At work she didn't have to use his formal title of Sir. She could call and talk to him, as any woman might the man she adored. At work she could be more casual with her language. But even at work she had better watch her manners, her tone and her attitude.
Being a submissive in the modern world was a challenge. Believing women to be equal but also knowing the need to give power to some one else, a man. Finding friends and colleagues talking about their relationships in ways she knew she never would even if she could. Being a submissive in a demanding career meant working hard. Finding time to fulfill her career goals and still find time to see to him, the one to whom she had pledged obedience was harder work than she had ever imagined.
It was Friday afternoon and some of her colleagues wanted to go grab some cocktails and appetizers. It would be a fun end to a hard week. She wanted to go, to kick back and for a little longer escape her submission. She didn't regret her choices, but sometimes she had to admit that life would be easier in many ways if she didn't have quite so many rules or quiet such a demanding and determined man in her life.
"Hi, I have a favor to ask?" She began when he picked up on his cell phone.
"No." It was just one word.
"But?" She was taken aback for a moment.
"There are not buts, the answer is no."
"You don't even know what I am going to ask."
The silence on the end of the line made her heart begin to race. Had she gone too far?
"Do I need to know?"
He was waiting for an answer.
"No, no you don't."
"I have given you my answer, girl"
"Yes." She swallowed hard as her face flushed.
"Are there any errands you need to run on the way home?"
"I need a couple of things from the grocery store." She was actually contemplating disobeying him. In the few seconds of conversation she had run through half a dozen scenarios. She knew this was a bad idea but she wanted to be with her friends for a little longer.
"Use you card and save your receipt"
He knew.
"Well, I am not sure I will stop."
"Girl, if you stop, use your card and save the receipt."
"Yes of course." Her heart was pounding in her chest now. He knew, he knew she had contemplated disobeying him, she could almost see him standing in front of her.
"Now listen to me," his voice was conversational, calm but there was an undeniable edge to his tone. "Defiance will be met with severe consequences. Am I making myself clear?"
She felt the blush creeping up her body, surging up her neck and flooding her face with color.
"Yes." She tried to sound casual as if they didn't both realize she had actually thought to challenge his authority. She had not made that mistake since they had first met. "Yes, of course."
"Go home, girl."
He hung up and she caught her breath. She was actually trembling.
"Hey! You coming?" The girls all asked as they headed for the door.
"Nah, I am going to go home and nurse this headache."
She listened to her colleagues try and persuade her to join them all the way down in the lift. And yet all she could think about was home. If she went home, if she was on her best behavior, if she behaved as if all this were a giant misunderstanding, perhaps he would not have to discuss it with her, perhaps they would both pretend today hadn't happened.
"Janie, come on. Have on drink with us."
They were in the lobby already. She smiled and laughed accepting their teasing. She joked that she had a better offer at home, all the while knowing that she had over stepped her bounds and that she was going to have to answer for it.
She drove home with a growing sense of impending doom. She would take a shower, freshen up, slip into some lingerie, and chill a bottle of wine. She would just behave as if none of this had happened. He didn't know she had meant to disobey, he might suspect, but he couldn't know.
She almost hit her brakes at the sight of his car in the driveway. They didn't live together, although each had enough supplies at the other's place that it often seemed that they did. So why was he here now? She should have had hours to prepare and plan for his arrival.
She parked and clutched the wheel firmly for a moment. She needed to gather her thoughts.
"Out of the car!" He was suddenly beside the car, opening the door.
She took the hand he offered her and stepped out of the car. He took her car keys and locked the vehicle as he led her to the house. He did not speak until the door was closed behind them.
"Put you bags down and go and take a shower. When you are done, come and see me."
She lifted her eyes to his. Damn it! How did he always know? She was blushing and when she put her bags on the table in the hall she realized she was trembling.
"Hurry up." His voice was calm almost soothing, and she knew he was furious. Only the icy calm of fury made him sound so reasonable, ordinary. Gone was the warm, teasing manner or the strict tone of discipline, this was the worst thing she could have anticipated. He was sending her upstairs while he gathered himself.
She walked up the stairs slowly.
"Don't make me have to come and get you now," he called after her. "Shower, and then come back down here. In your towel is fine."
She tried to keep the same pace; she didn't want to acknowledge she had been dragging her feet by suddenly speeding up. At the top of the stairs she began to shed clothes. She turned the shower on not waiting for it to get hot. She needed to blot out her panic. She stood under the pounding water and tried to breath.
The shower curtain was ripped back and he reached in and grabbed her by the hair. She had no choice but to follow him as he strode through to the bedroom. He threw her to the ground. He stood over her and glared down at her.
She was wet and naked. She glanced up at his angry visage and immediately dropped her eyes. She got up to her knees and rested before him, head lowered.
"It seems I have failed you, Janie."
She didn't dare look up.
"I have given you enough rope to hang yourself." He crouched down in front of her.
"I have been too lenient with you, I have allowed you to forget some of the fundamentals haven't I?"
She glanced up at him now as he crouched before her. She was painfully aware of his legs clad in his suit pants and the faint musk of his skin, this was a sight she would have drunk in on any other day.
Grabbing her hair he pulled her head back.
"You have forgotten your place, haven't you, slut? You have forgotten that you belong to me? Isn't that right?"
His hand leapt from her hair to her neck.
"Yes, I am yours, only yours." She cried out in fright.
He began to lift her to her feet using only the pressure on her neck.
"Mine, my whore, my slut, my tits, my ass and my cunt. You belong to me and yet you actually thought to defy me, isn't that right bitch?"
She whimpered, not daring to speak.
"Did you think I wouldn't know? Did you think I haven't seen this unpleasant streak of defiance building in you?" She stared into his eyes as he walked her backwards. He pushed her against the wall.
"It ends now, do you understand me?"
