Chapter 3
Chapter Three
There was a loud crack as the paddle landed across her left asscheek. She heard it and jumped a split second before the sting arrived. She hadn’t seen which one he’d chosen from the drawer—the awful rubber toy had taken all her attention, but from the feel she could guess.
It wasn’t one of the wooden paddles she actually enjoyed, of course.
Not that there were many of those she considered fun.
Wood was just too ouchy, and this one, with its heavy layers of lacquer, stung more than most. But it was the raised letters, spelling out P-U-N-I-S-H across the flat surface, that made her guess all but a certainty.
Of course he’d pick that one.
She hated that paddle. The letters were only a little higher than the rest of the wood, barely even noticeable when you looked at it. But when the paddle swept down and the letters dug into her rump each one seemed to leave its own impression, and with it an ache that quickly became unbearable.
The swats were slow at first. Normally that helped, but not this time. Her tolerance for pain seemed to have vanished, leaving her struggling from the very first smack.
Crack! “I’m sorry!”
Crack! “I won’t keep any more secrets!”
Crack! “Carter, please! I mean, Sir! Sir, please!”
Her voice got higher and more desperate every time the paddle landed.
She wiggled and squirmed but tried desperately to stay in place.
The threat of the rubber strap was a good motivator, but it only helped for so long.
Finally the paddle caught an especially tender spot on the top of her thigh, and she collapsed forward with a yelp.
Carter stopped. “That’s two more. I’ll continue adding if you don’t get back into place pretty quick, missy.”
She wanted to cry. Instead, she hauled herself back up, sniffling. “Give me another chance? Pretty please? I’ll stay in place this time.” She looked back over her shoulder with a pleading look.
He shook his head. “You earned two more and you’ll get them. If I were you, I’d try not to earn others.”
The Dom was definitely back. Oddly, considering the circumstances, she was kind of glad to see this stern side of him again. It was hard to remember that when he started swinging the paddle again.
For a while she tried to count the number of times the implement came down, but that grew harder as the punishing whacks came faster.
She lost count several times and then finally gave up.
All she knew was that his arm never seemed to tire and that every so often it would be too much, and not even the threat of the strap could keep her in place.
Four times. That dreadful number, unfortunately, she couldn’t help but remember. Four times she got out of position, and that meant eight strokes with the rubber strap. Plus, the original two he’d promised of course.
By the time he was done with the paddle, she was a sobbing mess, and she wasn’t even thinking about the strap he’d still promised her. In her struggles it had been buried under the blankets. Out of sight, out of mind.
The punishment she’d already received was taking all of her focus. Her backside felt like she’d accidentally sat down on a charcoal grill. It burned and throbbed just about everywhere. Her thighs had gotten plenty of attention too.
With one last searing whack to each cheek, Carter finally stopped and set the paddle down. His hand stroked lightly over the punished skin, easing her pain as he gently rubbed.
She let out a long sigh of relief and relaxed into his touch, glad that it was finally over.
It felt like the worst punishment she’d ever received, though, logically, she knew that was probably just because it had been so long.
She was no longer used to hard punishments and had lost the tolerance for it.
“That’s my good girl.” His voice was low and soothing as he continued to massage her sore backside.
She sniffled and shifted her position so she could swipe at her eyes with the back of one hand. “I’m sorry. I really am. I should have told you.”
“Yes, you should have, but we’re both going to do better from here on out. Right?” His hand moved down to her thighs, and he rubbed there too. Everywhere his hand went, the sting lessened.
She hoped so because she didn’t want another punishment any time soon. “Yes Sir.” The after-spanking conversation was familiar, part of the routine, and she found that she’d missed it as much as the punishment itself. It was partly lecture, but mostly reassurance.
It helped. Not just with winding down from the emotions and pain, but also it was the signal that the punishment was over and she was forgiven.
Except … as Carter was helping her off the bed, the blankets slid down to reveal the strap he hadn’t yet used.
Her eyes widened and she shot him a panicked glance.
Maybe he’d changed his mind and was going to let the extras go, but that wasn’t like him.
He noted her expression and jerked a head toward the strap. “I said you’d get extra, and you will, but I didn’t say when. I think you’ve had enough for tonight.”
That wasn’t as reassuring as it should have been.
Allegra didn’t like things hanging over her head and part of her wanted to get it over with immediately.
But sanity snuck in and assured her that she absolutely did not want that hellish rubber striping her ass right after a paddling.
She accepted the moratorium and tried to put it out of her mind.
Her husband moved the strap to the dresser, leaving it laying in plain sight, which made forgetting about it difficult, but she did her best not to look at it as he tucked her under the covers and settled beside her. “Sleepy?” he asked.
She often was after a punishment, but tonight it was the opposite. She was filled with energy. “Not yet. She wiggled back against him.
“Good. We have some things to talk about.” He sounded so serious, which meant it probably had to do with everything that had happened.
She sighed. “Okay.”
“Tomorrow you’re going to put in a request for leave.”
“Leave? Why?”
“We’re going on a trip. We’re leaving Wednesday and we’ll be gone three weeks.” It was stated so nonchalantly, as though taking off last minute for a three-week vacation was normal.
Allegra shot up in bed, turning to stare at him. “Carter! I can’t just take time off like that! He’ll never approve it. And three weeks? Even if I didn’t have projects due soon, he’d never—”
“He’ll approve it. Trust me.” There was iron in the words, and absolute confidence that Edward would bow to the request.
But he didn’t know Edward. Her boss was a jerk, and he never gave in on anything. “Even if he does, I still have all this work. And three weeks? I’ve never taken that much time off.”
“Then you should have plenty banked to use, yeah?”
That wasn’t the problem. She so rarely took days off that she’d lost almost a week of time last year because she hadn’t used it. It wasn’t exactly her choice; she couldn’t even take a sick day without Edward screaming that she was putting the whole department behind. “I do, but—”
“But nothing. You will put the request in tomorrow and we’re going on a trip. If Edward has an issue with it, you can hand me the phone.”
Her mouth dropped and hung open wide. Put her husband on the phone to make excuses to her boss? She’d never get past the humiliation. “But-but I…”
Carter shook his head. “Our marriage is more important than any projects you’re working on. And while we’re on this trip I want you to take some time to seriously consider if you even want to keep this job. There are other jobs out there.”
She blew out a long breath. “I’ve worked so hard here. I know the promotion is coming soon.” That was more wishful thinking than anything, but it was the hope she clung to.
“Do you even like this company?”
“I used to … I mean, when I first started working there it was great. I learned so much and they gave me responsibilities that I could handle as I got more experience. Now, it’s this feeling of being overwhelmed constantly.”
“So, what happened to change it?”
“Edward. When my old supervisor left and he took over it just all went downhill.”
Carter nodded like he’d expected as much. “If you’re no longer happy there, it’s not worth staying. Not for you and not for us.”
She wanted to argue it. Wanted to explain that she’d put in so much effort it would be throwing it all away if she left now, but he was right. She’d known for a long time that her job was making her miserable, and not just at work, but all the time.
Giving up just wasn’t in her nature. “Are you going to make me quit?” she asked, half hoping he’d say yes.
“No, but I’m asking you to seriously consider it. And the time off for this trip is non-negotiable so if it leads to you having to quit, well, we’ll deal with that.”
Allegra let out a long sigh. “Where are we going anyway?”
His mouth quirked up at one corner, a teasing twinkle in his eye. “You’ll find out when we get there.”
“Carter, ugh. That’s not fair. I won’t know what to pack. I mean should I pack for a beach or for…”
“I’ll pack for you. Don’t worry about it.”
She just stared at him until he tugged her back down into his arms. And no matter how much she tried to get a hint out of him, Carter remained close-mouthed about the trip.
The next morning, she got up as usual and got dressed for work. Carter, always up at dawn, was waiting for her in the kitchen with a toasted bagel and a cup of coffee to go. He knew she was more likely to eat something if he put it in her hand—it usually worked.
Carter dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Don’t forget to call me if he gives you any trouble about the time off.”
She ducked her head to the side, avoiding his eyes. She had absolutely no intention of doing that. “I’m sure it will be fine,” she mumbled.
“It will be, because you’ll be getting those extras with the strap tonight and you definitely want me in a good mood for that. I expect to hear that it’s all set.”