"You better not spank me," I said, anger filling me.
"You better just take it, Katherine. You agreed that I'd punish you if you broke the rules. Did you break the rules?"
I said nothing, frustrated that he was using the agreement against me. Yes, I had agreed that he could punish me, bare-handed spanking me if I disobeyed deliberately.
"Did you break the rules?"
I stopped fighting, but I said nothing, furious.
"Katherine, I promise you, I've been doing this now for five years. I have more than enough patience to wait for you to reply properly."
"You're very selective about what and when you punish."
"That's my prerogative, as I said and as is spelled out in the agreement. Maybe we better sit down and re-read it. I've been exceptionally lenient with you since we've been together, but there are some things I can't tolerate. Lying is one of the things I will not tolerate." His voice was completely calm. "So once more, did you break the rules?"
I was breathing fast, my body tense. He was going to spank me and there was nothing I could do.
Finally, I gave in.
"Yes."
"Yes, what?"
His voice was so cool, distant. I had the sense this was the way he was with his other subs. Cool. In control. Calm. Firm. He'd never really been that way with me.
Until now.
"Yes, Master."
"Good girl," he said and hiked my nightgown above my ass, baring my cheeks. He ran his hand over them. "So nice and creamy white. It's too bad I'm going to have to make them all red."
"You don't have to do anything. You're choosing to do this."
"Yes, I am, Katherine," he said calmly. "A Dom has to have some standards. I've let mine slip with you because I love you so much, but if I don't enforce this rule, our relationship is doomed. I can't lose trust in you or this will fail." He leaned down and put his lips by my ear. "I don’t want to lose you." He kissed the skin on my bare shoulder. "I can't lose you."
He sat back up. "So, I want you to tell me what you did wrong. Complete openness Katherine. Complete honesty. No more hiding things from me."
I said nothing, filled with anger, and guilt. I still hadn't told him about the video of him with Sunita or about the rest of Maureen's phone call.
I covered my eyes. "I saw a video of you with Sunita."
I felt him stiffen beneath me, the muscles of his thighs tensing. "What?"
"Dawn sent it to me."
Drake breathed in deeply. When he spoke, I could barely hear him his voice was so low. "I told you about our relationship."
"Dawn tried to arrange a meeting between us but I said no.”
His body went rigid. "She what?"
“Then, she sent me the video. And because Maureen had said some things when she called that scared me, I…"
"What did Maureen say?"
I inhaled. This was it. Now it was all out. "She said you were barely under control. That you had a lot of anger bottled up inside. That I should think of that before I went to Africa with you."
"And you thought watching a video of me with Sunita would help clarify how dangerous I am?"
"I'm sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want to upset you. I couldn’t believe Maureen said those things. I was going to tell you, but you weren't feeling well from the shots and then you were sick…"
I could hear his angry breathing. "That's three things, Katherine. Three things you kept from me." Then, he lay his hand over my ass as if he was preparing to strike.
"I don't want this," I said, knowing that it was futile.
"But you want me to be your Master, Katherine, deep down. I've been a bad Master, not controlling you well enough, or this would never have happened. I won't let that happen again. So you see," he said, his voice soft, controlled. "This is really my fault for letting my control slip. Now, I have to punish you even though I'd rather make love to you. I have to take your anger, so that our relationship's re-established. We'll both feel better when it's over."
"Cut the psychobabble and do it," I said, angry that he was so in control.
"It's not psychobabble and you know it. Remember your safe word."
"I won't use it."
"Tell me what your safe word is."
I shook my head. I wasn’t going to play this game tonight. Yes, I was wrong not to tell him right away about Kurt, and Sunita and Maureen. I didn’t tell him because I was afraid… Afraid of his jealousy. Afraid of his anger – he had gotten into a fight with Chris. Afraid of his being hurt when he was so good to Liam.
Now, he was trying to go all Dom on me to somehow make everything better.
"It's red, Katherine."