Sweet Discipline Read Online Free PDF Page A

a lot of exercise. She’d never liked it, although she’d bought memberships in various gyms. Truth was, she hated the whole 19
    Bonnie Hamre
    workout scene and never attended. She didn’t get off on the no pain, no gain school of thought, but she could tough it out, even with a wannabe drill sergeant like him.
    “You will be rewarded when you succeed, disciplined when you fail.”
    There was that word again, leaving a bad taste in her mouth. Discipline was punishment, and she’d never responded to deprivation. She ran her tongue over her teeth. “Disciplined how?”
    He looked her over. “How do you define discipline?”
    Norris tried to remember the dictionary’s definition. “Um, keeping at something until you’ve got it right. Practice. Self-denial. Punishment.” She licked her lips again.
    Ugh.
    “You’re on the right track. Sweet Discipline removes bad habits and helps a client substitute good ones, especially those of order, regularity, and obedience.”
    He sounded like he’d quoted those words many times before. Was this pet training or a damned expensive spa? “Obedience?”
    He nodded. “To the goals you set yourself. To your inner self. To the program. To me.” He paused while she thought about that. He must have interpreted the look on her face as resistance, which it was, for he added, “If you require help in creating or maintaining self-control, you will get it through discipline.”
    She swallowed hard. She searched his face, looking for another hint that he wasn’t some robotron hired to spout the company line. That he was actually a human being under those intimidating black clothes. He was handsome, a beautifully formed male, and she couldn’t find an ounce of humanity in him.
    Come to think of it, the only real interaction she’d felt was with Angela, who’d giggled and talked to her like a person, not a child to be chastised for getting into the cookies. Or as something subhuman.
    “Discipline takes many forms,” Adrian said, reinforcing her growing perception of him as a coldhearted machine. “Mental, physical, emotional. Any method I choose will fit the infraction and you will accept and learn from it. Do you understand me?”
    She hesitated. If she said yes, she’d be giving him permission to do…what? If she refused, what?
    “Maybe I’d do better with another trainer after all,” she suggested. She gave him a polite, hopeful smile. “Maybe you could switch with someone else? Man or woman.
    Even if they aren’t the best?”
    “Trainers are assigned according to a client’s profile.” He glanced at the clipboard in his hand. “Based on your answers on our questionnaire and your actions since you arrived here, you are temperamental and willful. You need me.”
    “That’s ridiculous!”
    He eyed her from head to foot. She was immediately aware of every ounce of fat, every bulge, every droop of her body. His gaze settled on her face. “Any trainer could 20
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    work you through the physical part of our program. The mental and emotional part is harder. With your history, you need a firm hand.”
    “I’m not a child!”
    “True. You’re an adult and it’s going to be harder to retrain yourself.” He paused.
    “Your answer?”
    She answered his question with one of her own. “How do you know so much about me?”
    He paused, making her wonder if he’d answer. At last, he said, “We do our homework.”
    For an answer it lacked something and left much more to the imagination. What did they do, spy on her? The thought left a bilious taste in her mouth.
    “I’m still waiting.”
    “I’m still thinking.” Stay or leave and try another spa, another trainer?
    No matter that she’s just counseled herself to stay and get her money’s worth, she could still walk out. Admit defeat. The image of Kendra’s sleek body and smug look flashed through her mind. If Kenny could do it, so could she. After all, this man, this machine, would only be a part of her