“Get up, Alex. How was your second day with us?” Alex stood, glancing shyly up at him as she crossed her arms reflexively over her breasts.
She looked to Daniel, who said quietly, “Arms down.” She dropped her arms at once and arched her back, causing her breasts to thrust forward. Liam suppressed a smile. Turning to him, she answered, “It was, um, instructional.”
He laughed. “So I understand. Daniel says you have potential when it comes to pleasing a man, but there’s still work to be done before he’s ready to present you to me. What else happened today, Alex? Is there something you need to tell me?”
Alex flushed and glanced reproachfully at Daniel. Had she honestly expected him to keep it a secret? She blurted out, “Why are you asking, when you obviously know it all anyway?” Liam heard Daniel draw in his breath sharply. He would never address Liam in that insolent tone. Liam knew Alex was embarrassed and reacting off that embarrassment. Nevertheless, she’d been insolent that morning at breakfast too. It was time to make the law a little clearer.
Quickly he moved toward her, gripping a handful of her hair in his strong fingers. He pulled her head back as he leaned down close to her face. “I’m asking because I want to hear it from you. I’ll warn you now—speak to me or to Daniel like that again and you can pack your bags.” He let go of her hair, ignoring her as he turned to Daniel. “Obviously she needs things spelled out.” He leaned down to retrieve his briefcase. “Bring her to my study when she’s ready to present herself like a proper submissive. You can put on shorts—she’s to stay naked.”
~*~
“What’s wrong with you?” Daniel hissed as Liam strode from the hallway. “You know better than that.”
“I’m sorry!” Alex blurted. “It’s obvious you told him every detail of the day already so why’s he making me spell it again? Just to embarrass me?”
“It doesn’t matter why he asks you something. He asks, you answer. It’s that simple. You keep trying to control things. Until you let that go, you’ll never become truly submissive. Don’t you get it? He asked because part of your punishment or your atonement, if you like, is to recount yourself what you did wrong. It’s a way of owning up to it—of claiming responsibility. Whatever Liam or I ask of you, you should be prepared to answer as honestly and openly as you can. Otherwise this is just a game. Another in a series of hollow playacting bullshit D/s relationships that mean less than nothing when the day is done.”
Alex was silent. Daniel had hit a nerve. Yet the thought of spelling out in detail how she’d slipped her hand into her shorts to get herself off while daydreaming of the two sexy guys making out in front of her—how embarrassing. “Was it like this for you, Daniel? Did you mess up sometimes, or were you just born submissive, innately full of grace since birth?”
Daniel laughed. “No, I messed up all the time. Not in the same way as you. I could control myself in the jerking-off department.” Alex wrinkled her nose as he continued. “My issues are more about wanting to control the scene. It took me some time to accept Liam’s choice without trying to get what I wanted or thought I wanted in the process. We’re so close now, so connected that what he wants for me always turns out to be what I really want for myself. Sometimes I think he knows me better than I know myself. He knows my limits and he’s not afraid to take me right to the edge. My only job is to trust him enough to let him do it.”
“Wow,” Alex said softly, suddenly longing for the kind of connection Daniel spoke of, aware she would probably never find it. She was too closed off—she could never open herself enough to trust someone so completely. Perhaps love did have something to do with it? She shook away the thought.
Wordlessly she followed Daniel to Liam’s study, feeling like a schoolgirl going to see the principal after having been caught cheating or chewing gum in class. It was strange to be naked while Daniel wore his shorts. She wished she had the cover of clothing but understood the intention was to leave her feeling that much more vulnerable.
Though the door was open, Daniel knocked lightly on the doorframe. Liam looked up from his papers and smiled. They entered the room. Daniel sat on the sofa to the left of Liam’s desk. Alex stood uncertainly, not quite daring to sit without being invited to do so. She crossed her arms over her body, glanced at Daniel and at once dropped them again to her sides. Her hair was hanging in her face but she didn’t brush it back, glad for the bit of cover it afforded her.