Chapter 43: Total Power Exchange, Part 1
Christian had Anastasia's security updating him when they left Bennington Steele, and again when they arrived in his parking garage at Escala. So by the time Anastasia and BB arrived at his penthouse, he had everything prepared. He was waiting for them in the foyer.
Anastasia went to him straight away and fell into his arms. Her plan had been to kneel, to show him that she knew she'd behaved badly this morning and she really did crave his dominance. But she was so emotional after such a horrible day, especially after that encounter with her mother, that she wasn't thinking clearly. All she knew at the moment was that she needed him. She'd wanted to control her emotions more, but seeing him standing there waiting for her made her just break down.
For a few moments, BB watched in silence, marvelling at the scene in front of him. Christian had told him that Anastasia could touch him, but witnessing her ugly-crying on his chest… a place nobody had ever been able to touch before… was really something. And Christian was actually comforting her. He didn't seem annoyed by her tears. His friend had come a very long way in an amazingly short time.
Finally, BB broke the silence. "You'll be happy that Princess knows she needs a punishment."
Christian nodded, but his eyes didn't leave Anastasia. "She does," he agreed impassively.
"I'm sorry, Master," Anastasia mumbled from his chest.
"Shhh. Don't speak." Christian turned to BB and asked, "How much do I owe you?"
"Nothing," BB answered. "Not a cent. And I'll be offended if you ask again."
Anastasia gaped at both of them. She exclaimed, "BB, you just paid my mother a hundred grand for her silence…"
BB glared at Anastasia and told her harshly, "I'm not going to pay for yours, too, Princess. You know better. I just heard your Dom tell you not to speak, but you're speaking. You just insisted to me in the car only minutes ago that you want TPE, that you want what Jose and I have. Jose would never speak after I've commanded his silence. He wouldn't have gone into work after I insisted he stay home because of security threats. You have a long way to go, Anastasia."
Anastasia bowed her head as tears streamed down her face. She felt so ashamed. BB was right; she'd fucked up again. She didn't speak again.
"I owe you, bear," Christian said. "A hundred grand."
"No, you don't," BB responded firmly. "You'd have done the same thing for Jose, and you know it. I've got plenty, just like you do. Consider it a favor."
"Thank you," Christian told him sincerely. "Now… it's time for you to go."
BB smirked. "That it is. Don't take it easy on her."
Christian didn't respond as he watched BB leave. As soon as the elevator doors closed, he led Anastasia to his bedroom, to the ensuite bathroom, where he'd just finished filling the tub with hot water before Anastasia arrived. The smells of lemongrass and sage filled the room.
"Strip," Christian ordered her. She obeyed silently, keeping her eyes downcast. When she was naked, Christian helped her into the tub. Then he took off his own clothes and got into the tub behind her. He picked up the soapy sponge and began to rub her shoulders, arms, and back.
"Relax," he told her. "If you need to cry some more, cry. It doesn't bother me. But no talking. We're going to be like this for now. Let go of all the stress and shit from this God-forsaken day. Let me take care of you. Don't think. Just lie back and relax."
Christian washed Anastasia's body tenderly. She wept a bit, but as she continued to relax, she was able to control her tears. The only sounds were the gentle lapping of the water as Christian bathed her and the soft music that he'd started playing when preparing the tub. He took his time, making sure she was thoroughly clean and relaxed before he spoke again.
Putting down the sponge, he shifted their bodies so they faced each other. He said, "I want to talk to you. You're going to listen and keep quiet. Nod your head if you understand."
Anastasia nodded her head, keeping her eyes downcast.
"Look at me," Christian ordered, and she obeyed. He maintained eye contact as he told her, "This morning, I said I wasn't convinced you really wanted TPE with me. You certainly weren't acting like it. For a minute, I felt like we'd switched roles. You're not a switch, are you? Don't answer that. I know you aren't. But you weren't a submissive this morning. I just wanted to take care of you, Princess. That's what a good Dom does. I've been reflecting, and I know I was right. If I did anything wrong, it was to let you walk out that door. But I had to. I couldn't force you to stay here no matter how much I wanted to. It wouldn't have been consensual with you insisting on going to work. I had to let you go, and I hated that. I felt weak. I hate feeling weak. And the thing is… I had a shitty teacher, but I know I'm being a good Dom. And I want this. I want TPE with you, too, if that's what you really want."
Christian began to massage Anastasia's feet, keeping eye contact. "So I decided we're going to have a little experiment over the next couple of days. I'm going to show you how good it can be to give me your submission. To really give it to me fully. We're going to stay in the Dom/sub zone the whole time, from now until this time Wednesday. You're going to work from my penthouse tomorrow and Wednesday. I'm not going into work either with everything that's going on. I'm going to hide out from the Paparazzi, and so are you. You'll get your work done. I'll prove to you that I do respect your professional life and don't want to control it. You want TPE? Do you really want TPE with me? We're going to find out, Anastasia. After this little experiment, on Wednesday night, we'll talk about it. We'll decide whether we want to do it again and, if so, how often."
His hands were now massaging her calves, and she was trying hard not to moan. It was impossible to hold back when he pulled her towards him and caressed her breasts. Then his lips were on hers, devouring her mouth. She returned his kiss, but there was no question about who was in control as his tongue dominated kissed until Christian noticed the water getting cold, and the music had stopped. It was time to get out of the tub. He got out first, then helped her out. He dried her off carefully before he then dried himself. Then, he sat her down at the vanity, brushed her hair, and braided it the way he liked for the playroom.
When he was satisfied with her hair, he told her, "We're going to walk upstairs to the playroom now. Naked. Gail's in the kitchen cooking dinner, and Taylor will be in the security room by now. If they don't see us now, they will later. Because we're not putting any clothes on tonight. The security cameras are working as usual. With the threats from Hyde we received today, and with Elena Lincoln being free on bail and Leila Williams being God knows where, we won't be turning them off anytime soon. You know that any footage of us will be deleted. I'm going to fuck you whenever and wherever I please over the next two days, and you will trust me to take care of you. If you understand and agree with everything I'm saying, then lead the way, Princess, straight to the playroom. You have permission to walk. I'll let you know when I want you on your knees."
Keeping her eyes downcast, Anastasia turned and walked out of the bedroom, through the apartment, directly up the stairs towards the playroom. As they passed through the main living area, which was open to the kitchen, she didn't look to see if Gail could see them. She kept her mind focused on the playroom and zoned everything else out. She wanted this. She wanted her Master to dominate her. She was all his to do anything he wanted with.
At the playroom door, Anastasia scanned her palm like Christian had taught her. The door clicked unlocked, and she went inside with Christian right behind her.
"Kneel," he ordered her. She obeyed immediately, dropping to her knees in the middle of the room. Christian stepped behind her and picked up the items from the bed that he'd placed there earlier. First, he put her training collar around her neck. "You're going to wear this until I remove it myself on Wednesday. I'll dress you for work tomorrow and Wednesday, and I've made sure that anybody you video conference with won't see it."
Anastasia didn't speak, but she nodded in agreement, still keeping her eyes downcast. She'd meant it when she told BB she wanted TPE, and this was part of it.
The second item Christian placed on her was a blindfold, and the third was a set of padded cuffs, which he put around her wrists behind her back. He placed a small round ball in her hand and explained, "Your mouth is going to be… occupied. You won't be able to safe word. And you can't use the usual hand signal with your wrists cuffed. So if you need to safe word, you drop the ball, and I'll stop. Show me now. Drop the ball."
Anastasia obeyed, and Christian returned the ball to her hand feeling satisfied. He started the playlist that he'd prepared for this scene. The first song was "Hungry Like the Wolf." It was one of his favorite songs for this particular purpose.
He took a moment just to take in the sight of his beautiful girl, bound and helpless and ready for him. He'd never seen anything he wanted more than he wanted her right now.
Without warning, Christian grabbed Anastasia's braid and forced his semi-hard cock into her mouth. Being blindfolded with her hands bound behind her back, she couldn't do anything except take what he was giving her. And she did. Christian wasn't gentle, and he didn't let up as his erection grew harder. He knew how well she could deep throat him, so he pumped her throat until he brought himself to orgasm, filling her stomach with his seed as she swallowed every drop. And then, when he'd gone flaccid, she licked him clean, just as a good submissive always should.
The Duran Duran song ended as he pulled his softened dick from her mouth; he knew it wouldn't be soft for long. He also knew that he'd be able to last a good long while. And since he was about to punish her, his Princess wasn't going to come anytime soon. Part of her punishment would be to go to dinner unsatisfied and on edge. She'd leave the dinner table satisfied, though.
The second song began to play, and he smirked. This song, "Breath Control" by Recoil, was part of her punishment. He knew for a fact that she hated it. She'd told him so when they'd spent the day on the Grace. And there wasn't a better song for what came next.
"Stand," Christian ordered her as he helped her up. He released her cuffs, massaged her shoulders and arms, then lifted her arms over her head, where he re-cuffed her wrists and attached a ring on the cuffs to the ceiling grid. The ball was still in her clinched fist, and he reminded her to drop it if she needed to safe word. He adjusted the ropes on the grid until she was standing on her toes. Her beautiful body was stretched as far as it could stretch without causing her pain. He also knew that she wasn't fond of ball gags, and he wasn't normally a big fan either, but as he put the ball in her mouth and closed the snap behind her head, he thought it just as fitting for this punishment as the song.
Next came the nipple clamps, which he knew she normally liked. He was going to leave them on her longer than usual, so he doubted she'd like them later. She also loved vibrators, but he knew as he shoved a vibrating egg into her cunt that it was going to drive her insane as he kept it on a low speed for the next hour or so, just enough to keep her on edge.
"Remember you aren't allowed to come," he reminded her harshly. "If you do, you won't be coming again for the next two days, and I'll add an extra ten strikes."
So far, Anastasia had never had a punishment harsher or more intense than a flogging, but that was about to change. Christian picked up the leather paddle and ran the tip of it over her breasts, playing with the nipple clamps, causing her to moan around the ball gag.
"Shh…" Christian taunted. "I want you silent. Listen to the song, Princess. I chose it just for you. Remember to drop the ball if you need to safe word."
He started out with this little gem, the leather paddle that he'd purchased just for her. She'd seen it when he'd purchased it and agreed to it, along with several other items that had been on her soft limits list. He counted the slaps aloud as he happily watched her ass turn pink. He could see that she was getting wet, which delighted him even more. She was enjoying this.
After ten smacks, Christian replaced the paddle with a triple leather slapper. He wasn't taking it easy on her at all, so this was the harshest punishment she'd taken. He only gave her five hard smacks with it, not sure how much of it she would be able to handle. He'd discuss it with her later.
Her ass was a gorgeous shade of pink when he picked up his favorite riding crop for the next part of the punishment. Before striking her with it, he inserted the tip into her wet slit and circled her clit with it. Her breathing hitched, but she managed to hold back the moan. She really needed to come, and if he played with her cunt even a little, or if he increased the speed on the vibrator, she knew she wouldn't be able to hold back.
Christian didn't increase the speed on the vibrator. He gave her ten hard slaps from the riding crop, then threw it down and knelt behind her, inhaling her delicious scent. He was very pleased with himself for timing her punishment perfectly in sync with the song. Now the next song began to play, Madonna's Erotica. She actually liked this one.
Anastasia was dripping now. Christian lifted one of her legs and placed her foot on his knee, opening her up to him. Leaving the vibrator in place, he licked her labia and sucked her clit. He brought her to the brink of orgasm but stopped just before she fell over the cliff. This was the final part of her punishment, edging. He repeated it three more times as the song played, bringing her just to the brink of orgasm before stopping as the song ended.
The final song on this playlist began to play, the one he'd chosen for her aftercare, "the Rain Song" by Led Zeppelin. Standing up, Christian released Anastasia's wrists first. He removed the cuffs and massaged her shoulders and arms carefully, bringing the circulation back. Then he rubbed arnica cream all over her pink ass, admiring the red stripes. For Anastasia, Christian's gentle touch on her sore ass was just as erotic as the vibrator still humming away inside her, keeping her on edge. Next, he removed the ball gag, wiped the drool from her mouth with a towel, and kissed her lips gently.
Lastly, he removed the blindfold. Anastasia blinked as the light from the room was too bright at first for her wet eyes. Christian used the towel to wipe under her eyes, giving her time to adjust to the light.
Once she'd had time to adjust, Christian said, "Look at me." When they made eye contact, Christian saw everything that he'd hoped to. Anastasia's eyes were full of adoration and complete submission to him. She'd given herself to him for this punishment, and she was still completely his. Perfect. He still had a lot in store for her this evening, but the punishment was finished. The rest of the night was all about bringing her pleasure. But first, he needed to feed her.
As if on cue, and perfectly in sync with the end of the playlist, Anastasia's stomach growled. Christian smirked, cuffed her hands behind her back again, and told her, "Come on, Princess. I need to feed you. You're going to need some nourishment for what I've got planned for the rest of our night."
Christian led Anastasia downstairs, admiring her clamped tits. Just as he'd instructed Gail, the dining table was already set with two covered plates and glasses of red wine. The seats of their chairs were covered with bath towels. He knew Anastasia would be dripping, and he didn't want his bare ass on the dining chair either.
Gail was nowhere to be seen, as he'd instructed her to finish everything and leave the clean-up until tomorrow. He'd also instructed Taylor to delete all the video footage immediately. He knew he could trust them both to be discrete.
Anastasia wasn't sure which was more uncomfortable, being naked, continuing to wear her nipple clamps, which had made her nipples blue, or having her wrists cuffed behind her. The vibrator was still humming away, and she hadn't been allowed to come yet, so she was really, really horny. She wasn't complaining, though. She was actually enjoying this a lot. It was the kinkiest thing they'd done so far, other than their scene at Down Under.
Christian uncovered the dishes in front of them, and Anastasia's mouth watered. Gail's lasagna was the perfect comfort food for a day like today had been.
"Thirsty?" Christian asked as he held her glass of wine to her lips. Without waiting her her answer, he tipped the glass and gave her a drink. Then he took a sip of his own wine.
"Do you want to talk about today?" Christian asked her as he gave her a bite of her side salad.
She glanced at him uncertainly as she chewed her food, making sure he was giving her permission to talk. When he watched her expectantly, she swallowed her food and replied, "You mean my deplorable behavior this morning, Master? I'm so sorry…"
"Princess, I've punished you. It's forgotten. I mean about the rest of your day." He gave her a big bite of lasagna, then took one of his own.
When she'd swallowed her food, Anastasia said, "You already know about me losing my author, and about Mandy quitting. I'm sure you heard all about my mother's visit, too. Did you know she was in town?"
"Only a few minutes before she confronted you. If I'd known about it sooner, I would have warned you. My security were focused on all the other security threats, so Taylor didn't think to tell me until she was already in your building, which he didn't realize at the time. He knew she'd arrived last night and checked into a hotel, and that she was a potential security threat for you. He didn't know she'd been staked out in your building all day because we didn't have anybody assigned to her. If I'd known she was there, I would have gotten security to remove her before she had a chance to surprise you. I mean… I still would have given you the chance to talk to her. You deserve that. But not to be caught off guard. Now that she's shown her true colors, I'm going to keep her away from you. Unless you want to see her again."
"No, Sir, I already knew her true colors, and I don't want to see her again. She sold me for a hundred grand. That shouldn't have shocked me, but it did. It hurt. But I knew the kind of person she was already. Thankfully, my dad came to my rescue before she had a chance to completely destroy my life. If we see her again, it'll be because she wants more money. I still can't believe BB gave her a hundred grand. My God, that's a lot of money."
"You won't see her again if you don't want to," Christian promised. Then he revealed,"Speaking of your dad, I spoke to him today."
Anastasia's eyes perked up. She made eye contact with him for a moment before she averted her eyes again. "Really?" she said, not wanting to push for details but desperately wanting to know why they'd talked.
"I invited him for dinner Thursday night. He has some deliveries to make in Bellevue on Thursday afternoon, and he's going to head here afterwards. I suggested he spend the night in your guest room."
When Anastasia's eyes lit up, Christian knew he'd done the right thing. "That's fantastic. Thank you, Master," she said. "May I ask…? Did he call you, or did you call him?"
"I did," Christian replied. "I knew how the media were making things look, and I knew he'd be worried about you. I wanted to assure him that I was taking care of you and would never really hurt you. I assured him I respect your limits."
Anastasia's eyes widened. "You told him the truth about us, Sir?"
"I didn't have to," Christian answered. "He already knew. Does he know about BB and Jose?"
Anastasia considered. "I'm sure he's picked up on it. I don't want to think about my dad being familiar with the lifestyle, but if he is, he probably picked up on their body language. So when the news came out about us, he probably just assumed correctly that we're doing the same kind of thing. I have a really smart dad."
"He seemed concerned but not as worried as I was afraid he'd be. But I know he's going to want to see for himself that I'm not the monster the media is making me out to be."
"Not all the reports are calling you a monster, Sir," Anastasia consoled him. "Anyway, it doesn't matter what they say. I know what you are, and I want this. I want all of it, Master."
"Today's punishment was more severe than any you've had before," he noted. "Was it too much?"
"No, Sir," Anastasia answered immediately. "I deserved worse. If it had been too much, I had a safe word. I would've dropped the ball."
"Are you saying you can take it harder?" Christian asked. "What about the triple leather slapper?"
"It hurt, but it wasn't too much. I didn't like it, but I wasn't supposed to like it." She looked down at her aching breasts as she added, "I don't like these nipple clamps either, but I'm not complaining. I want to please you, Master."
Christian smiled as he fed her the last bite of lasagna. "Just a few more minutes, Princess. I have plans for those perfect pink buds. Well, they're pretty blue right now, but they'll be nice and pink again soon enough."
When Anastasia finished swallowing her food, Christian gave her the last of her wine, then finished his. Both of their plates were empty now, and it was time for dessert.