Honesty at all times when answering questions, although either of us is allowed to refrain from answering with no consequences.

S will willingly give M her body for his viewing and using pleasure.

S will speak to and of M only in the most respectful ways. During a maintenance or scene, S will refer to M by his title.

It is S's job to keep the playroom, bathroom, and bedroom stocked with a variety of lubricants and oils as well as other paraphernalia He requests.

The safe word will always be respected, but until that word is used, He is free to play with, discipline, and use my body in any way He chooses. Once the word is employed, all play will stop until the situation has been reassessed and a decision to proceed, adjust, or end has been reached by both parties. If a consensus cannot be reached, my decision as the user of the safeword will be followed.

Sophia MacLeod read over the list for the fifth time. As an accountant and now business owner, she didn’t skip over any fine print, even if she was the one who had written the document. If these were to be the House Rules, she wanted to be sure she knew them well and agreed with every facet of them. A week ago, Micah and she had had a good old-fashioned heart-to-heart. Their relationship was stagnating. It wasn’t that they weren’t in love anymore; it was just that they were both dissatisfied. Sophia’s habit of disrespecting him in front of their friends, becoming less and less interested in sex, and body-shaming herself were getting to him. His tendency to spend too much time with his buddies, come to bed late and overspend annoyed her. Sophia was surprised that he’d hit the nail squarely on the head when he’d said these things. He hadn’t tried to cover up his faults any more than she’d sugar-coated hers. Micah had then suggested they follow in his sister Pearl’s footsteps and, since they both enjoyed the rougher side of sex, jump into a 24/7 BDSM lifestyle.

At first, Sophia had been skeptical, but couldn’t honestly deny anything Micah had said. She’d asked for a few days to do some research before making her decision. Micah had laughed, told her he had expected no less, and they’d agreed to table the decision for three days. During that time, Sophia went to work researching everything from Master/slave relationships to BDSM contracts. She’d joined a few online groups and asked questions. Lots of questions. Three days later, she made her decision. As long as she had an equal say in the rules and Micah always respected her safe word, she’d give it a go, at least for a while.

Knowing Micah as well as she did, Sophia hadn’t worried about him taking advantage of her. Micah had always treated not only her but every person he met with nothing short of respect and gracious courtesy. Hell's bells, he was even respectful when he told off an asshole! No, it was her that she had worried about. Lying had never been one of her faults, a quick temper, however, was. She also knew she had a habit of pouting if she didn’t get her way or becoming bitchy if she was feeling frustrated or ignored. That probably explained why lately she had “joked” with her friends about Micah’s dirty socks, his snoring, his inability to carry a tune, and anything else she could pick at. Sure, she’d noticed his frowning looks directed her way, but she’d laughed them off, not really caring if she hurt his feelings. She hadn’t realized how often she complained about him until Laura, her best friend, had asked her quite sincerely if everything was okay between the two of them. That was when she’d told Micah they needed to have a serious discussion about their relationship.

“Will any of these rules interfere with my job?” she asked. “I mean, I know I work from home, but I do need to let the dogs out several times a day to make sure they get proper exercise, clean up after them, feed them, greet their owners, and such.”

“No. I’d never ask you to do anything that would stop you from doing your job. I love the fact that you started Doggie Hotel and am really proud of how you’ve grown your business,” he answered. “We have lots of land, seven acres, half of which are heavily wooded. I’ve been thinking of adding a seven-foot high privacy fence around the yard area anyway. The chain-link fence is getting old and, as you pointed out, a privacy fence would be a bit safer for the dogs, especially the jumpers, anyway. We even have enough room, if you want, to build a smaller outbuilding for your kennels, indoor playroom, and reception area. That way, there would be some physical distance between our private life and your business.”

Sophia thought for a moment before answering, “That’s a good idea, but one for another day. Right now, let’s focus on us. Will these be the only rules I have to follow?”

“Absolutely not. Pearl and Sam suggested that in order to keep things interesting we add additional rules every now and then. These first five will be our basic house rules.”

“Hold the phone, there. Are you saying that we keep increasing rules?”

Micah looked confused for a moment, then he shook his head. “No, no. I’m sorry. I didn’t explain that well at all. We keep the first five as House Rules but switch around additional rules so that we never have more than ten. Gods above, can you imagine me trying to keep more than ten rules straight? I’ll have to discretely post them in several places just to remind myself of ten!”

Laughing, Sophia said, “Now that makes more sense. From what I’ve read and been told no one can keep more than ten rules straight! Let’s start with just these five, though. If at the end of the month, we both agree to keep this lifestyle, we can start adding additional ones. Maybe one at a time.”

“Makes sense,” Micah agreed. “When I’m out of town, though, we still need to keep everything in place. We can text or video call as often as possible.”

Sophia smiled, a weight leaving her. Micah’s job as a trainer/salesperson for National Textbook publishers required quite a bit of travel. She always felt somewhat abandoned whenever he left for more than a few days at a time. Micah sometimes didn’t text at all except to let her know he’d arrived at his destination safely.

“I’d like that,” she answered quietly.

Micah cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. “I’m so sorry I haven’t been better at that. It’s not that I don’t miss you when I’m traveling. I do. I just get tied up with work and don’t check in with you often enough.”

“I know. Well, I do now. I think this is something we both need. But, one more question,” she said.

“Shoot.”

“I understand I am to be punished if I break a rule, but what about you? I know from my research that the dominant is basically punished by his guilt, but I don’t know if that’s enough for me,” she explained.

Micah hugged her to him then said, “I don’t know, honestly. I asked Pearl about that and she said she had the same concerns at first. However, after a few weeks it became obvious that the guilt really was enough.” He kissed the top of her head, breathing in the lemony scent of her auburn hair. “Let’s do what you said and give it a month. We can adjust after that. Who knows, I might need a good spanking every now and then as well!”

Sophia nodded and grinned, imagining Micah lying across her lap, his well-muscled ass red as a cherry. She rubbed her cheek against Micah’s muscular chest. She’d always loved when he wore this particularly soft, white t-shirt. “We can do that,” she agreed then stepped back.  “I guess now would be when we begin,” she stated calmly, her shoulders squared, her hazel eyes clear and unblinking. “Every single person in every single group I’ve joined online has said that weekly maintenance is absolutely essential, especially in the beginning. So, where would you like the maintenance sessions to be? Consistency is key, it needs to be in the same location and, if possible, the same day and time each week. Even if you’re out of time, you need to come up with something I can do to maintain your authority.”

Micah stared at her for a moment, his jaw slightly dropped. Then, he chuckled and said, “I should have known you’d jump right in once you decided.” He cleared his throat, then, in a sterner voice continued. “All maintenance and punishments will be given in the bedroom across the hall from ours. We just use it for storage, so now we will refer to it as the MP room, Maintenance Place. It will always be locked, but we will both have a key. I don’t want any visitors to accidentally go into it, but I don’t want to restrict your access to it. 

"You will strip off your clothing in our room, go into the MP room, and stand in the eastern corner facing the wall. I prefer that you never wear clothing while in that room, unless, of course, it’s something special that I’ve given you. Wait for me there. I had hoped you’d agree, so over the last three days I’ve been, well, let’s just say redecorating that room. Starting now, though, you will be required to make sure everything is in place.”

Sophia nodded her acceptance. “And what do I call you?”

“Milord.”