The cold light of dawn found her with the crossword glued to her left breast. 'Oh hoo-fucking-ray!' she thought as she rolled about trying to remove the tenacious article then finally gave up in exhaustion. She lay panting and, cross-eyed, read, '3 down. Tied with a leap (5)' 'Yea sure!' she muttered to herself as she started to doubt her sanity until the state of her bladder impinged upon her rising awareness. 'Oops! This I don't need.' She said and surveyed the room. Just as she'd determined the target for her morning flow, a theatre review, the door burst open again and Peter filled the frame. Instinctively she cowered in the corner until she caught his gaze. 'Ah my poor Lady,' he said softly, 'are you ready to be released?' She nodded and he silently started to release her catches and bindings. Finally as he helped her remove her boots he kissed her cheek and said softly, 'Good morning my darling.' She stared at him for a moment and broke into racking sobs until he held her tight. 'A hot bubble bath and breakfast await you' he said as he stroked her Cameron Diaz gelled hair. 'Oh love,' she wailed, 'I was so unhappy. I only wanted to please you and you went to bed without me being able to say goodnight properly.' 'There, there,' he soothed, flexing his fingers and looking at them. 'You go and have a bathe and hair wash also, I think, and we'll talk about it later.'

That morning at work passed with Lucinda in a semi trance experiencing frequent painful reminders every time she sat down or moved in her seat. Thankfully there was only the batch of weekend sales and media reports to get out to clients and her very capable assistant, Joan, managed despite Lucinda's weirdness. 'Are you OK?' Joan asked as they stood by the coffee machine. Lucinda looked at the young African woman and grinned, 'Yes, I think so. In fact I think I'm very OK thanks! Just an enlightening and exhausting weekend that's all.' Joan tilted her head and asked, smiling. 'You've had a damned good seeing to then?' and added 'Peter?' Lucinda laughed and put her hand on the girl's arm, 'My love, I've been fucked to the other side of next weekend! I feel like a God damned rabbit!' 'Oooh, you lucky thing.' She pouted, 'Sam and I only managed a pizza and some silly, boring match on the telly.' 'Hmmm, there were times when I wished I was doing only that.' Lucinda commented with a vague expression, 'You still on for squash' Joan asked, interrupting her reverie. 'I sure am. I'm in training!' Lucinda replied proudly. 'Training?' Lucinda put a finger to her lips, 'Secret,' she whispered.

Later, as they dried after their showers, Lucinda caught the younger girl looking at her breasts and rear. She felt a warm glow of achievement as she paraded the visible signs of her development. When they sat in the bar nursing a glass of water each, Joan asked bluntly, 'I presume those marks on your tits and legs are a result of the weekend?' Lucinda tried to look suitably enigmatic, 'They might be,' she smiled. Joan looked at her seriously and touched her hand, 'Be careful Lucinda, you don't know what you could be getting into.' Lucinda was speechless, how could this slip of a girl know what she was getting into, and what business of hers was it anyway? 'What do you mean?' she asked cautiously. 'I met this guy, and old guy, when I was at college. He said I was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen and I was bowled over.' Joan explained and went on, 'He said stuff about protecting my perfect tribal beauty, my genetic heritage and crap like that. That society today didn't appreciate what they had lost.' Lucinda nodded as, taking a deep breath, the young girl continued, 'Anyway, the upshot of it was I ended up calling him 'Massa' like some hammy extra from Gone With the Wind and he beat me whenever I hadn't done the chores to his liking. Actually he beat me anyway because I was his slave.' 'Shit,' muttered Lucinda, 'how long did this go on for?' '18 months.' Joan sobbed and wiped her eyes, 'I chucked in my course.' 'Why didn't you leave him?' Lucinda exclaimed. 'I loved him. Oh Jesus, I loved him so much. It was like a drug, I couldn't do anything without his say so.' Lucinda gulped, a feeling of nausea starting to fill her belly. 'So, what finally happened?' she asked. 'He took me to a fancy dress party one night. I was dressed in all the gear, calico and frilly white petticoats and had my hair in bunches, it wasn't shaved then.' Joan ran her hand over her naked scalp. 'It was a sort of grand ball and after some great old fashioned dancing, violins and stuff, they announced the 'evening's diversions'. I was the diversions. My Master chained me to a wall in the cellar and they took turns to whip me until my clothes came off in ribbons then they gang raped me until I passed out.' She choked, 'they even used bottles on me. I shaved my head the next day and have never seen him since.' Joan had regained her composure but Lucinda took the girl's hand and kissed it gently. 'Oh God love, you poor thing. I never knew, no-one told me.' 'No-one in the agency knows. You know I'm a dyke?' Lucinda smiled, 'We all know that! To the extent that half the sweet young things take one look at you when they start and want to renounce their heterosexuality on the spot!' Joan grinned sheepishly, and squeezed Lucinda's fingers. 'Thank you for that, what about you?' she asked, 'You mean me and Peter?' 'No, I didn't actually, but OK, what about you and Peter?' 'I don't think it's quite like your experiences at all, this is pony- play, mostly dressing up like a horse and trotting about. That's what I'm training for, a show in two weeks.' Joan nodded, 'Yes, I've heard about that sort of thing. I'm sure you're right. Just be careful,' she warned, and added, 'Please, for me?' 'OK love, I will.' Lucinda said and started to rise, 'we should get back.' Joan looked at her watch, 'Bugger, yes!' Lucinda gripped her arm as she started to move away, 'Oh, and Joan?' she said, as she took in the girl's high cheek bones and voluptuous curves 'Yes?' 'I think you are the most attractive woman I know and, if Peter wasn't there for me, I'd be wearing rainbows to the office.' Joan laughed and high-fived her. 'Right on sister!' Lucinda gave her a peck on the cheek and they left grinning arm in arm.

Lucinda pondered Joan's confession all afternoon and replayed her own experiences. Sure there were similarities, but Peter couldn't be that cruel to someone he loved surely? Lucinda reached the flat first and packed her things. She was sitting in the kitchen when Peter returned and threw his keys onto the table. Lucinda felt a nostalgic stirring in her loins. 'Hiya hon!' he exclaimed beaming. 'Hello love,' she said, seeing what he would do next. He wasted no time, tugging off his tie and, about to leave the room, he called, 'Ready to start then?' 'No.' she said quietly. 'No what?' he demanded. 'No, I'm not ready to start,' and added with emphasis, 'Peter.' For a moment a thunderous look crossed his face and Lucinda felt a sense of real fear much stronger than she'd experienced during their play. He looked at her strangely for a while but she held his gaze like facing down a cat. Finally he looked down at her legs and opened his arms, smiling. 'Last night was a bit extreme, eh?' She shook her head, 'No, it's not that.' 'Well what is it then?' He seemed to struggle to control the clipped words. 'I just think things are going a bit too fast,' she answered, and added, 'you knew I had my doubts?' 'Yes, I know. But don't tell me you didn't have fun over the past three days?' She nodded again, 'Yes. I did have fun. It was more erotic than anything I can ever remember. I just think I need some time to cool off, that's all. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind driving me home?' He pondered this for a while then turned to get his keys. 'OK, let's go,' he said as he impatiently jingled the keys.

They drove to her flat in silence and in the rain. 'What a difference a day makes,' she thought sadly as she peered at the streetlamps reflected in the droplets. At least he saw her to the door and sheltered her with an umbrella. 'I'm sorry love...' she started. He held up a hand, 'No, you're right. We both need some space. I'll call you later in the week.' She leant to kiss him, but he was gone into the rainy night. 'Bye love,' she whispered. Then, turning to the entrance to her block said, 'Hello little flat, I hope you didn't miss me?' and added, 'I'm back, having well and truly fucked another one up there again.' She shrugged, 'What the world really needs is another 27 year old spinster' she sighed as she remembered her birthday in four days time.

Thankfully she was involved in a client review meeting all day Tuesday and managed to make the day last late into the evening while she wrote it up. As she wearily climbed the stairs to her flat she both hoped he'd called her and hoped he hadn't. He hadn't. After a shower to wash away the grime of the day she caught site of her striped buttocks in the mirror. Three perfectly horizontal lines ran above a cross of three lines below. She idly caressed her breast as she replayed the weekend. Even if he had behaved like a shit at times, he certainly knew where all the right buttons were. As she felt herself start to moisten she knew that, if he walked in on her there and then, she'd spread for him in an instance. 'C'est la vie,' she murmured and went to bed.

At the morning's coffee machine rendezvous with Joan, Lucinda said, 'I think Peter and I have split.' Joan looked at her for a moment, then said 'Me and my big mouth, I'm sorry. I should have kept quiet, what you do is your business.' Lucinda held Joan's shoulders. 'My love, it's not your fault. Well it is, but what I'm trying to say is, thank you. You made me think long and hard before I got in too deep. It was my choice. I packed and told him we needed to cool off. Judging by his reaction. I think I was right to test our relationship now.' Joan seemed not entirely convinced. 'I need to see that he loves me and I'm not just the next easy lay for him.' Joan raised an eyebrow, 'You're an easy lay?' Lucinda looked sheepish. 'Hmm, well not exactly easy but my hormones do seem to take over under the right circumstances.' Joan pretended to take notes, 'And these are?' Lucinda laughed and hugged her. 'Naughty! What would Sam say?' Joan stood back and appraised Lucinda then declared, 'She'd say, 'A bit on the skinny side but I wouldn't throw her out of bed!'' 'Aw, so romantic. And what would you say?' Joan squeezed Lucinda's hand and looked into her eyes. 'I think you know exactly what I'd say, but first see what happens with Peter, after all that was the deal on Monday!' she smiled, then added, 'But, seriously if it all turns to shit again, please, please don't hesitate to call me. Promise?' 'I promise love, but what about you and Sam? I don't want to screw things up' Lucinda asked. 'Lucinda, darling, Sam and I are soul mates and deeply and utterly in love. I don't think that supporting a friend in need is going to disrupt that. If anything it would bring us closer together. The main thing is that you survive, we have each other.' 'I guess so. I'd like to meet Sam someday, she sounds great.' Joan smiled, 'Yes, she is kinda wonderful. Tell you what, you sort it out with Peter and we'll all go for dinner?' Lucinda held up her palm. 'Deal!' they said simultaneously.