Anaiya folded her panties and set them on the neat stack of clothes laid across the chaise. The antique couch skirted the foot of a heavily curtained four-poster bed. Victorian, she guessed, or at least Victorian inspired, and sage green instead of the typical deep red. The entire room was in theme with the fainting couch, and all in unexpected and subtle shades of green and rust. The low light of the single fireplace on the far side of the room, partly obstructed by two tall wing-back chairs, revealed the swirling flocked wallpaper and massive floor-to-ceiling drapes. Dark, hand-tooled wood trim whispered a kaleidoscope of opulence. Frescoed ceiling, barely visible, arched fifteen feet above a hardwood floor. Persian rugs sprung soft and thick beneath her feet. She stood by the couch and took it all in, absently rubbing her hand along her arm to ward off the chill that raised goose flesh all over her bare body.
By the fire stood a statuesque woman. She too was naked. Light rippled and danced over her hills and valleys, flicking against the generous curve of breast and thigh, dipping into the depths of navel and collarbone, teasing the curls at her cleft with fickle fingers. Tawny hair obscured her face, but for a faint spark of reflection in her eye when she turned to look at the young woman by the bed.
"Come," she said, beckoning. Anaiya licked her lips and took a shy step.
"I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do, really," Anaiya said, inching toward the fire. Dark shapes loomed just out of sight along the length of the room, and she refused to look closer, afraid to plumb that mystery. Nothing in her surroundings was familiar, comfortable. That was the whole reason she was here. Her entire existence was regimented, every move an exercise in control. Control of her environment, her business, her social life, even her husband. Control of her desires. Control of her body. She was here to relinquish control over at least one aspect of herself, before she reined in that leash too hard and eventually imploded from the strain of trying to take charge of everything. The therapist said she needed to learn how to relax, recommending the woman standing before her as the best person to teach her. Anaiya was terrified, so she babbled, nerves honed to a fine edge. "I've never done anything like this before. I'm not even really into women. Is there some sort of protocol I need to follow, here? I mean, what are the do's and dont's and all that jazz? Do you have a list that I can read through to familiarize myself with the proceedings? What about a safe word? Don't we need a safe word in case--"
"Hush, little one," she placed a warm finger against Anaiya's lips, cutting off the bubbling fountain of words. Her voice was low and musical, slightly above a whisper. An unplaceable accent softened her consonants and rounded her vowels just a bit, exotic but intelligible. Up close, she was extraordinarily beautiful. Fine-featured and sweet-faced, with flawless skin and deep brown eyes, she wore no make-up, nor did she need to. "You must not speak unless spoken to. You do not choose to speak without permission, or I will place a ball gag in your mouth. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand," Anaiya forced the words between her teeth, resisting the impulse to tell this woman where she could shove her ball gag.
Remember the reason you're here
, she urged herself.
"Good. I will call you girl. You will call me Mistress. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mistress. I understand," Anaiya's voice trembled with indignation, but she didn't hesitate in her reply.
"You have come to me for help, is this right, girl? You wish to rid yourself of the terrible burden of always taking charge, don't you?" she didn't wait for an answer, simply nodded as if Anaiya had confirmed everything. "You must know that my wish is to help you achieve your goal. You will not learn to submit in one day, it will take much hard work. Are you willing to work hard to conquer this demon, girl?"
"Yes, Mistress, I am."
"Good. You will allow yourself to trust me. I promise that nothing I do is intended to harm you in any way. I will do things that make you uncomfortable. I will possibly hurt you in the process, if you are unable to submit. Do you understand?" Mistress pulled a black satin handkerchief from the mantle and folded it over several times. Anaiya's eyes widened when she realized what purpose the length of cloth served.
"Yes, Mistress."
Raising the handkerchief to the level of Anaiya's eyes, Mistress hesitated. "Do you give full and knowing consent to push your boundaries in every imaginable way, and help you achieve your goal of submission?"
"Yes, Mistress. I consent." the young woman swallowed hard, trying to clear the tremor from her voice and the misgivings from her mind.
"Then we begin," Mistress placed the cloth against Anaiya's eyes and tied it firmly.
Anaiya opened her eyes to pitch blackness, her eyelashes bumping the fabric uncomfortably. A corner of the fabric hung loose over her cheek and the bridge of her nose, and she twitched a little trying to move or dislodge it. With a heavy sigh she gave up, closing her eyes with a small shake of her head. Mistress was silent.
Without instruction, Anaiya simply stood, waiting. After a few moments, she raised her hand to adjust her blindfold and was rebuffed by a gentle tap on the hand.
So, it's a game of 'Simon Says', is it? Well, I can play that.
Standing in the utter dark, not moving, Anaiya focused on her breathing, trying to steady the creeping anxiety she felt. She counted to a hundred deep, slow breaths, then counted to a hundred again. After the third hundred breaths, she couldn't fight her growing concern that she'd been abandoned.
"Mistress?" she said, and was rewarded with a firm slap across the face. Anaiya gasped and fought down the urge to tear the blindfold off and strike back against her attacker.
"You must not speak unless spoken to,
or I will be forced to gag you," Mistress's voice came evenly out of the dark, no louder than before. There was no irritation in her tone, just endless patience. "You will allow yourself to trust me. Give me your hands."
Anaiya offered her hands without a sound. She seethed inside, struggling to contain her anger at being treated in this way. Mistress took her hands and placed the palms together, and Anaiya felt a smooth slithering between her wrists that quickly tightened around them. Mistress had bound her hands with a satin rope and was leading her away from the fireplace.
Three steps, four, into the darkness away from the warmth of the fire, and Anaiya's skin erupted in goosebumps. Her nipples, brown areolae unseen in the dark, puckered and tightened into tight little knots of flesh. Abruptly Mistress stopped, heeling Anaiya like a pet. She stilled quickly, wary of another slap.
Instead of a slap, she felt the careful touch of warm fingers against her flesh. The darkness on the other side of the blindfold was not as absolute, and Mistress took notice of Anaiya's erect nipples, stroking the taut skin with the pad of her thumb. A light pinch between thumb and forefinger sent an involuntary shiver of pleasure through the young woman's spine. Anaiya gasped when Mistress grasped her entire small breast in her hand, kneading and pulling at the firm little mound. After a few steady squeezes, it wasn't the chill air stiffening her skin. Heat and wetness encompassed her tender breast, and Anaiya moaned while Mistress suckled. Far too quickly the insistent lips pulled away, letting the cold air sting vulnerable tit.
She was led a little farther along the room, then told to stand with her feet spread apart. She did so without question, still feeling the exquisite heat of Mistress's mouth pulling her nipple in, teeth grazing lightly, tongue stroking. She uttered no complaints when she felt the restraints being buckled around her ankles , nor her arms stretched above her head and shackled with padded leather straps. Only when she felt the beam pressed to the small of her back, making her bend backwards, did she protest.
"Wait, what is this?" Anaiya said, squealing and bucking at the sharp pain of her nipple being grasped and twisted.
"You must not speak unless spoken to," Mistress's calm voice soothed. "You will allow yourself to trust me."
