Don't Tempt Me (13 page)

Jenna ran from the kitchen, anxious to be alone. She couldn't believe he'd switched her so thoroughly and that he still meant to use a belt on her bottom! How on earth would she survive such a punishment? Why had she let her mouth get the best of her? She knew how much Will hated profanity, and he'd warned her often enough not to call him 'buster'. She'd pushed his buttons, and all because he wanted to plan a trip to see Katy and Craig. One thing was certain, sitting for the drive now was going to be excruciating... if he insisted she go along, and knowing her stern husband, he would make sure they drove out of their way as much as possible to ensure she got a good lesson in obedience.

The only thing she could do now was cooperate and show Will she'd learned her lesson and hope he would have mercy on her bruised and welted backside. He'd said an hour, and he was punctual. She piled the pillows as she was told to do and then went to his section of their walk-in closet and looked at his belts, trying to decide which one would hurt the least. One was too stiff, another too wide. She finally picked a soft leather and prayed it wouldn't hurt so much. She put it on the bed, and then climbed over the pillows and put her bottom right on top, making sure she spread her legs apart. One other time he'd used the bath brush on her inner thighs and she prayed he wouldn't use the belt there.

Will felt sad as he climbed the steps and walked down the hall to the bedroom he shared with his wife. The very last thing he wanted to do was use a belt on her sore backside. He loved Jenna with all his heart, and he simply needed to be firm with her. She had had nearly thirty years of living on her own and doing precisely what she wanted when she wanted. She didn't like being held accountable, but it was what she needed. Once the punishment was all over she would be sweet and amendable and free of guilt. If he wasn't firm enough right now, she would simply scream at him again the next time she felt like it. He loved her too much to permit her to behave like a shrew.

To his relief, she was in position and she'd laid out a belt. He was thankful she'd picked the one she did. It would sting, but it wasn't nearly as harsh as a couple of others he owned. "Are you ready to get this strapping over with, honey? Tell me why this is happening."

Chapter Nine

Jenna couldn't believe that Will was actually going to strap her, but she should have known that he would. He was a stern man, and sometimes so full of his own righteousness that he wouldn't bend, even if he'd already spanked her until she was a miserable, sobbing mess, and then followed that spanking with a harsh switching because she used bad language and called him 'Buster', which he hated more than anything. He found her disrespectful, and told her that the switching had no bearing whatsoever on the strapping he'd already promised. Her mouth got her into so much trouble but it was her aching, sore butt that was paying the price of her foolishness. And, it wasn't as though she wasn't already remorseful for putting herself in danger... Now Will was determined to make her spell out exactly why he was going to stripe her with a belt, and she was already shaking so badly she didn't think she could talk.

"Jenna, do you need some encouragement to talk to me?" Will asked, his voice taking on the judicial tone she'd come to dread when they were in their home.

"I'm upset, Will, and it is hard to talk. I'm sorry already. I know what I did earlier today was very foolish. I knew that before you spanked me earlier, and I'm not likely to forget what nearly happened any time soon; both Mary and I were terrified." She paused, took a deep breath to steady herself and added in a small voice, "I don't think I can handle fifty with your belt, Will. I hurt so much now that I'm shaking." She prayed that he would be merciful this one time.

"I promised you a strapping when I spanked you earlier, and the fact you earned a switching in between does not affect what I promised, young lady." Will felt it was important to keep his promise, but the sight of Jenna's poor backside made him feel terrible. Still, her nastiness at the dinner table had nothing to do with the fact she put her life in danger earlier, and the attitude she served him when he asked if she wanted to get her spanking over with before dinner or wait until bedtime is what earned her the strapping she was to get. He'd set fifty strokes as the minimum for the punishment, and he felt it would be wrong to go back on his word. He picked up the belt, doubled it and made sure that the buckle was snug in his hand. Will didn't want to risk injuring his wife.

"Please, Will..." she attempted to beg for mercy, but he cut her off.

"What did I tell you would happen if you tried to beg off?" Will knew she was in pain, and he didn't want to have to increase the strapping. "It is time for you to ask me to punish you for your reckless, foolish behavior, Mrs. Cole."

"I just can't do that, Will!" she whispered, already crying. "I hurt so much already. I don't think I can handle this."

"You can handle it, but I guarantee it won't be easy. Ask now, Jenna, or you'll double the punishment."

"Nooo! I'll ask! Please don't make it any worse, Will!"

"You know what to do."

"Will you please punish me for being so foolish and risking my safety this morning? I already regret my behavior, and I promise it won't happen again," she added, hoping he would go easier on her if he knew she was remorseful.

"Stay in place, Jenna. I want to get this over with." He gave her the first stripe across the fullest part of her cheeks and was surprised when her body convulsed and she started sobbing and begging him for mercy.

Jenna was horrified at how much the belt hurt. Her butt was even sorer than she realized, and there was no way she was going to be able to lie still for forty-nine more! "Please, Will! I can't tolerate this. It hurts too much."

"What those punks would have done to you and Mary would have hurt even worse, and if they didn't kill you, you would have had to live with the pain of what they did for the rest of your life. This might hurt, but it is nothing compared to that." He gave her a second stripe right below the first and Jenna cried even harder.

"Please, darling... I'll accept any other punishment you can think of... But don't do this...!" She braced herself for the third stroke and it caught her sit spots... That tender area was already bruised from the hard spanking, and left raw by the switches. The belt hurt so much she wanted to die. She desperately scrambled away from Will and more punishment, picking up a pillow to shield her body as she gave him the wounded look of a trapped animal.

Will suddenly realized that Jenna had been pushed beyond her endurance. Her blue eyes were wild and she appeared to be terrified of him. He dropped the belt on the floor. Punishing her any more would be nothing but cruelty, and he wasn't a cruel man. "It is all right, honey. Come here and let me comfort you." He kept his voice calm and low and watched the terror fade from her eyes. She started crying again and he moved forward to take her in his arms and reassure her. She'd told him on several occasions that she had a low tolerance to pain, but this was the first time he'd pushed her past her limit, and he felt terrible for having done so.

"I can't do this, Will. Please, honey! I just can't take any more."

"I know, Jenna. It's over now, I promise. Just let me hold you." He was a first class ass. He nearly lost his precious wife to a gang and instead of giving her the reassurance she needed, he had to act like an enraged fool and take his fear out on her backside. "I'm sorry, darling," he whispered. "I went too far."

"I was acting like a bitch and pouting because I was having trouble sitting," Jenna said, sniffling. "I have a terrible temper, Will."

"I know," he chuckled, and then heard her giggle. "I love you so much, and I over-reacted when I heard what happened earlier today. A spanking was called for, but when you tried to tell me you needed a hug even more, I let my fear govern my thinking. I never again want you to look at me with terror in your eyes, Jenna Suzanne Fields Cole. I was too harsh with you, and I give you my solemn promise I won't ever make a spanking equal my fear. Please forgive me?" he asked formally, holding her at arms' length so he could see into her red-rimmed blue eyes. The terror was gone, and she looked like the Jenna he knew and loved with all his heart.

"I forgive you, Will," she replied, and then asked, "Will you forgive me for scaring you so badly today?" she asked.

"I already have, darling," he said, holding her close once again. After a couple of minutes he added, "However, I am serious about the 'buster' name calling. I'm going to start spanking you for that, each and every time." He felt her shaking against his shirt and thought she was crying again. He quickly added, "Not with a switch, honey... Just to get your attention." She shook even harder, and he raised her to look at her and realized that instead of crying, she was trying not to laugh. He couldn't resist smiling, but he asked, "What is so funny?"

"Only another lawyer would ask to be forgiven in one sentence and turn around and argue the other side in the next!" Her blue eyes were laughing. "I love you, William Cole, and I promise I will try very hard to control the tendency to call you 'buster'. It just slips out, and I don't mean anything by it. But since it obviously upsets you, I will make every effort to stop."

"It's the way you say it that makes the difference, Jenna," he attempted to explain.

"I can't promise I'm not going to lose my temper," she told him. "We both know that promise would be impossible to keep."

Will nodded in agreement, and then said, "You really did earn that switching, Mrs. Cole."

"I agree," she shocked him by admitting. "I was pouting, and I want you to know that it had nothing to do with going to see Katy and Craig, Will. I was pouting and doing my damndest to use the promised strapping as leverage. I thought if I said I couldn't go if I was too sore to ride comfortably in the car that you would forgive the strapping. I should have asked you nicely instead of acting like a bitch and trying to manipulate you. My mouth is my own worst enemy at times."

"I don't know if asking nicely would have talked me out of the rest of your punishment. I'm pretty stubborn and I believe you said 'righteous'?" he repeated the word she used earlier, and when she blushed and nodded in confirmation he continued. "As a Judge, I've learned to steel myself against pleas for leniency. I forget to turn that off when it comes to being a husband... and Katy would add, 'as a father'. It's true. In my mind, you were making light of the dangerous situation you and Mary were in by trying to tell me you'd learned your lesson and didn't need a punishment. I knew I was going to spank you the second I heard what happened. I was considering my own feelings and fear... and while I like to think I might have calmed down enough by bedtime to realize you were sufficiently punished, I'm not so sure I would have admitted it. I'm a newlywed, too, Jenna," he said quietly. "I make mistakes, and I didn't look beyond my nose to how frightened you still were. I also forgot that you told me you have a low tolerance to pain. I won't forget that a second time."

"We are newlyweds, and I think we are actually doing pretty well, Will. I think we have it harder because we're older and more set in our ways. The one thing I'm going to remember most about tonight is that you won't ever, ever harm me. You put my well-being first and held me and made me know I am loved and safe with you... always." She smiled lovingly, "I can give you my word I won't ever do something as foolish as I did this morning. I was terrified, darling. And, second, I promise I will make an effort to control the cursing and calling you 'buster'. I'm not perfect, but I will try."

"Thank you, honey," he said, leaning over to kiss her tenderly.

"Don't forget to call Katy and Craig before it gets too late," she reminded him.

"Do you think you'll be up for the long ride?" he asked.

"If I'm not, it will remind me not to use my sarcasm and temper to try and manipulate you. I want us to go, darling. You and Katy need time together."

Will nodded and reached for the telephone and made the call. Katy was delighted and told them to come ahead, and Jenna could tell by the look on Will's face that he was pleased by his daughter's enthusiasm. She only hoped the welts on her bottom and thighs and calves would stop burning and itching and heal by the time Thursday arrived! The prospect of driving around for two full days before arriving in Chicago filled her with dread! She was truly in some serious pain at the moment, and doing her best to hide it from Will because he felt so bad about strapping her on top of the spanking and the switching.

Will ended the call, got off the bed and went into the bathroom. When he returned a few seconds later, he was carrying a tube of medication with him. He pulled Jenna to her feet, and then turned down the bed before saying, "Lie on your tummy, Jenna. I'm going to put some of this on you to relieve the pain. You've endured enough, and I want you to be able to enjoy this weekend." When she looked at him in disbelief, he added, "It will also make me feel a lot less guilty for going too far."

"I can do it myself," she offered, suddenly embarrassed.

"No... I need to do it. I can see where you need it most." She obediently crawled on the bed, and grabbed a pillow to bury her face. "I know this won't feel good as I'm putting it on, honey, and I'll be as gentle as possible." She let out a muffled cry as soon as he touched her sore left cheek, and her feet started drumming on the bed. "I'm sorry, honey," he spoke softly, trying to soothe her. "I promise that in the morning you'll be thankful I did this tonight." Will continued to apply the healing gel over her hot and burning bottom, sit spots, thighs, and over the few welts he'd placed on her calves. He felt his face grow red. "You'll have to wear slacks tomorrow, Jenna, to keep these marks from showing."

"I knoooooow!" she wailed tearfully. When he finally finished, she was openly crying. Lying still while he cared for her was almost a punishment in and of itself.

"You'll be a lot better in the morning, honey." Will's voice was full of sympathy. "It's been a long time since I was switched as a boy, but I can still remember how it felt. My Mom wasn't a bit shy about cutting one, either."