In Arrears (3 page)

Roth felt heat filling his cheeks and closed his eyes.
Damn it, why am I blushing?
Women had commented on his hair color for years. What was it about this guy that had him acting like such a nervous little virgin?

One of the girls brought over a large sitting pillow.

The other girl set a basin of steaming water by Roth’s knee and a cup nearly overflowing with foam. A stubby wooden handle stuck out of it.

Roth swallowed. He knew shaving soap when he saw it.
 

Fox set the pillow between Roth’s thighs. With a whisper of fabric, he sat cross-legged on the pillow, his knees pushing Roth’s upper thighs further apart. He reached into his sleeve, and pulled out a cloth-wrapped bundle as long as his forearm beside the bowl. He unrolled the bundle to reveal long slender needles and the ivory handle of a folding knife. “Please remain calm.” He lifted the ivory handle. “I assure you, I am quite skilled.” A flick of his wrist exposed the gleaming blade of a straight razor. “You have been blessed with very little body hair. This will not take long.”

Roth eyed the razor. “Gee, thanks.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Fox lifted Roth’s flaccid dick, applied the soap, and began scraping the razor across his flesh, denuding him of his short and curlies with swift, smooth strokes, even around his balls.

Roth swallowed. The man was definitely a pro.

The girls lifted one of Roth’s legs.

Fox soaped up the leg and shaved it clean from thigh to toe. The leg was set down and the other was lifted, and shaved. The underarm area took mere seconds. His sparse chest and belly hair did take a bit more time, but not much.

Fox cleaned off the last of the soap with a warm, wet cloth, then wiped his razor, folded it, and set it back down. He smiled. “Now then, only a few more small matters to attend to, and we can begin your training.”

Roth was not at all comfortable with the breeze caressing his freshly denuded...parts. Embarrassment warmed his cheeks and triggered his temper. “This drug will wear off sooner or later, and when it does, you sadistic bastard, I am going to kick your ass from here to the sea!”

Fox nodded. “You are correct. The drug will wear off in about twenty minutes.” He lifted one of the long gleaming needles. “And so other means must be used to ensure your submission.”

Roth eyed the needle. “Is that some sort of acupuncture needle?

Fox smiled. “Indeed it is.”
 

The girls shoved Roth over onto his belly and tugged the bathrobe off of him.

Roth gasped. “What the fuck are you doing now, you bastard?”

Fox leaned over his back. “I am shutting off that foul mouth of yours.”

Roth felt something prick the back of his neck. The prick became a wiggle then a burn. “Ow... Fu-!” His voice cut off before he could finish the word. Shocked, he gasped in a breath and tried again. He couldn’t make a sound above a whisper. His vocal chords wouldn’t work. His voice was gone.

Fox sighed. “Much better.” He leaned over Roth, his palm sliding up Roth’s back, and spoke softly into his ear. “Don’t worry, I will return your voice, once you have paid off your debt in full.” He leaned back.

Roth felt a prick in the back of his ankle right next to the tendon.
Shit! What is that bastard doing now?
There was a wiggle and a burn that faded.

Between his legs, Fox shifted. Another prick stabbed into his other ankle, a wiggle, and then a burn. “Just so you know I’ve deadened the portion of your Achilles tendons that controls your feet. You can use your legs to sit any way you like, but I’m afraid that standing or walking is now impossible for you.”

Roth’s heart hammered in his chest.
The son of a bitch crippled me!
He opened his mouth to shout out every expletive he could think off, but all that escaped his throat were whispers.

Fox rolled to his feet and knelt at Roth’s shoulder. There were two needles in his hand. He chuckled. “Well, you aren’t completely silent, but whispers are easily muffled.” He lifted Roth’s arm and set it so that it laid alongside him palm up. He lifted a needle and inserted it in Roth’s wrist, just below the heel of his hand. Wiggle,
burn...
He pulled the needle free, stepped over Roth’s back, and did the same to his other wrist. “Done.” He stood and walked back toward Roth’s feet.

What the fuck did he just do?
Roth succeeded in pulling his arms back up and tried to fist his hands to sit up. His fingers would not close enough to make contact. He stared at them in shock.
My hands...!
There was no way in hell he could shoot a gun or use a sword like this!

“As you’ve probably guessed, not only has your voice been cut down to a whisper, but neither your feet nor your fingers function, though you still have use of your palms. Without your feet, you cannot walk. Without your fingers, you cannot feed yourself, wash yourself, or dress yourself. Nor can you shout for help. You are in effect, completely helpless.”

Roth huffed for breath, his heart slamming in his chest. A wind he couldn’t feel rushed in his ears.
If even one of my enemies finds me like this, I’m a dead man.

Fox patted his ass. “If you are worried about being discovered by your enemies, I assure you, that you are safe here. There are among us quite a few individuals fully capable of taking on any enemy that might discover you.”

Roth sucked in a breath. How the hell would these
civilians
be able to protect him from any one of the highly trained killers that would be interested in taking his head?

Fox snorted. “I can practically read the thoughts from your expressions.” He stepped up to Roth’s head and squatted down to peer into his eyes. “Among all your petty little wars, did you never consider that some of us walking among you might not be human at all?”

Roth frowned and whispered. “Not...human?” Was this some kind of a joke?

Fox smiled broadly enough to reveal that both his upper and lower canines were over-long. The man had actual fangs. He lowered his head and pressed his finger to his eye. He gave a soft grunt and lowered his hand. In his palm was a dark brown contact. He lifted his gaze to Roth, revealing one golden eye with an elongated pupil. He turned his head and used a finger to brush back a lock of his long black hair. A large black-furred triangular ear unfolded from the side of his head.

Fox was definitely
not
human.

Eyes wide, Roth stared at Fox and whispered. “What are you?”

Fox folded his ear back down, concealing it under his hair, then replaced his contact. “The simplest and most accurate description of what I am would be a fox that learned to assume human form.” He winked at Roth with a human-looking black eye. “If you want to know any more, then I suggest you visit a library.”

Roth frowned. A fox that could take human form? That actually sounded familiar.

Fox stepped over Roth’s thigh and seated himself between Roth’s legs once more. “Now then, let’s get you properly cleaned and prepared.”

Cleaned? But he’d just had a bath...? Roth turned his head to look back at Fox then jolted in surprise. He could actually turn his head. The drug was finally wearing off.

One of the girls offered Fox a long-necked clear plastic squeeze bottle filled with a thick golden liquid. The other girl set what appeared to be a hospital bedpan by Roth’s knee.

Roth frowned and whispered. “What the hell is that?”

Fox smiled. “The oil has been warmed to slightly higher than body temperature, so it will not shock your bowels.” He gripped one check of Roth’s ass and lowered the rounded nose of the bottle.

Roth suddenly knew exactly what it was. His heart stuttered in his chest and his eyes opened wide. “That’s an—?”

Fox pressed the narrow opening against Roth’s anus. “Yes, this is exactly what you think it is.” He slid it into Roth’s body.

There was only the slightest of aches from the bottle’s neck, and the warmth of the oil surging into him wasn’t unpleasant, but the humiliation pouring through Roth made him shudder all the way up his spine. He looked away and closed his eyes. He
loathed
enemas. Always had. Always would.

Fox pulled the emptied bottle free and handed it to one of the kneeling girls. “Oil is far more effective than water, so this will not take long at all.” He rose from his pillow to walk over toward Roth’s head. “Prepare yourself.” He grabbed Roth under the arms and lifted him then slid his arms slid around Roth’s chest to hold him heart to heart. His lips brushed Roth’s ear. “You should be able to move your legs enough to kneel.” He lowered himself to one knee.

Roth struggled and discovered that he could move his legs enough to get his knees under him, but it was exhausting.
 

Fox lowered Roth down onto his folded knees until his butt made contact with the sheet covering the floor.

Roth felt the cold metal and porcelain bedpan slide into place. Humiliation seared through him. He closed his eyes and pressed his burning face into Fox’s hair. If he’d still had a voice, he would have moaned. He
hated
that he couldn’t do anything to stop this from happening.

Fox swept his hand down Roth’s hair and murmured against his ear. “This is a necessary evil, but it will be over soon.”

Roth sucked in a breath and whispered by Fox’s ear. “I fucking hate you.”

Fox chuckled. “I’m sure you do.”
 

Gravity took its toll, and his humiliation multiplied. Roth wrapped his arms around Fox’s back, but his fingers wouldn’t close enough to hold on. He panted against the man’s throat, glad that his absent voice hid the whimpers his body tried to utter.

Then they gave him another one.

The cleanup was even worse.

After an eternity of unbearable shame, Fox lifted Roth into his arms and carried him out of the small room.

Curled against Fox’s chest, Roth felt a strong sense of...disconnection, as though he was locked in a dream. Though he couldn’t help but note that the man carrying him like a child was freakishly strong.
Oh, wait... He’s not a man.

“
Not human at all
...”

Impossible
...! Roth had traveled the entire world, yet had never run across anyone even remotely like Fox. People like Fox just didn’t exist, and such...happenings couldn’t normally happen — not to him! It
had
to be a dream.
Or a nightmare.

But the oily ache in his rear and the tingle along his hairless legs felt far too real.

~ * ~

Three

Roth snapped out of his daze to discover that he was kneeling on a round futon mattress spread out on the floorboards in the middle of a room he didn’t remember entering. He glanced about in surprise. All the way around the futon he knelt upon were free-standing paper and bamboo folding blinds painted with scarlet peonies. Above him, dangling from the distant ceiling, was a large cream and gold round paper lantern hung with scarlet tassels.

He looked down to see that he was dressed in a sheer gold cotton robe that had been folded and tied over an equally sheer red robe. The layered skirts spilled neatly around him, only barely covering his privates. He didn’t remember donning it. Hell, he didn’t even remember kneeling.

Fox spoke next to his ear. “Finally aware, are you?”

Roth froze, his shoulders stiffening. Fox was kneeling right behind him. He forced himself to relax and whispered. “What now, Fox?”

“This...” Fox’s hands lowered over Roth’s head. Between them, he held a broad band of black fabric. He pulled it back sharply, bringing it against Roth’s throat right across his Adam’s apple. “To still even your whispers.” He pulled it snug.

Roth coughed, then gasped. It was so tight it was actually difficult to breathe. Alarmed, he reached up with both hands to pull it free, but his fingers refused to work at all. He tried to use the heels of his hands to push it off.

Fox casually pushed Roth’s hands away, then shoved Roth’s long red hair forward over his shoulder. “You cannot free yourself, so you may as well stop trying.” He tied the cloth in a bow at the back of Roth’s neck. “And one more.” Fox’s hands came over Roth’s head with another band of black cloth. “To steal your vision.” He pulled it taut across Roth’s eyes.

No!
Roth lunged forward, shaking his head to escape it. He was already helpless; he did
not
want to be blinded too! He fell forward. His hands refused to support him, so he landed on his forearms.

Fox straddled Roth’s body, pinning him in place. He ruthlessly yanked Roth’s head up by the hair, then pinned his head between his knees. “Your willfulness will not get you anything but punishment.” He placed the band firmly across Roth’s eyes and tied it tight.

Roth hissed in a sharp breath and pawed at the blindfold with his ineffective hands.
Goddamned son of a bitch!

Fox grabbed Roth by the upper arms and jerked him back up onto his knees. “And just so you don’t get any ideas about crawling away...” He grabbed Roth’s left foot.

Roth heard the distinct sound of a chain, then felt something cold, hard, and metallic close around his left ankle. There was a click. Alarmed, he twisted around.