“Mistress Elise, may I ask something?”
“You may.”
“Would you like me to start a fire in the fireplace?”
Elise looked up at me and then at the fireplace. She seemed to really be considering the fire. It didn’t seem like such a difficult question, especially since she was obviously cold. Elise looked distance and as though she weren’t really even here in the room with me.
“Mistress,” I coaxed.
She blinked a few times before dragging her eyes away from the fireplace to look at me. She nodded and went back to her book. I set my paperback down on the coffee table and went to the fireplace. As I grabbed a few logs, I noticed that they were covered in cobwebs. I grabbed some newspaper from the metal basket beside the logs, balled it up and stuffed it under the grate and logs. I found some long matches next to the fireplace tools and used one to light the fire. I took the iron poker tool from the holder and moved some of the newspapers around to ignite it and spread it around. Once I was satisfied, I put the poker back in its place and stood back to take a look.
“Go wash your hands,” Elise instructed.
“Yes, Mistress.”
When I returned, she quickly looked away from the fire and went back to her paperback. I picked my novel up from the coffee table and sat down on the floor with my back to the cushion that she had directed me to. I welcomed the aches that I felt when my ass cheeks made contact with the floor. I loved the aches that came the day following impact play.
My eyes roamed the fireplace mantle. Tucked inside two triangular wooden boxes were an American flag and a fire association flag. I recognized the emblem on the fire flag as the same one on some of the magnets, the tall mugs, and shot glasses in the kitchen. There was also a glass fire truck that had absorbed the light from the fireplace. It now flickered and glowed orange and yellow.
When I felt Elise’s hand on my head, I pulled my gaze from the fireplace and looked down at my book. She stroked my hair and twirled some around her fingers. I had been deep into a chapter when she spoke up out of the blue.
“That fireplace has not been lit since Jacob’s death.”
I looked at the fire that danced brightly in the fireplace. Had I touched a chord that wasn’t ready to be touched? She could have told me not to start the fire. She has had no issue voicing directions so far, so I have to believe that if she truly didn’t want a fire, that she would have told me.
Elise continued to play with my hair and remained quiet while she read. Though, I had a feeling that she wasn’t really reading. I think she was staring at a page in a book, hiding while she thought about Jacob. I decided to make another attempt at connecting with her and showing her that I’ve been there too. Maybe she’d open up a little.
“After my mother died, my dad and I avoided the kitchen table. When she was alive, we always sat down together as a family for dinner each night. When she died, it was too much for us to sit at the table.”
“That is twice now you’ve offered me information that I haven’t asked for,” she said in a bored to death tone.
I opened my mouth to say that it was okay to avoid something for a while and that it was part of the grieving process. But I decided against saying that. Instead, I apologized for my error.
“Forgive me, Mistress Elise, for talking about things that weren’t asked of me.”
We sat in silence for a while, and again I was able to engross myself with my novel. When I glanced up from my book, something on the lower shelf of the coffee table by my foot caught my eye. It was the book about grief that I gave to Liz to give to Elise months ago. Without asking for permission, I started to move towards it, but her hand locked around my hair.
“Sorry, Mistress,” I apologized.
“Where were you going?”
“I was going to pick up the book that I sent to you. I spotted it on the lower shelf. I am sorry, though. I shouldn’t have moved without your permission.”
“No, you shouldn’t have. You will be punished,” she said and tossed her paperback down on the cushion be her feet.
The thrill of being punished washed over my body. I was excited and ready as she got off the couch.
“Stand and wait for me,” she instructed and left the room.
My mind raced, wondering what she would come back with. Would it be the crop? A flogger? A whip? Mmm, it had been ages since I had been whipped. I would love a whipping. Or flogging. Both of those would leave feelings that would last for a few days and would feel great on my back. Eagerly I looked at her hands when she came back into the room.
A paddle? We just did the paddle last night. I was still bruised from the paddle. She wouldn’t use the paddle two days in a row, would she? I quickly thought back to play with James and other partners. None of them used the same impact toy back to back. They always gave a day or two for healing. I almost showed the shock and confusion on my face, but I think I kept it in check.
In her other hand, she twirled something attached to a metal ring. Elise stopped in front of me and set the paddle down on the table and then held the ring up for me to see. Now that she wasn’t twirling it around, I could see what it was; a urethra plug. It was one of the ultimate bad boy punishing toys. While I was excited about this, I was nervous too.
Elise opened the cock cage and set it on the coffee table while she held my cock in her hand. I felt myself harden as she slipped the small metal ball bearing from the plug into her mouth to moisten in.
“Have you ever experienced one of these?” she asked as soon as she removed it from her mouth.
