SATURDAY
Danielle woke to find the spot next to her empty, she reached out, but the sheets had cooled already. She'd had a hard time getting to sleep, and she'd lain quiet in bed, thinking, long after David's breathing had slowed and deepened.
He'd been true to his word, she'd cooked for him, and he'd read the paper while she did. He sat close enough for her to talk to him if she'd wanted to, but far enough to be near yet not speaking. She'd never been a great cook, but that evening she'd found peace in what she was doing. She'd dragged it out far longer than she had to, but he'd never checked on her. They'd had venison, followed by her secret recipe for chocolate lava cake. She'd needed that little boost of chocolate. After dinner, they watched a movie, and then they went to sleep.
Nothing happened, at all.
David was polite and intelligent company, like nothing out of the ordinary had happened all week. She'd asked him to leave her alone, but she'd never believed he would. As she'd listened to his even breathing, a faint disappointment had settled in her stomach. The greedy part of her wasn't happy.
Now she was awake again, and it was true weekend. If she stayed in bed longer, she could avoid David a few more minutes, but it wouldn't matter. He'd do what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it.
A nervous energy chased Danielle out of bed, and she slinked to the bathroom, checking around each corner to make sure David wouldn't catch her. He didn't, and he wasn't in the bathroom either. Danielle jumped in the shower and let the rush of warm water calm her down.
After the shower, she stood naked in front of her wardrobe. David would keep her to his rule even in her own home, she was sure of it, so it would have to be a dress and shoes.
At the end of her second run through every dress she owned, Danielle let her head fall back and stared up to the ceiling. She was stalling. David wouldn't eat her, well, maybe he would. She blew out a frustrated breath and grabbed a dress at random. The brown one, fine. She slipped it over her head and fixed her cleavage. It wasn't the best idea to walk around in this one without a bra or a scarf, but what choice did she have?
She slammed her wardrobe shut before she could change her mind, slipped on some black heels and made her way over to the kitchen to find breakfast ready on the table. David looked up from his newspaper and gestured toward the coffeepot.
"Help yourself."
"How generous of you."
David smiled and said, "Grumpy?"
"Bite me."
"Later."
"Oh, shut up."
She'd just finished plating her breakfast when David said, "I like the dress, but you'll want to change your shoes, we'll be on the move a lot."
"I can keep up in these."
"Your choice."
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
"You're not telling me? Are you a child?"
"In time, Danielle, and do something about the attitude, it doesn't suit you."
"What are you going to do about it?"
David put his cup on the table and fixed his eyes on hers. "Keep pushing if you want to find out." He gestured at the spread on the table. "If you want to start today nice and slow on the other hand, then sit down and have breakfast. It'll be a long day either way, I promise you."
"Can you at least give me a hint?"
"Nope."
Miffed, Danielle focused on her breakfast. She had to fight hard to keep herself from pouting. What was with her? David let her stew and filled his own plate. He'd waited for her, why'd he do that? Why any of this? Why not just tie her to her bed, fuck her all weekend, and then drag her back to work? Why could nothing ever be simple?
She made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat, and when she glimpsed a smile in the corner of David's mouth, she smashed her tea spoon right through the shell of her boiled egg.
"You're the worst."
--
"Over there."
Danielle parked, and as she turned off the car, her head turned to watch the store across the road. "That's a tattoo shop."
"A good one."
"Sir, the contract states anything permanent is against the rules."
"That's not why we're here." He waved his hand towards the shop and said, "Orson's the only one in town who does what I want." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Did you know there's a special tattoo ink that degrades over six months to a year?"
"No."
"And would you say six months is the same as forever?"
"No."
"Then what's about to happen doesn't count as permanent."
Danielle clenched her teeth and stared at the car in front of her. Her hand was still on the ignition, and she wanted to pull out into the lane so bad, to just drive off and not give in for once.
"Get out of the car."
She pulled the keys from the ignition with an annoyed sigh and opened her car door. They crossed the street, David's hand in the small of her back. He didn't even need to push her, she let herself be led into a new depth of humiliation with her eyes wide-open.
A bell clanked when they stepped into the shop, and an older man greeted them. He didn't have a hint of ink on his wrinkled skin, but the pictures hung up behind his counter told a different tale. Beautiful, intricate drawings, all in black. Geometric patterns, plays on perspective, all shades and lines, simple at first glance, but something drew the eye back to reinsure itself, only to find a new detail in the deceiving drawings.
"Do you like them?"
Danielle blinked and tore her eyes from a picture that showed a woman on her knees, a thin length of chain drawn along her thin waist. "Yes, they're beautiful."
Orson smiled and said, "Thank you." He looked over at David. "You have the design?"
"Not yet, but if you have a pen and a sheet of paper, Danielle will draw it for you."
"I'll be back in a second."
Danielle looked up at David as the old man disappeared into the back. "I can't draw, sir."
"That's your problem? I expected you to make this more difficult."
"I can't stop you, can I?"
"You could if you were ready to face the consequences."
"I thought about it, David, but..." She gestured towards the pictures hanging from the wall. "After seeing those, I'm at least willing to listen."
"Is there one you like in particular?"
"The one in the middle, with the chain."
"I thought you might."
Orson returned with the supplies and put them on the counter top. "Will that do?"
"I'm sure it will."
The old man smiled and said, "Go ahead then."
Danielle looked up at David. "What am I supposed to draw?"
"All you have to do is write one word."
A shock traveled through Danielle's entire body, and her hands trembled. She knew which word he meant, there could be only one, and he wanted her to write it on her own skin.
"Whore."
"Yes, whore. Orson will copy it..." His hand touched the small of her back. "Just about there, so anyone who fucks you knows he's fucking a whore." The touch of David's hand disappeared and he gestured at Orson. "Can we give her some time alone?"
"Of course, I can take you to the back. Would you like a coffee?"
"Thanks, black will be fine."
The two men left Danielle to herself, and she stared down at the blank paper facing her. She'd already signed David's contract, but that wasn't enough for him. Six months before it disappeared. Would he bring her back here then? To mark her again? Or would she be here for a real one then, a mark that would never go away? Six months. It had only been six days, and already she'd lost track of who she was supposed to be.
Danielle dipped the pen in the ink and drops spilled on the counter as her hand shook. The tip scratched over the paper as she wrote. Whore. She shook her head and scratched through the wavering letters. Again. Whore. Trash. Again and again she wrote that one word, she discarded pages filled with the same five letters until finally she had the symbol of her punishment, written in her own sure hand.
Danielle put the pen to the side and leaned her hands on the counter as she looked down at her work. She'd have to decide if she either let this happen, or called off this whole weekend. It would be easy to tear up her scribbles and end this, or she could accept it as another burden to bear, all part of her punishment. Neither fit, she couldn't face the consequences of refusing, and she'd never give in, not on David's terms at least.
David had done more to her than he realized. He'd created certain expectations in her, and when he didn't satisfy them, her body rebelled. Her mind sharpened, focused on his every move, working over his words to look for the meanings hidden behind them. She'd been with men before, had had deep connections with them, had hurt when those bonds broke, but no man had ever shaken her life like David had.
If neither option fit, she'd have to think up a third option. Nobody would expect her to throw herself into this bend her life had taken, to accept her punishment as the start of a new phase. Maybe she'd earn David's trust if he believed she was sincere, and he'd give her back more of her life.
Danielle looked at the picture of the kneeling woman, or girl rather. The girl looked at the camera over her shoulder, a blush on her cheeks, and a shy smile on her lips. It wasn't hard to tell she was proud of her tattoo, proud of what it meant.
Danielle walked over to the door David and Orson had disappeared through. A knock and they joined her at the counter. Orson took the sheet of paper and studied it, he nodded to himself and said, "Easy enough, shouldn't take too long."
Danielle cleared her throat and Orson looked up at her. She pointed over his shoulder and said, "The girl with the chain tattoo, would it be possible to merge her tattoo with mine? I was thinking maybe something like a tag attached to the chain? A metal engraved one, with decorations along the edges. Do you know what I mean?"
Orson met David's eyes, and when he nodded, the older man said, "I can work up a design, but you'd have to come back tomorrow morning."
"Thank you, that won't be a problem."
"This will still be a temporary tattoo?"
"Yes, please."
"All right." Orson gathered the clutter on the counter and said, "If there's nothing else I can do for you at the moment, I'd like to start sketching. Copying a word is one thing, lifelike metal is another."
"I understand." Danielle smiled and turned towards the door. "We'll be back tomorrow."
She walked out of the shop with her hips swaying and David's thoughtful eyes on her back. Let him work that one out. The sun warmed her face as she stepped onto the pavement, and she closed her eyes as the gentle warmth mingled with the satisfaction she felt.