her, he nodded and gave her a quick smile.
"Shall we get this over with?"
Although dreading it, Jackie did want to have it done. "Yes, sir."
"Take off your clothes."
Her frown was immediate. "All of them?"
He nodded, sitting back in his chair and closing his laptop.
"But I'll be naked."
"Just like you were yesterday when you set me up to have an unpleasant surprise." He gestured toward her. "Punishment fits the crime."
She felt her face flame. "Do I have to?"
"Yes."
"Can't we do this indoors? I've never been naked outside."
"First time for everything. Get to it."
He sounded so smug. She wanted to clobber him. "What if I say no?"
Pete arched a dark eyebrow at her. " Aren't you going to promise to obey in the marriage vows ?"
Argh. He would throw that at her, knowing her traditional values. "Yeah…but…"
"Then do the obedience part now."
Fine. They'd get this over with. Jackie roughly pulled off her clothes and tossed them into a patio chair. She was ashamed and more exposed than ever before in her adult life as she revealed her body. He was going to be her husband, though, she to ld herself. He was going to be o n intimate terms with her body. This was not the first time he'd seen her naked—yesterday she'd been more than willing—and it would not be the last time.
Finally, flushed from toes to roots, she stood on the patio, naked as a freshly washed pig.
"Okay?"
He nodded, either oblivious or unheeding of her sarcasm. "You're a beautiful woman, Jackie."
Her blush was blushing. At the same time, the look in his eyes was very flattering. Pete obviously liked what he saw.
Nonchalantly, Pete took a pocket knife out of his pants pocket, opened it and handed it to her handle first. He gestured toward a willow tree in the corner of the yard where a tiny creek flowed with spring water. "Go cut yourself a switch from the willow tree."
Jaw dropping open, Jackie stared at him, aghast. "A switch?"
"I've been reading about it. Watched a video. You cut off a thin, flexible branch about as long as your forearm —or my arm, in this case—and you pare off all the sharp knots and twigs and leaves. What's left is a switch. I plan to take it to your ass."
"You ain't serious."
He nodded. "I am perfectly serious."
"You're gonna hurt me, Pete."
"A spanki ng is supposed to hurt, miłość ."
Although it both maddened and scared her, she did as he said and prepared the switch. It was a wicked object. She hoped he knew what he was doing.
When she presented it to him, he said thank you and examined the tool carefully. He felt the length of it, looking for any burrs or sharp parts, and did a little extra paring. Then he tested it against his hand, against his leg. He listened to it whistle in the air—it was a dreadful sound.
After that thorough examination and test ing , he pulled out a patio cha i r for her and gestured. "Hold on to the arms of the chair."
Jackie eyed him skeptically for a moment, but she'd led herself to this punishment. Furthermore, she had to learn to trust him implicitly if she was going to marry him. Pete had proven himself a person of integrity and honesty, but this was one more facet of their relationship that had to be explored. He'd said he intended to continue spanking after the wedding. That switch might see more than one use.
His voice was soft. "Go ahead, Jackie."
"Can't you just yell at me?"
"I'm not much of a yeller."
Frustrated but resigned, Jackie bent over the chair and grabbed the arms. Her butt was a perfect target in this position.
Once more the switch whistled and she cringed but it didn't strike her. He'd hit his pants leg again; another test. The second whistle, however, ended with impact. It stung a little, but hardly at all. Surprised, Jackie relaxed a bit.
" I'm being careful here," he told her. "That was pretty light."
Jackie wanted to hurry him along. If the punishment was going to be so mild, they might as well get it over and move on to the cuddling.
The next
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