Sensitive Research

I strongly suggest you read the earlier chapters of the series, as they provide important context about the characters and themes of the series.

**********

I was shocked to feel Tara's lips kissing mine. I knew this was wrong - it crossed a boundary, between professor and student, that is supposed to be sacrosanct. But it felt so good, and I let her continue for a few seconds before I managed to pull away from her.

"Tara," I started, "this isn't right, I can't be doing this with you."

"I know, Susan. I just got caught up in the moment. You were so upset, and you seemed so comforted by my holding you, it just seemed like the right thing to do."

I reached out and took her hands in mine. "I really appreciate what you're trying - what you're doing for me," I told her. "You're more than just a research assistant to me, I consider you a friend as well, so thank you."

Tara smiled. "Thanks Susan, I appreciate that you see me that way. I consider you a friend as well, and that's why I want to help you. Do you want to talk about this anymore?"

I reached to the night stand and grabbed a tissue to wipe away the tears. I saw that it was 3:45 in the morning. "No, Tara, I just want to try to go back to sleep. We have a big day of work ahead of us."

"Okay." She turned and got off of my bed and returned to her own. As she did, I saw her panty-clad rear end, which was very round and very attractive. I once again tried to put the thought out of my head, turned off the lamp on the night stand, and tried to go to sleep. It took me a while, but finally I fell back asleep.

**********

The alarm went off at 9:00, waking both of us up. I turned it off, and turned toward Tara. "Do you want the bathroom first, or do you want me to go first?" I asked her.

"You can go first."

I got out of bed, consciously pulling my nightgown down, to make sure she wouldn't be able to see my cheeks. I wasn't sure whether the red welts from my spanking by Lady Amber last night were still there, and if they were, whether my panties would cover them. The last thing I wanted was for Tara to see them and ask more questions about what had happened last night. I had managed to avoid talking to her about what Lady Amber had done to me, and I really didn't want to get into it with her.

Once in the bathroom I closed the door, and took off my nightgown and panties. I could see in the mirror that the red marks were still there, and when I touched myself lightly, it was still tender.

I got in the shower, and the warm water felt good on my body. I felt like it was washing away the memories of what happened last night. I got out, toweled off, and wrapped the towel around my body. It was so narrow, that I could barely manage to cover both my breasts and my ass. But by tugging it down to just above my nipples, I hoped it covered enough of my ass that Tara wouldn't be able to see anything when I walked back into the room. I opened the door, and walked back in, being careful not to turn my back toward her. "All yours," I said as cheerfully as I could muster.

"Great, thanks," she responded. "What time is our first appointment again?"

I grabbed my phone, put in the lock code, and pulled up my calendar. "We have our first interview with a client of Lady Amber's at 11:00."

"Okay, great, that'll give us plenty of time to grab a coffee and bite to eat," Tara said as she walked into the bathroom. I noticed that she didn't close the door all the way, as she continued to talk to me. "So what do we know about this first one?" she asked, as I heard her start the water for the shower.

I reached into the dresser and retrieved a pair of panties and put them on. I unwrapped the towel and continued to dry my hair with it. "I don't know much about her, other that she is in her 40s, and unmarried. She was the first name on the list Lady Amber gave us, and she agreed to be interviewed."

As I finished rubbing the towel over my hair, I saw Tara standing in the doorway of the bathroom with a toothbrush in her mouth, staring at me. I was suddenly conscious of my 40DD breasts displayed to her, only about six feet away from where she was standing. I quickly covered them with the towel.

"I'm sorry," Tara said as she took the toothbrush out of her mouth. "I couldn't hear you with the water running." I noticed she was staring at my breasts. "Why don't we know any more about her?"

"That's okay," I responded, still a bit self-conscious over Tara seeing my breasts like that. But she didn't seem to react in anyway, so I silently scolded myself for being so modest. "For some reason, she said she didn't want to fill out the survey ahead of time, she said she was more comfortable just meeting with us."

"Okay," Tara said, and turned and walked back into the bathroom.

I finished dressing, put on a little bit of make-up, and made sure that all of our recording equipment and other materials were in my bag for the interviews and observations. Tara came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel as I had been, and when she dropped it on the floor just a few feet in front of me, I quickly turned away to make it look like I was doing something. But before I did, I had a glance at her ass. It was beautifully curvaceous, not too big, but large enough to have a nice definition to it. Once again, I felt a stirring that I knew I shouldn't have.

Tara quickly dressed, and as usual eschewed make-up with the exception of a little bit of lip gloss. She was one of those women with a natural beauty that didn't require any help, a look that I was jealous of. She grabbed her bag and we left the room, heading downstairs for a light breakfast before our first interview.

After breakfast, we got in a cab at the hotel. Tara was looking at her phone. "Okay, so after this first interview we're doing together, we're splitting up, then rendezvousing back at Lady Amber's for an observation at 5:00, correct?"

I fished my phone out of my bag. "Yup. You sure you're okay doing your interview on your own?"

"Of course, it's not like it's my first one. I think I've done almost ten alone already, in addition to the ones I've done with you. And I'm really looking forward to the observation."

This would be the first time that Tara had met any of the dommes and observed any of their sessions. Up until now, I had done these all myself, but had decided with this visit it was time for Tara to participate as well. Given what had happened last night, I was now regretting my decision. When I had lain awake last night, trying to fall asleep, I had tried to come up with an excuse to not bring her along. But I knew how much she was looking forward to it, and I couldn't think of anything that would seem legitimate. While Tara was in the shower, I had texted Lady Amber and asked her not to say anything about last night when we arrived. She had quickly replied, saying, "Of course not my pet - discretion is an important part of any Domme's job." I shuddered when I saw "my pet," the memories of my session with Lady Amber flashing back into my brain.

"Okay, I know, sometimes I forget just how experienced an RA you are," I answered, smiling at Tara.

After about 15 minutes, we arrived in front of a nice looking townhouse in Hyde Park. I paid the cabby, and we walked up the steps to the front door. I rang the bell, and in a few seconds, the door swung open. Standing there was an attractive women in her mid-40s, with a nice figure - not thin, but appropriate curves for a woman of her age. She was wearing casual clothes, a blouse and a relatively short skirt, with spiked shoes with a heel of about 2 inches. I noticed that the top couple of buttons were open on the blouse, displaying a generous amount of cleavage. I could tell from a quick glance the clothes were designer, and probably expensive.

"Hello," she greeted us, "I'm Martha, please come in." She left the door open and turned and walked into the vestibule. As she did, I noticed her tan legs and that the back of her skirt hugged her ass very nicely, and once again, I was surprised to find myself looking at a woman this way.

We followed her through the vestibule and into a hallway, Tara closing the outer door behind us. "I'm Susan Phillips, and this is my research assistant, Tara Salowicz," I said, gesturing toward her.

Martha reached out her hand and shook both of ours. "Nice to meet you, please come in," and she walked down the hall, passing a few rooms, and turned into another room. As we followed her, I took note of our surroundings. I was impressed by the size of the rooms we passed, and by the furnishings. I knew enough about Chicago to know this was a very good neighborhood, and this was quite clearly an expensive property. I was curious to find out more about Martha.

She walked us into a den, and gestured to a sofa for Tara and me to sit on. "Can I get you anything to drink, some coffee or tea perhaps?" she inquired.

"No, thanks, we just had breakfast," I responded. She sat down in a wing chair next to the sofa, a couple of feet to my right. I reached into my bag, and got out my phone and an external microphone, which I plugged into the phone. I put both down on the coffee table in front of me. "Do you mind if we record the interview, Martha?"

"No, not at all." As I fiddled with my phone to start the recording, I could see with a sideways glance Martha's crossed and toned legs, which she was displaying a lot of beneath her short skirt. Once again, I was struck that it seemed awfully short, particularly for someone her age, but I had to admit it looked good on her.

I gave her a brief synopsis of our study, what the research questions were, how we were conducting our research, and the assurances of confidentiality and anonymity in the study. I got out of my bag an informed consent form, and asked her to sign it. She read through it quickly, signed her name, and returned it to me. I handed it to Tara, who put it in a folder in her bag.

"Okay, we have a few basic demographic questions to ask first, before we get into the details of your experience with Lady Amber." I began asking the questions, while Tara took notes. I enjoyed having her along for interviews, because it allowed me to focus on the questions and what the respondent was saying, without worrying about getting everything down to supplement the recording.

She told us that she was divorced, 47, and a medical professor and clinician at the University of Chicago, specializing in women's health issues. That was the explanation for the nice home in which we found ourselves. She explained that she both saw patients and conducted research herself.

"So if you're ready, we'd like to ask you some questions about your relationship with Lady Amber."

I knew this was the part of the interview where most women began to get nervous, but Martha immediately responded without any hesitation and with a small smile, "Of course, that's why you're here."

"How long have you been seeing Lady Amber?" I asked.

"Do you mean how long have I known her, or how long I have been seeing her professionally?"

I was a bit surprised, never having had this reaction to this question before. "Well, both I guess."

"I've known Amber for about ten years. I first met her when she became a patient of mine."

The surprise on my face must have shown, because Martha chuckled a bit. "You're surprised to hear that, Professor Phillips?"

I nodded yes, and she responded, "Surprised that I would be a client of someone who is a patient of mine, or surprised that that is how I met her?"

"Both, I guess."

Martha smiled again. "Well, I figured you'd want to know more about this, so when Amber asked me about participating in your study, I asked her if she wanted me to share how I knew her. And she gave me permission to be very upfront and honest, she even signed a HIPAA form providing me with a limited release to share some of this information with you."

"She came to me as a patient when she was starting off as a domme. She was very upfront and honest - she told me what she was doing, and said that she wanted to have regular testing for sexually-transmitted diseases."

"Why?" I asked. "If she is just a domme, why would she be concerned about that? Or was it for her personal life?"

"Let's just say that Amber offers a very wide range of services, some that could involve the exchange of bodily fluids. So she wanted regular testing, as well as regular health check-ups. She had gotten my name from another patient of mine, someone who assured Amber that I was very open-minded and discreet, which I am."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Tara feverishly taking notes. As I prepared to ask the next question, I saw Martha shift a bit I her seat, and her skirt rode up just a bit, exposing even more leg. I felt like if it rode up much more, I'd be getting a glimpse of her panties, a thought I didn't want to have.

"And when did your doctor-patient relationship with her change?"

"Well, that happened about five years ago. I had recently gotten divorced from my ex-husband. It was a pretty crappy divorce, and when I was talking to Amber about it on one of her visits to me, she was very sympathetic. She suggested we go out one night and get a drink so I could really vent about the asshole." She laughed. "So a couple of weeks later, we went out, and boy did I vent!"

I chuckled a bit myself. "Up until that point, had you seen Amber socially?"

"No, only in the office, but I'd always enjoyed seeing her, and she seemed very nice, so I decided it wouldn't harm our professional relationship to go out and have a drink with her. She was a very good listener, and really asked some good questions about what went on in our marriage. I think that probably comes from her experience as a domme. She has to be able to read people pretty well in her job."

"Okay, so then what?"

"We went out for drinks a couple more times in the next few weeks, and once I was done dumping on my ex, I started to talk to her about her work, as we had never really talked about it much before. She told me how she got into the business, the kinds of women she had as clients, the kinds of things she did, etc.

"When I was in med school, we all had to do rotations in the different specialties, including psychiatry. So I had learned just a little bit about BDSM in the context of sexuality. But I didn't know much beyond that. So as I talked to Amber about it, I found myself sort of intrigued by the whole thing. My ex had been very straight-laced, and while I had been more curious and open-minded myself, he never had any interest in anything beyond vanilla sex. So after the divorce, and talking with Amber, I began to explore a little on the Internet, and I found myself turned on by what I read. And much to my surprise, what turned me on the most was BDSM between women.

"It had been probably a couple of months since I'd last seen Amber when she came in for one of her quarterly check-ups. As I was finishing up, I mentioned that it was a while since we'd gone out for a drink, and invited her. She agreed, and we went out the next night. I started to ask her more about what she did with her clients, what she thought they got out of it, those kinds of things. She was answering the questions, and then she stopped, and said, 'Martha, are you curious about this for yourself?' I sheepishly admitted to her I was a little, so she suggested I come over for a 'pro bono' starter session, sort of a, 'Try it out and see what you think' kind of thing. I did, and the rest is history." She smiled at the two of us.

"Do you mind if I ask you some of the details of what went on in that first session?"

"No, of course not, feel free," Martha said.

"Okay, what kinds of things happened that first time?"

"She started by asking me a lot of questions about what I saw on the Internet, what turned me on, what turned me off, any fantasies I had, those kinds of things. I answered that I was most turned on by the idea of being made to service another woman sexually. So in that first session, she started with very gently instructing me on how to service her, things like undressing her, massaging her feet, licking her breasts, those kinds of things."

As Martha reported this, my own experience with Lady Amber crept back into my mind, as I had done some of those same things to her. I began to wonder if this was a specialty of hers, or whether it was just a coincidence.

"And how did you react to doing this?" I asked her.

"Oh my god, it was an incredible turn on! Can I be very honest and blunt with you both?"

I was a little surprised to hear this medical doctor and professor saying these things, but I assured her she could be.

"It was the best fucking sex I'd had in my life, even though it wasn't even sex - at least by most people's standards," she said. The crudeness of her language stunned me, but I tried not to show any reaction. "I had never been so aroused in my life. Here I was in my 40s, the first time I had ever been with a woman, and my pussy was dripping like I'd never experienced. I was with her for about an hour, and thought I was going to have an orgasm just from the things I was doing to her. But finally, at the end of the hour, she allowed me to masturbate in front of her, and trust me - I've never cum like that in my life." She had a big smile on her face.

I realized that I too was getting aroused, listening to Martha describe that first session with Lady Amber, and having experienced much of the same just 12 hours ago. I felt a little flush, and shifted in my seat a bit, trying to take my attention away from my crotch. Martha must have noticed, because she said, "Are you okay, you look a little comfortable?"

I said, "I think I would like a little water if you don't mind." I thought that the little break in Martha's narrative would help calm me down as well.

Martha jumped up. "How about you Tara, would you like some too?"

"Sure, thanks," Tara replied.

After Martha left the room, Tara stopped writing. "Wow, really interesting, don't you think?" she said to me in a low voice.

"Which part?" I responded.

"A woman, like her, a doctor, in her 40s, discovering that aspect of her sexuality that way."

"Yeah, I guess so," I said, "though I've had a couple of similar cases."

Martha came back into the room a minute later with a tray and three tall glasses of ice water. She got some coasters out of a drawer in the coffee table, and put the three glasses down in front of each of us.

I took a sip of the water. "So to get back to your first session with Lady Amber. . ." I prompted her.

"Oh yes, so she gave me that first session free, sort of out of professional courtesy I guess," she said with a laugh. I went home, and really wrestled with the whole thing, how I could feel that way, how I could have not known that about myself for over 40 years - trust me, it was a lot to deal with."

"I'm sure it was," I said, wondering what her reaction would be if she knew that I was wrestling with the same feelings myself.

"I knew I wasn't a lesbian, because I still had a strong attraction to men," Martha continued, "but I was definitely very attracted to women, and with women it was very much oriented toward kink. Interestingly enough, I didn't feel that way toward men - must be the feminist in me," she said, chuckling. "I was still dating men on occasion, and with men it was always much more vanilla. But with women, I was more interested in exploring BDSM. I tried dating some women, tried some websites to try to find women who I could be compatible with that way, I was like one of those people who came out later in life and wanted to experience everything all at once, but I had little luck in finding any women I really liked. I found some I could have sex with, but none I wanted a longer term relationship with. I got a little tired of these one-night stands.