Jake had the contract ready on my desk before I arrived at work, with a post-it note scribbled on the top.

  “You are aware this is the girl who’s trying to undermine your project?”

  I tear the note up and trash it. I couldn’t give two shits about her little social justice project. I’ll continue with my plans, and what happens on school grounds stays on school grounds.

  “Please step into the restroom for a minute?” I tell her. “The instructions are in there as to the tests you’ll take.”

  “Oh, lovely,” she mutters. “Just so you know, I’ve had sex twice in my life and both times the guys were virgins, so the chances of me having a damn STD are slim and none.”

  I smirk at my computer screen and nod. “Noted.” I’ve paid for expedited testing, so we’ll have the results before lunchtime. A few minutes later, she comes back into my office.

  “Please review the terms of your contract,” I tell her coolly. Ignoring the way her hair smells, still damp from the shower, I immediately go back to the night before, then push the memory out of my mind. We have a job to do before we play again.

  Clicking the pen I hand her, she captures her full lower lip between her teeth and studies the contract.

  “Question,” she says. “Please clarify the terms of when and where I’m obligated to abide by these rules.” A lock of red hair falls across her brow when she quirks a brow at me. Hastily she swipes it away, and I want to be the one tucking it behind her ear.

  Jesus, I’ve got to get a grip.

  “I’ve given that some thought,” I tell her sternly. I want her listening. “My preference would be all the time.”

  She blinks at me. “So… a total power exchange? I thought this was more of a part-time thing…”

  “You’ve done your research,” I say with a smile. “Not a total power exchange. I won’t be able to control what you do when you’re at school or at home,” I say, “though I will have my methods.”

  The familiar faint pink colors her cheeks. “Okay. And I am allowed to safeword when I want to. Yes?”

  “Yes, of course,” I say. I clench my jaw. We’ve already discussed this. I insist on safewords but dislike the thought of her using one.

  Nodding, she places her pen at the line at the bottom of the page. “I think this will be a challenge,” she says, smiling. “And honestly, Liam… um, sir?”

  I nod.

  She grins. “I kinda like a challenge.”

  She hasn’t signed yet, though. She’s giving it another read.

  “As do I,” I say, but I’m not amused. We’ll see how much of a challenge she really likes. “Tonight, I’ll pick you up and we’ll go to Verge. We have a few matters of business to discuss.”

  “We do,” she says. “Yes.”

  “First, your phone.” I take the slim white box out of the desk drawer where I put it this morning, and hand it to her. “Learn it. My number’s programmed on it, and I’ve had my man sync it to your old one.”

  “How’d you do that?” she asks, adorably bemused, her lips pressed together.

  “It wasn’t hard, Cora. We contacted your cell phone company and paid them for their time. So, you should find your old apps restored, with two additions. My contact information and I’ve installed a tracking app that will tell me where you are at all times.”

  “Isn’t that a violation of privacy?”

  I shrug. “We have our methods.”

  “Great,” she says. “I mean, I needed a phone and want it synced, I just don’t like you going through my things.”

  I turn back to my computer and minimize my email. My phone lights up like a runway with the calls I’ve got waiting for me.

  “Do I look like I have the time to go through your cell phone?” I ask with a shake of my head. “I have no interest.”

  “Well,” she murmurs. “Alright then. Okay. So. Let me take a look.”

  “You’ll learn to say please and not issue commands to me.”

  She takes a deep breath. “Please?” Scowling, she gives me minimal obedience.

  I wonder how long she can keep that scowl in place when my belt meets her ass.

  She looks at the contract and reads it through again. “Item six is silly, you know,” she says. “I didn’t think you were serious when you said it.”

  “I was dead serious,” I told her. “I’ve done this enough times to know what we’re doing is dangerous. Emotions, vulnerability, and trust are gateways for things neither of us wish.” I ignore the way she flinches.

  “For God’s sake, you can be an arrogant prick,” she says, then quickly clamps a hand to her mouth. “Oh. Um. Sorry?” she whispers. “Does that get me punished?”

  I lean back in my chair and hold her gaze with mine. “After the contract? You’d feel my belt for that, sweetheart.” And hell, I mean it. My dick throbs at the thought of the first time she mouths off to me when I’m allowed to punish her. Disciplining a mouthy little thing like her is fucking rewarding.

  Swallowing, she looks out the window. “So… you can say whatever you want, and I’m supposed to just take it? Is that fair?”

  “There’s nothing fair about a power exchange,” I tell her. “You’re signing an agreement for there to be an imbalance of power.”

  “But… but wait,” she says, crossing her arms on her chest. Her eyes are bright, her cheeks flushed. Hell, I love it when she gets all fired up like this.

  “Yes?”

  “It is fair, though,” she says. “When a… couple… engages in the power exchange. It shouldn’t be one sided. Yes, the submissive partner agrees to… abide by the rules,” she says, turning pink and waving at the papers on my desk. I know now the blush of her cheeks isn’t always nerves, but passion. Christ, I love that. “But there’s a payoff, and I don’t mean financial.”

  I didn’t expect this from her, to be honest. But hell, she’s right. I just wasn’t prepared to get into this.

  “There is,” I tell her. “And there will be a payoff. When you agree to this contract, there’s far more than money that will make it worth your time. Frankly, Cora, if I wanted nothing more than paid sex, I’d hire a prostitute.”

  I love when her eyes flash at me, but I ignore her silent outrage and continue.

  “I like being the one in charge. And yes, sweetheart. You’ll glean more than a well-filled bank account.” I glance at my watch. “And we can discuss this at length when we have more time. You have twenty minutes before you need to leave for class. Are you going to sign the contract or what?”

  I watch as her eyes go from the papers to the pen in her hand, to the phone, and back to the papers again. She’s warring with herself, and I’m glad that she is. That she’s taking this seriously. It’s no small request I’ve made of her, and I’ll be pushing her damn hard against her limits.

  Inhaling so deeply her shoulders rise, she lifts her chin and gives me a curt nod. “Yes. I told you I would, and I always do what I say I will.” Grasping the pen in hand, she signs her name on the space provided with a flourish, then hands the pen to me. I look at the contract one final time. Glance over the curvy, embellished signature, then sign my own name below it. My signature below hers, all slashes and angles, is in such contrast to her loops and swirls.

  A thrill runs through me.

  She’s mine.

  All fucking mine.

  I stand, watching her body tighten as I leave my desk like she thinks I’m approaching but I’m not. I know exactly what I have in mind. I walk past her, head to the door, and flick the lock. My team knows me well. My door flashes a red occupied sign on the other side of the door when I lock it. They know not to trouble me with anything unless it’s a life or death situation. When the lock clicks into place with an audible snap, Cora jumps.

  “Come here.” I stand in front of the door and beckon, energy crackling through me like fire, dynamic and dangerous. Consuming. My first instruction to her as my submissive. Monumental in its simplicity.

  Almost poetic.

  Come, where danger and eroticism meld, folding together in a seamless garment of pleasure and pain.

  Come and lay your will at my feet.

  Come to the threshold of ecstasy.

  Come hard and often and without inhibition.

  Rising, she shoots me an apprehensive glance laced with eagerness and fear. I point to the floor and assume the tone she knows to obey.

  “On your knees, sweetheart.”

  We have no time to fully enter into the dance of power play, but I can prime her for this evening.

  Blinking, she drops to her knees uncertainly, caution in those mesmerizing depths.

  I crook my finger at her. A silent command.

  Prowling toward me like a lioness, her eyes never leave mine. I drop to one knee and wait for her. Every inch she closes between us makes my heart race faster, until she’s so close I can feel the vibration of her breath.

  “Good girl,” I whisper, taking her hands so she kneels in front of me, I gently arrange them behind her back so that she arches, her full breasts nearly brushing my chest. “This is one of many ways you’ll present yourself to me. I will teach you, and we will practice. On your knees.”

  “Hands clasped behind your back.” I trace my palms from her shoulders to her folded hands and clasp mine over hers.

  “Head bowed down.” I grasp her chin between my thumb and forefinger and bend her head down, loving the way the light illuminates the vibrant hair that falls down in sheets of brilliance. I allow myself the briefest of touches, running my hand from the top of her head to the base of her neck. Smooth as satin, fragrant and beautiful, still slightly damp from her early morning shower.

  “Knees spread apart.” Gently, I nudge her knees apart with the tips of my fingers. “You’ll hold this position whenever I give the command to kneel. Do you understand me?”

  I lift her chin with my knuckle, raising her eyes to mine, and when she nods, I lower my mouth to hers, just the whisper of a kiss before I pull away.

  I’ll leave her wanting.

  Standing, I take her hand in mine and tug so that she gets to her feet, a full head shorter than I am.

  “You leave in minutes,” I tell her. “Later tonight, we’ll pick up where we started. Strip.”

  She’s obeyed so well, I’m a bit surprised by her hesitation, but when she doesn’t obey, I smack her ass on instinct. It’s all she needs, before she quickly begins to undress. There’s question in her eyes, but I have no time to ease her into this. When her clothes lie in a puddle on the floor, I take her by the hand and lead her to the small room off of my main office. I have to look away; she’s so beautiful and we don’t have time for the ways I want to worship that body of hers.

  We will.

  Here, in the walk-in closet I’ve had built beside the bathroom and workout area, her clothes await.

  “You’ll dress in what I give you to wear,” I tell her. “This is your outfit for today.”

  “I… will you… am I allowed to speak?”

  “Of course,” I tell her. “Unless I’ve given you the instruction not to. But I haven’t yet, so you may.”

  “Will you dress me every day? Like I’ll have to come here before anything or… whatever?”

  “It depends on the day,” I tell her. “Within a few weeks your old clothes will be put away and you’ll only have what I’ve given you.” I take a silky pair of pink panties from the small pile I’ve prepared, bend, and help her step into them. They hug her curves beautifully. Next, I help her slide on a matching bra. She’s going to school, so I’ve chosen a simple outfit for today, slim-fitting black leggings with a soft, clingy hunter-green top, and knee-high boots.

  “Oh, wow,” she says when she’s dressed. “These are kind of amazing.”

  Manuel’s ringtone sounds at my desk. He’s ready to take her to class.

  “You’re kind of amazing,” I say, tugging her head back and giving her a quick kiss. “Tonight, I’ll take you to Verge. When your class is over, Manuel will bring you back to me. I will text you instructions to follow throughout the day, and you’ll report to me when you come back. Understand?”

  “Yes, sir,” she says, nodding, and a little smile plays at her lips like she can’t quite grasp what we’re doing. “Are you going to make it impossible for me to focus? I mean, I have school…”

  “Of course, you do,” I tell her. “But you’re a smart girl. I’m sure you’ll manage just fine. But one more thing before you go.”

  “Oh?”

  “Every day when we part, I’ll leave you with a reminder of our agreement,” I tell her. “So that no matter how you’re otherwise preoccupied, you will remember your place.”

  “A reminder?” she asks, a note of confusion in her voice.

  “Some days, it’ll be a small, visceral memento.” I remove the pen I slipped into my pocket and place my hand out, palm up, for her hand. When she lays her hand in mine, I draw a tiny heart at the vee between her thumb and index finger. “I want to see that tonight when I meet you at Verge. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” she says, staring with a furrowed brow at her hand.

  Usually I need to apply some punishment to a new submissive before she remembers to address me properly, but Cora’s taken to this well.

  “And other times, the memento will be…?” her voice trails off as she waits for me to supply an answer. I won’t, though.

  “You’ll see,” is all she gets from me. “Now go to class.”

  I escort her to where Manuel waits, and go back to my work. A little while later, my phone buzzes.

  Checking in, sir. I’m at class. Attached to the text is a picture of her hand resting on her notebook, the little black heart at the epicenter.

  Good girl. She’ll be rewarded tonight for a job well done.

  The morning passes quickly, and when I break for lunch, Jake arrives looking cross. “Come in,” I tell him, irritated he’s up my ass like this.

  “They’re causing trouble again, Liam,” he says, mopping his perpetually ruddy forehead with a handkerchief.

  “Who?” I ask, turning away from him.

  “The damn college students. Namely, the girl.”

  I want to deck his smug, pug-like face, but I school my features. He knows I’ve just entered into a contract with one of those “damn college students.”

  “So?” I ask him. “Your point? The social justice warriors love to give me shit. Since when did that become an issue?”

  I turn back to my computer and answer the emails that wait for me when my phone vibrates with a message from Cora. I pick up my phone and read her reply.

  Heard and obeyed, sir.

  I swallow hard and almost forget Jake’s sitting in front of me. She was instructed to find a vacant bathroom and send me a sexy text. I turn my phone face-down before Jake sees it.

  “…and if we don’t do something about this, they could ruin you.”

  I snort with ridicule. “Jake, that’s bullshit. Stop wasting my time.”

  “You seem totally unruffled,” he responds, irritated with me. “Does this mean nothing to you?”

  “I pay you to be ruffled for me,” I tell him. “So, unless you have something of real importance to tell me, you can leave now. I have work to do before I leave.”

  I’m half paying attention to the way his cheeks flame with indignation, before he gathers up his papers and leaves the room. This is utter bullshit. I shake my head and mindlessly eat my lunch, but nearly drop my phone and groan when I get a text from Cora.

  A picture.

  It isn’t the cleavage shot I expect, or something more lascivious, but a close up of her lips. She’s got her lower lip captured between her teeth, and her head bowed in submission.

  Jesus, it’s so beautiful I want to hire a painter to capture that pose so I can hold it forever.

  That’s it, beautiful. Just what I like to see. You’ve earned yourself a good girl spanking for that.

  There’s a lengthy pause before she responds.

  I… have no idea what that means, sir.

  I smile.

  I’ll show you.

  Thirteen

  Cora

  Good girl spanking.

  It seems like a fairly counterintuitive concept. I mean, spankings are for bad girls. Punishment. But as I finish up my classes, I find myself growing hotter, squirming with the vision of being draped over Liam’s lap. I’m so turned on by the way he’s played with me today, the friction between my legs when I walk makes heat thrum through my core.

  God, I’m out of control, like my sex drive is on hyper alert.

  How did this even happen? I’m just a plain girl with a snarky mouth and curves that go on for days. I pause smack dab in the middle of the campus and try to turn around to look at my ass. What does he see in me? By most people’s standards, I tip the scale toward chubby—

  I feel my mind come to a screeching halt. Jesus. He’s not even here, but I can hear him chide me.

  If you were mine, I’d turn you over my knee for a comment like that.

  He said that once. Am I his now?

  My signature on that document says I sure as hell am.

  I’m glad that my classes today were easy, because I was way more intent on the kinky pleasure and pain that awaits me than I was on any lectures I heard. I don’t really know what a good girl spanking is, but it sounds like a reward. One I’m seriously dying to earn.

  I glance at the time as I finish my last class. I have just enough time to get home for Bailey and Ben, give them a super quick run-down of what’s going on—um, I have a new job or something—get them fed, and wait for Liam’s ride to Verge.

  I wish I had a bookstore shift today, but I only work there when my classes end at noon. Maybe Chandra or Marla will be at Verge tonight?

  I take my new shiny phone and hold it like its dynamite. I’m not used to uber expensive things like this. It’s small but slick, and so fast it’s like it does what I want it to before I even touch the screen. Crazy. Will this go away when our contract is up?

  Damn. Re-entry will be hard.

  But then I remind myself of the money he wired into my account today, and my heart races. God, I want this so badly.

 

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