His Domain

by Ashe Barker, Katy Swann, Rosalie Stanton, Lucy Felthouse, Anarie Brady, Rose C. Carole

  Nonetheless, the spanking has also motivated me to work even harder to please Mr. Vanderson. One thing’s for sure, I won’t be wearing underclothes while working anymore! This should bother me, but it really doesn’t. I guess maybe it’s knowing that none of the other employees wear any either. Anyway, I do really want to do a good job here. Not because I’m afraid of Mr. Vanderson, because I’m not. No, I just don’t want to disappoint him. I’ve known him less than two days and already there’s something going on that I can’t figure out. He’s handsome as holy hell, but it’s more than that. Maybe I’ll figure it out as I go along. Then, when he admitted that he was attracted to me—wow. I felt like a young girl again and can’t help hoping that our mutual attraction might lead to something more. On a more practical level, though, I’m grateful for this job and trust Mr. Vanderson when he implied that my position would not be affected by personal feelings. Speaking of my job, I’d best be getting to bed. Tomorrow will be another full day.

  Chapter Three

  “So how do you like your first week?” Sally asked.

  “It’s been great,” Alice admitted. The two were seated at the kitchen table polishing the silverware. Rather than using a commercially produced cleaner, Alice had suggested using a simple paste of baking soda and water, then rinsing it off with hot water. The nontoxic cleaner worked beautifully and didn’t stink up the kitchen with chemical smells. No one else was about, so Alice thought it was the perfect time to have a private chat with Sally. The other woman was about the same age as her and as cheerful as a robin on a spring morning. Her short, curly blonde hair bounced around her pixie-like features. Alice liked her immensely.

  “I know we aren’t really supposed to gossip, but I’d really like to ask you a few questions,” Alice began.

  Sally frowned, considering, then smiled.

  “That makes sense. And besides, it isn’t really gossiping if you only want information. Since you’re new here I can see where you’d be curious about how the house works. Go ahead. I’ll answer anything I can.”

  “Thanks. I promise not to ask anything embarrassing, and if you don’t want to answer, I totally respect that. How long have you worked here?”

  “About three years now.”

  “Wow. And obviously you’re happy.”

  “Lord, yes! I’m paid well, live in a beautiful home, and the fringe benefits are very generous. While I do work a lot of hours—just like you—the work isn’t hard. Besides, if I need time off, all I have to do is ask for it. Last year when my mom had a hysterectomy, Mr. Vanderson insisted I take off a few weeks so I could go stay with Mom so I could help out. He even continued to pay me while I was gone. What’s not to like?” Sally answered. She stood up to go rinse off a handful of silver spoons at the sink. She grabbed a cotton towel to rub them dry as she returned to the table, where she set the sparkling utensils back in the velvet-lined silverware chest.

  Alice, applying the baking soda paste to another butter knife, had to agree. Still, she needed to know more. “All that’s true, but can I ask? Have you ever been reprimanded by Mr. Vanderson?”

  Sally kept her eyes focused on the spoons, but Alice saw a slight pinkening of her cheeks. “Yes,” she admitted quietly.

  “Look, I’m not asking to embarrass you or to compare notes or anything. I just want to know what to expect and to find out if my reprimand was normal for here.”

  “So you’ve been reprimanded?”

  “Yes. My first day here I wore underclothing and Mr. Vanderson…well…he noticed.”

  “Did he spank you?” Sally asked, her voice low and quiet.

  Alice nodded. “It was all very civilized and I can’t really believe I let someone spank me like that. It’s just so odd, but it felt right at the time. Since then, I’ve been very careful to follow Mr. Vanderson’s expectations to the letter. I guess he’s been pleased because there have been no more reprimands.”

  For a few long moments Sally said nothing. She stood, replaced the spoons, then rinsed and dried the knives Alice had been rubbing with paste. She sat back down and began to polish them. Finally, she said, “What happened to you is both common and not. I think we all were reprimanded within our first few days here. Mr. Vanderson is very upfront with everything he does. If you had objected, as Jill, the other maid, did, he would have discussed the situation. Jill refuses to be spanked—you can ask her why if you want—so instead she is reprimanded a different way. I’m not sure how and even if I did know I wouldn’t say. That’s between her and Mr. Vanderson.”

  “I have to admit, I really appreciate everyone’s respect for privacy here. I mean, at the hotel where I worked, the maids were happiest when they could talk about someone else, or even the guests. I hated that. I was a teenage mother and have had my fill of malicious gossip.”

  “Mr. Vanderson doesn’t stand for gossiping. It’s one of the many things I admire about him.” Sally flashed Alice a quick smile, her dimples popping. “I’d like to think of you as a friend, Alice, so I don’t mind telling you at all. Anyway, the first time I was reprimanded was my second day here. It was totally my fault. I had forgotten to put the laundry away. I was in my suite and the phone rang. It was Mr. Vanderson. He asked me to please come to the library and to be dressed in my uniform. Right away I knew what I’d done. Well, there I was, sure I was going to be fired, when he explained that he intended to use corporal punishment as a reprimand. If I agreed, I was to place my hands on his desk, lift up my skirt and accept a spanking. If I didn’t agree I was welcome to offer another suggestion or to leave the next morning with two weeks’ salary. I can’t believe I did, but I put my hands on the desk and accepted the spanking. I was crying afterward and Mr. Vanderson hugged me and told me that all was forgiven. He walked me to my suite and said he was proud of me.”

  “Has he ever done anything, um, sexual with you?” Alice asked, remembering the intimate care Mr. Vanderson had given her after her reprimand.

  Sally turned to face Alice. She set down the drying cloth and focused on her new friend.

  “Alice, Mr. Vanderson is a good man. He’d never use sex as a punishment, a reward, or for any other reason other than the mutual pleasure of him and his partner. But yes, I’ve had sex with Mr. Vanderson. We aren’t in a committed relationship or anything even close to that, and the sex is definitely not part of the job! It turns out, though, that he and I share similar tastes. Obviously, he’s Dominant. As it happens, I like playing the role of submissive every so often. Now that I am in a committed relationship with someone, we no longer do that. I haven’t been with Mr. Vanderson in over a year. For the moment, that’s all the details I’m sharing except to say that none of that affected my job in anyway.”

  Alice hugged the other girl and said, “I totally understand. Thanks for sharing so much, Sally. I do have one more question, though.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Have you ever been on the third floor?”

  Sally blushed. “I have,” she admitted. “But that’s another topic that I’m not willing to discuss.”

  * * * *

  Later that evening, Alice thought carefully about what Sally had said, particularly about Mr. Vanderson being dominant and Sally submissive. Since Emmit’s birth, Alice had enjoyed a few encounters with men, and while each had brought their own pleasure, none had left her completely satisfied. The closest she had come to a real relationship was with Caleb, a man with definite dominant tendencies. He had been the first to introduce Alice to the joys of bondage. He’d been fond of tying her up spread-eagle and blindfolding her. Then he’d sweetly tortured her with soft kisses, tickled her lightly with a feather, eaten her pussy or fucked her with strong, rhythmic strokes. Eventually, they’d drifted apart. He hadn’t been sure he wanted to raise another man’s son, and she didn’t want a man who wouldn’t accept Emmit. On a physical level, she had craved something more, something harder, something primal.

  * * * *

  Vincent placed one hand against the marble wa
ll, cold water beating down on his bent head. Breathing hard, he shook himself and turned off the water. For the last two nights he’d had to jerk off in the shower, attempting to relieve his desire for Miss Alice. It was too soon, he thought as he roughly toweled himself dry. She’d only been working here a few weeks and while she was undeniably attracted to him, it was far too early to approach her on a more intimate basis. Still, his mind went back to her first day, her first reprimand, and his rash offer to relieve her ‘suffering’. He felt his cock harden again as he remembered her tight, round ass and the sweet smell of her desire. Obviously, any woman who reacted so quickly to a spanking had to be a natural submissive. Her respectful attitude, the way she dropped her eyes when she’d said ‘Yes, sir’, and how readily she had accepted his strict rules convinced him even further that she desired a firm-handed lover.

  Cringing at his now painful erection, he muttered, “Fuck it” and grabbed hold of his cock. He pumped his hand, and the memory of how hot and tight Alice’s pussy had been floated back to him. He couldn’t believe she’d allowed him to touch her so intimately, but would be eternally grateful for it. He imagined his cock where his fingers had been, her white, soft body bent over his desk, her ass red from his hand. He closed his eyes and saw her fingers grasping the top of the desk and he fucked her mercilessly, her sweet cries ringing in his ears as her body welcomed him.

  “Jesus,” he ground out, hot cream rolling over his fist. He could practically feel her pussy muscles clenching, milking him.

  Looking down, he wondered how the strings of white would look sprayed across her pale, round breasts. Groaning, he reached back into the shower, turned the water to cold, and stood beneath the stinging needles in a vain attempt to cool his passion.

  Chapter Four

  “Letter for you, Miss Alice,” Mr. Grey said.

  Curious, Alice pushed aside her breakfast of oatmeal topped with raisins and milk and ripped open the official-looking envelope.

  Dear Ms. Whitmore,

  This letter is to inform you that your bill to Pulmonary Associates is past due. If the amount listed below is not paid within the next ten days, we will be forced to hand over your account to a collection agency. Please contact us if you have any questions.

  Sincerely,

  The Pulmonary Institute of Hampton, Virginia.

  “Is everything all right?” Mr. Grey asked.

  “Yes,” Alice answered, her shaking hands belying her words. “Thank you. I’d best get to my duties.”

  Throughout the day, Alice’s mind kept drifting back to the letter. She’d only missed one payment to the Pulmonary Institute, when she’d been between jobs. She’d hoped that once she had a steady income again she could catch up on the debt, but apparently, the Institute wanted all the money now. Damn, she thought. I knew I should have called the finance department and explained the situation to them. What the hell am I going to do now? I’ll have to call and try to arrange something as soon as I take my first break.

  She completed her chores quickly and efficiently, but was uncharacteristically silent during the staff dinner. Unable to finish her supper of vegetable soup, pan-seared salmon and rice pilaf, she excused herself quickly and headed up to her room. She needed to check her meager bank balance and try to figure out what to do. The Pulmonary Institute had given her a choice. She either paid off the entire debt within one week or her account would be turned over to a collection agency. An hour later, she knew she had no choice but to sell her last piece of jewelry—a diamond brooch that had been a favorite of Mrs. Simms. A sharp knock on the door startled her and she jumped to her feet.

  “Mr. Vanderson!” she said, surprised to see her employer. She adjusted the belt on her short terrycloth robe, then raised a hand to smooth her hair. “I wasn’t expecting you…um…anyone really. Won’t you come in? What can I do for you? I’m so sorry for my appearance!” Alice knew she was babbling but couldn’t stop herself.

  “Hush,” he ordered quietly, stepping into her room. “I need nothing, and you look fine. You aren’t on duty. I just came to check on you, Miss Alice. Mr. Grey and Miss Sally both mentioned you weren’t yourself today. They were concerned.”

  “Oh. Well. That was kind of them,” she murmured.

  “May I sit?”

  Blushing, Alice nodded. “Of course. I’m sorry, sir. I received a letter today, and it upset me.”

  “I can see that. May I be of any assistance?”

  He sat in one of the cushioned side chairs and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. He motioned toward the second chair and Alice quickly dropped into it. Despite his casual appearance and quiet voice, his presence filled the room. Alice wasn’t used to confiding in anyone, nor was she used to anyone worrying about her.

  “Thank you, Mr. Vanderson, but I made this mess and I’ll figure a way out of it.”

  “If that’s what you want, but I truly wish you’d let me help.”

  “I made a mistake. Emmit had to be hospitalized two years ago because of bronchitis and a severe asthma episode. I paid off the hospital and thought everything was good. Then, I was contacted by the Pulmonary Institute which represents the actual physicians. Apparently their billing department had misplaced my bill and didn’t get around to sending me one for a full year. I’ve been making the minimum payments up until last month, when I was between jobs. Now, they’re threatening to hand over the debt to a collection agency unless I pay in full.” Alice’s bottom lip began to tremble, tear prickling behind her eyes. She had no idea why she was confiding in her employer, but something about his solid presence inspired trust in him.

  “I see. And how much do you owe?”

  Blushing from her neck to her roots, Alice whispered the amount.

  “I’m not completely out of options. I have piece of jewelry that Mrs. Simms left to me. I’m sure it would bring a good price if I sold it. It probably wouldn’t cover the entire bill but surely it would be enough to…” She stopped speaking when he held up one hand.

  “I’ll take care of the bill tomorrow.”

  Alice opened her mouth but nothing came out. Suddenly, a red-hot rage began to burn. She jumped to her feet, her hands on her hips.

  “Look, Vincent. I appreciate the offer, but it’s not necessary. I’ve made my own way in this world for twenty years and I can take care of myself and my son without help from you or anyone else. I’m not looking for a handout and I’m not for sale.”

  A startled look passed over Vincent’s face. Then he grinned.

  God, the woman was magnificent when she was angry. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes flashed fire and the swell of her breasts heaved with each offended breath she took. Vincent felt his blood rush straight to his cock. He shifted his weight and crossed one leg over the other in an attempt to hide his arousal.

  “I really don’t understand why you’re smiling,” she said with a huff.

  “I apologize,” he stated, quickly forcing his features into a more suitable expression. “Back to the issue at hand, I am not, I assure you, trying to buy you in any way, and I have no doubt that you are a perfectly capable woman. Still, I’ve become fond of you and hate to see you so upset. I was going to suggest that I would pay off the physician tomorrow, then you can either make restitution to me as you are able without fear of your credit being harmed, or we can agree on an amount to be regularly deducted from your salary,” he explained. Actually, he’d had no intention of asking her to repay him, but seeing her angry response made him realize that she would never accept a monetary gift.

  “Oh,” she answered quietly, sitting back down in the chair. Vincent was inordinately pleased that she had failed to notice her robe had gaped open a bit during her tirade, exposing a very arousing view of her small, perfect breasts. “In that case, I owe you an apology. I’d like to think things over a bit. Could I let you know in the morning?”

  “Certainly,” he answered, rising to his feet. “Let’s set up a meeting directly after breakfast. The librar
y?”

  “That would be perfect. And thank you, Mr. Vanderson. Thank you so very much.”

  Vincent bowed slightly and left the room. He softly closed the door behind him and smiled. I bet she didn’t even realize she used my first name, he thought smugly. Such a breach of protocol, even if she is off duty, cannot go unpunished.

  Chapter Five

  “And so if the offer is open, sir, I’d like to accept and arrange for a weekly deduction in salary until I’ve paid the debt,” Alice said.

  She stood before Mr. Vanderson’s desk, her hands clasped before her, her back straight. After spending a few hours the previous night thinking about her situation, Alice had decided that her best option was to pay back Mr. Vanderson rather than ruin her credit rating.