Association

At the sound of his car turning the last bend into the yard, I closed the book, placed it by my side, and locked my wrists behind my back.

--GEOFFREY--

"Put your forehead on the floor."

I walked behind Sabrina, reached down and hooked a finger under the leather strap between her buttocks.

"I don't recall telling you to put this on."

I couldn't believe Sabrina had been so disobedient. While I knew she had nothing but good intentions, it was critical that she followed my orders to the letter. Beyond critical, actually; her life could depend on it, especially when I wasn't home to help her if anything went wrong.

So much for the day's plans; I unbuckled my belt and pulled it off from around my waist. Twenty lashes left her gasping on the floor while I went downstairs to the studio.

"This kind of experience is necessary for her learning," I sang silently as I collected what would be required.

Fifteen minutes later, I had replaced the handcuffs with the arm binder, the ball gag with the penis trainer, and the chastity belt with its more sinister twin that sported huge plugs for her ass and pussy.

She could use the practice, I thought as I worked the ankle boots with the ballet heels onto her feet and knotted their laces.

I finished her off with the discipline collar and a pair of tweezer clamps threaded through the metal ring in the front of her neck, then a second set accessorized with several cumbersome weights that dangled near the polished planks of the floor.

Never explain, never complain.

"I have to run a few more errands," I said to her still-kneeling form as I turned the knob of the front door. "This time, do try to keep out of trouble."

--SABRINA--

And you thought reading would displease him, I grumbled to myself while I tried to settle into my new restraints and implements. My good mood had evaporated with the first of Geoffrey's lashes. Not because of his anger and the way he had chosen to demonstrate it, but because I had failed on my first test. How stupid.

I had assumed he would like the belt as a personal addition to the cuffs and gag, but now I realized he probably didn't object to the belt itself, but to my sense of initiative. He hadn't asked for it, therefore...

Here was one of the limits I was trying to figure out. My lesson for the day. No more initiative.

Not that I minded the results of my indiscretion. Leather had become a second skin, and I needed it. But I could have done without the twin monsters and the clamps. Especially the weights. Oh, damn it, yes, especially the weights.

And how long would Geoffrey be gone anyway? Long enough, I presumed.

My discomfort advanced to a new echelon when thirst and hunger made their unwanted appearance. Fortunately, they were followed by his steps on the porch, and the sound of the door opening.

Let's hope I can make amends and be a good girl, if he gives me the opportunity to do so, I grinned when I saw him walk straight ahead without as much as a glance down at me. Nice to see you too, Geoffrey.

--GEOFFREY--

As I walked past her, I tossed my keys in front of her still-bowed head on the floor.

"Push them into the kitchen if you want to join me for lunch."

Fifteen minutes later, she crawled her way into the kitchen, her gagged face furious as she nudged the keys onto the linoleum with her nose. Too bad, I smiled to myself as I scooped up the ring off the floor.

"Look at me," I said, serious as a funeral. After a long pause with our eyes locked together as tight as her elbows, I began.

"Judging from the chastity belt, I presume you don't want to come today. Well, I'm quite sure we can accommodate that particular request. But first, you must be famished."

I set down bowls of pasta and water in the middle of the kitchen floor, then beckoned for her to crawl on her knees to them. When she was positioned, I removed the gag, then tied a piece of rope to the end of the arm binder, climbed up on a chair, and threaded it through one of the metal rings embedded in the ceiling.

"Head down," I said.

And arms up, I added by pulling on the rope until her hands were suspended far above her back, forcing her to strain forward if she wanted to reach the bowls with her mouth and tongue.

"I want these bowls clean, down to the last morsel and drop."

I sat down at the table with my lunch, opened the newspaper and began to read.

When she finished, I strapped the trainer back around her head and decided it was time for her to practice walking in the ballet shoes.

"Up you go. Steady. Don't try to walk, just keep your balance. That's it, find your equilibrium. Good. Don't move."

I left her swaying for a few moments while I prepared things in the basement.

"Okay, let's try a few steps, nice and easy. Whoops--"

I put my arm around her shoulders an instant before she toppled over.

"Take tiny steps. Concentrate. Pretend you're walking on your tip- toes. Well, I suppose you don't really have to pretend, do you?"

We made it all the way to the door to the studio, at which point I scooped her into my arms and carried her down the stairs.

I removed the belt with the dildos, replaced the arm binder with the mittens, and added cuffs around her ankles, which I also attached to the ends of a spreader bar, her hands padlocked together to a ring in its center.

Next came a heavy chain, also padlocked to the center ring.

A few tugs later, and she was hanging bent over double, her legs spread wide, her ass and especially her pussy completely unprotected.

"So you don't want to come today?" I repeated as I brandished a single tweezer clamp in one hand and the heavy flogger in the other.

"Make it so," I grinned as my wrist twitched.

--SABRINA--

The key and the bowls were bad enough, but how was I supposed to keep my balance on tiptoes with my arms so severely bound in my back? That was just another way for Geoffrey to show who was in charge and who wasn't. Like I didn't know.

And of course I wanted to come. But only when he decided. Only when he allowed me to. Didn't he get it? Here I was, trying to please him, and all he could think about was bending me over.

I was still confused when the flogger hit my ass.

Was it still part of the punishment, or was he just playing with me?

His blows were hard and cruel. Was he angry? But he was aiming at a very particular target. Was he teasing?

Angry or teasing, it soon made no difference to my body. As usual, my sex had started to react to the pain. The straps reached my labia, burning the flesh, tearing it open. I jerked in my bonds and bit the gag so fiercely that my teeth dug into the plastic penis. If only it was his, I growled inside.

Occasionally, the leather would flick my unprotected clit and send waves of shock all around.

I rocked my head back and forth, pulling on my arms and legs, and let out moans that were partly despair, partly lust. The heavy chain above me was creaking in its iron bolt as the bar lulled slowly in reply to my moves.

Lust increased with every whip blow and despair took another face. I had toppled over to the other side where all I was waiting for was more pain, more pleasure and the ultimate relief.

Now my head was bent as far back as possible, as the extension of my body, all tense in anticipation of the much-needed climax. My ass and sex were so hot, I could imagine smoke swirling off them. Pre- orgasmic spasms came in quick succession, and my clit stood ready and engorged for the big finale.

--GEOFFREY--

"That will do. For now."

I lowered Sabrina to the ground until she was lying on her back, her arms and legs suspended from the bar hanging overhead, her nipples still doubly clamped. I enjoyed listening to her loud panting as she realized that her rather urgent desires of the moment were going to remain unrequited.

"Just a friendly word of advice, Sabrina," I said from the other side of the room after a rather extravagant sigh escaped from under the leather around her face.

"Be careful what you wish for," I continued, this time much closer to her still-struggling body.

I knelt down in front of her exposed crotch and began inserting the floppy rubber of the inflatable plug into her ass.

"Putting on your chastity belt was a serious, serious mistake, Sabrina. One, you took initiative. That's my job, period. Don't think, do. Two, you are never to touch anything I use on you without my explicit permission. Three, you assumed my response would be positive. Wrong. Don't ever presume to know me. Four, and most concerning to me, you don't even trust yourself, even when I obviously do. That makes me think maybe I shouldn't trust you in the future."

I squeezed the bladder several times, just enough to give the plug some shape inside her.

"Finally, never try self-bondage, especially when I'm not around to help you if something goes wrong. Christ, Sabrina, if anything ever happened to you..."

I stared at her silently for several seconds until my heartbeat slowed down. Suddenly, I couldn't imagine life without her.

"I've got some thinking to do. And so do you. In the meantime, you will not come for the rest of the day, until midnight tonight. By my watch, that's about nine hours away."

I took the single tweezer clamp and positioned its padded tips on either side of her clitoris.

"Of course, it may seem longer to you," I said as I slid the tiny metal ring up the silver arms.

--SABRINA--

As the pinch on my clitoris cruelly increased in intensity, tears sprang to my eyes. The pain became extreme, and yet it wasn't even bad enough to conceal my shame. I hated myself so much; if the clamp's adjustment ring had been within reach, I would have pushed it all the way up without further concern.

Geoffrey's words echoed in my mind. The realization that I had failed him in so many ways, that I might have lost his trust, hurt more than the ferocious bite.

I cried for a long time after he left the room. And while my eyes were swollen by the endless streams of salty drops, the rest of my body turned cold and dry. The pain on my clit turned into a dull ache that I could hardly perceive in my state of distress. The plug inside me was uncomfortable, and so was my position: still bent over with my muscles threatening to turn fatally numb. But the discomfort led to nothing else. No arousal, no horniness, not even anger or impatience.

My eyes eventually dried up, too, and time passed quietly. Replaying his speech again and again, I found some hope in his last threat. Thinking was far superior to packing.

When he joined me much later, I realized that all I wanted was to become worthy of his trust again. I wanted his eyes to beam with joy and pride when he looked at me.

However when his hand casually touched my sex and found a desert where a spring used to flow in abundance, his eyes expressed concern.

Shyly, I looked back at him and tried to convey my most humble apologies as well as my deepest wish to submit to him. I was so afraid he would misread my intentions and feelings. There's no rebellion or anger here, Geoffrey, just sorrow. I want to work this out. A word from you will make me feel happy again, and a touch of your fingers can make me hot and burning again, too.

--GEOFFREY--

Sabrina's sobs tugged at my heart in ways that made me as uncomfortable as she looked right now. This was always the biggest challenge for someone in my enviable position; how to balance feelings of affection with a perpetual state of torment.

But now was not the time to show compassion, as much as I wanted to untie her, take her limp, exhausted body into my arms, carry her to my bed, and ravish her until one or both of us wound up in a coma. Love hurts: the eternal conundrum of a dom.

Still, I did my best to keep the pain to a minimum as I began the unbinding process, but her thrashings and moans indicated I wasn't altogether successful.

"Poor little pussy," I said when she finally calmed down. "I think a little TLC is in order here."

I got down on my knees, leaned over, and gave her shaved labia a kiss. Then a French one.

"You like that?" I said from between her outstretched thighs.

I licked. I nipped. I sucked. I stopped. Frequently. I resumed, sometimes slow and tentative, sometimes full frontal. And every so often, I squeezed the valve, pushing another breath into her other crevice. I never exhaled, as permanent hippies were wont to say.

I felt my own needs baying below like a pack of wild dogs. But I pushed aside the urgency in my groin and continued exploring Sabrina's silken folds until my mouth turned as dry as her sex had been almost an hour before.

"That will do," I said, standing up brusquely. "Time to start thinking about dinner."

I finished untying her; after a quick respite in the bathroom, I left her on a heavy wooden chair, naked and unencumbered save for the ropes I wrapped tight and neat around her limbs, her arms to its arms, legs to legs, back to back, crotch still open wide.

The matches were the thick kitchen kind, but they would work fine. I pulled one out, balanced the tip on the floor, and leaned it against the leg of the chair.

"Pretty precarious down there, Sabrina. Wouldn't want it to inadvertently fall over."

I walked behind her to the boxes. An old favorite, I mused as I opened the one that housed my gags and rooted through the mélange of leather, rubber and metal.

"No distractions, Sabrina," I said as I approached her head with the leather hood in one hand and the earplugs in another.

I tied a slim cord to a metal ring on top of the helmet, and knotted the other end to a hook in the ceiling.

It took me a few tries before I got the thumbtack perfectly positioned so the end of the length of twine dropped down from the ceiling until it just barely grazed her clitoris.

I hoped she was comfortable, because I had a lot of calls to make before I could even think about dinner. And better get to those email in-boxes before they overflowed the server.

As I headed for the stairs, I weakened. Maybe just some clothespins on her nipples...

"No," I said out loud, scaring myself a little. The day hadn't even turned to night. And there was something to be said for letting her own imagination get the better of her. Patience now would result in something truly exceptional for both of us at 12:01 tonight, seven long hours away.

My cock reminded me that it was ready to explode if matters weren't addressed posthaste, thank you very much. A fast blowjob?

I sprinted up the stairs two steps at a time before I could reconsider.

--SABRINA--

The calm after the storm. Everything was so quiet now. The darkness, the silence, the comfort of minimum restraints, they all contributed to restore peace in my mind and heart.

However not in my body, still claiming its due after Geoffrey's long, sweet, teasing treatment.

As much as I wanted to escape the annoying itch on my tormented clitoris, I knew the match leaning against the chair would betray the slightest motion. So I stayed very still and tried to forget about whatever it was that danced so maddeningly down there.

In any case, I was feeling much better. His last words had been softer, and his actions seem to prove he had forgiven me. Of course, that didn't mean he would forget.

His armor was so thick, it was hard for me to read him. He wanted me to be his girlfriend, which led me to believe he loved me. But did he? He had been so cold all day long. And I had been so sad. He had taken all worries off me, except one. I needed to know he was pleased with me. I needed to know he returned my love.

My heartbeat accelerated--though my trained body remained perfectly still--as I finally admitted my own feelings for him. He had certainly awakened my submissive nature, made me accept it, even revel in it. But none of this would have been possible if I hadn't fallen for him as a man, too.

And the truth was, Geoffrey was the man I'd been waiting to meet all my life. Despite his secretive and distant nature, I could sometimes feel the waves of passion rolling under his quiet surface. All he needed was a safe outlet to let them flow in the open. And I wanted to be that outlet. If only he would let me.

It took him an incredibly long time to come back. By that time, I felt feverish with desire for him. The itching in my pussy had been replaced by other images. A feather. A finger. A tongue. The touch, so light, yet so real, had become unbearable.

When he removed the leather hood, I looked down and saw the match hadn't moved. I was really pleased with myself. And I believe he was equally pleased when he picked it up and slid it in his pocket. A shadow of a smile lightened his face; that alone made all my efforts worthwhile.

He freed me, gathered up the ropes, and used them to tie me in the same fashion to a chair in the kitchen. Such patience.

"I bet you're hungry," he asked without expecting an answer. "Well, so am I."

Then he mysteriously added: "And we need all our energy for what's to come."

Oh? What was his plan? I looked at the clock on the wall, and saw it was already 8.15. Make that only 8.15. Almost four more hours to wait before...what, exactly? He had said I would be allowed to come after midnight, but was there something more?

--GEOFFREY--

After I finished feeding her dinner, I left her bound in the chair while I went downstairs to gather what I needed for the rest of the evening. It took two trips.

I replaced her ropes with a pair of handcuffs before leading her into the living room.

"On your knees," I barked at her as I plopped down on the couch and began unzipping my pants.

She trembled as she did as instructed, her eyes cast downward in what seemed to be a combination of supplication and outright terror.

"Now, take my cock in your mouth and listen."

She moved her head between my legs and quickly complied.

"It's rather obvious that your training to date has been a complete and utter failure. It's my own damned fault for letting my feelings for you get in the way. And those feelings are strong, Sabrina, stronger than I've felt in a very long time."

I paused and took a deep breath as my erection began to grow rapidly.

"This is always the trouble with this kind of relationship. Part of me wants to take you in my arms and love you the way normal people do. But another part wants to beat you with a bullwhip and leave you suspended in the barn all night."

She began to suck harder, and I tried hard not to break into a silly smile.

"And that's just what I'm going to do, Sabrina."

Harder still. And was that her heartbeat I felt near my leg?

"You're not being very nice," I heard an angel whisper.

But the boss with the pitchfork and tail said, "go for it a little longer."

Nah. Time to be real.

"In my experience, there are two kinds of girls: ones you love, and ones you whip. Mutually exclusive."

She slowed down perceptibly.

"But I want both. I need both. I'm sorry. It's just who I am."

I took a deep breath and realized I'd better hurry if I wanted to finish my speech before she finished me.

"Sabrina, I think you're the real deal. The one-in-a-million ticket. But answer me straight."

I closed my eyes and let myself enjoy her for a count of three.

"Do you? Do you want it, too? Or do you want to stop? If you want to stop--and I mean all of this, not just your present predicament-- this is the time to do it."

I felt himself coming closer to coming.

"Sabrina," I rasped. "I mean it. Now or never."

--SABRINA--

The prospect of a drastic change in my training scared me. If Geoffrey meant to leave me hanging in the barn all day, every day, I wouldn't make it. If he meant treating me like a fucktoy, I would break easily. I didn't believe I had the strength to take things even one step further.