No, she wasn’t on the sidelines. She was in the corner with her nose pressed to the wall. Eyes closed, she concentrated on maintaining her composure. Because, you know, she stood naked in the bedroom of a man more than fifteen years her junior on a regular basis. And a flogger? Didn’t everyone have one?
She hadn’t even read that book that all the mothers whispered about at soccer games and bake sales. No need for books or fantasy for her. At least not today. She was living it.
What was this hold Griff had over her? Had she actually padded across the floor naked and in full view of him and stood herself in the corner?
Yes, she had. As though it was the most natural thing in the world.
“You have not answered my question, Ms. Stewart.” The flogger ran in a delicious line down her spine, ending with a slap to her left cheek.
“Because I keep saying ‘I’m sorry.’”
The flogger flicked twice more across the cheeks of her ass. More stingy than painful, the flogger was deliciously naughty and erotic. It was embarrassing to realize how uninspired her sex life had been until now.
“You have a bottom that was just made for spanking. Did you know that, Ali?”
Ali glanced over her shoulder at him. Was he serious?
A smack of the flogger to the underside of her butt cheek indicated he was most serious indeed.
Chapter Four
So sweet. So submissive. So brave.
Griff had no idea how far he could or should push her, but when Ali dutifully, if reluctantly, padded to the corner and touched her nose to the wall, he knew she was a natural.
Ali was a woman, a real woman with curves and opinions and more than a few emotional scars. She had depth and character, like a fine wine. Other women were more like a glass of day old soda.
He definitely wanted to sip her wine.
Her spine curved delicately into the lush globes of her ass. Never had a woman’s body fascinated him so. Yes, he loved the female form and had indulged in his fair share of partners. He’d enjoyed their bodies, but he’d never really associated each curve and crease with what they meant about the woman. With Ali he realized that the body and the woman were all part of one enthralling being.
He stroked the tassels of the flogger down her back, mesmerized by the way it played against her skin. The muscles in her ass clenched when the leather tails approached. “Relax, Ali.” Alternating slaps of the flogger emphasized his words.
“Yes, Mr. Griffen.”
A thrill rocketed through his body with her words. He ran his finger along the delicate curve of her shoulder blade. “Good girl, my Ali,” he whispered before searing a kiss onto the slope of her shoulder. She remained in position with her nose against the wall.
Damn. She was amazing.
He took her hand and drew her back from her nose to the wall position. “Time’s up.” He kissed her palm. “You did a wonderful job, though I noticed that you moved your nose away from the wall once.”
“Did I?” she said, an anxious look crossing her face. “I’m so sorry.”
He said nothing, just stared into her eyes until realization dawned on her. When it did, her eyes flew open and her hands covered her rear end.
“It looks like corner time was not as effective as I thought. Time for more drastic measures.”
The look in her eyes crushed his heart. It wasn’t fear. It was shame and embarrassment. Puzzled by such an extreme reaction, he pulled her into his arms. “Ali, honey.” He tipped her head back so she was forced to look into his eyes. “You look really upset. If the punishment is too much for you, we can stop. I don’t want to upset you.” He kissed her mouth. “I just want to help you be the woman we both know you really are, underneath all the apologies.”
She pulled away and turned her back to him. Shoulders hunched and hands covering her face. Was she crying?
Again he turned her to face him and held her close, her face snuggled into the curve of his neck. “Shh. Baby, now I’m the one who is sorry. I thought this was okay with you, but if it’s not, or it’s too soon, then don’t worry about it. We’ll figure it out. We’re in this together. Partners, remember?”
She snuffled into his throat and he pulled her closer, holding her while she wept. Once her tears slowed, he sat on the bed with her on his lap and handed her some tissues.
He used a tissue to dab at the moisture on her cheeks. “That was quite a reaction to a little bit of corner time.”
She gave a small laugh and hung her head, staring at the wad of tissues in her hand. “I’m so—” She glanced up at him through damp lashes. “I never realized how much I say that. Do I really think everything is my fault? Or my responsibility? And that I’m always wrong?”
He stroked the hair back from her face and his heart squeezed at the look on her face. Confusion, sadness and a bit of anger collided in her expression. “I don’t know, little Ali. All I know, is that from what I know about you, you should be waving your hands in the air shouting ‘look how awesome I am’ instead of cowering and covering your face.”
“I’m not a therapist,” he continued and she smiled, “but I’d like to be part of your life. I’d like to help you get back to the Awesome Ali I know you used to be. And who is still in there, just buried under a bunch of self-doubt.”
She stared off into space for a second then looked up at him, determination set in her eyes. “I did used to be Awesome Ali,” she said. “I sort of miss her.”
“I like this Ali, but I bet I’ll really like Awesome Ali.”
“Are you going to spank me?”
Her question caught him off guard. Given the turn the conversation had taken, spanky spank was about the last thing on his mind. Yet, he could see that she needed his leadership and guidance. Needed to know he cared.
“Do you think you need it?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Spank whiney apologizing Ali out of me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
He kissed her forehead, then her cheeks, and finally her lips. “Then a spanking you will get. Stand up.”
He straightened up the bedcovers that had been strewn by prior activities, then piled the pillows near the center of the bed. “On your knees, bend over and hug the pillows.”
While she assumed the position, Griff retrieved Old Faithful, a paddle he stole from his snot-nosed, if short term, college roommate. He smiled wondering what Chip Covington III would think if he knew what had happened to his beloved fraternity paddle.
Griff wasn’t a thief by nature, but when a bout of the flu forced the only two who were not afflicted to room together for a week, Griff considered the little memento a fair trade for putting up with the pretentious party boy. There were times when he wondered if having the flu would have been preferable.
With luscious Ali draped over a pile of pillows on his bed, he quickly put The Chipper out of his thoughts and focused on the charming ass perched for his discipline.
The glisten of her sex shone between her thighs. Focus, Griff. There’s discipline to be meted out.
He stroked his hand over her backside and kneaded the flesh. She stiffened beneath his touch and he stroked down her thigh in an effort to calm her. “Are you ready, Ali?”
She drew a long breath, hugged the pillows harder to her middle and said, “Yes.”
He continued rubbing her bottom. “Tell me why you want this spanking, Allison.”
“Because I’m tired of always being sorry even when things aren’t my responsibility.”
His hand landed in the middle of her bottom with a slap. “Good.”
He continued to warm up her bottom with swats alternating between her cheeks. “Why do you always say you’re sorry?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered into the pillows.
Her bottom had a nice blush to it, so he gripped Old Faithful in his palm.
The paddle landed with more oomph than she’d expected. Ali’s grip on the pillows tightened. She buried
her face and moaned.
A quick flick of the paddle to the center of her ass got her attention again. “Remember what I told you, Ali, I want to hear all your moans, whether from pleasure or pain. Let it out.” Old Faithful connected across the center of her cheeks. “Let me hear it, Ali.”
Compliance was not an issue. The crack to her back end sent her forward on the bed. “Ohhh,” she wailed.
“Good girl.” His palm stroked her stinging ass then slid down to dip into the edges of her sex, which Ali realized was surprisingly wet. He probed further and she moaned into the pillow. Thwack! “What did I tell you about that?”
He pushed further, added another finger and scissored them deep into her passage. “Oh gawd. Ohhh my god.” The volume and tone of her voice surprised her. “I’m sorry.” When she realized what she’d said, she clamped her hand over her mouth and glanced over her shoulder at Griff.
“Allison Stewart. You are incorrigible. You asked me to spank away apologizing Ali and right in the middle of it, you apologized. What am I supposed to do with you?”
She bit her lip to keep from apologizing again. “I don’t know,” she said truthfully. “It’s been part of me for so long.”
“Well, I’m going to give your ass a stinging that will remind you all day tomorrow not to say you’re sorry. And if I have to, I’ll do this every night so you have a reminder. Do I make myself clear?”
Every night? He wanted to see her every night? He wanted to help her be better? A warm ooey feeling swirled in her belly and worked its way toward her heart.
“Yes, I understand.”
“I want to help you, Ali.” His point was emphasized with three quick swats to her left cheek and then the same on the right. “Will you let me help you?”
“Help her? Someone wanted to help her? Honestly, it was hard to comprehend. For as long as she could remember, she’d been the one doing the helping, whether it was her kids or her no-account husband or every charity that needed a ready volunteer. She’d liked doing those things and frankly the idea of being the helpee rather than the helper felt uncomfortable.
But she didn’t want to be a whimp any more either. What did she have to be sorry about? Mostly the fact that she always let everyone walk all over her.
“Yes, Griff. Help me.”
Her ass hurt.
It hurt good.
It would be an all day reminder of her time with Griff.
Ali couldn’t help but giggle, seated next to Griff while he drove her to the parking lot where they’d left her car. How long ago had that been? Less than twenty four hours but if felt like a lifetime.
She felt like a new woman.
Griff squeezed her hand. “I’m glad I ran into you yesterday.”
“Was that purely an accident?”
By now they were parked next to her car. Griff raised her hand to his lips and kissed her palm, keeping his eyes on hers the whole time. “Everything happens for a reason,” was his vague reply.
His tongue circled the tender flesh of her palm and Ali squirmed in her seat. Thoughts of what that tongue had done to other parts of her body sent a jolt of sexual heat through her. Her breath hitched in her throat and she leaned forward hoping for a kiss.
Suddenly she pulled away and reached for the door handle.
“Wha—?” Griff said as she jerked her hand from his grasp.
A bright yellow piece of paper on her windshield. Ali pulled it out from under the wiper blade and scanned the bold faced print. A traffic ticket. For parking overnight in a private parking lot.
Griff stood next to her, reading over her shoulder. He took the ticket from her hand. “Let me pay this. It’s the least I can do since I’m the one who kidnapped you and forced you to abandon your car.”
Ali stared up at him, her jaw slack. The one and only time she’d gotten a speeding ticket Dirk had harassed and harangued her for weeks about it and then again every time the insurance bill had to be paid since her “bad driving” increased the premium by ten dollars a month. Griff was certainly not like any man she’d known before.
She was touched by his thoughtfulness and that was enough. “Thank you,” she said, taking the ticket back from him and placing it in her purse, “but I’ll keep this. It will be a nice reminder of my wild, rule breaking night with you.”
Griff squeezed her ass. “Do you need more reminders than this? Maybe I was too easy on you.” His hand slid up her spine to cup the back of her head. All thoughts of the parking ticket disappeared as Griff’s face lowered toward hers. “Next time I’ll be more thorough,” he growled before covering her lips with his.
The traffic ticket and everything around her was forgotten as soon as Griff’s mouth touched hers. The kiss started gently, his lips teasing hers until they parted and the kiss deepened. Desire spiked through her body and she clung to his broad shoulders, her mouth straining to keep up with his kiss.
“How about if we spend tonight at your house?” His warm breath filled her ear and a thrill shot through her.
Another night with Griff. Could this really be happening?
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, please.”
“I’m bringing my bag of toys.”
“There’s more?” she squeaked.
“Oh baby. We’re just getting started.”
Ali paused and looked up into Griff’s face. “Why? Why me?”
He gave her bottom a playful swat. “I told you, Ali. We’re in this together. No regrets. No explanations, right?”
She paused, thought about his words and what they might imply. “Right.”
Chapter Five
Alone at home, Ali had time to think about the last day and the forthcoming night. Questions and doubts filled her mind, but she remembered Griff’s words. No regrets.
He was right. Filled with a new sense of freedom and power, she set about preparing for Griff’s arrival.
She defrosted some steaks and put them in her secret marinade, put together a salad and dug out a bottle of wine.
She set the table and changed the sheets, then treated herself to a long soak in the tub. Usually she liked the water steaming hot, but with the constant reminder of the lashes to her backside, she wisely chose a cooler temperature. Sliding into the bubbles, she closed her eyes and tried to wrap her sensible head around the events of the last day.
First, she could hardly believe that Griff, a young man in the prime of life, wanted to spend time, very personal time, with her, a woman who was fast approaching over the hill.
Was this some sort of joke? A sick fraternity trick?
No, her gut told her that Griff wasn’t that sort of guy. Everything about him showed his integrity.
Maybe he just had a thing for older women.
What had he said? She was a woman with life experience and intelligence and that made her sexy. She’d certainly had a lot of life experience, particularly in the last eighteen months.
Was she sexy?
Though she’d never thought of herself that way, Griff made her feel completely sexy and womanly. It was certainly an unfamiliar feeling, but she was learning to like it.
His touch had created sensations she’d never thought possible.
She skimmed her hands down her body and touched her vagina. It was still sensitive from the rigorous pounding Griff had given her. The discomfort turned her on. She liked that he’d been both tender and passionate.
It made her realize all the more how uninspired her marriage had been. Even in the early days, sex with Dirk had been dull. Somehow she’d suspected as much, but assumed it was her fault.
That seemed to be her fall back position on everything, take the blame.
Well, she had a bruised ass, sore nipples and a throbbing pussy that proved the fault was not hers.
Dirk. The jerk. Always had been. Always would be.
She held her breath and slid under the water, as though submersion would purge her mind of all thoughts of him. She stayed below for as long as her lungs would all
ow, then resurfaced.
And there, staring down at her, was none other than Dirk, her jerk of an ex-husband.
She screamed and tried to hide under the rapidly dissolving bubbles. “What are you doing here?” she hissed.
“I came by to pick up my golf clubs and noticed the front door wasn’t locked. I called your name, but when I didn’t hear anything, I got worried.”
“Nosey is more like it.”
He shrugged. “Hey, I’m not such a bad guy, am I?”
Oh, let me count the ways.
“You said you came to get your golf clubs so please do that and leave me alone.” To her horror, there was a slight quaver to her voice. Why did he always intimidate her?
As though she’d not spoken, Dirk’s eyes took in her naked form. The cool water beaded her nipples and his gaze lingered over them.
Ali fought the urge to cover herself, refusing to allow him to know his actions bothered her.
“You’re looking good, Ali.” She recognized his “I’m feeling sexy” tone.
“Too late, Dirk,” she said, standing so he could see her body, shocked at her own daring. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. “Go home to your little girlfriend. What’s the matter, is this her nap time?”
“Aw, come on, Ali.” He grabbed her bare shoulders, his hands warm and familiar, kneaded her flesh. “We were always pretty good together, weren’t we?”
How many times had she wished and hoped for any scrap of interest from Dirk?
She looked at the man who had been her husband, the father of her children, the man whose career and happiness had been the focus of her entire life and who had broken her heart. For the first time ever, she saw him for who he really was. A user. A manipulator and a pretty lackluster lover.
Ali pulled away from his touch. “No, Dirk. We weren’t pretty good together. If you want to know the truth, you were a pathetic lover. Selfish and dull, if you ask me. And you kiss like a fish.”
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