Dedicated Dominatrix

Whatever is good in this story wouldn't be half as good if it were not for the wonderful work of NotAWhit, who uses unconventional techniques to get to the heart of writing problems so they can be fixed. My deepest gratitude to this editor. Also, thank you to my story consultant, Qetesh, and special thanks to TessSoerensen for finding more mistakes and polishing it to the point where it was finally ready to submit.

The German version of this story is Hingebungsvolle Domina, posted in German Literotica by egonhoppe73.

*

Amy turned out the light, backed quietly out of the room and closed the door without making a sound. Her smile turned to a frown, and she sniffed as she slowly walked down the stairs and into the family room. She stood watching Lauren putting a glass in a cabinet. The only sound was the baseball game Mike was watching. He was focused on the screen and didn't see her.

Lauren turned and saw Amy. Their eyes met, and Amy lost control. She rushed to Lauren, threw her arms around her sister and began sobbing.

Mike got up and turned around. He saw Lauren signal him with a nod of her head to turn off the TV and watch the rest of the game upstairs in their bedroom. He tiptoed out of the room.

Amy hung on her and cried as Lauren moved them to the couch and fell onto it, with Amy landing had on top of her. Amy jumped up.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Lauren said. "Sit down and tell me what happened."

"I hate men!" her sister screamed. "They are all greedy animals who devour your body and suck the soul out of you. Then they leave your bones drying in the sun and move on to their next prey."

Lauren got comfortable. She knew from experience that she'd be listening to Amy's imaginative ravings for the next hour or when she ran out of breath, whichever came first.

The same question always came at the end, so Lauren was ready.

"You ask me that every time and my answer is still the same. There's nothing wrong with you. You are beautiful. You've got a hot body. You are caring, kind and sweet. You are funny and unpredictable and obsessive and unforgettable. Whoever is lucky enough to win you will have the greatest wife ever.

"It's them, not you. You've had a run of bad luck with your string of losers. I wish I could tell you how many frogs you have to kiss before you find your prince, so at least you would know when you were getting close."

"I've already doubled your frogs!"

"That means you'll find someone who's twice as good as Mike."

"Never. He's perfect."

"No, he's not."

"You know what I mean. He's one in a million. Tell me I'm wrong."

She wasn't, so Lauren changed the subject.

"I've been feeling guilty, but not anymore. After we hung up yesterday, I did a lot of thinking."

"What? Why should you feel guilty?"

"Because I've been neglecting you. My lame excuse was that I didn't want to interfere in your life. No more! I've already started meddling. From now on, call me Miss Busybody."

"What do you mean?"

"I've got a list of people that I'll be calling tomorrow. I squeezed another list out of Mike. And I'm going to be networking my ass off, on social media and in person."

"What for?"

"What do you think, stupid? I'm going to get recommendations, and I'm going to screen them. And the lucky ones who stand up to my scrutiny will get a date with you."

"Forget it! You've got enough to do with four kids and Mike. I don't know how you hold things together now."

"I thought you wanted five."

"That's because I'm still in competition with my older sister. She always beats me, but if I can pop out five to her four, I'll finally come out ahead."

"Shut up!"

"Seriously, Lauren. Don't waste your time. If you come up with three guys, two of them will be great catches and the third will be one of those guys who looks, sounds, and smells good and turns out to be an asshole. Guess which one I'll fall for? I'm telling you, it's me. I attract them like garbage attracts cockroaches."

Lauren didn't respond. Amy saw her hesitation.

"What is it? You are afraid what you want to say will upset me. Don't worry. Nothing you can say would make me feel any worse than I'm feeling now."

"I don't know," Lauren said. "I'm no expert in psychology. But I've been thinking about you and your ex-boyfriends, and I keep coming back to the same thing. Maybe I'm crazy, but I think I know who's responsible for all your bad relationships, going back to college and maybe before."

"What are you talking about? There's someone screwing up my love life! That's crazy."

"It's two people: Mom and Dad."

Amy looked at her in amazement. Lauren had taken leave of her senses. She had no response to such a crazy statement.

"Ohhh kayy. Go ahead!"

"How would you describe their relationship?" Lauren asked.

"They were the opposite of dysfunctional. They had the perfect marriage. How can you say...?"

"Stop right there! That's what I mean. Remember how all the kids in the neighborhood thought of them as their second parents. Our house was always full of kids because they wanted to be around Mom and Dad. Some of them had great parents, some of them not so great. But nobody compared to ours. We had a dream childhood."

"That's right. So, what's your point."

"So, we thought that our marriages would be like theirs. Have you ever thought Mike was a little like Dad?"

"Yes, and that's great. Are you complaining?"

"No. That's why I married him, but I didn't realize it at the time. I thought I was breaking away and starting to live my own life. Once Tommy was born, it was impossible to ignore the obvious. I found a man who would duplicate Dad, and I was duplicating Mom. Do you remember how Dad worshipped the ground Mom walked on?"

"Yes!"

"And how radiant she was when she could come up with something new to delight him?"

"Oh my God! You're right. That's Mike and you. Come to think about it, I've never seen you argue."

"That's not because we don't have good fights. Mom and Dad did, too. Maybe you don't remember because when you came around, they weren't as excitable anymore. They were too busy trying to keep you out of trouble. But they never fought when anyone else was around."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying you are thinking about men the wrong way. You like a guy and immediately picture him as Dad. And then you start acting like Mom and expect him to give you five babies so you can all live happily ever after."

"My expectations are too high. I need to lower them."

"That's just the start. Like you said, Dad was one in a million. Most men are closer to the opposite of what he was. You're better off going to the other extreme."

"What do you mean?"

"Just be realistic and use your own experience. When you see a man, think of him as scum until proven otherwise. Proof! Yes, that's it. Make him prove that he's worthy of you. Until he does, treat him like dirt. Chances are, he's self-centered, selfish, greedy, and only wants to seduce and abandon you. Think of him that way.

"Stop catering to your boyfriends. Take control of the relationship. They need to listen to you and do what YOU tell them, not the other way around. Control. Yes, that's it! You need to be in control."

Amy thought about what Lauren was saying. It made sense. But how? Lauren interrupted her thoughts.

"Of course, I'm exaggerating to make a point. But you get the idea."

"I think I do. So what should I do?"

"I'm not going to tell you that because I want you to still be Amy. Do what feels right for you. All I'm saying is maybe it's time to adopt a new attitude."

"You're so right!" Amy said with enthusiasm. "I feel better already. My sister still knows best."

"Hold on! I want to give you a warning, too. You are too impetuous. Every time you get into something new, not just boyfriends, you go too far too fast. Take a while and think about this before you say or do anything. Promise?"

"Yes, Mommy, I promise."

*************

Amy kept her promise. She began working on adopting a new attitude toward men and thinking about how she could stay in control. The attitude part wasn't a problem. She read a book on self-talk and started to reinforce her new perspective whenever she was alone.

The part about being in control was harder until she did a search on "being in control with men." That brought up a lot of sites. Most of them were one word different: "being in control of men." When she started looking at them, other sites popped up that were "dominating men." That led to videos and erotic stories, some of them shocking.

It was all strange and new to Amy. It intrigued her, occupied her time, and made her forget her boyfriend problems. As she devoured the videos and the written material, it felt like she was high on drugs or booze, except that she woke the next morning with no after-effects.

At first, she didn't see how this other world related to her life, but gradually she put it together with her disastrous relationships and her sister's advice, and it became obvious to her. She would no longer be a victim of men. Instead, she was going to control them and make them her victims.

Victims plural. She had found her life's calling. She would subjugate, humiliate, and enslave as many men she could until she took her dying breath. She owed it to herself and all the other girls whom they had victimized.

****************

She met Langdon as she was in the midst of discovering her new mission in life.

During lunch in the basement cafeteria, she looked up from her tray and saw a man looking at her from a few tables away. He turned his head when she noticed.

A few days later, she was in line for the cashier in the same place when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw him at the coffee station looking at her again.

This time she could size him up. He was good looking and fit. He didn't look familiar. She quickly turned her head and stared directly at him. He jerked in surprise and turned away. She smiled.

The brief episode made her feel good. She had been in control, and he had been embarrassed. She wondered if she'd see him again.

A few days later, she did see him. This time he got up from his table and came to hers.

"I hope you're not upset that I was watching you."

"Not at all."

"Do you mind if I tell you the truth, even though it's trite and you've probably heard it hundreds of times? You're gorgeous. Your face and your body. That's why I was admiring you and wondering about you."

"I might give you points for honesty."

"What?"

"You were exaggerating about my face and body, but maybe you were honest about your feelings. Or you could be a really good liar."

"Thanks."

"For what."

"For telling me. I was wondering what kind of woman you are. Now I know."

"If you knew what kind of woman I am, you wouldn't be standing there. You'd be running. Consider yourself lucky you don't know."

"Tell me you're not totally self-absorbed and think your looks can get you anything. What's dangerous about that?"

"Nothing. You have part of the picture, so you can congratulate yourself."

"What am I missing?"

"You don't want to find out. How many warnings do you need?"

"You're funny."

"I'm glad you're amused."

"I just got the joke," he said. "I've been waiting for you to brush me off and tell me to get lost. But we're still talking. You don't want me to leave. What do you want?"

"You're right. I'm enjoying this, but I don't want anything from you. This is your third warning. You should stop while you're ahead."

"What if I don't want to stop? What happens next?"

"What happens now is I'm going back to work. After that, it depends on if I ever see you here again."

Amy got up, grabbed her tray and quickly walked away. Langdon stood there with his mouth open watching her disappear. He didn't see the broad smile that broke out on her face as she turned her back to him.

She worked to block him out of her mind the rest of the day, but it was hard. She breathed a sigh of relief the moment she left the office and began reliving the conversation. She didn't think he knew who she was, and she had no idea who he was. No name, no phone numbers. She didn't care, but she was sure he did.

It was the first real test for the new Amy, and she thought she did well. Whatever he wanted when he approached her table, he didn't get it. Instead, she took control, punctured his self-assuredness and left him in disarray. At the same time, she set him up for the next step.

She felt excited but not impatient. If he bit at the bait, she would continue working him. It was highly unlikely that she would succeed so fast, but who knew? With beginner's luck, she might yet make him into her first slave. Whatever happened, the practice would teach her valuable lessons for future victims.

For now, she bided her time and continued intensively studying her new lifestyle on the Internet.

*************

Amy didn't see him until he was almost at her table, but she was prepared. This was the first time she had been back to the cafeteria, and she made sure no one else from the office was sitting with her. All she had bought was a cup of coffee that she was sipping.

"I'm Langdon," he said, smiling and holding his hand out.

She gave it a firm shake.

"Pleased to meet you, Langdon. I'm Amy. Have a seat. I can't stay long. What can I do for you?"

"Are you free for dinner Friday?"

"Yes. What time?"

"How about if I pick you up at six? Or would you rather meet me there?"

"Let's make it seven. Here are my address and phone number."

He watched her take a piece of paper off a small pad in her purse, scribble on it and hand it to him as she spoke again.

"There's just one more thing."

"What's that?"

She looked at him while taking the final sips from her coffee cup before she spoke.

"If you're not there at seven, I won't be there, and we won't be having dinner together or anything else -- ever! I've got to run now. See you Friday."

She was up and gone before he could open his mouth. He didn't see her in the cafeteria the rest of the week.

************

He was punctual Friday night.

"Come in," she said.

He followed her into her living room. Her one-bedroom apartment sparkled from the hours she had spent cleaning it in the last couple of days. She wondered if he noticed that she was sparkling also. She had spent more than an hour showering and fixing herself up for him.

She sat down on an oversized easy chair and motioned him to sit down on the couch facing her.

"Langdon! Langdon!" she said in a tone of mock exasperation. "What am I going to do with you?"

He didn't answer her rhetorical question and waited to see where she was going.

"I'm not going to bore you with any more warnings. You told me that you already know the kind of woman I am. I'm not as quick as you, so I have to ask you a question. Are you the kind of person who is set in his ways?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are you flexible? Can you be spontaneous? Or does it bother you if things don't go according to plan?"

He didn't know how to answer, but he had the feeling that if he thought about it, she would jump to a conclusion, so he quickly decided to give the answer he thought she wanted.

"I think I'm pretty adaptable."

"That's good. I think life is all about change. It gets messy at times, so if you can switch your expectations at a moment's notice, you're sometimes better off. Would you agree with that?"

"Yes, that makes sense."

"Good, because I'm not in the mood to go to dinner with you."

"You aren't?"

"No. I ate a little something earlier, so I'm not hungry. If you're starving, you should leave. I know it's late, but I'm sure there's someone else you can call."

"Are you asking me to leave?"

"I didn't say that. I'm staying home. You're welcome to stay with me or not."

"I'll stay. Since we're not eating, what do you want to do."

"I didn't say we're not eating. What I want to do is find out more about the kind of man you are."

"In what way?"

"I like that response. You're thinking ahead. First, I want to ask you a few questions. Depending on the answers, I might ask you to demonstrate."

"Ask away."

"I like it that you don't waste time, Langdon, but I want you to think about your answer to this question. I'm not looking for a quick response, but a thoughtful one. Do you have problems following directions?"

"Sorry for the quick response, but I don't think you want a simple yes or no, so I need to understand what you're getting at."

"Let me put it this way," she said. "Say there's something at work that you want to do, and your boss tells you to do something else instead. Do you resent your boss interfering or can you adjust and follow her orders?"

"How did you know my boss was a woman?"

"I didn't know. Does that make a difference?"

"No. I'll be honest. I do like to get my own way, but I think it's a waste of time to worry about things that are out of my control. So, I might resent my boss a little, but I'd follow her orders without complaining."

"That's good enough for me. Here's a harder one. Are you willing to think of me as your boss this evening and follow my orders without questioning or complaining?"

"Since you don't pay me, what's my incentive?"

"I don't have fear like your boss does. I can't fire you. The only thing I can think of is curiosity. Are you curious?"

"Yes, but not curious enough to follow any order you might give me. What if you wanted me to jump off the roof?"

"Wow! I like your imagination, Langdon. I didn't have high expectations for this evening, but maybe I was wrong.

"Let me answer your question. I'm not going to order you to do anything that will harm you physically in any way. I promise."

"Do you promise not to harm me mentally?"

"No."

"So that's what you're after. You want to punish me for being smug the first time I talked to you. You hate my guts."

"Hate is too strong. I don't care for some aspects of your personality. I want to correct them."

"With mental abuse."

"Maybe."

"Is your intention to make me a better person?"

"In a way. It's to make you a better person for me. I don't care about anyone else. You got it right when you told me I was self-centered. I want to mold you into someone satisfactory to me."

"I'm curious about how you're going to do that. I don't believe in hypnotism."

"I don't either."

"Are you going to restrain me if I decide to stay?"

"Not tonight."

"What does that mean?"

"I'll tell you what it means, but not now. Since it's irrelevant for tonight, it would be a waste of breath."

"If you don't tie me up or handcuff me to the door handle, what's to keep me from leaving when I've had my fill of your abuse?"

"Nothing. You are free to leave right now, or anytime, with no consequences, except one."

"What's that?"

"If you leave before I'm done with you, I'll never see you again, except maybe in the cafeteria. And you won't ever talk to me again."

"What will stop me?"

"Nothing the first time. All I will do is loudly tell you not to touch me or speak to me in front of dozens of witnesses. If you try again, I'll get a restraining order."

"I see you've worked this out."

"I've learned from experience," she lied.

"Do I get a safe word?"

She looked at him, and her eyes grew wide. His question astonished her. Suddenly, she was at a loss. Up to now, she was feeling good about how she was handling him. Had he completely fooled her? Was he really in control all along?

She looked at him for any sign that gave his game away, but all she could see was curiosity. Was he that good an actor? She thought about her response a while before she spoke.

"So, you've done this before?"

"No."

"Then why did you ask about a safe word."