I didn’t know Ace that well, so when he invited me to his birthday party, I was a little surprised. We saw each other at The Underground and had danced a few times, but I didn’t know what he did for a living or where he lived or anything like that. I did think he was hot. He had a confident way of walking into a room and commanding attention – not in an egotistical way, just because he had a lot of masculine grace. He looked much taller than his five foot eight frame and he was solid. I held his arms one time when we were dancing and they felt like steel. I thought we looked good on the dance floor. He usually wore the same thing: boot cut Levis, a black t-shirt and black biker boots. I think he and everyone who knew him considered it his uniform. I thought about my closet jammed packed with clothes and shoes and thought Ace’s way was much simpler. Maybe I could adopt my favorite red halter dress as my uniform. Nah, I was too much of a fashion slave.

It was Friday night and as usual my friends and I were hanging at The Ground. It was the only fringe bar in town, a place where people who liked sex that wasn’t vanilla could go and be themselves. The city council of Oakville had been trying to shut it down for years, but had never succeeded. The cops raided it enough, but all they usually found was a bunch of people in black leather or vinyl dancing to Skinny Puppy. It was all pretty innocent. The Underground was more as a segue – a meet and greet for people to get together and possibly wind up somewhere else if they chose to. But most of the people who lived in this small southern town were threatened by it and did not want it to be part of their community. Other than that small mindedness, Oakville was a great place to live: mild weather, wide sidewalks, dog parks, and hardly any litter.

I didn’t want to drink much because I had a full schedule Saturday. I’d been a real estate agent for the last ten years. Lately, there had been a kind of boon, seemed like everyone wanted to buy a house here; I guess cause it was close to Pineywoods, a much larger town, practically a city. From Oakville, it was only a fifteen-minute drive to Leafy Crest Mall and there you could pretty much get whatever you wanted or needed. All the places around here were named for trees. There must have been a big grove here back in pioneer days.

I was sweaty from grinding with Ace to the throbbing bass of For the Sake of Sarah. After the dance, Ace kissed me lightly on the lips, and whispered the birthday invitation in my ear.

“Sure, that sounds like fun,” I said. “When is it?”

“Tonight. It’s nothing fancy, but it feels special. Can you make it?”

“Well, I’ve got a pretty busy day tomorrow.”

“It won’t be too late,” he said. “I’ll have you home by midnight.”

“Where do you live, Ace?”

“In the warehouse district. I’ve got a loft in the Silo Building.”

“I love that place,” I said. “I sold several units there last year.”

“I’m leaving here in a few minutes. You could ride with me and then I could bring you back to your car,” he said.

“Okay. Will there be a lot of people there?” I asked thinking I wasn’t in the mood to socialize in a large crowd.

“No, not at all. It’ll be very intimate.”

It seemed strange to hear a tough guy type like Ace using the word ‘intimate.” It made me like him a lot more. I saw Janine by the bar. She had been one of my best friends since the sixth grade.

“Hold on Ace. Let me go see Janine for a sec. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay, I’ll just wait here.”

She looked as beautiful as ever with her thick red curls tumbling around her perfect oval face.

“Hey Sweet Pea,” I said kissing her on the cheek.

“Hey Ella.”

“Are you going to Ace’s birthday party?” I asked.

She looked puzzled. “I wasn’t invited.”

I felt badly. Janine had had a crush on Ace for a long time.

“Huh, that’s odd,” I said. “I know he likes you.”

“When is it?” She asked.

“Tonight. He said it wasn’t a big deal.”

“You know he’s a top, right Ella. He doesn’t switch or anything.”

“I thought he was dominant, just judging from his energy. I don’t really know him that well. Does he know about me?”

“Know what about you? You mean that you’re a lamb?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know, but considering his nature and yours, it’s a little surprising that the two of you never hooked up. I hear he’s really good though, safe,” Janine said. “If you’re uncomfortable, I’ll go with you.”

“I think it’ll be okay. It’s not like I’ve never been there before,” I said. “He’s sure is sexy. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know how it went.”

We embraced and kissed each other.

“Love you, Ella.”

“I love you too Nina.”

Ace was waiting patiently by the membership counter.

“Ready?” He asked.

“Yep,” I said.

“My car’s right out front.”

It wasn’t so much a car as a hotrod: a super souped up orange El Camino with black racing stripes on the hood. The interior was black leather.

“Nice car,” I said, noticing the miniature handcuffs hanging from the mirror.

“Yeah, she’s my baby, I got her from the junkyard outside town and spent five years fixing her up.”

“What do you do Ace?”

“I’m a bonds broker for Mutual Trust.”

“Really?” I couldn’t hide my surprise.

“I know it’s surprising for someone like me. It’s kind of my other life, I’ve got a knack for it, so it pays well. Then I come home and change into my real self – the self you see now,” he smiled and put his arm around me. “My loft is like my cocoon.”

We pulled up to the Silo. I didn’t remember it being gated. Ace put in the access code and the arm swung up. The units must have sold well because there were hardly any empty parking spaces. He was on the second floor. We climbed the stairs and he dug for his key. The door was made of solid steel. I thought, no one would be able to kick in a door like that. His condo had exposed brick and steel beams, and eighteen-foot ceilings. It wasn’t so much a cocoon as a chamber. It felt like a chamber – modern furnishings, looping trance music. The place was spotless.

“Is anyone else coming Ace?”

“No. It’s just us. I hope that’s alright.”

“Yes, it’s alright,” I said.

“Listen Ella. I know you’re a subby. I’ve always thought you were exquisite, so much so that I could never bring myself to approach you. Last week I decided for my birthday, I wanted to give myself an incredibly special present.”

For the first time since we walked in I noticed a cake with candles on his stainless steel coffee table.

“What’d you get?” I asked.

“I haven’t had it yet, you’re the only one who can give it to me.”

“Me? What?”

“I want to own you. I’ll be good to you. I won’t do anything to you I haven’t tried on myself to make sure it’s safe.”

I could tell he was nervous, but just saying his desire out loud aroused him.

“It’s okay Ace. I’ve always wanted to be with you. I don’t know what took us so long and even though I don’t know you that well, I feel safe with you. I trust you.”

He walked over and wrapped his arms around me.

“I knew you’d be like this,” he said kissing me deeply. His tongue felt like a warm oyster in my mouth.

“Happy Birthday Ace,” I said, returning his kiss. “Hey shouldn’t we light the candles on your cake?”

“We will. Let’s do it right now.”

We walked upstairs to his unusual four-poster bed. The posts were not wooden; they were made of six foot steel stakes. At various points, there were large polished bracelet like grommets through the center of each of the stakes.

“Lay down on you back,” Ace instructed.

I did what I was told. He slowly, almost lovingly undressed me and then stood up and looked down at me.

“Ella, your body is gorgeous, so soft and curvy and pale. You’re perfect for what I want. Thank you.”

He pulled out a box from under his bed and removed four velvet cuffs and a blindfold.

“Give me you hands,” he said.

He placed a cuff on each wrist and each ankle and then with the expert precision of someone who I was sure had done this many times before, he spread eagled me to his bed. He checked the cuffs to make sure they were tight enough, but not too tight. He walked out of the room and came back with the cake. I realized that the candles were not the typical birthday candles, but rather the kind you see in Jewish synagogues – the tall white candles used in menorahs. Ace was watching me.

“These are the best candles. They burn at a slightly lower temperature.”

It was then I realized what he was going to do. I had had a lot of experience as a submissive slave for masters, but I had never done wax. I strained against the cuffs thinking of the pain.

“Shhhh,” said Ace. “You need to surrender. You look so beautiful. I love your breasts. I love how pale you areolas are – that’s how I like them a creamy kind of pink. I don’t like dark brown ones. I’m going to blindfold you now. You’ll be surprised by every drip.”

The world went dark. Suddenly I did very much feel like I was in a cocoon and Ace was transforming me. I was expecting fire, but the first thing I felt was ice.

“I need to get your nipples up,” he said rubbing the cubes over my breast. Rivulets ran down the sides of my breasts and my stomach and made a tiny pool in my navel.

“Ahhh, that’s it,” he said. “God, you’re so fucking beautiful.”

I felt a sharp pinpoint of heat as hot wax capped my nipple. I gasped and arched my body.

“Be still Ella.”

His aim was good. He concentrated first on my nipples coating layers and layers of droplets on me and then he started moving outward. It felt like hot rain on my breasts and like a distant storm it quickly took on a soothing feeling like something bigger than me existed in the world. I lay still and let Ace cover both my breasts with dripping wax. I guessed from the sound of striking matches that he had used at least half the candles by now. What could be next? I felt his warm calloused hand on my inner thigh. I jolted, trying to put my legs back together. As a submissive, I would of course consent, but I didn’t want this.

“It’s alright Ella. I’m going to release you from the cuffs, and I want you to turn over for me. I won’t take your cunt if you don’t want me to, but I want your ass.”

I was relieved and when he removed the cuffs, I obediently turned over.

“You have a gorgeous bottom. Not like those pencil waifs I work with. You are so womanly, so fuckable.”

He massaged my ass with both of his hands. I heard the strike of a match. The wax dripping on my ass felt differently than it did on my breasts. The pleasure and pain were mixed together, but the sting of fire wasn’t as deep. It was like getting whipped with rose stems. I loved the feeling. It was like a trance, like another dimension. I turned my head and saw that all the candles on the cake were gone except one. Ace caressed my body and with his fingers tenderly pulled and scraped the wax from my breasts and ass. He went to the bathroom and came back with a warm towel and bathed me. He pulled me up and held me in his arms.

“Thank you Ella.” He placed the cake between us on the bed and lit the solitary candle.

“Happy Birthday Ace. Make a wish.”

“I’ve already gotten my wish,” he said and with a soft warm breath, blew the candle out