Under a Stern Reign by Raymond Wilde

come to Portugal, you know that, don’t you?’ she said firmly, putting on and fastening the skirt. ‘And if you do go, we probably won’t see each other again.’
    â€˜I’ll be back,’ he said determinedly. ‘Once this madness is over, I will return.’
    â€˜Don’t make idle promises. You’ll never keep them.’
    â€˜We’re living in terrible times. Times that call for sacrifices of one kind or another. I’ve asked you to come with me. I will already be sacrificing my home and country because I have no choice. You have a choice and it’s best that you consider it well.’
    â€˜I have given you over a year of my life. You have given me nothing in return and now you take leave of me as if I were?’
    â€˜Just consider my predicament and consider my offer,’ the count interrupted, losing his patience.
    â€˜No,’ his mistress hissed back, surprising him with her vehemence, ‘you consider my offer. You will stay here in France and there will be no more mention of leaving. If you go there will be trouble. I’ll get you arrested before you leave.’
    Â 
    Genevieve still tingled all over. Though feeling shy, she felt a warm delight in her near nakedness. She felt so vulnerable and yet so free, too. She wanted Elise to touch her again, to repeat what she had just done.
    But Elise was now beside the bed, holding the curtain cords. ‘Stand up,’ she ordered. ‘It’s time for your next lesson.’
    Without thinking Genevieve obeyed again, a feeling of lightness permeating her body. Elise made her turn her back, stroked the girl’s long blonde hair, and then pulled her arms behind her.
    â€˜Lovers play games, Genevieve,’ she whispered. ‘And a man’s game is essentially that of power.’
    Genevieve trembled a little, feeling the thick cord being wound and knotted tightly around her wrists. What was her friend up to now?
    â€˜Wuh-what are you doing?’ she asked.
    â€˜As I said, it is time for your next lesson. A lesson in power and control.’ Elise lifted the second cord. ‘Now open your mouth,’ she ordered.
    Partly in fear, partly in fascination, Genevieve complied and felt the cord passing over her lips and lodging between her teeth. Elise tied it behind her head, forming a gag. ‘Now get on your knees,’ she commanded, pushing her to the floor.
    Genevieve did as she was told, but Elise pushed her further so that her head sank forward and rested on the soft bed. She fidgeted apprehensively, a sudden panic gripping her, aware of her exposure and complete vulnerability.
    â€˜Relax,’ Elise murmured, her hand following the delicious shape of Genevieve’s bottom. ‘Now, power is a man’s favourite thing, and learning to submit to the whims of others is part of the lesson you must learn. Men love whores and slaves, and you must learn to become a whore and a slave if you want to win their affections.’
    The hand withdrew, and then suddenly slapped Genevieve sharply on her buttocks. She swallowed the shriek of shock and pain that tried to force itself through the gag. Heat surged through her bottom as if she’d been scalded.
    â€˜What a man’s pleasures are might not always be understandable to you, but learning to enjoy them is the challenge,’ Elise said, stroking Genevieve’s bottom again, but just as the kneeling girl felt the pain subsiding a second swipe fizzed through the air, the slap landing on her right buttock. It scorched more than the first, sending a raging heat over the surface of her skin and resonating deeply.
    Tears welled in her eyes. She pulled at the cord in vain, but along with the pain, she realised, came the pleasurable throbbing Elise’s tongue had only just partially abated. Her pussy was tingling again, warming and dampening. The pain in her buttocks mingled with it, inflaming it like a fan. She spread her knees