Free Under His Roof by Sadey Quinn Page A

behind for her lie.
    “David, it was just because I had to come see you. I really needed this,” she says as she watches me open up my chest of implements. “I didn’t know what else to do! It’s not like it matters, Rachel doesn’t care anyway. She’d rather I not be there.”
    I cock my head to the side and think for a moment. Rachel. It can’t be true. That would be way too coincidental. Shaking my head and smiling to myself, I pull out one of my rattan canes.
    Aria sees it and is near hysterics. “Please, David, please! I’m sorry! I’ll never lie again.” She’s sitting up now, her eyes wide, and she’s shaking her head back and forth.
    “You can say no to this, Aria,” I remind her. “I think you deserve it. But if you’d rather go, that’s just fine. No hard feelings.”
    I see her will to resist deflate almost instantly. She doesn’t want the option of backing out. For her sake, I move things along quickly. “Up you go. You can place your hands on the mattress.”
    Aria slowly stands, turns around, and bends over. Her hands fiercely grip the duvet on the mattress. She is nervous, trembling just slightly. I have never caned her before.
    “Four strokes. Count them,” I say. I place the cane on the middle of her bottom and then with a firm flick I snap it against her skin.
    “Oh!” she shouts, and she dances back and forth from foot to foot. She does not lose her position and I’m proud of her for that. “One,” she says.
    I lay the second stroke just under the first and admire the thin white line that forms across her skin.
    “Two!” she squeals.
    The third stroke goes under the second and I can tell she is having a hard time staying in place, but she is being strong.
    “Three!”
    For the last one, I raise my arm in the air and give her a real stroke of the cane across the first three lines on her bottom. She gasps as the pain hits her and then howls loudly, losing her position at last and jumping up and down while clutching her ass with her hands.
    “Ow! Ow! Ow!”
    I wait patiently for her to calm down and I put the cane away. When she has stopped her hopping and moaning, I turn to her and say, “That last stroke was a preview. You lie to your boss again, you’ll get four just like that one. Understand?”
    “Yes, David.”
    “Good. Get dressed. I’ll be out near the front room.”
    Aria is dressed quickly and meets me, still rubbing her sore behind through her sweatpants.
    “Thanks again, David,” she says, a bit sheepishly. I know she hates being punished for real things.
    “Anytime.” I rise and get the front door for her. On an afterthought, I ask, “Say, where do you work?”
    “Lakeside Advertising. Why?”
    Rachel. I shake my head. I suppose it isn’t really that surprising, though the coincidence makes my head spin a little. I’ve never had two clients who knew each other without knowing the other uses my services.
    “Just curious,” I say. “E-mail or text me when you get to your destination, OK?”
    “Like always,” she says, walking away. She sounds happy and that makes me happy. I’m glad I made room for her this morning.
    With my appointment out of the way, I do a little straightening and play fetch with Sparky before heading out to get some ingredients for dinner. I have no idea what Rachel likes to eat so I get some things for a few different dishes and decide to let her pick. I can eat the other meals later in the week.
    I wonder how she feels about our upcoming date. Has she clued in to the fact that a relationship with me comes with discipline? I assume so, and the fact that she hasn’t run away yet makes me hopeful.
    At home, I put a bottle of wine in the fridge to chill and I get some yard work done. At three, I finally take a shower and wait outside on my porch for her to show up. I’m guessing she won’t be here soon since she’s such a working girl, but I’m pleasantly surprised when she pulls up my driveway at quarter to five. That means