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“I’m sorry,” Maribel said. “I was mean to you. I’m sorry.” She looked at Master Derek. “Can I be excused?”
“Yes, but you’ll need to call Dr. Weston and make an appointment for counseling. I’m going to verify with him at the end of the day that you made that appointment. You’re on probation, young lady. Another incident of bad behavior of any kind in the next six months could mean an end to your life at Rawhide Ranch. You’ll be required to sign a statement to that effect, understand?”
“Yes, Sir.” She stood up and rushed out, not looking at anyone as she fled.
Once the door was closed, Master Derek addressed her once more. “Dora, I’m sorry this happened to you. I wish you’d come to us when it did.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“You’ll let us know if anything like this happens again, won’t you? A bully rarely stops at one person. Your speaking up could help someone else.”
“Yes, Sir. I understand.”
“Good.” He looked at his watch. “Well, that wrapped up faster than intended. Plenty of time for you and your service sub to get to class, Alastair.”
“Come, Dora.”
She looked over to see Alastair holding out his hand. She looked at the open palm, then up at his face. His expression was kind. Dora placed her hand in his and stood. She was silent as they walked from the lodge up to the classroom. She was still trying to process what had happened, and how she felt about it.
The morning sun slanted through the large windows, their rays bathing the room in a golden glow. The scents of old books and lemon oil were faint but notable. Had Alastair intended to recreate the perfect setting of every submissive with a schoolgirl fantasy? From the old-fashioned desks to the imposing desk to the chalkboard to the presence of the ominous cane, it reflected the spirit of the Ranch where fantasies could come true. But Dora’s fantasy had been interrupted by a reminder that there was no haven from bullying, not for women like her.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Dora?”
Alastair’s words jarred her from her thoughts.
He walked to where she was standing near the window. “Why didn’t you tell me when I went to your room?”
Dora swallowed nervously. “I was afraid.”
Alastair put a finger under her chin, tipping it up so that his eyes met hers. “Young lady, when I’m addressing you, you will look at me.” He paused. “What were you afraid of? Don’t you trust me to protect you?”
“You think that’s why I didn’t tell you?” Dora wasn’t expecting a question like this. Fresh tears filled her eyes. “My keeping what happened to myself had nothing to do with you. It had everything to do with my own experience with being bullied. I’m different, okay? And don’t pretend you haven’t noticed.” Her voice was shaking now with hurt and anger. “You’re… you’re handsome, fit. People like you don’t know what it’s like to grow up feeling like you don’t fit. So, you don’t understand that the price of being different is being bullied, and the price of complaining about it just brings more trouble.”
“Oh, sweet Dora.” He took her hands in his. “I do understand. I know that may be hard for you to believe, but I completely understand what it’s like to be an outsider, to be teased, to be bullied.”
She was still skeptical. It was hard to believe that this beautiful man was ever anything but adored.
“My own mother bullied me,” she said. “When you’re raised like that, you learn that even the adults you’re supposed to trust can’t be counted on to take care of you.”
“My parents bullied me, too, Dora. They wanted me to be someone other than who I really was. It cost me everything to be myself.” He reached for her again and Dora met his gaze as his hands closed on her upper arms. “Good girl,” he said. “You’re looking at me. Good girl.”
Her body responded to his praise. She could feel wetness between her thighs, could feel her pussy clench with need. Her face flushed, but should she be feeling this way? Alastair’s reference to his parents wanting him to be someone other than he was could only mean one thing, that he was gay. But how could he be gay when he was kissing her? His mouth had found hers before she realized it. Her first kiss wasn’t the clumsy, fumbling one she’d always worried it might be, but a masterfully guided one. Alastair’s tongue pushed between her lips to tease hers and she naturally responded as if she were born to kiss this man, as if she were born to mold herself to him, as if the curves of her body were made for his hands to roam as they were doing.
His mouth moved to her neck; she threw her head back and moaned. She felt parts of her awaken. Her nipples hardened, her clit throbbed, the fluttering clench between her legs turned into a full-blown ache to be filled.
Then the bell rang. Their lips parted, but their eyes stayed locked. He put his forehead to hers and they stood there in that space where no words are needed, in that space where two people find themselves by sweet serendipity.
“To be continued,” he said, brushing his fingers across her cheek, kissing the tip of her nose before turning away.
The students filed in and took their seats. Maribel’s empty desk sat in the center. Students cast sidelong glances at it, but no one asked where Maribel was. News traveled fast at Rawhide Ranch. Alastair handed Dora a list of tasks for the day but didn’t mention Maribel’s absence to the class as he instructed them to open their books.
The balance of Dora’s day was spent ticking items off her to-do list with occasional pauses to pinch herself in case this was somehow all a dream. She kept replaying the earlier scene with Alastair in her mind—the sound of his voice, the way he’d called her a good girl, the little electrical pulses that had fired across her erogenous zones at his praise, the feel of his mouth on hers.
Her head was in a beautiful swirl as she copied papers, took one of the classroom laptops to IT for repairs, and took a bundle of letters to the front desk to be sent out with the daily mail. At lunchtime, she headed to the cafeteria where Bobbi flagged her over to a table.
“Hi!” Bobbi was ever ebullient and looking adorable in her vintage Blue’s Clues t-shirt and blue jeans. Her short hair was spiked today and, thanks to temporary dye, also blue.
“Hi!” Dora sat down with her tray. “You look cute!”
