Embracing Her Power
Lea reached a hand out. “Please, Brie. Don’t go.”
Mary chuckled under her breath as she sat down. Yes, bitch, you win, Brie growled silently.
She looked at Lea sadly and shook her head, unable to speak. She didn’t want to go, but her stubbornness and pride refused to back down. She didn’t even look at the trainers as she walked away. Her shoes made the same lonely clicking sounds Teri’s had the night before.
“Brie…”
Sir’s warm voice filled her senses, and she closed her eyes. His call was filled with gentle longing. Sir didn’t want her to go. She stopped halfway to the exit and turned around.
Ms. Clark barked, “We did not give you permission to leave. Are you quitting the program, Miss Bennett?”
Brie looked her in the eye and said nothing. She looked over at Sir and thought she saw the muscle in his jaw twitch, but his face remained stoic. She looked at Master Coen next and noticed he had a self-satisfied air about him. When she looked at Marquis Gray, she felt a shiver of desire and fear. There was no doubt he wanted her, but he was at her mercy. She had the power to deny him—to deny them all.
What do I want?
She stood there and no one said a word, patiently waiting for her answer. Brie searched her heart. Yes, she wanted Sir more than any other man she’d ever known. However, if she was honest with herself, she wanted the training even more. With or without Sir, she was a submissive, and this was her opportunity to delve into all the possibilities that world afforded.
“I am not quitting the program,” she announced.
“Then join your trainer on the stage,” Ms. Clark said curtly, as if nothing had happened.
Both Marquis Gray and Brie walked up to the stage together. She involuntarily shivered when he put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Brie automatically glanced up and her blood froze.
“Miss Bennett!” Ms. Clark snapped.
She quickly looked down. The abyss of desire reflected in Marquis’ eyes frightened her. She had to will herself not to run.
The bed from the last scene was gone. In its place was a small silver chest. “Undress for me, pearl.” Brie thought it odd that he would give her such a pretty name, rather than ‘slave’ or ‘pet’. She swept the thought aside and stripped gracefully for him. She was going to give them a show—all of them. She wanted everyone to know they hadn’t broken her. No, in this moment she would be the most powerful sub on the planet.
“Turn and close your eyes,” Marquis Gray commanded as he produced a ribbon of black lace. “I find lace far more attractive than traditional blindfolds.”
A shiver went down her spine as he gently but securely tied the lace over her eyes. She could just imagine how sexy it looked.
He moved away from her, but soon returned, placing more ribbon in her hand. “It’s black, like your blindfold. Feel it. I want you to envision what it looks like.” She fingered the long, narrow length of ribbon. It was silky smooth, incredibly soft. “This will act as your bonds.”
He replaced the silk with a handful of lace. “It’s a deep burgundy. Touch it, pet.” Brie played with the lace in her hands, noting the roughness of it. “This will be caressing your body in a few minutes.”
The last thing he placed in her hand was something leather. She could smell it even before he handed it to her. She felt it with her fingers, instantly identifying it as a glove. She wondered at its significance.
Marquis Gray took it from her and left her side again. When he returned, she heard him chuckling under his breath. Brie held out her hand, but he lifted her other hand and placed the item in both. She was worried when she felt something heavy that also smelled of leather. She caressed it with her fingers and a cold chill gripped her heart. One end was a hard handle, and the other had numerous leather tendrils. A flogger.
He leaned in close to her ear, his warm breath on her neck. “I am an expert at what I do. By the time I finish, you will be begging me for more.” She felt her loins contract in fear and excitement. She remembered how contented Lea had looked after spending time with Marquis. Maybe it would be enjoyable for her, too.
“Are you ready, pearl?”
“Yes, Marquis Gray.”
“No… I think for today’s session I would prefer that you call me Master.”
She remembered when she’d slipped up and called him Master in class. It had been embarrassing then, but now the name held power. She was almost afraid to call him by it. “Yes…” She paused, then added, “Master.”
“Good.” He took the flogger, and she heard him move the small chest beside her. She heard the thuds as he dropped the items back into it. “Put your hands behind your head.”
Brie crossed her hands behind her neck and he quickly bound her wrists together. She felt the ends of the long, silk ribbon tease the small of her back. Then she heard him slide something across the floor. “Kneel.” She slowly knelt down and felt the give of a mat beneath her. She held her back straight, her feet tucked under her ass.
“Do you realize how beautiful you are right now?” he murmured. “Black lace covering your eyes, the black silk cascading down your back from your wrists and those delectable nipples hard with anticipation for what is yet to come…”
He leaned in even closer and said, in a barely audible whisper, “Clark and Coen wanted to dismiss you after they learned of Thane’s breach of protocol last night.” Marquis Gray had given her a gift by confirming Sir’s first name, but the joy of that was tempered by the knowledge that all of the trainers knew the nature of her intimate encounter with Sir. He continued, “But Gallant and I don’t believe such obvious talent should suffer for Thane’s little indiscretion.” He moved to her other ear. “Prove those two wrong, my little pearl. Show them that you are more than Thane’s plaything.”
He stood up and said in a commanding voice, for everyone to hear, “Lean forward more.”
Brie did as she was told and held her breath while she waited for the sting of the flogger. Instead, Marquis Gray’s touch was light as he rubbed the lace against her skin. The roughness of it felt like a gentle scratch, and Brie relaxed. He rubbed her upper back just under the shoulder blades on both sides of her spine. When there was a pleasant warmness to the area, he began gently slapping her skin with the flat of his palm. It reminded her of a doctor tapping the vein just before the poke of a needle.
She sighed nervously. Her body was starting to tingle in anticipation of her first real flogging, but this wasn’t punishment. It was somehow sensual—a completely different animal.
She heard him rifle through the chest. “We are warming up, pearl. To make this a pleasurable experience, I need to get your endorphins flowing.” With that, she heard and felt the stinging slap of the leather glove. She gasped out of surprise, although it didn’t exactly hurt. “What is your color?” he asked.
Brie realized he was asking how she was doing and answered immediately, “Green.”
“Fine.” He brushed her hair to the side so he had free access to her back. His touch suddenly had a different feel. Her body was attuned to it, hungry for it.
He addressed the other girls when he spoke. “Never let an amateur practice flogging on you. It can be a harmful activity if a novice attempts it. Understand that there are only certain areas on the human body that can be flogged without causing damage. Choose an experienced Dom or have your Dominant study and practice on inanimate objects before he or she ever lays a hand on you. Am I making myself perfectly clear?”
The girls must have nodded because Marquis Gray turned his attention back to Brie, tracing a circle on her back before slapping the area with the glove. The tingling in her body increased as he continued to strike her with the glove with a constant, rhythmic pattern. It gave her body the chance to anticipate each hit, making the little electrical shockwaves of each contact more enjoyable.
“Color, pearl?” he said in a low, lustful tone.
“Green.”
“Are you ready for more?”
Her heart quickened. “Yes, Master.”
His baritone laugh caused her juices to flow. “Ah, I like hearing that word come out of your mouth.” She heard him discard the glove and assumed he was picking up the flogger. In her mind, it was a jet black one with fifty tails. She could just imagine how she looked, her hands still at her neck bound by the black silk, her eyes covered in lace, her chest panting rapidly, the skin on her back red from the leather. Then there was Marquis Gray, poised behind her, ready to lash her with the menacing-looking flogger. What were the other girls thinking? How did it make Sir feel?
Brie cleared her mind and readied herself for the first hit. She had thought she was ready, but she was not. The multiple tails hit the right side of her back with a loud thud, and she yelped.
“Color?” he asked.
“Yellow.”
“Perfect.” Her Dom stroked her hair with his free hand, causing a river of tender sensations. “Your endorphins are starting to flow now. Do you feel it?”
She nodded, hoping he would continue stroking her hair, but he pulled back and announced, “I am going to flog you on the other side now. Give in to the sensation. Embrace it.” She heard the movement in the air before she felt the impact. A loud thud echoed in her head. This time, she whimpered softly. Although his swing had been a little harder, it left her feeling warm.
“Color?”
“Yellowish green.”
He chuckled. “I think you are properly warmed up, pearl.”
He moved away from her and then the sound of Mozart suddenly filled the auditorium. He placed something in front of her and said, “Lean against it. You’ll need the support when you enter subspace.” She leaned her chest against what must have been a stool.
He stood behind her and said soothingly, “Enjoy the ride.”
She took a deep breath, feeling almost lightheaded. There was no fear, only excitement for what was about to happen. The rain of blows began in steady rhythm with the music. Each thud of contact sent waves of electricity through her body. The sensation started at the point of contact, but grew as it flowed through her. It reminded her of a drop of rain landing in still water. Tears of pleasure squeezed themselves through the blindfold as she let the music and sensations carry her.
Brie was disappointed when he stopped. He lightly brushed the curve of her neck with his fingers. She moaned softly at the intimate contact. Then he took the silk hanging from her wrists and teased her skin with the ends of it. She purred as the cool silk trailed over her warm back. Her whole body focused on the erotic feel of it.
“Color?” he growled lustfully. It was obvious from the tone of his voice that he found his role sexually exciting.
“Green, Master. Oh, so very green.”
“More then?”
“Please…”
She readjusted herself against the stool, biting her lower lip as she waited. The music had changed to a slower melody, and Marquis Gray adjusted his lashes accordingly. They were coming harder now, bringing with them jolts of electrical sensation. A tingling started in her toes, then slowly rose through her body until it seemed to burst from her head. She moaned in spiritual ecstasy. It was intense, like an orgasm.
She was barely aware when he stopped and tried talking to her. Brie had to concentrate to make out his words. “Nod if you are still green.”
With great effort, she nodded slightly.
“Good, pearl. I think that is enough for your first time.”
Brie slowly shook her head.
“You are going to have to trust me that you’ve had enough.”
“Please, Master,” she managed to whisper.
He chuckled lustfully. “Begging for it, are we?”