Sub for a Week (7 page)

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as Daniel locked the door behind us.
It’s for your own privacy. He isn’t locking it to keep you here.
Yeah, tell that to my nerves and fight or flight instincts.
I take flight for two hundred, Alex.

Taking a steady breath, I was vaguely aware of Daniel standing somewhere behind me. His breath came out in even pants. The same couldn’t be said for my own. It took everything I had to keep my hands from shaking and my teeth from chattering. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous. Now that we were in the room, there was no reason to act this way. Maybe it was because of the cuffs he’d had me wear in the evenings, or maybe it was because I had no idea what he had planned for the evening.

Not everything has to be planned.
In the lifestyle of D/s, it kind of did. Scenes were usually discussed ahead of time, and while the tools used or the sequence of events changed, the play itself was expected.
Anticipated.

That’s when I realized it. I wasn’t nervous or anxious. It was my anticipation and the fact that I had no way of knowing what was coming. I had no past experience to compare it to. No past Doms to use as a reference.

My hands fell to my sides. I clenched my fists.
Opened them when Daniel touched my fingertips.
He stepped off to my right.
In front of me.
To my left.
Behind me.

Circling me, his breathing never changed. His pace remained the same. I’d heard about Doms having control, but this was insane. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much energy it took for him not to freak out or for his breath to catch.

Hell, he hadn’t even reacted to my outfit, and it was completely out of the norm for me.

His fingertips caressed my shoulder as he walked behind me again. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

I swallowed hard.
"N-no."

"Do I make you nervous?"

I nodded.

"Julia, do I make you nervous?"

Fuck.
He wanted a verbal response? How the hell did he expect me to
—

"Julia?" He lifted my chin again. "Answer the question."

"What…" I licked my lips. "What did you say?"

I thought I saw the flicker of a smile pass over his lips, but as quickly as I saw it, it was gone.

"Am I making you nervous?"

As if you can’t tell.
"Yes."

He made a sound of approval and crossed his arms behind his back as he continued his path around me. "Good.
Very good."

I closed my eyes, silently tracking him as he stepped around me. I knew exactly where he was at all times. Listening to him breathe.
Sensing him.
But he never touched me again. And after some time, that lack of contact went from being something that made me flinch to something I craved.

When I opened my eyes again, Daniel was standing in front of me.

"Doing okay?" he asked, wearing the same poker face as before.

"Yes."

"Do you need to run?" He nodded to the door.

I glanced back over my shoulder,
then
grinned at him. "No."

"Just nerves then. Good. That means we can continue. I know this feels slow, but I do it for a reason. The more time I take, the more time you have to back away. Sound good?"

I nodded. "But what do I do if I want you closer?"

Now he did smile. "We’ll get there. For now, we’ll start slow. Are you familiar with any positions?"

"What? Like sex?"

He bowed his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I said
slow
, not fast."

"What positions then?"

"Positions of submission."

I shook my head. Sure, I’d looked them up, but I never really paid attention to what they were called. At least sexual positions were easy—missionary, doggy style, reverse cowgirl—they made complete sense to me.
Submissive positions?
Not so much.

"You really are new to this, aren’t you?" Daniel asked with a bit of a lilt in his voice. "It’s okay. You’ll learn." He rolled his shoulders back, and in that instant, the playfulness I’d sensed in his voice became absent in his eyes. "I’m going to give you a few verbal cues. All I want you to do is obey. Understood?"

Here we go.
We were going to play
Simon
Daniel Says. "Yes."

He cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Yes, what?"

I licked my lips.
Sir?
"Yes, Master."

"Good girl. While we’re in this room or until I say otherwise, I’m your master. I ask you to give me your submission willingly. It’s not something I’ll take from you without your permission. That said, what are your hard limits?"

"Aside from what we already discussed?"
I shook my head.
"Master."

"Yes. Besides deep subspace, which we won’t be getting close to tonight, what are your limits?"

"No marks, Master."

"Meaning with pain play, any marks that are given are to be faint to non-existent. Is this correct?"

"Yes, Master."

"Very well.
Tell me your safe words." He moved again.
To my side.
Behind me.

I drew in a breath and straightened my posture when he pressed a hand against the small of my back.
"Yellow to slow down.
Red to stop, Master."

"Good girl. It’s plain to see you’ve listened during our lessons, but how will you do in person?" Once he was in front of me, he took a few steps back. "I want you to disrobe in front of me.
Ah ah."
He stopped my hand before I could unbutton the top button of my blouse.
"Starting with one garment at a time.
You may continue." He released my hand and went back to where he’d been standing before.

Hyperaware of his eyes on my hands, I willed my fingers to cooperate. Most mornings, I was able to get dressed without any light.
Now?
I could have all the light in the world, and I still would’ve been screwed.

Relax. You’ve done this a million times before.
Yeah, but not in front of a guy I’d just met, and certainly never in front of a Dom. The way Daniel held himself was intimidating enough without him standing there staring at me.
Humiliation.
For Doms, it was just another tool of the trade. And Daniel did it well.

Not only did he have intimidation covered, but also the longer it took for me to undo the buttons, the more I could sense him shifting. That in turn caused my anxiety and anticipation to rise. What did he have planned?
What’s going to happen once you’re undressed?

I’d fantasized about this moment ever since our last meeting. In those fantasies I had no problem stripping down.
Fantasy and reality
aren’t
the same thing.
At least in my daydreams, I had control over my own body. Hell if I could do anything now. With Daniel physically in the same room as me, it almost felt as if my body wasn’t my own.

"Take your time," Daniel murmured, allowing his gentler side to take over for the moment. "Remember your safe words."

I bobbed my head, but kept my eyes fixed on the second button to my blouse. The first one had come undone completely by accident. The second one didn’t take nearly as
long,
and the third even less than that.
One by one, the buttons came undone, and with them, my bunched nerves.

My shoulders started to relax. My hands didn’t shake, and when I concentrated hard enough, I was able to unbutton the buttons at the bottom of my blouse without a problem. Once I was finished, I set my arms to my sides and waited for Daniel’s next order.

"Did I ask you to stop?" Daniel asked after a long moment.

"No, Master."

"Why did you stop then?"

"I wasn’t sure if I’m supposed to—I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to take it off or not, Master."

"I see. I wasn’t very precise in my directions, was I?"

"No, Master."
Don’t tell him no.
"Sorry. I—"

"No, no. You’re right. I didn’t actually tell you what I wanted. It’s okay. You can go ahead and remove your shirt."

Shrugging out of the fabric, I let it fall to the floor near my feet. I didn’t move, shivering from the slight change in temperature even though the lights above us felt as if they’d burn right through my skin.

Daniel stepped toward me and slid his fingertips over my shoulder.
My spine.
To my collarbone on the other side.

His lips were right next to me when he spoke. "You know, when I saw you walk in tonight, I wasn’t sure it was you." He sucked in a breath, and I could almost feel him smiling against my ear. "It’s taken me years to achieve this level of control, even with a sub as tempting as you." His voice faded, and he returned to where he’d been standing earlier. "Now, I want you to take off your skirt—slowly. Let me see that beautiful ass you have hiding underneath."

A tremor ran across my spine, which caused me to flinch from the sudden chill. Daniel just smiled, his eyes fixed on my hands and the direction they were heading. When they reached the top of my skirt, his breath caught. It was a small victory, but a victory all the same. He’d reacted. And if I had to guess, it was about to happen again.

I slipped my fingers over the clasp along the side of my skirt, feeling the cool metal between my thumb and index finger. It would’ve been easy for me to unhook it and pull down the zipper against my hip, but I took my time.

If I could tease him, then maybe I could get that breath to jump a little more. And just as I’d expected, when the clasp finally came undone and the fabric went slack under my touch, Daniel sucked in a breath.

I smiled if only to myself before moving on to the zipper. We both held our breath as the room filled with silence. The sound of the zipper would probably echo off the walls, but neither one of us cared. Just like Daniel had practiced control as he stood in front of me, I did the same. Every fiber in my body wanted to hurry the fuck up. Instead, I slowed down.
Way, way down.

I wanted to enjoy it.
Savor
it. He still hadn’t said what he’d planned for the night, and the sooner I got undressed, the sooner it would end. I wasn’t ready to head back home to my empty apartment and my cold bed. Sleep
be
damned. If the night was going to be as arousing as it was now without any physical contact, I’d happily give up sleep for the rest of the week just to feel him touch me.

The zipper came undone, and looking at Daniel for direction, I let the skirt fall down around my ankles. Once again, I straightened my posture and waited for him to say something, only he never did.

Daniel closed the space between us.
Cupped my face.
Pressed his lips to mine.
My eyes closed, and had he not been standing in front of me, I would’ve melted to the floor.

I grasped at the front of his suit.
Rumpled his clothes.
I leaned against him as I fought against the dizzy spell spurred on by his hungry lips. When we parted, he was just as breathless as I was.

Pressing his forehead to mine, he let his hand trail down to my bra, gently caressing my breast. "I would very much like to see what’s hiding under the rest of your clothes." Then, as if he just remembered where we were, he said, "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes…" I coughed around the tightness in my throat. "Yes, Master."

"Am I making you nervous?"

I pushed a strand of hair out of my eyes. "Something
like
that."

He glared at me, almost as if he was about to correct me, but the terse voice he’d been using never came. As soon as he stepped away, I reached behind my back to unhook the purple bra I’d thrown on. And like before, I let it fall down around my feet just as soon as Daniel nodded his approval.

But when I went to remove the stockings and underwear, his hand wrapped around my wrist.