Free Learning the Ropes by C. P. Mandara Page B

harder ride than most, he suspected.
    There was a moment of silence and then Jenny felt her hair wrapped around Mark's fist once more. She prepared herself for another round of painful tugging, but unexpected, gentle pressure had her head moving upwards to meet his and their eyes connected. Time stood still for her. It was true, time literally slowed to the consistency of treacle. It was as if she was a rabbit caught in the glare of a pair of headlights and what was worse, was the fact that he didn't seem to be affected at all. This was one-sided. He finally broke contact with her gaze, which was just as well because she wouldn't have been able to do so if her life had depended on it.
    The length of her stare had not gone unnoticed. Mark knew the effect he had on women and, thankfully, he was immune to their charms in that department. In all other departments he enjoyed them to the fullest, but love? They could keep that. After today's session was over with the look would be replaced with something akin to hatred. It was for the best. He'd hurt her, however things managed to turn out, but a few stripes from a cane versus unrequited love was the more palatable dish on the menu for all concerned.
    Grabbing her glossy mane a little tighter, he brought her head up to meet his.
    'Have I got your attention?'
    Jenny figured she didn't need to respond to that question, not that she would have been able to.
    'Good. I know you've already decided there's no way in Hades you're going to crawl for me and I don't have a problem with that. I'm just letting you know in advance that if you don't crawl, I drag. The wood floor in here will probably just be rather uncomfortable, but the concrete one in the corridor will do some damage.' Having said that, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a thick length of metal chain which he quickly clipped to the D-ring on the front of her collar. Then, true to his word, he pulled.
    Jenny quickly realised there were rather large holes in her earlier theory. Being dragged along a polished wood floor wasn't pleasant. Her backside and the underside of her thighs scraped and bumped and burned as he dragged her towards the door. She remembered the concrete corridor and it didn't take her long to realise that the abrasive flooring would literally scrape the skin off her body in seconds. She was proud but she wasn't stupid. The man had meant every word he'd said and it was a struggle to right her body on all fours and begin crawling before they reached the rough, grey surface. As it was, her left knee scraped and drew blood before he paused to see whether she had complied with his wishes.
    Mark stopped walking as soon as he'd seen his trainee move on all fours. He pulled the backing off a large rectangular shaped plaster he had ready in his hand and applied it to her knee. It was somewhat of a surprise that he'd only needed to use one, as the daughter had a reputation much like that of the father for extreme stubbornness. Continuing to lead her with the leash, but at a pleasantly sedate pace, he was confident there would be no more bloodshed. He didn't have a problem with blood, but if there were smears all over the floor some of the newer trainees tended to go into swoon mode.
    Jenny was rip-roaringly mad. Being led around like a pet animal was at the tip of her iceberg of woes. The man appeared to read her like a book and was one step ahead of her at each and every turn. He had a distinct advantage, too. He'd done this before, probably with countless other women. While that was bad enough, she could have just about coped had she not found the man devastatingly attractive. For some reason he made her blood sing and she didn't like the feeling one little bit. Narrowing her eyes, Jenny reasoned she'd get her chance to get even with Mr Know-it-all. And she'd only need one.
     

The Exercise Room
     
    Following Mark out into the corridor, Jenny found the easiest way to move was a quick shuffle, arms first and then