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She nuzzles my ear. “I see a young woman that’s still rough around the edges. A diamond in a sea of lackluster jewels. You know what that means?”

“No…”

“That means I find you the most fascinating and the most beautiful. You only need a little shining up, and you’ll be perfect. That says a lot. Because you’re shy of perfect already.”

I swallow. “What needs shining up, madam?”

“Well, you could be better behaved.” She caresses me. My hips. My ass. The inside of my thighs. My bare skin tingles beneath her touch. I can only imagine what this is doing to her.

“Do you apologize for the spot you’ve put me in today, Lessa?”

Nodding, I look into the eyes in her reflection, silently begging her to do something about my sullied behavior. “I’m sorry, madam. It won’t happen again.”

“Ask for it.”

Again, I swallow. “Ask for what?”

“Your punishment.”

I’m frozen where I stand, my fingers digging into this countertop to the point my knuckles whiten. “I…”

“The perfect woman for me wants her punishment when she’s done something wrong. But she never, ever does something wrong on purpose. Otherwise, how is she learning?”

These are things I’ve never thought about before. Why would I ever want to be with a woman who wants to punish me? For doing something she didn’t approve of? For screwing up something so important? I’ve apologized. I’ve learned to take certain things in her business more seriously, a skill that will follow me for the rest of my life, regardless of whom I work for orwho I sleep with. But do I want a girlfriend who wants to punish me? And gets off on it?

Before, I would have saidhell no. Isn’t that grounds for breaking up? For running far the hell away? How could that possibly be a healthy relationship?

Now, I’m not so sure. When I investigate Julianna’s visage, I don’t see a control freak. What I see is a woman who wants to make me into her perfect lover.

And I? I want to become that perfect lover. She’s right. I’m rough around the edges. I’ve got a lot of learning to do if I want to be the girlfriend and possible fiancée material of a wealthy, well-bred woman like her. Julianna and her peers live in another world. They don’t play by society’s usual rules. This means they’re not playing by normaldatingrules. How unfortunate for me, the girl who has been learning the modern dating scene since the day her boobs grew in.

One thing’s for sure: I should not be afraid of Julianna. If she ever scares me? I can tell her. She’ll back off. Make it better. Listen to me and my concerns. That’s what separates her from someone I don’t want to be around. So, if she gives me this kind of command and I…

I’m turned on…

Is there anything wrong with it?

“Please…” The words fumble in my mouth. Am I honestly asking for this? “Please punish me, madam.” Phew. That wasn’t so bad, was it?

“How am I going to punish you?”

Damnit! She wants me to say the whole thing, doesn’t she? This gal is getting off on me begging for my just-deserved spanking!

“You need to spank me, madam. It’s the only way I’ll learn.”

If I could capture the look on her face when I say that and shove it into a bottle, I bet I could sell it for a million bucks. That’s the face of a woman who’s about to give it to me good.

It starts with her saying, “Let’s not interrupt those nice people out there. Don’t make a sound when I spank you, and I’ll make sure you get a reward in the end.”

I’m doomed.

Chapter 23

Julianna

I’ve never enjoyed spanking someone so much.

Alessa chomps on her lip to keep from crying out in both pain and ecstasy. My hand hits her with the firm touch I always employ with my partners, but this time – from the way her ass jiggles and her whole body shoots up in surprise – I’m entranced.