Yes, Master! Page 14

  With one hand he controlled her head, pulling hard on her long braid.

  The other he used on her ass, spanking rhythmically to accentuate the mutual tension. Penayway’s face was locked in submitted bliss. She was a study of slavish discipline, master’s property, his pride and joy.

  He uttered a single word to her and she released.

  Liandra couldn’t help but touch herself. Penayway was coming on command, her body responding in total intimate self-giving to the command of its owner.

  If only that were her on the floor, Liandra thought.

  The truth hit her hard. She remembered Kyle’s question, the lie she’d told in reply which started all the trouble between them in the restaurant. Kyle had read into her mind, her heart, he saw the hole that was there, the emptiness, he could picture her crying in the night, twisting against nightmares, wishing for someone to make it all right, a pair of strong arms, a man’s smile, a man’s stern glance, to make her little pussy dance, to make her bottom burn...not just when he wanted to get off, but when she needed it.

  My, god, I’m terrified to trust anyone, she realized. My father did this to me. He burned me early; short circuited something normal in my soul. It was not the wanting of BDSM that made her abnormal; it was the fact that she wasn’t willing to open herself to the possibility of happiness.

  Rave wasn’t the dominant she needed, just another asshole like her father to make her unhappy. He just used the right sex tools to push her buttons, that’s all.

  Liandra knew at once what she had to do.

  She had to go back. To Kyle. To ask his forgiveness.

  Virgil and his little slave climaxed together. It was a beautiful thing, the give and take, the ebb and flow of dominance and submission. Penayway wasn’t being degraded; she was uplifted, treasured and honored by this statuesque, god-like man. Virgil was ten times the master Rave could ever hope to be. And Kyle...he was a master, too.

  She wanted to give him another chance. She wanted to trust him. She needed to trust him.

  “Liandra, you shouldn’t skulk in doorways,” Virgil chided, withdrawing his cock and rising to his feet.

  “I am sorry, Master.” She presented herself quickly, in hopes of avoiding further punishment.

  He had a brow arched. “You haven’t learned to mind your own affairs, have you?”

  She lowered her head. “No, Master.”

  Virgil laughed. “It is all right. You meant no harm.”

  She smiled. “No, Master. I love seeing you make love.”

  “You’ve been thinking many thoughts,” Virgil read her expression.

  “Yes, Master,” said Liandra, watching as Penayway crawled between her master’s legs and licked his cock clean of her fluids and his.

  “And have you drawn any conclusions?”

  “I am not sure about conclusions,” she said. “But I know what I need to do next.”

  “You wish to find Kyle,” he said. “And make your peace.”

  She nodded. “Yes, Master.”

  “I will take you there.”

  “Thank you, Master.”

  He gave an order. Penayway went to fetch his riding boots, t-shirt and vest. She helped him get dressed. Liandra put her on clothes, full of anticipation.

  What would she say to Kyle? She didn’t dare imagine his reply. To be rejected...again would feel terrible, but what if he didn’t reject her? What if he accepted her, offered her a permanent collar?

  Wouldn’t that be ever so much scarier?

  It would, but if it was her fate, she couldn’t run.

  Not from her waking reality or her nightmares either.

  It was time to lay the ghosts to rest. All of them.

  “I’ll wait for you,” said Virgil as they pulled up in front of Kyle’s apartment building a half hour later. “For fifteen minutes. If you’re not back by then I will assume you’ve worked things out.”

  She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, almost shy. “Thank you, Master.”

  Liandra hopped off the bike. Her legs were rubber. How would she ever get through this?

  “Tell me I am not crazy, Master.”

  He shrugged. “We are all crazy or else we are not truly alive.”

  Interesting theory...coming from a man who made a living swinging from naked skyscraper beams.

  Her heart slammed in her chest. She rode the elevator, her throat constricting with every passing floor. She was sure she’d collapse into his arms at the sight of him.

  If he even deigned to answer the door.

  She rang the bell and waited. He’d see her through the peephole first. Would he ignore her?

  She sensed him on the other side of the door...making his decision. At last she heard the chain rattling. The knob turned.

  “Liandra,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

  His tone was distant, measured.

  “I came to talk, Kyle, please, can I have just a few minutes?”

  He sighed, pursing his lips. “Come in,” he said.

  “Thank you.” She felt the instant tug of guilt and sadness as she looked around his apartment, where they’d had so much fun. The sofa, the floor, the bedroom, out of view with its wonderful brass head board.

  “Kyle, I want to say how sorry I am, I left you in the restaurant, I had no idea what you were doing, I jumped to all these conclusions, I should have trusted you wouldn’t just abandoned me, but I got scared, insecure.”

  “Yes,” he agreed. “You should have trusted me. I went to get a spatula, for the spanking. I was only gone a minute or two and you were gone.”

  “It was such a horrible thing for me to do...” Tears filled her eyes.

  “The fault is mine,” he said, in that same monotone. “I shouldn’t have left you at all. I wasn’t thinking clearly. You were right to be frightened. A master doesn’t put his submissive in that kind of emotional jeopardy, even for a second.”

  She felt his self-accusation, like a knife through both their hearts. “Don’t torture yourself. I know you’d never do anything to hurt me. I was safe there, I see that now.”

  She went to him to embrace him, but he held her back. “You’re not in a position to excuse my behavior, Lee. I have a master’s standard to live up to.”

  “But I’m in a position to be your slave,” she said. “And I want to.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “That isn’t possible.”

  “Why? Why isn’t it?”

  “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “You have to explain it to me, then!” She was angry. Why was he doing this?

  “I’m not fit to be a master, just leave it at that.” He had such terrible circles under his eyes. He seemed years older. All the light and energy was gone. Was this what it was like to be in the grip of grief?

  “Why don’t I get a say?” she demanded.

  “You’re a sub, Lee. You have to accept things.”

  “Bullshit! You can’t have it both ways,” she fumed. “If I’m supposed to accept your all knowing will, then that makes you master material, if you’re not up for the job then why the fuck should I listen to a damn thing you say?”

  “You’re right, Lee, you shouldn’t listen to me. I’m a miserable bastard. Lucky for you that you found out early on. Now get out.”

  “Fine,” she shot back. “I will. But for the record, I’m not running this time. You are.”

  “Good luck in your search,” he said. “I know you’ll find the right man.”

  “I did,” she said. “Only he doesn’t have the balls to be the man he’s supposed to be.”

  “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

  Liandra couldn’t let it go. “I’m sure you do. And when you wake up from this pity party of yours you’re going to be real sorry, because I am someone pretty special.”

  “Pity party?” His eyes lit up, raw nerve touched with a branding iron. “Have you any fucking idea what you are talking about? Do you know the first thing about living in hell, da
y after day, praying to whatever fucking god is up there to take your life, wishing he’d done that in the first place instead of taking her?”

  “No, I don’t.” She stood toe to toe, imbued with a power far beyond her own nature. “I don’t know anything about what you went through and I am sure that my very existence insults Vanessa’s memory. But I do exist, Kyle, I am your property, you said yesterday I was. I came back to you and I want your collar...until tomorrow night at least, that much you owe me.”

  “I owe you nothing!”

  She fell to her knees. “I beg punishment, Master, for breaking position, for leaving the restaurant...for disobeying.”

  “Stop it, Lee.”

  “I beg your belt,” she persisted, ripping open her blouse. “On my tits. On my cunt.”

  He reached for her arm. She ducked down, pressing her lips to his shoes.

  “God damn you, Lee!”

  She wrapped her arms around his legs. “I beg you, Master...beat your slave...beat and fuck her into submission...give her leather and steel.”

  “Keep pushing me, Lee, and you’ll end up with more than you bargained for.”

  “Do it to me,” she goaded. “If you’re man enough.”

  Kyle had been pushed to the brink. He grabbed her hair, tightening his fist. She winced as he pulled at the roots, forcing eye contact. “If you don’t give this up, Lee, I am going to punish you in a way you won’t like.”

  “I can’t give up anything,” she said stubbornly. “I’m your slave girl, everything I have is already yours.”

  “Very well.” He dragged her to a standing position. “Strip,” he ordered.

  Her scalp burned from his cruel grasp. He did not ease up one little bit as she struggled to get naked.

  “You can leave the shoes on,” he said.

  Kyle proceeded to pull her down the hall, stumbling beside him. He smacked her in the ass, signaling for her to enter the guest bedroom. The room was lovely, with a brocaded magenta bed spread and matching curtains. The bed was a four poster in a dark brown wood. It was the trunk at the foot of it that caught her interest, though.

  Something about it told her it had a special purpose, a kinky one.

  “Vanessa spent her punishment time in here,” he said, flipping open the rounded top. “It’s padded, specially made. You and her are basically the same size.”

  Liandra began to struggle. Kyle grabbed her nipple. “It’s too late for that, slave girl. You wanted punishment, you’ll get it. A night in the trunk ought to cool your heels.”

  “Kyle, Master...I...I’m not sure about this.”

  “I’m very sure, Lee. Unless you want to opt out, in which case I don’t ever want to see your face again.”

  “But if I go through with it. There’s hope...for us?”

  He frowned, realizing he’d trapped himself. “You’re too smart, girl, you know that? Vanessa wasn’t half so frustrating.”

  She felt a small burst of pride. “Master, lock your slave in the trunk. Let her show you she is worthy of your discipline.”

  He sighed. “There are lots of air holes. Just put your face up to one and yell. I’ll hear you.”

  “Master, thank you,” she beamed, wishing she could hug him.

  “You won’t be so happy for long,” he predicted. “You’ll be begging to get out in a half hour.”

  Liandra climbed into the box. The bottom was covered in plush velour, the sides, too. It was large enough to lie down in, though she had to gather her knees up to her chest. Sitting up was impossible.

  “Master,” she said as he went to close the lid on top of her. “I love you.”

  He scowled. “Just concentrate,” he said. “On your breathing.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  He loves me, too, she thought with a smile.

  Kyle shut the lid. She heard the clicking of metal, the sound of a lock?

  A thrill went through her. She was a prisoner now, naked and tightly confined. Tentatively, she reached out, feeling the wall. It was so soft and luxurious, she imagined being inside a womb.

  The darkness was strange, cloying, but not nearly as disquieting as she expected. It was definitely punishment—she could feel her muscles cramping already—but there was a compensating sense of peace, even elation at being back here with Kyle.

  He was giving her another chance. And downstairs, as the deadline passed, Virgil would realize that and drive away, back to his own waiting slave. Liandra was determined to make it through the night. She would prove that she was a fit slave. She would get her collar back.

  This time for keeps.

  Remarkably, she fell asleep, within minutes of being locked inside.

  What she didn’t know but could only sense was that right outside the trunk, sitting in a folding chair, staring intently, was Kyle. Wide awake, as he would be all night.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Liandra would not be denied her Master’s cock. It was the one and only thing she craved as he opened the trunk the next morning. Her eyes squinted against the light, her body flush with need, she knelt up, greedily reaching for the crotch of his boxer shorts.

  It was the only garment he wore.

  He groaned as she took him deep, unabashed in her cock worship. He had no choice but to come, giving her his first morning’s load to drink. She swallowed every bit and then licked him clean.

  “Thank you,” she said, her voice hoarse. “Thank you, my Master.”

  “We need to talk,” he said wearily, helping her to her feet.

  She threw her arms around his waist. “Just tell me you won’t leave me, tell me you won’t throw me out. I want to stay with you, forever.”

  Strange things had been worked in Liandra’s dreams last night, strange and beautiful things which had solidified her needs and wants. She was prepared to give him time, though, at least enough to talk.

  After all, becoming a slave was probably easier than becoming a master. The former was an act of loving surrender while the latter required the assumption of mind boggling responsibility.

  “You are incorrigible, you know that, slave?”

  “Yes, Master.”

  He had coffee waiting for her and toast and eggs and bacon. She barely remembered to chew. It felt like days since she’d eaten. He seemed to get a kick out of watching her, all aglow over the simple pleasure of breakfast. He didn’t realize how she saw it, though, as a gift from her provider, a shower of privilege which could be taken away in an instant. She might be made to eat bread off the floor tomorrow or perhaps starved outright for a day as punishment for some as of yet uncommitted offense.

  “The thing is this,” he said, scraping out the rest of the scrambled eggs for her. “I had no idea how far I had slipped. I was functioning, not living. I guess...I guess I was afraid to go on because that felt like betraying Vanessa’s memory. I mean how could I be happy when she wasn’t here, how could I just give up my anger over what had happened? She deserved better and I should have gotten the job done.”

  “But, Master, you are only one man, pardon me for saying so.”

  “Thanks for reminding me of my frailty,” he smiled wryly. “I suspect you’ll do that often.”

  “If you give me the chance.”

  He laughed. “I just wish you knew what you were getting into.”

  “How do you know I don’t?”

  “I guess you’re right,” he conceded. “Coming from you, nothing would surprise me.”

  “I have been known to amuse and amaze...”

  “Perplex more like. Why didn’t you just keep running? You really think I’m worth it?”

  “Do you think I am?” she challenged.

  “Do you always answer questions with questions, slave?”

  “Do you, Master?”

  He shook his head. “You know you’re going to make a terrible slave, and I mean that in the best possible way.”

  She leaped up to plant a sloppy wet kiss. “I love you, too, Master.”

  He
held her by her upper arms. “Seriously, we need to be clear about things. You know that I am a broken man. I don’t think you ever completely heal from the kind of thing I’ve been through. You should have a Master who can love you with a whole heart, give you all the benefits of the doubt, be totally patient and pure.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “Master, do you think such a man exists? Who isn’t wounded? Who isn’t crazy? To quote a wise man, if you’re not crazy, you’re not living. I can’t touch your pain if you won’t let me. But I want to try. I have pain, too. I can’t compare it, that makes no sense, but I have reasons to feel cheated all on my own. I should have had a decent father instead of a mean son of a bitch who was too jealous to see past the end of his nose. I should have learned to be my own person years ago; I let so many opportunities pass. But you know what? Every heart ache led me to you and I can’t regret that.”

  Liandra was on a roll. It all came out now, in a single rush of words, sentence pouring upon sentence. “Oh, god, I’m so sorry about Vanessa and I promise if you give me the chance I will learn all about her, I will love her, I will treasure and honor her memory, I will serve you and be your slave; I can’t replace her, I know she was ten times the woman I’ll ever be, but I love you, I’m sorry, Master, I do, I couldn’t change that even if I wanted to...”

  He held her tight, like he never wanted to let go. “Baby, I have been such a fool, a stubborn fool. I have been fighting you. You shouldn’t have to change, you’re beautiful and we have been blessed to find each other. I’m just so scared, underneath all my anger and everything else I just have this terror I’ll lose you, too. I think I walked out on you last night as some kind of test, I didn’t even realize it at the time. I wanted to see if you would go, or worse still if the universe would take you away.”

  “The universe can’t take me,” she said fiercely. “I already told you, you’re stuck with me. I’m your property, bought and paid for, no returns.”

  “I don’t see how I did it, though. I should never have been able to afford you...”

  “Call it fate, then, a free gift, you said so yourself.”