How to Tame a Brat Pt. 05 by LindsayMurray,LindsayMurray

“Ooh, you’re going to cook for me?” I grinned and climbed closer to him, pressing one of my legs against his. “You must really like me.”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re alright I suppose.” But he gave me a wink.

“What are we discussing?” I asked, and threw one leg over him so I was kneeling over him. He seemed unaffected by my position.

“Rules. Limits. Safewords. Needs. The usual.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” I smiled. “You’ll definitely need a safeword with me.”

He huffed, like he didn’t have the energy to actually laugh. “Oh yeah, why is that?”

“Because I’m in charge, obviously.” I made to sit back on his hips so I could grind on him a little, but his hands flew out from under his head and grabbed my hips, catching me before I did so. He flipped us over so he was on top of me, and then repositioned himself so he was holding my hands down above my head. I felt trapped, pinned down by the weight of his body, paralyzed by the hungry look in his eye. Oh, this is a good place to be.

“Are you sure about that?”

I bit my lip and shook my head just a little. Nope. You are totally, definitely in charge. Fucking finally.

“Say it, Alice.” He brushed a finger across my lips so lightly it tickled, and I shivered. “I want to hear you say it.” His voice was proud with that tiny touch of cruelty that I loved.

“You’re in charge.”

“Good girl.” He said it with such conviction, like he really meant it. Like he believed it.

I squeezed my eyes closed at the words. I did not want to hear that. Unexpected emotion welled up in me and I couldn’t stop it, and my eyes spilled over with forbidden tears. I hiccupped and held my breath to try to stop, but I couldn’t. After a moment, I found myself shaking and falling, spinning out of control.

I couldn’t breathe. I was lost in my head, and nothing felt real, and the only thing I could hear were those words while I squirmed and struggled–

Something sharp hit me in the face and my eyes flew open. Reuben had slapped me just hard enough to bring me back, though I was dizzy from hyperventilating. He sat up and pulled me into his lap, holding my face in both of his hands and forcing me to look at him.

“Breathe with me, Alice. Come on.” He kept my eyes as he leaned forward and pressed our foreheads together, and I struggled and fought to steady my breathing, matching my inhales and exhales to his, choking down my sobs. “You can do it… that’s right… just like that.” He held my face in his hands, brushing his thumbs against my cheeks in a slow, steady rhythm.

He held me like that, breathing with me, until I was calm. My shoulders fell, the tension I didn’t know I was holding escaping from me.

“Alice… talk to me. Is that better?”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, letting my eyes close. I was so tired. “This is a bad idea. I never should have… we really shouldn’t…” I dropped my head in embarrassment.

I never should have opened this door. It was going to happen again, I knew it would. I was going to break a rule or go crazy on him, or have a panic attack by some trigger I didn’t know I had, and he’d let me go because I was just too much to deal with.

“Look at me.” He took my chin and forced my face up, and I opened my eyes. “Talk to me. What just happened inside that pretty head of yours?”

“You’re right,” I whispered. “We have a lot to talk about. And we should have talked about it first because… because now I’m going to have to tell you everything, and you’re going to see how crazy I am, and you’re going to decide this is a bad idea and that you don’t want me because I’m a pain in the ass, and I’m going to be sad because I really like you now.”

A slow smile crept over his face. “Don’t worry, you’ll hate me again in a few hours.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” I muttered.

“Honestly Alice, it doesn’t matter to me if you hate me or love me. I take care of the things that belong to me, and now that I’ve found you, you’re on the top of the list. I’ll play my part, you’ll play yours. Your emotions at the time have nothing to do with it.”

Your emotions have nothing to do with it. Something about that phrase hit me harder than his slap in the face. It danced around in my head and I wasn’t sure what to do with it, but he continued before I had a chance to really chew on the thought.

“Alice… I know a decent amount on how to communicate and work with people who have very specific needs, and who have mental health concerns. I’m not going to judge you for your illness or your disabilities. You’re going to be mine, and we’ll work through the rest. You’d better get used to the idea.”

“You really don’t know what you’re signing up for, Reuben.”

“Which is why you’re going to tell me everything tomorrow when you come over for dinner. Be mentally prepared for it.”

“It’s going to take a week.”

“Then you’ll come over all week. I don’t go back to DC until next Tuesday.”

I shook my head, not sure what to believe. I was exhausted from the spanking, the pain-gasm, the panic attack, and the emotional rollercoaster I’d been riding all day. So I just shook my head and sighed and said, “Okay.”

Reuben stayed around with me for another hour, sitting with me and chatting quietly about nothing, letting me ramble about stars and other bullshit until I could confidently tell him that I wasn’t going to have another panic attack during dinner. He climbed off my bed and adjusted his pants, rethreading the belt. I finally got a good look at it.

“What kind of belt is that?” it had a D-hook in it in a weird spot, and was made up of several leather loops attached together.

“Bondage belt. Amazing how many different things you can do with it. A friend of mine makes them.”

“Wait… is it Julia Fairchild?”

“See, Alice, this is what I don’t understand.” He buckled the belt and stared at me while he put his blazer back on. “We have the same friends, run in the same circles, and go to the same clubs. You’ve lived in DC for almost a decade. Why is it I’ve never run into you?”

“Maybe we have, and we just don’t remember,” I shrugged.

“Oh no. I would remember.”

I cocked my head at him. “Why? How would you? How many people do you meet every day or every time you go to The Underground?”

He stepped closer to me and took my face in both of his hands, leaning down towards me with wonder in his eyes, and I thought for a minute he was going to kiss me. But he stared at me, studying my face like it was a surprise, like he was trying to remember every detail of me.

“No… I would have remembered.”

He let go of my face and straightened, putting on his “scarry Dom face.”

“Six o’clock. Wear a dress… don’t be late, or else.”

I pursed my lips, debating whether to give him the answer he clearly wanted.

But we’d both broken enough rules today, and I knew with the kind of guy he was. It was probably eating him up… so I swallowed the honorifics for now, and said, “you’re the boss, boss.”

He stared at me for another moment, then turned and left, shutting the door behind me. I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of his heavy footsteps down the hall.

Chapter 14
Alice
I dressed up for Reuben the next evening, spending extra time on my eyeliner and my hair, making sure my lipstick was perfect. I wore my fishnets and my black leather ankle boots, and a black lace pencil-cut dress that made my curves look edible.

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