A Dark Beginning: A China Dark Novel (14 page)

China needed to work from home on Friday, so didn’t get a chance to see Mark for three days. Despite managing to engineer daily sex with Philip, for which he was almost shamefully grateful, something was missing. Sex with Philip was lovely, loving even, and very safe. She liked loving and safe, but by Sunday evening she needed edgy and thrilling. The two halves of her life were in stark contrast, the dichotomy a wide gap that she was happy to maintain.

On Monday she was more eager than ever to meet Mark, and she told her work that she needed a long lunch in anticipation. The need generated on Thursday night by unfinished business with Esta had certainly not been quenched by Philip over the weekend.

Her and Mark had decided to stop meeting in the café. Whether he had become tired of Devak’s constant disapproving looks, or whether it was just to generate more time together alone she didn’t know. Either way she went straight to Mark’s flat.

Mark met her at the doorway wearing his stone-washed jeans and the tightest white t-shirt she had ever seen. His torso was posed liked a Greek statue, all perfectly proportioned muscles and rippling six-pack, and he had a particularly soppy grin on his face. As soon as the door was shut they kissed passionately at the foot of the stairs. When they broke off from kissing he dragged her swiftly up the stairs.

“You’re keen today, big boy.”

“I have a surprise for you.”

She wondered what that could be. Was he going to ask her to pose for him again? Did he have a present for her? She rather hoped not. She liked the fact that they were friends with benefits and nothing more. A present would indicate an escalation of feelings on Mark’s part that would not be welcome. “It’s not a present is it?” she asked breathlessly.

“Well, kind of.”

Her heart sunk. How could she politely refuse, explain the boundaries of their relationship, which hadn’t needed explaining before, without changing the whole dynamics of a relationship that she was enjoying so much. She didn’t want him sulking again. Once was enough.

When they got to his front room, China was shocked and strangely excited to see Esta sitting there on the sofa.

“Ta da,” said Mark gesturing towards Esta.

“Hi Esta,” she said. “But I don’t understand. Why are you here?”

“Mark invited me. I’m your present. He said you like to take charge but was a little nervous. I can help with posing. I can help with taking charge.”

She turned angrily towards Mark. “You told her about us,” she shouted. She had never been truly angry with Mark before. This was a new emotion and the irritation seemed more potent and quicker to rise. Extremes of emotion were an integral part of this stream of her life.

“It was hardly a surprise that we were together. After that night. What would she think? That you were my sister?”

“Not the fact that we were in a relationship. You told her details about our…”

“You seemed to enjoy taking charge, but you had something holding you back.”

“Well if I’m not good enough in bed for you, maybe we’d better end it now.” She was furious and ready to storm out.

“It’s not that at all,” he said, moving toward her, face desperate for reconciliation. He looked like he realized he had made a mistake. “We’re fantastic together. And you seem to be exploring new things. You asked for help in posing. I thought you’d be too embarrassed to ask for help in becoming more dominant.”

The word ‘dominant’ stopped China in her tracks. She hadn’t thought that word would ever apply to her. She knew what it meant, of course. She thought back to their encounters together, their sex. She had taken charge on all of those occasions. She had loved the power of telling Mark what to do, directing him. She was always on top when they had sex, not that this indicated anything. Or did it? She tried to remember each occasion and pin down her feelings. The heady mix of power, control, confidence, and being the centre of attention. She thought carefully and realized that this was in fact consistent with a desire to dominate. Her anger was starting to abate, but she wouldn’t let it go completely. If Mark had thought she was subconsciously becoming a more dominant person, and wanted to push her further in that direction he should have spoken to her first, not this young girl.

“And don’t you think it would have been nice to speak to me about this first?” The anger in her voice was still there, an edge that, in itself, was enjoyable. She was actually relishing being angry at Mark. A new sensation and another one that put him beneath her emotionally.

“I just wanted to give you a nice surprise.”

Mark was as stupid as most men, she realized. She suppressed a laugh. They were all children that couldn’t think through the consequences of their actions, or the implied insult that might result from what they thought of as a ‘nice surprise’. Their hearts were in the right places but their brains were emotionally stunted.

Mark moved closer and pushed her hair from her eyes, testing the water with the lightest of touches. She kept her stern face firmly in place, but inwardly she was softening. Besides, she thought, hadn’t she known herself that there was unfinished business from Thursday night. Maybe this was the opportunity she was waiting for to see that through to its conclusion. Maybe Mark wasn’t so stupid and naïve after all. He may have got it right, for the wrong reasons of course, she wasn’t letting him off the hook that easily. And anyway, as she had just become aware, being angry at Mark might be a useful thing over the next hour or so. He might come to regret his thoughtless thoughtfulness.

“Ok. You’re not out of the woods yet, slave. You have quite some making up to do.”

Did she detect a look of fear flashing across Mark’s face. The word slave came easily to her lips, and felt surprisingly comfortable to say. One thing was sure, Esta was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Shall we begin?” the young girl asked. “The first things to sort out are safe words. Both of you need to give me a safe word.”

China wondered why she would need a safe word at all. She understood what they were. She’d read enough books, and she could guess why Mark might need one. But why her?

Mark grinned and stated his safe word, “Napoleon.” It came too easily to him. He had either been thinking about this, or this was not a new situation for him. Either way, he would pay.

“Why do I need one?”

“Everyone should have one. You never know where play will lead and asking in the middle of the game kinda kills the mood. Mine is Cleopatra.”

Fair enough, China thought. Racking her brains for a word that she could use, a word that wouldn’t be part of normal conversation but she would remember, and then came up with “Devak.”

Mark smirked, getting the joke, but Esta looked at her puzzled. “Devak? Your choice of course,” she shrugged. “Ok, let’s begin. China, you watch what I do. I do this before. Many times. First, you both do as I say or there are consequences, ok?”

They both nodded.

“Now both strip.” Esta remained seated on the sofa, leaning forward watching them, a serious look on her face. Mark instantly started to remove his clothes, and China followed after a couple of moments hesitation. She turned her back to Esta as she removed her blouse.

“No, no, China. You face me. You see me naked before. My turn now.”

It felt weird disrobing in front of a woman who was staring at her every move. But Esta had a point.

“Not very sexy,” Esta said, to China’s horror. “Not you, yourself. You are very sexy lady. But you get undressed like a grandmother. Remember, I am watching. Mark is also watching. Give pleasure at all times. Imagine the camera. Imagine the punter.”

“Sorry,” China started to say but was interrupted by Esta’s stern command.

“No speaking. I did not give you permission to speak.” Being told what to do by this diminutive, pretty Eastern European sent a chilly thrill through China and left her with no choice but to obey. She tried to be more alluring as she took off the remainder of her clothes, imagining, as Esta instructed, that she was in a posing session for Mark’s camera, and remembering the lines and elegance of the girls from that Thursday night. The awkwardness started to dissipate as she got down to her underwear. For some strange reason, taking off her underwear was easier, felt sexier.

Now they were both standing naked in front of the fully clothed young girl. Esta stood up and walked over to them. She walked around them both, studying them. China felt so vulnerable and exposed to this virtual stranger’s looks. At the same time she knew with all her being the immense sense of power that Esta must be experiencing. And the very fact that her body was worthy of attention by this imperious little woman made her feel her own perverted sense of paradoxical supremacy. The feeling of power and vulnerability was invigorating.

China shivered as she felt a light touch run down her naked back. She could feel Esta’s sharp nails scratching the surface of her skin and it bloomed with goose bumps. Then Esta walked over to Mark and stood in front of him, looking down at his semi-erect member. She suddenly reached out and grabbed his whole package tightly in her small hand and squeezed. He bent his knees in pain and a small groan came out. She manipulated him and he grew further despite the rough treatment. China could see that Esta was using her nails, digging them into the flesh, not quite hard enough to break the skin though. Mark looked in pain, but also seemed to be enjoying it. China felt a hint of jealousy, but this only served to electrify her emotions further. She was standing here watching another woman sexually abuse her lover. Her life couldn’t get much stranger, she thought. Is this how Philip would feel if he was watching her with Mark? If so she could see the twisted attraction.

“Bend over,” Esta commanded Mark. He did as he was told. She moved round behind him and caressed his taut buttocks and then gripped the flesh digging her nails in hard. “Come here China.” She moved over to them. “You feel too.”

China grasped Mark’s other buttock in the same way as Esta, feeling her nails sink in to the hard flesh of his well muscled backside. She massaged his bum, relishing his flinches when she dug her nails in too hard for him to bear. Esta drew her hand back and spanked Mark, her hand moving too quick for the eye to see. Mark cried out. “No sound,” she said. “China, punish him.”

China slapped him. She thought she was striking him quite hard, her hand certainly stung from the impact, but she could see disappointment in Esta’s face. She knew she dare not disappoint Esta, not while she was in charge and China stood there naked with a contract of obedience implied between them. So China spanked Mark again, this time putting a lot more effort into the act, fear and sadistic excitement spurring her on. Mark flinched and just about suppressed a grunt of pain. Invigorated by this, China struck again, and again. She must have spanked him six times before Esta stopped her. Looking down, there were actual hand marks on his bum cheeks. China felt proud of this, leaving her mark on her lover turned slave.

“That was better,” Esta said. “But a mistress really ought to know what pain feels like so she can administer it just right. Mark on all fours. China bend over him, lean on him.”

When they were in position, China knew what was coming next and was starting to panic. She almost blurted out her safe word but knew that to do so at this early point in the game would have been pathetic and she would have lost the respect of both of them.

She twitched when she felt Esta slowly caress her bum, fingers lightly tracing circles around her trembling globes of flesh. Then Esta withdrew her touch, and without any warning there was a stinging blow on her right cheek. She remembered the rule and managed to keep quiet by biting down on her lip. Warmth flooded from the area of impact and the stinging subsided quickly. The next blow was even sharper, making her body move and the tiniest of whimpers escape. As she moved in reaction she could feel her breasts and stomach pressing into Mark’s hard back, and the warmth from the two spanks reached deep into her groin. Pain and pleasure combined in an intoxicating combination, but she knew that she would rather be administering the pain than on the receiving end of it. Not only that, she preferred a more cerebral implementation of power. But then she realized that this was an important aspect of what Esta was teaching her. As she laid there over Mark’s naked body, her submissive lover, waiting for a girl much smaller than her, younger than her and quite possibly much prettier than her, to deliver the next punishing slap on her fully exposed and presented backside, fear, anticipation, humiliation and lust all mixed into a potent brew of hormonal excitement that had the nerves in her body humming.

Esta pulled China’s head back by grasping a chunk of her hair and kissed her fully on the lips, pushing her tongue deep into China’s mouth, exploring, pushing against teeth and tongue, permitting her no resistance. Withdrawing, China could feel the girls saliva cold on her lips and running down her chin. “See,” said Esta. “Now you know what it feels like. Painful, but you’ll do no harm to your slave like that. Next time hit him harder. Now get up, the pair of you.”

Esta removed her knickers from under her denim skirt, but otherwise remained clothed. This one difference, them naked, her clothed, was probably the most important point being made in this demonstration of command. They were there for her use, naked, exposed, available in any way she wished to use them.

Esta sat back on the sofa and parted her thighs to reveal her perfectly smooth pussy. “Mark, come over here and please me. China you just watch as your lover licks me.”