The Marine's Pet (12 page)

“I don’t care about them. I care about you,” she said. “I care that you’re mine. All mine. And I’ll… I’ll bite anyone who tries touching you.”

“Careful, pet,” Austin chided gently. “A little jealousy is a natural human trait, but territorial pets need very firm discipline. Is that really how you want to start the week?” He tapped her bottom lightly. “Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on. Are you nervous about something?”

She was very nervous. An evening with Austin and his comrades had been intense. Now she was up for a whole week of it and she had no idea what that was going to entail. Her instinct told her that she was going to find trouble one way or another.

“I don’t know,” she lied.

“Well, think about it,” Austin said. “Because if you keep this up, you’re going to spend most of this week with your nose in a corner.” He turned her about by her shoulders and propelled her into the nearest one to prove his point.

Sarah knew better than to leave before he gave her permission to do so, and perversely enough, she didn’t actually mind being put there. At least in the corner she wasn’t supposed to speak, so she didn’t have to explain herself, or her feelings. She could just be silent and sullen and separate—safe from her feelings and the consequences of unleashing them on innocent bystanders.

“I’m going to go and say hello to Earnest,” Austin said. “I expect you to stay here until I get back.”

Sarah made no sound in response, which was fine because she wasn’t supposed to anyway. Austin left the cabin and she sighed and slumped against the wall. Why the hell was it so hard to just accept everything that was going on? Why did these people make her feel so nervous and naked even when she was fully clothed?

Each and every one of them seemed to see through her, seemed to know more than she knew. They were masters of their domain. Even Anastasia was a mistress, really; she might have been submissive in her relationship with Robert, but the way she carried herself and the look in her eye spoke to a self-confidence Sarah wished she could feel at that moment.

She could hear the murmur of voices outside, the friendly laughter. Shut away in shame, it was all she could do not to make rude gestures at the wall.

Eventually Austin came for her. He did not spank her, which was quite merciful given her behavior, but she knew she was on very thin ice when it came to him. She therefore did her best to smile and make polite conversation with Earnest and Robert and Anastasia, but was terribly relieved when Anastasia came and pulled her away for what she announced to the men was going to be a girls’ conversation.

“I just thought you should know,” she said conspiratorially when they were far enough from the men to not be overheard. “I’ve never seen Austin look at anyone the way he looks at you.”

“You’re just saying that because you know I’m insecure and you don’t want me to fuck up the whole week,” Sarah said glumly.

“I wouldn’t care if you did want to fuck up the whole week,” Anastasia replied with surprising bluntness. “It’s not like you’d be allowed to anyway. I just thought you’d like to know, from someone who has seen him with other people… that you are special.”

“Oh, God.” Sarah palmed her face as she realized why Anastasia was saying what she was saying. “How much of that… discussion did you hear?”

“Enough,” Anastasia said. “But I’d keep quiet about Earnest fucking married women to his face if you don’t want to end up being… well…”

Sarah blushed furiously. “Wow,” she said. “I made an ass of myself, didn’t I.”

“A bit,” Anastasia agreed. “But that’s okay. This is a weird situation. It’s bound to make you act weird too.”

It was impossible not to like Anastasia. She was whip smart, beautiful, and empathetic.

“I guess you heard the part about…”

“The part where you screamed at him why didn’t he marry me? Yes,” she said. “We found that kind of funny.”

“I am going to need a gag to get through this week,” Sarah muttered.

“I am sure they’ll find one for you if you keep that up.” Anastasia smiled at her. “I’m going to look like an angel compared to you.”

“You already do,” Sarah sighed. “You look like an angel compared to most everyone.”

“Aw, aren’t you sweet!” Anastasia patted her hand. “Come on, let’s go see what there is for dinner.”

Sarah couldn’t imagine any of the people present cooking, except maybe Austin or Earnest. They were the only two who seemed to enjoy things of a practical nature. She was not surprised when it turned out that Earnest had stopped to do some fishing on the way up and was preparing fresh salmon for them all on the grill. He greeted her with a smile and a handshake and for a second Sarah wondered if he’d forgotten the evening with her and Austin. Probably. It probably wasn’t very exciting to a man who took married lovers and had them kneel at his feet.

She blended into the background for a time as the four friends who had known one another much longer than she had known any of them talked animatedly, catching up on events she didn’t know about and people she’d never met. They were clearly all greatly pleased by being in one another’s company, the prospect of a week in the wilds a joy to all of them.

Earnest had easily slipped into the role of provider. Robert seemed to be deciding where and how things would happen, with Anastasia by his side as consort. He had already determined that they would go for a walk the next morning.

In comparison to the others, Austin seemed almost laid back. Almost. His role was perhaps not as obvious as Earnest and Robert’s, but he was clearly the glue that held the group together. His warmth tempered Earnest’s tendency to be cold and his even judgment provided a counterpoint to Robert’s tendency to make unilateral decisions. They worked very well together as a group, a group that Sarah was feeling ever more on the outside of.

Anastasia was draped around Robert most of the time, which meant Sarah had no other woman to talk to and frankly the notion of joining conversation between Austin and Earnest was more than she could bear. So she remained separate, smiling blandly at odd intervals so they might think she was enjoying herself.

She sat next to Austin as they ate, letting the conversation flow around and over her. Her mind was somewhere else, so much so that she didn’t hear Austin speaking to her until he reached out and tapped her lightly on the knee.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes,” she lied. “Just tired.”

He checked his watch and Sarah saw that it was seven o’clock in the evening. Too late for a nap, far too soon to go to bed. She put another roasted potato in her mouth and sighed inwardly. Anastasia was flirting shamelessly with Robert and Earnest. Both men seemed amused and interested in her playful advances and Sarah was fairly certain that Earnest would not sleep alone that night.

“You’re quiet, Sarah,” Robert eventually observed. “You’re usually far more… disruptive.”

His comment made Sarah bridle inwardly, though she knew he was probably just teasing.

“Would you like me to be disruptive?” She asked the question sweetly, but there was a hint of steel in her eyes as she looked daggers at Robert. He had made himself a target for her frustration and she was glad for it.

“Sarah…” Austin said her name with a note of warning. She ignored it.

“I’d love to be disruptive,” she said, mashing the soft innards of a roast potato onto her fork. “Seeing as you’re clearly so eager to be disrupted…”

Three pairs of unimpressed eyes were focused on her. Anastasia was the only one not wearing a frown. She was hiding a smile behind her hand, her eyes dancing with excitement. It was clear to Sarah that Anastasia had long ago left her days of disobedience behind. Sarah was the only person present who hadn’t entirely bought into a paradigm of total discipline, much to Austin’s increasing chagrin.

Her fork loaded, she made a quick whipping motion with her wrist and sent the white mushy stuff flying over the table toward Robert’s face. He leaned back and it caught him on the collar, smushing against his shirt.

Austin did not say a word. He moved back on his seat, grabbed her by the back of the neck, and hauled her over his lap. What ensued was a very hard, very fast spanking. His palm whacked against the seat of her skirt many dozens of times. When she looked over her shoulder, Sarah realized that her bottom was the only part of her that was visible over the table. To the others she had been transformed into two squirming cheeks being smacked for their entertainment.

It was made all the worse when Austin flipped her skirt up entirely, letting everyone see her pantied bottom.

“Austin! You asshole! Stop it!”

He did not stop it. He did, however, respond by pulling her panties down, baring her bottom to the world. Sarah let out a gasp of horror as she realized that her bare backside had become the centerpiece, her reddened cheeks jiggling for the amusement of all those gathered. It wasn’t fair. It really wasn’t fair at all.

“Rude girls have their bare bottoms spanked,” Austin informed her, driving home the point that she’d lost the privilege of her modesty because she’d sworn at him.

The spanking soon became very uncomfortable and she fervently wished it would stop. Gritting her teeth together so as not to cry out in pain, Sarah tried to be stoic. She didn’t want to cry out or worse still, actually cry.

“Go a little easy on her, Austin,” Robert said. “I did damn near ask for that.”

“Maybe,” Austin said, pausing long enough to conduct conversation. “But she knows better.”

“I don’t think she does,” Anastasia piped up gleefully.

“There’s only one way to learn.” Earnest’s voice was like gravel.

Austin punctuated his friend’s statement with a hard slap to the center of Sarah’s bottom. She was beginning to regret ever having acted so impulsively, but it really wasn’t fair that Robert was able to tease her and she got in trouble for responding more or less in kind.

Sarah squirmed and struggled to get back to a sitting position. Austin let her go, but instead of being grateful for small mercies, she did her best to awkwardly right her clothing while glaring at him.

“Fuck off!” She swore viciously, without an actual target in mind. She was looking at Austin at the time, but actually, they could all fuck off as far as she was concerned.

“Sarah!” The word cracked out of Austin’s mouth as everyone’s mouths turned down in disappointment, as if none of them had ever heard a bad word before.

“What?”

“I told you I expect obedience,” he said grimly. Sarah couldn’t handle seeing the expression of terse sternness on his face. He was the one person who was supposed to be on her side and here he was making her feel as if she’d broken some cardinal rule of life by daring to express herself.

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t expect anything from me,” she said, trying not to cry.

“Go to our cabin and wait for me in the corner,” he said. “I’ll deal with you later.”

She was being sent away. Away from the group. Away from him. Because she wasn’t good enough. Because there were others who were more pleasing, better at being what their partners wanted them to be.

Sarah told herself that she was more than glad to go. It was a relief to be sent from the table and to find some solitude back in the cabin, where she did not put herself into the corner. She’d seen quite enough corners for one day and she was damn tired of being obedient. Maybe Anastasia could play their little games and be their perfect little submissive pet, but Sarah knew she could not.

“Fuck it. Fuck it
all
.” She muttered the words to herself as she walked through the cabin, to the bathroom where a window looked out onto the forest behind. It had been a long time since she had climbed through a bathroom window, but it was like riding a bike. One never really lost the knack.

Once outside, Sarah proceeded to stomp into the woods, taking some care not to stomp too loudly so she would not be noticed. She needn’t have worried; the only sounds audible in that clearing were the sounds of masculine laughter and Anastasia’s lighter, more feminine tones. Oh, they just loved her, didn’t they, with her stupid obedience and refinement.

Sarah really had no idea why Austin had brought her there. It seemed to her he just wanted to make her feel stupid and silly and not good enough. That was certainly how she felt. She strode boldly and angrily into the woods without a thought for where she was going, only certain that she was going away. Let them have their fun. She would lose herself in the wilds.

The forest around the campsite was thick and wild. It was not the sort of place to go crashing through without any awareness, but Sarah did it all the same because in her heart she knew it didn’t really matter. Who cared if she got lost and was never found again? Austin would probably be better off for it.

After fifteen minutes or so of wandering angrily, Sarah sat at the bottom of a tree and cried her heart out to the wilds. Tears ran down her face as she took deep sobbing breaths that only barely got enough oxygen into her thanks to the snotty liquid clogging her mouth and nose.

This was it. This was what she had suspected would happen all along. Austin would finally realize that she wasn’t what he wanted or needed. He’d see just how unsatisfactory she was, how incomplete and inept. She was not like Sybil or Hannah, women who could fulfill more than one man. She could not make even one happy.

She cried until she had no more tears, until the day began to wane and the shadows began to grow and night started to fall on the forest. Only then did her self-righteous anger start to abate enough for her to worry about where she was and what she was going to do with herself.

Sarah was considering panicking when she heard footsteps coming through the undergrowth.

“Austin?”

“Sarah?” Her name came in return, but not in Austin’s voice. It was Earnest who had found her. He came toward her, twigs snapping and bushes giving way to the tall bulk of his body.

Sarah cowered, pushing herself back against the tree. As much as she did not want to be lost in the woods for all time, she also did not want to see or speak to anyone, let alone Earnest. He was probably more disgusted with her than Austin, not that she cared. Austin was the only one who mattered, and he was not there. He was probably back at the campsite, glad to be rid of her.