"You won't be." He took her hand and drew it to his lips.

The angst that had been bubbling through her since he'd denied her an orgasm became clawing desire. She needed to release the tension, and she didn't want to do it through bad behaviour. Chelsea generally felt as if she was in control of every situation, but with him, she had no idea what to do. She couldn't admit the truth, that she wanted to stay in his arms. But he also demanded she be honest with him.

"When we get back, leave your clothes inside the door and then go up to my bedroom. When I get there, I want to find you leaning over the bed, your ass cheeks spread apart."

Her mouth dried. "Yes, Sir." Obviously he intended to do more anal training this evening. She didn't object. Now that she'd become more accustomed to it, she sometimes enjoyed it. When he fucked her with the butt plug in place, the sensations made nerve endings sing. It was so tight, so overwhelming. Now that she was past the worry that the thing would be expelled when she climaxed, she anticipated those evenings.

He pulled the vehicle into the garage. She tried not to notice how normal-how wonderful-it felt to arrive home with him. She preceded him into the house. As soon as the door closed behind him, she kicked off her heels and started to unbutton her blouse.

She expected him to walk straight past her, but he paused. He dug a hand into her hair and tipped her head to one side.

He sank his teeth into the tender flesh near her shoulder. Her knees bent, and before she could lose her balance, he caught her.

"Don't keep me waiting, sub." He walked away.

Chelsea stripped where she was. Those were his instructions. She doubted he would have minded if she had undressed in the living room, but she wasn't certain. She'd learnt one thing during their time together, and that was to explicitly follow his orders. If he had commanded her to get naked in the garage, she would have done that. She had realised he looked out for her interests and never asked her to do something that would compromise her safety or modesty.

In the distance, a door closed, and she assumed he'd entered his home office. Not knowing how much time she had, she hurried upstairs to prepare for his arrival.

The beast kept her waiting.

She fought to stay focused, to harness her thoughts, to keep her ass cheeks spread. She listened intently for any sound that would indicate his imminent arrival. Just because she heard nothing, it didn't mean he wasn't standing there, watching her.

This time, he wasn't being stealthy.

She heard his footfall on the steps, then outside the door. For a moment she forgot to breathe. But he continued down the hallway. She almost relaxed, but then realised it didn't mean he wouldn't be back right away. Doing what her Dom wanted when she didn't want to or when she didn't see the point was her greatest challenge.

He kept her waiting for a few minutes before joining her.

"Perfect," he said.

Her heart raced. His approval made the wait worthwhile.

"You know I'm going to fuck your ass tonight, sub."

Her breath threatened to strangle her. She couldn't have spoken now if he paid her.

"We'll start with a small plug."

She heard the sound of his shoes. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw him place a few items on the nightstand.

He rubbed her bare buttocks. "No marks that won't fade by tomorrow," he told her.

Before she was ready, he placed the tip of the small plug against her. The silicone felt cold and wet. "Open up," he said, then he pushed it in.

She barely felt its insertion, and it took no time to accommodate to the feel.

"You're getting better at that," he told her. "Now a larger size."

She still found it a bit humiliating for him to remove a plug, but she knew protesting wouldn't change anything. In fact, he'd probably think up a diabolical way to teach her not to say anything in future.

He worked the bigger one in a little at a time, easing it in and pulling it out, then going deeper with each thrust.

She groaned when the biggest part stretched her anal ring.

"Keep your asshole exposed for me," he said. "Now you're going to take one that's larger than either of those."

"Sir..." She was tempted to move her hands.

"Your choice, sub. I can prepare you with another plug, or I can fuck you now."

Chelsea knew she should have kept her mouth shut. "Another one is fine, Sir." He eased the current one from her, and she exhaled a huge sigh of relief. The respite was short lived. Almost instantly she felt something larger demanding entrance. "Damn, Sir!"

"Relax your muscles," he coached.

She curled her toes against the unyielding floor. "I can't do this!"

He slapped her ass hard.

The distraction allowed him to sink the nasty thing in farther. "This one feels different," she said after she expelled her breath. And she hated it. It felt bruising and punishing.

"It's made from tempered glass," he said. "Unbreakable. It's considerably less forgiving than the others we've used until now."

She shuddered. Having his cock up there would feel better than this, she was sure.

He reached beneath her to play with her clit. Always this man knew how to touch her. As need built in her, he moved the glass piece around, working it in, easing it out, then pushing forward again.

She whimpered as he continued the assault on her rear. She'd never dealt with anything this horrible before.

Despite all her good intentions, she moved her hands and tried to stand. He forced her back down and he twisted the glass so that it slid in.

She panted, drenched with sweat, tears swimming in her eyes. Pain swamped her.

"Good girl."

"Fuck you," she said under her breath.

"Did you say something, sub?"

"Thank you, Sir."

He flipped her over so that she was on her back looking up at him.

"I think you were being disrespectful, girl."

She shook her head, but then she looked away and closed her eyes.

"Chelsea?"

Digging for courage, she faced him again. "You're right, Sir. I was. I'm sorry. It hurts so much, and your words struck me as condescending." She bit her lower lip, afraid of his reaction. Even in a vanilla relationship, speaking to a partner in that way was disrespectful and unacceptable. "I was out of line. I accept whatever punishment you deem necessary."

He loomed over her, fully dressed, arms folded implacably. "Do you or do you not have a safe word?"

She wanted to look away. "Yes, I do, Sir."

"Do you remember what it is?"

"Parsley, Sir."

"And do you or do you not have a way to request a pause if you can't deal with something?"

With a bravery that she wasn't feeling, she continued to meet his gaze. "Yes, Sir."

"A good sub communicates with her Master."

That wasn't what he was to her. Was it? He was a fill-in Dom. Nothing more? So why did she feel so terrible? Earlier she'd told him she hated the idea of disappointing him. He had no idea how true that was.

"Talking, expressing your feelings...that's the only way for the relationship to get deeper and richer. It develops trust. Otherwise you have something meaningless. Is that what you want?"

"No it's not, Sir." She wished he'd spank her, light up her rear, chastise her, and get it over with. Anything other than this overwhelming sensation of shame.

"I'm going to punish you," he said.

"Yes, Sir."

"Get on all fours and fuck yourself with the plug."

She opened her mouth in shock.

"You heard me. Much harder to take than a beating, isn't it?"

"Sir... I mean..."

"Do it, girl."

"Can we negotiate this?"

"Absolutely not. Safe word and go home or do this now."

The world seemed to shift beneath her. This might be the most dreadful thing he'd ever requested of her.

"Talk to me, girl."

His use of the word was obviously intentional to reinforce their roles. "I will do what you said, but I'm embarrassed as hell. I don't want to do it. I'd rather you whip me."

"That's why I've chosen this. I've learnt a thing or two about subs during this process, and being a brat with me will only earn you time to think about your behaviour. I like flogging and belting you, but you like it, as well. Keeping that in the erotic realm is what works best with you."

She resisted the urge to cover up. She'd never felt so exposed. He didn't just see her physically, he excavated her deepest emotions.

"Anything further?"

"No, Sir."

"Then pull the plug out and reinsert it twenty times. If it needs more lube at any point, just let me know."

He continued to stand above her as she got onto all fours. She closed her eyes as she reached back and grasped the slippery glass hilt. In order to extract it, she had to curl her entire hand around the base and bear down.

She silently counted, and wished she were anyplace but here.

"Faster," he instructed.

It took all her willpower not to say something else that would get her in trouble. She'd thought she was becoming a better sub. This showed her how much further she had to go.

When she was about a dozen strokes in, he said, "Stop and give me the plug."

Quicksand. She'd give all her savings to have quicksand swallow her whole.

She watched as he squirted more of the thick lubricant on the plug. Then he gave it back to her.

"You may continue."

Wordlessly she did so, getting through the rest as quickly as possible. It became less and less difficult to put it in and pull it out, but it was every bit as uncomfortable. When she finished, she looked up at him.

"Another five," he said.

"Ah..." She stared at him in shock.

He raised his eyebrows and silently regarded her.

"Yes, Sir." Blast him. He did understand how to reinforce a message.

She took hold of the hated thing and went through the motions again. Her body was becoming fatigued from the awkward position, and her rear was starting to burn.

"That will suffice," he said.

"Thank you, Sir."

"You could have avoided those last five by remembering your manners after the first twenty."

Would she ever learn?

"Leave the plug in."

She could barely breathe with the way it filled her.

"Undress me," he said.

Chelsea was starting to regret having requested extra time with him. What the hell had she been thinking?