The Muse (16 page)

Luckily, Erato didn’t force her to make a choice. “Fair enough. If you can prove to me that Olive is an inspiration and
not
a distraction, I’ll honor our original agreement. But with
two
caveats.”

Afraid to betray the full extent of her relief before hearing them, Kate said, “Okay.”

“First, I’m resetting your goal to thirteen thousand words. Consider the three thousand you wrote this morning payment for being dishonest with me when I asked if I was interrupting, and if you were writing.”

Kate searched her memory for the exact words she’d used. She’d been evasive but had tried not to outright lie. At least she thought she had. Then again, she
had
deliberately avoided mentioning that she’d been texting Olive despite being given two opportunities to confess. She supposed that was dishonest. Frankly, she wasn’t going to disagree lest Erato call off their entire working relationship and walk out of her life forever. Or perhaps even worse, refuse to allow her any more contact with Olive. “All right. What’s the second?”

Erato picked up the cell phone, erased the message she’d started to type, then handed it to Kate. “Tell her that you’ll arrange a playdate with her once you hit your word-count goal. Then we’ll get to your
actual
punishment for being dishonest about wasting time.”

An extra three thousand words wasn’t punishment enough? Not brave enough to voice the question, Kate accepted the phone with a grateful smile. “Fair enough. Thank you.”

Erato gave her a stern, sultry look that truly confused her senses. Rising from Kate’s lap to loom over her, she was the scariest, sexiest authority figure imaginable—the type of dominatrix she’d written about in more than one erotic story, pulled straight from her kinkiest fantasies. Fear and arousal battled for dominance within her, neither the clear winner. “Go on,” Erato murmured. “Last text for now. Make it count.”

Swallowing, Kate lowered her eyes, greedy to read Olive’s most recent message.

I was hoping you’d say that. Now for my moment of courage: do you want to see each other again sometime?

Almost as soon as she’d finished reading, the phone buzzed and another message appeared. Her hesitation must have spooked Olive, because her courage seemed to be flagging.

Maybe?

Regretful that she’d left Olive hanging long enough to induce doubt, Kate quickly typed an explanation, followed by her good-bye for now. The pang in her chest at the knowledge that she would have no more back-and-forth flirtation to look forward to was a clear sign that Erato had been right. Escalating their sexual tension over text was a one-way road to an unfinished manuscript. She reread her parting message twice, then, in a show of good faith, turned the phone so Erato could offer her approval.

Erato shook her head without looking at the screen. “I trust you.”

Nodding, Kate read over her reply a third and final time.

So sorry, didn’t mean to leave you hanging. I just got busted for texting. Erato says we can make a playdate after I write another thirteen thousand words, as a reward, but I’m not allowed to get distracted again before then. Something about a deadline…ha! Wait for me?

She pressed send, then looked up to find Erato watching her, stone-faced. Kate tightened her grip slightly on the phone as she anticipated having it confiscated. “Do you mind if I—” Before she could ask permission to wait for Olive’s reply, the vibration signaling a new message spared her the indignity. Kate took a quick, frantic look.

Don’t waste any more time texting me, then. Go! Write!

Kate’s grin faded when Erato placed her open hand next to the phone. Sighing, she dropped it onto her palm. Not only did she have to acknowledge that this was the best course of action for her productivity, but it was also obvious that in order to keep Erato and her magical writing juju in her life, she would have to play by a certain set of rules. So far nothing Erato had asked of her had been unreasonable, and the concerns about Olive weren’t unfounded. For the moment, Kate had nothing to lose by just going with the flow. She exhaled steadily when Erato left the room with her phone in hand but didn’t close the door, a clear sign that she intended to return.

What kind of punishment was she facing, exactly?

She barely had time to wonder before Erato walked back into the office to stand over her once again. “Your phone is in my possession until you’ve reached your new goal. If your publisher, parents, or sister calls, I’ll let you know and you can ring them back during a break. Otherwise, it’s off-limits.”

She doubted her phone would be ringing much—she’d kicked off her official retreat into solitude by alerting her friends and family of her rapidly approaching deadline. Still, she appreciated the sentiment. “Understood.”

“And before you even think about trying to look Olive up on social media, just know that I’m completely willing to cut off your Internet access. I haven’t so far because you’ve avoided using it to procrastinate, and sometimes it’s necessary for research.”

Startled by the mere suggestion of no access to the Internet, Kate blanched. “It’s
integral
to my writing process. You can’t take that away from me, too.”

Erato giggled. “Oh, Kate. Don’t be silly. Human beings have been writing and telling stories for hundreds of years without access to a search engine.”

If she hadn’t already been skating on such very thin ice, Kate might’ve been tempted to defend her reliance on the digital world. Instead she said, “I won’t give you a reason to turn off the Wi-Fi. I promise.”

“You’ll be a good girl?” Erato cocked her head, pinning her with a stern glare. “Is that what you’re promising?”

Kate blushed. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been reprimanded like this, or if she even had. That such a beautiful woman was delivering the scolding made it equal parts shame-inducing, frightening, and exciting. “Yes. I’ll be good.”

“Excellent. Now stand up.” Erato gestured with her head. “I want to leave you with a reminder of this conversation. Something to reflect on when the urge to get distracted—or to be dishonest with me—arises.”

Kate stood. It didn’t even occur to her to refuse—not until Erato took her place in the chair, straightened her skirt, and patted her lap expectantly. “Take off your jeans and lie over my knees. And don’t look so scandalized, darling. I’ve read your stories.
All
of them.”

That meant that despite the look of horror Kate knew she was wearing, Erato was perfectly aware of exactly how much the idea of over-the-knee spankings turned her on. Feeling utterly exposed by her past artistic choices, she shot back, “Hey, I’m allowed to be scandalized. There’s a difference between writing something—or fantasizing about it—and actually having it done to you.”

Erato allowed a brief, sweet smile. “Well, this wouldn’t be much of a punishment, let alone a deterrent of future misbehavior, if you weren’t at least a
little
scandalized.” Patting her thighs again, she said, “Come on, sweetheart. Don’t make me force you over my lap.”

The threat made her clench pleasantly and caused wetness to trickle out of her and soak the panties she was being asked to expose. Blood rushed to her cheeks, setting her face aflame. “I feel…silly.”

But silly was the last thing she felt when Erato captured her wrist and squeezed. “Don’t. What I want you to feel”—she placed Kate’s hand at the zipper of her jeans and gave her a pointed look—“is shame and regret for giving me a reason to confiscate your phone.” She paused, staring at Kate until she finally gave in and undid her pants. “I want you to feel the sting of my hand on your ass. Not just once you step out of those jeans and I take you across my lap, but hours from now, when you’re writing. I want you to feel horny. Desperate.” By this point, Kate was moving on autopilot, and Erato beamed when she shoved her jeans to the floor and stepped out of them. “I want you to feel
inspired
.”

*

Kate had never actually been spanked before. Not for real, not like this. The closest she’d come had been an occasional smack on the ass during sex. Which she’d loved, of course. As Kate swallowed her pride and balanced herself over Erato’s knees, palms planted on the laminate flooring in front of her face, she reflected that this wasn’t exactly the unequivocally awful punishment she was pretending it to be. No matter how fundamentally embarrassing it was to be taken over someone’s knee, she couldn’t deny how wet the ritual had already made her.

Erato smoothed gentle circles over her panties-clad bottom. “This is the first part of your punishment.” Her hand rose and came back down with startling speed, delivering a mildly stinging slap to one cheek. “You won’t like the second.”

Kate opened her mouth to ask why not but bit her lip when a slightly more powerful smack landed on the other cheek. She took a breath to compose herself but cried out when Erato spanked her twice more in quick succession. Each blow reverberated through her lower body and settled squarely between her legs. Squirming, she spread her legs in a silent plea for more.

“Still feeling silly?” Fingernails dragged over the cleft of her buttocks, and then her panties were yanked down, around her knees. Erato established a slow, deliberate rhythm, alternating between her cheeks, slapping with enough force that Kate had to concentrate on keeping her hands on the floor rather than reaching back to protect herself. “Answer me.”

Kate shook her head. “Not silly. No.”

“How about sorry?” The blows ceased just as they threatened to become too painful, allowing Kate a chance to catch her breath. As though sensing that she needed a moment to collect herself, Erato switched back to rubbing her bottom tenderly. “Do you feel sorry, Kate?”

“Definitely.” Sort of. She was sorry she’d gotten her phone taken away, but she wasn’t exactly sorry to be in her current position. She could
feel
how wet and swollen she was and knew Erato had to be perfectly aware of the effect this punishment was having. Hoping for a couple of fingers to soothe the ache between her thighs, Kate spread her legs as far as the panties that were still around her knees allowed. “I’m
really
sorry, Erato. Seriously. You’re right…about everything.”

Well, she hadn’t meant to go quite that far. Still, if it got her fucked—

Once again totally in synch with her needs, Erato pushed her fingers between Kate’s thighs and touched her slick labia, cupping her. “
This
doesn’t feel very silly.”

“It’s not.” Kate rocked her hips against Erato’s hand, trying to force a more focused touch. “Please, Erato.”

Without moving, Erato applied slightly more pressure to her labia. “I was right. This isn’t much of a punishment.”

Kate started to argue, but Erato cut her off with a renewed flurry of slaps. The last two were painful enough to bring tears to Kate’s eyes, though she refused to let them fall. She was too proud to ask Erato to stop. As soon as the blows ceased, Erato’s hand was back between her legs, once again checking her wetness.

“Luckily, as I said, this is only the first part of your punishment.” A single finger traced up and down her slit, then pressed deeper to circle her opening. “So I still have the opportunity to leave a lasting impression.”

Kate held her breath. Would she be penetrated hard and fast? Or would Erato drag it out, perhaps try to humiliate her a little more? She tried not to grin as she waited to find out. Regardless of what had gone down between them due to her indiscretion, the day just kept getting better.

“Want to know the second part?” Erato eased the tip of her finger inside, just far enough to
almost
bring relief. Kate raised her hips as best she could, hoping to draw Erato deeper, but the move earned her a sharp, painful blow across the center of her bottom. Balancing as best she could, Kate reached back with one hand to protect herself from another slap. Seemingly anticipating the move, Erato caught her wrist and held it behind her back, trapping her in place. “I’m sorry, but did you forget that this is supposed to be a
negative
consequence of your actions? Be good and stop fighting me
right now
.”

With effort, Kate forced herself to relax completely. Total surrender was never easy, but her current position didn’t leave her many options. Besides, she’d agreed to be punished. Sighing, Kate said, “You’re right. I apologize. Again.”

“Thank you.” Erato released her wrist and returned her hand to its place between her thighs. She rubbed Kate’s labia with her fingers while simultaneously easing her thumb between her buttocks to tease her anus. Kate braced herself on both hands, certain she was about to need the extra support. That’s when Erato stopped moving her hand—and delivered a devastating blow. “Kate, the second part of your punishment is that I’m forbidding you to orgasm until you meet your goal. I want
all
your energy focused on these next thirteen thousand words. Obviously you aren’t as motivated as you could be, so consider this me doing you a favor.”

She removed her hand.

Kate groaned, unhappy about both the threat and the fierce hard-on Erato was leaving her with. “But you said—”
Smack
. She gasped, cursing her traitorous body for reacting with renewed arousal to the firm slap against her already-sore ass. Figuring that the worst possible consequence would be another deliciously pleasurable spanking, Kate dared to finish her thought. “I thought sex fueled creativity.”

“So does desperation.” Erato patted her bottom softly. “Now stand up. It’s time to go back to work.”

Kate wasn’t positive her legs would support her. “Seriously?”

Erato’s pats became increasingly hard slaps, which finally compelled Kate to her feet. Giggling, Erato gazed up at her with an altogether too-amused smirk. “Oh, did this finally become a punishment?”

“And a deterrent.” Kate scowled, pulling up her panties before rubbing a careful hand over her sore bottom. “Remind me not to cross you again.”

Erato’s eyes sparkled. “I will.”

Not for the first time, Kate wasn’t sure whether to be frightened or aroused. The only feeling she was positive about was her frustration. No more orgasms for thirteen thousand more words? It seemed strangely impossible. She doubted she’d ever achieved such a feat before, even without a lover in her life. Writing erotic fiction made her horny—being horny usually seemed like an adequate excuse to seek release. Granted, it was a bit of a vicious cycle that often ended with her fully sated but lacking in progress. But to be cut off completely? And after getting worked up like this, with that spanking?