The Key to Me

"I'm close," he gasped. I'm going to come if you don't stop."

Reaching out with her free hand, Dora felt his balls begin to tighten in preparation for orgasm. She gave his sac a downward tug while she shifted her hold to firmly grasp the base of his penis, stopping his release in its tracks.

Derek barely bit back the groan of frustration as her hold changed once the crisis had passed, her fingertips feathering across his perineum. He was so sexually primed that the slightest caress magnified the ache caused by the pressure in his balls.

Leaning in so that her lips barely touched his, Dora whispered, "I know how badly you want to come, darlin'. And you can. There's just one little condition. Beg me for it, Derek. Beg me for release."

*******

Rebellion welled within him. She had already humiliated him with the spanking. He'd gotten past it, but now he felt as if she were determined to strip him of every bit of pride he had.

What the fuck does she want from me?

Dora brought Derek to the brink of orgasm once again, only to deny release once more. She arched a single brow. The gauntlet was thrown, the challenge undeniable. She intended to edge him for however long it took for him to give her what she wanted.

Defiance flashed in Derek's eyes; his lips pulled back in a silent snarl. I don't think so, sweetheart. He'd never begged for a thing in his life, and he sure as fuck wasn't going to start now.

"Who are you fightin', Derek? Me? Or yourself, and some bullshit standard you think you have to uphold?"

Relentlessly, Dora brought him to the shuddering edge of orgasm again and again, always stopping just before the point of no return. His heart raced. His lungs burned from the sawing of his breath. His cock throbbed in time with his pounding pulse. He didn't know how much longer he could stand the torment as he fought his body's natural inclination.

Christ, I ache.

Dora now crouched beside him; her breasts pressed against his ribs, her mahogany tresses teasing the sensitive skin at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Her lips nestled just under his ear.

"You've done so well today, Derek. I know I'm pushing you too fast, too soon, but I'm greedy and I want more. I'll bet your mama never warned you about women like me. I control your orgasm; therefore, I control you. Although you don't want to admit it, I think you're afraid."

Derek shook his head in furious denial, even as his psyche taunted him. Liar.

"Don't try to bullshit me, Derek. Realistically, you know I'm no physical threat to you. But it goes far beyond that, doesn't it? I've found a chink in your armor. You LIKE being under my control. Imagine what I might do to you next time. Tie you down, clamp your nipples, plug your ass with a vibrator while I ride your face. The thought scares you even as it turns you on. Your cock is as hard as granite."

Lazily, Dora traced the large vein running up the underside of his shaft. Derek could not contain the groan that escaped his lips.

Fuck yeah, he was scared. Dora had literally brought him to his knees. In one evening, she had taken a core belief and flipped it on its head. She'd shown him a side of himself he'd never dreamed existed.

Who the hell am I? Who the hell is she?

"As difficult as you found it, givin' me control of your body was the easy part, darlin'. Watchin' you fight your body's needs is hot as fuck, Derek, and my cunt is dripping. But what pleases me most of all is the knowledge that my submissive has willfully surrendered EVERYTHING to me. I didn't lay it out beforehand, but I'm tired of casual play."

Derek couldn't concentrate beyond the feel of Dora's fingers playing in the copious pre-come flowing from the tip of his cock.

Where is she going with all of this? What in the blue hell IS this? Where do I fit in? Do I even WANT to fit in? His thoughts spun like an out of control merry-go-round.

"I require a lover who has the strength and the courage to be vulnerable to me. I want a man who has the guts to bare his soul. A man who will, in time, draw me a map to the deepest, darkest, most vulnerable parts of his bein', who will hand me a knife while doing so, and trust me not to shove it to the hilt, who will trust me to use that knowledge to enhance rather than hurt our bond."

Derek had never felt more torn than he did in that moment. This was supposed to have been nothing more than an evening of fun, kinky sex. Now, he realized Dora was testing and challenging him just as she had during the entire time he'd known her. What would it be like to have such a deep, intimate understanding with a partner?

Are you out of your god damn mind, Kennedy? She'll crawl into your head and there won't be a damn thing you can do about it. What the fuck else will she pull from the deepest, darkest corners of your mind?

He'd never let anyone have that much control over him. If he let her, she could leave him completely gutted. He could barely tolerate the thought.

Shifting so that they were knee to knee, Dora locked eyes with Derek, desperately willing him to find what he needed to yield his pride, his doubts; to let go of his tightly held emotional control. There would come a point in time when his body would simply override his mind, but that's not what she wanted. His orgasm was incidental.

"I won't promise that it will always be comfortable, Derek. Introspection is not for the faint of heart. The only promise I can make is this: whatever transparency I demand of you, I'll return in equal measure. We've only just met in person, but you do things to me I can't explain, and I want more. But I want ALL of you. This attraction between us has the potential to become so much more than anythin' either of us has ever experienced."

Derek stared into Dora's eyes. She was fucking killing him. The fingers of one hand traced the rim of his cock head before gently twisting off to make room for the fingers of her other hand. Dora made her final gamble of the evening.

"If this isn't the type of relationship you're interested in, Derek, then safe word and we stop right here. You finish yourself off and we part ways, no harm, no foul. We can still be friends, but that'll be the end of any further intimacy."

Fuck that, he thought. Fuck you, fuck my nerves, fuck all of it. God damnit, I want to FUCK. Derek knew Dora desired him. The hard pebbles of her nipples were visible against the silk of her blouse. The scent of her arousal permeated the air. It wouldn't take more than a second to flip Dora onto her back, ruck up her skirt, bury himself balls deep, and make her scream with pleasure. Even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew he couldn't, he wouldn't do it.

"If you want to see where this buddin' connection might take us, you will obey me, Derek. What do you say? Do you have the courage to strip your emotional shields in the same way you stripped your body?"

Do I, he wondered. He realized this entire evening had been a challenge to see if his nerves were up for the ride. Derek didn't need Dora for sex. He could find that easily enough on his own. But the mere thought of pursuing play of this sort without Dora left him cold. It wasn't about the sex. It was about her.

Dora swallowed against the fear lodged in her throat as she finally gave voice to the deepest need of her soul.

"I want, no, I NEED a man who understands that by completely surrenderin' everything to me, mind, heart, body, and soul, he'll have discovered the key to ownin' me."

Despite his reservations, the naked eloquence of sheer need voiced as a demand resonated through Derek like a bell. Ownership through surrender? He hadn't gone looking for that kind of relationship. Hell, he hadn't gone looking for a relationship of ANY sort, but what would it be like to share that kind of soul connection with Dora? He wasn't a coward, by any means, but what she was asking for was a daunting thought.

Am I strong enough for this? Am I prepared? Can I cope? He wasn't sure.

Mesmerized by the sight of her perfectly manicured red nails circling his cock, the one thing Derek did know for sure was that he had an enormous decision to make. If he said yes, his life would be altered forever. If he said no, he knew it would be the last time he ever saw Dora.

Derek panted for air as he fought full body tremors. It would be so FUCKING easy to give in to his body's demands. One...two...three heartbeats. The battle of wills silently raged. At last, Derek bowed his head, eyes tightly shut. Dora barely caught his low moan.

"Please, please, Ma'am. PLEASE let me come!"

Shock rippled through Dora, quickly followed by elation, as this suddenly, powerfully, and beautifully vulnerable man finally ceded mind as well as body to her will.

Holy fuck, he'd done it.

Though she hadn't allowed it to show, defeat had begun a victory lap around her psyche, making her question her instincts. Dora wondered if words alone could cause orgasm as an erotic thrill ripped through her core at his surrender. Instantly, she sped the movement of her hands to ease his body.

"Come for me, Derek. Come NOW. Show me how badly you desire to be mine."

No sooner had the command left her lips then Derek's hips lifted in obedience, pumping with lightning speed. The force of his orgasm wrung a guttural shout from his throat, twisting his features as if he were in agony. Jet after jet of semen shot into the air, landing high on his chest. Derek's arms collapsed, sending him sprawling on his back as physical, as well as mental fatigue washed over him.

Dora stretched out beside Derek, withheld tears of pride and joy clogging her throat. With her head pillowed on his shoulder, she cuddled against his side, offering the comfort of her touch as she soothingly ran her fingers through the silk of his damp, blond hair, waiting patiently for him to return to earth.