Author's Notes: OH SHIT PEEPS! I'M BACK AGAIN! TWO IN ONE DAY! HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN? Well quite simply put I was BORED! I had nothing better to do and I wanted to get work done while my wife was away for the morning. She returned in time to go with me to my doc appointment and then hung out with me for a while until we went to dinner. Fun stuff. But still I had most of the morning to work on this since I somehow in all my freaking awesomeness pulled a muscle in my calf. It hurts like a bitch. So no running or swimming for me for a few days while this bitch heals. *grumbles* Oh well. I may start putting two up at a time because of the boredom. WARNING THIS ONE GETS A BIT MORE GRAPHIC THAN THE LAST ONE! You were warned! Review please?

Chapter 11:

The dining room was packed with the patrons and their now minimally dressed pets. It like their bedrooms was just as elegant as the rooms they had been in so far. Warm rich woods were used to make up the furniture. The color scheme a light blue and deep brown reflected in every surface. The walls with their crown molding perfectly matched the furniture even the large candelabras set in the middle of the table were made of silver that reflected simple elegance. In this room Olivia felt like she didn't belong but Alex certainly did. She wondered if Elliot felt like that at Julia's side. For the first time since Olivia had realized her feelings for the blonde she wondered at their class difference feeling as though it may separate them forever.

Julia not noticing Olivia's obvious plight made her way easily to Lord Drachir's side smiling at him as Alex followed her not noticing Olivia's melancholy. He smiled back at her. "I heard you ran into Sir William today. He was rather excited to see you. I told him you would be here but he had trouble believing you were going to be here."

"I don't know why it's such a surprise for me to suddenly appear." Julia smiled at him shifting Elliot's leash in her hand. Alex stood at her side listening to them talk.

"Yes well. You know how Sir William is. He has trouble believing things until he sees them. How are you Lady Alexandra? Red is definitely your color." He complimented.

"Thank you Lord Drachir. I'm doing well. After we walked the gardens we came inside and relaxed."

Julia laughed, "I did a bit more than just relax." She joked jerking Elliot's lead. He shot forward a bit catching himself but didn't say a word to the contrary.

Drachir laughed a deep sound. "I never thought I would ever see you with a male."

"Well I can appreciate beauty in all forms. Plus Elliot is such a very good boy." Julia leaned forward pressing a kiss to his cheek making a loud kissing noise as she did so. Drachir shook his head smiling at her. He turned back to Alex.

"What about you Lady Alexandra? Did you ever think you'd see this one with a male pet?"

Alex smiled slightly and shook her head. "No but they fit very well. I bring Olivia over sometimes for play time." She pulled on Olivia's lead winding the leash around her hand which caused Olivia to have to bow her back but kept her mostly upright.

"I do so love to play with Olivia." Julia agreed. "She makes the cutest little noises. Doesn't she Elliot?"

He took a breath and responded softly. "Yes Mistress."

Lord Drachir smiled fondly. "I always did love to see you work Julia. Perhaps they'll be able to talk you into a performance some time."

"Well I don't think my little Elliot is ready for that. Perhaps if I could borrow one of the others I may agree." Julia shrugged.

Sir William stepped towards them. "Hello Lady Julia. Lady Alexandra." He greeted them with a smile. He gave a small nod to Lord Drachir who moved away with a motion to Julia that he would be back.

"Good evening Sir William." Alex greeted watching the beautiful boy from earlier moving quickly behind Sir William.

"How are you doing this evening Sir William?" Julia greeted with a smile.

"I'm doing well. Well rested and ready for play time tonight. I was curious Ladies. Has Lord Gabriel told you what the plans are for tomorrow?"

"No we haven't heard anything." Julia glanced at Alex and smiled back keeping her poker face up easily.

Alex slowly loosened her hold on Olivia's leash allowing her to straighten up discretely.

"Well Lord Gabriel is going to announce tonight that everyone is to go on a boat ride. He wants us to go swimming and fishing and such out on the ocean; prior to that though he wants everyone to pair themselves off so that they have two pets between them so it'll be safe to run the Bridle Path."

Alex tensed slightly but kept her face blank not glancing at Olivia or Elliot. As Julia nodded, "So they're going to run the Bridle path are they pulling the carriages?"

"Yes. We thought it would be a nice healthy competition that will wear them out while we are on the boat. I think the plan is to lock them up in the library where they'll be safe until we get back. Plus if they're worn out we won't have to worry about them doing something stupid."

"Of course. We'll look forward to the competition I'm sure it will be a lot of fun." Julia was so hard to read that it made it easy for anyone to assume she was excited for the prospect when in reality she was nervous for how this would go on with the undercover Detectives.

The gong rang once again signaling everyone to come to the table. Alex deciding to take some initiative since she was starting to grow more comfortable laid her hand on Olivia's shoulder and pushed sending her to her knees without a command. Julia was still talking to Sir William and missed the gesture but it didn't go unnoticed by the man now sitting in the chair to her left. "Such a brilliant display and your pet landed with such grace and humility." The handsome blonde man complimented. He was wearing a pair of wire rimmed glasses that would've looked strange on others but on him gave him an almost scholarly like quality combined with his boyish good looks he was a striking figure. If Alex had been interested in men she would've liked him she imagined.

"Thank you. She's still learning but she's doing as well as can be expected." She lifted her hand from Olivia's shoulder and to her head petting her hair gently. Olivia for her part immediately leaned into the touch looking happy at receiving the small amount of affection. And truly it was hard to tell whether it was fake or real but Alex could only assume it was just for the sake of the man watching them with such an admiring eye.

"I can see that. It's wonderful to see one with a firm hand. Did you train her yourself?"

"I did with a little help from a friend."

"I never formally trained my pet but I'm curious about doing so."

Lady Alondra who was on the other side of Sir Arthur glanced over; "Surely a man who's as capable as you are at mastering an energetic pet would be capable of a little training." She complimented with a smile.

"Well I'm sure I could but I can't bare to hurt her more than necessary." He pet the girl's beautiful copper colored hair smiling softly at her from her place on the side closest to Olivia.

"I've always heard it's up to our discretion whether or not to train or not to train." Alex murmured.

"Yes that's true but you seem quite capable of training one as strong as that." Alondra motioned towards Olivia her smile turning predatory.

Alex shrugged. "Well I suppose it's all in the mind. Mind over matter." She smiled.

"Well said." Sir Arthur agreed with a smile.

Alondra narrowed her green eyes. "Would you consider a little wager Lady Alexandra?"

"What sort of wager would that be? And what would be the terms of the wager?"

"We're having a competition tomorrow you know just to get the blood flowing. We could have a little wager involving let's say our pets? The first one back from a full run on the Bridle Path gets a night with the other's pet?" Alondra looked over Olivia's strong well-muscled body and smiled at Alex.

Alex tensed very slightly but her face never changed. "I'm quite possessive Lady Alondra. I don't think I could keep her knowing another has touched her."

"Well then you could just give her to me." She offered still smiling. "I'd take good care of her."

Sir Arthur murmured softly, "Surely Lady Alondra you cannot expect that to happen. If Lord Gabriel."

"Lord Gabriel will be all right with this. I assure you."

"Yes he may be all right with it but I'm sure with a few harsh words from myself and Sir William it won't happen. You cannot expect to allow this little wager to fly Lady Alondra." Lady Julia spoke turning fully to face them. Sir William glanced over frowning at the conversation.

"You have no power here anymore Julia."

"But I do Lady Alondra and I say it won't happen." Sir William answered straightening his shoulders as he looked over at her with a frown.

Julia glanced at Alex to see her looking down she sighed inwardly and glanced towards Elliot. She could see his jaw was tight but he'd kept his head down the entire time. Obviously they were going to have to figure things out about this Lady Alondra. She seemed to have a few jealously issues involving Alex.

After dinner everyone walked into the large main ballroom that had been set up with various kinds of equipment typically found in a dungeon. The ballroom had full tall windows with thick pretty drapes in a light green with gold trims. The windows all faced the beautiful garden putting them on the left side of the house. The floor was a beautiful rich wood done in a very simple urethane that gave it a pretty shine. A large mantle rested to one side, the hearth looking big enough to easily fit inside of it three men standing at full height. A large portrait was hung above the mantle; it appeared to be a French Lady of the sixteenth century with a beautiful boy dressed in finery beside her. Two small fluffy dogs were playing at their feet. It was an elegant room just like the entire house that had been seen so far. Very bright because of the white and light green color scheme especially. A beautiful chandelier hung in the center lighting up the room as light was refracted off the crystals in little rainbows. The chandelier alone probably would've made up Elliot and Olivia's paychecks for the rest of their lives let alone anything else in the room. It would've been elegant except for the various furniture's that now resided on the elegant floors.

Olivia recognized many of the devices she'd seen in Julia's dungeon as well as from other cases involving the BDSM world. Many people were spreading out talking about the use of this that and the other when Lord Gabriel stepped up on a small platform that had been fixed in one corner. "Everyone please can I have your attention very quickly? Before we begin play time we were thinking we could have a few demonstrations. Do we have any volunteers?" He asked not surprised when many hands shot up.

He smiled and started to pick when Lady Alondra's voice rang out. "Why not let the new ones perform Lord Gabriel. It would be nice to get a new perspective on things. Perhaps we could start with Lady Alexandra? Assuming of course she's not too shy about it." She smiled her cold smile cutting her eyes at Alex who tensed but kept up her poker face.

Alex laid her hand on Julia's arm as the woman moved forward to speak. "It's all right. I can handle this." She said softly.

Julia took a breath and nodded, "All right. Do as you must." She said softly glancing at Olivia as every eye turned towards them. She only hoped Olivia would be able to hold her own on this. She knew Alex could do it.

"Would you be willing to give us a demonstration Lady Alexandra? We would all love to see what new techniques and dynamics you and your pet would bring to our group." Lord Gabriel spoke kindly his rich brown eyes soft as he smiled at her.

Alex took a breath and nodded, "Of course. But I would need a place to tie Olivia. She gets a bit antsy around the whip." She spoke with her voice full of confidence even though she was nervous as hell. During the weeks before their trip she and Olivia had discussed this sort of thing happening and though Olivia had told her she was willing to allow it if it meant keeping their cover intact she'd never once said she'd enjoy it.

She walked slowly up to the platform as two men brought up one of the black padded leather X frame with leather cuffs attached to straps already attached to it. She glanced at Olivia as she tugged on the leash pulling her up onto the platform roughly even though she was compliant with her wishes. She glanced at her mistress who had tightened her grip on Elliot's leash. The man was all but glaring at the floor but no one was watching him; they only had eyes on her and Olivia.

She took a breath as Lord Gabriel smiled kindly stepping back to allow her to begin the process of strapping Olivia to the frame.

"Surely you could take her top off? Show us your technique on some skin since with that top on she'll hardly feel anything." Lady Alondra spoke again smiling wickedly at Alex.

Alex glared at her challenge before pulling Olivia from the frame. Olivia's eyes were slightly wide but she kept her face down turned. Instead of giving everyone a view of her breasts, Alex stepped between her and the X frame and dropped her leash. She lowered her head using Olivia's body as a shield. "I'm sorry." She spoke softly before she undid the hook and eye clasps and pulled the top from Olivia's body. She shot her eyes to her lowered head and reddened cheeks refusing to look at the beautiful skin she'd exposed. She pressed Olivia to the frame once she'd stepped away pleased that the beams were thick enough to keep some of her skin from being totally exposed.

She glanced back at Lord Gabriel who smiled and handed her a black leather whip that was similar to one she'd had used on her during training when Julia had taught her how to properly walk. It was stiff up until the top and had a long coil of leather like one would use when training a horse. She took a breath as she cracked it a few times trying to see what sort of damage it would do.

She remembered once she'd asked Julia what was so special about using a whip finding the paddle much easier to handle. Julia had just smiled and pet her softly and murmured, "Well pet a paddle is easier to control yes and it does hurt. But whipping is an art form. You can do much with a whip that you can't do with a paddle. You can patterns on the skin with the welts. You can move easily from one place to the other with barely a shift of your wrist. It also shows the amount of control the Master has to not break the skin once."

"How does one do that?" Alex had asked intrigued by what she'd said.

"Very simply," Julia had replied. "Start out slow. Warm the flesh up. It hurts worse when one strikes that spot again softly then a bit harder because the welts will form that way in a pretty pattern. Come I'll show you." That night though Alex was sore she'd never felt so thoroughly owned by another when she glanced in the mirror and saw the beautiful patterns cut into her alabaster skin by the fine lines of the whip.

Now Alex found herself on the other side of the whip with a woman she loved dearly but didn't have the heart to confess to for fear of driving her away. It was easier to love a person from afar then to be rejected right? Right. Her mind answered quickly. She cracked the whip once more before taking a step back. She pulled it back seeing Olivia's back tense and then relax when she didn't immediately feel the slice of the whip. She wanted to tell her to relax to allow her body to move as it would with the whip that it would make it easier but she couldn't.

All she could do was bring the whip down across the top of her back. It made a loud crack when the leather hit skin but it didn't do all that much damage. She was intrigued at the way the muscles tensed then relaxed Olivia not making a sound. She pulled it back once more taking a breath and then allowing it to fly. Once again the leather made a resounding CRACK that echoed in the large room but once again left only a small red mark on Olivia's beautiful tan flesh. She brought the whip up and back and then down again working her strikes slowly at first allowing them to be almost like a caress with merely a bit of a sting to full cracks that left welts in their wake. At first Olivia remained silent but as the cracks increased in speed and harshness she started to whimper. When it became too much to handle, she screamed.

Everyone was left breathless as Alex lowered the whip hearing Olivia screaming. She was breathing heavily from exerting herself and the arousal that had begun to build when Olivia seemed to be enjoying it. It was subtle hard for anyone to catch but Alex noticed as the strikes became harder Olivia tried to arch her back to meet it seemingly wanting it to continue. Her blue eyes were a bit wide as she stepped away keeping her back to the crowd as the applause began. She turned looking out and meeting Julia's eyes. Julia gave her a small smile obviously quite pleased with her performance. She glanced beside her at Elliot's now unreadable face though judging by the way Julia obviously had the leash wrapped around her hand he hadn't enjoyed the little performance like everyone one else. She looked over at Lord Gabriel who stepped up and held out his hand taking the whip.

"Lady Alexandra, would you consider giving us a performance at each of our parties? That was incredible. The way you and your pet seem to coordinate with each other. Brava! C'est Magnifique!" Lord Gabriel spoke with a bright smile and amazement laced through his voice.

"Thank you Lord Gabriel." Alex gave a small nod of her head before stepping towards Olivia. Almost tenderly she undid the straps holding her at the wrists to the X frame. Olivia didn't move her arms keeping them in place until Alex gently lowered them to her sides. She made a gentle show of pulling Olivia from the X frame and placing her top back on as carefully as she could. Olivia whimpered a few times and Alex noticed as she slipped in between her and the X frame that she had tear tracks pouring down her lovely cheeks. She bit the inside of her cheek trying hard not to be upset about what she'd just done as she redid the hook and eye clasps and carefully led her off stage.

"This may sting a bit." Julia said softly as she tenderly applied ointment to the welts on Olivia's back. "Alexandra you'll have to apply this to her back tomorrow morning. It'll help numb the pain and stop infection."

"Liv you okay?" Elliot asked sitting on the bed beside his partner's head. She nodded though she kept her head turned to face Alex who was gently stroking her hair.

"I'm so sorry Liv." Alex apologized yet again, tears sparkling in her beautiful blue eyes.

"It's all right Alex. You did what you had to do to not break cover. I'm fine. This is nothing compared to being shot. Don't worry." She moved carefully and laid her hand on Alex's thigh.

Alex moved covering her hand with her own and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Elliot looked at Julia who smiled softly before returning to her work on Olivia's back.

"You both did extremely well. I would've stopped it you know."

"No it was best we did this. It showed that we weren't just here observing and Alondra had been provoking Alex all night. She was going to have to do something drastic." Olivia protested.

Julia sighed softly and nodded, "Unfortunately you are right Olivia."

"I just feel so guilty about this." Alex said softly looking down at their now linked hands.

"Don't feel guilty Alex. It's okay."

"She's right Alexandra. You had to do it. If you didn't it would've been perceived as a sign of weakness and around these predators that is the most dangerous thing you could've done." Julia pointed out as she gently rubbed more ointment into the wounds.

"I think we should look into that woman Alondra. What do you know about her Julia?"

"Nothing at all; she wasn't a part of Decadence when I was running it. I could talk to Lord Drachir see what I can find out." She offered.

"She did seem very jealous of me over Liv." Alex pointed out. "Do you think it's possible she killed that girl out of jealousy?"

"It's possible." Julia murmured. "I don't know her history and I haven't been able to get anything out of anyone concerning your victim. It may be better for you two to ask about it tomorrow."

"After the run," Elliot asked careful to avoid the actual term.

"Yes, after the run. I'll have to crack a whip like that during it Elliot be warned. I will focus more on you then Olivia."

"That's fine. I'll take the whole thing."

"No you won't. Focus equally on us both just avoid my back as much as possible and we'll be fine." Olivia called.

"Liv I don't think that's a good idea."

"I'm your partner Elliot. Not your wife. You don't have to be big macho man for me." Olivia pointed out. "We're equals. I can take it. I'm a big girl."

Elliot took a breath wanting to argue. Alex continued her gentle stroking of Olivia's hair trying to lull her into calming down with her left hand while she held her other hand in the right. Julia rose to her feet once she was finished and gently touched Elliot's leg to draw his attention. She motioned towards the doorway with a tilt of her head and he nodded sliding along carefully so as not to jostle Olivia. He stood up and walked out with Julia leaving the two women alone.

Alex waited for a long time to finally speak. "Does it hurt horribly?" She asked timidly.

"It's just a sting. That ointment Julia put on my back took away the pain wonderfully. I wish I had that stuff for every time I got hurt on the job." Olivia tried to crack a joke to lighten the mood.

"I really am sorry. I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been made to."

"Alex it's okay. You did what you had to do. It wasn't horrible. I can deal with it besides it was kind of…well never mind. Let's just try and get some rest okay?"

Alex bit her lip wanting to ask what Olivia was going to say but choosing not to. Instead she nodded and carefully eased herself away from Olivia to go wash up and get ready for bed. By the time she'd gotten back Olivia was under the covers all ready fast asleep. She smiled softly seeing the tousled head of hair since Olivia had chosen to sleep on her stomach. Slowly she slid into the bed doing her best not to move too much and rock the bed which would interrupt Olivia's sleep. Once she got settled she glanced over one last time before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Author's Ending Notes: Did I do my job as good little author to appease the masses? I hope I did. I tried really hard to make it pretty. Let me know what you think oh and let me know if you're getting more curious about our dead girl that hasn't been mentioned since the first chapter...oh well...I'll tie up those loose ends eventually. Review please?