Hugo Barnes rose from the couch on which he had been laying. “I’m sorry, Goddess, I didn’t achieve trance.”

“No worries, pet. When at first you don’t succeed…” She laughed lightly, projecting an air of total confidence. As Hugo took her in once again he could see the reason for her self-assurance. She had the kind of form that set every cell of a man’s body aquiver with desire. He reached out audaciously and place a hand on her exquisite thigh.

            “I hope you are right, but we have tried three times already. I want desperately to fall under your control, but my mind doesn’t seem able…”

            Goddess Marquesa smiled fetchingly. “Fear not. I have never met a man I couldn’t crack.” Gently lifting his hand from her flesh, she continued, “This will have to wait until you are my slave.”

            Hugo moaned softly in protest but withdrew obediently. “All of my life I have dreamed of being enslaved, and I have never wanted a woman as I want you, Goddess. If you can’t conquer my will my fondest hopes are forever dashed.”

Goddess Marquesa reached out one graceful hand and stroked Hugo’s cheek gently, eliciting a shiver of delight. “Be careful what you wish for, pet. Make no mistake, if you continue further down this road your mind will be mine. You will be my plaything, living only for my happiness.”

Color rose to Hugo’s cheeks, his pupils dilated with excitement. “Oh, yes Goddess,” he gasped, barely able to contain his ardor. “That is what I want! Please, please….I beg you…But can it been done? We’ve tried several times now. I’m beginning to believe that I can’t be brought under.”

“Any many can be entranced. Your mind is hedged in by anxieties and insecurities; I haven’t been able to penetrate it. But if you will comply, I know how to crack your shell. We can open you up and expose the soft, vulnerable recesses of your psyche.”

“I will comply. Anything you say…tell me what I should do.”

“Nothing right now, pet. Meet me at the local shopping mall tomorrow at noon, in the central plaza by the main entrance. If, when we meet, you follow my instructions exactly, then tomorrow your dreams will come true.”

            Hugo rose, beaming, and extended his hand imploringly. Goddess Marquesa granted hers, which he kissed passionately. “Tomorrow!” he exclaimed, a gleam of expectation in his eyes.

*******************************************************

            The next day Hugo was prompt, and found Goddess Marquesa awaiting him as planned, attired in a short blue dress that accentuated her magnificent figure. It was a Saturday, so the mall was heavily trafficked. Families, couples, and clatches of teenage shoppers breezed by Hugo and the Goddess as they greeted one another.

            “How do we begin?” asked Hugo.

            “Follow me,” replied the Goddess. Turning, she led Hugo up some steps to a small raised platform on one side of the central plaza, where musical acts or “infomercial” demonstrations were occasionally staged for the diversion of mall patrons. Striding to the center of the platform, the Goddess turned and ordered, “On your knees.”

Hugo hesitated, looking about him at the crowd of passing shoppers. “What, here? All these people…”

Goddess Marquesa’s face revealed nothing but complete composure and quiet expectation. “This is what it will take to crack your shell, Hugo. If you want to open up, you will have to endure this. You said you would comply…I’m waiting.”

Hugo gazed open-mouthed at the Goddess, his eyes traveling over her gorgeous breasts and irresistible legs. Fear and desire warred openly in his features. Finally, his eyes met hers, and the power of her emerald orbs won out. Hugo collapsed to his knees.

            The sight of a man kneeling before this magnificent woman stirred attention immediately. Shoppers paused to hover curiously around the scene. Pointing and whispering erupted about the platform. Hugo could feel eyes drawn to him. His mouth went dry, his palms sweated.

“Kiss my feet,” the Goddess ordered.

Hugo swallowed hard, anxiety etched in every feature. He had yearned to do this…she must know that. A thousand times in his mind’s eye he had imagined falling prostrate at her feet. But not this way. Not with the world watching. He looked up at her imploringly, begging for escape. Her eyes bore into his mercilessly.

“I know you’ve dreamed of worshiping me this way, Hugo. This is your first chance. It will be your last if you don’t obey me now.”

Slowly, haltingly, Hugo bent down, forcing his body to ignore the reflexes of panic and flight that set his nerves ablaze. The crowd around him was snowballing, an electric awareness having spread through the open spaces of the mall that a real spectacle was underway. As Hugo’s debasement became clear, barks of laughter and open jibes rang through the air. It was only with some effort that Hugo finally brought his face to the ground where he could fulfill the Goddess’s command. Even in that open scene the thrill of feeling Goddess Marquesa’s stockinged foot against his lips was intensely sweet, but the hilarity and derision of the crowd stabbed Hugo like knives, filling him with conflicting waves of ecstasy and shame.

            “Good,”said the Goddess. “Now beg me to spank you.”

            “What?” asked Hugo as he looked up, momentarily disoriented.

            “You heard me. Do it now.”

            Hugo froze, petrified. Some part of him had believed that the worst was over, but now he could see that this had just begun. The crowd around him was boisterous and expectant, eager to see how far this entertainment would go. Hugo’s heart pounded, his breath came in gasps.

            “No, I can’t…” he pleaded. “There’s too many people…it’s too much…”

            “Very well,” declared Goddess Marquesa. “Goodbye, Hugo. I’m sorry you couldn’t follow through.” Turning on her heel, she walked slowly toward the stairs at the edge of the platform.

            “Wait!” screamed Hugo, standing up from the floor, an edge of panic in his voice, “Please!”

            Goddess Marquesa turned her head, favoring Hugo with an imperious flash of her green eyes. “Please, what?”

            A beat of hesitation hung in the air. Finally, the moment broke, and Hugo gasped. “Please spank me.”

            “Louder, Hugo. So everyone here can hear you.”

            “Please spank me!” shouted Hugo, drawing howls of laughter from the watching crowd.

“Who do you want to spank you?” asked the Goddess.

            “Please spank me, Goddess Marquesa!”

            “And who are you?”

Hugo turned toward the seething crowd, closed his eyes, and announced, “I am Hugo Barnes! Hugo Barnes! I beg to be spanked by Goddess Marquesa, the most beautiful woman in the world!”

            “Bend over, Hugo,” ordered Goddess Marquesa, favoring her audience with a bewitching smile. Hugo did as he was told. “Now put your thumb in your mouth like a good boy.”

            Hugo stood with his back to Goddess Marquesa, his body crooked so as to offer his ass to her hand. As she commanded, he placed his thumb in his mouth and began to suck.

            “Count for me!” the Goddess prompted the crowd as her first blow landed. For the next few minutes she thrashed Hugo with her open palm, raining forceful slaps upon Hugo’s ass. A carnival-like atmosphere descended, a scene reminiscent of the freak shows of yore. The crowd screamed with mixed disgust and delight, counting, laughing, and insulting Hugo by turns. The Goddess’ blows were agonizing, but it was hard to perceive from Hugo’s expression if he was sensible of the pain. His face was a blank mask, the only sign of awareness being the rivulets of tears and snot that flowed from his eyes and nose.

            After a while a disturbance began at the edge of the crowd, and Goddess Marquesa could see that mall security was trying to reach the platform to discover what had caused this ruckus. Drawing close to Hugo, she placed her mouth next to his ear and whispered, “Concentrate on my voice, Hugo. You are feeling very relaxed, very sleepy…”

************************************************************************

            “That’s right,” Hugo intoned into the telephone some days later, his voice a monotone. “I will be breaking my lease…..Yes, I realize I will lose my security deposit, but I have alternate living arrangements now. Please feel free to keep whatever remains in the apartment.” A voice on the other end of the line began to protest, but Hugo hung up the phone and placed the receiver back in the cradle.

“Very good, pet,” remarked Goddess Marquesa with a tone of satisfaction. She was arrayed in a lounge chair in a casual robe, her bare legs stretched out enticingly. Hugo stood by impassively, his expression neutral, awaiting her command. “What shall we do with you now?” mused the Goddess. “Hmmm…back when you had your own mind you expressed interest in my legs, I think I will indulge you somewhat. Get down and lick my feet clean. After that you can go back to your cage.”

“Yes, Goddess,” answered Hugo in the same monotone he had used with his ex-landlord. Falling to all fours he obediently began scouring the Goddess’s soles and toes with his tongue.