The Heartwood Box: A Fairy Tale (25 page)

“Are you always going to ignore my wishes?” 

She suddenly felt how exhausted she was, and before she could stop them
,
tears of frustration sprang to her eyes
.

He looked at her thoughtfully
and then pulled her onto the bed and settled her in his arms
.
For a moment she thought he’d given up, but it appear
ed he was arranging his thoughts.
“I’m going to ask you a few questions, darling.”  She nodded
.
“The first one is this: if you truly disliked something I did
—
if it gave you no pleasure at all, or left you feeling humiliated or frightened
—
would you keep silent?” 

“No!”  The very idea offended her
.

“And thank Titania for that,” he said feelingly
.
“Second question: last night if I’d asked your permission before tying you to the bedpost and taking your beautiful sex with my mouth, would you have said yes?” 

Her sharp red blush was answer enough
.

“Final question:
do
you think that I could not tell the difference between a true, urgent refusal from you and, say, the kind of objection you made when I ordered you to come a second time as we made love last night
?”

“No,” she said grumpily, though it comforted her that she knew he would instantly
be able to tell
the difference.

“Genevieve
,
please attend, because this is very important
.
If we are playing, making love, and you are still experiencing pleasure, if your refusal is driven by frustration or village modesty or testiness then I will likely disregard it
.
If your refusal is driven by fear or distress, I will always,
always
stop immediately
.
Do you trust that I speak the truth?”

“Yes.” 

“Thank you
.
Now, let’s assume that you have an objection to something, but it is not a matter of distress, not urgent
.
That is fine and you should tell me, but such discussions will not take place during our play, but after we are finished
.
If the objection is serious, I will consider it
.
But Genevieve, I would counsel you to think carefully about any objections you make.”

In a gentler tone he said, “Certain things, such as my binding your hands or spanking you if you are very disobedient are
not
subject to debate
.
You must understand that they are part of what it means to be descended from Declan
.
It is not merely a taste or a liking
for us
, but a very powerful drive.”

“You mean that it will always be like this?” she whispered.

“Almost always, yes.” 

She rested her head against his chest, silently pondering what he’d told her as he rubbed her back
.
“That’s what the
heartwood
box is for
.
I
t wasn’t for the village
.
Titania did it for De
clan, so he might find someone…
.
”
She
didn’t know how to finish
.

Damian looked at her in utter amazement, as if he were deeply moved
.
“Yes, that is why, you clever girl
.
She did it for his descendants
.
Those girls whose boxes turned black could find pleasure submitting to their mastery; they would not break under their demands.”  Damian’s voice cracked slightly as he asked, “Do you regret that you are one of them?”

“No!” she said, half laughing, trying to keep the tone light
.
“I wouldn’t mind getting my way at least once
—
or perhaps being allowed to see my new home
.
But no, I’ve no
regrets.” 

She closed her eyes
—
she never woul
d, so long as Damian did not.

“I know I’ve been ruthless with you
—
we have only the four days alone here
.
Once they are over, I promise I won’t be so tyrannical
.
And Genevieve,
never forget, the things we do are always meant to give pleasure to both of us
.
They are never meant to frighten you or crush your will
.
And
the other side of informing me if you have an objection is that you are always free, more than free,
required
to let me know what pleases you
—
what you desire
.
I wasn’t joking about it being impossible for you to be too wanton
.
All of that rot about virginal brides and shamefaced modesty
—
that sort of village rubbish has no place in our bedroom.”

She looked at him skeptically
.
“Damian
,
you talk as if a girl mus
t
n’t be a virgin when she marries.”

“Well, to be completely honest, I’m very pleased you were a virgin
.
Being the one who first possessed you fills me with such an unholy satisfaction, it is almost savage
.
But that has nothing to do with whether you were pure and modest or a good girl
.
Thank the heavens you are none of those things!  And if you hadn’t been untouched, I wouldn’t have thought less of you for it
.
It is pra
ctical for a girl to delay love
making until she can find a reliable man lest she get pregnant and be left on her own with a child
—
practical, not moral
.
If it were truly a matter of morality, it would be expected of males
as well, which it is not.”

“You were not a virgin
—
before our wedding.”  She didn’
t phrase it as a question
.
She knew it was impossibl
e, that boys were not expected…
.
But she suddenly wondered about the other women he’d been with
.
He was watching her closely
.
She tried to make an unconcerned smile, but it didn’t fool him.

“Genevieve, you understand that there are women who are willing to accommodate men, who don’t expect marriage…
.
”

“You mean for money
—
yes, I am aware there is such a thing as whores, Damian.”  She wished she didn’t sound bitter, but she couldn’t help it.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that my little bride didn’t grow up completely wrapped in cotton-wool
.
In truth, I don’t use that word because Declan would thrash me unmercifully if I did
—
there is almost nothing that would make him so angry.” 

Genevieve swallowed, chilled at the thought of Declan’s anger
.

Damian took her chin and forced her to meet his gaze
.
“Genevieve, no one would ever punish you for breaking a rule you knew nothing of
.
It is different for a man who has made use of such women to speak of them like that
—
with contempt
.
Declan believes very strongly, and raised us to believe, that all women should be treated with respect, and those driven to such straits are if anything owed
more
consideration because they unfairly bear all the blame for a sin that requires both a male an
d a female to participate.”

She made a shaky nod
.

“To address your implied question
,
I was not a virgin, nor have I been for some time
.
I thank the queen of light for it
.
Indeed, you could spare a moment’s pity for the poor woman who initiated me and suffered having her breasts slobbered over and pulled about like taffy, all for the fifteen seconds of ple
asure I was able to give her.”

Genevieve snorted
.
Damian gave her a ridiculously wounded expression
.
“
C
ruel girl to laugh at my humiliation!  I think it was
at least
a year before I was able to last more than a minute.”  Brushing her hair away from her face, he said seriously, “I can say this of my past, darling
.
I treated every woman I was with as well and fairly as I could under the circumstances
.
I swear upon my honor that
I
never formed any attachments
—
not so much as a school
boy’s crush
.
And Genevieve, I will never, ever cheat on you.”

She leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips
.
“Thank you, Damian
.
I would never cheat on you either.”

He gently stroked her cheek
.
“I know you are incapable of d
eceit, Genevieve,” he replied
.
“Now hold out your wrists!”

“Damian, you’re not serious!”

“Genevieve, there is nothing on this earth with greater power to arouse me than the sight of you bound and helpless in my bed,” he explained as he buckl
ed the cuffs onto her wrists
.

Genevieve couldn’t help but feel her own desires stirring as well
.
He pushed her down onto the bed and reached for the chains and
attached
them to
the gold rings on her cuffs
.
He kept them loose so that her arms might be comfortable, but she was well and truly bound there
.

From the smile he gave, she couldn’t doubt the truth of his words
.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “And we both know that it arouses you as well, so for the next three days, and whenever the mood strikes
me, you will submit to this.”

Finally after breakfast the second morning, Damian announced that Genevieve would be allowed to see the house
.
For the first time, he opened the other small door, reveal
ing a large dressing room
.
“Get
dressed,” he whispered and then rubbing her rear
said, “
No
drawers, darling
.
Put on nothing under the dress.” 

“Damian
,
I can’t do that!” she protested automatically, realizing it was
a little
absurd after the things they’d done
.

“Try disobeying
and see what happens,” he said hopefully
.
More seriously he
added
, “It’s only us
—
no one else will come near the house.” 

She grunted and went into the dressing room, which was the size of the bat
hing chamber
.
One side was filled with her things, which had been delivered
during
the
wedding celebration
and put away by some helpful soul, and the other half was full of Damian’s things
.
She ignored the new dresses she and her mot
her had prepared as a trousseau
and selected an old favorite, a plain
,
light-blue
muslin
dress, well
washed and soft
.
Thank Titania she no longer had to wear white
.

Once she’d put it on, she couldn’t resist the chance to examine Damian’s things
.
His side of the
dressing room
bore
traces of his
scent,
definitely oakmoss,
which had an instant effect on her
.
She ran her hand over the shirts and trousers, looked at his uniform jacket
s
, at the row of tall leather boots, shined to soldierly precision
—
it was all so masculine, she thought
.

Then she laughed at herself: what else would it be
?

Before she left, though, something caught her
attention
.
Lying on the shelf below Damian’s coats
was a leather riding crop
.
For some reason Genevieve froze when she saw it
.
It was nothing, she reminded herself
.
H
e was a rider
;
of course he would have a crop
.
H
e must have forgotten to leave it in the stable as he came in one day
.