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)
Lia looked back to Anthony. “Excuse me, Sir?”
“Master Beau mentioned he intends to mark you each morning as a reminder of your status. Please drop your jeans, turn and show us your mark.”
Another brief glance at Beau, who nodded.
Setting down her bag. Lia laid her jacket over the back of a couch. She unzipped her jeans and pulled them down to her knees. Angling away from them, she bent forward, her small, shapely ass on display. In spite of himself, Beau’s cock stirred at the sexy sight.
Anthony moved close to Lia, who remained bent over. He placed a hand on the back of her neck. “Remember, Lia. For the duration of your training, even when you’re dressed, you’re still Master Beau’s property. You will behave accordingly.”
Before she could react, he smacked her bare bottom with his open palm, the sound cracking the air.
“Yes, Sir,” Lia squeaked, Anthony’s handprint pinkening her flesh.
Anthony turned to Beau with an apologetic smile. “Please forgive me if I overstepped.” His smile broadened. “But she really had it coming.”
“That she did,” Beau replied with an answering grin.
He personally enjoyed Lia’s playful banter, but Anthony had a point. Beau had laid down some basic rules, one of them being she always address him with the respect due to a Master, even if their talk was playful. By letting her slide, he really wasn’t doing her any favors. Perhaps the lesson he’d just witnessed hadn’t been only for Lia, but for him as well.
He turned to Lia, who stood with her pants still halfway down. Her cheeks were red, her face flushed, her expression difficult to read. “Thank Master Anthony for his correction,” he directed.
“Thank you, Sir,” she said deferentially, eyes downcast.
“Good girl,” Beau said gently, resisting an absurd urge to take her into his arms. To cover his discomfiture at his inappropriate reaction, he added brusquely, “Now, pull up your pants. We’re going into town.”
Chapter 17
They were quiet as they drove down the winding mountain road. The leaves on the deciduous trees were changing, creating bursts of brilliant red and gold amidst the evergreens. Beau had cracked the windows, and the fresh, pine-scented air filled the car.
Lia’s bottom still smarted from Master Anthony’s hard hand. While she deeply respected the man, it had irked her to have him correct her in front of Beau. Beau’s shit-eating grin as he’d agreed she “had it coming” had been even harder to take.
Yet, even as these mutinous thoughts swirled in her brain, she couldn’t deny the thrill she had experienced when Beau had directed her to thank Master Anthony. For that moment, she had genuinely felt as if she’d belonged to him. And the tender way he’d praised her afterward had warmed her to her bones.
I have a crush on the trainer. There’s no getting around it.
As they neared the bottom of the mountain, Beau asked, “What’s your address?”
She told him, suddenly wondering if she’d remembered to make the bed. When had she last changed the sheets?
Stop it. He’s not a prospective boyfriend, and he’s not climbing into your bed.
Their earlier conversation about piercing replayed in her head. As cornbally as it was, in her heart of hearts she still harbored a ridiculous fantasy that someday “Master Right” would be the one to pierce her nipples and labia as part of a claiming ceremony. Nothing showy like they did at The Enclave, but something private and intimate. It was a stupid fantasy—a remnant of her teenage longings, before she’d figured out she didn’t have what it took to truly submit.
“That’s right by the college, isn’t it?” Beau asked, pulling her back to the moment.
It took Lia a second to recall what they’d been talking about.
“Yes, Sir. Practically walking distance.”
“Okay, so we’ll go by my place first. I just want to grab some fresh clothes and a few other things, as I hadn’t planned on spending the entire week up at The Enclave. You won’t be needing much in the way of clothes while we’re up there, of course,” he added with a quick grin in her direction. “But you should have some things for when we come down to town. Plus, I imagine you might want to change before we head over to the university.”
She glanced down at her jeans and boots. “I probably should, Sir,” she agreed.
Her mother had dragged her to various high-end boutiques earlier in the month in honor of her new job. Never that interested in clothes that didn’t involve leather and chains, Lia had allowed Loretta to select a half dozen work outfits “of quality,” that would attract the “right sort of man.” Since her mother was buying, she hadn’t put up too much of a fuss.
Beau’s apartment complex was nicer than hers, and he even had a dedicated parking space. He led her past several doors and around a small, nicely landscaped courtyard. Stopping at his door, he unlocked and opened it, gesturing her inside.