Eighty One - Laura's Story Pt. 04

12

Having walked Jasper and savoured a large mug of hot tea Laura felt much better. The strange turn of events from that morning had already drifted into the past. Maybe it would turn out to be one of those experiences they would laugh about in the months to come, who knows?

It would be at least a couple of hours before Andrew got back from his meeting. Time enough to sort herself out and try to regain the appearance of a respectable wife, an image which seemed to be drifting away rapidly.

Laura let the hot water from the shower run down her body hoping to wash away the memory of the indignity she had suffered. She scrubbed her teeth, convinced she still had the taste of him in her mouth. What she could not wash away was the memory of how her body had responded. How the familiar tingle between her legs had increased as she carried out the task. His rapid climax had saved her from finding out whether she would eventually have to suppress her own.

Fresh, dry and nude she lay on the bed gazing up at the ceiling. Images of her lewd behaviour continued to flash through her mind. What surprised her the most was the lack of any guilt and the feeling of pride that she had completed the task, even though it turned out to be pointless. She knew Weston had won that little battle. Whatever he said, he had misled her——and she didn't think she minded. After her initial blow-up had abated she admitted to herself that she got quite a thrill from behaving in such a shameless manner. What must Shaun Cooper have thought? How lucky he was or would he worry whether he would have a job to go back to? She pictured herself pulling down his blue boxers and seeing his manhood spring to life. She had done that. She had that effect on him.

She was still in denial about the reasons, but since the Colonels visit to her office she had started masturbating again. Reliving his treatment of her had fuelled many an intense orgasm. Sex with Andrew was good, very good; She never faked a climax and her mind was faithful. That was making love. Her masturbating was sex for the sake of it and she loved it.

She massaged her breasts. Would Shaun like pinching and twisting her nipples while she sucked him? Her hand crept down over the smooth mound and between her legs. The moist fingers slowly swirled around the area before finally settling on the swelling bud of her clitoris. Replaying the scene in her mind made her juices flow. Her slick fingers made it difficult to grip and pinch her nipples as hard as she'd like. She was in front of him again, slowly taking him into her mouth, lapping her tongue around the head. It didn't take long before her gasping turned to muscle contractions and once again imagined his seed hitting the back of her mouth. Her back arched up from the bed, sweat poured from her and before long her heels and shoulders were the only support for her rigid body. She always tried to restrict the volume of her wail as the pleasure reached a climax, usually without success.

Her second shower of the afternoon removed all traces of her lascivious behaviour. Wearing only her favourite thick, white bathrobe she sat in the lounge and watched an early evening game show on the television, stroking Jasper and waiting for Andrew to return.

Jasper's enthusiastic greeting of Andrew woke Laura from her slumber.

"Hello, what time is it?" She said, rubbing her eyes. "I must have dozed off."

"Quarter to nine."

"Damn now I'll never know if she won the money. Have you eaten? Shall I get you something?" She rose from the soft, comfortable chair.

"We had bits at the meeting so I'm not very hungry. A glass of wine and some nibbles would go down nicely though, while I hear all about your day." As she removed the cork from the wine he called through to the kitchen. "A very eventful day by all accounts."

Placing the wine and titbits on the low table she managed a casual response. "You could say that."

"You did it then." It wasn't a question. She sat on the sofa next to him. Her enquiring look invited him to continue.

"I spoke to Graham."

"Oh yes? all boys together is it? And what did you two make of it then?"

"He was pleased, and I think impressed, that you went through with it. What was it like?"

"What do you think? Embarrassing, humiliating, degrading...how much more do you want." He probably wouldn't want 'thrilling, arousing, exciting...' "Still it's done now," she said, "and it's not the end of the world. He won't spread it around. He hardly speaks to anybody and they wouldn't believe him if he did."

"You seem to be very calm about it, we thought you'd be really annoyed."

"I'm annoyed about not getting the pawn. But the rest was my fault wasn't it? Nobody dragged me in there kicking and screaming. I could have chosen not to do it, but didn't. He led me on and made me humiliate myself, that's all. And what do you mean 'we thought you'd be annoyed'. Were you in on this? Did you know Cooper didn't have the pawn?"

"Would I have let you go through with it if I'd known?" She didn't reply but held his gaze, thinking.

Laura began to consider whether something had changed, whether she was at the whim of them both. It would certainly explain his casual attitude when she told him about the task. Did she want Andrew to be a participant in the things that were happening to her? The possibility that he was should annoy her not excite her. She wasn't sure but for a while, just in case, she decided to be more careful with what she gave away. She decided to display a casual attitude to the whole thing, pretending that nothing they did would rattle her.

"Well if you did know, you could have made it David instead of Shaun Cooper."

"I'm sure you'd have liked that. It would only have been embarrassing though and not humiliating. I think that's why you chose Shaun. Admit it, you got off on the whole thing didn't you." Andrew dug his elbow into her ribs, goading her.

"I did not! don't be so crude." She answered quickly and forcefully enough but he must have seen her face flush. He smiled. He went into the dining room and returned with a high backed chair which he placed in a clear space and sat down.

"So today you've had illicit thoughts, engaged in adulterous behaviour and returned without the pawn. I'd say that overall you've failed, wouldn't you? And people who fail need some encouragement to do better." He patted his palms on his thighs. "Come on."

"Oh my God, your not serious." she said with a laugh.

"I'm very serious, what you need is your backside slapping. You know, to focus your mind a little." He said nothing more but waited patiently. Firstly for his words to register and then for their significance to slowly sink in. His eyes held hers. They bored deep into her mind confirming the seriousness of his intentions. It didn't take long for her to realise that any challenge to his wish would prove futile. "Robe off first." Laura carried out the instruction, still not quite believing that he would go through with it. Surely he was playing with her. He was her husband, he wouldn't betray her and join Weston in humiliating her, would he?

Laura walked toward him, defiance showing in her eyes. She would not beg to be let off the indignity and she would not cry out if he did indeed go ahead. She had her pride.

As she placed herself over his knees he finally spoke. "Tell me that you deserve to be punished for your failure and for your disgraceful behaviour. I want to hear you ask for it so that we're both clear." Playing along but still unsure if he was serious she did as he asked.

"I behaved badly," she said, the words barely a whisper, "and didn't get the pawn, I'm sorry. Please punish me." Saying the words brought back the unsolicited flutter down below. Why was her body betraying her again? She should have told him that it was degrading and unacceptable, instead she was hoping he wouldn't notice the wetness between her legs.

"I said I was going to help you win and this will make you try harder in future."

The first slap resounded through the room. Her mouth opened, forming an O as she slowly exhaled. The second and third fell on the same spot forcing a muted cry. He stopped for a moment. "You'll take your lesson in silence, do you understand?" She nodded afraid of how her voice might sound, the fear and arousal might betray her. She had no idea of what she would have to suffer. Sure, he had spanked her before but it was light hearted and playful. She had been bored and he wanted to watch the end of a cricket match. She'd continued to be more and more annoying until he took her over his knee. She won. He missed the end of the match and she was far from bored. He'd marched her rosy red backside upstairs for a different kind of seeing to.

But her present situation was different, it was no game and it hurt. Added to that, as she had dreaded, her body began to react. As her buttock cheeks clenched in anticipation of the next blow she felt the wetness spread. He must have noticed. What he couldn't see was her effort to absorb the pain. She enjoyed the feelings it left behind as it crept through her body.

Her determination not to cry was short lived. The power of his arm surprised and thrilled her, as did the erection she could feel pressing into her stomach. Then, in the middle of her torment she started to worry for him. When the heat of the moment had passed and his excitement subsided would he be racked with guilt? Would he regret turning on her? She hoped not. She didn't need the punishment to improve her effort and behaviour but she did deserve it to atone for her self-indulgence.

Laura noticed a decrease in the severity of the slaps. The disappointed part of her wanted the humiliation to continue. The sane part of her wanted her backside to stop burning. The last few blows wound down smoothly. The final one being almost gentle: soothing.

Laura remained still, giving her racing mind time to think. How should she react? How would he expect her to react? Perhaps she should feign anger or indignation. No, she wasn't that good, he would see through it straight away. She didn't have to wait long, Andrew broke the awkward silence.

"You took that better than I expected. I'm impressed," he said as his hand soothed the hot, inflamed flesh before sliding easily between her moist buttocks. Her still trembling legs parted slightly, easing his access. "And now I can see why." The slick fingers casually explored the sensitive area. Homing in on the swollen target forced her to draw in a sharp intake of breath. The last remaining sobs quickly turned to sighs. The orgasm arrived quickly, the spanking had done most of the work. While she recovered he continued to soothe the flesh he had so recently damaged, occasionally pausing to kiss her back and neck.

"You see, you have it in you to go all the way with this. You just need the right encouragement. Achieving the important things in life is never easy. Having to learn lessons along the way shouldn't be seen as a bad thing, it means that you'll be better prepared for what the destination has to offer." He gave her a couple of gentle pats to her buttocks, and a jolly voice said, "Now, why don't you go and have a shower while I make a cup of tea, then I can show you how the game's going."

Laura's third shower of the evening didn't take long. In fact she probably spent more time looking over her shoulder into the mirror, assessing the damage to her inflamed behind. It looked far worse than it was. It no longer hurt but a pleasant glow lingered, reminding her of the experience. She joined Andrew who was leaning against his pillow studying his laptop.

"Your tea's on the side, careful it's hot."

"What are you doing there?"

"Considering the next move. We've had a couple of moves while you were in the bathroom; Graham's online."

"How are we doing? Have you kicked his backside yet?"

"He's just put us in check. Hmm... let's see, we can block the check with a bishop or a knight." He thought about it for a long while. Laura rested her head on his shoulder looking at the screen. "If we use the knight it will trap pieces in, leaving a bad situation. If we use the bishop it can be taken but we'll be better off in the long run."

"Did you feel that on your face?" She asked.

"No, what?"

"Something just flew straight over my head."

"I'll take that as a 'don't mind which option you choose darling'. Yeah, I thought so he's taken the bishop, but don't worry we can take his Knight. There we are."

"Is all that good?"

"Actually it's not bad, not bad at all. We're in quite a strong position." A 'ding' announced the arrival of a message. "It's from Graham."

Laura read the message. "Lets see, he says... 'You are now two pawns and a bishop in arrears. Better up the search!' I think he's right. What with one thing and another I haven't made any progress yet. Perhaps this weekend we could both try to fathom it out."

"If you hadn't so selfishly distracted me when I got in," he joked, "I would have told you before. The people I had the meeting with want me to go and see their set-up. They run a shopping centre in Devon. They probably thought it would be good on a Saturday as it's busier, might sway my opinion. Anyway, I thought we could take a drive down there and stay overnight, see a bit of the countryside, pub lunch and all that. What do you think?"

"Sounds great, but what about the chess problem?"

"It doesn't matter where we are does it. The only way to research it is online, so we'll take the laptop."

"That sounds good. We could do with a weekend away."

"I'll sort it out during the week then."

Andrew continued to use his laptop while Laura lay down, gazing at the ceiling, her head full of conflicting thoughts. She couldn't deny the buzz she got from the thought of Andrew taking such a positive roll in the treatment she'd received. She obviously knew of the reward for winning but nobody had told her of the advantages which came from failure.

"You're quiet." Andrew said as he closed his laptop. "Everything all right?"

"I was just thinking about the new man who seems to have come into my life." He lay down and pulled over the covers.

"Oh yes, what's he like?" He held her tight, pushing the front of his body against her back. She wriggled her hot buttocks into his stomach.

"A bit of a shit. But I like him."

13

It was a beautiful day for the drive down to Devon but driving west out of the city always seemed to be painfully slow. Whatever time of day or year you could assume there would be hold-ups for one reason or another. They used the time to discuss ways forward in the search for the missing pieces. Laura told him that she and Abbie had spent some time in the week looking for leads. All they had come up with so far was a sex shop in Bishops Way and a cheese shop on Bishop Hill who specialised in a cheese called 'Stinking Bishop'. They both agreed to discard the cheese and even the sex shop would be a last resort.

The traffic had eased long before they finally passed a sign welcoming them to Devon. Even the magnificent views over miles of rolling countryside failed to lighten Andrews mood. "This is the main route to the West of England," he moaned, "why don't they upgrade it and let the traffic flow freely? It's been a single lane for miles, we're already behind schedule and we haven't found the B&B yet."

Laura, the one who always tried to see the good side of a situation, told him off. "Don't be such an old grump. It's beautiful countryside because it's difficult to get to. It puts people off, that's why its so quiet and peaceful."

"It puts me off. I'll write to somebody and complain when we get back."

"There's no need darling. They've probably heard you moaning for the last hour and a half."

"Very funny. Look the B&B is about nine miles this side of the town." He glanced at his watch. "If we go straight there and drop you off, I should be able to rush in and meet these people on time. Will you be all right getting a bite of lunch somewhere?"

"Of course I can. And don't rush, it's not worth having an accident."

The instructions from the electronic voice in the dashboard led them down lanes of ever decreasing width until finally it issued the magic sentence—'You have reached your destination.'

"There we are then." Andrew announced. "Looks okay doesn't it?"

"It looks better than OK, it's beautiful." Laura corrected, admiring the building before them.

"A sixteenth century thatched Devon longhouse the website said. Run by a Mrs Harris and been in the family for generations. There's not much around, and I didn't see any pubs or anything for miles, but you can probably get lunch here."

"I'll be fine, don't worry. You'd better get off or you'll be late."

"OK, I'll see you later. Remember to get your bag out of the boot." He leaned over and gave her a kiss.

Laura noticed that the short, thick door stood open as she approached the house. First impressions of the inside matched the expectations generated by the exterior. A tiny oak staircase twisted its way to the upper level. Three plank doors, so short they were almost square, remained closed; no doubt concealing her view of further hidden treasures. An ancient oak dresser filled one wall of the spacious foyer, neat piles of brochures promoting local attractions filled its smooth, worn surface. In the centre stood a notice 'Welcome to Meadowbank' and in front of it a brass bell.

The loud metallic jingle brought the sound of a door opening and footsteps approached from the long corridor. As the lady came into view Laura was pleased to see that she almost conformed to the stereotypical image she had built up of who would run such a house. The short dumpy woman—mid fifties Laura guessed—wore a flowery apron and her hair was held up in a scarf. As she walked she used the apron to wipe flour from her hands. Laura was hopeful that the woman had been interrupted whilst making fresh scones, her mouth watered.

"Ah, Mrs Miller is it? No Mr Miller then?" The woman's west country accent completed the image. Perfect. "I'm Mrs Harris, welcome to Devon." Her warm smile made Laura feel very welcome.

"My husband had to see some clients, he'll be along later. It's a delightful house you have here, and what a beautiful setting. You must love living here."

"It's quiet but that suits us just fine. Nobody to bother us here." Picking up Laura's bag Mrs Harris started climbing the creaky stairs. "We've nobody else booked in so you've got the big room at the end. Best there is, you won't be disappointed." At the top of the stairs Laura followed her down the long landing. Even when leaning her head to one side Laura's shoulder still made contact with the low, sloping ceiling. Mrs Harris walked upright and was still clear by a couple of inches, she fit the place perfectly.

"The guest bathroom's in here," she said, opening the first door. Laura poked her head in to view the small, traditionally furnished room.

"Very nice indeed," she said, and meant it.

"Glad you think so. We get a lot of you city folks expecting those posh bathrooms in the bedrooms."

"En suite." Laura chipped in, smiling to herself.

"Aye, that's the ones. Can't have them here see: we're listed. Can't go knocking about an old house like this just to keep up you know."

"Quite. It's not a problem at all."

"Anyways, as you're the only guests tonight you won't have to share. You're down the end here." Laura could see why it was called a Longhouse. When they reached the end of the landing she was shown into the most beautiful room. Doing what most people do in their new room she went to look out of the window. The triple aspect room left her spoiled for choice.

"It's a lovely room, thank you." She said, taking in the wood panelling, heavy mahogany furniture, lace curtains and patchwork quilted bedspread.