Soulmates

SoulMates Part Fourteen: My Teacher's Teacher

SoulMates Part Fourteen: My Teacher's Teacher

Next Part Fifteen: Turnabout and Deeper Learning
Previous Part Thirteen: Debits Paid and Accounts Received

Chapter 39 Returning to Work

Monday arrived too damned soon. I was not nearly recovered, but I was going insane watching day upon day of quiz shows, soap operas and talk shows.

The drive to work was not fun. For the first time in my life, I wished for automatic transmission. Clutching used muscles that were still stiff from bruising and subsequent sedentary convalescence. By dint of pure cussedness, I finally arrived at work and got myself settled at my desk long before either Monique or Roselie arrived.

Once they did arrive (and got over their initial righteous indignation that I was not home like a good boy), both women spent the entire damned day watching over me like hawks, or maybe like broody hens.

And treating me like spun glass.

Roselie looked for and found reasons to come into my office regularly. She brought me mail to read and papers to sign, and she'd always arrive just in time to "notice" my emptied coffee cup. She'd just "happened" to have "just" made fresh coffee and naturally, she'd just "happened" to bring the pot with her. Monique, on the other hand, seemed to have something she just could not wait to show me or to discuss with me, just about any time I might normally be heading for her office. Between the two of them, they made absolutely sure that I spent most of the day in my office. I would not have been surprised to see a bedpan show up in my office.

Although I would die before admitting it to those two, it was most likely for the best. By the end of the day, I was exhausted. The more tired I got, the stiffer my hips, knees and ankles became. I think this muscle tightness was due more to my forced inactivity than the original injuries, but by four pm, I was about at my limit. I packed up and stopped at Roselie's desk to discuss the next day's schedule with her before heading for my car. She was still watching me closely and I sat on the edge of her desk making small talk for a bit, trying to allay her concerns.

I was just about to leave, when a petite, older woman strode purposefully into the office, stopping at Roselie's desk. She was blond, going ash, and handsome rather than beautiful. She was stylishly turned out in a black dyed suit of suede, matching heels and a choker of black pearls. Fashion framed glasses made her chocolate brown eyes seem unusually huge. A large shoulder bag hung from her right shoulder. An altogether striking woman, she moved with the easy confidence of someone well in charge of her life.

"Roselie." her voice was low, friendly and interestingly accented. "Good afternoon, dear. Is she in? Ahh. Excellent. Please announce me." Roselie's reaction to this woman and her abnormal request was nothing short of amazing. She shot out of her seat and straight into Monique's office, without knocking, instead of simply using the intercom. She came out just as quickly.

"She is on the phone with the Chairman, Ma'am. Would you like to go in and take a seat, please?" The woman nodded regally and moved to the office door, clearly familiar with the layout.

"She is talking with the Chairman?" my voice shifting upwards in pitch, unbelieving. This was completely counter to Monique's habits and standing direction to myself and Roselie. When she spoke to the Chairman of the Board, no one nonessential to the issue under discussion was ever allowed in her office. No one, period, end of discussion. And yet, she was in there, and Roselie, who knew the rules better than I, gave no indication of surprise or dismay over this turn of events. "Who is she?"

Roselie's answer was an awed whisper. "That's Sondra."

Now I was whispering. "Monique's Sondra?" A jerky, nervous nod answered my query. Now that was surprising since I did not know she was expected. I had yet to meet the lady in my months with Monique. I rather thought Monique would tell me when her obviously well loved friend and teacher planned to visit her.

"Yes. I've only met her a few times." Roselie licked her lips and cast furtive, nervous glances at the closed door. "She tested me in a session once, after Monique had decided I was properly trained." Roselie's voice wobbled slightly as she spoke and that said more about that memory than her words did. "She is very tough, but very, very skilled as a domme. That scene was terrible and wonderful, all at the same time."

I muttered some wordless, affirmative sounding grunt of agreement, while staring at the door to Monique's private office. An altogether impressive lady for all her lack of physical stature, but the question I kept asking was "Why now?" and "Why didn't Monique tell me?" I was sure she would have told me, so this sudden visit from Europe was apparently unexpected.

Twenty years of military service tends to make someone leery of coincidences. With one of those sudden flashes of insight, the answer hit me. Jennifer. Damn the well meaning busybody. Mumbling something to Roselie about having forgotten something important, I tossed my coat back into the closet. Adrenalin was pumping now, and the fatigue of moments ago was not even a memory.

I snatched up a report I had planned to discuss with Monique in the morning. It would do as camouflage, if I needed it. Testing the door between her office and mine, I let out a quiet sigh of relief to find it still unlocked. I cracked the door open as quietly as I could. Monique's office was so huge that, unless they were looking directly at the side door, nothing would give away the fact that the room was no longer sound proof.

".....can't believe this, Monique." The French-German accented voice was no longer as soft and sweetly gentle as it had been for Roselie. Monique was getting a masterful chewing out. "Jennifer said that on top of not recognizing and honoring his code word, on top of continuing a scene he was no longer able to handle or willing to participate in, you corporally punished him for his supposed failures and lack of trust in you to the point that he was able to move from his bed for a week. That is unforgivable, Monique..."

I stepped into the office, viewing a tableau that was out of the ordinary, to say the least. Monique stood like a penitent child beside her desk. Her head was bowed, her hands were clasped in front of her, her body was turned toward Sondra, who was seated in Monique's leather desk chair. The older woman looked very much the stern judge looking over the accused prior to pronouncing sentence. Well, that, at least, explained why the electric locks had not been set. Monique would have set them; Sondra probably did not know about them or how to activate them. I slammed the door closed with a force that brought both women snapping upright, out of their reverie, and had them spinning towards me in surprise. "No it is not." I stated firmly, "In fact, it is already forgiven." Ignoring the pulling of stiff muscles, I continued moving toward Monique's desk, trying to move normally.

I reached the desk, and without being asked or acknowledged, settled into my usual chair. I faced Sondra with a sense of calm self control that surprised even me.

"Who is this?" She demanded imperiously at Monique.

The question was directed at Monique, not me, but I answered anyway. "I am the man you were just discussing."

Sondra's brown eyes went wide, then became narrow and stern behind her huge glasses. Her voice dripping with royal dismissal, she waved me away. "This does not concern you. I will meet you when you are physically able to stand up to the testing I will demand of you."

I shook my head, smiling gently. I had played too many power games in the for-real world to be run off over this, or by this woman. "Wrong on both counts, Sondra. May I call you Sondra? I am Nathan, by the way. In any case, if this is about something that has transpired between Monique and me, then it concerns me far more than it does you. As to your other statement, that is doubly wrong. We are meeting now, and you won't ever test me."

My calm assertion caught her off guard, for she sat quietly for several long moments, simply staring at me in puzzled concentration. "I must be mistaken, then." she said, irony dripping from her tones, "You are not submitting to my student, Monique, then?"

I grinned at her obvious ploy and shook my head. "I am, but I submit to no one else."

"Then you are the one who is mistaken, sir. Understand, young man, if you submit to my student, then you will submit to me. In so doing, you prove your commitment to her, and prove her worth to me."

"No, it is you, I am afraid, who does not understand. Neither of those issues require further proof."

A delicately shaped brow arched in challenge. "And if I disagree?

"Then we agree to disagree, but you will still be wrong."

"Perhaps. But if she ordered you to present yourself to me?"

I shook my head. "She won't." I said with absolute confidence.

Monique looked up for the first time, glancing first at me before turning back to face Sondra. "He is correct, Mistress. I will never order Nathan to present himself to you."

If Sondra was surprised by that declaration, she did not show it. She merely turned her attention back to me and renewed her attack. "She might still ask it of you, sir. Would you deny her that if she wanted it of you?"

"She won't ask. We have an agreement on that score." I considered for another moment, then smiled and repeated "She will not ask it of me."

Sondra fell silent, regarding the two of us studiously. Feeling the need to do something. I stood up, caught Monique's hand in mine and pulled her gently to the chair with me. I settled her into my lap. Unfortunately, I could not completely mask the grimace of pain when she landed on my legs, stressing my sore knees and hips. Not the best move on my part for me, but Monique looked grateful for the support of physical contact.

Sondra watched that and spoke. "How very strange. She has always sent her submissives to me for final testing."

I grinned. "I think you will find, Sondra, that I am unique in many ways."

My mild irreverence brought Sondra's brows up again. "Yes, well, perhaps we shall see. However, sir, why have you interrupted us?" She was trying to regain control of our confrontation and I could not permit that. I decided to continue the flippancy.

"I thought I had business in here, and one of the perks of my job is cart blanche to enter through that door when it is unlocked."

Sondra's eyes swiveled to Monique who nodded slightly, verifying my story. She turned back to face me directly. "And your business?"

In other words, get it over with and get out of here, Nathan, my lad. "My business here? Monique. You. Me. You were discussing me when I came in, remember? Once I realized who you were, and that I had not been warned to expect your arrival, I guessed that Jennifer might have been talking to you about the two of us. As I understand the relationship you and Monique share, you periodically drop by to call Monique to accounts for her little failures. I suspect, based on the timing of your arrival, that you are here to discipline Monique for what happened last week. And I cannot permit that to happen."

Sondra settled deeper into the chair, giving every indication that she was fully in command of this confrontation. She would have made a hell of a ship's captain or command master chief. "And if I am? That is certainly an issue that is solely between Monique and me, between student and Mistress. Any correction or retraining of my student is not the concern of a submissive, even her submissive."

I kept my voice steady. She might never session me, but she was testing me. I had been through much the same thing a hundred times with a hundred bosses. She was good, this Mistress of Monique's, but when it came to this type of power game, I had been already faced and faced down the very best. She was not up to my weight in this arena. "Wrong. I am the only one concerned. As far as I am concerned, Sondra, you two can play any game or scene you want, but if you show the slightest inclination of bringing what happened between me and Monique into your interactions, then I will stop it and you."

She chuckled. It was a sardonic, derisive sound. "Very Strong words, sir, very strong indeed. You honestly believe you could do that? Amazing. Young man, I have been keeping men like you at bay and in their place all of my adult life. You would not stand a chance of stopping me."

Her mocking laughter was meant to goad me to anger. I merely widened my smile. "Now who is underestimating whom? Don't mistake me or my motivations, Sondra. Don't confuse me with anyone you may be used to dealing with. Don't think for an instant that you can get around me on this or get away with what you may be planning. What this thing is - is between us, between Monique and me. Payment must be between the two of us. You have no place and no rights in this situation."

"A pretty speech. Hard to back up, but very pretty none the less. Does it make you feel better, more powerful to make such statements?"

"Mistress?" Monique spoke up.

Sondra's gaze snapped to her. "Yes?" she snarled, annoyance at the interruption in her attack on me coloring that single word question.

"What Nathan just said, Mistress, about himself, is true and you should believe him. One thing I have learned about Nathan Evans is that he never makes idle boasts. He never gives a warning he is not able or willing to back up. I have never met anyone more straight forward or more capable of doing exactly what he says than him. He surprises me on a daily basis."

Her forehead wrinkling at that assertion by her student, Sondra's tones became speculative. "And you permit him to threaten me? Your Mistress and your friend?"

I interceded again. "I am not threatening you, Sondra. I don't waste time or emotion making threats. I am merely telling you that you are to stay out of this aspect of our relationship and that I consider the issue under discussion to come under that heading. You are welcome in our lives, Sondra, as friend, as confidante, as play partner, whatever gives you and Monique pleasure, but you are not welcome if you come as judge, jury and executioner. At least not when the issue involved is one that is rightfully between Monique and me."

Sondra's face showed surprise for the first time. "Is he for real?"

Monique smiled for the first time, also. Her hand tightened in mine. "Oh, yes, Mistress, very very for real."

Sondra shook her head in disbelief. "And he submits to you?"

Monique turned to look into my eyes. She bent down and kissed me gently before turning back to face Sondra. "He tries to submit, Mistress, but he is really not very submissive at all. It is his nature to lead, and he is very good at it. He tries to submit to me, because I have told him I need it and because I have asked it of him. He tries, Mistress. Perhaps, he tries too hard, because so far, he merely endures what I do to him. Submission of any type is so completely alien to his basic nature." Monique shook her head, as if this was a sudden revelation for her. "As yet, I have not been able to find the gift that I, as domme, can give him that matches what he gives to me."

"I see." Sondra said softly. "and this frustrates and hurts you, doesn't it, Monique?" All traces of steel had disappeared from her voice. She sounded almost .... maternal. "Something that is so important to you, something that fulfills you deeply, something that is essential in making you the woman that you are, is not connecting with the man. The man who is more important to you than anything else. It is not enough for him to try for you, to endure for you. You want to share that exaltation, share that joyful fulfillment with him." Monique shifted uncomfortably on my lap. Her hand became rigid in mine. Sondra had evidently scored a direct hit on the crux of my love's dilemma.

Sondra turned her eyes back to me. "And you, Nathan. You do not fear me in the least, do you?" Her voice was calm, but puzzled.

"Not really. You cannot hurt me. I won't give you that power."

"Interesting choice of words - "give me that power". In other words, I can only hurt you if you permit it?"

"Sondra. I am a career warrior - a good one. I can protect myself in any situation except those in which I am restrained either physically or emotionally. I won't permit you the former, and I don't care for you in any way that you could do the latter.

She nodded in understanding and acceptance. "But Monique, she can hurt you, eh? And has, at least twice if Jennifer is in the right of it. Even as you sit there, trying not to squirm from lingering discomfort, you still bear the mark of her careless misuse of the power you permit her to wield." Monique blanched at the blunt statement from her mentor.

"You are always vulnerable when you love, Sondra. The physical pain is transitory. Losing her would have hurt much worse and would have lasted for much longer."

"So you let her blackmail you emotionally into something like that abominable session that Jennifer told me about?"

I shrugged. "I had to get her to talk to me again. I could not think of any other way."

Sondra nodded at my response, then closed her eyes and shook her head sadly. "What she did was terribly, terribly wrong, Nathan. From the start, she did not listen to you. Not when you used your safe word, not when you tried to discuss what went wrong, not when you tried to ask her forgiveness. If she is not connecting with you during your regular sessions, then she was not communicating with you there either. There are many ways to run a scene, Nathan, to dominate someone. The approaches and games used by a good top with a subject who is not really submissive are very different than those for someone truly into the submissive headspace. Monique is an excellent top, a wonderfully talented domme who knows how to reach someone who is merely bottoming to her. She has tried to make you into something that you evidently are not. In doing so, she has hurt you because she violated the basic tenets of her training and her craft."

I hugged Monique. Her mentor's words were hurting her far more than any physical punishment Sondra would consider doling out to her. "Perhaps she does, Sondra. But remember that she has only known me for six months, and we have only been intimate for five of them. What she has just told you about me, is probably a fairly recent insight for her. And she has tried to help me find that headspace with her in a session. I know that. You should, too, Sondra. You trained her."

Sondra became silent. I wanted to shift in my seat, but squelched the desire. I would not, could not give this woman any edge. Finally, she smiled. "Yes, well, we shall have to see, won't we." She stood and reached for her bag. "Monique, I am hungry. You know how little I like flying and I have not eaten since leaving Zurich. Shall we take your young man out for some food and conversation?"

The change in direction left me momentarily perplexed, but Monique, evidently used to her friend's mercurial changes of mood, jumped up from my lap and straightened her dress. "Yes, of course, Mistress. What would you like?"

A totally impish grin transformed the older woman's face. I gaped at the sudden change from stern prosecutor to mischievous woman-child. "Some of your Americanized-Mexican food. No where else in the world can you get food like that, least of all in Mexico."

Monique shook her head, laughing at what I saw was private joke between the them. "Why am I surprised. I will call for a table."

When she reached for the phone, Sondra pulled a small box from her bag and placed it in front of Monique. "Excellent, dear. And you will take care of this for me?"

Monique never missed a beat as she reached for the phone. "Of course, Mistress."

I frowned at the box, and turned to Monique. "Monique?" I was using my "CO" voice. She stopped and turned back to me, her eyes wide in surprise. I had never used that tone of voice with her before. Even Sondra's eyes went wide. "You will not permit any discipline or payment for what is between us and us alone that I do not personally approve of before hand. Do you understand?"

The comical look of shocked bewilderment on Monique's face was almost worth what I had gone through at her hands. "Do you understand?" I repeated, now very quietly.

She swallowed, and brought her hand back from the phone. She looked back and forth from Sondra to me and back again. Then she looked at the box on the desk in front of her. Finally, she nodded. "Yes, Nathan. I understand."

Not enough, I thought. I had been through Monique's little games of grammar and clarity of speech, before. She had not agreed to acquiesce to my demand, merely acknowledged comprehension of what I had said. That response was not enough to assure what I wanted. "And you will comply. Correct?"

Another pause, and then, another shaky nod. "Yes, Nathan. I will comply."

Sondra had been watching this exchange with undisguised amusement. "So, that is the way of it, is it?" she chuckled. "Excellent. And Nathan?" I broke eye contact with Monique and looked at the petite blond. "The contents of that box are not intended as punishment for this or any other infraction. They are more in the way of a reminder, is all." Then her eyes crinkled into suppressed laughter. "And perhaps, a gift for you, later on. One I think you will find quite to your liking." Her smile became mysterious, but when I looked to Monique, I found no hint in her look, either. Perhaps because as she clutched the small jewelry box to her chest, she steadfastly refused to meet my eyes with hers.

Chapter 40 Dining with Your Domme's Domme

Monique drove us to a small Tex-Mex place in Arlington. Roselie had been pointedly curious about what was going to happen, but Monique had shoo-ed her off to home when we exited Monique's office to find her waiting anxiously at her desk. We would have many questions to answer next time we saw her.

Dinner was pleasant; the conversation even more so. Sondra was a delightful dinner partner. Intelligent and witty, and possessed of a sharp sense of humor, she eased what anxiety I still had about the evening very quickly. Her effervescence more than made up for Monique's uncharacteristic quiet at the meal. I thought about it, and put it down to the lingering effects of the confrontation earlier in her office. In any event, though, for me the hours passed quickly until Sondra asked if we could call it an evening. "Darlings, my day began almost twenty hours ago, and at my age, I need my beauty sleep." I was starting to remember how tired I had felt at the end of the work day, too, so I was relieved when Sondra asked to call it a night.

Over Monique's objections, Sondra insisted on going to her hotel. Much to my surprise, it was not our hotel, but rather a luxury hotel in Crystal City. I escorted Sondra to the door, over her objections. "Look, Sondra, I used to work in this area, and no matter how tough you may be, there is no point in taking unnecessary chances." She finally acquiesced and I walked her to her suite door where she surprised me by going up on her tiptoes and planting a kiss on my cheek.

"I like you, Nathan Evans. And I think you are good for my Monique. Certainly better than any of the other males I have seen her with. You, I think, are strong enough to be there for her when she needs you. Nothing against them, they were fine men, but I think you will be able to give her more." Her eyes seemed to go unfocused for just a second before pinning me with laser sharpness. "Yes. I think you will do, quite well, in fact. Have fun tonight, dear. Don't waste my efforts on your behalf." With that, she disappeared into her room, leaving me just a bit baffled behind her.

I rejoined Monique in the car. "Why is she here? Why not at our place?"

Monique pulled back into traffic and headed for Interstate 66. "She likes being closer to the airport, for one reason. The real reason is that when she tests me, she does not want to take the chance of being discovered at my place of business. Everyone knows me at our hotel and getting caught there would destroy my reputation and my career. She won't use my facilities, the ones in my basement, to correct me." She stopped for a moment remembering how I had first learned of those facilities, before continuing hurriedly. "Professional courtesy, she says. I go to Switzerland about once a year, for her birthday and for a real workout in her dungeon. Usually, when she is here, she will give me a thorough going over with her strap. The suite she takes there is next to the hotel's honeymoon suite, which is specially sound insulated for the benefit of exuberant newlyweds. The insulation works both ways so she can discipline me fully, so long as I am properly muted and she is careful. I will have to spend the night because I usually can't sit well enough to travel immediately afterwards."

I sat in her car, quietly thinking over what she had said. "She is going to test you while she is here, then?"

"Yes. She always does. Before you interrupted us, she had told me she is staying for about ten days. I suspect I will be called to present myself for a full session this weekend. Perversely, I usually fear it and usually want it. Although it will be very intense, doing it ... I don't know, proves I still can take what I dish out? That is important to me. And, as I have said, she is wonderfully skilled. It will be just as intensely pleasurable as it is intensely painful."

We rode in silence for a few miles. I did not want to go home alone, tonight, but I had never invited myself to her home before, and I did not want to use what guilt she might feel as a lever. I was still struggling with myself when she broke into my mental debate. "Nate?"

I turned to her and saw her watching me out of the corner of her eye as she drove down the road. "Yes?"

"Please, come home with me tonight? Tomorrow, I have to face Sondra, again. She will start my preparations for the weekend, then. I would like to be held and maybe loved tonight?" Her voice was wistful, almost pleading.

It was a tailor made opportunity to be magnanimous, to be one up, and I could not do it. "Monique, I have been sitting here trying to figure out how to get invited. I don't know how much I can do, because I am tired and still kind of sore. Still, I would love to love you tonight, and I can't think of anything better than sleeping with you in my arms." The car perceptively sped up.

"Thank you, Nate. I can't either."

Chapter 41: Loving a Dommed Domme

At her house, it quickly became apparent to me that something was going on, that Monique was up to something. She was so.... I don't know.... I guess kittenish is the best word. She was doing her level best to tease me. If it had been Roselie acting like this, I would not have been surprised, but it was completely out of Monique's character to play the coquette. She was usually very straightforward in the statement of her needs and desires. For a woman, she was rather remarkably unsubtle.

But tonight, she was very different. It was seduction, with all the props, from the word 'go', soft music, a gently flickering fire in the hearth, candlelight and a floor length satin nightgown that clung to every inch of her, hiding nothing and everything. I found myself lounging on the floor by the fire, with my arms and senses filled with Monique. Finally, I could not stand it anymore. I had to know what was going on. "Monique, why? Why are we replaying one of Rudolf Valentino's love scenes?"

My answer was a toe-curling kiss, and a hand gently massaging my penis through my trousers. "Nathan, please, just make love with me? Please?" Her voice throbbed with need and kindled a like need in me.

I may be curious and suspicious, but I am not stupid. I started making fervent love to the woman I loved. I began kissing my way down her throat, circling her neck with my lips and tongue, stopping to nibble gently at the sweet crescents of her ears. My fingers led my mouth down, into the decollete of her gown and into the uncovered valley between her soft breasts. I pulled at the soft, elastic bodice and uncovered her treasures.

And stopped cold.

Her nipples were unusually erect, unusually dark and red, unusually firm. They were also sporting twin earrings of the type my mother used to wear before she got her ears pierced. They were little diamond, screw-on earrings, and they were screwed on very tightly indeed. I touched one with the tips of my finger, while I touched the other with my tongue. Monique shuddered quite deliciously. I scooted back up to look her squarely in the eyes. "How long?"

She did not pretend to know what I meant. "Since before dinner. When I went to the bathroom before we left for the restaurant. Remember Sondra went with me? She was making sure they were on properly."

I lifted one of them, gently, to examine it in the dancing fire light. "This is what was in the jewelry box?" She nodded, her eyes tightly closed against the sensation that evidently flooded back into her breast whenever those little toys were moved. "Why haven't you taken them off? We are home, now."

She shook her head, biting her lower lip, before gasping out quietly. "Couldn't. Mistress said they are a gift to you. I am not allowed to touch them, or tell you to take them off. I cannot even ask you to take them off."

My eyebrows lifted at this. "What happens if I take them off you?"

She smiled at me, love glistening in her eyes. My breath caught at the very sight of it. "They, and I, are yours for the night, my love. Where you want them, where you put them, they stay until you, or Sondra, take them off me. I cannot touch them, except where they touch me, that is."

"And if I do not take them off? Or if I leave them on you some other place?" I reached up to tweak her nose.

Monique swallowed at the thought of such a visible emblem. "Then, Sondra will have to remove them, love."

I pulled gently at one, then the other. Monique held herself very still and closed her eyes in concentration as I played with them. "They look, well, they seem very tight, dear."

"They are. Like I said, Sondra made sure when I put them on. She gave each an extra twist so, as she said, we could be sure they would not fall off."

It was then that I remembered how antsy Monique had been at dinner, and considered the length of the gown she had chosen for her seduction. "So, Monique, tell me. Are there more of these little gems?" I bent down and nibbled my way around her left aureole, then her right. She went rigid and squeaked softly.

"I can't saaaayyyy." she hissed out. "You will have to find that out for yourself."

I could not leave that challenge go unanswered. Her gown was soon draping the nearest couch. She was wonderfully, delightfully bare on the thick hearth rug. Glittering in the fire's light were three more jewels, one on each of her pussy lips and the third on her hard, erect clitoris. I could not resist licking around the ear-bob that was tightly screwed onto the core of her feminine pleasure. In spite of herself, she lifted her hips to meet my teasing, probing tongue. I slipped back up to cradle her in my arms.

"You know, love, there is nothing there to prevent me from loving you and leaving those where they are."

"Yesssss. But Nate, I still want to make love with you, now, even if you decide you want me to wear these, or even if you decide to tighten or move them."

Now I became suspicious. Was she following orders? Was this Sondra's gift? "Because she ordered you to make love with me?"

Her response was immediate and emphatic. "No! Because I want to make love with you. Because I want to love you. Because I want you to love me."

I bit her softly on the nipple, eliciting another squeal. She is dripping wet on my fingers as I fondle her tenderly. "You are excited, love." I thought about it a moment. "Love? Tell me why?"

She thought for a moment, then answered. "Because I have been teased by those things all evening, and by the thought that they were put there for you, the man I love more than anything or anyone else. Every little movement reminded me of what I wanted to do tonight. Every little twinge reminded me that I was female and that I was yours."

"If we make love, and I do not remove them, will you still cum?"

Her eyebrow rose challengingly. "Did you?" She asked, reminding me of my own recent experiences with nipple teasing. I had indeed cum - hard.

"But without the excitement, the arousal and sexy tension, they will hurt, won't they?" A jerky nod answered me. I had her now. "I am going to make mad passionate love to you, darling. I am going to start with those little toys still on you, just to remind you who you belong to, but I will make a deal with you."

"What kind of deal?" she asked warily.

"I will have all five of those little buggers off your sweet body by the time we are finished if you make me a little promise."

"What?" Her voice was short. She was anxious to get on with the main event. My love's fuse was burning might short.

"All you have to do is promise me that if Sondra tries to punish you for that weekend, you will safe word her. She cannot very well proceed with anything if you do what she wants to punish you for ignoring with me."

Monique sat straight up and looked down at me. The rapid rise and fall of her gorgeous breasts indicating how excited she really was. "What?!?! Nate, I have never safeworded her. Not even during the worst training sessions. I can't..." She shrugged her shoulders and then grimaced as the movement shook the pinching earrings biting her swollen nipples.

I shrugged. "Okay, then you will go to bed tonight a very satisfied, very sore little dominatrix tonight, love, because I am going to drive you mad tonight. But, don't worry. Sondra will probably take them off for you tomorrow." I considered for a moment. "Sometime, anyway." I reached for her, and pulled her down into a smoldering kiss that shook me as much as it did her. "And you did say you were mine. Hmmmmm.. How many times can you cum, love? I have always wanted to know that."

"Oh, Nate, you wouldn't...." she was trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince me.

"Maybe." I smiled down at her. "But then again, maybe I would." I toyed with the rings on her pussy lips. "Those little toys are going to feel mighty tight after your fourth or fifth orgasm, love." With that, I teased her clit and labia with my fingers, hitting the magic points she had so carefully taught me. She went taut, every muscle straining as her first orgasm took her without warning. It was beautiful to watch.

She came down slowly, because I was already teasing her, arousing her, using all the skill I had and all the love I felt for her to bring her back to the edge. "How will it feel, love?" I whispered in her ear, "Tell me. How will it feel when you are limp and replete? When you can't even muster the energy for another cum?"

Her answer was a sibilant hiss of desire, longing and need. "Awful, damn you, and you damn well know it, too."

I laughed softly, knowing I would win, now. "Yes, darling, but who taught me?"

"Damn you, Nathan Evans, I did! And damn me, too, for being too good a teacher. All right! I promise! If she starts to punish me, I will safe word her and stop it."

"Thank you, sweetheart. I love you!" and I proceeded to show her how much. I brought her to five more orgasms that night. Each orgasm signaled the removal of one of the earrings as she was locked in the embrace of her climax.

The last one, during which I took from her the ring on her clitoris, was the best. I finally undressed myself and took her from behind, loving her slowly with hands, mouth and cock. I tickled her gently on the ribs, fondled her still supersensitive nipples, nibbled the base of her neck and licked her spine. Slowly, she built up towards one last explosion. I could feel her, literally gripping me with the muscles at the core of her femininity. I was too excited, I was going to lose it. Frantically, I reached under her and undid the last ring and made a last, all out assault on her. It was just in the nick of time, but it was in time.

She exploded, screaming her love for me, and I answered her explosion and her avowal of love. We collapsed on the rug, still joined together.

Dawn's light, creeping in the large windows of the den, roused us in time to clean up for work. I kept the ear rings. After all, she had told me they were mine.

Chapter 42: My Domme Gets Dommed - Aftermath

That intensely emotional and physical experience had other, unexpected results. I felt almost human again. Oh, if I moved too suddenly, I still felt it, but for the most part, our fiery love had burned the better part of the residual discomfort away.

It was fortunate that I had a few suits at Monique's now, otherwise we would have been late for work. As it was, we just barely beat a wildly curious Roselie into work. She immediately cornered both of us and demanded to know what had happened.

"Nothing happened, Rosie-bottom. I am fine, Nathan is fine. We went out to dinner, then we took Sondra to her hotel, and we went home."

Roselie remained unconvinced and said so, much to Monique's exasperation. "Roselie, look at Nate. Does he look like someone whose bottom has faced Sondra's skills? Do I??" Furtive glances told us that Roselie was not at all certain. "Rosie, the only way I can prove it to you is to pull up my skirts and drop my panties. If I have to do that in order to get some work done around here today, your bottom is going pay the price of admission for that little bit of show-and-tell this coming Thursday night, and I won't let you have sick leave on Friday."

Her face flushed crimson and she stamped her foot. "Monique!" Roselie's tones were outraged, and perhaps, just a little hurt.

Monique realized that she had perhaps gone a little too far and went over to hug her petite friend. "I am okay, love. Honest. I have to face her this weekend, but it won't be anything more than usual."

"But,.. But,.. Monique, what about the thing with Nate....? Isn't she going to deal especially harsh with you over that?"

Monique's eyes came up to meet mine, her brows raised, asking permission. I nodded. One slender finger tipped Roselie's chin up so her eyes met Monique's. "Rosie-bottom, it will be no worse than any other time. I will tell you a secret. Nathan won't let me accept punishment from Sondra for that weekend."

Roselie's eyes went wide and darted from me to Monique and then back to me again before looking finally at Monique. "Nate??? Nate won't let you be corrected by your Mistress?" Her voice was cracking in her surprise.

Monique smiled and shook her head. "Nope. He has made me promise to safe word anything that resembles punishment for that transgression from Sondra. He has insisted with both Sondra and me that whatever is to come out of that abysmal affair is between the two of us and only the two of us. However," and she sighed expressively, "I have enough other things on my tally to make this weekend fairly tough, but I won't face her for that, love. Honest."

Roselie looked at me with something that was akin to awe. "He asked that of you? That you would use your safe word in a scene with Sondra? And you agreed?"

Monique simply nodded. "She promised me, Roselie." I affirmed again for Roselie's benefit. I wondered how much of her anxiety was her own feelings of guilt over her part in Monique's machinations. I filed that for future investigations. "She will be fine. It is over."

Monique looked at me over her friend's head and shook her head. "Not quite, Nathan. I promised I would not let anyone else discipline me for that sin against us, but you, my love, you will decide what penance is owed. You will decide and you will extract that penance from me." She hugged Roselie again, and then spun her toward the door and swatted her skirted tush. "Now, let's get to work, here, people. Sondra is calling on me for lunch today and I need to have my desk clear for a long lunch." With another disbelieving glance in my direction, Roselie headed out of the office.

That day set the plan for the remainder of the week Sondra was there. Monique and I would work feverishly to get the bulk of the work that needed Monique's input done as quickly as possible, so that she could leave at about 11am or so for a long lunch with her friend. She would return each day, by 1pm or so, to finish the remainder of the day's work, and to keep appointments that could not be rescheduled for after Sondra's return to Switzerland. A little after 4pm, Sondra would breeze into the office, smile at Roselie, blow me a kiss and then march directly into Monique's office. About forty five minutes later, Sondra would slip into my office, tell me that Monique was ready to go home, kiss me on the cheek, and leave.

Tuesday afternoon, it never occurred to me that Sondra had meant anything more than that Monique was, in fact, just "ready to go home". We had come to work together, after all, and I had fostered hopes that we would be going home together. What I thought Sondra meant was that Monique had asked her to stop by and let me know we were leaving, hopefully, for her place again. What Sondra had really meant was that the first of a series of daily Monique-surprises was ready for me.

When I walked into the office, Monique turned to greet me. She already had her coat on, and her purse was slung over her shoulder. Her hands were nonchalantly resting in the pockets of her stylish winter coat. She smiled at me, a strange, oddly shy smile. Uncertain, now, I stopped in my tracks. "Ready?" I asked for want of something better to say. She nodded, still smiling that unusual smile, still enigmatically quiet. I shrugged and moved from the door to my office towards the door to the reception area.

"Nathan..." The quietly pleading tone in her voice brought me up short.

"Yes?" I was feeling very wary now.

"Would you mind driving me home, tonight, please? You could drive my car?" The opportunity to drive Monique's sporty import was something I had been itching for and accepted quickly. I headed toward the door when she stopped me again. "Nate, would you carry my attache case, please?"

My hand on the doorknob, I looked back at her, somewhat vexed with her strange behavior now. However, the chance to drive her car had what was left of my adolescent male instincts running on override and I was not going to lose that chance by being churlish about carrying her case for her.

Roselie had already left and we went quickly to the secure part of the parking garage where employees park. I tried the door to the gleaming black Mercedes and found it locked. Hand outstretched for the keys, I turned back to Monique. She made no move to give them to me. Car or no car, this had gone about far enough. My annoyance with these silly games began to show. "Monique," I said quietly, "If I am going to drive, I need the keys."

"They are in my purse, Nathan." Her voice was just a little breathless, and a bit reedy. What the hell was going on?

"Then why don't you give them to me, Monique?" I asked with heavy irony.

This time, she sighed heavily. "Because I can't, Nate." She looked about us, checking to see if anyone was nearby, then pulled her hands out of pockets of her coat.

They did not come out. Instead, the entire overskirt of the coat lifted with her hands. "Sondra handcuffed me. She cut the pockets out the coat so that my hands go all the way inside the coat when I put them in the pockets. She had me put on the coat, slip my purse over my shoulder and then handcuffed me inside the pockets. Once I was restrained, she buttoned up the coat and sent you in."

"Where are the keys?" I asked, slightly stunned.

She looked at me strangely. "I just told you, in my purse."

I just shook my head. "Okay, let me get you loose and..."

She cut me off with an emphatic shake of her head. "Not those keys, Nathan. My car keys are in my purse. The keys to the cuffs are not in there. Sondra has them, or at least, I hope she has them." She was not sure.

"Fine." Evaporating dreams of another night of love making made me snap at her. "What happens then? You spend the whole night in those clothes?" I was rummaging in her purse for the car keys. "We will go to Sondra's and get the damned keys." I opened the car door and helped Monique into the seat, remembering to belt her in before slamming the door.

"We can't." Monique said quietly as I got in. "She is going out tonight with a friend. I don't know where they are going, but she probably won't be back until late." There went my plans for the night. Not to mention the fact that Monique was going to be damned uncomfortable in that coat all night. "Nate?"

"Yes, Monique?"

She bent awkwardly across the center console, getting as close to my ear as the seat belt and her bondage would permit. "I really don't like this coat very much." Her whisper was pure feminine enticement. I bent closer to hear her better and she nipped playfully at my ear. "Would you mind very much cutting it off me? Once it is off, these bracelets won't limit me too much." Mirth and invitation danced in her eyes.

I looked down at the sleekly tailored, knee length suede coat. It had probably cost more than I made in a month while on active duty, and she was offering it up, along with an implied promise of sensual delights, as if it were of no concern at all. To a woman of her wealth, it probably was not. As for me, I was just a bit agitated and the cost of that coat did not concern me that much just then, either. "Maybe." I said, starting the powerful engine and slipping it into gear for the drive home. "Maybe, if you ask me nicely enough."

She did ask - very nicely indeed.

We arrived at her house and I set about getting her out of the coat with a pair of scissors. The suede was too strong and we finally had to use a very sharp kitchen knife to get her out of that coat. We spent the remainder of the evening playing little games around the loss of her hands. I hand fed her dinner. She kissed me and teased me with just her lips. I stripped her (with her willing permission) rather forcefully. It was not only her coat that would need replacing after this evening's fun and games. She undressed me, with only the limited movement of her hands and mouth. Fortunately, her hands were cuffed in front of her, so that when it came time to consummate the evening, I was able to slip into her forced embrace for the loving and the post climax cuddling in front of the fire.

At about 11:30, the doorbell rang. Wondering who it was, and concerned for Monique's safety, I quickly dressed and moved to the door to see who it was. A uniformed woman stood outside. I recognized the uniform as belonging to a twenty four hour courier service that we used in the Washington DC area. I unlocked the dead bolt and opened the door on the chain. She smiled at me and read from her clipboard. "Mr Nathan Evans?" Surprised, I merely nodded. "Sir, I have an immediate delivery parcel for you. Would you please sign for it?" She handed the clipboard and a large manilla envelope through the cracked open door. I signed the receipt and passed it back to her along with a tip. She smiled and left while I locked back up.

Bemused, I went back to Monique in the den. "Who was that? And What do you have in your hand, Nathan?"

I ripped open the envelope. A small, black key fell silently onto the rug in front of the hearth. The envelope was otherwise empty. Picking up the key, I unlocked the handcuffs holding Monique's wrists together. "I think that means we are supposed to go to bed now, love." She laughed and led me to her bed.

And so it went for the remainder of the week. On Wednesday afternoon, Monique was waiting in her office with fine, golden chains connecting her loop earrings to a set of nipple clamps that were locked snugly onto her beautiful breasts. Her blouse and bra were nowhere to be found. We left with her coat and a scarf the only things that hid her tormenting little gifts. As on Tuesday, the keys arrived late that night by messenger. On Thursday, Monique's normal contact lens had been replaced with opaque ones, blinding her. Monique or I could have removed them, but Monique asked me not to, since Sondra had orchestrated the evening's scene. I had to lead Monique to her car by having her hanging on my arm. If the rumors about us had been heating up before, the sight of us leaving the office, cozily arm in arm, started the gossip blazing away.

On Friday, however, I almost lost it. I entered the office, not sure what to expect, but thinking I was prepared for just about any thing Sondra could dream up. I was wrong. I gaped, the door half open behind me when I saw Monique, completely bare with the exception of an unusually high pair of stiletto heels, from the waist down. "What the hell...?"

Monique blushed at my undisguised appraisal of her charms. "Sondra's orders. Tomorrow, I present myself to her for training and corrections. Until she releases me, I am not allowed to cover myself with panties, skirts, slacks or hosiery from the waist down. Except for shoes, all I am allowed is my coat for the trip home and for the trip into her hotel tomorrow."

"But, ...."

Monique smiled at my confusion. "This is usual, dear. Sondra wants me to be aware of my bottom, to think about our session and what she plans for me ever odd moment from now until it happens." She looked down at her bare buttocks and legs and grimaced slightly. "Trust me, it works." She blushed even brighter and swallowed. "It also makes me very horny. Could we go home now? Please?" The look she gave me made me instantly hard.

Neither of us slept very much that night. We made love as soon as we arrived home. It was a frantic, furious affair and I was afraid for a moment I had hurt her. She quickly alleviated that worry, as she did her level best to arouse me to a repeat performance. At forty two years old, I am not used to making love twice in an hour, but then, Monique is a very special and talented lady. If her response is any indication, I managed to exceed myself with that performance.

We went to bed, but did not sleep more than a few snatches. Monique woke me up several times throughout the night, ravenous and needy. Whatever she faced over the weekend, the thought of it aroused her as I had never seen her before. I did my best to satisfy her needs and cool the flames, but of course, there are limits to my male powers. In the end, I resorted to toys, tongue and fingers. Monique did not mind, and seeing her cascading into one climax after another, at my hands, was as satisfying an experience as any orgasm I have ever had. Probably more so, in complete honesty.

That morning, Monique rose early and carefully shaved herself from the neck down. The sight of her pubis baby bare drove me a little crazy and I ended up licking and tasting her to yet another orgasm. She had to push me away to finish in time to leave. She slipped on the heels that Sondra had left her with the night before and then slipped her new coat over her other wise nude body. She kissed me passionately and then drew away breathing heavily. "I wish you could see this, Nathan. I wish you could understand, but Sondra does not think it would be good for you."

Her obvious excitement blunted the anxiety I felt for her well being. She was going away to be hurt, dammit. The way she hurt me, and yet, she was looking forward to it. She had climaxed more than a dozen times in the last twelve hours and she was still as taut as an over wound watch. If I so much as traced my finger along her sex she would go off like a firecracker. I could not understand it. And for that reason, she and Sondra were correct. My presence would only inhibit them both. Sondra loved Monique. Monique loved and trusted Sondra, therefore, I would have to trust Sondra. I hugged her one last time. "Is it all right if I wait here, for you?"

"I won't be back until tomorrow evening, Nate." Her voice was soft.

"That's okay. I will take care of some business around the house today, and meet you here tomorrow." She nodded, then went to the small, ornate table in the foyer and opened a drawer. She removed a key and handed it to me. "Nathan, I love you. I want you to think of my home as your home." With that, she kissed me and left. I stood there, watching and thinking, until long after her car had passed out of sight.

The need in her for this type of love play was so strong, so basic to her. And now, I saw that it was from either side of the coin. Whatever happened today, whatever painful things Sondra had in store for her, Monique was positively alive with anticipation. She feared much of what was to come. She had made that clear in our afterglow cuddles in the dark of last night, but she longed for it, too. Whatever she found on the receiving side of this, whatever made her eyes light up and her sex practically drip in anticipation, it was something she had not yet been able to show me. I wondered if she ever would be able to take me there.

I had enjoyed the Monique gifts that Sondra had given me over the course of the week. I wondered if that had been meant to show me the "other side", to let me think of the dominance and submission as a two way thing. One time she is the boss, another time I was. I would have to think about it. I thought again of Monique, practically trembling with excitement to go to Sondra, and then shook my head. I would have to think about it a whole lot.

Next Part Fifteen: Turnabout and Deeper Learning
Previous Part Thirteen: Debits Paid and Accounts Received