Clockworks and Corsets by Regina Riley Page A

harder state. Her mind continued to wander while she fondled and stroked him. She should’ve had the entire country in her hands by now, or perhaps, the entire world. Instead, here she was with another handful of what amounted to the brains of this nation! Enraged by the thought, she brought her other hand down, open palmed, on the man’s thigh. The snap of flesh on flesh echoed through the bedchamber.
    “Oh, Ruby,” the counselor groaned while he pulled against the restraints. “You always know how to hurt me just right.”
    “Shut up, Garrison,” Ruby snapped.
    “Yes, ma’am.” He smiled wistfully at her, his cock twitching as if nodding in assent.
    Ruby slipped off the edge of the silk bed sheet, leaving the naked man alone for a moment while she went to her table of implements. She eyed the cat o’ nine tails, the various paddles, the feathers, the oils, the leather straps, and the cotton gags. There was nothing that could cause pertinent markings, nothing that would leave a lasting result.
    “What will it be today, Ruby?” the counselor asked.
    “Whatever I please,” she answered.
    “Of course,” he said. “But if you favor the crop, I wouldn’t mind. Just so you know, I am willing to include a generous tip.”
    She snatched up the leather riding crop with an aggravated huff. Plans for world domination were expensive, so Ruby made her money by the only means she knew. In some ways, it amused her that the very powers that be were unconsciously funding their own destruction by visiting her little bordello. Ruby cracked the air with the crop, sneering when the man whimpered in delight.
    She turned back to him before she allowed a small smile to surface. The man was at her mercy, rock hard, ready for his weekly lesson.
    Soon she would have the doctor’s weapon, then the entire nation would be at her mercy.
    Then she would take great pleasure in teaching everyone who was in charge. Ruby supposed it both grated and relived her that Booth took the fall for the assassination. The nation may not yet appreciate her brilliance, but at least she had been far enough from the eye of the storm to escape unscathed when it went to hell. Snapping the crop against her naked thigh, Ruby relished the pain matched by the burning reminder of her failure.
    “Are you okay, Ruby?” the counselor asked. “You seem like you’re somewhere else?”
    “Nonsense,” she lied. “How could I be anywhere else when you’re here?”
    The counselor smiled wide.
    “Are you ready for your lesson?” she asked her client.
    “Yes!” he shouted. “Teach me! Teach me so hard!”
    Ruby looked at the ceiling before she slinked back toward the bed. The counselor drooled.
    He was all bug-eyed and open mouthed at the hourglass cinch of the lacey corset and thin panties.
    She paused to snap the crop again. The counselor shivered in what she knew to be anticipation.
    They had played this game so many times, Ruby knew his every emotion, could predict his every response. Unlike her, the counselor was unable to hide his true reactions, his real feelings. It was a weakness she despised. Ruby crawled onto the foot of the bed, easing her way up the restrained man’s body. She paused to smack his feet with the crop, then his calves, until she loomed over his hard manhood. She pinned his legs under her, sitting on his knees while she leaned over him.
    “Now,” she said, “what do you say?”
    “Please?” he begged.
    Ruby slapped his right hip with the crop. “You know better than that.”
    “Please suck my cock,” he begged. A pearl of desire oozed from the tip of his waiting steel.
    Ruby brought the crop down with a loud crack against the man’s left hip. He groaned and shuddered.
    “Louder!” she screamed.
    “Please suck my cock!” he yelled.
    She struck him again. He yelled the phrase even louder. She worked the crop from hip to hip until each side of his waist was the color of her namesake. All the while, the high paid lawyer