She sat on the hard kitchen chair watching me cook. That she sat there was largely down to the fact that she was tied to the chair; her hands behind her back and in turn to the back of the chair and her ankles to the two front chair-legs.
It had taken her a while to comprehend how I, as the Master, was going to cook. Her instincts and previous training (or was it abuse?) led her to the belief that the submissive did all the menial work and the Master was waited on hand and foot. On this visit and on this day I had announced I was going to cook. I had to explain that it was OK, that it did not change our relationship. I was doing cooking because I wanted to do so and because I chose to do so. For that reason the power exchange that was critical to the happiness we had found together was still in place.
Her unease had continued when I talked about possible menus. What she thought was me giving her choice was really me gaining a better understanding of likes and dislikes and indeed of any allergies.
In the end I decided that we would dine on pasta with a salmon and cream sauce followed by strawberries and ice cream. This was both a nice summer selection and not hard to cook.
I gave her 5 minutes to dress – oh, did I forget that she was naked during this exchange? – and off we went to her nearest supermarket. Now you can call me mean, but I continued to enjoy her discomfort as I left her to push the trolley while I selected our ingredients. This was something she was unused to, partly because she had lived alone so long and partly because it still offended her imprinted vision of her role as my collared submissive.
Through checkout and a subsequent coffee I did little to alleviate her furrowed brow, but before we returned to the car I did reassure her that all was well; that I was doing this because I chose to and that I was not challenging her submission.
The afternoon passed slowly reading a paper and drinking a glass or two of Pimms. She sat or lay naked at my feet enjoying the closeness and the sun. The white marks from years of swim suits were almost gone now and her body was a delight to behold. We didn't talk much as we had no need to. We had found how to be quietly comfortable in each others company between play.
At around 5 I sent her in doors with instructions to collect her "ropes". These were a number of rope lengths ranging from around 2ft to 4ft that I used for restraint. When she returned with them draped over her bare arm I signalled that she should follow me into the kitchen. Once there I pulled the old wooden chair from under the table and set it in the corner.
"Sit", I instructed and the proceeded to tie her wrists and ankles to the chair.
So now we have arrived at the point this story started.
She now endured the agony of someone else working in her kitchen, moving the utensils, clattering her plates, looking in her cupboards. This was not enough and an evil streak in me added another element – I blindfolded her so that her senses of hearing and smell were raised. This fired her imagination and magnified her fears.
I do not propose this to be a cookery book so you may look in any one of a number of books to learn how to make the creamy salmon sauce and how to cook perfect pasta. Suffice it to say that it took me about half an hour to prepare the first course and to husk the strawberries. During that time I tormented her still further by wafting smells her way, occasionally making excess noise with her pans and occasionally offering her my fingers to smell and taste.
Just before I was finished, I released her blindfold and ropes and sent her to lay the table. The table was a 6ft by 4ft oak table on which she placed cork place mats and cutlery. She also placed a glass of water at each setting.