“Well,” he prompted her, sounding unsure. “Does that sound all right?”
She shrugged and nodded, not willing to let him see how much it was what she wanted. After he’d rejected her advances last night, she was still worried he might change his mind if he saw how much she wanted to stay.
“Good.” He sounded relieved that that had been settled and would allow him to continue to fulfil his commitment. “Now,” his voice deepened. “There is still the matter of your lack of personal standards and the breaking of house rules to deal with. I have been extremely lenient with you over the last four days or so because of your injuries; however, I can see you are walking mostly without a limp now, and your sling will be off in a couple of days. If you are going to get your life in order, you first need to get yourself in order, don’t you?”
She didn’t answer.
“See? Good case in point. Don’t you know it’s rude to not answer a question when asked?”
Again, she said nothing. He reached out and tipped her chin up so she had to look at him.
“You need to make some changes in your life, don’t you, little girl?”
“Like what? I’m okay.” She tried to look away, but he stopped her.
“The very fact you are here, and how you came to be here, shows that to be nonsense. So, let’s get to the heart of this matter, right now. I have offered you a job and a place to live while you get on your feet, but as it is my home and I will be your employer, I retain the right to make the rules and respond appropriately when those rules are broken. Does that sound fair?”
She shot him a quick look. What was he talking about? Rules? Appropriate consequences?
“Like what?” she repeated.
“I have already told you some of the rules, and of course there will be others pertaining to your work. What we haven’t discussed are the consequences of the rules being broken. I believe the best way for you to change your behaviour will be for you to be rewarded for good behaviour and punished for bad behaviour. And, I want to make it clear, that this is not negotiable. I have made a commitment to get you on your feet and I am going to do it, however hard. So, first up you are going to learn there are consequences for breaking my rules, starting right now.”
He walked to the bench in the kitchen and came back holding a ruler.
Tapping his palm with the end of the ruler, he looked down at her.
“Those consequences, or punishments, I’m talking about will include loss of privileges or additional chores or perhaps just completing a task I set you. For serious breaches, however, I believe corporal punishment is the most appropriate consequence.”
“What?” She stared at him aghast, unable to believe she’d heard right.
“Corporal punishment. Spanking. Not for children. Never. But for a grown woman like yourself who decides to behave like a child, I believe no punishment is more appropriate than a well-spanked bottom.”
“You’re not serious?” Rudi’s eyes were practically out on stalks as she struggled to process what she’d just heard. “But you can’t do that! You don’t have the right!”
“Let’s see, shall we? I believe you will accept it is in your best interest and that you will willingly submit your bottom for punishment.”
“In your dreams,” she sneered feeling more like it was she in the dream: first learning she could stay here and get paid, now being told she was going to be spanked.
“Well,” he went on, his voice calm, but the ruler slapping the palm of his hand much harder so it made a thwack each time.
“Again, let’s run through your choices and you decide. Choice one: I take you to the police and explain that you were living on the streets drunk, that you gave a false name, and that you deliberately put yourself in front of my car. If that’s what you want, we can do that right now. Or,
“Choice two: You live here and work for me and get paid a weekly wage. I help you get back on your feet, help you find a place to live and a proper job and so on. And I don’t delve into your past life, what you were running away from or why.
“But, also in Choice two, you accept my rules and agree, if and when you break those rules, to willingly and respectfully accept whatever punishment I decree, and that includes me spanking you however and with whatever I choose. So, what do you say?”
Rudi had no idea what to say. She didn’t want to leave. She loved this house, and even more than that she liked being around Denver. If she walked out now, never mind what happened at the police station, she’d never see him again. Even the thought of that was enough to cause her chest to constrict so tightly she could barely breathe.
But if she stayed, she had to agree to allow him to spank her? She’d never heard of such a thing. A man spanking a grown woman? She didn’t realise people did that; it had never even occurred to her that they might do it.
Peeking up from under her lashes, she could see those big hands holding the ruler. So far, they’d closed comfortingly over hers when she was injured, held hers while he was showing her around the house, carried her to the couch and back to bed. They were beautiful, manly hands, big and strong yet with the capacity to be kind and gentle as well. Now she realized that they could also be used to punish a naughty girl’s bottom. She was shocked to feel a thrill run through her.
It was because she had suddenly had a good idea, she quickly told herself, not because she was picturing those hands spanking her. But she suddenly realised, if she agreed, she couldn’t lose: either she would never break any rules and she wouldn’t get spanked anyway or, and there was that thrill skittering through her again, she would have to let him spank her, but how intimate would that be? That would give her an opportunity to be close to him, touch him and achieve her main goal which was to seduce him so he would fall in love with her and she could stay here with him forever.
Maybe that’s what this is about, she thought. Maybe he was just using the punishment story as an excuse when his real motivation was that spanking her would be a sexual turn-on for him. If that was the case, she wouldn’t have much trouble seducing him, and once they’d established an open sexual relationship, he’d have no need to go on with the whole spanking thing. Really, this could play into her hands, and how bad could it really be?
“Okay,” she said firmly. “I accept.”
“Good girl,” he said with a nod if not a smile. “You’ve made the mature choice. I’m very pleased that you’ve chosen the less easy path, but the one that, I believe, will help you get your life back on track the quickest.
“Now, we are going to begin straight away. You are a little fortunate in that I am not going to risk giving you a proper and thorough spanking, despite that being what I think you deserve, until you have had the all-clear from the doctor, which should be Wednesday, but we still have the matters of your untidy bedroom and very poor behaviour last night.
“So, you are to be punished as follows: One: for not helping with the dishes last night when you were asked, you will be responsible for cleaning up after dinner by yourself every night for the rest of the week, and you will go straight to your room after you’ve finished without watching television.
“Two: for not keeping your room clean, you will spend the day in there today making it absolutely spick and span. You will not be allowed out, and you will go to bed early.
“Three: for your rudeness, I have no choice but to punish you with this ruler. It is a bit hard to spank you at the moment with your bruised hip, so I have decided to spank your hand until the doctor assures me your hip is healed.
“Do you agree to those punishments?”
Rudi looked at him, her face pale, her eyes wide and her body trembling.
She nodded, unable to speak.
“Good.” She noticed his voice sounded gruff again. “Hold your left hand out flat for me then. I’m afraid it will have to be all on one hand because of your shoulder, so you will only get four on one hand instead of three on each. But I hope it will serve as an adequate warning anyway. Now hold out yo
ur hand, and don’t curl your fingers; I don’t want to hit your knuckles.”
Shocked at the turn of events, Rudi clenched her fist behind her back and shook her head.
“No. You can’t. No. I don’t want to.” She could feel a giant lump forming in her throat. She didn’t want to hold out her hand for him to spank it with his ruler, but she didn’t want to have to go away either. She wanted him to pick her up in his big strong arms and hold her close to him. Why wouldn’t he do that?
Why would he? Was a better question, though, she admitted to herself. He had been so good to her, and she had not behaved very well on more than one occasion. It was time for her to make a decision about exactly what she wanted. She mustn’t be found; she couldn’t go back to her old life that was for certain. And she wanted Denver. And she wanted to live here, in this house in Emerald.
Looking up at him with her eyes wide and her lip trembling, she tentatively held out her left hand, palm up, open wide with her fingers stretched out of the way.
She saw the flash of pleasure and relief cross his face before it set into a formal, stern mask.
“You have been ill-mannered and disobedient, haven’t you, Rudi?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Yes, sir,” he corrected her. “When I am punishing you, you are to call me ‘sir’. Understand?”
“Yes, sir,” she whispered again.
“Speak up, please.”
“Yes, sir,” she said as loudly as she could, her voice breaking with emotion.
“And you deserve to be spanked, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Yes, you do, naughty girl. Right, perhaps this will teach you a lesson. Hold your hand still now. Don’t pull it away or we’ll have to start again.”
As he was speaking, he adjusted the position of her hand.
“Ready?”
She nodded miserably. He brought the ruler down across her palm. Ouch! It stung, but not so bad she couldn’t bear it.
He looked at her to see how she was taking it. She met his gaze as steadily as possible, although he was a little blurred by the tears filling her eyes. He gave her the tiniest smile and nod of encouragement, then turned his attention back to her still outstretched hand. Using his ruler, he repositioned it again, pushing it up slightly and tapping on her palm gently to remind her to keep it flat.
“I’d like you to count them, please,” he said. “You can start with ‘one, thank you, Sir’.”
She gave her head a tiny shake and scrunched her eyes. Could this get any weirder, she wondered.
He was waiting.
“One, thank you, sir,” she intoned with a hint of sarcasm.
He looked at her, then turned back to her hand, raised the ruler and brought it cracking down across her palm for a second time. It stung a little more this time and she winced, but kept her arm outstretched.
He looked at her and nodded.
“Two, thank you, sir,” she managed through gritted teeth.
“Good girl,” he encouraged her again, and she felt a small flush of happiness that he seemed pleased with her. Wanting to impress him, she stretched her hand out and held it up. He looked into her eyes, then turned to her hand as he raised the ruler. This time knowing it was going to sting, Rudi looked away as she saw it coming down.
“Ow,” she cried out as the ruler cracked again on her now sensitive skin. Using all her willpower she held her hand still, her eyes screwed tight shut as she waited for the worst of the sting to pass. As it subsided, she opened her eyes and saw him watching her and waiting.
Only one to go, she told herself.
“Three, thank you, sir.”
“Last one,” he said. “Keep still.”
Again the ruler rose and fell, and Rudi immediately plunged her hand between her legs, squeezing them together to relieve the sting spreading up her arm.
“Oh, oh, oh,” she cried.
“Rudi,” his voice was stern. What? What had she done now? Oh, she remembered.
“Four, thank you, sir.”
He put the ruler down on the coffee table and turning, put his arms around her.
“Your spankings must never cause anger between us,” he murmured as he held her to him. “I promise I won’t spank you in anger and you must not be angry with me when I have to spank you, okay? I will only spank you if you are naughty, and once it’s done, it’s over and the air is clear. Do you understand?”
He pushed her away enough so he could look into her eyes, where he read a mixture of emotions: confusion, surprise, uncertainty. He pulled her back against him and held her until he felt her begin to relax.
“You’re not angry with me, are you, little girl?”
“No,” she whispered truthfully, nestling tighter against his chest.
“I know this has been hard for you, but you will have the afternoon to think about everything we’ve talked about and everything that’s happened today. Come,” he said, as he scooped her into his arms and carried her to her room.
“You are going to spend the day in here as your second punishment, and I am going to go to town and do the shopping. Hop onto your bed for now and I’ll bring you a tray.”
Waiting for him to return, Rudi looked at the hand she had just held still for him to chastise with a ruler. Most of the sting had passed although it was still quite pink. She pictured him standing over her with a ruler and felt a strange swelling ache low down between her thighs.
Denver had been right when he said she had a lot to think about, but even he didn’t realise how much. Her lip curled with distaste as she remembered why she’d run away and why she was so determined that she not be found. She knew about men who hit their wives and girlfriends, and it was a horrid, brutal thing.
But what had just happened between her and Denver hadn’t felt horrid or brutal at all, and she hadn’t been afraid. Quite the opposite, she realised unbelievingly. His strength and power mixed with gentle tenderness made her feel safer and more secure than she’d ever felt with a man before in her whole life.
In her mind, she heard him again, in that beautiful voice: “little girl”, “naughty girl”, “good girl”. She tingled all over; how she loved hearing him calling her that, and how she wanted to hear him do it again.
Her mouth dried, her chest tightened and breathing became difficult as she heard him coming from the kitchen. She sat up and pulled her knees up, making herself as small as possible as he came through the door. As their eyes met, she felt a surge of attraction so powerful it was almost more painful than anything her hand had felt.
He put the tray of toast, fruit and coffee on the table by her bed, then sat down next to her.
“Okay?” he asked gently, taking her punished hand in his and turning it over to look at her palm. After studying it for a few seconds, he looked back at her but kept hold of her hand, his thumb gently stroking it.
She nodded.
“Good,” he smiled. “Now then, we’d best get on with the rest of the day. I’ll be gone for a couple of hours. While I’m away, I want you to tidy up this room.” He looked around at books and magazines and various bits of clothing strewn on the floor and her unmade bed. “Don’t do too much with your right arm yet. But you should be able to manage with your other arm for now. You’ll find some cleaning stuff in the bathroom, so you can clean in there too. Then you can rest and read for the rest of the day. You are confined to your room until morning, so you are not to leave for any reason. Is that clear?”
“But what am I going to do? That’s not fair. I’ll be bored!”
His hand tightened on hers, and he turned it over so she could see her palm. She understood his message perfectly and sighed in surrender.
“Okay.”
Putting her hand down, he tipped her chin up so she had to look at him, then he tilted his head slightly to one side with a small, “Tut tut”.
“You are already being punished, don’t forget, for breaking my rules. You haven’t forgotten, have you?
”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Rudi.”
His voice was hard and sounded ominous. What? She thought, and then remembered.
“Yes, sir. I mean, no, sir. Yes, sir. I’ve forgotten the question.”
He chuckled at her confusion.
“I said, you have been confined to your room as a punishment and you are to stay in here for the rest of the day. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Tell me exactly, so there is no room for misunderstandings later.”
“I am to stay in my room all day and not leave for any reason until tomorrow morning.”
“Sir,” he prompted. “Again.”
“I have to stay in my room and not leave for anything, sir.”
“Okay.” His lips twitched in a gentle little smile as he stood up. “I’m off now. When I get back, I want to see this room and your bathroom spotless. You can put the tray in the hall outside your door when you’ve finished with it, but don’t leave your room! And you’ll need an early night tonight; you have to be up before seven tomorrow to dress and have your breakfast. You start work at eight sharp.”
He stopped at the door and looked at her with a tiny, gentle smile then left, closing the door after him.
Rudi snuggled down on her bed in a tiny ball, her arms hugging herself tightly and her heart filled to bursting with an emotion she couldn’t quite name.
Chapter 4
Next morning, an excited and nervous Rudi was particularly careful to dress as her new boss had ordained in a black skirt, button-through blouse – she chose cream for her first day, jacket as it was cold, and with the seams in her tights as straight as she could possibly manage.
She was in the kitchen by 7:15 to pass inspection and help with breakfast and, after a leisurely meal, they were at their desks in the outside studio bungalow by just before eight. She was very keen to make a good impression, and it didn’t take her long to realize she loved her new job working for Denver Bane, or Todd Morgan as he was when in his writing studio.
For the first two-and-a-half days, with her right arm still in the sling, it was hard to do too much typing or writing. But she was able to collect links to web pages that he could use for research later, file and help with various bits of paperwork, dust and make phone calls so she had plenty to keep her busy.
Rescuing Rudi Page 5
