Free Still by Ann Mayburn Page A

each more erotic than the last. But wait, he was getting ahead of himself, there was still more to read.
    During our first days together your role will be as my service submissive. I don’t know how much you know about the lifestyle, so I’ll explain it. When you act as my service submissive you will assist me and perform tasks I set for you as directed. These tasks will include but are not limited to drawing my bath, turning down my bed, helping care for my horses and any other chores I deem appropriate .
    Fuck, that wasn’t quite what he was thinking, though he liked the bath idea.
    From there, depending upon your behavior, I will either continue to train you as my submissive or I will send you, at my expense, to the best program in the country for dealing with PTSD and substance abuse. And wipe that fucking scowl off your face; you and I both know you’re not handling your shit right now. You’re using alcohol to make the pain go away, and that sad story always ends in tragedy .
    He rubbed his eyes, wondering what the hell he was getting himself into with a woman who knew him well enough to know what his reaction would be to her words. He’d only recently admitted to himself that maybe he wasn’t doing as well out in the civilian world as he could be, that maybe the shit that had happened over in the sandbox was affecting him more than he first thought. A cold wind blew across his soul as he thought about how tempting the idea of ending it all had been last night deep in his alcoholic haze.
    There, in that peaceful graveyard, he’d envied the dead.
    Another butterfly danced through the air in front of him before finding its way to a flowering vine that twined up the trunk of one of the trees. There was a flow to the room, a design that made everything work together in harmony. The warm, moist air felt good against his skin and he briefly considered going to sleep out here, but time was running out.
    So this is where we stand, Wyatt. You can either agree to become my submissive for a month and see where this takes us, or you can go home. I won’t say that I wouldn’t be disappointed if you left, but I understand that my lifestyle is not for everyone. I see something in you Wyatt, something special. I’d like to help remind you of the joys life has to offer. If you agree I want you to take off your shirt and go draw a bath for me. When you’re in my presence I want you barefoot and shirtless, always. If you decide this is not for you, wait for me downstairs and I’ll make sure you get home okay .
    That was it, nothing more. He tossed the letter onto the table and stood, cracking his knuckles before he began pacing. Why the fuck was he even considering this? He didn’t have a submissive bone in his body. He’d always been the one who called the shots in bed, who swept women off their feet, not the other way around. Then again, men spent their entire lives trying to find a woman like Sapphire. He’d be a fool to let this opportunity slip away.
    He needed to think about this in a logical manner, not with his cock. What did he have to lose? Not his self-respect, he’d already lost that last month when he’d been busted for drunk driving by his brother-in-law. Not his freedom, he didn’t even know what to do with it now that he had it. And his sanity was questionable at best.
    What did he have to gain? At the very least it would be a much needed distraction from the endless memories of battle. Out here, in the middle of all this land, he didn’t have to worry about the sound of an engine backfiring making him want to hit the deck, or when someone drove to close to him worrying if they were a suicide bomber. Then again, he couldn’t stay here forever. He’d have to return to the real world eventually, and he worried that he’d be even more broken than before he came here.
    Yeah, Sapphire didn’t seem vicious, but what did he really know about her?
    He fingered the scar tissue on his lower abdomen, the