Reckless

"Come help me in the garage."

Clare's heart sunk. There was no please, this was not a request from Matt. She closed the message on the phone, knowing he'd know she had already read it and would be ticking away the time it took her to respond. Instead of replying she set the phone on the table and walked to the garage door. It would take her less time to get there, she reasoned, if she just obeyed his command without answering.

She already knew she was in trouble, she'd known it all day long. Today had gone off the rails first thing and this had hung over her head ever since. She was glad he wasn't waiting to clear the air, just get it over with as soon as he got home. A warm blast of outside air hit her face as she opened the door. Matt was standing by his workbench with his back to her, looking down at his phone. Waiting for her to answer. She closed the door behind her quietly.

"Yes, my love?" She asked.

He turned to face her, setting his phone on the workbench, screen down. God he was so handsome, even when she was dreading seeing him, her stomach filled with butterflies as he held his arms open to welcome her. She crossed the floor and allowed him to engulf her in his embrace. He lowered his face to her head and breathed in the scent of her. She knew she should say something but her tongue stayed fixed against her teeth. She couldn't make any words form. Finally Matt lifted his head and held her body slightly away from his so he could look into her face. She kept her eyes downcast, filled with shame at the stupid mistake she'd made that morning, she couldn't bear to look into his eyes.

"How fast were you going Clare?" He asked. She shook her head slightly, he probably already knew the answer, so she'd better give him the one he was looking for.

"Seventy-two." She answered softly.

"Hmmp." He grunted. She could feel his disappointment all the way to her soul. "That's a 55 zone through there Clare, you're looking at a Reckless Driving charge." He stated plainly. She had no idea how he knew she had been pulled over, or where he got the details from, but somehow he'd found out before she even had a chance to tell him about it. She had to assume he knew everything. "Why were you driving so fast? You left in plenty of time to get to work without speeding."

"I didn't mean to, the cruise control was set. I just didn't realize where I was and that I had already passed where the speed limit drops to 55." She answered, trying not to sound defensive.

"Where is your ticket?" He asked. She finally looked at his face

"He didn't write me." She answered. Slowly it dawned on her what must have happened.

As the deputy returned her drivers license and registration papers and informed her he was letting her go with a warning he delivered a message: "Lieutenant Bryant says to tell you to 'slow the fuck down' Ma'am." He'd said before walking away from her window.

Lieutenant Tim Bryant to be specific. The husband of one of her best friends, and also a good friend to her and best friend to her husband. "Tim." She thought silently, now she knew exactly how Matt found out about it so fast.

He'd messaged her as she was pulling into the parking lot at work, "Are you OK?" She figured he was worried because she hadn't messaged him to let him know she'd arrived at work safely as she did every day. Being pulled over hadn't caused her to be late for work, but it had made her arrival at work later than the normal time, and Matt would have realized it.

She replied with a quick "Yes my love." And then put her phone away. It was true, she was fine. She hadn't lied. Now she wondered just how much she would come to regret that half-truth.

There had been no further messages from Matt all day, she assumed he was busy, and pretended she was too busy as well, but she knew that no matter how busy his day was, he could have squeezed out a message or two if he wanted to. That he didn't spoke volumes.

"How much trouble am I in?" She finally managed to say. She knew whatever he'd decided her punishment should be she would just accept it without defending herself. Instead of answering her question he pushed her body away from him.

"Take your panties off and hand them to me." He ordered. She flushed at the command, but quickly moved to comply, slipping the thin fabric down her legs, stepping out then handing them to him. He crumpled them and stuffed them into his front pants pocket.

"Well, Clare, that's up to you. How you conduct yourself at dinner tonight will tell me a lot about what needs to happen to correct your lead foot." Matt said.

"Dinner tonight?" She was puzzled, what does dinner tonight have to do with anything.

"Yes, Clare, I am taking you out to dinner, and the deputy who pulled you over this morning will be meeting up with us so you can apologize to him for your behavior and assure him you will not be speeding anymore."

Clare's heart sunk. She was never good with apologies, especially to people she didn't know, and now it was a command performance. Her brain was absolutely going to fuck this up, she just knew. Her tongue suddenly felt heavy in her mouth. This was not going to end well. Matt was still looking down at her, waiting on her response. "Yes love." She finally answered.

*******

The restaurant was crowded and loud as Matt pulled her chair out and waited for her to be seated. She was glad they hadn't been given a booth, she loved having him assist with her chair, even though it seemed like such an old fashioned tradition. "His momma raised a perfect gentleman." She thought as a smile crossed her face. "Thank you." She said as she settled in. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before seating himself.

Suddenly the chair across from her was being pulled out and her friend Shannon was facing her. "Hi Clare!" She said brightly. Clares face flushed pink as she realized that Tim and Shannon were being given front row seats to her humiliation. Tim held the chair his wife was settling into and smiled his big smile in her direction.

"Clare." He said giving his standard nod in her direction.

"Hi Shannon. Hi Tim." She said hoping she didn't sound as strained as she felt. Tim passed a large brown bag to Matt before taking a seat himself.

"What's in the bag?" Clare mouthed to Shannon, confused about the exchange between their husbands.

Shannon shrugged. "Tim said Matt was borrowing some tools or something, I don't know." Clare thought that made a lot of sense, they were almost brothers, and were constantly trading things back and forth. It was consistent with their relationship. Suddenly Tim was on his feet again, holding his hand out to shake the hand of a man who had approached their table. Matt stood as well and shook the strangers hand. Then Clare realized this was not a stranger, this was their dinner guest. Shannon looked up and said "Oh hi Scott!"

Matt gestured to the empty chair beside Clare and said "Clare, I'd like you to meet Deputy Scott Clemmons, a good friend of both Tim and me."

Clare turned her head toward Deputy Scott. "It's nice to meet you." She said with what she hoped was a friendly smile, but she knew her cheeks were flushing a bright pink in spite of her best efforts to control them.

"Ma'am." Deputy Scott tipped his head in her direction as he seated himself beside her.

The waitress arrived and Clare was relieved for the break it gave her as the party turned their attention to menus long enough to make their orders. As the waitress left the table Tim, Matt, Shannon and Scott filled the air with light conversation and friendly banter. Their drinks arrived, and Clare took pleasure in the ice cold water on her hot tongue. Matt slipped his arm behind her and pulled her close to him leaning his head down to tell her what he intended for her ears only.

"You can pick your opening, baby, but I expect you will give Deputy Scott a sincere apology before the end of dinner." His voice was low and steady, and it sent a shiver up her spine. He was not threatening her exactly, but the message came through loud and clear. Clare nodded her understanding of his directions while silently rehearsing potential scripts for use in apologizing, still not entirely convinced she could actually say them out loud.

The conversation again fell quiet as their food arrived, each person turning their attention to their own plate, and Clare took advantage of the diversion to address Deputy Scott. "Deputy?" She said quietly.

He glanced at her with his fork raised mid-air "Ma'am?" he responded, one eyebrow slightly raised.

"I want to apologize for my driving this morning, and thank you for being merciful." She blurted out in one quick sentence. She felt Matts eyes on the back of her head and hoped that he'd heard her well enough and approved of the apology, but she couldn't bring herself to look his direction.

Deputy Scott gave her a broad grin and set his fork down, "Ma'am, I appreciate that." He said, then added thoughtfully, "If I know your husband well enough, I'm not sure the ticket would have been your worst option."

Clare smiled a shy smile and wanted to tell him how right he probably was, but instead she replied, "Thank you all the same, I will be more careful with my driving from now on." As she finished her sentence she felt Matts hand on her side, pulling her toward him just enough to let her know he was proud of her.

*******

Clare finished brushing her teeth and tugged her bathrobe around her waist, tying a half knot in the belt. She stepped out of their bathroom and into the bedroom where she found Matt waiting on the end of the bed. The brown bag Tim had handed off to him sat on their dresser. She wanted to ask him what was in it, but held her tongue. If he'd wanted her to know he would have already told her. She crossed the room and stood between his legs, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning in for kisses.

Questions swirled through her mind, questions she feared the answers to, so they went unasked. Matt slid his hands to her rear and gently squeezed each cheek. He held his lips over hers, gently sucking at her bottom lip. She returned his kiss, parting her lips as he slid his tongue between them and explored her mouth gently. She let out a soft moan, massaging his tongue with hers.

"Clare?" His voice was low and soft.

"Yes love?" She replied.

"We're not finished with today yet." Her heart sank. She had hoped the dinner apology was the end of it, but now she knew she was wrong.

"Tell me again how far over the speed limit you were driving." She scrambled to figure out the math in her head. 72 minus 55.... 55 to 65 was ten, 70 would make it 15.

"Seventeen." She answered.

"Seventeen." Matt echoed, untying the belt at her waist. He opened her robe and removed it from her arms. "Lie on your stomach." He told her as he stood up from the bed. She lowered herself onto her belly, her legs dangling over the end of the bed, fearing what was coming, but knowing if she did not obey that it would only get worse. He walked to the dresser and she heard the rustling of the paper bag as he removed whatever was in it.

She wondered what kind of tools Tim had loaned him that would have any use to him in a situation like this. The bed moved as he returned to it, sitting beside her. Something hard and cool stroked the skin on her backside. A shiver ran through her as she realized this was some kind of paddle, and she was about to be punished with it.

"Clare, you've been spanked with my paddle before, but somehow I don't think that you fear it quite enough for it to be effective in amending your dangerous driving habits. The way you were driving today could have gotten you or someone else hurt or killed, and I can't allow that to continue." Matt said.

"I'm sorry love." Clare responded, "I will slow down and drive the speed limit." She promised.

"Yes." said Matt, "You will, but that is not getting you out of this punishment. Are you ready to receive your spanking?" He asked.

"Yes my love." Clare sighed. Trying to resist was only going to make this worse. SMACK! His hand slapped down on her bare bottom hard. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! He hit the same spot three times, then alternated to the other cheek SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! Clare willed herself to be still, but it was hard. She wanted to show Matt with her compliance that she really intended to be a better driver.

A quick barrage of slaps alternated from one cheek to the other and then stopped. Matt's hand caressed her reddening cheeks gently, and then kneaded the muscles a little. "Your lead foot isn't the only reason for this spanking, is it Clare? What is the other reason you are being spanked tonight?" The memory of the half-true text message flooded back instantly. She hesitated too long before answering and received a sharp SMACK! to each cheek.

"Answer me Clare." He commanded. "What other issue are we dealing with tonight?"

"I wasn't honest with you." She blurted out, squirming against the mattress at the sharp pain. Another barrage of sharp slaps landed on her naked bottom.

SMACK! "Do I." SMACK! "Ever." SMACK! "Tolerate." SMACK! "Dishonesty." SMACK! "Clare?" SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

"Nooooo." Clare howled, squirming her hips away from his hand. His hand again caressed her bottom, taking away the sting and leaving just heat. "Oooohhhhh." Clare moaned, her brain confusing the gentleness of his touch with pain. He took his hand away from her back where he'd been holding her to the mattress and she heard the buckle on his belt being undone. A shiver ran down her spine at the sound of his belt being pulled through his belt loops. There was a quick "whoosh" as the belt sailed toward her bottom ending in a sharp WHACK! as it struck her skin.

"AAAHHH!" Clare's head and shoulders came off the mattress and her feet kicked up from the floor. He waited until she returned to her position and then struck again whoosh! WHACK! The loop of the belt wrapped around her hip and she howled in pain. She threw one hand back to her bottom but he grabbed her wrist before she could touch it.

"Put that over your head so it doesn't get hurt Clare." He ordered. He released her wrist and she moved it up over her head. "This one too." He said, touching her other arm. She moved it to join the first arm in a circle around her head. She felt his hand press firmly on her back. "Ten more good ones for your dishonesty."

There was a short pause as he took aim at her backside, and then whoosh WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! Clare thrashed against the mattress, pulling free from his hold and turning her bottom away from him.

''Unnh Unnh, we're not through yet." He scolded "Get back over here." Tears streamed out of Clare's eyes as she slid back across the sheet, putting her throbbing bottom back where he wanted her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Clare wailed. "I won't do that again."

Matt stepped away. She heard the belt hit the bed where he threw it down. He caressed her bottom gently and she shivered at the touch. His finger traced lines across her bottom where angry welts were beginning to show. "Hmmmm." He mused as he soothed her skin. "You're gonna have some marks for a few days." He said.

She wanted him to rub her sore backside more, but his hands left her. She felt the cool wood of the paddle caressing her skin again and shuddered. She was pretty sure that the paddle was her worst nightmare when it came to being spanked.

"Stand up straight." Matt ordered. Clare was confused, she slowly rose to her feet and he turned her toward him. "Look at this, Clare." He said quietly. She looked at his hands and saw a cherry wood paddle held in them. "This is Tim's 'enforcer', he allowed me to borrow it for this special occasion." The paddle was much larger and heavier than the one Matt owned, and had used on her a couple of times.

"I am going to give you one swat for each mile over the limit you were driving this morning. We've already done the math, that's seventeen swats Clare." He gave her a moment to think it over, letting the severity of what was about to happen sink in.

"These are going to hurt". He added and waited again. She didn't know if he was waiting for a reply from her, so she gave none. "When you are ready to receive your spanking, lie back against the bed." He said calmly, and waited.

Clare gathered her resolve and slowly turned away from him and lowered herself to the mattress again, leaving her bottom completely defenseless to what was coming. He waited until she moved her arms to a circle around her head to make sure that she didn't put them into the path of the paddle.

CRACK! "One." He counted calmly.

CRACK! "Two."

CRACK! "Three." He wasn't waiting for her to recover her position.

CRACK! "Four." Clare howled in pain as that swat caught her hip instead of her bottom.

"Get back into position NOW!" He said "Stop moving around and take your punishment."

CRACK! "Five."

CRACK! "Six."

CRACK! "Seven." Clare howled again.

"Please!" she begged in a high pitch whisper. "I'm sorry, please no!".

He paused. "No Clare? No? We have ten left." She hoped he'd caress her bottom again, but he did not. "Ready Clare?" He asked.

"Yes my love." She panted, not really ready, but wanting this to end and knowing it would not until she gave her consent.

CRACK! "Eight."

CRACK! "Nine."

CRACK! "Ten." He paused briefly, her legs danced on her toes, but she did not move out of position.

CRACK! "Eleven."

CRACK! "Twelve."

CRACK! "Thirteen." She was almost there, just four left. She ground her pelvis hard against the mattress, her sweat soaking the sheet under her.

CRACK! "Fourteen."

CRACK. "Fifteen."

CRACK! "Sixteen." He paused again. "Just one more."

CRACK! "Seventeen."

The paddle dropped onto the bed beside the belt and his hand was around her back. He leaned down and moved the hair off her neck, kissing her tenderly. When her breathing started to return to normal he rolled her into his arms and turned her face toward his. "You good?" He asked, signaling that the end had arrived.

"Yes my love." Clare whispered through jagged breaths. He held her close and kissed her soft lips.

"Come on baby, it's ok, we're done with this. This is all behind you now, you did good tonight." She sobbed harder with his words of reassurance. "I love you sweetheart." He crooned into her neck, keeping her body close to his. His hand moved along her back in an up and down pattern, comforting her. Her sobs finally ceased as she fell into a deep sleep wrapped in his loving arms.

*************

"Let me look at these." Matt said as he ran a hand over her bare bottom the next morning. Clare felt the hair on her arms stand up as her nerves responded to his caress. He placed a hand on her hip and guided her to the end of their bed where he took a seat. She turned so he could see her full bottom and felt his thumbs tracing the lines across her skin. His fingers gently kneaded spots near her hips where the wrap around and caught her.

"These are gonna take awhile to heal." He said. "You're gonna be having a hard time sitting down for a couple days." She already knew that, just using the toilet that morning had sent pain throbbing through her bottom. She nodded her head in agreement. "You have an assignment while I'm taking the 'twins' to volleyball practice today."

"An assignment?" Clare asked, already dreading whatever new thing he had planned to punish her.

"Yep, I borrowed that paddle from Tim with the condition that you return it to him this morning." Clare groaned inwardly. Tim was a good friend, but absolutely the last person she wanted to face today. Matt must have read her thoughts because he wrapped his arms around her. "I think he just wants to put eyes on you and make sure I wasn't too hard on you baby."