She finally broke their silence to say, “This fits me.”

  He smiled. “I’d hoped it would. I told my seamstress how tall you are, and she worked her magic with it.”

  Heather didn’t know what to say, so she just shook her head and told him, “Thank you. That was thoughtful.”

  “And yet you shook your head in the negative as you said it. What are you worried about?”

  “I don’t know that worried is the right word, it’s just that you aren’t supposed to be trying to seduce me, are you? I’m your best friend’s girlfriend. It’s more than a little surreal, and I feel completely out of my element.”

  “I’m not trying to seduce you. I’m trying to make you feel comfortable, and I’m hoping to show how special I think you are. As you said, you’re my best friend’s girlfriend. You mean a lot to him, and thus you mean a lot to me. But now, you and I are figuring our own balance, and whether we’ll have our own relationship. I’m content to let things play out and see what happens. I don’t think a threesome will work long-term because I’m looking for a twenty-four-seven slave, but that doesn’t mean we won’t find some balance between the three of us that involves a lot of feelings all the way around. No matter what happens, you are special, and I want to do things to show you how important you are.”

  A gentle ding sounded through a speaker in the wall, and he said, “That’s the oven shutting off.”

  “Good, I’m starving.”

  Heather uncorked the wine and poured it while Marcus plated their lasagna, and within moments, they were seated and eating.

  Their conversation was casual at first, talking about their days, the mountains they could see out the windows, and nearby trails. About halfway through their meal, Marcus told her, “We need to talk about some of what I’ve planned for tonight. We’ll get the stuff that’ll probably make you the most uncomfortable over with first: I promised you before we left Chattanooga there would be no vaginal sex between us tonight, and I’ll hold to that. That doesn’t rule out anal sex. Normally, an anal virgin would need more prep and training, but you were fairly relaxed when I put the plug in the other night. I think it’s because you aren’t terrified of the pain, but for whatever reason, I think you’ll deal with it okay. So, I have it on the table as a possibility, but the final decision will have to be yours.”

  Marcus was pretty big around, but not a whole lot bigger than a giant turd. Logistically speaking, everything should fit without tearing anything. She wasn’t opposed to the idea anymore, but she doubted she’d agree to it tonight. For one thing, shouldn’t her first time be with Kyle? On the other hand, Kyle had been clear the only thing he was uncomfortable with would be her Topping someone besides him.

  When she didn’t respond, Marcus said, “That can be decided later. Regardless, you can expect to have a plug in your ass and a dildo in your pussy, and I hope you’ll have more — how did you describe them? Earthshattering orgasms?”

  She gave him an uncomfortable half smile, and he continued. “You’ve already given me a blowjob, so I’m assuming that’s on the table tonight, if I choose?”

  She nodded, and he took a drink of wine. “What I think we most need to play around with tonight is impact play. That means paddles and floggers, probably a whip. Depending on how you’re doing, possibly the single tail. Have you read about any of those things yet?”

  “Some of them were used in the fiction books. I haven’t made it to any of the non-fiction stuff yet.”

  “Let me explain the mechanics of how some of it works — the physiological aspects, completely ignoring the emotional bits for the moment. Basically, impact to the ass and thighs creates blood flow and heat to the area, and that can create arousal. The same with the breast area. I’ll be flogging your back as well, so we can see how you react to it. Impact play creates endorphins, which I’m not sure are that important with you, but we need to see how you react before and after the endorphins are released. The most important thing for you to remember is that I’m not going to do anything to cause you physical harm. Nothing I do will damage you in any way. If you feel pain but think it’s a good pain, then just relax and enjoy it. If the pain ever becomes unenjoyable, then you must let me know. How do you let me know?”

  “I say mayday.”

  He smiled. “Exactly. And remember, tonight you do not need to turn on the part of your brain that senses for injury or damage. When these things, flogging and spanking, are done to people who have what is considered normal sensory values, there can be a great deal of pain for them, but it’s specifically done to avoid injury. People who’ve been together a long time often discard the safeword, and when there is punishment or discipline, it can be quite harsh, with pain that goes beyond the threshold of what the person thinks they’re capable of taking. But even in those cases, there’s no damage or injury when the instruments I’ll be using are wielded correctly. That means I’ll avoid the kidney area and direct impact to the spine. I’ll strike from mid-thigh to about halfway up your ass, and from your shoulders to a few inches above where your rib cage ends. On the front, I’ll strike your breasts, but with gentler instruments.”

  “Will you teach me how to use them? How to safely spank and flog Kyle?”

  “Yes, but later. Tonight, I want it to be all about sensations, so I’m not going to give you the tutorial of what I’m using ahead of time. Tomorrow morning, we’ll look at all the items used and discuss each in detail. Next week, if you agree, I’d like to bring a female submissive to my home and have you learn to safely wield some of these instruments, but for tonight, I don’t want you thinking, I just want you feeling. Agreed?”

  Heather was getting aroused by this talk. Not exactly horny, but she felt something stirring to life. “Sure, agreed, though Kyle will have to sign off on me learning on someone besides him. For tonight, I think you’re saying that since no damage is going to happen, if I safeword it will only be because the pain is above the threshold of what I can take.” And unless he burned her, that wasn’t likely to happen.

  Marcus considered that a moment. “Not exactly. If the pain is erotic pain, if it turns you on, then enjoy it. If the pain turns into something that isn’t erotic, so you aren’t horny, then I want you to safeword. But if the pain is turning you on, even if it’s excruciating pain that makes you scream or cry or gasp for breath, I’d rather you just experience it.” He held her gaze a few seconds and added, “It isn’t about the level of pain you’re feeling, it’s about whether you’re horny or not. Your arousal levels. Does that make sense?”

  “If I say mayday, you untie me and everything stops. What if I just need a breather? Or maybe just need reassurance that you aren’t injuring me? It sounds like you intend to see how far you can push me, and to be honest, that makes me a little nervous.”

  “If you just need to check in with me then say the word yellow. I may or may not stop what I’m doing, but I’ll at the very least back off on the intensity so you can talk to me.”

  Heather put her fork down. “Well okay then, Mister Marcus, where do you want me?”

  He smiled. “We won’t get started for at least another thirty minutes. I’d like to give your food some time to digest. Meanwhile, we need to talk about the books you read. Tell me your impressions about them, and the things you think you learned from them.”

  “I learned I’m decidedly not submissive, at least, not in the way any of those three were. In all cases, I identified with the Dom, not the submissive or slave. However, the stories were written so well that I understood why the bottoms felt the way they did, even if I couldn’t identify with them. But, during some of the scenes where the Top was doing something similar to what you’ve done to me, I had a hard time...”

  Marcus gave her a good twenty seconds to finish, and when she didn’t, he said, “You like giving up control enough for someone to do something to you, as opposed to you doing something to someone else, but you don’t think you like giving up control enough to be defined as submissive.”

  “You and Kyle have been talking.”

  “Yes, but he only told me that you’ve realized you have different types of orgasms with me and with him. Whether you are in control, or whether you are allowing me to do something to you, creates distinctly flavored orgasms. Not better or worse, just different.”

  She nodded. “Yes. But, in all the books you gave me to read, the Doms had gone through some period of submitting in order to be a better Dom. Were you trying to tell me I need to submit to you in order to learn how to Top Kyle?”

  Marcus took a bite, and Heather had the idea he was taking a moment to compose his answer, or maybe to figure out how to answer. Finally, he said, “I think that’s a conversation we have in another four to six weeks. For tonight, I want you to submit your body to me, but I’m not asking for your mind. However, I do want you to use common courtesy, which means if you want more, or if you want me to move to another place on your body, you say please when you make the request, rather than issue it as a directive. Also, that you realize I’m going for a particular set of sensations, and I may not do as you ask. You can always stop the scene completely by saying your safeword, of course.”

  “What would be different if you asked me to fully submit for a scene?”

  “If you fully submit, you’ll wear a training collar for the night, and you’ll spend a good bit of the night on your knees. You’ll be restrained while we eat, and I will feed you. You’ll be treated as a submissive for the duration of our agreement. I’ll give orders and you will obey them. Should you not immediately follow orders, there’ll be punishment.”

  Damn if his words didn’t make her clit start fucking throbbing. She crossed her legs, uncrossed them, and said, “Good to know. I’m going to use the restroom and brush my teeth. Is there anything else I need to do to prepare?”

  “I want to rub some coconut oil on your body before we get started. Go do what you need to, and call Kyle, he should be home by now. I’ll get things set up in the great room. Meet me in there in twenty to thirty minutes?”

  She nodded, and it felt like leaving his presence was an escape, of sorts. She wasn’t afraid of him, but she had some trepidations about what he intended to do to her tonight. She felt the beginnings of adrenaline, and she was horny. For someone who’d never felt true arousal until those clothespins, and who only felt adrenaline while doing extreme sports, that was quite a trick.

  Chapter 19

  Heather entered the great room twenty-five minutes later, and her gaze went straight to the ropes hanging from one of the colossal beams overhead. There was also a fancy sawhorse, but with leather padding on it at various places, and extra bits on the legs.

  She looked at Marcus, expecting he’d explain, but he nodded to the wrist cuffs on the coffee table and said, “If you were submissive to me then you would bring me the cuffs, kneel before me, and ask me to put them on you. But tonight you are my bottom, not my submissive, so you can put them on yourself, and then I’ll check them and show you the correct tightness once you think you have them right.”

  She walked to the chair by the table and sat. She started with her right wrist, struggling a bit to get it on with her left hand, but finally managed it. It was easier to thread the second strap with her right hand, and easier to maneuver the buckle mechanism to get it secured.

  When she was done, he sat in the chair beside her and told her, “I’m going to point out the differences for just a little longer, to be sure you understand. If you’d agreed to submit to me, you would come to me — I would not come to you, as I’ve just done.

  These are small shows of power, nothing drastic, but each little piece adds up. Kyle thrives on that kind of thing. He doesn’t need cruelty, he just needs someone who gives lots of reminders of who is in charge and who is not. Reminders can be subtle; they don’t have to be over the top.”

  “And eventually, I’m going to need to submit, in order to see that for myself?”

  “Maybe, maybe not. As I said, we can have that discussion in another four to six weeks. It’s possible that just bottoming to me will give you what you need. I honestly don’t know at this point. Once I come to a conclusion of whether I think it’s needed, I will advise you, but it’ll be your decision.”

  “Fair enough. What happens now?”

  “Now I’m going to blindfold you, then take your robe off, and then walk you across the room and restrain you with your arms above your head.”

  “Wouldn’t it be easier to walk me over there and then blindfold me?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you’re going to blindfold me first? I appreciate that you’ve tried to show me the difference in how I’d be treated as a submissive versus how you are treating me tonight, but this still feels an awful lot like submitting.”

  “As my bottom tonight, we must establish trust. This is part of it.”

  She rolled her eyes and motioned for him to get on with it.

  “For the record,” he said dryly, “if you were my submissive tonight, you’d be punished for insolence.”

  “Should I punish Kyle for that kind of thing?”

  “That’s between the two of you. Some Doms are okay with a certain amount of cutting up, others have what they call formal rules and relaxed rules. I’d be okay with it during relaxed rules, but with cuffs on your wrists, the rules would be formal, so it would be punished.”

  “Can we please get started before I get overwhelmed?” Heather didn’t get overwhelmed, but it seemed easier to say it this way, rather than to admit she was in danger of losing her nerve. The idea of being walked while blindfolded was a little terrifying.

  “Thank you for the please. And yes, we may.”

  He slipped the simple mask over her head and the room went dark. It was lightweight, but it completely blocked all light. She tried moving her eyeballs to look up and down, right and left, but couldn’t see a hint of light. She felt him release the belt on the robe, and then felt his hands on her shoulders, and then down her arms, removing the robe. The cabin was warm, but she felt the cooler air on her body. On her nipples.

  He must’ve just laid it to the side, as she only felt one hand come off of her and then right back to her shoulder. “Okay?”

  She nodded.

  “I need you to answer me verbally with a yes or no, please.”

  “Yes, it’s okay. Or as okay as it can probably be, anyway.”

  He chuckled. “Fair enough. Walk with me. Trust that I won’t walk you into anything. I know it’s hard, but we don’t have far to go.”

  The first step wasn’t terrible, but only because she knew what had been directly in front of her. Each step was harder, because she knew less about where she was walking. She went slow, stubbornly holding back when he clearly wanted her to move faster.

  It occurred to her she wasn’t doing as he’d asked — trusting him. And what was the worst that could happen? She’d run into something. It wasn’t like she was in a cave where she could step into a fifty-feet-deep hole. She took a deep breath, felt a reassuring squeeze to her arm from his hand, and started walking at a normal speed, trusting he would steer her safely. Seven steps later, he brought them to a halt, “Thank you for your trust. I am honored.”

  “No sense half-way doing this. I either trust you or I don’t, right?”

  She felt his lips on her forehead above the mask, a gentle, warm, affectionate kiss.

  And then he lifted her right hand and felt around the cuff, and did the same to the left.

  He adjusted the left, fiddling with the buckle only a few seconds before releasing it. “You had the right one on good, but the left one was a notch too tight. Your hand would’ve gotten cold or gone to sleep before long. We’ll talk about that more later.”

  He raised her arms and secured them above her head, explaining as he worked, and she wondered at that, remembering that he’d said he wanted her to feel and not analyze tonight, “I’m attaching a telescoping bar to your wrists.” Once both were connected, he said, “Now I’ll pull it apart. You’ll hear the clicks as it lengthens, spreading your arms apart.”

  She felt the difference in having her arms directly over her head, and in having them restrained far apart. Less control on her part, more restriction. It felt as if she was more open, more vulnerable. It didn’t make sense, but she’d have never understood this difference unless she’d experienced it.

  She felt something wrap around her ankle, and he said, “For safety reasons tonight, I need to immobilize you as much as possible. Hitting a moving target with a whip can be dangerous, and I don’t know how much you’re going to want to move around. Some people go still and just feel the sensations, other’s need to fight it every step of the way.”

  Whatever he attached the ankle cuffs to, it spread her legs apart, making her feel even more open. More vulnerable.

  Next came the coconut oil, and it was warm, almost hot, and she felt the heat soaking into her skin as he rubbed it on her back, then her ass and the backs of her legs, and finally, her chest and stomach, down to almost her knees.

  The combination of the conversation, the restraints, and now the warm oil on her skin had her pulse racing, her clit throbbing, and even her nipples felt different. She wondered at first if it was a chemical warmth, as the ginger had been, but then decided he must have a fondue pot with the oil in it somewhere close. She gasped when his hand went from her bellybutton down to her folds, opening her. She tried to pull her legs together, but she couldn’t, and she moaned in frustration when her pulse sped and she felt her rapid heartbeat in her clit.

  He ran his finger around her clit, and then she felt his other hand at her ass, a finger gently working its way inside her. She moaned again, and flexed her hips, feeling herself starting to move, to try to bring relief to the feelings he was stirring up in her. He added a finger in her ass, stretching it more open. Having something in her bottom had felt so wrong the first time, and it still did, but not quite as wrong as before. She wanted it there despite how not-right it felt.