The Master
Page 14
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.
“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.
