The Buyer Ch. 08

The month wore on. The bruises and welts faded again but were not replaced with new ones; the buyer found other ways to hurt her that wouldn't leave marks and breach the agreement. She learned what he liked and when, and gave it to him almost before he knew himself what he wanted. He didn't engage her in conversation as much as he did in the beginning, and they slipped into a comfortable silence when alone together. They went out for weekend nights and a few during the week, and Anna continued to be seen and not heard.

She slept alone in the cage every night. He eventually stopped locking it, and she would emerge early in the mornings in order to gently coax him awake just before his alarm went off.

Anna found, to her surprise, that she would miss the intense, all-consuming feelings that flowed around her as a result of the buyer's brutal treatment. As she curled up in the cage, unable to sleep, she tried to sort through her feelings and thoughts, with no success. She knew she missed Mark and needed to be home, that was clear. She also knew she reacted strongly to the buyer. He stirred her feelings, seemingly effortlessly. She didn't feel like she had a choice in what she did when he started to work with her. It felt more like being pulled along a river. Or over a waterfall.

On the morning of their last full day Anna made breakfast as usual. Her mind wandered while she cooked, but snapped back to focus when the buyer came in and sat down. It still startled her when he asked her to sit at the table.

"Beg pardon?" she asked, blinking.

"Get your tea and have a seat, pet." He leaned back in his chair and waited for her to obey. When she did, hands wrapped around the mug for warmth, he spoke again. "Are you looking forward to being returned tomorrow?"

"Yes, Master," Anna replied without hesitation. Her hands tightened around the mug of freshly prepared tea, the heat burning her palms, until she had to pull them away.

"Have you enjoyed anything about this month?"

Anna took a few moments to think, but couldn't answer. She looked down into her tea instead, pressing her hands to the mug again. This time she couldn't leave them on as long, and she pulled away again.

"Or, I could ask, do you feel you've changed at all?"

Anna flicked her eyes up to the buyer, conflict warring behind them. "Yes Master," she said again, a mirthless smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "I think I have."

"How do you feel about that?"

The mere thought of the pain he inflicted made her body react, parallel sensations of fear and arousal. She felt her heart beat harder as she struggled to articulate her thoughts, then finally settled for "It's confusing."

"Confusing how?" He settled back in his chair, his gaze fixed on her. When she couldn't answer immediately, he asked "Have you ever been conditioned like this before?"

"No, Master." She drew a breath, as if to go on, then stopped.

"Would you want more?"

Anna hesitated again. "It's not about what I want, it's about what my Sir requires of me."

The buyer's voice sharpened. "I want a real answer from you. If you don't care, say so. If you dodge another question I will punish you. Do you understand?" Anna nodded quickly, her eyes widening and her body shrinking a little. "Now. I deeply enjoyed changing you. Did you enjoy being changed?"

Anna nodded, somehow unable to form the words.

"Would you want to keep those changes? Or would you prefer to naturally go back to what you were before?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "It's hard to think straight around you."

He gave a small smile at that. "Would you enjoy more?"

Anna looked down, her cheeks burning, pressing her hands to her mug again but finding the tea had cooled enough that it didn't burn her palms anymore. "I don't know. That feeling of being scrambled is terrifying."

"Has anyone made you feel that way before?"

"Yes. But it was a different situation, I didn't know what was going to happen. Here, I didn't know what you were going to do, but I believed I was going to go home at the end no matter what. You bent the rules as far as you could but you haven't broken them, and I don't think you will."

Another small smile tugged at his lip. "No, I won't."

Silence stretched between them. Anna looked into her tea, and the buyer watched her sort through her emotions. She looked up to him and hesitated a moment before asking "Why did you bid for me?"

The buyer laughed. "I wanted something pretty and entertaining for my stay, and you fit the bill."

Anna was a little surprised. "You didn't see anything you were interested in, it was just a fun thing to do?"

"Nothing more than that. I did find you particularly inspiring. We explored more than I would have otherwise. You're an excellent slave, and you are very easy to use." Anna nodded slowly, and he let the silence stretch between them again. "Did you want to ask me anything else?"

"No, Master."

The buyer stood up. "I'll see you when I get home from work, then." With that, he left.

That night they fucked. Anna wasn't sure what to expect, but there were no twists, no turns, no complications. She was left alone that night, curled up in her cage, unable to sleep. By the time the sky started to lighten with the dawn she only knew for sure that she couldn't talk about any of the swirling thoughts in her mind, and that she hoped the feelings would fade when she was back under her Sir's care.

She slipped out of the cage and walked quietly to the bedroom, thinking about how she would draw her lips over his cock to awaken him for the last time. The bed was empty when she stepped inside the door, and she paused, puzzled. She stared at the bed, tangled sheets showing he'd slept in it, but definitely wasn't there now.

"Good morning pet," she heard him say from behind her, and she turned just a little too slowly. He had her by the collar before she could think, forcing her to her knees. Her lips parted instinctively as she gasped, and he pushed his cock into her, holding the collar with both hands to keep her head still. "I can't return you marked, harmed, or damaged. But you'll be thinking of me when I return you, and when your owner fucks you for the first time." He punctuated his words with sharp, savage thrusts of his cock, tearing into her throat hard enough that she knew what he meant.

He left her throat and pussy bruised and aching, no damage visible, but in pain nonetheless. It would fade to a dull throb, she knew, that would reignite when she was taken again. It wasn't damage or lasting harm, and Anna knew she was helpless. When he was done he let out a deep sigh of satisfaction, tracing her jaw and gazing down at her. "You've been an excellent purchase my lovely. Go now, make breakfast while I shower, then you need to get ready to be returned."

--

Anna wore the same outfit she'd worn when she was taken away. It was silly to think that it might give the impression that the month hadn't happened, but sometimes little flights of fancy were entertaining. She looked at herself carefully, checked her nails for the sixteenth time, and touched up her eyeliner. There were no marks on her body to indicate what had passed over the course of the month. She redid her lipstick.

She had time for a few more nervous checks before he returned, walking in without announcement or fanfare, and clipped a leash to her collar. "Heel," he commanded, his voice clearly showing his lack of interest. She did without a word, dropping to her knees and crawling alongside him.

He didn't ask her to kneel when he rang the doorbell to Mark's house. She looked up when Mark opened the door, meeting his eyes, and something electric passed between them. She would have sworn her heart stopped. Something crossed his face, a look she used to misjudge but that she now knew was lust, greedy and barely controlled, but carefully concealed, and she fell to her knees at his feet, throwing her arms around his legs, head pressed to him, trembling. She was already composing apologies in her mind, this behaviour was rude to the buyer and it was awkward for Mark for his slave to be this clingy. You reflect badly on your owner, she told herself, but batted the thought away.

With her face buried in him she couldn't see him look down and smile warmly, his gaze softening a little. She did feel his hand go to her head and stroke her hair. "Good girl," he said softly, then looked to the buyer and held out his other hand for the leash. "Would you like to come in?" he asked.

The buyer looked from Mark to Anna and back again then shook his head. "I don't think that's necessary."

"Was she satisfactory?"

The buyer nodded. "Entirely so. Will she be available for rental in the future?

Anna's arms tightened around Mark almost imperceptibly. Mark's expression didn't change but his hand slipped protectively around Anna's head. "Anything could happen," he said lightly. "One never knows what the future will bring, right?"

The buyer nodded again. "Well," he said. "Thank you."

Mark extended his hand and they shook. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you." He looked down at Anna and tugged the leash just so. She fell to her hands and knees and crawled into the house as Mark closed the door, bringing her home.