Purpose:
To achieve a proper calibration between product autonomy and end-user control.
I’m lying between Valentin and Lens, feeling warm, wonderful and sated, the rich, creamy taste of Eden blue popcorn crème brûlée with cinnamon caramel nau’gsh sauce still lingering. The next working group arrives: Cillian and Marius first, followed by the other four, who are naked, collared, their hands upon their heads. Their expressions say everything: Callum is smiling dreamily, his eyes lost in subspace, Thomas looks crushed and miserable, Harsh is alert, smiling slightly, flushed with anticipation, and Cüinn is convulsed with giggles. They are followed by Davy, Manasseh, Suibhne, Axel, Rand, Hurley, Driscoll, Ethan and Barnabas, who had apparently become curious about where Patrick had gone.
I glance over at the still-enormous spread of desserts. It looks like the second course has arrived.
Cillian speaks first: « We got a little bet going, me and my bro Marius, about which one of us is the better dom. So we divvied up the slaves. We’ve already done quite a bit of work on the discipline. Now we’re gonna make ‘em perform, maybe even auction them off. »
I can hear footfalls upon the steps. It’s Ross and Constantine, followed by Owen and Lugh. « Constantine wanted to see this, » says Ross. « After all, Cillian is also his brother. »
Cillian grins like his wolf namesake. « Ross, looks like you got yourself a good one, » he says. « You wanna play, too? »
Ross shakes his head. « I’m not so rough, especially when Constantine flows for me like honey. But you’ll get your chance at him, just not tonight. »
« Show me what they’ve got, » I say, leaning back against Lens and Valentin. « And bring me that glass over there – I’m thirsty. »
« Mine, » says Lucius, joining me on the bed. « Green nau’gsh bubble tea. »
« Kneel, » says Cillian. Callum slips to the floor with graceful, practiced ease, but Thomas remains standing, glaring at Cillian resentfully. For a moment, I think he will rebel, but then he lowers himself to the floor.
From the corner of my eye, I see Tommy stir agitatedly. « Hey Cillian, you never treated me like that. »
« Do you want me to? » asks Cillian, grinning. Tommy is taken aback, unsure of what to do. « It isn’t your business, » Cillian continues. « Stay out of it. »
Lugh shoots an anxious glance at Tommy, urging him to stick up for his twin. Tommy looks at me, trying to take a cue from my reaction. For now, I decide to let it play out.
« Kneeling isn’t very impressive, » I tell Cillian.
« And it doesn’t show them to their best advantage, » says Marius. « Display yourselves. »
Marius’ slaves spread their legs, bending at the waist and placing their hands just above their kneecaps. Harsh poses with the assurance of a man who knows his fine body will be devoured by the eyes of the spectators; Cüinn is still laughing. And indeed, Harsh displays very well, his buttocks tanned and muscular, while Cüinn has the perky pale butt one might expect of a cute guy who spends his days in a lab coat.
« You have to start somewhere, » says Cillian, shrugging. « My slaves are in a good position now to lick my boots. »
Callum eagerly sets upon his task, giving me a good view of his supple tongue as he does so. Thomas hesitates, frowning, forcing himself to comply. Why is he even going along with it if he thinks it so unsavory? Is it simply to please me?
« But I have better access, » boasts Marius, standing between his servants and reaching a hand on either side to fondle their balls. Harsh’s drinks in the experience of being used, his eyes becoming slits while Cüinn regards Marius with eager amusement.
I am intrigued. Cillian is a known quantity, having played quite a few scenes with me over the years. But how much of a dom is Marius? I’ve never seen this side of him before. I decide to up the stakes. « I’m going to give an award to the best dom and the best sub. »
Malachi nods. « The gifts can be used that way, » he agrees.
Suddenly Suibhne dashes to a closet, pulling out an enormous chest. « I almost forgot about this. It’s overstock from the gift shop. Maybe you can use some of it. »
Cillian pokes around in the trunk. « I can’t think of anything to do with the matryoshka dolls, but the nipple clamps have definite possibilities. »
« Matryoshka dolls? » says Davy excitedly. « Let me see. »
Callum’s lips part and his eyes shine eagerly as Cillian applies the clamps. Thomas flinches and draws back as he realizes Cillian means to do the same to him.
« Look, the top half of the Owen doll fits me perfectly like a codpiece, » says Davy.
I will never ever ever be able to unsee that.
« I prefer spanking, » says Marius, pulling up a chair. « It’s so much more personal. »
He hauls Harsh over his lap, which isn’t too difficult to do since Harsh is much leaner and more wiry than the muscular Marius. Marius handles him far better than I expect for a fledgling dom. I know from experience with Callum that spanking looks a lot easier than it is – it is difficult to keep the sub properly balanced, and if done incorrectly, can end up hurting the dom’s hand more than the sub’s behind. If done right, however, it is arousing to the sub as well as painful.
Harsh hisses as the blows fell, each one harder than the last, until he writhes with desire, rubbing his cock against Marius’ thigh. Then Marius rolls him gently onto the floor and summons Cüinn.
« Ow, » yells Cüinn as the first blow falls. « Ow! Holy compost, that ow! Hurts! It fucking hurts, but I’m still getting an erection. What the fuck? »
Everyone in the room is laughing now, even Cillian.
« Time for a demonstration, » says Cillian. « Callum will show you how good he is at cock-sucking. Any takers? »
Suddenly, Lens is shoved out of bed. « Go on, » Lucius urges.
Lens stumbles forward, looking over his shoulder uncertainly. « Lens would like to try, » Lucius says. « He’s just too shy to ask. »
Cillian smirks. « Maybe Lens could use some training himself. »
« Hey, » says Mickey, « Lens is my turf. You have to ask nicely if you want to borrow him. »
Lens looks surprised, but he doesn’t deny it. Mickey grins at him and winks. He is half-serious – only playing at being a dom whereas it is deeply ingrained in Cillian’s nature. But he is wholly serious about considering Lens to be his – he’d probably appropriated him along with Lucius and Valentin.
And then Lens gasps, for Callum has gotten down to business. Lucius comes up from behind, wrapping his arms around Lens, leaning on his shoulders, saying, « Is it good? He’s good, isn’t he? »
Unfortunately, my attention is stolen by Tommy, who has climbed up on the bed behind me. « Can you do something about Thomas? » he whispers.
« Why is he even going along with it? »
« Harsh can do better than Callum, » says Marius. « Let Lens be the judge. »
But Callum does not stop until Cillian rests a hand upon his shoulder. Then Callum retreats, curling up next to Cillian’s boot.
« Oh, » says Lens. « Oh my. Oh oh oh. »
« No one is going to beat Harsh on technique, and he knows it. But he’s arrogant about it. Look at him. Callum has a much better attitude for a submissive. »
« Tara, » says Tommy, « please. »
It looks like I’m going to have to take charge. « Lens and Lucius, on the bed. »
« Tara should win the prize for best dom, » says Valentin.
« Thomas, you really aren’t enjoying this, are you? »
« I can handle it, » he says.
« That isn’t what I asked. »
« I’ll learn to like it. »
« You’re trying to be different than Tommy, aren’t you? » asks Barnabas. « That’s a mistake. »
« That isn’t it. I want to do this, » he says. « Whether I’m enjoying it is an entirely different question. »
« You’re trying to get Tara’s attention, » suggests Ethan.
« That isn’t it either. From the moment I took my first breath – well, maybe even before that – all I wanted was to love her. And if this is what she wants me to do, I’ll do it. If it’s what she wants me to be, then I’ll learn how to like it. »
« Cillian, you said that you were planning to auction them off. Sell him to me. »
« I dunno, baby. I think he could be pretty interesting if I could finally get him to break. »
« He won’t. He has a lover’s heart, not a submissive’s. »
« That’s not fair, » says Callum. « I adore Tara. »
A murmur arose amongst the other emanations. Callum rarely stands up for himself.
« But you adore Cillian too. »
« It’s not the same, » Callum says. « I even opposed Cillian once, when Lorcan was hurt and Cillian didn’t want to help him. »
Callum looks up at me, his eyes meeting mine. It is so rare that I get to see them, to be reminded that they are the same exotic blue as the others, so kind and loving.
« Don’t ever think I’m incapable of love, or loyalty, or ethics, or even courage just because my desire is to serve, » he says.
« He’s a dog, » says Cillian. « He’s tamed and trained and well-behaved, but at the end of the day, he isn’t my dog. » Cillian’s eyes sparkle with amusement. « You, on the other hand, are my woman, but no one will ever tame you. »
I laugh. Poor Cillian! « Cillian, you’re the perfect dom, but your slaves are all in revolt. I’m afraid I’m going to have to give this evening’s prize to Marius. As for the submissives, how can I decide between Callum’s perfect attitude and Thomas’ perfect heart, let alone Harsh’s perfect accomplishment? In that case, I suppose I’ll give the prize to Cüinn, who isn’t perfect at anything, but he’s damn adorable. »
The boxes appear on the bed. I hand them to the recipients. Marius opens his first; his expression after consuming the moth is startled but grave. « Very useful, » he says, « but not very pleasant. »
« What is it? »
« You know that most of the emanations can see about five minutes into the future, and we’ve been using that predictive ability to protect you. But it’s flawed – the Tasean attack on Eirelantra, and several attempts on your life – one of which succeeded – prove that. So then Lens was emanated with the ability to see exactly what the mothman sees, but sometimes it’s too much data to interpret clearly. So I’ve just been given a distillate of that information. I’ll know any time you’ll be in danger, from now until the moment of your destiny. There will be no more nasty surprises. It isn’t pretty, but it allows me to protect you. So you’ve got to promise me that you’ll listen to me. »
« Can you see when you’re in danger, Ash? »
Marius scratches his head.
« I thought as much. Marius, I’ll only allow you to protect me as much as you protect yourself. »
« You see? » says Cillian. « Impossible to tame, even when it’s for her own good. Sometimes you just have to pick her up and carry her away. »
« I did that once, » says Barnabas. « I’ll never hear the end of it. »
« Cüinn, open your box, » I say, changing the subject.
Cüinn swallows the moth. « Nothing happened, » he says. « It’s kind of disappointing. »
Marius puts his hand on Cüinn’s shoulder. « Well, I’m sure that…»
« Aaaaaaaahhhhhh, » says Cüinn.
« What’s wrong? »
« Ohmigod it feels so good. Do it again. »
« What? All I did was put my hand…»
« Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Just keep touching me. »
« Let me try, » I say to Marius. I run my hand quickly from Cüinn’s breastbone to his stomach.
He moans loudly. « That’s unbelievable, » he says.
« I guess that’s what you get for being the best submissive. Time for more dessert. What’s Cüinn? »
« Javajuice tiramisu with nau’gsh puree, » says Beat.
« I can’t believe it, » says Marius. « You know that from now on, every time I emanate, Tara is going to be on the defensive because she’ll think trouble is coming. That’s what I get. And Cüinn gets this? »
« Yeah, » says Cillian, slapping his brother on the back. « That’s how it is sometimes. But let me ask you, which gift would you really rather have? »
« Cillian, » I command. Tommy hands me a stuffed nau’gsh, baked in Irish whiskey and dusted with freshly ground mace. I taste it. « This is hot, » I remark.
« Hotter than a blue hypergiant, baby, » says Cillian, stripping. He tosses his clothes in a ball to Callum, who folds them with military precision.
« It’s time for a for a lightning-strike frontal attack, » he says.
Result of Stress-test 8:
The results are problematic. The conditions of product use are widely variable, and end-user response remains unpredictable. Within certain broad parameters, it will be necessary to continually monitor this vector and make on the spot adjustments.