Out of the Darkness (Untwisted #2)

by Alice Raine

  ‘Yes, actually I enjoy cooking, I find it relaxes me.’ The more casual conversation appeared to be calming Stella and as I enjoyed her husky voice I began to get a glimpse of the woman behind the nerves, a woman who appeared to be quite gutsy and even being inexperienced in submissive relationships would no doubt provide an interesting challenge for me.

  ‘You won’t be expected to clean. I have a cleaner, Miranda, she comes twice a week to take care of that. You will however be expected to clear up any mess we make during sex. I like to keep Miranda unaware of the lifestyle I lead.’

  ‘OK.’ Stella’s voice was quieter now and she blushed at my mention of sex, something I found rather amusing seeing as the entire reason for our meeting was exactly that. The blush itself however was really rather alluring, there was nothing quite like a nice post-orgasmic blush on a pretty face, or a rosy red blushing bottom fresh from a spanking … God, what I wouldn’t give to take Stella over my lap now and give her a spanking. Christ, my nose flared as I dragged in a desperate breath. I was going to need a cushion over my lap in a minute if I kept thinking like this.

  Clearing my throat, I managed to continue but noticed that my voice was huskier than before. ‘You will have a room here in my apartment. This is where any physical intimacy will take place – not in my bedroom. Do you have issues sharing a bed for sleeping?’ I enquired. The question caused another furious blush to run across Stella’s delicate cheeks and fuelled my arousal further.

  ‘Um … n-no,’ she stammered before seeming to recover herself. ‘Not unless you snore, that is, I’m a pretty light sleeper.’ A hint of a smile quirked Stella’s lips at her attempt of a joke and the look was so breathtaking that I found myself briefly mirroring the expression before I realised what I was doing and quickly cleared my features. Damn, this woman was affecting me.

  ‘I don’t think I do snore,’ I answered briskly as way of distraction. Probably a little too briskly – rudely – I decided with a grimace. ‘As I said earlier, I’m a very private person so I don’t like to share my bedroom but I don’t see a problem with staying in your room on occasion should either of us want that. It’s probably best if it doesn’t happen too often though, we don’t want the boundaries of our relationship getting blurry.’ I’d had more than enough experience of women getting too attached in the past, and was now rather skilled at all the tactics useful in avoiding such incidents; separate bedrooms being one of those tactics.

  ‘OK, sounds sensible,’ Stella agreed with a nod. ‘What about kissing? Will we kiss?’ she asked softly, a fresh blush reddening her cheeks.

  In a rare show of my human side I allowed myself a dry chuckle. ‘Kissing? You’re my submissive, Stella, not a prostitute.’ Images of kissing Stella rushed to my mind and I ran a hand through my hair to distract myself, noticing that Stella followed the movement with wide eyes as if perhaps she was holding herself back from touching me. ‘I enjoy kissing, so yes, we will kiss, unless you have any objections to it?’ I finished. She better not have, I took great pleasure in a good, heated kiss.

  Shaking her head, Stella looked embarrassed. ‘No. I like it too,’ she murmured, flashing a small smile back. I liked that smile of hers, I decided; it was sweet and shy, but sexy as hell.

  ‘So while we’re on the topic of physical intimacy we need to discuss our sexual preferences in more detail. My preferences lie in standard sex using some restraining on occasions, but the main factor for me is the need to be in total control, will this be an issue for you?’

  ‘I don’t think so. As I said earlier, that’s kind of what I’m looking for.’ Stella appeared to chew on the inside of her lip as she considered my question and my eyes were immediately drawn to the movement, I didn’t like it; if anyone were going to be nibbling on her lips it would be me. I’d let it go for now, but it would be fun to help her break the bad habit once she was officially my submissive.

  ‘You mentioned in the bar yesterday that you like to use punishments, I’ve not experienced much in that respect, how extreme are we talking?’

  ‘That all depends on how badly you defy me, Stella,’ I answered smoothly, well aware that my tone had dropped lower as I considered the very appealing thought of disciplining Stella and her secretly loving every minute of it.

  Seeing Stella’s eyes widen at my casual response I decided to be generous and elaborate to calm her fears, I didn’t want to scare her off before we even got started. ‘I will explain all my expectations as we get to know each other, but generally I extend my control with the use of toys and bondage. Remember that in our relationship I will be your dominant, Stella, therefore I will always ensure you are safe in the things we do together. If you ever chose to halt a session for any reason I would always stop immediately.’ Pausing I sipped my wine before swilling it round the glass and returning it to the table. ‘Now you know that you have control and that your safety is paramount how do you feel about being restrained, tied up?’ I questioned intently.

  Making some notes on the pad I wondered why Stella hadn’t answered and looked up to see a frown of concentration on her face. Apparently, she was thinking things through, which was fine by me. Actually it was rather refreshing to have a submissive that didn’t just spout off the answer she thought I would expect. ‘I think if we establish trust first then restraining and punishments won’t be an issue for me. I know this isn’t a standard relationship but I’d like to get to know you a little first before you tie me up,’ she finally admitted, but from the way Stella’s cheeks flushed I assumed she rather liked the idea of me tying her up. Well, ditto – with images of her pretty little body shackled to the bed writhing below me it was all I could do not to moan out loud.

  Seeing Stella shift slightly uncomfortably in her seat I realised something was on her mind and narrowed my eyes; she better not be thinking of changing her mind now because I would be seriously pissed off if she did. ‘Is there something you wish to share with me Stella?’

  Twisting her hands in her lap Stella shrugged slightly. ‘I just thought I should probably warn you that I don’t orgasm very easily … it’s not a big deal, I mean, I’m used to it now …’ She paused, clearly uncomfortable. ‘I … I just wanted to let you know.’ Her voice was weak by the end of her sentence, embarrassment filling its tone.

  What? How the hell could she sound so casual about something as significant as that? Had her previous lovers all been complete imbeciles? ‘Never? Or just not often?’ I demanded, well aware I sounded astonished that she deemed this fact insignificant.

  ‘During sex I’ve only ever come in missionary position,’ she admitted softly. ‘Other positions don’t really do it for me, and I’ve never climaxed from oral or by a man’s fingers.’

  ‘I see,’ I bit out. Although I didn’t really see, I might be demanding in bed but I always ensured the women with me had their pleasure too. How the hell could a man sleep with a beautiful woman like Stella and not make it his mission to give her a climax? Leaning forwards I rested my elbows on my knees and studied her lowered face intently, I couldn’t get my head around this new information. Fuck, sleeping with her would almost be like taking a virgin and showing her just how good sex can really be. God, the excitement of that thought actually made me feel a little bit light headed.

  ‘What about masturbation? Can you make yourself come using your own hand?’ I enquired gruffly.

  A fresh blush bloomed on Stella’s cheeks that probably matched the heat currently rushing through my own system. ‘I can. But then I’ve had a long time to get used to my body and its peculiarities.’

  As she was biting her lip I guessed Stella was desperate for a way to change the subject and I was proved correct when she fired out a random question at me. ‘So … will I have a safeword to use? Or a standard body position to assume?’

  If that was how she wanted to play it then fine, I’d leave the topic of Stella’s climax issues for now, but God I couldn’t fucking wait to prove her wrong about her body. There was no w
ay in hell that I wouldn’t make her come in every position possible using every single technique I knew. Which was a lot, I thought with a smirk.

  Her question came back to me, and I cleared my mind as I tried to focus again, uncomfortably aware that Stella seemed to have a way of distracting me that I couldn’t decide if I liked or not.

  ‘Been doing some research on “the scene”, have we?’ I teased her lightly, but she was still looking a little uncomfortable so I decided not to tease her further. ‘In answer to your question, we will have both. The standard safewords are “green” for fine, “yellow” for slight discomfort and “red” for stop. If you say yellow we pause and discuss your concerns, but please be reassured that, regardless of the situation, if you say “red” I will stop immediately.’ For this reassurance, I made eye contact with her and felt a surprisingly strong reaction when my eyes met hers. What the hell had that been?

  Not feeling entirely comfortable with the sensation that Stella’s clear blue gaze had had on me I dropped my eyes again before continuing. ‘With regards to your body position, I will know you are ready if you avert your eyes, link your fingers, and allow your hands to hang in front of you or rest in your lap. If I see this position, I know it means you are saying, “I’m ready for instructions”.’ I paused, deciding to go one step further with Stella, ‘I’ll coach you to spot my signals too so you will respond to me with no words necessary. For example, if I raise my eyebrow and point to a spot next to me like this,’ I demonstrated briefly. ‘I will expect you to move to that spot and assume the ready position.

  ‘Many dominants make their subs kneel at their feet. Kneeling is viewed as a very submissive posture.’ I remarked while jotting on my pad. ‘I believe some of my acquaintances at the club think less of me because I don’t demand this,’ I pondered out loud before replacing the cap on the pen. Actually there was no ‘think’ about it, my peers had made their views clear to me, but I didn’t give a toss what they thought – I had reasons for my choices and to have my submissive standing was one of them.

  After a brief pause where I watched Stella chew on her lip again – I was definitely going to make breaking that habit one of my first priorities – she then licked her lips and spoke. ‘I can kneel if you would like it?’ she offered, a statement that I found ridiculously pleasing, not that I wanted her to kneel, but just because she was willing to offer it to me.

  A shudder went through me as images flashed in my mind of my father looming over my helpless brother as he knelt on the floor. Swallowing the bile that suddenly rose in my throat I shook my head. ‘No, the position we have discussed is fine,’ I said sharply. ‘Kneeling makes the sub smaller, more akin to a child or an animal, both of which are easy to command or overpower. I gain satisfaction from the knowledge that I can leave my subs standing up and still have complete control over them.’ My brother Nicholas often told me that he thought I was similar to my father, but in this one respect, I was most definitely not like my father.

  As I spoke I watched in fascination as Stella experimented with the position by linking her hands in her lap. As she averted her eyes the stray wisps of her tied up hair hung around her face and the soft curve of her shoulder became much more obvious. Suddenly my chest felt full and tight as I tried, and failed, to draw in a full breath. Fuck me, she was glorious.

  Stella looked perfect, and the sight made my arousal soar through the roof, so much so that I had to fight back the urge to push her back on the sofa and take her there and then.

  Clearing my throat gruffly and shifting my position to alleviate the tightness in my trousers, I tried once again to distract my bloody wandering thoughts. ‘You may have noticed that I don’t like extended eye contact,’ I stated coolly, may as well get this out in the open now, I saw Stella nod, a small frown settling on her brows indicating to me that she obviously had noticed. ‘This is nothing personal against you, it stems from issues in my past that I won’t bore you with, but it’s important that you avoid prolonged eye contact with me.’ After growing up with my father, I rarely made eye contact with anyone now, except Nicholas.

  ‘I’ll do my best; you might need to remind me though because eye contact is a big thing for me. You can tell a lot about a person from their eyes, I use it in business a lot to judge clients’ honesty.’

  I drew in a breath through my nose. I had no idea what she meant. How could you read someone through their eyes? Why had I never been allowed to learn this as a child? It was like a huge life skill had been withheld from me by my father, but if I were honest the idea of trying to learn it now scared the hell out of me, unnerved me beyond anything else I’d ever experienced.

  Well, that change in conversation had certainly cooled my lust and now I found myself shifting uncomfortably on the sofa trying to loosen off the tension that had suddenly formed in my shoulders.

  ‘I’m sure I can think of a way or two to remind you if you forget,’ I murmured ominously to steer the subject away from myself. Ha! It obviously worked because I saw Stella shiver at my threat. A dark smile broke on my lips at her obvious fear; what an excellent response from a new submissive.

  ‘Ah, the discipline.’ Stella guessed in a wary tone with a cautious nod. Visibly loosening her shoulders, I watched as she corrected her position and sat a little straighter in her chair. She really did have rather pleasing posture. My eyes narrowed and I moistened my lips as I watched her small adjustments. With posture like that Stella’s muscle structure was bound to be strong and flexible; good, even better for what I had in mind for her. A smirk curled my lip. Christ, I loved a woman who held herself well; it was just so sexy to see them so confident, but still willing to submit to me.

  ‘So I’m curious …’ Stella began, she was anxiously twisting a silver ring on her thumb and looking hesitant enough to make me wonder what the hell she was going to say next. ‘What type of stuff are we talking about? Will it involve pain, because I read about sadists on the Internet and it was pretty freaky stuff …’ Ah, good, so she was curious about exactly how I would punish her. It was something that was on my mind too; with Stella the options just seemed limitless at the moment and once again I found myself having to shift my position to ease the pressure on my goddamn groin. Explaining things like this was all new to me; I was used to trained subs who rarely asked more than one or two questions before signing our agreement. It was actually quite refreshing to see Stella’s obvious intelligence and curiosity shining through, but she also looked quite uncomfortable at the moment.

  ‘Relax Stella,’ I said quickly, ‘I use spankings as a punishment on occasion, but this is nothing like the sadists you saw on the internet. I’m not a sadist.’ I assured her firmly, ‘Inflicting severe pain holds no interest for me, like I said I get my kicks from control in the bedroom.’ I liked a little spanking and often used a paddle or flogger to redden up a nice bottom, but more as a way of heightening pleasure than inflicting any excessive pain. Probably just as well if Stella’s reaction was anything to go by.

  ‘Right.’ Stella still looked slightly troubled, but also relieved by my statement. I noticed she still took a rather large gulp of her wine none the less. ‘So for you, you like control … but what would be your daily expectations, and what would be a really dominant thing for you to do?’ Stella hiccupped a dry laugh; a strange noise which made my eyebrows rise. ‘Sorry, that question doesn’t even make sense to me …’ she mumbled around a shy smile and I rather enjoyed watching as her cheeks flushed yet again.

  ‘Your articulation was not the most eloquent, Stella,’ I agreed with a disapproving frown, ‘but I know what you were getting at – you want to know what I will expect of you, what I will do with you.’ Lust lowered the tone on my last six words. Oh God … the things I wanted to do with Stella.

  I let out a harsh breath and cleared my mind. ‘While I appreciate that people find me an intimidating presence to be around I think the things that appeal to me are in fact relatively simple; having you respond to my reque
sts promptly, comply with them, and give yourself over to my control will be my daily expectations.’ Taking a sip of my wine I briefly wondered about telling her why control was so important to me, especially with the recent flashbacks I’d been having, but I promptly decided against it with a grimace – she didn’t need to hear the pitiful story spoken out loud. ‘You probably won’t like the way this sounds, but I almost want to feel like I own you, like you are mine to do whatever I want with. Within the bounds of our consensual agreement, of course,’ I added.

  I had suspected that Stella’s nerves had been rising over the last few minutes, but this time her large swallow was actually audible to me. Ah well, her discomfort couldn’t be helped, I decided with a sip of wine, it was best she knew what I expected from the start. ‘While you are here you are free to do as you wish unless I request you to come to me. As such, you won’t need permission for day to day things, but for the sake of formality I would ask that you refer to me as ‘Sir’ whenever we are together. Is that something you could do?’

  After a brief pause where she chewed on her damn lip again, she then looked up at me. ‘Is all this stuff up for discussion? Like a compromise?’ Stella asked, completely throwing me. What the fuck? I’d never, ever, ever had a submissive trying to bargain with me. Before refusing her request I forced myself to count down from five in my head as I considered her words. It had been obvious from the start that things with Stella were going to be different, so perhaps if it kept her happy and made her more pliable I could make a concession, although that would depend on exactly what she proposed.

  ‘Perhaps. State your terms,’ I replied coolly, not entirely comfortable with this new dynamic to our relationship, I was supposed to be the one in charge, the dominant, not some bartering salesman.

  ‘Well … I …’ she paused, apparently wondering how to proceed, which left me even more intrigued. ‘I don’t mind calling you Sir, that’s fine, it’s just that this is all new to me and I think I might forget to do it sometimes and I don’t want to be continually punished for it … would it be possible for me just to use it when we were … you know …’ she shifted awkwardly on the sofa, indicating her growing discomfort, ‘… in the bedroom?’ She finally finished in a whisper.