Safeword: Matte - In Training (10 page)

“Sir?”

“It turns out we can work on stretching you
two ways at once. Isn’t that great?”

Sam closed her eyes and monotoned, “Yes,
Sir. It’s wonderful.”

He laughed. “You don’t sound thrilled about
it, Samantha darling.”

He slowed and she tensed, waiting to feel
the tip go farther than comfortable, and wasn’t disappointed as she
felt it snake far into her colon and bump into something deep
inside. She grunted and jerked, and he twisted and pushed a little
more before fastening the harness around her and locking it into
place.

He patted her on the ass. “Anything you want
to watch?”

“Isn’t the one with fast cars and lots of
explosions available for streaming now?”

He reached for the remote as he said, “I
think so.”

Sam ended up lying on her side with her head
in Ethan’s lap. Her ass spasmed around the stretching ring a few
times, as it was the first she’d had to deal with dual stretching
sensations. She was thankful she was so tired, and that the movie
took her mind off it. Mostly.

Ethan set his smartphone for two hours, and
she was asleep within moments of being relieved of the ring and
dildo.

The rest of the weekend was taken up with
surprisingly normal activities, should one overlook the fact Sam
was naked with large things in her ass the majority of the
time.

They stayed at his place Saturday night, and
he made her a fantastic breakfast Sunday morning, and took her out
to eat at one of her favorite restaurants for dinner.

He made sure she could get the larger anal
ring in by herself Sunday evening before he left, admonishing her
to be sure she kept to her schedule during the week.

When he was gone she went downstairs and
worked out for three hours before stumbling up the steps and
falling into bed without showering.

Chapter Seven

Sam’s nine o’clock appointment stopped three
steps inside her door, her expression one of uncertainty and then
fear. The woman composed her face quickly and said, “I’m sorry, I
was here to see Sam McGinnis.”

“I’m Sam. I assume you’re Jenna
Masterson?”

The woman’s face returned to confused
uncertainty. “But, you’re a woman.”

“Yes.” Sam’s smile likely bordered on
unfriendly, but she tried to remain civil until she understood the
woman’s confusion. “Was there a reason you preferred a man, Ms.
Masterson?”

“Oh, please don’t think...” The woman took
another step forward and stopped, her face showing true distress.
“It’s not about how good you are; you come well recommended, it’s
just…” She wrung her hands, opened her mouth, closed it, and then
tried again. “My husband is less likely to hurt a man than a woman.
I don’t want to put anyone in front of his temper, especially not
someone he’s apt to strike.” She shifted her weight, her eyes
apologetic, and her voice that of someone who’s known true fear.
“There were no pictures of you, and I assumed Sam would be a man.
I’m sorry.”

Sam’s smile was friendlier as she said, “I
can assure you I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.
Several years ago I won the national title for Kung Fu, and I’m
still active in the martial arts community. If he lays a hand on me
I’ll be more than happy to show him why it’s a bad idea to assume
all women are easy prey.”

The woman took a few seconds to process
Sam’s words before her shoulders visibly relaxed. “I believe you.
Just, please be careful with him. I’d feel terrible if you were
hurt because of me.” She moved into the room and held her hand out.
“Please, call me Jenna.”

An hour and a half later, Sam scrutinized
the woman across from her and considered all possible options
carefully before saying, “You leaving him and going into hiding
isn’t a problem, legally; but keeping the children from him can be.
Are you specifically afraid for your own safety, or are you also
afraid for the safety of your children? I need to be clear on this
point.”

“He’s never struck our daughter hard enough
to put marks on her, but he’s knocked our son around enough I worry
for him, and would be terrified of either of my children around him
without me to intercede when he’s angry. He’ll be furious with me
for leaving and won’t be in control of his temper, so yeah, I’m
worried for their safety, too.”

“Your medical records and the pictures
you’ve taken of yourself with black eyes and other assorted bruises
will go far towards proving he’s a danger to you.” Sam sighed as
she reached her own decision, suspecting this case would be
especially challenging. “I’ll help you find a safe place to go with
the kids, and I’ll support your efforts in court to keep him away
from the children as long as I’m convinced he’s a danger to them.
If you’ve researched me then you know I prefer parents work out a
joint arrangement as long as both parents are capable of working
together.”

“Yes ma’am, but it also appears that when
one parent is an asshole you’ll go to bat for the other to have
sole custody.”

Sam nodded and waved at the paperwork before
the other woman. “You have the means to pay my fees?”

“Yes. I’ve been saving extra grocery money
and spending money for years in a box under the floorboards of my
closet. I have enough saved to pay your fees and support us until I
can find a job. I hope to receive child support from him
eventually, but if we have to run and hide, I’m prepared.”

Sam made arrangements with a local women and
children’s shelter for them to arrive the following Monday, when
Mr. Masterson would be out of town on business. She talked the
woman through how to rent a storage facility so her husband
couldn’t track it, and talked to her about obtaining a burner
phone. She also made the necessary notes so she could have the
husband served with papers at his hotel Monday afternoon once his
wife and kids were safely out of the house, and before he could
file a complaint she’d kidnapped the children.

The rest of her afternoon was taken up with
preparing the papers to file with the courthouse first thing Monday
morning, and helping Mrs. Masterson rent a generic truck and hire
movers — pointing out she didn’t want the neighbors telling him
which moving company had moved her out of the home and possibly
finding out where her things had been taken.

“It’s imperative you don’t take anything of
his with you. Take clothing, belongings, and furniture of the
children — that’s not a problem. However, you should only take your
own clothing and jewelry, only the personal effects he’ll look
silly trying to claim as his, and any furniture you came into the
marriage with. You can request the court split the other assets
later, but you don’t want to take it with you. We want the court
sympathetic to you. Try to look at each piece you take as a judge
will. If in doubt, leave it.”

She was exhausted when she left work, but
she kept seeing the pictures and x-rays in her mind as she drove to
the dojo. Twisting fractures in the woman’s wrist, and Sam had seen
the woman favoring it heavily even though it’d been almost a year
since he’d last broken it. The pictures had been of black eyes
through many different hairstyles, and belt marks across various
parts of the woman’s body, also through enough hairstyles Sam could
see it’d gone on for years.

Why would someone stay in an abusive
relationship for so long? And could Sam be sure it wasn’t
consensual? Yeah, she was pretty sure she could, but she could take
pictures of her own body after some of her extreme sessions with
Ethan, and over the course of many years build a case against him,
too. It would be her word against his, and who could possibly
believe she’d consented to some of the things he did to her? Sam
knew the difference from a damaging strike versus a merely painful
one, but would most attorneys and judges see the distinction?

She was in a foul mood when she made it to
the dojo, and she didn’t even look at the class as she walked to
the dressing rooms. She hung her suit and quickly donned her
workout clothes, and the class was doing katas when she joined
them. She made her way to the back and followed the pattern.

The consistent slow movements through steps
and positions usually calmed her, but she couldn’t find her center.
When the katas were finally over she was relieved when Tom motioned
her to the front of the room to spar with him before he assigned
everyone else a partner. She couldn’t even look Ethan in the eyes
as she walked to Tom.

“Rough day?” Tom asked.

“It’s that obvious?”

“Yes. I’d like you to step outside the dojo
and take a few breaths. Dump it in a corner, hang it on a hook...I
don’t care how you leave it out there, but I want you centered when
you come back. I won’t pull my punches, so if you aren’t centered
enough to avoid them you’re going to hurt. Take whatever time you
need; I’ll make a round and coach everyone else, so take at least
five minutes. If you come back before I’ve completed the round then
I’d like you to do handstand pushups without the help of the wall
until I return.”

Sam was smart enough to know this was his
way of telling her he didn’t want her rushing back. It was also a
reprimand for not having better control. Tom’s dojo wasn’t a place
for relieving your frustrations; he expected the participants of
this class to have better self-control than to walk in leaking
anger all over the place.

She stepped into the empty lobby and took a
seat before closing her eyes and finding her center. She lost all
concept of time, and had no idea how many minutes had elapsed when
she opened her eyes feeling like a new person. A glance at the
clock told her it’d been almost ten minutes, but she knew Tom
wouldn’t mind.

She stepped into the dojo and took her
place, pressing into a handstand, finding her balance, bending her
arms until her nose almost touched the floor, and pressing back up.
She’d managed a half dozen of them when she heard Tom’s voice.

“Well done, grasshopper.”

* * * *

Sam took her time in the shower when the
session was over, allowing the scalding water to cascade over the
bumps and bruises Tom had given her. He hadn’t been joking about
not pulling his punches, and they’d gone at it hard enough towards
the end that the rest of the class had stopped to watch.

She’d felt Ethan’s stare, knew he wanted to
step in and save her, and she would be forever grateful she’d found
a man to love her who knew when to back off and not play the
hero.

Francisco had tried to intercede at one
point, apparently of the opinion Tom was being too hard on her, but
she heard Ethan tell him to back off, and remind him if it got to
be too much Sam knew how to stop it.

Cassie’s voice came from outside the
curtained shower stall. “You okay in there?”

“Yeah, I’m good. I should probably go for
ice instead of heat, but the hot water feels heavenly.”

“Most of the guys have already left for the
restaurant; are you gonna eat with us?”

Sam turned the water off and reached for her
towel. “Not tonight, Cassie. I think I need to go home and veg out
for a while.”

“I don’t think Ethan’s going to willingly
give you any alone time tonight. He’s pacing like a caged lion out
there.”

“Shit.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t jump in and tear
Tom apart. You want to talk about it?”

Sam wrapped the towel around her torso and
opened the curtain. “Nothing to talk about. I had a shitty day and
brought it to the dojo. Tom called me on it and sent me outside to
get centered, and then gave me the fight I wanted once I’d pulled
myself together.” Sam shrugged. “You never know if he’ll help you
get it out or assign meditation when you’re upset, but tonight I
got what I wanted.”

“What’s got you so upset?”

Sam blew out a frustrated breath and pulled
jeans out of her bag. “I can’t talk about it. It’s a new client I
took on, and I want to ring her neck for getting herself into this
situation at the same time I want to step in and save her.”

Cassie raised her eyebrows. “Save her? Or
kick someone’s ass for doing something to her?” She raised her
hands. “Yeah yeah, you can’t say. Do you want a girls’ night out?
Or do you want Ethan tonight?”

“Honestly? I just want to go home and be
alone, but I probably owe it to Ethan to talk to him.”

Cassie nodded in agreement. “Okay, I’m gonna
meet the gang for dinner then. Call me if you need me?”

“I’ll be fine, but if I need an ear I’ll let
you know.”

Sam dressed and pulled her hair into a
ponytail before leaving the safety of the dressing room to face
Ethan. However, Tom flagged her down as soon as she stepped out,
and herded her into his office. He motioned her into one of his
office chairs as he took the chair behind his desk.

“When I next see you, I’d
like you to be prepared to talk to me about the difference in
anger, righteous indignation, revenge, and justice — prepare to
stay at least thirty minutes after class. I don’t care if you write
a report or give me your findings orally, but once you’ve given
your findings and opinions there
will
be discussion.”

“I’m sorry I came into your space leaking
anger.”

Tom nodded. “Thank you for that. You have
excellent control, and I think you need to get to the bottom of
whatever shook it today.”

Sam smiled. “Because how can I control it
until I understand it?”

Nodding again, Tom said, “I think you were
angry on behalf of someone else tonight, but my guess is there’s
something in the situation that strikes close to home for it to
have affected your control. I don’t need to know any details, just
be prepared to talk after Tuesday night’s class.”