Affirmation

"Relax, and let your eyes fall shut," Josh said to Katie, his girlfriend. "I want you to concentrate on your body. Try and be aware of everything you're feeling and experiencing."

"OK," said Katie, in a subdued voice.

"Good," Josh said. "But you don't need to respond to me, unless you want to. Whatever comes naturally. For now, just close your eyes and concentrate on your body. I just want you to be as relaxed as possible."

Katie obediently closed her eyes. "I'll try. But it might be hard. This is... you know..." She gestured to herself.

"I understand," replied Josh, and he did. Or at least, he was trying very hard to. He and his girlfriend were sitting cross-legged on her bed, in her dimly-lit bedroom, facing each other. Unlike him, Katie was completely naked. That was the source of her discomfort.

Josh and Katie had met just a couple of months ago, through a mutual friend, and he'd asked her out almost immediately. The deer-in-headlights look she'd given him as she said 'yes' was one of the cutest things he'd ever seen. She'd told him up front that she was trans, and he'd told her it didn't make any difference to him at all. They had quickly become very close, but at her insistence they'd taken things very slowly when it came to kissing and touching. Josh was more than happy to respect her boundaries and didn't want her to feel at all pressured, but he'd had to confess to being at a loss about why she was so incredibly hesitant.

A week ago, Katie had mustered all her courage and told him she wanted to have sex with him. Josh had been surprised by her sudden boldness, and had wondered if she was worried he was getting impatient. Still, he hadn't been able to say anything other than 'yes'. As he often told her, to him she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and he wanted to show her he really felt that way. So, that night, after dinner, she'd taken him into her bedroom so they could finally have sex with each other.

It had not gone well.

Almost the moment Josh had put his hands on her, Katie had started crying. Tearfully, she'd explained that even though she badly wanted to help satisfy his needs, she just couldn't bear the thought of being naked around him, or of having him touch her. It wasn't his fault; it wasn't anyone's fault. It was just that even though she knew it was completely irrational, she couldn't help feeling like her body was something ugly and grotesque. A thousand gnawing insecurities added up to her not being able to handle anyone seeing or touching her body. The idea of it simply revolted her.

Josh had stayed with Katie for hours, reassuring her that he didn't resent her and wasn't going to break up with her. Then, he'd gone home and buried himself in research. He'd read anything he could find that might help him understand her, and he'd looked into anything he could think of that might provide him with a way to help her. In the end, he'd finally hit upon something that he thought might be a solution: hypnosis. It had seemed crazy at first, but the more he'd researched it and thought about it, the more reasonable it started to seem. When he'd proposed it to Katie, she'd readily agreed; anything that might work, she had said.

She'd been less enthusiastic when Josh explained he needed her to take all her clothes off, but she'd still gone along with it. Katie had blushed fiercely as she'd stripped, and had instinctively reached to cover herself up with her hands. Josh found her bashfulness incredibly cute, and he found her intensely beautiful. Her shoulder-length brown hair fell across her face in neat curls, half-hiding her aristocratic cheekbones and large, round eyes. She was slightly chubby, but thanks to her hormone treatments it was all distributed to the right places. Her boobs were quite a bit more than a handful, and the curvaceous swell of her hips had been one of the many things about her that had first caught Josh's eye. She was about as tall as him and her legs went on for days, and between them was her small, limp and somehow feminine cock. All in all, she was completely adorable.

"Katie," said Josh. "I'm going to describe a scene for you, and I want you to picture it in your mind, as vividly as you can. Let yourself fill in anything I don't mention with whatever feels most comfortable. Just make it seem as real as you can - imagine all the sounds, smells, everything. OK?"

"OK," Katie replied.

"Picture a sunset," Josh instructed. "A huge, golden, glorious sunset, one that turns the whole sky red. Really picture it. Imagine the the blazing rays the sun sends scattering all over as it touches the horizon. Imagine how impressive it is, and how that makes you feel. Got it? Good. Now, tell me where you are."

"At the beach," said Katie, softly.

"Great. That's great." Josh closed his own eyes, so he could imagine the scene he was going to paint for his girlfriend. "You're sitting on the warm sands of the beach, and you can hear the waves lapping at the shore just a short distance away. You feel completely relaxed and safe. You're just watching the sun slowly set, enjoying you beautiful it is as it slowly, slowly sinks further and further below the horizon. Look down at yourself. What are you wearing?"

"A skirt," Katie answered. "And a tank top."

"Great." Tank top was good, Josh thought. It meant she was relaxed. "What colour is the skirt?"

"Blue," Katie said, after a short pause. "With a yellow pattern."

"Great," Josh said again. It didn't actually matter, of course. He just needed her to imagine the scene as vividly as possible. "Keep imagining all those little details, like the colour of your clothes, what the weather's like, the rhythm of the waves. OK?"

"OK."

"Good, you're doing really well." She was. Josh could see Katie swaying from side to side very slightly, in time with the waves only she could hear. "Now I want you to imagine the sun sinking, sinking, sinking. Sinking below the horizon. And as it sinks, the light will grow dimmer and dimmer and dimmer. As the light fades, you'll find yourself feeling very sleepy, very calm, very relaxed. All you need to do is enjoy the sight of this beautiful sunset, and let that lovely feeling was over you. How does that sound?"

"Nice," replied Katie, distantly.

"That's right. The sunset is simply amazing. It lights up the whole sky. You've never seen such a beautiful sunset. In the face of it, all your thoughts and worries just switch off. Why think about anything other than this wonderful sky? You can still hear the waves lapping at the beach. In, and out. In, and out. Let your breathing fall into that rhythm. Perfect. And with each wave that flows in and out, the sun gets lower and lower in the sky. Lower and lower. As it does, the light fades. It's getting darker and darker all around you, but you feel completely comfortable in the dark. The darker it gets, the more relaxed you feel. Are you feeling sleepy now?"

"Yeah..."

"That's right, so sleepy. The sun has almost set now. There's hardly any light anymore. Everything around you is growing faint and indistinct. The waves are quiet. Is your mind nice and quiet too?"

"Mmm." Katie's reply was barely a murmur.

"And as you keep watching, perched on the edge of sleep, you finally see the last little glimmer of the sun disappear. All is dark now. All is black."

Josh fell silent and studied Katie carefully. She was utterly still. Her eyelids were no long twitching and she was no longer swaying. Josh waited for a full minute to see if she would stir or grow impatient, but she didn't. He felt relieved. This was working. Time for the next step.

"Katie," he said. "You're in a trance. Do you understand that?"

"Yes," she answered slowly, in a voice absent of any feeling.

"That means you're in a highly calm, highly suggestible state," Josh continued, "but you're still in charge here. I can't make you do anything you don't want to do. If you feel uncomfortable and want this to stop, you will wake up immediately. Do you understand that?"

"Yes," Katie said again.

"Great." Josh shuffled uncomfortably. This was the hard part. "Is it OK if I touch you?"

Katie frowned, her eyes still closed.

"Just on your shoulder," he added quickly. "You can say 'no' if it's not OK."

"...it's OK," Katie whispered after a long while.

Josh took a deep breath, and then reached out to place one hand on Katie's shoulder. As he reached out he noticed his arm was trembling, and he made himself steady it. He needed to be calm and confident, for her. When their skin touched an unhappy expression passed over Katie's face and she stiffened so much Josh thought she would wake up. She didn't and she relaxed after a few seconds, but not completely. Josh stroked his hand across her shoulder repeatedly, in a soothing motion.

"How does this feel?" he asked her.

"It's... not nice," Katie answered, seemingly struggling a little with her words.

"Can you tell me why?" Josh asked gently. He knew this was sensitive territory for her, but he needed to get her feelings out into the open.

"I hate my shoulders," Katie replied. Even in trance, her sadness and bitterness came through in her voice. "They're too wide, like... like a man's. I wish I could just forget about them."

"But you can't, can you?"

"No," said Katie sadly.

"Since you can't forget, I'd like to try something to make you feel a little better about them." Josh took his hand off her, and she seemed to breathe a little easier. "I can't promise it will make it all better, but it could help. Do you want to give it a try?"

"Yes," Katie replied, sounding more enthusiastic than Josh had expected.

"Great. Now, I need you to imagine something else for me. Have you ever put on some clothes you only just got out of the dryer?" Katie nodded. "Do you remember how warm they feel? The way that warmth just spreads through your whole body, all cosy and nice." Another nod. "Good. I want you to hold on to the memory of that feeling, keeping it as fresh as you can in your mind. Now, when you feel me touch you again, you will feel that same warm, pleasant sensation spreading out from my hand and suffusing your body. Only this will a hundred times more comforting and more pleasurable. It'll be the most pleasurable thing you've ever felt. Understand?"

Katie looked a little uncertain, but she nodded all the same.

"OK," Josh said. "Here we go."

He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder again. She stiffened again, like before, in anticipation of the contact, but this time, when he actually touched her she let out a surprised gasp and shivered. With raised eyebrows, Josh watched as the small, translucent hairs on her body stood on end, spreading out from where he was touching her. Katie slowly tipped her head back and let out a long, low, almost inaudible moan. It sounded like she was releasing a huge amount of tension that had built up for far too long. A blush of red graced her cheeks. Josh was astonished. He had been keeping his expectations in check, but this far exceeded his wildest dreams.

"How does it feel?" he asked, eager to make sure she was still comfortable with what was happening.

"Good," Katie whimpered. Josh felt his own cheeks burn slightly at the eroticism in her voice.

"OK, let's keep going then." Josh moved his hand to her other shoulder. As he did so, he allowed his fingertips to trace a pattern across his girlfriend's skin, touching gently over her chest and the base of her neck. He noted the way she pressed her chest forward, accentuating her form, as if hungry for his touch. He'd never seen her move like that before.

He spent a couple of minutes stroking her other shoulder, letting her get used to him touching her and allowing her to enjoy the warmth his touch brought. Then, he moved his hand upwards and ran the backs of his fingers along Katie's jawline. He knew that was another part of her she felt insecure about, even though he didn't understand way. He quickly found her nuzzling against his hand, like a kitten eager for attention. A lewd thought occurred to Josh, and he saw no reason to fight temptation. He set his thumb on the cusp of her slightly-parted lips, just to see what she would do. To his surprise, she immediately took his thumb into her mouth and suckled on it greedily. Josh blushed furiously. Katie had no idea how sexy she could be to him.

After a while, Josh reluctantly removed his thumb and moved his hand downward again. Sensing Katie was receptive, he placed his hand against one of her boobs, not grabbing or groping her, but simply letting her enjoy the warm, blissful sensation he was making her feel. Katie pressed herself against him again, and her nipples hardened to sharp points. Josh could resist tweaking them, and she let a moan that was anything but inaudible. Josh smiled. He was doing this to help Katie, but he felt sure she wouldn't mind him enjoying himself just a little.

He didn't spend very long on her tits. Fun as it was to see her squeak and squirm, Josh knew it wasn't helping her. She was fine with her tits. Besides, if this worked they could have plenty of fun later.

"Katie," Josh said, to get her attention. He took his hand off her and waited for a few seconds to make sure she was thinking straight. He was gratified to see she looked a little sad. "Is it OK if I touch you further down?"

Katie went still again. For several long moments a pained, reluctant look haunted her face. Josh thought she was going to refuse or open her eyes and wake up, but eventually she swallowed, gathered herself up and nodded her permission. Josh had to fight the urge to hug her. She was so beautiful and she was trying so very hard.

"Remember, this can stop any time you want," Josh reminded her. "And you don't need to force yourself if you don't want to." Katie remained motionless. Josh took this for acceptance.

Slowly and carefully, Josh placed his hand back on her body, resting just above her belly. Again, Katie gasped and lent into him. Her body had clearly learnt to associate his touch with pleasure, but Josh could detect a little more reluctance in her body language this time. Inch by slow inch, he moved his hand down her body, and reached to the side to caress the swell of her hips. Katie's face twitched repeatedly, and and she seemed torn between the urge to press herself against him and the urge to pull away. Josh kept going. He trusted that she would end this if she really wanted to. Josh spent a few minutes stroking her hips, moving his hand from one side to the other. She continued to blush and moan, but her hesitation never quite disappeared.

"Do you like your hips?" he asked his girlfriend.

"No," Katie replied, shaking her head to emphasise her feelings.

"No?" Josh pressed gently. "But don't they feel good right now?"

"I... I guess."

"Don't they feel warm and soft and nice?"

"Yeah."

"Then why don't you like them?" Josh made sure to keep his voice even and confident.

"I... I just... there's..."

"I know." Josh interrupted. "I know there's a voice inside you that won't stop telling you they're ugly and hideous and wrong. But what if, just for a while, you didn't have to listen to that voice? Instead, I want you to try and just listen to the pleasure."

"Listen to the pleasure..." Katie repeated, sounding enamoured with the idea.

Josh quickly found he didn't need to say anything more. Over the next couple of minutes, as he continued stroking Katie's hips he found her melting into his touch. Her moans grew louder and more shameless, and she no longer seemed on the edge of pulling away. Josh felt incredible happiness. He loved being able to touch his girlfriend after so long, and even more than that he loved that she was enjoying it.

Once he was absolutely sure that Katie was comfortably with him touching her, Josh let his hand drift slowly down and around towards her cock, taking a moment to stroke the top of her thigh and delight in the way she shivered underneath his fingers. The whole time, he studied her face carefully, watching for any sign that she wanted to stop. She had gone very still, even more so than before, but her lips were still parted in a silent moan and her eyelids were not twitching as they had been earlier. Josh took all that as a sign that she wanted to continue. The command he had given her at the very beginning was still in effect; if she wanted this to stop, it would stop.

By the time his fingertips reached the base of Katie's cock, she was already hard. Josh's cock, still in his pants, was hardening too, as he became aroused at the sexy sight of his girlfriend presenting her most intimate self to him. To test her reaction, Josh lifted his hand away from her, and then used just a single finger to trace a lazy path up the head of his girlfriend's dick. Pleasingly, a jolt ran through her body like she'd been struck by lightning, and she let out a needy sound that was half way between a kitten's purr and a whimper. Josh removed his finger and Katie slightly pushed her hips upwards, straining towards him. Satisfied that she was enjoying herself, Josh wrapped his whole hand around the base of her cock. Katie immediately out an incredible, shameless moan that filled the whole room. Josh stared at her, astonished. He would never have expected such a sound to come out of his timid, shy girlfriend. He could only imagine the kind of mind-blowing pleasure she must be experiencing, with the hypnotically-implanted suggestion of warmth and bliss adding onto her already sensitive and over-stimulated body.

Josh started to stroke up and down Katie's cock, his hand applying a gentle but firm pressure. His girlfriend moaned with every stroke, her breath coming in a ragged, uneven rhythm. Her face had turned a deep crimson and her shoulders were pressed back with her back arched, opening her body to Josh. Her hips slowly began to gyrate, moving in time with Josh's strokes to win her even greater pleasure. Josh couldn't be happier with the way she was responding. To him, this was the most erotic experience of his life. Even though he wasn't experiencing any direct stimulation himself, he felt like his body was completely in tune with her reactions. He was flushed and breathing hard, just as Katie was. He found himself on edge, anticipating his girlfriend's orgasm almost as much as she surely was. But as he watched and stroked, Josh sensed there was something holding Katie back, the ghost of some insecurity or dysphoric feeling.

"Listen to the pleasure," he reminded her. "Only to the pleasure. Only pleasure."

"Listen to the pleasure." Katie repeated it like a manta, her voice thick with ecstasy. "Listen to the pleasure, listen to the pleasure, listen to the pleasure... Ah!"

She came. Her body pulsed as sweet release tore through her. She almost bit her tongue as she tried to bite down on her embarrassingly lewd screams of bliss, but she quickly gave up and let them fill the room. Josh felt her spurt into his hand and laughed. He had done it. He had helped her.

"Katie," he called out, once her orgasm subsided. "Wake up now."

She came out of trance and her eyes blinked open, momentarily dazzled by the light. At first, she looked at Josh with great uncertainty, like she didn't know what she was feeling. But then a wide grin of pure, genuine happiness spread across her face from ear to ear. She threw herself forward and clasped Josh in her arms, hugging him tight. Josh let out a sigh of contentment as she shared the warmth of her body with him. It was wonderful that they could finally hold each other like this. Katie put her mouth to his ear.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you."