by Sue Horsford
“And how do you feel?” My heart started up again, pounding so hard it felt as if it was trying to break out of my chest.
He looked up at the ceiling, as if he expected to find the answer up there. Then he reached across the table and took both my hands in his. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d already left Paul?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but Gabriel carried on.
“I couldn’t tell you how I felt because I didn’t want to be the reason you left him. Then when I read your letter…” He shook his head. “The thought of not having you in my life… I’m sorry. I’m not very articulate when it comes to things like this. I feel like I’m speaking another language.”
I squeezed his hands. “It’s okay.”
“So I asked your mum where you’d gone. She didn’t want to tell me at first, but in the end, I managed to persuade her. So here I am, for the next few hours, anyway. I’ve got to drive back tonight, but I hope we can sort things out while I’m here.”
My face fell. “Why can’t you stay tonight?” Now that he was here in front of me I never wanted to let him out of my sight again. How ridiculous to imagine I could live without him. What was I thinking?
“Because, my darling, I have to work. I have a wedding tomorrow. I’m there all day until the last dance, which should be around half past seven. After that, I’ll come straight here. I should be here around nine.”
“You’re coming back?”
“Don’t you want me to?” He seemed unsure again and I hurried to reassure him.
“Of course I do. I need you. I need you to be my Master.”
“And what about you, Faye? Do you want to be my submissive again?”
“I never stopped being your submissive, Sir.”
“Really?” Gabriel looked suddenly stern. “Think very carefully about that. Let me just point out that if you never stopped being my sub, then you’re a very disobedient sub who ran away from her Master.”
He seemed to be waiting for something, some sign from me that things could go back to how they’d been before. I stood and slowly removed all my clothes while Gabriel sat perfectly still, watching me, his expression unreadable.
When I was naked, I knelt at his feet and put my head on his lap. “Please, Sir, I’m a very disobedient sub who ran away from her Master.”
Gabriel let out a sigh and I felt his hand on my head, stroking my hair just as I’d once imagined. That was when I knew I was home.
“Look at me, Faye.”
I gazed up at him, not caring that my eyes were full of adoration. Gabriel knew how I felt about him. He always had.
“Do you think submitting to me is just a game?” he asked me. “Something you can play at when it suits you?”
“No, Sir.” A blush crept into my cheeks.
He pushed back his chair and knelt on the floor with me, taking my hands in his. “This is my fault,” he said. “I’ve allowed the boundaries to become blurred. It’s been difficult trying to be your Dom when your first priority was always your husband, but from now on, I expect to come first in your life. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“I don’t want to control every aspect of your life. I know you have a career and friends and I’m sure you have other things you like to do and I certainly don’t want to keep you at home chained to the kitchen sink. But you can’t just go off without consulting me anymore. I need to know you’re safe and well at all times.”
“Yes, Sir. I’m sorry for running away. It seems silly now.”
He smiled. “Well, I’m not going to punish you for it. You obviously thought it was the right thing to do. But talk to me in future, Faye. Remember what I said. There’s nothing you can’t tell me. Just trust me, please.”
“I will do, Sir.”
He leaned forward and kissed me chastely on the forehead. “Good girl. Now after tonight, we’re going to spend the rest of the week together in this cottage and I’m going to take you in hand and train you to obedience. You may not like every aspect of your training, but hopefully, by the end of the week, you’ll feel happier and more comfortable as my sub. How do you feel about that, sweetheart?”
I looked up at him earnestly. “Ridiculously turned on, Sir.”
He grinned suggestively and placed one of my hands over his crotch. The feel of his erection through the warm denim of his jeans was something I’d never thought I’d feel again and I suddenly wanted very badly to feel him in my hands and in my mouth.
“Please, Sir, may I?”
“Please do.”
With trembling fingers, I unbuttoned his Levi’s and released his cock. “Do you never wear underwear?”
“Not when I’m seeing you, kitten.”
I smiled. “Kitten. I like that.”
“Well, you are my pet. What do you want to do now, pet?”
“I want to suck my Master’s cock.”
Gabriel pulled off his jeans and shoes then sat back in his chair while I shuffled forward until I was between his thighs. He pressed his legs together, imprisoning me between them, detaining me at my Master’s pleasure.
With one hand, I grasped the base of his cock, and with the other, I cupped his balls, then, bowing my head in reverence, I dropped the lightest of kisses on the tip and took him into my mouth. I moved slowly down his length and back up again, swirling my tongue around his shaft, relishing the sensation of having him in my mouth once more.
Gabriel shifted in his seat and I sucked him farther into my mouth as deep as I possibly could. He gasped and thrust his fingers into my hair. I moaned with the pure joy of pleasing my Master.
As I licked and sucked and stroked, I closed my eyes, my whole being given over to this act of total adoration, my whole purpose to pleasure the man I loved.
“When I come, I want you to swallow every last drop like a good girl.” He spoke softly, but I knew it wasn’t a request.
Letting a man come in my mouth was not something I’d ever done before, but Gabriel had said he’d push my boundaries and I wanted to do whatever he asked of me. I wanted to be an apt pupil and learn my lessons well. I wanted him to be proud of me. I just hoped I wouldn’t gag.
When the moment came and his hot semen spurted into my mouth, I reminded myself this was an act of love and obedience on my part and I swallowed willingly. It actually didn’t taste that bad, a little salty perhaps, but nothing I couldn’t handle. As he pulled out, I licked my lips.
“You’re a very wicked girl,” said Gabriel, smiling down at me. “What am I going to do with you?”
Afterward, we showered and dressed, then ventured out in search of something to eat. As we walked down the narrow path, Gabriel took my hand, something we’d never been able to do before.
I squeezed his hand. “I love you, Gabriel.”
He squeezed back and didn’t say anything, but that was okay—small steps. “How about here?” he said as we came in sight of a pizza parlor.
I laughed. “That’s not very you, is it?”
“I don’t just like fine dining and opera,” he said. “Why were you listening to opera, by the way?”
“It was that or the Eagles.”
“Okay, fair enough.”
We sat at a table with a red checked cloth.
Gabriel picked up the menu and said to me, “I’ve decided to start your training on Friday. I want to spend Thursday just relaxing and getting to know each other better.” He fixed me with his intense amber eyes, and I became aroused again. How did he do that to me with just a look?
“Is there anything you’d like to ask me, Faye?”
I was trying to concentrate on the menu, but there were far bigger questions on my mind than whether to have Hawaiian or pepperoni.
“Will our relationship be full-time Dominant and submissive, or will it just be when I’m wearing my collar?” I asked him shyly.
“It won’t be full-on except for when you’re wearing your collar. I want us to have fun together and to get to know each other
and you need to be able to feel free to say what you want to me, but I still expect you to treat me with respect. You don’t have to agree with me on everything. I’ll always listen to and consider your point of view. But I will have the last word and you’d do well to remember that you don’t need to be wearing your collar for me to punish you. I don’t know how you feel about that.”
“Does it make any difference how I feel?” I said, a huge smile on my face.
He grinned back. “Not at all, sweetheart.” He frowned. “Obviously, if there’s anything you have a problem with, we’ll discuss it. I want you to obey me but I want you to be happy doing it, or what’s the point?”
I reached across the table and touched his hand. “I do want you to be in charge all the time, Gabriel. But I’m glad we can have times that we’re not completely in role, and I like that I can be cheeky to you and you’ll let me get away with it.”
“Within reason,” he interrupted, raising his eyebrows in warning.
“Of course. But I want you to control me. I’ve always wanted that from you. Your dominance is one of the things I love about you.”
“And your sweet submission to me is one of the things I love about you.”
Chapter Twenty
I was sitting at the kitchen table with my breakfast of toast and coffee and it occurred to me that, apart from that first dinner party, I’d never cooked for Gabriel. So, as soon as I’d cleared away the dishes, I sent him a text message to let him know I’d be cooking, then I sat back down at the table and made myself a list. Hopefully I’d be able to buy everything I needed in the local shops. I was fully in 1950s housewife mode and driving out of town to a big supermarket would destroy the fantasy.
I locked the cottage door behind me and took a deep breath of fresh country air. The chaffinch was singing his song from yesterday and as I set off for the village, I wondered if I’d ever heard anything so sweet.
In the delicatessen, I bought onion, garlic, herbs and olive oil along with some of the delicacies that had failed to tempt me yesterday, then I found a traditional family butcher and bought some braising steak. I added a loaf of crusty bread and a couple of bottles of pinot noir then set off back to the cottage.
As I strolled along, treating everyone I passed to a smile and a cheerful “good morning”, I noticed a shop selling country crafts and kitchenware. I went in, intending just to browse, but then I noticed, hanging up on a wooden peg next to a tea towel with a recipe for Bakewell Tart, a pink gingham pinafore apron with a frill along the bottom and a huge white bow. It looked like something a 1950s housewife would wear and I lifted it down and carried it to the till, smiling to myself at the thought of Gabriel’s reaction.
The last shop on the High Street before I turned up the lane to the cottage was a beauty salon, The Peak of Perfection. An idea occurred to me, and after scanning the list of treatments in the window, I went in before I could change my mind and asked if they could fit me in.
I opened the door to Gabriel wearing nothing but my apron, my kitten-heeled shoes, and my torque.
“Hmmm.” Gabriel smiled. “I feel as if I’ve come home to a beautiful submissive wife.”
“Did you have a hard day at the office, dear?” I asked him, taking his jacket with a wifely peck on the cheek. “Dinner’s almost ready. Would you like a glass of wine?”
“I’d like you,” he said, laughing and pulling me into his arms. He sat on the couch and drew me down onto his lap where I wriggled with pleasure at the feel of his wool suit against my bare skin. He slipped his hand beneath my apron and his eyes widened. “You have been a busy girl. Take off your apron and show me.”
Shyly, I removed the apron and stood before him.
Gabriel gave a slow whistle. “That’s beautiful, sweetheart. Did it hurt?”
“It did, yes. And it feels strange. Steph always says, ‘men who like women with no pubic hair like their women to look like little girls’.”
Gabriel grimaced. “I can assure you, darling, you don’t look remotely like a little girl. You look like a woman with her sexual parts fully on display for her Master, just as they should be.” He leaned forward and kissed my pubis and I gasped. Gabriel grinned at my reaction. “You see, sweetheart. You’ve got a whole new erogenous zone. Now, I’d recommend you see to dinner before I get too distracted.” And he sent me on my way with a hearty slap on my behind.
After dinner, we took our wine into the living room and Gabriel sat in an armchair while I sat contentedly at his feet. Gabriel picked up one of my curls and tugged on it gently.
“So, how long were you planning on staying here, sweetheart?”
I shrugged. “I hadn’t decided.”
“Why not come home with me? Move in with me, I mean.”
I stared up at him. “You’ve never lived with a woman.”
“I’d like to try it with you.”
“I don’t know,” I said, my mind reeling at the thought. “There’s nothing I’d like more than to live with you, but I don’t think I could hurt Paul like that. And what about Ginny? She’d be furious.”
Gabriel sipped his wine. “If you and I are going to make a go of this, they’ll have to be told sooner or later.”
“Ginny will hate me,” I said. “I never told you this, but she said you could be the one.” I bit my lip at the memory.
Gabriel shook his head. “She wasn’t remotely in love with me. There’s only one person Ginny loves and that’s Ginny.”
“You’re wrong,” I said. “She loved Dad. You should’ve seen her when he died. I thought she’d go mad.”
“I did wonder if that’s why she was attracted to me,” he mused. “It’s a classic, isn’t it? A young woman searching for an older man to replace Daddy. And your mum did say we were alike.” He picked up the bottle of wine from the table next to him and refilled my glass.
“She said you both liked to be in control,” I corrected him. “But you’re not really alike. Dad had a tendency to railroad people. He dominated by the sheer force of his personality. But you’re not like that. Your dominance is more subtle.”
“Thank you,” Gabriel said. “I’m presuming that was meant as a compliment.”
“It was,” I said. “Anyway, what about you? Do I remind you of your mother?”
Gabriel choked on his wine. “It’s not something I’ve ever considered, sweetheart.” He looked somber for a moment. “Do you know the saddest thing about my parents’ marriage? She adored him, would have done anything for him. And she was very old-fashioned. She believed in his right to be head of the household and she was happy to be a stay-at-home wife and take care of me. If he hadn’t been the way he was, they could have been really happy together.”
“So, is that what you believe? That the man should be head of the household?”
He frowned. “No, I think some men are naturally dominant and some women are naturally submissive, but it can just as easily be the other way round. It doesn’t matter what the dynamic is as long as it works and everyone’s happy with the arrangement. Where it goes wrong is when two people fight for dominance. Then all you get is constant arguments.”
“Hmm, two strong people together.”
“No, not two strong people, two dominant people. Don’t confuse the two, Faye. You choose to be submissive to me, but we’re equals. Never forget that. All I’m saying is, one person has to take the lead. A ship needs one captain. If two people fight for the role, there’s mutiny. If no one wants the role, the ship goes nowhere.”
“That makes sense, I suppose.”
“So, how was it with you and Paul, then? I’m guessing neither of you really wanted the role and you took it because someone had to.”
I stared at him. “You’re right, but how did you know?”
“I could see it that first time I met you both. Your snide remarks toward me and the aggressive looks. It was as if you were challenging me for dominance, but wanting me to win.”
I laughed. “You’re very astute, C
aptain Scott. And what did you think about me?”
Gabriel grinned. “I’ve never in all my life wanted so much to drag a woman across my knee and spank her soundly. In fact, it was all I thought about for the rest of the night.”
I blushed. “After you’d gone, I laid in bed thinking of you as a stern Victorian husband.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” he said. He tugged at my hair again. “Now, go upstairs and wait for me.”
In the bedroom, I sat on the bed and waited, shivering even though the room was warm. I loved waiting for my Master with no idea what he might have planned for me. I liked not having to take the initiative and I loved the feeling that when Gabriel wanted me, he would just take me.
He came into the bedroom, barefoot and holding my collar. He strode over to the wardrobe, which had a full-length mirror on the door, and beckoned me to him. I stood, but he shook his head. “Crawl to me.”
He spoke softly yet his voice compelled me to obey. I sank to my knees and crawled across the carpet to kneel at his feet, my head bowed. Gabriel knelt behind me, removed my torque and fastened my collar around my neck. The familiar touch of the warm leather against my skin was something I thought I’d never feel again, and my eyes filled with the tears that seemed to come so easily nowadays.
Gabriel picked up a lock of my hair, winding it around his finger. “Why are you crying, my kitten?”
I let out a shuddering breath. “Because I’m back where I belong, Master.”
Gabriel thrust his fingers into my hair and pulled back my head so I was forced to look at myself in the mirror, then he bent his head and trailed hot kisses along my neck and shoulders, his breath searing my skin. He raised his eyes to meet mine in the mirror. “And you won’t run away from me again?”
“No, Sir.”
With his hand still wrapped in my hair, he got to his feet, lifting me with him, then he led me over to the bed. “Lie down on your back,” he ordered.
He lay on his side next to me, propped up on one elbow, and brushed his fingers across my breasts. I bit back a moan as he pinched my nipple, hard.