He looks so young like this. I bite my lip, and his expression changes instantly. He looks sternly at me. I reach across and pick up my first ever oyster. Okay... here goes nothing. I squirt some lemon juice on it and tip it up. It slips down my throat, all seawater, salt, the sharp tang of citrus, and fleshiness... ooh. I lick my lips, and he's watching me intently, his eyes hooded.
"Well?"
"I'll have another," I say dryly.
"Good girl," he says proudly.
"Did you choose these deliberatelyAren't they known for their aphrodisiac qualities?""No, they are the first item on the menu. I don't need an aphrodisiac near you. I think you know that, and I think you react the same way near me," he says simply. "So where were we?" He glances at my email as I reach for another oyster.
He reacts the same way. I affect him... wow.
"Obey me in all things. Yes, I want you to do that. I need you to do that. Think of it as role-play Anastasia."
"But I'm worried you'll hurt me."
"Hurt you how?"
"Physically." And emotionally.
"Do you really think I would do thatGo beyond any limit you can't take?"
"You've said you've hurt someone before."
"Yes, I have. It was a long time ago."
"How did you hurt them?"
"I suspended them from my playroom ceiling. In fact, that's one of your questions.
Suspension - that's what the karabiners are for in the playroom. Rope play. One of the ropes was tied too tightly."
I hold my hand up begging him to stop.
"I don't need to know any more. So you won't suspend me then?"
"Not if you really don't want to. You can make that a hard limit."
"Okay."
"So obeying, do you think you can manage that?"
He stares at me, his gray eyes intense. The seconds tick by.
"I could try," I whisper.
"Good." He smiles. "Now term. One month instead of three is no time at all, especially if you want a weekend away from me each month. I don't think I'll be able to stay away from you for that length of time. I can barely manage it now," he pauses.
He can't stay away from meWhat?
"How about, one day over one weekend per month you get to yourself - but I get a midweek night that week?"
"Okay."
"And please, let's try it for three months. If it's not for you then, you can walk away anytime."
"Three months?" I'm feeling railroaded. I take another large sip of wine and treat myself to another oyster. I could learn to like these.
"The ownership thing, that's just terminology and goes back to the principle of obeying. It's to get you into the right frame of mind, to understand where I'm coming from.
And I want you to know that as soon as you cross my threshold as my submissive, I will do what I like to you. You have to accept that and willingly. That's why you have to trust me.
I will fuck you, any time, any way, I want - anywhere I want. I will discipline you, because you will screw up. I will train you to please me. But I know you've not done this before.
Initially, we'll take it slowly, and I will help you. We'll build up to various scenarios. I want you to trust me, but I know I have to earn your trust, and I will. The "or otherwise"
- again it's to help you get into the mindset, it means anything goes."
He's so passionate, mesmerizing. This is obviously his obsession, the way he is... I can't take my eyes off him. He really, really wants this. He stops talking and gazes at me.
"Still with me?" he whispers, his voice rich, warm and seductive. He takes a sip of his wine, his penetrating stare holding mine.
The waiter comes to the door, and Christian subtly nods permitting the waiter to clear our table.
"Would you like some more wine?"
"I have to drive."
"Some water then?"
I nod.
"Still or sparkling?"
"Sparkling, please."
The waiter leaves.
"You're very quiet," Christian whispers.
"You're very verbose."
He smiles.
"Discipline. There's a very fine line between pleasure and pain Anastasia. They are two sides of the same coin, one not existing without the other. I can show you how pleasurable pain can be. You don't believe me now, but this is what I mean about trust. There will be pain, but nothing that you can't handle. Again, it comes down to trust. Do you trust me, Ana?"
Ana!
"Yes, I do." I respond spontaneously, not thinking... because it's true - I do trust him.