Her tears now became less silent and she hiccupped noisily, trying to get her emotions under control. “I’m sorry,” she repeated brokenly.
He sighed and raked his fingers through his hair.
“Go into the bedroom, Meg.”
Her head jerked up and she stared at him, wide-eyed.
“Yes, Meg. Go. Go and take off your dress and your panties and wait for me in there.”
“But—”
“No buts, Meg. I told you what would happen if you didn’t learn to take sensible precautions and tonight has been wrong on so many levels.”
“But, Luke—”
“I said no buts, Meg. And the more you’re putting this off, the worse you’re making it for yourself.”
She got up. Somehow, being told to go and ready herself for what she knew was going to be a horrible experience was worse than if he were to take her there himself.
“Where will you be?” she asked quietly.
“I’ll be along in a while,” he said equally quietly. “Right now, I’m still angry with you and I won’t spank you while I’m this angry. Go wait for me in the bedroom like I told you and I’ll be in when I’m ready.”
A fresh batch of tears began to roll down her cheeks at his words, as she realised just how badly she had broken the trust he’d placed in her and she fled to the bedroom.
* * * * *
A good half hour had passed before she heard his footsteps approach the bedroom door. In that half an hour she’d been sitting on the bed, naked, knees drawn to her chest, contemplating how badly this evening had gone wrong, how she could have misjudged things so much. Under the influence of the wine that had been so forthcoming, she knew she had lost sight of how manipulative Ramone could be in using situations to his advantage. Luke was right, there was no way she could have fought him off in that dark street; her only chance would have been to hope somebody heard her shouts for help.
As he opened the bedroom door she looked up and her eyes met his. The signs of the anger she knew he had felt earlier had waned, but had been replaced by disappointment. She didn’t know what she would rather face, his anger or his disappointment. The fact that she was the cause of either made her feel miserable.
“You know why I’m doing this?” he asked.
She nodded mutely.
He walked over to the dresser and, from the bottom drawer, withdrew two objects. As he turned back to her and she saw what was in his hands her eyes flew up to his and she gasped, “Luke, no.”
His expression remained grim.
“Yes, Megan. I warned you what would happen. You chose to disregard that warning.”
In his left hand he was grasping a worn looking leather belt and also an evil looking wooden paddle, with small holes drilled into it, the reasons for which she could not imagine.
“But—”
“Enough, Megan. Evidently, the memory of my hand on your bottom wasn’t enough, so you’ve brought this on yourself. The paddle was good enough for me when I was a boy, so we’ll see if it’s helpful in teaching you the common sense lessons that most children are sensible enough to abide by.”
Her eyes were transfixed by the objects and a cold sweat began to break out over her body. She hadn’t really thought he would do this. His hand, yes. But this was different. She’d felt the imprint of his hand throughout the day following her last spanking. This would be so much worse.
“I’m going to give you thirty strokes with the paddle for failing to call to let anyone know you were going to be late. Over three hours late, in fact. And then you’ll get the same number with the belt for your refusal to take any sort of precautions to keep yourself safe with Ramone tonight.”
He couldn’t mean it. He just couldn’t. There was no way she would be able to take all that. She’d break in two, she knew it.
She shrank back into the pillows.
“Get up Megan and bring me those pillows.”
He stood there, waiting, not budging from the spot, but watching the emotions pass over her face. She really was an open book at times. He ached to go to her, to hold her and comfort her, tell her that she was forgiven and throw the paddle and belt to one side. But he knew that he couldn’t. She was his responsibility now and he had to put a stop to her disregard for her own safety. At first, he hadn’t been able to believe his own eyes tonight when he’d seen the state she was in, clearly drunk and unsuccessfully fending off Ramone. She was pretty sober now though, he thought grimly.
Finally, she rose to her feet, naked as the day she was born and moved round the bed towards him, picking up one of the soft, thick pillows as she went and nervously offering it to him.
Slowly, he plucked it from her grasp and placed it towards the foot of the bed.
“I want you to bend over the foot of the bed, Meg,” he instructed, “the pillow will support you.”
She stood there, blinking.
“Meg,” he warned.
She moved to the bed, her face flaming as she realised she was effectively placing herself on display to him, but nonetheless submitting to his instructions, bending over so that her bottom was turned upwards to him and resting her chest and arms on the bed.
Firmly, but gently, he adjusted her, moving the pillow under her so that her bottom was properly pushed upwards to him and at the right angle for his ministrations. He also spread her legs slightly, so that she was steadier in her position. Although he knew the spanking would hurt her, he didn’t want to risk injuring her if she lost her balance.
“Okay, Meg,” he said, “I know this is going to hurt you, but I’m here and I love you. You understand that?”
He could see her trembling, but she said nothing.
“Meg,” he said. “Answer me.”
“Yes, I... I know,” she replied haltingly.
“Okay. Meg, I want you to count these for me. You have thirty with the paddle. After each one, you count aloud.”
Although she was silent, he could see her nodding. Well, that was good enough for now, he thought. Though in future he’d tell her that when he asked her a question she was to answer him properly.
“There’s no warm-up, Meg,” he warned her. “Your last spanking was your warm up, as I’d hoped there would be no reason to do this.”
With no further ado, he brought the paddle down with a crack across her buttocks and she shrieked, “Owww.... Owwww... Luke, no!” and made to get up from her position.
With one firm hand on her lower back he held her in her position.
“No moving, Meg. This is your punishment and you will stay put for it all. Now what number was that?”
“But Luke, it hurts too much, I can’t deal with it, it’s too much,” she wailed, the burn from the first stroke still rising through her buttocks.
“What number, Meg?” he repeated.
“Luke, this isn’t right, you don’t understand, I’m not strong enough for this.”
He was silent for a few long seconds. “It’s not for you to say whether or not you’re strong enough for this, Meg. I’ll be the judge of that. You told me you trusted me. Well, that needs to include trusting me to know how much of this you can or can’t take. Understand?”
Her silence went on for longer than his, but she didn’t attempt to move again.
He waited.
Eventually, she whispered, “Yes, sir.”
He silently breathed out a long sigh of relief.
“What number, Meg?”
“One.”
“Okay. Now I want the number of each stroke. If you don’t, you’ll force me to repeat the stroke. Understand?”
“Yes, sir”
He brought the paddle down again and she screamed. Too late, she realised what those little holes in the wood were for, as she could hear the air whistle through them as it cracked down with a sting on her flesh.
“Two, sir.”
Again and again, the paddle came down and her buttocks were turned a bright shade of pink and she was sobbing out her pain, not j
ust the pain from the paddle but also the pain she’d been nursing since he brought her home, her guilt and abhorrence for her own actions this evening.
At twenty, she thought she would never sit again, as he continued to rain the paddle over her, turning his attention to the tops of her thighs. In distress, she reached back with her hands, to try to protect herself from the evil instrument.
He grasped her wrists and pinned them above her head, holding them against the mattress. “No, Meg, what did I tell you before?”
At thirty, at last he threw the paddle to one side and sat on the bed next to her, stroking her tear stained face gently.
With a huge sob, she turned to him, wanting to be cuddled close to him, but he stopped her and gently put her back in position.
“We haven’t finished yet, Meg. You know that.”
“But I can’t.”
“Yes, you can, Meg. Are you telling me you don’t think you deserve it? That what you did tonight was somehow excusable?”
As her tears continued to fall, she slowly shook her head.
He looked at her bottom that was now glowing red, but he knew that it hadn’t really been enough to instill the lesson he needed her to learn; he knew that the red glow would subside relatively quickly, whereas he needed her to remember this so it would put a stop to her foolhardy behaviour.
He got up and grasped the belt firmly in his grip, looping it so that the metal buckle was encased in his hand and wouldn’t inadvertently harm Megan.
“Okay, Megan. You know there are thirty of these and then we’re done.”
He could see her lips trembling and the tears falling before he even touched her as she nodded quietly.
He brought the belt down quickly with a crack over her buttocks and she screeched as she felt the worn leather bite into her sore, already tender flesh, but by now she knew better than to try to move or stop the punishment.
“One,” she mumbled, her mouth biting down on one of the other pillows that he had placed near her head.
Quickly, the belt fell down over her buttocks and thighs, lining them with angry stripes that he knew she would feel for days. He was careful to make sure he never quite hit the same spot twice, as he could see the places where the belt had made its impact turning a plum purple colour.
“Thwack, thwack, thwack,” the belt continued to do its work and although the fierce heat and pain that was rising through her, Megan obediently continued to count for him, the fight having drained out of her as she accepted her fate.
Never again, Megan thought to herself. She would never be so stupid again. Her bottom was throbbing and she knew she genuinely wouldn’t be able to sit for days. Her counting now was automatic, with the words coming out of her mouth, although slightly incoherently, but she had no idea what she was saying.
Just as she thought she really couldn’t take any more, the bite of the belt falling on her stopped and all she was left with was the throbbing of her bottom that she was sure was at least twice its usual size now, it felt so swollen.
She heard him throw the belt to the floor to the side of the bed and she was scooped up in his arms and carried to the head of the bed where he lay down, carefully spreading her on top of him to protect her bottom.
He cuddled her to him, murmuring words of comfort to her through her sobs and stroking her back in long soothing motions. Carefully, he caught at the loose strands of her hair that were caught over her face, melding to her wet cheeks and gently pushed them back behind her ears.
He looked at her, taking in her blotchy cheeks and red eyes and sighed. Carefully, he moved out from under her.
She protested. She hadn’t even realised how badly she was clinging to him until he tried to move.
“Sh,” he said, “it’s okay. I’ll only be a second.”
Reluctantly, she eased her fierce grasp on his now wet shirt, wet from her tears.
She heard him pad into the bathroom and the sound of running water.
Before she knew it, he was back and had put something on the bedside table. He picked her up and she protested as her bottom felt the sting of the bed sheets that she knew were usually so soft but now felt as if they were nettles against her skin.
He eased her down again, this time under the sheets, on her side and she felt, rather than saw, him slip under the sheets himself and gather her to him again, gently pulling the sheets over them.
She felt the slight bristle of his chest against her cheek and realised he too was naked and glanced up at him.
He was reaching over to the bedside table where he picked up the warm washcloth that he must have prepared in the bathroom and carefully used it to wipe away her tears from her face.
He slowly kissed her face, holding her close and she drew on his strength and the reassurance that his body gave her to try and stem the tide of her tears and calm her trembling.
Luke held her for a long time and as her shaking eased and sobs grew quieter, asked softly, “Are you okay, Meg?”
“My bottom hurts,” she replied.
He sighed. “I know, Meg. But that’s not what I was asking. I know it hurts, that was the point.”
She knew what he was really asking and she put out her hand to his face and traced the line of his cheek with her finger.
“I’m okay,” she answered softly. Haltingly, she added, “It hurts, but I know why you had to do it. I deserved it. I’m so sorry.”
“Shh. Shh,” he rained light kisses over her face as, with her apology, he felt her body begin to shake again. He knew the spanking had brought out all the excess emotions she’d been storing up and he continued to soothe her and kiss away the fears he could hear in her voice.
“I’m sorry, Luke, I’m so sorry,” she continued, as her shoulders began to shake again and her sobs grew louder and less controlled. “I don’t know what I’d have done if you hadn’t been there, I was so stupid and so scared.”
“Meg, sweetheart, its okay. I was there. I’ll always be there for you.”
“I love you, Luke,” she whispered brokenly.
His arms tightened around her and relief overwhelmed him.
“Oh, Meg, love.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips, softly at first and then, as he felt her lips yield to his, more firmly.
He felt the wetness on her cheeks as he was kissing her and pulled away slightly to wipe away her tears again.
She met his gaze, but it was troubled. “Have I messed everything up?” she asked hesitatingly.
“What do you mean?” now it was Luke’s turn to be confused.
“You still love me?” she asked, embarrassed.
“Of course I love you, Meg!” he exclaimed, “How on earth can you doubt that?”
“I wasn’t sure if I’d messed it up, if you couldn’t trust me now,” she said.
“Oh Meg.” He sighed and pulled her back into the secure circle of his arms. “You can’t mess that up. I admit, I was angry, but that doesn’t affect the way I love you. Do you really think that I would have spent the last hour spanking you if I didn’t care?”
She blushed.
“I spank you because I care, because I love you and it would destroy me if anything happened to you,” he told her gently. “You do need to take more care with yourself,” he added reprovingly, with a kiss to her nose, “but that’s my job, to make sure you take that care and look after yourself.”
Ruefully, she reached back to touch her sore bottom that was still on fire from his ministrations.
He saw her action and firmly pulled her hand back. “No, love,” he warned, “no touching.”
“But...”
“You’ll live with that warm bottom tonight and learn from it,” he insisted. “I love you more than I can say, Meg and you should never have reason to doubt that, but if I spank you it’s for a reason and that means you’re not to forget it in a hurry.”
She flushed, but accepted what he said, reassured that her stupidity hadn’t broken his trust in her and acknowledging that
his spankings were indeed because he loved her and wanted to keep her safe.
With a sigh, she rested her head back on his shoulder and within minutes was asleep.
* * * * *
Long hours later Megan stirred from her deep slumber to find herself still clasped to Luke’s side with soft rays of morning light peaking through the bedroom blinds.
“Wakey, wakey, sleepy-head,” he grinned down at her.
“Hmpphhh,” she answered, hiding her head back down into his shoulder.
“It’s nearly time to get up, Meg,” he said, amused.
“Got the day off,” she mumbled from his shoulder, still slightly embarrassed at her spanking the previous night.
“Hm?” he queried, lifting her head up from his shoulder to look at him, while his other hand was painting slow, delightful patterns down her spine.
“David told me I didn’t need to come into the office until next week,” she answered him, “as a thank you for the work on Ramone’s deal. So I get to sleep now,” she added with a pout.
His grin broadened. “Really? Days off? Hm. I can think of some interesting ways to put those to good use.”
“Luke!” she tried to slap away his now wandering hands. “You have to get to work even if I don’t!”
“That’s one of the perks of being the boss,” he replied with a laugh, “if I want a day off, I can award it to myself,” as his hands slipped down between her thighs.
She gasped as his hand brushed against her bottom.
“Sore?” he asked, though she could tell from his tone that he was pleased she could still feel the effect of the spanking. Unfortunately, “feel” was an understatement, as she could still feel the heat radiating from her bottom and she knew that sitting down today wouldn’t be easy.
Reluctantly, she nodded her head.
“Hm,” he murmured, as his mouth lowered onto hers and he began to tease at her lower lip, encouraging her to open up to his tongue’s explorations. At the same time, his fingers drifted downwards to find her nub and gently began to stroke it until she automatically opened her legs further to facilitate his ministrations.
Megan's Story, A Bentley Sisters Novel Page 8
