When I woke, the next morning, Mr Bossy was sitting next to me in the bed and was, as ever, busy on his phone. He looked down at me with his lovely, loving smile. He already had his pyjamas on and was looking as smooth and unruffled as ever.
"How are you feeling, Kitten?" he asked.
"A bit sore down below but very... content," I answered.
"Good!"
"And I'm a bit fluffy in the head with all the stuff you made me drink last night."
"I made you drink?" he laughed. "OK, I admit that I wasn't stopping you; I wanted to get you nice and relaxed. But I wasn't exactly pouring the stuff down your throat either! You can lead a kitten to amaretto but you can't make her drink!"
He made a move to put his phone down but I told him not to bother. "I'm going to snooze for a while longer." I said as I nuzzled into his hip.
"That's fine. I was just going to phone down for a coffee."
"Wake me when it arrives, please."
"Will do."
What he didn't say was that he'd wake me by gently rubbing one of my nipples between a finger and thumb and, by the time I was properly awake, he'd got me totally riled up. So I lay back, spread my legs inelegantly wide and said, "Go on... you can stuff it in me now!"
"Kitten!" he exploded.... But he smiled down on me then said, "I suppose I had that coming!"
He put his head under the duvet and kissed me on my sweet spot sending a wild surge through my entire body.
He popped up again, kissed me on the lips and said, "You smell of sex!"
"That's hardly my fault!"
"I'm not complaining! But, much as I would like to... stuff it in you now... I don't think I ought to. Your sore, 'icle body needs the chance to recover. Have your coffee instead!"
He gave me a hug and a cappuccino and I forgave him everything.
"Plans for today," he said when I'd drunk enough to feel vaguely human again. "I had intended to go for another stroll but looking at the weather..." we glanced up at the window where the rain was coming in sideways, driven by a fierce wind, "it might not be all that much fun!"
I couldn't really argue with that.
"But they do have a pool and health spa here so I thought we could do that this morning and then go on home after a late lunch. How does that sound?"
"Perfect," I answered. "I've got my piano practice and Mr Grumpy gets all grumpy about that sort of thing."
"I think you'll find he's unusually understanding today... extenuating circumstances and all that... but he might like to play through that new duet with you a couple of times!"
I smiled - that sounded like it might be fun!
"And would her ladyship care to take her breakfast in bed or downstairs in the morning room?" he asked
"Could we go down, please?" I asked. "I've not seen their morning room yet."
"Shower?" he asked.
"Good idea!"
He sort of rolled out of bed with me in his arms but my heart froze in horror when I saw the state of the bed sheets.
"Relax, Kitten!" he said, snuggling me up and kissing me. "There are some problems in the world that can't be solved by throwing money at them but this isn't one of them.
He popped me back down, stepped through to the other room and a few seconds later returned with an envelope addressed to 'Housekeeping'. It contained a note with a simple apology and a significant wodge of cash. It would certainly take the edge off the yuckiness for whoever had to change the sheets!
"Problem solved?" he asked as he scooped me up again.
"Problem solved!" I had to agree. "It must be nice, having money."
That made him laugh so hard that he almost dropped me. "Kitten!" he managed to gasp at last, "You seem to have forgotten the conversation that we had a couple of days after you were shot. You are now a 'moderately wealthy' kitten."
Even I managed to feel a bit embarrassed about having forgotten that. "How moderately wealthy is 'moderately wealthy'?" I asked.
He popped me down in the shower and turned the water on. "I don't know. I didn't think I ought to go delving into your private finances without your permission."
"I wouldn't have minded."
"I didn't think you would but there was no particular need. My accountant... your accountant too, now... has everything in hand. I'll set up a meeting for you with him for next week."
"You don't have to."
"Kitten, you should have at least an overview!" Mr Bossy told me.
I suppose he was right. The problem was that, with nothing to spend it on, it didn't feel terribly real!
He turned me around so my back was leaning in to him and started to wash down my front: under my arms and across my breasts and then on down, over my tummy. That felt extremely pleasant and I sort of melted back into him as his hands worked their way on downwards and started washing me gently but extremely thoroughly between the legs. I leaned my head back into his shoulder as I enjoyed the attention but, after a while, something distracted me.
"Something seems to have come between us," I observed quietly.
"Not yet, it hasn't," he replied.
It took me a couple of seconds to work out what he was going on about but when I did, I turned around and rapped him sharply on the bottom. "Then I'd better sort it out!" I said. "Shower gel!" I demanded, holding out a hand.
"Look who's Little Miss Bossy now," he chuckled as he squidged some into my hand. "Oh!" he gasped as I started to wash the offending member. He leaned into me and started trying to wash down my back whilst making funny little grunty noises. I decided I quite liked those!
And then, without interrupting my washing, I slowly started to squat down, planting kisses over his chest and tummy as I did so. He gave a deep sigh and leaned back against the wall as his hands played through my hair.
I concentrated my washing on his balley bits for a while and stuck his top bit out into the stream of water to rinse the soap off which produced some funny, high pitched squeaks. Then I knelt down and applied my mouth to him and he definitely liked that. I grasped his firm bottom in my two hands and could feel my fingernails digging into him as he started pumping into me with his hips, driving himself deeper and deeper into my mouth.
And as his excitement started to mount, I found myself sharing in with it and a familiar, though unexpected, pressure began to build inside me as he drove himself faster and faster.
And the next thing I knew, he was helping me to my feet and holding me upright which was a good thing because my legs had gone all wobbly. He kissed me passionately which I thought was pretty odd because I still had some of his stuff in my mouth and I found myself vaguely wondering whether this was a form of cannibalism.
My brain goes wandering off in funny directions at times like this.
"That was extremely pleasant, Kitten," he smiled as he rolled his shoulders, relaxing into the stream of water.
"I have a confession to make," I told him as I started to wash round his huge shoulders. "I... well... you know... enjoyed it too."
"Well, that's nice to know!"
"No. I mean I... you know... enjoyed it!" I said as I started to work my way down his broad back. "Without your permission."
"Oh, I see," he managed to reply though he was having difficulty talking because, by now, my washing hands had reached his bottom. "I think, in the circumstances, it would be a trifle... churlish to hold that against you. In fact, you have my unconstrained permission to... enjoy it... to your heart's content, should you ever choose to repeat the exercise!"
I loved the way he said it. Basically letting me know that, even though he was my Master, he would never order me to do anything that... intimate.
A little while later, we actually made it down to the morning room. It was a conservatory type thing stuck on the back of the main building and there would have been a lovely view out over the gardens and down the little valley to the sea if it hadn't been for the rain lashing down against the windows.
The menu wasn't quite as frightening as the one for dinner but I still let Mr Bossy do the choosing. He'd never let me down so far.
"Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon..." he said thoughtfully as he looked through the thing, "or would you perhaps prefer a poached egg... Ah! That's it: Eggs Royale!"
He seemed very pleased with his selection and I was more than happy when a bowl of müesli, mango and yoghurt appeared in front of me - together with another cappuccino.
We spent the morning swimming and saunaing and being massaged side by side. I'd never had a proper massage before and it felt a bit funny to have a stranger's hands all over me like that but the fact that Master was having the same thing done to him right next to me made it all much more comfortable and acceptable. It certainly felt really good and I found myself half asleep and completely melted into the table by the time Mrs Massagey Lady had finished with me.
Then we wandered back to the main dining room for lunch and Mr Lovely ordered about a dozen small plates of various salady type things for us to share. That's pretty close to my idea of a perfect meal because I get to try everything without the danger of exploding!
And then, sadly, it was time to head homeward. "Thank you, Master" I said as the limo whisked us away and before he had the chance to get his phone out. "That was just perfect!"
"You are more than welcome, Kitten," he replied.
At half past nine on Monday morning, Elroy phoned up to tell me that Caroline was waiting for me with a car. I was quite surprised because, when Mr Bossy had told me that I'd be collected, I'd assumed it would be the normal limo and driver arrangement.
And yes, I know that makes me sound stupidly posh.
I was even more surprised when the car she was waiting in was a simple, little compact thing and was coloured bright yellow; it immediately made me think of sunflowers. It didn't seem to work for her at all. If asked, I'd have imagined her in a dark blue BMW or something. Maybe she has a hidden girly side.
Very well hidden!
And I was completely astonished when she told me to get in the driver's seat.
"But I can't drive!" I managed to gabble.
"I know. That's why I've put the learner plates on. Get in!"
Fortunately our apartment block had a fairly long drive so I could spend plenty of time crawling backwards and forwards along that as I learnt to coordinate the clutch and accelerator without being a hazard to anyone else. Caroline had to grab the wheel a couple of times whilst I was busy staring at the gear lever but I managed to avoid all the trees so I counted that a success.
After about half an hour, I had had enough so I swapped places with Caroline and she drove us on to the gym which was pretty much next door to Mr Bossy's office.
There were a few people around in the reception area and the fitness suite but she took me upstairs to a large gymnasium where there was nobody about. There were climbing bars against one wall and a few other bits of equipment shoved into a corner.
We started off with ten minutes of warm-up and stretching exercises which included a wonderful thing called the belly crawl. She explained that, if anyone started shooting at you, it's a good idea to stick close to the ground.
Probably not unreasonable though I'd really rather not think about that sort of thing!
Then she introduced me to karate blocks. She let me practice for a couple of minutes and then said, "Good, you're getting it. Now I'm going to slap your cheeks."
So she aimed blow after blow towards my face and I managed to block them all until I got tired. Then one of her slaps got through. It stung a bit though I could tell she pulled it.
"Keep your hands up!" she said and she didn't give me the chance to answer as she fired another series of slaps. I managed to block most of them but, as my hands started to droop again, another one made it through. This time she made less of an attempt to pull it and it hurt!
"I told you to keep your hands up," she repeated and then there were even more of the slaps. I really tried but I was just too tired and couldn't do it any more.
This time she slapped me properly!
And it really hurt!
I dropped my defences and just stared at her, shocked that she'd do something like that to me when I was... well... I was her boss's girlfriend type thing.
"Come over here," she said, leading me over to the water cooler and pouring me a drink. She nodded to a chair and sat next to me.
"Why are you here?" she asked, looking me straight in the eye. "Do you just want a bit of fun or do you seriously want to learn how to take care of yourself?"
I didn't quite know what to say.
"If it's the first one, then I'll take you home right now and you can find yourself another teacher. There'll be no hard feelings and, if it's ever necessary, we'll still look after you - but we'll be looking after you as if you were a child." She paused for a moment.
"But if you want me to teach you how to take care of yourself, you're going to have to deal with much more than that. You're going to learn to work through the pain and to use it to make you stronger... and to keep going when your brain is trying to tell you you're too tired."
She gave me a little smile. "Now take a moment to think about it?" she told me.
The trouble was that I didn't know quite what I ought to think. I could certainly see that this was nothing like what had been going on with Cruella. From what she was saying, here the pain was an important part of the whole thing - I suppose I was learning to fight and, I suppose, if you fight, you're going to get hurt.
And, anyway, Master would want me to keep going with it.
So, imagining his look of approval, I said, "Yes, please. I'd like to carry on."
"Good," she replied with a rare smile. "Then I want you to close your eyes."
I must have flinched because she laughed. Then, with a speed that she hadn't even hinted at before, one of her hands flashed out. I vaguely tried to block it but it was hopeless. She was unthinkably fast.
Luckily she pulled her blow at the last minute and patted me gently on the cheek. "Don't worry!" she said. "I promise that I will never sucker punch you!"
Feeling a bit more comfortable, I closed my eyes.
"OK," she said. "Situational Awareness... tell me three ways you can get out of this room."
"There's the door we came in through," I said. "Then there's the emergency exit down there," I waved my hand vaguely in that direction. "And the little door down there next to it but ... but that might just be a store room..."
"You're right. It is. You could hide in there but that would just buy you a couple of seconds... a minute at most."
I nodded then had to think about other ways out. "I guess I could try to climb out of the window," I suggested. We were on the first floor but I suppose I could give it a go.
"Good try," she said, "You can open your eyes again."
We looked at the window together.
"You're unlikely to be able to climb out of the window of any modern public building. You'll have to smash your way out."
"But..."
"Catherine, if you are kidnapped, Anthony will have to pay at least ten million to get you back. Anything you have to destroy to get away will be worth it."
She left me a moment for that message to sink in. I knew Master was rich but I'd never thought about how much I might be worth. The idea was quite shocking.
"If you are attacked by a force that is large enough to overwhelm your close protection detail, it is your responsibility to get clear," Caroline explained. "If we tell you to go, you don't think; you just go. We will delay them to buy you time but you just have to get out of there. And remember that we are much safer once you're out of the way. The attackers just aren't interested in us. You get to one of your safe locations or just lie low and phone your emergency number."
"What?"
"Hang on!"
She took a bar of chocolate from her bag and showed me a phone number scratched on the back. "Learn it then destroy the evidence!" She gave a little smile. "Do not write it down. I will be testing you and, if you fail, you'll find yourself eating something much less pleasant."
"Yes, Caroline." I vaguely wondered whether she got her attitude from Mr Bossy.
"Right! Fun time! You get to slap me!"
Of course I never got anywhere near slapping her. The closest I came was when she had deliberately dropped her hands and was just standing in front of me, dodging my blows. After a dummy with my left hand, I actually managed to brush her chin with the fingertips of my right. That earnt me a nod of approval.
Then she rolled out a man-sized dummy hanging on a frame and had me practicing kicks. Because of all my gymnastics stuff, I caught on quickly and I think I even impressed her.
And, finally, when I was completely exhausted, she had me working on 'escape maneuvers'. These were pretty simple. She would grab me round the chest or by the arm and I had to break her grip and run to the other end of the gym. That was a whole lot of no fun, particularly as she made it quite clear that she would not be satisfied with anything less than a flat out sprint.
When we were done, she pretty much had to carry me into the changing room. For the first time, I was at least half way grateful for all the time I'd spent running away from that stupid bear in our gym back home. I mean... I could hardly stand but I was, at least, still breathing!
When we had showered and changed we went out to the car park. "Would you like to drive?" Caroline asked, offering me the keys.
"I don't think it's a good idea," I answered. "My legs are still all wobbly. Maybe next time."
"You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I'll be easier on you next time," she said. Worryingly, there wasn't even a hint of a smile!
We jumped in the car and she drove us across the business park to the office. We were met at the door by the familiar huge figure of Jackson who greeted me with a salute as he opened the door. Then we strolled across to the cafeteria and bought lunch.
"How was it?" Mr Bossy asked when he joined us a few minutes later.
"The nasty lady was mean to me!" I replied, giving Caroline a smile. I mean, what else could I say?
At least it made them laugh.
"Sounds like you were a bit too gentle on her," he said to Caroline with a smile. "She's still able to joke about it."
"Don't worry, Sir. I won't make that mistake next time!"
I thought she was joking, even though her face didn't show it... or, at least, I hoped she was.
We chatted together for another couple of minutes then Caroline left us.
"So how was it really?" Mr Bossy asked.
"It was really tough and she did hit me a couple of times but it wasn't... sort of..." I trailed off because I didn't quite know how to say what I meant.
"She didn't do it gratuitously?" he suggested.
"That's the one. And she explained why she was doing it and it sort of made sense... and, unlike Cruella, I didn't get the impression she was enjoying it!"
"So you decided to stick with it."
"I knew you'd want me to."
And the smile he gave me made it all worthwhile.
After lunch and a coffee, we went up to his office. I mean... we did stick our heads into a couple of the offices on the way up... but that was just Mr Bossy doing his 'management by walking around' thing.
We arrived to find someone waiting for us in his outer office. "Catherine, Reginald Turner," Mr Bossy said. "He's responsible for looking after your money."
"Now, Kitten," he said, turning to me. "Would you like me to sit in on this meeting?"
"Yes, of course," I replied. It had never even occurred to me that he might not.
The meeting was long and a bit boring but at least with all my economics reading, I had some vague idea of what he was going on about with investment policies and risk profiles. It was boring, at least, right up until the point when he told me how much I was actually worth. It didn't sound like an ordinary amount of money.
"You mean I never have to work again?" I managed to ask at last.
"It would be enough to allow you to live comfortably for the rest of your life," Mr Bossy said, "but not enough to live in the style to which you are currently accustomed."
And, finally, Mr Turner told me how I could get my hands on the money and gave me a bank card.
I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting at the workstation in the corner of Mr Bossy's office, pretending to do my maths homework. But what I was really doing was trying to get my head around the fact that I was now a wealthy little kitten.