Yvonne wasn’t taking any chances. She’d made sure Ruby knew she had outs, and she was prepared to call things off at the first sign of trouble. She was confident that Ruby wouldn’t try to push herself further than she could handle. She trusted Ruby when she said that this was what she wanted.

No, the reason Yvonne was nervous was because she’d never, ever let a submissive have so much control. She’d never given a submissive the freedom to dictate terms. While Yvonne always made sure her submissive’s needs were met, it was on Yvonne’s terms, not theirs.

But tonight, Ruby held the whip. Tonight, Yvonne was hers. And Yvonne wanted this.

That excited her as much as it scared her. Yvonne’s insistence on always calling the shots was her way of keeping control of the situation. Her insistence on not bowing to her submissive’s desires was a way to keep them at arm’s length, just like everyone else in her life. Ruby was no exception.

What would it feel like to let Ruby in? That was the ultimate surrender, wasn’t it? To let someone in, physically, mentally, emotionally? To give Ruby parts of herself she’d never given anyone else? She’d already come close to doing so more than once. It was just so easy with Ruby. She had this way of slipping under Yvonne’s guard, of making her feel all the things she never allowed herself to feel, making her want things she’d never let herself want.

Yvonne didn’t like feeling this way. It made her vulnerable, all the more likely to get hurt. Because that was what always happened in the end. People always hurt her.

It was easier to not let anyone in in the first place.

Yvonne took the sheet of paper Ruby had written her ‘homework’ on out of her pocket and unfolded it, scanning it once more. At first, Yvonne had been surprised by what Ruby wanted, but the more she thought about it, the more she understood. Ruby had had the joy of total submission stolen from her by someone who had taken advantage of her.

Tonight, Ruby wanted to take that back.

That Ruby trusted Yvonne enough to let this hidden fantasy of hers play out set Yvonne’s heart alight. When she’d given Ruby this task, handing control over to her, Yvonne had simply seen it as a way to reestablish the trust between them. But Ruby was asking for something bigger than that, whether she knew it or not.

Ruby trusted Yvonne to do this with her and keep her safe, despite everything she’d been through, despite having her trust betrayed by someone before. It meant Yvonne had to be more careful. It meant she couldn’t continue approaching their relationship as she had been, like it was a transaction with clearly defined rules. Rules meant nothing when emotions were involved. Emotions made it far easier for someone to get hurt.

And after everything Ruby had been through, how could there not be emotions involved in every interaction she had with Yvonne, whether it was as escort and client, or Dominant and submissive?