39
“Do I have a chance to redeem myself?”
Nate stared into her eyes. “No. I choose the punishment and I decided that this is the only way to redeem yourself.”
"Nate, please..."
"Section 1 Code of Conduct, Attitude and Behavior in Private?"
She sniffed. "I know what it says, sir. I will refer to my master as sir. I will act in obedience and wholehearted honesty."
"You are a smart girl, kitten but you are a bad smart girl." He nuzzled her cheek, chills rose on her skin. "Section 1, Punishment."
His voice was deep in her ear. "Rudeness, Disobedience, Incorrectly addressing my Dominant."
"You know the rules. You don't obey them. That's not fair, is it?" He didn't let her answer.
Releasing her he led her to stand in front of the bar. “You look really sexy in that outfit,” he commented. "That's too bad."
Taking her right hand he raised it to the right corner of the bar and holding her brown-eyed gaze he strapped her hand into the Velcro hold. It was tight, so tight that her skin wrinkled at the place where strap met skin. “Don’t be frightened, kitten, you should find your sexual thrill in this too. Let your body tingle, don’t hold back, let your body lead you.”
Rachel’s heart was a sledgehammer behind her ribs. Her eyes were caught in his and she was having a hard time looking away.
Still looking into her eyes he hung up her left hand, strapping it as tight as the other one.
“Sir, I’m sorry I came home late…”
“Shhh,” he put his hand to her lips. “I’m not mad about your coming late. I’m mad because you lied and because you missed the surprise I had for you.” He bent to strap her legs in too, his fingers trailing a heated path down her skin. Rachel caught a look of herself in the mirror dressed in a nice gown and heels and spread out for punishment.
When he straightened he came to stand behind her, holding her gaze in the mirror he attached a collar with a link of chains to her neck, and when he jerked the chains her head tilted higher so that she could see his reflection clearly in the mirror. “You will look in my eyes like this when I punish you and when I ask a question you will look in my eyes and answer me, am I clear?”
She licked her lips. “Yes, sir.”
He left her and went to the wall to unhook something. When he came back she saw the flogger, a black leather bound stick with a flat end. Holding her gaze in the mirror with a small, wicked smile Nate raised the flat end to her face and trailed it softly over her skin to her mouth where he teased her lips.
“Open up,” he ordered. She obeyed.
He slid it into her mouth thrice and when it was wet enough he took it out, brought it to his mouth, and sucked on it.
“You’ve been drinking tonight haven’t you?”
“Yes sir.”
“You shouldn’t have. Are you sober?”
“Yes, I am. Wouldn’t you ask me why I was drinking?”
The flogger cracked sharply on her chin. She grunted, clenching her teeth together. Nate’s eyes held hers in the mirror, challenging her to speak again. Rachel wasn’t about to lose her teeth so she held her words in.
He raised his brow. “Cat got your tongue now?”
When she didn’t respond he smirked. “Do you remember that your resistance makes me excited?” to prove his point he pressed himself against her until she could feel his erection growing by the second. Gray eyes smoldered hers in the mirror as his hand crawled forward to hold her against him. His fingers were splayed over her lower belly where he tactfully bunched up her gown until her thighs were naked and bare. Taking a step back he continued lifting her dress until her panties were exposed. He released a long breath.
“For every strike, you say thank you.”
She had barely comprehended the instruction when he stepped back from her a little and swung the flogger on her butt. She gasped sharply.
“Do you like that?”
Her butt stung yet it felt like tiny sparks ignited in her butt spreading over the single butt cheek he flogged. It was just like that day in their suite in the Emerald Elite.
“Yes, sir,” escaped from her lips before she could stop it.
“And what do you say?”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Good girl, Rachel. You’re a good girl. If you had been this good today you won’t be tied up here.”
“You would have tied me up either way.”
The flogger made contact with her flesh again. A louder gasp escaped her lips.
“Don’t talk back, Rachel. I’m not going to repeat myself. Am I clear?”
She swallowed convulsively. “Yes, sir,” she said through her teeth.
“What do you say?”
“T-thank you, sir.”
He let go of her gown and it fell to cover her, the soft material gently caressing the sting on her flesh. Nate walked around her again, his gait like an animal’s prowl, until he was in front of her. He lifted her chin and stared into her eyes brimming with tears. She locked her chin tight against her tears.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
She shook her head. Well, she was hurt by the flogger but not as much as she was by the fact that he didn’t want to listen to her.
He caressed her cheek with his fingers, the flogger still dangling from his other hand. He stared into her eyes like he was staring at her soul. “Do you know you have pretty eyes? Those were the first things I noticed about you. Even when you spoke those lies about me on your show I wanted to know what those eyes will look like when you climax.” His hand dropped from her face and moved to sensually caress her ass. Rachel couldn’t deny that it felt good to have him touch her like that. Her face was impassive about how she felt about his touch but she knew he could tell by looking into her eyes that she loved it.
Her lustful body loved the feel of the flogger and his hands. If she didn’t she wouldn’t be wetting her panties right now. She loved the way his long graceful fingers follow the line of her panties until he buried his fingers in the waistband and touched her bare butt.
“I’ll untie you,” his voice was strained and thick with lust. “You will take off your dress and I’ll tie you back up. You won’t try to run, will you?”
“I’m not running away, Nate.”
Where could she run to?
But her answer seemed to take him by surprise and for a while, she saw a soft, pleading look enter his eyes – or did she imagine it? It was just for a brief moment before the shield fell in place again. For the first time he looked away from her eyes, his action reminded her of someone afraid to see something that wasn’t there. If only she knew what it was.
He released her briefly and she did as he asked, shedding her clothes as quickly as she could. When he tied her back up again she noticed the hard look was back in his eyes.
Lesson 1: Nathaniel Madden hid his true feelings with anger.
When he had tied her up again, this time with her body completely bare, he picked the flogger again. His hand shook, she didn't notice.
“You are trouble, Rachel,” he said under his breath. It was so soft that she thought she misheard it. “Do you know how much trouble I went through for you today?”
He put the tip of the flogger on the dark nipple of her left breast and flicked it gently. “I got agents from Glamour and People's Magazine for you. I was going to get you a job there, Rachel but you blew your chances, and made me look like a fool before them.”
That bit of information distracted her from her analysis of him. He had tried getting a job for her? That was so surprisingly thoughtful that it took the breath out of her. It wasn’t part of their contract.
“I-I didn’t know that,” was all she could say.
“Because you disobeyed my orders, kitten.”
The flogger came down on her midriff sharply making her gasp. Without sparing her a second he hit her again this time a bit lower.
“Do you know how ungrateful you are?!” his voice was louder now.
