Harem House Chapter 42 Part 3

The stops and starts the bus made as it exited the parking lot were fewer and smoother than Selene expected. The hum of the engine became dull background noise in the quiet pre-dawn streets. The lights inside the bus were bright enough to see by, but not overwhelming or headache-inducing—a delicate balance to strike. 

Everything had gone well so far this morning. Despite her lack of collar, Master had returned to his role, and she to hers. The space felt different without the touch of leather against her neck, but she’d do her best until Master gave her a new collar. 

She and Kat played with him a bit, and Kat hadn’t been selfish with him. Pity from last night probably drove Kat to be more inclusive and sensitive to Selene’s needs today, but Selene was still thankful, no matter the reason. 

The others seemed recovered from last night and simultaneously curious to see what the new day brought. Maria and Jen cast a few shy glances at Arthur, but that probably had more to do with his costume than anything from last night. Kelly took a selfie, then glanced around the room as she put her phone away. She’d met Jen at homecoming, but Mark and Maria were more Arthur and Selene’s friends than anyone else’s. She knew Brad from the gym, and she and Arthur had tied up their loose ends. She was gorgeous in her pirate costume and gave Selene a small smile. 

Selene noticed a small segregation between the theater friends and the harem. Kat, Katelyn, and Mindy didn’t know them very well. Rani and Mark had a bond over tabletop RPGS, but Jen seemed quiet around so many people. 

Selene wanted to engage Jen, draw out how she and Maria felt about last night before the interruption, but she was Arthur’s slave today. She didn’t intend to speak without someone speaking to her first or without permission. She met Arthur’s gaze and smiled, then bowed her head. Arthur lifted her chin and kissed her. 

The kiss was soft and warm, his lips opening hers with slow and steady movements as his hand gripped either side of her chin. As kisses went, it lacked the heat and passion of many of their kisses, but the tenderness in his touch made her legs weak. She gripped his arm, squeezing her slender fingers around his bulging bicep. 

Maria wolf-whistled. 

Mark laughed and patted Maria’s thigh. “Is it too early to turn this bus into an orgy?” 

Arthur ended the kiss, but Selene hung in the moment after his lips left hers with her eyes closed. She took a deep breath as she sat back and lowered her head once more. 

“Well, Rani’s getting changed in the bathroom; we should at least wait for her,” Arthur said, teasing Mark. 

“I’m still shocked she fit that backpack in there,” Kelly said, piping up. “Head’s up, there’s not a lot of wiggle room in there.” 

“Aw, no bathroom sex?” Maria pouted. 

“Is there a bus version of the mile-high club?” Katelyn asked, looking at Kat as if she knew the answer. 

Kat shrugged. “The mile-long club?” 

Everyone had a good chuckle at that. 

“Even Mark would last more than a mile,” Maria said, patting her boyfriend’s thigh. 

Brad clapped his hands. “The sixty-mile-per-hour club!” He suggested, which made everyone laugh again. 

“It doesn’t have to be in the bathroom, though, does it?” Mindy asked. “I mean, don’t get me wrong,” she put her hand on Arthur’s other bicep, “I’m down to get down and dirty, you know that, Boss, but I hate porta-potty smell.” 

“That is an excellent point,” Kelly said. “There’s an air-freshener in there, but there is a faint odor of porta-potty.” 

“Gross.” Kat’s face left no doubt about her disgust. 

“You okay?” Arthur cut through the conversation to address Selene, who’d been busy staring at her knees with a contented smile. 

“Me?” Selene asked, pressing her hand to her chest and raising her eyes to meet his. His eyes smiled at her, bright and content. “Yes, Master, I was just enjoying the conversation. It’s good to see everyone getting along.” 

The others smiled, and Jen scooted forward, leaning closer to Selene across the aisle.

“Hey, Selene,” Jen said. “Would now be a good time for that interview?” 

“Now?” Selene asked. 

“Well, we’ve got some time to kill on the drive, right?” Jen asked. 

Selene glanced at Arthur. “Is that okay, Master?” 

Arthur checked the faces of those around him, all of whom waited for his answer. If he said no, Selene had every intention of telling Jen to wait. If he said yes, then Jen could interview her, but it’d have to be off to the side. Perhaps in the rear of the bus? 

“Is there anything she needs to prepare for it?” Arthur asked Jen. 

Jen shook her head. “Not really. It’s just a few questions about her and her lifestyle. I promise not to publish any of your real names; that was part of our arrangement.” 

Kelly, Kat, and Mindy relaxed. 

“Just take a moment to think about what your answers are,” Jen said to Selene. “And if you want something to be off the record, say so before you say whatever it is you’re going to say.” 

“And how much of my personal story is going to make it into this article?” Arthur asked, cautious and glancing at Brad before he met Jen’s gaze. 

“None unless it’s absolutely crucial to Selene’s experience, but again, I won’t publish your name, and anything from last night is… well, it’s also off limits,” Jen said. “I’m not looking to air your dirty laundry or expose your personal traumas. I’m trying to report on the emerging sexual revolution on campus, and present an example of an ethical slut.”

“Thank you, that actually makes me feel a lot better about it,” Arthur said. “I’ve had enough of campus thinking I’m some kind of predator or monster.” 

“That’s actually one of the things I’m hoping to set the record straight about,” Jen said. “I’m a very sex-positive person, and I’m hoping that people will see it’s just love, and lust, and not freak out about it so much.” 

“Normalize it,” Kelly said, summarizing in a way that made Jen nod. 

“It’d be nice not to get so many rude stares or crass comments,” Mindy said. 

“Has someone been making crass comments at you?” Arthur asked, his protective instinct immediately apparent in the way his body shifted. 

“My roommate has some opinions,” Mindy said. “But you’ve met her. Some others have said some pretty rude things, though, between the condescending office girls and classmates.” 

“Oh,” Arthur said. “Yeah, that makes sense. Hopefully, therapy will help.” 

“Are you big on therapy, too? Like Brad?” Jen asked, surprised. 

“Yeah,” Arthur said. “I stopped over the summer and started going again last week.” 

“Wow,” Jen said. “Though, now that I think about it, I guess that makes sense with your–uh–experiences.” 

Selene cleared her throat, drawing the attention away from Arthur, but he continued the conversation anyway. 

“It was mostly Brad’s influence that I started going in the first place. It really helped me figure some things out when I started dating Lori,” Arthur said. 

Kelly frowned and looked at Katleyn, who gave her a soft smile. 

Brad shrugged. “It’s like going to the gym, bro, gotta take care of your body and your mind.” 

Arthur tapped his forehead and pointed at Brad to confirm his agreement.

Jen smiled. 

“So is that a yes, Master? Can I give Jen her interview?” Selene asked after a moment’s silence. 

“Yeah, go for it. Sorry if we interrupt you a bit, though. I might want to try out that karaoke machine eventually, and I want to see what video games they have.” Arthur said, gesturing toward the TV. 

“We can move to the back of the bus, if that’s better?” Jen asked. 

Selene nodded, and the two of them relocated as Brad and Arthur shifted toward the front. Kat pulled a book from her bookbag. The well-worn cover of a Heyer novel was a familiar sight in Kat’s hands. Still, Kat relocated and sat close enough to Jen and Selene that she could overhear them. Jen was just about to ask her first question when Rani stepped out of the bathroom and took hold of the pole for balance. 

Her costume—or lack thereof—made everyone forget what they were doing. Selene’s mouth fell open, her eyes taking in Rani’s breathtaking beauty and only lightly obscured backside.   

A red veil crowned her head over a tikka of gold teardrops. Each gold drop held a ruby that shone in the electric light of the bus. The gold chain traveled over her head as the red veil, with its gold-embroidered edges, spread out over her shoulders, encasing her velvety black hair and falling behind her. 

A small nose ring on her left nostril connected to an earring on her left ear with a thin chain. It complemented the ring piercing her septum and the clustered earrings on her upper ears. A dangling ruby encased in tears of gold hung from each earlobe, matching her tikka. The chain across her cheek had gold beads hanging from it, matching her other piercings on her ears, nose, and eyebrows. A transparent half-face veil lay over the chain and her face, obscuring but not hiding her identity. 

Two small triangles of similar fabric covered her breasts in something like a bikini top, held in place by gold chains over her shoulders. The fabric and the chains came together, suspending a gold ring between her breasts. The ring hovered away from her sternum, held aloft by the roundness at the bottom of her breasts. Her stiff nipples tented the fabric, which was just thick enough to hide them, though it didn’t hide their protrusion or the protrusion of her nipple piercings. 

A chain ran from one nipple to the other in an arc, held in place by a chain that traveled her flat stomach to her waist chain, which wrapped her waist in gold with gold and ruby teardrops hanging from it at regular intervals. Her navel piercing was a dangling tear of gold and ruby that caught the light as she posed. 

Gold armbands wrapped each dark bicep, and jangling gold bracelets covered each wrist in chains and rings of gold halfway up her forearms.

A skirt of the same red veil material accentuated her wide hips and partially obscured, but did not hide, her red bikini bottoms. The front of the bottoms was opaque enough, combined with their cover, which wrapped over her enormous ass. The back was modest enough, though it showed a generous portion of each cheek through the sheer inability of any bikini to hide Rani’s wide ass. The double slit in the skirt showed both thighs entirely, and a slice of her hip joints on each leg. 

More gold decorated each ankle, with a jangling anklet of gold chains and bells matching one of the bracelets on each of her wrists. Her wedge sandals bore engraved gold bands over her toes, with straps that rested below her anklets. 

The only noticeable bare spot on her was her throat, which bore no chain or collar despite the heavy jewelry elsewhere. 

Rani raised her hands above her head. “You may profess your adoration and love for me whenever you’re ready, my King. The rest of you, too, but Arthur first.” 

Slight chuckles and giggles rippled through the harem and guests, but none held any derision or mockery in their laughter. She was breathtaking, and if she made them laugh, it was only to start their breathing again. 

“You look amazing,” Arthur said, “That is incredibly sexy, and, well, very you.” 

“God, girl, you’re so hot in that even Kat just turned a little gay,” Katleyn said, prodding Kat to say something with her elbow. 

Kat looked up from her book. “You look very nice, Queenie.” 

“Thanks, Brat,” Rani said, smiling.

“I feel like I need to make my costume sexier now,” Kelly said, looking down at her pirate outfit in disappointment. As hot as she was, Rani had definitely upstaged her. 

“You have to tell me where you get your costume jewelry from,” Maria said, eying all of the gold and rubies adorning Rani. “Is it in Crofton?” 

“Costume jewelry?” Rani asked, confused for a moment. “Oh, I had this stuff at my dad’s house. Manasa brought something of a care package with her. It’s all from a boutique in New Jersey.”

“Nice,” Mark said. “You definitely match Arthur’s sword and sorcery vibes.” 

“Thanks!” Rani said, pointing at Mark. “That’s exactly what I was going for.” 

“No necklaces?” Brad asked, noticing the bare spot. 

Rani shrugged and nodded toward Selene. “I brought necklaces and my collar from Arthur with me, but it didn’t feel right putting them on when Slut doesn’t have hers yet.” 

Kelly, Kat, Katelyn, and Mindy nodded their agreement. Selene realized they all had bare necks. She hadn’t noticed it before, but this was only the second time they’d done a group outing like this. Her fingers touched her throat, sliding along the smooth, bare skin, absent any collar. 

“Thank you,” Selene said, her voice barely a whisper. 

“Solidarity, bitch!” Rani said, offering her fist for a fist bump. 

Selene felt the tears press against the corner of her eyes, but Rani must have seen them coming. She stuck her tongue out at Selene in the sisterly expression she’d seen Selene and Kat pass back and forth many times before. Kat had even done it to other members of the harem before, and Selene nearly laughed at how silly it looked on Rani’s face, in her regalia. 

Selene returned the expression and bumped Rani’s fist, smiling as Rani returned her attention to Arthur. 

“Is that okay with you, my King?” Rani asked, looking directly at Arthur. 

“Of course,” Arthur said, smiling softly. “The solidarity is actually really, really sweet.” 

Selene sniffled, and Jen immediately handed her a tissue from her purse. 

“We’ll get you a collar soon,” Arthur said, nodding his encouragement to Selene. “Don’t worry, you’re still my slave.” 

“Thank you, Master,” Selene said when everyone’s eyes fell on her. “I’m sorry.” 

“Looks like we have our first item on the agenda when we get to the faire,” Maria said, reclining with her head on Mark’s shoulder. 

“Oh, speaking of, we should go over what everyone wants to do!” Kelly said, galvanizing herself into action as she dug into her backpack. She produced a folder with double-sided sheets: one side held the Faire’s schedule on a table organized by location and time, and the other had a map of the grounds. She passed the stack to Brad, who took one and sent it around. “Everybody fill in what you want to do, I’ll consolidate and group everyone up.”  

Katelyn rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mom.” 

Kelly sighed. “Just because I’m organized doesn’t make me a mom.” 

“You mother everyone, you can’t help it. Just accept it,” Katelyn said. 

“Arthur, would you please spank some sense into Katelyn? I think she’s earned somewhere around a hundred from the swear jar.” Kelly said. 

“If that wasn’t the kink version of ‘just wait until your father gets home,’ then I’m a soprano,” Mark said, chuckling as the others joined in. 

Rani strode over to Arthur and sat in his lap, throwing one arm over his shoulders. “I’m sitting here until the next person gets changed,” She announced. “Unless you want me in some other position?” She asked Arthur, and Mindy giggled beside them. 

Selene and Jen took their sheets from the passing stack and set them aside. Mindy went into the bathroom next, ready to change, and the others seemed to settle into small groups of conversation. Arthur, Mark, and Rani discussed sword-and-sorcery fantasy. Maria, Kelly, Brad, and Katelyn discussed which events they most wanted to see at the Faire. Kat read her book, and Mindy changed in the bathroom. 

That left Selene and Jen in a bubble of their own at the back of the bus for her interview. 

“So, let’s start with some foundational questions,” Jen said as she started recording on her phone. “You go by the moniker Slut?” 

“Yes,” Selene said, nodding. 

“Is that okay for me to use in the article as your name?” Jen asked. 

“Yeah, honestly, that’s perfect,” Selene said. “It’s both a title, and a name, and a point of pride.” 

Jen smiled. “Okay, so how do you define a slut? Like, what does that name, or word, mean to you beyond the dictionary definition?” 

Selene considered her answer before she spoke. “So, to me it means someone, a woman, I guess, who enjoys sex for the pleasure of it.” 

“Okay,” Jen said, nodding. “You realize that’s not the dictionary definition, right?” 

“How does the dictionary define it?” Selene asked. 

“A woman who has many different casual sex partners,” Jen explained. 

Selene shrugged. “Eh, that’s not how I’ve heard it used. For me, it was always used to refer to women who enjoyed themselves. I guess I could see how that might lead to multiple partners, but I’ve only ever had two, Master, and my ex-boyfriend.” 

“And the other girls in your polycule?” Jen asked, “Or do you not do anything with them?” 

“Oh, I go down on them all the time,” Selene said. “I particularly enjoy doing it after Master’s done with them.” 

Jen swallowed. “Okay, so, you uh… you’ve had two men, and five women?” 

“No, three? I think. Pet and I haven’t done anything like that yet, maybe later, but Brat and I have a pretty firm boundary in place.” Selene said. 

“Why is that?” Jen asked. 

“She’s my sister,” Selene said. “And she’s a prude.” 

Kat, overhearing the conversation, stuck her tongue out at Selene in their familiar gesture. Selene returned the expression, then chuckled as she returned her attention to Jen. 

“Besides, she’s straight, so she doesn’t do anything with any of the women in the harem,” Selene said. 

“And you’re bisexual? Or pan?” Jen asked. 

“I’m… complicated,” Selene said. “If Arthur’s there, or if others are watching, or will watch, I’ll do pretty much anything and anyone.” 

“Can confirm!” Rani shouted from the other side of the bus. 

“But if it’s just me on my own, I prefer guys, and Master especially,” Selene said, shrugging even as she chuckled at Rani’s intrusion. 

“So there’s an element of performance in your sexuality?” Jen asked. 

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” Selene said. “You saw my video last night, right? I love performing for others, and knowing that they get aroused by me without me even touching them.” 

Jen nodded, swallowing and changing the subject. 

“So your sister is in the polycule with you?” Jen asked. 

“Yeah, but we have boundaries,” Selene said. 

“But you share a boyfriend? Is that something you’ve done with her before?” Jen asked. 

Selene shook her head. “No, that's new with Master.” 

“How did that happen?” Jen asked.

“Well, it’s complicated,” Selene said. “We started teasing each other about him years ago, but it was just teasing, mostly,” Selene said. “We teased each other about having the hots for him, and about both dating him, and slowly the jokes became not so much jokes anymore. I pitched that he and I could be fuck buddies and she could date him, then I followed through. Master and I became fuck buddies, and Brat ‘accidentally’ walked in on us and saw Master’s cock, and–after she calmed down–she decided to take me up on the offer. So, they had a date of sorts, to check compatibility, and it went so well that Brat passed out from her orgasms, so she decided we could share.”

“Wow,” Jen said, intentionally not looking at Kat or Arthur with the intensity of someone in a horror movie when the killer stands directly behind them. 

“That’s veering an awful lot into my story more than Slut’s,” Kat said. She sounded annoyed, but Selene could tell there was an undercurrent of lust in her voice. The memories of Kat and Arthur’s first time together, weeks ago, were still hot. 

“Okay. Let's go back to who you are and how you came to be a self-titled Slut.” Jen said, making notes. “When did you first know that you were a slut?”

Selene considered her answer before she spoke, remembering her first time, her first kiss, and the first time she saw someone having sex. 

“So, growing up, my mother was very anti-sex, anti-guys, anti-anything fun, really,” Selene explained. “My sister was always the perfect daughter–”

“No, I–” Kat's protest was silenced by Selene shushing her and pointing at Jen’s recording phone. 

“If you want to be part of the interview, by all means stop reading and scoot closer,” Selene said. “Otherwise, shush.”

Kat glared, but returned to her book. 

“My sister never voiced her opinion to our mother,” Selene amended. “I did. So my mom branded me as the rebel pretty early on.”

“And was it just the three of you?” Jen asked. 

“And our grandmother,” Selene said. “She lived with us, or we lived with her, to be more accurate.”

“No dad in the picture?” Jen asked.

“Our parents divorced when we were young,” Selene said. “He moved away, and our mom said he didn't want to see us, but that was a lie.”

Jen's eyebrows rose. 

“Two things you have to know about my mom. She's rigid and she’s hypocritical,” Selene said. “The 'do as I say, not as I do’ type.” 

Jen nodded. 

“So she had all kinds of rules around the house that applied to me and Brat, including no boys,” Selene said. “And the sex-ed at our school was a joke. So the sexual drives that came with life became what Kat would call an independent study.” 

Jen chuckled at that. 

“I've always had a high sex drive. Youth group and stuff like that always said it was a sin, guidance counselors warned that sex resulted in STDs and pregnancy that ruined your life, but to me, it was just one more pleasure that my mother considered ‘evil’ because she wanted to suck all the joy from life.” 

“She thought pleasure was bad for religious reasons?” Jen asked. 

Selene shook her head. “Not entirely. I think she agreed with our pastor that premarital sex was bad, all that stuff, but the way my mom is, she always saw pleasure as a reward for good behavior. But the reward was never in proportion to the effort. If you slaved away all week and did your chores, spending a dozen hours washing dishes and cleaning the house, you got to play video games for an hour on Saturday, that kind of thing.” 

Jen winced. 

“Yeah, exactly,” Selene said, pointing. “Kat figured out a loophole because she liked to read, and my mom considered reading educational, so she got to do as much of it as she wanted. But if it happened on a screen, or if it was going to a concert with friends, downloading a new album, or whatever, that had to be earned by strict obedience.” 

Jen appeared puzzled about something. 

“What?” Selene asked. 

“It’s just that, well, having seen you with ‘Master’ and knowing you’re a sexual submissive, it seems like you’d thrive under that kind of system,” Jen said. “You’re so willing to dedicate yourself to obey someone entirely, but rebelled against your mother’s rules?”

Selene shook her head. “There’s a certain nostalgia to it, I suppose, but no. Also, there’s a huge difference between Master making rules for my life as his slave, and my mother making rules for my life as her child.” 

“And what is that difference?” Jen asked. 

“Consent,” Selene answered simply. “I never asked to be born, and children have no say in the rules their parents lay down and no escape clause until they move out. With Master, I’ve chosen my lifestyle and agreed to his rules, and if I disagree, I have a means of arguing, negotiating, and an escape clause in my safewords.” 

Jen nodded. 

“Beyond that, Master often explains his rules, checks in with me about them, and goes out of his way to make sure that no matter what the rule is, or how long he prolongs any punishment, it’s all for my pleasure and what I want.” 

Jen made more notes as Selene spoke. Despite recording the conversation, her reactions to Selene’s words seemed just as important to her. The ideas that sprang from the innocent dialogue were worth recording and would help her when she drafted the interview later.  

“Plus, Master fucks so well that I’d defy anyone to say they wouldn’t do anything for another chance at that dick,” Selene bit her lip and glanced at Arthur as he held Rani in his lap. He and Rani were currently on his phone, building his D&D character on an app.

“So you’ve consented to total slavery to your Master?” Jen asked, a slight blush across her cheeks as she glanced at Brad, who was laughing at something Kelly had pointed out on the schedule. 

Selene nodded. “I begged him for it.” She chuckled. “We’re seeing how things go.” 

“So how did you go from repressed and rebellious teenager to obedient slave slut?” Jen asked. 

“Well, I picked up a few things from the internet, and a magazine at a friend's house, but it wasn't until my sister got a boyfriend that I considered myself a slut.” Selene explained. 

“When your sister got a boyfriend?” Jen asked for clarification. 

Selene nodded. “Kat spent an extra year at home, between high school and college, and she met this guy, George, her senior year.” 

“The same name as Arthur’s dad?” Jen asked, surprised. 

“Yeah, but a different guy, obviously. Kat’s George was her rebellious era. She’d sneak him into the house while Mom was at work, and they’d fool around sometimes,” Selene explained. “So I was finishing up my senior year of high school, I’d gone on a few dates, but the guys at my high school were just… meh. I got plenty of attention, I guess, but none of them were boyfriend material, you know?” 

Jen nodded. “Sure.” 

“So one day, everybody’s eighteen in this story, don’t worry,” Selene said into the mic. “One day, I’m downstairs, and I hear Kat and George going at it. So, I did what any repressed horny girl would do, and snuck upstairs and watched.” 

“You watched your sister and her boyfriend?” Jen asked, surprised. 

Selene nodded. “That’s when I first figured out I had a voyuer kink, and that I had like, a sympathetic pleasure center. If the people I care about enjoy themselves, I enjoy myself; if I see Arthur fucking Kat, for example, I get so turned on. I’ve nearly cum just from watching them cum.” 

“You don’t get jealous?” Jen asked. 

Selene shook her head. “The happier they are, the happier I am.” 

“Okay,” Jen nodded. “And did you and Kat ever share her boyfriend?” 

Selene shook her head. “No. He figured out I was watching, and it turned him on, but Kat made it clear that if he ever tried to make a move on me, they were over. She was super possessive.” 

“Not wanting my boyfriend to fuck my sister doesn’t make me possessive,” Kat said. “It’s basic fucking decency.” 

“Um…” Katelyn hummed, looking between Kat and everyone else. “What?” 

“Ex-boyfriend,” Kat said, explaining herself as she realized everyone on the bus had overheard her. “Arthur’s different, obviously.” 

Jen shook her head. “I’m not sure this is making sense to me.” 

“Well, George and Kat had an established relationship,” Selene explained. “If he’d gone after me after committing to her, especially after she told him not to, that’d be a huge violation of trust. With Arthur, we established a group dynamic from the start, and everything was above board and transparent, with open communication. Though I think Kat’s desire for him came as a surprise to Arthur.” 

Arthur nodded. 

“Really?” Jen asked. “You don’t just assume all women want to sleep with you?” 

“He has self-image issues,” Brad said, explaining. 

“Bro,” Arthur protested. 

“What?” Rani said, her hand on Arthur’s sculpted chest. “He’s right, you absolutely do. You forget that you’re hot, and you still think of yourself as that pudgy guy you were in high school. You’re so insecure you eat like a freaking bird around everyone, and you worry about your ‘intake’ so much you might as well be a nutritionist. I’ve seen your fridge.”

Kelly chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand. 

Arthur looked taken aback for a second, then accepted Rani’s tirade for what it was worth. He squeezed her and kissed her cheek. “I’m going to make your ass cheeks match your skirt color and make it so you can’t sit down for a week without remembering to hold your tongue every once in a while.” 

“Promises, promises, my King,” Rani teased him back. “If you want me to shut up, you just have to stick your tongue in my mouth.” Rani kissed him, moaning as she twisted in his lap to straddle him, and the two of them started making out. 

Jen blushed and looked away, Selene watched with a content expression on her face, biting her lip after a moment when she knew Arthur’s erection had begun to strain against his briefs beneath the loincloth. 

Rani swept her skirt aside. 

Mindy cracked open the bathroom door. “Mistress? Can I, uh, get a hand in here?” 

Kelly hopped out of her chair as if pulled from a daze, turning toward the bathroom door and walking over. “Everything okay?” 

“I just need an extra set of hands to tighten this,” Mindy said, and Kelly started helping her. She stood in the bathroom door, blocking the view in, but there wasn’t enough room for both of them to stand in it. 

“Okay, uh…” Jen hesitated, reviewing their conversation thus far. “So where were we? Your sister and her ex started you on the road. What was the next step?” 

“College,” Selene said. “Lots of cute guys, but I fell pretty hard for one specific guy right away. “The only downside was that he had a girlfriend. So, eventually, I stopped simping and tried to get over him by dating someone else, Dave.” 

Kat made a face. 

“And Dave was a bad guy?” Jen asked. 

Selene shook her head. “No, nothing like that. He was an upperclassman, part of the theater club, and we had a lot in common.” 

“So why did you stop dating him?” Jen asked. 

Selene glanced at Arthur, who was still making out with Rani. “Well, I didn’t really love him, for one, and we weren’t a great match sexually. We did it a few times, but it was very vanilla and lacked spark. I tried to suggest new positions, roleplays, and that kind of thing, but he wasn’t interested. Even with a decent-sized dick, probably between Mark’s and Brad’s in size, he had no stamina. He’d finger me until I was wet enough, then he’d stick it in, cum almost immediately, and roll over. I enjoyed myself, but only because I got myself off after he rolled over and went to sleep, that kinda thing.” 

Jen winced. 

“I just learned more about Dave than I think I ever wanted to know,” Brad said, which made Maria crack up. 

“Okay, ready?” Kelly asked and stepped back. Mindy followed her out, presenting herself to the bus as Kelly sat down again. 

“Woo!” Rani said, clapping. “Girl, you look sexy as fuck!” 

Mindy blushed, twisting as she showed off her costume. A shiny black corset covered her torso from her pinched waist to the bottom of her heavy breasts. The cups of the corset barely covered her nipples, but lifted her breasts as if presenting them to the world. The covering kept her modesty, but barely, as the effect made her already huge breasts appear even larger. Side boob and cleavage galore drew the eyes almost as much as the black makeup on her eyes, nails, and lips. Her shoulders remained bare, adorned only by the two low twin pigtails she wore her ebony hair in on either side of her head. 

A wide panel of black cotton fabric extended from beneath the corset and covered her backside, but didn’t wrap around her legs. It was just wide enough to cover her ass and swayed dangerously with the motion of the bus. A pair of black panties beneath the ‘skirt’ were as small as possible while still providing coverage. 

A narrow strip of fabric hung in the front, matching the length of the material covering the back of her legs. It sliced between her thighs and fell to her ankles, showing off the lines of her hip joints and thighs. Nothing below the waist covered the sides of her legs except for wide-gapped fishnet pantyhose. The fishnets encased her legs and displayed her flesh, but only until the top of her thigh-high boots. Shiny black boots covered her from the high heels to the middle of her thighs. 

She placed a bent, conical witch’s hat with its wide brim atop her head to complete the outfit and giggled. “I’m a witch!” 

“You look amazing!” Katelyn said, clapping and nudging Kat. 

“Yeah, you look great.” Kat agreed. 

“I love those boots,” Maria said. 

“And your tits look great in that corset,” Kelly said, chuckling as she patted Mindy on the ass.

Mindy blushed. 

“Damn,” Arthur said. “You look so sexy in that.” 

Mindy blushed and stepped over to him and Rani. Rani stood from Arthur’s lap and moved Mindy into her place. She tilted the wide brim of her hat back and kissed Arthur. She giggled when Rani, standing behind her, groped her tits. 

Brad adjusted the collar of his doublet and looked away, eyeing Jen. 

Arthur, Mark, Maria, Brad, Jen, Kelly, Rani, and Mindy were in costume. Selene, Kat, and Katelyn had yet to change. They still had plenty of time before they got there. 

Brad and Mark turned on the TV, each taking a controller to start playing video games. Rani helped Mindy make out with Arthur, keeping her hands on Mindy’s shoulders and keeping Rani from swaying too much with the movement of the bus. Maria made no effort to hide her watching Arthur and Mindy. Kelly collected what few schedules the others had marked up with their preferences and pulled out her laptop to start arranging the plan. Kat returned to her book, and Katelyn looked around as if trying to figure out which cluster of people to join. 

“I guess I’ll get changed,” Katelyn said, standing up. 

“Do you need help?” Kelly asked, looking up from her computer. 

“I can do it,” Katelyn said. “But I’m taking off this sling for the costume.” 

“But–” 

“I took my meds, I’m good. If it gets sore, I’ll put the sling back on, deal?” Katelyn asked. “If I don’t start using the arm more, it’s going to get lazy.” 

Kelly sighed. “Fine. But you’ll put it on if you need it?”

“Scout’s honor,” Katelyn said. “If I lie to you, may I never eat another Caramel DeLite.” 

“She must really mean it,” Kat said. “I’ve seen her unhinge her jaw to swallow the box whole.” 

Katelyn and Kelly met Kat’s deadpan delivery with laughter. Kat relented, chuckling as she returned to her book. Katelyn dragged her bag with her into the bathroom and left Mindy’s on the bench beside the door. 

“Where were we?” Jen asked, looking at Selene as the bathroom door shut. 

“Dave,” Selene said, nodding. “I think dating him made me realize what I wanted, sexually speaking. I couldn’t handle boring sex. I wanted more, so much more, but I didn’t have anyone I trusted to do it with.” 

“There are plenty of guys on campus who’d probably jump at the chance for kinky sex with you,” Jen said, as if Selene might not have thought about that before. 

“And how many of those guys would you trust to put your safety and welfare above their own pleasure or desire?” Selene asked. 

“Fair point,” Jen nodded. “So you waited until Arthur was single again, and then approached him?” 

Selene nodded. “I broke up with Dave before he graduated, and then maybe a week later, Lori told me that she was transferring, and they were breaking up.” 

“How long did you wait to make your move?” Jen asked. 

“A few months,” Selene said. “I kept checking on him, but he wasn’t in the mood for a rebound. So, it wasn’t until a few weeks into the fall semester that anything happened. Circumstances aligned, I guess. Arthur needed to get out of his funk. He’d gone on a date with Kelly, but she wanted to remain casual, so I suggested we start something casual after Lori called and basically asked me to.” 

“Arthur’s ex asked you to?” Jen asked, surprised. 

“I’m sorry, what?” Kelly asked, cutting into the conversation in a voice that was louder than she meant it to be. 

“Yeah, uh… well, Lori called, and we were talking, and she asked about Arthur, and I told her he’d been a bit off, as was expected, and she mentioned that she knew I had a crush on him, and told me to go for it. I knew they were kinky, and she knew about my frustrations with Dave, so she figured it’d be a good fit for a friends with benefits arrangement, which is what I pitched Arthur in the first place.” 

“And this was after his first date with me, right?” Kelly asked. 

Selene nodded. “Yeah, from what Arthur told me.” 

“That bitch.” Kelly muttered. 

“Who are we talking about?” Arthur asked, breaking off his kiss with Mindy at the word and looking over, concerned. 

“Sorry,” Kelly said, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about it, Hubby. You enjoy yourself.” 

Arthur looked concerned. “Are you talking about Lynn?” He asked. “It’s okay, you don’t need to handle me with kid gloves or anything.” 

“No,” Kelly said, shaking her head. “That wasn’t it.” She sighed. “They were talking about Lori.” 

“Oh,” Arthur said, as if understanding, but then he paused. “Wait, why did you call her a bitch?” Arthur asked. “Did I miss something?” 

Kelly shook her head. “No, I’m sorry, I just… I’m still sore about her ditching everything and moving across the country.” 

Arthur nodded. “I understand that, believe me. I was mad about it for a while, too.” 

“Yeah,” Kelly said, nodding and settling back to looking at her phone. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” 

“While we’re talking about being okay mentioning Lynn again, though, you mentioned you might know her passwords?” Rani asked, looking at Arthur. 

Arthur looked confused at the non-sequitur, but nodded. “Yeah, she typically used Guinevere, and then whatever the current year was. If she needed a symbol, it was the hashtag sign before the year.” 

“Guinevere?” Rani asked, surprised. 

The mood in the bus shifted as Selene, Kat, Mindy, Rani, and Kelly tensed. 

“That was her nickname, for a… a long time. She might’ve changed it since then, I don’t know.” Arthur shrugged. 

“Okay, thanks,” Rani said, sliding away and opening her laptop as she sat across from Kelly on hers. 

Mindy shrugged. “Can we keep making out until Katelyn’s ready for her turn?” 

Arthur chuckled and returned to kissing Mindy, biting her neck and making her gasp as she clutched his shoulders and ground herself against his lap. 

Selene released a long exhale and returned her attention to Jen as the mood in the room returned to normal. 

“So yeah, that’s how Master and I got started. I asked him to show me the world of BDSM, as friends-with-bondage, and things took off from there.” Selene gestured to the rest of the people in the bus. “Kat asked Arthur on a date to test whether he had what it took to fulfill what she was looking for, and that went well. Mindy asked Arthur out on a date because she saw her window of opportunity closing. Rani crossed their path, and Mindy invited her along at the end of the night, and she joined in.” 

“And then how did it become one big harem?” Jen asked. 

“We had breakfast and discussed it,” Selene said. “We wanted to experiment and explore, and we all wanted Arthur. So we decided to work together rather than against each other.” 

“You make it sound so noble,” Jen said. 

Selene shrugged. “I don’t know about noble, but it’s the best decision I've ever made. Sex and romance aside, I’d die for anyone in the harem. I love them, and I know they have my back.” 

“Sort of like a found family?” Jen asked. 

Selene nodded. “Yeah. We might not always get along sometimes, and we’ve definitely had our conflicts with each other, but we love each other, and we work well together.” 

“Can you give me an example of a conflict that’s arisen in the group?” Jen asked. 

“Well, Kat and Rani didn’t get along at first, but that was mostly Kat’s fault because she gets possessive,” Selene said. 

“Hey!” Kat protested. “Don’t throw me under the bus.” 

“She’s not wrong,” Rani said, shrugging. “But we’re good now, right? You love me, even if you’re not ready to fuck about it.” 

Kat rolled her eyes. “You can still get on my nerves, but you’re okay, I guess.” 

“Love you, too, Brat,” Rani said, blowing her a kiss. 

Kat ignored the blown kiss and returned her attention to her book. 

“Oh, and Mindy lied about knowing anything about sports to flirt with Arthur, and Kelly got caught in the crossfire,” Selene said. “So that was a little hiccup between them, but they got over it.” 

“Yeah, we’re good now,” Kelly said. “It’s just the usual kind of stuff between any group of people or any couple; there’s just more of us, and we have to figure out how to work through the problems the same way they do.” 

“And it helps that we have a built-in support network,” Selene said, gesturing to the others. “And a Master who’s mature, and emotionally intelligent.” 

“Yeah, honestly, that was the most surprising thing about Arthur,” Rani added, distracted by whatever she was doing on her laptop. “Dude has an emotional IQ as high as my actual IQ.” 

“Subtle brag,” Kelly said, chuckling. 

Rani shrugged. “I’m smart, and I refuse to apologize for it.” 

“You’re an engineering major, right?” Maria asked. 

Rani nodded. “Yup.” 

“Do you all have different majors?” Jen asked. 

“Katelyn, Kelly, and I are education majors,” Selene said. “Kat’s an English major. Mindy is going into a business major, which is what Arthur’s in, and Rani’s in Engineering. Electrical, right?” 

Rani nodded. 

“So how does your role as a slave to your Master and a self-described slut balance with your career goals as a teacher?” Jen asked. “Are you worried about morality clauses?”

Selene shrugged. “Master won’t let me drop out, and Brat would give us hell for it if he did. So, I’m gonna get my degree, but honestly, I have no interest in education as a career if I can just be Master’s slave instead.” 

Jen perked up at that. “Really? So why is that your major then?” 

“I’m stuck with it because my mother won’t let me do a theater major, or anything that I’m actually interested in.” Selene shrugged. “If I change majors, she’ll cut me off, and I won’t be able to afford anything.”  

“Why does your mom want you to be an education major?” Jen asked. “Is she a teacher?” 

Selene shook her head. “She’s a manager for a purchasing department at a manufacturing company near us, nothing grand or anything.” 

“But she worked her way up,” Kat said, piping up. 

Selene rolled her eyes. “She doesn’t care about me being an education major, per se, but she was adamant that I pick a major that had career options. Ballet, Theater, Film, none of that counted. She doesn’t think the arts can be a career.” 

“But Kat’s an English major?” Jen asked. “Isn’t that liberal arts?” 

“Kat is the golden child, so she can do what she wants,” Selene said, with a note of bitterness in her voice.

“That’s not–” 

“And she made a whole presentation, selling the idea to my mom, about how she can use the degree to get jobs in marketing, publishing, and a whole host of industries that are always hiring,” Selene said. “I tried the same thing with Ballet, and then Theater, but my mom still said no.”

“I’m sorry,” Jen said. “That must put some tension on your relationship with her.” 

“Yeah,” Selene agreed. “To put it mildly.” 

Jen offered her a small smile. 

“Can we get back to discussing the sexy stuff?” Selene asked. 

Jen chuckled. “Right, so, as a self-proclaimed slut, do you care about how others perceive you and whether they think you’re being ethical?” 

“Sex isn’t unethical,” Selene said, giving Jen a quote she’d definitely use. “And neither is enjoying sex. It’s there for us to enjoy, and I’ve embraced my preferences and tastes wholeheartedly. I love my Master, and I love being his Slut, and I love the women in his harem. There’s nothing wrong with love either. It’s all about consent, and doing right by each other, respecting each other’s limits, desires, and goals.” 

“Do you think you’ll continue to expand the harem with time?” Jen asked. “Are you on the search for new members?” 

Selene glanced at Arthur, who was cuddling Mindy in his lap as she kissed his neck. 

“If it were up to me, I’d add more women, but the group as a whole has decided to close the door on new members for now,” Selene said. “Master only has so much time between classes and the office.”

“Would you encourage people to form their own harems or polycules?” Jen asked. 

“Absolutely,” Selene said. “It might not be for everyone. People might not be able to overcome their jealousy, traditionalism, or selfishness. But, if they open themselves up to it, figure out what works for them, and find others who mesh well with what they want? That’s a recipe for happiness.” 

“So if I were looking to form a harem around Brad, what qualities should I look for in potential partners?” Jen asked. 

“Wait, what?” Brad asked, pausing the Tekken game that he and Mark were playing and looking behind him to see the girls across Arthur, Mindy, and Rani. 

“It’s a hypothetical question, Brad, don’t worry,” Jen said, smiling. 

“Find people you both like,” Selene said. “Talk about what your dynamics are, and really communicate what it is that you want. It’s not easy. Even Master and I have recently had some miscommunication, which was entirely my fault, but we figured it out. It’s just like any relationship, really. It won’t always be paradise one hundred percent of the time, but if you put the work in, you build a refuge together. The harem and Master are my safe place. The people I want to see and hang out with all the time, and the only ones I’m willing to explore kink, pleasure, and sex with.” 

“Dude, are you getting a harem?” Mark asked, whispering loud enough that everyone could hear. 

Brad shrugged and unpaused the game, wincing as his Yoshimitsu got kicked back by Mark’s Paul. 

Jen chuckled, checking her phone. “Thank you, Selene, this was really great.” 

“Oh, is that it?” Selene asked, tilting her head. “I thought you’d want the really juicy stuff.” 

Jen chuckled. “They probably wouldn’t let me print the really juicy stuff, but I appreciate you being willing to answer my questions. I’ll reach out if I have more questions, let you know when I draft the article, and you can give me edits, like we discussed.” 

“Thanks,” Selene said. “I know I used a bunch of real names in there, but please don’t publish those.” 

“Oh, I won’t,” Jen said, shaking her head. “Are you okay if I use the slave names though? The pet names?” 

Selene shrugged. 

“They’re kind of personal,” Kat said, speaking up for herself. “Maybe use consistent alternate nicknames, but not our actual nicknames, in case anyone overhears us calling each other by those names?” 

“Fair point,” Rani said, surprising Kat with her agreement as she closed her laptop. “If you refer to me in your article, you may call me Empress, instead of Queenie.” 

Jen chuckled. “Thanks.” She said as she stopped the recording. “And thanks again, Slut.” 

Selene smiled. “You’re welcome.”