Page 29 of Violent Delights

Chapter 19

Joseph

I didn’t like that last question. Am I going to kill her? Why would she say something like that?

She looks tense and nervous, back to the frightened young girl, the one I tried to get rid of by making her come on my fingers.

“Does this scare you?” I ask her.

She nods. “Yes.”

Again, she forgets to address me properly. I’m about to lose my patience with her.

“Good,” I say. “It’s supposed to scare you, because this is where most of your training will take place.”

She looks up at me, her eyes now filled with bewilderment. “Training?”

“Your punishment,” I clarify. “Your training is ongoing, there’s no physical place for it. But this is where you’ll be punished.”

I pull on her leash, forcing her to come closer to me. She follows the motion, grimacing in pain as the collar cuts harshly into her throat. Her breathing speeds up when I lean forward, placing my mouth so close to her ear that her wet hair dances in the current of my breath.

“I’ll whip you, cane you, spank you, tie you up, and force you to come again and again,” I whisper, relishing the heat that radiates from her cheeks. “And you’ll love every second of it.”

She doesn’t have to agree or even say anything. It’s all clearly written on her face when I retreat back a couple of steps to look at her. Her mouth is partly opened, as if she’s about to speak, but no words escape her lips. She looks up at me, her cheeks burning red.

“What do I have to do?” she finally asks. “To get food?”

I raise my eyebrows, giving her a chance to correct herself.

And this time, she notices her mistake all on her own.

“Master,” she adds. “What does my Master want from me?”

I smile at her. “Good girl.”

It unnerves me that she’s flinching away from my touch when I lift my hand to caress her pink cheek.

Time. She needs time, more than any of the others needed. There’s no way for me to direct her behavior other than through the training methods laid out in the contract. I can’t tell her to tone it down, I can’t tell her to be more open to the task she signed up for, and I can’t tell her to be less afraid. Maybe she’s not even acting afraid, maybe it’s the real deal. Maybe she really is this afraid because she didn’t understand what she was really getting herself into.

“I want you to accept your first punishment,” I tell her. “For the many transgressions you’ve incurred so far.”

She bites her lower lip. “I thought the attic was my first punishment.”

I smile. Touché, little Ruby.

“Yes, you’re right,” I agree. “That was your first punishment. But there have been so many other breaches since I let you out of there, one punishment wouldn’t come close to making it right.”

She furrows her eyebrows, trying to recall the mistakes I’m talking about.

“You forgot to address me properly, many times, you’ve talked back, you haven’t answered simple questions, you’ve refused to follow commands,” I explain. “Shall I go on?”

Ruby shakes her head, rolling her eyes at me again, this time in clear sight.

“And that,” I say, pointing at her eyes. “Rolling your eyes at me is one of the worst offenses. If I was you, I’d cut that one out immediately.”

She presses her lips together and nods. “Yes, Master.”

“I’ll tell you what,” I add. “Since you’re new, I’ll be gentle. One punishment to even the score and set you back to zero. Does that sound fair?”

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