Page 23 of Winter’s Fire

“Do you know why you’re in this position, Lucy?”

“Yes, Sir. I didn’t answer you properly.”

“Close enough. Sometimes, a Dom will spank his sub for their mutual pleasure. This, as you know, is for punishment, and different rules apply. Now—how many times do you think I should spank you?”

He wasn’t going to catch her out with that question—she was prepared for it. She’d read the books. “Whatever you think appropriate, Sir.”

“Good answer.”

Even so, the first swat still caught her by surprise. Afraid she’d topple from Logan’s lap, she made grab for the nearest stable object, which happened to be his lower leg. The distraction took her mind away from the impact of his hand on her behind, but she wasn’t so lucky for the next one. It landed on the other cheek with a crack like a gunshot. Her breath hissed—it smarted, but sounded worse than it felt. She could deal with this.

The next hit the spot right at the top of her thigh—and that one damn well did hurt. A colourful curse escaped before she could stop it.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Nothing, Sir. Yeow!”

Shit! That one had been extra hard. Lucy knew exactly why it had been extra hard, too. “I’m sorry, Sir.” She forced the apology out through teeth clenched in… not exactly pain, more like acute discomfort.

“Why are you sorry?”

“I swore, and I wasn’t honest about it. Sir.”

“You’re learning.”

“Honesty and clear communication at all times. Got it, Sir.”

“Good, because I need to know I can trust you, both in a scene and on the mission.”

“In a scene, Sir?”

“I need to trust that you’ll give me your safeword if you need to. A Dom might set out to test his sub, but he’ll never—never—break her. He’ll cherish her and protect her, but never allow her to come to harm. I need to have confidence that you’ll safeword if I’m pushing you too far. Understand?”

“I understand, Sir, and you can trust me.”

“Good. Now how about if we finish this, and move onto to more pleasant things?”

The remaining spanks were swift and unrelenting. An even dozen in all, administered with ruthless efficiency. At the end, Lucy swore she’d never be able to sit down properly again.

Firm hands manoeuvred her into an upright position. Almost without thinking, she knelt in front of Logan, trying not to aggravate the tender, punished flesh by sitting too quickly on her heels.

“Good girl.”

Dear lord, she was so unprepared for what those two little words did to her.

“Come here.”

“What? What are you doing?”

Caught up in sensation, Lucy hadn’t realised that the man at the centre of them was no longer seated in front of her, but was crouching beside her, with his arms moving into place to pick her up. He also no longer looked like the stern, unbending Dom who’d just spanked her hard enough to ensure she wouldn’t be able to sit comfortably for at least an hour.

“I need to make sure you’re all right. Lift up.”

“Doesn’t that counter the effectiveness of the punishment, Sir?” Even as she asked the question, Lucy rose to her knees and allowed Logan to take her in his arms.

“True—if we were in a real, established D/s relationship. Think of this as a demonstration with purpose. If you were mine, do you think you’d have learned your lesson?”

If she were his… Do not go there. “Yes, Sir.”