The Art of Discipline: Dani’s Discovery (The Mockingbird Chronicles) (12 page)

“You two need a minute, or do you want the usual?”

“I’ll have the usual… Emma?”

Smiling at the waitress Emma motioned toward Dani. “Just what is her usual?”

“Tuna melt with a side of chili cheese fries,” the waitress answered with a shrug.

Emma wrinkled her nose for a moment. “I think I’ll have the grilled chicken sandwich with the side salad.”

“Great. I’ll get these in for you right away.” Taking the menus, Wendy headed for the kitchen while Emma stared at Dani.

“What?” Dani asked.

“Tuna melt and chili cheese fries? How are you not as huge as a house?” Emma scolded slightly.

Dani shrugged. “I don’t know, guess I never sit down.”

Emma couldn’t help suppress the laugh as Dani suddenly blushed, realizing what she had said. “You know what I mean,” Dani grumbled.

“I sure do,” Emma teased back.

* * *

Emma and Dani had just finished lunch and were walking back toward Dani’s condo when Emma stopped, her eyes fixed on the window display in front of her.

“What?” Dani asked, as she turned toward the antique store that Emma had suddenly found so fascinating.

“Those,” Emma said as she pointed to a display of wooden antique hairbrushes of various sizes and shapes. They were laid on an old vanity, complete with silver jewelry boxes and perfume atomizers. Smirking a bit, Emma stood on her tiptoes as she whispered sharply in Dani’s ear.

“No way! I won’t do it,” Dani replied.

“Oh, yes you will,” Emma commanded evenly. “I didn’t bring Uncle Sean’s because I didn’t think I’d
need
it, but I was wrong. So now we are going to find an alternative. I want you to march into that shop and choose one of those hairbrushes for me to use on your backside.”

Dani paled. “I don’t want to,” she argued in almost a whine.

Emma’s eyes narrowed. “Trust me, you do not want me to escort you into that store to pick it out.”

Dani groaned. She looked toward the display in the window, back to Emma, and then to the door of the store. “I’ll be right back,” she relented with a shudder.

Emma crossed her arms and watched as Dani entered the store. Dani was at the table display within moments, and Emma turned her back, hoping she would choose wisely. Dani returned from the shop a few minutes later with a small brown bag. Handing it over to Emma, she waited for her approval.

Pulling the hairbrush from the bag, Emma suppressed a grin. Dani had chosen the brush that closest resembled Uncle Sean’s: heavy oak, oval in shape, and with just the right amount of weight to drive home a valuable lesson.

“Turn around,” Emma directed.

“Why?” Dani asked, watching nervously as Emma got a firm grip on the hairbrush handle.

Emma smirked, grabbed Dani’s arm, and suddenly spun her around. In one smooth motion, she laid a good swat on her backside.

Dani yelped half out of embarrassment and half out of pain. “Emma!” she pleaded.

“Hmmm, I think this one will do nicely. Come on, Danielle,” Emma directed coolly as she returned the brush to the bag. “Time to head home.”

Making a mental note to never return to this store and thanking her lucky stars that the street had been practically empty, Dani turned and followed Emma.

“Think we should hail a cab?”

“No,” Dani answered. “It’s a nice day to walk.” Maybe by the time they got back to the condo Emma would have forgotten about their long overdue discussion over the soda and tantrum on the drive up. She was definitely not looking forward to being acquainted with her new purchase.

* * *

Entering the condo, Dani kicked off her shoes and threw them into the coat closet by the door. “Want something to drink?”

“No, Danielle, I want you to go get changed into your pajamas and wait for me in the corner of your bedroom.”

Dani’s eyes went wide with the sudden realization that Emma planned to follow through on her threat. “Oh, come on, Emma. This is crazy. I mean… there’s no reason for you to do this. I had a bad morning, that’s all,” Dani desperately protested.

Emma locked eyes with Dani. “Now, Danielle,” she commanded. “If I have to escort you, there will be an extra penalty.”

“You are being totally unfair,” Dani pouted as she stomped toward her bedroom.

Hearing the door slam, Emma smirked and shook her head. Deciding to change into sweats herself, she headed to the spare room where she’d dumped her bag earlier. She grabbed the new hairbrush and then took the scenic route to Dani’s bedroom, stopping to open a couple of drawers in the kitchen first. Smiling, she retrieved an item and then proceeded towards her chat with Dani.

Walking into the bedroom, Emma ignored Dani standing in the corner, forehead leaning against the wall, as she moved to sit on the bed. Giving Dani a few more moments of contemplation, Emma decided it was time to break the silence. “Danielle, come here please.”

“Are you going to use the hairbrush?”

“Maybe.”

“Then I’m fine right here, thank you.”

Taking a deep breath, Emma rubbed the bridge of her nose, “Danielle Elizabeth Ryan, I’m going to give you until the count of three to get over here. One.”

Dani groaned as she heard the number two but managed to drag herself in front of Emma as she uttered three. “Happy now?”

Emma narrowed her eyes. “Not yet,” she answered sarcastically. “Now, Danielle, tell me why you’re getting this spanking,” she directed.

“Because you have something against my caffeine consumption and food choices,” Dani answered, not ready to give in quite yet.

“Danielle Elizabeth, you are skating on very thin ice. I would watch the tone and attitude right now.”

Dani rolled her eyes. “Not like it matters.”

“Oh, no? Well how’s this for mattering? You just earned yourself an additional ten with the hairbrush. How does that sound? Or would you like to try for twenty?”

Dani paled a little but quickly averted her eyes. Now studying the ground, she meekly shook her head no.

Emma nodded, pleased that Dani had decided to let go of the attitude. “Now care to try again? What is this spanking for, Danielle?”

Dani let out a sigh. “Because I had a soda first thing this morning, even though I knew I shouldn’t have, and then I gave you a hard time about it the whole trip up.”

“Good girl, and why don’t you need soda first thing in the morning?”

Dani shifted from foot to foot. “I don’t know,” she finally admitted.

Emma furrowed her brow in frustration but realized by Dani’s tone she was serious and not merely being sarcastic. “Because it’s not healthy, Danielle. I care about you and what you put into your body. I thought we agreed on that, but I guess I was wrong. I hope this spanking reminds you that you need to take better care of yourself.”

Deciding to not prolong the punishment any longer, Emma reached over and pulled Dani’s pajama bottoms down. Ignoring Dani’s whimper, Emma grabbed the younger women’s wrist and guided her over her lap. Emma then adjusted Dani’s position slightly, letting the bed below her support Dani’s weight before she turned her full attention to Dani’s backside. Not uttering a word, Emma raised her hand, and using it as a sort of metronome, began to bring it down repeatedly and evenly across Dani’s backside.

As usual Dani managed to stay stoic for the first dozen or so until the growing sting caused her to squirm and moan. Seeing the change, Emma paused for a second to readjust her grip before beginning anew. The second wave was harder and faster than the first. It only caused Dani’s squirms to become more pronounced, as she verbally started to protest with louder groans, gasps, and the occasional promise.

Emma remained unfazed as Dani continued to squirm under her attack. She was unrelenting in her pace until she was satisfied with the pink hue peeking out from just below Dani’s panty line. Knowing that Dani was efficiently warmed up, Emma paused long enough to gently peal Dani’s panties down to her knees.

“Come on, Emma, not bare, please!” Dani pleaded, bucking and almost successfully twisting off of Emma’s lap.

“Danielle,” Emma warned, as she tightened her grip. Feeling Dani respond to her tone and calm, she relaxed her grip and rubbed the bare backside. “We still have quite a ways to go. I suggest you settle down.” Dani whimpered as Emma picked up the treasure she’d found in the kitchen, before gently tapping it twice. “Now, I realize this is going to hurt, and I don’t expect you to stay silent or even still, but if you twist off my lap, there will be additional consequences. Do you understand?”

Looking over her shoulder, Dani’s eyes went wide as she saw that Emma had somehow procured a thin plastic spatula from the kitchen. “Come on, Emma, I’ve had enough, I swear.”

Emma pulled back and let Dani have a good swat with the spatula. “That’s not what I asked you, Danielle.”

Dani whimpered. “Okay, okay. Yes, I understand.”

“Good girl,” Emma answered, tapping the spatula against Dani’s bare backside again, before she pulled back and resumed her lesson with vigor.

Dani squeaked, and the squirming began anew. For something so innocent looking, the spatula stung like the dickens. Unlike the hairbrush, it was thin and flexible, and the pain it caused was unlike anything Dani had ever felt. Never would she look at a simple kitchen tool the same way again.

Emma let Dani struggle until she felt a release. Dani’s protests slowly turned to incoherent sobs, and the kicks and squirms settled into softer movements. Emma put the spatula down and put her hand back on Dani’s bottom. Wincing at the heat it was radiating, Emma carefully rubbed her hand across, allowing Dani to cry for a moment before moving to the next stage.

“Danielle, are you listening to me?” Emma asked once Dani’s sobs had quieted sufficiently.

“Yes,” Dani managed to sniffle after a moment of gathering herself.

“Good. Now I want to make something clear. I wasn’t planning on using the hairbrush on you this afternoon, Danielle. I’d usually save it for major infractions. However, since you wouldn’t give up your attitude, I promised you ten additional swats,” Emma explained, as she picked up and rubbed the back of the hairbrush gently across Dani’s still-flaming bottom.

Dani stiffened at the touch and managed another sniffle. “I’m sorry, Emma.”

“I know, and I’m sorry too, but I want you to remember this next time you try to argue with me about a punishment.”

Emma tapped Dani’s backside with the brush gently, before pulling it back and giving her a hard swat. Dani jumped at the sound, and a split second later as the pain hit her, began to sob. Nine more swats followed, each one as slow and steady and precise as the first.

“Alright, honey, we’re done,” Emma spoke softly into Dani’s ear. She allowed Dani to lay across her lap a little while longer so that she could gather herself before encouraging her up and pulling her into her lap. Dani instantly curled up, tucking herself into a small ball and clinging to Emma as she cried out the rest of her tears. Emma allowed her the time, enjoying the closeness that the moment permitted.

When Dani finally ran out of tears, Emma tapped her gently on the end of the nose. “Alright, time for a nap, Dani.”

For once, Dani didn’t argue and allowed Emma to pull back the covers for her and tuck her in. “Emma?” her blue eyes looked up, pleading with green ones, “stay, please.”

Emma gave Dani a small smile. “Of course,” she agreed as Dani scooted over so that Emma could join her under the covers.

Chapter Seven

Dani’s eyes slowly opened in the darkened bedroom. Looking at the clock, she groaned. She couldn’t believe she’d actually taken a nap. Just once she’d like it if Emma wasn’t right about something. Slowly sitting up, her hands reached back to rub her bottom. It was still warm and quite tender, and she wished now that she hadn’t invited everyone over for the evening.

Wondering where Emma was, she got out of bed and slowly left her room. “Emma?” she called.

“In here, Dani,” came the reply from her kitchen.

Following Emma’s voice, Dani stopped short, her eyes opening in horror. Emma obviously had spent her naptime cleaning out the kitchen. There was a large trash can in the center of the room, and her beloved cookies, along with most of her favorite junk food, was now in the can. “What are you doing?”

“A little spring cleaning.”

Practically sprinting to the refrigerator, Dani sighed with relief upon seeing it still full of diet soda and not much else. “Thank God you didn’t get rid of my soda!”

“Oh, I let you keep those, but the cases in the pantry are gone. This is my second bag of trash.”

Rushing to the large walk-in pantry, Dani wanted to cry. It was almost empty. Her cases of soda and all of her junk food were gone. The few items that had escaped Emma’s wrath were a can of soup, a box of pasta, and an unopened jar of pickles.

Moving back into the kitchen, she looked at Emma with disbelief. “You threw all my food out?”

Emma glanced at Dani before returning to her task. “Of course not. The usable, unopened items will be donated to the food bank. Everything else I threw away.”

Not knowing what to say, Dani turned from the kitchen and quickly retreated back to her bedroom, before slamming the door as hard as she could. All her comforts were gone. How could Emma have done that without talking to her first? Throwing herself onto her bed, Dani pulled a pillow to her and squeezed it. Wishing again that she hadn’t set up the dinner party, she started to cry.

Hearing a light knock on her door, Dani ignored it, hugging the pillow tighter. A few moments later, she heard the door open and close before a familiar presence sat on the bed next to her.

“Dani?”

“Go away,” the younger woman mumbled.

“Sorry, I can’t do that.” Emma patted Dani on the hip, “Scoot over, sweetie.”

“No.”

Emma put her hand on Dani’s back and began to make small circular patterns. Dani sniffled but didn’t pull away. After a minute, Emma brushed the hair away from Dani’s face, tucking it behind her ear.