Playing Their Parts

Cassie had stayed “after class” one day, hoping to get some answers for why she just couldn’t allow herself to be submissive to her ex-husband. To be honest, whenever Keith had tried to order her around, she’d had a terrible urge to laugh. He just seemed…silly. And definitely not sexy at all. When she’d explained her feelings to Madam Electra—after Keith had gone, of course—the other woman had nodded thoughtfully.

“I think your problem, my dear, is that you do not respect your husband enough to be submissive to him. Also, he is not naturally a Dominant, which makes it difficult for him to dominate a strong woman like yourself.”

“He certainly shouts at me enough—when we’re fighting, I mean,” Cassie had told her. “And orders me around. Well, he tries to. Isn’t that being dominant?”

“No, my dear.” The dominatrix had given her a pitying look. “That is being a bully. There is a vast difference in submitting yourself to a loving Dominant that you respect and love and allowing yourself to be bullied by someone who doesn’t deserve either your love or your respect.”

“Hey!” Cassie had objected, frowning. “That’s my husband you’re talking about. And we came here to try and put some spice back in our marriage—not put cracks in it.”

“The cracks were already there before you came to me,” Madam Electra said coolly. “You asked for my professional opinion and I gave it to you.”

“But—” Cassie began, but the dominatrix wasn’t finished.

“A true Dom doesn’t rant and rave like a drill sergeant shouting at a new recruit,” she continued sternly. “A true Dom will rarely raise his voice. He will command your respect without any effort on his part and you will give yourself without hesitance or restraint when he tells you to.” She had brushed Cassie’s cheek gently with her fingertips. “I hope, for your sake, that you will one day find a true Dom, my dear. I think if you do, you will finally be able to give him both your heart and your complete submission.”

Then she had glided away, leaving Cassie feeling baffled and somehow cheated when she thought of her substandard marriage to Keith.

It was honestly the talk with Madam Electra that had opened her eyes and let her know it was time to end things with her ex, Cassie admitted to herself now. She had realized that Keith wasn’t worthy of her respect—that he was just a bully who had somehow convinced her that she deserved to be bullied and made to feel bad about herself. It was only after she had left him that she had begun to rebuild her self-esteem and self-respect.

Stone had been a big part of that rebuilding process, she remembered. Her partner had always shown her deference and respect, right from the beginning. He didn’t treat her like she was less than him because she was a woman or because she was smaller and physically weaker. Instead, he deferred to her greater knowledge of Earth customs and laws, telling Cassie he wanted to learn from her. It was after her marriage ended that their friendship really began to grow.

And now I’m learning from him, Cassie thought. Though what, exactly she was learning, she wasn’t sure. Maybe that her partner was much kinkier than she’d ever given him credit for? Or maybe she was finally learning to be submissive—at least when the situation called for it. Whatever the lesson was, Cassie had to admit she was enjoying learning it.

Realizing she was still just sitting there naked, except for her boots, she rose from the couch and looked around for their luggage. They had given it to their pig-man contact, Pocker, who had promised to have it delivered to their rooms if they got the job with Gozeriam.

Sure enough, she spotted the red carry-all cube Kat had packed for her. It was small but there were plenty of clothes and toiletries inside—all minimized using Kindred shrinking technology. There was also a bottle and a dropper with re-sizing liquid. A few drops on any item would return it to its normal size.

Cassie found and re-sized the nightgown Kat had packed her—a long, silky sheer black one that emphasized her curves while minimizing her hips. It was also very comfortable.

“Thanks, Kat,” she murmured, as she slipped it on and looked at herself in the 3-D viewer at the far end of the room, opposite the floating gold beanbag bed.

Speaking of the bed, how in the world was she supposed to get into it? Looking around, Cassie spotted a three-step stool with railings on either side and wheels on the bottom. It reminded her a little of a fancy miniature staircase—the kind you saw in private libraries where all the books were leather-bound first editions on high shelves that were hard to reach.

She was just pushing the rolling staircase against the side of the floating bed, when Stone said from behind her,