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)
“My ex.” Beau showed her the phone.
“Drama queen,” Lia said with a grin. “So, you gonna meet her?” Her tone was playful, but Beau sensed a trace of lingering concern underneath.
“No way in hell,” he replied emphatically.
“You going to answer?” Lia persisted.
“I don’t think so,” Beau replied. “I’m afraid it would just encourage her. I’m going to do what I should have done three years ago.”
Angling his phone so Lia could see what he was doing, he blocked the phone number associated with the text, and then deleted the message.
As if in electronic response, Lia’s phone buzzed. She barked a startled laugh. “Oh, no. I hope she didn’t somehow get my number.” She pulled out her phone and swiped at the screen.
“Not sure if this is better or worse. It’s from Loretta.” She held out the phone so Beau could see.
Brunch tomorrow morning. Bring your young man.
Beau lifted a brow as he read. “What young man would that be?”
Lia laughed. “Good point. You are awfully old.”
“Ouch,” he said with a mock wince.
“So,” she said. “Should I tell her yes?”
“Absolutely,” Beau affirmed. “It would be my pleasure.”
He took her hand again, their fingers intertwining as he led her to a bench. “Let’s sit a bit. I want to talk to you about where we go from here.”
“Sounds ominous,” Lia said with a smirk.
“I’m serious.”
The grin fell away. “I know,” she said softly, her own vulnerability showing. “Humor is one of my defenses.”
As they sat, he turned toward her and cupped her cheek. “You don’t need any defenses with me, Lia.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “It might take me a while to get there.”
“I understand,” he said gently. “We’ll get there together.”
He took a moment to gather his thoughts. “I think we both agree we want a D/s relationship.”
“Only kind there is, in my book,” Lia quipped.
Beau smiled but then grew serious. “It’s important for you to understand that if I claim you, you will give yourself fully to me, 24/7. Though I will never put you in a position that compromises your professional or family life, I will control every aspect of our erotic life together. That includes when or if you orgasm, how I choose to use your body, how many strokes of the cane you accept, how many lashes of the whip, how much Kinbaku rope I choose to wrap you in. I may require certain things of you to remind you that you are my possession, even when we’re apart. You will wear my collar and my ropes and accept my piercings as tokens of your complete submission. I don’t expect perfection. This will be a learning curve for us both as we figure out what works best for us as Master and slave. But every step of the way I will expect you to give this relationship—and me—your all.”
Beau stopped and reached for Lia’s shoulders with both his hands as he looked into her eyes. “Does that work for you, Lia? Are you willing to give yourself completely to me, without hesitation and without reservation?”
To his surprise, she wriggled out of his grasp and sank to her knees on the boardwalk in front of him, oblivious of passersby. Dipping her head, she brushed the top of his loafer with her lips and then looked up at him with tears in those beautiful eyes.
“Yes, Sir,” she said. “With all my heart.”
Chapter 29
It was snowing that January afternoon as Lia made the short walk from the campus library to Whitesides Hall. The large, fat flakes melted as they hit the paths, but seemed to be sticking to the winter grass. The rope thong Master Beau had knotted at her waist and brought up between her legs that morning rubbed between her labia as she walked, a sexy reminder of who she belonged to. The sting from that morning’s mark had faded, but the deep sense of serenity the daily ritual gave her remained.
They’d been together for close to three months. During that time, Lia had settled completely and joyously into her role as Master Beau’s beloved slave girl. At last, the serenity and deep sense of peace and belonging she’d so envied among her friends at The Enclave was now hers as well.
But her relationship with Beau went beyond that of Master and slave, and even beyond that of lovers or partners. They were best friends and sometimes that was the sweetest thing of all.
People on campus were aware Beau and she were a couple, as they brought each other as their plus-one to various faculty mixers and get-togethers. When Beau stopped by the library, he always sought her out for a quick hello.
The friends she’d made amongst the library staff liked to tease her about being with the hunkiest prof on campus, alternately swooning with envy and genuinely happy for her. When they’d asked how she and Beau had met, she didn’t even have to lie.