Arrested By Love (7 page)

She let out a tiny gasp, and he knew she was afraid, but she also knew better than to try to dissuade him. Looked like his threat of year's separation had had its intended effect.

Laying herself gingerly over his lap, she gave one small sob once she was settled. He placed his left hand on the middle of her back to steady her, then ran his right hand repeatedly over her buttocks to settle her to his touch. She was tense, and he needed her to relax a little more so this punishment wouldn't end up being more painful than he intended. "We didn't discuss how many swats you think you deserve for what you did, Miss Morgan. So, what would you say is a fair number?"

Her breath coming in small hitches now, she didn't respond right away. He suspected she would go for the minimum of ten. So, she surprised him when she said, "Twenty-five."

"A very good number," he praised, "and I concur. So, twenty-five it is then. Have you anything you wish to say to me before we begin?"

Another small sob, then she said, "I'm truly sorry for lying to you, Kyle. I won't do it again. I promise."

"Yes. Well that is what I am here now to ensure. Correct?" he asked, aware that his voice was huskier than usual, He really didn't like the thought of hurting her, and it bothered him that she had forced his hand like this. Literally.

"Yes, sir," she replied meekly, a sure sign she was feeling very guilty about her actions. She only called him "sir" when she knew she was in serious trouble.

"Good." He continued to just rub her smooth flesh until he felt her relax despite her unease. "This time I want you to count each stroke out loud. Do you think you can do that?"

"I don't know," she admitted with tearful honesty.

"Very well, I can accept that. However, I want you to at least try. As a penalty, if I decide you're simply stalling between calling out the numbers in order to delay your punishment, I may find it necessary for us to start over again from the beginning."

She gave a small gasp, and tensed at that, but he pretended not to notice as he continued his gentle rubbing. When he still didn't begin, he heard her ask, "Kyle?"

"Yes?"

"Do you still love me?"

"If I didn't we wouldn't be here now. Do you understand what I mean by that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now I want you to take a deep breath and try to relax a little more. You're doing very well, and I'm proud of you for accepting this with so little fuss. I know it's not easy. Now take another deep breath for me, Tiff." She obeyed. "Good. Now, relax and give me all your weight. I can hold you, so don't worry about being too heavy for me." She took another deep breath and he felt her body grow limp." "Very good." Then he raised his hand and brought it down hard. She jerked and cried out.

"Count, Tiff," he reminded.

Dutifully, she replied, "One."

He made the first ten count the most, so by the time she cried out the number ten, she was sobbing so hard she had trouble saying the word. He paused and simply rubbed her backside for a moment. She let out a small whimper of pain, and her flesh felt quite warm to him, but she was handling her pain well, and he really was proud of her for accepting her chastisement without complaint, or swearing.

"Only fifteen more to go," he reminded, and heard a choked sob in response. He continued to lightly rub her for a few minutes longer, then said, "Begin at sixteen, please, Tiffany," as he brought down his hand again.

He made the next ten not quite as hard as the first set. Despite easing up, he was still being far from gentle with her, since, this time he'd decided to speed up the tempo of his strokes, which also made it difficult for her to keep count with him. However, he wanted this over and done with as quickly as possible. When she finally squawked out "Twenty," he stopped and took another break.

This time she was having trouble catching her breath, so he bent over and spoke as near to her ear as he could reach with her on his lap this way. "Breathe, Tiff," he urged and was rewarded with pain-filled gasp then open sobbing. "Good girl," he praised, and he meant it.

Once she was able to speak, she just kept repeating how very sorry she was, and he believed her. He gave her irritated skin a minute to settle down before he started stroking her again. Though she initially arched against his hand with a small cry of pain, he knew the petting would eventually soothe her, so he kept his caresses light. Her bottom was much warmer now than it had been earlier, and yet the flesh was no pinker than a light blush of embarrassment. He'd taken care not to be too harsh with her this time. Yes, she'd lied, and that was a grievous offense, but she hadn't placed her life in jeopardy with her deceit.

If he'd been a little more observant, he would have noticed she'd been less than truthful with him from the beginning. And even though she wasn't a particularly good liar, he'd wanted to believe her, so he had.

Next time, and hopefully there wouldn't be a next time, he would pay closer attention to her silent signals so they could avoid this. Although he suspected his little darling was a bit of a minx who was going to continually find herself in this position for one prank or another. For now, however, he was attempting to dissuade her from ever lying to him again.

When she finally fell silent and her breathing came in small little catches, he firmed his hand on her back. "Only five more, Tiff, and we're done. You're being a very good girl, and though I am disappointed you lied to me, I am very proud of the way you've conducted yourself this afternoon."

That made her cry a little harder. Even so, he knew his words would actually help ease her inner pain. "Kyle?" she asked again as her body began to relax under his gentle stroking.

"Yes?" he replied, willing to wait a few moments longer before he started again.

"Do you think you'll ever be able to forgive me?"

"Darling, when this is over you will have already been forgiven. That's exactly what this is about. Once we're done here, nothing more will be said, unless you wish to talk about it."

"Thank you," she answered softly and her sincerity invoked an instinctively protective response within him. Clearing his throat with a cough, he said, "Begin again at twenty, please." He'd given her enough of a rest that she was able to call out the next five without much difficulty, especially since he kept each swat especially light. Though he knew this punishment had been necessary, he wanted it over almost as much as she did.

The moment she called out "Twenty-five," she started to sob again, but they were tears of relief rather than pain. And though he didn't doubt she was sore, he also knew her discomfort was nowhere near the level it had been the last time they'd done this.

When she tried to get up, he held her in place. And that was when she whined. "No, Kyle. Please. I don't need it. Not this time."

"But it also helps, doesn't it?" When she deliberately hesitated in answering him, he said, "Tiffany, I asked you a question, and I would like the courtesy of a response, please."

"You took care not to hurt me too badly this time, and that lotion stings so much, it's worse than your punishment. So I don't think it's necessary. Please, don't use it."

"I'm pleased to hear you're not in as much pain this time, except that wasn't what I asked you, was it?" he repeated patiently. When she didn't reply, he added, "Though the lotion may smart a bit when I first put it on, it does eventually soothe you, doesn't it?" He knew she didn't want to admit it, since it really did sting her bottom like the devil when he first applied it after a spanking. Even so, he didn't want her to think her opinion wasn't important to him, because it was.

Finally, she answered him. "Yes. I guess so, but--"

"Tiffany?"

She sighed. "I know you only want to protect my skin, Kyle, but--"

"Tiffany?" he repeated cutting her off.

She lay back down in submission. "Go ahead," she murmured very reluctantly.

She tensed and cried out when he started to rub it in, and he reminded her to count backwards from ten. When she refused, he gave her a very light swat as a reminder that he was serious and she finally did as he asked. By five she was totally relaxed again and only crying softly. When he was done he smoothly moved her so she was sitting on his lap, and with barely a wince she immediately curled into him, wanting his comfort as much as he needed to give it. They just sat together that way for a few minutes.

Then, after insisting she dry her eyes and blow her nose, he kissed her. "You are my special, darling girl, Tiffany, and I love you. I will always love you, even when you do things that make me angry enough to put you over my knee. However, my anger over what you did in no way diminishes what I feel for you."

He hugged her while she continued to release tears of relief. They stayed that way for about another half-hour, then he helped her dress, and holding her hand in his he walked her back to the car. It wasn't until then that she realized he'd totally abandoned the switch he'd made her pull and clean earlier.

Halting mid-step, she drew back and stared at him. "That switch. You didn't even use it."

Though it was an obvious statement, he still confirmed it with a shake of his head, then gave her hand a little tug. She followed, but he could tell she wasn't happy about it. "Well, why the hell did you make me go through all that if you weren't intending to use it?" she asked, as he opened her door for her.

He glanced back to notice she'd placed her hands on her hips. Clearly she was feeling a lot more self-confident at the moment, so he gave her nose a firm tap. "Language, sweetheart," he warned silkily. When she continued to scowl at him, he relented with a sigh. "Why do you think I did that?" he asked, easily tossing the question back for her to think about as he motioned for her to get into the car.

Sighing, she lowered her arms and slid onto the seat. "Because you wanted to scare the shit out of me first by making me think you intended to whip me," she answered with a trace of petulance.

He stood outside the car and frowned down at her. "That's the second inappropriate word you've used in the last five minutes. You know I don't approve of your swearing, and I believe you had a lesson about that not too long ago, didn't you?"

"Yes, sir," she agreed, still not ready to forgive him for insisting she make that switch.

"Do I need to give you another reminder?"

"No, sir," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

With a disapproving shake of his head, he leaned in to fasten her seat belt, which she occasionally forgot to do. Then, since their faces were so close, he couldn't resist giving her a quick kiss. She responded, though he could tell by her expression that she thought he was attempting to distract her from her snit. He wasn't. Not really. But he still had to struggle not to smile when he looked into her eyes and asked, "So, did it work? Did you believe you were about to get a true whipping for lying to me?"

She let out a soft snort followed by a light laugh. "Oh, yeah, buddy. It worked. My bottom was twitching like mad the entire time I stood waiting for you," she readily admitted.

Pleased that she felt comfortable enough to admit that to him, he bent down to give her another kiss before walking back to his side of the car.

Once they both seated and ready to leave, Kyle reached into his pocket to pull out the box she'd given back to him and removed the ring. He motioned for her to give him her hand and she readily did so with a tearful smile. The ring slipped on smoothly--a perfect fit. Then drawing her as close as her seat belt would allow, he kissed her. When she responded without reservation, he gave a slight cough and simply patted his arm to indicate she should lay her head there.

She gazed up at him with an uncertain look. "Later," he replied a little huskily. "When you're not so sore." Her smile grew and she started to deny her discomfort when he shook his head. "No, Tiff. I want our first time together to be glorious. I want to make you come so hard you scream. And right now, I just don't think you'd enjoy it the way I want you to."

She gave a small sigh, but settled next to him without further argument. In this, they both knew he was right.

Chapter Five

Kyle drove Tiffany home, holding her hand the entire way, then after opening her door, he put his hand about her waist and walked in with her, so he could be at her side when she showed 'her ring' to her family. Her father looked very pleased as he hugged her and shook Kyle's hand. Her mother got a little teary-eyed and Chrissy, her younger sister, actually jumped up and down and screamed as she held Tiffany's hand. "OMG, Tiff! He actually did it!"

Kyle laughed, and was secretly pleased when Tiffany immediately returned to his side and put one arm around his back so she could lean in closer to him. After drawing her near for a quick kiss, he made his excuses to her parents. Mrs. Morgan invited him to stay for supper, so did Tiffany, but he respectfully declined. Had he been able to sneak away with her later, he probably would have stayed, but the change in plans bothered him enough that he wanted to go back to his own place. Still, he knew Tiffany would be especially sensitive to his mood right now, after everything that had just happened between them, and he didn't want her to think he was rejecting her in any way.

"See me out?" he asked her softly.

At her nod they walked out arm and arm to his car. "Why won't you stay?" she inquired with a small pout.

He gave her another quick kiss, "Because, my darling, I need to straighten up a few things in my apartment if I intend to bring a lovely lady up there in a few days in order to ravish her."

She giggled, as he intended, then she grew serious. "You truly have forgiven me, haven't you?"

"Yes, Tiffany Anne," he repeated for about the fifth time, knowing she was still feeling really guilty, even after her punishment. "However," he added with a tap on her pert little nose, "we will need to discuss your spending habits in the very near future." She grimaced, but nodded her agreement. After another peck on her lips, he turned her around so she faced her home and gave her a very light swat on the butt to send her on her way back inside.