Her mind reeling, Lily froze, and felt him stroke her back once again. Slowly, and to her surprise, despite the myriad of thoughts whirling round her head, Lily found his strokes relaxing and comforting, and so slowly, the tension that she hadn’t even realised she had been storing in her muscles, ease.
After a few minutes, Tom placed one arm under her stomach and lifted her upright off his lap so that they were both standing, taking in with a wry smile her blotchy and bewildered face. Tenderly, he moved her right around and scooped her back up in his arms before settling back in the chair with her cuddled up against his chest so that he could continue to rub her back lightly.
“Okay?” Tom asked her softly.
Lily said nothing but hid her head in the crook of his shoulder, too embarrassed by what had just happened to face him.
“Hey,” he said, shifting slightly and bringing one hand up to her chin to guide her to look at him.
“Talk to me, Lily,” he commanded. “We’ve got all the time in the world. Jamie won’t be coming back here any time soon, and I’m not letting you leave here until we’ve talked.”
“I... I don’t know what to say,” Lily stumbled, and without realising what she was doing reached behind her with one hand to rub her still stinging bottom.
“Lily,” Tom sighed, “I know I didn’t talk to you about how I’d want our relationship to work before you ended up over my knee.” Lily felt her face flushing even redder at his words, “But,” he continued, “sometimes I think actions speak louder than words.”
Lily met his gaze, waiting for him to continue.
“If we’re going to get to know each other better‑ pursue a relationship‑ I was brought up to believe that that makes me responsible for you in a lot of ways. I don’t mean in a chauvinistic way, but simply that it’s my responsibility to take care of you and make sure you are safe and secure. If that means that sometimes I need to spank you to make sure you stay safe, then I will.” While he was speaking, his free hand continued its sweeping, gentle rubbing motion in circles over her back and Lily felt herself lulled into a state of relaxation she’d rarely experienced.
“But,” Lily answered, “I told you I was sorry, that it was a mistake and that I wouldn’t do it again! There was no need to... well... to do that!” Lily couldn’t bring herself to say the dreaded word, even though the memory of what he had done was imprinted on her mind as well as her bottom.
“Really?” he queried, gently. “How much did you mean what you said, and how much were you paying lip service to what I had to say?”
“No!” she jerked her head up, ready to defend herself. But then, looking at him, realised that there was an element of truth in what he had said and her head drooped back down again. “Well, maybe at first,” she admitted, annoyed at herself that she hadn’t seen her protestations for what they were, “but then, well, I did realise that you were right.”
“Good,” he said, pleased to see that, as he’d thought, she was the type of woman who was as honest with herself as she could be.
“Lily, I come from the kind of family where arguments were settled quickly; there was never any lingering resentment or bitter on-going feuds, and a lot of that was because a swift spanking usually clears the air and means everyone can move on. You know how I felt about you wading into that fight, but I didn’t want us to be arguing over it for the next month. It’s done and it’s over and, as long as you never do anything like that again, we can move on and – I hope – concentrate on getting to know each other better.”
As she listened to his words, Lily remembered what she’d been thinking about only hours earlier, about the parents she had seen who screamed at each other in front of their children, and the pupils who carried the pain and anguish of living in a home with parents who could hardly bear to look at each other.
Slowly, she confided in him about those times she’d witnessed couples fighting in front of her in her classroom, when they should have been concentrating on their child, striking out at each other verbally, and how she’d always known that wasn’t what she wanted for herself. Tom winced visibly at the stories she told him and, firmly, said, “Lily, I can promise you now that that’s not a situation I would tolerate, at all.”
In spite of herself, a small smile formed on Lily’s face, and she replied, “Hm... well, I guess I know that now!” But then, more seriously, she went on to say, “I guess I know that there are some people who do that in their relationship.” She flushed as she thought of one of her sisters whom she knew got spanked regularly, “And, well, I’d wondered what it would be like to have someone who cared enough to do that but, well, I hadn’t really figured how it would make me feel, or be this sore.”
He looked at her seriously. “I know it might not be what you had imagined, Lily. But I know that for lots of couples it works and,” he added, wanting to reassure her, “I promise you I will never raise a hand to you in anger, or strike you other than to spank you if I think you need it, and that would only be done because I care.”
Lily slipped her hand into his, and this time it was her turn to be the serious one, “I know you’d never hit me. We haven’t known each other that long, but I can tell you’re not that type. I, well, I trust you, I suppose,” she admitted.
Tom smiled at her. “Trust me enough to accept that I will spank you if you ever put yourself in danger deliberately again?”
She flushed. “It hurt, Tom!”
He laughed and tugged her closer to him. “There’s an obvious response to that, Lily!”
“Hmphh,” was her only response.
“Besides,” he said, “I told you, that’s the first and last time you’ll get a spanking from me when you can hide behind your skirt for protection. Next time, that skirt will be coming off and you’ll realise that I went easy on you as I guessed it was your first time!”
“What?” Lily spluttered at him.
“Yep.” He grinned, clearly pleased with himself. “Another time, young lady, and it will be on the bare. It’s the only real way to deliver a spanking if you want the person to remember it!”
“There won’t be a next time!” Lily glared at him, “I told you, I won’t do anything like that again!”
“We’ll see,” he said, still laughing, “but you can’t say I didn’t warn you! Now,” he added sombrely, “we should probably be getting out of here. I’ll take you home, but is there someone I should be calling to let them know? You mentioned sisters?”
Lily’s eyes widened and she jumped up, brought her hands up to her face and groaned. “Oh no! I’d completely forgotten! Megan will be worried; I was supposed to call her when I got home from school. She was probably expecting me to call over an hour ago. My phone’s been switched off because I was in class.”
Tom got up and put his arms round her, soothing her obvious distress. “Megan’s your sister?”
“Yes, that is, one of them,” Lily told him as she quickly located her handbag from where it had been stored on the floor of the room. She explained that she had three sisters but that Megan, the eldest, had just come back from vacation with her boyfriend Luke and Lily had promised to call her that evening to catch up.
Digging her phone out of her bag, Lily switched it on and immediately dialled Megan’s number. Her sister answered on the first ring and demanded to know where she had been before Lily could even start to explain.
“Meg, I’m fine, I promise,” she tried to reassure her obviously concerned sister. “It’s just, there was a problem at school and I was a bit delayed, that’s all. I’m on my way home now and I can give you a call properly later.”
Before she knew it, the phone was taken out of Lily’s hand and Tom held the small unit to his ear. “Is that Megan?” he asked politely, ignoring Lily’s protestations. “My name is Tom Sinclair, I’m a friend of Lily’s. I’m afraid there was a fight on the school grounds that got ugly and your sister was caught up in it. She’s fine, but I’ve taken her to the hospital to get checked out and
we’re just about to leave to take her home.” There was a pause and then, gently, Lily heard Tom reassure her sister, “No, no, I absolutely assure you that she’s fine and you mustn’t be worried, but it might be a good idea for someone to stay with her for a few hours this evening, if you think that would be possible?”
“Tom, really there’s no need," Lily argued heatedly, prodding at his arm in vain to try to reclaim her phone.
“Yes, yes, of course,” he said into the receiver.
“Luke?” he said.
Lily groaned as she realised that her sister’s boyfriend, and the man she herself now regarded as a surrogate older brother, had taken the phone away from Megan. She listened as Tom swiftly gave the other man details of what had happened, including how Lily had waded into the fight. Wearily she sat down again in the chair, wincing as her bottom made contact with the hard plastic but knowing that she now had even more explaining to do when she got home. There was no way that the over-protective Luke was going to let this go. She loved him dearly, but there were times when she thought that if he could have his way he would keep Megan, Lily and their other two sisters wrapped up in cotton wool!
“Come on, Lily,” Tom said, gazing down at her in the chair. She had been so lost in her thoughts of the explaining she was going to have to do that she hadn’t realised he had finished talking to Luke.
“Did you have to tell them everything?” she demanded, knowing at the same time that she wasn’t wholly surprised. “Meg will only worry now.”
“She won’t worry once she’s seen you,” he reassured her. “They’re meeting us at your apartment in half an hour.”
“What?" Lily asked, startled. “There was no need to do that! Really, I would have been fine.”
“You really think that they wouldn’t want to make sure you were okay for themselves?” Tom raised an eyebrow at her, pointedly.
Knowing he was right and that there was no way anyone would have kept either Megan or Luke coming to check on her once they knew she’d been hurt, Lily gave up arguing with him. She let him pull her out of the chair and into the warmth of his arms as he bent down to press a light kiss to her forehead.
“Come on, let’s get those forms you need to sign and then get you home,” he said. Turning to the door, he twisted the lock and held it open for her to step through.
* * *
It wasn’t a long drive from the hospital to Lily’s flat, and Lily directed Tom easily. She lived in a quiet residential area of Victorian terrace houses that had mostly been converted into small apartments‑ not in the best area of town but safe enough and the most Lily could afford on her teacher’s salary. As Tom turned into her road, Lily saw to her dismay that Megan and Luke were already waiting outside her front door. Even from a distance, Lily could see that Megan looked worried and Luke’s expression was as grim as Tom’s had been earlier.
Carefully, Tom parked as close to Lily’s house as he could, as she didn’t have any off-street parking of her own and quickly jumped out of the Jeep to come round and help her down from the high vehicle. Before she could blink, Megan had run up to her and grasped her close in a tight hug.
“Lily, are you okay? Tell me what happened!” Megan demanded, and Lily could see the worry etched into her features.
Against her will, Lily winced slightly as Megan’s hug squeezed her shoulder.
“Oh god, you are hurt! Luke!” Megan released her sister from her embrace quickly and looked to the handsome man who was with her, whom Lily could see had been talking with Tom and, if anything, his expression had darkened even more.
The two men moved over to them, still deep in conversation.
“You could have been badly hurt, Lily,” Luke said sternly. He went up to Lily and tilted her head so she was looking at him. “We need to have a word about this. Nothing’s worth risking your safety over.” Although he and Megan were not yet married, he’d treated Lily as if she were his own younger sister from the day they had met, and there was no way he was going to tolerate her putting herself in danger.
“Lily knows that now,” Tom interjected, and a meaningful look passed between the two men as Lily flushed miserably, knowing that Luke had likely interpreted that look correctly and probably guessed that Tom had already spanked her, and that he certainly approved of that! The two men already seemed to be getting along just fine. Maybe too fine.
“Come on, let’s get you out of the cold. You can explain what happened to Megan when you’re inside in the warmth.” Tom ushered Lily towards her home and, taking her keys from her, unlocked the front door.
* * *
Once inside, Tom and Luke moved through to the small living room, which Lily had decorated with deep, soft furnishings to make it snug and homey, while Megan went with Lily to the bedroom to help her get changed.
“Really, Meg, I am fine. Honestly,” Lily said, troubled to see the worry that had been fixed over Megan’s face.
Swiftly bringing Lily close to her for another hug, this time taking care not to squeeze her shoulder, Megan sighed. “I know, Lily. I can see that, and I’m sorry if I over-reacted, but when I heard what Tom said to Luke, I was so worried! I know you love the new school, but it is more dangerous working there than at your old place, and you have to be more careful.”
“I know,” Lily said as she turned to the wardrobe to hang up her coat. She pulled out some of her favorite comfy clothes to change into. “I acted without thinking and it was stupid of me.” She dumped the clothes on the bed. “Trust me, I won’t do it again, I promise. I’ve learned my lesson,” and without realised what she was doing, reached back to touch her still sore bottom.
Megan’s eyes widened. “He spanked you!”
Lily’s head jerked up and an immediate denial formed at her lips, even though she couldn’t remember ever lying to Megan before. “No!”
“Oh come on, Lily. I know the signs! You know how things are between me and Luke, and from what I can see of Tom Sinclair, he seems cut from pretty much the same cloth as Luke!”
Lily could see the cogs whirling in Megan’s head. Megan came to put an arm round her sister’s shoulders, as she asked, “Is this the guy you’ve been mooning over for the last couple of months?”
“I have not been mooning!”
Triumphantly, Megan grinned. “Yes, you have! Luke and I both wondered if there was a man involved. In fact, Luke was this close,” Megan waved her fingers, just a few millimetres apart from each other, at Lily, “to demanding you tell us what was going on, as we’ve been worried.” Her grin faded. “It isn't been like you to moon Lily and, combined with the new school, we’ve been concerned.”
Lily sighed and pulled her sister down to sit on the bed with her, not bothering now to conceal the small wince as she did so. “Oh Meg, you really shouldn’t have worried. The school’s definitely a change from St. Catherine’s, but it’s a change for the better. I finally feel like I’m working where I’m needed. It’s been tough going the last couple of months but I’m getting there...”
“And Tom?”
Lily realised she wasn’t going to be able to avoid the topic. “Tom’s with the Met police but he’s also in charge of a school-police liaison project and so I met him a few months ago as he visits the school several times a week. I... I liked him a lot but didn’t think he thought of me as anything more than a colleague or friend, until tonight....” Lily voice trailed off, knowing she could confide in her sister over anything, but still feeling vulnerable after what had happened in Jamie’s office.
“When he rescued you from the school fight and then spanked you for not looking after yourself at the same time as telling you he cared?” Megan queried helpfully.
Lily’s eyes flew up to meet her, astounded at how Megan had so accurately guessed what had happened. Megan chuckled. “I told you, Luke and Tom seem to be cut from the same cloth. It’s not so dissimilar from what happened between me and Luke, although you can swap the school ground fight for that sleazy client I was work
ing for at the time.”
Even Lily shuddered to remember that time in Megan’s life.
“Seriously, Lily,” Megan continued, “Tom seems like a really nice guy, and clearly cares for you. Don’t let what happened today worry you. Remember what you told me a few months ago about being lucky enough to have someone who would care enough to do that? It’s true,” and then added, “it’s just harder to believe that when you’ve got a sore bottom!”
Lily chuckled ruefully at the truth of her sister’s blunt statement.
“Come on,” said Megan, “let’s get you out of those things and into the comfy ones. We can order delivery and Luke and I will stay here until you’re ready to sleep. If you want, we can stay the night or you can come with us?”
“Thanks, but really, I’ll be okay. I’d rather be in my own place, and it’s really too tiny here for me to invite you two to stay overnight. I know,” Lily quickly added, seeing the protests forming on Megan’s lips, “that you don’t mind, but really, I’ll be fine, and I promise to call you if I need to.”
“Hm.... okay then,” Megan grudgingly acquiesced. “Though you can be the one to explain that to the men!”
Chuckling to themselves, Megan helped Lily out of her top, manoeuvring it around her aching shoulder, and Lily got dressed into her comfy yoga pants and soft t-shirt. The first thing to strike the sisters as they entered the living room was the smell of coffee emanating from the cafeteria sitting on the small coffee table. The second thing was that Tom and Luke were lounging back on one of the sofas, engaged deep in conversation as if they had known each other for years.
They looked up and smiled at the women as they came in. Seeing Lily’s slight hesitation, Tom got up and gently pulled her into his side, ushering her towards the sofa to sit down next to him. Reaching out, he poured her a cup of fresh coffee from the cafeteria and, handing it to her, said, “Its decaf, so you don’t have to worry about it keeping you awake. How are you feeling now?”
Lily's Story, A Bentley Sisters Novel Page 3