Second paragraph in the handbook, Delaney assumed.
“In a negotiated arrangement, maybe, but this isn’t what I want,” Tag said.
Shut the fuck up. You’re being paid to do this.
Norbury shrugged. “You were paid to pretend it’s what you want.”
“Then that’s not the same, is it?”
Tag was right. Delaney wondered how many of the ten were doing this for anything other than the money. He’d guess not many.
“You could have chosen not to come,” Norbury said.
“I was offered too much money to refuse.”
Norbury chuckled. “It’s never too much to refuse.”
“A comment that can only be made by someone who has plenty of money.” Tag scowled.
“You bit, you kicked, you raced, you whinnied.” Feely stroked Tag’s head, then gripped his hair and wrenched his head up. “When you’re bad, you’re punished, but when you’re good, you’ll get as much affection as you can cope with. You like testing the boundaries. You want to be made to obey. You like this far more than you think you do.”
Tag shook him off. “I don’t. I never have. I never will. I do what I want.”
Delaney joined in with Feely and Norbury’s laughter, though Tag was going up in his estimation.
“You’re more into this than you’re yet aware,” Norbury said. “If you’d wanted to leave, you should have spoken out.”
Delaney dug his fingers into Tag’s ribs. He needed Tag to stay now they’d got this far. Not that he thought they’d let him go.
“Can I leave?” Tag asked. “If I asked you to let me go now, would you?”
Norbury smiled at Delaney. “Ah, well there you have me. No, not now. Consensual has become non-consensual as far as you’re concerned. Only one out of the ten who feels like that, and who is the one who has attracted the most interest? You. My lucky tenth.”
“Lucky tenth? What does that mean?” Tag asked.
“I like even numbers. Ten is a good number and you were the tenth to be chosen. Thirty guests. Twenty members of staff. It all brings good fortune.” Norbury smiled at him.
“One who doesn’t want to be here,” Tag muttered.
“A lot of money has been paid for you, pony. Many of my guests intend to have fun with you, watching you being played with if not playing with you themselves. I’m not going to disappoint them. Nor will you. Resistance makes you irresistible. No matter how much you plead, everyone here will still think it’s what you want. There are no safe words for you. You’re going to earn a lot more than a thousand pounds tonight. Take comfort from that.”
Delaney felt Tag trembling.
Tag took a noisy breath. “Then at least reassure me that the threats of castration are only that. Threats.”
“We’ve not castrated anyone,” Norbury said.
“Yet,” Feely added. “Though Christof came close.”
He and Norbury walked away chuckling.
“For Christ sake,” Delaney whispered to Tag. “Keep mouth shut.”
“That won’t be much fun, will it?” Tag snapped. “They can keep the fucking money. I want to go home.”
“They not let you.”
Tag sighed.
