The Dom Project by Heloise Belleau, Solace Ames Page A

curled her knees to her chest, sighing. He rubbed her shoulder through the blanket, lending her his heat. They rested there for a long time, John imagining himself in that familiar fantasy, drifting through the halls of her mind—all with her knowing he was there, and sweetly sharing herself with him.
    She shifted, and poked him with her knee. “Ow,” he said, snapping back to Earth instantly.
    “That was great ,” she said, a lovely smile on her face. “I’ve been caned before, harder even, but it didn’t reach me the same way. I mean, you’re really good at it.”
    “Wasn’t hard enough for you? I’ll keep that in mind. At least you didn’t get bratty to try and goad me into it.”
    “No!” she cried with breathy sincerity, turning to look at him with an exaggerated look of horror, “Never!”
    Just like that, whatever strangeness between them faded and they were friends again. John gave her shoulder a brisk rub, which was about as close to a buttpat between teammates as he could get while still remaining proper. Robin stood, keeping the blanket draped around her shoulders as she wiggled, clearly pulling her rucked-up skirt back down around her knees.
    Pity.
    No. Not a pity. Good. Boundaries. Boundaries are good.
    “So,” he said casually. “The necklace.”
    “Right.” She reached back to unclasp it. The blanket slipped down, leaving her shoulder bare. Deliciously, kissably bare. Boundaries . “Here you go.”
    He didn’t take it just yet. “We could go either way with the necklace. You can take it home with you and bring it each time. Or I could keep it here for you.”
    She bit her lip.
    He tried to tell himself he wasn’t invested in the decision. But as the dark gray pearls slipped through her pale fingers, his hand tightened into a fist. Let me give these to you. Let me have this stolen ritual.
    “You’d better hold on to them for me,” she said. “That makes the most sense.”
    “Sure.” His nails dug into his palm, a comforting pain. “You’re in charge. Until I am.” He put a game-player’s grin on his face. “I’ll hold on to the photos too.”
    “I trust you with those,” she said.
    The cold feeling in his chest warmed a little.

Chapter Six
Week One
Session One: aka A Long Hard...To Do List
I’d like to thank all my commenters on the last post. I had no idea so many people were reading this blog!
     
     
*blushes*
     
     
I truly appreciated the full range of opinions expressed, from “I did that before with a friend and it was no big deal” to “your fool ass is crazy.” I bristled a bit when I read that last one, but I can see where he or she is coming from. The emotional work isn’t easy. Never mind butterflies, I had full-grown pterodactyls flapping around in my stomach when I walked into my friend’s apartment. I was so worried.
     
     
But it was worth it.
     
     
The milestones for tonight turned out to be Service and Pain, two of my favorites. I think I’m going to enjoy this mix-and-match of the known and unknown, the familiar and unpredictable. It’s like the thrill I get when leafing through an old book and finding a risqué 1970s Polaroid pressed between unlikely pages. It’s a little less organized than my ideal, but I also think it’s good specifically for that reason, because Submission is, of course, all about letting go of some control.
     
     
J gets me on so many different levels, and yes, he’s a genius with the cane. I felt good, and then bad and then really good and then...well, you know how it goes. It’s not easy keeping certain intense emotions within boundaries, but it helps that we both know we’re so much more compatible as friends than anything else. I’m looking for the kind of long-term relationship that he...isn’t. And I think after this arrangement, I can approach the search with renewed confidence.
     
     
J is reading this.
     
     
Thank you.
     
     
I don’t have any pictures yet, but stay tuned.
     
     
Love,
The Picky