The Reluctant Au Pair

by Melinda Barron

  “I bet I could spank it out of you.”

  Michelle turned on the flame under the pan, and turned to him. “You could try.”

  “So, you admit there is something.”

  “That’s not what I said.” She backed up, her cheeks heating with embarrassment.

  “That’s exactly what you said. If there were nothing to spank out of you, then you would have said so. Instead, you said I could try.” He rubbed his chin and licked his lips. “After dinner, then. When the house is all locked up and it’s nice and quiet, I’ll get you to talk, and tell me your most intimate secrets. I’m dying to hear them.”

  *****

  She tried to make dinner last, and Alliot didn’t push her. They ate leisurely, sitting before the open French doors in the kitchen area, talking about the day and what they thought would happen next. Alliot felt as if the Thaxtons would be back at some time, but not tonight, and not in the near future.

  “I think there’s more money hidden here,” he said. “I think they’ll come to get it.”

  Michelle, on the other hand, said she felt they would run, and try to set themselves up somewhere else and start stealing money from other people.

  But concentrating on the conversation, and on the events of the day, was hard. She kept thinking about what would happen afterwards, when Alliot would try to spank her secrets out of her. He hadn’t brought the idea up since they’d started eating, but it was right there, on the surface, waiting to come out. When they were done eating, they walked the house together, making sure all the windows were locked, and the contacts for the alarm were in place.

  “Is there other work I need to do,” Michelle asked as they neared her bedroom.

  “Not tonight,” Alliot said.

  “Good. Well, good night then.”

  His hand was gentle on her arm. “I think not. Let’s go into my room, shall we? I didn’t have them wire the balcony doors in there because I like to sleep with them open at night. We’ll use the columns on the porch to conduct my little experiment.”

  “Experiment?”

  “Don’t play stupid, Michelle. And come with me.”

  She thought about saying no, but she knew that wouldn’t do any good. She followed him down the hall, a mixture of fear and excitement mixing inside her. There really was only one thing that she didn’t want anyone to know about. Not even Bea knew, and she would fight to keep it secret.

  But she was afraid that Alliot, using a combination of his lawyerly and spanking skills, would extract the information with ease. All night, she’d been thinking of little things she’d done, that she could feed to him, and hopefully, use to fool him. She had to work at keeping a straight face, and not blushing, or acting guilty. That would be the hard part.

  When they were in his bedroom, he closed the door, then crossed to the balcony and threw open the French doors. It was close to midnight, and there was little moonlight that night. Add that to the fact that he hadn’t turned on the light, and it seemed to bode well for her. He wouldn’t see her face if she blushed.

  “Come here.” His deep command made her shiver, and she crossed to him. He stood at the end of the balcony, which overlooked the gardens.

  Her shivers increased, but she did as he asked.

  “Now, stand right here, facing the gardens. I want you bent over, your legs spread, and your hands on the railing.” He indicated a place in the center of two columns. When she was in place, he gathered her skirt and tucked it into the waistband. Then, he pulled her panties down to her knees.

  She was breathing heavily, her excitement growing. If someone had told her six months ago, even a week ago, that doing this sort of thing would excite her so much, she would have told them they were nuts. But now, standing here half-naked on his balcony, she knew she could get addicted to this, very easily.

  “Now, I will question the witness,” Alliot said, stepping back. “I expect the whole truth, do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “If I think you’re lying to me, your punishment will be severe.”

  The tone of his voice made her wince. “I thought this was a game.”

  “Sort of, but I will not tolerate lying, Michelle. I told you the truth about me, and I expect it out of you, also.”

  “That’s fair,” she said, even as she tried to bury her secret deeper.

  “Have you ever taken anything that wasn’t yours to take?”

  “No.”

  He caressed her behind, his touch soft. He slapped her behind a few times and she moaned softly. “Never? Not even candy when you were a child?”

  “No, that’s the truth.”

  “Good.” Several more soft slaps landed. “Have you ever slept with another woman’s husband?”

  “No.” Several more soft slaps landed. They felt like caresses rather than a spanking, and she knew he was just setting her up for the big one. She should just tell him the truth, she knew. After all, she reminded herself that he’d told her. She could tell him, then she shook her head.

  It was different for her, she thought. Men were expected to do things wrong, but what she’d done wasn’t something she wanted to talk about.

  The sound of his hand slapping her behind filled the air. So far, she hadn’t had to lie to him, and she appreciated that fact.

  “Tell me, Ms. Rawlins, have you ever been broken the law?”

  “No.”

  “Never?” He caressed her behind, his touch soft.

  “No.”

  “Liar.” The slaps were harder this time, and they stung her tender flesh. “You’ve had traffic tickets, I’m sure.”

  “Of course, everyone’s done that.”

  “That’s breaking the law.”

  “Misdemeanor things,” she said, wishing she could take the words back as soon as they were out of her mouth.

  “I see. So, you’ve committed a felony.”

  “No.” The word flew out of her mouth, and the hand caressing her bottom moved away.

  “Now I know you’re lying. Was this something that happened when you were a teen-ager, or after you were an adult?”

  “Nothing happened.”

  “Don’t lie to me. I warned you that lying would bring a severe punishment.”

  She closed her eyes and steeled her resolve against his questions. “I’m not lying.”

  He took a step away, and she heard him undo the buckle on his belt. “If it’s one thing I can’t tolerate, it’s lying. I’m giving you one more chance to tell me the truth.”

  She turned her head and watched him pull his belt from his pant loops, doubling it over in his hand.

  “Alliot, using a belt isn’t a game.”

  “No, it’s not. This isn’t a game anymore. I want know, and I want to know now.” She tired to stand, but he pushed her back down. The belt flew across her ass, the sound filling the air, the sting harsh.

  “Ow!” A second, and then a third strike landed.

  “Tell me.”

  “Stop it! There’s nothing to tell.” The leather hit her again, and she tried once more to move away. But Alliot had moved up next to her, pulling her hip against his thigh so she was partially over his leg.

  Strike after strike landed, and the pain increased. “Did you think I was kidding? Did you think you could lie to me and get away with it?”

  “No!” The belt landed again, the strikes increasing until she cried out for him to stop. Her bottom throbbed, and she wiggled away from him, grabbing the post. Before she could run, though, he pushed her against it, pulling her burning bottom flat against him.

  “I want the truth. Have you ever been arrested?”

  “Yes.” He pushed away from her and landed three strikes on her ass. She cried out and grabbed the post for support.

  “When you were an adult?”

  “Yes.” This time, the belt struck her three times. Michelle had never been spanked with a belt before, and it wasn’t something she was enjoying, or something she wanted to happen again. The
playfulness of the other night’s spanking was gone. This was punishment, and she knew that Alliot was right, he probably could spank the information out of her.

  When Alliot spoke again, his voice was deep, and angry. “Was it a felony?”

  “Yes.” She spat the word out before he could strike her behind again. “Are you satisfied?”

  “Not yet. What was the charge?”

  “It’s none of your business!” The belt came down again, the strikes increasing in intensity as Michelle fought to get away from him. Finally, she cried out for him to stop.

  “Burglary! All right? I was arrested for felony burglary. Are you happy now?”

  Chapter Seven

  “You’re a felon?” Alliot’s voice was low. She couldn’t quite tell if he was disgusted by the news, or if it fascinated him.

  “Not a convicted one. But I was charged as one, yes.” When he took a step back, she sighed in relief.

  “I’m listening.”

  “I’ve never told anyone, not even Bea. The only person in my family who knows is my brother, and that’s because he bailed me out.”

  “Tell me the story.” This time she could tell there was no censure in his voice. “Let’s start with your age when it happened.”

  “Twenty-two. Bea was here, and I didn’t have many other friends, so I started hanging around with this girl in college. She was nice, or so I thought.”

  “For a while, huh?” Alliot had moved to a chair on the balcony and sat down. He indicated one next to it, and Michelle rubbed her sore behind. It throbbed something fierce from the belt strikes, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to sit. Instead she stayed upright, straightened her clothing and leaned her shoulder against a post.

  “Yes. About six months after we became friends, I found out she was seeing one of our professors, a married man. I tried to get her to break it off, but she was convinced he was going to leave his wife. I knew that wasn’t going to happen, because the couple had been married for twenty years. I figure he found himself a new student to bang every once in a while, to make himself happy.”

  “I’m sure you’re right. I can see where this is going.”

  Michelle laughed. “You’re very smart.”

  “Let me guess. She confronted the man’s wife.”

  “Worse. We were driving around one day, and she went by his house. The woman was in the front yard, gardening. Rita stopped the car two houses down. When she got out, I thought she was just going to go and talk to the woman. I tried to stop her.” Michelle sniffled, then looked toward the gardens below them. “She had paint cans in the trunk. When I saw them, I flipped.”

  “I can imagine.” Alliot sat forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “Go on.”

  “She opened them, and the whole time I’m trying to talk her out of it. Then she carried them to the professor’s house. I followed her, trying to grab her arms. She threw the first strike on their car, which was parked in the driveway. Then, she emptied the rest on her flowers. She threw the empty can toward me, and like an idiot, I caught it.”

  “So, you had paint on your hands.”

  “Exactly.” Michelle shook her head. “By this time, the woman was running in the house, to dial 9-1-1. Rita threw paint on the house, on the sidewalk, everywhere, and when the wife came back out, she slapped her and tried to wrestle the phone away from her.”

  “Good heavens above.” Alliot shrugged his shoulders, and Michelle could tell he was fighting back laughter.

  “It’s not funny.”

  “I’m sorry, I just have this image in my mind of a paint-laden cat fight.” He sobered up, and then lifted his gaze to Michelle. “Was the woman hurt?”

  “No. Scratches, that’s all. But Rita was like a mad woman. I tried to pull her off, but by the time the cops got there, it looked like a free for all.”

  “I’m sure it did. What did they charge you with?”

  “Felony assault, felony destruction of property, felony criminal mischief. You name it, they tried to slap it on us.”

  “I’m confused. How did you become a paralegal with a felony record?”

  “Because I don’t have a felony record. I have a misdemeanor one, that was supposedly expunged after a year. They arrested and charged us. I tried to tell them I didn’t know what was happening. Finally, one of the professor’s neighbors told the cops I’d been trying to stop Rita. They dropped all of my charges except criminal mischief, which they reduced to a misdemeanor.”

  “Amazing. And your friend?”

  “Who knows? I attended court hearings, and know that she was put on probation for quite a few years. I lost touch with her after that.”

  “I would hope so.”

  Michelle laughed. “She wasn’t crazy or anything, she was just upset because her lover had informed her that he wouldn’t leave his wife. She wanted a little payback.”

  “Payback can be a frightening thing.”

  “You’re right.” She rubbed her aching bottom through her thin skirt.

  “Come and lie down on the bed, on your stomach.” He moved into the room, and she stayed on the balcony. Soft winds cooled her skin, but not her insides. She wondered what he had in mind with that little statement. He’d never made any sexual move toward her, but still, there was always that chance. And if he did, what would she do?

  Her stomach did a somersault as she stepped just inside the open doors. He walked toward Alex’s room, and then came back with a bottle of lotion.

  “Alliot, I, um…”

  “I’m not suggesting sex. I’m just going to rub some lotion into your backside. I’m sure it’s very sore.”

  “Yes, it is.” She hesitated. “Still, I think…”

  “You must trust me,” he said softly. “Come and do as I ask.”

  The word no rang through her head, but Michelle moved across the room, climbing up onto his huge bed and lying down across it.

  “Bare your bottom.”

  She laughed softly. “I don’t like those words.”

  “I’m sure you don’t. But no more spanking tonight, I promise. Now, give me a bare backside. And, I want you to remember that this could have been avoided if you hadn’t lied to me.”

  She lifted her hips enough to pull her skirt up. He lowered her panties, and then caressed her bottom. She could feel the welts as he passed his fingers over them, and she inhaled sharply. When he placed soothing cream on them, she sighed, and pressed down into the bed.

  “Continuing our conversations,” Alliot said as he rubbed. “You said something that confuses me. You said your record was supposed to be wiped clean. I take it that it wasn’t?”

  “Well, this happened when I was an adult,” Michelle said. “So, I can’t expect the record to be sealed as a juvenile’s would. I guess I honestly thought it wouldn’t show up if someone ran a search, but it did, when I applied for my job.”

  “And?”

  “They listened to my explanation, and of course it showed my conviction on a misdemeanor charge. They took it at face value, and hired me. But, after my boss was caught stealing from the firm, well…”

  “Guilt by association, again.”

  “Exactly.”

  “And that’s really why you haven’t been able to find another job in the legal world.”

  “Yes.” She whispered the word, and he continued to caress the soothing lotion into her bottom, which still ached, but didn’t burn quite so much. “I think they believed me the first time, but having me be at the second scene of a crime, so to speak, made me guilty in their eyes. I didn’t really want to leave home, but I’ve tried other cities. Everywhere I tried turned me down, and I’m sure that’s why.”

  Alliot, who had been sitting on his knees, stretched out next to her, lying on his side and propped on an elbow. “You know, I’m an equal opportunity employer. It occurs to me that with Mrs. Thaxton gone, I’m going to need more help.”

  “I’m not a very creative cook,” Michelle said with a laugh. “You’ll be tired of
the food I make within a week.”

  “Then I’ll just have to teach you to be creative.” He caressed her ass, grabbing a handful and squeezing. “So, I guess what I’m saying is that I’m changing your job status, yet again.”

  “I don’t clean.” She leaned up and looked him in the eyes. “Especially a house this size.”

  “Understood. I’ll find a few girls from the village to come in and clean, if you’ll promise to take care of Alex, continue to help clean up the mess left by Antoine, and feed me.”