“Yes. They don’t do that often in porn, do they? There are many ways to punish. Do you plan to argue with me already?”
No…no I didn’t, but standing in the corner wasn’t the hot sort of thing I was expecting. “No, Sir. I won’t argue.”
I kept myself calm as I walked upstairs to the room I’d stayed in before. I dropped the bag, set the timer, then went…went to one of the corners of the room and pressed my nose to it. I had no idea if he would check on me or not, and I felt absolutely ridiculous doing this. I was nineteen years old and I was standing in the corner, but then…then I remembered Aidan had wished it, and he was correcting me, and that helped.
When there was a ding from the dresser, I ran to the bed, threw myself down on it…and laughed. My cheeks hurt, I smiled so widely, looking up at the craftsmanship on the bed, and the ceiling that didn’t peel, in a home where a beautiful man was going to be my… I didn’t know exactly what. But again, I felt like the girl with the red hair in the hooker movie or a servant who became a prince.
Once I had it all out of my system, I stood up, went to the trash bag, and began to fold my clothes.
I’d be wise to take this seriously so I didn’t lose it.
After arranging my clothes in the drawers and my toiletries in my own fucking bathroom, I went into the hall to find Aidan. “Hello?” I called out.
“Down here,” he replied. Damn it. I’d hoped he was in his bedroom because I really wanted to see it.
I went downstairs, and he met me there. “Let me show you around.”
“Yes, Sir!” I replied, giddy that I was there and got to call him that. He smiled, and already I liked Aidan’s smile. I wanted to make him do it all the time.
“You know the living room, kitchen, and laundry room.” He led me down the hall behind the stairs. “My office.” He pointed to a room on the left. It had french doors too, in dark wood. There was a desk and chair, with two other chairs across from it and a leather couch against the wall…and bookshelves. Jesus, there were a lot of bookshelves, and they were all filled.
“Do you like to read?” I asked him.
“Some, yes. I’m a fan of mysteries, but I have a lot of medical books too.”
He was smart, so damn smart, and suddenly I felt very much as if I didn’t belong there with him.
“Hey, look at me,” Aidan said. I hadn’t needed to tell him how I felt; he just knew, and that did twisty things to my insides—good kinds of things. “There’s no shame here, not for any reason, okay?”
“Yes, Sir.” But I wasn’t sure I believed him. If that were true, why was it so important I went back and got my diploma?
We continued down the hallway, and he led me to a small home gym next. “I’d like you to exercise five days a week.”
“Do you think I’m fat?” I said sarcastically. I knew I wasn’t. I was too bony in some ways and slight in my stature.
“No, but there are a lot of reasons to work out. It’s healthy. It’s good for the mind. Who knows, you might end up enjoying it.”
I highly doubted that. We went around and then through the dining room and to the kitchen again, before heading into his backyard. “Holy fuck.” My eyes scanned the area—foliage and palm trees; a pool, hot tub, large built-in grill, patio cover, and lots of chairs and tables; rock work along the ground, and a small wall with large rocks and a waterfall that went into the pool.
“Do you know how to swim?”
“Yes.” I walked over, bent, and stuck my hand in the water. “I can use it?”
“Of course. This is your home.”
Did he know what he was giving me? That I felt as if I was living in a fairy tale? I’d never seen anything like his home, and now I would be working out in it and could relax by the pool…
I didn’t know what came over me, but I turned…and then crawled over to him. It was likely weird, but it was what I felt I should do, what I wanted to do, what I hoped pleased him.
Aidan sucked in a sharp breath, and I knelt at his feet, knowing I would do it even if there wasn’t a privacy fence around us so no one could see. “Thank you,” I whispered with my head bowed.
For a moment I thought he would tell me to stand, or say I didn’t have anything to thank him for, and somehow, that would have hurt. But then I felt his hand in my hair, Aidan’s strong yet gentle fingers caressing me. “You’re very welcome, precious boy.”
It was exactly what I needed to hear.
“Now, stand up, please, and not because you don’t look beautiful down there, but because the ground isn’t good for your knees.”
“Yes, Sir,” I replied, even though I didn’t want to stand.
We went back inside, and Aidan told me there were more bedrooms upstairs, but his was the last one at the end of the hallway. He said he had some work to do, but I was free to do what I wanted until dinner. On his days off, dinner was to be done at seven, and on days he worked but would be home, at eight. “When you start your classes, that can be rearranged if need be.”
Ugh. That again. I rolled my eyes.
“No kneeling for me tonight,” he said firmly.
“Wait. What?”
“You rolled your eyes, and that’s your punishment.”
“Oh my God! I didn’t know. That’s not fair!”
“Maybe you’ll think about that before you disrespect me next time. Now go. I have work to do.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to argue with him. Everything inside me was screaming for me to do so, but the smug expression on his gorgeous face held me back. He knew I wanted to…and maybe he wanted me to so he could punish me again. If it wasn’t a spanking, I wasn’t digging this whole discipline thing. “Yes, Sir,” I replied tersely and went upstairs to my room.
My old laptop sat on my bed, and I thought about watching porn, but I didn’t. Instead I found myself in the bathroom, looking at the huge tub with bottles of soaps and bubble bath around it.
It was the middle of the day, but I didn’t care. I hadn’t taken a bubble bath since I was a child, and I’d loved them then. They had made me feel cozy and warm.
So I started one and stripped out of my clothes. Fucking Aidan. I couldn’t believe he wouldn’t let me kneel for him just because I’d rolled my eyes at him.
I lounged in the bath for over an hour before getting out, getting dressed, and cleaning up after myself. Plopping on the bed again, I opened my laptop but realized I didn’t know the Wi-Fi info and closed it. So I called Ian and complained about my punishments, then told him about the pool. “Maybe you can come and swim one day.”
“I can’t believe you’re living in a mansion.”
“It’s not a mansion.” But it was a beautiful home.
I kept myself busy until it was time to start dinner. I rummaged around and decided on fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and zucchini.
Aidan joined me about fifteen minutes before it was done.
“It smells good.” He looked at the stove. “I’ll definitely need to up my workouts.”
“I won’t cook like this all the time.” I didn’t tell him it was my mom’s favorite and that she taught me how to make the best gravy.