Chapter 19: Bend Over

We cleared the table. The bottle was down to the dregs. He poured what was left into my glass and kept his own empty, which I noticed but didn’t comment on.

“All right,” he said. “Shall we talk about your punishments?”

I laughed. He had the smile, the smile that I thought meant it was a joke.

Then I looked at him properly. The smile was still there. Under it, the face had gone hard. Serious. The kind of serious he used when he was not asking.

“What are you talking about?” I said. “This afternoon? Because if this is about the shoe, I would like that entered as a joint venture.”

He laughed, but the hardness didn’t leave his face.

“Not that. That was incredible; you were incredible. It was funny, sexy, and I loved it. You surprised me again, Beth. I would never punish you for being remarkable.”

I put on the look. Sultry is a word other people use. On me, it is mostly a tilt of the head and a bad idea.

“So what did I do that was so bad I need to be punished? Maybe you should take me to bed, and we can work something out. I am very reasonable in a bed.”

“I fully intend to take you to bed,” he said. “I am going to give you a massage. You have had a long week, and I think you deserve a little pampering, but first we need to handle the punishment.”

Starting to feel frustration building, I became a little snarky, “Fine. Pray tell. What am I being punished for? Was it because I got drunk and Doctor Steve was hitting on me? Because I have already done the shame spiral on that one. It was very thorough.”