Chapter 19
The apartment felt different with Caitlin in it.
It wasn’t as if anything had actually changed, yet somehow it seemed that way.
It was Caitlin, here, now, scarcely believable, it was her presence and the knowledge that she was here for one reason and one reason only…
she was here because she’d chosen Helena.
Caitlin was stood on the balcony, leaning against the railing, looking out at the S?o Paulo skyline.
She’d showered after the journey and was wearing one of Helena’s t-shirts and nothing else, her dark hair worn loose and still damp, her legs bare.
The necklace, that necklace, sat at her throat, catching the last of the daylight.
Helena stood in the kitchen and watched her for a moment through the open doors, two glasses of wine poured and waiting on the counter.
She felt something wonderful in her chest at the sight…
this woman, this force of nature, standing barefoot on my terrace, in my clothes that she chose to wear without even being told, looking out at my city as if she were imagining herself into it.
She picked up the glasses and walked out.
“Here.” She handed Caitlin a glass and they clinked, a quiet sound against the background noise of the city.
“Thank you.” Caitlin took a sip and looked out at the view again. “I still can’t get over this view. How do you manage to tear yourself away from this for work each morning?”
“Most mornings I’m too busy running late to notice it.”
“That’s criminal.” Caitlin turned to her. “Promise me you’ll look at it properly, each day I’m here. Actually look at it.”
“I promise.”
They stood together for a few minutes, drinking their wine, watching the city light up as the dusk deepened.
The silence was comfortable… they were two people who could be in each other’s presence without filling every moment with talk.
Helena pointed out a few of the sights, and she couldn’t help noticing that as she did Caitlin moved closer and didn’t back away again, their feet touching, bare skin against bare skin on the warm terrace tiles.
It wasn’t much, but it sent a thrill through Helena regardless.
“Are you hungry?” Helena asked.
“Starving. The airline food was… well, airline food.”
“Even though you were at the front of the plane?”
“Still airline food, just fussier. Although they did serve an ice cream sundae from a trolley that was good.” Caitlin turned to look at her and smiled. “But yes, I’m hungry.”
“I’ll cook.”
Caitlin raised an eyebrow. “You cook?”
“I can cook. I choose not to, mostly, because delivery exists and I’m lazy.
But I can.” Helena grinned. “I should warn you that my repertoire is limited. I can do pasta, I can do a reasonable steak, and I can put together a salad that looks more impressive than it is.” She tilted her head.
“I got ingredients in for any or all of them, whatever you’d like? ”
“Any of those sound perfect.”
They went to the kitchen and Helena opened the fridge, pulling out ingredients while Caitlin perched on one of the high stools at the kitchen island, watching her.
“What?” Helena asked, catching the look out of the corner of her eye.
“Nothing. I’m just having a moment where I can’t quite believe this. A few days ago we were meeting for a drink in Miami that I didn’t dare hope would go anywhere, and I was planning to be in Barbados by now. Now I’m sat here watching you chop garlic in your own kitchen. It’s very domestic.”
“Is that a problem?”
“It’s the opposite of a problem.” Caitlin rested her chin on her hand. “I like seeing you like this. In your natural habitat.”
Helena laughed. “There’s nothing natural about me in the kitchen.”
Caitlin grinned back and Helena went back to her chopping.
Caitlin helped where she could, fetching plates and cutlery once Helena pointed her in the right direction.
The pasta was simple, nothing much more than prawns, a little garlic, and olive oil as the sauce, but the smell filled the apartment along with the sizzle of the pan.
Caitlin laughed at Helena’s insistence that the prawns needed exactly ninety seconds per side and not a second more, but didn’t interfere even though Helena suspected that Caitlin knew better.
They ate at the dining table, the city lights their backdrop, candles that Helena took from a drawer casting a relaxed glow.
“This is really good,” Caitlin said.
“You don’t need to sound so shocked.”
“I’m not shocked. I’m impressed.” Caitlin took another bite. “You’re clearly a very talented woman.”
“Cooking is not one of my many talents. This is one of the three things I can make without setting the whole building on fire.”
“Then I’m lucky you planned ahead.”
As they ate they talked, initially about the journey and then about Helena’s neighbourhood and their plans for tomorrow. It was easy… relaxed and happy, both completely natural with each other, the same easy vibe they’d had all those months ago back in Houston.
After dinner they cleared the plates together and Helena poured them both another glass of wine.
But… she held Caitlin’s glass just out of reach.
Caitlin looked at her, lips pursed at the sudden change in tone, but with a smile playing beneath.
Helena simply looked back with a similar expression. She gave it a few moments, letting the change in atmosphere settle, that tilt of the room where nothing changed, but somehow everything did too.
“Before I give you this,” Helena said. “I want you to do something for me.”
Caitlin’s breath caught. “What would you like, Minha Dona?”
Helena allowed herself to revel in that. This wasn’t Caitlin’s house or a hotel room or anywhere else they’d been together before. This was her house, her city, her life, and this incredible woman was acknowledging her dominance right here, right now.
“Take off the t-shirt.”
Caitlin didn’t hesitate as she reached for the hem and pulled it over her head, dropping it on the wooden floor.
She was naked underneath, the necklace the only thing she wore, and in the glow of Helena’s candles she looked magnificent.
Helena couldn’t help the way her eyes were drawn to Caitlin’s gym-honed body so she leaned into it, making it all part of her dominance, showing Caitlin that her body was Helena’s to savour.
Caitlin simply watched Helena’s eyes and waited.
“Ajoelhe-se.”
Caitlin sank to her knees on the wooden floor, back straight, hands in her lap, eyes looking up at Helena. She was an absolute, born natural submissive, Helena knew that now, and the best kind… one with the strength to be able to submit completely.
“Good, my beautiful, tame Gatinha.” Helena reached down and touched Caitlin’s jaw. “So perfectly obedient for your Dona.”
“It is my natural place, Minha Dona.”
Helena looked down at her, this brilliant, powerful woman naked on her knees for her, because she’d said so and nothing more.
“Would you like a drink, Gatinha?”
Caitlin nodded and Helena held the wine glass to Caitlin’s lips, tilting it so that she could take a drink of her wine. They held each other’s gaze while she drank, and when Helena took the glass away she could see that Caitlin’s eyes were bright.
Helena watched Caitlin for a long moment.
Her hand moved to cup Caitlin’s head, fingers slipping through her hair, then she gripped suddenly, pulling back ever so slightly, tilting Caitlin’s head.
She watched as much as heard Caitlin inhale sharply, and then Helena leaned down and kissed her fiercely, taking Caitlin by surprise, asserting her physical dominance by holding her head in place by the hair and using her tongue straight away.
Caitlin kissed her back just as hard, passionate, desperate, their tongues playing against each other, until, just as suddenly, Helena pulled back a few inches and grinned.
Caitlin was flushed, breathing hard, her face a picture of arousal.
“I will give you a choice, Gatinha. A simple one.” She reached her other hand to Caitlin’s jaw, stroking possessively down her neck, her shoulders, lower, while she held Caitlin exactly where she wanted her with the hand in her hair.
“It’s been a long day for you. And much as I want to show you how incredible I can make you feel in my city, in my home…
I know the right headspace is important.
” She paused and watched Caitlin nod her understanding.
“It is your free choice, and with no consequence. We can go to bed together, we can fuck, we can sleep. Or… we can do something altogether more exciting.” She paused again. “Your choice, Gatinha.”
Caitlin’s grin made Helena’s heart skip a beat…
the absolute inner strength that Caitlin possessed to be able to surrender to Helena like this was incredible, and it was such an honour that Caitlin trusted her with this.
“I’ve waited nine months, Minha Dona. I don’t want us to waste another minute.
I’d like altogether more exciting please. ”
Helena nodded slowly. “Good. Very good.” She let go of Caitlin’s hair and picked up her own wine, taking a seat again at the dining table. Caitlin simply watched, obediently. “Vermelho. Ambar. Verde. You understand those words?”
Caitlin smiled. “Verde is green. I assume Ambar is amber? That one isn’t hard. So Vermelho must be red?”
“Exactly, Gatinha. Vermelho is your safe word. Ambar is a pause. Got it?”
“Yes, Minha Dona.”
“What is your safe word? I want you to say it again, Gatinha, show me you’ve remembered.”
“Vermelho.”
“Perfect. Well done.” Helena paused to take a sip of her wine, taking her time, building Caitlin’s anticipation. “I will tell you before I introduce anything new, and ask you your colour. Does that sound reasonable?”
Caitlin grinned. “Verde.”
Helena smiled back. “Good.” She took another sip of her wine, enjoying watching Caitlin knelt naked a couple of yards away. “To start with, I am going to enjoy my wine. And I’m going to watch you.”
“Watch me?”