Princess had been waiting for Sir for nearly an hour.
He had given her very specific instructions after their phone call.
Be waiting for me. No excuses. No attitude.
So she waited exactly where she had been told, kneeling with her hands resting on her thighs. His belt lay on the table in front of her. Beside it sat a fresh bar of soap.
Every time she looked at them, she heard his voice again.
“We’ll deal with that mouth when I get home, Princess.”
She had been rude. Worse, she had known exactly what she was doing when she spoke to him that way. She had pushed, challenged, and tested him while he was at work.
Now she had nothing to do but wait for the consequences she had agreed to.
The sound of his key in the lock made her straighten immediately.
Sir stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
His eyes found her at once.
“Did I tell you to look at me?”
He removed his coat slowly, deliberately, making her wait while he put everything away. He was in no hurry.
Finally, his footsteps stopped in front of her.
“Tell me why you’re waiting.”
“Because I was rude to you on the phone, Sir.”
“Because I deliberately disrespected you and tested you when I knew better, Sir.”
“Do you remember what I told you?”
Her voice was quieter now.
“You said we would deal with my behavior when you got home.”
Sir folded the belt in his hand.
Princess lowered her head.
She answered immediately.
“Good. Then get in position.”
She obeyed without another word.
For a long moment, nothing happened.
She could hear him behind her. She could hear the faint sound of the leather moving in his hand.
“You wanted my attention, Princess.”
His voice was low and controlled.
“Now you have all of it.”
The first strike landed with a sharp crack that broke the silence.
She knew what he expected.
He made her count each one. If she forgot her manners, he stopped and waited until she corrected herself.
There was no anger in him. No loss of control. That somehow made his authority feel even heavier. Every strike was deliberate, and every pause gave her time to remember exactly why she was there.
Halfway through, her composure slipped.
“Did you use your safeword?”
“Then what do you need?”
“That wasn’t the question.”
“I need you to continue, Sir.”
By the time Sir finally set the belt down, Princess was quiet. The defiance that had sharpened her voice on the phone was gone.
He gave her a moment before speaking.
This time, she was allowed.
Sir studied her face carefully.
Princess glanced toward the table.
“No,” he agreed. “We aren’t.”
He picked up the bar and held it where she could see it.
“What was the belt for?”
“My rude mouth, Sir.”
He brought her closer and made her meet his eyes.
“You will take your correction without arguing. If you need to stop, you know what to say. Understood?”
The taste was immediate and unpleasant, exactly as she had known it would be. Sir kept the punishment brief but firm, watching her carefully and refusing to let her turn away from the consequence of the words she had chosen earlier.
When he finally allowed her to rinse her mouth, she did so quickly.
Then she returned to him without being told.
“Anything you would like to say to me now, Princess?”
She thought carefully before answering.
“I’m sorry I was disrespectful to you, Sir.”
“Are you going to speak to me that way again?”
For the first time since he had walked through the door, his expression softened.
Princess moved into his arms immediately.
Sir held her close, one hand resting against the back of her head.
“You’re still my Princess,” he said quietly.