Jael's Promise Ch. 02

Roxy bit her lip so as not to make a single sound, she could hear slow heavy footsteps coming closer, and they made her nervous but strangely heightened her excitement. She could sense Him standing behind her now, eyes burning holes in her form, tracing and recording every detail to his memory, a dripping tap in the sink the only noise in the silence that surrounded her. Anticipation filled the room, making her feet want to shuffle, and her nails want to dig grooves in the hardwood under her palms. She pursed her lips and stared ahead, keeping focus on a half empty Jack Daniels bottle hanging upside down over the ice bucket. When would she feel His touch on her skin again? He had left the bar to go to the cellar some 30 minutes ago, and returned a while later, simply watching her, occasionally pacing about the bar, not uttering a single word.

On His instruction she'd kept silent, waiting as she was put for His return, she couldn't quite understand why she must stay silent while He wasn't there, but she didn't want to disappoint Him, and certainly wasn't about to quit. She'd sealed her fate half an hour ago by uttering what she believed to be the most important 7 words of her life, and the one meaning the biggest change from here on in. She jumped and gasped silently as she felt Him touch her softly, fingers tickling the raised hairs at the back of her neck, soft electricity buzzing through her entire body, the wait was worth it.

Jael caressed her hair with His hand, pulling the bobbles and releasing it from its high buns, watching with a smile as it tumbled free down her back in purple waves. Lifting and placing the hair over her left shoulder, He started to trace her throat with his fingers tips, making little circles over her lower neck, down to her shoulders and slowly back up again. He watched a slight blush rise in her cheeks along with a fresh wave of goose bumps over her pale skin; He resisted the urge of licking and biting her skin, and returned to slowly teasing her neck instead. How perfectly still she had been, though he could feel her mind racing, contemplating moving, wondering what he would do next.

She'd surprised Him, when He had moved to behind the bar, to watch her eyes; he had expected the usual doe eyes of a woman more than willing to submit to Him, or anyone willing to teach them, He always found an abundance of people that wanted to be trained for someone, but had never found anyone close to what He Himself was searching for. Roxys eyes had seemed to flame in front of Him, in an almost challenging way, a quiet determination, and real concentration. It had made His heart rise and almost burst in delight, letting Him believe that He had at last found someone He would want for his own, and that she might just want Him too. He leaned in close to her ear, breath warm on her cheek, voice soft but commanding.

"Good girl...you've done very well to stay perfectly still"

His eyes wandered, over her hips, her taught thighs, beautifully bent at the waist, leaning with palms flat on the bar, skirt hiked up around her hips. He had been very tempted to push her quicker, toying with the idea of taking her knickers down to her knees as well, but all in good time, He wanted to take it slowly with Roxy, so He could enjoy every single minute of it.

"Roxy, I want to gain your trust, and your respect, but you must earn mine also. We can only do that by being honest with each other, completely. When I ask you a question I want you to answer as best you can, I will never tell you off for getting something wrong as you are learning, but I will punish you for misdeeds, and if you decide to lie to me. Never be afraid to ask questions, and never be afraid to say stop at any point, even if you feel that you are disappointing me by doing so."

Roxy lifted her head, listening intently.

"Though I will be testing your limits, I can only do that with your help, and you must trust my experience to help you push more than you might think you can handle. You have already proven I can trust you in part, as you did so very well with your first task of not moving until I asked you to." He paused, and turned her face over her shoulder to meet Him, deliberately slowly.

"Now, Roxy, are you ready to continue?"

Roxy nodded and Jael laughed silently, seeing a slight flicker of a grin cross her face, gone as quickly as it appeared, like a private joke reserved for a chosen few. He took her hands from the bar turning her round to face Him, and without warning she got onto her tiptoes and kissed the crease of his smile.

Her forwardness brought a quizzical look to his face, having never had this kind of behaviour before He was a little taken back as to what his reaction should be. Placing His hands around her waist, He did the only thing his mind was screaming at Him to do, he pulled her up off her feet and kissed her deeply, lips pushing wantonly against hers, tasting and exploring her, tongue darting and fighting.

A quickly as He had swooped her up, He put her down again, and stood two paces back, an eyebrow arched in a triumphant manner. Regaining His composure, he took her hands once more and lead her to the back stairs of the bar, leading up to a locked flat, He felt Roxy pull back a little on his grasp.

"We can't go up there...the owner of the bar lives there, all the barmaids tell me he is very secretive, none of us have ever seen him..."

Roxy trailed off as she gazed at His smiling face, watching Him reach into the dark recesses of His black coat, and pull out a set of heavy silver keys around a large steel ring, she noticed it was attached to the long chain around His neck. Pulling her onwards up the stairs He stood just outside the door, and looked down at her, eyes watching her through His raffish and raven like curtain of hair, now falling forward over His face. Moving one hand behind Him, Jael ran his palm over the perfectly polished wood and grooves of the door, around large carvings of vines, deep set leaves twisting in a carnival of flora, and darker pieces of inlaid wooden grapes.

"Oh? Is that so pet...?" He breathed into her ear, placing the keys in her hand and leaning back against the doorframe.

"Well I can tell you, he has seen you, and is very much taken with you, I have no doubt he wouldn't mind your presence in his home..."

Jael took her hand, wrapping her fingers tightly around the largest of the keys, and guiding it to an ornate silver lock just below the scrolled handle, turning it smoothly to the left, then all the way back round to the right, hearing a mechanism snap loudly inside. The door slowly and soundlessly opened a crack, letting a small bar of soft orange light fall on the wall beside them, travelling like the dawn until it landed between their bodies, now a warming glow, obscuring their view but welcoming them home.

Jael guided her into the hallway, and shut the door behind them; lifting the chain from his neck and placing the keys into a deep white bowl filled with midnight blue rose petals, making the room smell vaguely sweet. Looking down Roxy could see a soft white rug beneath their feet, parting the apple wood flooring and leading all the way into a soft-lit room at the back of the flat.

She watched Jael from the corner of her eye, gracefully bending down to lift her feet, and unlace her boots while she took everything in. He took His time lifting her bare feet from her boots, placing her onto the softness of the rug beneath; she couldn't help but giggle when she noticed her red painted toenails sinking into its depths.

Large paintings adorned the walls, dark landscapes with raging lightening storms, huge mountain ranges and seas, moving onto portraits of young women lying on chez lounges being fed grapes, or sitting by the feet of a dark haired man, looking up in a seeming serenity and love. She ran a finger over the contours of the painting nearest, a smiling young woman, lying on her stomach, feet in the air, head in her hands, blanket draped over her shoulders and back. Roxy stopped when her fingers reached a signature mark in the very bottom corner, the letters J.B standing clear in red scribe. She felt Jaels hand again on her shoulder, comforting and warm against her skin.

"You own Jacobs bar don't you."

It was a statement rather than a question, and she didn't know how she hadn't seen it before. She lifted her gaze to meet His, and found she couldn't help but smile when she saw His own lip curled into a delighted smirk.

"Yes, I bought it a few years back, but I've still been silently in control of the place, managing stock, keeping the place running, hiring staff..."

His heavy eyebrow arched as if to accent the statement. He cupped her cheek with His palm when He noticed her face drop.

"I meant I hired Craig, he is surprisingly good for business, people like nice pretty bar staff and landlords they can feel better than. We both know he is a complete berk, but he does his job. He hired you, I simply allowed him to."

In one swift motion, Jael leaned down and lifted Roxy into His arms, cradled with her arms around His neck. He stepped off of the carpet and strode towards the back room, heavy leather boots echoing with each step onto the apple wood.

Slowly, the light got brighter, and Roxy could see what was obviously a study; a large high desk made from wood that appeared impossibly black, with a red leather covered high backed chair, with no arm rests, placed in front of it. Deep bookshelves adorned the walls with titles she recognized and loved, epics by Aeschylus, Greek tragedies and modern plays, poets from all over the world and all across time, horror writers like Poppy Z Brite in pride of place within reach of the chair.

He carried her into the study, and sat her onto the leather chair. She noticed straight away there were no doors in the frames, just an archway leading in, and one at the other side of the room leading out.

Noticing her gaze, Jael dropped into His knees, gripping her thighs with His long fingers, looking seriously at her for a moment before He spoke.

"Now, this" He gestured around him " is my study. It is my own room, and I will ask you only once to not come in here without my permission. The doors have been taken off as a sign of trust, you can see in, and it is always open, so it will be down to you not to come in here. In a while I will take you to the place we will sleep tonight, but for now there are more pressing issues."

Roxy watched His expressions as He spoke, the gentle rise of His eyebrows, His curling lip, the way His hair fell a little over his eyes, only partially obscuring the flames that seemed to permeate there. She wondered if He knew the power of His voice, how hypnotic it was, how it made her shiver.

"You were late for work this evening weren't you Roxy." Again this wasn't a question.

"You were late and you tried to cover it up, you snuck in without letting Craig know you hadn't arrived on time, so unlike you not to be on time" He tutted into her ear.

"What were you doing that made you late, and please, do not lie to me." His eyes seemed to radiate seriousness suddenly, his tone becoming soft but noticeably darker.

"I was taking a shower..." Roxy whispered into her lap.

Jael squeezed her thigh tighter, lifting her head with his palm to face him. "And...?" he hissed.

"And...I was...erm..." Roxy flushed a sudden and deep crimson.

She squealed at the harsh pressure on her thighs, every second she stalled meaning his grip tightened.

"I was playing with myself!" She blurted, voice high pitched and louder than she had meant. She felt a sudden rush of relief at admitting it to Him, she half smiled, surprised at herself, she felt His grip lessen on her thigh, but His gaze and hold on her chin remained solid.

"I watched you come in late this evening, and I let the fact be known to young Craig myself." He watched as Roxys eyes flashed to the door embarrassedly.

" You look shocked little one; don't tell me you are shocked to hear that after you know I own this place? I cannot have my staff coming in late for such reasons. I might have been able to understand if you were late for your car breaking down, or because you were unwell, but we both now know why you were late don't we? It was because of your lack of self-control, your lack of self-discipline..." His laughed trickled thickly like treacle from his throat, dark but not unkind.

"Now, what do you think should happen, you know that you cannot get away with being late and hiding it from me can you?"

"I wasn't hiding it from you, I was hiding it from Crai..." Roxy stopped mid sentence, biting her lip while she watched the humour fall completely from His eyes, she realised swiftly that it didn't matter that she thought the deception was aimed at Craig, she had lied, and that was all that mattered.

"I erm I don't know...Sir." She added quickly on remembering.

Roxy's gaze met the floor once more, a tear rolling down her cheek and onto her lap, making a small circular wet patch on her skirt. She knew what the answer should be, but it terrified her. The fact that this excited her as well made her deeply embarrassed, she couldn't speak those words, not yet, couldn't bring herself to ask to be punished, no matter how much she was beginning to want it.

Jael noticed her demeanour change, deciding to allow her for now, to be lead rather than ask for it. Eventually she would be taught that when she needs to be punished, she would ask for every strike, even thank Him afterwards, but that would have to come later.

"Stand up..."

Roxy rose slowly from the warm leather of the high backed chair, adjusting her skirt before standing a few paces in front of it, waiting in silence. She felt Him walk behind her, eyes always staring, evaluating and appraising, dragging the chair back a little before sitting down Himself. Placing a hand on her hips, He turned her round to face Him, placing her by His right hand side, His gaze now distant and away from her own, making her desperate to catch his eye, see the emotion there, and gage what he was thinking.

She leaned forward, attempting to do so, and gasped as His hand came swiftly up, catching her hair, and twisting it around His fingers, lightly, but deliberately with strength. She stopped dead, waiting for Him to move, knowing immediately, that the control was His, though she had allowed it, it was time for now at least to let this happen.

She felt a gentle push forwards, as she was taken across His lap, her stomach pushing against his thighs, breasts resting on the edge and brushing against the material of her top. He moved her hands to the floor, balancing on her fingertips, and motioned for her to part her legs just a little, making her go onto her tiptoes.

Letting go of her hair, Jael placed His hand on her lower back, steadying her and holding her at the same time. Noticing she couldn't see His face, He grinned at the site of the young thing across His lap, her delicious thighs, her lily buttocks hiding under what modesty the skirt would allow, her hair falling down her shoulders and framing her face, and the way her back curved wonderfully, accentuating the dip of her waist.

"Now, Roxy" He breathed into her ear, lifting her skirt slowly above her hips.

"You lied. You cannot expect to get away with lying to me, or to anyone." Her body tensed, breathing ragged, fingertips, digging into the floor with some veracity.

"This will be the first punishment you receive, I will be much easier on you than I normally would, because I think I am right in saying you have never received one before." Jael waited for a few moments. "Answer me little one," He prompted.

"No Sir." She muttered.

She felt His palm run across the under curve of her buttocks, teasing the material of her knickers, firm and long strokes, almost reassuring.

"Good girl...and who knows, if you take this well there shall be a treat for you, and a promise it will be a wonderful surprise"

Jael fingered the edge of her skirt with a languid fingertip before flicking the skirt up with practiced ease. Slowly, Roxy let her body go limp in quiet and half excited resignation, getting lost in the soft sensation, mewling quietly to herself and waiting for that first inevitable stroke...