This is a sequel to my first work "By His Reputation." I want to thank my friends and readers who reviewed it so well and provided some necessary critical feedback. I would not have continued to write without your support.
A man of his word, Alexander Page left the bedroom carrying the young woman's clothing to place into his washing machine. As he started it, his mind rapidly replayed the time they had just shared; her clothing served as token of the reality of the lovely nude woman, mere feet away. It had been quite a long time since this had happened, since he had the occurrence of a woman in his bed. Unmarried at 30 years old and a string of girlfriends that had been destined to end for one reason or another, he was used to his bed having an occupancy of one, even as the young woman left the bathroom and padded down the hallway back towards the bedroom. She was waiting for his return there.
And return he did, several minutes later. He took his time preparing a light lunch for her. Cinnamon coffee, a sliced green apple, and some sliced cheese on a plate for a woman who had worked up quite an appetite, he was sure. He walked back into the bedroom to see her sitting on the edge of the bed with a sheet wrapped around her body, protecting her from his touch and words. She immediately averted her eyes and looked down away from his gaze.
"I can't believe I did that, I didn't even tell you my name!" she said with a shaky voice as he walked in and set the plate down in front of her. He stood back up; he had redressed himself before he started washing her clothing, so as not to make the woman even more uncomfortable. A fool could anticipate this reaction from her, and Alexander was no fool. "It's Kate. My name is Kate," she finally said with a quiet voice, demure in all her actions and tone now. She felt that the playing field was a touch more leveled as she already had known his name.
"Ask yourself three simple questions before you get too into your own head. The first, 'Did you enjoy yourself?' Consider that if you enjoy yourself, and nobody was harmed in the process, then it is not something to regret. The second, 'Did you never plan on trying anything new again?' You might have never done something before, but that doesn't make it wrong." He paused for a moment and stole a sip from her coffee. He closed his eyes and exhaled audibly, relishing the taste. Alexander continued with his eyes closed, his voice clear as a deep bell. "Third, 'What do you feel embarrassed about?' That I was able to control you so much? Or that you liked being controlled?" With this, he fell silent; the dice had been thrown. She would either accept what he said or plunge herself into antiquated guilt.
Time paused as she looked back and forth slowly between him and the apple slices she half played with and nibbled on. Holding the sheet closer to her body, despite its failure to protect her from the sound of his voice, she chewed small bites from the apple slice. She finally answered in a quiet voice. "It was very nice...and I'm glad I got to experience it. I just don't know how it happened. Denise never told me that you would do that. She only said you were an artist, a charming and handsome artist... who also was a good kisser." She blushed wildly as she looked down again, the gesture becoming familiar to her now. "I guess you have history."
"That's one way of putting it. But she isn't here. You are. And you," as he spoke he curled his fingers around her chin and turned her to face him, "have done nothing to be ashamed of. You are what some call a submissive. Denise must have known this about you. And the long and short of it is that you desire to sacrifice control to someone who you know will use it well."
When he touched her, when he said the words about sacrificing control, she thought about her life - her projects at the university, the classes she was responsible for, the strain of keeping her faculty position, the boyfriend who broke up with her last month; her parents interrupting her life. But in that moment, everything that needed her attention burned up in a wisp of flame and smoke in her mind and it was replaced with his icy blue eyes that could send shivers down her spine. The simple touch on her chin was gentle and iron at the same time. It was a polite suggestion and a steady command at once, and her body moved with his gesture. The sheet had betrayed her; it was utterly useless to protect her from him now.
"I think...I've read about some things like this," her mind grew a bit hazy as though she had a drink on an empty stomach. "How did you know..." her voice trails off, the question hanging in the air like low-hanging fruit ready to be plucked with a simple answer.
"The way you stand. The way you look around the room. You sat without question, you came to my apartment at a suggestion, and you followed me, trusting me. The same way that a wolf knows a hare when he sees one, I see into you when I look at you." He straightened up as she looked at him with a bit of a frown on her face. "But this does not mean that you are weak," he responded to her silent concern, "It simply means that sometimes you don't want to be strong." His gaze pierced her hazel eyes and she struggled to not look down, finally giving in. He was absolutely right. And it felt freeing to admit that.
He continued speaking. "Now, as far as you having read about things like this, dear Kate; please forget everything that you read in any book that was sold in a drug store. I have so much more to teach you." Alexander now moved to sit beside her. She looked up at him and tightened the blanket around herself, already feeling her thighs grow wet with the sound of his voice and the seductive implications it carried.
"You have," she paused for a moment to swallow, "more to teach me?" She looked back down and away, suddenly very interested in the detailed design she had painted on her nails. She didn't fool anyone, least of all herself. A million thoughts raced through her head, all lead by one stronger than the rest as it leapt to her lips and tumbled out without a moment of hesitation to rethink. "Does this mean you want to date me?" She immediately regretted asking the question in such a juvenile way, but the words were out there and needed to be answered.
And he avoided it. "That's a question we can ask once everything has sunken in, and you have some time to process. What do you think?" Alexander leaned forward to grasp her hands lightly, not waiting for an answer and hearing only a small gasp as he pulled her to stand, the sheet slipped even lower and she barely managed to hold onto it with one hand, leaving her chest exposed and vulnerable to him. She started to speak in protest for reasons she could not name to these actions she didn't understand. And when he guided her from the room, her feet and body made the decision to allow themselves to be swept along. She tried in vain to hold the sheet, trying to shield herself, until she stepped on its betrayal was complete, lying abandoned on the ground.
"What are we doing?" she muttered in a stammering voice, a quiet request even as she followed him to the bathroom. The bathtub had been drained after she removed herself from it earlier. She bit her lip slightly, torn in the most beautiful and pure way. Half of her wanted nothing more than to let the artist lead her and control her. Half of her demanded she had taken leave of her senses. And she could not, if her life depended on it, have told you which half was stronger at that moment. But they both knew one was quickly giving way, her pathetic excuse "We already took a bath" sounded weak to even her ears. And to his, the words fell flat as a joke.
"Well, I did just install a new shower head. Now, unless you have someplace else to be before your laundry is done, I can't think of anyplace that I'd rather have you. Get in." The last words he said a firm command, looking into her hazel eyes to watch for a reaction. Carefully, he observed her to learn exactly what was in her mind.
"Yes sir," she said, without even thinking about the implications of such strong phrasing. Her body, bare before him, was covered in goosebumps as she stepped into the large square tub and looked up at the ceiling mounted shower head, while the charming man had begun to undress as soon as she stepped in. His soulful gaze disarmed her, watching the entire time he undressed. After a few moments, he stood before her without any clothing on. He finally stepped in and she could feel the struggle in her melting away. This was a man who could read her mind like a book, laid bare before him. She felt so weak but so free at the same time as his words and presence danced in her mind. This was a man who made her feel things she never had before. Instinctively, she placed a small hand on his sparsely haired chest and looked up at him with her eyes wide and awestruck.
He leaned in closer to her and her heart leapt into her throat as she closed her eyes and mirrored him. His lips found hers and for a single perfect moment, she was not naked before a stranger. She was empowered and emboldened by her own confidence. Her world swam behind closed eyes and when the kiss broke and she opened them, their bodies were plunged into the most perfect warm shower that she had taken in her life. Soft words, barely audible, escaped her lips as warm water poured down her lover's body. "What have you done to me?"
He gave a simple and genuine smile, knowing without arrogance, and in control without force. He replied simply "I have shown you what it is like to not need to be in control" and as he spoke, his fingers slipped against her smooth slickness, feeling her body warm and open to his touch. Her knees grew even weaker as he once again touched her in ways she thought impossible. She found herself leaning her face and hand against his chest as she clutched to him with whimpers. Her body supported by his strong left arm as his right hand danced over her wetness before finally, she succumbed and asked for what she needs.
"Please Alex. Please, touch me. Please don't tease me." Her voice a whimper, a prayer almost, as she pressed against him with more force and strength, her legs finally straightening only to quiver again against as the strong press of a finger grazing against her clit.
"You can beg better than that, can't you? Show me how much you want it," the tall man said to his young lover, listening to her name for him, as she whimpered in pleasure. Her body was on fire and he was stoking it with every passing second and touch. She could feel his desire for her press firmly against her body, pressing into her belly, only building the fire deeper.
Kate's misgivings gave way and she no longer felt any desire to fight, to struggle, or to protest. She embraced it and clung tightly to what she now was. She was his, and she had no concern for the future in any sense of the word; she cared only for what was happening at the moment. Her free hand wrapped around his neck and she looked up at him, hazel eyes full of animalistic lust at his command. "Please Alex! Don't tease me anymore! I'll do whatever you want, but
please
