like to do is— Suddenly she had an idea.
“I think the least-offensive place would be my foot,” she said at last, with an eager smile.
“Your foot it is,” he replied without disappointment. He had expected no less of her. Besides, his suggestive question had had the desired effect. He had noticed her loss of composure, if only for a few moments.
He went down on one knee before her in a deceivingly submissive gesture. As she prepared for her attack, Mouse felt a peculiar disappointment that he had allowed himself to be beaten so easily, and a strange regret that it would all soon be over. It occurred to her that, from somewhere within herself, she had hoped he would be smarter or stronger or something…but immediately she reproached herself for being so foolish, remembering that it was her pride and her freedom that were on the line here.
Cat gently picked up her foot and placed his warm mouth on it for a lingering kiss. Immediately after the kiss was concluded, Mouse yanked back her foot in a swift motion, with the intention of kicking Cat in the face—an act that would once and for all show him her utter self-possession and lack of response to him. But as she swung her foot forward to deliver the blow, his hand flew out with razor-sharp precision and caught her ankle, holding it in a grip of steel. She gasped at this unexpected turn of events. The strength she felt in the grasp he maintained on her leg sent a thrill through her. She tried to shake him off but he held her with as little trouble as she might have had holding a butterfly by the wing. All at once she was completely disarmed.
Suddenly she lost her footing, balancing and struggling on the one foot as she had been. With arms and legs akimbo, she fell, bottom first to the floor. With the swiftness of a panther, Cat reached out and caught her, breaking her fall with his hands. She was at first relieved and then horrified. His hands cupped her buttocks. She moved to get up, but he held her.
“We haven’t determined the effect of the kiss yet,” he said with smile.
“What do you mean?” she asked, still struggling to get up and away from his hands.
“What I mean,” he explained calmly, “is that I want to see if I was able to inspire ‘anything but your utter disgust’ for me with my kiss.”
“Oh…well I can assure you that disgust pretty much sums up my feelings,” she lied, trying to appear calm and unaffected. But it was difficult with his strong hands holding her the way they were.
“I don’t believe you,” he replied. “And I like to verify things whenever possible.”
“Well, it’s not possible,” she snapped back. “So you’re just going to have to take my word for it.”
“But it is possible,” he argued. “It’s not only possible, but it’s also simple and painless.” So saying, he removed his hands from beneath her and pried open her legs.
At last she realized what he meant to do. A persistent tingling had been building up between her legs since before the kiss and now her desire was all but throbbing within her. “No,” she protested. “No.” She shook her head back and forth as she struggled desperately to close her legs.
“If it’s as you say,” he said in an annoyingly reasonable tone, loosening his hold on her legs for the moment, “after one brief inspection I will leave here and never bother you again. But if you’re lying, as I suspect, you are rightfully my slave for the evening.”
She gasped in horror. When did the tables turn and he become the victor?
“You can admit your desire for me directly if you’d rather,” he said patiently.
“Never!” she nearly shrieked.
“Well then, you have nothing to hide, have you?” he asked.
His eyes locked with hers, and it was as if she were hypnotized as she allowed him to open her legs wide. His fingers gently touched her, probing her. She cursed her treacherous body even as she shuddered with pleasure when his finger slid easily into the telltale wetness. He let out a hoarse groan and drew her into his arms.
“I win,” he said, just before his lips claimed hers.
Her pride was crushed but she could no longer deny that he had won the battle. Still, she conceded grudgingly. Her eyes flashed with anger and she bit his tongue when he pushed it into her mouth. This did not disappoint him in the least; it was again what he had expected from her. He willingly permitted her to vent all her rage on him. After all, he understood how annoying it could be to lose.
He gently held her arms down until she ceased her clawing, all the while continuing to kiss her tenderly. She struggled to fight off her feelings of attraction to such a worthy opponent; but gradually she began to submit to the warm feelings he kindled in her, and finally she accepted her defeat and returned his kisses with a passion that matched his own. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his body. But he only reveled in her total surrender for a moment. He had already decided that he wanted much more from her than one night of forced servitude. It was time to raise the stakes in their game.
Cat pulled himself away from Mouse’s embrace and asked her, “How is it that I, your master, am here servicing you, my slave?”
She was too stunned by the rude interruption to respond. She had thought that her utter surrender to him would satisfy his need to dominate her, but it seemed that she had been mistaken in that. He wasn’t waiting for a response from her, however. With a quick motion he slapped her buttocks, saying, “Up, slave.”
With burning cheeks Mouse abruptly stood up, attempting to straighten the disheveled cloth she wore, useless though it was. She glared at Cat, silently vowing to find a way to get even with him. But he went on as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
“Follow me, slave,” he said, leading the way. But before she had taken her first step he added, “On your knees.”
She gaped at him, nearly choking on her words with the horror she felt. “I will not,” she finally managed.
“You, what?” he asked, feigning shock at the outburst. But it was again what he had expected. He knew it would take heaven and earth to get her on her knees. And as luck would have it, he just so happened to have the power of heaven and earth over her at that particular moment, for he knew her pride would never allow her to renege on a bet.
“You heard me,” she remarked, standing rigidly before him.
“Are you, then,” he said slowly and evenly, “refusing to make good on our deal?”
She paused at that. “I will serve as your slave for the evening, but not on my hands and knees.”
“You agreed to be my slave, and a slave is obliged to do everything as indicated by her master,” he reasoned shrewdly. “Furthermore, I can assure you that it is quite usual for a slave to be required to take that position…and many others.”
At this Mouse was silent. She had never been a slave before.
“Tell me,” he continued, “if I were your slave, would I not be on my hands and knees at this very moment?”
Mouse again remained silent, because she could hardly deny that she would give much to see him on his hands and knees at that moment. Cat felt it was the perfect time to set Mouse up for another game.
“You were the one who proposed the stakes,” he reminded her. “Now unless you wish to demand a rematch to win back your freedom, you are bound to serve me however I wish.”
It only took a second for her eyes to flash back to life and for her to grasp the hook he had dangled before her. “A rematch?”
“Yes,” he said smoothly. Then, pretending to change his mind, he added, “I mean, no. I don’t think I could be enticed to agree to that. After all, I’ve got a pretty good deal here with you as my slave for the evening.”
He almost smiled as she uttered the words he had been waiting for. “But we could go double or nothing!”
“Why