Chapter 3 – Julian
It doesn’t hurt at all. In fact, the motion itself is so nothing that there’s no way anyone else in this lounge saw it happen. But I felt it. I felt the intentions.
He wants to. Punish me, that is.
“I should do it right here, Lyssa.” That growl fills my veins with both dread and arousal. I don’t doubt that he’s at least a little bit hard. Maybe full-blown hard. “I should bend you over right here in front of all of these nice, well-to-do people and spank your ass red until I’m good and sure you’ll never do something like that again.”
“I…” He’s spanked me a little during sex. I really like it when he does it while fucking me from behind. Makes me tighten up, you know? I thought that was the real reason for a little spanking in the bedroom.
This, though? This is… different. This is him flexing his power in our relationship. A part of me tells me to run. That this is a red flag. That him insinuating he should spank me in public, humiliate me in front of Portland’s high-society and their guests, is a huge sign that he doesn’t respect me and only sees me as a plaything.
So… why the fuck am I turned on right now?
Is this part of my transformation into submissive Alyssa? The one who likes serving my boyfriend in the bedroom? Am I so far down a dark well that I am liable to drown if someone doesn’t pull me up soon?
What the fuck do I do?
“What do you have to say for yourself, Lyssa?”
Every time he calls me that, I’m reminded of what’s really going on here. This is a sex game. Nothing more. Certainly nothing less.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Marcus. I… I’m also a little nervous.”
“Scared?”
“Perhaps,” I squeak.
“It’s natural. But at some point you’re going to have to understand that things like this,” he lightly taps the bottom of my ass again, “happen. There will be occasions where you will need to be punished for your bad behavior. I have a billion-dollar business to run, and you compromised that with your foolish actions.”
“I…”
“You think Cole and Monroe aren’t thinking the same thing? That I should do something about this? I’ve bothered them both because of what’s happened. If they were in my shoes, you should damn well bet that they’d smack your ass until you’ve fully understood what you’ve done.”
Okay, but would they do it in…
I glance over to the other side of the lounge. There are the Coles, having a good ol’ time talking to their local friend. Mrs. Cole happens to catch my sight. She immediately recognizes what’s happening, her smile disappearing… but not in concern. The way she puts her hand on her husband’s leg, caresses him through his trousers, says that Julian and I have inspired certain thoughts in her.
“Is everyone here a kinkster?” I attempt to whisper my words, but they come out in a demure squeak instead. “You pick your associates well, Mr. Marcus.”
“Takes a certain man to make it to the top.” His hand lingers on my ass. Anyone looking over can see his fingers hovering above my skirt. “Neither of them are lifestylers, though. One day I will have to introduce you to a couple like that.”
I shiver. When I look over again, I spot Mrs. Cole whispering in her husband’s ear. He tips her chin up and lightly kisses her lips, her hands slowly sliding between his legs.
I wouldn’t consider myself a voyeur, but this is kinda hot. They’re not even doing anything, and I’m turned on!
“Lyssa,” my boyfriend says, his teeth grazing my earlobe. “I still don’t think you understand what kind of trouble you’re in. You’re lucky I don’t sit on a stool and take you over my knee.”
My lip succumbs to my teeth chomping on it. Now, if Julian actually slammed me across his lap and smacked my ass, I would die, and not in the sexy way. But the fantasy? The thought of my boyfriend punishing me with his firm but fair hand?
I’m going to embarrass myself again.
One last time… he smacks my ass, hard, while a small group of people half-tipsy on expensive alcohol push past us and argue over who is paying for the cab back to their downtown hotel. Julian lightly kisses my cheek before muttering, “Would you like that, Lyssa? Me spanking you in front of all these nice people?”
My fingers are caught in his lapel. “Maybe some other time, sir.”
“One day, hm? For now,” he grips my wrist, gently turning me around in his arms, “we’ll keep it in private. Come with me. Now.”
The rest of the people in the small lounge disappear as he leads me to another room. A nice, unisex restroom from the looks of it. I barely pay attention. I’m so wrapped up in the effortless way he moves me around, commands me that I can barely contain the arousal spiking in my gut and exploding through my body. Who knew I was such a sucker for an expensive guy in an even more expensive suit?
And he smells so nice…
And his voice… the way he growls into the crook of my neck when we’re alone, the door locked behind us….
The taste of desire crossing my tongue…
Damnit, we’re going to do it right here, aren’t we!
Didn’t think we would be screwing in a public restroom this early in our relationship, to be honest. Yet this isn’t your typical bar bathroom. While it’s pretty cramped in here, it smells like a flower garden and… well, how any bar bathrooms have tiny, tinkling fountains and the toilet cordoned off by a Japanese screen? Sure, Julian and I barely fit in here without knocking over the screen, but…
But it’s fucking hot.
“Look at yourself.” Julian stands behind me in front of the mirror hanging above the sink. My fingers grip a marble countertop. The top buttons of my silk blouse come undone. I wore a pushup bra today, and we can both tell. Especially with my hair down and framing both my face and my chest. I look like a girl who is in way over her head.
If I didn’t already know what Julian is capable of, then I’d be freaked out of my mind right now.
But I do know what he’s capable of.
I know what he wants from me.
I am so turned on that my nipples poke through my blouse and I can’t figure out how to close my damned mouth.
“You know what I see in that mirror, Lyssa?”
I’m a wreck compared to him. So nicely put together in his three piece business suit, that sapphire blue vest twinkling in the lavender lights of this bathroom. His aftershave still smells so good this late in the day, although his five o’clock shadow has completely grown in. That self-assured stance is something I can only aspire to mimic.
“What?” I breathe.
He nuzzles my ear. “I see a young woman that’s still rough around the edges. A diamond in a sea of lackluster jewels. You know what that means?”
“No…”
“That means I find you the most fascinating and the most beautiful. You only need a little shining up, and you’ll be absolutely perfect. That says a lot. Because you’re just shy of perfect already.”
I swallow. “What needs shining up, sir?”
“Well, you could be better behaved, for one.” He caresses me. My hips. My ass. The inside of my thighs. My bare skin tingles beneath his touch. I can only imagine what this is doing to him inside of his pants.
“Do you apologize for the spot you’ve put me in today, Lyssa?”
Nodding, I look into the eyes in his reflection, silently begging him to do something about my sullied behavior. “I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”
“Ask for it.”
`Again, I swallow. “Ask for what?”
“Your punishment.”
I’m frozen where I stand, my fingers digging into this countertop to the point my knuckles whiten. “I…”
“The perfect woman for me wants her punishment when she’s done something wrong. But she never, ever does something wrong on purpose. Otherwise, how is she learning?”
These are things I’ve never thought about before. Why would I ever want to be with a man who wants to punish me? For doing something he didn’t approve of? For screwing up something so important? I’ve apologized. I’ve learned to take certain things in his business more seriously, a skill that will follow me for the rest of my life, regardless of whom I work for or who I sleep with. But do I want a boyfriend who wants to punish me? And gets off on it?
Before, I would have said absolutely not. Isn’t that grounds for breaking up? For running far the hell away? How could that possibly be a healthy relationship?
Now, I’m not so sure… when I look into Julian’s visage, I don’t see a control freak. What I see is a man who wants to make me into his perfect lover.
And I? I want to become that perfect lover. He’s right. I’m rough around the edges. I’ve got a lot of learning to do if I want to be the girlfriend and possible fiancée material of a wealthy, well-bred man like him. Julian and his peers live in another world. They don’t play by society’s usual rules. This means they’re not playing by normal dating rules. How unfortunate for me, the girl who has been trying to learn the modern dating scene since the day her boobs grew in.
One thing’s for sure: I should not be afraid of Julian. If he ever freaks me out? I can tell him. He’ll back off. Make it better. Listen to me and my concerns. That’s what separates him from someone I don’t want to be around. So, if he gives me this kind of command and I…
I’m turned on…
Is there anything really wrong with it?
“Please…” The words fumble in my mouth. Am I really asking for this? “Please punish me, Mr. Marcus.” Phew. That wasn’t so bad, was it?
“How am I going to punish you?”
Damnit! He wants me to say the whole thing, doesn’t he? This guy is getting off on me begging for my just-deserved spanking!
“You need to spank me, sir. It’s the only way I’ll learn.”
If I could capture the look on his face when I say that and shove it into a bottle, I bet I could sell it for a million fucking bucks. That’s the amused face of a man who’s about to give it to me good.
It starts with him saying, “Let’s not interrupt those nice people out there. Don’t make a sound when I spank you, and I’ll make sure you get a reward in the end.”
I’m doomed.
