It had been one of those kinds of days from the moment she woke that morning. Murphy's Law was alive and well; everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. Beginning with her oversleeping because everyone else in the house was still in dream land, running late to work because she had to stop for gas and then getting pulled over by the police for running a red light (she swore the light was yellow), spilling her coffee on her white blouse… the list went on. By lunch time, her nerves were frazzled. And with an afternoon filled with difficult meetings, a boss suffering from PMS, and an assistant who had her head in the clouds planning her wedding, Lynn was ready to scream.
As she drove home, she was still annoyed that Marcus and Grace had the day off. It was one of those holidays that only government employees got off; the rest of the working world worked right through it. And she was a working stiff – just a peon on the totem pole of the gainfully employed. She didn't WANT to be petty but she couldn't help it. She was in a lousy mood and didn't see any reason to try to shake it.
When she pushed open the front door and tossed her purse on the side table, Grace caught her eye. She was sitting on the couch, working on her checkbook. She gave Lynn a small frown and nodded her head towards the back of the house. If Lynn hadn't been so consumed with her bad mood, she would have taken Grace's hint. But today was not a day for subtlety for Lynn. It would take a very obvious jolt to get her attention.
That jolt was just about to happen.
Marcus walked in the living room. Dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt, he was just under six feet tall. Although there was nothing wrong with the man's looks, it wasn't his physical appearance that was so compelling. Marcus was one of those men that commanded attention and respect just by his presence. His eyes could look into a person's soul and see the truth that was hidden from the rest of the world.
He was a Dominant male and everyone who met him knew it. Submissives who made his acquaintance were mesmerized by him. That he was one of the few Doms in the area that could successfully live with two female subs spoke volumes about the control he exercised over his life and the lives of the women he protected, cared for, controlled.
One of those women was Grace. The other was Lynn. Lynn was the newest member of the "family". She had only been part of the group for a month. Grace had been with Marcus over a year. Lynn was about to discover for herself why Marcus was able to handle his role in this strange family as well as he did.
"Ah, baby girl," his voice was smooth and controlled as he looked straight at Lynn, "I see you have finally made it home."
Lynn, normally outgoing and full of laughter, was still too steeped in her own misery to pay attention to the undertones in Marcus's words. Instead, she foolishly let her ill temper control her.
"Yeah, I did. The traffic was a bitch. Work is a bitch. My boss is a bitch." She slammed herself into a chair and was taking off her shoes. "But I have finally made it home." She emphasized the last as if to draw attention to the fact that she had been away while the others had the luxury of sleeping in and having a day off.
"Why don't you go get a shower and meet me in the bedroom?" Marcus smooth voice drifted calmly over to her.
There was something about what he said, the way he said it, that finally pricked at Lynn. She thought about her ill temper since she had walked in a few minutes earlier. It had been terrible but that by itself would not explain the undertones in Marcus's words. She had come in from work more than once just short of being a raving maniac and Marcus had never chastised her for it. He had let her get over it on her own. Within an hour of coming in from work, Lynn normally had transformed into her usual sweet self.
So what was different this time?
As Lynn stood up to make her way past Marcus, she stopped to pick up her purse from the side table. She saw a stack of letters there. Something about the top envelope caught her eye and she picked it up. It was cancelled by the post office but the letter was from Marcus to the electric company. The next letter was the same, only addressed to the phone company. The last letter was to the cable company. All the letters had been returned… for lack of postage.
Lynn's stomach lurched. It was her job to mail all outgoing correspondence for the family. She checked the side table every morning, picked up any letters, put the postage on them and dropped the letters in the outgoing mail at the office. Usually. Normally. It would appear when she mailed these letters two days ago, she had not bothered to put any stamps on them. The post office had simply returned them to the sender – Marcus.
Well, what was the big deal? She would simply take them to work with her tomorrow and mail them properly. No problem. Right?
As she laid the letters back on the side table, she felt Marcus move to stand beside her. "Go get a shower, baby girl," his voice felt like velvet against her ear. "And come back here to me."
Lynn moved away and walked towards the third bedroom. In there were her clothes. The closet was crammed with her things; the dresser was filled with her things. She slipped off her shoes and jewelry, grabbed a long t-shirt and headed toward the master bedroom.
That was where she slept… along with Grace and Marcus. The master bath contained her make-up as well as Grace's and all of Marcus's shaving needs. The master bedroom closet was filled with Marcus's things. The second bedroom held Grace's clothing. The two women each had their own rooms for their personal things. There was a bed in each room also. But most nights, those beds lay empty. The master and his two subs usually slept together in the huge bed in Marcus's room.
Lynn dropped her clothing into the hamper and adjusted the shower to suit her. She stepped in and began the ritual of washing her hair and body. There was a nagging in the back of her mind but she refused to acknowledge it. After all, her behavior had not been that different than it had been in the past. But still… there was that warning look Grace had given her that she had ignored earlier… and the undertones in Marcus's casual comments
Lynn stepped out of the shower and towel dried her hair and body. She slathered on a scented body lotion and then slipped into the t-shirt. The hem of it hung below her full butt cheeks. She fingered her still-damp hair into place and stepped out of the bathroom. She could see Marcus standing near the huge four poster bed. She frowned.
Something was not right.
She stepped into the room. Marcus turned to her and said, "You did not call at noon today."
Lynn's mind snapped to full attention. Last night, Marcus had told her to call before lunch. If possible, he would meet her and they would go out to eat together. It was a sweet gesture but Lynn had been too annoyed with the fact that she had to work to truly appreciate it.
"You have come home from work on more than one occasion in a bad mood, taking it out on me and Grace," Marcus spoke in his soft, melodic voice as he slowly walked up to her. "You have not taken some of your chores seriously. And you have ignored others."
Lynn stood before him. Her breath froze in her chest. The last few weeks played in her mind as if she had hit fast forward on the DVD player. She saw the moments of her selfishness, her pettiness. She saw her lack of respect for her master. And, for the first time, she reached back in her memory and saw the look on Marcus's face - and Grace's face – when she had done so. She had been treading on very thin ice and had not even had the good sense to notice it.
Marcus walked around her slowly, easily. "I wanted to think you just needed time to settle in, baby girl. But perhaps you needed more structure." It was not quite a question. Lynn wisely chose not to offer an answer. She heard the soft sounds of a radio playing in Grace's bedroom through the closed door. Grace must have taken herself away from the coming storm.
Lynn had joined Marcus and Grace when her own world fell apart. She was a submissive person by nature who fought hard to maintain a life with a husband who was verbally abusive, using her with no regard for her feelings, no concern for her need to give. Instead, he took and took until Lynn finally had nothing left to give him. She felt like an empty shell. When she had reached rock-bottom, she had bolted. Meeting Marcus and Grace had been the greatest blessing of her life. She had become friends with them when she had shyly made her way into a munch. Grace has befriended her, introduced her to Marcus and things just fell into place. She moved in with them a month ago as a roommate and shortly after that assumed a submissive position in the family.
Her first sexual encounter with Marcus had been unbelievable. She experienced a depth of sexual satisfaction that she had not known even existed. His sexual skills took her breath away. His dominance was a finely crafted art that he used to fulfill himself as well as his subs. He completed her in a way she had never felt, never knew possible. She adored him and considered herself blessed to be included in this family. She realized now that she had submitted her body to him but thought to keep her will under her own control. She understood clearly that she had made a serious error.
"Lynn," his voice was still soft, fully controlled, "take off your t-shirt. I did not give you permission to put it on."
That was true. He had not told her to put on a t-shirt. Normally, when she and Grace were around the house, that is all they wore… no bra, no panties – just a t-shirt. Marcus would have preferred them naked but he understood that most woman were a bit more at ease during the daytime if they were somewhat covered. The t-shirt was a compromise to that feeling while still allowing them to be fully available to him.
But then again, he usually did not tell them to take a shower, either. Both women knew that was their first order of business when they came in from work unless he told them otherwise.
Still standing in the middle of the room, Lynn reached down to the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. She shivered. It wasn't really cold but she felt a prickling of … was it fear? No, it was more complicated than that.
She knew Marcus was upset with her. She had disappointed him. She had taken advantage of him – and Grace. She had been less than she could be, less than she was. She suddenly felt the weight of her selfishness, her foolishness.
Marcus watched her carefully. He saw the dawning of understanding when he looked into her tear-filled eyes. She was relatively new to the lifestyle. She was really inexperienced and no where near trained. And he had to assume some of the fault himself. He had let her go; let her establish bad habits. But she had been aware of her rebellious streak and had deliberately pushed. He would now correct his lack of control and discipline; she would get a very clear understanding of her responsibilities to her family, to him.
He held out her training collar. Normally, he would slip it around her neck. This time, he simply waited for her to take it from him. She did; her fingers trembled as she tried to buckle it into place. She dropped it twice and he finally took pity on her, brushed her fingers aside and fastened the collar around her neck.
He stepped in front of her again and quietly asked her, "Do you know why you are going to be punished?"
Lynn could not look at him. Her heart was beating so loudly, her breath was so painful in her chest. She tried to square her shoulders as she almost whispered, "Yes, Sir."
"I can't hear you, baby girl."
She cleared her throat and tried again. "Yes, Sir." It came out a bit louder but her words were still shaky.
