Chapter Three
Monday – Southern Maryland
Melody
I spent the rest of my weekend trying to study. But wound up spending more time daydreaming about Finn and the night we spent together at The Den than actually getting any work done. Three times yesterday, I masturbated and then went for a four-mile walk to cool myself down. But only ended up getting myself off again in the shower because I still couldn't scratch the itch.
Now I can’t focus on work either. I’ve spent the morning with Sam interrupting one daydream after another. Every time I stop, I find my bottom lip between my teeth as I push my thighs together, trying to get my pussy to stop throbbing. I can’t get Finn out of my head, and I’m distracted again when Sam walks up next to me and smacks my ass. “Damn girl, you have got it bad. Is all of this angst about your date this Friday?”
“No, Sam. It’s almost time for our break. I'll tell you about it then.” I brush her off and go back to brooding while working on lunch orders.
“BB alert!” Sam shouts from the other end of the deli, and when I look up, I see him coming in the far door and heading straight to the order screens.
“Listen, Sam! Before he gets over here and says something that makes you freak out. I need to tell you I saw him on Friday.”
“What?” she screeches.
Ignoring her, I go on. “I ran into Finn on Friday when Summer and I were out after the concert.”
"Holy shit! And you're just now telling me this? WTF, Mel!"
"I was going to tell you on break. Please stop. This is why I'm telling you now, I didn't want Finn to say something, and you freak out and embarrass me. Exactly like you are right now! So, get it under control while he finishes his order and pays because he is about to be on his way over here."
"Okay, okay. But just tell me one thing. How hot was it? Because you have been distracted all day. I know, now it's because you can't get him out of your head, obviously."
"Oh my god, Sam. I had to walk four miles yesterday, take a cold shower, and still couldn't chill out. That's how hot, okay? Now, st–" All of a sudden, her eyes go wide, and she breaks into a huge smile. I'm about to ask her what the hell her problem is. Just when I feel him behind me on the other side of the counter.
"What's this about being hot, Mel? Can't cool down? Need any help with that?" I close my eyes, take a deep breath in through my nose, and slowly shake my head side to side as I breathe out. I build up my courage and turn to face Finn.
"What is it about you that makes it impossible for me to make it through the day without shoving my foot right in my mouth?" I ask him with a smile. Trying to convince him and myself that I'm not embarrassed.
"Hmmm, and such a nice mouth it is.” He winks at me. I hear a clatter and turn to see Sam bending to pick up the order she just dropped on the floor. Finn’s laughter follows. When I look back at him I slam down the sandwich in my hands and glare at him. When he laughs again, this time at how flustered I am by the situation, I roll my eyes at him. "Oh, lass, and there go those eyes getting you into trouble again."
Ignoring Finn's comment, I get back to making the orders on the screen above me. A rush is building up behind him, and Sam has to remake the two sandwiches she just dropped when pulling them out of the toaster.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we're a little busy right now. If you don't mind waiting at the end of the counter. We'll call your number when your order is ready."
I feel the heat of a blush on my cheeks the second I say, sir. I was only trying to be professional in front of the line of bustling customers. But as soon as I said it, an image of Finn standing shirtless holding a length of black rope popped in my head, and the muscles in my stomach did a flip. I squeeze my thighs together and feel the moisture between them. Only a few seconds pass, and without breaking eye contact, he steps back into the line of customers waiting for their orders. I chew on my lower lip again, and he raises a brow in question.
"Sixty-nine," Sam calls out loudly, and I whip my head towards her as Finn laughs out loud, raising his hand in the air holding up his receipt. "Order sixty-nine!" Sam giggles this time.
"Yep, that's mine. I'm order number sixty-nine," Finn says and steps forward, still holding his ticket in the air, and smiles as he sets it down on the counter, his eyes full of mirth. When our gazes lock, I squirm, and it's not until he says, "Breathe," that I realize I've been holding my breath. The command breaks the spell, and I take a deep breath. "Good girl," he tells me with a smile. Then taking his sandwich off the counter says, "Thanks, Sam! You ladies, have a great afternoon!" But he stops and turns back to me. "Do you have class tonight, Mel? Do you mind if I give you a call?"
"Nope. I mean, nope, I don't have class, and no, I don't mind at all. I have plans to work out after I get off, but then I’m just planning to study." I feel my face go red when I catch the innuendo.
"Great, then I'll call you tonight and help with that problem you mentioned earlier. Talk to you later, Mel." He leaves without another word and Sam and I finish up the rush.
***
"Holy shit! WTF, Mel?" Sam asks as we collapse into the yellowing chairs at the table in the breakroom.
"Damn, I'm thirsty.” I open my water bottle and chug half of it. “It's like a thousand degrees out there."
"Oh, I'm sure you are thirsty. For Finn. So tell me what happened Friday that got you so hot and bothered?" She wiggles her eyebrows at me to emphasize her point, and I chuck the cap of my water bottle at her head across the table.
"I'm serious, Sam, it was fucking crazy. One second, Summer and I were hanging out, and then he was there. Just down the bar from us. Long story short, we spent the night talking and hanging out. Summer and her boyfriend drove me home." I feel bad lying to her, but Sam has no idea about my D/s curiosity. I know she wouldn’t judge, and is probably involved in her own extra-curricular activities that would shock the hell out of me. But this is uncharted territory for us, and I don't want to go there.
"So, then you spent the whole weekend daydreaming about the sexy Big Bad Wolf?"
"Yep, that's pretty much the gist of it," I say noncommittally, hoping she won't push anymore.
She spears a tomato from her salad with her fork and uses it to point at me. "Nope. No. I'm not buying it. Something happened that you're not telling me. Where is this bar you just happened to bump into him at? In the city? You guys were like an hour from home. You don't think that's kind of a strange coincidence?"
"Oh, come on, you too? You sound like Donnie now. He went all super suspicious cop on Friday night. No, I think it was actually a coincidence. The club we went to was Summer’s idea, and it's the only one of its kind nearby." I look up from my plate and pop a chip in my mouth. I notice Sam stopped moving and has a cucumber halfway to her mouth, which is now hanging open.
"Donnie and Summer? I can't believe I never made the connection," she's muttering.
"What connection, Sam? What about Donnie? He is Summer's boyfriend."
"No, Melody, he is Summer's Dom! Are you telling me you went to The Den with them, and you just happened to run into Finn there?" Her voice keeps getting higher-pitched, and my face feels like it’s on fire. I push my plate away and cross my arms over my chest.
"Really? Why is it that apparently everyone I know is secretly involved in the BDSM lifestyle behind my back? You know them, Sam?" I'm pissed, and I'm not sure why. I slam my hands down on the table when I say her name and stand up to start pacing the room. It's not a big space, and I feel trapped, like a wild animal in a cage at the zoo. Nothing makes sense to me right now.
"Mel, stop. Please. It's not some secret we are keeping from you. I never put two and two together before now. I know you talk about Summer. But I've never actually seen your Summer, and since I didn't picture you in the BDSM world, I didn't mention it to you. I wasn't hiding anything from you. But yes, I know them. I know the club. I know why you're so damn thirsty for Finn now. Fuck, Mel. What really happened Friday?” She is standing and tries to stop me from pacing by grabbing my elbow. I turn to her with unshed tears of frustration in my eyes.
"Please don't cry, Melody. All of your friends are not involved in a secret conspiracy against you. It just turns out we all have a lot more in common than we thought," she says with a wink. Sam squeezes my hands, then hugs me awkwardly, crushing my head into her massive chest.
“Come over here, girly, and tell me all about your night with the Big Bad Wolf at The Den.” I go back to the opposite side of the table and recap my Friday night, giving her the essential parts but leaving some of the spicier details out.
When we’re finished with lunch and packing our bags back into our lockers, she says, “I can’t believe it, Mel, so are you a good girl gone bad or have you always been a bad girl and you’re just really good at hiding it from all of us?”
“I wasn’t hiding it. I don’t have any experience aside from what I just told you. This was my first time at The Den or any place like it. But yes, I guess I am quite the bad girl.” I push her shoulder with my hand and stick my tongue out at her as we head back out to the deli to finish up our shift.
***
I walk into my house, hang my purse up on one of the hooks by the door, then run upstairs to change out of my uniform and into my workout clothes when I hear my phone chirp with a message. As I reach the bedroom, I pull my phone out of my pocket to see who it’s from.
Finn: Hey sexy lady, how was the rest of your day?
I smile as I read Finn’s message and quickly type up a response as I dig through my dresser for leggings and a sports bra.
Mel: It was great. How about yours? What are you up to?
Finn: Good, I have to finish up a double, so I’m stuck at work for about another hour. What are your plans, lass?
I slip out of my pants and hop on one foot while I try to respond. I almost fall over and toss my phone on the bed to finish shimmying into my leggings, put on a long sleeve t-shirt, lace up my tennis shoes, then flop back onto the bed. I look for my phone that is now lost under the pile of blankets and pillows.
Mel: Sorry, I’m just changing and getting ready to go for a walk. Then I have some studying to do for a test I have on Thursday.
Finn: Do you own a set of ben-wa balls?
I freeze and reread the message a second, then a third time when the next one comes through before I get the chance to respond.
Finn: It’s a yes or no question, Melody.
Mel: Yes, sir.
I swallow and realize my mouth has gone dry as I wait to see what his response is going to be.
Finn: I want you to put them in before your walk.
My heart is pounding so hard I can hear it in my ears.
Finn: Can you do that for me?
Mel: Yes, sir.
I sit, chewing on my lip, thinking about what I’m about to do and wondering what it will be like. How long should I walk today? I had planned on an hour which is about three miles for me at a pretty steady pace, but with ben-wa balls, three miles could be nearly torturous. I moan out loud at the thought of how hard I will come after walking that far with the balls in.
Finn: Good girl. Now tell me how far you were planning to walk today?
Mel: Three miles, sir.
I toss my phone back onto the bed and go to the top dresser drawer where I keep my toys. Pulling out the purple ben-wa balls, I slide my leggings down, pick up the lube from the drawer and coat them in an even layer. Then one after the other, I slide the large balls in, clenching my pelvic muscles around them.
I’ll have to clench my pussy most of the time to keep the extra-large set of ben-wa balls from falling out. That's when I realize how drenched I’m going to be and that the light gray leggings I have on will be soaked after three miles of walking with these in. My phone chirps three times while I’m getting the balls in and consider changing my pants, but instead, I quickly pull them up and rush back to the bed to see what Finn is saying.
Finn: I’m off in 45 min.
Finn: I’ll call you once I’m off the clock.
Finn: I expect you to be back home and dripping wet. Waiting for my call.
Shit, forty-five minutes, that's three fifteen-minute miles! My average mile is seventeen minutes on a slow workout day for me. But fifteen-minute miles means I’ll be moving a lot faster and with the ben-wa balls it means I will not be taking it as easy on myself as I had planned.
Finn: 43 min and counting, young lady, I want pictures of that sexy ass in your workout pants when you get back. X
Shit!
I jog down the stairs, and halfway down, I have to pause to clench down around the balls as I bounce on each step. The delicious bouncing deep inside me has me already slick and ready before I even get to the front door.
***
Thirty minutes later, I glance down at my watch and see that I have gone two miles, which means I have thirteen minutes left to finish the last mile. I’m on my last lap of the neighborhood, each being a mile. I should be back at the house just as I hit the third-mile mark. But I’m not sure if I can make it in thirteen minutes.
As I turn the corner onto my street, my stomach is full of butterflies. Because I know my phone will be ringing in just under ten minutes and because I am shaking from the strain of keeping my pussy tensed around the balls. I glance down at my pants again. My crotch and halfway down my thighs are soaking wet, my body is covered in sweat, and I can’t wait to get back to the house into a cool shower and rub my clit, so I can finally come. This has been pure teasing from the moment I left my house.
My watch chimes and says I have just completed my third mile. When I go down the driveway, my phone starts ringing. I pull my phone out of my pocket and come to a stop just inside the front door.
“Hello?”
“Hello, lass. What’s the final time on that handy workout watch thingy I see on your wrist all the time? It tracks your walking, doesn’t it?”
I glance down and read the face of my watch. I didn’t make it. Shit. Finn is late calling. sir will never know.
“Yes, sir, it does.”
“Melody?” The sternness in his voice prompts me to answer him.
“Yes, sir?” I say meekly.
“What’s your final time?”
Just then, the friendly robot lady in my watch, as if waiting for this moment, says, Average pace is sixteen minutes and twelve seconds per mile. Total time forty-six minutes twelve seconds. You’ve gone three miles. Heart rate one hundred forty-five beats per minute. That fucking traitorous computer bitch. She isn’t even on my side.
“Oh, what a shame, so close. To think you were only one minute and twelve seconds away from an incredible orgasm.”
“What?” I snap.
“That’s right, you didn’t make it in time. Now you’ll have to wait to come. You’re dripping and ready, aren’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How wet are you, Mel? I know how wet you get and just how amazing you smell when you’re ready to come.”
My knees give out, and I slide down to the floor with my back against the front door. My clit is throbbing, and I want to come, but I realize what Finn is saying and tears burn the backs of my eyes. Frustrated, I don’t answer him.
“Don’t be like that, baby,” he says. “Why don’t you go ahead and send me those pictures, and I’ll tell you how I’m going to make you come once you’re allowed. It’s fun, I promise.”
“Fun!”
“Yes, fun, like a game, Mel. The waiting only makes it more intense when you finally come. Have you ever tried edging before?”
I put my hand on the floor behind me and push myself up to standing, the ben-wa balls shift. “Mmm,” I moan into the phone, “a little, but never to this extreme. I need to come, sir. Please. I won't be able to hold back.”
“You will. I know you couldn’t before when you weren’t trying. But I know, once you put your mind to it, you will be able to hold back the orgasm, making it that much more intense once you get the release. Now come on and let me see how drenched you are.”
Son of a bitch bastard, damn you, I think as I climb the stairs one at a time, slowly working my way to my bedroom and the full-length mirror so I can snap a picture for him. I whimper as I reach the top step.
“Sir, can I take the balls out now? I’m so sensitive. I can’t take it. Please?”
“Of course. I’ll let you go, love. You snap that picture for me and get cleaned up, and I’ll call you back once I’m home. How’s that sound?”
“Good. Thank you, sir.”
“Good girl, give me about thirty minutes, and I'll call you right back.”
We disconnect, and I exhale slowly, looking at myself in the mirror, mascara running down my face. The front of my pants is stained with my own arousal. My ponytail is lopsided, and I look like a train wreck. I snap a picture and hit send, then put my phone on the nightstand, take out the balls, and head for a cold shower to hopefully stifle the raging inferno building in my groin.
***
Twenty minutes later, I’m still in the shower with my music blaring from my phone’s speakers sitting on the tile ledge in the corner. The scalding water runs down the front of my body, across my hard nipples, and down over my clit. With my head thrown back, I reach down, and the second I touch myself, the orgasm bursts inside me. Shame instantly fills my mouth with a sour taste when I realize what I have just done. I rush to turn off the water, not even enjoying the orgasm. I’m just pissed at myself now. I towel dry my hair and face myself in the mirror. Berating myself, confused as to why I didn’t get any release with my anger growing, I toss myself down onto my bed, pouting. When the phone rings, I’m curt as I answer.
“What!” I bark.
“Melody?” Finn asks, confused by my answer “Finn! Sorry. I was having a pity party for a minute. I didn’t mean to be rude.” I pause. Then go on when he doesn’t respond. “How was your day?”
“It was good, but would you care to tell me what this pity party was over?” His voice is stern and I know he knows.
“No, sir,” I say softly.
“Ah, I think I know. Breaking the rule you were given? How was it? Was it worth it in the end?”
I’m not sure how I feel about the calmness in his voice. But I don’t hesitate when I snap, “No!” I'm still pissed that he managed to ruin my orgasm, and he wasn’t even here. I’m not sure how, but I know this is his fault, and I’m feeling really pissy about it.
“Whoa! Watch the attitude there, lass. I didn’t make you come.” He actually raises his voice this time.
“No, you didn’t, and maybe that’s the issue! Why was it such shit?” I’m confused by why I’m more frustrated after my shower than before. I was wound so tight I thought I might snap, and I’m not exactly sure why I didn’t feel the release I was hoping for. But the answer dawns on me before Finn even begins to explain.
“Melody, remember the other night when I said the couples in the club were getting things they needed from each other?” He has his voice under control again.
“Yes.” I drop my head in my free hand, keeping the phone to my ear.
“What you needed wasn’t just to come, was it? Think about it, lass.” His voice softens even more.
“I know.” I sigh.
“You do?” Finn’s voice is full of surprise.
“Yes, I know what I needed wasn’t simply to orgasm. What I needed was to please my Dom, and I didn't. I deliberately disobeyed an order, which is why it has left me feeling like shit instead of happy with the release that was building all afternoon. I’m sorry I snapped at you, Finn. You didn’t deserve for me to direct my anger at myself towards you.”
***
Finn
“Let’s take a step back, Mel. We still haven’t even had our first date. I’m sorry for pushing you to that point this afternoon. It is my fault you broke the rule, not yours. It wasn’t fair for me to ask something from you when we have not established any ground rules or communicated expectations from a D/s relationship.” I sit on the couch in my living room, adjusting myself through my pants, looking at the picture of her in her wet leggings again. I pause for a moment before I go on. “I saw you today at lunch and couldn't resist. You were so hot and bothered, talking to Sam about the four-mile walk and cold shower you took yesterday. I knew I needed to see you wet, sweating, and ready to be taken. But I’m sorry. I didn’t have the right to suggest this.” I hate myself for putting her in this position. I let myself cross a line. My inner Alpha took over and pushed her to a point I shouldn’t have allowed it to get to.
***
Melody
I whip my head up and stare at the phone in my hand. Wait, there is no way he could have heard me say that to Sam from across the store. What the fuck? How could he know I said that?
“Melody?” I hear Finn ask through the speaker.
Putting the phone back to my ear, I say, “I’m here. I’m sorry, but I just–” I chew on my fingernail, thinking it through. “How did you hear that? About the walk and the shower yesterday. I know you weren’t behind me when I said that.”
“Yes I was, Mel. I was standing right behind you at the counter.”
Why is he lying about this? He wasn't there then. I know when he walked up. I always know when he is near, and he wasn’t close enough to have heard me say those things to Sam. I try to move past it but can’t shake the feeling I’m missing something here.
I let it go and we spend the next few hours talking about our lives. I learn that Finn has one older brother and tell him about my two older sisters. We both moved to this area when we were ten-years-old and graduated from the same high school, just a few years apart. I can’t believe we have so much in common and have spent the past twenty years of our lives living only about fifteen minutes from each other.
He says he won't need directions to the address I gave him to pick me up on Friday because some of his best friends, a married couple he works with, live across the street from me, and he was just at their house helping to build their new back deck. I know who he means. I can see the deck from my bedroom window.
It’s almost nine o’clock by the time we finish the call, and I’m even more excited about our upcoming date on Friday. Even though I can’t shake the feeling that he is hiding something about today. As I’m fixing myself a late dinner, I get a text from Summer.
Summer: Donnie says Finn checks out.
Mel: Oh, joy.
Summer: You know he is just trying to look out for you and make sure you're safe. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
The microwave beeps, and I grab my ninety-second Rice and veggies and take them to the table. I play games on my phone while I eat dinner. After, I clean up my dishes and head to bed. I lie awake watching the ceiling fan and thinking about my afternoon I begin to understand my feelings from this afternoon a bit more the longer I think about it. I get now what the instant feeling of regret was, and I realize I knew then what it was. If I want to have a D/s relationship with anyone, Finn or not. Then I have to do like Finn said and set up ground rules. We set clear rules this afternoon, and I chose to break those rules for selfish reasons. Finally, I drift off to sleep. That's when it happens.
Wolves surround me, I spin in a circle, but all I can see are their eyes, bright red. Maybe seven or eight sets are looking at me through the trees. I reach my hands out behind me in the dark to try to feel my way through the woods, my heart is racing, and I don’t know how I got here. I think I’ve been out for a while, but none of it makes any sense. The last thing I remember is falling asleep in my own bed. I woke up on the ground sore and wet with dew, I’m cold, and my head hurts.
I hear a growl to my right and turn as I see a massive wolf with amber eyes lunge out of the woods and put himself in front of me and between the other wolves circling us.