My nightmares have also increased in frequency and intensity since this happened. The most disturbing part of them now is that Sophia’s face has replaced Carol Ann’s. The balcony has been replaced with a mixture of exploding cars, car wrecks, or her falling down a long flight of stairs. The end result is always the same, though. I’m standing over Sophia’s dead body, once again feeling inept at protecting her.
Not knowing who is after me, and why, is really weighing on my shoulders. Leaving Sophia at this time feels much like I’m abandoning her to fend for herself, even though I know either Tucker or Shadow will stay with her at all times. They are both masters at their jobs and I know I can trust them both. Keeping this from her seems wrong at times, but then when I see her so worried over my bump on the head, I know she would have a much worse time with handling the current situation.
“Little girl,” I respond to her latest tantrum, “if you argue with me one more time, Iwillspank you, and it willnotbe pleasant like last night’s spanking was.”
“You said you wouldn’t ever hit me in anger,” she rebuts.
“Do I sound angry?”
“No.”
“It won’t be in anger. Itispart of your training as my sub, though. Punishment is not abuse, love, but it’s necessary when you get out of line, as you are now.”
“I don’t think I’m out of line,” she challenges.
And I answer her challenge. Walking to the dresser, I remove the long, rectangular paddle from the top drawer. I take a seat on the bed and instruct her to pull her skirt up. She does, tentatively, and reveals that she isn’t wearing any panties. Fuck, how I love that sight.
“Across my knees, Sophia,” I demand.
She moves to me swiftly and positions herself across my legs, forcing her ass to rise higher in the air. After ten licks to each cheek, her beautiful skin is bright red and stinging. Picking up the lotion on the nightstand beside me, I rub some into her skin to help soothe it.
“Don’t argue with me, Sophia. Once we’ve discussed it and I’ve given my final answer, that’s the end of the discussion. It’s for the best for both of us,” I explain as I continue to rub. “This trip is important and I can’t and won’t change it now. I am going—alone—and that is the end of the discussion.”
Helping her to stand again, she keeps her eyes dropped to the ground as she stands before me. “I’m sorry, Dom,” she says contritely. “I just worry about you being away from me.”
“My sub wants to protect her Dom?” I ask, half-teasingly as I stand and wrap my arms around her waist.
She chuckles a little, “Always, Dom. Always.”
Leaning my face down to hers, I capture her mouth and kiss her deeply. My feelings for her are deeper than I’ve admitted to her. She’s proven herself and her love to me. Even though I gave her the name that is reserved only for my soul mate, I still haven’t said those three little words yet. With everything that’s happened and with my upcoming trip, a sense of urgency wells up inside me, urging me to tell her.
Breaking the kiss, I withdraw and stroke her lip with the pad of my thumb as I look at her lovingly. “Sophia,My Angel,” my voice lowers, “there’s something I want to tell you. These words bind you to me and can’t be broken.”
“What is it?” she searches my eyes as my hands frame her face.
“I love you,” I tell her. “You are mine and I won’t let you go now. I am your Dom,onlyyours. You areMy Angel,for all time.”
She opens her mouth but speaks no words as she’s stunned silent and continues to search my eyes for confirmation of what she just heard. “Yes, I love you,My Angel.”
She leaps into my arms and wraps her legs around my waist as my hands slide under her to hold her up. She kisses me passionately, pouring herself into her kiss and taking everything I give her. Stopping to breathe, our foreheads touching, she whispers, “You really love me, Dom?”
“I really love you, Sophia,” I say. “I have something for you.”
“For me?”
I place her on the bed, “Stay right here.” Walking away to retrieve it, I come back to face her. “This is very special, Sophia. In other Dom/sub relationships, the sub sometimes wears a true collar around her neck or her ankle to show she belongs to someone. When you wear this, everyone will say, ‘She belongs to her Dom.’ I want you to wear this to show that you belong to me.”
Opening the box, I remove the white gold band engraved with an inscription that reads, “My Dom’s Angel.” She inspects it closely, staring at the engraving for several minutes before she starts to slip the ring on her finger. I stop her just before she does.
“This is my promise ring to you, Sophia. I want to shout it out to the world—I am her Dom and she is My Angel!But know that once you put this ring on, it doesn’t come off for any reason. This is your collar, the symbol that you are mine, and there is no going back,” I explain sternly.
She pushes the ring onto her finger, “I never want to go back. I want you, my Dom, for the rest of my life.”
Staring at the ring, her fingers lightly brush over it again before holding her hand out in front of her to examine it. She looks so happy now and pride swells in my chest knowing I’m the man who put that beautiful smile on her face.
“You’ve really only said that to one other?” she asks.
“Yes, but you’re the only one I’ve ever collared,My Angel,” I confess. “I don’t say it just to say it. I certainly don’t collar someone I don’t intend to stay with. It’s not marriage yet, but it’s a step toward it.”
