He praised her, told her how beautiful she was, and how much he would enjoy seeing her bare. In one week, her color was much improved and she had actually gained a pound or two. In time, he felt she would regain the weight she had lost. She had complained that he made her eat every time she turned around.
At the moment, he was reviewing one-word commands and the responses he expected. It was raining; it was the first day that wasn't absolutely gorgeous since the first morning after he had brought her here. That morning, the mist had cleared by noon, but this rain threatened to last all day.
All but the worst bruises were fading. The cuts had healed; even the cuts on her leg and under her breast were now a fine line. By the time he bound her breasts, if he ever did, it would be nothing but a scar and a memory. The rawness on her wrists was still a bit pink, but so much better that he could use the cuffs without padding under them. He would finish the contract today and she would sign it. Tonight he would have her.
They had finished lunch. She was kneeling with her bottom on her heels and her hands, palms up, were on her thighs. Since he would probably have her in the kneeling position for a while, he let her put her hands on her thighs rather than behind her back. It would be the 'Relaxed Kneel' position, he said. Her head was lowered, as were her pretty eyes.
She had been in this position for about twenty minutes. Jon was working at his laptop, and asking her questions or telling her rules...again. Some of them were the same rules he had told her the first day as they drove away from Carl's; most of them were rules they had talked about these last seven days, but others were new.
"Catie, our relationship will be 24/7. Do you understand what that means?"
"It means all the time."
"That's right. All the time. You'll be mine all the time, my slave, my submissive for one year. We won't be in a scene all the time, but you'll always treat me with respect. Unless we are in a particular scene, our relationship will be as normal as any vanilla couple. Do you know what vanilla means in the D/s world?"
He could tell by her slight body movement that she wasn't sure so he answered for her.
"In the D/s world, an individual or couple who doesn't practice our lifestyle or believes it's wrong for one person to dominate another is often called 'vanilla'. Most of the time to the outside world, our relationship will be no different from theirs...like this week when we were boating, swimming, or hiking. And, Caitlin, this is important; if we entertain or we're at the mall or a movie or wherever, with only few deviations, we will be just like them. That's why, when we're in public, you will call me Jon instead of sir or master. But under no circumstances will you be allowed to show me any disrespect. Is that understood?"
"Yes, master."
"Good. Now back to the 24/7 relationship. As I said, to the casual observer, our life will be no different from theirs, but in our house, if at any time I say the word 'Silence' that will signify the beginning of some scene, situation, and/or action.
"Your response to that word will be to immediately remove any clothing, if you are wearing any, except for your collar, fold them neatly and lay them on the nearest table or chair, and without hesitation, stand in front of me in your 'Attend' position. From the moment I say 'Silence', silence is what I expect. You will say nothing; you will have no response except to obey anything I tell you to do. Is that clear?"
"Yes, master."
"When I say no response that means to anything I do to you. You will not move, speak...even moan, unless or until I give you permission." He typed for a few minutes while watching her out of the corner of his eye. He could see she was nervous, but trying valiantly to remain calm in the position he had her in.
"Caitlin, we will never have a scene, situation, and/or an action which involves water sports or scat. You remember we talked about that earlier. That's not my thing. We will never involve ourselves with that aspect of BDSM.
"If we are home or even in public, if we are in the same room, you will ask to be excused if you wish to leave the room. You will tell me why you are asking. I may or may not allow you to leave, but for your benefit right now, I cannot foresee a time I will not allow you to perform basic bodily functions. If we are in public, you will indicate in a non-intrusive method, such as whispering in my ear that you request to be excused to use the restroom.
"Another given is that I will never break any of your bones or mark you in any way that will leave permanent scars or marks. Even though these, water sports, scat, and no broken bones are a given, they will be included in the contract to ease your mind.
"Now that you have healed sufficiently, I will take you shopping. You have almost no clothes, and while I'll have you naked quite often, you will need clothes when we go out and at other times. I'll have the final say in anything we buy, but you will have considerable leeway to wear what you want when I am not at home. While I like dresses for the obvious reason, I also like snug fitting jeans. I think they're sexy.
"Most of the time, you will wear no underwear and little make-up. You're young, you have very nice skin, and now that the bruises and cuts are healing, your pretty face needs little enhancement; maybe just a little until the bruise on your cheek fades completely. I will advise you how to wear your hair when we are together, but, as with clothes, you can wear it in any way you want when I'm at work unless I've specifically told you to wear in some manner. At no time will you cut or alter the length without my permission."
He told her that it would be his responsibility to see to her well-being and happiness. He said he would print off a draft copy of the contract, which he felt was probably as near complete as possible. He wanted her to read it and mark anything she had questions about.
"As Master, it will ultimately be my decision about what is or isn't included in this contract, but I will consider your thoughts. Is there anything you want to discuss? Any limitations you wish me to consider?"
She was silent for a minute, then timidly spoke. "I don't want to be blindfolded."
She was still in the kneeling position so she was unable to see the grin spread across his face. Then his face turned grim as he realized she was remembering the full-face hood and that Carl had forced her to wear it for more than sixteen hours. He put a blank expression on his face and spoke.
"Caitlin, come here."
She rose gracefully and stood in front of him. He took her hand and pulled her gently into his lap.
"A blindfold can be a very sensuous tool, Cate. It doesn't have to be an implement of torture. No master would ever consider not using one, if only occasionally. It will give me great pleasure to see you blindfolded and it will enhance your response to me if you're deprived of other distractions.
"I will, however, refrain from using a blindfold for one month, but that month will start retroactively from the day I first saw you. At the end of the month, we will discuss the use of a blindfold again.
"Now why don't you go clean up from lunch and I'll finish with these last few additions to the contract. Then I want you to find a quiet place and read through it. Once it is finalized, both of us will sign two copies, one for you and one for me. I will expect you to read your copy at least once a day until you are totally familiar with every aspect of it. The year you've agreed to will start from the day I got you out of Carl's, so the contract will start retroactively. You agreed to a year so I won't make you stay a year and a week. Now, go and clean up the kitchen."
When she came back into the den, he said, "When I first mentioned a contract, I was only going to include the basics and make it one page or so. It would say you agreed to stay with me one year and do whatever I wanted. Since then, I decided to be a more specific. I checked the Internet, looked up some samples, and went through my files. This contract is a composite of several others and includes everything I think should be in a comprehensive contract. It includes everything we've talked about this week. It's much longer than I first expected it to be.
"I want you to find a quiet place, in the bedroom, living room, or on the porch, I don't care where, but a quiet place with no distractions so you can read it. Read it twice. Mark anything you have a question about or don't understand. We'll discuss it. I would like to have a signed contract by this evening."
He handed her four sheets of paper and she went into the living room. Curling up in one of the chairs, she pulled an afghan throw around her and started to read while Jon walked out to the porch.
