She closed her eyes. “He slides the vibrator inside me, and its width makes me catch my breath.”

“Better. Take that sentence and dirty it up.”

She opened her eyes and forced herself not to glare at him. Was he going to do this with every word? “He . . . thrusts . . . the vibrator deep into . . . my pussy.” Her face felt hot. “And its width makes me catch my breath.”

“Work on the last part. ‘He thrusts the vibrator deep into my pussy and its width’ . . . What about the width, Sasha?” Even from across the room, she felt the heat from his gaze. He was unrelenting in his quest. “Visualize it if you have to. You’re on your back, arms bound above your head. I’m standing by you, holding a vibrator. Your legs are spread for me and your pussy tingles in anticipation, waiting for it, wanting it and yet, at the same time, a little unsure it can accommodate something so hard and thick. And then it doesn’t matter because I thrust that massive vibrator deep inside you and its width . . .” He paused to cross the floor and bent down to whisper in her ear, “Finish the sentence. Tell me what the width does to you. How you feel when I fuck you with it.”

The words flowed from her mouth without thought. “And it fills me and stretches me and I lift my hips desperate for more.”

“Yes.” His hot breath brushed across her ear and she couldn’t control her shiver. “Yes, you would and I would give you more. I would fucking delight in giving you more.”

She didn’t have to press against him to know how hard he was. His breathing was labored. He was definitely turned on, but whether it was because of her or the wordplay, she couldn’t tell. When he pulled away, his eyes were still dark with need.

“Tell me again what your sentence was using it’s with an apostrophe,” he said calmly.

Her body was shaky, but she composed herself enough to repeat, “It’s huge and that makes it my favorite.”

He grinned. “Oh, Sasha. My shy little sub. It’s going to be a long afternoon.”

•   •   •

“I think you need a break,” Julie told her the next morning as Sasha said good-bye to one of their regular clients.

“Why?” Sasha watched the older lady get inside her car and drive away.

“You just told Mrs. Preston to say hello to her husband.”

“And?” Sasha couldn’t figure out why Julie was standing there with her hands on her hips. “I was being polite. And Mr. Preston—”

“Is dead,” Julie finished and walked to the back room. “We did his funeral last year.”

“Oh, shit.” No wonder the older lady hadn’t turned around or said anything as she walked out the door. Sasha followed Julie to the break room.

“Do you need to get some coffee, take a nap, or something?”

Sasha sat at the table with a sigh. “No coffee, no nap, just the or something.”

She’d stayed at Cole’s a lot later than either of them had planned. It took that long to go through her sentences. When they finally finished, she’d been so hot and bothered, she feared she’d come simply from Cole looking at her.

And though he still had a faint hint of desire about him, he made no move toward her. He just stated that due to the amount of time her sentences had taken, they were behind the schedule he’d made and could she come back tomorrow?

“Anything I can help with?” Julie asked.

“Nah, I’ve never had an interest in participating in girl on girl.” Julie’s mouth dropped open and Sasha laughed. “And it wouldn’t matter if I did. Cole won’t let me orgasm without his permission.”

Julie closed her mouth. “I don’t know what to do with any of that information.”

“Come on, I bet Daniel doesn’t let you climax unless he tells you to.”

“Of course not.” Julie’s fingers brushed her collar and at the sound of the door chime, started walking toward the front. “It’s only when you said you needed something, I didn’t know you were talking about a screaming orgasm.”

“It doesn’t have to be screaming. I’ll take a quiet one.” Sasha grinned. “Heck, I’ve been so turned on lately, I’ll take an orgasm any damn way he wants to give me one.”

“I’ll be sure to let Master Johnson know that when I see him at the special meeting the Dominants are having later this week.”

Sasha and Julie spun around. Kelly Bowman, also known as Mistress K, stood with Abby at the door to the small break room. One of the group’s few Dommes, Kelly was a tiny woman with long red hair. Sasha had once heard redheads were either plain or drop-dead gorgeous. Kelly was one of the gorgeous ones. Even with the knowing smile she currently wore.

Abby laughed. “That’s mean, Kelly.”

“This is why we have the no-kinky-sex-talk-in-the-shop rule,” Julie said. “Hey, Abby. Welcome to Petal Pushers, Kelly.”

“I always thought that rule sucked.” Sasha nodded at the two women. “What’s happening?”

“I had an idea,” Abby said, dropping her purse on a table and sitting down on a nearby bench. “You’re looking good, Sasha.”

There was something lurking in her friend’s expression, but Sasha couldn’t put her finger on it. “Thank you.”

“You do look good,” Kelly said in agreement. “You have more color than you did at the last group meeting, and you don’t look as gaunt. Working with Master Johnson agrees with you. Orgasm denial notwithstanding.”

“It’s not so much that he’s denied me orgasms. He just hasn’t allowed them.”

“Maybe you should just ask him for one.” Julie made her way toward the break room. “Coffee, anyone?”

“Black for me,” Kelly called out.

“Black for me, too, thanks,” Abby said.

Could she do that? Is that all it took, for her to ask? She wondered if that was part of yesterday’s lesson. To help her grow used to being unashamed to ask for what she needed.

But then she tried to imagine standing in front of Cole and asking for an orgasm. What if he agreed, but he made her give herself one while he watched? She had done so for other Doms, but they had been in a relationship. This thing with Cole, this retraining, it left her confused.