by Redrae Gunn
On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate your ability to handle Internet gossip if it concerned this Dominant? Please see the explanation above.
Finally, please list for me any allergies and other medical conditions that you may have. I am allergic to idle time. Seriously though, I really do have an increased threshold for pain. Genetic defect perhaps?
Tayen’s heart raced and she looked between Sean and David. “Is this for real?” She had finished filling out the papers.
Sean smiled and nodded his head. “This is much like the contract that David drew up for me,” Sean admitted.
Tayen looked back down at the paper. “Seriously, how much pain can I handle? Do I place the ‘You’ll never reach a threshold, so don’t worry about it’ beneath the pain ranking or under medical conditions?”
Sean covered his mouth with his hand. “Tayen, I forgot,” he admitted as he uncovered his mouth. “Your pain tolerance needs to be noted in both places.”
“I did,” she mumbled, handing the papers back to Sean. He looked through them and held them up so David could look at them as well.
“I thought that the GYN equipment was like a female fantasy thing,” David said.
“Not really,” Sean spoke up before Tayen could say anything. “For some women it is actually a really embarrassing experience. I mean, it’s bad enough that a woman in a relationship has to go to a strange man to get her lady parts checked out. It’s worse when she has a real sensitivity and ends up having an orgasm there in the office. It happens.”
“I have that sensitivity,” Tayen admitted, barely whispering. “I think it’s the temperature difference. I don’t know, but yes, it is embarrassing. Then they have to wait, making it worse.”
“But you had a full hysterectomy,” David said, and Tayen resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her best friend.
“I would recommend regular checks as her physician, especially being sexually active and definitely when changing partners,” Sean told David, looking at Tayen who smiled back at him.
“No breath control,” David commented, “but no public display. How do you put those two in the same category?”
“Very easily,” Tayen said gritting her teeth. “I like to be able to be in control of when and where I take my next breath, along with who sees what part of my body. It’s not a sideshow attraction.”
“Okay, to each her own, warrior princess,” David teased, holding his hands up in surrender.
“Tay,” Sean started, “you know that all pain studies are subjective. I mean, people with support do much better than those left alone, stuff like that.”
“I know,” Tayen replied, still gritting her teeth. “Pain does something different to my brain.”
David and Sean both looked at Tayen. This was the first time that she had opened up to them about her ability to handle pain.
“I first noticed it after Mom died and Dad started drinking. He didn’t cook much, so I would get hunger pains. They were different from the pain I felt in my heart, from losing my mom and sister, so I would look at my belly and tell it ‘I know’ and then start trying to find food.” Tayen paused. Her eyes looked in the mirror, but they focused on a memory.
“I remember burning my hand with steam from noodles. I literally watched the first layer of skin peel back. It was gross. My hand hurt, but I told it, ‘I know!’ and the pain went away until I could properly tend to it.” Tayen’s eyes refocused. “Then the burn hurt when I applied some cream to it, but once I told it that ‘I know it fucking hurts!’ it went away.
“It’s been on autopilot since about that time.” Tayen looked at her hands in her lap. “I stub my toe, and the pain lasts less than a second because, I know that something hurts. My pain tolerance may be a combination of years of survival instincts and mental training.” Tayen sighed. “Who knows? It’s what it is.”
“It’s an issue,” David said.
“That’s why I wrote it down in both places,” Tayen replied. David squeezed her shoulders, telling her that he was done with her hair. “He’s going to run for the hills, huh?” Tayen braced herself against the counter and looked at both Sean and David in the mirror.
“Not necessarily, Tayen,” David replied. “He may see how willing you are to give him what he wants without many restrictions. The breathing control, I knew you wouldn’t like that, but you did reply honestly with all the pain stuff by telling him that you were ‘indifferent.’ It’ll give him something to think about, something to help you explore, and he’ll probably feel more protective toward you. I know I do now.”
“I do, too,” Sean admitted, “and that isn’t coming from a Dominant.”
Tayen was quiet as she applied her makeup. When she came into her bedroom, both Sean and David were lying on her bed watching some horror flick. Tayen took one look at the outfit David and picked out and started laughing.
“That does not scream submissive.” Tayen pointed at the sleeveless, white, leather vest with zippers crisscrossing the front of it. The vest was accompanied by a set of white, leather pants, a studded, black, leather belt, and a pair of flat, open-toed, white, leather, studded sandals.
“Think of it as a business negotiation, sweetheart.” Sean smiled warmly at her. “You are comfortable in leather, Caleb doesn’t seem to mind it, and this will say that you are negotiating the level of your ability to submit. You are strong, proud but…”
“The white says, innocence,” David finished. “The open, flat shoes show that you already recognize his preferences and are trying to be as barefoot as possible while adhering to food and health regulations.”
“This is amazing,” Tayen replied as she finished dressing and looked at herself in the mirror. “This is submissive, Native American style, huh?” Tayen smiled at her reflection and stuck her tongue out at herself, then laughed. “Thanks for the snug, under ribs thing,” Tayen commented at the flare the vest had. “I need no bra which is nice.”
Tayen spun around for her friends, and they nodded their approval. “You guys need a puppy,” Tayen said sarcastically.
“We have you.” Sean smiled brightly, then he scowled. “Plus we know you would eat anything that couldn’t fend for itself.”
“Survival of the fittest, baby,” Tayen replied. Then she looked at the papers on the bed. “Where am I going for this evening’s negotiations? Don’t tell me that I can’t drive there either. I want to be able to leave if anything seems freaky.” Tayen looked at David and Sean’s smirking expressions and revised her statement with a sigh. “More freaky than I’m comfortable with, which is obviously saying a lot.”
“Drive the Jeep,” David said, rummaging through Tayen’s black, leather backpack-purse. He transferred the stuff she was going to need into a same size leather backpack-purse that was studded to match her belt.
Sean shook his head as he rubbed David’s back. “His attention to detail is unnerving, don’t you think?”
“Endearing,” Tayen defended David as he handed over the bag.
“Give me your wrists,” David said to Tayen, ignoring Sean. Tayen did as instructed. David grabbed her hands in his.
“I love you, Tayen,” David said looking at her hands. “I love your attitude, your skin, your hair, your pretty smile, the way you put up with my shit. Most of all, I love your heart, the way that you want everyone around you to be happy, the way that you are always happy and looking on the bright side of life.
“I want this for you, Tayen,” David continued. “I want you to be complete, and I hope that happens for you. I know that I’ll have to give up some of your time, but I am so willing to do that because I know what my little, scalping submissive needs. I can’t give it to her, and I hope that she finds it tonight.”
David kissed each of Tayen’s hands. Tayen pulled her hands away from David and ran them through his surfer, blond hair.
“If not,” Tayen replied, “I won’t give up hope.”
“That’s what I love about you,” David said. “Right the
re, that ’tude.”
Tayen pulled on her backpack and pulled David’s head to her chest. “Love you, too, paleface,” Tayen said and then she released him. “So where am I going?”
“Anthony’s. I mapped it for you,” Sean grinned. “I read on their website that they are reservation only, have a bar called Ozone, and they serve the absolute best prime rib that you could imagine.”
“Baked potatoes with all the fixings,” David chimed in.
“I would’ve programmed your cell to find the location, but I know how you like to be aware of your surroundings.” David took a piece of paper from Sean and handed it to Tayen. “Here’s MapQuest for you.”
Tayen unfolded the piece of paper and spun it on the bed until north was facing true north. She didn’t need to get her bearings. Just like the sun and her ability to know the time, she always was tuned to true north. It was a natural gift.
“Thanks, guys,” Tayen said to both David and Sean. “Sean, you aren’t leaving soon are you? I’ve barely spent any time with you.”
“It’s okay, love,” Sean replied. “We’ll see a lot of each other soon.”
“You better get going. You don’t want to be late,” David said.
Tayen was about to step out the door, and then she looked at the two men on her bed. “No sex in here. This is a virgin room, and I’m not cleaning sperm off my leather comforter unless it’s from my sexual Master.”
David grinned but stifled his grin when Tayen lowered her eyes and her jaw clenched. “I have a hunting knife that hasn’t been used in a while.”
“I promise, I will give you no reason to scalp me,” David replied and patted Sean’s leg as he tensed.
“I’ll let you watch”—Tayen pointed menacingly at Sean then grinned—“so keep your Dom in line and take it to his room.”
With that Tayen left the room, the condo, papers tucked in a new envelope under her arm. Her heart raced as the elevator dropped. She kept hearing the damn engine that could sound in her brain. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.
Chapter 9
Tayen pulled her Jeep into the parking lot of Anthony’s. She had taken the hardtop and doors off of the Jeep, so she locked her stereo face in the glove box and couldn’t wait until the Jeep had a secured lockbox under the carpet. She ran a comb through her hair, grabbed her backpack-purse and manila folder, and headed into the building.
Tayen gave her eyes a moment to adjust to the dim level of light. She stood with her back against the wall for a couple of minutes before approaching the podium where some young girl, much shorter and lighter skinned, narrowed her gaze at Tayen.
“Tight outfit,” the girl said, and she smiled brightly at Tayen. “Do you have a reservation?”
“Yes, I am supposed to meet a Mr. Wilson,” Tayen said. She clasped the manila folder behind her back so the girl wouldn’t see her hands shaking slightly.
The girl looked down her list. “Yes, that table isn’t quite ready yet, but if you’ll follow me, I’ve been given instructions to show you to where he is in the bar.” The girl smiled and led the way.
Tayen spotted Caleb immediately. He was wearing a very dark-green and black striped dress shirt with a slimmer, black tie and black dress pants. The cuffs of the long shirt were rolled to just under his elbows, and Tayen noticed the muscles in his forearms flex as he reached for his drink.
“Thank you, miss,” Tayen said to the girl. “I see him.”
“Of course.” The girl frowned slightly but headed back to the podium.
Tayen slowed her walk. Caleb was speaking with another gentleman at the bar. He laughed at something the other guy said and ran his hands through his hair. Just then he looked over, and his eyes locked with Tayen’s. She saw his jaw fall slightly, and then he regained his composure and stood up from the stool holding out his hand to her, smiling like a boy on Christmas morning.
“You look fucking incredible,” Caleb whispered in Tayen’s ear as she sat gracefully on the stool next to his. Caleb grabbed his drink, turned toward Tayen, and licked his lips once. Caleb watched Tayen visibly relax when he nodded his approval.
Caleb grabbed the manila folder out of her hands and slapped her hand gently when she reached for it. “You’ll crinkle it to pieces if I don’t take it from you,” Caleb said softly. He could see that Tayen was nervous. She was ringing her hands in her lap. Caleb grabbed her left hand with his right hand and ordered her a glass of wine.
Caleb looked at Tayen. His eyes locked with hers. Tayen felt the air sucked out of her chest as she looked into his green eyes.
Caleb watched closely as her eyes dilated and she took a deep breath. He smiled and leaned forward kissing her cheek. She let her breath out as Caleb leaned back. He slid her wine toward her.
Tayen took a tentative sip of the white substance in the glass. It was surprisingly sweet.
“I don’t usually drink wine I can see through,” Tayen admitted to Caleb, “but this is okay.”
“Okay?” Caleb asked, remembering the mason jars of wine that he had shared with her and David. Considering the wine he had ordered came with a hefty price tag and only sold by the bottle, he smiled at her assessment.
“Usually the lighter wine is really dry,” Tayen replied honestly. “I’m not a critic of wine, trust me, I’ve only had the cheap, sweet stuff from the store, and the local stuff made from where I was raised.”
“Cheap and sweet?” Caleb asked, smirking slightly.
“That’s me, baby.” Tayen smirked back at him. “Take it or leave it.”
“Oh, I’ll definitely be taking it,” Caleb said as he brought their entwined hands up, brushing her breast slightly. “Trust me on that.”
Caleb laughed when Tayen’s eyes widened again before she broke into a smile. She was so sexually submissive, and Caleb was once again thankful that he had worn the compression shorts under his pants. He wanted nothing more than to bend her over the bar and take her forcefully from behind while the room cheered him on.
When their table was ready, Tayen looked at the menu. Caleb pulled it away from her, and again he watched as the nervous fidgeting stopped and she smiled. Tayen’s eyes strayed to the manila folder on the table. Caleb moved it to the seat next to him.
“Food allergies?” Caleb asked, and Tayen shook her head. “I know you like seafood, but there are places we can get seafood that are dedicated just to seafood, so we’ll go for the steak tonight.” Tayen nodded her head.
The server came and took their order. Tayen nodded politely to Caleb when the server turned to her first. Caleb ordered a combination appetizer, Caesar salads, then the ten-ounce rib eye, rare, for both of them, he added sautéed mushrooms to Tayen’s steak.
“Ask whatever question is eating at you,” Caleb said once the waiter had left.
“Have you had contracts with everyone that you have been with?” Tayen looked down, and her shoulders slumped forward. It wasn’t a posture that Caleb had seen her use before. She usually was so confident and happy-go-lucky. Right now she looked like a puppy that had peed on the floor and was waiting for a beating.
“Tayen, look at me, honey,” Caleb said gently. Tayen raised her eyes to meet Caleb’s. His eyes locked onto hers. “Not until recently. I am thirty-four years old, and I have had plenty of time to find preferences. My life is in contracts. It’s a security blanket for both parties.”
“Like how often a band performs, or when the next single will be released,” Tayen replied, and Caleb nodded his head. “So it also cuts through a lot of the other stuff, too. Say for example we are sitting in the bathtub together. I know I don’t have to be afraid of you trying to drown me.”
Caleb laughed, and his deep voice rumbled through Tayen’s chest. She was acutely aware of her nipples hardening against the white leather and was thankful for the wonderfully thick material. “I take it that breathing control is marked “A” on your list.” Caleb’s eyes sparkled as he smiled wickedly.
“Yes it is.” Tayen wasn�
��t laughing.
“Good sign, then,” Caleb replied, still smiling. “I don’t want to do all of the stuff on the list. It is also made to see if we are compatible for a deeper sexually Dominant and submissive relationship.”
“The contract is for three months?” Tayen asked.
“Is that a problem?” Caleb asked.
“No,” Tayen replied and took a deep breath. Caleb waited her out. This was usually when Tayen spilled out some of that intoxicating honesty. “I wish my marriage had been a three-month contract. Not that I’m comparing this to that, but doesn’t it seem nice to know that if it isn’t working out there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not a train or a messy divorce, or a forfeit of the life that you had wanted so desperately.”
“Now you know why I am very good at what I do,” Caleb said. “I absolutely rely on the security of a contract.”
“I showed it to David and Sean,” Tayen told Caleb and looked down at the table again.
“Look at me,” Caleb commanded, and Tayen’s eyes snapped up. Caleb loved her honest and quick responses. “I would’ve thought you were a little naive if you didn’t consult with your best friend about it, especially since you know he is a sexual Dominant. If you think I am the jealous type, you are absolutely correct, but not when it comes to David.”
