Spanking A - Z Challenge: {D}omination

Okay here's the scoop, I've joined the Spanking Challenge A-Z. The idea is to start with A and make your way through the alphabet, a letter a day. So this is how it will work. I will post a new letter each day...except on Saturdays which is already full with two other weekly posts. By the end of the month, I should reach Z...so why not join me and root me on?  

A word of warning however...although it's not necessarily supposed to be sexually themed challenge - just an effort to get me blogging more frequently, Livvy may have other ideas.  We all know that rascally muse of mine won't let me get away with posting something mundane or platonic, so don't be surprised if most, if not all my posts have a sexual vibe to them. 

With that being said....lets welcome letter D! 

So domination is today's word.  And of course there are so many forms of domination. It can be something erotic as hell like taking control of your sub's sexual pleasure, or it can be something as simple as having a set routine that a submissive uses to prepare for a scene.  The first time I explored the latter it was for the first book in my Doms of Napa Valley, Temporary Master.  I hadn't done a lot of high protocol in any of my books other than the normal "Safe, Sane, Consensual" rules.  

And during my research on Kinbaku which is an older, more austere form of shibari, one of the pracitioners wrote several articles on both forms and protocol he used before the scene even began. He believed that a submissive needed to prepared for the upcoming scene in much the same way an athlete might do warm up stetches.  Based on this, below is a snippet from Temporary Master. Perhaps you can tell me if you think this form of domination could be considered sensual?  I'd like to think so. 

Snippet:

Sabella stared around the room while she finished lighting the last candle as her Dom had requested. Around the room, several other candles flickered and a gentle trail of smoke drifted from the incense on top of the potbelly stove at the far end of the room. In the background, the soft rhythmic sounds of tribal drums thumped from the hidden speakers. When he’d first asked her to turn on the music, she’d expected to hear something of Asian descent, but this music was more Native American or perhaps African with its drums and flutes. It was a very relaxing sound, but despite it, she found herself wound tightly, her skin tingling in the anticipation of his touch. But so far he’d stayed on the far side of the room, merely watching her, and instructing when need be. Once she was done, she assumed the nadu position as he requested. Sinking to her knees, she parted her thighs wide, kept her shoulders back, all the while placing her hands palm up on her knees and keeping her eyes lowered submissively but head held high.

“You have excellent form, Sabella. Your previous Doms taught you well.” Ethan crouched down next to her, rubbing his thumb over her cheek. She watched in fascination as he retrieved a leather thong from his pocket and tied back his dreadlocks.  “Now that you’ve assured the correct setting for our session, it’s time for the next step.” He stood and disappeared from view. After hearing a rustle behind her, she nearly jumped out of her skin as he knelt down, the heat of his thighs pressing against the outside of hers, his chest pressed to her back. A sigh of relief escaped her as she realized he still wore the linen pants. “I need to align our centers, now. To do this I like to employ a technique called synchronized breathing. And I normally do this shirtless. It’s easier to feel and see the rhythm of your breathing. Remove your shirt, sub.”

Sabella stiffened in surprise, not expecting any nudity, but then again she wouldn’t be naked, would she? She’d still have her bra on. With trembling fingers, she tugged at the bottom off her tee and pulled it up. She calmed as his fingers assisted hers in guiding it over her head. She released it without so much as a whimper, curious to see what was next. But he didn’t throw it as she’d expected. No, instead he neatly folded it and laid it just next to his thigh.

“Good girl.” He spoke softly. “Now, I’m going to pull you against me so we can feel skin against skin. I’m not playing a trick on you.”

Then he guided her in leaning against him. She gasped at the press of his warm skin against her back. She hadn’t realized how warm his body actually was. His cologne teased her nose as she turned her head and found her cheek pressed against his collarbone.

He shifted closer. “Now, we’re going to begin kokyo-ho.” He wrapped his arms around her. “Shhh, it’s merely breathing. I need you to concentrate on matching your breathing to mine. Feel my chest rise and fall, pattern your breathing after mine. Can you do that?”

Overloaded with unfamiliar sensations, she struggled at first with her focus, but he didn’t get impatient with her like Louis would’ve, or any of her other Doms.

“Shh, don’t struggle so, Sabella. We’ll get there. Just relax and your body will get the message soon.” He spoke the soothing words directly into her ear, causing goose bumps to run down her arms. “You’re new to this. Close your eyes if need be, listen to the way air leaves and returns to my body. To breathe is to live — to live is to breathe. It’s natural.”

Letting her eyes drift shut, she finally found his rhythm and when she did, she was nearly overwhelmed by the closeness she felt to him. She hadn’t expected this, but darned if she was scared enough to flee from the unexpected intimacy. It was scary, but wasn’t. He was only holding her and doing nothing more. Not even the feel of his erection pressed against the swell of her bottom could distract from the bond she felt forming between them.

“That’s right, experience the energies binding us. It’s an extension of assurance as you entrust your very breath to me.”

She nodded slowly, giving more over to him until nothing else mattered but breathing and merely being an extension of him.

And don't forget to stop by the rest of the hop.  These peeps are rocking out the hop. 

©Dakota Trace All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.