Two Masters for Alex (13 page)

“Get up, Alex. How was your second day with us?” Alex stood, glancing shyly up at him as she crossed her arms reflexively over her breasts.

She looked to Daniel, who said quietly, “Arms down.” She dropped her arms at once and arched her back, causing her breasts to thrust forward. Liam suppressed a smile. Turning to him, she answered, “It was, um, instructional.”

He laughed. “So I understand. Daniel says you have potential when it comes to pleasing a man, but there’s still work to be done before he’s ready to present you to me. What else happened today, Alex? Is there something you need to tell me?”

Alex flushed and glanced reproachfully at Daniel. Had she honestly expected him to keep it a secret? She blurted out, “Why are you asking, when you obviously know it all anyway?” Liam heard Daniel draw in his breath sharply. He would never address Liam in that insolent tone. Liam knew Alex was embarrassed and reacting off that embarrassment. Nevertheless, she’d been insolent that morning at breakfast too. It was time to make the law a little clearer.

Quickly he moved toward her, gripping a handful of her hair in his strong fingers. He pulled her head back as he leaned down close to her face. “I’m asking because I want to hear it from you. I’ll warn you now—speak to me or to Daniel like that again and you can pack your bags.” He let go of her hair, ignoring her as he turned to Daniel.
“Obviously she needs things spelled out.” He leaned down to retrieve his briefcase. “Bring her to my study when she’s ready to present herself like a proper submissive. You can put on shorts—she’s to stay naked.”

* * * * *

“What’s wrong with you?” Daniel hissed as Liam strode from the hallway. “You know better than that!”

“I’m sorry!” Alex blurted. “It’s obvious you told him every detail of the day already so why’s he making me spell it again? Just to embarrass me?”

“It doesn’t matter why he asks you something. He asks, you answer. It’s that simple. You keep trying to control things. Until you let that go, you’ll never become truly submissive. Don’t you get it? He asked because part of your punishment or your atonement, if you like, is to recount yourself what you did wrong. It’s a way of owning up to it—of claiming responsibility. Whatever Liam or I ask of you, you should be prepared to answer as honestly and openly as you can. Otherwise this is just a game. Another in a series of hollow playacting bullshit D/s relationships that mean less than nothing when the day is done.”

Alex was silent. Daniel had hit a nerve. Yet the thought of spelling out in detail how she’d slipped her hand into her shorts to get herself off while daydreaming of the two sexy guys making out in front of her—how embarrassing! “Was it like this for you, Daniel? Did you mess up sometimes, or were you just born submissive, innately full of grace since birth?”

Daniel laughed. “No, I messed up all the time. Not in the same way as you. I could control myself in the jerking-off department.” Alex wrinkled her nose as he continued. “My issues are more about wanting to control the scene. It took me some time to accept Liam’s choice without trying to get what I wanted or thought I wanted in the process. We’re so close now, so connected that what he wants for me always turns out to be what I really want for myself. Sometimes I think he knows me better than I know myself. He knows my limits and he’s not afraid to take me right to edge. My only job is to trust him enough to let him do it.”

“Wow,” Alex said softly, suddenly longing for the kind of connection Daniel spoke of, aware she would probably never find it. She was too closed off—she could never open herself enough to trust someone so completely. Perhaps love did have something to do with it? She shook away the thought.

Wordlessly she followed Daniel to Liam’s study, feeling like a schoolgirl going to see the principal after having been caught cheating or chewing gum in class. It felt strange to be naked while Daniel wore his shorts. She wished she had the cover of clothing but understood the intention was to leave her feeling that much more vulnerable.

Though the door was open, Daniel knocked lightly on the doorframe. Liam looked up from his papers and smiled. They entered the room. Daniel sat on the sofa to the left
of Liam’s desk. Alex stood uncertainly, not quite daring to sit without being invited to do so. She crossed her arms over her body, glanced at Daniel and at once dropped them again to her sides. Her hair was hanging in her face but she didn’t brush it back, glad for the bit of cover it afforded her.

“Are you ready to speak in a more civil tone, young lady?” Liam asked. Alex bit back a grin at this term and suddenly felt more relaxed. She nodded. “All right then. I want an account, in your own words, of what happened today in the garden. Remind me first what the express rule was regarding touching yourself without permission.”

Alex swallowed, no longer relaxed. She glanced again at Daniel as if he could give her some kind of reprieve. He was looking not at her but at Liam. She turned back to face him, biting back a sigh. “The rule is, um, no touching, no playing with myself unless you or Daniel expressly tell me to do it.”

“That’s correct. And so what happened while you were weeding?”

“Well, um, you see. I didn’t exactly mean to, that is—”

“No. Stop that. I don’t want to hear your excuses or an outline of your intentions. Just describe what happened. Be as honest as you can.”

She looked at him then, really looked into his face. His dark brown eyes were kind, his expression earnest. He wasn’t setting her up to be embarrassed and humiliated as she’d assumed. He really seemed to want to understand what drove her to willfully break an express command, especially after claiming she yearned for the lifestyle he offered. She decided to be honest—why not? What did she have to lose? They would reject her or accept her based on their own criteria. She doubted what she said now would have much impact either way. She wasn’t even sure what she wanted herself at this point.

“Okay, here’s what happened. I was daydreaming about how hot it was watching the two of you having sex in front of me. I’ve never been whipped the way you did last night. I’ve never been made to orgasm while tied down, not even sure who was touching me. I’ve never been left alone while two men went off to make love to each other, leaving me naked and locked in a cage. The whole thing kind of got to me.

“And this morning, the way you touched my pussy and ass, knowing you were arousing me and then just leaving me on fire. I was just so turned-on, you know? I mean, I know that’s no excuse. I know I don’t have the discipline Daniel has. But I honestly didn’t willfully set out to disobey you. It just sort of happened. I wasn’t intending to make myself come. I was just trying to take the edge off, I guess.”

“Go on,” Liam said. She wasn’t sure what he wanted. She decided to say it all—everything that had been building in her mind since arriving the day before. Was it only two days?

“Okay. I know you guys are used to this lifestyle. You take it seriously and it’s a romantic, beautiful thing between the two of you. I’m just this object, this ‘toy’ I believe you said last night to Daniel. I guess because of that it doesn’t feel real to me. Or maybe just not yet, I don’t know. Yesterday was incredible. I’ve never been so turned-on or so
challenged in my beliefs about what it means to be submissive. I think I’m starting to realize what I claimed I wanted and what I really want might be two different things.

“Watching Daniel submit to you and observing how he carries himself and how obviously devoted he is to you made me realize there might be an element to all this I never took into account.” She paused, looking again at Daniel, who was watching her, and back toward Liam. “I guess,” she said softly, confused by the tears she felt behind her eyes, “that element is love.”

Chapter Eight

“You’re kidding! You’ve never used a butt plug? Not even for training?” Daniel held up a slim anal plug coated in shiny black rubber.

“Nope. Anal sex was never my thing,” Alex answered emphatically, hoping this wasn’t going where she knew it was. They’d finished the delicious meal Daniel had prepared. The dinner conversation had been light and casual. Both men had steered the discussion away from D/s and Alex’s transgressions, much to her relief, with the talk focusing instead on current events, Liam’s job and Alex’s writing career. They finished the bottle of wine between the three of them. Alex had found herself relaxing, almost forgetting she’d been caught and punished and probably wouldn’t be permitted to come for the foreseeable future.

She had tried to linger at the table, even though she was excited about the night to come, hopeful tonight she would be invited into their bed. Her more practical side realized this probably wouldn’t happen. She was still somewhat in disgrace with them, she knew. She had no idea how long the statute of limitations on submissive misbehavior lasted. She thought of asking Liam, using exactly that legal jargon, but quickly decided against it.

She ate her second bowl of ice cream while the two men looked on with amused tolerance. She’d always had a huge appetite for her petite size, and with the amazing food Daniel put on the table, she wasn’t about to waste the opportunity! For all she knew, in a week’s time she’d back in her efficiency apartment, staring at the frozen dinners stacked like bricks in her tiny freezer.

Finally her bowl was empty and she could delay no longer. Liam went to take a quick shower after conferring privately with Daniel for a moment about the course of the evening’s events.

Alex and Daniel now stood side by side over the open chest set against the wall where the whip collection hung. Inside were myriad toys, including wrist and ankle cuffs of both leather and steel, nipple clamps, blindfolds, collars, cock rings and the dreaded anal plugs that ranged in size from small to absurdly large, at least in Alex’s virginal estimation.

Daniel laughed. “Well, don’t you think maybe you picked the wrong type of guys if you’re not interested in anal sex?”

“I like to
watch
it! Just not
do
it!” Alex retorted.

“Have you ever tried it?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Why not?”

“Why should I? I’ve got something better.”

“Matter of opinion,” Daniel snorted, and Alex bristled. He patted her head condescendingly. “All I’m saying is don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it. You’ve been shutting yourself off from a whole realm of pleasure. Luckily for you, your sheltered days are over. Liam wants you to wear a butt plug tonight. I’m going to insert it for you while he watches.”

“No!” Alex burst out before she could stop herself. Reflexively she put her hands over her bottom. She had been permitted to put on a sundress for dinner, which she still wore, but panties and bra had been forbidden.

“No?” Daniel said. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

Alex hastened to explain. “I mean, it’s just, I’ve never done it. It will hurt. You said I wouldn’t be harmed.”

“Of course we won’t harm you, but you know as well as I do that a little erotic pain is a good thing. Don’t pretend to be so naïve! Do you want to submit to us or not? And it doesn’t have to hurt either. The key is to relax. To receive it as you receive everything from your Master—with openness and complete trust.”

He stroked her arm, his voice gentle. His expression was kind and Alex felt herself relax, at least a little. “I’m glad in a way you’ve never used a plug. I’m even glad you’re afraid. What I mean is, because of that, this will be a true act of submission for you. You’ll allow this to happen not because it gets you off but because it pleases us that you do so. You want that, don’t you?”

Alex looked into his earnest, expressive eyes. She thought about the way he and Liam stared into one another’s eyes with such complete understanding and mutual adoration. Was such a connection forged because of their D/s relationship? Could she ever hope to aspire to such a connection?

“Yes,” she whispered. “I do.” Though she was frightened of having that ominous-looking thing penetrate her tight nether entrance, she found herself thrilling on a primal level to the submissive aspect of it all. Perhaps she could redeem herself just a little bit in their eyes if she managed to handle this without making a fool of herself in the process.

When Liam entered a few moments later, he found Alex draped over the same wide, low stool Daniel had tied her to earlier in the day for her punishment, only this time she was lying facedown, her ass pointed toward the ceiling, her hair hanging down in sheets of gold touching the rug.

She heard rather than saw Liam come in. Daniel had promised they would start with the smallest plug. Start with it! She hoped they ended with it, but she tried not to dwell on that, focusing only on relaxing her body and opening her mind to this latest bit of erotic torture.

Alex knew it might be considered odd she’d never had anal sex, given all the sexual experimentation she’d done over the years. Even Cheryl and Greg had done it on occasion, as Cheryl had confided to Alex. She’d said she kind of liked it mainly because
Greg had been so excited to try it and he’d filled the room with scented candles and rose petals strewn over the bed to make it romantic for an at first hesitant Cheryl. She’d been pleased, she said, to have finally done something Alex had never tried.

She wasn’t entirely sure herself about her hesitation. A few of her lovers had suggested it, but she’d always managed to avoid it, even with dominant lovers. They had been happy enough to stick to the more traditional routes of sexual satisfaction.