by Lucy Wild
“I’m not surprised. That sounds terrible.”
I didn’t even know why I told her that. It just came out, something I’d not shared with anyone before. My mind was all over the place though. For the first time in years, I didn’t feel in control. All because of shoddy work on my security system. As soon as it was fixed, I’d have the whole damn thing ripped out and replaced. It had to get fixed first of course.
“I’m not enjoying this,” I muttered, marching out of the kitchen and back towards the back door. “I don’t hear anything, Reginald,” I shouted.
“They’re working on it, Sir. Won’t be long now.”
“Tell them to hurry up!” I snapped before turning around to find Karina looking at me.
“I know what will distract you,” she said, a smile spreading across her face.
“What?”
“Show me the play room.”
KARINA
IT WAS ALL JUST A game. That’s what I told myself as we walked towards the play room. It was obviously a set up. The failing security system that just happened to go wrong minutes after I arrived, trapping the two of us together. Of course it was a set up. He was acting well, pretending to be claustrophobic. I lapsed into a caring role within seconds, but seeing him like that reminded me of what I liked about him, the hint of vulnerability to his character.
He wasn’t a clichéd billionaire, he’d imbued his character with some depth. I had no idea where the game was going but I got the feeling this might be my only chance to return to the play room. The thought of being in there with him filled me with nervous excitement. The game had to have limits but right now, I had no idea what they were. I also knew we were alone together, there was no one watching. If I wanted to be Melissa for a little while, who was to know? I could be confident, I could be bold. I had told him to take me to the play room, after all. Karina wouldn’t have been that brave. She’d have waited by the door to be let out.
I reached the play room door and paused in front of it before pushing it open. “Am I playing the right way?” I asked, my fingers wrapped around the door handle.
“Let’s find out,” he replied, wrapping his hand over the top of mine and pushing the door open. He stepped back, waiting for me to walk in.
As soon as I set foot in the room, the door swung closed behind me. In the light of the torches, the place seemed even naughtier than the last time I saw it. My eyes took in the toys on their shelves, the whips, the canes, the wooden horse I’d been chained to last time. “Is it me or is it getting hot in here?” I asked.
“You could take that dress off,” he replied, moving towards me, filling the room until there was only him and me and no space to move. Suddenly there was nowhere to go.
“What if I say no?”
“What if I did it anyway?”
“Then I guess I’d have to let you,” I said, speaking quietly. I could hardly breathe, there was so much tension in the air. All of a sudden, he’d become very calm, as if he’d never been worried. I knew it was because he was fixing his attention on me. It’s just a game, I told myself. I knew I could say the safe word and end it at any time. As his fingers hooked under the strap on my left shoulder, the words floated on my lips. Then they faded away again.
“You look good,” he said as he slipped the straps away from my shoulder, tugging the dress slowly down my chest. “Very good.”
I froze. Karina would be terrified at this moment. And I was. But I was still playing the part I’d been given. Melissa wouldn’t hide her body, she wouldn’t turn away and run. I needed to be her. I had to be her. It was the only way I could prove to him I was brave enough to play the game.
“Turn around,” he said as the dress slid to the floor.
I did as he asked, facing away from him as I heard movement behind me. My bra was unhooked in a single motion and I let it fall from my arms, my skin on fire as he slid a finger down my spine to my panties, hooking into the waistband and tugging them downwards.
“That’s a very spankable ass,” he said, the voice coming from my hips. He was knelt down behind me. I could feel his eyes examining me but I dared not turn around. I didn’t want to break the spell.
It was impossible to believe that this was really happening. But it wasn’t. It was just a game. We were both playing our parts. He was the arrogant billionaire who took what he wanted, I was the innocent but confident woman in his thrall. I wasn’t the terrified girl I knew was bubbling up inside me. I could do this. I opened my mouth and words I didn’t recognise came out without me even thinking about them. “I’ve never been spanked,” I said, blushing as I did so.
I gasped as his soft lips brushed against my ass before he stood up again, his mouth by my ear as he whispered, “Want to try it?”
“Promise me something,” I said, glancing at him. He nodded slowly. “Promise me this stays between us, no one at Game Inc. finds out. Okay?”
He nodded again. “As long as you keep silent, so will I,” he said before leaning so close to my ear I could feel his breath. “Now bend over.”
I leaned forwards, placing my elbows on the top of the wooden horse, my ass pointed towards him. There was a moment of nothing and then I felt a sharp pain in my right buttock at the same time as a smacking sound reached my ears. The pain became a sting that hit deep into me. Every nerve in me was on edge as he spanked me a second time.
The feeling was so intense, I felt dizzy. My ass began to heat up as he smacked it again. My breathing grew heavy and I realised just what it was about spanking that people liked so much. I was giving up control to him, letting him intensify my emotions, my feelings, my reactions. Everything felt heightened, like I was on tiptoes, aware of everything, even my own heartbeat. I clenched my fists as his hands landed on my ass again, the time flattening out and sliding down, down, towards my thighs. I held my breath, waiting for what I knew was coming.
His fingers were just about to touch the part of me that yearned for him when there was a whirring sound and then the lights came on.
All of a sudden the spell was broken. I stood upright, blinking. Melissa was gone. I was Karina again and I was ashamed, ashamed to have been so wanton, so desperate for him.
I felt embarrassed and all of a sudden I wanted to leave. I wasn’t Melissa, I couldn’t play this game, not in the brutal light, only in the darkness. In the darkness I could hide my fear, let myself relax in a way I never had before. But not now.
I grabbed my dress, snatching it up from the ground. “I want to go home,” I said, sliding into it, my toes curling in shame as he looked at me in bewilderment. “Now.”
KARINA
I LOOKED UP AT THE house. It had been a week since I’d been in the play room of his mansion and I’d told myself I wouldn’t see him again. The game had been fun at first but games stop being fun when someone gets hurt. I’d run away from him, certain that was the end. But the very next day he’d written to me, giving me the address of his new purchase, telling me he was there for a month, telling me the commission was still mine if I wanted it. He ended it with, ‘Your move.’
Did he still think I was playing?
I’d tried to talk to Holy about it. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked. “He clearly wanted you.”
I sighed at her. “I can’t let myself fall for him. He’s only playing with me.”
She nodded as if she understood but I wasn’t sure she did. Could anyone really understand my predicament? I was falling for a person who wasn’t real. I was falling for a character. It probably wasn’t even his house, just owned by the company and used as a set for the game. It was all getting too confusing.
“Correct me if I’m wrong but he did buy a painting, right?”
“Yep, but…”
“Hold on. He also commissioned you to paint for him. Right?”
“Right.”
“And you need the money, right?”
So that was how I ended up at his house after a week. She was right, as usual. I did need the mon
ey. I just had to keep better control of myself. If I ended up bent over for him again, I’d lose it completely and then he’d have his fun and that would be that. I’d be more miserable than ever while he swanned off to his next conquest. I wasn’t falling for him. I wasn’t. I wouldn’t fall for him. I would paint his wall, take the money, and get out of there. Nothing could be simpler. I just had to avoid looking at him, thinking about that hand of his on my ass. I could do it. I could.
The house was in a tiny country village, about fifty miles from the city. I’d hired a car to get out there, borrowing the money from Holly with the promise of paying her back once he’d paid me for the commission. I’d brought my brushes with me but the letter had said he’d provide all the paint I needed.
I found the house after asking twice in the village. It was hidden behind a wall of trees, down a private drive. It wasn’t quite as big as his mansion in the city but it was still pretty big. Red brick abounded, tall narrow windows, four chimneys, privet hedge either side of the dark wood front door. I parked up and knocked, looking out at the grounds. It seemed ridiculous that the game could afford to hire so many places like this. Or did they own them?
“You came,” a voice said behind me and I turned to find Cole standing in the doorway, bare chested, covered in sawdust. My eyes got stuck on his muscles, unable to move up to his face for too long. My insides throbbed with desire at the sight of him. Don’t fall for him, I reminded myself.
“No butler?” I managed to ask, my voice a bare squeak.
“Just me,” he replied. “This is going to be my getting away from it all place. Do you like it?”
He turned and walked along the hallway, leaving me staring at his back and hoping I could get a grip of my rampaging hormones. I wanted him so badly in that moment, it hurt.
“Through here,” he said, vanishing through a doorway.
“Wow,” I said as I entered, my breath taken away by the sight.
The room was enormous. It had clearly been a ballroom at some point, portraits still hanging on the walls. The ceiling soared above me, light shining in from six, no, eight windows that faced onto the lawn. In the far corner, there was a workbench with a pile of wood next to it. “Some of the frames are rotten,” Cole said, following my eyes. “It’s going to take a while to get it sorted.”
“You’re a carpenter?” I asked, trying not to look at his chest.
“Better than being a walrus,” he replied.
“Are you calling me a walrus?”
“Don’t get cheeky or I’ll have to spank you again.”
I blushed furiously when he said that, doing my best not to think about his hand slapping down on my ass, my insides throbbing all the more. “So which wall am I painting?” I asked, changing the subject as quickly as I could, unable to look him in the eye.
“That one there, above the fireplace. What do you think?”
“I think I’ll need a hell of a lot of paint.”
“What do you think you could put there?”
“I’m not sure. I wasn’t sure what size we were talking about. What kind of thing do you want?”
He shrugged. “You’re the artist. You tell me.”
“I’ve a couple of ideas but I could do with some inspiration, a hint or two about what you like.”
“I’ll show you. Give me five minutes to get changed.”
He marched out of the room. I walked across to the wall I was going to paint. What could go there? It was a huge blank canvas of space and I felt momentarily scared, it would be easy to get it wrong and very hard to get it right.
He reappeared after a couple of minutes, back in his seemingly endless supply of suits. “Come on,” he waved from the door. “Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, following him into the hallway.
“To show you the kind of things I like. Who’s driving, me or you?”
KARINA
THAT WAS THE START OF the best afternoon I’ve ever had. He didn’t just take me to an art gallery. He took me to the National Gallery. Not only that but he knew something about every painting we looked at. If he’d been real, I’d probably have fallen in love with him there and then. But he wasn’t real of course. He’d learned his script well, memorising things about the paintings we looked at, telling me which ones he loved and why. But it wasn’t the real him speaking, it was his character.
I chose to ignore that inconvenient fact, instead focussing on the paintings, having an absolutely wonderful time as he escorted me round. We ended the trip in the cafe, his sipping a coffee whilst I picked marshmallows out of my hot chocolate.
“Sophisticated,” he said as I sucked cream off the end of my finger.
“Bet it tastes better than your coffee,” I replied.
“So have you an idea?”
“Of what? Of what I’m going to paint?”
He nodded.
“I have. I was working on a sketch earlier. Do you want to see?”
“I trust you.”
He took another sip as I watched him closely. “What?” he asked, noticing me staring. “You look cross.”
“Do I?” I frowned. “Sorry. I was just wondering something.”
“Go on.”
“Does it ever get to you?”
“Does what get to me?”
“Pretending to be someone else. Do you not want to be yourself?”
He smiled. “I am being myself.”
“No, I don’t mean in the game. I mean the real you. Don’t you want to be the real you?”
“I am the real me.”
“I know, I know, you have to stay in character.”
“Listen to me.” He leaned across the table towards me. “I have been myself since the moment we met. I’ve told you nothing but the truth.”
I knew he was lying, convincing though he was. He was just staying in character.
“I’ve somewhere else to show you,” he said. “If you can tear yourself away from that mug of sugar.”
“You can have one too if you like. You are a grown up.”
He stuck his tongue out at me before pulling me to my feet. “Come on, we’ll be late.”
“What for?”
“You’ll see.”
He took me to the Tate. We arrived just as it was closing. “We missed it,” I said as he headed straight for the door.
“No we didn’t,” he replied, nodding to the man on the door. “Come on, in you come.”
“What? What are you doing? It’s closed.”
“I might have hired the place for a private tour.”
“What are you talking about? You can’t do that.”
“You can when you sponsor the new exhibition and when you paid for the roof to be redone last year. Now come on, I want to show you round.”
It was dark by the time we left. We’d spent hours in there and all the time I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was my own private gallery. I’d never been anywhere like it without other people there. Instead there was just the sound of our footsteps and Cole’s enthusiastic voice as he guided me round. I left in a happy daze and the day wasn’t done yet.
“Where are we going now?” I asked as we walked.
“You’ll see,” he smiled in that infuriating way of his.
We walked for about ten minutes before he hopped neatly over some railings, waving for me to follow.
“You want me to join you in a locked up park in the middle of the night?”
“Eleven o’clock is hardly the middle of the night,” he said through the railings.
“And what if we get caught?”
“We won’t.”
I sighed, swinging a leg over the railings. Just as I did so, I heard a voice behind me shout, “Oi!”
“Come on,” Cole said, grabbing my hand. “Hide.”
We ran across some grass before Cole reached a children’s playground. There was a long tunnel near to the ground and he squeezed into it, pulling me in with him. We listened as the footsteps of two m
en approached. “Which way did they go?” one asked.
“Across here,” the other replied. “You go that way, meet at the far side.”
I looked at Cole, the fear of being caught fading as I realised just how close we were. He was laid on his side and I was next to him, our bodies touching. “I’ve never hidden from a security guard before,” I whispered.
“Me neither,” he replied, his lips mere inches from mine. I could feel the firmness of his body and it made me want him even more.
I was about to ask him if this was still part of the game when he kissed me out of nowhere. It came as such a shock, my head banged against the tunnel behind me.
“Are you all right?” he asked as I rubbed the back of my head.
“I’ll be fine,” I replied.
“Good,” he said, kissing me again, his hands sliding round my back, moving lower to grip my buttocks while his tongue began exploring my mouth.
When he finally stopped kissing me, I felt breathless and I couldn’t move a muscle, my whole body on edge. “Come on,” he muttered. “Let’s go before they come back.”
“What did you want to show me?” I asked as we walked back across to the railings.
“This sculpture,” he said, pointing to a huge wooden horse set in the middle of the grass, just visible in the glow of the surrounding streetlights. “Thought it might inspire you.”
“I’ve been inspired,” I said, my lips still tingling from his kiss.
He hopped back over the railings before holding out a hand to help me. Once we were both on the pavement, he dug out his phone. “I’ll get the limo to collect us. You can stay at mine tonight and then we’ll travel back in the morning, get started on the painting.
“I’m staying at yours, am I?”
“You can always say no.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Good.” He turned to the phone. “Reginald, Cole. Bring the car.”