He let her get about four steps down the hall before speaking. The humor she heard in His voice made her stop and arch an eyebrow, wondering just what game He was playing now.
"Just where do you think you are going?"
she smiled at Him, figuring she'd play along for a minute, just to see what He was up to. The notion that the rules had indeed been changed never entered her stubborn, spoiled mind.
"Uh, duh... to take a shower like I always do when we are done playing."
He walked over to her, His smile widening. He had to admit to Himself He would have been very disappointed if she had been broken that easily. He kissed her forehead and then grabbed her hair, yanking her head back hard. she yelped and tried to pull her hair out of his grip, which only made Him pull harder. His voice was still full of laughter, but she could hear the steel will in it as well.
"Did I say you were dismissed yet, bitch?" He grinned wickedly as He saw her expression change to incredulous surprise and immediate anger.
"No, asshole, and I didn't fucking ask."
He tightened His grip on her hair and lightly backhanded her across the mouth. For a moment, she was too stunned to even speak, and He took that second to push her up against the wall. He slid His hand around her neck, not squeezing yet, just gripping enough to get her attention. He leaned His face to hers, staring her down.
"Next lesson, bitch β you better learn to watch your mouth, and you better do it quickly." she opened her mouth and He quickly moved His hand up from her neck to cover it before she could start yelling and cussing. "I'm fucking serious, Cinderella. The next time you start running your mouth I am going to find out just how many clothespins I can fit on your bitchy little princess tongue." her eyes widened even more as she realized He was totally serious. He wasn't playing the same game anymore, and she had no clue what the new one was. A small voice in the back of her head tried to tell her He wasn't playing, and it was no longer a game at all, but her arrogant parts were still furious over the kitchen scene and were screaming so loud about it all she couldn't hear.
Before she could even register what she was doing she bit down hard on His hand, trying like hell to draw blood. He all but roared as her teeth sank into the soft spot between His thumb and index finger. He ripped His hand away from her mouth and even as pissed as she was, she knew she had just fucked up big time. His hand came up fast and she tensed hard, squeezing her eyes shut, expecting Him to backhand her again. When He didn't she opened her eyes and looked at Him. He had crossed His arms over His chest, and was just standing there, looking at her. The very last thing she wanted to do was apologize, but she was smart enough to know if she did anything else, He probably wouldn't be able to stop Himself from hitting her.
"I'm sorry."
He didn't say anything, just shook his head slowly, His eyes never leaving hers. she thought for a second, and then tried again.
"I'm sorry, Sir."
He shook His head again and put His hands on her shoulders. He pushed down hard, forcing her to her knees, then crossed His arms over His chest again and looked down at her. He spoke through clenched teeth, and she knew she had better get it right this time.
"One last try, princess."
she looked up at Him, and the way He was looking down at her made her drop her eyes. It clicked for her suddenly, the significance of kneeling, and why she had always resisted it. Somehow, the simple fact of being on her knees before him had shifted part of the power in the room, and she knew by the way she didn't want to meet His gaze that the shift had not been in her favor. she forced herself to look up at Him, but couldn't bring herself to lift her chin to do it. she hated that, but the things she hated more were the small tear that slipped from her eye as she spoke, and the sound of submission in her voice.
"I am sorry I bit You, Sir, so very sorry I displeased You." she had to drop her eyes again, had to try to shield herself in some way. she felt too exposed, and not just because she was still only wearing an apron and high heels. she felt exposed from the inside, knew the expression on her face was showing Him exactly what was going on in her head. That had always been another thing that had rubbed between them; she wanted to show Him only the parts of herself she wanted Him to see, and He had always wanted to see it all.
"Look at Me, pet." she raised her eyes slowly, trying to clear her mind of the tangle of thoughts racing through it, trying to hide as much as she could. He smiled down at her, knowing what she was doing and knowing His next words were going to clear her mind very fast.
"Good. And now you are going to prove how sorry you are, by crawling down the hall and getting the bag of clothespins and bringing them back to Me."