Mastering Inga (Service & Submission Book 2) (5 page)

“My Mommy is in heaven now. Daddy says her batteries don’t work anymore and that the funnel house isn’t heaven. But grandma says she’s in heaven.”

Inga stared at her, wondering what in the hell a funnel house might be, how a funnel house would be confused with heaven, and who’d told her that Mommy had batteries?

Madalyn arranged the furniture in the house, stopping occasionally to give Liam an order. “Liam don’t put the dog on the kitchen table. Dogs go outside. See the dog house? Put the dog in the dog house, Liam.”

Inga hid a smile behind her hand. Madalyn definitely liked giving orders, and apparently wanted everyone to be well-aware of how things were supposed to be in their house.

“But this lady here. She doesn’t have to be a Mommy, Liam. She can be a nanny like Miss Inga.” Madalyn held up the doll inspecting her hair, then looked at Inga. “Your hair is yellow like her hair.”

Inga nodded, smiling at Madalyn.

“Yep, she looks like you, Miss Inga. I’ll put her in the house. She’s the nanny.” Madalyn’s smile beamed, the cute dimple on her left cheek identical to her father’s.

“I think you should put me in the kitchen so I can make lunch and clean, right?”

Madalyn nodded and immediately put the nanny doll in the kitchen. “Come and see, Liam! It’s Miss Inga in the kitchen. We have a girl in the house again.”

Liam, happy to follow Madalyn’s lead, clapped excitedly in support.

* * *

B
y the third day in the house, Inga found that she’d fallen into a comfortable pattern of managing the house, and caring for the children. She had cleaned the kitchen and living room, ridding both rooms of dust bunnies and cobwebs, and reorganized the cupboards.

It’d been a beautiful sunny Friday and after taking a brisk walk outside, the children rode their bikes in the driveway. Soon enough they were starving, both of them devouring their lunch completely. Fortunately, neither child argued or complained about taking their afternoon nap.

Inga decided to surprise Garrett by cleaning his bedroom too. Acutely aware that some of Anne’s things might still be in the room, she had decided that she wouldn’t touch them or move any of them.

Should I call him to be sure it’s okay?

She shrugged off her hesitancy and moved forward with her cleaning. The goal would be cleaning under the bed, changing and washing the linens, dusting, and organizing closets and dressers.

After stripping the bed and gathering the sheets she brought them to the laundry so he would have a freshly made bed for the night. After vacuuming the room, including the ceiling and ceiling fans, she then decided to tackle the walk-in closet. Anne’s original organization skills were still on display, but the closet was still cluttered.” Nothing she couldn’t fix. She looked over her shoulder to see what time it was She had two hours until the kids woke up. More than enough time to organize and throw another load in the washer.

She had a mound of laundry in the middle of the floor that she’d made from all the clothes piled in the closet, along with any random unfolded pieces of clothing that she couldn’t confirm were actually clean. In the process of moving a container, she heard a light thud on the wooden floor of the closet and the tinkling of a metal buckle. She thought it was a belt.

Upon closer inspection, she realized it was anything but.

It was a leather collar that was engraved with the word
HIS
. Inga fingered the letters — the leather was thick but supple and the buckle was silver with a heart shaped lock on it. Right next to the collar was a black leather flogger. She picked it up by the silver, metal handle. Cold. The cold mental handle felt heavy in her hand. A smooth hard ball at the end had her curiosity piqued –she guessed it must have made it easier to hold it with the ball at the end of the handle. It felt heavier than she imagined it would. She wondered running her fingers through the thin leather strands, what it would feel like to have a flogger used on her.

Now, it made sense. Garrett and Anne must have had a D/s relationship. His “overbearing” personality now clear. As a Dom he would like order and control. Inga smiled. She’d found a house with a Dom. The prospect of a relationship seemed out of the question, but at least knowing the nature of their relationship would help her understand his grief and loss.

The questions arose in her mind. She’d ask him tonight after the children were in bed.

* * *

G
arrett shut the light off in Madalyn’s room and made his way to the living room. It would be nice to sit and relax a little. It had been a long day and even though relaxing was what he wanted to do, Inga seemed out of sorts. He hoped everything with the kids had gone well today and that they hadn’t given her any problems. He pulled a beer out of the fridge; opening it and taking a long pull on it. He walked into the living room hoping to ascertain what had occurred today to make Inga so reserved.

“Okay. Let’s have it. Something happened today, or something should have happened that didn’t.” Garrett flopped onto the couch. “You aren’t yourself. What’s up?”

Inga was sitting at the opposite end of the couch, nervously playing with her fingernails.

“W-what do you mean?”

She avoided eye contact with him as she said it.

Interesting.

“Don’t play coy with me, Missy. Something has you concerned tonight. I know the signs — I’ve been married, remember? Spill it.”

She looked through her lashes at him “Well, okay. I cleaned your bedroom today.”

“Yep. I saw that. It looks great. And?”

“I organized your walk-in closet, and I found what I think is Anne’s collar and your flogger.” She wrung her hands, her delicate fingers trembling slightly.

He took a deep breath before he spoke. He needed to keep calm. She couldn’t have known that all their implements and toys were in that closet — but it felt like an invasion nonetheless.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to clean my room today? I should’ve been informed, or at a minimum you should’ve asked permission to invade my personal space.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. Apparently, she could flip from repentant to angry very quickly. “Invade? Cleaning your room is invading your space?”

“Yes. As a matter of fact, it is. You should’ve asked permission first.”

He leaned forward and put his beer on the table, turning to face her. He made sure his expression was stern. Might as well start as you plan to continue. Wasn’t that how the phrase went?

“Excuse me? I do not
ask
permission. And I definitely do not ask permission to clean a room in the house where I’m employed. If there are areas of the house that are off limits or require permission, it’s
your
responsibility to make me aware, good sir. I don’t read minds, and I refuse to be held responsible for things that are
not
my fault.”

“And that’s where we differ. As a new employee, you should be aware that there may be areas of this house or items that are personal and off-limits. I’ll take responsibility this time. But in the future, if there is any doubt, you’re to ask me first.”

Inga opened her mouth to argue, but. he held his hand up to stop her.

“I have a question for you, and I want you to answer me honestly. Did you wonder if you shouldn’t go into the closet? Wonder if you should talk to me first?” He raised an eyebrow waiting for a response.

She pursed her lips, scowling. Inga definitely had some spark in there.

“Well—”

“Truth, Inga. Truth.”

“I did. Okay? Does that make you happy? I did wonder. I thought maybe there might be private stuff in the closet, but I figured I’m the cleaner. I need to clean everywhere.” She stiffened her back and crossed her arms over her chest. “There! Happy?”

Definitely defensive and angry.

“No, I’m not happy. Why would I be happy about you ignoring your common sense, and doing something you suspected wasn’t right? You should
always
listen to that inner voice—it’s usually right. Ignoring that voice puts you at risk. In the marriage I had with Anne, she would’ve been punished for such behavior. Probably with that flogger you found in the closet.”

Her throat moved as she swallowed hard. Her bright blush flooded up from her neck, tinting her cheeks scarlet.

“I’ve b-been in a Dom and s-sub relationship in my past. I’m… submissive. I know about punishments, rules, and serving.” She stared at the floor.

A Sub? I have a Swedish Nanny and Sub in my house!

“You’re a sub?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“How long has it been since you were in this D/s relationship?” He reached for his beer and took a swig from it, trying to suppress his urge to cheer. Instantly, he felt guilty, as if such thoughts were a betrayal of Anne.

“I’ve been alone for almost a year.”

“So, it’s been a while since you’ve had to submit, since you’ve been punished for breaking rules? It’s important that a sub continue with her training.” Garrett took a deep sigh, contemplating how to convey his thoughts. “Annie and I were in a Master/slave relationship. The power exchange went much deeper than what you’re probably used to, and it’s probably deeper than you’re capable of going. Stringent rules were in place, and punishments were swift and hard.”

“What do you mean ‘deeper than I’m used to,’ and ‘more than I’m capable of doing?’ How would you know what I’m capable of doing? You don’t know! At all. I’m very capable, and I submit beautifully, believe it or not!”

Garrett’s frustration rose higher, and he was just about ready to put her in her place when Inga snapped her fingers at him. Snapped her fingers!
At him!
“No! I’m not done yet,” she said, almost shouting. “You seem pretty presumptuous. How dare you decide that I should ask permission before I clean your house — the house you’ve asked me to clean? Second, how dare you decide that I don’t know how to submit, and then decide that I wouldn’t know how to submit as a slave? Maybe instead of telling me that I need to ask permission first before cleaning, you could sit and think about how your authority and dominance — as far as I’m concerned — makes you come off as a pompous, arrogant ass. You might want to work on that in the meantime.”

She stood up, turning quickly to exit the room, her skirt flouncing up, giving him a delicious view of her bare bottom. A tiny white lace thong huddled between the round buttocks.

She mumbled something in Swedish, and he assumed by her anger that they were swear words.

“Dra åt helvete du dum mannen! Dumma arsle!”

He quickly stood up, grabbing her arm, and before she could protest, he swatted her bottom several times, fast and hard. He spun her around, grabbing her chin and standing nose-to-nose with her.

“You aren’t my slave or even my sub, but as a submissive who’s under my employ — in my house — you’ll
never
be allowed to speak to me in such a tone and with such disrespect. If you wish to leave, you may do so now. But if you choose to stay in this house, you’ll answer to my rules. You, Miss Inga, need a be reminded what your proper role is .”

Watching Inga rub her bottom,as she gasped in pain, it was clear that he hadn’t lost his touch. His hand stung, so he was confident that her bottom stung too — even with the protection of her skirt. He guessed her pride would’ve normally prevented her from rubbing, but she couldn’t resist soothing her injured flesh.

Those beautiful blue eyes were swimming in tears. “That hurt.”

“I’m sure it did.” Garrett had both hands at his waist. He kept his expression stern even though he wanted to pull her onto his lap and wipe her tears away. “It was meant to. Did it hurt enough that you’ll remember to mind your mouth?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Now, I want you to tell me what you just said in Swedish.”

She swallowed and broke eye contact. “Well, I said ‘Go to hell, you stupid man.’” She peered up at him, wincing. “Then I called you a ‘stupid asshole.’”

“Unacceptable. The little tantrum you just had — that’s been taken off your options list. If you behave in such a manner again, Missy, you’ll feel my belt on your bare bottom. I may still decide to do it anyway. Is
that
understood?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Before we go any further, let me clarify what I said, and correct you on some of your points as well. First, don’t you
ever
snap your fingers at me again. I think shock immobilized me this one time. Trust me when I tell you that the next time I hear the sound of your fingers snapping in my direction, it’ll spur me into action. Your backside will be the target of that action, and you won’t be sitting well when your punishment is over. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“After this little outburst, you definitely need a refresher on any training you may have had in the past. Whatever it was, it wasn’t enough. And I’m sticking with my assertion that being a slave is most likely out of your reach. It isn’t for everyone, Miss Inga.”

“I know that.” She rolled her eyes and then caught herself, she straightened her back with wide eyes.