Requested Surrender (27 page)

“Dammit.” She tried to make out her reflection in the foggy mirror. She’d been wishing he’d use the paddle for some reason, but hello? More bad news. The paddle was at the resort.

Once she was dressed, although she had no idea why she bothered as he’d probably make her take everything off, she sat on the side of her bed and waited. She didn’t have long. She heard him moving around in his room for five minutes. The longest five minutes of her life, but the night was young so she was going to reserve judgment on that. Especially when he walked through the door…and she saw what he had in his hand. The riding crop.

He came to the bed, standing right in front of her. Using the tip of the crop to tilt up her chin, he ordered, “Stand up.”

She had no choice. The leather flag on the end of the crop forced her to follow his lead, as he used it to conduct her.

“Good. Now strip.”

She called that one. Pulling her head away, she was going to do as he directed. She knew she had this coming. Better this than be interrogated. She could only imagine what kind of fallout that bad came with.

“No, you’ll work around it.”

The leather was back under her chin, only this time she was forced to keep her head up higher as she tried to take off her clothes. More bad that got worse. She should do what all the hype is about in the D/s lifestyle and surrender to it.

As best as she could, she took off her clothes while keeping her chin on that leather and her eyes on him.

“Good. Now.” He turned to the side and directed her. “Go to this wall. That’s right. Lean against it. Palms flat. Lean in. Like I’m going to frisk you.”

Thankfully he moved the crop so she could position herself the way he wanted. Was he going to make her stand there with ass out while he smacked her with the crop?

“Bend your right leg back. From the knee. Foot perfectly straight.”

Lacy did as he told her, and felt her toes stiffen and curl. She couldn’t help it. It was an odd angle for her.

“This is my discipline being meted out. I’m going to balance this crop on the sole of your foot and I want you to hold this position for five full minutes. No breaking from this stance and no dropping the crop. If you come out of position, or if you falter and the crop falls, we start over. Do you understand?”

Only too well. She wanted him to stop talking. To get this over with as quickly as she could. She felt the rod of the crop placed on her instep and didn’t move. She barely breathed as she found a section of whimsical script on wallpaper and focused in on it. She was going to get through whatever he had in mind to do, no matter what.

“Now.” He ran a hand down her ass and then lightly tapped her right cheek. The action caused her to lose her focus and the crop fell. “Too bad. You were doing so well. Time to start over.”

She bit her lip, not willing to complain even though she was dying to.

“There.” He placed the rod across her propped up foot again. “I’m watching the time, so now I want to speak about discipline. I chose this particular method because you used your feet to walk away from me today when I expressly asked you not to.”

“I’m sorry—”

“Do not talk unless you are invited to do so.”

“But—”

Smack

And the crop fell again.
Dammit.

“I can see this is going to be a long night.”

She closed her eyes and willed herself to surrender to this. To stop trying to apologize or make sense of what he was doing or saying. All she needed to do was balance the crop on her raised foot and listen to him. That’s all. She trusted him. Yeah she did.

With the rod resting on her sole once more, he continued, “As I was saying. You used this part of your body to disobey me, so this is how you are going to make amends. Five full minutes. The clock starts over if you come out of position or drop the crop. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

David waited and waited. He’d been so sure she’d tire or go bratty on him, yet she didn’t. Hm. It was as if she were fighting for her life here. Admittedly, he’d been furious with her. He still was, but that had more to do with his own demons than her disobeying. It didn’t change the fact, though, that she’d done something he told her not to do, so she would be punished. Maybe she was storing her reserves up for that.

 Three minutes came and went and she did a good job of holding her position. He stood behind her and rolled up his sleeves as he watched for signs of fatigue. A slight adjustment with her hands. She was tiring now. He watched as she shifted weight from one arm to the other. Smart. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about her feet, so when her raised leg started to tremble, he wished he could push the time forward for her, but tonight there’d be no mercy given.

The crop fell.

To her credit she didn’t complain. She only used the opportunity to get better set. Once she was finished and he saw she’d placed one hand over the other he said, “Lean in and rest your forehead against the back of your hand. Good. Are you ready?”

This time she didn’t even make it to one minute when her foot tilted and the crop rolled off. “I can’t. I can’t do it.”

Both her feet were on the ground and her forehead still kissed her knuckles. With her ass out she presented him a convenient target. Scooping up the crop, he gave her bottom one solid swat. “You will do it.”

She gasped.

He took no notice of that and told her, “Use your other leg. Bend it. Now, hold this position and don’t let the crop fall.”

Time ticked by slowly, but with each second that passed without her complaining or giving up, he was heartened. Maybe she was ready to learn.  At the two minute marker, he saw her leg tremble with strain. Three minutes in and her whole body quivered.

If she lost it this time, he might lose her. At least in as far as the lesson went, so he moved in close to her and whispered, “You’re doing this for me. Making me proud after you disappointed me this afternoon. See yourself through my eyes. How you look right now. A beautiful woman made more beautiful because she’s accepting this exercise in discipline with grace and determination.”

Did he imagine it, or was her trembling less? “One more minute to go. Fifty seconds.”

Her breathing was harsh and rapid. Not a good sign.

“Forty seconds more.” He hoped counting out the time would help her meet the goal. “Thirty.”

“I can’t…I…can’t…”

Her foot jerked and the crop almost fell, but she managed to keep it together. He was holding his breath. Willing the time to speed up. “Twenty seconds.”

“Oh, no.”

It was the barest whisper, but he heard it. She was losing it and if she did they’d have to start over again. “Ten seconds. Stay still, Lacy.”

“Five, four, three…two”—he grabbed the crop as it teetered, catching it before it fell—“One. Done.” He was careful to help her straighten into a stand. Then slowly, he walked her to the bed. “Sit right here. I want you to take a few deep breaths while I massage your muscles for a minute. Then we’re going to talk before I carry out your punishment.” He dropped to his haunches and took hold of her ankle. Massaging her foot before he worked his fingers over her heel to her calf.

“Wasn’t that enough?”

He looked up. In her world maybe, but not in his. Not in their world, the one he was trying to create for them. “No. I want you to listen. And put your arms to your sides. No covering yourself from me.”

When her eyes widened, he frowned. “You look surprised I said that. Don’t be. The best way to hold all the power is to take it. That’s what I do when I’m forced to.”

“You’re still angry.” He was pleased that she’d done as he’d told her and put her hands to her sides, but he didn’t like the slumped shoulders. She had a lot to learn, and she would. Starting now.

He let go of her and ordered, “Open your legs.” Tonight there’d be no please or thank you. When she complied, he reached under the bed and pulled out the restraints. These were actually wrist cuffs that attached to coil leashes for surfboards, but they worked as well as chains and leather cuffs when tied properly. He made a point of letting the coil brush over her as he stood to stretch them out on the bed behind her.

When he stepped away she tried to shift, but he stopped her. “Don’t close your legs. I like them open. It pleases me.”

Again she had an expression of mild shock on her face. Had he been that easy on her before? “Don’t underestimate me, Lacy, and don’t overestimate yourself. You think I’m angry? I am. But anger can be gotten to very easily. It’s qualifying it that takes skill and strength to control.

“Before I explain your punishment, I want you to know the steps I go through to qualify it. I’d like you to listen carefully as I will only do this once. The next time we find ourselves in a similar situation I won’t be so accommodating.”

They were no more than three feet apart. Her seated and him standing, while he stared down at her. Willing her to drop her gaze. He wasn’t going to ask, by now she should know better. So he waited until she did and then he began.

“This is the list of questions I asked myself prior to dealing with our current situation. Do I have a right to be angry? Yes. You did the exact opposite of what I expressly asked you
not
to do. Is the offense irrefutable? Yes. As I’m sure you knew what you were doing was wrong. Have I given myself enough time to calmly handle the situation? Yes. Is the punishment fitting? Yes. Will we both benefit from the way I have chosen to mete it out? Yes. Is discipline in order? Yes, as a message has to be sent.”

He stepped closer and put two fingers under her chin, tipping it up. Not so high she could look him in the eyes, but high enough she’d be paying rapt attention to his words. “Punishment is administered as a physical reminder for you to obey the rules. The lessons in discipline I will occasionally require you to complete are to teach you self-control. You need accomplishments to bolster that and I’ve found the best way to stack up those achievements is to reach attainable goals.”

He let go of her and walked around the bed. Reaching for the cuffs, he said, “I’m going to tie these restraints to the bedframe. Once I’m done, I’ll ask you to get up and go to the footboard. You’re going to bend over it, stretching your arms out over the bed so I can gauge how much slack I need.”

She twisted, shooting a quick glance over her shoulder. She probably thought he didn’t see that.

“Lacy, eyes straight ahead until I tell you to stand.”

He took his time with the slip knots. Making sure he’d be able to easily adjust length once he had to. “Okay. Get up and go to the footboard. Position yourself in the center of it and bend over, stretching your arms out straight in the direction of the top of the bed.”

“Are you going to use that?” She pointed to the chair where he’d left the crop.

“I don’t recall giving you permission to speak.”

“That thing smarts.”

Not as much as a dozen other things he could name. However, this wasn’t about intimidating her any more than punishment was about physically hurting someone. Clearly she didn’t get that, but she would. “Every time you talk without being asked to I’ll be adding five minutes on the clock.”

She leaned forward to bend over the curved fabric on the footboard, then stopped and looked at him. “There’s a clock?”

He finished with the last knot and stood. “With an additional fifteen minutes added on.”

“That’s not fair. I didn’t know those first two times.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and stared. “Twenty.”

“But—”

“Twenty-five.”

She opened her mouth as if to say something and he beat her to it. “Thirty.”

“I didn’t even say anything.”

“Now you did. Thirty it is. Are we going to make it thirty-five?”

She was wise enough to compress her lips and do as he’d asked. The sight of her stretched out with her ass in the air and her cheek pressed to the mattress, waiting for him, was a beautiful thing. He didn’t think the visual could get any better, but he was wrong. Once he fit the cuffs around her wrists and had her tied, the sight was even better.

He checked the tension around her hands. Feeling his way down her body. Dragging his palms over the sleekness of her back until he got to her bottom. He gave her a squeeze and then said, “I’ll be right back.”

There was no need to get fancy here. If he pulled out steel manacles and all his leathers they’d only distract her. Instead he went to his closet and picked out two of his silk ties. Then thought better of it and grabbed a third. He’d be doing her a favor using this last one to gag her.

“See? That didn’t take long. Now.” He knelt on the bed and curled over her. “I want you to lift up your head so I can get this around you.” He dangled his tie in front of her eyes. “That’s right. Just move a little more. Open your mouth so I can—perfect.” He was careful not to catch her hair as he fastened it on her. Amazed that she wasn’t making any noise. There wasn’t a muffle or a groan…yet. 

He slung the two remaining ties over his shoulder and came off the bed. Walking to the bottom where her bottom was prominently displayed, he went to work. He slipped his hands between her hips and the material of the footboard, making sure her pelvis was cushioned against the fabric before he circled both hands around one of her thighs. Steadily he went down the length of her limb until he was in a crouched position and had a hold of her ankle. Then he pulled her foot, bringing it closer to the leg of the bed so he could tie her to it. When he was done with that one he stood and moved to do the same to the other.

In no time at all she was spread eagle with a twist. Now came the hard part…for her.

Chapter Twenty-One

Lacy expected the crop to her butt. Especially after David went through the trouble of gagging her, but the painful strikes never came. He didn’t even touch her. All he’d done once he had her completely immobile was drag that upholstered chair from the side of the bed and position it at the bottom.

She’d felt the breeze caused by his presence between her legs. On her thighs and ass and all she’d done was close her eyes and try to forget what was taking place. But the thought of him sitting in that chair staring at her. So close to the heart of her where she was open and exposed, was mortifying. Until the quiet expanded around her and she recalled something Jo had said to her once. About how shame could sometimes be a more stringent punishment than a spanking. And here she was finally getting it.