The Art of Domination (5 page)

“
Don’t
raise your voice to me, Isabel,” Dylan snaps.

Damn
. I know he hates that.  But he still hasn’t addressed what I said.
Oh, to hell with this.

“Where . Are. My. Keys?” I ask in a much softer
manner but still very indignant.

“
Oh, fuck me. Look, I’m sorry that I called you that
okay?
” he says in a sarcastic stop-being-a-big-fucking-baby tone and rolls his eyes at me.

Who is this man?
This is NOT the Dylan I know and love. 

“Fine. I’ll call a cab.” I dig my phone out and start dialing when Dylan reaches over and grabs my phone from my hand and slams on the kitchen counter.

“Enough! Spanking bench,
now,”
he half yells at me.

I am so not in the mood for this. I can feel my temperature starting to rise and it’s obvious tha
t Dylan is seriously irate, too. I haven’t been spanked in at least a month. Well, not discipline spanked anyways.
Why am I the one being disciplined right now anyway?

I stomp my foot and cross
my arms. No. I will not be punished when I didn’t do anything wrong. 

Dylan’s
attitude and look immediately soften and he lets out a sigh and starts to chuckle while he rubs the back of his neck and looks down at the floor. 

“Look,
I
really
don’t want to fight with you. I just can’t…. I can’t…” he trails off and doesn’t finish his sentence.  “If you don’t want me to call you that, I won’t,” he says with furrowed eyebrows, but he there’s something in the way he says it that makes me suspect there’s more to what’s going on than he’s admitting to.

Then he looks at me and looks down at the ring and has this look of… what? Regret?
Oh my God
. That’s what this is about. His mood totally changed after he asked me to marry him.  He doesn’t really want to marry me. Why the hell did he ask then? I’ve never led him to believe that’s what I wanted.

“Do you want it back?” I ask him.

“What?”

I hold
my hand out to him. “The ring. Do you want it back?”

Dylan looks
offended. “What the fuck, Isa.”

“Do you?”

“No.”

“Are you sure? I won’t hold it against you if you d
o.” Of course, I would, but I won’t tell him that.

Dylan sighs and shakes his head. “Why would you ask that?”

“Because of the way you’re acting. Ever since you gave it to me you’ve been moody and then the slut thing… and… you just act as though you regret giving it to me.”

He walks over to me and hugs me tight
ly. “Do you love me, Isabel?” he asks holding my face. The look on his face is cheerless and gloomy.

“
You know I love you.”

“Would you
love me no matter what? Would you do anything for me?
Anything?
”

Where’s he g
oing with this?
“Yes, of course,” I assure, because I really would do anything for him and love him no matter what.

“Then say yes. Say you’ll marry me right now. Tonight.”

What the hell? Is he serious?  All I can muster out is, “Dylan…where?”

“Vegas. We can fly out tonight before the weather gets bad. Let’s do it, baby. Say yes.”

Holy panic mode.
Right now? I feel light-headed and as though I’m going to faint. Why is he being so persistent with this?  Things have been so good between us. I mean, yes, we’ve had our problems, but every new relationship does. Getting used to his possessiveness and domineering way has taken some getting used to as well, but getting married?

“I need some air, Dylan,
” I tell him and he looks irritated as I head out for the balcony.  When I get outside the cold winter air shocks my system back to reality.  He really wants to marry me. I love him so much, so what’s my hesitation? He’s always given me everything I ever wanted, and not just material things, but love, acceptance and security. He’s helped me to learn to like myself. Even if I struggle daily with my self-esteem, he always reassures me that I’m beautiful, smart and talented. I deserve him. I know I do. Of course I will marry him. I would be crazy not to. So, yes, I will marry him. Right now.
Tonight
.

I head back inside
with new purpose, but Dylan is no longer in the kitchen. I find him in his study sitting at his desk looking over paperwork again.  He looks up at me and seems less enthusiastic as before. I start to tell him that I will marry him, but he cuts me off before I have a chance to say yes.

“Never
mind, Isa. It was silly and romantic of me to think that we should get married so soon, so forget I asked,” he says casually.

What the stink
? Okay then. I guess I blew that. I suddenly feel like crying so I leave the office and head back to find my keys. I don’t know what’s gotten into Dylan today, but I need to leave. After a few minutes of trying to find my keys I give up and call a cab. Then I quietly grab my coat and bag and sneak out. I know Dylan will be pissed that I left, but at this point, I don’t care.

When I get into the lobby, security l
ooks surprised to see me. They see the cab pull up and the man is hesitant to let me leave. I guess Dylan must’ve had ‘the talk’ with him about me utilizing public transportation and cabs. He attempts to call Dylan, but I put a stop to it. I don’t need him ratting me out.

Finally back at my place, I crank up the heat and make a cup of hot cocoa. My place is so neglected
. The snow has started falling and it’s coming down heavily. Yes, Dylan is going to be seriously pissed.  I might as well prepare for my spanking now.

What the fuck was I thinking? I love Isa, but
marriage
? The look on her face when I said let’s do it tonight was a cold shock to my ego.  Hell, if she would’ve said yes, I would’ve done it, too. Once Isabel finds out everything about me she’ll be gone, so I guess it’s a good thing she didn’t say yes.  She looked so hurt when I dismissed her. I wonder what it was she was coming to tell me?

I go
to the safe and break out my long hidden away files. In them are the many contracts from my past submissives. I should’ve gotten rid of these a long time ago but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’m not sure exactly why; nostalgia, I guess. Among the files is Erika’s contract. I walk over and close the office door to ensure some privacy and start perusing the file. A disc falls out onto the desk when I pull out the contract.
Shit
. I forgot about the videos. How could I have forgotten about that? I’m tempted to watch the disc. No. Isabel could walk in and then what? I’ll watch it at work.
Fucking hell
. Why am I even thinking about this? I should just destroy it. 

I set it aside and
start going over the contract and Erika’s hard limits. She really was a bottomless bottom.  The one and only thing she objected to was sucking cock. It’s hard to believe she would refuse to do such a simple thing yet she would let me fist her ass or be gang banged by half a dozen men of my choosing. I never did understand that woman.  Things were so much simpler with Erika. I knew I could do anything I wanted to her and there was never an argument about it.

Isa, well, she’s complex. Just like calling her a slut. I had no idea she would react the way she did. It’s slightly irritating that I can’t just throw caution to the wind with her and let my true Dominant
sadistic nature out. Is that someone I really want to marry? Someone who doesn’t know the real me? Have I only been kidding myself that I can keep going on and pretending like what Isa and I have been doing will keep me satisfied? I love when she’s in control, but even at that, she doesn’t take full control. I would love more than anything to see Isabel in 100% Domme mode and not be afraid to embrace it. And vice versa; I would love to be in 100% Dom mode with Isa and not be afraid if she could handle it or not.

She’s being awfully quiet out there. Maybe she’s painting again. I gla
nce out the window and I see snow coming down in massive quantity. So much for ordering out. I put away my secret stash of Erika memorabilia and head out of the office.
It’s way too quiet out there.

When I don’t find Isa in her studio or in the living room, I begin to feel panic
ked. Sure enough, her coat and bag are gone, but her keys are right where I hid them.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I call down to security and I’m told that she caught a cab an hour ago.
An hour ago?
Have I been in the office that long? God damn it. That woman is… is… so fucking stubborn. Erika was never that stubborn. She always followed the rules and never disobeyed me.

What the fuck is wrong with me?
Erika?
Seriously, Young? No, she never disobeyed me until the day she fucked me over and tried to blackmail me.  Aggravated with myself for even comparing Erika and Isa, I walk over the balcony to get a look at the weather outside.
Shit
. There’s no way in hell I’m letting Isa stay in that hell hole tonight alone. I guess I’ll be venturing out in this crappy weather. I’m too pissed off to call her so I just leave straight away.

The roads are slick and haven’t been scooped of t
he snow yet and it makes for a treacherous drive over. When I arrive in her neighborhood I start to get annoyed again. Damn Isa for not giving up this shitty ass apartment. I hate her being here. She’s better than this.

I park the car and dig out my key to her place. I climb the stairs by two and try and calm my irritation.
She’s definitely getting her ass paddled for this.
I knock on the door and wait. There’s no answer but instead I hear her voice asking who it is.
Good girl.
At least she remembered what I taught her about opening the door in this place. Then I unlock the door and she looks stunned when I push the door open. 

“Why did you
knock when you have the key?” she asks.

“I was just testing you,
” I tell her and she narrows her eyes at me.

“I’m not a child
who needs to be tested, Dylan” she replies tetchily.

“No? You acted like a child by coming here when I told you not to.”

Isa rolls her eyes at me. “I can’t believe you drove in this weather, Dylan.  You could’ve been in an accident.”

“Yes, I could have, a
nd it would be entirely your fault for making me come here.”

“You didn’t have to come here. As a matter of fact, I would’ve preferred that you didn
’t,” she says petulantly.

“I really don’t give a shit what you prefer, sweetheart. You knew damned well I didn’t want you coming here tonight and you did it anyways. Now we’re going to be stuck here tonight and probably most of tomorrow. Nice going, Isa. You know what this means, right?” I ask her as I sit on her bed.

She looks confused and looks me up and down. “It means you’re getting your ass spanked. Now get those pants off, bare your ass to me and get over here.” 

I motion for her to get over my knee and she suddenly looks contrite, but she doesn’t argue. She knows the drill. She slowly takes off her pants and panties and walks over to me and leans down over my knee like a good girl.

“I just want you to know that I love you,” she whispers.

“I love you,
too. That’s why I’m doing this,” I tell her.

And it’s true. Some people need discipline in their lives and
Isa and I are two of those people.  I start with her right check and start firm but not hard, striking her ass at the crease of her thigh and cheek. She moans and whimpers with each slap and buries her face in the bed. After ten slaps, I move to the left cheek. Her ass as turned a marvelous shade of red.  When I’m done spanking her, I slip my hand in between her thighs and feel the evidence of her arousal.

I rub her ass gently and lean down and kiss both cheeks.

“You were a very good girl, Isa, and you took your punishment beautifully,” I tell her and help her on to the bed. Her eyes are glossy but she’s not crying. “Why do you insist on defying me?” I ask.

She doesn’t answer right away as if she’s thinking about
my question. “Because it’s who I am; a defiant girl,” she says in all honesty and I can’t argue with her.

I know this. I know she’s defiant by nature.  It’s what attracted me to her.  God I love her and all
of her defiance. There is no comparison between Erika and Isa and I should be damned to hell for even thinking there was.

I pull
the blankets up over her and kiss and hug her. She needs to be held after punishment and it’s part of what makes me love her so much; her need to be loved by me. I run my hands through her hair and coo in her ear about how beautiful she is and she purrs into my neck.  It’s only a few minutes before she falls asleep.