“We’ll deal with your car tomorrow. Tonight you have more important things to concern yourself with.” He drove home in silence, never even looking at her.
The cool evening air sobered her up a little and by the time they pulled into his driveway, Rylie was getting nervous.
“I’d prefer it if you took me back to my place,” she declared.
The look he gave her would have turned an angel to stone.
“I don’t give a damn what you’d prefer,” he said through clenched teeth. “Get out of the car and get in the house. Right now.”
She stumbled again on the flagstone path, but this time he only stared at her coldly as he unlocked the front door. She stepped inside.
“Take off your clothes.”
“Screw you!”
“You agreed to follow my rules. You’ve been drinking. You lost your temper. You’ve been cussing at me. You’re getting a spanking—and you’re getting it naked. So take off your clothes. Now.”
Rylie turned to head back out the door, but Sullivan caught her by the arm.
“Oh, no, you don’t. You’re not running away. You can’t pretend this never happened. You gave me your word. I trusted you and you let me down. Well, I gave you my word on something and I don’t ever go back on it. You’re getting your ass spanked—right now. So either you take off that dress or I’ll rip it off you.”
“Fine.” She slid out of the dress in one smooth movement and stood before him, trying to look dignified in black lace bra and panties, teetering in her sky-high red heels.
“And the rest.”
Unlike other times, his eyes bore no hint of arousal as he stared at her half-naked body. Rylie swallowed nervously as she began to realize the depth of his anger. She unhooked her bra and stepped out of the panties.
“Take off those ridiculous heels too.”
Uh-oh. This was getting serious. He never wanted her to take her shoes off.
“Get upstairs.”
Hesitantly Rylie started up the stairs to the master bedroom.
“I want you bending over the bed with that ass sticking up in the air when I get there.” He disappeared down the hall toward the office.
Sick with dread, Rylie arranged her body over the side of the high bed, closing her eyes as she did so. She gave herself a pep talk, trying to muster up some righteous indignation. What right did he have to show up unexpectedly after breaking their date and then expect her to meekly go along with this ridiculous arrangement they had? She debated marching back down the stairs and demanding once again that he take her home, but the room was suddenly spinning around a little. She realized the champagne had hit her much harder than she’d been aware of, probably because she’d been too upset to eat much for the last two days.
She heard a sound behind her, then felt her wrists seized in an iron grip.
“I’m tying you down this time, Rylie. You’re not going to like what you have coming.”
He slipped the leather straps over her wrists one at a time, stretching her arms wide and fastening them to the log posts at the head and foot of the bed. When he pulled them tight, her feet came up off the floor, leaving her sprawled out across the bed. He moved swiftly, looping more straps around her ankles and securing them to the lower supports of the huge bed. She was spread out like a starfish, hands and feet wide apart, her naked ass poised right over the edge of the high mattress.
There was no lecture, no warning, no warm-up. She heard the crack, then screamed as she felt the fire searing her backside. Dimly she realized he was using the thick wooden paddle that he’d used the first time he spanked her. It covered her entire bottom with each stroke.
This time there was no break between each vicious whack. The blows came swift and hard, pummeling her ass with furious energy. Rylie strained against the leather straps but her body was held immobile, open to whatever punishment Sullivan chose to inflict.
He’d never spanked her like this before. Every other session paled in comparison. She knew what it was like to feel the agonizing bite of the hairbrush. But Rylie realized he’d been easy on her up till now. By the fifth stroke, she was crying openly, not even trying to hide her anguish.
The bitter tears had no effect on Sullivan. He paddled her relentlessly. Before long, Rylie was begging and pleading for him to stop. Between sobs, she promised to reform, to stop drinking forever, to do anything if only he would end this torment.
“Too late.” Sullivan’s voice was cold. “We had an agreement. I trusted you, Rylie, and you broke my trust. Now you’re going to pay the consequences.”
“I’m sorry, Sullivan. I’m so sorry. But you left and… Please, please stop.”
“I’m just getting started.”
A stab of fear shot through her at those words. She couldn’t take any more. Her entire bottom was aflame.
There was no spot he’d left untouched and now the harsh whacks of the paddle were striking the same places over and over. She quit fighting the restraints. Her body sagged into the bed as her entire world narrowed to the size of one long wooden board cracking mercilessly against her tender cheeks. Rylie buried her head in the comforter and cried as she had never cried before.
“Why?”
She barely heard his voice through her racking sobs. He’d put down the paddle and was sitting on the bed near her head.
“Why, Rylie? We were getting along so well together—everything was going great. Why did you get drunk?”
“You… you left me,” she hiccupped between the sobs that racked her body. “You don’t care.”
“I went away for a weekend,” he said angrily. “For God’s sake, can’t I trust you to behave yourself for even a couple of days?”
She dissolved into tears again, shaking her head from side to side. “You don’t understand.”
“You’re right. I don’t understand why you did it. But that’s no excuse for your behavior.” Sullivan sighed heavily. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe it’s time for you to be the understanding one? I flew home early because I was anxious to see you, to be with you. And what did I find? You were drunk, about to spill some nasty secrets to a virtual stranger and get your ass into trouble again. You haven’t learned a damn thing, have you?”
He reached over and began untying her wrists. “I’m mad as hell right now, Rylie, and if I stay here, I may say or do something I’ll regret. I can’t deal with you anymore tonight.” He moved down to untie her ankles, then turned away. “I’m going downstairs to work for a couple of hours.”
Rylie heard his angry footsteps pounding down the stairs and curled into a ball of misery on the bed. Her head was pounding from the unaccustomed champagne, her ass was raw with pain and her heart—her heart was torn. He’d come back early to be with her? Whether he wanted her to meet his son or not, that had to count for something.
Maybe Sullivan was right. Maybe it was time for her to show a little understanding. The man had a child. He had responsibilities. She’d been petty and unreasonable, expecting him to think only of her wants, her needs. She’d never considered the idea that he might miss her too, that the separation would be as hard on him as it was on her.
Rylie felt small. Instead of being there for Sullivan when he came home, she’d thought only of herself. She tried to imagine how differently the evening would have turned out if she’d been sober and in control of herself, greeting him with a warm smile, encouraging him to talk about the time he’d spent with his son, showing interest in his life. She lay awake for hours, miserable and more alone than ever. Sullivan never returned.
* * *
Sullivan headed back down the stairs, so furious he couldn’t trust himself to be with her any longer. I’m damn glad I came home early and found out what she’s really like, he fumed. She can’t even be trusted to behave decently for 48 hours if I’m not around. And to think I was really going to ask her to marry me.
He stormed around the room, so angry he wanted to punch a hole in the wall. I was right not t
o get involved with anyone after Caroline died. There will never be anyone like her in my life again. He picked up a picture of the two of them from the table near the sofa, remembering the day it had been taken. Caroline was smiling into the camera, so happy, so alive, never dreaming that she’d be diagnosed just weeks later with pancreatic cancer. It was a vicious disease, taking her from a beautiful, healthy wife and mother to a pain-wracked shell in only two months. In the end, he’d prayed for death to take her, spare her from any more suffering.
Neill held the picture, his hands trembling. He remembered that they had a huge fight later on the day that photo was taken. He’d given her one of the hardest spankings he’d ever delivered, only to find out that he had jumped to conclusions and acted without getting all the facts first. She hadn’t done anything wrong and she’d tried over and over to tell him so. All the while he’d been walloping her ass, lecturing her. He’d stormed out of their bedroom, just like tonight. Then later, after getting the phone call from a friend that uncovered his mistake, he crept back into the room, finding Caroline curled up on the bed where she’d fallen asleep in tears. He knelt down beside the bed, stroking her long blond hair.
“I’ve been an asshole,” he confessed. “I’m so sorry. I should have believed you when you said you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one who deserves to have my ass whipped. Can you forgive me?”
Caroline opened her eyes. “I don’t lie to you,” she whispered. “I never have.”
“I know that. I’ve always known that. It’s this terrible temper I have. It gets the best of me sometimes and I act without thinking.”
“You’re a good man, Neill. I know you are. But there’s no excuse for the way you treated me tonight. You have to get control of your temper or it will destroy your life—our life.”
“You’re right, baby. I’m so very sorry.”
“Promise me, Neill. Promise you’ll remember this night every time you feel like you’re losing your temper. Promise me you’ll be the man I know you can be—and I’ll forgive you.”
He’d done it. For years, he’d kept an iron fist of control over his own temper. It was his nasty secret—the fact that deep down he had just as much of a hair-trigger temper as Rylie did. But over the years he’d learned to stop and think before speaking or acting. He learned to pass on that third drink no matter how good a time he was having because liquor eroded his self-control. He prided himself on conquering his nasty character flaw.
When he met Rylie, got that expletive-laden call from her, he impulsively decided to take on the project of teaching her how to exercise the same self-control—with the help of some hot spanking sessions. I pretended I was an x-rated version of Professor Henry Higgins and Rylie was my Eliza Doolittle, a little self-help project with benefits, he realized. But like the famous character he aspired to be, Sullivan was taken by surprise. From the beginning, she’d gotten under his skin like no woman ever had since Caroline. He’d fallen deeply in love with her. Then tonight, all his excitement, all his plans to surprise Rylie with a romantic proposal had been smashed when he found her half-drunk, gossiping without considering the consequences, acting in ways that were so self-destructive. He’d lost his temper again, acting without thinking, spanking her without listening first or considering her side of things.
Neill stared at the picture, feeling sick. I’ve been an asshole again, he told Caroline. I insist on truth but I lied to Rylie. I stood her up on a night that was special for her. I was thinking only of myself, of what I wanted. I could have waited, flown out to Boston some other weekend. But I was so nervous and excited about asking her to marry me that I wanted to do it right away. I never stopped to consider her feelings or her needs. Then I got angry because she gave in to a weak moment, never taking responsibility for the fact that she’d never have done that if I hadn’t let her down first. He sank down on the couch with his head in his hands.
* * *
She tiptoed through the silent rooms and found him sprawled on the living room sofa still in his dress shirt and pants, fast asleep. The room was dark, save for the glowing rainbow of neon lights on the jukebox. Kneeling on the rug in front of him, she smoothed back a lock of hair and kissed his forehead.
“I’m so sorry, Neill,” she whispered, tears running down her cheeks. “I’m sorry I let you down.”
He stirred and opened his eyes.
“You’re right,” she confessed. “I haven’t been thinking of you, of your needs and wants, only of myself. What I did was stupid. I deserved the spanking you gave me… and I still have five whacks coming for cussing at you.” Hands trembling, she held out the hairbrush. “Will you spank me—and then will you forgive me?”
He reached out and gathered her into his arms. His lips met hers, hard and desperate.
“I’m the one who should apologize,” he murmured. “I lied to you, Rylie. It was my idea to fly to Boston, not Adam’s. I needed to see him, talk to him about something important. But I have no right to insist on truth from you if I can’t hold to the same standard of behavior. And then, to make things worse, I lost my temper tonight, after requiring that you never give way to yours. That’s inexcusable.”
He looked into her eyes. “I behaved badly, Rylie. I know I hurt your feelings. I’m so sorry. Will you forgive me?”
Rylie’s heart soared. “Yes. Yes, I forgive you. We both made mistakes… and like you’ve said before, that just proves we’re human. “
He kissed her again, long and deep. But she was brought back to earth with a thud when he stopped and yanked her over his lap.
“Now I’ll spank you,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “You sure as hell deserve it. Five whacks for calling me an asshole. Count ‘em.”
The hairbrush landed on her ass and Rylie shuddered. But she could take the spanking better than she could take his turning away from her. To her surprise, instead of the painful smacks she was dreading, his touch was light, gentle. He followed each mild smack with long caresses to her hot ass and hotter pussy, turning the spanking into an act of love. She counted, her voice breaking with tears of relief at his tenderness.
When she got to five, she slid off his lap and got to her knees again in front of him. Hands shaking, she unzipped his trousers and pulled out his cock. Sullivan made no move to stop her, nor did he assist. He simply sat there, staring down at her, his expression unreadable.
Rylie took him in her mouth, hard and fast and wild. She sucked greedily and was rewarded with hearing him moan. Feverishly, she fumbled with his pants, pulling them off and tossing them aside. Running her hand down between his legs, she cupped his balls, licking and sucking her way down his rigid shaft.
When his body began to quiver, she made a soft noise of satisfaction deep in her throat and took his entire length into her mouth. He grabbed her head in both hands and began pumping his hips in and out, fucking her mouth. She sucked harder. When he came, he let out a harsh cry. Rylie swallowed every drop, licking him clean and kissing up and down the shaft.
Sullivan slid down off the couch onto the soft rug, pulling Rylie into his arms and holding her tight.
“I missed you so much, baby,” he whispered, nuzzling his head into her neck. “I wished you were there with me the whole time. I caught an early flight back here to be with you.”
“I know that now,” she murmured. “I’m so sorry I acted the way I did. It was stupid and thoughtless. I deserved both of those spankings… and probably more. Will you forgive me?”
“Only if you forgive me for lying to you and disappointing you on your special night. I had no right to behave the way I did, Rylie. When we first got together, I promised myself I’d never spank you out of anger. But tonight, I broke that vow. I walked into the club and saw you drinking, heard you just about to spill some nasty secrets… I was so hurt, Rylie, that everything we’ve had together these past few months seemed to mean nothing to you—that you could throw it all away so thoughtlessly.”
“You were hurt?”
She pulled away and stared at him, shocked. Somehow, Rylie hadn’t thought of that. She knew he was angry but hadn’t realized that her actions had the power to hurt him.
“Do you think you’re the only one who has feelings, Rylie? You’ve spent so much time guarding yours, putting up walls to keep everyone out. You haven’t looked around to see that the walls you’ve erected this time might be right over the heart I was holding out to you.”
He rolled over on his side and looked at her. “You aren’t the only one who has been hurt in life, Rylie. Ten years ago I lost the woman I loved. She left me in the cruelest way. She didn’t run off with some other guy. For that I could have hated her. She left me in a gut-wrenching torrent of pain and suffering. And I had to stand there and watch. I was powerless.
“For a long time, I cursed God and pitied myself. Left alone, with a young son to raise, the woman I loved gone from my side forever. Then for years, I was simply numb. But eventually I began to look upon our time together as a blessing, Rylie. Caroline taught me about love—how to give it and how to receive it. And when you came along, so sexy and beautiful, so intelligent, so outspoken, but oh, so stubborn—well, first you awakened my cock, but then you awakened my heart.”
His eyes bore into hers. “I love you, Rylie Duncan. I think I fell in love with you the first night in my office when you did that ridiculous karate chop and tried to grab my phone. You were scared and angry, but you were determined not to give up without a fight.”
He kissed her again. “You’re strong and independent—but you love it when I take control.”
“Yes, I love it—and I love you too.” There. She’d said it.
“I know.”
“What? How could you possibly know that? I never told you before.”
“Rylie, you think you’re hiding behind a wall. But that wall is nothing more than a curtain—a flimsy curtain. And anyone who truly cares about you can see right through it. I know you love me. I’ve just been waiting for you to figure that out.
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