Silence thundered around them, and she knew he was letting her think. Kellon rarely rushed where she was concerned. He carefully planned, even when he seemed to make split-second decisions.
“I wasn’t pleased by our separation,” he finally said. He took a breath then released it in a harsh huff. “But what’s happening here today is not punishment for that. You will not make reparation for the separation. You were free to make that decision, but know this: I will not allow it again. You will atone for the Peter stunt and for your disrespect, but not right now, and not without your full knowledge that your punishment is for that reason. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir,” she replied, beyond relieved. Revenge had no place in a D/s relationship and she’d feared that was where they’d been headed. She had to trust him more, and that onus was on her. He’d earned it. Her lack was her failing.
“Should you feel a need for separation, we will discuss it and seek counsel first. Do you agree? As much as I want you in my life, I will not proceed without that guarantee from you. We will not endure this again.”
“Yes,” she answered, raising her head. She had to look him in the eye and let him know her commitment. “Yes, Kellon. I agree.”
He nodded, and a faint smile curved his lips. “When you walked into this house today, when you obeyed me so readily, that all ended—well…most of it.”
“Peter?” she asked, confirming that was what he meant.
“Yes, but that is for another time.” He crooked two fingers at her. “Come. Up here.”
Quickly, she rose and he pulled her into his arms. His lips closed over hers, sealing their oath. She opened for him when his tongue demanded entry and sighed at the happiness his kiss suffused through her. Belonging to Kellon seemed right. She only hoped they’d be able to slog through the detritus that had mucked up things.
Kellon pushed his fingers into her hair and pulled back her head as his kiss grew more aggressive.
“I’ve missed you,” he muttered as his lips traveled along her jaw to her neck. He tugged her head farther back as he explored the vulnerable flesh that made her tremble. He licked and nipped his way over her shoulder, turning her as he scraped his teeth over the edge of her shoulder blade. “Today is about mending things between us and making things right.”
His hand flattened in the middle of her back. The tips curled into her skin before he pushed her forward and across his knees.
Breathing heavily, she waited. Her entire focus centered on his palm where it made circles on her ass.
Do it! Just do it!
her mind screamed. She grabbed the carpet again, her whole body tense as she anticipated him lifting his hand, as she throbbed for the blow that would follow. Her jaw clenched, her teeth nearly grinding as he patted her rear.
“Please, I need it. Spank me hard and show me your control over me,” she begged then added as an afterthought, “Sir.”
“Hmm…”
Crap.
He wasn’t done making her wait. And that amused sound told her she’d know exactly who was in control before this was over.
Kellon watched Syb mentally squirm as she anticipated being spanked. Sure, she tried to stay absolutely still, but she practically vibrated with her tension—good tension, but tension nonetheless.
He vibrated with it, too. It surprised him. His excitement level rose as he watched her firm ass jiggle beneath his hand, the quiet clap of his hand to flesh barely a whisper, as she waited so willingly for him to do what he would. Power burned through him. It wasn’t because he could dominate her or because he had the ability to deliver this pain or because he might even hurt her. No, it was her submission. Her submission gave him power, because she gave it to him when she could give to anyone. She’d chosen him.
Him
. While he’d still been dominant, taking herself from him had weakened him and stolen some of his control. She was his and he needed her. They needed each other in this symbiotic existence. That was why her stunt with Peter had bothered him as badly as it had. Syb was Kellon’s.
It was
his
responsibility to give her what she needed.
Enough was enough!
He drew back his hand then brought it down on her ass with a crack that exploded through him like lightning. Syb called out, half-gasp half-wail, but he didn’t pause. She knew her safe word if she wanted him to stop. They needed this. This was his dominance, and her submission. It connected them and fed them.
A pink handprint stained her ass, and he aimed for it as he clapped his hand over her behind. After several spanks, he adjusted his target until her whole rear was emblazoned by his mark. Her cries were full of desperate pleasure as her ass turned crimson. And she was wet. It dampened her thighs and confirmed her arousal. His cock filled, aching with the need to be in her.
Her entire body shuddered with her sobs, and he would have stopped if this hadn’t been so right.
“Yes…yes…yes…” she gasped, the words nearly unintelligible as her mantra sputtered from her.
He knew she didn’t intend him to hear her, and he took it as what it was. Her need. Her encouragement for him to continue. She probably didn’t realize the relief escaped her lips.
“Please, Sir,” she suddenly begged. “Please…I’m going to come. I can’t…I can’t…”
“Let go!” he commanded.
He’d barely spoken when her scream filled the living room, and her body went rigid over his lap. He kept spanking her through it, driving her to completion and only stopping as she started to come down.
Her breathing shuddered from her in broken gasps as he pulled her upright. She winced as her bruised flesh met his pant legs. Tears ran in black streaks down her mottled cheeks, and he ran his thumb over the trails while she sniffled.
“It was good,” she whispered as she snuggled into his chest. He cupped the back of her head to hold her there. His other hand rubbed circles on her back. Soothing, connecting, holding…
It
was
good. He knew someone looking in from the outside would never understand how something that left her a trembling, crying mess could be good, but it was no one else’s business. This was them—his power, her submission—and it was only for the two of them to understand.
Chapter Five
“Let’s go upstairs,” Kellon said after a few minutes, once she’d settled down. Syb tried not to wince as he helped her to her feet. She’d have a reminder of this scene every time she moved for the next few hours. She couldn’t be happier. Some people would call her a masochist, but they couldn’t understand the absolute relaxation that came after a spanking like she’d just gotten, not unless they’d experienced the same complete pleasure. She still felt floaty and spaced-out in the aftermath.
As Kellon laced his fingers through hers and guided her to the stairs, her head started to clear. She had questions—a million of them—but it still wasn’t time. At the landing of the wide stairway, he paused and pulled her to him. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the closeness. God, how she’d missed him.
Gently, he drew a crooked finger along her cheek.
“I must look a mess,” she remarked, knowing she had streaks on her face.
“A little… I kinda like it. They’re for me,” he said. “It’s strange. I’ve never wanted to make you cry. And now…” He shook his head, but he didn’t have to explain his thoughts to her. She understood. Though he’d demonstrated a surprising proficiency in reddening her ass, she understood that the scene had probably conflicted him. He didn’t say it, she’d bet power flowed through him—power and pride that she willingly submitted to his hand and his commands. Pride that he’d given her such pleasure. That flew in direct opposition to the code by which he’d lived most of his teenage years and adult life.
Silently, they went upstairs, each lost in their own thoughts, yet Syb was utterly aware of Kellon and suspected he was aware of her—he always was. It went a long way to make her feel protected and secure. She was her own person, but he was a strong presence, always there in the background, moving when she moved, flowing when she ebbed.
At the top of the stairs, she looked around and frowned, her heart a little sad. While he was always there in her life, she couldn’t help but feel the void of her presence here. They should have decorated together, but here, like the rest of the house, there was a distinct air of emptiness. It was a space he occupied, and nothing more. If they worked out things between themselves, they could make this into the home they’d intended it to be, but she wondered how long it would take for him to trust her enough for that. She’d broken his faith; it couldn’t be instantly repaired.
Hiding her feelings, she let him steer her into the master bedroom. This space held more of him and looked much like his bedroom from the apartment. A red and black geometric spread covered his heavy, dark-wood bed and matching furniture had been set around the room. Aside from a few personal care items atop the tall chest of drawers, the dresser surfaces were bare. Twin twisted-metal lamps sat on the bedside tables, a small framed picture beside one base. She knew the photo. It was one of her and Kellon, taken at her parents’ house last year. She’d been on his lap, laughing as he’d smiled and tickled her, adoration in his eyes.
Things had gotten so messed up after that. At that time, she’d thought living with the lack of spanking in their relationship would be okay, but more and more, she’d ache whenever she’d watched the public disciplining of other subs. The tenderness in her ass now promised that maybe her need was over. Maybe…
“Kellon?” she asked, dropping Sir or Master for the moment. She needed to talk to him without the trappings of their D/s life hugged around them but rather as just a man and a woman who cared about each other.
“Yes?”
“Are you sure? I mean…I don’t want you to feel forced…I…” She shook her head, trying to get her thoughts into coherent order. “If you’re uncomfortable with spanking me, that would be just as bad as me needing it and you refusing.”
“Nothing makes you happy,” he teased.
“No, really,” she insisted. “Reversing who’s not happy isn’t any better. The result will still be the same. We’ll both be miserable.”
“Sybil,” he replied, his tone serious now. He eased her down on the bed and covered her with his body. Her legs bent on either side of his hips as he settled his groin against her apex. “I have no desire to abuse you. There’s no way in hell, I’ll touch you when I’m angry—not like that. But…I think I’m okay with this new addition to our relationship. Really. I like my mark on you. That night…when you broke up with me…” He sighed and she wanted to stop him. She didn’t want to relieve that.
He bit her shoulder, and she groaned, never doubting she’d have teeth marks there, too. His hips tilted into hers. “That night, I had a flogger waiting in the bedroom—”
“No!” she exclaimed, fresh tears burning her eyes.
“I’d been training in the staff center. I knew you really wanted that. It was a gift for our anniversary. I almost grabbed you and dragged you in there. But I was too angry. You wouldn’t listen. You got on a tear and just steamrolled. I was furious.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Then you were gone, and it was too late. Even if I’d told you when I’d planned, you wouldn’t have believed me.” He captured her areola between his teeth and scraped them to tip. “You’re so impetuous and strong-willed.”
“Why do you want me?” she asked with genuine self-depreciation.
“Because, you’re mine, Sybil mine. Because I like disciplining you, and I’m discovering I like to make you scream as I mark you.”
Her pussy ground against the ridge in his pants, and her bruised ass throbbed as the flesh rubbed the bedding. “I like your mark on me, too, Sir.” She wanted him to lose the clothes. It had been way too long since he’d fucked her, but the timing was in his hands.
“I think you need to be cuffed,” he said suddenly, and before she could react, he straddled her torso. Her arms were pressed above her head. She didn’t fight as he looped leather restraints around both her wrists, and only when they were fastened did she pull at her arms to test her movement. Short chains kept them secured to the headboard far enough apart that she couldn’t unfasten the buckles on her own.
A bolt of excitement raced through her. He had her at his mercy, right where she most liked to be. Her body was truly his tonight, and they both knew it.
“Spread your legs. I have a surprise for you,” he commanded, a hard look on his face. He didn’t wait to see if she complied before climbing off the bed and heading for his closet. Craning her head, she watched him. What was he doing? She wanted to have sex. Now.
It’s not about what
you
want,
she reminded herself.
It’s about pleasing Kellon.
But when he returned from the walk-in, carrying the bag he’d brought home with him earlier, he looked rather displeased. His pointed glare at her legs told her why. She’d been so caught up in watching him and being curious that she hadn’t followed his command.
Quickly, she parted her thighs.
“Too little too late,” he chided. “And for that, another punishment.”
“Yes, Sir,” she replied, wondering what he had in store for her now. Though her ass ached, another spanking would be okay. She’d been so long without that she’d happily gorge on that attention.
“I think your ankles need to be bound for this.”
Bound for
what
? If he was binding her face-up, then he didn’t intend more attention to her ass.
To her surprise, he didn’t reach for her feet. He set the bag on the bed and unzipped it. “I’ve been planning this for awhile. This afternoon, I had Rob and his friend, Ethan, help me pick out a few things you should find interesting. Apparently, Ethan’s wife Natalia is really into spanking, too. He suggested I try out something she really likes.”
He pulled a thick, dark-skinned dildo from the bag and smeared some lube on it while he talked. She eyed it, knowing the thing would spread her wide. She’d be so full when it was pushed deep. Her pussy throbbed with need. They’d played enough. She needed to be fucked. But she wouldn’t be doing either of them favors if she commanded him to take her. In fact, she knew him well enough to know he’d make her wait extra long if she tried to dominate him. Once before, he’d straddled her and made her watch while he’d stroked himself to release. The burning cum on her flesh had almost brought on her own release and undermined him. He’d left her bound and needing all night.