His hand came down hard across her satin panties, and she shrieked. She did not think Mac had spanked that hard, ever! He wasn’t fazed at all by her shrieks of pain, and if anything, the next two swats were even harder. The fourth caught her right across her sit spot on the tops of her thigh, and her fight or flight response kicked in. Suddenly she became all limbs as she scrambled to get away. Josiah simply tucked her legs under his, and took both her hands in one of his, pinning them behind her. Two sharp slaps to her thighs caught her attention.
“Don’t. You need this.”
His firm, no-nonsense words had the desired effect, and her body relaxed beneath his grip. She did need this. His hand came down again, and she welcomed the blow, jutting out her bottom to meet it.
“That’s a good girl,” he purred, pausing to rub a slow circle across her already aching flesh. She felt his fingers playing with the lace waistband on her panties, and felt the juices of arousal flow as he slowly lowered them to her knees.
“Such a beautiful, perfect, ass,” he whispered, giving her stinging flesh a hard pinch on the fleshiest part of her cheek. She emitted a low growl at the pain, and frowned when she heard him chuckle. She wiggled her ass at him in what she hoped was a teasing manner, craving the burning imprint of his rough skin on her bare flesh. His hand left her bottom once again, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out in anticipation.
He didn’t disappoint. The pain of the spanking was stronger now, each slap of flesh on flesh felt like the sting of a thousand bees. His blows were slow, and methodical, perfectly executed to deliver a new wave of pain every ten seconds. She knew this because she had counted.
By the time the tenth strike made contact with her aching backside, the endorphins began to kick in. The pain washed over her like an ocean of relief from the emotional strain of the past few years. She stopped counting the blows as they fell in their slow steady rhythm, instead focusing on the release. Her tears were flowing freely, and her body was numb and weightless. The only exception, of course, was her aching bottom, which stung gloriously all over with each punishing blow.
The last spank covered the whole of her tender sit spot, and her body succumbed to the war between pain and pleasure, sending her into a quivering, sobbing mess.
Chapter 6
Josiah had held her on his lap, caressing her throbbing red bottom, rubbing her back and shoulders, whispering endearments until Lannea had been coherent and able to move. Her reaction to his spanking had awakened strong protective urges within him, and he found himself wanting to care for the beautiful woman who awakened under his touch. She needed a strong dominant type in her life, she had admitted as much, and although he had planned on this being a one-time thing when he started, he found himself wanting so much more.
When she whimpered and attempted to right herself, he grabbed her up like a small child, and carried her to the master bath. He set her on the toilet seat, smiling when she winced as her raw flesh made contact with the cold plastic of the lid.
He ran a hot bath, adding in a cup of Epson salts, and making a mental note to pick up some girl-pleasing bath additives, like scented bubbles and fancy soaps. For now, the Epson salts would have to do, and he knew it would help to prevent any bruising that might have otherwise occurred.
Once he was satisfied that the bath was just right, and that she was okay, he left to give her privacy, not wanting to cross an invisible line between disciplinarian and lover. As much as he would have loved to take in every gorgeous curve and line of her creamy white flesh, and worship every red freckle, there was a line of propriety that he wasn’t willing to cross.
His stomach growled and he realized belatedly that he hadn’t eaten since the sushi he had for lunch. It was now after ten, and he would be willing to bet that Lannea hadn’t eaten either.
He busied himself in the kitchen while she bathed, whistling happily while fixing them an easy dinner of steak and baked potatoes. He wasn’t much of a cook, but he could work a grill and a microwave. Years of bachelorhood had taught him enough skills to make do in a pinch.
He was setting the table and opening a second bottle of wine when Lannea joined him in the kitchen.
Her hair was still damp, and she had dressed in the clothes she had worn over, even though he had left her clean sweats and a t-shirt. “Oh, you made dinner,” she observed, and he frowned at the hesitance he heard in her voice.
“Yes, I did. Sit and eat.” His tone was firm, and bore no room for argument, but he wasn’t surprised when she argued anyway.
“I was thinking I should go.” She was hedging towards the door even as she said it.
“Please stay. Just for dinner.” Those were the words he said out loud, but inside he knew that by the end of the night, dinner would have been just the beginning.
He sat down at the table, and his eyes pleaded with her to join him.
“Okay, just for dinner,” she conceded, taking the wine glass he offered with a smile.
“So, wait, what are you saying? That was your first time spanking anyone? For real?” As promised, they had settled into a conversation easily, now that the awkward point of the night was over. She learned the truth behind his family picture, and she told him about Mac, the best friend that had spanked her in culinary school. And now this. Laney was startled but not completely shocked at his revelation. It certainly made sense of someone coming from his background, but it was still unexpected.
“For real. I hope I did okay.” His confident smirk told her that he actually had no qualms over his prowess as a spanker, and she stifled a laugh over how pleased he seemed with himself. He looked like the proverbial cat that swallowed the canary.
Not wanting to hurt his pride, she rushed to assure him that he had indeed done just fine, but inside she was mulling over the information. She certainly had no complaints about the spanking itself while it was happening. It had been much needed and for a very long time. Her body had reacted strongly both from pain and a mixture of primal need and utter relief, but the truth was that before he had even lifted her off of his lap, any and all residual pain one would expect from a spanking had vanished, and her skin had faded almost immediately from an angry red to a soft pink. She knew because she had checked. It made sense, all in all, he had probably only given her about thirty swats, and only used his hand. It was certainly not the spanking she had been fantasizing about for the last several years.
Still, she considered, he had a deliciously dominant way about him that was just right without being too much. And, he had scratched an itch that was in desperate need of scratching. Maybe that was enough for now, or maybe she could train him. It had been nice to feel as if someone actually cared what she did in her life, even if it had only been for an hour or two. She could get used to that.
“I want to spank you again.” His voice was smooth, and sure, and she almost choked on a mouthful of steak. He couldn’t be serious. Here she had been thinking of this as a one-time thing, a fluke, a matter of honor over one’s word, and nothing more.
His words, and the tone with which he delivered them sent a sharp thrill of excitement to her pussy. The man had some serious dominant tendencies to be sure, but honestly, she needed a man with a little more experience. She had waited too long, and built it up in her head too far to settle for anything less than dominant perfection, and Josiah, as charming and gorgeous as he was, just didn’t measure up to her expectations in the spanking department.
But who was she kidding? His was the only offer on the table. Maybe he just needed time, and practice, she told herself. What would it hurt to help him with that, and have her own needs met at the same time? And who knew what he was even offering, until she asked?
“What did you have in mind?” Straight up and to the point. It was the only way she rolled.
“What do you want?” Josiah countered smoothly. The words rolled off his tongue like butter and she realized he had a slight accent she hadn’t noticed before. It was incredibly sexy, and for
a moment with the ball in her court, she considered throwing caution to the wind, and going for it— all of it. She entertained the notion for a split second before deciding against it. Josiah was a good man, but he was not the man for her.
“A platonic arrangement— like what I had with Mac. No funny stuff, and I have veto power on all things, but I’ll leave the hard details up to you.”
Josiah picked up his wine glass and drained it before answering, and she saw the ghost of a frown hiding behind the clear glass. But when he set it back on the table, his smile was wide, and thoughtful.
“So, here’s what I was thinking.” He leaned forward, and began to lay out the details.
Josiah rolled over and stared at the empty space beside him in the bed. Funny how it had never bothered him before, but this morning that empty space seemed to taunt him with the sting of rejection. Platonic, he scoffed to himself. Sure, yeah, he could do platonic, no problem. Never mind the fact that his cock throbbed with desire at the mere mention of her name, or the fact that the memory of her filled his dreams. Platonic was going to be a blast. Every guy loved being put in the friend zone.
It had hurt, that was for sure, but he could deal with it. Josiah was nothing if not stubbornly persistent and unflappable. Years of abstinence and simply existing in a world that was not for him had given him a strength that he knew was one of his best qualities. He would give Lannea what she wanted until he wore her down into wanting something else, even if it took longer than he would like. He had been single for thirty-five years, what was a few more? He doubted it would take that long, but if it did, he would be ready.
As per their new agreement, which they had spent hours hammering out the details of, he was basically for all intents and purposes, her acting HOH. He had all the responsibilities of an HOH and only some of the perks, the main one being that he got to spend time with Laney on a regular basis, and occasionally have the pleasure of taking her in hand, and spanking her delectable little bottom.
He grinned broadly. He couldn’t wait, and he suspected, she couldn’t either. She had given him a long list of behaviors she wanted to change and considered spankable offenses, and even if some of them were questionable, he had the vague suspicion that she had made it that way on purpose. Fine with him. He had countered her list with a few guidelines of his own. Fridays were a date night of sorts, or as close as he could make it and still get away with. What they really were was maintenance, or check in nights, with dinner as part of the plans. Weekly maintenance was something Laney had wanted, and from all that Josiah knew about her, he had to admit that she would certainly benefit from regular spankings. He had also added in that when she broke a rule, or strayed to a habit she was trying to break, she had to admit it to him immediately, and report for punishment within twenty-four hours, at the first chance both of their schedules allowed. Today was Wednesday, which meant he would be seeing her for maintenance in just over forty-eight hours, if not before.
He had another night shift tonight, and a lot to do before he reported in to work, including a trip into Boulder for groceries, and a coffee pot, among other things. Throwing back the covers, he jumped out of bed just in time to hear his phone start ringing where he had left it downstairs.
“Shit, shit, shit!” Lannea cursed under her breath as she pulled up in front of The Ginger Paddle at half past nine, just in time to see the delivery truck pull away with this weekend’s supplies still in the back. “Crappity, crap, crap!” She fumed, digging her phone out of her purse and hastily dialing up Danny, the delivery driver, hoping to catch him before he got out of Corbin’s Bend.
It took a few tears and some major ass kissing, but she was eventually able to convince him to turn around and come back with her supply of fish for the weekend. It was a good thing too, because Ginger would have killed her if they had missed the shipment. Laney had been out late last night, at Josiah’s until after midnight, and had completely forgotten her cousin’s ob appointment this morning. Normally Ginger would have been the one to meet the truck, but since she was busy, the task had fallen to Laney, and of course she had failed…almost.
She unlocked the door and rushed to the kitchen to begin prep while she waited for Danny to show up. He was the main supplier for a few other restaurants in Corbin’s Bend as well, and he was probably hitting them up first. It would make the lunch rush even more stressful than usual, but she couldn’t complain too much because that little fact was probably the only thing that had saved her ass.
She chopped veggies and sliced avocados, made a twenty pound batch of rice, and was checking her ginger stash when she heard the bell on the door indicate Danny’s arrival.
“Hey, princess,” he called out as he entered. Princess was Danny’s pet name for her. She didn’t like it much, but she did like him so she let it slide. “Where’s the Ginger Queen today?” Danny had a nickname for everyone.
“Doctors appointment,” Laney told him, coming around to help him unload.
“Lucky for you. You know she would have killed you on this one, right?” Danny was in his early twenties with surfer blonde locks, and an easy smile that matched his sense of humor. Laney liked him a lot, and knew he meant no harm. He just called things as he saw them.
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Laney groaned, punching him in the arm.
“Just admit it. I saved your ass, probably literally this time. If you had missed me, I think she might have auctioned off spanking rights to the highest bidder and hired someone to bust your tail!”
Danny didn’t live in the Bend, but he was well aware of the community’s kink and lifestyle preference, and he loved to make spanking jokes. For the most part, they wouldn’t have appreciated the things he said, coming from an outsider, but when Danny said it, it was all in good fun, and everyone knew he meant no harm. Brent swore Danny was a closet spanko who would someday make a home here in Corbin’s Bend. Laney sometimes wondered if he was right, but mostly she thought Danny was just the type of friendly guy who could joke about anything and make friends with anyone.
“Perish the thought!” she told him, signing off on the shipment.
“Yeah, just another reason to be glad you don’t have a man in your life, or you would probably have a real barn burner coming!” Laney glared at him as he backed out of the door and he threw his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I’m just saying— it wasn’t the first time!”
Laney went white as the weight of Danny’s words hit her like a ton of bricks. She did have a man in her life, or a pseudo one at least, and this kind of thing was at the top of the list she had given him on behaviors she wanted his help with.
Still, she reasoned, I don’t have to tell him. We’ve had this agreement for all of what, ten hours? I was asleep for eight of them, so it should hardly count against me. I’m not even fully awake yet.
Of course you have to tell him! If you can’t tell him, he can’t help you and what would have been the point of even letting him spank you in the first place? Oh great, she was talking to herself again. Just great.
See what he does to you? Since when do you talk to yourself? I’ll tell you since when— ever since that crazy hunky cop came into your life and threatened to put you over his knee.
Her inner voice had a point, she had to admit. What it seemed to be forgetting, was that he hadn’t just threatened, he had followed through on his threat and spanked her. And if she admitted this error to him, he would probably do it again.
What was there to think about really? He had handed her everything she wanted, and the one thing she really needed. Why hesitate?
Why Indeed?
“There were extenuating circumstances.” That was the first thing she said when he answered the phone.
“I’m sorry, who is this?” He knew exactly who it was, and he had an inkling why she was calling, but he wasn’t about to put up with bad phone manners. She could address him properly, identify herself when he picked up and speak to him with a modicum of respect. He deserved at
least that much.
He sensed her tension, and could tell she was fighting to keep from responding with a scathing insult or sarcastic remark.
“Josiah, this is Laney, and I’m calling to—”
“I’m sorry this is who?” He was being a bit of an ass, but he had a few rules of his own, and it was better that she recognized right now that he was not playing around.
She sighed audibly, and started over. “Josiah, this is Lannea, and I’m calling to tell you I have something to report.”
“Okay, I’m listening. Let’s hear it.”
“I was forty-five minutes late to work and I almost missed the seafood delivery. Well, actually I did miss it, but I called him, and he came back around.”
Shoot, that didn’t sound good. “What were the extenuating circumstances?”
“I was out late, and I forgot Ginger needed me to meet the truck this morning because she had a doctor’s appointment.”
“Why were you out late?” He was curious if she was trying to make things seem more dire than they were, or if she had gone somewhere else after leaving his place.
Lannea faltered on the other end of the phone, and he could tell she was working hard to keep her cool.
“What do you mean, why was I out late? I was with you!”
“I see.” Josiah kept his tone even and his words to the point. “What time were you supposed to be there this morning?”
“Eight-forty-five which is about two hours earlier than I usually come in!” She was whining a little, and he knew she could see that this wasn’t going to go her way.
“Lannea, it is after ten in the morning, and you left my house before midnight. I’m certain you could have managed to get to work on time to meet the truck.”
“But, I forgot!” Lannea cried pitifully. Josiah had to stifle a laugh. She was really trying to milk the ‘not my fault’ card today. He had news for her. It wasn’t going to work.
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