“I can’t really see you having any self-esteem issues.”

“I’m pretty fond of me. You might be a little fonder of yourself if you were more comfortable with your body.”

“I am totally comfortable with my body. I like the way I look.”

“You should. You’re sexy as hell. But you’re also twenty-three years old, you’ve been sexually active for seven years now and this is the first time you’ve let a woman inside you. Being comfortable with your body isn’t just about the way you look. You have to be willing to admit that people are attracted to you, that women are going to want to touch you and be inside you. You can’t be the only one giving the pleasure and then shut yourself off to receiving it. That’s not fair to your partner. I hang around with a lot of male subs. These are men who genuinely love giving orgasms and oral sex more than they do receiving it. Burying their face in a pussy is their version of heaven. You tell them they can’t go down on you, can’t pleasure you, and they’ll drop you for a new Domme so fast your ass will bruise from the fall. They don’t want to be with a woman who doesn’t let them do the job they feel they were born for—pleasuring women. Theresa probably felt the same way about you. She might love fisting and hand jobs and playing with toys and giving the woman she loves orgasms. Did you ever think about that?”

Chris sighed and rested back on the bed again. “No...not really. I thought she’d appreciate me doing all the work.”

“Chris, baby, gorgeous...look at me.”

Chris raised her head as The Mistress pressed the dildo down into the most stubborn part of her hymen.

“I’m a motherfucking Dominatrix, sweetheart, and not even I want to be in charge all the time. Got me?”

“Got you.”

“Good. Now tell me how we’re doing here? Pain?”

Chris exhaled through her nose.

“Yes, but not a ton. It kind of burns. I thought it would feel more like tearing.”

“You are tearing.”

“I am?”

The Mistress picked up one of the gauze pads and pressed it to Chris’s vulva. She held it up.

“See? Blood. Not much though.” The Mistress threw the gauze in the trash.

“I’m bleeding?”

“A little.”

“That doesn’t freak you out?”

“Takes more than a little blood to freak out a professional sadist. Quite frankly, it takes more than a lot of blood. Plus everything is sanitized. You’ve never had sex with a man so I think it’s safe to say you’re clean. I know I’m clean. Everything in this dungeon is clean. The only thing you’ll catch from me is a little flak for being so uptight about getting penetrated. And that’s nothing but tough love.”

“I appreciate the tough love. Usually I’m the one dishing it out.”

“Today is the day you learn to take it. Ready to take it?”

“Yes. I think.”