Page 19 of Married to My Master

Things had been simpler back then, he realized. You only had the decisions right in front of you to make. There was us, and there was them. And there were the mission objectives. Everything else in between didn't matter.

Here, back in civilian life, the way forward was unclear—foggy at best. If you wanted to find happiness, it sometimes seemed you had to do things that didn't make sense even to yourself.

He poured the fruit smoothie, with added protein, into two glasses and drank one down in big, starving gulps, not realizing how hungry he'd been up until then. He grabbed a bendy straw from the packet he'd bought and stuck it in the other glass. With another granola bar stuffed in his back pocket, he went back into Emily's master bedroom and closet.

Emily sat in the closet, her face almost serene. When he got closer to her, though, she seemed to sense his presence and nervously tried to back her body away.

Dane reached out, stroked her hair soothingly until she began to relax again. He didn't remove the headphones or the blindfold, but just brought the smoothie's straw to her mouth, brushing it across her lips.

She latched onto it and greedily began to suck it down. She stopped momentarily and made a face, pulling back with her brow scrunched down as she shook her head. “Brain freeze!” she yelled.

Dane smiled a little, gave her a moment, then returned the smoothie when she nodded for more.

When she was finished with that, he pressed the granola bar to her lips. She bit off tiny bites. When she was done with each bite, she'd open her mouth a little, silently asking for more.

After finishing the food, she shouted that she needed to use the restroom. Dane cut her free, but left on the headphones and makeshift blindfold. He scooped her up, carried her into the bathroom, and set her on the toilet. She went to take off her headphones and blindfold herself, but Dane grabbed her hands and firmly pulled them away.

“Please,” she begged, as he carried her back, “Dane. Stop this.”

He just taped her back up in the timeout chair and closed the door on Emily. When it started to get late, he made a sleeping pad on the floor next to the closet and stretched out for the night. As he lay there, he returned to his memories of Benton and what his brother had gone through—what BioSphere had been responsible for.

He kept himself on edge that way, reminding himself of why he was here and why he was having to do this. Dane and Benton were both supposed to have had normal lives, not these mockeries that had been thrust on them by uncaring corporations. This was the company’s fault, not his. He needed to remember that.

The feedings and bathroom breaks continued throughout the next day. That night, he decided she'd had enough and finally released her.

He cut her loose and gently removed the headphones and the blindfold. She blinked as she looked around, the light clearly hurting her eyes.

“Do you have an apology for me?” he asked, as he helped her up from the chair.

She didn't respond as he led her out the closet.

“I asked,” he began again, as he turned back to her, his voice becoming sterner and more emphatic, “for an apology.”

She still remained quiet, her lips pressed into a hard, unyielding line.

Clearly, she hadn't learned her lesson about the rules. “Fine,” he said, pulling off his belt as he dragged her to the bed and threw her on it. He loomed over her, the belt looped in his hand, as she recoiled across the bed.

“Fuck you, Dane,” she said, her eyes on the belt in his hand. “Fuck you.”

Blood boiled in his veins as he reached out and grabbed hold of her, pulling her back across the bed. “This is the second time you've broken the rules I laid down. Now it's time for the punishment I promised. Maybe then, you'll understand how serious I am.”

# # #

Emily

Emily struggled against Dane’s grip, trying to get away from the leather belt, but he was too strong. His hands were like vices, and it was impossible for her to break free. She tried to pull away, crying out, but he just yanked her harder across his lap, belt still in hand.

Alarm bells flashed in her mind, even louder than before. He was about to whip her with the belt! She struggled to get off his knees, but he held her in place with one strong arm across her lower back, pinning her down. She kicked her legs, but couldn't be effective from her position.

“This is going to hurt me worse than it hurts you,” Dane chided, as he pinned her down with his elbow. “You're making me do this, Emily.”

Emily thrashed, trying to get away, but he had her securely in place. She lifted her head up, arching her back, and trying to get out from under his control.

Dane looped the belt around her exposed neck, pulling her further backwards.

She cried out as the leather tightened across her neck, arching her even further and making her muscles scream in protest. Then she cried out as felt the first of many slaps.

He slapped her bare ass with the flat of his hand, quickly striking her firm bottom.

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