Round One

He opened the bedroom door and breathed in deeply: the soothing smell of sage and incense immediately made him feel a little less tired, and the soft glow of the candles was a relief to his eyes. He looked down and smiled at his slave kneeling on her cushion. Her head was bowed, which he thought was a little odd. Usually she was very forward, and certainly not shy at all about expressing her happiness at his homecoming. Perhaps she had a premonition about her future, he thought. No matter – she would soon be enjoying herself. He had brought gifts.

He set his shopping bag on the floor beside her, and bent a little to stroke her hair. He admired its sheen, accented by the light of the candles. It was still ever so slightly damp, he noticed, and smelled of lavender. That was good – she had prepared herself as he had instructed. At least she still remembered how to obey direct orders.

"Hello, my little one," he said. "Did you do everything I asked you to?"

"Yes, master," she said, her gaze still fixed on his shoes.

"Thank you, sweetheart," he replied. "I have several surprises for you tonight, and it would have taken me a long time to get started if you hadn't helped. Where is our tea?"

"In the kitchen, master."

"Then I will go fetch it," he said. "Don't move – you look so good in that position."

"Yes, master," she acknowledged.

"And don't look in the bag," he added waggishly.

"Yes, master."

As he descended the stairs, he mulled over her unwonted demure behavior – she'd been a positive hellion for the past three months. She'd repeatedly broken all his rules – she'd masturbated without permission, avoided serving him sexually unless she happened to feel like it, made inappropriate eye contact, and a few days ago he had actually caught her wearing underwear. The BORING kind. His new job had kept him so busy; he supposed he'd neglected her discipline a bit. But she'd always been like this to a certain extent – he was sure her love never wavered, but her obedience certainly did. Well, he would fix that tonight. Forever.

He picked up the tea tray in the kitchen. She appeared to have done a perfectly adequate job – tea, scones, curd, clotted cream, cheese and sausages with bread. He smiled. She'd enjoy his additions. They were in the bag. Satisfied, he took the tray back up the stairs and into his room.

True to his orders, his slave did not appear to have moved at all. He finally realized she was trying to avoid punishment. The thought made him smile in spite of himself. For the past little while, he'd been adding several… implements… to his collection. Perhaps she hadn't liked the look of them, and figured since he had ordered her specifically to arrange several of them on the headboard that he meant to use them on her. Clever girl.

He set the tray down in front of her and then sat down himself. She poured him tea and then poured herself some. "How was your day?" he asked her, knowing she'd spent all day washing the sheets, going to the market, baking, waxing herself, and so on as he had instructed.

She finally looked up and met his eyes briefly. She quickly looked away again and said, "Oh, master. I hate shopping. The idiots were swarming, sir, and some stupid git in an SUV almost killed me."

He couldn't stop himself from grinning. His slave couldn't stand being around crowds of people – in cars, in markets, in malls, it didn't matter where. "But you did it for me anyway. Good girl." He bit into a sausage. It was delicious. She'd bought his favorite kind.

"Well, master, how was your day?" she asked.

"Reasonably tolerable," he said. "Although it occurred to me that you're regressing."

"Regressing, sir?"

"You've been very difficult lately," he said. "Partly it's my fault, I know. You require a firmer approach than I'm initially inclined to take. I know you love me. So tell me – what benefit is it you think that a rebellious, disobedient, ill-kempt, unmannerly little minx of a slave gives her master, anyway?"

As soon as he stopped talking, he could tell he'd been too harsh. She suddenly seemed so small – she looked like she was about to cry. He realized he must have sounded more angry than anything else, and he was by nature a very even – tempered man. Seconds drug on, but his slave made no reply.

"Aw, c'mon. I know you didn't mean to upset your master, did you?" She shook her head. "I know you didn't do it to spite me," he continued. "But you've never been consistently obedient. The funny thing is, I know that being owned is what makes you happy. Submission is what makes you happy." He shook his head a bit. "The only thing I can figure out is that you're too smart for your own good. Your head tells you one thing and your heart tells you another." Just then, she looked straight at him. "I think that's our problem, my little slave." He moved around behind her and fastened her collar around her neck. "Tonight, I'm going to fix it," he said.

"How, master?" she whispered.

He put his mouth very close to her ear, so that his beard tickled her neck and his lips brushed her hair. "You'll see," he said. "I don't want to spoil the surprise." He grabbed both of her breasts and squeezed them hard, enjoying their soft fullness. He slipped his hands under the strip of cloth she'd tied them up with and gently pinched each nipple as he kissed her neck. She gave a little moan and pressed back him. The urge to take her immediately was almost overwhelming – he could tell that just now, she wouldn't resist. But he stopped himself eventually and made himself sit across from her once again.

She eyed him as he reached into his bag. He pulled out a container of beautiful chocolate covered strawberries, and then a bottle of the Riesling she so fancied.

"Go get me two wine glasses and a corkscrew," he said.

"Yes, master," she said, and rose a little stiffly. As she walked out of the room, he stared at her pale ass showing through the sheer black material she'd wrapped around her hips.

"Down, boy," he whispered to himself. He made himself wait patiently for her, nibbling on cheese and drinking more tea. Finally, she came back in and sat across the tray from him again. He took the corkscrew, opened the wine, and poured both of them half glasses.

"Enjoy your Riesling, dear," he said. He handed her a strawberry and added, "You should eat more fruit."

"Yes, master," she said.

They ate and drank in silence for several minutes. Finally, he took her hands in his and said, "Do you love me?" She looked a little confused, but then answered, "Of course I do, master, with all my heart."

"And do you trust me always and implicitly?"

"Yes, master," she affirmed.

"And do you truly wish to be my slave forever? Do you really want to be mine for the rest of your life?"

Again, she looked confused. She seemed a little apprehensive again. She knew he had something up his sleeve. Whatever was going to happen tonight, he was not going to beat her and leave it at that. "Of course, master. I swore all this to you when you collared me."

He nodded. "So you agree that it is my right and your desire to take whatever actions are necessary to make you into the perfect slave for me?"

Now she looked scared. Inside himself, he rejoiced. He had begun to get through to her without laying a hand on her. "I – yes, master." He scanned her eyes for several seconds and then said, "The stand up."

She stood, quickly. He slowly took the few steps between them, and then took her by the shoulders, surveying her figure and her face, internally glorying that she had surrendered to him of her own volition. If his suspicions proved true, he would never have to ask such questions again. He embraced her, kissing her hair, and then he undid the knot at the nape of her neck, loosing her breasts from the cloth that contained them. He fondled them for a moment, and then pulled the wrapped fabric off her hips as well. He sighed deeply and pulled her to him, squeezing her ass firmly.

"I have a present for you, darling," he said, and reached into the bag again. He pulled out a little loop of tiny, tinkling bells. She swallowed a little too obviously when she saw the slave anklet. He bent down and fixed it around her right ankle. "You may not take this off unless you leave the house," he said. "I decided I like the idea of being able to tell instantly where you are, and what sort of mischief you might be getting up to."

"Thank you, master," she responded. "It's beautiful."

"And so are you, my pet, he said. "Now, lay down on the bed, on your back." She lay down and looked up at him. He smiled, sat down on the edge of the bed, and took a bottle of cocoa butter out of his bag. He warmed it in his hands, and then began rubbing it all over her breasts, her stomach, her hips. He watched as her nipples hardened, and then flicked them with his fingers. He leaned over and kissed her very gently, and then straightened back up. He applied more cocoa butter to her thighs and buttocks. Then he began to rub her inner thighs and progressed inward so slowly she moaned with impatience until he took pity on her and began to rub her pussy, with the heel of his hand on her pubic bone and his fingertips rubbing from her vagina to her clit with each stroke. He began to bite her earlobes, too, and she started to squirm and spasm. "Oh, I'm glad you like this," he said. "We're going to be doing it often."

"Master," she said, "I love it. But I thought you were going to punish me tonight."

"So eager, my little one?" he asked in mock surprise. "Tonight I will be punishing you, yes. But tonight is the start of a new era for you and me," he said. "I am going to look after you more closely. I don't want you running around wild anymore, and I think deep down you don't want that either. So I'll be taking more direct care of you from now on," he said. "Did you like your wine?"

"Oh, yes, master."

"Good. Because you'll be abstaining from alcohol for awhile. You'll be eating more fruit, as I said earlier, and I'm going to see you take better care of your skin. Lots and lots of cocoa butter." He smiled rakishly.

"Oh…um…yes, master." She said, obviously somewhat befuddled.

He lay on his side and stroked her hair. "You're so sweet," he said. "In time, you will make the perfect slave and the perfect wife." He held her in a full embrace, cuddled up to his chest. "I love you more than you could ever imagine," he went on, "and I want you to know that everything I do, I do because of that. You may be my slave, but you're also the crowning glory of my life."

She looked at him with adoration in her eyes. "I love you so much, master." She played with his tie, fidgeting in her nervousness.

"I know, sweet one. So are you ready to serve me? Are you ready to take your punishment and begin again? I'm going to help you, little one. I have one last gift for you tonight. It will help you be everything you need to be, everything I require you to be. Are you ready for your punishment and your gift?" Her hands ceased their fidgeting, and she teetered with indecision for a moment. Then she nodded her acquiescence.

"Say it," he said.

"I'm ready to serve you, master," she said into his chest.

He stood up. "Good girl," he said, "now stand up."

She stood beside him, her eyes again on the floor. "Now hold your arms by your sides," he said. She complied quickly, almost as if she could sense what was coming and wanted to get it over with. He tied her arms to her sides by wrapping a rope around her many times, from her breasts and upper arms down to her waist. Then he bound her ankles with a few quick wraps. He surveyed the toys she'd laid out for him. For a few seconds, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. His erection was becoming nearly intolerable. He opened his eyes, took the panel gag from the headboard, and looked at his slave.

"I love you so much," he said again. He almost felt like he'd forgotten his lines, like his engine was stalled, like he'd gotten stuck in time.

Then she said, "I love you, too," and leaned her head against his chest. At her touch, the present came rushing back to clobber his senses, the sage, the lavender, the candlelight, the bound woman – his woman – and he felt himself enter another state. The body rush was incredible. He had to do this. He would do this.

"Open," he said. She did, and he gagged her. "No more talking now, little one," he said. He reached over to the headboard and picked up a suction device. He plied her nipples with it until they were impressively engorged and slipped bands over them. "I want those hard all night, sweetie," he hissed in her ear. "I want you nice and sensitive." He pinched each nipple once, cruelly hard, and pushed her down on the bed when her muffled cries of surprise emerged from her gagged mouth. He reached into his bag again and pulled out a compound oil. He held it up so she could inspect the bottle, and watched her eyes go wide. He smiled as he rubbed it on her nipples, which were incredibly large by this time. Then he thrust his hand between her legs and rubbed it all over her pussy. "Nice and sensitive for your master," he said. "I want tonight's lesson to leave an impression."

"Roll over," he said, and she did with his help.

"You've been so bad for so long!" he said. "You've denied me the use of your pussy. Apparently you forgot that there are other orifices I could be making use of." She felt a cold, wet sensation on her asshole. Lube. She couldn't believe it; her master never used her ass. He rummaged in his bag and pulled out a butt plug. It wasn't absurdly big, but considering he hadn't done anything to her ass in the three years they'd been together, she knew it would be very hard to take. She made little "no" noises through the gag, "nnn! Nnn!" He laughed a little.

"You should've thought about that when you were busy being disobedient," he said. He began to work the butt plug inside her. "Just loosen up and take it," he said. "If you try to resist it will hurt worse. Think of how nice and tight this will make you. I love it when you're so tight I have to struggle to push my way inside you." He slapped her ass sharply with his other hand. "You can't keep me out, sweetie. Your body was made to yield to me." He finally worked it all the way in, and then said, "Good girl. You should be thankful I didn't decide to fuck your ass tonight." He ran his hand idly over her ass, cupping her buttocks here and there. From the way she squirmed, he guessed that the compound oil had kicked in. He selected a flogger, and brought it down firmly across her ass. "All right, I know you can't answer me, but that doesn't mean I don't want you to think about these questions." He struck her ass again, harder this time. "Why do you provoke me, little one?" SMACK! "Why do you cum without my permission?" SMACK! "Why do you try to deny me your body?" SMACK! "Why do you choose not to follow the dress code I laid out for you?" SMACK! "I think…" SMACK! "…it's because…" SMACK! "…you don't believe…" SMACK! "…that I own you!" SMACK! "Preposterous, you might respond," he continued. "How could a slave not believe her master owns her?" Her body flinched, but the blow did not come. After a few seconds, he hit her again.

"Well," he said. "I think you believe it superficially, but only superficially. For that, too, you must be punished." He let loose a barrage of lashes with the flogger, all over her ass and thighs. He even hit the ropes wound over her back a few times. Then he stopped, and waited for a few seconds.

"But how can I adequately punish you for failing to fully embrace your role as my slave?" He began stroking her hair in a philosophical sort of way. "Perhaps if I had been more demonstrably dominant, it would not have come to this." He looked at her ass and saw it was red hot, with purple stripes. Sufficient. He rolled her back over. There were tears in her eyes, and he wiped one away as it escaped and rolled down her cheek. Then he gently reapplied the compound oil.

"I love you so much," he said as he toyed with her nipples. "But you must learn how to be a proper slave." He pinched her nipples very hard and watched her shudder in her bonds. "Submit to me in your heart, little one," he told her. "A slave, a proper slave, always feels owned. I know once you learn to feel that way, you'll love it."

He untied her feet then, and undressed completely. His cock was aching with his need for her and it swayed as he knelt on the bed and levered her clenched knees apart. He kissed her and squeezed her breasts. "I love your gorgeous, tender breasts," he told her. "I can't wait to watch them grow heavy with milk." She suddenly stopped shifting and squirming under him. He ignored it and continued. "You'll be so much better behaved, pregnant. I know you will be – it's only natural," he went on. "That's my last gift for you tonight. You should have ovulated, what, six hours or so ago? The hormonal changes will help you act more appropriately, and bearing me a child will make up for your insolence." Her wide eyes narrowed a bit, and she relaxed. His hands continued feeling all of her body as he added, "Oh, that's right. I forgot to tell you. For the last month, you've been taking sugar pills. I took the liberty of swapping them. No hormones in 'em at all."

She immediately began squirming and shifting under him, violently straining at the ropes, trying to get her feet between him and her body. He slapped her, hard, across the face and said, "I own you. Stop fighting me." Then he pushed himself inside her, bit by bit, as he said, "I love you more than anything in the world, but now you have to learn the meaning of submission. You'll be so much happier and more content." When he succeeded at last in burying himself all the way inside her, she let out a very muffled scream through the gag.

"Shush," he told her, as he began to pump in and out of her. He grabbed a handful of her hair and held her head tight against the mattress, biting her neck as he filled her again and again. "You'll be so beautiful, sweetie," he told her, even as she tried to fight him. He continued in the voice he used on frightened animals: "Your skin will glow, and I'll rub you with cocoa butter every day for the stretch marks. And every night I'll tie you up like this and cum in you again and again and again until your belly swells, and when it's too big for me to lay on you, I'll have you on your knees in chains. And every night you're going to cum for me, too, so you draw my cum up inside you. You need this – you need to learn this lesson."

Fatigued, she began to struggle less intensely and stopped screaming through her gag. As he began to increase the speed of his strokes, she looked at him so imploringly, he stopped in midthrust, and almost bagged the whole thing. Then he remembered himself. "I love you, little slave," he said again. "This is a great opportunity for you. The hormonal changes you go through in pregnancy will make you happier and more pliable. You'll learn your lessons faster and more easily. And you'll always have a reminder that I love you and own you – for the next nine months and the rest of your life you'll never forget what you are. I know you can't resolve the dilemma of whether to listen to your head and your social indoctrination or your natural and noble instincts. You've done so much already to make me proud of you. You're so talented and learned and beautiful. You're kind and sweet and beautiful. Now you'll learn this part of being a woman. You don't have to worry about not being worthwhile, or that you should be making a more concerted effort to contribute to academia, or that you're not independent enough. I'm taking those decisions and worries away from you, at least for now, and I know that's what you've been wanting. That's why you've been provoking me. So give in and relax. I'll teach you to be a good slave, and I know that's what you need most right now, even if you don't know it yourself."