Remove your clothes. Kneel down. And wait for me, his message said.

A couple of voices scare the crap out of me and I turn to see where they’re coming from.

Oh, shit. I let out a sigh, because there’s a path nearby, only about twenty yards away, and there’s lots of people walking by. They must’ve reopened the resort after the party last night.

He wants me to remove my clothes here? There’s a break in the trees, big enough for me to see the people, which means it’s big enough for them to see me. I’m not sure I’m ready to take my clothes off if people can see. What if he leaves me waiting for a long time? What if people come down the path I just came from? Yeah, it says closed, but it’s not really.

“Do you want to back out?”

I turn to find Vaughn standing at the entrance to the path I just came from. “I’m not sure,” I answer truthfully.

“Do you think they’re going to see you?”

I look over my shoulder through the clearing and then back to Vaughn. “They could.”

“Do you think I want them to see you?”

I watch his face for clues. “Do you want them to see me?”

He smiles. “You’re perfect at this, do you know that?”

I shake my head.

“That’s the right question, Grace. And the answer is, no. I do not want them to see you. For now, you’re mine.”

I nod out an OK and then clear my throat to find my voice. “OK, then I should just... trust you to make sure they don’t see me?”

Another very big smile from Vaughn. “Take off your clothes and kneel on the ground.”

I take one more look over at the break in the trees, square my shoulders to muster up some bravery, and put my beach bag down on the forest floor. A shiver runs up my entire body as I raise the tank top over my head. Vaughn is there with his hand outstretched, asking for it. I hand it over and he folds it up neatly and places it inside my bag.

I slip my shorts off and hand them off to him as well. He folds them and puts them in the bag with the tank.

“All of it, girl,” Vaughn says in a low whisper that makes my insides flutter.

I untie my bikini top, first the strings on my back, then, as the little triangles of cloth hang over my partially exposed br**sts, I untie the neck and let it fall to the ground.

Vaughn smiles and steps forward. His fingertips flick lightly at my ni**les until they bunch up into little hard tips. And then he leans down and picks up my bikini top, folds it up, and puts it in the bag. “You’re beautiful,” he says when he turns back to me.

“Thank you, Master,” I say in response.

I bite my lip to keep from smiling, because his smile is wide and approving.

I decide right then… I like pleasing him. I like his approving smile. I like this. So before he has to ask, I hook my fingertips into the strings of my bottoms, and pull them down until they reach my mid-thigh. And then I stop.

I think this is sexy. Being half-undressed in front of him makes me throb with anticipation.

He clicks his tongue, and I know instinctively that it’s not because he doesn’t like what I’ve done or appreciate the fact that it’s very f**king hot. It’s because I didn’t do it the way he asked.

And I’m OK with that too.

“You’re testing me, girl?”

“No, Master,” I lie. I have to bite my lip again and he has to turn his head to hide his smile.

We’re both playing now and it’s fun. Just like he said last night.

He walks up to me, so close that I have to tip my head to look at his face, and then he places his cupped hand on the slit between my legs. “Do you want me to f**k you, girl?”

“Very… very… badly,” I whisper back.

“Get on your knees. And since you wanted to leave the bottoms on, you’re going to wear them the entire time like that. Don’t let them slip down your thighs, do you understand?”

“What will happen if I do let them slip?”

He looks down at me. His hand on my sex comes up to caress my cheek, leaving streaks of cool wetness as he moves. “I’ll lead you forward to the edge of the clearing, lay you down on the hard ground, and eat your pu**y until you scream for more. Everyone over there will hear you. And everyone over there will see you. Is that what you want?”

I have to think about it for a second, because actually, the way he just described it sounds pretty f**king erotic. He covers his eyes and shakes his head, his smile too big to hide. “Grace.” He laughs out my name a little. “I asked you a question.”

“I’m thinking, Master.”

He rolls his eyes up and then takes my upper arm in a firm grip and leans down into my ear. “If that turns you on, we can start there now.”

I shake my head. Fantasy and reality are two different things. “I won’t let them fall, Master.”

“Good, girl,” he says stroking my face again. “Good, girl. Now get on your knees so I can stuff my c**k down your throat and make you choke on my come.”

I just stare at him.

“Now.”

I stand there for a moment, thinking this through. Do I want him to talk to me like that? Is it a mistake to encourage degradation?

He places his hands on my shoulders and presses, encouraging me to follow through with his request. “Does it make you angry when I talk to you like that, Grace?”

I realize he’s calling me Grace for a reason. When he calls me girl, I’m his submissive. When he calls me Grace, I’m his partner.