feeling for the woman.  Mia was
glad at least to see that Maria had short hair.
"Fetch a blindfold." Apollo ordered.  Mia jumped up and ran for a closet.
In these bedrooms the closets were filled with SM toys, and Mia had no
problem finding what she was looking for before running back.
Meanwhile, the tape about to come off her eyes, Maria felt Apollo lean
close.
"You open your eyes and I will whip you till you bleed."  he whispered,
sending a shudder through the bound girl. She nodded as best she could.
The tape came off her eyes and she clenched them tightly shut until she felt
the blindfold seat itself properly, then the torture was resumed as they
continued to unwrap her. Maria's skin was an ugly red, a reaction to the
glue after such a long time in contact with it.  Mia knew it would fade
quickly, but for the next day or two it would make her skin that much more
sensitive.
All that was left was the blind fold, the ball gag in her mouth and the
collar and cuffs Cynthia had put on her so long ago. These were unlocked
from each other, freeing Maria from the hog-tie.
Maria found it a luxury to be able to stretch her aching limbs, and was glad
when no one made a move to stop her doing so.
That she was now naked again among strangers was the least of her worries.
In any case, it wasn't the first time Apollo had seen her like this. Cynthia
once brought him with her to Joseph's apartment. The two of them had been
left alone together and Apollo had done everything but actually touch her to
sexually intimidate her.  Maria knew that only Joseph's rule about her
sexual privacy was all that protected her from being raped by this man.  She
hoped that rule would still be honored, but had her doubts.
"Clean her up, Mia, and then spread her on the bed before feeding her.  The
gag stays in until she eats and goes back in when she is done. Understood?"
"Yes sir." said Mia.
"Maria, you WILL follow Mia's instructions wont you?" he said, his lips only
an inch from her ear, a hand touching her throat, only to slide down to one
breast before letting go.
Maria nodded.
"Good.  Remember Mia, no talking, I'll have the cameras on."
"Yes sir."
Maria felt hands taking hers, and on unsteady feet she was led away.


After her bath and a much needed meal, Maria entered a different kind of
hell.
She hand been bound on her back on the bed, spread eagled, while she ate. As
soon as she was done the gag was put back in and she was left alone for a
short time.  She thought she had slept, but wasn't sure. What she was sure
of was that without hearing anyone come into the room she was suddenly being
assaulted.
It was a very gentle assault however.  A set of lips and tongue was
delicately caressing a nipple, pulling on the ring, sending little bolts of
pleasure through her body.
Maria tried to get their attention, she had to let them know that Joseph
forbade that kind of contact, but she could do nothing as a second set
joined the first, working her other nipple.  She got a greater shock when a
third set began on her clitoris and labia, and she tried to pull away.
Here legs were spread so far apart though that she could get no leverage and
the person caressing that most intimate area used their weight to hold her
down.
As the trio moved around, Maria's body began to give in to their
ministrations.  In the back of her mind she realized that it was three women
working on her, for she could feel their nude breasts brush her arms and
legs every so often.
Maria squirmed and cried, not knowing if she wanted to get away or give in
to the orgasm that was building. Every time she got close the women would
back off a little and let her cool down.  It seemed like they were purposely
toying with her, keeping her in an agony of unrelieved passion.
She had no idea how long they kept at it, having lost all sense of time
being blind for several days, but when she started to think she could go no
further the women drew away.
Maria groaned, wanting the them to return to finish the job.
She felt someone climb on the bed and Maria strained to reach them.
Her blindfold was removed and Maria found her blinking eyes looking into the
face of Cynthia.
"My, what a hot bitch."  Cynthia said, smiling.
Without looking away, Cynthia reached down and ran a finger across Maria's
labia.  In itself that was almost enough to make her cum, but not quite.
Cynthia held up a very wet finger, licking it slowly,  and Maria groaned
again.
"So sweet. My husband does love them sweet.  I'm sure he's tasted your
nectar many times, hasn't he?"
Maria did nothing, but evidently Cynthia was expecting and answer. She
grabbed a nipple ring and twisted it, hard.
"Hasn't he?"
Maria nodded, and tried not to scream.
"I thought so. It's about all he can do now isn't it."  she said with a
small laugh.
Cynthia let go and pushed herself away a little.
Maria took a second to glance about the room.  On one side, next to the
wall, stood three women, naked except for their chastity belts, collar and
cuffs. They stood with their hands behind their backs and their heads bowed.
By the door stood Apollo, he had pushed his loin cloth to one side and was
stroking his erect penis. It looked huge to Maria.
Cynthia herself wasn't nude, but she might as well have been.  She wore a
bright red rubber cat suit with an open crotch and holes for her breasts to
push through.
Cynthia got off the bed and went to one of the closets, she returned with a
large dildo attached to a set of straps.
Maria recognized it at once, and began to struggle again.
"Really girl, if you were going to get away wouldn't you have done so by
now. Unless of course, you were hoping to get a taste of Apollo here."
Apollo stepped closer, and Maria groaned in fear.
"I don't think she wants you."  laughed Cynthia, and Apollo shrugged.
"She will eventually, they all do."  he said, looking over at the other
women, all of whom blushed.
Cynthia blushed too, and silently cursed her weakness.
She fastened the strap on around herself.
"I have always enjoyed this moment." she said to the quivering girl.  "I
have always enjoyed taking Joseph's women away from him.  The three you see
here, were all his once. I took them, made him give them to me.  Then I took
them again, with this."  She pointed at the huge, realistic looking dildo
projecting from her crotch. "Do you recognize it?  If you were any kind of
slut at all you would see that it is a perfect replica of Joseph's, although
a lot bigger of course. But then, being the slut you are, I guess it's hard
to remember all the dicks that have passed your way."
Cynthia crawled onto the bed and knelt on all fours over Maria. She leaned
close and whispered into her ear, "He didn't really keep you from his
friends did he?"
She laughed softly, and took hold of Maria's clit chain.
Maria, by this time, thought she was too scared to feel anything erotic
anymore, but when Cynthia gave the chain a small tug a strong waved of
pleasure flowed all over her and her hips moved of their own accord.
"Yes, you want it don't you.  Well, you're in luck."
Standing with his penis hard in his hands, Apollo smiled as Cynthia bent low
and went to work.


"I just got a call from Joseph,"  Melissa said to her friends two days
later. "He says he can free Maria and that she will be home soon."
"Thank God!" Peter said.
"He want's you to fly out and bring her home, Peter."
"Me?  Isn't he coming back?"
"I don't know. He just said to go out there. He made your reservations
already. You had better get going."
"Sure, sure."
Melissa took Peter by the arms and looked him straight in the eye.  "Promise
me. If that Woman injured her in any way, you repay in kind."
"Don't worry."  Peter whispered.
As he left the house where he had been staying while awaiting word on Maria,
Hasumara joined him.
"I will come too."  he said.
"Is that wise?" Peter asked him.
"It is...necessary."
Peter agreed.


"I'm telling you, we have him over a barrel."  Carter said on the speaker
phone the next day.
"Then why is he insisting on this meeting. Why does he insist that it is in
my best interests."  Cynthia said, striding up and down her elegant library.
She walked to the window and looked out on the gardens where four of her
submissives were doing some landscaping. They wore coveralls that despite
their name didn't cover much, and each girl was well shackled.
Cynthia herself was well dressed in a white silk gown that flowed and
drifted over her body.
"Well it can't be about the valley property. When the Judge sees our case
three months from now he'll throw their claim out of court.  We can't
loose."
"Maybe he want's to make a deal?"  offered Cynthia.
"He has no deal to make. He has nothing you haven't already taken from him."
"Yesss."  she said, thinking of Maria shut in a cell in the stables.   After
spending a very enjoyable evening with her the day she arrived, Cynthia had
Apollo put a chastity belt on Maria and lock her in one of the upstairs
cells. Maria had been there ever since.
"My advice, don't meet with him." concluded the lawyer.
"Oh, I don't know. I might be entertained by his latest attempt to grovel
for his slut."  laughed Cynthia, and cut off the connection.
Yes, she thought, it could be very entertaining.
Later that afternoon, a Limo pulled up to the front of the house, and
Apollo, dressed in a butler's outfit, came down the steps and opened the
back door.
He was surprised at who stepped out.
Dressed in a suit for one of the few times in his life, was Robert.  He had,
as Melissa suspected, flown directly to New York to meet with Joseph and
plan for Maria's release.
Robert stood face to face with Apollo, something that was rare for either
man.
"I'll take that."  Robert said, putting his hand on the door.
"Er...sure."  said Apollo.  Always a man to use his size to intimidate
others, he found himself at a loss now that he wasn't the biggest man on the
block.
He was so shaken he didn't notice the next two men to step out of the car.
Also dressed in suits were Peter Brown and Kenji Hasumara. They stepped
aside to allow Joseph to push his legs out of the car while the chauffeur
got his wheel chair ready.
Once he was seated in his chair a fifth man got out of the Limo and the
group headed up the steps, Robert carrying Joseph and his chair.
Cynthia was waiting for them in the library.
"Robert, darling!  How good of you to come!"  she said when she saw him
enter pushing her ex-husband.
"Cynthia."  was all he said in reply, his eyes, as were the eyes of all the
men, were focused on another part of the room.
Next to a chair knelt Maria, still nude. They saw that her leather cuffs
were locked in front of her and that she wore a heavy steel chastity belt,
but otherwise was unmarked. Her head was bowed as she looked at the floor.
She was under orders not to say or do anything until given permission.
"Maria!"  Peter called out when he saw her.  He took a step toward her,
which was a far as he got.
Ready for this move, Apollo grabbed his arm, holding him back.
"Now, now!"  said Cynthia sweetly, "have some respect for my property and
keep your fingers off it!"
"She's not your property, Cynthia."  said the fifth man who had stayed
behind the others, out of sight.  He made his way forward to where Cynthia
could see him.
To give her credit, she hardly reacted, although her face did pale a little.
"Why, Edward.  I didn't know you were a part of Joseph's little group."  she
said carefully.
Edward Hale did not smile, he rarely did.  As the "unofficial" leader of the
BDSM group both Joseph AND Cynthia socialized with, and chairman of the
committee that owned the Kennel, the Farm and a good portion of the BDSM
clubs in the city, Edward Hale could afford not to smile and still have
people be nice to him.
It was even more gratifying to him to know that people respected and liked
him.  That was something even power couldn't give you.
And he had power.
"You don't have a claim, Cynthia." he said to her.
"Of course I do.  She signed on to be his property, and anything he has I
can ask for. And I don't think my ex-husband would really object to my
having her would he?"
She looked doe eyed at Joseph, mocking him.
"Not this time, Cynthia. She's not mine to give."  he said coldly.
"This morning," said Hale, "We had a meeting of a few members of our group,
just an informal get together you understand.  Joseph here brought a couple
of friends along and conversation drifted over to your little argument."
Cynthia knew that it had been anything but an "informal get together".
Joseph had actively sought out the few people that might actually have
influence over her.  She glared at her ex-husband who coldly looked back at
her.
"After he explained his problem he suggested a small way we could help to
solve it, and we did so, gladly. For as you know we all try to help our
friends."  continued Hale.
"Yes, of course." replied Cynthia, her anger building.
"We are all quite aware how Joseph tore up his contract with this girl, and
to tell the truth we were a little taken aback by that until he told us you
still possess a copy?"
"Yes, yes I do." she said, wondering where Hale was going with this.  Her
copy of the contract was her guarantee of her eventual ownership of both
Maria and the valley.
"That's good, for without it I could not do this."  Hale said, pulling a
piece of paper out of his pocket.  "Mr. Brown?"
Peter stepped forward, shaking loose the hand that had held him all this
time.  Apollo made a move to take hold of him again but found his way
blocked by Hasumara.  Apollo sneered at the small Japanese, until he saw
what Hasumara was holding inside his suit jacket.  The gun looked too big to
fit his hand, but from the look on Hasumara's face Apollo had no doubts he
could use it.
"Mr. Brown.  Following the guidelines laid down by general consensus of all
sensible people who wish to follow the BDSM lifestyle, I transfer ownership
of Maria to you with the agreement of both the former Master and your new
companion."
"What!" yelled Cynthia.
Maria, listening in stunned silence, looked up. Could she be saved?
"I accept, and...er...thanks!"  said Peter nervously.
"You can't!"  Cynthia screamed.
"Cynthia, my little pain slut."  said Joseph with obvious relish. "While you
were so busy using the official law against me, I thought you might be too
distracted to protect your other flank as well."
"You can't do this Edward."  she said to Hale.
"We just did.  Maria belongs to Mr. Brown now, at least if she agrees. Of
course there is nothing forcing you to abide by our decision at all, except
that if you do decide to hold Maria and she does not wish to be held, then
that at the very least is unlawful restraint, and a legal matter.
And since we have Inspector Hasumara here with us, I'm sure he would be glad
to testify to his law enforcement brethren of your keeping this girl here
against her will."  He moved closer until he stood just a few inches away
from her.
"And just what would our friends think of that?  I doubt you would be
invited to too many parties from now on."
Cynthia knew when she was beaten. "Alright.  You have the girl. But I still
have her property. There is nothing you can do about that."
"True, that is a legal matter." Hale said, stepping away now that his job
was done.  He was very happy to have helped Joseph out, he had never liked
Cynthia.
"Say, Peter."  said Joseph suddenly, and rather loudly.
"Yes, Joseph?"  Peter replied, equally loud.
"I still owe you a dollar for that hot dog you got me for lunch don't I?"
"You sure do!"  Peter said, unable to keep a straight face.
Joseph made a big show of patting all his pockets. "Damn, I'm out of cash.
I don't suppose you'd take a trade?"
"What have you got?"
"Oh, the only thing I have on me is this." he said, pulling a large piece of
folded paper out of an inside pocket.
Cynthia recognized it immediately, it was a deed transfer. "No!" she cried
out.
"Sure, I'll take it."  Peter said, reaching for it.
"No!"  Cynthia cried out, and made a lunge for the deed.  She didn't get
far, Maria grabbed her legs and  brought her down flat.
Apollo also wanted to move, but Hasumara kept him still using the hidden
weapon he carried.
Joseph sat and looked down on his former wife.  "Too late my dear. We
actually transferred the deed to Peter Brown this morning and got it filed
in his home state. Your case here falls apart."
"NOOOOO!!!!" Cynthia screamed, and actually hit the floor with her fists.
Peter had walked over to Maria, taking off his jacket. He draped it over the
naked girl's shoulders.  "Are you okay?" he asked tenderly.
"I'll live. Was all that true?"
"Every word.  Come on, there are clothes in the car for you, lets go."
He helped her to stand and Peter saw that Maria's ankles were also locked
together.  Without hesitating he swept her off her feet and, with a big
smile, carried her out of the room.
After a last look at the woman crying on the floor, Joseph motioned to
Robert who wheeled him out the door followed by Edward Hale.
Last out, as if protecting their retreat which indeed he was, was Hasumara.
He took his hand off the weapon he had gone to a great deal of trouble to
find, thanks to a fellow Japanese Inspector and an FBI agent named Rhianna
Summer, and bowed before leaving the room.
The Chauffeur was waiting outside with a set of bolt cutters, Joseph
suspected that Cynthia would have Maria locked up somehow.  It took only a
few seconds for him to snip off the locks that bound her, and Maria was
urged into the Limo first so she could put something on before the rest of
the men got in with her.
On the drive out to the airport where Maria, Peter, Robert and Hasumara were
scheduled to take a flight home, Maria asked once again if everything she
had heard was true.
"Yes.  According to the rules of our group, you now belong to Peter here."
said Joseph, eyeing the two of them. "That is, if that is what you want?"
Peter and Maria looked at each other, and Joseph by then was certain that
this couple had some kind of a future together, even if they didn't know it
themselves.
He knew he would regret passing Maria on to Peter, but he knew her happiness
lay with the younger man.  What else could he do?
Silently he wished them luck, and wondered what the future would bring them
on their walk through the valley.


The End of This Story


Catch up on all my stories at http://www.dajungle.com/stories/leviticus
If you're having problems contacting me, try leviticusthebard@hotmail.com

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reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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