The Adventures of Keely Anne Sparks

The

Adventures of

Keely Anne Sparks By

Nattie Jones

The

Adventures of

Keely Anne Sparks By

Nattie Jones A Newsite Web Services Book Published by arrangement with the author All rights reserved. Copyright 2008 © by Nattie Jones This book may not be reproduced in whole or part, by mimeograph or any other means, without permission of the author or Newsite Web Services, LLC Published by Newsite Web Services, LLC P.O. Box 1286, Loganville, Georgia 30052 USA [email protected] disciplineanddesire.com

Chapter One A New Order

Keely wanted something. Rick hid his grin as she sparkled her blue eyes at him and perched herself on his knee. At five foot four and a solid build of 116 pounds, all muscle, Keely still felt only like a feather on his knee. She cocked her head and let her warm brown hair fall into her eyes to disguise her nervousness. When she bit her lip and started to remove his tie, he finally let out a chuckle. “What is it, Keely?” She shyly glanced towards the floor, and her tanned face blushed. He grinned. “How is it that someone who will skydive from insane heights, kayak down dangerous rivers, and bungee jump without batting an eyelash, can be so shy about asking for anything that has to do with sex?” Keely’s lips parted in surprise. “How’d you know?” Before he could answer, she said, “It’s not exactly that.” “No?” he asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow at his little adventurer. “My little wildcat isn’t going to ask about diving with sharks again, is she?” Keely braced at his stern tone and shrugged. “You gotta die sometime.” He felt his temper rise at the phrase she too often spoke for his taste. “Not on my watch, wife.”

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She stuck her tongue out at him. “But that’s not it. I want you to…” She shook her head and took a deep breath. Then she leaned in close to his ear, her hair tickling his chin. “… spank me,” she whispered. “Spank you?!” She pulled back and looked around selfconsciously at his loud tone, as if someone could overhear their conversation in the privacy of their living room. He narrowed his eyes at her. “Have you done something wrong?” She shook her head, her eyes crinkling up in little wrinkles at the corners. She braced a hand against his chest and toyed with her straight, soft hair with the other hand, like she was trying to curl it with her finger. Her short, sassy cut wasn’t made for curling—more for teasing. “You want a little bottom-warming in foreplay?” He put his hands around her little waist and pulled her towards him. Keely had lost the ability to surprise him as soon as he accepted the fact that everything she said or did would not be what he expected. “Yes,” she smiled, and then shook her head. “No.” Rick threw his head back and laughed. “Which is it, wildcat?” “Both.” He saw the concern and even the fear in her eyes. “What’s going on, sweetling?” The phone rang, and Keely, who usually ignored its ring, jumped up so fast that Rick didn’t even have a chance to grab her hand. “Stop right there,” he commanded with a sharp edge to his voice that usually made her listen. She slowly turned back to him, staring at the floor as the phone rang on and finally stopped as

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the voice mail picked it up. Gentling his voice, Rick beckoned to his lap. “Come back and talk to me.” “It’s nothing, never mind.” At his skeptical look, she added, “just another one of my crazy adventures.” “Keely.” He sighed. “If it’s nothing, why are tears filling up your eyes?” “They’re not!” But they were. “Come here.” She came to him obediently but pouted about it. “I’m not a child, I’m an adult.” “Who wants me to spank her like a child.” Rick wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her safely on his lap. “And you’ve always got one foot in danger. You need someone to pull you out of trouble.” He squeezed her in an overprotective hug, an urge he had to quell too often in her adventurous lifestyle. “What kind of spanking do you want?” “I don’t want one.” She stared forlornly out the window at the thunderstorm, wishing she could be outside kayaking instead of inside talking to her husband about embarrassing subjects. “I mean, maybe a little one, for foreplay.” She practically choked on the word and Rick chuckled. “That’s it?” “Yes.” Her blue eyes watered again. “No.” “You want one when you cross the line?” Though she was a wild spirit, Rick held her safely in check as much as he could. She’d needed and craved that security as much as she needed adrenalin-pumping adventure to feel alive. He’d established early on in their relationship that behavior he disapproved of came with consequences: sometimes he’d cancel an excursion out, or lecture her until she was reduced to tears, or—in the worst cases—give her the silent treatment.

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She’d responded well to their order of things, even though she pushed against the boundaries often enough to exasperate him at times. It didn’t surprise him that she wanted to add spanking to the mix. She’d been attracted to his solid strength—she called it hard-headed stubbornness—in the first place. Where Keely embraced adventures with a wild and free spirit, Rick considered them a tool in self-mastery. Though they enjoyed the same pursuits, they were definitely a case of opposites attract. “Keely, are you saying you want a spanking when you misbehave?” Keely pertly stuck her chin in the air. “I don’t misbehave.” Rick laughed. “Oh yes, you do. What do you call sneaking out in the middle of the night to go kayaking alone?” She pointed her finger at his chest. “That is not misbehaving. I merely felt like kayaking under the full moon, and I didn’t want to wake you.” Rick sighed in exasperation and gently pulled at her hair. “You know better than to kayak alone.” “Kayaking alone on a small, calm lake hardly compares to the dangers of Class IV rapids.” He was quiet, so she thought she’d won, and they were enjoying a companionable silence. But she felt his strong hand cupping her chin and forcing her to look into his dark brown eyes. “You’re right, but that’s not the point. I want to be able to trust you.” Keely pulled back in shock. “You can.” “I can’t. You have no qualms about lying to me if you think your lie will make me happier than your truth.” She couldn’t say anything to that. “I think spanking is a good idea. You need discipline in your life. Goodness knows, you didn’t have enough of it growing up.”

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Suddenly it didn’t seem like such a good idea to Keely. “Well, I turned out just fine.” Rick watched her naturally childlike red lips pout and couldn’t help but agree. With her high cheekbones and strong, pert jaw, she had turned out mighty fine, in both body and spirit. “You’ve turned out to be the cutest—” at her frown, he added “—sexiest girl—” at another reproving look, he chuckled “—woman I know. She relented and absorbed the compliment enthusiastically. Rick had never known anyone to love compliments so much, but Keely lived for them. Knowing and enjoying the fact that it would rile her a little, he teased, “I think it’s a great idea. I can think of more than a time or two that I’ve wanted to turn you over my knee and give you a good seeing to.” He’d expected her to get her back up, but instead she blushed and squirmed a little. He decided to dig a little deeper. “Can you?” She glanced up quickly at the question. “Can I what?” “Think of a time when you deserved a good oldfashioned spanking?” She shrugged. “Keely, if we’re to do this, then I need to know which behaviors you think warrant a spanking. If you thought things were perfect, you wouldn’t ask for this change.” He could tell she’d rather eat dirt than talk about it. She gazed out the window in desperation, and Rick knew she was itching to go outside. Keely had never learned that after about age twelve or thirteen, one doesn’t ask if ‘you wanna go outside and play?’ At twenty-eight, she still asked him that question on nearly a daily basis. She took a deep, slightly shaky breath, but once she spoke she talked in fast, direct sentences. “I

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don’t mean to fight you all the time. I know I don’t act like it, but it’s okay if you don’t always let me win.” A lick of anger rose in him. “You don’t stop. You won’t back down, and you have an answer for everything. What do you expect me to do, debate with you until I’m tired and hungry and blue in the face?” The bitterness that crept into his voice surprised Keely—and even Rick himself. She dissipated his anger with a coy challenge. “Are you saying you’re not man enough for me?” Rick tapped her nose affectionately. “I’m saying that a cat—especially a wildcat—is almost impossible to train.” She pouted, but by the glimmer in her eyes Rick knew she wasn’t really hurt. “‘Almost impossible’ is still not impossible.” Keely’s blue eyes sparkled with her dare. “You man enough for the challenge?” Rick sighed, knowing that he’d grant almost anything Keely wanted, even this. “Only a few conditions, sweetling.” She raised her eyebrows. “First, if I’m to enforce the rules, then I make the rules. I’ll be in charge, and though I know you’ll have your objections, I expect you to make some effort to trust me and obey me.” Her mouth popped open when he said the word “obey.” Now, he raised his eyebrows at her. “Do you have a problem with the word ‘obey’?” Keely visibly gulped. She nodded a few times, but at his look, she changed directions and shook her head. “I think you’d better go get a piece of paper.” She stared at him blankly. “A piece of paper?” “And a pen.” Rick wanted to laugh at her expression, but instead, he stood her up and gave her bottom a couple of gentle pats. “Go do as you’re told, Keely.”

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Her small gymnast’s frame obeyed, but she had a confused expression on her face. It made him wonder what she had expected. Though he had insisted that he “wear the pants” in the family from the beginning, it was not easy for Keely. She valued her freedom every bit as much as she craved the security of his boundaries. Though he’d never told her, spanking in a marriage was not a foreign concept to him. He’d even explored the lifestyle, but then Keely had snatched up his heart before he could take his eyes off of her long enough to think. He’d lightly dropped a few hints in their three years of marriage, but hadn’t been insistent when she didn’t seem to nibble. In his ideal world, he’d hoped to plant the seed and see if it would blossom. As she obediently came back to him carrying a pad of paper and a pen, he considered that his seed was about to bear some interesting fruit. “Okay, write this down: I promise to obey my husband.” “Ha!” she laughed. Keely then saw the deadserious expression on his face, and her smile faded. “You’re serious?” “Dead serious,” he confirmed. “What exactly did you expect? Me to just randomly spank you now and then? I’m not going to let you pretend this is something you don’t want as soon as you have it. I expect you to commit to it, because once we take this step, I expect your bottom is going to spend an awful lot of time feeling sore.” Her lips parted, and her eyes widened, but he saw his wife’s arousal at his words. He resisted the urge to draw those parted lips to him. “I promise to obey my husband?” she asked uncertainly. Rick nodded curtly. “Write it down.”

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He was surprised to see her write it down as quickly as she did, even though his words were penned with a hesitant hand. “Now write: I promise to be truthful to my husband in all things, small or large. No white lies, either.” She looked up and bit her lip. Rick nodded. “That’s going to be the hardest thing for you, isn’t it?” She didn’t say anything, but he had her undivided attention—no small feat, in Keely’s case. “Let me tell you this right away, Keely. The relationship you’re asking for is about feeling physical consequences for your misdeeds. But there are consequences to everything a person does, whether or not they are in a spanking relationship. The consequence for lies in a marriage is a weak marriage.” She looked guiltily at him, but piped up. “We don’t have a weak marriage.” “No, but it’s not as strong as it could be. And a little weakness now can grow to a big crack over the years.” Keely shook her head. “I don’t lie to you.” “Yes, you do.” He saw her little fibs on their financial statements, her white lies when she came back home from a kayaking trip with an obvious tan where her life vest should have allowed no sun to touch her skin. She started to object again, but he put a finger to her lips. “Let me promise you, lying is the first thing we are going to change about our relationship. I’m no stranger to the spanking lifestyle, Keely.” Her eyes widened. “The butt is made for punishment. Wellpadded—though quite firm in your case—” he teased “—and away from vital organs that can be damaged. I don’t mind putting a few bruises there. And your tears will not deter me from giving you what you need, not what you want.”

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She shifted uncomfortably on his knee. “I’m getting a little nervous about this.” He nodded. “You brought it up.” “I know,” she said too glumly. Rick sighed and pulled her closer to him. “Let me ask you this: why do you crave this lifestyle?” She shrugged. He lowered his voice and said firmly, “That’s not going to fly, young lady.” She still shrugged again, but at least she started talking. “My aunt said I was spoiled, tried to take me away from my brothers after my parents died.” She bit her lip and stared at his big hands clasping her at her muscled stomach. “I didn’t want to be spoiled, but I wanted my way, too. They did everything they could to make me happy, but I was attracted to you from the beginning because…” She shook her head, trying to put words to something she didn’t understand. “You have… edges.” She looked up at him with charming, earnest eyes. “There are some things you won’t let me get away with, and that makes me feel safe.” Rick gently caressed the sides of her face and kissed her lightly on the mouth. “You’re not spoiled, sweetling. Just a little undisciplined, but we can change that.” She gave a little, nervous laugh. “Now write it down: I promise to be truthful to my husband in all things, small or large.” He felt his heart swell with pride when she obeyed. “And write down: I will not place myself or my marriage in danger.” Her eyes lit up with rebellion. “I can go kayaking! And skydiving, surfing, and—” He held up a hand before she listed all the outdoor activities she enjoyed. “If you take all safety precautions, including wearing your PFD, I have no objection to us continuing to enjoy the

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activities we both enjoy.” At her uncertain smile, he added, “You only live once.” She nodded, not completely convinced but visibly relieved. “Okay. Anything else?” Rick recognized an opportunity when he heard it. He thought for a moment, trying to think of something else, but most things fell under the umbrella of the three things she had written down. Except one. “I want more respect from you.” Keely looked up in surprise. “It’s only fair that I should get something I want. You want more discipline and boundaries from me, and I want more respect from you. Don’t you think that’s fair?” Keely started drawing a little flower. She often doodled while talking on the phone or thinking—she had a difficult time staying still. “I guess so.” Then she stopped and looked up. “But, of course, I respect you! I already do.” Rick shook his head. “Not in action. You argue with almost everything I tell you to do—for your own good, nonetheless—and you do little things.” He almost laughed as she started to roll her eyes at him. “Like rolling your eyes at me, treating me like a sullen teenager treats her overprotective dad.” She piped, “I don’t!” “You do. I don’t want to be your dad, Keely, I want to be your husband.” When she bit her lip, he added, “your spanking husband. Did you know my father spanked my mother?” Her eyes widened. “He did?” “Does, actually.” Rick watched her try to imagine his mother getting spanked. His mother and Keely were like two peas in a pod, fast friends since they first met. They had the same adventurous spirit and quick liveliness—probably why he fell in love with Keely the instant he got to know her. “I accidentally walked in on my father

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giving my mother a good set of welts with the belt on a surprise visit home during college.” She gasped. “You didn’t!” Rick reached over to turn on the lamp as the day began to darken into night. “I didn’t even think. I just walked over to my father and punched him twice before he could even register I was there.” He chuckled. “Mom grabbed a pillow to cover herself and launched into a tirade that stopped me, and sent me to my room.” “But you were an adult!” Keely’s eyes widened. “And she’s half your height!” “Ah, well, that’s my mother. My father came up with a big pack of ice on his eye, and it was the first time I ever saw Mom blush. They had a long talk with me about their relationship, reassuring me that it was completely consensual.” After a moment, he added with a touch of wonder, “They even showed me their contract.” Keely shook her head. “But how did you know it was?” “Was what?” he asked in surprise. “Consensual. Well, I mean, I have these fantasies, but… I mean, spanking could be abuse, too.” Rick touched her face gently. “It could, Keely. Are you having second thoughts?” “No,” she said, but it didn’t surprise him when she added, “Yes, maybe.” She fiddled with the tiny bow on her sundress. “I mean, I don’t want to be… broken, like a horse, or turned into a little mouse.” “Sweetling, I’d sooner kill myself, walk through fire, and jump off a skyscraper than break your beautiful spirit.” She sighed softly and leaned her head onto his chest. “I guess it’s like before I took my first trip down the Upper Gauley—I was scared and thrilled and excited, but I trusted my skills were stronger than the risk.”

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He hugged her gently. “Do you trust that my skills are stronger than the risk, Keely?” She nodded into his chest, and he pushed her away from him so he could look into her eyes. “I’m going to make you cry tonight, Keely.” She gasped, a mixture of surprise and hurt flashing through her eyes. “What do you mean?” “I’m going to give you your first punishment spanking, and it’s going to hurt, and you’re going to cry. Are you ready for that?” Keely pulled herself up straighter and Rick felt a surge of pride at her strength. “I can take a spanking,” she said with dignity. “I know you can, but you’re not going to be in control here.” She shrugged. “I’ve never been a control freak. I’m not in control on the rapids—the water is. I’m only in control of how I respond to the situation.” Rick nodded but looked her dead in the eye. “And I’m telling you that you’re not going to be in control of your response here. I’m going to spank you until you cry and fight me to try and get away from the pain. Then I’m going to hold you down until you’ve gotten the spanking you deserve, and I won’t let you up an instant sooner.” Keely started to say something, but it came out as a little squeak, and she clamped her mouth shut. She nodded and shyly looked down at his belly button. Then she shook her head. “You’re a natural at this, you know.” She wouldn’t look him in the eye until he pulled her face up. He saw a mixture of hot desire, uncertainty, fear, and love in her eyes. “Are you sure you want this?” he asked. She slowly nodded. “Then write this down.” He paused as she reached over to pick up the pen and pad again. “I will respect my husband, which means I will voice my objections with respect, instead of arguing.” He

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paused so that she could catch up. “Which also means that I will show respect in my expressions as well as with my words.” He waited while she wrote and almost laughed as she stopped her eyes from rolling out of habit. “And which also means I will address my husband as ‘Sir’ when he is correcting me or setting a boundary.” She put her pen down and did roll her eyes this time. “Now I didn’t say anything about that.” “It’s all or nothing, sweetling. If you respect me enough to discipline you, then you should respect me enough to call me ‘Sir’.” She stuck her lower lip out. “I don’t like that idea.” “You don’t like weight-training, either, but you do it to keep in the shape necessary for your activities.” Keely didn’t look convinced. “How about ‘Mister’?” “Mister?” he asked. “Yeah, what if I call you ‘Mister’ instead of ‘Sir’.” She bit her lip. “Please?” The vulnerability in her request softened his heart. “Okay, sweetling, but you’d better say it with respect.” At her enthusiastic nod, he added, “And know that I would consider it a great gift and be extremely touched, if one day you thought enough of me to call me ‘Sir’.” She looked at him in surprise, and he shook his head. “See, this is why you need discipline. You’re far too good at getting your way, aren’t you, my little wildcat?” Keely grinned proudly. “No, I’m not,” she pretended. He chuckled. “You know you are.” She set the pen and pad aside and reached her arms around his neck. “I love you, Rick.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said with a smile.

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When he didn’t say anything else, Keely pulled back and put her hands on her hips. “Hey!” she objected. Rick grinned. “Okay, okay. I guess I’m crazy in love with you, too.” But, before she settled back happily against his chest, he helped her to her feet and stood her between his legs. “Now about that spanking I promised.” She fiddled with her bow straps and looked out the window again, with the look of a wild, trapped animal. Rick steeled himself against her slightly panicked expression and put his hands around her waist. “Do we have to start tonight, Rick?” “Mister,” he reminded softly. She gulped and whispered, “Mister.” “Yes, we’re starting tonight, with that spanking I promised you. Have you ever known me to not follow through on a promise?” “No,” she whispered, her wide blue eyes showing both her apprehension and trust. “Mister,” she added.

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Chapter Two A First Spanking

Rick admired Keely’s orange-flowered sundress which glowed in the warm light in the room. She stood before him with anticipation in her eyes, her fingers fiddling with the sides of her dress nervously. She shifted from foot to foot and held her chin up bravely, as if half of her didn’t realize how nervous the other half felt. “When’s the last time you lied to me, Keely?” She snapped her attention to him in surprise. “I don’t lie,” she said weakly. “We’ve already had this discussion. I suggest that you skip the denials and get right to the confession. You’re getting your butt spanked tonight, period.” Rick angled his gaze to stare down at her, and succeeded in making her look away guiltily. “I guess I…” she took a deep breath and tried to think. “Maybe I fudged a little last week when…” She trailed off, looking to him as if begging for help. “Do I have to?” “Yes,” he answered curtly. “And this is the time to address me as ‘Mister’, or else we’ll change it to ‘Sir’ and you’ll get a spanking for that, besides.” She nodded and fluttered her hands away from her sundress. Rarely had he ever seen her look so uncertain. “I might have fudged a little—” “Fudged?” he interrupted with a raised eyebrow stern enough to make her squirm.

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She blew out a breath. “Okay. Lied, just a little lie, though, just so you wouldn’t worry.” Her nervous hands straightened imaginary wrinkles out of the front of her little sundress that barely came halfway to her knees. “About wearing my PFD last week when I went kayaking on the lake that night.” She wrung her hands together and added with a tone of respect that surprised Rick, “Mister.” He sighed. “You always lie about wearing your PFD, and you deserve a much stricter punishment for it than I’m going to give you tonight.” She looked at him in surprise. “I’m only going to use my hand tonight, since this is your first spanking, but if you ever fail to wear your PFD again or lie to me, I can promise that you’re going to get a spanking to remember.” He put a finger under her chin until she looked up into his eyes. “‘Can’t sit for a week’ is not just an expression—believe me; I can make it a reality for you.” She nodded and whispered, “Yes, Mister Sir.” He looked at her in surprise, and she seemed equally surprised herself. She’d only five minutes ago adamantly begged not to call him ‘Sir’, but to call him ‘Mister’ instead. He suspected—hoped, actually—that she’d feel like calling him ‘Sir’ before the year was out. “Okay, then.” He scooted forward until he was perched on the edge of the couch, and then thought better of it. “Go get a dining room chair and place it in the center of the room.” Keely turned towards the dining room and energetically went off to retrieve the chair. She always walked slightly on tip-toe, as if she were about to break into a run at any moment. When she returned, however, she was walking as slow as if she were a child making a reluctant trip to the principal’s office.

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Rick jerked his head towards the center of the room. “You can set it in the middle there.” He stood up to join her and followed her nervous gaze to the open princess windows that gave them a grand view of the distant mountains and the valley below. “What if someone sees?” He smiled gently at her embarrassment, considering it a proper enhancement to the pain she was about to feel on her bottom. “We’ve lived here three years and have never seen a stranger—or friend, for that matter—randomly come wandering in our backyard.” She swallowed. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “But what if?” She looked to him earnestly. “Then I expect you’ll be a bit embarrassed, what do you think?” She got the message that she had no say in this matter and nodded reluctantly. “Okay, Keely, let’s just get a few things straight first. I expect that I’ll spank you hard enough that your instinct to get away from the pain will kick in, but I want to see an effort to take your spanking with an attitude that convinces me that you’re learning your lesson with a spirit of submission to my discipline.” He turned the chair so that when she went over his lap, her bottom would be facing the open window. Though he knew no one would see, he also knew that the exposure would take her to a vulnerable place. He sat down and looked up at her expression. Keely’s eyes watered. He spoke softly, understanding. “It’s hard for you, isn’t it? To have to face your misdeeds and be held accountable for them?” She nodded. “You won’t…” She looked out the window as if for escape, but seemed to realize that she was about to be spanked in front of it, because

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she shuddered slightly. “You’re not going to think less of me, are you?” Rick smiled gently at this small and vulnerable voice he’d never heard from Keely before. He paused long enough for her to look up at him with wide-eyed attention. “Why, Keely, I think I just might be mighty proud of a girl strong enough to face her wrongdoings and take her due consequences like an adult.” He drawled his words in a down-home way that usually made her giggle, and this time she even managed a nervous laugh. “Really?” She usually needed to hear a compliment several times before she would be willing to believe it. “You’re a strong girl.” He ran his hands over her muscled arms to warm the goose bumps that he saw make her tiny arm hairs stand on end. “And not just with your body. You’ve got nerves of steel and an admirable strength that makes people want to flock to you so that they can lean on you for support.” Keely tried to hide her pleased smile. “You think so?” Rick chuckled. “I know so. It’s no small thing, submitting to a spanking. I bet you’re feeling pretty nervous.” “Oh gawd,” she exclaimed, putting two hands to her flat belly. “I feel so nervous I can barely stand it.” She focused her gaze on him. “I don’t want to lie to you, but I don’t want you to think less of me because I did.” Rick took a moment to think carefully about what to say. “I am disappointed in you when you lie to me, Keely.” Her pert face dropped into an expression of sadness. “I love you, and I don’t think less of you, but your dishonesty hurts me.”

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She toed the floor, her eyes starting to shine with the threat of tears. “And you are all that is light in my life. You are my greatest treasure, and do you understand how upset, hurt and worried I feel when you don’t take advantage of simple ways to increase your safety, like wearing your life vest?” Her lips trembled slightly, and she pressed them tightly together while a tear spilled over onto her left cheek. She took in a shuddering breath and breathed it out with a soft, “whew.” She looked up at him. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean it that way.” “But that’s exactly what your choices and actions say.” Her compact body took on a fragile aura, and she quickly wiped the tear trailing down her face, as if she didn’t want him to see it. “I’m going to punish you for that, Keely.” He said it softly and waited for his words to sink in. Both eyes brimmed with tears, and her strongboned face crumpled into a wrinkled expression of regret. Both hands worked to wipe the tears that were falling without control, and her lips were trembling from the effort to keep from crying. “Pull down your underwear and leave it at your knees.” Keely couldn’t look him in the eyes, and even though he doubted she could see much through her tears, her eyes darted around the room like a frantic fly looking for a place to land. She looked everywhere but at him. Her hands shook slightly as she reached underneath her thin little dress and hooked her fingers into her waistband. Her eyes finally turned to his direction, but Rick knew her vision was blurry with the tears spilling over. “I’m scared,” she whispered. He made his voice as strong and gentle as he could. “Of what?”

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Sobs strained her voice. “I’m sorry, and I’m hurting here—” she gestured towards her heart “— and I’m afraid it’s going to hurt there.” She didn’t illustrate “there,” but Rick knew she meant her bottom. “It’s going to hurt, sweetling.” He waited patiently as she stood there uncertainly, her pretty mouth trembling. “Pull down your pants to your knees now, Keely. You’re going to be punished, and you know that you deserve it, don’t you?” Keely nodded with a whimper and tugged at her pants until they were in the position he requested. “Now lift your dress up.” The light fabric that easily swung around her trim figure lifted quickly, but her legs crossed in self-conscious shyness. “Turn around and show me your bottom.” She gave a little squeak. “I’m so embarrassed, Rick!” “Do as you’re told, Keely, and the correct answer is ‘Yes, Mister’.” He wanted to strut like a proud parent when she turned and showed him her bottom obediently. He even took a moment to admire her firm little bottom that had the two cutest curves he had ever seen. “Now tell me why you are being punished this evening.” Her head dropped, and she half spoke, half whispered, “I lied to you, and I didn’t see to my safety like I promised you.” Her bottom trembled slightly, and her fingers fidgeted as they held her dress up. “That’s a good girl,” he praised her softly. She normally hated being called a girl—especially because she was one of those women who looked like a girl and never seemed to look like an adult, despite her age. He suspected, though, that she would welcome the praise. He was pleased to see her preen slightly and her chin angle up.

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“Now turn your bottom towards the window and stand between my legs.” “Oh!” she exclaimed in her high-pitched, throaty voice. “I didn’t expect this to be so hard!” But, she obeyed, and he noticed her legs were trembling slightly with nerves. She stepped timidly between his legs, and he put his hands on her waist to guide her closer to him. “Here it is, sweetling,” he said softly. “Here’s the turning point. Here’s where you bend yourself over my knee for your punishment. Once you do that, there’s no going back, and there’s no stopping until your bottom has been thoroughly spanked.” She mindlessly dropped her dress down over her bottom as one hand flew to her mouth so she could bite her nail nervously, and the other one tugged at her hair. “Pull that skirt up this instant,” he said as harshly as he could bear. If it were not her first spanking, her legs would get a quick spanking for that, but he gave her some allowances. Her bare bottom was lighter than the dark tan her outdoorsy lifestyle gave her, but it still carried the tan look from her Italian heritage. “Are you ready to bend over my knee and accept your spanking?” She nodded quickly, but it took a full minute for her to lower herself awkwardly and reluctantly over his knee. “Since this is your first spanking, we’re going to start slow. I know you’re feeling scared and nervous.” He watched her bottom clench a little and her legs test how much they could move after he locked them down with the weight of his free leg. “I’m only going to use my hand, but it’s going to hurt a whole lot more than you expect. It’s going to burn, and you may have moments where you’ll fear that I am causing permanent damage to your bottom.”

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Her dress hung down over her head, so he couldn’t see her expression. For a first spanking, Rick knew he needed to be sensitive to her emotional ride. He needed to be able to see her reactions. “Pull your dress off.” She obeyed quickly and soon he could see the trepidation on her face. “Now what’s going to happen if you put your hands back to shield your bottom?” She sputtered in surprise. “I don’t know, Mister,” she said with a tremulous voice. He answered firmly. “Not good enough, Keely. What’s going to happen if you put your hands in the way of your punishment?” Since it was her first spanking, he knew that she couldn’t and didn’t know the answer, but he wanted her to come up with an answer anyway. Rick knew that whatever she came up with would probably be more effective than what he could think up. There was a long silence. “You’ll smack them with a ruler?” she asked uncertainly. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. Where had that come from? But he made his voice strong and confident. “Very good, I’m proud of you, sweetling.” She breathed a sigh of relief and shifted, evidently trying to find a comfortable position. As soon as he rested his hand flat out across her bottom, she froze. His hand spanned her little bottom, and he had to resist the urge to fondly squeeze her pert cheeks. “Here we go, now keep your hands on the floor and just think of why you deserve this punishment.” He raised his hand and smacked across the middle, and she stopped breathing for a second. Her cheeks flattened when he smacked harder, but they bounced back into shape quickly. He was proud to see that she wasn’t clenching against the spanking. He waited a few moments,

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then brought his hand across her bottom more sharply. Her tears had dried up, and she clenched the carpet between her fingers, a look of surprise on her face. “That hurts!” she said with honest surprise. He resisted the urge to chuckle and snapped his palm down again. He waited a full five seconds between smacks, giving her time to adjust to the spanking. SMACK! She whooshed out a breath. SMACK! She lifted her feet, but her legs were locked into place by his leg. SMACK! She allowed herself a little “Ow!” Rick pressed his palm down on one cheek, flattening it. With his other hand, he aimed for her one exposed cheek. He smacked it harder, three times quickly in succession. He succeeded in surprising her, and she tried to roll away from his punishing hand. She only managed to lift up her vulnerable cheek higher, and he pressed harder down on her other cheek to keep her in that position. This time he spanked her five times in a row, as fast as a machine gun reporting. She squealed, and he used the pressure of his hand to pull her cheek out, exposing the inner skin of her buttocks. With snapping fingers, he spanked that vulnerable skin until she squirmed and squealed in dismay. “Oh!” she wheezed in. He pressed both hands to her bottom and held her cheeks apart. “How does that feel?” She panted. “Oh gawd,” she tried to crawl forward, but his leg kept her firmly locked in place. “Please… that’s so embarrassing.” He held her open for a full minute, until she finally stopped trying to struggle out of position. “Do you feel exposed?” She nodded with a squeal. “You can’t hide anything from me, Keely. Do you think I don’t know when you lie to me? Do you think

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I don’t know you well enough to see it in your eyes?” She groaned. “I’m sorry, Rick, but please… this is embarrassing!” He allowed anger to creep into his voice. “Which part? Your lies exposed for me to see, or your bottom held open so that I can see your most private parts?” “Both!” she squeaked. He lifted his hand from her unpunished cheek and attacked it without relenting. Ten, maybe twenty times—he just kept smacking until she was squealing and doing her best to control the burn. Rick stopped and let her absorb it before he placed a hand on her lower back to keep her balanced over his thigh. “Oh it hurts!” Her hand began tentatively reaching up towards her burning bottom until he snapped, “Keely!” Her hand flew back down to the carpet. “What did I say would happen if you put your hands back?” Actually, she had said it, but she wasn’t in any position to correct him. “That you’d smack my palms with the ruler.” He gave her enough silence to fill her with regretful unease. “Are you going to keep your hands out of the way?” She could only whisper, “Yes, Rick—Mister,” she corrected. He took that as his cue to start giving her hard smacks, making his hand as firm as a paddle. With regular, evenly-spaced spanks he put enough energy to send her jarring forward with each stroke. He meant to shock her with their force, and he peered down at her face to check her reaction. From the side of her face, he saw a slight sweat glimmer on her skin and her mouth form a perfect

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little ‘O’ of surprise. He turned his attention to her bottom and watched it turn red with his attention. His own hand was stinging, but he didn’t stop. Instead, he increased the force so that the next smack left a solid hand-printed welt across her bottom. She squealed and kicked her foot but he made the next one just as hard, and the one after that. “It hurts!” she cried, but he kept his rhythm strong and steady, turning her bottom into a wellreddened, well-punished bottom. He didn’t stop. He hand-paddled her bottom until she clenched in between strokes, bracing herself against his certain rhythm. The pops echoed throughout the room—even sounded throughout the house—and he kept his rhythm steady and insistent. “Can you feel how disappointed I am in your dishonest behavior?” He smacked even harder, ignoring her little cries of distress. Her face was frowning, focused on fighting the pain with all her will. He didn’t think she was listening, because she made no effort to respond to him. “Keely!” he said with a smack that made her clench her fists tightly into the carpet. “Can you feel how disappointed I am with your lies?” He aimed his hand towards one of her upper thighs and smacked her ten times quickly. “Are you starting to understand how much I disapprove of lying?” Her face contorted in an effort to resist the pain and try not to cry. He cracked his hand across the top of her other leg and watched her bite down on a cry. “Keely,” he said, smacking his hand again with the force to jar her body with attention-getting slaps. “I asked you a question, and I expect an answer.” Rick forced his hand to keep going at a steady rhythm as her face began to crumple. “Are

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you feeling how much you’ve disappointed me? Are you feeling how much your lying hurts?” His hand faltered for only a fraction of a second when she sobbed out, “Yes, Rick, Mister, I’m sorry.” Her shoulders jerked with her cries as she began to accept the pain. He drew upon his resolve and continued her punishment, knowing that it wasn’t near over yet. “Do you feel how hard I am spanking you?” She nodded but her response was incoherent as she grunt-cried at his jerking spanks. “That is how much I hate lying.” He said it passionately and honestly, giving her the full force of his muscled arm. As he spanked with a punishing vengeance, he added, “And I’m not going to stop until I feel that you’ve learned this in your heart.” He took a moment to hoist her up higher of his knee, until he could get at the back of her legs from her knees up. He started just slightly higher than behind her knee and began working up and down her legs, until she cried a long, keeling wail. “Can you feel how much I disapprove of you not taking advantage of the simple act of putting on your life vest to help ensure your safety?” “I love you!” he cried with genuine hurt in his voice. “Do you have any idea how hurt I would be, how devastated I would be if anything happened to you?” He gave her the hardest smacks yet, steeling himself against the cries that were wracking his love’s body. “How much does it hurt, Keely?” “Ow!” she cried. “Does this hurt?” He smacked as hard as he could, grateful his hand had grown numb. “Does this hurt at all?” She whined, “Yeeesss!” He paddled faster with the passion of his words. “This pain you’re feeling now doesn’t even begin to

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compare with what I would feel if anything happened to you.” She sobbed limply over his knee and cried something incoherently. “Am I asking too much, Keely?” He surveyed the bottom and the back of her legs, and filled in the un-welted spots with a painful imprint of his hand. “Am I getting through to you, Keely?” He didn’t need to hear her broken-hearted sobs to know that he had made an impression. He made one last pass to make sure he’d been emphatic enough. Keely had a high pain tolerance, but he’d tried to reach her heart, not just her bottom. Rick helped her up and she immediately snapped her arms around him, squeezing so tightly that he could barely breathe. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she chanted with a tearful, sobbing voice. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, I really didn’t.” “Hush, sweetling,” he returned the hug and rocked her gently, stroking her hair. “I know, and it’s all paid for and forgiven.” “But, I’m sorry!” she wailed with such desperation, that he turned her over his knee again to smack her bottom again. Though he hated to punish her more, Keely seemed to need more before she could forgive herself. He feared that he would need to spank her too long, and he regretfully used one hand to unfasten his belt and pull it from the loops of his jeans. She tensed up, but he smacked her across the bottom with his hand until she relaxed again. “I know I said I was going to only use my hand, but I think you need more. I’m going to give you ten strokes of the belt, and then your punishment will be over.” He folded the belt in half and palmed the buckle. She was bracing herself slightly, even as her crying continued.

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“Keely, I want you to feel each stroke and accept each stroke—no clenching—and I’m going to spank you hard enough that ten strokes will be all that is necessary to pay for your wrongdoings. Do you understand?” “Yeess,” she sobbed. “What do you understand?” Rick prodded. “That I deserve ten more strokes.” He sighed. “No, I don’t think you’re understanding me.” He wished for a moment that he had said five, and not ten. “I’m saying that with each lash of this belt, the guilt you feel will be paid for, and by the time you’ve felt ten strokes you won’t have any need to feel guilty anymore.” As gently as he could, he rubbed her sore bottom. “Do you understand?” Her cries eased, and she fought to control her sobs. “That’ll be it?” Rick smiled in relief. “Yes, and everything will be accounted for between us, and your misdeeds will be forgotten.” Her sobs stopped completely, and she squared her shoulders—even though they were dropped almost to the ground—and adjusted herself so that she was positioned willingly for the belt. Rick’s heart swelled with admiration and pride as she eagerly accepted her first strokes of the belt. He could tell that they hurt from her honest grunts of pain, but her strength renewed his resolve to do his best by her. The ten strokes he laid across her bottom left welts that would have made him wince had it not been for her strong-willed spirit. Rick took a moment after he finished to rub his hand over her welts, letting himself feel pleased with her courage. “Aww, sweetling,” he said as he stood her up. “I’m so proud of you.” Keely glowed and though there were still tears in her eyes, she couldn’t contain the smile on her face.

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“That was something,” she said, her voice laced with wonder. “And I’m proud of you, too.”

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Chapter Three A New Contract

Keely’s eyes popped wide open at six a.m. on the dot. The sun was just lightening the horizon as she jumped out of bed, barely able to contain her excitement. She usually woke up early, eager to start the day, and today she felt an extra surge of grateful happiness around her heart as she tiptoed out of the bedroom. Rick wasn’t a late sleeper, but he did tend to go to bed about midnight and wake up at eight, while her eyes drooped around ten and popped open at six. She often napped in his arms while he watched TV in the living room, and usually he just carried her to bed when he went to bed. Her body was so accustomed to it that she didn’t even wake up anymore. But last night had been different. She’d been spanked. She jogged on quiet tiptoe towards the bathroom, flipped on the light and lifted her nightgown. The mirror reflected a mottled, slightly ridged bottom with a few bruises beginning to develop. Keely ran her hands over them with pride (and a fair bit of wincing), and then blushed with a little self-conscious embarrassment. She then went downstairs to rummage in the kitchen, prepping things to make Rick’s favorite breakfast. She knew he loved waking up to the smell of bacon and fresh, strong coffee, so she readied the coffee pot and set the bacon on the

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counter to thaw from the freezer. She filled a tall glass with orange juice and sat down in their breakfast nook, enjoying the view of the Santa Rosa Mountains. After she set down her empty glass with a contented sigh, she spotted an envelope on the table. She pulled out a card with a photograph of a leaping tigress and smiled. She opened it and read the inscription. To my precious wildcat, last night you gave me more than you can ever know. I’ve enclosed a contract that might make you nervous at first—I know how much you value your freedom. I suspect you’ll sign it, though, but only do so with a free heart. You know you have my love and acceptance unconditionally, as well as my pride and respect. Before you sign, consider your promises and the words of our contract carefully. Keely grinned stupidly. Well, of course she’d sign it, whatever it was. She picked up the folded paper that had fallen into her lap, recognizing the words she had penned the night before. I promise to obey my husband. I promise to be truthful to my husband in all things, small or large. I will not place myself or my marriage in danger. I will respect my husband, which means I will voice my objections with respect, instead of arguing. I will show respect in my expressions as well as with my words. I will address my husband as ‘Mister’ when he is correcting me or setting a boundary. She noted that ‘Mister’ had been penned above the crossed-out ‘Sir’ that Rick had hoped for, and she considered changing it back. But as happy and grateful as she felt, she just couldn’t imagine calling him—calling anyone—‘Sir.’ Below her writing he had added his own promises.

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I promise to cherish and protect my sweetling. I promise to nurture my sweetling’s gift of trust, and use discipline to help her grow as a woman. I promise to be consistent, fair, and strict in disciplining my sweetling. Keely’s breath caught in a mixture of nervous anticipation and desire as she read his promise to be ‘strict.’ She looked up from the paper and marveled at how harshly and thoroughly he had punished her bottom—and yet at the same time he had been amazingly gentle and loving. She shook her head in wonder and bent back over the paper. I promise to give my sweetling firm boundaries to make her feel safe and fair rules to keep her healthy and happy. I promise to punish only when I am in control of my emotions and when my sweetling is in the proper headspace. I promise to release Keely from this contract at any time she may request it, whether before, during, or after a punishment. She gnawed at her lip after reading the last promise. She admired his strong signature at the bottom, and settled her gaze on the blank obviously drawn for her signature. She stared out the window at the immovable mountains and watched the sun rise in rays that popped over the horizon one by one. She wanted to sign, wanted what she had received last night again, but what would the rules be? Would they really be fair? Would he forbid her to do those things that made him want to protect her from them but pleased her? Sure, he would make her wear a life jacket, but what would come next? Would he forbid her to go skydiving, the one sport he hated that she enjoyed? And what about his impatience with the way she darted from job to job, enthusiastic long enough to make the money for her next adventure, but tiring

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of the routine before she could make any real advancement in any career? Would he forbid her to quit a job that she had grown tired of and wanted to quit? She sighed worriedly as she got up to fix breakfast. No matter her qualms, Rick had definitely earned a breakfast made for a king. When he came down the steps with that happy-sleep look and scooped her up in his arms, she giggled. “Ahh, my sweetling made my favorite!” He nuzzled her soft neck with the rough bristles of a full day’s growth on his chin. “The bacon almost smells as good as you!” She squeezed him back in a hug and disentangled herself from his arms. After handing him a steaming plate, she happily sat down and ate her own preferred breakfast—a cantaloupe half filled with cottage cheese. She finished well before him, and surveyed him eating before finally working up the courage to ask, “Before I sign—and I want to sign—” she cleared her throat nervously. “What are the rules?” Rick set down his fork and peered at her solemnly before answering. “You’re not ready to sign that until you don’t need to ask that question.” She shook her head. “But I want to sign it!” she cried and picked up the pen defiantly. He picked up his buttered, crispy toast and frowned at her. “Did you hear what I said, Keely?” Her breath hitched at his firm tone, and she found herself looking down from his steady gaze. “Yes, Mister Sir.” He didn’t smile at the fact that she called him ‘Sir’ and she bit her lip nervously. “But I don’t understand.” “If you can’t trust me to be fair about the rules I make and trust me to make them with your best interests in mind, then you’re not ready to trust me with this type of relationship.”

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Keely’s eyes watered, and her throat constricted in disappointment. “But I want to sign.” “You will, when you’re ready, and not before.” He returned to his breakfast as if the conversation was closed, and she felt her heart ache. “Can I ask something?” she asked with a throat clogged with emotion. Rick nodded and gave her a loving look. She felt her heart ease and breathed out a relieved sigh. “Like… just for example… would you—” she took a deep breath of courage “—make me keep working a job I wanted to quit?” He eyed her steadily. “If I thought it was in your best interests or if I thought there was something you needed to learn.” A swirl of excitement, desire, and fear rushed through her, and she recognized the man she’d married: Man all the way through, strong in his convictions, unsettlingly Alpha, enormously gentle, and always kind. His voice was kind and gentle now as he addressed her over the breakfast table. “You know I would never do anything to hurt you or dent your unbreakable spirit.” His voice soothed over her nerves softly. “And you know I would never be unfair or selfish in making rules for you, and that your happiness is my ultimate concern.” She nodded, her eyes tearing from emotion. “And you know I will punish you if you disobey me or break those rules.” He reached his hand across the table to force her chin up so that he could look into her eyes. “And I know that there is a post-spanking elat ion right now, but all your punishments are not going to be as easy, and they’re not always going to be as… intimate as last night.” Keely glanced away but Rick forced her attention back to him. “There are going to be times that you will hate your punishments, that you will hate

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baring your bottom for correction, and there will be times that this relationship will be difficult.” She didn’t look away, but she swallowed hard as he continued. “There will even be times that I might even be wrong, and you will think and/or know that you’re right, and you will still be expected to bare your bottom, bend over my knee, and accept your punishment because that is the order of our household.” Keely visibly gulped and squirmed in her chair. “Are you ready for that, too?” Her voice came out in a hoarse, nervous croak. She cleared her throat before trying again. “It sounds like a complicated business, this spanking stuff.” He nodded gravely. Keely bucked up and gathered her courage. After all, it did say she could end the contract on request, not that she wanted to do that—she suspected Rick would be hurt if she did. More than that, though, his words of warning showed her what a challenge this relationship would be, and that more than anything inspired her to pick up the pen. With tears in her eyes and flutters of excitement in her belly, Keely signed her name to the contract. ______________ Surprisingly, Keely’s life seemed unchanged after starting their ‘new’ relationship. They drove to a quiet lake with their kayaks and practiced their Eskimo rolls and braces in the still waters, and camped by a fire in the cool night air. They had a tent, but they both preferred sleeping in the open when the stars were bright and the mosquitoes weren’t too bad. He did smack her bottom once, when he wandered past her making pancakes over the open fire. “Smells great!” She’d squealed—the smack had

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hurt enough to take her breath away—but she’d dissolved into shy giggles of desire. They didn’t see much of each other the following work week, except at night and early morning. Keely currently held a job at the rock-climbing wall in Gaylan’s, encouraging kids and adults alike to climb to the top. It was usually ten-thirty before she arrived home, and she was usually beat and asleep in Rick’s arms before the eleven o’clock news came on. In the mornings they enjoyed breakfast together, but they tended to eat in relaxed silence in the morning. Once Keely finished her breakfast— and she always finished at least ten minutes before Rick—she would chatter away, unable to contain all the little things she wanted to share with Rick about the day before or all the new ‘adventures’ she wanted to try. On Saturday morning, though, Keely slept in longer than usual. Her late nights working and early morning habit caught up with her, and she woke up with Rick at eight. “Hey, sleepyhead,” he cuddled with her in surprise. “I’ve got a sweetling in bed with me!” She groaned despite his sweet words. “I hate waking up late!” She popped out of bed, irritably shaking off his affectionate hug. “Gawd! What time is it?” Her mood didn’t improve when they tackled the chore of cooking breakfast together. She’d already heated the water for her tea when he pulled out the pans for his eggs and bacon and hash browns. Usually she enjoyed making it for him, and felt grateful when he made it himself, but today she eyed the pans he was dirtying and felt like growling at the kitchen she knew she’d be cleaning up. “Will you move the teapot, sweetling, so I can use that burner?” His hands were full of pans and

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spatulas, and she sighed dramatically, reaching for teapot. “With a hot pad,” he said sharply before her hand reached the old-fashioned metal teapot. “It’s cooled by now,” she said breezily, and in a rebellion she didn’t consider, she grabbed the hot metal handle, picked up the teapot, and dropped it a second later with a squeal of pain. After she had finished cursing and blowing on her hand in distress, she looked up at her husband. She took a step back in trepidation at his red face and his disapproving gaze. “There are no little smacks of warning with me, Keely. You may read of little warning spankings in the stories you’ve taken to reading lately, but in this house, when you break a rule, you can expect a thorough and complete punishment.” Keely’s face fell, and her eyes turned downwards, her burning hand forgotten. “You’re going to spank me?” Rick looked at her severely. “What else did you expect when you disobeyed me?” She shrugged a little. “You didn’t exactly say I couldn’t pick up hot pans with my bare hands.” Rick raised his eyebrows at her. “I believe it falls under the category of ‘I will not place myself or my marriage in danger.’” He frowned. “Not to mention that I did specifically tell you to pick it up with a hot pad.” Keely felt the pit of her stomach seize into a knot as she remembered her last spanking. She’d known she was disobeying him in the instant before she’d reached for the teapot, but she’d brushed the thought aside, wanting to prove that she was right. In pre-DD days, Rick would have given her a sharp word or two, and she would have feigned that she didn’t care and went off on a bike ride or something.

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Those days were gone. She looked into her husband’s disapproving gaze and swallowed at his severe expression. “Go into the bedroom and pile the pillows on the middle of the bed. Take off your dress and your panties, and find my old, black leather belt—the one that’s old and soft and a big ragged at the edges.” Keely rubbed her hand absently. “But it’s just a little thing!” she interrupted. Ignoring her, he continued. “Prop yourself up over those pillows and put the belt by your face, where you can see it and contemplate the punishment you’re going to receive for your actions today.” When he finished putting butterflies in her stomach, he took her hand gently and examined it for himself. “Just a little aloe,” he pronounced, then frowned at her. “And disobedience is no little thing, nor is placing yourself—my treasure—in danger.” She stomped her foot. “A little red on my hand can hardly be called danger!” Rick shook his head. “Irregardless of whether your hand had been burnt or not, you disobeyed me.” Keely pulled her hand out of his. “You can’t be serious! You’d have spanked me even if I hadn’t been burnt?” she asked incredulously. Her heart beat fast as he eyed her levelly. “You disobeyed me, period, which means you get spanked.” Her insides twisted with a craving desire and feeling of fear. “But your spankings really hurt!” Keely thought of her last spanking, and her face uncontrollably crumpled. In the five years since they’d met, she’d never cried in front of her husband until he’d spanked her last week, not even when she’d broken her arm after fulfilling a reckless desire to see if she could still climb a tree as an adult. She’d made it pretty high, too, and had been

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lucky she’d only fallen to their roof when the tree branch broke, and not to the ground. But now she was crying in front of her husband again. She looked up at him with pleading eyes, but she found what she’d suspected she’d see: a loving, concerned gaze that firmly promised she’d do more crying before noon. “You’re really strict,” she said with a pout, a note of admiration, and a healthy drop of fear for her bottom. Rick cupped her face and wiped a tear away with his thumb. “I promised you that, didn’t I?” “I’m scared,” Keely cried softly. He ran a hand through her hair to gently untangle her pillow-head hair-do. “It’s natural to fear punishment, sweetling.” Her lip trembled, and she stuck her chin up. “I’m not afraid of anything,” she suddenly declared defiantly. Rick ignored her untrue statement. “Are you afraid of me?” She shook her head at the vulnerable tone in his voice. “I’m scared of…” her voice trembled as she trailed off. “It’s going to hurt!” she cried desperately and grabbed hold of his hands for comfort. “Please don’t spank me, I didn’t know I could be spanked for a little thing like that. I didn’t understand.” He shook his head. “You will,” he promised. “Just this once, please, since we just started this stuff, I understand now, I do, please, just this once could I not get a spanking, please?” Keely gripped his hands tightly and stood up on tiptoe to give him kisses on both cheeks and on his mouth. “Please?” she begged again. Rick couldn’t resist a smile at the little pecks of affection she dotted his face with, and he wrapped his arms around her protectively. He reached his hands down to cup her bottom and to rub it soothingly.

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She didn’t need him to answer before she sagged her shoulders in defeat. “Oh man!” she cried. “It’s going to hurt!” He chuckled and gave her a couple of love pats to send her toward the bedroom. “Do as I told you, sweetling, and I’ll be in when I think you’re ready.” Was waiting part of the punishment, she wondered? Keely gnawed at a fingernail and shifted nervously on her feet. “How long?” She got her answer when he responded, “Whenever I feel you’re ready.” Oh damn, she wanted to say, but thought better of it. He hadn’t told her she couldn’t curse, but she thought now wasn’t the best time to test it. She turned towards the bedroom and was surprised to feel a swell of relief in her heart. “Good girl,” she heard Rick say as she started up the stairs. She was surprised that his praise didn’t annoy her—it could be such a patronizing thing to say, but she knew he said it with genuine pride. She felt an equal happiness at pleasing him, and it was with a light heart that she piled the pillows on the bed and removed her panties and nightgown. She bent over the pile with a little ‘oomph,’ and sat there for awhile, growing more bored by the second. After a good ten minutes, she popped up with an “oopsy!” She rummaged through the closet and searched for his old leather belt. She reached deep into the back corner and closed her hand around it at the same time that she heard a creak on the stairs. With a squeal, she darted for the bed and dove over the pillows as if she were sliding into home. She dropped the belt next to her face just in time for him to walk into the room. She giggled a little with nerves at his raised eyebrow, then looked away guiltily as he angled his gaze down at her severely.

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“I forgot the… the belt, I had to go find it,” she explained. “Mm-hmm,” he said noncommittally. Rick towered over her with his wide, muscled shoulders and peered down at her carefully. “You don’t look too remorseful.” She bit her lip against the nervous grin that wanted to erupt, but her stomach fluttered with anxiety. “You know I sometimes laugh when I’m nervous.” She resisted the urge to roll over and hide her bottom as he took a step forward and leaned over to examine her. To her surprise, he walked over to the window and pulled up the blinds. “Spread your legs, sweetling.” His gentle voice seemed to indicate that he understood her inappropriate smiling, but his words scared her. It was broad daylight, and she hated making love when there was light—she hated for him to see her down there. “But I hate that,” she stammered. “You know that!” She turned her head and bit her lips as he stared out the window, unresponsive to her objections. He wore a hooded expression that she didn’t recognize as he calmly walked over to her side and picked up the belt. “That’s the second time you’ve disobeyed me today.” She twisted her head around to watch him fold the belt in his hands and felt a panic rise in her throat. “Where do your hands go when you’re being punished like this, Keely?” Like the question he’d asked her about shielding her bottom last weekend, she didn’t know the answer, and he’d never told her. But she knew without a doubt that she’d better come up with an answer. She looked around panicked and realized there was a pile of blankets pillowing her head. She

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forlornly slid her hands under the covers and answered, “Under the covers, Mister.” She braced herself for the pain and bit her lip to keep it from trembling. He’d thought she didn’t seem remorseful, but the truth was that she dreaded his disappointment. Such was her anxiety over the anticipation that she felt a flood of relief when the belt snapped across the top of her legs. Her relief disappeared a second later when the belt snapped again and again, in the same spot and with alarming quickness. She cried and tried to crawl forward away from the pain and over the pillows, but he grasped her ankle and pulled her back into position. He locked her ankle down by leaning on it as the belt whipped across her bottom, reducing her to regretful tears and cries of pain. After a good twenty strokes, she felt relieved as he let go of her ankle and dropped the belt by her feet. Her relief collapsed into shock at his next words, though. “Your punishment will start when you’re in the proper position, and you’re ready to obey me.” Keely squeaked. “Rick! I—” Rick’s kind and gentle voice softly cut her objections off. “We’re in charge of the Eskimo rolling practice at the local pool. I’ve got to clean off my kayak so it can go in the pool and teach five new members of our club how to Eskimo roll before our whitewater trip this fall.” He paused, and she held her breath. “I’ll be back in three hours. You can shower and eat breakfast, but I expect two things before I return: a note of apology to me waiting for me on the kitchen table—at least five hundred words—and you had better be in a position that convinces me you’re ready to accept your punishment for putting yourself in danger and disobeying me, with your legs spread.”

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She looked up at him, slightly panicked at the thought of more punishment. But, already, the pain of the belt had faded to a warm, comforting throb. Keely stared up at his hard chest and felt tears come to her eyes. Very softly, he laid a hand on her shoulder as he kneeled down until they were eye to eye. “Are you going to be okay until I get back?” he asked gently. She nodded, immediately, out of a desire to please him, but then took a moment to think about his concern. She nodded again. Rick pushed the hair back that had fallen over her face. “You don’t understand why I am being so strict with you, do you?” Her mouth quivered, and she couldn’t stop her face from crumpling with a hurt sob yet again. Keely regretfully shook her head. “Do you know what the word disciplinarian means?” She shook her head. She knew what it meant in general, but although Rick had an MBA, he also had a love for English and a Bachelor’s degree to prove it. He grew up reading the dictionary like a good novel, just for fun. Whatever definition she had in her mind would be incomparable to the definition she was sure he could quote, with precision, from memory. “One that enforces strict discipline. Discipline meaning training that is expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.” He paused. “Discipline also meaning punishment intended to correct or train.” Keely started to roll over so that she could prop herself up to look at him on a more equal level. “I think you can stay in position awhile longer, until after I leave.” She swallowed and found she couldn’t look him in the eye until he forced her nervous gaze to meet

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his kind eyes. “I promised you that I’d use discipline to help you grow as a woman, didn’t I?” She wiggled on the pillows in her discomfort and nodded. “And is that what you still want from me?” She nodded a lot less confidently. “Not good enough, Keely.” Her eyes snapped up in surprise. “I think I’ll stop and get lunch after the practice, and I think you’d better expand that essay to include not only an apology for your disobedience, but an understanding of why I should be strict with you, and a more confident commitment from you to our contract.” He watched her carefully as she absorbed his request. She pursed her lips and picked at the stray feathers on the bed that had fallen out of their pillows. “Maybe you ought to run a few errands, too.” She looked up at him uncertainly. “Maybe?” He nodded and walked over to the nightstand to pick up his cell phone. “Why don’t you call me when you’re ready?” He bent down and planted a kiss on her forehead. “And don’t forget, you can cancel our contract at any time, and you will still be the sweetling I love unconditionally and the sexy woman I am crazy in love with.” He tweaked her nose in the way she both loved and kind of hated. She gave a sigh of relief and smiled up at him. As he walked out of the bedroom, she couldn’t help but cry regretfully, “But I love coaching newbies in the Eskimo roll.” He stopped in the doorway but didn’t turn around. “Consider it part of your punishment.” His strict voice returned, even after his gentle words. “If you had obeyed me when I told you to spread your legs and submit to your punishment, your spanking would be over in a few more minutes, and you would be going with me.”

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Keely lay in position long after he left, even though he’d said she could get up and eat breakfast and take a shower. But her mind mulled over the contract she had signed, and she turned her face to the sun streaming through the window. She may be an adult, but she wanted to play outside.

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Chapter Four Strict Desires

Keely struggled to climb out of the dizzy daze of a nap as she realized that she was still barebottomed, propped up on the bed, and positioned to be spanked. She felt a small panic as she freed her hands from the covers to look at her watch. After all, she had a shower to take, breakfast to eat, and an essay to write all before she re-positioned herself to accept another spanking from her husband. Only ten o’clock, she realized with relief. Rick would just be starting to teach the rookies how to Eskimo Roll in their kayaks, preparing them for their first whitewater trip down the Upper Gauley in West Virginia. Unlike the way she normally popped out of bed in early morning, she climbed out slowly, unaccustomed to the groggy feelings of a nap. Despite the fact that she was headed straight for the shower, Keely had to resist the urge to put on a pair of underwear immediately. Giving in to her urge, she slipped on a pair of pink lace panties and padded off to her computer, instead of the bathroom. She normally didn’t spend much time on the computer, but since she’d been curious about her desires, she’d done some research on spanking relationships on the net. And although she’d never spoken up on the forums, she had a million questions—but no idea which one to ask. Still a hunt and peck typist, Keely

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slowly typed out an email with her index finger before she went off to the shower. Hi all! K here, nice to meet you! My husband and I just started a… spanking relationship, and he’s pretty strict. I suppose that’s a good thing? I just did a little thing, a tiny thing wrong, but it was a disobedient thing and my hubby’s going to give me a ‘complete and thorough’ spanking. Worse, he’s asked me to write an essay… an apology and a more confident commitment to our lifestyle. The hardest thing, though, is that he wants me to write why I understand that he should be strict. I don’t know what the heck to say, and I’ve only got a couple hours! Do I want him to be strict? Should he be strict? Shouldn’t he? And if so or not so, why? Thanks! K Keely sent it off and prayed she would get some responses by the time she finished her shower and ate breakfast. She penned her apology to Rick, and found it flowed easily from her heart. It was easy to renew her commitment to the contract after that, but she was torn when it came time for her to write about why he should be strict. On the one hand, she didn’t want a spanking, pure and simple as that. And the more she thought about it, the more reasons she could come up with about why she didn’t think she deserved one. She went back to the office and looked for some advice. The first email made her laugh, a jesting case for why husbands should never be strict. The second email was from a hopeful spankee: Strict? The word just gives me the shivers! (The good kind, lol.) I imagine that strict boundaries would make me feel safe… if I didn’t want strict, why would I want this lifestyle, anyway? Gawd, you are SO lucky!!! Keely had to admit she felt those same shivers of desire when thinking of her husband’s strictness, and the author was right. Why did she ask for this

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lifestyle if she didn’t want strict? Another email came from what seemed to be a shy, quiet woman with a lot of wisdom: Hi K, my husband is rather strict, too. If he says he’s going to spank me, then I know I’m going to get spanked. If he says I’m not allowed to do something, then I know for sure that if I do it anyway, I’ll get spanked. He doesn’t have a whole lot of lecturing talent, but I’m grateful for his consistency. After twenty years of marriage, we still have a relatively peaceful home life and comfortable relationship without too many fights, disagreements, and silent treatments. Sometimes I don’t earn spankings for a long time, and I don’t like them too much, so I’m usually happy. But then I’ll just get ‘that feeling’ and I’ll go do something stupid, just so I can be sure that he still cares. And he still does, and I get spanked, and that makes me fall in love with him all over again. The last one she read gave her quite a bit to think about, this one from a gentleman who was obviously a spanker. Sounds like you’re a lucky one, K. I know many women here who would love to have what you have. I could write you paragraph on paragraph about the importance of strict consistency, but I suspect your husband asked you to write an essay on it because he wanted you to come to your own conclusions. I will give you a few things to consider: Most spankees say that they want a DD relationship for feelings of safety and security, to fulfill a sexual fantasy, and/or to grow and learn, to be the “best that they can be.” How would you feel if he sometimes spanked you for something, and then other times didn’t? How do you think you would react, and how effective do you think that would be in reforming or improving your behavior?

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Keely gnawed at her lip, and then eyed the window in frustration, considering that a bike ride would help. Ideas were forming in her head, but she’d never been much of an essay writer in school. Ignoring the nagging feeling that Rick would probably disapprove, she changed into her bike shorts and took off. After all, he didn’t say she couldn’t go out for a bike ride. Her nagging feelings were confirmed when she blazed back into the driveway an hour later. Her heart sunk as she passed his SUV, and her stomach clenched when she saw Rick waiting impatiently— angrily, even—on the steps. “What are you doing here?” She put her hands on her hips and took her best defense—offense. “You’re supposed to wait for me to call. I was thinking, and now you’ve interrupted me, so how am I supposed to complete my assignment?” She talked fast and angry, but her shrill voice gave away her distress. “Do you realize how worried I was when I called to check on you, and you didn’t answer the phone?” His voice dropped to the lowest and gravest she had ever heard it. “I knew you hadn’t left the house because I had expressly forbidden it, so the only reasonable conclusion I could come to was that something had happened to you.” Keely put her hands on her hips and snapped them saucily as she pertly defended her actions. “You promised to stay away until I was ready, and I needed to go on a bike ride to collect my thoughts for the essay.” He started to speak, but this time she cut him off. “And you didn’t tell me to stay in the house, so I didn’t disobey you.” “You cannot begin to tell me that you didn’t know any better than to go out today until we finished what we started this morning or you called

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me canceling our contract, and you could have called to ask permission if you were unsure.” “Ha!” Keely spat. “Since when do I have to ask permission to go on bike ride? That is definitely not a rule that you’ve informed me of.” Rick ran a hand over his fuzzy head of blonde hair and frowned at her. “Okay, Keely. Answer me straight: Did you or did you not feel the warning twinges of your conscious when you left this house to go on a bike ride?” She took a deep breath to enthusiastically launch into her defense, but stopped when he held a hand up. He turned his hand over and gently pinched her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “You do respect me enough to be honest with me, don’t you?” When she looked away and took a preparatory breath, he spoke even more softly. “Love me enough?” “Rick!” She shook her head against his guiltinducing words. “Okay, yes, maybe I did, but—” He stopped her by pressing his finger against her lips. “But nothing. Now what’s going on here? Are you second-guessing your commitment to our contract?” She shook her head adamantly. “No, I’m still committed, but…” she trailed off at his look. Evidently he didn’t much like the word “but”. “Yes or no, Keely.” His eyes kindly waited in patience for her answer, not a flicker of any emotion in them except love and acceptance for whatever answer she chose to give. “No… I mean, yes, I’m committed.” At his lack of response, Keely huffed out a breath and snapped her heel back to her hand to stretch out her quadriceps. “I am, one hundred percent.” He shook his head sadly. “We started out this morning with a moment’s disobedience and endangering yourself, and you’ve added two counts of disobedience on top of that.”

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Keely dropped her ankle and began stretching her other leg, considerably more abashed than she had been a few minutes ago. “What am I supposed to do, welt your bottom good three times in a row? That would be a bit harsh, don’t you think?” It took her a few moments to realize that he expected an answer. She shrugged. “What do you expect me to do?” he asked sternly. “Do you expect me to let you off easy? Tell you never mind, it was all a misunderstanding?” She looked up hopefully for a second but dropped her gaze at his frown of disapproval. “I want an answer, Keely.” She turned away from him to stretch her calf muscles by stepping her toes up onto the wall. “I don’t know what you should do, you’re the spanker, you decide.” It came out a little more belligerent than she had intended, but she didn’t apologize. “And, as your husband and disciplinarian, I expect you to participate in your discipline and show a desire and motivation to grow.” “Well, you’re the expert, not me.” Rick growled softly. “Keely…” She huffed and plopped down on the steps. “It all started out with a small, tiny thing, and suddenly it’s this huge thing!” He sat down next to her and put an arm around her. “Suddenly? Keely, let’s just review this day and see how ‘sudden’ it really was.” Rick stood up to straighten up the random tools in the garage, busying his hands, as he liked to do when he was thinking hard about something. “What started it all, exactly?” Keely immediately got on the defensive. “I felt that the teapot handle would have been cooled enough to touch, and, okay, I was wrong, but it was my mistake, and my punishment was that my hand

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burnt. I learned my lesson, and that should be the end of it.” Rick didn’t respond as he hung the hammer back on the hook. He picked up a spare bike tire and reached up to store it in the rafters. “Keely, you can do better than that. You know that you’re leaving out the most important issue in your choice that started it all.” With a frown, he added, “try again.” She bounced up to grab the broom, feeling restless. It took her sweeping out half the garage before she finally spoke. As if watching her busy herself relieved his restlessness, Rick sat down on the steps to watch her. “I guess you must think the issue is that you told me to get a pot holder for the teapot, and I…” She didn’t want to say disobey, but she supposed it was accurate. “… disobeyed you. And my disobedience hurt my hand, a consequence that you considered fell under the umbrella of putting myself in danger.” Rick walked over to pull the broom gently from her hand. “That is how I feel about it. Am I incorrect?” Her hands itched to pull the broom back from him and do something again, but she clasped them behind her back. “Maybe you’re not incorrect, but I’d just prefer you think of it my way.” She hoped he’d find it funny and threw him a flirtatious glance with a little smile. He did laugh. “My little wildcat,” he muttered as he shook his head. He switched directions. “How long have you been thinking about asking me to spank you?” That was an easy question, and Keely answered immediately. “Since I first met you.” “Really?” He let her take the broom back from him, such was his surprised distraction. “Didn’t you

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consider that I would be lawmaker, judge, and executioner all wrapped into one?” Her sweeping picked up pace as she nervously thought about that. True, she had thought of him in all those roles, just never thought of him holding all of them at once. She nodded, which seemed to be enough of a response that he asked, “What was your next misstep?” Keely scooped up the pile of debris she’d swept, and carried it to the trashcan before answering. “You wanted me to… to… spread my legs! That’s embarrassing!” She slammed the lid of the trashcan down. “And I don’t see what that has to do with anything but perhaps your perverse pleasure while I’m in pain.” His lip twitched. “You are beautiful.” He grinned, to her consternation, and then his face dropped into a serious expression. “Isn’t embarrassment and exposure a big part of the punishment of a spanking?” “Well, I just didn’t want to embarrass myself like that.” “So you disobeyed me a second time.” He put a finger at her chin to make sure she saw his serious expression. “And you don’t get to decide your punishment.” She looked away again and rocked back and forth between her feet. “But, that doesn’t count. I didn’t know that you meant…” she trailed off, uncertain what she meant. “I didn’t know you meant I had to obey you all the time, every time.” He raised an eyebrow. “Did you just think you could pick and choose?” “No!” she denied. “But I guess I just didn’t think that there would be times that it would be hard, or that I wouldn’t want to.”

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He didn’t say anything as she laced up her rollerblades and started rolling in circles in the garage. “And then what was your third misdeed for the day?” She picked up pace, eyeing the driveway with a desire to roll right out of the garage and enjoy the exhilaration of flying down the hill. “I guess I chose wrong in deciding to go on a bike ride to clear my mind and gather my thoughts so I could write the best essay I possibly could for you.” She said it as innocently as she could, in her sweetest, most submissive voice. Rick ran a hand over his fuzzy butch hair cut. It suited his active lifestyle and athletic build, even though she’d prefer something a little more loose and curly on him. “I’ve a mind to ground you for the rest of this weekend.” She gasped. “Ground me?” Her eyes widened in shock. “You couldn’t!” “And you’ll get your three spankings tonight.” He cocked his head at her with his eyebrows raised. “You wouldn’t!” she cried, with more pleading than objection in her voice. “But we were going to practice our freestyle on Sunday!” He nodded resolutely. “Yes, I think that is a fitting punishment.” Her heart dropped. “I don’t like this, please, Rick.” She beseeched him with the most pitiful expression she could summon. “Keely, do you think I enjoy this? I would much rather be spending the day with you outside and rewarding you for good behavior, rather than punishing you for bad choices.” Keely looked up at him with a surprised expression and a question in her eyes. “Yes, Keely,” he answered her unasked question. “It works both ways. Your husband can

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reward as well as punish, and believe me, I prefer the former.” With another frown, he added, “Not to mention the fact that if you’re grounded, then I’m essentially grounded myself, with no kayaking or surfing partner.” She put her bike up on the rack as she collected her thoughts, ignoring the guilty feeling gnawing at her. “I thought about my essay. I can tell you now, if you want, what I was going to say.” She locked her bike in place and took off her helmet. Only then did she sneak a look up at him. “Do you want to hear it?” “Yes, but I want you to obey my instructions more.” He waited quietly while she struggled with a response. “You want me to go in and finish my essay?” He nodded once, still waiting expectantly. Softly, she added, “And get ready for my… spanking?” “That was the plan, wasn’t it?” Keely nodded and did a quick calf stretch against the wall as she gathered her thoughts. “Pull down your shorts.” Her mouth popped open and she looked around frantically at their private home at the foot of a mountain. “Here? Right now? Outside? In front of everyone?” He sighed sadly. “Don’t add another count of disobedience, Keely.” She felt a shiver of anticipation and a pleasant thrill at the risk of it that outweighed her trepidation at another spanking. “But I thought you wanted me to go inside and…” she trailed off at the shake of his head. “You just said,” she mumbled under her breath, but didn’t bother finishing it. Keely hooked her fingers under the spandex biking shorts and wormed them down her legs until

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they were bunched at her feet. Before he had to ask, she flipped her little lace panties down, too. He nodded in approval. “Bend over and put your hands on the top step.” He gestured towards the two concrete steps leading to the door between their garage and their kitchen. With a last glance to their empty yard, she positioned herself obediently for correction. She took a deep breath and steadied herself for another spanking. After a full minute passed, she looked up to him questioningly. He leaned towards her and spoke softly into her ear. “Why did you obey me, just now?” She pulled back in surprise, but basically stayed in position. “I don’t know.” In that strong, smooth voice she’d always loved, he voiced his disapproval. “Not good enough, Keely.” “Rick, you ask too much. I asked you for a spanking relationship obviously because I wanted it for some reason. Must we keep re-hashing the reasons and talking it to death? I signed the contract and I meant it, what more do you want?” She nearly stood up until he put a restraining hand on her back. “Answer me, young lady.” “Ha!” Keely wiggled from under his hand and stood up, hands on her hips in defiance. “Perhaps you misunderstood me. I asked for a spanking relationship, not a let’s talk twenty-four hours a day about our relationship and re-hash every misdeed over and over and then finally after you’re sick of talking and have said everything stored in your mind then you’ll finally get your spanking relationship!” She ended her speech on a high note nearing the high notes of an opera singer. Rick caught her as she jumped up towards the stairs in an effort to flee. She made a surprised “Op!” sound, but wrapped her arms around his neck

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in habit. With her arms wrapped around his neck, Rick’s heart swelled in protective love. She calmed down immediately in his loving arms and turned her pouting lips towards his. “Just because you can sweep me off my feet doesn’t mean you’re winning here.” He laughed as he opened the door and carried her inside. “Always my competitive wildcat.” He stood her in front of the kitchen table and gave her two hard smacks on her bottom before she could object. “Something to keep you motivated,” he explained as he readied a piece of paper and pen for her. Then he grabbed her apology and left her to write. Keely stared out the window, unable to see the view for the tears in her eyes. Never before had she felt like such a recalcitrant little girl. First, she’d never set at a table with her shorts and panties at her knees and her bottom bare. Second, she felt like a naughty girl in a Catholic school forced to write lines. But through all the feelings whirling within her, she felt a strange relief. A relief that almost bordered on happiness, because she wasn’t hiding anything from the one person she loved more than anyone else. And it was comforting to know that Rick knew her worst behavior, and instead of rejecting her, he was calmly and compassionately correcting it. A small voice in her added—to her surprise —he’s not going to leave me. She felt the fear of abandonment long enough to welcome the rush of confidence that Rick was stronger than anything she could do to sabotage her own happiness or the health of their relationship. It came to her then, that she wanted him to be strict. Not because she wanted spankings, even though her bare-bottomed position on the chair was giving her a vulnerable sort of turned-on feeling. She wanted him to be strict so that she could feel

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the security that he would be there, always, to deal with problems rather than withdraw from her or their relationship. The words flowed from her then, and she wrote the answer to his question quickly. When she finally finished, she slapped the pen down. “Rick!” she called. He wandered back in, reading the last of her apology. She blushed and studied her hands wringing in her lap. “Thank you, Keely.” Her head snapped up—he hardly ever called her anything except “sweetling” or “wildcat.” The solemn, gentle expression in his eyes made her stomach twist in knots of both love and consternation. “It’s time for you to get ready for your spanking.” She nodded and whispered, “May I pull up my shorts to walk into—” “Just take them off.” It was among one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do. Though there’d been many times that she’d played the tease and taken her own clothes off for her husband, this was totally different. Even though her shorts were already halfway down, she blushed as she took them off the rest of the way. She looked up at her husband desperately, not wanting to stand up and leave the protection of the table. “Go on, sweetling,” he prodded with a kind smile. “You know that you need and deserve a spanking.” She winced at the word ‘spanking’ and stood up. With eyes cast down, she made her way towards the stairs. A surge of separation anxiety gripped her heart, and she turned at the doorway. “Are you

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coming soon?” Keely asked, with a trace of fear in her voice. Rick nodded. “I’m always going to be there for you, Keely.”

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Chapter Five Learning Obedience

Keely waited on the bed, feeling small and vulnerable. Her bottom was propped over two fluffy pillows, and her hands were clasped tightly together under the covers. Though it made her uncomfortable, she spread her legs in a gesture of an accepting attitude towards her impending spanking. She didn’t look up when she heard Rick’s heavy footsteps on the wooden floor of their bedroom. He got right down to business as her tears started pooling in her eyes. “We can boil down your three missteps of the day into one word: disobedience.” She felt something lay next to her on the bed and looked over to see a long, shiny paddle. “Three counts of disobedience, and three implements for your spanking.” She gulped at the paddle but couldn’t tear her eyes away. In another situation she would have said that the wood was beautiful—dark, shiny and rich. Strong and unbreakable. The old leather belt was still there, and a thin switch, which didn’t look thick enough to be called anything but a twig. That couldn’t hurt so badly. She nearly smiled in relief, but the paddle glimmered in the sunlight threateningly. He took a step closer to her and she braced herself for a spank.

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But he used the tip of his finger to softly trace a line down her back, and it took Keely a moment to realize he was tracing her scar. “Do you remember how you got this?” She grimaced into the pillow. “Kayaking.” “But how?” She knew exactly where this was leading and gulped. “The current took me under, and I got cut by the rocky structure.” He tsk-ed. “How could you have avoided that injury?” She ducked her head guiltily into the bed. “Listened to your warning.” “I warned you to brace left, didn’t I?” In an instant, anger welled up in her. “Well, I wanted a challenge, so what. I knew the risk, and I was willing to take it.” The silence behind her grew heavy, and her flash of anger faded into nervousness. “I have a very long memory. Do you remember what you told me afterwards?” She bit her lip and shook her head, even though she did remember. He sighed. “‘Don’t tell me what to do,’ you said. ‘It makes me do the opposite.’ you said.” He cleared his throat impatiently. “You didn’t assess the risk and decide to take the chance, Keely. You simply disobeyed me because of your competitive streak.” Keely was about to retort, but his finger traced her scar again. The gentle touch calmed her. She resisted the urge to close her legs, and instead dug her fingers into the mattress. “Disobedience and lying are two bad habits of yours that we are going to change first, and I don’t expect we’ll have to spend weeks on it. Hopefully, this punishment will be memorable enough that we won’t need to repeat it again because if I have to repeat the lesson, then I’ll know—” a clear warning

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crept into his voice “—that I wasn’t emphatic enough the first time.” Her legs prickled into goose bumps and a shiver ran down her spine. She pushed her arms deeper under the covers and wished she could cover her whole body up. “Are you cold, sweetling?” He was always kind, but the love and gentleness in his voice surprised her, given their activities of the moment. She nodded. He pulled at the covers until he had the upper half of her body wrapped in a warm cocoon. But, now that her torso was covered up, she felt even more exposed, and her bottom felt more vulnerable. He inched the covers up a few more inches so that her bottom was completely bare. “There’s not going to be any warm-up here, Keely.” He picked up the shiny, dark wood paddle and tapped his free hand with it. “It’ll hurt more on untouched skin, and this is a punishment I want you to remember.” Keely couldn’t help squirming, and she buried her head in the pillow. “I don’t want it to hurt!” “You may close your legs now, but not too tightly. I want those muscles relaxed and accepting of your punishment.” When she settled herself into position, he raised the paddle above her bottom. “Remember to stay in position. I don’t want to have to add strokes.” She nodded and whimpered in agreement. Staring at the covers miserably. “Here it comes,” he warned, and cracked the paddle full across her bottom. She jumped and there was a slight delay before a cry of pain came out of her mouth. She writhed around, but managed to basically stay in position. She gasped. “I can’t take nineteen more paddles!” She nearly rose in a panic. “It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!” She whisked in a deep breath to

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control the pain. “You don’t understand; it really hurts!” Rick put a hand on her back to keep her from moving out of position. “You can take whatever I give you, I promise.” It wasn’t a threat—he filled his voice with as much warmth as he could, hoping to give her confidence. “I told you, Keely, that this is the only punishment you’ll need on the matter of disobedience.” He ran a hand over her bottom gently to calm her flailing legs. “Relax your bottom, and scoot back up over the pillows into position.” Amidst her misery, she felt a surge of love at his gentle touch and settled herself just to please him. She remembered too late that positioning herself meant a quicker attack of the paddle. It cracked against her bottom this time straight across her stretched sit spot. She bit the comforter as hard as she could against the pain. A finger touched her bottom and she heard, “relax,” again. She obeyed. CRACK! “It hurts!” she whimpered yet again, but he didn’t need to tell her to get back into position. “Answer me this: why is it supposed to hurt?” Keely almost groaned, but bit her lip instead. “You like to talk far too much.” Softly, he admonished, “Answer the question, Keely.” She cleared her throat, but her voice still came out small and rough. “So that I won’t disobey you again, I suppose.” She’d expected him to reward her answer with another crack of the paddle, but instead he gently laid the cold paddle across her bottom to rest. “Do you want to obey me, Keely?” Keely had never known Rick to talk so softly before, but he seemed intent on treating her like a horse that needed calming or something. She

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huffed at the thought—it wasn’t as if she were out of control or anything. Nor was she a frightened coward needing reassurance. Sparks of ire lit into her throat, and she balled her hands into fists. “You needn’t treat me like a frightened horse. Spank me and be done with it!” Rick barely stopped himself from bursting into a laugh, but he couldn’t suppress a grin. She sounded like a queen commanding her subject to spank her. It was just the spirit he loved in her that he never wanted to break. He chuckled. “I think of you more like a wildcat, Keely, than a horse, believe me.” Then he picked up the paddle and tapped it lightly against her bottom twice to get her attention. “First, you don’t get to say when, how, what, or why you get spanked, and you definitely don’t get to command me to do it.” He tapped her bottom lightly again, and she jerked as if he was about to spank her. “Second, I asked you a question, and I expect an answer. Period.” But, she couldn’t remember the question, not with the paddle lying across her bottom. She breathed a sigh of relief when he asked again, “Do you want to obey me, Keely?” “Not particularly,” she answered to be contrary, but she shrugged off the guilty feelings—she sort of meant it. “Not when you put it like that.” He sighed and sat next to her on the bed. She immediately regretted her answer—not because it had clearly disappointed him, but because she could tell it meant that they would be doing more talking. “What did you expect, then? Why did you ask me for DD?” To her surprise, he rubbed her back through the covers in soft, absent circles while he waited for her answer. She rested her cheek against the edge of a furry blanket that was poking out under the comforter. “I just wanted to feel safe and secure. Loved and

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protected.” She shrugged again. “And it just always turns me on when I’ve read about it.” “You want to feel loved and protected,” he repeated. “How do you expect me to protect you if you won’t obey me?” She fidgeted. “Well, I didn’t say I didn’t totally want to obey you. It’s just that when you put it like you did…” she trailed off guiltily. “And what about security? For you to feel secure, you need boundaries, right?” She listened and thought about nodding, but wasn’t sure whether or not it was a rhetorical question. “Right?” he growled, surprising her with the ungentle tone of his voice. “Yes,” she responded, quickly annoyed herself. He continued, “And those boundaries need to— and will be—enforced with painful consequences on your bottom. Inconsistency on my part would be contrary to our goals and to what you desire, and it’s not going to happen.” He picked up the paddle, and she suddenly felt so alone on the bed that she thought for a moment that she would be swallowed up by the covers. “Now, do you want to feel secure or not?” His stern voice was her undoing, and tears trickled down her face. “Yes, Sir,” she nodded. Rick smiled at the ‘Sir,’ and wished he could voice his approval, but now wasn’t the time. “Then that means you want me to firmly punish you right now for disobeying me, right?” The only correct answer was yes, and the only resistance she felt to being honest was her fear of impending pain. “Yes, Sir,” she relented. He tapped her bottom a few more times with the paddle. “Pay attention, Keely, because there are two number one rules in this house: Honesty and obedience.” The paddle lifted off her bottom and she held her breath in anticipation. “Now lift your

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bottom up towards the paddle and ask me to make it hurt so that you’ll learn your lesson well.” She gasped. “Wha… what?” He waited in stubborn expectancy. She whimpered. “I ca… can’t do that.” Her lip trembled. “Keely Anne Sparks—” he literally growled “— the theme of the day is obedience.” She gulped, but immediately lifted her bottom up a little. She prayed that it was enough, and didn’t dare look up at her husband. She wondered absently if the paddle could break a butt. “And?” he prompted. She could only whisper it. “Please make it hurt, Rick, so that I’ll learn.” She was surprised that it came out so easy, and felt so right to say it from her heart. She stared at the white comforter as if it, not her own heart, had betrayed her bottom. “Why, Keely?” The words gushed out so fast she couldn’t believe it. “I want to do this, Rick, and I want to learn to obey you, and I want boundaries and to feel safe and I’ll learn, I promise.” A part of her was astounded even further when she added, “Really make it hurt, Rick, it’s okay, I need to remember to obey you, sometimes it’s just hard to obey.” Strangely, she was so grateful that the paddle cracked quickly and painfully against her bottom that she felt more relief than pain. After a few more strokes, though, the pain clouded her brain with nothing but its presence. Crack after crack and jolt after jolt, she welcomed the tears of pain. He stopped. “Butt up, Keely.” She obeyed, immediately, reminding herself that the pain would teach her. Her determination wavered when the pain from the paddle became a hot, burning fire that worked itself deep into her muscles and throbbed with unrelenting soreness.

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“I can’t take it! I can’t take anymore! It’s going to kill me!” As melodramatic as always, Keely fretted aloud in a near panic. Rick lightly laid an unrestraining hand on her back to encourage her stay in position. She didn’t try to leave position, though, and he watched her face carefully. Though she was in pain, she was nowhere near a breaking point. “You can take whatever I give you, sweetling, I promise.” His gentle voice was a contrast to the excruciating smart of the paddle cracking against her bottom. “Two more, Keely.” He patted her bottom with the paddle delicately. “Butt up.” Keely obeyed, but cried with passion, “Oh!” Dejected, but still fiery, she exclaimed “But it’s going to hurt!” She kept her bottom up, though. And she was right. The last two strokes cracked unbearably, and when the paddle returned safely to the bed, she couldn’t stop trying to wiggle the pain away. She was arched as high as her flexible self allowed, her fists pulling the covers off the bed. Rick put a hand on her shoulder, “Okay, get up, you can dance off the worst of it if you need to.” Keely didn’t need to be asked twice. She jumped off the bed clutching her bottom and doing little bunny hops to a chorus of “Ow – ow – ow – ow – ow – ow – ow, it hurts!!” To his surprise, she jumped straight into his arms and clutched him in a hug so tight he could barely breathe. “I’m sorry!” Keely eyes were wide and childlike, despite the tears trickling down her face. “I didn’t mean it. I love you; do you love me?” The last was said with a pout so cute he could barely resist kissing her moist, rosy lips. He returned the loving squeeze but steeled himself to speak sternly. “Of course, I love you,

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that’s why I’m doing this.” Rick tucked the hairs stuck to her teary face behind her ears and added, “But, we’re not done yet, not by a long shot. Disobedience is not going to be the norm in this family anymore, understand?” “Yes,” she said both passionately and pleadingly. “I don’t want it to hurt anymore, though!” Rick tucked her head under his chin and rubbed her back, deciding there and then to run a warm bubble bath for her after the punishment. Maybe order in her favorite Chinese food, and snuggle together in front of a movie. “But we’re not done yet.” She bobbed her head regretfully, her mouth pulled down in a pout. “I know, but it hurts!” “Take all the time you need. When you’re ready, bring me the belt and lay down across my lap.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, but kept his arms around her in an embrace, so as not to rush her. “Anymore, though, and you could break my butt!” This time he couldn’t suppress a chuckle. But on a closer look at the expression on her face, Rick realized she was seriously a little worried. “I suppose it could break, but I promise you that nothing I do tonight—or ever, for that matter—will ever ‘break your bottom.’” “But it’s already broken, I can feel it!” As if to prove her point, she twisted around to get a look at the damage, and ended up chasing her bottom much like a puppy chases its tail for fun. She gave up quickly with a huff and a slight stomp of her foot. “Well, let’s get on with it then,” she resigned miserably. Rick watched with pride as she picked up the belt—granted, with two fingers as if holding a slimy, disgusting worm—and handed it to him. She

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plopped down over his lap with a strong spirit and clear eyes. “Hold it,” he said. “Why don’t you tell me first why you’re getting spanked again with the belt.” Keely pounded a fist into the bed, and he let it pass. “But you already know why!” “I want to make sure you know why, and remember why, when this belt starts burning your bottom.” “Oh, darnit!” she said, not sassily, though. “I don’t want to!” Keely wiggled on his lap a little and reached back to lightly touch her bottom. She snapped her hand away quickly as if burnt and squealed. Then sighed. “I disobeyed you. I’m sorry.” Her apology was simple and sincere, but then she was always sorry for lying and disobeying him. Rick hoped the pain she felt now would make it harder for her to decide to disobey him in the future. “Give me your hand,” he commanded. “My hand?” She reached it up behind her back. “But why?” Her question was answered immediately as he pinned it behind her back. She started in surprise as he pushed her bottom off of his legs for a second to readjust and pin her legs under one of his. “I’m going to give you twenty licks, and fast. You’re going to try to get away, but I’m not going to let you.” She wiggled a little to test it out, and she was nervous to find herself completely restrained. He continued. “It’s going to hurt, and you’re going to feel like it’s unbearable, but you will live, and this will hopefully make a memorable impression upon you.” Keely twisted under his restraints, slightly panicked. “I don’t know if I can take this,” she whined. He held her solidly as she resisted, giving her time to get used to the feeling. When she finally

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settled, he answered, “I told you before and I meant it. You can take anything I give you, but I can guarantee you that you will feel like you can’t during the punishment.” She whined. “What kind of answer is that?!” Then she kicked her feet a little under his imprisoning leg. He picked up the belt and folded it in half, palming the buckle for her safety. Keely nearly screeched. “I’m not ready! Not ready, I’m not ready, please!” He laid the belt down on her thighs and rubbed her bottom with his hand. “You’re okay, Keely,” he soothed. Keely fiddled with the hem of his trousers. “I’m afraid… I’m afraid that it’s going to hurt.” “It is going to hurt.” There was a long silence. “You’re really serious about this obey thing, aren’t you?” Rick resisted the urge to growl. “You’re just now getting that message?” He stopped rubbing her bottom. “How many times have we talked about it, even before we started DD?” He didn’t pause for an answer as his voice raised slightly with emotion. “And how many times have you promised— promised!—to obey me?” She arched up to look at him. “Well, yes, fine, but you never used the word ‘obey’ before.” “Listen to me, or obey me… what’s the difference? I tell you to do something—anything— and you always do the opposite. I tell you to wear you life jacket, and you won’t, just to be contrary. I don’t tell you to wear your life jacket and you still don’t, just because you’re careless and reckless.” “But it was just a teapot, today, not a life vest!” Rick didn’t seem to hear her. “The same goes for everything else, too! I tell you not to go kayaking alone—something you tell every new kayaker you meet, by the way—and what do you do?” “Rick—” Keely pleaded.

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“I am glad you suggested DD, Keely, because your behavior needs some real improvement. I am not going to put up with this disobedience and having to worry about you every time you walk out of the house.” He picked up the belt, and she held her breath. “I don’t care if I have to bruise your bottom weekly, but I am not going to see you in a coffin because you have some death wish!” “It was just a teapot,” she weakly interjected again. He was silent, and she could just feel him turning down the heat on his anger. “Perhaps. But like you said, you want to feel protected and secure. I hope you’re afraid of the pain of punishment. Perhaps the next time you go out, you’ll act safely and responsibly. Then I will have succeeded in protecting you.” He finally looked down at her face, and the last traces of his anger melted away at the tears rolling down her face. He sighed. “Look at me, sweetling.” She obeyed. “Do you trust me?” She nodded, not taking her fearful eyes off of him. “Then I promise you that it’s going to hurt a whole lot, but I’m not ever going to hurt you.” She nodded again; mute for once. “Are you ready?” She started to nod, but then opened her mouth. After a few seconds, she said a little shakily, “I don’t mean to scare you… that’s why I lie to you sometimes, so that you won’t worry about me.” “No lying, Keely, and don’t give me reason to worry about you. Take safety precautions and act responsibly and there’ll be no reason for me to worry about you.” Keely turned to stare down at the carpet dejectedly.

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“Answer me one thing: why in the world do you insist on not taking the proper precautions? I’ve never understood.” She shrugged. “I don’t think about it. It always just seems so inconvenient.” Rick growled. “Well, let’s just see how this belt compares to your inconvenience.” He snapped the belt down across her upper thighs, then her bottom, and then her sit spot. Fast and hard, he steeled himself to teach her well. “You will learn to behave safely,” he said as he whipped the belt down on her bottom five times quickly in the same spot. Keely squealed, but he was surprised that she didn’t fight against him and the pain. She lay across his leg accepting of her punishment, not even clenching against the pain. With only ten to go, he vigorously applied the belt to her trembling cheeks. When he was done, he sighed at her sobbing figure. He freed her leg, but she remained over his lap of her own free will. After a minute or two, she turned around and hugged him. “I’m really sorry, really sorry.” She hiccupped a little from her crying. “I didn’t know it worried you so much, or meant so much to you.” Rick wrapped his arms around her and rocked her. “It does. You mean the world to me.” She cried something incoherently. “What, sweetling?” He massaged her neck with one hand. “I couldn’t understand you.” “When my parents died…” she trailed off in sobs. He waited patiently while she cried it out. “I wouldn’t want to… to… I don’t want to ever put you through that kind of pain.” She burst into fresh sobs. “I love you!” He gathered her up in his arms and held her close, kissing the top of her head. After about ten minutes of rocking—in which he fretted over her tears—she smiled up at him.

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“Okay,” Keely said. “Okay what?” She blushed shyly. “You know.” He nodded, pleased at her attitude towards the rest of her discipline. “Only the switch left to go, sweetling.” She seemed relaxed and settled. “Yes, I know.” She looked visibly relieved. “This will probably hurt the most,” he warned while ruffling her hair. Keely cocked her head for a second and surveyed the switch on the bed skeptically. A small smile played at her lips. “Uh-huh.” “Sweetling, I’m serious; this will hurt.” He bit his lip in consternation. “I just want you to know so that you can prepare yourself.” Keely nodded. “I believe you. That twig… switch—” she corrected herself “—is probably going to hurt lots.” He sighed at her obvious disbelief. “And, Keely, I want you to count these, and make a promise to obey me from now on.” “’Kay,” she nodded. “Keely Anne…” he warned. “Okay, Mister.” She glumly looked at the floor as if calling him ‘Mister’ were the hardest thing in the world. He didn’t restrain her, but turned her over his lap again. Leaning back a little for swing room, he whipped the thin switch across her bottom. She screeched and shot up so fast that he didn’t even have time to steady her. “You’ve got to be kidding me! You’re lying!” She stared at the switch in his hand. “You didn’t use that! That can’t… OW!” She clutched her bottom tenderly. Her eyes were wide and surprised as she stared at the thin switch. “You really just used that?” She peered around his back.

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Rick frowned to swallow his urge to laugh at her antics. “That’s two extra for getting out of position.” Keely stared at the switch for a long time, and then took a deep breath. “I’m never going to want to disobey you again, am I?” Rick shook his head firmly. “Okay, then,” she said. Nodding her head to herself, she said again, “Okay, then. I’m ready.” And she laid herself across his lap.

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Chapter Six Grounded With a Sore Bottom

As he expected, being grounded and stuck inside made Keely absolutely stir-crazy. Rick knew he was testing the limits of her obedience and desire for this lifestyle every time she glanced outside with a look of desperate craving on her face. And that was only after half a day of the weekend sentence. She walked around the house slightly subdued, as if she had a lot on her mind to consider. Though she took every opportunity to hug him, cook for him and generally be sweet as pie, he worried. When they finished watching a Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? re-run, he patted his lap. “Come here and talk to me, Keely.” Always eager for a cuddle, she crawled onto his lap enthusiastically. Rick clicked off the tv and turned his attention to her. “You had quite a spanking last night.” She cast her eyes downward and nodded. “Let me see, sweetling. I didn’t hurt you, did I?” He was pretty sure he hadn’t, but Rick wanted to make sure she was okay. “I’m a little embarrassed.” And she was blushing to prove it. “Why’s that?” She shook her head, unable to articulate her feelings. First, she was embarrassed that she’d asked for—and desired—this type of lifestyle. Even

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though Rick had been perfectly open and accepting to it, she still felt self-conscious. Secondly, she was a little embarrassed for having been scared before her punishment. Not only did it not hurt anymore, but it hadn’t been a scary sort of experience. In retrospect, at least. She looked up at him and realized that she wasn’t afraid of another spanking. And, despite the recent change in their relationship, he still had the same blue eyes he’d had when she’d met him. He still had the big arms that were quick to squeeze her in a big, loving hug. “Turn over and let me see.” She obeyed him, immediately, which both surprised and pleased him. He pulled up her nightgown and was thankful to see only a couple faint bruises and a single tiny scratch from the switch. He rubbed his hand over her bottom, admiring it, and resisted a sudden very strong desire to apply his hand to her bottom—for reasons other than punishment. “You want to tell me what you’re feeling about last night? That was a pretty big spanking you earned yourself.” Rick held her over his lap for the simple reason that he knew it put her mindset in a vulnerable place, and she would be more likely to speak truths from her heart. “You were pretty emphatic,” she said after careful thought. He frowned at the cautiousness of her answer. “Do you feel I was too strict?” She hurriedly answered, “No, not that.” She propped her chin up on her hands, not trying to crawl off his lap. “I expected it to hurt a whole lot more today.” “Mmm…” he said noncommittally, waiting for her to elaborate. “I hated it at the time, but it’s different now.” “How so?” “I don’t know.”

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It was then, as he was staring at her legs and waiting for her to explain herself, that he noticed a blush creeping down her whole body. He chuckled, the understanding dawning. He knew exactly what his wife was thinking. “Part your legs, sweetling.” She obeyed, even with all the lights still on—a definite improvement. He pushed his big index finger down between her two cheeks, not surprised at the smooth, easy glide into her opening. He pulled out and then pushed deeply and quickly into her with two fingers. She gasped. He withdrew his fingers immediately, knowing it would stoke her fire further. “The spanking turned you on?” She hid her face in her hands but didn’t resist his ministrations. “No, but now… today, when I think of you being so strong… I just…” She took a deep breath. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more attracted to you in my whole life,” she gushed in a hoarse whisper. He grinned, basking in the glow of a perfectly stroked male ego. “What do you want, my wildcat?” She shook her head. “I kind of want you to spank me again, but I don’t, not like last night. A different kind of spanking.” Before he could respond, she added, “and more than that, too… you know.” Rick chuckled. “When are you going to get over you shyness about sex?” “I have no problem talking about sex,” she denied indignantly. She tried to turn over and sit up, but he laid his arm across her back. And grinned. “I like you like this.” He admired her trim, muscled legs and her pert little bottom with the perfect amount of roundness. “But I need to know: do you think you learned a lesson yesterday?”

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He heard her gulp. “Yes, I guess I did.” She dug her fingers into the couch, and glanced out at the night sky through the window. “I want to listen to you now, I promise.” He rubbed her bottom softly and approvingly, waiting to hear if she had anything more to say. And she did. “Rick, do you think…” She took a deep breath for courage, given her precarious, bare-bottomed position. “I really do believe I’ve learned my lesson and that I will obey you now. Would you consider re-considering the grounding?” “Nope,” he said cheerfully. She grumbled, but soon moaned as his hands massaged her bottom. “I wanted to nail the helix this Sunday, when we were going to kayak!” A note of warning crept into his voice. “But I will spank you for asking.” “What?!” She felt a moment of icy fear heat into a hot glow of desire that vibrated within her muscles. He chuckled. “Or maybe I’ll spank you just because I feel like it.” Keely felt her heart jump at the tone in his voice which always meant sweet pleasure for her body. “Maybe I’ll spank you just because it pleases me.” His voice had changed, and Keely barely recognized her husband’s voice—it was hard, suddenly without the characteristic warmth and kindness. She felt Rick’s desire grow hard beneath her—as hard as his voice. The hard edge to his voice had the opposite effect on her body. Her muscles felt loose and easy, her body pliant and eager to please. His voice growled lower. “Maybe I miss the brand of my hand on your cheeks. The marking of your body with mine.” Something primal and elemental swept through her, and she lowered her head with the realization

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that she wanted his brand on her. No matter how it hurt, Keely craved for Rick to claim her as his to mark, his to punish, and his to pleasure. She wiggled against his arm that was lying across her back to hold her down. Not too much— she was sure he would probably let her up if she were truly panicking—but enough so that she could feel his greater strength and take comfort in it. Keely had spent her entire tomboy childhood trying to beat the strongest and fastest boys, in spite of her short stature. But now she arched up against his arm, and was reassured to feel Rick hold her in position. “You’re not going anywhere, Keely.” His arm pushed her back into position over his lap. Reassured, she stopped wiggling. “You’re getting a spanking.” Keely didn’t have a moment’s notice, didn’t even feel the swish of air. His hand struck her bottom suddenly and hard, leaving a welt at once. Keely gasped for air and was surprised that the pain faded instantly into more heat. She arched up again in a rush of arousal and groaned in frustration. “Position, Keely,” he reminded. When she obeyed, he commanded, “Tell me what you want, Keely.” She wanted him to spank her more. She wanted his hands all over her, his hands touching and roaming her body as he pleased. She wanted to be making love, her husband filling her. She shook her head. “I can’t.” “You can.” He suddenly slapped her bottom, hard enough to make her eyes water. “What do you want?” You. Anyway I can get you, whether burning me inside or on my bottom. I just want to feel you. She shook her head again, the words stuck in her throat.

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He slapped her bottom again. “Do you want me to make you cry? Or do you want me in you?” She’d never asked a guy for sex in her life, not even her husband. She didn’t need to beg. Didn’t need to ask for such things. But she wanted something—anything. “You can’t make me cry,” she said defiantly. He chuckled, “Okay, sweetling.” He talked as if he were placating a child. “What do you want?” “Now you’re Mister Nice Guy again?” She accused with a saucy wiggle of her bottom. “A second ago you were hard-headed Master, or something.” She wiggled a little, to see if he would let her turn over or get off his lap. She could take care of her own desires, without having to beg him for release. “Stay put,” he said sharply, accenting his words with another slap to her bottom. “You’re avoiding my question. You’re a grown woman, and if you want to make love, you can darn well say it.” “Won’t!” she piped. “Why would I want to make love with someone who is spanking me, besides…” A little voice within her added, besides the fact I’m dying to crawl on top of you and take you inside me and you’ll never be able to resist. He smacked her ten times. Her bottom was hot and pulsing, and she couldn’t believe how little his spanking had hurt. “You’re not going to make me beg, buster.” Despite her defiant words, she whimpered when his hands slipped between her legs and hovered at her entrance. He palmed her with a pressure that made her body want to run away from the frightening pleasure. His hand began pulsing on her, and she scrambled up from his lap and screeched. “That feels too good! You’re not allowed to do that!” She narrowed her eyes at Rick’s obviously toopleased grin. “Play fair, now!”

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To her dismay, his grin widened, and he grabbed her hand, pulling her across his lap again. “Don’t you know? All’s fair in love and war.” She shivered as his hand began rubbing her bottom in gentle, gliding circles. “Part your legs and we’ll see if we can’t play even more unfair.” Keely reveled in the vulnerable feeling and the squeeze of nerves in her stomach. She obeyed her husband, all the while her body humming with anticipation. Her body shivered and she gasped. “Wait, Rick! What about you?” She tried to turn over on his lap, but he held her down and gave her another hard smack that made her mouth water. Not a second later, he thrust two fingers high into her again. Impaled, she went still at the intense pleasure. He wasn’t about to let her escape from the feelings. He gave her several more smacks and worked his fingers inside of her until she was writhing in what looked like agony. He knew better. “Let it happen, Keely.” She shook her head frantically, and tried to crawl away from his ministrations. “Maybe I’ll spank you until you obey.” He raised his hand to give her another few swats. “Let yourself go.” It only took three more hard swats for her to obey with a climax that pulled her body taught like a rubber band, and then spring into a release so hard it left her quivering against him. He held her and rocked her, planting kisses on her head and neck and cheeks until her dizziness passed. She looked up and grinned at him, and his whole world brightened. He’d never seen her so satiated and happy. A happy grin was pasted on her face and she giggled.

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“I guess being grounded for the weekend won’t be so bad if we can do that!” But by Sunday afternoon, she was going out of her mind again. She started to act out again, but Rick put a stop to that quickly. “Keely Anne, I know this is all new to you, so the spankings are coming quickly and often. That will not be the case, day to day, in our marriage.” She nodded glumly. She had been aiming for a spanking, if only to break up the boredom of being grounded inside for the weekend. But she didn’t really want a spanking, not really… and she definitely didn’t want spanking to turn into a chore that her husband would dread. ______________ “Wake up, Keely.” Keely popped her eyes open in her usual wideeyed morning energy, but there was surprise in her eyes—Rick was always the last one out of bed. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing, sweetling. We’re going kayaking.” She sat with a big grin on her face and wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” She screeched in excitement and headed straight to the closet for her new wetsuit. Rick watched her quickly get together their things with a happy heart. He didn’t mind so much spanking her—perhaps even enjoyed a part of it, on some level—but he hated to watch her sulk and stare out the window sadly like a caged bird. Though he knew he was probably giving in too much, he wanted to make it up to her. “Pack for an overnighter, sweetling. We’re going to camp along the river.” “Ha!” Keely punched a fist in the air and pulled a little overnight bag out of the closet. “Yes!”

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It was a testament to her priorities that she didn’t ask about work until they were packed and buckled into the jeep with two kayaks perched above them. “What about work?” “I called off for two days, and I called Gaylan’s and talked your manager into giving you a couple days off. She didn’t seem thrilled about it, but she agreed.” Unconcerned, Keely shrugged. “Want your coffee?” She held the steaming mug under her nose and sniffed deeply. “It’s almost cool enough.” “In a bit.” Rick enjoyed driving in the early morning, before the sun rose. He liked the quiet and peace, while Keely loved the anticipation of the calm before the storm. “Fuck!” she suddenly exclaimed, quickly returning the mug to the Jeep’s cup holder. “Ouch!” She grabbed the hand towel they kept in the jeep and wiped at her legs. “Keely Anne, you know I don’t like to hear you swear.” To his surprise, she stuck her tongue out at him. “What are you going to do about it?” Rick went quiet. He wanted to smile, and inwardly rejoiced that the grounding seemed to have not done any permanent damage to her spirit. Nor did she seem overly afraid of another spanking, either. “I did pack the paddle, you know.” Her eyes grew wide and surprised, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “You wouldn’t,” she said without conviction. “I would, and there’s a rest stop in only ten miles.” He glanced sideways to gauge her reaction. She giggled but hid her smile, and tried not to look absolutely thrilled at the idea. Rick wanted to ask her how something she looked excited about would deter her from misbehavior, but decided against it.

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A shy, sweet voice broke his reverie. “Am I in trouble?” Again, she seemed unconcerned. “You’re not afraid of the paddle?” he asked carefully. If he’d expected a revelation from her, he got nothing but a shrug. He sighed, torn between worrying about spoiling their holiday with a spanking, and a desire to please her evident excitement about the prospect. “Do you think you deserve a spanking?” “I don’t know.” He wanted to growl at her lack of help, but remained quiet. He supposed he could make it a light lesson—it was only swearing. And the ‘danger’ of spanking her at a rest stop could be exciting… But he shook his head. “Well then, I think your butt is going to get its first spanking under a full moon tonight.” She gasped with a smile, slapping a hand over her mouth. “But what if someone hears?” He laughed. “You have a thing about that, don’t you? It’s not likely, out in the wild.” She seemed disappointed. “Besides, I want you in top form today. I know how much you want to do a helix, and we’ll be in several areas where you’ll be able to work on it.” Keely perked up at that and settled back in the seat with her eyes squeezed shut tightly. Rick grinned at his wife’s peculiar brand of meditation— though he knew that she was focusing and imagining the helix so that she’d be able to do it in her kayak, her squeezed eyes made him wonder how meditation didn’t give her a headache. When she finally opened her eyes, the sun was rising on the horizon before them. “Water’s running fast after the rain. It’s going to be a ride.” Her eyes gleamed. ______________

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The water was flat and calm, where they put in their kayaks. It was a wide section of the river, clear and glassy, with the morning mist steaming off the top like a simmering pot of soup. Keely loved the cold bite in the air, mixed with the dewy smell of the river. With the morning just breaking with possibilities, she could barely contain her excitement. She crawled into her wetsuit and tried not to feel claustrophobic at the way it clung to her skin—she’d rather spend a day in a bikini than anything. Rick held out her life vest and she put her arms through. When she turned around to let him zip her in, she busied herself with giving him little kisses that she knew would tickle his face. “Stop that!” he chuckled, scratching his cheek. He turned her around and gave her a hard swat to get her moving towards her boat. “Ow!” But she could barely feel it through the neoprene wetsuit. She stuck her tongue out at him as she readied her kayak. “You’re not nervous, are you?” Keely laughed. “Of course not!” He sighed. “It’d comfort me if you were a little nervous.” He stepped into his spray skirt, which clung around his waist like the rings of Saturn—or a ballet tutu, Keely thought with a laugh. Hers already around her waist, she leveraged into the boat and secured it around the opening so that no water could get in. “No heroics, Keely. I want you to use your common sense out there.” She rolled her eyes. “Keely!” he snapped. “The channel in the middle of the river is running too fast about a mile down, with all this rain. We stick to the edges, you hear me?”

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Keely gave an exaggerated sigh. “Yes, yes, yes.” She pushed into the river, relishing the smooth, fast glide of the kayak on the calm water. Rick glided next to her within seconds. “What did I tell you about treating me like an overprotective dad?” “Hey, if the shoe fits…” She giggled and used the side of her paddle to flick some water at him. Rick splashed her back, but Keely had already transferred her attention to the foliage. The leaves were turning, and rows of orange, brown, green, and red rose from the river valley on both sides. “It never stops being amazing, you know?” she looked up rapturously at the beauty above them. “Around the bend up there, we’ll have to stick close to the outer edge to avoid the channel. Then there’s a drop about fifty yards ahead of that, which will be a perfect place to try a helix.” Keely nodded and imagined flipping the specially made kayak above her head in a circle, then landing right side up again on the gushing waters. But when he signaled to her that the drop was ahead, she felt a ball of tension in her stomach and just knew that she wouldn’t manage it today. That feeling angered her, and she paddled furiously on the edges of the channel, challenging both her fears and the water to prevent her from doing a helix. Instead of feeling and using the water’s power to initiate the flip, she went over the edge trying to force it with her paddle. Trying to battle the water failed—she’d learned that a long time ago —and the water flipped her instead. For a second she was stuck upside down under water with the kayak bubbling downstream in the white water. Panic rose in her throat as she had to fight the urge to take in a breath of air—water would be a deathly substitute. Skill and training kicked in, and a calm focus washed over her as she used her paddle to initiate a roll back upright.

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She gasped in a breath, and then spied a corner of calm water and headed there to watch Rick come over the edge. Not only did he go over the edge with ease, but he managed what she had failed: he executed a perfect helix, flipping the boat over his head, doing a whole twist, then landing right side up on the rapids. She ignored the stab of jealousy and clapped her hands, whooping right along with him. There wasn’t much he could do better than her, and it irritated her that he landed the helix before she had. An irrational anger built inside her even as she berated herself for being jealous. She paddled to join him in the channel again, and they rode hard until the river curved around into a relatively calm, wide section with an easy landing in site. He gave her the signal and they paddled to the shore. “You’re not committing yourself,” was the first thing he said after they had hoisted their kayaks ashore. “You freeze as soon as you take off of the water and instead of spinning, you land upside down.” She braced at his words. After all, she had been the one to introduce him to the sport of kayaking and had taught him almost everything he knew. “I do not panic. I never feel fear in the water.” It was a point of pride for her, but right now her pride felt injured. He turned at her angry tone and nodded. “Don’t worry, sweetling, I’m sure you’ll get it tomorrow.” He was trying to mollify her, but it just fed her anger. “I don’t give a damn when I get it.” She shrugged. “I’ll collect wood while you go get our stuff.” They had dropped off their camping supplies on their way to their launch point. “It’s going to be cold tonight.”

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Before he could reprimand her for her language she had disappeared into the trees, collecting wood.

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Chapter Seven Nightly Consistency

Rick let her work out her frustration chopping wood while he set up camp. Knowing she’d be cold, he put the propane tent heater on her side of the cot. He set up the camp kitchen and started peeling potatoes, watching her steam as she started the fire. When she finally joined him at the cutting board to help, he set the knife down. “Why do you think I arranged for this outing?” “Because you felt sorry for grounding me?” She cut the onions ferociously, the knife jumping up and down on the cutting board hard enough to shake the metal camp kitchen table. He grabbed her wrist before she slammed that knife down on something that would hurt. “Not hardly.” He carefully extracted the knife from her hand and waited until her vibrant eyes turned up to him. “I was proud of you, Keely. I was proud of you for taking your punishment so well, and I was proud of you for submitting to the grounding.” He waited a beat for that to sink in, and then threw in the guilt trip. “But you’re taking the reward a whole lot worse than your punishment.” She fidgeted and cast a guilty glance towards her feet. “And I won’t have it. Unsportsmanlike jealousy is not who you are. You’ve earned yourself a fine

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spanking, but it’s not going to happen today, and it’s not going to happen tomorrow.” She pouted. “It’s going to happen when I think it will be best for both you and me.” Keely was clearly less than thrilled with his answer. “You mean that I have to wait until you feel like it?” She crossed her arms over her chest, eager to resume her bratty attitude of earlier. “I mean, I will choose a time when you will learn the most from it. That time is not now. I chose this time to relax and have fun with my sweetling. If you are unable to put on a good attitude for the remainder of our outing, then I will take you home.” He could tell she was considering it, just to be contrary, and because she was frustrated with her failure to land a helix. “And, if that’s the case, I will ground you again.” He hadn’t agreed to domestic discipline so that their relationship would digress into ‘do what I say, or else.’ But he supposed it was par for the course that they’d have to work through this phase, and just another boundary he’d have to enforce. “Now, can you adjust your attitude, or not?” She nodded glumly. “Not good enough, Keely.” He saw then that her defiance was a cover for some deeper emotion she’d been feeling, because she burst into tears. Her face crumpled, and she stomped her foot. “But everyone says that the most important thing is consistency!” Rick harrumphed. “Then they’ve got it wrong. The most important thing—things—is you, us, and our marriage.” He frowned at her. “I reassure you that you will get spanked, as you will always get spanked when you need correction.” Keely looked down at her feet, shame-faced and abashed. “You know what I meant,” she defended.

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Rick gathered her in his arms in a moment of pity. “Of course I do, sweetling.” He guided her over to a log near the campfire and sat down. “I wouldn’t spank you if you weren’t in the right mindset, and I expect you to extend the same courtesy to me.” She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. “So you’ll only spank me if I do something wrong AND if you feel like it?” she asked hotly. Rick stood up. “Something like that, but not quite.” He added a log to the campfire and poked at a log, taking the time to calm a surge of impatience. Once they had some glowing coals, they’d wrap up hamburger, carrots, and potato slices into a pouch of aluminum foil—with plenty of butter mixed in, of course—and let it cook directly in the coals. He turned back to Keely. “Some people say that domestic discipline is a little bit like a power exchange.” He kneeled down in front of her until she was looking into his eyes with her complete attention. “But it is NOT a power struggle.” She looked around, embarrassed. “I know that,” she insisted. “I never said that it was.” “Well, you’re acting like you want a power struggle.” And if he had anything to say about it, their marriage was not going to be a battleground for a power struggle. “Either you want to trust me to be head of our little family, or you don’t. I won’t have you saying yes while you resist me every step of the way.” She wasn’t looking at him again. “I suppose it’s not your fault that you managed the helix before me.” She smiled wryly. “And I suppose I’ve been a bit of a brat… maybe even a little bitchy.” “Stand up,” he ordered. She looked at him with wide eyes. “But I thought you weren’t going to spank me!” Keely obeyed, though, despite her objection, albeit hesitantly.

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He took hold of her upper arm and gave her a broad smack to her bottom, followed by a kiss to her cheek. “I’m not. But, sometimes, your bottom is irresistible.” She could tell she blushed, even in the red glow of the campfire. “Now get to cookin’, my little lady.” “Hah!” she cried with a swat to his wandering hand. “I chopped wood, old man, so I think it’s your turn to do the cooking.” But she loved cooking over an open fire, so she turned to finish up the supper preparations. It wasn’t until later when they were snuggled in their sleeping bags in their tent that she planted the seed. “You know, I once read a story on the net about a girl whose husband spanked her every morning, as many swats as the day of the month.” He laughed. “I bet she had a sore bottom.” “Yeah,” she agreed, watching his face carefully for a reaction. “It’s quite an erotic fantasy.” Rick’s ears perked up. “Is that so?” She gave a sleepy yawn and turned over. “Mmm-hmmm,” she mumbled, confident that his mind would come up with something interesting. She tried not to giggle as she thought about how he would most certainly think it was his idea. ______________ Her seed took root, but not quite in the way that she had hoped. As they were driving home the next day, after another exhilarating run down the river, he gave her the news. Neither of them tried the helix again. She hadn’t because she felt guilty for getting jealous of her husband, and she supposed Rick had not tried it again out of consideration for her feelings. “You need some time, I suppose, to believe that I will be consistent.”

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She brought her gaze away from the passing landscape and looked at him, trying to guess what he was getting at. “Some time… and proof… in order to trust me.” She didn’t know where he was heading, or what he wanted from her. She made an agreeable mumble, and enjoyed the pleasant nerves of anticipation for whatever her husband had cooking in his mind. “This spanking thing is new to us. While I have to remind you that I don’t want spanking and punishment to be a constant every day presence in our marriage, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to explore and experiment with it a little bit.” She bit her lip and nodded understandingly, trying not to smile. “I think for a couple weeks, we can explore spanking a little more in depth.” He cleared his throat. Was he a little nervous? Keely wondered. She cast a look at him. Rick looked like his normal, self-assured self, except the tiniest bit of tension in his hands as they gripped the steering wheel. They’d been married for a while, and it tickled her heart to realize that her husband still cared about what she thought of him. “Every night,” he added. She snapped to attention. “What?” “A spanking, every night.” He swallowed a little, belying his self-assured attitude. Keely concentrated on not smiling in triumph. “But that will hurt!” She tried to work a tear from her eye, but that had never been one of her talents. “Not every night, it won’t.” She grinned hopefully. “You mean…” she blushed. Rick took his eyes off the road long enough to give her a cocky, boyish, and pleased-with-himself grin. Her tummy fluttered with happy nerves. ______________

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And so their lives settled into a nice routine. They led a pretty normal life, really. They remained active in their kayaking club and drove to the ocean on the weekend to go surfing when they weren’t in their kayaks. Keely quit her job at Gaylan’s—and Rick let her without a single word of objection—after tiring of helping little kids climb up the same wall every day. As usual, she found another job within days. Rick had been astonished that she’d even considered a secretarial job, let alone accepted it. But, she wanted to be home at five, and she figured that the job wouldn’t last that long, anyway. For once in her life, she craved the boring regularity of a nine to five—well, eight to four, actually —even over the fascination of learning new things in the jobs that usually perked her interest. She started cooking dinner for him every night, not that he asked or had ever expected her to. They went out with friends on Friday nights, and often had dinner parties on Saturday nights. To the world, they were just a normal, happy, young married couple. But at about ten o’clock every night, Rick would clear his throat. “Before you fall asleep, sweetling, you’ve got your nightly spanking coming to you.” Keely generally looked forward to hearing those words. A few smacks, followed by more than a few kisses. They were like newlyweds again, having sex almost on a nightly basis. She figured at some point the nightly spanking—and nightly lovemaking sessions—would wind down. In the meantime, she had no complaints. Rick worked through the house, room by room, looking for implements. He spent two weeks in the kitchen—the bread board, the spatula, the wooden spoons (all eight of them, including the one with the hole in it), the frying pan, the dish towel, the oven

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scraper, and even the small aluminum pan that she used to heat up milk for hot chocolate. Usually it was just four or five smacks to see what it felt like, followed by some play. But, once in awhile, if she had misbehaved, she would receive quite a bit more than a few smacks. Even if she hadn’t misbehaved, Rick would sometimes give her “a good cry” if she needed it to unwind or just to “adjust the attitude.” After he went through all the implements in the house that he could think of, he assigned her the job of finding twenty more implements. She brought him the thin, plastic jump rope (Ow! Thank goodness that was on a day that she had been good!), the table tennis paddle, the bath brush, and even an old fishing rod. She finally elicited the help from an online group for ideas. That night, she even brought him some pepper cream, because she’d read that it stung like a spanking when applied to the bare bottom. He frowned at it. “Oh really?” His voice not hiding his skepticism. “We have something serious to deal with tonight, young lady, and a little sting isn’t going to cover it. You almost lied to me,” he accused Keely stomped her foot light enough to stay out of trouble. “But I didn’t lie!” Rick gave her an exasperated look. “You tried to.” He returned to studying the tube of pepper cream, reading all the directions and warnings. She waved her hand in front of the tube for his attention. “But I didn’t!” He ignored her manipulations for attention. “You would have, if I’d have let you. The only thing that stopped you was the fact that I raised my eyebrow at the nonsense you were trying to spew.” She grabbed at the tube in his hand. “I don’t spew nonsense!”

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Rick snatched it away before she could take it out of his hand. “You’re right, Keely. They were lies, then, and that’s what we’ll call them.” When she lunged for the tube again, he used his fingers to smack her hand away. “Lies, I might add, which are going lead to your bottom getting good and blistered.” She crossed her arms over her chest, pouted, and wondered if she should warn him that the pepper cream would burn his hand. She almost decided against it, but her conscience got the better of her stubbornness. “I’ve heard you might want to use gloves to do that, Rick.” He eyed her skeptically. “Not this time. I want to know how this is going to feel on your bottom.” She was reminded of her skepticism that the tiny, thin switch would hurt her a couple weeks ago. She hoped that his skepticism wasn’t a sign that the pepper cream would hurt just as much. “I’ve heard it takes a little while for it to start burning,” she said nervously, wringing her hands in consternation. Rick nodded with a firm set to his mouth. “Well, over my lap, young lady. We’ll find out soon enough.” As always, he wiggled her sweats down once she was over his lap. It was awkward, but it put her in a vulnerable mindset. She grabbed a handful of the afghan they kept on the couch to give herself something to hold on to. “This is punishment, Keely. You’re getting a good cry so that you don’t even think about lying to me again. I told you from the beginning that no lies, no matter how white, how little, or how justified, will be allowed in this marriage.” She shivered from the cold. Already, she felt that familiar lump of guilt in her throat that threatened to erupt into sobs soon enough. No

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matter how many days they’d performed this barebottomed ritual, she still felt humbled and exposed. Keely felt a line of cream splurt onto each of her bottom cheeks. She wiggled against the cold, slimy feel of it. She was thankful when he dug his fingers in, massaging the lotion into her cheeks. It felt good enough to relax her, and she welcomed the soothing relaxation of it. She knew soon enough— too soon—that she’d be crying. After he rubbed it, they sat there in silent anticipation. She bit her lip, promising herself not to lie again. He watched the television while resting one hand on her bottom. When a commercial interrupted his favorite show, he patted her bottom. “I don’t think I put enough on.” She cleared her throat. “I hear it takes awhile for the effects to kick in, but once they do…” she trailed off uncertainly. “Hand me the tube, sweetling.” She picked it up obediently from the coffee table. “Well… can we just wait a little?” He ignored her. “Just a little more, and then we’ll go on to more effective methods. This is supposed to be a punishment, young lady, and you are in trouble for lying yet again.” A little more turned out to be another big splurt of the stuff, which felt ice cold on her skin. Keely felt thankful for the procrastination of her real punishment—the cream obviously wasn’t working. This time he kept rubbing in the cream, deep into her skin and muscles, as his show wrapped up. She felt a burn begin, a warming sensation that was quite pleasant. “Oh,” she said, a little disappointed. “It’s heating up a little,” she offered. “Maybe I’ll just keep rubbing, see if that helps.” But now that the heat was starting, it grew at the alarming rate of an out of control fire.

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“Okay, okay,” she wiggled frantically. “It’s starting to hurt a little… ow!… a lot!” She jumped off his lap before he could catch her, and she grabbed her burning cheeks with her hands. “Oh, come on, that doesn’t hurt, and it certainly doesn’t count as a spanking.” She disagreed fervently, hopping around on her toes and trying to run away from the burn. “Ow! Ow! Oh wow! Oh ow! Oh oweeeeeee!” She started pounding her feet into the floor. “That counts! That counts as a spanking!” He frowned against a smile at her antics. “Back over my lap, Keely, and let me see.” She pouted and whined, but her bottom hurt too much to risk putting up a fuss. “It counts as a spanking, I swear it does, Rick!” He clucked. “It’s a little rosy, but I don’t see any signs of a punished bottom.” She groaned as he massaged her cheeks again. This time, instead of feeling relaxing, his massaging fingers felt more like rug burn than anything nice. “My hands aren’t burning,” he pointed out. “But you’ve got huge, rough hands! Calloused and dry. I keep telling you to put some lotion on them!” He laughed outright at her point. “Okay, let’s say I believe you. I still think you need a good spanking. I’m beyond tired of you bending the truth and lying whenever it suits you.” He patted her bottom gently with his hand. “A good hand spanking on top of this burn ought to do your behavior a world of good.” Keely panted a little, trying to block out and fight the pain, rather than submit to it. Rick wanted her to feel the pain and learn from it, not try to avoid it. “Keely, what’s the definition of ‘discipline’?” She groaned inwardly. She struggled to remember the exact words and caught a phrase in

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the recesses of her memory. “Punishment intended to correct or train.” “And you’ve tried to lie, a habit which I intend to teach you to avoid. The spanking you’re about to receive, I suspect, will do a very effective job in ensuring that you don’t repeat that habit.” His big hand patted her bottom again, as if warming up for the spanking. “And I never lie to you, Keely. This is going to hurt.” And boy, did it. She screeched as his palm cracked against her bottom. “What I don’t understand—” CRACK! “—is why you want to lie to me.” CRACK! “It’s never even occurred to me to lie to you, even when I’ve made a mistake with the finances or something important.” CRACK! “Is it a respect thing?” CRACK! “Do you not respect me enough?” CRACK! “Do you not respect our marriage enough?” CRACK! Keely squeezed her hands around fistfuls of the afghan, trying to fight against the pain with all her might. “It hurts! Stop, please! It hurts!” “It’s meant to hurt, Keely.” CRACK! “It’s meant to hurt more than how much lying can hurt our relationship!” With one more loud smack, he paused to give her a breather. Not that he intended to stop a spanking whenever she demanded it, but he did consider it his responsibility to see that she was in a mental space to accept her punishment and learn from the pain, not fight it. She tried to hop up, but he laid his arm across her back. “We’re not done yet.” He readjusted her over one leg, so that her bottom was higher and her legs trapped by his. “But we’re not going to continue until you answer a few questions, first.” He could tell she wasn’t listening, however. Her hands were clinging to the hand-knit afghan, and her face was screwed up against the pain.

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“Relax, Keely.” She shook her head adamantly. “You don’t understand—it hurts!” He smoothed his hand over her bottom, carefully studying it for any signs of damage. “And you’re supposed to learn from the pain, not fight it.” “Make it go away, please, make the burn go away!” Rick sighed, and picked up the pepper cream tube again, studying it carefully. “Okay, Keely, stand up.” He looked down his nose at her, studying her expression carefully. “I can deaden the pepper cream burn a little bit, but I need you to tell me honestly. Is it above and beyond what you deserve for lying to me—again?” She nodded furiously. “It really hurts, I swear, more than the switch, more than any spanking you’ve ever given me!” “It’s supposed to hurt more than any spanking I’ve ever given you.” He frowned at her. “If I take away some of the burn, will it still be the worst spanking you’ve ever gotten? I’m tired of dealing with this lying issue, and I want to make sure you learn your lesson well this time.” Her beseeching eyes dropped to the floor. “I don’t know, I can’t tell. All I can tell is that it hurts!” Perspiration beaded on her forehead, and he made his decision. “Go get me the olive oil from the kitchen.” Without question, she ran and retrieved. When she returned, she crawled over his lap eagerly. He poured a liberal amount of the oil into his palm, rubbed his hands together, and massaged the oil into her burning skin. After about ten minutes of it, she sighed happily at the feeling. Then her guilt took over, and she peered back over her shoulder to him. “Rick?” she asked timidly. “At the time, I honestly thought the pepper cream was too much,

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way too much, but now… I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten the oil.” He smiled. “See now, honesty isn’t so hard, is it?” She shook her head like a little girl shaking her curls. “Don’t worry, sweetling. This spanking stuff isn’t a thing we get perfect from the start. You answered to the best of your ability, and now I have to finish what we started, to the best of my ability.” He patted her bottom several times. “This doesn’t get you out of the rest of your spanking.” “I know,” she said reluctantly. “But does it have to hurt a whole lot?” He answered affirmatively, and then reached into his pocket for the hairbrush he had bought that afternoon to be sure that she learned not to lie. He raised it above her bottom, and decided not to tell her what he was using. The mystery of it would make her feel more vulnerable than knowing would. “Ow! What is that?” She jerked at his first, trial smack. She squirmed, and he ignored her. Rick closed his ears to her cries and exclamations of pain—if things got too hard for her, her cries would rise to a frantic pitch that would most definitely get his attention. He studied her bottom like a map, deciding to redden one cheek, then the other, and then work his way down both of her thighs. He locked her legs down with his, grabbed her closest hand, and set about welting her bottom. By far, it was the worst spanking she’d ever received. Keely couldn’t even breathe during the first few minutes; he smacked all over her right cheek, up and down, and in circles, until she finally got her breath and let out a hysterical sob.

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The thudding smacks of—of what, she didn’t know—attacked her other cheek and sent spiraling swirls of pain through her brain. She whined and whined until he moved his attack to her upper thigh. She struggled against his grasp with all her might, but his hand and legs held her imprisoned. For all the pain, there was no way she was escaping her punishment. At that moment, she felt the sob burst out of her throat and she let the pain wash over it without fighting. He moved on to the other leg, and the scorching pain burned through her guilt. “Up now.” She jumped up quickly, surprised to see the hairbrush in his hand. She knew she looked silly, but she couldn’t help rubbing the burn out of her bottom with her hands, and doing little jumps to try to get away from the pain. When she finished her dance, he opened his arms to her. “Come here, sweetling.” Keely ran into his arms, burying her tears into his chest and offering her apologizes. “Shhhh, now. Forgiven and forgotten.” He rocked her a little and gave her a bear hug squeeze. “All forgiven and forgotten.”

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Chapter Eight Flips and Twists

The dream was so vivid, that Keely popped out of bed at four in the morning, certain that she could make it reality. She glanced guiltily at Rick and considered waking him to ask him to come with her, but she knew he liked to sleep in on his day off. She then considered asking his permission, but she knew he wouldn’t give it. So she quietly grabbed her wetsuit and went out and got in the jeep. Luckily, her kayak was still strapped to the top. The forty minute drive to the river flew by, and the only hitch in her plans was getting the kayak down from the top of the jeep. She managed, though, and ignored the guilt she felt when she realized that she usually relied on Rick to help her get the kayak down. She felt the twinges of her conscience growing louder as she pulled on her spray skirt and carefully got into her kayak. She comforted her nagging guilt with the fact that she was taking all the safety precautions to the letter, including her helmet and life preserver. Except, of course, the fact that she was ignoring the ‘never kayak alone’ rule. The river was running slower than it had a few weeks ago, and it took her almost thirty minutes to reach the faster rapids. The brisk morning air was exhilarating, and the smooth, quiet glide of her kayak on the water was as fun as ever. But she had a tight sensation in her

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chest. She looked at the foliage and reminded herself of how much she loved being out in nature. Still, the feeling didn’t go away. It wasn’t fear. She was confident she could execute the helix safely and correctly. Keely just knew in her bones how to do it—she’d felt it perfectly in her dream. But she kept seeing her husband’s face. Kept looking behind her, as if he were gliding on the water in his kayak, a few yards behind as he always did. Loneliness settled inside her heart, mixing with the guilt that was growing. Tears ran down her cheeks, and just as she decided to turn around and paddle back before running the rapids, it was too late. The boat was running fast in the channel, and her mind went into that calm, exhilarated focus that helped her plan her path through the whitewater. She paddled her way across the channel towards the calmer water at the side, and she soon made her way to the drop that promised she would land a helix. And it was a great moment, a beautiful moment which went into slow motion so that she could enjoy every bit of it. She dropped over the edge of water, flipped the kayak over her head as she executed a full spin, and landed on the bumpy water right side up. Nothing could compare to the rush of adrenalin and the elation of the moment. She whooped all the way to the landing spot they had camped at a few weeks ago. She did a little dance, hauled the kayak up on her shoulders, and started the hour hike back to the jeep. The ache in her legs and shoulders were a welcome respite from the guilt that threatened to overcast her triumphant feat. Several hours later, Keely could barely take the grin off her face as she pulled into the driveway

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with two bags of groceries at nine o’clock on the dot. She hoisted the bags into her arms and walked in, praying that they blocked the thrilled expression on her face. “Where have you been, Keely?” He’d have only gotten up an hour ago, she reminded herself. Though she’d been up for over five hours, he wouldn’t know that. “I went for an early morning swim—” she told herself that her statement was pretty much true, even if she did leave out the river and her kayak “— got a good workout, too, and stopped to get some groceries. I thought I’d make tacos tonight.” “Making my favorite is a classic sign of guilt. What have you been up to, Keely?” He took a bag from her arms. “You look absolutely exhilarated. Don’t lie to me.” He took a moment to admire her glow and give her a passionate kiss before stepping back with a disapproving frown. She plopped the other bag on the counter and busied herself putting away the groceries. “I told you, I went swimming, that’s it.” Her voice was too high and too defensive. Rick nodded suspiciously. “Okay, you went swimming. Where?” “At Bally’s.” She poured two large glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice. “I must have swum over an hour; it was great.” “The chlorine didn’t bother you at all?” She had a slight chlorine allergy, which she forgot about when choosing her lie. Her breath hitched but she covered it with a cough. “No,” she said. “No, it was fine. Water was warm, too.” “Well, sweetling, where’s my good morning hug?” Her mouth popped open in feigned surprise. “I almost forgot!” She immediately dropped what she was doing and jumped at him, squeezing him hard

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and adding a passionate kiss that nearly took away his will to say what he had to. “You smell great.” She smiled up at him in response and reached over to grab a glass of the orange juice for him. “I just love the smell of the water in your hair.” Keely nodded. “MMmm, yeah,” she said absently, taking in a big drink of orange juice herself. “Was the lake cold today?” The smell of freshwater in her hair was unmistakable. She took out a bag of rice and began fixing lunch. “River,” she corrected absently while measuring the rice. “A bit nippy, but exhilarating.” He shook his head, but he was grateful that she was a terrible liar. “Keely, Keely,” he sighed. “Why were you in the river?” Her attention snapped back to him, and she bit her lip. “I swam in the river, not at Bally’s?” she asked worriedly. Rick’s temper flared as he realized what she’d done. “Keely, tell me you didn’t.” Her lip trembled in response. “You went kayaking alone?!” he asked incredulously. “Didn’t I forbid you to?” He took a deep, angry breath. “Not on Class IV rapids?!” She shook her head, and her face lit up with animation. “But you can’t imagine how much fun it was! I woke up this morning at four, and I just knew—” her voice squeaked as she practically jumped off the floor in enthusiasm “—just knew if I went on the river today I’d nail the helix, and I did! I went alone, but I had my PFD and helmet on, I swear, and I nailed it!” She was practically on tiptoe, bouncing in excitement. He shook his head. “I may be proud of your achievement, young lady, but I am not at all pleased with your disregard for your safety. After

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we get back from the freestyle workshop this afternoon, you can expect a punishment.” Her eyes widened in horror. “An especially stern punishment, too. ” Keely flung her hair in denial and grabbed his hands. “But, I was careful, I wore my helmet and PFD, and I was safe!” She stood up on her toes to peer earnestly into his eyes, as she often did to match his six foot two frame. “If you’ll only let me tell you how exhilarating it was, you’ll understand why I did it, and you won’t be mad at me, and you can see, I’m not hurt!” Rick, however, was so angry that his words came out hard and short. “I Do Not want to hear about it. What I want to do is take the afternoon to get over my anger at your disregard for you own life and then give you a spanking hard enough to deter you from ever doing anything so foolhardy again.” Keely snapped her hands onto her hips. “But, you were wrong, don’t you see? I’m not hurt, so you have no right in telling me I was unsafe.” “No right? I am your husband and your protector!” She scoffed. “Protector? I don’t need a protector!” “Ha!” he barked. “If someone weren’t around to keep you in check, you’d die to get the thrill of your life.” She wiggled her finger at him. “Maybe, but at least I live instead of playing it safe like an old fuddy-duddy.” “Young lady, I do not play it safe, and I accompany you on enough of your adventures that you have no right to even think that.” Rick frowned, set down his only half-drunk glass of orange juice, and put his toes to hers. Towering a foot over her saucy face, he growled. “Your kayak is going to be padlocked, and I will hold the only key, until—”

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“You can’t take away my kayak!” He ignored her shriek. “—Until I can trust that you will go kayaking only with a partner or on a flat water lake. And, right now, I want you to be quiet while I cool my temper so that I can give you the spanking you need tonight.” “No!” she stomped her foot like a child and wagged her finger at him, ready to launch into a tirade that would have made her Italian mother proud. He cut her off. “No more discussion. The only reason I’m allowing us to go to the freestyle workshop is because I need to sort my thoughts. In the meantime, you can go put your nose in the corner right there, or your kayaks will disappear with the morning trash.” She gasped with wide eyes, torn between her indignation and the desire to protect her beloved kayaks. “And you’d better come up with some contrition or else I’ll cancel our run down the Upper Gauley this year.” “You wouldn’t!” she squeaked. “I would,” he stated, his voice calmer than he felt. “I have to resist the urge to keep you safe and sound, locked in this house. I support your adrenalin addiction and even partner with you, but if I can’t trust you to use your common sense when you go outside this house, then changes in our lifestyle will have to be made.” She started to speak again, but he gave her a look that made her think better of it. She turned and stomped to the corner, feeling ridiculous as she pressed her nose into the corner. But she was already feeling twinges of guilt. How many times had she told kayakers new to the sport not to go out alone? Weather conditions can change quickly, currents can surprise you in water you don’t know, and a fall into the water could

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easily knock you out if your head hit the underwater structure or you fell into cold water. She jumped to feel a strong hand grab her shoulder and give it a comforting squeeze. “I am proud of you, and I wish I could have seen you. I am, however, very upset with you for doing what we both know was unsafe.” Keely looked at the end of her nose and shrugged like a sullen teenager. She’d never been sent to the corner before, and she didn’t appreciate the fact that he’d threatened her kayaks to do it, too. “I am not going to ask you to stand in this corner with your pants down and your butt bare, but if you were to lower your pants of your own accord, it might help your case.” She humphed, and he left the room. It didn’t take long for her guilt to compel her hands to pull down her jeans and panties. She felt ridiculous, more so because Rick just went about his business around the house, completely ignoring her. How long would he leave her there? She glanced down at her watch, whose hands were nearing ten o’clock. They didn’t have to leave for the work shop until noon—surely he didn’t expect her to stand in the corner for two hours! But by ten thirty, it seemed evident that he just might. She fidgeted, she started tracing the cracks in the wall with her fingers, and she even turned her head to watch the rain pattering against the windows. She glanced down at her watch again. Ten thirty-two. She stood on one foot, turning her other ankle in circles to get the blood moving in it again. Ten thirty-three. She repeated the stretch with her other foot, telling herself not to look at her watch again. A watched pot never boils, she told herself.

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The air conditioner kicked on, forcing cold air right onto her naked bottom. She shivered, pouted, and with a glance around to see if Rick was close, she pulled up her pants. Ten forty. Her ears strained for sounds of Rick’s approach. Would she leave her pants up, explaining to him about the cold air? Or would she push them down quickly, so he’d never know the difference? After all, he’d made it her choice as to whether or not she even lowered them in the first place. Ten forty-one. She kicked a foot at the corner, crossed her arms over her chest, and pouted. She spun around defiantly, chin up and ready to defend her out-ofcorner position. With no audience to see her misbehavior, she leaned her back into the corner and thought. And looked down at her watch. Ten forty-three. He’d forgotten about her. He wasn’t allowed to leave her in the corner and forget about her. He’d broken the rules of the game, she told herself, and he was going to get an earful. She marched into his office and assumed her best defiant pose. “I don’t want to stand in the corner anymore,” Keely challenged. He didn’t even look up from his laptop. “Fine.” First, she felt a wave of disappointment wash into her, thrusting her hurt into a sob that stuck into her throat. She calculated what to do next. She wanted to throw something, do anything to get his attention. He hadn’t given up on her , had he? She hated that he was genuinely angry with her, angry enough that his eyes were hard as he pretended to focus on his computer. His jaw muscles were flexing furiously as he tried to ignore her. Then a crash of realization hit her, almost physically knocking her down: this wasn’t a game.

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This wasn’t a sport of tug-of-war, where they were supposed to compete to see who can force the other to cross the line first. She’d felt genuine feelings while being punished, but at other times, she’d played a little with the lifestyle. Tested boundaries, teased him. But she’d never really considered that he might have feelings in it, too. He was supposed to just spank whenever necessary, and because of that, never get angry, never get frustrated, and never get upset. Because he could solve everything with a spanking, right? Tears of shame dripped down her cheeks as she watched his still form, sitting turned away from her. She’d known that morning when she left that she was risking a spanking. She’d known that she was risking his disapproval. But she hadn’t considered that she would hurt his feelings. She hadn’t thought that lying to him would hurt their relationship, not truly. Hadn’t thought that her deed might ruin his Saturday—or longer, she worried—and put him in a bad mood. As if he could hear her thoughts, he stood up to face her. “Keely, spanking is a physical consequence, which will hopefully deter you from letting your misbehaviors get to the point of real consequences.” He touched a finger to the tears on her face, but shook his head. “I can’t fix this with a spanking, Keely.” With another sigh, he glanced down at his watch. “Let’s just get going.” “I don’t want to go this afternoon, Rick. You go,” she said in a very small voice. “I don’t feel well.” He just gave one, small nod. “Why couldn’t you wait until this afternoon? Why did you have to sneak around, risk your safety, and lie to me?” He seemed about to say more, but he stopped himself. “If you’re not going, I’ll be back at six.” He waited for her to respond, and then turned to go without his customary good-bye hug. She fretted

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while he packed up his backpack, and wiped away her tears. Just as he opened the back door, she ran to him. “Rick, wait!” He stopped in the doorway. “I’m sorry, Rick. I’m really sorry.” He sighed, and then turned to her. “I know, Keely.” He opened up his arms and she ran in for a hug. “I love you, and I’ll be back.” She felt a sweet surge of relief at his words, not that she was really worried about him leaving her. While he was gone, though, she cleaned, scoured, and scrubbed the house. She knew it was guilt, but she did it anyway. She did five loads of laundry, folded and put it away. She even cleaned out the refrigerator and scrubbed the trays and under the jars in the trays of the door. By the time Rick got home, Keely had a fire going in the living room, soft music playing, the lights turned down low, and candles lit on the dining room table. She had embellished the taco dinner with Mexican beer, refried beans, and sweet corn cake. She’d even rolled scoops of ice cream in sugar, cinnamon, and a touch of flour, ready to be dropped in hot oil for ten seconds, to make fried ice cream, his favorite dessert. He was kind, if not talkative. He smiled at the dinner, thanked her, and set about eating it. He talked about the workshop, and although Keely responded as if she were hanging on to every word, she was only half-listening. When they were done eating, he started to do the dishes and clear away the table, but she wouldn’t hear of it. “I made a fire for you, but it might need some stirring and a couple more logs.” He thanked her with a kiss to her cheek, and Keely was left alone in the kitchen to fret. How could she make things up to him? How could she get things back to normal?

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She joined him on the couch and snuggled into her regular position, leaning into his arms. They watched and laughed over their favorite Saturday night shows. But ten thirty came and went, the time that he usually gave her a peck on the cheek and told her that it was time for her nightly spanking. A clutch of fear gripped her, and at ten forty-five, she glanced up at her husband. “Am I getting a spanking tonight?” she tried to hide the fact that her voice shook a little. To her consternation, it took Rick a full three minutes of careful thought to respond. “The fact is, Keely, spanking alone is not going to deter you from lying. I suppose I could get abusive enough to break you, or scare you into never lying.” Her eyes went wide, and he quickly clarified, “I would never do that to you.” He saw the tears fill her eyes with regret. “I don’t know what to do,” she cried, with the look of a little girl lost and helpless to find her way. “Yes, you do. You have to decide that you don’t want to lie to me. And once you decide that, I can help you along with a little extra motivation.” He frowned. “In this case, as a rule you’ve broken many times, it will be a rather firm bit of motivation.” She burst into tears. “I am sorry, and I don’t ever want to lie to you again.” “Keely, the way I figure it, spanking does two things. It can provide extra motivation, and it can wash away some of the guilt you feel.” She nodded in agreement, unable to stop the crying that made her lip tremble. “But it is not a game.” He said these words sharply enough that her head snapped up to look at him. “It is not a game,” he repeated, “or a power struggle, and I won’t have it in this marriage.”

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Her face curled up against the sobs that were trying to bubble out of her. “No more spanking?” she asked, in a sad, forlorn voice. His heart wanted to reach out to her as she looked positively wretched at his scolding words. “Yes, spanking,” he said to her visible relief. “But no more games, and no more power struggles.” He reached over to the end table, opened the drawer, and pulled out a manila folder. “I want you to look at these pictures.” She shuddered at the images of caned girls, with bottoms that were cut with black and blue stripes. They were mottled, ugly, and terribly scary-looking. She looked up at her husband, terrified for a minute before her trust in her husband reassured her that he would never hurt her. “I bought a cane today.” She shook her head, automatically fearing the bruises she saw in the pictures, despite the moisture collecting at her sex. No matter how much the fantasy and the pictures may excite a part of her, she knew without a doubt that she’d never want to feel that sort of pain. “I’m going to give you one stroke of the cane tonight, just so that you can know what it feels like.” He put a finger under her trembling chin and forced her to look into his gentle eyes. “And then I never, ever, want to use that cane again.” She nodded eagerly, just to be agreeable, even though she didn’t quite understand where he was heading with the conversation. “If you want to continue with spanking in our marriage, then I will give you one stroke of the cane tonight, so that you know what it feels like. And, I swear to God, Keely, I don’t ever want things to progress to the cane again.” His voice grew deep and raw, “Never again. Do you understand me?” She was hiding her face in his shirt again, shaking her head. “I promise it won’t!” she cried.

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“Sweetling, I won’t do it if you don’t want me to. This lifestyle isn’t about force, or a fight for power. We don’t need to live this sort of lifestyle at all.” He combed her hair with his hand, wishing he could stroke away her tears. “If it’s something you want, I’ll do it. But I won’t let it change our relationship so drastically that everything becomes a tug of war. I will do it so that we have a more peaceful, loving relationship.” She nodded frantically, even though she wouldn’t look up at him. Her tears were sopping through his sweater, and her sobs were breaking his heart. “This lifestyle is for you, sweetling, and it’s your decision whether or not we proceed. It’s not about me wrenching power from you. It’s about you submitting to my decisions gratefully and gracefully. It’s about you wanting this sort of guidance from me.” He pushed her away from his chest, even though it hurt to push her away from his heart. “This goes beyond trusting me, sweetling. This means you have to know, without a doubt, that I will make some little mistakes here and there, but overall, I will never hurt you, never steer you in a direction that would be harmful to you. You have to know for certain, deep down in your heart that I’m going to guide in a way that will be more fulfilling to you—not necessarily better, but more fulfilling,” he emphasized, “than if you had guided yourself.” “I want that, Rick, I do.” She touched his cheek. “And I trust you totally, I know you love me.” Rick held up a picture of a bottom that had been caned one stroke across the middle. There was a deep, whitish valley, with swollen cliffs of red, blue and purple, although the line left by the cane was thin. “I’m going to make you look like this,” he said as if to dissuade her.

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She wiped away her tears. “It’s okay, I don’t mind.” She took a deep breath. “I want it, almost.” He steeled himself and nodded. “Then go get the cane, hanging inside our closet door.” She stood up eagerly, and he grabbed her hand before she could run off to retrieve it. “It will always be there, and every morning and night when you see it, I want you to remember why we have this relationship.” She nodded in agreement, but he didn’t let her go yet. “Don’t abuse it again, Keely,” he warned. She swallowed her tears, and looked up at him with such sweet eagerness that his heart almost melted. “I promise, I won’t, Sir.” He smiled at the fact that she finally called him ‘Sir,’ and gave her a soft pat on the bottom to send her on her way. He absently rubbed his sore leg, where he had given his own thigh several strokes to figure out just how hard—easy, actually—to cane her. Truth is, he never hit her hard enough to look like the picture. The single cane stroke left some mottled flesh and some swelling, but he didn’t bother letting her know that he would never let her bottom look like any of those pictures. He let her imagination give her the worst of the pain, and rubbed cold, clear homeopathic jelly into her bottom to keep her from bruising. In the end, they both got all their wishes: Keely had a wonderful, harmonious—albeit mixed with a fair bit of spanking—relationship with her husband. She looked at the cane every day, and remembered to give her husband her submission, instead of making him fight for it. She didn’t worry overmuch about those pictures, though he kept them in the drawer of their nightstand. Though she never told her husband that she knew, she still knew without a doubt that he would never do that to her. And Rick was grateful to see her live well into old age, and he gave her a good spanking with his

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hand—on top of the pepper cream that she hated— to rid her of the belief, “you’ve got to die sometime.” She looked out for her safety after that, and she didn’t fight him—much—when he had to lay down the law. To his surprise, she had a habit of going over to kiss him every time she opened the closet door and saw the cane. Rick hadn’t particularly wanted her to fear it too much, but he hadn’t expected her to get a happy little smile on her face every time she saw it. He didn’t mind, though, considering she never crossed the line to the point where he would even have to think about getting the cane down from its perch. Keely did learn to brat for a spanking when she wanted one, but only in a way that was clearly teasing. But they weren’t to know all that when she pounced up from that one painful stroke of the cane. They didn’t know what the years would bring, or how they would settle into a comfortable relationship that lasted into their old age. Keely didn’t even need to know any of that when she ran into her husband’s arms for comfort from the pain. He needed to know that she loved and trusted him, just as much as she needed to know that he would love and cherish her for the rest of their life. The happy ever after was just a bonus.

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