Page 355 of Ashes of Sin and Stardust

She growled into the pillow. “I am fully aware. Please make it worth it.”

I gave her a nice squirt of lube, and then pushed an anal hook into her asshole. I watched her pink ring stretch and open, and then swallow the ball as I worked it in.

Alice’s cry of pleasure and pain made my gut clench. Once the hook was seated, I gathered her hair into a ponytail, braided a silk rope into it, and connected it to the hook.

A crop in one hand, a flogger in the other, I made her sing, and blush, and dance.

Chapter 74

Sir was right; it didtake time to emotionally let go of everything.

I expected it to be easy to turn off. After all, when I’d started my life over the other times, it had seemed easy. I could count on my detachment issues for one good thing: being able to shut everyone and everything off and just start fresh. But this time, it wasn’t working. My brain kept going back to the court case, the lawyers, the jury, the bullshit... and rehashing it.

Reuben was insistent that it was a good thing. “You’re processing your trauma instead of repressing it, phoenix. It’s going to take some time. Don’t short yourself out of the process, okay?”

We spent about a week in DC dealing with the aftermath of barely getting anything done for the past month. Then we visited Greenwood Valley for about a week, and then he drove me to the airport where we took a long flight up to the resort in Alaska.

We spent almost a month up there, and while we talked and rested and played, we also revisited our dynamic. We’d basically set it aside for the past few weeks during the trial, letting things slide and focusing only on surviving the emotional trauma of the situation.

“I want us to resume your training,” he said. “Your rules and the line between punishments and funishments went to hell. I think you’ll be happier with those clearly defined lines of what you can and can’t get away with, what is play, and what is rebellion.”

“Yeah, I know you’re right... but it was fun, right?” I grinned, hoping the cute factor would save me.

“You were adisaster.”

“That’s true. Okay, but I need better rewards. French fries and sugar aren’t enough to make me want to be good.”

“Fair. We can reevaluate rewards. I also want to resume orgasm control. We barely touched on that.”

“So by control you mean... I don’t get to come until you say so?”

“Yes,” he cocked his head, and added, “and you comewhenI say so.”

“You can’t just force me to come when you say so.”

He smirked.

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