Already There

Ramona held the end of the silver chain loosely between her fingers. She didn't move it at all, but something about the way that the light played up and down its length as it lay on the velvet cloth made Hal feel as though it was shifting under his gaze. He could already imagine the way it would look as she lifted it up off the table and the pocket watch spun on the end in a wild, chaotic dance for a few moments before settling into a steady rhythm that drew his eyes to its gentle sway.

"Are you ready to be hypnotized?" Ramona asked, and Hal smiled gently in anticipation. He'd been watching her all night from across the room, staring at those dark, smoldering eyes of hers as they locked onto one helpless submissive after another. Every time she dangled the watch in front of their faces, Hal had imagined that it was his expression melting slowly into blank, dreamy tranquility under her hypnotic power. It took him almost the whole evening to work up the courage to come over to the low sofa where she held court over a minor fiefdom of hypnokinky attendees, and even more courage to sit in the chair reserved for her next subject. But now it was all real. It was all going to happen.

Her fingers tensed on the end of the chain, and Hal's smile grew wider as he realized Ramona was looking forward to this too. Hal was a little surprised-he didn't think he was particularly good-looking. He had a cute chin, he thought, and his eyes had a nice hazel color once he took his glasses off. But he could never get his hair to be anything other than a tangled mass of raven strands if he let it grow at all, and he still felt like a clothing-optional environment like this was far more clothing-optional for people with actual muscles instead of pipe-cleaner arms like his. And who didn't risk blinding people with their pale skin when they took off their clothes.

But Ramona was looking at him with a hunger in those dark brown eyes of hers. And Hal was sure she could have anyone in the room she wanted, hypnokinky or not. She had the most beautiful long brown legs, and an elegant smile that was even now quirking with refined amusement at something or other. And those eyes...Hal dreamed about eyes like that. Eyes with such power, such depth. He could lose himself in that stare forever, and that was exactly what he wanted to do. He couldn't wait.

"Hal," Ramona said, her voice like warm velvet. "I asked you a question. Are you ready to be hypnotized?" She didn't sound angry at his lack of a response. If anything, she sounded like she found the whole situation quietly humorous. Hal felt like he'd done something right by accident, but he didn't know what it could possibly have been. They hadn't even started yet.

Hal remembered this time that he needed to answer. He let out a quiet, "yes," as he let his eyes wander back down to the watch at the end of the chain. The watch had a smooth, simple silver face that caught the light perfectly, and Hal could already imagine the way that the gleaming reflection that he was staring at now would turn into an unbroken arc of dazzling white as it streaked from side to side, back and forth, moving in an unceasing rhythm that caught and held him the same way it had caught and held so many others tonight. Ramona had hypnotized everyone who sat in that chair, men and women, and they'd all looked so blissful. So peaceful. So happy.

Hal could already picture that same vacant bliss stealing over his face as he watched Ramona's watch, his eyes growing heavy and exhausted from the effort of following the motion until he finally realized that it would be so much easier to stare into Ramona's eyes instead. That was how she had taken Valerie, weaving that fantasy into the other woman's mind until Valerie's gaze had gone fixed and glassy and she stared straight ahead, unseeing. Hal wanted to be like that so much.

"Alright, Hal," Ramona said, her words cutting through the distraction in his mind and drawing his attention with crystal-clear focus. "Then in a moment, I'm going to show you my beautiful pocket watch. When I do, I want you to follow it with your eyes. Just your eyes, there's no need to move your head. Simply watch the watch and listen to my words. Do you understand, Hal?" Her words had an almost ritualistic nature to them-Hal had already heard them five or six times since he'd made his way over to her corner of the room. He felt as though he could recite them right along with her.

But talking felt like too much effort right now, so Hal simply mumbled out, "...mhmm." He was really thinking more about how good it was going to feel to be hypnotized. He'd heard Ramona describe it to Valerie as a soft, warm blanket wrapping around her thoughts, and to Gordon as a gentle, lazy river carrying him deeper into stillness and submission. He wondered what it would be like for him. Would it be a warm, comfortable bed that he could sink into? Perhaps an elevator, each number counting him down and down and down as he descended into Ramona's will?

He hoped he would be a good subject, certainly. If he was a good subject, then there was a chance that Ramona might do this again with him sometime. Hal remembered her explaining, between volunteers, that what she really looked for in a permanent relationship was someone whose mind was truly open to being shaped and molded by her commands. Resistance bored her, she said. The true erotic beauty of hypnosis was best explored once it had vanished entirely. Hal shivered slightly just thinking about how sexy it would feel to be in someone else's power that completely.

But first he had to let her hypnotize him. She hadn't picked up the watch yet; instead, she was just staring at him with those deep brown eyes of hers, smiling as though she was watching a particularly handsome man walk by. But Hal wasn't handsome and he wasn't walking. He wasn't even moving. He looked back at her eyes, his stare moving from the watch to her face without any conscious intent, and listened as she said, "Hal?"

"uh-huh?" he muttered. He didn't seem to be able to put much force into his response, or even any real intelligence. He was too distracted by all of the fantasies floating in his head, all the mental images of her beckoning eyes captivating him and smoothing his mind into a blank slate for her words to fill. His cock was already hard inside his pants just thinking about the way that she'd made the others squirm with helpless, irresistible pleasure just from her voice, the way that Olivia's arms had moved of their own volition to expose her full, heavy breasts to Ramona's gaze. He couldn't stop thinking of what she might do to him once he was hypnotized and mindlessly obedient.

He needed to focus. That was probably why she hadn't hypnotized him yet, she was waiting for him to stop daydreaming about sinking into a deep obedient trance and pay attention to her. But he didn't know what he should be focusing on-should he keep watching the silver chain on the red velvet, letting his eyes travel up and down the play of light on the metal and imagining the way that each link led inexorably to the last? Should he stare placidly at the smooth silver case of the watch and picture his own mind just as smooth, just as blank? Should he keep staring into Ramona's eyes until he lost track of time and his mouth hung open in rapt adoration? Hal could think of so many ways that a powerful, sensual woman like Ramona could take his will that they jumbled together in his mind into a mass of confusion. He needed her to decide for him. He needed her to think for him.

Ramona must have noticed his bewildered state, because she took pity on him and said, "You're a very good hypnotic subject, aren't you, Hal?" She leaned forward a little as she spoke, her eyes sparkling with interest. Hal couldn't imagine what he was doing to make her so excited, but he hoped he wouldn't stop. He wanted her to hypnotize him. He wanted her to hypnotize him forever.

Her words hung in his mind for a few moments, as he tried to figure out how to answer them. He'd never actually been hypnotized, but he'd fantasized about it for years now, and he'd been thinking about it all night. Every time someone sat in the chair he was sitting in now, he'd imagined himself in their place, sinking into trance. The chair itself held an almost hypnotic power over him, and Ramona...he knew he couldn't resist her at all. He knew he didn't want to. That gave him his answer. "...yes," he said softly, feeling a trickle of drool at the corner of his mouth.

Something about his answer must have pleased her. She licked her lips in obvious excitement, and crossed and recrossed those long smooth legs of hers. Hal's eyes focused automatically on the motion, wondering for a moment if she was going to hypnotize him like that instead. He felt a sudden, instinctive understanding that Ramona had an infinite number of methods at her disposal to render him blank and compliant to her will. She'd said it herself, hypnosis was a state of relaxation and focus, and he knew she could direct his focus anywhere she wanted to. Hal never knew he could be so vulnerable to someone...and he never knew how delicious that could feel.

Ramona held up her hand. "Do you want to go deep for me?" she asked, lightly touching her middle finger to her thumb. The moment felt poised, as though everyone in the world was watching Hal and waiting for his answer. Hal was distantly aware that there were definitely a few people looking on with some interest; Olivia was staring with an expression on her face that suggested she was still a little bit susceptible to Ramona's voice herself. He wondered if she'd sink along with him when he went under, like Valerie did when Olivia went into trance.

He could see that image in his mind's eye already as his mouth moved in a "yes" without even needing to think about it. He could picture Olivia's head slumping down onto her chest, Valerie slumping sideways as the trance took hold. He envied them so much for that. They already knew what it was like to be deep, helplessly focused on Ramona's perfectly-manicured fingers and locked onto her voice as everything else drifted and faded away. They knew what it was like to be deeply aroused, feeling that heat suffuse their sleepy bodies as Ramona leashed their desire to her will. They understood what it was like to be so submissive that even a single word could send them into a mindless, blank hypnotic-

"Sleep," Ramona said, snapping her fingers. Hal's eyes slammed shut. He didn't remember much after that.

THE END