Subterfudge Read Free

answered, “The Internet.”
    “The Internet? Really?”
    With a grimace, she nodded.
    “What happened to the class?”
    “Oh, um, I think that lady has cats, and it’s at her house. Sir, you know how allergic I am. I couldn’t possibly have gone there.” She gave him her most pitiful look, and batted her big brown eyes at him, hoping to stay out of trouble.
    “Well, regardless of the cats and not taking the class, darling, you have to check the meat yourself. You can’t just read instructions or listen to the Internet. Do you understand?”
    She felt the heat rise on her face. “Yes, Sir.”
    “Go kneel on your blocks for ten minutes.”
    Her shoulders drooped. Not the blocks! But she nodded and did as she’d been told.
    One of the punishments she hated the most was the blocks. They were children’s ‘ABC’ blocks, with a letter from the alphabet embossed on each individual block. She set them out, all in a square then knelt on top of them. Her weight made it uncomfortable. Not exactly painful, but certainly it was something she didn’t like to do.
    It was the kind of punishment that worked well as a correction, and Roger knew it. He often sat in the same room watching television or reading where he could observe her on the blocks. He had a touch of a sadistic side to him, just a touch. Real pain wasn’t a big part of their play, but he got his needs met in other ways.
    While she knelt on the blocks, Ashley’s mind wandered to how they had got to this point in their relationship. Every couple had to find their way, whether it was a Master/sub type relationship or a ‘regular’ one. Heck, all relationships were tough. Just living with another person had compromises you had to work through.
    Once, at the beginning of their relationship, Roger had tried to give her a punishment and she had set her foot down. Okay, that was putting it mildly. She’d gone ballistic on him. She bit her lip to keep herself from laughing thinking about it.
    Ashley had been up for a big job and she hadn’t got it. In hindsight, she probably hadn’t been aggressive enough, hadn’t pulled out all the stops. She might have got the assignment if she’d been bolder about her interest. When she’d told Roger about it, he’d wanted to punish her for not getting the job!
    Ashley had been outraged, her feelings had been hurt. She’d cried, ranted and raved at him for his insensitivity. Roger had been stupefied. He hadn’t understood. In his mind, a Master was always supposed to punish or correct his sub when she made mistakes. It had taken some educating on Ashley’s part to help him understand that sometimes a sub needed love and understanding more than discipline.
    When Roger had come around, he’d felt like a perfect ass. As the blocks’ raised areas began to dig into her flesh, she grimaced. Men need training, even when they are your Master. Roger does love me. And he knows what is best for me. But there are times… Now was not one of them. Even though she didn’t like the blocks, she knew they would help her remember to check the meat next time.
    Yes, her friends would have thought she was nuts to submit to kneeling on blocks, but to Ashley, submitting to her Master’s punishments was sexy. And in truth, she herself was wildly undisciplined. Having him discipline her occasionally worked for her.
    After the ten minutes were up, Roger called her to him. He beckoned her to sit on his lap. Ashley curled into him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
    “I’m sorry I wasn’t more careful with the food. It won’t happen again, Sir.”
    “I know you are. Everyone makes mistakes, love. It’s okay.” He kissed her. Nothing felt better than when they came back together. She knew that her punishments were a bit of a game. He didn’t mean her any harm.
    Holding each other close and snuggling, they made out like teenagers on the couch until the turkey was ready—the second time.
    Roger helped Ashley get all the food out of