No Ordinary Affair (15 page)

“Max,” she said. “You don’t know anything about me, Max.”

He smiled and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “I know you’re a good mother,” he said. “I know you’re dedicated to excellence. I know you have a conscience. I know you have traditional values.”

“I do,” she said.

“That’s good,” he said. “Because I have traditional values, too. Ultra-traditional values. I believe the man should be the guide and leader in the home and that the woman should obey. That doesn’t mean that the woman is any less intelligent; it’s just a nod to tradition. How do you feel about that?”

Laura thought for a moment. “I agree,” she said, and then an image of Clay flashed into her mind. “But he has to be capable of leading.”

“Yes,” he does, said Max. “I want to lead you, Laura. Lead and protect you.”

Laura blushed and looked away.

“How do you feel about that?” he asked.

She gave a small nod, her affirmation feeling as natural as the kiss.

“I’m glad,” he said. “Because there’s something you’re going to need to trust me on. I’m about to clear the debt you owe me off the books, and I want you to listen to why it has to be this way if we’re going to be together.”

“You’re going to…to punish me?” Laura’s voice was barely above a whisper as she asked the question, her gray eyes wide with disbelief.

“Yes, Laura. If we’re going to have a relationship I want to get it out of the way. Of course, you don’t have to. You can just walk away if you want to. I don’t want a woman who has to be forced into submitting to my requests. I don’t believe in forcing unwilling subordinates. I believe in forging relationships with responsible ones.”

“Right, and if I walk away I’ll never work in this town again,” she said. “People like me don’t have any power against people like you.”

“I’m not Mrs. Tighlman,” Max Greenway said. “I’m don’t exploit people. You ran my errands today and did everything I asked.” His voice softened. “You even tried on your new outfit for me.”

Tears sprang to Laura’s eyes. “I need to think about this for a moment,” she said.

“Take all the time you need,” he said. “I’ll leave you alone so you can think.” He started to walk from the room.

“Mr. Greenway…I mean, Max?”

He turned. “Yes?”

“If you…I mean, if you punish me…like you said..” Laura fidgeted. “Are you going to use that?” She gestured towards the paddle and then pulled her hand back, as if it could bite her from across the room.

“That’s w
hy I sent you to get it, Laura.  But it’s up to you.
I’ll be back in a little while.”

Laura didn’t know how long she stood there, staring at the paddle, which lay in its box on the coffee table. The top was off. Max had removed it and pushed the paper aside when he told her he intended to clear her debt with an over-the-knee spanking. He hadn’t specifically said he was going to use the paddle, but it had been obvious. Still, Laura had needed to hear it - to hear him actually say it.

It was a difficult situation. She felt strongly attracted to Max Greenway - and not just physically. There was something about just the nearness of him that made her feel enclosed in a feeling of warmth and caring - as if his presence were a buffer between him and the world.

Laura sat down, tearing her eyes away from the paddle to stare at the flickering fire. The very idea of submitting to a spanking, she knew, should repulse her. So why didn’t it?

When she thought about it, the idea of being punished appealed to her. She put her head in her hands at the silent admission. If her Women’s Studies teacher knew what she was thinking she’d haul her before some feminist tribunal and strip her of her PMS rights! But Laura couldn’t lie to herself. It did appeal to her. If he spanked her, it would be just like doing penance. And afterwards, the slate would be wiped clean.

But there was the question of pain. She shuddered as she remembered the spanking Mrs. Wells had given her in front of the class. But that was so long ago, and her childhood memory probably magnified the trauma and the pain.

Laura tried to fast forward in her mind to what it might be like, being bent over and spanked by Max Greenway. But she couldn’t. The mental projection was a haze; it was too hard to believe that something like that - any of this - was real and could happen.

But it was real, and she had to make a choice. She took a deep breath and walked to the door.

“Max?” she called into the corridor.

He came out of the kitchen and walked down the hall towards her. Laura admired - again - his powerful physique, his broad shoulders, his slim hips.

“So what have you decided?” he asked.

“I’m still not sure,” she said. “I’m kind of confused.” Laura bit her bottom lip, which she always did when she was choosing her words. “Is your punishing me a pre-requisite to the relationship? I mean, are you..?”

“Am I giving you an ultimatum?” Max Greenway finished her thought as he leaned up against the door facing and crossed his arm. “Am I using the punishment as a condition of our trying out a relationship?”
 
He rubbed his chin. “I had a relationship once with a high-maintenance woman who agreed to this very arrangement. Only
we didn't really lay out the ground rules and the expectations at the beginning, and then when it started not working for either of us, well, no one really understood why.  I don't want to make those same mistakes again.
”

“Do I remind you of her?” asked Laura.

“No,” Max said honestly. “No you don’t. And no, I’m not going to spank you if you don’t want to submit to it. And yes, I’d still like to have a relationship with you.”

Laura walked to him and let him take her in his arms. They stood like that for a while, and everything felt OK.
 
But not entirely.

Laura couldn’t shake the fact that Max Greenway was a really good man, and that his wanting to punish her wasn’t about some power trip but about establishing a level of trust while allowing her to purge herself of the guilt she still felt.
 
Max’s arms felt good around here. It was crazy, but she knew, standing there, that she wanted to wake up in those arms every day.
“Max,” she said. “I think you’re right.”

“Right about what?” he asked.

Laura took a ragged breath. She suddenly felt shaky and nervous. “About the …p
unishment. I think you should..  I
think you should do it.”

Max didn’t say anything at first, but just looked at her with a gentleness that calmed and comforted her.

“Why?” he asked.

Laura turned away. It was hard to say the words with him standing there. “Because I feel terrible for what I did, just terrible. Because I want to atone. Because I trust you when you say this is the best way to do it.“ She turned back to him. “Because my heart tells me that even if you hurt me, you won’t ever really hurt me.”

“You’re right,” he said, and led her towards the couch. Laura tried not to look at the paddle, still in its box, the words “The Enforcer” still visible on its side.

Max sat down and guided Laura over his lap, sitting back so her upper body and legs would have support. Later she would learn to submit to his spankings while bent over a table, a bed or over his lap while he sat on a straight-backed chair. But since this was her first time, he wanted to be able to hold her tightly.

Laura suddenly felt very self conscious. She didn’t know what to do, where to put her hands, whether to cross her feet. She could feel Max’s hands on either side of her hips, adjusting her. Then his hand was on her bottom, its weight filling her both with apprehension but also with a tingle that made her blush.

“Laura, what are you afraid of?” he asked.

“Now?” she asked.

“No, in general,” he said.

She thought a minute. “Conflict,” she said. “Turmoil.”

“And what does that fear make you do?” he asked. His hand every so lightly squeezed Laura’s bottom and she startled a bit.

“Run,” she said. “Hide.”

“Laura, you can’t hide from your problems,” he said. “You can’t run.
All
it does is leave you exhausted and disoriented. And that leads to stupid mistakes.”

His hand roamed her bottom now and he tightened his grip. Laura whimpered.

“Laura, can you name one mistake your fear caused?” he asked.

“I spent your money without making sure I could cover it,” she said.

“Yes, you did,” he replied and then the first spank fell. Laura thought she was prepared, but she wasn’t. Even over her skirt and panties, it hurt and she cried out a little “ow” and bucked slightly. She felt suddenly embarrassed and blushed at her predicament. But she had little time to reflect before his hand fell again, catching her lower bottom. Laura let out a cry that ended in a whimper.

“Why couldn’t you cover it?” Max asked, his voice stern.

Laura spoke rapidly now, hers the voice of one trying to assuage an angry authority figure. “Because-my-ex-maxed-out-our-card-and-I-didn’t-have-any-money-because-Ms. Tighlman-didn’t-pay-me!” she said in one breath.

Max targeted her bottom three more times with his spanks, left cheek, right cheek and right across the middle. Laura began to cry. Not fake Prissy Able tears, but genuine tears. Max didn’t know if it was because she was ashamed of what she’d done or if it was because the spanking hurt. Laura wasn’t in any position to tell him the truth - that it was both.

She was relieved when he began to lecture her rather than having her answer questions.

“Laura, you have to stop letting people take advantage of you,” he said. “You have to stop letting them walk all over you because you’re afraid of how they’ll react to your being assertive. And that is wrong.”

“So what are you going to do tomorrow?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“What are you going to do to correct the problem?” he asked, punctuating the word “problem” with a smack that led to renewed tears.

“I don’t know?” she wailed.

Max picked up the paddle. Laura began to squirm and say the word “no” over and over. Max gripped her tightly and brought The Enforcer down hard on her bottom. Laura cried and put her hands back.

“No, no,” Max said. “Put your hands back in front of you, Laura.”

“I don’t want to!” she cried. “It hurts.”

“Laura.” the word was a warning. Max grabbed her hands and pulled them in front of her. At the same time, she felt her skirt being raised to her waist.

“Oh don’t, Max, please don’t,” Laura cried.

“Are you going to keep your hands in front of you or do I have to take your panties down?”

Laura gasped. “No!” she cried.

Max released her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist.
 
“Laura,” he said. “I’m going to spank you with the paddle now. There will only be five, but I want you to be a good girl and hold still. You can kick and cry all you want but you aren’t allowed to fight or cover your bottom.”

Laura buried her face in the upholstery of the couch and held her breath, anticipating the blow.

“Relax, Laura,” Max said sternly. “Tightening up like this is a form of defiance.”

“OK,” Laura said through her tears, and Max began the last part of the spanking. He didn’t spank her particularly hard; this portion of the punishment was more symbolic, than anything, a way to show Laura that he could - and would - use the paddle at his discretion whether she wanted him to or not.

But it still hurt plenty to someone like Laura, and it took all the restraint she could muster not to shield herself with her hands as Max spanked her. He gave her a moment between spanks to collect herself, gauging whether he was pushing her too far. When he was satisfied that he hadn’t, he delivered the last two in rapid succession, renewing Laura’s tears.

“It’s over, baby,” he said, turning her over and drawing her against him. Laura buried her face in his strong chest.

She lay like that for awhile, her hiccoughing and the pain in her bottom diminishing. When she looked up at Max, they exchanged their second kiss.

“So you’re going to start asserting yourself more,” he said.

“With other people,” she smiled.

“No, you can assert yourself with me,” he replied. “Just do it respectfully.”

Laura dipped her head back on his chest and was close to dozing when she heard her cell phone buzzing from her purse.

“I’d better get that,” she said, climbing from Max’s lap. She walked over to her purse and retrieved her phone, seeing her home number on the screen. It was Tammy, who was caring for Evan again.

She answered, and Max watched with concern as Laura’s face grew white with fear.

“No,” she said. “Whatever you do, don’t let him take Evan! I’ll be there as fast as I can!”

Laura snapped phone shut and ran to the bathroom to retrieve her clothes and shoes. “What’s wrong?” Max called behind her.