Free Safeword: Davenport by Candace Blevins

grateful he'd thought of sunglasses. When she could finally look around, she saw him waiting ever so patiently, his blond hair glowing in the sunlight.
    He must've walked her on the leash for an hour, requiring she stay exactly beside him or endure the sharp torment of the clamps pulling her nipples. Her mind couldn't wander, she had to keep ultra-focused on him, anticipating his turns, speeding and slowing the instant he did.
    Every so often he took the cruel clamps off, massaged the blood back, and replaced them at a different angle—horizontal one time, vertical the next. Taking them off ached more than putting them on, reapplying them hurt worse as the day progressed, and being yanked into place by her nipples when she missed a step was torture.
    She'd been trained to heel before, but when Garnet originally taught her, she had no idea of the reason for such immersive conditioning—the level of submission required, the mindset necessary for one to be so in tune to another. This knowledge didn't make it any easier now, or the work less frustrating; and may have made it harder, as she had to stop analyzing before she could get into the right frame of mind.
    Her breasts were on fire, the constant pulling and tugging when she didn't keep pace, the compression even when she did. But the submission the exercise demanded, and the mental places he'd stepped her through since she walked through his kitchen door, made it deliciously excruciating.
    Eventually, everything faded and there were no thoughts. There was only Zach, his steps, his body. Her feet moved with his, slowing when his slowed, turning when he did, without needing her brain involved. He walked her to a shady spot and stopped, touching her arm and dragging her consciousness back to the surface.
    "Stay."
    He stepped in front of her and she had to stick her feet to the ground to keep from stepping with him, but the stay echoed in her head and she remained in place.
    "Kneel."
    She gracefully went to both knees, her muscle memory taking her down without a thought, so different from the awkwardness of the morning. The grass was cool and soft beneath her legs, and everything felt right with the world.
    "Beautiful, pet. We'll call that kneel up . When I say kneel I want your bottom on your feet."
    She eased into position, her legs naturally spreading apart. Remembering his instructions earlier, she arched her back and looked up, meeting his eyes. If he'd ordered her to come at that moment, she would have.
    He reached for her nipple clamps, casually releasing them simultaneously before standing. She gasped at the pain, but kept eye contact, letting him see the agony in her face. “Very nice. Stay."
    He walked away and Dana's gaze rested on a trillium. No thoughts littered her mind as she admired the simple beauty—three flat perfectly horizontal leaves with the flower crowning over them. Her arousal subsided until the terrible ache became an undertone, and the fire in her nipples went from a bonfire to smoldering coals.
    Zach needed a few moments to center himself before beginning the next phase. They'd been so in tune as they walked, he'd felt as if their very souls had merged.
    He stepped to the pool house to retrieve swim shorts and the sensory deprivation stand, turning towards her as he changed, awed by the depths of her submission. He hadn't been certain he could take her this far today, but—for someone who wasn't sure she could submit again—Dana was a natural.
    Sensory deprivation of this magnitude would only work if she was already well on her way towards total surrender, and she was primed for it. He'd had his doubts when she walked into the kitchen a few hours ago, her body language showing she wanted to submit, her face broadcasting she wasn't feeling it. He was glad he'd structured the first part of the day around helping her find comfort surrendering her power again.
    Watching her relinquish control during breakfast had almost moved him to tears, requiring