by Stella Moore
Penny could swear it looked like Franklin was about to take a swing at Eric, but in the end, he simply shrugged. “Not worth my time. She never was.” He smirked and walked away.
Eric watched him disappear before pulling Penny in for a tight embrace. “You okay, baby?” he asked softly, running a hand over her soft curls.
Penny pulled away and gave him a tight-lipped smile. “I’m fine. Think we could go home, though? I’m done shopping for today.”
Worried, but not wanting to push the issue in public, Eric nodded and they made their way out to the SUV he was driving in deference to the snow currently covering the roads. The ride home was filled with a tense silence.
“Want anything special for dinner?” Eric asked as they neared her apartment building.
“I don’t care,” Penny replied shortly.
Here we go, Eric thought with a silent sigh. Over the past few months, he’d given Penny several warnings about her attitude. He’d agreed not to discipline her for it, but that didn’t mean he was going to let her walk all over him. A part of him had wondered when they’d have to put all their cards on the table, and his stomach knotted at the thought that it would be tonight. The last thing he wanted to do was have a showdown with her after she’d just faced her abusive ex, but he also realized it might be exactly what she needed from him.
The silence returned and followed them inside as they put away their purchases from the day. When Penny returned to the living room, Eric handed her a glass of wine. “Drink this, and then I think you should give Dr. French a call,” he suggested gently.
The fact that he was half expecting the eye roll didn’t diminish its effect on him. “Why on earth would I do that?” she asked.
“To talk about what happened today. You know I’m always here for you, but I really think calling your therapist would help.”
“I’m fine,” Penny snapped, as she restlessly paced the kitchen.
“Obviously, you’re not. We don’t have to talk about it now, but sometime in the next day or two I want you to call her.”
Penny set her wine glass down on the counter with a little snap. “I don’t need you to tell me how to take care of my mental health. You can take your concern and shove it up your ass.”
The color that the small tantrum had brought to her cheeks faded. Shit. She shouldn’t have said that.
Several tense seconds ticked by before either one spoke again. It was Eric who finally broke the silence.
“I’m going to go out and get some fresh air. While I’m gone, you can think about what you want from this relationship. I agreed to your terms of no discipline, but I did not and will not agree to be your emotional punching bag.” With that, Eric grabbed his coat and left, slamming the door to the apartment behind him.
Sinking down onto one of the barstools sitting by her kitchen island, Penny grabbed her phone from her purse and dialed Dr. French.
Chapter 9
“How do you feel about seeing Franklin again?” Dr. French’s soothing voice came through the cell phone Penny clutched in her hand.
“At first all I could feel was fear. Then I felt Eric squeeze my hand and I felt like I could do anything, including taking on Franklin. It felt incredible to tell him he means nothing to me anymore.”
“And how to you feel now?”
“Stressed. Like I’m wound so tight I could snap at any moment. And guilty, I guess.” Even though the doctor couldn’t see her, Penny squirmed on her stool.
“Why guilty?”
Penny explained her behavior during the ride home and when they’d gotten to her apartment. She told her how Eric had pushed her to make the call and she’d snapped at him.
“It sounds like he was looking out for your well-being,” Dr. French said when Penny had finished.
“I know.” Penny groaned. “And I was horrible to him. What should I do?”
“I can’t make that decision for you, Penny. You’re the only one who can. But I think Eric had it right when he said you need to think about what you want out of this relationship, and possibly any other relationships in the future. What do you want, Penny?”
They chatted for a little while longer before ending the call. After she hung up, Penny wandered her apartment, thinking about the conversation. What did she want? She wanted someone who respected her and valued her opinion, which Eric did. She wanted someone who could see her value as a person and what she brought to the table in a relationship. Which again, she already had with Eric. What else did she want? Did she want a man who stood by and let her get away with anything, including treating him like crap? She’d never wanted that. From an early age, she’d despised relationships where one person treated the other badly. She’d known she was prone to fits of temper and sometimes she had a mouth that would make a sailor blush. She’d always known she wanted someone to stand up to her and tell her when enough was enough.
With her mind made up, she went to the bedroom to wait on Eric to return.
It was nearly an hour before Eric returned. He felt guilty for walking out on her, but he also knew he’d been on the verge of bending her over the sofa and paddling her raw. Which he would never do without her consent, so the best option for everyone had been for him to take some time to cool off. The logic of it didn’t make him feel less horrible about it, though.
Steeling himself for another confrontation, Eric opened the door to the apartment, but Penny was nowhere to be seen. Frowning, he closed the door and called out for her.
“I’m in the bedroom. Could you come here, please?” she answered from the back of the apartment.
When he walked into the bedroom, the sight that greeted him stopped him in his tracks. Penny was facing the only empty corner in her room, wearing a short t-shirt with her panties pulled down to her knees. The intent was clear: punish me.
For a moment, he was overwhelmed by the trust and love in this one simple act. He wanted nothing more than to scoop her up in his arms and assure her that everything would be okay. But Penny obviously needed something more from him, so he would have to hold off on that for a while.
“Turn around,” he ordered, slipping easily, but reluctantly, into his role as disciplinarian. Slowly, she turned towards him, her eyes focused on the floor in front of her. “Come here.” He fought the laugh that threatened as he watched her shuffle over to him, her movements hampered by the underwear wrapped around her knees. When she came to a stop in front of him, he grasped her chin between his fingers and gently forced her to look up at him.
“Are you absolutely sure about this? If I punish you, it’s going to hurt. A lot,” he told her.
“I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life,” Penny assured him. “I was awful to you for no reason and I deserve this. More, I want this.”
Eric studied her, looking for any hesitation or fear in her eyes. Finding none, he nodded. “Go wait for me in the dining area. I’ll be out shortly.” He kissed her gently and released her chin.
Penny made her way to the living room, her stomach full of what felt more like tree frogs than butterflies. When Eric joined her, he walked past the dining area to the kitchen, where he grabbed a large wooden spoon. He pulled out one of her dining chairs and sat down, opened his legs and patted his left knee. “I need to hold you during this, so you don’t hurt yourself. But if it’s too much, your safewords are still in play. If you need me to switch positions, just ask me to pause and we can switch. Understood?”
Penny nodded, her heart thundering in her ears as she draped herself over his left knee and placed her hands firmly on the floor. When his right leg locked over hers, she tried to wiggle away, testing his hold. She found herself well and truly trapped, but the sensation didn’t terrify her the way it once did. Instead, she felt safe and protected by his hold. She knew that no harm would come to her here. Well, nothing more than the well-deserved spanking she was about to receive.
“You okay?” he asked, rubbing comforting circles on her back.
&
nbsp; “Yes, sir,” she responded quietly.
“Okay. Let’s get started.” With that, his hand cracked down on her right cheek. Penny yelped at the sudden, surprising pain. She’d forgotten how much someone’s hand could hurt. Why the hell did he even need anything else?
“I do not appreciate being used as a target for your bad moods, young lady,” he lectured her as he spanked. “We can talk about what’s bothering you, or you can call Elisa and vent to her, I don’t care. But you will not,” he emphasized the last two words with particularly hard spanks that had Penny crying out in pain, “disrespect me or our relationship the way you did tonight.”
The searing lecture tore at Penny’s heart. She had really hurt him with the way she’d acted, and that knowledge was worse than anything he could do to her. The spanking continued, until the heat in her bottom became almost unbearable. By the time he stopped, she was panting over his knee. It took a lot for her to cry from a spanking, but she figured once he started in with that spoon, she’d be in tears in no time flat. All too soon, it was time to put that theory to rest. She felt the cool wood tap against her heated backside.
“No,” she moaned, even though she knew it was useless to beg. “I’ll be good, I promise!”
The first crack of the spoon against her bare skin caused her to renew her struggles to escape the punishing blows. After a dozen or so, her hand flew back in a futile attempt to block any more swats. Eric grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze before continuing. “You’re doing great, baby, we’re almost there,” he assured her before resuming the punishment. The next two strokes fell right at the tops of her thighs, and the dam broke. Everything she’d felt that day came pouring out of her as she sobbed over his knee.
“I’m s-s-sorry!” she wailed.
“I know, baby. I’m so proud of you. Just a few more.” The last few fell rapidly right at each of her sit-spots, that sensitive area where her thighs met her ass, eliciting a long, high scream from Penny. She knew she’d be feeling them every time she sat down for a while.
“Please, sir! I’m so sorry!” she sobbed after the last set had finished.
“It’s over now,” he assured her, going back to rubbing her back for comfort. “You did so good, sweetheart. I love you.”
The last three words cut through the haze of pain. Penny’s sobs quieted and she went still over his lap. “What did you say?” she asked.
She felt rather than heard his chuckle. “I said I love you. My very own lucky Penny. And before you roll your eyes at me, think about where you are right now,” he said teasingly.
Despite the agonizing pain in her backside, Penny giggled. She had been about to roll her eyes at the cheesy declaration. “I love you, too. Even if you did just light my ass on fire.”
“I think probably because I did, but that’s a discussion for another day. You ready to get up?” he asked.
“I think so.” He helped her stand, wrapping his arms around her when her knees wobbled a bit. She bent down to pull her panties back up, hissing when the soft material came into contact with her scorched skin. Suddenly, she felt very shy and embarrassed. “I really am sorry,” she whispered, staring at the buttons on his shirt.
Strong fingers tilted her chin up, and warm, loving brown eyes smiled at her. “You are completely forgiven. No need to mention it again. I promise I won’t.”
Penny grinned and threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you for being so patient with me.” She pulled away. “Can we eat now? I’m starving.”
Eric laughed and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Me too. Pizza?”
“That sounds perfect. I’m going to go use the bathroom and change into some pajamas. You know what I like.”
In the bathroom, Penny checked her bottom in the mirror and winced. It was bright red with a few darker spots here and there. She would definitely be feeling this one in the morning, but she was relieved to see she wouldn’t be covered in dark bruises like she often was when Franklin punished her. Of course not, Eric would never hurt you like that, she reminded herself. She changed into her pajamas, her heart lighter than it had been in years.
Chapter 10
Early the next morning, Eric’s phone vibrated on the nightstand. Groaning, he rolled over to check the incoming text. It was from one of his managers, saying there’d been a huge issue with the overnight inventory at his store. He sent a quick text back letting the man know he’d be there within the hour, and got out of bed to get ready. Looking at Penelope, sound asleep on her stomach, he decided to make another call before he left the apartment.
Penny awoke that morning to an empty bed. Frowning, she made her way into the living room to search for her lover. But instead of Eric, she found Elisa curled up on her couch with a book and a cup of coffee.
“Elisa? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?” Panic started to set in. Had something happened?
Elisa turned and flashed one of her signature smiles. “Hey girl! Eric called me at like four this morning and asked if I could come over. All he said was you had a rough night and he didn’t want you to wake up to an empty house. Wouldn’t tell me what happened though,” she said, and pouted.
Penny grinned at her friend’s obvious annoyance, and her heart simply melted at Eric’s thoughtfulness. “I’ll tell you if there’s more coffee.”
Elisa jumped up and raced to the kitchen and returned in a disconcertingly short time with a cup of Penny’s favorite blend. The two settled on the couch, and Penelope’s slight wince as she sat down did not go unnoticed.
Elisa gasped. “Did he punish you? What happened? Tell me everything!”
Penny rolled her eyes. “You know, Paul should really know that his spankings aren’t very effective,” she joked and was rewarded with her own eye roll from Elisa. “We ran into Franklin at the mall last night,” she began.
“How come I didn’t hear anything about a weasel getting a beat down at Penney’s?” Elisa demanded, a rare show of fury in her blue eyes.
Penelope laughed and the last remnants of tension from the night before fled her body. She was loved, and she had so many people willing to stand up for her and stand with her. How could she have forgotten that?
“To be honest, when I first saw him, I completely froze. He gave me that look he used to give me when I was in trouble, like I was the gum on the bottom of his shoe and he couldn’t wait to scrape me off. I can’t believe I ever thought he loved me. Anyway,” she continued with a sigh, “Eric was with me, and he was so supportive. I told Franklin off, told him he meant nothing to me.” She shook her head at Elisa’s cheer. “After that, I just wanted to come home. But I was still so rattled, you know? And I was pissed at myself for letting him get to me like that, after all these years. Needless to say, I wasn’t very nice to Eric.” She paused, frowning into her now empty coffee cup. To tell the truth, she was embarrassed by how she’d behaved.
“Oh come on girl, don’t leave me hanging!” Elisa whined.
“When we got home, Eric told me to call Dr. French. Which, of course, was perfectly logical given what had happened. But I wasn’t in the mood to be told what to do, so I kinda told him to shove it up his ass.” Penny looked up and burst into laughter at the shocked expression on her bestie’s face.
“Oh. My. God. I can only imagine what Paul would do to me if I said that to him. So, did he just yank you over his lap and paddle your ass? Because if you didn’t say it was okay, I’ll—”
“No, it was completely my decision. He went for a walk and told me I needed to think about what I wanted out of our relationship. While he was out, I called Dr. French and she basically said the same thing. So, I put myself in the corner with my panties at half-mast and waited for him to come back.”
She finished the story, explaining how Eric had made sure that she was okay every step of the way, even while he was paddling her ass raw with the wooden spoon. Elisa’s wince of sympathy when she described the spanking made her even more grateful for her friend. How many oth
er women could drink coffee on their couch and tell their bestie how their boyfriend punished them the night before without having the cops called?
When Eric returned to Penny’s apartment, he was greeted with a long, deep kiss.
“Thank you for asking Elisa to come over. I needed that,” she said when they surfaced.
“If that’s what I get, I’ll invite her over every day,” he joked, pulling her in for another kiss. “Is she still here?”
“Nope, I sent her home. I wanted you all to myself.”
“Oh thank God,” he said, and groaned, fisting a hand in her hair and yanking her closer. He was ravenous for her. Had been since she’d gone over his knee the night before to get her beautiful backside paddled. But he wasn’t going to push the issue last night when she was so sore and raw.
Now, however, he could take and plunder. He pushed her back against the wall, pinning her hands over her head as he kissed her. He moved to her neck, nipping and kissing his way down the smooth, pale column of her throat. Her whimpers and moans of pleasure spurred him on, and he released her arms to drop to his knees in front of her. Before she could protest, he’d yanked the leggings she wore under one of his oversized t-shirts to her ankles.
Reaching around behind her, he cupped her bottom in his hands and pulled her closer, inwardly cheering at the gasp of pain that escaped her lips. He pressed a gentle kiss to her curls before he feasted on her.
Pressed up against a wall in her kitchen, with her man on his knees in front of her driving her mad with his tongue was not how Penny had imagined this little reunion. In fact, she’d planned the exact opposite to show him how much she appreciated everything he’d done for her.
But she couldn’t say she was upset by the turn of events. When Eric grabbed her still sore bottom, the flash of pain only fueled her arousal. And now, with him doing such incredible things to her with his talented mouth, she found herself flying over the edge. Clutching his hair for support, she threw her head back and cried out her release.