Chapter 71 A Collar
Iva’s P.O.V.
After the interview, Will brings me to his place. The air in the apartment feels different today. For weeks, it has been heavy with the silence of unread emails and the shame of being unemployable. Every time I looked in the mirror, I saw a woman who had lost her footing.
But tonight, the air is light. It tastes like victory.
As Will leads me to his room, I’m still buzzing. My heart feels like it’s finally beating at the right rhythm again. In the last few days, I felt myself slipping into a dark place, wondering if I’d ever stand in front of a blackboard again.
But through all of it, Will was always there. He didn’t let me drown in my own guilt over losing my last job. He looked at me with so much belief that I started to believe in myself again.
I love him. I loved him before, but seeing how he stood by me when I was at my lowest… It’s a different kind of devotion now. It’s deeper. It’s terrifyingly absolute.
"Iva," Will’s voice breaks through my thoughts as he makes me stand in front of the full-length mirror in his bedroom. "Stand here and close your eyes."
I do as I’m told with a small smile playing on my lips. My heart flutters. I can feel him standing behind me, his warmth radiating against my back. I’m still dressed in my interview attire—the blazer, the pencil skirt, the 'Professor' persona I worked so hard to reclaim today.
"I have something for you," he whispers in my ear. "A reward for my brilliant Professor."
I wait, excited.
Suddenly, I feel something cold touch the skin of my throat. He wraps something metallic around my neck and clicks it into place with a soft snap.
One more necklace as a gift.
"Open your eyes," he commands softly.
As I open my eyes, I gasp. In the mirror, a stunning rose gold choker is reflected. It’s elegant, like a high-end piece of boutique jewellery. It’s thin, but right at the centre, resting against my pulse, is a small, beautifully engraved letter: W.
My fingers tremble as I reach up to touch it. To the outside world, it’s just a beautiful accessory, but to me, the weight of it is a brand. It’s a collar.
"It’s… Will, it’s beautiful.” I meet his gaze in the reflection. He’s watching me with an intensity that makes my knees weak.
"You’re going to wear this to Ravenport every single day," he says, his hands coming down to rest on my shoulders. His thumbs stroke the base of my neck, just under the metal. "While you’re lecturing, while you’re looking at your students… I want you to feel this against your skin. I want it to remind you who owns you, and that no matter where you are, you’re mine. My professor.”
A thrill shoots through me. The contrast of the "Professor” standing in the mirror and the "submissive" wearing his initial is overwhelming. I can feel the heat pooling between my legs, a sudden, heavy dampness that makes my breath hitch. I feel utterly claimed today.
As Will leans down, his lips brush the sensitive skin of my neck, just above the rose gold band. "I’m already envious.” His grip on my waist tightens suddenly, his nails digging into the fabric of my skirt. "I hate the idea of those students getting to see you every day. They’re going to see my hot Professor, brilliant and commanding at the front of the room, and I’ll be stuck in another college, thinking about all those eyes on you."
The possessiveness in his tone is intoxicating. I turn in his arms and loop my hands around his neck, the 'W' on my throat catching the light as I move.
"Let them look, Will.” My voice is steady despite the fire he’s lighting in me. "Let them see the facade of a professor. Because only you know what’s beneath it. Only you know the real Iva. Only you have the right to break me, to reward me, and to control me."
I lean in, pressing my body against his, feeling his hardness. "This jewellery tells the whole world I’m taken. So stop worrying.” I glance at the choker.
Will’s eyes darken and he pulls me into a kiss that tastes like fire and promises. His hands slide down, fondling my hips with a rough hunger before delivering a stinging spank that echoes through the room.
The celebration has officially begun.
He pulls back just an inch. "You know, since you started applying for the job, I decided to gift you something on the day you got hired.” His thumb traces the 'W' on the rose gold band. "Something to tell the world that you’re mine.”
I smile. "And you succeeded in it, Will. It’s perfect."
"Oh, I haven’t even shown you the best part yet.” An evil, beautiful smile spreads across his face. He looks at me the way a collector looks at his most prized possession.
"What do you mean?" I ask, becoming curious.
"You’ll get to know soon enough.” He teases.
"Tell me now.” I pout at him.
He chuckles. "Have some patience, my love."
"You’ve made me curious now. Anyway, it seems like a collar to me. A very beautiful one."
"Yeah, it is," he says, his gaze dropping to the pulse leaping in my throat. "But there is something more. A hidden utility."
"Will… what is it?" I glare at him through my glasses, trying to look stern.
"Don’t glare at me like this, Iva. You know I can punish you for that look."
He always does that. Taking advantage of being my Master in every situation.
I huff, pulling away. “That’s not fair.”
Then I turn my back to him, crossing my arms over my chest.
He lets out a soft laugh and I hear the sound of a drawer opening behind me. "Okay, fine, my curious Professor."
I feel him step close again, his chest pressing against my back. He reaches around, and I see a flash of long rose gold in his hand. He attaches it to a loop at the front of the choker.
"It’s a leash," as he whispers, his warm breath brushes against my ear. He gives the chain a slight tug, forcing my head back against his shoulder. "For when you show your Master your bitchy attitude. For when the Professor forgets her place."
He pulls the chain taut, holding it toward him so I can see the length of it reflecting in the mirror. "Imagine it, Iva. When you’re being difficult, I’ll make you crawl all around this house, completely naked, wearing nothing but this and heels. I’ll hold the end of this chain and remind you exactly who you are."
His words should make me feel humiliated. But instead, the image of me, Professor Iva, the woman who lectured on logic and ethics, stripped bare and crawling at his feet makes a violent wave of heat crash through me.
My core throbs with a sudden desire, and I instinctively clench my thighs together, trying to catch the ache.
Will notices. He always notices. He smirks at my reflection, his hand tightening on the rose gold leash. "Look at you. You’re such a dirty Professor. You actually like the idea of being treated like a pet."
I turn my head as much as the leash allows, and look at him with pure submission in my eyes. “Only if my Master is Will. I can be your pet, your slave, your whore, your fucktoy... whatever you want me to be. I’ll become with pleasure."
The professional world outside doesn't matter. The lectures don't matter. Only this truth remains.
Will’s expression shifts from playful to purely dominant. He drops the chain and orders, “Kneel.”
And I know from here “celebration" is about to get much more intense.