Taken in Hand

by Lola Starr

  A look of pleasant surprise crossed his face when he entered the kitchen and saw what she’d prepared. Before sitting down, he came over to her chair, lifted her up, and kissed her.

  “This looks really nice,” he said as she beamed. “Thanks for putting so much effort into it.”

  They ate and talked and laughed for nearly an hour before they were done. Since they’d been having such nice weather, they decided to go for a walk together. The evening was so pleasant that Samantha nearly forgot about Sally and their argument. However, as they were on their way home, her phone buzzed with a text from her sister. David saw the expression on her face change as soon as she looked at her phone and saw who it was.

  “Are you going to read it?” he asked as she put the phone back into her pocket.

  “I will when we get home. Let’s at least finish our walk before my mood gets dragged down again.”

  She nestled herself against his arm as they walked down the street under the night sky. He continued making small talk in an effort to keep the mood light, and she did her best to focus on what he was saying rather than the tightness in the pit of her stomach. When they finally reached their front door, he hugged her tightly and kissed her before they went inside.

  “Remember,” he advised as she took the phone out of her pocket. “You don’t have anything to feel guilty about.”

  With a sigh, she opened the message and read it.

  Sam, come early to church on Sunday. I can’t wait to talk to you! Sorry for blowing up earlier.

  Puzzled, she read it a few times trying to make sense of it. She couldn’t tell if Sally was being sarcastic or if the friendly mood of the text was genuine.

  “What does she mean by that?” David asked, peering over to read it himself.

  “I have no idea,” she answered honestly. “Guess I’ll find out.”

  “Well, let’s leave it alone until then,” he said, wrapping her tightly in his arms as he pressed his lips against her. Her problems with Sally floated away as she returned his kiss earnestly. His hands reached up to cup her breasts and squeeze them as he guided her backwards towards the sofa.

  With raw hunger, she pulled at his shirt to remove it as his fingers ran across her hardened nipples, teasing them. After yanking off his t-shirt, she pulled her own shirt up over her head as he unclasped her bra. Laying her down against the sofa cushions, he began to suck eagerly on her hard pink nipples while unfastening her pants.

  Once she was naked, his fingers rubbed her clit as he ran his tongue across her nipples, flicking them as she her hands clutched at his shoulders. She writhed against him, with all of the tension she’d felt that evening pushing her quickly over the edge. Juices gushed out onto his fingers as she climaxed explosively, digging her fingers into his skin without realizing it. Shaking uncontrollably, she reached down to help him unfasten his pants to release his swollen cock.

  He pushed her knees up towards her chest and she held them in place as he pressed the head of his cock into her. He groaned as he slid it into her hot, wet snatch. With her arms wrapped around his neck, he began to pump into her hard and fast. Barely able to catch her breath, she moved her hips against his, allowing him deeper entrance. He exploded into her, filling her with thick cum that mingled with her own juices.

  Both of them were exhausted and they continued to lie there with their arms around each other until they drifted off to sleep, content and satisfied.

  Sunday morning, Samantha woke with a great deal of uncertainty as to what would happen between her and Sally that day. The drama of the past month had wiped her out emotionally and she desperately hoped that an end to it all would be forthcoming. Prior to getting showered and dressed for church, David paddled her. She had come to find it rather soothing to begin her mornings that way and felt disappointed when he said he would discontinue the practice after several more weeks.

  They decided to stop at a nearby cafe for a light breakfast before church. She had been concerned about how she’d feel if the morning ended with Sally going off on her, so David had suggested getting the quick meal in case she had lost her appetite later. Along the way, he reminded her that she had no reason to feel guilty. Despite hearing this repeatedly from him throughout the prior few days, it was hard to convince her emotions of that, but she tried to hope for the best.

  Her parents were already seated in their usual pew when she and David arrived. There was no sight yet of Sally and Nathan, which relieved her. If Sally was mad, maybe sitting through a service would help calm her before they had a chance to speak to each other. After they all greeted each other, the choir and band started up and the service began.

  About halfway through the hymn, Sally and Nathan arrived. They discreetly took their place next to David, and Samantha was unable to see Sally’s face to get a read on how she was feeling. David greeted Nathan quietly with a handshake and a quick wave to Sally. He was able to feel Samantha’s tension and squeezed her hand reassuringly, which she hoped was a sign that Sally didn’t seem angry. She kept her hand in his and tried to focus her attention on the service.

  During the service, she managed a few quick glances towards Sally, and at one point, she had given Samantha a smile. She hoped that meant the argument was over and they could all move forward, but she was reluctant to get her hopes up too high until she’d had a chance to speak with her. Nonetheless, at least Sally wasn’t angry anymore.

  Once the service had ended, Nathan and David began to chat with the girls’ parents, and Sally approached Samantha to give her a hug. Surprised but pleased, Samantha returned the hug.

  “Let’s go to the dining hall so we can talk,” Sally suggested. Their husbands and parents said they’d join them soon, and the girls left together to grab a table for them all to share.

  “Okay, what’s going on?” Samantha asked her as they sat down with coffee and donuts. “You’re suddenly not angry anymore.”

  “Sam, it’s incredible,” Sally said with a huge smile. “It’s a little crazy so I don’t know if I can explain it. You know how some couples have a relationship where the husband spanks the wife? Well, the other night, Nathan actually spanked me. When he warned me that it would happen, I was angry at him, but then once it was about to happen, something came over me. It was so weird. It was like, stimulating, if you know what I mean. When it was done, I actually felt better. About him, I mean. I don’t know what it was, but it’s like everything clicked into place and I felt so happy to be his wife. Things are just completely different these past couple of days. For the first time, I want to be submissive. Who would have imagined, right?”

  “I certainly wouldn’t have,” Samantha responded, stifling a laugh. Of all the things to make Sally fall in line...

  “It must sound crazy to you, but I just had to tell someone. You’re not weirded out by me, are you?”

  “Of course not,” Samantha reassured her. “Does Nathan know that you...enjoyed it?”

  “I don’t think so,” Sally said. “I’m not sure if I should say anything. Since he’s happy about it working, maybe I’ll just leave it alone. I don’t want to creep him out either.”

  “And then he might use something else as punishment,” Samantha mused. “Something not so enjoyable.”

  “Exactly. Anyway, I wanted to thank you for making me face the music that day. I don’t know if I’m making any sense to you, but you’ve really helped me and Nathan.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Samantha said with a chuckle. She debated telling Sally that she did understand her reaction to being spanked but decided to leave it for another day. If everyone was happy, that was good enough for now.

  “Hey, girls,” their mother said, coming to join them at the table, with their father and husbands close behind. “How have you been these past couple of weeks? We’ve hardly had a chance to talk at all.”

  “We’ve been great,” Sally said, winking at Samantha. “We need to all get together sometime soon for dinner.”

  “That woul
d be lovely.”

  Since no one was in a rush to be anywhere else, they all sat and talked for over an hour, until the room was nearly emptied out. A huge weight had been lifted from Samantha’s shoulders, and even though things were different, they felt normal once again. After their hugs good-bye, they walked out to the separate cars.

  “Okay, what happened?” David asked as soon as they were inside the car. “Seems like she wasn’t angry at you.”

  “No, she wasn’t,” Samantha said. “She actually felt like it helped her out with Nathan, having to face up to what she’d done. She says they’re doing better than ever. She even thanked me.”

  “See, I told you so,” he said, pulling out onto the road. “Everything worked out fine after all.”

  “I think we just needed some time to adjust to being wives,” Samantha said, after a few moments of silence. “Things are different and it hadn’t sunk in yet.”

  “I think you’re adjusting fine,” he said, with a gentle squeeze of her hand. “You’re the best wife I could have hoped for.”

  “And you’re the best husband I could’ve hoped for,” she said, smiling widely. She thought again about her conversation with Sally. It had been such a relief to hear she wasn’t the only one who enjoyed a trip across her husband’s lap. After all, what was the harm in that? Someday she’d tell Sally about it, and they could laugh about it together. Telling David, she wasn’t so sure about. Surely some secrets were okay to keep between sisters.

  “I’ve been thinking,” David said, breaking her reverie. “How do you feel about trying for a baby now instead of waiting?”

  “Do you mean it?” she gushed. “I’d love to! I can’t wait to have kids. That’s been on my mind a lot lately.”

  “I think it’ll be good for us. And I certainly won’t mind making the effort.”

  Samantha felt like she was floating on air. After all her worrying, everything had turned out great. She hoped she’d get pregnant right away. She was so excited she could hardly contain herself. She kept her eyes on David the rest of the way home, happily in love and so grateful to have him as a husband.

  Subdued

  Jessie stood in the corner, fuming. This whole thing was Irene’s fault, but Jessie was the one about to get her bottom reddened for it. Darren would be home any minute, and he had told her over the phone to wait in the corner with her pants down until he arrived. Her back and shoulders had started to ache from the awkward position she was supposed to be in—hands on her head and forehead pressed to the wall—so she had decided that she would just stand normally until she heard Darren arrive. Her only consolation was the possibility that Irene’s husband, Jake, would be spanking her, too.

  Their rivalry had started almost the moment they had met. When Jessie and Darren first started attending Calvary Bible Church, Irene was the head of the women’s club and had been for several years. During the first election after Jessie had joined the group, she was voted in to replace Irene because of her fresh ideas that had breathed new life into the struggling group. Irene had never forgiven her for it, even though it wasn’t Jessie’s fault, and had spent the past year trying to trip her up.

  Her most recent scheme had involved losing a large amount of money from the group’s rummage sale that weekend. Over $1000 was missing, and Jessie just knew Irene’s jealous plotting was behind it. She had suggested as much to some of the other ladies and now there was a huge split in the group between those blaming Jessie and those blaming Irene. The morning had been filled with nasty emails and hurt feelings, and by lunch time some of the husbands had gotten involved. Apparently, a few of them had contacted Pastor Mike, accusing Jessie of hurting the group by making false accusations. When Pastor Mike and his wife called Jessie and suggested that it was her responsibility to try to resolve the situation without this type of animosity, she had blown up at them. By the time Jessie had a chance to speak to Darren, she had completely lost control and ended up yelling at him. Now she was in for a night of stern discipline, and who knew what the rest of the week would be like.

  She heard Darren’s car pulling up and she leaned her forehead against the wall and put her hands on her head. Her heart began to race and she tried to remember the various speeches she had planned to explain herself, but she knew there was no use. She had shown a horrible amount of disrespect for him, and he wouldn’t be interested in her excuses. As she heard his footsteps approaching from the hallway, she exhaled forcefully and tried to brace herself.

  Without a word, he came up behind her and swatted her bare bottom sharply with his hand. She squealed in surprise, working to keep herself in place despite the unexpected sting on her flesh. In a rapid series of swats, he spanked her bottom until it was on fire, and tears rolled out of her eyes. So much for explaining herself.

  “Pull your pants up,” he said, stepping away. “Go sit in the kitchen and wait for me. And don’t you dare use a cushion!”

  Wiping her cheeks dry, she obeyed his order. Her flesh stung as she sat on the hard wooden chair at the kitchen table. Shifting her position brought no relief, and she scowled as she thought about how much she hated Irene. After some time, Darren came in. He pulled up a chair and turned hers so they were facing each other.

  “Do you want to explain what on earth has been going on with you and the other ladies?”

  “It’s not the other ladies,” she began in protest. “It’s Irene. She screwed up when she was collecting the money from the rummage sale and now we’re short almost $1000. And if that wasn’t bad enough, she’s convinced half the ladies in our group that it’s not her fault and that I’m wrong for blaming her!”

  “How did you guys find out that the money was missing?” he inquired with a deep sigh.

  “Everyone was keeping a rough estimate of how much we had pulled in, but when I counted it out for the bank deposit, we were short.”

  “Is it possible your estimates were off?”

  “By that much? I doubt it!”

  “Well, something’s going on, but that doesn’t prove Irene is responsible. One of the tables could have been robbed or something.”

  “No, Darren,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “She is constantly looking for ways to undermine me in front of the group. I know this is her doing. She volunteered to collect money from all the tables just so she could make me look bad.”

  “To be honest, Jessie, you made yourself look bad by throwing out accusations the way you did. I’m sure none of the ladies are happy about the missing money, but I suspect they just wanted to wait and make sure before blaming someone.”

  “They’re blaming me! Well, they can do what they like because I’m quitting the group! Let Irene have her precious position back. I’m done with them.”

  Tears had welled up in her eyes again, and he leaned forward and held out his arms to her. She collapsed against his chest, sobbing as he stroked her hair and held her tight. After giving her a few minutes to let some of the tension out, he reached down to her chin and lifted her face to look at him.

  “If you’re not enjoying the group, there’s certainly no need for you to stay in it,” he said, wiping her tears from her cheeks. “But I’m not gonna have you stomping away from them in a huff. Let’s get this matter resolved, and then you can think it over and decide what to do. Now, I’m gonna cook myself some dinner while you head straight to bed. No computer and no texting. I want no more of this drama tonight. Understand?”

  She nodded, wishing she had thought to eat something before he came home. She knew she really couldn’t complain though, as her punishment otherwise hadn’t been too stern. Part of her was honestly relieved to take a break from the whole situation, at least for that night.

  Once she was in bed, she found she could not relax enough to sleep, and she continued to play out different scenarios in her head. They involved her quitting in a grandiose way that made all the other ladies beg her to stay, realizing that the group would lose out without her ideas and way of reachin
g out to new members. She even imagined telling them that she would stay on one condition—that Irene left. It felt good to get some of the anger out this way, and by the time Darren came upstairs she was smiling.

  “I spoke to the pastor,” he said as he kicked off his pants and removed his shirt. “We are going to meet tomorrow for lunch to discuss this whole issue. His wife will join us as well.”

  “I’d better work on my apology,” Jessie admitted sheepishly, remembering how rude she had been to them earlier.

  He sat down on the bed next to her and turned on the television to watch the news. He knew it wouldn’t be interesting to her anyway, and he didn’t like to miss his favorite pundits and their take on current events. She continued to dwell on the missing money issue as they sat in silence. If the other ladies knew that their pastor and Darren were involved, they might get the impression that she was in trouble because of the money rather than her disrespectful behavior. She needed a way to circumvent that potential damage to her credibility. If only she had evidence of Irene’s involvement. All of a sudden an idea popped into her head, and a smile grew on her face as she realized that it was the perfect solution.

  “Feeling better?” Darren chuckled, noticing the change in her expression.

  “I think I’ve figured out a good way to resolve everything with the group,” she responded. “I may not have to quit after all.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. You see how much some quiet reflection goes toward solving a problem? I hope you remember that the next time you get upset.”

  She hardly heard his words as she planned the steps she would take the next morning. By the time she and Darren met with the pastor for lunch, she’d no longer have to worry about looking like the bad guy.

  The next morning, she was up early and prepared a nice breakfast. It was more for her than for Darren—she was starving. She could hardly wait for him to leave for work so she could get on the phone and be done with Irene’s troublemaking once and for all. They ate mostly in silence, with Jessie wrapped up in her thoughts and Darren watching her in amusement, occasionally attempting some light conversation.