The Heartwood Box: A Fairy Tale (33 page)

He stood as he spoke, circling the room,
watching
her as if envisioning what his words described
.

“A crop is very visual, so I would leave your eyes uncovered
.
Then I could circle around you, using the crop to rub up and down your thighs, across your stomach
and breasts
, until you were even more aroused than you are right now, giving you occasional reminders of what I could do with the handle
.
I would ask you questions, and when I got a disrespectful or unsatisfactory answer, a slight flick against your breasts or your sex, or a harder strike against your back or thighs or buttocks, would ensure that you maintained a properly submissive attitude.”

Genevieve
shuddered
.
E
verything about Derek had changed
.
All signs of harshness and
ill temper
had melted away
.
H
is eyes seemed to glow with raw desire
.
Even his voice had changed, becoming rich and seductive, his movements fluid and cat-like
.

“Are you aroused by what I just described, Genevieve
?
Answer me truthfully.”

“Yes
,” s
he gasped
.

“Good girl
.
I can continue
—
you just need to ask.” 

She swallowed, her voice suddenly gone
.
“Please.”

“Please what?’

“Please continue,”
she said, mesmerized.

He smiled, running his fingers through her hair
.
S
he squeezed her eyes closed, wondering if one could die of lust
.

“One morning I would open
your
box and find something very special indeed, and before I’d even
unlocked the chains that bound you to
our bed, I would dangle it before you
.
It would not appear much, just a small ball with leather straps that buckled, but even before you knew what it was for, you would see in my eyes that I was going to demand the most complete submission from you yet
.

“
As soon as you’d eaten your breakfast, I would order you to kneel before me and hold open your mouth
.
I would place the ball in your mouth and then
buckle
the
strap tightly around your head, making it impossible for you to speak
.
And then, Genevieve, I would send you about your usual activities
.
You would walk in the garden alone, read in your sitting room with no one to see or stop you, and yet you wouldn’t touch
the gag
, because I had forbidden it
.

“At various times during the day you would hear a bell ring warning you to kneel down and keep your eyes lowered
.
Someone you couldn’t see would come and tie a blindfold over your eyes and bind your hands behind you
.
Only then would the gag be removed so that an unknown hand could give you water or food
.
You would not be al
lowed to say a single word then
or face three more days wearing the gag
.
When you’d had your water and food, the gag would be replaced, your hands released and the blindfold removed
.
Again you would keep your eyes strictly before you, knowing that you would never learn who was the one who had just fed you
.

“
Finally after an entire day wearing it, you would kneel before me in your nightdress, and I would remove it and put it back in your
heartwood
box
, safe for the next time I chose that you wear it
.
And every second of that day, every time you yearned to speak but couldn’t, you would remember that it was my will that you remain silent, and even though you would sob and curse me for putting you through this, the very act of submitting to it would drive you mad with d
esire.”

“You’re wrong…
.
” Genevieve swallowed
,
trying to find her voice, as if just his words could take it away
.
“I would never desire something like that
—
I would never do it.”

He looked at
her with something like wonder
.
“That’s the thing, Genevieve, you wouldn’t resist
—
you couldn’t
.
The pleasure of submitting would be too intense, too intoxicating
.
Y
ou wouldn’t fight it at all.”

Tears started falling liberally
.
She felt the lure of his words
.
She hated him for it, hated herself, but he spoke the truth
.
The idea of submitting to him like that caused a highly volatile mixture of helplessness, intense misery,
and even more intense desire.

“You do know why you
’ve been baiting me
,
don’t you?”
he said in that same
seductive
tone
.
“You wish me to punish you
—
more than wish, you need it.”

Why wasn’t she yelling
“
no
”
?
But the pull was indescribable
.

Gently stroking her hair, he said, “
I
t’s
all right
, Genevieve
.
I know this is new to you
.
You don’t yet understand these fe
elings
.” 

“No,” she choked
.
“You’re wrong.”

“Am I?”  He
reached behind her
,
unlocked the chain
,
and released her hands.
“Lie over the end of the cot, angel.” 

“Derek please…
.
”

“You have been extremely disobedient,” he said
.
“You will not stop baiting me until you have accepted punishment for it
.
When I am finished, you will kneel and apologize and then give your promise never to leave the house without someone to accompany you.”

Genevieve would never understand why she obeyed
.
She had no sense that her mind had agreed to this outrage, but her body was acting outside her conscious control
.
Derek pu
lled the cot away from the wall
and then nodded for her to put herself over the edge
.
Tears were streaming down he
r face
as she heaved herself on
.

Her instinct was to curl up on the bed, but Derek gently corrected her
.
“Too far
.
Slide down so your buttocks are right at the edge
.
The cot is low enough for your knees to rest on the floor.” 

Her face was broiling, but she obeyed, pus
hing herself down with her arms
until her knees
reached the floor
where he’d placed a thick cushion
.

“Genevieve, you won’t be able to hold still
—
I’m going to tie you down so you can’t move at all
.
Do you understand?”

She was past wondering why she would obey him, but her body relaxed as he pulled both of her arms over her head and attached something to the wrist cuffs that held them taut
.
Next he pulled her dress up above her waist and tucked it in
.
That aroused a weak protest, but
he soothed her
and gently commanded her to lie still
.
A thick leather strap went around her waist, binding her tightly to the cot
.
Her upper body was completely immobilized, and she could see little of what he was doing
.

He moved behind her then, causing her to cry out in fear, but he rubbed her back gently
.
“I still have to bind your legs
.
I will tell you before I start.” 

He buckled what felt like more cuffs around each of her thighs and a moment later pulled the right one very tightly against the leg of the cot, followed by the left one
.
Derek let out an audible
growl
as he finished
.
She was aware that she was indecently splayed before him, but the rational existence where she worried about such things had become hazy and distant
.

“Genevieve, it’s obvious my earlier spankings were not enough for you
.
This time I’m going to give you a real punishment, using the paddle
.
As it is your first time, I will not make you count
.
If at any time you absolutely can’t bear it, s
ay the word ‘
p
arole,’
and I will stop completely
.
Do you understand?” 

She couldn’t answer
.

“Genevieve,” he said in his iron tone
.
“What word must you say to make me stop?” 

“Parole,” she murmured, though she had no understanding of how she’d answered.

A smooth wooden object brushed over her rear, the sensation pleasant, soothing
.
Then it moved away again
.
She couldn’t help tensing
.
There was an explosive crack, which she vaguely recognized was the sound of him hitting her body
.

“One,” he said
.

It took her a moment to take in the pain
—
it was much worse than the night before
.
S
o very much worse!  She’d no idea physical pain like that existed
.

He hit again
.
“
T
wo.” 

It was
even
harder!  How was
that
possible
?

“Three.”  Only three! 

Finally her mind caught up enough to produce a guttural scream
.

“If you need me to stop
, you know what you must say,” Derek said, his voice eerily calm
.

“Four… five…  six… seven,” followed rapidly
.

With each
blow
, she determined to say the word, but what came out was only a long howl
.

“Thirteen
…
fourteen
…
fifteen…
.
”

Finally, she heard him say, “
That
is twenty.” 

It was over
—
thank Titania
.
She couldn’t possibly bear any more
.

But then he said, “
Do you wish me to stop?” 

T
o her utter horror, her head shook madly, and she croaked out, “No!” 

Her speech had failed her when she needed to say the word “
p
arole
,
” but not to tell him to continue!  It was no longer in doubt: she
really
was possessed
by a demon
! 

“
Twenty more
,” Derek rasped
.
“You need only say the word and I will stop.” 

Twenty
more
.
The idea was staggering, impossible
.
She could not possibly endure it, but as he kept hitting, she felt herself sinking deeper and deeper away from the part of herself that was capable of telling him to stop
.

The pain had transformed itself into a blossoming, fragrant vine that slipped through her body, filling every part of her with i
ts heady incense
.
There was no
where it couldn’t go: its roots clawed their way through the packed soil that had long buried those hidden spots of anguish and guilt deep within her
.
The two pains, one familiar and
stagnant
,
the other new and volatile, meshed and melted together, growing into something fresh and fascinating and vital
.