nostrils flared, her body stiffening with uncertainty, and he could read her thoughts like a book spread open in his palms.
What’s he doing? Have I done the right thing? Is he going to hurt me?
The writing pad clapped down on the desk in front of her and he tossed a pen on top of it. When she blinked in surprise, mouth slightly agape, he damn near grinned before he remembered he was supposed to be coming across as authoritative and stern. This was a punishment, after all; just not the one she feared.
“Thirty minutes on the clock,” he told her, calculating the time before the club got into swing. He was praying Loki and Atticus had already arrived with what he’d asked them to bring, and that they were busy setting it up where he’d requested. Those two Masters could assemble an Ikea bookcase in ten minutes, so he wasn’t too concerned. “I want you to write If Master Braun gives me an order, I will obey it. Over and over again until your thirty minutes are up.”
“I’m doing lines?”
“As many as you can manage in the next half hour,” he confirmed. “There is to be no talking, no fidgeting, no bathroom breaks or stalling. Pen to paper, darlin’.”
“I thought...”
Braun waited patiently. Struggling to form whatever she wanted to say, she had the look of a small, lost child. For a woman who could switch from raging Amazon to hesitant female in seconds, she sure was cute as a damn button.
“I thought you’d hit me,” she mumbled.
“Punishment comes in many forms, Bodie. Spankings, floggings, canings, whippings. But sometimes the crime doesn’t fit the implement. A clever and creative Dominant will use all the resources in his possession to reprimand his submissive accordingly.” He flicked his fingers toward the pad and pen. “Until you open yourself to the possibility you’re submissive, I can’t chastise you as one, Bodie. So, no spankings.”
She picked up the pen, tapped it agitatedly on the pad.
“When you’re ready, you can begin.” Braun’s lips twitched as she continued to look conflicted. But he stood by his decision—until Boadicea explored herself and her desires, until she made the choice to open herself to new things, he wouldn’t lay a hand on her.
Well, not in chastisement, anyhow.
He’d be lucky to wrestle his control into any kind of order if she stayed working at the club for any length of time. That lush mouth of hers called to him, teasing him to taste those lips and see just how fucking sweet they were.
The pen scratched over paper.
Braun noted the time then turned his attention to his computer. Thirty minutes gave him enough time to go through the liquor order for Monday’s delivery, and if Bodie followed his terms of punishment, she wouldn’t make a peep until he called time.
For ten minutes there was only the clack of the keyboard keys and the occasional trill of his phone. Nothing urgent, but he was pleased when Atticus messaged to confirm his and Loki’s mission was complete. There was only Connie left to arrive and his plans for the evening would be ready to go.
The first sign of her itching to test his rules was the soft huffs and long sighs. Technically not violating his no talking rule but close enough he slid his eyes toward her.
She wrote quickly, neatly, but her eyes kept flicking toward him as though willing him to take the initiative and speak before she did. Her huffs grew louder, more frequent, when he ignored her and resumed his work.
He finished the liquor order, then switched to his emails and responded to a few inquiries about membership, then opened the private folder he kept hidden on his computer. His secret folder for the idea he’d had in mind for a while but kept mulling over.
Expanding Avalon was always at the forefront of his mind. Membership was better than good—the club had a good ratio of Doms to submissives, experienced members and novices. Braun strived for quality over quantity, and aside from the odd fuckwit like Jacob sneaking in despite all the precautions Braun took, he felt he’d succeeded in making Club Avalon become a home to many in the kink community. A safe place, where everyone who genuinely held a love of the lifestyle was welcome.
Financially, he was running in the black. Even after taking a wage for himself and paying Liam a hefty whack for his part in making Avalon what it was, even after the fucking extortionate