Norse Cavalier

Zack was sitting on a park bench, enjoying both the sunshine and the first cigarette of the morning. He'd been a mechanic's apprentice for almost two years, but he'd been given the day off since they had so little to do at the moment. However, by the time he'd been told about it, he was already dressed and had eaten breakfast, so he didn't feel like going back to bed. Instead, he decided to spend his morning going for a walk and enjoying the sun in the park.

A teenaged girl in a school uniform glanced at him as she walked past. A few seconds later, she cast him a second glance, and she stopped, appearing to think very hard about something. After a minute or so, she approached him. "Excuse me, sir," she said, standing at attention with her hands at her back as if talking to a teacher. "May I have one of your cigarettes?"

Zack raised an eyebrow. This wasn't the first time someone had asked him for a cigarette, but he'd never been asked so politely before. There was something about her that told him that she wasn't a regular smoker. "Sorry, I don't give smokes to children."

The girl blushed, glaring at him. "I'm eighteen! I'm old enough to smoke!"

"In that case, you're old enough to buy a pack for yourself, then," Zack said, grinning at his own wit.

"I only need one cigarette," she said, then stopped, with an expression that suggested that she'd said too much.

Once again, Zack's eyebrow rose. This conversation was already quite interesting, and it was promising to be even more so. He glanced up at the lanky blonde at his side. "You're from Saint Ada's, aren't you? Only school in town with uniforms that I know of." He leaned back. "You should be careful. I heard they've reintroduced corporal punishment. If you're caught with a cigarette on school grounds, you might find yourself with a sore bottom."

The girl blushed, but there was something about her expression that suggested to Zack that he'd hit closer than she was comfortable with. Maybe she was more familiar with the disciplinary rules than he'd expected. Was she deliberately trying to get into trouble?

Huffing, she avoided his gaze. "If I can't have one of your cigarettes, that's fine, of course, but you should have –"

"I didn't say that," he replied, putting his hand in his pocket. He drew out the pack of cigarettes and held it out to her. She slowly reached her hand forward, but suddenly, his other hand closed around her wrist. "You know, if it's a sore bottom you're after, you don't have to be caught smoking. I can give you one if you want, and it won't show up on your permanent record."

The girl froze, staring wide-eyed at him, and he let go of her hand.

It was a beautiful Friday evening, but instead of hanging out with her friends at the pub, or at least sitting at home watching TV, Becky was chaperoning a room full of high school seniors. Her friend Alice worked at the school, and they'd been struggling to find adults who could oversee the party and make sure there were no drugs, cigarettes, or alcohol. Alice had nagged her until she'd agreed, so Becky spent her evening standing in the corner of the room, watching the teenagers dancing and attempting to flirt. It was at least somewhat amusing to see them stutter and fumble, she decided.

She noticed that one of the boys was looking at her. A tall, dark-haired young man in jeans and a dark jacket, there was something about his manner that suggested to her that he was probably considered one of the "cool kids" at the school. She guessed he was watching the chaperones to figure out the best place to sneak in booze, the little scoundrel. She'd better keep an eye on him. Or maybe she was being too harsh and making assumptions again and should give him the benefit of the doubt.

She was walking around the room to check that nothing inappropriate was going on, when her phone vibrated in the pocket of her jacket and realized someone was calling. She slipped out of the room, heading down the hall until she found an empty classroom, where she answered the call.

"Hi, Becky," her sister said. "You busy?"

Becky sighed. "Do you remember I told you about Alice's little request? I'm at the party now."

"Having fun, then?"

"What do you think?" Becky's tone of voice made her opinion quite apparent. "Not the way I wanted to spend the evening, let me tell you that."

"Ouch. Well, you're doing a good deed, so focus on that."

They chatted for a few more minutes. When Becky hung up and placed the phone back in her pocket, she suddenly heard someone behind her. "You know, phones aren't allowed at the party," a voice said teasingly. She spun around to see the dark-haired teenager smirking at her.

"I-I'm allowed to have it," she said, her voice trembling slightly, and she wondered why she was suddenly feeling nervous. A teenager was playfully scolding her – big deal.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? The rules don't apply to you, do they? Do you consider yourself better than the rest of us?" He tutted, but there was still a smirk on his face. "How naughty of you."

Her heart was beating rapidly, and her eyes widened when she realized that he hadn't been watching the chaperones after all; he'd mistaken her for one of the other seniors – and he was clearly flirting with her.

Part of her was flattered. The fact that this teenager thought she was a full decade younger than she actually was, and that he considered her attractive enough to flirt with, was certainly a boost to her ego. Another part of her was angry – why couldn't someone like him have flirted with her back then? When she was actually a teenager, she'd been invisible to the cool boys!

The sensible part of her told her that she should clear up this misunderstanding at once and shut down his flirting. However, Becky decided not to listen to that particular voice. "And what are you going to do about it? Are you going to report me to the teachers?" She gave him a haughty look, but she couldn't quite keep the grin off her face.

"Maybe I should," he said, slowly walking towards her. "Or maybe I should punish you myself."

"Punish?" She stared at him, trying to look more confident than she felt. "What do you mean by that?" How could a teenager make her feel so nervous?

"Maybe I should make you write lines on the blackboard," he mused, still slowly approaching her. "Or stand in the corner." His smirk widened. "Or maybe I should take you over my lap and spank you."

Becky gasped, blushing bright red. Had a teenaged boy just threatened to spank her? She should DEFINITELY shut this down right now, before things got out of hand.

"So, Caitlyn, anything in particular you want for your birthday next week?" Nash raised a hand to the bartender to order another round and then glanced at his best friend.

Caitlyn hesitated. "I have something in mind, but… it might be a big ask."

"Name it," he said as he paid for their drinks. "You'll only turn 30 once."

She bit her lip, taking a small sip of her cider. Staring into her glass, she finally admitted "I'd quite like a birthday spanking."

Nash stared at her, a look of surprise on his face. "I didn't think you saw me that way," he said after a while. "I'm afraid I don't –"

"Oh, no, not like that!" she hastened to add, waving her hands disarmingly. "There will be nothing romantic or sexual about it! Ew!" She took another sip. "It's just… I've always wanted to know what it's like to be spanked, and you're the safest guy I know."

"Thank you for the compliment," he said, with just the slightest hint of smugness in his voice. "But couldn't you have explored it with one of your ex-boyfriends? Did you ever ask Alex…"

She shook her head. "No. If I'm dating someone, I need us to be equals, and that's hard to do if he can take me over his lap and spank me whenever we argue." She looked at him. "We've never dated, so we don't have those kinds of arguments, and I know I'd be safe in your hands."

Despite his surprise, he thought about her idea. "I've never spanked anyone before."

"I can send you some articles! I've read a LOT of them. Besides, I don't think it's that difficult. Just take my jeans and panties down, lay me over your lap, and then whack away – long and hard!"

"Your panties?" he said, his eyebrow disappearing into his red hairline. "You want me to strip you?"

"Only from the waist down! If you're modest, you can put me over your lap BEFORE you take my panties down – or I can take them down myself. But it's not a real spanking if it's not on the bare, is it?" She gave him her best puppy-dog eyes. "Please, Nash? There is nothing in the world I want more, and I've been dreaming about it for most of my life. I can't enter my thirties while remaining entirely unspanked!"

He thought about it. It was definitely weird, but if that's what his best friend wanted, she could have it. Besides, it wouldn't be uncomfortable for HIM. "As you wish," he said.

She grinned. "Thank you, Nash! You're the best!"

Late one afternoon, Alyx was driving to her parents' home to take in the mail while they were on vacation with her younger sister. Their car was parked at the front of the driveway, so rather than try to inch past it or park out on the street, she decided to borrow their neighbour's driveway instead. She was only going to be there for a minute, so it would probably have been fine, if she'd paid attention to the car already parked there – which she didn't, until she heard a scraping sound that immediately told her something was wrong. She hurried out of the car and began to examine the damage. Her own beat-up Mazda seemed fine, but the other car it had an ugly scratch on it. Scratching the paint on her parents' car would have been annoying, but doing it to their neighbour's nice-looking BMW meant she had a rather uncomfortable and expensive conversation in her future.

Taking a deep breath, she decided that the best thing to do under the circumstances would be to deal with it immediately – knock on the door, apologize profusely, and offer to pay for the damages, though the latter would obviously sting on the young waitress' low salary. With a feeling of impending doom, she approached the lavish home of Mr Harrington and rang the doorbell.

The door was opened by a heavily built man of middle height with a bald head and a thick neck. To Alyx, Mr Harrington had always looked like a man destined to be a wrestler, so it had come as a surprise to learn that he was actually a lawyer. She did her best to look very sorry for what she'd done – which was quite easy, as she felt terrible. "Mr Harrington? I'm Alyx, the Quinn's daughter? I'm afraid I've scratched your car while borrowing your driveway."

The man frowned, managing to make himself look even scarier than he did before. "You did, did you? Your father mentioned that you had just gotten your licence last week. You need to be more careful, young lady."

Alyx realized that the man had mistaken her for her younger sister and was about to correct him, but she stopped herself. What would be more embarrassing – to leave him thinking that she was some irresponsible teenager still learning to drive, or to have him realize that she'd had a licence for almost a decade and still messed up?

Making a decision, she did her best to look like a sorry young girl, bowing her head mournfully and fluttering her eyelashes as if holding back tears. "Yes, sir. I'll be more careful in the future, sir. I promise!"

He sighed. "Let's look at the damage," he said as he put on a coat.

They walked down the driveway, where he spent a few minutes looking at the car and tutting, while occasionally glancing with an expression of disapproval at the young lady standing at his side. "This isn't going to be cheap, you know. I'll have to talk to your father once I get the bill. Though why you didn't park in THEIR driveway…."

"I can assure you that you'll have the money, sir," Alyx said meekly. Though she wasn't sure exactly how yet. Would her parents lend her the money if she didn't tell them what she needed it for? Did she have enough in her emergency fund? Or would she have to admit what she'd done?

"I expect they'll barely punish you for being careless and inconsiderate and costing them all that money, as well? Soft-touch parents of today… You'll be grounded for a week, I suppose?"

Despite her nervousness, the thought made Alyx chuckle. Grounded at her age? Would her parents expect her to go straight home to her flat after work? Would they come by to check that she wasn't spending time on her phone? "Hah! Not likely," she muttered. It was only when she saw the expression on his face that she remembered that she was supposed to act like a teenager. "Sorry, sir. Yes, I'll probably be grounded sir."

He narrowed his eyes. "You know, I don't think I like your frivolity. Sounds like you're not being punished enough." He folded his arms in front of his chest. "In my opinion, a girl that damages another man's property and then laughs about it should be taken over the lap and given a good, sound spanking. And I think I'll suggest that to your father the next time I see him."

Alyx bit her lip. Once Mr Harrington talked to her parents, matters would become much worse than they already were. Mr Harrington would find out she'd lied to him, and her parents would learn that she'd tried to place the blame on her younger sister. "Mr Harrington, do you have to talk to my father? I should not have borrowed your driveway, and I certainly shouldn't have giggled, and I apologize for that. But I'm very sorry for what I've done, and I have some money saved up, so I can pay for the paint job myself. Couldn't we solve this between us?"

Mr Harrington gave Alyx a stern gaze that made her squirm as he pondered her words. "How about this, then," he said at last. "I won't talk to your father, and I'll pay for the scratch – we both know that I can afford it far better than you can, young lady."

So far, the deal sounded very good to Alyx, but she held her breath. She had a strange feeling that she wouldn't like what came next.

"But before that, we're going to head back up to my house. We are going to go inside and head to the kitchen, where I will place you over my knee and give you the long, hard spanking you clearly need."

"Thomas? Thomas? Wake up!"

Thomas sat up in bed, trying to clear the fog of sleep from his head. His girlfriend Zoe was shaking his shoulder, staring at him. "What? What is it?" he asked, yawning. "What's wrong?"

"You know the movie we watched last week – the one with the brain surgeon martial artist who does rocket science?"

"…Buckaroo Banzai?" he hazarded. He had a strange feeling that this was not, in fact, an emergency.

"Yeah, I think that's it. Is the cowboy the bad guy from the movie with the swords?"

"Hm?" He tried to follow her train of thought. "…Highlander? Yeah, that's Clancy Brown in both of those roles," Thomas replied, mentally congratulating himself for figuring out what in the world she was talking about.

"OK, great! Thanks!" She smiled.

He looked at her, eyebrows raised. "And you absolutely had to know the answer to that question at…" He glanced at the alarm clock. "One in the morning?"

"I was lying awake, and it was really bugging me!"

"And you didn't think of looking it up on your phone?"

She pouted. "You've told me you don't like it when I use my phone in bed!"

For a few seconds, Thomas wondered whether he should explain to her that he liked being woken up in the middle of the night for a stupid trivia question even less, but he concluded that this was a conversation that could wait until morning. "Well, good night, then." He gave her a gentle kiss and laid his head down on the pillow.

He eventually drifted off, but he found himself being shaken awake again. "Thomas? Thomas!"

"What is it now?" he said, glancing at the clock before looking at her. Two AM. It was certainly possible that THIS time, it was something actually important, but somehow, he doubted it.

"Would you still love me if I was a slug?"

Thomas struggled to remain calm. "Zoe, it's the middle of the night and I have work tomorrow."

She glared at him. "That's not an answer!"

He sighed. "Yes, I would."

"Even if I was all slimy and stuff?"

"Yes, even then. I love you with all my heart." Though admittedly, right at this moment, it wasn't easy to remember why. He leaned in and kissed her again. "And now, we're both going to go to sleep, and you're not going to wake me up for any more silly questions. Because if you do, I'm going to put you over my knee and blister your bottom." To emphasize his words, he flipped her over and delivered two hard swats to each of her panty-clad cheeks. She squealed, rubbing her rear with an offended air as she glared at him, but he'd already rolled over and closed his eyes.

I had been riding through the countryside for almost a week when I happened upon a small, cozy-looking inn, and I decided to get a small private room. I am almost certain that the innkeeper overcharged me, but I could afford it, and I was grateful for the opportunity to spend the night under a roof.

After bringing my packs up to the room, and discarding my sword and armour, I went to the common room for some food and a few cups of ale. At one of the tables, a tall, red-haired woman was sipping a glass of wine. When she spotted me, her eyes widened and she let out a small gasp. She then immediately turned her eyes away, pretending she hadn't looked at me, and her face was pale.

From her reaction, she knew who I was, but it was clear she did not wish to speak to me. I decided to eat my dinner and pretend to ignore her in return, while I occasionally glanced subtly at her to figure out how she knew me and whether I had offended her in some way. Her dress looked far too expensive for a peasant, but not expensive enough for a noblewoman, nor would I expect one of the nobles to slum in this inn with us commoners. Was she a merchant, maybe, or a merchant's wife? I searched my memory, but I could not remember seeing her before. Maybe I would recognize her if I heard her voice, but I could not think of a way to achieve that without approaching her, and I did not want to be rude.

Having eaten, I ordered another ale and rested a bit before the fire before heading to my room. The woman was still at her table, and while she did not lift her head as I left the room, I could almost feel her eyes on me.

I had been reading for a bit by candlelight and was pondering whether I should go to bed early or take a small walk, when the door suddenly opened. A tall, red-headed woman wearing a long-coat and breeches, with a cloth covering the lower half of her face, entered the room. My eyes widened as I recognized the highwaywoman who had tried to rob me a month before.

"It's you. It's really you," she whispered, staring at me as if expecting me to disappear in a puff of smoke. "I've found you at last." She took a step forward, closing the door behind her.

I swore under my breath; my packs were at the other end of the room, so once again, the woman was standing between me and my sword. At least I was wearing clothes this time, but I still didn't have my armour. Rising to my feet, I slipped my hand subtly into my pocket and found a pen knife. Not much against an armed opponent, but if I charged and caught her by surprise…

" You have no idea how hard I've tried to find you," she said, still in that quiet whisper, as she walked towards me. "I cannot stop thinking about what you did to me."

I tensed my muscles, ready to leap at her, when I suddenly realized that her scabbard was empty, and so were her hands. I frowned. What sort of highwaywoman leaves her sword behind while seeking her vengeance on a man she hates? We already knew she couldn't take me in unarmed combat.

I stood unmoving, muscles still tense, as she slowly approached me. "No one has ever taken charge of me like that. The way you disarmed me, then dragged me over your lap…" She blushed. "Lying over your naked thighs, feeling your… manhood… poking me in the stomach…"

I said nothing, but my hand was still closed around the pen knife, just in case this was some bizarre bluff to get me to lower my guard.

"I cannot decide whether I want you to take me over your knee or to your bed," she whispered. "Do as you prefer, Sir Knight." She briefly met my eyes, before glancing shyly at the floor. "Please?"

It was a warm spring day, and I was travelling through a forest on my way to visit a merchant I'd traded with some times before. I kept my sword at my side in case I ran into animals or bandits, but I'd heard no stories of wolf attacks or holdups in these parts for many years, so I was quite relaxed, not scanning every shadow.

About midday, I reached a quiet forest lake. I was growing quite hot in my armour, so I decided to strip off and dive in. I swam around for a bit, enjoying the feeling of the cool water against my skin and the warmth of the sun on my back, when I suddenly heard trilling laughter. "What's this? A knight caught off guard?"

I spun around and saw a tall woman in a long-coat and breeches, with a hat on her head and a cloth covering the lower half of her face. She was standing near the shore, close to the spot where I'd left my packs and clothes. In her hand was a longsword, and she held it like someone who knew how to use it. From her dress and manner, I suspected she was a highwaywoman.

"What do you want?" I said, swimming closer to her until I could stand on the lake bottom. I could have explained that I was no knight, merely an officer of the guards, but this seemed a poor moment for idle chatter.

"Those bags look heavy. I suspect that there are more than a few coins there, and I have decided to lighten your load – out of the goodness of my heart, of course. If you try to stop me, I will cut you down." There was a sparkle in her eye that suggested she was grinning, but the cloth made it hard to be sure. "And you presently appear to be ill-clad for combat."

I cursed; she was right to conclude that I had no desire to enter combat against an armed opponent while I was naked, but I also couldn't let her rob me. Since combat appeared to be inadvisable, I decided to try diplomacy. "Can't we talk about this?" I said, walking towards her with my arms raised. "I'm sure there is some way to –"

The highwaywoman had begun to search my packs, but she turned her head when I spoke. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "S-stop," she said, her voice strangely nervous. "D-don't come any closer!" She held her sword threateningly in my direction, but to my surprise, I could see her hand tremble.

Wondering what in the world was going on, I studied what little I could see of her face, and I had the impression that there was a blush in her cheeks – though it was hard to tell, particularly at this distance. I was standing roughly waist-high in the water, and I suddenly realized that it wasn't my face she was looking at. Her eyes were rather lower than that.

This seemed surreal. From her initial bravado, I had judged her to be an experienced highwaywoman, but it seemed the sight of a naked man made her squirm. Maybe she was less experienced in other areas than robbery.

My hands still raised, I walked rapidly towards her. As soon as my loins emerged from the water, the woman's eyes widened, and she turned her gaze away bashfully, clearly embarrassed.

By the time she finally remembered that it was unwise to take your eyes away from the person you are robbing while they are moving towards you, I had grabbed the wrist of her sword arm. She tried to struggle free, but I proved to be stronger and managed to disarm her. I threw the sword away, and she shrank before me. She was clearly a threat if she was armed and I was not, and it is possible she could have defeated me if we both had a sword, but with neither of us armed, there was no contest, and it was clear she knew it. I was naked, but while she was clothed, she was not wearing armour either.

She gave me a defiant glare. "I have no intention of ending up at the end of a rope, Sir Knight. You must kill me now, for you will never bring me in alive." She did her best to sound brave, but her eyes revealed how scared she was, and her voice was trembling even more than before.

"I do not kill unarmed women," I told her, "And I have no intention of dragging you through the forest until we find a town. Instead, I have another punishment in mind." Her eyes widened, and she probably wondered what I meant. Instead of telling her, I decided it was time to show her.

Still holding on to her wrist, I suddenly sat down on a fallen log and dragged her over my lap. She fell forward, landing on my naked thighs with a gasp. Before she could react, I had pulled her breeches and underwear down to her knees, landing the first of many smacks to her bare bottom.

Three months had passed since Angie moved into my flat, which meant it was also two months since the day I took her over my knee and spanked her butt for her attitude and her refusal to clean up after herself. She was still living there, telling me that it was impossible to find an available flat within her price range, which I could easily believe.

Angie was the younger sister of my college buddy Dylan, and an attractive young lady. Earlier in the year, she'd spent a night in my guest bedroom so that she could attend an early college interview nearby, and she had ended up asking me for a spanking because she couldn't fall asleep. Surprised by the request, I had eventually agreed. A few months later, she'd moved in with me when she found mold in her new flat. Her deficiencies as a flatmate were soon apparent, and her brother suggested that I should deal with her immaturity the same way he had: a good, hard spanking with her shorts down every time she mouthed off or made a mess. In the end, I'd taken his advice.

Two months later, I could tell that the idea worked – partially. After a spanking, Angie would behave for several days, cleaning up after herself and dropping the eyerolls and sarcasm. However, after about a week, her attitude would return, and she would quickly earn herself another spanking on the seat of her panties. She'd stopped trying to argue when I told her that she needed an attitude adjustment, bending obediently over my knee without me having to drag her, but she still couldn't behave for more than about a week.

One morning, I found her sitting on the sofa in her pyjamas, watching TV. I frowned. "Angie, didn't I tell you to hang up the laundry before you went to bed last night? And you promised you'd do it?"

She bit her lip, glancing aside. "I forgot. I'll go do it once this show is over, I promise!"

I folded my arms in front of my chest. "I had to re-run the load. You'll hang it up when it's done, but before that, you're getting another reminder to keep your promises. It would be one thing if this happened once, but this is the third time in a row!"

She rose to her feet, staring at the floor, and I took her place on the couch. She stood before me, and my hands moved to the front of her pyjamas. I undid the knot, slowly pulling her pyjama bottoms down to her knees – before suddenly noticing that she wasn't wearing anything underneath.

"Go put on some panties, Angie," I commanded, averting my eyes. I'd spanked her in a thong several times, but I'd never taken her panties down. Partly to protect her modesty, and partly because her brother had asked me not to, and I saw no reason to refuse his request.

"Why?" she asked, a pout on her lips. I stared at her. "Why do I have to put panties on?"

"That’s… I can't… It's not –" I babbled. For once, I found myself speechless. I had not expected that question.

"Can't you spank me on the bare bottom for once?" She fidgeted with a strand of her hair.

I was once again forced to reevaluate some of the things I thought I knew. "Angie," I said slowly, staring at her. "Do you LIKE being spanked?"

"Angie," I said, doing my utmost to keep my voice calm. "Remember what I said about cleaning up after yourself in the kitchen?"

"I'll get to it later," she said dismissively.

Angie was the younger sister of my good friend Dylan. A few months before, she had spent a night in my guest bedroom so that she wouldn't have to get a hotel room for a college interview. Her interview had been successful, and she'd decided to find a small job here to give her some spending money during her studies.

One day, she called me and said that the flat that she'd found had mold and was unsafe, so she asked if she could stay with me for a bit until she found a new one. I'd agreed, since she'd been a perfect guest and I'd enjoyed our chats – not to mention that she was quite cute, with a beautiful rear end that was enhanced by the short shorts she chose during the day and the tight pyjamas she wore at night.

Unfortunately, she'd turned out to be far less considerate as a flatmate than as an overnight guest. She was messy, rarely cleaned up after herself, and played loud music, and when I tried to bring it up, she sassed me.

"That's what you said yesterday," I reminded her.

"And I'll get to it! Eventually," she told me, returning her gaze to her phone. It was like she was TRYING to annoy me!

Feeling my blood pressure rising, I decided to go for a walk to calm down. I had only gone a few minutes when my phone rang. "Hi, Wayne. How's it going?"

"Hello, Dylan," I replied, sighing. "No change, unfortunately. That sister of yours is a mess! I don't know how you lived with her for so long."

"Of course you do!" he chuckled. "If she made a mess or gave me attitude, I put her over my lap and tanned her little backside. We talked about this, remember?"

"Yes, well, I can't do that, can I?" I responded drily.

He was quiet for a few seconds. "Wayne, have you been dropped on your head recently? Of course you can! You DID, remember? Quite effectively, too, as far as I understand it, though I obviously wasn't there."

"Yes, I spanked her to help her sleep – because she asked me to," I replied. "I can't spank her just to get her to behave."

"Why not?" he asked. I tried to think of an answer. "Just tell her that she can either clean up after herself, take the spanking, or move out."

"You're a fount of wisdom, Dylan," I replied. "Talk to you later."

Deciding to act immediately, I turned and headed back. To tell the truth, the reason I'd been hesitant to punish Angie was that I'd enjoyed taking her over my lap a little too much. Her beautiful bottom had felt wonderfully soft, and I'd loved seeing it bounce under my palm as she squealed. Punishments should be about improving her behaviour, not for my enjoyment.

However, as I glanced at the mess that had been my kitchen, I decided that I would DEFINITELY enjoy this.

I walked up to Angie, grabbing the phone from her hand.

"Hey!" she cried out indignantly, glaring up at me. "Give it back!"

"You'll get it back once the kitchen is spotless. And you're going to start cleaning right now," I said, using my sternest tone.

She rose to her full height, glaring at me. Since she was more than a foot shorter than me and about half the weight, it wasn't particularly intimidating. "Or what?" she spat.

"Or I'm going to take you over my knee and spank you," I replied calmly.

"Hello, you must be Wayne," the short, young brunette standing on my doorstep said as she held out her hand. "I'm Angie." She was wearing cutoff jeans and an old t-shirt.

"Nice to meet you." I shook her hand and stepped aside to let her enter. "Need a hand with that backpack?"

"Nah, but thanks for the offer," she said. "I'm travelling lightly. I'm only spending one night here, remember?"

Angie was the younger sister of Dylan, a good friend I had met in college a few years before. A week ago, he'd called me and asked if his sister could borrow my guest bedroom for a night, which I of course agreed to. She had a college interview here tomorrow morning, but it was too early for the trains, she didn't have a licence, and she didn't want to spend money on a hotel room if she could avoid it. He'd told her that he had a reliable buddy with a clean guest bedroom, and she'd thought it was an excellent idea.

I showed her where she would be spending the night. Neither of us had eaten dinner, so I ordered a pizza, and we ate it on the couch, watching TV and chatting for a while. Angie looked nervous, but it seemed like that was worry about her interview and not something I'd done. Eventually, she bid me goodnight and went to bed. I didn't have to get up early, so I decided to watch a movie, though I obviously turned the sound down so that I wouldn't disturb her.

The movie was almost over when I suddenly heard a door creaking and noticed that she was peeking out at me. When she realized that I was looking back at her, she slammed the door shut. A few minutes passed, and I heard the door open again. This time, I kept my eyes on the screen. Soon the door creaked shut. This repeated itself a few times, before she finally opened the door and came towards me. "Wayne?"

I looked up. Her long hair, which had been tied up, now cascaded down her shoulders, and she was wearing a pair of pyjamas that hugged her curves very nicely. "What is it?" I asked, managing to look her in the eyes.

"I… I can't sleep," she told me. "Too worried about tomorrow."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I responded. "Anything I can do to help?" I considered offering to warm some milk or something, but I didn't want her to think I was treating her as a child – though admittedly, she was technically still a teenager.

She bit her lip, fidgeting. "You know I live with my brother, right?" I nodded; I'd been aware of that fact. "Did… did you know that he punishes me?"

"… The subject has never come up," I replied, wondering where this was going.

"He… whenever he's disappointed in me, he puts me over his knee and spanks me." Her face was now bright red and she glanced aside, no longer able to look me in the eye. My eyes widened; I had a hard time imagining this woman being disciplined like that, especially by the laid-back guy I went to college with. These things didn't happen, did they? I was also wondering why in the world she was telling me about it. Most girls would probably have died rather than tell some guy she'd just met that she was spanked like a child by her brother.

I said nothing, and eventually, she continued. "It's awful, it's humiliating, it's painful… but it's also… " She swallowed a lump in her throat. "It makes me feel safe. Particularly when he hugs me afterwards and tells me I'm forgiven. I also sleep like a rock afterwards. Being spanked makes you really, really tired." She stared at her feet. "A few times, when I can't fall asleep, I've even ASKED him to spank me. It's stupid, but it really works." She took a deep breath, and I could see her tremble slightly. "But… well… he's not here…"

Nathaniel tried his hardest to keep his face neutral and resist the urge to sigh. Being the prophesized Chosen One and champion of the Valley of Mirth had many advantages over his former life as a poor farmer, but there were downsides as well. Today, he was meeting with Bartholomew Blackstone, leader of the Merchant's Guild. They were hoping to forge an alliance against the Baron, but the man had a mercenary nature and an unpleasant disposition. Laenarisa was there to help, but unfortunately, she wasn't being particularly helpful today.

"I don't believe you realize that people are dying," she snapped at the smirking merchant.

Blackstone shrugged. "That is unfortunate, but it's their own fault for not securing supplies before launching their uprising. You cannot expect the members of my organization to make a hasty decision just because some peasants were impatient."

"Mister Blackheart, you cannot –"

His smile disappeared, and he scowled. "It's BlackSTONE, little cleric. Mister BlackSTONE. It's not the first time you've made that mistake, and I'm starting to suspect it is intentional. I suggest you watch your words more carefully, or this interview could have some unpleasant consequences."

Deciding that he needed to act before Laenarisa could dig the hole deeper, Nathaniel took a step forward. "We are very sorry for the mistake, Mister Blackstone. Believe me when I say that it was entirely unintentional, and we meant no disrespect, I assure you." He made a small bow, then placed his arm around Laenarisa's shoulders. "Now, I need to have a little discussion with my companion, so if you will excuse us for a few minutes? Thank you." He turned around, steering Laenarisa towards the stairs.

"Let go of me!" she hissed.

"We are going to find a quiet, isolated spot for a little talk," he told her, still holding her firmly and moving rapidly.

She tried to wriggle free, but it turned out that a farmer used to handling spades and axes was a little stronger than a cleric that rarely lifted anything heavier than a book or a quill. "I don't think this is –"

"I didn't ask you what you thought, I told you what was going to happen," he said quietly, his tone making it clear that his decision was final.

Soon, they were in a remote storeroom. He made sure the door was locked and that no one could interrupt them before he turned to her. "Are you proud of your behaviour so far?" he asked her sternly.

She folded her arms in front of her chest, huffing. "That man is a greedy, heartless exploiter!"

"Of course he is – he's the leader of the Merchant's Guild. It's not a position often filled by philanthropists. However, we could really use his help, so you are going to lose the attitude and start being nice to him."

"I don't have an attitude!" she snapped, glaring.

Nathaniel sighed. "Is that so? I shouldn't be surprised. Do you need a spanking right now, or can it wait until we get back to our room?"

She gaped. "A spanking? Here!? Now?" She glanced around at the stuffy storeroom. "You wouldn't dare!"

Nathaniel still found it hard to grasp just how much his life had changed. A few months ago, he'd been a young farmer trying to eke out a living on the outskirts of civilization. Now, he was being hailed as a champion, and many believed he was the Chosen One that would free the Valley of Mirth from the clutches of the evil Baron.

For the last month or so, he had been travelling in the company of Laenarisa, a Cleric who had offered to be his guide and advisor. The young woman had the services of the Temple at her disposal and was a well-read scholar, but she was quiet and rarely spoke. They'd just had an unpleasant encounter with some bandits, and while Nathaniel had managed to overcome them, she'd suggested that they should lay low in a small village for a few weeks and rest.

When they found a suitable village, Laenarisa decided to buy supplies and see if she could find some better maps of the area, and asked Nathaniel to hire rooms at the inn for them. He was now sitting in the inn's common room, sipping a mug of ale while he waited for her to return.

"Excuse me? You're new here, aren't you? I'd remember seeing you before," a sweet voice said. He glanced up to see a slim, attractive girl with blonde hair, wearing a simple cotton dress. She smiled. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

He smiled back at her. "I would be delighted if you did. Can I get you a drink? I'm Nathaniel."

"Thank you. I'm Thea."

She sat down next to him, and they started chatting. Nathaniel gave her his most roguish grin as she giggled at one of his lamer jokes; the day was turning out to be quite delightful, and it was a long time since he'd enjoyed himself so much.

"I've procured the maps, Nathaniel. Are you busy?" a voice said tersely. He looked up to see Laenarisa standing nearby, her eyes cold as she looked at him.

"Hello, Lenna" he said, smiling up at her. "Was there anything else worth seeing in the village? Thea, this is Laenarisa, a Cleric who travels with me. Laenarisa, this is –"

"Yes, well, I'm sure the young lady has some livestock she should be looking after, so we shouldn't detain her any longer," Laenarisa commented frostily. "Good day, Thea."

Casting a glance at Nathaniel, Thea rose and hurriedly left the table. Nathaniel studied Laenarisa as she sat down. "What's wrong with you today, Lenna? You didn't have to be rude."

"You are a very important person, Nathaniel. You cannot waste time on frivolities, or chatting to every peasant who walks past," she replied in a voice suddenly devoid of emotion. She waved a hand at the barmaid to order a drink.

"I thought we were here to relax and enjoy ourselves?" he said sceptically. "Doesn't sound like we're going to be busy, and I can think of few ways of spending my time that are more enjoyable than flirting with a cute girl."

She scowled at him. "Cute? Her? You really think so? No, Champion. A man like you deserves…" She glanced away, staring at the wall. "Someone better." She tried to hide it, but it was clear she was hurt.

As Nathaniel looked at her, a lot of things suddenly began to make sense to him. He could have kicked himself. "I'm so sorry, Lenna. I never realized how you felt. Believe me, I would not have flirted with her if I had known. I didn't mean to hurt you, and I'm sorry." He knew that she was intelligent, kind, and attractive, but her stiffness and reserved nature had previously prevented him from viewing her as a romantic potential.

Laenarisa blushed, glaring at him. "Don't be absurd, Nathaniel! I'm a pure, virtuous Cleric," she scoffed. "I do not have those kinds of emotions. I'm only travelling with you for the benefit of all mankind."

He grinned; there was something about the look on her face that suggested that, despite her words, he'd struck closer to the mark than she was comfortable with. He inched closer to her. She didn't shy away from him, but her face grew even redder, and the hand that held her cup was trembling slightly. "You're cute when you blush. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"I am neither blushing nor cute," she insisted. She glared at him, her face now almost scarlet.

He tutted. "That's a lie. A Cleric shouldn't lie, should she? How naughty. Maybe I should spank you."

When Haley entered the house of her friend Allison, ready to go on a trip to the mall, she expected to find her scrolling on her phone or watching TV – probably both at the same time. She would not have expected to see the high schooler bent over her big sister's lap, getting her bare bottom spanked, but that's what she found.

Haley stared. Could this really be happening? Was she dreaming, or had Lenore truly taken her little sister over her knee, raised her skirt, lowered her panties, and started spanking her? Things like this didn't happen!

Suddenly, Allison spotted her friend and let out a panicked squeal. "Haley! No! Don't look! Go away!" Tears were falling down her face, and she was squirming over her big sister's lap.

"Hello, Haley. Allison will be with you shortly," Lenore said calmly, continuing to spank her sister's reddening bottom. "She skipped school yesterday, so I'm reminding her not to do that."

"Ow! Don't look, Haley!" Allison yelped as her friend continued to stand there in the doorway and stare. "Lenore! Stop! You can't spank me when Haley's watching!"

The teenager howled as her big sister delivered a series of particularly hard spanks to her sensitive sit spots. "Can't? Do you really think you're in a position to tell me what I can and can't do, little girl?" Lenore raised an eyebrow. "Watch yourself, young lady, or I'll ask Haley to go to my bedroom and fetch my hairbrush."

"No! Ouch! I'm sorry, Lenore, I didn't mean it! Ow!" Allison kicked her legs, yelping with every hard smack on her backside.

Haley stared at the strange sight, her eyes wide and her mouth open. She'd never been spanked, and as far she knew, neither had anyone else she knew. That was some custom from the Middle Ages. But now, she learned that only had her friend Allison been spanked – she was currently being spanked! At the age of eighteen! By her big sister! This was unbelievable.

"Welcome back, Abigail," Isaac said to the young redhead with the hour-glass figure. "It's good to see you again." As the two students entered the house of the tall, bald, muscular, middle-aged man, he glanced over at the other girl, who was a petite Indian woman with large, adorable eyes. "And this is the flatmate you told me about?"

Abigail waved her hand towards her friend. "Isaac, this is Nilima. She's been a bad girl and needs a good, hard spanking on her bare bottom."

Nilima let out a small squeak, cast her friend a panicked look, and suddenly looked very shy; the description was certainly embarrassing – but not inaccurate.

"I see," Isaac said. He studied Nilima for a few seconds, before turning his gaze upon Abigail. "And is she the only young lady present who fits that description?"

Abigail blushed, fidgeting. Isaac always knew how to make her squirm. "You should deal with HER first."

Isaac chuckled, before turning to the other girl. "So, Nilima, have you ever been spanked before?"

It was Abigail who answered. "I've given her some swats with a wooden spoon, and a hand-spanking over my lap, but I stopped once she started to cry. Some smacks in the shower, a few whacks with my hairbrush over her dress when she was being more cheeky than usual… That's all her experience."

Nilima looked more and more embarrassed at being discussed like this. "Miss Abigail is correct," she mumbled, not quite daring to meet Isaac's gaze.

"MISS Abigail?" He grinned as he looked at Abigail. "You've had quite the little adventure, haven't you? Now, Nilima, I'm going to start off fairly gently and then gradually spank you harder and faster. Does that sound good to you?"

Nilima nodded, still staring at the floor, but Abigail pouted. "That's not how you spanked ME," she complained.

Isaac raised an eyebrow. "Abigail, the first time I spanked you, I'd hired you to work in my garden, and you were often late and never listened to my instructions. That spanking was meant as punishment. It was only when I saw the wet patch on your panties that I realized how much you'd enjoyed it."

Abigail squealed, placing her hands over her flatmate's ears. "Isaac!" she scolded. " Nilima doesn't need to hear this!"

Zoe smiled blissfully as she curled up under the blanket on the couch. It was Friday, she didn't have any college classes today, and best of all, it was Valentine's Day! She wondered what Thomas was planning to do once he came home from work. Would he cook something lovely? Had he ordered a table at a nice restaurant? What sort of present had he bought? He knew how important the day was for her, and he always knew how to make her feel special.

Her phone rang. Seeing that it was her boyfriend, she eagerly picked it up. "Hello, darling!"

"Hi, Zoe. I've just been told that there will be a mandatory meeting at the end of the day, so I'll be about half an hour late. Thought I'd let you know. You have the day off, right? Were you planning to make dinner, or should I pick up a pizza on the way?"

Zoe's eyes widened. He expected her to cook on Valentine's Day? That was HIS job! And pizza? He couldn't even pick up something fancy? "I… I wasn't…" She was too stunned to speak.

"Oh, and I think I mentioned to you that I'm playing Fifa with Steve later today? Hope you didn't have any plans?"

Zoe couldn't believe her ears. He was going to play games with one of his buddies on Valentine's Day? After bringing home a cardboard pizza? She frowned. This would not go unpunished. "No plans, no," she said quietly.

"Are you OK?" he said, a hint of concern in his voice. "You seem upset. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. I'll have dinner ready when you come home," she promised, trying to sound cheerful.

"I'll see you soon. Love you, babe."

"See you later," she said, hanging up. She headed into the kitchen to prepare the first part of her surprise.

A few hours later, Zoe was lying on the bed with a glass of wine, still wearing her sweatpants and an old t-shirt. She'd originally planned to dress up before he came home, but their conversation had changed her mind. She heard Thomas enter the house and call out her name, but she didn't respond, and he started looking for her. By now, he would probably have noticed that the house didn't smell like dinner – Zoe had already eaten some pasta. She had no intention of cooking anything for him.

Thomas let out a shocked exclamation when he entered the living room. A few minutes later, he found her lounging on the bed. "Hello, Zoe," he said, his voice strangely calm. She didn't respond. "Would you care to explain why my PlayStation is full of porridge?"

"THAT is what happens when you ignore me on such a special day and make plans to play games with your friends instead," she huffed, glaring at him. "And pizza? Instead of a nice restaurant? Do you really think that's an appropriate Valentine's Day dinner?" She folded her arms in front of her chest. "I bet you don't even have a gift for me, do you?"

Thomas stared at her for several seconds, speechless. Finally, he sighed. "Zoe, Valentine's Day is tomorrow."

As the first light of dawn entered the room, Abigail groaned loudly and rolled over. This was far too early to wake up! A few minutes later, her eyes shot up when a hand began to gently caress her bare bottom. Where was she, why was she naked, and whose hand was that?

She realized that she was in the room of her flatmate Nilima. The day before, Abigail had returned home after a long, hard, and wonderful spanking from her former employer Isaac, to find her flatmate spanking herself with a wooden spoon. Deciding to give her a hand, Abigail had bent the girl over the kitchen counter and spanked her bare bottom with the spoon until she cried and squealed. The two girls had then ended up naked in Nilima's bed, caressing each other's bottoms while spreading some cooling lotion. They must have fallen asleep in the end.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye and confirmed with a sigh of relief that the hand exploring her bottom belonged to Nilima. The girl stared at her target with wide eyes, and Abigail could guess why – the redness would have faded by now, but the bruises would only be more visible. Her skin was most likely very marked.

She could have scolded her flatmate for touching a sleeping girl like that, but decided not to. Nilima was naturally curious about this new world she'd stumbled into, and Abigail HAD invited her to rub lotion into her sore bottom, which carried an implicit permission to caress her backside. She also didn't protest when Nilima gave her a gentle slap – in these circumstances, the urge would be hard to resist.

When Nilima gave her some harder smacks, however, giggling as she watched the flesh bounce, Abigail decided that she had to put her foot down. She lifted her head. "What do you think you're doing?" she said sternly, grabbing the girl's wrist.

Nilima froze. "Abigail!" she squealed. "I thought you were asleep!"

"I was – until someone started smacking me." She shook her head. "Nilima, you can't possibly be dense enough to think that someone will remain asleep while being spanked?"

"I was just curious what it would be like," she mumbled. "Your butt is so cute!"

Abigail grinned. "Thank you. However, I think we need to clear up a little misunderstanding – regarding WHO is going to be doing the spanking around here, and WHO is going to have her adorable little bottom smacked." Tightening her grip around Nilima's wrist, she sat down on the side of the bed, dragging the mischievous minx across her lap.

Abigail rubbed the seat of her jeans with a blissful smile on her face as she returned her flat after another lovely visit to the stern Mister Stokes. Isaac certainly knew how to spank a young lady – and how to treat her in the bedroom afterwards!

She expected to find her flatmate Nilima reading a book, or baking cookies, or drawing, or something like that. She did not expect to find the petite Indian girl spanking herself with a wooden spoon, but that was exactly what happened.

She heard the smacks as soon as she opened the door. Thinking that the sounds were quite familiar, she tiptoed over to Nilima's bedroom to have her suspicions confirmed. Sure enough – her flatmate was bent over her own bed, one hand reaching back to spank her own bottom with a large wooden spoon. She'd removed her skirt, and her panties were around her knees. Nilima moaned as she tapped the spoon lightly against her bare bottom. Abigail stifled a giggle; she guessed that the girl had never had a REAL spanking, if those taps were enough to make her fidget.

She watched the scene for several minutes, enjoying the sight as the girl continued to spank her own bottom. Finally, Abigail decided to knock on the door and make her presence known.

"Oh! Shit!" Nilima shrieked, spinning around.

"Please, don't stop on my account," Abigail said, grinning impishly. "Go ahead!"

"Abigail!" Nilima said, staring at her flatmate. "This… this isn't what it looks like!"

"Oh? You weren't spanking yourself?" Abigail said sweetly. "Then what were you doing? Playing music? Trying to swat a fly? Is this some new form of exercise I haven't heard of?"

Nilima opened and closed her mouth, trying to think of some excuse. "It's… I wasn't…. It's not…"

"You know, I hope you were planning to wash that spoon before placing it back in the kitchen," Abigail said with a teasing smile.

"It's not from the kitchen! I keep it here," Nilima assured her. "I would never make cookies with my spanking spoon! Don't be disgusting." She pouted, then suddenly realized what she'd said. "I mean – my… my massage spoon!"

"Massage? Is that what they call it these days?"

"Oh… it's…" Nilima shook her head, admitting defeat. "Fine. I was spanking myself. It's this desire I have – this NEED. You wouldn't understand."

Abigail raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Wouldn't I?" She turned around, lowering her jeans and panties to reveal her bruised bottom. "Are you sure about that?"

"Abigail!" Nilima gasped. "Your bottom! It's… it's bright red!"

"Oh? Is it?" Abigail said drily. "I hadn't noticed!" She wriggled her bottom teasingly.

Nilima stared in wonder at the sight, reaching forward to rub the red flesh. "H-how…."

"It's a lot easier when you have someone else to spank your bottom for you," Abigail told her as she put her clothes back on. She hissed a little as the figure-hugging jeans tightened around her sore rear end. She then took the spoon from Nilima's hand. "Come with me and I'll show you."