She nodded toward the corner where she’d placed her personal items. “In my purse.”
He took a black pen from his desk, pulled her journal from her purse, and held them out to her. “Num
ber Three: Failure to thank Master Johnson for his generous allowance of two orgasms a day.”
She shook her head. “But I—”
“Hush. You have two choices. One: apologize, thank me, and write it down. After which, we move into the sitting room and continue your retraining. Or two: you talk back or argue and I introduce you to a very, very uncomfortable non-corporal punishment you will hate. After which, you will still apologize, thank me, and write it down. Of course, it’ll be too late for your retraining session, so you’ll have to come back tomorrow.” He gave her a pointed stare. “Decision is yours.”
She hesitated, a move he took to mean she gave serious thought to arguing, but then she sighed. “Forgive me, Sir, for my failure to acknowledge your generosity.”
“Apology accepted. Your discipline has been deferred to a future date, to be determined by me.”
“And thank you for allowing me two orgasms a day for three days.”
She didn’t seem thankful, but he’d learned early on that if one said the words often enough, the intent and gratitude would follow. “You’re welcome. Your second assignment is to document each orgasm. Write it down so you don’t forget, then write your third infraction in the back along with the other two. When you’re finished, we’ll move into the sitting room.”
It didn’t take her long to write everything down. She finished and placed the journal on the floor.
“Finished?” he asked.
“Yes, Sir.”
“I’m going to blindfold you before we go to the sitting room.”
He stood up, taking with him the heavy blindfold he put on the edge of the desk earlier. She showed no concern at his statement. Still, he watched her carefully. “I’m going to touch your head,” he said before he secured the material over her eyes and around her head. Her breathing remained calm.
“You’re totally dependent upon me to be your eyes now.” He curled his fingers into a fist so he wouldn’t be tempted to touch her again. “You have my assurance I will not misguide you. Place your trust completely in me. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Stand up for me, little one.”
She moved slowly to her feet, using her arms to balance herself. “It’s a bit scary, Sir.”
“That’s why you have to rely on me. You’ve already said I don’t scare you.”
“That was before you took my sight away, Sir.”
“What is the primary foundation for any Dominant/submissive relationship?”
“Trust, Sir.”
“Correct. I’m going to push you during our time together. Your mind must learn that I am completely trustworthy, so even when your body balks at what I ask, your mind knows the answer instinctively.”
A shiver ran through her. “You ask for a lot, Sir,” she whispered.
“And I give so much more. I’m going to take your hand.” He touched her hand and her fingers wrapped around his. “Come with me, now. Six steps forward and we’ll be at the door.”
• • •
Step by step, he led her to the sitting room. She knew because he’d told her and it made sense with what she knew about the layout of the guesthouse. Once there, he stopped her at the entrance. Sasha held tightly to his hand, telling herself not to be scared, that she was with Cole and he’d promised he wouldn’t hurt her. She had to trust someone at some point, and she wanted to trust him.
“You know where we are?” he asked, his accent so smooth. She could listen to him forever.
“The sitting room.”
“Yes, but it’s been modified. You wouldn’t recognize it.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m going to let go now and tell you how to navigate the room. You’ll be fine as long as you listen and follow my commands. But if you don’t?” He chuckled. “Each bump into a table, chair, or wall carries a penalty. Make it into the sunroom without a penalty and you’ll earn a reward.”
Nothing too bad was going to happen, she told herself. Even if she bumped into something, the worse he’d probably do was make her write dirty sentences. On the other hand, if she made it?
Hell, yes, she wanted to experience one of Master Johnson’s rewards.
“I’m ready, Sir.”
“Good job, little one. Two steps forward.”
It started out easy enough. Little steps forward. Turn right and two more steps. But as she made her way deeper into the room and farther from him, her nerves and self-doubt tried to get the better of her.
“Don’t you trust me?” Peter’s voice had been accusatory. Almost as if he was saying she didn’t get a say in what they did.
“Of course I trust you, but . . .” How would she safeword?
“No buts. Either you do or you don’t.”
“Sasha?” Cole’s voice didn’t sound anything like Peter’s. The memory disappeared.
“Yes, Sir?”
“You froze. Are you okay?”
She took a few deep breaths. I’m safe. I’m with Cole. He’ll protect me. “I had a flashback, Sir, but I feel better.”
She heard him walking toward her and then she felt his nearness.
His breath tickled her ear. “I’m going to touch your shoulders.”
She only had a chance to nod before his hands were rubbing her shoulders. Her body moved instinctively toward him.
“First of all, breathe, little one. Then tell me what happened.”
She took several deep breaths, like he’d told her before. Funny how such a simple act made her feel better. “It was a flashback to that night. Peter. He asked me if I trusted him, but I was afraid. I wouldn’t be able to safe out.”
“So you knew you shouldn’t have moved forward?” His tone was light and non-accusatory. And his hands felt so good.
“Yes, but I didn’t say anything. I thought it was sweet we knew each other so well we didn’t need safe words anymore.”
“I’m not going to give you a lecture on why that was a mistake. I’m sure you’ve heard it enough. I will tell you that if you’re uneasy about anything we’re doing, I expect you to yellow. The only thing that will upset me is if you don’t use your safe words. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
He continued rubbing her shoulders and back. It wasn’t long before her tension left completely.
She swayed against him.
“Better?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Do we need to stop?”
“I’d like to finish.”
His breath tickled her ear again. “That’s my girl,” he said with one last squeeze of her shoulder. “You make me proud.”
His praise gave her the strength she needed to finish. Though she’d doubted her ability to find a knowledgeable Dom, her instincts told her he was a Dom worth submitting to. Unfortunately, he was only hers for this little slice of time. He didn’t even think she was submissive enough to have sex with.
But I can show him this. I can prove I can do this.
With a renewed confidence, she focused on his voice and broke out into a huge smile when he told her she’d made it to the sunroom.
“Stay where you are. Keep the blindfold on.” His voice moved closer to her.