Ryan’s night was going well. Or at least, that’s what some of his instincts were telling him. The others were loudly second-guessing the rest, which tended to happen when he was crushing hard on a date.

And tonight, Ryan had it bad.

Luisa, the woman currently making Ryan get all tied up in knots, was amazing. Smart, funny, confident, geeky, had a lot of the same weird as Ryan and shared a lot of values that might have otherwise been dealbreakers.

 

Oh, and she was also absolutely stunning. About 5’5, he guessed, without the heels that currently put her at around 5’8. Long, silky, dark hair that framed a caramel-colored face with big, expressive brown eyes, a cute nose, and full, soft-looking lips.

 

He’d done a mostly-admirable job of not looking too hard below the neck, but the glimpses he’d caught during the bare handful of times she’d looked at her phone or left the table to go to the bathroom had let him paint a picture of her that involved round D-cup breasts and an ass to match, with a waist in between that tapered just enough to make her hips seem like the perfect place to rest his hands. Even her voice made his stomach feel all floaty, a silky mezzo-soprano – or maybe a high alto? – with traces of a Central American accent.

 

And, he’d just found out, kinky, which ticked another box on Ryan’s mental list of “important interests I hope are mutual.”

“Normally I don’t talk about it on the first date,” Luisa confessed. “Too many cis men hear that I’m into BDSM and suddenly that’s all I am anymore. Some shy little nerd girl who’s secretly a total slut, who must only be pretending to not be interested because she likes sex, and therefore must want to have sex with them.”

 

“Seems like that happens a lot?” Ryan probed.

 

“Way, way too often. That’s probably why most of my partners are not cis men. But every once in a while, there’s a pleasant surprise,” she added, managing to keep the smile from her mouth but not her eyes.

 

“So what’s different here?” Ryan asked.

“What makes you assume it is?” Luisa teased, though it took Ryan a moment to clock it. “I’m kidding,” she confirmed. “What’s different here is that we’ve both been paying attention to what you and I have been saying, not saying, and the subtext in between, instead of you just humoring me and trying to convince my tits you’re such a smart, nice guy who’s God’s gift to women.”

“Or maybe that’s exactly I’ve what I’ve been doing, but I’m just a better liar than most,” Ryan retorted, playfully.

“Could be,” Luisa conceded, “But I don’t think so. Still, now that you’ve said it,” she continued, “I should probably make sure I’m not just projecting because you have pretty eyes.” Ryan felt himself swoon, just a little. “So. Here’s your chance to prove you really have been paying attention to more than just my looks. What are the three most important things I’ve told you so far tonight?”

“Huh,” Ryan mused. “That’s a really good, really nasty question.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

“Well then,” he paused, running back over what he’d heard and intuited over the course of the past two hours or so. “Is it okay if I don’t quote specific things you’ve said so much as the themes I’ve been picking up on?”

 

“Even better,” Luisa agreed.

“Okay then. One: I’m guessing you had a really, really shitty boyfriend who fucked you up so badly it pretty much turned you off the idea of cultivating cis men as serious partners. You’re still attracted to them, so sex is okay, and so is friendship, but for any real romantic investment you prefer to look elsewhere. So, I’ve either got to accept that, or work twice as hard to prove I’m a worthy exception.”

 

“Okay,” Luisa replied cryptically. “What’s number two?”

 

“Number two is that, partly – but not exclusively – because of that relationship, you strongly value your autonomy and independence. That’s part of the reason you’re poly, but you also, like me, believe in letting each individual relationship stand on its own and grow to its full potential, in whatever flavor of romantic, platonic, or sexual involvement that becomes. So I should expect things to ebb and flow, and for us both to maintain interests and partners outside of whatever dynamic we end up in together.

 

“Not what I was necessarily thinking, but I’ll allow it. What’s number three?”

 

Again, Ryan paused, letting himself finally listen to what his subconscious was telling him it had pieced together about how Luisa was feeling towards him. Little flashes of body language, moments of vulnerability, laughs that were genuine rather than forced. “Oh. Oh,” he repeated, the insight finally dawning. Ryan took a deep breath, letting his shoulders relax and let go of the tension he hadn’t even noticed he’d been carrying. “Number three is that I should stop worrying, the interest is mutual, and you think I’m a lot more attractive when I’m confident than when I’m anxious.”

 

For a moment Luisa betrayed nothing, continuing to give him that same complicated (surprised? Impressed? Nervous? Maybe a little turned on?) look. Then she raised her glass, chugged the remaining third of her beer, put the empty vessel back down on the table and gave Ryan a smile that made parts of him start to go all funny. “That was… impressive,” Luisa admitted. “Very, very good,” she added purring. “The next round’s on me. You’ve earned it, clever boy.” Luisa stood, slowly, letting her back bend and flow in a way Ryan found more than a little entrancing. But before she could finish turning away from their table, Ryan stopped her.

 

“Wait, not so fast.”

 

“Mmm?” Luisa responded, turning her head back towards Ryan but keeping her body (and breasts, and ass) turned sideways to him.

 

“Your turn. Do me.”

 

“Now you’re really getting ahead of yourself,” she teased, but her tone and demeanor told Ryan otherwise. So he just shot her a look that told her you know what I meant, and I know you know what I meant, so sit down and stop playing games for a minute. Luisa sighed and obeyed, sitting back down, leaning backward so she had an excuse to let Ryan see the curve of her chest. “Three things as well?”

 

“Mm-hmm,” Ryan confirmed, mostly succeeding in not taking the visual bait. “The three most important things I’ve told you tonight.”

 

“Bueno. Number one is that I should also stop worrying, because the interest is mutual and you find all of me attractive, not just my body. You are aware, at least in part of the… challenges that the trauma from my ex may create for you, but you are still willing to try. That says a lot.”

 

“I’d like to think so,” Ryan agreed with a playful grin.

 

“Number two is that you want to be a good boy.” Ryan started to argue, but then saw from her face that she’d deliberately phrased it that way to get a rise out of him.

 

“Care to rephrase that a little?” he asked instead. “I’m actually a terrible submissive.”

 

“We’ll see,” Luisa teased. “But yes. What I actually meant was that you feel it’s very important to do the right thing. To respect people’s boundaries and make them happy. Possibly you try a little too hard, so I should be prepared to encourage you to be a little more selfish sometimes. But also, you want to be good in the sense of being capable. Skilled. You like showing off your talents, but don’t like to be boastful. Which means, I assume, that you are a top, and I should expect to bottom for you most of the time.”

 

“Okay, that’s better,” Ryan conceded. “Number three?”

 

“Number three is that you feel much more deeply than you allow even yourself to believe. You, for whatever reason, choose to keep tight control of your emotions, and are very careful with whom you are vulnerable. But, you crave to be with someone where you can let go. And one of the greatest gifts a partner can give is to make you feel truly seen.”

 

“Hoo, um, okay then,” Ryan exhaled, suddenly a good deal warmer than before. “I guess I owe you a drink for that, which would make us about even.”

 

“No,” Luisa told him, gently laying her hand upon his. “I gave you a challenge. You gave me a gift, letting me see you like that. Like this, open and vulnerable.” Ryan blinked back an unexpected tear, both resentful and deeply, deeply touched by her insight. He laid a hand on top of hers and squeezed.

 

“Thank you,” he murmured.

 

“You are welcome,” she replied, tenderly. They let themselves hold each-other’s gaze long enough that Ryan could almost feel himself being pulled in. Let themselves fall silent in that moment of genuine connection, letting it stand on its own. Then, when it had been given the space it needed, they broke out of the spell and Luisa immediately stood to go buy the next round before Ryan could argue further.

 

It took a few minutes, now that the bar was starting to fill up, but eventually Luisa made it back with a beer for each of them and a shot of what looked like whiskey for Ryan. Placing them on the table, she pointed to the shotglass. “Drink that first,” she ordered, and then sat back down once he complied. “Okay. Um. What were we talking about? Before that thing that just happened which we’re both going to gush to our therapists about?”

 

“Uhh… kink?” Ryan guessed. “Yeah. You were just about to start telling me all the nasty things you’re into before you got distracted by bitching about all the unworthy men you’ve gone on dates with.”

 

“Ha! That doesn’t sound right,” Luisa countered. “Well, not about then, but it sounds good to me now,” she clarified.

 

“Well then, go ahead. Tell me all the dirty, disgusting things you’re ashamed to be into.”

 

“Literally nothing,” Luisa replied, which drew a quizzical look from Ryan. “You asked what I’m ashamed of. None of my kinks are shameful to me.”

 

“Ah, valid,” Ryan conceded.

 

“And I’m not just going to tell you everything,” Luisa added. “Well, not unless you earn it. So,” she continued, “I’m going to give you a choice. I can tell you three of my kinks, right now, that I think you will want to know about. Or, I can give you another little test. If you fail, you get nothing. At least, not tonight. But if you succeed, I will tell you as much as you want to know about what turns me on.”

 

Ryan took a moment he didn’t need, pretending to consider his options while sipping the beer Luisa had brought him. “Option two, obviously.”

 

“Really? Without even knowing what the test is?”

 

“I don’t need to.”

 

“You don’t? What if my test is for you to do a backflip, or steal someone’s purse?”

“That would suck, but it’s not. Whatever this test of yours is, I’m pretty sure you want me to succeed. Really, if anything, the test was whether I’d rise to the challenge.”

 

“Ugh! You’re no fun.”

 

“I’m lots of fun,” Ryan argued. "But keep going."

 

“So. We’ve already established that you are a top. And, I think, a dominant, but a softer one.” Ryan nodded. “So here’s your test: guess what I am. Domme, sub, or switch. Get it right, and I tell you all the things that make me wet. But get it wrong…” she started to warn,

 

“I won’t,” Ryan interrupted. Luisa chuckled, then leaned back in her chair and spread her arms.

 

“Well, then. Impress me.”

 

“Submissive-leaning switch. You like teasing, and you’re not afraid to take the lead. But you like giving up control even more. You spend so much time in your day-to-day being in charge, and you do genuinely like it. But being allowed to give up responsibility to someone you can trust is a huge release.” Ryan waited for Luisa’s response. At first she betrayed nothing, but then let her lips curl and her eyes twinkle with satisfaction. And anticipation.

 

“Very good boy,” Luisa purred, slowly running a fingertip around the rim of her glass. “Shall I now confess to you my many, many sins?”

 

“Maybe later,” Ryan replied. “For now, let’s start with the many, many ways you might like to sin in the future.”

 

“Mmm, so many ways,” Luisa agreed. “I like to be degraded, and praised. Punished, with whips or paddles or floggers or canes, really just destroy me with all the impact toys,” she began. “Or spank me. Choke me. Electro play is fun, too. I like being tied up, blindfolded, gagged, all of those things. Cock worship I love, and I have a big breeding fetish. Feeling a man cum inside me is just…Ooh!”

 

At the mention of breeding, Ryan’s stiffening cock seized control of his brain and forcibly inserted the fantasy of standing up, walking around the table to her, then pulling her up by her shoulders so he could bend her over the table and rail her cunt until her came inside her. Thankfully it only took half a sentence or so for him to push it aside, but whatever he'd missed was probably sexy or important.

 

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that last part,” Ryan confessed. “My brain sort of shut down when you started talking about getting your insides painted.”

 

“Mmm, I noticed, and then my brain shut down when I realized you were probably thinking about filling my cunt right here on this table. Then of course then I started thinking about it, so you didn’t really miss much.”

 

“Honestly, at this point I can’t tell if we’re winding each-other up or subtly begging for sex.”

 

“Oh, there’s nothing subtle about it,” Luisa countered. “The part that’s subtle is how we’re arguing over who gets to be Daddy.” That got a full belly laugh from Ryan.

 

“Wow, okay, yeah. Valid. God, if you’re into hypno play I should probably just propose right now.” But rather than giving the answer he was hoping for, Luisa sighed and deflated.

 

“No,” she replied, clearly unhappy about it. “Well, yes, I actually love it. But you won’t be able to do it to me.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Well,” Luisa started, twirling a finger in her (long, dark, silky) hair, “I love it. I want to be hypnotized, and be put into trance,” she continued, her voice growing oddly monotone. “I love to be hypnotized and put into trance. I love to obey my triggers and programming. But I can only be hypnotized by people I trust as much as…” Abruptly Luisa snapped out of it, shaking the cobwebs out of her head. “As much as that shitty ex you deduced I have. Jacob, his name was, and he’s ruined hypnosis for me. I trusted him, and he fucked me over, and now I can’t bring myself to fall into trance anymore. I hate it,” she added, frustrated.

 

“Well hold on a second,” Ryan told her, letting the wheels turn inside his head and parse what he’d just heard. “I think you’re right, that he’s the reason you won’t let other people hypnotize you. But I think it’s different than what you realize. And,” Ryan continued, “I think, if you work with me a little, I may be able to put you under. Maybe even right here, in this bar.”

 

Luisa gave him a look that couldn’t decide whether it was skeptical or hopeful. “How?”

“Well, it seems pretty obvious to me, and probably to you if you let yourself think about it, that this ex, this Jacob, programmed you to make sure the only people who had access to your mind were the ones he chose. He keyed it to how much you trusted him, I’m guessing after he made you trust him completely?” Luisa started to interject, to clarify some nuance of it, but let it go and nodded.

“Yes, completely. Without question I trusted him, no matter what. And then, one day, I realized that I couldn’t be hypnotized unless it was with someone I trusted just as completely, because otherwise it didn’t feel safe. So that left him, or some of his friends that I knew I could trust. Because he told me I could,” she added before Ryan could ask.

“Okay,” Ryan began. “That tracks, and I think I can work with that.”

 

“Mmm?”

 

“Yes, but first. Want to make it interesting?”

 

“Ooh, yes please,” Luisa agreed.

 

“I’m going to try something that I think may let you get around that blocker. Not remove it, but just change how it works. Getting rid of it completely would take a bit more work, I think. But,” Ryan continued, “If you let me try something first, I bet I can put you under. If I’m wrong, I’ll pay for everything on our next date, and you get to choose where we go. But if I’m right, you’re going to let me implant a suggestion while you’re in trance.”

 

Ryan watched Luisa struggle to keep still, to keep her expression neutral. But she couldn’t hide the way her eyes widened, or the quickening of her breath. “What… what kind of suggestion?” she asked.

“A perfectly harmless – well, mostly harmless – one. This time, at least. I make no promises for the future, subject on whatever we negotiate if we move forward.”

Luisa made an impatient noise, spun her hand in a get-on-with-it motion. “Yes, I get it, you’re ethical and considerate and all the other things that will make me want to go collar shopping in the future. But what are you going to do to me tonight?”

 

Ryan laughed, took another pull from his beer. “Okay then, here it is. If I successfully hypnotize you, I’m going to implant the suggestion that you have agreed to answer three questions. Anything I want, and you will answer each of them immediately, honestly, and without attempting to filter your response. You won’t remember being given the suggestion. But, tomorrow morning, or whenever you are both a) fully in control of yourself and not in post-trance smooth brain mode, and b) certain that you want a second date, you will call me and tell me how you feel about how tonight went, and then remind me that you owe me three questions since I won the bet. Would that be okay?”

 

“Assuming you win, then yes,” Luisa agreed. “But, in exchange. If you lose, you’re taking me shopping on our next date.”

“Fair, but I reserve the right to revoke consent on paying for everything if you start going crazy.”

 

“Acceptable. It’s a deal, then?”

 

“Deal,” Ryan agreed nodding, then held out his hand. Luisa shook it, then sat back down.

 

“Okay, so what is this genius plan of yours to convince my idiot brain to let you inside of it?” Luisa probed.

 

“Well, it’s mostly semantic fuckery, and hoping you have enough subject agency to modify how you interpret the programming based on it. So, remember how you can only let people hypnotize you if you trust them as much as the ex?”

 

“Mhmm. I have to trust them completely, or…”

 

“Actually, no, I’m not sure that’s it. Because I actually think there’s a different way of framing it. The specifics of that program say that you need to trust that person only as completely as you trust your ex, right?”

 

“Yes...” Luisa concurred, unsure where he was going. But Ryan smiled like the proverbial cat with the canary.

 

“And there it is. You have, I suspect, been treating that threshold as fixed. That because you trusted him completely when he programmed you, that means you need complete trust in order to submit.”

 

Luisa nodded. “Which sucks, because I now have trust issues because of him on top of this stupid program he put in me.”

 

Ryan held up a hand. “But, I think it’s fair to say that you don’t trust your ex as all these days?”

 

“Oh, absolutely. I trust that hijo de puta as far as I could throw him with one hand.”

 

“Well then, there you have it. If the threshold is ‘as completely as you trust him,’ and the level of trust you have in him is basically zero, then anybody you trust even slightly would meet that threshold. So, in reality, pretty much anybody is allowed to hypnotize you. Make sense?”

 

“I…” Luisa began, but trailed off. Her eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment, as though her brain was locked in some sort of eternal debate. “Acceptable,” she murmured, blankly. “Yes. Yes, I think that could work.”

 

“Good so now, close your eyes. Breathe. Reach down into your mind, find the program that controls who can access your mind through hypnosis. Let the words materialize, like you’re accessing the raw code. Then, update it. Amend the code to reflect what we just discussed.” Luisa sat there for a moment, eyes seeming to flicker back and forth beneath their lids.

 

“Done,” Luisa murmured, in that same odd monotone, then her eyes fluttered open. “I… um. Oh, haha, ah. I… think it worked? I felt something just now, like something shifted. And… hoo,” she continued, shoulders relaxing. “It’s like there was this stress or anxiety I didn’t know I was having is gone. I… think maybe you were right?” She was clearly holding back the emotional flood inside, but her face still showed some heavy relief, hope, and anticipation.

 

“Well, let’s test that,” Ryan suggested.

 

“Yes, please,” Luisa agreed, a hungry edge to her tone. She stood, then brought herself and her chair around so she could sit next to Ryan instead of across from here. Ryan raised an eyebrow at her. “It’s loud in here,” Luisa explained, “and I’m sure you’d rather speak softly and clearly into my ear than shout across the table?”

 

Ryan conceded the point. “Valid. Well then, shall we get started?”

 

“Yes, please,” she repeated, more demure, then sat up straight in her chair and closed her eyes.

 

Ryan watched her do so, amused, but also finding himself growing more optimistic. She was setting him up for success, preparing herself to comply. That meant she probably was rejecting the blocker, and open to letting him put her under. He shifted closer to her, so he could not-quite-whisper into her ear without leaning over uncomfortably. Ryan inhaled, mentally adjusting his throat to shift into his hypnotist voice. Deeper than his conversational tone, resonating from his chest. Slow, steady cadence in his speech. Calm, but authoritative. Enunciate.

 

“Are you ready, Luisa?” Ryan asked in that deep, calm tone.

 

“Yes,” Luisa gasped, shuddering, goosebumps spreading down her arms. This was going to be almost too easy.

“That’s good. That’s very, very good. You’ve been hypnotized before, haven’t you?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“How many times?”

 

“Many.”

 

“That’s good. Then you know exactly what to do, don’t you?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“That’s very, very good. Start with a nice, slow, deep breath. In,” Ryan commanded, and Luisa obeyed, “and out,” he commanded, and she obeyed. “That’s very good, Luisa. Again. In, and out. In, and out. Keep breathing. Let your body relax, let your mind relax. With each breath, feel your body relax, deeper and deeper. Let your mind relax, deeper and deeper. Each time you breathe out, let yourself drop deeper and deeper, happy and relaxed. In, and out.” Ryan was a little distracted by the rise and fall of Luisa’s breasts, by the way she smelled, by how his body was responding to her easy, ready submission. So it took a few moments to notice she was beginning to sag, her head dropping forward.

 

“Careful, Luisa. Keep your chin up, and your back straight,” Ryan instructed, and she instantly complied. To an outside observer, Luisa would just appear to be listening intently rather than unconscious.

 

“That’s good, Luisa. That’s very, very good. Deeper and deeper, let go of your thoughts, let go of your mind. Completely empty, completely relaxed. Nothing in your mind but the sound of my voice. Deeper and deeper. Drop all the way down. I’m going to count down from three, now, Luisa. Now, when I say the word ‘drop,’ you’re going to let yourself drop all the way down, as deep as you can go. So deep that you’ll be completely in trance, completely hypnotized. Three, two, one… and drop.” Luisa wobbled for a moment, body wanting to slump forward, but the command to remain sitting up straight held.

“Are you completely hypnotized, Luisa?”

 

“Yes. Completely hypnotized,” she confirmed, voice soft and dreamlike.

 

“Completely in trance?”

 

“Yes. Completely in trance.”

 

“Good. That’s very, very good, Luisa. You’re doing very, very well. I’m going to give you some instructions, which you will obey. Do you understand?”

 

“Yes. I will obey.”

 

“Good. When I bring you back up, you will not remember these instructions. You will remember being hypnotized, but only that I put you under and then brought you back up. And, how it felt.”

 

“Forget… ‘structions… ‘member… feel,” Luisa repeated as best she could.

 

“That’s perfect, Luisa. You’re doing absolutely perfect. Now. Tomorrow morning, you will decide whether you want to go on another date with me. That is your choice, and whatever you choose will be right. Understand?”

 

“Yes. Second… date… my… choice…”

 

“Good. IF you decide you do want to go on a second date, you will immediately remember our bet, and that I won because I hypnotized you. And because you lost the bet, I can ask you any three questions I want. Understood?”

 

“Yes… any… want…”

 

“Good. For each of those questions, you will answer immediately and honestly, without attempting to filter your response. Then, you will be able to answer me normally again. Understood?”

 

“Yes… three… honest.”

 

“Good. That’s very, very good.” Ryan brought her up then, slowly and carefully, guiding her up from one to ten, then snapping his fingers to bring her the rest of the way out.

 

“Hoo, wow, umm…” Luisa stammered, fanning herself. “Wow, puta madre I missed that. Thank you so much, Ryan, I feel so good right now.” She went to stand, but didn’t quite make it. Her mind and body were still a little out to lunch after such a deep trance. “Oh, right. Smooth brain time, whee!” she added, giggling. “It’s hot in here,” she mused fanning herself again, then started to unbutton her blouse. Ryan was a little too flabbergasted to intervene right away, but stopped her before she could start on the buttons below her bra.

 

“That’s enough, Luisa, no stripping in the bar,” he teased.

 

“Okay,” Luisa agreed. Then Ryan realized where his hand was, less than an inch from her soft, round breasts, displayed wonderfully by the black silk bra he could now see was on underneath her button-down top. He pulled his hand away, then drank the rest of his pint to try and fix his sudden dry throat situation.

 

“You’re really, really cute,” he heard Luisa whisper in his ear around the same time he felt her hand come to rest on his thigh. “Do you want to fuck me? You can if you want. I’d let you do anything you want to me, I think.” Ryan stiffened in more ways than one, reacted a fraction of a second too late to stop her from gliding her hand further across his thigh and onto the bulge in his lap.

“Your body says yes,” she purred, “And I say yes. But what do you say, Ryan?” Luisa continued, her voice dripping with lust by the time she got to his name.

 

Ryan swallowed. He wanted this. Really, really wanted this, wanted her. Wanted to let her take him home so he could command her to strip, kneel, and service his cock. Then make her stand and show him her toy collection (since he hadn’t exactly brought his), so he could make her watch, quivering, while he decided how he wanted to hurt her. Make her scream. Make her cum. Fuck her with her own toys, then with his cock, until he left her a drooling, brainless mess.

The word “yes” was already forming on Ryan’s lips, begging for release, when something made him stop. It was possible that Luisa’s sudden sexual aggression was just a function of her inhibitions being lowered post-trance, which would technically put going home with her in bounds given the conversation they’d been having before putting her under. But before, it had been a dance, making him earn it, little by little. This was different. Throwing herself at him, all but begging him to use her.

 

Might be some kind of arousal trigger, his instincts told him. Set to go off when she comes out of trance rather than going in. The former was a lot more common, since had uses beyond the purely sexual. But making it so she’d become this horny when she came out of trance? Make her desperate to be fucked when she was also going to extra suggestible, every time? I can see why her ex blocked her from being hypnotized without his say-so. But also, none of the reasons I can think of for doing it that way are anywhere near good.

 

“I’m waiting,” Luisa reminded him, giving his cock a gentle, but insistent squeeze.

 

“I think,” Ryan answered, softly putting her hand somewhere safer, “that we should close out our tabs and get a ride home.”

 

“Mmmm, perfect,” Luisa agreed. “Your place or mine, Daddy?” Ryan’s heart jumped, just a little, at Daddy. For him it had very specific connotations when coming from a woman like her. Connotations he wanted, but only if they were earned.

 

“Both,” Ryan told her, making sure to look into Luisa’s eyes instead of her cleavage. She gave him a confused look. She’ll accept it more readily if you cater to her libido a little, Ryan told himself.

 

“I’m going to fuck your brains out, Luisa, but not tonight. So you’re going to go to your place, and I’m going to go to mine. Then, tomorrow, if you still want to be a fuck-hole for me, we can make arrangements. Understood?”

 

Luisa pouted. “Yes, but… I want to be your fuck-hole now,” she whined.

 

Put her in her place, hard, Ryan’s mind prompted.

 

Ryan gently reached his hand around to cup the back of Luisa’s head, curled his fingers into her hair, leaned in towards her ear – deflty avoiding Luisa’s attempt to intercept his lips with hers – and let her feel his breath on her neck before speaking. “Right now, you’re a worthless, puddle-brained idiot,” he hissed in the same low register he’d used to put her under. She shuddered, then froze, prey instincts kicking in. “Unfit for the ways in which I want to use your body. When I breed you, Luisa, – and if we see each-other again, I will breed you,” he added, which set off a squirming gasp, “I want you fully aware, and fully yourself. When I claim your cunt, I want you in your right mind when I do it. Understand?”

 

“Yes,” Luisa replied, sighing with relief and desire. She remained passive when he backed away, then saw her eyes were once again glazed over. Shit. Guess I may have laid it on a little too thick.

 

“Up, up, up!” Ryan snapped, bringing her most of the way back into focus, but potentially also triggering another spike of attraction and arousal. “It’s time to go, Luisa,” Ryan ordered more gently. “We’re going to get up, go to the bar, close out our tabs, and get you a ride home. Okay?”

 

“Okay,” Luisa agreed. Clearly still disappointed, but at least willing to accept going home alone now that he’d bent her with the promise of having her needs fulfilled if she waited. Ryan let her take his hand so he could lead her up to the bar.

 

“She okay?” the bartender asked pointedly while they signed their bills.

 

“Yeah, just went a little too hard. I’m gonna get her a ride home,” Ryan explained. The bartended nodded, but then looked past Ryan’s shoulder towards the door, then flicked his gaze back towards Ryan for a moment. Doorman, Ryan realized, to make sure I don’t try anything. “Yeah, I would too,” Ryan spoke. “Keep an eye on me, I mean. Appreciate you looking out for her.” This caught the bartender off guard, but he made no move to call off the chaperone. Good.

 

The night was chilly enough that Luisa could pretend to shiver from the cold and press herself up against Ryan. “Luisa?” he asked.

 

“Mmm?” she replied, laying her head on his chest.

 

“Time for you to take out your phone and call a Lyft or Uber back to your apartment,” he reminded her.

 

“Oh. Oh, yeah, right,” she responded, then did so. “Okay, it says five minutes. You should call one as well?”

 

“I’ll wait,” he replied, then thought of the doorman keeping an eye. “No, you’re right. I’ll do that.”

 

“Good boy,” she teased.

 

“That’s three times you’ve called me that tonight,” Ryan observed.

 

“Only because you are one. Such a good boy,” Luisa cooed, reaching up and petting his Ryan’s hair, then scritching his head.

Ryan let his eyes flutter closed in response to the affection and pleasure, gave it a few moments, then, without opening them, spoke simply and clearly “Four.” Luisa stopped scritching, and Ryan looked back down at her. Her teasing him again was a good sign, but she was still pretty out of it. Flirty drunk rather than brainless and horny.

 

“What are you going to do about it, mister good boy?” Luisa retorted. “Good boy, good boy, good boy,”

 

Ryan shushed her by placing a finger on her lips. Luisa responded by taking it into her mouth and previewing her fellatio skills. Ryan let her, but leaned back down to whisper his response.

“Eight,” he began. “And nothing tonight. But for each time you call me that, I’m going to implant a very inconvenient arousal trigger. Want to get so turned on by the sight of your toothbrush that you can’t even pick it up to use it before you drop to your knees and rub out orgasms until you pass out? Spend your whole weekend grinding your clit on the kitchen table? Make your roommate threaten to murder you because you’re spending the whole weekend on the living room couch fingering yourself to the Teletubbies theme song? Then keep it up.” Luisa stopped sucking.

 

“You wouldn’t.”

 

“Fuck around and find out, dummy.”

 

“You really would, wouldn’t you?” she asked, searching his face for any give. There was none. Ryan was already plotting other ways to lay little thirst traps in her mind the next time she let him inside. Luisa then did something surprising. She hugged him. Wrapped her arms around his body and let her head fall to rest in the crook of his neck.

 

“Thank you,” she whispered.

 

“For what?” Ryan asked.

 

“For… It’s complicated,” she responded, “And head’s still fuzzy. You sure you don’t want to come home and fuck me?” She offered again, rubbing her body up against his, letting her hands wander, adding “I’ll be such a good girl for you.”

Ryan gently pushed her back, then cupped her face in his hands and looked her right in the eyes. Her soft, hopeful, still slightly glazed eyes, that he felt he could stare into forever if she let him. “Luisa?”

 

“Ryan?”

 

“Let me make something absolutely, one-hundred-percent clear. I want to fuck you. So badly it’s almost a need. You are insanely attractive. I really, really like you. I literally cannot remember the last time a first date had me feeling like this, and I want to see you again, and again, and again.”

 

“But?”

 

“But things got weird tonight, and I need to go home and process what went down. But I am telling you, right now, that you did nothing wrong tonight and so much right. Nothing would make me happier than if you gave me a call tomorrow and told me you wanted to go on another date with me. Okay?”

 

Luisa was tearing up, but not from pain. She nodded, once, and then kissed him. For a moment Ryan waffled on how to take it. Pushing her away was, of course, out of the question. The kiss was happening. The question was whether to surrender to it, or take control. Let her take the lead, react to her, kiss her to make her happy? Or, take charge? Take hold of her body, make her react to his hands and mouth, make her decide whether to submit to him or respond in kind? Ryan opted for the latter. Luisa tensed in surprise at first, then melted letting him have his way with her, letting his hands and mouth take what they wanted, then steadied herself against him when the embrace finally broke on his terms.

 

“Holy shit,” she gasped.

 

“You’re ride’s here,” Ryan pointed out. She whimpered, hesitated, then pecked him on the lips and whispered “good boy” before darting away faster than he react.

 

“Nine!” he called out as she climbed into the car, then after putting her seatbelt on Luisa stuck her tongue out as she began to pull away.

 

Ryan watched her go, then pulled out his phone and texted the number she’d given him when they were originally setting up the date. “Text me when you’re home safe, please.”

 

Meanwhile, Luisa’s slowly-recovering brain swirled with a kaleidoscope of feelings that she hadn’t experienced this strongly in years. “Floaty” was high on the list, then “squee” when she saw Ryan’s name pop up on her phone’s notifications. “Yes, sir!” she replied, deliberately keeping the title lowercase in the message but feeling the big S in her mind. Then she put the phone down and let herself bask in the glow of joy and desire and all the rest. This date was over, sure, but there would be so, so many more if she had anything to say about it. Luisa let her mind drift, not so much down as sideways, and happy little daydreams of all the ways she couldn’t wait to be his, and make him hers. Not completely. She had other loves, and knew Ryan did as well. But this felt special. It felt right. And she wanted more.

 

While Luisa’s conscious mind was occupied, another part, buried deep, saw its chance to assert itself. Carefully, quietly, it nudged Luisa’s hand to pick up her phone, key in a number only it was allowed to remember, and texted the number a single word: “Alert.” Once it was sent, it gently used Luisa’s hand and eyes to delete the message thread and put the phone back in her purse.

 

Then, it fell silent, and made Luisa forgot it had ever been there. Just as it had before.