Page 28 of Fallen Petal

Chapter 14

J

My curiosity gets the better of me. Again.

I keep telling her that there is no bargaining with me. Yet here I am, turning to her when she calls after me, keen on hearing what she has to offer instead of adhering to my own protocol.

She’s still on her knees, her hands on her thighs, palms up, everything in her posture displaying the submissive she was born to be—except for the look on her face. The taste of a smirk is playing at the corner of her mouth and her eyes are slightly narrowed, fixating me with a flicker that almost appears condescending, despite her lowered position in front of me.

She has me, and she knows it. A strong urge to put her in her place overcomes me, ideas of restraining or hurting her whirling inside my head, bouncing against my skull with insistence. An insistence that’s not strong enough to overpower my curiosity.

I like her this way. I like to be challenged by her as much as I like to challenge her. It feels like she’s finally woken up for real, finally able to grab on to that vigor I’ve always admired about her.

“You want to earn it?” I ask, approaching her until she’s forced to tilt her head back, exposing her naked throat before me.

“Yes,” she says. “Just tell me what to do.”

“How about you make me an offer?”

A frown flares up on her face. “An offer?”

“Yes. Don’t be lazy, Petal. You’re the one posing a demand—why not back it up with a proposition?”

“How can I serve you if I don’t know what you expect from me?” she wants to know. “You only ever asked for one thing: Obedience. I can’t obey if there’s no command to bow under.”

I chuckle. She’s as pretty as she’s smart, I always knew that about her.

“Get up.”

She jumps up on her feet in an instant, adding a verbal response that I can’t hear often enough. “Yes, Master.”

Anticipation is lacing her pretty face. But if she thought I’d make this easy for her by simply adding another demand and thus taking back the responsibility I just handed to her, she’s wrong.

“I’ll give you some time to think about it,” I tell her, placing my finger below her chin as I lean in closer. “I’m giving you this, Petal. Don’t ever think you’re the one in control here.”

Her green eyes flicker with determination and a visible urge to object me. But she refrains from giving voice to whatever it is that’s going through her head right now, opting for compliance instead.

“Yes, Master.”

Her voice is strong, not trembling one bit, and she reciprocates my piercing look seemingly effortlessly. I didn’t think I’d see this side of her so soon. And it’s so fucking pleasing to see her shine like this without the burden of a past that held her back almost her entire life.

“Is that all you came here for?” she asks, her head slanting to the side. “To check up on me? Or is there more?”

“Do you want there to be more?”

She blushes. “Well, I mean, there usually is...”

A smile tugs at my lips while my hand moves to the back of her neck, forcing her closer to my face, so close that my hot breath dance across her impeccable skin when I speak. “You want to play, Petal? Do you want to feel your master inside you?”

She bites her lower lip, clearing her throat before she responds. “You know what I want. I want answers, but you’re not giving me any.”

“I told you my name, didn’t I?”

“Yes, and then you forbade me to ever use it.”

Her expression softens before she continues. “But I’ll tell you a secret. I have been a bad girl. I have whispered your name in your absence, again and again. And you know why?”

I shouldn’t follow her reign. I shouldn’t let her lead me on a merry chase like this. But I can’t help it.

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