Free The Slave by Laura Antoniou

attempt from this moment on to behave as though you
were my property―your body, your responses, your services, your
mind, your thoughts. You will eat, drink and wear what I give you,
sleep where I direct, and do whatever work I assign. You will
accept my direction in all things, and never hesitate to inform me
of any physical or emotional limitation which may hamper you in the
performance of your duties. Is this all understood?”
    “ Yes, sir!” That familiar rush of
pleasure covered her, and she drew herself up to listen.
    “ I want you to ask me questions concerning
any aspect of your time with me; by the time you get to the block,
I do not want there to be any mysteries about your position or the
potential in your future. Your confidence will be what sells you,
if your passion for slavery is real. And to that end―” He focused
his eyes on her, the morning light glinting off his steel-framed
glasses, “should you ever experience real doubt as to your wish to
be sold, I want you to come to me immediately and inform me. Is
that understood?”
    Robin nodded. “Yes, yes, sir.”
    “ Good. There are a few other rules you
need to know besides the ones I’ve already explained to you. This
apartment does not belong to me, in case you have not already
guessed. You will treat it and its contents with respect and
courtesy, and keep it clean and straightened. While inside, you
will not wear clothing, unless I have directed you to do
so.”
    Robin blushed. She had put on the same
clothes she had worn last night, not even thinking. But Chris went
on without pausing.
    “ You will wake up at the time I
indicate every morning, and keep such hours as I direct. You may,
as I’ve indicated, ask questions, but you must learn to limit small
talk: speak when you are spoken to, and answer any of my questions
quickly, honestly, and to the best of your ability. As a trainee,
an applicant, you have no status in my world, and therefore you
will treat any visitor with the utmost respect and
courtesy.
    “ You will keep yourself clean and
available for inspection or use at all times. You will submit with
dignity to any punishment or training exercise I prescribe for you,
and I expect that you will show the proper attitude toward
correction and reward at all times.”
    He didn’t have to ask again; she understood.
“Yes, sir, I will.”
    “ Go into my room. Strip, and leave
your clothing there. Bring the object you find on the bed back to
me and present it to me properly.”
    Robin bowed her head in a nod
and sprang up and into the hall. Her cheeks burned as she tore open
the buttons of her shirt. I should have asked , she cursed, pulling it over her
shoulders . I
should have asked before I went to bed! Or when I woke up, I should
have just come out and waited for him to say something! God, where
did my brains go?
    Chris had made his own bed, and
quite neatly, too. Lying on the bed, centered on the luxurious
patterned quilt, was a leather strap. It looked like a doubled over
belt, with two ends formed into a handle and riveted together. It
had a loop strung through the handle for fastening to a belt ring,
and it looked very old and very used. But in the way of good, rich
leather, its use had made it glowing and supple. Unlike most of the
SM toys she had seen and felt over the years, it wasn’t black with
silver studs or anything like that. It was a deep but light
brown. British Tan , she thought, having read the name over and over again in
catalogs.
    Dumbly, she thought, what do you know?
Maybe he is an anglophile. Focus, damn it! Pay
attention!
    And then she stripped off her jeans and
folded her clothing in a pile. It had been a long time since she
had been self-conscious about her nakedness, but suddenly, she felt
a shiver of fear. It was daylight now, and she was in a large,
beautiful modern apartment with a stranger. It wasn’t the weekend,
at night, in some darkened place, whether a bedroom or a playroom.
And when she picked up