Page 10 of Hard Discipline

I heave in a shaky breath, anger at him and at my own stupid weakness rising and rising. Furiously, I swipe at my wet cheeks. “You can’t do that,” I say thickly. “You can’t say those things to me and?—”

“I gave you a taste of what submission feels like.” He cuts me off, his voice iron and steel. “If you want to find out more, there are plenty of Dominants on the app to choose from.”

Fury burns hot inside me, in fact, I can’t remember the last time I was so angry. In fact, I’m so furious I’m crying again, and I’m tempted to finish myself off in front of him anyway, just to spite him. I lower my hand but he says, “Don’t you fucking dare.”

And much to my intense rage, I obey. His hard blue stare is too much, and I’m just not brave enough.

“Fine,” I say furiously. “Fuck you then.”

Then I grab my purse and I leave.

6

Gideon

I’m sitting in my office in the Fairfax building, in downtown Manhattan, with Lucas sitting in the chair on the other side of my desk. My son wanted totalkand so here he is, in my office, talking. And fuck, it’s all the kids want to do these days, endless talking about their lives andprocessingof their feelings, and I don’t have the patience for it. But he’s my son and I haven’t been there in the past for him, so here I am, listening.

Or rather, I’m pretending to listen, because my brain won’t stop thinking about something else.

It’s been three days since Odette stormed out of my hotel room, which usually means out of sight, out of mind, but she is not out of my mind. She’s been occupying it ever since that night and it’s getting really fucking annoying.

I don’t know why I can’t stop thinking about that night. Can’t stop thinking of her, on her knees, her fingers stroking her exceptionally pretty and very wet pussy. The flush in her cheeks, the darkness of her silvery eyes, the redness of her mouth. Theintense fight she had with herself about obeying my commands and how she didn’t want to do it. The tears rolling down her cheeks, the battle she had with not wanting to trust me, and yet wanting to at the same time.

The war a sub has between her fears and her desires is such a fucking aphrodisiac to me, and I can’t say I wasn’t…unaffected. In fact, that was the reason I had to get her out of there, because Iwasaffected and I didn’t like it. Getting hard is one thing, that’s easily solved, but the Dominant in me was hungry for her in a way that went beyond simple release. I was surprised by her strength, and wanted to explore it. Test it. Show her how that strength could give her the most intense pleasure. And I wanted to find out what else was surprising about her, which was dangerous.

But you’re bored. You like surprises.

Yes, both of those things are true. Except I don’t want to get interested in a sub, especially not after a scene is over. What happens in the playroom stays in the fucking playroom, and there’s no thinking about it later. At least, I never have before and so I can’t fathom why the fuck I’m doing it now.

“So,” Lucas says, leaning back in his chair and putting one foot on the opposite knee. “What would you say to me dropping out of Yale?”

I force my attention away from Odette and bring it back to my son. He’s a cocky little prick, but then I was the same when I was his age. Young, rich, good-looking, with the world mine for the taking. To be fair though, I was never rich. I had nothing but ambition and a steely desire to prove my asshole parents wrong, and it’s that which got me where I am today.

I stare at him from the other side of my desk. He’s studying economics with a view to taking over the business from me eventually, but being a college dropout does not feature in that plan.

I don’t react, though. I simply keep staring at him. “Why?”

“The truth?” He stares back at me with the same intensity, which naturally he got from me. “I’m bored. I need to get out of here, out of the country, and go and be in a different place for a while.”

He’s also inherited my stubbornness and while he’s never been without ambition, this was not what I was expecting.

“Lucas,” I begin.

“I’m going to put my studies on hold,” he says before I can go on. “But I need some time out.”

I raise a brow. “Are you asking for my permission?”

“No.” He lifts his chin, already being defiant, because he knows the answer to that. “This is purely for information’s sake.”

I have to hand it to him. Once he’s decided something, he does it, no fucking around. I wonder if this has something to do with the fallout of his mother’s death and not for the first time, I regret not being there for him. Maintaining a good relationship with someone is like putting money in the bank. There’s a certain level of funds there, so that when withdrawals occur, you have enough money left to keep the account open. But I don’t have enough money in the bank with Lucas and we both know it.

“It’s not what we agreed when you said you wanted to go to Yale,” I say. “You wanted to finish your degree before you did anything else.”

“Yeah, I know,” he says, still defiant. “But I changed my mind.”

He does not elaborate, but something makes me ask, “And Odette? What about her? Is she going with you?

His gaze flickers and he looks away. Every muscle in my body tenses. She can’t have told him what happened between her and me, because I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t currently be sitting here talking to me if she had. But who knows? She was very angry when I kicked her out, and she had every right to be.I wouldn’t have done things differently, though. Fifteen minutes was enough to tell me that despite the unexpected glimpse of steel in her, she still wouldn’t be able to handle anything more. Not considering how she was crying after five.

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