“I know.” He grinned.
“I couldn’t help it.”
“I know. Nonetheless, next time it happens you’ll be spanked for it.”
“That’s not fair.”
The grin got wider. “I know.”
She stared at him. She wanted fair. Didn’t she always want fair? Wasn’t fair a good thing? And yet it turned her on. She bit her lip and then smiled. “Yes, Master.”
“Good girl.”
“Now it’s my turn.” He seized her hips again and rocked her with a hard thrust. She closed her eyes and felt the strength of him. She squeezed him with her pussy, wanting to increase his pleasure.
“Come in me,” she purred softly. She knew he didn’t need her permission. She wasn’t trying to make it fair again. She wanted to see the look in his eyes.
She felt him twitch, and then his hips jerked and hot cum poured into her. His eyes widened, his mouth opened and he looked straight at her. “Mine,” she said. Might not be the most submissive thing to say, but she wanted him, all of him.
He blinked at her and pulled her close. The hairs on his chest tickled her sensitive nipples, but it didn’t matter. She was where she wanted to be, in his arms. She listened to his heart beat and matched her breath to the rising and falling of his chest.
“Yes, I think you’re right,” he said after a while.
“Huh?” she asked, wondering what she was right about.
“Yours,” he said.
“Oh.”
Wow.
“I can keep you?” she asked.
He nodded. “I believe you can. But let’s see how it goes, Natalie. I want nothing more than to put a collar on you and make you mine forever, but we’ve really only just met. You’ll be here for a bit yet, and then we’ll know for sure.”
Sensible. Not what she wanted to hear, but there was a comfort in a guy who wouldn’t tell her whatever she wanted to hear to get into her panties. Then again, she wasn’t wearing any.
Chapter Nine
Two weeks later, Carter watched Natalie as she retrieved her phone, keys, passport and wallet from the little safe in her room. She was wearing jeans and a white blouse with pearl buttons, the clothes she’d had on when she’d entered his life. The only change in her outfit was visible through the blouse—a sexy, lacy black bra from the room had replaced the plain white one she’d come in with.
“I don’t want you to go,” he said.
He’d gotten used to having her cuddled up against him when he slept. To the sight of her now deeply tanned naked body as she knelt for him. To the soft tightness of her wet pussy as he plunged his cock in her again and again. She was insatiable yet undemanding. The way she said “Yes, Master” sounded as if she was saying “I love you.”
“I have to. I’d love to stay, but I agreed to teach classes and I owe them that. They paid my way over here, after all.” She turned to him and smiled. “And if they hadn’t done that, I’d have never met such a wonderful man.”
“Flattery will you get you everywhere. Sure there’s no more research you have to do?”
She sighed. “No. I mean, one can study anything for any length of time, but I understand why the orchid blooms at night. The bees here are all attracted to other orchids, and it has carved out a niche for itself with the moths to pollinate it. At night, it has no competition. The moths eat the nectar the orchid produces—but they’ve evolved from mold-eating moths, so they’re attracted to the library smell. I understand what I came to understand.”
He nodded. “And now you have to do the honorable thing and pay them back by going and teaching classes. And giving lectures about your orchid?”
She smiled. “It isn’t my orchid. But it is my moth. And not lectures, as such, but yes, I’ll be presenting papers.”
“I guess I wouldn’t respect you as much if you ran out on them.”
“No, you wouldn’t.”
He knew she was right. “But I still want you to stay. I want to find a way.”
“It’s been wonderful,” agreed Natalie.
He took a step closer. It felt strange to have her wearing so many clothes. To his surprise, she slipped out of his hug before he managed to enfold her in his arms. Instead he found himself looking down at her. She was kneeling on the floor and had set her belongings down next to her.
A fantasy crossed his mind that she was asking him to make her stay. But he would never do that. If he took her life over that much, even if she let him, the woman he loved would be gone.
Loved?
He smiled at her. She gazed up at him with an air of calmness, but he could tell she was nervous underneath the surface. She wanted something from him.
And he didn’t want her walking out of his life, as had so many women before. There were always more fish in the sea, he’d always thought. But there was only one Natalie.
She’d be thousands of miles away if he stayed put, and he had to at least for a while. He too had obligations, and he couldn’t run out on his friends, who were depending on him for transport among other things. Yes, they’d find alternatives and a way to get by. He’d still be leaving them in the lurch.
He had a gold chain in his pocket, measured to fit around Natalie’s neck. With her kneeling there, it would be easy to take the chain out and put it on her. Would she understand what it meant, how important it was? He’d collared girls before, after all, but he never intended it to be permanent and had always made sure they understood that someday they’d be let go. He didn’t want to let Natalie go, not now, not ever. But he didn’t know for sure if she’d even want the collar. She’d be miles away. To claim her and put her off-limits when she’d just started discovering her submissive sexuality—was that fair?
Of course, sometimes they enjoyed not being fair. But there was no guarantee this was one of those times. He reached into his pocket and started to pull out the chain. If she rejected it, he could take that. She’d be rejecting the situation, not him.
He looked into her eyes. She was still looking up at him, waiting for whatever it was she was waiting for. Maybe she didn’t even know herself. But he realized then that he was chickening out. He needed to do something harder than putting a collar on her, something he hadn’t done for a long, long time. Something he’d quit believing he’d ever be able to say with honesty, and saying it dishonestly had always been right out.
“Natalie, I love you.”
Her eyes got shiny. Her lip quivered in the most adorable way. The words hung in the air for long moments. His heart thumped.
“I love you too, Master,” she said.
He let go the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
“What do we do now?” she asked.
“When do you get a vacation?”
“Thanksgiving, but it’s only a few days. It’d take me almost the whole time to get here and back.”
He nodded. “Winter break?”
“Yes. That seems a long way away. But I’ll come to you when I get my break, if you wish. Under one condition.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Under what condition?”
“You have to be mine, all mine. I’m not Rhonda. I don’t share well. I don’t want to be worried that some other woman is with you. Maybe that’s not very submissive, but it’s me, and I can’t be any different. I’d like to be, in a way. But I’m not.”
He hadn’t thought about it, but now that he did, he realized he had no interest in being with anyone else. Sure, he enjoyed getting his rocks off, but his hand would suffice. No reason to involve another person if he couldn’t have Natalie.
He bent down and kissed her. “Your condition is agreed to, slave girl, providing you agree to mine.”
“From that glint in your eye, I have a feeling I will.” She grinned. “That’s your evil glint, Master, and I’ve grown to like it. It usually means you’re going to spank me, or that you know my nipples need to be pinched even when I don’t know it myself, or something else that nice boys don’t do to nice girl
s. That look makes me wet. What are your conditions?”
“The same, that you won’t have sex with any other man or woman.”
She giggled. “Sure about that? No fantasies about watching lesbian sex? And no, I’m not gay.”
“I’ve had those fantasies. I’ve watched women making love. I’m ready to move on.” He paused. “Anyway, there’s more.”
She nodded.
“No coming from touching yourself either, without my permission. You can call me any time, day or night, whether I’m sleeping or not. But you have to ask. And if I don’t say yes, you may not come. Every single orgasm of yours is mine.”
She blinked. “Yes, Master. It’s going to be a long, long time until winter break, isn’t it?”
He kissed her. “Yes, it is,” he agreed, but he was thinking they weren’t going to have to wait that long. He took out the gold chain from his pocket and showed it to her. “I want you to be reminded that I’m yours. And that you’re mine. If you’re willing, I’d like to collar you.”
“What does it mean to you, Master?” she asked.
“That we’re committed to each other. That you submit to me, at least in matters pertaining to sex. And that I, in turn, will protect and nurture you, and make sure that you are well provided for. Especially,” he said with a grin, “in matters pertaining to sex.”
“And how are you going to do that, more than eight thousand miles away?”
“I’ll have to be creative, won’t I? If you don’t think I can be sufficient for you, then don’t let me put this on you.” He knew he was asking a lot. But he’d be with her as soon as he could. He didn’t want to make a promise on a date when he didn’t know himself yet. His chest hurt as he watched her and waited.
She tilted her chin up, baring her delicate neck. He placed the golden chain around her, pleased to see it fit perfectly. He hoped it would never come off. If it had been practical, it would have been made of solid steel and locked in the back, although he’d never hold her against her will. But that might be a trifle obvious for a university professor.
Either way, this time he was playing for keeps.
“Thank you, Master. But if I’m wearing your collar, shouldn’t you have my leash?”
“I suppose I should,” he said, although he wasn’t sure what she was aiming at. She had a quick mind though, and he wasn’t always going to be able to figure things out ahead of her. It was one of the things that made her exciting.
“I didn’t come prepared, really. But I would like you to have something. To help you remember.”
“There’s no chance of me forgetting,” he said with feeling.
“Nonetheless.” She reached for her key ring. She pulled a key off it and handed it to him. “Keep this. It’s the key to my apartment but I keep a spare one in my office. I’ll make a detour on the way home from the airport.”
He took the key and put it on his own key chain. Or we could hit a locksmith in Cairns, he thought, but it would probably be hard to do that without risking her missing her flight home. Besides, he’d rather spend the time smooching in the airport than running around the city. He glanced at his watch to see how much time they had left.
Damn. “We better get moving.”
She nodded. “Permission to stand, Master?”
He reached out a hand to assist. “Granted.”
“Thank you.” She pulled hard, relying on his strength to help her up. He took her hand and they walked together downstairs, and then down the pier toward the airplane. Only Tom was off the island, but there was no sign of Kyle or Roger, which was just as well. He’d catch up with his friends later. Right now, he wanted all the time with Natalie he could get.
“You’re sitting up with me. Want a flight lesson while we’re at it?”
She blanched. “As long as I don’t have to do any flying, sure.”
“Nope. Just figured I’d tell you what the controls do.”
She took a breath. “That’s okay then.”
“Good.” He helped her up, with more of a boost on the rear than she needed, but there was no reason not to combine business with fun. Then he followed her into the plane.
He got out the key to the ignition and saw her key there. He fumbled getting the right key in and nearly dropped the keys on the floor. “Rule number one. Don’t get distracted by the leash in your hand. Or the pretty girl sitting next to you.”
“I’ll try to remember that,” said Natalie.
* * * * *
Several months later.
“No, I can’t give you a retest,” said Natalie. The frat boy standing on the other side of her desk was pouting. “But if you do well on the final, you can get your grade up to a B-minus, I believe.” She tapped on her computer a few times, looked at her grade spreadsheet and nodded. “Yes. That’s right.” Although the odds that the kid in front of her would get a hundred on her final was about the same as the odds of the dean calling her and telling her to go back to Submission Island. Still, if he really worked at it he might manage a C. John wasn’t stupid, he was just lazy.
“But my parents will throw a fit if I don’t get good grades.”
Your parents should have helped you grow up before you got to my class. It wasn’t that she wasn’t sympathetic, but she couldn’t budge and be fair to the other students. She remembered how Carter spoke and tried to channel his voice of authority. “No.”
John stood there for a moment longer and she fixed him with a stare. Suddenly, he turned and stalked out. She looked at her clock. Four forty. Office hours had been over for ten minutes. She should go home. She had shopping to do. She had to get Halloween candy before tomorrow, and she could use milk and bread and some vegetables as well. But she hadn’t checked her email for forty-five minutes, because she’d had two students who actually wanted help with the material before John, and there was a very good chance there was mail from Carter. She didn’t want to wait until she got home for that. She loved his emails. She felt something soften inside when she heard from him. Her students would be surprised, she thought, that hard-assed Dr. Cavello was a submissive. But really, she was only submissive to one man, and he, alas, was over eight thousand miles away.
She had mail. Sometimes he had orders for her. It wasn’t as good as being with him, but it was better than nothing. Often, he told her to get herself off at the next opportunity, with very clear instructions for what she was to imagine while doing so. That morning, he’d told her to wear a skirt with no panties. It had kept her on edge all day. She opened the mail.
I have to go on a little trip, so I won’t be calling you this evening. There are directions for you on your voice mail at home. That was all it said. That could mean anything. A session with her vibrator. A cam session. A visit to the lingerie store. A walk around the block wearing those evil little plastic balls he sent her that jiggled inside her pussy. But she did enjoy it a bit more when it was his voice giving the orders. And if recorded had to do today, well, then it had to do. But she wanted more. She pulled her cell phone out. She was tempted to give him a call so she could hear him live, but she enjoyed having him initiate the contact. She enjoyed him initiating a lot of things. It was the one part of her life where she wasn’t in control, and she wanted to keep it that way. She put the phone away.
She wanted to rush home, but she knew she’d be sorry if she didn’t get the candy. There was a long line at the grocery store, of course. That’s what she got for waiting for almost the last moment. She tried to be patient. It would have been easier if she’d been wearing panties, but every time she shifted her weight she was reminded of what she didn’t have on.
Finally she stood at the doorway to her apartment, the number 102 emblazoned in raised brass on the red door. That was about how many days it had been since she’d last touched him. She sighed and touched the gold chain around her neck, balancing the bag of groceries and Halloween candy she’d bought for tomorrow in her other arm. His collar. The ritual steadied her, as it usually did. She’d
be able to get to his message in a moment. She wanted to find out what he had in store for her. She got out her keys and dropped them in her eagerness. She picked them up, remembering Carter fumbling with the keys in the airplane. He had that effect on her still. She hoped he stared at it occasionally. In two months she’d be flying back to him for winter break. If it went well, she might look for someplace to teach closer to him for the next school year, maybe in Australia or New Zealand.
She got the door open, walked in and dropped her bag on the floor. The door swung closed behind her.
Carter was lounging on her favorite television-watching chair, a big, heavy leather lounger. He’d turned it to face the door, however. She remembered having two guys help her move the chair, but somehow she doubted he had them to help. He was wearing a white shirt with two or three buttons loose and black jeans. A smile was playing on his lips as he took in her reaction. He looked good enough to eat.
The thought of kneeling in front of him crossed her mind, but she didn’t want to be any farther from him than she absolutely had to be. There was milk in the grocery bag, but it could wait. They had more at the store. She ran forward and leapt on him. She’d had boyfriends she could break that way, but she wasn’t worried about Carter.
She kissed him hard and he kissed back, his tongue entwining with hers. She pressed her body against him and he pulled her even tighter, one hand wrapped around her back, the other on her ass. She straddled him, her knees fitting snugly between his thighs and the arms of the brown leatherette chair.
She had to stop to breathe eventually.
“Hi,” he said.
She caught her breath enough to talk. “Hi.” She didn’t have enough air for a detailed conversation, and if she did, she had other things to spend it on.
“Don’t you want to hear your instructions?”
That all seemed beside the point now. But he asked a question, and he deserved an honest answer. “No. Just do whatever you want to me.” She kissed him again, stopping whatever he intended to say back.
Passion Flower: 1 Page 11
