Pieces of Stronghold

by Golden Angel

  The dickwad was just as good at twisting his words as she was. Lexie sneered at him, hoping that none of the subbies were taken in by his so-called apology. Unfortunately, more than one of them was looking kind of impressed that he'd had the balls to admit that he was wrong; not something any of them got to see a Dom do very often. She kind of wanted to tell them all that he'd only done it to make sure he didn't lose his access to them, but she knew that Patrick would consider that beneath her. Even if it was deserved.

  "Everyone's entitled to their own opinion." Even if their opinion was wrong. She didn't need to say the last part; the words seemed to hang in the air. The complete lack of inflection in her voice wasn't exactly disrespectful, but it certainly conveyed it. Roland narrowed his eyes at her, and then his expression cleared as Patrick shifted beside her, sliding his arm around Lexie's body.

  "Yes, they are," Patrick said, tucking Lexie into his body. A move that never failed to make her feel safe and protected, but right now it also made her feel a tiny bit smothered. It was his way of taking control of her, because she hadn't stayed where he'd left her and he'd come back to find her in a confrontation. "Although in this club, I don't tolerate insults from dominants or submissives. I also don't tolerate anyone ordering my sub around." The look he gave Roland was just shy of threatening. "You'll learn more about the rules of the club this week when you attend the class, although, Olivia can go over some of the highlights with you beforehand if you like."

  Roland looked thunderstruck as Olivia put her hand on her hip, a small smirk on her lips. "Since I'll be teaching the class, I'll be happy to go over some of the rules early."

  "She's teaching it?" Roland asked, sounding kind of shocked, emphasizing Olivia's sex. The redheaded Domme's eyes narrowed. Her temper was definitely rising, which was not good for Roland. Olivia was more than a match for just about any of the guys in Lexie's group of friends, including Liam who owned a Kung-fu studio. She'd learned some things from him, but most of her physical prowess came from the Krav Maga classes she attended almost religiously. "A woman?"

  "She is a Domme," Patrick said, only a hint of disgust working its way into his voice. As the owner of the club, Lexie knew that he couldn't let his personal feelings color his interactions with his members, but she really wished he would just give Roland the verbal smack down he was asking for. "One of the best dominants in the club. And whether dominant or submissive, every woman in this club deserves your respect."

  Lexie suddenly realized exactly what had been getting her back up about Roland. His reaction to her hadn't just been because she was submissive, but because she was a woman. Looking at him now, she realized that he was taken aback by Patrick's words. She wasn't surprised Patrick had figured out Roland so quickly - her boyfriend was scary accurate at reading people's body language - but she was surprised she hadn't realized it. She'd thought Roland was just an ass, or maybe he was just the kind of asshole Dom that constantly had to exert his authority over submissives... a lot of newbie Doms were.

  Well if he thought that he was going to get away with that kind of attitude here at Stronghold, he had another thing coming to him. Mistresses Lisa, Erin and Olivia were not the kind of women to put up with any of that shit. Heck, that was if he even made it through the class with Olivia. Lexie wondered if Roland knew that Patrick's idea of making sure the Doms were properly educated meant making sure they all experienced every single thing they wanted to do to their submissives.

  She really, really hoped that Roland had indicated an interest in anal play on his survey.

  ******

  No longer interested in the tool standing in front of him, Patrick turned away and picked Lexie up, tossing her over his shoulder with a possessive hand gripping her ass while she squeaked in protest. It soothed the pent-up frustration in his chest to hear his little subbie's surprise and irritation. Immediately, every Dom in the bar averted their eyes as Lexie's skirt rode up. Including Roland. At least he showed a sense of self-preservation, even if he was a fucking tool.

  Striding away with his girlfriend secured cave-man style, which was satisfying in and of itself, Patrick dismissed the jackass from his mind as unimportant. He wouldn't be surprised if Roland left the club right after his first class. There was no way Olivia was going to make it easy on him and a lot of newbie Doms struggled with the class as it was. They thought that being a Dom was all giving orders and exerting their power, forgetting that they'd be scening with another human being. Being submissive didn't mean that a person gave up their personality completely, even in a scene. Something that often came as a shock to self-involved, inexperienced newbies like Roland.

  Not his problem.

  Nope, his problem right now was the half-naked, feisty, squirming, little subbie draped over his shoulder that couldn't keep her damned ass on her seat where it belonged for five damned minutes. As much as he did enjoy punishing her for fun sometimes, there were times like now, when he truly had to put his foot down, and he didn't enjoy that nearly as much. While some part of him still reveled in the exertion of his control over her now, it also frustrated him that he'd been out of control in the first place.

  Setting her down in the center of his office, he just raised his eyebrow when she huffily glared at him, crossing her arms under her pert little breasts. Sure, he might take a moment to appreciate how nice the gleaming silver rings with their added decoration in her pretty pink nipples looked, but he didn't let that distract him from staring her down. Her mouth twisted as she fought an inner battle with herself, knowing that he deserved an apology for her disobedience while at the same time not wanting to give it.

  His little Pixie was not a perfect sub. She still struggled with the 24/7 aspect of their relationship occasionally. Most of the time she was perfectly happy with it, especially because he was more lenient with her than he'd ever been with any other woman, but sometimes she just wanted to do what she wanted to do. Which was fine. It just meant that she also had to be prepared to pay the consequences for breaking their agreement.

  Lexie huffed out a frustrated sigh. "Sorry."

  He raised his eyebrow again.

  "I'm sorry," she said, almost making it a demand that he forgive her. "I know I should have stayed in my seat... and that I probably shouldn't have butted into his conversation, even if he was talking loudly enough to be heard by the entire bar... but he was such an asshole!"

  "Yes he was." For just a moment she perked up, but that deflated quickly enough at his next words. "That doesn't mean you had to stoop to his level. When we're in the club and a dominant is behaving like an asshole, what are you supposed to do?"

  "Let you deal with it." She sighed, her defensiveness leaking away from her as she dropped her hands to her sides. "Not engage. But it's so much harder when you're not there to see it, I feel like I'm tattling."

  "Or you could just ignore them," he pointed out. It was unlikely, because that just wasn't part of Lexie's personality. No, she was brash, reckless, and confrontational. In some ways, that was a good thing - he rarely had to guess at what she was thinking or feeling - but in the club, which she tended to feel like was her turf, it could be very bad when a Dom was being a dick.

  The reproachful look that she gave him said very clearly that she thought his suggestion was an unlikely solution. It had been worth a try.

  "Alright then, Pixie, skirt off and hands on my desk."

  Since they'd made their relationship official, they'd slowly moved towards a kind of deviation between the fun punishments and the real punishments. Real punishments always involved Lexie presenting herself, with no assistance of bindings or equipment. During the fun scenes, they used Patrick's lap or some of the equipment in the club, like the spanking bench or the St. Andrew's cross.

  Knowing exactly what his order meant, Lexie wilted a little further, showing a touch of true remorse for the first time. Her bottom lip pouting out just a bit, like it always did when she knew she'd disappointed him, she shimmied off her skirt and
walked over to his desk, not meeting his eyes. Neither of them liked the real punishments, but for their kind of relationship, they were necessary. The fun ones were for bratting, teasing disobedience, and Patrick's occasional whims.

  Head hanging slightly, looking contrite, Lexie placed her hands on the desk, bending over and arching her back to push her bottom up into the air. His cock hardened immediately at the sight as her pussy lips parted invitingly, glistening and softly pink. The base of the butt plug winked at him from between her cheeks, decorated with the jewel that matched her eyes. It was his favorite one to use on her, and the first one he'd ever given her.

  "Do you understand why you're being punished?" he asked as he came up behind her, resting his hand on the upper swell of her left cheek. He wanted to caress the soft skin, but that's not what this was about.

  Lexie sighed, that thread of remorse still in her voice. "Because I disobeyed you. I should have stayed in my seat, where you told me to. I shouldn't have engaged Roland. I should have waited for you to come back and deal with him, if he was really bothering me."

  "This isn't the first time you've moved from where I've left you either," Patrick said, raising his hand and bringing it down on her ass with a firm SMACK. Lexie gasped. As this wasn't a fun spanking, he wasn't bothering with giving her creamy skin a bit of a warm up. His hand print stood out, pink and bright, her cheeks jiggling back into place after the impact. "Apparently I haven't made it clear in the past that when I tell you to stay put, especially in the club, you will not move your ass."

  SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

  It was impossible not to appreciate how sexy Lexie looked when she was being spanked. And the jingling bells on her nipples, every time his hand connected, pretty much stopped his anger in its tracks. Not that she would get out of her discipline because of that. Even though she was being punished, Patrick could still take pleasure in seeing her ass turning a rosy pink, hearing the little whimper in her throat as she rocked slightly on the balls of her feet, and watching her submit to him. That she would submit for true punishment, not just for a scene or for fun, was satisfying to him in a way that nothing else could match.

  His Pixie was a strong woman, even if she was years younger than him, and she wasn't the kind of person to give up control to just anyone. To have her submit to him, to be willing to uphold the contract she'd signed, and atone for her disobedience... it fucking took his breath away. Part of him was tempted to be easier on her just because it was at moments like this that he wanted to worship her for her submission, but that would be counterproductive.

  "While in the club, your behavior reflects on me," he said sternly, aiming right for her sit spots for this part of the lecture. Lexie squeaked and gasped as his palm slapped against the sensitive strip of skin between her ass and her thighs. Her bottom wagged, as if she was trying to cool the heated flesh, and Patrick couldn't help but grin.

  Fortunately, she couldn't see his expression. It would take away from the moment, which he was serious about. Lexie was almost too comfortable in the club, and she had the bad habit of forgetting she needed to respect the Doms, whether they were her friends or dominants that she had no respect for. This was not the first time he'd punished her for back-talking to a Dom, and he doubted it would be the last, but at the very least he hoped that it would be a while before she forgot herself again.

  "Do you want everyone to think that I can't control my own submissive?"

  "No, Master," she said, a choking little whimper in her voice that told him she was on the verge of tears, if not crying already.

  SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

  The reddened cheeks of her skin were starting to flame, heat pulsing from them. He wasn’t swinging his arm as hard as he could, of course, but he wasn’t going easy on her either. Not this time. All he could think was that perhaps he’d been too lenient with her up until now, not wanting to overwhelm her when their relationship as a couple was so new.

  "Did you even stop to think that you should stay in your seat?"

  "Yes, Master." As much as it always turned him on to hear her call him that, he couldn’t enjoy it right now. While she might be calling him Master now, she’d forgotten it in the club when she’d moved her ass from where he’d put it. Which was why she was being punished.

  Lexie hung her head, and Patrick's hand came down hard on her ass, leaving a red print on an already pink surface. She squealed, going up on her toes and then back down again as her bottom jiggled from the blow.

  "So you thought that you should stay in your seat, but you got up anyway?"

  She sniffled, her voice watery as she answered. "Yes, Master."

  SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

  Even though he was frustrated with his stubborn Pixie, he wasn't spanking her out of anger. The blows were harder because the transgression warranted it. Thoughtless disobedience earned a reminder to think before acting, but Lexie was admitting to willful disobedience. More willful than just forgetting again. At least she was honest.

  There were two darker red spots in the center of Lexie's cheeks where he'd been focusing most of his blows, when he hadn't been aiming for her tender sit spots. They were so dark they were almost purple, like bullseyes surrounded by a sea of dark pink and bright red.

  Putting his hand on her cheek, he heard Lexie's slight hiss as her back arched. The heat of her skin seared his palm, and he rubbed her tenderized cheek, knowing that she would feel it as additional punishment, rather than being soothing. It was very possible there'd be some bruising tomorrow.

  "Go stand in the corner, Lexie. Nose on the wall."

  "But-" She straightened up, turning to look at him. Tears streaked her cheeks, which were blotchy and pink. She was not a pretty crier, but he still thought she looked adorable.

  Not that he let a hint of that through. His sternest expression was what she got in return as he pointed to the far corner, where he'd be able to admire her pretty red ass from his chair behind his desk. "Right there. Corner. You want to act like a willful child, you'll be treated like one."

  Her lower lip trembled, but she gathered herself up and walked over the corner, head and shoulders slightly rounded with embarrassment. Usually her punishments were followed by cuddling and forgiveness, but this time he needed her to think a little bit more before that point. Watching her settle into the corner that he'd indicated, he couldn't help but worry that perhaps the relationship he wanted with her was too restrictive.

  Yes, she submitted to him, but this was the first time that she'd thought about behaving and then done what she'd wanted to anyway. When she was just reacting before thinking, he hadn't worried that his chosen lifestyle was too much for her, but this... this was different. This was what he'd worried about, why he'd resisted engaging in a relationship with her for so long.

  Not that any of his friends would put up with their girlfriends disobeying a direct order, but none of them gave as many orders as Patrick did. He didn't want a mindless slave or a perfectly obedient submissive, but neither did he want a woman who was constantly disobedient. He didn't want Lexie forcing herself into a mold that she hated or chafed against, and this might be the first sign that their current relationship was exactly that.

  Was their contract gripping her too tightly? Was she no longer committed to abiding by the terms?

  They wouldn't last long as a couple if she'd realized that the type of relationship he needed was too much for her.

  No longer feeling aroused, Patrick sat down behind his desk, wishing he could enjoy the sight of her reddened bottom more.

  ******

  Sniffling, Lexie stared at the wood grain of the wall in front of her. Her butt was burning, more than it ever had before. The skin felt like it was on fire, and it was throbbing painfully, making her cheeks feel swollen. Behind her, she could feel Patrick's gaze on her, like an itch on the back of her neck that she couldn't quite scratch. She almost wanted to rub her poor butt cheeks, but she knew he wouldn't tolerate that - and going by how
much a gentle caress from his hand had hurt, she didn't think it would help either.

  Strangely, she actually felt better than she'd have ever expected.

  When she'd been pissed off and facing down Roland, there'd been a constant sinking in her stomach, and she hadn't realized until now that it had been related to Patrick. She didn't mean to be a brat and disregard his rules, not really... but at the same time, she had. It wasn't until she was standing here, in the corner, with nothing but her thoughts and the sound of his fingers steadily tapping on the keyboard, that things started coming together in her head. Little epiphanies of unconscious thoughts that had been spurring her actions recently.

  She was scared that she wasn't giving Patrick everything he needed. More than one person had remarked that he was a lot easier on her than they'd ever seen him be with one of his submissives. Let her get away with more. Didn't treat her as harshly when she was being punished. Gave her fun punishments when she deserved a real one. Heck, out of all the real ones she'd had, which hadn't been that many, this had definitely been the harshest, and he'd only used the palm of his hand.

  He'd never even used a paddle on her.

  Did he not think she could take it? Or was he holding himself back to keep from scaring her off?

  Worries that she hadn't realized she'd had, which had been burrowing through her subconscious like noxious little worms. She hadn't even thought about why she kept pushing him, why she kept misbehaving. Yes, she'd been pissed at Roland, but her own behavior had been just as stupid as his, in its own way.

  Maybe part of her had needed to prove to Patrick that she could handle a real punishment. That she didn’t need to be treated with kid gloves. That she could take whatever part of his lifestyle he needed to give her.

  Maybe she'd also needed to prove it to herself.