Diamonds Forever (13 page)

She stood in his shadow and he placed a finger gently but firmly under her chin, keeping her face angled up to his.

She didn't reply, waiting for his next words.

‘Because if I let you get away with this, what's next? Sneaking about behind my back? Keeping secrets from me?'

‘No, I wouldn't do that,' she said, but a sudden recollection of what she had read in the Nottingham archive came back to stamp guilt all over her face.

‘Oh, wouldn't you? So why didn't you tell me this then?'

‘I just … didn't think it mattered. Forgot.'

He held her eyes just long enough to let her know he didn't believe her. She couldn't hide her unease. She was a terrible liar.

‘OK, I thought you'd be disappointed,' she admitted.

‘The truth at last,' he said. ‘No point trying to be slippery with me, babe. I'll always get your deepest secrets out of you. I can read your face like a painting.'

Damn his artistic literacy!

‘So you are then?' she said. ‘Disappointed in me, I mean.'

He ran a thumb along her jawline, stroking it reflectively.

‘Yeah,' he said. ‘I suppose I am. You weren't honest with me, and I don't like that.'

‘I'm sorry.'

He bent his lips to her ear.

‘You're going to be,' he whispered.

When he straightened up, his broad and wicked smile filled the attic room.

‘Get downstairs and get that black underwear on,' he ordered. ‘I want you waiting for me in the corner of the bedroom with your hands behind your back. Well, what are you waiting for?'

He gave her bottom a smack, a taste of things to come.

She fled.

JENNA HAD NEVER
in her life stood in a corner, even at primary school. She'd been one of the good girls. No naughty step or staying in at playtime for her.

It was novel, and almost enjoyable, to be standing here in her sexiest underwear, waiting for her punishment. But it was also mortifying and a bit scary. It frightened her, in a way, to feel that Jason knew he could ask her to do something like this, and she would do it. He recognised his power over her, and he used it.

Was it an unequal relationship, then?

No, she had to conclude it was not. She wouldn't obey a request she found unacceptable. This kinky side to things was a new and delicious repast for her and she couldn't get enough of it. It was like tasting spice after a lifetime of mashed potato. The possibilities seemed dizzying, and endless.

All the same, it was embarrassing to be standing here, barefoot and almost bare-bottomed, with her nose to the wall and her hands folded in the small of her back. Her nipples were hard, peeking over the wholly inadequate cups of her so-called bra and she was goose-pimpled all over.

Jason was taking his time. What was he doing? What would he decide to do to her when he got here?

Well, in a way, the answer to that was pretty obvious. But she wanted to know the detail. Would he put her over his knee or make her bend over a chair? Would he use his hand, or his handmade paddle, or something else? And, most interesting speculation of all, what would happen afterwards?

She heard the door of the shower room open and close – he was entering it from the corridor rather than the bedroom. A few moments later, the splash of water on tiling told her that he was washing the paint out of his hair.

She knew he wouldn't catch her moving while he was in the shower, but she still didn't leave the corner. Somehow, the principle of the thing was important. She needed to know for her own sake that he had nothing to reproach her with.

She stood straighter and thrust her chest out further, taking pleasure in her obedience to his will. But what if he presumed she hadn't obeyed him? She couldn't prove it. She might as well … just maybe take a few things out of the bedside drawer? Hide them somewhere?

The shower sounds ceased abruptly and she stood to attention, hot with guilt at what she'd been thinking.

Another age passed, with Jenna expecting the interconnecting door to open at any moment, but Jason had other plans, it seemed, because he went back out into the corridor.

What?
Jenna huffed and her posture slackened.
Bored now
.
Just get on with it.

She hopped back into position, her heart racing painfully, when the bedroom door opened swiftly and suddenly. She couldn't, however, resist the temptation to sneak a glimpse over her shoulder.

‘Oh no, no, no,' tutted Jason, whom she had seen was wearing his sharp black suit. He must have gone downstairs to get it from the hall, where it had been hanging up after being delivered by the dry cleaning service. ‘Eyes to the front, Jen. You know the drill.'

No she didn't! She wanted to object that standing in a corner had not made up a significant proportion of her life experience thus far, but something told her this would get her nowhere.

‘Makes a change,' he said, closer to her now. ‘Somebody else in the corner. I was forever getting sent there when I was little. When I got a bit older, I got chucked out of class instead. Then suspended. Then excluded. But there's something about standing in the corner, isn't there? It makes you feel dead small.'

‘I've never done it before,' she said.

‘Haven't you? Well, get used to it, love. Because that little spot is all yours, whenever I think you could do with a bit of time there. So, have you thought about why I sent you there?'

‘You told me why.' Oh dear, again that slightly chippy tone. She couldn't seem to quash it. But meekness and mildness didn't come easily to Jenna Myatt Diamond, of
Talent Team
.

‘Well, perhaps I want to hear it from you, and without the attitude.'

Oops. She was in dangerous territory here.

She racked her brains for a neutral way of putting it.

‘Because I wasn't honest with you.'

‘Right. And what weren't you honest about?'

Ugh, she knew straight away that he was going to make her talk about things she'd prefer not to. Such as butt plugs.

‘I sent Kayley to the shop instead of going myself.'

‘The shop? What, Asda?'

‘No, the … the special shop. The adult shop.'

‘The sex shop.'

‘That's the one.' She tried to suppress a little giggle of gratitude at his helpfully saying the word for her.

‘So, tell me why you did it, then.'

‘Because … You know why.'

‘OK, you didn't want to be followed by photographers or whatever. But what was it about your little shopping trip that you didn't want them to know?'

Jason was such a jerk sometimes, she thought crossly. There was no need for all this.

‘Can't we just get on with the …?' she muttered.

‘The what?'

She was trapped, whatever she did. She was going to have to say these awful things.

‘The whatever it is you're going to do to me,' she said smartly.

He laughed.

‘Uh uh. I don't think that's quite good enough, Jenna. Tell me what you made Kayley buy in the shop and I'll consider it.'

She took a deep breath. ‘A butt plug.'

‘Good. Why didn't you want to be seen buying it?'

Jenna clenched her fists and pressed them into the small of her back.

‘Isn't it obvious?' she hissed.

‘Maybe,' he said. ‘And isn't it obvious that I want to hear it from you? Go on.'

‘Because then they'd
know
. And everyone would know. And it would be the most embarrassing thing ever.'

‘What's embarrassing about shoving things up your bum?' Jason laughed. ‘To be honest, love, they'd probably think it was me getting the unexpected visitor. They'd peg you for a dominatrix. So to speak. Little pegging joke there.'

‘What's pegging?'

‘Ah, so much to learn, my little one. I have much to teach you.'

‘And I don't suppose it's all eastern philosophy either.'

‘No, none of it, to be honest. Dunno why I was doing that accent really. Anyway.' He seemed to snap out of his light humour and revert to sternness. ‘I'm not here for a bit of banter. I'm here to teach you a lesson. And that lesson is – do as Jason says. And if you don't, confess before it's too late.'

‘So it's too late now?'

‘Much too late. Way, way past the confession deadline.'

‘Ah.'

‘So I'm going to ask you first. What should I do with you?'

This was an unexpected twist. Wasn't it up to him to decide on the gory details?

‘I don't know,' she said.

Her beautifully framed, almost bare, backside was subjected to a sudden hard, loud smack.

‘You missed a word off the end of that,' he said, amid her yelps.

‘I don't know … sir,' she managed, stamping her foot as she said it.

‘Still not happy with the attitude, love,' said Jason, adding another smack to the other side of her bottom, to even things up. ‘I think this lesson might be a long one.'

She pushed out her bottom lip, not that he could see it, and said in a much milder manner, ‘I don't know, sir.'

‘Better. Why don't you know?'

‘Because … well … because I thought it was up to you.' She was desperate to get her nose out of that corner and face him. This conversation was even more difficult and embarrassing with him standing just behind her, his hands hovering near her bottom in case she said the wrong thing again.

‘You did? That's good. Because it
is
up to me. But I'm just asking you to use your imagination and pretend the shoe's on the other foot for a moment. What would you give yourself? For dishonesty, and a bit of disrespect on the side?'

‘Well … I don't know. I suppose you're going to –' she took a breath ‘– spank me.'

‘Do you think that's what I should do?' He was relentless. He put a finger inside one of the webbed straps criss-crossing her bottom and pulled the elastic taut.

‘I guess it's fair, sir,' she said, just wanting this to be over with and adjusting her manner to top-level humility in the hope it would help.

‘Yeah, it's fair. So you agree on that. Good. So I think you should ask me to do it.'

‘Oh …' She floundered, unlacing her fingers from behind her back and flapping them in dismay.

‘But to my face,' he elucidated. ‘Turn around and face me, and look at me when you're saying it.'

She pivoted unwillingly, thinking that perhaps she ought to be grateful to have her bottom out of the danger zone, for a short while.

Her eyes met his. He was loving this! She chewed the inside of her cheek, trying to resist the impulse to protest again.

‘Look,' she said, trying hard to retain some dignity, although the effort was clearly doomed. ‘I'm really sorry, sir. I shouldn't have kept the truth from you. So will you please give me … what I deserve?'

‘And what you deserve is?' He smirked.

‘A spanking, goddamnit!' she blurted.

He threw back his head and laughed, then put a hand on her shoulder, urging her down to her knees.

‘Something wasn't quite right about that, was it, babe?' he teased. ‘Try again. Maybe a little bit of begging might be good for your bum.'

At least on her knees she didn't have to look into his eyes. She couldn't, without cricking her neck.

It was much easier to say these words to his thighs, somehow.

‘Please, sir, will you spank me because I deserve it,' she mumbled.

‘Right. That was quite good. Only thing now is … I don't know what to use. What do you reckon, Jen?'

‘Your hand,' she suggested hopefully. Or – no – she should have suggested that little suede flogger that started out so softly and built up so sweetly.

‘For starters,' he said ominously. ‘All right then. Up you get.'

He helped her up and, against her expectations, pulled her suddenly into him for a stolen, breathless kiss.

‘Can't resist you in that underwear,' he whispered, hot breath warming her ear. ‘But first things first.' He patted her bottom and led her over to the dressing table chair.

It was a little too low for a man of Jason's stature, which meant that his thighs were sloped down when she was pulled across them. She rolled down them until she was tight against his stomach, her legs draped inelegantly.

‘This won't work,' he said. ‘Can't get the right angle. Let's get you on the bed.'

It took some working out, but eventually Jenna was on all fours with her bottom pushed out, the elastic strapping stretched over her curves so that she could feel quite vividly what a tempting target it presented.

Jason paced around her, mouth-watering in his suit trousers and jacket with the sleeves rolled up, taking pictures on his phone until he was satisfied.

‘Oh …' An unwelcome thought occurred to her. ‘You aren't going to paint
this
?'

‘Not yet,' he said. ‘But I never say never.'

He put the phone away.

‘Now,' he said, ‘no more chat from you. It's time to get down to business.'

He knelt beside her, perpendicular to her prostrated form, and put a hand on her bottom, rubbing it all over. His other hand held her shoulder, as if to prevent her wriggling up the mattress in an escape attempt.

‘And remember,' he said, looming over her and running a finger along the exposed crack of her buttocks. ‘This is just for starters.'

The first smack rang out. It wasn't hard, but it still took Jenna's breath away. She wasn't sure she'd ever be really prepared for this. She could try and remember how it felt, but the first stroke would always surprise her.

She tried to keep still and take it stoically, thinking that perhaps he would finish sooner if she behaved well, but after the first few slow and exploratory strokes, he started to speed up, then to increase his force.