The Master (7 page)

He grinned. “Oh, Sasha. My shy little sub. It’s going to be a long afternoon.”

•   •   •

“I
think you need a break,” Julie told her the next morning as Sasha said good-bye to one of their regular clients.

“Why?” Sasha watched the older lady get inside her car and drive
away.

“You just told Mrs. Preston to say hello to her husband.”

“And?” Sasha couldn’t figure out why Julie was standing there with her hands on her hips. “I was being polite. And Mr. Preston—”

“Is dead,” Julie finished and walked to the back room. “We did his funeral last year.”

“Oh, shit.” No wonder the older lady hadn’t turned around or said anything as she walked out the door. Sasha followed Julie to the break room.

“Do you need to get some coffee, take a nap, or something?”

Sasha sat at the table with a sigh. “No coffee, no nap, just the or something.”

She’d stayed at Cole’s a lot later than either of them had planned. It took that long to go through her sentences. When they finally finished, she’d been so hot and bothered, she feared she’d come simply from Cole looking at her.

And though he still had a faint hint of desire about him, he made no move toward her. He just stated that due to the amount of time her sentences had taken, they were behind the schedule he’d made and could she come back tomorrow?

“Anything I can help with?” Julie asked.

“Nah, I’ve never had an interest in participating in girl on girl.” Julie’s mouth dropped open and Sasha laughed. “And it wouldn’t matter if I did. Cole won’t let me orgasm without his permission.”

Julie closed her mouth. “I don’t know what to do with any of that information.”

“Come on, I bet Daniel doesn’t let you climax unless he tells you to.”

“Of course not.” Julie’s fingers brushed her collar and at the sound of the door chime, started walking toward the front. “It’s only when you said you needed something, I didn’t know you were talking about a screaming orgasm.”

“It doesn’t have to be screaming. I’ll take a quiet one.” Sasha grinned. “Heck, I’ve been so turned on lately, I’ll take an orgasm any damn way he wants to give me one.”

“I’ll be sure to let Master Johnson know that when I see him at the special meeting the Dominants are having later this week.”

Sasha and Julie spun around. Kelly Bowman, also known as Mistress K, stood with Abby at the door to the small break room. One of the group’s few Dommes, Kelly was a tiny woman with long red hair. Sasha had once heard redheads were either plain or drop-dead gorgeous. Kelly was one of the gorgeous ones. Even with the knowing smile she currently wore.

Abby laughed. “That’s mean, Kelly.”

“This is why we have the no-kinky-sex-talk-in-the-shop rule,” Julie said. “Hey, Abby. Welcome to Petal Pushers, Kelly.”

“I always thought that rule sucked.” Sasha nodded at the two women. “What’s happening?”

“I had an idea,” Abby said, dropping her purse on a table and sitting down on a nearby bench. “You’re looking good, Sasha.”

There was something lurking in her friend’s expression, but Sasha couldn’t put her finger on it. “Thank you.”

“You do look good,” Kelly said in agreement. “You have more
color than you did at the last group meeting, and you don’t look as gaunt. Working with Master Johnson agrees with you. Orgasm denial notwithstanding.”

“It’s not so much that he’s denied me orgasms. He just hasn’t allowed them.”

“Maybe you should just ask him for one.” Julie made her way toward the break room. “Coffee, anyone?”

“Black for me,” Kelly called out.

“Black for me, too, thanks,” Abby said.

Could she do that? Is that all it took, for her to ask? She wondered if that was part of yesterday’s lesson. To help her grow used to being unashamed to ask for what she needed.

But then she tried to imagine standing in front of Cole and asking for an orgasm. What if he agreed, but he made her give herself one while he watched? She had done so for other Doms, but they had been in a relationship. This thing with Cole, this retraining, it left her confused.

They weren’t in a real relationship. He was helping her, and though he claimed ownership to her orgasms, it wasn’t a forever kind of a thing. He would release her from training and she would be free to carry on the way she had before. She could play with whomever she wanted. Make herself come as often as she wanted.

She looked up to find Julie passing out coffees. “So, Abby, you said it was your idea to pull us all together this morning?” Julie asked.

“Yes, I was going to call everyone, but then I was talking to Kelly and she said she was stopping by.” Abby took a sip of coffee. “I think we should have a surprise shower for Dena.”

“I love that idea,” Julie said. “Just the women, or will we invite the men, too?”

“I vote women only,” Kelly said.

“Me, too,” Sasha agreed.

“I’m fine with women only.” Abby wrote something down in her notebook. “That means we can talk about the men.”

“I’m so happy for Jeff and Dena,” Kelly said. “They’ve been through so much. You know, we should set up the shower at a spa. Let Dena get all pampered.”

“I like that.” Abby nodded and wrote more down.

“Their wedding was so romantic,” Julie said with a sigh.

As the other three women started chatting about memories and weddings and babies, Sasha’s mind drifted. Cole was expecting her tonight at seven sharp. They were going to be doing whatever activity he’d originally planned for the day before. She was curious.

There was a lull in the conversation, and she noticed all three women watching her. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m a little scattered today.”

Julie smiled. “Ask him.”

God help her. She just might.

C
ole stood, looking over the sitting room setup one last time, when the doorbell rang at five minutes to seven. He opened the door to find Sasha. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was a bit labored. Almost as if she’d been running. It seemed as if she often had trouble being punctual, and he was pleased she was making an effort to be on time for him.

“Good evening, Sasha.” He stepped to the side to let her pass. “Come in, and let’s go to the office.”

She wrinkled her nose and then turned away as if hiding her response. But she’d learn soon enough he didn’t miss much.

He grinned. “No, I’m not going to make you come up with dirty sentences tonight. I want to talk with you a bit, and you might find the sitting room distracting at the moment.”

She led the way down the hall and entered first. She made it
to the middle of the room and looked his way for instructions. When he glanced at the floor, she knelt down.

She moved gracefully and looked so delicate kneeling before him. Once again, he despaired she was only his for retraining. He was willing to bet she would be an absolute delight to master. “Very nice, little one. You look quite lovely tonight.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

He clenched his fist so he wouldn’t touch her. He’d told her he wouldn’t and it would serve no purpose. It wouldn’t lead anywhere because it wasn’t in his plan for her to serve him sexually. He would be too rough and she didn’t need that. He had to work her back to the submissive frame of mind slowly.

Under her watchful eyes, he sat down at his desk and motioned for her to come to his side. “Kneel here, little one, so we can talk.”

She didn’t tremble as much as she did previously. As she came closer to him, he couldn’t help but wonder what she would look like moving around naked, but he pressed his fist against his upper thigh and hoped his voice came out even.

“Do you know why I had you come up with the sentences yesterday?”

“Because my grammar was horrific and deterred you from understanding my otherwise
insightful
essay on my goals for retraining, Sir.”

He choked back the chuckle bubbling in his throat. She seemed to be getting a little of her attitude back. Perfect. “Yes, but it had another purpose—do you want to guess what that was?”

“To help me become comfortable asking for and talking about certain things with a Dom when we’re not in a scene.”

“Very nice, little one. Tell me how you arrived at that conclusion.”

“I’d prefer not to, Sir.”

“Your preference has nothing to do with this conversation.”

She dipped her head and her shoulders slumped. “It’s embarrassing, Sir.”

“Then you didn’t learn the lesson completely yesterday. Look me in the eyes and recite the sentence you finally came up with using ‘should have.’”

Her face grew red, more with anger than shame if he had to guess, but she spoke calmly, “As I straddled his hips, I saw how big his cock was and realized I
should have
used more lube before inviting him to fuck my ass.”

He’d selected that particular sentence because it brought up a topic he wanted to discuss. “Have you ever invited anyone to fuck your arse, Sasha?”

“No, Sir.”

“But per your checklist, you’ve had anal sex?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Did you like it?”

“No, Sir.”

If she didn’t like it, odds were the previous Doms she’d been with had been novices and possibly rushed things. If he was with her, he’d take his time getting her body ready to accept him. He would teach her how to relax and open herself for him. He ached to have her in his bed for one night. Little by little he’d show her mind and body pleasures unknown. He’d make sure she could never claim not to like anal sex again.

He needed to stop thinking like that. But still the image of her on all fours, offering herself to him, wouldn’t leave his mind.

“Were you able to orgasm whilst having a cock up your arse?”

“Once, Sir.”

“Once.” He spoke the word with as much disdain as possible. “What happened the other times?”

“They would finish, pull out, and get me off some other way.”

He decided to keep his opinions to himself. After all, he didn’t know the entire situation. And since he would never have anal sex with her, it didn’t matter.

“Tell me how you arrived at the second purpose for yesterday’s lesson.”

She steeled her spine, straightened her shoulders, and took a deep breath. “I was talking to Julie about how badly I wanted an orgasm, and she said I should just ask you for one. It occurred to me then, that might have been your purpose with yesterday’s exercise.”

He schooled his features, ensuring he didn’t show anything other than pleasure that she’d shared honestly with him. “See how easy that was?” He didn’t wait for her to answer, but continued. “You have a question for me?”

She wanted to deny it, the idea seemed to hold some merit for her, but she looked straight at him and said, “I would like your permission to have an orgasm, Sir.”

He was suddenly glad she didn’t answer his question the first time, because it gave him an idea. “Of course. In fact, for the next three days, you may come as often as you’re able.” She opened her mouth, probably to thank him, so he went on. “With conditions. Do you have an anal plug?”

She didn’t appear as happy as she had been moments before. “No, Sir.”

“Wait here for a moment.”

He slipped into his bedroom and took a wrapped package from the nightstand’s bottom drawer. Sasha was still frowning when he handed it to her.

“It’s a medium-sized one. You’re not an anal virgin, so you don’t need a small one, but you haven’t had overly positive experiences, so it’s smaller than, say, my cock.”

She stared at the wrapped plug as if it would bite her.

“My condition is, you may come as often as you’re able as long as you’re wearing the plug. In fact, I command you to have at least two orgasms a day for the next three days.”

She was silent.

“You’re forgetting something, Sasha.”

“Yes, Sir, I understand your instructions.”

He crossed his arms and waited. She shifted her weight.

When it became obvious she wasn’t going to say anything else, he spoke.

“You thanked me a few days ago for saying Peter wouldn’t be calling you again. What did I say in response?”

She repeated his words flawlessly. “Thank me when I show you mercy or when I allow you to climax.”

“Where’s your journal?”

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. “Number 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.”

•   •   •

S
tep 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.

She was still smiling when he removed the blindfold. Her first sight was his own smile.

“You did it,” he said. “Wonderfully and without penalty. I’m so proud of you.”

Holy fuck, what that smile did to his face. He was so gorgeous it hurt.

“Thank you, Sir,” she managed to get out.

“So, what will it be for your reward? What do you want? If it’s within reason, it’s yours.”

His lips mesmerized her. They were full and so sexy-looking, and when he smiled like he was, her heart skipped a beat.