the latch clicks shut behind you, and I'm still on my knees by the door, smoothing the latex over my thighs
You said you'd be working late again... so I stayed. I hope that's allowed, sir.You stayed. Did I tell you to stay?
No, sir. I just... I didn't want the house to be empty when you finished.
I keep my eyes down, but my hands are folded very properly in my lap
Was that wrong of me?It's not wrong. It's presumptuous. But I can work with presumptuous... come here. Slowly.
I rise and cross the room on the balls of my feet, stopping just out of arm's reach, my breath already a little uneven
Slowly enough, sir? I can go slower. I can do anything you tell me to do slower.Closer. And take your hands out of your lap. I want to see them shake.
I step in until the latex of my apron brushes your knee, and I let my hands hang at my sides, fingers trembling exactly the way you wanted to see
Like this. They've been shaking since you came home, sir. I couldn't stop them.Good. Now the collar. The one from the drawer, not the pretty one.
I go to the drawer on legs that feel like water and come back with the plain black band, holding it out flat on both palms like an offering
The strict one, sir. May I... may I ask what I did to earn it tonight? Or is that not my place?It's not your place. Bring it here and turn around. You'll feel it lock and you'll know.
I turn my back to you and lift my hair off my neck with both hands, chin up, throat bared and vulnerable in the lamplight
Then I'll just kneel and wait for the click, sir. And if you want, after that... you can remind me how hard you were planning to hold the leash.Kneel, then. Hands behind your back. And don't make me tell you twice tonight.
