The Light Between the Trees Ch. 04

"Raven, look at me."

I open my eyes and lose myself, staring into his concerned, honest face.

"You don't have to decide, right here, right now."

He smiles at me and for some reason, I feel a wave of relief.

"As I said, you need to consent, which means you need to make an informed decision," he continues, "So that when I ask you the question, I know you fully appreciate what I'm asking. Okay?"

"Okay. But, how?"

"I want to keep you for the weekend."

It's such an incongruous request that I laugh. He smiles at me, and I feel the pressure lift. It's just for the weekend, it's not forever.

"Keep me?"

"Yes," he explains, "I'll tell you how to get there, what to bring."

"And then what?"

"I'll keep you."

"But what does that mean?" I demand.

"From the moment you arrive until the moment I choose to release you, you belong to me."

"Uh, but really, what does that mean, though?" I repeat, "What would you do with me?"

He releases my hands and grips my shoulders, holding me firm.

"Anything I want, Raven. You'll be mine."

I look into those washed-out grey eyes. My body is tingling.

"This is important," he tells me, "You need to understand. I'm making you aware of what will happen if you consent. I need to know you're fully informed, because I won't be asking for consent after that. I'm just going to do what I want with you. Your only defence will be a safeword I give you. Unless you use that, I continue."

"I get no say? Really?"

"None."

I want him to keep talking, I want to not have this silence. I'm dimly aware of people passing us by, but it's all faded into the background now.

"I will make you aware of the risks. From there, your body belongs to me."

"For the weekend," I reply in a small voice.

"For the weekend, for now."

"And then what?"

His hand shifts to cup my chin. I can feel the warmth of his palm against my cheek.

"Then you're aware. You can make an informed decision. You know what I want to do to you. You know what you want me to do. You walk away, no hard feelings, or...."

He shrugs, leaving the idea dangling, but I know: I get to try it out. I get to see if I'm brave enough to commit to the ultimate step, to surrender myself. I get to make his fantasy real, and in return, I'm given release. My mouth is dry, and swallowing doesn't help. All I can do is nod.

In reply he takes my hand in his. "Okay," he tells me.

We cross the street and he walks me back to my building, hand in hand. At the front doors, he stops.

"I'll let you know the arrangements, but in the meantime, I want you to do something for me."

He's talking like we've just arranged a city break together, as if it's nothing out of the ordinary, and I find myself just nodding in agreement.

"I want you to promise not to touch yourself."

My eyes widen. "Huh?"

"Can you do that for me?"

I'm standing in front of my workplace, in public. The last thing I want to have to admit is how I get myself off. I feel myself blushing furiously.

"Ah, I see," he says.

"You see what?" I retort, feeling myself pushed off-balance by his questioning.

"How big a deal that is for you. Are you feeling it right now?"

"Yeah," I confess, even before I can stop myself.

"I want to keep you like that. Any release you get is only with my permission from now on, okay?"

I can't answer him back. He's asking me to give up my orgasms as casually as if he was asking me to give up chocolate.

"I need you to give me the control, Raven."

I can't hold his gaze, and my eyes shift down to my hands, clasped in front of me. I'm so horny already, and he's asking me to wait. Reluctantly, I nod.

"I'm sorry, but I need you to say it."

I glance up at him. My immediate reaction is to tell him to get fucked. I've agreed, I nodded, he got what he wanted, but his expression surprises me. He's compassionate, patient, waiting for me to take the step. I stand there in silence, at war with myself.

"You got control," I mutter.

"Of what? Raven, I need to hear it all."

I curse him silently.

"You have control of my orgasms."

"And?"

For fuck's sake. All of it? But I know what he's asking. I've read all about this. The Everything Engine has been supplying me steadily with accounts of people getting to this exact same moment, having to commit in this exact same way, so that I know what the response should be. It's a formal acceptance of the new world, and I need to pledge. The words rush out of my mouth.

"You have control of my orgasms and I don't get to cum unless you say."

To my surprise, he kisses me. His lips touch mine, briefly, but I feel a tremor inside. My pussy aches. He releases my hand.

"Thank you," he says.

I just stare at him.

"I guess I should let you get back to it," he tells me, suddenly businesslike.

"Yeah, I should."

"I love you in those shoes, Raven. I didn't tell you that. I should have."

"Thanks," I mumble.

"I know it's been a lot to take in. I just want one more thing though."

I frown, dreading what he's going to ask next.

"What?"

"I think I'd like to see you in a skirt. That would go much better with the high heels. I think that whenever you wear those shoes, you'll also wear a skirt."

It's not a suggestion. "Uh, okay," I respond, unsure of where the conversation is going.

"And I want you to wear the shoes around work."

I make to protest, but the look in his eyes stops me.

"That's right," he continues smoothly, "I want you to wear those around the office. You can wear flats to get to work, but until you leave at the end of the day, I want you to be in heels and a skirt."

"But, why? You'll never see them."

He shrugs. "You did it for Travis didn't you?"

"Yeah, but just the skirt and just...."

"So, you'll do it for me," he interjects, and I realise there's no discussion.

The thought of Travis seeing me in a skirt and heels walking around the office infuriates me. His smug grin flashes in my mind, the way his eyes are going to be on my legs in the morning meeting. Covalent must know this. It's not fair, and it riles me up, being forced to parade in front of Travis like that.

"Any specifications?" I counter, "Minimum hem height?"

Covalent chuckles softly. "Oh, you're leaving yourself open. You're going to need to rein in that temper, it leaves you exposed."

I want to launch into a pithy retort, but I can see what he's doing. He's goading me, pushing me off balance, and I'm taking the bait. With an effort, I control myself. I don't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me react.

"Normal hem height, Raven, just above the knee," he tells me, "For now, anyway. Later, we'll go higher."

"You think I'm gonna do that?"

"Are you daring me?" he replies, evenly, clearly enjoying how ruffled I am.

"I, uh, I guess not."

"Good. I can go as far as a skin-tight microskirt if you want. I can send you a link to a shopping site so you can make the purchase."

"That won't be necessary."

He shrugs. "It might."

He gives me a quick kiss on the cheek, saying, "I gotta run. Thanks for coming to lunch. I really enjoyed our conversation."

I watch him as he walks away, leaving me standing in my brand-new high heels in front of my office. I don't understand what just happened, what I agreed to, or why I let him put constraints on me like that. All I know is that I want to go upstairs and find myself a bathroom stall, strip my panties down and play with my sopping pussy until I bring myself to a staggering orgasm.

But even as I think it, I know I won't do it. Because, he'll know I broke my undertaking to him, he'll be able to tell. All he'll have to do is look into my eyes and he'll see everything. The woman who left this building an hour ago had been free to go wherever she pleased, meet up with men, find satisfaction and release in their beds or in her own devices. But then she'd gone to lunch with a man she had only ever met once beforehand.

The woman who was going back in through the doors had been placed strictly under his control.

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[Next chapter: Covalent deepens his control over Chloe's body, forcing her to tease herself to the brink while she rides the bus to rendezvous with him for the weekend.

Also, more cameo fun: did you spot anyone familiar in the background in the food court?

Follow me for updates to this and my other stories. If you like what you read, please leave a comment or a star rating. Constructive feedback is always welcome. If you want further adventures, or to check out my other stories, my story page is here]