As Carla made her way over to her clothes on her hands and knees, Gio contemplated the two rules she'd just disobeyed. Had she really believed all of the parameters he'd set would suddenly go out the window just because the sexual part had concluded for the evening? Or was she breaking his rules on purpose? He'd seen other subs do this to test boundaries or just to receive an extra dose of the punishment they craved.
Maybe she's even better at this than she realizes, Gio thought. Maybe she did some research before coming over, to figure out what to expect.
Or maybe she's done this before.
The thought was disquieting to him, though it shouldn't have been. He knew that lots of people were secretly into sexual domination and submission, and he'd certainly been with plenty of other subs who'd had masters before. But this was different. This time, he found himself obsessed with the idea that she was his alone, that no one had ever broken her before.
Carla finished dressing herself, then tilted her head in his direction with her eyes still on the floor. “May I please stand now, Master?”
“No,” he answered. “Crawl down the stairs ahead of me.”
She started down the steps on all fours as Gio followed, holding her leash. He noticed that the elbows and knees of her pantsuit were collecting dark smudges of dust from the floor. The sight gave him a warm thrill inside.
When she'd appeared at the door, she'd been so stiff and polished. Now that he was done with her for the night, she was dirty and disheveled, inching forward on her hands and knees like a beaten dog.
Finally, they reached the first floor. “Please, Master, may I stand up now?” Carla asked.
“Maybe I shouldn't let you stand yet,” Gio said, smiling coldly. “Maybe I should make you go out the front door and down the driveway on all fours, so the whole neighborhood can see what a little slut you really are.”
Gio heard Carla's breath catch in her throat. “Please, Master...please don't make me do that...” she pleaded.
He let out a contemptuous bark of laughter. He had no intention of bringing her outside with the collar still on—his father had warned him not to mess around with his new “lawyer,” and Gio didn't want word of this getting back to him. Still, it was fun to threaten her with it.
“I should,” Gio snickered. “And I will, unless you beg me not to.”
Carla pulled her elbows and knees in tight beneath her and lowered her head, sniffling and groveling. “Please, Master, I'll do anything you ask for...anything you want...just please, please, don't make me go out, don't let anyone else see me like this...”
As he looked down at her, Gio couldn't resist tormenting her just a little bit more. Punishing Masters, that last Fed who infiltrated the Mancinis, had felt like a gruesome chore.
But punishing Carla for the same transgression felt like poetry, and Gio wished he could do it forever.
He extended one of his shiny black Italian shoes, putting it right under her nose. “Polish it with your tongue. Do that, and I'll show you mercy, even though you don't deserve it.”
Carla hesitated for the briefest moment before her head moved forward, her tongue extended. She licked the top of his shoe once, twice, then gagged for a couple of seconds and went in for a third...
Gio pulled his shoe away, laughing again. “All right, that's enough. You did good, especially for a first-timer. Are you sure you've never been anyone's slave before now?” He tried to make the question sound casual, but the thought had been nagging him steadily since it first popped into his head upstairs.
“No, Master,” Carla responded in a high, breathy voice. He could tell she was still trying to control her gag reflex. “I've never done this with anyone before.”
Gio wanted to believe her. But...
“Look into my eyes,” he commanded.
Carla craned her neck, looking up at him. Her eye makeup was streaked from crying and her lower lip trembled.
She looked utterly helpless and shattered. Beautiful.
“Swear that you've never been anyone else's slave like this,” Gio said. “And don't lie, or I'll know. I can always tell when women are lying to me.”
The line sounded cool and menacing, but Gio winced inwardly, knowing how foolish it actually was. She'd been undercover around him for over a week and he hadn't suspected a thing.
But Carla's wide, tear-filled eyes looked into his, desperate for him to believe her. “I swear I've never been anyone else's slave before. Only yours.”
Gio nodded. He believed. “Good. Lower your eyes again. Now you have my permission to stand.”
Carla looked down and rose to her feet slowly. Gio reached forward, undoing the clasp on her collar. It fell to the floor.