“Carlton, have you… when you were reading, have you ever heard of maintenance?”
“I’m familiar with it, but I don’t think it’s something we need to worry about at this point.” He frowned, and tipped her chin up to him so that he could look into her eyes, taken aback by the raw emotion he saw there. “You don’t need maintenance, sweetie. But, if you’re asking for a spanking to make this official, I would be more than happy to comply.”
Her shy smile told him everything he needed to know.
“I’m so glad that you and Carlton decided to stay longer,” Cadence gushed a few days later as the two of them walked together around the mall in Denver. Cadence had arranged a large “TiH girls’ day Christmas shopping trip” with several other Corbin’s Bend wives.
“I don’t know that we really had much of a choice,” Cecily hedged, “but yes, I’m glad too.”
“How’s Venia doing?” Lannea asked.
“She’s pissed as hell that Jeffrey wouldn’t let her come with us today.”
“Awww, we should bring her back some goodies.”
“I’d settle for figuring out what the heck I’m supposed to do for her for Christmas. This Christmas from the heart thing is a real drag.”
“I think it’s a great idea,” Laney’s cousin Ginger spoke up. “In theory. In reality, I feel the same way as you. I’m business minded, not creative minded, and I’m a raging perfectionist, so nothing I made would ever be good enough, and I would turn up to Christmas empty-handed.”
“I feel you. The last time we did this, I bought scarves, cut the tags off and passed them off as homemade. I would totally do it again too, if Carlton would let me get away with it. He’s eating up this idea. His parents died during his senior year of high school. He was an only child born to only children, so this is his first family Christmas in ten years. He’s been like a child waiting for Santa over every single detail.”
“So, why don’t you let him handle the whole gifting thing? Does he do woodworking, or anything?”
“Ha! No. Carlton has a PhD in business and marketing, and he works for Tetra Electronics. His brain is a freaking computer, and there is not a creative bone in his body.” Cecily scrunched up her nose and grinned ruefully. “Unless of course, it comes to figuring out creative punishments for me.”
“Oooh, that sounds intriguing,” said Laney, who Cecily was learning was the major spanko of the group. “Care to elaborate?”
“Let’s just say I won’t be doing any Christmas shopping today,” Cecily said with a grimace. “I have no idea where he comes up with this stuff, and I don’t want to know.”
“Well, if you told us what the stuff was, we could probably tell you where he got the idea,” Laney teased.
“Pass! This is all pretty new to me still. It feels weird to even be talking about it in a group.”
“I get that,” Laney’s friend, Terri, mused. “I’m used to it now, of course, but it was a big adjustment for me. Besides my twin sister, I never had a lot of girlfriends, so coming here, where all the women are so open about everything… Well, it took some getting used to for sure.”
“Oh, you love us!” Laney exclaimed, sticking her tongue out at Terri. “Okay, ladies, let’s get serious about this shopping stuff. Some of us have a curfew!”
Cecily stopped dead in her tracks and stared at Laney. “Wait. Like for real? You have a curfew? Isn’t that a little juvenile?”
“Nah. It’s not an everyday thing. But the weather on the mountain gets pretty bad at night, and Josiah is a cop, so he worries a little more than most.” Laney giggled. “What can I say, I’ve got a weak spot for authority figures, especially ones in uniform. The bossier he gets, the more I want to jump his bones.”
“Oh, tell me about it,” Char groaned. “When Brent gets busy at work, and I don’t see him for a while, every little thing he says makes me crazy. Sometimes I want to misbehave just to see what would happen. But that’s only when it’s been a while. It has not been a while,” she lamented, rubbing her ass for effect.
Cecily glanced around the crowded mall in shock to see if anybody had noticed, but everyone seemed busy and zoned on their own shopping missions. Appeased that they weren’t being watched like a group of side-show performers, she fell back into the group, listening intently. She was learning far more in this group than she ever had in any of her books, and she had read some crazy ones!
Laney’s cousin Ginger was the next one to speak, adding in her own two cents. “This whole spanko thing is still relatively new to me. For so many years it was simply a way to add more control and discipline to my life, as if I didn’t already have enough. After Hazel was born, it was like some weird switch flipped in both of us. Beau really stepped up and took control in a way he never had before, and it was the hottest thing ever. I have never been so horny, or so confused in my life.”
That was a statement Cecily could relate to, and it was reassuring to hear that she wasn’t alone. The fact that she and Carlton both got so turned on, even after a discipline spanking had been truly troubling to her. Oh sure, it happened in her books, but she had always assumed that was just for the sake of the story and selling more books.
“Do you think it was just the hormones, though? I mean, it’s punishment. It’s not supposed to be sexy, right? Don’t most of the DD websites frown on making it sexual?”
“Those websites are run by uptight yuppies who are in serious denial,” Laney exclaimed loudly, making the group erupt in raucous laughter. “Trust me, there are a hell of a lot more spankos in this community than there are spank-nos. Ginger was the oddball out, but we brought her over to our side. It just took a while because she’s so stubborn.”
“It’s not sexy while it’s happening,” Cadence elaborated. “It’s embarrassing, and it’s messy, and it’s emotional, and it freaking hurts! But, depending on how bad I think it’s going to be, and how badly I’ve messed up, and how much build-up and anticipation there is, sometimes the before can be pretty damn sexy.”
“The day to day application of it can be pretty sexy too,” Terri added. “It’s not all about the spanking—it’s the looks, the threats, an occasional well placed ‘young lady’—all those things that turn my stomach to mush.”
Laney nodded her agreement. “And for me, ninety-nine percent of the time, the after is sexy as hell. It doesn’t matter how badly Josiah blisters my ass, or what other additional punishments he tacks on, or how upset he is with me about whatever it happens to be, when it’s over, and he’s holding me in his arms, I feel so loved, and taken care of, and feminine, and submissive, and I see him in a whole different way than I was a few minutes prior, and that is sexy as hell.”
“Oh, thank god. Carlton and I thought we were crazy. The first time he spanked me, I caught him jacking off in the bathroom a few minutes later. He thought I was going to be so mad and hurt, but I was really just so relieved because I was feeling the same way.”
“Listen,” Laney said, as serious as Cecily had ever seen her. “The most important thing to remember, is there is no one right way to do this. Every little detail, every rule, every punishment, every ritual is unique to the couple. Sure, in Corbin’s Bend we share a lot of ideas, but when it comes right down to it, your journey, your domestic discipline relationship is your own. No one has a right to tell you what to do, when to do it, or how to feel about it. The thing those websites are missing is the emotional aspect, and that’s a shame because without emotion, I just don’t see how DD can even work.”
“You guys are great.” Cecily beamed. “Seriously. I feel so much better just listening to all of you. I don’t know if this will go anywhere for us, or if it will end up being just a temporary thing, but just hearing all your different stories and viewpoints makes me feel so much better. Sometimes, it’s like you said, it makes me feel like the luckiest most loved woman on earth, and other times I look at myself and I think—girl, you are crazy. What the hell are you doing letting a man have control over
your life like this? You’re not a child—and I feel ashamed of myself, like this relationship is some sort of cop-out so that I don’t have to act like an adult, or make good decisions.”
They had stopped at the courtyard of the mall and sat down at a large table. Laney, who Cecily was learning was the most outspoken of the group, leaned forward and covered Cecily’s hand with one of her own. “I have to tell you that I don’t think that feeling ever goes away. I think that no matter how secure you are in your DD lifestyle, those questions will always creep up from time to time. It’s not a bad thing, really. It’s just your subconscious reminding you that you may be a spanked wife, but you are still an adult, and you can do better. I think it’s easy to forget sometimes when things get tough.”
“Oh.” Cecily didn’t even know what to say to that.
“So, you and Carlton are only doing a trial run right now? Is that what I heard?” Terri, who Cecily had just met today, looked confused.
“It’s sort of a long and embarrassing story, but yes. We are here until after Christmas, and by a sort of comedy of errors, we ended up in an agreement to practice DD while we were here.”
“Interesting, but I can sort of relate. This place has a way of rubbing off on you, even when you don’t expect it. So, how is the try-out going for you? Do you think it is something you want to continue after you leave, or is it sort of, I don’t know, just a game to you?”
Cecily frowned, not sure if she should be insulted or not. She didn’t know Terri well enough to say.
“It’s not a game. I don’t have to explain myself to you but trust me when I say that Carlton had a real and legitimate reason for proposing this arrangement, and that when he spanks me, it’s most certainly not fun and games. Neither of us knew much about this coming into it, but we’re learning, and we’re doing it without judgement. It would be nice to feel like we were received the same way.”
“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to explain yourself to us. We’ve all been there. Terri didn’t mean anything by it, she’s just a little wary of outsiders. She’s sort of our resident mama bear.” Laney was quick to jump in, and it was hard to miss the warning look she was shooting in Terri’s direction.
“Well, it sort of felt like I had to explain myself, didn’t it? I open up a little bit, and she jumps all over me, all but accusing me of being some sort of interloper.”
“Excuse me for being a little suspicious. It’s not a secret that you and Venia have had a bit of a difference of opinion, for I don’t know…the last decade, and it all stems back to her telling you that she and your dad were going to move here. You sure weren’t all non-judgmental and accepting then, were you?”
“I was a kid. A lot has changed since then, and I’m not allowed to change my mind?”
“Enough!” Char’s voice was low but firm. “You two are getting loud and this is getting out of control. Terri, do you really want this to get back to Roy? Or Brent?”
Whatever Char meant by that, it was enough to not only quiet Terri, but the entire group.
“Char’s right. I think we all could use some time to cool down,” Cadence said, grabbing Cecily’s arm and pulling her up from the table. “C’mon, sis, let’s go to the big craft store at the other end of the mall, and see if we can find anything that inspires us. Let’s all meet up back here in an hour, okay, ladies?”
Cecily allowed herself to be dragged away until they were out of earshot from the rest of the group.
“What the hell was that?” she hissed at Cadence. “You haven’t called me sis since we were like twelve!”
“I was just diffusing the situation.”
“It didn’t need to be diffused. I was sticking up for myself just fine. Why couldn’t you just let it be? Were you afraid she would say something you didn’t want me to hear or what? Because I can take care of myself and if it’s not okay for me to be here, you need to tell me now, because I’ll leave.”
“What? No, Cece, you need to chill, okay. Just calm down for one second, and just listen.” Cadence grabbed her hand, and steered her to a large and unoccupied bank of couches near the bookstore.
“Fine,” Cecily grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. “I see how it is. She basically attacks me, and brings up all sorts of stuff from my past, stuff that she shouldn’t even know, but I’m the one who needs to chill.”
Cadence leveled her with a look that one would normally use on unruly children. “First of all, she didn’t attack you. Terri’s husband is a lawyer and they are from the city, so they are naturally suspicious people, but Terri has a heart of gold once you get to know her. Second of all, Venia may be your mother, but over the last decade she has been a mother figure to everyone here. I’m sorry that you don’t feel that your past problems with her should be public knowledge, but that is unrealistic. Having a strained relationship with you for so long made Venia sad. When people are sad, they talk to their friends. That’s just the way it is. Nobody ever faulted you for anything, and she never would have let them anyway. So, get the chip off your shoulder, and get one thing straight. Terri’s questioning of you—which while maybe uncalled for was very mild—does not mean that anyone here has been sitting around talking crap about you for the last decade, nor does it mean that you are any less welcome than the next person. It just means that she, like the rest of us, cares about Venia, and doesn’t want to see her hurt, got it?”
If she weren’t so mad, Cecily would have laughed out loud. Cadence was a gentle soul, and always had been, but if you set her off, watch out. She was as straight a shooter as Cecily had ever met, and her short rant had taken Cecily back to their middle school days. Cadence had always been the one to talk her off the ledge then too, and she always had a point, but this time Cecily wasn’t so sure.
“If I’m so welcome, and she wasn’t attacking me, why did you drag me away? Why not just let us have it out if she’s so sweet?”
“Because Char wanted me to. You guys were getting too loud, and the rest of us weren’t about to get our asses busted in front of the whole town over the two of you.”
“What are you even talking about?”
“Public fighting. It doesn’t matter where it happens. If it gets back to Brent, we could all potentially be in big trouble. I love you, Cece, but not that much. Not enough to ever risk even the teeniest possibility of going in front of the disciplinary board.”
“What in the hell is the disciplinary board?”
Chapter 7
I’m going to get another beer,” Carlton said as he rose from the oversized leather couch and made his way to the always well-stocked refrigerator in the man cave. “Anybody want another?”
Ten hands went up.
“I’ll help,” Josiah offered with a laugh, joining him in the small kitchen area. “You’ve been pretty quiet today. Not a Broncos fan?”
“Not really a football fan,” Carlton admitted sheepishly. “I don’t dislike it, I’ve just never really had the down time to get into it. I’m just here for the beer, and the comradery. These guys are crazy into it though.” He nodded towards the group which consisted of Brent, Marcus Devon, Jeff, Beau, Roy Simms, and Matt Renton. The Seahawks were playing the Broncos, and the loyalty in the room was pretty evenly split between the two teams, which meant that no matter what was happening on the field, somebody was yelling about it.
Josiah laughed. “Yeah, they take it a little seriously. I like it though. It reminds me of home. I moved here from a small polygamist community so as you can imagine, I come from a pretty big family. Leaving was really hard, and it was a big decision that took me a long time to make. I miss my family like crazy, especially my brothers, but being in Corbin’s Bend helps. It’s just like having a big crazy family.”
“I can see that.” Carlton nodded. And he did. The more time he spent in Corbin’s Bend, the harder it was for him to imagine leaving. It was essentially just a small town full of strangers, but it felt more like home than anything had since his parents’ death. H
e hadn’t realized how much he missed the simple things like family dinners and just being in a room with people who made you feel good.
“What happened?” Brent’s voice carried across the room, and Carlton realized with a start that the group had fallen silent, and everyone was focused on Brent who was on the phone. Josiah nudged him, and they walked over, beers in hand.
“Okay, honey, thanks for letting me know. It sounds like you and Cadence have everything under control and handled it just fine. Are you still shopping?” Brent frowned and nodded. “Okay, see you soon.”
He hung up the phone and turned to the group. Carlton noted that most of them men were eyeing him with wary, worried expressions. Most of their wives, with the exception of Julie Renton and Venia, had gone into Denver for the day to do some Christmas shopping.
“Everyone’s okay,” Brent began, and the men breathed a collective sigh of relief. “Char was just letting me know that there was a small altercation.”
“With who?” Josiah looked worried. His wife Laney was certainly the most outspoken of the group from what Carlton had seen, although he had never heard her say an unkind word.
“Terri and Cecily.” Brent opened his mouth to say more, but Roy interrupted him.
“I’m not even going to ask who started it. I already know. Terri’s been in a mood lately, and I warned her this morning to behave herself.”
Brent held up a hand to stop him. “Before we jump to conclusions… From what I was able to gather, Terri asked a few pointed questions to which Cecily took offense and went on the defensive.”
Roy sighed, looking troubled. “Is there going to be action from the disciplinary board?”
“I don’t think it is going to come to that, no, unless some new information comes to light. It sounds like Char and Cadence were able to diffuse the situation before it escalated to a point where that would be necessary. I would think that we can all go home and talk to our wives, and then if we find anything that we feel needs to be dealt with, we can deal with it privately. If that changes, I will be sure to let you all know, but I honestly don’t think it’s going to.”
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