The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

“Applied Hypnosis Lifestyle”

[author’s note: thanks to everyone who emailed regarding this story, you guys rock^_^]

VI—Work Hard, Play Hard

Yuko stared vacantly at the wall as she walked on the treadmill Master had brought her to help her recover her strength. The automatic timer shut it off, and she went to the kitchen, ate a simple meal, then returned to her room and took a kneeling position in front of her bed, where the phone left for her by Master lay, all while keeping her mind as close to blank as possible. It helped dull the ache of her idleness. It had been a week since she’d heard from Him. Was she not His tool? What purpose did she have without a command to obey? Her very self-concept was entangled around her servitude to Him, and the idle days ate at her, so she tried to be a robot, shut down her mind, but only Master could give her that blissful blankness.

Her soul leapt as the phone tweeted for her attention. Her hand snatched the device from the sheet and flipped it open to find a text-message waiting for her.

“6 f 19-24.” it said simply.

“Yes,” she typed in acknowledgement. The command restored purpose to her existence and salved her heartache. She went to the television and turned it on, flipping channels until she found a local station with a weather report. It was a warm day with no chance of rain, so she went with a red mid-thigh sun dress and matching pumps. There wasn’t much breeze, so she went commando—besides, the closer she was to naked, the more comfortable she was. She picked up the purse Master had left for her use. It contained a money clip with ten ten-dollar bills, an ATM card in case she needed more, and a fake ID. Yuko added the cell phone to its contents and peered out the chained door. No one was in evidence, so she slipped quietly out into the hall and down the steps, avoiding the neighbors. She stepped out into the street, her dark eyes scanning for targets like a hawk in the sky.

The mission was to gather six females aged nineteen to twenty-four. She had done it before with a callous and cavalier attitude that had put her in danger many times. Putting herself in danger was no longer allowed. Her life was not her own to forfeit; it was property of her Master. Also, if somebody reported one of her recruits as missing, and then the girl was found in Master’s presence, He could find himself in proverbial hot water—a clear disservice, prohibited by her new reality. It called for a much more circumspect approach than she was used to.

A small part of her looked forward to the challenge.

* * *

Esperanza was conscious of the attention of her classmates as she entered the school. She had to admit, she looked good in her new, less-frumpy clothes. Her new blue jeans fit her just right, making an excellent package for her lush Latin backside. A white button-up shirt was tucked into her pants, allowing the shape of her chest to be discerned below. Her hair was cascading down her back in dark waves. Below her clothes, sheer silk underwear gave her a decidedly naughty feeling as she walked. Adding to this was the confidence in her stride, the enigmatic Mona Lisa smile on her face, and a touch of a naughty twinkle in her eye as she appraised each male she passed.

She was at her usual post when the bell rang. She caught a couple of guys without their hall passes. Her newly-perceptible sensuality kept them from making up a believable excuse, and her manner let them know just who was in charge. She felt powerful, and it felt good.

Mark showed up, and the tables were turned. She found herself eagerly bouncing to his side as he beckoned her to him. The touch of his lips on hers set her body on fire, and she wanted to ravish him right there in the hall. “Come on.” he told her, and she followed him obediently to the auditorium. Someone had wheeled a brass bed onto the stage and made it up in preparation for the morning’s activities. Esperanza felt a shiver of desire run through her.

“Nappy-time, E.” Mark whispered in her ear. Suddenly, she couldn’t keep her eyes open. She fell into his arms, and he held her tightly for a moment before he spoke. “Stand up, Esperanza.” he told her, his voice taking on a new resonance that had nothing to do with the acoustics in the auditorium and everything to do with the fact that his voice was the center of her universe. Her limbs moved almost on their own, and then she was upright, except for her hanging head. He lifted her chin and she remained as he posed her. “Open your eyes, Esperanza.” he whispered. She obeyed, and he led her to the bed. “You’ve done well, Esperanza. Your clothes are very pleasing.” She shivered with pleasure. “Now I want to watch you take them off. Move your body as you do it, like you’re dancing to a striptease song.” She could actually hear the music in her mind as she began to undo the buttons of her shirt. One by one, each item of clothing found itself hanging on the headboard until she was naked for her teacher.

“Very good, Esperanza.” he said, caressing her cheek gently. “Now, lie down in the bed.” She complied eagerly. “Now, feel your arms and legs being drawn toward the corners of the bed by strong elastic cables.” he said. She was amazed how his words could make the sensations real for her. “That’s very good, feel the cables growing stronger, so you can’t move at all.” She tested her imaginary bonds, and found them immovable. “Very good.” he said, his finger grazing her labia and drawing a moan from within her quivering body. He put a blindfold over her eyes and caressed her calmingly as he whispered soothing praise. “I’ll be back in just a moment, Esperanza.” She lay there blind and immobile as she heard the dressing room door open and close. A few seconds later, it opened and closed again. Footsteps whisked softly on the floor of the stage, and she felt hands at the foot of the bed. A pair of lips gently, tenderly kissed their way up her legs, sending delightful shivers through Esperanza’s body. She gasped as she felt a tongue delicately licking the edges of her labia, and the gasp became a shuddering moan as her clitoris was sucked into the mouth of her tormentor. The tongue began to draw designs on her clit, and she came hard. The tongue made broad swipes from the bottom of her pussy to the top, lapping up all of her cum. Hands removed the blindfold, and she looked up to see Mark standing over her, smiling. He told her to look down, and she did—and found a nude Sierra Mitchell still lapping at her slit. The probing tongue found Esperanza’s G-spot, and she came again, crying out her pleasure to the lights and rigging above. Sierra crawled up Esperanza’s body and began to kiss her on the mouth. She tasted herself on the other woman’s face. The flavor wasn’t unpleasant, and she let herself give in to Sierra’s kiss, knowing it would please her instructor.

“Esperanza, your limbs are no longer bound, you can move freely.” Mark said. Esperanza wrapped her arms around Sierra and kept kissing as the other began to massage her breasts. “Now, Esperanza, it’s time for you to learn how to please a woman.” Sierra took Esperanza’s place on the bed, and Mark guided her in the art of cunningulus. Sierra’s juices tasted similar to her own, but there were differences. Did every woman taste different? Her tongue probed deeply into Sierra’s steaming depths. Mark was massaging Sierra’s chest as the Latin beauty continued her exploration.

“Uh! A little...a little to the left!” Sierra gasped. Esperanza complied, and the next stab of her tongue set off an orgasm in her subject. Instruction continued, and Mark moved behind her, burying his face in Esperanza’s muff, causing her to moan into Sierra’s, which caused Sierra to moan herself. Mark was good at what he did, his tongue doing magical things to her cunt. She came, and then Sierra came again. Both women went limp, catching their breath. Mark kissed each of them in turn, starting with Sierra. He then put a pillow on the floor.

“Kneel here, Esperanza.” he told her. Esperanza obeyed, planting her knees on the pillow. He opened his pants, dropped his shorts, and unveiled his hard, pulsing erection. It bobbed in front of her eyes. “Now, take the head into your mouth.” he told her, and she complied, unable to resist even if she had wanted to. She savored the taste of him as he guided her further down his length. “Relax your throat. You will find that you will not gag.” he said. Obediently, she took his head into her throat, and moaned softly through her nose. Soon, she had her nose buried in his pubic hair. She looked up at him for approval. He smiled, and she almost came again. He told Sierra to get under Esperanza’s slit. He began to instruct Esperanza in the finer points of sucking cock, while Sierra offered encouragement in the form of pleasurable motions of her tongue against the Latin girl’s labia and clit.

She increased and decreased her pace at his urging, experimented with her tongue, and took great care not to let her teeth scrape against him. He stiffened as his orgasm approached. She wasn’t ready, didn’t manage to catch it all, and some of it spilled out of her mouth and onto her chest.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, that comes with practice.” he assured her. Sierra crawled out from under Esperanza’s pelvis and began to lick up the mess. The two young women kissed, sharing the semen between them. The taste was better than Esperanza had expected. Sierra showed him her half of the load, and Esperanza followed suit. He smiled as Sierra made a big production of swallowing and then showing her empty mouth. Again, Esperanza aped the more experienced young woman. “Well done, both of you. Sierra, you’re a wonderful teaching assistant, and Esperanza, you’re an eager and apt pupil. We’re going to keep practicing your fellatio until you can swallow like a pro. Would you like that?”

“Mm, yes!” Esperanza replied.

“Okay, Esperanza. I’m going to count to three and snap my fingers. When my fingers snap, you’ll come out of your trance, feeling relaxed and refreshed. One. Two. Three.” Snap. Her mind expanded from its state of laser-like focus, and she looked at Sierra, who kissed her again. Esperanza moaned into the kiss, and groped her full breast with one hand, her round, pale butt with the other.

“I think this is fast becoming my favorite class.” she panted. Mark and Sierra laughed, and helped her get dressed before the bell rang.

* * *

Mark had a major caffeine buzz from his evening’s work—taste-testing various sample cups until he found one that imparted no unpleasant aftertaste to the drinks. Though his sales figures were still in the black, he realized they might be higher if he’d done this before. He had to use regular Dixie cups until the shipment of new, aftertaste-free cups arrived. Fortunately he had a supply of mints, and coupons for free ice cream sandwiches with any combo meal kept the customers happy in the interim.

Sierra was more than a little surprised when they went to her house instead of his trailer after work. He set the emergency brake as well as putting the Silverado in park so that the steep hill on which her family’s driveway had been built wouldn’t roll the vehicle out into the street—or into the neighbors’ living room.

“Um...” she started, before his finger on her lips quieted her.

“Just watch.” he said as he knocked on the door. Her mother answered. “Greetings, Maternal Unit.” he said cheerfully. Mrs. Mitchell’s face instantly blanked. “Go trigger your husband and give him the same instructions I am giving you. You are both to go to bed and not wake up until you hear the alarm clock or the smoke alarm.”

“Trigger husband. Go to bed. Not wake up.” Mrs. Mitchell said flatly, then turned to obey.

“You wouldn’t happen to be behind the fact that they haven’t said anything about me staying with you so much, would you?” Sierra asked, smiling.

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about, love.” he replied with a suitably mysterious-looking smile as he led her up to her room. He closed the door behind them, and she sat down on the bed. “Are we in the right room?” he asked, looking around. She giggled. The last time he’d been here, there had been stuff everywhere, but now everything was neat and tidy—even the dust bunnies were gone.

“I cleaned up a little.” Sierra said, looking slightly embarrassed.

“’A little?’” he asked, as he tilted her head up with his finger. “Not that it isn’t nice, I’m just curious.”

“Well...I thought I should try practicing some, uh, domestic duties...since we’re going to get married and all.” Mark bent down and kissed her gently on the lips, not quite a “peck,” but not quite a French kiss either.

“If it’s what you want.” he said, and kissed his way across her cheek and down her neck. He felt her shiver under the light caress, and her pulse quicken under his lips. Her nipples were hard as he unveiled them, undressing her slowly until she was nude. Then she returned the favor, and he held her gently in his arms, lavishing attention on her favorite places and playing her body like a well-tuned fiddle. “Cum for me, baby.” he whispered into her ear, and whatever composure she had left dissolved into a shuddering orgasmic puddle. He let her go for some time before calming her. “Sierra Mystified.” he said, and she dropped like a stone. Though he knew she didn’t need it, since she was used to going deep just with her trigger, he ran her through a series of deepeners. “When I count to three, you will travel deep within your mind to a safe, calm place. No sound penetrates this place except that of the smoke alarm, and you will remain in your safe place until you hear the smoke alarm, at which point you will awaken from trance and be ready to do whatever needs to be done, or until you feel my finger touch your forehead, at which point you will open your eyes, remaining deeply entranced and ready for whatever suggestions I may give you. One. Two. Three.” She went limp on “three,” and Mark caressed her reposed face, keeping clear of her forehead for now. The doorbell rang. Ding-dong, ding, pause, dong. He went downstairs and let Hua in. She folded herself into his arms as he kissed her.

“I’m not late, am I, Master?” she asked, concerned. Mark smiled as he had her suck Sierra’s juices off his fingers.

“No, we’re just getting started.” he told her. He relieved her of the diaper bag she’d brought with her and examined its contents, checking off each item against his mental list. “Good, you brought everything. Come on, it’s time to play.” She followed him upstairs, where Sierra lay blissfully unaware of their plotting. He undressed her slowly, caressing her body as he did and kissing her all over, enhancing her excitement. Thanks to months of listening to his hypnotic tapes, her breasts had grown a size and a half from what they had been when he’d first claimed her, and they loved the attention of his hands and mouth, especially on her long, stiff nipples. He seated himself in Sierra’s computer chair and slid Hua onto his cock. He allowed himself to slip into a trance of his own, letting himself grow excited but not ejaculating yet, even as Hua had her first orgasm of the evening. He stood her on her wobbly feet and reached into the bag, pulling out a strap-on dildo, which he fastened onto Hua. Then, he walked over to where Sierra lay and touched her gently on the forehead. Her eyes opened, staring blankly at nothing.

“Sierra,” he said, caressing her face gently, “I am going to snap my fingers. When I do, you will remain deeply hypnotized, but will be able to think and act as if you were not. You will still obey my every suggestion, but will act normally otherwise. Also, you will notice that there is someone else in the room. This person will look and sound exactly like me, feel, smell and taste like me, so much so that you will have trouble telling the difference. You will be excited by the thought of a threesome with two of me, and will obey our suggestions instantly, and eagerly.” He snapped his fingers, and Sierra’s expression became animated once again. “How do you feel, darling?” he asked as he helped her sit up. She looked at Hua in shock, seeing her as an exact double of Mark, then back to Mark, then Hua, then Mark again, like someone sitting at the center line at Wimbledon.

“Huh? How’d you copy yourself?” she asked.

“That’s for me to know, and for you to just enjoy the results of.” Hua said, leaning over and kissing her tenderly. Mark kissed her as well.

“This is so confusing.”

“Shh, just relax, and enjoy.” Mark said, and helped her out of the bed. He put a box in the seat of her chair, and put a pillow on top of that, at just the right height for her to lean over it. At Mark’s direction, Hua moved to one side, while Mark bent Sierra over the other, putting her face in line with Hua’s strap-on. Sierra needed little prompting, taking the false phallus into her mouth and sucking with relish. Mark slid his very real tool into Sierra’s dripping slit from behind.

“Mmm, yeah, just like that.” Hua said encouragingly, though of course the strap-on conveyed no sensation. Sierra moaned as Mark worked his magic from the back, using everything he knew about her to send her shooting off like a rocket. At a signal from Mark, Hua began to fake an orgasm, while Mark whispered that Sierra would feel and taste the imaginary semen in her mouth.

“It seems we’ve all worked up quite a sweat.” he said. “Come on, let’s go shower.” Hua helped Sierra to her feet, and the women wobbled behind Mark as he led them to the bathroom, grabbing his body-wash from the bag. He started the shower, and they stepped inside and began to soap each other up. Mark kissed Sierra, letting his hands roam over her slippery body, before he re-entered her pussy. Hua soaped up the dildo and gently slid it into Sierra’s anus.

“Um...um...oh, God!” she cried, orgasming as she felt herself entered from the front and the back. She was incoherent with pleasure as she perceived Mark fucking her in stereo. Mark suggested that as soon as he came in her cunt, she would feel the other one cum in her butt, and it would set off an even stronger orgasm in her. Then, he let himself go. Mark and Hua held Sierra tightly, thrusting in unison, while Sierra lost control entirely, her eyes crossing, toes curling and head lolling as she struggled to cope with an overload of pleasure. She passed out as her two lovers withdrew. Mark held her up while Hua finished cleaning her. They dried off, and dried Sierra, before taking the unconscious girl back to bed.

It was four in the morning by the time Sierra regained consciousness. Hua lay beside her, having gone to sleep after receiving her reward from Mark. He led the young redhead back into trance and removed the evening’s suggestions before awakening her again at last.

“That was intense.” she said. “Don’t you have to sleep?”

“I power-nap.” he said with a chuckle. “About four times a day. How the heck do you think Bruce Wayne manages Wayne Enterprises in the daytime and swings through the city as Batman at night?”

“I always assumed it was because he was a fictional character.” Sierra remarked.

“Sierra Mystified.” Mark said, and Sierra dropped back into trance. “Sleep now, Sierra, until the alarm wakes you. And make sure to wake Hua before you leave for school.” He kissed her on the forehead, and quietly crept out of the house, thumb-locking the front door before he closed it behind himself.

* * *

Yuko peeked in on her charges as they lay face-up on the bed, mindlessly chanting the words Yuko had commanded them to repeat. Identical twins, aged twenty-two, had come to the city to break into the modeling business, but had found housing sparse and expensive, so they moved here instead and commuted by bus to the city each day looking for work. Yuko had found them dejected after yet another prospective employer had turned them down when they refused to do porn. She had taken them to the Golden Corral for a buffet dinner—cheap but more than they could afford if they wanted to stay in town another month. Once she’d learned all she needed to know, she brought up the subject of hypnosis, hinting that she and her “boyfriend” used it as a sexual enhancer. This line of discussion got them curious, and she was quickly able to drop one of the twins. The other one was not far behind. She ran them through the gauntlet of deepening exercises until they were almost ready to fall out of the booth, then had them open their eyes and behave normally, but remain deeply entranced and obedient to whatever she told them.

She had brought them to the apartment Master had procured for her, and begun their enslavement. Their chocolate-colored skin glistened with sweat as Yuko rewarded obedience and amnesia with pleasure. She had been at them for days now, taking brief naps herself while recorded instructions kept the thralls occupied. She used the “doppelganger approach,” making them think they were spies assigned to temporarily replace a certain target for a purpose that was not revealed. Any re-surfacing memories were, as far as they were concerned, artifacts of their intensive studying of the target.

They were almost ready. She had implanted memories of accomplishing the mission and being told they were to be reassigned. They were supposed to shut away all memories of the mission, and the subjects they had studied, to make room for new mission parameters and keep anyone from gleaning information about prior missions should they be captured in the future. They confessed to having brief flashes of memory, perhaps from watching a video of their targets, during regularly-scheduled lucid moments. Yuko offered to help erase those troublesome “security leaks,” if they were willing. They humped the air, in desperate need of release. The twin on the right shuddered in pleasure as a climax triggered by her final, complete and irreversible surrender inflamed her. Then she lay still, quiet and docile, the empty vessel awaiting the new mind her new owner would give her. The twin on the left followed suit ten minutes later, just as the door opened.

Yuko’s heart leapt as she beheld once more the focal-point of her existence. Her vagina soaked her panties as she slid to her knees. “Your slave has procured two of the six You requested, Master.” she said as He approached. He walked past her to the blank slates in the bedroom. He inspected them, spoke with them, gauged their responses, then approached Yuko again, bending down to look into her eyes. His lips moved, though Yuko would never remember the words. All awareness narrowed to her crotch as an orgasmic inferno ignited, consuming her in a firestorm of agonizing ecstasy that seemed to go on forever.

The sun was setting in the west when Yuko at last opened her eyes. She lay in what had been a puddle of her own cum, before it had dried. She managed to persuade her quivering muscles to move, opening a can of ravioli and microwaving its contents in a cheap, plastic bowl. While it warmed, she grabbed the carpet cleaner and got to work on the stain she’d made. The refrigerator had been restocked while she lay unconscious. There was one of those water-filtering pitchers full of brisk, cold water inside, in addition to the necessities that had been replaced. She filled a glass with the frigid liquid and began the process of rehydrating herself. She drank slowly, relishing her reward. The knowledge that she had done well so far filled her with a sense of well-being and re-energized her. She was ready to go hunting again.

* * *

“Esperanza?”

The young woman paused at the door at the sound of her father’s voice. He was up early. Working from two pm until midnight, he usually didn’t wake up until after she had left. “Yes, Papa?” she asked timidly. He looked curiously at her attire, and its lack of bagginess.

“What is that you’re wearing?” he asked.

“They’re commonly referred to as ‘clothes,’ Papa.” she responded with a smile as one-sided as a fight between George Foreman and Gary Coleman.

“Oh, ha-ha, that’s good.” her father said. “Whose? Those aren’t the ones we gave you.”

“I helped a friend clean out her sister’s closet. Her big sister went off to college and left everything that didn’t fit anymore. My friend said I could have whatever I liked.” She didn’t like lying to her father, but he would never approve of her letting someone else pay for her clothes...or of her earning money for herself and actually using it for herself instead of giving it all to the family to help with the bills. “It was just going to get taken to Goodwill or Caritas anyway, and she said I could have it.”

“Are you sure you want to show off your body like that?” he asked.

“I’m covered.” she said, self-consciously buttoning her collar.

“I mean...you have...curves.”

“I’m seventeen-and-a-half years old, Papa.” Esperanza said. “I would be worried if I didn’t have them by now.”

“I mean...”

“You mean, people can tell I have curves.” she finished for him. She stepped closer to him and kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry, Papa. I won’t let anybody get any ideas.” She held up her arm. “Here, grab.” When he only stared blankly at her, she grasped his right hand and placed it on her forearm. “Try to hold on.” she said, and felt his grip tighten. She levered her arm against his thumb, breaking the grip easily, and then brought up her hand as if for a slap, but stopped at the last second, leaned up, pulling his head close to her face, and kissed him. “I’ll be fine, Papa.” He pulled her into an embrace.

“You take care, mi niña.” he said. She could hear the bus approaching, and extricated herself quickly.

“I have to go. Can’t miss the bus.” she told him, giving him a final peck on the cheek before she grabbed her backpack and left.

My baby girl’s grown up. Mr. Cortez thought to himself. When did that happen?

* * *

Dr. Heidi Gutenberg was the kind of counselor young males lined up to see, with a mature kind of beauty and a toned, firm body that put her in a league with Li Hua, even considering the advantage Hua had with her exotic Asian appeal. Today, she was clearly unhappy with what the law required of her.

“Jealousy, thy name is Dirk.” Sierra said.

“Yes, the entire accusation smacks of deviant sex-fantasy with a liberal mix of jealousy and desire for revenge.” the doctor replied, her accent almost subliminally perceptible beneath the educated enunciation. “Still, the law is the law, and I’m sorry to have to put you through this.”

“Actually, I’d be more offended if he was saying this kind of stuff behind my back and you DIDN’T tell me.” Sierra replied. “I’d much rather find out from you than from him when he uses his one phone call to tell me he’s in jail for something Dirk made up.” She rose to her feet and shook the doctor’s hand.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t incite your fiancé to violence with this story, Miss Mitchell.” Dr. Gutenberg said.

“Trust me, Dr. Gutenberg, there won’t be any violence. Not even from me.” Sierra said, and left perhaps a little more quickly than she intended. She ducked into the library and sent Mark a text-message with her cell phone.

* * *

Mark had to admit, the twins Yuko had procured for him were well-programmed. They accepted the new minds he gave them without question. Now wearing the names Tyra and Halle (the first two “black” names that came to his mind), they learned the ways of foodservice (and body-service) quickly. The one he’d named Tyra nuzzled into his hand as he patted her head for a blowjob well done.

His cell phone buzzed on the counter where he’d left it. Flipping it open, he found a text-message from Sierra, which said simply: “dirk snitched.”

“Behave yourselves while I’m gone, there’s something I need to attend to.” he said, putting on some fresh clothes and a small amount of body spray (which he’d only bought because it came with a rubber duck).

“As you command, Master.” the twins said in unison. Mark smiled and went out to the truck, hopping over the cable that ran the floodlights so the workmen could do their jobs, day and night. Everything was proceeding according to the new schedule. Turning the project into a three-shift job would cost a little more, but he could afford it.

Sierra met him in the hall and explained the situation in detail. She’d been called into Dr. Gutenberg’s office because Sierra’s ex had seen them on the day they’d hooked up, and had told the counselor.

“It’s okay, baby, I’ll handle it.” he said, kissing her palm in that way that always made her go weak in the knees. “You head on to class, now. I’ll pick you up and bring you up to speed this afternoon.” She nodded and left, casting a longing look his way before she rounded the corner. Mark made a beeline for the counselor’s office. Her door was open, as always when she wasn’t in session with a student.

“Mr. MacLeod...um, what can I do for you?” the counselor asked.

“Please, Dr. Gutenberg, Mr. MacLeod is my father. It’s Mark.”

“Mark, then. What can I do for you, Mark?”

“Actually, it’s more about what I can do for you.” Mark replied. “What do you know about hypnosis, Dr. Gutenberg?” he asked as he closed the door.

* * *

“One, two, three.” Dr. Gutenberg said, snapping her fingers. Dirk Halberd opened his eyes, blinking in confusion. “...simply cannot tolerate such baseless accusations, Mr. Halberd.” the counselor continued as though there had been no interruption of the thread of the conversation. “Are you listening to me, young man?”

“Huh? Oh...yes, Dr. Gutenberg.” Dirk said.

“Honestly, hypnosis as a tool for rape.” she said derisively. “You’ve been spending far too much time on Dracula-fetish websites, I think, Mr. Halberd. You will be most fortunate indeed if Mr. MacLeod and/or Miss Mitchell don’t decide to press charges against you for filing a false report. It’s a serious offense, let me assure you. For now, however, I am calling your parents to inform you of the sort of lies you’ve been spreading. Do you understand?”

“Y-yes, ma’am.” Dirk said, suitably chastened.

“Now, next time you come here with some horror story, you’d best remember that I do know a thing or two about hypnosis, and I know what can and cannot be done with it. Forcing me to ask those kinds of questions of Miss Mitchell has gotten you on my bad side, Mr. Halberd, and that is a most unenviable position.”

“Y-yes, ma’am, I’m sorry, ma’am.” Dirk said.

“Now, get out.” she commanded, stabbing her finger in the direction of the door. Dirk almost tripped over his own feet trying to leave. Dr. Gutenberg got up from her chair and closed the door once he was gone. Then, she lay back on the couch, removed her skirt and panties, and slowly, seductively began to play with herself. She hadn’t done this since college, but it was just like riding a bicycle. She’d thrown herself into her work after her divorce, and it had only taken a slight nudge by Mark to bring her passions back to the fore. When she came, it was with Mark’s face in her mind. She napped until the secretary paged her. As quickly as possible, she grabbed the Febreeze and sprayed it over all of her upholstery. Mark had his claws in her now, she realized. He could make her do almost anything.

And she would enjoy every minute of it.

* * *

Sierra had to admit she was impressed with the new hires—despite the spectre of their origins. Anything to do with Yuko still gave her the heebie-jeebies. The fact that she’d been able to take a set of twins and totally erase who they had been before only reinforced this. If she ever got free of Mark’s control (as blasphemous as the thought seemed), it would be trouble.

The twins themselves did good work. They had learned in two days what it had taken everyone else a week to get the hang of. They even had a shtick of finishing each other’s sentences that seemed to go over well with the customers. Behind the scenes, they showed their individual personalities—or rather, the personalities Mark had programmed into them. Tyra was affectionate, caring and eager to please. She even seemed hurt when Sierra didn’t return her advances. Halle was “the naughty one,” quick with an innuendo or an off-color joke. The only one she seemed to avoid sexual flirtation with was her sister, but that was understandable. Incest had never been one of Mark’s turn-ons. Not even the somewhat popular lesbian “twincest” to be found on Internet porn sites.

At last, the workday ended. The last customer was out the door, the place was cleaned, the chairs stacked. The tone sounded, draining away Sierra’s thoughts and worries as she filed to the back with the others, breaking off at the last moment to kneel alone in Master’s office. The video activated, reminding her of her lessons. She shivered a little when Mark brought her out of her trance. The restaurant was really too cold to be naked. His gentle touch warmed her from within. He dressed her, and they walked out together, and she noticed he’d dismissed the others already.

“I know your birthday’s coming up in a few weeks.” he said as he helped her into the truck. “The big one-eight. Anything special you’d like?”

“You, jumping out of a cake.” Sierra said, punctuating her sentence with a kiss.

“Sounds like fun.” he replied as he made sure her seatbelt was secure before closing the door. He walked around to the driver’s side and hopped in easily. “Goodness knows I have enough practice with jumping.” She laughed. “Yuko’s new hires make you nervous, don’t they?” She nodded. “I understand. It’s the association with Yuko, isn’t it?” She nodded again. “It’ll be all right. It’s only for a little bit, then they’ll be on the during-school shift. I’ll find a manager daytime myself. It’ll take a few days to get her trained up once I do.” He started the truck and pulled out into the sparse 8pm traffic. “I know it’s hard for you to trust Yuko. You know I’d never force you. I think there’s only one way for you to fully understand my confidence. Would you consent to an apprenticeship?”

“Apprenticeship?” Sierra asked.

“The same one I went through with my father.” he said. “I’ll teach you everything I know about hypnosis. It does involve putting a few restraints in your mind to keep you out of trouble, though.”

“I...” Sierra began, unsure of exactly the right words.

“Not to worry, Esperanza’s almost ready for her ‘graduation ceremony.’ She’s no longer afraid of her own sexuality, and she’s pretty good at pleasing a man—and a woman, from what I’ve heard.”

“It’s not that.” Sierra said. “I was just...having trouble finding the right way to say yes. I mean...showing you how...how much this means to me.” As soon as they reached a red light, Mark stopped the truck and kissed her. When the light turned green, they continued on until they ended up at Sierra’s house.

“I won’t lie to you, it’s not going to be easy. There will be hard lessons, temptation, and a lot of times when you’ll wish you weren’t under restraint.”

“As long as you’re the one teaching me.” she said, leaning against him, her head on his shoulder.

* * *

“I’d say the role of teacher suits you, son.” his father’s voice said through the speaker phone. “You’ll do fine.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Mark replied. “Can you be here for the party?”

“I wouldn’t miss it. Especially since I’m not paying for it.” They shared a laugh. Hsu entered the room and changed Mark’s ice bag. Esperanza’s “graduation” had turned into a sexual romp that had lasted until lunch time, and Mark needed some time to recover.

His cell phone buzzed. He opened it and found a message, with a question mark as its only text. The attachment revealed a trio of cosplayers, all dressed as Marle from Chrono Trigger. The rest of the messages also had images of cosplayers. Apparently she’d gone hunting at a video game convention. All of them had been tranced, and she was asking him to pick his favorites.

“Well, this is interesting.” Mark said aloud.

“What is?” his father asked.

“My pet huntress is something of an overachiever. I’ve got quite the selection of grainy little cell phone pics to choose from.”

“Oh, then I’ll leave you to it.” his father said with amusement. “Maybe I shouldn’t have erased her mother’s hypnotic skills when I took her.”

“Sometimes, Dad, a proxy is just what the doctor ordered.”

“And so the student surpasses the teacher.” his father sighed. “I’ve always been far too hands-on to trust anyone else to do it for me. Que sera sera, I suppose. I’ll talk to you later, then.”

“Later, Dad.” Mark said, and nodded to Hsu, who turned off the phone. Mark continued to sift through the images, and thanks to some of the better close-ups, was able to narrow it down to seven—two of the Marles, a Cammy and Sakura from the Street Fighter series, one who’d gone as Yuki from The Last Blade, another girl in an attractive if not accurate Cream the Rabbit costume, and finally a woman in a form-fitting Roll costume from Megaman Battle Network. He also sent instructions that the rest were not to remember having met her. She texted an acknowledgement back, and Mark cleared his phone. It was kind of annoying having to key in every phone number from memory, and actually removing the data from his phone instead of letting it “forget” where the data was stored until memory needed to be cleared up added a lot of wear and tear to the data card, but it was the price Mark paid for privacy. For now, however, there were preparations to be made, and he wanted to be in top form.

To be continued...