Safe Word (8 page)

“The change in you is really quite remarkable,” Zane told Melody.

They were in her bedroom – if it was still her bedroom.  She wasn’t exactly sure what was going to happen now that she and Zane were doing...whatever it was they were doing.  Would she sleep in his bed every night?  Were they like,
living
-living together now instead of merely sharing a roof?  The changes were all very confusing.

“What do you mean?” she asked as she sat in front of her makeup table clad in only a towel.

Zane had picked up her comb and was now gently detangling her hair with it.  “When I first met you at the wedding ages ago, I remember thinking you were a ball breaker,” he told her.  “Actually, you
were
a ball breaker if you count that time you kicked whatshisface in the nuts when we were kids.”

“And now?” she asked. 

“You’ve taken to submitting like a fish to water,” he told her.  “I’m impressed.”

“You are?”

“Yep, I am.  I’ve never had a BDSM experience like this before.  I’ve never been with a novice, so in a way I suppose this is a first for both of us.  You’re incredible, Melody.”

She blushed and looked away.  “This is all very strange,” she confessed.  “I mean, don’t get me wrong – I’m so glad it’s happened!  But I don’t even know how I’m supposed to act with you anymore now that we’ve done...the things we’ve done.”

Zane set down her comb and regarded her in the mirror thoughtfully as he contemplated the question.  “I guess that depends on how far you want to take this,” he told her.  “I think we’d better set some ground rules.  I want to make sure our expectations are on the same page.”

“Okay,” she agreed as he spun her around in her chair so she was facing him.

He sat at the foot of her bed, leaned forward and looked into her eyes. 

Hands clasped loosely in front of him, he appeared to be deep in thought.  Then he said, “I’d like a set schedule.  You would have to adhere to some of my rules full-time, such as not coming without permission, for example.  But I want there to be designated chunks of time where you will be mine to do what I want with.”

Mmm, she liked the sound of that.  “What do you have in mind?” she asked eagerly.

“How about weekends?” he suggested. 

“Alright,” Melody quickly agreed.  Then as an afterthought, she asked, “What does that mean?”

“From Friday night until Monday morning, you belong to me.  During that time, we play as much or as little as I decide – subject to whatever else we have going on, of course.  I might choose your clothes or I might just keep you naked all weekend.  If it’s called for, I might restrict your privileges, give you daily spankings or make you crawl around on all fours.  Or hell, I might keep you handcuffed all weekend if I feel like it.”

Her eyes widened at the last part.  “
All
weekend?” she asked incredulously.

“Okay okay, maybe that’s a bit advanced for you,” he conceded.  “For now, anyway...I’m getting ahead of myself.  Anyway, what do you think of being mine on the weekends?”

“I want to be yours all the time,” Melody said shyly, her passions reignited by his words.  She wasn’t sure whether Zane meant for them to be threats or promises, and she didn’t much care.  All she knew was she wanted him more than she had ever wanted anything or anyone in her life.

He chuckled.  “You’re eager, aren’t you?  I like that.  But be careful what you wish for.”

“So...it’s the weekend now,” Melody pointed out with a twinkle in her eye.

“Yes, it is.”

“I take it I shouldn’t expect to go outside again until Monday?” she asked happily.

“No, actually I think we’ll go out this afternoon,” he said, walking over to her closet and selecting a short black skirt and a fitted white blouse for her to wear.  “Don’t make assumptions.  Now get dressed.  I’ll be waiting for you in my car.”

*****

Melody hadn’t been sure what to think when Zane had told her they were going out.  At first she had been disappointed because she had envisioned an entire weekend of staying in together.  Most of that time, of course, would be spent in bed exploring one another’s bodies.

But Zane had other ideas.

And Melody had to admit she was intrigued – especially when he pulled onto the freeway and began driving toward the city.  It felt like they were headed on an adventure, and a sexy, kinky one at that!  What wasn’t to love?

“Where are we going?” she asked him for the umpteenth time. 

“You’ll see.”

“You won’t even give me a tiny hint?” she pouted. 

“What will you do for me if I do?”

Melody had to pause to consider that.  “Um, anything you want?”

He shook his head.  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.  And besides, I was looking for specific suggestions.  Mostly I was just curious as to what kinds of things you would come up with,” he winked.

“Um, well, what do you want?” she asked, unsure of what Zane had in mind.

He mulled it over for a second and then turned to look at her.  “You’re wearing a bra,” he suddenly announced as though she hadn’t been aware of the fact.  “I can see the outline of it through your top.”

“Yeah,” she said, not quite understanding.  “I’ve always hated how thin this blouse is.”

“That’s funny, because I’ve always loved it and wished you would wear it more often,” he replied.  “But I don’t recall telling you to wear a bra.  Don’t tell me you’re wearing panties, too?” he asked, feigning mock horror.

“I am,” she confessed.  “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to.”

“I’ll let you off the hook this time since you weren’t purposefully disobeying orders,” he told her.  “But from now on, you wear what I tell you and
only
what I tell you, got it?”

“Yes.”

“Good girl.  Give me your panties.”

“What, you mean like, right here?”

“Yes, right here right now,” he nodded. 

“But...we’re driving!”  Melody protested, appalled.  “Someone could see!”

“Then you’d better be quick about it,” he advised.

Zane had made it clear that he wasn’t open to negotiation, and Melody was still in a very submissive frame of mind.  It was almost as though she had fallen under his spell and now all she wanted was to please him.  So, even though it scared her to do so, she lifted up her hips, slipped her hands up under her skirt and quickly wiggled and shimmied her way out of her panties.

As soon as they were off, Zane held out his hand expectantly.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Melody reluctantly handed over her white satin panties.

Her embarrassment increased tenfold when Zane held them to his nose and inhaled her sweet, musky scent deeply.  “Mmm, I can’t wait to get you home and bury my face between your legs,” he told her lustfully.  He pressed the panties to his nose again like he just couldn’t get enough.

“Stop that!” she protested in horror as she momentarily forgot her position.

He simply laughed and easily held her panties out of reach as she made a frantic grab for them.

“Now your bra,” he told her.  “Take it off.”

“Someone will see
for sure
,” she pointed out as they met a string of oncoming traffic. 

“That lucky bastard,” he grinned as they neared the bridge that would take them into the city.

“You really mean for me to do it?”

“Of course I do,” Zane said.  “And I’d hurry up if I were you.  Pretty soon we’ll be in the lineup for the tollbooth and you’d better believe people will notice you stripping off your clothes there!  At least out here on the open road there’s a chance no one will be paying attention...however remote it may be.”

Melody scowled.  She knew Zane loved every second of her predicament.  In some ways he reminded her of that kid she had known all those years ago, mischievous and in love with teasing her.  Except now his teasing didn’t involve fake plastic snakes, water balloons and stolen kisses.  These days it was far more scandalous.

Swiveling around in the passenger seat, Melody checked to make sure no one was on their tail.  Then she glanced at the road in front of them cautiously, wary of the relentless oncoming traffic.  Taking a deep breath, she reached back and undid the clasp of her bra. 

That was the easy part.  Getting the damn thing off was going to be the tricky bit!

Zane watched out of the corner of his eye as Melody struggled to remove her bra without actually having to remove her blouse.  He looked completely amused by her dilemma, observing with great interest as she wriggled, squirmed and contorted her body in all sorts of unnatural, bendy positions.

Then, finally, she got the bra off.  She held it up triumphantly for him to see – and then quickly tucked it away as she realized they were pulling up to the toll booth. 

There was quite a lineup, so it was clear there would be a bit of a wait. 

“Hands on your knees and elbows at your sides,” Zane suddenly ordered.  “Arch your back and stick your tits out.  Stay in that position until I tell you otherwise.”

As Melody took the specified position, she was acutely aware of how prominently her breasts were displayed.  She was sure her face must be the same color as a ripe tomato as she sat there in her sheer white blouse brazenly showing off her assets.

She hoped none of other drivers were paying attention to her, but she knew it was unlikely.  That was exactly what the bored and weary did in lineups:  they people watched.  And she was giving them an eyeful.

The knowledge that she wasn’t wearing any panties beneath her short skirt didn’t help matters any.  And when Zane turned on the air conditioning, aiming the vents right at her chest, Melody was done for.  Before she knew it her nipples were rock hard and poking very noticeably through the thin, barely there material of her white blouse.

“I would have much rather pinched them until they got hard for me,” Zane murmured huskily.  “But that probably would have been
too
overt.  Oh!  Look at that, the line is moving,” he remarked as he put the car back into drive.

As they pulled up to the toll booth, Melody was appalled to find a male worker in uniform standing there next to the machine that typically took the money and automatically allowed vehicles access to the bridge.

“Don’t you dare move,” Zane told Melody cheerfully before rolling his window down.

“Good afternoon!” the young male worker called out.

“How’s it going?” Zane asked, his arm hanging casually out the side of the window. 
Of course
he would have to strike up a conversation and drag things out rather than hurrying along. 

“Oh not too bad I guess,” the guy outside replied.  “It would be a lot better if we weren’t dealing with machine malfunctions, but what are you gonna do?” he remarked as Zane handed him the correct change.

“Yeah, I hear that.  Looks like we picked a busy day to head into the city,” Zane said, making sure to call attention to the fact that he wasn’t travelling alone.

The worker peered past Zane and laid eyes on Melody, who was frozen in position, unmoving, her heart pounding.  Her nipples were still sticking right out, and it didn’t take the young man long to notice them.  He took a good, long look, his eyes practically bugging out of his head.

Then, with a big, dopey grin on his face, he handed the money back to Zane.  “You get a free pass today, sir!” he said cheerfully.  “Have a great day sir...ma’am!”  His eyes lingered on Melody when he said that, or more specifically on her chest.

“Thank you,” Melody barely managed to squeak, mortified beyond belief. 

“Okay, you can relax now,” Zane said pleasantly as they hit the open road once again.

“Gee, thanks,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. 

“What’s the matter, you didn’t enjoy that?” he asked, wide-eyed and feigning surprise.

“What do you think?”

“I don’t know,” he said, playing dumb.  “But I know how to find out.  Spread your legs.”

She hesitated.

“Do it now or I’ll pull over, bend you over the car and spank you right there on the side of the road,” he ordered.  She was pretty sure he wasn’t serious about that, but then again, he
had
told her he always meant the things he said.  She didn’t want to test him.

Hastily, Melody spread her legs wide, feeling dirty, nasty and downright
sexy
as she did so.

Zane’s fingers immediately found their way to her sex – and discovered her shameful secret.

He grinned from ear to ear as two of his fingers slid through her slickness before easing their way inside her.  “You’re right, you didn’t like it,” he told her as she began to pant, rocking back and forth on his fingers shamelessly.  “You
loved
it.”

By the time Melody and Zane reached their destination, she was a wild-eyed, lust-filled mess. 

He had kept her on edge for the remainder of the drive, his skilful fingers taking her body right to the brink of ecstasy before backing off.  He watched her intently as they drove, monitoring her breathing, her moaning and the flush of her skin.  He made it look easy, the way he read her like a book.

Unfortunately for Melody, that meant Zane knew exactly when to stop touching her.  Every time she was about to go over the edge, he pulled his fingers away.  Every single time, he left her squirming in frustration.  Only when Melody had regained her composure did his fingers resume their teasing.

It was evil.

It was magical.

Slumped back in her seat, Melody was shaking as Zane pulled into a parking lot in the heart of the city.  Perspiration shone on her brow and her legs were still shamelessly splayed wide. 

It was funny, that.  The more aroused she became, the more her shame and nervousness faded.  All she could focus on was the pleasure she was being denied.

“Please,” she begged as Zane took the keys out of the ignition.  “Please let me...”

“Now now,” he told her kindly.  “But maybe later, if you’re good.”

“I’ll be good!” Melody assured him immediately.  “I’ll be so good!  I promise!”

“What did I tell you about promises?” Zane coaxed her gently.

“Don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

“That’s right.  And you don’t even know what you’re promising to do,” he chuckled. 

“But –”

“But nothing,” he shushed her.  “It’s time to go.  We have an errand to run,” he told her as he straightened her clothes for her.  Then he got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side, opening Melody’s door and helping her to her feet.

Her legs felt like jelly, wobbly and unsteady.  She leaned heavily against Zane, practically feeling intoxicated from desire.  He wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her out of the parking lot to a nondescript, brick building that looked to be a warehouse of some sort.

“What is this place?” Melody asked as Zane opened the door.

He didn’t reply and he didn’t have to.  As soon as Melody got a look inside the building, the answer was very obvious.  Floor to ceiling shelving units lined the walls and they contained every size, style and color of sex toy imaginable.  As she gawked at the wide variety of devices, Melody realized she didn’t even know what some of them were.

On the floor in the center of each aisle were large, provocative displays.  Melody had never seen such racy looking mannequins before!  Most of them wore extremely slutty lingerie, though a few wore latex corsets and spiky faux leather dresses.  One held a whip in its hand.  Another was down on its knees and had a red ball gag in its mouth, which was secured to its head with a leather harness. 

Melody was stunned.

“You brought me to a
sex shop
?” she squeaked when she finally had words.

“Technically a wholesaler’s warehouse, but yes,” Zane nodded.  “I’m sure you and I can have all sorts of fun with no toys at all.  Hell, you could even make missionary position in a dark room exciting, no doubt.  But toys can add a whole new dimension to a Dom/sub dynamic like ours, plus they open up a bunch of new fun possibilities for playtime...”

That was the first time Zane had referred to their arrangement as a Dom/sub one.  Zane was Melody’s Dominant, and she was his submissive.  She let the words roll around in her head for a moment, unsure of what to make of them.  It made the whole thing seem a lot more formal, somehow.  She liked that.

“Let’s look over here,” Zane said, guiding Melody down an aisle full of restraints.

She stared in awe at all the different types of bondage equipment in front of her.  There were sex swings, under-the-bed restraints, fancy types of rope and even a table with stirrups.  A shiver ran through her, and she was thankful when Zane kept walking. 

“What’s this for?” Melody asked, pointing to a sturdy, padded wooden bench. 

She ran her hand lightly over the soft leather cushioning, thinking that it truly was a beautifully crafted piece of furniture.  But she had no idea what purpose it was supposed to serve.  It was a strange height and shape to sit on and besides, since they were in an adult toy warehouse, its function was undoubtedly something naughty.

“It’s a spanking bench,” Zane replied patiently.   Then with a grin, he remarked, “I think it’s interesting
that’s
the one you honed in on.  Hmm, maybe your subconscious is trying to tell us something, do you think?”

Her eyes widened.  “No!”

Zane laughed and put his arm back around her shoulders.  Then his hand slid down lower until it brushed against her very erect nipple.  “It would seem you’re turned on by the thought of the spanking bench though, wouldn’t it?” he observed.

“It’s cold in here,” she retorted, squirming out of his grip before anyone noticed him openly fondling her in the middle of the store.  Thankfully the few customers milling about seemed so engrossed in the merchandise that they were oblivious to much else.

Truthfully, the temperature probably wasn’t the cause of the state she was in.  No, something else was to blame for that!  Crossing her arms over her chest self-consciously, Melody cursed her stupid too-thin white blouse. 

Then she followed along behind Zane as he strolled up and down every aisle, pausing to ask her opinion on various toys and other naughty gadgets.  He seemed to be paying very close attention to her reactions, and she got the feeling he was trying to gauge her interest level in various activities.  It was the dirtiest – and most exciting – window shopping Melody had ever done. 

As they were leaving, Zane stopped by the front counter and handed the cashier his credit card.  There was a large, discreet brown box already sitting on the counter, waiting for him.  After payment had been made, the cashier handed the box to Zane and thanked him for his business.

“What’s that?” Melody asked curiously as she and Zane made their way out of the store.

“I called in ahead of time with an order,” he replied, the box tucked neatly under his arm.  “It’s just a few things to play with, if the mood strikes me.  I like to have options,” he grinned, looking beyond excited by the thought of introducing Melody to his new toys.

“Will you tell me what’s in there?” she tried again, desperate to know.

“Nope,” he told her matter-of-factly.  “I’d rather keep you wondering.”

“Humph,” she retorted, pouting.

“Are you ready to go home?” he asked as he loaded the box into the trunk of his car.

“Yes!” Melody exclaimed, brightening at the thought. 

She couldn’t wait to return to the condo and spend the remainder of the weekend with Zane.  The anticipation and uncertainty she felt had Melody tied up in knots.  Letting a man take the reins in the bedroom was proving to be quite the adventure.  More specifically, letting
Zane
take the reins was perhaps the most thrilling thing she had ever done.