I reached out and touched the collar on the table with my other hand. It was surprisingly flexible, with a fleece liner that was soft around my fingers. “Do I have to wear this?” I asked.
“You don’t have to do anything, Charlotte.”
I swallowed. It seemed like a load of bullshit – that I needed to do something sexual with him to get to know him better. He was older than me, and more experienced. He was good at manipulating situations, twisting them and turning them until they fit into whatever little box he wanted them to. This was the skill of a good lawyer. He was extremely successful in his career, and I wondered how much of this was spilling over into his personal life.
I looked down at the collar, imagining him putting it around my neck, pulling it tight. Would I be tied up? Would he blindfold me? Spank me? Would he drip hot wax on me? I didn’t know the rules.
I remembered that girl going down into the basement with that man. The walls had been dark, the whole scene sort of foreboding. I should have been scared. But instead, I was intensely turned on. The thought of being at Noah’s mercy, bound and gagged or blindfolded made me wet.
I wanted to give in, to let him do whatever he chose with my body, to use me in whatever way he desired. But there was something else, some connection I felt to this man, even though I’d only just met him. He said this would bring us closer, but I wasn’t sure if I believed it.
I bit my lip, considering, my heart and head locked in a battle, trying to find a way to meet in the middle.
In the end, Noah made the decision for me.
He kissed me softly on the lips, and when he pulled back, leaned his forehead back against mine.
I opened my eyes, staring right into his.
“Please,” he whispered. He brought my hand to his lips, kissing each one of my fingers soft and slow, his eyes never leaving mine.
It was so real, so raw, so vulnerable.
In that moment, I felt so connected to him, I would have given him anything he’d ask for.
I took his hand in mine and squeezed.
“Yes,” I said. “Take me. I’m yours.”
The music pulsed around us, the rhythm hypnotic as Noah reached out and picked the collar up from the table. He placed it carefully around my neck, being careful not to fasten it too tight.
There was a long chain hanging off the collar, but he held my hand instead of the leash. He knew I was nervous, knew I was a stranger in this new world, knew I needed to be introduced to it slowly.
He led me away from the booth and onto the dance floor.
A couple of men at the bar turned to watch as I was led toward the basement door, and I was surprised to find that I liked it. It was a turn on, these men knowing that I was about to be taken by Noah, that I was going to submit to him, to allow myself to be completely vulnerable and at his mercy.
Noah pulled me closer to him, his hand sliding around my waist, his grip tight on my hip. “I don’t like the way they’re looking at you,” he said into my ear. “But I can’t blame them because you’re just so fucking sexy.”
I blushed. Were the men really looking at me with lust? It didn’t seem possible, not with all the beautiful women in this club. But I liked that Noah was possessive of me, that he didn’t want anyone else looking at me.
Noah pushed open the door to the basement and led me through, down a black stone staircase that led into a long hallway. The hallway was carpeted in plush dark red, the lights dim.
There was no music down here, but the beat from upstairs reverberated through the ceiling. It made my heart pound, and I wasn’t sure if it was from the bass of the house music, or from anticipation.
The hallway curved around, out of sight behind a large black pillar. From somewhere in that direction, I heard the crack of a whip, followed by a woman’s moan.
My hand tightened around Noah’s.
He pulled me close to him and held me tighter. “You okay?” he asked, pushing my hair out of my face tenderly.
I nodded, my mouth dry.
He kissed me softly on the lips. “Do you know what a safe word is, Charlotte?”
“I think so.” I swallowed. “It’s what you say if you want to stop.”
He nodded. “Our safe word is ‘blue.’ If you say that word, we will immediately stop whatever it is we’re doing, no questions asked. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
He kissed me again, this time slow and deep, his hands snaking down my back and grabbing my ass.
When we pulled back, his eyes searched mine.
“Do you trust me?” he asked. His eyes were blazing now, his voice commanding, powerful. It wasn’t a plea, or a question. The answer he wanted was obvious.
“Yes,” I whispered.
He took me by the leash and led me down the hall.
When we got to the end of the hall, we were standing in a circular room. It was dim and it took a second for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. After a moment, two shadowy figures came into focus.
A woman, dressed in a leather bodysuit, was crawling across the floor toward a man holding a whip. When she got close, he smacked her on the ass. She moaned in pleasure, and he reached down and placed a ball gag in her mouth.
There was a raised perimeter around the room, with tiny two-person tables set up. Men and women sat at the tables, watching the man with the whip as he placed another lash on the woman’s ass.
“Do you want to stay and watch?” Noah asked.
I quickly shook my head no. I wasn’t ready for that. Watching this man and woman seemed like an intrusion on one of their most intimate moments. I knew they wouldn’t have been doing it in front of everyone if they weren’t turned on by it, if they didn’t want an audience. But it still felt wrong somehow.
Noah laughed and pulled me toward a door off the main room. It was black, with no windows, and a tiny little indicator light on the outside of the door was green.
“What does the green mean?” I asked.
“It means no one’s in here.” He pushed open the door and pulled me inside.
The room was about the size of a small bedroom. There was a folding table covered with a pad in the middle of it, and a rack on the wall that was filled with whips and chains and things I didn’t recognize.
My pulse raced and I turned around and looked at Noah. He closed the door behind him and dimmed the lights.
“Charlotte,” he breathed, pulling me into his arms. “Tonight, your training begins.”
“My… training?”
“Yes, your training.” He reached onto the wall and selected a paddle.
I licked my lips, suddenly nervous.
“Stand in the middle of the room, Charlotte.”
I did as I was told.
He walked around me, taking me in, looking at my body critically. He pushed my dress up with the paddle, ran his hand over my ass. I was wearing a black thong. “First rule,” Noah said. “You will always wear thongs. Matching bras. You will always be ready to strip down and let me see that beautiful body whenever I wish. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I said.
He held my dress up with one hand and slapped me on the ass with the paddle. “Take your dress off, Charlotte.”
I did as I was told, pulling it off and dropping it onto the floor.
The cold air hit my nipples, instantly hardening them.