Face to face

The early morning sun cast sharp shadows across the road and the silence in the car was oppressive, broken only occasionally by the robotic voice of her navigation system.

"You have arrived."

The announcement **** her to refocus her attention on where she was and what she was doing. Brian's house. Responding to his order to surrender all of her money to him.

Pulling into the driveway, Ali looked up at the house with a sense of dread. It was a perfectly normal, unassuming house in the suburbs. It was hardly a mansion, but to Ali it loomed like a fortress or prison.

She took a deep breath and willed herself out of the car and up the few steps to the porch to ring the doorbell. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she imagined she could actually hear it.

In the long, silent seconds that followed, Ali felt the slight chill in the morning air as a breeze rolled by. She hugged herself across her middle, rubbing her bare arms.

Then the door opened, revealing Brian. He looked just like she remembered; handsome and smug with his brown hair and dark green eyes. Piercing, calculating eyes.

He smirked at the sight of her on his porch, his eyes casually traveling the full length of her body before settling on her face. "Well, well. I wasn't sure you'd actually show up.

He extended a hand. "Cash. Cards."

Ali glared at that hand. The arrogance. No effort to hide his amusement at her position. But Ali knew she was required to honor his request. It was all part of the game. With tight lips and clenched teeth, she handed Brian an envelope that contained every credit card and debit card she owned, as well as a few hundred dollars in cash she'd found in her apartment.

He held the envelope for a moment, smirking at her. "You know, I wasn't sure you'd actually go through with all this, but here you are. You must really enjoy the feeling of subjugation and helplessness."

Ali shifted where she stood. Did she? In the moment, it chafed and annoyed her, but there had to have been a reason she felt drawn to the fantasy in the first place, right?

Slipping the envelope into his pocket without even looking inside, Brian held out his hand again. "Phone."

She hesitated, feeling increasingly helpless and still not really enjoying it. "Why do you need my phone?"

Brian's smirk dropped to an impatient expression and his voice picked up a warning tone. "You got mobile banking apps, cash apps? I need those too. Every source of money. The rule is, you give me everything and become totally dependent. I know you're serious about this or you wouldn't be here right now. So quit being difficult or I'm going to punish you."

His eyes held hers, daring her to call his bluff.

Heart pounding, Ali handed over her phone without another word. She still wasn't sure she genuinely enjoyed the feeling of compelled obedience, but she couldn't ignore the way his threat turned her on.