I, Mistress

by Alex Tempera

  Good, I thought. I had to do this systematically and carefully. Tonight was all about Mae and her feeling comfortable. I walked to the far closet and wheeled out the mirror. It was a full-length oval mirror that was connected to two posts and on wheels. It was used for this specific purpose. When the subs really needed to see themselves. I didn’t use it with everyone but there were those who really needed it. Subs that were ashamed of themselves or their looks, or both. Sometimes someone just needed extra confidence and this seemed to help. I wheeled it in front of her. “Mae, even though you’re a sub in my playroom, I’ll call you by your name. Before I woke you up, Lox called me.”

  Her eyes looked up at mine. “Avery?”

  “Yes, he still wants to be your Master, but he wants something else, too.”

  “What’s that?” Mae asked quietly. “I mean, um, Mistress.”

  “He wants to date you, too.”

  “Oh, but I’m ugly,” she touched the scar on her face. “It will be months before I can get rid of this.”

  “He feels he is ugly, too. Now, I can’t do to him what I’m going to do with you but, you need to stand up in front of the mirror.”

  Mae nodded and stood up, very gracefully, in one ballerina-like rise. She was a natural. “Now what?”

  “Tell me three things that you like about yourself.”

  She sighed but looked in her own eyes as they reflected on the silver glass. “I like my hair. I like my smile and my breasts are OK.”

  “All right. Tell me what you don’t like.”

  “This scar,” she touched the one on her face. “This scar.” She tapped her thigh, still covered in her sweats.

  “Wait. Tell me what you don’t like based on what you can see right now.”

  “Oh, um, my hips are too big, and hippy.” That was so not true. She was a rail with a slight feminine curve. “And I have big feet.”

  “You wear an eight,” I snickered.

  “Big feet,” she said.

  “All right. Now, remove your clothes, fold them, and set them on the chair by the door.”

  She did as instructed without questioning the command. She returned but didn’t stand in front of the mirror.

  “Don’t move,” I said. I walked over to the wall and pulled the curtain down off the full-length wall mirror. I positioned the wheeled mirror in front of the wall mirror. “Mae, over here and stand Straight.”

  “Yes, Mistress,” she walked lightly over to the wall, and assumed the position, legs slightly spread, hands behind her head, fingers laced together.

  “Face the wall.”

  She faced the wall and I put the wheeled mirror behind her. That way she could now see her front and back.

  “Mistress,” tears filled her eyes.

  “Mae, tell me what you like when you look in the mirror.”

  “No bandages,” she whispered.

  “What else?”

  “You, Mistress,” she wept as her lip quivered.

  “Me?”

  “I can see you, Mistress. My best friend. My blood sister. Being here. Helping me, Mistress.”

  I kissed her cheek. “I love you, Mae.”

  “I love you, Mistress.” She smiled as the tears dripped down off her chin.

  “What do you hate?”

  “The scars. All seventeen of them,” she cried.

  I tried to hide my anger at the horror that her body and soul endured but I had to get her to see beyond the scars. “I want you to look in your own eyes and tell me that you’re beautiful. Six times.”

  “What?”

  “Mae, do it. Say I am beautiful. Six times.”

  At first, I thought she’d be silly and say I am beautiful six times but she didn’t. Mae took a deep breath. “I am beautiful,” she whispered. “I am beautiful,” her voice rose a little louder. “I am beautiful. I am beautiful. I am beautiful.” She stopped and smiled. “I am beautiful.”

  “Yes, you are,” I hugged her tightly. “Now, I think we’re ready to begin.”

  “Yes, Mistress. What now?”

  “Presentation pose in the middle of the floor. I’m not going to use the crop or anything that spanks you. We’ll try the sensual stuff you like. Starting with the blindfold.”

  “Oh,” she said as she walked to the middle of the floor.

  “Now, I want you to see if you can handle this. If you can’t, say yellow and I’ll take it off. Remember, yellow is your safe word. We will just try to see if you can still handle the things you used to love.”

  “Thank you, Mistress.”

  I placed the fur-lined blindfold over her eyes. So far so good. I walked over to the dresser and watched her for about five minutes. I let her get comfortable with the silence. I opened the drawer, pulled out the feather, and thin paddle with the rubber nubs. It was for sensation and not spanking. I set them on top of the dresser. I closed the drawer and opened the other drawer to pull out the flogger. As I closed that drawer, Bang! the paddle crashed to the floor.

  Instantly, she ripped the blindfold off and curled up in a ball on the floor.

  I ran to her and held her tightly. “Oh, Mae, it’s gonna be all right. I promise.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She wept violently.

  “No, sweetie, I’m sorry. No blindfold. Not for a while. It’s too soon. Maybe we should stop,” I slowly sat her up but kept my arms around her sobbing body.

  She looked up at me, her faces streaked with tears. “Keep going but no blindfold. It was that. When whatever made that noise, all I heard was his boots.”

  “I’m sorry. I dropped the paddle on the floor. I wasn’t gonna spank you. Just let you feel the sensations. How about this? On your feet.” We both stood up. “Now, you close your eyes but no blindfold. If you get scared, just open your eyes. You have control over your eye restraints. Can you do that?”

  “Yes, Mistress,” she said.

  “Good.” I kissed her forehead. I walked over to the dresser and picked up the feather, the paddle, and the flogger. “Close your eyes, Mae.”

  She closed her eyes and I ran the feather gently over her body, starting with her feet. I ran it up her legs and between her thighs. I gently caressed it over her shaved sex, which had one single scar on the outside. I could see her body react and it was from pleasure. Good. Mae was finally feeling pleasure and letting herself feel pleasure. I ran the feather over her stomach, and gently over a few of the scars on her torso. She flinched slightly. I removed the feather and gently kissed her scars, running my tongue over the length of her scars. Her body calmed and then shuddered with excitement. I caressed her nipples with the feather and ran my hand between her legs. I pressed my mouth against hers. “Mae?”

  She opened her eyes and smiled. “Yes, Mistress.”

  I kissed her mouth softly, leaving my tongue to only outline her lips. I inserted my finger inside her and then added the second one. She needed to be loved. I loved my friend and what we had was something special and amazing. I knew she truly needed Avery, but he wasn’t here. If I could will him to be here, doing this, making her feel comfortable, making him love her, admit his love to her … anything … I’d do it in a heartbeat.

  I heard the elevator door ding. “Um, I’ll be right back.” I kissed her cheek. “Put your robe on, just in case.” I washed my hands in the basin and then headed out of the playroom and closed the door. “Lox, what’s going on?”

  “He wouldn’t take no for an answer and he’s a Master, so I can’t really say no to him.”

  “Him?”

  Lox moved out of the way and Avery stood there, his hands dug into his jeans pocket. “Angelica, I heard you were helping Mae be more comfortable. I also need that. I need her to be comfortable with me since I’m the one who put her in danger. I was wondering…”

  Mae opened the door and I turned around. “Mae?”

  “Angelica, Lox, help us, please.” She walked out, took her Master’s hand, and then faced Lox and me. “Ang, you’ve helped me. Please, he
lp us. Do to him what you did to me and then we can be together. You and Lox can do it, right?”

  I looked at Avery. “You’re a Master, but for tonight, you would be a trainee. Not a sub but not a Master. Can you do that?”

  “Yes, that’s how I learned. I’ve done both, I’ve trained as both,” he sighed.

  I looked at Lox. “You would be my sub, but you would also participate. However I wouldn’t do anything that would interfere with your limits.”

  “Yes, Mistress, I accept.”

  “Good. Now, Avery, I have my own commands that all my subs are aware of. If you don’t understand, follow Mae or Lox’s lead. I want you to all be comfortable.”

  “Um, there is one thing,” Avery said.

  “What’s that?”

  “I can’t kneel. The bastard broke my left kneecap. I’ve had surgery, a few on it, and it’s not real anymore. So, I can’t kneel.”

  “That’s fine. You’ll be standing for the most part. Um, show him the stand straight pose and I’ll be right there. Oh, Avery, you must be naked.”

  “Not nude?”

  “No, naked is fine.”

  “Thanks, Mistress,” he said, as he followed Mae and Lox in a single file toward the playroom. I noticed his slight limp and knowing how he got it, made this even more important. This was going to be interesting.

  27

  I WALKED INTO the playroom and all three were completely stripped, their clothes folded neatly on the chair by the door. Mae and Lox were on their knees and Avery sat on the floor, his legs stretched out. “Avery, on your feet,” I commanded. “Mae, on your feet. Lox, on your feet by my side.”

  The three of them rose to their feet and Lox took his place by my side but slightly behind me. “Avery, in front of the mirror. Mae, stand next to him.” They followed my orders and Mae knew what would happen next, but I’m not sure that Lox or Avery would. “For tonight, I’ll call you all by your names. Avery, look yourself in the eyes.”

  “I don’t understand, Mistress,” he said.

  Mae put her hand on his shoulder and I let her do that. “Avery, look at yourself in the mirror.”

  “I can’t,” he sighed, lowering his head. “I can’t, Mistress.”

  I looked at him and sighed. “Avery, one look at a time. Look at your face first.”

  Avery slowly raised his head and turned toward the mirror. “I can see my face. Now, what, Mistress?”

  “Look at yourself and tell me what you like about what you see,” I explained.

  “I like my hair and my eyes,” he sighed.

  “Tell me what you don’t like about what you see.”

  “I don’t like these scars. All thirty of them. I hate the loss of my power.” Tears streamed down his face.

  “You can’t see your power.”

  “Yes, I can,” he said. “It’s not there anymore. I used to be able to see it.”

  “You will find it and we’ll help you. Command your sub, Avery.”

  Avery wiped his eyes. “I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can. Mae, tell him your one new hard limit.”

  Avery looked at me and then at Mae. “What is your hard limit, sassy?”

  Sassy? I thought that was cute for Mae. I liked that he called her by her sub name.

  Mae looked up and met his eyes. “No blindfolds, but I can do it with my eyes closed.”

  “Present, sassy.”

  She trotted happily and yes, she was happy, and kneeled on the floor, her chest out and her hands behind her back. Lox and I stepped to the side and watched. I don’t think Lox ever observed something like this before and to be honest, this was new to me. I never had to help a friend who had been so abused to come back and be a sub again. Now, I was helping not just Mae, but Avery as well. It felt good to see them take it slow and learn to enjoy each other again.

  Avery stood in front of Mae and put his hand on her shoulder. “Sassy,” he sighed as she looked up at him.

  “Master,” she nodded.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She rose to her feet like the ballerina and touched his face. “Master, tell me what will please you.”

  Avery held her head and gently pushed his mouth against hers. It was passion and abandon. It looked like they were falling in love at that very moment. I know that every minute they could, when they were at the hospital, they spent it together. Nat told me that they did therapy together, both emotional and physical. This was another form of their therapy.

  Avery broke from his embrace and nodded to her. She dropped to her knees. He walked over to me. “Mistress, may I use a flogger, please?”

  “Yes,” I walked over to the dresser and picked up the flogger that I had gotten out earlier. I handed it to him.

  “Thank you, Mistress,” he nodded.

  He walked over to Mae and I looked at Lox. “panther, have you ever observed before?”

  “Nothing like this, Mistress. Did they just fall in love?”

  “You saw that, too?” I smiled.

  “Yes, Mistress, I did. This is amazing. It’s like their scars are disappearing.”

  “Yes, Lox, it is. Oh, and thank you for bringing him back here.”

  “I figured it was best. He said he felt her loss when she left the hospital. I know what that feels like.”

  I kissed his temple and put my hand on his shoulder. We continued to watch Avery with his sassy.

  Avery gently ran the soft leather fingers of the flogger over her body. Soon, there was just the intensity of their session, as if they were the only ones in the room. The connection between a Master and his or her sub is something that is felt but it is also a wondrous thing to witness. I have felt connections with my subs, each in different ways, but my connection with Lox was something different from all others. Knowing the feeling and seeing it is amazing. Lox and I both witnessed their intensity. I could tell that Mae and Avery would be all right. They needed each other. They had each other.

  I looked at Lox and smiled. “Let’s leave them,” I took his hand and we walked out of the playroom.

  Lox stopped me in the hallway after I closed the door. “Angelica?”

  “What is it?”

  “I love you, more every day, more every minute, but what you did in there, was something so amazing.”

  “What did I do?”

  “Make them love themselves and then each other. But you never did that with me.”

  “Do I need to?” I smiled.

  “Maybe we both need to,” he smiled. “Come on, Mistress. Your … our room?”

  “Our room?”

  “You said I could move in, right?”

  “Yes, I did,” We headed down the hall to my … our room.

  28

  MAE STAYED WITH Lox and me for a few days and once her own playroom was finished, she moved home. And, so did Avery. He moved in with her. I don’t know how to explain their connection and I think it was more than the matching scars, inside and out. I think there was something that couldn’t be explained but it didn’t need to be. They knew it. They felt it. They had each other. As Master and sub, as friends, as lovers.

  Lox was getting settled in but he kept his Brownstone. Next month, his mother was planning on visiting, since the Greek government wouldn’t allow him to return yet. I know he was missing his home country. He was used to traveling back and forth from the states to Greece. I see that homesick look in his eyes. I know that if he could, he’d go back go visit and … bring me with him. And yes, I’d go. I may be in control in the playroom, but I’m finding out more and more that in our relationship, Lox and I share control and share submissiveness. No, I’m not his sub, but I don’t mind being his bottom sometimes.

  I sat at my desk and gaze at the photo of Lox and me. It was the first personal photo I ever put on my desk. The phone buzzed and when I picked it up, there was silence. I stood up quickly when he entered the room. I pressed the silent alarm button under my desk that alerted security. “Who are you?” I knew who it was. I recogniz
ed his photo.

  “Maurice Benito. You have been looking for me,” he grinned. His dark eyes and caramel Italian skin didn’t hide the evil he had deep inside. His dimples were just a façade that I wouldn’t fall for.

  “Yes,” I sat down, and calmly crossed my legs. “Have a seat.” I was surprised, but he sat down. I carefully opened my bottom drawer with my foot.

  “I wish to buy this magazine,” his Italian accent was a bit muddled, as if he traveled and picked up many other accents and dialects along the way. Yeah, terrorism. His main dialect.

  “Oh, it’s not for sale.”

  “But you merged with Hercules Publications.”

  “Oh, I see,” I reached in the drawer with my foot and grabbed onto the whip with my toes, all the while looking him in the eyes.

  “What do you see?”

  “You think you can come in here and buy my magazine so you can get your hands on Hercules. Well, there is a problem with that.”

  “What is the problem? They own you and I want to own them.”

  “Well, they don’t own me. No one owns me. For your information, I never merged with Hercules. I merged with Athens Publications but we’re a partnership. We own each other.”

  “Loxias Panagakos owns both. I’ll get to him. You see, Ms. Ralston, my men are on the three floors of your building here. We did not touch the other floors. Only the three floors that have to do with your business, woman.”

  I looked down at my phone as the light of the screen flashed and a text message appeared quickly before it faded.

  ETA 5 minutes – Enré

  I put my hand on my lap and held onto the leather handle of my bullwhip. “The truth is, this building, all 16 stories of it, is owned by me. Nine of the floors are dedicated to my magazine.”

  “Well, whatever. I want this company and if I have to kill you and all your employees, I’ll do that. Just ask the employees that work for Hercules in their Crete headquarters. Oh, wait, you can’t!”