Free Sweet Discipline by Bonnie Hamre

room?” he asked pleasantly.
    She scrambled to her feet. No, not the training room. Still dazed and frustrated, she stumbled into the bathroom and under the shower. What had she let herself in for?
    He’d let her, no demanded, she make herself all hot and ready, and then he’d denied her!
    Surely Kendra hadn’t suffered this way. She took her time, soaping and rinsing repeatedly as if she could wash away both her frustrated cravings and her humiliation.
    At last, though, she turned off the water and dried herself.
    He waited at the dining room table for her. There was only one place setting, but it was set beautifully, with an ecru lace placemat, a matching linen napkin, and shining silverware. A crystal goblet held iced water with a slice of lemon, and on the silver-rimmed china, a salad of greens and fresh vegetables made her mouth water. A tiny silver cup held dressing.
    He rose and held the chair for her. Surprised by this courtesy, she seated herself and reached for the napkin. “Aren’t you eating?”
    “I’ll have my lunch later. You may eat.”
    When she picked up the dressing to pour it over her salad, he said, “Only half.”
    There wasn’t much in that thimble, but she did as instructed, then picked up her fork and took the first bite. The greens were fresh and tender, the vegetables crisp, the dressing delicious.
    “Take small bites,” he ordered. “Chew each one thoroughly. Make each mouthful count.”
    She savored every bite under his approving eye, until there were only a few lettuce leaves left on the plate.
    “Leave those,” he said.
    “But I’m still hungry.”
    “Moderation, Norris. Moderation. Control your hunger. Discipline your body.”
    Discipline . She hated that word. Gritting her teeth, she put down her fork.
    “Drink your water.”
    44
    Sweet Discipline
    She enjoyed every cool drop, deliberately lingering at the table. He’d surprised her with a nice lunch when she’d expected to starve. He surprised her again when he held the chair for her to rise.
    He ushered her into the middle of the room. “I’m going to leave you now to think about a few things.”
    She nodded, looking forward to stretching out on the lazy couch for a nice nap.
    “Assume the position.”
    Since she was growing used to doing that whenever he entered or left, she thought nothing of it. She sank into the kneeling position of the soft, deeply padded carpet. This time, however, he had her place her hands behind her back and before she could yank her hands away, had slipped something over her wrists and up her arms.
    “These are leather sleeves,” he said in a conversational voice. “They will help you keep this position. Shoulders back,” he instructed and pulled on the sleeves, bringing her wrists close together and securing them so she couldn’t move her arms.
    “Now, wait just a moment,” she began, but stopped abruptly when he placed a gag over her mouth. She pushed at it with her tongue, but he fastened it securely. She began to scoot away from him, a useless maneuver when he grabbed her ankles and tied them together, wrapping something about her knees so that she was immobilized.
    She raised pleading eyes to him.
    “Now, Norris, I’m going to leave you. While I’m gone, I want you to think about your reasons for being here. Think what you want to accomplish. Ask yourself if fighting me every step of the way is worth it. Ask yourself if you have what it takes to learn discipline to achieve your goals.”
    He turned off the light as he left, leaving her in total darkness. She tried to sit back on her heels and couldn’t. She tried to loosen her bonds and couldn’t. She tried to scoot forward and couldn’t.
    She could only kneel there where he’d left her, trussed and silent. Crying didn’t help since she couldn’t breathe and cry at the same time.
    She didn’t know how long she’d been there, getting increasingly disoriented in the dark. She had nothing to rest against, nothing to ground