by Dinah McLeod
"Honey?" I called. "I'm home." When I heard no answer, I walked through the house, flipping on lights as I went. Then I checked my phone to make sure I hadn't missed a call or text from Cara as I made my way to our bedroom. As I opened the door, I was beginning to think that I was well and truly alone until I saw that the lamp was on. It cast only a dim light, but that was enough for me to see that my wife was kneeling in the corner.
The sight of her literally took my breath away. Her blonde hair was cascading down her back, accentuating the curve of her delicate, feminine shoulders. My eyes traveled down to her slim waist, which tapered back out to reveal an ample but firm, tight ass. She wasn't wearing a stitch, and my heart stopped in my chest—even while my pants became uncomfortably tight.
"Honey?"
When she turned to me, her eyes were demurely cast toward the floor. "Yes, sir?"
My cock swelled, and it was all I could do not to rush her and sweep her up in my arms then and there. "What are you doing?" I said.
"Waiting for you."
Oh, God. My breath was coming in gasps. It had been way too long. "Where's Amber?"
"Out."
"Yeah?" My hands moved to my belt. "Out where?"
"I told her to go to the movies."
"And she listened?" I arched a brow in surprise.
"Well, after I gave her twenty bucks."
"Ah."
"So, I was thinking…"
"Yeah?"
"I mean, I was hoping…" She glanced up at me, then ducked her head, though not before I noticed the color staining her cheeks. "I thought maybe you could spank me."
It took a minute for her words to register and when they did, I was equal parts confused and disappointed. It looked like her being naked and waiting for me might not have the implication I'd been hoping. "I see."
"I mean, you don't have to…"
I couldn't help but smile at the nervous flutter in her voice. Cara was so damn cute. "Come here, honey." I sat down and patted my lap. "Let's talk." God, she was sexy. By the time she'd made it over to me, I had the biggest hard-on in the world. "Now, what's going on?"
"I don't know…"
I hooked a finger under her chin and tilted it up so she was looking at me. "You've obviously put some thought into this, so I'd have to say that you do," I countered. "Now, I can't help you if you don't talk to me."
"Well, that's sort of it, I guess. I mean, just… we haven't really been talking. I haven't been talking."
"So tell me what's on your mind."
"Um, well, I guess it's Amber."
"Uh-huh."
"You know she doesn't like me," she said.
"Amber doesn't know what or who she likes," I said and chuckled.
"Come on, Kevin, this isn't funny to me."
"Okay, you're right. I'm sorry." I schooled my expression. "Go ahead."
"I know she's your sister and I know you love her, but honey, she drives me crazy."
"I see."
"No, it's true. You're being patronizing," she said.
"I am not—"
"You're patronizing me," she insisted, starting to rise.
I caught her around the waist and pulled her back to me. "Sit down, Cara, and say what you're trying to say."
"She's mean to me, okay? In my own house. But even before that, she told me that your parents had gotten married after knowing each other for only three weeks, and that we should go to the courthouse… and then throwing your ex-wife in my face, and now the whole baby thing… and I just can't take it anymore!"
By the time she'd finished speaking her voice had risen to a near-shriek, and if I hadn't been so busy trying to figure out what she was talking about, I would have been sorry I wasn't sitting further away from her. "What?" I said.
"Come on, don't tell me you haven't noticed that she does her best to make me miserable."
"I need you to slow down, babe. Let's try this again. What did you say about my parents?"
"It's nothing," she whispered.
I frowned as she dropped her eyes again and turned away. "You look at me right now, Cara Sims. Now, tell me what you were saying."
"It's… well, when I first met her, Amber told me about your parents, and how they'd had this whirlwind romance—kind of like us, I guess. And she sort of made it sound like, well, like you'd want to get married the same way they did."
"What are you saying to me right now?" I asked, genuinely perplexed. "Are you telling me that Amber convinced you to marry me?"
"No, of course not. I wanted to marry you."
"But Amber… she was the reason you just had to get married right away?" I clarified.
"Well, it sounds pretty bad when you put it that way, but yeah, I guess."
I paused, trying to take it all in. "You told me that you'd never been more sure of anything in your life."
Cara squirmed in my lap, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
"Why did you wait so long to tell me this? Hell, why didn't you tell me six months ago, when it happened?"
"I-I didn't realize… I thought she was my friend."
Confusion gave way to anger and suddenly, I was seething—though I wasn't sure whom I was angrier with; Cara, for keeping this secret from me, or Amber, for being her usual bratty, manipulative self. She'd been playing Daddy's little girl and going unchecked for so long that I doubted she even knew such behavior was wrong.
I didn't speak until I was sure I could keep my frustration under control. "It seems to me like right after we got married, you started being distant. Am I to understand that this is the reason why?"
"I'm sorry," she blurted. "I never meant to let that happen. I just… I was so shocked, and I felt tricked…"
"But not by me."
"I know. I'm really sorry, Kevin. I shouldn't have pulled away like that."
"No, you shouldn't have," I agreed. "And more importantly, you should have talked to me about it."
"I know."
"Do you, Cara? Do you understand that we have to come first? No matter what?" I said.
"I-I'm starting to, I think."
"Good. Now, tell me the rest."
"The rest?" she echoed weakly.
"Come on, Cara. I don't pretend to think I know everything about you, but I've learned a few things. You're wound tighter than a spring right now, and if that had been everything, you would be more relaxed by now. So, come on, out with it."
She was slow to get started, and stammered at first, but once she'd begun she picked up steam, and soon I was getting the full story about how Amber had worked to forge a false friendship, seemingly all so she could be the one to drop the devastating bombshell that I'd been married before. I swallowed hard upon hearing it, feeling awful that my sister had used my own cowardice to hurt my wife.
"I can't apologize for that enough," I murmured, kissing her silky head.
"I know, I know, I wasn't trying to… we've already talked about that."
"I know, and you were unbelievably forgiving, but I just want you to know, I'd pay any amount for a time machine so I could go back and do things differently. To be honest, I was afraid I'd lose you once you knew, and then it seemed ridiculous that I'd waited so long to tell you."
"You could never lose me," she said, snuggling close.
I tightened my arms around her gratefully, inhaling the sweet, flowery scent of her shampoo. "Is that why you and Amber are so at odds?"
"Well, it's part of it," she admitted.
"What's the rest?"
"Ah, well… You know she got here before I got off work… and I guess she was snooping through my stuff," Cara began.
"I see. And what did she find?"
"Um, a pregnancy test. It was negative," she rushed to assure me.
"Thank God." I immediately regretted my words when I saw how Cara blanched. "I mean, that would be great," I said quickly. "One day. But do you really think we're ready now?"
"I don't know," she mumbled.
"I promise, I do wan
t a family with you, honey. But to be honest; I don't think I'm ready. Not yet."
"Are you sure?"
The doubt in her voice nearly broke my heart. "Of course I'm sure, baby. Don't you believe me?"
"Of course I do," she said, in a small, little-girl voice as she sniffled. "It's just… well, Amber said…"
"Oh, let me guess," I groaned. "Go ahead."
"She said… well, she acted like… like you didn't want a baby with me." Her sentence ended with a sob and I scooped her up, cradling her in my arms.
"That's not true," I whispered, kissing her forehead. "That's not true at all, and Amber knows it."
"Then why would she say something like that?"
"Because she's jealous."
"Of what?" she asked.
"Of you, my beautiful bride."
"Me?" She uttered an incredulous laugh. "Why would she ever be jealous of me?"
"Oh, Cara." I sighed. "When will you ever see what everyone else does? Because you're beautiful and smart and successful. Because you're kind and tender-hearted on top of all of that. Amber is jealous of anyone she thinks might be better than her—she has to be Queen Bee in every situation. Even with my wife, it would seem. And if she thinks you might somehow have something she doesn't, well…"
"You really think all those things? About me?"
I hugged her as tight as I could. "You're all that and so much more," I promised, kissing her right on the lips.
Our kiss was passionate and deep, not to mention long overdue. When we pulled apart, she had the smallest of smiles curving her lips, and some of the light was back in her eyes.
"Now it's my turn to tell you something," I said.
"Mmm?"
"You know that Karen and I were married for three years. Obviously, we haven't really talked about it, and there's a reason for that. It's painful for me to remember."
"Kevin, you don't have to—"
"Yes, I do. I should have told you all of this already. The thing is, Karen and I were very happy together. It's strange to say that, considering, but we were. We weren't planning on starting a family anytime soon—she was happy with her career, and we were enjoying being just the two of us. But when she got pregnant, we were excited and immediately started making plans. Then, when she lost the baby… well, everything changed."
"Oh, God, Kevin. I'm so sorry. I had no idea," Cara said.
"You couldn't have."
"That must have been awful."
"It was. I was sad, too, but Karen… she changed after that. It seemed like no matter what I did, it upset her. She stopped going to work, and more often than not, I'd come home and find her crying in the dark. I wanted to work through it, I would have done anything…"
"So what happened?"
"She left me. She said it wasn't me, but I've always thought that there must have been something I could have done, something I should have said to bring her back to me."
"I'm sure that isn't true."
"Well…" I smiled sadly and shrugged, "it was a long time ago, and there's no sense in speculating. But I still should have told you, and I'm sorry I didn't."
"It's all right."
"I hope you understand now why I want to wait. I guess I've been afraid of history repeating itself."
"I love you." She didn't say anything else, but curled up on my lap and let me hold her. I caressed her hair, lost in my memories, until I heard her soft voice pipe up. "Are you still going to spank me?"
"Do you still want me to?"
"Not really. I mean, I know it'll hurt… but I think maybe you should."
"Why's that?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"Because I was disrespectful the other day. I could tell you wanted to spank me, but you didn't, and everything has felt 'off' between us lately. I thought that maybe… maybe if you spanked me, things might get back on track."
"Okay."
"Okay?" she echoed, a strain of nervousness creeping into her voice.
"Yes, I think you're right. Put yourself over my lap, babe," I told her.
She looked at me with wide eyes, nervously biting her lip. It took everything I had not to remind her that she'd asked for the spanking, but I didn't think she'd appreciate being teased right now. I was patient, however, and though she took it slowly, eventually she was lying face-down over my lap. I readjusted her until her bottom was in prime spanking position before resting my hand on her backside. She flinched at my touch and I couldn't help but chuckle. "I haven't even started yet, honey," I said gently.
"Well, hurry up so it can be over."
"Just remember that you asked for it."
***
Cara
I'd already started to regret asking for the spanking before it even started. I regretted it even more when he began to pepper my bottom with quick, light spanks that quickly turned serious. I squirmed as my skin began to heat up, whimpers escaping my lips when the warmth intensified. "Ow!" I moaned, after a particularly hard spank to my thigh. "It hurts!"
"I know, baby."
"I've had enough!" I screeched, as more hard spanks fell on my thighs.
"You said you wanted to make this right," Kevin reminded me without pausing. "And that means that I decide when this spanking is over." As if to make his point, his hand seemed to become harder than ever as it connected with my tender orbs.
"I know!" I whined. "But does it have to be so hard?"
"I'm afraid so, honey." He picked up speed and before long, all that could be heard in the room was the loud smack of his hand against my bottom and my gasps and grunts of pain.
I wasn't able to remain silent. Soon, I was sniffling as the heat in my buttocks intensified. As his hand smacked again and again, my sniffles became tears, which then morphed into sobs. The fire he'd stoked in my backside scorched so deep I doubted I'd ever sit comfortably again. And when he stopped and let me sit up—I cried out the moment my tender rear hit his hard thigh—I said as much.
"Oh, baby," he said, chuckling as he kissed my tears away. "You ain't seen nothing yet."
"That sounds promising," I grumbled.
"Look, sweetheart, I know you asked for this spanking, and I appreciate you wanting to get back on the right foot. But if you don't want to do this going forward, I understand. We'll find another way to make things work."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but… I think this works for us," I admitted.
"Yeah?" He grinned down at me.
"Yeah. As strange as it sounds, as much as my butt hurts right now, I feel better. I know it doesn't make any sense, but…"
"It does to me," he assured me, hugging me tight. "You're a very special girl, Cara Sims. You know that?"
"So I've been told." I giggled.
"Well, I'll tell you again. Hell, I'll tell the whole damn world."
I smiled up at him, feeling more relaxed than I had in weeks. I was really glad that he'd insisted I open up to him, glad that he'd opened up in return. And I'd meant what I said; as painful as the spanking had been, I felt closer to him than ever.
"I love you," Kevin told me, his brown eyes warm and full of light as he looked at me.
I tilted my head up, and he obliged by kissing me. I was about to answer him when I heard the front door creak open. Immediately I felt myself tense, knowing that Amber was back.
"Shh, don't you worry about her. I don't want you to worry about a thing, understand?" he said.
"Yes, sir."
"I like the way that sounds on your lips, babydoll." He planted another kiss on my lips. "Now, excuse me for a moment."
"Wait." I clung to his shirt, shaking my head. "Please, don't. Not tonight. Stay with me."
"Cara—"
"Please," I begged piteously.
"Not tonight," he conceded finally. "But I will deal with this, understand?"
"I understand. Just stay with me tonight." I leaned forward and kissed him, nibbling his bottom lip playfully. "Besides, I see you so rarely these days, I'd almost forgotten what you t
aste like."
"Well, what do you say we rectify that?" He scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the bed before playfully tossing me onto the mattress. When he reached for me, I scrambled away laughing. His eyes were full of excitement as he proceeded to chase me around our room, but we both knew he would win in the end. We both knew that I wanted to be caught.
***
When I woke up the next morning I rolled over to see that the space beside me was empty. I patted it and smiled, remembering how wonderful the previous night had been. I still felt deliciously satisfied and dearly loved. Stretching out on the bed, I enjoyed a few more minutes under the covers, unable to stop smiling. It had been too long since we'd had that kind of evening, and I hoped to repeat it soon—very soon. Maybe even this morning, in fact.
With that in mind, I threw the duvet back and found my black satin robe—Kevin could never resist touching me when he saw me in it. I was humming to myself as I opened the door and began to walk down the hallway, but fell silent when I heard the sound of raised voices.
"I don't know why you're being so mean to me! I didn't do anything!" Amber was whining.
"Yeah? Well, my wife's telling a different story. Why don't you take a guess as to who I believe?"
"This is so unfair! I've never done anything to her! Come on, Kevin—"
"Can it, Amber. I know you better than that, so you can stop the crocodile tears, too. I grew up with you, remember?"
"Kevin, I swear, I didn't—"
"I'm not Mom, okay? I'm not buying it. I let you stay in my house out of the kindness of my heart, and you abused that kindness. So now it's time for you to go home." His voice was firm.
"Maybe Cara just misunderstood—"
"Amber, please don't stand here and lie to my face. She didn't misunderstand, and you and I both know it, okay?"
I held my breath as I waited to see what his sister would say. She didn't reply for a long time and when she did, her voice had risen several octaves.
"You know, I don't get you, Kev! How could you just come in here and attack me like this? There are two sides to every story, and you didn't even ask for mine!"
