Metal and Electricity

"So you're going over there, are you?" Though casual, Maxine's question had been tinged with an undertone of anxiety. Donna hadn't been surprised. She knew Max saw Jamie -- your precious doctor as she called him -- as a threat. But Max must also surely have known that her own unrequited infatuation was doomed.

"Sure I am," said Donna. She always tried to dismiss Max's clinging, possessive nature as a passing fad, but after a year of allowing Max to stay in her apartment she knew in her heart that it just wasn't that simple. And besides, Max helped out with the rent.

But the precious doctor, James Carmichael, had at last suggested that Donna could help him with his research, if she'd care to be over at his house by eight in the evening.

And of course, when Dr. James -- Jamie -- asked for help in his research, a woman either runs a mile, or meekly acquiesces, in anticipation of some unique and unbelievable experiences.

It was well known in the Center for Psychosexual Research that Dr. James Carmichael worked in the forefront of his field. Donna had been at the Center for just a month. Her office skills and nursing training had gotten her an administrative job, and being an efficient, attractive woman had, it seemed, not gone unnoticed.

So here she was, in Jamie's house, wondering quite what he'd meant when he'd asked her how far she'd go in assisting his research. And she'd not quite believed her own voice when she'd told him she'd go as far as he required.

Feeling rather surprised with herself, and flushed with anticipation, she'd watched him disappear into a back room 'to fetch his case of equipment.'

The case was smaller than Donna expected. As he came through the door, pulling the case behind him, Jamie looked like an airline passenger with his carry-on luggage.

"That's it?" she asked.

"Yep. All in here." Jamie slid the handle into its recess and patted the polypropylene as if it contained all life's essentials.

"So," said Donna. "What now?"

"That's up to you." Jamie folded his arms and looked at her. Donna eyed the case and thought about what Jamie had told her, about how he hoped she'd be able to help him test out the equipment, and even put to use it herself, if she wanted to.

"What's in the case?" she said.

"Something that will..." Jamie waved an arm vaguely over the case, "...exploit your sexuality to its full potential."

Donna could not take her eyes off it. "Show me."

"Uh-huh." Jamie grinned and shook his head. "Not unless...." His voice trailed off, but still he grinned. Donna sensed that she was on the brink of committing to something. Something new, something exciting. Something dangerous.

She took a deep breath. "What must I do?" Donna tried to keep the tremor of excitement from her voice.

"You must submit," said Jamie.

"Submit? To what?"

"To my command. Absolutely."

Donna felt her heart pounding, and a tingle of apprehension surged through her. "Okay," she said.

"Uh-huh," Jamie repeated. "Say it."

Donna breathed deeply again. The prospect of the unknown excited her -- the risk, the danger. She wanted this, whatever it was.

"I submit," she said, "to your command, absolutely." As the final word left her lips she felt a release of tension, mixed with a shudder of anticipation.

"Good," said Jamie. He stepped closer, moved his arms toward her and cupped her face in his hands. His palms felt cool on her cheeks as he stared into her eyes.

"Now," he said, "I'll show you what's in the case. But first you must get undressed."

Donna was unable to suppress a gasp. It was happening. No longer just tantalizing talk. Jamie had asked her -- no, commanded her -- to strip.

Without taking her gaze from his, she unbuttoned her shirt and shucked it off, then her skirt, letting it drop to her ankles, where she stepped out of it. She kicked it away, and then kicked off her shoes. She slipped off her bracelet watch and tossed it on top of the skirt.

Jamie continued to look unwaveringly into her eyes as Donna reached round her back to unclip her bra. She pulled the fabric free, aware of the rise and fall of her breasts with each breath. She tossed the bra away.

Jamie released her face, letting his fingertips brush delicately over her shoulders, downward over her breasts and briefly tickling her nipples, then down to her waist, coming to a halt at her hips.

She tried to breathe evenly as the good doctor slipped his fingers between the waistband of her panties and her skin. She relished the delicacy of his touch as he slid his hands around her back, over the soft flesh of her bottom. She let out a sigh as he hunkered down, pulling her panties over her buttocks and down to her ankles. She lifted each foot in turn, and Jamie tossed the panties away.

He clasped his hands to her calves. Donna's skin rippled as Jamie looked up at her. She felt his warm breath on her thighs as he surveyed her naked flesh, running his hands upwards to her waist. He stood up, still gripping her body.

Donna felt exposed and vulnerable as she stood in his grasp, wondering where this was going. Exciting it surely was, and the uncertainty of it all made her tremble. Jamie looked into her eyes and smiled.

"Let me show you the equipment," he said. He loosed his grip on her and turned to the case. Donna watched him hunker down and open the polypropylene box, revealing some highly technical-looking lengths of shiny tubing amongst plush gray foam rubber. She could also make out what looked like electronic measuring instruments of some kind, and, nestling in the corner, a tiny plastic hypodermic.

Slowly he turned his face toward her. He waved a hand across the open case. "Everything we need," he said, "is in here." Then he stood up and walked over to her.

"Lie down," he said, pointing at the floor. Donna stared at the carpet. "Yes, right here. Face down."

Donna knelt, then stretched herself out across the thick pile of the doctor's carpet, feeling the soft wool against her stomach and nipples as she lowered herself to the floor.

Jamie knelt too, and took each of her arms, which she had stretched above her head, and placed them down against the side of her body. Then he gently lifted her head and turned it, so that she lay on one cheek, and could see the polypropylene box.

From this low viewpoint Donna watched Jamie remove each silver tube from its foam-rubber encasement and lay it in a pattern across the floor beside her. He slipped some narrow rings over the ends of some of the tubes, and at one point placed a tube along her back. She twitched as the cool metal brushed against her shoulders, then again as she felt the end of the tube slide momentarily between her buttocks.

"It's aluminum alloy," Jamie said, as he removed the tube and placed it on the carpet. "Lightweight, but very strong." He seemed absorbed in his construction project, but Donna was very much aware that she would soon form part of this curious structure.

A spindly silver insect took shape beside her, like some flimsy, skeletal fossil that couldn't stand up unaided. Even as Jamie tightened up its connections, the beast seemed to flop uncontrollably. Eventually he lifted the monstrosity into the air, the polished aluminum glinting in the dim lights of the living room.

Donna tried to turn her head as Jamie hovered the flopping structure over her, but at best all she could see were his arms stretched out above her. Then she felt the metal touch her skin, felt the weight of the construction press into her body. A short bar seemed to fit between her shoulder blades, and another across the small of her back. And as before, smooth metal pressed lightly between her buttocks.

Still balancing the silver structure on Donna's back, Jamie retrieved two foam pads from the case. He slipped one between the metal and Donna's shoulders, and placed the other where the tube rested on her back.

"Okay?" he said, looking down at Donna's face, pressed sideways onto the carpet.

"Mmm..." She tried to nod. She felt that she was about to experience something incredible, but as yet had no idea what. She took a deep breath in an effort to calm her involuntary trembling, and waited for the inevitable.

Jamie reached down to the floor and grasped her arm, then lifted it high. Donna felt a strap wrap around her wrist, securing it to the metal frame. Jamie reached across for her other arm, and secured it the same way. Then he lifted each ankle, bending her legs at the knee and likewise strapping them to the frame.

Feeling like a trussed animal, Donna began to take short, shallow breaths. She knew she was helpless, and that excited her. She felt her nipples pressing into the carpet, and was conscious of a slick wetness between her thighs.

Her arousal was heightened when Jamie began to push the frame to and fro, rocking her sideways, rolling her body over the floor. When pushed her all the way over, so that she lay sideways, the frame projected out along the floor behind her.

Donna shuddered at his touch as Jamie slid his hands underneath her, taking her weight in his arms, and lifting her bodily into the air. His firm fingers pressed into her skin and she felt the weight of the metal tubes pulling on her wrists and ankles. The framework dropped behind her, clanking as it slid across the carpet and into place beneath her body. For a moment Jamie held Donna's trussed form in mid-air as the framework came to rest, then he gently lowered her onto the aluminum support, letting it gradually take her full weight.

He released her and stepped back. Donna lay on the frame, her body an arched captive, stretched out, exposed. She lifted her head from its inverted, unsupported position, to try to see how she was held. But the strain on her neck was almost too much; she saw her nipples standing out from her breasts, and the shape of her restrained body beyond, before letting her head fall back.

"Don't try to move," said Jamie. "The frame will support you quite comfortably if you just relax onto it." Suddenly Donna felt his hand on her stomach. She tensed at the pressure of his fingers on her skin. His palm was warm as he began to move it across her. "It's designed to take your weight with the minimum of coverage," he went on, as Donna felt her muscles giving way to his manipulation. "This means that it leaves the majority of your body exposed and available."

As Donna began to relish the feel of Jamie's hands on her body she did indeed relax enough to look about her, taking in her enforced upside-down view as her head dangled off the end of the frame. She guessed she was suspended some three feet off the floor, and despite the flimsiness of the aluminum tube she felt secure. Helpless and exposed as never before, her arched body was only supported in two places, though in no danger of toppling. Her head rested against a soft pad positioned behind her neck, and was comfortable enough, as long as she didn't try to lift it. Dr. James Carmichael had done a good job with his design, as he was even now doing an excellent job with his hands.

Those hands, simultaneously gentle and firm, worked their way over Donna's body. Sliding up to her shoulders, circling and squeezing her breasts before slipping downwards again, the hands gripped her waist and then slid round her hips to press into her buttocks. Donna gasped as Jamie's long fingers found their way between her cheeks, spreading her buttocks, opening a space for his exploring fingertips.

The doctor's exploration was unhindered and relentless. Donna held her breath as his hands stroked upwards from her knees and along her inner thighs, his probing fingers parting her moist flesh, laying her open and exposed.

And then, just as Donna felt sure she would be penetrated -- indeed her body had involuntarily tensed in its craving -- Jamie's skilful manipulations ceased, leaving her panting for release.

As she fought to slow her short, shallow breaths, Donna felt a hand on her chin. She opened her eyes in time to glimpse a spray of liquid in the air. She tried to turn her head, but Jamie's firm grip immobilized her. Then she felt the sting of a needle in her neck, and the bruising sensation as fluid dispersed into her. Jamie withdrew the hypo and released her. The puncture stung as Donna let her head fall back, and she wondered what on earth was going to happen next.

Donna was acutely aware of her body, arched across the aluminum frame. Her skin seemed as if it were moving, reacting to the very air, rippling like the surface of a lake responding to a gently caressing breeze.

"Epidermal sensitizer." Jamie's voice seemed far off, and Donna had to concentrate on his words. "Actually it's a cocktail of various things, but the sensitizer is the main ingredient. You should notice some changes in skin reaction."

Donna nodded, and was about to reply when Jamie brushed his hand over her, running his fingertips in a swift motion from between her breasts, down over her stomach and away just before reaching her crotch. There was no pressure to his touch -- it was hardly more than a tickle. But the sensation, as if a knife had sliced into every nerve ending and stimulated each one -- not in pain, but pleasure -- made Donna cry out.

Once more she held her breath, waiting for the sensation to die away, aware that her whole body seemed to be on the verge of climax. Slowly she let out the air in her lungs, and allowed her body to relax.

But the iridescent touch seared through her again, as she felt Jamie's skilful hands once more on her body. This time his hands were coated in a slippery substance that allowed his palms to slide across her with ease, despite the firm pressure he used to manipulate her flesh.

"This will lower your skin resistance," he said, sliding his hands in a vast sweep from her thighs, over her shuddering belly, compressing her breasts, and then reversing at her neck to sweep downwards once more. As her skin yielded to each stroke, Donna's arousal heightened, convincing her that she would come at any moment. Never before had she experienced such intense physical stimulation, and never before had her release been so long withheld.

Her rapid breathing slowed, as she became aware that Jamie had ceased his insistent massage. She opened her eyes when she heard his voice close by.

"How do you feel?" He was crouching behind her, his face close to hers and inverted as her head hung upside-down. She swallowed -- awkwardly against gravity -- and tried to speak.

"I -- I'm..." She felt her chest rise and fall with the effort of forming words.

"Don't worry," said Jamie. "You're fine. I expect this is all a bit new, isn't it?"

Donna blinked, and nodded -- an action that felt strange with her head hanging down and her neck arched back. She longed for his renewed touch on her body, craved release from her pent-up excitement.

"One of the things we've established during our research," said Jamie, "is that there's no physical limit to the level of sexual stimulation that the female body can endure." He waved a hand over Donna's restrained form. "And consequently, no limit to the level of sexual pleasure a woman can experience. It's just a matter of orchestrating her arousal."

Jamie stood up and walked toward the polypropylene box, now almost empty. Donna heard him remove the only remaining piece of equipment and place it nearby.

"What we've done so far is to prepare you for the piece de resistance. Your body is in a state of heightened arousal, but there's still a little way to go yet."

Donna heard some more shuffling of equipment, then felt a hand gripping her ankle, just above where the strap secured it to the frame. It seemed Jamie was fastening another strap to her. Then she felt a further strap attach to her opposite wrist.

"I'm not going to electrocute you," said Jamie. "Merely use an alternating electric current as stimulant. The ointment I rubbed into your skin, combined with the sensitizer, has made your body particularly susceptible to electrical stimulation."

Right now, Donna felt she would be susceptible to anything at all. Her body all but screamed for Jamie's fantastic hands, and she craved the release she knew she'd been building up to for the last hour or so.

She heard a click as Jamie threw a switch. She held her breath, waiting for the first hint of something new. Almost imperceptible at first, a high-pitched whistle seemed to pervade the air. The whistle, initially diffuse, eventually seemed to localize around her body, as if her skin itself were giving off some kind of vibration. And then, gradually, she felt the stimulation build. She felt as if her body was uniformly enveloped in some kind of gently moving second skin, rubbing her body in an unremitting, ceaseless vibration.

Donna felt her excitement increasing again, but that was as nothing compared to when Jamie placed his hand once more upon her stomach, in a gesture repeating his first touch of her newly exposed and restrained body.

This time, though, there was no comparison. Her skin virtually erupted at his touch. Great streaks of sensual pleasure spread across her body, and as he began to work both hands on her alternately tense and yielding flesh, she felt she would explode with desire.

She found it difficult to breathe as the shocks of ecstasy followed Jamie's unhindered exploration, tracing out her pleasure across her sensitive, trembling skin.

"Ah..." It was all the sound she managed to produce. It seemed to encourage Jamie, as his fingers pressed into her, manipulating her yielding flesh, increasing her arousal with each intimate new probing.

"This electric current," said Jamie, sliding his fingers between her thighs, and making her gasp out loud again, "is extremely high frequency. That's why it's not electrocuting you, as fifteen thousand volts normally would." Donna felt his fingertips enter her, the fizz of the electricity passing into her most sensitive parts and bringing her so close to the edge she thought she might engulf him in her orgasm.

"Very high frequency alternating current doesn't pass through the body," Jamie went on. "It flows around the surface. That's how it concentrates on your skin."

"Oh my god...." Quit the physics lesson, she thought. I'm about to explode.... And just as Donna thought she would surely climax, as Jamie had laid her intimate parts completely exposed and explored, he withdrew his delicious fingers and turned away.

Donna lay on the frame, panting, waiting, craving for his touch.

"We have a dildo," said Jamie. "It's part of the package. But we'll not be using it this time."

Whatever...., thought Donna. Just get on with it, please....

Suddenly she felt the frame shudder, and then the far end, where her knees splayed apart, shifted downwards. She lifted her head, to see Jamie adjusting the tubing. He was naked. The muscles in his chest and arms rippled as he lowered the end of the frame, and Donna with it, to a more accessible position, and then Donna saw his massive erection. With a sigh she let her head fall back again, and with a gasp of ecstasy she felt his hot member probe and push, and finally slide into her wet, swollen flesh.

Jamie used his instrument with restrained care, and Donna felt the full effects of the electricity as it coursed between her own hot, tender, intimate skin, and Jamie's taut, engorged member. His thrusts were slow and deep, in almost leisurely pursuit of her electrically enhanced arousal, making the most of her final cataclysmic collapse.

Once more Donna felt Jamie's hands on her body -- a body that was now bathed in sweat, a body that had tasted such incredible ecstasy that she could hardly breathe.

"Again?"

Oh god, no.... Donna shook her head. It'll kill me....

"Oh, yes," said Jamie, and almost immediately she felt her excitement building up again, fuelled by Jamie's insistent hands and the electrical buzz that continued to pass between her skin and his.

And so the cycle continued. For nearly an hour, Donna climaxed again and again in response to the good doctor's ministrations, his expertly applied member, and its relentless electrical enhancement.

Eventually the effects of the sensitizer began to wear off, and Jamie released her from the frame. She lay spent and naked on the carpet as he dismantled the aluminum tubing, stowing it away in the case, along with the unusual electronics. Gradually the stiffness in Donna's limbs subsided, and she got shakily to her feet. Jamie put his arm across her shoulders and guided her to the bathroom, where she stood for long minutes under a hot shower. She relished the feel of the water caressing her skin, still faintly aroused by the remnants of the sensitizer.

After drying herself off, she put on her clothes -- which Jamie must have placed in the bathroom while she was in the shower.

"Coffee?" said Jamie, as Donna walked back into the living room.

"Thanks," she said, nodding. She continued drying her hair, then wrapped the towel around her head.

Jamie placed a mug of black coffee on the table. "There's a hair-dryer in the cabinet," he said. "You're welcome to stay, you know...."

"Thanks," she said. "But I should be getting back." She looked at her watch. "Max is expecting me."

Jamie's brow furrowed. "Max?"

"My flat mate, Maxine. I told her I'd be back later."

Jamie's expression lightened. "You could phone...."

"No, thanks. I really ought to be going." Donna picked up the mug and held it in both hands.

Jamie walked over to her and looked into her eyes. "You've been a great research subject, you know."

Donna didn't know quite what to make of this. Jamie went on. "And I think you know how the equipment works. I'd like you to take one of our prototypes away with you." He turned and walked into another room, returning, as before, with what looked like an airline case.

"Here," he said. "Take it. I'm sure you'll be able to test it out. There's a little instruction manual included, in case you need to swat up on the details."

"I...." Donna looked at the case, thought of all that it had meant to her in the last couple of hours. And then she thought of Max.

"I'll take it," she said.

Angela Hadley works in Hampshire, England. Her most recent credits are her short stories "My Alien" and "Jungle Queen," published by DeathGrip - Speculative Fiction E-Zine, and three poems published by Dream Forge.

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