by Mia Luxe
Emily Jones
The run was hardest yesterday, after waking up so sore from washing dishes. I finish my three laps just as Claudia is finishing her second.
We gasp together, panting in front of each other. My bottom barely hurts anymore.
“What… What did the Headmaster want to see you about last night? Two… Two nights in a row? You must have really done something bad,” says Claudia, panting. It took her thirty seconds to get the words out as she struggled for breath.
I glance at her. She’s been my only friend at the academy. I’ve tried to talk to other pupils during classes, but everyone seems to have formed tight-knit cliques.
“I… Well… I haven’t told him something that he wants to know.”
Her eyes go wide. “And you still haven’t told him? Ever after having to wash dishes for three hours?”
I shake my head as we walk towards the showers. You start to get used to having to shower in front of other girls. I checked this morning and thankfully Tanner Strom’s handprints have faded from my ass.
I still feel self-conscious when I’m under the deluge of water, but since the alternative was being sweaty all day, I dealt with it.
“No, I still haven’t told him.”
Claudia looks at me, her lips pressed together.
“Well, if you need someone to confide in, just talk to me. I’m great at keeping secrets.”
I try to smile, but I can’t. I wish I could tell someone about what Mike Fuller did to me.
Every time I think about it, I feel sick and have to push it out of my mind.
I know that Claudia would be a reassuring voice. That she’d hug me and tell me how sorry she was that I almost got raped by a man I thought loved me. A tear wells up, and I force it back.
No. I will not think about Mike Fuller. I’m not ready to.
I push the bilious memories down deep into the recesses of my mind, knowing that they’ll fester down there; but I don’t yet have the strength to let them out.
“I’m sorry, I’m not ready,” I say to Claudia.
We shower off and walk to breakfast. Sarah doesn’t bother us much anymore – not since the last time she tried to knock Claudia’s tray over and I stood up to her. Sarah was obviously sent her not just for stealing, but also because she picks on those weaker than herself. The moment somebody stood up to her, she backed off.
I bet she could have asked her parents for the jewelry instead of having to steal it. She just wanted the thrill of it – to prove that she could do it.
I eat a big breakfast and head to class.
It’s impossible to concentrate all day. While the professors drone on about the fundamentals of sociology and the human mind, all I can think about is Tanner Strom’s meaty hand coming down hard on my bottom.
I should feel embarrassed that he spanked me. I should feel humiliated… Ashamed.
Instead, I just find it really fucking hot.
“Miss. Jones! Pay attention!”
I snap back to the reality of the philosophy lecture, forcing the hot Navy SEAL out of mind… For now.
At dinner all I can think about is his muscled torso. I know the tattoo that stretches down his powerful bicep. It’s an ornate, black bone frog. I want to run my finger down it while I look into his eyes.
Claudia gulps. “I guess you have to deal with the Headmaster again. I don’t envy you. That guy still intimidates me.”
I wink. “I’ll try to survive.”
Her jaw drops at my devil-may-care demeanour. She looks like she’s more scared for me than I am.
After dinner I walk up to Strom’s office. I knock.
“Come in,” he says in the deep voice that vibrates through me all the way down to the heat between my thighs.
I open the door and walk in, and he stands up with a small smile as I enter.
Oh, you’re smiling. I prefer it when you’re stern.
“Headmaster Strom,” I say in greeting as he motions me to sit. I sit down in front of him.
“I’ll ask again. Tell me the truth about that night.”
I shake my head. “That’s my story to tell when I’m ready to tell it.”
The truth is, I wish I could tell you.
Your presence makes me feel safe and I want to share with you. But what if you respond just like my dad did? What if you don’t want to really listen to my side of the story?
He nods. “I thought you’d say that.”
He studies me, swirling a glass of amber liquid.
“Your boyfriend has very rich parents. They’re good at covering things up.”
My skin crawls.
“I don’t want to talk about him,” I say quietly.
“Two years before you met him he settled out of court with a girl who claimed he raped her. Their family covered it up almost perfectly. My specialist got the details.”
I want to throw up. I close my eyes, fear overcoming me. I think back to the night he attacked me. Tanner’s strong, reassuring presence stops me from hyperventilating.
I shake my head. “Tanner… Sorry, Mr. Strom. Please. I can’t talk about it. I came here for another reason.”
He takes sip of the amber liquid.
“What reason?”
I bite my lip, summoning all my courage.
“You told me to come here to be your maid… But we both know that’s just a pretense.”
He smiles wider. “And if I did just want you to dust and clean?”
“Then you should have picked me out a maid’s uniform,” I say, trying to sound lighthearted. The little joke is a direct contrast to the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
So, Mike tried that on other girls. I’m not even special enough to be the only one he tried to force.
The fact is, talking about Mike triggered me. I feel sad and alone, and all I want is for Strom to wrap his arms around me.
I’d feel so safe in those huge arms.
“This may be a game to you, but I mean it when I say you will respect me. Come here.”
I stand, walking slowly towards him. He stands, running his fingers down my cheek and I can’t meet his eyes. I know what I need. It isn’t for him to wrap his arms around me.
I need him to bring his palm down on my ass. I need to surrender. I need to feel out of control. He sits down, and pats his thigh.
“Over my lap.”
My jaw drops, but I crave the mindless surrender of his discipline. I nod, and lay down across his lap.
He lifts my skirt and spanks me, harder and harder. Each slap of flesh-on-flesh fills the room with the forbidden sounds of his discipline.
It hurts and I love the pain.
I feel calm and safe under his strict hand.
Suddenly all the pain that I felt about Mike wells up.
I cry, tears streaming down my face. It isn’t from the spanking.
It’s from the safe feeling I get being on Tanner Strom’s lap.
When I give up all control and let him punish me, all the emotions that I’d been repressing about Mike Fuller finally come out and I’m wracked by sobs. It’s like I pushed everything into a little compartment and now I’m opening it up and letting it flood out.
Tanner rubs my tender flesh gently.
“You’re alright, baby, I’ve got you,” he says soothingly, holding me against his lap. I start to sit up and he helps me up, turning to face him and straddling his lap. He’s rock hard, his cock a reassuring force pressing against me, but he doesn’t try to kiss me or touch me. I never thought a strong, handsome man like Tanner Strom would be excited by my body, but I can feel his need under me. Even stronger than his need is the knowledge that he would never push me. He’d never act on his desires unless I wanted it.
He just holds me, letting me cry out all my tears. His cock softens under me.
“He tried to rape me,” I gasp, and he hugs me tighter, gently stroking my hair. Tanner’s desire instantly fades, softening below me.
“You’re safe here. You
’re safe,” he whispers.
I don’t know what I was expecting when I came here.
Maybe to lose my virginity to a dominant man.
Instead I’m crying hopelessly. The spanking let me experience all the emotions I was holding back. All the anxiety I’d felt is replaced by a calmness that feels steady and secure.
“Tell me everything,” he says, his voice so deep and reassuring.
“I went to his party and he slipped something in my drink. I blacked out and when I came to he was groping me, forcing my legs apart. I hit him with the closest thing I could find. His new car’s keys.”
Tanner keeps stroking my hair as I spill out all the details of the most horrific night of my life.
“I ran and he chased me. I could barely get my legs to work. I hide in his car and locked the doors but he kept punching the windows. He was going to break them and do something horrible to me. I had to turn the car on and I lost control. I almost drowned!”
He grabs tissues from his desk and passes them to me. I blow my nose, sure I accidentally get a drop on him but he doesn’t even flinch. I drop the tissues on the ground and bury my head into his strong body.
“When I woke up in the hospital the blood test didn’t show anything. It just showed that I’d been drinking. My dad wouldn’t listen to me. He just cared about the deal he was making with Mike Fuller’s parents, not about me. Then he sent me here and now I can’t volunteer!”
All of my emotion spills out.
“What do you mean, volunteer?”
I look up at him, hopeful.
“Every weekend I read to the terminally ill kids. If I don’t show up on Saturday they’ll be so lonely and think I abandoned them.”
He strokes my cheek.
“It’s against policy, but I make the rules. We’ll sneak you off the dorms to volunteer. Your dad won’t find out?”
I shake my head vigorously.
Oh, thank God. I’ll be able to make little Terry laugh with his favorite picture book. I’ll do everything I can to connect with sad, serious Tanya.
“He never goes to the hospital. He thinks it’s a waste of time and I should be studying to learn how to take over the family business instead.”
He presses me against him. “Your father always did put his business before everything else. I’m going to move you to the disciplinary dorms. Don’t worry, you didn’t do anything wrong. But there are single units for our most troublesome pupils. You’ll be alone there and be able to get off the campus more easily. Emily – I had to get the truth out of you.”
I pout, feeling so vulnerable.
“I know, Tanner. Can I call you Tanner?”
He nods. I feel so close to him.
“You’re going to be okay, Emily. I’m going to sort this Mike guy out.”
I look up at him, shocked.
“You can’t hurt him. I hate him, but you can’t hurt him. If we take him down we can’t do it by hurting him. Or else we’re just as bad as him.”
His face goes tight, and his muscles flex. I can tell he’s doing everything he can to stop himself from getting up, driving to Mike’s house, and beating him.
“Okay. I might threaten him, but I promise I won’t hurt him. I’m sorry that monster did this to you.”
I frown. “He said he loved me,” I say whimsically, wishing for a simpler time.
I’m not turned on. The spanking was therapeutic, and after spilling out all my emotions I just want to sleep. I’m so exhausted.
“You’re shaking. I’ll have Miss. Turner escort you to the dorms. You can feel safe with her. She’s one of my most-trusted employees.”
He calls Miss. Turner. I extract myself from his lap and sniffle, trying to fix my clothes. Soon she knocks on the door.
“Come in,” says Tanner.
She comes in and stands looking at me, confused and with worry painted on her face.
“Miss. Jones has been through a trauma that directly lead to her being sent here. She’s here for reasons that are out of her control, and to which her father is not privy. Take her to the private residences in the disciplinary section – not because she’s done anything wrong, but for her own piece of mind.”
Miss. Turner walks forward and gives me a hug, shocking me to the core. If you’d told me just a couple of days earlier that the strict supervisor who made my entire team do extra laps would be comforting me, I’d have called you an idiot.
She breaks off the hug.
“I’m sorry to hear that. You know, Miss. Jones, I have to be harsh on all the new arrivals. It’s just a matter of breaking pupils down so we can help build them back up to become successful young adults.”
I nod. “I don’t hold it against you.”
She smiles and leads me out of the room.
“Goodnight, Miss. Jones,” says Tanner, and I give him a weak smile as I follow Miss. Turner down the hall and down the stairs. She leads me north and we walk down a gravel path through a winding trail that goes deep into the forest. She walks me further until we get to a tiny cabin.
“This is your home from now on,” she says, opening the door.
The cabin is miniscule and very cute.
She points to a door at the end of the wall.
“That’s the bathroom. There’s a shower and running water. I don’t know what trauma you went through, but are you still up to classes and eating with everyone?”
I nod. “I’m okay. I just…”
She shakes her head. “You don’t have to tell me more. Some of the girls here have tragic stories. It’s not just rich spoiled brats who get sent here. Headmaster Strom also accepts women who’ve been abused, to give them a safe space – and he even waives the hefty enrollment fee. Sometimes I think he runs this place off the back of rich families, just so he can help the less fortunate.”
I smile weakly, looking at the bed with envy. The cabin is one room, plus the bathroom. It’s cool in the evening air.
“There’s a fireplace if you get cold at night, though we’ve been having such nice nights. Still, September can be chilly. Don’t worry, you don’t have to run in the morning.”
“What if I want to? Claudia and I… We’ve gotten close.”
Miss. Turner smiles. “Then you may. I can’t be too soft on you. You still earned double laps for your team. I’ll be off, but there’s a buzzer underneath the bed for emergencies.”
“Thank you,” I say, and she leaves, shutting the door behind me. I lock it, feeling instantly safer.
Opening up to Tanner Strom was like dropping a two-hundred-pound weight – but it’s left me feeling vulnerable.
I yawn, checking out the bathroom. It’s got a nice shower for me.
I scrunch up my eyes in confusion. I realize that everything I own is at my old dorm.
There’s a knock at my door.
“Who is it?”
“I’ve got your things!”
The voice is familiar. I press my eye to the peephole and recognize the valet from the first day.
I open the door, and he brings my things inside. Then he hands me my cell phone.
“Boss says you can have this back. Never seen that before. Don’t let any of the other pupils see you with it or all hell will break out. There’s no wi-fi, but he said you can use it for emergencies. He put his number in it.”
I smile. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” he replies, closing the door behind him. I change into my pajamas, turn off the light and plop into bed, exhausted.
What is Tanner Strom going to do to Mike Fuller?
Is he going to be brought to justice?
10
Tanner Strom
I put the untouched glass of bourbon down on the table. I need to be sharp.
I had her over my lap and spanked her gorgeous ass hard.
I expected to be taking her virginity. Instead, I learned the truth about the bastard that did this to her.
I will have her, but not the way Mike Fuller tried. I�
�ll have her begging for it, moaning my name and feeling so safe and secure in my arms.
I’d throw this whole academy away if it meant keeping her safe.
I open the drawer in my desk and pull out the file I have on Mike Fuller. It doesn’t have much info. The Fuller family is private, and they have the resources to keep it that way. When scandal happens to a family with a net worth of 400 million, it can be swept under the rug.
I call my old squad mate.
“Hawk,” I say, using the old nickname from our first tour of duty.
“Boulder,” he replies. I got the nickname when an IED triggered a landslide and one of my team was pinned under a boulder. I summoned all my strength and pulled it off him. He survived, going back to his three daughters in one piece.
“Is it possible for a date-rape drug to not show up in a blood test?”
He pauses a few seconds. Hawk was always one to think first and talk only once he’d made up his mind. Some people thought that meant he was slow-witted. I knew he just thought most of what people say is a bunch of bullshit. In contrast, he only speaks the truth.
“Unlikely. I’ve never heard of that. It would have to be some designer drug – built specifically for that purpose.”
The Fuller family was willing to settle out of court with an alleged rape victim. Turning a blind eye to their son’s exploits is a far-cry from designing a drug to help him – and no 18-year-old is going to have the connections to set that up themselves.
“Alright, then. Is it possible to fake a hospital test?”
“Absolutely.”
There’s no hesitation this time.
“A lot of these hospitals have outdated software. They have great physical security, but if there’s someone inside, they can change the results.”
I think: “It’s that Fuller kid. I think he managed to change the results of a test.”
A few seconds pass. “Most likely the parents are covering up for their kids. I did some more digging. I didn’t think it was relevant, but Mike Fuller’s older cousin is a registered nurse at the hospital. Not all their family is rich, only the main branch. He would have had access. If he was good enough with computers, or if he could put a tainted USB with a virus on it in the system, he could have messed with the results.”