Capitol Punishment

by Carl Hamlin

  Just recently, they had arrived home on a Saturday afternoon to find police on the scene. A man had been arrested in their apartment building lobby attempting to gain access to his ex-wife’s apartment, but his suspicious actions had triggered a custodian to call the cops.

  Once inside their apartment, Eric asked Macie if that incident made her take his words of caution more seriously. She simply shrugged, and shook her head. “I guess I’m just not that concerned. I don’t know how in the world you’re ever going to find a way to change that about me.”

  Eric turned and gave her a piercing gaze while placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her to face him. “You’re forgetting a conversation we had a long time ago.”

  Macie did not seem to catch on to his meaning. Eric looked straight into her eyes. “When you were a kid, did you ever get a good paddling from one of your parents?”

  Macie felt her face flush, but still laughed while responding. “Yes, a couple of times. And…..uh…..oh, yeah. Now I remember what you promised if I didn’t follow your directions. ”

  Eric did not say another word. He did not have to. He turned away, began taking off his jacket, and strolled to the closet.

  Macie remained motionless, her jaw open in shock, and her abdomen fluttering for a variety of reasons. There was no question in her mind that his threat was not an idle one. She wondered how she had managed to let it slip from her mind. She knew that her job had kept her busy and focused, but she wondered how a grown woman could forget being threatened with a paddling.

  That evening they made love, and as they cuddled in the afterglow, Macie crawled partway onto Eric, then leaned down and kissed him. “Eric……I have a question for you.”

  Eric grinned. “Sure…..we can do that again.”

  Macie let out a sigh of mock exasperation. “Of course, that would be okay with me, too. But my question is……uh, did you mean that today? Would you really paddle me?”

  Eric grinned again, took Macie by the arm, and began to pull her over his lap. “If you wish.”

  Macie squealed in protest, then pulled free and sat up. “Be serious……you know what I mean.”

  Eric’s expression grew grim, and he coaxed Macie to resume her place resting next to him. “Yes……yes I would. I mean, if you really put yourself in danger, I’m sure I would. I will add, you’ve been on the edge from time to time.”

  Instinctively, Macie reached her left hand back and covered her bottom. “Seriously…..I’ve come close to getting paddled?”

  Eric nodded. “Yes, that is correct. The woman I love, Mrs. Macie Lowden, has come close to getting paddled on a couple of occasions.”

  Macie’s eyes were like saucers, and she blew out a deep breath. “Oh, my gosh. If that actually happened, I wouldn’t know what to say.”

  Eric reached down and patted her on the bottom. “Maybe, OUCH?”

  Macie shook her head, sighed, and began to laugh. “I know you want me to be safe. I love that about you. And…..I’ll try to listen better. After all, my fanny is at stake. I mean, the whole thing is in danger.”

  Eric pulled Macie on top of him. “What a fine and lovely fanny it is. And in my opinion, it needs some more loving attention.”

  Eric began to softly caress Macie’s bottom, one of her favorite parts of foreplay. Macie placed her nose against Eric’s. As he caressed, she moaned, then giggled. “I would hate for that thing back there to ever have to get seriously smacked.”

  Eric halted. “I know you think it’s funny now…..”.

  Macie sighed then kissed him. “I understand, Mr. Lowden, sir. My fanny could get thoroughly, exhaustively and painfully tanned.” They then set off on another adventure on the sheets, each making the other feel like the universe revolved around the other.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Eric Lowden was a man who believed in playing by the rules. The exception was when he felt that bending one would keep Macie safe. She left the apartment every morning to head for her office on K Street. She drove alone, and typically left the apartment an hour later than did he. Eric’s deepest fear was that someone with an ax to grind with him would make her a target. His boss had explained to him that, while his concerns were logical, his position was just below the threat level that would make ongoing protection for Macie allowable. As much as a stickler for adhering to the classification rules as Eric was, he felt that the denial of agency-provided security justified an exception.

  There was no question that one of the primary requirements of his work was that information be safeguarded. An investigation could be compromised if word leaked out that he and his colleagues were evaluating a threat. Under the worst circumstances, a ruthless subject could decide to attempt to stop an investigation by violent means.

  Still, Eric knew what his highest priority in life was. Against all regulations, protocols and threats of prosecution or firing, Eric divulged sensitive and classified information to Macie. Whenever he was working on an investigation that would under the most remote possibilities allow for the chance that Macie could be vulnerable, the rules were discarded.

  One thing that Eric feared was that someone wishing to get to him through Macie would try an abduction by car-jacking or faking a fender-bender. He spoke to the F.B.I. instructor who had given him much of his own security training, then passed the advice on to Macie.

  Macie would see photos and age-progression sketches. She would be given information on why the subject or group was being investigated, and the type of violence usually threatened or employed.

  She had always taken such prohibited pillow talk somewhat seriously. Ever since Eric had reinforced his threat to warm her backside, she made it a point to at least appear much more attentive to his words.

  For her part, Macie had always been good at preventing slips of the tongue. She was also blessed with an exceptional memory, so the faces and data were always readily available in her mind.

  About once a month, Eric would announce to Macie that he had to “de-brief” her. They would laugh, as Eric would also use the term as a pet phrase for sliding off her panties in bed. Most of the time he was telling her that he needed to apprise her of another bad guy who may be on the ground, or in the traffic, in Washington.

  As for Macie’s work, she would speak in generalities about the requests for lobbying services. Eric would tease her about how the firm could take any side of an issue for a fee, and Macie would simply laugh and make the motion of rubbing her fingers together. She was becoming proficient at signing up new clients, and was getting more aggressive in the area of seeking out potential customers. Of course, in the process she was also earning more money each month.

  Their schedules were an adventure. Each may be delayed at the office, and it was not unusual for Macie to get a call from Eric that he was on his way to the airport, and may be home the next day.

  What was certain was that during those evenings that both arrived home at a reasonable time, they would have food ordered in and their apartment’s bedroom was the center of their activities.

  Still, Eric’s concern for Macie’s safety haunted him. It was on a Friday evening that Eric drove up the street to their apartment building. By way of a phone call, he knew that Macie would be arriving home at about the same time. Eric had romance on his mind.

  As he approached the drive into the parking area next to the building, he saw Macie on the sidewalk approaching the building’s front entrance. She was a pleasant vision as she strolled along in her short blue pleated dress but the form of his wife was not all that captured Eric’s attention.

  It was just a month after he had threatened to paddle her for any more blatant disregard of her own safety. Now Eric was watching as she walked along talking on her cell phone. Her purse was slung onto her back and she appeared to not even notice a group of three rough-looking men as she passed them, carelessly flaunting her purse, but most of all, showing her total lack of awareness of her surroundings. As he turned into the lot, he sighed, knowin
g that the evening was going to take a different turn than he had hoped for.

  Entering the apartment, Eric took a deep breath and called out: “Macie…….”. A moment later the woman he dearly loved appeared, kicked off her shoes, then walked to him briskly and gave him a passionate kiss and hug. She held him close and sighed, “I couldn’t wait to get home.”

  Eric felt his breath turn shallow. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her a few inches away, “We need to talk.”

  Macie knew that there was something seriously bothering her husband. “What….what is it?”

  Eric took a deep breath. “You were walking along talking on the phone…..purse slung over your shoulder, not paying any attention to those toughs hanging out…..”.

  Macie shrugged. “What…..toughs?”

  Eric rubbed his forehead and shook his head. “Macie…..that’s the point.”

  Macie looked down. “Oh……yeah.”

  Eric peered down, straight into her eyes. “Do you remember a few weeks ago, what I said was going to happen because of this carelessness?”

  Macie paused for a moment, then as the realization set in, she gasped, then stepped away and reached back and placed her hands over her bottom. “Eric, no please….oh, Eric”.

  Eric responded by loosening and removing his tie, then his sport coat. He tossed them into a chair, and then stood with his hands on his hips. He simply gazed grimly at Macie, nodding to emphasize the seriousness of his intent.

  Macie kept her hands on her backside, and then slowly shook her head back and forth. “Uh…..my gosh, Eric. This is going to be for real, isn’t it?”

  Eric began to walk slowly toward his now trembling wife. “Very, very real, I’m afraid.”

  He stepped to a few inches away from her, and Macie blew out a deep sigh. She then lowered her head and rested it against his chest. He heard her murmur, “A paddling……I’m really going to get a paddling.”

  Eric again held her by the shoulders. “We need to do this right now. Are you ready?”

  Macie looked at him nervously, her eyes beginning to tear up. “Is this…..what are you going to do? Is this going to be, like, over your knees, or do I bend over, or what?”

  Eric gripped her more firmly. “Do you have a preference?”

  Macie was visibly shaking. “When I was a kid, I had to bend over the back of a chair to get my smacks. It may have been very efficient, but I thought it was kind of impersonal”. She managed a meek smile. “I guess I would rather be over your knees. I want to feel close to you…..in contact with you while I’m trying to deal with the pain”. She managed another weak smile. “I assume there’s going to be some real pain huh?”

  Eric nodded, then took her by the arm and guided her a few feet away to the sofa. He released his grasp on her arm, then sat down in the middle of the sofa and waited in silence with a serious but somber expression.

  Macie stepped next to the sofa, and knelt down on the cushion next to him. She then closed her eyes, pursed her lips and leaned forward. Eric took her by the shoulder and guided her the rest of the way down.

  As soon as she settled in, Macie sniffled. “I’m sorry.”

  Eric placed his left hand on the small of her back, and then rested his right hand on the center of her bottom. “I’m sorry, too.”

  Macie responded: “Hmmmmm…….but I think that in a few minutes, I’m going to be much more sorry that I already am”.

  She rested her forehead on her crossed arms and waited. Finally, she felt Eric’s hand leave her bottom, and then return to the seat of the thin dress with a painful and loud crack, provoking a yelp from the shock of the sting. Eric’s hand was still resting on the target when she followed the exclamation of pain with “Yikes…..oh, wow that really stung.”

  Eric’s hand rose and landed once again, and the second sharp crack resulted in a mild kicking of Macie’s legs and the hiss of breath being sucked in.

  Eric allowed his hand to rest on the warm target a few seconds, before once again bringing it down with another loud “CRACK”.

  He placed his left hand on her shoulder. “Macie……I just want you to be more careful.”

  Macie looked back and nodded. Her voice was quivering. “I know, Eric……I know.”

  “WHACK.” There was another pause of several seconds. “WHACK”. Macie let out a cry, and then looked back again.

  “Eric……why are you taking so much time between the smacks?”

  Eric paused. “Because……I want you to fully appreciate how much the last one hurt, and have time to worry about the next one.”

  Eric patted her bottom. “And is that working?”

  Macie looked back again. “You know very well it is.” She looked straight ahead once again. “I don’t think I would say I appreciate these smacks, but I certainly do worry about the next one”.

  However, before he resumed, Eric reached for the hem of her dress and pushed the silky fabric up onto her back.

  Macie had no more than uttered, “Uh-oh”, when the hand landed with the most forceful smack yet on the bottom now protected only by dark blue satin panties. Macie responded with a loud “Yeeeooooowww.”

  Macie’s legs kicked higher, and she looked back again. “You must have put everything you had into that one.”

  Eric halted. “Not even close, Macie my dear.” A loud “SMACK” preceded an “Oooowww”. Another pause, then another “WHACK” and an “OUCH!”.

  Each smack was now harder than the one before, and Macie was struggling with the building, burning sting across her entire bottom. The pain was not enough to make her burst into tears, but her eyes were brimming.

  Another loud crack filled the room, and this time the following one came after less of a pause. Macie was beginning to squirm, but struggled to stay in place.

  The next time Eric’s hand made contact, the sound was one like the crack of a whip, and Macie cried out from the sting. Macie tightly gripped the end of the cushion with both hands, helping her cope with the pain of the next, even more forceful “WHACK”.

  The next application of Eric’s hand brought about a high-pitched squeal, followed by a cry of “Wowwowowowwow”.

  Eric paused, and then spoke to his writhing wife. “Now, we’re going to make sure I’ve made my point.” Then, to her surprise and shock, Eric finished with ten rapid and stinging, but thankfully, final smacks. They were sufficiently painful to make Macie cry out each time.

  He helped her up, and she remained kneeling next to him. She buried her face in his shoulder, and placed her arms around his neck as tears trickled down her cheeks. Eric held her that way for a few minutes, his heart breaking as she occasionally fought off the sobbing that was trying to emerge.

  She finally straightened up, wiped her face with the back of her hands, and then began rubbing her bottom. “I think I’m going to go into the bedroom and try to settle down. I think I need some time to recover from that……experience”. Eric drew her close to kiss her, and to his relief, she eagerly responded.

  As she stood and began to step away, Eric took her hand and spoke. “I love you. I just want you to think about your own safety.”

  Macie dredged up a meek smile. “I know. I love you too.” She began walking gingerly to the bedroom, and then suddenly turned. “Even my poor paddled ass loves you.”

  Eric sat in silence for a moment as Macie disappeared through the bedroom door. She did not pull it closed behind her, although he had imagined he might witness it being slammed shut.

  He walked into the kitchen and poured a shot of bourbon into a small glass, but just as the rim of the glass touched his lips, he halted. He poured the bourbon into the sink and began walking slowly toward the bedroom.

  The heavy, room-darkening curtains were pulled shut, so he could barely make out the small form beneath the covers of the bed. He sat down on the bed, next to where Macie was beneath the sheet but turned toward him.

  Eric reached out and placed his hand on her hip. �
�How are you?”

  Macie rolled onto her stomach. “Be my guest……check it out for yourself.”

  Eric found that she was naked. He pulled the sheet down to her thighs and began softly caressing the bottom he had just forcefully paddled. He felt the heat that radiated from the sore area, but as he caressed, Macie could not help but stir and moan in response.

  She rose cocked her head, and a wry little smile appeared. “And I suppose……you still want to fool around after what you just did to me, is that right?”

  Eric smiled, then leaned down and kissed her on the nape of her neck. “I will always want to make love to you. But, I understand……”.

  Macie turned onto her side to face him, then reached out and placed her arm around his neck. “I don’t ever want to get paddled again. But I did, and now for some reason I can’t fathom, I’m so crazy horny…… and, of course, I get to be on top. Now, you get undressed right now.”

  Eric wasted no time, and Macie sat up and assisted him. Both were suddenly consumed with stimulating each other, and finally Macie crawled on top of her husband and rocked them into a finale they had seldom experienced the likes of.

  Macie remained resting on top of her husband as they kissed and nuzzled. As Eric’s hands softly caressed her back and bottom, he still felt the warmth he had brought to her backside, and was careful to lightly trace his fingertips over the damaged area.

  “I have to ask you again……you okay?”

  Macie kept her face next to his neck. “Do you mean…..am I okay with you taking me over your knees and setting my fanny on fire?”

  Eric hesitated. “Yes, that too.”

  Macie sighed. “I’m okay with that. You warned me about that when we met. I know that you did that for my own good. I know that you did that because you love me.” She laughed softly. “I also have the feeling that that this could happen again, some day”.