His hand landed on the spot where her thigh met her bottom, the immediate pain was sharper and much more intense than she'd experienced so far and she let out a gasping yelp. Several tears dripped down her cheeks but she was too busy squeezing the chair's cushion in a reflexive grip so as not to reach back and attempt to cover her bottom to wipe them away.
Fingers stroked the sore spot that he'd just smacked. "Irene, this is the last time I will remind you."
It took her a moment to realize what he was talking about and then she frantically tried to remember what the last number she had said was.
"Nineteen."
SMACK! His hand landed on the sit spot of her other leg.
"TWENTY!"
She moaned as he put his hand on her bottom, gently touching the flaming skin. Was it over? Slumped over the arm of the chair she felt the tears well up and spill over.
"Sometimes, especially for a lengthy punishment, it's best to allow a few moments for recovery and to let the initial sting sink in," Hugh explained, reminding her of Alex's presence yet again. It was amazing how easy it was for her to forget that he was there and each reminder brought a new wave of humiliation.
Especially because now, as Hugh caressed the hot skin of her bottom, she could feel that strange tingling between her legs that announced her inexplicable reaction. A kind of despair followed her embarrassment. How could her body react the same way as it did when Hugh kissed and caressed her?
"We're halfway through, sweetheart," Hugh said almost comfortingly, rubbing his hand on the small of her back, which was exposed and untouched. She did take comfort from his tone and touch, even as she whimpered at hearing that her ordeal wasn't over yet.
There was forgiveness in the way that he spoke to her, even as he prepared for the second part of her punishment. Forgiveness that she craved. Unlike the incident with Rex, she’d known from the beginning that she had done something wrong. She'd hated the way Hugh had looked at her when he'd come upon her and Alex in the garden, the way he'd looked at her when he'd asked for an explanation and she hadn't been able to give him one. This spanking felt merited and she felt strangely safer, despite Hugh's talk of paddles and other instruments of torture, she believed him when he said that he preferred a spanking.
And now that she knew a spanking didn't necessarily mean a frightening cane that resulted in evil looking welts and broken skin, the terror that had accompanied her first spanking had completely dissipated. It didn't make the spanking hurt any less, but it meant that she wasn't shaking in fear of what was to come, she just had to endure what was happening.
"Spread your legs again Irene," he said gently but implacably. As she'd rested her legs had drifted back together, her bottom clenching as her body attempted to assimilate the burning pain of her punishment. A shudder went through her body as she complied, exposing her glistening pussy again. The coppery curls around her pink lips were dark with moisture, make his cock throb in response. "This will be twenty-one. Don't forget to count."
SMACK!
"Twenty-one."
In some ways Hugh knew that it might be more effective if he were to enforce the counting without reminding her, but he wanted to encourage her cooperation and submission to the necessary discipline. Since she seemed to be doing so, he intended on making it as easy as possible on her - as easy as he could anyway. He correctly interpreted her acceptance of the punishment as indication of her feelings of guilt as well as her realization that Alex wasn't going to protect her from it.
SMACK!
"Twenty-two."
For this second round Hugh had moderated the strength of his slaps, not wanting to overwhelm her now that her skin was already dark pink and smarting. He was spreading the spanking out over the entire expanse of her bottom, doing his best to cover every last inch of her creamy skin. From his position at the desk, Lord Brooke was watching with a kind of scientific fascination. The kind of fascination that Hugh had felt whenever he'd witnessed or participated in one of Eleanor's punishments; not at all sexual, but rather a kind of astonishment and the desire to see the results.
All in all it was a very reassuring experience for Hugh. Time and again Alex had shown nothing more than a brotherly interest in Irene. He was still concerned about Irene's actions towards Alex, but her submission to the punishment helped to allay some of those concerns.
SMACK!
"Thirty" sob "four."
Irene's legs kicked out every so often and he would lightly smack the back of her thigh to get her back into place. The blows were so light that he didn't even have to explain to her that they weren't part of her punishment, she would just let out a pathetic little whimpering sound and move herself back into position. This was a much more controlled and less passionate punishment than her last one, on both their parts, and yet it didn't dim Hugh's erotic interest in the least.
The way her flesh jiggled, the hot temperature of her skin, the swollen lips of her pussy and the sweet slickness of her sex all combined to excite him immensely. Alex's presence helped him to hold his impulses in check, otherwise he might be testing the level of wetness between Irene's lips in between smacks to her bottom, which had turned a bright cherry red under his hand.
SMACK!
"FORTY!"
There was a measure of triumph and relief in Irene's voice as she counted out the last of her punishment. Her quivering body slumped, small sobs wracking her frame. She didn't even hear Hugh asking Alex for some privacy as her husband lifted her up from her position bent over the chair and wrapped her in his arms. Although her skirts had fallen back down they didn't provide much cushion as he cradled her onto his lap, her face tucked into his shoulder.
The sudden comfort only made her cry harder. It felt so nice to be cuddled and soothed, to hear Hugh's deep voice telling her what a good girl she'd been and how proud of her he was for admitting her wrong doing and taking her discipline. She clung to him, whimpering every time her bottom shifted and pressed against his hard thighs and even harder cock.
It was obvious that he'd become aroused during her discipline. She hated that the area between her legs tingled incessantly now that the actual spanking was over. The respite only allowed her to focus on the very different burning in her core, a needy burn that rivaled the fiery surface of her bottom.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I truly am."