Kingdom Fall

Unlike the other apartments I owned, this flat was fairly small. The term cozy came to mind. I grabbed a Guinness and took a seat, waiting for her to come back in.

When she did, she left the sliding door open. Her eyes held mine, a question in them, before she spoke. “How long are we gonna be here?”

Something I’d been considering myself. “Long enough to figure out who's after who.”

In her eyes, I read contempt. “I'm telling you now I'm giving it a day, maybe two, and then I'm leaving.”

“Lizzie—”

She didn't give me time to finish. “I'm not staying here with you any longer than necessary.”

I took a long drink of my beer and thought about what to say next because my cock was a loyal prick when it came to her. “You stay, and I'll leave.”

“And where would you go, not that I should care?”

“I'm not the one who needs protecting. You are.”

She folded her arms. “Tell me something, is the reason why you ended us the fact that I'm not a submissive?”

I didn't answer, unwilling to lie to her.

“So it is?” she asked.

It was more than that, and I couldn’t immediately put my feelings to words.

“Explain it to me,” she demanded.

“What?”

“What is it like to be your submissive?”

I stared at her, dumbfounded because I'd never really had to explain that before. When I got into a new D/s relationship, we would talk about each other’s expectations, but I’d never had to explain the true role of a submissive. And I wasn't sure I could—because I wasn't one.

“I don't think I can,” I said.

“Why can't you? You don't know what you look for in a submissive?”

“Yes. When I form a new relationship, we negotiate our terms. But I don't know what it's like to be submissive.”

She didn't back down. “Just assume that I'm agreeable to everything you expect from your submissive.”

I didn’t think she'd be dismissive of the lifestyle, but at the same time, I wasn't sure she would fully understand. Again, I said nothing.

“You owe me that much. I deserve to know,” she demanded.

She was right. If I was leaving her because of that, I owed her an explanation. “Fine.”

“No. I want you to show me,” she said.

“Do you want to top or bottom?” She blinked and I explained. “A submissive would never demand anything. Ask, yes, but never in the way you’re doing unless she wished to be punished.”

“Okay,” she said, calmer now. “I want to understand how to be your submissive. Can you please show me?”

“Are you ready to submit?”

When she nodded, I put down my beer and got to my feet. I stalked over to her, stood right in her face, and commanded her to kneel. Just as I suspected, her chin went up. I tilted my head in question. Only then did she get to her knees. Her eyes were full of fire the entire time.

“What next?” she asked.

“I don’t think you’re ready. There’s defiance in your eyes.”

“Sorry,” she said as she lowered her eyes.

“Good girl. First rule, don't speak unless spoken to.”

“But you just—”

But it was as if a switch had flipped in my head. My emotions were gone. All the reasons why people called me Mr. Black came into play. “This is normally the point of punishment. But I’ll give you a pass considering we haven’t discussed this. But if you really want to play, follow the rules.”

Yet even my alter ego almost let a smile break through when she compressed her lips into a flat line, unhappy about fully submitting to me.

I caressed a hand down her head to cup her cheek. “My preference is if you are expecting me, your hair should be pulled back.”

Her mouth opened, but she quickly closed it.

“For this time only, you can raise your hand if you want to speak.”

Reluctantly, she lifted a hand. She probably thought this exercise was childish, but in truth, it was a quick and dirty way for her to completely understand what I wanted and how much control I demanded.

“You may speak.”

“Why do you like the hair back? Is that a D/s thing?”

I liked that she used the right terms. “It’s a me thing. Every dominant has their own rules. This is mine. Having your hair back makes it easier to grab hold of. It’s also very sexy to watch when I pull it free.”

She nodded, and I went on. I had to give context for how a D/s relationship worked for me.

“The most important things you need to understand are the four pillars of a D/s relationship. They are respect, communication, honesty, and trust. If you don’t have all those things, this type of relationship will never work. Also, unlike a Master/slave relationship, D/s isn’t usually a twenty-four-seven lifestyle, though it can be. I’ve never lived with my submissive. Having that boundary helps defines play time. That’s not to say how others handle their relationships.”