Page 25 of Xerxes Ascendant
“Evening,” greeted Kyle, firmly closing the door. The room’s cameras were always on for safety reasons, but he didn’t want any of the staff or their clients getting unduly nosy when passing through the foyer. Tyler was early in his month-long inductiontraining, having apparently had only a couple of sessions with Master Epsilon to date. As a submissive, not a Dominant, but now that Tyler had expressed a preference for the opposite…
“Have you thought any more on what I mentioned earlier,” Kyle prompted, “about the type of Dominant you might like to be? Eric is a Daddy Dom, for example, and you might find it easier to-”
“Like you,” Tyler said quickly. “I want to be like you.”
“Oh.” Kyle blinked away his surprise, ensuring to choose his next words carefully. “And what does that mean to you personally?”
Tyler ran a hand through his dark-red hair. He looked almost as pale and nervous as he had the day Kyle met him, when he’d been holding out a whip for Master Theta to beat him with. “Confident,” he muttered to his feet. “Assured. Never letting anyone hurt me again.”
Oh, dear. There was a metric ton of psychological baggage wrapped up in that; far too much for Kyle to attempt to untangle in a single training session. Instead, he just murmured a wry comment about hurt manifesting in many forms, and spent the next ten minutes talking about talking…one of Kyle’s favourite subjects, really. Whether it was sociable chatter with strangers he’d just met, deep early-morning conversations with Mish, banter with the other House employees or the kind of familiar tête-à-têtes only close siblings enjoyed – which he had with Indira, as she’d been raised by Kyle’s own parents since she was ten years old – Kylelovedto talk.
“…to convey dominance, it helps to speak purposefully,” he finished. “Work on cutting out any hesitation that may appear in your everyday speech: yourums andahs,for example. Oh, and when in a scene, try deepening your voice a little.”
Tyler shot him a doubtful glance.
“I know,” Kyle said with a soft chuckle, picking up on his scepticism and disgust. “Yet we’re hardwired to associate authority with deeper voices. Blame centuries of societal patriarchy.”
“But Misha is…”
“Misha thrives in his femininity, and he’s certainly a force to be reckoned with,” Kyle agreed. “And nearly half of the Coterie Masters are female. Dominance isn’t inherently tied to masculinity; it’s about command, certainty, and how you make others feel around you.”
The other man frowned as he worked through that.
“But think of it this way,” Kyle continued. “Our most vulnerable population – those we consider weak, helpless, and the least threatening – are children. They have high-pitched voices and fluctuating speech, are often tentative or unsure of themselves, and can become over-excitable: all things that decrease trust and the perception of control.”
Tyler’s answering nod was slow but measured.
“That’s what you’re up against,” said Kyle, locking eyes with him as he used the same techniques he was currently lecturing on. “As a Dom, you need to project the opposite: stability, control, confidence. The depth of your voice is just one tool to do that – so use it.”
“It’s completely fine if you don’t have all the answers,” he assured Tyler. “We’re not gods, as much as some Dominants on this city may claim otherwise.”Including every member of the Coterie.“But your job is to reassure your submissive and give them an anchor to ground themselves by. If you don’t know something, find out. Ask. Sometimes that means asking the submissive themselves: what they want, what they don’t. What they’re worried about, and how you can help. Understand?”
“I think so, si…Kyle.”
Ignoring the slip-up, Kyle rolled out his neck and shoulders. “Did you want to give it a go?”
Tyler made a tiny noise that sounded like a whimper. “Now? Here? With you?”
“Why not?”
There wereplentyof reasons why not, not least of which was that Kyle was not and never would be a submissive, but when he’d agreed to continue Tyler’s initial training, neither him nor Master Epsilon knew he’d be teaching another Dom rather than a sub. The Master’s switch nature meant he probably wouldn’t think twice about adopting either role, but Kyle disliked the idea of begging him to take back the responsibility for Tyler’s sessions.
It wouldn’t be…professional.
Tyler swallowed. “Okay.”
After reminding them both of the safe words that would pause or stop the scene – all Coterie Houses used the traffic light system and Tyler’s previous employment at House Theta meant he was familiar with how they worked, at least for clients – Kyle gave a long, deep exhale. “What would you like from me?”
“Can you please kneel? I…shit, I meant that you will kneel, and…shit.”
Tyler’s eyes widened and he choked, flinching back as if expecting Kyle to chastise him.
Or worse.
Stars, Theta had really done a number on this poor boy. How could anyone work in conditions like that, frightened of making the tiniest of mistakes and expecting punishment to land on them at any moment?
Despite his fury at the ex-Master, Kyle forced a smile in the hope of easing Tyler’s panic. “You can ask me nicely if you want,” he said gently. “There’s no rule prohibiting a Dominant from being polite. Or if you or the client prefer, you can demand, orthreaten, or charm. But remember that however you say it, you need to sound confident, like you know that me going to my knees is absolutely the only thing that can and will happen.”
Tyler drew in a determined breath. “Please kneel.”
