The sound of leather colliding with soft flesh filled the room. “Ah!” She danced from foot to foot when the pain registered, spreading, the hot center moving outward over her skin.
“What was that for?” he asked. Before she had a chance to answer, he delivered a second one just beneath the first.
“Oh, no, no, no, please!” she begged, straightening and covering her buttocks with her hands. She pressed her back to the wall.
“Turn around, Gabrielle. This is going to happen. Take your punishment.”
She rubbed her buttocks and groaned. He waited. Some part of her told her to turn around, to do as he said because he was right. She needed to take her punishment.
“I'm sorry,” she said, meeting his gaze. He didn't react and she turned slowly back to resume her position.
The belt whistled through the air and struck her above the first stroke.
“Please,” she whispered.
“Please what?” The belt struck again.
She let out a groan and clenched her fists, pounding one into the wall. “More.”
“Good girl,” he said, landing two more blows before tossing the belt onto the bed. “Reach back and spread your ass open,” he said.
Was it finished? She looked over her shoulder while reaching back and as if she'd asked the question aloud, he grinned.
“It's not over, not by a long shot. I'm just getting warmed up. Face forward. Every time you turn around from now on, you'll get five additional strokes.”
She turned quickly to face the wall. He moved behind her and she felt his hand on the base of the root he'd carved. She knew to push and in a moment, she was free of the plug, but the sting remained. She let go of her buttocks when he stepped away.
“I don’t think I said for you to let go,” he called out over his shoulder. She heard the ginger land with a clank in the trash container. She reached back and resumed her earlier position while listening to the water run in the bathroom. Her bottom throbbed and stung inside and out and her face burned as red as she was sure her ass looked.
He came back into the room and she heard him digging inside the bag again and wondered what he would torture her with now. She couldn't help but turn to see what he was looking for.
“That’s five more,” he said, drinking from a bottle of water. “Stand up.” He opened a second bottle and held it out for her. She took it, realizing how thirsty she was.
“Thank you.”
He watched her drink and when the bottle was empty, he tossed it into the trash can and gathered the pillows from the beneath the blankets. He stacked them at the foot of the bed and picked up his belt.
“Over you go,” he said, doubling up the belt again.
“How many, Sir?” she asked.
“Don’t know yet, you can count it out so we keep track.”
“It hurts,” she said, rubbing her buttocks.
“I imagine it does. Five more for lack of proper address. Be careful, Gabrielle.”
She bent her torso over the bed, her hips raised high by the pillows.
“Arms over your head. If you squirm or clench, I've got a second ginger root carved and ready to go. This one's not as short as the first.”
She raised her arms over her head and it began immediately.
She exhaled, or rather the force of the stroke pushed the breath from her lungs and she fisted handfuls of the comforter. “One,” she said.
The second one landed, then a third and fourth and she counted each one.
“Tell me why you deserve this punishment, Gabrielle.”
“Six, yes, Sir. Seven… oh God.” Why was this so hard?
“Why?” Three licks of the belt followed and her knees buckled beneath her but she managed to hold her position.
“Because I, eight… I… nine, ten… I broke my promise.”
“And what did that do?”
He was focused on her thighs now and although she tried to be still, she rocked from foot to foot, her hips swaying from side to side.
“I hurt William,” she said, tears making her face sticky wet. “I hurt our families.”
“What else. Who else did you hurt, Gabrielle?”
She'd lost track of the count but was very aware of her throbbing thighs and ass. The sting of the ginger was long forgotten. It was nothing compared to the pain she was feeling now.
“Who, Gabrielle?”
“Me!” she bawled into the blankets and her body stilled while he continued lashing her. “Me. I ruined everything. I thought I'd just figured something out, you know? About myself.”
She heard the belt buckle land against the tile floor. She was sobbing, her legs weak, her entire body on fire. “I'm sorry,” she said, turning to find him rolling a condom over his very hard, very thick cock.
She moaned when he lifted her higher onto the bed so her legs hung off the end but her weight was supported.
“Legs wide,” he demanded.
Her pussy throbbed, wanting to be filled, and she obeyed. He pressed his cock against her buttocks while his fingernails scratched her too tender flesh before spreading her cheeks apart. Two fingers slid easily into her pussy as she responded. But that wasn't where she needed him. It was something she couldn’t make sense of yet, but she needed one final thing from him.
And she trusted that Julian would know exactly what that thing was.
Sliding his cock deep into her pussy, he rubbed her asshole with her own juices until the passage opened to him. She moaned when he positioned the head of his cock at her anus.
He fisted a handful of hair and yanked her head backward. He pressed his cock against her asshole and she pushed against him, wanting him there.
“Is this what you wanted, Gabrielle? Is this what William couldn't give you? What your lover couldn't give you?”
He thrust and she tensed, calling out in pain, but Julian didn't stop. He took inches and retreated, pumping slowly before he thrust hard again. She gripped the comforter and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Yes!”
“You wanted to be dominated but your husband couldn't handle it.”
He thrust again, “Please!” she begged.
“He couldn't handle you. Neither could your lover.”
She only wept.
He drove home on the next thrust and she stilled when he lowered his torso over hers, his mouth at her ear.
“Are you ready to forgive yourself yet, Gabrielle?” he asked, pulling out half way and thrusting in again.
“Yes,” she whispered, lifting her hips to his, tears now silently rolling down her face.
The fingers of his free hand found her clit and she moaned. Everything was confused: pain, pleasure, humiliation, tenderness. He withdrew his cock slowly and repeated several more times. She inhaled a long, deep breath. The sensation was intoxicating, satisfying and she closed her eyes. “Fuck me,” she said. “Hard. Fuck my ass hard.”
“I plan to,” he said. With that, he began pumping hard and fast and her first orgasm came on like a tidal wave. She convulsed under him but he didn't let up with either his hand or his cock as he fucked her harder and deeper, filling her completely. She climaxed over and over, thinking she couldn't take one more second when she felt the twitch of his cock and he stilled deep inside her ass, his fingers closing tight around her clit sending her over the edge one last time.
She would have crumpled to the floor when he slid out of her but he caught and lifted her into his arms. She had no tears left, exhausted from her punishment, her confession, her fucking. She'd never felt so empty before, so light, so free. She closed her eyes and laid her head against his chest. When he cradled her head, she brought his hand to her mouth and kissed it.
Chapter Eight
Julian loaded Gabrielle's bag into the trunk of her car as she stood back watching. It was almost noon. She would be flying to Amsterdam later today and would be there for the week on business before going home. Although sad to say goodbye, she also felt good. She felt lighter, if t
hat was the right word.
He closed the trunk and turned to her. They looked at each other for a few moments.
“If you're ever in Florida…” she began.
He reached into his pocket and withdrew an envelope.
“What's that?” she asked when he held it out for her.
“It's an invitation.”
“What sort of invitation?” she asked, taking it. She was just about to open it when he put his hand over hers and stopped her.
“No, not for now. I want you to be clear on something first.”
She nodded, her expression growing serious.
“I like you, Gabrielle. No, that's not all.” He ran a hand through his hair and for the first time this weekend, he looked unsure. “My feelings for you are more than that.” He wrapped his hands over her upper arms, holding her tightly. “It's natural for you to feel very close to me, at least right at first. You might even feel depressed for a while. Given what we've done together, I expect you feel some attachment to me now, and what I want is for you to have some space before you open that envelope. Wait a few weeks and process everything. Be honest with yourself and if you find you may have feelings for me, well, then open it.”
Tears filled her eyes and he looked at her with some of that sadness she was sure he'd seen in her just a few days ago. “Julian,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest.
“You need to be really clear that what you're feeling for me isn't just because of the role I played for you. If it's real, it'll be there. If not, well, then we've had a wonderful time together, haven't we?”
She nodded and wiped at her face as she pulled back. She tucked the envelope into her purse.
“Thank you,” she said. It was all she needed to say.
He nodded once. “Goodbye, Gabrielle,” he said, looking at her as if filling his eyes with the image of her for the last time.
“Goodbye, Julian.”
He kissed her deeply one last time before helping her into her car. Gabrielle cried. She drove out of the parking lot, losing sight of him in the rear view mirror as she headed down the road.
She'd come to the B&B to face the guilt that had tormented her for two years and something had shifted there. She felt good. In fact, she truly realized how bad she'd been feeling for so long now that she felt good again.
But she was also feeling the loss of Julian. Was she falling in love with him or would the endorphins wear off after a few weeks back in her old life?
* * *
Julian turned back to find Luciana watching them. He smiled at her, catching the look in her eyes. She was a kind woman and he liked her.
“I'll be checking out early, I'm afraid,” he said, stopping a few feet from her.
“I thought you might. I'll get your paperwork ready,” she answered, her eyes betraying the fact that she felt sorry for him.
“Thank you,” he said. He turned toward his room. He'd told Gabrielle she might feel depressed but he hadn’t told her she wouldn't be the only one. He hated to let her drive away alone today; he still wanted to hold her, to tell her how wonderful she was, tell her he loved her. But life was difficult, to say the least.
He packed his bag quickly, wanting to be away. Not wanting the reminder of her in his room, in his arms, and in his bed. Not yet. He swallowed the lump in his throat, hardened his eyes, and walked out the door.
Epilogue
Exactly four weeks had passed since she'd met Julian. Gabrielle sat on a lawn chair in the late afternoon sun holding the envelope he'd given her in her hands. She'd wanted to tear into it once she'd gotten to the airport but she hadn't, remembering his request. But now she was ready.
He had been right about the depression but she realized it wasn't entirely a result of having lost him as her disciplinarian. It was more than that. Although a part of her was giddy with what she felt, another part, a more logical part, told her it was too complicated, it would never work.
She slipped the letter opener beneath the seal of the envelope and slid it across. She then, with trembling hands, retrieved the pages inside.
She didn't know what she was expecting, but what she found wasn't long and it wasn't a gushing love note. Instead, he'd written two sentences on the first page and the second was a computer printout.
Dear Gabrielle,
I hope you've waited to open this like I asked. If so, and you've found you have some feelings for me, then you'd make me very happy if you accepted my invitation.
Julian
She looked at the second sheet. It was an open round trip ticket to Paris, she'd just have to call the airline and choose the date. At the bottom of the page was his address and telephone number.
She checked her watch. It would be late there, almost eleven at night. Her heart raced. She went inside, picked up the phone, and dialed the number.
“Julian?” she asked when she heard his voice.
The End
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Epilogue
Taught to Kneel Page 6