"Perfect. Let me throw some clothes on and I'll be ready."
Less than an hour later they were looking through the tchotchkes at Cracker Barrel while waiting to be called, laughing over the toys, looking through a kid's book of science experiments together, smelling the candles.
When they were finally summoned to the dining room it was as noisy as ever, and Dana felt they could've talked about anything and not been heard.
"So, what were you busy typing on this morning?"
"I woke up thinking of your offer, and knowing some basic boundaries I'd want to put in place, and a number of rules. I was trying to organize my thoughts, so I can talk about it intelligently should you feel the same today. It's all up for negotiation at this point, of course, but..."
He trailed off, and she realized he wasn't sure her offer was still on the table. “I awakened more certain than when I went to sleep. I may want some additional exceptions above the two I mentioned—perhaps we should consider the contract a work in progress for a set amount of time, before we agree it's final—but I'm all for us hammering out an initial version today. I've never done this before, so you'll have to lead us through it."
He shook his head. “We'll figure it out as we go; we're equals until we've agreed to the power exchange and signed our names."
She couldn't argue with his logic so she switched to something that'd been bugging her. “I want this to work for both us of. You told me you weren't interested in micromanaging someone again, and it's not fair for me to ask for more than you want responsibility for."
"I do enjoy micromanaging during scenes; in fact, I think it might be a deal breaker, but luckily you seem to thrive on it in short bursts. I have a question for you, though. It sounds like you're offering me more than you gave..."
He trailed off, looking uncomfortable, so Dana finished for him. “Yes, I'm offering you more than I gave Garnet. But you're asking for more.” She paused, trying to put her thoughts and feelings into words. “It's not a competition. I'm a different woman now than I was when I was married to him, just as you're a different man than you were two or three years ago. Brent said I'd come through the fire and it'd transformed me. He's right; though I'm not sure I realized how much I'd changed until recently. I love you, Zach. I want to give myself to you. I want to belong to you."
He reached across the table for her hand, folding it into his warmth and her heart skipped as he said, “I love you, too. It feels good to finally be able to say it. I love you."
They were looking at each other all goofy-eyed when the server arrived with their food. They were both hungry, and neither spoke as they ate until Zach broke the silence with a conversation about the science book they'd looked through, and regaled her with stories of the crazy experiments he'd done as a child.
"Why did you suggest Heritage Park instead of Coolidge Park?” Zach was spreading their blanket out while Dana held his laptop bag and her purse.
"You said neutral ground, and I consider Coolidge Park as my front yard. Only, I don't have to mow it, and I have to share it with the rest of the city. Still, it's where I go to walk around, to read in the sunshine, or just chill out when I need fresh air. Tell me what you came up with this morning."
Zach smoothed the blanket's final corner and they got comfortable. “I think much of the original contract can remain as is when it comes to rules for scenes, but we need to start over concerning how we manage regular day-to-day living. I don't want you to have to say Sir all of the time, nor do I wish to control your bathroom privileges full time. When not in a scene you'll be able to eat and drink without permission, use the restroom, and choose your clothing. I'll have the authority to tell you what to wear, or eat, but unless I exercise my right it'll be your choice—the exception being your work clothes, which you'll have total control over."
He fiddled with the touchpad on his laptop, read a few seconds. “You'll have more autonomy when you have your work clothes on—we'll give you an hour after you come home to change, sooner if you want. While they're on, I can't demand sexual favors, and can't dole out punishment. If you do something deserving of correction during that time we'll make a note of it, but will handle it later."
She nodded slowly, thinking it through. “Yeah, I can see how that'll work. As romantic as twenty-four/seven sounds, I'll have my own life outside of our relationship. What else?"
"You've been responsible for all major decisions for a couple of years now. You've sold a home and several cars, bought a condo and a new car, invested your money after carefully studying your options... do you want us to decide the big stuff together, as a partnership, or do you want to hand all decisions over to me? Honestly, I'm good with it either way—we can resolve those things the way most couples do, or it can be part of our power exchange."
Dana didn't have to think very hard on this one. “Important decisions should be by mutual agreement, and, for now, my finances are my business."
He smiled. “Good, okay. Let's talk about the rules. These will be in force every second of every day, except for the few that'll be lifted while you've got your work clothes on."
She tried not to squirm as warmth suffused her body and made her clit ache for touch. She looked to see if the conversation was affecting Zach the same way, saw evidence it was, and smiled before raising her eyes to his. “I'm listening."
He grinned back. “I'm wishing we'd done this behind closed doors, but there's a reason we didn't.” He glanced at his laptop again. “You may respectfully ask questions and discuss concerns with me, but once I make a decision, there'll be no arguing about it."
"Hold up. What if it's something I consider a major decision?"
He stopped, as if he hadn't considered the possibility, but quickly recovered, saying, “We'll have to define what constitutes a major decision. Any ideas?"
"Something that'll matter to us a month later? No, that won't do it."
He sighed. “Do you think you'll eventually trust me to decide if it's a big deal or not? I understand your reticence this early in our relationship but...” He shook his head and started again with barely a pause. “How's this—if we disagree on everyday versus significant, we'll discuss it. If neither of us can convince the other to our side you'll have three vetoes a year."
"You're telling me you'll be fair, and I don't have to protect myself so much."
"I'm reminding you I'll be reasonable, and wishing you didn't feel you need to protect yourself."
"I'm sorry, you're right, this is about trust—about me wanting to give you control, not making you take it. Let's say the contract will be a work in progress for three months, nothing set in stone. That way I won't feel the need to try to cover all of my bases right off the bat. Does that work?"
"Yes. The latest version will be in effect at all times?"
"Okay, you'll decide whether decisions are major. I can discuss the minor stuff with you, but can't argue them."
"Yes, once I say discussion is over, bringing it up again will probably mean you're punished.” He continued. “You won't have a right to privacy. For any reason. I've been allowing a certain amount when I thought you had enough other things to deal with, but I'll eventually insist you be open to me for everything. When you redo your bathroom I'll have the door left off, and when you use the other bathrooms you won't be allowed to close yourself in unless we have guests in the house."
She sighed. “I'm not a fan of that one, but I understand it, and I'll accept it. You want all of me, and I want to give you all of me; it's just hard."
He reached out his hand, took hers, and ran his thumb along the back of it. “I know it's hard, but I'll help. It means more because you have to fight to accept it—thanks for giving this to us."
Dana's voice wouldn't cooperate, so she merely nodded. He smiled and continued, “Along the same lines, you'll be honest with me at all times. That means not just telling me the truth, but providing me with all information—full disclosure. If you think I'd want to know it, you'l
l tell me, whether I ask or not."
He stopped, sat up, and looked at her a few seconds before saying, “This isn't something you'll be punished for, Dana. Trust is the foundation of any relationship, but especially one with a power exchange element. If I can't trust you, we don't have a relationship."
"I don't have a problem with that, but I have a few caveats. First, it goes both ways, I need to know I'll get the whole truth out of you, too. No falling back on being the Dom and not having to share. Second, if there's something I can't tell you, I'll be honest about the fact I can't, and will try to give you an explanation of why. And third, I reserve the right to withhold information if I'm surprising you—if I've shopped for a surprise party, I won't tell you I went shopping when you ask what I did."
"Sounds fair.” He spent some time typing. “Okay, punishment and discipline. I have sole decision-making power here, and I'd like your consent to discipline you without a safeword."
Dana's arousal was taking on a life of its own as the throbbing between her thighs intensified. “If I'd had my safeword during my punishment, I'd have used it, and I'd regret stopping it. You didn't harm me, and I trust you to know how to hurt me without damage. So, yeah, I'll give you what you're wanting—no safeword during punishment."
He leaned forward to kiss her, his lips soft on hers, and she resisted the urge to beg for more. He pulled back to say, “Thank you. I know how much trust you're giving me. I won't abuse it."
They talked for four hours, and covered things Dana would never have considered. She tried to come up with hard limits, but the only things she could provide were no scat play and watersports, no bestiality, no exhibitionism of any kind (play parties and BDSM clubs not included), and no permanent marks. He wanted the ability to have her pierced at his whim, and they negotiated it down so he could require genital and nipple piercings, in whatever number and location he chose.
She agreed he'd have control of her orgasms, she'd spend time kneeling before him in the evenings to tell him about her day, and all disagreements would be discussed rationally and respectfully, with any name-calling or other disrespectful behavior resulting in punishment.
She also agreed to stay with him for the next two weeks, at which point they would discuss her moving in with him.
They ate at a downtown restaurant before dropping by her condo to pack a week's worth of clothes and her laptop, along with more toiletries. In the car on the way back to his house, she finally said what she'd been thinking. “It doesn't feel any different, yet."
"Do you want it to?"
"Yeah, a little."
"I can invoke a scene at any time, as long as it doesn't interfere with your work. Once I do, I can micromanage just about every aspect of your life—the food you eat, whether you feel pleasure or pain, whether you have freedom to move about or are locked in the cage or chained to the bed, all at my discretion. I'm choosing to allow you to walk and talk normally right now. It may seem the same, but it's not. When we get home I'd like you to take your clothes to my closet, I cleared a section of the bar this morning. You'll also find another empty drawer in the bathroom under the one you're using now; the rest of your toiletries should go in there."
When she didn't say anything, he continued. “Once you've put all of your things away I'd like you to take a quick shower, lube your ass, and come to the bedroom."
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Chapter Six
* * * *
The two weeks passed quickly, with lots of communication, lots of sex, and a little pain here and there. Dana's back and ass were finally healed and she craved the kiss of the whip again.
The first couple of days of kneeling and telling him about her day had been awkward, but by the end of the first week she found herself looking forward to it. Kneeling before him, having his undivided attention, telling him of the good and bad, and anything that tweaked her emotionally—she understood it gave him information he needed about her state of mind, as well as putting her back into submissive mode after being in charge at work.
She asked him about his day during dinner, and tried to give him the same attention he gave her. She was amazed at how much she was learning about electricity, but also how much she discovered about him as a man.
At the end of two weeks she had no doubts about moving in with him. Her closet was built, with shelves, bars, and drawers ready for her things, but the bathroom still had a long ways to go.
The morning of the move, Dana and Zach drove to her condo to meet the movers, and she found herself looking at the largest man she'd ever seen.
"Dana, this is Ethan Levi. Ethan, I'd like you to meet my Dana."
She looked at Zach, wondering at his phrasing, and Zach smiled and said, “Ethan's in the scene, pet. I've known him for years, from when I spent time in Atlanta. He came to Chattanooga temporarily to expand his moving business and met the woman of his dreams, so he lives here now."
Ethan shook her hand, and hers seemed to disappear in his. She tried not to gawk at his size, and his muscles, but it was hard. He said, “I understand you're an interior designer, I'm considering adding design services. Would you be interested?"
"Sure, though I think you may want to have someone like me for your upper end clients, and possibly a less expensive designer for everyone else."
Nodding in agreement, he said, “That's what I've done in Atlanta. I've been asking around and your name has come up a few times, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover you belong to Zach. He wouldn't care about someone who wasn't honest, so if you want the job it's yours. Let me get to work, I expect we'll be ready to leave here in around three hours."
The movers emptied her condo before lunch, and Zach had his cook set up a large buffet style lunch for them before they began unloading everything. She noticed Ethan drove his own vehicle, and wasn't surprised when he stayed after his crew left for the day.
"You've done a great job on the remodel here, Dana."
Zach spoke up. “She'll be redoing some of it; this was done before we were together. She'll need to add her own personal touches so it's our home and not my house."
She ignored Zach and answered Ethan. “Thank you, he was very easy to work with. I'm currently dealing with the client from hell, who can't make a decision to save his life. Tell me, when were you thinking of adding design services?"
"Soon. Zach tells me you have a crew of contractors on your payroll?"
Ethan and Dana talked shop awhile, and when the conversation wore down Zach said, “Pet, Ethan's going to teach me the fine art of the single tail. I know you're itching to get into your office and closet so you can sort through all of your things, but I'd like you to work on the boxes in the bedroom first. Go on up and get started—we'll be in the garage if you need us for anything."
"You're learning... for me?"
He laughed. “Of course for you, silly girl."
Dana's heart was in her stomach as she walked to him, so overwhelmed he would take on something so difficult, for her, when it wasn't really his kink. She looked up at him and quietly said, “Thank you, Sir."
She turned to Ethan. “And thank you, for offering to teach him."
Her phone rang and she reached into her pocket, thrilled to see Jacob's face.
"Oh, sorry, gotta take this. You two have fun. Thanks again.” She was walking towards the stairs as she answered with, “Jacob, I'm so glad you called, all my stuff is here! My armoire is in our bedroom, it's... surreal."
"I can't wait to see it. Did Zach tell you yet? Brent and I will be there in two weeks, for an entire weekend. I'm so excited!"
"Umm, no. He didn't."
"Oh, well, hope I didn't spoil a surprise. No one told me not to tell you."
"Probably an oversight, then,” she said, stretching across the bed and wondering if she should incorporate the chiffon from her canopy onto this one. “I've been meaning to ask about your safeword—why Chiffon?"
He chuckled. “I'd avoided Brent at the club; he
scared me. Partly because he demands so much, but mostly because I was so attracted to him. Anyway, long story short, I steered clear of working with him, but one of my best clients wanted me to design the clothing and costumes for a music video, and I ended up on set working for him. He recognized me from the club—turns out I'd intrigued him, too. Anyway, he invaded my workspace and picked up some fabric. I freaked, because it was silk chiffon and it's so fragile and his hands are so big and strong and... right. Anyway, I couldn't get a sentence out, all I could do was point and say chiffon, and he closed the door and said, “Boy, you're going to have to use complete sentences. You say chiffon like it's your safeword."
Dana laughed, but asked, “He doesn't call you boy, at least, not like that. When he's talking to me he'll say you're ‘our boy', but—"
Jacob interrupted with a laugh. “If I'd gone on with the story, it would have included the part about his words making me find my spine. I proceeded to tell him I'm not a boy, I'm a man, and if he liked to fuck boys he needed to open the door and turn the conversation back to business, but if he enjoyed fucking men then maybe we could talk."
"And I'm betting he informed you he liked to do a lot more than fuck men, right?"
"Yeah, something like that, and then he kissed me and turned my world inside out. I don't know what I'd do without him; he keeps me sane, even if he doesn't understand anything about design or fashion. When I was decorating our house I wanted to throttle him. I think I ended up on speech restriction for most of a month, so I guess he really did throttle me. Speaking of which, how's the bathroom coming?"
"It's getting there—did you see the fabric scan I sent?"
"Yes, I love it; it's going to feel like a European spa when you're done. Which tub did you decide to go with?"
When Zach came upstairs an hour later, she was still stretched across the bed talking to Jacob. They'd debated the merits of natural textiles versus the latest tech fabrics, phasing into a discussion about the newest bamboo materials. Zach walked into his closet and changed into pajama bottoms, listening to Dana joke and cut up with Jacob. She began wrapping up, and by the time he stepped back into the bedroom she was laying her phone on the side table.
Safewords: Davenport and Chiffon Page 6