Training Tia

by Isabella Laase

  At that moment, he could have talked me into anything. The thought bothered me as much as it comforted me, but I pushed all the signs of crazy aside to fall into a deep sleep.

  Chapter Five

  Without Zane’s peaceful connection, the rest of the afternoon left me with frustrating pent-up energy and generally rude behavior. Nanny and Hawa placed few demands, and even Simon stayed in his tiny cat form and far out of my way.

  After hours of miserable pouting, I got to spend the evening with Zane while the rest of my staff disappeared. Settled in a pair of tight leggings and a plain white T-shirt, I snuggled next to him on the couch but lost the shirt when the room grew hot and stuffy. I had no attention for the movie and couldn’t have cared less about my lack of focus.

  He rubbed my back and bottom gently, but several times, he added a warning. “Be still, Tia.”

  Boredom is a powerful enemy. I whimpered my frustration and poked at his side. I even bit his thigh in a self-described gentle and erotic manner.

  Rubbing his leg with a frown, he’d had enough. “Take your pants off and lie down over my lap.”

  My butt immediately tensed, and I begged, “No, no. I’ll be good. I promise.”

  He laughed. “Given what you are experiencing today, you are actually behaving reasonably well. I’m just going to massage your back. Come on, trust me.”

  The idea of his hands on my skin was more than appealing, so I slipped out of my leggings with a smile and placed myself on the couch with his hard thighs resting peacefully under my breasts.

  Exposed skin cooled to the nursery air, but his hands were all warmth and comfort. He started at my neck and worked his way down with a smooth, simple motion. If he found a tight muscle, he gave it extra attention until it relaxed under his touch.

  When he couldn’t reach any farther, he rolled me over and my front got the same treatment. He played gently with my nipples and twirled his finger in small circles on my pink peaks.

  I dozed in a relaxed state of comfort, but my sex drive felt as though I’d kicked a tentative barrier, and just failed to plug in.

  “Is something wrong with me? I mean, shouldn’t I be ready to jump your bones right now?”

  He spoke as softly as his touch. “I’ve told you. I’ve turned that off for a little while. You have enough going on without wanting to screw something all the time. Just keep working on the relaxation.”

  “I am relaxed,” I complained. “Look at me, I’m almost asleep.”

  “I am relaxing you,” he countered. “You have to learn to relax yourself. Tomorrow, when I’m not by your side, it will be much more difficult.”

  Under so much contentment, I couldn’t visualize the future. My body curled into his lap, and I let him pet and snuggle me until sleepiness won. He carried me gently to bed and tucked me in with a quiet kiss.

  As predicted, my peace ended the next morning. The sun was peeking through the window, and my eyes struggled to adjust to their awake state. When I tried to swing my legs out of bed, they hit something solid with a thump. I’d found the bars.

  I kicked at them with a vengeance, but they didn’t go away. It had been hours since I’d felt Zane’s touch, and all my submissive and compliant attitude was gone.

  I yelled at the top of my lungs, “Open these fucking bars.”

  My nanny came to the room, but her presence did nothing to control my temper. She represented restrictions and a total lack of privacy, and we were on an inevitable collision course.

  Matching my anger with her own scowl, she scolded, “Shame on you. Watch your language, or I’ll report it to your master. You know he doesn’t like you to swear.”

  “I don’t want to be in a cage,” I snapped.

  She moved her hand, and the bars disappeared, but my mood did not.

  “Your master explained this. Supervision is necessary while you learn to control your powers. I came as soon as you called. Now, behave and let’s get you cleaned up.”

  Zane wasn’t kidding when he described resistance. Everything she said made me want to do the opposite. Anger exploded with a second internal eruption, and I stomped my foot in childish protest.

  “I just want to be left alone. Go away.”

  To make my point, I stormed to the bathroom and locked the door. I muttered to myself, “If I’m so fucking powerful, let them work their way around me.”

  The action might have been shortsighted, surrounded by people who knew my thoughts without the need for speech.

  My hair was barely wet when the door exploded into a pile of splinters. It was Zane, and he was not smiling. I might have been resistant to Nanny, but the sight of my very angry master knocked some sense into me.

  Everything about him screamed dominance, and my anger was replaced by subtle whimpers. I closed my eyes in a futile attempt to erase his image and instinctively moved as far away as I could get.

  “Get out here. Now.” He spoke calmly, but I saw the fire in his eyes before he returned to the bedroom and left me to my fear.

  Taking my time with a towel, I tried to postpone our reunion, but his voice had no trouble reaching me from the bedroom. “I’m adding to the count, so I suggest that you get out here quickly. Don’t bother dressing.”

  The threat was obvious, but I wasn’t ready to face him. I made a vain attempt at forgiveness while still hiding behind the shower curtain.

  “I didn’t mean it. It was just a misunderstanding. I’m sorry. I’ll do what Nanny says.” After I spoke, I recognized the four distinct excuses.

  “You’re just digging your hole deeper. I’m up to eight.”

  I had no idea what he meant, but it sounded ominous. Regret churned in my stomach as I walked into my bedroom. He stood in the center of the room with his rock solid arms crossed in closure. His blue eyes were solid steel, and the overall effect brought easy tears.

  His scolding began before I got through the doorway. “I have responsibilities that don’t involve you. I can’t keep coming over here every time you don’t want to take a bath or brush your teeth.”

  Inexplicably, my emotional roller coaster brought back a puberty-level mood swing, and my fear turned to stubbornness.

  I snapped back, “I’m old enough to do these things for myself. Why can’t I have any privacy?”

  Grabbing me by my wrists, he responded with a stinging slap to my bare bottom while my feet failed to dance away. “I am your master. You will obey me. The things that we demand are related to your training. I have explained all this. Succumbing to another person’s control will balance your powers. You are not a Dominant, Tia. You are a submissive.”

  My emotions vacillated with the speed of light and uncontrollable anger came out of nowhere. The shrewish tone of voice made me feel like a stranger in my own body. “Who says? Where is it in writing? I think you are making all this shit up as you go along.”

  Even as I said the words, an image from my childhood came to mind. I told Owen to fuck off once, just once, when I was thirteen and my ass felt the twinges of his chastisement for a week.

  The thought suddenly occurred to me that Owen likely used a little mystical touch to some of his spankings. He never left a mark or a bruise, but a slight, warning sting sometimes stayed for days after I’d been disciplined.

  I pushed the picture out of my head with the certainty that I needed to stand my ground with Zane or forever be in a crib. My eyes connected to his, and I lifted my chin in a tiny bit of defiance. I felt good about my quest for independence.

  “Get over the chair, Tia. Don’t make me ask you twice.”

  “No fucking way. I’m going home.” To make my point, I grabbed my sweats and T-shirt and started toward the living room. Two-thirds of my entourage sat with a mixture of sadness and fear, but Simon looked at me as though I were pitiful.

  Before I could offer him a nasty response, the door slammed shut with a magical bang, and I was left with Zane and his obvious need to chastise.

  My brain continued to igno
re the warning signs and I snapped, “Get out of my room. I’m not dealing with you today.”

  Everything happened too quickly to accurately process individual steps. My feet didn’t even hit the floor until I was over the edge of the big upholstered chair where they were secured as firmly as if superglued in place. My hastily grabbed clothes disappeared, and my bare ass was dangerously exposed to his sight.

  Despite the cool nursery air, I felt damn hot, and not in a comforting way. Within a second or two, I realized there was a lot more than my butt ready for Zane’s anger.

  My legs were widened to a stance that delivered a full, mortifying view of the impact he had on my swollen sex. I was totally vulnerable and couldn’t even turn my head to see what he’d planned.

  A little wiggle to my ass was the only option for actual movement. I needed words. “Hey, that’s not fair. You can’t use your creepy powers on me.”

  His voice remained frustratingly calm. “What you meant to say is ‘you can’t use your creepy powers on me, Master.’ I would have even settled for Sir. But what we have here is a failure to communicate.”

  My present position provided no opportunity to counter lame movie references. I shed a few panicked tears, but his power held me in place. “I’m sorry, Za…Master. I won’t do it again. Just let me up.”

  He added, “That whole Master thing just isn’t rolling off the tongue yet, is it?”

  “I’m working on it.” It was a lot easier to acquiesce when your naked bottom and sopping wet pussy were exposed to a very angry warlock.

  I tried to squeeze my knees together to hide the puddle between my legs, but Zane’s fingers teased the inside of my thighs and knew I didn’t fool anybody.

  He gave an evil chuckle. “Let’s go through the list, shall we? You can help yourself tremendously by coming up with a complete accounting of everything you did wrong from the moment you woke up. I wouldn’t leave anything out, pet.”

  To make his point, his hand hit my bottom, and I yelped at the sting. I hated his influence but quickly saw the intelligence behind his suggestion.

  “I, uh…swore at my Nanny. I locked the bathroom door. I swore at you…” Before I could finish the sentence, I received another smack that must have left a permanent handprint, and I squealed appropriately.

  “You missed one,” he scolded.

  I thought long and hard and could only manage to add, “I wouldn’t let Nanny give me a bath?”

  “Keep going.”

  Panic set in, but my mind drew a blank. I was reminded of all those essays my history teacher had graded with a C and the comment, “You didn’t tell the whole story.” Damn, I wished I’d paid more attention in history.

  “Umm, wait, give me a minute, Za—”

  The epiphany was enlightening. “Master! I didn’t call you Master until you were angry.” I felt triumphant and prayed he found me adorable.

  The hiss of his belt led me to believe otherwise, and I cried out loud at the first punishing lick. I’d been strapped once or twice in my distant past, but never on my bare butt. The biting differences were worthy of the distinction.

  My pitiful howls were likely heard throughout the nursery, but I didn’t have the spare brain processors to be embarrassed. He didn’t stop, and there was nothing I could do except focus on the pain that connected all the way to my toes and fingers.

  When the reaction morphed into the network of nerves and wound their way to my core, it fueled my desire even further, but I didn’t have time to dwell on possible causes. How I could possibly find the experience sexy was beyond reason, so I simply struggled to process the sting.

  He spoke with each strap. “You will obey me immediately and without question. When I leave you to your staff, you will accept their orders as well. You will watch your language and behave, whether or not I am in the room.”

  The list was longer, but the bee stings igniting my ass became the only thought, and I lost focus on any actual words. He got up to eight stinging smacks before he stopped.

  I collapsed into puddled tears and regret and attempted a universal apology. “I’m sorry. I won’t disobey anybody ever again.”

  Released from the superglue hold, he pulled me onto his lap and held my shuddering body until the tears slowed to a sniffle. Comforted by his touch, I didn’t even remember to be embarrassed.

  When my last emotions were under control, he spoke, “That’s enough, Tia. It’s time to get up.” He set me on my feet while I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.

  In full master mode, he grabbed my chin and listed his firm instructions. “I have work to do in my office. You’ve lost the chance to go for a run this morning, so you will have to do without. I’ll be back to make sure you are tucked into bed.

  “You will behave the rest of the day, and you will obey Nanny and Hawa. Do not make me repeat this before bedtime because I will. Do you understand?”

  I gave one last sniffle but searched for the expected response. “Yes, Sir.”

  “And stop sulking. You deserved that, and you know it.”

  I was glad to see his belt leave my room, but the unfinished need left me with a badge of dishonor without Zane to fix it.

  The rest of the day was spent in a nasty sulk. I allowed Nanny to bathe me but fought to enjoy the gentle massage. “Relax, Tia. You like the attention. Don’t be stubborn.”

  Looking for the line between subtle disobedience and actual punishment, I didn’t answer, but I didn’t relax either. There was no way I was going to cooperate.

  Breakfast was ignored despite the rumbles from my stomach. I demanded coffee and was handed a glass of orange juice, which I pushed aside with a snarl. Every adult bone in my body recognized that I was hurting myself, but the deep childlike emotions wanted to scream, “Fuck all of them.”

  Nanny responded to my lack of cooperation by withholding donuts and pastries, so I stuck out my chin to pretend I didn’t care. In the end, I shed a few private tears over the lack of a raspberry Danish.

  Hawa was next. She showed me several short exercises designed to spend more time in my subconscious. “You need to stay long enough to recognize what is available before you can grow into your deepest powers.”

  Without Zane, I couldn’t manage more than a few seconds on my own and released my frustration with a gush. “This is stupid. Nobody can stay that calm.”

  “Our most powerful people can exist on both levels without thought. Zane sleeps at that level.”

  “I’ll never be able to do that. He was wrong when he said I was powerful.”

  “It takes practice and patience, two things you are short of right now. You’ll get there. Come. Let me relax you a little.”

  Under her firm massage, I tensed every muscle in my control. Nobody could make me relax. For my efforts, I was given an early lunch and scheduled for an afternoon nap.

  A full-blown tantrum brewed, and Nanny had to threaten to send for Zane. My still stinging ass told me to behave, so I stormed to my bed with a kick to the door frame. I only felt a little better when I called her a tattletale under my breath.

  The cat heard me and arched his eyebrows in disgust, but I hissed at him with a quiet whisper, “Just shut up, you stupid little shit.”

  Simon had a lower threshold of acceptable behavior and let me sulk in peace.

  Raging emotions were exhausting, and I fell asleep quickly. Simon even had to wake me to ensure I didn’t sleep too long. My body curled into a warm blanket on the couch with a bottle of water and a mean looking scowl.

  My staff had devised a new plan while I’d slept. Given my resistance, they’d simply gathered coloring books, puzzles, and games and left me to my own devices. Half of me was horrifically insulted at the range of childlike entertainment, and the other half was strangely attracted to the colorful pieces and intricate patterns.

  The toys won, and I quietly moved to the table. Simon stopped being a cat and became my playmate for the afternoon. He had his own coloring pages but critiqued
my work with Simon-like annoyance. “Why would you use green for a tree trunk, that’s stupid.”

  I snapped at him a few times, and he just smirked. Fighting with Simon was strangely comforting.

  We completed a jigsaw puzzle of New York City too. Over quiet conversation, I was surprised to learn that he’d traveled the city extensively in his cat state.

  “You’re lucky you weren’t attacked by feral cats or something. You should have been more careful.”

  “I’m still a warlock, Tia. I can handle a bunch of rabid pussy cats,” he said dryly.

  I thought for a minute and focused my gaze on the cherry-toned floor. “What’s it like? Having your powers? Is it worth all this?”

  Coming from a sarcastic pain in the ass, the serious look almost surprised me. “Without a doubt. Once you know what it’s like, you’ll never go back. It would be like giving up love and happiness.”

  By dinner, my grateful stomach was offered the comfort of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and tiny fresh peas. I ate well enough to receive a piece of apple pie for dessert and felt a strange sense of achievement at everyone’s happiness.

  Hawa gave me a gentle massage, and I reluctantly enjoyed the attention. She added, “Try the relaxation techniques again. Watch what you can do.”

  I surprised myself. Even without Zane’s help, my inner room came into focus long enough to see my dog and a few other odds and ends lying on the floor.

  Hawa was pleased. “Wait until your master hears. You did wonderfully.” Positive reinforcement was a lot more pleasant than the butt warming, but the whole process still overwhelmed my thoughts.

  With a few hours before bed, I was told I could entertain myself, but panic defeated adult reasoning. I whined, “Zane promised he would come tonight. I have to wait for him.”

  Nanny answered with a quiet hug. “He has a lot of responsibilities, so you need to be patient. If you want to watch a movie or read a book, it will help settle your thoughts.”