by Loki Renard
“Tessa?”
“Kirk,” she sighed. “It’s not the fuse. There’s no power cut. Well, there is, but not in the sense you’re thinking of.”
He closed the door and crossed the room to look down at her, and he was so ruggedly handsome in the candlelight she desperately wished she didn’t have to say what she was about to say. “What do you mean, Tessa?”
“I mean…” She took a breath. “I think the company shut the power off.”
“And why would they do that?”
“Because I didn’t pay their bill yet,” she admitted.
His brows drew down and his expression became hawkishly severe. “Why, Tessa?”
“I couldn’t,” she said. “Other things came up.”
“How…” Kirk narrowed his eyes a little. “What do you mean you couldn’t; you’re earning good money now. These aren’t even particularly large bills. Do I need to spank you into some kind of fiscal responsibility, Tessa?”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s not like that.”
“Where did the money go, then?”
“I had to pay some other stuff off.” Tim’s damn debts. That’s what she’d had to pay.
“What… stuff?” In candlelight she could see that Kirk had shrugged his jacket off and was rolling one sleeve up his arm. That was not a good sign. She could have confessed as to where the money had gone, but she wasn’t ready to tell Kirk about Tim. That was a can of worms for another day.
“Other bills, more urgent bills.”
“Tessa, you work for me. I know how much you take home. It is more than enough to cover all your necessary expenses.”
“Well, as it turns out, it wasn’t,” she shrugged. “Can we not discuss this, please?”
“Oh, we are going to discuss it,” Kirk chuckled darkly. “We are going to have a very long, hard discussion about this. I know money problems don’t always go away when someone gets money. Sometimes it’s more about irresponsible spending habits…”
“Fuck off,” Tessa spat, suddenly angry. “I am not irresponsible. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Tessa!” Her name left his lips like a whip crack. “Where is that bill?”
Having handed him the relevant piece of paper, Tessa watched miserably as he called and made the payment with his credit card, along with an additional fee to have the power turned back on immediately. He did not look pleased about any of it, and as the lights came back on she dearly wished for the shadows to return and hide her from his gaze.
Having sorted out the electricity situation, he moved right along to the next matter of business. Tessa watched with a sinking heart as Kirk sat down on the couch and patted his thigh.
“Come here.”
Oh, god. She was actually going to be punished for this. She stood stock still, her mouth opening and closing with words that would not come. She should just tell Kirk about Tim and his money problems. He wouldn’t spank her then. But he would know that she wasn’t just some cute nurse with bad financial skills. He’d know about her messed-up family, her messed-up brother, how messed up she was. Better to pretend she was just a ditzy blonde who forgot that bills needed to be paid than admit the truth.
“I don’t want a spanking,” she pouted, playing the role of recalcitrant brat.
“You might not want one, but you’re going to get one, young lady. Now come here this instant.” He looked so stern and severe—and so goddamn handsome too. Her mind escaped into erotic fantasy as she mentally undressed him, the lines of his body covered by his shirt laid bare in her mind.
“Tessa…” He spoke her name in warning tones.
“Fine!” she said, rolling her eyes. She flounced dramatically toward him and threw herself over his lap in as devil-may-care a fashion as was possible.
Kirk responded by tossing her skirt up, baring her panty-clad rear with little fanfare. He did not seem thrilled by her attitude, but he made little comment. Instead he let his palm do the talking, landing six hard swats to each of her cheeks. Tessa gasped at the sudden barrage, but knew it was only the beginning. He was not happy with her, not her actions or her attitude. She did her best to stay quiet, not letting him know just how much her butt was already stinging. Kirk smoothed his palm over her bottom and swatted her hard once more.
“I expect you to be responsible,” he lectured. “I expect you to set aside the necessary funds to cover your bills.”
With that he started spanking her in earnest, slapping one cheek and then the other, hard and fast. Tessa lost count of the slaps after the first dozen or so, paying attention only to the way her butt swelled and stung under her panties.
“I know you’re a capable young woman,” he said. “It’s surprising to me that you would have let matters get so far. What would you have done if I wasn’t here?”
“Been able to sit?” Tessa threw the quip out with a recalcitrant grin.
Kirk hooked his thumb in the back of her panties, yanking them down to mid-thigh in one swift motion. The baring made little difference physically, though it did sharpen the sting. Mentally it made her feel all the smaller and all the naughtier. She had to keep reminding herself that it wasn’t really her fault she was being spanked.
“This is not the time for your smart remarks,” Kirk informed her sternly. “This is a serious matter, and I expect you to take it seriously.”
He emphasized the statement by further branding her bottom with another series of hard slaps. It was all beginning to become quite painful, more than she could comfortably bear on Tim’s account. She began to squirm and wriggle, little whimpers escaping as she was thoroughly spanked.
“Do I need to supervise your accounts?”
“No!”
“Do I need to check every week to make sure your bills are paid?”
“No!”
Each of his questions was emphasized with a hard slap that made a hot shock flash through her body.
“Well, I’m going to,” he informed her. “Until I’m satisfied that you’re making responsible choices.”
The patronizing lecture would have been bad enough if she’d actually deserved it. As it was, Tessa could barely contain herself. “No!” she repeated. “You don’t need to do any of that. You don’t understand what happened anyway, you’re just assuming I’m some stupid girl. I’m not!”
“I don’t think you’re stupid in the least,” Kirk said. “I think you’re mismanaging your life.”
“Oh, well, you manage it then,” she spat over her shoulder.
“That’s exactly what I’ll do,” he replied, swatting her bare bottom yet again.
“You couldn’t live my life for a day, let alone manage it,” she shot back. “You don’t know anything about anything.”
“What don’t I know, Tessa?”
The question made her tense. She’d said too much, almost given herself away. “Just finish spanking me already,” she growled at the carpet. None of this was in any way fair, but when had life been fair?
“You’re being an incredibly petulant little brat tonight,” Kirk said, swatting her harder still. “What’s gotten into you?”
“Nothing! I just don’t like being punished, that’s all. Am I supposed to be liking this? Do you want me to thank you for it?”
A swat blazed across her rear and a strong hand grasped the hair at the back of her head in a tight grip as Kirk pulled her head back enough to allow him to bend down and growl in her ear.
“Yes, brat. You’re going to thank me for each and every swat.”
“No,” Tessa growled back rebelliously.
“No?” She couldn’t see his brow rise, but she knew it had risen. There was gravel in his voice that resonated with the very innards of her. She was in trouble. Real trouble.
He slid her off his thighs and down to the floor, putting her in a kneeling position. She opened her mouth to complain, but decided against it when she saw the expression on his face. He wasn’t angry. He looked disappointed—and dete
rmined.
“I expect better from you, Tessa. You might make mistakes, that’s to be expected. What I don’t expect is you to give me attitude when I’m disciplining you.”
She squirmed, her pride stinging even more than her bottom. Now she felt really guilty. She had agreed to a certain arrangement with Kirk and now she was going back on it. Sort of. At least, that was the way it felt. She looked up at him, sitting there on the couch, remote from her by merit of small distance and she felt tears begin to prick at her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
He didn’t make any reply immediately. He looked down at her, his dark eyes piercing her sadness and for a second she thought maybe he understood what was going on.
As the tears started to flow, Tessa realized that she couldn’t stop them. The flow only increased until, for reasons she couldn’t quite explain, she found herself sitting at Kirk’s feet, sobbing.
He made a soft sound and reached down, pulling her up into his lap where she curled up against his chest and hid her face in his neck. He ran his hands over her back, butt, and thighs, gently soothing her through her tears.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated over and over. He didn’t know what she was apologizing for, but it didn’t matter. He held her close and murmured forgiveness against her ear until she stopped gasping for breath between the sobs that made her whole body shake.
“Shhh, it’s okay,” he reassured her. “It’s done now. We move on from here. Next time you won’t forget to pay your bill.”
His kind attempts at soothing her only made her cry harder. Next time she’d have to make the same shitty choice as this time. She could see her life stretching ahead of her, spanking after spanking for something that wasn’t and never had been her fault.
Kirk held her closely until the tears began to abate, soothing her with his masculine yet tender presence. When she finally stopped crying, he spoke to her again.
“You don’t like it when I’m displeased with you, do you, Tessa?”
“No,” she said in a small voice. “I don’t.”
“I know it doesn’t feel like it now,” he said, pressing a kiss to her temple. “But that’s actually a good thing. It means that our relationship means something to you.”
“Of course it means something to me!” She lifted her head and looked at him with wet eyes. “We’re sleeping with one another, we’re… I… what do you mean?!”
“Easy, pet,” he said gently. “I just meant that it means we’re both taking this seriously, and that’s a good thing.”
“Tell my ass that,” she grumbled.
Kirk made a small sound of sympathy and rubbed his hand over her still blazing bottom. “I don’t think your butt needs to be told anything,” he said. “I think it’s your mind that needs to catch up with things.”
“Are you saying I’m stupid?”
“No,” he replied in warning tones. “I’m saying you’re not used to being held accountable and that you don’t really like it all that much. You’ll see the benefits soon though.”
He thought he knew everything. He didn’t know a damn thing. Tessa sighed inwardly and curled up on his lap, taking what comfort she could while he was still there to give it.
Chapter Nine
The next day, Kirk found himself troubled by the events of the previous evening. There had been a heaviness to Tessa that wasn’t characteristic of her. She seemed to take being spanked very much to heart, more so than ever before. He hoped she wasn’t getting stuck in some kind of self-loathing in which she thought she was being spanked not for her behavior, but for some inherent flaw.
She was off the roster that day, but he had to work until three o’clock, at which point he drove to her apartment to see her. It was an unannounced visit, but a little spontaneity wouldn’t hurt. He wanted to treat her, show her that there were rewards for being a good girl too.
He made his way up to her apartment, where he was less than pleased to discover that the door was ajar. Tessa knew better than to go out and leave her place unlocked. And she should have known better than to leave her place open for just anyone to walk in when she was home.
“Tessa?”
There was no reply, but there was a general clattering taking place. He pushed the door open and walked into the apartment softly. Someone was rummaging about in the kitchen. Kirk briefly considered that it could be a thief, but as he rounded the corner to the kitchen, he swiftly realized that it was not. Unless, of course, thieves made themselves a grilled cheese sandwich before stealing everything in sight.
“Hello.”
“Hi!” A young man with bright blue eyes and a shock of pale blond hair grinned at him with a smile Kirk had seen on Tessa’s face.
“I’m Kirk Saunders, Tessa’s boyfriend.” He reached out to shake hands and was instead offered a spatula.
“I’m her brother, Tim,” the young man said. “She’s not getting the good mayonnaise anymore.”
Tessa had never mentioned a brother. Kirk wasn’t sure why that was. She didn’t talk about her family at all, he realized. Tim looked like your average college senior, a bit of a mess, but charming enough.
“Can you turn that?” Tim pointed at the food in the pan. “I need to see if she’s hiding it. She hides it sometimes.”
The apartment door slammed at that moment, and Tessa came barreling in. “Dammit, Tim!” She yelled her brother’s name. “I had Angus here the other day. He took two thousand dollars off me!”
“Sorry,” Tim called out. “I’m good for it.”
“No, you’re not,” she said, storming around the corner. “You’re not good for… Kirk?”
She stopped dead and stared at him with a markedly guilty expression.
“Hello, Tessa,” Kirk smiled. “I was just introducing myself to your younger brother here.”
“Uh… yeah,” Tessa said. “This is Tim.”
“So I gathered,” Kirk said. He couldn’t help but notice that Tessa looked horrified at seeing the pair of them together. It went well beyond mere surprise at finding her boyfriend and brother chatting casually in the kitchen. And what had she meant about the money?
Tim didn’t seem nearly so concerned. He took the spatula out of Kirk’s hand and served up his snack, stuffing it into his mouth in an attempt to avoid conversation.
“Tim, this is Kirk. We’re, uh, dating.”
“I gathered,” Tim said in muffled tones that could have been intended to mimic Kirk, or not. “Listen, Tess, I gotta crash here for a few days, okay?”
“Uh…”
“That’s fine,” Kirk cut in. “Tessa can spend some time at my place. We need to talk about a few things anyway.”
* * *
Tessa’s greatest nightmare had come true. Kirk and Tim in the same room. Kirk’s intense gaze running over Tim with obvious judgment. Tim wasn’t doing himself any favors. He was wearing ratty old jeans and a man’s tank with geographical designs and, now, a mustard stain.
“That’s real nice,” Tim said, grinning like an idiot.
“I don’t want any… unexpected visitors coming here, Tim,” she said, trying to choose her words carefully. “Especially not Angus.”
“I thought you, uh, took care of Angus?”
“I did,” Tessa said, trying not to lose her temper. Tim was trying to get on board with being subtle, but he was bad at it. He had a certain glassy look in his eyes that strongly suggested he’d been imbibing illicit substances. “But you and Angus seem to hang out together a lot these days. I don’t want him here. He’s not good for… the furniture.”
She shot a glance at Kirk and saw him looking at her with a measured expression, his dark eyes giving nothing away.
“I get it,” Tim said. “No visitors. No parties.”
Tessa felt Kirk’s arm loop around her waist. She looked up at him and saw his wickedly intelligent gaze looking down at her. Oh, damn. She was in trouble. He knew everything. Well, maybe not everything, but enough to matter.
<
br /> After a few more forced pleasantries, Tessa found herself being ushered out of her place and down to Kirk’s car where she sat tensely, trying to make small talk to distract Kirk from the conversation he must have heard owing to the fact that she’d screamed it.
“So,” Kirk said once they were driving. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on between you and that brother of yours?”
“Oh, Tim,” she said, trying for a lighthearted laugh. “I think older sisters always worry about their younger brothers.”
“Maybe, but older sisters don’t always have, what was it, two thousand dollars taken from them on their younger brother’s behalf?”
Tessa groaned and slid down in the leather seat. This was the discussion she’d wanted so badly not to have. “It’s nothing,” she said.
Kirk flicked on the indicator for his exit. “Tessa, you were punished for being financially irresponsible recently. Did that incident have anything to do with Tim?”
“Well, not really,” she said, looking out the window. “I just paid the power bill late—or not at all. I’m such a ditz!”
A grim silence settled over the car. She knew Kirk was not happy with her evasive answers. They drove the rest of the way to his house without speaking a word to one another. He parked in the garage and went inside, leaving her to trail after him feeling small and guilty even though she hadn’t actually done anything wrong.
Kirk walked through to the kitchen and turned the coffee machine on. Tessa lingered awkwardly in the doorway between the hall and the kitchen/lounge, one part of her wanting to go and hug him and tell him everything; the other, more powerful part telling her it was best to keep her mouth shut.
“So,” he said, turning toward her when she finally dared creep into his presence. “Why are people named Angus coming to your house to take large sums of money?”
She sighed and shook her head. “This isn’t anything you have to worry about,” she explained. “It’s just Tim.”
“I disagree. This is something I very much am worried about,” Kirk replied. “Why are you on the hook for Tim’s debts? More than that… why didn’t you tell me about the situation with Tim?”