Limits are meant to be crossed
The agreement
Karen pulled the blanket up to her chin, wiggled her toes, and tried to take her mind off the menstrual cramps. A comfy couch, a hot water bottle, hot chocolate and a Christmas romance on Netflix together took the edge off the pain, but all she could think was, "please let it be gone tomorrow, please let it be gone." Karen's mind wandered. She had a hard time focusing on the movie, and the book on the coffee table that her yoga buddy had recommended looked even less inviting. She picked up her phone and texted, <<Do you have time to talk?>>.
The prompt danced a little and gave a response, <<20 minutes>>.
Karen tried to follow the story of the handsome hardware store owner in the pickup truck and the very cute real estate agent, but she could not take herself away from watching the 20 minutes count down. The minutes seemed to thump with every wave of pain in her lower back. Her breath shortened with each minute's passing, and each wave's crest. Her palms sweated, making the phone slippery in her hand. Her eyes darted between television screen and phone, and her body clenched.
She dialed.
The call connected on the third ring. "Hello Karen, how are you?"
Karen felt an immediate electric spark, "Good evening, Mistress Ellen. Oh, it's been a rough day. I am nursing terrible cramps, and my work group was annoyed that I left early today. I am stressed. Can we have a session next week?"
"Yes, my dear. Thursday evening is open. You like Thursday evening. Say yes, we need to work that stress out of you."
"Yes, Mistress. You always know best. Uh, I..." Karen froze a moment, and the cramping was replaced with butterflies.
"What is it, lovely Karen?" Mistress teased with her Cheshire cat voice. She knew there was a sweet prize in the air.
Karen sucked in a breath, and then dived into her response with a racing clip, "Well, do you remember telling me about needles? I think I can do it."
There was a calculated pause from Mistress, "My dear brave Karen. Yes, I do remember. It would be my pleasure. Excellent choice." Mistress's voice was salty-sweet, revealing her hunger for fresh players.
"But," Karen pushed back a little, "I would like you to be naked."
Mistress held a longer more uncomfortable pause, "Is this bratty Karen? Little demanding girls should remember their manners. They can get into trouble otherwise. You know that is one of my limits."
"Yes, and you know needles are one of my limits." Karen then fell back to submissive mode, "Please Mistress. I will be good. I will be extra good for you. I will be sweet Karen. I promise."
"Agreed. Mistress will reward your good service. We will have a very special celebration," and the words "very special celebration" rolled off Mistress's tongue with weight and mischief. "I will have an assistant to give you the treatment you require, and that assistant will receive tribute."
"Yes, Mistress," responded Karen politely.
Mistress asserted her command with instructions, "You will take a one-hour nap after work. You will shower in hot water and scrub your body with soap. You will wear your hair up. You will wear that Chanel perfume. You will wear a pleated skirt, not pants. You will not wear a bra. You will wear a dark colored blouse. You will leave it open to the last button. You will wear your black leather collar. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mistress, I understand."
"Good, my dear Karen. Until Thursday..." and the connection dropped.
Preparation
Thursday came and left the cramps long behind. Karen kept a laser focus on work. Nothing was going to delay her today. Papers flew, reports landed on others' desks, and she made sure to load up her colleagues with tasks they needed to complete. When quitting time came, she was already out the door. At home, she drew the drapes, set the alarm, and snuggled into bed.
Mentally, Karen felt like she had only closed her eyes for a brief moment, but the alarm was right on time. She headed to the kitchen, carb loaded with a chicken pasta salad, and then hit the shower. Out of the shower, she put her hair up, brushed her teeth, and applied her perfume. She selected a green tartan skirt, short, but not too short. Mistress had not said anything about underwear, so she selected a lacy pink G-string. The blouse was black with short puff shoulders, but the open buttons were going to have to wait until arrival. She did her makeup with a purple eyeshadow, which somehow seemed symbolic, and a light pink skin tone blush. She selected long dangle silver earrings to balance her hair style.
The last step was collaring. Karen bit her lip and nervously rubbed the leather between her fingers. It was about two fingers wide, and definitely not from H&M. It had attachment rings on the front and the back. It had been an accomplishment gift from Mistress, to celebrate their first-year anniversary. Karen rubbed it with mink oil regularly, and it was soft and smooth. She gazed at herself directly in the mirror as she ceremoniously fastened the collar around her neck.
Karen paused and took a few controlled deep breaths. Had she forgotten anything? She grabbed her purse, keys, a light jacket and a Hershey's chocolate bar to calm her nerves and headed out.
No turning back
All was quiet and still at Mistress's door. A black cat had crossed Karen's path as she crossed the street. She hoped that was not a bad sign. At least the cat seemed very chill. Karen unbuttoned her blouse, and immediately felt the cool air on her breasts. Karen rang, and the response was footsteps, lock turning, and "Come in my dear, I am so pleased to see you. Oh my, you have outdone yourself darling. You are simply eye candy." Karen could sense Mistress's female gaze evaluating, calculating her breasts.
Mistress had a very pleasant private play space, and Karen knew the way. Karen took her typical seat in the entryway lounge around the coffee table. Mistress called out, "Lacy, our guest has arrived." From the hall to the back play space emerged a young woman, younger than Karen, but not much younger. She was wearing a spa robe. Mistress herself was wearing a lacy cape, that reminded Karen of something from a Dracula film. Again, an interesting Omen.
"Lacy, meet darling Karen. Karen, you must kiss Lacy's hand." Lacy held out her hand, and Karen rose to hold it and kiss it, as if in a court of royalty. Lacy's hand was remarkably soft, even for a woman, and her nails were short, but nonetheless done in a French polish. Mistress motioned for them all to take a seat, and then presented a carafe of water and a glass to Karen. "First instruction darling, you must drink all of this. You must be hydrated." Karen began to drink, and Mistress continued with the pleasantries. "Lacy here is, I think best described as, my apprentice. Lacy, would you like to introduce yourself?"
"Thank you, Mistress. Well, there is not that much to say. I was an amateur player for a few years, and then met Mistress at a local munch, and I thought maybe I would like to try being a professional dom. Mistress has spoken very nicely about you, and I have to say you look wonderful tonight."
Mistress interrupted, "Keep drinking darling, all of it. Well, Lacy and I have discussed everything, and like a good student, she even made some of her own suggestions! We are going to go back to the playroom now. You know the way. Join us when you are ready." And with that they stood up and headed down the hall.
Karen hurried to finish all the water, and she popped the last piece of the chocolate bar into her mouth. She left her purse at the coffee table, headed to the bathroom, undressed, and used the toilet. She removed her earrings, covered herself in a black silk robe, turned off the light switch, and stepped out.
Already, the hall was dark without the bathroom light. There was only black light illumination of neon stars and planets. The apartment was not actually that large, but the entrance to the playroom was at the back of the apartment, at the end of the hall, and the twenty or so steps felt like a journey through a time-space continuum.
There was no door, just a heavy black curtain. Karen stepped into a space lit with ten, maybe 20 candles. "No disco lights today," said Mistress with a little grin. The music was different too, something like a medieval monastery chant. Lacy was wearing a pink thong and bikini top, with matching leather harness and cascading silver chains over her chest and hips. Karen was disappointed that she wasn't showing more skin.
Mistress still had her cape on, and Karen switched into project leader mode, "Will you be undressing, Mistress?"
Mistress became indignant, "There will be no topping from the bottom here, Ms. Karen." That was always Mistress's correction voice, when she referred to "Ms. Karen."
