Page 48 of Master My Love

“I’m still not sure Mistress Tara is going to want me at her house. I’m the reason she got punished.”

“No, her behavior is why she got punished. You were merely the catalyst and the perfect means of getting Samson’s attention. Besides, you won’t see Mistress Tara at dinner. I don’t live with her.”

“You don’t?” Val questioned. “I thought you were a threesome.”

“No, I’m subbing for them while my husband is deployed.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m a submissive, Val. My husband is on an 18-month deployment, maybe more. He and I both know I can’t go that long without a master.”

“It’s okay with your husband if you have sex with them while he’s away?”

“We don’t have sex. I serve them, nothing more.”

Val frowned, still puzzled.

Julianna popped the locks on her car, and once they were inside, she explained. “I’m a people-pleaser. According to my husband, it makes me vulnerable to exploitation. I have a problem saying no at school, in my volunteer work, and with my friends. When he’s gone, and I don’t have someone to make me say no, others take advantage. This is his third deployment. The first one was only for six months but was an epic disaster. When he came home, I was physically and emotionally exhausted, and he had to put the pieces back together. The last time, he arranged for Master Samson to take me under his wing. It worked out well, and although I missed him, I could cope so much better. Does that make sense?”

“Actually, Julianna, it does.” Val looked with admiration at the young woman beside her. She wasn’t afraid to admit she had needs. At least fifteen years her senior, it had taken her far longer to admit to her own. “What do you do to serve Samson and Tara?”

“I help with the classes. The masters think it’s important for an experienced submissive to be around to answer questions for the newbies. I also help behind the bar occasionally. I think I get more from the arrangement than they do. Master Samson has me check in every morning, and he reviews my agenda for the day. He makes me set goals and reviews them to see if I’ve kept on task. I see them almost every day either at the club or their home where I’m teaching Mistress Tara yoga for relaxation and anger management.”

Thiscaught Val so off guard, her mouth dropped open. She was still trying to process the vision of scary Tara on a yoga mat in a lotus pose when Julianna stopped at a traffic light and glanced her way. She grinned, breaking Val’s stunned stupor, then they both cracked up, howling with laughter. The domme sure could use a healthy dose of inner peace along with her anger management.

Once they started moving again, Val picked up where they left off. “There’s no sex at all? What about at the club? Do you scene with them?”

“Only if I’m due for punishment, like the other day when I didn’t do well on a test. Mistress strapped me over a bench and used the quirt on me. Yowie, did it smart!”

“They help you stay on task with your studies?”

“Yes, but there was more to it than me not hitting the books. I agreed to pull extra duty at the animal shelter when one of the girls was out, which is whyI didn’t have time to study.It was another case of me incapable of saying no. Master Samson called me on it. He also phoned the shelter and set them straight about my hours. They covered the shifts with other volunteers, so it was all good.”

“Why didn’t he punish you himself?”

“He has in the past, and still does when warranted, but we learned it’s best if Mistress Tara is my disciplinarian, to avoid jealousy on her part. And believe me, I don’t want to be on her bad side.”

“It seems you get exactly what you need out of the arrangement. What’s in it for them?”

“Mistress gets to top me and satisfy her dominant needs, while Master Sam gets to help a friend and fellow soldier by looking out for his wife. He often says if he’d had this kind of arrangement for Tara while he was overseas, she wouldn’t be as bratty as she is now. Poor thing is confused. She never used to be a switch until he left to serve in Afghanistan.”

“Sounds like she needs to see a professional.”

“Like you?”

Val snorted. Pigs would fly out her butt the day Tara walked into her office asking for help.

The conversation turned to clothes and Val’s outfit for later that tonight. Julianna suggested a specialty shop nearby.

“The owner did last week’s implement demonstration. Her partner does custom-made fetwear in house. We can pick you up something sexy for the Valentine’s party while we’re there. The theme is PJs this year, and you can get lingerie at the boutique, too.”

Val looked out the side window as uncertainty crept in. February 14th was only ten days away and Eric had said nothing about a party. Granted, he’d been super busy.

“I stuck my foot in it, didn’t I?” Julianna said, reading her reaction correctly. “Don’t you have a contract? I thought for sure.”

“Nothing official yet,” Val replied, her response tinged with disappointment.

“I’m sorry, Val. It’s just that I’ve never seen Master Eric take such an interest in a newbie before. The subs are all buzzing about it. Are you headed that way do you think?”

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