My lips twisted at the praise.It had only been a few hours since he’d last seen me naked, but I always appreciated how much he clearly adored what he saw.
“Where do you want me, Sir?”
Drawing my hands to the small of my back, I was suddenly self-conscious.Silly, really, to be uncomfortable around a man who’d already witnessed me at my lowest possible ebb and had still fallen in love with me, but standing there, the growing silence felt strangely stilted.
One cocked eyebrow was the only answer to my question, and acting on instinct, I knelt at the gesture.Oddly, as soon as my knees hit the soft carpet below, a sense of serenity washed over me, confirming that it was the right choice.
“That’s more like it.”His tone was a fraction softer as he headed toward me, his shoes appearing in my peripheral vision like a mirage in the desert.“You seem much happier down there.”
“I am, Sir.”
I smiled as his hand reached for me, his fingers smoothing back the tangled mop of my hair.Funny how I used to spend so much time obsessing about its length and style.Since Fortorus, my only concern had been avoiding the plague that was headlice.As a free woman, who knew what I’d choose to do with the long mane.
“Good.”His digits tightened.“Tell me what you need, little girl.”
Of course he’s going to make me say it.
I bit back my chuckle.The more ignominy I’d endured, the harder Harper had always got, but things had changed.The humiliation still aroused me, but kneeling there for him, the choice to submit was mine.I could kneel or I could stand, just as I could ask for the spanking or choose to get dressed.
The sudden sense of liberation surged through me, forcing me to lift my face to his insistent gaze.
“Please will you spank me, Sir?”There was little embarrassment anymore as he tugged my head gently backward.
“I love how brazen you’ve become, sweetheart.”
Chest rising and falling, I leaned into his hand to reduce the pressure at my scalp.“Thank you, Sir.”
I liked it, too.I’d never known myself so sexually bold before.
“I will spank you, and you will take everything I’ve got to give.”His thumb stroked the side of my temple.
“Yes, Sir.”
That was precisely what I craved.His authority over me, the way it had been in those early days when his word was quite literally my law.I didn’t miss the oppression, but I missed that sense of belonging to him.Whatever our new life had to offer, I didn’t want to lose the scintillating power dynamic between us.
“Let’s start over the arm of the sofa.”He motioned to the couch behind me.“On your feet.”His grip softened as I rose on shaky legs and headed to the arm of the sofa.“Good girl.”Releasing my hair, he swatted my ass cheeks twice as I folded over the cool leather.“Legs apart, little girl.”
Settling my head on the cushion, I shuffled my thighs wider, the sense of anticipation building inside of me.
How long had it been since I’d last felt the weight of his palm in any meaningful way?How long since he’d tanned my backside so thoroughly that it tingled when I tried to sit down?
The answer to both of my questions was clear: too long.
“Do you still want that spanking, Caroline?”
His voice thundered over me, but I only smiled into the leather.I loved the fact that, after all we’d been through, he sought the additional confirmation.Sprawled over the leather, I was silently elated.
“Yes, please, Sir.”My hands settled at either side of my face in a show of surrender.Whatever happened next, I wouldn’t try to wriggle away or stop him.I’d just press myself into the leather and—
The intensity of the first smack sliced through the end of the sentence in my mind, forcing my lips to part.
Jeez, I hadn’t been expecting him to start so vigorously.
“You’re right, little girl.”His hand withdrew, landing another three strikes to what felt like the identical place.“It really has been too long.”
I blinked at the ferocity of the strikes, trying to process the pain I was experiencing.“Y-yes, Sir.”
“And if you’re out of practice, as you put it, then it really is down to me to make sure you’re kept up to date with the discipline you need.”
