Asymmetry

I could've laid in his arms like this forever, but he was right. I had to get ready.

Stepping into the shower again, the shame I'd felt earlier had evaporated from my mind. Conrad was clearly a complex individual, but it seemed my worries were unfounded. No one had ever come close to bringing me this much pleasure, and as I soaped my body, my folds moistened at the mere thought of how he'd used me. Controlling my arousal was clearly going to be an ongoing issue.

It usually took me hours to select an outfit, so I'd thought ahead and pre-selected a red summer dress for Tanya's party. I changed quickly before tying me hair into a ponytail.

"You look fantastic, Miss James," Conrad said as I re-entered the living room. His light, linen shirt, looked so immaculate that you'd never guess the debauchery he'd just been involved in.

"Thank you, Sir," I grinned as I sat next to him. "You're not looking too bad yourself, either."

"You are very kind, Miss James," he replied, massaging my knee. "I've arranged something for you to eat before you get going."

The coffee table I'd been bound and tormented upon now held a spread of cheese and biscuits.

"Honestly, Sir, it's very kind of you, but I'm really not hungry right now."

His eyes hardened as I disagreed. "Do you know what you'll be getting to eat at your sister's party, Miss James?"

"Oh, I know there'll be food there, Sir," I replied. "I have no idea what, though."

"Exactly." His hand tightened on my knee. "You have no idea what you'll be served, or what time you'll receive it. It would please me if you ate something before you leave."

That final sentence sent a shiver down my spine. He knew exactly how to turn me into putty in his hands. The embers inside me that burned to please him now blazed like a bonfire.

"Okay, Sir," I said, picking up a plate and slicing some brie. "That does make sense."

"That's my good girl," he said, trailing his hand up my inner thigh. "You certainly expended a lot of energy earlier as well, I'm sure you'll agree."

I giggled through a mouthful of biscuit. "That is definitely true, Sir."

"Plus, I think you'll need some energy for what I've planned for your return later."

I gasped as his hand continued along my thigh, stopping just millimetres away from my seemingly never ending wetness.

"Is that so, Sir?"

He lent his forehead into mine. "As I said last night, Miss James," he muttered. "You really have no idea how many sordid fantasies you've put into my head."

I squirmed as his fingers ventured further, tracing the outer edge of my panties. He smiled, sensing my state of mind, and I moaned as he scraped a single finger across my mound.

"You're wet, Miss James."

I struggled for words, my mouth becoming as dry as the cracker I'd been eating.

"I'm sorry, Sir."

"Trust me, Miss James," he smirked, "you really have no reason to apologise. I'd love to know why you're so worked up right now though."

The old me would've been too nervous to say, but I felt it best to be open with Conrad. My body would give me away anyway.

"It's you, Sir," I gasped as he tickled the fabric of my underwear with his finger tip. "I like it when you tell me what to do. I want to do what you say, Sir."

He kissed me on the forehead. "You know, that pleases me a lot, Miss James. I'm delighted that I can make you this wet without laying a finger on you. So, you like it when I take control of you?"

I nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"Well, I can certainly empathise with that, Miss James." He ran a finger closer to my folds. "I like that ceding control in a non-sexual manner gets you off as well."

I moaned as his finger traced my labia. "What do you mean, Sir?"

"I mentioned this last night, Miss James, but you've seen it for yourself now." His finger scraped upwards towards my panty-covered clit. "I enjoy the control. The power exchange turns me on. For me, it's all encapsulating. Did you like it when I told you to have something to eat?"

He jammed his finger down on my clit and I screamed. "I did, Sir."

He grinned as he continued to circle my button. "I thought as much, Miss James. In you, I sense a certain amount of indecision. You'd much prefer someone else to take the lead, to add clarity to your mind."

I gripped tight on the sofa. "Definitely, Sir."

"I bet you always have trouble deciding what to wear. I'd be very happy to take that decision out of your hands, Miss James."

His finger slipped under the cotton of my panties and I closed my eyes, leaning back on the sofa as he caressed my moist folds.

"You're right, Sir," I whimpered.

He continued to run his fingers up and down my lips. My hips flexed involuntarily towards them, desperate to feel their length inside me.

"Well, I'd be very happy to take those kinds of decisions away from you, Miss James."

He pulled his fingers from my folds and I gasped with exasperation. The unmistakable glisten covered his fingers, and I knew exactly what to do as he held them to my mouth.

"That's my good girl," he said, as without hesitation, I took them to my mouth. "I like that you're always so eager to have something to suck."

He removed my fingers and pulled me in for a long, deep kiss. As our tongues overlapped, his hand wrapped around my side and pulled me tight to his body. There was nowhere I wanted to be more than in his arms.

"You know, Miss James," he muttered, breaking the kiss. "You look just as beautiful as when we first met. I'm sure you remember that, don't you?"

"I do, Sir," I giggled, remembering the first Velvet Thorn party. "I don't think I'd ever been more nervous than I was then, so thank you for your help."

"The pleasure was certainly all mine, Miss James. Especially as I still have you here with me now."

I nestled my head into his chest as I glowed inside. It meant everything to be wanted by him. I just couldn't stop smiling.

"Thank you, Sir."

"Even before you found yourself on the floor, I just couldn't stop looking at you, Miss James. There was an unmistakable shyness, an innocence to you. I could tell you were out of your comfort zone."

"I think that's an understatement, Sir," I said, looking up at him. "Even though I knew what I was getting into, I don't think anything could've prepared me for actually seeing it in the flesh."

"That's not unusual at all for a newbie." Conrad kissed me on the forehead. "But I take it that you had done some research prior to attending?"

"A little bit, Sir. I was aware of the physical aspects, but I had no idea how important the psychological aspects of submission were."

"What do you mean by that, Miss James?"

"Don't get me wrong, Sir, I love what you do to me, but it's the mental aspect that really turns me on. It's the fact that I want to please you."

"I think you've hit the nail on the head there," he squeezed me tighter. "For me, the exchange of power is the most important aspect of this type of relationship."

I nestled deeper into his chest. "I'm glad I can please you like that, Sir."

"Tell me, Miss James, in your research, did you come across the premise of a contract between dominant and submissive being agreed upon?"

"I'm afraid I haven't, Sir," I replied, raising my eyebrows.

"Well, the concept is very simple," he went on. "The idea is that both dominant and submissive agree upon the rules and limits of their relationship."

"So, setting out what you can do to me essentially, Sir?"

"That's it in a nutshell, Miss James. How does the idea of something like that sound to you?"

"It sounds like a big step to me, Sir. Is something like that necessary?"

"It's not absolutely necessary," he replied, "but it would give you an idea of some of the things I'd like to explore going forward."

"Well, I'd certainly love to know what kind of things you're interested in, Sir," I grinned

Conrad smirked back at me. "You will in time I'm sure, Miss James, but right now you need to get going. You're going to be late for your sister's party."

He helped me off the sofa and led me to the front door.

"Leave your overnight bag here," he said. "You can collect it later, and who knows what you'll have waiting for you when you return."

"Is that so, Sir?" I smiled as he took me in his arms one last time. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to come up with something while I'm gone."

"Oh you really have no idea, Miss James." His emerald eyes pierced through my own. "There are so many ideas running through my head already."

"I am so lucky to have you, Sir, so lucky that you want me."

"Then we're both lucky, Miss James. There is one thing I'd like you to do for me, though."

"What's that, Sir?"

"Your hair's in a ponytail. I would like you to wear it down, like you did on the night we met. Hopefully it will keep me on your mind while we are apart."

"Yes, Sir. I can do that." I reached round and pulled the band from my hair, allowing it to drop down past my shoulders. The symbolism of the act wasn't lost on me. I'd done it to please him, and that meant he'd be on my mind all afternoon.

"Good girl," he leant in and kissed me softly on the lips. "You'd best get going now. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing you later."

The journey from Conrad's place in Canary Wharf to my sister's in Dulwich raced by. In the space of barely twelve hours, I'd experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Through the soup of emotions, I'd come to one conclusion - I wanted Conrad, and more importantly, wanted to please him. Badly.

By the time I reached my sister's house, I felt dazed. Conrad had worn me out, physically and mentally. Having to feign interest in Tanya's oh-so-perfect life was not what I needed. I wandered through the living room, avoiding eye contact with the clusters of people, and headed for the garden in the hope of finding some peace and quiet.

"Carls, you're alive! I'm so glad you're here!"

I span round.

Christ

. I did not expect to be accosted by Suzanne today.

"Suze!? What the hell are you doing here?"

She strutted towards me, like a tarantula, approaching the fly caught in its web.

"Your sister invited me, silly. Don't you remember? I'm so glad you've finally got here. I thought I'd be stuck on my own all afternoon."

"I find that hard to believe, Suze," I snorted. "Making conversation is normally the least of your worries."

"That's usually the case," she shot back, "but, no offence, Carls, your sister's friends are boring."

"You're certainly not wrong there," I laughed. "Have you seen Tanya or Jake anywhere? I should at least say hello."

"Haven't seen them since I arrived," she replied. "But now you're here, let's get a drink. I was worried you were going to end up buried in a ditch or something!"

We re-entered the house, and poured ourselves a glass of prosecco each.

"You know, now you're finally here," Suzanne went on, "you have to tell me everything that's happened."

"Can't it wait, Suze?" I rolled my eyes. "This really isn't the time or place."

"That's ridiculous. You didn't know anything about him before I told you, Carls. The least you can do to thank me is keep me informed."

"Suze, what if someone overhears?"

"You're worried about being overheard? Okay, that's not a problem."

Without waiting for a response, she grabbed my wrist and led me out the kitchen. After pulling me up the stairs, she flung open the spare bedroom and forced me down on the bed.

"There we go," she placed herself next to me on the bed. "Now we can't be overheard. You have to tell me what happened last night, Carls. I was worried about you."

"Fine," I sighed, taking a gulp of my prosecco. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, everything of course, silly." She grabbed my arm, struggling to contain her excitement. "Did you let him tie you up?"

My cheeks flushed pink, wishing I had Suzanne's lack of inhibitions.

"Well, yeah. I did."

"Oh my god, Carls. I still can't believe how much you've changed." She leaned into me, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "So, you enjoy that kind of thing then?"

I still couldn't believe we were discussing this in my sister's spare bedroom.

"Well yeah, you could say that, I guess. It's the loss of control that I like - the fact that I have no control over what happens to me."

Suzanne swigged heavily from her glass and nodded.

"I agree. It's pretty hot, isn't it?. What did he do to you once you were all tied..."

She was cut off by a sudden banging on the wall behind us.

"What the hell's going on in there?" she asked.

"I have no idea," I said, glancing in the direction of the wall. "That's Tanya and Jake's bedroom, but I've got no idea what..."

I was interrupted by a sudden shrill moan.

"Fucking hell. That feels so fucking good!"

Suzanne spat out her prosecco as she exploded in laughter.

"Christ, Carls. Is that your sister?"

"It is," I sighed. "They have no idea we're in here. Can we get out of here, Suze? I don't need to listen to this."

"Wait a second," she held me down as I motioned to leave. "I need to say one more thing. Plus, who can blame them, really?" she grinned. "Jake's got to get his end away as often as possible before he's tied down for good, right?"

A voice that was unmistakably Jake's erupted from behind the wall.

"Yes, baby," he groaned. "Your pussy feels amazing."

"Fine," I slumped back. "What is it?"

For the first time in a while, Suzanne actually looked sincere.

"Carls, I wanted to apologise for how I reacted yesterday. I had no right to tell you what to do or judge the people you date."

"It's fine, Suze. I know you meant well."

She put her arm around me. "Thank you. It's just that I care about you, and don't want you to get hurt. I thought you might have been blinded by the fact you hadn't dated anyone for so long. But I was wrong to take the word of some shoddy tabloid article above you."

"Oh fuck, baby," Jake erupted again. "I'm going to come so fucking hard."

I rolled my eyes before smiling at Suzanne. "It's fine, ok? It's nice to know you've got my back. But seriously, can we get out of here? I'm not sure how much of this I can take."

"Fine," Suzanne grinned, "but don't think you're getting away from me that easily."

We headed downstairs to the living room where a throng of people were gathered.

"So anyway Carls," Suzanne said. "What's he like? Anything weird about him at all?"

I had to laugh. Despite all her claims about not interrogating me, Suzanne just couldn't help herself.

"There's nothing weird about him, Suze. He's very intense and difficult to read sometimes. But when you get to know him, he's lovely and caring and charming."

"Interesting," Suzanne said, clearly sensing an opening. "How's he difficult to read?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tanya enter the living room, her hair ruffled and the unmistakable afterglow of sex spread across her face. My insides recoiled.

"Oh, it's nothing," I tried to snuff out that line of questioning. "He's very busy, and sometimes you can feel a bit left out."

"Left out in what way?"

Jeez

. She wasn't giving up. Tanya now had her neck craned, glancing around the room. I knew exactly who she was looking for. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"He likes his own space," I replied. "He wouldn't let me share his bed last night, but that's only so he didn't disturb me."

"He wouldn't let you share his bed?" Suzanne said incredulously. "Carls, I know you haven't been with anyone for a while, but you know that isn't normal, right?"

"I know that. But he had business calls to make in the morning. Like I said, he didn't want to disturb me."

"Business calls on a Saturday morning?" Suzanne scoffed. "That's not normal. Do you know who he spoke to?"

"No idea. Well, I know he was speaking to a woman first. She had a Scottish accent. But he took her off speaker phone as soon as he saw me."

I saw Tanya approaching. I made absolute certain not to make eye contact.

"Well, it sounds like he's got something to hide," Suzanne said. "You said she had a Scottish accent. Did you catch her name?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Not to worry." Suzanne put her hand on my shoulder. "There's something going on here. I'll track down Mr Pierce's mystery woman, don't you worry about that."

"How are you going to manage that, Suze?"

My heart sank as my sister sidled up alongside us.

"Don't you worry about that," Carla winked as she looked across to see Tanya. "You know I have my sources."

Turning to face my sister, I wished I had my best friend's confidence.

"Hey, Tanya," I said. "It's great to see you."

"I'm so glad you could make it, Carla" Tanya exclaimed. "Why didn't you let me know when you'd arrived?"

Let me think about that, Sis. Nothing to do with you running off for a quickie with your fiancé. Nothing at all.

"Sorry, Tanya. I just couldn't find you anywhere. It's great to see you though. Where's Jake?"

Her post orgasm smile still covered her face. I did my best to erase the sound of her moans from my mind.

"Oh, he'll be along in a minute," she replied airily. "Anyway, I've heard on the grapevine that there's a new man in your life right now, Carla."

Glaring, I zeroed in on Suzanne, whose confident smile had been replaced with a look of uneasiness. I knew that the grapevine amounted to precisely one person.

"That's right, I am seeing someone," I muttered through gritted teeth. Suzanne could've blabbed to anyone but Tanya.

"I think I should leave you guys to catch up," Suzanne stammered, sensing the change in mood. "Carls, come and find me later."

Tanya grinned. "That's amazing news, Carla." She gave me a sort of quasi-hug that I did not return. "When are you going to introduce him?"

"Oh, I have no idea," I replied. "It's still pretty early days."

"Well, I'd certainly like to meet him. You'll both have to come round for dinner soon."

Christ. If only it were that simple. The thought of being entertained for the evening by Jake and my sister was vomit inducing. What the hell would Conrad make of it all?

"Sure," I said noncommittally. "We'll have to arrange a date soon."

"Great!" Tanya spoke with an enthusiasm that contrasted perfectly with my own feelings. "So, how did the pair of you meet?"

Shit. I probably wouldn't be prepared to divulge the answer to this perfectly innocent question to Tanya for as long as I lived.

"A party," I replied. "We met at a party."

"Oh, really? I never had you down as much of a party goer," she held up her hand to show her engagement ring. "Who knows, maybe you'll have one of these soon as well."

The ring sparkled in my face and the gears inside me began to turn. Why did she insist on shoving that diamond under my nose at every opportunity? It didn't make her better than me. I glared, not caring one iota about the awkward silence.

"Oh look," Tanya said in the same sarcastic tone she always used with me. "Looks like Jake's found us."

I looked round to see Jake meandering towards us, the same satisfied smile spread across his face. I almost threw up in my mouth as I noticed him still buttoning up his shirt.

"It's great to see you, Carla," he said, wrapping an arm around his fiancé and kissing her on the cheek. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine, thanks, Jake," I replied, doing my best to sound like I enjoyed his company. "How are you?"

Jake wasn't a bad person, far from it. However, his level of arrogance matched my sister's. Sure, they were a good looking couple - Jake had the dirty blond hair and year round natural tan that you'd usually associate with a Californian surfer, and they deserved to be happy together. I hated the way they always talked down to me though.

He looked at Tanya and grinned. Like I didn't know what they'd been up to! "I'm doing great, thanks," he said. "Tanya tells me you've got a new man on the go. That's fantastic. You'll both have to come over soon."