Leah pushed away from her computer, her eyes burning. She'd gotten some inspiration at last, and had spent longer on her story than she'd expected. Wondering just how long she had been at it, she eased her glasses back on and peered at the clock on the computer, surprised to find it was already half-past two in the afternoon. Jason had promised to meet her here a half an hour ago. The young woman leaned back in her chair and grinned, glad she had insisted on dropping her husband off at the library rather than waiting around for him to finish up his research. After all, he wasn't the only one on a schedule, and her time was every bit as important as his was. However, she really should give him a call and remind him of all the packing they had yet to do before the eight p.m. flight to Chicago. Maybe she'd be able to prod him along a bit.

She picked up the phone on her desk and punched in the cell number. Then, standing to work the cramps out of her legs, the young woman made her way to open the heavy curtains and let some sunlight into her office. Oh, how she loved that term--her office. It had been such a surprise last Christmas when she had opened the small box from Jason to find a set of keys and a fully-paid six-month lease paper. Finally, her husband had recognized her success as a freelance writer, and had honored that success by giving her a place all her own to work out of. The office downtown wasn't huge, but it did provide her with a place to go where she could work without interruption. And since she'd become more organized with her time, Leah had become more successful as well. When it had been time to renew the lease, she'd been able to pay for it all on her own. What an accomplishment that had been for a woman who had started her career after thirty!

"Oh, shit!" Leah's silent musings were interrupted by her dismay as she slid the blinds open. "How long has it been raining?"

"Almost two hours now," Jason's tone was curt, startling Leah. She turned to find him standing in the doorway, clearly angry about being soaked to the skin.

"Oh, Jas--honey," she gasped as she fumbled to hang up the phone in her hand. "I was just trying to call you. I was wondering what was taking you so long."

"What was taking me so long?" Jason muttered as he strode toward his wife. "And here I was asking the same about you. I was worried maybe you'd been in an accident or something, because I just knew you wouldn't forget our agreement. You know the one, right?"

"Umm--yes. You were going to walk here as long as it was sunny, but I was supposed to pick you up at a quarter 'til two if it was raining. But really, honey, I can explain--"

"Really?" In one long stride, Jason had closed the remaining distance between them, and took the phone from his wife's hand. After listening to the mechanical voice that was patiently explaining that the cellular customer was unavailable, he brought the receiver back to his wife's ear. "Would you like to know why the cellular customer is unavailable, babe?"

Leah closed her eyes, moaning aloud. "Because I forgot to charge the battery last night?"

"Well, give the little lady a prize," Jason drawled like one of those guys that worked a game booth at the county fair. "And now, on to the bonus round. I believe you were just about to explain why you forgot to pick me up. But before you do, let me see if I can guess." Leah stifled a groan as he began to tick off the possibilities.

"Hmmm ... there was some sort of an emergency, right? A fire, maybe? But no, the building seems to be intact. Well, what else? A dead battery, perhaps? No, that couldn't be it, because I was just out at the jeep and it started up just fine. I didn't notice any flat tires either, so we can eliminate that possibility.

"So, what? A natural disaster?" He continued as he paced the room. "Could be. Let's see--earthquake? Tornado? Volcanic eruption?" Jason stopped long enough to give his wife a piercing gaze. "Nope, I think I'd have heard noticed any of those. But what about a flood? Now that seems to be a distinct possibility, especially considering the depth of the puddles I've just sloshed through to get here. So tell me, babe--have I got it right?"

Leah looked at her husband, who'd been prowling the room like a caged panther. "I--I forgot to open the curtains, Jason. I'm sorry."

"Well now," Jason said as he stood mere inches from his wife, "this seems to be an on-going problem, doesn't it, Leah? You forgot about the phone. You forgot about watching the weather and picking me up if it was raining. Is there anything else you've forgotten about?"

Leah couldn't help but stumble over her words, what with Jason's intimidating form looming over her. "I--I don't think so, Jas. Honestly, I don't think I've forgotten anything else."

"Hmmm ... I see. But there is always the possibility, isn't there, Leah?"

Leah nodded miserably. She knew where this conversation was headed.

"All right then, babe, I want you to clear off your desk," he said as he waved a hand at piles of notes and research on sixteenth-century Scotland, "so that we can discuss this properly. In the meantime, I'm going to make use of your corporate washroom to change into the dry clothes I luckily had in my gym bag. When I come out, I expect to see a clean desk that you can lean over for your spanking and my contrite wife standing in the corner thinking about what other things she might have forgotten to do today. Got it?"

"Y-yes sir," Leah stammered as she watched Jason let himself into the adjoining bathroom.

It only took the young woman a few minutes to tuck stacks of papers out of sight and scoot the p.c. and phone to one end of the desk. When 2/3 of the polished maple surface was cleared off, she made her way over to the corner, thanking God they were at her office. At least Jason didn't have his paddle with him. Leah closed the curtains before slipping out of her jeans. She left them folded neatly on the wide windowsill and took her place in the corner, working her panties down to her knees, as she knew her husband would expect.

It seemed to Leah that Jason took an awfully long time to change into dry clothes, but then he was behind her, rummaging through desk drawers for something. She did not dare turn around, choosing instead to stand facing the corner and wait. When at last he did call to her, he sounded much calmer.

"Come here, baby," he said quietly, and Leah hastened to obey. Although the bunch of satin at her knees hampered her progress, she managed to hobble around to the front of the desk to face her husband, who leaned against the heavy piece of furniture.

"I'm sorry, honey," she began, but Jason put a gentle finger to her lips.

"Shhh. I know you are, Leah. And honestly, I'm sorry too, for coming in here in such a temper. I know you didn't make me walk all that way in the rain on purpose. I want you to know that I've taken some time to calm down and think this through, and if this were just a one-time thing, I wouldn't be spanking you right now. But we both know it isn't, don't we honey?"

Leah looked up at her husband and shook her head. "No, sir. I've been forgetting a lot of stuff lately."

Jason put his arms around his wife and kissed her forehead gently. Then he lifted here easily and sat her on the desk. The wood was cool on her bare bottom, and the thought that her backside would soon be on fire made Leah shiver with an anticipatory sense of dread.

"And why is that, Leah?" he asked as he tipped her chin up, forcing her to meet his steady gaze. "What has been taking up so much of your time that you can't remember even the simplest things these days."

"I suppose," she said as she shoved a lock of hair behind her ear, "it's because I've been so wrapped up in this story. I just--I forget about the time, and other responsibilities. I get so into the plot--"

"That you forget about real life, right?"

"Yes. Oh, Jason! I'm so sorry. I hope you know I never meant to neglect you and the kids. I was just so caught up in getting this novel completed. After all, it's my first big chance, and I don't want to blow it!"

"I know," Jason said, offering his wife a bit of a smile. "And I can't tell you how proud I am of you, honey. But we've talked about this before. We both know you need to learn to strike a balance, and that it's my job to help you. Right?" Again, Leah nodded. "Okay then, I want you to tell me where you keep your ruler and we'll get this over with, honey."

"My ruler?" Leah's expression was blank. "What ruler?"

Jason eyed her suspiciously, asking himself if she would really try to get out of the spanking she had coming. "Come on, Leah. Every office has a ruler. Now don't give me a hard time here. Just tell me where it is, and we'll get your spanking out of the way."

"Jason, I don't have a ruler. Honest!"

Jason rested his forehead against Leah's. "Well, that is a problem. We both know this spanking calls for more than just an open palm, and I don't really want to put this off, what with all we have to do today. So what else can I use?" Jason looked about, his eyes finally coming to rest on the gym bag that he had placed on a near-by chair. Leaning down, he reached inside to retrieve his belt. "It's wet honey, but I guess this will have to do."

Leah swallowed hard, wishing for the first time that day that they could do this at home. Although she hated her husband's paddle, the young woman had always feared and dreaded the belt just as much, if not more. Still, when Jason helped her down from the desk, she turned and stretched obediently over the flat surface, standing on tiptoe so she could grasp the far edge.

"Please be as still as you can, honey, so we don't have to start over," Jason said, and then the strapping began.

"Ow!" Leah cried out as the doubled-over belt left that first imprint on her vulnerable flesh. She could not believe the amount of pain it inflicted, and she gasped and twisted as the second lash caught her lower. "Please, Jason! Not so hard," she begged.

For his part, Jason was surprised enough to stop for a moment, as he watched the first lash, then the second, turn purple. Yes, he had intended to give his wife a serious spanking, but he certainly didn't think he had hit her hard enough to cause welts like that. With sudden clarity, he tested the weight of the belt in his hand. It was much heavier than usual, and he felt sure it was because of the rain that had soaked into the leather.

"I'm sorry, hon," he said as he placed his hand on his wife's shoulder and squeezed soothingly. "I didn't realize it would be so much worse wet. I'll be more careful. You just try to hold still so we don't have to make this spanking any longer. Okay?"

Leah nodded and drew in a ragged breath. She felt her husband's hand slide down to the small of her back and shuddered as she heard the belt whistle down once again.

Whack! Even though she knew he had eased up, Leah still could not help but cry out at the sheer ferocity of the pain. Thwackk! Thwackk! She was promising to do better by the fifth hard stroke of leather to skin, and in tears by the time the sixth welt had been formed.

By the time ten strokes had fallen, her shoulders were shaking with sobs. That's when Jason dropped the strap and pulled his wife into his arms. Leading her to a nearby chair, he sat and pulled her into his lap, taking great care to make sure she did not have to put weight on the mottled flesh of her bottom and upper thighs.

"I'm s-s-sorry," Leah managed to get out through her sobs, and Jason stroked her hair back from her face, kissing her tear-dampened cheeks as he did so.

"It's all right, honey," he told her soothingly. "It's all over with now, and you're forgiven."

Jason held his wife for a long time, stroking her back and offering words of comfort and reassurance. Finally, when she had could cry no longer, Leah straightened up enough to look into her husband's eyes.

"Thank you, Jason," she whispered, "for punishing me. I deserved it, and I promise I will try to do better in the future."

"I know you will," Jason said as he set her on her feet and gently pulled her panties back up over swollen flesh. "Do you think you can stand to put your jeans back on, 'cause if not, I noticed a pair of your gym shorts in the bag. I'll get them for you, if you want."

Leah nodded gratefully, wincing as satin made contact with her ridged and welted bottom. She took the soft jersey shorts with a mumbled "thank you" and dressed slowly.

"You know, honey," she said when she was at last ready to lock up the office. "I am never going to make you walk in the rain again."

"Good," Jason smiled, "and why's that?"

"Because," Leah said with a rueful smile as she rubbed at her still-burning flesh, "I don't ever want your belt to get wet again!"

Prove It

I knew I was being witchy and unreasonable that night, but I just couldn't seem to help it. Once again, my husband had promised a spanking and then forgotten all about it. Once again, I was left feeling disappointed, unloved and unwanted. But this time was going to be different, I decided angrily. This time I was going to make him spank me, or go down trying.

Jason and I sat up in bed, arguing over the fact that he had not followed through on his promise to spank me every morning that week. Oh, sure, for the first few days, the swats were applied and I was in seventh heaven. But then he started getting up late for work. The second morning that I woke up to find him long gone was the beginning of a very bad day for me, and world war three was on its way.

"I feel so rejected," I told him, the tears rolling down my face. "I know you get busy, Jas, but why am I always the one to suffer? Why can't you see how important this is to me?"

"I said I was running late, Leah. Good grief, why do you have to make such a federal case about this?"

"How can you not get why it feels like a federal case to me? I need this. I thought we had come so far, but it's always two steps forward and one step back with you!"

The argument went downhill from there. After another fifteen minutes of trying to hash out our differences, I had taken all I could. I jumped out of bed and slammed out of the room, leaving my husband to fall asleep on his own. "And you'll do it, too!" I said to myself as I stormed into the living room and plopped into my computer chair. "You'll just roll over and fall asleep like nothing ever happened, you jerk! And why? Because you don't care and don't love me anymore!"

With angry fingers that jabbed at innocent buttons, I booted up the computer. If he was going to ignore me, then why should I care one fig about the "no Internet in the middle of the night" rule? After all, Jason couldn't be bothered to spank me. That meant I was free to do as I pleased. Screwing him and his stupid rule was first on my agenda for the night.

I had just started the ISP log-on process when I was startled by a strong hand closing over mine. I had been so busy fuming that I hadn't even heard him come in. He deftly took the mouse from my hand and told me angrily, "Get in the bedroom."

The very tone of his voice sent a shiver coursing through me. Finally! This was what I'd been pushing so hard for--so what I did next made no sense. And yet, somehow I could not help myself.

"No." I flat out refused, never once turning away from the computer screen.

"I said get to the bedroom," he hissed angrily as he took my arm and pulled me from my chair. "And I mean now."

I took one look at his face and I knew he was not just going to tuck me into bed and tell me to get some sleep. My heart leapt at the thought that perhaps the man I love would keep his promise this time around. Maybe he was actually beginning to understand me, and what I needed. Still, I let him know how angry I was when I stormed back to the bedroom, slamming the door on my way.

That by now familiar mixture of fear, excitement and dread was coursing through my body, heightened by the site of the short cane placed carefully on my pillow. And yet I could not make it easy for Jason this time. In the past, I'd always submitted willingly to a spanking, but this time I wanted to know that my husband was determined enough for both of us. I picked up the cane and threw it against the far wall. By the time he'd shut down the computer and made it back to the bedroom, I was wrapped in the comforter, pretending that I wanted to go to sleep. All the time I was thinking to myself, "You'd better not let me down this time, Jason."

He said nothing, just walked around the bed and came back with the cane. Then, in one swift movement, the covers were jerked from around me.

"Leave me alone," I told him, even though it was the last thing I really wanted at that moment.

I can't describe the way my heart turned over when he just reached down and rolled me over onto my stomach. I was fighting tooth and nail, and secretly rejoicing that he wasn't giving up on me. In a moment more, my pajama bottoms were around my knees, and the cane began to bite into my skin.

I did everything I could to keep my mouth shut, staying in that "never let him see you sweat" stage for a long time. The cane was flicking against my bottom and thighs like the most powerful of switches, but I clamped my mouth shut, holding on to every shred of self-control I could muster. I would not cry.

When the whipping of the cane grew harder, the strokes closer together, I managed to wriggle away from the hand that held me down. I rolled over and looked up at Jason, my anger masking all the inner turmoil I was going through. "I've had enough! I don't want anymore of this."

As I lay there staring defiantly up at the man, I knew it was a defining moment in our relationship. His expression was fierce, and I wanted badly to crumble, but some inner demon just kept pushing at me. I simply could not give in yet. I had to know if my husband was man enough to keep going.

I got my answer in short order, as he took hold of me and rolled me back into position. "I love you, Leah," he told me, "But I still have to spank you."

That's when the truth finally hit me. He did care. Jason does truly love me! He loves me enough to meet all of my needs, even when those needs are not pleasantly met. The cane started to sting my bottom and legs again, but this time I allowed myself to feel the pain. I buried my face in the pillow to muffle my cries, and he did not stop until I was begging for him to do so.

Afterward, my incredible husband joined me in bed, sliding in behind me and pulling me back against his chest as I cried. I was a mess, with my shorts still around my knees and my damp hair curling around my tear-stained face. He hushed my cries and soothed me, assuring me of his love and his commitment to domestic discipline--a commitment I no longer doubted.

Presently, Jason made to get up and shut off the light in the adjoining bathroom. I put my hand out tentatively and stopped him, knowing that I could never go to sleep without saying what was in my heart.

"Jason, I'm so sorry," I said, the tears beginning to fall again. "I don't know what got into me tonight--especially when I fought you. I knew I deserved a spanking, but I was so disrespectful and rude to you."

"It's okay, honey," he said, kissing my forehead. "I've forgiven you."

That would have been the end of it then, and I could have gotten out of any further spanking, had I believed I could live with the guilt. However, I knew that I had been wrong, and I wanted to show my husband that I could submit with the right attitude. I had to make this right for my own sake, so I did the only thing I knew to do.

"Please spank me again," I forced myself to say, "I don't think I'll feel right about tonight until I have a chance to take my punishment like I should have the first time around."

I was a little afraid that he'd take me up on the offer, but much more frightened that he wouldn't. When he sat up against the headboard and guided me into place over his lap, I was already crying with relief. My husband hadn't rejected me after all!

That second spanking was a doozy, especially since I was sore from the first. And this time, even when I pleaded, Jason didn't let me up. Instead he kept spanking until I was no longer fighting the pain, but just limply accepting it. When he pulled me up against his chest, I could easily have fallen asleep, except for the urgent way his hands explored my body. We did not fall asleep until much, much later.