The Master Read online

  work.

  Her suspicion was confirmed when he finally put the pen down and looked at her while taking his glasses off with one hand. Earlier, when he’d opened the door to welcome her inside, she thought he looked ridiculously hot. At the moment, he looked downright frightening.

  “Sasha.”

  She tried to speak, but her mouth was too dry. She licked her lips and managed to sputter out, “Yes, Sir?”

  “First of all, stop looking at me like that. We are nowhere near being close enough for me to punish you corporally. You will be very clearly notified when I think that time has come.”

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  “That does not, however, mean you will find any punishment comfortable.”

  “Of course not, Sir.” Why was he talking about punishment?

  “When I gave you the journal, I indicated written assignments had to be two things. What were those two things?”

  “Insightful and grammatically correct, Sir.”

  “Yes, and while I think these goals are insightful, the horrific grammar keeps me from ascertaining them completely.”

  She flinched. “Sorry, Sir. Grammar has never been a strength of mine.”

  He tilted his head. “You didn’t tell me this when I gave you my expectations yesterday.”

  No, she hadn’t. “No, Sir.”

  He held the journal and black pen out to her. “Come get these and flip to a page in the back.”

  She hurried to do his bidding and stood by his desk, pen in hand and journal opened to a clean page.

  “At the coffee shop we went over your position when I’m sitting in your presence,” he barked. “Either kneel or sit down.”

  Fuck. How could she forget so quickly? She sat down cross-legged on the floor and waited.

  “Write ‘Infractions I Owe Master Johnson For’ on the top.” Her eyes shot up to meet his. He looked pissed. “You will be given a week’s warning before I collect.”

  She wrote the title at the top with a shaky hand.

  He nodded when he saw she’d finished. “Now write ‘Number One: Neglecting to inform Master Johnson of difficulties with grammar.’” He gave her time to write and then continued. “‘Number Two: Standing before Master Johnson whilst he is sitting.’” When she finished, he held out his hand. “Give me the journal and go back to kneeling in the middle of the floor.”

  She swore her heart was going to pound its way out of her chest as she made her way back. He stood up and walked toward her, journal in hand.

  “Usually when I find errors like yours in writing assignments, I use a ruler on my submissive’s upturned palms and then have her rewrite the assignment. I find the combination to be an effective learning method.” He lifted an eyebrow. “But you’re not ready for such a punishment.”

  She wanted to look at the floor. She hated that she’d already disappointed him so deeply. Hated that there were already two punishments that would be looming between them. And she really hated that she wasn’t at the place where she could take what he thought she deserved for her actions.

  “What are you thinking, little one?” he asked in a gentler voice.

  His soft tone soothed her. “I don’t like disappointing you, and I’m disappointed in myself for not being able to take an appropriate punishment and having it hang between us as a result.”

  “The fact that you’re not ready to be disciplined in a manner I see fit is not entirely your fault. You can’t blame yourself for that. And yes, I’m disappointed, but we’ll correct your behavior and move on. I’m not one to hold grudges, Sasha, and I believe you’ll find I don’t dig up past offenses, either.”

  Sasha could feel a small smile bloom at her lips. One of the things she liked about him so far was he seemed consistent. She always knew where she stood with him.

  “I will share with you that one of my concerns in agreeing to this arrangement was the fear that you wouldn’t be open and honest with me. Outside of not telling me about your troubles with grammar, you have been delightfully candid.”

  “Thank you for being honest and candid with me, Sir.”

  “A Dominant should always be honest and candid with his submissive.”

  His submissive. Two simple words shouldn’t make her stomach a breeding ground for butterflies. “Everyone says that, Sir, and it sounds good and everything. But I’ve found it’s not always the case.”

  “Then you’ve been playing with the wrong Doms.”

  She couldn’t help it; she laughed. “I think that much is clear, Sir, or else I wouldn’t be here.”

  He gave her one of his rare smiles. “True enough, little one. And another thing we should add to your list of goals: how to identify a good Dom.”

  “I would have thought anyone in the group would be a good choice to play with.”

  “Yes, that would be the assumption. Unfortunately, no program is perfect, not even with the changes Nathaniel and Abby have worked on. And nothing takes the place of personal knowledge.”

  He didn’t push her to talk about the night with Peter. She thought that would be one of the first things he did. But he’d only brought it up casually, leaving her to think either they wouldn’t discuss it or he was waiting until later to do so.

  He jotted a note in her journal. “Definitely something we can talk about later. Now, let’s go over some of these errors. I’m going to go through the list first. Pay attention, because then you’ll write them all down on your own.”

  She was a businesswoman, so she shouldn’t have any trouble remembering. But she worried anyway.

  “‘Its’ versus ‘it’s,’” he started. “When you have the apostrophe, it is always read as ‘it is.’”

  That one was just a careless mistake.

  “‘Affect’ versus ‘effect.’ There are exceptions, but ‘affect’ is almost always used as a verb and ‘effect’ is almost always used as a noun.”

  Affect was a verb. A verb was an action. A, affect. A, action. She could remember that.

  “Could have, would have, should have,” he said. “Never, never, never could of, would of, or should of.”

  Now she just felt stupid.

  “Finally, when you use the word ‘literally,’ it means exactly what you’re writing. For example, ‘He literally dug his fingers into her skin’ means his fingers were digging into her skin, which is probably not what was meant and would be horribly painful. I’ve said it before, but it needs repeating: words have meanings, you must learn to use them correctly.”

  “Yes, Sir. I’ll do better in the future.” She would. Her next assignment would blow him away.

  “I’m sure you will. For now, you will make a list of your errors and their corrections. Then you will write the absolutely filthiest sentences you can think of using the words correctly. Finally, you will rewrite this paper making the needed edits.”

  She hid a half smile. That didn’t seem like a difficult punishment at all. She could handle this, no problem.

  “I saw that, Sasha,” he said. “And just so you’re aware, this is only part of your punishment.”

  She gulped and went to work. The list of errors and corrections was easy, but it was more difficult to come up with the sentences. She finally finished them and went on to rewrite her goals.

  Cole was nowhere to be seen when she put her pen down. Not knowing what else to do, she closed the journal and knelt with her head down.

  Minutes later, he entered the room. “Did you finish your assignment, little one?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Stand up,” he said. “I want your hands behind your back, chest out, and your feet spread.”

  Even though she was completely clothed, she felt almost as if she was naked as she moved into position. In fact, the way he was looking at her made her feel naked. It was too easy to picture offering her body to him.

  He stood by the couch, arms crossed. “Recite your sentences using ‘its’ and ‘it’s.’”

  He wanted her to say them? Out
loud? Her mouth felt like it was filled with cotton. She didn’t have a problem talking dirty, but she’d always done so in the middle of a scene. Where actual sex was involved. Not standing in an office with her clothes on. It felt . . . off somehow.

  “Trying to catch flies, Sasha? What’s the problem?”

  “Can I ask you to use the ruler on me instead?” That would be quick and not anywhere as embarrassing.

  “You may not. I assure you, you are not anywhere near ready to accept pain from me. The sentences. Now.”

  She took a deep breath. She could do this. “I put the vibrator in its place at the back of my nightstand. No apostrophe. It’s huge, and that makes it my favorite. With apostrophe.”

  His jaw tightened. “You’ve been active as a sexual submissive for how long?”

  “Six years, Sir.”

  “Six years and the filthiest sentence you could come up with using ‘its’ is, ‘I put the vibrator in its place at the back of my nightstand’?”

  She didn’t say anything. Surely he could tell how embarrassed she was only saying that.

  “Completely unacceptable,” he said. “Try again.”

  Jerk. She tried to think of something, but every damn thing had left her brain, making her feel like she was running after words, trying to catch them and arrange them into something resembling a sentence.

  “Vibrator is a good item to start with, but try putting it somewhere else.” He wasn’t going to back down. He would make her do this, she knew.

  She closed her eyes. “He slides the vibrator inside me, and its width makes me catch my breath.”

  “Better. Take that sentence and dirty it up.”

  She opened her eyes and forced herself not to glare at him. Was he going to do this with every word? “He . . . thrusts . . . the vibrator deep into . . . my pussy.” Her face felt hot. “And its width makes me catch my breath.”

  “Work on the last part. ‘He thrusts the vibrator deep into my pussy and its width’ . . . What about the width, Sasha?” Even from across the room, she felt the heat from his gaze. He was unrelenting in his quest. “Visualize it if you have to. You’re on your back, arms bound above your head. I’m standing by you, holding a vibrator. Your legs are spread for me and your pussy tingles in anticipation, waiting for it, wanting it and yet, at the same time, a little unsure it can accommodate something so hard and thick. And then it doesn’t matter because I thrust that massive vibrator deep inside you and its width . . .” He paused to cross the floor and bent down to whisper in her ear, “Finish the sentence. Tell me what the width does to you. How you feel when I fuck you with it.”

  The words flowed from her mouth without thought. “And it fills me and stretches me and I lift my hips desperate for more.”

  “Yes.” His hot breath brushed across her ear and she couldn’t control her shiver. “Yes, you would and I would give you more. I would fucking delight in giving you more.”

  She didn’t have to press against him to know how hard he was. His breathing was labored. He was definitely turned on, but whether it was because of her or the wordplay, she couldn’t tell. When he pulled away, his eyes were still dark with need.

  “Tell me again what your sentence was using it’s with an apostrophe,” he said calmly.

  Her body was shaky, but she composed herself enough to repeat, “It’s huge and that makes it my favorite.”

  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.”