Taking Courage (5 page)

He
couldn't have gotten any further away.

“Do
I need to apologize again?” She slowly turned around to face him and pressed
her body into the door. A part of her wished the door would swallow her whole.

He
stopped walking and looked out the window. She took a moment to look around his
office. It was a mirror image of her office, except for the old boxing gloves
on his bookcase.

“No.
Maybe I should do the apologizing this time.” He crossed his arms over his
sizable chest. She waited for him to continue. “I'm not going to bother you
with my history.”

“History
can be important stuff. It would help me to understand what's going on here.”

“I'm
sure you'd like that.” He continued looking out the window, probably looking at
the ravine that had given her comfort earlier.

“I'm
not sure you know what I'd like.”

He
turned to look at her, smiling. “Is that so?” The corners of his kissable lips
turned up.

She
wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him it would all be okay. Something
or someone must have done a number on him. Lying could be his trigger. She
needed to find a way to make it up to him.

“How
can we get past this?” They were in the office, but their troubles had started
in the club. How would they handle this sort of thing there? “You could punish
me.”

“You're
asking for a spanking?” His cock clearly liked the idea. Her line of sight
pulled to the obvious bulge in his pants.

“If
that's what you think I deserve, Sir.” She held her breath waiting for his
answer. The line of appropriateness had clearly been crossed, but she needed
this. She wanted this from him. Her palms turned cold and clammy as her heart
pounded, waiting for his judgment.

He
sauntered back to her, his darkening eyes trained on hers. He grazed her hip as
he reached past her to lock the door. “Remove the skirt and panties.”

“Here?
Now?”

“It’s
sink
or swim time,
darlin
’.”
He sat in one of his guest chairs and patted his lap. “I'm waiting.”

Even
with the heat seeping across her sex, she hesitated. Risk bombarded her from
every direction. The thought of refusing him felt wrong, but so did stripping
behind a locked door on her first day. One thing she knew for sure. Her new
life in Chicago would go to ruin if she couldn’t get Simon to forgive her.

No more thinking.
The Dom has given you an order.

His
dark gaze roamed over her body. She slipped off her skirt and panties, leaving
them on the floor as she walked to him and laid herself across his lap. Her
hands steadied herself on the floor. Would it hurt? His fingers took hold of
her butt, massaging deep. She let go.

“Why
are you being punished today?”

“Because I wasn't honest.
I neglected to
tell you it was my first scene.”

“Well
done, omission is lying. Will you lie to a Dom again?”

His
choice of words didn't escape her notice. Just because he was punishing her
didn't mean he would ever scene with her again. “No, Sir.”

“You
will count and thank me for each. Hesitate and I will start from the beginning.
Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Remind
me of your safe word.” He squeezed her right butt cheek.

“Lasagna,
Sir.”

“That's
right.”

Throughout
their chat he had rubbed her bum, and she felt warm all over. The first slap
forced her from the comfort zone.

“One, thank you, Sir.”
Heat radiated
across her right side. “Two, thank you, Sir.”
And now her
left.
“Three, thank you, Sir.”

“You
please me, pet.”

His
approval draped over her like a warm blanket. His fingers traveled over her
skin and swiped across her pussy.

“You're
soaking wet ... interesting.”

His
fingers continued to move over her folds. Her muscles strained to remain still.
The next several slaps were harder to take than the first set, but soon his
fingers were back over her folds. Her orgasm raced to the surface.

“That's
enough.” His hand disappeared from her sex. “Up you go. Get dressed now.”

“But—”

“What,
do you want more, or do you expect pleasure with your punishment?”

“Only if I've earned it, Sir.”
She reached for
her clothes.

“I
think you know the answer.” The anger in his eyes had only cooled. “Out of my
office now, and make sure you're ready for the meeting.”

“Yes, Sir.”
She finished
putting her clothes on and righted her skirt before walking to her office
completely defeated. The sting of rejection dug in deep. Keller had hinted at a
history. Maybe a submissive had done a number on Simon. To make it worse, she
wanted him now more than ever.

In
time, she hoped to win him over.
So far, he only knew her as
a new submissive who'd lied to him once.
This job would give her the
opportunity to show Simon she was an honest, hard-working person. A person he'd
want to dominate. Maybe Keller was right. By Friday everything could be
different.

She
lowered herself into her chair, enjoying the sting on her backside. She dug
into the documents with renewed purpose. Janna shone in product roll-outs. A
thread of confidence wove around her, and her shoulders relaxed. Page after
page, she added to her notes and made a list of questions and possible time
constraints. She might alienate him before she brought him around, but she
refused to pull her punches. He deserved a clean project, and she deserved a
second chance.

It
was time to give them both what they wanted.

****

Simon
made his way to the conference room expecting to hear Janna had left the
building. Maybe he was being a little hard on her, but she had brought it on
herself. Submissives could not be allowed to lie to their Dom.

Slapping
her ass had been an unexpected thrill. It would have been better with her
completely naked, but he wasn't her Dom. He deserved nothing but the honor of
watching her bottom turn a bright shade of red.

It
wasn't the first time he'd been with a sub that wasn't his. Of course, during
those scenes he'd believed Kelly was his. Surprise had struck deep the night
her husband showed up looking for her. It didn't matter that it had been
several months since Kelly's deceit changed everything. He no longer cared for
Kelly, but the deception had left a mark.

Janna's
lie was smaller in comparison, but it was still a lie. If she could lie about
the small things, it wouldn't be a stretch to assume she was capable of lying
about the bigger stuff. He had to forgive her now that she'd paid the price
with her punishment, but he'd be sure to keep his distance from her.

An
ache rolled over his knuckles, and he flexed his fingers. He needed to head to
the gym tonight and let off some steam. A round of left, left, left, right on
his favorite bag should bring him back to center.

He
stepped into the conference room filled with his team.

“Thanks
for joining us, Simon. Take your seat please. We have a lot to cover.”

The
room quieted, and all eyes turned on him. Janna had control of the room.
Interesting
.
It
would take a lot more to impress him though. He was betting if she could
pretend her way into a club, she could also pretend her way into getting a job.
Keller could usually tell the players from the real deal, but that only meant
Simon would need to keep his eyes on her and yell fool at the first sign of
trouble.

The
last seat open was on the exact opposite end of the table from Janna. She
watched him like a hawk. She clearly didn't need another minute to prepare. A
foreign sensation washed over him. He no longer held the reins of his team.

Over
the next hour, Janna took them through a scoping process he'd never seen
before. She identified and classified the stakeholders, led a team discussion
on the project needs, and guided them through making a communication plan.
Everyone at the table knew their role, including Simon. Specific assignments
were laid out, and she'd called another meeting for tomorrow morning with the whole
team. For the first time, he thought they might have a chance for scope
approval.

He
was impressed to say the least. He shook himself to remember the girl and the
trouble she’d brought to the club that first night.

The
room cleared out quickly when she called the meeting to an end. There were no
lingering questions. No one had a need to stay behind, except Simon. The door
closed, and they were alone. Janna plugged away at something on her laptop. He
wanted her attention. His legs got impatient, and he shoved his chair back.

He
arrived at her side of the table in time to stand toe to toe with her when she
rose.

“Do
you need something, Simon?”

“You're
good at this.” She deserved the compliment, regardless of her prior bad act. He
couldn't decide what to make of her. She had done well here, and he'd admit
she'd done well in their scene. If only she hadn't shown her ability to
deceive. She wasn't right for him, but she was a natural submissive. He could
at least advise her how to move forward.

“Thanks.”
She looked shocked.

“Do
you still need a Dom for Friday night?”

“Yes,
I do.” Her eyes widened a tad.

“Ask
Keller for Charlie's number.”

She
sat back down at her laptop, an edge of irritation clear in the way she abused
the keys. He was being nice. There was no reason for her to be hostile.

“Charlie's
the
Domme
at the club responsible for the trainees.”

Her
fingers stilled, but she didn't look at him. “I have Charlie's number, but
thank you. Don't you still train subs?”

“I
do sometimes.” Surprise warred with his opinion of her all over again. He had
called her out on her deceit. She had to know by now he wouldn't let her get
away with it again.

“Would
you...” She remained still. Her fingers hovered over the laptop.

“Would
I what? Consider training you?” He knew he should say no.

She
peeked at him from under her eyelashes with the question dangling on her lips.

“If
you want me to train you, you are going to have to ask.” He waited for a bit. When
she didn't speak, he walked to the door.
Smart girl
.
She’d probably thought better of asking him. She
was better off with someone Charlie could find for her. He shoved off the ache
the thought gave him.

“Would
you train me, Sir?”

He
turned to examine her. Every time he thought he had her pegged, she surprised
him. Who was this woman? Could he train her? Could he really get past what she
did? Her actions were nothing like Kelly's, and he shouldn’t punish her for
someone else's crime.

Her
eyebrows squished together, and her shoulders were all stiff. They'd need to
work on her nerves first.

“Stand
up.” In a couple easy strides he was close enough to take hold of her nape and
tilt her head back. “I’ll train you, but the first sign of a lie and that’s
it.”

“I
understand, Sir.”

“You
will need to be at the club on Fridays while you're training.” He tightened his
grip.

“I'll
definitely be there. Do I have to wait until then?” For a new sub, she wasn't
having a problem keeping eye contact.

“You
don't want to wait?”

“No,
Sir. I've waited long enough to understand, and the anticipation is killing
me.”

“Okay
then. We can get started tonight. We'll start small and see how it goes. I
don't want to interrupt your work day, but there are things you can do to
prepare yourself for our scenes on Fridays. Also, it's important for you to
understand quite a few of our fellow employees are members of the club, but
rest assured I will not be discussing your training with them at breaks. Your
training is not their business.”

“I
trust you, Sir.” Her eyes drank him in, feeding his desire to dominate her.

“You
do?”

“Yes, Sir.
I also respect
you for holding me accountable for my misstep.”

“Thank
you. Well, this is a good place to begin.” He let her go, took a couple steps
back, and folded his arms across his chest. “I have a few ground rules. Are you
ready?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“First, no more panties.”

“At the club?”

“Anywhere.
Since you don't
want to wait, while you are my trainee, I want you as aware of your body as
possible. Your panties are an unnecessary barrier.” Holding the attention of a
willing submissive was like a drug to Simon. Her gaze told of her
concentration, but it was her sweet musk filling the air that would do him in.
“Take care of your things here, then remove those panties, and get your ass to
my office. You have five minutes.”