Back in Charge

by Dinah McLeod

  Her lips trembled as she stared, unable to take her eyes off the object of her horror. Her ass cheeks throbbed as if they remembered all too well the pain it could inflict. She wanted to beg him not to use it, but she couldn't seem to find her voice.

  "Bend over the bed." Even as he ordered her to her execution, his voice was kind. That was how she found the strength to obey him.

  She bent over the bed, as ordered, her knees shaking the slightest bit as she waited for the familiar and terrible bite of the leather. She was getting so nervous waiting that she nearly prayed for the first thwack of the strap to come.

  "How many do you think is appropriate?"

  Sadie stilled. She hadn't expected to be asked. Was this a trick? "W-what?"

  "I told you I'd give you a chance to voice your side, and here it is. How many do you think you deserve?"

  She licked her lips nervously, unsure how to answer him. It crossed her mind that this might be her chance to argue for a lesser sentence, but the minute she opened her mouth to reply, she knew that she just couldn't do it. She deserved whatever punishment he saw fit and no matter how hard it might be for her to take it, she'd manage somehow.

  "Sadie?"

  "However many you think I deserve."

  "Are you sure?"

  Sadie was, but she wasn't so sure about her throbbing ass. Still, she answered, "Yes, Sir."

  "Okay. I'm going to give you ten."

  She sucked in her breath sharply. It was at the same time better and worse than she'd expected. It always was with that monstrosity of an implement.

  "Are you ready?"

  "Yes, Sir." At this point, she didn't think she really had any choice in the matter. Might as well get it over with.

  When Robert began to rub her cheeks, she tensed. Gentle as his touch was, she was so sore and knew that it was only going to get worse. Sure enough, it wasn’t but moments later that she felt him step behind her and she just knew, just knew that he had that horrible belt dangling from his hand. She clenched her cheeks together as she waited for the first strike.

  "Count them for me."

  "What?" she asked, feeling like she’d heard the words but didn’t comprehend them. He'd never asked her to do something like that before—not that it sounded like he was asking now.

  "You heard me. Count each one out loud. When you've counted it, I'll give you the next one."

  Well, she'd certainly sunk to a new low, it would seem. What was next? Begging on her hands and knees for her punishment? She wouldn't put it past him.

  Of course, she knew that was unfair. He wasn't doing anything other than what she deserved, but she didn't feel like being fair at the moment, all things considered. After all, she was the one bare-assed and bent over, waiting for the lick of the belt.

  She heard the whisper of the leather slicing through the air and tensed right before it cracked against her bottom. The pain was searing and she cried out before she could stop herself. Fresh tears rose to her eyes and, as the line burned across her ass, they began to fall. She'd forgotten just how much it hurt. No matter how terrified she was of the belt, her memory never did it justice.

  "Sadie."

  She swallowed hard, realizing what he was waiting for. "One," she said, her voice nearly a whisper.

  "Good girl. I need you to remember what I asked you to do, baby. Next time if I have to remind you it won't count."

  As gently as he was talking, the promise stung all the same. "Yes, Sir."

  Without another word, the belt came falling down again on her sore, sore cheeks. She gasped with the pain and bit her lip just in time to keep from sobbing aloud. "Two," she croaked out, knowing that she was sure to be a sobbing mess before he was through.

  The third was the hardest yet. Every inch of her exposed backside cried out with the pain of her whipping and when she uttered the number, she was crying hard.

  "Do you need a little break?"

  She shook her head. She would rather get it over with, and sooner rather than later.

  "Just remember that I love you, Sadie."

  As tempted as she was to make a smart-ass quip, her ass was burning too hot for her to risk it. Besides, she knew what he said was true, despite the fact that he was hurting her so much at the moment. Knowing that she had his love was what gave her the strength to stay in place and wait for what she knew was coming.

  "F-four," she cried out as soon as the heavy leather made contact with her bottom. Her skin was screaming at her to make it stop. She wished more than anything that she could, but she also knew without having to ask that this punishment wouldn't be stopped except temporarily.

  "You're doing such a good job, baby."

  She tried to smile, but she couldn't quite manage one. "M-make it quick, pl-please."

  Robert answered her with a fifth stroke of the belt that stole her breath for a moment. He waited patiently as she cried and spluttered before telling him the number.

  She was half way there. She could do this. At least, that's what she told herself until she felt the sixth stroke, landing across all the others. She couldn't help herself—she squealed with the pain and sprang from the bed, hopping around as though that would somehow ease it.

  "Sadie," he clucked his tongue. "And after I just gave you a compliment, too."

  "Please," she begged, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please stop. I'll be a good girl, I swear. I'll never do it again, just please stop."

  "I wish I could."

  In all honesty, looking at him she believed he meant it.

  "Now, turn back around and bend over the bed. If you do it now and count it for me, I'll let this one slide."

  "But—"

  "If not," he spoke over her as though he couldn't hear her, "we'll do it again."

  Sadie begged him one more time, using only her watery eyes to plead her case, before she turned around. "Six," she said when she was bent over the bed.

  Robert gave her a moment to calm down before he resumed her spanking. When the next stroke fell, she could tell that he was taking it easy on her, but her bottom was so sore and achy that it didn't make any difference. Still, she appreciated the attempt.

  He spaced the remaining strokes a good minute apart and gave her a generous amount of time to count them out. He murmured encouragement and praise that made her glow with pride, despite the heat radiating from her ass.

  "Last one, baby."

  "Th-thank God," she sobbed, setting her shoulders and bracing herself for the last punishing stroke. She expected it to be the hardest yet, a line of fire across her red-hot cheeks. But to her surprise, it was over quickly. It still stung like hell, but wasn't nearly as bad as she'd been preparing herself for. Robert must be as ready as she was to have it over and done with.

  "Ten," she whispered, hoping that he could hear her. She didn't think she was capable of speaking any louder.

  She heard the sound of the belt hitting the carpet right before she felt his arms wrapping around her. "It's okay, baby," he whispered, his mouth pressed against her ear. "I've got you. It's over now."

  She gratefully sank into his embrace, falling into him. With a gentle tug, he turned her to face him before he lifted her onto the bed. When she winced, he smiled and gently caressed her tear-stained face. "You can lay on your stomach, if you need to."

  As tempting as the offer was, she shook her head. She wanted to be able to look at him, to see in his face when he talked to her that she was forgiven.

  "Okay." He leaned forward and kissed her on the nose. "If that's what you want."

  What she wanted was for the burning in her ass to subside, but she was pretty sure that it would be a few days before it completely faded. What she wanted was to know that she'd paid for her crimes in full. "I'm so sorry, Robert," she choked out.

  "Shh." He pulled her to him and let her lie her head on his chest. "I love you, Sadie. Nothing's ever going to change that. Just promise me that next time you get some crazy idea in that pretty little head of yours tha
t you'll remember that."

  "I'll remember," she promised, gratefully sinking into him, comforted by the smell of Dove soap on his skin. She was exhausted after all the fighting, worn out from all the crying. For a few minutes they sat like that, with her lying against him with her eyes closed and him caressing her hair. "Virginia, huh?" she asked at last.

  Robert chuckled. "That's what they tell me."

  "Congratulations."

  "Well, thank you."

  "It means a lot that they've noticed your hard work."

  Her husband fell silent for a moment. When he spoke again, he sounded hesitant. "Would it really be all that bad, Sadie? Moving, I mean?"

  "It'd be a long trip."

  "Yes, I guess so."

  "It's pretty far away."

  "Mmm-hmm."

  "But I guess there's nothing really holding us back."

  Robert shifted so that he could look into her face. "Do you mean it?"

  Sadie couldn't help but smile at the eagerness, the excitement in his dark brown eyes. "Yes, I mean it."

  "Oh, Sadie." He embraced in a hug that was so tight it was nearly crushing, but she wouldn't have asked him to stop for anything. She loved this man with all her heart—it was gratifying knowing, truly knowing that she was loved by him in return.

  "It could be fun."

  "It could be," she agreed. "Fun or not, it will be a brand new adventure for the Miller clan."

  "You really mean it?" he asked again, seeming dazed.

  "Yeah," she giggled.

  "No taksie-backsies," he warned, making her throw her head back and laugh until her sides ached.

  "What do you want, a pinkie-promise?" she asked when she was able to talk again.

  "Hmm, I appreciate the offer, but I can think of a better way to seal the deal."

  "Oh, you can?"

  He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her, mere moments before he pulled her close and kissed her full on the lips. It started slow, sensual and soft, but before they were done it had turned into a promise. A promise of adventures to come, yes, but also a promise that the passion between them would never fade. It was one Sadie believed long before the kiss was done.

  Chapter Twelve

  Two months later

  Sadie felt like she was in the middle of a nightmare. A too-much-caffeine-not-enough-sleep nightmare. It had started out so simply—they’d said their goodbyes to their families and had hit the road. About three hours and two pee breaks into it, Robert had messaged her that he couldn’t find his debit card. She’d searched her car—which wasn’t as easy as it sounded given that she was going sixty-five with the windows rolled down and her volume cranked up. When she’d come up empty handed as well, he’d asked her to cancel the card.

  Easy enough. She’d done it a hundred times before—mostly after making dubious purchases on the internet for free trials of makeup and weight loss pills. Not that she’d thought they were dubious, but once Robert spied the charges he always made her cancel her card so that more money couldn’t come out of their account.

  She just logged into their account, clicked on the checking account and hit the “I want to” tab that lead her to 'debit card'. Easy-peasy, as McKenzie had taken to saying.

  Except that it hadn’t gone like that. It was supposed to, of that she had no doubt, but for some reason, it hadn’t. She’d found out approximately seventy-one miles later when Rob had stopped for gas—God, were they ever going to get there!

  She’d pulled in behind him, checking the mirror to see that LJ was fast asleep in his car seat. She was hoping to run in and grab another Coke and hopefully they’d leave before one of the twins decided they wanted to ride with Mommy. She loved them and everything, but they’d want to listen to Disney songs instead of Pink and those were only funny when Rob was in the car with them—He did an impressive Genie voice. Besides, they always complained that her music was too loud. If LJ could sleep through it, it couldn’t be that loud.

  Robert texted her Stop by for a sec and she sighed, her Coke-and-dash plans in jeopardy. "Be right back, Kiddo," she called to her son, just in case he was listening, before she climbed out of the car and headed to the van where Robert was waiting.

  "Hey, babe."

  "Hey. I was trying to get gas and my credit card declined."

  Sadie’s brow furrowed. "That doesn’t make sense."

  "Did you make the payment this month?"

  "Of course I did."

  "Are you sure? Maybe in the craziness of moving you forgot."

  "I didn’t forget. I made the payment."

  "I would understand, Sadie."

  "Rob!" she exclaimed, becoming frustrated. "I made the payment. I swear. Call, if you don’t believe me." Geez. You forget one time—one!—and they just never let you forget it. Sure, the one time she forgot had stretched for four months, but still. She was clearly older now and more mature.

  Oops. Now he was giving her the stern look. Maybe she should have said call if you don’t believe me, Sir.

  "I'm going to have to call anyway, I guess. We don't have any money until we can get this card working."

  "I've got some cash," she told him in a more subdued voice. "Why don’t I go inside and pay for your gas while you call?"

  "Good idea." He rewarded her with a brief smile. She knew they might discuss her little outburst later, but hopefully it was so little that he'd forget about it by the time they stopped for the night. They had another three hundred miles to go, after all.

  When she’d paid for the gas and got her precious Coke—her caffeine buzz was already wearing off and she was anticipating its renewal with the first sip, firing up her thrusters—she walked back outside. Rob was still on the phone and he did not look happy. Uh-oh. Crap, had she forgotten to make the payment? Maybe she should have pleaded the fifth instead.

  "Okay. Yeah, thanks. Well, I appreciate it," he was saying in clipped tones. "You have a good day. Thank you, I will."

  "That sounded hopeful," Sadie said as he hung up the phone, feeling a growing panic when he looked at her so grimly.

  "Sadie—"

  "Look, Robert, I don't know what happened," she cut him off in a rush. "I swear I paid that bill. I mean, at least I thought—"

  "You paid the bill."

  Whew. It was such a relief that she laughed out loud. Thank God. But… wait. Why did he look so pissed then? "So what happened?"

  "Well, it looks like when you tried to cancel the debit card you canceled the credit card instead."

  "But… that’s not possible," she protested, her brow creasing.

  "That's what they told me."

  "But I've done it a million times. It doesn’t make sense."

  Robert shrugged a shoulder. "It happens. We all make mistakes."

  "So…" she sucked in a deep breath, fearing she already knew the answer, but she asked anyway. "Could they fix it?"

  "Afraid not. The guy said once it's done, it's done. We can order a new one."

  "Order a new one," she echoed, her unease growing. It would be two more days before they reached their hotel and would even have an address to send one to. "Shit."

  "Hey, it's all right. We're going to be fine," he said, giving her a shoulder a squeeze.

  It was sweet, a nice try and all, but she wasn't buying it. His face looked like he thought they'd be anything but fine. In fact, he looked like he thought they were doomed.

  "Damn it."

  "Come on, Sadie. Let's not do this."

  "Just… ugh!" she exclaimed, running her hand through her hair. "I am such an idiot."

  "Hey. That's my wife you're talking about." He leveled her with his stern gaze. "I don't want to hear you talk like that anymore, do you hear me? Sadie, look at me."

  Reluctantly, she lifted her eyes to his. She should have been relieved that he looked at her with nothing but kindness, but she was feeling too frustrated with herself.

  "It was an honest mistake. We all make 'em,” he repeated. "Understand?"
r />   "I understand," she mumbled.

  "Good girl."

  "But what are we going to do, Rob?"

  "I had them overnight it to the hotel we’re staying at and we’ll get a late checkout tomorrow to be sure we get it."

  "Ouch," she said with a wince. "How much is that going to cost?"

  "Twenty-eight dollars."

  "Damn."

  "Hey, had to do it. At least we'll have a card. It's taken care of, so let's not worry about it, all right?"

  "Sure."

  "Oh, but you might have to do more bottled waters than Cokes until we get some funds," he grinned. "I've got plenty in my cooler if you've run out."

  "No, I have plenty," she sighed.

  "Hey, they're supposed to wake you up better than caffeine," he told her with a chuckle. "Now let's get back on the road."

  ***

  Despite Rob's attempt to cheer her up, Sadie couldn't help but think about how she'd screwed up. Thanks to her, they'd had to spend twenty-eight dollars on a stupid credit card and they'd be delayed by half a day. She was so annoyed she couldn't even look in the mirror without getting irritated. If she'd called instead of using her Smartphone to cancel the card, if she'd just waited until they reached the hotel for the night, none of this would have happened.

  When they finally, finally made it to the hotel for the evening she was completely spent. She couldn't remember when she'd been so worn-out or grumpy. Robert had made it in almost an hour earlier—she'd had to stop to nurse LJ along the way—so he made sure that they were already checked in and she had a key waiting for her at the front desk. When she'd lugged herself, her overnight bag and the baby upstairs to their room she was pleasantly surprised to see that the girls were already in PJs and were tucked into the couch bed, watching TV.

  "Hey, baby." Robert greeted her with a kiss before he took the bag from her. "They've already eaten and had a bath."

  "Oh." She looked at him in surprise. "That's nice."

  "I've got you some food, too. Just some soup and salad they were serving before you got here."

  Sadie hadn't realized how hungry she was until she sat down. The minute she picked up the fork, she couldn't put it down. Robert watched her eat without comment, and didn't move except for refilling her water glass.