Love Heals

by Dinah McLeod

  Brandon gave me a quick smile before pointing to a desk in the front row.

  I walked over to it and sat gingerly, watching as he propped himself on the edge of his desk.

  "I'm glad to see you, Karen."

  "You are?"

  "I was worried about you."

  "You…you spanked me."

  "You deserved it," he pointed out gently.

  "I know," I sniffled. "What I meant is, you don't spank someone if you don't…care about them."

  "Of course I care about you! You know that!"

  "Then why? How could you…I know I made a mistake, but if you really loved me, how could it be over just like that?"

  He folded his arms across his chest. "First of all, young lady, I never said it was over, I said I needed time to think. Second of all, my love has never been in question. What I've been wondering is whether or not you really care about me."

  I sucked in my breath sharply, feeling as though I'd taken a punch to the gut. It hurt worse than even the spanking had. "How could you say that?"

  "Think about it, Karen." His voice held no malice, nor did his eyes. "You won't let me give you a key, you won't take a drawer at my place. You're Ms. Anti-commitment. Didn't you think sooner or later I'd wonder how committed you were to me?"

  I looked down at my hands, embarrassed. The truth was, I hadn't given it much thought at all. Lately I'd been so focused on everything going on with me that I hadn't stopped to think about him. "You're right." I looked up and met his eyes. "I…I've been preoccupied and selfish. I want to tell you everything, if you want to hear it."

  He scrutinized my face for a moment before nodding.

  "When Mark stole my position, I wanted to get revenge. I didn't tell you because I knew you'd stop me if I did, which is why I couldn't tell you that Mark had fired me for trying to blackmail him." I cringed even as I spoke, knowing that it was so much worse than the kissing thing. "I did kiss him and I did lie to you. I put work first, like I always do, but Brandon, please, if you'll give me another chance, I swear it won't ever happen again."

  He took this all in, making me wait impatiently as he processed it. Finally, he cleared his throat. "Which part?"

  "Any of it," I declared passionately. "I'm done putting work, or anything else, ahead of us. I can find another job somewhere. Hell, I could afford not to work for a year or so. Whatever you want me to do, whatever we decide together."

  He surveyed me thoughtfully and when he turned his face away, my heart sank.

  "I know you don't think I mean it," I plunged on. "I know you don't have any reason to believe me, but I swear, I mean every word. I've been an idiot—a scared, thoughtless idiot. But I can change, Brandon. I know I can."

  "No more revenge plots? Are you sure you can give that up, Karen? It's your nature and more than that, that company was your life."

  "Was. You're what's important to me and I should have seen that long before now."

  "I don't want you to feel like I'm taking anything away from you. Maybe today you don't feel that way, but what happens when down the road—"

  I shook my head emphatically. "It won't. I'll never regret choosing you, Brandon. Just give me a chance to prove it."

  When he turned to face me once more, his eyes were solemn. "If you want me, you know you'll have more than one spanking coming." He walked toward me and offered a hand, which I took. Once he'd hauled me to my feet, his arms snaked around my waist and one hand wandered to my right ass cheek. He gave it a squeeze, grinning at me as I winced. "I don't know if that cute ass of yours can take it."

  "I'll do anything," I insisted, looking up into his wonderful, handsome face.

  "I love you, Karen." He bent his head and kissed me. It was a heart-stopping, panty-dampening kiss and I gave myself to it wholeheartedly. "If you ever kiss another man again for any reason, you won't sit for a month, am I understood?"

  "Yes, Sir." I dropped to my knees and rested my burning butt on my heels as my hands searched for his fly. Once I'd pulled the zipper down his cock sprang forth. God, how I'd missed him.

  "We don't have long—"

  I took him in my mouth, silencing him effectively. I slid my mouth as far as I could, taking in as much of his bulging cock as I could hold. If I was very, very lucky, soon my aching pussy would get the pleasure of taking all of him in. I slid my lips up and down the length of his shaft in tune with his groaning. I worked at him feverishly, my mouth servicing him as my hand massaged his heavy balls. I would have given anything to have him naked in front of me at that moment, but I felt so grateful for the second chance, I would take what I could get. I'd give him head every day for a month without getting anything in return if that's what it took. Thankfully, Brandon didn't seem the kind to hand down such a cruel punishment.

  "Karen," he groaned deep in his throat.

  I knew he was close. I closed my lips around him and sucked for all I was worth, sliding my tongue playfully over the head before plunging my lips back down his shaft. I gave his balls a gentle squeeze and with a muffled groan, Brandon came into my mouth, shooting a full load down the back of my throat.

  Just at that moment, there was a knock at the door.

  "Could you get that?" Brandon gasped, out of breath.

  I stood to my feet, bending over to pull my panties up and smoothing my dress down before walking to the door. I heard the sound of Brandon zipping his fly just as my hand closed around the doorknob.

  When I opened the door, Ms. Simpton was staring back at me, a sheaf of folders in her arms. "Oh, hello, Karen. I think I can guess why the door was locked."

  I blushed as she winked at me.

  "Ms. Simpton, hello. What can I do for you?"

  "Oh, not a thing, dear." She told Brandon, "I was going to drop these off, but I can see now that you've got your hands full. Should I watch your class next period?" She gave me a sly smile and said in undertone, "Unless you decided they could use a visual aid after all."

  Chapter 7

  Two weeks later

  I was kneeling in the corner with my arms behind my back. It was how Brandon expected me to be when he came home and I wasn't going to let him down. The last two weeks had been a whirlwind of makeup sex, a lot of long talks and now, it was time for me to face the music. I'd spent most of the day writing lines. I had twenty-seven pages full of the sentence I will not lie, which had taken me all morning and half the afternoon. After which I'd been instructed to kneel in the corner until he got home, at which point the cramping in my hand would be long forgotten and feel like a mere paper cut.

  As terrified as I was by what I knew was coming—I just knew, I just knew he was going to use that damn paddle!—in a way I was relieved that it would soon be over. For the last two weeks, I'd flinched every time Brandon raised his arm. I think he knew it, too, because he seemed to do it a little more than needed. But I couldn't complain, I deserved everything he dished out, even if that included him psyching me out. Not knowing when I'd get my spanking had been a punishment all on its own. As much as I knew it would hurt, at least now we could truly move on.

  Brandon had meant what he said about giving my ass time to heal, but he'd also been talking to me a lot and giving me little homework assignments to bring us closer. We talked about my fear of commitment and he told me how important it was to him that we were moving in a permanent direction. We talked about my work and what was next. But mostly, we kissed, we fondled, we suckled and teased.

  Work had been going well, too. I'd gone back to SunFilm the day after Brandon and I had made up, wondering if I still had a job. Mr. Fern had, to my surprise, greeted me warmly and reiterated his desire to have me in human resources for the day as though nothing had happened between us. I must have a lucky star or a guardian angel somewhere, because the men in my life were more than gracious. After work was over for the day, Mr. Fern had called me to his office and told me he had a plan for me to get my company back.

  I'd wanted to keep to my promise to Brandon. I'd
told him that he came first and I meant it. The love I felt for that man was worth more than ten multimillion dollar companies.

  "I'm sorry, Mr. Fern." I squirmed in my chair just the slightest bit. "I'm afraid I've no intentions to take back Dusty Records. I know we made a deal, and I understand if you no longer want me to work here, but I'm trying to move on."

  "I see. This is a big opportunity, Karen, so why don't you think it over for a bit? And whatever your decision, you'll still have a job here. I'll just have to figure out where you'll be the most use!"

  When I'd gotten home that evening, I hadn't even planned on bringing it up, but when Brandon asked me how work had gone, it sort of just came tumbling out. He'd surprised me once more—would he ever stop doing that?—by being supportive of the idea.

  "But I promised," I protested.

  "You made a promise to Mr. Fern, too, didn't you?"

  I'd broken out into a wide grin and thrown my arms around his neck, kissing him wildly. That had been a memorable night, so much so that thinking of it made my sex clench in longing. Unfortunately, I seriously doubted that anything pleasant was in store for me tonight.

  I couldn't think about that now. I'd go crazy waiting if I did. Instead, I turned my mind back to Mr. Fern. He'd stoically accepted the news that I was back in and divulged his plan to me. He would call Mark, thanking him for the part he'd played in allowing him to retain his company and also congratulate him on being named CEO. He would record the whole thing and the thought was that Mark would be too prideful to be cautious and would congratulate himself for all the board members to hear. That was the plan. I'd thought it was too simple, but—

  The sound of the door opening downstairs pulled me out of my thoughts. Brandon was home. My body trembled with desire mixed with stomach-churning trepidation. I knew he wouldn't take it too far—he never did that. Just like I knew that I deserved whatever punishment he'd decided on, but knowing didn't make it any less scary.

  My pulse picked up when I heard him walking down the hall. His footfalls stopped right in front of the bedroom and I swallowed hard. Here it was, time to face the music. At least when it was over, it would be over for good.

  I heard the door open and felt his eyes fall on me. I tensed, waiting for him to speak. Twice, I nearly turned to look at him, but I caught myself just in time. It wouldn't do to be caught disobeying; I really couldn't afford another thing being added to the list. I had a feeling my bottom would be pretty sore already.

  "Turn around, please."

  My breath hitched and my chest tightened as I obeyed, spinning around on my knees. When I saw him, looking tall and imposing, the sleeves of his pressed shirt rolled up, I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out.

  "Do you have your lines?"

  I nodded mutely.

  "Bring them to me, please."

  I wasn't used to him sounding so stern and I found it more than a bit frightening. Right now, I wanted nothing more than for him to pull me into his arms and reassure me, but perhaps that was part of my punishment as well.

  Brandon skimmed the papers I handed him, checking to see that I'd written the sentence five hundred times, as he'd directed. He'd said the message would sink in better that way. "How long did it take you?"

  "Several hours," I replied, flexing my sore writing hand.

  "Well, you did a good job." He gave me a brief smile, the first one he'd graced me with since he'd come into the room. It helped me relax a little, but as tense as I was, it wasn't much. "I've thought about this a lot and I'm going to give you a choice."

  Uh-oh. Why did that sound so ominous?

  "Because there are multiple serious offenses—"

  I winced, fearing he'd name them. I exhaled my breath when he didn't, but my relief didn't last long.

  "I'm going to give you a choice. I plan to punish you for each offense, so you can take one punishment a night until we're finished or we can take care of all of it tonight. What that means is that it will be a very intense punishment session, but you won't end up getting quite as many as if you spaced them out. Your choice."

  Some choice! My lip trembled as I thought about it.

  "Take your time," he encouraged gently.

  I wanted him to take me into his arms so that I could surrender to the anxiety that was threatening to consume me. I wanted to lay my head on his chest, inhale his clean, manly scent and cry while he comforted me by putting his strong arms around me. I'd never been this close to him without being able to touch him, but it didn't feel right to ask for his comfort when I'd caused him so much pain. "I think…" I tried to control the trembling in my lower lip so he wouldn't see how nervous I was. "I think I'd like to get it over with, Sir."

  Brandon gave a quick, decisive nod. "Okay. In that case, go to the bathroom. I'll be right behind you."

  I gave him a searching look, but his face stayed impassive and I scurried to obey him. True to his word, Brandon entered right behind me and switched the light on. I watched questioningly as he walked in and went to the sink. He knelt down and began to search through the cabinet until he pulled out a new bar of Dove soap.

  "First, I'm punishing you for lying to me."

  "Okay…" I arched an eyebrow. This had to be the weirdest punishment I'd gotten yet. What was he going to—

  "Open up."

  When his meaning registered, I backed away, my eyes wide. He couldn't be serious.

  "Karen?"

  "No!" I spat out before I could think better of it. "There's no way I'm going to let you…let you…put anything in my mouth!"

  His eyes twinkled for a moment, probably thinking of all the things I'd indeed let him put in my mouth, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by my stern, implacable boyfriend. "You said you were sorry."

  "I am sorry, but—"

  "Not enough to take your punishment?"

  I flinched at the accusation. "Brandon, please, I'll take my punishment, just…not that. Please."

  "You don't get to decide how I punish you and you're not meant to like it. I'm not happy with your behavior and I intend to get that across."

  He'd already made it plenty clear, but I thought better of saying so and walked toward him with tentative baby steps.

  "Good girl," he praised, running his hand lightly over my hair before he began to unwrap the bar of soap.

  Taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth wide and waited. I watched as Brandon wet the bar of soap before inserting it into my mouth. My first instinct was to spit it out, but I steeled myself against the awful taste coating my mouth.

  "Open wider, please." As soon as I'd obeyed, he gently ground the bar down across my teeth.

  It was the worst thing I'd ever tasted. It was bitter enough to make me gag and bring tears to my eyes.

  "There, it's over now," Brandon said as he took it out and set it down on the counter. "That was for telling me you'd quit."

  I pointed desperately to the sink faucet, but he shook his head. "Soon, but I want you to remember the taste. From now on, any lie, even one by omission and this is where you'll end up."

  I nodded with tears sliding down my cheeks and allowed him to take my hand and lead me back to the bedroom.

  "Go sit on the bed, sweetie. I'll be right there."

  I heard the sound and the nightstand drawer opening and sure enough, when I turned he held the dreaded paddle in his hand. It was an oak torture device, the handle long and thin despite the large, thick surface of the business end. It was wide enough to cover both of my ass cheeks at once and delivered a searing sting that had me crying long before the spanking was over. I hated it, which was sort of the point.

  "I want you to hug the bedpost and bend over."

  A little shudder ran through me at the command which only grew as I walked to the closest bedpost. I wrapped my arms around it and bent at the waist, tense and waiting for the first scorcher to land. When it did, it was even worse than I'd imagined. No matter how many times I felt it burn across my bottom, my memories neve
r did justice to just how much it hurt. "Ouch!" I yelped, bolting up, hands reaching for my throbbing behind.

  "That one didn't count."

  You should make a run for it, my devil counseled. It sounded like a pretty good idea, except that I'd have to face the music sooner or later. "Sorry," I muttered as I got back into position.

  "You can do this. You've got fifteen coming and then you can rinse your mouth out."

  Thanks for reminding me, I thought, making a face. With the awful taste still in my mouth, I bent again at the waist, offering my naked backside for more correction. The paddle smacked down hard and I couldn't help but jump, but I didn't reach behind me again.

  Brandon liked to let the burning fully warm over my cheeks before administering the next swat, which made it hurt even more. I'd only taken three when the tears came, hot and fast.

  "Pl-please," I begged, the plea lodging in my throat when the next swat fell on my bottom.

  "You're being such a good girl, Karen. You can do this."

  I wanted to believe his soft, soothing voice, I really did, but my bottom was telling me very emphatically that I could not. Still, I held my position, gritting my teeth and waiting. I suspected that he wasn't putting much strength behind the swats, but they still hurt plenty. The mean oak seared a lasting impression on my bottom and by the tenth swat, I was in agony.

  "Why don't we take a little break?"

  My knees almost gave at the suggestion, I was so relieved. "Thank you," I moaned gutturally. I flinched instinctively as his hand cupped my hot ass, but relaxed as his hand moved up, caressing my back.

  "I'm so proud of you, honey."

  "I won't e-ever lie again, Br-Brandon. I swear. Please, I've learned my l-lesson."

  "I know, honey. But you know I have to do this, don't you? If I didn't follow through, you wouldn't respect me."

  "I would," I insisted, sticking my lip out. "I'd think you were the nicest boyfriend in the world."

  "Uh-huh," he said, sounding unconvinced. "And then, before I knew it, you'd be running circles around me."

  I couldn't deny the smile that stole across my face at his dry tone. As much as I hated them at the time, his spanking me was one of the reasons I loved him. We wouldn't be quite the same without it.