The door of the studio swung open and Eddie strode in on his big, black boots. He closed the door again and before Octavia could even raise an eyebrow at him, he marched towards the counter in the corner.

"Got a trash can here?"

"In the left most cupboard." Octavia put her laptop away and turned on her chair to watch him. She was dressed and prepared for a date with Eddie and he was right on time, but she hadn't expected this. What did it mean? 

She could hear the distinct sound of Eddie crushing a can before he threw it in the bin. Then he quickly splashed some water from the faucet on his face and finally, after wiping his mouth, he turned around to look at her. 

"What's wrong? You got my message, right?" The intensity in his eyes was striking and it made her heart flutter.

With a charming smile, she asked: "What can I do for you today, Eddie?"

He fiddled with his brightly coloured bracelet, an excuse to not look her in the eye. "I sent you a text explaining everything."

"I know." She rose from her seat as she watched him pace across the room. Her eyes were trained on him, taking in every detail of his expression and his posture as she said: "I would still like to hear you say it. I need to understand what you get out of this scene. What I'm facilitating."

He crossed his arms and threw her another fiery look. "Don't make me talk about it. You said yes. Let's fucking go."

"This scenario means a lot to you." She approached a few steps as she observed him. "You're already psyching yourself up. I'm just trying to understand your needs."

He threw his hands up in the air, a gesture of exasperation. "I got no time for your fucking psychology shit. We can do the touchy feely after."

His drive to start immediately was certainly affirmative consent, but Octavia needed one more thing. She closed in and grabbed him by the wrist to hold his hand in front of his face, just above eye-level. "Look." She commanded.

Confused by this sudden turn of events, Eddie blinked as she slowly brought his hand closer and closer to his eyes.

"You can't seem to focus on the lines in your hand." She spoke quickly, too quick for him to keep up. "You can't seem to hold any thoughts in your head. You can't seem to understand. You can only drop. Now." 

When his hand covered his eyes, his head suddenly slumped forward and as his arms fell limply to his sides, she held him close and whispered in his ear.

"All I need you to remember, throughout this scene, no matter what happens, no matter how heated it gets, is Time Out. Either those words or the gesture can stop the scene. No matter which one of us does it, when we need a Time Out all the tension, all the conflict falls away. Time Out immediately breaks the spell. I can use it if I need, and so can you. Will you remember that?"

With his eyes closed, his head bobbed up and down in a nod.

"Good. Thank you, Eddie. That's all I need." She patted him on the shoulder and then backed away from him. 

He took a deep breath and his brow furrowed. He rolled his shoulders and wiped a drip of drool from his mouth before he managed to scowl at her.

"What the hell?" There he was, loud and angry, the Eddie Kingston she knew so well. If looks could kill… "A fucking safeword? You put a fucking safeword in my head, as if I haven't been doing this for ten years already?"

Octavia crossed her arms and frowned at him but said nothing. Was this really the first time she made a safeword? She thought she had done it before with the Ring of Honor handshake, but then she realised it… This was the first time she had given him a safeword he could use to make her stop. 

"What are you really angry about, my dear?" She asked with one raised eyebrow. "Not that I'm treating you right by giving you a safeword."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He got up in her face as he growled at her. "I'm not some wimp who can't take what you dish out."

"Oh sweet Eddie…" She reached up to tenderly touch his cheek. "I gave you a safeword because I'm not planning to hold back."

He took a step back and beat his chest like a gorilla, growling. "Come at me. I can take it."

"And I don't doubt that." She closed in again, laying both her hands on his chest and looking up into his eyes. She blinked slowly at him and then she whispered: "I just want to give you what you deserve."

He turned away with a derisive grumble. "Here it comes, tell me the shit I deserve, you haughty bitch."

She followed him again, reaching up to gently massage his shoulders. In her low and seductive hypnotist voice, she said: "You deserve to relax, to finally lay your head down to rest. Aren't you tired of fighting?"

He shook his head and turned around to glare at her, waving a finger in the air. "Nah nah nah, this is a trick! You're fucking with my head."

She grabbed his hand and softly kissed it as she shushed him. "Shh… There's no need to be on guard anymore. You can just let go now. Don't you want to loosen up? Don't you want to just listen to me and take a deep breath?"

He gave her a blank, confused look as he inhaled, but as he noticed what was going on, he pulled his hand loose. "You…" He pointed at her as he backed away. His voice was hoarse and flat. "You crafty…"

"You can feel it, can't you?" She held his gaze and smiled at him. "You feel the blissful lure of peace when you do as I say. You don't want to fight me. You want to give in to me. You can feel it in your bones."

He paused to shake the dazed feeling out of his head, and then he growled and charged up to her until his forehead touched hers. He hissed in her face: "All I can feel right now is that I wanna jump your bones with your phone sex voice."

"Very good, Eddie." Octavia replied as she reached up to touch his face with both hands. "You're doing exactly what I want. You're listening to me. You're letting me crawl up inside your head and override your thoughts. Just…"

He clenched his hand over her mouth and scowled at her. "Shut up. You can't fuck with my head if you can't talk."

She gave him a piercing stare and pushed forward against his hand, but he pushed back with a triumphant grin. It gave her an idea, she made sure she held his gaze. He seemed to take it as a staring contest, and his eyes flared with that intensity again. She pushed against his hand and he matched the pressure, it made her lips curl up into a smile under his fingers. She pushed a little more, and again he matched her effort. His eyes dulled as his focus shifted to that pressure of his hand over her mouth. She prolonged this moment as long as she could, and then she reversed it, taking a step away from him.

He stumbled towards her and she grabbed his head, pulling it down against her chest as she commanded: "Drop!" She could feel him leaning heavily against her as his arms dropped down to his sides. 

She gently rocked him in her arms, murmuring: "That's right, Eddie. Just breathe for me and fall deeper and deeper."

His head twitched and he grumbled incoherently. His knees went weak and he pulled away in an attempt to remain on his feet. He clutched his face, covering his fluttering eyes with his fingers as he blindly stumbled away. "I can still… resist…"

"Why, though?" Octavia leaned into the sultry phone sex voice. "Why would you resist? Have you truly considered what I'm offering? Peace and quiet, inside your head. Finally a moment of respite. Just let go, let me take care of you."

"Nah…" He shook his head and stumbled to the wall to lean on something. He had a dazed look in his eyes, despite his attempts to clear his head. "It's a trick. It must be."

She drew up close to him and took his hand, sensually caressing the inside of his fingers. "Would I ever trick you, Eddie? Look at me."

He turned to face her with his back against the wall. His brow arched and his mouth opened, there was something so meek and vulnerable about his expression now. 

Shivering with arousal, she held his gaze and asked: "Can you hear me?"

He nodded slowly, staring at her without blinking. 

"Do you trust me?"

Another slow, dazed nod.

"Do you want to give in now?"

The nodding seemed continuous now. His mouth was open but he didn't make any attempt to speak.

She backed away a few steps and let go of his hand to make an inviting gesture. "Then please kneel for me, Eddie."

He dropped to his knees with a dull thud, his hands hanging down to the floor, his face aimed up at hers. She took a step closer and reached out to cup his chin as she held his gaze.

"See? It's not a trick." She said with a smile. "I'm just going to take care of you. You can relax now. You can let go and finally rest."