Bound to be Taken (Emergence) (29 page)

“Lots of people have a hidden need to either be in control or be controlled. Sometimes that role can be flexible; sometimes it’s not.” He leaned in closer, his breath warming her face. “We’ve watched your every reaction to this arrangement. You are a natural submissive. I’m sure of it in my heart or I wouldn’t be here. We studied this thoroughly and did not enter into the lifestyle lightly without a full understanding of the nuances. Deep down you crave to be controlled with every fiber of your being. You need discipline and training and guidance to be the best you can be, but most of all you need boundaries.

“If you let us, we’ll be those guides for you. We’ll help you be the best you can be and make your life fuller and richer than you ever imagined.”

“How do you know for sure?” Her bottom lip trembled.
I’m scared. Scared of these feelings. He’s so right. And it’s so wrong. Isn’t it?

“Good. You’re questioning. That’s good. Because, Stephanie, we’ve been watching several cues—your eyes, your body language, your arousal. All those things tell us how much you crave our dominance. We’ve learned from others in our groups what to look for. You would have run a long time ago if this was too much for you. The fact that you’re still here tells me everything I need to know.”

Was he right? Was she still here because she wanted them to control her every move?

“We’ve digressed. Let’s get back to the issue of why you’re being punished.”

“Yes, Sir.” The knot formed tight and low again. Need building in her belly. She willed it to stop. Now was not the time to be aroused. She had to be somewhat perverted to find this conversation titillating.

“We were discussing your defiance this morning. You directly asked us not to put ointment on you, did you not?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“I know the ointment has warming properties, but it’s also for your own protection, to prevent a rash on your newly shaved pussy.”

Her mind was foggy with need.

“You used the word
can’t
when we went to put the ben wa balls inside you. Did you not?”

“I did, Sir.”

“We aren’t going to allow you to use the word
can’t
.”

“Okay, Sir.” She dug her nails into the palm of her hand. The pain helped her pay attention to Dane instead of the need in her pussy. She could see Aiden out of the corner of her eye, but he didn’t add anything to the conversation. Dane must have been in charge of tonight’s program.

“In the future you will avoid negative words. Instead, if you are concerned about our judgment you will do your best to try. I don’t want to hear
can’t
. Are you with me?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Do you understand what I’m explaining to you?”

“I think so, Sir.”

“Let’s be clear. If you are to enter into a permanent relationship with us as our submissive, we will demand a lot of you while you are learning the life. Are we clear?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“I have a question for you now. Did anyone say anything to you derogatory about your outfit today?”

“No, Sir. I got several compliments. There were some raised eyebrows, but that was my own fault for not dressing that way in the past.”

“Did anyone infer you were a slut?”

“No, Sir.”

“Would you, in hindsight, say that we made a poor clothing selection for you today?”

“No, Sir. It was lovely and well-received.” It had been perfect, except for the undergarments.
Oh, who are you kidding? The shelf bra and thong thing made you squirm the entire day and you loved it.

“Given this was the first day we asked you to wear clothing of our choice and you had no problems fitting in at work, would you give us the benefit of the doubt and trust our judgment where it concerns your wardrobe until proven otherwise?”

“Yes, Sir.” Somehow he’d twisted things again and made an argument for his case that caused it to seem perfectly reasonable that he and Aiden should have full power to choose her clothing.

“You will wear what we ask without question or hesitation. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Sir.” At the moment that included almost nothing. Her chest heaved as she reminded herself of her naked breasts. Dane was fully dressed in his starched, white shirt and black slacks. Aiden had on a full suit. She was wearing only the offensive leather thong. And she actually believed she deserved the scrutiny for her actions this morning.

“Are we asking too much of you too soon, Stephanie?”

She licked her lips. “It’s a little overwhelming, to be honest, Sir.”

“Good. Honesty will get you the best results. Do you have specific concerns you’d like to address?”

“Not off the top of my head, Sir.”
There are too many to list.

“Aiden and I discussed this at length. We decided before we picked you up yesterday to take this particular course of action. We did so for your benefit, not ours.” He paused, staring at her.

How is this for my benefit?
“What course of action are you referring to, Sir?”

“The decision to go all in and create a complete picture of what a submissive life under our control would be like. We didn’t come to this decision lightly. It was a very tough negotiation on our part. We spent several hours hashing out the details of how we wanted to handle this before you arrived.”

“I didn’t realize that, Sir.”

He smiled, the first time he’d broken from the serious look since he had climbed between her legs. “Of course you didn’t. You weren’t expected to. In any case, the reason we chose this path was because we knew we were both head over heels for you. Almost from the moment we met you, we knew you were the perfect complement to us. We took advantage of the fact that you seemed to be desperate for a date Saturday night, desperate enough that we could push you pretty hard and not cause you to break our agreement.” He gave a sheepish tilt of the head. “Sorry. It’s the truth.”

She nodded. Her head was spinning. “Go on, Sir.”

“Anyway, we thought the best plan was to jump in full force so you would be completely informed about this lifestyle. We already knew we wanted to ask you to consider staying with us. We intended to present that option to you after your company party Saturday night. Over the last twenty-four hours several things changed, however.”

“What changed?” she asked.

He raised a brow.

“Sir. Sorry, Sir. What changed, Sir?” she sputtered. God, she was struggling.

“First of all, we had always envisioned the lifestyle as similar to the way Aiden and I have been practicing it for months now. Picking and choosing when we were in the role and when we were just regular guys. You know the two of us have been switches—couples who take turns being the Dom and the sub.

“Our lives weren’t complete without a woman because we aren’t gay. We would eventually cheat on each other if we didn’t have a woman in our mix. We are bisexual through and through. As soon as we met you, we had a suspicion you were submissive.” He gave a wry smile.

“Really, Sir?”

“Yep. You had that something about you that made us believe you might be open to the lifestyle. Still, we didn’t realize there was a possibility of taking things beyond the occasional role playing. In fact, if it weren’t for the need to bring you up to speed quickly for Friday’s party, we most likely wouldn’t have so rapidly determined what a natural you are.

“So while I’m baring my soul, so to speak, Aiden and I met with our sponsor a few times this week—”

“Sponsor?” she interrupted and gasped, but he didn’t call her on it.

“A seasoned veteran of the lifestyle who acts as a guide, a mentor, an advisor to anyone who wants to be matched up with them. They help those new to the life to make good choices. We’ve been with our sponsor for months. She’s fantastic.”

Maybe he’s talking about Lori, the woman they mentioned as I was leaving for work.

Apparently he didn’t see her flinch, or he ignored it, because he continued. “So we met with Lori and explained this situation to the best of our abilities, without her being able to meet you, and she advised us how to proceed.”

Stephanie relaxed her body a bit, relieved to find that the Lori they’d mentioned earlier was their sponsor. Unless…

Dane hesitated. “Don’t look at me like that. A sponsor for BDSM is the same as a sponsor for AA. There is no fraternization allowed. No, we haven’t had any relationships with our sponsor.” He smirked. “Anyway, after numerous discussions between ourselves and with our sponsor, we realized this relationship with you was leading in a different direction than expected or even intended.”

She waited.

Dane swallowed. “We believe you are more of a full-time sub than a part-time role player.”

Full-time? Wasn’t that what they’d been doing? The idea didn’t sink in.

Dane took a deep breath. “Steph, a full-time submissive doesn’t break from the role, or rarely.”

She tried to wrap her mind around that.

“Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t what we originally planned, like I said. It’s something that became obvious about
you
, not us. We’ve been struggling to decide if having a full-time sub is even something we’re interested in.”

Why me?
What the hell was it about her that made her seem to be a total submissive? Shock. Fear. Even anger.

“God, Steph, relax. Listen to me.” Aiden leaned over her so he was hovering close to her face. Forcing her to look at him. He set one large palm over her gripped wrists and held them. “Think about what Dane is saying. We don’t take this lightly. It would be a huge commitment on our part to train you as a full-time submissive. We’re contemplating the idea very seriously ourselves.”

She cringed. His words elicited so many feelings in her. It made her nearly tear up to think they weren’t sure about her. She’d been thinking for two days about whether or not she could stay with them, and they weren’t even sure they wanted her. She swallowed a lump in her throat. She’d been bad this morning. She’d made them upset. Fuck. If she could be the perfect sub for the rest of the night at the party, would they forgive her disobedience and want her to stay?

Her eyes burned from keeping Aiden’s gaze and not letting them tear. She tried hard not to blink.

“Baby, you’re white. Please don’t worry so hard about this right now. We don’t have to decide anything this second. We can take all the time in the world to explore our options, if we all agree to it.” Aiden leaned back a fraction.

She licked her lips with a dry tongue. “I’ve never considered myself to be so weak.” Her voice squeaked. “I’m a professional. College educated. More of a leader than a follower.” She couldn’t be a full-time submissive. It didn’t fit her personality at all. Was she wrong about herself?

Dane rubbed her thigh, his hand gripping her, his thumb pressing into the sensitive flesh at the juncture of her crotch. “You have so much to learn about being submissive, babe. And you can do so if you choose. But let me just say one important thing right now. A true submissive, someone who can live the lifestyle almost exclusively, must be an extremely strong individual. A weak, passive woman can’t pull it off, and most Doms wouldn’t care for that sort of individual. It takes incredible inner strength, intelligence and self-confidence to turn over control of yourself to someone else.”

That doesn’t even make sense.
She furrowed her brow unintentionally.

“I know it’s a lot to think about,” Aiden continued. “And it will take a lot of research, studying and education—on both sides—to ensure none of us is making a mistake. We would never enter into an arrangement with you lightly.” Aiden brushed her hair from her brow and kissed her on the forehead so delicately.

“Listen,” Dane began again, his fingers still gripping her leg, “we can discuss all this more later. What Aiden and I propose for tonight is that you keep the role from now until we say otherwise after we go to the club, like we discussed this morning. Is that still okay?”

What am I agreeing to? It’s just the one night, Steph. You’ve already agreed to this and you’ve been practically their full-time sub since yesterday afternoon.

And she still needed one of them for tomorrow night. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good.” Dane released her leg. “We’re going to ask your complete submission for the next eight to ten hours. We want you to continue to experience the lifestyle to its fullest. Get the best picture of what it means to be a full-time sub.”

“Okay, Sir.”

“Now, what we really came by the apartment for was to punish you for everything we just discussed about this morning.” Dane reached behind him and dragged a few things she couldn’t see closer. “As a sub, you would be punished every evening for any disobedience during that day. Naturally, we’re exaggerating a bit on what offenses you might have committed today. But for the sake of the experience, we’re going to be harsh. Since we won’t be home later, we’ll punish you now and get it out of the way before the party.”

Get it out of the way?
Her thighs shook.

Aiden tugged her hands apart and pulled her arms straighter until she touched the rungs of the headboard. “Grab the slats, Steph. Hold one with each hand.”

Didn’t they need to go back to work? What was this punishment going to entail?