by Rachel Burns
Morgan shrugged her shoulders. The only thing she had always wanted to see but never got to see was her mother’s grave. In all of her years with her father, she had never been able to muster the courage to ask him about it. Was there a way for her to find out where she lay without asking her father? There was a chance that he didn’t know either.
While Morgan pondered how to find out where her mother was, Sawyer inched closer. He got close enough to wrap his arms around her and lift her off of her feet.
“No, please. You don’t understand how much I want this.”
“I’m your master now. You have new rules. Either you obey me, or I’ll make you suffer. I can’t believe what you planned to do.” Sawyer hoisted her up and dumped her over his shoulder and headed back to his truck while Morgan cursed him, calling him all sorts of names and then pounding her tiny fist into the small of his back.
When she boxed him in his kidney, he flipped her around and pinned her up against a tree so she was facing it. Holding her hands high above her head, he opened his belt and tugged it free. “You have this coming,” he whispered into her ear.
Holding the buckle in his fist, he used his belt like a whip, getting the back of her legs as if he were switching her.
“Do you have any idea how I felt when it was clear that you wanted to take your own life?” He let the belt whip through the air at her like an angry snake.
“I never thought that you would really take off when we got here,” he confessed. “I thought I would scare you into talking. But you’re too stubborn for that, aren’t you?”
A soft sniffle was the only answer he got to his question.
He whipped her again and again, letting go of his fears. Then he grabbed onto her and hugged her to his body, telling himself that she was safe now. “Thank God I still have you. What if I hadn’t found you?”
Morgan remained stiff, not returning his hug. She didn’t understand his type of man yet. It was clear that he was like every other man she’d met. He liked to hurt women and be the one in charge. Women were supposed to obey him, but the affection he was now showing her was new. She had no idea how to deal with it.
He took hold of her by his hand and marched her back to his truck while he muttered that he wasn’t going to let her out of his sight from now on.
When Sawyer got to his truck, he basically shoved her in and did up her seatbelt for her. “I’m your Master. You will obey me. I want you in my life. You may not leave me until I give you permission to do so.”
Morgan opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out because she wasn’t certain what she should think, let alone what she should say. This wasn’t what she’d planned to do with her evening.
“Things are going to change. Stay put,” he warned her before he walked around the car. Sawyer figured that Morgan had been so in love with her old master that she couldn’t imagine a life without him. He’d show her that he could be like her old master and even better. He’d keep her too busy hanging on his every word to think about hurting herself.
He was relieved that she stayed where she was. To keep her alive, he’d need to be even more commanding and dominant than he truly was. But this was his purpose, his destiny. It was his duty to make certain that she stayed alive. It was the reason that God had brought her into his life. It was the reason that God made him turn around and go back for her.
Sawyer had tracked her easily enough and found her playing in the pond. He’d watched her swimming in the pond in her underwear. When he saw her that way, he knew that he wanted her in his life especially when she got out of the water, and her clothes had clung to her body. Her pink nipples had been hard and pointy. He wanted to taste them in his mouth again. He wanted to own her and control her. What she showed him today proved that he was right. He was better capable of taking care of her.
~
“Morgan, get undressed and shower. I want you back here, clean, within ten minutes. You may not lock the door. If I want to, I’ll come in. In fact, you can count on it,” Sawyer told Morgan after he had brought her back to his apartment.
Morgan nodded at Sawyer meekly. He was still mad at her. He’d spent his time in the truck, telling her about the work she would have to do to earn her keep. He wanted her to work in the truck stop and to help with cleaning up. She was supposed to keep his apartment clean, and when he told her to do something, he expected her to do it immediately and without question. And at night, he would continue her training as a submissive slave.
Morgan wasn’t completely sure what he meant by that, but one thing was clear. If he acted too much like her father or Robert, then she would leave him. He wouldn’t be able to stop her. He wasn’t a rich man with a large estate house, which was cut off from the rest of the world. She could get out of here easily.
Nevertheless, she hurried and returned to him within the allotted time. He tried to hide that he was impressed with her. She had washed her body and hair, which was also combed, and she was standing in front of him naked and awaiting instructions.
Sawyer looked her up and down and couldn’t help smiling. “I’m pleased.” He gave her a smack on the ass. “Make sure I stay that way.”
He circled her, looking at her, and noting that she didn’t react as most women would. She didn’t fidget or try to look him in the eyes. She didn’t shake or hold her breath. Her training was impressive.
Morgan had no idea what he wanted from her, but judging by their time together, she could guess that it had to do with pain. Life meant pain. She turned her mind off as she had learned to do from a young age. Whatever he did to her, it wouldn’t matter.
Sawyer sat down on the bed and instructed her to sit on his lap. With his fingers spread wide, he cupped the back of her head in the palm of his hand and guided her head to his heart. “Do you hear that?” he asked her.
“No,” she replied.
“Listen closer. That’s the sound of my heart. As long as it makes that sound, I’ll protect you and watch over you. You’ll be safe from everything. That’s what a good master does for his slave. That’s how it’s going to be.”
When he tilted her head back to give her a kiss, eager lips awaited him.
Sawyer thanked the Lord for helping him find her in time today. To him, that meant that they were destined to be together. He still had a lot of work cut out for him, but the first and most important step had been made. He knew where she planned to go and had been successful in stopping her. Now, he just had to find out where she came from.
Chapter 18
“Watch carefully. See how I do this.” Sawyer dipped the mop into the bucket and got it nice and wet. Then he placed it in the top basket and wrung it dry as Morgan watched him closely. It shocked him how much she didn’t know. She had no idea how to cook or how to clean.
It was up to him to teach her these important life lessons. She was completely incapable of living on her own.
It made him wonder if he wasn’t wrong about her. It was starting to make more sense that she had been one of those women who comes from a very poor family, so poor that they have to sell their daughter off at a young age to be some rich guy’s sex slave. Was that what had happened to her? She might not even be an American. That would explain why she felt so alone. Had she escaped?
“It’s your turn,” he told her, stepping aside to give her a chance.
She looked worried that she might break his mop. In any other circumstance, it would be humorous that she was nervous to use a mop, but in her case, it wasn’t. If he were to laugh at her, he would hurt her deeply. She was so easily hurt. He hated that. He felt awful when he slipped up.
Morgan was like no other person he had met. She was tougher and at the same time more delicate than anyone he had known before.
His mind was drifting as his thoughts moved away from what she was doing and turned to worries about where she had come from. He wished that she would trust him enough to tell him where she came from and what had happened to her.
Su
ddenly, the pail tipped over and water swept across the floor, spilling everywhere. “I’m so sorry, Sir.” Morgan was nervously trying to clean up the mess she’d made, but she had no idea how to do it.
“This is the perfect chance for you to learn how to clean up a mess,” he told her as water went under his cupboards where he couldn’t reach it. “Watch me,” he told her, taking the mop from her and saving his cupboards as best as he could.
“I’m so sorry. Look what I did. I’m such an idiot.”
“No, you aren’t. The word is beginner. You’re a beginner.” Sawyer fought with himself not to scold her. He felt that calling herself an idiot was a worse crime than tipping out the soapy water, but he also knew that she wasn’t stable. He had to choose his words carefully, or she would leave him and hurt herself.
Morgan grabbed a wad of paper towels and tried to clean up under the cupboards, but she couldn’t reach very far under it, and the paper towels were getting ripped to damp pieces. She was making an even bigger mess. It was too much for her. She broke down, sobbing. “I can’t do anything right.” Sawyer watched in horror as she slammed her fists into her thighs, pounding against them as she repeated, over and over, that she couldn’t do anything right.
“Stop it, darling. It’s okay. I’ll leave the heat on tonight. It can dry out that way. It isn’t a problem.” His words didn’t help her. She continued to pound on her thighs.
Sawyer dropped the mop and gathered her in his arms, but she tried to push him away. Thankfully, he was stronger than she was, and he was able to hold onto her.
Frustrated, she dug her hands into her hair and started to pull on it. Sawyer took hold of her hands, stopping her and knocking her over in the process. He landed on top of her.
“I do everything wrong. You should have let me go, then this never would have happened.” Tears were spilling out of her. She believed what she was saying. How could she think that?
“No. There is nothing that you could do that would make me regret stopping you.” He shook his head, desperate to get her to understand that being with him was better than being dead.
Sawyer took hold of her hands and held them above her head so she couldn’t hurt herself as she cried herself out. He could taste her hate for herself.
“You’ve heard the saying about not crying over spilled milk, right? It’s the same with mop water. You aren’t supposed to cry. You just clean it up.”
“I don’t know how,” she protested.
“That’s not a problem. In fact, this is the perfect learning opportunity.” Sawyer was so thrilled that she was finally settling down that his smile was genuine. He gave her a deep lingering kiss before he helped her up off the wet floor. Together, they cleaned up the floor.
When the floor was as dry as they could get it, he brought her upstairs and gently made love to her.
~
Sawyer woke in the night, realizing that Morgan was shaking beside him.
“Are you cold, darling?” he asked, moving the blankets so she was covered up to just under her chin.
“I really am sorry,” she told him in a shaking voice.
“Are you crying because of the mop water?” he asked in disbelief. “That’s crazy.”
His words hurt her all the more, and she began to cry audibly.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. But I told you everything was fine.” He insisted.
She didn’t listen to him. Instead, she pushed him away and tried to get out of the bed. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“The hell you will. You’ll get sick if you do that,” he scolded her.
“No, I won’t. I slept outside for several nights, and I was perfectly fine,” she snapped back at him.
“Morgan, how dare you talk to me like that. First, you disobey me when I tell you to forget about what happened, and then you sass at me? You know you aren’t allowed to act like that.”
He heard her gulp.
“Sounds like someone forgot what kind of relationship we have. I am your master. You obey me when I tell you to do something. I told you to forget it, and you refused. Get out of the bed.”
“But I was already getting out,” she dared to sass at him, but there was also confusion in her voice.
“Perfect. I want you to kneel beside the bed and lay on the bed. Fold your hands. I don’t want to see them back here, or I’ll start over. You get twenty, because I won’t tolerate disobedience, and because I certainly won’t tolerate you back-talking me.” Sawyer went to get his belt, knowing that she simply wouldn’t move on until he punished her.
He hated having to do it for something so stupid. It wasn’t as if she had done it on purpose. It had been an honest mistake. She had been truly sorry, and in his opinion, it didn’t warrant a punishment, but she obviously thought that it did. Because he also knew that they wouldn’t be able to move on until he punished her, he decided to not let her pester him for days until he finally lost his patience and punished her in anger. That was something that he never wanted to do.
Eager to please him, Morgan scrambled to get into the position that he wanted her in.
Sawyer switched on the lights and got his belt out of the drawer, thinking what a waste of time it was for him to put it away every night. Perhaps it would be better to leave it out on the dresser? That way, he could glance at it and threaten her into behaving.
She held still and waited for the first touch of leather on her soft ass. He could see that she thought she deserved to be punished. Nevertheless, he wanted to make it clear that he was punishing her for something different from what she thought she was being punished for.
He pulled back and then swung forward. The leather pushed into her skin, making her gasp.
“I think we have a problem. You think that you can control my punishments, don’t you?” he questioned her.
“No, Master.” She peeked over her shoulder, looking slightly horrified that he would think that.
“I think you do. You cried, knowing I would wake up and punish you.” He brought the belt down again.
She looked away from him and didn’t look back at him.
“Is that the truth?” he asked her, giving her the third stroke.
“No, Master. It wasn’t my intention to wake you.”
Sawyer believed her. Morgan hadn’t done it intentionally, but her sub-conscience had. She did it because she needed him. She had a problem, and she knew if she poked the bear, him, that he would sit up and pay attention and give her what she wanted.
He continued to punish her as she pulled her shoulders down and together and sobbed silently, clearly repenting what she felt she had done wrong.
“Morgan, I expect you to treat me with respect. I told you not to worry about the water. You refused to listen to me. Still, I have the feeling that you think you’re being punished for knocking over the water. You aren’t. You’re being punished for something much graver. You disobeyed me. I taught you better than that, didn’t I?”
“Yes, Master. I’m sorry I displeased you.”
“Are you really? Because I’ve got the feeling that you’re using me to help you over your guilt because of the stupid water bucket. You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet. Things will go wrong in the learning process, but that’s normal.” He snapped the belt across her pink hind cheeks, making her gasp and proving that she felt what he was doing, and that he was getting through the cold walls she built up around her.
Sawyer got her five times in a row, making her shift slightly. She was such a hard nut to crack. He was filled with admiration for his Morgan.
“I want you to tell me why I’m punishing you before I give you the last three. Tell me,” he demanded.
“Because I didn’t listen to you and stop worrying about the water,” she responded, telling him what he wanted to hear.
“And did you think about that while I punished you? Or did you think about your guilt for having knocked the water over?”
He received no answer, whi
ch told him everything that he needed to know. “Morgan, I’m the master. You obey me, even when I tell you not to worry about something. I’m so disappointed in you.”
His words made her gasp, which surprised him. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her feelings. “Promise me that you will do better from now on.”
She sniffled, proving that his words had the power to hurt her more than his belt did. “Yes, Master. I’ll do better. I promise, I will.”
Sawyer smiled to himself. His life with Morgan was balanced on a razor blade. He lived with the constant worry that he might say, or not say something, that would give her the feeling that she had to go away.
He lived in fear that she would leave him. The thought of his life without her in it gave him a bellyache. He didn’t even want to think about that chance. She needed to stay with him, and he needed to be the best master he could possibly be to love and guide the amazing woman leaning over his bed, waiting for the last blows.
He delivered them quickly, not putting his weight into them. She was already so sore that it would have the desired effect one way or the other.
Sawyer put away his belt, deciding that it shouldn’t be kept out even if he did need it so often.
He knelt down behind her on the floor and positioned his legs so he was sitting directly behind her with his legs stretched out under the bed.
“Morgan,” he said wrapping his arms around her, hugging her from behind. “I love you,” he confessed.
She purred like a kitten and leaned back against him. She reached behind her and dug her fingers into his hair.
Sawyer loved it when she reached out and touched him without him having to prompt her to do it. It was her sweet way of telling him that she loved him. She never put it into words, only into actions.
“Lift up your sweet ass and move your legs apart. I want you to sit on me. You know how I want you.”
“Yes, Master.” She spoke her words softly as if she were out of breath. Everything about her was so elegant. Sawyer knew he was lucky to have her in his life.