Code Of Command (A BDSM Erotic Romance Novella Trilogy, Book 1) (2 page)

“We know, darling. We have every bit of trust in your abilities to create something palpable, but we do need to put a bit of a ‘chop-chop’ on it, if you know what I mean.”

I sighed, twisting in my chair like a child. “Yes, I know. I was going to say six months, but, I guess I can get something to you in, say, three or four? I’m… searching…”

Roderick leaned forward into the cam, his puffy face increasing to the size of a blowfish on my screen. “Oh, do tell, darling.”

“Well, I need to create someone hotter than Dax, more dashing than Gerard, and a sexier Giuseppe. I’m conjuring this man. This isn’t one I can just pull out of a hat or shoebox full of photos I keep under my bed. “

“I don’t think there’s anyone on this earth sexier than Giuseppe,” Roderick said with a hand flourish across the screen. “I’ll never again drink a glass of Pinot without getting a hard on.”

“Roderick!” I gasped. Aware the effect Giuseppe had on the legions of female fans who’d emailed and commented on my social networking sites, I was always amused by the numbers of gay men who found my characters equally as attractive. “Well, then I suppose we’ll be working on a gay hero next novel, huh?”

“First the kinks. Later twinks,” Roderick snapped. “Get on it. Find your muse. Get to writing and get me a manuscript. February fifteenth?”

I twisted my head back and forth and side-to-side in an unsure sign of acceptance, “February fifteenth,” I muttered, picking up my tea, clicking to disconnect the call and preparing to get to work.

Orchid Street Publishing was counting on me to deliver and, my track record for delivering hit erotic novels very well intact, I didn’t want to disappoint.

CHAPTER 2

It’d been close to seven hours. I’d placed the ad around noon:

Delightful Damsel Seeks Distinguished Dominant Male

I am a twenty-five-year- old single female in search of a distinguished Dom to converse with in order to listen to and learn the specifics of their lifestyle. I seek to understand BDSM from A-to-Z. I am an intrigued and curious woman with no prior knowledge in the subject, but an intense curiosity.

I seek a professional, intelligent, knowledgeable, trained Dom interested in sharing his ways with a woman intrigued by his lifestyle. I am a very kind and friendly woman with whom your conversation is respected and appreciated.

I look forward to hearing from you.

-A

I’d been waiting patiently all day for responses to roll in. In this instance, patience would most certainly be a virtue. While I waited, I went for a jog around the park, took a trip to the local market, came home, put on my apron and attempted baking a cauliflower crust pizza -- that hadn’t turned out exactly like the images on my favorite food blog -- and caught up on blog posts from a couple of my favorite authors. By the time eight o’clock rolled around I was ready to take a seat and see what emails had found their way to my inbox. Freshly showered, comfy and cozy in a pair of grey sweats and white t-shirt as the evening sun went down, I made for my bedroom, jumped atop my bed with laptop and a mushy piece of cauliflower crust pizza in hand and began to scroll through the emails I found waiting for me. My eyes bulged and my head shook at the sight of the responses awaiting me.

I was looking for a particular type: smart, engaging, and, most importantly, sexy; so sexy a woman would be unable to resist him. I wanted to lure my readers in with this man’s fiery intensity. He had to be incredibly strong, but appropriately sensitive. He had to be a powerfully dominant man with the ability to recognize and communicate the reasons he gravitated to a dominant lifestyle and why submissives gravitated to him. He had to be aware of his power and mindful in the ways with which he used it.

I was willing and ready to venture into the eye of the storm and delve into the mind of a man who defined himself by his lifestyle. Someone so fiercely loyal to their lifestyle it seeped from their blood. I was surprisingly excited to be embarking upon finding the man that would become my muse and lead me where I needed to go with this story.

I began to click open emails, aghast at the responses I read:

From: [email protected]

Subject your proposal

Hello. I’m Philip. I’m a Dom. What do u look like? How tall? Are you slim? Do you have long hair? Send pic.

Philip

“Buh bye, Philip,” I muttered as I clicked and sent his email to the trash.

I hadn’t described myself. I didn’t think it was necessary. Afterall, this was strictly for research, not personal enjoyment. There would be no nudity. There would be nothing sexual of any sort. So, describing myself was a waste. Perhaps I had lured them in with a piqued curiosity, but any man worth his weight would read the ad, note the omission and respond appropriately.

The duds continued:

From: [email protected]

Subject: Re: Dom for Discussion

You sound just like what Daddy has been looking for. Do you want Daddy to take care of you, treasure you, guide you, discipline you, brush your hair, and help you be the perfect little girl for him?

Daddy has a big house all to himself and would like a sexy little girl like you to come over. I’d love to tell and show you everything you’d like to know. Want to come play with Daddy soon?

Daddy Ron

I shook my head in disgust. “Ewww,” I said, clicking on the trash can multiple times, as if it would somehow banish the email to my bin repeatedly. “Oh, hell no! Absolutely not.”

Scrolling through more ridiculous responses, I noted most men certainly had their preferences. I was beginning to realize omitting a physical description had allowed most of their imaginations to run wild, some hoping I was college-age daughter type seeking a Daddy-type relationship, others inquiring if I was a slim, submissive Asian woman interested in marriage. Their desires, and preferences, were very specific, which, I suppose, acts as an aide in their ability to feel desire for and gain pleasure from a woman they considered their sexual property, a concept still rather morally confusing in my mind.

This led me to question the sort of men that gravitated to this lifestyle. Who were these men? Where did the desire to combine punishment and play come from within them? What was the physical and psychological gain to see a lover as both a play thing and a possession? And, more importantly, who were the sorts of women that sought out such men? Well, for more than research purposes anyways. What woman derives pleasure from ownership? What is it these women desired in these men and what, physically and mentally, did they receive from the painful and questionable moments of pleasure they experienced in the D/s experience?

I was getting too far ahead of myself. I’d need to find my man first, then, through his tales, I’d be able to construct my woman. It was my usual writing ritual, piecing together a heroine based upon the numerous exes and former lovers with whom my amalgams had been involved, including little parts of myself in every single one. Each of my novels heroines carried a very small, but very recognizable characteristic of mine.

As the amount of emails in my inbox grew shorter, so did the responses.

Subject: Conver$ation

From: [email protected]

Come to my hotel room and I’ll tell you. I am very generou$.

Generou$ Gent

I cackled so loudly I was sure my neighbors heard. As a writer, I usually found individuals inability to write with a certain subtlety amusing. I wondered just how generous a man would be to a perfect stranger for an evening.
That
, I thought,
is a nugget for another novel
. Picking up a pen I scribbled a note in the notebook next to me.

From: lusciouslorelei

Subject: Sharing His Ways and His Woman

Hello. My master read your ad and is interested in discussing with you. I am Lorelei, his slave and submissive. He had instructed me to contact you and request you to his chamber where you and I shall engage in pleasurable play wherein, if satisfied, he shall reward you with the knowledge you seek.

L.

Interesting
, I thought.
Two for the price of one
. Were the sexual price not so high I would have actually considered a conversation or two with this pair. It would have offered me the ability to witness an actual D/s pairing, a kinky commitment that would give me exactly the sort of inspiration I needed to craft a noteworthy novel.

But it wouldn’t work with a pair. I needed to be one-on-one with a man in order for him to divulge his deepest, darkest thoughts. He’d have to learn to trust me and, for that to happen, I couldn’t have another woman in the mix. Their bond would, more than certainly, be so powerful he’d be unable to create a bond with me, even for the sake of educating another.

I wondered if I was taking a wrong path. Would I be able to find a man interested in the sharing of so much of his private life when there was no clear reward for him other than a few moments of his life spent in the company of a curious woman? Must there be a reward in order to place so much of his sexual self out on a limb?

Yawning, and prepared to give up my search for the evening, I pulled the covers back and got into bed and read until I drifted off into a slumber, but I was caught by the subject of an email just a few short minutes before.

Subject: Distinguished Dominant Male Shall Demystify His Desires for Delightful Damsel

From: [email protected]

Greetings Damsel,

I found myself perusing the internet this evening and came across your rather intriguing ad. I felt compelled to respond. I am as you seek a distinguished dominant male who has enjoyed the delights of a BDSM lifestyle for well over sixteen years. A novice Dom to some, an experienced Dom to others, and a committed Dom to all, you would more than likely describe me as a man who very much knows the “ropes, if you will.

I am skilled in the considerable breadth of this lifestyle. If you are indeed seeking a teacher, mentor or tour guide perhaps there are lessons I can offer you.

The important thing you must know, as a student, is a successful D/s relationship is less about kink than it is about trust, so it’s important to decipher between a man seeking to cause pain than intent on offering pleasure.

I’m certain you’ve received responses from numerous men who fall more into the former category than the latter. Allow me to change that.

Signed,

Dr. Dominance

My mouth aghast and my gaze firmly affixed to my laptop screen, I could barely believe the polished and impeccable response I had just read. This, without unequivocal doubt, was
the
man.

Hurriedly, I rushed to send a response hoping to catch him before he logged off for the evening. If I was lucky, I’d get receive another response as equally as impressive as the last.

Subject: Damsel Thoroughly Delighted by Distinguished Gentleman

From: [email protected]

Dear Dr. Dominance,

I was as delighted to receive your response as I was to read the contents within. I’d thoroughly appreciate the chance to explore a mingling of the minds.

I’m eager to learn more about you and your lifestyle. Whatever you’d be willing to teach, I’d be ready and willing to learn.

Signed,

Alex

A rush of blood ran through my body. This was the sort of excitement that entered me just as I began writing a story. Crafting new characters and creating new ideas delighted me inexplicably. Lifting my arm into the air, I saw the soft, tiny hairs on my arms raised, a field of goose bumps running down my arm.

I wondered what the mysterious Dr. Dominance looked like. Was he tall? Was he handsome? Was he thin? Was he stocky? Was he an older gent with broad shoulders, graying hair and a pair of spectacles he pulled down the brim of his nose as he stared at you from across a table? Or, was he a younger man, the tight and toned athletic type with a dimpled chin and a sparkling smile so bright it belonged in a toothpaste ad.

Hitting refresh several times, I awaited response. Pangs of disappointment ran through me as nothing appeared. Believing Dr. Dominance to be done with email duties for the evening, I figured it was time for me to be as well. Jumping from my bed and walking down the short hallway to my bathroom, I reached up and unwound my hair, letting the long, chestnut locks fall down my back. Turning on the faucet and bending forward, I ran my hands under the stream, splashing my face and feeling the warmth as my cheeks cooled. I had gotten surprisingly overheated; the thought of further email conversations with Dr. Dominance, exciting me in a way I hadn’t been excited in quite some time. I’d always been curiously aroused by mysterious characters. Part of what led me to become a writer I suppose.

Reaching for a pink face towel hanging on the rack above my sink, I patted my face dry, closing my eyes and allowing my mind to visualize the image of a tall, handsome man with wise eyes and low, mischievous brows. He is shrouded in darkness, a fierce protector of his anonymity.

Tossing the towel on the bathroom counter, I staggered, exhausted back to the bedroom, shutting off the overhead light with the switch close to the bedroom door and sliding under the left side of the covers of my large queen bed, pushing my laptop and notes to the emptiness at the right.

Picking up the laptop to close shut for the night, I noticed the highlighted words of an inbox message. I clicked on it, feeling a surge of energy run through me as I began to read:

Subject: And So We Begin

From: [email protected]

Delightful Alexandra,

This Distinguished Dominant gentleman appreciates your eagerness. My mind is yours with which to meld; my lessons yours to learn.

I await your initial inquiries with which we shall embark upon the journey of your tutelage.

Dr. Dominance

Closing my laptop and setting it on the nightstand next to my bed, I slid farther underneath the covers. Shutting my eyes and rolling over onto my side, I fell into slumber with the image of a tall, handsome man’s strong hands extended out to me from within his dark shroud.