The Training (Book 3: The Submissive Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF Page B

kissed my cheek. “To talk openly?” He kissed the other. “To tell me how you feel?”
    His touch was the connection I craved, what I unknowinglyneeded, and I felt myself melt under his hands. His lips traveled from my cheek to my ear. “Yes,” he said, feeling my body react.
    I turned my face toward his, and our lips brushed softly. I unconsciously moved closer to him, and his arms came around my shoulders. He held me close to his chest and leaned us back so we reclined against the pillows.
    “Better?” he asked in a whisper.
    “Much,” I said, closing my eyes. “Thank you.”
    He stroked my hair for a few minutes, and I listened to the steady
thump, thump, thump
of his heart.
    “Okay,” he said. “Let’s do it this way—you tell me what you liked.”
    We’d talked about our checklists for hours. About what we enjoyed and wanted to try. Why did talking about something we’d done make me embarrassed? I told myself it was crazy. Nathaniel had seen all of me. Touched all of me. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.
    “Not being able to vocalize was very intense,” I said.
    “Very intense meaning,
I loved it; let’s do it again?
” he asked. “Or very intense meaning,
I hated it; never try that again?”
    I took a deep breath and inhaled the deep woodsy scent of him. Someone else had taken a shower recently. “Mmmmm. I loved it; let’s do it again,” I said.
    “I think you can handle more,” he said. “Next time we’ll see if you can go a bit longer.”
    My body tingled with anticipation.
Longer next time.
I could only imagine what he meant. I was glad he thought I could handle more. Frankly, I thought I had reached the end of my control there at the end.
    “I liked the flogger,” I said, wanting to switch subjects. “It wasn’t what I was expecting.”
    His hand ran down my side. “I’ve decided to use only the rabbitfur this weekend.” The press of his fingers grew rough against my backside. “But I meant what I said about the clamps. I’ll use them tomorrow.” He leaned down and spoke softly in my ear. “And it’s a good thing you’ve been using your plug.”
    I nodded, suddenly unable to speak. The tingle in my body became stronger and moved lower, coming to rest right between my legs.
    Gah.
    “The eight strokes?” he asked.
    “Hurt like the devil,” I finished.
    “They were meant to.”
    “I know,” I said. “I completely understand that part.” I lifted my head. “You didn’t seem surprised. Did you know I’d mess up so soon?”
    “I thought you might,” he said. “It made sense to me you would. I didn’t want to say anything before it happened, though. How would that have sounded?”
    I laid my head back on his chest. “I probably wouldn’t have believed you anyway.”
    “Probably not,” he said.
    “What hurt most was knowing I’d disappointed you,” I said.
    “That was my least favorite part of the night,” he said. “Having to punish you. But you learned. You didn’t make the same mistake twice.”
    I didn’t want to dwell on my failure. “Your turn,” I said. “What was your favorite part?”
    “Look at me,” he said, and I tilted my head to catch his gaze. “My favorite part was you. The trust you have in me. Your obedience. The joy you find in pleasing me.”
    I shook my head. “That’s not what I meant. I meant—”
    “Shhhhh,” he hushed. “I’m not finished.”
    I pursed my lips together.
    “You are,” he said slowly, “
exquisite
in your service to me. And that, my lovely, was my favorite part.
Is
my favorite part.”
    I found I couldn’t help myself. I brought my head up and kissed him, our lips merely grazing.
    I love you
, I wanted to say, but wasn’t sure it was allowed. Didn’t know if it would be wise. Perhaps some things were best left unsaid during the weekends. At least for now, anyway. We had plenty of other days to murmur our love.
    He didn’t often tell me he loved me. Mentioning it, perhaps, only a handful