The Dom Who Said Please Read online

  Should she add more coal? How long would she be waiting? What would he say or do? Too twitchy to sit still, she stood up and began to pace.

  “Why on earth am I in such a state?” she asked herself out loud. “I can always say no.”

  “Indeed you can, my sweet. Although I hope you won’t.”

  “Argh.” She put her hand to her throat as her heart leaped and she felt that horrible jolt of scared awareness she got when something or someone startled her. “You scared me. I didn’t hear you come in.” So engrossed in her own ruminations, Eleanor missed the telltale click of the latch on her door.

  “You were too busy telling yourself you can say no.” Theo took her hand. “Which I had already told you. Good grief, you’re cold. May I stir the fire up?”

  “Please. It’s not that I’m chilled, not really. Just…”

  “Apprehensive,” Theo finished for her. “But as you reminded yourself, you can say no. But I hope you won’t.” Theo coaxed the fire into a blaze and turned back to her. “Shall we sit?”

  “Go ahead.” Eleanor waved to the chaise set at right angles to the fire. “I need to pace. I move when I need to think.” Or apprehensive.

  “No, you need to sit, or I as a gentleman will need to stand. Plus, you’re making me giddy.” Theo took her hand on her next pace by and got her to sit by a dint of pulling her onto his lap and sitting himself. “Now surely that’s better.”

  She wriggled. “You’re bony.”

  Theo chuckled. “If you squirm, I am not bony, I am hard. Not quite the same thing.”

  ****

  “Oh, my. I…” Eleanor put her palms to her cheeks and tried to stand up. Theo held her firm.

  “It may be uncomfortable, but I prefer that to you on the other side of the room. If nothing else, it shows you how you affect me.” In addition, if the way her nipples showed hard and shadowy through her gown, and her cunt was clearly and lovingly outlined was any indication, he could bet he affected her in a similar manner. Somehow, Theo thought she didn’t realize just how much her gown showed. Of flimsy muslin with a delicate ribbon at the neckline … a neckline that barely covered those nipples he coveted, not a lot was left to imagination, even with a shawl draped over her. He decided not to mention it.

  “That’s as may be, but is that the reason you are here?” Eleanor asked. “Because if it is … go away. I’m not interested in… Ouch.”

  She glared at him as he tightened his grip on her and gave her a tiny tap on her mound.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Stopping you before I get really angry. Good God, woman, think more of yourself and me.” Theo let his inclination take over and tapped her cunt again, just as he had to cut her off mid-sentence. Not hard but enough to sting. “Of course, I want to make love to you. Make love, note, not have sex. But that is one small part of what I would like. What I desire. Of who I am. Now for the love of God, will you sit still and listen? Let me explain?”

  The waves of nervous energy she emitted hit him hard. He hastened to reassure her. “Eleanor, it is nothing bad, I promise. I just wish to try to describe how joyous it can be for a Dominant and submissive to share their likes. To discuss what they prefer, what they enjoy, and how to achieve it. Then if it appeals, perhaps play a little? Nothing too hard or difficult. Just enough to, I hope, make you intrigued and want more.”

  “Hmm.” She tilted her head back to stare at his face.

  This close, he could see tiny flecks of gold in her eyes. “Hmm?”

  “What would you suggest, my lord?”

  Theo took a deep breath. He wanted to garner her interest, gain her trust and consent. However, he was certain it must be achieved in a way that would, if she enjoyed his dominance and wished to learn more, ease her into his lifestyle and life.

  “Every Dominant I know, and believe me there are probably more of us in the circles we both move in than you would imagine, has their favorite ideas, activities, and scenarios they enjoy. Their pleasure stems from the pleasure they can share with their submissive. Mine are bondage, spanking, scribing, and wax play. Not all at once.”

  Eleanor paled. Theo waited. Did such things not appeal? Had he read the signs wrong? Lord, he hoped not. Eventually, she blinked.

  “Go on.”

  “That’s not to say I wouldn’t be open to anything you wish to discover. Or rediscover? You don’t seem as surprised as you might have been if you knew nothing at all about such things.”

  She gasped.

  It was as he thought. She was not unaware.

  Chapter Five

  Eleanor tilted her head to one side and then nodded, as if she had made a decision. “I need to explain something first. You see, Bertie, my late husband, thought he was Dominant. He wanted to be. I was happy for him to be, but … it didn’t work.” She blushed and sighed.

  Theo had wondered. He’d heard stories, knew how Bertie Charters tried to assert himself in all spheres of life and often failed. He’d liked the man but found him hard to get on with. Bertie had never been happy with his life, or understood how people all had their strengths and weaknesses. Theo thought the man had never truly understood his, not like Theo or most men of their class did. “Do you feel up to explaining how?”

  She was silent for so long he thought she was about to decline. Then she sighed again. “He couldn’t inflict the pleasure, only the pain. I can’t explain why or how. For instance, he wanted to scribe. The thought excited me, the reality didn’t…” She sighed. “I ended up with permanent scars. Hence the gloves I always wear. It covers these.” Eleanor held out her hands and for the first time, Theo realized he’d only ever seen her in gloves. He kissed the fine scars on each wrist and lower arm and she shivered. “He used his hunting knife. The thought makes me sick.”

  “If I scribed you, it would be a short tattoo just for us, that I can promise. And no hunting knife. I have a special, thin blade, just for scribing.”

  “Maybe. But that isn’t all. He chose to use my hairbrush on my arse. It hurt. Just hurt. He said I should get past the pain and get pleasure. I never did. When he bound me, all I could think was how stupid I must look. When he spanked me with my hairbrush, I got no pleasure. I wanted to throw it at him. Poor Bertie, he hated the fact he was in his eyes less a man. It made it impossible for him to…” She sighed and reddened. “Consummate our marriage. One reason why I felt I could never be involved with anyone again. I could not let the world know what happened. Or didn’t happen.”

  The expression on her face upset him. How much pain and sorrow had she had to cope with? Was there no one who could have helped her? She probably didn’t feel it was anything she could share. It was understandable, if unpalatable.

  “However, you told me. I’m honored. You have my promise and my oath it will go no further.” Theo lifted her head and kissed her on the lips. So much was now clear. He had his work cut out.

  He slid his tongue in between her rosy lips. She gasped, and a scant second later let her tongue dance with his.

  Theo’s reaction was instantaneous. His cock went on high alert, his erection so hard it verged on the edge of pain. If he wasn’t careful, he would come like a scrubby schoolboy. That was not to be entertained. He had to force himself to gently end the kiss and ignore his cock.

  “I promise your confidences will go no further,” he said hoarsely. “I also promise if you trust me, I can show you all those things can be the opposite to what you experienced.”

  “To me, what you described seems impossible,” Eleanor said, her voice as uneven as the pulse that beat in her neck. “For if it were not, why did it not work before?”

  “I don’t know,” Theo said honestly. How could he explain the difference between true domination and someone playing with no understanding of the various nuances involved? “However I’d love to be given the chance to show you how it would please us.”

  “But if it didn’t work? If it is all my fault? I honestly think Bertie compensated f
or his lack in that area by doing stupid things elsewhere. And killed himself. So you see…” She lifted her shoulders and let them drop. “I couldn’t bear it to happen again.” Eleanor gulped, bit back a sob, and burst into tears. “You see this time, I care for you. Too much maybe on such short acquaintance.”

  “Sometimes your heart knows what your mind chooses to ignore.”

  “Perhaps. With Bertie, it was a marriage of convenience. I didn’t hate him, but…”

  Theo held her close. “This time it will be different.” He took a gamble. “I can only be honest and say I have no idea if what I feel is love. That is not an emotion I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. But if the fact every time I’ve been in your presence I grow hard, that I’m happy to let you set the place, and be a Dominant who says please counts for anything … shall we explore what we may have?”

  Her conflicting emotions showed on her face.

  “My Elle, please.”

  “Elle?” She glanced at him, surprise on her face. “Why Elle?”

  “That sobriquet, I think should be for us. Not pet.” He winked. “Elle. You would say go, to show you were happy. Wait, to say stop while I think about it, talk to you about it, and then see if we carry on, and end would mean stop now, that is enough. And I would obey. This is how I say you would be in charge. We discuss what we think we would like and go from there. I might suggest what I think is the way to go…” He broke off as she raised her eyebrows.

  “Might?”

  “Yes, might. I will suggest, but as I said, you have the power of veto. It’s up to you.”

  ****

  Should she? Her cunt throbbed with the sensation of something that had eluded her. With the arousing thought that maybe, just maybe, it hadn’t been all her fault. And if she didn’t try to find out, how would she cope with life in the future? Eleanor took a deep breath and slid from Theo’s lap to kneel on the floor.

  “I’m a bit hazy here, Sir, but yes, please. Please show me.”

  The silence was absolute. Not scary, not unpleasant, but charged with something new. Anticipation, perhaps? Eleanor dipped her head and put her hands behind her back. That much she was sure about.

  Theo let out a long harsh breath. “That, my Elle, is almost the most perfect sight ever.”

  Only almost? What had she missed? She glanced up and he smiled.

  “No need to appear so apprehensive. I would prefer you almost naked.”

  She worried her top lip until it hurt. Why only almost? Dare she ask?

  Theo put his finger on her lips and prised her teeth open and away from the soft and maligned skin. “Stop that. As I have said and I reiterate, the only marks on you will be made by me, and will not last. This time, I forgive you, next time, I punish. And you will learn the difference between punishment pain and pain for pleasure. Whatever you have known before you will discover the difference. Almost, because I have a yen to see you bound and wearing jewels on the bindings. I thought diamonds, but now I know it must be sapphires. However, for now, we make do with whatever is on hand.”

  He lifted her to her feet, caressed her cheek, bent his head, and oh so softly kissed her full on the lips. Slipped his tongue inside her mouth and dueled with hers as he pulled her close to him and let their bodies touch. With her in such a flimsy gown and he fully dressed, it was a weird experience. Eleanor decided it made her feel both vulnerable and in some strange way, empowered. She liked it.

  Her sigh reverberated around their bodies, made her shiver and tingle. Her quim was damp, her thighs wet, and her nipples so hard they hurt.

  Theo slowed and gentled the kiss. His breath was as ragged as hers as he lifted his head.

  “Please, my Elle, may I show you how?”

  “Supplicant, Theo?” It made her happy to realize he intended to adhere to his vow. “Can I say I like it?”

  He nodded. “I promised I would ask, not demand. I keep my promises.”

  It was now or never. Eleanor took a deep breath. “Then please, Sir, show me how I can receive pleasure from pain.”

  His smile was all she could wish for. If he had appeared triumphant, she would more than likely have cried off. As it was, he looked—relieved?

  “Then my love, my Elle, it is with pleasure I show you … pleasure. First. Take off your robe.”

  That was easy enough. It was held together with ribbons. What was not easy was she had never been naked with anyone, except her maid as she helped her out of the bath or to dress for an occasion. Not even her late husband had demanded she disrobe. She hesitated.

  His eyes narrowed but he didn’t speak. Instead, he slowly unwrapped his cravat and drew it from around his neck. Shrugged out of his jacket and undid his waistcoat. Raised one eyebrow, and put waistcoat, cravat, and jacket on a chair before he pulled off his shirt and threw it in the same direction.

  “Your turn?”

  Damn, her mouth was dry. The sight of his naked torso was so arousing, she swayed. Eleanor began to untie her nightgown without any further thought. She wanted to be skin to skin with him. Dare she ask for him to reveal more? One look at the enigmatic expression on his face stopped her. It had to be him setting the pace. She counted to ten under her breath and flung her gown in the same direction as his shirt. Then she took a deep breath and looked at him.

  “My lord.”

  “My Elle. You are so beautiful. Please get me your hairbrush.”

  Oh no, not that. She trembled. Why did he pick it?

  She knew why. What had he promised? It would be different with him? Eleanor moved slowly toward her dresser and opened the drawer. The brush mocked her. Behind her, Theo waited, silent and unmoving.

  This was it. Did she trust him? Was she willing to see if all she had once thought right was in fact wrong?

  Yes, she was.

  Eleanor picked up the brush from the opened drawer, where she had put it earlier, and handed it to him. His smile told her all she needed to know.

  “My Elle. Such a brave girl.” He kissed her and held on to her arm as he sat down on a chair. “Bend over my lap.”

  Bend over…? That would make her very vulnerable. But then was that not part of it? To show she trusted him. Somewhat awkward, she leaned forward and arranged herself over his lap. Her breasts fell to one side of his legs, her knees were on the other. Her cunt rubbed on his breeches. An unusual sensation—one of many new such things that day. One she was eager to explore.

  Theo rubbed the globes of her ass. “These are so beautiful, but will be even more so when, one day, with your agreement, I scribe it. Perhaps too much at this time. For now, though, my Elle, are you happy. Do we go on?”

  She remembered the mantra. “Go at the moment.”

  “If at any time you are not happy, you say so immediately. Wait, or end.”

  Eleanor nodded, remembered she wasn’t facing him but staring at his hessians, and spoke. “Yes, Sir.”

  “I’ll start with ten. Count if you wish.”

  At the first touch of the bristles on her soft skin, she tensed. It wasn’t unpleasant, nor did it excite her. Theo rubbed the spot where the brush hit.

  That excited her more. She remembered his words. She might as well count. “One.”

  “What do you say?”

  “Go, Sir.”

  “Good.” Two more swats followed in quick succession before he rubbed her skin once more. They were more intense than before. Painful and not arousing. Eleanor began to despair. What if she couldn’t get past the hurting?

  “Three, four, go.” Though if they stayed the same, she would cry, “Wait,” and explain. However, maybe try one more? She began to tense up.

  Theo tapped her with his hand, not the brush. “Relax, that was preparation. Are you ready to really discover your pleasure?”

  “I am.”

  The next two spanks hurt like Hades and she bit her lip, but then something amazing happened. The pain floated around her and a deep, fast-flowing sensation of heaven entered her. The pulse between her le
gs throbbed. Eleanor wriggled. Theo laughed and added two more heavy blows. Then he pulled her back until her nipples chafed on the material of his trousers. She gasped. “Oh my…”

  “More?”

  “Oh, yes, please.”

  “Five only.”

  With each of those five strikes, she flew higher and higher until, when he stopped and caressed her, his words of, “My sweet and brave Elle, so very good, so very arousing. My Elle,” made her sob with pleasure. Every nerve end tingled. Her skin was sensitive, oh so sensitive, and she felt as light as a feather.

  Theo lifted her into his arms and held her close. The sensation of his hard body and rigid cock under her tender bottom was a good feeling, not one that made her wince. She only wished she could see the marks his ministrations left.

  “Tears of joy?” he queried. “I hope so, for if so, next time you will fly into oblivion. Enter that state of mind where nothing matters except sensation and the fact you are sated.”

  “Tears of joy,” Eleanor agreed. “Plus of thankfulness and…” Dare she? Why not, she had nothing to lose. “And a hope you will go further.” There she’d admitted it. It was now up to Theo to decide what, if anything, happened next.

  “As in how?” He nuzzled the top of her head. “Your wish, my lady, is my command.”

  “In that case, my wish is that you take me, make me truly yours. Make me a woman.”

  Would he?

  Theo nudged her chin so she looked up at him. “Penetrate you?”

  “Please.” She grinned. “Now it is me who says please.”

  Theo laughed. “I foresee interesting times ahead. You, my dear, are a minx.”

  “I am? I like the sound of that.” Eleanor wriggled and felt his cock harden even more, if that were possible. “I love the thought that you have given me so much already and there is more to come.” She spoke and ended with an upward inflection. “Isn’t there?”

  Theo inclined his head. “Oh, yes. My preference, as I said, is for you to be bound, and for me to redden and raise your skin with patterns. Then perhaps a little wax play. But I would never forget the joys we both can get from something so simple as a spanking, be it with my hand or your hairbrush. Next time, I will go that little bit further and then the marks will stay long enough for you to regard them in a mirror.”