Safeword: Mayday by Candace Blevins

Chapter 20

When Heather awoke the next morning — in the middle of the bed, alone, with sunlight streaming in the windows — it took her a few minutes to remember where she was. And then everything came back in a flood of memories, and her insides clenched. How had she gone from assuming she was asexual, to someone who begged her boyfriend’s best friend to fuck her ass?

She stood and did an inventory. Nothing hurt, but that didn’t mean anything. She went to the bathroom and stopped at the mirror, twisting to look at her ass and back, and saw three lines and two ugly looking bruises on her ass, but that was it. She figured the marks were from the cane and the single tail, which meant all of that flogging hadn’t left a single mark.

It also meant only half of the cane strikes had been hard enough to leave a mark. If she had to guess, she’d say the first three.

She gingerly ran her hand over the single-tail marks and felt heat. She poked and prodded, and while she could feel the damage, knots under the skin and a whole lot of heat — it was more discomfort than pain. No biggie.

The cane marks were raised up, with bruising under and over and around the welts. She imagined if her pain signals were working right, they’d hurt like a bitch.

She donned panties and a pair of yoga pants with a loose t-shirt, brushed her teeth, and decided to part her hair on the side with a dramatic swoop across her forehead. It didn’t feel like a make-up kinda day, so she zipped her toiletry bag up and headed towards the kitchen, hoping Marcus was in there, but determined to look for food whether he was there or not.

She stopped in the doorway and took in the view — Marcus at the breakfast nook with his laptop open, working away. He was gorgeous, and it felt intimate, seeing him in boxers without a shirt, his hair still mussed.

But she’d come to the kitchen for food and caffeine, so she walked to the fridge, opened it, pulled one of the small bottles of Coke out, unscrewed the cap, and drank from the bottle while she closed the door.

Marcus leaned back in his chair, smiling at her. “I have glasses in the cabinet two steps to your right. You don’t have to drink from the bottle.”

“Not necessary. Thanks for thinking of me and getting some Cokes. How long have you been up?”

He glanced at his laptop’s screen. “About an hour and a half. I was going to wake you at nine if you weren’t up yet.”

She glanced at the clock on the stove and saw it was 8:45. She had no idea when they’d gone to sleep, but she felt rested so it probably didn’t matter.

“Well, I’m up and I’m starving. I didn’t see eggs in the fridge last night — what’s for breakfast?”

“We have fresh peaches to cut up into oatmeal, and there are some baked-yesterday peach pastries in the box on the island.”

She took the four steps to the box and opened it, reached for a pastry, and took a bite. It was so flaky, and sweet, and light, and, “Mmmm, that’s perfect.”

He laughed. “Almost sounded like the noises you make five minutes before an orgasm hits. Speaking of which, how do you feel this morning?”

“I have a few bruises on my ass, I assume from the cane and single tail.” She shrugged. “I haven’t tried to sit on something harder than the mattress yet, but nothing feels out of sorts.”

“I’ll want to take a look later, but for now, I’ll take your word for it. I’ll get the oatmeal started and begin cutting the peaches up. Everything I used on you last night is laid out on the other end of the island. If you want to talk to me while you look through it all, I think that may be a good way for us to get started on our analysis today.”

She’d noticed all the toys and tools lined up when she entered, but had studiously ignored them.

“Does everything have to be analyzed?”

He looked up sharply, and then took a breath, gentling his features. When he spoke, it was with an even voice. “No, but you’re new to bottoming, and it looks like you’re going to be a Dominant as well. That’s a lot to learn all at once. Not only do we need to talk about how each implement made you feel, but I also need to show you how each one is used safely, in case you want to give Kyle some sensations similar to what I gave you.”

“I seem to have hit a sore spot, I’m sorry. You’re right, of course — we need to talk about it, it’s just that it was so magical, I guess part of me would prefer not to pull it apart and talk it to death.”

He walked to her and turned her so she was facing away from him, then pulled her back to his front and wrapped his arms around her, over the top of her arms, pinning them down. He leaned down to kiss just in front of her temple, and straightened. “I’ll try not to pick apart the magic. It was good for me, too, and I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. This is a bit of an exercise for me, having you here as an equal and not a submissive. I may have to ask for patience from you a couple of times — looks like now is one of them.”

Heather turned in his arms and rested her cheek on his chest. “You’re not used to having people talk back to you, and I’m kind of bad about doing that, right? But if you don’t allow submissives to talk back, then how do you know how they really feel? That doesn’t sound conducive to good communication, to me.”

“They’re required to tell me how they feel, and can be punished for not doing so in some cases, but they’re also required to say it in respectful terms. So instead of ‘does everything have to be analyzed’, it would be more like, ‘Sir, I’m really not up to the analysis right now, is there something you can do to make this easier, please?’“

She nodded against his chest. “Okay, I can see that. I’m getting a pretty big pass, only having to say please and thank you.”

“Yes. But I should do the same. So, if you could please step to the island and look over the items, they’re placed from left to right in the order they were first used. Pick them up, get the feel of them if you wish, and tell me how they felt as they were used on you. Please.”

He let go of her and she stepped to the island. “Is that hard for you? Asking me instead of giving an order you know will be followed without argument?”

He began pulling things from the cabinet onto his work surface. “Being a Dom comes with a lot of responsibility. When I give an order, I have to take into account what I think her needs are, as well as my wants and needs. She gives me her submission; it’s a gift, and I can’t abuse it. So, when I give an order, I don’t just do it willy-nilly. I find myself doing the same when I tell or ask you to do something, which makes it frustrating when I see you deciding whether to follow my instructions or not. I don’t put that level of thought into, say, telling a nurse or administration person at the office to do something. I trust them to know their own job better than I do, so if they contradict me, then I listen and we make a decision together. But in my personal life, my intimate relationships with women... yeah, I guess I’m used to just having people do as I tell them, most of the time, and having you not do so is taking some getting used to.”

“When you talk about it like that, I wonder if I’m capable of being what Kyle apparently needs.”

“Kyle loves you. I was worried about him falling for someone vanilla, but then I met you and saw what he saw — a vibrant woman who goes after what she wants. He wanted, wants, to belong to you. Let him belong to you Heather, that’s all you have to do. Figure out what brings you pleasure, and he’ll move heaven and earth to make it happen. He’s a dream come true for a Dominant personality, and he loves you.”

She nodded, and suddenly it seemed the easier conversation might be about the kinky items on the island. She ignored the butt plug and lifted the first flogger.

It was really heavy, at least a pound, maybe a couple of pounds. The strands were about twenty inches long, give or take a few inches, and each strip of leather was around three quarters of an inch wide. They were soft though, and she trailed it up her arm and felt the caress of them.

“This is not what I thought it would feel like, or look like. When it hit, it nearly pushed the air out of my lungs.”

He nodded. “That’s what that one is for — pure impact, with no sting or hurt. You mostly just get the weight of it hitting. You probably haven’t sat in a chair and leaned back yet this morning; when you do, you may discover that it feels like your upper back is bruised, even though it isn’t. That one moves the tissues around without really bruising, but many people report that they feel as if they’re bruised even if there are no pretty colors to show for it.”

She set that one down and picked up the next. She’d thought he only used two floggers on her, the big one and then a really sting-y one, but there were three more floggers laid out, so he must’ve changed without her realizing it. The next one had strands about twelve to fifteen inches long, but each was only an eighth or maybe three sixteenths of an inch wide, and was made of much thicker leather than the first. It wasn’t heavy, and she flipped it around a little, realizing it would take some skill to learn how to use it. She put that one down and picked up the next, which was nearly identical but with fewer strands, and they were stiffer. Also, each strand came to a point instead of a blunt edge.

The last flogger seemed be made of rubber instead of leather, and the handle wasn’t as ornate or fancy as the others.

“I thought you only used two floggers on me, but you must have switched from the first smaller one to this one as I got used to them, so they felt the same?”

“When you asked for harder that last time, I switched to the one you’re holding. Sometimes harder isn’t what’s called for. You needed something more intense.”

“Huh. I remember thinking it felt like rubber towards the end, but it didn’t register that it hadn’t felt that way before.”

“That one is actually made from two bicycle inner tubes. Few bottoms can handle the intensity of that one.”

She put it down and picked up the cane. It wasn’t anything fancy; just looked like a straight stick without bark. “This one hurt. Not right when you hit — that hurt, but it was manageable. But then a second and a half later, it was unbearable.”

“And yet you bore it.”

She’d been talking with her back to him, which made it easier, but she wanted to see his expressions, so she turned and met his gaze. “Okay, so unbearable isn’t the right word. It was right on the edge, though. I’m not sure I could’ve taken much more than you gave me.”

He nodded. “I’m aware, and I actually made strikes three and four about half the force of the others. I realized after the first two that you were going to have a hard time with all six at that level.”

“I only have three marks, so the first two and the last, were hard enough to mark?”

He nodded, and she asked, “What kind of cane is this?”

“Rattan. I buy them in bulk. If you want to use one of these you’ll need to let me teach you, because you can do a lot of damage with that if you don’t know what you’re doing. If you want to do impact play with Kyle, for now you should stick to your hand or to leather paddles, and only on his ass and the backs of his thighs, at least three inches above his knees. If you want to learn to use a cane, I can invite a submissive over to my house and teach you on her.”

“Can’t you teach me on Kyle?”

“I’d rather not.”

Heather started to ask why not, but he lifted his hand up in a stop position, and she closed her mouth. Marcus dropped his hand. “Do you really think it feels right to learn on him? Will he have confidence in your ability if he was there as you were being instructed? It’s better if he isn’t present for that, I think.”

But Kyle didn’t want her Topping anyone but him, so she’d have to talk to him about it before she agreed to anything.

Rather than explain, she moved to the next item without comment. It wasn’t very big, and had a wire going from it to a remote control. She looked at the butt plug, still at the beginning of the line, and noted the remote for it didn’t need a wire. She picked up the thing that’d been in her pussy. “What’s this called?”

“A vibrating egg.”

She nodded and put it back down, and then picked up the last item, which kind of looked like a syringe, but without a needle.

“What’s this?”

“Lube launcher. I wanted to pull the plug and fuck you as quickly as possible, but I also wanted to get some more lube into you. I slid that in, began depressing the plunger, and pulled it out as I emptied it, getting you all slick inside. The plug had been lubed too, and I put extra lube on the condom, so we were good in the slick department.”

She gently put it back down, making a note to wash her hands again before eating. “There’s an awful lot to learn.”

“Don’t let it overwhelm you.”

“How do you clean everything?”

“I washed the plug, the egg, and the lubricator with soap and hot water. The plug and lubricator will also go through the sterilizing cycle in the dishwasher. The bullet was brand new before use, and it’s exclusively yours, since it can’t be sterilized. You’ll note your name on the side of the remote, and it’ll go into a zippered baggie with your name on it before it goes back into my toybag. You’ll have your own drawer in the playroom, and I expect it will quickly fill.”

“And the impact tools?”

“If I break the skin, I use a leather cleaner, and then I have a UV box the leather goods can go in to sterilize them. They’ll fade after too many trips into it, but I so rarely break the skin, it hasn’t been an issue. Plus, leather can be redyed, if it comes to it. Rattan canes are cheap, so they get tossed if I break the skin, but I rarely do. The inner-tube whips can be washed, but I don’t know how they’ll hold up in the dishwasher, so if we decide I’m going to lay into you enough to break the skin on occasion, it can be handwashed and then put into your drawer, and I can make another for common use.”

He stepped to the table with their bowls of oatmeal, and she followed, taking the rest of her Coke with her.

The oatmeal was burning hot, so she picked some from the edge and blew on it before taking a bite, and was surprised by the explosion of taste. She’d expected bland oatmeal, but this was really good.

“Wow Marcus, this is amazing, and I never thought I’d say that about oatmeal.”

“You don’t have to sound so surprised.”

“Oh. Sorry. No offense, it’s just that I wasn’t expecting much out of a bowl of oatmeal, but this is really good.”

“Fresh peaches, some vanilla, whole milk, a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg, and maple syrup to sweeten the deal. Have you texted Kyle yet to let him know you’re up, so he can call you when he gets a break?”

“Crap, thanks for reminding me.”

She got up to get her cellphone and brought it back to the table, texting as she walked, so she was done by the time she made it back. She sat her phone down and started eating again. “We’ve got, what, three or four hours before we need to head back? Do you have anything specific planned? You mentioned some nearby hiking trails.”

“I’d like to give you the basics of how to wield a flogger. We can strap two pillows to the wall — one at shoulder height and one at ass height — and let you get used to a figure eight where you hit all four areas. There’s also a jacuzzi on one of the upper decks, with an incredible view, if you’re interested, and there’s a small waterfall on my property, but it’s only about a two-hundred-yard hike to get to it.”

“Two hundred yards isn’t a hike, Marcus, but I’d love to see it.”

“Okay then, I propose we spend some time with the floggers after we eat, then we spend some time in the jacuzzi, and then we take in the waterfall shortly before we leave. We also need to talk some about what we want to do tonight, with the three of us together. Do you have something you’d like to do to Kyle?”

Heather started to point out that she hadn’t brought a bathing suit, then realized that would sound sort of silly at this point, so she said, “Sounds like a plan. I think I need to buy some things. I know I need wrist and ankle cuffs, and you said something about a leather paddle. I’d also like to get those clampy things for his nipples. Is there somewhere we can go shopping, so you can help me put together a kit of the basics?”

“Yeah, it’s called the internet. I’ll text you a couple of sites I like to use, and a list of things you’ll probably want to get. I suggest you and Kyle do the shopping together, though. You can learn a lot about how he feels about activities by watching his reactions as you mention them. But tonight we’ll be at my house, and I have lots of stuff you can use. So, I’ll ask again, is there something you want to do to him?”

“I’m still intrigued by this rule where he can’t orgasm until I tell him he can, so I guess I want to play around with that some more. Also, I want to do some of what you explained he needs — small things to exert my dominance. I also want to restrain him while I fuck him, like, really restrained, where he can’t move much at all, and I want to have a punishment planned in case I need to make a point about something. Oh, and I want to do some things to show him he’s special, like some of the small touches you’ve done with me. And I think I want to start playing with his ass — I don’t want a strap on just yet, though I’m intrigued by that idea, but I think I’d like to put some gloves on and play around some.”

“An excellent blueprint of the evening. I’m impressed with your list.” He took another bite, considering. “Okay, I’ll show you how to use the bondage table to safely strap him down so he can’t move a muscle. I’m thinking perhaps you should ride him while I fuck your ass tonight. As for a punishment, my recommendation for now would be to keep it simple — ten minutes in the corner for a slight infraction, thirty minutes for a bigger infraction. For a really big one, put a coin on the wall and make him hold it up with his nose while his hands are secured behind his back. The problem with that is if he drops the coin you’re obligated to up the punishment, and I’m not sure you want to go there just yet.”

“I was thinking that the first time I punish him, I should let him know I mean business. Will corner time do that?”

Marcus looked at her a few moments and softly asked, “Do you mean business with this, Heather? I’m giving you a way to ease into it, so you can back out should this not work for you.”

Heather shook her head, and her eyes watered at the idea of not being able to give Kyle what he so clearly needed. “I love him, Marcus. On top of that, I thought I was never going to enjoy sex, and the two of you have opened up this whole new world for me. I’ve tasted the fruit of knowledge; I don’t think there’s any going back.”

“Okay then, I’ll show you how to properly wield a belt — safely and effectively. You’ll use one of his belts on him, the one he most often wears with jeans. You won’t give him a number the first time you do it. You’ll tell him you’re going to take him past the point where he can comfortably take it, and you won’t know how many that will be until you get there.”

“Using his own belt, that’s another piece of the mental aspects of this, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

She stood. “I’ll wash the dishes while you put the pillows on the wall and prepare to give me a flogging lesson.”