Battle of Wills 1 - Retraining the sub Read online

  Hardening himself to any feelings he may have had in the past for her he moved to perch on Sean’s desk and continued. “The question, my dear, is more why you are in this place—my sweet little Annie, so innocent, so pure.” He stopped to rake his gaze over her body. “Well, not my little Annie anymore that’s for sure. I’ll have to remember to call you Annabel.”

  Ann had obviously had enough of this. “Luke, what the hell is going on here? Why are you acting this way? Okay, you are getting even with me, but surely you are not trying to tell me you, of all people, have become a Dom?” Her voice ended on a note of sarcasm.

  He winced. That was a score for the opposition. “It’s Master Lucas now, and it’s been eight years, my dear Annabel. Clearly both of us have changed. Or did you have a hankering for this life all those years ago?” He was surprised to see her eyes open widely in response. That’s interesting. Maybe she had. That was something he had never considered in all the years of introspection. He stood. “Never mind that now. I am here because you have made yourself very unpopular, and I have agreed to take you on as my pupil to get you out of those bad habits.”

  “You. Have. To. Be. Kidding.”

  She was evening up the score fast, so he deliberately loomed over her. It was a standard dominance tactic. “Of course, you could just walk out of here—and prove you still haven’t changed those bad habits of yesteryear.” She tensed. Another round to him.

  “Look…” She stopped when he frowned at her. She turned her head to Sean, who had been standing in the doorway closely watching the interaction between the two of them.

  Luke could see how intrigued Sean was by their relationship. He had told him a little of what Ann had done to him in the past, just not how much it had hurt. Although he guessed that Sean knew now why he acted the way he did with his subs. He was actually a little surprised therefore that Sean had agreed to go along with him being Ann’s trainer knowing his own reputation.

  Ann pleaded. “Master Sean, there is absolutely no way I can be trained—retrained—by him of all people. You must surely see that is impossible. You know our history, don’t you?”

  The owner of the club moved out from his position, walking forward a step or two as if to return to his desk. “Then I will refund your subscription and wish you all the best for the future.”

  “But … I didn’t say I was leaving. Isn’t there anyone else?” Her voice rose in clear panic.

  “I’m afraid not. You have made yourself very unpopular. Of course, you could leave, and try another club in the city, but you will find your reputation will precede you.” He stopped to glance at Luke. “I am going to leave you with Master Lucas for a while to talk things through, and decide what you want to do. I’ll be back in ten minutes or so.” He then turned to leave them alone.

  Luke watched Ann’s face as her shoulders slumped. She was clearly unsure what to do next, her eyes staring at the door that Sean had just exited. He moved to lean back against the desk again, crossing his arms and legs in what he hoped looked like a very relaxed pose. “Let me set out my terms. I will not raise what you did eight years ago. That is in the past. This is about what you do in this club, and, as I understand it, you have been overusing your safe word, unable to trust your partner, or unable to give up control. But that’s the story of your life, isn’t it?”

  Her voice sounded bitter when she said, “I thought you said you wouldn’t raise the past?”

  He thinned his lips. “I may have to talk about it if it is pertinent to what happens here, but I won’t ask you why you left, or talk about my feelings. They are not relevant.”

  “I am sorry for what…”

  Luke interrupted her harshly when he saw pity on her face. “I really don’t want your excuses, so keep them to yourself.”

  Ann sighed. “So what are you going to do?”

  “Evaluate your behavior and decide on suitable retraining. I can already see that this will include teaching you respect as you have failed to call me by my title once.”

  She sat upright, her body shouting annoyance at his words. “I do respect people here.”

  “Just not me, eh? How about obedience?”

  “I always do as I am asked,” she said petulantly.

  “But only give as much as you want to.” He raised his eyebrows in satisfaction. “We are back to the trust and control issues.” He shook his head patronizingly. “Have you thought about being a Domme?”

  Her mouth opened in astonishment, before snapping shut. She turned her head away. “Not interested.”

  This was so adamant it piqued his interest. “How come?”

  Ann shrugged. “I don’t want to dominate anyone else.”

  “I can understand that, but why bother with this lifestyle if you, in turn, don’t wish to be dominated?”

  “Oh, hell, Luke, I don’t know. At one stage it excited me, and I liked the idea of kinky sex, and showing off my body, and being dominated, but only so far. I like knowing I can say when I have had enough.”

  He hesitated and uncrossed his arms. She sounded so different from the Ann he had known and so depressed that he wanted to take her in his arms. He hardened his resolve—Doms did not show weakness even if it was their ex. “You can still leave now, but if you stay, I want you to write me a list of your limits, and we will go through them. If there are genuine problems, then I will respect them.”

  She looked at him, her eyes narrowing as she seemed to be trying to gauge how genuine he was, or if this was all a way of getting back at her. Which it was, but he was an experienced Dom, and he would be professional. Besides which, he couldn’t resist the chance to be with her again. Not that he would admit to that to even himself, let alone her, so he stood abruptly gesturing her to sit at the desk if she wanted to go through with this. He breathed a sigh of relief when she moved behind the desk and sat down. He could see her hands were trembling as she reached out for a pen and paper.

  Sauntering casually around the room pretending a nonchalance he didn’t have, he said, “Write down your limits, and list how strongly you feel about them on a rate of one to five, one being a minor problem, five being something you won’t do under any circumstances.”

  ****

  Thirty minutes later Ann had finished. Sean had returned, and then left them to their own devices after being informed that she was staying. Luke was reading through her list, although part of his brain was still taking in the fact that his shy little fiancée, the same reserved girl who had dumped him cruelly in front of their friends and family, was now a control-freak who regarded herself as a submissive in the BDSM life.

  He chuckled. “I note you’ve given most things a five. I can see I am going to have to train you several times a week. Okay, let’s see. Why have you said ‘no’ to nipple clamps?”

  Ann sat in her chair behind the desk. Her shoulders hunched as if in defeat. “I can’t stand them. I find them much too painful.”

  “There are all sorts…”

  She interrupted him. “And I’ve tried them all!”

  He gave her a look of irritation, deciding not to reprimand her on the lack of respect—at least not yet. He placed a hand on his hip arrogantly. “How long did you actually wear them before you took them off?”

  Giving him a look of victory she said, “Within seconds!”

  “Well, that’s your problem then. You haven’t given them a proper trial and tried to overcome the pain. That is one issue we will have to work on.” He pretended to jot a note down on the paper.

  When he looked up, the expression of disbelief she gave him nearly made him laugh out loud.

  He continued, holding back a smile. “Next one. Why no anal penetration? You’ve given that one a ten? Really, Annabel.” He finished this off with a mocking tut, thoroughly enjoying himself.

  “Ughhh, much too icky.” The way she shook her body melodramatically and refused to look at him, told him there was more to it than that.

  Luke raised his eyebrows mockingly. �
��And that deserves a ten? Come on, Ann, you can do better than that.”

  “All right. I had a bad experience once. It was excruciating.”

  He had to fight back the urge to smash that person’s face in and was surprised by his inner vehemence. He had to fight to regain his equilibrium. “Finally, a reasonable answer from you. But it sounds like a circumstance like when you fall off a bicycle. You need to get back on and try it again. I promise you it won’t be like that again.”

  “Luke, please. I can’t do that.”

  “You will have to trust me then. If, when we try, I can see that it is impossible, then I will stop.”

  “I’ll just use my safe word…” Her voice was getting high-pitched with panic, but she stopped halfway through her sentence.

  Moving forward Luke bent over the desk, leaning on his knuckled fists, her list scrunched in one hand. “Yes, my sweet. I can see that you have just realized the situation. You cannot use your safe word anymore.”

  He watched her swallow in anxiety, but she didn’t say anything, just looked away from him. He had to fight hard to keep down the surge of elation he felt and rose up, looking at the list again.

  “Next one, why no oral?”

  “I gag easily. Surely you must remember that!” She was getting very frustrated judging by the tone of her voice.

  Making a point of crossing that one out, he firmly said, “That is just down to trust again. It stays.”

  Ann closed her eyes and clenched her hands on the table.

  Waiting until she was ready to continue, Luke then asked, “No ménage?” He wasn’t particularly into it himself, but wanted to know her explanation.

  She shook her head.

  “And your reason?”

  “It frightens me.” She tried to say that in an offhand way, but he knew her too well. She had reason to be scared.

  “Have you tried it? Don’t tell me—you did it once, and you hated the loss of control.”

  Her look of surprise as she glanced up at him told Luke that he had hit the nail on the head, and he shook his head patronizingly.

  Looking down at her very long list again he was aware that many of them referred to the same thing. “Annabel, why on earth won’t you accept any—or most, from the looks of it—forms of impact play? You’ve said no to caning, whipping, flogging, even included paddling and spanking.” His voice demonstrated his incredulity at what she had written.

  “I’ve never gotten any enjoyment out of them, so I can’t see the point.” She shrugged her shoulders.

  He was astonished that she still continued with this lifestyle if this was her attitude. “The point being the sub might need disciplining. Although I am sure you, more than most, probably needed it.”

  “But what if the sub didn’t do anything wrong? Most of the people I’ve been with just enjoyed hitting.”

  “You can’t seriously expect a Dom not to provide punishment when it is warranted!” Finally, he asked the question that was bothering him, “Ann, why exactly are you here if you don’t enjoy any of the aspects of BDSM?”

  “I enjoy watching,” she said proudly.

  He barked back an astonished laugh. “You could just watch porn at home, and you wouldn’t need to take part in anything then.”

  She was clearly getting annoyed with him and wrapped her hands around her arms. “I like being restrained. I do,” she said when he gave her a look of sheer disbelief.

  Luke placed his hands on his hips. “But only in cuffs you can get out of easily, I bet.”

  Her flush answered his comment, and he saw her frown as she struggled to come up with other reasons for being in this lifestyle. “I like being dominated, being told what to do!”

  He raised an eyebrow at that one. “But only as far as you are prepared to go?”

  “Of course.” She frowned.

  “But, Annabel, that is a form of topping, and you know full well how much Doms hate their subs to top from the bottom. Or you should do if you have been in this life as long as you say you have.” Her growl of irritation indicated that he needed to finish this. “Right, I think we’ve had enough discussion. Everything on this list will have to go. I don’t see anything that I can’t deal with.” He was surprised at how much he was looking forward to doing many of these things with her, particularly spanking. And paddling her. Add to that caning. Fuck it, all the forms of punishment on her delicious butt. And he so remembered what a lovely backside she had. His hands itched to get at it.

  Her expression of fear as she stared up at him told him he needed to tone down his look of eager enjoyment at the thought of punishing her for jilting him, so he pretended to look at the list again.

  “We will work on your respect, obedience, lack of trust, and your need to be in control. This will include using any of the items I have previously mentioned if I feel the need warrants it, and also some sensation play.”

  She sat upright then, her hands gripping the arms of the chair. “What’s that? It’s not going to include knives, it is?”

  Luke smirked. “Annabel, stop controlling.”

  Chapter Four

  Ann hovered outside the club the following Monday taking deep breaths to calm her nerves. She stepped forward a pace and found herself walking away from the club instead of toward it.

  Ever since Luke had confronted her last Friday she had debated whether she could go through with it. It was one thing to go on a retraining program with maybe someone she couldn’t stand. In that instance she could probably grit her teeth and put up with whatever they threw at her for the sake of keeping her reputation in the club. But it was an entirely different matter for the person retraining her to be her ex—and the person she had jilted so horribly at the altar.

  She shook her head and stopped. Luke had changed so much from the sweet young man she had known, both physically and in his behavior. Ann’s heart broke for that boy, gone forever. When she saw him her first instinct had been to run to him, wrap her arms around him, and tell him how sorry she was. However, Luke was hard now, and dominant, and incredibly sexy—much more so than he had ever been in the past. Okay, so he was the sort of person she wanted from a club like this. Ann was never sure when she had become conscious that she was looking for someone to dominate her. She chuckled harshly to herself—just like her parents had done. Maybe that proved she had always been submissive, and she just needed the right person. But not with Luke. Not after what she had done to him. In fact, she was very uneasy thinking that he had changed because of her actions. But that made her wonder if she could she trust him.

  Forcing one foot in front of the other she turned, all the time telling herself she could get out of this, she entered the dimly-lit club, and looked around for Luke. She must remember to call him Master Lucas, preferably without bubbling up with laughter. It seemed so incongruous.

  Moving into the inner room she heard Luke speaking. “No, she hasn’t arrived yet. She won’t go through with it. She’ll chicken out. I know she will. Annabel likes to run when she panics.” His voice had an edge of bitterness to it.

  She stifled a gasp of indignation, at the same time knowing he had every right to say what he did.

  “I’m not so sure. You are thinking of the person you used to know. Annabel today is a different person.”

  Well, thank you, Master Sean. That told Luke! Her backbone having stiffened, she stepped out from behind the doorway. “Master Lucas, Master Sean.” She nodded at them. When Luke raised an eyebrow questioning at her, she gave him a blank look back. Well, as best she could she did, as she was fighting hard to stop a smile. He certainly didn’t know what she was capable of these days. If this new Luke wanted war, he had a fight on his hands.

  She saw Sean give Luke a look of “she’s all yours”, and he left them together. Ann’s fears hit her stomach again, now that she was alone with him, and she felt slightly sick.

  “So you finally showed up. Good. I have a room reserved for our session. I would hate for it to go to waste.�
�

  “What’s going to happen?” Dammit. I hadn’t meant to ask. And I forgot to say “Master Lucas”.

  A frown preceded his answer. “Your tendency to control.”

  Plastering a bright smile on her face she said, “Of course. Looking forward to it.” She started to walk away toward the corridor where the private rooms were, but then realized she was by herself, and looked back to see where he was.

  Luke was standing with his hands on his hips, and shaking his head ruefully at her immediate action, which had been to lead the way. She refused to hang her head in shame and looked around her as she waited for him to precede her. There were several small private rooms that were hired out to patrons of the club for more intense play or private purposes, but only to approved Doms of the club, and even then a “room monitor” walked the corridors checking on events within the rooms. Luke led the way into a room. Different rooms had different furniture in them depending on the play taking place. This one was fairly innocuous. It just had a bed in it. That was worrying—it suddenly hit Ann that Luke might want to do more than just have a BDSM scene with her. He might want full sex.

  She came to a full stop just inside the door, averting her head from the bed. Oh God. Could she have sex with him again? Their lovemaking had always been very sweet, if bland, but the Luke of today would only want a “fuck”—there’d be no “love” in it at all.

  “Move away from the door so I can close it, and take your clothes off.”

  Oh shit! Swallowing nervously she walked the few steps into the room that he wanted, and raised her hands to undo the bra strap. She was wearing what she regarded as her “power top”—a red and black basque, which made her seem dominant, but by taking it off she’d be losing her “armor”. Pulling it over her head she glanced around, unsure where to put it, and placed it on the floor by the door. As she rose she started to peel down her thigh-highs.

  “No leave them, and your shoes and panties. It was just your top I wanted off. The rest are fine.”

  Okay, what did that suggest he was about to do? Something involving her breasts, she guessed.