AllFreeNovel
Share Us
What would she do if he didn't comply? If he said screw it and just hung out back here until the plane landed? He'd never get back into The Zone. That was her leverage over him. Wasn't it?
Looking into a mirror made the truth even harder to avoid. He'd lashed out at the idea that he was just a project. But him complying just to get what he wanted from her, a favorable re-application to The Zone, pretty much made him a whore, right?
Unless he went in there and apologized because he'd been an ass, and because he'd disappointed her and he didn't like that feeling, fuck The Zone.
If he thought back through almost every exchange they'd had about it, he was the one who used The Zone issue as defense and conflict point most often. She didn't; had even suggested a couple times that things were obviously about more than that between them. So who was he really fucking up with that shit?
He washed his hands and ran damp palms over his face, because it felt needed to wake him up, or wipe away...something. He hadn't cried--God, he would have just thrown himself off the plane if he'd been that much of a pussy, but he had that kind of drained feeling that came to a kid in his bed after crying his eyes out.
He hadn't cried since he was nine years old. But he'd needed her to put her arms around him afterward, hold him. Jesus. He didn't do aftercare. Not like that. Plus, this had been punishment, not a session.
"Fuck it," he muttered, and left the bathroom. He strode across the conference room, noting the pointer lying there, all neat and aligned with a control box on the table, probably for the videoconferencing capabilities a couple monitors suggested the room had. Fucking cool, having all that up in the air like this.
He stopped abruptly, head whipping toward the window as something dark caught his eye, just a flash. All he saw were blue sky and clouds, but he moved to the window anyway to look. Maybe they'd passed one of those birds they were outdistancing. Or maybe Regina's dragon had passed them.
The thought gave him an unexpected smile. Not on his mouth, just a small one inside. He bet she'd been a strong-willed child, because the woman was indomitable.
The sound of three voices chatting amiably struck the hollow pit in his stomach. Was he nervous? Crap, he was. He was used to being an asshole, and apologizing only in fake kind of ways. Being genuinely contrite wasn't his comfort zone.
Regina hadn't left him a choice. With her combination of gentle firmness, ruthless punishment and straightforward logic, she'd made him truly sorry he'd been an ass. Afterward, maybe he could slink back into the conference room, because they wouldn't really want to be around such a jerk anyway. He wondered if he might be hitching back from New Orleans.
Don't be a fucking coward. He stepped out of the conference room, and the conversation ceased. Peter's gaze turned toward him. Cool and steady, his jaw set. Full Dom mode. Male Doms usually raised Marius's hackles, and he could feel his fists starting to curl, but he saw Regina's glance go to them and he forced them to loosen. He cleared a throat that was suddenly dry.
"I'm...uh, fuck." He closed his eyes. Boy, did he suck at this. He forced himself to open them back up again and met Peter's gaze head on. "I apologize. There was no excuse for that shit. I...uh...I didn't mean to disrespect you or your sub."
His gaze shifted to Regina. As hard as it had been to look at Peter, that had been a testosterone conflict. It was hard to look at her because he felt ashamed under her steady regard. He walked several feet into the room and dropped to a knee, bowing his head to her. "I particularly didn't mean to shame my Mistress. She didn't deserve that. No punishment would be sufficient, but however you want me to make amends, I'll do it."
"Did she punish you?" Peter asked, voice neutral.
"Yeah." If the guy asked him to take down his pants and show him like an errant schoolboy, he would belt him. He wouldn't be able to stop himself. Given Peter's size and military background, that probably wouldn't be a quick or easy fight. Fortunately, Peter didn't.
"With what?"
The question hadn't been directed to him. A little smile flirted around Regina's full lips, though her eyes remained serious and kept Marius within their span. "The pointer, on his ass. Makes a great switch."
"Ouch," Dana said, mouth twisting in a wince. "If you need someone to rub that to make it feel better..." She bit back what she was about to say as Peter's hand fell on her thigh and squeezed hard, her Master following up the gesture with his own warning.
"I'll apply double the same punishment to your sweet little butt if you don't behave," he said, his eyes glinting. Then his attention returned to Regina.
"Your sub's apology is accepted," he told her. "My compliments on your methods. And thank you for not asking me to watch."
Regina chuckled. "You and the rest of Matt's boys are about as straight as straight gets. Dana is the only one who would have appreciated the view I had." She gestured to Marius. "Come kneel by me again, sweet boy. Peter brought out some more snacks and there's beer. We're talking about some good places for you and me to eat while we're in the city."
And that was the end of it. When he came and settled at her feet, he was unsure of the atmosphere. But Regina pushed a platter at him that had a red-pepper and almond scented cheeseball surrounded by a variety of crackers. Dana offered him a soda when he declined anything harder, and the conversation resumed as if nothing had happened. Dana slid down to sit on the floor across from him and pressed her leg companionably against his as she slathered cheese on the crackers. When Regina and Peter returned to conversation, she touched his knee and spoke to him in a low voice.
"I'm sorry I hit some bad stuff," she said seriously, and now he heard the minister, not just the sub. "Here, have this cracker. You okay?"
She meant it sincerely, kindly. It made him feel like more of a shit, but also better, too, the two emotions not necessarily conflicting. "Yeah," he said. "I am sorry. Don't know why all that came flying out of my mouth."
She shrugged. "Sometimes, when we're working through things, we're like a soda under too much pressure. Shake us up and we'll spew. Regina is a great Mistress, and if you've got shit weighing you down, she'll shake it out. I've been there." Her smile was quick, with shadows around the corners. "Thank God for my Master, or I might have exploded with all my personal shrapnel. Are you eating these crackers? I'm making them and you're not keeping up."
"I'm eating, I'm eating. Pest." He flicked her knee and she kicked at him, grinning playfully. Then she sobered.
"I think however long it lasts, you'll be good for one another. So maybe you should focus on that, more than anything else."
Marius grunted through a mouthful of cracker. After a time, he was surprised to find himself starting to relax. When Dana drew him back into conversation with their two Doms, debating the pros and cons of seafood in Tampa versus New Orleans, it was four people keeping one another company, no longer Doms and subs.
Well, except when Regina's foot pressed against his side, her hand falling casually on his neck and shoulder. Or when she offered him a cracker, making him take it from her fingers and watching him with her beautiful brown eyes as he ate it.
