Voyage To Submission (12 page)

“This is a very exclusive group of
Doms—Masters and Mistresses—who throw the party. They are in attendance with
their subs. Also present this evening are some slaves, who you will notice are
scattered around, or they might be tethered to a pole. These people volunteer
to be slaves, and some are paid to do it. Nonetheless, all are willing.”

Andy watched and listened as Margrit began
removing parts of her dress. Before long the dark-haired woman was dressed in a
black bustier, silky black tap pants, garter belt, stockings and high heels.
The bustier ended below her breasts, but had a small shelf for each globe to
rest upon. The padded shelf actually pushed up her boobs and together, and they
were swathed in super-thin black tulle. She did look the epitome of submissive,
packaged beauty.

Andy wasn’t completely sure, but agreed to
see how her dress broke down. If she felt uncomfortable she would replace the
last piece removed until she was covered once more and hastily retreat.

Slowly, Margrit helped her until she stood
in front of the bathroom mirror. The skirt had come right off, which left her
white merry widow, which she wore with a white thong. No garter belt, but she
did have on thigh-high, white silky stockings with lace stretch tops. Also, the
white tulle of the skirt separated to form several petal-like layers making a
short skirt, coming to the top of her stockings. The big shocker was the
removable bodice, just like the one the maid in the play had been wearing.

She had trouble turning away from the sight
of her naked breasts, so blatantly offered on display. But Margrit’s hand,
pointing at Andy’s nipple first and then at her own, caught her attention.

“If you were pierced, you might feel more
comfortable going without the attachment in the bodice. I know it helped me.
After my nipples were pierced, I carried myself more proudly, like I was
shouting at the world—‘hey, look at me! I can do anything I want’. And it was
my idea, not Ethan’s.”

Andy stared at the small gold rings in each
of Margrit’s nipples, thinly veiled by the tulle. “Did it hurt?”

“A little, but they have specialists on
board who can numb the area. If you like, tomorrow we can go on a fact-finding
mission.”

Andy laughed. That was the very phrase she
had used several times during the hours spent with Margrit earlier, as she
talked about researching different subjects for her books. “Deal!”

“So, in or out?”

“In, for tonight,” Andy decided with a
quick nod.

Finally ready, Margrit gave their
belongings to one of the female attendants. She explained to Andy, “They will
send our things to my suite. When we are done, just stop by here, and see
these.” She gestured to several stacks of white robes. “Take one for the walk
back to your room.” Margrit winked as she added, “That way, decorum is always
maintained in the central parts of the ship.”

Jack and Ethan walked around for a few
minutes after each got a drink at the bar. About half the people here were in
costume. A lot of the men wore leather pants, vests and even masks. The ones
who were slaves wore leather G-strings, the men anyway, and quite a few were
gagged.

“Can you explain some of this to me, Ethan?
I am a little familiar with some of this stuff. Masters, slaves, Doms,
submissives and Dominatrix… Are they all different names for the same thing?”

Ethan laughed softly. “Not at all, Jack.
Let’s start with Margrit and myself. She is a submissive, which is a lifestyle,
a way of thinking and she has chosen it. What she is doing is giving up
control, and that is her precious gift to her Master. His responsibility is to
be clear in his needs, desires and commands. The sub is not expected to read
her Master’s mind. He demands total obedience and her compliance at all times.
Slaves thrive on rigidity, and discipline is always meted out consistently and
fairly.”

Ethan took a sip of his drink. “Of course,
it is much more complicated but this is the basics. I got involved in college
and had a few D/s relationships before I met Margrit. But almost from the first
instant I saw her, I knew she was the one.”

“Really? May I ask how the two of you met?”
Jack asked the older man with true interest.

“We met at a party. She came with a friend
because she was curious. I was attracted to her instantly and I had no idea if
she had any inkling about submissiveness or not.”

“Did you ask her out the first time?”

“Of course. I wasn’t letting her get away
from me until I knew more about her. We dated about three weeks…three dates
actually because she was hard to pin down to a time to get together. She was
working and caring for her elderly mother.”

“Did you swoop in and rescue her on your
white charger?” Jack asked with a smile.

Ethan responded with a sheepish grin before
he sipped his drink. “I tried to, but she wouldn’t let me. To Margrit, she took
her commitments seriously and she’d made one to her mother.”

“What was that?”

“To not let her die in a nursing home.”

“Damn! So, what happened?”

“I finally convinced Margrit that I loved
her and her mother, and I wanted them both to live with me.” He paused for a
moment. “Margrit said she could easily understand my passion for her, but for a
man to take on a commitment like that—”

Ethan stopped abruptly as if his memories
were painful. “What I did was make all the necessary modifications to my home,
including hiring the additional house staff we’d need to provide good care.”

“And that convinced her? She agreed to
marry you then?” Jack asked.

Ethan shook his head. “Not quite. I finally
caught her while she visited her mother, who was in the hospital for an
illness. I ignored Margrit and proceeded to present my plan, including the
changes I’d made to the house already.” He chuckled quietly as he spoke. “I
even had my advertising department work up storyboards, with pictures and care
plans. I outlined our marriage, and how I would help in Katrina’s care each
day. I then proposed to Katrina, asking her to come and live with me, and bring
Margrit with her.”

Jack laughed out loud. “Obviously, it
worked.”

“Katrina loved it, but Margrit was a harder
nut to crack. I proved my diligence by visiting her mother in the hospital, and
then continuing for the short time Margrit was forced to have her mother in a
nursing home. She had no other options.”

“That’s when she agreed?”

“Sort of. I came to the nursing home near
the end of the second week Katrina was there. Margrit was in a chair by the
bed, asleep. Katrina was awake. She patted the side of her bed for me to sit
down. After a few seconds, she told me she was accepting my proposal, and
giving Margrit to me in acceptance of a small dowry.”

“Good Lord! A dowry? What did she want?”

“I thought she would say something like
‘make her daughter happy’ or ‘give her a grandchild’. Instead, she said she
wanted a whomping big diamond cocktail ring, something she could show off to
the remaining friends she still had.”

Jack laughed again. “She sounds quite the
character.”

“She was one in a million. The reason for
the ring was to convince Margrit that she’d really given her to me. It would fit
with the old-country ways she’d described to her daughter, of how it had been
for her grandparents. Margrit accepted it, although I think it was partly she
was just worn out. I didn’t care. I was taking her any way I could. She quit
her job and we got in some part-time nursing help. I will never regret helping
Margrit fulfill her mother’s wish. It wasn’t easy, sitting with her the last
few days of her life, but it changed and deepened my relationship with Margrit
in ways that nothing else could have. In a short period of time, we shared
things that would take other couples years to achieve.”

“How long ago was that?” Jack asked softly.

“Katrina passed away about five years ago.
It’s been a long road back for Margrit, grief-wise. She still felt a lot of guilt.
She doesn’t have a single reason to be, but sometimes there is just no talking
logically to a woman.”

“Tell me about it!” Jack muttered under his
breath, all the while scanning the partygoers for Andy or Margrit.

A moment later, Ethan grinned. “Wow!”

Jack turned his head and immediately saw
the reason for the older man’s surprise. Walking towards them were two of the
sexiest women he’d ever seen, both scantily clad. It shocked him to realize it
was Margrit, whose breasts were barely concealed, and then it dawned on him
that the other woman had to be Andy.

Andy!

His eyes registered the white dress, or
rather what was left of it. Her legs were gorgeous, he decided, especially when
he noted the lacy garter on one thigh. He was glad that Andy’s breasts weren’t
naked, like so many of the other women in the room. He’d have a hell of a time
concentrating then!

“It’s a good thing you kept this little
outfit of yours a secret, my sweet,” Ethan murmured as he leaned forward and
kissed his wife’s cheek.

“I know, my love. Now, don’t you think Andy
looks lovely?”

Ethan nodded. “Yes, Andy, you look
gorgeous.”

Jack watched as Andy’s gaze turned in his
direction. He smiled when their eyes met. “I agree. She looks amazing.”

Andy wouldn’t have thought she could flush
any hotter but she did. The look in Jack’s eyes was hot, and undeniable. He
wanted her, and it thrilled her clean through to her toes. This was exactly
what she’d always wanted—knowing Jack desired her, physically. One part of her
brain was telling her that her mission was now accomplished and she could back
off—

She was breathless as she considered taking
him back to the suite and making love. Suddenly she wondered what Jack would
look like dressed up in those breakaway leather pants Pierre in the play had
worn. What had been her plans and what she wanted now were two distinctly
different things. There could be no denying she desired Jack. Hell! She
downright had the “hots” for him.

Ethan’s voice drew her attention back a few
seconds later. She only hoped she’d not been caught staring at Jack the whole
time.

“Would either of you lovely ladies like
something to drink?”

Andy looked at Margrit, not completely sure
if they were supposed to act in character, or just what. Margrit smiled back
and nodded.

“Yes, I think that would be lovely. Why
don’t we have Cosmopolitans just like the four women in the television show?”

Andy laughed and nodded. “The ones who have
more sex in any city I’ve ever heard of?”

Ethan spoke. “I’ll leave you here, Jack, to
protect our beautiful ladies from intruders and marauders.” With a wink, he was
gone.

“Margrit?” Andy asked a moment later.

“Yes, Andy. Did you have a question?”

“Are we, or really I guess it is just me…am
I expected to act a particular way?”

Margrit shook her head. “Not tonight. If we
attend a role-playing party, then yes, people are expected to stay in
character. Unless, of course, a safe word is used. There is another private
party tomorrow night, and Ethan and I were going to ask if you two wished to
join us.”

“Another party like this?” Jack asked,
sipping his drink.

“This one will be more traditional, so you
will see many people behaving as they would back in their own world. There will
undoubtedly be a number of Masters and slaves here, along with Mistresses.”

“Sounds interesting, doesn’t it, Andy?”
Jack spoke, looking directly at her, grinning.

She swallowed hard, and then turned to look
at her new friend. “It does sound intriguing. If Jack and I came, would we be
expected to be a couple?”

Margrit laughed. “No, you can come as our
friends and not participate.”

Jack leaned over and pressed a kiss to
Andy’s temple. “Not participate? Won’t that take some of the fun out of it?”

Andy suddenly decided to get back a little
bit at Jack. “I wondered about getting you a pair of those breakaway leather
pants, like we saw in the play. I’ll be Mistress Danica.”

Ethan returned just in time to hear Andy,
and he laughed loudly. “I see you two saw the play then. We must attend the
Dungeon tomorrow night, for act two.” He passed the women their glasses and
then sipped from his own. “I don’t know, Jack. Would you let Andy crack the
whip over you?”

Andy held her breath, wishing Ethan had not
been quite so bold about the question.

It didn’t get better when Jack looked
towards her as he spoke. “If her heart were involved, I would.”

Andy buried her face in the glass, sipping
the drink and hoping the flush would fade quickly.

* * * * *

Andy was feeling even more dazed and
confused the next afternoon. She was enjoying the massage, even with the masseuse
making a wide path around her newly tattooed area, but it was almost impossible
to calm her thoughts. Last night, Jack had surprised her by kissing her cheek
at the door and bid her good night.

This morning she had slept in. She was
meeting Margrit at the spa for one o’clock appointments. After a light
breakfast, she made herself work on her book. She turned off her beeper and
hunkered down to work until twelve-thirty, when Henderson brought her a salad
to chow down just in time to leave and meet Margrit.

The surprising thing was even though her
emotions were churning and going crazy, her mind was clear once her fingers
touched the keys of her laptop computer. The story began slowly just a word or
two, and then it flowed. In fact, she hadn’t moved until Henderson arrived. Her
stiff back was finally responding to the clever hands of the masseuse.

Margrit’s voice caught her attention. “Are
we going shopping for an outfit for you to wear tonight?”

“I’d like to, if you have the time.”

“We should be fine. While I’m getting my
body scrub and wrap, you are set for the piercing, if you still want to
proceed.”