Señora and I had rules. They were there as much for the foundation of our relationship as they were to protect our public lives. They defined our relationship, allowed us to invoke our limits, and kept our power dynamic in check.

Rule# 1 was the easiest:
“You are mine now.”

Señora’s words rang in my head as I remembered the culmination of our first official meeting, the tactile scratch of the pen as I’d signed my name on the thick paper she’d placed on the table before me. My heart thumped in my chest at the memory as I exited my car. I stood there, hand on the doorframe as I looked up at the Spanish style villa set on the crest of the hill. I was really here. The thought made me shiver. No invitation, no thought. Just an overwhelming need to see Señora, and I was here.

Setting my jaw square, I walked hesitantly across the driveway, the crunch of gravel like sandpaper against my eardrums, the crackle far too loud for the late hour. It was well past twelve by now. My own fault. As soon as I’d pulled out of my apartment space, I’d gotten cold feet and doubled back, parking again to think.

Brood more like it. I sat there, questioning my decision to intrude on Señora’s world. I knew I wasn’t supposed to and yet… All night I’d been checking my phone, waiting for her to text. It usually didn’t take this long. Nearly every night since we’d… Engaged with each other, Señora had made sure to message me before bed. Rarely had it been the case she’d forgotten or been too busy to send at least a goodnight.

As of tonight though, it had been three days in a row that she’d said nothing. I knew she was busy, I knew she was CEO and that meant a lot of responsibility. But something seemed to be shifting in our relationship, something I didn’t understand. Something that didn’t have anything to do with our professional lives. So far, it was just the little things. Messages that were normally sent lay forgotten in the back of the mind. Quiet moments together missing throughout the week, a lapse of regular check ins… I didn’t get what was happening between us but stars was it eating at me…

With an issue like this, there was really only one way to find out. I had to see Señora. Talk to her. Rule# 2. Communication. And Safety, but safe words didn’t really apply to the current situation. Did they? I honestly wasn’t sure… The problem was I had already texted Señora and she hadn’t replied. I knew… That was part of Rule# 2 as well but, if I waited for her to reply, like I was supposed to, it might be too late by then…

Fear and anxiety gnawing at my heart, I’d finally committed to my need and started the car once more. By the time I’d actually pulled out on the road and got on the highway out of town, I’d forgotten the fact that it took nearly a full hour to reach Señora’s home from my apartment.

The drive had been blessedly uneventful, though, the front gates closed like usual when I finally arrived. I didn’t bother with the call button this time, instead using the special code Señora had given me. I didn’t know if it was actually special, but I liked to think it was. It was the first time I’d used it and I was glad to see the gate swing open without its usual cacophonous buzzing. I’d let the car crawl forward in an attempt at stealth, taking a full five minutes to come up the drive, and pulled up in between Señora’s luxury sedan and something that looked a bit more beat up than what I was used to seeing parked at her home. Still a nicer car than mine, it certainly didn’t scream opulence.

Was she entertaining a guest? The thought sent a shot of bitter bile rising in my throat before I could swallow it and the jealousy back down. Was this the reason Señora was too busy to tend to me? Was I suddenly playing second fiddle when I’d been the only contestant in the game up till now? I suddenly wanted to be mad at Señora, angry that she’d tossed me aside, dole out some righteous indignation! And I was here now… I could… I could do that. Go up to the door, knock until she answered and let her have it, contract or no. Technically it would be fulfilling Rule# 2. But it would also be breaking rule# 8… Besides… I had no proof that Señora was tossing me to the side. Nowhere did it say she was required to text me every night; It was just a benefit of her attention I was lucky enough to receive. Or, had been…

Rule# 8? Basically, “We aren’t exclusive partners.” I knew it going into this relationship, before I signed the damn contract. It just… Didn’t mean I had to like it. The fact that someone else was here, the fact that Señora might be enjoying them like she did me was none of my business. Did I want Señora to be mine? Yes… Very, very much yes…To tell the truth, I had long ago deluded myself into thinking I could be her one and only. And after all these months, to see the reality of it flung right in my face… It stung. It made my heart ache. It made me feel like all the work I had done to learn everything I could about Señora’s wants and needs was for nothing. I had tried so hard to be her perfect pet, her perfect Perrito. And despite it all, I felt my position in her life slipping into abandonment.

“Stars…” I drew in a shuddering breath, trying to stop my chest from crushing in under the weight of my anguish.

I looked up at Señora’s home, trying to push my twisting thoughts to the side. Despite the hour, the lights were still on, dimly casting shadows through the large bay windows. A gust of cold air nipped at the exposed bits of me as I rounded the corner of the drive and found the walkway leading up to the front steps. As the front lounge came into view, I could see someone moving about inside, their outline blurred in the tinted windows. I froze, still shrouded in shadow between the tiny lights that glowed along the edge of the path. My stomach, though, did a little somersault, missed it’s landing, and dropped into the yawning, abyss of dread that had opened underneath it. If that was Señora… I took a deep breath that did nothing for my nerves. The cold air had become a soothing balm against my burning skin as it cooled the sweat that had broken out across my brow.

“This is a bad Idea Lucas… Bad, bad, bad… Bad Perrito…” The whispers on my lips only made the anxiety worse, like the mere presence of my voice in the otherwise silence of the night would draw Señora to me like lightning to its rod. Despite my anxiety and fear, my boiling skin and stifling leather jacket, I slowly climed the rest of the large, tiled, steps.

I suddenly found myself standing before the front door, staring at the grain of the heavy, dark, oak. It was wider than normal doors, and hinged nearer the middle. At once sleek and modern, it still held a quality reminiscent of an old Spanish villa, hinting at its original aesthetic.

My eyes fell on the doorbell. My palms growing clammy as I adjusted the collar I’d put around my neck earlier. That was Rule# 5, “I must wear a collar”. Well, not a collar per se, not to anyone else anyways. To the uninitiated, it would look like a thick leather necklace that hung down just below the hollow of my neck, pinched into a V by a bit of worked silver. Not a traditional design when you thought of Dominants and submissives. It was simple and elegant and was the dearest gift Señora had given me to date. What was a necklace to anyone else was to me a symbol of ownership. Señora’s ownership. It reminded me of where I belonged and that I was desired, cared for, and wanted.

It pained me when I couldn’t have it around my neck but I couldn’t wear it to work as it might arouse suspicion. I’d never worn jewelry before and wasn’t sure I’d be able to explain away my sudden interest. What would happen if I was asked where I got it? Tell them my Señora had it custom made from her favorite BDSM leather worker? That wouldn’t raise more questions than answers at all. But… Not having it closed around my neck during the day made my skin itch. It had become a ritual everyday after work, pulling it from its hiding spot in my car. I’d sit down, my eyes closed, and shudder as a feeling of completeness washed over me while I clasped it around my neck. It was euphoric, the process almost orgasmic. I’d find myself groaning, clutching the arm rest of my car door for a solid anchor to the world as the weight of it settling against my collar bones threw spirit up into the clouds. Normally, it felt comforting and reassuring. Normally it reminded me of Señora and her ownership, her love.

But right now, it was like a lead weight, doing nothing but reminding me of how I was very clearly breaking the rules…

I wasn’t even goodat breaking rules… So what was I doing here? Breaking the rules made my body break out in hives. It made me want to throw up, as evidenced by the tangy acid that threatened at the back of my throat. I didn’t want to break the rules… But Señora had been distant, and that hurt more than her punishment would.

I swallowed down my fear and uncertainty and looked out to where the moon had started to fall to the foothills. I’d been staring at the blue halo around the doorbell button so long, it’d left an after image in my sight.

Push it… Push the button… The whisper came from somewhere deep inside me, a dark recess of my consciousness I regularly ignored. I wrung my hands, licked my dry lips, and reached out for the tiny ring of blue. Immediately I turned it into an abortive gesture, running my shaking fingers through my hair instead. Fear and frustration gnawed at me. I wanted this… Wanted Señora. Badly… But this was all wrong, all of it. Everything. And suddenly found I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t break Rule# 7.

“Visitation.” We were not supposed to visit each other outside of our scheduled sessions, Unless I needed her and then I could call or text and she MIGHT see me… I couldn’t just show up at her office in the city without an appointment, nor would she show up at mine. Our reputations were important and the conflict of interest would probably come crashing down around us. Being here tonight was dangerous. In more ways than one…

“Rule# 10, Lucas…” Loyalty. How could I be loyal to Señora if I couldn’t be loyal to our rules? I sighed in defeat, having convinced myself to give up my efforts to see Señora, and took a step back from the door. “You shouldn’t be here.” I chided myself, fingers fiddling with the silver tip of my collar.

I turned to leave, the hard soles of my shoes clacking against the tiled step as I went back down the walk.

I’d only made it two steps before a hand reached out of the night and clawed at my shoulder.

It pulled me around as a shrill, screaming, shriek pierced my eardrums. I stumbled backwards and tripped over my own clumsy feet as my heel caught the edge of a tile. My ass hit the ground hard, tailbone bruising as the force of my body landing on my plug sent a sharp shock of pain through my bowels.

“Shit!” I winced, the palms of my hands scraping across rough stone as I caught myself. My wrists were jammed for sure and, from the feel of it, I’d left some skin on the tiled steps.

“Senor Turner, por favor, do not scream. It is late and members of this casa are trying to rest.” A figure reached down and pulled me back to my feet.

It was Alejandro.

Shit…

“I… I’m sorry, Mr. Acosta. I thought you were… Heh!”

“Hmm?” His eyebrow quirked as he looked at me.

“Ah… Nothing…” My checks burned as I realized that shriek had been me… I was so keyed up that I thought Señora had snuck out of the shadows to punish me. Pathetic… “How did you know I was here?” I asked, changing the subject as I quickly dusted my pants and straightened my jacket.

“I knew as soon as you came through the gate, Senor Turner. I alone am alerted when Sandra uses her personal code.” The look he gave me made my cheeks heat. The code was special afterall… “But forgive me. I have had some… Cleaning to do… This evening. Else I would have made it to the door sooner”

“That’s… That’s perfectly alright Mr. Acosta.” I tried for a smile, instead feeling my mouth contort into a high strung grimace.

“Por favor, call me Alejandro.” He smiled back, warm and natural compared to my attempt, and reached out, clasping my shoulder, giving it a little squeeze.

“Sure. Alejandro.” I shank a bit under the strength of his friendly gesture.

“Won’t you come inside?” Alejandro turned, walking back to the house without waiting for me.

As soon as he turned, I surreptitiously reached down the back of my waistband, fishing for the T base of the plug inside me. Quickly, I adjusted it into a more comfortable position, wishing for the first time in a long time, I could take it out. Wincing at the pain in my butt, I followed the man inside.

It was quite once the door latched shut behind me. I hadn’t realized how loud the nature had been outside. Though I’d been here in Señora’s house before, many times in fact, it was completely different tonight. The feeling was off. Taut. Maybe it was just me but the temperature of the lights seemed to tremble while the echoing halls and the deserted rooms seemed suddenly vast and empty. What had once felt comforting now loomed in shadow, hollow spaces and abandoned galleries fading to black. I felt like if I ventured too deep I’d get sucked into the nothing. I shuddered, swallowing hard as I stood awkwardly in the middle of a foyer I didn’t belong in. Alejandro headed for the kitchen and I, looking for an escape, followed for lack of a better choice.

“Care for a glass?” Agoraphobia settling in the more comforting confines of the brightly lit kitchen, I looked to Alejandro as he tilted up a bottle to me. It was a dark green Bordeaux bottle with a white label splashed with an artsy streak of lipstick red. Crush…

“That’s a… A Malbec, isn’t it?” I asked, glancing up Alejandro’s deep set eyes.

“Si, Senor.” He nodded, smiling as he poured me a glass. “A rather tasty one. There are hints of mushroom and earth if you have the palate for such things.”

I silently patted myself on the back. I had never been a big wine drinker but I’d started to dip my toes in when I learned how much Señora enjoyed it. I knew she preferred Chardonnay but I’d wanted to explore my options, checking out reds and whites alike. The bottle Alejandro held I’d seen in stores. But it was usually too expensive for me to try. That Alejandro seemed impressed with my knowledge gave me a little boost to my confidence.

“Here. Salud.” He handed me the glass and took his own, the two clinking together as we toasted.

“Ah, Salud.” I brought the glass to my thin lips and drank, barely even stopping to taste it. I’d pulled in enough that I knew I’d feel a buzz in a few minutes’ time. I wasn’t a big drinker but at this point, I felt like I needed something to help take the edge off this night.

“Senor Turner, It is late.” Alejandro ushered me to a table and sat me down, “What brings you to this casa at such an hour?”

“Please, call me Lucas.” I managed a small smile as I found a bit of bravery now running through my veins.

“Ajá! Lucas then.” He nodded, smiling as he pulled up a chair and sat himself down.

“Um… Truth be told,” I continued, “I… I shouldn’t be here. It’s ah…” I threw a furtive glance at the man, still unsure of just how much he knew about Señora and her relationship with me. “Is against the-”

“Rules.” He offered as my eyebrows shot up my forehead. “Senor Turner… Lucas. I have been with Sandra for a long time. There is not much that happens in this casa that I do not know about.” I blanched but he just waived a hand at me, “Do not misunderstand, I am not watching or breaking the privacy of intimate moments. I mean only that… I know the kind of relationship that you and your Señora have together. I am… very familiar with the world that Sandra lives in.”

“Ah.” I said simply, finally understanding where he stood but still not exactly sure what to say.

“Rules are important. But… In this case… I have invited you here tonight I think. Eh?” He gave me a conspiratorial wink.

“Uh…” What?

“Breaking the rules, Lucas… What happens when you do?” He took a sip as my mouth suddenly went very,very,dry.

“R-Rule# 11…” I stuttered and Alejandro nodded without me needing to say more.

“Then you are my guest tonight.”

It clicked. Finally. Alejandro was trying to give me an out to the rules. “She still won’t be happy…”

“No. I don’t expect she will. But then…” Alejandro shrugged, drinking as he lapsed into a pensive silence. “Pues… Are you tired?”

I shook my head, “I couldn’t sleep right now if I tried.”

“Come then, we will sit and watch the night while you tell me what is wrong.”

Without another word, he stood, took a corkscrew and a fresh bottle of Crush in his hand, and disappeared into the darkness of the lounge. I heard the sliding glass door to the veranda rasp open on it’s rails and sat, staring at the place where he’d disappeared into the dark. Tell him what’s wrong. Wondering for a fleeting moment if I could trust Alejandro with my problems, I considered my distinct lack of alternatives. What could it hurt to talk to him? I downed the rest of my wine, and followed, the foreboding shadows from before suddenly feeling a little more friendly.

——

I woke with a start in an unfamiliar place and unfamiliar room. Not my bed… The sheets were too smooth to be mine and black, alien sounds pricked at my ears. Breathing hard, I quickly pulled the blankets over my head, huddling beneath them as I hid myself from the dark and the vestiges of my dreams.

“It was just a dream… Just a dream.” I drew in a ragged breath, finally waking enough to remember my drive up to Señora’s house and my talk with Alejandro. “Just a dream…” I whispered again, trying unsuccessfully to banish the visions in my head.

Jaw clenched tight, I threw back the duvet and cracked open an eye. The clock on my bedside table read 3:31AM. Shit… I’d only been asleep an hour. I hated sleeping in strange places. I never could get any rest. The only exception to that rule was the few times Señora had kept me through the night. But then, We’d never done much sleeping those nights… As I rolled to my back, my bladder complained, clenching stomach muscles compressing around the results of too much wine.

“Fuck…”Alejandro and I had drank a whole bottle of crush between the two of us and I was still feeling the effects as I lurched out of bed. Weaving and stumbling across the floor, I made it to the door and pulled it open. “Bathroom…” I mumbled stepping out into the hall. Where was the bathroom? I started walking, taking the hall to the right before I remembered, I hadn’t been down this wing of the house before… In the darkness, I was lost. “Bathroom, bathroom…” I mumbled as I went to closed doors at random and opened them, peering inside.

“Nope…” The first, an empty room with boxes stacked inside. “This one.” A workout room I didn’t know Señora owned. I had always thought she went to the gym. “I really need to go…” The next door was locked and I was getting desperate with only one door left at the end of the hall. I tried the latch and it turned easily, faintly clicking as I pushed it open.

“Fuck…” It wasn’t a bathroom but… This room… “I remember this room…” My voice was low in the soft blue night as I stood in the middle of the anteroom and remembered my time here through fuzzy thoughts. It had been months ago but… Señora had taken off my blindfold in this room, taken me to bed in it. Tied me to it. The bed was in the adjoined bedroom, bigger than a king and more comfortable than anything I’d ever lain on before. It certainly put my bed to shame. Intricate, hand carved wood made up the head and foot boards of the bed, complete with rings of metal inland at the corners and around the sides. They offered the opportunity for many different restraining positions, or so Señora had told me. She’d only shown me a few up to now.

I found I remembered a lot about this room, and knew many of its features. Like if I stepped into the bedroom and turned back to the anteroom, that wall was covered in conditioned hemp ropes, wooden rods and rings of metal. They were the same ropes Señora had used on me, the same that had left their marks on my body. I also knew there was a St. Andrew’s cross in the corner across from the bed because I’d been locked to it on another visit. Señora had lounged on a mountain of cushions on the bed, playing with herself as I struggled against the weights she’d clipped to the more sensitive parts of my body. I knew that ther-

My eyes snapped to the movement on the bed as the sheets shifted with grunt.

Ice cold water washed over my body. What I had assumed was a mound of pillows had in fact been bodies. Señora was in here. And she wasn’t alone…

I looked for an exit, turning first to the door only to realize it had swung shut behind me. Frantic for a place to hide, I stumbled to the gossamer curtains hanging on either side of the grand window in the anteroom and pulled it around myself. If Senora woke up and found me here… I shuddered at the thought, focusing instead on hiding my body as best I could.

A hunched shape shuffled into the room as I struggled to still the curtains.

I held my breath, praying that the darkness would hide me.

© O.L. Vale 2024