It was the day afterwards. Mary woke earlier than usual. Dan was sleeping soundly beside her.
She was not feeling as rested as usual. If she was honest, she had been lying awake fitfully during the night. She was thinking about how things had ended yesterday with Dan. She was happy with how things were developing, but she wondered where it was going next. Dan had been more forceful with her than he had ever been. She was content to acquiesce, yet she wondered what he had meant when he said, "We'll have to set some proper, permanent rules."
Her mind had been racing ever since. She could not stop thinking about what that could mean? What would he want? What could she take? What did she really want?
She had never been like this in a relationship before. It made her feel small. Yet it also gave her a sense of comfort and purpose. She had not been expecting that.
Her mind had been considering things that she would have found unspeakable just a few weeks before. She was not sure how her thoughts and desires had been opened so much so quickly. Had she been corrupted? Mary was a little worried that she might be losing who she was before. Yet she knew there was no going back, for either of them. This was how they had become, together.
Mary had spent much of the night trying not to worry. She was happy, even delighted that Dan was taking the lead. She knew now that deep within her, this was what she had always wanted. However, she was worried about her happiness, that somehow she would end up just his plaything, with no respect from him or self-respect for herself.
She got up and went downstairs to make some breakfast. She was sitting in the kitchen when he came down some time later.
"Morning, beautiful," he smiled.
She could not help but smile back at him, coyly, as he leaned in to embrace her. He took her into his arms, holding her close. She felt herself melt into his warmth, and rested her head lightly on his shoulder.
"How are you feeling this morning?" he asked, carefully.
"I'm OK," she replied, surprised that he looked slightly concerned. "Yesterday was intense, but we both knew what we were doing," she said, looking up at him with wide eyes.
"Do you mean it?" he asked, hesitant still. "I want us to be OK, more than anything."
She pressed into him, nodding. "Yes," she whispered.
"I'm glad," he breathed.
They stayed like that for a while, just being together. After a moment, Mary broke away slightly and looked up at him.
"Last night, you said we needed rules. What did you mean?"
He took her hands and led her to the kitchen table. He sat next to her, looking serious.
"We can't go on like this," he stated, "or something could go wrong." He looked at her intently. "Don't get me wrong. How you have reacted to my instructions has been beyond my dreams, but we need to be very careful not to break what we have."
Mary thought her heart would burst. Somehow, he had caught her mood, saying just what she was afraid to speak aloud.
"I'm so glad you said that," she cried. "I've been awake for hours, just thinking the same thing."
She hesitated: "How can rules help us?"
He grinned. "Didn't you like the rules I gave you so far?" He was looking at her suggestively.
She blushed. "Well, I think you know how I reacted, at least to most of your demands."
He looked straight at her. "Mary, that's my point. I loved guiding you. You loved being instructed. But you felt that it was unfair and oppressive at some points, didn't you?"
She nodded.
She nodded.
"Well, as much as I like getting what I want, I also have to understand that this needs to work for both of us. It can't all be bondage and kinkiness. We have to keep ourselves or we'll end up hating each other. You have to get what you need too."
He paused. "Do you think that's a good way forward?"
She smiled, demurely. "Yes, Dan," she said. There it was, the code, the respect.
He raised his eyebrows. "That's a good start," he said. "What I think is that we need some sort of contract between us, a set of rules to live by. We won't get it right completely to begin with, but at least we'll both know where we stand. More importantly, what's expected of us."
"Where do we start?" she asked.
"Let's talk about what has happened so far. We can build on that."
She saw the sense in that, but she thought it was a bit difficult just to speak about what they had done.
"Think back to yesterday. What felt right to you?" he asked.
