Curvaceous Heart (17 page)

“Thank you, slut.”
Her inner walls quivered.
Slut.
She’d been called that more than once, but calling Alan that had unexpected results. This was
punishment,
it wasn’t supposed to turn her on. But she couldn’t deny the ripple of heat deep within.

It’s not the punishment, it’s the power
.

That made sense.

She looked back down at his naked ass. The red had faded into a soft pink. Had the sting faded as well?

She cupped her hand, bringing it down onto his buttocks quickly. Once, twice, three times in rapid succession. He cried out, jerking across her thighs, his hips rocking forward. Not from pleasure, she could see that, but shock.

Sue shook out her hand again. It didn’t hurt as badly but now she did understand why some parents used the ‘this will hurt me more than it hurts you’ routine. It did sting when you spanked someone. Especially someone as well toned as Alan was.

How many was she supposed to give? And wasn’t he supposed to be counting them? Shit, she’d forgotten that part.
Too late to bring it in now.
She didn’t want him to think that she had fucked everything up.

Sue wracked her mind, trying to recall anything else she had read about spankings as punishment.
Six of the best?
Twelve.
No, six would be enough this time. She didn’t need her hand aching for several days to come. And they didn’t always add in counting, but she could see where it would help sometimes.

Three more, she could do this. No, two, she’d given him one before being told to cup her hand. That wasn’t so bad, was it?

She lifted up her hand, pausing as she looked down at his pink bottom. He whimpered, shifting his weight across her lap, his thighs taut as he kept mostly in position. It had to be uncomfortable, stretched out over her lap, forced to hold position, to keep his balance like that.

Did he feel humiliated?

“Such a naughty little boy,” she whispered, smiling as she saw him blush so hard and fast that it covered his back. “Maybe I should make you stand in the corner, with your nose to the wall, after this spanking.”

He let out a low moan of fear. “Please, Ma’am, not that.”

“You don’t like the idea?” She brought her hand down without warning, harder than before.

“No, Ma’am.” He gasped, his head jerking upwards with the new blow. “Please, Ma’am. Not the corner. I won’t be selfish again. Please. I’ll think of how things affect you. Forgive me, Ma’am.”

She’d never felt such a surge of energy as she did now. He was afraid, humble, pleading with her. Here he was, this man who could hire or fire her, who had the ability to make her feel alive, now without power, surrendering to her, begging for her forgiveness.

“Why should I?”

He gulped.

“Well, slut? Give me one good reason why I should believe you?”

“I don’t have one, Ma’am. I’m asking, no begging, for a chance, that’s all. Please.”

One last spank to give him, it wasn’t that much and he didn’t know for certain just how many she had decided to give him.
But granting him a chance, forgiveness -- that was another matter entirely.
Did he deserve it?

She cared for him, loved him if she wanted to be honest about it, but if she was going to try and explore her dominant side then she needed to take that into consideration.

But what was the point in punishment if you then continued to beat someone up about what had happened? Punishment was to punish, to wipe the slate clean, and then give the punished one a chance to prove it wouldn’t happen again.

Sue lifted her hand one last time, looking down over Alan’s trembling form before she brought it down hard, and fast, onto his upturned ass. The crack rang out through the room, Alan’s cry joining with the echoing smack as he jerked almost fully from her lap.

Her hand stung; even with cupping it her palm now burned from the force of the blow. She took a long, slow breath, calming herself, focusing before she leaned down and whispered in his ear.

“I forgive you, Alan.”

Chapter Seventeen

His ass throbbed. Even new to the lifestyle, to being dominant, she’d managed to leave him with a sense of truly being punished. He hadn’t cried, but it had been close. If she’d called him naughty one more time, or told him she was disappointed with him, then it would have been too much for him to handle.

How had she known what to do?

Not that it mattered now. The punishment was over and she’d given him a little time to calm down, wash up, and settle himself before he walked back into the living room.

He leaned against the sink, focusing on his breathing.

Punishment.
It wasn’t supposed to arouse him, and when she had been spanking him he hadn’t felt aroused, he’d been fighting not to cry, but now -- now his cock throbbed against his pants. His balls felt swollen, hot, and heavy. Each time he closed his eyes he could feel it, her hand against his ass, the way she had traced soft lines over his back as he had shook, trying to calm, still laying over her thighs.

No, this wasn’t the time for this.

Business.
He had to focus on work, the
blogger
ring, the problems there, but his mind kept drifting back to Sue. The feel of her clothing against his balls, his cock throbbing as his hips pressed against her thigh. No, it hadn’t happened that way. He hadn’t reacted. He’d accepted the punishment for what it was.

But what if she spanked him again, for fun?

His balls tightened.

“Calm down, damn fool. Work, focus on work. We have those bastards to sort out. Sure, it would be good to crawl to her now, lick her feet and…shit I don’t need this right now!” He ran the water, waiting until it was cold before he splashed some on his face. Maybe a cold shower would work?

Sure, until he looked at her, or thought about her again. She wasn’t the sort of woman who you chased out of your mind with a mere cold shower.

Why, though? They hadn’t been together that long, and he’d never been in a position where a woman had invaded his being the way Sue had.

Because I’ve finally found a woman I don’t have to hide from. I can explore this, be myself, in all ways and she accepts me
.

How many women were there, out in the world, who would have accepted his desires? Or been willing to trust their instincts enough to push him into being punished in order to let him get past the problem?

What problem?

The one he’d known was there, but hadn’t had the guts to admit to until she’d brought it up.

He glanced up at the small bathroom clock.

Time, always the enemy.

* * * * *

Sue looked up as Alan walked into the living room and settled down onto the couch. “There’s a lot going on with the ring. The pressure to find them, to sort out the damage they’ve done has been growing ever since you brought the whole mess to my attention.” He rubbed his temples and leaned back against a large cushion.

She frowned slightly. Was he all right? He’d looked close to tears when she’d sent him off to wash up and dress again. Not that she could blame him. Spanking him, having him over her lap like that, had been emotional in a way she hadn’t expected. Even now, as she looked at him, she could imagine him nude and kneeling at her feet.

“You’ve not been able to track them down yet? I would have thought you’d have put some people onto this. It can’t be good to -- did you change the meeting, by the way?” Bill -- she knew the one in their office was Bill, but telling him would be a mistake. If he exposed everyone -- except it was going to happen sooner or later.

“Meeting?”
Alan frowned then nodded, relaxing. “Yes I did, and it went off without a hitch.”

“Good, they didn’t manage to mess that up then.” Sue relaxed a little more as she leaned back against the cushions.

“As for the
blogger
ring, I have a couple of ideas as to who might be involved, but getting the proof together is another matter. It would help if I knew who
Real Man
was. There are several mentions of him in the
blogger
being run by the creep in my side of the office.”

“Mentions in what way?” She hadn’t read that far back in the entries in order to track it all down. Too many entries, not enough time, and by the end of only a couple of hours both she and Barb had been dealing with both a massive headache and the need to throw up.

“The two men know each other -- outside of the
blogger
, that is.”

A tight band wrapped around her heart. “So you think if I can tell you who the one in my office is, then you’ll be able to find out who the leak in your building is?”

Alan nodded. “I didn’t bring you back here for this, though. I was hoping to talk to you about the situation fully at the coffee shop, but we had other ideas.”

She blushed instantly. “Well, we both appeared to enjoy the change in plans.”

Sue tried not to think of just how his body had looked when he had leaned over her lap, the curve of his ass, the feel of his cock and balls against her thighs. She’d darted into the kitchen when he had gone to wash off, but even splashing water on her face and hair hadn’t helped that much. She still felt as if her cheeks were constantly burning.

“I’ve no arguments there.” Alan chuckled and pushed the loose strands of hair back from his eyes. “However, I would like your help with this. I know you don’t want to hurt anyone and I will do my best to keep your friends, and those at your building, from being hurt. I don’t want the women in my own employment upset either, but the longer this goes on the greater the chance that it will be too late to undo the damage. And at this rate whoever it is behind the leaks is close to ruining everything for my business.”

Her stomach knotted. She tried to hide her discomfort by tucking her legs under her ass and pushing the damp hair back from her face. Small things that she hoped would prevent him from looking too deeply into her eyes.

“Sue, if you’re not ready to help me on this I’ll understand. I won’t like it, but I’ll understand.”

“If I do agree to tell you what I know, all of what I know, then how will you protect the women involved?”

Alan closed his eyes, the lines deepening across his brow. “I have to press charges; you know that, don’t you?”

“Yes.” She knew that only too well; it didn’t mean she liked the idea, though.

“So there’s no way I can prevent these two men from bringing up the
blogger
, or the police from stumbling over it themselves, is there?”

“No, there isn’t.” She didn’t like where this was going.

“Sue, if we don’t stop them it’s only going to get worse. The longer these men are left to get away with it the more women will end up hurt. Ones like your friends, and like you. Yes, I know you haven’t been named on the
blogger
, except for a run in with
Real Man
the other…” He faltered.

The corridor incident.
The color drained from her face.

“Bill. It’s Bill, isn’t it.
The one that’s been targeting, teasing you?”

She nodded and chewed on the inside of her lip.

“Why didn’t you tell me? You couldn’t have thought that I’d laugh at you could you?”

“No, of course not.
It’s not me I’m worried about, Alan. It’s always been the other women.
One in particular.
She works with me and I’m afraid her family will make her life a misery if this all comes to light.”
Ann, poor nervous Ann.
She didn’t deserve the sort of publicity that would come from all of this.

“Why would her family treat her so badly? I don’t understand that. Family looks after each other; they don’t lash out over things like this.”

“Her brother is a cop and warned her not to get involved with men like Bill. She just -- she’s afraid of what he will say.”

Alan bristled, his hands clenched in his lap, tension playing openly across his shoulders. “Then either he’s an asshole or she’s letting her imagination get the better of her. I would think he’d be more interested in taking care of the
wanker
who hurt his sister instead of -- ah, she doesn’t know for certain, does she?”

“No, the last we spoke she hadn’t told her brother yet and was still trying to work up the courage to go to him.”

Alan fell silent.

Did she have the right to hold up everything based on one woman’s fears? No, but neither did she have the right to dump all of this in Ann’s lap. Ann had never said she couldn’t tell people what was going on. Instead, Ann had told her that she was afraid of her brother finding out. But what if Ann faced her brother with someone else at her side, a friend who would tell the man to shut up and think of his sister if he said something to upset Ann?

“I don’t like the idea of waiting any longer, Sue. I can’t hold up the investigation by keeping this information to myself. My father will be able to help track the man down; he’s in and out of the office all the time, and he could have overheard something, or he might know if we had a Bill working with us at some point. Either way, when I find out
who
it is, I can’t wait for your friend to tell us it’s all right to go ahead and do something about the man.”

Standing by Ann’s side might be enough to help the other woman, to get her to see that she wasn’t alone and didn’t need to hide in the shadows any longer, or at least hide in the small office.

“All right.
I’m not happy with being rushed into this but I understand that we don’t have another choice. If he’s caught, if he’s named, then will the damage be kept under control?”

“I don’t know, it will be a close call, very close. But,” he frowned, his voice trailing off for a moment as he drummed his fingers on his thigh. “If I can show Dexter that I’m capable of taking care of leaks, of following through with the information then maybe I can undo the damage. After all, it’s not just happening in my office, but yours and other businesses as well. If we expose two of them, the rest of the ring might crumble.”