Page 23 of Masters of Control

Of course, her presence meant he didn’t get to walk Sam to her car all on his own, but he could live with that. After all, there was definitely going to be a next time.

9

Class is in Session

Q

“Knees farther apart.” The crop that smacked his inner thigh wasn’t gentle, and Q gritted his teeth while Sam covered her mouth with her hand, watching Mistress Julie correct his position. Her eyes were dancing with mirth.

As far as classes went, this was not as sexy as he’d been picturing it. He’d forgotten that the initial classes for the Dom group had been a lot more about function than anything else. The sub classes were turning out to be the same. His only saving grace was that Mistress Julie, not Law, was keeping an eye on him and Sam tonight.

She and Law seemed to have split the class, so Law didn’t have to spend time correcting him or Noelle, though for very different reasons. Q preferred it this way. He wasn’t sure how he would react to his friend smacking him with a crop.

It was easier to take instruction from Mistress Julie, even if it stung like a bitch whenever she wielded that crop of hers. He also understood why Law wouldn’t want to be in charge of Noelle, considering she was an ex-friend of his current girlfriend and submissive. So far, she was behaving perfectly for Mistress Julie, though he did see her looking over where Law was working with Steve, Emerson, and Cassidy more than once.

She might just be curious.

Not my business.

“Better,” Mistress Julie said, giving him an approving nod. She turned away to check on Noelle, allowing Sam to step back into place.

“Did you like the crop?” Sam asked, tapping the one she was holding against the knee-high boot on her right foot. Those boots were sexy as hell, and Q had a perfect view of them from his current position. Being on his knees also gave him a delightful perspective of her very short skirt.

“Yes, Mistress Sam,” he said truthfully, cocking his head at her. On his knees, with the backs of his hands resting on his thighs, even though he was wearing shorts, he felt incredibly vulnerable and far more submissive than he usually did. There really was something to be said about the body helping with the mindset.

Sam walked around him, the flat leather on the end of the crop tapping gently against his pec and then tracing over his shoulder and upper back as she moved. It lifted, and he only had a moment before it landed with a stinging smack against his ass.

Ow.

Also… hot.

No, he wasn’t much of a masochist, but Sam hadn’t put much force behind the blow. Q was far more turned on by the way she was pacing around him, making him wait for whatever it was she wanted to do to him. Already his erection—which had deflated a bit during the more boring part of learning about the kneeling position and the various options for how to place one’s hands—was thickening with interest again.

This was more of an honor bondage kind of situation. He stayed in position while she touched him however she wanted. Part of the eroticism came from the choice to submit.

As if his thought had echoed around the room, he heard Steve speaking up with a question.

“So, what if I stand up, even though I’m supposed to be kneeling?” It was clear from Steve’s tone that he wasn’t trying to be a brat. He was just curious.

“It depends on your Dom and what you negotiated beforehand,” Law said. “Some might punish you. Some might consider the scene over. Some might want to talk to you about why you felt the need to stand.”

“What if we don’t want to be punished?” That was Noelle. Unlike Steve, her tone was more like she was challenging what Master Law was saying, but he wasn’t the one who answered her.

“Then don’t stand up.” Mistress Julie’s sadistic chuckle was echoed by Law’s. “When it comes down to it, the submissives have the power. You safe word if something goes beyond what you’re comfortable with. Your Dom can’t really force you to do anything you really don’t want to do. And if they do, they aren’t a Dom, they’re an abuser.”

Though she didn’t look at Cassidy, Q felt like her words were directed at the quiet submissive. The one who’d had a Dom who not only pushed her past her limits but had ignored her safeword. That had been a whole thing, which had ended when the douche canoe deliberately rammed Law’s car after getting kicked out of Stronghold.

So far, Law hadn’t pressed charges, but he had a year to decide to do so, and he’d had friends in the prosecutor’s office who were happy to follow his lead. It gave Cassidy some breathing room because if douche canoe bothered her again, Law was going to come after him with the full force of, well, the law. Hopefully, by the time the year was up, her ex would have forgotten about her.

Hopefully.

“Doms will sometimes push your soft limits, but any stretching of any limits should be discussed beforehand, and you don’t have to agree to them pushing you. You also can stretch your hard limits, but only if you want to. You give the Doms the lines, they color within those boundaries.” Law looked around the room sternly.

“What if you have trouble telling them no?” Emerson asked, sounding a bit worried. Q looked over to see they were looking at Cassidy, whose head was down as she stared at the floor. He didn’t know how much experience Emerson had with kink, but clearly, they knew something about Cassidy’s situation.

“You can always come find one of us, and we’ll tell them for you.” Mistress Julie’s smile was as cold as a shark’s. “Grab a Dungeon Monitor, an instructor, a Dom you’re comfortable with, or Law’s submissive, and they’ll take care of the problem for you.”

Law pinched the bridge of his nose but didn’t protest the idea that they go to Iris. Considering Iris was the one who had originally rescued Cassidy, it would be hard to make that argument, though Law clearly wanted to. He hadn’t been happy about Iris jumping in rather than getting a Dungeon Monitor.