Subterfudge (3 page)

Plunging her scalded finger into her mouth, she tried to think.

Oh, double crap! She had forgotten to buy oven mitts again today.
Ugh! I am so stupid. Where are the towels I used last night? Think, think, think.

She ran around until she found them.

With the towels wrapped around her hands, she reached in and grabbed the pan of scorched brownies then set them down. The hot pan sizzled and hissed at her as it hit the sink’s wet surface.

“Damn!” Tears of frustration rolled down her cheeks.

She grabbed some air freshener out of the pantry.
Spppptttt! Sppppptttt! Spppppttttt!
The smell of cinnamon apple over burnt chocolate left an odd bouquet in her wake. Setting down the aerosol can, Ashley wiped her eyes. She quickly snatched her coat and purse off the couch, and headed out of the door.

* * * *

An hour later, Ashley fumbled with the key to her mailbox in the basement of the apartment building. She balanced a box from the bakery with one hand as she attempted to retrieve her mail with the other.

“Hey, girl! What are you up to?” The voice belonged to her eternally effervescent neighbour, Lance.

“Not much. Just picking up my mail…” She tucked a stack of envelopes and catalogues under her left arm, clutching the newly purchased baked goods in her right.

“What’s in the box?” Lance pointed to it, eyebrows raised.

“Oh, brownies. Roger wants me to learn to cook, and today I burnt some brownies. So I bought these…hoping he won’t know the difference.” She shrugged.

“Is
that
what I smelt earlier?”

She nodded grimly.

“How did you do that?”

A sense of gloom crept into her bones. “I don’t know. I guess I forgot about them.”

“Don’t you have a timer?”

“Yeah, I do. Guess I didn’t hear it or something. I got busy in the other room and the next thing I knew I smelt something awful.”

Lance shook his head. “You poor thing. Maybe you should try something in a slow cooker. Those things are almost fool proof.”

“That’s a good idea, thanks.” She smiled at him.

“You’re welcome. And let me know if you need help. I know my way around the kitchen.”

Lance was an apprentice chef at one of the city’s most touted restaurants. Ashley made a mental note to remember that Lance might be a good resource for her. She waved to him as she walked up the stairs.

Back in the apartment, Ashley arranged the store-bought brownies on a plate and covered them with plastic wrap to keep them fresh. She broke down the telltale bakery box and hid it at the bottom of the kitchen trashcan.

Exhausted, she put on her nightgown and crawled into bed. After reading only a few pages of the latest bestseller, she fell asleep.

“Mmm.” Hands on her. A warm body clutched hers, moulding itself to her, rousing Ashley from her slumber.

Opening her eyes, she realised it was still dark.
It must be night time.

As consciousness flooded back, she became aware of Roger’s hard body pressed up against hers.
Nice.

She scooched her ass backwards into him, feeling his erection lodged up next to her.

“I’m sorry to wake you, baby. But you were just too tempting.” His lips touched her neck, nibbling, kissing the spot she loved the most.

“Are you kidding?” she murmured. “You can wake me up like this anytime.”

He reached his arm around her body and hiked up her nightgown. Searching between her legs he found her wet little cunt and inserted his fingers deep inside her aching hole.

“Mmm. You’re ready for me.”

“Always.”

He pressed his thumb into her clit and fucked her with his fingers. He caressed her sweet, swollen bud with his thumb. She groaned, arching her pelvis towards his hand, meeting him stroke for stroke.

“Sir! You have the most amazing hands.”

He chuckled softly.

She held her breath and focused on her orgasm. Her muscles clamped down around his fingers and she shuddered all over. When he loved on her, everything was right with the world.

“Are you ready for a good fucking now?” He growled.

She nodded, then realised he couldn’t see her in the dark. Plus, a sub needed to answer her Master properly. “Yes, Sir. I would like a good fucking, please.” Sometimes passion made her forget the rules.

Lying on her belly, she inched her nightgown up all the way above her breasts and lifted her ass in the air. An invitation.

“Oh my,” he gasped. “You are a tempting little sub, aren’t you?”

She giggled. “All for you, Sir.”

He entered her slowly, and it was her turn to gasp. Anticipation made her heart race and his teasing aroused her all the more. She wanted him to hurry and fill her.

Roger held her hips in his hands as he crushed into her. She rose up onto her elbows so that her nipples scraped the bed sheets with every thrust. Each trip, more pleasurable than the last, brought her closer to that highest peak. She clutched the sheets tightly.

Loud cracking sounds echoed through the room as Roger slapped her bottom. The first strike surprised her. Ashley tensed her muscles, bracing for more spanks. As the blows became more rhythmic, she relaxed and let the pain wash over her.

He grabbed her hair up into a ponytail and pulled her head back. Wielding her locks as reins, he rode her as though he were breaking a wild mare. Aflame with a torrid lust, her body exhilarated at being the instrument of Roger’s pleasure. When the slick thrusts of his hard cock pounded against her cervix, her heart thumped in unison, sending her mind into orbit. Giving up control and letting Roger enjoy her body and use it how he saw fit sent tight spasms of orgasm through her. Her cunt twitched as she came again, dripping her juices all over his cock.

Drops of sweat fell on her back. His breathing changed and she heard a catch in his throat when he stilled inside her. They both collapsed onto the bed. Ashley snuggled up under his arm and shifted her body against his.

“I love you,” she said, catching her breath.

He sighed. “I love you, too. And by the way, those brownies were delicious.”

“Oh? Thanks.” She smiled to herself in the dark and hugged him close. A pang of guilt nudged at her gut, but she willed it away.
Score one for the subbie.
With that thought, she drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Four

With her laptop opened to Pinterest, enticing images screamed,
Pin me, pin me
from the screen. Ashley shook her head and tried not to get distracted from her mission. While sipping her coffee, a steamy picture of a hot couple caught her eye—a man with a chiselled physique bent over a doe-eyed beauty, his hand was wrapped in her long tresses, he was grabbing her and…
Oh my!
Ashley clicked ‘like’ so she could show the image to Roger later. She loved giving him ideas about what turned her on.

No more of that.
She heaved a sigh.
I can’t get sidetracked. Must focus.

She typed the word ‘crockpot’ into the Pinterest search engine and pressed ‘Enter’. Her reward was an endless page of recipes for slow cookers. All with images of scrumptious-looking meals.

After looking up half a dozen recipes, she decided on a pizza casserole.
Roger and I love pizza, and this looks easy
. The instructions said she basically had to throw a bunch of things into the crockpot and turn it on. Lance was right. This was the way to go.

In the late morning, Ashley ran some errands. She visited the dry cleaners to pick up Roger’s suits and the local superstore where she bought all the ingredients she needed for her dish, as well as the invaluable crockpot.

Back at home, she pulled up the recipe on the computer then dumped the ingredients into the slow cooker. Pursing her lips together, she vowed,
No way I’m burning this.
Hands on her hips, she stared down the new appliance.
Ashley set her phone to sound an alarm when the food was done, and took it with her into the bedroom.

Engrossed in her design work, she didn’t hear Roger come in. All of a sudden, his warm hands were on her shoulders, massaging them gently. He bowed his head and whispered in her ear, “It smells like an Italian restaurant in here, my love. What are you making?” He left behind a trail of kisses on her neck before he stood and loosened his tie.

“Pizza casserole.” She glowed. His compliments made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

“You made the meal, how about I serve us? Ready to eat? I’m starved.”

His helpfulness was endearing.
I’m so lucky to have him.

“Sure, that would be nice.” Looking at the app on her phone, she said, “The timer says it’s done.”

Ashley joined Roger at the kitchen table. He poured them both a glass of merlot and heaped their plates with the contents from the slow cooker.

“Ashley, I appreciate the effort you’re making.” He smiled at her.

Ashley returned his smile as she lifted a forkful into her mouth. Hmm. Still hot and the flavour was delightful, full of tomato, basil and garlic. She chewed and swallowed. Pride filled her head with grand visions of her preparing delectable dishes, friends and relatives fawning all over her…

Her thoughts were interrupted by Roger sputtering. His face screwed up and his jaw made crunching noises.

Oh dear.
She hadn’t accidentally poisoned him with her cooking, had she?

Roger’s eyes grew large. He reached for his glass and took a big gulp of his wine.

“What is it? Are you okay?” Ashley asked, alarmed.

He cleared his throat before taking another swig of his drink. Once he’d regained his composure, he said, “The noodles. Try the noodles.”

After that display she was afraid to. “Why? What’s wrong with them?” She eyed him suspiciously.

“Just try them.”

Knowing it was always better to do what her Master asked, Ashley tentatively took a small bite of mostly noodles. They crunched between her teeth.

Uh-oh. That is
not
good.

After she had finished her bite, she glanced nervously at him. “They’re crunchy.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not sure how that happened…I read the instructions. I did it all just like they said…I don’t get it…”

Roger picked through his plate and continued eating. “It’s good if you don’t eat the noodles.”

Mortified, Ashley took another bite.

They ate in silence for the next five minutes.

“Some of the noodles are cooked, you just have to find them,” she offered feebly.

“I appreciate the effort, dear, but”—his eyes twinkled—“you may need to be punished for this little blunder.”

Ashley’s eyes widened. “A punishment? Not again!” Whenever he talked about reprimands, a part of her felt like a little girl again. Her gut churned and she furrowed her brow, worry filling her head. Her temperature rose, her fists balled in defiance. Another part of her, the grown-up woman inside her, became excited, and her nipples pebbled with arousal. The combination of emotions was heady, intoxicating.

Roger eyed her as an eagle spies his prey before swooping in for the attack. “You’ll see when the time comes.”

“Yes, Sir.” Her stomach did a flip. That was the end of her appetite. “Think I’ll do the dishes.” She drained her wine glass and got up from the table. She took her plate into the kitchen and dumped her latest glop of failure down the garbage disposal.

She felt him before she heard him. Their bodies were so in tune with one another, she could sense him. He wrapped her up in his big, strong arms and held her close.

“Sir, I feel badly about dinner…” she began.

“Shhh!” He put a finger over her mouth. “Come over here.” He walked her over to the refrigerator.

“Take off your clothes” he growled.

That mixture of fear and arousal raged through her body, but she removed every stitch of clothing as he’d asked.

“That’s it. Now spread your legs for me.”

Butterflies flitted in her stomach. A shiver ran down her spine.

Roger pinned her up against the refrigerator. He lifted her hands above her head and held her wrists together.

“Hmm, do I bind you or blindfold you?” He drummed his fingers on the side of the icebox indecisively.

She fidgeted.

“Hold still,” he commanded.

“Yes, Sir.”

The silky caress of his tie tightened over her wrists as he bound them together above her head.

He nibbled her ear, his lips moist, his breath scorching her tender flesh.

Pulling her hips backwards, he ordered her, “Stick your ass out.”

Ashley did her best to obey. His hands grazed her curves as he worked his way from her shoulder to the curve of her hip with his lips. He knelt behind her.

“C’mon. Back that pussy up onto me, baby. I want to see you grind that ass up onto my face.”

A combination of shock and pleasure swirled through her. She tilted her pelvis back and felt the delight of his kisses between her ass cheeks. The heat from his mouth was a luxurious change from her cold limbs resting against the fridge.

“Are you clean, baby?”

He meant her ass. Had she cleaned herself for him… “Yes, Sir.” She had used an enema an hour or so before he came home. Roger had recently developed a penchant for ass play, and she tried to be prepared for it most of the time—just in case.

“Such a good girl. Don’t move a muscle, stay right here.”

She heard him rummaging around in the kitchen drawers behind her.
Oh Lord, what is he going to do?

“Ah, this is what I was looking for.”

Curious what it was, Ashley turned her head to see. He held a wooden spoon.

“Ah, ah, ah. I said not to move, didn’t I?” His voice was stern.

Ashley hung her head. “Yes, Sir.”

“I’m going to have to paddle you.” He slapped the spoon against the palm of his hand.

“Oh dear,” she murmured.

A gentle tap to her naked buttocks. The spoon, smooth against her skin, made a muffled thwacking noise.

Another tap. This one harder, more jarring.

The third time was more of a swat than a tap. Her cheek smarted from the blow. She gritted her teeth.

“Now we’re getting warmed up. Darling, how many smacks do you think you’ve earned tonight?”