Page 83 of Governor

He was right about one thing—I’m not thinking about being naked anymore.

“The four main positions I will expect you to know for now arePrimed,Loyalty,Devotion, andAt Ease. At Ease is basically what you’re doing now, knees together, except with your palms down and flat on top of your thighs.” I move my hands into the correct position and am awarded with a smile. “Very good.”

I feel a surge of pride roll through me.

“Primed is sitting up, back straight, knees as wide apart as you can manage, with your hands behind your head, fingers laced together, elbows out to the sides.”

I sit up and he makes a couple of minor tweaks to my position. I’m aware that this exposes me to him completely, but we’re beyond that point, I suppose.

Wellbeyond it.

Like, it’s twenty miles in the rearview mirror kind of beyond it.

Carter sits back, smiling. “Excellent, boy. Stay like that. Remember, when I put you in a position, I expect you to maintain it.”

It only takes a few minutes for me to realize this won’t be as easy as I first thought it would. At least, this particular position won’t.

His smile widens. “Yeah, we’ll need to build your stamina. Not as easy as it looks, is it? You may speak.”

“No, Sir. It’s not.” But there’s already something inside me wanting to try to do better, to improve how long I can maintain it.

To earn his praise and make him smile.

Loyalty is easier, my head bowed, knees not quite so far apart, my left hand flat on my thigh, my right hand flat on the floor.

“It’s called that because it resembles swearing an oath,” Carter explains.

Devotion is performed with my knees together, a full formal bow, my hands flat on the floor in front of me, forehead touching the floor, back rounded. When I assume that position, I hear him move, then his hand rests on my head.

“Every night before bed,” he quietly says, “you will perform this at the side of my bed for me and hold it until I release you. Understand?”

The name of the pose is self-explanatory, as is this ritual. “Yes, Sir.”

He rubs my head and peace fills me.

“Primed.”

I sit up and assume the position. Carter circles me, stopping behind me.

“How’d you feel when you saw what I bought today, boy?”

“Curious, Sir. And a little scared.”

I flinch when his voice next comes by my right ear. “Why scared?”

“All the rope. The riding crops.”

“Not the butt plugs?” He sounds very amused.

“Those too, Sir.” But dark and secret shadows inside me stretched their wings and smiled with fanged teeth barely kept hidden when I thought about what Carter would probably do to me with those.

Or what Susa might do to me.

He returns to the couch and spends the next half hour or so putting me through the various positions. I think my favorite is Loyalty, mostly because of the name and the feelings it invokes in me.

By the time he allows me to stand again, my knees are killing me.

Now the kneepads make sense.