Claire said, “I wish… I wish you’d be mine. I mean my Master. Even if only for a while. But I need someone guiding me at the moment. Standing behind me. For me. I’ve gone so wrong.”

I said, “Then you’re under me, until further notice. You may call me Master. And your first order is to remember that your past is paid for. In full. If I hear you express any guilt about fucking that guy, ever again, we’ll go through this once more. Understood?”

Claire closed her eyes. At last she said, “Understood. Master.”