Somehow I just know.
Maybe it's the way you respond when I take you by the back of the neck and hold your head still so I can push my tongue into your mouth. Or maybe it's the look in your eyes when I hold your hands above your head against the wall and push my hard body against your soft one. Or maybe it's just a lucky guess. It doesn't really matter anyway. What matters is that I know.
We've been going out for some time when I broach the subject - long enough to get intimately acquainted on several occasions. It's during one such occasion, in fact, when I decide the time is right. I can't do it immediately, of course. Not when my head is between your thighs and my mouth is otherwise occupied. But as I look up your body, past your rising and falling breasts, I notice that you have reached above your head to grip the frame of the bed tightly with your hands, looking for all the world as if you want to be bound in that position, and I know the time is right.
To be sure it's something you really want, I'd prefer the idea to come from you. So I wait until we've finished, recovered our breath and are lying together side by side, naked as the day we were born, with your head resting on my arm. Only then do I speak.
'You'd tell me if there was anything more I could do to please you in bed, wouldn't you?' I ask.
You look at me with some surprise. 'Of course I would! There isn't anything. Sex with you is really good.'
It's a suitable enough start. You've obviously read enough women's magazines to know better than to lead with something that might sound like a criticism of my sexual performance, no matter how slight. But I'm not in this for a confidence boost. I want to find out if you really have the same tastes as me, even if you don't know it yet.
'But I'd really like to know what turns you on. There must be something you'd like - some fantasy or other,' I persist.
You hesitate briefly and I can sense that you are a tiny bit embarrassed at the way this conversation is turning. In that moment I know that I'm on the right track.
'I don't think so,' you answer falteringly, trying to recover your composure.
I give it a few seconds to let your mind adjust, then resume my quest.
'Maybe we could tell each other what we like most about what we already do,' I suggest. 'I can go first, if you like.'
'OK,' you reply, immediately more comfortable that I am taking the initiative.
'I find it really hot when you make a noise while you come,' I tell you truthfully.
You blush and turn your head away from me. 'Don't say that! I feel so self-conscious about it,' you mumble.
'It's nothing to be ashamed of,' I reassure you. 'It turns me on.'
You say nothing in response, so I push home my advantage. 'Now it's your turn.'
Giggling awkwardly, you wriggle your body around so it's facing away from me and curl up so that your arse is pressing into my side. I turn to embrace you in the spoon position, feeling the first stirrings of life in my cock at the pleasant contact, in spite of the fact that I came inside you just a few minutes earlier.
'Go on,' I cajole. 'It's good to share secrets.'
'Well, I like it when you're...' Your voice tails off.
'When I'm what?' I prompt.
With a sigh you give in. 'When you're forceful with me,' you say, with a strange abruptness which contrasts oddly with your previous reticence.
There it is. The secret is out. I have the confirmation I needed. Nothing can stop me from having my way with you now. A world of nefarious possibilities opens up to me and you might as well already be bound, gagged and writhing helplessly at my feet.
But I'm a patient man and I know that rushing things will only scare you. Time is on my side. I pull you in closer. 'I like that too,' I tell you. 'In fact, I'd like to be a bit more forceful at some point, if you don't mind.'
Now you spin to face me. I can see a mixture of feelings in your eyes. There is curiosity about what I might mean and there's unmistakeable arousal too. I can see that you like the idea. But I can also sense some trepidation about how far I want to take this and what sort of secrets I might be hiding.
On that point I can reassure you. This is purely about sex for me, not about some sort of kinky lifestyle. I don't want a slave to cook all my meals in nothing but a collar. Nor do I have a dungeon full of kidnapped girls beneath my house. But I do like nothing more than to turn an intelligent, poised, beautiful woman like you into my quivering, helpless, desire-soaked plaything for a precious hour or two every now and again. Luckily for me, I seem to have found a partner in you who is happy to suspend her equal rights for a while and put her body at my disposal.
'You don't need to worry,' I say. 'I don't want to lock you in a kennel in the garden and make you call me "Master" all day long.'
I see an expression of relief come over your face as you sense that our desires are compatible.
'Well, I wouldn't object to the "Master" thing from time to time,' I add with a grin. 'But only on special occasions!'
You giggle again. This time there is no nervousness in it. You don't need to say anything in response. The ball is in my court. For now we can kiss, lie back on the bed for a few more precious minutes and then return to everyday reality until next time.
...
I don't leave next time for too long. I seize my moment one evening as we arrive back at your place after going out to eat. It's not a special occasion and we didn't go to a fancy restaurant - just a nice pizza place nearby, where we have both eaten well and enjoyed a good bottle of red wine. You have closed your apartment door behind you and we have taken off our jackets when I seize you by the shoulders, push you back against the wall and kiss you roughly.
At first you squeal with surprise and start to resist instinctively, but only for a moment. Within seconds you surrender to my onslaught and respond to my tongue with your own. Before long I can feel your body rubbing up against mine and no doubt you can feel the hardness of my cock through our layers of clothing. I've made sure that this evening comes after a fair period of abstinence on my part. I have kept my hands to themselves because I want to be well and truly up for what I hope will be a spectacular occasion.
Having enjoyed a lengthy kiss, if that is what my plundering of your mouth can be called, I take your shoulders once again, draw you away from the wall, spin you around and march you into the living room. You comply without objection. I'm guessing you realise that I am making good on the promise we made before and that you are not going to get an easy ride tonight.
I leave you standing in the middle of the room and sit down in my favourite armchair, making myself comfortable. 'Strip for me,' I order.
You look a little surprised at my tone and the speed with which things are progressing, but I'm in no mood for tender snuggling and staring into each other's eyes before we begin the action.
'I told you to strip!' I bark in your direction. 'Get on with it! Start with the boots.'
After a moment's further hesitation you reach for your footwear. It's a reasonably chilly autumnal evening outside and you are dressed accordingly. The brown leather boots with a low heel which you are wearing over your skinny jeans look good, but I've had enough of them. In fact, I've had enough of all your clothing.
Struggling a little for balance, because there is nothing on which you can lean in the centre of the floor, you pull off one boot, then the other. You push them to one side and then, without waiting for further instructions, remove the socks which you were wearing underneath them. Now you stand up straight and face me again, barefoot this time. Already you look more submissive, and we're only just getting started.
'Lose the top,' I instruct, and you obey. I can see that you're recovering yourself and beginning to enjoy the sexual power you have over me as you divest yourself of your clothing. It's the power a stripper always has over her audience. Once you have taken off the top, you dangle it teasingly before me, spin it around and throw it onto the sofa. You look good, but this isn't what I want from this encounter. I'm not here for you to titillate me. I'm here to own you.
'Stop!' I snap, and you jerk your head up in surprise. 'This isn't some sort of striptease,' I continue sharply. 'You do as I say and only as I say. A good slave girl doesn't leave her clothes in a mess like that.' I point at the discarded top. 'Do it neatly!'