Gentle Reader,

I've never written anything quite like this chapter before, so I hope you enjoy it, and if anyone has constructive notes, let me know.

Lizzie's dress is found here: shop/dresses/viewitem-PD2285415

Lizzie's jewelry is from the Camelia collection of Chanel fine jewelry.

Please comment!

Love,

RobinDesBois

A Bottle of Red

William took a few weeks off work, ostensibly to avoid explaining his black eye to any of his employees, but his habit of hovering around Lizzie and not actually getting anything done made it pretty simple for her to extrapolate his real motivations.

A week after her return home, she was able to hobble around the house with relative efficiency, and she was no longer getting severe headaches or taking multiple naps per day. After two weeks, she finally convinced him it would be ok to return to the office. After three, she regretted sending him back, because nine hours a day alone in their apartment was a lot, especially when she had promised to rest and not do any work. After four, she surrendered to the temptation of online shopping, and was quite confident that William would like the snug black dress she purchased. After five, she got so bored that she called her mother, just to talk. Fifteen minutes of, "When will that nice young man propose to you, Lizzie," and she was back to staring at the walls. At the end of the sixth week, she finally got her cast off.

Lizzie convinced William that getting her cast off justified a trip to their Italian restaurant. He tried to convince her to stay home and rest, but she batted her eyelashes, bit her bottom lip, and promised to let him get an Uber for the short distance to the restaurant to keep her off her ankle.

Immediately after his concession, she locked herself in the master bathroom to get dressed. William hadn't seen the new dress she'd purchased, since they hadn't gone out since it was delivered. She was looking forward to seeing his reaction to the short, low-cut tight black dress with the cutout in the back. In a perfect world, she would've worn it with stilettos, but her ankle was still a bit sorer than she wanted to admit, so she pulled on a pair of ballet flats. She elected to compensate for her low shoes by wearing the stunning, silver, flower shaped earrings and necklace William had given her for Christmas. She gave her hair a soft curl, applied a small amount of lipstick, and carefully applied makeup just under the point of overdoing it, knowing how much he loved her eyes.

William, conversely, was already dressed, and reading a book in their bedroom. When Lizzie walked out of the bathroom, the book slid out of his hands and hit the floor as the air left his lungs. Seeing the black dress hug every curve of her body drove every thought of dinner out of his mind, and he had her backed against the wall in a moment. Lizzie's arms were wrapped around his neck and she rose on her toes to meet his kiss, when suddenly she gasped at the return of the pain in her ankle and her legs gave out under her. William had her in his arms in a moment, silently carrying her to the bed and setting her down.

Lizzie lifted her hand to William's chin and tilted it up to make him look at her. She recognized the same guilt in his eyes that she'd seen in the hospital when he was blaming himself for her fall.
"William."

"Yes, Lizzie?"

"I was the one who went onto my tiptoes. You can't be mad at yourself for that."

"But I know you're still recovering, I should've left you alone."

"William, listen to me. I'm the reason I hurt my ankle, you're the reason I'm now on the bed and the reason it barely hurts anymore. You're the reason I was able to recover for the last month and a half. You're also the reason I bought this dress, and frankly, I would've been a bit offended if you hadn't reacted to it. So what do you say you get me some ibuprofen and we get dinner?"

"Counteroffer: I make dinner so you don't have to go up or down the stairs with the added benefit of no one else seeing how hot my girlfriend looks right now."

"Compromise: We go out so I can see something other than this apartment and the doctor's office, but I will let you carry me up and down the stairs so you won't worry about my ankle."

"Still leaves me the problem of other men staring at my girlfriend."

"I guess you'll just have to keep your arms around me so they know I'm yours."

With a sigh and a kiss to the back of her hand, William went to get Lizzie some ibuprofen.

Half an hour later, Lizzie and William were seated at a small table in a softly lit corner of their Italian restaurant. Lizzie chose steak tartara piemontese, and William a hanger steak. As usual, he selected the perfect wine-a Barbaresco-to go with their food. Lizzie tried to convince him that he shouldn't spend $200 on a bottle of wine, but he reminded her that they were celebrating her cast being removed and insisted. He also took a moment to be thankful he'd had the foresight to put the jewelry she was wearing into a more generic package than the Chanel boxes they'd come with; he'd thought they were perfect for her, and he couldn't resist, but he knew she wouldn't be thrilled about him spending that much on her. Not that he couldn't afford it, of course.

Six weeks of sober involuntary lethargy had not increased Lizzie's alcohol tolerance, and by the time they'd finished their shared slice of Ricotta cheesecake-topped with blood orange, honey, and walnut-Lizzie was getting increasingly eager for the plans she'd secretly made for the rest of the evening. William, after all, had never received his anniversary gift.

When their Uber returned them to their apartment building, William easily swept Lizzie off her feet and into his arms to carry her back up the stairs. Seeing her in the snug black dress, hearing her light, wine-induced laugh, and feeling her soft body in his arms, it was only the memory of how she'd hurt her ankle earlier that stopped him from running up the stairs and taking her in the entrance of their apartment.

As it was, he reached their doorway and set her gently on her feet, surprised when she reached for his tie and pulled him down into a passionate kiss. He continued to approach her with caution, afraid of causing her additional pain, but that played well into her plan. She broke off the kiss but retained possession of his tie, turning around and leading him into their apartment.

"Do you realize, William, you never got your anniversary present?" Lizzie asked, a sly grin spreading across her face.

"Lizzie, are you sure? I don't want to hurt you again."

"I'm quite certain, William. As you recall, your present didn't involve a lot of control on your part. Trust me to protect my own ankle." William smiled down at Lizzie and placed a soft kiss to her lips in reply.

"Did you have any specific requests or limitations we should talk about before start?" she asked.

"My fantasy is pretty simple, Lizzie. I want you to use me for your pleasure, and I want you to give me orders."

"And if you don't obey me?" William's chin drew back into his neck, and Lizzie reached up to stroke his cheek. "William, you don't have to be shy with me. But we do have to talk about this."

"If I don't obey you, I would expect...I would expect you to punish me."

"Tell you what, William, why don't I tell you what I have in mind, and you'll tell me if any of it is too much or something you don't want to do."

"That...that sounds good."

"Come, let's sit down." She led him gently to the couch by his hand, and carefully sat down so she was facing him, but not touching. They needed to focus.

"So, we talked about your fantasy of acting as my slave. You said you wanted to take care of me and draw me a bath, but we didn't talk about anything else. As my slave, I would expect you to draw my bath, assist me in undressing, obey my orders while I am in that bath, help me to dry, then act as a sexual slave when we return to the bedroom. I would expect you to hold off on coming until I'd given my permission for you to do so, if I choose to give you that permission. I would also expect you to address me as 'ma'am' until we are done. How does that sound so far?" Around the time Lizzie had said "assist me with undressing," William had felt himself start getting hard, and had crossed his legs.

"That sounds perfect, Lizzie."

"Nothing so far that would be too much? You're sure?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful. Now, about how I would punish you if you don't obey me. We've done no coming without permission before, but we've never withheld that permission. How would you feel about that?"

"I think that would be a good punishment, but only for more serious infractions."

"The other option I had in mind was to spank you." William suddenly had a vision of himself submitting to being spanked by the small, sexy, feisty woman in front of him and tried not to pull his chin back into his neck as he got a bit harder.

"I would be...amenable to that option." Liz

"Ok, then. One last thing. We need a safe word. One for 'slow down' and another for 'stop.' It has to be something that wouldn't come up naturally."

William thought for a moment, glancing around the room. His eyes landed on their CD collection.

"How about 'Sinatra' for slow down, and 'Elvis' for stop?"

"Certainly unique and unlikely to come up by itself," Lizzie laughed. "I think we've covered everything, what do you think?"

"I can't think of anything else, either."

"Shall we begin, then?"

"I'm ready when you are...ma'am."

"Good. Go draw me a hot bubble bath. You have ten minutes. And you better not be wearing a shirt when I get there."

"Yes, ma'am," William replied, standing up and heading for the master bath.

"Oh, and William?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Keep the suspenders."

"Yes, ma'am."

Ten minutes later, William was standing in the bathroom, wearing only his black pants and suspenders, waiting for Lizzie.

When she walked in, she couldn't help letting her gaze slowly meander all the way down his muscled torso before slipping off her shoes.

"Remove my dress," she smiled.

William had a hard time controlling himself as he slowly undid the clasp at the top of her dress and lowered the zipper. He gently pushed the straps over her shoulders and let the black fabric pool at her feet, revealing his favorite black lace bra and panties set. He placed his hands on her hips and a soft kiss on the exposed skin of her shoulder.
"Did I give you permission to do that, William?"

"No, ma'am."

"Turn around and put your hands on the counter."

William did as he was told, and Lizzie delivered a playful smack to his ass, allowing herself to linger and enjoy the taught muscles she could feel through his expensive Italian pants.

"Consider that a warning and don't do it again. Now, finish undressing me. Leave the jewelry." Lizzie quietly commanded. William turned back around and unclasped the bra, barely stopping himself from cupping her breasts in the process, wondering if it might be worth the risk. But his fantasy was to serve Lizzie, so he added her bra to the pile of clothing around her feet and slipped his fingers into the band of her panties. He knelt behind her to remove them as she stepped out of them and towards the bathtub.

Lizzie flipped her bright hair into a messy bun and slowly slid into the large tub. She sighed, enjoying the hot water and the floral scent of bubbles. William knelt by the side of her tub, enjoying the sight and awaiting her next command.

After about five minutes of simply relaxing, Lizzie commanded William to bring her a piece of chocolate. When he returned, she very seductively opened her mouth and allowed him to feed it to her, careful to let her lips and tongue brush lightly against his fingers. She watched as his eyes darkened with lust and his breathing got more rapid.

"May I kiss you, ma'am?" he asked after she had swallowed the candy.

"Yes," she whispered. He leaned down and brushed his lips lightly against hers, holding back all the passion he felt for fear of breaking the fantasy.

"Now, get the soap," she whispered as the kiss broke. When he returned to his kneeling position next to her, she commanded him to bathe her, telling him not to use the washcloth. Lizzie closed her eyes and gave herself over to the sensation of his hands as they slowly washed her shoulders, her breasts, her stomach, her legs.

Once she was cleaned far more thoroughly than was strictly needed, Lizzie sent William for the towel and slowly removed herself from the tub. He dried her off gently, almost reverently, taking the longest with her breasts and legs.

When she was satisfied with his work, she took the towel from him and hung it back on its hook. She then grabbed his suspenders and led him backwards to their bedroom.

Lizzie led him directly to the bed, sitting down on the very edge. When William made a movement as if to join her, she held her hand up to command him to stop.

"Kneel in front of me, William."

"Yes, ma'am," he spoke breathlessly as he came to his knees in front of her.

"Now, I want you to start at my ankles and work your way up my legs. I want to feel your hands, your teeth, your lips, and your tongue. Make sure you're giving equal attention to both of them."

"Yes, ma'am," he smiled. He pulled the uninjured ankle to his lips first, kissing, licking, and lightly nipping his way to her knee before changing legs. It was only a few moments before Lizzie was laying on the bed, her eyes closed in ecstasy at the touch of William's mouth. He was careful not to leave any marks below her knees, knowing her fondness for dresses, but he did take the opportunity to leave his mark on her inner thighs. When he reached the top of the second leg, he couldn't resist the urge to beg her to allow him to continue.

"Please, ma'am, may I taste you? Please," he whispered, his voice hoarse and on the verge of desperation.

"Yes. You may not stop until I tell you to." Within moments of granting her permission, Lizzie's hand was tangled in William's thick hair, pulling it as she came in his mouth. He did not stop until she came a second time, after which Lizzie summoned enough focus to tell him to stop. She ordered him to remove the remainder of his clothing, then lie down on the bed beside her. She wrapped her hands around his wrists as she mounted him, then whispered permission to come in his ear. Rocking her hips against his, she came for the third time moments before he found release, collapsing breathless against the hard planes of his chest. He wrapped her in his arms and pressed a firm kiss to her forehead.

"Thank you, Lizzie," he whispered into her hair. "Thank you. That was...that was so much more...so much more than I expected. I love you."

"You are most welcome, William Darcy. I love you, too."

"So, for our next anniversary…." Lizzie sat up and gave him a quizzical look.

"You want to wait that long to do it again?" She teased. He laughed and rolled her onto her back.

They made love again, this time softly and gently, whispering words of love to one another, then fell asleep in a tangled mess of sheets and each others' arms.