Daniel snickers. “You know what I mean. Because of Lord Arden.” We both see Chef Henriette glaring at us, and shut up.
Still, I can’t help thinking about how I’ve misunderstood Haughty Hottie. Taking the punishment card around with me isn’t ahimthing. It’s ahousething. And it’s my own fault I didn’t know that.
Let’s face it: I’ve been sloppy during my time here. I haven’t made the kind of effort I should have, certainly not compared to the other staff members. I’ve barely skimmed the surface of what the household has to offer. No wonder Haughty Hottie’s done with me.
Tonight is my last night. I only have a few hours left before I have to leave, go back to my real life. And then I’ll never have to worry about Lord Arden again.
I never expected to feel sodisappointedabout that.
* * *
Once the cards are all on the silver platter, we follow Chef Henriette in an orderly line back upstairs to the hall outside the lounge, where the butler, Carlton, takes the platter and leads us into the room. Zee, Nik, and Lord Arden are waiting for us. Zee is standing by the unlit fireplace; Nik is seated on a sofa, leaning back relaxed and smiling; and Lord Arden is standing at the back of the room, near the large grand piano there. I helped dust off the piano myself when I was in the lounge with the cleaning staff this morning.
Tonight, though, there’s an extra addition to the room: a small dais in the center, with a padded bench that is very familiar to me. Every dungeon, every kink club has something similar—a spanking bench.
“My lord, ma’am, sir.” Carlton greets them each with a nod, as we all shuffle back into a neat line across the room. Carlton takes the platter with the cards over to Zee and sets it on a small table nearby.
“Thank you, Carlton,” she says with a small smile. “Let’s begin, shall we?”
There are no long speeches. This is obviously a regular, routine part of the household events. Zee simply lifts up the first card, calls out the staff member’s name, the number of infractions, and then one by one each staff member crosses to the dais and leans over the spanking bench.
As noted in the handbook—this part, I actuallydidread—it’s Nik’s responsibility to carry out punishment on the staff. He gives the appropriate number of strikes with a cane, or a riding crop, or in one case, a flogger. I assume everyone has their favorite implement, although he doesn’t ask their preferences before choosing which implement to use. Iwasasked about my own faves as part of the questionnaire I filled out before I got here, but I can’t even remember now what I put down.
All of them, probably. I suppress a snort.
The staff members on both sides of me are more relaxed and giggly than I’ve ever seen them, and after each one has taken their punishments, they go to pour themselves a drink at the drinks cabinet to one side of the room, and—for the first time this weekend—sit down around the lounge room to watch, converse, enjoy the night.
I get it. Tonight is the one night where subs and Doms interact freely. The respect is still there—no one, I notice, speaks to Zee before she speaks to them first, and no one at all speaks to Lord Arden, who is still lurking around the back of the room—but it’s more like the kind of get-togethers I’m used to among my usual friendship group. Chill.
Everyone is chill…
Except for Lord Arden.
I’m not sure a man like him evenhasa chill mode. If anything, he seems to be getting more and more uptight with each passing punishment. Is he notintodiscipline, I wonder? But that wouldn’t make sense. He comes here every year, and Zee and Nik would make it crystal clear to him what to expect, just like they did with me, so I could nope out if I wanted.
And still, the entire night, Lord Arden has not even glanced my way.
I’m not sure why I feel so bad about it. The guy isn’t obligated tolikeme or anything, and frankly, he’s hard fucking work, so I’m notentirelyregretting the fact that tonight will be my last night serving him. I go home after breakfast tomorrow.
But over there at the back of his room, his midnight-dark eyes boring into Nik, who is caning, flogging, paddling each member of staff, I can see Lord Arden’s jaw getting tighter and tighter, his arms clasped behind his back, his spine straight as an arrow.
And then, finally, it’smyturn. I’ve been left for last, which I kind of expected, and don’t mind. I like an audience.
Zee flips open my card and runs her eye over the tally marks. I don’t miss the way her eyebrows arch, just for a second, in surprise. “Seven from Lord Arden,” she calls out.
The rest of the staff actually give a small cheer and clap me. I’m not sure why, but I make a little bow automatically. Hey, it’s LA, and yes, I too once had hopes of an acting career, before I found out how much hate you have to put up with on the daily. I like to keep my ego blooming and healthy, thank you very much—I’ll happily leave fame to the Xander Romanos or Sebastian Foxes of this world.
I make my way to the dais, feeling right at home. This kind of play-punishment is very common in clubs, and I know exactly the right attitude to put on: a little pretend-hesitant, a lot enthusiastic. Nik’s smile is warm and reassuring, and he has a whole array of implements laid out before him.
“You may choose your preference, Oliver, since you advised that you like all of them.”
I give a chuckle along with the rest of the room, and consider my options. It’s over pants—no nudity tonight, though I wonder if that’s usually how it goes—so I pick the one that I’ve found gives the most impact over clothes.
“The cane, please,” I say politely.
Nik picks up the cane with an approving nod. “If you would take your preferred position?”
I bend over at the waist and place my hands on the spanking bench, shuffling my feet apart to help with balance.
