TITLE:  Troika V: Shifting Boundaries
AUTHOR: SubRosa 
RATING: Hard NC-17 for graphic consensual sex and language.
CATEGORY: SR
KEYWORDS: Mulder/Scully/Krycek
SPOILERS: Set post-Never Again
DISCLAIMER: Alex Krycek, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully belong to
     Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen Productions and 20th Century Fox
     Broadcasting, and to the actors who portray them.  They are
     being used without permission, and no profit is being made. 
THANKS: To adara for her insightful beta help and to Domenica and
     sybils for checking out an earlier draft.
DISTRIBUTION: Okay to archive, but please let me know.
FEEDBACK: Fawned over at subrosa31@yahoo.com.
SUMMARY: Mulder, Scully, and Krycek continue to explore their
     new relationship.



FURTHER AUTHOR'S NOTES AND WARNING: 

First, the warning: the "Troika" series is intended as an outlet 
for ideas too smutty or wild (e.g., a Mulder/Scully/Krycek 
triangle) to put in other stories, so you're not going to find 
much by way of plot, characterization, or BDSM accuracy here.  
What you will find is smut: specifically, loving, consensual, but 
somewhat kinky sex between three adults.  Please bail now if you 
are under 17 or if this subject or pairing isn't your cup of tea.

Second, the "Troika V" that I originally envisioned has gotten 
totally out of hand.  What was supposed to be a little smut 
biscuit is threatening to turn into a 70K...well, "character 
study" would be the wrong word, but the characters think about 
something besides having sex (though they don't really do 
anything besides having sex).  Rather than doing one long story, 
I'm turning it into two shorter ones.  "Troika VI" (to be 
released shortly) is essentially a companion piece to this one.  
For those of you following the "Gift of Silk" series, I will turn 
my full fic-writing efforts to GoS V once T6 is finished, I 
promise.

Third, in the "Troika" universe, "Never Again" aired as initially 
intended--before "Leonard Betts"--and so neither Mulder nor 
Scully is aware of the cancer during the flashback scenes.  

Finally, the story does assume familiarity with the previous 
Troika stories.  All of them can be found on the "Threesomes" 
page of my website: http://www.geocities.com/subrosa31


********************



Not many people make important changes in a relationship by 
introducing a new sextoy, but I've found the practice has served 
me and Dana well in the past.  And something is definitely 
changing in our relationship with Alex.


It started with his low "It's me" when I answered my cell last 
Saturday.  Muting the Yankees' disgraceful performance on the TV, 
I asked, "Do we need a meeting?"  

Scully looked up and, realizing who was on the line, closed her 
book.  It had been some time since our last contact with him, and 
I'll admit that we were both a bit concerned.
 
"I'd, uh, like to come over, but not for business."

It took me a minute to realize what he meant: the hesitation in 
his voice threw me, and I couldn't remember ever hearing him 
openly express a desire before.  Then I caught on.  Leaning over, 
I ran a finger down Scully's throat in a tantalizing, purposeful 
stroke.  

"You'd like to come over for pleasure," I concluded.

Dana started at my words and touch.  Keeping my eyes on her, I 
repeated the caress.  The last time he'd joined us in bed, weeks 
ago, he'd spent the night at my invitation.  I'd assumed she 
wanted him there was well, but the following morning had been 
more uncomfortable for her than I'd expected.  Scully works side-
by-side with Krycek in our mutual struggle and my Pet revels in 
her sexual subordination to Alex, but we haven't negotiated a 
space between--largely because she has always wanted to keep her 
two worlds separate.  Faced with Krycek in her bed when she 
wasn't collared and in her 'subspace,' she was 
uncharacteristically self-conscious until he dressed and left.  

The next time we met for 'business' she blushed scarlet, in the 
curse of the redhead, when he arrived.  He politely ignored it, 
though, and after a few minutes she was fine.  She'd shown no 
discomfort at subsequent meetings, but if the idea of resuming 
playtime with him upset her, I needed to know so I could put him 
off or take steps to deal with her reluctance.  Probably the 
latter--if he wanted a release badly enough to ask for it, I 
wanted to give it to him.  For well over a month he'd been trying 
to run a vanished source to ground, and the subtle signs of 
strain were telling on him, if you knew where to look.  

"You once told me I could ask..."

Ah.  I felt the lines of my face settling into the sterner 
expression that she knows so well, and her eyes widened in 
response.  "You want some time with Dana," I finished for him.

Her cheeks reddened but she arched her neck, accepting my caress 
and what it meant.  Her pulse beat faster under my fingertips.

"If it's all right with her."

I lowered my voice, adopting my 'Master' persona.  "You know Dana 
doesn't have any say in it, Alex."

"If it's all right with you," he conceded.

I let my hand drift down the slope of her breast, finding the 
nipple already tight.  Her eyelids fell half-closed as she 
breathed deep and steadily, making the internal transition.  

"All right.  Give me half an hour to get her ready."

She didn't move when I hung up and went to get her collar.  With 
a last caress, I put the heavy leather circlet around her slender 
neck.  The tip of her tongue peeked out to stroke her lower lip 
as the metal clasp clicked shut.

"I think you're in for quite a ride tonight, Pet," I murmured.    

She jumped as I reached down to run my fingers over the seam in 
the crotch of her pajamas.  My fingers were damp when I lifted 
them away and took her by the hand, pulling her to her feet.

"Let's get you ready for him."

Silently, she followed me into the bedroom.

Exactly thirty minutes later, I heard the sounds of him entering 
the apartment.  He opened the door to the bedroom without 
knocking--something he'd never done before--and stopped short 
when he saw the results of our preparations.

She was standing facing the door, her wrists cuffed above her 
head just high enough to put a little arch in her back.  His gaze 
raked appreciatively over the black stiletto heels and stockings 
that elongated her legs, and lingered on the black corset that 
molded the neat lines of her figure into a lush hourglass.  
Skillfully applied eyeshadow made her eyes look huge in the dim 
light, and she was biting her rouged lip in a touch of modesty 
that added the perfect spice of innocence to the blatant 
sexuality of her clothing.  She looked like sin and paradise, 
desire incarnate.

He stalked up to her and caught her face in his gloved hand, 
blocking my view.  I'd been hard since she pressed her body 
against mine as I lifted her wrists to the cuffs, and I couldn't 
resist rubbing myself through my jeans as I imagined her lips 
parting at the scent and feel of the leather.  But through my 
arousal I could see tension radiating from his body, from his 
solid stance to his rigid shoulders to the set of his chin.

His first words were directed to me.  "You'll stop me if I go 
overboard?"

Curiouser and curiouser, I thought.  Aloud, I replied, "That goes 
without saying."  

His lips quirked in a half-smile.  "Of course it does."  The 
smile faded and his face hardened as he looked down at her.  
"Don't you look pretty," he said.  

His voice was cold, almost contemptuous, and something dangerous 
lurked in his expression.  Dropping his hand to her waist, he 
turned her to face me, not, I think, because he knows I like to 
watch, but rather to ensure that I could keep the promise I'd 
just made him.  Then he pulled a length of black silk from his 
pocket and wrapped it around her head, securely covering her 
eyes.  

"I don't want you looking at him," he told her.  "Tonight you're 
mine."

"Yes, Alex," she whispered before he stopped her words with a 
harsh kiss.

I unzipped my pants and cupped my balls, not minding that he 
didn't intend to share her.  He needed something that only she 
could give, and while I love being her Master, it takes a lot of 
concentration.  Sometimes it's good to just watch the show, 
responsible for no one's pleasure but my own.

It wasn't long before the corset was tossed aside and she was 
writhing under his sure handling.  He was soon naked too, but he 
didn't want her to service him, didn't want her touch at all.  He 
wanted her total surrender.  

His eyes gleaming with a dark hunger, he worked her body with his 
fingers, lips and tongue.  Though he never struck her, he handled 
her more roughly than ever before.  He demanded that she describe 
each sensation, and smirked with satisfaction when his deft touch 
reduced her to incoherence as she tried to follow his command.  
He made her come over and over: bouncing up and down on her high 
heels as she rode his gloved fingers, rubbing against the hard 
thigh he thrust between her legs, and jerking uncontrollably as 
he knelt and licked her to completion.

When she gasped that she was too tired to come again, he chuckled 
almost cruelly and pulled the heavy massager from the nightstand 
drawer.  

"We'll see about that," he told her.  

Still blindfolded, she realized what he meant only when the cool 
head touched her heated flesh.  She yelped as he turned it on and 
twisted as the powerful vibrations drove her to new arousal.  He 
teased her with the toy for a long time, pressing it to her clit 
and then pulling it away, making her follow it with her hips 
until she was dancing in place.  

By then I was slouched down in my chair, cock in hand, grunting 
softly with pleasure.  Alex has always had an instinctive gift 
for pushing her buttons, and the show she was unwittingly putting 
on at his command was a live-action wet dream.  

No matter how anguished her moans sounded, I knew from experience 
that she loved it.  Stroking myself faster, I admired the pretty 
desperation on her face and thought of the first time I saw that 
look.  I closed my eyes and lost myself in the memories.

The changes that occurred during her 'training week' were like a 
religious conversion: you remember it as a single, life-
transforming event, but it's actually a sequence of smaller steps 
that lead up to the final, climactic moment.  One little 
milestone, of course, was our first joining.  Scully came twice, 
with no more foreplay than a hard spanking.  That's when I knew 
what I'd only suspected before: the cool face she presented to 
the world hid a fierce passion that matched her icy reserve 
measure for measure.  So I was stunned when she confessed to me, 
head ducked in embarrassment, that her sex drive had always been 
too low to satisfy her partners.  Was it possible that she 
believed it?

I nodded calmly and dismissed her concern.  "You're not to worry 
about that anymore," I informed her flatly.  "From now on, you'll 
be as responsive as I want you to be."  

At any other time, she would have met such an arrogant assertion 
with a quick rebuttal.  But on that day, a glimmer of hope 
flashed in her eyes.  

I rose to dress and Dana followed, objecting when I informed her 
she would remain unclothed for the rest of the week.  That led to 
an enjoyable--for me--hour in which she learned that permitted 
uses of her pretty lips did not include protesting her nudity.  
No such arguments came, however, when I told her I intended to 
punish her for the reckless behavior that had so endangered her 
life.  

And so we came to our second small milestone.  She let me guide 
her to her knees and remained there when I went to get the 
paddle.  I knelt behind her, not making her meet my eyes that 
first time.  

"You need to be punished, don't you, Dana?" I asked. 

She nodded infinitesimally, but it was enough.  I pushed her all 
the way forward onto her hands and knees and set to work.

Later I lifted her onto my lap and held her trembling body, 
murmuring reassurances and stroking her.  My hand brushed her 
chest as I shifted position, and she flinched.  I covered her 
breast with my palm to find her nipple erect and straining for 
attention.  That raised a possibility which I had suspected, but 
lacked evidence for before that day.  A gentle probe between her 
legs, however, removed all doubt.

"How old were you when you found out that pain excites you?"  I 
asked.  I had a plan for this contingency, but the lack of data 
meant it was sketchier than I would have liked.  

She shook her head against my shoulder.  "It doesn't," her 
muffled voice said.

I turned her face toward my own, prepared to deliver a stern 
warning about honesty, when her expression stopped me.  The 
denial there lacked full conviction, but it was real.  

"I liked watching you move while I paddled you," I told her 
instead.  I moved my thumb deliberately over her clit, and her 
trembling increased.  "The way you shimmied when the leather 
cracked against your skin, the way you'd take the blow and arch 
your back for more--you moved like it was turning you on, Dana."

She shook her head again, her voice growing agitated.  "No.  It's 
just all--it's all so much..."

"Shh..." I soothed, thumbing the little bundle of nerves faster.  
"It's all right.  You're doing very well."

After a few more strokes she shuddered, panting lightly, and the 
tension left her body.  It was an orgasm, but I doubted she'd 
gotten much pleasure from it.  

That, however, was an issue for later; something more important 
needed to be done that night.  I carried her over to the big bed 
in the corner of our cabin, laid her down, and kissed her 
forehead.  "I'm going to make some dinner.  I'm right here if you 
need me."

When her eyes drifted shut I crept away from the bed and moved 
about the kitchen quietly, hoping she could get some rest.  She 
would need it.

After dinner came our final milestone of the day.  Leading her 
back to stand by the bed, I informed her that she was going to 
beg me to fuck her.  The nap had done her good; she said nothing, 
but raised a skeptical eyebrow in the first real spark of herself 
I'd seen since her return from Philadelphia.

I brought out the vibrator: a tiny thing that nestled over her 
clitoris, held in place by narrow straps around her thighs.  The 
control box in my hand would send the powerful little motor 
inside the soft sheath humming at a range of intensities.  Her 
eyes lit up when she realized what it was, and the muscles in her 
abdomen trembled in anticipation as I strapped it on.  She wanted 
it badly, wanted to lose herself in the wash of pure sensation, 
even if she couldn't admit it to me or herself.

"Have you ever used one of these before?" I asked casually.

Her gaze lowered, she murmured, "No."

I lifted her chin.  "Don't think you can hide from me," I told 
her gently but firmly.  "You're going to show me everything."  

I ran my fingers over her lips and met her beautifully expressive 
eyes.  "And then you're going to give me everything."

Again that spark of hope lit her face, but she pulled away and 
looked defiant.  I smiled, accepting the challenge, and sat down 
on the edge of the bed.  Inwardly I was pleased to see the 
flashes of my Scully returning.  In the end, I needed *her* 
consent to what I was offering, not that of the pale shell she'd 
been since I first saw her bruised face against those white 
hospital sheets.
 
Her nipples were tight even before I touched the dial.  I let the 
anticipation build, until she shifted nervously from one foot to 
the other, then flicked on the vibrator.  She jumped as it sprang 
to life, humming quietly on her engorged clit.  

I schooled my features to careful neutrality.  "The first thing 
you're going to learn this week, Dana, is how much passion is 
trapped inside you.  You're only unaware of it because you've 
never let it out."  

She had an inkling of that already, from our first encounter, 
when she got a taste of the true power of her sexuality.  I was 
awed by it, but she was frightened--frightened of what it could 
make her feel, frightened of what it could make her do.  

That wasn't the only thing she was afraid of.

She shivered as I increased the vibrations.  "Mulder, this is--"  

She broke off as I cut the power, looking at me in silent 
reproach.

"Didn't I tell you, Dana?  You will address me as 'Master' this 
week."

I hadn't told her, actually, and that statement demanded a 
response even in her current state.  She opened her lips, but the 
intended rejoinder transformed to a moan as I switched the power 
back on, a touch higher than before.

"It's okay," I told her.  "We'll work on that later."

When her face began to slacken in pleasure, I turned the vibe 
off.  After a moment's pause, it went back on another notch 
stronger.  A steady beat began in my cock as her eyelids grew 
heavier.  She grimaced in frustration when I shut the toy off 
once more, and watched as I unbuttoned my jeans with my other 
hand.  

"I'm sure you know why I'm doing this," I remarked as the motor 
began humming at a higher pitch.

She fought to keep her voice steady.  "Because you think it will 
make me beg."

"I do," I acknowledged.  "And it will.  But there's another 
reason."  I ran my fingers over my cock, enjoying the stimulation 
just as I snatched hers away.  Her body tightened.  

"Feel that?  Feel the anticipation?  Your body *knows* those 
vibrations are going to come back even stronger."

She jumped as I followed the words with action.  "That thrill in 
your clit is going to build and build with every pause, until you 
can't stand it anymore.  Soon you're going to beg, and then 
you're going to come."

She swayed as if she could barely keep her balance.  When I cut 
the power again she bit her lip, trying to maintain her silence.

I lowered my voice.  "But you won't want to stop then.  Your body 
will expect more.  It's going to want to peak over and over 
again.  And you will."

She cried out as the vibrations assaulted her again.  Her hands 
fluttered up to touch her breasts, then dropped.  Well, we could 
work on that later too.  

"I want you to feel that, Dana.  Feel me training your body to do 
what *I* want."

I was silent for the next few cycles, letting the toy and her own 
imagination erode her resistance.  She began moaning continually, 
her hips rocking of their own volition, and my aching dick made 
it difficult to concentrate.  After years of celibacy, it was 
hard to hold off when there was a naked, eager woman in front of 
me.  But there was a plan behind the slow torture, and I had to 
stick to it.

The vibe was two notches short of full power when Dana fell to 
her knees.  "Oh, God," she keened, "it's...I'm...oh, oh..."

Off again.  It wouldn't do for her to come on her own.  "Are you 
ready to get fucked now?" I asked pleasantly.

She nodded, her breath catching.  I reached out and lifted her 
chin, hardening my voice and adopting my most superior 
expression.

"Then beg for it, you little slut."  

She recoiled as if from a blow, one hand flying up to cover her 
face.  Catching her by the wrist, I forced her hand away from her 
face, my gaze burning into hers.  She gave me a desperate look, 
her lips moving silently in a final moment of hesitation, until a 
new burst of pleasure at her clit overwhelmed her.  She began 
pleading, language that would do a porn star proud flowing from 
her lips, begging me to fill her hungry cunt and make her come.

Releasing her, I shucked off my jeans one-handed and threw them 
aside.  When I stood naked before her, she moved as if to rise, 
looking toward the bed.  I cut the stimulation, and she stilled 
with a frustrated cry.

"Uh-uh, Dana.  The floor's good enough for you. I'm going to fuck 
you right here, and you are going to *love* it."

She shrank from the words, so I jolted her again at the highest 
power.  Squirming uncontrollably, she lay back on floor and 
spread her legs wide.

Off again.  "Oh, God, no," she whimpered.  "Please--I need it, 
please..."

I knelt on the floor between her legs, lifted her and pulled her 
to me--I wasn't about to crush her to the hard wood--and flipped 
the vibrator back on.  Her hips bucked wildly as the toy did its 
work.  Dropping the control, I dragged her close and plunged into 
her as it made her come.

The agony it cost me to wait was worth it when her body, primed 
for repeated stimulation, gave in to the relentless buzz at her 
clit.  "Oh, God!" she wailed again.  Arms flung wide, back 
arched, she wriggled forward, trying to force herself further 
onto my cock.

I let go.  It was a rough, hard fucking, but she took it all and 
wanted more.  One little heel banged on the floor behind me as 
she writhed, delirious with pleasure.  My body screamed to get in 
deeper.  Lifting her as I rose to my knees, I leaned forward and 
lowered her ass to the floor.  Bracing all my weight on my hands, 
so that we touched only where we were joined, I sank in to the 
hilt.  

Her moans grew guttural, then animalistic as my pubic bone ground 
the vibrator against her clit, and the pulse it sent to the base 
of my cock snapped the last thread of my control.  I drove into 
her again and again, swept up in the sensation, barely hearing 
her screaming climax as I exploded into her.

I was only out for a second, but when I came to I was crushing 
Dana beneath me in spite of my best intentions.  Pulling away, I 
groped for the control and shut the vibrator off.  

When I looked back to her, tears were streaming down her face.  

I scooped her up and put her on the bed, then lay down next to 
her. She tensed when my arm went around her, but let herself be 
pulled into my embrace.  For long minutes, the only sound was her 
crying quietly against my shoulder.  I steeled myself against the 
sobs, all the more heart-rending for their softness.  I expected 
this, but that didn't make it any easier.  Stroking her hair, I 
finally spoke.  

"That was your worst fear, wasn't it?  Having a man see you like 
that.  Seeing you beg him to use you like a whore, and seeing you 
get off on it."

I felt her nod.  I flicked the vibrator onto the lowest setting, 
teasing her clit gently.  

"I can make you do it again, you know."
 
She sniffed.  "I know."

I gave her another jolt of pleasure as a reward.  Her upper body 
stiffened even as her hips pulsed in response.  Wondering how she 
could possibly doubt her wonderful sexual capacity, I shut the 
vibe off.

"Do you know that I love you more than the world?" 

She froze.  I could almost hear her tired mind racing before she 
settled on the safest question.  "Then why are you doing these 
things to me?"

"Because you want it," I explained in my calmest, most reasonable 
tone of voice.  "You're afraid of what you want most.  You want 
wild, depraved things to be done to you, because you won't let 
yourself do them.

"Just like you won't let yourself be loved."

She was motionless and silent, but her whole body had tensed.  

"I've neglected you before, but now I know what you need.  You're 
going to give in to that wildness you've been denying so long, 
but it won't ever endanger you again."  I kissed the top of her 
head.  "Because I'm going to take control of it."

Her body relaxed fractionally, but she asked, "What if I don't 
want this?"

My heart constricted.  I was sure, so sure that I had figured out 
what she needed.  And now I wanted it too.  I had held the living 
fire of her passion in my hand, had shaped and commanded it.  
Suddenly, I didn't think I could bear never feeling that again.
 
"If you can *convince* me that you don't want it, then we will 
leave first thing in the morning."

Her voice quavered.  "And if I can't convince you?"

I switched on the vibrator again.  "If you can't convince me, 
then I will do what I told you from the start.  I'll give you 
what you need.  I'll make you feel all that passion you've locked 
away so long.

"And let's be clear about this, Scully.  I'm going to free that 
wild, rebellious, passionate side of you, and I will enslave you 
with pleasure.  By the time we leave here, you'll be trained to 
follow my commands without thought, and you'll love doing it.  
For months afterward, you're going to get wet whenever you think 
about this week, and you'll come in your sleep when you relive it 
in your dreams."

She let out a hissing breath and her hips began rocking.  I 
rolled her over onto her back and touched her face, looking at 
the bruised shadows under her eyes and the need and wariness in 
her expression.

"There," I said approvingly, "feel it building?  You don't have 
to hold it back anymore.  Let it go."

She spoke in a tiny voice.  "I'll be completely out of control?"

"Completely," I promised.  "And I will make you feel things 
you've only dreamed about."

"I'm scared."

The admission tore at my heart, but I couldn't back down--we had 
to get through this.  I leaned down to kiss her temple.  "I know, 
but you don't have to be.  I will never harm you.  I'd die 
first."

"It's hard to accept wanting complete subjugation."

"I know," I repeated, feeling my breath stir the baby-fine hair 
beneath my lips.  "You can fight if you need to--it won't stop 
me."  

My finger moved on the remote, sending more addictive shocks of 
pleasure to her clit, and we began again. 

It's hard at first to continue after a woman says 'no,' but she 
never used the word that would make me stop.  And though I was 
too spent to fuck her again, it was erotic to see the pleasure 
overcome her resistance.  To feel irresistible.  

Besides, it wasn't me she was fighting, not really.  And when she 
came, thrashing against the grounding weight of my body, the 
bliss and contentment in her face was so pure that all my doubts 
vanished.

I pushed back the memories to see that Alex had entered Dana, but 
he wasn't moving.  His good hand gripping her hip, the other 
holding the massager in place, he stood with almost inhuman 
control as she sobbed and writhed, trapped in place by the 
merciless toy in front of her, the unyielding body behind her, 
and the hard cock driven deep inside her.

Heat began coiling in my balls.  She was teetering on the edge, 
and there's nothing more exciting than seeing her give it all up.

And then she began to beg brokenly.  Of its own accord my hand 
moved faster on my dick.  Her pleas had the same effect on Alex--
with a groan, he began moving his hips in deep, hard thrusts.  
The tension was finally fading from his shoulders as he pumped 
into her conquered body.  

"You want to come now?" he growled.  

"Please," she sobbed, "please."

That did it.  I came, holding back a shout as the orgasm rocketed 
through me.

Alex pulled the massager away from her.  "Not until I'm done."  

She threw her head back, trapped in an agonizing limbo as her 
body rocked under his thrusts.  A moment later he bowed his head 
and let out a long groan.  His shoulders slumped before he jerked 
himself upright again.
  
"Now," he said.  Still inside her, he brought the massager back 
to her clit and switched it to high.  

Dana shrieked and arched into the sensation, thrusting forward 
over and over.  Her head tossed back and forth as if she were 
fighting off the swelling orgasm, but the vibrator defeated her 
as it always does, as she loves it to do.  She came with a 
desperate wail, rubbing herself against the smooth plastic head.

Her harsh gasps punctuated the air in the aftermath.  He lowered 
his head once more, resting his cheek on the crown of her head, 
and caught his own breath in absolute silence.  

A barely discernible shiver ran through his body when he withdrew 
from her.  He pulled off his gloves and tossed them onto the 
dresser, then released her from the cuffs.  His arms went around 
her instantly as her body sagged and lifting her up, he carried 
her to the bed.  He laid her down gently and rubbed her arms, 
relieving the ache of being bound for so long, then unbuckled her 
shoes and carefully rolled down her stockings, setting them 
aside.

"I'm going to take the blindfold off now," he warned when he 
finished.  He removed it, unnecessarily shielding her eyes from 
the dim light, and looked down at her with an expression much 
softer than when he arrived.

"Stay there," he instructed before leaving the room.  The command 
was unnecessary; I doubt she had the strength left to make a 
fist.

I hadn't realized he'd been aware of me, but he tossed me a wet 
cloth on his return from the bathroom.  I cleaned myself up while 
he settled on the bed next to her and washed the smeared makeup 
from her face.  Then, moving with infinite tenderness, he worked 
the cloth over her body, all the way down to her small, shapely 
feet.

Putting the cloth on the nightstand, he leaned over her and 
cupped her face.  "You all right?"

She nodded.  

"Thank you," I heard him murmur.  His thumb traced her cheekbone 
before he turned to me and repeated the words.  

I wondered what had driven him to us that night, but knew the 
inquiry would not have been appreciated.  

"You're welcome," I told him instead.  "It's okay to ask for this 
when you need it."  

I meant it, and would have given him whatever other comfort the 
shelter of Dana's bed could offer.  But he left that night rather 
than staying with us.

The next morning, I found her before the full-length mirror in 
her bedroom, inspecting the faint bruises his fingers had left on 
her hip.

"Are you okay?" I asked, frowning.  The occasional signs of rough 
play were to be expected, and she'd never paid them any heed 
before.  

"I'm fine," she responded, a touch of hoarseness in her voice.  
But the way she wrapped her thin robe back around her body told 
me something was wrong.

Laying my hand over the now-hidden marks, I breathed in her 
scent, remembering how his hand had gripped her and how she'd 
responded.  After a minute, she relaxed.  

"Now, what's bothering you?"

She met my eyes in mirror.  "When he made me come the last time--
it was incredible."

I pulled her back, letting her feel the erection I get whenever I 
think of them together.  "I could tell.  You were wild.  I've 
never seen you like that with him."

"Only with you," she replied.  A hint of shame crept into her 
eyes.  

"Ah," I said.  When we discuss the Master/slave aspect of our 
relationship outside those personas, Scully tends to treat it as 
a sign of our special bond, not something inherent in her.  It 
can be hard, even now, for her to admit that she has a submissive 
streak that goes straight to the bone.

But the days of her hiding from that fact are over.  "There's 
what we have, and there's what you are," I told her.  "You would 
still need to be dominated, even if we'd never discovered it.  I 
know that, you know that--"

"And now Krycek knows it," she finished.

I stroked her hip, trying to puzzle out why her reluctance had 
emerged at this stage of the game.  My best guess was that the 
nature of our encounters had changed.  There was a surreal 
element to the nights when he first joined us; it seemed almost 
like an enactment of a fantasy.  Lately, though, things had 
gotten a little less scripted and a little rougher.  The previous 
night also had been the first time he'd topped her without prior 
agreement or my direction; maybe it was the first time she truly 
confronted the fact that Dana Scully might surrender not just to 
me, but to another man.  

I lifted the heavy weight of her hair from her neck and buried my 
nose in the copper silk.  "You know I will always be there, but 
it's all right.  He wouldn't hurt you."

"I know," she replied.  Hands working restlessly, she tightened 
the belt of her robe.  "I trust him."

And then I understood.  

'Love' is a word that we still use too rarely, even between 
ourselves; for years, we used 'trust' to convey what we couldn't 
say outright.  Scully didn't mean simply that she felt safe with 
him: she meant that her feelings for him were becoming deeper and 
more intimate.  That's why she'd been able to let go so 
completely with him.

And that's why she was afraid now.   We didn't bring him into the 
bedroom as a casual partner, but with Krycek, one could expect 
the safety of a certain emotional distance.  If that distance no 
longer held, someone else might see her in all her aspects, from 
Scully's near-complete independence to Pet's near-total 
enslavement, and understand, as only I had before, that they 
truly were the same person.  That indeed would make her pull 
back.

And in the end, I couldn't blame her for her hesitation.  When we 
agreed to invite Alex into our bed, she knew that I wanted him 
too.  Since then she had seen his interest in experiencing what 
she feels under my command, and she hadn't objected to the idea, 
either as my Pet or as Scully.  I could take him if I wanted, but 
I haven't.  Because I couldn't quite take that step with someone 
else either. 

I searched her eyes in the mirror, considering the best course of 
action.  She might have been getting cold feet, but she still 
wanted him: the previous night was proof of that.  And the truth 
was, her cold feet didn't matter.  Scully does not have the right 
to countermand a decision I make as Master, and that rule exists 
for her sake, not mine.  While I would never force her into 
something she truly doesn't want, indulging this sudden wariness 
was not an option.  

Echoing my thoughts, she lifted my hand to her neck in a silent 
request.  I circled her throat, rubbing where the neck meets the 
shoulder.  Her skin looked pale and fragile in contrast to my 
darker hand.  We both watched my thumb stroke the hollow of her 
throat in the caress she knows so well.  As I began to trace the 
delicate bones her eyes grew heavier and more luminous; she was 
taking on that vulnerability and openness that she both loves and 
fears.  It was okay to push her now--by adopting her 'Pet' 
persona, she was asking to be pushed.
 
Still stroking her neck with one hand, I brought the other up to 
rest over her heart.  "It's all right.  There's room in here for 
him too."

When she nodded, I reached down and untied the belt of her robe.  
With sensual slowness, I slid the garment off her body and let it 
fall at our feet.  The mirror reflected her nudity back to her.

"Now look at yourself."  

She focused her hazy gaze, seeing what I saw: her breath 
quickening, her skin flushing, her thighs parting slightly--all 
the secret signs that her body had already yielded to me.
 
I cupped both her breasts, kneading softly as my thumbs danced 
over her nipples.  "You still belong to me.  Body, mind, and 
soul--everything you are.  *Nothing* will ever change that."

Her breath caught.  "Yes," she murmured.  

I put my lips to her ear and whispered the final words as a 
caress.  "On your knees."

With a shudder, she sank gracefully down.  I had only to stretch 
out my arm to retrieve the collar, which had been set aside after 
he left.  I fastened it on, claiming her as no one else ever has 
or ever will.  

"Tell me what your collar means, Pet."

Her eyes fell closed as she repeated the familiar phrase.  "You 
own me, Master.  You can do anything to me that you see fit."  
When her gaze met mine in the mirror again, only a shadow of her 
earlier doubt remained.  That was okay; she would come to terms 
with it in time.  

I knelt behind her, running my hands over her body.  "That's 
right, Pet," I murmured as my fingers found her nipple and clit.  
In spite of her exhaustion the previous night, she was ready.  "I 
own you.  No matter what I tell you to say or do, no matter who I 
offer this pretty body to, you must obey."

She moaned softly, swaying against me.  

"You were born to be a slave, Pet.  To be my slave."

She writhed sinuously into my touch, her head falling back 
against my shoulder.  I made love to her right there, letting the 
mirror show her her need and surrender, her strength and her 
beauty.


. . . And that's when I got the idea that spurred this latest 
purchase.  One ear cocked toward the door in case Scully comes 
back early, I slip the cashier's check and order form into the 
envelope addressed to a very discreet and reputable purveyor of 
"adult sensual enhancements."  The toy should arrive in George 
Hale's PO Box within a week.  I'm not sure when Dana and I will 
see Alex again, but when we do, they'll both have a surprise 
waiting for them.

Grinning to myself, I head off to the mailbox.



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