Chapter Three
Kait
KAIT STARED at the picture on her tablet. Taken on Earth, it showed her and Talia standing on the dock by the lake where their family spent every summer. Her mom’s words echoed in her mind. “Take care of your baby sister, Kait. Make sure she’s wearing her sunscreen.”
That was the way it had always been. She had been the older sister, the responsible one and Talia the will-o’-the-wisp, flitting from here to there. “Make sure Talia has her lunch box, Kait.”
She took a sip of wine as the pictures scrolled forward to the last one taken of them all together. Kait had taken two weeks off from work to spend with the family at the lake. Talia was due to return to university the following week. They looked so happy, and then…
“What do you mean you’re not going back to school?” Her father’s voice had been angry and confused. “What are you talking about?Exploring your submissive side.What on earth does that mean?”
“I knew you’d react like this.” Talia was uncharacteristically somber. “I don’t want to study anything…and I’m on academic probation anyway. What I really want to do is explore my sexuality.”
Arguments, anger, loud voices, slamming doors, and tears had followed, but nothing had swayed the girl who normally seemed to float through life like a vagabond butterfly. Even a last-ditch effort by Kait to talk to Talia alone had not helped and had only resulted in Kait becoming furious with her sister. The next thing anyone knew, Talia was on a ship to the Pleasure House of Tarma, where she had shocked everyone by passing the Rites of Admission on her first attempt, the only off-worlder to ever do so.
Regret filled Kait as she remembered the day about a year later when the message came that Talia had been murdered. The case remained unsolved. Her parents were shadows of their former selves, and Kait was filled with a need for justice, vengeance, and desperation to resolve her own guilt.
Kait closed her tablet and took another sip of wine. Well, she had her way in now, so the rest was up to her.
“What was it you were searching for, Talia? What was so important that you left everything behind?”
Her parents believed the act was one of youthful rebellion, but Kate was not so sure. She had discovered gaining admission to the Pleasure House was hard, much harder than admission to university had been. Pleasure Consorts who were graduates of the House were highly valued and esteemed in many sectors of the galaxy, even if not on Earth.
Since the news of Talia’s death, Kait had used every investigative skill she possessed to find out about submission. She had read books, articles, watched on-line commentary on the dynamic of submission and dominance. The so-called power exchange. None of that had helped much. People certainly had a great deal to say on the subject! Kait had a healthy sex drive, and she certainly enjoyed sex, but looking at photos of people in bondage, women with bruised and welted bottoms, all she could think was,who does this for fun?Given what she knew about men, she thought she could understand why some men might have the urge to dominate women, maybe even cause them pain, but what sort of woman wanted to be dominated, wanted to have pain inflicted?
A woman who had been a submissive almost all her life had agreed to speak with her. The woman’s words still echoed in her mind.
“It gives me a sense of peace, makes me fulfilled, gives me joy.”
Kait could not see it, and yet Talia had wanted it so badly, she had given up her life on Earth, her family, and ultimately, her life. “Did you find what you were looking for, Talia?” No answer came from the quiet room.
Kait had put all of her investigative skills to work on the Pleasure House and had been frustrated time and again by the polite but absolute secrecy the House imposed on all of its doings. She was just about ready to abandon her plan when a chance remark from Shasi had given her hope a small opening might exist.
Becoming a novice of the Househadto be the opportunity to unlock the House’s secrets and bring justice for her sister. If that meant training as a submissive, then so be it.I’ll just have to power through it, thought Kait.For Talia, I’ll do anything I have to.
Now, here she was; the moment was on her. That night, she would start the training that might get her past the Rites of Admission.Can I do it?She didn’t know. The notion of submission was so far from her idea of who she was as to be unthinkable.
She squared her shoulders. “For you, Talia. I’ll do it for you. I’ll find out who took your life and get you justice. And maybe I’ll finally understand what drove you to come here, what it was you were so desperately seeking.”
One thing was for certain: if Aurelian was the key to opening the door of the Pleasure House, then the way in might lead her towards a better understanding of her sister. Exploring submission with him would not be theworstchore.
The fact she was lying to him about her interest in submission and wanting to be trained gave her a little pause, but she shut the door on those thoughts. This was for Talia. Could she do it?
Truly, Aurelian would not be a hardship. But…what wouldtrainingmean? Talia’s interest in submission had been almost obsessive, but Kait had no real experience of it at all.Shewas the take-charge person, the decision maker.If I want to make this work, I have to change that,but for the life of me I don’t know how.Kait snorted as she refilled her wineglass. “I guess I’m going to find out in a few hours,” she said to herself.
***
At 7:58 p.m., Kait was standing in the atrium of a multi-hab low-rise in a very nice part of town. Unsure of the correct protocol, she had opted for the classic little black dress, which, in spite of herself, she was nervously tugging at.Get a grip! she scolded herself.You’re not some prom-night virgin.Kait took a deep breath, set her shoulders back, and smoothed the dress across her stomach. She pressed her heart-shaped pendant to her lips, and pressed the button underneath the nameReynardin elegant script.
She heard his voice through the com screen. “Good evening. Through the lobby and first door on your right.” The security door swung open. Kait stepped forward into an elegant hallway and found Aurelian already opening his door.
“Right on time, Miss Pyne,” he said, holding the door for her.
She smiled nervously. “I thought I told you to call me Kait,” she said as she stepped through. “Good Lord,” she said in shock, “do you own the whole floor?” The open-concept kitchen, dining room, and living room seemed to stretch forever.
“I do indeed,” said Aurelian, closing the door behind her. “I find it doesn’t pay to flaunt that fact, however. And I know we have been on a first-name basis, but now that you are in training, we shall have a bit more formality. I shall refer to you as Miss Pyne, and you shall simply address me as Sir.” He took her coat and hung it in the closet. “Do you understand?”
Kait nodded. “Seems fair.” He looked at her, and she blushed. “Seems fair,Sir.”
