Intrusive Thoughts

(Author Note Q&A form: https://forms.gle/TXhxhDeCaQEGbYuE9 )

Lynn woke up and was fairly certain that the previous night had been a dream. A dream she was still living, as her head rested on Zach's shoulder. She kept thinking about the future and couldn't decide if she wanted to hug Delilah in thanks or strangle her. Honestly, I want to do both.

Lynn put a hand on her stomach. It would be nice if I were pregnant. Lynn smiled at the thought. She felt a little bad about not telling Zach that she had bought something else from the store. He would overreact if I told him I got fertility supplements. Sometimes he doesn't know what's best for him. Like, Heather. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance, thinking of the ungrateful bitch. I offered to let her be involved, and what does she do? She gets all bitchy about how. Lynn nearly scoffed to herself but remained silent so as not to disturb the still-sleeping Zachary.

Lynn tried to slip out of bed unnoticed, but Zach's arms wrapped around her, pulling her in close. “Where do you think you're going?” He asked, without opening his eyes.

“I was thinking I could make you breakfast, since I didn't get to make you dinner last night,” Lynn replied, not making any attempt to flee his arms now that she knew he was awake.

Crap! I thought that might be her plan. Got to think fast. I can't let her cook!

Lynn said, “Don't even think about ordering food. I want nothing to do with Heather right now.”

CRAP!!!! There goes plan A. “Why don't you let me handle breakfast while you take a shower? I know your room has an okay shower, but the one up here is really nice.”

Lynn turned about in his arms so she was facing him, and seductively said, “You know… you could join me in the shower… then I could make us breakfast afterwards with this tiny little apron Xin and I both got from Pita.”

Oh, thank God! She mentioned Xin; that's an out. “Wait, is Xin okay?”

Lynn frowned for just a second in a way Zachary couldn't see. “Why wouldn't she be?”

Zach quickly snatched his phone from the nightstand and found that he had slept through quite a few messages from Xin. Messages that had been coming more and more frequently. He received another message right then, showing Xin with her fingers deep in her pussy with accompanying text ‘Me so horny!’

Zach jolted upright and quickly got out of bed and dressed. “Sorry, Lynn, but Xin’s been sending me pics all night. She also still seems to be wearing her previous clothing, making her somewhat stupid. I want to get down there before she decides to pick her clothes for the day. Especially with what Jeeves threatened yesterday.”

Lynn wanted to be mad at Zach. She really did, but found his concern for the young woman both incredibly annoying and, for some reason quiet touching. “Fine, give me a second; I’ll come with you, and then we can have breakfast together in the cafeteria.”

Lynn hurriedly got dressed, and the two rushed to Xin’s aid. Unfortunately for them, the elevator had other plans.

---

Xin was fingering herself. She thought there was a reason she wasn’t supposed to be doing this but couldn’t think straight because of how horny she was. She wouldn’t even be sending Zach pictures at this point if not for his command. Why nudes no work? They worked before. Her brain was drowning in endorphins from repeated orgasms.

Jeeves yanked the covers Xin was lying on to masturbate out from under her, causing her to roll onto the floor. Jeeves was grinning widely. “You degenerate girl. Get up!”

Xin was panting from her arousal and managed to stand, but only by using a nearby chair to brace herself. “Fer… Ferdi… Ferdi, why you meanie?”

Ferdi scowled, hearing his new name, but it was quickly replaced by a malicious grin. “Because, girl, you are degenerate filth not worthy of my time. It is a shame that I don’t have more time with you, but fret not, I’ve prepared your clothes and schedule for today.”

“Ferdi? Why? Xin did the things. Xin’s a good girl. What Xin do bad?”

“You didn’t follow the schedule.” He said, grinning. “So I get to punish you.”

Zach, followed by Lynn, entered the room.

Ferdi swore internally upon seeing Zachary. His demeanor immediately changed upon seeing him. “Master Blackstone, good morning, Sir. How may I assist you today?”

“You can tell me what you were going to do to Xin for a start,” Zachary said angrily.

“My job, Sir. A job that not even you can prevent me from fulfilling.” Ferdi said dryly.

Xin started crying as she said, “Ferdi was… was being a big o’l meanie. Ferdi said Xin was a bad girl. That Xin no follow da rules, but Xin follow all da rules. Zachie, Xin horny. Xin need Zachie.” Even as she said that, she realized that her arousal had dropped considerably over the last few minutes. She didn’t understand why, but on the way here Zach had scrolled through all of the nudes, making sure to really look at each one, to make sure it would actually count.

Zach helped Xin back to the bed and sat down next to her, wrapping her in a side hug. While he was doing that, Lynn asked, “What rule did she break?”

Ferdi said, “She did not follow her schedule.”

“Lies!” Xin exclaimed. “Xin did all the things. Pips made sure Xin did the things.”

“Hmm…” Ferdi seemed unimpressed. “Tell me, girl, what the last line of this says… assuming you can still read.” Ferdi handed Xin a piece of paper. Lynn immediately noticed the butler not calling her Miss Lee anymore.

Xin tried reading the paper but was struggling, then said, “Bedtime, no… later than… mid-night. Xin was in bed.”

Lynn glared at the butler. “You piece of shit. You’re holding the fact she wasn’t asleep against her?”

Ferdi dismissed her objection as irrelevant and trivial. “A violation of the rules is a violation, no matter how small. She was to be asleep no later than midnight, yet this degenerate girl was not simply up past her bedtime; she didn’t get any sleep! On the night before she is supposed to service her Master. Such disrespect can not be tolerated.” Ferdi was very much enjoying this situation. “Now, Sir, if you’d like to weigh in on her outfit or punishment, you are welcome to.”

Zach said, “There isn’t going to be a punishment. You are going to give her an outfit that restores her intelligence that is as modest as possible, and then you will apologize to her and leave.”

Ferdi scoffed, “No. No, I will not be doing that.”

Zach said, “Yes, you will. Besides, there’s no time to punish her. She’s spending the whole day with me. And Lynn already mentioned that if the previous night you don’t stay in the room, there isn’t a schedule to follow. So you’ll have no power over her tomorrow either.”

Ferdi grumbled, “That is… technically true, Master Blackstone. I can, however, make her outfits whatever I please. Not to mention, her violation of the rules of the room doesn’t reset if she remains in this room next round. So you are mistaken that I don’t have a future opportunity to punish her. But perhaps I should just teach you a lesson if you refuse to discipline your women properly.”

Ferdi waved his hand to the side, and a rack with three outfits on it appeared. “Now I’m a ghost of his word. All of these outfits will result in you having your normal or better intelligence, Girl. I even did as you requested for two of these outfits, and picked prestigious all-girl schools.” Then he grinned maliciously, showing all his teeth. “Of course… I may have chosen schools not from your planet.”

All three were modeled after the Japanese sailor-style school uniforms. The first actually seemed normal and would give Xin back her black hair, pulled back in a ponytail. Except that it included six-inch stilettos and two vibrators, one for each hole below her waist.

To Lynn’s horror and relief, the second, instead of the vibrator and heels, had visibly writhing tentacles. She was mostly relieved that he wasn’t trying to hide the tentacles.

The third was the most normal, but it was moving on its own and was trying to get off the hanger and fly towards Xin.

Zach was furious and about to yell at the butler, but he was stopped by a small puff of smoke appearing between the two, and a high-pitched voice shouted, “NO! Caldwell, you big meanie! De-la-la said I could pick her outfits!” Pita had appeared and floated over to Caldwell and started pounding her fists on his ghostly head like a child who had their toy taken away from them.

Caldwell seemed unaffected by her antics. “Pain In The Ass, you are well aware that, Mistress,” The sound Caldwell used for Delilah’s name was not something humans could easily replicate and was clearly some form of demonic, “Had already approved my pact with this girl.”

“YES! I KNOW THAT!” Pita complained, “BUT! The pact only calls for you to give her one outfit! De-la-la said I was allowed to pick her outfits out. So take away two of these right now!” Pita stamped her foot in the air. The two supernatural beings glared at each other. Caldwell wasn’t complying, so Pita said, “Don’t make me throw the scroll at you.” A large wound-up scroll appeared in Pita’s hand. Lynn recognized it from the other night when she had pulled it out to check on the rules for Hot Dildo.

Caldwell grumbled, “Very well…” He waved his hand and the first two options vanished, leaving only the seemingly living outfit.

“That’s right. You need to respect my authority!” Pita scolded Caldwell.

Caldwell glared at Pita again and then vanished, clearly done with this entire thing.

Pita looked a little down and pouted as she muttered to herself, “I might be just an imp, but I’m still higher than a condemned.”

Zach spoke up, “Pita, I presume? Thank you for your help.”

Pita finally noticed Zachary’s presence and immediately floated over to him, pressing into his shoulder as she pushed her cheek up against his, while batting her eyelashes. “OH! Master Blackstone, it’s such a pleasure to finally meet you. You’re correct. It is I, the marvelous, the magnificent, Pita. Please let me know of any way I might be of service.” Pita gave him a wink and a peck on the cheek before floating away.

Lynn clenched her fists so tight that all of her knuckles popped. She did not throttle the tiny imp despite her intense desire to do so.

Zach was caught off guard as he leaned away when Pita got close. “Well… nice to meet you. And thank you again for helping Xin.”

Pita bit her lower lip like someone about to deliver some really awkward news. “So… Master Blackstone… I will be improving the options… buuuuuuuuut… you might want to hold onto your thanks for the time being.”

Zach frowned. “Why? His reasoning for taking things out on her was bullshit.”

“Yeeeeeah… can’t say I don’t agree, but technically… he is right. He also likely engineered this situation deliberately. Sorry.”

“Is there a reason you can’t actually just give her a normal school uniform?”

Pita nodded slowly. “Yes, actually, or I would, mostly because I want to watch as you screw her brains out of her own volition and not because she’s too horny for anything else to help her. This is her second violation of the room rules, so her outfits are now… intended to be corrective.”

Pita waved two new outfits. The first was a maid outfit, but Zach found its exact style slightly odd. Pita explained, “I modeled this after a school festival maid cafe, so it should partially work for her. She’ll still be dumber, though. I… I sent this before, sort of as a joke… sort of as encouragement, but…” Pita waved her hand again, and a frilly apron appeared, with nothing else. “This one will keep her intelligent. Also, Xin, sweetie, not sure if you’ll remember this, but Caldwell is pissed and will likely try to take it out on you; he is VERY petty.”

Zach rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Can you tell us anything about the one Caldwell left?”

“Um… yeah… so… it’s living clothes. That’s about all I can tell you. Xin will be smarter than normal in it, though.”

“And if I want her to wear something else?” Zachary asked.

Pita wouldn’t meet his eyes. “That is allowed, so long as it is intended to turn you on and she is actively using it to do so. If she weren’t touching, flirting with, or teasing you for more than... tenish minutes, she would need to put on her selection for the day. Some limited exceptions apply. Otherwise she’ll break the rules again, and trust me… you don’t want that.”

“Okay, Lynn, I’m going to step out. Could you strip Xin completely naked? She should regain at least some of her intelligence that way. Then could you help her pick an outfit?”

Lynn nodded, and Zach let them handle this from here.

Zach breathed out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness we got here before she picked one of the other outfits the butler prepared. Zach slumped down and rested his back against the hallway wall while waiting for them to finish.

A while had passed, and Zach was uncertain what was taking so long. He had heard muffled voices, so he figured they were discussing something. What felt like forever passed, and finally the door opened, and Lynn came out. Xin was peeking out from behind the mostly open door, but wouldn’t come out further.

Zach stood, not noticing Xin’s strange behavior yet, asking, “What took you two so long?”

Lynn put her hands on her hips. “A few things. It takes actual time for a woman to look good. Xin also needed to shower.”

Zach finally looked towards Xin, who ducked back behind the door. “Um… Xin? Is something wrong?”

Lynn sighed. “She’s embarrassed because she chose the apron. She wanted to have her mental faculties on her night with you, and we both agreed Caldwell’s living clothing option wouldn’t have been a good idea.” Lynn took a step back into the room and grabbed Xin’s wrist and pulled her into the hallway.

Xin used her free hand to help make the apron cover just a tiny bit more. “Lynn! Oh GOD. Don’t look at me, Zachary!” Xin was just wearing a frilly white apron, and nothing else, not even shoes. Her hair was back to her normal black and tied up in a bun.

Lynn scoffed, “Xin, please, calm yourself. It isn’t anything Zach hasn’t seen of yours before. You’ve sent him nudes after all.”

Remembering her actions from the previous day caused her to turn scarlet from embarrassment. She covered her face, and a moment later she pulled her phone out of a pocket on the apron involuntarily and started taking a picture of herself, making sure to capture her naked ass in frame, and sent it to Zach.

Xin said, “Zach, please, can I stop doing that? Please.”

Zach nodded, “Yeah, of course. Sorry I didn’t get rid of that already, but it seemed like you needed the help yesterday.”

Xin nodded. “Yeah… probably. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to make a deal with that evil butler.”

“I’ve heard something about this. What exactly was this deal about?” Zach inquired.

Xin was having trouble maintaining eye contact, so Lynn answered for her. “Xin wanted a more normal date attire while not being stupid. So she asked if there was a way to get Jeeves to include it. Eventually, the terms were that he would, if Xin agreed to wear whatever of the three outfits available yesterday he picked, and if we didn’t tell you that her masturbation session had been rescheduled for after curfew.”

“Why would he care about you telling me that?”

Lynn sighed, “Who would have helped her with her arousal? She’s been playing for me literally every evening before we go to sleep so far. She masturbates, then plays for me, and then I go masturbate. Except I wasn’t there last night.”

Zach asked Xin, “Are you okay? Will you manage in that outfit today?”

Xin bit her lip and nodded, “As long as I’m with you…” Xin hesitantly moved to his side and clung to his arm. “If you could try staring a little less, I would appreciate that.”

Lynn gestured to the elevator. “Let’s get some breakfast. I’m hungry.”

That was when Heather’s and Piper’s door opened, and both emerged, with Piper dragging Heather out of the room and resting her against the nearby wall.

Piper was panting. Heather couldn’t move, let alone stand. Piper saw the other three in the hallway. As soon as she processed who was standing there, Piper moved over and grabbed Lynn by her shirt. “Undo your fucking command to Heather right the fuck now!”

“Get off me!” Lynn pushed Piper away from her.

Piper then turned to Zach. “I don’t care if you don’t like her; help Heather this instant. If this bitch won’t release her command, you need to force the issue. Heather wrote down what Lynn commanded of her, and holy fuck is it messed up.”

Zach saw the twitching form of Heather behind Piper and then glanced between Lynn and Piper. He was experiencing a storm of different emotions and was getting overwhelmed to the point he was having trouble responding to any of them. He asked, “What’s wrong with her? I don’t want to mess things up further by commanding the wrong thing.”

Seeing that he didn’t know exactly what was happening and that he was planning on fixing it, Piper’s expression immediately softened towards Zach. “This bi— Lynn made it so Heather can only climax one way, and it’s really fucked up. She also made it so any time she made a sound, her arousal would increase, and it can’t lower without her climaxing either.”

Zach frowned. I remember Lynn saying something to that effect last night, but this has gotten out of hand. Zach moved over and knelt beside Heather. “Heather, you no longer need to follow Lynn’s command to you from yesterday.”

Heather came on the spot, but lay limply on the floor afterwards. Zach stood, and he was angry. “Lynn…”

Lynn saw how pissed off Zach was and defensively said, “I’m sorry, Zach. I tried last night, I really did, but—”

“Be quiet! You are going to shut up and do the following. You are going to take Heather and get her cleaned up. You are going to unlock her belt and make sure she’s free of that slime, then you are going to spend the rest of the day looking after her. Do I make myself clear?”

Lynn tried to say, ‘Yes, Zach,’ but no words came out, so she nodded sullenly. She immediately moved over to Heather, lifted her to her feet, and put an arm under her shoulders. Piper moved to assist as well, while continuously glaring at Lynn.

Piper said, “To the elevator. We’ll use the gym shower, because while I think it would be just for you to get penalized by us using your shower, I’m not a petty bitch for no reason.”

The five of them moved for the elevator. Zach got the door for them and made sure it wouldn’t close as they carried Heather inside. Xin meekly followed after them, not sure what to do, and definitely not wanting to be seen. This was made difficult when Zach pulled her directly onto his lap and wrapped an arm around her waist. She let out a squeak of surprise from the movement.

Zach apologized, “Sorry, Xin, but you sitting on my lap will help keep the elevator a bit smoother.”

Xin just wordlessly nodded and tried not to focus on the fact that she was essentially naked on his lap.

It was still a painfully long elevator ride. Zach didn’t move to follow Piper, Lynn, and Heather when they got to the gym, afraid he might do something in anger he’d regret later. As they left, he did say, “Piper, let Heather know she doesn’t need to put the belt back on.”

Piper nodded as the two of them dragged Heather to the showers.

The elevator doors closed and started taking Zach and Xin towards breakfast. Xin was afraid to speak, as she felt Zach’s whole body trembling and could hear him taking deep breaths.

Xin gently took his hand in hers when the doors opened and led him towards the cafeteria. When they got there, she meekly said, “Why don’t you go have a seat, and I’ll bring you something?”

Zach nodded and went through the breathing exercises that were supposed to help calm him when he felt a lot of pain. Xin brought back a bunch of pancakes, eggs, and a bowl of mixed fruit for them to share. She sat across from him and gave him some time to cool off. He had his eyes closed and didn’t immediately notice she had come back. After about a minute, he opened his eyes and his stomach rumbled at the sight of food.

Zach looked at Xin and said, “Thanks.” Then he dug into the food.

After both had eaten at least something, Xin asked, “I don’t really understand what happened back there. Would you be willing to explain it to me?”

Zach nodded. “Yeah. Short version is: Yesterday I commanded Heather to obey one command from each of you. Then last night Lynn used that command on Heather. She said that she put Heather into a similar position as you, so I didn’t think it would be too problematic.”

Xin poked at a piece of melon. “So… you knew what she commanded Heather to do?”

“Somewhat, but not all the specifics,” Zach said defensively.

“I see…” There was clear disappointment in Xin’s voice. “Zachary… you said a similar position to me… do you mean that she couldn’t decrease her arousal?”

“Yeah. I didn’t realize Lynn had put in something to cause her further arousal as well.”

Xin stared down at her plate in dismay. “What… what am I going to do if I wind up in that room?”

“You’ll spend every night the entire round in my bed. That’s what would happen.”

“But I can only do that if whoever’s night it is says it’s okay.”

“No one is going to object, and I can technically force the issue if I really have to.”

Xin looked at Zach curiously. “You really think no one would object?”

Zach nodded while slightly shrugging. “Well, yeah. Why would anyone? Lynn likes you; I don’t think she’d let you spend the night in that room if she can help it. I think Heather and Piper would extend the offer, having experienced the room firsthand. Caroline would as well, both because Piper would ask her to and because she saw the state Piper was in when she brought her to you. Not to mention you helped out her daughter, to your own detriment; she’ll remember that.”

Xin asked, “Are you going to force the issue for anyone besides Lynn or me?”

Delilah appeared in a puff of brimstone, scaring the bejeezus out of Xin as she tumbled out of her seat and landed on the floor, while letting out a scream. “AAHHHH!”

Delilah extended a hand down to Xin and smiled at her. “Why thank you for the compliment.” Xin was paralyzed with fear as her eyes flicked between the extended hand and the demonic smile. Figuring the consequences of taking her hand were less likely to be catastrophic than annoying the demoness, Xin took the hand, stood, and then resumed her seat. Delilah sat down next to her, causing Xin to try to shrink in on herself and try to disappear ineffectively.

Zach frowned at Delilah. In an annoyed tone, he asked, “Why have you inflicted your presence on us this time?”

“Inflicted.” Delilah said, seemingly tasting the word, “Ah, I quite like that. I figured I'd come in now and kibosh this completely pointless conversation before it dragged on far more than needed. I’m not going to allow you to simply bring someone up to your room when it isn’t their night unless they are involved in that night’s activities in some manner. No inviting Xin up to your suite just to protect her.”

“That’s not what you said before.” Zach scowled.

Delilah rolled her eyes. “Did you not read the rulebook in your room?”

Zach clenched his right hand. “No… because I wasn’t informed there was a copy.”

Delilah rolled her eyes again. “There are several, actually, but I’ll save you some time, as it is literally the very first rule that matters. The host can do whatever the fuck they want to boost ratings unless their producer objects. So it doesn’t matter what I said before; I’m telling you right now that isn’t happening. Now if you want to invite her up to give you a nightly blowjob every night next round, that’s another story.”

“Fine, please leave; you’re disturbing my conversation with Xin.”

Delilah pretended to be offended. “Oh, Zachary, sweetie, you wound me to my core, but very well.”

Delilah disappeared in a large cloud of brimstone, engulfing the entire table in a sulfurous smell.

Zach and Xin both vacated the area as quickly as they could, moving to the far side of the room.

Xin coughed out, “God, she’s such a bitch.”

Zach’s phone let out a loud notification chime. Checking it, he saw it was from Piper.

Piper: Hey. So, Heather’s conscious. Lynn still can’t speak. You might want to rethink forcing Lynn to take care of Heather as well… I’m afraid one of them is going to try murdering the other one.

Zach: Is Heather okay otherwise?

Piper: I think so. Or rather, she will be. She’s also grateful that you told her she didn’t need the belt.

Zach breathed out a sigh of relief. Then he grew annoyed because his relief went past the simple relief of knowing that another person you saw suffering would be okay. He was specifically relieved that Heather was going to be okay.

Xin gave Zach a bit of space, as she saw he was dealing with messages on his phone.

After not getting a further response from Zach, Piper sent another message.

Piper: Seriously Zach, I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave the two of them together.

Piper: Also… while I don’t think Heather saw it, Lynn had tears in her eyes.

Zach: Does Heather not want her around, or is that just your assessment?

Piper: As I said, they both look prepared to kill one another. Unless you’re deliberately trying to punish Lynn or both of them, I would tell Lynn she can leave at this point.

Zach let out a long, weary sigh, “Just what I need.”

Xin asked, “What’s wrong?”

Zach just grabbed a chair and sat down. Then he handed Xin his phone so she could read the messages from Piper. She scrolled back up to find the beginning of the conversation, but went a bit too far and found several pictures of herself and Piper naked and making out. She hadn’t recalled Piper taking the pictures, and they were not selfies either. Regardless, she got rather turned on seeing the images. She tried to delete them and found she couldn’t. She then read through the conversation.

Xin asked, “So? Are you punishing one or both of them?”

“I’m not sure… I can’t believe Lynn would do something that caused this.”

Xin put Zach’s phone on the table and then, to his surprise, sat down in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I haven’t known her for long, but I’m not surprised. Not after you explained the series of events.”

Xin’s nearly naked form on top of him distracted him from her words long enough that by the time he had processed them, Xin had resumed speaking.

“I know you probably don’t want to deal with it right now, but you should probably go find them and resolve this.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll come with you. I’m actually not going to leave your side today.” Xin then sighed. “If I do, Ghostie is going to take it out on me. I technically have a schedule until about 2 pm, but I can ignore it as long as I’m with you.”

“Fine, might as well get this over with now.”

The two got up and went to find the other three.

It took them a few minutes, as the elevator was clearly being deliberately slow at the moment. When they entered the gym, they found Heather and Lynn mid-argument.

Heather was saying, “— LEAVE ME ALONE! I want you to LEAVE!”

Lynn stomped her foot, pointed to herself, and pointed to the door, while making an expression that she’d love nothing more than to do that. Then she pointed at Heather and stomped the floor again. Piper was sitting off to the side as if this had been going on for a while and she was tired of it already. When Piper noticed Zachary, she started to slowly slink towards another exit to the gym.

Zachary spoke while announcing his presence, “Hey, you three, I figured we should talk. Yes, Piper, that means you, too. Get back here.”

Piper had her foot halfway out the exit and was debating taking off at a sprint, but her shoulders sagged, and she came back and sat next to Heather, in a way Zach was pretty sure was meant to show solidarity.

Heather said, “Great, can you get her to leave me alone?” Heather jabbed her finger accusingly towards Lynn.

Lynn looked towards Zach pleadingly and tapped her throat.

Zach sighed, “Lynn, I’m pissed at what happened. You may speak for now, but I will turn the command back on if you start anything.”

“Thank you. That was so weird. Being mute.”

Zach then turned to Heather. “What happened exactly, and are you okay?”

Heather let out a sigh, “I’m not sure if I’m okay. My legs are wobbly for the moment, but I think I will be. As for what happened.” Heather glared at Lynn and spoke with extreme vitriol, “She decided to punish me for refusing to submit to you as my Master. She wanted to force me to watch you, and be a good obedient little servant for the both of you. I told her I wasn’t agreeing to that bullshit.”

Lynn started to interrupt Heather, but a stern look from Zach made her think twice, and she kept her mouth shut.

Zach asked, “What exactly did she command?”

Heather looked uncomfortable, revealing that information as it had a scary implication she didn’t think Zach had realized yet. I don’t see a way not to answer the question, though… “So, I would just keep getting hornier any time I made any kind of sound. I couldn’t reduce it except by orgasming, which she barred me from unless I accepted that my place was to serve you as my Master,” She sneered the word, “with enthusiastic obedience. At which point, if I accepted that, I would have the most intense and pleasurable orgasm of my life.”

Zach turned to Lynn incredulously. “Seriously?”

“That… is an accurate description of my command. I don’t agree with everything else she said, though.”

Heather sneered, “Right, that’s why you were dressing me up like a maid and told me I was to treat him like my Master. What was it you said? That I should imagine him fucking my ass as punishment for being disobedient? That I should grovel at his feet and enjoy it?”

Zach narrowed his eyes at Lynn when Heather used the word imagine, as he had a feeling that Lynn had used her new transformation.

Zach waved his hand to cut off Lynn’s retort. “Okay. Heather, you don’t want her around?” Heather nodded. “Fine. Lynn, you don’t have to take care of her for the rest of the day. In fact, if I hear that you’re bothering her, I’m going to be pissed.”

Lynn’s lower lip was quivering as she nodded.

Zach turned to Piper. “Would you be willing to look after Heather for the rest of the day?”

Piper’s lips quirked into a frown. “Fine, I guess I can do that, but only if Heather is fine tagging along with me, and not the other way around. I’ve got a bet to win.”

Zach nodded and sincerely said, “Good luck with that.”

Zach stood to leave, saying, “Heather, I’m sure you’re pissed, and that’s fair. I’m not sure what to do about this at the moment. I’ll think on it. I’d advise that you don’t try to take matters into your own hands unless all you do is talk things over with Lynn.”

“Noted,” Heather said, angrily but it wasn’t directed at Zach rather at Lynn.

Zach made to leave with Xin following quietly after him, when Lynn let out in a weak voice, “Zach, please wait, let me explain. You don’t—”

Zach turned towards his best friend and could hardly recognize her. “I don’t what? Understand? You went out of your way to be vindictive, and you even pushed Heather into something I’ve expressly informed you I’m not interested in. So, save it.” Zach turned and started to leave but was surprised when there was a firm tug on his arm as he moved.

Xin was clinging to his arm with both of hers and was not only standing still but actively resisting leaving.

Zach said questioningly, “Xin?”

Xin said, “You should hear her out. I think Heather should too.” Zach was about to retort, but Xin quickly got out, “What she did wasn’t okay, but you should really hear her out.”

Zach was trembling with anger and really didn’t want to do this right now and respond further in anger towards his best friend. He feared that if he stayed, he would.

Xin wasn’t budging, though. Xin had been a rather shy and meek woman so far. He remembered that in class she almost never raised her hand. The few times she did, it was always to point out a mistake or answer a question that he waited for the class to at least attempt to get right, and no one else had the foggiest idea what the answer was. Right now, Xin was clearly nervous, but she didn’t seem meek at all. The grip on his arm wasn’t something he would easily shake off without considerable force.

Zach sighed, “Fine, if you think it’s that important.” Zach sat back down and looked towards Lynn and Heather. Heather was glaring at Lynn but gave her own nod for Lynn to go ahead.

Lynn gulped and gave Xin a look of thanks, which Xin immediately dismissed, as she wasn’t pleased with Lynn either.

Lynn’s voice was trembling, close to breaking into a cry. “I’ve tried to explain it… You just aren’t getting it. I don’t really want Heather to have anything to do with you, any more than you do. I need it, though… I’ve asked…” Lynn took a deep breath to try and steady her voice. “I’ve asked for you to give me guidance, and you’ve refused. I thought you understood last night… when I pulled away your plate.” Lynn looked towards Heather for help to explain better, surprising everyone. “You should get it, better than most. At least I think.”

Heather glared at Lynn. “Get what exactly?”

Lynn looked crestfallen. “You’ve mentioned the feeling when Zach orders food.” Lynn’s voice turned melancholic. “This is your purpose. You’re not good enough for him, and this is the only way to make up for that failing. You need to serve him. This is why you exist.”

A lot of Heather’s anger vanished. Not all of it, but a lot. Lynn’s words were eerily similar to the intrusive thoughts she sometimes got, but she didn’t get the one about not being good enough for Zach. Oh, right, her transformation is about making her make the rest of us make up for her own perceived failings. So it’s also reinforcing the inadequacies she’s feeling. Which I’m willing to bet are a lot, considering she’s been pining over Zach for over a decade, and he refused to believe that was what it was.

Zach saw that Heather was contemplative and waited in silence.

Heather asked, “You’re getting those thoughts? And what, because I pushed back against them, you lashed out?”

“Somewhat. Yes to the thoughts. The thoughts got more insistent when I failed to push you.”

Piper said, “That’s an awfully convenient excuse you have there for being a shitty person.”

Heather came to Lynn’s defense, “I’ve actually had similar intrusive thoughts at times. Even last night. I tried to resist them for a time when Zach ordered dinner, because I didn’t want to see Lynn and tell her about the command, but the more I resisted and the longer I did so, the louder the thoughts got. It’s like that every time. I even get nagging thoughts that I need to prep meals for him even before he orders them. Those have gone away as soon as someone else starts prepping a meal for him. Not if he cooks, though. Then they get more negative, like Lynn was describing. That I’m failing at my sole purpose in life.”

Xin and Piper frowned in horror at Heather’s description of things.

Xin spoke up, “So it’s like a mental version of mine. If you don’t do as the transformation requires, it will become overwhelming.” Xin looked at Lynn, who was sitting next to her, guiltily. “I’m sorry about yesterday, Lynn.”

Lynn pulled Xin into a hug. “I don’t blame you. It’s okay.”

Piper said, “Using Xin’s analogy, doesn’t that mean Lynn is still going to be desperately craving to make one of us your toy?”

Everyone looked towards Lynn for her answer. She nodded while saying, “Yeah, it was a lot better after last night, but when Zach released Heather, some of the desire came back. Not all of it, though; it’s still a lot weaker than last night.”

Zach said bitterly, “I thought you said you were using Xin to manage that?”

“I’ve been trying to, same with Melinda, but using my analogy from last night, what I’m doing with Xin is like a snack, not a meal. That’s why I made the deal with Melinda when I had the chance.” Lynn replied.

Zach asked, “And what about right now? Are you going to do something more today?”

Lynn shook her head. “It isn’t that bad right now. I think I’ll be okay until the next round starts, but Zach, you need to understand. I don’t want to push any of them towards you. I need to. So you need to figure out what you want from each of them and tell me.”

Heather growled in frustration, “I’m not forgiving you, Lynn.” Heather turned towards Zach. “But she’s right, Zach. If you don’t figure out what you want from us, then she’s just going to hear whatever Delilah set up as the default.” Heather stood, and her legs wobbled slightly. Piper stood to help balance her, and the two left.

Lynn wouldn’t meet Zach’s eye, and she looked utterly despondent. Zach knelt on one knee in front of her while placing a hand on her shoulder. “Lynn, I care about you. I want this to work out between us. I’m sorry I haven’t given you more direction to deal with your issue, but I’m still really upset with how far you took things with Heather. I’m also not pleased that when I asked you about it, you didn’t mention some rather critical information. I’m pretty sure you knew I would be upset too, which is why I’m so angry right now.”

Lynn finally looked at him, and her eyes were watering, but she held back the tears. She just nodded that she understood his words, fearing she’d start bawling if she spoke.

Zach continued, “I want you to think about where you’re tempted to push each of the others right now. I want you to write down the various options for each of them. I’ll try to come up with something to tell you as well.”

Lynn just continued to nod. When Zach hugged her tightly, she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer, and they silently fell. She didn’t care that Xin could see them, but she was determined not to let Zach. She hugged him back and discreetly wiped her face as she did so.

Xin spoke, “I… I don’t want to interrupt, but… Zach, if we don’t do something soon, I’ll have to follow my schedule, so…”

Lynn released the hug and weakly said, “Go, I’ll be okay. Her schedule today is awful, so go.”

Zach stood and left, with Xin gently holding onto his arm.

Lynn made her way to the elevator and went back to her room. Only once inside, with her face buried deep in a pillow on the bed, did she start crying her tears properly.