The Thin Line Between Pleasure And Pain

Chapter 1: Rage against the defaults

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me to sunny Mexican beaches?”

“Hmmm”

“*Sigh* Honey, are you working?”

“What? Sorry. I got another email.”

“Helen!”

“What?” Helen lowers her phone and turns from the passenger seat.

“*Sigh* Please it’s not too late. Do you want to come with me?”

“Come on, Brian. I feel bad enough already. I have work and those stupid meetings.”

“I know but what’s the point of remote working if you can’t do it in Mexico?”

“I have all my things here. Besides you will be in the conference all day. I will be alone in the hotel room.”

“As opposed to your companions here” he waves at the snow and traffic.

“You know what I mean” Helen’s face is contorting.

“I actually don’t. Do you..*Brian takes a pause* I would really appreciate it if we travelled together”

“I hear you *Sigh, Rubs head* It’s just urghhh. Anyways, it’s too late now.”

“I can book tickets. Honey, if you change your mind I don’t care about the cost.”

“mmm. No. No. *Shakes her head* No, I can’t”

“…”

“Take lots of photos for me” Helen forces a smile.

“I will have my due.”

“Ooh. Bonus time? When are you getting the cheque.”

“You know this is why people get lovers” Brian says with an even tone.

“Are you installing tinder on the flight, haha”

“Already have a secret lover.”

“What? Did you suddenly become ethically non-monogamous or something. Hmm, okay. Maybe I’ll try veganism.”

“I am serious. Look at my phone.”

Helen places her index finger on his phone’ fingerprint scanner. “Secret Lover. I see. Who am I going to get when I call this number. You know those shrieking pranks are so old that it might considered a historical re-enactment at this point.” But silently throws in a few taps.

“Haha, funny. Hey, do you mind helping me with the bags?”

“Sure. *checks and taps her phone* I mean I am glad you are taking my help but why do you have to lug so much.”

“Hey, you do your bitch work for your boss. I have mine.”

“Hmpf”

“Besides. I want to say goodbye without fighting off frostbite.”

The chilly wind give way to constant stream of monotone announcements and background chatter. One more animated contribution is added by Helen and Brian

“What are you carrying here? Feels heavy for such a small size” Helen complains.

Brian doesn’t give an answer and instead pulls out his phone “Can you wait here for one second? I’ll be back.”

“Sure”

Helen’s mind drifts to work. She is going over in her head all the emails that need composing, presentations to be made, codes to be run…

Brian is returning light handed and sees the brunette lady in dark jeans, boots, scarf, knitted red jumper and a different shade of red peaking from underneath, crouched over her phone. His heart is beating fast.

“So, I am all checked in” he says with all the cool her can muster.

“Ok. So, is this carry-on?” the points to the bag at her feet “Be careful. You are not as young as you used to be.”

“And we have a hotel room for the next few hours?”

“What?”

“Well, I wanted at least some quality time together. Plus, we beat worst of the traffic.”

“But this is a huge waste of money. BRIAN” Helen’s face is showing all the anger her voice is suppressing.

“It’ll be fine. It’s hourly rate. Just like a love hotel”

“BRIAN. NO” and he gets punched

“Fine. Here is some bribery.”

“I…” is interrupted by ornate golden choker Brian pulls out from the bag.

Helen is ecstatic “Oh my. That’s beautiful” Brian responds by unclipping the choker and it splits in to two semi-circular pieces.

“Can you lift your hair please?” and Helen obliges. “This would have been less awkward with some privacy.” There is no reply as Brian does something behind Helen’s back. Then rotates the choker. This time it tightens. “How does it feel?”

Helen tugs and tries to rotate it “Snug… but not uncomfortable”

“Cool. Can I give you the rest and maybe a snuggle or massage more privately? *gets glare* Hands only”

“Fine. *then lowers her voice* Hands only”

Brian admires the figure of his wife walking in front of him. “I hope she forgives me.”

Chapter 2: Jewellery - A woman’s best friend?

Helen clothes are slowly coming off and she is reciprocating the favour to her partner. This aids in enthusiastically returning the kisses they are planting over each other’s body. “You lied *Pant* Those are not no hands” There is no verbal response instead a sharp drop in pace from the neck and withdrawing of his hands from her left breast. “I am sorry.” Brian’s tongue speeds back up. “Oooh, ah…” He abruptly stops. “WHAT” controls her voice “gives”

“Well, I have more Jewellery for you.”

“Can’t it wait?”

“I thought that’s why you agreed to come.”

“Fine. Hurry up.”

Out comes a more gold-plated metal but this time smaller. They go on her wrists and ankles. Brian inserts a small rod and turns it with a key. Once locked the slots look identical to those lining the raised circumference. He gives them each of the four a quick turn immediately after locking and more thoroughly after completing.

“Um, honey these bangles and Anklets are very pretty” she examines the ½ centimetre think and 4 long objects with intricate designs adorning her limbs “but what are you doing. This hardly seems…”

Another item is pulled out “Is that a bra? *then sees the metal link straps* Oh. Honey, I don’t think this is the time or the place.”

“What we are doing isn’t all that appropriate you know” Brian says.

“That was your idea too. *His hands give her knickers a quick rub* Fiine”

“…And your bra” She hesitates before unclasping at the back.

Once done Brian pauses for a moment. This gets a ‘What-are-you-doing-hand-shaking’ from his wife. The lined band and bra cups are aligned on her chest. The smooth dark material in the cups do not make contact the flesh of the 34C breasts. The metal link straps cross over in the back and drop down in the front in a V-shape down to the junction of the cups. He then attaches a cover nut and inserts a rod in.

“These are huge.”

“You say like it is a bad thing” Brian attaches a cover nut and inserts a rod in

“Mmm. No support.” He inserts a key and turns.

“Oh, yeah? We’ll fix that” and he takes out his cell phone and taps. “*Inflating sound* *Eek*”

Following his wife’s reaction he taps again “How do you like that?”

“*Over a buzz that Helen feels more than hears* Well, I *Hmmm* can’t complain *Ooh* about support.”

“Ready?” he asks.

“mmhmm. Sure” she replies less than half listening but is awakened when cold metal touches her waist. “What the …” before she can finish Brian index finger is on her lips.

“Give me a few minutes and it will be complete” as she pushes away the metal bands.

Brian kisses her and continues “Please let me finish.”

“NO. Honey, a chastity belt is too far for an airport hotel. Let’s do this once you get back. Besides don’t you want to have sex?”

“What happened to hands only? *Gets death glare* Alright, alright hypocrite. *Brian’s hands loosen the grip on the metal and his face gets serious* Maybe we can keep this going to Mexico?”

“Brian. Come on. We have been over this.”

“*His demeanour shifts right back* Kidding. Relax, I was joking *Deep breath*. Anyways, this will be fun. Trust me.”

“I haven’t shaved in ages. It’s gonna itch and look ugly.”

“Don’t worry. Full coverage and it won’t itch. It’s good material… It will be fun. Trust me. Now can you please wear this. Please.”

“NO” to this Brian taps on his cell phone and the device he is holding vigorously vibrates.

“Now that you have ruined the surprise can you please wear it?”

“…I am not doing butt stuff, especially unprepared.” She takes a good few moments to reply.

“*Brian gives a knowing look* In moderation. Extreme moderation” Helen responds flustered.

“It’s a special design. Trust me. It will blow your mind.”

“Why so complicated *gets a stare*” and she nods.

Lube duty goes to Helen while Brian is neatly folding the shed jeans and light pink knickers. Then he places them into the bag with the rest removed by his wife earlier.

“What are you doing?”

“My trophy collection.”

“If you could do laundry to your collection that would be great.”

“*Stares* You know…*sticks his tongue out*”

“Hehe. I have emptied half the bottle.”

“Cool. One can add more stuff through the slot here at the waist band buckle.”

“Whatever. Get it over with before I change my mind.”

The anal and vaginal plug go in without too much strain. Then Brian pulls the band up to close it on the waist band buckle using the same method but a bigger rod as lock. The opening is well hidden to the left side of the square buckle.

“Ooh. Okay. Turn it on” Helen closed eyes.

“Just a bit more.” She hesitates for a bit before nodding.

Eight more golden painted and lined items are brought out. Two encircle on the bicep. Two thigh bands lie halfway down to the knees and are about as thick as the bracelets and anklets but slightly shorter. A chain on each outer side connects to the waist band of the belt while two parallel chains connect the inner thighs.

“There.”

“Are you done? Please start it already.”

“Aren’t these nice?”

“Yeah, sure. But I am not in the headspace to admire it right now.”

“I thought women love foreplay.” This gets a strong glare.

A few kisses and few seconds on for the three sources of vibrations haze up Helen’s mind enough for her to assent. “These are not just Jewellery” and Brian pulls out more chains. These find spots concealed in plain sight on the bracelets, anklets, bra, and belt. The end result contorts and traps Helen to the hotel bed. While projecting confidence he is internally in turmoil and is constantly battling the thoughts of ‘I should stop. This won’t end well. How is this a good idea?…’

Helen lifts her head from the bed and says “Honey, I have been super patie*zap*…” Brian takes a deep breath and makes the tap ominously and his wife is shocked silent.

“*Another deep breath* This is your payment for ditching our holiday.”

Brian takes a deep breath and says facing away from his wife “Red leather, yellow leather. Red leather, yellow leather”

“H*zap*… B*zap *… t*zap*…” Helen opens her mouth but more than the barest volume elicits a shock.

“yellow leather … Thank you for volunteering Luna. I don’t think my wife would appreciate what I am going to do to you.”

“W*zap*…*deep breath*” makes an ‘what are you talking about’ face.

“This is going to be fun. Well, for one of us at least” and he taps his phone repeatedly.

 “It’s like a video game. So fun.” but the focus of his attention doesn’t share the view. She is electrically prodded against vocalising it though. Yet she tries because her non-verbal communication has also been limited. She thrashes with her legs, the freest except for the thigh bands. Her head is held back by a chain attached to the back of the collar and her arms are crossed over each other with wrists locked to forearms. “That’s another Not an Orgasm. How many has it been?” The tormented is not listening instead fully focused on using all the muscles available to her to reach what her body craves. “I am going to get dressed. Let’s see how the AI program fares.”

A fully clothed Brian emerges from the bathroom. He admires for a moment and taps. There is a significant delay before the metal-clad figure stops thrashing.

“That was awesome. You know what. You are no longer secret lover.” To the still speechless audience of one “There: Luna (Lover)” and she is too tired to react.

“To appreciate you even more for the duration of my trip my Wife’s number is blocked. It’s not like Helen will have time for me. What with being immersed in her work and all.”

“…” she opens her mouth but even if she could speak her thoughts are yet to fully form before Brian continues.

“And let’s get your hands-free communication device set up” and he fidgets with the collar.

“There. All done. Is it Dear Mistress O to interact with? What do you think?” and he taps

“… I *tests* I, I. I don’t. I don’t know. How should I know? HO*zap and is motioned to calm down* What the hell are you on?” she just about keeps her voice under control.

“On you. Hehe”

“TH*zap* *deep breath* Hmmph. Why can’t I talk?” she is breathing heavily.

“I mean, you clearly are. Hah”

“YO*zap* Grrrr. You know what I mean.”

“Safety. We don’t know if these walls are thin.” Brian has an infuriating smile on.

“Okay. Well, you had your fun. Now get me out.” Comes the reply with a forced calm voice.

“*with exaggeration*. Oh, wait. Is that the alarm? *Takes out his phone showing no notification* Oops looks like the flight is going to board soon. I should head out. I’ll set the magnetic locks to open in 10 minutes. Let’s make it 15. Should give us plenty of time to go our separate ways. Don’t want to accidentally be spotted by someone at the airport and have my wife find out. Not like she would care anyways. I basically shoved it into her face and she didn’t even have a proper reaction.”

“*kiss* Hey wait. *kiss* What are you doing? She cares. I care. Stop this game” the sadness is dripping.

Brian’s face changes and he very quietly talks with himself “I can do this. She can do this. This is for the best. No. Yes. This will be fun…”

“Honey talk to me.” The voice from the bed breaks his thought loop.

“This will be fun.” He says looking straight into her eyes.

Then his tone changes to mildly flirty “I have to catch my flight. We enjoyed ourselves for too long. Bye” a deep kiss on the mouth “Luna.” She just stares unable to react as he continues “Checkout is not needed. Just make sure you are out within the next hour” and he walks towards the door. “Have fun. *tap* See you in a week *slam*”

Chapter 3: Are you ever truly alone?

“Almost. Almost.” The legs are thrashing and the body is taking all accessible positions. “Almost.” “No, no. n. Oh. Humm” the legs slam shut during this downtime for the vibrators. “I have to pee so badly” has half the mind to wet the bed out of petty revenge. Then is horrified as not her husband but a poor hotel worker will have to deal with it. While going through a torrent of thoughts in her head suddenly the tension in her limbs gives. She gets up and is thrown off “Oh, God this thigh chain is still there.” There is no choice here as she shuffles to the bathroom. She hovers over the toilet bowl and realises the metal impediment. “How do I get this contraption out. Gahh this perforated shield over…” she cannot hold anymore. Though she expected a messy splash what comes out is a gentle stream. She wipes down but feels no contact. “Huh” she pokes and prods with a collection of 1-ply paper. The visible vaginal skin is just out of reach. “What the hell is HA *zap*…” and lands on the toilet seat and fumes internally at not being able to vocalise her frustration with full force.

There is a mess on the floor from trying to spray clean and blow dry. “Urghhh. There. That is some progress. I hope their plumbing system is good.” As the water flushes out the lady in metal sighs and looks at the mirror and notices something. “What. What is this? L U…” her stomach drops. She moves and the leg chains go taut quickly tempering her pace.

“Luna. Seriously Luna” is spelt out in pink jewels on the front of the gold colour collar. “What kind of sick prank is this?” she stares at the selfie she has taken with her phone’s rear camera. The doubt has seeped in enough that she reaches for her wallet. “Oh God, okay. I am not hallucinating.” She returns her driver’s license in its place and places the wallet into a big light green purse. “Wait, what’s my travel purse doing here?”

‘Dear Luna. Since my wife is not using it currently you can have it.’

“That bastard.” She calls and it goes straight to voicemail.

“Urghhh.”

“I should… Wait, where are my clothes… AR*zap*” silenced and shocked again.

When the only available dress makes contact with the metal locked onto she hears a voice

‘Please activate your touchless personal communication device. To activate please say Dear Mistress O please activate.’ This repeats as long as she there is metal-fabric contact.

“Is this from the shock collar? What fresh hell is this?”

‘…Mistress O please activate.’ Soon it gets annoying

“Fine. Dear Mistress please activate.”

‘Please activate your touchless personal communication device. To activate please say Dear Mistress O please activate.’

“… Dear Mistress please activate.”

‘To confirm identity. What is your name?’

“Helen.”

‘Not found. To confirm identity. What is your name?’.

“What the…” and the droning has now shifted to asking her name.

“Oh my…”Anger rises as she realises. “Luna”

‘Thank you. Please state your last name’. “Finnegan”

‘Not found. To confirm identity. What is your name?’

“What?. Did he. That bastard. He said that he didn’t care. Luna Reynolds.”

‘Not found. To confirm identity. What is your name?’

“Oh. Dude, what are you thinking.” She calls him but no response.

Tries again ‘Not found. To confirm identity. What is your name?’

“Oh, shut it *rubs head* Luna Fitzpatrick.”

‘Confirmed user - Omega. Please state owner’s name.’

With only internal rage she says “Brian Fitzpatrick Reynolds.”

‘Confirmed Owner. You have one voice and text message. First voice message. From Owner: *Hey Honey. I enjoyed our rendezvous. Hope you got out of the hotel okay. I had the AI put navigation. Let me know how it goes. Love you, Luna. Hehe. Talk to you soon. *End of message.’ Before she can react the voice from the collar continues ‘First text message. From Alpha: Hey, this is Brian’s WIFE Helen. Who did he drag in for this prank?’ and she shudders upon the memory of composing this message.

Helen nervously pokes out of the hotel room. While the corridor itself is deserted the main passageway is abuzz with people. To it she cautiously makes her way in a dull red sweater dress. ‘Please turn left at the next door’. Her phone is out to portray normalcy of the sound to any potential observers. She also tries to muffle the sound itself using her arms and the fabric of the long sleeves and the turtleneck to muffle the sound from the collar. The heaviness of the dress hides any visible hint of the metal underneath. Below the tea length dress are low-heeled boots that hide the anklets and vanish below the hem. The metal chains in the purse, retrieved out of embarrassment of potential discovery by the cleaning crew, have been padded by reams of toilet paper. There is less success with sound for the metals on her body, especially the thigh chain. Even accounting for all of it, Helen is much more self-conscious than needed, given the throngs of people much more worried about their flight or trying to leave that memory behind.

“Cold. Cold. Cold. Maybe I should have gone to Mexico.” Helen gets into the car and hears.

‘Vehicle permission- one time granted’ before the surround sound of the collar continues giving directions.

Helen would have forgotten it given the chaos of the day but is harshly reminded of another version of it when she gets out of the car. Rather pulls the handle and is given a quick shock. “Ow, I didn’t even say anything.”

‘Permission required to enter private property. Request Owner or user Alpha. Do you wish to request?’

“Oh my goodness… Come on. Come. Pick up… I am going to KI*pauses* KILL. MURDER. TORTURE. *after some significant venting* Damn it. Maybe I can run for it.”

After a brief attempt “Nope.” When she sits down the plug sink in again “What the hell? Why does it shock down there? That cannot be safe. None of this is safe.” Helen tries to rub the electrocuted parts but access is metal hindered.

She again hears ‘Permission required to enter private property. Request Owner or Alpha. Do you wish to request?’

“Fine sure.”

‘Contacting Owner. Out of range. Contacting user alpha. No calls allowed without supervision of owner. Please leave a message.’

“Um, I want to get into the house.”

‘Sent’ and Helen’s phone gets a text message alert.

The message is from ‘Lover alleged’ and reads ‘Do you wish to grant house access to user - Omega? Y or N’ and there is an attachment. It plays “Um, I want to get into the house.” She taps Y and the collar tells her ‘Granted’. Helen tentatively steps out of the car and walks even slower than constrained by the thigh bands. There is no alert from the collar, no shock or escalating levels of shock as she approaches the door. “Why am I nervous opening the door? Gosh, I am so messed up.”

Chapter 4: Sunday scaries like you have never seen before

Helen plops down on the sofa. The muscle memory please of the soft cushion is tarnished by the plugs digging into her innards from two angles. “Asshole.” Only the boots, out of habit, have been thrown off. Other than that, she is vegging on the sofa unable to decide or resolve what to do. Out of nowhere her collar pipes up.

‘Call from Owner.’ With no action on Helen’s part the call connects.

“Hey. Sorry I didn’t reply. The WiFi was spotty. Looks like you got in though. So, no harm no foul.”

“YOU ASSHOLE. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS. I AM YOUR WIFE…”

“… AND I COULD HAVE FROZEN OUT THERE. Hey, say something.”

“Did you get it all out?” Brian calmly asks.

“Defend yourself. What is wrong with you?” the voice is exasperated. “How am I going to show my face anywhere?”

“What is wrong with your face? I love it.”

“YOU IDIOT. DON’T PLAY DUMB. *Sigh* You know what I mean.”

“Honey. I love you and it is going to be exciting. If nothing, please do this as a favour for me.”

“Dude, but…”

“Look, you didn’t come with me for vacation in Mexico.”

“Conference.”

“That’s not. You know how it is. Hmph. You know. I hope you can trust me.”

“I don’t *the belt kicks in* t… Oh. Mmmhm. Ooh…”

“HEY. Not again. We are trying to…” she slams the chastity belt.

“*Ahem*So, how do you like the house Luna?”

“I am NOT…” is ignored

“My wife will be too busy to notice you. But best to keep it QUIET.” Helen picks up the cue.

She whispers “So, um.”

“Yeah, you can talk. Just not loudly. Unless you are not done venting.”

“So, um. What do you want from me? Look I offered sex. We can have sex when you get back.”

“You know our. Sorry. Keep character. Stay in character. Ahem. My wife and I never had trouble with our sex life Luna. It’s the excitement, adventure, and exploring together that’s missing. I mean take this outfit. It literally stops sex and opens up new adventures and possibilities. I hope we can enjoy it LUNA. *the voice saddens* Because I could never ask my wife to take a holiday. Let alone an adventure.”

“I…I, um… I” Helen is speechless.

“Well, it’s late. I hate to admit it but my wife was right that this is a work trip and I have things to do. So, um let’s keep this simple. Cook a healthy meal. Exercise. Keep it simple 30 push ups and 2 minutes plank. Then make your bed. Most of it is done. Cleaning and Shower. Then straight to bed.”

“What um…”

“Chop. Chop.” Helen gets a gentle zap and some vibrations.

 Helen makes quinoa and some vegetable curry. A low buzz and silence accompany her kitchen time. Except when she goes for things like cream or sugar and gets shocks. “Looks good” she hears unexpectedly when she is almost done. This is followed by an increase in the pleasurable patterns at her breasts and nether regions. “Great, I hope you enjoyed it. Now time to exercise.”

“I can’t really get into my gym clothes.”

“Why do you need that? What are you missing? Breast support?”

“ummm. So…”

“Yeah, sex is denied. Not the eroticism. Get naked. Or as much as you can. Hehe.”

“…”

“I assume you are making a face.”

“… I am not telling.”

“Well, it isn’t an omniscient device but if you hold your cuffs up.” Helen covers her cuffs.

“Hehe. You are cute.”

“Hmph”

“Well, let’s get to your next activity. Don’t worry though. I am almost done with the presentation and will follow more closely.”

Helen feels less tired than violated. The multiple “your form is wrong” is annoying but of course the adjudicator has more than words to ‘motivate’. Eventually she satisfies her taskmaster and on autopilot goes to the bathroom. Except there is a different pilot now. She gives in with little protest.

“Are the sheets and bedding set up to your liking OWNER?”

“Oh YES. Yes, they are LUNA.”

“That was not an encouragement. Hmph.”

“Hehe. Could you be dear and get some stuff from the basement Luna?”

“Why yes of course Owner” she bows slightly.

“A+ for effort but try to cross your legs next time.”

“Grrr. And you don’t think I will fall down the stairs in the thigh chains.”

“You’ll be fine Luna.”

The lady, with only metal on, finds the basement almost unrecognisable. She is directed to a couple of boxes with lots of wires and metal. Next to it is an open box containing ‘spy button camera’. “Wow, ok.”

“Yeah, my wife doesn’t really come down here. You should talk to her Luna.”

“…”

“Anyways, these are to keep your outfit charged. Those magnetic locks are not powered by magic you know.”

“I thought they were powered by love. No wait. Your horniness.”

“Hah. Fair. Anyways, Luna. I gotta do something. Will give you privacy for your bathroom trip.”

“Like you value privacy. I saw the camera box.”

“Oh, right. I almost forgot. Can you just reset the terminal quickly? They are not working and I can’t see you.”

“What if I don’t want to.”

“I mean…”

“Fine” a quick few taps on one of the active terminals.

The disembodied voice returns halfway up the stairs “Thank you Luna. Everything is up. And you are right. You deserve some privacy. I can add something.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. Brian, listen to me.”

“Who’s this Brian.”

“Owner. I am tired…” is cut off.

“It’s pretty simple. Plus, it will go with the theme.”

Helen enters the bathroom after setting up the equipment on the bed. She desperately only wants to shower but cannot ignore the fullness. First though she must pump silicone lube through the slot in the waist bank buckle. Then she sits down on the toilet and attaches chains. Her ankles are lifted from the ground by a connection looping over the stem of the toilet. The wrists are connected to the biceps, ending with arms constrained in the crossed position once again. “Dear Mistress O I would like to use the toilet.” ‘Approved’ *click*. She can feel the metal band giving her a wedgie relent and the two plugs release. “Oh my goodness. That feels good.” She lingers for well after she is fully relieved. However, her position is becoming untenable. “*Sigh* Dear Mistress O I am done.” The bidets fire from multiple angles. The toilet flushes away. Then hot air blows for a solid minute. “Ooh.” The heavily plugs, overflowing with lube, re-enter their places easily. The chains release.

“This has to be a war crime.”

Well, at least he didn’t mess with the bath. At least not too much.

Helen is very reluctant to get out of the steamy bath. However, she has just heard ‘5 minute warning’ from the collar. Too tired to fight she gets up and drains. She pads herself dry as much as she can and points the blow-dryer to finish the job, especially the metal parts.

“I guess pyjamas are out.” Looks at the things she placed in the bed. “Eh, screw it.” Sits on the bed. “Dear Mistress O. Call Brian.” ‘Error, invalid identification.’. “Grrr. Dear Mistress O. Call Owner” ‘Calling’.

“Hey Luna, did you enjoy my bathroom?”

“It wasn’t terrible um, Owner.”

“Great. Get yourself plugged in for the night. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“It’s only 11 PM, I don’t think I can sleep this early.”

“Yeah, my wife stayed up unnecessarily late. It would be fine expect she woke up without enough sleep. All in the name of work. Can you believe that Luna?”

“…”

“That’s why we have a bedtime for you.”

“Whatever. I am going to be tossing and turning for hours.”

“That I can assure you that you won’t. Hehe.”

Helen is directed to attach a rod to her ankles that keep them just a bit too wide to be able to easily get up but not put too much strain on her thighs. The rod is attached to the bed frame effectively trapping her. Another slightly smaller rod is attached at the wrists and an even small at the biceps. They are pinned at the belt and bra respectively but positioned and sized to not induce any undue strain in the limbs. Wires are attached to all the rods, collar, the belt, and bra.

“I don’t think I can sleep like this.” Her phone is lying out of reach on the dresser next to the bed.

“You have been awesome today, Luna. You deserve a treat.”

“I…” vibrations and slow thrusting begins. “Not again…Ah, ooh… EE*zap*” and she does not vocalise ‘you asshole’

“I love you my dear Luna.” in the following silence the pleasurable patterns follow a different trajectory. She reaches multiple near orgasms. Soon it becomes exhausting and she falls asleep.

Chapter 5: You expect me to function like this?

The dull light of a gloomy morning is not enough to stir the occupant of the bed. Only the calendar alarm. “uuuu… Oh. Oh, God. What’s the time? Aiyeee. Urghhh. Hey google, stop the alarm. What’s the time?”

‘8:17 AM’.

“Rats, rats, rats. Why do people want early morning meetings on a Monday? And how do I get myself out. *the sexual frustration sitting painfully on more than her mind* Hey Google. Call Brian” and it goes straight to voicemail. “*breathes* It’s okay. I can kill him later. Dear mistress O please call Brian.”

‘Error, invalid identification.’

“Are you. This is so not the time. Dear mistress O. Call owner.”

‘Calling. Calling… unavailable’.

“That stupid. *deep breath* Think. Think. Dear mistress O. Unlock.”

‘Full unlock- unavailable. Sleeping restraint and charging – unlock. Request owner or user alpha. Do you wish to request?’

“Yes” and she hears a ping on her phone

“Hey google. Read message.”

‘From Lover alleged. Do you wish to unlock Sleeping restraint and charging for user- Omega’

“Reply yes” the metal rods let go over of metal attire.

Helen sits uncomfortably in her home office chair thankful that she doesn’t have to actively contribute. That’s about the end of that list though. As soon as the meeting ends, she gets up partly to relieve some of the pressure from the plugs but mostly for the liquid pick-me-up. When she is in the kitchen,

‘Call from - Owner’ rings from her collar muffled by the high collar sweater.

“Hey. I am so sorry that I didn’t pick up. Had an early morning thing. But I see you were able to get in time for your meeting.”

“Hmph. No thanks to you. It’s bad enough that I haven’t had my coffee yet but these plugs make it so annoying to just sit down. Not to mention the metal.”

“Is it chafing?”

“Yes. No. Kinda yes. I can feel the pressure you know. It’s definitely not silk.”

“Noted. Silk chastity device.”

“Just get me out of it.”

“Can’t. Only can do it with physical key. Sorry.”

“Well, then this conversation is over.”

“No love for your owner.”

“…” Pours coffee.

“Well, I gotta run. Love you, Luna.”

There is a stream of meetings before the lull near noon. Helen would not have taken the break had she not been forced to by the voice from her neck.

“Did you eat?”

“Yes…”

“Coffee is not food.”

“I have been busy.”

“You are working way… *deep breath* Hey, Luna. Did I ever tell you my wife is a workaholic? I don’t want you to be like that. Eat lunch and don’t be back at the computer till 1.”

“That’s MORE THAN AN HOUR.”

“And walk around. I see you have been glued to the spot.”

“BRIAN”

“Talk to you later”

Helen is stuck at the entrance to her home office. While she really wants to get to her phone and laptop she is shocked from approaching it. “That idiot” she fumes and her stomach grumbles. “…” As she walks downstairs the chains jingle and she realises that she only has the sweater on. She dashes back up to the closet. Without thinking she drops her leg into the leg of the first pant she sees, only for it to meet the thigh chain. A good amount of huffing and stamping of feet both of which elicited a metallic response and further inducing angry response. Eventually she wears long skirt.

After a full lunch and clean up Helen takes a deep breath. “Did the bands flex?” Helen takes another breath and the metal bands feel no more constrictive than a tight skirt or bra. She tries to insert her hands and feels a lot more resistance. “Oh, God.” She is spared by the ‘5 minutes left for lunch’ from the band encircling her neck.

When Helen sits down she has the expectation that the day would drag on and her thoughts would be drowned for the next few hours. Unfortunately just 20 minutes in she gets a ‘wellness reminder’.

Typically, Helen would just continue working but today she has been repeatedly reminded of a sharp end to her work hours by her collar. “Okay. One more edit, please” but there is no negotiation with an algorithm. She gets one email out before the shocks ramping up are too much. “Oh, God.” She doesn’t bother with her cell phone. “Dear Mistress O. Call Owner.” ‘Owner busy. Please leave a message’. “What am I supposed to do now.”

Helen gets an early start on dinner. She would have preferred TV or her phone. “He has a lot to pay for” she fumes as she chops tomatoes.

Chapter 6: Choice and consequence

‘Call from Owner.’ Connects “Hey, sorry I missed your calls. Busy day.”

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I HAD TO ENDURE TODAY?”

“Sorry. Didn’t have time to watch your videos today. Too many people. Plus, *the briefest of pause* oh woah. Sorry I missed your calls and messages. It, along with the videos, get recorded in a safe encrypted site.”

“I had to constantly get up and move. Plus, the regular looking away from the screen. Do you know how disruptive it is to work?”

“I mean, that’s the recommendation for desk jobs.”

“Well, I don’t appreciate it.”

“The health recommendations?”

“No. BEING FORCED TO.”

“*deep breath* So you know Luna…”

“STOP WITH THA*arrgh*”

“As I was saying dear Luna. My wife can get a bit obsessive with work to the point of neglecting some basic stuff. She never took advice to take just a bit better care of herself.”

“*With gritted teeth* Can I talk?”

“Sure. As long as we keep it civil.”

“Are you calling me fat?” she delivers with the coolest voice.

“No. Not at all.”

“Then what’s with all the food control and exercise. I couldn’t even get a glass of wine.”

“No, no…”

“And furthermore, dear owner. Why am I shocked when I try to turn on the TV or open any half decent app on M*zap* my phone?”

“No, but you…”

“Do you have a death wish my sweet sweet owner?” she delivers with a smile

“*Shudders* Stop it. No, this is just a game.”

“ARE*zap*”

“But aren’t you excited? This is an adventure.”

“I CO*zap*… I could lose my job.”

“I am sure you are fine.”

“You made me get up every few minutes.”

“Come on you are exaggerating. And I am zooming past the videos. Seems like you got a good amount done.”

“Trust me. No.”

“Then you got to be more efficient. Get a better work life balance and all.”

“*Sigh* just get me out of this.”

“I told you. Can’t.”

“Fine. Then just disable it. All of it.”

“Are you sure?”

“*buzz* oh, ooh.”

“And none of this?”

“*massages* mmm. Hummm”

“Okay. Off.”

“HEY. What gives. OW. The metal’s biting.”

“I turned off the hermetic seal regulator. Everything off.”

“But you haven’t stopped talking.”

“Ok”

The bands got a bit too loose. Enough to chafe but not enough to get out of. For the first time she felt like she is wearing metal. The most annoying feeling is of two flaccid rubber pieces awkwardly positioned in her nether region.

“Hey Brian. Hey. Hello. Um. Hello Owner.” Nothing

“Hey, you can’t leave me out like this. BRIAN. Humph”

Helen returns to the vegetables. The anger directed via the knife.

“Look. I am taking extra chips. That’s unhealthy right. *no response* And let me take a big glass of wine and eat in front of the TV.”

The TV show came highly rated. However, the particular viewer is too distracted to fully enjoy it. Hence Helen turns off the TV partway through the episode and dinner. “What do I do? What should I do?” external tip of her internal debates.

“Look, Brian. I don’t want to go to bed fighting.” She finally musters “Can we please just talk?” *Nothing*

“I’ll come to Mexico. Or any next holiday. I’ll be more adventurous.” Deafening silence.

“Is this thing even on? Hey mistress O”

‘System paused’

“Oh. Dear Mistress O. Restart” she can feel the ‘tick’ all over the metal

‘Restarting. Please state your name’

“Sigh. Luna Fitzpatrick”

‘Verifying, Verifying, Verifying … Please state primary user name.’

“Brian Fitzpatrick Reynolds”

‘Verifying, Verifying, Verifying… Confirmed. Directives available for user- Omega. Please accept to proceed.’

“Call owner”

‘Option unavailable till directives accepted. Entering hibernation in 4 minutes’

“Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. What are the directives?”

‘Option unavailable till directives accepted. Entering hibernation in 4 minutes’

 With no luck on the cell phone (not that she expected any different) Helen paces nervously. She has more than half a mind to just head straight to bed.

‘Entering hibernation in 1 minute. 59, 58,…’

“Oh God. Um, um.” She closes her eyes “Oh, God. Help me.”

‘…28,27,26…’

“I accept”

‘…13,12,11…’

“Dear Mistress O. I accept”

‘Accepted.’ The metal on her body stings ‘Directive list. Now playing:’

Brian’s voice comes on “Thank you continuing dear *there is a short audio gap* Luna. Luna *he deliberately pronounces*. I am guessing you finished dinner. If it is before 9, can you please meal prep*yawn* for tomorrow? Then a bit more exercise today. Then bathroom*yawn* and straight to bed. If it is after 9. Skip the prep. If it is after 10 skip *yawn* exercise too. If it is after 10:30 make priority tasks. If it is after today, no hard feelings but actually hard feelings and there will be punishment. I’ll think of something*yawn**yawn*. Too tired now*yawn*. Just gotta make sure that the criteria are fully *yawn* parsed. Click.”

‘Time is 7:43. Please begin meal prep.’

“Dear Mistress O please call owner.”

‘Owner has retired for the night. Please proceed with directives. Please begin meal prep.’

“Dear Mistress O Abort.”

‘Unrecognized. Please proceed with directives. Please begin meal prep.’

Helen tried a few more but there did not seem to be any exit option. She soon gives up. By the time the slow cooker for the oats has been set up the metal on her body recalibrated itself to easily slip into the mental background. However, the collar’s presence is unavoidable as it ‘directs’ her meal prep. “I guess a vegan sandwich for lunch and taco Tuesday for dinner.” She is also forced to lay out coffee cups and other snacks. There is a negotiation involved but she is arguing with herself. For there is a total amount of ‘non-meal’ food. “And I have to decide what I fancy a DAY ahead. This is the meal plan from hell.” She settles on two cups of coffee and two small bowls of chocolate.

“Okay. Has hell given us workout too. Why yes. Yes of course. Because how the HELL am I supposed to do 30 minutes of cardio in chains.” Eventually she zeroes in on the rowing machine as the best bet. In addition to this she has to lift weights, plank, and push ups. She is exhausted and cannot wait for the shower.

When Helen enters the bathroom though the toilet reminds itself. “Oh, God. Not this indignity again.” A quick chat with her collar tells her that the parameters are still the same. Yet she still instinctively first goes to undo the band. “Urghhh.” She sits on the toilet and attaches all the required chains. “Why am I doing this” she groans cross armed.

Chapter 7: I love you but I hate you

Helen hears and feels the alarm all over her. She feels sore in her nether regions from the teasing. While the internal plugs stay in their place the metal rods holding her on the bed give way without her prompting.

“Hello sleepy head. Did you have a good sleep?”

“Whaa”

“I wanted to talk with you as you get ready for work.”

“5 more minutes”

“He he. Are you sleeping better chained?”

“*buries her head in the pillow* Go away.”

“Come, come. I want to do something, well, professional today.”

By now sleep is lost to Helen “What do you want?” she gets up

“Straight to the point okay. So, thank you for continuing our game. I appreciate it, Helen. Now, I would like to talk to Luna please and thank you.”

“We are not done. I am just too sleepy to fight now.”

“Hi Luna. Hope you slept well. For today I am thinking…” is interrupted

“On second thought I can’t with this. I need my coffee.” Helen puts on a dressing gown and goes downstairs.

“2 and 2. Decent choice. They are worth more than not getting shocked, right?”

“WHAT?”

“Did you not hear it last night, Luna? That third category I added this morning. Reduced penalty. Also, I added a penalty. Hehe”

“Veto”

“Unfortunately, dear Luna you don’t have the power of veto. I do, though. Muhahaha. ”

 Helen closes her eyes takes a deep breath and turns on the coffee machine. And sound from the collar is interrupted with a “shh.” She prays. When the coffee is ready is immediately pours it and returns to closed eyes. Then she reads a devotion and then spends a good many minutes just staring outside. The coffee is almost gone and the oats with fruit half.

“You can’t just change the rules of the game like that.” She says all of a sudden.

Brian needs more than a moment to re-engage “Um, well I am the game master. Thems the breaks.”

“I would like to file a complaint.”

“Of course, madam. Please take a token and wait your turn. Once you are called…”

“BRIAN”

“Who’s this Brian”

“OWNER. Look you had your fun. And I have to admit this can be exciting…”

“…Exciting in general and not just the vibrators?”

“Yes, exciting in general. But as I was trying to say. It is not conducive to a work environment.”

“No. I think oversized sweaters are the real unprofessional culprits. Dress properly today.”

Helen’s eyes widen “How do you” she waves at the metal all over her body. Out of nowhere is shocked.

“Just so you know you did nothing wrong. Well, you didn’t remove the penalty. This was the first of your two shocks. Anyways, you are smart and resourceful. Dare I say as good as my dear wife.”

“Veto”

“You can’t veto facts. You are smart, resourceful, and beautiful. Now show it.”

“You know what I mean. Brian, come on. Stop this.”

“Ignoring that stranger’s name *gets a stare*. You said it yourself it can be exciting. Come on give it a chance. Let’s get our money’s worth.”

Helen’s eyes go wide “BRIAN HOW MUCH DID THIS COST?”

“(mumble)”

“BRIAN”

“Does it make you feel better that I got a full refund on the flight and hotel. Plus if we add all the activities and food I planned for us it will cover good amount of it.”

“You booked for me? Brian, I told you.”

“Yes, but I really wanted you to come.”

“Brian”

“…”

“This is still a big purchase and we should have talked it over.”

“I wanted to surprise.”

“…”

“Plus, with anonymous feedback we are almost cost neutral.”

“IF I had come to Mexico. So, not only are you adding a cost that I had explicitly told you not to but you also want to LITERALLY sell my body.”

“ANONYMOUS. And even then only the biosensors and stuff. Actual audio/video go into an encrypted folder.”

“… We are redoing our budget when you get back. We are selling that old car hogging the garage.”

“It’s vintage. *silence* What has that car ever done to you? *Silence* Sure.” Helen is shocked again. “that was the second of your two shocks for the day.”

“and definitely forget about the new PlayStation. Plus, you are doing my chores for the foreseeable future.”

“So, is that a yes?”

“…”

“Come on. You already came back yesterday.”

“That’s not. *Sigh*. Fiiine. But I get vetoes.”

“Where is the fun in that?”

“Brian”

“What’s a Brian?”

“Grrr. Owner, I can’t just, just…”

“Do you trust me Helen?”

“…Yes”

“So, go get dressed for work. Come on you are going to be late.”

“*Sigh* okay, um Owner.”

“and finish your breakfast before you leave.”

“But that oats is*zap* Fine.”

Chapter 8: Life is more fun when there are rules

“Hello Helen.” Helen’s co-worker pops onto the screen. “Oh, nice outfit. Looking Chic.”

“Thanks. My husband picked it out. He got this qipao for my birthday and when he saw it today, he insisted that I wear it.”

“I thought he was on a work trip.”

“Yes, video call.”

“Awww. Keeping the romance alive. Anyway, let’s get started” the co-worker digs into some slides.

Helen checks for the hundredth time on the laptop camera. She is sure that the metal collar is visible above the dress collar and the bicep cuffs over the mid-thigh length sleeves. “And this” she tries to cover her chest with her arms “this is bulging. If I use my hands. Yes, no. Grrrr…” The scarf just sitting on the chair next to her is sorely tempting. She catches herself before she actually reaches for the scarf and narrowly avoids a shock.

“Are you sure you don’t want the Adam’s apple scarf?” her collar suddenly booms.

“Hey, I am working here. Privacy please. Also, I am not a masochist.”

“Privacy is only for bathroom breaks. Plus, can’t a guy have a quick chat with his lover during the workday.”

“Hmph”

“And I am not calling you a masochist. I am calling you a loser. What happened to all the defiance when we were dressing today?”

“I was FORCED dressed and so I have the right to rebel.”

“Rebel away. Try to beat the system…”

“…*with air quotes*Try to beat the system. Good feedback. Yeah, yeah” she darts her tongue out in defiance.

“So, when will I lose sight of this bright blue Qipao with beautiful peacocks adorning it all over so majestically?”

“Grrr… I have to use the bathroom.”

“I have to go. Talk to you later. And remember to keep up your movement. Wellness checks are important.”

In the spacious bathroom she digs into the laundry hamper and takes out an old ragged t-shirt. With a good amount of hesitation she wears it. “…” As she is slowly unclenching *zap* “Hey, what gives. Are you watching me?” *Silence*

Brian calls back after half an hour “Hey, what’s up. Oh, looks like someone was naughty.”

“I thought I had privacy in the bathroom.”

“You do. But the AI detected fabric covering your qipao. Sensors only. Did you or did you not wear it?”

Sheepishly “Yes”

“See, this is good. This is feedback. Keep it up.”

“Evil, just evil.”

“But I guess we have to impose a penalty. Only one 5 minute bathroom break every two hours.”

“WH*zap*”

“and no loud sounds during working hours”

“You can’t change stuff like that.”

“But we have established that I can.”

“This…”

“Oh, sorry Luna. I have to rush. Talk to you later.”

“Asshole”

Between the near constant deluge of meetings, emails, and the ‘guidance’ to get up and stretch lunch time rolls around quickly. Helen is forced to leave and frets “I can’t afford 59 minutes away” as she makes her way downstairs. She stops at the bottom landing as the phone vibrates in her hand. She starts composing a reply for the email when the shock to her hands drops the phone. She shouts in panic as it falls to the carpet.

The food consumed and the place cleaned up. There is nothing to take up her mind away from her phone. It is tantalisingly lying there and yet out of her reach. At least without getting shocked. Her thought loop is broken by the very familiar voice.

“Are we enjoying lunch? Oh, someone’s fast.”

“Brian. I got to get back to work. It’s piling. I got an email from …”

“I see we created a new Adam’s apple.”

“You made me drop the phone. We can’t afford a new one Brian*zap*. And they are waiting for my reply. Brian*zap* that one really hurt. What gives? *silence* Fine, owner. Just let me get it.”

“After lunch time Luna.”

“But I have so much to do.”

“You sound just like my workaholic wife.”

“I, just. Urghhh”

“I mean if you are bored. There is always those books you err my wife wanted to finish. I am sure you would love them Luna.”

Glare “…”

“Or we could have you do your makeup. Make you more professional.”

“Fiiine. The book that I want is my office. If you could”

“Nice try”

“No, really. I promise. In and out.”

“I don’t want to shock you as you try to glimpse and the screen. Look, better solution. Here, I have logged into your audiobook account.”

“But”

“Just relax…”

A new voice speaks “A passage”

“Bu*zap*”

“No talking during book time”

The new voice returns “A passage extracted from the…”

Helen finishes her taco while her companion from another country argues with her.

“So, come on. You got everything done today, right?”

“Like I said I had a few…”

“You have told me many times about how those email chains end up resolving themselves.”

Smiles “How often have we talked about my work before owner?”

“I um. I used the collar to read your mind and so a context search about work and email. It’s amazing you know.”

“Uh, huh. So, I should get to the next chore YOU have set.”

“Before that. Can you double check that we have gauze and the full first aid kit stocked?”

“Um, sure. Why?”

“No reason. Just being safe.” And Helen goes to the bathroom.

“You are going to hurt me. I knew this was a domestic violence thing.”

“Come on. Nobody can hurt you through that chastity outfit.”

“…”

As Helen is exiting the bathroom he asks, “Oh, I forgot. How was the chapter?”

“Oh, my goodness. Okay, so…*a good while passes as Helen without giving her conversation part a gap in* and as you know it never gets *house bell rings* huh.”

“I guess you should go get it.”

“What is this?” she gets up from the chair and pulls down the hem of the Qipao which suddenly reminds her of her metal adornments.

With full panic Helen says “I can’t go to the door like this”

“What about the tip. Do you hate service workers?”

“My Gosh Br*zap* Ouch.”

A voice from outside says “Hello. Anybody there?”

“Just a minute” Helen shouts “Let me grab my purse.”

With a much lower voice “I AM NOT AN EXHIBHISIONIST”

“That you are not. So, the challenge is to not show the metal exhbitionist.”

“Then I…”

“Without wearing extra clothes.”

“What am I supposed to do with THESE!!!” she waves her wrists

“Hmmm. Yeah, but as the owner I can’t just willy nilly change my word now can I?”

“You literally DID”

“How dare thy question mine integrity” and a short shock localised on the left wrist

“HEY”

“tick tock”

Helen walks to the front door extremely conscious of the bands over her. The chains from the waist to the thigh bands peek out through the two side slits on the skirt. “Gosh, these make a racket” she feels about the metal with every step she takes.

“For Luna Fitzpatrick?” the guy at the door asks.

“Yes. Sorry about the wait.” and hands him a money she had been clutching.

“Okay. Oh, thanks. That’s generous. Here you go.” He gives a bag which she receives from behind a small wall of shoes crumpled up to cover her ankle bands.

“Hurt both wrists? Should you be carrying weights. I can help.” He points at the gauze on both wrists.

Helen’s heart beats faster than it already is “No, no. I am good. Almost healed. Thank you.”

“Take care” as he leaves, she very carefully closes the door taking extra care not to disturb the fabric on her thigs and biceps as well as the shoe dump at her ankles from revealing anything.

Helen takes a deep breath and places the bag on the table.

“Oh my goodness” she is still amped.

“That was smart. A+” the voice from around her throat says.

“I just I just.”

“No punishment.”

“Yay” she conceives it to be in mockery but is much more genuine than she would care to admit.

“Want to share the credits with someone who figured out gauze is not officially clothing ahead of time.”

“YOU PLANNED IT.”

“Surprise.”

“BR*zap* ouch. Owner”

“But the shoe wall. That was smart.”

“Thank you.” Again the bow is more sincere than she is would like.

“And your reward awaits.”

Helen opens bag to see a flowers and a box of chocolate. “Awww. What happened to my forced diet?”

“This is my way of saying it really is a game. I love you just the way you are.”

“Awww” Helen doesn’t even conceive of sarcasm here.

“I like you to do what you love to do. If say dolling up is part of it then I definitely won’t complain.”

“Why do you gotta ruin it?”

“Hehe, I am still a red-blooded guy.”

“*she stops herself before she can uttering the syllable ‘Br’* Owner.”

“I really enjoy this. I really do. I but I got to go. Important dinner needs attending.”

“Okay”

“Talk to you later.”

“Love you”

“Love you”

Helen begins the workout with much less irritation than the last two days. Of her ‘requirements’ the toilet part still feels wrong, but she has done the list of things she needs to do with lots of time left for lights out. “What to do. What to do.” She turns of the TV. As it lights up a pulsing shock rolls over her. She turns the TV off. “What to do. What to do.” To makeup drawer in the bathroom and she pulls out a few different shades of nail polish.

Helen locks herself on to the frame hovering over the bed. As the lights turn themselves off, she is hoping for a goodnight message. Radio silence. There is no time to dwell on it as the vibrations begin.

Chapter 9: A not-so-typical day part 1 – Suit-up

Morning alarm is more vibrations. Nowhere near intense as those of the night but this frustration, instead tiring and inducing sleep, banishes any hope of sleep. “… Urghhh, I still have two and a half hours till the first meeting of the day” Helen shouts after banging the belt and looking at her phone.

Breakfast is finished quickly even accounting for the random shock that spills a good amount of food. Yet it doesn’t have staying power compared to the sexual frustration Helen has pent up. The vibrator that she tried half an hour ago unsuccessfully is tempting her. “I am sure I can get it done.” 15 minutes later she is more sexually charged but nowhere near the peak. “BRIAN!!! Call owner”

‘Unavailable’

“Urghhh” she stares at her coloured nails.

Helen’s co-workers slowly log in to the 9:30 meeting.

“Ooh, you look very professional today” one of the early ones says

“Thanks” Helen slightly blushes.

“Two days in a row. Do you have a something after?”

“No. Just felt like something new” but the comments end there as the meeting is called to order.

After the nearly two-hour meeting Helen is forced to immediately get up by the ‘wellness check’. All the regularly scheduled postponed due to being on a video call are imposed with extra time penalty. She teeters on platform heels reserved for the bedroom. “Why did I even think this was a good idea?” She bends down to unbuckle. When he hands touch the straps, she is shocked.

‘Warning. Do not remove uniform before end of workday.’

“What? When was it…” No answers. She carefully gets out of the office to end the low-level warning shocks. A quick update from her collar tells her that by the time ‘wellness check’ is over lunch time would begin. “I guess I better go down.”

Helen takes much longer than usual to reach to bottom of the staircase. When she does her collar booms,

“You made it without breaking your ankles!”

“You were watching and didn’t let me take of my shoes?”

“I am ALWAYS watching. *tone changes* I am so sorry that I didn’t call yesterday night before bed. Called into something big. Might get my project fully greenlit.”

“That is awesome. Congratulations.”

“Nothing set yet. That’s why I had to be away today morning as well. I will make it up to you.”

“How about you let me out of these shoes.”

“But they go so well with your outfit.”

“Do they? Do they really?”

“Hmm, give me a full turn.”

“Seriously?”

“Come on. Now I insist. I, your owner, order you to.”

*Sigh*. Helen slowly turns holding the railing.

“I haven’t seen this skirt-suit come out in ages.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why.”

“And, I see you haven’t lost your makeup touch. When did you have the time. Oh, I see. You did your nails yesterday. Someone was prepared. Good job.” He delivers Helen a buzz.

“Yes” and is caught off guard to say anything more.

“I honestly can’t tell apart the shade of your nails, lipstick, and blouse.”

“That’s cause you *vibrations go up, pause*are a man.”

“And I don’t think I didn’t notice that the high neck blouse with that cute bow on it oriented on her left and long sleeve jacket are not just style choice” the vibrators Helen is stuck with move a bit faster.

“To recap hair, face, dress, nails good” Helen is starting to lose focus of his voice. “But the heels are a bit out of place don’t you think.” The vibrations stop.

“HEY, what gives.”

“Don’t get me wrong they look great. But white platforms are not really screaming professional.”

“Then let me out of…” is interrupted.

 “And your ankle jewel is still out there for the world to see. Tsk, tsk.” And is mildly shocked.

“OUCH. That’s not fair.”

“No, it’s not my dear Luna. I actually like this contrast. Business up top party down low.”

“*Groan*. So, reward me.”

“Whatever do you mean Luna?”

“Don’t play with me Br*zap* Owner. I am close. I wasn’t given satisfaction in the morning either. This whole week in fact.”

“… the workday is still not over?”

“No”

“And you still haven’t had lunch. That’s settles it.”

“Come on. Just a quickie.”

“No” mild shock.

“OUCH, hey. It’s not an unreasonable *zap*. HEY*zap*”

“You lost lunch shouting privileges for your unreasonable requests.”

“It’s not unrea *zap**zap*Okay, okay, fine.”

“I knew you would see reason Luna.”

“Hmph”

“Well, enjoy lunch.”

“Okay”

“And eat up. Poor thing spent it on less shocks. Didn’t work out, did it dear *gets death glare*. Anyways, gotta run. Talk to you later.”

“Bye”

Helen expects a crummy rest of the day but it turns out to be more ‘frustrating’. She is ‘rewarded’ with a light vibration with each task completed. A light buzz when she finishes lunch, does the dishes, makes it back upstairs, and each time she complies with the ‘wellness check’. Hence, she is very complaint by the end of workday.

“Hey, the mail hasn’t been picked up in days. Actually, you haven’t left the house in days. We should change that.” There isn’t any protest expect when she gets close to the door.

“I, I can’t go out like this.”

“Come on. It’s not that cold.”

“No THAT. Not like this.” She waves at herself.

“Why? You look professional.”

“Not these” she points at her shoes.

“I mean you chose them.”

“Please. I am afraid I twist my ankles. Plus, workday ended, you said.”

“Well, fair’s fair.”

Helen quickly unbuckles, puts on her sneakers and runs for her errand. Awaiting her is a parcel and lots of mail. She has to do a bit of Tetris to grab all of them. Back at the front door she is shocked at the door knob and her collar says,

‘Permission required to enter private property. Request Owner or user Alpha. Do you wish to request?’

“Are you kidding me? He is going to pay. Owner, please let me in.”

“Oops, sorry. Got distracted. Get in, get in.”

“Thanks”

“Happy to help. And good job asking for permission Luna.”

“Hmph”

“Well, you deserve a reward.”

“YES!”

“If…”

“NO…”

“IF, you get back on those heels and get this box to the bedroom in 5 minutes.”

“You want me to break my legs!”

“Time starts now.”

“Hey, I haven’t even gotten the shoes on yet.”

“Tick tock”

Helen quickly buckles the high heels picks up the box and goes as fast as she can constrained by the shoes and thigh chain. Just as she touches the handle of the bedroom door she hears,

“Time”

“NOOO…”

“Hehe. I mean record time.”

“Asshole”

“Okay, your reward. I’ll set it on random. Let’s see expected value for sexual climax is once a month. Oof.

“How is this a reward?”

“Yeah, it sucks man. Want to play a game and get a leg up.”

“You talk of them as if they are a privilege.”

“Well, see for yourself.” A program begins on all of Helen’s metal adornments.

It is a good hour before Helen can think straight again. She is not entirely sure of all the places she rolled to before she reached her current position under the bed.

“Please come out. I didn’t put cameras there.”

“How? I was so close so many times. How?” Helen crawls out and when she tries to make herself upright realises that the heels are still on.

“Well, I guess these need to go to dry cleaning” to which Helen deeply blushes. Brian continues “So?”

“Huh”

“So, ready to play the game?”

“Yes.”

“Awesome. Be ready tomorrow morning.”

“But I have work.”

“Take a personal day. You don’t have meetings anyway. *gets a stare* What. We share calendar. It was you*stops himself* my wife’s idea.”

“I can’t just*zap*”

Chapter 10: The holiday 1 – Vacation is a chore

The noiseless alarm wakes Helen up, if you exclude her own non-verbal sounds that is. In silence she carries out her morning chores. Or tries to as random vibrations throw her off. These random ones had begun since yesterday evening and she is trying her best to figure out the pattern but can’t. “It’s not fair that this coffee has to last me half a day.” She sips her cup and on autopilot, after breakfast, goes to her home office. “*zap* Aargh”

“Did someone forget that they are on holiday? Good morning Luna.”

“I just need to quickly send a few emails.”

“It can wait.”

“No, it’s urgent. *zap*”

“You have mail. Haha. Go pick it up.”

“Cold, cold cold.” Helen dashes in carrying a small package. “Is that the payment? Are we good?”

“Nobody asked you to go out without your coat on. *ignores glare* Now go to the bedroom.”

In the bedroom in front of the closet Brian says through the collar “First the package from yesterday.” And Helen gets a shock that forces her drop the package and sit down on the bed “First of two. Carry on.”

Helen is over it and instead focuses on the ‘new’ thing “… These are stockings and gloves?”

“I mean they are not keys to your belt. Hehe.”

“They look flimsy” and she stretches them and realises that they are actually high quality.

“Now, these are special Luna. They should fit right in with your jewellery. Come on. Try them on.”

Helen wears the ‘sock’ that reaches the anklets *whirrr* “Oh, what happened?”

“Safe and secured”

Helen gives a quick tug and can confirm that the ‘sock’ has been trapped by the anklet. After the feet, a set of longer cylindrical fabric is taken on. She places them between the anklet and thigh band after which they take over and tighten it on her limbs. “Do the arms first” the voice from the collar says. Another black piece of fabric goes between the bracelet and bicep band, once again to be ‘locked in’. “Ooh, looking good.” As Helen takes out the final ones she is interrupted. “No, not those. Today’s package. And save them for last.”

“That doesn’t sound ominous at all.”

“Stop being so dramatic. Pick something not too warm. We are going out.”

“Owner. Come on. It’s old outside.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. It’s not cold here in sunny Mexico.”

*Checks phone* Yeah, it’s only going to get colder today plus snow. It did look like that when I was outside.”

“Not my problem.”

“Please. Let me do something else.”

“No. And trust me you will be warm.”

There is a not-so-calm debate and finally Helen wears a red peter pan collar top and a matching tea length skirt combined with a fabric belt. She also picks up her scarf, a red jacket, a grey heavy winter jacket, and purse and heads downstairs. There she chooses knee high boots.

“Can’t see your toes. Sad.”

“Rather be warm.”

“Trust me you are going to overheat. Are you sure that you don’t want to pack a backup outfit?”

Helen gives a glare and says “Let’s just get it over with.”

“But my dear. The day is just starting.”

Helen touches the front door handle and is shocked “Oops. AI caught the mistake. Forgot the gloves. Good job AI.”

Helen rolls the fabric from the package she retrieved less than an hour ago on to her left hand and they latch onto the bracelet. “Um, the thumb and index are fused.”

“Cold weather demands mittens, right?”

“Not fingerless ones.”

“In honour of your nail polish. It’s only see through, not really fingerless.”

There is a steady wind reducing the effective temperature, significantly worse than the last time Helen was out. She goes to her car but is shocked.

“Not this one.”

“What gives? You rigged something in your car?”

“Maybe” she ditches the SUV and goes to the sedan and gets shocked again.

“Hey”

“My other car.”

“B*zap*” Helen debates arguing but the gusts of wind are not conducive to it.

In the detached garage the air cold but at least still. There is an old car that Brian has talked about many times to Helen but it never impressed her too much.

“The keys are in the box in the back.”

“Owner. I can’t drive stick shift.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“I haven’t in a while.”

“it’s like riding a bicycle.”

“… It’s cold. No heated seat. You are not here. It’s COLD.”

“Hmmm. It doesn’t look like you are shivering.” Helen notices the heat emanating from the metal and the fabric ‘locked’ onto them. Brian continues “Are you sure that you even need the winter jacket?”

“…”

“First, I need you to set the car up.”

After a bit more mewing Helen retrieves a device from the back of the garage. It is plugged into the car port and much smaller cables emerge out of the device.

“Still feeling cold?”

“No, actually not. It’s getting a bit toasty to be honest.” The metal and its new attachments are blowing heat. “How do I turn it down?”

“Can’t. Well, not directly. See the reasoning goes people ‘feel’ temperature differently than the actual temperature. Would love for the AI to be able to read your mind. But it works with what it can.”

“So, if I just wait for it to run out of juice and I will be free of it. *a short pause* *zap*”

“Good job AI. Figured out a threat all on your own. And no. It’s still locked on. Do you like it powered off?” Brian reminds her off Monday night.

The cables from device, now set in the passenger seat, Helen attaches to the side of the collar, the point where the bra cups meet, left arm and thigh band, and the chastity belt. “Let’s go. We are burning daylight.”

Helen doesn’t stall the car on the second attempt and is out of the driveway.

Chapter 11: The Holiday 2 – Fun and games

The first stop is to fill up the car. It is a chore to remove the cables and get out. Helen quickly redons the winter jacket and picks up the nozzle and experiences an odd combination of heat and cold. She quickly ducks into the car for the refuelling out of habit. In that short period she feels the heat, from the random vibration and the winter jacket. When she returns to the driver’s seat after returning the nozzle the thermal heat is positively blowing. She re-attaches the cable and decides to the heavy winter jacket is too much.

“So, where to?”

Brian replies “Oh, I have the GPS set up. Starting… now.”

‘Turn north towards Ellis Hollow Road’ and she gets a light zap on her left wrist.

“Hey. Are the wires loose or something?”

“Huh?”

“I was shocked. Just tell me first please. It’s dangerous while driving.”

“Oh, no. It’s just direction. Trying something new. Localised prompts it says.”

Helen is not thrilled but has no voice here. She nervously pulls out to the main road. She moves very cautiously even though the traffic is not heavy. A couple of traffic lights later she hears ‘turn left at the Main street’. There are cars on the other lane and she accelerates to get into the space and in position. There is a small shock to her left feet that she ignores that soon goes away. When she is waiting for the light Brian says ‘Says you didn’t choose the right gear?’

“Oh, um. I don’t know what happened.”

“I have limited cameras Luna and so I would appreciate if you are on top of things.”

Helen doesn’t have time to respond as the light turns. As she finishes turning the steering wheel she gets a light zap to the back of her neck and ‘re-directing’ from her collar.

“Urghhh. This is not main street?”

Helen has made it out of the urban areas and is struggling to get her car up the hill. There is a constant low-level shock to her left feet.

“I don’t mean to be a backseat driver.”

“Then don’t”

“But are you sure that you have the right gear.”

…*click* The car moves better.

“You are welcome.”

Helen ignores him. It is easy to do so with the deep gorge to one side and a high cliff wall on the other, both filled in with evergreen vegetation. The mist obscures the sun above and the river below. With no other vehicle or person in sight only the narrow two-lane road as reminder that she has not completely left civilization. But she is getting to the edge when Brian calls, “So, cell phone coverage will drop out soon. The park is about half an hour more. Can’t really get lost from here. The charger should fit into your purse.”

“Okay”

“Call me on the way back. Love you.”

“Love you” it takes a few more minutes for it to register.

“Hey, what’s the game? What should I do?” Radio silence

Helen pulls up to a spot close to the trail entrance. There are a couple of vehicles in the huge lot.

‘Please trek custom route created by user alpha. Non-verbal cues will be used in public space. Begin at main trail head.’

First the device goes into the purse. Then Helen wears the winter coat on top of the jacket. Out of nowhere vibrations strike for a good 5 minutes and leaves her frustrated. She shouts a bit but knows that there is nothing to be done. Hence, she carefully re-plugs herself. She gets out of the car and immediately the left bangle zaps at a very low level. “I know, I know.” The purse, though not unbearable, is not light. “What am I doing?”

The trail is not too steep or rugged. Neither is it breath taking like the drive up. Helen though is quickly thrust into adventure as she is directed off trail by her impersonal guide. It is hard to move quickly and “let’s just get it done” is a lost cause on the uneven terrain carrying a non-trivial weight. “Why did I agree to this?” Soon though she reaches a clearing.

‘Get a dozen photos of trees. Please choose camera and say Dear mistress O there is a tree to begin 10 second record.’

“What?” and gets no response.

Shaking her head looks around and takes out her phone. “How do I operate it with these things” the mittens with the thumb and forefinger stuck make it a challenge all on its own. Finally feeling a steady grip she places her index finger on the finger print scanner. No response. She swipes up but her touch is not detected. “Arghhh.” It takes a lot of steady nerves and lot of work use her nose to just open the camera app from the lock screen.

 “Um, Dear mistress O back camera there is a tree” and points her phone with her camera app open.

‘ *zap* error back is not a valid camera.’

“Oh, my goodness. The hell…”

“What is a valid camera then… Dear mistress O what is a valid camera” and is given a list

 She undoes her scarf and says “Dear mistress O Collar camera? There is a tree”

‘I will check it out… Got it. 11 left to go.’

Helen turns on the spot and says “Dear mistress O Collar camera. There is a tree”

‘*Zap* Similar view detected. Please change scenery.’

Helen has to move around quite a bit before she has all ten. Then she is marched along and is quickly back on the main trail. Gets a solid half minute of vibrations upon return. Soon though she told to get back off it.

‘Get a handful of photos of fruits. Please choose camera say Dear mistress O there is a treat to begin 10 second record.’

Helen has to carefully move once again. She spots a few pine nuts. “Score.”

‘I will check it out… *Zap* Error not a fruit.’

“But it’s all coniferous.”

Helen searches around for a while and is frustrated. She is getting a bit hungry. She takes out the assortment of fruits and nuts she prepared yesterday. As she is about to eat them she has an idea.

“Dear mistress O Collar camera. There is a treat.” And points her neck at the solitary grape perched on a tree bark.

‘I will check it out… Got it. 4 left to go.’

 Helen has to go to different locations to pose the rest of her snacks. The apple, banana, and dates are easy to pass. The pineapple piece is not being accepted “I guess it’s seeing the flesh? If so, how do I?…” After some careful placement between twigs. “Now how do I get my neck there” she is rubbing her neck. “Oh. Dear mistress O Right wrist camera. There is a treat.”

‘I will check it out… Got it. We have a good collection of fruits here. How about we move on.’ And she receives direction.

Back on the trail, quick virbations, and soon back off. Instead of a long trek off the beaten path this time just a few minutes in the instruction comes ‘Please return to the trail. You have 10 minutes.’

“Um, okay.” It is fairly straightforward to reverse course. When she sees the main trail her collar says

‘Welcome back’ and the controlled navigation restarts

“This is weird.”

Again Helen is directed off trail. A bit longer foray and again she is asked to navigate back, with the same amount of time, with the vibrations not the reward she is hoping for upon each return. This cycle repeats with longer and longer ventures but the same time to return. Soon, Helen has to increase her pace, which is limited the metal, especially the thigh chains. Inevitably she is shocked.

‘6 out of 10’ the collar says and resumes navigation.

Helen is brought once again off trail. “What now?”

‘Get four photos of animals. Please choose camera and Dear mistress O say there is a critter to begin 10 second record.’

Helen immediately picks up on the birds that had been chirping all along. “… That’s one down.” Almost immediately a squirrely crosses her line of sight. However, she can’t catch a sight of it again.

“Where did all the animals go.” Helen is close to her limit. She slowly moves again at can see the trail. She takes two more steps and is shocked.

‘Error. Task not completed. Please turn around.’

“Grrrr. I didn’t even. Urghhh…” An insect crawls nearby Helen jumps in panic.

A few steps in and she has a realisation. She turns back. “…Gross, gross, gross. Dear mistress O left wrist camera. There is a critter… Yes!.” Nearby she finds a colony of ants. “…Yay. Almost done. Almost done… Okay, final one.” Helen uses a stick to dig at the earth. She is trying her hardest not to think of the what she is trying to bring out. When the earthworms show “ew, ew, ew… Dear mistress O right wrist camera. There is a critter.”

‘I will check it out…*Zap*Error. View not clear. Lighting too low.’

“Are you kidding me.”

With the state of her hands it is no easier to use the cell phone the second time. “… Please, please, please…” the torch finally comes on.

“Dear mistress O right wrist camera. There is a critter.”

‘I will check it out…Got it. We have a good collection of animals here. How about we move on.’

“Oh, thank Jesus.”

Helen slowly walks on the trail. The sun has significantly shifted from the time she parked the car. She is tired but is not agitated. She observes the trees and small animals jumping through them are not lost to her. So immersed is she that she almost doesn’t recognise the trail head.

Chapter 12: The holiday 3 – Indoor activities

The vintage car is racing downhill to low level shocks on just the chest almost pushing her back.

“Woah, hey, slow down. You are way over the speed limit.” In response to the voice from the collar Helen snaps out of her reverie and reigns it in. “So, how was it?”

“It was so dangerous and risky. I was all alone and had to carry that heavy battery thing. I couldn’t work my phone because of these stupid mittens. You know I could have fallen and broken my neck…” She has a long list.

When she is eventually done Brian asks “Did you like it?”

“… Yes. I mean parts of it, yes. I don’t like being abandoned like that. And forced on a weird treasure hunt.”

“Sorry, you cut off after yes.”

“I said…” Helen is cut off

“Anyways, are you hungry?” to which Helen’s stomach growls.

Helen is starting to see more signs of civilization. She specifically craves the food system that it has perfected.

“Are you sure that you don’t want to go and sit down in a restaurant?”

“Not like this” Helen pulls into a fast-food drive through.

“Suit yourself Luna.”

As Helen is going to town on the burger she is shocked. The food drops on to the leather carseat and floor. “Nooo” Brian’s voice is pained.

“Haha, serves you right. *zap* Ow” and the rest of the food stains the vintage car. Helen takes the time to compose herself. “What’s the plan here owner?”

Helen goes through the driveway again after Brian says “Please clean it up and I will chalk off the second shock for tomorrow.”

 When Helen is fully satiated she gets a quick vibration. As it is ending Brian meekly asks “How do you fancy a movie?”

“Were those things moving within me in burst your idea of an apology. And no. I am tired. I just want to go home and sleep.”

“a) Those are random. And b) Well, if you had social interaction checked off, we could have.”

“No” she whines.

“I’ll let you pick the movie.”

“I gotta head home first.”

“Why? No time.”

“Bathroom”

“One right here”

“Are you seriously going to force me to use a public restroom like this?”

“When you put it like this. Yes, definitely.”

“Noooowah. I will get an infection.”

“Well, you are literally protected.”

“Highly doubt that there is a bidet to clean properly. Plus even if I brought the chains I am not locking up my feet like that in a public restroom.”

“Were you using the full bathroom function when you were home? Gosh. I knew I should have cameras in there.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You just have to pee right?”

“…No?”

“Do we need to start the polygraph function? There are sensors running 24/7 you know.”

“…” Helen is embarrassed

“Checking the logs. Looks like you did do it once. At the airport hotel. Just like that. If you want to be extra, pour a little water and lube into the belt slot and grab lots of toilet paper.” Helen is deep red.

 

 Helen looks indistinguishable from the sparse matinee crowd in the upscale multiplex. However, the blast of hot air at the entrance is overkill for her specific situation. “Rats, Can I leave this battery thing in the car? I had to lug it into the bathroom for Christ’s sake. And can you please turn down the heat?” she asks after picking up the tickets.

“No. I told you. It’s in the hands of the all powerful AI. Ask it.”

Even the trailers have not begun when Helen sits down. She whispers “Dear mistress O please turn down the heat.”

‘Heat optimised for personal comfort. Level adjusted for three layers detected. Please contact owner or user alpha’.

After a while “…Arghhh. I can’t convince him and I can’t get past the lock screen. This is evil. Hey Owner, are you th…” she shuts herself as a couple walks in.

In the lowest volume from the collar “Looks like the trailers are starting. I will shut up. Etiquette demands it.”

“Pl*zap*”

“Full silence during the movie. Talk to you after it ends.”

Helen is still burning up even though she has removed the winter coat and the jacket. With focused radiation from the metal bands and the fabric she also takes directed approach to cool them. “Oh, God, Oh, God, Oh, God…” she drapes the scarf over herself and slips the skirt down to cool the metal band with her water bottle. After a few minute she lifts up her top and does the same. Suddenly: “oh, what happened. They are not heating.” she internally asks fearing the shocks. When the top drops back down the heat rises again. “Oh, my God. Seriously.” She fumes at the solution to not be in fumes.

The blouse scrunched up on the shoulders and the skirt scrunched down on. The shoes are discarded. All so that all the metal pieces are making contact with the seat. “Thank God partial contact is enough.” She thinks as she positions the scarf to cover the best it can. “I think I am decent.” This hopes and prays. Her heart is in her mouth as a theatre worker makes a pass through the aisles. “… Oh, my God. Okay. Okay. No reaction. Thank God I have a huge scarf… Okay, okay… Oh my God, the trailers are still playing.”

Helen wakes up via stray vibration. Half asleep she asks to no one in particular “What’s happening?” as the only other occupants are leaving and the credits are rolling. “Rats, rats, rats.” She quickly pulls up the skirt and down the blouse.

‘Warning. Connection broken at collar, chest, arms, thigh. Warning…’

“Yeah, yeah, shut it.”

Helen is sitting in the car in the movie theatre parking lot having a panic attack. “I think they saw me. Did they see me? I think they did. Oh God, Oh God, Oh God…”

“Good evening Luna. How was the movie?”

“I think I exposed myself to the theatre staff.”

“Calm down. Calm down. Let me see. Hmm, did you get shocked?”

“Huh, What? No. I mean not now.”

“The anti-exhibition rule is still on. So, at least the AI thinks you were not.”

“I tricked it with fruits from my snack. It’s not really intelligent is it?”

“Is that a confession I hear?”

“No?”

“This is good data point. I mean you will be punished but good data.”

“I that…” Helen doesn’t know what to think or feel.

“I ran through the video. Granted it is limited I don’t think anybody saw anything. Don’t worry.”

“…*takes a breath* Okay”

“I see we slept well. My wife was really looking forward to this romcom Luna. I am surprised that you didn’t like it.”

“No, I was tired and…” Helen is interrupted

“So, I have to make it up to you.”

“Okay?”

“Plus. Yes, I am looking at the challenge. You did cheat. So, we have punishment too. How about we combine them?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“The GPS co-ordinate is already set.”

“Bri*zap* Owner. What do you have in mind?”

“You were going to use my name in vain. Tsk, tsk. You really need Jesus.”

“B*Zap*”

“Man, the AI has gotten way better at its job. Hehe. Anyways, you better get going. They are starting soon.”

Helen sits down with a group of women she knows well.

“It’s so nice that you could join the prayer meeting today Helen.” The person organizing says

“Yes, it is. Always wanted to come. Never had the time.”

“How are you doing?” another lady asks

“I am doing okay *zap*. Actually, it’s been a bit *zap* very crazy this week.”

“Oh, what happened?”

Helen takes a deep breath and internally curses “You will pay for this Brian” and says “Well, my husband wanted me to travel with him to Mexico. He wants me to be more adventurous. He planned this whole thing for me this week. It’s been a lot.”

“Thank you for sharing. I know it is hard to share and be honest” the lead lady says with a compassionate tone.

Helen thinks “Not like I can lie. What with this polygraph test. I mean who says the truth during prayer meeting.” And a pit forms within her stomach.

“Well, we have some cookies and dessert” another lady interjects

“Oh” Helen is taken aback.

“Homemade” says another.

“The main reason a lot of even come. Haha” the lead lady chimes in.

“Anyways, do you want to take off your jacket” somebody else offers Helen.

“No, feeling a bit chilly.” Which she indeed did after successfully lobbying to not lug the heavy item providing charge to her outfit and by extension having the heating turned off for the duration of the prayer meeting.

Chapter 13: The holiday 4 – Is this how vacations end?

It is late night by the time Helen parks the vintage car back in the garage. She disconnects the cables and says “Owner, permission to enter the house.” There is a long pause before the voice comes,

“Of course. And thank you for asking permission Luna. I appreciate it.” Helen smiles and so Brian continues “How was prayer meeting?”

“Good. I am happy that you made me go for prayer meeting. Been wanting to go for a long time.” She says as she enters the house.

Brian is a bit lost for words “Happy to nudge.”

“And thank you for not shocking or setting off these vibrations during the prayer meeting.”

“Of course.”

“And thank you for organising today and this whole week” she says as she takes off her shoes.

“I am so happy to hear that.”

“I love you owner.”

“I love you too Helen” and Helen is shocked.

“HEY”

“Oops. The AI did it. Sorry.”

“*deep breath* I understand”

“You do?”

“I appreciate you. And I know you have the best intentions for me.”

“Yes?”

“And I know you will keep your word.”

“What are you getting at?”

“I hate to bring this up. But I was promised orgasms.”

“There it is.”

“What? I did everything that you asked for. Do you want me to sing you praises?”

“You can’t sing even if your life depended on it.”

“True. But we had an agreement.”

“It’s not safe to have them alone.”

“What are you talking about? You made me go into the frozen forest all alone to do dangerous challenges.”

“They were safe. I had measures. You were never in danger. There was satellite phone. You, I never far …” Brian is stumbling for words

“*breathes* Fine, fine. I believe you. But we had a deal.”

“… I only promised you a leg up.”

Helen’s mouth drops “WHaaa…” and the TV turns on and the recording from earlier in the week plays.

“Your new odds are. Let’s see. Expected value. Hey. Once every 10 days. That’s top end stuff there.”

“Owner, please.” The vibrations begin and ramp up but are cut off just as quickly. “HEY.”

“The random reward program is running. My hands are tied.”

“Please. You promised. This is worse than nothing. *Helen’s legs shake as a small vibration comes and goes*. Anything. I’ll play another game.”

“Well, I wanted to take a break and have fun. But my wife insisted on working and so must I, dear Luna.”

“I’ll take the next flight out.”

“Flight, yeah, um. Err. Your outfit is not exactly airport security friendly, is it?”

“Please. What do you want me to do? I’ll do anything.”

“Let’s touch base day after tomorrow. Be a good girl and I am sure we can work something out.”

Helen’s eyes go wide “Wait, you are letting me out, right. RIGHT?”

“I… Helen” Helen is bites down her pain “Sorry. I gotta go for a video call. It’s about getting my project through. I promise I will call later.”

“Owner, owner. Hey owner.” Silence

Helen is still shaking a bit as she is meal prepping for tomorrow. “Will he leave me like this. Oh, Gosh. What about periods? Oh God. I…” Her panic is interrupted by a stray vibration. “That’s it. I am taking matters into my own hand.” She grabs her vibrator and brings it to the kitchen ready to go. The next time the non-removable vibrators strike she drops the pan without hesitation and turns out the vibrator she can control. When it touches the metal on her nether region for one second the vibrations amplify. The next Helen is on the ground writhing in pain. “*after a lot of noises uncontrollably released by the pain* What the hell?” For the first time she has been shocked by the two plugs themselves instead of just the metal.

Very quickly the physical pain of the unexpected shock subsides. Helen is still curled up on the ground. She tries calling but no response. Her state of shut down is broken by her collar impersonally directing her to get back to her chores. Even though she knows that there is no shock penalty associated here she still jumps back up and resumes cooking.

Helen is in the middle of her rowing machine set when her collar pipes up,

‘Message from owner *beep*: Hey *deep breath* I am very sorry that I can’t call you tonight. The meeting was positive but that also means I have a ton to do. I will be swamped. Will keep you posted if I can make it back by Saturday. I still have the presentation tomorrow *Sigh*. About removing the belt. Of course, we will. Soon. But we do need just a bit more data. So, I am setting up an automated program to speed things up and catch areas we haven’t. Fair warning I won’t be able to contact you when it is active. I expect it will run for a day or two at most. Totally fine if you don’t want to do.’

Helen rubs her head. She sends another message on her phone to automation that is controlling her replay the video “That’s coercion. I didn’t explicitly agree to data collection…*After a lot of debate and Brian not picking up calls a vibration cycle begins*… *when it ends in frustration* He seriously owes me… Dear mistress O. I accept the program”

Helen is teased multiple times culminating in the nightly wordless taunt after she is ‘locked’ into her bed. This private space looks and feels extremely foreign. “Dear mistress O please call owner.”

‘You do not have permission to make the action.’

“*Groan* I hate this. *the vibration are rumbling on* I hate it all” and eventually falls asleep.

Chapter 14: A not-so-typical day part 2 – Automated drudgery

Friday begins like any other, or at least any other one from this week. The first change is when she gets out of bed she is directed to shower. “But I took a bath last night” unfortunately there is no scope for negotiation and the argument ends with some impersonal shocks. Helen clenches her groin muscles but the shocks spare her most sensitive parts.

After shower and a forced use of the restroom Helen is taken to her closet. There she is shown her acceptable list of clothing. “That’s a big list. Wow.” Helen wears the only real choice she has. “I have to wear heels” she is mentally making a list of which of her heels is least dirty and can be cleaned quickly to wear inside the house. She is shocked when she goes to the bedroom door. “Hey, you wanted shoes… No, not those.” Helen only has the NSFW heels that she wore Wednesday available to her.

Helen slowly makes her way down the stairs in heels in a dull red dress with half bell sleeve and asymmetric fishtail hem, both of which have strips of cream coloured fabric. The same fabric forming a bowtie and hiding the collar. “Oof. I am not hungry but might as well.” But she is directed to go around the stairwell and to the basement. “I am simulating going out without going out?” she responds incredulously and impotently at the reason for her diversion. When Helen re-emerges from the basement she can eat.

During the workday Helen really wants to be on video calls. For these spare her from the random vibrations. The ‘wellness checks’ are the worst because she is almost guaranteed to be vibrated. There is no reprieve during lunch or her bathroom breaks. In fact the extra time involved in going to the basement first makes it worse.

Helen sits down in the kitchen area after being forced out of her office room at exactly 5 and making the trek down to the basement. “That was exhausting” she feels about not just the last leg. However, her reprieve is short lived as she is directed to clean. “The whole house?”

With only one person in the house there is not much to clean. However, the time is more than compensated by doing it in the chains, heels and dress. She has no time to catch a breath as she is to make dinner as well as meal prep. But she is not allowed to eat dinner. On to exercise.

After a more strenuous than normal workout session Helen is shuttled to the shower. Just like the morning it is almost in-and-out. Then she has to choose the outfit, with choose being a very generous word.

Helen finally sits down to eat in a simple blue spaghetti strap nightgown which almost feels comical against the metal. That is not on top of her mind as she just sat down a bit too heavily, after her feet killing her all day, and the plugs jerk in. “Ow” to make things worse that starts a new cycle of vibrations. Helen tries to ignore it to eat. She gets through most of her plate but gives in and drops her utensils. They cut off exactly then. Wordlessly she picks back up and finishes her plate. “Dear mistress O please call owner.”

‘You do not have permission to make the action.’ Helen gets the same result from the home gym and the bedroom.

Chapter 15: Moonlighting as a service worker

It is Saturday and Helen has had her second consecutive morning shower. She is marched to the closet and the message comes ‘Important service requirement: Get dressed to go to the airport.’

Of course, Helen cannot immediately go to the airport. First is breakfast and she has to make food. “Thank God I don’t have to make that pointless trek to the basement… But I guess today would have been the better one to do it.” Helen standing barefoot with only a tea length dull purple jacket covering the metal.

Helen is driving a bit aggressively and not just because she is in her own car. “Should I bring him snacks? Of course I should bring him snacks.” Hence, she is driving away from her destination.

After a near collision and more than a few tight traffic lights Helen is ahead of time at the arrivals “Is my makeup good? Should I pose? No, not in public. Just act natural. How am I going to be natural like this?… What’s he planning” She has the extra items she is told to bring in her big black handbag. Without answers to any of them at the strike of 11 she gets a message:

‘Please host the guests…’ Helen is stunned and doesn’t catch the details the first time around.

‘Please host…’ the second time she is nudged from her spot by the tool of discipline that she has become accustomed to this week.

“Please, let me move my car to long term parking” her path cannot not deviate from the destination set for her.

 “This is daylight robbery” Helen internally groans as she hands over her credit card and driver’s license. “What’s wrong with my car” after a bit more paperwork she is directed to the garage. “… Okay, this is nice but I, no , HE is going to be eating dog food till we pay this off.”

Helen drives to the Kerbside line. She finds a spot in front of a door. She is forced to disembark “No, no. They will tow.” And hence she stands right in front of the rented vehicle warding off the over eager attendants. “Grrr. Cold, cold, cold. Another reason to park.” She is holding up a sign she had to write. Another message pops up.

‘Guests have requested respiratory safety procedures. Please wear a mask’

Helen first thinks of her car and then remembers that it is not hers. She digs into a purse and finds one as the message starts replaying. “Found it. Found it. Don’t shock me.” In a few minutes her sun glassed vision shows three people in suits and N-95 masks approach her.

“Cold, cold, cold. How is it so sunny and yet so cold?” The lady in skirt suit can be heard saying

“Never been in this part of the world have you?” one of the man with tells

“Why are we here again?” the third one asks “Did this have to be an in-person meeting?”

“Keep them happy. Yada yada. *the lady approaches Helen* Hi, you must be sent by Brian?”

“Yes. Welcome to our humble city.” Helen opens the door and collects their bags.

“What the hell am I doing? Who are these people?” she thinks to herself as she loads up the bag.

“To the hotel?” she asks guessing the location downtown given to her by the collar

“Yes, please. And do you have a restaurant recommendation? I am famished.” The lady says

“Of course. What are you feeling?” Helen asks positioning herself onto the driver’s seat

Internally Helen is screaming ‘Aaah. Have gone to only a handful of nice ones. What do rich people eat?’

Before Helen can get a reply one of the guys says “We gotta go over these first.” And Helen breathes a sigh of relief.

“I’ll try to power through. I am not good after flights. Motion sickness is made worse by an empty stomach.”

“I have some snacks. Here.”

“Thank you!” the lady receives Helen’s offer and nudged on by her the other two politely accept.

Helen is tuning out the conversation in the car and focusing on navigating the roads. “Boy, they chose a bad time to come here” as it seems gridlocked as far her eyes can see. Suddenly her focus shifts back to her passengers.

“So, next the err Reynolds project?” the left side passenger says

“Eh, not bad. Let’s just go with that.” The lady sitting in the centre replies.

“But there is no business plan. No clear path to revenue or profit.” The left passenger replies

The passenger sitting on the right side adds “Yeah, what was it, Pokémon go meets PlayStation meets VR. Sheesh.”

The left passenger continues “And there is quote potential for AI assisted driving Unquote. Feels like this is all over the place.”

The lady coolly replies “Guys, you are missing the point. We need to keep R&D happy. And both of you have found fault with everything. Just pick. If it amounts to something great. If not, cost of R&D business.”

The left passenger says frustrated “but it’s not cheap.”

“And how much did both of your department’s *air quote* work trip to Cancun cost?”

“…” From both the men

“Relax. Just saying. Know how to keep the nerds happy. What. Is that offensive now?”

“If we are finalising this I can sit down and go over the whole thing in detail. Sift through and pick apart everything” the first passenger says.

The lady stares at him and responds “Haha, you are not ready for the c-suite. He clearly is working with some sensitive data. Just jumping through the hassle of getting proper clearance for every moonshot project will scream ‘I am wasting time’. If that doesn’t get you fired, then untangling the web of science and inadvertently being made to look stupid over something like ‘Oh, can we run it on windows’ that apparently everyone knows can’t be done will… Sorry.”

The left passenger defensively asks “But isn’t it our job to be on top of the science folks?”

“It is… *She turns to the other passenger* What do you think? Do the two of you want to jump in and dissect every one of the proposals and give me a report?”

“I, I,..” the right passenger struggles for word.

She turns back to the left passenger “Keep in mind I need to get started on the quarterly report soon. That means I need yours yesterday. *takes a breath* In the meantime I am going to appreciate this.” She bites into another piece from the goody bag Helen gave. “Home baked cookies. Thank you Ma’am. Sorry I didn’t catch your name.”

“Luna. And my pleasure.” Helen says.

“These are great Luna. Where did we find you? I have been in nicer cars and better airports but this…” she is tearing up a bit but composes herself “… this reminds me of home.”

“I am actually doing is as a favour to Brian” Helen hides the reaction to the shock under braking in traffic.

“Brian Reynolds? Huh” she smirks “Above and beyond.”

“I think I am good with this project” the left passenger says adding “we have a ton of other stuff to go over.”

“I agree” the right passenger concurs.

“What’s next? Financials” the lady visibly gets more excited.

Helen once again tunes out her passengers conversation lost in her own thought. Her thought processing has to be shelved when she pulls up to the hotel. She gives the car keys to a valet for the first time in her life. If she was worried about money she is in for a shock when she puts down her credit card to pay for the hotel.

Helen waits in the lobby reading a magazine but not at all focusing on it, too distracted by the vibrations. She doesn’t have to feign this for long as her guests come down in casual clothes that “gosh these probably cost more than my suit.” She pulls down her sunglasses and goes ahead of them to get the car.

Helen drives her passengers, guided by soft sounds from her collar. She pulls up to another glittering building. She does valet for the second time in her life, goes in to talk to the Maitre-d’ to get them seated for late lunch, and put down her card.

“Do you want to join us?” the lady passenger asks.

“No, I am good. I have some errands to run.” While feeling like she had nerves in her wallet and they were in pain.

Helen immediately leaves for her home. There she has to request permission for her car to enter the driveway, in addition to permission to enter her own home. She quickly shoves some food into her mouth and, realising that she can’t finish, she puts them back into the fridge. She is well clear of her house when she realises “Why didn’t I put on some real clothes? Arghhh.”

Helen is shocked about 5 minutes from the restaurant. She sees the problem. Her guests are waiting for her.

“Sorry, sorry.” She pleads when she sees the trio.

“It’s fine. Meeting got moved ahead.” They once again are engrossed in their conversation and ignore her.

After a stop at the hotel, where Helen stays in the rental, she ferries her once gain well-dressed guests to a place she has visited many times.

“So, is this number good?” One of the guys shows her the number that in her own phone is saved as ‘Lover alleged’.

“Yes”

“Cool. We don’t know how long it will take. If you are busy we can just take an Uber back.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll wait. And sorry for the delay at the hotel.” Helen gets a ‘it’s okay’ wave as the trio rush in.

Helen stares at the non-descript office building. It unavoidably reminds her of “Brian. *winces* Gosh, my thoughts aren’t monitored. My thoughts aren’t monitored… I can be home and back. Have taken Brian to the office many times… I can’t risk it.” To keep her company a random cycle of vibrations begin.

Helen’s thoughts take her all over. They slowly lose energy and she falls into a half sleep reverie. This is broken by the message ‘Guests are returning.’

“Back to the hotel please” is all she gets from the trio.

When Helen pulls up to the hotel the lady says,

“Gahhh, I want to eat. I am sick of fancy food that doesn’t fill you and room service which is just a crime against eating.”

“But we have to work. Probably very late” One of the other passengers says

“Yeah” she replies weakly.

“Hey, I have some homemade food. I can bring it to the hotel.” Helen says

“REALLY. That would be awesome.” The lady passengers is almost about to cry.

“We don’t want to be a bother” one of the others say

“It’s fine. I won’t be long.”

Helen is driving a bit too fast. “Why did I say it won’t be long. Is the stupid AI going to hold me to it?” After jumping through all the hoops she is back in her kitchen. “Okay, I had made lunch and dinner. Should be enough, I hope. Oh, God I don’t have time to make more. I hope I am not penalised.”

Helen walks through a rich hallway once again cursing herself “Did he hack my brain or something? Why didn’t I put some real clothes on again?” She knocks on the door.

“It’s Luna. With dinner.”

One of the guys answers “Thank you” he gets the bag and gives a small denomination note without a glance at Helen.

“You’re welcome?” She feels odd receiving money.

Before Helen can leave she hears “How much? Come on man. Be nice to the service sector. *louder voice* Ma’am. One sec.” her hands close on Helen’s “For your troubles.” The money fills Helen’s moderate sized hands.

“Oh my. This is so generous. I am not…” is interrupted.

“Pshh. This is nothing. We probably pay more for service that is much worse.”

“Well, I hope the food is enough. I hadn’t planned for three but it was lunch and dinner so…”

“Ma’am, it’s okay. Looked plenty. And thank you. Will we see you tomorrow?”

“Um, I am not sure.”

“Well, in case I don’t see you. It was a pleasure meeting you miss cool sunglasses lady.” Helen realises that she is still wearing the sunglasses. “oh, and tell Brian that his project will be fast tracked.” Helen having already turned away from her guest is better able to hide the shock.

As the last of the sun falls beyond the horizon Helen is driving the airport to return the rental. Then a walk to the parking lot to confirm what she suspected. “I guess I am going to the impound lot.”

Helen just wants to crawl to bed when she sees her house. Too drained to deal with the of anger from, among other things, all the bills, credit card and otherwise she incurred today fighting against the monetary bills in her purse that make up for it. However, it is hard for anger to stay down when she has to ‘request’ her way back into her own house. When she does the vibrations start and along with a reminder of the chores. “Dear mistress O please call owner.”

‘You do not have permission to make the action.’

Helen zombies through the list and eventually ends up ‘locking’ herself on the bed, not caring that it is only 9. She forms the first ‘real’ thought since returning to her house “It’s been a week. His conference should be over. Where is HE… *sob* When will this end?” The nightly vibrations begin.

Chapter 16: Is this what freedom looks like?

“Brian. BRIAN.”

“hey, hey. I am here.”

“How could you leave me like…”

“Hey, Shhh. Let me take care of you. What do you need?”

“I… yes, ooh. That’s it. Almost…” “…No, no, no. Bri *zap*” Helen feels the now familiar friction dispelling her sleep.

Helen is patiently waiting in her bed. “I really hope my phone is in my purse or car.” The more immediate impact is she cannot unlock herself and the only other sentient creature she can potentially contact has been inaccessible via the collar for the last two days. *Sigh*. “I guess no Church. At least I don’t have to face the Church ladies for another week” and shudders being forced to be more truthful than she would have liked on Thursday evening.

The sun is well out and Helen is bored out of her mind. Suddenly her collar pipes up. ‘Project complete’.

“What? What does that mean?”

After about 30 seconds it repeats ‘Project complete’.

“Dear mistress O what is happening?”

Helen is ignored and on cue ‘Project complete’.

Helen is losing her mind. She has also lost track for how long the message has been playing on loop. She has no way of stopping it. Or even moving from the bed to distract herself. Distraction does come via the sound of the door slamming. “Hello” there is no response, only feet dashing up the stairs. With it her panic is rising as well. She is straining up to see the door. “BRIAN”

“Sorry, sorry. I came as soon as I could. The stand-alone program ended weirdly. I’ll get you out now.”

Very quickly not only are the bed restraints removed but also the more long term ones. Helen rubs all over herself as her partner is furiously tapping away on his laptop.

“Brian. What is happening?”

“I am very sorry. Just super swamped right now. Project got approved. I need to get err some stuff done for it.”

“HEY. You entrap me in some scifi shit and now you ignore me.”

“I am so sorry. I just have to *turns away to furiously type for a bit* Sorry. I promise we will talk. *Sees the glare*. I promise I will profusely apologise. It’s just…” his attention is once again pulled away by something on his laptop screen.

“… I am going to Church.”

“… You are too kind. And thank you for the prayers. My voice does feel better.” Helen sits down in the pew after the hobnobbing session is interrupted by the beginning of the Church service. She cannot focus though instead her thoughts are driven on ‘Did my voice really change? What else happened? God help me, what should I do?’ To complicate matters her nether region feels empty and just a little wet. Compounding it out of nowhere she is kissed.

“Hi Honey. I am so sorry” Brian stops speaking and just stares into his wife’s eyes.

In the midst of the throng of the opening festivities they feel like the only people in the world “How could you?” Helen is shaking a bit.

“I promise I will make it up. My pet project was approved with a big bonus. I… Honey *he places his hand on her upper jean clad thigh*.”

“…” Helen blushes

“Do you want to head out?” Brian asks as both of them get up for the opening song.

Helen ignores the question by beginning singing. Brian chuckles and joins the tune of the worship team. When after they sit down after a few songs someone makes the first announcement,

“To complement the sermon series on sexual sin we will be having…”

Helen smirks and Brian says quietly “Cockblocked by Jesus.”

Helen has been stewing for the hour-long service, that feels way longer than because of the sermon. The only thing she is sure about just got a bit more wet when the closing song plays. She literally drags Brian out when the benediction is finished.

“Can we make a quick stop at the office?”

“SERIOUSLY?”

“Sorry, sorry. This is the last one, I promise. Just need to drop the brass of at the airport.”

“Are you kidding me? The folks from yesterday. I already paid my due. Spent the whole day being their butler.”

“Please, please. They just approved my project with extra budget. I can’t…”

“Fiiine”

Chapter 17: Untangling the webs of freedom

Helen feels an absurd déjà vu. They are driving there is silence only broken by the intermittent rapid typing by her passenger. When not typing he is gently squeezing her hands and thighs. “I guess I would have been in a foul mood to talk anyway” she reasons with herself. When they arrive at the parking lot, she spent a big chunk of yesterday, her husband dashed out.

“And we wai… Oh, that was fast.”

“This is my wife Helen. Helen this is national VP Estelle Vega.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Estelle says and Helen receives her handshake a bit confused.

“I was hoping we can squeeze in a quick chat on the way to the airport” Brian asks

“Is Luna joining us?”

“Um, no” Brian says sheepishly while his wife is confused

The two others from yesterday show up carrying the luggage for four “Here is your luggage” one of them unhappily hands over bags Helen immediately recognises

“Thank you very much and apologies for camping in the office. Been on crunch time.” Brian shoots a guilty to his wife.

“Get a hotel like our VPs. Oh, where are my manners. Helen? *gets a nod* Helen, these are our regional executives Mason and Jason.” A few more pleasantries and handshake further confuse Helen whose thoughts are running on,

“I did meet them yesterday, didn’t I?” but hides it behind a smile.

Amidst her thoughts apparently a whole conversation has played out and so Helen scrambles to catch up “… Sorry, this was sprung last moment. Yes, get in, get in.”

“Thank you…” and the conversation moves away from her.

Once they are on the road, “Anyways” Estelle shifts tone “About your project proposal.”

Brian jumps in before she can finish “Yes, I have more data and a live demo.”

“Ok. In the car?”

Brian continues “I figured you all are sick of charts and plots. So, let’s skip to the demonstration. Or rather how was the demo yesterday? How did you rate our volunteer.” Everyone else is shocked for different reasons.

Mason says “From legal I am obligated to say that if you hired an escort that would be actionable…”

“What? No, no. It’s not…” Brian is confused.

Estelle cuts in “Gentlemen. Please. *turning to Brian* We don’t want to assume or intrude but lawyers be lawyers, am I right. *Ahem* Was there any legally questionable way in which you are involved with this Luna?”

“err, Luna Fitzpatrick”

“Huh, I didn’t peg her for a Fitzpatrick. Anyways so?”

“No, she is a family friend” Brian says and looks pleadingly at Helen while at the same time sinking into the front passenger seat thinking “Gosh, I wish I could go back to this seat one week ago”

Helen backs up her husband and so the Estelle continues “Awesome. So, stand down lawyers. And the results?”

“I have to vet the data but preliminary looks good.”

“Good. Well send us a full report. And since we cannot confirm that this subject was who you claim to be please do not include us as independent witnesses to your report.”

“But I can get the audio/video and other relevant data. I just need the data release forms before I can access it.”

“Mr Mason?”

“We need prior approval. Experiment design approval. No conflict disclosure. Cost breakdown. And I haven’t even started.”

“Look Brian. Can I call you Brian?” Estelle speaks without giving a break “Brian, not many people would spend their own money and build a project. It was very courageous of you even if maybe not the most financially prudent. Off the record. The big advantage, which I am realising that you didn’t actually plan on which is a bit disappointing, is bypassing the bureaucracy. Nevertheless, to reward your entrepreneurial spirit I am not only approving the project but labour cost and per diem. Get Luna something for her troubles. About the actual demo. It was proof of concept for long range transmission? The one that was shelved?” Brian nods and Estelle continues “Okay. Good. But honestly with cell phones where they are now this a *meh*. Nothing spectacular. At least nothing that would justify all of us being drowned in paperwork. Do you agree?” she turns to the ‘Ason’s’ who nod in agreement. “Going forward, What I really want you to show me is something mind blowing. Something that we can sell at our investor meeting. There is talk of a real time voice modulator?” Brian nods “And a precision automated hair editor. You said *she opens her phone and taps a bit before saying* we can get tattoo like permanency out of patterning hair with no ink. No distortion with age…”

Helen clenches her nether regions and tunes out the conversation. Soon enough it has moved away from Brian too and he places his hands on her thighs. She shoots back death glare and he immediately withdraws his hands. Thankfully the traffic is not horrible and the party reach the airport terminal in a short while.

In the time Brian has for a last schmooze at the departure terminal Helen has made a reservation on the phone.

“Let’s go inside” Helen says to Brian who is waving goodbye.

“What?”

“Inside, now”

“Um, ok” and he opens the car door

“No, now”

“But, but the car will be towed”

“I know and I know where the impound lot is” she says to the embarrassed Brian, “… 10 minutes”

Brian’s mind runs much faster him. He debates what to share, when to, and how. His self-hype slips upon seeing the airport hotel door from a week earlier. He is definitely not ready for his wife splayed on the bed he had left her in.

“Does this please the owner?” Helen uses an artificially high pitch voice as soon as they enter.

“Honey”

“Oh, higher?” she pushes her vocals

“No, I..”

Dropping back the pitch Helen continues “Cause the ladies from the prayer meeting said I had a strained high pitch voice. Tell me that I was just stressed out on Thursday and so my voice was different.”

“I, um”

“Wait, seriously?” her voice rises on its own “That was real?” she collapses onto the bed

“Honey, I…”

“So, I was your guinea pig?”

“No, it’s not like that. I really wanted you to be the first to try this cool thing that I built. I know it is work, so to speak, but I could not see myself do this with another woman.”

Helen glares and raises her voice “You could have talked to me!”

“You don’t even want to come on a simple holiday! Seriously, I was going to wine and dine you in Mexico and sell you on it.”

“… Still that is not an excuse for trapping me.” Helen replies lowering her voice

“I know and I am sorry. Anger got the better of me.”

“You snapped at the airport and magically you had everything ready to go and our house was fully rigged up?”

“This was not your first rejection of me. When was the last time we did something fun together? And I don’t mean sex.”

“Rejection” Helen picks on the word that pricks her most

“That’s how I felt”

“…”

“I love you. You know that right. But once the basic premise was there I knew I could pitch it to the company. So, I had to run it like an experiment. Two birds in one stone and all that.”

“Stop. Just stop… ”

 

After what feels like eternity Helen slowly undoes her jeans. Then she attacks her husband with her lips. Surfacing for air she says,

“I love you too. And I did have fun” and pulls down her partner’s pants.

“You are awesome. Now relax and let me reward you for being amazing this week” to which Helen wraps her legs around her partner.

“Oh my goodness. Yes, that it…”

In the course of the heated activity they thoroughly ‘explore’ hotel room. Inevitably they knock over the bag Brian has brought and spilling its contents.

“Honey, I am sorry, but I couldn’t leave them out there.”

“Ummm. I want use those.” She points at the large protrusions on the discarded belt. “They have been taunting me for a week and I demand satisfaction.”

“Your wish is my command.”

“AND I DON’T MEAN WEAR THEM”

“I would never, hehe.”

“…Oh, GOD. YES, OH MY GOD. YES!”

 

“So, how was it?”

“It was good owner” Helen replies out of breath.

“Hehe”

“What’s so funny?” she turns to face her partner.

“Do you think I should get my name officially changed?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You seem to have taken to the new name.”

“Your new…” Helen goes deep red. “…I was tortured into it Brian *winces but nothing happens*.”

“You like it. You like it.” Brian says in a singsongy way.

“Stop being childish *a small pause* Brian. I *a kiss interrupts her*”

“Round I have lost count?”

“Ye*yawn*s. Gotta hit the toilet first.”

“You have my permission. Hehe.” To which Helen sticks her tongue out.

Helen perches at the end of the bed and sultrily tilts her head back “How many hours do we have left on the reservation?”

“Oh, I’ll extend it. Make it a whole night.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, least I can do. *he tries his best to look up to her face and not her backside* Besides with the project approved we can definitely afford it.”

“So, you agree that what you did last week for not financially responsible?”

“Huh, what?”

“That got you to look up. And you wanted to lock all of this away” she awkwardly displays herself. “Drink water. Get ready. Be back in five.” She gets up and puts effort into rolling her hips as she walks to the bathroom.

As Brian admires his naked wife blood is rushing to his nether regions “This is heaven” he meant to think it.

Helen makes a quick turn and says, “Is this what you prayed for in Church today? Hehe.”

The clear frontal naked display, aided by a little post orgasmic clarity, drains the blood away and he doesn’t reply but mumbles to himself “Oh, crap. Oh, crap. Oh, crap.”

After a few minutes of deadening silence, “OWNER” the loud voice comes from the bathroom.

A moment later Helen emerges from the bathroom and asks with a scary icy cold voice “Why does my groin itch and is smoother than after a wax? *the volume is slowly rising* More importantly why DOES THE REMAINING HAIR SPELL OUT LUNA?”