Reindled

The next morning, the sun's rays in my eyes woke me from a sound sleep. Had I actually slept through the night? Without a single nightmare?

Suddenly, my mind went momentarily blank, frozen with the realization that the sun was rather high in the sky, and I was still lying in bed. I had chores to do, things to take care of..what if he found me like this?

I lurched straight up in bed, and moved to get off the bed and fly down the stairs. Instead, I felt a pair of arms tightening around me, and a low voice whispering into my ear.

"Easy, Iz...calm down, sweetheart."

His voice was a balm to my nerves, sliding down my spine like liquid honey. I let out a long breath and closed my eyes. I let him pull me back down to lie against the pillows as He slowly rubbed His fingers down my spine.

"I thought...I forgot where I was, I think, just for a minute."

He let out a soft growl -- not one of the frightening sounds that emerged when He was angry or being pushed to His limits, but the low, tender sound that was more like a wolf expressing passion to its mate.

"You aren't there. You're here, with Me. I love you so much, My sweet girl. I love you, little one."

We laid there for a few more minutes, the room silent except for the ticking of the clock and the low murmuring into my ear. I relaxed then, little by little. I was almost entirely leaning on His gentle words as they repeated His quiet mantra of safety and tenderness and overwhelming love until my breathing slowed and my heart's beating returned to normal.

Etienne sat up then, slowly, guiding me to sit up as well against the pile of soft pillows at my back. I was calm enough now to realize that He had changed my clothing while I slept. I was no longer dressed in my own jeans and black halter top. Instead, I was now wearing a soft dark blue nightshift, made of material so filmy that it was almost transparent. I was not wearing my bra, either, so my nipples stuck out hard in the cool room, but He had left my panties on.

Out of habit, my eyes found their familiar downcast place at my hands, focusing on studying my smooth, short fingernails.

"Iz, I..." He stopped speaking, suddenly. I could feel His eyes on my face, as though trying to see past my skin and into my soul. He was good at that, always had been.

He took a finger and placed it on the line of my jaw, slowly running it down to my chin. Tenderly, He crooked the finger under my chin and lifted my face so that my eyes were level with His. He spoke then, His words still tender but with a new level of firmness behind them.

"Isabeau, this is lesson number one. You will always look at Me. You will always meet My eyes. You have the most beautiful, unusual green eyes that I have ever seen, and I want to always be able to see your heart through them."

I hesitated then, voice a bit unsure.

"I'm sorry. He never let me look into his eyes. If I did, he would slap me until my lip bled."

He twitched then, softly pressing His fingers over my lips.

"He was a bastard, and not worth our breath to speak of him. But this is lesson number two for you, Isabeau. If ever I do something that is something he did, or something he did not do, and it frightens you or makes you panic, I want you to tell Me what he did, as best you can, and I will either work through it with you so that you will get past it in your own time, or I will never do it again. Do you understand Me?"

I nodded softly, barely whispering out a quiet "yes."

"Yes, what, little one?" His fingers reached up and gently curled into my hair, still tussled with "bedhead" and yet unbrushed from my night's rest.

"Yes, Master..." My voice was still soft, hesitating as the once-familiar word word slipped off my tongue.

"Your third lesson, little one." I noted without comment that He had changed from using my first name to one of His many former pet names for me. "You always have the freedom to use My name. In fact, I want you to use it as much as you want. You are my lover as much as you are my submissive, and My name is not forbidden to you. But, as my submissive, my most beloved one, I also want you to call me Master."

This lesson was less of a command, more of a tender lilting request still laden with the authority that His voice never fully lost. But even still, the Dominance I felt from Him was not frightening, only reassuring, blanketing me in a warm wrap of safety and security.

"What are your limits, Isabeau?"

This was new, foreign to me, even for Him. Before He had...I stopped my mind from thinking the foul words of loss and death, and instead changed the thought to "separated"...before He and I had been separated, there had been no limits, save our mutual agreements. I had not had any reservations with Him; His every desire had been mine.

But now, after all that had passed, everything that had gone on since we had been together last, I was now tainted, spoiled.

I was afraid now. And I never had been with Him before.

The thought made tears spring unbidden to my eyes, and it made my mind wander to that day...the day when my world had shuddered to a halt...the day when the dark car bearing the Seal of the United States and the dark-uniformed officers on our doorstep had sent my universe into a tailspin...

///

"Isabeau? Are you alright, My love? Can you answer Me, little one?"

His voice snapped me out of my darkening thoughts, bringing me back to the reality of His presence, His gentle eyes still boring deep into mine.

I took a deep breath, the air seeming to leave the room. I knew almost immediately as the images of those things which made me shake harder than anything else passed into the eye of my mind.

"The cane, I don't think I can...being blindfolded and left alone...no heat or fire...no tight, dark places...no being slapped across the face, or called "stupid" or "ugly" or..."

He took my hands in His then, His massive scarred fingers wrapping around my tiny shaking digits.

"You are intelligent, Isabeau. You are so beautiful; oh, girl, you take My breath away with those eyes, and this beautiful soft hair, and your soft skin. And you are a survivor, My love. You came back to me, my beautiful strong girl. And those things, some of them I would never do to you, anyway. I would never insult you, and I would never strike you in a way to injure or demean you."

"I want..." I stopped, the momentary boldness in me wavering slightly.

"What do you want, Mine?"

"I want to trust You. I want You to help me trust You. Etienne, I love You. More than anything. I want to trust You, Lover."

He nodded then, a gentle smile spreading across His face as His eyes glowed again in that tender amber tone. His fingers brushed my cheek.

"And oh, how I love you, My precious girl. And I want you to trust me, too, sweet one. What does that mean to you, Mine, to trust again?"

I took another deep breath, still shaky.

"I want You to push me. I want You to fix me, and put me back together again." Tears were spilling out of my eyes now, pouring down my cheeks and dripping off the edge of my chin onto His fingers. "I want to submit to You again, the way I used to, without question or hesitation. I want to find pleasure in pain again, to find myself again. To love You freely again."

Etienne leaned in and kissed first one eye, than the other, kissing down my cheeks over every teardrop. Then, He kissed my mouth, soft at first and then slowly deepening as His tongue found its way into my mouth; I could taste the sweet saltiness of my tears on His lips. After what seemed far too short a time, He broke the kiss and looked into my eyes again.

"And you will, My girl. I know you will. It will be slow, and it will take time. But I have all My confidence in you. It will be alright, little one. I promise. Oh, how I love you, My darling girl."

"And oh, how I love you, Etienne, my Master." I smiled then, a tiny timid smile, but still a smile nonetheless.

"Lesson number four, My Isabeau. You will always be accessible to Me. I always want to be able to touch you, to caress you, to have my hands on your body. Not just on your face or your shoulders, but on your breasts and your pussy, as well."

As He spoke, the fingers of His left hand trailed slowly down the curve of my breasts over the material of the nightshift and stopped to rest against my stomach, right above the line of my panties. I shivered under His touch, slightly flinching, but I did not pull away or resist Him. The words coming out of His mouth had reduced me to a trembling pleasure-center; every nerve in my body was on fire as His fingers brushed down over my skin. Even though the shift, the intimacy of His touch was not lost on me.

"I removed your bra for your comfort while you slept, but left your panties on for the same reason. I did not to want to take your exposure; I want you to give it to Me willingly, Mine. Not taken, but given."

His eyes were unmoving from mine as His fingers slid beneath the skirt of my shift, pressing so lightly against the fabric of my panties. My reaction to His touch was instinctive; my legs instantly spread wider, my neck straightening and my lips parting in a silent whimper that never escaped my throat.

I had already been situated with my bad leg straight but my good leg tucked beneath me, and I pushed myself up on the bed into an awkward sort of half-kneel at His side. My mind was a blur, everything I had ever felt for this Man pouring back to me in a rush. He moved gently then to kneel in front of me, His fingers still stroking up and down over the crotch of my panties. The more He stroked, the wetter I became. As the first drops soaked through the fabric, I saw Him smile, heard His growl of pleasure.

I moved to press my hips more against His fingers, eager to feel more of the pleasure He was bringing to my body. But instead, He stopped, and pulled His hand out from under my shift.

"I want to see you, Mine. All of you."

His hands were tugging my shift up and away from my body, tossing it to the floor beside the bed. The cool air brushed my skin and I shivered slightly, a mixture of cold and arousal caressing through my body. My breasts were free into the air now, and I blushed deeply, eyes flicking away from His. Their firm roundness, their larger size of 38DD, heavy on my small pale-skinned frame, had always been a source of embarrassment for me from the time I was a young teenager. However, I knew these were all things that brought Him endless amounts of pleasure.

Etienne's fingers caught my cheek, gently, His entire hand uncurling against my face in the tenderest caress as He drew my face back to His.

"Look at Me, Isabeau."

His hands were caressing my breasts now, lightly, not so much for pleasure but almost in an inspecting manner, as though He was reacquainting Himself with my body. Softly, His fingers found the fabric of my panties, and gently pulled them off my legs. I was entirely bare now; I blushed and pressed my thighs together as I realized that it had been quite some time since I had taken care of any sort of detailed physical grooming. Not only were my legs rough, but the dark patch of hair between my legs, though not overly unruly, was in desperate need of a razor's touch.

"It doesn't matter to Me, love. I will take care of that for you in a short while. But for now, let go, and let Me see you. I want to see you. You're beautiful to Me, Iz..."

Slowly, I let my legs part again, feeling the air brushing my swiftly dampen lips.

"Lie back on the bed, Mine."

I obeyed almost without a single moment of hesitation. My hands rested at my sides as my back rested against the soft sheets, and the breeze from the open window ruffled my hair and brushed over my bare skin. My mind was a rush; how was He doing this, making me feel so secure with Him, as though nothing had ever happened?

"Open yourself and display Your body for Your Master, little one."

His words were not foreign, by any means, but what He wanted was unclear to me. I hesitated then, not from fear but from a complete lack of understanding.

"I don't...I don't understand, Etienne." My voice was a stammer.

He looked at me, eyes soft into mine. "When a slavegirl opens and displays herself for her Master, she places her feet flat on the bed with her knees bent and apart. Her hands should reach down and spread her pussy apart for her Master's eyes to take in and enjoy."

I felt my cheeks burn with shame; what a simple task this was. How had I not known something so simple, so basic? He must have seen the look on my face, the way my cheeks were darkening with blush, because He reached out His hand and caressed down my neck.

"It's alright, Mine. I understand that, in part, you will have be to retrained, to be retaught. I am willing, and I am eager to teach you again. I promise, Iz...I love you, and you will learn again. Now, My little one, open yourself for Me. Let Me look at you. Let Me delight in you."

Timidly, I obey. My feet lifted and my knees bent, and I slowly reached down to spread my pussy open for His eyes. My outer lips were full and pillowy when shaved, while my inner lips were much smaller. I had often wished for a pussy that was pretty, like an unfolding flower, but He had always insisted how much He loved my body exactly the way it was.

My clit, the tiniest of buds that usually chose to stay tucked away under its hood, was already starting to peak itself out, just barely, just enough to make every brush of air over my parted lips almost enough to send me over the edge on its own.

Etienne growled with deep, throaty pleasure as I carefully and gently spread myself fully open.

"Oh, so beautiful...good girl...My good girl..."

His words sent waves of reassurance and ecstasy through me like a tidal wave; I bit my lip and whimpered softly. I could feel the wetness starting to pool against my opening; I wanted to scream, to beg Him to plunge His fingers, His cock, something...anything into me...

Instead, He leaned in and placed a soft kiss right above my slit, His tongue barely flicking against my skin.

"Good girl, Isabeau. Now, turn over onto your stomach."

Slowly, with a soft barely hidden groan of need, I released my lips and let my pussy fold back together like the petals morning glory when the sun had passed away. Carefully, using my hands to help more than my still injured leg, I turned over onto my stomach, letting my full ass poke up into the air behind me. I turned my face to the side, still managing to look up into His eyes as He straddled my calves.

He moved away from my line of vision for a moment, reaching toward the nearby end table. I could hear Him rustling about for something before moving back against my lower legs. I heard a click, as though the top of a bottle had been opened. After a few more moments, I felt His hands starting to rub slow circles down my shoulders. They were slick and cool, as though He had filled His palms with some sort of warm oil or salve. He worked over every inch of my back and shoulders, fingers tracing over every line and every scar that had been left behind by cruel hands and heartless lashes.

I had forever marveled at how such large hands could be so tender and light in their touch. And this massage He was giving me was certainly no exception; in fact, was it possible that I had never felt Him be this gentle with me ever before? He worked the oil into my skin, softly muttering words of love and affirmation under His breath, that same chant that He had whispered upon my waking.

"You're here, with Me. That creature will never hurt you again. I love you, Isabeau, My beautiful slavegirl. I love you so very much, Mine...this is not taken, but given...never taken, only given..."

His hands moved lower, toward the crest of my ass. His fingers were sliding over my cheeks now, gripping them and kneading them gently. Gently, one oiled finger slid down my crack, causing me to shiver at the nearness to my most private of places.

He noted the shiver, and leaned over my body, His bare chest pressing against my back. His voice was a low whisper right against my ear.

"Still, My little one? Still untouched there?" There was awe in His voice.

"Only a finger, and a very slim toy once. But I never let him...that was promised to You, Etienne. No one else will have it, not ever."

I heard Him let out a long noise, a mixture of surprise and adoration and something else that I could not identify. Was it...pride, perhaps?

He leaned back up and continued to knead and rub the oil into my ass. Again, He drew the oiled finger down between my cheeks and pressed just the tip right against the entrance to my tightly puckered hole.

I gasped softly at the sensation, closing my eyes with a whimpering groan of pleasure. Though even Etienne had never taken my virginity there, He had often toyed with and teased me me anally, and it was apparent that He had not forgotten how anally erotic and sensitive I was.

But He did not press His finger into me, only teasing right on the outside, pressing lightly but never breaching the entrance. I bit my lip hard to keep back the flood of groans and moans and pleas that were building against my tongue; I could not bring myself to beg for anything from Him. As much as I wanted to let the words fly free from my tongue, the frightening reminders still tugged at the back of my consciousness. No, I did not dare.

He kept teasing me for another moment before moving His finger away and continuing down my legs and inner thighs. His fingers brushed again and again against my pussy lips, the soft hair brushing and moving with His fingers as He Himself let out a soft noise of pleasure, a throaty mix between a growl and a moan.

I couldn't keep back then. My lips parted, and I let out a soft moan into the room. Only one word was on my lips.

"Etienne...Etienne..."

He slid from off my back then, tenderly turning me onto my back again. His eyes were fixed into mine as He straddled my hips from the front. He was wearing only His boxers, I had noticed before, but I could see the straining bulge in the front with only a passing glance. I knew all too well what lurked below the fabric, and while parts of me still quivered in fear, other parts of me craved what I knew He possessed.

He noticed my gaze, and smiled tenderly at me.

"Not yet, my precious girl. Trust me, that time will come very soon. But this is not about Me this morning. This time is fully devoted to you, My dearest one."

He rested two of His fingers against my lips, slipping them along the ridge from one corner to another.

"Open, little one."

My lips parted without a word, the tip of my tongue teasing in light flicks against His fingertips.

"Suck."

The one word command sent a jolt through my body as my lips wrapped around Him, and sucked His strong fingers into my mouth. He groaned softly, His eyes fixed in what seemed like a permanent gaze into mine.

"Always look at me, Mine. Good girl..."

Softly, He pressed His fingers of His left hand between my thighs, teasing right along my slit until I squirmed.

"Spread your legs, Mine."

My legs shifted apart as His fingers continued to glide over my dripping sex, the heat pouring from me and the room filling with the light scent of my overwhelming arousal. Inch by teasing inch, He invaded my pussy with His digits, His thumb hovering right above my clit as His two fingers delved deeper into my depths.

I cried out then around the fingers still in my mouth, hips lifting in an instinctive attempt to take His probing caresses deeper. He began to work His fingers in and out of me, His thumb brushing my clit so light that it felt more like a feather than a touch of a Man's hand.

Etienne's eyes burned deep into mine, the room silent save for the wet noises that He was churning up from my dripping pussy and the sucking sound of my lips wrapped around His fingers, mingling with the noises of pleasure escaping from my throat. My eyes flickered in need, in want, in intoxicating pleasure that threatened to tip me over the edge and into an ever-nearing pool of white light.