And just as she did, he cut her off. “Stop.”
“Goddammit!” Fist clenched around the device, she turned it off and glared at him. “What do you want?”
“First of all, I want you to remember how to address me when we’re playing.” The hardness in his tone wasn’t all for show. His own temper was rising to match hers, but he did his best to keep a rein on it. The goal was to drive her to lose control, not the opposite.
“Fine,” she snapped. “What do you want,sir?”
“I want you to tell me what’s going on with you.”
The expression on her face turned mutinous. “Nothing, sir. I’m fine.”
“Bullshit. Turn it on.”
“No! I’m not lying to you and I’m not playing this game any more.”
For a split second, he was sure she was going to throw the vibrator at him and storm off. But she stayed where she was, still gripping the tube, glaring at him.
This was, he realized, more of a test of her submission than anything he’d put her through before. It was easier to submit when someone held you down or forced you to obey. But knowing you could walk away if you wanted to, and your Dom couldn’t physically wrestle you into submission? Damn near impossible.
And yet, there she stood, trembling with some mix of anger and need, knowing she was going to be punished for disobeying. Waiting for her sentence to be handed down.
His own anger faded a bit.Good girl.
“I’ll give you a choice,” he told her, fighting back a grin at the wariness that crept into her eyes.
“A choice, sir?”
“You can take your punishment like a good girl, or you can go stand with your nose pressed to the wall until you’re ready to obey.”
The little brat had the nerve to actually growl at him. “That’s not much of a choice, sir.”
“I know. What’s it gonna be, kitten?”
“I don’t understand why I’m being punished. I haven’t lied to you about anything!”
If he’d had any indication that the tears in her eyes were from distress rather than frustration, he might have considered showing her some mercy. But that defiance was still etched into every muscle in her body, so leniency was off the table.
“You are lying to me. Keeping secrets is the same as lying. But that’s not why you’re being punished.”
“It’s not?”
“No. This,” he gestured at the vibrator she still held in her hand, “wasn’t a punishment. I just wanted to get you to open up. You are going to be punished for telling me no.”
Some of the color leeched from her cheeks. “Oh.”
“Yeah. So, which is it? Are you going to take your punishment or do I have to wait out your stubborn streak?”
Her shoulders hunched forward and for the first time since they’d started their little game, she looked remorseful. “I’m sorry, sir. I was just frustrated.”
“Thank you for the apology, kitten. In the bag, there’s a small bottle labeled peppermint oil. Find it for me, please.”
After a short hesitation, she bent down to search the bag and a moment later, she held up a small bottle of clear liquid.
“Pour some on the vibrator. Enough to coat it, but you don’t need to use the whole bottle.”
Another beat of hesitation, her mouth turning down into a frown as she considered the request. He could see the wheels turning in her mind and it had to be killing her not to askwhy,but she silently followed his instructions.
“Turn it back on and start again. But still no coming until I say so.”