Chapter 8: First Steps

The journey to the estate was beginning to feel like routine. Unlike my last few trips, I was once again clothed. Serena was naked as always. I spent the time looking at her and thinking. The last few weeks had been some of the strangest of my life, but one thing had remained constant: my love for Serena. The weight of my gaze made her look up and catch my eyes, for some reason she blushed and moaned gently then resumed staring at the floor. I leaned forward and captured her mouth with mine; soon it would be my turn to own her. I felt her lips open under mine and the surrender implicit in that simple action was intoxicating. I sat back, leaving her flushed and panting gently.

Salome and Jack were both waiting for us this time.

Serena knelt before them and Jack placed the collar on her. I suppressed the twinge of jealousy I felt almost before I felt it. Then he turned to me and spoke formally.

"This is the Pleasure Slave that has been named by me as Sofia. I am giving her to you in recognition of your love for each other. I renounce for all time my claims to Mastership over her. Will you accept her as your Slave?"

I was shocked, this wasn't anything like what Serena and I had discussed! I thought quickly for something appropriate to say. I fell back on the mantra of developers everywhere: Keep It Simple Stupid.

"I will."

He turned to Serena. "Will you accept this man as your Master in Training and finally as your Master in Fact when you deem him ready?"

"I will."

Jack removed the collar from her. Then he bent forward and kissed her gently.

"Goodbye, Sofia."

"Goodbye, Master."

"I'm not your Master any more, Jane. You call me Jack from now on. Unless your Master commands you otherwise, of course."

Jack handed me the collar.

"Collar your Slave, David."

I took the collar from him and turned to Serena. I paused as the enormous responsibility that I was about to assume descended upon me like the proverbial ton of bricks. Serena looked up at me through her eyelashes and smiled encouragingly.

"Submit, Slave."

Good grief, this was so melodramatic. I felt so self-conscious. Serena frowned at the less-than-sincere tone that I had used. I resolved to take this more seriously. Her displeasure not withstanding, she leaned forward and I wrapped the collar about her neck. I felt her shiver as it clicked shut. I searched my memory for a form of words; we'd covered this sort of impromptu ceremony in our discussions previously. Serena had told me that her ex-Master had tended towards the less formal and the less prescriptive end of the Domination spectrum. Apparently other Masters had written ceremonies for all eventualities and punishments for Slaves who were not word perfect. Eventually I recalled the words that she had used only a few weeks ago when our situations had been reversed.

"Do you willingly submit to me?"

"I do."

"Will you do your utmost to obey me in all things?"

"I will."

"Do you accept punishment as the consequence for being unable to do my will?"

"I shall."

"Will you love, honour and obey me?" Two can play at that game.

"I do." I gulped at the adoration that was in her gaze.

"Shall you accept the collar you are wearing as a token of the vows that you have just taken?"

"I shall."

"Stand, Slave, and kiss your Master."

We kissed and I think we would be kissing still, but Jack coughed in an exaggerated way and we both came to our senses. Serena seemed to be having trouble standing and I realised that I was none to steady myself.

Jack beckoned me away from Salome and Serena. When we were far enough away he spoke to me. "Thank goodness that's over!" I raised my eyebrows at his obvious relief but said nothing. "She's all yours David, so don't screw it up." His relief at being released from what, I could see now, he considered an onerous burden had broken through his normally formal speech patterns. He stopped speaking and I could see that he was visibly composing himself. "Sorry, one doesn't realise how much a thing has been weighing upon one's mind until one is relieved of the burden. Would you take some advice from a former Master?"

"You know I would."

"Now that you're her Master in training, she will probably transfer her pleading to surrender her virginity to you. Don't give in. She will appreciate you for your firmness and she will be all the happier if you delay it until after your wedding. If I were you, I'd do it altogether after the wedding ceremony. She is her mother's daughter and she will revel in the formality of it all."

"I'll do my best."

"It'll be hard for you, but don't forget that she is your Slave. Be firm, with her and yourself."

We returned to the women, who were talking quietly together. I turned to Jack. "May I borrow your Slave Salome? She is still my Slave's mistress and I would appreciate her advice and guidance."

"Yes, of course. Salome, show Master David the facilities and obey him in everything."

Salome nodded. "Yes, Master."

With a nod to me, Jack headed off to continue doing whatever he had interrupted to hand Serena over to me. I waited until he had re-entered the house before turning back to the two Slaves.

"Jack has made a couple of suggestions to me and I'm inclined to agree with him. I can always change my mind later if I decide differently." I turned to Serena. "Slave, I don't want to hear anything on the subject of surrendering your virginity." Serena pouted and looked cute, but I hardened my heart. "Nor will I name you until after we're married. So until then, we'll just use 'Slave' or whatever is appropriate." She gasped at this, but I carried on anyway. "Like 'darling' or 'sweetheart'." Serena gaped at me and then she realised what I had said.

"You ratbag, you scared me half to..."

She stopped speaking as she realised what she was doing. Swiftly she knelt in the 'ready' position: knees spread wide, back straight, head high with fingers interlaced on the back of her neck. "Master, this slave begs humbly to be punished for her disrespect, Master."

I was about to shrug it off when I caught Salome's eye. I waited to see what she would say.

"As well you should Slave, what were you thinking of?" Serena kept her eyes downcast so she didn't see Salome winking at me. "Master David, shall we see if a spanking and 10 strokes of the strap will remind this Slave of her station?" I felt my lips quirk as I tried to suppress a smile. Salome walked to my side and whispered in my ear, "If you say 'Charing Cross', I will never forgive you!" I resisted the riposte from the television comedy programme we were unconsciously reprising -- 'I wasn't going to say Charing Cross. I was going to say St. Pancras.' -- as being incongruous.

"That seems an eminently practical suggestion. Please lead us to an appropriate venue and you may instruct me in the proper procedure in chastising a disrespectful slave."

Our little procession ended with the three of us in a soundproof room. It contained a few pieces of odd furniture and the walls were festooned with whips and straps of all weights and sizes. I was a little taken aback at the number and variety of the instruments of punishment that I could see. Salome could see my disquiet and reassured me.

"They're just for show. Nothing on the wall is ever taken down and used. Most of them are just antiques anyway, they'd probably fall apart if they were used in earnest."

"Thanks. I thought I'd stumbled on the Marquis de Sade's playroom!"

Salome directed me to sit on an ordinary straight-backed dining chair. Then she signalled for Serena to place herself across my lap. There followed a lengthy discussion on the correct posture of the Slave and the Master. She showed me the various means of holding a recalcitrant slave in position and finally she advised me on the various methods of spanking. In general terms, this last topic came down to 'try something and then judge the result'. I decided that I was going to have to be a lot more observant than I was used to being. Then realised with a start that I'd learned to be observant when I was being trained as a slave. And, of course, the memory of how it felt to be on the receiving end was fresh in my mind. The forethought that Jack had put into Serena's and my situation staggered me. I realised that Salome was waiting patiently for my attention to return.

"Sorry, I was marvelling at the attention to detail that Jack has shown me over these last few weeks - I just hope I can live up to his example."

"Just do your best, Master David. That's all anyone can ever ask."

All this time I'd been allowing my hands to stroke Serena's bottom, every now and then my fingers would dip between her cheeks or slip between her legs. Each of these actions would elicit a moan from her. Salome coughed and indicated silently that it was about time I started.

"Keep your hand relaxed and start out gently. Then, when you feel a slight stinging sensation in your hand, increase the strength of the smacks until you are using as much of your strength as you are comfortable with. Try to keep the colour of her bottom as uniform as possible."

I nodded and let my hand fall. Salome made encouraging noises and I began to feel a tingling sensation in the palm and fingers of my hand; like you get if you clap for too long or too enthusiastically. I started to increase the force of the smacks. Serena started to squirm a bit but otherwise made no sound. Salome moved closer to me and spoke quietly to me.

"She will start to cry soon; don't stop. You must keep going. Do you understand?"

I nodded and tried to harden my heart. I was unprepared for the anguish that doing so would cause. My darling was crying, sobbing even and I was the cause of it. The truth of the old adage, 'This hurts me more than it does you', long held up for ridicule in my mind, was proven to me with a vengeance. Salome whispered encouragement to me, urging me on. I felt Serena relax suddenly and instinctively I knew that I should think about stopping. I promised myself that I would make the last ten smacks the most memorable.

Salome murmured her congratulations, "Well done, it won't be so hard the next time. The final ten were a good idea, but next time make her count them out loud."

I stroked Serena's bottom, feeling the heat and trying to stroke some of the sting away. My fingers slipped between her legs. She was as wet as I'd ever felt her. Her bottom may not have liked the spanking, but it turned the rest of her on like nothing else. I began to feel a bit better about it. I indicate that she should get off my lap and kneel before me.

"How do you feel, Slave?"

"Master, I feel owned and dominated and pleased that you care enough for me to take the trouble to punish me so nicely. Also, I'm as horny as hell, Master."

"There are still 10 strokes of the strap, Master David." Salome interrupted the love-fest that was developing between the new Master and his Slave. Serena pouted at this but said nothing. Salome instructed me in the various positions that it was possible to use. I settled for securing Serena to a padded bench with her legs slightly spread. I took the opportunity to see how she was feeling; seriously horny if her sex was anything to go by. I tried to phrase a suitable form of words. At least half of the fun for Serena, I had realised, was the formality of it all.

"I will now administer 10 strokes of the strap as punishment for disrespect towards your Master." I paused and then continued. "When you are ready."

"Yes Master. May I please have my first stroke, Master?"

My first few strokes were fairly ineffectual; so much so that Serena refused to count them. Salome insisted that I repeat each of them until she did. Eventually, I realised that Serena would be hurt less if I made each stroke as hard as necessary the first time -- preventing needless repetitions. By the time I administered the tenth stroke, I was sweating freely and Serena was crying out with each fall of the strap.

"That was ten, Master. Thank you for administering my punishment, Master."

I think that I agreed with Jack on the strap-kissing thing and I decided then and there to dispense with it. I handed the strap to Salome and told her to put it away. She looked questioningly at me.

"No. I agree with Jack. Kissing the strap is completely unnecessary and I am dispensing with it from now on." Both Serena and Salome were pouting a little at this. Damn! Who's the Master here anyway? I had an inspiration. "If she's going to kiss anything, she can kiss the hand that administered the punishment." Matching my actions to my words, I held the palm of my hand to her lips. She kissed my hand. Do you know that the palm of the hand is an erogenous zone? I didn't until she kissed it! Reluctantly I pulled my hand away from her attentions and instructed Salome to unstrap my slave.

When this was done, I turned to my slave and instructed her to turn round so that I could inspect the damage. I ran my hands over her rump and I could feel the ridges where the edge of the strap had caused small welts. The heat from her bottom was amazing. Throughout my examination, Serena remained largely silent -- only gasping once or twice as I pinched her bottom gently to feel a particular welt. Suddenly I had an impulse and since she was my Slave and I was her Master I decided to act upon it. I pushed Serena forward and pushed her feet apart. With almost no warning, I thrust first one and then two fingers deep into her sex. The copious lubrication made this absurdly easy. I removed my fingers and traced them behind her and proceeded to wipe the excess lubricant over the rosette of her anus. Almost roughly, I thrust my thumb into her sex. When this was sufficiently lubricated I rubbed it over her anus and pressed firmly. With a gasp from Serena, my thumb slipped into her rectum. Now I was ready; I reinserted my first finger into her sex and left my second finger flickering swiftly over and around her clitoris. Awkwardly at first, I started to thrust my thumb and forefinger into her. Her gasps turned to moans and eventually to a shriek as she came strongly. In the end I was taking almost all of her weight with the hand between her legs. Finally she seemed to regain her strength and I was able to remove my hand. Turning her round, I put my hand at her mouth and ordered her to clean it. With no hesitation at all she licked and sucked at my hand and soon all her juices were cleaned from it.

I looked at Serena. "You have something to say, Slave?"

"Thank you Master, for punishing me and using me. Master."

"You're welcome." I smiled at her and she looked at me adoringly. I turned to see Salome staring at me transfixed. "Yes, Salome?"

"Master David, where did you learn to do that?"

"It just seemed to feel right." I was still feeling masterful so I signalled for her to take Serena's position. Without thinking too deeply about the fact that the naked woman bent submissively before me was my future mother-in-law, I proceeded to do to her what I had just done to her daughter. Mindful of where my thumb had been I switched hands. While I might have got away with it - they were on intimate terms already - I didn't want to take unnecessary risks. While part of me was cataloguing the differences between Salome and her daughter, most of me was observing Serena acutely. But apart from a slight flaring of her nostrils as her mother climaxed loudly, I couldn't work out whether she was upset or not. I resolved to ask her when we were alone. In the meantime I was still exploring the boundaries of my status. In this room, surround by instruments of punishment, I was feeling quite dominant indeed. Salome was still bent forward.

"You may stand erect and face me." She did so and stood flushed and breathing heavily, the effects of her orgasm still apparent. I sat once more in the chair, but this time I opened my legs and called Serena forward and made her kneel between them.

"Until I say otherwise, and if you are not otherwise engaged, your resting position will be kneeling before me with my penis in your mouth. I don't want a blowjob; I just want to be held in your mouth. Do you understand?"

"Master, yes Master." And she carried out my instructions. When my cock was warmly ensconced between her tender lips, I sat back in the chair with a sigh and stroked her hair. I could definitely get used to this. I turned my attention to Salome who had recovered, somewhat, from my ministrations.

"Were there any activities that you felt I should be covering today? If not, I would like to retire with my Slave to bed."

"No, Master David."

"In that case, would you take us to the room to which we have been assigned?" Salome started to say something, then changed her mind.

"Yes, Master David."

"Was there something else?" Salome looked uncomfortable. "If it's something in my power to grant then I'll consider it, but the one way ensure it doesn't happen is not to ask."

"Master David, would it be possible for me to spend some time with my daughter? We have much to discuss about the arrangements for the wedding."

I looked at Serena who was doing delightful things to my cock. And then I had a wicked idea.

"I think that can be arranged. Let's get to the room first." I indicated to Serena that she could stop what she was doing and stood up. I waited while she rearranged my clothing. "Oh yes, we need to stop for some nipple clamps on the way."

We arrived at the room and I saw that our bags had been unpacked for us. The problem with this level of service is that it spoils you for everywhere else. I sat in an overstuffed chair while Serena knelt in front of me and resumed suckling me. I could definitely get used to this. I turned to Salome.

"How long do you think you will need?" She smiled at this.

"How long is a piece of string, Master David?"

"I won't limit you, but my Slave shall wear these nipple clamps. When they become too painful to bear, then she will return here and I shall remove them for her."

"Stand up and let me attach the clamps."

They were cloverleaf style with a chain connecting them. Serena could wear them without having to remove her nipple rings. A sharply indrawn breath was the only indication that Serena gave that the clamps were at all painful. I kissed her and told them to have a good time. In the meantime I decided to undress and rest on the bed.

I awoke disoriented in darkness. I fumbled around for a light and winced at the unexpected brightness. Serena was kneeling by the side of the bed with tears streaming down her cheeks. She whimpered quietly as each indrawn breath caused the chain connecting the nipple clamps to sway. The nipple clamps! How long had she been wearing them? Oh God she must be in agony.