Partnering   Chapter 10   Confrontation and Commitment

Catherine, Patrick and William.

The monitors caught up with Patrick in the dressing room and only tried to
keep him from leaving.  None of them was too excited about facing Pat
again.  Catherine arrived moments later.  She cleared the room with an
imperious wave, and went over to kneel in front of a very distraught
Patrick.

"Patrick, I'm sorry.  You should have left the scene.  I'm sorry I pressed
the Bi-try.  It is part of the training sequence and I thought you should
experience it.  I should not have exceeded the limits of our contract
without your prior concurrence.  It's just that I thought that if you got
into the scene first, got into the excitement, it would be easier for you
to let go and enjoy it.   I thought that if you had all that time to think
about making love to another man, you'd blow it all out of proportion and
freak out before you even tried."  She reached out to rub his shoulders. 
Damn, he was freaking.  Where the hell was May?  "Talk to me, Pat.  Dammit,
call me a perverted, lying bitch, but talk to me."

A deep, shuddering gasp came from the young man beside her.  "That's not
it.  It was a stinking, lousy trick on your part, and it wasn't much fun,
but that isn't it.  That girl, the one on the spit.  It...it.. "  he lost
control and fought to regain it.  "She's my fiancee! Or at least, she was
going to be once I got the self confidence to ask her."  he gasped out.  He
started laugh a little hysterically, "And you know what?  All this time," 
more half laughs mixed with sobs, "all this time, I've been holding back,
respecting her wish to go to our wedding night a virgin.  And where do I
find her?  At a God Damned whore house, sucking some other guy's cock in a
kinky sex scene!"

A strong hand reached down to grip Patrick by the shoulder and shake him. 
"We need to talk, lad."  Patrick and Catherine looked up to see a
disheveled, nude Lord William.  "Come now.  Let's go to my rooms and talk. 
We owe you some explanations and, given what we've accomplished with you
here, you owe us an opportunity to explain."  He reached down to help the
semi lethargic young man to his feet.  "And we also deserve better from you
than to be called any type of whore house.  C'mon.  Let's get some brandy. 
I think this is going to be a long afternoon.

Patrick sat in one of William's den chairs.  William, now in his robe,
stood by the brick hearth while Catherine took the other chair.  Pat took a
couple of deep pulls on the generous snifter of brandy Catherine had poured
for him, then seemed to recover himself.  The whole thing seemed surreal to
him.  His Tessa, here?  His Tessa, playing slave in one of the Academy's
kinky scenarios?

William walked over to prop himself gingerly on the arm of Catherine's
chair.  "Okay, Pat, let's talk a bit."   William told Pat about how Tess
had come to the Academy, about her desire to become skilled at lovemaking
for their wedding night.  William told Pat about her training, including
the fact that Pat had been the one to deflower her mouth and ass.  "She is
still a virgin in the technical sense, Pat.  She has not made love to
anyone that way.  She hasn't betrayed you any more than you've betrayed her
by coming here.  In fact, until today, she hasn't done anything more with
any other man than jerk me off."

Pat looked at his mentor.  His wording begged the question.  "With a man. 
Does that mean she is working with some of the women here?"  William
nodded.  "Was it Tessa that you had me cane?"

William looked to his lover and she nodded.  Catherine spoke up.  "No, Pat,
it wasn't Tessa you corrected; it was me.  It was my ass you caned and my
training you broke that day."

"You?  Not Tess?  Thank God for that."  Pat muttered.  

"Not that she couldn't have taken it or even gotten some pleasure from it."
Catherine put in with some asperity.  "You might as well know that Tess is,
by inclination, a superb slave.  That's one of the reasons we started
training you as a top and why we had you work her in training.  You were
learning to please the other."

"What gave you the right to make that decision for us?  Who made you God
when I wasn't looking?"  His voice was hoarse with the emotion he fought to
control.  His hands opened and closed reflexively as he tried to remember
the exercises he'd learned from his martial arts teachers for controlling
anger.

William instinctively stepped between the furious young man and his mate. 
"She did, Pat, at least for her.  I'll show you the contract so you know
what her limits are.  We've abided by them, too.  With you, rightly or
wrongly, we took the right.  You needed help and we couldn't be sure how
you'd react if we put the question to you.  We thought that if you were
successful with Tess under our supervision where we could help avoid
problems, it would give you the confidence you needed to take the next step
with her.  It seemed like the best thing to do.  And it did help you.  And
you have nothing to worry about when you take her to your bed.  She loves
your lovemaking."

Pat's face went bright red and he started to stand.  William pushed him
back into the chair.  "There's just a couple more things you need to hear,
Pat.  About the woman who laughed at you."  Pat listened to the entire plot
as William and Catherine had reconstructed it.  "And that's it.  We have no
proof, but Barb has all but admitted her part in it.  We've taken care of
that, too, by the way."

"You've taken care of just everything.  Anything else, your most high
lordship, sir?"  Pat practically bit off each syllable, his tone colored by
his anger and hurt.

His patience exhausted, William finally exploded.  "Yeah, I've got
something to say.  Everything that's happened is because somebody cares
about you.  Tess wants to be perfect for you so she comes here, stays a
virgin and trains to be the best, most skilled lover she can be.  Cat and I
have spent hours working you and working with you because we like you and
because we want you to be all that you were and all that you can be.  Okay,
so maybe the thing with Tess was a mistake.  Maybe we should have handled
that differently once we figured out her relationship to you, but you
benefited from the things we did with you two and so did she.  Don't be an
ass, Pat.  Care for the people who care for you, in whatever way they need
that caring.  Its the only thing that makes life worth living."

Pat stood again, this time his stance indicating he was ready to fight any
attempt to hold him back.  William let him go.  Catherine hurried to the
door to catch him before he left.  She reached him just as he reached for
the doorknob and put her hand on his arm to get his attention.  "Pat?"  He
turned to face her, his grey eyes black with uncontrolled emotion.  "Please
call when you've calmed down. Okay?"  Pat stared at her for a few seconds,
trying to fathom what she wanted.  Then, he inhaled deeply, shrugged and
finally nodded.  "And Pat, Theresa loves you a lot.  Don't hurt her.  She
doesn't deserve that."  Another nod and he was out the door.  Catherine
peaked out to see May leading him back to his clothes.

Catherine turned back to her lover.  "Not one of my better efforts.  I
never thought he'd recognize her in that damned helmet."  and she burst
into tears.

William gathered her into his arms to comfort her.  "Its okay.  The scene
was fine until he saw it was Tess.  I don't think he'll ever play bi again,
but hell, most of our clients don't after the initial lesson.   Don't
worry,  sweetheart, he'll be back, once he calms down.  He'll see the whole
thing more clearly after he's had a chance to think it over.  Besides,
he'll want Vera."

"How was Tess?"

"A little dazed.  She still doesn't know why everything ended so abruptly. 
I had May tell her the other bottom had a medical emergency.  Other than
that, she's okay."

"What now, Will?"

Walking her back to her chair, he settled her into his lap.  He only
grimaced a little when his flaming butt hit the chair.  Damn, but that kid
was pure hell with that cane.  Payback point to you, Cathy m'girl.  He
cuddled her closer.  "We wait, love.  We wait."

Patrick and Theresa

The door bell rang in Tessa's apartment.  Barb was out, as she was so often
these days, so Tess had to answer the door.  She groaned as sore leg and
thigh muscles indicated their disapproval at being moved.  That bondage
scene yesterday was the toughest she'd been in to date.  Thirty six hours
was not enough time to recover.  She grinned.  It had been exciting,
though, even when she'd gotten peed on.  Would Patrick play games like that
with her when they married?

She looked through the peep hole to see a very disheveled, unshaven Patrick
McDonald.  She couldn't remember seeing him look like that.  She opened the
door to let him in.  "Hi, Pat.  Are you okay?"  

"I am now.  Hi, babe."  He pulled her into his arms and took possession of
her mouth with his.  As kisses go, this was a brand of ownership, and the
newly sensitized and sensual Tess, melted.  Then she flamed back up at him,
aroused by his claim, until he pulled her back from him.  Her passion
drugged mind rebelled at this, but Pat held her firmly.  Darn, but he was
strong.  "We need to talk a bit, Tess, and I can't do that and kiss you at
the same time."

God, but he looked sexy like that.  "Can't we talk later?"  Where did that
pouty little voice come from?

Pat pushed her gently onto the couch and then sat opposite her in one of
the chairs.  "Talk now, cuddle and other stuff later."

Still feeling very turned on, Tess patted the couch and gave him her best
sultry, 'come hither' look, "You could sit here and talk, couldn't you?" 
My god, she thought, I'm wheedling!

Pat grinned.  It was going to be okay.  "No, love, I don't think I'd get
any talking done on that couch.  Now behave, okay?"  She gave him a "well,
if I really have to" shrug, and settled back onto the couch, squirming to
get comfortable and to get his attention.

Once Tess saw she had Pat's full attention, she very slowly lifted her
right leg and slid it over her left, crossing them at the knees.  She let
her loafer fall off her foot to hang lazily on her toe.  Good thing she was
wearing shorts, today, but damn, if he was going to show up unannounced,
she was going to have to start wearing heels at home.  "Okay."  Her tone
said otherwise, then brightened as she saw the impact of her little ploy. 
"So, what did you want to talk about."

The moment of truth, Pat thought.  "You, me and us.  Marriage. Our future
together.  Kids, grandkids.  And the Boyleston Academy, not necessarily in
that order."

All color drained from Tessa's face at the mention of the Academy.  How did
he even know of its existence?  Her mouth opened and shut several times,
but nothing came out.  Finally she made the supreme effort and choked out,
"How did you find out?"

"The scene yesterday with Lady Catherine and Master Donald?  I'm Donald.
And,"  He pointed to the heirloom earrings she still wore.  "I saw those at
the end of the scene.  I knew you had to be the slave girl with her mouth
full.  It wasn't the first time with you, but it was the first time I knew
it was you."

"Whe... when?  The other times, I mean?"  She was shaking, now.  Patrick
was the Master who had made her pee herself all over that other slave?  Her
easy going, laughing, loving Patrick was that strict, demanding voice who
had been haunting her dreams and fantasies ever since??!?  This wasn't at
all how she had imagined him finding out.  She wasn't sure she'd ever
thought about him finding out.  Was he going to leave her?  

Pat moved to her and scooped her into his lap.  "Hello, little clown."  he
said as he sat back down.

Indignation took hold of her, replacing of her fear,  "You, it was you? 
The Gladiator?"

Pat smiled.  "Yep.  You have a very cute and very sexy little ass, by the
way.  And the time when some slaveboy came and ate your pussy when you
having your period?  Slave patty, at your service, ma'am."

Slave patty?  She looked up at his face in shock.  Why, he was grinning at
her like a loon.  Whatever he was, Tess decided, he wasn't angry.  She
relaxed a little and cuddled closer to him.  "Why didn't you say anything
yesterday?"

"Overdose of macho, I guess.  I'm afraid I was not very nice to Catherine
and William when I left, either.  They tried to explain about you and about
why you were there, but I was just too blown away to behave rationally.  I
spent the night driving around town, just thinking.  I'm parked someplace
where I ran out of gas or I would have been here sooner.  I'm not sure
exactly where that someplace is, but its a long walk form there to here,
I'm afraid."  He was suddenly hugging her so tightly she squeaked in alarm. 
"I can't believe you did that, that you went to that place and did what you
did for me."

"You don't mind?  I mean, I still a virgin, but I am a lot more
experienced, now.  And I really want to be everything you could want in a
lover."   Her tone became fierce.  "I want to be every woman for you."

"Even if what I want is a sexy little slave slut to tease and discipline? 
I am much more Master Donald than slave patty."

"Oh, Pat, I am much more your little clown than Mistress Theresa."  She
blushed under his searching gaze.  "I really do enjoy sexy submission
games, you know, the loving bondage, the costumes and even the spankings." 
She hastened to add.  "I'm not that way in my other roles.  I mean, I am
still a hard charger at school, and in my part time job.  I'm not a door
mat for anyone." 

"Mistress Theresa, huh?  So if slave patty wants to come out and play every
once and a while?"

"He'll find a ready and willing paddle for his naughty little fanny.  I'm
still learning the other parts of the games, but I do swing a mean paddle
and I have a vivid imagination."  She gave not so subtle emphasis to that
last statement.  Pat had never seen her grin like that.  Come to think of
it, she reminded him of Catherine when she was about to put one over on
him.  Oh, but life was going to be so sweet.

"Do you love me, little clown?  The forever and ever kind?  Enough to wear
my ring as a symbol of my ownership of you?"  Theresa's response was simple
and direct; she held out her left hand and pointed her left ring finger at
him.  "Marry me, little clown, please."  He held out the heirloom ring that
matched the ear rings.

"Oh, yes."  The ring went on the finger and the pair went on the floor,
rolling in each other's arms.  Only their tight blue jeans stopped them
from anticipating their wedding night.

Later, the initial burst of emotion spent, they cuddled on the couch, just
touching, exploring, feeling.  "You should have made love to me.  I'm
ready."

"Nope, not 'till our wedding night, just like we planned.  Besides, after
my night of self examination, I'm too pooped to do a proper job of it. 
That's not to say, we can't have repeats of our experiences at the Academy. 
Like I said, you have a very sexy little bottom and your mouth isn't half
bad either, but that membrane stays until you wear my other ring.  Besides,
I think we will need to undertake a little training program before the
wedding.  I am confident Lord William and Lady Catherine gave you the
basics, but I need to give you advanced lessons in pleasing me."

Tess frowned at this, she didn't like the idea of waiting any longer at
all.  She'd just have to work on him.  Try out her new wings.  We'll see
who's a virgin on our wedding night.  And if he was going to train her,
she'd have plenty of opportunity to test his resolve.  How long could any
man resist a slave girl who adored and wanted him as much as she did?  Tess
was going to enjoy that battle of the sexes, no matter how it turned out. 
Another thought hit her.  "Pat?"  He lifted an eyebrow in answer, too tired
from the lack of sleep to do much more.  "Why were you at the Academy?  Did
you go there to learn how to be a Master?"

Might as well get it all out, Patrick, m'lad.  "Its a long story, but here
goes."  

When he'd finished, Tessa's eye's were tear filled and flashing in anger. 
"She did that?  To YOU?  And Barb was involved?"  Pat nodded.  "I'll kill
her.  I'll strip her in the street and beat her ass red.  I'll mmmph.." 
Pat silenced her with a finger to her lips.

"I think you already took care of Barb, love.  I don't know for sure, but I
gather from comments made by William that Mistress Theresa had a paddle
session with an unknown female, recently."  Unsure of where this was
leading and still rather shy about that side of her personality, Tess
nodded.  "I think Barb knows who did it to her even if you didn't know it
was Barb's ass you reddened with your paddle."

Surprised, then pensive, Tess nodded.  "It could have been her.  The
slave's figure was about right, now that you mention it.  She didn't show
any hair.  She wore a mask and her pussy was sh.."  Tess broke off,
blushing.  Patrick chuckled that she still could.  Tess plunged on in a
rush.  "And she's been pretty scarce ever since.  But what about that other
bitch, the sister?  Are we going to let her get away with what she did to
you?"  Her body language was saying 'no way' in no uncertain terms.

"William and Catherine will help with that.  They will let me have a
session with her if I want it.  Or at least, they were going to until I
made an ass of myself yesterday."

"Oh, they'll forgive you.  They screwed up more than you did and they know
it.   They knew what was going on.  You didn't.  Still, I like them both,
even when they make my bottom smart or make me feel like a fool."  Tess
made a mental note to figure out a way to keep going to the Academy.  Maybe
she'd always go with Pat so he could be in charge and order her to do
things.  Like lick pussies.  Yeah, she'd have to see to that somehow.  "So,
what are you going to do to the bitch?  Fix her so she can't sit down for a
month?"

"Love, I am much more subtle than that.  If you say its all right for me to
play with her, now that we are fully engaged, I intend to make the
punishment fit the crime."

"Absolutely."  Tess was practically snarling.  "Whatever you do to that
bitch can't be bad enough."

"Are you sure?  I belong to you as much as you belong to me."

"Do it, Pat.  You can't let her get away with that.  Afterwards, though,
this,"  she reached down to grab the semi hard mass of his dick in his
jeans, "becomes the exclusive property of Tessa and Mistress Theresa, to be
used for our pleasure and at our direction."  She gave him a sudden, almost
painful squeeze in emphasis.  "Got that?"

"You bet, love.  You bet."

Catherine

>>Ring<< >>Ring<< >>click<<  "555-9876, May speaking.  May I help you?"

"Lady Catherine, please, May."

"The Lady is instructing at the moment.  If you wish to speak with her, I
will set up an appointment at her convenience for you to call.  Your name
please?"

"May, this is Patrick McDon.."

"PATRICK!"  the voice reverberated in his ear.  "Why the hell didn't you
say so.  Are you all right?  Omigod, don't hang up.  Hold on, okay?"  The
line went on hold.  May was glad to hear from him, at any rate.  Even if
she didn't let him get a word in edgewise.

The connection went live again and he had to hold the receiver away from
his ear.  "Pat, is it really you?  Where the hell are you?  Where the hell
have you been?  We've been looking and calling everywhere for hours.  Why
the hell haven't you called?"  For all her fury, Catherine sounded
breathless, as if she had run for the phone.

Pat chuckled at her diatribe.  She still cared enough to get mad.  It
really was going to be all right.  All around.  He hadn't fucked it up
beyond repair.  "Yes, its me.  I'm at Tessa's.  Driving around town just
feeling and thinking.  Sorry.  And this is the first chance I've had to
make a call since I made the decision to talk to Tess.  I think I got all
your questions in order."  An splutter of feminine outrage sounded in the
earpiece.  "Cathy, Tess has agreed to marry me.  We've talked everything
through and we're going to get married.  You were right, after all."

"When you say 'everything', do you mean 'EVERYthing'?"

"Everything."  the answer was firm and final.  "Slave patty, Master Donald,
and Vera Sutton-Daniels, and she STILL said yes."

A crow of triumph greeted his admission.  "I'm so glad for you, Pat.  I
really am sorry about the way it played out at our end.  We should have
been more careful with you two.  We were wrong to handle it the way we
did."

"Its okay.  Say, I know you're in a scene, but could we come over and talk
soon?  I want to finish this mess once and for all."

"Come over right now."

"What about your scene, the client?"  That didn't sound at all like
Catherine to let down a client by ending a lesson early.

A warm chuckle answered him.  "Marielle and I have been doing gruesome
twosomes today.  All my clients have gotten two demanding and somewhat
peevish Mistresses for the price of one so I could leave instantly if you
called or if we found you.  This one is the last one for the day and she'll
finish up for me.  Come on over.  Is Tess coming, too?"

"If you don't mind."

"Of course not.  We'll celebrate your engagement.  Oh, I just thought of
something.  You wanted to talk after that last session and we never did, at
least about what you had in mind.  Want to give me a hint so I can be
thinking about it?"

"OBE, Cath, overcome by events.  I just wanted some advice about
introducing my future, virginal, repressed wife into some dominance and
submission games without having her take to the hills in panic.  I think
you have already taken care of that for me.  See ya soon."  >>click<<

Patrick and Theresa; Catherine and William.

Empty pizza boxes littered the coffee table in the den.  Pat, Tess,
Catherine and William sat around the fireplace sipping wine.  Tess still
caught herself staring at the two dominants who had been training her. 
They looked so .. so NORMAL.  Jeans, sweaters and soft shoes were the order
of the day.

Catherine caught Tess staring and laughed softly.  "Come now, Tess, did you
really think that I spend every hour in leather and latex corsets with six
inch high heels?"  

Tessa blushed at the direct hit.  She nearly stuttered "I, well, I just
never thought about it.  I don't think I've ever seen you in anything else. 
Until now, I couldn't imagine you any other way."

Catherine shook her head.  "Just because we spend so much time in fantasy
doesn't mean we live there.  It takes the quiet and normalcy of every day
to make the spice of our fantasy time so hot.  If you ate chili every day,
at every meal, you'd become resistant to the fire in your mouth.  Same
thing with kinky sex.  It takes variety to keep the flavor, to keep the
fire in your belly burning hot.  You need valleys to fully enjoy the view
from the mountain top.  You need the soft times, the cuddling, the vanilla
sex so you can appreciate the heat of kink.  Don't ever let it become
routine, Tess."  

William entered the conversation.  "It's not all or nothing.  Too much of
either will become boring and will cease to be fun.  That's one reason why
Cat and I switch and play bottom periodically.  It's a challenge, of
course, to top a top, but equally, it is different and fun for the one
playing bottom.  And speaking of bottoms, mine still smarts from your cane
yesterday, Pat.  You're going to have to teach me to do that kendo thing
with it."

Tessa's eyes went wide with shock.  "YOUR bottom?  That was YOU?  I peed on
you yesterday?"

William grinned.  "It was me, little one.  It was my turn in the barrel as
bottom and Tess decided to pay me back for getting Pat to cane her bottom. 
It was one of her better scenarios until Pat recognized you and freaked on
us."

Tess continued to look at him in amazement.  "You really do play like that,
both ways I mean?"

"Sure.  Enjoy it, too, at least for the most part.  Tell you what. 
Mistress Theresa can come play next time it's the Cat-lady's turn."

"Could I?  It would be okay with you Lad, I mean, Cathy?"

Catherine gave a feigned snort of disgust.  "Don't ask me.  I don't get a
say in these things, although Pat might have something to say about his
little clown playing at the Academy anymore."

Pat smiled.  "As long as I get to watch."  Reconsidering his words and
remembering William explaining how Catherine had ended up getting caned. 
"From a neutral site, of course.  Speaking of scenes, I owe both of you
restitution for my behavior yesterday.  I await your pleasure on the
subject."

"You mean take you down to the dungeon and take it out of your hide.  Not
on a bet."  William responded.  "We never raise one of our toys in anger or
in spite.  We make love in our rooms.  You've heard the saying 'Never go to
bed angry'?  We say the same thing about our play for the same reason.  It
ceases to be fun if you associate with real anger or slights.  Apology
accepted, enough said.  Please accept ours for the way you found out about
each other."  Pat and Tess agreed and thanked them.  "Which in a round
about way brings us to Ms Sutton-Daniels.  What do you plan to do about
her, given my limitations on hurting her?"

Patrick's grin was devilish.  "Well, now that you mention it, I do have the
outline of a plan.  Let me run this by you."  Of one accord, the foursome
moved together and began to plan.