Page 45 of Slave

“What did you do while I was gone?”

And so I cataloged my day for him. He listened intently. When I’d pause, he’d prompt me to continue. These talks of ours were getting easier, but it was still strange to me. Master seemed to want to know my answers, but I didn’t know why it would matter to him. This crossed my mind every night, and I’d decided that again it didn’t matter. I would give him whatever he wanted from me.

After I was finished, he said, “Lily told me she called you. She also told me you seemed afraid to talk to her.”

I clamped my lips together. Was he angry that I hadn’t talked to her, or that she could tell I was afraid to?

His next words answered my question. “Brianna, I’m not upset with you,” he said, rubbing his right hand up and down my arm. “But I want you to know that you can talk to Lily about anything you wish. I promise that I will not be upset.” Master paused. It was obvious that he was expecting an answer from me.

“Yes, Master.”

A hand came up to cup my cheek as he lifted my eyes to his. “I’m not like Ian. I hope you know that by now, Brianna.”

I did know that. He was so completely different from my former Master. There were times in the last two-and-a-half weeks that I’d actually been happy. That had never happened in the ten months I was with Ian.

Before I could answer him though, the home phone rang. He patted my leg, indicating he wanted me to get up from his lap. I slid off and onto the floor, kneeling.

He rose from the chair and went to answer the phone. I could hear from the conversation that our pizza had arrived. When he hung up the phone again, he approached me.

Without instructing me to stand, he raised my chin so that I was looking up at him. “Set the table. I’ll be back in a few minutes, and we will eat. Then we shall watch the movie you’ve selected.” His fingers brushed my face as he released me, and then he was gone.

Knowing he wouldn’t be gone long, I set plates, napkins, glasses, and a pitcher of water on the table. Master rarely drank anything other than water except for the juice or milk he sometimes had for breakfast.

Once everything was in place, I knelt beside the table to wait for him. It took a little longer than I’d thought it would, but eventually he came back through the door, and I could smell the pizza.

I was hungry; my lunch had been hours ago. His heavy steps came toward me along with the delicious scent of cheese and grease. I heard him set the box down on the table, and then he said, “Join me.”

Tonight’s dinner was not much different than the others we’d had at this table. We ate mostly in silence, concentrating on our meal. He finished first, as usual, and watched me finish.

Afterward, he instructed me to clean up and then join him in the living room. It didn’t take long, and soon I was once again sitting in Master’s lap, and we were watching the movie.

Stephan

When Lily told me about her conversation with Brianna, I knew I needed to give her permission to speak freely, or she never would. We were making progress, little by little. She rarely hesitated anymore when we were at home and seemed happy when I walked through the door each night. It gave me hope.

Our evening sessions in my chair were making her open up. I hadn’t mentioned her time with Ian at all since she’d been with me, but I’d felt that I needed to tonight. The time would come soon for me to begin pushing her again, and she needed to know going into it that I would not act or react as he had.

I knew the trust I had gained from her thus far was fragile, but it was something. Something to build on, something I could use.

She sat on my lap with my arms surrounding her while we watched Transformers. It wasn’t really my type of movie, but the CGI was pretty good. I’d noticed that both times I had asked her to select something for us to watch, her choices had not been what I’d expected. Brianna’s choice of literature made me think she was a romantic, and yet she’d steered clear of the romantic comedies I had in my collection. I would have to explore that later.

It wasn’t that I was a big fan of those movies personally, but I did have guests and subs occasionally in my home. I needed to have a variety to meet various needs and tastes.

When the movie was over, I wasn’t ready to let her go. Her head was resting back against my shoulder, and she felt so right here with me. I’d always felt a sense of possession with the submissives I’d collared, but this wasn’t possessiveness exactly. That was there too, but it wasn’t just that.

I couldn’t explain it, so I pushed it aside. What I needed now was focus. “What did you think of the movie?” I asked her, turning her in my lap to face me once again.

She scrunched up her nose as if considering her answer. “There was a lot of action,” she finally answered.

“Do you like action movies?”

“Yes,” she said hesitantly.

“But?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered. I was just about to prompt her again a little sterner when she added. “I thought there’d be more story.”

I smiled. “I agree. I tend to like my movies with more depth of plot and less over-the-top graphics.” The corners of her mouth turned up.

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