The Neighbor [The Complete Collection] (17 page)

She could feel the firmness of Ben’s strong hand. It was like a wooden implement. Time after time it came down, as steady as a pendulum, and whacked her raw, red rump. Her pussy moistened and warmed. She had no control over it. Her emotions were controlling her body. She ground her cunt against the edge of the table as the spankings came down like rain. At last it became more than she could take. She would have done anything to make it stop. She couldn’t let her body betray her like this. If violence made her orgasm, what did that make her? It made her damaged, and she knew it.

—Enough, she shouted.

—What’s that? Ben said as his firm hand came down yet again on her poor bottom.

—Please. Stop. I’ll do anything.

—Anything?

—Yes. Please, just stop. Just stop.

Janey’s tears had come to an end. They’d been replaced by something very different. Now, all that she felt, apart from the pain and humiliation of being spanked, was a strange and shameful desire. It was a hunger in her that she knew was rooted in the deep traumas of her childhood. She felt it was like a stain that marked her as damaged and worthless. She tried to repress it. She would not honestly have been able to explain her feelings for Ben at that moment. She wanted to kill him but she also wanted him to fuck her, hard and deep and long. He was her husband, and he’d taken control, dominated her, and showed her the position that he wanted her in. While she couldn’t agree with his actions logically, her body felt something else entirely. Her body was betraying her. All it wanted was to allow Ben to dominate her now, to unleash the power of his manhood on her, fill her up with thick, meaty cock and show her what it meant to be a woman.

—Take me, she said quietly.

—What’s that? Ben said, toying with her.

She couldn’t bear for him to play with her, not now. Her emotions were in too much turmoil to bear anything like that. She just wanted his cock in her pussy. He was her husband and she had a right to that cock. She shouldn’t have to ask for it. She knew it was a false belief, but she felt that if he stuck his cock in her, it would mean that he still loved her, and that they still belonged to each other.

—Take me, Ben.

—Ben, what?

—Ben my husband. Ben my master. Just take me.

—Now you want me?

—Yes, I want you. I want you more than anything. You are my husband. You own me. I’m supposed to be yours. And you’ve been neglecting me.

—Who am I?

—You’re my husband.

—And?

—And my lord.

—Say it again,
wife
.

—You are my
husband
.
Take
me.

—I’ll take you alright, but not yet.

III

B
EFORE UNLOCKING THE OFFICE,
Ben went over to one of his filing cabinets and took out a black, cloth bag. Janey watched. She didn’t know what he was doing. All she knew was that he was her husband and she wanted him to use her like a wife. That shouldn’t have been too much for a wife to ask.

She knew things weren’t right between her and Ben. She knew this wasn’t normal. He’d had an affair without her knowledge, he’d beaten her and acted violently toward her, but they were still married. There was something about the way he’d spanked her, about the way it brought back memories of her childhood, that just made her want to obey Ben. She wanted him to tell her what to do and she wanted to do it. She wanted to please him. She wanted to make him happy, make him love her again, but most of all she wanted him to dominate her as she’d been dominated in her childhood.

Ben opened the cloth bag. Inside was a black, leather collar. It was studded with fake diamonds and there was a metal ring clasp.

—Put this on, he said.

—What?

The way Ben looked at her, Janey just shut her mouth and picked up the collar. She fit it around her neck. It wasn’t uncomfortable, it was soft and luxurious leather, but she still felt strange putting it on. It opened at the clasp and she put it around her neck and clasped it shut. It fit perfectly, with just the smallest amount of extra space. It wasn’t tight on her neck. There was also a little give in the leather so that it would stretch if it was pulled. Janey saw Ben take a second collar, identical to the one she was wearing, from the bag.

—Who’s that for?

He didn’t answer her. He made his way to the door and unlocked it.

—Follow me, he said.

Janey followed Ben out into the hallway. She had no idea what was going on or where Ben was leading her. All she knew was that he was her husband and she was going to follow him. She felt a little self-conscious walking through the building with a collar on her neck but she supposed it wasn’t that different from the collars some teenaged girls wore for fashion. She was more embarrassed that she was still wearing the sexy black dress she’d worn to the bar the night before. These people had all been there. What if they noticed she was still in the same dress?

They walked past a few offices. It was almost six now and a lot of the office staff had already left for the night.

When they reached the lobby, Janey saw that Suzy was still there. Just the sight of the other woman caused her heart to pound. What was going to happen now?

—Suzy, Ben said to her as he reached the lobby. He was holding out the other collar toward her.

Suzy said nothing. She just took the collar meekly from Ben’s hand and fastened it around her neck. Janey was shocked. What was going on? What kind of a crazy situation was she getting herself into? What were Ben and Suzy involved in? She looked around the lobby but none of the other employees of Bauer and Hanson were there.

—Come on, girls, Ben said as he led the way out the front of the building.

Suzy didn’t look at Janey. She kept her eyes forward and walked quickly, keeping up with Ben. Janey almost had to run in her heels to keep up with them both. Ben was parked on the street about half a block away. They got to his car. Thankfully Suzy went for the backseat so Janey went to take the front passenger seat. Ben was her husband and she should be the one sitting next to him.

—In the back, Ben said.

Janey was surprised. Ben got in the driver’s seat and Suzy got in the back and left the door open for Janey to follow. Why couldn’t she sit in the front? She didn’t understand. She got in the back next to Suzy. It was very strange. Both of them had the same black, jewel encrusted collars around their necks. Janey was also keenly aware that they had both slept with each other’s husbands the night before. She’d wanted Ben to use her as a wife but this wasn’t at all what she’d had in mind.

The two women sat silently in the back seat as Ben drove through the darkening streets toward the north end of town. They took Oakwood Avenue out past the hospital and soon they were past the lights of the city and driving through lightly forested hill country. After a couple of miles Ben took a turnoff to the left along a bumpy, rutted driveway. Trees grew on either side and Janey began to fear for what she’d allowed herself to get into. She was sitting in a car with the two people who hated her most. Ben had knocked her unconscious just hours before and she doubted Suzy would shed too many tears if something bad were to happen to her.

She looked out through the trees for signs of anyone who might be able to assist her if things got ugly. The place was completely deserted. She could see the orange glow of the city reflected on the clouds a few miles to the south. That was all. She began to wish she’d remained in the hospital. She could have been there right now, with Henry watching over her making sure everything was safe.

She jumped in fright when she felt a hand on her knee. It was Suzy. She looked over at the other woman. Perhaps they were both in the same situation. They
were
both wearing the same collars.

—Don’t be frightened, Suzy whispered.

—Where are we going?

—My house, Suzy said.

Ben looked over his shoulder.

—Quiet back there, he said.

He didn’t sound angry but he did sound firm, like he expected to be obeyed. Suzy leaned over and whispered in Janey’s ear.

—This is all just a game. Try not to be frightened.

Janey looked out at the passing trees. In the car’s headlights everything looked sinister. She tried to do as Suzy said and relax but it wasn’t easy. Why should she even trust Suzy? Suzy had shown her nothing but hostility and contempt. The car pulled up outside a large house and Ben got out of the car.

—Wait here, he said to the two in the back as he left.

Janey looked at Suzy with sheer terror in her eyes.

—Suzy! What the hell is going on?

She knew she had no reason to trust Suzy but she no one else to turn to. Suzy put her hand on Janey’s legs again and tried and calm her.

—Jesus, Janey. I know this is scary but it doesn’t have to be. It’s just your first time. My first time I was terrified too. But don’t be afraid. Nothing bad is going to happen. It isn’t as bad as it appears.

—What’s going to happen?

—Just some fun and games.

—What do you mean?

—Well, lets just say last night was a warm up.

—More swinging?

Janey couldn’t believe it. She’d given in to Ben, she’d fallen for his act of power, but she’d wanted him, not another man.

—All I wanted was to be with my husband.

Suzy looked down.

—I know, she said.

Janey looked at her.

—Why are you being nice to me? she said.

Suzy smiled.

—I don’t know. I just feel sorry for you. I know how terrifying it can be when they do this.

Janey nodded. She wished she knew what was going on, but it was some comfort to her that Suzy seemed to be acting nice. She sighed.

—Ben hit me this morning. Put me in hospital.

Suzy nodded.

—He told me. All I can say, is he’s under a lot of stress. A lot’s going on in his life right now. They told him he was going to make partner today. That’s huge for him.

—You talk like you know him better than I do.

Suzy stopped talking. She took her hand from Janey’s lap.

—All I’m saying is, he’s going through a lot, Suzy said.

—That’s no excuse for hitting me.

—I know it isn’t.

After that they sat in silence. Janey felt a lot differently about Suzy now. Till this point, Suzy had never shown her the slightest sign of kindness or friendship. Now she saw that Suzy was a person too, with feelings and emotions. She was acting kindly, trying to comfort her. She may be having an affair with Ben, but she wasn’t all bad. And she hadn’t even brought up the fact that Janey had slept with Luke last night. That must be the way it was for swingers, Janey thought. They didn’t get jealous. She knew she was being foolish but she couldn’t help putting some trust in Suzy. She felt that Suzy would be looking out for her, making sure nothing too bad happened.

She decided that she didn’t want to hold a grudge against Suzy. It was Ben who’d cheated on her, not Suzy. She heard footsteps outside the car and saw the two men approaching.

—What now? she whispered to Suzy in a panicked strain.

—Don’t worry. It’s all just a big game, Janey. No one’s going to hurt you. They’re just going to use us as props to play out their fantasies.

—I never agreed to any of this.

Suzy shrugged, as if her consent meant nothing. It wasn’t easy to remain calm in these circumstances. She had no idea where she was, or what was going to happen. She and Suzy were in collars. Ben had beaten her unconscious that very morning.

Ben got back in the driver’s seat and Luke got in the passenger side.

—Hello, ladies, he said over his shoulder. Are you too ready for some fun?

Janey wondered what the hell he was talking about. Did he even know that Ben had beaten her unconscious? Did he know that she wasn’t sure she wanted to go through with whatever they had planned? She supposed not. She wanted to say something, to ask to be let out of the car, but something stopped her. She was afraid. More than what was happening, she was afraid to find out that she really had no choice. As long as she didn’t ask to be let out she could fool herself into thinking she was here of her own free will. If she asked them to let her go and they refused, she’d know she was here against her will. That was what she was afraid of.

IV

T
HEY DROVE BACK DOWN THE
driveway and onto the highway. They continued heading north for another few miles before Ben took them off the road and into a small parking lot. Janey saw a sign at the entrance welcoming them to a nature preservation area. The mood in the car was quiet and somber. She didn’t understand why everyone was so serious when this was supposed to be fun. She prayed nothing bad was about to happen to her. She’d heard of women being killed in places like this.

She peered out the window at their surroundings. The area was forested. The parking lot was well maintained but dark and there were no buildings around. There was a single light in the middle of the parking lot and she could see that there were no other cars there. The lights of passing cars on the highway came faintly through the trees but the area was fairly private and sheltered. No one would be able to see them there unless they came into the parking lot. There were a few garbage cans around the edge of the lot and Janey also saw picnic tables and barbecues. It was the sort of place campers and vacationers could come for a picnic and a pitstop in summer. There didn’t seem to be any provision for overnight parking. On the far end of the lot were two little wooden cabins that served as male and female washrooms.

What the hell were they doing here? Janey looked again at Suzy for help but Suzy wasn’t paying attention. She was looking out at the lot through her own window.

—Looks like we’re early, Suzy said.

Luke looked at his watch.

—It’s not even seven thirty.

—I bet it’s cold out there, Suzy said.

—Oh, you’ll be alright, Luke said and reached back to touch her knee.

Ben cleared his throat.

—Luke, he said. Would you excuse me for a minute. I have to make sure my wife is properly prepared.