Reunion (Hunter's Ridge Book 3) (18 page)

"Unless you'd care for a second dose with my hand, I suggest you make your request, young lady."

"Please, Nanny Molly, may I have my tawsing?"

"Ten on each cheek to start," Molly said in answer to the reluctantly asked question.

"Ow! Oh, please!" Lucy wailed, as the tawse slapped onto her already tender cheek. "No! Oh, please, I'm sorry! Not so hard—ow!"

"I'm sure you are—sorry you were caught, that is," Molly said, one hand at the small of Lucy's back, the other expertly wielding the implement that taught many a miscreant the error of their ways. "Lift that bottom properly, you know how to present yourself for punishment, Lucille Rose."

Sobbing and fighting the overwhelming desire to reach back, Lucy shuffled her feet apart after having had them together during her first few swats. She went up onto her tiptoes and pushed her bottom out, only to wail again as her obedience was rewarded with another wicked swing of the split-tongued implement against tender bottom flesh.

Louisa received her own reminder to present and her own twenty licks. Her cries and pleas for leniency equaled those of her twin.

The room echoed with louder cries as the girls were instructed to climb onto the bench, faces to the wall and backs arched deeply.

"No spanking is complete until this special little strip of flesh is crimson," Molly said, as she ran her finger along the crease where buttock met thigh. "Offer me your sit-spots, Lucille. If you fuss, not only will I give you another dose, I'll make sure to coat your bottom with a nice layer of nettle oil."

"Yes, Ma'am," Lucy hiccupped, her chin on the table, her eyes on the wall—though her tears kept it out of focus. Pushing her bottom out and lifting it, she trembled as her nanny's finger was replaced by the tawse running across its target.

Thwack…thwack…thwack!
Every strike was accompanied by Lucy's high pitched shriek, until each sit-spot had received five individual bites.

Her bottom bobbed up and down and from side to side when Molly left her to give the same dose to Louisa. Shrieks once more filled the air, and then it was done.

Molly stepped back, tucking the tawse into her apron pocket and watching the gyrations of identical bottoms attempting—and failing—to cool the burn of their punishment.

"Keep your eyes on the wall and those bottoms up," Molly instructed, as she walked across the room to settle into the rocking chair. "I'd better not hear a single word out of either one of you."

Though no words were heard, the girls' cries continued for quite some time before becoming nothing more than the occasional sniffle. Molly kept them on the table for fifteen additional minutes, and had just risen when the door to the hallway was gently opened.

Lucas seemed surprised to see Molly standing in the center of the room and to see two empty cribs. Quietly stepping inside, he was joined by Edward, and both looked to where Molly pointed.

Two heads began to shake at the sight of two very shiny, very red, very welted little rumps.

Lucas pointed to the door he'd just entered and Molly nodded. Outside in the hall, she explained why she'd punished the girls.

"Thank you, Molly. I'm sure they will not abuse your consideration again."

She nodded, and returned to get her yarn before going back downstairs.

Lucas returned to the room to see that Edward had moved to gather a fresh nappy from the changing table. Then, as one, Edward and he moved to the spanking bench.

Both girls gave fresh shrieks as large, hard palms slapped onto crimson welted bottoms. A dozen smacks felt as horrid as the fifty they'd received from Molly. When they were lifted off the table, their faces were tear-streaked and flushed as they looked at their Papas.

Lucy swallowed hard, the look in Lucas' eyes making her tummy flip. He didn't look as he had the other day when he'd awakened her early and taken her across the hall. No, he definitely looked stern and very disappointed.

He placed her on the changing table, ignoring her whimper as her scalded bum took her weight. "You'll do more than whimper on Sunday, young lady," he said, lifting her legs to slip a new nappy beneath her. "Disrespecting Nanny Molly and having given her cause to roast this rear has earned you an additional set with the cane."

"Oh, Papa, please," she begged, fresh tears filling her eyes as his broad hand patted against her welted cheeks. "I already have a set—"

"And now you have another. You have been quite the handful lately. Fuss about what you have earned and you'll be restricted to your nursery until Sunday." Lucas began to spread a layer of cream along her sex, not mentioning that he first had to wipe her cream from between her lips. Shaking a bit of talc between her legs, he pulled the nappy up and pinned it tightly. "In fact, if I don't hear you apologizing and thanking Nanny Molly for tending to your bottom, you'll not attend the dinner tomorrow."

"Yes, Papa," she said, her fingers swiping across her cheeks. "I'm sorry."

Lucas picked her up and moved to sit in the chair, where Lucy learned that it didn't matter that she was sharing her nursery. Kneeling between his legs, she obediently took his cock into her mouth, her head bobbing up and down his shaft. From the corner of her eye, she could see Louisa, her mouth similarly occupied—though she was lying on the spanking bench, her Papa standing before her.

Understanding that she was not to be concerned with anything other than her Papa, Lucy obediently swallowed him down her throat, her small hands caressing his testicles and her tongue swiping along his shaft. Her eyes stayed on his, his looking stern despite the pleasure of having his cock in her mouth. She doubled her efforts to please him, to perform her penance perfectly. His hand kept her head in place as she felt him tense a moment before he erupted, sending ropes of semen down her throat. After cleaning him and receiving permission to release, she tucked him back into his trousers.

She was tucked into her bed, her dummy pressed into her mouth, before she heard Uncle Edward groan with his own release.

This time when the door closed, leaving the sisters tucked into their cribs, neither girl said a single word as they suckled on their large dummies for comfort, their bottoms burning hotly and their hearts beating a bit faster with the knowledge that the same area would feel the burn again come Sunday.

Two hours later, both men returned with Nanny Molly to listen as their naughty little ones apologized and thanked her for the lesson.

"We won't talk again, we promise," Lucy said, her words echoed by Louisa.

"I'm sure you have learned your lesson," Molly said, giving both girls a hug. "It doesn't make me happy to have to spank you."

Hearing the apology made, Lucas and Edward gave their girls a hug and kiss as well, then left the nursery so Molly could get them dressed.

Though Lucy and Louisa both knew what was coming, neither fussed nor sulked that evening. Neither wished to be left at the house the following day, while the others went into town. They both squirmed a bit on their chairs at dinner, drawing knowing looks from their sisters, but other than sympathetic nods, nothing was said.

Ettie gave them each a hug when they asked if she minded if they didn't work on the puzzle. "No, we can do it another night," she assured them as she picked up a book.

Grateful, and both feeling a need for comfort, the twins climbed onto their Papas' laps, content to do nothing but be held by the men they loved and had so disappointed.

That evening, when Lucas climbed into bed beside his sleeping wife, he drew her to him, kissing her hair.

"Papa, I am really sorry," she said, opening her eyes to find his. "Please, don't be angry with me."

"Aw, Kitten," he said, gathering her closer and bending to kiss her mouth. "You know you are already forgiven. The punishment is done."

"I know, and I'm sorry. You haven't caned me for a long time, Papa," she said, her hand on his chest.

"Because you've been a good girl until recently. I feel it is important for you to learn that, even with visitors, I will not neglect your lessons. It's best you understand what is expected, as Louisa and her Papa will be here for several weeks."

"Is that why I-I made my penance with Uncle Edward and Louisa in the room?"

"Yes, Kitten, and why Louisa made her own. We are family, little one. You will not be expected to do so outside of the four of us, even though your Uncle Stefan has seen you being spanked, and has permission to tend to you if necessary. But I promise, no penance given by your mouth or your bottom will be witnessed by anyone outside our family."

She relaxed against him, remembering the day she and Emmie had had their nappies raked down and their bottoms blistered during their visit. She couldn't help but remember that they'd receive those spankings for playing instead of napping. The memory also reminded her that she had not been placed on her knees to make her penance until Uncle Stefan had left with Emmie to go to his own room.

"Thank you," she said.

Lucas continued. "Your Uncle and I don't hide our life choices, just as you and Louisa don't hide your own. Being naughty together, being spanked and tawsed together, is part of that. She'll share in your atonement on Sunday. Did you know she is also required to offer her bottom weekly?"

"Yes, Papa, she told me."

"Then don't fret about it, Lucy. Your bottoms will ache for a bit, but your hearts won't."

"I know." She sighed. "I will never understand it, but I know."

"That's just another example of how I knew you were the one for me, Kitten. You don't need to understand it, just accept that I'll never let you down—even if it means leaving painful wheals across your little backside."

When he removed her gown and pulled her on top of him, she guided his cock into her quim.

Another thing she'd never understand, she thought as she rode him hard, sliding up and down his shaft and slapping her tender bottom down again and again onto his hard thighs, was that the discomfort, the pain, only enhanced the incredible pleasure. Understanding wasn't necessary—she accepted the gift, begging for permission to come, to explode while riding, and to bring her Papa, the man who'd taught her what it meant to be free, with her. Her muscles clutched him, rippling and releasing as he told her to come with him, and when they exploded it was to the sound of their name being yelled by the other.

Chapter Twelve

On Friday evening, the family gathered in the foyer to don coats, scarves, and mittens or gloves for the trip into town. Lucy and Louisa wore their childish dresses, ruffled drawers tight against still tender bottoms, white stockings tied above their knees with ribbons.

Molly had given both girls a bath, proud that neither had complained as their bottoms were washed—even though ridges could still be felt beneath the cloth she used. She'd brushed their golden locks until they shone, tying their hair back off their faces with wide ribbons; pink on Lucy, yellow for Louisa.

Ettie was wearing a dress suitable for a young woman entering society. The hem brushed across the tops of her shoes, her corset having been tugged and tied by Bea. Lucas grinned at her mumbled complaint that she couldn't breathe.

"Is this my baby sister?" he teased. "You look beautiful, Henrietta, all grown up." He kissed her cheek and then tucked the hood of her cape over her curls.

"I'd rather be wearing one of Lucy's dresses. She doesn't have to wear a silly corset!"

"Would you rather change and stay home?" he asked, chuckling at the rapidness of her head shaking no. "Then behave. Remember, Lucy might be dressed more comfortably, but her skirt's length and the buttons on her shoulders ensure that her bottom can be bared rapidly if she's caught fussing."

"Yes, Sir," Ettie said, blushing as she looked at the twins.

Two carriages waited on the drive. It had snowed earlier, but the flakes had stopped by the time Lucas lifted Lucy into Edward's carriage. Molly and the others rode in Lucas's carriage. Mr. Gordon had been released by Edward for the next few weeks. He'd been hesitant to turn over what he considered 'his' team of horses until it was proven that both William and Jasper could handle the pair. He would return to make the long trip back to Wintercrest Manor but until then, he'd accepted the unexpected generosity of his employer and was even now on a train, going to visit relatives he hadn't seen in years.

"It doesn't look like it's been modified," Lucy observed from her seat on her Papa's lap.

Edward grinned and pointed to the knobs on either side of the seat he and Louisa occupied. He bent and lifted the lid of a small box that had been built between the seats opposite the door. "This is the net of sorts that is strung from those knobs," he explained. "It creates a soft barrier in case Louisa is bounced about during her nap. This new storage box also ensures implements are readily available if one should fuss."

"It was really quite comfortable," Louisa said with a smile and a blush, as if remembering everything they'd done in the carriage.

Lucas grinned at the look on his niece's face and the knowing smile on his friend's.

It took a little more than an hour to travel into town, the air outside cold, but the occupants warm and cozy in the interior, fur rugs tucked across laps.

When Lucy recognized the street, she bounced a bit on Lucas's lap before gasping and sitting back down gingerly.

"Forgot?" Lucas asked, and chuckled when she nodded.

"Yes, but I won't again," she whispered.

The street in front of Lord Northbridge's townhouse was lined with carriages, various guests alighting from several. Lucy felt her heart rate increase as she wondered who the guests might be. Would they understand the reason why she and Louisa weren't dressed in the latest fashions? Even if no whispered comments were made, would the strangers be judging her?

"Relax, Kitten," Luas said, giving her a hug. "Uncle Stefan would never invite those he did not feel would accept others, regardless if they also live the lifestyle."

Lucy nodded and understood her Papa was right. Lord Northbridge was a hugely successful barrister, his services sought by the highest of society. He made no apologies for loving a special little one, and she knew he'd never do anything that made Emmie or his guests feel ostracized. "You're right Papa. Look, that man over there is carrying his little one."