The Shy Spider

Ashley had arrived two hours earlier, from a door on the opposite side of the building, marked with a pink spider. Exactly like Bryant, she walked through a candle-lit hallway down to a room with a desk, this time with a blonde woman dressed in a frilly lace dress and a half wolf mask. The wolf did not look up as she entered, nose buried in a magazine. Ashley stood dead still in the centre of the room, just standing there, for far too long. Her nerves were already shot to hell at the thought of tonight, and now she had to do something even more terrifying: talk to strangers. She gathered up her courage with a deep inhale, and said in a loud and clear voice, “Hel-”

“Jesus!” the wolf shot up out of her seat. “How long have been there? Didn’t even hear you come in!” Ashley grumpily scrunched her face as the wolf walked out from behind the desk, a hand on her heart. “Are you Ashley? My name's Beatrice.” She said, fixing her hair and mask. “You’re pretty early… was there something…” her voice trailed off as she went back to the desk to look at a clipboard on top. “Oh, I see.” She whispered, “Come with me, please.” She said as she took Ashley’s hand and led them out of the desk room. Ashley could just slightly hear the slap of plush slippers against her heels as they walked.

“You wanted to get your hair done too, right?” Beatrice asked as they walked down the corridor.

“Uh, yes, please. Tha-that’s why I’m early!” Ashley said with a brief chuckle. Beatrice’s face didn’t change as she looked at what she’d be working with.

"You know your partner’s blindfolded, right?" She asked with a quizzical side-glance. Ashley nodded.

"I want it done. It's for me, not him." She answered, surprised at her own tone.

“I’ll do what I can,” Beatrice mumbled through a sigh. The bathroom that Ashley walked in to was absolutely gigantic, tiled floors, two showers and a separate mirror on the wall with three seats and a counter with hair irons and other tools on top of it. The bath was already run, and a lavender scent was pervading the air. “Have a good soak, but don’t take too long,” Beatrice warned, “there’s still some work to do.”

Ashley stripped and slid into the bath. She wasn’t sure if it felt too hot or her own temperature was high from nervous energy. It was strange to think a longtime fantasy might finally be fulfilled tonight. Ashley looked at her hands as she relaxed in the tub. She thought about why she wanted to be here. She wanted to touch someone. No, she wanted to ravish someone, to turn the strongest and most functional person into putty in her hands, for her touch to be the most dangerous and intense force her partner has even felt. She wanted complete control through nothing but pure, unrelenting, merciless pleasure. She slipped down into the bath until just her nose was above the water. It bubbled from her mouth as a giddy electricity ran down her spine.

As Ashley got out, she put on a nice silk bathrobe, knocked for Beatrice and sat down by the salon corner. Beatrice was unnaturally nimble as fixed Ashley’s hair. Her hands were a blur, picking scissors, brushes and other tools as fast as a falcons dive before instantly slowly, delicately handling or shifting Ashley’s head. Her speed finally crawled down when she picked up a curling iron.

“So…” Beatrice started as she worked behind the chair. Ashley’s eyes widened. Oh dear, she thought, small talk.

“What brought you here? How did you two meet?” Ashley coughed to clear her throat, felt it genuinely close up and tighten and started hacking. A minute or two later she answered, teary eyed.

“Oh, we meet on the inn’s site. You matched us really quick. We’ve known each other online for about…” She was about to place her hand on her chin in thought, but Beatrice immediately moved it away before it hit the hot curling wand. Beatrice cleared her throat again. “Eight months now, maybe? He uh,” she smiled coyly, eyes to the side, blushing, “he spent a lot of time helping me with my store’s site. I run a craft shop, but I wasn’t doing so well before he fixed up some terms and glitches and then spoke to some people I was struggling with. About a month ago I asked if he wanted to meet up here and so…” she shrugged and waved her hands.

“Is this your first time here?” Beatrice asked as she moved face to face. Ashley nodded. As the curling finished Beatrice moved behind Ashley again and placed her hands on her shoulders. “One last thing then,” she said, and started a gentle shoulder massage. It kneaded out the nervous tension in her body, but barely touched the giddy anticipation still running through her.

Ashley had already picked her outfit for tonight: a dark navy-blue lingerie ensemble, with a lacey bustier connecting the garters to the black stockings. In hindsight, she had wanted to pick what would look sexy, that would make her feel like she was about to down someone in pure bliss and did not think about the reality at all. In her dreams, she’d imagined herself stretched in the doorway, hair wild across her face, clad in sensual leather, ten times thinner and sultrily saying ‘well… Hello stranger.’

In reality, she’d worn nothing like this before in her life and just looking at the size on the tag was draining her confidence every second. Beatrice helped with the bra, fixed up the bustier and applied her make-up. Ashley looked at herself in the mirror, hands close together, shoulders nervously hunched over… the giddy electricity had turned into a hot shock. The outfit felt too big for her, not just physically but mentally. She wasn’t built athletic, she wasn’t skinny and the piercing, fluttering eyes of dream Ashley were in reality brown orbs she always thought belonged in a pug’s sockets. ‘Average’ felt like a distant compliment.

“I look like a dumb little puppy someone dressed up as a joke, this was such a mistake-” Beatrice clamped a hand across her mouth, a stern look in her eye. “Don’t knock yourself. Not now, not here.” Beatrice took her hand off Ashley’s mouth and tenderly took her own hands, “You’re in your proper element here, your genuine nature. And there are no mistakes in your genuine nature. It’s like… In nature, Subs are puppies. Some are big breeds, some are small, some are work dogs and some are lap dogs, all are cute.” She said, the sternness fading to a smirk.

“Dommes are spiders. Some are big strong huntsman, some focus are weaving their web, some force their partners to dance, and some-” she gave Ashley’s nose a tap, “are ambush predators. Meek and disguised until they’ve caught you in their web. No matter what, there’s no wrong way to wear your own skin.” Beatrice said as she gave her hands a squeeze. Ashley felt the flashing panic and self-loathing fade as she looked into the wolf’s masked face. The giddy current rose again. She could do anything here. If she wanted to strip Bryan naked and then play with his hair for an hour, nothing would stop her.

Beatrice ran Ashley through the safe words Bryan had just learned, some hard limits for both him and the inn and what to do when they were done. Then she helped Ashley back into her silk robe and finally led her to the room Bryan was trussed up in. At the door she flicked out a black condom wrapper. “First ones on the house. Towels are under the bed’s end, lubes in the desk drawer on the right.” Ashley took the wrapper; realizing actual sex hadn’t crossed her mind all day.

“Last piece of advice,” Beatrice started, holding up her index finger, “The first safe word is for you. You won’t ruin anything by prodding for it; if you need communication, do whatever you want to get it. Take off the headphones, undo the blindfold or whatever else will make you feel more comfortable. Like I said there’s no wrong choice in there.”

“Okay.” Ashley rubbed her hands together, eyes focused. It's time to enter my web. She theatrically shrugged off her robe and turned the doorknob.