Suzette

"Listen, Daria, I am so sorry about the other day," Suzette said. Or, she would have said if they hadn't been in an overcrowded nightclub with booming background music. Instead, Suzette shouted her apology across the table.

Daria had to lean over the table to hear what her co-worker said. For the twenty-third time this evening, she told herself this was a terrible idea.

Suzette had insisted on taking her out for drinks after she asked Daria out during their lunch break. Daria didn't know why she said yes. She didn't like Suzette, and she didn't want to give her the wrong idea. However, Suzette had been so earnest, and Daria admitted to herself, so pathetic, she felt she had no choice to say yes.

Daria wasn't a lesbian. Even if she were, she wouldn't be attracted to Suzette. She hated to use the word (again), but Suzette was pathetic. There was something so needy about her, so clingy... you couldn't help but feel badly for her, and Daria didn't want a relationship with anyone, man or woman, who was a pity project.

So, what are you doing here? She shook her head at the question she asked herself. "Listen, Suzette," she shouted over the music. "I have to go. It's getting late." Daria gestured at her watch. "I need to be up early tomorrow."

"Let me get your drink!" Suzette shouted in reply. Before Daria could protest, Suzette hopped off the stool and rushed to the bar. Daria debated slipping out before the other woman came back. If she left, the next day at work would be awkward; Suzette would ask her in that wounded voice where she went and why she hadn't waited for her drink. Also, Daria didn't want to make Suzette pay for a drink that would go to waste. That was mean, especially with the increased cost of living nowadays.

Daria sighed and stayed put. You're too nice, she said to herself. After this drink, she was leaving, she decided. She'd thank Suzette, politely but firmly explain she wasn't interested in dating women, and go home.

Suzette returned faster than expected, considering that there was a throng of people surrounding the bar. She handed Daria a drink in a tall, thin glass. It was dark in the club, though Daria thought the liquid in her glass looked blue. Her heart sank. She hated sugary girly drinks. If she had been ordering, she would have gotten wine.

"It's the nightly special," Suzette shouted in her ear. "The bartender said it's really good!"

The words of Daria's grandmother echoed in her ears: "You can't say you don't like it until you've tried it." Daria took a sip. It wasn't as bad as she thought. The drink wasn't too sweet. She detected a hint of berries -- not syrup, but real berries, slightly tart. The alcohol wasn't overwhelming, either.

"This isn't bad," Daria shouted at Suzette, who was still standing next to her. Suzette grinned broadly and gave her a thumb's up.

It was halfway through the glass that Daria started to feel dizzy. The darkened club spun around her. Suzette moved in circles around her stool. "Are you okay?" Suzette asked. Her voice was distorted, as though she was speaking into a tinny microphone. She put her hand on Daria's back.

Daria closed her eyes. Maybe if she did that, the room would stop spinning. "Put your head down on the table," Suzette urged. Daria did as she was told. Even with her eyes closed and her head down, it still felt as though she was inside her washing machine's spin cycle.

"Do you feel sick?" Suzette asked, concerned. Her hand stayed on Daria's back. It felt warm and heavy. She wanted to tell Suzette to move it, but she worried that if she spoke, she'd throw up. She settled for moaning instead.

"Let's get you home." Suzette's voice was in her ear. Daria could feel her hot breath against her skin. Suzette slid an arm under Daria's armpit and hauled her off the stool. She didn't think Suzette was that strong -- she was a short, thin woman who looked like she'd never lifted anything heavier than a paper plate. Yet, she was firmly guiding Daria the crowd, telling people to move out of the way for her sick friend. Daria wanted to correct her -- they were co-workers, not friends. She was still worried about throwing up, though -- there was bile rising in her throat.

After what seemed like hours (but was probably actually a few minutes), they made it outside. The night air was cool, sweet, and welcome. Daria kept her eyes closed, even though the spinning subsided a bit. "Let's get you to my car," Suzette murmured. Now that they were out of the club, she didn't need to shout.

Daria wanted to tell Suzette that it would be okay, she could just take a cab home. However, she couldn't get the words out before Suzette began guiding her towards her car. She felt herself being lowered into the back seat and Suzette fastening the buckle. Did Daria imagine it, or did Suzette drag her hand across her breasts? She must have been imagining it, she decided, as she leaned her head back against the seat.

Suzette was being really nice to her, taking her out for a drink, taking her home when she started feeling sick... why did she start feeling sick? Daria tried to piece together the events of the evening, yet they refused to come together in a coherent whole. Images kept shifting in and out of focus. It was so hard to concentrate. The dizziness had been replaced by an overwhelming wave of tiredness.

Daria heard the engine start. She tried to open her eyes. Everything was blurry, like looking at the world through smudged glass. Suzette's face swam in front of her. "If you're feeling tired, you should sleep," she said. Her voice sounded like she was underwater.

"Sleep," Daria tried to say, but it came out as "sheee." Maybe it would be better if she gave into the exhaustion about to engulf her. She'd wake up feeling as good as new. At least, she hoped so.

When Daria did wake up, the first sensation she felt was that of thirst. She couldn't remember the last time she'd needed to drink water so badly -- her throat was painfully dry. The second sensation was that of disbelief. She was naked and strapped to a padded chair. A bright light shined in her face. She closed her eyes against it, cringing at its glare.

"Oh, you're awake." Suzette's voice no longer sounded distorted. Rather, it sounded normal, which was even weirder, because why would you have normal conversation with someone who was naked and strapped to a chair?

"Suzette?" Daria whispered. "What...what's going on? Where am I?"

"You're in my lab," Suzette replied. The chair tilted backwards suddenly, catching Daria by surprise. Now, she was lying down. It was like being at the dentist, only a thousand times more terrifying.

"Lab?" Daria repeated. She opened her eyes. The light was no longer directly in her face at this angle. Suzette's back was to her. She had busied herself with a tray of tools.

"Yes, my lab," Suzette explained patiently, turning to Daria. Her hands were empty, though that didn't reassure Daria. She couldn't see the tray of tools behind Suzette's back. "I've been doing a lot of independent research into the human mind and how it responds to stimuli."

The bland explanation didn't make Daria feel any better. "Please, Suzette," she pleaded, "if you let me go, I won't tell anyone about this. We can pretend this never happened. I promise. I won't go to HR-"

Suzette stroked Daria's cheek. "Don't worry, you won't tell anyone about this. I'll make sure of that."

A tear slid down Daria's cheek. Thoughts of her life, her job, her apartment, her parents, flashed before her eyes. What was Suzette going to do to her? Would she kill her and chop her up into little pieces?

Suzette wiped away the tear lovingly. "I'm not going to hurt you," she murmured. "I would never hurt you." The moment of tenderness was fleeting, though. Suzette stood up straight and moved away from the chair. "I was telling you about my research," she continued, as though the two women were having a normal conversation, and Suzette didn't have Daria strapped to a chair in some underground lair.

"I'm fascinated by how the human brain works," Suzette confided. "I've always wondered if mind control were possible -- could you actually transform someone into your thrall, or was that just in the realm of science fiction? As it turns out, it's possible!" Her voice was gleeful. Whatever shred of hope Daria had disappeared.

"You...you want to control people?" Daria asked.

Suzette grinned broadly. "Exactly!"

"But...that's wrong!" Daria protested. "What about people's free will?"

"What about it?" Suzette asked flatly. Her grin vanished. It returned moments later. "It's okay, you're not going to have free will much longer anyway."

"What? No!" Daria screamed and thrashed, to no avail. The straps holding her legs and arms down were too tight. Suzette grabbed Daria's head and pulled a fabric strap across it to hold it in place.

"There you go, nice and secure," Suzette said in a singsong voice, as though she were speaking to a small child or an animal rather than an adult woman. "I'm going to get you ready for the next step in the process."

Daria wailed in response. She might as well have been screaming at a wall. Suzette moved around her makeshift lab without paying her any attention. After a few minutes, Daria's already-parched throat grew hoarse, and her wails subsided into whimpers. Suzette walked over to the chair and stroked her face.

"This isn't going to hurt at all," she reassured her. "In fact, you'll really enjoy it." Daria highly doubted that. How could she enjoy her will being sapped so she was a mindless thrall, or whatever it was that Suzette wanted to do to her?

Suzette took one last look at Daria before turning away towards a tray behind her. When she turned around, she was holding a hypodermic needle. Daria's eyes widened.

"You'll just feel a pinch," Suzette explained. Daria didn't have the energy to wail again, but her whimpers rose in pitch. Suzette was right, though -- it was a slight pinch as the needle penetrated her skin. "The drug cocktail will start working very quickly," she added, and she was right about that, too.

Suzette slid from focus as everything in front of Daria grew hazy. All the tension in her body melted away. She was completely limp. It wasn't scary, actually -- it was kind of funny, being so limp and lazy. It felt...Daria searched for a word to describe it, but her brain seemed to have slowed down. No, it had come to a dead stop. She decided that her brain's enforced vacation was funny, too. She let out a giggle.

Suzette smiled encouragingly at her. "That's it," she said soothingly. "Let the drugs flow through you so you can feel relaxed and happy. You don't need to think anymore. You'll just be relaxed and happy," she repeated.

Relaxed and happy... the words seemed to come from very far away. Yet, they sounded like something Daria could do right now. She could be relaxed and happy, lying here, not thinking, letting the drugs flow through her. A wide smile spread across her face.

"It's so good to see you smile," Suzette said happily. "You're going to be so much happier after this, I promise!" She loosened the restraint on Daria's forehead, then placed a helmet over her head. "We're ready for the next phase." Suzette's voice sounded muffled. That was kind of funny. Daria let out another giggle.

The helmet blocked out the bright light, which was nice. The darkness was momentary, though: the screen in front of Daria's eyes came to life with swirling patterns. Deep reds, calming blues, and vivid greens passed before her eyes. It was so beautiful, it took Daria's breath away.

While the swirls entranced Daria's eyes, sounds from the built-in headphones poured into her ears. It was some kind of drum beat, maybe? Daria couldn't quite figure it out. She could hear the rhythm. It sounded like "Suzette." She tried to concentrate on the sounds, but it was too difficult to do that and pay attention to the enchanting swirls.

"Suzette." There was that sound again. Daria decided to just sit back and let everything wash over her -- the colors, the noise, the relaxing, happy feeling the drugs brought her.

"Suzette loves you." Daria ingested this knowledge. Suzette loves me. That's why she's making me feel so good. A particularly stunning pattern swirled before her eyes. Suzette made these beautiful patterns for me. Warmth flowed through Daria at the thought.

"You love Suzette." I love Suzette, Daria thought. There was no hesitation -- she knew it was the truth. She loved Suzette with every fiber of her being. "I love Suzette," she murmured as the colors shifted.

"You worship Suzette." I worship Suzette, Daria thought. She is my goddess. I must pray at her altar.

"Suzette is your mistress." Suzette is my mistress, Daria thought. It was a logical assumption; if she worshiped her, Suzette must be someone important and special in Daria's life. Being her mistress seemed appropriate.

"You are Suzette's pet." I am Suzette's pet, Daria thought. It also made sense. If Suzette was her mistress, and Daria was too happy and relaxed to think, then she should be Suzette's pet. Her smile grew wider. "I'm Suzette's pet," she murmured.

Daria wasn't sure how long the beautiful colors swirled, or how long she listened to her new truths. It didn't feel like long enough when Suzette lifted the helmet off of her head. Daria blinked against the light.

"How do you feel?" Suzette asked. She was standing in front of the light. It created a halo effect, making Suzette look like an angel.

"My mistress!" Daria exclaimed, beaming. "I feel wonderful, Mistress!"

Suzette smiled in response, and Daria's heart sang. She stroked Daria's face. "My beautiful pet," she sighed. Daria leaned into Suzette's hand as much as her restraints would allow.

"I can take off these restraints now," Suzette said, loosening the straps that held Daria's arms and legs in place. "You'll probably be a bit wobbly, still. The drug cocktail is pretty strong." She slid an arm under Daria's shoulders and pulled her upright.

Mistress was right, Daria was pretty wobbly. She almost fell off the table when Mistress tried to help her. It was a good thing Mistress was holding her so close. Daria breathed in the scent of her mistress. Mistress smelled clean and wholesome -- like soap. Daria looked up at her adoringly.

Suzette led Daria out of the lab to another room. Where the lab had been sterile, this room was sumptuous. A large, inviting bed with satin sheets occupied the middle of the room.

"Let's test out how well this worked, shall we?" Suzette asked, smiling.

"Test out what, Mistress?" Daria asked eagerly.

"Oh, nothing." Suzette dismissed the question with a wave of her hand. "Undress me, my pet."

Daria set about her task with alacrity. She pulled Suzette's pale blue sweater over her head, then unbuckled her belt and slid the black slacks over her thin waist. Daria moved behind Suzette to unhook the simple cotton bra. Then, she slid the sensible cotton underwear off her mistress.

"Very efficient," Suzette remarked. She moved onto the bed, leaning back on her elbows. Her thin legs lay open, allowing Daria to see what waited for her between her mistress' thighs. "Come over here," Suzette instructed.

Daria moved quickly to the bed and knelt before her mistress. "Oh, kneeling, I like," Suzette smiled. "Come closer, my pet. Onto the bed. I want you to worship me with your tongue."

The moment Daria heard the words "worship me," she sprang onto the bed and dove between her mistress' legs. It didn't matter that she had never gone down on another woman before. Her mistress was asking her to worship her with her tongue.

Suzette lay back. Her hand rested on Daria's head, her fingers entangled in Daria's dark curls. "You're good at that, my pet," she breathed. "You know just what, ah, to do. Yes, keep doing that with your tongue. Right there! Right there, oh! Keep...keep doing that!"

Daria kept licking. Her mistress tasted amazing -- her juices were sweet and musky. She could drink from them all day. Beneath her, Mistress' body quaked. Her mistresses panting and moans grew higher in pitch until Daria heard, "Ahhh!" Her mistress convulsed with pleasure. Daria paused her licking and rested her head against her mistress' thigh.

"Oh...that was good," Suzette said. She sounded like she had also taken some drugs. Her mistress smiled and looked at her with hooded eyes. "You did...very well, my pet."

A surge of pleasure shot through Daria's body. "I live to serve you, my mistress," she responded.

"Yes, you do," Suzette laughed huskily. "Why don't we do this -- every time you give me an orgasm, you get one yourself?"

Daria gasped. "Oh, Mistress, that would be amazingly generous!"

Suzette smiled lazily at her. "Well, I'm nothing if not generous. Let's try it now and see how it works. Pet, orgasm!"

At those words, a tsunami wave of pleasure broke over Daria's body. She had experienced climaxes before, and some of them were quite intense, but this was like nothing she'd ever felt. It was as though someone had turned up her pleasure dial to 1,000. Every nerve in her body sang. She heard someone shriek. Dimly, she realized it was her.

It felt like hours before she recovered. The first thing she sensed was Mistress stroking her hair. "It looks like you enjoyed that quite a bit, didn't you, my pet?"

"Yes," Daria smiled. She had a dim memory of receiving drugs that made her happy and relaxed. That's what she felt like now -- happy, relaxed, without a care in the world.

"So, we'll keep that in place then," Suzette said to herself. "A satisfied pet is a happy pet, right? And I think we'll make each other very happy." She stroked Daria's hair.

"Yes, Mistress," Daria agreed. She was already dreaming of the pleasure she would bring to (and receive from) her mistress.