“Fuck,” he mumbled under his breath and sighed. He hated a ringing phone in the middle of the night. Except for getting the call from his older brother, Ryan, saying that his niece had been born, it was never good news and it was usually work related. Without sitting up, he reached for his cell and silenced it before hitting the answer button and bringing it to his ear.
“It is officially my day off so this better be good,” he muttered, still half asleep. The voice on the other end of the line was a familiar one, but not at all the one he was expecting to hear at whatever o’clock in the morning it was. “Frankie? What the hell? … You did what? … Aw, fuck! … Yes … Yeah, I’ll be there as soon as I throw some clothes on. Shit! … No, it’s good that you called … Yeah, thanks.”
He hung up the phone and swore under his breath a few more times. Then he sighed heavily and dragged himself out of the bed and got dressed. The bitch of it all was that he hadn’t actually been in the bed very long. After he finished his interview with Phoebe that afternoon he’d gone in for his regular shift and gotten off at 11pm. He’d only been sleeping for a couple of hours when the phone rang. And as he drove out to the Eastwood Mall all he kept thinking about was how he was going to kill her once he got his hands on her.
The parking lot of Latest Craze department store was jam packed with cars and Payne fussed and cussed the whole time as he drove around searching for an empty space. Who the hell ever heard of a freaking ‘midnight madness’ sale anyway? By the time he got into the store he was more than good and pissed, and the crowd of hyped-up women in a shopping frenzy didn’t help matters. Over by the registers near the front entrance he spied a uniformed Eastwood cop and marched himself over.
“Townsend,” he said, getting the cop’s attention.
“Oh, hey, Kelly,” the cop said. “Yeah, they’re waiting for you in the back. It’s this way.”
He followed the man through the crowded store, running a hand over his disheveled bed hair and feeling angry that he wasn’t still sleeping. They ventured into the bowels of the store, past the area marked ‘Employees Only’ and down a dingy industrial hallway and turned right.
“Well, there’s the Payne in the ass!”
Storm’s little sister, Frankie, greeted him with her usual perky sarcasm. Seeing her in her uniform always made Payne smile for some reason. He was proud of her.
“Hey, Frankfurter,” he replied as he kissed her on the cheek using one of the childhood nicknames that he and his brothers always used to tease her with. When she was about seven years old the name calling would send her into a fit of tears, and he and his brothers would get in trouble.
“Sorry to wake you up, but she was pretty insistent,” Frankie said.
“Nah, I’m glad you did,” he replied. “So what happened? How’d my name come up anyway?”
“Store security nabbed her, they were holding her in this room back here when I arrived. And when I made her empty her bag, your card was one of things that fell out of it. I asked her if she knew you. That’s when she practically begged me to call you.”
Payne shook his head slightly, wondering what the fuck was going through her head.
“She’s very pretty. And young. Should I even ask how you know this girl, Payne?”
He looked at his cousin with a smirk. “Let’s just say I know her ‘in the biblical sense’ and leave it at that, okay?”
Frankie rolled her eyes at him. “Of course. Silly question!”
He smiled at her. “Did you just call me a slut, Franklin?”
“Well, if the condom fits, wear it!”
“Oh, somebody’s funny at two in the morning, huh?” he said, and she laughed at him. He rolled his eyes at her and sighed. “All right, tell me the rest of it. What did she lift?”
“Well, she doesn’t have cheap tastes, that’s for sure! She swiped a dress and a blouse and a bottle of some very pricey perfume,” Frankie answered.
He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, still shaking his head as he tried to get a handle on his anger. What was he going to do with her? Hadn’t he made himself perfectly clear during their interview that very afternoon? He was going to take her back to his place and beat the living shit out of her, then he was sending her back to Mistress Kimberly in a body bag! The thought brought Kimberly’s words back to him…
“That’s just the girl’s grief making her act out and do silly things. She is a very sweet girl, but she needs guidance and stability. She craves them, just as she does genuine affection … She is a natural submissive who wants nothing more than to have a Dominant who watches over her and protects her … She needs a firm but gentle hand … You can care for her the way Hillton did. That’s what she’s missing,”
He let out a weighty sigh, feeling his chest heave with the exhale. How would Hillton have handled this? And he frowned as he suddenly thought of Storm and the way he related to Nina. How would his cousin, the ice man, handle it?
“Look, Frankincense … is there any way at all we can make this go away? What if I take responsibility for her and just pay for the items?” he asked her.
“Well, actually, that gentleman there,” she said, pointing to a portly older man watching their exchange from a few feet away. “He’s the store manager. He’s already said that he’d be willing to not press charges if she simply pays for the items she stole. And he wants her banned from his store in the future.”
Payne made eye contact with the man, indicating he wanted to speak with him as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Frankie asked as he pulled his credit card out and handed it to the store manager.
“Yeah. How much was it?”
“It was pretty steep,” she said.
“The total amount was two hundred and thirteen dollars and fourteen cents,” the gentleman stated.
Payne rolled his eyes as he handed over the card.
“Thank you. I’ll be right back,” the man said.
“Where is she?”
Frankie pointed to the door at he end of the hallway and he turned and walked with a purposeful stride, pushing open the door and stepping through. She was seated at a long table, running a hand through her dark, blue-streaked hair, and Payne could see the tear stains on her cheeks when she looked up at him.
Phoebe’s heart just about stopped when the door flew open. There was no question that he was incredibly pissed at her. The look in his eyes nearly made her quake in fear, and she knew instinctively that she’d gone too far.
“I’m sorry, Sir,” she began, but the expression on his face silenced her every bit as much as his stern voice did.
“Shut it,” he hissed, glaring at her. “Not. One. Word.”
His voice was quiet, but creepy scary, and Frankie looked back and forth between the two of them suddenly realizing that this girl was more than just someone he’d slept with in the past. This girl was very clearly a submissive of his. Payne’s whole stance had changed in an instant, he almost looked like a completely different person to her, and the non-verbal communication going on between them was fascinating to watch. Frankie was well aware of Payne’s and Stormy’s lifestyle choice, but she rarely saw it played out in front of her like this. Storm and Nina were usually very discreet when they were around family. But as she watched the scene play out in front of her she couldn’t fathom what the attraction to the lifestyle might be. At this moment, her cousin seemed terrifying to her, so she could only imagine what the poor girl he was glaring at was feeling.
Phoebe lowered her head, taking timid glances up at him as he stood over her on the other side of the table. And inside she was kicking herself as the panic began to rise. He was so angry! And why wouldn’t he be? He had told her very plainly that he would not tolerate criminal behavior, and what had she done? She’d left the house that night with a plan. She’d breezed into Latest Craze on a mission. Not a mission to get caught, but a mission to push the envelope and see just how serious this man was about wanting to be her Dom. It was childish, she knew. But it was something she simply couldn’t stop herself from doing. If this was going to end badly, if he was going to turn into a monster or send her away if she became too much for him to handle, she wanted to know now before she invested any more of her heart into the idea of him.
By the time she’d left his apartment that afternoon they’d drafted a tentative contract and made plans to have dinner the following night where they would sign it. But now Phoebe had no clue if that would happen or if he would simply send her back to Mistress and be done with her.
She sat quietly, watching as the store manager came in and handed Payne a credit card, and her eyes widened in astonishment as she realized what had just transpired. The portly man then stepped over to the desk that held the items she’d stolen and placed them into a Latest Craze bag, along with a receipt, and handed the bag it to Payne.
“Thank you. This matter is closed then?” Payne asked.
“Yes, sir. As long as your friend stays out of our store. If it happens again, I’m afraid I won’t be as willing to let the matter drop next time.”
“I understand,” Payne replied with a tone that said he agreed with the man’s decision. Then he turned and looked into Phoebe’s eyes, silently motioning for her to stand with one minor nod of his head.
Phoebe did as she was told.
“Thanks again for the call, Frankenstein,” he said as he kissed Frankie on the cheek once more. “You be safe.”
“Have a good night,” Frankie said. Then she glanced at the scared young woman behind him and whispered. “Go easy on her. She looks terrified.”
“She should,” he whispered back.
Then without a word or a glance back in her direction he strode out of the room and down the hall, and Phoebe followed dutifully behind him. He walked briskly as they made their way through the crowded store and out to the parking lot, and Phoebe had to hustle to keep up with him. He never said a word, never looked over his shoulder to make sure he hadn’t lost her in the crowd. It was only when he reached his car that he turned to face her as he opened the passenger side door for her to get in. And when he did, and Phoebe looked into his eyes, they were stone cold as they pierced her.
Once she got in and he closed her door, he slid behind the wheel and tossed the bag of his purchases into the back seat and started up the car. And as he pulled out of the parking space and got underway, he finally unleashed on her.
“I thought I made myself very clear this afternoon,” he stated. His voice was low and extremely tight, as if he were struggling to keep from shouting. “I will not tolerate criminal behavior of any type! I don’t have the time or the patience for drama and silly games! You are acting like a spoiled child and I don’t find it at all appealing or attractive!”
His voice had risen with each passing sentence, and when he looked over at her, Phoebe could see the tiny vein in his forehead throbbing.
What the hell had she done? She had meant to test the waters. To push a little at the boundaries and see what his reaction might be. She hadn’t meant to set him off to this extent. He’d said he thought it could be a positive pairing for them both, and Phoebe had been hopeful. For the first time since losing Master Hillton she’d felt so hopeful. She was such an idiot!
“Can you manage to stay out of trouble for any length of time, Phoebe? Because if you can’t then we are done here,” he shouted.
“Yes. I can stay out of trouble,” she replied, choking on the lump in her throat. “I promise you, I can! Please give me another chance. I did it for you!”
“You did what for me?” Payne demanded.
She stared at him for a brief second, knowing that she couldn’t admit that she’d gone to Latest Craze to shoplift as a test for him. She knew he would never understand that.
“I wanted to look nice for you. For our special dinner to sign the contract,” she said. “I know you were expecting me to look nice, so I …”
“When I want you to look a certain way, Phoebe, I will tell you,” he said, cutting off her flimsy explanation. “And I’ll pay for it!”
He was quiet for a few beats, and Phoebe thought perhaps the worst was over. She thought wrong.
“Well, I hope you enjoyed your little crime spree because you will be punished for it as soon as I get you home,” he snarled, and something about the sound of his voice gave her the biggest sense of dread.
He said not another word the entire way back to his place, and when they pulled into the parking garage of his apartment building Phoebe was surprised. She’d half expected that he would take her back to Mistress Kimberly’s and punish her there before washing his hands of her.
He retrieved the bag of his purchases from the backseat, then he took her by the hand and silently led her to the elevator. As the doors closed, she ventured a glance up at him and took note of the clench of his jaw and the tension behind his eyes. He was so angry with her.
The elevator doors opened and he marched her down the hall to his apartment, never saying a word, and Phoebe couldn’t help but feel as though she were being led to the guillotine. She closed her eyes and took a breath as he unlocked the door and ushered her inside.
He locked the door behind them, then he took her by the hand again and led her to the bedroom. She stood by and watched as he took the bag of merchandise and placed it on the top shelf of his closet, and she wondered if she would ever see the items she stole again.
He began to go about the seemingly mundane ritual of getting ready for bed, kicking off his shoes, pulling off his socks and removing his shirt. But there was nothing mundane in his attitude or the look in his eyes.
“Strip,” he said, meeting her fearful gaze.
One tiny little word, but it sent frightened shivers up Phoebe’s spine. She had taken a punishment fuck before, she was no stranger to those. But somehow she knew that wasn’t what he had in mind, and the not knowing rattled her.
Slowly, she did as she was told, removing her clothing, stitch by stitch until finally she stood naked before him, save for the silver collar around her neck.
She watched him stalk across his bedroom wearing nothing but a pair of jeans as he opened up the large dark wood armoire that stood in the corner of the room and revealed a virtual arsenal of paddles, leather straps, floggers and crops, and Phoebe felt her breath hitch in her throat.
The toy chest, as Payne liked to call it, actually held much more than just the spanking implements that were affixed to the inside of the armoire doors. The custom drawers contained dildos and vibrators of every shape and size, nipple clamps, butt plugs and beads, a variety of spreaders and restraints. He even kept a supply of his favorite rope on the top shelf.
Payne looked over his collection with a serious air, taking great care to choose just the right instrument for the job ahead. His eyes lingered on a wide leather strap. It was the perfect, most obvious choice. But as he reached out for it he remembered her request at lunch, and something about the image of her imploring him not to use straps for a while gripped him. He was never one to let a submissive dictate his actions. Topping from the bottom was not something he usually tolerated. It wasn’t his fault she’d been seriously beaten by an abusive ass who didn’t know jack shit about being a Dom. She deserved the strap! He ran a finger down the length of it, feeling the smooth unyeilding leather beneath his touch. Then his hand reached past it.
He selected a long wooden paddle and hefted it in his hand, feeling the weight of it. It was wide and heavy. The kind of paddle that left a bit of bite behind and reminded you that you’d been punished. He turned toward Phoebe and met her gaze, taking note of the sorrow in her eyes and pushing it away for now so that he could deal with the matter at hand.
“What do I do for a living, Phoebe?” he asked quietly as he advanced on her.
Her breaths came in shallow pants as her eyes darted from the thick paddle in his hand to the cold ice-blue eyes that both fascinated and intimidated her.
“Um … you’re a deputy for the Eastwood County Sheriff’s Department,” she said, her voice barely a whisper as he approached her.
He nodded his head. “Very good. And what is the goal of every good submissive?” he asked, knowing that Master Hillton and Mistress Kimberly would have instilled this in her the same way they had for him and Storm.
“To learn how to please her Dominant,” Phoebe replied, looking slightly puzzled.
“And?”
“And to always remember her place.”
He nodded again. “And?”
“And to always remember that her actions in the world reflect on her Dom,” Phoebe said. And as she said the words her eyes met his, and she suddenly understood the gravity of what she’d done.
“Bend over the bed. Arms above your head and grab the covers,” he said.
She didn’t hesitate to do as he asked, and she bent her body over his bed, exposing her bottom to him as she reached up and grabbed the covers in her fists.
“Don’t let go of those covers,” he ordered. “If you do, the count will start all over.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“And you will count.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Whomp!
“Ah!” She couldn’t stop the yelp as the paddle came down hard on her backside with no warning. “One.”
Whomp!
“Two.”
The blows came in even succession, swift and hard against her ass. And the jarring impact of each sting grew worse than the one before it.
Whomp!
“Three.” The number was barely audible as she quietly sobbed, but she understood now why he was so angry with her. It was more than just the fact that she’d shoplifted, it was the fact that her actions had reflected poorly on him - a man sworn to uphold the law. That’s why he had his hard and fast rule about not tolerating criminal activity in his submissives. He’d told her that at lunch, but somehow it simply didn’t register with her before now.
Whomp!
Payne swung the heavy paddle with force, losing himself in the act as he watched her rump pink up and then turn bright red with each harsh blow. It was satisfying somehow. And more than a little arousing. He wanted her to remember this lesson, so that she’d never again repeat it. But he hadn’t expected to gain any sort of gratification from it, and the insistent throbbing in his dick angered him.
Whomp!
“Twelve,” Phoebe mumbled through her tears, and Payne threw the paddle across the room where it landed with a loud clunk.
“I do not enjoy being made a fool of,” he shouted as he glared down at her. Then he took a deep breath, running both his hands through his soft brown hair as he stepped away from her and tried to keep his anger in check.
“I think you need to decide what exactly it is that you want, Phoebe! Maybe a life of discipline is not for you. Maybe you are not cut out to be a submissive, have you ever thought of that?” he asked, his voice booming around the room. “I know that you loved Hillton; I get it! And I understand that you’ve been spiraling out of control ever since he died. But it is time for you to stop acting like a child. Grow up and make some decisions for your life. If BDSM is not it for you, then walk away, damn it! But if it is, then it’s time for you to move on. Let Hill go! Find a Dom who can give you the stability that you’re craving.”
She lay on her front, sobbing and wiping the tears as she listened to him yelling at her. And she knew in her heart that everything he was saying was true.
“I could be that Dom for you, Phoebe,” Payne continued, his voice still harsh and gravelly. “I can take care of you the way you want to be taken care of. But only if you let me!”
He turned and stormed out of the room then, leaving her lying on the bed in a heap as she cried. She pulled her knees up to her chin and curled into a ball as the tears wracked her body, and Payne’s words swirled around in her head.
Payne flopped down on the couch in his living room and flicked on the TV, muting the sound as he mindlessly flipped through the channels. Infomercial city this time of the night. Or was it morning he wondered, glancing down at the watch on his wrist. 2:30. Fuck. He should be in dreamland right now instead of dealing with the worst excuse for a submissive he’d ever encountered.
He shook his head as he thought about it. There was no way that girl lying on his bed right now had made Hillton Armstrong a good submissive. She was a childish, spoiled little brat who needed way more time and attention than he had bargained for. When he told Mistress Kimberly that he wanted an experienced submissive who knew what she wanted in a contract, this sure as fuck was not what he meant! Phoebe White was more trouble than she was worth, and he was going to let Mistress have a piece of his mind over it. Natural submissive his ass!
He was composing an angry speech for Kimberly in his head when he suddenly noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, and he glanced to his left and did a double take. Phoebe stood several feet away, still completely naked as she stared at him in the darkened room. Her body was illuminated only by the flickering glow of the television set, and Payne looked her over, appreciating her body before his eyes met hers. And as he watched her, she slowly lowered herself to the floor and began to crawl toward him on her hands and knees. She didn’t say a word as she approached him, moving timidly, as though she were afraid he might yell at her or refuse her somehow. And Payne frowned as he wondered what she was up to. When she reached him, she lowered her face to the floor and lightly kissed the top of his bare foot. Then she sat quietly at his feet, and said nothing.
Payne was caught completely off guard. He recognized her behavior as an act of total submission. A way of showing that she was voluntarily and gladly giving him absolute control over her body and her life. Showing him her vulnerability. Offering him total intimacy. Exposing the quivering core of her very being, and risking everything in the process. But even though he recognized that, he wasn’t exactly certain that he could trust this turnaround in her.
He reached out his hand and lightly caressed the top of her head, letting it glide over her bed-rumpled black hair. She looked up at him with a tearful submissive gaze.
“This is the life I want, Master Payne,” she said, her voice soft and full of unshed tears. “I am a submissive. It’s who I am. Who I want to be. I don’t want to go back to being that scared, spoiled teenager I was when Hillton found me. I want to be the woman I became under his tutelage. Let me show you her. Please,” she pleaded. “Give me another chance, Master Payne. Don’t give up on me. I won’t steal ever again; I promise, Master!”
It was only the second time she’d ever referred to him as her Master, and something about it made his cock twitch, just like the first time. He didn’t think he’d ever wanted a sub as badly as he wanted her. What was it about this one? She made him angrier than he could ever remember being at a woman, but she also stirred his desire like no one else ever had. Even as she sat here looking at him with those big blue eyes so full of sadness and fear.
“Stand up,” he commanded, and Phoebe moved immediately, standing up and turning to face him. He glared up at her with his hard ice-blue eyes. “I’ve already given you a second chance, Phoebe. You think you deserve a third?”
She felt her hopes evaporating as she stood before him. She didn’t deserve yet another second chance, she knew. But she couldn’t stop herself from begging.
“Please,” she whispered as the tears fell from her eyes. “Please, Sir.”
He reached out and took her by the forearm and abruptly pulled her down onto the couch next to him. He took her face in his hands and stared into her eyes for one long moment, then he folded her into his embrace as she began to sob. And he heard Hillton Armstrong’s voice again as his number one Rule for Good Doms played over and over in his head.
“The arms of her Dom should always be the safest, warmest most loving place your submissive could ever imagine being. That is her safe haven. Her shelter from the storm. It should be the only place she ever wants to be. Give her that … and she will do anything in the world for you.”
He held her to him as one hand gently stroked her hair and she cried into his chest, and Payne wondered how long it would be until she was finally all cried out. He took a deep breath as he held her.
“It’s all right now, Phoebe,” he whispered, as he continued to stroke her hair. “You’re going to be all right now. I’ll see to it.”
He reached behind them and pulled the gray and white chenille throw from the back of the couch and draped it around her naked body as he held her, then he lightly kissed the top of her head. Slouching down into the couch, Payne tightened his grip around her as he lifted his feet onto the ottoman, getting comfortable as he held her close. He cradled her for the longest time until her tears finally subsided and she dozed off, comforted by the warmth and safety of his arms.
Payne wasn’t sure exactly how long they sat there that way, but he woke to the sensation of Phoebe lightly kissing his lips. He opened his eyes and stared into hers. They were always so expressive, giving away her every emotion, and he could see the sorrow that seemed to live there. But now there was something else there too. Something he hadn’t seen there before. Peace maybe? Hope?
She kissed him again. Just a timid peck. But something about it coupled with the look in her eyes aroused him in a powerful way, and he kissed her back with eager lips, his tongue gently stroking hers as his hand found its way into her hair.
She moved, rising to her knees and then straddling his lap as the soft throw fell away from her still naked body. Her fingertips itched to touch him, and she gently ran them down his chest, loving the soft thin mat of light brown hair that covered his pecs and trailed down in a thin straight line that disappeared into his unfastened jeans.
Payne wrapped his arms around her as his lips left hers and began to roam down her neck, grazing the silver collar he’d put there a few days ago as they journeyed downward still. He planted hungry kisses across her chest and on each of her breasts. And she called out with equal measures of pleasure and pain when he gently bit down on her nipple.
Her back arched with the sensation, pushing her breast further into his face, and he gave an appreciative moan. Then his mouth moved on, continuing its slow exploration of her lovely body.
Phoebe bent backwards as his strong arms held fast around her waist, and she could feel his lips and his tongue making their way down her belly as her hair grazed the floor. She opened her eyes and stared unfocused on the up-side-down ottoman in front of her face as she reveled in the sensations.
“You have a beautiful body, Phoebe,” he whispered, his voice gruff and full of passion. Then he allowed his tongue to lead the way back up her torso as he gently lifted her upright. He raised his hips, lowering his jeans and freeing his manhood from their confines, and in one swift movement he was inside her.
He moved slowly, savoring the feel of her as he pumped with slow delicious strokes. His hands roamed her body as they moved, and Payne loved the sound of her soft moans as he worked.
Just like before, Phoebe felt her body racing to a climax. He moved with precision, grinding deep into her with every thrust and she couldn’t stop the scream of pleasure that overtook her when her orgasm flowed over her like liquid heat.
She felt his release as he gave a strangled sexy groan, and then his mouth was on hers and his fiery tongue scorched her lips.
“You are mine now, Phoebe,” he whispered, his voice a soft pant as he looked into her eyes.
“Yes. Yours, Master Payne,” she confirmed, still catching her breath. Then she smiled, and let out a soft giggle. “You just fucked me without a contract again, Sir.”
Payne chuckled, running a hand through her hair. “Well, technically there is a contract in place. It just hasn’t been properly signed yet. But we’ll correct that in the morning. And for the record … fucking is something I do during play. During a scene. What we just did … that was making love. I’ll teach you the difference.”
The End.