Dropping her onto the bed, he fell on top of her, covering her body with his and her mouth with kisses. It was a long, lovely while before they actually fell asleep.
“Hey, sleepyhead. You better get up if you’re going to be down in time for positions and grace training. It’s a little after six.”
Skylar opened her eyes. Caelan was smiling down at her, propped on his elbow in the bed beside her. She came instantly awake. “Oh, wow,” she said. “I wonder what Maya and the others are thinking, since I never went back down to my bedroom.”
Caelan grinned. “Don’t worry. Word travels so fast around here I’m sure they know everything already, even things you don’t know yourself.” He laughed. “If you want any secrets, this is not the place for you.”
Before they’d fallen asleep the night before, he’d clipped her cuffs together with a short length of chain. “To remind you even when you’re sleeping that you belong to me,” he’d said, to her delight. Now, he reached for her cuffs to release the clip.
Flopping back against the pillows, he said, “Go ahead and do your washing up and grooming. You’ll find a fresh razor in the drawer to the left of the sink. I’ll expect you in the mirrored training room after breakfast.” He ran his thumb along her jaw and down her throat, sending a shiver of submissive desire through her body. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten your punishment,” he added with a wicked gleam in his eye. “Now, up you go. You don’t want to be late.”
Trainee Ben had completed his program and left the island the day before, while Janie had been excused from positions training and conditioning that morning, as her husband/Master had arrived on the island and she was staying with him. The new trainee wasn’t due to arrive until later that afternoon, so it was just Skylar with the staff slaves—Maya, Shani, Abbie and a sweet guy named Tommy.
There had been much grinning and knowing glances exchanged as they were drinking their fruit smoothies in the kitchen. Now, as they did their preliminary stretching on the beach, Abbie burst out, “Okay, Skylar. You’re killing us, here. Out with it. You didn’t sleep in your bed last night. Rumors are flying. What’s the story with you and Master Caelan?”
They all chimed in, eagerly demanding a full accounting. As Skylar shared the basics, they listened with rapt attention and shining eyes. She was struck by how easy it was to talk to these people. Though she’d only known them a few days, she already felt like they were her people, the connection immediate and strong. She thought about her life back in Charlotte, which now seemed black and white compared to this Technicolor dream. The only friends she really had back on the mainland, not counting work acquaintances, were Rhi and James. What would they think about all this?
This new circle of friends seemed so genuinely happy for her. No one asked what would happen at the end of her week, for which Skylar was grateful, as she didn’t yet know herself. All she knew was, she never wanted to leave this island.
It felt like home.
After breakfast, Skylar reported as directed to the mirrored training room. She waited in a kneeling up position on the yoga mat in the center of the room, her heart beating with excited anticipation. At the same time, nervous butterflies flitted in her belly as his earlier comment about a straddle beam in her near future flashed through her mind.
Master Caelan appeared in the doorway a few minutes later, dressed again in a T-shirt and black jeans. A part of her wanted to leap up and kiss him but she remained where she was as he approached her.
“Are you ready for your punishment?” he asked, sending a shiver of erotic fear through her loins.
“Yes, Sir,” she managed, tensing in spite of herself.
“Tell me why you’re being punished.”
“Because I closed my legs to you, Sir,” she replied, flushing a little at the memory of his sweet tongue driving her wild.
“That’s correct. I trust that won’t happen again.”
“No, Sir.”
He walked over to the hanging straddle beam. “Stand up over the beam.”
Skylar rose to her feet and lifted one leg over the beam, which at present was only a foot or so off the floor. Master Caelan went to the wardrobe and returned with a hank of rope. “Place your hands behind your back and fold them, grasping opposite forearms,” he directed.
Leaving the cuffs in place, he proceeded to wrap the rope around her forearms, tethering them together. She could see what he was doing in the mirrors on either wall. As the rope wound and tightened around her, that familiar sense of erotic surrender moved through her body, stiffening her nipples and melting her insides. When he was done, he straightened and reached for the pulley device that controlled the height of the board.