Free A Dom's Dilemma by Kathryn R. Blake Page B

smiled, and she found she really liked his smile. It made him appear younger, more approachable. “No, I mean did you get hit on the back of the hand? Were you paddled? How did they punish you?”
    “It varied, Sir. Depending on the transgression.”
    “Did they ever paddle you with their rulers?”
    “Yes, Sir. Probably more often than I would have liked.”
    “So, were you a bad little girl, in constant need of correction, Kelly?”
    “I tried not to be, Sir. But I routinely got into trouble for something.”
    “When did you leave the orphanage?”
    “The day I turned eighteen. Unless an orphan wished to become a nun, they sent her packing once she reached her majority.”
    “What happened then?”
    Kelly slipped a hand free from her blanket and toyed with one of the buttons on his collar. She didn’t want to answer that question, but she didn’t want to make him angry, either.
    He was silent for a moment, probably to see if she would speak-up without further probing. If he forced the issue, she’d cave, but she hoped he’d let it go. Finally, he said, “You don’t wanna tell me that either right now, do you?”
    “No, Sir. Not yet. If that’s all right.”
    He didn’t look pleased, but he didn’t appear angry either. “I can’t force you to talk to me, Kelly girl. I can only reassure you I’ll listen if and when you’re ready to tell me. As we get to know each other better, I’ll probably put a bit more pressure on you to open up to me. But for tonight, I’ll let it go.”
    “And what about you, Sir?”
    “What about me?”
    “Well for one, I got the impression what we did in the medical station was not play for you, Sir. You knew what you were doing and what you expected to see.”
    “An astute observation, little girl, considerin’ I had you pretty securely restrained at the time. Yup, a fellow Dom in Texas, a bona fide M.D., showed me what to look for when I was beginnin’ to discover what all this BDSM stuff was about. He often gave the subs exams, especially if he had a suspicion of mistreatment, and he was willin’ to teach any Dom interested in learnin’. I think he figured it couldn’t hurt, and it might help.
    “What I did with you is often done in play, and I don’t have the knowledge to take an exam much further than that.” He frowned for a moment. “I believed, even then, a Dom was responsible for his sub’s well being. So, after Master Mark taught me how to properly examine a woman, I started conductin’ exams on my own, under his watchful eye, of course.
    “He was a great teacher. Showin’ me if I missed somethin’, or explainin’ if I wasn’t sure what I was lookin’ at. And sad as it is, many subs are abused by the men they trust. However, Doc Mark had an uncanny ability to spot a girl in need of help and attention. When he explained what he wanted to do, and why, a lot of ‘em would balk out of fear. Seems I sorta had a knack for gettin’ the ladies to unfurl and display, even when they didn’t want to. Doc Mark said it was a gift, as most girls aren’t into havin’ amateurs messin’ around with their plumbin’.
    “Since then, I’ve givin’ every sub I considered playin’ with on an ongoing basis, a physical exam. Partly to make sure she wasn’t hidin’ anythin’, and partly to see how well she obeyed while I did things she wasn’t gonna like. It’s quite an ice breaker, wouldn’t you say?”
    Kelly snorted in reply. “I’d say it’s much more than that, Sir. Although I can see what you mean about trust building.”
    “So, you think you can trust me now, Kelly girl?”
    After gazing at him for a moment, she risked running a hand through his hair to push his bangs back. The shiny strands glided over her fingers like finely spun silk, then returned to their original position, as smooth and stubborn as their master. She smiled, lightly blushing when he smiled in return, still waiting patiently for an answer to his question. Her blush deepened.