Roni sipped her wine and pretended to read and watched Jesse clear away dinner and clean up. He didn't do the dishes because he was her sub. He did them because she was a much better cook. She saw him glance at the wooden case on the coffee table in front of her and smiled to herself. It was beautiful, the wood inlay as well done as the shining metal inside it. Jesse was having a hard time fighting down his curiosity, it had been growing since the box arrived by messenger that afternoon. She wouldn't let him open it, leaving it sitting in frustrating visibility all evening.
Finally he came and sat on the floor beside her and his eyes strayed to the box and back to her face. "Was there anything else this evening, Ma'am?" He looked so hopeful she almost laughed.
"Anything else? Like what, love?" She kept her eyes on her book and did her best to keep a straight face. He was so fun to tease.
"Mistress, what's in the box?" Jesse smiled at her and ducked his head to look up through his lashes, playful and coy.
She laughed. "Ok, ok. You're right, brat, I do have something in mind for tonight." She set down her book and looked at Jesse, her eyes twinkling through her serious expression. "Go prepare the room."
Roni watched as the tension in him changed, his smile changed, his breath deepened. His look at the box as he left held something new, excitement and an edge of fear. Roni smiled, and watched him go. He would open the room, light the candles and lamps. She preferred natural lighting when she worked him, but she liked it bright enough to see him well, so one of his tasks was to clean and fill the oil lamps in the room. He would be lighting them now.
He would remove his clothes and fold them neatly. He would set out her favorite oils and make sure the toys and ropes she used most often were ready and waiting for them. By the time he knelt in the center of the room to await her Jesse would already be humming with tension, his body tight, his skin alive waiting to be touched. His fear and desire would have him breathing fast and shallow.
Roni took her time as she dressed for him. She slid on the high cut silk panties. She pulled on the thigh high boots. She braided her hair back to keep it out of the way. She added the black leather arm guards that wrapped around and snapped. Silver wire wrapped her nipples and curled in graceful arcing patterns in circles as large as her wide aureoles, and a silver chain ran from one to the other. More silver chains fell to the ring in her naval, and circled her waist. She wore nothing else on top.
When she was ready, she retrieved the box from the living room and went to the playroom. The softly flickering yellow light greeted her at the door, and the sight of her love kneeling waiting for her brought a deep breath to her lungs before she stepped inside.
He was calm, though the anticipation fairly crawled through him. Jesse was always like this until they got started, then he sank into it until he took more from her than any other sub she'd worked with. Roni hoped he knew how special he was to her. She tried to tell him, often, but she wasn't sure he really knew. She set the box on the table near her chair and picked up the leather cuffs he had laid there to await her.
This room had taken them a long time to put together as she had envisioned it. The beautiful inlaid hardwood cabinets and trim, the fireplace, the swivel recliners, and of course the hardware, all exactly as she wished them. It spoke to her of sensual pleasure.
Roni walked to Jesse and stood in front of him. He didn't move as he knelt with his legs spread wide, back straight and head up proud, his eyes lowered before her, his hands clasped behind his back. "Wrists." She buckled the wide leather cuffs around them as he presented them to her, and linked them together. "Stand, love."
Jesse stood, well practiced in moving without his hands. Her eyes ran over him until she finally drew a deep breath and brought herself back to her plans for the evening. The small smile twitching the corner of his lips caught her eye. He was enjoying her eyes on him. Brat. She smiled to herself and reached out one finger to tip his head up, and looked in his eyes. Then she kissed him, slowly, thoroughly. Her hand slid back into his hair and gripped him by it and she held him to the kiss until she felt his mouth was entirely hers. He moaned softly as she finally released his lips and stepped back.
"Jesse, do you submit to me?" Roni asked him formally, eyes on his.
"Yes Mistress." She watched goosebumps travel down his bare arms.
"Jesse, do you wish me to use your body as I choose?"
"Yes Mistress." His voice was tight, breath rapid as he answered her.
"Jesse, do you remember your safe word?"
"Yes Mistress. It is starlight." Jesse had never yet used it. Roni wondered if he would tonight. Probably not, but one day she would push him that far.
"Come here, love, and sit on the table." She brought the box over and set it down while he worked himself onto the table. It was a rather amusing process with no hands, and Roni watched as he hip walked himself back. Finally he sat securely next to her, and she smiled at him, then opened the wooden case. She watched as he caught his breath at the sight.
The three knives nestled in the velvet lining of the box. All three were leaf shaped, with hilts carved in leaf wrapped stems cupping the base of the blades. The center one was long, the blade wide, larger than Jesse's hand, the hilt also long, the carvings subtly arranged to fit the hand and assure a precise grip. The double bladed steel shimmered in the light, the marks of its folding like flowing water. The next knife, snuggled to one side, was very narrow, with a fine point. The third was about 3 inches long, an inch wide, and double bladed, like the first two. It was an unusual set, designed to her specifications, and made beautiful by the art of their maker.
Roni enjoyed the look on Jesse's face for a moment as he stared at the shimmering steel. "Lay down, Jesse, on your belly please."
He stretched out, eyes remaining on the knives as long as he could. Roni strapped his wrists and ankles down in the attached leather shackles, then threaded a leather belt up through slots in the table and strapped his hips down as well. His body was tense, even his breathing sounded tight, and she ran her hand firmly over him as she walked around the table. "Easy love. You know you'll enjoy this. You trust me, I know you do. You've proven it over and over. Relax Jesse. You look so lovely." She murmured to him and touched him until she felt him slowly ease into the table, his breathing steady.
