Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“Yes, Sir,” she replied huskily.
“Need help with that?” Lawrence annoyingly volunteered.
Go. Away.
“No, I’ve got this part,” Beau replied as he detached the rope leash from Lia’s collar. Maybe Lawrence would finally take the hint.
But instead, to her horrified dismay, Beau held out the new crop to Lawrence. “I know you’ve had ample opportunity to punish this naughty slave girl. Would you care to turn the tables now and give Lia her reward?”
“It would be my pleasure,” Lawrence said, flashing an evil grin in Lia’s direction.
Chapter 15
Whatever else the guy might be, Lawrence definitely knew his way around impact toys. It was a pleasure to watch his finesse with the crop as he took Lia from stinging pleasure to edgy stimulation to ouch-I-can’t-take-one-more stroke and back again.
At first, no doubt due to her continued antipathy toward Lawrence, Beau sensed her resistance, reflected in her body language and facial expression. But it wasn’t long before she surrendered herself fully, if not to the man, at least to the experience. Beau could almost feel her drifting upward to that dark, sweet place where pleasure and pain were one and the same.
When they finally let her down, Lia dropped gracefully to her knees. Looking up at Lawrence with a beatific smile, she breathed, “Thank you, Sir,” without a trace of snark.
“Maybe there’s hope for her yet,” Lawrence quipped. But it was obvious he was pleased.
Lucia and Danielle came to the edge of the scene station while Beau was putting away his ropes. “Excuse me, Sir,” Lucia said politely. When she had his attention, she continued, “It’s free time right now for the resident slaves. If it suits you, Sir, may we take Lia down to the quarters for a little aftercare and rest?”
“Of course,” Beau agreed. A little time apart from each other was probably a good idea.
“Thank you, Sir,” Lucia said, taking Lia’s hand. “Oh, and Master Mark asked me to let you know he’s out on the veranda, if you would like to share a drink with him before dinner.”
“Excellent idea. Thanks.”
As the girls headed downstairs, Beau made his way to the veranda. The chill of the October evening was offset by tall outdoor space heaters set nearby.
“Hey, there,” Mark said, lifting a hand in greeting as Beau approached. “Have a seat. I’ve got some very fine small batch bourbon here, if you’d care for a snifter before dinner.”
“Sounds perfect,” Beau agreed, admiring the crystal-cut decanter that held the amber liquid. Mark poured a few fingers into a snifter and handed it to Beau as he took his seat.
“So, how’s it going with Lia?” Mark asked. “Is she responding better to your approach than when she was here last?”
“It’s probably too soon to say for sure,” Beau replied. “She did break a rule pretty much right out of the gate,” he added with a chuckle. “But then she confessed her sins and accepted her punishment.”
“Tell me everything,” Mark demanded with a laugh.
Beau complied, leaving out his occasional difficulty keeping his own inappropriate lust at bay. Once he’d satisfied his friend’s curiosity, he had a question of his own.
“So, what’s the deal with Lawrence? I got a sense that his remark this morning about second chances was personal.”
“You’re not wrong,” Mark said. “And while I don’t want to gossip, I’ll share the story with you because it involved my Jaime.”
Beau raised his brows, both surprised and curious. “Really? How so?”
“It was several years back when The Enclave wasn’t yet fully staffed. I’d been staying here as a guest for a couple of months and was still on the fence about whether I’d be joining the community as a full-time trainer. Jaime had recently come to The Enclave on a trial basis to see if she would be a good fit as a resident slave. Danielle, a recent addition herself, engaged in some very duplicitous behavior designed to make Jaime look bad.”
“Lawrence’s slave girl did that?” Beau asked, surprised. “Why in the hell would she do that?”
“Danielle wasn’t Lawrence’s slave girl back then. As to why she did it, Danielle had gotten her wires crossed and thought she and I were, uh, more than just trainer and trainee. Or she wanted that to be the case, I guess,” he added, flushing slightly. “She saw Jaime as competition and decided she’d get Jaime thrown out of the program. Among other things, she sabotaged Jaime’s assignment of making sure the main dungeon was in tiptop shape for an important visiting Dom. When Lawrence brought the guy in for the grand tour, he found a mess and immediately blamed Jaime without giving her a chance to defend herself.”
“Very uncool,” Beau frowned. “On both Danielle and Lawrence’s parts.”
“To put it mildly,” Mark agreed. “But what Lawrence did next was even worse. He went way overboard in delivering Jaime’s punishment, without taking the time to find out the truth. In the process, he inadvertently triggered one of her deepest fears, which was and is being confined in very tight spaces.”