The Art of Discipline: Running Toward Trouble (The Mockingbird Chronicles) (27 page)

She realized that she had messed up, but now that time had separated her from the incident, it hardly seemed fair for Emma to spank her now. She should have done it earlier—when it was still fresh and Dani was still sorry. It would have been easier then.

Arriving at their little house, Dani waited patiently for Emma to open the door. She’d lost her set of keys earlier. After all, if she wasn’t supposed to be alone, she hardly needed her own set of keys. She scooted in as Emma opened the door for her and was halfway to the sofa when Emma’s voice stopped her. “I don’t think so, Dani. I want you upstairs.”

“Come on, Emma, I didn’t mean it. I’m grounded, isn’t that enough?”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “Upstairs and in the corner, don’t bother changing yet,” she reiterated.

Dani let out a heavy sigh, before trying not to stomp too hard on her way up the stairs. She just managed not to slam the door, catching it at the last minute, before she reluctantly settled into her least favorite corner.

* * *

Emma took her time before joining her partner. Dani was having a little too much attitude, and she hoped a few extra minutes to think about it might calm her down. Tonight she knew she had to step it up, and she wasn’t really sure how Dani was going to react. Tonight she was going to teach a lesson, make an impression, and make sure that Dani thought twice about ever endangering herself like this again.

Giving Dani a healthy fifteen minutes, Emma finally headed up the stairs. Relieved to see that Dani was actually in the corner, she left her there and headed toward the bathroom. Turning on the water, she adjusted the temperature and then watched as the tub filled. It was kind of soothing, sitting and listening to the water. She was half-tempted to get in and soak herself, but knew that Dani needed this tonight. Not only did Dani need to calm down, but it would give Emma an opportunity to nudge Dani into the right headspace. What Dani did was very childish and tonight’s lesson was aimed at showing Dani just how immature she’d been acting.

Finally satisfied with the tub, Emma got up and returned to the bedroom. Luckily for Dani, she was still in the corner. Sitting on the bed and making herself comfortable, Emma called out, “Alright, Danielle, you may come here.”

* * *

Dani stiffened at the sound of her full name, but complied. Groaning softly, she moved across the room, stopping just short of Emma’s knees. Emma looked too calm, and that made her nervous. The disruption to their routine also was putting her on edge. Emma had been pretty clear earlier, but she never spanked her until Dani had put on pajamas first. The running water in the bathroom hadn’t helped either. At first Dani thought Emma might be taking a bath, but now she wasn’t sure what to think.

“I think I’ll start by explaining what is going to happen tonight, Danielle. First, you are not in charge. You will follow directions without argument and without complaint, am I clear?”

Dani nodded, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

“Good, and second, we are going to work in stages tonight. Instead of getting one long spanking, you are going to be getting a series of smaller ones. Also, don’t be surprised if you end up back in the corner, especially if you give me any attitude.”

Dani sighed. She didn’t like what she was hearing at all. She’d rather Emma just whale the tar out of her, then make her stop and think. That was the worst part. She wanted to move on, not dwell on it.

“Any questions?” Emma finished with a raised eyebrow.

Dani shook her head, finding the floor very interesting.

“Right,” Emma nodded, standing and then kneeling in front of Dani. “Shoe,” she said simply as Dani raised a foot and Emma slid off Dani’s sneaker and then her sock. Repeating the process with the other foot, she stood back up before resuming her seat on the edge of the bed. Reaching out, she grabbed the front of Dani’s waistband and pulled her closer.

Emma unbuttoned and then unzipped Dani’s pants. Dani, however, started to fidget when she started to wiggle them down to her hips. Leaving them mid-thigh, Emma paused and looked back up at Dani, waiting until she caught blue eyes. “We’re just starting, Danielle; you might want to think twice about fighting me.”

Dani frowned and muttered a sorry just as Emma grabbed her wrist and then pulled her over her lap, putting her hand on Dani’s panty-covered bottom. “I’m disappointed in your behavior today, Danielle,” she started. “At the moment I want to put aside that you put your life in jeopardy and focus on your lack of self-control. How many times have we talked about how you need to stay close to the house? How many times were you told that you need to stay away from the walls? And to think, of all things, you were after ice cream.” Emma paused and gave Dani a solid swat.

“I’m almost at a loss for words,” Emma continued, letting Dani have several more sharp spanks. “I really am disappointed.” Emma let her words taper off as she picked up her pace.

Before Dani knew it, she was bouncing all over Emma’s knee. She still had her panties on, but from the force and the repetitiveness of the spanks, it didn’t really matter. It didn’t take long for the tears to come and Dani to feel like a very well-punished little girl.

When Emma finally stopped, Dani was helped back to her feet. Her pants down around her knees, she did a little dance, but wasn’t allowed to rub, for Emma had captured both of her hands and was holding them in front of her.

“Emma,” Dani whined as her backside continued to throb.

“Stop that,” Emma scolded, turning Dani and giving her another quick swat. “I told you, you weren’t in charge tonight.”

Dani frowned, but stopped dancing. “Sorry,” she managed, wishing that Emma would let go.

Emma gave her a look and then did, this time not saying anything as both of Dani’s hands went to her rear.

Dani gave it a good rub, almost sighing in relief. “I’m sorry,” Dani repeated. “I won’t leave again. I promise.”

“That’s good to hear,” Emma nodded. “However, we’re not done yet.” Again Emma reached for Dani, this time grabbing her hips and steadying her. Dani reluctantly stopped rubbing as she was forced to put her hands on Emma’s shoulders for balance as Emma helped her step out of her pants entirely.

The panties came next, and then Emma started on her shirt. Dani stood still and let her. This was not the first time Emma had undressed her, but Dani had serious doubts this time was going to lead to a steamy make-out session. Emma was all business, and unfortunately for Dani, the only body part Emma seemed interested in at the moment was her backside.

When at last Dani stood naked, Emma stood and again took her hand. Dani didn’t protest as Emma led her into the bathroom. She did hiss as her backside came in contact with the warm water. Emma had never bathed her after a spanking like this, not freshly spanked anyway. After the initial shock, Dani settled. She had to admit the warm water felt good. It helped melt away some of the tension, and as Emma moved and begin to wash her, Dani felt herself calming even more.

Emma had found a plastic cup from somewhere and was using it to pour a steady stream of water over Dani’s back. Encouraging Dani to turn one way and then the other, Emma managed to lather up a washcloth and scrub Dani clean. Emma was gentle, but still all business. Usually they had more fun with the soap.

When she was apparently clean to Emma’s satisfaction, Emma helped Dani back out of the tub. She wrapped Dani in a towel and then insisted on drying her, paying extra attention to her still pinkened backside. Taking away the towel, she then guided Dani back out to the bedroom, ignoring the fact that Dani was stark naked. Dani was again disappointed when Emma didn’t even give her body a second look.

Emma instead made herself busy and redressed her partner, again not letting Dani help. She slipped a clean pajama shirt over Dani’s head, and then helped her step into her bottoms, not even bothering with panties, making Dani frown when she realized that they’d probably only get in the way anyway.

“Alright,” Emma finally spoke, again sitting on the bed and pulling Dani closer by her hands. “I’m going to send you back to the corner, Danielle. I’m going to spank you again, but I’d like you to think about it first. I understand that you just needed to get out. The spanking earlier was because you broke both my grounding and
Zio
’s rules.

“Now, though, we are going to deal with the bigger picture. It’s not just about breaking rules, Danielle. It’s about your safety, and about you being careless with your own life. What you did today was not safe. You understand that, right?”

Dani swallowed, but nodded. She was fighting the tears and Emma hadn’t even started yet. She couldn’t help but sniffle as Emma led her to the corner and left her, nose to the wall, to think.

Dani hated the corner, but sometimes leaving it was worse. It seemed all too soon before she heard her name being called and knew that she was soon going to be even sorrier than she already was. Again, Dani found herself standing in front of Emma. She almost felt like a prisoner in front of a firing squad, and half-thought about asking for a diet soda as her last request.

Seeing the tweak of amusement on her partner’s lips, Emma frowned. “You find this amusing?”

“No, I’m sorry, I really am.” Dani shuffled from foot to foot, her eyes suddenly going wide. “It’s not funny at all.”

“Good.” Emma’s voice dropped. “Risking your life for something as frivolously as an ice cream sundae is not funny, Danielle.”

“I know.” Dani looked down.

“Good,” Emma repeated. “I’m glad you realize that.” Emma then wasted no more time, reaching out and pulling Dani’s bottoms to her knees. Before Dani knew what happened, she found herself back over Emma’s knee. This time her backside was bare and the cool wood from Uncle Sean’s hairbrush was rubbing small circles across her still tender cheeks. She winced as Emma tapped her with the brush.

“Tell me again why I’m spanking you, Danielle.”

Dani grimaced, but relented. “I put myself in danger for no good reason. I should have found a better outlet than sneaking off. I didn’t think it through, and I’m sorry.”

“Good girl,” Emma praised. “And are you going to leave again without permission?”

“No way,” Dani quickly answered.

Emma smiled before pulling back the hairbrush and letting it fall numerous times. Dani started out with a grunt, which quickly escalated to groans, squirms, and yips. Dani’s backside was tender from both the earlier spanking and the warm water, and she knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Emma’s lecture was serious and she realized that life-and-death decisions, especially careless decisions, were never easy.

Emma continued with the crisp, smart spanks until Dani started to cry. Once that barrier passed, she set the brush down and continued with her hand. Another dozen or so swats was enough for Emma to make her point.

When she was finished, Dani was crying freely. After helping Dani to replace her bottoms, Emma let her cry for a couple of minutes before finally coaxing Dani off her lap and up into it. Emma gladly held Dani, rocking her and letting the sobs turn into sniffles and the occasional hiccup. “Think you can listen now?” Emma asked, giving Dani a kiss on the forehead.

Dani sniffled, but nodded.

“We’re almost done. I want to make sure you get this, and make sure we don’t have to repeat this lesson…”

“Not a belt, please,” Dani cut her off.

“Danielle, don’t interrupt,” Emma scolded. “And I’ll remind you that the when, where, and
how
isn’t up to you. I’m the adverb, remember? If I decide you need a dose of a strap, you’ll get one, understand?”

Dani sniffled. “I know.”

“Good. Now listen. I have something special I’m going to share with you tonight. It holds special meaning for me, and I hope that you’ll appreciate the symbolism as well.” Emma paused, letting Dani slide from her lap as she stood. “Now don’t let this scare you,” she continued, leaning over and reaching under the bed, “but I think its perfect way to end our discussion,” she finished, pulling out a full length sorority paddle.

Dani balked and tried to scoot away, but Emma put a hand on her knee, signaling to Dani to stay where she was. “When I was in college,” Emma began. “I joined a sorority. You have to remember I was alone back then. My family deserted me, so my sisters there, they became my family. I’m still close with some of them, even though we’ve drifted apart, they will always be part of me.

“The Gamma Zeta Pi’s, that’s my sorority, have a code. I didn’t find out about this until later, but they take these things seriously,” Emma said, pointing at the paddle. “You’re expected to keep your grades up, and if you do things like pull pranks or stupid stunts, you’re sure to feel one of these.”

Dani’s eyes went wide at the description. “Did you feel it often?” she couldn’t help but ask.

Emma chuckled. “Often enough to learn to respect it. I hope that is what you get out of this too, Dani. I want you to realize what you did was incredibly irresponsible. You’re lucky, we’re lucky, nothing happened to you. I love you so much, I can’t even think about how hard it would be to live without you. You understand that, right?”

Dani bit her lower lip and nodded. “I’m sorry, Emma. I never meant to worry anyone, or put myself in danger. I wasn’t even thinking…”

“No, you weren’t thinking,” Emma cut her off. “But I promise you this, you will be thinking about it every time you sit down for the next few days.”

Dani sniffled. She could only image what that paddle was going to feel like and she already knew she wanted nothing to do with it. Still, in a way, even though she was scared, she was glad to be getting this over with. Determined to keep her dignity in check, she nodded. “Okay, Emma. What do I have to do?”

Emma looked at Dani for a moment. “If we’re going to make a point, we might as well go all the way. Stand up, honey. I want you to pull your bottoms down and bend over. Put your hands on your knees.”

Dani sighed and after a moment of debate, got up and did as Emma asked. The hardest part was pulling her own pants down. She never did that. That was Emma’s job. Once that was done, however, then she realized it was easy compared to the waiting.