Spinning Fate's Threads

Takara was reading in the sitting room of the suite she and Tres shared when a knock brought her head out of the book. She got up and went to the door, wondering who would be knocking. The gods knew none of her family knocked, they just walked in regardless of what might be happening. Tres had been amused and was keeping score on how many times who had walked in on . . . interesting activities. So far, the score was Circe, Blaze, Watari, and Gun all at one. Hunt three. And Star with a grand total of six. Tres had finally stopped being entertained by it and told her to just buy the video. She’d laughed all the way down the hall.



Needless to say, she was rather startled to find Catarina on the other side of the door.



“Can I speak to you on a rather delicate matter?” Catarina said.



“Er, sure. Come in,” Takara said, stepping aside and allowing the other woman to enter before closing and locking the door. Discussing a delicate matter with Catarina did not warrant Takara’s family barging in at inopportune moments. Since they probably would. “Please, sit down.”



Catarina sat gingerly on the low sofa that Takara had just vacated while she took the chair opposite the other woman and waited for her to speak.



“It’s concerning one of your . . . pets.”



Takara’s eyebrows flew up. “Which one?”



“Isaak.” Catarina began to explain the situation in great detail to Takara and was startled to find a somewhat grim smile spreading across the other woman’s lips.



“Come with me,” Takara said, standing up and going over to unlock the door. “Since you have grievances, you should be witness to the punishment.”



Catarina followed her hesitantly as she led the way down one of the longer corridors to a dimly lit room that was completely empty save for one large overstuffed chair set back in the shadows and a rack of odd instruments on one wall.



“Go and have a seat, Cardinal. I’ll be back shortly,” Takara said, leaving the Cardinal to peruse the room interestedly.



***



Isaak had just sat down on the edge of the bed when Takara strode into the room. She grabbed him off of the bed by the hair and dragged him out of the room, leaving Dietrich staring at the doorway in mild shock.



“Mistress, might I ask what I’ve done to warrant this treatment? Has my bird chasing finally caught up with me?” Isaak asked. Takara could hear the smile in his voice.



“It has.”



“And will I be punished in front of my prey?”



“You will.”



“Truly, You are an excellent Mistress.”



“We’ll see if you still think that when I’m finished,” Takara said, shoving him into the room.



He staggered a little but managed to stay upright. He smiled slightly to himself, feeling a presence in the shadows of the room and knowing who it was.



Catarina sat down hard in the chair, just watching Isaak being manhandled by a woman was . . . stimulating and she wasn’t quite certain what to think of her reaction.



“Strip,” Takara ordered.



“Won’t Your consort be annoyed that You’re with another man minus his clothing, Mistress?” Isaak taunted.



“Hardly. Considering it’s you.”



Isaak debated outright refusing the order simply to prolong the fun. But he knew that if he annoyed her too much then she would really hurt him as only she was capable of doing.



“As You will it, my Mistress,” he said, long fingered hands reaching up to undo the top button of his shirt. He unbuttoned the shirt far more slowly than he normally would have, taking time with each one and subtly caressing his own skin as it was bared bit by bit. He hid his smile behind the long fall of his hair because he could feel how it was effecting his little bird, even if she chose to ignore it. He smiled a little wider as he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, pushing them down long, pale, though sleekly muscled legs. It seemed to somewhat disturb his prey that he was already half hard. He wondered idly if she had seen a man naked before.



“Turn toward me, Isaak,” Takara ordered. When he turned to face her he noticed something she was holding that he hadn’t known she had with her. It looked harmless enough, simply seven steel rings connected with leather but Isaak knew better. She had never seen fit to use that particular thing on him before and it worried him slightly.



Takara must have seen the glint of concern in his eyes because she leaned to say quietly in his ear. “The punishment is only fitting to the crime, Isaak. If you can’t keep control of it, then I will. Make sure you secure it tightly enough but not too tight. Someone might want you to have use of that body part later.”



He nodded a bit numbly and forcibly suppressed a shudder as the cool metal and warmer leather slid into place over his length and was secured behind his testicles. He closed his eyes and tried to banish the thought that Catarina was watching this punishment because that would make this particular device all the more painful for him.



Takara shoved him forward over a bench that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to strap his wrists to it. She took the bulk of his hair in both hands and quickly braided then secured it with a tie and flipped it over his shoulder out of her way.



Catarina leaned forward a little in her seat, trying to avoid seeming too eager for the punishment to begin. This was simply like watching any other prisoner being punished, nothing unusual about it. Well, nothing unusual if you didn’t count the fact that she had never seen anyone punished while completely naked. She had to consciously resist the urge to squirm.



“Now, Isaak, you do know why you’re in this position, do you not?”



“Y . . . yes, my Mistress,” he said, trying to ignore the fact that his aching length rubbed against both the leather of the bench and the steel rings it was encased in every time he took a deep breath.



“Good. Cardinal,” Takara said. “Would you care to choose the instrument of punishment?”



Catarina stared at her for a moment before collecting her scattered wits. It wasn’t an unusual question. It was one she had been asked before on occasion. But for some reason this time it seemed vastly different to her. She stood, trying to ignore the fact that her legs shook just slightly as she rose from her seat and walked to the wall of instruments.



Isaak couldn’t seem to stop the whine that had involuntarily escaped him. Just the sight of his prey walking over and perusing the various instruments made him instantly and achingly hard. That was when the device started to become painful, the unforgiving rings putting tight pressure on him. He raised his head a little and his eyes rolled up to look at his little bird, who was now walking toward his Mistress with one of the more wicked looking paddles in her hand. It was built solidly, made of heavy wood but with long rubber extensions that would sting like mad and leave nasty looking weals on even him for a day or so. He wondered at the excellent choice she had made untutored or encouraged. Interesting, he thought.



“Fabulous choice, Cardinal. If you would, go take your seat.” Takara waited until Catarina had sat down again before turning to the task before her. She found she rather liked Isaak in that position, bound down to the bench with his ass in the air waiting to be struck. A pleased smile played across her mouth. “Are you ready, Isaak?”



“I don’t suppose I have any choice in the matter,” he said.



“No. You don’t,” she said and with that let her left arm swing back and then whip forward. She struck him with the flat of the paddle but the long ends wrapped around his hip and upper thigh, leaving welts in their wake.



His teeth clenched to suppress the startled cry that had threatened to escape him.