The flickering flames of candles gave the red walls a softer burgundy hue. Margarite, the hostess, was lighting the final wicks while her guests rearranged the room in preparation for their evening. The one-room guesthouse where they would be performing their improvisational drama tonight was furnished minimally, a low chest of drawers and a futon being the only substantial pieces. A thick rug and floor cushions completed the décor.
Elizabeth was uncharacteristically quiet as she carefully set their drinks on a small table near the wall. She wondered what Jon was expecting tonight, and whether she and Margarite would surprise him. Not that they were likely to do anything truly "new" to him, she realized. Jon had been an actor in a variety of roles long before Elizabeth had met him. However, their scenes together had all been played with her in the submissive role. She did not intend to take that role tonight.
The time that had led to this pending performance began some months earlier. Elizabeth had met her companions, separately, during the previous year. Jon had intrigued her before she ever met the man himself. A man she was dating mentioned Jon's name one night in casual conversation and she remembered it months later, when they met at a social event. It was an entirely casual and forgettable introduction, but she remembered it. Later, Elizabeth would confirm her assumption that he had forgotten meeting her entirely.
Over a period of months, they had talked online for hours, gotten together socially several times, and he had introduced her to the fiery pleasures of the cane, among other intense BDSM and sexual activities. At one time, her heart's desire was to be his submissive. However, she knew she was merely one of many short-term diversions for him, and her romantic illusions were abandoned with minimal emotional trauma. She smiled inwardly as an old country song played in her mind, "…it ain't love, but it's not bad….".
Margarite was an online conversation which became a local friendship. She was a decade younger than Jon and Elizabeth, a small-town Southern girl gone expatriate years earlier. A few years before she met Elizabeth, Margarite had returned to her native Georgia with a British accent and a dual citizenship. She also had an abiding love for sexually dominating men, and her natural red hair and European flair made her have no shortage of aspiring male submissives.
Elizabeth had, in some ways, been surprisingly typical in her power exchange fascination. It began when she was quite a young child, and continued to be her primary form of sexual fantasy. In her late teens and early twenties, she was what she now called "a sexual adventurer". She had tried some variations on the theme of male/female one-on-one sex, but ultimately found it unfulfilling, a momentary entertainment at best, and she wanted more.
When she tried acting on some of her masochistic fantasies with her former husband, the short-term pleasure was followed by a feeling of unease. He seemed mildly amused by her kinkiness, but she never felt like he was truly into it in the way she was. After the first months together, she returned her fantasies to what she believed was their rightful place, her mind. She read the "standards" of S&M erotica, and fantasized about finding a man with similar inclinations. In the past two years, she had learned that not only was she not alone in her attraction to a submissive sexual role, but that there were wonderful ways to experience either side of the fantasy in real life.
In the BDSM social world she found that the risks involved were minimized, and there was no danger of being disparaged or condemned for one's kinky desires. People she liked and respected enjoyed their sex of the psyche at parties and in private. They spoke openly with their like-minded friends about the physical and psychological aspects of bondage and other delights. Tonight she was going to take a new risk with Jon, but not as his submissive.
The stage had been set for tonight over a week ago. Jon asked Elizabeth for her ideas in a story of 5 hours spent with Margarite. Beyond that, he gave no restrictions, directions or requirements, other than that she share her thoughts and ideas about the possibilities. After the story was complete, they began making plans to enact it with their friend, who was more than happy to oblige.
All minor tasks complete, the players turned their attention to each other. The two women stood side by side in front of Jon. To Elizabeth's relief, Margarite began with the instruction, "Kneel" Jon complied in silence. "We are going to go over some rules before we begin tonight. From now on, you will do what I tell you to do. Are you prepared to obey me as your Mistress during this scene?" she asked.
"Yes, I am prepared to do that, Ma'am", he replied, with a hint of a smile.
"And further, I instruct you to comply with Lady Elizabeth's wishes, as well. For the duration of our scene, she will be referred to by you as 'Mistress'. Will you also do that?"
"Yes, I will, Ma'am" he replied, with only a slight hesitation. Elizabeth let out a long breath of relief upon hearing his answer. She knew this was not something he was accustomed to doing; bottoming to a partner he had Topped previously, any more than she was accustomed to taking the dominant role. She also knew that she wanted to set aside her submissive response to him, at least this one time. As much as she had enjoyed their scenes together in the past, she felt the need to take back some of the power she had been so anxious to give to him.
Margarite glanced at Elizabeth, as if giving her the signal to begin. "Rise", Elizabeth said, "and strip". Jon rose from his knees, and removed his shirt. Margarite reached into the front pocket of her tight black jeans, and removed a set of tweezer clamps, joined by a thin silver chain. "Stop", Elizabeth said to Jon, as she extended her hand to receive the small instruments of torment. He laid his shirt on top of the chest of drawers and paused, waiting for the obvious.
Elizabeth took a step toward him, and pinched his right nipple between her thumb and forefinger. She pulled it toward her and attached one of the clamps, sliding down the ring which tightened the metal fingers' grip. Jon let a low moan escape as the clamp bit into the dark pink of his erect nipple. She repeated the process with the other side, and took a step back to admire the beginning of her evening's work. The silver chain hung in a graceful U across his broad chest. "Continue", she said, and he removed his shoes, socks and jeans, adding them to the shirt on the chest of drawers. "Everything off", Margarite ordered, and his black briefs joined the pile of clothing.
