Missed
This is my story that I contributed to Will of the Alpha. The sequel to this story, "Rickety V," can be found in my short story collection Intimate Little Secrets.
The click-clack of Miss Pendigrass's riding boots echoed down the hall in her wake, the sound helping to transform her walk from a stately stroll to the confident, no-nonsense prowl more suited to an executive. She passed a hall monitor, and instead of her customary smile and greeting, she snapped her muzzle up at a curt, acknowledging angle. The motion forced her to nudge her slender glasses back into place.
The border collie quieted her heels as she neared her destination. From her purse she removed a tiny black remote, adjusted the dial to two, and glanced into the window in the closed door.
Beth moved among the rows of desks, passing out papers and instructions.
Miss Pendigrass aimed the remote and fired.
The mink's body jerked, her back and tail going straight, and Miss Pendigrass could almost hear Beth's sharp intake of breath. The border collie lingered long enough to catch sight of momentarily wide eyes, tail fur puffing out, and a roll of the hips so subtle one would have needed to be looking to spot it.
Before she was spotted at the door, the border collie renewed the cadence of her boots. She was certain Beth should have composed herself by the time the border collie reached the end of the hall. Even though the activation times were random, the mink had ample time to become accustomed to wearing the bullet vibe over the last several Wednesdays. A shame the vibrations had only a five minute lifespan when the remote was beyond range.
This time she was not merely keeping the girl on her toes.
Every step and breath added to the building anticipation and power, growing for the coming meeting. It had become overwhelming now, the imaginary pressure like a preheating oven, hot and trembling in her chest. The sensations had begun to snowball an hour ago when she received the email.
"Miss, I very much need to see you at lunch. It's important."
Tracing her steps back out of Parker Hall and up the library steps, Miss Pendigrass strode towards the central desk. "Meredith," she called, "I'm taking a lunch."
The aged lynx's tufted ears turned Miss Pendigrass's way before the rest of her.
It was difficult to put away the mood she had been cultivating, set aside with a deep breath before she snapped at Meredith. The border collie spared her colleague a smile, tapped her own watch, then mimed putting something into her own mouth.
"Ah! I'll hold down the fort," Meredith said, reaching for the volume on her hearing aid.
By the time she opened the library door, Miss Pendigrass was once more enveloped in her headspace. She walked around the building until she reached the fire door and unlocked it from the outside. The stairwell beyond took her three flights, leaving her panting by the end, and she pushed into the cramped corridor beyond. She passed ancient cobwebs and dust motes dancing in the slim bars of sunlight slipping through a high grimy window. At the far end of the hall, she opened the store room and stepped inside.
The air and floor were less dusty here than it should have been, and the clutter was minimal, providing a full space to maneuver around the central table, lit by the feeble efforts of a single naked light bulb. It was a meager set, but it was Miss Pendigrass's stage. At far end of the room she moved aside two boxes of old yearbooks before hoisting up the third. After setting the box down on the table, she peeled her sweater over her head and folded it.
The email had said it was important. Miss Pendigrass imagined it was; Beth had not been directed to climax in nine days. The mink must have been on fire.
Beth's class must certainly be out by now.
Her nipples were tight beneath the lace of her bra, and a familiar warmth tensed below her waistband. Miss Pendigrass removed her bra, leaving her considerable bosom to sag, and folded her bra atop her sweater. From inside the box she took her first prop, a dark purple bustier, pulling it into place.
Beth must be on her way.
The thought set the border collie's tail to wagging. This meeting was important for them both. Their engagements so far had been limited to the exchange of power and the physical. Now Miss Pendigrass felt ready to close the roles between them. She would take this beyond games, she would take the girl home and relax her heart.
The border collie lost her trousers and underwear, replacing them with a dark, sheer lace skirt shorter than the boys wished the girls could wear their uniforms. Miss Pendigrass left her riding boots on. Then she removed a few props from the box and her purse, arranging them on the table.
When she heard the fire escape door open at the end of the hall, Miss Pendigrass took two of her props in hand and poised by the door.
Four knocks echoed through the heavy door, in a one-two-one pattern. Miss Pendigrass smiled. "Come in."
Beth pushed the door open. The poor lighting turned her mahogany fur and dark hair smokey against the pearl blouse with its brass buttons. Just the sight of her left Miss Pendigrass wanting to touch her, hold her, nuzzle her throat and breathe in that wonderful wildflower scent that she loved so much. She wanted her linens to smell like Beth.
Beth lifted timid brown eyes up to the librarian. As soon as Miss Pendigrass caught her gaze, she extended her riding crop. A red ribbon choker dangled off the end.
Beth took a breath, color creeping into her ears. "Miss," she said. "I need to..."
When Miss Pendigrass hardened her stare, the girl dropped her eyes and had barely formed a syllable before the border collie brought the choker into her field of vision.
For a moment she darted eyes up to Miss Pendigrass before glancing to the choker, then she plucked it off the crop and fastened it in place.
"Good. Now, strip to your panties."
"Yes Ma'am," Beth said. "Miss, could you please not use the toy when I'm standing in full view? I was handing bac-!" She spasmed, nearly tearing a button.
Miss Pendigrass set the dial to four before returning the remote to the table. "You're wearing my collar right now, girl. What does that mean?"
Beth shuddered and ducked her head, voice both chastised and stimulated.
"Th-that I am to follow all rules."
"Yes, and what is the rule about talking?"
"Only when spoken to," Beth said.
"And what time have we set aside for discussions for both playtime and other matters?"
Beth's digits dug into her blouse. "During aftercare and in emails, Miss."
"And is now either of those times?"
"No ma'am."
"Then," Miss Pendigrass said, tilting Beth's chin upwards with the end of the crop so that she could stare into the girl's eyes, "undress and come here."
The mink's ears flattened, but she nodded against the crop. First went her blouse. When she reached for her skirt, the border collie's cleared throat sent her hands back up to remove the red bra, baring her small breasts and their black nipples. The skirt came last. Then she came closer.
Miss Pendigrass stepped aside and gestured at the table with her crop. Beth bent over it with deliberate slowness, tail rippling in restrained excitement. The posture best presented the mink's legs encased in dark stockings. A band wound around one thigh just above a garter, holding the battery to the bullet vibe. Its cord fed into the front of Beth's red boyshorts, where Miss Pendigrass could see dew tinting the cotton.
"Mmm." The border collie trailed her nails through the softness along the back of Beth's thigh, leaving furrows in the short but thick velvet of the mink's pelt. Her touch ran from the tight thigh up to the outer lines of Beth's taut little bottom, then to the underside of a cheek, threatening to delve into her rear's crease. The touch sent the mink's tail into an upward arch. "You've been looking forward to this, haven't you?"
"Yes Miss," Beth said with a quiver in her voice that lifted the border collie's ears.
Miss Pendigrass collected a student's tie from the table and walked around until she stood across from Beth's head. "Wrists, Girl."
The mink extended her arms, the motion just long enough to reach across the table's width. Miss Pendigrass looped the tie over Beth's wrists and slid the knot snug.
"Miss, before we continue, this is rea--"
Lifting Beth's chin with a sudden, tight grip, the librarian regarded her girl with a steely glare. She could not tolerate the insubordination any longer. Had it been so urgent to disrupt their play, the email would have said as much. "If you speak out of turn one more time, I will send you home without an orgasm. Is that what you want?"
"No Miss." The defeat and desperation flashing in her eyes was mirrored in her tone.
Tracing Beth's mouth with her thumb, she added, "I haven't given you permission to climax in some time. Would you like more days to be added to that?"
The mink said nothing, but she didn't need to. Miss Pendigrass could see the hunger in her eyes underneath whatever reluctance had bubbled up all of a sudden.
"Good." Taking Beth's now bound wrists, she pulled her arms straight and hooked the loop of the tie on a thin knob that she had screwed in underneath the table's edge. Returning to the toy box she retrieved what looked like a claw hair clip made of metal. Brushing Beth's hair aside, Miss Pendigrass squeezed the toy's end, opening the steel jaws, and sank the little teeth into Beth's scruff.
The mink arched her back and hissed. It always impressed the librarian how minks weren't subdued by a scruff bite, but instead turned wild. Beth's tail lashed and, as Miss Pendigrass reached for her face, she snapped playfully at the collie's fingers. Miss Pendigrass snatched her by the muzzle, and began stroking her whiskers.
Beth's head jerked, but she held firm. Each whisker received a tickle, leaving the mink squirming on the table, her eyes squeezed closed before fluttering open.
Miss Pendigrass rested the tips of her nails along Beth's shoulder, dragging their points down the mink's back as she walked around to the girl's rear end. Just before reaching the boyshorts' waistband, she turned her hand over, pressing in and rubbing over the cheek in a tight circle. Beneath her hand the mink shuddered, and Miss Pendigrass noticed her thighs pressed flush together. It was only then that the scent caught her nose, and she blinked.
She pulled her groping hand back while with the other she pressed the remote's off button.
Immediately tension eased out of Beth's muscles.
Miss Pendigrass snapped her free hand across Beth's rear with a muted thmp of palm on furred derriere.
The mink jumped with a squeak. Before she had even settled on the table the other cheek received a slap, drawing out another high noise.
Reaching down, Miss Pendigrass claimed the riding crop once more. "Now," she murmured, running the tip along the outside of Beth's thigh, "Should I use the sting?" She then picked up a ruler, mirroring the motion along the opposite leg. "Or the thud?"
"The second, Miss. Please?" Beth glanced over her shoulder and hiked her hips up, giving her bottom a faint wiggle.
Miss Pendigrass set the crop aside. But before settling in, she took up the remote once more, dialed the toy to one, and turned it on. Beth sighed under her breath and arched her back, tail kept well out of the way, and swayed her pelvis.
This saucy waggle earned her ruler slap across an inner thigh. Miss Pendigrass could not contain her wag at the resulting moan that bubbled out of Beth's throat.
The librarian set about her task, each crack of the ruler upon a thigh or buttock drawing out a groan or gasp, the pitch and type varying with the power and placement of each strike. The sweetest notes came from the crease where thigh met buttock, or where the cheek, hip and thigh converged. She played the mink like some erotic musical instrument, performing with a tempo that left them both panting and damp.
Setting aside her ruler and turning the bullet vibe off, she began to first graze Beth's sore spots with her nails, flirting with the aching muscles. When the mink squirmed and twitched her tail, silently begging for more, Miss Pendigrass cupped the girl's abused behind, grinding her handpads into the ripe cushions while squeezing in lazy rhythms.
Beth laid her face down and groaned into the table, spreading her legs and pushing back into the massage. Miss Pendigrass could see the saturated nature of Beth's underwear, and the smell was intoxicating. Her fingers pressed into the wet material, bearing down on Beth's mound. "Tell me how much you want release, girl. Tell me."
"I...I..."
"Yes?" Miss Pendigrass growled, pinching the mink through her panties.
Beth squeaked, then took a deep breath and whimpered out, "Sanctuary."
Miss Pendigrass paused, a breath away from peeling Beth's panties down and cocked her head. What did that have to do with what she asked?"
Then significance dawned and she yanked her hands back as if burned. With a tight frown, the border collie first looked over Beth for any problems, having noticed no signs of distress. Circling the table, she quickly unbound Beth's wrists and removed the scruffer. "Are you alright?" Not yet touching the girl, she merely leaned in close.
Beth sat up and rubbed her wrists. Still not looking at Miss Pendigrass, she removed her collar.
"Talk to me," the border collie said, her ears splaying.
"That's what I've been trying to do, Miss. But you haven't let me." The frustration and hurt in Beth's whisper was palpable, enough to droop the librarian's tail.
She had yet to look up. Miss Pendigrass reached out, brushing the backs of her fingers along Beth's cheek, then down to cup her chin, drawing the girl's eyes up. "I'm listening now."
Once more Beth pulled her head away and, with a shaky breath, said, "There's someone who is trying to...trying to get me to um. Date them."
The bottom dropped out of Miss Pendigrass's libido. "I see." She tried to sound as neutral and comforting as possible, but even with her ears she failed.
The girl curled up on the table and clutched her tail in her lap, stroking the fur. "I wanted to ask permission. If I could pursue it, ma'am." Beth's ears flattened and she spared a glance up.
Miss Pendigrass felt silly in her getup. She walked from the table, tail giving a fitful tick-tock. Arms crossed under her breasts, she asked, "Does this mean that you want to stop what we're doing?"
"No ma'am," Beth said, quick and loud. "I love these times."
"Then have you told her about our arrangement?"
Once more the mink's voice was tiny. "He, Miss. He."
Her stomach flipped. Miss Pendigrass turned on her. "He? You told me you weren't interested in males. That you had never--"
"I'm not! I wasn't!" Ears pinkening and nose buried in her tail, the mink shook her head. "I've never been, before. But Conner's...sweet. So very sweet and polite, he swims, and he's so good with kids, loves them like we do. He doesn't make me feel like the way I feel around most males, but the way that I am with you, and with the girls before you."
"What is he? His species." She asked something irrelevant to try and rein in her own feelings, but the words cracked once. Be calm. Swallow it for now.
"Dog. I mean, a golden retriever."
Inside, the border collie snorted. Why did women fawn all over those godforsaken knots? Through her quiet scorn, she noticed wetness glistening at the corners of Beth's eyes, and the way she curled up even further, clutching her tail.
The welling tears melted the border collie just a hint. She padded over and dabbed at the poor mink's eyes with a digit. Beth hugged her tight, nose pressed into the dog's. "Shh." Miss Pendigrass took a deep breath and swallowed down her wants. "It's alright." It wasn't, but she still stroked the mink's back.
Leaning back, Beth's eyes met Miss Pendigrass's. "I don't want to stop," she whispered.
That drew a smile, but the border collie's tone was firm. "You didn't answer me. Have you told him about our arrangement?"
Beth squeaked. "No!" Redness crept up into her ears. "I don't think he would get it." She flailed her hands quickly, trying to halt response. "The...the..." Beth picked up the crop, wagging it. "I think he's very...sheltered."
"I see." Miss Pendigrass slid off the table, opting to stare at the wall. "Why would you even want a relationship with someone vanilla?" She had tried that. Her unsatisfied needs had became a wedge that had widened problems until it all came crashing down.
"I don't know Miss," Beth said. "Am I not allowed to try?"
After a moment's deliberation, the collie sentenced Beth. "You are going to tell him."
Beth shook her head. "I will but not unless things moved towards serious. I don't know if this will work out. Don't you have anyone else you do...this with?"
Instead of saying no, Miss Pendigrass said, "None I'm pursuing a relationship with."
"But Miss! I--"
"Because not only would it be not fair to him," The border collie continued, "not only would some of my existing orders interfere with the potential relationship, but he needs to be put on the same page. If this arrangement is going to work, then we all must talk it out."
Beth gasped. "You want to meet him?"
She did not, but she was going to have to. She had given her judgment. "Yes."
Ears now scarlet, the mink stared back at Miss Pendigrass with wide eyes.
Miss Pendigrass stared down her muzzle at the girl from her full height and then some. "If it's going to work at all, then everything must be out in the open and clear," she said, giving her edict with a tone of finality.
"I'm very...it's embarrassing," Beth said to her lap. "And Conner's just interested, we aren't dating yet. You're asking me to take all this info and present it like a hiked tail. What if he thinks we're weird or I'm some kind of sex addict or--"
The crack of the ruler across the table caused the girl to jump and snap her head up.
"Enough. Consider it an order," Miss Pendigrass said. "You have permission to pursue the relationship. As long as we outline to him our relationship, and the type of things that excites you. Set a time aside with him, the next time you get the chance, and we'll all sit down. Understood?"
For several moments the mink trembled on the table, but she finally gave a meek nod. "Yes Miss."
"And I'm going to change one of our standing orders, just a little bit." Miss Pendigrass ran the ruler along Beth's thigh while regarding the mink with a rekindling smile. "Instead of keeping your climax all to myself, you're going to start orgasming a lot. Every night at nine fifteen, you're going to start pleasuring yourself. You still can't get off without my permission, so I will expect a phone call when you're close. Understood?"
Once more the mink nodded, her ears still quite glowing, but a faint smile perked. "Yes Miss."
"Once we sort things out with your male, then we can see about adjusting rules to suit everyone. For now, get dressed."
Beth started to slide off the table, then paused. "Miss?"
"Yes?"
"May I...remove the toy?"
Miss Pendigrass smiled weakly. "No." She slid in close and pressed herself against the other female, brushing her fingers downwards and into the girl's underwear. Beth squirmed as she caught, then withdrew the bullet vibe, and let it fall into her underwear.
The mink leaned in and kissed Miss Pendigrass, chaste and affectionate. It broke into a hug where Beth lovingly set teeth to the collie's jaw and throat, and Miss Pendigrass licked her muzzle and cheek. "Thank you Miss," she whispered. "For understanding. For being so kind."
"I am your Miss, it's part of what I'm here to do." She nosed between her mink's still warm ears, licking one, and eased away, allowing the girl to dress and spritz a bit of scent duller to mask the lingering arousal aromas. They shared a conspiratorial smile before Beth wiped the bullet off with a kerchief and tucked it into her purse. Then the girl was gone.
It would go all right. Either the boy would reject the situation, or the love triangle would go on, her providing for some of Beth's needs while he provided for others. The border collie would make it work, and their relationship would continue as it had. It would be alright, she told herself.
This Janine told herself as she retired their toys, but as she looked down at the red ribbon choker, all she could do was quietly cry in the room that smelled so wonderfully of them both.