Finding Submission (Service & Submission Book 1) (10 page)

She stole a quick peek up at him, then dropped her gaze to the floor again. “Uhm, I was supposed to vacuum and dust the downstairs, then clean the bedroom upstairs.”

“And…?”

Preston raised an eyebrow at her. He knew she remembered; she was probably hoping he would forget and let it slide.

“Uh — I was supposed to change the bed and dust.”

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. She knew she was leaving instructions off. It was time to reinforce who was in charge here.

“Avery. I’m not going to pull the answers out of you. You were told what you were supposed to do. Part of becoming a responsible adult, is admitting when you’re wrong and being forthright when asked questions. I’ll ask it again. What were you supposed to do in that room upstairs, and what were the rest of your chores for today?” He squeezed her hand harder and she winced, the message not lost on her apparently, as she quickly blurted her sins.

“I was supposed to clean the room, dust, vacuum, change the linens, and move any furniture out of the room that wasn’t needed!” Her chin quivered slightly. “I was supposed to cook dinner, too.”

He forced himself to stay stern, fighting the overpowering urge to hold her in his lap, the power of it something he’d never experienced before. “And did you do all of those chores?”

“I did… a lot of them. I really did. Did you see the room upstairs? I even washed the windows — which you didn’t ask me to do.” Her eyes brightened and she smiled down at him, very proud of herself. “It looks really nice.”

“No, I didn’t go upstairs. But I didn’t need to. You see, I have video cameras strategically placed throughout the house. So I was able to watch your escapades today from work.”

Avery’s reaction was priceless. She stared and blinked, then stared some more. She opened her mouth to speak twice, then closed it each time, as if losing her nerve.

Preston smirked. “Well, my dear, it seems like the cat has the mouse just where he wants her. Feeling cornered, little mouse?”

He chuckled out loud and got up. Avery quickly backed up a step, putting space between them. He, of course, wasn’t going to allow anything of the kind, and stayed close to her, putting a hand possessively on her hip.

“I think it’s time for the mouse to answer to the cat. I’d like you to take everything off from the waist down, please.”

“No!”

Her eyebrows furrowed, the blue eyes darkening.

“No? I didn’t phrase it as a question. That was an order, Miss Avery. Clothes off.
Now
. You don’t want to test me on this. You openly defied me. And again, as a mature adult, it’s time to admit that you deserve the consequences you’ve chosen.” He dipped his chin as he looked at her, letting a gentle note of admonishment sneak into his voice. “You did choose to misbehave, right? “

“Well… yes, I guess.”

“You
guess
? I didn’t see an intruder. Was there an intruder here? Someone who forced you to ignore your chore list for the day? Someone who threatened you with bodily harm? Someone besides me, that is.” He let his lips curve into a knowing smile. He knew he had Avery Rose right where he wanted her.

“No. No one forced me — and you know that if you were watching from those damn cameras.” Her voice incrementally rose with each word until she was almost shouting.

Preston wove the fingers of his left hand into her auburn locks and tightened them into a fist, pulling her by the hair hard enough to make Avery hiss from between clenched teeth.

“You’ll watch your tone when speaking to me, Avery Rose. You’ll speak to me with the respect I deserve and demand of you, is that clear?”

“Wait a minute—“ She cried out as he yanked on her hair again.

“Do you think you can keep your mouth shut, Miss Avery? Or do you need a harsher lesson on your bare bottom?”

“N-no. I’ll be quiet. Nobody forced me. I didn’t do my chores and I’m sorry. I won’t do it again, I promise.”

Her eyes were glassy with tears of regret. He was pretty sure they weren’t tears of remorse — yet. But they would be soon.

“Good girl,” he crooned as he released her hair, petting the side of her face, pushing strands of hair off her cheek. “I’m sure you’re sorry
now
that you didn’t do your chores. But there are consequences for irresponsible behavior, some of which are long lasting. Yours, however, will be short but very painful.” He paused, letting his words sink in, not taking his eyes off of hers. “Now, I want you to take everything off from the waist down, then march that cute little butt of yours to the den. I want to find you sitting on the cold, hard wood of your waiting bench in the corner. And while you’re sitting on your bench, you’ll think about how you’ll do things differently tomorrow.”

She didn’t move. She did, however, blush, her breathing rapid, the pulse in her neck visibly quickening.

“Avery, sweetie.” He put his hand under her chin, gently raising her head to look into her eyes. “You really don’t want to push this, do you? Be a good girl and pull your pants and panties down so you can go sit on your bench in the den.”

She drew a shaky breath, hooking her thumbs into her shorts and muttering something under her breath. Well, she may have
thought
it was under her breath, but Preston heard it loud and clear. He stopped her, deciding he would make her repeat it.

“I’m sorry. What did you say? If you’re going to say something derogatory, say it loud enough to be heard — or keep it in your head. Repeat what you just said, please. Loudly. And look me in the eye as you say it.”

Preston adjusted his stance, putting both hands on his hips, waiting.

“Uhm, I said, ‘It’s not
my
waiting bench.’” She kept eye contact, but the subtle quiver of her lips betrayed her fear. “Then I said, ‘asshole.’”

As soon as she said it, she dropped her gaze, her fingers playing with the hem of her shirt.

“Mmmmmm. Let’s make this clear for you. If I want to call it
your
bench, that’s my prerogative. It’s a bench that I purchased, and it’s in my house. I’ll call it and use it any way I deem necessary. And I deem it very necessary to use that bench only for you, my dear. So, if you’re going to be the only person sitting your bare, little bottom on it, then it becomes, by virtue of use,
your
bench.” Preston put a finger under her chin, raising it. “Am I correct?”

“Yes.”

“Nuh-uh, that’s changing right now, too. ‘
Yes, Sir
’ is the response. Say it.”

“Yes, Sir.”

A faint, pretty blush rose on her chest and neck.

“And you won’t call me an
asshole
again. If you dare call me that again, you’ll be tasting soap with your dinner. Is
that
clear?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Very nice. Good girl. Now pull your pants and panties down. Then walk that little bottom down the hall and sit on
your
bench, waiting for me. Do not decide to disobey me.”

Avery once again hooked her thumbs into her shorts, this time pushing them down and stepping out of them. Preston pointed at the floor when she hesitated at pulling her panties down. She quickly pulled them down and toed them to the side. When she turned to walk down the hall, Preston shot his hand out and swatted her bottom.

Jumping and grabbing her bottom, she turned with a spark of fire in her eyes, but swallowed her retort.

“Good girl. Hands off your bottom, no rubbing. Go sit on your bench. I’ll be in soon.”

Preston felt his cock jump at sight of the rising hand print on her bottom. She had a plump, curvy bottom that begged to be spanked. He was almost giddy at the thought of paddling her tonight. But it wasn’t because he wanted to cause her pain – though that was part of it, if he were honest with himself – rather it was a concrete way of exerting his control and dominance over her. To establish the rules and to maintain order in his house — and their relationship. There was a sense of pride and possessiveness, a feeling that made him want to roar like a lion. This was
his
woman and he was going to discipline her as he saw fit — whenever and wherever he saw fit. The feeling of dominance flowing through him was heady and he felt almost drunk with the power of it.

The trouble was, this wasn’t his woman… at least not yet.

* * *

Avery walked into the den and stared at the “waiting bench” in the corner. How did this become
her
bench? She learned to not argue about it anymore, but dammit, this would never be her bench! She looked over her shoulder to see if Preston was there and quickly rubbed her bottom. It was already sore and he’d only given her one swat.

Avery went over and sat on the bench. She hissed when her bottom met the wood. It was so damn cold against her hot bottom! She hated sitting in the corner. There was nothing to do, nothing to look at but the two walls. The good news was that she cleaned the dead spider out of the corner, so at least she wasn’t looking at his curled, dead little legs.

Preston had said she was to contemplate how she would behave differently tomorrow. Well, she already knew one thing: she would find the damn cameras and cover them all with duct tape. He probably wouldn’t see that as a solution… but it worked for her. Then she would do what was on the chore list and though it made her blush just to think of it, she was pretty sure that she would want to do even more after her punishment.

She felt an undeniable attraction to Preston. He was strong and didn’t tolerate her moods or manipulations – which was something entirely new to her. She usually could weasel her way out of trouble with her father; Preston seemed immune to her whining and was a total stickler to the rules. And all of this just confused her even more. She couldn’t understand how she was attracted to someone who was so stern and domineering. She usually went after men she could control. She liked being able to dictate what she would, and would not, do. It was odd to be in a situation where she was having to answer to someone else for every single thing, down to her attitude and even the language she chose. She wasn’t used to thinking carefully before speaking, or hiding her eye-rolling. And she most definitely wasn’t used to watching her language!

Avery adjusted her bottom on the hard wood. It wasn’t cold anymore, but the hardness of the wood made it difficult to sit still. She was shocked at level of her arousal just thinking about the frustrating, and fascinating Preston Harrison left her with; juices from her pussy now left a glistening spot on the bench’s wood. She shifted her body, those juices now slick against her bottom and thighs, making it even more difficult to sit still.

How long is he going to make me sit here?

The longer she sat, the more aroused she became, her sex throbbing and the scent of her arousal filling the air.

How can you possibly be aroused at a time like this?

She was moments away from a spanking, an adult spanking from a virtual stranger. And on top of that, her second spanking in twenty four hours. Avery had just about decided that she may call her father and tell him that she couldn’t do this anymore. She seriously thought about working at that soup kitchen downtown. She looked around the den — there were pretty things here. It was warm, clean (and would be cleaner soon with her hard work), and as long as she followed the rules, it was a safe environment. He was kind, funny and gentle. It was only when she misbehaved that he became difficult; he definitely expected to be obeyed, and had a proclivity for being in charge.

She almost screamed when Preston spoke just behind her. “Have you been thinking, Avery Rose?”

“Oh, my God! You scared me half to death!” Avery clutched her chest, closing her eyes briefly, trying to calm her heart. “Yes, Sir, I’ve been thinking.”

“Good. And what’ve you decided you’re doing differently tomorrow?”

Avery turned and started to stand up so she could at least see him when she talked to him.

“Nuh-uh. Who said you could stand up?” Preston put his hands on her shoulders, pressing her back onto the bench. “Sit. Down.”

“Why can’t I get up?” she whined.

“Because I haven’t said you can get up yet.” He tapped his finger on the top of her head. “Now, continue. What’ve you decided you’re doing tomorrow?”

“Well, I’m going to do everything that’s on your list. And I’ll make sure to cook dinner, and I won’t lie in the sun until everything’s done first.”

“Good girl. Now, I want the truth, because I’m learning you have a naughty side. What did you think of doing tomorrow that you weren’t going to share with me.”

She swore she could hear a smile in his voice.

“Well… I‘d decided I was going to put duct tape on the cameras if I could find them. But I’m not going to do that anymore. I promise.” Avery turned and looked at him so he could see she genuinely was telling the truth. “I promise. I won’t do it.”

“See that you don’t. I think after our talk though, you’ll be a very good girl tomorrow. C’mon, let’s start your spanking.” Preston put a hand on her upper arm, helping her to stand and walk around her waiting bench.

Preston pulled out an armless chair and placed it in the center of the den. Sitting down, he pulled her to stand between his legs. Avery tried covering her pussy, but he held her arms at her sides. “You won’t cover yourself in my presence. If I’ve asked you to bare your pussy and bottom, it’s my pleasure to see both, and you won’t hinder my view. Keep your arms at your sides, or clasp them behind your back.”