In the Zone by Sierra Cartwright Read Free Book Online

about them, not about me. Part of being submissive is realizing you need to please your dom, not yourself.”
    “Hmm.”
    “Sir?”
    “I don’t believe you for a minute, Alani.”
    She blinked.
    “You stuck your ass out at me. At least twice during your punishment you tried to manipulate me, topping from the bottom. That’s not at all respectful. You’ll learn to do as you’re told. During a scene with a client, that may be acceptable. Master Richard, for example, happens to appreciate it when your wiggle your ass. Doing so in that case is being respectful. Trying to get me to give you what you want during a punishment isn’t.”
    Damn him. Did he see everything?
    “Jaron will walk you to your car. I’ll call your cell phone when I want you to come back to the club.”
    Her jaw dropped. “What the hell are you talking about, Sir? Am I being fired?”
    “I’m sending you home tonight. And I’m giving you tomorrow off without pay to think about your behavior.”
    Her heart thundered. She’d just endured a beating that emotionally shook her. And his callous disregard was unthinkable, devastating. Tears flooded her eyes, and she furiously blinked them back. Alani Dane did not cry. And she definitely didn’t cry in front of this man.
    “Stay in position,” he warned, moving toward her and placing a hand on her shoulder.
    She wanted to struggle, to get away.
    “This isn’t about what you want,” he reminded her. “This is part of your punishment, your retraining.”
    “How can you be so cruel?” she whispered. After all this, he was going to have the club’s security manager walk her to the parking lot? “Thank you, but I can manage on my own,” she said.
    “You’ll do as you’re told.”
    She gritted her teeth.
    “Any questions?”
    She forced herself to be as polite as possible. And that meant she was on the knife-edge of civility. “Anything you say, Sir.”
    He released his grip. “Stay there.”
    Master Nathaniel left the room. He closed the door, shutting her in.
    She’d never struggled this hard mentally. She wanted to be alone. She wanted him to stay. The paradox perplexed her, and it pissed her off.
    She wanted to get up, to run, to tell him to fuck off, to shove his retraining and her job.
    But she remained where she was.
    Her conflicting emotions caused anger to blaze.
    How dare he send her away from the club like this? It wasn’t as if she’d refused to serve one of the patrons. Actually, she would have been in less trouble had she refused to scene with Master Richard in the first place. All she’d done was yawn. She was being sent home to think ?
    Despite her fury, she realized Master Nathaniel had reached a place inside her no one else ever had. She was hyperaware of the lingering pain from his well-wielded belt.
    She focused on the pain for a moment. It had been a long time, months or more, since she’d had that kind of intensity during a scene.
    Well, maybe she’d never experienced anything quite like that.
    Over the years, they’d spent little time alone. He couldn’t possibly know her as well as he seemed to. It was as if he read her thoughts, needs, desires, and knew exactly how to treat her.
    She hated it; she liked it.
    What the hell was wrong with her?
    She could walk out. She was capable of collecting her coat and walking to the car.
    She didn’t have to wait here on his whim.
    Yet she stayed where she was…where he’d left her.
    Part of her wanted him to be pleased with her.
    Alani called on everything she’d learned about being a sub to wait patiently. If she had a limits list, being left alone would be on it.
    Her hips ached from the unnatural position, and the room was uncomfortably cold.
    She dragged in a couple of breaths, trying to get her heart rate under control and wondering why he hadn’t fucked her.
    When he’d commanded her to her knees, she could tell he was aroused. He wanted her. She would have happily given him a blowjob. And yet he’d walked