Our Lady of Pain

Chapter Seven-1

Chapter Seven

“Take it off?”

“That’s what I said. Don’t question. Just do. If you’re serious, take it off.”

“Okay.” Corinne stood, fingers trembling as she unzipped the back of the skirt and slid it off.

“Now, walk over to the other side of the room, turn around and crawl back to me,” she didn’t move, just felt her cheeks start to glow red and the hitch in her throat that always preceded tears. “What is it you want to be, Corinne?” She couldn’t lie to him as she had the teacher in fourth grade. He’d read the book. The teacher had never looked at her blank paper. “You dressed like that for a reason, didn’t you? Show me.”

Her feet moved her across the carpet. Corinne turned. She was frozen again. “Must I crawl?” The smile she had worn all evening had dissolved.

His gaze was so intense. “Yes. It will prove you’re serious,” he leaned back, waiting.

Eyes tearing up, Corinne lowered herself to her hands and knees. “Please, Gregory…”

“Please who?”

“Please……please, Father Monroe.”

He hummed with pleasure. “Yes, you will please the good Father if you crawl over here,” his long legs stretched out in front of him. “Come on.”

Do it Corinne. Do it. How long have you waited for this moment? How many years have you ached for a man to do this to you? Do it because you know it will please him to see you do it. You please him. You, Corinne, arouse him. Isn’t that what you want? Push away all that others have told you about this. Trust yourself. Be true to who you are. For once in your life, be Corinne. Don’t be the timid child anymore. You are better than that. You are more than that.

She moved forward, keeping her head down. The tears had stopped. She saw the tips of his shoes. They were the same shiny, black shoes he always wore. Corinne stopped crawling. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t move.

“Do what I know you want to do, Corinne.” Corinne bent down and kissed the toe of each shoe. Her head buzzed. “What do you say?”

A pause. “Thank you, Father.”

“Lean back, on your heels and look at me.”

Corinne obeyed. He looked so incredibly happy. She’d never seen a man so pleased before in all her life. Her body flooded with joy.

“What do you think now, Corinne? Any questions?”

Her eyes sparkled. “Just one.”

“What is it?”

“Father Monroe, can you… would you f**k me?”

His hand stroked her warm, vibrant cheek. “Not yet, Corinne. Not quite yet, but I do like your enthusiasm,” he could see the disappointment in her eyes. It wasn’t time yet. Both of them would have to wait.

“Why not?” She choked back the tears.

“I’m not saying ‘no’ completely. Just for now. There is more to all this than s*x, Corinne. So much more,” he wanted to take her now. He ached to impale her to the floor just as her heart begged him to do. But he must have more control than that. If he was unable to control himself, there was no way he’d ever control her. He studied her eyes, so wide and innocent. She was so like a child in many ways. She would look to him for her education and direction given time and patience.

Corinne settled back on her heels. “Tell me. Tell me what else there is. Not the stuff in the books but what do you really do?”

Such soft hair she had. Gregory turned it between his fingertips. “Get the stool and I’ll tell you what I can before I need to leave,” she slid it over and stationed herself on it at his feet. “Some D/s couples never have s*x at all,” he began. “For some it’s all about being controlled in one way or another. There are people who love to be encased in suits of latex or rubber or leather. Some want to be restrained but can’t endure the whip and those who love the whip but bondage turns them off completely. All these things and more I can offer you.”

“What about you? What do you do?”

The smile on his face grew. “I’m a bit of a sadist, a sensualist and a control freak. I want my will to be the will of the Sister who kneels before me. But she needs to keep her own head about her, too. I want her to think for herself then give that self to me, willingly. I desire her power and her strength. In return, I provide her with a release, be that an orgasm or a flogging, depending on what she likes. Just recently I made a Sister c*m merely by spanking her.”

Corinne’s brow crinkled in puzzlement. “But what do you get? What of your pleasure?”

He laughed. “Oh, I get more than you will likely ever know or understand. It’s a power exchange, Corinne. You give me your power and your will. There is my rush, my mental climax if the physical one isn’t there at that particular time.” It was clear she still didn’t understand. “What do you get by kneeling at my feet even if I’m not touching you?”

“It’s just a feeling. A feeling like I belong to something or someone greater than who I am.”

His hand ran over her shoulder. “Do you think I am greater than you or somehow more important?”

“Yes,” she said.

Gregory shook his head. “No, I’m not more important at all. I just happen to run Saint Dolores. I don’t own it.”

She looked surprised. “But you’re the Father Superior, right? The Leader… isn’t…”

“I’m one part of an intricate clockwork,” he interrupted her. “Who would I be without a Sister or Brother to give me what I want and need?” Was it a loaded question? Should she say what first came to her mind? Corinne sucked on her bottom lip, deep in thought. “What is my first rule, Corinne?”

“Be honest.”

“Yes. Now, answer. Who would I be without a submissive Sister?”

She shrugged, “Just another person, I guess.”

“Exactly. Who would you be without a Father to submit and confess all your secret, sinful desires to?

Years of loneliness washed over her. “Nobody special,” she whispered.

He was cupping her head between the palms of his hands, drawing her face up and closer to his own. “But you are special and you want to feel special and you want to matter to someone other than yourself. You want to feel wanted and needed. What are we if we each have that which the other lacks, Corinne?”

“I…I don’t know.” It was all rushing over her too quickly. She felt as if she was drawing the thoughts out of her faster than she could unravel them in her own mind.

“Complete,” he said then kissed her. Her lungs hurt from the kiss, it was so intense. When he pulled away, Corinne thought she’d faint from it. Her own husband had never kissed her with so much power and all-consuming strength.

Gregory suddenly rose up, towering over Corinne, as she remained seated on her stool. She looked bewildered, a child in a forest that threatened to overwhelm every sense. “My beauty, tonight you sleep alone but I promise when the time is right and you are ready, it will happen.”

“I’m ready now,” she felt like a w***e saying it.

“No, you’re not. I’ll decide when you are. I would like you to come to the Rectory on Monday morning. You still have the card I gave you?” Corinne nodded. “I will expect you to be there at nine o’clock sharp and do not be late. Is that clear?”

“Yes. I’ll be on time.”

“Excellent. Until then, my future novice-in-training, good night.” Fishing his keys from his pocket, Gregory went to the door and let himself out. Corinne’s whole body trembled, holding back the urge to rush after him. She sat on the stool, listening to his car start, back up and pull away.

The moment was getting closer. The stakes were higher. He was determined to win. Standing before the pulpit in the flickering light of black, leather-scented candles, Gregory’s gaze moved around the room he treasured most. It was a luxury to have your own, private dungeon and, thanks to Father Andrew, he now had several to chose from. It was Father Andrew and Gen who had helped to convert this building and the others into what they were now. Polished inlaid wood covered the floor of Saint Dolores Chapel. Rows of tall, arched, stained glass windows graced the outside walls. Without the candles or other lights, the room was pitch black. A steel version of Saint Andrew’s Cross leaned on its frame in the center of the chancel behind the altar. Leather straps dangled from the ends and one around the center. On either side of this frame, was another frame, T-shaped and wooden, chains dangling from the end of the horizontal arms. Gregory loved everything about this room; the rich, heady smell of leather and s*x, the dull tone of the walls, the way the candlelight sparkled off the shiny chains, everything. He wondered what Corinne would enjoy. On one wall a series of pegs had been installed, painted black, and from these hung various floggers, rope, crops and whips. Gregory plucked one of the floggers from its spot, swung it slowly, letting the weight of the thick, leather tails do the work of moving it forward and back. With a flick of his wrist, he brought the flogger around and down, smacking the center of one of the T-frames. Corinne will enjoy this, he thought. He hoped. And if the Chapel did not appeal to her with its rows of pews and church-like atmosphere, there were other places for her.

But, he must be patient. She must be eased into his world so slowly and easily that before she knew it, everything she was would be his. His eyes closed and nostrils flared as he drank in the aromas around him. Soon her scent would be here, too. Soon, he’d be able to smell her, taste her, feel her, see her and hear her desperate cries for release. His c**k twitched and tried to stretch against the inside seam of his trousers. He hoped he’d have the willpower to control himself. He could not risk failure.

Monday began with a steamy fog. It had rained in the night, one of those steady rains that soaked the parched August soil. As she stepped from the apartment complex, the scent of wet earth and worms rose to greet her. It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant smell. Combined with the cheerful chorus of too many birds to name, it reminded her of spring. It cheered her and calmed the nervous twist in her stomach.

Forty-five minutes later she pulled up to an ivy-covered brick wall and iron-gate that guarded the property. After pressing the button, announcing who she was and who she was there to see, the gate buzzed and swung open mechanically slow. There was more than one structure that sat deep in a private cul-de-sac surrounded by trees, young and old. There were, from what she could see, at least three. The brick-paved driveway had made a gentle curve before opening up into the parking area, a space that could hold a dozen cars easily. Corinne’s was alone. Likely, Gregory’s was parked safely away in the two-bay garage off to the left. A white picket fence, covered with more thick ivy, separated the driveway from the back yard. She looked around and saw no one and had no idea what building should go to. The Chapel was distinctly marked as such, with what appeared to be a larger-than-life sized white statue of the Virgin out front. She was just about to head in that direction when a door elsewhere opened.

“Ten minutes early,” he grinned, striding across the gravel. “Exactly on time. This way to the Rectory.” Instead of the shorter, dinner length jacket of before, Father Gregory looked even more priestly in his black, ankle length cassock.

She couldn’t help but stare at her surroundings. “This is… incredible.” Dark wood wainscoting covered the lower portion of the entryway walls and the upper walls were painted a soft shade of moss green.

He motioned her through a pair of double pocket doors. “Come in. Make yourself comfortable. Coffee?” A silver serving set rested on a marble topped table with china cups and saucers in the center of this new room. Gregory touched her arm lightly, “Don’t forget to breathe, my dear.”

Corinne hadn’t realized she was holding her breath and let it out with a nervous giggle. “I’m just amazed at this place. You live here all alone?” He nodded as he filled both cups with dark, steaming liquid. “How did you… I mean, I don’t mean to pry but this place must have cost a fortune and the upkeep.”

They had walked into a small side room that clearly served as his office. A dark, wooden desk crouched at an angle on one corner. The floors were covered with thick, green carpet and the walls were paneled. “Have a seat.” Gregory moved around to sit at the desk, his back to the large window. He motioned for Corinne to take the visitors seat. “I got this place the old fashioned way. I inherited it.”