Harnessed (4 page)

If not for the masked man in fetish leathers waiting inside. He was stocky and stood with his arms folded across his chest, his black leather pants tight on his muscled legs. He wore tall boots and a full white shirt, with a leather jerkin laced overtop. His hands were gloved, those black gloves extending halfway up his forearms. He wore a black leather domino mask and held a whip in one hand.

“Men to the right and the lady to the left, please,” he said, as if there was nothing unusual in being met by a man in such gear. Elise saw that there were doors on either side, probably leading to change rooms. “And welcome to The Phoenix.”

“See you soon, babe,” Tyler called. Elise forced a smile and a wave before ducking into the women’s change room. She felt the other man watching and knew she flushed a little at his attention, but she didn’t dare glance his way.

Then she was in tiled and clean space, another step closer to freedom. She forced herself to breathe.

Like a public washroom at an airport, it had no door, just an entry corridor with a couple of turns. Elise wasn’t thrilled about that. She would have liked to have locked the route behind her so Tyler couldn’t follow.

Inside was a fair-sized room, with large lockers along the opposite wall. There were two maids in black and white uniforms waiting, as well as a steamer trunk. The women dropped into a simultaneous curtsey at the sight of her, and Elise stopped cold at the perfection of it all. She remembered the instructions they’d received:

All guests will leave their belongings in secured facilities at the entry point to the resort. Appropriate clothing and gear will be provided, based upon your preliminary arrangements and fantasy of choice, and your own belongings will be returned upon departure.

Both maids had their hair twisted up, but only the younger one wore a cap. She also was dressed more provocatively, laced tightly into a corset that nipped in her waist, cupped her breasts and left her nipples exposed. She wore no dress, per se, just the corset and a starched apron that barely grazed the top of her thighs in front. The corset was black and Elise guessed that the apron meant her butt was exposed. The maid wore laced black boots with high heels and white stockings with garters, and short white gloves.

The maid with auburn hair didn’t wear a cap, and although her figure looked to be similarly corseted, she wore a black dress that fell to her knees. The apron was similar, also white and starched. Elise guessed that she was more senior. Instead of this maid’s nipples being exposed, they were hidden by a flutter of lace on the bust of her dress. Elise could just glimpse them, the rosy points visible through the lace. When she dropped into that curtsey. Elise saw the glitter of a chain nestled there as well, and guessed that this maid was wearing nipple clamps.

Who had fastened them onto her?

Who was allowed to take them off?

Elise knew all about clamps like these. They were one kind of restraint that she found thrilling. The glorious agony of the torment they created was only exceeded by the pleasure of releasing them. And there was something wonderful about being able to wear them in secret, to be wearing a hidden harness in public. Elise felt her excitement rising at the thought of putting clamps on her own staff.

“My lady, welcome,” said the auburn-haired maid. “I am Hannah, the head maid upstairs, and this is Amy, who will be your lady’s maid.” The other maid curtseyed more deeply.

Elise knew she should answer, but she could only force one word from her lips. “Tyler?” she whispered.

Hannah shook her head briskly. “You aren’t to trouble yourself about steeds and stables, my lady,” she scolded gently. “Unless you wish a mount saddled for your pleasure.” Elise blinked at the startling appeal of that. “Please come and be dressed.”

Chapter Two

Amy was afraid it would all go wrong.

She watched Elise, concerned that the plan was doomed to fail. The other woman and customer had to find some strength within herself if her fantasy was going to come true. She’d made it this far, but arrival was only the beginning.

Elise had to pull it together and prove that Amy had seen the truth in her application. There was more than Elise’s fantasy at stake: Amy’s credibility was also on the line. She knew she was right. She stood in her cheeky little maid’s uniform and willed the other woman to develop some spine.

Elise had to take charge and do it soon.

Amy thought Rex had sent her to Windswept to manage this fantasy because he trusted her. Now, she wondered if he’d wanted her to be witness to her own failure.

She’d thought he was giving her a reward for good behavior. After all, she’d begged Rick to do whatever he wanted to her, just as Rex had commanded, and she’d been a dutiful submissive until Rex ended the scene.

Now she had to wonder: was Rex just getting even for what she’d done to him?

A little bit too late, she wished she hadn’t emailed that picture.

What if they left her in service at the manor house on Windswept forever?

Elise was a very pretty woman, a woman of the kind of softness that invites the attention of a certain kind of man. It was easy to believe her relationship with Tyler bordered on abuse—Tyler gave the impression of a man who liked violence, maybe even more than Amy’s first master Eric had liked it. Eric’s saving grace had been that terror in his partner ruined his own pleasure. As long as Amy had submitted and not been afraid, the show could go on. She had only to freak out to end a scene, which had left her with a kind of control. In contrast, she had a feeling Tyler liked when his submissive freaked out.

She had time to worry that all the spine had been beaten out of Elise. Then a spark lit her dark eyes and she lifted her chin. She was still breathing quickly when she stepped forward, but it was progress. “Good morning, Hannah,” she said with a crispness that revived Amy’s optimism. “I trust that you have seen to all the arrangements?”

“Indeed, my lady. I hope our preparations meet with your approval.”

Amy opened a locker, placing Elise’s suitcase within it. This room was strange, a kind of conjunction between the real world and the fantasy. Moving through it in her role as maid made it seem even more surreal to Amy, but as she watched Elise, she realized Rex and Athena understood the importance of transition. Elise gave her purse to Amy, then her coat. Amy put both into the locker.

“Everything, my lady, if you please,” Hannah said, turning to gesture to the trunk.

Amy trotted around her supervisor and opened the steamer trunk, showing the contents to Elise. It could have been packed for a lady sailing abroad a hundred and some years before. Even the trunk itself was fitted with a brass lock and leather details, the Victorian lingerie and clothing folded into it with care.

“Lady of the manor,” Elise breathed, her eyes lighting with anticipation. She began to undress, and Amy quickly folded her modern clothing away. She was lovely, but it was more than the graceful curves of her figure. Her skin was as creamy as ivory, and her nipples almost burgundy. Her hair was long and straight, thick and silky, as black as ebony. Her pubic hair was just as dark, and Amy was amused to find herself wishing that shaving was required for visitors to Windswept. Elise would have looked like an alabaster sculpture, maybe one called Femininity Personified.

“Would you like your laundry done during your visit, my lady?” Hannah asked.

“Yes, thank you, Hannah. That’s a very good idea.” Elise gave Amy her underwear, blouse and jeans. When all was in the locker, Hannah secured its door and pocketed the key. Amy meanwhile fastened a delicate black garter belt around Elise’s waist, as Hannah produced a little stool. The garter belt had ribbons instead of elastic, and Amy adjusted their length with care. Every garment was researched and reproduced according to period detail. Elise sat to pull on silky black stockings, fastening them to the garter belt at the front. Amy did the back ones for her, then knelt before her to put on her boots.

They were such scrumptious boots that Amy wanted a pair for herself. They were black, made of fine soft leather, and laced halfway up the calf. The heels of the boots were high and the toes pointed, and the laces were on the inside of the leg, leaving a smooth expanse of leather across the foot.

Amy spared a glance upward and saw the glistening wet of Elise’s puss. So, the lady of the manor liked this, too. She smiled a little, then was surprised when Elise reached down and captured Amy’s nipple. “I see nothing amusing, Amy,” she said sternly, pinching the nipple between her finger and thumb.

Amy caught her breath at the unexpected and bold gesture.

“No, my lady,” she agreed and laced the second boot tightly. Elise then caressed her nipple, alternating pain and pleasure with ease. Amy remained on her knees after the boots were fastened, letting her new mistress play with her.

“Tell me, Hannah, is Amy a good maid?”

“Fair enough, my lady, but she does have a tendency to be naughty.”

“Indeed. Why doesn’t she wear nipple clamps?”

“The last master didn’t put them on her, my lady, although you can certainly do with her as you will.”

Amy hadn’t thought about that detail. Taking her a role inside the house to more closely observe what was happening had been Rex’s idea, even to the point of suggesting she be Elise’s maid. While Amy had liked the costume, she hadn’t considered that Elise’s taste might be for more than human ponies.

Now that she thought about it, she liked it a lot. Her intervals with Athena had been incredibly hot, as well as new experiences. She kept her gaze downcast, but felt herself flushing at the possibilities.

“Will you show me your nipple clamps, Hannah?” Elise asked.

“Of course, my lady.” The other woman tugged down her bodice to display the fierce little clamps hanging on her erect nipples. There was a fine chain between them, a weight that add to the sensation.

“Who put them on you, Hannah?”

“The last lordship before his departure, my lady. He did love to keep us all in torment.”

“And was he popular with the staff?”

“Very, my lady. I believe we all adored him.”

“Is there a new lord of the manor?”

“There is, my lady.”

“But…?”

“I believe his interest is not in maids, my lady.”

“So you are all still smitten with the former lord.” Elise stood with a smile. “I shall have to do my best to steal your affections.” She smiled at Amy, still kneeling before her. “When we get to the house, Amy, you will bring me an assortment of clamps so I can choose some for you.”

“Yes, my lady.” Amy had a hard time swallowing. She loved nipple clamps and the way their pinching seemed to hold everything inside. The chain Hannah wore between hers, though, made her nearly drip with anticipation.

At Elise’s nod of approval, Amy rose to her feet, then turned to the trunk. She knew the move exposed her bare ass to Elise’s view and felt the other woman looked.

“It doesn’t look as if you’ve been spanked lately, Amy,” Elise said and Amy straightened slightly.

“No, my lady. Not for a few days.”

“We’ll have to attend to that. Your uniform will look much better if your ass is pink.”

Amy blinked. Elise was certainly getting into her role quickly.

She
had
been right about her.

Amy shook out a chemise as white as snow, made of fine linen and embellished with gorgeous little pin tucks across the bust. The front of it scooped low, and had a lavish border of lace. It was open from hem to waist both front and back, an adaptation peculiar to The Phoenix. Elise put it on, then turned to be laced into a black corset with heavy boning.

“Tighter, Hannah, if you please,” she instructed to the surprise of both women. “I shouldn’t be able to fully catch my breath.”

“Yes, my lady.” Hannah tugged the laces tighter. Elise wavered a little on her feet, apparently a bit dizzy. Amy could smell her arousal.

There was a full black riding skirt for Elise that hung to her ankles and was cut full enough to swirl. It was also slashed to the waist at center front and back, providing access and allowing her legs to flash when she walked. She walked back and forth across the small room to accustom herself to her new clothes and the flash of both lace and puss at front and back was insanely sexy.

There was also a tight little black bodice, one that was lined with velvet to tease her nipples. A choker of pearls was fastened around her neck and matching pendant earrings replaced the practical studs she’d been wearing. Her hair was swept up into a twist, a top hat perched atop it with a veil that wound across her face. Her lipstick was blood red and her leather riding gloves were dyed to match perfectly. She surveyed her reflection in a large mirror, seeming to feel as satisfied with her appearance as Amy was.

She looked quite transformed, a woman in charge of her life and her sexuality. Her stance was straight and her gaze was filled with new purpose. Amy was amazed by the transformation.

Evidently clothes made the woman.

“You may change his lordship’s inclinations, my lady,” Hannah said and Elise smiled.

“Well done, Hannah,” she said crisply. “I’m very pleased with your arrangements. Shall we go to the house?”