Page 53 of Need

He sighed. “I’ve told you more than once that communication is the most important thing between us. If you don’t tell me what is going on in that mind of yours, there is nothing I can do to help you. I’m not a mind reader, Brianna.”

I felt the weight of his disappointment in me.

His gaze burned through me even though I couldn’t see it. I just wanted to be in his arms again.

Stephan handed me back my phone. “Starting tomorrow, for the next week, you will text me at the top of every hour while I’m at the office. It will be no more than five minutes early and no more than five minutes late. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“If you miss one, Brianna, there will be consequences,” he said pointedly.

“I understand.”

“Good. Now go put your phone on the charger and come back.”

I did what he said and returned to his side. This time he indicated that I was to sit in his lap. It felt so good to be there. I didn’t ever want to upset him again, although I knew I would.

“Now, you said on the phone that you were afraid I’d be upset with you. Why?” Stephan asked.

“Because of last night. I... I messed up.”

He sighed. “You didn’t mess up, Brianna. Have I ever been upset with you before when you’ve had a bad reaction to something?”

“No,” I whispered.

“No,” he confirmed. “Then why would you think that my view would suddenly change?”

I was quiet for a long while before I answered him. “I wanted to make you happy. I failed.”

His hands surrounded my face, brushing the moisture from my cheeks. “You didn’t fail. This is a process. We set the pace. If we need to go slower, we’ll go slower.”

I nodded.

“Can you tell me what happened? You seemed to be enjoying my touching you, and then everything changed.”

The next half hour was difficult for me. He’d not been satisfied with my skimming over details of my flashback. He wanted to know everything, from how often Ian’s friend had used me to how he found pleasure in shoving as many different objects inside me as he could find. It had become a challenge for him to see what strange and unusual item would fit inside me. Ian hadn’t cared, and even encouraged his friend’s game.

Stephan listened in silence for the most part, comforting and encouraging me when I arrived at a difficult bit. I didn’t want to relive this, but I’d do it for him. I’d do anything for him.

At nine thirty, he motioned for me to get up, get ready for bed, and meet him in his bedroom. The entire time I was in my room getting ready I was trying to figure out what he was going to do. I’d thought it was over, but obviously, it wasn’t.

When I walked into his room with one minute to spare, he was sitting on his bed wearing nothing but his boxers, waiting for me. He indicated that he wanted me to kneel in front of him. I was visibly shaking.

“Now to correct your behavior, Brianna.” His voice was calm. “For the next seven nights you will sleep on the floor, on that spot next to my bed.” I followed his gaze down to where he was looking on the floor. “It seems that I can’t trust you to tell me when you’re in distress. You will also be in the same room as I am at all times when I’m home, unless I say otherwise.” He paused. “Go to the dresser and bring back that blanket and pillow lying on top.”

I moved quickly to retrieve the items and came back to kneel in front of him. He took the pillow from my hands and tossed it to the floor.

“Do you understand why this is happening?”

“Yes, Sir,” I said, not wanting to meet his eyes.

Then he surprised me by pulling my face to his and kissing me. It was deep and passionate, and left me breathing hard by the time he let me go. “Good girl. Goodnight, Brianna,” he said with a smile as he climbed into his bed.

I didn’t know if I should speak, but I decided to chance it. “Goodnight, Sir.”

As I lay down on the floor beside his bed, I realized how stupid I had been in not wanting to tell him. He was always there for me. I shouldn’t have doubted him.

Chapter Twelve

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