Matthew woke to the gentle stroking of Bethany's fingertip on his nipple. He blinked and mumbled as he oriented himself, slowly realizing that he was laying in his own bed.
"Well, look who's awake," Bethany said, "good morning."
Sitting in the desk chair beside Matthew's bed, Bethany looked rested and freshly-showered, which she was. She had changed into a well-worn sweatshirt and yoga pants with her knees poking through the fabric of the legs. She laughed softly at Matthew's confusion.
"Relax, Matty," she began, "after you sucked my toes so clean I thought my nail polish was going to come off, I had you up on my bed for a little cuddle and after-care. That led to another stroking session and you were so deep in subspace by the end of it I was barely able to guide you here to your own bed. After making sure you were hydrated and tucking you in, you went to sleep like a babe. And now, I've been sitting here with my coffee waiting for you to wake up, I never did get to make sure you felt okay after our playtime last night before you dropped off."
"Uh, what time...?" Matthew managed to say.
"It's about eight o'clock, you've been sleeping since midnight."
As Matthew regained clarity and awareness, he realized two things. First, he was naked and uncovered. Secondly, he still wore Bethany's collar. The first bothered him little since he'd become so accustomed to being naked in Bethany's presence. The collar, however, piqued his curiosity and he reached up to touch it.
"I left that on you," Bethany explained, "I thought it looked nice and it fit you so well last night. You don't have to wear it, but you can around the apartment if you want to."
"Okay," Matthew said in a soft non-committal voice as he touched the smooth leather of the collar.
Bethany's next words tipped the balance.
"I'd like it if you did wear it, Matty," she said in a quiet tone that carried the words to Matthew's soul.
Matthew nodded obediently, sure that it was now expected of him in the apartment. He knew he was under Bethany's spell and wasn't certain he didn't want to be. A shiver ran through his body as a wave of submissive desire swept over him.
Smiling, Bethany reached out to tease Matthew's nipple again. She also noted that his cock was straining to be noticed, as hard as she had seen it the night before and already leaking a droplet of precum. Sliding her hand down Matthew's torso, Bethany scooped up the precum with one fingertip and brought it to Matthew's lips. Matthew's eyes met Bethany's as his lips opened to receive the treat he was offered.
"Have a good workout this morning," Bethany told Matthew as she stood, "I'll be out for a while this morning. Be a good boy today Matty."
Matthew swung his legs over the side of the bed and brought himself to a sitting position as Bethany finished speaking and disappeared around the corner at the doorway.
"Yes, Miss Bethany," he said softly, as much in reflex as it was intended reply.
As he went through his morning routine and his workout, Matthew's mind continually tried to rebuild the events of the previous evening. He believed he remembered most of the evening's events and could piece them together in order. But then the memories became scrambled as his mind sifted through impressions of obedience to Bethany's guiding hands and words, and a deep-felt need to please her through his submission. The last acts of the night were known to him only by the brief description Bethany gave him as he woke up.
Matthew had a fleeting sense that he should be worried that he had lost time in that manner. But he also realized that he had not lost time due to any intoxicants or physical deficiency like dehydration. Slowly, he wrapped his head around the fact that it was one of the effects of his submission to Bethany. He recognized the way she guided him ever deeper into sub-space and played with him in that almost-hypnotic state, and that she kept him safe while doing so. In the end, while sipping his coffee which followed lots of water while working out, he admitted to himself that he trusted Bethany enough that would not object to being placed in that state again.
Returning to their usual routine around the apartment, Matthew often wondered if Bethany would ask him to be her assistant again. Bethany may have had plans to do so, but she wasn't ready to share them with Matthew. She did happily announce that the tip she received for their session had handily paid Matthew's share of the rent for the month. Matthew shook his head slowly to himself as he realized that technically made him an online sex worker too, and soon returned to wondering if there would be a second time.
A few days later, Matthew left the apartment at mid-morning to attend an employment interview. It was mid-afternoon by the time he returned and approached the door of the apartment. His interview had been a combination of questions, in an appropriately distanced setting, and a chance to demonstrate his skills with the technology the job required. All seemed to have gone well except for some remarks in closing that they were seeking someone with a little more experience. With that, Matthew thanked the interviewers for their time and left, not expecting to hear from them any time soon. His mind was still turning over each stage of the interview when he walked into the apartment.
The first thing Matthew noticed was Bethany standing at the living room windows, and she was not alone. The second thing was the dinette chair in the center of the floor. That was the chair Bethany sat on when she gave Matthew his weekly maintenance spankings. Her wooden paddle sat on the seat of the chair. The thought that Bethany's guest had also seen the chair and possibly knew its purpose made him blush. He looked back to the two women by the window.
Standing five feet eight inches in her bare feet, Bethany was a good eight inches taller than her guest, who wore work boots. The shorter woman was dressed in a medium blue work shirt, collared and long-sleeved, tailored dark blue cargo pants, and she had an electrician's belt with a pouch of tools on her right hip. In contrast, Bethany wore a loose blouse of red silk over a flowing yellow calf-length skirt. The color of her toenails matched her blouse.
"Hi Matty," Bethany said, "this is Zoe, she was here to take care of a few things with my cameras and screens. You might remember, I mentioned her to to the other day."
"Uh ... hi," Matthew said with a half-hearted wave, "nice to meet you Zoe."
"Hello, Matthew," Zoe replied.
With no more conversation appearing imminent, Matthew slipped off his shoes and headed down the hallway to his room. Reaching the open door to his bedroom, he stopped suddenly as his eyes took in the changes in the room. Almost as soon as he stopped, Bethany's hands on Matthew's shoulders guided him into the bedroom.
"I made a few changes," Bethany said as she moved to stand beside Matthew, "I didn't think you'd mind. Since we had such a great time playing together the other night, I thought that extending my cameras into here would be fun."
"Uh ...," Matthew uttered, unsure of what direction to go with the questions exploding in his head.
"Let me show you," Bethany said as she took a tablet from the desk and started her system control app.
