“We’ve got all of them, and it looks like they’re already blabbing like babes,” the other man said grimly. “They’ve told us where to find the girl, and a unit’s on its way there now to get her. If they’re to be believed, it sounds like they haven’t touched her yet.”
“And the twins? Mike?” said Lily, interrupting anxiously. Both men offered her a hand up as she scrambled to her feet.
“Ma’am,” said the other man respectfully, “we think the boy will be fine. He’s been taken off to the hospital and his brother’s with him, but it looks like the knife didn’t hit any major organs so he should be fine.”
“Thank God,” said Lily, breathing a sigh of relief. She leaned into Tom as her trembling continued.
“Lily! Tom!” a shout came from across the road, and turning round they saw Luke rush out of his car and run over to them.
“Luke!” with a fresh sob, Lily let herself be caught up in her soon to be brother-in-law’s arms as she remembered how badly she had left things between them the previous evening.
“Lily, are you okay? Tom called me when he was on his way here. You’re hurt?” Luke glanced over at Tom, who nodded.
“Her arm looks and feels like it’s been wrenched badly and her entire side is probably bruised from her fall. Jamie will come over and see to it, but she’s not admitting how much pain she must be in,” he said to the other man.
Tearfully, Lily glanced down at her arm, realising that in the chaos she hadn’t even realised that her arm, as well as the entire left side of her body, was throbbing badly. “Oh...” she said, confused.
“I think she’s still suffering from an adrenaline rush,” said Tom to Luke, who was still making sure for himself that Lily was safe and sound.
“Luke,” Lily said with a gulp, reaching out and taking his hand, “I’m so sorry I behaved so badly yesterday. I was awful and I don’t have any excuse. Please, forgive me?”
“Oh, Lily,” Luke said, clearly taken aback by her heartfelt apology and the misery in her eyes. “Of course I forgive you. We’re family." He drew her in for a hug.
“I know. That’s what makes it worse. I hit out at everyone who loves me, and I know I hurt you and Tom.”
Looking down at her, Luke said seriously, “You did, but we love you and knew that wasn’t the real Lily talking yesterday. All we want to do is keep you safe, Lily. I don’t even want to think about what we’d do if you’d been harmed today.”
“I know.” She nodded, furiously.
“Sweetheart,” Tom said, pulling her back into his side, “I don’t want to leave you, but I need to sort a couple of things out back at the station. I’ll only be an hour or two, at most, but are you okay for Luke to take you home? I’ll be back as soon as I can, and Jamie’s on his way as well to look at your arm. I called him and Luke on the way here. Jamie will meet you and Luke at your apartment.”
She reassured him she would be fine, but she could see in his eyes that he didn’t want to leave her. “Go... I’ll be fine. As long as Luke doesn’t mind taking me home after the way I acted last night?”
Luke chuckled, “As long as there’s no repeat performance, it’s no problem. I need to give Meg a call to let her know what’s happened, but then we’ll set off.”
“You won’t worry her, will you?”
Again, Luke chuckled. “I don’t think you’re going to be able to stop her worrying, but I will make sure she knows you’re okay.”
* * *
By the time Tom arrived back at Lily’s apartment, after a gruelling time back at the station, he was relieved to see Jamie’s car parked next to Luke’s. As he let himself in, he couldn’t help but smile as he heard Jamie lecturing Lily from the living room. He knew that he and his younger brother were cut from the same cloth – they’d both been brought up in the same house with the same old-fashioned values – but he’d never had the chance to hear his brother chide a woman like this. He even felt sorry for Lily as he realised she’d most likely been subject to the same lecture by both Jamie and Luke before he got home.
As he entered the living room, Jamie was just finishing bandaging Lily’s arm with a support wrap. Jamie said, “I swear, Lily, you’ll look after that arm and not leave the school grounds on your own from now on, or I’ll spank you myself!” Luke nodded in agreement from his spot just behind Lily.
Surveying the scene, from his brother’s concerned expression to Luke’s slightly more relaxed but still worried features, to Lily’s tear-stained and contrite face, he moved forward.
“Hi, love,” he said, and pressed a kiss to her forehead, “how’re you feeling now?”
Cuddling up to him, instinctively wanting the comfort of his arms, she replied, “I’m okay... my arm’s pretty sore now, but Jamie’s bandaged it up and says it should be okay. My side feels like it’s been hit by a brick wall though.”
Jamie nodded at his brother. “Her arm’s taken a bad sprain but it should be fine, as long as she takes care of it and doesn’t try to lift anything for a while. Her side is badly bruised and it’ll take a while to heal. Hot baths will help and I’ll prescribe some painkillers. How were things at the station?”
Tom sighed and raked one hand through his hair as he sat back on the sofa, keeping Lily close into his side, “We got all of them and they’re singing like canaries, keen to spill the beans on everyone involved. They were keeping Marie Collins, the twins’ kid sister, in a basement flat on the estate but hadn’t touched her. Seems they were waiting to see if the twins would come back into the fold. You were right,” he looked at Lily, “the twins seem to be good kids. They’re going to testify against their old gang. We’ll do our best to make sure they get a good defence attorney for anything that’s brought against them, but it might not even come to that.”
“Mike will be okay?” Lily asked.
“Yes. He’ll be in the hospital for a few days, but it’s a flesh wound and he should be up and about soon. Apparently he’s asked after you as he’s keen to make sure that Miss Bentley didn’t get hurt.” Tom raised one eyebrow at Lily.
“I told you he was a good kid!” Lily poked him.
“I know... I guess I need to be the one thanking him! I just wish we’d had a bit more warning that they were thinking of striking on the twins during the day. All our information suggested they only gathered in the early evening as it meant they could all get together en masse. If I’d known they were inclined to change their habits like that, I’d have put a ban on you leaving the school gates on your own no matter what time of day!”
“I’m sorry, Tom. I really am. I truly thought it would be fine to go home during the day.”
“It should have been, love. It really should have been. It’s not your fault at all. Our information was bad and we didn’t think there was any risk during the day.” Gently, he pressed a kiss to her lips, clearly reassuring himself that Lily was in one piece.
Smiling at the couple, Jamie and Luke rose to their feet ready to leave to give Tom and Lily some privacy.
Lily went to get up but all three men immediately protested, insisting that she stay on the sofa and rest.
“We can come back tomorrow, Lily,” said Luke, bending down to kiss her, “and I’ll bring Meg with me. It was all I could do to stop her driving over here now!”
“And I’ll be back tomorrow to check on that arm,” added Jamie.
“Oh, but I can come to the hospital if that’s easier?” protested Lily, knowing how busy Jamie was at the hospital, but was greeted with a positive growl in response.
“Not a chance, little sister. I’ll be back tomorrow, and don’t argue!”
Chuckling, Tom walked the other two men to the door, thanking them for taking the time to take care of Lily and promising to call them both in the morning to let them know how she was doing.
As he shut the door behind them, and walked back into the living room ready to scoop Lily up his arms and, at last, see for himself that she was truly okay, he was shocked to see she had d
rawn her knees up to her chest on the sofa and was crying silently.
“Sweetheart,” he rushed over to her and kneeled in front of her, “tell me, where does it hurt? Do I need to call Jamie back?”
Hiccupping, she shook her head and looked up at him miserably, “It’s not my arm. It’s me. I behaved so badly to you. If anything had happened to me today, that’s the last memory you’d have had of me, of me acting like such a bitch to you!” and sobs wracked her slender body.
Horrified, Tom scooped her up in his arms and settled her in his lap, rocking her gently. “Love, it’s okay. You’re safe and sound, and you didn’t act like a bitch yesterday, and,” he added reprovingly, “I never want to hear you describe yourself in that way again, okay?”
Reluctantly, she nodded.
“You acted like you were confused, and needed some time to make sure that you knew exactly what you wanted. Is that right?”
Wide-eyed at how simple he made it sound, although she shouldn't have been surprised, Lily nodded.
“And, I thought we’d talked about how, once a spanking is over and done with, you’re forgiven and we move on with a clean slate, hm?”
Not meeting his gaze, Lily shifted uncomfortably.
“Hey, what is it? Talk to me, Lily. We’re in this together, so don’t even think about trying to shut me out.”
Horrified, Lily looked up at him, “I’m not, truly I’m not. It’s just...”
“Just what?”
“Well,” she drew in a deep breath, “I guess, my mind wasn’t in a good place when you spanked me yesterday and, well... I don’t know how to describe it...” her voice trailed away.
“It didn’t get to the place you needed to be?” he asked, his voice soft and ever gentle.
Blushing, having never thought she would be having this conversation, even with the man she loved and trusted utterly, she nodded, knowing she needed to try to explain, even if she figured he probably understood the way she felt better than she did.
“It’s just that, well... when you’ve spanked me before, it’s hurt and been horrible but, afterwards, I’ve somehow felt better, like I can forgive myself for whatever I’ve done as well as have you forgive me. Yesterday, I guess I didn’t feel like that.”
“I know, love. That’s part of the reason why I think spanking in a relationship works. It clears the air and lets a couple move on, without bitterness or recriminations. I knew that last night didn’t give you the release you needed to move on, but I needed you to say something to me about it, to trust me enough to tell me how you felt.”
“I do trust you, Tom. Truly, I do. I just find it difficult to talk about this stuff sometimes. It’s kind of embarrassing.”
He chuckled and kissed her forehead. “I know, but I do think we need to work on this tendency you have to get embarrassed so easily when it’s just the two of us. You know, there’s nothing you could say, or do, that is off limits when it’s the two of us?”
Comforted by his words, and knowing they were true, she took another deep breath. “Will you spank me again?” she asked timidly.
To her surprise, he just nodded and pressed another kiss to her forehead, as if he had expected her request. “You know I will. You just had to ask.” He smiled down at her and she relaxed into his arms as he bent his head to hers for a long, lingering kiss.
After long, sensuous minutes he set her back from him.
“Much as I want to make love to you now, and for it to last all night, I think we should see to your spanking first, hm?”
“Oh!” Lily’s slumberous eyes gazed up at him, obviously having forgotten that she’d asked for a spanking only minutes before.
He looked down at her, humour filling his eyes. “You asked for this, Lily. Are you telling me you want to retract the request?”
“No... but it doesn’t mean I have to look forward to it!”
“Good, as I wouldn’t let you retract it! I love you too much for that, Lily.”
Tenderly, he pulled her t-shirt up over her head, taking care to manoeuvre it around her bandaged arm, and then dispensed with her bra. Just as quickly, her leggings and panties also hit the floor and she was gently being draped over his knees.
“I’m just going to use my hand, Lily, but it’s not going to be easy. I want you to think about the last few days, think about what we have together and know that I’m spanking you to make sure you know that I’ll keep you safe, protect you and make sure you don’t put yourself in danger through carelessness. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” her response was automatic.
Sharply, his flat palm cracked down over her bottom, which still held residual soreness from its contact with her hairbrush the previous night.
She yelped at that first contact, at the sting of his hand. Not that she’d expected him to go easy on her. She knew he respected her enough that, when she’d asked for the spanking and he agreed to deliver it, it wouldn’t be half-hearted.
Again and again his palm rained down smack after smack on her tender bottom, turning it from milky white to pink and then, finally, to a glowing red.
After the first dozen spanks, her yelps turned to cries but his hand was relentless, alternating from one buttock to the other and then to the soft skin of her sit spot. Unable to stop herself, her legs kick out from under herself.
“Stop, please, Tom. It’s enough, I promise it’s enough!”
“Are you really the one to decide when it’s enough?” he asked, without losing a beat of the steady rhythm of his hand.
“No, I know,” she wailed, as her cries turned gradually to sobs under his ministrations, “but it hurts, Tom.”
“I know, sweetheart, I know. But it’s supposed to hurt, remember. And if you carry on kicking, it’s only going to add to the number of spanks you’re getting,” he warned her. “Are you thinking about all the reasons why we’re doing this now?”
“Yes!” she wailed, using all her mental strength to stop her legs kicking out at him. She didn’t remember his hand ever being as hard as this before and thought wildly that it was a close call between this and the hairbrush as to which was more painful on her poor bottom. She could feel the heat radiating from her skin, and was sure by now she was a blistering crimson colour.
“And why is that?” he asked, not giving an inch as his hand descended again with another resounding smack.
“Because you love me. Because I love you,” she sobbed, the fight at last going out of her as she lay over his lap, her fighting struggles ceasing and her violent sobs gradually turning to slower cries, that were more emotional but which allowed her at last to release the guilt and anguish she’d carried with her recently and had consumed her.
Attuned to her every move, Tom felt the shift of her body, the gradual ebbing of tension from her knotted shoulders that told him, to his relief, she was finding her own absolution through the spanking, and forgiving herself. Still, he didn’t stop the spanking, knowing that after the events of the last few days she needed to know she could rely on him to see it through, to take care of all her needs. He turned his attention to her thighs, peppering them with burning smacks so they turned the same fiery shade of crimson as her bottom and causing her to gasp anew at the stinging bite, before turning his attention back to her bottom, separating her buttocks gently with one hand so that he could ensure that not so much as an inch escaped his discipline.
The spanking was the longest Tom had ever given Lily and lasted a never-ending half hour, at least. Tom knew that, even though he’d only used his hand, instead of the hairbrush of which he had grown so fond, or the strap from his childhood that he had yet to introduce her to, but which he wouldn’t hesitate to use if he felt she needed it, Lily would remember this lesson and learn from it.
Eventually, Lily realised that the spanks had stopped. Instead, he was gently rubbing her shoulders, easing the residual aches and tensions from the last few days. Drawing in long, deep breaths, Lily felt Tom press a kiss lightly to the back
of her neck and slowly she was brought up from his knees to lie in his arms, as he tried to protect both her arm and her bottom from any additional pain.
Reaching for him, she put one hand into one of his, much bigger, palms, whilst his other reached round to wipe the tears from her blotchy face.
“Blotchy, but beautiful,” he said, wryly, gazing down at her.
Sniffing, but secure in his love for her, she responded, “Probably not as blotchy as my bottom, thanks to you.”
He laughed, and she couldn’t help but smile at the man she loved so much. “Definitely not, love. Your bottom’s an exquisite crimson colour and I’m guessing it’ll probably stay that way for a few days. You’re going to be sore, love.”
She nodded with a deep sigh. “I know, but,” she gazed up at him, wanting there to be absolute honesty between them at all time. “I know I needed it. I love you, Tom. I don’t want to act like I did the other day ever again, and I know that you love me too much to let me. I scared myself.”
“Trust me, I know. But you need never worry about that with us. That’s my job, and I’ll make sure you don’t scare yourself like that again. Now, let’s get you to bed so you can get some rest.”
Looking up at him, Lily knew that not only did he mean what he said with every cell of his being, but also that it couldn’t be any other way for him, his natural dominance and authority was such a part of him that she had no worries at all that he would always do what was best for her, and their relationship. Smiling, she curled up into his embrace as he carried her through to the bedroom, knowing that emotionally and physically she was exactly where she wanted, and needed, to be.
The End.
Lauren Beaumont
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