Previously:
Vala ended her call to Sam. She picked up her coffee cup and sipped with an appreciative murmur, then glanced casually at Daniel. "You may kneel at rest, darling, and drink your coffee. Then we'll have a little chat."
o-0-o
Chapter 28: Domme and sub Review the Rules
"Thank you, Vala." Daniel lowered his arms gratefully, sinking back to rest on his heels, and picked up his coffee double handed. He took a swallow or two, then replaced it on the table and placed his hands on his thighs. Things seemed a lot more formal right now than they did at breakfast, so he didn't think simply sitting there clutching and sipping at the coffee cup was proper form.
"You may look at me, Daniel."
Daniel raised his eyes cautiously, looking his Domme full in the face, searching for a hint of her mood.
Vala didn't look mad, but she wasn't smiling either. "I see how hard you're trying right now," she said after another sip from her own cup, "so there will be no punishment for your behavior in the bedroom just now, depending on your future behavior."
Daniel raised his brows in an innocent look that he hoped dripped with 'Bad behavior? Me?'
Despite what looked to be a badly smothered smile, she stated, "Not amused, Daniel. And neither will you be if I have to put you in the Pillory again."
That sobered him damn quick.
"I believe you would benefit from a refresher course in the do's and do not's of our relationship." Vala set down the cup and placed her hands in her lap, reciting, "In general, you are to engage in no rudeness, disrespect, coarse language, or disobedience. Specifically, no questions asked without permission. No physical resistance or opposition. No movement from the location or position in which I have placed you without explicit instructions. No deviation from the strict execution of a direct order."
Daniel sat motionlessly, memorizing as she went. This was actually very helpful. Some of these no-no's she had spelled out before, but some were just implied and he appreciated having it all laid out for him.
"Again I want to stress, properly couched objections will be considered," Vala continued. "Also, honest mistakes will be dealt with mercifully. However, remember that I am the judge of what is an acceptable objection or an honest mistake. The only judge."
"Yes, Vala."
"Now, individual infractions will be dealt with immediately with a paddling. However..." Vala paused and lifted a finger, regarding her sub seriously, "an accumulation of transgressions will result in another session on the Pillory. A longer session," she emphasized with dispassionate precision.
Daniel swallowed hard, his eyes almost watering at the memory.
"Followed immediately by the rest of the day in the Humbler," Vala concluded.
Daniel gulped again, blinking as his eyes definitely watered now.
"I know. Ouch." Vala looked down at Daniel encouragingly, the Domme's sternness giving way at last to a kind smile and a wince of sympathy. Daniel saw no falsehood in her grey eyes, no tricks, only the honest wish for a friend to do the right thing. It was a look that had irritated and enraged Daniel just three days ago, but now...now he drew strength from it. There was no need to take offense anymore, he needed all the friendship he could get.
"Do you want that punishment?" Vala asked, almost curiously.
"No, Vala," Daniel said quickly.
"Good. Now have a little more of your coffee while it's hot, then tell me then exactly what you won't be doing."
Daniel did as she ordered, taking a few bracing gulps from his cup first then, sparing a passing thought of thanks for his eidetic memory, he repeated what he had privately begun to call 'Domme Vala's Code of Proper Behavior.'
"Clever boy," Vala said approvingly when he'd finished. "Now, tell me about the punishment you will suffer for transgressions."
"Um... If I do one or two things wrong, I'll be-you'll paddle me, Vala," he said reddening a bit. "And if I screw up a lot, I-I'll be put in the Pillory."
"And exactly what does being put in the Pillory entail, Daniel, in your own words?"
Daniel fumbled for a moment, lost for words, not sure why the Domme was harping on this. But Vala leaned forward with a gentle smile. "Daniel, I want there to be no doubt in your mind whatsoever of the consequences for disobedience or misbehavior. I want us to be clear, you and I both, on the outcome of misconduct on your part. Now, again, tell me about the Pillory."
Daniel look a breath, his cheeks heating. "It's like the Humbler, but I'm standing up. You—my—you put my ba-my testicles in a vise, and then—" He took another fortifying breath. "Then you whip me with a crop," he finished quickly, red face properly raised, but eyes squeezed shut.
"And does it hurt, Daniel?"
"Y-yes, Vala!" he blurted out, opening his eyes. "It hurts!"
"How much?"
"Very badly," he specified emphatically. "It hurts very badly."
"And do you want to be placed on a Pillory and be punished as you've just described?"
"No! No, Vala, I don't," he said just as fervently.
"Good, Daniel. Because I don't want to have to punish you," she said just as fervently.
"Yes, Vala." Daniel remembered how pale and shaky Vala had been after his punishment.
"Remember, I'm your Guide, your teacher. I'm here to help you, not trick you. I want you to succeed just as much as you do." Vala was all but begging and Daniel nodded wordlessly. "Now tell me the rules again. Tell me how you're going to avoid punishment."
He listed the Code again, much calmer this time. Vala was right. It was clearer in his mind now. All those half-formed plans of rebellion from the beginning of the week had evaporated in the harsh light of the scenario he'd just recited.
When he finished listing crimes and punishments, Vala added, "And don't forget the rest of the day in the Humbler." She hid a smirk behind her mug. "The Humbler is nothing to sneeze at."
"No, Vala," he said mournfully. "You don't want to sneeze with that thing on."
She winked at Daniel and Daniel found himself returning her smile, feeling nothing but warmth at her playful concern and support.
"Finish your coffee, dear, then I have something that I think will help you."
He raised his brows in question as he picked up his cup, and Vala enlarged, "Something like the phallus."
Okay, he thought, draining his cup. It's true, he would never have voluntarily submitted to something like a phallus, but he'd ended up loving it. The calm it brought when he let it (to say nothing of the, *ahem,* sexual charge).
"I believe you would benefit from some discipline." Vala lifted the rope assembly she'd been working on, and Daniel realized it was...some kind of homemade cat o'nine tails? The four folded lengths of cord produced eight 'tails' each about a foot long, the folded portion wrapped up to form a handle. She eyed it critically. "To be truly authentic, this really needs to be leather, but I believe it will more than suffice."
Daniel's mind blanked out with panic. "But-but I thought-! What did I-? I didn't mean to-!"
"Daniel. Breathe. Did I say punishment?"
"I- No, I, I guess not..."
"What did I say?"
"Um...discipline? That's different?"
"Please define discipline for me, Dr. Jackson."
"Um..." Who knew an eidetic memory would be so useful to a sexual submissive? "It's basically training to act in accordance with rules, like, rote activities."
"Training, exactly. And what is punishment?"
Oh, okay, he understood now. "Vala," he began formally, "it's the process of subjecting someone to pain or some other sentence as a penalty for some offense."
"That's right, darling. I've already said I'm not going to punish you. This is a flogger, and while it may look scary, it's not anywhere near as stringent as the paddle or crop. Now come over and face the couch just like you do for a paddling."
Daniel obeyed, reassured, but still a bit wary.
"No need to count, Daniel," she said, giving his head a calming caress. "I'll be giving you twenty strokes."
Twenty? Oh god-! But when the first stroke landed on his butt, he jerked more in surprise than pain.
It stung, yes, but not overwhelmingly so. The crop whipping had been lightning-fast searing agony and the paddle a heavy explosive pain. This lashing was much lighter. Vala played the eight tails thoroughly over his rump, bringing blood to the surface and increasing sensitivity. The stinging cords landed around the stretched skin of his anus, tweaking the phallus as he clenched in response. It hurt but it felt good too.
Okay, it felt *more* than good, it felt amazing and his cock hardened almost explosively, the little karada squeezing down like his Domme's experienced fingers. It made thinking so difficult that he gave up on trying, simply existing in the moment, letting the sensations roll over him. The last few strokes Vala passed lower, the cords wrapping lovingly around his thighs. Daniel groaned at the feeling, astonishing himself by widening his legs and thrusting backwards, begging for more with his body.
When the strokes stopped Daniel was left hanging, his butt pushed out, pulsing in the empty air, his cock and balls heavy between his legs.
"Do you want something, Daniel?" Vala asked softly.
"Yes! Yes, Vala, yes, please..." he whined breathlessly.
"Tell me what you want."
"Vala, please, I want, the flogger, I want, your hand..." He was babbling like an imbecile but it didn't matter. It didn't matter because Vala understood. She gave him three or four more firm strokes to the seat of his butt and his thighs, then, when he was all but rutting against the couch, she tossed the flogger aside and took his cock in both hands, one loosening the cord ring, the other squeezing and twisting and he was gone, like lightning running from his cock up to his head and back down again, he came calling her name and thrusting madly, unselfconsciously...
When he came back to his senses, he was still clutching the couch—holding on for dear life more like. Vala sat close by, wiping off his sweat and come with a dish towel from a pile she had quite wisely stacked on the coffee table yesterday.
"Shh," she soothed as his trembling slacked off. "You're doing so well, my brave boy. I'm quite proud of you." She finished by wiping his spend up off the floor, noting with a smirk, "I managed to save the upholstery."
He dredged up a shaky smile in return. Vala rose off the floor and sat on the couch again, pulling Daniel to kneel close, his body against the warmth of her legs, his face up-tilted at a touch of her fingers to his chin.
"Now, my darling, are you calm?"
"Yes, Vala," he admitted. "But...but that's the problem."
"Explain."
"I... I just asked to be flogged, I begged for it. I-I just never imagined myself..." Daniel struggled for words, then finished lamely, "being like this."
"Can you tell me exactly what seems wrong, sweetheart?"
"I- You're going to think it's stupid, Vala."
"Daniel..." she warned, beginning to frown.
"It makes me feel like less of man," he spit out in a rush.
Vala paused, considering, then said calmly, "You're right, I do think that's stupid."
Daniel rushed on, saying, "It's just- I know you told me about Eser being a sub and he was a man, but everyone else-! The submissive who chose you, Athirat, was a woman. And you said Debir wasn't a sub. He was a man and your fiancé and you respected him and he wasn't a sub. Can you ever take me seriously?" He tried to duck his head despite his Domme's firm grip. "God! I'm jealous of a dead man!"
Oh crap, had he really just said that? What was wrong with him? Was Vala jealous of Shau'ri?
"I'm sorry, Vala," he ended miserably. He peeked up cautiously, but Vala didn't look angry or hurt, but contemplative.
"Do you know who Debir was jealous of?" she finally asked.
"Um... No, Vala."
"Jabin, the sub I was training at that time," she said. "Whenever Debir and I were together, I would regale him with tales of Jabin's bravery and dedication. Debir was afraid he would never measure up in my eyes."
"Bravery?" Daniel asked. "You called me brave a minute ago, but...how is crawling around and begging to be whipped brave?"
"Jabin was an older man-" Vala began.
"Older than me?" Daniel couldn't help interrupting to ask.
Vala raised an unimpressed brow and said dryly, "Yes, darling, older even than you. Now sit up a moment."
Ashamed, Daniel rose his butt up off his heels and was rewarded with a sharp smack. "I'm sorry for interrupting, Vala," he said humbly as he sank down again, glad it was only one spank.
"Apology accepted. Now as I was saying, Jabin came to the Temple rather later in life than most. He had known for years that something important was missing, that something about him just didn't make sense. It seemed that his parents and later his wife all expected him to a Dom, just like most of the menfolk in his family had been. But under my Guidance he came to realize that he wasn't Dominant at all, he was submissive. And rather than deny his nature and shy away from it, he embraced it. He worked hard and did everything in his power to achieve complete submission."
Vala paused, then sighed at Daniel's confused frown, brushing his hair back from his forehead. "Sweetheart, it takes bravery to make yourself vulnerable, to give so much of yourself and ask for nothing in return, to trust another, to entrust another with your body, even your soul. Debir wished he could be submissive, but he said he wasn't brave enough." She sighed again. "Silly man. We are only what we are born to be."
Daniel began to nod, his brow clearing. It made a convoluted, backhanded kind of sense.
"Jabin was lucky, his family supported him, adjusting their expectations. His wife especially came to embrace the new him," she added with an exaggeratedly lascivious wink. Serious again, she continued, "Darling, the range of human experience is all but infinite." She tilted his head up, forcing eye contact. "In general, most subs tend to be retiring in all aspects of their life, but some have extremely dynamic public personalities, like Athirat and you. Likewise, most Doms tend towards aggression."
"Like you," Daniel murmured with a sidelong smile (and making sure not to interrupt).
Arching a brow, Vala admitted, "Yes, impertinent boy. However, some Doms who are lions in the bedroom are mild as springtime lambs in public. There is simply no one way to be or act.
"Now, I admit I'm prejudiced," she continued, "but I tend to believe submission of a man to a woman is a true reflection of masculine integrity. Knowing that physical aggression is not the answer to every situation and taking direction from someone less physically strong than yourself is a sign of strength. In fact," she said, "I believe submission to some extent to the female essence is the truest possible expression of manhood. Though of course many male Dominants and female submissives will disagree. Still, I think it's proof of the highest bravery a man is capable of, to trust so much."
"Might doesn't only make right?" Daniel asked.
"Yes, dear. I love your phrases. Being so confident and self-assured that you can submit to another person is very attractive. And being so at ease in your manhood that you can submit to a woman is very sexy indeed, darling."
Daniel felt as if something unbearably tight loosened deep inside him, uncoiled, warmed, thawed. He looked at Vala's slate-grey eyes shyly. "Last night when you said Athirat made a Dom feel like the center of the universe, I...all I could think was that I want to make you feel that way when we're together, Vala."
"Thank you, sweetheart. Believe me, you are well along your path." She cupped his chin for a moment smiling. "And please also believe that you are quite manly indeed. Both in this handsome face..."
She firmed her grip on said face as it flamed with embarrassment. Daniel had never taken complements well, but he had to admit Vala was pretty convincing.
"This quite deliciously muscled body..."
Vala stroked her fingers down his shoulders and Daniel shivered. Hmm, that was convincing too.
"And in your nature," Vala continued. "A real man knows both when to use his fists and when to obey an order. I am quite definitely a Dominant, but when it came to decisions by the Quorum, I obeyed, just like every other qedesha, Dom and sub alike. Being a man doesn't mean running about beating people up and having sex with anything that'll hold still long enough for you to poke your penis into it."
Daniel eyes widened in disbelief, then he burst out in a chuckle at the mental image. He relaxed completely against her leg, feeling that-no, positive that this was where he belonged, yes, here, on the floor, at Vala's feet.
They were quiet for a few minutes, Vala seemingly content to simply pet her sub, Daniel soaking in his Domme's warmth, thinking things through.
And able to think clearly at last, thank god. His brain and his cock seemed to have patched up their differences and were working together again, their war ending after his brain had crawled out of its dank cell with its tail between its legs. Hmm, now that mental image was just plain disturbing.
Regardless, Daniel couldn't see the downside of this Dom/sub thing, not anymore. Vala liked him like this, even writhing around begging for something like the flogger. She appreciated him. And if it pleased her, then it pleased him too. That's all that mattered. Why should he care what anyone else might think, or even what anyone else potentially did think. It was no one's business but his and Vala's.
His professional life would always be his to direct, Vala said so. And his private life...that was his to direct, too. And if the direction he chose was to place it into Vala's strong and compassionate hands, well, it was his decision and his alone.
tbc
