He took his key out to unlock the door, but tried the knob first. It turned without resistance. Amber had never locked it behind him, he shook his head. He would say something to her in the morning. He almost forgot that he had to deal with her tomorrow as well.
He could hardly believe two months had passed since she shown up on his doorstep. And in that two months he alternated between wanting to drag her over his knee for the spanking she kept begging for and wanting to kiss the uncertain look off of her face. She was full of piss and vinegar, always had been, but that was part of what he loved about her.
He walked through the front door into the darkened living room, the dim glow of the television lit up the room. He thought for a moment that Amber either forgot to turn the television off or that she had fallen asleep on the couch. Neither thought proved to be true as she stared back at him with wide eyes from the corner of the couch where she had balled up under a blanket.
“Hey, you're finally back! How'd it go? What happened?” she questioned, as he walked through the living room and into the kitchen.
He shook his head as he dropped his keys and wallet on the counter. He sat down in a kitchen chair to unlace his work boots, groaning as he finally slipped them off his feet. Of course she hadn't locked the door, of course she wasn't in bed. She never listened to anything he told her to do, not from the minute he had let her into his house.
Amber edged into the kitchen, still eying him uncertainly. “Are you hungry? There's more meatloaf, I could heat it—“
“Bed,” he interrupted, cutting off her words. His temper was barely checked.
She stuck to her spot, no longer talking, just staring back at him. “But,” she started.
He stood quickly, the chair he was sitting in slammed into the wall.
She jumped back a step, startled, looking wary of his next move.
He grabbed his boots from the floor, intending to put them away in the laundry room, where he kept his work things. He took a step toward her first, actually enjoying the way she gulped when he got closer. “Go to bed, Amber. I won't tell you again.” He turned without waiting to see if she complied. If she was smart she would, he was tired and he already decided he wasn't letting this go, but they could talk tomorrow.
He came back through the kitchen, not at all surprised that she hadn't moved. This was a stand-off, she was finally pushing back enough to make a choice for him. She wanted a reaction from him. His guess was her life had been so unsettled lately, with no steady influence, that she wanted to see if he would come through on all of his threats.
“Tony,” she said, giving him a shaky smile. Her eyes widened as he walked toward her and she put her hands up, not in a defensive gesture, more in a placating way, as if she was showing him she brought no weapons to this fight.
That was fine with him, he didn't need any weapons. He grabbed her elbow and spun her so she faced out of the doorway and pointed toward the hall where the bedrooms were. He brought his hand down and spanked her ass, a hard, open handed swat that bounced off the center of her butt three times. She wore tight yoga pants, the material would not be much protection from his hard hand.
“Oh!” she squealed and threw her free hand back to cover her backside.
He had meant it to give her a warning, to make her see he meant what he said. But then she didn't move, she stood in the same place, rubbing her ass. He wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her feet from the ground.
“Tony!” she yelled, startled at his gesture.
He propelled them both down the short hallway and stopped in her bedroom. His spare room, that was filled with boxes and a treadmill he never used, but it had a bed and he figured it was enough for someone who was never going to pay him rent. He flipped the light on and placed her on her feet. “Are you going to go to bed?” he asked.
She put her hands on her hips and came toe to toe with him. “I am not a child,” she began. “You cannot just decide, ah!”
Her sentence abruptly stopped when he lifted her from the floor again, only this time he sat on the edge of the bed and draped her across his knees.
She didn't fight him at first, as if she were stunned about where she ended up, or maybe she doubted he would follow through. He brought his hand down, fast and hard, four times across her ass. Then she started to squirm against him and tried to push herself up.
“Are you going to listen and go to bed?” he asked again.
She struggled in answer.
He smacked again, making her yelp. When she still didn't reply, he slipped his fingers in the waistband of her pants and peeled them and her panties down her legs. Her struggles only aided in helping him get them past her hips. He left them bunched up below her knees, hobbling her legs together with her own pants. He brought his leg over the backs of her thighs as she tried to kick and wiggle away. Once he clamped down on her, her lower half imprisoned under his muscular thigh, he began spanking in earnest.
Her cheeks were barely pink from the handful of swats he had administered to her clothed butt. He intended to change that. He beat a steady rhythm. Spanking one cheek, then the other, then bringing his hand down right in the center of her ass. She reached a hand back, trying to catch his spanking hand before he landed another swat. He grabbed her wrist and quickly twisted it into the small of her back, securing it with his free hand.
She exhaled with each swat, until her exhales became breathy moans, which he took as a cue to spank harder.
Her skin had turned from a light pink to a darker hue and she would let out a yelp when he would swat the same spot too many times in a row.
He could feel the heat coming off her bottom as he laid into her. His hand began to throb from the steady administration of discipline he applied.
Finally, her struggles ceased. He paused in his chastisement, running a hand over her glowing orbs, he released her trapped hand and brushed her long dark hair over her shoulder.
She turned to look at him, he was happy to see she wasn't crying, he had subdued her, but not brought her to tears.
He brushed the side of her face with the backs of his fingers. She felt so soft and fragile under his hand, quite contrary to the stubbornness she exhibited since the minute she crossed his threshold. “Are you going to get yourself into bed now?”
She narrowed her eyes at him, locking him in her gaze. She didn't speak, but she didn't have to, he knew what she was saying.
He untangled his legs from hers, but when she tried to rise he placed his palm between her shoulder blades. “Stay right here,” he instructed, as he slipped his body out from under hers and left her with her feet flat on the floor and her torso on the bed. Her twin moons offered up, already thoroughly chastised, but the resolve that stood behind them still had not crumbled. He exited the room, thinking he didn't have a prayer that Amber would remain where he left her. He'd be lucky if she hadn't run from the house screaming at this point. He slid open his bottom dresser drawer knowing exactly what he was looking for. He pushed aside a stack of t-shirts and lifted out the wooden paddle. It was about a quarter of an inch thick, but it was solid, sanded down with a lacquered finish. He hefted it in his hand. It packed a heavy punch, but maybe it was just what Amber needed to see he meant business. He would not give up on her and he would not go away just because she fought him. The opposite happened to be true, the more she pushed, the more he would come back at her. He started second guessing himself as he went back to her room. Was this what she really needed? But she answered his question for him when he walked back through the door and found she had remained where he left her: forehead pressed into the mattress, ass in the air, feet on the floor. She had tucked her arms up underneath her. Her pants and panties were twisted around her ankles, she hadn't even reached back to pull them off. He knew what he needed to do.
~ ~ * ~ ~
She heard Tony's heavy footsteps come back into the room. She squeezed her eyes shut, her face buried in the mattress. She was too embarrassed to look at him. He
had pulled her pants and panties down and spanked her bare bottom like she was a naughty little girl. It was humiliating. It was so out of line. It was turning her on so much more than she wanted to admit.
He had tried to be firm with her since she moved in and she had pushed back every time. A part of her was worried he would give in to her. She had been able to manipulate and work every situation her whole life, that is, until she got kicked out of school. In a way she didn't want to be able to manipulate Tony. She wanted him to fight back at her, make her feel like she was worth the fight. That's why she remained in the position he left her in. Bent over the side of the bed, her ass was stinging from his hand, and she was embarrassed beyond words, but a part of her wanted to obey him.
He cleared his throat and she was ripped from her thoughts, remembering that he had come back into the room. She felt the bed depress next to her, but refused to lift her head to meet his eyes. His hand was in her hair, brushing it off her face, placing it over her shoulder. “Amber, look at me,” he said.
She shook her head. Embarrassment flooded her, how would she ever be able to look him in the eye again?
“Hey,” he said, as he tried to nudge her shoulder. “I want to talk to you.”
She made a whiny protest and shook her head again, even as he stood and easily lifted her from the bed.
He hoisted her up and then placed her on her feet in front of him. When she kept staring at the floor he placed his fingers beneath her chin and urged her face up to meet his gaze. “I want to ask you something,” he said, his voice soft, but stern.
She blinked back at him, suddenly aware that her pants were still bunched around her ankles, she placed her hands in front to cover herself.
“Do you want to stay here, with me?” he asked.
She furrowed her brow in confusion. She thought she was already staying here. Was he kicking her out?
“I mean, now that I've—” he said, his voice trailing off.
“Hit me?” she supplied.
He smiled at her, actually smiled. “I didn't hit you. I spanked your sassy, deserving ass. You don't know when to quit,” he said.
She shrugged her shoulders in answer, not wanting to agree with him, but she couldn't really argue, she didn't know when to quit.
“That's what I mean. Now that I spanked you, you can expect more of it,” he said, clearing his throat as if he were uncomfortable getting the words out.
“More of it?” she asked, her eyebrows climbing to the ceiling.
“Yes. I think you need some discipline. You've been begging for it since you got here.”
Had she? She didn't reply, just waited for him to finish.
“I want you to stay here, with me. I didn't realize how lonely I was until you moved in,” he said.
Her heart fluttered, she liked living with Tony too. She forgot how much she missed him.
“But I want to help you. I think it would be good for you to go back and finish school,” he suggested.
Her mouth flapped open, she hated school, she was too dumb to retain anything for the tests. That was the last thing she wanted.
He held his hand up, stopping her protests, “We can talk about it. I want what's best for you, but I can't help you if you refuse to listen to me.” He rubbed over her chin with the pad of his thumb. “I don't want you to pay rent, but you need to save your money.” He gave her a pointed look.
Her pulse quickened, how did he know about the shopping?
“And there will be rules,” he informed her.
“Rules?”
He nodded, “We can discuss things in detail tomorrow, but you'll follow my rules.”
“And if I don't?” she asked, with more sass than someone who had her pants around her ankles ought to have.
His mouth twitched up at the corners, “There will be consequences.”
She noticed then, for the first time since he had walked back in the room, that he held a wooden paddle in his hand.
He saw her looking at it and nodded, “That's right, consequences I don't think you'll want to repeat.”
She looked back up at him, shaking her head in disbelief. He had already spanked her, now he was going to use that paddle?
“Bend back over the bed. You're getting six and you'll count them out loud,” he said.
She shook her head, already forming a plea. She tried to step back, but tripped on her pants.
Tony caught her elbow and then used his grip on her to push her back into position. “Keep your feet flat on the floor and your hands out of the way.”
“Wait!” she cried, but it was too late. She let out a yelp as the unforgiving paddle cracked down in the middle of her ass. “Ow!” she yelled.
“Count,” he reminded her.
She shook her head and tried to push up.
Tony wrapped his hand in her hair and yanked her head back, she stared back into his eyes. “You're getting six and you will count, unless you want to repeat this punishment every night this week until I'm convinced you know how to take it,” he said, his voice was like steel.
“One,” she muttered, blinking in his unwavering gaze.
He shook his head, releasing his hold on her hair, “That didn't count. We'll start now, from one.”
She shouldn't have been surprised by that, but tears formed in her eyes at how relentless he was being.
The paddle came down again and she hissed through her teeth, how would she be able to endure five more? “One,” she breathed out, trying to keep the quaver from her voice.
The whoosh of the paddle and then a strike, she squealed as it seemed to come down in the same exact spot, “Two!” she yelled, unable to control her voice.
Tony's hand found the small of her back and gave her a light caress before the paddle cracked down again. This time he struck lower, catching the tops of her thighs.
“Ah!” she called out. “Please, I'm sorry, no more.”
“Count,” he reminded her.
“Three,” she said and dropped her face back into the bed so he wouldn't see her tears. She tensed as she felt him raise the paddle again and shrieked when it came down right in the middle of her butt. She kicked her foot up, trying to protect her flaming backside, “I can't, please Tony, just stop.”
“Are you saying you want to try this again tomorrow?” he asked.
“Huh?” She picked her head up, tears streaming down her face, and looked over her shoulder at him. He raised his eyebrows and she remembered his earlier threat about punishing her every night this week. “No! Four, four. I'm counting.” She planted her foot back down firmly beneath her.
“These last two will be the hardest, and they will be quick so don't worry about counting them out loud,” he said. “Keep your hands out of the way and your feet on the floor. You're almost done, you're doing so well.”
It was stupid, but his compliment about how she was taking her punishment filled her with satisfaction. She wanted to please him, even if it was with how she allowed him to paddle her ass. She nodded, to show she heard his last instructions and twisted her hands into the blankets on the bed. She straightened her knees, pushing her ass out further than it had been before.
He braced his hand against her lower back again and then brought the paddle down, twice in quick succession. He was a man of his word, they were the hardest of the whole session. She felt like she could see bursts of white light behind her eyelids, but she didn't move from position. The next thing she knew she was in Tony's arms and he was cradling her against his chest like she was a small child. She cried freely, not just from his punishment but from the way he cared. The way he hadn't given up on her. She cried for failing herself, getting kicked out of school, and having nowhere else to go. When she was all cried out, she felt a peaceful calm. She hadn't felt this serene since as far back as she could remember.
Tony pulled her pants and panties off her legs and left her bottomless before he helped her into bed. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead. He told her she wa
s a good girl and he would see her in the morning. Before he reached the door she called for him.
“Wait,” she croaked, her voice hoarse from yelling and crying. “Can you lay with me for a while.” She knew it was late and he had to be up early, but she didn't want to be alone. She didn't want him to leave her, ever.
He looked back at her, indecision flitting across his features, but then he nodded. He walked back toward her and pulled off his shirt, followed by his jeans. He climbed into the bed beside her clad only in his boxers, but he stayed on top of the blankets.
When she tried to turn to face him, he pushed her to her side and spooned her from behind. Her hot throbbing bottom cradled against him. He could probably feel the heat off of her ass through the thin blanket.
She drifted off to sleep in Tony's strong arms, his breath hot against her neck. The last thing she remembered thinking was that when she awoke in the morning her life was going to be vastly different. She would have rules and she would have someone to answer to. But she would also have someone who cared and wouldn't let her down. For once in her life, she felt like she was getting a second chance and she was determined not to screw it up.
The End
The Penitent
by Natasha Knight
Chapter One
Marcus Corran leaned against the window taking the last sip of his drink as he watched the security film roll. He owned a bookstore in the center of Denver, and in the last months, he'd had a small theft problem. It wasn't much money and if he didn't look at the books so closely, it would likely have been easy to miss, but he'd finally found a video catching the thief in the act. There, before his very eyes, Marlene Parsons, the employee he had interviewed and hired against the store manager's judgment, slipped $20 out of the register and into her pocket. Over the last few months, she'd managed to steal $322 dollars from him.
The Disciplinarian: A Collection of Short Spanking Stories Page 7