For the next few months, their relationship grew steadily closer. The fact that it was impractical to see each other during the week had both good and bad effects. On the good side, they both built up tremendous amounts of sexual energy, which they channeled into amazing weekend performances. They spent enough pleasurable, quality time together that they began discussing the possibility of marriage. The bad side was that the limited time they had together was a barrier to the further development of their relationship.

They both felt that they had found their life partner, but it was going to take some adjustments to make things work out. The first order of business was for Monica to move into Cole's house. They agreed that it would be best to live together as a further test of their compatibility. Unfortunately, with Monica working downtown, that would create the need for a very unpleasant commute. Until she could find other employment, they would have to continue their current arrangement.

Sitting in a small theater one evening, they waited for a foreign film to start. Monica told Cole about her current work situation.

"Things have been deteriorating at work lately, Howard. The board hired a new general manager about two months ago and things are getting a lot more stressful. Mr. Weber thinks that terrorizing the employees is the best way to generate maximum productivity. You know things are getting bad when there's a sudden increase in the number of Dilbert cartoons being passed around," she said wryly.

Reaching out to hold his hand, she continued, "I don't know why he's on my case so much. My three clients are the happiest customers we have."

Cole replied mischievously, "I think I'm your most satisfied customer."

"You know what I mean," she responded with mock indignation. "My favorite client is a medium sized software company in Redmond. I have a hunch that they might be interested in having me work as their employee rather than going through the agency. I'm going to ask around next week and see how they feel about the idea. It would be an easy commute from your house, lover," she said softly, close to his ear.

Monica met with the personal director of the software company that week. She was responsible for the highly successful marketing campaign that had launched their new voice-activated medical software. It turned out that they were definitely interested in her services and she entered into a gradual negotiating process with the company management.

In the meantime, Cole and Monica enjoyed each other whenever they could. He began to introduce her to his friends, one or two at a time. Mostly, he introduced her to his kinky friends. He thought that they would be more accepting of their unusual relationship than his vanilla friends, since they themselves often had unusual lifestyle arrangements.

As she absorbed the never ending stream of scene gossip, Monica was amazed at what interesting lives the scene people led. It was better than any soap opera she had ever watched. She was always happy to listen when one of Cole's old friends filled him in on the latest developments. By avoiding scene events, he fell behind on the current status of many people and their relationships, so he always asked his friends for an update

One weekend, he introduced Monica to his friend Ron, a very dominant gentleman with whom he had shared many secrets over the last few years. Ron had even been something of a mentor to Cole, explaining the mysterious art of psychological D/S play.

Ron had one belief that Cole found rather discouraging. He felt that it was unfeasible for a couple to have a strong D/S relationship within the confines of a healthy marriage. It was impossible, he said, for the spouses to effectively share the responsibilities of running the family while the dominant partner was controlling the submissive partner. This seemed reasonable to Cole, but he was pretty certain that he and Monica could find a sensible compromise.

Ron didn't have much going on in his life outside his play relationship. With no job or marriage to maintain, he had plenty of time to think up the most fiendish, but safe, torments for his deeply submissive partner. To Cole, he represented both the dark side and light side of BDSM. He was a classic example of someone who became so wrapped up in their D/S play that they allowed their other interests and responsibilities to languish. There was a definite chance that people could become addicted to that dominant or submissive headspace that they craved.

On the other hand, Ron was always an advocate of carefully negotiated, mutually rewarding and above all safe, kinky play. People often referred newcomers to him, because they knew that the newbies would be in good hands and get good information to start them off.

When Cole had first entered the Seattle scene, he was initially impressed with the general atmosphere of healthy openness and acceptance. People who had openly admitted that they were kinky somehow seemed emotionally healthier than the average person who feared to admit that they fantasized about something unusual. After a few years of contact with the same group of people, he began to realize that the scene folk were just as messed up as everyone else, maybe more so. It took a long time, but he eventually learned the hard way that scene people were not to be trusted any more than non-scene people.

A popular topic of conversation was how many of the submissives had a history of abuse. Many of the female subs had been abused in childhood and many of the male submissives had been abused in earlier relationships. Not all of them, by any means, so that no theory ever seemed to apply to everyone. It made for some great email wars on the internet along with the perennial favorite, 24/7 relationships and TPE.

TPE, the abbreviation for Total Power Exchange, was used for couples who agreed that the dominant partner would have total control of the submissive partner at all times. 24/7 referred to a related concept where a couple would stay in dominant and submissive roles twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. There were always some couples who claimed that they lived such a lifestyle and there were always novices who eagerly asked questions about how they could find that sort of bliss for themselves.

Many D/S couples put a great deal of thought into their arrangements. It was popular to have a written contract between the two partners describing, sometimes in great detail, which rights and responsibilities each partner would have. The contracts were legally worthless at best, but it made a great topic for endless discussion.

In reality, the number of couples who were able maintain a relationship of this type was extremely small. Almost invariably, the requirements of maintaining one's job and family prevented them from achieving their goal for more than a short time. The more intense the D/S, the quicker it burned itself out. Cole and Monica talked about this on several occasions.

Monica seemed to crave submission more than Cole needed to dominate. Perhaps it was just his greater age and maturity helping him to moderate his inner urges. They rejected the idea of attempting a 24/7 lifestyle relationship. There was just too much going on in their lives to think that such a venture could be successful. They both had demanding careers and of course they were trying to build a strong healthy relationship that would hopefully lead to a successful marriage. Simply indulging their kinky desires whenever they both felt like it seemed like the most practical approach.

Because of their age difference, Cole felt a responsibility to allow her to live her life with as much freedom as possible. He made sure that she had time to visit her friends and to stay in touch with her family in Idaho. Unfortunately, her family was not pleased with her selection of a man so much older. Most of the time they had little to say to each other.

Monica usually had her weeknights free, so she always managed to see her friend Jennifer at least once a week. They would meet at a bar downtown or relax and chatter endlessly in each other's apartments until midnight or so, when they remembered that they both had to work the next morning. Jennifer was a secretary in one of the giant office towers downtown. She frequently complained that she was hired for her exotic looks rather than her abilities, which were considerable.

The two women were at least a little bit in love with each other. Perhaps because of her own poor body image, Monica was attracted to Jennifer by her very thin body. Occasionally they would tease each other with a little kiss or a hint of future lovemaking, but they also discussed their mutual need to submit to a strong, caring man.

Jennifer had grown up a bit confused about her goals. Her father's Chinese relatives expected her to marry a nice Chinese boy and have many babies. Her mother's French relatives who had migrated from Quebec several decades ago, felt that she should follow her heart. She believed that she had received a double dose of submissiveness from her parents. Her father was influenced by the old fashioned male dominant Chinese culture that his own parents had practiced. Her mother must have been naturally submissive, because she seemed to thrive in that culture and always deferred to her father.

Two years older than Monica, at twenty eight, Jennifer still hadn't had a satisfying relationship with a man. The Chinese-American men she had dated were shocked when she hinted that she might like to be put over their knee and spanked. It was very embarrassing. The white guys she went out with wanted to treat her like a little princess and wouldn't even think of getting rough in the bedroom. It was very frustrating.

Her envy of Monica was strong, but her delight at seeing her friend find happiness was even stronger. She could hardly wait for their weekly dates to hear the latest details of the rapidly developing romance. Finally, she was invited to meet Howard. The three of them arranged to meet for dinner one Saturday night at his house.

Jennifer arrived at seven o'clock and found them cooking dinner together in a most domestic fashion. They did not seem to be in role at all, she thought with some disappointment. She did find Cole attractive, perhaps conditioned by Chinese culture to accept older men. Perhaps it was just the fact the she knew he was dominant sexually. He was actually quite fit and handsome, if you liked the beard and mustache. She noticed that he had a hint of gray in his dark beard and she could see the love in his eyes when he looked at Monica.

Cole was impressed with Jennifer. She seemed very intelligent, but he could see why she might have been hired for her looks. Her face was a very exotic combination of European and Asian qualities. Her large exotic eyes and sexy jawline combined with her silky black hair to create an eye-catching, delicate beauty. The only thing that spoiled the effect for him was her lack of womanly curves. She wore a loose fitting sweater and baggy jeans that did nothing to enhance her small figure.

After an excellent dinner and a few glasses of wine, she worked up her courage and asked politely if she could see the dungeon. Cole and Monica looked at each other with slightly raised eyebrows. "Do you think she's ready for that?" he asked.

Monica looked closely at her friend and asked, "Jenny, are you sure? You'll have to promise not to tell anyone else."

"I promise. Please, I'd really like to see it. It's something I've been thinking about for a long time."

They led her down the stairs and allowed her to explore the dungeon as long as she wanted. She asked several questions about the specialized play furniture, which Cole answered as honestly as possible. She seemed to know what the bondage gear and various striking instruments were for. When she had seen enough, she simply said, "OK, thanks, it looks really great."

They went back upstairs and chatted for the rest of the evening. After Jennifer had gone, they both noted that her behavior was a bit strange.

As they straightened up the kitchen, Cole said, "She was certainly feeling some kinky urges downstairs. Did you notice her sniffing the leather play furniture?

"I didn't see that, but I could sure feel some erotic energy when she bent herself over that spanking bench. I guess we're really lucky to have each other. There must be a lot of people out there who don't have anyone to share their kinky secrets with."

That night, they held each other a little longer than usual before drifting off to sleep.