She had every reason to turn around.
As the chill November air whipped several loose strands of her long, auburn hair about her face, she stared at the door, her hand hesitating an inch from the doorknob. The keycard that had been left for her at the front desk now dangled provocatively from the lock just above her hand. A shiver, not born of the cold, ran up her spine as she pulled her coat closer to her body. Her piercing green eyes glanced first left then right as she swallowed hard, doing everything she could to strengthen her resolve. She was so very close to turning around and bolting when a nearby dog barked, startling her to action and before she could talk herself out of it she grabbed the doorknob, turning it and quickly stepping through the door only to close it behind her. The latch clicked shut, that little sound reverberating through her mind like the breaking of the final seal to a future she both wanted and feared. She leaned back against the door, closing her eyes and taking several slow breaths, trying to still her beating heart before it deafened her.
Finally, she nodded to herself. This was happening, and she needed it, perhaps more than she had needed anything in ages. Initially she glanced around, not turning her head to either side. Her instructions had been absolutely clear about what she was to do when she got here. Swallowing hard again, why did she leave her water bottle in the car, she took several steps into the dimly lit wider room, her fingers moving to the buttons of her ankle length beige coat, unbuttoning it slowly. She closed her eyes, this time for good, knowing he might be watching and needing desperately to please him. She couldn't help but smile slightly, despite her situation as one by one the buttons slipped through the thin slits in the cloth and the coat began to open. If this had been one of the stories she read from time to time in quiet moments or one of the many second rate shows on television, she would have had nothing on underneath or some skimpy set of lingerie complete with garter belt and leggings. This was neither, and while her master was many things, he was never cliche. Letting the coat slide from her shoulders, she took it in hand, folding it neatly and setting it on the nearby bed, her hands locating it by touch.
She would follow Master's instructions to the letter. He was so good to her, and she loved and needed him to be happy more than she could express. Never would she willingly displease this man who had come into her life and redefined so many things for her. One by one, she repeated her actions with each article of clothing. Every piece of clothing she removed, neatly folded, and placed atop the previously discarded article. Each piece had been selected by her master and nothing that was his was mistreated or carelessly handled, that included her. Finally, after what had seemed an agonizing eternity, she stepped out of her black lace thong, placing it atop the pile. She stood in the unfamiliar room, completely nude, except for her black three inch high heels, shivering. Her fair skin dimpling and her nipples standing out prominently from her firm breasts. She lifted one foot and then the other, slipping off her shoes and placing them next to her clothes on the bed. And then, she waited.
The room was eerily quiet, the only noise was the occasional cycling of the air conditioner as it clicked on and off to maintain the temperature. She began to shiver slightly, knowing she was on full display, straining every sense left to her for any sign of her master. She had thought he would be there, but she had been given very specific instructions, and one of those was that she was to wait, just as she was, facing forward, eyes closed, so she waited. Her nostrils flared as she took in the room, a slight hint of some cleaning agent filled her nose and a distantly familiar scent teased her memory, but she could not lock it down. How she wanted to call out for him, to look around, to do anything, but that would displease him, so she waited. She waited and inwardly the voices started questioning, picking at her resolve, telling her this was not how an empowered woman should act. This was not how an intelligent woman should behave, and this was not how anyone with a shred of dignity or any sense of self preservation would comport herself. She had never even seen her master. Not in person. They had exchanged photographs, so she had an idea what he looked like, and she had spent, what probably amounted to literal months on the phone with this man, submitting, obeying, talking, laughing, crying, laying herself bare before him and losing her heart to this man who seemed to know her better than she knew herself.