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Vivian leaves a half hour before Kathleen is due to arrive. I do some light cleaning, as I always do before my Katie is scheduled to come to me for more than a work chat. Far from the first time, and don’t get me wrong… I love dimming the lights, lighting a few scented candles, and straightening up my couch to get ready for some serious girlfriend stuff.

Are we girlfriends? I suppose. God knows she’s one of the only ones I would allow to call me her girlfriend. Kinda exciting, really. Thrilling!

The doorbell rings right at eight. I put on a spritz of cologne, enough for Kathleen to notice, and answer the door.

I’m not disappointed.

She’s dressed as I requested, in a T-shirt and cotton shorts, her strappy sandals cute and her ponytail youthful. I’m sure she felt silly going between her apartment and my condo in that.

What gets me, however, is the collar twinkling around her throat. The moment I see it, I have to contain what I’ve got going on in my imagination. No sense losing it right now.

Especially around Kathleen Allen, collared or not.

“Katie,” I say, opening my door so she can come in. “Good to see you.” She drags in her overnight bag and waits for me in the living room. “Did you bring everything you need?”

Silence spreads between us. Silence, aside from the cat yowling in the corner of the room because there’s a damned visitor. We both look at Saoirse, who quickly realizes she’s not going to get the due attention she thinks she deserves and saunters into the library.

The silence continues.

The corner of Kathleen’s mouth twitches. Starting three or so weeks ago, she readily put on the collar and played out a scene for an hour or two. I’m asking for a lot more now. We’re going to be having a full scene for the next three days. So now I get to see that hint of rebellion in her face again.

I love it. Never before have I had a sub who resisted me so much at times. Not that I want her to actually resist me. That’s not a good sign of a woman enjoying herself – not unless she gets off on that kind of behavior. Those women are rare, in my experience, and Katie is certainly not one of them.

Our eyes lock from across the room. She’s dressed like a petulant girl, but I know that her heart beats with purpose and her mind is ticking away, thinking about everything I could do to her – to humiliate her.

I want to assure everyone that I am not into humiliation, per se. I don’t get off on lowering partners in status and watching them struggle for their bearings. It’s one thing to challenge a sub’s way of thinking, to open her mind to a new world of endless, sexual possibilities. It’s quite another to make her feel embarrassed and hate herself.

There’s no good in that.

I like to think that by this point Kathleen knows I’m not like that. I’m not going to debase her for my amusement. I’m not going to ask more from her than I know she can handle. Sure, I may overestimate her current abilities, but I would never, ever make her negatively uncomfortable on purpose. I want her to enjoy these next three days. It will be a bit rough at first, sure, but eventually…

Eventually, she’ll find the joy in it.

“I brought everything… sir.”

What a bite. I don’t recall asking her to call me the masculine “sir,” but I’ll allow it this time. Mistress sounds better on her tongue.

“Good. You can put your bag in the bedroom. Did you eat dinner?”

She picks up her overnight bag and heads to my room. “Yes,” she says. “Did you?”

I don’t answer. She’s in the other room, putting her things away. I go into the kitchen and pour glasses of Chardonnay. When I look up, Kathleen is standing on the other side of my island counter, her countenance stern and her lips pursing to the point of absurdity.

“Well?” she says, hands on her hips. “What do you want of me?”

Sarcasm. Her favorite defense mechanism.

“Relax, darling.” Oh, I’m getting defensive too. I want to defend my honor as a dominant. And as a Domme? I want to put her in her place. Yet I know that’s not a good idea at the moment. “No need to be on edge.” I hold up the drink. “Wanna watch something on TV?”

Her mouth twists in disbelief. Yes, Kathleen, thus far every time you get collared, we have sex. I’m sorry, however, I can’t have sex for three days straight. Maybe you can…

“Do I get a choice, Mistress?”

“You always have a choice.” She’s starting to get on my nerves. Kathleen the Domme is here, not Katie my sweet sub.

Good thing I don’t plan on any sex tonight.

Does that surprise you? Here I was, all excited because I get Kathleen any way I like. My heart’s been like a little springboard ever since I woke up this morning. My plans? Don’t ask me how many websites I looked through, or how much shopping I considered before deciding to stay with some of my tried and true favorites. There’s no small part of me that’s urging me to touch and taste every inch of this delectable body.