Nicolette entered the room in a flourish of silk and leather, followed by her slave who was clad only in two strategically placed red ribbons. They walked slowly across the room, Nicolette because she must have been aware of and reveling in the stir her leather ball gown was causing, and her slave because the girl had to walk slowly; chained as she was to Nicolette's hips by fine silver chains. The chains themselves led from Nicolette's hips to tiny holes in the ribbon tied around the slave's breasts so that the slave was either connected by nipple clamps or piercings. I realized with a start that so many things had happened in the intervening time that I couldn't remember if the girl had pierced nipples.

"Thank you Nicolette! You look ravishing as usual. Can we offer you a seat?" Devon had become nearly obsequious and I could see why. Rose and I were both drooling a little in the aura of the beautiful domina's charisma. I shook myself a bit but that only served to show me how little effect that had on the vision in front of us. Nicolette nodded at Devon imperiously and reached down to release the clips from the gown so that her slave had a bit more freedom of movement. Then Nicolette sank slowly to the cushion offered before leading her sub by the hand to sit in her lap.

She smiled slowly and sensuously and I felt Rose lean forward as if drawn by the gravity of the top's dominance, and then Nicolette broke the glamour she held over us all by laughing uproariously. "You should see yourselves! Wow, I knew this gown was good, but I didn't know it was that good." She grinned and controlled her laughter and I felt my smile grow in return. Devon found his voice first and the moment was broken as we leaned back to settle in our seats.

"A stunning entrance as always my dear. If you ever change your mind about boys you have got to let me know." Devon held a broad grin and leaned forward to light the cigarette she held in a long white holder. "I was just telling Xeno that you would be his trainer for tomorrow. He needs some of the technical details and I think you would be the best possible person for the job."

"It would be my pleasure Devon." She turned to face Rose and me. "And you Xeno? Are you ready to be taught the ropes? And the whips? And the chains?" She grinned again and I could feel Rose wriggling in my lap, basking in Nicolette's glee. I nodded mutely for a moment and then opened my mouth.

"I would welcome your training and your wisdom. I know I have much to learn and it will be an honor to learn from one such as yourself."

"My, he does turn a pretty phrase doesn't he?" Nicolette turned back to Devon for a moment and they exchanged a look that I couldn't understand. She turned back to me and looked very serious when she asked. "And what of your slave?" I could feel Rose nodding in my lap, but because I felt something was expected of us I helped Rose to sit for a moment and looked her deep in the eyes.

"Are you OK with Nicolette training me to be a better top Rose? And are you ok with being the one on whom I train?" Rose paused for a moment, her head tilted to the side as if in consideration. I would have taken it for deep thought if I had not seen the look of mischief in her eyes.

"Yes Master, I am quite happy about the arrangements." She was mimicking my formal speech almost perfectly but for the obvious grin in her voice. "May I be allowed to ask one thing in return my Lord?" I nodded, knowing she had something interesting in mind. "Will I be allowed to thank her properly Master? It will mean sharing me with her." She snuggled against me then, her grin hidden in my chest. I could also feel a tension in her body. Rose was honestly waiting for an answer she was not sure she would get.

I pondered that for a moment. Here was an actual test of the lesson Nicolette had taught me on my second night here. Just because Rose and I were sworn to each other was no reason to feel jealousy if she expressed interest in someone else. The fact that we had chemistry did not preclude that same chemistry existing with another being. This was reality; there was no single soul mate for anyone. We chose those who felt right and worked with what we got and it worked out far better than trying to find a single soul mate in a population that was measured in billions. Slowly at first and then with certainty, I nodded my head. "Yes Rose, you will be allowed to thank her. I know the kind of thanks you can give will not be of interest coming from me. Although perhaps we should both remember to show our gratitude in the usual manner as well." Rose beamed and pressed herself happily to my chest.

Nicolette smiled as well and tipped an imaginary hat to me. Her voice floated across Rose's happy murmurs. "Thank you for that Xeno. I look forward to tomorrow. You have shown an amazing amount of growth already and it is a joy to teach such an apt pupil." Nicolette leaned over her slave to ash her cigarette and then stood. "I have quite a bit of preparation before tomorrow. If you will all excuse me I think I will take my love here and get started." Everyone made noises of approval and she turned to leave. Her slave glanced over her shoulder and I could swear she winked at Rose. When I looked down at Rose, her face held an entirely too innocent look.

"What are you two up to, darling?" I asked her and then paused. She gave me a calculating look and then opened her mouth but I motioned her to silence. Two entirely unrelated thoughts had just collided in my head. The first was that my speech had been changing subtly so that I had only just noticed that I was becoming more formal when the situation was formal and I had just called Rose "darling". That was not something I had ever called anyone before. Or at least not without being specifically prompted. I was actively changing mentally as well as learning new information and that knowledge was startling in and of itself. The second thought that had crossed my mind was that I had heard something loud and now the silence was complete. When Rose and then Devon had both quieted, so had the rest of the room. The constant murmur of the living forest was gone as well and I could not attribute that to it being night. I had seen a small white owl sitting outside the window only a few minutes ago, and heard the rustle of creatures in the woods. Now it seemed that even the wind was still as if in the passage of a huge beast.

I went to the windows and began to move from one to the next, straining my eyes in the gloom to see down through the leaves to the forest floor beneath us. I caught a flash of color and then nothing, another flash and then I was rushing to the next window. By now others had caught the air of tension and were checking windows and running out of the room to look from other vantage points. Devon was looking speculatively down at the juncture of tree and tree house while he chewed on his lip. Meanwhile I saw another flash of color and realized I was continuously seeing the same color, blue.

"We have cops." I said out loud and I turned to look at Rowenna. She looked back, for a moment shocked and silent. Then her face fell. I was expecting an admission of guilt so I was shocked when her expression went immediately to exasperation. She reached up to the collar of her blouse. It torn down the middle and there between perfectly formed breasts lay a solid silver ankh. It was small enough to look dainty as it nestled between the twin mounds of her braless cleavage. Rowenna looked at it with distaste and tore it from her neck, snapping the silver chain that held it in place. She ran to the nearest window and was about to lift the glass when Devon stepped in. He pressed a finger to his lips and held out the other hand. Rowenna handed the ankh to him with a silent question in her eyes.

Devon took the ankh and sprinted from the room. I looked down through the foliage and saw sudden burst of action below us as the blue flashes began to track Devon's movement. 'Of course', I thought. 'A tracking device'. We remained silent for some time while we waited for Devon to return. When he did it was with a small device in one hand attached to a wire that led to a curved wand in the other. It looked quite a bit like a remote control vibrator until Devon plugged an earphone into it and began waving the wand over Rowenna's body. She stood and whenever he gestured she removed a piece of clothing.

We watched with morbid fascination while she stripped to the skin and still Devon ran the wand across her body. He was looking not at her naked body, but at a small readout on the device her held, which I now took to be either a metal detector or a bug detector. I was assuming a metal detector from the care by which he was stripping her of everything she was wearing. Even her earrings and a small hoop that hung from one outer labia had to go. When the process was done he took the pile of clothing from her. Still silent and careful, he handed her a soft silk robe that held astrological signs embroidered in black on a deep blue background.

Devon left with the device and the pile of clothing. He returned a few minutes later empty handed and smiling. "Well, we can all breath again. Rowenna, I am sure there is a fascinating story behind the listening device in your labia ring and we will all be interested to know if you would like to tell it. But for the moment we need to get some things straight. The ankh was a tracking device as you surmised. Whether or not you knew about it before hand is a question I feel confident was answered by your compliance with our rather sudden strip search. That wand was sensitive enough to pick up the metallic existence of a small ball bearing if you had eaten it so I am not too worried about remnant artifacts. And I think your compliance speaks rather highly of your loyalty. I still wish to maintain your, well, let's call it what it is. I would like to maintain your imprisonment for a little while longer." Rowenna nodded slowly and glanced at RG who leaned closer to kiss her.

***

Devon began to pace the room. "As a matter of fact, I would like to invite everyone to remain here for the next two days. They have a fix on this location as a known spot in which she remained for an extended period of time. I have sent the tracking device and your clothing to be methodically driven through this and the next three towns before being picked up by helicopter and delivered by air mail to a rather remote portion of the bottom of the sea. That should confuse them quite a bit. Especially when your signal dies in the middle of the ocean. But when that happens we must be ready to either stay here indefinitely, or be out of this place. The disappearance of your signal will have them tracing your back trail for any significant pauses in your motion. And the length of time that your signal has paused here is definitely significant." He waggled his eyebrows a bit and sighed when no one laughed.

"Alright, the reason I am asking everyone to stay for two days is that I want the tracking device to be dropped in the ocean in two and a half days. Two days are about all I am willing to spare in the endeavor, but by then the surveillance on this place should have died down. We will be able to slip out at night and get away with no interference. In the meantime, a few people have made it back to the club and will be cleaning up there and getting things ready for us to come back. Yes, I said the club and not the mansion. My security team there tells me that things are still a little rowdy and some of the less cooperative members are getting even more belligerent as time goes on. No one is willing to leave until I tell them to. And for the moment, I'm going to let the lot of them hang by their own impatience." Devon stalked from one window to the next peering down and examining the small patches of ground he could see through the foliage.

I felt as though something was expected of us so I made the first move. "I'm in Devon." I stood up and pulled Rose to me. "And so is Rose." This elicited a happy sigh and she snuggled into my side where I held her with one hand.

Nicolette stepped forward with her slave in tow and spoke. "We too are in. Besides, I think your little plantation dungeon will provide nicely for Xeno's training tomorrow." I grinned over my shoulder at Rose who went a little weak in the knees.

Rowenna stood and RG rose smoothly with her and they both bowed slightly to Devon. "We remain at your service Devon." Devon smiled in acknowledgement. At this point everyone officially stepped forward to count themselves in and give their allegiance. A few voiced reservations, but these were point specific questions about the food stores and our ability to consume so much electricity without arousing suspicion. Devon allowed that the electricity could indeed be traced back to the tree house if one was persistent, but we had time and would be out of here before that point was reached. The food was not a problem because the plantation house, of which I had only seen the basement/dungeon, was also operated as a tourist bed and breakfast so the kitchen was fully stocked, and there were ways to bring the food back and forth without arousing suspicion. We were under siege, but not very effectively. Devon told everyone to enjoy themselves and go where they pleased as long as it didn't mean climbing up a flight of stairs to get there.

There was an entire underground complex here that could provide for our needs, and keep us amused for the next two days. Also, as long as we didn't go above ground, there was no chance of any of us being seen and questioned.

Devon again took his leave of us and turned to move through a doorway when Raven and another beautiful young man came pelting through. Raven stopped giggling. He bent at the waist with his hands on his knees while he caught his breath. "Devon, there is a call for you in the security room." Raven panted. His friend was a near opposite in terms of color. Pale white skin and long curly hair complemented a soft black velvet suit that looked straight out of little lord Fauntleroy. Raven was dressed in a nearly identical outfit of eye watering white. Devon turned to go and Raven, still gasping and laughing grabbed his arm. "Please don't mess with our game, I am so going to beat the high score." Devon smiled and nodded as he left through the door trailed by Raven and his friend.