‘Are you going to review me?’ I asked.
‘None of your impertinence, madam,’ he said. ‘But yes. I’m going to give you a review. A long, painful and scathing critique, which will be given not in words but in actions.’
Oh dear. I was for it now.
‘Now then,’ he said, coming to stand in front of me. His eyes were directly in line with my crotch; what a happy coincidence. ‘I need you to give me your own honest assessment of your performance. And I don’t mean your performance on stage. I mean the little subterfuge that led you into this position.’
Not sure what he wanted me to say, I shook my head.
‘Well, uh, I think it worked out pretty well,’ I said. Strange words to speak, when standing naked on a chair, with a man who meant to spank me hard glaring into my pubic region. I’d stand by them, all the same.
‘No, that’s not what I mean. Of course your little scheme was successful. You won the award and you’re about to get your personal prize. I want you to list all the bad things you’ve done, Ms Reddish, en route to this ignominious position.’
‘Oh, I see. Well. I suppose I was a bit sly. Crafty. I used some insider knowledge to nobble the jury. The jury being you. And I—I used dishonest means to get my way.’
‘Yes, that about sums it up. Dishonest means to get your way. Is getting your way very important to you, Ms Reddish?’
‘Yes. I suppose it is.’
He put a hand on my thigh and patted it. I nearly fell off the chair.
‘I understand. I’m the same. I like to get my way. Which of us is about to get it now, I wonder?’
‘Maybe both.’
He smiled at that, quite a tender little smile.
‘I hope you’re right. Spread those feet a little wider. Put your hands behind your back.’
He inspected my parted pussy lips at close quarters, dipping his head so close that his breath warmed the moistened slit. He held me upright – just as well, because I might have collapsed otherwise – with his hands on my inner thighs.
‘Wet,’ he murmured. ‘What a very bad creature you must be. Do you always get this wet when you’re about to be spanked?’
‘I don’t know,’ I whispered.
He looked up sharply.
‘How can you not know?’
‘I’ve never done it before. Apart from, you know, on stage.’
He took a step back, frowning.
‘Turn around,’ he said.
I presented my rear view.
‘No marks,’ he said. ‘Your Petruchio can’t have tamed you very much. He’s left the better part of the job to me. Do you think you can be tamed, Ms Reddish?’
‘I doubt it,’ I said, suddenly defiant. I wanted the conflict, the tension. I wanted to reprise my stage role and have him overpower me until I had to submit.
‘Oh, you doubt it, do you? There’s a challenge if ever I heard one. Very well. Kneel down now.’
I did it. The seat of the chair was uncomfortable on my knees but it was good to be able to cling to the back rung.
‘This is for your friend Emma,’ he said, laconically, ‘though I’ll be giving her the message in person, as well, make no mistake.’
His hand was at once sharper and harder than Leo’s. I think he had it held in a particular way, the palm open but the fingers tight. It was more painful than Leo’s fumbling lunges.